- Location
- Somewhere with a Thousand Watchful Eyes
- Pronouns
- They/Them
So no one is going to say anything about us out-paranoia-ing Mad Eye Motherfuckin' Moody? 'Cause I feel that deserves a victory lap and some back-patting.
Harry Potter and the Scabbard of Excalibur [AU]
First you poke a hole
Then you drain all the stupid out
As charming as Moody is, he isn't our friend. Keywords: What do you want to tell the Auror office?
His main goal is to investigate everything about the Azkabanite including his goals and motivations so they can deduce what he'd do next.
I think Moody is going see straight through our evasions and deduce something about the cloak and the Chamber. Just saying we were exploring the dungeons isn't going to cut it. And then we'd have to explain how we found out about the chamber in the first place.
So how can we give as much detail about the Azkabanite to help them catch him without giving away our secrets?
His main goal is to investigate everything about the Azkabanite including his goals and motivations so they can deduce what he'd do next.
I think Moody is going see straight through our evasions and deduce something about the cloak and the Chamber. Just saying we were exploring the dungeons isn't going to cut it. And then we'd have to explain how we found out about the chamber in the first place.
So how can we give as much detail about the Azkabanite to help them catch him without giving away our secrets?
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OctarineShrike
Avatar of Mandos
Idea for a half truth. Say we learned about the Chamber of Secrets from the incomprehensible dream ghost if we know they exist in character.
Could work, we already have a bit of a reputation as an Astrology prodigy with our horoscope divinations. Seer visions could be plausible.
Edit: Moody would have 9 to 11/10 on Investigation probably. And there's that Eye too picking apart microexpressions and what not. Harry needs to proceed into the interrogation knowing that he can't lie at least.
[X] Almost Full Disclosure
-[X] Only if pressed into a corner say you have visions and insights to misdirect away from the existence of Geist.
-[X] Mention the horoscope, offering to write it down again and say that you felt a strong compulsion that something momentous was about to happen that day.
-[X] Try not to outright lie. Assume that Moody will know. Try to divert answering certain topics insisting you must speak to Dumbledore first.
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OctarineShrike
Avatar of Mandos
[X] Almost Full Disclosure
-[X] Only if pressed into a corner say you have visions and insights to misdirect away from the existence of Geist.
-[X] Mention the horoscope, offering to write it down again and say that you felt a strong compulsion that something momentous was about to happen that day.
-[X] Try not to outright lie. Assume that Moody will know. Try to divert answering certain topics insisting you must speak to Dumbledore first.
-[X] Only if pressed into a corner say you have visions and insights to misdirect away from the existence of Geist.
-[X] Mention the horoscope, offering to write it down again and say that you felt a strong compulsion that something momentous was about to happen that day.
-[X] Try not to outright lie. Assume that Moody will know. Try to divert answering certain topics insisting you must speak to Dumbledore first.
[X] Almost Full Disclosure
-[X] Only if pressed into a corner say you have visions and insights to misdirect away from the existence of Geist.
-[X] Mention the horoscope, offering to write it down again and say that you felt a strong compulsion that something momentous was about to happen that day.
-[X] Try not to outright lie. Assume that Moody will know. Try to divert answering certain topics insisting you must speak to Dumbledore first.
-[X] Only if pressed into a corner say you have visions and insights to misdirect away from the existence of Geist.
-[X] Mention the horoscope, offering to write it down again and say that you felt a strong compulsion that something momentous was about to happen that day.
-[X] Try not to outright lie. Assume that Moody will know. Try to divert answering certain topics insisting you must speak to Dumbledore first.
[X] Almost Full Disclosure
-[X] Only if pressed into a corner say you have visions and insights to misdirect away from the existence of Geist.
-[X] Mention the horoscope, offering to write it down again and say that you felt a strong compulsion that something momentous was about to happen that day.
-[X] Try not to outright lie. Assume that Moody will know. Try to divert answering certain topics insisting you must speak to Dumbledore first
-[X] Only if pressed into a corner say you have visions and insights to misdirect away from the existence of Geist.
-[X] Mention the horoscope, offering to write it down again and say that you felt a strong compulsion that something momentous was about to happen that day.
-[X] Try not to outright lie. Assume that Moody will know. Try to divert answering certain topics insisting you must speak to Dumbledore first
TaliesinSkye
Occasional Editor
- Location
- Northeast Ohio, United States
In this context it's actually a warning sign. Harry's sanity is suffering, severely.
- Location
- California
[] A Story For the Birdies
-edit: these caveats make Almost Full Disclosure better.
[X] Almost Full Disclosure
-[X] Only if pressed into a corner say you have visions and insights to misdirect away from the existence of Geist.
-[X] Mention the horoscope, offering to write it down again and say that you felt a strong compulsion that something momentous was about to happen that day.
-[X] Try not to outright lie. Assume that Moody will know. Try to divert answering certain topics insisting you must speak to Dumbledore first
-edit: these caveats make Almost Full Disclosure better.
