Year 1: Outstanding
Chapter 2: October 2014
As September became October, Molly was finding that she was enjoying Hogwarts very much. There had never been any doubt in her mind whether she would enjoy her classes; that was a given. But Molly had discovered to her surprise that she also enjoyed the company. Debbie, Sarah, and Julie were three really great people – exceptionally bright, studious, and dedicated to working hard. Even in the few moments when the girls would take a minute off of studying for a breather, Molly enjoyed their company and brief conversations. It wasn't like with her cousins, where she had to force the conversation. With her new study group, conversation sprung up naturally, and when it didn't, they all agreed that they should be studying anyway.
The biggest problem the four girls were facing was that they couldn't find an ideal study space. The obvious choice had been the library, but the library was a communal space, filled with other students who didn't care about school. Though the library rules indicated that certain areas were designated for talking, some for whispering, and some for silence, the reality was that Madam Maxwell couldn't enforce the volume rules everywhere at once. The result was that Molly and her study group couldn't properly focus, even in the silent study area.
All the other typical places for students to study were simply unacceptable. Barring the fact that the girls weren't from the same house and couldn't have studied together in a common room, the common rooms were zones of relaxation where students were constantly laughing loudly and yelling and throwing things. The Gryffindor common room was of course, a disaster, and Molly had been informed that though the Ravenclaw house was renowned for studiousness, the atmosphere was barely any different. Debbie and Julie refused to speak to the rumours of Ravenclaw Tower having its own library, but assured their Gryffindor companions that even if the rumour was true, it didn't mean it was treated any different from the rest of their common space.
As for the Great Hall, where sometimes people chose to study during times when meals weren't being served, it was the worst of all possible locations. From the beginning of breakfast to the removal of dinner at eight o'clock, there was always some form of food on the tables, making the Great Hall a desirable place for those students who liked to snack while studying. After spending five minutes trying to study at the end of the Ravenclaw table in mid-September, the girls had collectively agreed that they would never attempt this again. Not only were other students in the room yelling and being loud, some were even running up and down the room and even around tables.
"This is getting ridiculous," Julie declared one night while the four girls were attempting to complete some homework for transfiguration. They were in the library, because despite it's shortfalls, it was still their best option. "I can't concentrate with those buffoons over there guffawing every five minutes."
Julie gestured to a group of third years who were sitting nearby and in Molly's opinion as well, being quite obnoxious.
"We need our own place," Debbie agreed. "Someplace that no one else is using."
"Well the castle's full of empty rooms," Sarah shrugged. "But they're dirty and dusty and most of them have broken furniture in them. Not really conducive to effective study."
"We could fix one up," Molly suggested, bouncing off Sarah's comment. "I know it would take time away from studying, but we're all pretty far ahead of the rest of our classmates and if we worked together, we could have a room cleaned up in no time."
"That's a good idea," Debbie agreed. "And we would probably end up saving time in the long run by taking the time to do that, because we'll get so much more work done in a room without all the distractions of the library."
"Do you think we'd be allowed?" Julie wondered.
"I don't see why not," Sarah shrugged. "It's not like they're using any of the classrooms for anything now. Really it's just a lot of space being wasted."
Having agreed on their course of action, the girls' next step was to choose a location. Obviously they weren't going to choose a room at random – they had to scout out all possible locations and choose the one that was most optimal and fit all their criteria. So the following day, after their final class, the girls banded together and began checking out potential spaces (they thought about splitting up, but decided they would make a more informed decision if all four of them had the full information rather than each coming in with a quarter of the information).
They started on the seventh floor, because both Gryffindor Tower and Ravenclaw Tower were on the seventh floor, and it would be convenient to be in proximity to their houses. Unfortunately, they realized that proximity to their houses meant that the library would be far away if they needed to consult or take out books. They had a similar problem when they considered the second floor, where the library was located, because being far from their houses meant a long walk if they needed to retrieve something from their dorms.
