6th Years Hufflepuff & Ravenclaws

[Nicole Shalen]

Down the marble stairs and into the corridor with multiple classroom doors on its sides. The teacher was nervous, even though she had already met these students and taught them as well. Her hands were clasped together, hot and a little sweaty. Come on, Nicole, she told herself, you've done this before. She reached out to the classroom door with a key and unlocked it. The professor left the door wide open so the students would know where to come if they forgot.

Professor Shalen lit the chain of candles and opened the old windows. A nice, warm breeze blew in carrying the scent of autumn leaves. She smiled subtly and made sure each table set for two was fully stocked with parchment, quills, inkwells, and blotters in case the odd-ball student might have forgotten. She pulled a few books out and placed them on the tables. They were not on the list, so the students would not have purchased them.

The chalkboard behind her was dusty, and she had not even noticed yesterday. She wiped it clean with a little water on a rag and let it dry. Nicole pulled out some hoaxed chalk and had it write the page number of 391 on the board. When it was finished, she caught the white chalk as it fell and placed it on the tray beside her desk.

Professor Shalen greeted a Ravenclaw student as he entered and took a seat with his friend at the front. She seated herself at her dest, and charmed the drawers to open themselves. She took out her notebook and turned to the page with attendence written neatly across the top and a list of names below it. She dipped the tip of her quill in ink and put a checkmark by the first two names. A few other students from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw alike went in.

She glanced to the grandfather clock in the northwestern corner of the room. Three minutes until class. A fight was forming with words, and Nicole raised her voice. "You will be seated, Mister Falton," she said quite sternly, and the whole class seemed to quiet. The woman gave a cold stare at the three boys, and continued checking students off her list.

[Abbie Chalk]

Abbie strolled into the classroom with a look of triumph and relaxation on her face. Of course, she was of neither. Her relaxation attitude had faded just a few corridors away when she was so excited to be starting a new year that she sprinted to class. All thoughts of being calm had ceased to exist in her body and she was filled with pure adrenaline. But, right before she entered she classroom, she gathered herself back up and took a deep breath. Her normal look of comfort was returned and she gladly took one of the seats in the very first row. Her eyes quickly whipped around the room before she turned her back to the class so that she could sit in her seat. All were wearing blue ties which made a smile appear. She was with the Ravenclaws.

Abbie always loved a challenge. Not that she was competitive or anything. She just loved finishing first. Her entire world, while she was in the Charms or Transfiguration classrooms, revolved around succeeding first. In her second year she had Charms with Ravenclaw during the first semester and Abbie could recall thoroughly enjoying it. The students in that house lived up to it's expectations and they were very interested in the subject. Their hands shot up just about as fast as Abbie's. Although, she was rather pleased to see that her's was almost always first. At least, it always was in Charms. Charms was her favorite subject and not even some of the best Ravenclaws had beaten her high mark in that class.

Yet, they could always try. She loved flipping the pages of the book and then watching, almost in slow motion, as all the hands shot up seconds after her's. Occasionally before a question was asked, she would be rather cocky and eye a random student. From there, she would attempt to get his attention all period until he noticed that she was challenging him. Immediately, if the student were a Ravenclaw or Slytherin, they would accept and for the rest of the semester they would battle for the grade. After each question they would both shoot their hands up even if neither of them knew it. But, Abbie was a quick thinker and could usually come up with an answer by the time she was called on.

Hopefully, this year would be exactly like that. She was looking forward to having fun this time and would enjoy torturing some innocent student with a little friendly competition. Once she found her quill, ink blot, and a fresh piece of parchment, Abbie turned her head around again to view the entire class behind her. They all seemed to be rather smart and there was even one boy who she recognized as the boy she had challenged in her fourth year. He waved with a smile on his face and she genuinely waved back before trailing her eyes over more of the students present.