[X] Almost Full Disclosure
-[X] Only if pressed into a corner say you have visions and insights to misdirect away from the existence of Geist.
-[X] Mention the horoscope, offering to write it down again and say that you felt a strong compulsion that something momentous was about to happen that day.
-[X] Try not to outright lie. Assume that Moody will know. Try to divert answering certain topics insisting you must speak to Dumbledore first
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Cultivating that inner Gendo for that extra brain folds I see.
We have discombobulated the elf without the discombobulating!
[X] A Story For the Birdies
Potter has the right to remain silent 'til he gets a lawyer!
TaliesinSkye
Occasional Editor
- Location
- Northeast Ohio, United States
A thought for next time;
[] Write In - Talk to Ornias about your nightmares and Geist's weird theory. If Ornias can help you use Astrology to prove that they never happened, maybe the problem will resolve itself.
[] Write In - Talk to Ornias about your nightmares and Geist's weird theory. If Ornias can help you use Astrology to prove that they never happened, maybe the problem will resolve itself.
Might still not stop the memory construct curse (the wraith said it was one) though.. but worth a try. I like the theory that Geist and Department of Mysteries' divination of Atlantis don't line up because the stars have significantly changed now.. corrupting their prediction model of Atlantis. Geist has been wrong a few times before on things.
They key to the nightmare starts with the proto-founders implied in Arta's friend group. Ahne as Griffindor, Vihann as Slytherin, the other one who was annoyed at the chatter as Ravenclaw. Arta obviously as the Hufflepuff progenitor.
We need to convince them to help us uncover the mystery of the doom. Play the intrigue like a Hufflepuff. And see if we can suicide to end the loop before the blast, or at least learn to steel our mind against it through occlumency.
Edit: We could get Harry to prepare for the dream quest by having the present-time Chosen model responses of the past-Chosen. Because fractals. Their instincts could have overlap. Knowing how to shape response with Harry's friends, also helping predict the right responses to corral Arta's friends.
They key to the nightmare starts with the proto-founders implied in Arta's friend group. Ahne as Griffindor, Vihann as Slytherin, the other one who was annoyed at the chatter as Ravenclaw. Arta obviously as the Hufflepuff progenitor.
We need to convince them to help us uncover the mystery of the doom. Play the intrigue like a Hufflepuff. And see if we can suicide to end the loop before the blast, or at least learn to steel our mind against it through occlumency.
Edit: We could get Harry to prepare for the dream quest by having the present-time Chosen model responses of the past-Chosen. Because fractals. Their instincts could have overlap. Knowing how to shape response with Harry's friends, also helping predict the right responses to corral Arta's friends.
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Snake's Apple
Birdsie
Sharp Talons Cleave The Worthy
- Location
- Poland
Snake's Apple
Although sterile and curt in tone and contents, Harry soon found that the conversation with Mr. Moody proved to be a pleasantly distracting experience. It was something Harry wouldn't mind repeating in the future.
Answering the Auror's questions necessitated Harry to concentrate enough on the facts that his thoughts strayed away from the horrific contents of his nightmares, so as to ponder on the harsh reality of events that had occurred on that day at Hogwarts instead, recollecting happenings in more-or-less chronological order.
Harry and Mr. Moody sat together in the parlor - the Auror with a thoughtfully furrowed eyebrow - on chairs facing one another, and discussed the events while Kreacher brought in a roller loaded with mugwort tea, a dish of sugar, and a diverse selection of teatime confections, including an entire cake stand holding a tasteful and diverse arrangement of sweet pastries. It seemed like the Auror was mostly satisfied with Harry's answers, including the mention of the Astrological horoscope - as though Harry's extraordinary talent for Astrology was a known fact to the Auror - but Harry received the distinct impression that Moody knew he was dancing around in an attempt to avoid spilling some unmentioned secrets.
As their conversation was reaching an incremental descent, the doorbell rang, and Kreacher excused himself and then vacated the room in order to check who it was. As though eager to accept this event as his cue to leave, Mr. Moody swiftly finished the conversation, stood up, and summoned his coat into his hand.
"Oh, uhm," Hermione stuttered, standing like a deer in the headlights in the doorway.
"Don't worry, wee lass, I was taking my leave," he said, offering her a grin through his mutilated face. It seemed to scare her more than anything. Mr. Moody picked up his walking stick and then left the parlor, stumbling past Harry's friends as they came into the entryway. Harry stood up from his seat and politely saw the man off to the door.
"I'll send you an owl if I remember anything else," Harry promised.
"Aye." Mr. Moody nodded in acceptance. His eye swiveled around to watch him. "Apologies for the rough introduction; I hope we'll be seein' you in the Office some years from now." He extended a calloused hand to shake.
After staring at the hand for a second, Harry decided he didn't mind, giving the man a hefty handshake. As Moody turned around to leave the house, Harry promptly frowned at his back. He allowed the door to close itself behind the Auror.
There's a-
I know.
