[X] Plan Relying on Out of Context
-[X]
[Priority] Independent Study – Includes investigating ectoplasm, Classical, ghosts etc
-[X]
[Priority] Matters of Faith – More time for Morr
[X] Plan Readying for the End of Year Showdown
-[X]
[Priority] The Lore of Death – Learning the spells of the Amethyst College
-[X]
[Priority] Socialisation – Bonding and better getting to know your fellow students
"All the orphans and the unwanted must be glad that the rest of us are back," sneers Draco Malfoy within earshot of you.
Shut up Malfoy. The way things are going on, what with a hunter of dark wizards who can't be swayed nor bribed from her goals, as her mission is her own reward, and who doesn't answer to the corrupt government your father has in his pocket, it's likely that Lucius won't make it to ends of fourth year.
You hit a snag in Transfiguration – balls made of brightly coloured resin act oddly to your attempts to make them decay. When you cast the cut-down Tide of Years on them, the colours fade, and the material becomes more brittle and crumbly, but does not properly decay.
Now.
THAT'S the kind of quandary over which Zagreus would better seek guidance from Morr, since his intelect won't suffice to solve the issue before him. How to get past the insurmountable obstacle that is to pass a test that focuses on transfiguration, when the only magic Zagreus is capable of, isn't suited at all to this particular branch of magic.
And cheap tricks like turning things to dust to transfigure them into bone with geometrical shapes won't take long to be unfeasible to the more complex feats of transfiguration that are required in more advanced lessons, as they will demand from the student to turn one thing into another totally different, often a living being.
Hell, sometimes the lesson consists on transforming living beings into inanimate objects, and unless Zagreus will be willing to kill them in front of the class, that's a method I don't recommend.
By the way, it seems Zagreus just discovered the unique properties of non-biodegradabel materials. Maybe with a bit more strength in the spell......
Socalisation isn't ever going to be our strength.
Precisely because socialization isn't Zagreus'greatest strength, he should invest at least a minimum of time in cultivating it.
You don't improve by going slack on your weaknesses and focus instead on what you are already good at.
Independent Studies have been eating up too much of our time. We need a better foundation of magic so we are just generally safer and have a greater foundation of knowledge to use in our independent studies.
Hell, Zagreus is sorely lacking in some key aspects of magic in harry potter, like transfiguration. Unless he does something about it as soon as he can, he is going to get a
P in that subject. And I suspect Zagreus would take failure almost as bad as Hermione.
Frankly I doubt fighting him ourself would go well no matter how much we study, the gap is just too wide in first year.
Hey, harry wasn't a magic prodigy either, and he fared rather well.
Granted, he had his mother's protection as a safeguard, but still.
[] Plan: No Time For Sleep, There's Magic To Learn
-[] [Priority] DD Hogwarts Academics – Local spellwork and knowledge, doing better in classes
-[] [Priority] The Lore of Death – Learning the spells of the Amethyst College
-[] [Priority] Independent Study – Includes investigating ectoplasm, Classical, ghosts etc
-[] [Less] Sleep
Here's my logic. Hogwarts Academics helps improve our foundation somewhat and also continues to open up opportunities with teachers and the like (there's zero chance Snape would've so much as given us the time of day if Zagreus wasn't such a good student). Lore of Death synergizes with this focus on the local magic system; with a better understanding of how the tools we've got actually work, we'll have an easier time adjusting them to our particular needs. Taking Independent Study is important because Snape just gave us a potential breakthrough in our research, and I want to capitalize on it as soon as possible.
I briefly considered sacrificing Matters of Faith because Sleep is honestly very important if we want to get maximum bang for our buck, but that'd be pretty out of character for Zag and I personally think his strong faith is a very distinct and appealing part of him.
Socialization is also a tempting thing to drop, and I'm sure our friends would understand, but I'm loathe to bring the Curse of Tabletop (conflicting schedules!) into the fiction I read, too. There's also the mildly unfortunate connotations of a death-themed wizard throwing himself into his research at the cost of his social connections. That's probably an image we want to avoid, lol.
Slacking off on sleep is something that can possibly be mitigated by the use of medicine. HP magic is kind of obscenely good at little things like that. While Madame Pomfrey might not be very happy with this decision, I'm sure the other teachers would be more than willing to help a student as eager as Zag pursue his studies somehow. I mean, they were happy to give Hermione a whole-ass time travel device in her 3rd year, and she was a known associate of two relative troublemakers.
