Year One
Chapter 6: Quills vs Ballpoint Pens
It was the first week of term after Christmas holidays! Maddy and Violet had both gone home on the train to visit their families and bring them magical gifts they'd created at school. Their parents and siblings had been curious of their time at Hogwarts and the girls had endeavored to tell them everything! However it was a bit difficult for them to make their family understand some of the theories behind the magic. It was a bit difficult for the girls to understand some of the theories behind the magic. They'd had a whole two weeks with their families, but eventually, they had to return to school. However they weren't returning empty-handed.
The two girls had had enough of quills and parchment and had decided to invest in a small supply of spiral notebooks, mechanical pencils, and ballpoint pens. None of the items were electronic in anyway so they didn't see why they shouldn't work at Hogarts. They were proven right on their first class of term. Maddy's first class of term was History of Magic, and Violet's was Charms. Both of them brought their new writing equipment to class to the amazement of their peers. Professor Binns, of course, didn't notice anything in History of Magic, and instead of listening to the ghost drone on about the revolution of something or another, Maddy began taking orders to get everyone some notebooks and pens of their own.
Violet on the other hand had gotten so much attention in Charms, that Professor Rhys had to pause class to see what was going on. "Sorry, Professor!" Violet apologized to the slight woman. "It's just something that I brought with from home."
"Is that a ballpoint pen?" the small woman asked.
"Um, yes?"
Professor Rhys smiled and nodded. "Excellent replacement for quill and ink. Personally prefer them meself!" The students' eyes widened at this pronouncement. Professor Rhys looked around a bit before rolling her eyes. "I am a half-blood. Me mum's a muggle and dad's a wizard. I grew up with a muggle education though. Mum was a teacher at a secondary school. Now, can we please get back to Charms? You all can speak with Violet after class if you're interested in her pen and notebook."
And that was how Hogwarts was suddenly inundated with muggle writing equipment. Maddy and Violet had some owled in for their friends, which started the other students asking their muggleborn friends to get them some as well. It got to the point where the professors had to remind everyone that assignments were to be turned in on parchment, not notebook paper. However after a week of students still turning assignments in on notebook paper, they re-adjusted the rules so that notebook paper was acceptable, but the fringes had to be removed and multiple sheets had to be stapled together.
Authors' Notes: This was always something that I wondered about with the HP books. Why wouldn't the muggleborns use pens? So much easier than dealing with quills and ink. Quills and ink would be a novelty at first, but after that more of a nuisance.