A Harry Potter Quest: He who was not

Tabula Rasa · Sep 28, 2020

[X] My brother Isaac – You have seen the wisest of men never to give up, no matter the peril. From this, you learned to be strong in times of need. In a life and death situation, get a +5 on all defense rolls.

Present Date: 5th November 1993
Current Wand: Fagus wood, Phoenix feather core

The week after that passed by sluggishly. You were ahead in most classes and while that had been part of your plan to allow you to battle your deficits in attention, it meant that you had much time to think. And that was a particular thing you were trying to avoid these days.

While the topic with the Grey Lady still weighed down on your mind, the memories you had experienced through your family heritage had been much more impactful. Living through the life of Basques, seeing through her eyes and reliving her emotions had been the very definition of exhilaration while in her memories – but a burden on you once you were yourself again.

While the woman had seen herself as a force of good, she had never second-guessed her decision to attack and kill. You felt nothing but dread thinking back on the crystal-clear memories, as if you had lived through them yourself. She had slaughtered a group of families, who had committed no crime but to come to her land without paying the demanded respects. To stay alive, they had hunted game on what Basques and her siblings called their own ground. And even if Basques herself had felt nothing as she watched the life escape out of children's eyes after they had been killed by her and her people - you grieved for them. Their deaths had happened thousands of years ago surely, but they would still be remembered for a bit longer.

"And that brings us to the 12th of May, 1612," Professor Binns said and paused, pursing his lips, looking like a wrinkled old tortoise. With his notes open, his guiding finger went from the end of one page and to the beginning of the next. He began to read again, still in his always hypnagogic flat tone.

"The growing tension lead to a first altercation to the north of Hogsmeade, were Goblins found a desolated mine, which would contribute heavily to the …"

It was hard for you to follow his words, when there were so many other things on your mind. Guided by a sense of defeat, you tried to push the dark thoughts away. This seemed to be another topic that would not get easier, the more you thought of it. Your eyes scanned the people surrounding instead.

Almost everyone in the class had fallen into a deep stupor, occasionally coming around long enough to copy down a name or date, then falling asleep again or reading in one of the many books you carried around during the day. As always, there was one exception in this matter; Hermione Granger was sitting straighter than you had possibly ever had in your life. Even now, when not only you, but the others around you as well, were bored out of your minds, she had found an approach that was keeping her entertained and focused. You observed her for a few minutes.

While her two friends had mentally disengaged just as the rest of the class, Hermione used every reference of date or event the Professor mumbled out, to check for them in her book, often reading for minutes without looking up or being distracted. She filled the piece of parchment at her side methodically with every worthy information she seemed to find in her supporting research.

You took your time and opened up one of your many notebooks; the one you had been scribbling in last was about a new charm you wanted to tackle next. All ideas you came up with landed in one of your many notebooks, all separated by subject or theme. By now there were a dozen spells and potions waiting for a moment in time, in which you would tackle them. Other ideas were of areas you still might want to check for hidden secrets in the castle or outside of it, items you might be able to build or other forms of adventures you had in mind.

The one in your hand was all about spell theory. There was a sketch in the center of the page. This was oftentimes your first step, when you came up with new projects. You liked to draw, even if you possessed only a fraction of the talent of your mother. The scribble in your notebook was a simple drawing of Tracey Davis, while casting the first Shield Charm you had ever seen her produce. You remembered how strong and fierce she had looked to you even in defeat. Seeing the care, you had put into her drawing, you could honestly say that the girl had motivated you. She made it clear without too many words; if you didn't focus on your own martial development, she would stomp you soon. So, you started scribbling down information you thought to be helpful. There were calculations about curvature, theories about intent and actual facts you had filtered out of a book. Taking the entire piece of parchment in, the structure of your notes made instinctively sense to you, because it had grown organically; as the need arose, you added more and more information until you felt as if your work was complete.

Then your eyes roamed up, to find the piece of parchment in front of Hermione. Where yours was natural chaos, hers was structural order. There were bold headers to compartmentalize the different timeframes, arrows marking dependencies between events and you saw how Hermione managed a second piece of parchment to record the most notable characters and personalities in a more centralized fashion.

Her work was magnificent and still, so very different from yours. It seemed as if things didn't have a single good solution, but a multitude of equally right answers. This realization made you smile, still watching her. Hermione herself shot her two friends a filthy looks out of the corner of her eye as they continued to play some kind of scribbled game between each other.

"… June saw an influx of events, as it followed the second engagement between local wizards and goblins …"

Your spirits reawakened, you were able to follow Binns' reciting for a few minutes.

"Professor," you said, raising your hand so that the Ghost could easily make you out.

It took the old, wrinkled man a bit to realize that you had said something. Excruciatingly slow his head rose, as he was looking for the source of disturbance.

"Yes, Mr. Matthews?"

You didn't comment on the name, instead going for the question: "Professor, we have seen quite a few examples of Goblin rebellions already and there are still three-hundred-and-eighty-one years to go," you said. A few of the heads around you started turning for you. Anthony chuckled quietly next to you.

"What can the wizard world do to avoid another one?"

Professor Binns processed the question for a moment. Your theory still stood, the Ghost was caught between different times, his mind not able to discern a lesson from another until a significant enough divergence happened. Another solution to this puzzle that was just as likely, but much less entertaining; Binns had been already senile and old while alive, carrying those traits with him into the Almost-Afterlife. Either way, when he started talking again, it was just like the time when Hermione had asked an intriguing question. There was a sense of energy that came out of Binns that you wouldn't normally associate him with.

"That is a very good question indeed, Mr. Matthews. Two points to Gryffindor." The moment he said that, Anthony stopped chuckling and groaned out instead. That reaction made you chuckle in return.

"The 1612 goblin rebellion was one of a series of rebellions in which the goblin population of the wizarding world revolted against the discrimination and prejudice demonstrated towards their kind by wizards and witches. The cause for this particular rebellion seems to have been, most likely, the lack of goblin representation in the Wizard's council as it was the predecessor to our very own Ministry of Magic today."

"Today, they have a small form of representation, because we as a wizard nation have given it to them. And that might be the problem, Mr. Matthews. As long as we are the ones at the top, deciding when to give them what kind of freedom and power, there will always be a sentiment of mistrust and bad faith."

Lessons like this showed you how different things would have been with a more engaging teacher. Terry who had been reading in his DADA schoolbook before was now fully immersed in the topic at hand. When the Professor made for a break to think, he raised his hand and asked: "So, we should make them equal to us in all matters?"

"No, I didn't say that," the Ghost answered, turning to the most talented Ravenclaw in your school year. "I just stated that it is what will inevitably happen. One now needs to decide which of the two solutions is the more beneficial. Do we give a marginalized race enough power to equal us on the political stage or do we go through a prolonged cycle of rebellions? Although exact casualties are often unknown, they were presumably quite high on both sides."

This time it was Hermione to push back and ask for a further explanation: "And what is the drawback of giving them equal rights?"

"It is often those that grew up without fear that ask questions like this. They are not wrong, far from it, Miss Pennyfeather, but a wizard's culture is coined by mistrust and doubt. For most of our history have we balanced our role in the world, until we yanked off the bridge to the mundane and put ourselves at the top of the magical world. A wizard always fears to climb the latter back down again, as he has grown rich and powerful at the top of it."

There was a learning in here, that you couldn't quite grasp yet.

Present Date: 13th November 1993
Current Wand: Fagus wood, Phoenix feather core

Charms Training (+ Perk), DC 0 → 1D100+10 → 12(2 + 10) → Automatic Success! → New Grade, P-

DADA Training (+ Perk), DC 0 → 1D100+10 → 43(33 + 10) → Automatic Success! → New Grade, P-

Potions Training, DC 0 → 1D100 → 92(92) → Automatic Success! → New Grade, D

Potions Training, DC 0 → 1D100 → 5(5) → Automatic Success! → New Grade, D+

Intellect Training, DC 30 → 1D100 → 89(89)

→ Success! → New Skill level, 4

Intellect Training, DC 40 → 1D100 → 27(27) → Failure!

→ Class Progress up to 3/5

Random Encounter I (1, 2 or 3) → 1D3 → 1(1)

Random Encounter I (+LCK) → 1D100+4 → 85(81 + 4)

November brought the cold, the rain and the start of miserable short days. More and more did you and the other students found yourselves trapped in the arguably most beautiful cage in the world. Even if you started spending almost all of your time inside the castle walls, your exploration of the school came to a halt as you focused on nothing other than your schoolwork. You worked yourself through the entirety of your DADA book, noting how a chapter near the end focused on the topic of werewolf's, going into detail about the changes in perception through history and a short explanation as to how to defend against them; it was as simple as don't.

You also studied ahead in charms, trying to get a better feel for the different concepts that underlay the spells. It was getting all too clear to you that intent was as much of an important building stone as the right incarnation and wand movement were. As with some of the castle's riddles, magic had sometimes many an answer that was right and you started to suspect that it may be possible to use more of one building stone as a clutch to use less of another one. Some of the teachers could cast without spelling any incarnation or by barely moving their wand; and so, for the first time you started seeing an avenue that might get you to do a similar thing.

The one thing you had been procrastinating on, had been Potions. Your inspiration didn't stop at this particular field for any kind of reason, but even you fell sometimes for the flashy magic of wand magic. Once you realized that you were not ahead of classes anymore and after your goopy accident in Snape's class, you invested significantly more time into it. Backtracking a bit in your current book, you started trying to understand the foundations. While you were as good as the next one in simply following instructions and doing what the recipe told you, it was an exceedingly unsatisfying thing to go through. Instead you started experimenting with different effects. Most of the reactions of ingredients to each other seemed random to you, only barely held together by vague ideas and weak conceptions. Still, bit by bit you were catching up and getting quite comfortably in the lead again in classes, as you started to see some kind of sense behind at least a part of the things you were doing.

You wrote all that and more down into a piece of parchment, before you gave it to Peque to send back home. You told your parents about many things – even describing the Dementor Incident – told them about your experiences with the Grey Lady. When you had filled both sides of the parchment and had still not written down about the many passages you had found, you realized how much had been happening in just a few months. The decision to make this one to be a quieter time to process what you had experienced, was turning out to have been a good one. Heading back from the owlery, you arrived at a surprisingly empty Ravenclaw common room. It was dinner time, but the few remaining Ravenclaws were sitting either on one of the two couches in front of the fire or on the fluffy blanket on the ground.

You glanced over the nine students, counting and checking if you were correct in your assumption that the entirety of the third year Ravenclaw were currently present. Anthony Goldstein was sitting next to Padma Patil, and Stephen Cornfoot on one of the couches, while Terry Boot, Su Li and Lisa Turpin had sunken into the other couch. Sprawled out on the ground was Michael Corner, while Mandy Brocklehurst and Morag Macdougal had made themselves comfortable leaning against Padma's and Lisa's legs respectively. There was only one third year missing; you.

When they registered you entering the common room, a few heads turned. The first one to catch your eye was Terry: "Jacob, we've been looking for you all day!"

His smile was as energetic as that of Anthony on the other couch.

You, naturally, were just the most charismatic and socially found person on this earth. So, you said: "What?" That sounded stupid, didn't it?

"We've brought food," Padma said, when she realized that you were on the backfoot here. "Take something," she said, pointing at the table to your right: "And join us!"

Following her direction, you saw that they had gotten quite an extensive buffet together. The table looked like a miniature version of the banquet below in the Great Hall. After thinking about it for a minute, you went for a plate and filled it with what looked best to you.

By the time you joined them, taking your time to grab a chair and pull it up to not have to sit next to Michael on the ground, they had resumed their chattering. While it was this group that you were spending most of your time with in Hogwarts, you realized that you had rarely spend time like this together. What was the occasion?

Ravenclaw Riddle (CRT/EMP + Perk) DC 30 → 1D100+10 → 65(55 + 10) → Success!

"Who was it that found the kitchen?" you asked, a smile on your face when you solved the simple riddle.

"You knew about the kitchen?" Terry asked in return, confirming your theory. Someone had found the large room in which house-elves prepared this food, told the others and they decided to celebrate it together like this. It wasn't a bad idea.

"Mate, why didn't you share that with us?" You heard from Michael on the ground. Instead of looking down at him, you watched Anthony as he positioned his food safely on the ground, before jumping onto the couch and starting to pose and flex his muscles.

"Do not fret, for I am the smartest of the ravens," he started shouting. "If it is I, who in his deep wisdom, finds that what is hidden. I shall share it with all of you, my young and green followe- … aah-"

Anthony didn't match to finish his sentence as Padma and Mandy grabbed him by his pants and pushed him to forcefully sit again. There was laughter. It took you a moment to realize that you were laughing along with them.

"I suppose, I know who found it then. I think that's one of the easier riddles in the castle, but finding the location wouldn't be so easy, I suppose," you said, as you wrapped some ingredients into the thin bread on your plate.

"Chico, no me digas que sabes de mas secretos?" Morag asked you, now participating for the first time, when she had been silently listening before. Her long brown hair had been pulled back into a ponytail today and you could see the part of Spanish features one of her parents had brought into the marriage. Both of you had the same mix of genealogies and you could imagine having a sister that looked almost like her, if your parents had decided they wanted a second child.

"Hey, Hey, hey! No Spanish, you guys don't want me to start speaking Chinese, either," Su interjected, before you could make for an answer in Spanish.

"What did you say?" Lisa asked Morag who was sitting right from her on the couch.

"I asked this traitor," Morag started, not looking away from you. "If there are other secret locations, he didn't share with us, now that we know that he knew all along!"

The accusation was lighthearted, as she was playing it up for drama. Some of the others were laughing already, while Morag was clearly trying to stay as serious as possible.

"Wait?" You asked. "You don't know about the secret Room of Roses?"

You weren't quite sure if the joke was communicated clearly enough. Only when you heard Terry's answer, did all of you fall into laughter again: "Oh no, Jacob turned into a Jokester as well … as if we hadn't enough with Anthony already."

"Do not compare me with the likes of him, for I have shared with my peasants," Anthony said, before jumping away from the couch to flee the oncoming punches.

"Who are you calling, peasant, you peasant?" Padma shouted, while simultaneously trying to hit him.

"Jacob, mate. Please save me," Anthony screamed as he jumped behind you.

You stayed together for an hour, eating and talking of random things. While it was clear that this was not something that would happen regularly, as in most of them had other core groups of friends in their day to day life, you still enjoyed the evening.

For a moment you felt at peace even in this large group, because you realized … something like this could be quite nice actually.

Present Date: 19th November 1993
Current Wand: Fagus wood, Phoenix feather core

Protego Training I, DC 100 (DADA + INT + CRT) → 1D100+12 → 61(49 + 12)

→ Failure! → New DC,

Protego Training II, DC 39 (DADA + INT + CRT) → 1D100+12 → 93(81 + 12)

→ Success! → 'Protego (Basic Understanding)' Spell learned!

New Spell Research, Protego (Deep Understanding) – DADA. Stronger version of the Shield Charm. Protego is a term applied to several varieties of charms. They create a magical barrier to deflect physical entities and spells, in order to protect a certain person or area. Conjurations may sometimes rebound directly off it back towards the caster or in other cases, may ricochet off in other directions or dissipate as soon as they hit the shield. Requires DADA Skill of A, gives a +15 to defending rolls. DC: 150

By the end of the third week, you would have been able to tick off the particular page with a drawing of Tracey Davis in your Notebook. The Protego charm was to date the most challenging spell you had ever tried yourself at. And while you had succeeded in learning it, able to shield yourself against a few incoming spells now, you knew that there was more to the spell. Your experiences with the rabbit transformation had shown you, that a spell was not mastered when you could provoke its rudimentary effects. With magic, you could try to acquire a much deeper understanding than that.

With that in mind, you had started to scribble again; instead of discarding the notes with the Protego on it, you expanded them. Questions joined the free spaces between the calculations. How big can the shield get? Can I cast it for longer? Can it get more durable? Why does the brightness vary?

"Thank you, thank you. That was extraordinary, from the both of you," Professor Filius Flitwick said, making you look up at the last stages of a fight. Tracey was up there. She was panting and something had ripped her robe at her back, but she was still standing straight, even if her long and blonde hair looked like a mess right now. All the while the fourth year Ravenclaw she'd fought against was pressed flat against a wall that Professor Flitwick had produced in the very last moment to save him from a fire spell. She was getting quite proficient at them.

The both of them had fought for several minutes, throwing spells at each other and either eating them face first (the reason why both of them looked like shit) or by casting last second shield charms. And while the fourth-year had never been a lightweight, it seemed as if Tracey was not satisfied with staying at the bottom of the barrel with you. Winning against the fourth year officially made her a challenger against the older students now.

"Next up; Melinda Bobbin and Jacob Basques, please."

You didn't look around for the Hufflepuff girl, as you closed the notebook and threw it back on your bag, before crossing the short distance to the stage. By now, the large room looked more adequate than it had ever before. Decoration had been put up, once it was clear that you students were committing to the idea of a dueling club, a change you welcomed. It was always easier for your mind to roam over new things. You let Tracey walk down from the stage first, choosing to wait next to the short set of stairs for her to pass.

"Now, now," she said, a poised smile on her face as she came to a halt next to you. "You don't need to worry too much, Jacob. I'll still gladly teach you a few tricks, now that I'm climbing up in ranks."

You smiled at her, drawing your wand.

"Oh, I'm already learning from you," you said honestly, even if she was trying to tease you. Stepping onto the stair, you said: "The further you run, the faster I need to move as well," and passed her to get on the stage, casting a whispered Reparo behind your back as to fix Tracey's robe for her. You didn't look back to see if she had anything to say to that.

Your opponent followed a few seconds later, as she made her way up shortly after talking to the Ravenclaw, who had just lost.

"Jacob," Melinda said, nodding and greeting you. It was funny to see how much a single event could change the perspective you had on a person. The girl was not particularly outgoing, nor a talented one. You'd assume that she was the exact average of the skillset of the Dueling Club Members … and still; you had gained quite the insights on the strength of her character. Like the hero in a novel you read as a child. 'Dragon Wishes' had portrayed a witch that had never amounted to anything, until she was thrown to the wolves and had found her true self. You had loved to read how she solved the challenges that tested her character. This Hufflepuff girl in front of you, was just the same to you.

"Hello," you said, not nodding, but at least returning the greeting.

"Wands ready!" Flitwick said, before he followed up with: "Begin!"

Jacob Attack I → 1D100+17 → 113(96 + 17) → Supercritical Roll! → 'Dueling Club' Perk improved.

Melinda Defense I → 1D100+19 → 21(2 + 19) → Ouch!

You respected Melinda for what she had done. Even in danger and afraid herself, had she chosen to help those around her. While you didn't judge the philosophy behind it as right or wrong, you respected the act of commitment and conviction. It was a fascinating thing to think about how the mind worked in moments of peril.

And because you respected her, you put in your entire focus into this very duel.

"Flipendo," you shouted, moving your wand from the left to the right.

"Protego!" Her shielding charm flared into existence, as the air between you was thrown against it, pushed on by your magic.

You knew that her shielding charm was just as strong as yours, which meant that it was fickle and prone to failure. One just needed to provoke the failure in an unexpected way.

"Lapifors," you said, knowing full well that she remembered Nott as a rabbit and that she would try to escape the Transfiguration. Her shield disappeared as she jumped to the right, evading your spell. It took you two spells to take over the rhythm of the fight. This was something you'd learned by now. Most of everyone could beat anyone on a good day, you just had to dominate the fight with your own rhythm.

"Flipendo," you shouted again, forcing her to cast the shielding spell a second time. While she went through the wand movement of the shielding charm, you moved for another spell.

"Protego," Melinda said as she caught herself and tried to brace against the Force Push.

"Wingardium Leviosa."

While she defended herself expertly against your spell, coming from the front, she didn't react to the chair, flying at her from behind. It hit her in the back, making her cry out in pain. Had she been a stranger to you, you might have relented here, forcing her to see that she had lost without following up, but she wasn't. You respected her and thus a third Flipendo shot out of your wand. This one hit her with full force as she tried to get back on her feet, throwing her over the stage and into the wall at the end of the room.

When you looked down at the other students, one face was beaming up at you. Tracey looked extraordinarily happy about your sweeping victory. She was mouthing something and pointing upwards. It took you a moment to understand.

'To the top.'

Ah, well, that wasn't exactly your goal here, was it? Your eyes roamed over the class, the students and then Melinda, who was slowly getting back on her feet. Somehow still, you were feeling the exact same emotion that came with a good riddle. Right now, you felt just like you had done something good and interesting. Thinking about it, the way you saw it was quite clear. You looked at Tracey and formulated your thoughts:

[ ] "This is Child's Play." - The dueling club is a mere tool for you to explore your magic. This is but one branch of many. You will focus on it only to deepen your understanding. The fun of it will vanish in time, like most of your inspirations do at a point. There is no point in aspiring some trifling activity that might hold you back in other areas.

[ ] "You guide the way." - You like dueling, clearly, but you don't have any aspiration to it. While trying your very best may be a bit much, you will invest some brain matter into developing your skills to further improve. But this is not an overly important matter to you in the end.

[ ] "This is the Road to the Top" – Tracey's goal seems to be clear. She wants to rise in ranks, however long it takes her. Her fierceness inspires you as well; this is something you can do. You will aim to win the dueling tournament at the end of this year, however farfetched that goal is. Because this feels like something that could be a lot of fun.

→ +38 Experience (doubled because of High Success).

→ Due to Supercritical Roll, Perk 'Dueling Club' raised from +10 to +20.

→ How many duels (1d3) → → 1(1)

→ How much Experience → 1D22+4 → 16(12 + 4) → +16 Experience from one other duel this month.

Tabula Rasa · Sep 29, 2020

[X] "This is the Road to the Top" – Tracey's goal seems to be clear. She wants to rise in ranks, however long it takes her. Her fierceness inspires you as well; this is something you can do. You will aim to win the duelling tournament at the end of this year, however farfetched that goal is. Because this feels like something that could be a lot of fun.

Present Date: 23rd November 1993
Current Wand: Fagus wood, Phoenix feather core

The third weekend was a calm and uneventful one. Slytherin flattened Hufflepuff on a cold rainy day, the yelling and shouting reaching far up to the Astronomy Tower, where you were watching dark clouds swallow the world. This time there were no Dementors descending from the sky.

And then it was Monday again, early Potions in the dungeons with a bat as a teacher, followed by DADA and the werewolf Professor, then a Ghost teaching History of Magic and a cat teaching Transfigurations. Not for the first time did you ask yourself were the headmaster had found this cast of eccentric Professors. While the Monday ended with a class in 'Study of Ancient Runes' and homework on translation of basic numeric runes, Tuesday evening saw yourself sitting next to Megan Jones in the Runes club favoured classroom.

Most of the times you were sitting together like this neither of you talked, working on different things at your leisure. More often than not did you spend the time with other subjects instead of studying runes. Which meant that Megan, not weighted down by a thousand other interests and hobbies, was getting quite ahead of you in this subject.

Runes Club Roll → 1D100+4 → 70 (66 + 4) → Something of moderate interest.

Hurried steps made you look up from your potions book. Megan, startled out of her reading herself, looked first at you and then at the older student that had rushed into the room.

"Guys, I've found something!"

And as always the boys gathered around him in seconds, leaving their game of 'Exploding Snape' behind to rush into the middle of the room for the new entrant.

"What is it?" One of them asked. "Is it a wand?" Another asked, as you heard Megan whisper something: "I bet it's a nail again." You chuckled when you heard her comment, closing your book and heading towards the small group as well; as if you could ever tame your curiosity on matters like this.

"It's outside," the first boy said – a Gryffindor.

That caused one of the others to frown and ask: "Why haven't you brought it with you?"

"I couldn't, you Knob head. It's on the castle walls."

First, he had your curiosity, now he got your attention.

"On the walls?" you asked him. The Gryffindor looked at you in return, as if he hadn't seen you before, before he nodded vehemently.

"I'll show you. Guys, take your coats." It was a command, if you had ever heard one.

And so, it was that the five of you packed your things together, made your way down the stairs and exited the castle a few minutes later. It was cold, rainy and a miserable day to be outside altogether, but you still followed the Gryffindor around the castle, driven by your curiosity. You walked a distance on one of the many paths of the school grounds, before you had to follow the way downhill and pass by Hagrid's hut first, before walking a short stretch alongside the forbidden forest. When you then started climbing the hill back up, you asked yourself how exactly the Gryffindor had found whatever it is that he wanted to show you. What had he been doing this far outside in the rain? You didn't ask the question though as all five of you finally reached the castle wall.

"I'm bloody wet and cold, mate," one of the others said - a Hufflepuff, as was the third boy that had come along. You didn't know any of their names, because you had never asked and they had never offered. Following the boy's words, a blast of cold wind lashed from the side against you, making it painfully obvious that water had seeped deep into your clothes. What kind of wizard were you that didn't know any spell against this?

"You are an ungrateful wanker," the Gryffindor answered.

"Eat me," the Hufflepuff said.

Something pushed against your right side and it took you a moment to understand that Megan was trying to stay warm by hugging herself and keeping close to you.

"What did you find here?" She asked, trying to stop their bickering and move on with what you had come to achieve in the rain.

"I found the most beautiful thing you guys have ever seen," the older boy said. He pointed upwards and as you guys followed his direction, he added: "This has to be important!"

Deciphering on the spot (DC 70) → 1D100+4 → 94 (90 + 4) → Great Success!

The moment your eyes found the spot he was pointing to, you completely forgot about the cold. Leaving Megan behind, you stepped closer to the wall, trying to get a better look. One of the bricks had fallen off – it didn't look like a recent change to you. There was moss and dirt that had accumulated in the opening of the wall. Below it was something that was uncanny - some kind of runes, even if only a part of them were visible.

"What does it say?" one of Hufflepuff's behind you asked.

Even if you had never seen the runes before, that were poking out of the illusion that was the castle wall, you knew one thing: "It is part of something bigger," you said. "I couldn't tell you what it says, but there might be more of it hidden beneath the rest of the wall."

"Should we take out a few of the other bricks and have a better look?" He asked again. This time it was Megan who answered: "Tampering with the castle in any kind or form is expulsion worthy."

Your eyes didn't leave the empty spot on the wall. A round glyph staring back at you. Only now did you realize that your heart was beating hard against your ribcage. Your breath was short and puffed, producing a faint cloud of mist in front of your face.