Gently but quickly, Harry picked off the bug the man surreptitiously planted under his sleeve, on the wrist, only moments before its miniature, taloned feet could burrow under his skin and make it essentially unremovable, save through emergency autosurgery. And he couldn't exactly perform surgery on himself, not with an entire group of guests in his house; not to mention a concerned House Elf that'd probably cry blood at the sight of a young boy maiming himself in an apparently thoughtless manner.
"Harry, who was that?" Hermione asked.
"Who was that? Mad-Eye Moody, that was," Ron said, then explained the individual to her, "He's an Auror, yeah. A big-time veteran of the war against You-Know-Who. He got scarred like ten cats, but the word is, he can apparently fight a couple Death Eaters on his own, at the same time, and win the fight with good odds. He's a proper nutter."
"Give me a minute," Harry said, headed in the pantry's direction. "Make yourselves at home. I'll be with you in a moment."
He came into the pantry - a small room enchanted to maintain the contents in good quality over long periods of time, in order to avoid unnecessary spoilage of food. Harry looked around to make sure Kreacher wasn't hiding in a corner or something, then swiftly opened a jar of pickled blubisnare eyeballs, placed the listening device within, closed the jar, and shook it as vigorously as possible with his slender, twiggy arms. As expected, the blubisnare eyes started to oscillate at high frequencies, bubbling the fermented liquid and making the entire glass jar vibrate. It'd be probably enough to confuse the bug and make Moody believe he simply failed to plant it correctly.
Harry closed the pantry door, and simply for additional security, cast the Muffliato Charm on it. Meanwhile, Kreacher was amusing Harry's friends with mirthful tales of his lifelong service and various anecdotes passed on by the Black family. As he did, he poured out generous cups of tea and beverages for anyone who requested.
"Kreacher, bring some more cakes, please?" Harry asked the House Elf politely. "I imagine Ron will be stuffing his face as soon as anyone looks away."
"Hey, that's only half-true!" Ron complained, to a couple of snickers.
"Of course, young Master." The House Elf smiled happily, bowed politely, then spun around and marched into the kitchen, popping with Apparition as he left the room's confines. A surprisingly muted sound, due to the house's quality-of-life Charms to prevent annoying the inhabitants with constant noise.
"Alright, I've got some things I need to tell you," Harry declared, as he walked into the middle of the room. "But that can wait. We'll have to make Kreacher think we aren't up to anything, so he goes back into the basement to do whatever he's been doing there. Just play along."
After Kreacher returned, he came into a room in which an entire group of children was poorly playing blackjack using conjured cards and freely discussing a bunch of innocuous events, unrelated to the Hogwarts Attack, illegal spellwork, or Atlantean dreams and timeline singularity theories. To Harry's consternation, Kreacher was content to stand next to the room's entrance and watch over them with a gormless smile adorning his bearded face. It wasn't as though Harry expected the House Elf to be anything less than utterly accommodating and obliging in every request, but it'd never been something that he'd considered inconvenient.
Alright, Plan B.
The concern in Geist's mental voice was apparent and palpable, like a rising wave of sharp worry. Are you going to make something explode in the basement?
No - I'll do even better. Just watch.
Harry calmly looked to see that Kreacher was ponderously staring at Daphne's card deck from behind and wasn't paying attention to him. A hand placed under the table, Harry's wand shot into his grasp - a series of motions, and a muttered word, and the spell was cast; he moved the wand back into its holster, and his concealed hand returned above the table, to playing cards. After several moments of playing blackjack, a dopy rat entered the room through a small crack behind some furniture. Its squeaking was noticed by Kreacher's trained butler senses almost instantly, and he chased the fleeing rodent away to another part of the house that Harry wasn't allowed to visit.
Are you... did you train your rats to respond to some kind of hidden signal? When? How didn't I notice?
You've been sleeping a lot more.
That's true.
Anyway, yes - as rodent senses mostly rely on smell, I've picked out and learned a transformation spell that I found in one of the textbooks: air-to-sulfur. If they smell it without prior warning, it's a command to have one of them create a distraction.
A non-solid transformation spell? Uncommon and difficult to learn. Good job.
"Alright, let's go upstairs, to my room."
"I'm supposing we're letting in Daphne and Ron onto our... erm, secret?" Neville asked nervously. He gathered up the cards with several flicks of the wand, then made them disappear into one of his sleeves.
"And some others, too..."
It started with the minor secrets. Harry, Neville, and Hermione took a couple of turns, explaining the general concept of the House rings, as well as the nature and contents of Neville's strange and prophetic dream, to Ron and Daphne. Harry also explained his first encounter with the Azkabanite down in the Chamber of Secrets, during his trip down into the dungeons to retrieve the Ring of Slytherin, but added he didn't know anything about the man's planned attack on the Great Hall until moments before it actually happened, as he could feel the man's approaching presence through his scar.
After that, as Neville was about to ask Ron and Daphne for any input on finding their Slytherin, Harry interrupted, "Actually, there's something else."
"Does it involve Alastor Moody?" Neville asked skeptically, arms folded.