As a compromise, the girls decided that the fifth floor would be the location of their new study space. The fourth floor was an option until they realized the hospital wing was on the fourth floor and that they would be constantly passing sick people on the way to study. Once they chose the fifth floor, it was easy to narrow their classroom options down to a select few. The classroom couldn't be too big or too small. It also couldn't be too warm or too cold. Ideally it would already have a few good pieces of furniture, but they could always move furniture around between classrooms if necessary. Julie also declared that she wanted the room to have a window for fresh air, which the other girls all agreed was a good idea.
In the end, they settled on a room at the very end of a hallway that almost nobody ever went down since there was nothing nearby. The room was at a corner of the castle, which meant that the room had two windows. It wasn't big like most of the classrooms, but rather small – the girls suspected that the room couldn't have fit a class bigger than ten people inside. As a bonus, the girls realized that they weren't too far from a bathroom, which was something they hadn't originally considered but were extremely glad for.
Inside the room were some broken tables and chairs, which the girls immediately dragged across the hall into a larger abandoned classroom. Apart from that, the only furniture left in their room was an empty bookshelf, which was still in pretty good shape and the girls elected to keep to store books and things on.
Before bringing in some new furniture, the Sarah suggested that they thoroughly clean the room, which Molly agreed was smart, because the room was full of dust and cobwebs. Debbie found a bucket, which the girls proceeded to fill with soap and water in the bathroom, and levitate down the hall to their room before getting to work scrubbing the room down. It took a while, and the girls got pretty dirty doing it, but when they were done, they were quite happy with the result. The room practically shone, and for the first time, Molly could envision herself spending her days studying here.
Next, they knew they were going to need some desks and chairs. The desks were easy enough to locate, clean, and levitate into the room. They decided to bring in eight desks – four to arrange in a square in the middle of the room for group study, and four to place in the four corners of the room for individual study. They moved the bookshelf out of the corner and placed in the center of the wall that didn't contain a window or a door.
Finally, they were only missing one thing – chairs. They had known from the beginning that chairs would be the hardest part, because most of the chairs they'd found in the abandoned rooms were broken. Even if they fixed the chairs, most of them were plain wooden chairs that the girls knew would be uncomfortable to sit in for long periods of time. At this point though, the girls were getting hungry, so they took a break and headed down to the Great Hall to eat.
"I feel really good about the study space," Sarah said, making small talk over dinner.
"So do I," Molly agreed. "I think once we have it set up, we're going to be really happy with it and be able to get lots more accomplished than we ever have in the library."
"It'll be nice to have somewhere to spend time without being around so many people also," Sarah said.
"Oh absolutely," Molly agreed. "I don't understand how so many people can coexist in such close quarters as the common room without killing each other."
"It's baffling," Sarah agreed.
When dinner was over, Molly and Sarah met up with the Ravenclaw girls with the intention of searching abandoned classrooms for comfortable chairs when they were intercepted by Professor Longbottom.
"Good evening girls," he greeted them.
"Good evening Professor Longbottom," Julie returned, extending her hand.
"What can we help you with this evening?" Molly wondered.
"Well I've been hearing rumours about some renovations that have been taking place in one of the fifth floor classrooms," Professor Longbottom began.
Molly felt her heart drop. "Is there a problem?" she asked, worried that they would have to give up their study space.
"How about we talk about this in my office?" Professor Longbottom suggested.
Reluctantly, but not daring to contradict a teacher, the girls followed Professor Longbottom to his office by the greenhouses, where they pulled some chairs up to sit in front of their Herbology's teacher's desk.
"Now normally I would ask Professor Flitwick to be here as well, as Ravenclaw's Head of House," Professor Longbottom prefaced the discussion, "however, I hope that this issue can be easily resolved without the involvement of too many people. Also, Professor Flitwick is getting a little hard of hearing and couldn't understand a word I said to him."
Professor Longbottom paused, probably expecting the girls to chuckle or something at his comment about Professor Flitwick's age, but Molly for one didn't find the comment amusing in the slightest. She just wanted her Professor to get on with whatever he had to say.
