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Astrid Ivanovich and The Spinner's Key [HP]

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[X] Be honest. Tell Dad you've spent your allowance, and tell him about which book you bought.

We can't be evasive and we can't lie - neither will stick. If we spent the money, he's going to want to know what on. Being evasive will only make him suspicious and he could confiscate the book regardless of what it is. Saying we didn't spend the money and then not buying anything at the Weasleys is suspicious. Plus, if we haven't spent any money on the trip he might ask us to give it to him for safekeeping.

On the book itself, as others have noted it is a research paper, most likely, not an actual book detailing how to cast the Dark Arts. I actually even think he might prefer it to the book of hexes. And he can't really get mad about the chapter on the Second Wizarding War, as even the books Harry and co read in school - mandated school textbooks - had information on the history of the wizarding world, including the First War.

@PutterMurr Just wanted to say I thought this story post was awesome. Better than most fanfiction, actually. I really liked your Olivander and the atmosphere and dialogue was especially well written.
 
[x] Be honest. Tell Dad you've spent your allowance, and tell him about which book you bought.

I think there's a decent chance that he'll confiscate it. But I also think that it'll be a wake up call for him that we're going to find out soon anyway, and it's better to teach as much as possible to us himself. Anyway, maintaining an honest relationship with our Dad is both good for our mental health and for him to trust us with future shinies. He's an Unspeakable, after all.

PutterMurr said:
"You have not told them, then."

You wheel around to look at Dad, whose expression has become just as grave as Ollivander's.

"It is not our history, wandmaker," he says, flat and cold.

"It is all of our history. You would keep your children in the dark--"

"I would keep my children innocent. I would keep them safe." Dad stands up, his every muscle tense. He's not yelling. He's a quiet man, and you've heard him raise his voice maybe twice in your life. But you have heard this tone before, and you know that he's fighting to keep himself calm. "Resume your work, or I will take my business elsewhere."
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Ooh, interesting. I like how the QM is weaving in these bits of depth into the quest, and it doesn't seem forced.
PutterMurr said:
And vast, uncontrollable plumes of fire shoot out, scorching the roof of the store and singeing your face. You shriek, trying to pull the wand downward, but it's taken on a mind of its own, fighting against your direction. There's a commotion behind you as Maggie echoes your scream and your father springs to his feet, knocking over his stool in the meantime. All the while, the flames continue, a steady stream of blindingly bright heat, until--

"FINITE!"

A blast of magic tears through you, with enough force to knock the wand cleanly from your hand. It hits the floor, bounces once, then rolls a few inches before it comes to a stop at Ollivander's feet. He's brandishing his own wand, so he must have gotten to you before Dad did.

"Interesting," he says, unbelievably calm, like he just watched an intriguing game of chess instead of you almost burning his store down. "I haven't seen that reaction to a phoenix feather in some time."
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PutterMurr said:
"Indeed they can be. And, unlike some, I believe that no witch or wizard is limited by their wand. Only the extent of their imagination -- and their perseverance," Ollivander continues. He produces a sandy brown wand, relatively plain, except for the decoration on the end of the handle, which is carved to look like a multi-faceted gem. Letting it rest in his upturned palms, he looks it over, holding it up to the light. "Beech with unicorn hair. Fourteen and three-quarter inches, as brittle as they come. The quiet nature of the wood and core's combination makes it ideal for the most intricate of spells, while its uncommon length and hardness allow for a certain measure of power not seen in other wands of the same make."

Ollivander's moon-like eyes flash as they meet yours.

"Tell me: have you any interest in Artificing?"
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Quite enjoyable scenes, which is kinda difficult when many readers have already seen variations on the Ollivander's scene hundreds of times.
 
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[X] Be honest. Tell Dad you've spent your allowance, and tell him about which book you bought.

Face the music. If we weren't comfortable about his reaction, why did we go buy the book anyways?
 
Oh, I forgot, I promised to tell you how the questions broke down into wand results.

There were actually seven factors in the wand selection process: height, birthday, eye color, character trait, path, fear, and trunk object. Height, birthday, and eye color you chose at the start of the game. Eye color, the chosen path, and the chosen character trait determined the wood. Holly and elm were both woods you could have gotten with a different path/trait combo, so I used them for the false alarms. Core was determined by the trunk object and the fear. You actually would have gotten phoenix feather if small spaces had won, and I was going back and forth on whether I should give it to you anyway, but I decided that Astrid has been a subtle character so far, so the subtle unicorn hair worked.

Length is determined by height and the trunk object. You have the longest possible wand from this quiz, which indicates a predisposition for flashy magic, balancing out the meeker nature of beech and unicorn hair. Flexibility is based on the character trait and whether your birthday is odd or even. Hardness vs. flexibility isn't well-defined by Pottermore, but I've seen some fanon that indicates how easy it is for the wand to learn new spells. So a hard wand is difficult to teach and more prone to malfunction, but once you've mastered it, it'll be quite powerful. Again, this'll help balance out the gentle nature of the unicorn hair, since brittle is one rung below 'unyielding/unbending' on the hardness scale.

Here are the wand and core descriptions for beech and unicorn hair. Credit goes to JK Rowling and Pottermore.

