Two girls were idly walking down one of the hallways after class and chatting amiably. One of them was very tall with short hair and the other was short with long hair. Identical blue and silver crests on their robes put them in the intellectually inclined group of the school. And rightly so, since the pair were intellectual geniuses. But unfortunately for Ravenclaw there wasn't a particle of common sense between the two of them.
"See, the problem I had with that potion was that I couldn't measure the amount of time before adding the powdered slowstone." Said the taller one.
"Agreed." Said the second girl, "Snape definitely needs a clock in there. Or at least a sundial."
The taller girl pondered that for a few seconds. "No, I don't think that would do."
"Why not?" asked the shorter one.
"Well… it's very hard to get sun in a dungeon."
"Good point, plus the torches would throw it off anyways."
"What we need," said the taller one with a rush of inspiration "is some sort of Torch-Dial."
"That measures the shadows cast by the torches? Intriguing idea."
At this point the duo had made their way to the great hall. The taller girl, Abigail or more commonly known as "Abby", led the way to their usual place at the Ravenclaw table. The shorter girl, Mackenzie or more commonly known as "Kenzie", dropped her overstuffed backpack with a resounding thump. The noise caught the attention of a stocky Hufflepuff boy sitting behind them.
"Wendell!" Abby said cheerfully in greeting.
"Hey." Said Wendell, "What's up?"
"Well," said Kenzie with an almost frightening intensity, "Abby and I were just discussing the potential of a Torch-Dial in Snape's classroom."
"A what?" he asked confused. Once the girls had explained to him the general idea he frowned in confusion. "Why don't you just look at the clock?"
"There's a clock in there?" asked Abby.
"Where?" demanded Kenzie.
"Umm… on the wall."
"Seems like a silly place to put a clock." Abby said defensively.
"That's just inconsiderate, that's what that is!" Said the shorter girl in the same annoyed tone.
"Umm… hey look! What's that in your bag, Kenzie?" Wendell said grateful for a change of subject. The girl's bag was stuffed to the point where it refused to close anymore. Sitting on top of a pile of textbooks, a discarded snack and half the contents of the library was a lonely orphaned piece of paper.
"It looks like a piece of parchment." Kenzie said using all her deductive powers. There was a long pause.
"Aren't you gonna look at it? Maybe it says something?" the Hufflepuff prompted.
The girls shared a look, nodded and each took a side of the parchment and opened it. Together they read at the same time with the same pauses and intonation:
"Your intellect I do commend,
as seen by me, your silent friend.
A challenge now, I do declare,
And one so tough it'll curl your hair.
Solve the mystery, find me out,
Is what this task is all about.
Smooth as ice, soft as a cricket,
Search for me, The Sticky Wicket.
Yours truly,
The Sticky Wicket.
"Well, what do you make of that?" Wendell asked when they had finished.
"It's very got nice penmanship." Said the shorter girl.
"No, I mean the challenge part." He explained.
"We should challenge this fellow to a haiku battle. His wasn't very good. There's too
many lines and the wrong number of syllables." Said Abby frowning at the letter. "Plus the symbolism is just plain confusing."
"I don't think it's supposed to be a poem, Abbs." Said Wendell cautiously.
"Yeah. Most poems rhyme," Said Kenzie, "like limericks."
"I don't think it's a limerick either." The Hufflepuff pointed out.
"Well, obviously. It just doesn't work. …Well… maybe… "There once was a man named Wicket…" Nope. Doesn't work." She said in confirmation.
Wendell sighed in irritation. "What about the challenge part?"
"What about it?" the girls asked together in open confusion at his question.
"Are you going to accept?"
"It didn't really say we had a choice." Abby said sourly.
"Plus there's no mention of how to RSVP this guy and let him know whether we accept or not." Said the other girl with equal sourness.
"So…?"
"We accept." The girls said together. Suddenly feeling very dramatic, Kenzie climbed up on to the table and yelled: "You hear that Sticky Wicket? We accept your challenge! And I'll tell you something, you are going dow---"
Abby had pulled her down. "You're making a scene." She pointed out.
"Oh. Right. Sorry."
"So, what happens now?" asked Wendell.
Abby smiled in certainly. There was a fiendish gleam in her eyes. "Now we go to class. But tomorrow, tomorrow we start the hunt for the Sticky Wicket."