The issue isn't the next cap. The real issue is that there is an opportunity to have the +5 from A+ to E- for all DADA rolls that is available with one 50% roll and one 95% roll. And, as I stated before, a +5 bonus is large (+7 from our current state) not only because it affect combat rolls, but because it affects ALL DADA research and the bonus affects the DC if it doesn't pass the first round.

To compare, we are currently okay with spending 3-5 personal actions to build Goggles, which give a +5 to combat rolls and are useful in tracking/investigation. Don't get me wrong- I am in support of them because I like the story purpose and the ??? is enticing. But, it is an example of what is or is not "worth" a personal action.

Would I have preferred to put the Level up in creativity? Certainly- but we also have to look into opportunity costs. If we get creativity and then a DADA stat up (which may take 2-4 Personal Actions), that +5 is for every bonus from now on because of the Ravenclaw Bonus. We will not get the Ravenclaw bonus again until the middle of Year 4- so that is seven months of missing out on +7 bonus for DADA and research.

Plus, we are currently on something of a timer: Ancient Runes is at A+, meaning that we need to get 4 more skills at A+ by the mid of Year 4 if we want to most smoothly go through the 12 skill barrier. Saving a personal action or two through the increased bonus might have been nice as would the increase in combat rolls.

This is a long way of saying: 50% was not ideal, but it was still a great move to do that would have helped us throughout every plan going on.

All of this is a great point (especially the thing about getting through the skill threshold), between the goggles and DADA we could get a +12 compared to where we currently are in terms of combat which is actually pretty nutty. There's a very good chance it's going to be useful since since Peter (despite being cowardly) is a fully grown wizard and Lupin might go furry on us.

Also, I don't know about everyone else, but having Ancient Runes of all things as our best subject with all the exploring we do just doesn't feel right, we're going to need DADA quite extensively going forward, so I'm going to make a plan that aims to get the bonus.

[x] Plan Goggles, Black and Combat
-[X] LOCKED: Case V: The Search for Sirius Black (2 Actions [1 Action in May, 1 Action in June])
-[X] Overdrive applicable: Do Something! Learn about Animagus (how do you become one, limitations, examples, etc.)
-[X] Overdrive applicable: Do Something! Visit with Professor Lupin - Lupin is the one person in the castle that has intimate knowledge of Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew. Perhaps he can help make the pieces of this mystery fall into place.
-[X] Random Encounter – Just… Go and live your life. You don't need to plan everything in your life out.
-[X]x9 personal actions.
--[X] Work on x 9 (Ghostly Goggles, Creativity, DADA, Immobulus, Diffindo, Waddiwasi (Basic Understanding), Incendio (Deep Understanding), Accio, Reducio, Expelliarmus (Deep Understanding))

Only difference here between Goggles On, Find Black is that the Con and Mind Arts training went to Creativity and DADA training was put ahead of Immobulus in the Work On action.

Thoughts?

Edit: Took away the creativity training and added it to the work on action ahead of DADA and added using a time echo to make sure we get the DADA roll and don't have a chance of having to roll again when we otherwise wouldn't need to.

Edit 2: Got rid of the time echo, it'll likely be a waste. 96% chance it isn't useful at all.
 
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An idea is to put all x9 actions into the work on and then put creativity after Goggles. If the DADA is dependant on creativity upping once, that is the best way to ensure it. Even with 2 actions, there is still a 25% of not getting the level up after 2 rolls.

Also, not a fan of using Time Echoes. They have the potential to be so powerful and are not easily gained that using them for only a +5 on a roll seems a bit wasteful.
 
An idea is to put all x9 actions into the work on and then put creativity after Goggles. If the DADA is dependant on creativity upping once, that is the best way to ensure it. Even with 2 actions, there is still a 25% of not getting the level up after 2 rolls.

Also, not a fan of using Time Echoes. They have the potential to be so powerful and are not easily gained that using them for only a +5 on a roll seems a bit wasteful.

Good idea, I'll change it to that.

As for time echoes I think it could be worth to chuck one on DADA so that we gurantee the level up and not have a potentially wasted roll there. Low chance of failure, but it's also a low cost to remove it entirely.
 
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Do you think it'd be better to gurantee it for 10 time echoes or take the chance and use fewer?
I don't think we need to use 10, time echoes are precious. Maybe 5 would be a minimal as it give us the same chance of failing as using 2 action on training creativity.

Also, not a fan of using Time Echoes. They have the potential to be so powerful and are not easily gained that using them for only a +5 on a roll seems a bit wasteful.

If we never try to use them we will not be able to learn more about them.
 
I wonder what Megan would feel if she knew the extent of things we are hiding from her, especially with the map, mind arts and the dark arts. It's pretty cute how Jacob is dense as osmium when it comes to romance.
 
Adhoc vote count started by Dutch on Jan 8, 2023 at 2:07 PM, finished with 155 posts and 26 votes.

