Staircase Story Competition | Open

December
When the stairs froze

He wasn't sure if he was in the right place or the wrong place when this whole thing with the stairs moving started. He was down the hall from the Hospital Wing and as he looked over a railing he could see the chaos about to unfold. Literally he witnessed some initial screams of those who cared way to much about making it to things on time. Which as much as he loved being on time there was no way he was risking himself in order to be on time for anything.

His original plans dashed he made his way to the Hospital Wing figuring that they'd have a slew of people with injuries.

---

Hours later

There were multiple filled beds and he couldn't believe the things his classmates had said. Then as the next person walked into the wing he said " You can only stay if you can beat our top three in either acts or story. " A lie, as the reality was that anyone injured would be required to stay.

Then he pointed at the bed holding a Gryffindor who was about to graduate as he said " She tried to extend the stairs into a slide. Then her slide fizzled right as she got to the end. " He was pretty sure she still had broken bones even if she'd been practically on the first floor when the spell fizzled.

Then he pointed at a pair of beds holding a pair of younger boys from his own house. With a shake of his head he said " They thought it would be a good idea to take the curtains and transfigure them into ropes to swing and climb between the levels. " Naturally they fell. Thankfully someone tried to make it so they landed on something softer than stone. Though it wasn't soft enough.

Then he pointed at a third nominee for best story's bed and said " They really believed when someone told them that they had a magic carpet and decided to just run with it. It wasn't. " Again thankfully someone intervened catching them as they were flying on a broom. Which meant that they just had a dislocated shoulder from having there arm caught in the air.

Then he looked at the person who just walked in and said " Who you think of my crowd is winning? And can you beat them? "

His personal favorite of the stories was the slide.

When the stairs stopped working, bringing the castle into chaos, Tilly was none the wiser. She had a free period between classes when the stone stairs came to a rumbling halt, so… naturally, she spent her time in one of the many greenhouses. Since she had already been on the level, the obvious choice was the one attached to the Hospital Wing. Putting her long red hair up in a messy bun, she got to work harvesting potion ingredients.

Immersing herself in the dirt and plants was a common character flaw for the spicy ginger haired Gryffindor. It was a well known fact that if she had missed a class, it wasn’t because she was off on some fun adventure. Nope. She was most definitely elbow deep in dirt.

Such a rebel.

The voices in the Hospital Wing waiting area were growing more constant. So much so, that she stopped what she was doing, washed her hands and went to investigate. What she found would help keep her busy for at least a few more hours.

---

Sitting in the waiting room with Bear, snacking on some gummy wands, Tilly waited for a new patient to find their way in. Thankfully, the healing area of the wing was fully staffed and not in need of her completely useless services. So, she sat and quizzed the patients with Bear as they walked in.

" You can only stay if you can beat our top three in either acts or story. " Smiling, Tilly looked over the new patient. There was no obvious head wound or blood, so she didn’t feel bad enjoying this. Bear went over the top three injuries that were currently being treated. Thankfully nothing too serious.

" Who you think of my crowd is winning? And can you beat them? "

The new patient was a 2nd year Gryffindor, one that Tilly had met in passing, but never really got to know. Whenever a lion came into the wing, the injuries were usually because of something relatively stupid. So, she hoped his story was a good one. One thing she did notice was he looked wet… Which should definitely add to the story.

“Well, a bunch of my mates needed to get down to the dungeons for potions, but we were on the third floor. Someone thought that maybe if we poured water down, it would help soften the fall. You know, like jumping in a lake.” Tilly looked at him with horror in her eyes. It was clear why he wasn’t in Ravenclaw. Shaking her head while pinching the bridge of her nose, she waited for the rest of the story.

“So, there were five guys who started shooting water out of their wands, we let it go for a bit, then I volunteered to jump first.” Her head shot up and her eyes got big. “You jumped THREE FLOORS down? Into what? A small puddle?!”

The poor boy looked abashed. As he should! “I don’t know, we thought there would be like a pool to catch us… Ummm, there wasn’t. The Divination Professor stopped me from falling and hitting the floor, but when I fell I caught myself with my wrist. I think it’s broken.” Taking a closer look at his arm, she nodded.

“You’re lucky you arn’t dead. Head to the back someone will get you watched up.”