"Are we in trouble?" Debbie inquired when it seemed that Professor Longbottom wasn't going to speak first.
"No, of course not girls," Professor Longbottom assured them. "I was just hoping you could clear up some of my confusion about what's been going on up on the fifth floor."
"It's simple really," Julie said, taking charge. "We needed a place to study."
"Hogwarts does provide students with many different options for spending their free time," Professor Longbottom noted. "For instance, the library is an excellent place to get homework done."
"With all due respect, Professor Longbottom," Julie said. "I'm not sure all the students here treat the library with the same level of courtesy as we do."
"Would you care to elaborate?" Professor Longbottom asked.
"We have found the library to be more a place of socialization than of study," Debbie interjected. "I suspect that this is partly due to the fact that it's the only appropriate space for students from different houses to work together on school assignments."
Professor Longbottom nodded, listening attentively.
"For example," Debbie continued. "If Molly and I were partnered together to do a Herbology assignment, the only place we would be able to complete it would be the library. We can't do it in the common room, because we're in different houses and don't have the same common room. The Great Hall is hardly the place to get serious work done, which leaves the library as our only option. Now of course, Molly and I would actually spend our time in the library completing the assignment. However, from our observations, most students require lengthy breaks while they work to talk and fool around. If everyone was working in their common rooms, this wouldn't be such a problem, but so many people have to work in the library and for some of us it can be very distracting."
"You raise some excellent points," Professor Longbottom noted. "I'd never really thought much on the subject before, but there really aren't many common areas for students of different houses to socialize in, besides the Great Hall or the library. And I certainly understand your point about the library. Perhaps I should speak with Madam Maxwell about increasing vigilance during peak study times?"
"Actually, Madam Maxwell is doing an excellent job," Molly jumped in. "We really couldn't ask more of her. The problem isn't that the rules aren't being enforced, it's that the rules can't be enforced to the degree that we would need them to be."
"That's where the room on the fifth floor comes in," Sarah added. "We really didn't think it would be a problem, since the room wasn't being used anyway. Just because the library doesn't provide us with the environment we need doesn't mean there's anything wrong with it. So many students use the library for their study and enjoy it just the way it is. We wouldn't want to try to change the library, especially not just for the four of us. So we made our own space."
"I understand where you girls are coming from, I really do," Professor Longbottom nodded. "But I hope you can understand my predicament here. I can't just let students claim classrooms left right and center. Imagine if every student wanted a classroom for his or her own personal use. We'd be out of classrooms before we got halfway through handing them out."
"So we have to give it up?" Debbie asked, trying and failing to mask her dismay.
"Well I hesitate to make you give it up completely," Professor Longbottom said. "Especially if what you say is true and you truly need the space for study purposes."
"We do," Julie nodded her head vigorously.
"Alright, well then I will speak to the Headmaster about this, and see if we can come up with a solution that benefits everybody," Professor Longbottom said.
"What should we do in the meantime?" Sarah wondered. "Are you going to speak with him soon?"
"I could probably speak to him now if you girls wanted to wait for me," Professor Longbottom said.
"May we come with you?" Molly asked, not wanting to have to wait in anticipation. This way, they would know right away.
"Well it is highly irregular to bring students with me for these kinds of meetings, but I suppose it couldn't hurt," Professor Longbottom agreed.
Eager to get the matter resolved one way or another, the girls followed their Herbology Professor all the way across the school to the Headmaster's office and waited as he informed the stone gargoyle guarding the entrance that he needed to speak with Headmaster Slinkhard.
It only took a few moments before the staircase began to open up and the five of them climbed on and ascended to the Headmaster's office.
"This is highly irregular," Headmaster Slinkhard greeted them when they all entered the office.
"I apologize," Professor Longbottom said, gesturing for the girls to sit down. "The girls insisted on coming with me to hear what you had to say."
"I assume this is regarding the activities that have been taking place on the fifth floor this afternoon," the Headmaster said. "Have you resolved the situation like I requested?"