  • [x] Plan Goggles On, Find Black
    -[X] LOCKED: Case V: The Search for Sirius Black (2 Actions [1 Action in May, 1 Action in June])
    -[X] Overdrive applicable: Do Something! Learn about Animagus (how do you become one, limitations, examples, etc.)
    -[X] Overdrive applicable: Do Something! Visit with Professor Lupin - Lupin is the one person in the castle that has intimate knowledge of Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew. Perhaps he can help make the pieces of this mystery fall into place.
    -[X] Random Encounter – Just… Go and live your life. You don't need to plan everything in your life out.
    -[x]x9 personal actions.
    --[x] Train Constitution x1
    --[x] Legilimency & Occlumency x1
    --[x] Work on x 7 (Ghostly Goggles, Immobulus, Diffindo, Waddiwasi (Basic Understanding), Incendio (Deep Understanding), Accio, Reducio, Expelliarmus (Deep Understanding))
    [x] Plan Googles, Lupin, and Black
    -[X] LOCKED: Case V: The Search for Sirius Black (2 Actions [1 Action in May, 1 Action in June])
    -[X] Overdrive applicable: Do Something! Visit with Professor Lupin - Lupin is the one person in the castle that has intimate knowledge of Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew. Perhaps he can help make the pieces of this mystery fall into place.
    -[X] Overdrive applicable: Do Something! Learn about Animagus
    -[X] Overdrive applicable: Do Something! Learn about Werewolves
    -[x]x9 personal actions.
    --[x] Work on x9 (Ghostly Goggles, Immobulus, Diffindo, Waddiwasi (Basic Understanding), Reducio, Incendio (Deep Understanding) Expelliarmus (Deep Understanding), Flipendo (Deep Understanding), Accio )
    [X] Plan: goggles
    -[X] LOCKED: Case V: The Search for Sirius Black (2 Actions [1 Action in May, 1 Action in June])
    -[X] Overdrive applicable: Brew (5x Uncommon Antidote)
    -[X] Overdrive applicable: Do Something! Learn about Animagi
    -[X] Overdrive applicable: Do Something! Learn about Werewolves
    -[X] Actions 5 + 4 = 9
    --[X] Ghostly Goggles x 5, if finished early, do more Learning spells (Requires Alchemy and Ancient Runes skill of at least P), DC: 400.
    --[X] Overdrive applicable: Learning x4 (Immobulus, Diffindo, Incendio (Deep Understanding), Reducio, Expelliarmus (Deep Understanding))
    [x] Plan Goggles, Black and Combat
    -[X] LOCKED: Case V: The Search for Sirius Black (2 Actions [1 Action in May, 1 Action in June])
    -[X] Overdrive applicable: Do Something! Learn about Animagus (how do you become one, limitations, examples, etc.)
    -[X] Overdrive applicable: Do Something! Visit with Professor Lupin - Lupin is the one person in the castle that has intimate knowledge of Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew. Perhaps he can help make the pieces of this mystery fall into place.
    -[X] Random Encounter – Just… Go and live your life. You don't need to plan everything in your life out.
    -[x]x9 personal actions.
    --[X] Work on x 9 (Ghostly Goggles, Creativity, DADA, Immobulus, Diffindo, Waddiwasi (Basic Understanding), Incendio (Deep Understanding), Accio, Reducio, Expelliarmus (Deep Understanding))
    -[X] Completing the Case
    [X] LOCKED: Case V: The Search for Sirius Black (2 Actions [1 Action in May, 1 Action in June]
    -[X] Overdrive applicable: Do Something! Learn Animagus
    -[X] Overdrive applicable: Do Something! Learn about Werewolves
    -[X] Overdrive applicable: Do Something! Learn what a Secret Keeper is
    -[X] Ghostly Goggles x 5, if finished early, do more Training (Requires Alchemy and Ancient Runes skill of at least P), DC: 400.
    -[X] Overdrive applicable: Train, Learn, Achieve- [Stamina]
    --[X] Overdrive applicable: Learning x3 In Order (Immobulus, Diffindo, Expelliarmus (Deep Understanding))
    [X] Plan: Goggles with Sirius Black's Poción Vital
    -[X] LOCKED: Case V: The Search for Sirius Black (2 Actions [1 Action in May, 1 Action in June])
    -[X] Overdrive applicable: Brew (Poción Vital)
    -[X] Overdrive applicable: Do Something! Learn about Animagi
    -[X] Overdrive applicable: Do Something! Learn about Werewolves
    -[X] Actions 5 + 4 = 9
    --[X] Ghostly Goggles x 5, if finished early, do more Learning spells (Requires Alchemy and Ancient Runes skill of at least P), DC: 400.
    --[X] Overdrive applicable: Learning x4 (Immobulus, Poción Vital, Diffindo, Incendio (Deep Understanding), Reducio, Expelliarmus (Deep Understanding))
    [x] Plan Googles, Lupin, and Black
    -[X] LOCKED: Case V: The Search for Sirius Black (2 Actions [1 Action in May, 1 Action in June])
    -[X] Overdrive applicable: Do Something! Visit with Professor Lupin - Lupin is the one person in the castle that has intimate knowledge of Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew. Perhaps he can help make the pieces of this mystery fall into place.
    -[X] Overdrive applicable: Do Something! Learn about Animagus
    -[X] Random Encounter – Just… Go and live your life. You don't need to plan everything in your life out.
    -[x]x9 personal actions.
    --[x] Work on x9 (Ghostly Goggles, Immobulus, Diffindo, Waddiwasi (Basic Understanding), Reducio, Incendio (Deep Understanding) Expelliarmus (Deep Understanding), Flipendo (Deep Understanding), Accio )
 
I wonder what Megan would feel if she knew the extent of things we are hiding from her, especially with the map, mind arts and the dark arts. It's pretty cute how Jacob is dense as osmium when it comes to romance.
The funniest thing is that Jacob isn't even "hiding" those things from his friends, the same way he is not hiding the Patronus from Lupin, he is just a private dude uninterested in fame or bragging rights to the point of absurdity... I am pretty sure that if Megan or any of his asked him directly for the Hidden City, or his knowledge of the Dark Arts, or anything else Jacob response would be "Yeah, sure... What about it? Wanna join next time?"
Honestly, I like this idea. Heck, if we could prove to wizarding Spain that the UK are incompetent morons, they may give him asylum just to thumb their nose at Fudge.
TBH, since Wizard's society changes extremely slowly I could see Wizarrding Spain to give the Asylum to Sirius merely for "Fuck you, that's why", since Spain and England have had a beef with each other for centuries...
 