"No, I'm afraid this is a separate issue."
And so, Harry explained the nightmares he'd been suffering, the ones of Atlantis. He described their beautiful vistas and the starlit sky, as well as the scary ending of every dream, but his retelling downplayed the suffering and torment he went through every night as he died. He merely described the experience as painful, when in reality it was an extensive session of torture every single time. He didn't believe that making his friends panicky or concerned would lead to fruitful work and thinking on the matter; some distress to get them to actually want to help was good, but he didn't want to make them share in his own suffering either.
You're making something of a mistake, Geist commented. I don't understand the point of having friends if you don't have them wallow in misery alongside you.
Shut up, Harry frowned. You've never had real friends.
I've had plenty of friends, Geist replied with coy laughter. Your personal attacks never fail to amuse. I'm already dead, Harry, and I don't care - you're screaming insults and ripostes at a corpse. May I recommend looking at yourself, instead, and reviewing your approach? I think you should inform them about me.
Why?
Although Harry was reasonably confident that his friends wouldn't react with blatant horror or an explosion of fear, or anything of the sort, he disliked the idea on principle. It invited the possibility of them being concerned over his mental health, or believing that maybe the Dark Lord was indoctrinating him, or any other number of things that'd simply waste time. Maybe Geist's advice was useful, but Harry didn't see it gaining any value from allowing direct a direct, honest conversation channel between Geist and his friends. It might even inspire someone like Hermione or Daphne to report the confession to Dumbledore, in fear that events have rolled too far downhill.
"Anyway, let's discuss the Ring of Slytherin, and its inheritor, now," Harry said. "I only wanted to bring up my dreams, in case it became relevant. And I hope that you'll help me deal with them, when we've got some free time."
"I don't know what we can do about bad dreams, mate," Ron said. "We aren't, like, medical geniuses."
"No," Harry agreed. He looked around the room, meeting the eyes of Daphne, then Neville, then Hermione, and finally Ron in a sequence, showing resolve to everyone in turns. "But I do believe we're pretty smart, and we're good at what we do. I mean, we've found secret Rings apparently left behind by the Founders."
Uncharacteristically, the quiet Daphne cut in, "You mean, 'you.' You and Neville are the ones who actually found the House Rings. It's not that Ron and I won't bring anything into the group, and I would like to help, but I'm not so confident that our particular set of skills is going to be much use."
"Doesn't matter," Harry said with a shrug, putting confusion on Daphne's face. "At worst, you can provide ideas and moral support. I want you to be here. I want you to help us, and, like, be a part of the group. We're friends, guys."
She started to blush. "O-Okay."
"Heh," Ron chuckled, "Yeah, I can get behind that. So, we're looking for a slimy git. Have you considered Nott?"
"Yeah, we have, but we haven't tested him."
"It's probably not him," Daphne countered, "Too obvious, and he's in Slytherin. Remember the horoscope?"
"Maybe it's me?" Ron shrugged.
"Worth a try," Neville said in a thoughtful voice.
He tossed Ron the Ring of Slytherin. After a moment of staring at its verdant gem, Ron placed it around his finger and clenched his fist. After several more seconds of keeping his hand like that, he removed the Ring, and said, "Nah."
"Nothing?" Neville asked, sounding a little disappointed.
"Don't feel anything. Sorry, mates," Ron said, tossing back the Ring.
He doesn't sound particularly disappointed. Actually, he sounds like he might be lying?
"Are you lying?" Harry furrowed an eyebrow. Everyone stared at him.
"I-" The redheaded boy stared at him, eyebrow rising to match Harry's own. "No, why would I be?"
"It's a good question." Harry's head cocked to the side. "Why?"
"What, you think I'm the Heir of Slytherin, mate?" Ron snorted.
No, that'd be me.
"I mean..." Harry drawled, "You do habitually exchange favors with your friends and family."
"And you're really good at chess," Hermione added with an introspective voice.
Suddenly, Neville started to nod, as though finding a string of perfect sense. "And I saw that you organize plunkball gambling contests and mercilessly cheat people out of their money. That's not something that first years usually do as their hobby."
"And you're good at Charms, even though you pretend very hard not to be," Daphne finished with a lame smile.
"He is?" Harry asked, curiosity upturned at this revelation. He'd actually helped Ron some time ago, as the final First Year exams for Charms were coming up. He'd been grateful, almost profusely so - granted, maybe that should've tipped Harry off, as Ron seldom showed gratitude verbally. "I've never noticed."
"He scrawls corrections to wand motions in the textbook when he's bored..." she whispered exasperatedly.
A grain of sand in each statement and they'd gathered a desert - everyone turned in order to face their rattlesnake culprit. Although he maintained a brave face, in the end, Ron sagged a little and sighed, giving them a sheepish grin. "Damn, red-handed, huh? I'd thought I was ruddy clandestine, but apparently not."
"I don't understand - why?"
