- Pronouns
- Reader
Well Care of magical Creatures is supposed to be an easy A...
(HP) A Girl and Her Book
- Thread starter Guiding Bolt
- Start date
CedeTheBees
Probably high right now
- Location
- Somewhere
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Definitely Ancient Runes. We already have a head start on that. Kinda.
Varder
Tired Cultist
- Location
- Hell
I say we should pick something easy, like divinations. Less time spent on classes - more time spent on inter-house politics (does anyone want to experience what Pensy did?) or our after-school studying, where we'll actually cover fun things like Runes, Dark of Egyptian magic.
CedeTheBees
Probably high right now
- Location
- Somewhere
- Pronouns
- They/Them
We should have at least one difficult class. We can't really keep up our reputation as the smartest Slytherin of our year if we only pick the easy stuff.
Roth963
If I become inactive with this massage, I died
If we pick something easy, I want something vaguely useful at least, something like care for magical beasts or muggle studies, divination is probably a joke, at least by learning it from hogwarts.
Varder
Tired Cultist
- Location
- Hell
The point of getting divinations is to have a class which you spend zero time on. Neither magical beasts nor muggle sudies strike me as such, tbh.
Muggle studies especially seem like a waste. What do they teach there? Histrory, politics or physics? Doubt that; I think it's more like how day-to-day muggles live. And we can learn that better by going somewhere in the muggle world during a summer break than by listening to countless lectures without practical work.
Has the quest had homework like that which is mechanically not helping us or eliminating/locking us into actions/turn?
Taking a blow-off class makes sense in real life sometimes but i'm really unsure about it in a quest (since the author would then have to devote time to building up something we've already said we dgaf about). That being said my memory is pretty patchy…
Taking a blow-off class makes sense in real life sometimes but i'm really unsure about it in a quest (since the author would then have to devote time to building up something we've already said we dgaf about). That being said my memory is pretty patchy…
Varder
Tired Cultist
- Location
- Hell
You have a point, we don't yet know if time management will be like I described. However, in the two weeks that already happened, we had to choose between studying in class and doing something else. I don't see why that'd stop at later years.
Corvus Black
The Inestimable
- Location
- England
Easy is relative. Just because we find the class easy doesn't mean the rest of the class do.
Oh, I see what you mean. There is a write in there and we could do the politics action or write in doing something else entirely during the class time. I've got no clue how that would work out for us narrative or mechanics-wise but could be an occasional free action. Suppose it's a long way off at this point so we'll learn more as we continue this year.
- Location
- the netherlands
Would it not be interesting to learn skills, not directly related to magic?
Ginny can memorize literature, math, and language. I am almost certain Ginny will shine in linguistics. And language is probably one of the most important thing when it comes to intellect (Trivium).
Also, I didn't notice during the update with Binns, but history could be a subject Ginny shines in, who knows. It would be a good chance to make friends with Rose.
Ginny can memorize literature, math, and language. I am almost certain Ginny will shine in linguistics. And language is probably one of the most important thing when it comes to intellect (Trivium).
Also, I didn't notice during the update with Binns, but history could be a subject Ginny shines in, who knows. It would be a good chance to make friends with Rose.
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Why would we focus on the mundane version of mathematics and linguistics when ancient runes and arithmancy are right there ? Yeah, Ginny could be good at it, but it's not nearly as useful or awesome. I could see some use in learning other languages so she doesn't have to rely on translated books for spells and magical traditions that aren't found in English. Arithmancy is required to become a curse breaker, so that and Runes are probably my top two choices.
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- Location
- the netherlands
I think your right that arithmancy (the study of magical properties in numbers) would already involve alot of math (i assume).
But I think studying the humanities would help her grow mentally. And stuff like rhetorics and grammar are also things that are deemed necessary in high society and among intellectuals (I don't know if the magical versions are different).
learning these subjects could also lead to new paths of magic, the same goes for the fiction books we got as a gift from Bill (dune ect.).
examples of uses in magic with the skills mentioned above
- A good example of linguistics in magic could be the usage of words in spells. Perhaps discovering the root meaning of certain words and analyzing them could lead to new spells. Or things of that effect.
- Studying history might lead to a future job as a teacher and uncovering secret quests.
- Grammar/rhetorics could lead to better leadership stats and a better understanding of future problems. And when it comes to magic, you could apply magic to your communication motivating people, or something.
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A lot of that sounds like there might be fringe benefits in studying these things, which we would probably find out about when we attempt the things that might benefit anyways. When we want to craft a spell we could certainly take our time to understand the Latin and English roots of similar spells, but just starting to study all / some languages in the hopes that there are some obscure benefits in the future would be dreadful time management.
I believe that actually understanding fields of magical theory is a higher priority for magical intellectuals than good grammar, so maybe we should focus and that first and foremost. And some weird crossover magic by studying fiction would require an insane amount of theoretical knowledge of the underlying magical theory to know if and how it is possible. If reading fiction would be the most challenging requirement in inventing new branches of magic it probably would have been done already. If you already are a great spell crafter that simply needs some inspiration there could be a small benefit, if the setting you are reading actually follows similar rules. And yeah, you might learn some important things in fiction, like the existence of the hallows, but that's probably more of a needle in the haystack. And even then, knowing that there might be a cool wand, cloak and stone somewhere isn't that useful.