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10.1 June, 1994
[x] Plan Goggles On, Find Black
-[X] LOCKED: Case V: The Search for Sirius Black (2 Actions [1 Action in May, 1 Action in June])
-[X] Overdrive applicable: Do Something! Learn about Animagus (how do you become one, limitations, examples, etc.)
-[X] Overdrive applicable: Do Something! Visit with Professor Lupin - Lupin is the one person in the castle that has intimate knowledge of Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew. Perhaps he can help make the pieces of this mystery fall into place.
-[X] Random Encounter – Just… Go and live your life. You don't need to plan everything in your life out.
-[x]x9 personal actions.
--[x] Train Constitution x1
--[x] Legilimency & Occlumency x1
--[x] Work on x 7 (Ghostly Goggles, Immobulus, Diffindo, Waddiwasi (Basic Understanding), Incendio (Deep Understanding), Accio, Reducio, Expelliarmus (Deep Understanding))


Present Date: 1st June 1994
Current Wand: Fagus wood, Phoenix feather core


Your eyes felt heavy, your mind clouded. You had spent the night hawking over the map in your bed, watching the name of a dead man move on it. While it had strayed away at times, it had always stayed close to the person that you were looking at right now.

It was Wednesday morning, and the sun was shining brightly through the tall windows of the Transfiguration classroom. Professor McGonagall stood at the front of the room; her arms crossed as she waited patiently for the class to gather their last questions before the revision. It was two weeks before the exams, but the exams were the furthest thing on your mind at the moment.

As the students took their seats and quieted down, Professor McGonagall cleared her throat and began to speak.

"Good morning, class," she said, her voice carrying easily across the room. "Today we will have our first revision. I hope you have all been practicing the spells we covered the last months, but we can use these next few sessions to get in some last unclear points."

She paused, looking around the room to make sure everyone was paying attention before continuing. "Now, let's get started. Who wants to go first with a question?"

Hermione Granger raised her hand, but your eyes stayed on her redheaded friend. Ron Weasley looked more awake today than he ever had in class before. It seemed as if the realization of exams had brought some pressure for him, as he was actively listening to Hermione's first question and noting down what the professor answered in return. The boy's red hair was a mess. He was thin and lanky, with freckles scattered across his pale skin.

You had never paid much attention to him. Weasley had never been a point of interest for you before. At least not this specific Weasley.

You glanced down at your map, confirming that the name Peter was dotted right next to the Gryffindor. But as you had guessed, there was no mystery man in the room.

"Does that answer your question, Miss Granger?" Professor McGonagall asked. You barely registered it.

Was your map incorrect? Did you obsess so much about the case at hand that you had created a mess in the charms? A dot that was not showing any present real person?

The classroom was filled with the sound of scratching quills and turning pages as the students worked on their assignments, but your mind didn't waver away from the line of thoughts you were following. Professor McGonagall stood at the front of the room, but you did not see her eyes on you, scanning you as she monitored the class for more questions.

You were simply observing Weasley who, if the map was correct, was presented as two people at this very moment.

It could be a ghost. You had seen other non-humans listed already. This you had confirmed in the evening the day before. But why would a ghost stay invisible for this long and why would it follow around Ron Weasley specifically? There was no connection that you could think of.

Was Ron Weasley actually not a child? Your heartbeat quickened as more possibilities opened up. Was he an adult, transformed as a child? Or was he possessed by the spirit of a dead Pettigrew?

Was he transformed…

Something felt like it fit.

You sighed and went through everything again. Remus Lupin was a werewolf. Sirius Black had at some point learned to transform into a dog and Peter Pettigrew was somehow part of this equation, but you did not yet understand how.

You raised your hand and looked up at the Professor. There was sorrow in her eyes when she looked at you.

"Yes, Mr. Basques?" She asked.

"May I leave the class, Ma'am? I don't feel well today," you lied, looking her in the eyes as you said it. Either you were a good liar, or it you looked really beyond yourself today. It did not matter; you were allowed to leave.

You spent the next few hours not in the infirmary or in bed like your professor would expect, but in the library. Searching up things that you needed to understand to solve this case.
Runes Club rolls
→ Runes Club Gang, DC 50 (+LCK) 1D100+6 → #Runes Club Gang, DC 50 (+LCK) = 65

→ Roll for what they found 1D10 = 7 → How much for it? 1D7 = 1

+1 Galleon

Dueling Club rolls


→ How many Duels in Dueling Club this month? 1d4 = 3

→ Average EXP (+ LCK) 1d22+6 = 10

+ 30 EXP

Class Progress! (+1 to Astronomy, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, History of Magic, Potions, Transfiguration, Ancient Runes. +2 to Arithmancy & Magical Theory.)


Present Date: 7th June 1994
Current Wand: Fagus wood, Phoenix feather core


You were sitting on a wooden staircase, hidden behind a wall on the third floor. The wand in your hand was casting a light on the map in your hand, as you watched Weasley and Pettigrew move through the castle. You couldn't shake the feeling of unease that had settled in your stomach. Sleep had not come easy to you these last few days, so you had spent most nights reading, training or building.

The map was always in reach, while you surveyed the dot that followed Weasley most of the day. It was difficult to physically shadow someone who spend most of his free time with his friends in the common room and had started panic studying almost all his waking hours. The Gryffindor had left the common room these last few days since friday exactly eight times. Four out of those had been with the name Pettigrew by his side. Four were without.