When you turned around, you were grinning.

"Then we may have to find other spots like this!"

→ 1/10 progress in putting the runes found on the castle wall down to paper. Every successful roll of the Runes Club's findings will advance this progress. You can also spend actions on this.

→ ???

New Spell Research: Focillo - Charm. The Warming Charm creates warmth from the tip of the caster's wand in a small cone. It can also be casted on a person. With more willpower, the heat can intensify and hold for longer stretches, though never hot enough to become dangerous. Slow clockwise circles that continue while you concentrate, while the spell builds up. (Comment: That's new. Why is it a continuous movement until it builds up? What do the wand movements do?) DC: 50.

Present Date: 27th November 1993
Current Wand: Fagus wood, Phoenix feather core

Random Encounter II (1, 2 or 3) → 1D3 → 1 (1)

What happens? → 1D100+4 → 36 (32 + 4)

Peque was sitting on your right shoulder, gently nibbling at your earlobe as you ascended a set of stairs. Even half distracted by the handwritten letter in your hand, you knew to come to a halt for a moment, before moving on to the next set of stairs. On cue, the stair below you started moving, guided by a hidden logic most students thought of as random and infamously working against you crueller the tighter your schedule was to get to the next lesson. The months searching for hidden secrets in the castle had taught you otherwise.

There was a hidden rhythm to it, something that could not be written down and calculated, but that needed to be felt instinctively. Laid down as the foundation to all secret passages of Hogwarts, that were mostly to be found by applying different sets of logical deduction, the founders had built a set of staircases that defied all reason and logic.

The moment the first stair arrived at its new position, now leading to a corner that would have made you backtrack, a new set of stairs clicked into place right in front of you. You proceeded descending into the fifth floor, before leaving the Central Staircases for one of the many corridors leading out of it. If you were right about your theory about the Hogwarts castle in itself being a method to teach students, the staircase would be a metaphor for the dichotomy of magical theory; while one side of magic was clearly structured following a more or less sound logic, other parts of it were driven by pure instincts and meaning. A wizard needed to understand both to be able to dive into any kind of deeper understanding.

"Peque," you said, looking up from the piece of paper on at the small owl sitting on your shoulder. While your parents weren't exactly consistent with it, they were in some forms more modern than many wizards much younger than them (which was most the population of the magical world if you thought about it). The paper in your hands felt criminally smooth in contrast to the parchment you used for school. Even their handwriting hadn't been done by using a classical feather.

"How are they doing?" You asked Peque.

Your small owl turned its head in confusion, as if not understanding why you had to turn your head and take those sweet and wonderful earlobes out of his reach. Then he spread his wings, whiteish and dark brown feathers rising as if set to attack. You smiled at this display of emotion by your owl. He was either telling you that they didn't fed him with enough treats or that they sent him out too early to fly back with an answer. Peque had never seen the amusement of flying the long distance between southern Europe and this northern part of the world with long patches of water that had to be quite the challenge for the small owl.

"Oh, come on. You want to tell me that you aren't happy to be back?"

Peque chirped happily in return.

"Yeah, I've missed you to, little owl," you said caringly as you took one of your hands up to your feathered friend and caressed the back of his head.

"There should be some things in the kitchen that you might like, do you want to go?" Again, a happy chirp and a spread of his wings as he danced from one leg to the other.

"It's decided then," you said and pushed a seemingly random door to your left open that ended in a dead end. You still walked inside, closing the door behind you so that the small walk-in closet fell into darkness. Bending your knees to take momentum first, you then jumped upwards. The moment you landed, the ground below gave in and you landed in a slide that could be used as the fastest method to reach the dungeons from high up. Peque had detached from your shoulders the moment you jumped up, so you weren't afraid of hurting him in the landing that would follow.

"Spongify," you called out as you felt the end of the slide nearing. Just a moment later you were thrown against a softened-up wall, six floors below, but managed to come to land on your feet this time.

Peque chirped behind you as he descended the dark slide, before he flew out of the exit that was usually hidden by a picture. The moment your animal friend passed, the painting fell back into its original place to reveal a man who was as wide as he was tall and had only a few patches of white hair left on the top of his head.

"No respect for your elders!" He shouted out, rubbing one of his eyes with his left hand, while raising a fist menacingly with the other. "Walk the stairs and let me sleep in piece, damnit!"

You laughed in return, coming back to the answer you gave every time: "I'll keep that in mind. See you next time, old man!"

"Bloody young ones."

You raised your hand in farewell, before turning around and jumping out of the small room. This had been the fastest and most fun route to the kitchens and judging by the happy dance Peque was performing on your head, it seemed as if he had liked it as well.

You resumed reading the letter in your hand. The front of the letter had been about how the inhabitants of your home island were doing. Your parents (this time it was your mother's handwriting, but as always, they had both put their thoughts into the letter) went into detail about how all other people were doing, forgetting to tell you how they were feeling in the process. It was a trait of them that you had always assumed to be caused by the fact that they didn't want to burden you with their problems, but it was frustrating at times.

Your father has made various conjectures on how the situation would turn out once you got to experience your family's heirloom. Life is a constant probing and testing as he says and while I think it might be too early for you to delve into such matters, it is in the end your decision, as always. A personality can only find its unique defining traits with autonomy and epiphany through substantiated decisions, so it was up to me to forget about presumptions this time and let it be. As I am your mother, I nonetheless hope that you do not rush into things and give yourself time to adapt.

Your father is forcing me to write the following, with which I do not agree: 'Do not listen to her and limit yourself. Life is a constant defiance against adversary circumstances. You can only grow by pushing through.'

As I said, I do think that his viewpoints are just as antique and out-of-vogue as your dear father is at times.

Your smile grew to a grin that reached from one end to the other as you kept on walking through the long corridor. There was an inert understanding between your parents that reached phenomenal depths at times. You could only imagine how they had lovingly reviewed each other's thought process to arrive at advice for you that shared both their worldviews.

We hope to see you here next month, our neighbours have asked for you, so mind writing us if you will need one of us to collect you from London. As we said last time, this stays your decision, we will not pressure you in any kind. It would be understandable for you to want to explore the castle in a time with fewer inhabitants. We would just be glad to see you, that is all.

You are the love of our lives,
Isabella Mia Cortez & David Marvan Basques

Turning a corner, you took the time to carefully fold the letter back to its original form and pack it into one of your many pockets.

A yell made you look up to see a small gathering of students. Only when you stepped closer, did you see that the group wasn't a homogenous one.

Three people were staring down a single figure, who had fallen to the ground before them and was looking up at the other three. A wand clattered over the floor to land near the feet of the student, who had shoved the fourth figure to the ground; Gregory Goyle, who was as stupid as he was mean. There were few people you disliked more than Michael Corner – Goyle was leading the list among a few others.

"I told you to stop looking at me like that," Goyle said, stepping over the wand and stepping closer to the boy on the ground. When he stooped down and leaned forwards menacingly, you couldn't help but think that he looked like a gorilla to you. The third-year Slytherin had small and dull eyes, feet that were too large for even his big frame and long arms – his hands reaching down to the ground from his crouching position. His dark blonde hair had been cut short, now looking darker than it had previously been.

"A manky Mudblood is not s'pposed to act like that - told you to piss off." His voice was getting louder with each word until he was almost shouting at the Hufflepuff boy. Justin Finch-Fletchley winced back. While you had gotten to know the third-year as a jovial and happy nature, right in this moment he looked scared and in over his head. He crawled backwards and tried to stand up, when a spell hit him, throwing him backwards against the wall. A painful yelp cut through the corridor, before Justin hit the ground a second time.

"Let me go, please," he finally said. Without a wand in his hand, he had nothing but to plead against the three students.

The one who had casted the spell had his wand in his hand still; an older Slytherin you didn't know, maybe a fourth-year or at the most a fifth-year. "Gregory here tells me that you are quite the bother to him, talking bad and all," he said, a menacing smile on his face as he looked down at the Hufflepuff boy. The older Slytherin was heavily built, large and muscular, even more so than Goyle.

"I think we'll have a fun time here," he said, before turning to the third Slytherin. "Theo, you wanted to practice a few jinxes, didn't you? We have the perfect opportunity at hand."

While the older boy was looking at the third Slytherin and Goyle was still keeping his eyes on Justin, only Nott had detected you by now. His face was a mask without emotions, he hadn't even been surprised when he saw you. It took a few moments for the older Slytherin boy to realize that something was afoul, before he followed Nott's eyes and finally found you standing at the corner of the floor.

His posture changed instantly as it was getting clear that this was not a private gathering anymore. His wand moved from pointing at Justin, to then point at you instead.

"And what are you looking at, exactly?" He asked threateningly. "Bloody move and go back or …"

Or … Yes, or what exactly? Three Slytherin and a Hufflepuff, three purebloods and a Muggleborn, three bullies and a victim. This is the first time you saw something like this happen, being aloof and distanced had kept you out of these little conflicts but it seemed as if your luck was catching up to you. The question now was, what would you do next? How did Jacob Marvan Basques act in a situation like this?

[ ] The castle is large – In the end, this doesn't concern you. You barely know any of the four, don't even remember having interchanged a word with any of them. Don't say anything and pass by them to head for the kitchen.

[ ] Let's just talk, no wands – You don't think you will be able to argue with either Goyle, nor the older Slytherin, but you might be able to reach an agreement with Nott. Both of you still remember the debt he owes you. If it doesn't work, go on with your life. You won't participate in their violence. (High DC for talking them out of it.)

[ ] This is no laughing matter – You don't think you will be able to argue with either Goyle, nor the older Slytherin, but you might be able to reach an agreement with Nott. Both of you still remember the debt he owes you. If it doesn't work, pull your wand out. You do not think that you can hold yourself against three students, no matter their talent, but you'll be damned if you go down without hurting them. (High DC for talking them out of it, High DC for the ensuing fight.)

[ ] Words are Winds – You don't think you will be able to argue with either of them. Pull your wand out, while you do not think that you can hold yourself against three students, you have an advantage in initiative. (High DC for ensuing fight, but you'll be able attack first.)

Tabula Rasa · Sep 30, 2020

[X] This is no laughing matter – You don't think you will be able to argue with either Goyle, nor the older Slytherin, but you might be able to reach an agreement with Nott. Both of you still remember the debt he owes you. If it doesn't work, pull your wand out. You do not think that you can hold yourself against three students, no matter their talent, but you'll be damned if you go down without hurting them. (High DC for talking them out of it, High DC for the ensuing fighlt.)

Present Date: 27th November 1993
Current Wand: Fagus wood, Phoenix feather core

The older Slytherin's posture changed instantly as it was getting clear that this was not a private gathering anymore. His wand moved from pointing at Justin, to then point at you instead.

"And what are you looking at, exactly?" He asked threateningly. "Bloody move and go back or …" Here he made for a pause, threatening you without the need for further clarification. His large frame gave him a menacing look as the tip of his wand was directed into your general area.

Your eyes lingered on the wand for a moment, making you feel awfully unprepared without yours in hand to handle this situation.

"I think Justin got the message," you said in the end. Facing down Dementors and an Acromantula had given you a frame for what a dangerous situation was. Watching Basques live through her memories had provided additional framework, which meant that right now, in this second, you did not feel scared at all. Even in the case that you would take the Hufflepuff's place on the ground as they shot jinxes at you, this was still nothing to be afraid of.

"You're as daft as a bush, aren't ya?" the Slytherin said. "I have heard of you being a Nutter, already. So, fuck off, or you'll join this wanker on the ground."

Big and menacing, with large arms and wide shoulders, standing in front of Goyle, another Slytherin who was wider and stronger than you were … and behind those two; Nott, who had still not spoken up. All of them, in this very moment, looked like children to you.

"Montague," Theodore said, breaking eye contact with you. "Maybe we should continue another time?"

When Montague turned around to him, his wand stayed focused on you. This here was the perfect situation to attack. If you were lucky, you could take the oldest out, you just needed to take the initiative.

But your wand stayed in your pocket, as you watched Nott buckling to the older Slytherin's words: "Are you a gormless idiot as well? Has the third year not produced a single Slytherin with a spine and a brain? We are three and he is alone, this Mudblood …" he said as he was pointing at Justin, who was still on the ground, cowering before Goyle. " … will get what is coming for him and if I have to teach the Ravenclaw-Nutter as well, then I bloody will."

When you saw Nott looking down to the ground, you knew that you had lost him.

"Now take your bloody wands out, both of ya."

Goyle stood up, scrambling for something in his back pocket, until he finally found his wand to then point it at you as well. While Nott pulled his wand out of his pocket, you watched as Montague stepped away from you to take Justin's wand and put it away in his robe.

You ignored him, instead focusing on Nott. "I recall someone else who had been left behind like this," you said, nodding into the direction of the Hufflepuff while looking at Theodore. "And who, when no one else was there, was given a hand by someone with no affiliation to him."

Nott was alternating between looking at you and looking at the older Slytherin's back. When Montague finally turned around after snatching Justin's wand, he looked questioningly at Theodore. He asked: "What is he bloody talking about?"

Here, the third year shook his head in response: "I don't know, I think he is losing his mind." While his words were speaking of other intent, Nott's wand stayed focused on the ground, not pointing into your direction even for a moment.

"Theodore, take this chance and give Justin a break. I am sure you will be able to do this …" the part you wanted to add at the end - 'for me.' Remained unspoken.

"And Gregory," you said, turning your gaze to the other third year. You ignored the wand he was pointing at you and continued: "Whatever he did to you, he'll say sorry now and repent. So, you can stop this now and we'll all be on our way in a minute."

There was no time for you to gauge if any of this was having an effect on Goyle.

"Shut your bloody mouth," Montague said instead and raised his wand at you as he moved a step forward: "Eringmova!"

You had recognized the anger on his face in time to move back and to the side, while pulling your wand out. Evading backwards you pushed against a table, and knocked something over but jumped forward to escape a spell that Goyle was flinging at you, without looking back at what you had hit with your back.

"Diffindo," Goyle shouted as a large mirror hit the ground behind you, shattering to a thousand pieces. Only on the ground did you realize that Goyle's spell had not worked out, throwing you off your game only by the fear of being cut; you adapted fast.

"Tarantallegra!"

The spell was directed at Montague as you made him out to be the largest threat. You pushed yourself from the ground, focussed on the spell and soon enough, the legs of the older Slytherin started giving out under him as he started to dance uncontrollably, falling against a large cupboard that was then pushed open in return.

Nott was not moving or joining the duel alongside his house-mates and Justin was still on the ground, trying to make himself as small as possible; a bit of help would have helped enormously, but well, you would manage somehow.

His legs still twitching uncontrollably, Montague stopped trying to get them under his control again and raised his wand at you instead. "Eringmova," he said again. You did still not know what it did, but moved in response nonetheless.

"Protego!" A whitish half-dome appeared in front of you as the spell was dispelled to the side where Goyle had to throw himself out of harms-way to escape the trajectory. You let the shield disappear and snapped your wand forward.

"Flipendo," you said, throwing Montague back into the open cupboard behind him, his legs still twitching and turning. Using the small time frame you'd been gifted, you threw another spell in the same direction: "Colloportus." And the doors of the cupboard snapped shut.

You could still hear Montague moving and kicking inside, but there was some time at least to focus on Goyle.

A spell came your way that you hadn't hear him cast, so you moved out of the way for it to hit a painting behind you. There was a scream, but instead of turning you raised your wand against Goyle again.

"Lapifors!"

Goyle had been mouthing his next incarnation, you realized in that moment. The next moment, his wand was on the ground as a brown rabbit fell to the ground. It was looking up at you harmlessly.

"Oh, bloody hell," you heard Justin say, who finally moved from his place on the ground, eyeing Nott suspiciously who had still not moved from his place and was watching you attentively. His wand was still in his hand. Before you could address the problem though, the cupboard snapped open.

"You Plug-Ugly arse-licker!" Montague shouted angrily as he stepped out of it, his legs finally under control again.

"Quite the temper you've got there," you said.

"Eringmova!"

"Protego."

His spell was thrown against the wall next to you harmlessly. You moved, raising your wand for a new round of attack, now more comfortable in the knowledge that it was a one-on-one type situation as long as Nott stayed out of it.

Tabula_Rasa: 1D100 → 98(98)#Long Duell, Teacher Coming? DC 60
Tabula_Rasa: 1D100 → 98(98)#Long Duell, Teacher Coming? DC 60

Tabula_Rasa: 1D3 → 1(1)#How Many?

Tabula_Rasa: 1D100 → 34(34)#Is it Snape? DC 60

Tabula_Rasa: 1D5 → 2(2)#Who is it

"What in the …" you heard someone call from down the corridor. Behind Montague and Nott, at the other end of the dungeon floor, you could see a man with long hair and a bald spot on top of his head. "What have you done to the corridor?" He shouted out as he started briskly walking towards you, wheezing and shuffling as if his legs where hurting him. Argus Filch raised his knobbly hand, pointing at you and the others and starting swearing as his unusually purple nose shook in anger.

"This means detention! I will call a Professor right now and tell him …" he stopped to breath, as he was already panting, his hunched-shoulders moving up and down in exhaustion. The Squib had a horrible, peachy and pasty face and bulging, pale eyes. His sunken, veined cheeks gained some colour as he started screaming at you.

Even Montague stopped any further attack on you, choosing to glare daggers at you instead.

"I'll tell them to use the old punishments for this case … hang you by your wrists from the ceiling for a few days, I've got the chains still in my office, keep 'em well-oiled in case they're ever needed …"

Now, that there was no need for it anymore, you packed your wand away, putting it back inside your pocket. Nott had already done that and Montague followed soon.

"I bet you'll think twice about breaking a school rule again, won't you, eh? Oh, yes … hard work and pain are the best teachers, if you ask me … It's just a pity they let the old punishments die out … Right, off we go, and don't think of running off, now. It'll be worse for you if you do."

And so, the four of you followed behind Filch, his brown coat showing his hunched back.

This time it was Theodore who grabbed the rabbit, who was still on the ground and looking up at the rest of you.

This had not exactly worked out the way you envisioned it.

Talking to Nott (CRT + EMP), DC 45, 90 → 1D100+5 → 46 (41 + 5) → Tight Success.

Talking to Goyle (CRT + EMP), DC 85 → 1D100+5 → 35 (30 + 5) → Failure!

Call Filch a misanthropic old geezer if you wanted, but you couldn't call him daft. Confronted with two Slytherins, a Hufflepuff, a Ravenclaw and a Rabbit duelling it out, he had sought out the one Professor who would be best suited to handle the issue.

Professor Minerva McGonagall was a tall, rather severe-looking, and sprightly woman. She was old, much younger than your parents though, as her hair was still black and combed back into a tight bun. If she was keeping it still dark with potions or if it was natural, you did not know. A very prim expression had set on her face as Filch explained to her what he had seen and about the 'terrible state of the dungeon' your fight had left behind.

Her lips pressed together into a thin line, as she looked at the four of you.

"So, would anyone like to clarify what exactly happened?" She asked, her Scottish accent showing a tad stronger than it usually did.

None of you spoke at first. Then it was Montague who broke the silence.

"These bloody …" he started only to flinch midsentence as he saw the anger on McGonagall's face. "These … students have attacked us without provocation," he tried again.

Now, finally, as if had regained his valour after all, Justin spoke up.

"You are a stinky liar!" Justin shouted out, turning to Montague who was sitting across the room from him. He didn't see the angry look the Professor was now throwing at him.

"Can someone please tell me exactly what has happened?"

She looked first at Nott, then at you, who both chose not to answer, so it was up to Montague again.

"Professor, if we had attacked them," he was surprisingly able to insult you both, even without any swearing involved. "Then they would look different than they do right now. We are three, they are two and I am older. They attacked us and turned Gregory into a rabbit!"

At this the Transfiguration Professor raised her eyebrows in surprise. It seemed that she had not been expecting this. She finally focused on the brown rabbit in Nott's arm, took her wand out and swished it once. A moment later Goyle was dropped to the ground after Nott pushed the human form away from himself.

"That is a very interesting thing to do. Who casted the spell?" Your Professor asked. With glee in his eyes, Montague pointed at you.

"Mister Basques? I wouldn't have thought you to be an aggressor," she said. There was considerably less anger in her voice than there had been moments prior.

"I wasn't, Ma'am," you simply said, before falling into silence again.

Justin seemed to have hit his limit, though. "They attacked me! They ganged up on me, pushed me down and took my wand away from me. Montague still bloody has it!"

Now it was for Professor McGonagall to turn to the older Slytherin instead.

"Is that true?" She asked only for the Slytherin to shake his head vehemently.

What an idiot. Why would you lie on such a thing?

Another swish of her wand and Montague's robe came to life, moving up and down as something pointy was trying to make its way out. Montague tried to hold on to the wand, but soon it was out in the open and came to a halt on McGonagall's desk.

"Well, Mr. Montague," the head of Gryffindor said. "How do you explain this?"

"I only took his wand after they attacked us."

"And what spell did Mr. Finch-Fletchley use on you?"

Here Montague stopped. You were not sure, but it seemed as if he knew that she would catch his lie again. Instead, he said: "I don't know. The other one cast Tarantallegra on me and locked me in a cupboard."

With that she looked back at you and Justin again. Justin took over.

"They attacked me, Jacob came by and told them to stop … only Nott did not attack, the other two fought Jacob two on one." His cheeks were getting pink, as if he was flustered. You weren't sure what for.

"And then Filch came."

"He's a blo- … he's lying, Ma'am," Montague said, before turning to Goyle and Nott. "Tell her!"

Goyle was still looking lost, as if he was still getting adapted to the fact that he was human again, sitting on the ground and looking up at Montague. Nott on the other hand was pretty much in total control over his expression. When he talked, now for the first time, he evaded your eyes.

"They are lying, Montague is telling the truth, Ma'am. They attacked us first."

It seemed as if your debt had been settled then. Well, you didn't fancy yourself someone who cared about house-points either way.

"It seems as if there will be no telling as who is lying and who is not," the Professor said in the end.

"Twenty points from each of you," she said, making Justin and Montague wince in return. Neither you, nor Nott reacted in kind. Goyle on the other hand was finally getting up from his place on the ground.

"And detention, I will determine myself what you'll be doing. You are dismissed," she said. With another wish of her wand, the doors to her office opened wide. The Slytherin's were the first to leave the room, soon followed by Justin, who mumbled a 'thanks' into your direction, before fleeing himself. When you were by the door, you came to a halt for a moment as your teacher called out: "That was very impressive magic for your age, Mr. Basques. Five points to Ravenclaw."

You didn't turn around, saying a simple: "Thank you, Ma'am" and leaving the room to head back into the lower dungeons. Peque had flown away earlier and you wanted to find him to finally get him those treats that you had promised him.

A thought had come into your mind during your last duelling class. It was something that you had never thought off before, something that would have always fit your character, but that showed that you were changing in the end, as you grew in experience. You had wanted to follow Tracey's try at digging at the older students' heels; you wanted to win the duelling tournament at the end of the year, no matter how farfetched that may sound to you.

Today, faced with only one older student and Goyle you had almost faced a loss. If Nott would have joined the battle, there would have been no way for you to win.

Next time, you would be better prepared.

Trait gained: Dueller – With a wand in hand, you rarely feel afraid. In the midst of a combat, you will stay calm and focussed, because even if you lose, there is no way that you will go down without a good and proper fight now, is there?

What do you want to focus on next month?

You have 10 Normal Actions and 5 Personal Actions.

2 Normal Actions can be exchanged for 1 Personal Action.

Social

[ ] I'm coming home! (Takes 4 Actions) – You decide to go home. Make your way down to London together with the other students and ask your parents to pick you off there. There is a small island to the south east of the Spanish mainland waiting for your arrival.

[ ] Case III: The Riddle of Riddle (2 Actions)- Digging through the archives for so long has given you a good grasp as to who walked these floors in the last two hundred years. There were mentions of someone, you still remembered. There had been some records history of one of the greatest minds that walked this castle, maybe not as special as Sally-Anne or even Dumbledore, but still … Who was he?

[ ] Runes Club Research (Multiple Actions on this count as multiple rolls stacking) – Spend time with the Members of the Runes Club looking for hidden runes and glyphs in the castle walls (Will also count as a training roll towards Ancient Runes).

[ ] Random Encounter – Just… Go and live your life. You don't need to plan everything in your life out.

[ ] Write a Letter (Free Action) – Specify to whom it is that you want to write and what you want to talk about

School & Work

[ ] Business School of Hogsmeade (Multiple Actions on this count as multiple rolls stacking) – This is the first year, in which you can go to Hogsmeade. Good that you've been planning for this since first year: Buy Books, Ingredients, Joke Shop Articles, Instruments and other things. Go and look, if you can make some money by buying things for first and second years. Roll for how many are interested and then for how much they want to spend. Take 15% as a fee.

[ ] Stage III, A Hogwarts Map (Multiple Actions on this count as multiple rolls stacking) – You are already ahead of what most people know of Hogwarts. The deeper you dig, the more you know that you're still scratching at the surfaces. What is down there? Start making a map of what you already know and see if you can somehow track the people inside the Castle. It should be possible, right? (Alchemy D+, Charms D+, Transfiguration D+). DC 400.

[ ] Break through your Horizon I – Hogwarts is built in a valley area — surrounding mountains are part of the landscape. You had always wondered about them, because they were your daily horizon. Usually there would not have been enough time for you to get there, wander around to explore the lands and come back in time for curfew. Having access to a broom would have helped you, but now that you had secret exits out of Hogwarts… the horizon was not your limit anymore. Use the unknown passageway in the north end of the castle. (Takes 3 Actions, can't be taken in the same month as Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and What hides behind trees)

[ ] Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea I – The fairly large Great Lake to the south of the main building has always been your most favorite part of Hogwarts' surrounding lands. It was breathtaking how beautiful it was on a sunny day and frightening how dark it could get at night, almost looking like a hole in the fabric of the world. At the beginning of your year you glimpsed at something that had broken through the surface, making you realize how shallow your world view had been. Find a way to get below the water and discover what is below. (Takes 3 Actions, can't be taken in the same month as Break through your Horizon and What hides behind trees.)

