Week One - Task #04. - "Barmy Beginnings"

[Lex Green]

You take a few steps forward into the hallway of paintings, looking around at the array of frames and portraits you can see. You step up to the first portrait on your left, reaching out your hand to brush off some of the dust covering the image. You look at the painting for a second, realizing it is a familiar scene, and thinking about where you recognize it from. After a moment of looking at it, you place the image - it is a smaller copy of a tapestry located on the seventh floor of Hogwarts, a picture of Barnabus the Barmy attempting to teach trolls ballet.

As this realization hits you, you suddenly find your surroundings changing. Smoke fills the air around you, but for some reason, you can't feel it, and a few seconds later, it clears, and you find yourself in the seventh floor corridor itself, in front of the tapestry. At first, you feel a slight annoyance at being so far away from where you started, but relief at knowing where you are, and then a feeling of unease starts to come over you. This is the seventh floor, but something feels... different.

As you look around, you realize that everything feels older, and somewhat grayer, than the real seventh floor. Glancing back at the tapestry, you realize that the image of Barnabus is also much fainter. You turn around, hoping to see another classmate, but instead of students, the corridor is filled with a group of huge trolls. For a second, you freeze, terrified, but you quickly notice that the trolls all appear to be wearing faded, dusty pink tutus, and none of them are holding clubs. You skirt between them, trying to reach the end of the corridor, and end up standing in front of Barnabus the Barmy himself, as he shouts directions at the series of trolls. He looks at you, and asks where your tutu has gone - he must think you are a troll too! Most of what he says seems to be complete nonsense, and you try your best to get around him and leave the weird, ghostly corridor.

Task:
Solve the following riddles, presented to you by Barnabus, in order to get past him and escape the corridor. Send your answers in a direct message to me and Prof. Sindor Aloyarc by Saturday September 30th at 11:59pm (HOL time).

1. When does today come before yesterday?
2. What is full of holes, but still holds water?
3. What coat is best to put on whilst wet?
4. What is as big as an elephant, but weighs nothing at all?
5. What gets bigger the more you take away?
6. What sort of band never plays music?
7. What has four fingers and a thumb but isn't alive?
8. What has ears but can't hear?
9. What has thirteen hearts, but no other organs?
10. What can run, but has no legs?

Alternatively, create an image showing the scene you see in the seventh floor corridor, or describe it in at least 100 words. If you choose to create an image, this could be a drawing (physical or digital) or another form of visual media, but should show an effort equivalent to solving the riddles or writing 100 words.

Submitting this task will earn you 15 beans, and there are 15 additional bonus beans up for grabs for submitting all the Week One tasks by the deadline, Saturday September 30th at 11:59pm (HOL time).

[Lex Green]

Correct Solutions Received From:
Amy Smith
Dibyarup James Potter
Prof. Will Lestrange
Silvana Mandeville
Kalgri Sicaria
Rosemary Sharpe
Maeve Madden
Prof. Scarlet Leslie-Lewis
Tia Lovegood
Holly David
Penelope Friar
Uma Daurka
Dawn Diya
Janne Halla
Ellie Vernez

[Alexandra Rosier]

The initial terror that gripped me was quickly replaced by bewilderment as I realized that these trolls were unlike any I had ever seen. They all sported faded, dusty pink tutus, and none of them held the menacing clubs typically associated with trolls. They stood there in an oddly comical and non-threatening manner, almost as if they were participants in some bizarre masquerade.

Summoning every ounce of courage, I decided to navigate my way through this unusual gathering of tutu-clad trolls, hoping to reach the end of the corridor and escape this ghostly realm. As I weaved through their towering forms, I couldn't help but marvel at the absurdity of the situation.

Finally, I found myself standing in front of Barnabus the Barmy himself, who was fervently shouting directions at the line of trolls. His gaze fell upon me, and he inquired about the whereabouts of my tutu. It was then that I realized he must have mistaken me for one of his tutu-clad pupils—another troll in disguise.

Most of what Barnabus said appeared to be complete nonsense, a jumble of incomprehensible instructions that left me utterly perplexed. I did my best to maneuver around him, hoping to find an exit and escape the bewildering corridor.

As I pressed forward, I couldn't shake the feeling that I had stepped into a whimsical and surreal dreamscape. The trolls, now devoid of their usual menace, were a surreal sight in their pink tutus, and the enigmatic Barnabus the Barmy only added to the bizarre atmosphere. With each step, I was one moment closer to breaking free from this strange, otherworldly realm and returning to the familiar halls of Hogwarts, where reality and magic were far more predictable.