The only difference between them were that he had his backpack on him, when the map showed a dead man's name next to his name.

It reduced the possibilities. A possessed item that he carried along? A part of a soul that was imbedded in something? You did have a similar idea in the past, so it lingered a little bit longer than other possibilities inside your mind.

The four times that he had left without Pettigrew … you had tried sneaking up on the Gryffindor common room. But it was very difficult to find any desolate moment to even think of breaking into it. There were students in and around it at all times of the day.

The exam weeks came to be the worst time imaginable for this specific case.

You followed the two dots on the map before you. They had started moving from their places inside the Great Hall, because the next class was starting soon. As the names 'Ron Weasley', 'Harry Potter' and 'Peter Pettigrew' left the Great Hall and walked through the hallways, your eyes stayed glued on them.

And then, finally, came chance number nine. As Ron and Harry walked towards their next class, the name "Pettigrew" detached from them on the map. Your heart raced as you realized that Peter was now moving on his own.

Without hesitation, you took the map in hand to fold it in a way that showed you only the relevant area Pettigrew was in. You practically fell the stairs down into the second and then the first floor as you tried to close in on Pettigrew through the hidden stairs and corridors of the castle, determined to finally find out what was going on.

Two corners away, you evaded Tracey who you had almost ran into. She was walking next to a group of Slytherin.

You didn't listen to her calling after you and did not turn around as you continued your run down the floor. Another corner. Your eyes stayed on the name Pettigrew who was moving very quickly into your direction. Both of you were sprinting towards the same corner from two different sides.

Twenty steps.

Ten steps.

Five.

The truth was waiting just in reach.

You hit the corner; your eyes wide open your wand up in the air to defend yourself if necessary.

But there was nothing in front of you. The floor was desolated. You looked left and right, then back over your shoulder. Only a rat was running away from your place at the corner. So, you looked down the adjacent hallway again. The one where Pettigrew had been in just a second prior.

Still empty.

Your mind came to a halt as you took your map back into your hand. Was it a mistake you had built into the map? The name Pettigrew was now moving away from you. As you turned around again, your heart sank.

Had you been so obsessed with a new case that your magic had felt obliged to participate in it? Was this all just a wrong trail of misassumptions and wrong turns?

Your eyes followed the brown rat in the distance. As she went left into the direction you had passed by Tracey, you looked back at your map again.

"Oh," you finally said.

Peter Pettigrew was an Animagus.

New entry: Animagus Transformation Transfiguration. This may not be one of the most difficult pieces of magic, but it may be one of the hardest to achieve. An Animagus (pl. Animagi) is someone who can transform themselves into an animal and back again at will and without a wand. The ritual to start alone will take months, you will have to learn new skills that will be useful only for that and only then the actual learning part for the transformation can start. Now you start to understand why there are so few Animagi around. The time it takes to make your body and soul react to the change is completely out of proportion to the benefits it brings you. Acquiring the skill takes most people two to five years. Every Animagus is required to register with the Ministry of Magic at the Animagus Registry. This registration includes revealing one's animal form and one's distinguishing markings. The penalty for failing to register as an Animagus is a sentence in Azkaban. But you are not that worried about that last part. [Requires Transfiguration skill of at least A- & Potion skill of A+), DC: 4000.


Present Date: 8th June 1994
Current Wand: Fagus wood, Phoenix feather core


The pieces were falling together in an unexpected way, but you finally had been able to have a full nights sleep. Well, at least four hours of it.

Only now did you consciously realize that you hadn't been eating well since you had found Sirius and subsequently Pettigrew. You tried to force yourself in the morning, but it was difficult to feel hunger, when a riddle was not solved yet.

"Jacob, I am talking to you," Megan said, bringing your attention back into the real world. She was snipping her fingers. Her eyes were of sorrow, but you also knew that she was getting fed-up with the situation.

"Jacob, you can't just sit here and do nothing about this," Megan said, frustration evident in her voice.

"That is the opposite of what I am doing." You said. "I am almost there. I know Black is an Animagus," you looked around before you lowered your voice, as you saw a few more students in the courtyard around you. "Pettigrew is also and most probably, Potter was one, too."

A few seconds passed, before you said: "Potter Senior, I mean. Not the other-…"

"I know who you are talking about," she said as she grabbed for your arm and turned to you fully. "I am not talking about the riddle, Jacob. I am talking about you knowing how to get to a serial killer and not sharing it with anyone."

You shook your head, but she continued as if you hadn't: "You have to tell someone, like the head of your house or the headmaster. It's not safe to keep this information to yourself."

"I can't just give up on the case. I have to solve it myself," you said stubbornly.

"Why?" Megan almost shouted at you, frustration in her voice. "You practically did. No one can find him and you know how to get him with this …" when she realized that she had raised her voice, she lowered it for the last word. "Map of yours." She then whispered loudly leaning forward.

A part of you knew that she was right. Another much more stubborn part did not want to accept it. So, you started spinning words together.

"What I know is that Black was imprisoned at least partly for something that did not happen," you said. "I know that the supposedly good guy is hiding as a rat with children around him and I am very sure of the fact that Black, Pettigrew and Potter learned how to transform to run around with the wolf."

Megan's eyes widened when she realized that two Slytherins were passing you by. Both of you stayed silence until they had crossed the courtyard far enough that they would not hear you again.

"I cannot say who is the good person in this … because they are all not telling the truth. Why did Lupin not share the fact that the man who killed a family father and a mother is an Animagus? Why is Pettigrew hiding, when he is one of the good guys? What is Weasley's involvement in this?"