[ ] What hides behind trees I (Danger identified: Dementors. You don't have a counter spell!)– The deep Forbidden Forest extends around to the west of the castle. Everyone knows everything there is to know about the Forbidden Forest; it is a forest and it is forbidden. The rest is just rumors… werewolf's, vampires, monsters and spiders. All dangers a child could imagine await you in the forest. Why were you trembling in anticipation about breaking out of the castle through the passageway behind the mirror and exploring what had been forbidden to you for way too long? (Takes 3 Actions, can't be taken in the same month as Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and Break through your Horizon)

[ ] Stage III, Dreams of old (Takes 2 Actions) – Coming back into the years of unrelenting war. Following years of uncontended victories for you and yours, an enemy has arrived that is more powerful than anything you could have ever imagined. Marching through the midst of winter they attack numbering the tens of thousands.

[ ] In Search of New Spells – Go into the library and look for new spells that you could try to learn. If you have some specific effect in mind, write it down.

[ ] In Search of New Potions – Go into the library and look for new potions that you could try to learn. If you have some specific effect in mind, write it down.

[ ] Do Something! – Be creative. Or go and do nothing. Your decision really. Specify what you want to do.

Personal Actions

[ ] Train, Learn, Achieve – Specify what you want to train or study

[ ] Do your research – Learn a Spell, a Potion or something different that is available to you at the moment

AVAILABLE RESEARCH

Potions (Potions needed for class are free of ingredients costs for training)

Antidote to Uncommon Poisons (Needed for exams at the end of the year) - A potion that cures minor magical or uncommon poisons such as doxy bites. The ingredients required are fire seed, graphorn horn, billywig stings and chizpurfle carapaces. ~~Cost for ingredients: 2 Galleons per vial~~. (Requires Transformation skill of at least D), DC: 100.

Shrinking Solution (Needed for exams at the end of the year) - Also known as a Shrinking Potion, is a potion that causes the drinker to shrink to a smaller form. It is bright green when brewed correctly and, if prepared incorrectly, it can apparently be poisonous. One practical use of this potion is in the transportation of livestock — it allows for a wizard to carry an entire herd of pigs in the pocket. Could be used to lay a trap. ~~Cost for ingredients: 2 Galleons~~ ~~per vial~~, DC: 50.

Wideye Potion (Needed for exams at the end of the year) - Also known as the Awakening Potion, is a potion which prevents the drinker from falling asleep and could also be used to awaken someone from drugging or concussion. Gives you one extra action if taken. May come with side effects. It acts as an antidote for the Draught of Living Death. ~~Cost for ingredients: 3 Galleons~~. (Requires Potion skill of at least D+), DC: 150.

Blue Wideye Potion – Learning the Awakening Potion gave you an idea; it is clear that some of the ingredients act as a suppressant for tiredness and sleepiness. If you tweak the recipe and try to understand how the ingredients interact with each other… you may be able to make the potion more useful. If taken, it gives you one Personal Action more per potion. Can only safely consume one dose per month. (Requires Wideye Potion learned & Potion skill of at least P-), Cost for ingredients: 5 Galleons per vial +1 Vial of Acromantula Venom, DC: 200.

Alchemy

Alchemy Research Idea Obtained: Ghostly Goggles – Magical Item. You now have a much higher understanding about what it is to be a ghost. For a second, you walked in their shoes and looked through their eyes. They live in a spectrum of the world far different to yours, bridging between the here and the there as most of their magic has passed on and some of their soul stayed behind. You may be able to build something that did the same; give an item magic and then simulate the process the Grey Lady let you feel. Simulate the process of dying and give yourself the ability to see between the living- and the afterlife. [While wearing Ghostly Goggles; Allows you to see the spirits of the living; Gain a +5 in combat against creatures; Gain the ability to see a form of afterimages as footprints that living creatures leave behind; Gain the ability to see living things through walls; ?? when interacting with Dementors ??] (Requires Alchemy and Ancient Runes skill of at least P), DC: 400.

Avifors (Needed for exams at the end of the year) – Transfiguration. A transforming spell that could be used to change the target into a bird, flock of birds or occasionally a flock of bats with a vivid flash of blue light. Transforms the targeted object into a bird, which can then be used to carry a small object or message to someone. (Requires Transfiguration skill of at least D), DC: 5.

Cheering Charm (Needed for exams at the end of the year) - Charm. A spell which makes a person happy. When the spell is overdone, it can cause the victim to be overcome with fits of hysterical laughter. DC 50.

Diffindo – DADA. The Severing Charm is a charm used to precisely and accurately cut something. It is taught in second year charms classes, and if used inappropriately can cause death or injury. DC 50.

Draconifors (Needed for exams at the end of the year) - Transfiguration. The Draconifors Spell is a Transfiguration spell used to transform small objects into Dragons, which can then be controlled by the caster. The dragons produced from this spell are much smaller and less powerful than true dragons, and their size depends on your skills and the object from which they are transfigured - i.e. a smaller object will produce a smaller dragon, and a larger object will produce a larger dragon. (Requires Transformation skill of at least D+), DC 75.

Engorgio - Transfiguration. The Engorgement Charm, also known as Growing Charm is a charm that causes the target to swell immensely. If the caster attempts to engorge the target beyond a certain point it will violently explode. Although this spell is safe to use on animals, it is not recommended until the counter-charm (Reducio) has been perfected.

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Reducio - Transfiguration. The Shrinking Charm is a charm that enables a witch or wizard to decrease the apparent physical size of the target, both internally and externally. It also can act as the counter-spell for the Engorgement Charm, causing the Engorged object to return to its original size. There are several variations of this charm. DC: 100.

Expelliarmus (Needed for exams at the end of the year) - DADA. The Disarming Charm, is a defensive charm which forces the victim to release whatever they were holding at the time. It is common to see this spell used in duels, to make an opponent release their wand. (Requires Charm and DADA skill of at least D+), DC 100.

Expecto Patronum - What stops an unstoppable force? - DADA. The Patronus Charm, is a ancient and mysterious charm conjures a magical guardian, a projection of all your most positive feelings. The Patronus Charm is difficult, and many witches and wizards are unable to produce a full, corporeal Patronus, a guardian which generally takes the shape of the animal with whom they share the deepest affinity. You may suspect, but you will never truly know what form your Patronus will take until you succeed in conjuring (Requires Charm and DADA skill of at least P), ~~DC 500,~~ DC 300 + New trait if learned while Lupin is Professor.

Focillo - Charm. The Warming Charm makes a small warmth from the tip of the caster's wand in a small cone. With more willpower, the heat can intensify, though never hot enough to become dangerous. Slow clockwise circles that continue while you concentrate. (Comment: That's new. Why is it a continuous movement until it builds up? What do the wand movements do?). DC: 50.

Glacius (Needed for exams at the end of the year) - Charm. The Freezing Spell is a freezing charm that causes air in front of the tip of the wand, to reach cold temperatures in the extreme, which in turn can extinguish fires and create ice blocks from water. The spell is capable of freezing several inches of water solid within seconds, making it durable enough to walk across without falling through or injuring themselves. (Requires Charm skill of at least D), DC 75.

Protego (Deep Understanding) – DADA. Stronger version of the Shield Charm. Protego is a term applied to several varieties of charms. They create a magical barrier to deflect physical entities and spells, in order to protect a certain person or area. Conjurations may sometimes rebound directly off it back towards the caster or in other cases, may ricochet off in other directions or dissipate as soon as they hit the shield. Requires DADA Skill of A, gives a +15 to defending rolls, DC: 150.

Waddiwasi (Basic Understanding) – Charm. It was used by Professor Lupin to shoot the wad of chewing gum out of the keyhole and straight down Peeves's left nostril, but if you think about it, it could be used for any kind of other things. Waddiwasi is the incantation of a charm that can be used to shoot a small mass of whatever the caster so desires at the target. DC 50.

Tabula Rasa · Oct 1, 2020

[X] I'm coming home! (Takes 4 Actions) – You decide to go home. Make your way down to London together with the other students and ask your parents to pick you off there. There is a small island to the south east of the Spanish mainland waiting for your arrival.
[X] Runes Club Research (Multiple Actions on this count as multiple rolls stacking) – Spend time with the Members of the Runes Club looking for hidden runes and glyphs in the castle walls (Will also count as a training roll towards Ancient Runes).x2
[X] 7x Personal actions
--[X]1x Training Intelligence (max 5 int)
--[X]1x Training Creativity (Max 4 cre)
--[X]1x DADA (Hits P)
--[X]4x Spell learning (Expeliarmus, Cheering Charm, Avifors, Diffindo)
[X] Write a Letter (Free Action) – Specify to whom it is that you want to write and what you want to talk about
--[X] Parents, Christmas stuff.

Present Date: 04th December 1993
Current Wand: Fagus wood, Phoenix feather core

Rubeus Hagrid, Caretaker and Professor was a very special human being. First, there was the obvious; he was a tall man, very tall indeed … maybe even exceedingly tall. Was exceedingly tall a thing? Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't – oh … you were getting distracted again.

So, instead of continuing that thought, you leaned forward, grabbing another bucket of fish out of the place near the tree, that Justin and you had designated as the halfway point. You pulled it up, leaning back against the weight and then started to move forward in that awkward little dance one did when carrying something too heavy; your steps alternated in moving forward a tiny, tiny distance as you tried to cross the fifty yards to your destination.

Yes, Rubeus Hagrid was a very special human being. He was surely twice as tall as an average man and at least three times as wide. His long mange of shaggy black hair, jumping up and down in laughter when Justin had told him why the both of you were about to help him with his side-job as a Caretaker for an entire day. Say what you wanted, Professor Hagrid was not a careful person.

When Justin explained to him, that you'd transformed Goyle into a rabbit, he tried to pat you on the shoulder lightly, while throwing his head back in laughter. With hands as big as dustbin lids he had thrown you halfway across the room instead.

And so, a little more mangled than usual, your work had begun. It was a multitude of menial tasks; drag food here, haul things there, repair this one thing … On and on it went until you reached your current project. As soon as you saw the large chicken look at you, you stopped. You knew absolutely nothing about Hippogriffs, like really, you didn't know a single thing about them, but the way he had been starring at you from the very beginning, you had known to stay away. And so, you did, choosing to lay the buckets of fish down on the ground as soon as it saw you from the place Hagrid had said its nest would be. You did never confirm to be honest. The Hippogriff was atop a small hill and from down here you couldn't see any nest, but it wouldn't be a wise thing to check. Eying you closely even after this third bucket you brought it, the Hippogriff started moving forward, its head and wings rising menacingly as he came closer. You grabbed the empty bucket he'd left behind since your earlier trip and looked up at the large creature.

"I'd like us to be friends," you called out to it with a weak smile as you waved at the large beast. When it screeched in return, you let your hand fall again and started walking backwards.

"Well, can't win them all," you whispered to yourself as you made your way back to the Professor Hagrid's Hutt. Only now did you realize that it may have been a detrimental thing to disregard the elective of 'Understanding of Magical Creatures'. If they learned about interesting creatures like that, then it may have been a good investment of time for you.

Well, in the end you had to limit yourself. No one could take all of the courses, right? There was always balance.

"I do really not understand you," you heard Justin call out to you, as he exited the forest from your left, halfway back to Hagrid's house. "Why don't you simply use magic, mate? You've been carrying heavy things all day."

His curly hair, usually carefully groomed and blonde, had turned into a mess of dirt, twigs and leaves. The Hufflepuff was carrying two buckets himself, when he joined you on the way back.

"This is a novel experience. I've never had detention before!" You said in return, a smile on your face. "Why wouldn't I want the real experience?"

At this he shook his head in disbelieve. Still, there was a smile on his face: "Montague was right with one thing, you're a complete nutter."

"Well, you never heard me dispute that fact."

Both of you shared a laugh, before you asked Justin: "What was in those buckets?"

"The blood and water of that Hippogriff's food. Had to throw it away somewhere," he said, shaking the two now empty buckets.

You reached Hagrid's Hutt soon, even if you couldn't see the Professor, you walked around it to store the three buckets away. Then you made your way to the last job of the day; make a fire. Even if the Professor hadn't told you why exactly you needed a fire. By now you were feeling physically exhausted; something that was a rare and very nice feeling actually. Who would have thought that detention would bring so many new experiences with it?

"So, Jacob," Justin said after a while, when both of you started to take large chunks of wood to start a fire in the pit behind the hut. You didn't comment the fact that this time, Justin wasn't using any magic either to carry the wood.

"You're not of British descent, right?" There was hesitation in his voice, if it was because of the uncertainty of the answer or insecurity about the topic, you didn't know. Even if you had characterized Justin as outgoing, social and jovial, you were not too good in understanding his thought processes.

"My mother was born in South America, but was of British descent herself, my father is a Spaniard … mostly," you said, throwing the first chunk of wood into the firepit.

"Ah, that's why you're here in Hogwarts? Your mother wanted it?" His chunk landed in the pit, as well before you turned for more wood.

"More or less, I think my father was also very much in agreement. He likes me to do things differently and to be challenged. Any school in southern Europe would have been too close to home, for him." Back at the pile of chopped wood, Justin had to help you to pull a rather big chunk out of it. The Professor made everything larger than usual, it seemed.

"Ah, I get it. That's the same with me, I guess. My name was down for Eton, you know. I can't tell you how glad I am I came here instead. Of course, Mother was slightly disappointed, but since I made her read Lockhart's books I think she's begun to see how useful it'll be to have a fully trained wizard in the family ..."

The both of you walked sideward, carrying the large piece of wood between you until you reached the pit, throwing the large chunk of wood into it, before turning back around.

"Or not, I mean its not really the same …"

"I get it," you said, a smile on your face as you walked back. "Parents have things they want for us as well. Sometimes it makes sense and sometimes we need to talk to them for them to see our perspectives as well."

This time you grabbed a few smaller chunks yourself, before turning back to the pit.

"That's a good insight, I guess," Justin said.

You threw the wood into the growing pile inside the pit. Honestly? You had no idea how to start a fire. But ending this little adventure with one spell, wouldn't hurt the experience too much. Justin threw some small chunks in, before both of you turned again. In silence, you kept filling the pit. When it was of an adequate size, you pulled your wand out and said: "Incendio."

And then, when you had finished your last work for the day of detention, instead of leaving the fire behind and head back to the castle before curfew hit, you sat down. Justin looked at you for a moment, before deciding to follow your lead and sit down next to the fire as well.

The cold vanished as the roaring fire grew in size, gifting you a warm and cosy feeling.

"I'm sorry." The words were so faint, that for a moment, you imagined not having heard them. When you looked to your left, you saw Justin's eyes directed straight at the fire and not at you. His expression was a solemn one.

"What?" You asked, not sure if you had even heard a thing.

"I did not help you, back there … Against Montague and Goyle, I mean." The cracks of the wood, burning themselves into ash were the only sound in the vicinity. The sun was setting as the forest and hills around you turned to darker shades.

"You did not have a wand," you tried.

"I could have still done something. But I didn't because I was afraid," Justin said, still looking into the fire, as he hugged his legs close.

"You don't need to say sorry, either way," you answered, not comfortable with the direction your conversation was taking.

"Jacob," the Hufflepuff started, before halting his words to think about how to proceed. "I am not very brave, never was. The hat knew it and I knew it as well."

The fire was casting dark shadows under his eyes, making his face look surreal. Instead of watching him closely, you averted your eyes to look at the fire, too.

You heard him chuckle, as he was laughing about a joke only he understood, before he said: "Gryffindor was out of question the moment I put that hat on."

The fires danced in front of your eyes, moving left and right, guided by the wind. For a moment a small part at the upper left looked like a snake that was trying to bite the sky, before the illusion disappeared again.

"Now imagine, being a Muggleborn, not brave enough to stand for himself," Justin said with a low voice.

"But I was working hard and studying in first and second year to close the gap between me and you guys, who had always known about magic, who knew so many things I had to actively learn first." Justin took a stone from the ground between his legs, throwing it into the air for a few inches and catching it repeatedly. "And just when I think I had you, when I thought that I was almost there, finally knowing things as well, even able to teach something to the others … just then, with my luck, I saw the Basilisk's eye through the Gryffindor ghost and was petrified."

Oh, you forgot about that. Your eyes fell on him again, looking at Justin from the side as he threw the stone into the fire before him. He had been one of the victims back then. The shadows over his face were now almost completely black as day turned to night around you, the fire moving the shadows on his face around as if alive.

"The year was over, when I woke up. Five bloody months, gone, just like that. I was just at the beginning again, just where I had started and frankly … I don't have that drive to catch up anymore."

You looked up at him, feeling like there was a possibility for you to say something. "I could help you," you said. Only now did your eyes meet again. There was hurt in his expression … and anger as he stood up.

"I don't need your help, damnit." Another stone was thrown into the fire. "I don't need anyone's help. I'm a bloody Finch-Fletchley!"

Not knowing how to react to that, you chose to say nothing.

"If that gorilla of a Slytherin calls me a Mudblood again, I swear to god, I'll cut him down."

The third stone was thrown with more power behind it, crashing into the burning pit and pushing ashes into the air behind the flame. You looked on as the anger on Justin's face vanished almost instantly after he had said those words, as if his anger had just needed an outlet. Then he sat down again.

"I don't even know why I'm saying this to you. We don't know each other at all," he said.

You didn't answer at first, looking up at the night sky. Even if you knew that there were a billion stars above you, you did not see a single one of them. Your eyes were still accustomed to the bright flame burning in front of you, masking the sky in darkness.

"There is a very old man on the island I come from," you said, still looking up at the sky, trying to make out the faint lights.

"He is the oldest man I know, sometimes telling me stories of his youth in France," here you chuckled. "I imagine the France that exists today is very different to his stories, he hasn't been there in decades, but still, what he always told me was of how much he loved his country."

There were some noises in the hut behind you, a door opened, but you just kept on talking.

"I was young, mind you. Only knew my home island truly, even if I loved to read novels about characters around the world, I had rarely seen a thing but my home island. So, you can imagine how much I bothered him for stories."

Your smile stayed on your face as you thought of the Evenings in their living room. The neighbours had been just part of the family for you, which had made every single death a tragic one.

"So, one day, I asked him why he loved his country so much? What had made it such a great country, when I was reading so many wonderful things about far away places like Japan and The Americas." You still wanted to see those places, see all of the world, learn so many things. But you would come to that in time. Growing up around so many old people had made you quite patient – even if your curiosity won out at times.

"And he told me of the country he had grown up in, how it had been a place ruled by the old, governed by the ignorant and without vision. A country without care for its own people. So, naturally, I asked him, how he could love such a country, because I did truly not understand."

There were loud steps behind you, making Justin look back, before he turned back to you. The Professor stepped to the fire, a large teapot in one hand and a bag in another. He did not say anything, listening to you as well as he started preparing tea.

"The France of his telling was nothing I would like to visit at all. But then he told me about the anguish the people had felt, how they had fought against these old principles again and again. They failed many times, he told me, not able to make things truly good, until … one day, they realized that things had gotten better in the end. He told me that there had been no specific moment in time, but after all they tried and risked, at some point they realized that things had changed."

The teapot was cooking above the fire, when Professor Hagrid took a few sweets out of the bag and passed them to you and Justin. Every single one was as large as a cake. You accepted them with a smile.

"And then he told me about the France he now loves so much. Only then did I understand. If you have something that is good, that is not a bad thing. There are many countries just like France, that care for their people, are tolerant and competent. What makes it special for him, is that he remembers how it was before. He remembers the struggle they had to go through to get the country to this new form and that is why he appreciates it so much."

Now, you looked back at Justin who was biting into his large cupcake-cake. You followed suit and while it was chewy and not in any kind or form handy and easy to eat, it was still good.

"So, its only worth something if it was difficult to get there?" Justin asked.

You shrugged, before you said. "I don't know, maybe, maybe not. You'll have to see yourself in the end."

Justin looked back at his cake and then at the Professor.

"Thanks, Sir," he said.

And so, you sat together for a while, drank tea and ate the cake Hagrid had given you as a thanks for helping him, before you made your way back to the castle and into your common room. Well past curfew, there were only few still awake.

Physically tired and with having downed the entirety of the cake, you found yourself in a queer mode, something you hadn't felt in quite some time.

[ ] I want to show you the world, the way I see it – Take a seat near the window and paint. From up here you can still see the Hut, the remnants of the fire that is still burning, the dark forest half encircling it. You see the sky and its unmeasurable numbers of stars and the dark sea below, that looks like a hole in the fabric of the world at night. Paint what you see. This time it will not be a scrabble, but an honest attempt at capturing the world as you see it.

[ ] The world has a form, and I know of it – Take a seat near the fireplace and take one of the pieces of wood that waits at its side to be thrown into the fire. What could have been destroyed, to gift you warmth, will instead be turned into something else. While capturing what you saw with your eyes was easy, actually forming those impressions into something real was more difficult. Take the knife your father gifted you a few years back and start carving. Soon there will be a beautiful piece of wood on top of the fireplace mantel. A small, but proud Hippogriff looking at whoever it is that sits in front of the fire place.

[ ] I would like to tell you a story – Right now, you feel like you might want to write. Take a fresh notebook out of your room and sit down by the table. You are not sure what you are going to write about, but there is an idea; about a child, who grew up in riches and who could have had anything it wanted in life. Instead the child left family and home behind to see the world. Its life was full of struggle and battle, but at the end of it, that child came back home, older, wiser and happy about its decisions.

[ ] I am but an observer – Honestly, you are simply tired. Take the stairs up and go to sleep. A new day awaits you and with-it new adventures and mysteries that you might be able to solve. There are many thoughts in your head, but sometimes it is better to just go on with your own life.

→ 20 Experience gained for your unfinished duel.

→ 2 Time Echoes earned

Tabula Rasa · Oct 2, 2020

[ ] I want to show you the world, the way I see it – Take a seat near the window and paint. From up here you can still see the Hut, the remnants of the fire that is still burning, the dark forest half encircling it. You see the sky and its unmeasurable numbers of stars and the dark sea below, that looks like a hole in the fabric of the world at night. Paint what you see. This time it will not be a scrabble, but an honest attempt at capturing the world as you see it.

Present Date: 05th December 1993
Current Wand: Fagus wood, Phoenix feather core

"You're quite the fast learner, huh?" Megan asked, looking down at the notebook she'd snatched out of your hands. The only saving grace was that this specific notebook was a rather new one, specifically started for your newest pet project; to create a cartography of the runes that were carved into the castle walls and where you had found them.

"Anglo-Saxon runes?" She asked, her green eyes finding yours when she looked up.

You took the time for another bite to finish the sandwich in your hand, before taking your notebook back out of her hands and lay it down on the ground. Flipping past many notes you had taken as you tried to decipher what it was that your Runes Club-Member had found, you then reached the second half of the book. Only one page had been filled here:

ᚠ Mann (Mostly, it's a different version, but very similar)
ᛚ Lagu (Pretty certain on this one)
ᚷ Gift (I guess??)

"The stone is withered and the runes are not too clear, but it would make sense for this to be out of the Anglo-Saxon alphabet."

These were the only three runes in that section that had been recognizable at all. You would need more clues to begin to decipher whatever it was that hid behind the walls of the castle.

"So, you're serious about finding these?" Megan asked with a critical look on her face.

"We've been out here for an hour …" you tried to say, only for her to throw a comment in between your sentence: "Of which we've been sitting here eating sandwiches for half the time."

You didn't let the irritation get to you and continued: "… So, yes. I am serious about finding these - and we've only been sitting here for fifteen minutes!"

The Hufflepuff girl smiled at you. Her dark hair fell into her face as she shook her head.

"Where is this energy coming from? You're not usually one prone to action," she said.

At this, you couldn't help yourself but frown. You were maybe of the unsocial kind, but not active? No, that couldn't be the impression others had of you.

"I'm always prone to action!"

Her laugh signalled that you had fallen for some joke, you did not understand.

"Honestly, I thought you were asking me on a date, today. Storming to the Hufflepuff Common Room like that and demanding to see me on a Sunday morning."

"I did not demand anything," you said. It took a moment before you added: "And I wasn't storming anywhere."

"So, you did ask me on a date?"

What? If it was because you looked flustered or because you stuttered an incomprehensible mess in return you didn't know, but in the end, it was for Megan to laugh again, before she said: "Relax, Jacob. I'm just messing with you!"

Your earlobes felt hot even in the cold air of Scotland's winter. The few warm drinks you'd stolen … ah, you meant 'liberated' from the kitchen had been downed already. Even if you were secure from wind and weather down here at the secluded spot between an old oak tree and a small hill, you would soon have to turn back to the castle. Either you'd need to learn the Warming Spell soon or your time outside would be limited to short bursts for the coming winter months.

"So, lets assume that you in your free time – when no one else can see or bother you – are quite the adventurous and active person," she said, clearly still making fun of you. You'd never felt the need to prove something to anyone but yourself, but right now she was actually making you want to tell her of all the things you did, just because!

"Why did you ask me to join you on this … adventure then?"

"Because you have a broom," you answered swiftly, without needing to think about it.

Megan's smile disappeared just as fast. Her expression was one of … shock? Why would she be surprised like that?

"I mean, if we find something too far up, I won't be able to reach it obviously," you said, trying to clarify whatever it was that you had said before.

"Well, then I understand."

Where she had been joking with you before, laughing and smiling, now she looked angry and somewhat sad.

"Have I upset you?" You asked.

She did not answer, instead you saw how she started packing her things up and proceeded to stand up. Without answering your question, she said: "We wanted to look at the north wall still, before going back. I'd say we do that now." Then she grabbed her broom and climbed the small hill back up, leaving you behind, still leaning against the oak tree.

The moment you stood up, still unsure as to what had happened just now, the brisk wind caught up to you again. You grabbed your thick coat tighter and followed the Hufflepuff girl as she walked up to the northern wall of the castle. Even after a few minutes of walking in silence Megan didn't speak up and you didn't know what to say.

Why were Hufflepuff's so difficult to handle?

"Look, Megan …" you then said, walking to her right and looking up at her from a bit down the hill, still thinking about how to salvage this situation. When she turned around, her dark hair moved again, as they were blown forward by the wind. Just because you were looking up at her from down below, you were able to see a small patch of rough stone, five floors up where one of the Gargoyles had fallen off at some point in time, likely destroying the outer layer of the wall in the process.

"What?"

You did not need to answer. Once Megan realized that you were not looking at her, she followed your gaze, only to find the same spot you had up at the northern wall.

"Good that you have me, right?" She asked, as a smile found its way back on her face.