"I mean, it's pretty obvious, no?" Ron asked with a shrug. "Most of the value in bein' a Slytherin comes in no one knowing you're a Slytherin. There's a saying I heard when I was a kid, goes something like: the good Slytherins are found in Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. The best Slytherins aren't found even in Gryffindor."
"That's kind of... like, insane, but let's not stress it," Neville said with a squint, then extended a hand with the Ring of Slytherin gently proffered on his palm. "Anyway, take your Ring now, please, Ron."
"Already did. You're holdin' a fake, mate," Ron said. "Not like I was gonna pass up any treasure, yakkno?"
"Oh." The Ring in Neville's palm comically dissolved into dust.
---
All's well that ends well? Turns out one of your friends was a notorious liar. It's not clear whether or not Ron has more secrets, but judging by the fact that it's not clear, that's probably an indicator he does. Or maybe he doesn't? Jesus Christ, why does Slytherinian social morality have to be so complex? Ah, but I digress.
There are several weeks left before summer's end. Make up to six picks, and vote by plan.
[ ] Socialize: Sirius - It's already going to be extremely difficult talking to Sirius without tipping him off about anything bad that's happening to you and drawing his concern. Are you sure that you want to draw more of his attention on yourself?
[ ] Socialize: Kreacher - Your butler now worried about the rats scattered around the house.
[ ] Magical Practice - Make sure your summer homework's finished up, even though there's apparently not a whole lot of it given the Hogwarts Attack. However, that's no excuse to slack off, especially in a time such as now! If you wish, you may study particular subjects, like Potions or Charms. As a reminder, you're pretty on-level with Astronomy and Astrology, so if you do some light studies now, you might be able to request the Professors to allow you to write your OWLs a couple of years earlier.
[ ] Mysterious Azkabanite Investigation - Attempt to find out the identity and location of the Azkabanite who attacked Hogwarts, then avenge everyone who died and bring him to justice. It's time for a piece of good, old-fashioned revenge (as well as classic sleuthing.)
[ ] Beat Death Himself Using A Chair - How does one make any kind of progress whatsoever in a war against an abstract concept such as Death? Geist mentioned the Department of Secrets a while ago. Maybe that place has some useful answers?
[ ] Dreams of Ancient Wonder - Make an investigation into your dreams about Atlantis and its subsequent destruction. If you keep on suffering nightmares like this, you aren't sure you'll be able to stay completely sane on a day-to-day basis (you probably aren't very sane already.)
[ ] Write-in
Although sterile and curt in tone and contents, Harry soon found that the conversation with Mr. Moody proved to be a pleasantly distracting experience. It was something Harry wouldn't mind repeating in the future.
Answering the Auror's questions necessitated Harry to concentrate enough on the facts that his thoughts strayed away from the horrific contents of his nightmares, so as to ponder on the harsh reality of events that had occurred on that day at Hogwarts instead, recollecting happenings in more-or-less chronological order.
Harry and Mr. Moody sat together in the parlor - the Auror with a thoughtfully furrowed eyebrow - on chairs facing one another, and discussed the events while Kreacher brought in a roller loaded with mugwort tea, a dish of sugar, and a diverse selection of teatime confections, including an entire cake stand holding a tasteful and diverse arrangement of sweet pastries. It seemed like the Auror was mostly satisfied with Harry's answers, including the mention of the Astrological horoscope - as though Harry's extraordinary talent for Astrology was a known fact to the Auror - but Harry received the distinct impression that Moody knew he was dancing around in an attempt to avoid spilling some unmentioned secrets.
As their conversation was reaching an incremental descent, the doorbell rang, and Kreacher excused himself and then vacated the room in order to check who it was. As though eager to accept this event as his cue to leave, Mr. Moody swiftly finished the conversation, stood up, and summoned his coat into his hand.
"Oh, uhm," Hermione stuttered, standing like a deer in the headlights in the doorway.
"Don't worry, wee lass, I was taking my leave," he said, offering her a grin through his mutilated face. It seemed to scare her more than anything. Mr. Moody picked up his walking stick and then left the parlor, stumbling past Harry's friends as they came into the entryway. Harry stood up from his seat and politely saw the man off to the door.
"I'll send you an owl if I remember anything else," Harry promised.
"Aye." Mr. Moody nodded in acceptance. His eye swiveled around to watch him. "Apologies for the rough introduction; I hope we'll be seein' you in the Office some years from now." He extended a calloused hand to shake.
After staring at the hand for a second, Harry decided he didn't mind, giving the man a hefty handshake. As Moody turned around to leave the house, Harry promptly frowned at his back. He allowed the door to close itself behind the Auror.
There's a-
I know.
Gently but quickly, Harry picked off the bug the man surreptitiously planted under his sleeve, on the wrist, only moments before its miniature, taloned feet could burrow under his skin and make it essentially unremovable, save through emergency autosurgery. And he couldn't exactly perform surgery on himself, not with an entire group of guests in his house; not to mention a concerned House Elf that'd probably cry blood at the sight of a young boy maiming himself in an apparently thoughtless manner.