You knew yourself that while all of this was true, this was not the real reason. It had to be you, who solved this. Only then it would count. But you could throw in one more doubt into the mix: "Why would the headmaster not look for Black himself? If I can find him … it is difficult to believe that he cannot."

Megan's expression softened, her hand still rested on your arm.

"What could be a reason for him to not to?" She asked.
1d100+25 #Detective Roll (People) = 27
"I don't know," you admitted.

Megan sighed in return.

"I understand that you want to solve it yourself, and I understand that it is a complicated mess. But this isn't just a game. There could be serious consequences if you don't tell someone. People could die." The grip of her hand around your arm tightened.

You shook your head again. "I have already told you before that I don't do this to be good." You repeated something that had come up in your very first real conversation that you ever had with the person next to you. A person that by now … knew you probably the best out of all your friends.

"You can be as irresponsible as you want with your own life, Jacob." She said as her hand retreated from your arm. "You're barely eating, you're barely sleeping, you're utterly obsessed with this case. It's not healthy. But that's your decision."

She was watching you intently as you looked at the ground before you.

"Just don't be irresponsible with the life of others."

You nodded without actual agreement. You knew that Megan meant well.

"Fine." You said in the end, conceding a point.

"I will give it one try. If that…" Ignorant, bothersome, limited? There were many words that would describe your DADA teacher. None of them were good. "… person does not come up with something himself, I will leave and not try again."

"Thank you," Megan said simply.

Your eyes met. And while you were annoyed by the compromise, she was giving you a weak smile.

You liked her.

And right now, that was a very annoying feeling.

You forced a smile back and made her laugh in return.

"You are such a bad actor!"
Building Ghostly Goggles, DC 400 → 1D100+53 → 65 → Failure! New DC 335

Building Ghostly Goggles, DC 335 → 1D100+53 → (93 + 53) 146 → Failure! New DC 189

Hidden mechanic activated, High Roll → Free Roll, Chance of something special, DC 90.
Hidden Mechanic Roll, DC 90 → 1D100→ 79 → Failure!

Building Ghostly Goggles, DC 335 → 1D100+53 → 74 → Failure! New DC 115

Building Ghostly Goggles, DC 115 → 1D100+53 → (91 + 53) 144 → Success! Goggles Acquired.

Hidden mechanic activated, High Roll → Free Roll, Chance of something special, DC 90.
Hidden Mechanic Roll, DC 90 → 1D100→ 83 → Failure!


Immobulus, DC 75 (Charms) → 1D100+18 → 77 → Success! → Spell Acquired!

Diffindo, DC 50 (DADA) → 1D100+21 → 52 → Success! → Spell Acquired!

Waddiwasi, DC 50 (Charms) → 1D100+18 → 22 → Failure! → New DC, 28.


Constitution Training, DC 30→ 1D100+10 → 70 → Success, New skill level: 4

Legilimency & Occlumency Training, DC 0→ 1D100 → 14 → Automatic Success, New skill level: P-


Present Date: 15th June 1994
Current Wand: Fagus wood, Phoenix feather core


You had fought it for an entire week, as you looked for a way out of this predicament. You kept observing Pettigrew, Lupin and the elusive Black in any free minute you could find in the week before the exams.

Pettigrew's life was mind numbingly boring. You followed the rat around when it was not in the Gryffindor common room or with Weasley as much as you could without being noticed. And you never once saw him turn back into a human. But you had learned of other things.

Most important; the rat missed a finger. You remembered how weird it had been that specifically only a finger of him was found. What kind of incompetent forensic work would come out with such a result? Only one finger was there, so the body must have been disintegrated? Was there such an abundance of spells like that when the Dark Arts were involved that this was a logical thing to come up with?

It did not matter.

Pettigrew was a complete and utter waste of time. And because Black spent most of his time far away, outside of the map, you had only come to see his dot moving around a few times. Mostly at night, always to hide away in the Shrieking Shack.

Which left you with the last interesting party of this.

The one you had tried not to talk to. But you had promised Megan, so after a week you did.

"Mr. Basques," the pale man said. You had never been as well informed about the current moon cycle as you were right now. The man before you had 26 hours until he transformed into a werewolf. And right now, you could definitely see how hard those last hours must have felt to him. He looked like a dead man walking. "How can I help you?"

One dead, one living as a rat, one a crazed criminal and one a werewolf who went through hell once a month. You could not imagine a group of friends more out of luck than them.

A few seconds passed by, in which Professor Lupin smiled at you weakly, sitting across the table in his office.

You had thought about this very moment for days. You brainstormed with Megan how to best approach the topic. She had advised you to be sensitive and first talk about classes. She wanted you to say how much you appreciated the professor and thank him for his work this past year. Only then, should you slowly zoom in on the real topic.

Megan had proposed a good approach.

"Professor, was the Shrieking Shack build specifically for you or was it placed for other werewolf students as well?" You asked instead.

Professor Lupin's smile faltered, and he fell back in his seat as if hit by a punch. The man was looking at you with shock and disbelief. "I-I'm sorry, Mr. Basques." He stammered, before trying to catch himself. "What are you saying?"

Time passed, in which you calmly watched his expressions.

"What is this about, Mr. Basques?" He asked again after a few moments of silence. "Who said I am a werewolf?"

You raised your eyebrows at him, trying to act like Justin when he played the innocent: "I did," you simply stated. "It took me like two months, but that was not the question. The Shrieking Shack? I knew that it couldn't be part of the original build-out. It seems like an afterthought in architecture and symbolism. Why would it be connected to Hogwarts?"