"Super glad," you said.

On the one hand, she was a good flier. On the other hand, there were two of you on her broom as she ascended. On the one hand there was not too much space between the two of you … on the other hand, there was not too much space between the two of you.

Up in the sky, your attention was split between two very distinct feelings.

→ Runes Club Findings: 2/10 progress to find Castle Runes

→ Ancient Runes +1 → New Grade, D--

→ Intellect Training, DC 40 → 1D100 → 32 (32) → Failure!

→ Creativity Training, DC 30 → 1D100 → 82 (82) → Success! → Creativity up to 4!

→ Dada Training, DC 25 → 1D100+20 → 56 (36 +20) → Success! → Dada New Grade, P.

→Expelliarmus Training, DC 100 → 1D100+14 → 79 (65 + 14) → Failure, New DC 21.

→Expelliarmus Training, DC 21 → 1D100+14 → 26 (12 + 14) → Success! Spell learned.

→ Felimpetu Training, DC 50 → 1D100+13 → 54 (41 + 13) → Success! Spell learned.

→ Avifors roll next, DC 5 – Special Event activates: 'The QM pities you', if you roll over DC 80, you get to learn this one for free.

→ Avifors Training, DC 100 → 1D100+13 → 70 (57 + 13) → Success! Spell learned.

→ Special Event 'The QM pities you' failed.

Present Date: 10th December 1993
Current Wand: Fagus wood, Phoenix feather core

Percy Weasley, seventh year, Head Boy and quite frankly much more proficient in any avenue of magic than you were, was watching you closely as he rose his wand to his face. It seemed as if Professor Flitwick wanted to finally teach how to lose in dignity. Looking at the small man that was your head of house, you smiled at him, shaking your head slowly. If you hadn't known him, you could have thought that there may be some glee in his eyes, as he said: "Begin!"

Only because you knew him, you could quite confidently say: there was glee in his eyes. Your smart and kind Head of House wanted to finally see you lose here. Well, how could you go about making his wish not come true?

Percy who stood across from you on the stage was tall and thin and like his brother Ron, he had the most vividly red hair you had ever seen in a human being. There were enough freckles on his face to quite comfortably feature ten new faces that you would still be able to call 'freckled', surely. He wore horn-rimmed glasses, and was as always trying to carry himself in a dignified manner. While you wouldn't do this at other times, here you felt like you could channel some of Tracey as you were the challenger in this matchup.

"It would be quite awkward if the oh-so-wonderful seventh-year Head Boy lost to a random third-year, wouldn't it?" you asked. Percy did not move, still looking at you as if he was waiting for your first move. When you saw that you were not getting any reaction from him, you added: "But don't worry, I'll teach you a few things after, if that happens."

You heard someone chuckle, but Percy did still not react; his try at staying dignified came off looking quite pretentious and silly now that you were making fun of him.

"I could share my notes with you, they are quite extensive in their regard to- …" You didn't finish your sentence as he finally caved, trying to defend himself.

"There is nothing that you- …" He tried to say. You didn't wait for him to finish, instead snapping your wand forward now that he was at least somewhat less focused.

"Incendio," you said, a fiery hot spell shooting out of your wand and crossing the distance between you and the older boy in a moment. The spell was fast and he had been midsentence. But it seemed as if your opponent was of the careful type.

Percy called: "Lapigno!" and a wall of stone materialized itself before him in the blink of an eye. The fire spell collided against the wall, the flame dying out harmlessly against it. Not quite fast, but as if he had planned it out befpre, Percy turned around the stone wall to cast his first offensive spell.

"Expelliarmus!"

"Protego!" Your shield was thrown up hastily as you wouldn't have been able to evade otherwise. It almost broke under the shier proficiency Weasley was putting into his magic. While you had never been awed by his creative mind, like with the kinds of Diggory, Weasley was surely one of the better duelists in the club. His grasp on magic was way beyond yours.

"Expelliarmus," he said again and your shield broke, pushing you backwards. You fell down but were still in control enough to roll backwards and back up onto your feet. Only a fraction of the intent reached you and you could still feel how the wand was trying to escape your fingers. You stretched backwards, reaching out with your fingers to grab the wand before it was lost and then you whipped it forward again.

You tried to win some time: "Avifors!"

With a single command in mind, a flock of white birds shot out of your wand. They flew straight for Percy who had possibly been expecting a more offensive spell from you to guard against. Well, you were of the creative sorts even if you had not his grasp of magic yet. Here you were laying the groundwork for something that may work. When he stumbled back, trying to burn your birds down to get them to disappear, you swished your wand around and down. A spell that after all the months of exploring Hogwarts came easy to you: "Spongify."

Your spell missed Percy by a wide margin and instead collided against the wall, that the Gryffindor had created. Percy was still stumbling back, trying to sort the bird problem out, but you knew that he was still focused enough to block your spells.

Now that the stage was set, the figures needed to fall into places.

"Expelliarmus!" You shouted, this time pointing directly at Percy, who simply moved behind his stone creation to evade your attack. A moment later you saw the last bird disappear out of the sky. Here, you smiled.

"That was quite the mistake, Percival," you said.

"Flipendo!" Your spell shot out of your wand, hitting the wall again. By now, Percy and the onlookers would be asking themselves why your aim was so off at the first charm and why you believed to be able to break a wall with Flipendo of all things. They would soon understand.

Your force push made the now softened middle piece of the wall stretch backwards. From your position, you couldn't see Percy behind his tall construct, but he just needed to be behind it for this to work. With a flick of your wand, you stopped your first charm. The moment the stonewall was not magically commanded by Spongify to act like a soft material, but was still in its stretched-out form; it exploded backwards. Large pieces of the wall were shot where Percy must have been standing.

This was your win.

The chunks of stone shot back, only to hit a second wall behind it that you hadn't been able to see from your position. And as if he had been waiting for you to act, Percy jumped around the corner and said: "Expelliarmus."

Who would have known that being thrown off the stage, into the ground behind it and landing headfirst would hurt?

Yeah, you neither. Curious thing that.

"Winner, Percy Weasley! Quite the formidable duel the both of you! Very well, very well. Next up …"

What was that in front of your face? Something white and a lot of yellow. Still on the floor, you tried to refocus your eyes again. The white turned out to be a set of teeth, the yellow was a set of blonde hair. "I would have never thought that it would make me so happy to see a Gryffindor win," Tracey said, grinning down at you.

"Ha." You said.

"Ever so articulate, Basques," she said, the grin now retracting into a gleeful smile. A moment later she held her arm out for you.

"Come on, now. At least we now know were you stand. Where is the fun in being the best from the beginning, huh?"

You grabbed her hand, before she pulled you back up. While you had lost the fight, there were quite a few people smiling at you and pointing their thumbs up.

"Yeah," you said. "Where would be the fun in that."

→ +30 Experience.

Present Date: 14th December 1993
Current Wand: Fagus wood, Phoenix feather core

Another week went by as you focused on your spell work more than ever. By now you had many of the spells down, that you would need at the end of the year. As the second week of December arrived, Professor Flitwick started collecting the names of those who would stay over the Christmas holidays. Only a few names landed on the list, among them; Michael Corner. You were quite happy about the fact that you'd be travelling home and did not have to share time with the boy you liked the least of the Ravenclaw third years. It would have been quite the headache, you assume.

On Tuesday afternoon, you found yourself sitting amongst the members of the Runes Club. For a while now had you been trying at catching up with the different alphabets your teacher was introducing in class. While you hadn't fallen behind the rest of your peers, bit by bit, you were able to finally catch up to Megan, who to your surprise, was quite ahead of classes already. It seemed that this specific subject was quite of interest to her.

H.A.R.C Findings, DC 50 → 1D100+4 → 84 (80 + 4) → Success!

And almost one month after their first findings, the other three members of H.A.R.C. had found something again. In the end, they were quite good at finding things, once they had an idea of what it was they were even looking for. A few minutes later, the five of you were standing in the third floor of the Central Staircase.

"So, what are we waiting for?" Megan asked after a moment of silence, when a second set of stairs passed by you. The Gryffindor boy turned to her. He had been the one to find this specific location and was who you had followed here.

Pete Balsall – you had finally learned their names and you would not let anyone tell you that you had only bothered, because now the three of them had become interesting – was a sixth year Gryffindor and the oldest among the H.A.R.C. members. If they had any inkling of structure and organization, the role of lead would have fallen on his shoulders.

"It doesn't appear that often. Give it a moment," he said, a jovial smile on his face.

"There's finally a benefit to the fact that you're always late," the older of the two Hufflepuff boys said; a fifth year, Wayne Bostock.

"You're just as bad," the youngest of the three said. Again, a Hufflepuff (you had too many of these around at the moment). His name was Martin Beccles.

"Soo …" Megan said, tipping her foot on the ground in a fast rhythm. "How long are we going to stand here?"

You had been waiting in silence, watching the three until now. Then, when you felt that there was a new staircase coming, you finally turned around. You knew where to look, before you heard Pete say: "There, below the stair."

As the stair descended from the floor above you, you were able to see the lower side of it. There, where the plaster had crumbled away, you saw familiar runes smiling down at you.

"Pete," you said. "You're a genius."

→ Runes Club Findings: 3/10 progress to find Castle Runes

Present Date: 17th December 1993
Current Wand: Fagus wood, Phoenix feather core

"How come we need to be told these things from other people?" Padma asked, looking quite horribly offended. Before you had any possibility to answer her, Morag came a step forward to point at you menacingly. You had no other choice but to step back to evade her horrible breach of personal space.

"You are quite possibly the worst house-mate one could ever think of," the girl said, her long her falling into her face through her sudden move. She moved her head to the side to let it fall back behind her shoulders, but kept her eyes on you.

"I told you, I had detention," you said defensively. Why they had chosen to corner you in front of the Great Hall, you didn't know. Maybe because you hadn't been in the Common Room for a few days at any godly time.

"You told us you were helping Hagrid, you utter prick!" Padma said.

"Why would I help him if it wasn't for detention?" You asked.

"Who in the world would know what happens inside that thick head of yours, Jacob!" By now Morag was quite heated up, shouting at you even. This was not a situation you knew how to handle, so you raised your hands, stressed as you felt at the moment, and tried signalling her to tone her volume down.

When Padma spoke again, it was still angry, but also in a hushed voice: "You fought three Slytherin's- …"

"Two, actually," you interrupted her.

"… and didn't find it in you to tell any of us?" She continued as if you had said nothing. "Do we mean nothing to you at all?"

Oh. That was- … Ooh. That made some sense to you at last.

"I'm sorry," you said, trying to hit the right tone, which should be somewhere between 'I don't know what you want of me' and 'Please stop screaming at me'. You weren't sure how good you were hitting it, though. "I did not think that it was of importance."

Now that you were focused on Padma, it seemed to be Morag's turn to attack again: "How is it not important, when you lose us twenty points- …"

"Fifteen," you interrupted again.

"… and we don't even get to brag how you beat two Slytherin's for it."

"I would have gone with the: we're a house, we should hold together," Padma said, now a little bit less angry. "But the sentiment is right, I guess," she added and smiled finally as some of the anger on her face dropped away. Morag looked at Padma and smiled in return, even if it was more menacing than anything.

Both of the third years turned at you at the same time. "So, how about you tell us some juicy details," Padma said, before Morag finished her sentence: "Someone needs to go bragging around, right?"

And so, on the way back to the Common Room, you told them. You played the bullying down, because you didn't want to share Justin's moment of weakness, took Nott completely out of the story and underlined that you hadn't won, because the duel had been stopped before it finished.

"Hijo mio," Morag said, letting her Spanish out, because you were around. "You really turned Goyle into a rabbit? That's crazy!"

"What about the spell, I mean I didn't know that- …"

"Jacob!" You heard someone call out from behind you.

Padma stopped midsentence, turning around with you as you saw Megan climb up a set of stairs hurriedly.

"There you are," Megan said, before directing a smile at the girls behind you. It was just a short greeting, because the very next moment she focused back on you, giving you a piece of parchment, before she said to meet her in the morning in front of the Great Hall. And fast as the wind, she disappeared down the floor again. The piece of parchment in your hand was a curious one. There were only a few symbols on it. All of them, you recognized:

ᛗ ᚳ ᛚ ᛁ ᚣ

It seemed as if Megan had also wanted to participate in the treasure hunt. You could not wait to see where she had found these runes exactly. When you then turned around, a grin on your face for what you would be able to possibly learn soon, you were confronted with two sets of raised eyebrows.

"Padma, what is more curious. That our dear Jacob is clearly keeping more secrets from us or that he is so happy to have seen his girlfriend?"

The girl to Morag's side was shaking her head in disbelief. "I have never in my life been so shocked."

"She is not my girlfriend," you said, not knowing that you had committed a cardinal sin with that simple sentence. Well, you would learn for future reference, at least.

"Jacob has a girlfriend," Padma said, clapping in a slow rhythm as Morag chimed in: "Jacob has a girlfriend, Jaco has a girlfriend …"

You would soon need a bit more adventure and a few less people around you maybe.

"Please stop."

Present Date: 18th December 1993
Current Wand: Fagus wood, Phoenix feather core

It was Monday morning, a few hours before classes and you were standing in front of the Great Hall. Had you guessed at how many people you'd find in the Great Hall already, you would have guessed two. One of the teachers and maybe a single of the older students that used the mornings to study.

Had you guessed before, you would have gotten the wrong answer, as there were dozens of people laid out all over the Great Hall. All of them were in various states of rest, some snoring, others sleeping quietly, while you could see quite a few sitting in their makeshift beds and talking to each other quietly. You would only learn later that you were seeing the entirety of Gryffindor's students in the Great Hall and that they had evacuated here, because a madman had broken into the castles and killed a student. Later you would learn that no student had been killed, but a teacher. Even later you would learn that it was no teacher, but a picture. In the end, it wasn't even that. School Rumours were quite inconsistent it seemed.

You would learn all of that much later, because in this very moment Professor McGonagall, who was at the other end of the room, was looking directly at you. Even you were socially adept enough to get the hint and so; you turned around and backed out of the Great Hall, just in time to see Megan descend the set of stairs.

With the large doors to the Great Hall behind you closed, she didn't see that there was anything different and so she said, with a smile on her face: "Morning Jacob!"

"Hola," you answered.

And then there was an awkward silence between the two of you, as she watched you intensely, as if waiting for something.

"Do we want to go?" You asked.

And it seemed to be not the thing she had wanted to hear, because her smile faded away. She nodded at you weakly, pulling her hair over her shoulders. Those bright yellow earrings of her that you had never seen on Megan before, disappeared behind her hair.

"Let's go," she said.

Again, the both of you did not talk for a few minutes. You cherished the silence, able to hear a few small pops around the floors as the House-elves were likely finishing their work in the castle before a new day started. It was interesting how many things one could notice, if one only new what to look out for.

"Aren't you going to ask where we're going?" Megan asked at last, breaking the silence.

"Why," you said, before smiling at her. "Walking with you is giving me hints, I still can solve the riddle in the end, if I don't ask."

"Hm, I guess," she said, before falling into silence again.

Soon, you reached the front of one of the few rooms in this castle that you had consciously not entered; the girl's bathroom on the second floor.

"I get, why none of the other found it, then," you said. Here Megan finally chuckled, losing some of that sad expression on her face.

"That's why I wanted to come early in the morning. It will be empty and you can enter."

And so, you did. Handling Myrtle wasn't easy and fell mostly on Megan. She tried to keep her off long enough for you to have a look at the runes that hid between a snake-engraved sink tap and the white tiles behind it. It was difficult to detect in the first place, so you had to halfway climb over the sink to actually make them out.

"These look more like those at the outside of the castle than those below the stairs," you said, more to yourself than to Megan who was still trying to stop the ghost from forcibly bringing a toilet to explode.

Your eyes stayed on the snake, twisting around itself on top of the sink tap. What a curious placement.

→ Runes Club Findings: 4/10 progress to find Castle Runes

→ Ancient Runes +1 → New Grade, D-

Your going home soon. While you have quite some time and will be able to do many things, choose one that you will do more than the others.

[ ] An entire Sky just for the both of us – Take a bit of time off to play with Peque. You used to fly around with him in the summers, so go out with your little friend, circle the island and fly over the ocean with one of your parents' brooms and Peque.

[ ] Like Father, Like Son - Your father was curious to hear of your duelling prowess and new found ambition. The old man wants to test you and see for himself how you are doing.

[ ] The Basis to Life – Much of the reason why you are even alive, is because of your mother's adept hand at potions. She's always busy brewing one or the other thing and now that you are home, you can take some time to help her.

[ ] Wonders of the old World – The other reason for you being alive is one of your neighbours. While you might get to hear a few more of his stories about France, you have the feeling as if you could learn quite a bit from him. Go and help your neighbour with one of his many Alchemy projects.

Present Date: 22th December 1993
Current Wand: Fagus wood, Phoenix feather core

"Jacob," he called, standing with his arms behind his back without feeling the need to wave for you to make him out. Even in the small crowd of parents at the magical half of London's station, you could make him out without difficulty. David Marvan Basques was tall and thin, towering over most people even at a hundred-and-eighteen. His eyes were directed at you, completely ignoring the many wizards and witches buzzing around between the two of you. Your father's expression was just as serious as it always was. Still, when you crossed the distance to him and went in for a hug, you felt his thin arms still snap around you and hug you as tight as possible.

"I've missed you, son," he said in Gallego.

"I've missed you to, papa."

When you stepped back, he took a measuring look at you, before he nodded as if agreeing with something. "You have grown quite considerably," he said. Even if he did not smile, you knew that he was happy about it. So, you smiled instead.

"Finding the kitchen was quite the useful thing, I guess," you said as your father grabbed you by your shoulder and guided you through the group of parents and students, heading into a more desolate corner of the station. His grip was still strong for his age and his steps secure and confident. Even if you had been away only for a short few months, you were happy to see that he was still as healthy as always.

"How was the voyage back?" Your father asked, as he took an old pocket watch out of the jacket of his impeccable brown suit.

"It was quiet. I was able to find an empty wagon and sleep a bit," you said as your father kept guiding you forward.

"How are we going to return to la Isla?" You asked, knowing full well that your father made it a statement, to demonstrate you a new form of travel with every return home.

"There is no need to be impatient. Alas, do you know what I have in my hand here, Jacob?" He asked in return, finally satisfied with the distance you had built between the rest of the crowd and yourselves. When he asked that, you looked at the pocket watch in his hand again. While your father had a good collection of all kinds of watches, this specific one you had never seen before.

"Some form of Portkey?" You asked, knowing full well that you had already travelled home with one before. He wouldn't show it a second time, would he?

"Almost," your father said, nonetheless. "There are magical objects, quite rare though, that allow one to travel back in time. They are closely monitored all over the world, and would not help us in our situation." While he was talking to you, the hand on your shoulder moved away from there and started turning the dial of the antique clock back.

"Where a Time Turner turns you back in time, this unique item turns you back in place."

Your eyes shot wide open, not blinking even once as you realized what kind of exciting magic you were able to see today. You stopped breathing and looked around when you noticed a sort of bubble had been created around the both of you, as your father kept turning the dial back.

"An extraordinary piece of magic," your father said when your surroundings started to move. For the first time in your life did you not feel the sense of acceleration, even as the ground below you started moving. The station flew by as if an illusion. Then you were on the streets of London, people and objects frozen in place as they whooshed by, moving a thousand miles an hour. The city was soon behind you, then the lands of England, rivers, towns and then cities again. Faster and faster it went, as an ocean flew by in less than a second, then more lands, mountains and the ocean again. Less than ten seconds after your father started moving the dial back, the world came to a sudden stop again.

Clack.

The sound of the pocket watch closing in your father's hand was what made you remember to finally breath again. A smell of water, fish and salt reached your nose. The sky was covered in clouds, but brighter than you had seen it in months. To your left was the infinite mass of the Mediterranean Sea. You almost made a step back, your mind still clouded in excitement, when your fathers hand landed on your back, halting that movement in its tracks.

"I found it quite the experience as well, the first time around," he simply said, making sure that you stopped moving backwards, before letting go of you. When you turned around you saw that your feet where at the outer edge of the tall cliffs that surrounded most of your home island.

"That was …" you tried to say, no word coming to mind for the sheer beehive of emotions that experience had awakened inside you. "… great."

"Yes, yes Nicolas is quite the gifted man for creations just as this," your father said. He packed the watch back in his pocket and began moving to one of the two dozen or so buildings on the island; a beautiful little house near the cliffs. It was two stories high, and had a quite intricate collection of colours, moving into each other. While half of the house was built on the ground, like any other structure would, there was a tunnel build deep into the stone of the island that connected to another part of the building, which was hanging to the left of the house, just below the cliffs and above the water. The house was as magical as the small garden in front of it. The smell of lavender and a dozen other more intricate flavours hit your nose as you passed them by and followed your father into the house you had grown up in.

"Bella, we are at home," your father said, now turning from his Galician tongue to your parents' shared Castellano.

There were steps, coming up the stairs from down below the building. When your mother climbed out of the floor below, she was beaming at you in excitement.

"Hijo," she said, not letting you bring in a single word before she caught you in a tight hug. "I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you, too, mama," you said as you threw your arms around her as well. When she finally let you go and brought you to arms reach, you saw her checking on you immediately, just like your father had before.

"Look at him, David! He's grown so much. You look so strong now, Jacob."

"Good kitchen, he says," your father commented from the side, taking his jacket of and letting it rest behind the door to the living room.

"Do you mean to say that you don't have a good kitchen at home?" She suddenly asked, turning to you with raised eyebrows. While she was trying to keep a straight face, you couldn't help yourself but smile at her. She had not changed a bit.

Isabella Mia Cortez was two years younger than your father. At a hundred-and-sixteen she was still as tall as most men were. While you had seen old pictures of her in her youth, even now there were the traces of the beautiful witch she had once been. But that didn't matter to you. While your parents had lost considerable weight over the last few years, they were still healthier and stronger than one could expect for their age. The most important thing; their mind had not weakened even a little. It put you at rest, resolving a fear that had been eating at you.

"I would never say that, mama," you answered in the end, earning you a pat to the face as she looked at you, now gifting you that kind smile of hers.

"I am so glad that you came, hijo."

"Now, let the child go and bring his things into his room. I think that was enough coddling for a day," your father then said, moving his wand up casually as the remnants of his suit turned into a set of more comfortable red robes now that he was back at home.

"You are insufferable," your mother said to him, choosing to ruffle your hair a last time, before letting go of you and following up with a: "Then bring your things down while I prepare lunch."

You couldn't help yourself but laugh. "It's 6 pm and you are making lunch?"

"I told you he would learn too many silly customs from these Brits," your father said. While his tone was still as stern as ever, you knew to discern the jokes from the serious comments. This one was clearly a joke.

"Ay, ay, hijo. Now down with you."

With a smile on your face, you first let Peque out of his cage, before grabbing cage and suitcase to head downstairs. The staircase was steep and narrow, but you had walked it so often in life, that it would feel wrong to have an easy descent here. Shortly after you reached the second half of the house, after crossing the tunnel through the cave your parents had built decades ago. From there it you climbed another floor down until you were at the lowest level of the house; your domicile.

A room, that was see-through to all sides. While there were only a few small windows, the walls and the floor had been enchanted to show the outer world, similar to the ceiling of the Great Hall. Growing up here had been the single best thing you could imagine; you hat watched the waters below in sunny, bright and dark, stormy days, had seen many creatures magical and mundane swimming below and always imagined to one day jump into the deep waters and join the ranks of its many mysteries.

You let your suitcase drop near your desk, where you could see a few remnants of your last stay and many memories of past; drawings, scribbled notes, books you had started and never finished, other books you'd read half a dozen times. Your room had no discernible theme. While the furniture was of a fitting set, because your parents chose them, everything that was of your creation was a wild mix of chaos.

There was a clay figure of a dolphin, swimming through the air. The dolphin looked more like a fat fish to your older eye and wasn't exactly good in any kind or form, but you remembered how your father had sat down with you to teach you how to build something like this. You must have been no older than six. When the both of you had finished, you had played with the lifeless dolphin day and night. You remembered how you took it with you to everything you did for weeks, until one night, you had woken up to see something below you.

You walked across the room, looking down at the spot in the water where you had seen that real dolphin many years ago. The figure of clay flew past your face, trying to get your attention. When you looked at it, it moved to your shoulder and tried caressing your face with its somewhat crooked rostrum.

"Hey, buddy," you said, smiling lightly.

You remembered how you had seen the real deal below in the water and how you had wished for your clay creation to be like that as well. You remembered yourself crying for hours, until the morning sun hit the clay dolphin and something moved inside you. And then, suddenly, what had been mundane, became magical as your little creation turned into something that was almost alive.

You had almost forgotten.

Spell Creation Idea Obtained: Phinidae (Basic Understanding) – Transfiguration. Turn objects into mostly living creatures. You remember a day in your childhood, when you were able to turn a lifeless clay doll into something that moved and acted like a real animal. While it had been a cause of accidental magic back then, you believe that you may be able to do it willingly as well. (Affects either medium large statues or small objects of any other kind.) (Requires Arithmancy & Magical Theory of at least P-), DC: 150.

Three-hour Moratorium! As always, please take time to discuss the chapter and the vote first.

Tabula Rasa · Oct 3, 2020

[ ] Like Father, Like Son - Your father was curious to hear of your duelling prowess and new found ambition. The old man wants to test you and see for himself how you are doing.

[ ] Wonders of the old World – The other reason for you being alive is one of your neighbours. While you might get to hear a few more of his stories about France, you have the feeling as if you could learn quite a bit from him. Go and help your neighbour with one of his many Alchemy projects.

Present Date: 23th December 1993
Current Wand: Fagus wood, Phoenix feather core

Your parents and you ate late lunch and then sat together and talked deep into the evening, before following up with an even later dinner. By the end of it, you felt quite full and tired. You slept well that night, the waves below you guiding you into a deep slumber.

When you woke up in the early morning, both of your parents had left the house already; they had told you that there were still a few things they needed to take care of before of the festive days began. Ascending the stairs from your room brought you into the second floor of the half of the house that was hanging over the waters. Where the lowest floor was divided into your room and a bathroom, this here was just one big room. And while it was just as alive as your room, the workroom of your parents was much more divided.