"Harry, who was that?" Hermione asked.
"Who was that? Mad-Eye Moody, that was," Ron said, then explained the individual to her, "He's an Auror, yeah. A big-time veteran of the war against You-Know-Who. He got scarred like ten cats, but the word is, he can apparently fight a couple Death Eaters on his own, at the same time, and win the fight with good odds. He's a proper nutter."
"Give me a minute," Harry said, headed in the pantry's direction. "Make yourselves at home. I'll be with you in a moment."
He came into the pantry - a small room enchanted to maintain the contents in good quality over long periods of time, in order to avoid unnecessary spoilage of food. Harry looked around to make sure Kreacher wasn't hiding in a corner or something, then swiftly opened a jar of pickled blubisnare eyeballs, placed the listening device within, closed the jar, and shook it as vigorously as possible with his slender, twiggy arms. As expected, the blubisnare eyes started to oscillate at high frequencies, bubbling the fermented liquid and making the entire glass jar vibrate. It'd be probably enough to confuse the bug and make Moody believe he simply failed to plant it correctly.
Harry closed the pantry door, and simply for additional security, cast the Muffliato Charm on it. Meanwhile, Kreacher was amusing Harry's friends with mirthful tales of his lifelong service and various anecdotes passed on by the Black family. As he did, he poured out generous cups of tea and beverages for anyone who requested.
"Kreacher, bring some more cakes, please?" Harry asked the House Elf politely. "I imagine Ron will be stuffing his face as soon as anyone looks away."
"Hey, that's only half-true!" Ron complained, to a couple of snickers.
"Of course, young Master." The House Elf smiled happily, bowed politely, then spun around and marched into the kitchen, popping with Apparition as he left the room's confines. A surprisingly muted sound, due to the house's quality-of-life Charms to prevent annoying the inhabitants with constant noise.
"Alright, I've got some things I need to tell you," Harry declared, as he walked into the middle of the room. "But that can wait. We'll have to make Kreacher think we aren't up to anything, so he goes back into the basement to do whatever he's been doing there. Just play along."
After Kreacher returned, he came into a room in which an entire group of children was poorly playing blackjack using conjured cards and freely discussing a bunch of innocuous events, unrelated to the Hogwarts Attack, illegal spellwork, or Atlantean dreams and timeline singularity theories. To Harry's consternation, Kreacher was content to stand next to the room's entrance and watch over them with a gormless smile adorning his bearded face. It wasn't as though Harry expected the House Elf to be anything less than utterly accommodating and obliging in every request, but it'd never been something that he'd considered inconvenient.
Alright, Plan B.
The concern in Geist's mental voice was apparent and palpable, like a rising wave of sharp worry. Are you going to make something explode in the basement?
No - I'll do even better. Just watch.
Harry calmly looked to see that Kreacher was ponderously staring at Daphne's card deck from behind and wasn't paying attention to him. A hand placed under the table, Harry's wand shot into his grasp - a series of motions, and a muttered word, and the spell was cast; he moved the wand back into its holster, and his concealed hand returned above the table, to playing cards. After several moments of playing blackjack, a dopy rat entered the room through a small crack behind some furniture. Its squeaking was noticed by Kreacher's trained butler senses almost instantly, and he chased the fleeing rodent away to another part of the house that Harry wasn't allowed to visit.
Are you... did you train your rats to respond to some kind of hidden signal? When? How didn't I notice?
You've been sleeping a lot more.
That's true.
Anyway, yes - as rodent senses mostly rely on smell, I've picked out and learned a transformation spell that I found in one of the textbooks: air-to-sulfur. If they smell it without prior warning, it's a command to have one of them create a distraction.
A non-solid transformation spell? Uncommon and difficult to learn. Good job.
"Alright, let's go upstairs, to my room."
"I'm supposing we're letting in Daphne and Ron onto our... erm, secret?" Neville asked nervously. He gathered up the cards with several flicks of the wand, then made them disappear into one of his sleeves.
"And some others, too..."
It started with the minor secrets. Harry, Neville, and Hermione took a couple of turns, explaining the general concept of the House rings, as well as the nature and contents of Neville's strange and prophetic dream, to Ron and Daphne. Harry also explained his first encounter with the Azkabanite down in the Chamber of Secrets, during his trip down into the dungeons to retrieve the Ring of Slytherin, but added he didn't know anything about the man's planned attack on the Great Hall until moments before it actually happened, as he could feel the man's approaching presence through his scar.
After that, as Neville was about to ask Ron and Daphne for any input on finding their Slytherin, Harry interrupted, "Actually, there's something else."
"Does it involve Alastor Moody?" Neville asked skeptically, arms folded.
"No, I'm afraid this is a separate issue."
And so, Harry explained the nightmares he'd been suffering, the ones of Atlantis. He described their beautiful vistas and the starlit sky, as well as the scary ending of every dream, but his retelling downplayed the suffering and torment he went through every night as he died. He merely described the experience as painful, when in reality it was an extensive session of torture every single time. He didn't believe that making his friends panicky or concerned would lead to fruitful work and thinking on the matter; some distress to get them to actually want to help was good, but he didn't want to make them share in his own suffering either.
