Sophie sighed. She used to clean her bedroom back at home the muggle way and she didn't like it. It seemed they would do the same with the brooms. She started wondering if having a broom was worth it after all.

Putting her wand away, she grabbed a sponge from the basket Professor Vindictus had indicated. She went back to her spot and dipped it in the water from her bucket and squeezed it when she lifted it up.

Finally, she held the broom and started wipping its handle. It was probably the first time Sophie felt bored at Hogwarts.

Hm... maybe they would be allowed to fly later? She hoped so!

After the second set of two minutes was up, Sierra made sure the blue towel was on the floor next to the bucket. She grabbed a second towel then took the broom out of the bucket, holding it over the towel that was on the floor. Taking the second towel, she gently pat the tail twigs until they were no longer dripping. It took her a few moments, but she finally got to the point where there was no more dripping.

Ugh...this was really getting messy.

Flicking out her wand and aiming it to the bucket, she said, "Scourgify!" The bucket was rid of its watery contents. She then used the towels to mop up the water that had gathered around. Last, she placed the towels in the bin and the sponges in the basket.

Sophie started humming to make time go faster. Music could make things nicer!

She got up and got a blue towel. She held the broom once again and patted the towel on its handle to dry it.

Oh! That part seemed cooler! Sophie finally smiled as she carefully plunged the tail twigs into the bucket. Stir 7 times counter-clockwise. Right. She started to stir and felt like she was brewing a potion again. Hah! That was cool. When she had stirred it seven times, she stopped and kept the tail twigs submerged for two minutes.

And now we wait...

Vindictus walked around the room and watched the students as they cleaned the brooms. Some were making a mess and a few appeared to be rather irritated with performing manual labor.

"After you're finished cleaning the broom, you need to trim the tail twigs using the tail twig clippers," he said. "Carefully snip away any jagged twigs and do not attempt to reshape the tail. The clippers are all sharp so there shouldn't be an issue with them not working. Dull clippers won't work at all."

"When you're finished trimming the tail twigs, place the clippers back into the supply kit and toss the teensy twig bits into the fire. Then grab a red rag and open the can of polish."

To demonstrate what he meant, he pulled two items out Kurumi's kit.

"Tail twig clippers," Vindictus said as he held the silver clippers up for everyone to see. He then put it back and took out the polish jar. "Fleetwood's High-Finish Handle Polish - the best polish on the market." He put the polish jar back into the kit and reached for a red rag.

"Grab a red rag, unscrew the lid and dip the rag into the jar. Scoop out about a Knut's size glob of polish and then make sure you put the lid back on the jar. Work the polish into the rag for about a minute or two - this action will warm up the polish and make it easier to apply."

Well, they did need to know the simple trick or else they'd waste the polish and apply too much!

"Gently rub the polish onto the broom handle in a small circular pattern. Make sure you overlap the areas. Do not rush this step - take your time! Once you've completely polish all over the handle, wait five minutes. The polish will dry and leave a hazy finish on the wood. Grab a clean towel and gently buff off the dried polish in a small circular pattern. When you finish, repeat the polishing step again. After buffing the broom handle after the second polish application, the wood should be shining like glass. If you can't see your reflection in the handle, then you must repeat the polishing step again."

Grin.

"For those who are ready to begin polishing their brooms, please begin."


OOC: If you haven't cleaned your broom (or need to finish the first step), please continue and then move on to this one.

Please continue to title your posts with your post number (post 1, post 2 . . . post 8, post 9, etc.) This step should take at least 4 posts - have some fun and be creative, but no polish fights!

Steps 1 and 2 should have a combined minimum number of 8 posts (again, continue numbering your posts - eg. post 5, post 6, post 7, etc.).

I'll post again with the 3rd step of the lesson when I get home from work tomorrow.