The space to the left was that of your mother. A dozen paintings lay around in different states of completion, waiting for one or the other addition, before your mother was finally pleased with her creations. You had many times seen her jump between her paintings, often creating multiple simultaneously, while a large cauldron was simmering in the corner. Your mother had always been very good at multi-tasking; something you seemed to not have inherited from her.

As far as you knew, your mother had been creating art like this forever, able to make a name of herself in south America, where many of her paintings were still sold to. You yourself had never been there before, which was a shame really.

The right half of the room was used by your father. Where your mother shared some of the chaos inside your head, the working space to the right was just as meticulous and composed as your father was. There was a collection of sculptures that had been arrayed in a neat row at one wall. All were of them made of some kind of black stone, you had never seen before. Where there was a cauldron to your left, your father had a wall mount to your right with a variation of wands and some other items on it. You had never seen your father take out any of them from their spaces, though, likely now more memory than actual useful equipment for him. There was not a speck of dust on them, either way.

Your mother had once told you how he had always been someone to sculpture and create things, but that he had only discovered it as a true passion once the both of them had turned into an item … Thinking about it, you had never asked them how they met? Your parents to you often had seemed like individuals that had existed like this forever, learning about Sally-Ann and the Grey Lady had given you quite the perspective on things, though. Even at a-hundred-and-eighteen and a-hundred-and-sixteen your parents were not that old. They had seen many things, but the world had existed long before their times as well.

A picture of a tall woman came to your mind; young, fierce and with long hair just as brown as that of her three brothers. Thinking about Basques made your parents look like children even. Your ancestor had lived an unimageable long time ago.

With those thoughts in mind, you walked through the room your parents spent a lot of their time in, and headed back into the tunnel to pass by the stony ground of the island and then up into the main house.

Your mother, it seemed, had decided to chose that exact moment to arrive back home. The front door opened smoothly, before she entered, a dozen bags flying behind her to then come to a halt in the middle of the entrance room as they created a perfect circle around her.

"Good Morning, Jacob," she said cheerfully, this time in English.

If anyone ever asked you at School again why it was that you woke up so early every day, you would bring them here for a week. Here you always felt like a lazy sleep-in, no matter how early you left the bed.

"Hola, mama," you answered, taking your wand out and casting Wingardium Leviosa to levitate some of the bags into the large kitchen.

"Oh, no. You don't need to help me. Please, you're on vacation. Go and have some fun!"

You ignored her words, carrying the other bags into the kitchen as well, before you started sorting the things out and putting them into their designated places. A moment later, you were made to stop by two hands that had grabbed the sides of your head, before your mother planted a big kiss on top of it.

"Thank you, dear," she said, before pulling her wand out and orchestrating the rest of the things. After this, you sat together for breakfast – which was even a tiny bit better than what you had at Hogwarts.

"Mama," you said, looking up from the dish of tortilla you were digging into right now. "How did papa and you get to know each other?" The question had stayed on your mind.

Your mother sat her tea down back on the table and smiled. "What brings that question forth?"

"I was just curious," you said, which brought a chuckle out of her.

"You are always curious, mi amor." She bit into the biscuit she was having for her second breakfast with you. "Where would I start?" She asked looking here and there, before her eyes went to the upper right and she seemingly found something in her memories that was suitable.

"Ah, I know, I know. Oh my, this was so long ago. It must have been 1895, back then I was eighteen years old and fresh out of school," your mother said, as a smile build up on her face again. In this very moment, your mother looked younger to you than she had ever before. You could almost make out a blush when she thought of the old times.

"I was young, wild and so very enamoured with the thought of seeing the world. My parents, que dios les bendiga, were strict and had an exact image of what they wanted me to turn into. They wanted me learn something of value, marry a good spouse and have as many children as I possibly could to keep the man at bay." Here she laughed.

"How they thought I was going to do any of that, I do not know to this day, but it may be the sin of a parent to want for the children what they think is best. So, I did the next best sensible thing; on the day one of their chosen princes came to our home to ask for my hand, I hexed him in front of his family, took my things and just disappeared."

"What?" You asked, a grin on your face. This sounded like the beginning of a great adventure, maybe even for a good sequel to 'Dragon Dreams'. "That sounds fun!"

Your mother chuckled in delight, before taking another sip of her tea. "I was sure you would like this story as well, dear. Just promise me, that when your father and I ever do something like that, you'll at least write us some letters on your adventures through the world."

Her words were light, but her tone was not. A pang of sadness overcame you, when you reached for her hand. When talking about things like that, there was always the undertone that they would never come true. Even with all their health and the energy they put into staying healthy, all of you knew that there were not too many years going ahead. Soon, age would catch up to them.

You grabbed your mother's hand tighter, pushing her on to continue her story.

"Well, it was 1895, I was eighteen years old and completely on my own, with no real skills that could keep me alive, but my wand and my potions. Naturally, I chose to cross the continents, because that is the most sensible thing to do in such a situation, right?"

At least you knew now, who it was that gave you that irredeemable disregard for risks, even if she was always the one telling you to be careful and to take a slow approach to things.

"I jumped on a Muggle Ship, put a few spells up to have my own cabin and travelled to the northern America first. I sold of the few potions I had brought with me to be able to afford a room for a few weeks. From there on I was keeping myself active, brewing and selling the results, even if I had to lie a bit. No one would buy the potions of a girl with nothing to her name … Well, while it was a good thing in the end, it was quite a stupid solution even at the time."

"There was an exhibition happening soon. A gallery of his most fascinating works really. The star of the evening was none other than our dear Nicolas."

You gasped at the turn of the story, the grin on your face would not recede even a bit. "No, you didn't!" You said when you realized what she had done.

"Yes, I did", your mother answered, with a hand to her face to hide her shame. She was also smiling. "I charmed the labels to look like they were official creations of the honoured and famous Nicolas Flamel and sold them for ten times the price, I could have usually fetched. There was quite a bit of trickery involved, but I was selling high quality potions either way. The fact that no one believed a young girl could do something like that, made the other extreme more believable; that I was just a mere vendor of the great man."

"How long did you do that for?" You asked.

"Let me think … I wanted to do it just to get enough money together to cross to Europe, but it was so profitable that I did it for almost two months, I think. In the end, I even had a store and two vendors working for me. It was difficult hiding the fact from them, that I was indeed brewing all the products in my small room above a Tavern, but well, it worked out somehow. But everything comes to an end at some point", your mother said, taking the time to take another bite out of her biscuit and pointing at your food for you to keep eating.
Oh, you had completely forgotten about your food.

"A week or two before the exhibition would finally start, a young man came into my store. He was tall, very, very good-looking," she said winking at you. "And so very serious and stern. I disliked him from the moment I first saw him."

"Papa!" You said. Here your mother simply nodded in return.

"He was working for Nicolas at that time. Our dear Neighbour loved to cultivate the young and talented and there were few more talented than your father was with a wand; even if that interest rarely carried to fields other than the martial aspect of it. To this day I think that Nicolas was keeping him around just to see him grow, but your father was of the impression that he was there to keep order and guard the old man." Here she laughed at the memory. You laughed along.

"He was young and didn't understand the world quite as good as he would say he did. So, this good-looking twenty-year-old comes into my store and starts asking questions. Who is the owner?" She said imitating your father's harsh tone quite proficiently. "Me," she then said in her own voice, before changing to your father's again: "What are you selling here?" Her expression changed from hard and serious back to her smiling one: "You can obviously see that yourself, I said. And then … he busted me. I grabbed my bag, that had most of my savings in them and did the most sensible thing."

"You ran," you said.

"I ran," your mother repeated, nodding with a wide smile on her face. "And it seemed that your father was quite smitten with me, he ran along. He would tell you today, that he was trying to catch a criminal, but I know that deep down he was already falling in love." Again, your mother laughed. How much would you give to have seen them that day.

"I was good at potions, great even, but in catching criminals your father was better than I was in being a criminal. I had no chance, even if I put up quite the fight. Four carriages, many broken windows and ten blocks later, he caught me and brought me to Nicolas who should decide about my fate. Well, you know Nicolas just as well as I do; he did not care at all about the legality about what had happened, instead he inspected my potions and asked me to support their exhibition. If I could sell these on my own so good already, why not sell them under him legitimately. And thus, your father and I spent a month together. We were fighting more than not, but with every passing fight I was learning to see more of what hid behind his façade."

"In the end, I got to see the kindness below his seriousness and a pure sense for justice that I had never seen on a wizard before … and then there was his unfathomable love for art. When I thought him a brute, with nothing in his mind but duels and looking good, he was a kindred spirit in reality. Your father spent many nights in his room, sculpturing things that had caught his eye, things that he could not stop thinking about. When I finally was allowed to see his room, I had eyes only for one sculpture. Something he had been working on for weeks, but could simply not finish; it was one of me."

For a moment you saw Isabella Cortez before you, an eighteen-year-old girl, who had struggled against her fate, fighting herself to a bit of wealth in a different continent and who had fallen head over heels for a boy two years older than her.

It was the most wonderful story you had ever heard.

Present Date: 24th December 1993
Current Wand: Fagus wood, Phoenix feather core

The islands inhabitants were not all of Spanish descent, not even most of them. No, la Isla had been a Collaboratory effort by a multitude of wizards, witches (and druids) of most of the western hemisphere. Still, the shared traditions they followed were mostly of the Spanish kind. And so, you found yourself on the evening of the 24th sitting at a table that was as long as the Great Hall. Built under a half tent that only covered you with a top and secured from the weather by a dozen different spells, almost sixty people sat together and ate. You were sitting between your father and one lovely old lady, who was trying to feed you and her niece at the same time. That you were old enough to eat yourself and her niece was double your age didn't seem to register, be it her advanced dementia or just her loving personality.

You smiled at her, took the bread she was trying to feed you out of her hand and scanned the table. The tradition of 'la noche buena' was something that was very different from the kind of festive they would be celebrating at School in Scotland. Here the entire family came together, but without the need of gifts. That would follow in January.

The long table was filled with savoury food, drinks and sweets. You downed the bread in your hand with some cheese on it, before going for a bit of Turron. A sweet something of roasted almonds, a lot of sugar, eggs and honey. There were all kinds of candied fruit for it or chocolate or marzipan … so much flavours to choose from. The only sensible solution was to try each and every one of them. And so, you did.

Right now, the entire island was gathered in the centre of the small village; 49 inhabitants, all past their prime and on the last leg of their life and with them, a dozen younger wizards and witches that had come to visit their parents, grandparents or great-grandparents. This, even if it was always so full of people, had been one of your favourite events in the year growing up. It was simply interesting to see people from the entire world coming together here to celebrate in kind.

You caught the eye of a familiar man, who smiled and waved at you when he saw you. Nicolas was sitting far away to your right, almost at the end of the table. He looked thinner and older than you had ever seen him. A man that was older than most countries was finally reaching the end of his life. The feeling of sadness you felt grew only when you finally saw who was sitting to his right.

Perenelle Flamel, 659 years old, the woman who had taught you French, who had cared deeply about manners and had scolded you a hundred times for the way you loafed around with your head in the air, had lost all resemblance to her old self. Where she had been charismatic, strong and frightening, right now you only saw a shadow of her former self. Her cheeks had sunken in, her skin was as pale as bone and she was struggling to keep herself straight in her wheelchair. You remembered Perenelle advising your parents that they should send you to Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, and that she wanted to personally inform the Headmistress to take you in and nurture you into a fully capable wizard, so that you could grasp your potential in time.

You remembered her beauty, how she had carefully coloured her hair and touched her skin to make herself look younger. Perenelle Flamel had been strong, confident and the most frightening of your caretakers. But that was not what you were seeing right now. The creature sitting next to Nicolas was nothing but a husk, not even strong enough to grab her own food, as her husband turned to her every few minutes to give her something new to chew on.

You forced yourself to smile and waved back at Nicolas, a deep sadness taking over your soul as you saw what the destruction of the Philosopher's Stone meant for the oldest wizard and witch that had ever lived.

Soon it seemed, even they would leave this world.

Present Date: 25th December 1993
Current Wand: Fagus wood, Phoenix feather core

You were standing on a wide field to the north of the small village, far enough away that a stray spell would not hurt anyone. Right now, you were laying flat on your back, looking up at the sky and trying to ignore the headache that was building up inside your skull after you had hit the ground for a fourth time.

"Come on now," your father said as he moved two of his fingers up. "I still have to see that creativity of yours come to life."

You sighed, still on your back. The way this was going was even beyond what you were used to of your father. It seemed that you had passes some hidden threshold he had set, which made you get to experience a bit more fatherly love. While it had been a novel thing, when you lost against Percy, this right here was bordering the uncomfortable.

Pushing yourself up, your wand landed in your hand again, after your father swished his wand.

"Now, try again," your father said, just in the same moment as you said: "Expelliarmus."

The moment of surprise did you no good. Your father moved his wand downwards and without the need for an incarnation, weeds and roots shot out of the ground to block your spell. In four rounds, you had not seen him repeat a single spell, which made it much harder to find possible ways to get to him.

"Incendio," you said, as a small fireball shot out of your wand. The plants soon caught fire, opening it up to another attack: "Lapifors."

An almost transparent spell moved from your wand to your father, crossing a small opening in the still burning weeds. The Transfiguration spell never reached him, though. It was stopped by a rock that shot out of the ground to block that specific area. Your father knew how to move the surroundings even before you did, seeing possibly avenues for attack and defending those in advance.

"Spongify," you said, trying a tactic that had worked once before, even if you had lost the fight after. Then: "Flipendo!" The weeds had completely burned down by now, making you able to see your father's face. He looked confused for a moment, not sure what your plan was here. You couldn't help but smile as you let the first spell vanish and the rock exploded backwards, just like in the fight against the oldest Weasley brother.

Your opponent simply moved his wand upwards. There was no wall that moved in between him and the oncoming chunks of stone this time, instead everything came simply to a stop. Your father raised an eyebrow. "That was an interesting application of spells. I am very pleased with your development," he said.

"Who said that I'm finished, papa?" You asked in return, before following up with your last spell: "Reparo!"

Instantly the chunks to the right of your father, started merging with those to his left. With your father in-between, he should have been part of a large chunk of rock at the end of it, which you were ready to levitate to keep him standing and not needlessly hurt your father.

In the end, those sorrows were unfounded; because when the chunk of repaired stone hit the ground below, your father stood behind you and proceeded to pat you on the back, having crossed twenty meters in the span of a second.

"Excellent," he said. "Magnificent even. It was the right decision to send you to that School. I shall thank the Head of your House for teaching you this well, mi hijo."

When you turned around to your father, there was one of those very rare smiles on his face. In that moment, you knew what was coming for you. The spell hit you right in the chest, throwing you across the field.

"Now," your father said.

"Let's do this again, shall we?"

Fighting against someone, who is so far beyond your level, that he only needs a single attack to down you, let you be more creative than usually. In these duels against your father you gathered a deeper understanding for a single spell. Only chose one:

[ ] Flipendo (Deep Understanding) - Charm. With an advanced understanding of this spell, you are not only limited to knock over an opponent or object anymore, but to create a mighty force push instead. This is beyond what is usually expected out of the simple jinx.

[ ] Incendio (Deep Understanding) – Transfiguration. The Fire-Making Spell can be used to conjure a jet of orange and red flame. Thereby this spell can be used to set things alight. Where you would usually expect a small flame, you are able to cast out a fireball as big as a head, roaring through the air and able to cause significant damage.

[ ] Expelliarmus (Deep Understanding) - DADA. The Disarming Charm, is a defensive spell which forces the victim to release whatever they were holding at the time. It is common to see this spell used in duels, to make an opponent release their wand. Only for those with a deep understanding is it possible to throw the enemy back at the same time.

[ ] Reparo (Deep Understanding) – Charm. The Mending Charm, also known as the Repairing Charm, is a charm that can be used to seamlessly repair a broken object and works on most materials. This useful charm was invented by Orabella Nuttley, in or before 1754. There aren't many things with too heavy a damage or that are simply too large for you to not be able to repair them as swift as a blink of the eye by now.

[ ] Avifors (Deep Understanding) – Transfiguration. A transforming spell that could be used to change the target into a bird, flock of birds or occasionally a flock of bats with a vivid flash of blue light. Transforms the targeted object into a bird, which can then be used to carry a small object or message to someone. With the deep understand you have gained, it is possible for you to guide the birds with new orders, even after having cast the spell.

Present Date: 27th December 1993
Current Wand: Fagus wood, Phoenix feather core

When you finally found the heart to walk across the small village and visit the people you cared most about, your feet carried you to a small house at the other end of the island. You knocked on the door three times, before opening it yourself and stepping into the familiar home. The smell of phosphor and sulphur was fainter than in your memories, but it told you that Nicolas was down in the basement, working on one of his many projects again.

"Who is there?" Came the voice from below.

"It's me," you said, turning for the stair down to the basement. "Jacob."

"Oh, my dear," the voice said again, now recognizing your voice. "Come down," he said. "Come down please. We are downstairs."

You complied with his requests, descending the stairs to join the two elderly in Nicolas' working basement. A wooden shelve extended from the top of the stairs to the lower floor to your left; filled with dozens of trinkets, some hundreds of years old, that Nicolas had built over his life time. The treasure down here was immeasurable, a collection of one of the most brilliant minds to ever exist. And you didn't understand a single thing about them. The old wizard had always told you that there was no need to follow in any one's footsteps, that you needed to develop your own interests, before learning from others and so all of his inventions had stayed a mystery to you.

"Old man," you said caringly, when you reached the floor. Nicolas stood near one of five tables, hunched over a large magnifier as he carefully moved a small red stone into a diadem with a long tweezer in his hand. He didn't look up from his work, focused on keeping his hand steady instead. To his left, his wife was sitting in her wheelchair. She had been carefully watching him before, but now her eyes fell on you. While her body had degenerated in a few short months, her eyes reminded you of the woman that you had respected and feared.

"Jacob," she said, her voice nothing but a faint whisper. "Te voilà enfin, mon enfant."

You tried to smile at her, but it was hard to do when the sadness of seeing her like this hit you again. Instead of answering, you simply nodded to her; yes, you were finally here. It had taken you a while, but you had been afraid of this very moment.

"Come here," she finally said, still speaking French with you.

You walked up to Perenelle. She understood your hesitation, when she saw you simply standing in front of her, not knowing what to do exactly. You saw how her face twisted in pain, as she moved her hand up for you to grab. Careful not to hurt her in any kind or form, you went down on one knee and took her hand in yours. It was nothing more than a bit of skin and bones. Her hand felt cold and weak, but you still held onto it, trying to comfort her even in a moment where you were hurting yourself.

"Salute, madam," you said. "I'm sorry for not coming by earlier," you then added, answering in French yourself. The language was getting rusty, but it still felt more natural with her.

"It's fine, my child. If even I am afraid of death, after all these years, how could you not be, when you have lived only a fraction of my life?" Perenelle's words were slow and her voice was weak. Every now and then, you saw her eyes drift down as if she was having trouble to keep them focused on you..

"I am sorry," you said.

"You shouldn't be," she answered. "You are but a child, what evil have you done to be sorry for?"

You didn't have an answer for that.

"Take a chair and join me, child. My husband and I are of the same mind, it is time for him to teach you, now that our years are coming to an end."

And so, you did. You grabbed a chair out of under one of the many working tables and sat down beside Perenelle, always holding her hand as she and you looked at Nicolas careful work. He, when focused on his work, was a far different person than he was in his usual life.

Where Nicolas, neighbor and husband, was a kind, but often distracted man, always talking about this and that and never focusing on the event at hand, Nicolas Flamel was a very distinct persona. His eyes didn't blink for minutes at end, focused on the single task of making him see without distraction. His hands moved carefully, the long tweezers in his hand touching exactly the spot on the diadem that he wanted them to touch. When he put the last of the red stones into their designated place and he finally looked up to you and Perenelle, his expression was a sharp one. You asked him: "Why don't you use your wand?"

Here he shook his head vehemently, his long white hair moving right and left, a look of disapproval on his face that you had rarely seen before; even back then when you had broken one of his working tables as you had tried to use one of his many trinkets as a child.

"The process of creation is a delicate one! You should never choose the easy route, just because it is the faster one. There is time for magic and then there is the time for doing the right thing!"

That was a rather curious statement. It felt as if he had said the same thing a thousand times before. You wondered for a moment, how many wizards and witches had learned from Nicolas in the hundreds of years he had lived.

"Why?" You asked.

"What do you mean, why?" Nicolas Flamel asked, revealing an energy of vehement disapproval that you had never seen on the man before.

"The enchantment should not be influenced, when done right," you said. "Different spells are distinct enough from each other as to not influence one another."

"There is no such thing as barriers in magic, Jacob. Every spell, every charm, ingredient or intent reacts with all the others. Only if you perfectly balance those you want and completely eliminate those you don't want to interfere, will you be able to achieve what is impossible," he said, before carefully laying the tweezers back on the table.

"And now that you've finally come, let us start," he then said.

That caused you to frown in return. "Begin with what?"

"With your training, naturally."

Nicolas Flamel, one of the most talented people to ever grace the face of the earth, wants to use some of your vacation to teach you. He still wants to only guide your development, not dictate it, as he is a firm believer of individual development. So, it is for you to choose what project to work on.

[ ] An old Idea of a Map – You had the idea of creating a Map of Hogwarts to track the hidden secrets you uncovered and reveal the people that move on its ground. With a mind as great as Nicolas, you can try to start this project earlier than you had planned out. (Lower the DC from 400 to 100.)

[ ] Shoes, I want Shoes – While you do not own a broom, it is a practical thing to conquer the sky's. Try to start the process of enchanting your shoes with the help of Nicolas. You will not be able to soar and fly through the sky, but to step on it as if on ground. This will open up many new possibilities for you. (Add new Alchemy Idea 'Talaria' to your Notebook.)

[ ] Gloves, I want Gloves – You have many plans of doing things that may be dangerous, and while you are no one to recoil from simple risks like that, it may be wise to get one measure security before that happens. While it may be too much to aim for eternal defenses, it should be possible to create something that can guard you once from a spell, a venom or a similar direct attack that would otherwise kill or maim you. (Add new Alchemy Idea 'Járnglófar' to your Notebook.)

Tabula Rasa · Oct 4, 2020

[ ] Avifors (Deep Understanding) – Transfiguration. A transforming spell that could be used to change the target into a bird, flock of birds or occasionally a flock of bats with a vivid flash of blue light. Transforms the targeted object into a bird, which can then be used to carry a small object or message to someone. With the deep understand you have gained, it is possible for you to guide the birds with new orders, even after having cast the spell.

[ ] Shoes, I want Shoes – While you do not own a broom, it is a practical thing to conquer the sky's. Try to start the process of enchanting your shoes with the help of Nicolas. You will not be able to soar and fly through the sky, but to step on it as if on ground. This will open up many new possibilities for you. (Add new Alchemy Idea 'Talaria' to your Notebook.)

Present Date: 28th December 1993
Current Wand: Fagus wood, Phoenix feather core

The days passed by quickly. You spent the mornings painting with your mother and talking to her about memories of the past, learning many a thing about the life she and your father had shared together, while working for the Flamels. Their many adventures would have filled a series of novellas. After late brunch, both you and your father headed out together and with every passing day, he was becoming more merciless, letting fewer and fewer of your attacks through, before he took you out. He used a different wand each day, changing his tactics with them as if he was pleasing their will and fighting the way his chosen wand of the day liked it most. There was a lesson there for you to learn from.

After lunch, you visited the Flamels. Once your mother realized that your visits would be a daily thing, she started making you deliver the food that she was usually making them in advance. Even in their last years now, it seemed that there was not much family or friends to the Flamels. Famous and rich as they were, there was no one outside of this small island that even knew where they lived, it seemed.

"What is the first thing one needs to do in the process of creation?" Nicolas asked when you first sat together to discuss your shared project.

Talking to the old man in his new persona was much different than what you had become used to of him. His eyes were focused and sharp, his gaze unwavering as he waited for your answer. While you had never been someone to give uneducated responses, here you found yourself thinking over everything two times.

"One needs to first find an idea," you said in the end.

Your teacher shook his head without breaking eye contact. "Before the idea comes the Need," he said. "This is even more important to you than it is for me. Missing skills and understanding of the intricate relationship between different branches of magic are nothing to a pure need to make a specific thing happen. A need overrules everything else under the right circumstances."

His words made you think about the Grey Lady and her disdain and hate for her own life, not able to let it end without her ever having felt happy. Sally-Ann, young and innocent, ripped out of life too early and in a cruel way. You remembered her fear, her need to stay together with her friends in the castle. What you had identified as strong emotions that made the impossible come true, Nicolas was calling a need for something.

"I understand," you said. Your teacher looked at you for a moment, before a quizzical expression fell into his face.

"The accidental magic I did as a child, making inanimate objects come to life," you said. "Or the moment when a human dies and his soul is not ready to go on. A Need for a specific thing to happen, fuelled by emotion and magic … it can make anything possible."

"That is correct," Nicolas said, his face still thoughtful as he observed you. "It surprises me that you have this deep an insight. Who taught you this?"

"They are long dead and gone," you answered. "People I never met while living."

You looked down at the ground, still not feeling able to put those experiences into words.

"Ah … I think I might understand," Nicolas said, his hand coming to rest on your head. His rare gesture of compassion made you look up in surprise. While the oldest man in the world had always been kind and eager to listen to you, he had never cared for any physicality. "Your parents told me of what happened at your School. This might have given you a good grasp of what we are about to do then."

Letting go of you, he went back to one of his many shelves, taking out one or the other thing, before passing by his wife again, who was watching the both of you from her now familiar spot.

"We will use a Need for you to start on your journey here. Now, tell me Jacob; what is it that you truly want. We need something that gives you a Need strong enough for you to jump over any hurdle that will be created by missing skill, as we do not have the time to teach you in any ordinary fashion."

You thought about his question for a while. Your feet hitting in a slow rhythm against the ground below as you contemplated his words. While you were still sitting on a chair, your boots were creating the sound of steps, echoing against the walls of the basement. What was it that you needed? What could create a strong enough emotion for you to disregard the usual requirement of many years of traditional apprenticeship in the subject.

There was one thing that guided you most in your adventures: Curiosity. You needed something that could assist you when you finally roamed out of exploring only the castle.

The need was crystalizing inside your mind, forming a vague picture.

When you looked down at your boots, an idea was there as well.