You're making something of a mistake, Geist commented. I don't understand the point of having friends if you don't have them wallow in misery alongside you.
Shut up, Harry frowned. You've never had real friends.
I've had plenty of friends, Geist replied with coy laughter. Your personal attacks never fail to amuse. I'm already dead, Harry, and I don't care - you're screaming insults and ripostes at a corpse. May I recommend looking at yourself, instead, and reviewing your approach? I think you should inform them about me.
Why?
Although Harry was reasonably confident that his friends wouldn't react with blatant horror or an explosion of fear, or anything of the sort, he disliked the idea on principle. It invited the possibility of them being concerned over his mental health, or believing that maybe the Dark Lord was indoctrinating him, or any other number of things that'd simply waste time. Maybe Geist's advice was useful, but Harry didn't see it gaining any value from allowing direct a direct, honest conversation channel between Geist and his friends. It might even inspire someone like Hermione or Daphne to report the confession to Dumbledore, in fear that events have rolled too far downhill.
"Anyway, let's discuss the Ring of Slytherin, and its inheritor, now," Harry said. "I only wanted to bring up my dreams, in case it became relevant. And I hope that you'll help me deal with them, when we've got some free time."
"I don't know what we can do about bad dreams, mate," Ron said. "We aren't, like, medical geniuses."
"No," Harry agreed. He looked around the room, meeting the eyes of Daphne, then Neville, then Hermione, and finally Ron in a sequence, showing resolve to everyone in turns. "But I do believe we're pretty smart, and we're good at what we do. I mean, we've found secret Rings apparently left behind by the Founders."
Uncharacteristically, the quiet Daphne cut in, "You mean, 'you.' You and Neville are the ones who actually found the House Rings. It's not that Ron and I won't bring anything into the group, and I would like to help, but I'm not so confident that our particular set of skills is going to be much use."
"Doesn't matter," Harry said with a shrug, putting confusion on Daphne's face. "At worst, you can provide ideas and moral support. I want you to be here. I want you to help us, and, like, be a part of the group. We're friends, guys."
She started to blush. "O-Okay."
"Heh," Ron chuckled, "Yeah, I can get behind that. So, we're looking for a slimy git. Have you considered Nott?"
"Yeah, we have, but we haven't tested him."
"It's probably not him," Daphne countered, "Too obvious, and he's in Slytherin. Remember the horoscope?"
"Maybe it's me?" Ron shrugged.
"Worth a try," Neville said in a thoughtful voice.
He tossed Ron the Ring of Slytherin. After a moment of staring at its verdant gem, Ron placed it around his finger and clenched his fist. After several more seconds of keeping his hand like that, he removed the Ring, and said, "Nah."
"Nothing?" Neville asked, sounding a little disappointed.
"Don't feel anything. Sorry, mates," Ron said, tossing back the Ring.
He doesn't sound particularly disappointed. Actually, he sounds like he might be lying?
"Are you lying?" Harry furrowed an eyebrow. Everyone stared at him.
"I-" The redheaded boy stared at him, eyebrow rising to match Harry's own. "No, why would I be?"
"It's a good question." Harry's head cocked to the side. "Why?"
"What, you think I'm the Heir of Slytherin, mate?" Ron snorted.
No, that'd be me.
"I mean..." Harry drawled, "You do habitually exchange favors with your friends and family."
"And you're really good at chess," Hermione added with an introspective voice.
Suddenly, Neville started to nod, as though finding a string of perfect sense. "And I saw that you organize plunkball gambling contests and mercilessly cheat people out of their money. That's not something that first years usually do as their hobby."
"And you're good at Charms, even though you pretend very hard not to be," Daphne finished with a lame smile.
"He is?" Harry asked, curiosity upturned at this revelation. He'd actually helped Ron some time ago, as the final First Year exams for Charms were coming up. He'd been grateful, almost profusely so - granted, maybe that should've tipped Harry off, as Ron seldom showed gratitude verbally. "I've never noticed."
"He scrawls corrections to wand motions in the textbook when he's bored..." she whispered exasperatedly.
A grain of sand in each statement and they'd gathered a desert - everyone turned in order to face their rattlesnake culprit. Although he maintained a brave face, in the end, Ron sagged a little and sighed, giving them a sheepish grin. "Damn, red-handed, huh? I'd thought I was ruddy clandestine, but apparently not."
"I don't understand - why?"
"I mean, it's pretty obvious, no?" Ron asked with a shrug. "Most of the value in bein' a Slytherin comes in no one knowing you're a Slytherin. There's a saying I heard when I was a kid, goes something like: the good Slytherins are found in Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. The best Slytherins aren't found even in Gryffindor."
"That's kind of... like, insane, but let's not stress it," Neville said with a squint, then extended a hand with the Ring of Slytherin gently proffered on his palm. "Anyway, take your Ring now, please, Ron."