Resting her head on the back of the chair, she looked at Bear and sighed. “I give him a 6 for creativity, but he loses 5 points for idiocy. A freaking pool. Seriously. For the record, I still think the flying carpet is the winner."

He looked at the new patient as they walked in. The wetness of them confused him. His first guess was that someone dumped a bucket of water on them hoping the association with cold water would have them not repeat whatever stupidity they tried again.

Though as the small 2nd year Gryffindor talked it became clear the water was part of there attempt to deal with the stairs just stopping.

Where Tilly was looking at the boy with horror he'd just reached his point of being dumbfounded with his classmates actions. At this point one couldn't blame the magical going wonky for the dangers of Hogwarts. At this point he thought his classmates were more dangerous than any wonky magic to themselves and others.

The Hospital Wing was definitely the wrong place for Bear to be witnessing the effects of all this. It was diminishing his outlook on his classmates base intelligence dramatically. Most of the wing he declared idiotic.

The boy's wrist was definitely broken.

With a shake of his head he said " You can stay. Sit over there. " Then he pointed to a chair to the side as he certainly wasn't going to give a waiting bed to someone who walked in considering the messes he expected to come next.

Then he looked over towards Tilly and said " I give zero points for creativity as they didn't plan for anything to hold the water. Anyone whose jumped in a puddle knows it isn't like a pool. "

Then he looked at the 2nd year boy and said " You didn't say if there was anything planned to hold the water in your water spouting plan. One last chance to redeem your story what was your plan there? "

Then he looked back towards Tilly and said " The person who handed off the fake magic carpet gets points, the person who tried to use it without testing doesn't. My current winner is the slide as at least that is a viable idea that was thought out even if the magic part didn't work. "

At least the professors and older years were doing something to help out as if they weren't the school would likely be closed over the injuries caused by this mess. He himself had little desire to be homeschooled.

" You didn't say if there was anything planned to hold the water in your water spouting plan. One last chance to redeem your story what was your plan there? "

The kid looked at Bear with wide eyes. “That was Johnny’s job, but I don’t think he knows what he’s doing.” the kid shrugged. Tilly hid her snicker behind her hand, astonished that the kid survived at all. The astonishing part was there were professors and staff all over the castle helping students from one level to another, so these injuries really were nothing more than kids being idiots.

" The person who handed off the fake magic carpet gets points, the person who tried to use it without testing doesn't. My current winner is the slide as at least that is a viable idea that was thought out even if the magic part didn't work. "

Nodding, Tilly took another bite of her candy, while she watched the Healer bring the boy back to the ward. “I’ll concede, so far the slide is superior, but I have faith that something better will come in.”

It was if she conjured the poor girl that hobbled in with the help of her friend. “Welcome to the wing. Please, regale us with the reason for your visit today. Make it good, so far there is very little competition for the top spot.”

Both girls looked at each other, the one limping was obviously embarrassed, the other exasperated by the events that unfolded.

“Well, my sister Bea, the idiot badger before you, needed to get upstairs. So, in her infinite stupidity, she thought it would be best to avoid the professor helping and try CLIMBING UP THE PORTRAITS. She was a good fifteen feet up when one of the frames gave way and she fell to the stairs below. Mother is going to be so horrified. You broke the portrait of the Waving Witch of West Waterline.”

Bea, the third year Hufflepuff looked sufficiently scolded, but also in pain. Tilly looked at the older sister, a Ravenclaw and smiled. “I’m sure your mother will be happy she is ok. Why don’t you take her over there to wait for the next healer.”

Watching the two girls, Tilly smiled. It would be nice to have a sibling at the castle. Or a sibling at all. She had to settle for cousins, all girls mind you. When they all got together there was a lot of laughing and squealing.

“Hmmm, What do you think about that one? I think I give it a 7 for use of available materials. And a 2 for execution.”

“That was Johnny’s job, but I don’t think he knows what he’s doing.”

Johnny was an idiot. Who would trust Johnny? The fact that he wouldn't trust Johnny and this boy's injury just added to the list of reasons why would go unsaid. No sense insulting someone when they were down. As if he said anything about Johnny it would likely insult both Johnny and the injured Gryffindor in front of him.

