errand solo How To Make Teabag Animals? Fin.

June was hands down Lizzie's favorite month. It was that nice transition time between slightly too-cold-spring and way too-warm-summer. Usually, it was a nice medium temperature, warm enough to wear shorts and t-shirts, but not hot enough to keep people inside. The days when people stepped outside and exclaimed, "it's a nice day today!" That day in particular was no different.

A gentle breeze blew through the courtyard and the sun beamed down, its warm rays tickling Lizzie's skin. She tilted her head to the sky, taking in the beautiful day. Her red curls danced around her shoulders, encouraged by the breeze and a smile lit up her face. It was such a nice day. A nice day to make teabag animals also. Gryffindor Prefect Griseldis had brought up the idea and the house elves had been so kind as to set up tables and bring all the supplies needed to make the dainty animal-shaped teabags.

Lizzie looked forward to the time to herself. From what she'd heard from other students, it was a relaxing experience and a lot of fun. It seemed like it would be. Just sitting there, drinking tea, eating biscuits, and carefully turning filter paper into an animal. Sure, it could easily become frustrating, but being an artist, Lizzie had confidence in her abilities. If she could paint and draw well, how hard could sewing be?

Famous last words, she realized, not even halfway through her first teabag.

Once she'd picked a table, she'd mulled over what type of tea she wanted to put in the teabag, and ended up settling on Green Tea. A house elf had kindly brought over a pot of her requested tea, she thanked them, and started to sketch out a cat on the filter paper. It had been no contest as to what animal she'd make her first one. Her favorite animal was and had always been, a cat, so it only made sense if she made a cat teabag.

It had started off well. Her cat sketch looked cute and she'd made sure to cut a border around the actual sketch so that there was room for her to sew. But when she'd gone to sew it together, it just looked wrong... It bulged in the wrong places, the ears weren't aligned properly and it didn't look like the cute kitty Lizzie had been imagining.

"Come on," she muttered to herself, surveying the imperfect cat in front of her. Sewing was much harder than she'd thought it was. Even her stitches on it looked crooked! A sudden urge to throw the failed teabag across the courtyard overcome her, and it took all of her will to not do it. Throwing it like it meant nothing to her would only be admitting defeat. Gryffindors did not admit defeat. Ever. One of her house's traits was determination. Determination to make the teabag look the way she wanted it to. She would not give up. Sure, her first try didn't go well, but practice makes perfect. Right?

With a long sigh, Lizzie gave her weird-looking cat one more look before she gently placed it into her cup of tea. Once the teabag had been fully immersed, she immediately started to sketch version two on one of the many sheets of filter paper at her table. Last time, she'd drawn the cat sitting up and licking his paw, which she'd decided was too complicated and that was why it failed. This time, she went with a simpler cat sunbathing.

She absentmindedly took a sip of her tea, and nearly dropped it when she saw something moving in it. Gently placing the cup on the table, she peered inside, only to notice the failed teabag she'd put in there was swimming around. She reeled back in surprise. Merlin's red socks! Of course, the teabags had to have something to them. She took a closer look, and the teabag still sported the same unaligned ears, but it was moving like it was alive.

"That's so cool..." she breathed, suddenly more content with the failed teabag.

After taking another sip of her tea, she continued to work on version two of the cat. The sketch looked good, so she cut it out and was starting the sewing process. Unlike last time, it took her a couple of stabbed fingers and curses to thread the needle. It already seemed like this teabag wasn't going to come out well.

The sewing of it actually went really well, in Lizzie's opinion. It wasn't nearly as crooked as it was last time, and the cat actually looked like a cat. She may or may not have ripped one of the arms off mid-way through sewing, but she fixed it, so there's need to mention it. But the repair wasn't exactly subtle, so maybe it is worth mentioning.

Pride coursed through her, and her face of determination gave way to one of pride and happiness. After that first failure, she wasn't really sure she'd be able to make a teabag she was happy with, but now that she had, she felt practically invincible, like she could take over the world on her second try. Not that she'd do that. But respect the figurative language.

Practically glowing, Lizzie decided that instead of immediately making a new cup of tea, just to see her creation float in it, she'd send it to her mother. Her mother had tea every morning, so maybe it would brighten up one morning. Yeah, that was a good idea. She guessed she'd have to write a letter with it, as she'd only written a couple of letters to her family throughout the year. And to explain what it is. She wouldn't want them to get her owl with just the cat teabag attached and wonder "what is this? An ornament?!"

Standing from the table, Lizzie drank the last of her tea and ate her last biscuit. Mmm the house elves really knew how to make tea and biscuits. Taking one last glance around the courtyard, Lizzie headed off to her common room. She had a letter to write, and a package to convince her brother to lend her his owl for. If she could even find her common room, that is.

Word Count: 1043