These things could be great to finish of our education in the far future, I'm not denying that, but we would need a very solid foundation to benefit from them. And until we are out of school all these more obvious endeavors that are actually in the curriculum of one of the preeminent schools for magic will bring greater benefits for a smaller investment, since there are teachers for these subjects here. I'm pretty sure the Weasleys don't have the money to hire tutors. If it turns out that in this AU there will be language courses other than Ancient Runes because there is a benefit in studying them, great, and I will probably vote for them, but starting to randomly learn stuff that has a chance to pay off in the far future isn't the best way to spend our time. From what I remember of Binns in canon, it would probably be a wiser investment of our time to drop the course as soon as possible and learn history on our own as soon as we get the chance and are interested in certain periods of it. But philosophy could actually be great to grow as a person. There might even be some magical philosophy with the existence of "dark" magic, and what the usage of it requires from, and does to a person. The whole field of philosophy would probably be pretty unrecognizable since there is a quantifiable soul in humans, the existence of something after death is proven/ very probable, and immortality is actually possible instead of a thought experiment.
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Ginny, 1.9: "Tea, Teachers and Treachery Pt. 2"
- Location
- the point is of no return and you have reached it!
A GIRL AND HER BOOK, "Tea, Teachers and Treachery Pt. 2"
13 September, 1992
Professor Sinistra sits down across from you in her office. You take the cup and smile back to your professor, taking a gentle sip from it while you take in the sights of her office.
Sinistra's office is charmed, much like the Great Hall. When you look up, you don't see a ceiling, but a map of the stars. These stars, however, are not stars you recognize, and if you'll believe what your eyes tell you, there is motion between the room and the stars. The room itself is adrift through the cosmos. The sight is beautiful and transfixing; if it weren't for the sound of Sinistra tapping her spoon gently against her tea cup as she stirred, you might have been lost in the sight.
"Beautiful, aren't they?" She asks, raising her tea cup to face the stars.
"Yes," you agree, careful not to lose yourself in their radiance again.
"So few among our people appreciate them for what they are. I fear the Great Hall's show of stars took away their shine and raised a generation inoculated against their light," Sinistra said, lowering her cup back to the table. "They jump to the sounds of the zodiac and pledge themselves to the astrological hosts, but the subtle arts of astronomy are ignored."
You aren't exactly sure what to say to that, so you pick up your cup and drink from it. The tea is well-made and clearly done by hand.
"Your father was always an exception," Sinistra continues, recatching your eye and attention. "I knew him, for a time; he was an older student when I started here, but he had an eye for the stars and an appreciation of the muggle sciences that I admired. He passed that dream on to me, and I tried passing it on to Barty," an odd expression passes Sinistra's face, as she pauses for a moment, before she gave a bemused sigh and continue, "and now I try and pass it on to the students, and it has made me understand our good head of house Severus more than I ever thought I could."
"The muggles have split an atom and put a man on the moon, and wizardkind still thinks the only muggle arts worth studying are the locomotive industry and cellular communications." Sinistra sighs again before she continues preaching to you. "Try and teach a child the beauty in the stars, and they're more concerned about being able to turn a matchstick into a needle."
You take another long drink from your cup of tea. Professor Sinistra takes pause as realizes the extents of her rant, and she leads the conversation back down to Earth and more innocuous topics. Before too much time has passed, you are on your way, with an invitation to return next week with friends if you so choose.
As you leave the room, you spot the Bloody Baron. You pass the ghost on your way back to the common rooms and the Ghost heads into Professor Sinistra's office.
Priscilla accompanies you to the shores of the Black Lake, broomstick in hand. She's cheerful at the idea of spending some time outside. Helen isn't interested in the prospect, preferring to spend her time in the library instead.
The Black Lake is huge, and more than huge, it is deep. Hogwarts: A History describes the Black Lake as the deepest freshwater body in the British Isles, beating out even Loch Morar (310m) with its purported 515m depth at its deepest point. It is the home of at least one tribe of Scottish selkies on its upper shelf and unknown civilizations beneath, as well as the Giant Squid, who often lurks outside the under-lake windows of the Slytherin common rooms.
There are docks along the shore and sitting areas for students, but on this Sunday morning, they're eerily empty. You and Priscilla are the first or the only students to make the trek out to the lake. Eagerly, Priscilla leads on over to the first of the piers, pushing her broomstick into your hands and tying her moss-color hair into a flyer's braid.
When you reach the end of the pier, Priscilla takes her broom back and makes eye contact with you. She smiles, and it's a more genuine expression than any other to have crossed her face.
"Watch me," Priscilla says, tossing her broom out over the water and falling back towards it.
Only moments before the broom would hit the water, Priscilla's magic pulls back against it, and it comes to glide inches before the water's shore. Priscilla lands on it and fires forward across the water, skimming across the rising sun's reflection on its surface. New shadows and ripples shake across the water in all directions to coalesce upon her, but at the seeming last moment Priscilla pulls upwards, rising up between you and the sun as great magical fish jump forth from the ripples around where she flew.
She waves down at you and gives a cheer, before she plunges back down towards the surface. You recognize her movements as a Wronski feint, a famous Seeker dive and diversion tactic. She pulls out before she hits the surface, stabilizing at the pier's height and flying back to you.
"It's beautiful out here! You're right, this was a better call than the pitch," Priscilla adjusts herself on the broomstick, taking a more comfortable seated position with both of her legs dangling off in your direction. Priscilla looks like she's considering saying something more after that, but after a brief moment of consternation, she decides against it.