It was when he realized that he needed to retrieve another towel that Gideon registered that he probably should have grabbed it while waiting for the 2 minutes to be up. Oh well, at least he wasn't too far from where the professor and the various baskets were. Putting the damp towel on the floor as directed, he brought the dripping broom from over the bucket to over the towel, letting it drip dry a little. He then grabbed for the other towel, before going to work on patting the tail twigs dry and making a note to wipe up any drips he might have made later on.

When Gideon felt the broom was dry, he rested it back on the table and exchanged it for his wand so he could get started on cleaning up. "Scourgify," he cast, vanishing the soapy water and its dirty contents from the bucket, returning it beneath the table where it had been found. The Gryffindor then bent down and wiped up any spills before grabbing the sponge as well and walking over to the baskets, dropping each item into the proper one.

Whew...that set of instruction was done.

After the two-minutes-waiting part, Sophie stirred the broom clockwise seven times. More waiting needed to be done... Sophie kept humming until time was up and she could take the tail twigs out of the bucket.

Uh... they needed to place the towel on the floor first. So holding the broom with one hand, Sophie stretched both of her arms, bending over so she could reach the towel and place it on the floor next to the bucket. She stood up straight again and held the broom over the bucket. She shook it a little to let the water excess fall back in the bucket and bent down again to grabb the other blue towel.

Sigh. Sophie started patting the tail twigs. Pat pat pat pat pat. It took a little while until they were no longer dripping. Finally, she placed the broom on the table. Phew!

Onto the easy part! Pulling out her wand again, Sophie pointed to the bucket. "Scourgify!" And it was empty again! She smiled and grabbed the blue towels to mop up any wet spots around her. She walked over to the towel bin and trew both of the ones she was holding there, then she placed the sponge she had used in the basket to the left of the fireplace.

Taylor listern to the professor as he said the next thing they had to do to take care of their brooms. She looked down at the broom she just cleaned with the sudsy water and then at the kit. Tay took out the clippers and started to trim the tail. She made sure that she got all the jagged edges. Also she made sure NOT to reshape the tail so that the professor wouldn't be mad. Once she was finish with the trimming, Taylor put the clippers back into the kit and threw the pieces that she cut off into the fire. She walked over to where the red rags were and grabbed one. Tay went back to where she was working at and sat the rag down. She opened the jar of polish up. Taylor was impressed that the school had the best polish on the market since schools hardly ever have the best anything.

Annabelle grabbed a blue towel and gently pat the handle dry. She carefully plunge the tail twigs into the bucket. She Slowly stirred the twigs counter-clockwise seven times, then stop and keep the tail twigs submerged in the sudsy water for approximately 2 minutes. Then she stirred clockwise seven times and submerge for another 2 minutes. "This seems kind of easy." she said happily.

Taylor dipped the red rag into the jar and got a knut size drop of the smooth polish. She was trying not to get it on her hand. Tay worked the polish on the rag for a few minutes, like the professor said until it warmed up some. She gently rubbed the now warm polish onto the handle in a small circular pattern. Taylor took her time rubbing the polish on the handle and made sure she overlapped the areas. Once she was done rubbing the good quality polish onto the handle, Tay let it sit for five minutes as instructed.

Dull clippers won't work at all. Well, that solved her problem with her old rusty clippers she had found in her kit. Just because she was curious, Kurumi picked them up in her right hand and spread some of the tail twigs out a bit to make it easier to try and clip just one. Pressing down on the handle hard, Kurumi attempted to clip off an especially splintered twig...only to find that they did just as Professor Vindictus had said: nothing.

Sighing, Kurumi set the useless clippers to the side, not returning them to the kit because they needed to be dealt with, and looked around. "Anyone already finish clipping?" she asked, waving her right hand in the air to hopefully draw attention to herself. "I need a pair of sharp clippers, please."