Your fingers tipped against the table between you and the professor. Your words were quick, your voice uncaring.

"I let it be, maybe it was a place for staff. Maybe the tunnel had been added because someone wanted to add some Hogwarts feeling to it – even though they did not understand that there should always be a riddle connected that teaches children something about magic." You sighed, as you saw that Lupin was gaining his composure back.

"Do you really want me to bother you with how I came up with the real reason for the building or do you want to just tell me the answer, Professor?" You asked.

Professor Lupin looked at you with a mixture of shock and sadness in his eyes. "Mr. Basques," he said quietly. "I am not sure how you discovered my secret, but I can assure you that it was not my intention to deceive anyone. I have always tried to keep my condition under control, and I have never intentionally put any of my students in danger."

You nodded, understanding the weight of his words. "With all due respect. That was not the question, Sir." Your eyes didn't leave his saddened expression. "I think that you are a competent man, but a bad teacher. I do not think that you want to actively harm children. Professor Snape would have to know that you were a werewolf and if he knew, then the headmaster knew as well."

Lupin looked a little hurt. "You think I am a bad teacher?" He asked.

Oh. You had said that part out loud, huh? You were not good with people when you were this annoyed and antagonistic.

"Yes, I do." You answered, without clarifying it further.

"Why do you think that, Mr. Basques?" Lupin asked, leaning forward a bit, not breaking the eye contact now that he had caught up to the conversation.

"I asked you about something and you told me that I could not do it." You knew deep down that it sounded childish. But to hell with it. No one could tell you that you were not good enough for anything.

"The Patronus charm, you mean?" He asked. "I am sorry, but it is a very advanced charm. Even though … Maybe it would have been possible with you. I may have misjudged."

That train had left the station a long time ago.

"So, was the house built for you specifically?" You asked, completely changing the topic. You did not care about his praise. He would not learn from you that you had mastered the spell by yourself.

Lupin hesitated a moment. But then he nodded: "Yes, it was."

"And your friends learned to be Animagi to join you in there, every moon cycle?"

His face was as pale as the piece of parchment in front of him. This time the shock in its expression was limited to a bit of widening eyes.

"Who have you talked to, Mr. Basques?" Lupin asked, now more serious than before. You had hit a nerve with him.

You completely ignored his question, grabbing the wand inside your pocket before continuing. "So, why would you tell no one that Sirius Black was an Animagus? Why not spill the secrets on someone that supposedly killed a man so close to you. Someone that learned to transform into an animal just to support you in your hard times?"

Your eyes stayed on him, watching his frame like a hawk. But instead of an aggressive movement or a sudden attack, you saw a man crumble in front of you.

It was difficult to stop now. So, you continued.

"It takes even the most talented years to become an Animagus. Why would you not spill the beans on the person that killed the parents of one of your very own students, Professor?"

There was no confrontation left in Lupin's expression. The smile had disappeared a long time ago, as he looked at you saddened and hurt. He had been only physically weak when you had come here, but now he seemed hurt emotionally as well.

"Mr. Basques," he said, his voice a mere whisper. "Please leave my office."

Your eyes stayed on him for a moment longer. Then you nodded, letting the wand drop inside your pocket before standing up. The disgust for this man had left your heart. Now there was an emptiness as you saw him sitting there, looking like a broken husk.

You left his office without a next step in mind. But with an answer at least. Lupin was not doing this to hide anything. He was just a weak man, who had lost a lot, someone who had just given in and was dragged along by the tides.

And you had done your best to throw him deeper into the water.


Present Date: 16th June 1994
Current Wand: Fagus wood, Phoenix feather core


It was Thursday and for most students this meant that there were four days left to the first exam. For you, that was not the appropriate cycle of time. You were counting days differently at the moment.

Today was the day of full moon for example. It was also day 17 since you had discovered that Pettigrew was alive and day 1 since you had emotionally wrecked a broken fool.

You would wait for this night to pass, gift him one more day of recuperation and then you would go to Lupin and tell him all about Pettigrew. You would say sorry, because that was what was expected – but not because you felt it. Then he could decide what to do with both the rat and the dog.

And you, would have admitted defeat.

Now that you knew that the professor was not hiding something out of malice, there was no real reason left that you could put up against Megan's argument.

You were sitting in the owlery, a tower outside of the castle. Peque had left for a hunt, but the darkness up here gave you clarity as you watched the full moon high up in the night sky. It was already past curfew, but sleep did not find you easily these days.

Your eyes fell on the map next to you again, folded to show you Lupin's room. He had not been moving for hours before the transformation, but his dot had become much more active afterwards. In any given day, you would have wished to see such a creature up close. But it was very difficult to find any motivation at the moment for anything that didn't bring you closer to finding out the truth behind the tragedy of the Potters.

Rubbing your eyes, you sighed and looked up at the moon again.

It seemed that you had failed. Besides attacking Black yourself or catching Pettigrew there was nothing left that you were able to do.

Why was it so frustrating to lose? When had it become such a difficult thing for you?

"I fucking hate this." You said to no one in particular.

You felt constrained by so many things. People, expectations, laws and morals and each of them was taking away from your possibilities here. You almost decided to disregard everything and just hunt Black yourself … but what if. What if he was innocent? Could you guarantee catching him without alerting the Dementors? Could you for sure say that you would learn the truth after having him? That you would not give him over to authorities on false premises?

No, you could guarantee neither of these things, which why everything was so frustrating. You had learned so much but had not come closer to the truth.

Your eyes fell onto the map again.

This time something had changed. Where you expected only the name of your professor, running up and down like a crazed animal inside his chambers, now another name appeared: Peter Pettigrew.