"Actually, the situation is a little more complicated than we had anticipated," Professor Longbottom said, launching into a full-on explanation of everything Molly and the other girls had told him. Professor Slinkhard listened patiently to everything Professor Longbottom said, and though the girls tried to discern what he was thinking, his face remained impassive the entire time.
When Professor Longbottom finished, Headmaster Slinkhard pressed his fingers together and closed his eyes, a ponderous look on his face. "Well this is simply… unacceptable," he said, opening his eyes.
Molly's spirits sank. After hearing everything that Professor Longbottom had said, how could he not sympathize with them? Perhaps he needed to hear their side of things. He clearly didn't understand how important it was for them to have a space to study if they wanted to stay at the top of their classes.
"In all these years," Professor Slinkhard continued, "how is it that Hogwarts has never created spaces for these sorts of situations?"
Molly's head snapped up in surprise.
"I surely don't know," Professor Longbottom confessed. "I've never had the authority to create such spaces."
"Well I would like to grant you such authority," Headmaster Slinkhard declared. "We should have both places where members of all the houses can socialize and where they can study seriously and I see no reason why these girls shouldn't keep their study room on the fifth floor until appropriate spaces are made available to them."
"Really?" Debbie asked excitedly. "Thank you so much Headmaster."
Headmaster Slinkhard nodded. "You girls study hard," he said. "You may go."
Each of the girls proceeded to thank their Headmaster profusely for letting them keep their space and then proceeded to exit the office as the Headmaster and Professor Longbottom discussed the details of the plan to increase usage of the free space in the castle for inter-house community spaces and the like.
"Well that went well," Sarah commented as they all made their way back to their study room. "For a minute there I was pretty nervous they were going to make us put everything back the way we found it."
"Headmaster Slinkhard is a reasonable man," Debbie noted. "I know he's new here, but I think he's going to make a great Headmaster."
"Why, because he agreed with us?" Julie joked.
"Because he saw the value in what we were saying and decided to make a change that will be beneficial to the entire student population," Debbie clarified. "It's nice to know he isn't just going to sit back and do nothing with his power."
"Very true," Molly agreed.
They returned to their room only to realize that they'd forgotten that they had yet to locate chairs. Since they were exhausted from the day's activities, they elected to turn in for the night and to find chairs the following day. Bidding one another goodnight at the juncture on the seventh floor, the two Gryffindors headed off to Gryffindor Tower and the Ravenclaws started to make their way to Ravenclaw Tower.
"So I hear you got called into the Headmaster's office," Flora said when Sarah and Molly arrived in the dorm ready to fall into bed.
"You heard right," Molly confirmed, not caring to get sucked into the conversation Flora was trying to start.
"What'd you do?" Flora asked, intrigued.
"Nothing special," Molly shrugged. "Listen, I'm tired so I'm going to turn in."
As Molly gathered her bathroom supplies so that she could prepare to go to sleep, she heard Flora whispering to Amber and Eliza.
"It's like they don't even want to try to be friends with us," Flora was saying.
Molly rolled her eyes. She didn't have time to be friends with Flora. She didn't have time to be friends with anyone. Not if she was going to find a way to beat Sarah, Julie, and Debbie in all their classes. Molly hadn't realized prior to arriving at Hogwarts how competitive it was going to be, and she needed to devote all her time to homework and study if she was going to do her father proud. Friendship would only sidetrack her. The only reason she even tolerated Sarah and the other girls was that by studying with them, she would both learn from them and become a better student, and also she would know exactly how they were doing in their classes, and how much better she would have to do in her classes to beat them.
"Goodnight Sarah," Molly said as she closed her curtains around her bed to block out the sight of her roommates gossiping on Flora's bed. Soon she would have to learn the silencing spell so that she could fall asleep peacefully without hearing them either.
"Goodnight Molly," Sarah returned, closing her curtains in turn.
As Molly drifted off to sleep that night, she couldn't help but think once again how nice it was to have a friendly face in the first year Gryffindor girls' dormitory and how much more interesting her time at Hogwarts was going to be spending it with Sarah, Debbie, and Julie.