TAylor heard the older gryffindor girl asked if anyone already finished clipping. She still had a minute to wait so she picked up her own clippers and walked to where the girl was. "Here you go." TAylor smiled and gave the girl the clippers. She would of introduced herself but she feared that the professor might get mad. Tay looked over at the professor then went back to where she was working at. TAylor went over and got a new towel. She gently buffed the handle in a small circular pattern. After buffing, she looked at the broom and quietly sighed. It was time for the second polishing...

Sophie once again watched as Professor Vindictus gave the instructions. She didn't have the most excited expression on her face, but didn't make an I-can't-take-this-anymore face either.

She looked down at the broom cleaning kit thingy and got the silver clippers. She stared at it, then at the broom, and then back at it again. She checked to see if it was working, like she was trying to cut the air.

Pulling the broom closer, Sophie started trimming the tail twigs. That was easier than she thought! Professor Vindictus was right, the clippers were indeed really good and sharp. She turned the broom around to make sure she didn't miss any jagged twigs. Nope, it was all nice and trimmed!

When the clippers were back in the supply kit, Sophie got all the pieces of twigs she had cut out and walked up to the fireplace to toss them there. She watched for a couple of seconds as they burned away and went back to her spot.

Sophie looked over to an older Gryffindor girl asking for clippers. "You can use mine, if you want!"

Minerva went over and got the twig cutters for her broom. Once she had them she moved her broom around on the table so that the twigs were sticking off the table, but the handle was resting nicely on the table. She bent down to be at a good angle and began to snip twigs off. She wanted it to look nice like her black/yellow one did last term. She continued to shape the twigs until they looked like a new broom all straight without any sticking out in weird places and they were all at a perfect angle.

Taylor scooped up another dab of the waxy polish onto the red rag. She worked the wax again for a few minutes so that it would warm up and be easier to apply. Tay glanced down at her broom again and lowered the rag onto the handle for the second polish. She gently applied the wax in a small circular pattern, up and down the handle, overlapping the areas. Taylor took her time with the polishing, and was starting to enjoy the lesson despite how the broom looked before she started cleaning it up. She got done polishing it a second time. Tay started the five minute wait.

Once Minerva was done clipping the twigs from her broom she walked over and put the clippers back where she had taken them to use. She then picked up a red rag and a jar of polish and walked back to her broom. She unscrewed the lid and dipped the rag into the polish. Minerva then scooped out a knut size glob of polish and then put the lid back on the jar tightly so it wouldn't dry out, even though with magic it probably wouldn't. She took the rag and worked the polish into the rag for a minute or two feeling the polish warm up through the rag.

Monica listened to the next set of instructions. After the professor had finished giving directions, Monica took the twig clippers from her kit and began to snip off the loose twigs. The thin sticks fell to the table in a pile. Once she had turned the tail all the way around checking from stray pieces, Monica set down the tiny scissors and swept up the clippings into her hand. She walked over to the fireplace and threw in the scraps.

Sophie got a red rag and a can of polish. She unscrewed the lid and dipped the rag into it. Ehh.. it felt weird. Scooping up some polish, she quickly put the lid back on the jar.

Heh? Work the polish into the rag? Weird. But oh well! Sophie started to do as Professor Vindictus had told and showed them. She hoped the polish was indeed getting warm, at least, and the polishing part was fast. It sounded oh so boring... polishing... blah.

After the five minute wait, TAylor grabbed a towel and started to gently buff in a small circular pattern, up and down the broom handle. She was going really slow at this buff. Tay wanted to hum really bad as she worked but resisted so that she wouldn't annoyed anyone especially the professor. Taylor finally got the buffing done the second time and laid the broom down. She stepped back to admire her handiwork. She stepped closer again and stared down at the broom, to make sure she could see her reflection in it...... yep she could see a reflection. Tay smiled down at the broom and her reflection smiled up at her. She then waited for the professor to continue.

Jory carefully listened to the next set of instructions. "Trim the tail twigs,'' he repeated in his head.

He rummaged through his kit and found the tail twig clippers identical to the one the Professor had just pulled out from Kurumi's kit.