Your eyes widened in shock.

Pettigrew stood right next to the door and stayed there for a second or two, then the dot started moving to the right, quickly moving down the floor. Your eyes stayed by Lupin's room, though. There, the dot that marked your professor, the one who was not himself this night, left the room.

The werewolf was standing in the floor of an open castle full of children. You panicked, already in the midst of standing up and grabbing your wand. A few seconds later, you had jumped over the balcony of the owlery. High up over the school ground, you ran towards the castle as you unfolded the map before you. Your boots finding safe ground high up in the sky.

Lupin's dot was moving at a speed that was unbecoming. The werewolf was seemingly following behind Pettigrew's dot, almost catching up to him as he was led down the floor, then a staircase.

Running above the air, you unfolded more of the map until you had to come to a halt for a moment to open it up completely. You struggled with the parchment, while you tried to think ahead. Where would they run towards? The direction was … to the exit.

Pettigrew was leading the wolf outside the castle? Your eyes darted over the possible route. And thankfully you did not see a single name between them and the door.

You let out a breath, that you hadn't realized you had been holding until now. A few moments later Pettigrew already reached the outsides of the castle. The werewolf close behind him. It seemed as if the wolf had slowed down and not killed the rat.

Did it recognize him? Did it know it had to follow to flee?

Your eyes darted around the surrounding of the castle. Where did Pettigrew want to go? Could you catch him? Was this the moment he fled the castle?

Where would you go to if you were Peter Pettigrew?

A rat. Someone who had spent years in hiding. Afraid of the consequences of hist actions.

Nothing.

You came up with nothing.

It was difficult to find an answer for someone you could not understand. So, instead. You looked around at random.

It did not take you long to find more.

The thing was … what you found on the map did not make any sense.

The first part was strange but not out of question; Shrieking Shack was not as desolated and empty as it was usually. You saw a name that was not unexpected: Sirius Black. But you also saw some names that you did not expect there: Harry Potter, Ron Weasly & Hermione Granger.

It threw up some questions, but it was not as strange as the next thing you found:

You saw an additional name that you really did not expect right next to the other dots: Peter Pettigrew.

Your eyes darted back to the place near the castle where Pettigrew and Lupin were running still. They were clearly heading into the direction of the Shrieking Shack. But how was Pettigrew in two places at the same time?

"Fucking Time Turners." You said. "Fucking pendejos!"

Even your mind could not process everything at once. But still, there was more to unpack. The last one was really the strangest of them all. Another name was standing near the Shack. This one you really did not expect.

Jacob Marvan Basques.

There were two Pettigrews and there was one additional … well, you.

The you that was someone else was standing near the Shack and it was moving back and forth. After a while it retraced its steps and started anew.

Your eyes jumped to Pettigrew and Lupin who were closing in on the Shack from the opposite position. The dots in the Shack were only moving inside of it.

So, you focused on yourself again. It was still moving. There was a pattern to it. You followed your dot with your eyes. Where you found it difficult to empathize with Pettigrew, this action was very clear to you. It was forming letters!

"F-o-r-e .." the last two letters were not needed. Forest.

Your eyes darted over the map, up into the north as you looked around the dark forest to find what the other you was trying to communicate to you. You found it quickly. Another dot.

Remus Lupin.

A second werewolf Lupin, just on his own, somewhere in the north of the forest.

There were three were time travelers on your map. Pettigrew, Lupin and one of them was you. And you were pointing yourself into the direction of the second Lupin. What was the reason for this?

The dot with your name continued its spelling movements on the map.

Your real you, high up in the sky, started running again at the same time, heading into the direction of the dark forest, where a werewolf was waiting for you that you had to find for some reason. Your eyes stayed on the Shrieking Shack as the pair from the castle closed in. Lupin and Pettigrew arrived. It was a bit away from the dot with your name, but the other you had noticed. He came to a stop.

When Lupin finally detached from the Pettigrew dot outside of the Shack, it headed directly for the building.

Your other dot started moving again. This word it only spelled once.

Fight.

Then it started moving into the building as well.

The insides were pure chaos. The dots of your classmates were moving around the building as soon as the werewolf jumped into their midst. Very soon after, Black had fallen out of the building and stopped moving. The next happening you only caught fully because you were closely tracking all names at the same time, actively trying to remember what happened while running through the air. You did not fear falling, because every step caught the solid air below you.

The Pettigrew that had been in the Shrieking Shack closed in on Granger in the chaos. The wolf was moving quickly away from the window, where it had thrown Black out. Suddenly it was heading right towards Potter.

Everything happened in the span of two seconds; Pettigrew disappeared out of the map. The dot that was there inside the building, was suddenly not anymore. And the next moment, your dot – the one that was not you right now, entered the building right behind Potter.

The moment the dot appeared, just a second after Pettigrew had disappeared, Lupin disappeared also.

There were now the dots of Granger, Weasley, Potter and You in the building. The dot of Black was right outside of it, still not moving. The Pettigrew that had not entered the Shrieking Shack was running away, into the north as it left chaos behind.

He had brought the werewolf with him to guarantee his other self to flee. A genius move that was out of leftfield. He had taken out Granger's Time Turner and used it himself to flee thanks to the Wolfs involvement, but Pettigrew was the one who had brought the wolf in the first place. Something that was only possible because he had fled.

It was a causality neutral timeloop.

Your eyes stayed on the dot with your name for one more second, before you searched the second Lupin in the forest again.

You saw one more thing before throwing the map into your pocket: Severus Snape was closing in on the Shrieking Shack.