After a brief exchange of words and an agreement to explore, the two of you split off. Priscilla goes back to flying along the water. You spend some time scouting out the edges of the shore and familiarizing yourself with the terrain. There are a number of rock outcroppings and hills around the shore's edges and you discover a number of small cavern entries around these outcroppings. You don't go into any of the caverns, but you make note of which ones look to contain water or lead back into the lake, and which seem to be larger than that. There are a number of secluded spots along the lake nestled between the rocks, the hills and the typical Hogwarts flora that you think could be useful later on for studying, for spell practice or for experimentations. You also take note of a number of grooved patterns along the shore facing the Forbidden Forest, as if something had been dragged across the sand.
Eventually, the two of you regroup and start the trek back to the castle. Priscilla has less to say about what she saw while flying above the lake's surface, but she offers to let you use her broom in the future for your own trips across the water. It's unfortunate that swimming in the Black Lake is off-limits, ever since the Evans-Longbottom incident, but if you could get a professor's approval and supervision, you could get an authorization to explore into the water.
The two of you regroup with Helen and the other first-years in the Slytherin Common Rooms. You spend some time socializing with the others there, but your attention keeps drifting away to the lake-facing windows. You see a face in the water passing by the window, and when you look out to it, she looks back to you.
The rest of the weekend passes uneventfully, split between time socializing, studying and sleeping.
13 September, 1992
Professor Sinistra sits down across from you in her office. You take the cup and smile back to your professor, taking a gentle sip from it while you take in the sights of her office.
Sinistra's office is charmed, much like the Great Hall. When you look up, you don't see a ceiling, but a map of the stars. These stars, however, are not stars you recognize, and if you'll believe what your eyes tell you, there is motion between the room and the stars. The room itself is adrift through the cosmos. The sight is beautiful and transfixing; if it weren't for the sound of Sinistra tapping her spoon gently against her tea cup as she stirred, you might have been lost in the sight.
"Beautiful, aren't they?" She asks, raising her tea cup to face the stars.
"Yes," you agree, careful not to lose yourself in their radiance again.
"So few among our people appreciate them for what they are. I fear the Great Hall's show of stars took away their shine and raised a generation inoculated against their light," Sinistra said, lowering her cup back to the table. "They jump to the sounds of the zodiac and pledge themselves to the astrological hosts, but the subtle arts of astronomy are ignored."
You aren't exactly sure what to say to that, so you pick up your cup and drink from it. The tea is well-made and clearly done by hand.
"Your father was always an exception," Sinistra continues, recatching your eye and attention. "I knew him, for a time; he was an older student when I started here, but he had an eye for the stars and an appreciation of the muggle sciences that I admired. He passed that dream on to me, and I tried passing it on to Barty," an odd expression passes Sinistra's face, as she pauses for a moment, before she gave a bemused sigh and continue, "and now I try and pass it on to the students, and it has made me understand our good head of house Severus more than I ever thought I could."
"The muggles have split an atom and put a man on the moon, and wizardkind still thinks the only muggle arts worth studying are the locomotive industry and cellular communications." Sinistra sighs again before she continues preaching to you. "Try and teach a child the beauty in the stars, and they're more concerned about being able to turn a matchstick into a needle."
You take another long drink from your cup of tea. Professor Sinistra takes pause as realizes the extents of her rant, and she leads the conversation back down to Earth and more innocuous topics. Before too much time has passed, you are on your way, with an invitation to return next week with friends if you so choose.
As you leave the room, you spot the Bloody Baron. You pass the ghost on your way back to the common rooms and the Ghost heads into Professor Sinistra's office.
(…)
Priscilla accompanies you to the shores of the Black Lake, broomstick in hand. She's cheerful at the idea of spending some time outside. Helen isn't interested in the prospect, preferring to spend her time in the library instead.
The Black Lake is huge, and more than huge, it is deep. Hogwarts: A History describes the Black Lake as the deepest freshwater body in the British Isles, beating out even Loch Morar (310m) with its purported 515m depth at its deepest point. It is the home of at least one tribe of Scottish selkies on its upper shelf and unknown civilizations beneath, as well as the Giant Squid, who often lurks outside the under-lake windows of the Slytherin common rooms.
There are docks along the shore and sitting areas for students, but on this Sunday morning, they're eerily empty. You and Priscilla are the first or the only students to make the trek out to the lake. Eagerly, Priscilla leads on over to the first of the piers, pushing her broomstick into your hands and tying her moss-color hair into a flyer's braid.
When you reach the end of the pier, Priscilla takes her broom back and makes eye contact with you. She smiles, and it's a more genuine expression than any other to have crossed her face.
"Watch me," Priscilla says, tossing her broom out over the water and falling back towards it.
Only moments before the broom would hit the water, Priscilla's magic pulls back against it, and it comes to glide inches before the water's shore. Priscilla lands on it and fires forward across the water, skimming across the rising sun's reflection on its surface. New shadows and ripples shake across the water in all directions to coalesce upon her, but at the seeming last moment Priscilla pulls upwards, rising up between you and the sun as great magical fish jump forth from the ripples around where she flew.
She waves down at you and gives a cheer, before she plunges back down towards the surface. You recognize her movements as a Wronski feint, a famous Seeker dive and diversion tactic. She pulls out before she hits the surface, stabilizing at the pier's height and flying back to you.
"It's beautiful out here! You're right, this was a better call than the pitch," Priscilla adjusts herself on the broomstick, taking a more comfortable seated position with both of her legs dangling off in your direction. Priscilla looks like she's considering saying something more after that, but after a brief moment of consternation, she decides against it.