→ Alchemy New Grade, D--

Present Date: 30th December 1993
Current Wand: Fagus wood, Phoenix feather core

It was early in the morning and you were sitting on a high three-legged chair in your parents' workshop. Sitting in front of an easel you had borrowed out of your mother's equipment, you had been watching the empty canvas for an hour now. It was the second day in a row that you were trying to put something down on the plain surface, but couldn't quite grasp the image inside your head to make it clear enough to paint.

You closed your eyes frustrated seeing the four figures dance around in front of you, but when you opened them again – they were simply gone again. Sighing in frustration, you put the colour mixing palette down on the ground and stood up.

This morning your mother had headed out to the Flamel's house herself. Perenelle's health was further deteriorating with each passing day, needing more and more potent brewing's of your mother to keep her pain at bay and strengthen her weak physicality.

You were feeling a block build inside your head, emotions building up that you didn't know how to handle, chose to ignore and thoughts which you didn't know what to do with. The process of losing people that were important to you was a painful one. You felt helpless and ashamed, because you didn't even feel as if you were being able to give emotional support to anyone.

Frustrated with yourself, you gave up the latest attempt of creation and put away the equipment. You cleaned up the palette and brush that had gone unused in the end and pushed the easel back into its place at the wall. When you took the canvas and carried it over to the shelve where you had taken it out of, you tried to place it on top of the shelve. You set it on a large box, dusty and old, looking as if it hadn't been moved in years. While usually careful and considerate when handling your parents' things, the irritation you were feeling showed as you accidently pushed the box out of the shelve in the process of putting the canvas away.

The box came crashing down with a large bang.

"Fuck!" You exclaimed, as frustration turned into anger. The next best thing landed in your hand, which was a small canvas, not any bigger than your head. You threw it through the entirety of the room, where it clashed against one of your fathers' sculptures. A second later, the sculpture fell to the ground, exploding into a hundred pieces.

You looked at the mess that had been a beautiful sculpture of an otter just a second before. Anger turned into an empty feeling of defeat, when you let yourself fall on the ground next to the box that had fallen of the shelve.

And finally, you started crying. When no one was looking and you felt that you could not take another step, there was no way to stop the tears from coming, so, you simply didn't. You sat there for a long time, before the tears stopped and you tried cleaning up your face with your sleeves, dirtying them with a mix of tears and snort.

"Ok, come on, Jacob … you can do this," you said to yourself, before pushing yourself back up again. The sculpture started to fall back together after a 'Reparo'. A moment later it stood on its original place, looking just like it always had; beautiful and whole. Then you leaned down to take on the large box and shove it back on its place, only to realize that it had fallen open, enabling you to see the painting that lay at the top of it.

The first difference to your mothers' usual paintings was that this picture did not move. While her paintings were intricate, detailed to perfection and would stand out under a thousand other pictures as special, even without any kind of magic, the movements and hidden secrets she put into her creations had made her famous. There were only few paintings you knew of that she had painted without the help of any magic, though.

Intrigued by your findings, you opened the box fully and took a closer look. Instantly you recognized yourself at the lower left corner of the painting. The tableau itself was one of the greatest works you had ever seen. The background was of an island in the center of an entire world of things. Painted in a distorted perspective to allow the front to be large and clear, the deeper you looked into the deeper layers of the picture, the more irregular forms and directions became as they merged into one another.

The island in itself you recognized as your home-island. It was an idealized version of the island while the ocean around it had created large waves and casted deep shadows onto its shores. The background was filled with a thousand distractions and wonderful things, your eyes rapidly jumping between them; a dragon, flying behind a shadow in the form of a bat, a girl, raising her sword in combat against the dragon above her, a moon, breaking apart as the sun behind it rose behind it. There were so many things happening in the background that it took you a moment for your eyes to fall back at the first level of the picture.

You were standing in the lower left corner of the painting, somewhere near the cliff of the island itself. In this picture you were much younger than you were now, maybe a year or two after you had willed a clay dolphin into life with your accidental magic. This young version of you was unaffected by all the other wonders in his world; his eyes were instead resting on something to his feet, something that you only noticed now as his eyes guided yours. In between his feet was a small frog, tiny and almost blending into the colors of the ground, made unnoticeable on the first look.

While the entire world was a distraction for every onlooker, only this small Jacob on the painting had decided to direct his attention on the frog that no one but him had seen, while ignoring everything else.

For this child, in this specific moment, there was nothing more important that what had caught his curiosity.

Present Date: 02th January 1994
Current Wand: Fagus wood, Phoenix feather core

New year came and passed by and while most of the island chose to celebrate, you decided to stay away and spent the time with the Flamels and your parents. You imagined Perenelle smiling, when old stories about your father's stubbornness in his early years of working with her husband were retold. The old woman's expression did not show any enthusiasm in reality, as she was losing the last of her energy.

"Jacob," Nicolas said, when you arrived in the early afternoon a day later. His expression today was a set one, not allowing you to read into it as he guided you along into the house.

"Let us go up. Nelle wants to talk to you," he said, breaking the routine you had fallen into. Everyday you came at a similar time, bringing food with you, before you headed down to Nicolas and Perenelle in the basement to proceed with the work on your project. Nicolas was mostly just guiding you, while you made all the adjustments as Perenelle silently watched you two work. It was productive and you were learning many things that you had never thought of, but you were making slow progress, as you were not often able to cast the intricate spells and charms that were needed for what you had thought of.

Today though it seemed, the day would not fall into the usual routine.

"How is she feeling?" You asked Nicolas as you followed him into the living area and then the stairs up into their bedroom. There was a heavy smell of cauldron and potions in the air. With every step you took up, your heart wavered a little bit more. Having lived through two deaths that were not yours and having confronted two situations that could have killed you or left you of worse than dead, made you sure of one thing; you were not afraid of dying. The process of it was gruesome and lonely, but you felt no deep-seated fear before it. This was only directed towards your own dying, though.

Loosing someone that was important to you terrified you on such a level, that you were even afraid of processing it. With every further step up the stair, the tactic of simply ignoring that fear became harder and harder. Soon, you had reached the upper floor, before you followed Nicolas into the bedroom.

There was a husk in the bed. Caught between a thick set of blankets that had been neatly put around her, she looked as if she hadn't moved in hours.

"He is here, dear," Nicolas said, when he stepped into the room before you and sat down on the bed next to his wife. His hand found her pale forehead, checking her temperature before leaning down for a gentle kiss.

You followed your teacher into the room, your feet guiding the mind that had frozen in fear. When you sat down next to Perenelle, she was not looking at you, her head still facing into the same direction, leaning against the many cushions behind her.

"Jacob," she said, her voice nothing more than a whisper. "Jacob, my child."

"I am here," you said, as tears welled up in your eyes again. "I am here, madame. I am here."

There was a long pause, in which you watched Nicolas hug his wife's head and shoulders. His expression was still set, no emotion reaching his face as he simply let his wife put out a word every few seconds.

"I wish this would have gone different, child. Forgive this greed of mine for wanting a few more years to watch you grow, but it seems as if it comes to an end at last."

You didn't move from your chair by her side, couldn't even muster the strength to say anything.

"Have I told you, that I was always dead-set against having children, my dear Jacob?" She asked. Her eyes were either focused on the wall in front of her or resting, as she tried to focus on her words.

"Such an insufferable human being I am that I wouldn't want to share the attention I was getting. If I can teach you one thing at last, then what you shouldn't achieve to be in life."

"You taught me many good things," you said in protest, your voice breaking as a tear fell down your cheek. You wiped it down instantly, keeping your eyes on Perenelle, even as the world got blurry.

"I am happy to hear that, Jacob. Mayhap your words will safe me from the hellfire I have assured myself."

Another tear. You wiped it down, angry with yourself for not being able to control your emotions.

"But as I am assured that my fate will not be a good one, I will take it up on my soul to sin once again and rob a child of something precious. I hope you will find it in your heart to forgive me, my child. Even if short, the memories with you are some of my dearest."

Suddenly, there was no holding anymore as you broke down in tears. You cried in silence, trying for her not to notice. Perenelle didn't move her head, still not able to see you at her side.

"Listen closely my child, for I will tell you of your creation. I will tell you of the biggest feat my husband has ever achieved and the sin I have taken upon my soul. Jacob, my child. My pure little, gentle, beautiful Jacob."

Her words became more sluggish, her voice faint, almost non-existent.

"We created this island two hundred years ago, when I was fed up with the rapid changes of the world around us. I invited only the oldest to come here and settle down with us. They followed my invitation, like moths follow the light. My husband was always the brilliant one, always the one people flocked to, but to this day we both know that there is more to true genius than sheer smartness … and in ruthlessness I have never lacked, my child. I pushed him on to create the Philosopher's Stone, even when he had no interest in lingering in this world for longer than was needed. I made him keep the makings of the stone's Elixir of Life secret and only use it on the both of us, disregarding all the good he wanted to do with it."

Nicolas was not looking up at you, still caressing his wife in her last moments in life. You did not understand what Perenelle was trying to communicate to you, so you wiped your face again and kept listening.

"On and on the list goes of my sins and cruelty, as I stood behind him, watching the world adore what his brilliance created. He finally had the recognition he deserved. We made things possible that were not there before, created wonders that others could not fathom, when my husband came up with an idea – that he did only dare to share with me, I listened closely. It was something so great that the price for it would be unfathomable. Nicolas knew that he couldn't pay the price, even if his genius was demanding it from him. What he dared to achieve would need would need the darkest of magics and would go far beyond even what foulness others used to keep themselves anchored to this realm."

"We created this island for the sole purpose of collecting the souls of the dead, Jacob. Barring those that passed on to truly leave this place. For two hundred years I took care of the enchantments that I had cast deep below the stones of the island. For two hundred years I caught the souls of those I had lied to and betrayed into settling down here for their last breaths. I sealed my fate with the sins I committed, so, that one day, when a pair of brilliant wizards, that were of an age where a natural birth would not be possible anymore, came to ask us for advice, we were able to help them. Your parents never understood how the Elixir of Life worked in truth. They took only a sip of it, both of them returning to the health of younger days, but your mother was still not able to birth anything in reality."

Here, finally, the old woman turned her head. Your eyes met hers, not understanding the true meaning of her words yet. Under immeasurable pain, she turned to you to look into your eyes as she said: "I was raised with Myths of old, my child. Myths of humans that had been created out of nothing … and for 600 hundred years, this was something I thought impossible, not able to be thought of. The Elixir of Life was the first of my many sins, my child. I want to teach you what my husband cannot. In magic there is no such thing as a perfect solution. There are laws in place that cannot be ignored, no matter your brilliance. Only genius can pay the true price, which after all is 'A life for a life'."

Only then, did you understand. Your eyes never left hers as she watched you in pain.

"The Elixir, derived from the Philosopher's Stone was built on a single death. A miniscule token for what utility it would gift us. Where brilliance had created the stone, only genius gave us the Elixir. Where brilliance had given us the idea, only genius made it possible for us to sacrifice two hundred years' worth of souls, bound to this island to create life inside a woman that had long lost the ability to procreate."

You didn't blink as the tears dried up in your eyes. Your breathing calmed as you thought of Basques and her wolf, slowing your mind and your breath.

"You, my child, are the creation my husband had thought of, but wasn't able to see through. And I take this last sin up on my soul to rob you of your innocence, so that when neither me nor Nicolas remain on this world, the wonder we have brought to this world is not forgotten."

Your eyes burned the picture into your mind. Of Perenelle Flamel, in the arms of her husband. The woman who had taught you French, who had cared deeply about manners and had scolded your hundreds of times for the way you loafed around with your head in the air. The witch who had advised your parents that they should send you to Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, so that you could fully grasp your potential in time. Perenelle, who was 659 years old, had seen the world change many times over. You burned the picture into your mind of her pain and her deep regrets. You would never forget how she had looked the moment she died in her husbands' arms and how even after her death, neither you nor Nicolas had cried.

You would never forget that picture, because it became part of the soul that had been stitched together by dozens of others through that woman's sins. Souls that had been banned from passing on, who had been condemned to serve your soul as fuel for your life.

Present Date: 04th January 1994
Current Wand: Fagus wood, Phoenix feather core

It was a sunny day. The wind carried the smell of fish and salt over the stone of the island, until it hit your nostrils. A few birds chirped up in the sky, circling above you before heading out into the ocean again. Two days had passed.

Your father stood to your right, his strong hand on your shoulder as he tried to comfort you. To your left stood your mother, tears in her eyes as she held your hand, trying to be strong for you. Your eyes were set on the grave before you. Earth was being carried by something invisible, filling the deep grave in the stone slowly, hiding away a corpse that was reunited with the planet more than five hundred years too late. To your left and right a hundred people had gathered to grief over the dead.

Your eyes scanned the rows, recognizing many of the island's inhabitant. There were ome faces you did know but had never seen before personally (the British Minister and the French Head of Council) and other faces you had not expected to see. Your Headmaster was looking at you, when you detected him in the back of the ceremony. His expression was indiscernible, his posture straighter than usual. The deep shadows that you had last seen on his face, after the incident with Sally-Ann had disappeared. To you, he almost looked like his older self again, only this time without his usual outgoing and expressionist personality to him. When his eyes met yours, you felt Lobo's presence for a moment.

Check, DC 70 → 1D100+7 → 19 (12 + 7) → Failure.

You nodded to greet him and turned back around, directing your eyes back at the marble tombstone your father had created.

Perenelle Flamel nè Rousseau

24th of February 1334 – 02th January 1994

'A brilliant mind is half the way to Genius.'

Her eyes flashed before yours. You could still vividly remember the pain in them, physical and emotional both. A woman, older than most creatures on earth had finally left this place. The question you were asking yourself, what was it that you would feel in a few days, when the process of grief finally struck you fully?

[ ] She had done what was needed – While you couldn't find it in your heart to condone what she had done, deep in your heart you understood her motives. She had come from a different time with different beliefs and in the end had been guided by visions of something larger than herself. There was a sin in her actions, but in light of what had been in the end good, creating something that had not existed on this world before, how could it be evil?

[ ] She had achieved what was great – She was a woman with deep intricate beliefs and someone who had strived to bring those beliefs of hers to life. Where others would have lingered in doubt and hesitated out of fear, she had simply walked on, taking all evil up on her soul to do what was needed in the end. Perenelle Flamel had been one of the few Greats walking the earth, taking the responsibility where her husband could not.

[ ] She had become nothing but a monster – You had been created out of nothing but the results of evil. Those that had been betrayed died without knowing their fate. They had been sealed to nurture an experiment and to create something that was wrong to exist and now you must live with this burden, for it is on you to carry her sin until the day that you died.

Tabula Rasa · Oct 5, 2020

[ ] She had achieved what was great – She was a woman with deep intricate beliefs and someone who had strived to bring those beliefs of hers to life. Where others would have lingered in doubt and hesitated out of fear, she had simply walked on, taking all evil up on her soul to do what was needed in the end. Perenelle Flamel had been one of the few Greats walking the earth, taking the responsibility where her husband could not.

Present Date: 05th January 1994
Current Wand: Fagus wood, Phoenix feather core

The day of the burial was a quiet one. Neither of your parents tried to force you to talk with them and to tell them how you felt, so you chose not to talk about what had happened at all. There had never been a secret between the two of them and you before. When you asked them something, no matter the subject, both always answered in full honesty and without subjective framing of their thoughts. They had raised you to be like that as well, never chastising you for what you did wrong, instead trying to create an environment in which you reflected over your own actions.

When you looked them in the eye and saw honest sadness and love on both their eyes for a person, who had lied to them and involved them even in her hidden agenda, you decided to keep this for yourself. You wouldn't burden your parents with this knowledge.

Years later, when you thought back about times of past, you would put this decision as the starting point, if not the moment in which you stopped being a child. You were just as curious and driven by the things you loved afterwards, but something had started changing inside you and it would take a long time for that process to finish.

"Come, Peque," you said with a smile on your face, before closing his cage and pulling it off the table. Your feathered friend chirped happily in return, likely looking forward to see his owl friends again.

With the suitcase in your other hand, you ascended into the upper floor, leaving a room behind that had seen only one single change this year. There was a painting on one of the walls, that hadn't been there before; a picture of a crowd, standing in the shadows. None of their faces could be made out. The crowd opened up in the middle to show four figures that were perfectly detailed and as alive as the shadows surrounding them were dead. In the sea of faceless people there were two pairs dancing. To the left there was Isabella Mia Cortez, young and beautiful as she took the hand of a man even taller than she was. Looking at his young bride even his face had nothing of its usual sternness left. David Marvan Basques was laughing happily, his feet expertly moving over the ground as he guided Isabella through the dance.

To the right of the picture there were idolized versions of people for who no pictures of their youths existed; Nicolas and Perenelle Flamels were also dancing. But where David and Isabella were moving through a brash and modern set of dance moves, Nicolas was holding his wife by the waist and guiding her through a more classical waltz. Only the knowing eye would realize how Perenelle's left hand, which should be resting on his shoulders in a more relaxed fashion as she simply followed his lead, was grabbing her husband tightly, giving him hints about where he should guide her next.

Both the pairs were dancing close to each other, but even as they moved from left to right, their distance never decreased, always holding something between them as if there was an invisible barrier.

Behind the two pairs of dancing young men and women, between the legs of some of the shadows that was the crowd, there was a frog on the floor. The small animal was casually watching the dancing pairs, looking into the eye of the observer once he detected the small animal in the background.

Present Date: 05th January 1994
Current Wand: Fagus wood, Phoenix feather core

The train ride back to Hogwarts wasn't as quiet as you would have usually preferred it. A set of older students had identified your carriage as 'empty enough' and had chosen to sit down with you. While they talked about oncoming N.E.W.T's, you simple blocked their voices out, your thumb carefully stroking a short letter you had read ten times over.

It was her wish for me to make you these. I hope you find it in your heart to forgive us, for we were as always guided by curiosity.
N. F.

A cube, tightly sealed and of a black material that you couldn't identify was sitting above your head, placed right next to your suitcase. While you had not opened it, as you had found it waiting in front of your home when you left the house, you knew exactly what you would later find in them.

Even after all what had happened, all you had learned … you couldn't help yourself in feeling anxious about opening it and seeing the final product that had soon enough ago been nothing than a mere idea in your head.

→ Item added to Inventory: Talaria – Magical Item. This specific exemplar is a set of merlot-coloured full grain leather boots. An idea that you came up with as part of your lessons with Nicolas Flamel. While you do not own a broom, it is a practical thing to conquer the sky. With these shoes you will not be able to soar and fly through the sky, but to step on it as if on ground. This will open up many new possibilities for you. [While wearing Talaria; Allows you to step on air as if on ground; Gain a +Constitution on all combat rolls] (Requires Alchemy and Ancient Runes skill of at least P), DC: 200.

→ New Entry in Notebook 'Successful Alchemy'

Nicolas Flamel finished the work both of you started together. The question now is, how will you use them in future?

[ ] I don't understand the Question – These boots are now your everyday boots. You will wear them at all times and use them freely. There should be no rules against this in place in the castle, because quite frankly, an item like this has never existed. Use the boots in any kind or form to have fun, for duelling club and whatever you have in mind. No further votes for when to use or not. The sky is yours to play with.

[ ] These are for Exploration Only – Use these boots for Emergencies and during your Exploration Activities only. While you are of no particular mind to keep their existence secret, you don't want everyone to know them either and it might be useful to have a set of trump card in place for a later time.

[ ] Do not use them – Don't open the Box, keep the boots in your room under the bed. You will decide what to do with them later.

What do you want to focus on next month?
You have 10 Normal Actions and 5 Personal Actions.
2 Normal Actions can be exchanged for 1 Personal Action.

Social
[ ] Case III: The Riddle of Riddle (2 Actions)- Digging through the archives for so long has given you a good grasp as to who walked these floors in the last two hundred years. There were mentions of someone, you still remembered. There had been some records history of one of the greatest minds that walked this castle, maybe not as special as Sally-Anne or even Dumbledore, but still … Who was he?

[ ] Runes Club Research (Multiple Actions on this count as multiple rolls stacking) – Spend time with the Members of the Runes Club looking for hidden runes and glyphs in the castle walls (Will also count as a training roll towards Ancient Runes).

[ ] Random Encounter – Just… Go and live your life. You don't need to plan everything in your life out.

[ ] Write a Letter (Free Action) – Specify to whom it is that you want to write and what you want to talk about

School & Work

[ ] Business School of Hogsmeade (Multiple Actions on this count as multiple rolls stacking) – This is the first year, in which you can go to Hogsmeade. Good that you've been planning for this since first year: Buy Books, Ingredients, Joke Shop Articles, Instruments and other things. Go and look, if you can make some money by buying things for first and second years. Roll for how many are interested and then for how much they want to spend. Take 15% as a fee.

[ ] Stage III, A Hogwarts Map (Multiple Actions on this count as multiple rolls stacking) – You are already ahead of what most people know of Hogwarts. The deeper you dig, the more you know that you're still scratching at the surfaces. What is down there? Start making a map of what you already know and see if you can somehow track the people inside the Castle. It should be possible, right? (Alchemy D+, Charms D+, Transfiguration D+). DC 400.

[ ] Break through your Horizon I – Hogwarts is built in a valley area — surrounding mountains are part of the landscape. You had always wondered about them, because they were your daily horizon. Usually there would not have been enough time for you to get there, wander around to explore the lands and come back in time for curfew. Having access to a broom would have helped you, but now that you had secret exits out of Hogwarts… the horizon was not your limit anymore. Use the unknown passageway in the north end of the castle. (Takes 3 Actions, can't be taken in the same month as Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and What hides behind trees)

[ ] Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea I – The fairly large Great Lake to the south of the main building has always been your most favorite part of Hogwarts' surrounding lands. It was breathtaking how beautiful it was on a sunny day and frightening how dark it could get at night, almost looking like a hole in the fabric of the world. At the beginning of your year you glimpsed at something that had broken through the surface, making you realize how shallow your world view had been. Find a way to get below the water and discover what is below. (Takes 3 Actions, can't be taken in the same month as Break through your Horizon and What hides behind trees.)

[ ] What hides behind trees I (Danger identified: Dementors. You don't have a counter spell!)– The deep Forbidden Forest extends around to the west of the castle. Everyone knows everything there is to know about the Forbidden Forest; it is a forest and it is forbidden. The rest is just rumors… werewolf's, vampires, monsters and spiders. All dangers a child could imagine await you in the forest. Why were you trembling in anticipation about breaking out of the castle through the passageway behind the mirror and exploring what had been forbidden to you for way too long? (Takes 3 Actions, can't be taken in the same month as Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and Break through your Horizon)

[ ] Stage III, Dreams of old (Takes 2 Actions) – Coming back into the years of unrelenting war. Following years of uncontended victories for you and yours, an enemy has arrived that is more powerful than anything you could have ever imagined. Marching through the midst of winter they attack numbering the tens of thousands.

[ ] In Search of New Spells – Go into the library and look for new spells that you could try to learn. If you have some specific effect in mind, write it down.
[ ] In Search of New Potions – Go into the library and look for new potions that you could try to learn. If you have some specific effect in mind, write it down.
[ ] Do Something! – Be creative. Or go and do nothing. Your decision really. Specify what you want to do.

Personal Actions
[ ] Train, Learn, Achieve – Specify what you want to train or study.
[ ] Do your research – Learn a Spell, a Potion or something different that is available to you at the moment.
[ ] Brew or Build – Build one of your known Alchemy Discoveries or brew a set of Potions.

AVAILABLE RESEARCH

Boil Cure - The Cure for Boils is a potion which cures boils, even those produced by the Pimple Jinx. It is an elementary potion. If the potion is made successfully, there will be pink smoke rising from the cauldron. Cost for ingredients: 1 Galleon per vial.

Forgetfulness Potion - A potion which causes an unknown degree of memory loss in the drinker. The recipe for this potion can be found in Magical Drafts and Potions; its key ingredients include Lethe River Water, mistletoe berries, and Valerian sprigs. Cost for ingredients: 1 Galleon per vial.

Herbicide - Herbicide Potion is a potion that kills or damages plants. It has a disgusting taste and is not for human consumption since it may affect the drinker's health. The recipe for this potion can be found in Magical Drafts and Potions. Cost for ingredients: 1 Galleon per vial.

Sleeping Draught - A potion that caused the drinker to fall almost instantaneously into a deep but temporary sleep. A standard Sleeping Draught differed from the Draught of Living Death, which was much more powerful, lasting, and difficult to make. A class mate of yours described this as "simple, but powerful". Ingredients include Flobberworm Mucus, lavender, Valerian sprigs and Standard Ingredient. When brewed correctly, the potions should turn a dark purple colour. Cost for ingredients: 2 Galleons per vial.

Swelling Solution - A potion which causes whatever it touches to swell in size; its three key ingredients (the only ingredients in it) are bat spleens, dried nettles, and puffer-fish eyes. Could be used to lay a trap. Cost for ingredients: 2 Galleons per vial.

Talaria – Magical Item. An idea that you came up with as part of your lessons with Nicolas Flamel. While you do not own a broom, it is a practical thing to conquer the sky's. With these shoes you will not be able to soar and fly through the sky, but to step on it as if on ground. This will open up many new possibilities for you. [While wearing Talaria; Allows you to step on air as if on ground; Gain a +Constitution on all combat rolls] (Requires Alchemy and Ancient Runes skill of at least P), DC: 200.

Potions (Potions needed for class are free of ingredients costs for training)

Antidote to Uncommon Poisons (Needed for exams at the end of the year) - A potion that cures minor magical or uncommon poisons such as doxy bites. The ingredients required are fire seed, graphorn horn, billywig stings and chizpurfle carapaces. ~~Cost for ingredients: 2 Galleons per vial.~~ (Requires Transformation skill of at least D), DC: 100.

Shrinking Solution (Needed for exams at the end of the year) - Also known as a Shrinking Potion, is a potion that causes the drinker to shrink to a smaller form. It is bright green when brewed correctly and, if prepared incorrectly, it can apparently be poisonous. One practical use of this potion is in the transportation of livestock — it allows for a wizard to carry an entire herd of pigs in the pocket. Could be used to lay a trap. ~~Cost for ingredients: 2 Galleons~~ ~~per vial~~, DC: 50.

