Club Proposal (Murphy)

[Henry Whitmore]

Henry strode through the castle corridors with a determined glint in his eye. Clutched in his hand was a neatly written proposal for the Forbidden Forest Club—a passion project he had spent weeks outlining. If all went well, Professor Murphy, his Head of House, would approve the idea and back him to make the club official.

Reaching the staff room door, Henry came face-to-face with the two stone gargoyles guarding the entrance. He barely had time to open his mouth before one of them rumbled, "Password?" in a deep, gravelly voice.

Henry blinked. Oh. Right.

He hadn't considered that particular obstacle. Shifting his weight awkwardly, he tried his luck.

"Er... dedication?"

No response.

"Hard work?"

The second gargoyle let out what could only be described as a bored huff.

"Uh... curiosity? Ambition? Twelve uses of dragon’s blood?" Henry's list of desperate guesses was met with complete indifference. The gargoyles remained stone-faced (literally), refusing to budge.

With a resigned sigh, he stepped back, stuffing his proposal into his pocket. He supposed he had no choice but to wait. Leaning against the cool stone wall, he kept his eyes on the passing students and professors, hoping that Professor Murphy would come by soon.

Waiting wasn’t ideal, but Henry wasn’t going to let something as small as a locked door stop him—not when the Forbidden Forest Club was at stake.