He let the snicker Tilly slipped out go unjoined beyond a subtle shake of his own head followed by a slight dip of his head in disbelief. He suspected most his classmates wouldn't recognize the emotion behind his subtle action as he did similar so often due to his classmates tendency toward idiocy and jumping into dangerous situations. With him most prone to react that way towards Gryffindors.

“I’ll concede, so far the slide is superior, but I have faith that something better will come in.”

With a look towards the collection of they already had assembled in the wing he said " That's guaranteed. " There was no way the slide could actually win. He said " Well for creativity. The execution winners we'll likely hear about later as they won't end up here. "

Then he looked over the next pair they got. He wasn't sure he'd consider available material to include the portraits. He said " I'm surprised we didn't hear the portraits shouting from here. I wouldn't worry about the Waving Woman. I'm sure they can find another portrait that just waves about. "

The he was shocked that somehow that got a seven for use of available materials.
He said " I'd give that a four for available materials at best. The portraits are on the walls. Transfiguration exists for a reason and making hand and foot holds from the stone walls would have been smarter. "

Though that idea would likely have an execution score that wouldn't put them in the wing.

He looked towards Tilly and said " Think we could convince the healers to teach us some of the spells they are using to actually help these people. Otherwise, perhaps we should start sizing them for crutches and making braces for once the healers fix them up. As no way they can handle this queue. "

All things considered, this was not how she thought her day would go. That being said, hanging out with Bear had been a pleasant switch to her afternoon. " I'd give that a four for available materials at best. The portraits are on the walls. Transfiguration exists for a reason and making hand and foot holds from the stone walls would have been smarter. "

Rolling her eyes, Tilly wholeheartedly disagreed. “Please, she is a 3rd year Hufflepuff. Do you actually, TRULY believe, that she would know how to make hand and foot holds on the walls? She saw an opportunity, used the objects within her grasp… pun intended, and made it higher than most of these kids laying in those beds. AND, she wasn’t bleeding. That deserves WAY more than a 4.”

Sitting there eating nothing but snacks, her stomach was beginning to ache. She should probably wat something more substantial, but again, getting downstairs wasn’t happening right now. Unless she wanted to end up ranked on their list.

" Think we could convince the healers to teach us some of the spells they are using to actually help these people. Otherwise, perhaps we should start sizing them for crutches and making braces for once the healers fix them up. As no way they can handle this queue. "

Peering into the ward, where the injured laid on a number of beds, Tilly shrugged her shoulders. “The actual healing really isn’t my thing. Help yourself if you’d like. I might go back into the greenhouse. There is always something to do there. Wanna join me?”

Standing up, Tilly stretched her arms up and yawned loudly. "There are at least 4 things I need to harvest, and a section of murtlap that needs to be weeded. I can show you some tea recipes I've created for insomnia or upset stomach.

He didn’t notice the roll of Tilly’s eyes. Though her disagreement was obvious. A disagreement that he disagreed with. He said “ Hand holds are just blobs on the wall. One doesn’t have to even be good on the shape as an odd shape is easier to grab anyways as long as it isn’t sharp. “

The fact that the one thing was truly skilled at being Transfiguration clouded his judgement in this manner. Yes, he couldn’t cast the charms everyone else found simple, but to him that was a simple idea. Which meant in his mind it had to be simple for everyone else as the stuff that was more commonly done by his more skilled classmates was out of his grasp.

Then he added after a pause “ A four was generous. I’d give another point in execution for how high she made it.“

He had no idea what the original execution score he gave her was. In fact he was forgetting a lot of the scores handed out. He probably should be writing them in the records.

The greenhouses could be interesting. However, the greenhouses were downstairs and the last thing he wanted to do was put him in a similar position of foolishness as his classmates. Though he was also curious about the actual healing as he did find the hospital his mother worked at interesting. He hoped today would be interesting if he could get in with the healers and out of the waiting room doing triage.

”…Wanna join me?”

He said “ Another day. We got some cool cases here I’d like to see how the healers handle them. “ This could be a rather good learning experience for him if he could get a good viewing spot. Something that he knew would be tough as he was always stuck outside in waiting rooms at his mothers job when he ended up stuck heading there on very rare occasions.

Thought he was definitely tempted. Especially with the tea recipes. He said “ I’d be interested in hearing more about that insomnia tea sometime. “ Not that he had trouble sleeping, but it would be rather useful in the wing when people got too annoying.