After a brief exchange of words and an agreement to explore, the two of you split off. Priscilla goes back to flying along the water. You spend some time scouting out the edges of the shore and familiarizing yourself with the terrain. There are a number of rock outcroppings and hills around the shore's edges and you discover a number of small cavern entries around these outcroppings. You don't go into any of the caverns, but you make note of which ones look to contain water or lead back into the lake, and which seem to be larger than that. There are a number of secluded spots along the lake nestled between the rocks, the hills and the typical Hogwarts flora that you think could be useful later on for studying, for spell practice or for experimentations. You also take note of a number of grooved patterns along the shore facing the Forbidden Forest, as if something had been dragged across the sand.
Eventually, the two of you regroup and start the trek back to the castle. Priscilla has less to say about what she saw while flying above the lake's surface, but she offers to let you use her broom in the future for your own trips across the water. It's unfortunate that swimming in the Black Lake is off-limits, ever since the Evans-Longbottom incident, but if you could get a professor's approval and supervision, you could get an authorization to explore into the water.
The two of you regroup with Helen and the other first-years in the Slytherin Common Rooms. You spend some time socializing with the others there, but your attention keeps drifting away to the lake-facing windows. You see a face in the water passing by the window, and when you look out to it, she looks back to you.
The rest of the weekend passes uneventfully, split between time socializing, studying and sleeping.
Ginny, 1.10: "The Third Week"
- Location
- the point is of no return and you have reached it!
[x] [Tutoring] Agree to a longer Tutoring Plan with Tom Riddle.
[X] [Tutoring Goals] Defense against the Dark Arts has always been your best subject. Challenge Tom to help you increase your skill with Transfiguration to your current DADA skill by new years.
[X] [Tutoring Goals] Defense against the Dark Arts has always been your best subject. Challenge Tom to help you increase your skill with Transfiguration to your current DADA skill by new years.
A GIRL AND HER BOOK, "The Third Week"
14 September, 1992 — 18 September, 1992
Monday passes by relatively uneventfully. Herbology continues to be a difficult subject for you, but at least you are not alone among the Slytherins in your dislike for the course material. None of your classmates have much liking for the work or for Professor Sprout's unending enthusiasm over the blood-sucking monster plants of the week, but you share in a sense of relief at hearing the relatively-tamer Devil's Root will be the subject of the next unit. You try to listen more to Professor Binns during History of Magic, but it continues to be a losing battle, and by the end of the class you're listening more to the gossip between your classmates than you are to Binns' words.
Defense against the Dark Arts was a more restrained class period this Monday; Lockhart provided excerpts from his different books to the class and asked for students to find examples of basic DADA theory or guides in his actions. It was hard to find any. Lockhart seemed to approach each situation with a completely different mindset and a completely unique set of tactics rather than following any Ministry-approved flowchart of DADA theory and tactics. Some students through the class pointed at specific actions or ideas of Lockhart's that could be phrased to fit along DADA theories, but they were stretches at best. The real lesson must be that each Dark Arts-situation must be approached individually.
Tuesday's morning classes were uneventful: more History of Magic with boring Binns and more Potion Theory with Professor Snape. Burke briefly showed off his knowledge of various potion ingredients and won a spattering of points for Slytherin, but Professor Snape held as little interest in praising Burke as he held for praising the Gryffindors of the class. The double-session of Charms later in the day was more entertaining. You really felt the difference Tom's teaching and the Dueling Club had made when you started your work in the class and were able to incorporate ideas from having learned Expelliarmus and Furnunculuscora into learning the focused charm of the lesson: Incendio, the Fire Making Charm. Professor Flitwick actually touched on a fairly complex bit of theory in the similarities and differences between fire-making and fire-conjuring, but he stirred away from the topic when it was clearly above the class's head.
0. Ginny initiates a Charms Learning Action. Ginny chooses Defense against the Dark Arts as her attribute to learn the spell due to its dueling usage. The Fire-Making Charm Incendio's Spell Learning DC is set based on Ginny's Skill Level in Charms (D).
1. Ginny's [Imaginative] activates due to the spell's Charm quality, providing a positive modifier to dice rolled based on the spell's difficulty. Ginny's [Eidetic Memory] activates, reducing Incendio's Spell Learning DC. Professor Flitwick's Teacher modifier is increased due to Flitwick's [???] trait. Ginny's rolls will be affected by her Affinity modifier (1.35x). Ginny has her Focus Reroll available this cycle.
2. Ginny rolls against trait modified Incendio's Spell Learning DC (25): [36 + 5 + 7] * (1.35) = ~65. Ginny's roll succeeds (25) and critically succeeds (50), learning the Incendio charm and gaining Charms EXP.
Final (1): Ginny learns the Incendio charm. She is the first in class to perform the spell. With her emphasis on earning Class Points and her ongoing tutelage by Tom, she attempts an additional Charms learning action to modify Incendio.
0. Ginny initiates a Charms Learning Action. Ginny chooses Defense against the Dark Arts as her attribute to modify the spell. The Fire-Making Charm Incendio's Spell Learning DC is set based on Ginny's Skill Level in Charms (D) and increased due to the complexity of spell modification.
1. Ginny's [Imaginative] activates due to the spell's Charm quality, providing a positive modifier to dice rolled based on the spell's difficulty. Ginny's [Eidetic Memory] activates, reducing Incendio's Spell Learning DC. Professor Flitwick's Teacher modifier is increased due to Flitwick's [???] trait. Ginny's rolls will be affected by her Affinity modifier (1.35x). Ginny has her Focus Reroll available this cycle.
2. Ginny rolls against trait modified Incendio Spell Modification DC (50): [20 + 5 + 7] * (1.35) = ~43. Ginny's roll fails (43/50).