Personally, I think Zagreus can wait to the O.W.L.S. and the N.E.W.T.S., in fifth and sixth year. That's when he won't really have time to sleep, if what the twins said is of any indication.
Professor McGonagall was now moving along the table handing out timetables.
'Look at today!' groaned Ron. 'History of Magic, double Potions, Divination and double Defence Against the Dark Arts . . . Binns, Snape, Trelawney and that Umbridge woman all in one day! I wish Fred and George'd hurry up and get those Skiving Snackboxes sorted . . . '
'Do mine ears deceive me?' said Fred, arriving with George and squeezing on to the bench beside Harry. 'Hogwarts prefects surely don't wish to skive off lessons?'
'Look what we've got today,' said Ron grumpily, shoving his timetable under Fred's nose. 'That's the worst Monday I've ever seen. '
'Fair point, little bro,' said Fred, scanning the column. 'You can have a bit of Nosebleed Nougat cheap if you like. '
'Why's it cheap?' said Ron suspiciously.
'Because you'll keep bleeding till you shrivel up, we haven't got an antidote yet,' said George, helping himself to a kipper.
'Cheers,' said Ron moodily, pocketing his timetable, 'but I think I'll take the lessons. '
'And speaking of your Skiving Snackboxes,' said Hermione, eyeing Fred and George beadily, 'you can't advertise for testers on the Gryffindor noticeboard. '
'Says who?' said George, looking astonished.
'Says me,' said Hermione. 'And Ron. '
'Leave me out of it,' said Ron hastily.
Hermione glared at him. Fred and George sniggered.
'You'll be singing a different tune soon enough, Hermione,' said Fred, thickly buttering a crumpet. 'You're starting your fifth year, you'll be begging us for a Snackbox before long. '
'And why would starting fifth year mean I want a Skiving Snackbox?' asked Hermione.
'Fifth year's OWL year,' said George.
'So?'
'So you've got your exams coming up, haven't you? They'll be keeping your noses so hard to that grindstone they'll be rubbed raw,' said Fred with satisfaction.
'Half our year had minor breakdowns coming up to OWLs,' said George happily. 'Tears and tantrums . . . Patricia Stimpson kept coming over faint . . . '
'Kenneth Towler came out in boils, d'you remember?' said Fred remmiscently.
'That's 'cause you put Bulbadox powder in his pyjamas,' said George.
'Oh yeah,' said Fred, grinning. 'I'd forgotten . . . hard to keep track sometimes, isn't it?'
'Anyway, it's a nightmare of a year, the fifth,' said George. 'If you care about exam results, anyway. Fred and I managed to keep our peckers up somehow. '
On the other hand, maybe Zagreus could create one himself
Besides, if a potion that alleviated the effects of sleep deprivation was easily available, Hermione would have already asked for one during third year, when the strain of pushing herself too far by attending too many classes was breaking her apart. And let's not forget that a regular consumption of potions is not recommended, as it apparently causes side effects.
"Sir, you haven't told us what's in this one," said Ernie Macmillan, pointing at a small black cauldron standing on Slughorn's desk. The potion within was splashing about merrily; it was the color of molten gold, and large drops were leaping like goldfish above the surface, though not a particle had spilled.
"Oho," said Slughorn again. Harry was sure that Slughorn had not forgotten the potion at all, but had waited to be asked for dramatic effect. "Yes. That. Well, that one, ladies and gentlemen, is a most curious little potion called Felix Felicis. I take it," he turned, smiling, to look at Hermione, who had let out an audible gasp, "that you know what Felix Felicis does, Miss Granger?"
"It's liquid luck," said Hermione excitedly. "It makes you lucky!"
The whole class seemed to sit up a little straighter. Now all Harry could see of Malfoy was the back of his sleek blond head, because he was at last giving Slughorn his full and undivided attention.
"Quite right, take another ten points for Gryffindor. Yes, it's a funny little potion, Felix Felicis," said Slughorn. "Desperately tricky to make, and disastrous to get wrong. However, if brewed correctly, as this has been, you will find that all your endeavors tend to succeed . . . at least until the effects wear off. "
"Why don't people drink it all the time, sir?" said Terry Boot eagerly.
"Because if taken in excess, it causes giddiness, recklessness, and dangerous overconfidence," said Slughorn. "Too much of a good thing, you know. . . highly toxic in large quantities. But taken sparingly, and very occasionally. . . "
Maybe taking too many doses of a potion that spares you from suffering sleep deprivation has the same effects as drinking too much caffeine.