A closed time loop had appeared, and it seemed, that you had copied it. Your dot had allowed for Pettigrew to flew in time, but then saved everyone by throwing Lupin back with a similar method. You did not know if Potter had been hurt (the werewolf had reached his frame before disappearing), but everyone seemed alive.

So, you would need to repeat the thing. You would need access to a time turner first … and there was one waiting for you attached to a werewolf in the forbidden forest, that had probably been waiting there for the last hour. And it seems as if it had lost the fight against you last time, so it was probably pissed.

So, you just needed a win there? Then you would travel back in time, save the others and then … then somehow resolve the Black situation.

Things had gotten much worse than when you had been in the owlery, contemplating your life and misery just a few minutes ago.

You were walking straight into danger, with no plan besides the knowledge that it had worked before. Even if you were alive, you had not seen the state you would be in soon, when you would become the other dot. Nor had you seen what your classmates looked like.

One bite and your carefree life was over.

You took your newest invention out and put the Goggles on. The light around you changed.

A fight for life and death then.

Possibly the most difficult thing you had ever done.

But you were smiling from ear to ear, while running through the darkness.





First Vote

We are here. The climax of year three. Two hundred thousand words brought you here, dear voices inside Jacob's head. Now, we go into the last round.

Please Allocate Time Echoes first. You have 15 available and can expect three main events. There will be a (1) fight against a werewolf first, (2) then some time travel for the event of saving Harry Potter and then (3) the resolution of everything that you don't know yet. Because in the end there will still be one version of Black, Pettigrew and Lupin to account for. And you don't know what to expect with any of them, because it has not happened yet.

I will only accept Plans like the following (Example, TE stands for Time Echo):


[X] Plan A – 1 TE for [Werewolf Fight], 0 TE for [Saving Potter], 1 TE for [Last Act]


Second Vote

Vote for only one of these additionally to your first vote:

[ ] Alive and well - Prioritize keeping Black, Pettigrew and Lupin alive. This will impact the rolls against you. When one tries to get it all … one might lose it all.

[ ] The lost wolf – Prioritize keeping Lupin alive. This will make your fights against him more difficult. But you can't have him dead. You hurt him enough, this would be punching down.

[ ] This could be a Tragedy – You still don't know if Black and Pettigrew are innocent or not. Maybe only one of them is a criminal, maybe its both of them. It's very simple. You don't care. Lupin would be a tragedy. But it is more important to save the students and keep both of yourselves without bites.


Three-hour Moratorium! As always, please take time to discuss the chapter and the vote first.
 
While I do generally quite enjoy this quest, this last chapter has me...annoyed, for the - to me - unneeded railroading that was included to make sure that some kind of non-sense like in canon happened.
Really, just leaving out the part that Jacob waited for a week before confronting Lupin would make it better, this way it reads, to me, as if just a tiny bit more decidedness by Jacob, something the voters had no way to control, could've avoided this huge mess.

Anyways...loosing any of them will come with trauma, but if the rat becomes collateral, that'd be an improvement, overall...not sure what to choose to make that the most likely outcome, though.
 
Ok, guys? We seriously need to work on Empathy. Jacob just broke a guy because his idiotic ass doesn't comprehend how to get answers that isn't blunt force.
 

I liked it. We've built Jacob into quite a confident guy who hasn't lost before. And when you never lose, you expect that you'll always win. It's frustrating, when your expectations are destroyed and you are forced to admit your "powerlessness" by telling an authority figure. Add to it his youth and quite a combative/competitive mindset and you get a guy who'd absolutely hate to admit his inability to solve a problem.

This is the same mindset that lets Jacob go into ancient dungeons, study advanced magic ahead of time and generally disregard advice of his elders when it suits him.

And, well, if we never go to experience time-turner nonsence, how would we be able to create our own in the future?
 
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[X] Alive and well - Prioritize keeping Black, Pettigrew and Lupin alive. This will impact the rolls against you. When one tries to get it all … one might lose it all.
 
Funnily enough, I'd have like to prioritize keeping Black and Pettigrew alive, but I don't care about Lupin at all. Alas there is no such choice.
 
I'm not even quite sure what Jacob was trying to achieve with those last questions. Rather than having anything to do with the case, it seemed to devolve into Jacob failing to understand Lupins reasoning and mental state. Like Lupin had just turned into a puzzle himself, rather than a piece in the Sirius mystery.
 
Not to put too fine a point on it, but one's priority is to keep Jacob and the vaunted Golden Trio alive and unbitten. Beyond that point, one does not particularly care what becomes of the remaining members of the glorious Marauders.
 
Wow! What a mess! That was fun to read.

I don't really care about Pettigrew, but I don't want to fight to kill Lupin. Leaning towards the Lost Wolf, maybe the first one.

Edit:
Wait! If we manage to save them all? Would we get a Life debt from them?
 
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Same. I'd like if we didn't hold back against the werewolf but did hold back against Pettigrew and Black because

1. To Jacob right now it probably looks like both Pettigrew and Black are guilty in some way and we need them both alive for the best chance of fully solving the Mystery.

2. It's a motherfucking werewolf. Not putting our all into fighting it seems to be rather overestimating our fighting abilities. Plus if Lupin had a say he'd definitely agree on not holding back against him vs. potentially biting his students, and that's not just his depression talking.

As for Time Echoes, ~3 for each action? We don't have a history of the best rolls during crunch time, so.
 
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@Tabula Rasa Any more info on the rolls involved? Multiple rolls per phase or a single one? And in case of multiple, do the echoes apply to all of them for that phase? Are they flat rolls at the moment or are there modifiers in play? If yes, what are we starting with for each phase modifier-wise?
 
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