Wideye Potion (Needed for exams at the end of the year) - Also known as the Awakening Potion, is a potion which prevents the drinker from falling asleep and could also be used to awaken someone from drugging or concussion. Gives you one extra action if taken. May come with side effects. It acts as an antidote for the Draught of Living Death. ~~Cost for ingredients: 3 Galleons~~. (Requires Potion skill of at least D+), DC: 150.

Blue Wideye Potion – Learning the Awakening Potion gave you an idea; it is clear that some of the ingredients act as a suppressant for tiredness and sleepiness. If you tweak the recipe and try to understand how the ingredients interact with each other… you may be able to make the potion more useful. If taken, it gives you one Personal Action more per potion. Can only safely consume one dose per month. (Requires Wideye Potion learned & Potion skill of at least P-), Cost for ingredients: 5 Galleons per vial +1 Vial of Acromantula Venom, DC: 200.

Alchemy

Ghostly Goggles – Magical Item. You now have a much higher understanding about what it is to be a ghost. For a second, you walked in their shoes and looked through their eyes. They live in a spectrum of the world far different to yours, bridging between the here and the there as most of their magic has passed on and some of their soul stayed behind. You may be able to build something that did the same; give an item magic and then simulate the process the Grey Lady let you feel. Simulate the process of dying and give yourself the ability to see between the living- and the afterlife. [While wearing Ghostly Goggles; Allows you to see the spirits of the living; Gain a +5 in combat against creatures; Gain the ability to see a form of afterimages as footprints that living creatures leave behind; Gain the ability to see living things through walls; ?? when interacting with Dementors ??] (Requires Alchemy and Ancient Runes skill of at least P), DC: 400.

Diffindo – DADA. The Severing Charm is a charm used to precisely and accurately cut something. It is taught in second year charms classes, and if used inappropriately can cause death or injury. DC 50.

Draconifors (Needed for exams at the end of the year) - Transfiguration. The Draconifors Spell is a Transfiguration spell used to transform small objects into Dragons, which can then be controlled by the caster. The dragons produced from this spell are much smaller and less powerful than true dragons, and their size depends on your skills and the object from which they are transfigured - i.e. a smaller object will produce a smaller dragon, and a larger object will produce a larger dragon. (Requires Transformation skill of at least D+), DC 75.

Engorgio - Transfiguration. The Engorgement Charm, also known as Growing Charm is a charm that causes the target to swell immensely. If the caster attempts to engorge the target beyond a certain point it will violently explode. Although this spell is safe to use on animals, it is not recommended until the counter-charm (Reducio) has been perfected.
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Reducio - Transfiguration. The Shrinking Charm is a charm that enables a witch or wizard to decrease the apparent physical size of the target, both internally and externally. It also can act as the counter-spell for the Engorgement Charm, causing the Engorged object to return to its original size. There are several variations of this charm. DC: 100.

Expelliarmus (Deep Understanding) - DADA. The Disarming Charm, is a defensive spell which forces the victim to release whatever they were holding at the time. It is common to see this spell used in duels, to make an opponent release their wand. Only for those with a deep understanding is it possible to throw the enemy back at the same time. DC: 100.

Expecto Patronum - What stops an unstoppable force? - DADA. The Patronus Charm, is a ancient and mysterious charm conjures a magical guardian, a projection of all your most positive feelings. The Patronus Charm is difficult, and many witches and wizards are unable to produce a full, corporeal Patronus, a guardian which generally takes the shape of the animal with whom they share the deepest affinity. You may suspect, but you will never truly know what form your Patronus will take until you succeed in conjuring (Requires Charm and DADA skill of at least P), ~~DC 500,~~ DC 300 + New trait if learned while Lupin is Professor.

Focillo - Charm. The Warming Charm makes a small warmth from the tip of the caster's wand in a small cone. With more willpower, the heat can intensify, though never hot enough to become dangerous. Slow clockwise circles that continue while you concentrate. (Comment: That's new. Why is it a continuous movement until it builds up? What do the wand movements do?). DC: 50.

Flipendo (Deep Understanding) - Charm. With an advanced understanding of this spell, you are not only limited to knock over an opponent or object anymore, but to create a mighty force push instead. This is beyond what is usually expected out of the simple jinx. DC: 100.

Glacius (Needed for exams at the end of the year) - Charm. The Freezing Spell is a freezing charm that causes air in front of the tip of the wand, to reach cold temperatures in the extreme, which in turn can extinguish fires and create ice blocks from water. The spell is capable of freezing several inches of water solid within seconds, making it durable enough to walk across without falling through or injuring themselves. (Requires Charm skill of at least D), DC 75.

Incendio (Deep Understanding) – DADA. The Fire-Making Spell can be used to conjure a jet of orange and red flame. Thereby this spell can be used to set things alight. Where you would usually expect a small flame, you are able to cast out a fireball as big as a head, roaring through the air and able to cause significant damage. DC: 100.

Phinidae (Basic Understanding) – Transfiguration. Spell Creation. Turn objects into mostly living creatures. You remember a day in your childhood, when you were able to turn a lifeless clay doll into something that moved and acted like a real animal. While it had been a cause of accidental magic back then, you believe that you may be able to do it willingly as well. (Affects either medium large statues or small objects of any other kind.) (Requires Arithmancy & Magical Theory of at least P-), DC: 150.

Protego (Deep Understanding) – DADA. Stronger version of the Shield Charm. Protego is a term applied to several varieties of charms. They create a magical barrier to deflect physical entities and spells, in order to protect a certain person or area. Conjurations may sometimes rebound directly off it back towards the caster or in other cases, may ricochet off in other directions or dissipate as soon as they hit the shield. Requires DADA Skill of A, gives a +15 to defending rolls, DC: 150.

Reparo (Deep Understanding) – Charm. The Mending Charm, also known as the Repairing Charm, is a charm that can be used to seamlessly repair a broken object and works on most materials. This useful charm was invented by Orabella Nuttley, in or before 1754. There aren't many things with too heavy a damage or that are simply too large for you to not be able to repair them as swift as a blink of the eye by now. DC: 100.

Waddiwasi (Basic Understanding) – Charm. It was used by Professor Lupin to shoot the wad of chewing gum out of the keyhole and straight down Peeves's left nostril, but if you think about it, it could be used for any kind of other things. Waddiwasi is the incantation of a charm that can be used to shoot a small mass of whatever the caster so desires at the target. DC 50.

Three-hour Moratorium! As always, please take time to discuss the chapter and the vote first.

Tabula Rasa · Oct 7, 2020

[X] Plan Empathetic Adventures V3

-[X] Break through your Horizon I – Hogwarts is built in a valley area — surrounding mountains are part of the landscape. You had always wondered about them, because they were your daily horizon. Usually there would not have been enough time for you to get there, wander around to explore the lands and come back in time for curfew. Having access to a broom would have helped you, but now that you had secret exits out of Hogwarts… the horizon was not your limit anymore. Use the unknown passageway in the north end of the castle. (Takes 3 Actions, can't be taken in the same month as Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and What hides behind trees)

-[X] Business School of Hogsmeade (Multiple Actions on this count as multiple rolls stacking) – This is the first year, in which you can go to Hogsmeade. Good that you've been planning for this since first year: Buy Books, Ingredients, Joke Shop Articles, Instruments and other things. Go and look, if you can make some money by buying things for first and second years. Roll for how many are interested and then for how much they want to spend. Take 15% as a fee.

-[X] 8x Personal actions

--[X]1x Training Empathy

--[X]1x Train Intelligence

--[X]1x Training Potions (Hits P-)

--[X]1x Training Alchemy (Hits D-)

--[X]4x Spell learning (Focillo, Draconifors, Glacius, Diffindo)

Present Date: 08th January 1994
Current Wand: Fagus wood, Phoenix feather core

Three days passed, in which you were not able to focus. You lost some points during Astronomy because you were simply neither following along and nor had you brought in the short homework your Professor had given you on Thursday. You didn't ask any questions in History of Magic, looking down at one of your Notebooks instead. Friday came and went.

You spent two nights in bed, not able to sleep for more than an hour either night, all the while thinking of the words that Perenelle had shared with you. How could the world act as if nothing had happened, when for you everything had changed in nothing but a day.

And then, it was Saturday morning. It was still dark outside, when you relinquished any chances of getting a full night of sleep. You rolled out of bed, landing on your feet and grabbed for the black box that you had stored below. Thirty minutes later you were dressed, had taken something to eat on the way from the kitchens (where the House-elves were busying around even on a Saturday at 6 am) and found yourself in front of a hidden corridor in the northern end of the castle.

This one had been one of, if not the most difficult, to solve. Where the other corridors and secret entrances where riddles that were clear in their problem at least and only needed a good solution, this one was not like it. You would have never found it, if not for Nally, the single most capable House-elve you had ever known.

Once you had the knowledge that there was an entrance behind a seemingly random wall in the castle, you had been pressed hard in finding an answer - any answer really to pass. None of the standard solutions fit here; the wall was not an illusion, not guided by any passphrase, not a riddle that gave you the information you would need. No, for all intents and purposes, this was a normal wall in front of you.

You had spent hours searching the floor above and the dungeon below for other clues, without any success. In the end, you had almost given up. Only then did you ask yourself one question, that you'd never thought about in this new context; what was Hogwarts really about?

The professors were there to teach and guide the students, that one was clear. Going one level deeper, there was your assumption that the castle itself was there to teach you the intricacy and dichotomy with which one must think about magic. That was where your theory had ended. It was all that you needed, because it addressed your needs and worldview perfectly.

It was no secret that you were not good with people in general, not because you weren't able to feel love or attraction, but because you simply cared much deeper about many other things. Because people slowed you down, because they were a hindrance to the things that you wanted to do. Luckily your parents had taught you, to admit to such weaknesses and character flaws. So, you did and deep down, even if you knew that this was nothing but a major character flaw, you also knew that it was integral to your character. So, you accepted it.

But here, for this specific riddle that could have been the problem.

You took out four pictures out of your Notebook, before pressing them against the wall – all at the same time. A badger was running around a tree in the most left picture, a snake was slithering through the grass in the second, a lion stood proud and high on a hill on the third and an eagle flew out of a cloud in the fourth. The moment all four pictures touched the wall, the ground started trembling around you, as a hidden corridor opened up in front of you.

The third layer, one level deeper than you had thought out, because it was simply not in your interest to understand; there was more to the school than just the magic. Hogwarts wanted to teach you that even the founders had needed to group together for this biggest of their achievements. This hidden floor taught you, that there was merit in friendship.

"Lumos", you said passing into the corridor, as the entrance closed behind you.

To be honest, while you certainly understood the implications, you didn't completely like the concept. Anyone could reach any height on their own, if they put enough effort and raw talent into the matter. Perenelle, evil as her actions had been, had shown you that. There was nothing in this world that you couldn't achieve on your own.

When you had found this exit, you had realized that no one had exited it in quite a long time. There were no prints on the thick layer of dust but yours. Your wand shined brightly deep into the corridor, showing a long floor following deep into nothingness. Just from the short stretch that you were seeing here, you could clearly tell that it headed out of Hogwarts and below the ground.

For the first time in days, you felt your mind click back into its original place. Where doubts, pain and emptiness had been an hour prior, now there was nothing but a clear focus.

And so, Jacob Marvan Basques, third-year, Ravenclaw student, son of the oldest first-time parents in the world, product of evil, product of great, made out for the first real adventure in his life. The echo of your own steps reached your ears, as you walked into the darkness – a small smile making its way onto your face for the first time in days.

On and on the way went deeper and deeper into the ground, before levelling out. After an hour of walking you felt the corridor under your feet rise again and while it moved to the right and left somewhat at times, the general direction stayed the same. You couldn't be too sure though, as it was difficult for you to say without any sense for your surroundings outside the tight stone corridor.

It took you another half hour to find a change in the immaculate floor that directed you out of Hogwarts; a single brick that had fallen out of the ceiling, breaking against the ground. From here on the architecture started morphing into another. But still, the floor went on and on.

Only the sheer will to see the end of this was keeping you still going. Without the knowledge of what was to come, the long floor in itself seemed like a test of will. It was bare of any decoration or other ornaments that would give a sense of progress. Even in your usually calm self, a sense of dread had started creeping in, as you asked yourself what it was that you would find at the end of this.

You imagined that a group finding their way in here would have the same difficulties, because that was certainly what the entrance had implied, that this was no challenge for anything but less than a group of students pertaining to four different houses. You were on your own here. Still, your focus didn't waver. When you felt the fear grow, you took another step, extinguishing it in its wake. A group of four would have to argue against each other and it would need at least one with the fortitude to argue for marching on even as the temperature dropped. For ever and ever the corridor went on, you marched for what seemed to be hours.

In your right hand was your glimmering wand, the light of which just showed the ground before your feet, when the passage twisted round a few turns as it began to ascend in circles. The air that had fallen in temperature drastically before, grew hot and stifling, but it was not foul, even this deep in the corridor. Here the surroundings finally started to change again. Where it had been indiscernible from any corridor in Hogwarts before, here it began merging with another structure. At times you felt currents of cooler air upon your face, issuing from small openings in the walls. There were many of these and when you chose to direct your wand at one of those openings, the bright ray in your hand shining into it, you were able to catch glimpses of stairs and arches, and of other passages and tunnels, sloping up, or running steeply down, or opening blankly dark on either side.

You climbed up, you walked on, finding steady footing and started a climb down again, you felt nothing but awe at the structures that you were able to see beyond your own tunnel through the darkness. The sheer masses of structures were bewildering, beyond hope of remembering. You were troubled by the mere darkness in itself, feeling your knees weaken with every step, even if unclear if it was the sheer exhaustion that this march was bringing you to, or if it was because you realized that you were on your own, far away from any possible help.

The grounds you were travelling were vast and intricate beyond your imagination, but even in the gloom and despite all windings of the road, you did not falter, as long as there was a path that led towards your goal. One step, followed the other.

There were not many roads to choose from on your way, even if you found yourself crossing many a place with holes and pitfalls into dark wells below. The further you marched, the more the familiar Hogwarts Architecture around you changed into a dark and old one. At times you heard a deep rumbling beside the path in which your steps passed an echo. There were fissures and chasms in the walls and floor, and every now and then a crack would open right before your feet, causing you to stumble away.

The widest was more than seven feet across, and it was long before you could summon enough will to cross it, the shoes Nicolas and you had build together filling out where your feet found no ground. It was an intricate set of magic, half steered by your will and half by the reflex of finding steady ground below.

As you stepped over the dreadful hole into nothingness, the noise of churning water came up from far below, as if some great mill-wheel was turning in the depths. As these dangers became more frequent your march became slower. You started looking for holes and traps, while ascending again. You were focused and weary, choosing not to seek comfort in the thought of halting anywhere. Soon you had eaten the last of your foods and drank half of your waters, as you tried to fight the deep uneasiness, growing to dread, creeping over you again.

Down here, your senses were sharper. You still remembered how Basques had felt in the sense of danger, remembered your own actions in the face of possible death. Right now, you were more aware of things that could not be seen. When you halted for a moment to put the rest of your water away, you heard nothing at all, unless it was occasionally a faint trickle and drip of unseen water. Yet when you started moving again, you began to hear, or to imagine that you heard, something else: like the faint fall of soft bare feet. It was never loud enough, or near enough, for you to feel certain that you had heard it; but once it had started it never stopped, while you were moving. It was not an echo, for when you came to a stop at times, it pattered on for a little all by itself, and then grew still.

You could not tell how much time had passed, when you arrived at the end of the passage. In front of you stood now a wide dark arch opening into a large stone gate behind a small room. The room, more than the endless floor you had followed to come here, was intricately decorated. It felt just like something you could have found at Hogwarts, even if you had almost forgotten what the castle was like while walking through darkness and deep caverns under the ground.

The moment you stepped into the room, torches ignited guided by old magic. Three familiar statues stood most prominently in the room. You walked on and passed them by one by one, your eyes were wide open, trying to commit any detail to your memories; the first stone statue you passed was of a woman. Beautiful and wise, Rowena Ravenclaw looked like the very pinnacle of a witch. The diadem und the large statue was as large as your arm, as the founder of your house looked down at you, her stone eyes moving with your body until the moment you passed her.

The moment her eyes stopped in their track, it was for Godric Gryffindor to look at you. The statue's beard reaching down to his waist, his eyes moving with you as you walked and passed him. The sword in his hand, on which he was putting his weight, was double as tall as you were. And then you came up to the last statue. Someone who could not be anyone other than the creator of Slytherin himself; Salazar. Where Godric's beard was long and thick, his only reached as far as to hide his neck. Where Godric's beard looked wild and unkempt, hia was cut precisely. His eyes on yours made you feel weary. You could almost imagine that he was trying to convey something to you.

Then you made your way to the stone gate, larger even than any of the statues, the room growing in height as you walked through it to even accommodate such a large structure at the end of it. Here on the stone gate, where you had expected anything in the world, you had not expected what it was that you were seeing.

No glyphs, or old runes, no form of Old English or Anglo-Saxon words; instead you found a poem engraved into the old stone. The language was one that was very familiar to you.

'Le monde était jeune, les montagnes vertes,' the first line read in French as you kept reading on, your eyes not blinking once as your lips tried to find the rhythm that had been playing in the authors mind.

The world was young, the mountains green,

No stain yet on the Moon was seen,

No words were laid on stream or stone.

When he woke and walked alone.

He named the nameless hills and dells;

He drank from yet untasted wells;

He stooped and looked into the skies,

And saw a crown of stars appear,

As gems upon a silver thread,

Above the shadow of his head.

The world was fair, the mountains tall,

In Elder Days before the fall,

Of mighty kings in mighty lands,

A king he was on carven throne,

In many-pillared halls of stone,

With golden roof and silver floor,

And runes of power upon the door.

The light of sun and star and moon,

In shining lamps of crystal hewn,

Undimmed by cloud or shade of night,

There shone for ever fair and bright.

There hammer on the anvil smote,

There chisel clove, and graver wrote;

There forged was blade, and bound was hilt;

The delver mined, the mason built.

There beryl, pearl, and opal pale,

And metal wrought like fishes' mail,

Hammer and cord, axe and sword,

And shining spears were laid in hoard.

Unwearied then were this one folk;

Beneath the mountains music woke:

The harpers harped, the minstrels sang,

And at the gates the trumpets rang.

The world is grey, the mountains old,

The forge's fire is ashen-cold;

No harp is wrung, no hammer falls:

The darkness dwells in this ones halls;

The shadow lies upon his tomb,

In this mountain, in Nei'it-ruˆm.

There lies his crown in water deep,

Till he wakes again from his sleep.

My children, you now came here,

You will find the dream of one sightseer.

So, say my children, who is amiss?

That they may remain, so the others see bliss.

When your lips stopped moving, you didn't need to think for the answer. Where you had at first been led to believe that this was a test only a group of four could solve, now it seemed as if that group of four would have to fight another problem still.

"Hufflepuff," you said aloud. For a second there was nothing but your echo. Then a rumbling again, as the gate opened up before you, giving you entry to the hidden wonders of what lay beyond. "That they may remain, so the others see bliss," you whispered more to yourself, than to activate any hidden mechanism.

The riddle would have needed for someone to stay behind, someone who would put all his hope into his friends, who felt such a strong loyalty for his group, that he would stay alone in the dark, while they passed this gate.

You had no such problems, for you were alone either way.

Behind the gate you found a great hall, much greater than Hogwarts Hall even. It was round and high, but you could make out only your corner in it until you stepped past the gate. Then suddenly, a thousand flames appeared on the walls, submerging the hall in bright light.

To your left there was a wall that was half see-through, allowing you to see the entrance to a mine and through it you could see outside. There were familiar mountains beyond it, reminding you of what your ghostly Professor had once told you.

"And that brings us to the 12th of May, 1612," Professor Binns said and paused, pursing his lips, looking like a wrinkled old tortoise. With his notes open, his guiding finger went from the end of one page and to the beginning of the next. He began to read again, still in his always hypnagogic flat tone.

"The growing tension lead to a first altercation to the north of Hogsmeade, were Goblins found a desolated mine, which would contribute heavily to the efforts of making a swift victory impossible for wizards."

It seemed that you were in one part of the mines' construct. Your hand landed on the wall that was only partly see-through, keeping you from climbing down to the entrance of the mine. While old, what you could see down there in front of you, had nothing on the ancient structures you had seen on your way up.

"… or on this," you said, turning around to look at the hall again. All around the walls, you could see broken and rusty chains that trailed the torches. These in here, didn't look like those in the room with the founder statues. They were of a different material, black and brilliant like a crystal. Their flames were blue and cold.

Your hand went through one of the flames, sensing nothing but a tickling as the blue fire passed by your skin. You took one out of its place … and all others stopped working, throwing the hall into darkness again. The only light now came out of the room you had stepped out of and the wall to its left that was partly see-through.

"Well," you said, putting the torch back. Instantly, the hall was bright again. "It seems as if you have some set of rules, huh?"

You started walking deeper into the hall. It was wide and round, but something large was standing in the middle of it. A large statue, it seemed, even larger than the ones you had left behind. Fragments of stone lay over the ground, some crunching to dust under your boots as you drew closer.

The statue you were closing in on was large and solid from afar. Where it once might have been majestic, it turned out from close up that it was nothing but a ruin. Both of its arms were missing or had turned into rubble around the large statue. Its head had been ripped of and large chunks of his body were missing.

"What has happened to you?" You whispered, when you had almost reached the statue.

If your words or your actions had woken something, you did not now. But suddenly, the mighty statue moved forward as if alive.

Sudden Defense, broken statue, DC 40 → 1D100+29 → 54 (23 + 31) → Success!

Its movements were clunky and stagnant, his legs producing further rifts in the stone as they moved around. But once the statue committed to a move, it got fast. A leg kicked the particular spot where you had been standing just a second earlier as you jumped to the side. The spot was kicked with such a force that the wind reverberated, before you felt a strong gust of wind rushing back into the direction you had come from, filling the space in the air that had been kicked away there.

"Bloody hell," you said aloud, when you moved to the side again just a moment before the statue had blindly turned around and located you without a head on his shoulder. He kicked at you again - again, it didn't find you.

You rolled down on the ground and away from the statue, sprinting away from it as fast as you could, even if your legs felt like butter after having walked such a long distance below the grounds.

You ran and ran, feeling it almost atop you. When you made for a turn to look back at the statue and try to slow it down with a spell, you saw that it had come to a full stop. It stood a few feet away from you now, but it didn't move. You kept moving, walking backwards with your eyes on the statue, but even after a few moments, the statue didn't seem to move … when his legs started creaking again, he turned around in one fluent move and walked back to the very centre of the room, where you had found him minutes earlier.

When he came to a standstill at the very place he had begun his hunt on you, among the rubble that had once been his body, the statue snapped back into its prior posture and stopped moving again. You broke down and sat on the ground panting and fighting for breaths for minutes, looking at the guardian of this hall.

There was a meaning there, something that you should understand, but it was difficult to focus on anything right now, feeling exhausted and fatigued. Now, the statue stood between you and the exit you had come from, which meant that there was only one way to proceed; your eyes fell on the second gate. At the end of the hall, now very close to you. It was almost identical to the one you had just passed to come into the hall. It was large, massive and old and even from here you could make out a faint engraving on it.

When you finally stood up from your place, having rested for a bit at least, you walked closer to the second gate. The blue flames surrounding you and the hall were humming softly to a tune, you could not quite place. This place was the most frightening and magical … and beautiful … and perfect thing you had ever seen.

Only when you reached the second gate, where you able to make out its writing. Again, it was in French, a detail you didn't quite understand the meaning of either. At least you understood the language.

The three are here now, may smart or bereft,

For one foot they set down, three there still left.

For the guardian is whole, all other were cruel,

As one they will act and follow the jewel,

With their swords in hand, swift and gallant,

Then at last trick and dupe, make the mountain a fool.

This gate will open only after walking all distance,

The Riddler will speak to offer assistance,

You may then greet, and then be persistent.

The last step is the fourth, the fourth is the first.

For here to pass, your words must be reversed.

"Une autre énigme," you said, still speaking French yourself, not able to jump quite as fast between languages. "But how do I go to solve this?" Scanning the poem again, you felt a sense of familiarity. This felt like the culmination of all of the Castle's small mysteries and riddles. As if it had been made only for those that were used to solving them.

You turned on your heel and let your bag fall on the ground. There was no food left, only some water that you were now rationing for the rest of the day. It was clear to you that you needed to pass. This here, even if partly older than anything you had ever seen, still had some basic feeling of the castle to it. Even if it looked completely different and alien for someone who was used to the castle's architecture, you could simply feel the similarity.

"You are a last riddle, aren't you," you whispered, looking back at the statue at the centre of the hall, tall and menacing, but broken and ridiculed. "For the guardian is whole, all other were cruel," you repeated the line, before walking into the direction of the statue again.

Someone had not understood this riddle and destroyed the statue instead, failing to complete the mystery.

"It is 'the steps' that are of importance," you said, coming closer, thinking already of what to do after repairing the statue.

First you would have left someone behind. Now it seemed, that you needed to portray traits of a specific house for the second step.

"Reparo," you said, once you were close enough. The statue only activated when you had been very close. Chunks of stone started to move below, some of them flying upwards and falling into old paces again. "Reparo," you said again, when the process slowed down. Then another and another until the statue was back to its old self. It was large, and naked, majestic and so very frightening. Out of part of the rubble, you had created an old sword that had been in his right hand. There was a shield in his left and his head was that of a lion.

"Swift and gallant," you said and followed to the next step, as you came closer to the statue. As if on cue, it moved again. This time it moved faster than before. His body was whole and build anew.

Defence against, repaired Statue DC 60 → 1D100+26 → 64 (38 + 26) → Success!

His sword moved out, rushing through the air to then rebound against the shield charm you had cast. At the same time the large sword-stone was thrown back, your shield broke under the shier force of the statue's attack.

This time you felt calmer than before. You had gone into this fight with a plan. There was method to the madness and you had just an idea as how to do find it.

"I will make a fool out of you," you said, as you turned and started running again. Where the statue had been fast before, almost catching up to you, this time it was even swifter. It caught you after but a few of your steps. His sword crashed down at the exact spot you had been a second before.

"Spongify," you said, from above the sword. Your feet were carrying you up as if on invisible stairs. The merlot-coloured leather boots were pushing you onwards, while you turned in kind to make the statues life harder. Your spell hit one of his feet, instantly robbing him of his secure footing. The large statue tumbled, but was able to regain its balance. His face contorted, an expression of mindless rage as his mouth opened to a soundless scream.