3. Ginny re-rolls against trait modified Incendio Spell Modification DC (50) using her DADA Focus Reroll: [31 + 5 + 7] * (1.35) = ~58. Ginny succeeds (50) and learns the Incendio spell modification for Bluebell Flames.
Final (2): Ginny learns and iterates on the Incendio charm, reproducing a "Bluebell Flames" Incendio. Ginny collects Charms, DADA and Dark Arts EXP for the actions completed here.
1. Ginny's [Imaginative] activates due to the spell's Charm quality, providing a positive modifier to dice rolled based on the spell's difficulty. Ginny's [Eidetic Memory] activates, reducing Incendio's Spell Learning DC. Professor Flitwick's Teacher modifier is increased due to Flitwick's [???] trait. Ginny's rolls will be affected by her Affinity modifier (1.35x). Ginny has her Focus Reroll available this cycle.
2. Ginny rolls against trait modified Incendio's Spell Learning DC (25): [36 + 5 + 7] * (1.35) = ~65. Ginny's roll succeeds (25) and critically succeeds (50), learning the Incendio charm and gaining Charms EXP.
Final (1): Ginny learns the Incendio charm. She is the first in class to perform the spell. With her emphasis on earning Class Points and her ongoing tutelage by Tom, she attempts an additional Charms learning action to modify Incendio.
0. Ginny initiates a Charms Learning Action. Ginny chooses Defense against the Dark Arts as her attribute to modify the spell. The Fire-Making Charm Incendio's Spell Learning DC is set based on Ginny's Skill Level in Charms (D) and increased due to the complexity of spell modification.
1. Ginny's [Imaginative] activates due to the spell's Charm quality, providing a positive modifier to dice rolled based on the spell's difficulty. Ginny's [Eidetic Memory] activates, reducing Incendio's Spell Learning DC. Professor Flitwick's Teacher modifier is increased due to Flitwick's [???] trait. Ginny's rolls will be affected by her Affinity modifier (1.35x). Ginny has her Focus Reroll available this cycle.
2. Ginny rolls against trait modified Incendio Spell Modification DC (50): [20 + 5 + 7] * (1.35) = ~43. Ginny's roll fails (43/50).
3. Ginny re-rolls against trait modified Incendio Spell Modification DC (50) using her DADA Focus Reroll: [31 + 5 + 7] * (1.35) = ~58. Ginny succeeds (50) and learns the Incendio spell modification for Bluebell Flames.
Final (2): Ginny learns and iterates on the Incendio charm, reproducing a "Bluebell Flames" Incendio. Ginny collects Charms, DADA and Dark Arts EXP for the actions completed here.
You did not just demonstrate the Incendio charm first among your classmates; you iterated off of it and recreated a variation of the Charm you remembered your brother using, the Bluebell-Flames variation of the charm. Flitwick gladly awarded you with five house points for the demonstration of the first charm, and five more house points for demonstration of the variation. You noted Burke's quiet muttering about "showing you a variation of the Incendio charm," but the rest of your classmates were pleased with your show of skill in the class.
Wednesday started with another lesson in Charms, where you split time between helping your Slytherin classmates with the spell and engaging with Professor Flitwick. The professor was deeply excited about your show of progress in the class so far and you expected he'd be watching your progress in the class much more closely going forward.
History of Magic and Herbology were blurs in the day. You considered whether you wanted to keep attending History of Magic at all; Christopher Rose had taken on the duty of marking attendance for several of the other Slytherin students, and it wouldn't take much to ask or order him to do the same for you.
You spent the middle of the day working with Tom in a private classroom. You notice he is more conversational and present in your recent discussions and you can't help but smile at that. Whatever pain and illness afflicted him when you first found him seems to be fading away, allowing his brilliant and compelling mind to resurface and shine through the ink on the pages. Oh, Tom…
Tom was intrigued and interested in your ask for Transfiguration, but he was more than happy to provide his tutelage there. Tom describes transfiguration as the most sophisticated form of spellcasting but also the most straightforward. There is no need to appease the whims of magic in transfiguration, nor is there any need to shape your feelings or emotion to produce the magic you want. There is no need for crutches of words or sayings that trick your mind to producing the magic you want. All that it is is will made manifest, and when you come to understand that, it is a truly powerful art.
At the same time, it is an art almost entirely separate from the forms of magic you're skilled in. There is next to no crossover between Charms and Transfiguration or between the use or defense from Dark Arts in Transfiguration. It is an art grounded in raw arithmancy, taught to students through shortened forms and tricks to create a facsimile of real transfiguration until they have developed enough to pull the curtain back themselves and understand Transfiguration for what it really is.
Tom is sure, however, that any student worthy of his talents will be able to understand without those guides. The two of you set out to practice, and that practice carries on to your Thursday lessons in Transfiguration.
Professor McGonagall had moved the class back away from practical Transfiguration and match-to-needle practice to instead focus on the theory of the class and two of Transfiguration's core components: the Transfiguration Alphabet (which Tom dismissed as useless) and the Transfiguration formula (which Tom agreed was useful as a shorthand until the actual arithmancy was fully understood). You were able to commit both to memory, and between the shared lessons, you were able to advance your progress in transfiguration theory significantly, even if there were no real points to show skill in practical transfiguration or win house points.
0. Ginny rolls three dice to determine Transfiguration Theory progress with Tom. These are not dice against any specific DC, but rather serve as reflections of her general progress.
1. Ginny initiates a Transfiguration Learning Roll, modified by Tom's Teacher bonus against No DC (0): [100 + 10] = 110. Ginny has a Nat. 100 Critical Success and has massive Transfiguration progress.