Finding some out of place twigs, the Hufflepuff with care, clipped them off of the broomstick. The clippers were so sharp, he had no problems at all.

Monica got a rag and returned to her broom. She took out the can of polish and unscrewed the cap. She dipped in her rag and scrapped the side of the container to retrieve some polish. She idly sat whilst rubbing the polish into the cloth. She could feel the polish warming in her hands. Once smoothed, Monica began to rub the polish onto the broom handle in small circular motions.

Alyssa watched as the Professor demonstrated how they had to trim the tail twigs and polish the handle. She then pulled over her journal and quickly added the next steps the Professor had given them into her journal.



Once she had written down all the instructions, she proceeded to open her supply kit and remove the tail twig clippers and the jar of polish. She read off the label on the jar. "Fleetwood's High-Finish Handle Polish. So this is the best. Will definitely need to remember that the next time I go to Diagon Alley."Alyssa told herself. "First let's trim off your twigs, Mr. Broom" Alyssa whispered to the broom that was lying on the table in front of her. She picked up the clippers and moving closer to the tail end of the broom, she closely examined the tail twigs and clipped off only the twigs that looked jagged, leaving the others along. She slowly checked each twig making sure that she had cut off every jagged one, before returning the clippers back into the supply kit.

She then swept up the cut twigs into her hand and walked over to the fireplace tossed the twigs into it.

Monica worked the polish from the tip of the broomstick down to the tail. After the whole handle had been covered, she waited for five minutes for the polish set in. Monica daydreamed as she gazed at the dancing flames in the fireplace. She glanced over at her broom and saw it changing right before her eyes. The handle was growing hazier, like a window fogging up in the cold.

Kurumi didn't have to wait long for someone to offer her some clippers. "Thank you," Kurumi chirped, bowing her head in gratitude as she accepted them. She would be sure to return them to the girl's kit when she was done. Slipping her fingers in the holders, Kurumi pulled on one of the splintered tail twigs again and was just about to clip away when...
Oh? Another person was offering her clippers. It was nice to know that people were willing to share. "Oh, thank you, but I've already borrowed a pair," she said with a smile before setting her mind back to the task at hand.

Painstakingly, Kurumi clipped each tail twig that needed clipping individually and set the bits on the table in a neat row. More than once, Kurumi had set the clippers down and held the broom up very close to her face to inspect it, making sure that no jagged twigs - no matter how big or small - went unnoticed. Kurumi continued to clip away at the broom until she could see no more splintered ends. Of course, she could have gone over with a magnifying glass to make sure that everything was perfect...but she really didn't care about brooms THAT much to do so. Besides, Professor Vindictus needed something to do in the evenings...possibly.

Kurumi then walked back over to the Ravenclaw girl and handed her the clippers. "Thank you again," she said with a wink as she set them down on the table and then returned to her own broom.

There, the polish on the rag was warm enough now. Hopefully.

Sophie held the broom again and started rubbing the polish onto the handle in a small circular pattern, just like Professor Vindictus had demonstrated. Oh gosh, this would take forever! Sophie sighed and kept on doing that until all of the handle was had been polished. It seemed to have taken forever! Gah!

Now some more waiting... humming would help. Again. She looked around to watch her classmates while she waited, but they were all doing boring stuff too.

Sophie smiled at the older girl. "Alright then!"

After the five minutes, Sophie grabbed a clean towel and started buffing off the dried polish. Once again, in a small circular pattern. Blaaaah...

After placing the clippers back into the kit, Jory disposed of the the trimmed twigs by throwing them into the fire. He took a red rag from the pile, as instructed, and opened the can of Fleetwood's polish. .

Next, he dipped the rag into the polish and took out an average of a Knut of the polish. Jory carefully tried not to drop any as he replaced the lid on the jar. He didn't want to make any mess for he was not a fan of cleaning up.

He rubbed the polish into the rag for about a minute and a half before proceeding to the next step.