"Already did. You're holdin' a fake, mate," Ron said. "Not like I was gonna pass up any treasure, yakkno?"
"Oh." The Ring in Neville's palm comically dissolved into dust.
---
All's well that ends well? Turns out one of your friends was a notorious liar. It's not clear whether or not Ron has more secrets, but judging by the fact that it's not clear, that's probably an indicator he does. Or maybe he doesn't? Jesus Christ, why does Slytherinian social morality have to be so complex? Ah, but I digress.
There are several weeks left before summer's end. Make up to six picks, and vote by plan.
[ ] Socialize: Sirius - It's already going to be extremely difficult talking to Sirius without tipping him off about anything bad that's happening to you and drawing his concern. Are you sure that you want to draw more of his attention on yourself?
[ ] Socialize: Kreacher - Your butler now worried about the rats scattered around the house.
[ ] Magical Practice - Make sure your summer homework's finished up, even though there's apparently not a whole lot of it given the Hogwarts Attack. However, that's no excuse to slack off, especially in a time such as now! If you wish, you may study particular subjects, like Potions or Charms. As a reminder, you're pretty on-level with Astronomy and Astrology, so if you do some light studies now, you might be able to request the Professors to allow you to write your OWLs a couple of years earlier.
[ ] Mysterious Azkabanite Investigation - Attempt to find out the identity and location of the Azkabanite who attacked Hogwarts, then avenge everyone who died and bring him to justice. It's time for a piece of good, old-fashioned revenge (as well as classic sleuthing.)
[ ] Beat Death Himself Using A Chair - How does one make any kind of progress whatsoever in a war against an abstract concept such as Death? Geist mentioned the Department of Secrets a while ago. Maybe that place has some useful answers?
[ ] Dreams of Ancient Wonder - Make an investigation into your dreams about Atlantis and its subsequent destruction. If you keep on suffering nightmares like this, you aren't sure you'll be able to stay completely sane on a day-to-day basis (you probably aren't very sane already.)
[ ] Write-in
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Kufufu
Adequate at best
- Location
- What's it to ya?
[X] Socialize: Kreacher - Your butler now worried about the rats scattered around the house.
[X] Dreams of Ancient Wonder - Make an investigation into your dreams about Atlantis and its subsequent destruction. If you keep on suffering nightmares like this, you aren't sure you'll be able to stay completely sane on a day-to-day basis (you probably aren't very sane already.)
[X] Mysterious Azkabanite Investigation - Attempt to find out the identity and location of the Azkabanite who attacked Hogwarts, then avenge everyone who died and bring him to justice. It's time for a piece of good, old-fashioned revenge (as well as classic sleuthing.)
[X] Dreams of Ancient Wonder - Make an investigation into your dreams about Atlantis and its subsequent destruction. If you keep on suffering nightmares like this, you aren't sure you'll be able to stay completely sane on a day-to-day basis (you probably aren't very sane already.)
[X] Mysterious Azkabanite Investigation - Attempt to find out the identity and location of the Azkabanite who attacked Hogwarts, then avenge everyone who died and bring him to justice. It's time for a piece of good, old-fashioned revenge (as well as classic sleuthing.)
- Location
- Ostren
I CALLED IT.
[X] Plan Young Summer Investigators
[X] Dreams of Ancient Wonder - Make an investigation into your dreams about Atlantis and its subsequent destruction. If you keep on suffering nightmares like this, you aren't sure you'll be able to stay completely sane on a day-to-day basis (you probably aren't very sane already.)
[X] Mysterious Azkabanite Investigation - Attempt to find out the identity and location of the Azkabanite who attacked Hogwarts, then avenge everyone who died and bring him to justice. It's time for a piece of good, old-fashioned revenge (as well as classic sleuthing.)
[X] Rest and Realx, in order to improve our mental sanity
[X] Dreams of Ancient Wonder - Make an investigation into your dreams about Atlantis and its subsequent destruction. If you keep on suffering nightmares like this, you aren't sure you'll be able to stay completely sane on a day-to-day basis (you probably aren't very sane already.)
[X] Mysterious Azkabanite Investigation - Attempt to find out the identity and location of the Azkabanite who attacked Hogwarts, then avenge everyone who died and bring him to justice. It's time for a piece of good, old-fashioned revenge (as well as classic sleuthing.)
[X] Rest and Realx, in order to improve our mental sanity
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I know, right? Ron's a pretty Weasley guy.
KidFromPallet
Pokemon Fan
- Location
- Pallet Town
I can't believe it actually was Ron, plot-twist of the century right there.
[X] Plan: You Better Stop
-[X] Dreams of Ancient Wonder
Not a particularly serious plan, but meh, why not?
Focus all our efforts on getting these dreams to cease before they completely rupture Harry's sanity.
[X] Plan: You Better Stop
-[X] Dreams of Ancient Wonder
Not a particularly serious plan, but meh, why not?
Focus all our efforts on getting these dreams to cease before they completely rupture Harry's sanity.