2. Ginny initiates a Transfiguration Learning Roll, modified by Tom's Teacher bonus against No DC (0): [7 + 10] = 17. Ginny does not progress.
2. Ginny initiates a Transfiguration Learning Roll, modified by Tom's Teacher bonus against No DC (0): [18 + 10] = 28. Ginny does not progress.
1. Ginny initiates a Transfiguration Learning Roll, modified by Tom's Teacher bonus against No DC (0): [100 + 10] = 110. Ginny has a Nat. 100 Critical Success and has massive Transfiguration progress.
2. Ginny initiates a Transfiguration Learning Roll, modified by Tom's Teacher bonus against No DC (0): [7 + 10] = 17. Ginny does not progress.
2. Ginny initiates a Transfiguration Learning Roll, modified by Tom's Teacher bonus against No DC (0): [18 + 10] = 28. Ginny does not progress.
The latter half of the week's Defense Against the Dark Arts classes returned to a practical focus on spellcasting. The existing practice of the Shield Charm and the Knockback Jinx continued, now joined by the Disarming Charm ("the greatest defense against another wizard") and the Wand Resummoning Charm. You were admittedly disappointed in the selection of spells you had already learned as part of the Dueling Club, but it gave you ample time to continue to practice the spells and better commit them to your memory. You served as a volunteer in multiple of Lockhart's requests, earning three more points for Slytherin house through your service.
The week came to an end with Potions and Astronomy lessons, neither of which are very eventful. You attempt to pay more attention in Astronomy and to focus on Professor Sinistra's clear passion for the subject, but it's hard to fully engage. You had wondered earlier how Astronomy fit into magic and so far, it seemed that it did not fit into magic as you knew it.
Saturday the Nineteenth is Hermione Granger's birthday, and through the grapevines of cross-house gossips, you've quietly learned you were invited to go and join the celebration with the Gryffindor trio. It'd be a chance to reunite with Ron, Harry and (to a lesser extent) Hermione. Apparently, they plan to start the day off with a visit to Hagrid's hut, where you'd be welcome to meet them. The offer is tempting, but you're sure that your upper classmen will have something to say about your attendance if you decide to go and meet them.
(…)
Your third weekend at Hogwarts has come, following a week less eventful than your first or second. Your slight friendships with Priscilla Newcastle and Helen Prince have afforded you a level of security in your position as a member of Slytherin House, and whatever plots of Pansy Parkinson and Daphne Greengrass are going on, you seem to have avoided them for the time being. Your urge to wander and explore still pulls at you, but your trip around the Lake last week provides some recompense against it.
By your count, you've won your house ~twenty-five points so far this semester.
Choose up to five (5) actions to complete over the Weekend. Actions may be chosen more than once. Voting will be done by task but plans are encouraged for your Weekend Plans and your use of time during the Week. Some actions may be summarized depending on the encounters or lack thereof that take place.
[] [Weekend Plans] Explore Hogwarts, especially…
-[] The Castle Grounds.
-[] The Black Lake's shore.
--[] Ask to borrow Priscilla's broom.
--[] Attempt to explore one of the shore's caves.
--[] Break the rules and take a swim.
-[] The lower Dungeons.
--[] The Lake-facing windows.
-[] The high Towers.
-[] (Write-in) Try to find a specific location.
[] [Weekend Plans] Socialize with…
-[] Priscilla Newcastle. She's starting to open up to you.
-[] Helen Prince. Distant, but more respectful since the "duel."
-[] The Slytherin first-year girls as a group.
-[] Another Slytherin that you know.
-[] One of your siblings?
-[] Try to find Harry Potter and see if he's okay.
-[] Find Luna, and see what she's up to.
-[] Find Beth, Polly and Ruby's group.
-[] (Write-In) There are nearly endless options here.
[] [Weekend Plans] Write to…
-[]Bill Weasley, your best brother. You don't think he's received your first letter yet.
-[] Dad. Professor Sinistra's words were interesting, and you'd like to know what he remembers of her.
-[] Mum. How would she deal with the bullies among the older Slytherin girls?
-[] Charlie. He knows a lot about magical creatures. Maybe he can tell you about the Black Lake?
-[] Tom. He's so smart, and really, he seems lovely when he isn't being so lonely.
-[] (Write-in) Someone else?
[] [Weekend Plans] Study.
-[] The history of the Black Lake.
-[] The nature of Merpeople, and of the Selkies specifically.
-[] The name "Tom Riddle." Who was the boy in the book anyway?
-[] The name "Morfin Gaunt." Who did your wand belong to before you?
-[] The name "Barty." It's little to go on, but who was Sinistra's first student?
-[] (Write-in) Which topic?
[] [Weekend Plans] Go and attend…
-[] Lockhart, Flitwick and Snape's Dueling Club
--[] Spectate
--[] Participate
-[] Wizarding Chess Club
--[] Spectate
--[] Participate
-[] Trelawney's Divination Club
--[] Spectate
--[] Participate
-[] (Write-in) Try to find a specific location.
[] [Weekend Plans] Follow up with…
-[] Professor Sinistra's second Tea invitation
-[] Hermione Granger's birthday invitation
-[] Priscilla Newcastle's offer to help with Potions
-[] (Write-in)
[] [Weekend Plans] Learn from Tom.
-[] The next step: Tom believes he's healed enough to step up your teaching in a big way.
-[] The steady pace: You're growing to trust Tom, but you're confident with your current pace.
-[] (Write-in) If desired, you can specify a certain topic or ask about certain spells.
[] [Weekend Plans] (Write-in).