The true match for a beech wand will be, if young, wise beyond his or her years, and if full-grown, rich in understanding and experience. Beech wands perform very weakly for the narrow-minded and intolerant. Such wizards and witches, having obtained a beech wand without having been suitably matched (yet coveting this most desirable, richly hued and highly prized wand wood), have often presented themselves at the homes of learned wandmakers such as myself, demanding to know the reason for their handsome wand's lack of power. When properly matched, the beech wand is capable of a subtlety and artistry rarely seen in any other wood, hence its lustrous reputation.

Unicorn hair generally produces the most consistent magic, and is least subject to fluctuations and blockages. Wands with unicorn cores are generally the most difficult to turn to the Dark Arts. They are the most faithful of all wands, and usually remain strongly attached to their first owner, irrespective of whether he or she was an accomplished witch or wizard.

Minor disadvantages of unicorn hair are that they do not make the most powerful wands (although the wand wood may compensate) and that they are prone to melancholy if seriously mishandled, meaning that the hair may 'die' and need replacing.
 
[X] Be honest. Tell Dad you've spent your allowance, and tell him about which book you bought.
 
[X] Be honest. Tell Dad you've spent your allowance, and tell him about which book you bought.

We have very little to lose and lying to the people that love you is never a good idea.
 
[X] Be honest. Tell Dad you've spent your allowance, and tell him about which book you bought.

Though, with our wand, it's not like we would be doing much Dark Arts anyway.
 
veekie said:
Though, with our wand, it's not like we would be doing much Dark Arts anyway.
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It's more difficult than with other wands, not impossible.

Draco Malfoy and Quirinus Quirrell had wands with unicorn hair cores and there are no named canon characters with beech wands, so if the story goes in that direction it is possible for Astrid to successfully perform Dark magic.
 
[X] Be honest. Tell Dad you've spent your allowance, and tell him about which book you bought.
 
Corvus Black said:
It's more difficult than with other wands, not impossible.

Draco Malfoy and Quirinus Quirrell had wands with unicorn hair cores and there are no named canon characters with beech wands, so if the story goes in that direction it is possible for Astrid to successfully perform Dark magic.
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Successfully, yes, but it takes extra work, so unless Dark Magic has enough of an advantage, we're likely better off with super Charms/Transfiguration.
 
On the other hand, Unicorn Hair SHOULD pack an extra punch for counterhex, Defense against the Dark Arts stuff, due to the highly pure nature of a unicorn.
 
[X] Be honest. Tell Dad you've spent your allowance, and tell him about which book you bought.
 
Artificer was picked twice.

Once as a talent, the second time as a wand.

I want to see some goddamned artifacts. I want to see her calling herself Urza or something in the near future.

Golem dragons ho!
 
Dark Ness said:
:(

How difficult is difficult?
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Corvus Black said:
FYI - Phoenix feather wands are the hardest to tame, so take "most difficult to turn to the Dark Arts" with a grain of salt.
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Besides, we never actually got any negatives with our wand. While we will never be outstanding with them, as her father said, "Challenges can be overcome."

(I'm not saying we go full on Dark Arts here, I just think studying them occasionally would be fun)
 
Bugaboo said:
(I'm not saying we go full on Dark Arts here, I just think studying them occasionally would be fun)
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Honestly, I think the superstitious nature of witches and wizards in the Potterverse is a little silly when it comes to the Dark Arts. I mean, studying the underlying principles of what makes 'evil' spells like Imperio or Avada Kedavra work could lead to all sorts of magic that could help people. Imagine a version of Imperio that helped people with OCD handle their intrusive thoughts, or a reverse-engineering of Crucio that helped people with chronic pain cope.

Putting a blanket ban on such spells and vilifying them as the Dark Arts is a short-sighted and cowardly way to handle the morality of magic. Curiosity isn't a sin, despite what the Good Book says, so long as it's tempered with some common sense.

So I say, sure! Bring on the hexes, curses, and whatever else the Ministry has seen fit to label as nasty and evil. So long as we understand what we're getting into, and, more importantly, why we're getting into it.
 
TheArcanist said:
Honestly, I think the superstitious nature of witches and wizards in the Potterverse is a little silly when it comes to the Dark Arts. I mean, studying the underlying principles of what makes 'evil' spells like Imperio or Avada Kedavra work could lead to all sorts of magic that could help people. Imagine a version of Imperio that helped people with OCD handle their intrusive thoughts, or a reverse-engineering of Crucio that helped people with chronic pain cope.

Putting a blanket ban on such spells and vilifying them as the Dark Arts is a short-sighted and cowardly way to handle the morality of magic. Curiosity isn't a sin, despite what the Good Book says, so long as it's tempered with some common sense.

So I say, sure! Bring on the hexes, curses, and whatever else the Ministry has seen fit to label as nasty and evil. So long as we understand what we're getting into, and, more importantly, why we're getting into it.
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This. How can you create a counter-curse if you don't understand the curse itself? You need to know the nature of the curse, you have to cast it and study the effects. Only then can you go about finding a way to reverse it and twist the spell into one of healing, and not destruction.
 
What about Dresdenverse Laws?

What if something like that exists here. Obviously it's pretty obscure if not outright unknown if that is the case, but it's possible.
 
Update will come a bit later this evening. Gonna take a quick nap. I'll leave the vote open until then just in case, but it looks like we have a fair consensus.
 
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