You ran further, crossing half the distance to the second gate, when he caught you again. Even limping on one foot, he was faster than you. You were at the height of his face, when he tried to swipe you from the sky. Waiting for the last moment to cross as much of the distance as possible, you turned around at the last second, to jump and shout: "Protego!"

By then, you had lost your footing completely, jumping backwards into the direction of the second gate. When the sword hit your shield again, bereft of anything for you to hold onto, you were thrown back. You fell back, crashing down at the same spot where the statue had stopped its movements last time. With the last of your energies, you crawled another few feet. The earth rumbled behind you, but at last you were only able to fall on your back and look up at the statue with a raised sword. He was mad, the expression on his face was of pure rage, looking down at you, but he didn't move.

"That is your range," you said. "You cannot move past it. So, I made a fool out of you, didn't I? I fought you in your prime and still passed to the second gate. You have lost against me!"

You were sure of this, but still, nothing happened. The statue was still looking at you in rage and the gate behind you didn't react at all. This was not enough. You needed to win this it seemed …

"Spongify," you said, from your position on the ground, before pushing yourself up. The statue was still holding his sword high up, ready for an attack. You were already in his range, but he didn't dare to cross the line that made up his invisible cage.

The moment his other foot turned into soft butter, you ran into him. He was stumbling, almost hitting you by accident when you ran through his open legs. His sword hit the ground to your right, but not in attack. The statue was still trying to stay on his feet, when you had passed to the other side, turned around and raised your wand.

"Flipendo!"

A comparatively soft push to his breast was everything that was needed. And then the giant fell back through the air, crossing the invisible line that had been right behind him.

When he crashed on the ground, there was no life left in the statue. It lay still and unmoving, nothing but ornament of the large hall; a giant that had been slain by the contester. A bright light caught your attention. The dark gate was now alit itself, a blue fire radiating out of it, brightening the poem on its doors. You quickly crossed the distance to hear a soft female voice. It was that of an old woman, her words both scratchy and rough, as she asked one question again and again.

"Who are you?"

One thing was left for the riddle to solve. An answer had to be given, only one was true all others were danger.

[ ] I am the Ravenclaw

[ ] I am the Hufflepuff

[ ] I am the Slytherin

[ ] I am the Gryffindor

Three-hour Moratorium! As always, please take time to discuss the chapter and the vote first.

Tabula Rasa · Oct 9, 2020

[ ] I am the Hufflepuff

Present Date: 08th January 1994
Current Wand: Fagus wood, Phoenix feather core

When he crashed to the ground, there was no life left in the statue before you. It lay still and unmoving, now nothing but ornament to the large hall; a giant that had been slain by the contester. A bright light behind you caught your attention. The dark gate was now alit itself, a blue fire radiating out of it, brightening the poem on its doors. You quickly turned and crossed the distance as a soft female voice emanated out of the gate itself. It was the voice of an old woman, her words both scratchy and rough, as she asked one question again and again.

"Who are you?" She said once and a pulse went through the air, making the blue flames flicker one after the other as if a wave was going through them.

"Who are you?" The female voice spoke again, before another pulse travelled through the air.

You went over the words in your head, thinking about the structure of this riddle. 'The three are here now, may smart or bereft, for one foot they set down, three there still left.' This was the beginning and the first step. The Hufflepuff that had stayed behind out of loyalty and faith.

In the beginning you had thought the long tunnel leading out of Hogwarts to have been in a test for the brave. In hindsight, you questioned that deduction. That long passage through uncertain grounds could have easily been a Hufflepuff test as well. Someone would be needed to hold the group together in times of danger. Someone who was able to keep pushing on and on, only to then stay behind after they had finally arrived at their destination, so that the group could make it out on their own.

Be it as it may be, testing the Hufflepuff was the first step of the riddle, no matter if it started in the room with the statues, in the tunnel before or earlier even by gathering the people in the first place to even be able to find the hidden corridor that went out of Hogwarts.

Understanding the next steps was easier. The second step was thought out for someone representing Ravenclaw: 'For the guardian is whole, all other were cruel, as one they will act and follow the jewel'. This was about solving the riddle as a whole, understanding what needed to be done for this to work. The jewel likely meant Ravenclaw's diadem. Gryffindor had the sword, Ravenclaw the jewellery. You needed to follow Rowena's image to succeed in this part of the riddle.

Step three was the easiest; it was simply searching for someone brave enough to follow Godric's wake: 'With their swords in hand, swift and gallant'.

So, at last it was for Slytherin to be the fourth step: 'Then at last trick and dupe, make the mountain a fool'. While the fight might be started by valour and bravery, it was to be ended by trickery. A win would only count if the guardian was defeated without damaging him, something that would have been difficult to achieve with magical prowess only.

These four steps made out all the distance. These were the centre of this riddle. In the end it didn't matter who it was that showed the traits, which was the reason why you had been able to do all of this by yourself. It was just important to understand and be able to portray them.

The Riddler was testing all indications for a group of the finest students Hogwarts may offer, a challenge for the most accomplished to teach them what was truly needed to follow into the Founders' footsteps.

And now, it seemed that you had finally arrived at the last riddle. To walk a last step, which was the fourth step again; Slytherin. 'The last step is the fourth, the fourth is the first. For here to pass, your words must be reversed'. The only solution that hit all the marks, was clear. It made you understand quite a few things in retrospect.

"I am the Hufflepuff," you said.

An answer that would need to be of Slytherin trait, cunning and smart. The fourth step needed to be the first, which meant a Slytherin needed to act as a Hufflepuff. Lying through their teeth to pass this last riddle, even if their Hufflepuff friend was still imprisoned in the room before.

"You are not a Hufflepuff," the voice said, following lines that had been recorded a Millenia ago. By now, you had won some understanding about what you had found, hidden deep inside the mountains.

"I am the Hufflepuff," you said again, staying persistent. A Slytherin that needed to be as persistent as a badger.

"The Hufflepuff is trapped, cannot come," the scratchy voice said.

"I am the Hufflepuff." And when you repeated the lie, a third time, the engravings disappeared before you and you heard the familiar grumbling of the earth as the gate started to move to the side. You walked back a distance, taking time to grab your bag that you had thrown on the ground before. Another sip made its way into your mouth, before you turned to the gate again.

The steps back were slow. Your legs were hurting, your lung was burning and the insides of your mouth were sticky and tasted metallic. The teeth inside your mouth felt as if they wanted to fall off. Your back hurt and you had ripped your pants, when you had been thrown back by the Guardian's last attack. The physical state of your body had never been a good one, right now though, you felt as if you were at the end of the line.

When you reached the second gate again, something moved behind you. The guardian stood up behind you, now ignoring that he had fallen out of the range of his confinement. You watched him with your wand raised, as he grabbed his sword without looking at you. Then he started to walk back to his spot at the centre of the hall. The Guardian fell back into his starting position, before halting all movement again; waiting for the next challenger. No matter how many decades passed, he would wait and fulfil his duty.

You looked at him for a long time, before you turned back around and passed into the next room. The picture of the guardian, surrounded by a hall older than anyone you had ever known, burned itself into your mind.

The new room was smaller than the great hall behind you. It was but a fraction of the size, but still as large as the first room, with the statues inside. It was an exact mirror. The large gate behind you, the statue room in front of you and a dark tunnel at the end of it. The only difference was that in here you didn't find three statues of the Founders, but instead only one.

"I was right about you, great Riddler," you said, looking up at the statue that you had expected to see here. It was almost obvious in hindsight. Many things had pointed to this. Before you, stood the Riddler. She was who that old female voice imitated, the one to have likely build all of this puzzle game. Overall it was nothing but a lesson for Hogwarts students, to show them what traits the Founders had valued. At the heart of it was something else, though; to show the importance of unity, starting by having a Hufflepuff guiding the way, gathering the group together in the first place even and giving himself up for the group to proceed.

There was only one person that would fit the theme of this all; Helga Hufflepuff.

The statue was as tall as the other three had been, but somehow this one seemed less alive. Where the others had been made by someone who had deeply cared about them, this statue seemed like an afterthought. Helga was a round, plump woman with long and curly hair and large eyes. Where the prior set of eyes had moved with you, these did not. Instead they were watching the great hall behind you. You turned around, following their direction to find the first gate at the end of it. The statue of Helga had been looking at the room in which the statues of her friends stood for a thousand years. Always looking out for them in the end.

The revenant pulse that had vanished before, now once again returned. The air vibrated as words were spoken, seemingly coming out of the walls around you.

"You are here," it said, speaking French still.

"I am," you answered.

"You have shown that you are worthy, so now, you shall know of this place," Helga said before falling silent again. In front of you, something cut into the air. You jumped back instantly, raising your wand. Only then did you realize that the blue fire that was being ignited in mid-air was starting to form letters. Letters turned to words first and then into sentences. One after the other. Then the voice returned, speaking those same words you were reading.

"Rowena found this place in her dreams. This was what first brought us here, searching for an answer to the many questions we had. We were never able to locate whatever it was that we were searching for, instead choosing to build the School by the Lake."

Your heart was pounding against your ribcage, you could hear the blood being pumped through the blood vessels in your ear. Exhilaration filled you, when you realized that your assumptions had been right; this was the voice of one of the most famous witches to ever exist. Helga Hufflepuff was talking to you.

"Can you hear me?" You asked.

But the voice continued as if you had said nothing: "Now, I have found this place, but it seems I was too late. My friends have withered away. They died with broken hearts or regrets in their minds. I have failed them again and again, was not able to keep us together."

There was no sorrow or pain in her voice, the recording not able to do more than to copy her voice after a thousand years. The excitement fell away again, as your eyes followed the words along with her voice. The Founder was not here, not really. This was not even a ghost, or an afterimage of the woman. It was a simple recording of words.

"I only found this place at old age. I am not able enough to conquer this on my own, now that my friends have left me. This place is dangerous and deep, but do not fear its dangers, be brave. Do not fall for its lies, be smart. Fall in love with its beauty instead; it is the most curious thing. Maybe so, you will be able to do what I was not, to keep your group together and conquer what we could not find."

The words in front of you started dying out, until only two sentences floated in the air before your eyes: "I guarded you from its dangers until now, now go on and leave the defences of Hogwarts. You have shown that you are capable enough to explore Nei'it-ruˆm."

A last pulse went through the room, before the magic died off, the words before you disappeared and the blue fires died out.

"Lumos," you said, suddenly surrounded by complete darkness. A blaze-like flash of lightning shot out of your wand. A great shadow you made out for a moment behind the large statue sprang up and fled. Just a second later you were not sure if you had imagined the happening.

You looked down at yourself, even half cast in shadows, you looked dishevelled and dirty. There was the tremble of your knees that didn't stop. Never before did you have this kind of a tasking adventure before. You felt weak and you logically knew that it would be the best decision to head back to Hogwarts soon. You had done enough for the short time of preparation. This place had been waiting for a thousand years ... it could wait a few more weeks.

Turning around to the Guardian's hall, you told yourself: "I should go back."

For a minute you stood there, undecided. Even if you knew what the obvious right answer was, your legs didn't want to move. Looking back at the statue of the fourth Founder again, you could make out the dark and mysterious tunnel behind her.

Your eyes stared at the hole that was the first step out of the secure hold of the castle. A passageway into something that even someone as Helga Hufflepuff had not been able to fully explore. Your legs started to move on their own, passing by the statue of the Founder and heading into the darkness below.

There was no way that you would simply stop here. You needed answers. Today.

You felt an instant difference as soon as you left the Founder's final room. A chill air seemed to strike your face, rising from invisible depths. The tunnel extended downwards, more cave than manmade dungeon. A foul smell reached your nose, while you descended the tunnel. At the end of it the cave around you opened up into a larger cave.

Nothing but the sound of your own steps reached your ears as you shined left first. While the wall might have exhibit features of old architectural design in the distant past, by now most of it had withered away, making it hard to discern a wall from what could have easily been a natural cavern as well. Only at second glance did you see that there were chains worked into the right end of the wall.

You moved your light a little to the right to follow the chain from the ground upwards. It had been largely ripped out of the wall. In those parts without a chain, the stone had withered away and the chains had completely rusted or even disappeared into nothingness. Where the chain was still bound to the wall, time had hit different. The wall and chains, while still looking old and weathered had held much better against the passage of time.

"Magic?" You asked yourself.

Suddenly, there was a crack to your right. Your wand made a sharp move to follow its place of origin. As the light travelled through the air, a bundle was illuminated on the ground. You didn't instantly register what it was. The light shooting out of your wand hit something that was moving on the ground even further to the right. There was a sudden scream, like breaking glass, when the creature jumped into the air and at threw itself at you.

Sudden Defense (INT + CRE + DADA + Perks + Talaria), DC 70 → 1D100+31 → 51 (20 + 31) → Failure!

You had no time to move back as the creature reached you. "Incendio," you cast in the last second. The illuminating spell fell away, as you had never practiced keeping 'Lumos' active while casting another spell. Soon after that, a small fireball shot out of your wand.

The room around you brightened for a second, darkness making room for bright fire. Only now did you make out that there were two bundles on the ground, not just one. There was no time for an unsettling feeling to creep in, when you realized that those were two skeletons in very familiar robes.

When the fireball left your wand, the creature attacking was already in the air. Its reactions were faster than yours. The small creature pushed a long arm out to push against the ceiling and change direction mid-flight to pass directly under your spell, without stopping its momentum. Like a cannonball it shot down and against your legs. The force was so immense that you were thrown in the air and flipped around yourself. Your back hit the ground first, after you lost all sense of equilibrium by being thrown around. All air was violently pushed out of your lungs.

First Attack (INT + CRE + DADA + Perks + Talaria – 10 Malus), DC 40 → 1D100+11 → 87 (76 + 11) → Success!

For a moment you felt as if you had gone blind after hitting your head. It took a moment for you to remember that it was still completely black around you. "Flipendo!" Someone shouted. Only later did you realize that even confused by the fall and almost unconscious, you had somehow raised your wand into the direction of the tunnel you had come from. Before the creature could move again, you had cast the spell.

There was another screech as it was thrown back up the dark tunnel. By the time it hit a wall, you were on your feet again, running further into the room, away from whatever was attacking you. You stumbled over something on the ground only a few steps in.

"Lumos," you said to finally see something again, casting the wand down.

The face of a skeleton looked up at you, the badge on his robe red and bright under your light. A sudden movement behind you, made you turn again. "Incendio," you said, before you had fully turned. A second fireball shot out, illuminating the room and this time finally succeeding in hitting whatever it was that was attacking you.

For a moment you thought that you had won here, as the monster was set alight, part of his skin burning even. It didn't matter what you thought in the end, because the monster kept running at you.

Sudden Defence II (INT + CRE + DADA + Perks + Talaria), DC 50 → 1D100+31 → 81 (50 + 31) → Success!

"Protego!" You said.

Half a second later the creature hit his head against the shield in front of you. Its burned face was mad, small yellow eyes were wide open, directed at you. It hit the ground before you, thrown back a second time. Almost instantly its long and thin legs started moving again as it dashed to your left, circumventing the border of your narrow shield. As soon as it had bypassed your defences, it jumped at you again.

You had no time to cast another spell, so you did the only sensible thing; and punched the whatever-it-was in the face. The punch was an awkward one. You had never in your life punched anything, not even a wall. Your hand did not close properly and it was almost a slap from upwards to his upper head. It was a lucky strike in the end, when your fist connected with one of his yellow eyes. A sharp scream cut through the darkness.

You jumped back, raising your arm for a second spell. In the darkness, the creature moved again.

"Protego," you cast a second time. This time the creature had been expecting this. Instead of charging mindlessly at you, you saw it to your left, now having circled you completely.

Good that you had been expecting that as well.

Second Attack (INT + CRE + DADA + Perks + Talaria), DC 40 → 1D100+21 → 42 (21 + 21) → Success!

You were prepared this time. By now, your mind was back to normal again. Your eyes were getting sharper now, allowing you to make out its shape with the weak illumination your shield produced in the surroundings. When it dashed to the side, you let the shield drop and started the second incarnation again: "Flipendo!"

The creature to your left was surprised, rushing forward only to be thrown back again. He flew through the room and came to crash against the wall to the left of the room, where there were still chains attached to the wall.

The very moment the creatures back touched the metal it let out a mindless scream of pain that was mind-numbingly loud. Not even the burning of his skin had made him scream this much, or even halted his advance. This time it was different though.

Third Attack (INT + CRE + DADA + Perks + Talaria), DC 40 → 1D100+21 → 110 (89 + 21) → Great Success!

You knew nothing of the creature or anything about this place either. But still, in the end, this as well as everything else was a riddle. One you had been well prepared to solve by your time spent discovering the mysteries of the castle.

As soon as you had left the Founders room behind, there had been an instant change in the surroundings. While parts of the long passageway from Hogwarts had also seen withering away to time, you had been able to make out many other halls and floors from down below that were part of this large underground system; most of them still looked like they had in ancient days, build to hold against the passage of time.

The first clue was why it was that the home of this creature seemed to be different. One possible answer; it thrived in the destruction of civilized constructions. It had started in the tunnel behind and had worked its way here, over decades, maybe even centuries to destroy inch after inch of the structure. This was the reason why the chains had started rusting away, it was actively destroying the magic holding this place together.

And the reason why it did that so methodically, was what you would use to win this.

"Reparo!" By now, the creature had already fallen to the ground, crouching down in pain as it was trying to reach the place on his back, where the chains had hit him before. While the skin there didn't look much worse than its other burns, the pain seemed to be much more intense for the creature.

The chains behind him started repairing themselves, growing in strength and length as they won back long-lost properties. You saw the monster turn its head, alerted by the rustling of the chains behind him on the wall. One of his yellow eyes had turned brown and dark. It was the one you had hit with your fist.

While the chain was still being restored, you were already moving. You grabbed one end of the long chain. It was growing, when you started running around the creature. It flinched forwards when the chain behind him moved, following the movements of the end in your hand. The creature moved forward fleeing the chain on his back, only to run into the part of it that you had pulled in front of him.

Then the screams began. Before you closed the chains around him a first time, you knew that he was already lost. His screeches shook the room, but you still kept running lapses around him, again and again. Pulling the chain tighter with every round until he was standing in front of the wall, trying to make himself as thin as possible to minimize its contact with the chains.

"Pleassse …" He screamed, suddenly able to communicate. "Stop … ukavop … this, I bid you … for th-… fultum," the creature screeched with a voice of a thousand creaking windows. You didn't understand all of the words. Some of them were familiar, others sounded old and others again not like human sounds at all. It was trying to communicate with you.

First, you used your wand to illuminate the room again, before you asked: "What are you?"

Its eyes found you again. The monster was small, not even as tall as a House-elf. The arms and legs were long and scrawny, its skin half brown and hairy and half burnt to crisps. One eye was yellow and bright, the other dark and brown. The creature looked like nothing you had ever seen in a book, its teeth were sharp and dark, its mouth as brown as the slushy liquid that exited his body on the few wounds you had caused him that hadn't been burned by the fire.

"Save me! Help me!" It screamed, now speaking fully in words that you understood.

"What the bloody hell are you?" You asked again.

"No!" The creature tried to break out of his chains only to screech out in pain again. "Save me! Pain!"

Those words, were clear. While the monster had an inhuman voice to it that fit his grotesque nature, its words were of human origin. The thing was mindlessly thrashing against the chains around its body, trying to move them away from his skin. You turned for a moment, shining your light back at the two bundles you had seen before.

One of them with a red badge, the other with a yellow one. At least one set of students had found the Guardian before you. They had chosen to destroy it, not able to solve the riddle. Looking at the two skeletons in this room, you now had clear evidence that there had been at least one group to pass the test before you.

You shined the light to the other end of the room, were a corridor branched out, leading down into darkness. It seemed that you were not the first to explore these ruins of old.

"I ask you again," you said, as you raised the end of the chain you were still holding and dangled it in front of the creature's eyes.

"What are you?"

"Pain! I am in so much pain!"

Had the students behind you screamed those words in their deaths and taught them to the monster?

You hesitated for a second, before pushing the end of the chain into its face. Another screech. After a few moments, you let go of him. The area where you had pushed a chain into his face was swelling and turning dark as you looked at him.

"Please, stop!" It screamed, the words clear still. When he started to deviate from the script of pleading for mercy, his words became broken, mixing in things, you didn't understand. "I will … mûghat-atârum… baduzg … teach. I will teach," the creature said.

And with that, he caught your attention. Its eyes widened in surprise when it saw you drop the end of the chain. It took the creature a moment for his eyes to find yours. There was pain in its face. Pain and rage.

"What do you want to teach me?" You asked, crouching down to it. The foul smell that had radiated out of the room and the monster, had turned into the smell of burned flesh.

"Quûrub," it said, its voice slow and dark. Still fighting against the pain, its yellow eye fell away every few moments to check for the chains it was trying to keep away from its body.

"I don't understand," you said. "What is that?"

The creature looked at you, his lips moving soundlessly as if he was searching for words. "Pact," he said in the end. "Pact, I will show you Pact."

"Then show me," you said. Here the creature shook his head vehemently.

"No! Free me! First!"

Instead of answering him, you raised the chain again and brought it dangerously close to its face. The creature turned his head to the left, shying away from it, but didn't dare to move the rest of his body to not move the chains again.

"I will show. Pact," it said. "I will show Pact. The khatar … book. Book with Bloody-Gryffindor."

Your expression froze when you understood the meaning of those words. The way the creature in front of you spoke, as if he was mixing words together that he had once heard, memorized or otherwise stored. He said 'bloody Gryffindor' as if it was a word, a name even.

The creature in front of you, who had tried to kill you, had most surely been around the set of skeletons, when they had still been alive. You didn't ask it, if it had killed them, because you knew the answer already. Instead, you stood back up, still holding on tightly to the chain and backed up to the corpse with the red badge on its chest.

The black robe was still mostly intact, even if the corpse inside wasn't. You had no way of telling how much time had passed since their deaths. Carefully dropping the wand between your legs to have one hand free, you crouched down next to the corpse. While your right hand searched for something hidden below the robes, you looked over to the dead Hufflepuff student. Did he call the student in front of you a 'bloody Gryffindor'? Or had there been others around that had either survived or gone deeper into the dungeons and died?

Those were questions for another day. A book found its way into your hands. It was old, possibly ancient even. The binding was barely holding the insides together. When you opened it, a few pages fell to the ground. You carefully picked them up again, before letting the book down and shining your wand at it.

Your fingers slowly brushed over the parchment, before you started flipping through it. If this wasn't dark, you didn't know what would qualify. You could tell that it had been a common book once, there were some scribblings still to make out under the new writing. Once it had been nothing that would have caught your attention. Now, red and brown letters were covering most of the old text. Parts of the letters were in English, others were in a set of runes you had never seen before.

The wand left the book for a moment, to shine at the creature that was still standing at its place, trying to stay still inside the chains. His hateful eyes were still watching you closely. You closed the hand around the end of the chain tighter as you looked down at the book again.

The creature had covered the book with his own writing. A book that had been likely carried by either this group or another into this cave had turned into something evil and dark. Where the creature had not found quill nor ink, it had used blood and shit for its writings. You flipped the book with its large, hideous writings to the second half, where the layout started to change.

Gone was the old, but processed parchment, instead you found yourself confronted with rough patches of a leathery material. Skin. The second half of the book was written on dried skin. And down here, you saw only one source for this. Your eyes found the set of skeletons again. Had they been dead, when the creature started cutting into them? Where they screaming and pleading him to stop, when it ripped out their skins?

Your eyes scanned over the words you understood and roamed over those you didn't. It may take quite a bit of work, but you should be able to understand its teachings in the end. You studied the dark book in peace, flashing your wand upwards to check for the creature every few minutes, as you tried to make out the topic of the book.

"These are for bindings?" You asked the creature from your spot next to the Gryffindor.

"Yes, binding. Pact. This for Pact." Its voice was cracking still, every word like a mirror that broke gainst the ground.

You found a few passages in the book that you could understand. It explained the structure of a binding – a magical contract of sorts between different creatures. While it alluded to the possibility of creating such Pacts against a will, the book only explained a form of bilateral agreement. It explained how to magically form such a contract and how to keep it in place. Only now did you understand why the creature had created this item. It was a token of security. If it ever found itself in this a situation, in which its life was at danger, the creature would propose a Pact with its captor.

And as if the monster knew, that you had finally understood, it opened its mouth again. The voice was nothing but a whisper this time: "A Pact … Quûrub. Teach and safe for freedom."

You looked into its yellow eye.

Helga's words came to mind again. Brave you had been, that had never lacked you, because you were always guided by curiosity, which was stronger than any fear. But she had called you to be also cunning and for the first time did you understand why. The world you had discovered was a dangerous one, yes. It was one where you would need to develop your magic and skills to contest the many shadows and beasts, but it was also one for the cunning and smart. After your first step, you had already stumbled upon the concept of Pacts – a kind of bilateral agreement that could not be broken by either side.

You would need this knowledge for the way down. This and many other things. For it seemed that not even Hufflepuff herself, able to create the Guardian and the riddle above, had been able to conquer this place. A place dark and dangerous. Something that you had never seen before, nor even thought possible.

This place was calling you and even more …

It was telling you to decide for the first time.

How would you decide?

[ ] A Soul for a Soul – Take the book with you, but do not form any kind of Pact with the creature. You can't let it roam free, so you will kill it on the spot. End its miserable life. You will not be able to carry the dead back on your way to the Castle. But you will at least have avenged their deaths.

[ ] The Smell of Freedom – Trick it into agreeing to form a pact with you in exchange for you to free him. Once you learn the first steps of how to form a pact, free him (fulfilling the agreed upon conditions) and then kill him. You will not be able to carry the dead back on your way to the Castle. But you will at least have avenged their deaths.

[ ] A Pact, I agree – Agree to form a Pact. But you want more than just this book. The creature will be freed by your hand. In return it will swear to not harm you and share with you all the knowledge you need to further explore the deeper levels once you return.

→ Dark Arts enabled. The skill can now be trained.

→ + 200 EXP for the completion of the first Stage. → Level up!

Three-hour Moratorium! As always, please take time to discuss the chapter and the vote first.

A Harry Potter Quest: He who was not

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