-[] The Castle Grounds.
-[] The Black Lake's shore.
--[] Ask to borrow Priscilla's broom.
--[] Attempt to explore one of the shore's caves.
--[] Break the rules and take a swim.
-[] The lower Dungeons.
--[] The Lake-facing windows.
-[] The high Towers.
-[] (Write-in) Try to find a specific location.
[] [Weekend Plans] Socialize with…
-[] Priscilla Newcastle. She's starting to open up to you.
-[] Helen Prince. Distant, but more respectful since the "duel."
-[] The Slytherin first-year girls as a group.
-[] Another Slytherin that you know.
-[] One of your siblings?
-[] Try to find Harry Potter and see if he's okay.
-[] Find Luna, and see what she's up to.
-[] Find Beth, Polly and Ruby's group.
-[] (Write-In) There are nearly endless options here.
[] [Weekend Plans] Write to…
-[]
-[] Dad. Professor Sinistra's words were interesting, and you'd like to know what he remembers of her.
-[] Mum. How would she deal with the bullies among the older Slytherin girls?
-[] Charlie. He knows a lot about magical creatures. Maybe he can tell you about the Black Lake?
-[] Tom. He's so smart, and really, he seems lovely when he isn't being so lonely.
-[] (Write-in) Someone else?
[] [Weekend Plans] Study.
-[] The history of the Black Lake.
-[] The nature of Merpeople, and of the Selkies specifically.
-[] The name "Tom Riddle." Who was the boy in the book anyway?
-[] The name "Morfin Gaunt." Who did your wand belong to before you?
-[] The name "Barty." It's little to go on, but who was Sinistra's first student?
-[] (Write-in) Which topic?
[] [Weekend Plans] Go and attend…
-[] Lockhart, Flitwick and Snape's Dueling Club
--[] Spectate
--[] Participate
-[] Wizarding Chess Club
--[] Spectate
--[] Participate
-[] Trelawney's Divination Club
--[] Spectate
--[] Participate
-[] (Write-in) Try to find a specific location.
[] [Weekend Plans] Follow up with…
-[] Professor Sinistra's second Tea invitation
-[] Hermione Granger's birthday invitation
-[] Priscilla Newcastle's offer to help with Potions
-[] (Write-in)
[] [Weekend Plans] Learn from Tom.
-[] The next step: Tom believes he's healed enough to step up your teaching in a big way.
-[] The steady pace: You're growing to trust Tom, but you're confident with your current pace.
-[] (Write-in) If desired, you can specify a certain topic or ask about certain spells.
[] [Weekend Plans] (Write-in).
How do you plan to spend your time next week?
[] [Free time] is for studying. You want to get ahead and stay ahead.
-[] (Write-in) Which topic(s)?
[] [Free time] is for socializing. You need to make real friends in Slytherin if you're going to survive.
-[] (Write-in) With who?
[] [Free time] is for family. Make a point of reconnecting with your family at the school.
[] [Free time] is for your puzzles. Work on Bill's puzzle and get to know the spirit in your diary.
[] [Free time] is for private lessons. Dive into the wealth of knowledge Tom has to offer.
[] [Class time] is for winning house points. Aim to be the clear best in your class.
[] [Class time] is for figuring out politics. Aim to understand Slytherin dynamics better.
[] [Class time] is for building relationships. Aim to befriend and win ins with your professors.
-[] (Write-in) If you have preferences on professors, you can note them here.
Do you intend to continue attending Binns' History of Magic course?
[] [HoM] Yes, continue attending.
[] [HoM] No, use the time elsewhere.
This past week was quiet from those in Slytherin who might seek to torment you. You can't expect the weeks that follow to be the same way. How will you handle yourself moving into the next weeks?
[] [Properly Paranoid?] Be ready to react. Prepare yourself to use the Scarring Boil Curse and leave a message on your tormentors if the situation demands it.
[] [Properly Paranoid?] Proactivity is key. Don't wait for bullies to lay a trap for you; establish the pecking order with Pansy Parkinson on your own terms.
[] [Properly Paranoid?] Slytherin is not the pit of vipers you expected it to be. They have their prejudices, but nothing to make you think your current path of retaliation is needed. Endure.
[] [Properly Paranoid?] There are other paths. Write-in?
(...)
AN: There will be a moratorium on the vote until 12:00 PM CST (1/25/2022), ~5 hrs from time of posting. Some formatting changes may be made to this post in the mean time. The front pages will be updated shortly (7:27AM, should now be mostly updated & the Helen Prince entry should be fixed). The additional options available under "study" are example options, but write-ins for the area are encouraged if there are other topics you'd like for Ginny to explore.
AN: There will be a moratorium on the vote until 12:00 PM CST (1/25/2022), ~5 hrs from time of posting. Some formatting changes may be made to this post in the mean time. The front pages will be updated shortly (7:27AM, should now be mostly updated & the Helen Prince entry should be fixed). The additional options available under "study" are example options, but write-ins for the area are encouraged if there are other topics you'd like for Ginny to explore.
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CedeTheBees
Probably high right now
- Location
- Somewhere
- Pronouns
- They/Them
I love her already and I hope we get her as our Cool Adult.
[X] [Free time] is for family. Make a point of reconnecting with your family at the school.
We really should stop putting this off. Our position is as secure as it can be for now. Let's see where we stand with our brothers.
[X] [Class time] is for building relationships. Aim to befriend and win ins with your professors.
-[X] Flitwick and Sinistra
Let's focus on the teachers that we know like us. Really dig ourself into their hearts.
[X] [HoM] No, use the time elsewhere.
Fuck Binns, we can just study on our own.
[X] [Weekend Plans] Plan: Quest Progression
-[X] Study.
--[X] The name "Tom Riddle." Who was the boy in the book anyway?
I'm curious to see if we can spot any differences to canon in his "official" backstory.
--[X] The name "Morfin Gaunt." Who did your wand belong to before you?
---[X] Ask Tom for advice on how you should go about researching your wand's previous owner.
Let's also get to know our wand a little better
-[X] Follow up with…
--[X] Professor Sinistra's second Tea invitation
She's pretty cool and I wanna keep this thing going.
--[X] Hermione Granger's birthday invitation
---[X] Professor Sinistra mentioned something about muggles landing on the moon. You've heard stories about it before but that couldn't have really happened, could it? Ask Hermione about it. That and whatever "splitting an atom" means.
We can't just decline an invitation to hang out with Harry Potter.
-[X] Learn from Tom.
--[X] The steady pace: You're growing to trust Tom, but your confident with your current pace.
I'd prefer to keep him at a distance still.
[X] [Properly Paranoid?] Proactivity is key. Don't wait for bullies to lay a trap for you; establish the pecking order with Pansy Parkinson on your own terms.
Let's preemptively make sure Slytherin doesn't give us shit for hanging out with our family.
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Pempelune
Fanfiction Deep State
Now that we're more secure in Slytherin, I'd like to reconnect with our family. We shouldn't cut ourselves from them just because they're in another House.
I'd also like to get closer to our teachers, Flitwick in particular is a pretty cool guy who we can learn a lot from.
I'd also like to get closer to our teachers, Flitwick in particular is a pretty cool guy who we can learn a lot from.
[] [Free time] is for family. Make a point of reconnecting with your family at the school.
I think this is a good idea as we need some sort of grounding from all the study and especially Riddle's company. He is is Horcrux, we do not even know to what extent some of the more harmful traits those have exhibited in canon are even the intent of the Horcrux and not just being, an expression of hubris and murder made eternal by Dark Magic. Even if he likes Ginny, which is by no means guaranteed he might still hurt us by too near and too constant proximity
[] [Class time] is for building relationships. Aim to befriend and win ins with your professors.
-[] Gilderoy Lockheart
Ok bear with me here, I know this guy is a moron, but he is an easily flattered moron as shown in canon so we might be able to access say a pass to the Restricted Section or similar boons by stroking his ego
[] [HoM] No, use the time elsewhere.
No one in their right mind should be in this 'class'.
[] [Weekend Plans] Plan: Quest Progression
Looks good, let's find out a bit more about Tom while we can
[] [Properly Paranoid?] Be ready to react. Prepare yourself to use the Scarring Boil Curse and leave a message on your tormentors if the situation demands it.
We did learn the damn spell, learn to cast is silently on top of it. I think it would be a shame not to use it, but at the same time let's not seem too headlong about this.
I think this is a good idea as we need some sort of grounding from all the study and especially Riddle's company. He is is Horcrux, we do not even know to what extent some of the more harmful traits those have exhibited in canon are even the intent of the Horcrux and not just being, an expression of hubris and murder made eternal by Dark Magic. Even if he likes Ginny, which is by no means guaranteed he might still hurt us by too near and too constant proximity
[] [Class time] is for building relationships. Aim to befriend and win ins with your professors.
-[] Gilderoy Lockheart
Ok bear with me here, I know this guy is a moron, but he is an easily flattered moron as shown in canon so we might be able to access say a pass to the Restricted Section or similar boons by stroking his ego
[] [HoM] No, use the time elsewhere.
No one in their right mind should be in this 'class'.
[] [Weekend Plans] Plan: Quest Progression
Looks good, let's find out a bit more about Tom while we can
[] [Properly Paranoid?] Be ready to react. Prepare yourself to use the Scarring Boil Curse and leave a message on your tormentors if the situation demands it.
We did learn the damn spell, learn to cast is silently on top of it. I think it would be a shame not to use it, but at the same time let's not seem too headlong about this.
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CedeTheBees
Probably high right now
- Location
- Somewhere
- Pronouns
- They/Them
We should totally ask Hermione about the moon landing at her birthday thing. And the atom splitting!
She's gonna blow Ron and Ginny's minds.
She's gonna blow Ron and Ginny's minds.
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- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] [Free time] is for family. Make a point of reconnecting with your family at the school.
Do we need to specify which family members?
[X] [Class time] is for building relationships. Aim to befriend and win ins with your professors.
-[x] Flitwick and Sinistra
[X] [Weekend Plans] Plan: Quest Progression
[X] [Properly Paranoid?] Be ready to react. Prepare yourself to use the Scarring Boil Curse and leave a message on your tormentors if the situation demands it.
Do we need to specify which family members?
[X] [Class time] is for building relationships. Aim to befriend and win ins with your professors.
-[x] Flitwick and Sinistra
[X] [Weekend Plans] Plan: Quest Progression
[X] [Properly Paranoid?] Be ready to react. Prepare yourself to use the Scarring Boil Curse and leave a message on your tormentors if the situation demands it.
CedeTheBees
Probably high right now
- Location
- Somewhere
- Pronouns
- They/Them
The quest has a moratorium now.
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- Location
- the point is of no return and you have reached it!
If you have a preference, it'd be helpful to let me know about it, but you don't need to explicitly mark it if you don't.
Yes, thank you
A number of voters have expressed a preference for a moratorium in the past, so we'll be putting one in place for a trial run and seeing how players like it.