An active, character-driven Hogwarts experience set in the early 2000s. Unique items, plots, and features. Non-canon; this isn't Harry Potter's story, it's ours.
Post by Grace Babineaux on Aug 13, 2020 15:49:47 GMT 10
Grace considered those words. Maybe that was why it had asked her to understand her sacrifices, so she would know what to be wary of in the future. Yeah, that made sense. "Onto the next one." she said, stepping back from the Slytherin one. She wished the fruit was more readily available. The gerodenus was so cool.
"Okay, Gryffindor!" Grace said, stepping in front of the last mirror. Her arms were a little shaky, and she thought of ways to demonstrate her bravery. "Hello! Well firstly, I was sorted Gryffindor. Hahaha." she laughed a little. She was a little nervous that everything seemed to be going so well.
"Let's see...bravery, bravery, bravery. Oh! I ate a whole weird sandwich in front of one of the older boys in my house. He's cool. Um...I grabbed a spider from a wall with help from my friend, Ryan, and put it in a jar. Me and my friend, Gerald, went into the Forbidden Forest at night one time, too." she thought more about other times she had been brave.
"Oh! And I'm here now, of course. Haha. That gerodenus is really scary, but once he ate that fruit he was too cute." Grace giggled, looking over at the sleeping gerodenus. "It's like he's a puppy and a bear at the same time."
The mirror was patient as Grace talked, as if it knew she wouldn't realise it was so unlike the others. When she was done, her reflection vanished from the mirror as if she was no longer a part of its purpose. Something else began to form in her place though.
It was as if she looked into a window - she could hear and see what was on the other side, but not be a part of it. The duplicate chamber was the same as the one she stood in, without the gerodenus. It began to shift and change, as he form within the mirror took shape...
Co-op modding comes into play here. RP what the reflection turns into and how it acts - it must be something Grace fears, similar to a Boggart situation. It will behave in a way of trying to get to her or attack her. It must affect her and seem very real.
Post by Grace Babineaux on Aug 13, 2020 16:15:48 GMT 10
Grace looked curiously into the mirror when her reflection disappeared from it, and in its place stood Professor McGonagall. She looked very disappointed, and she was holding a book. Grace realized quickly that it was the Hogwarts admissions book. Mirror-McGonagall moved closer to Grace, and pointed to the "b" section.
"Such a shame--I knew your mother when she was just a student here. She must feel so bad about one of her children being a Squib. At least we have the other two, though, right?"Mirror-McGonagall gestured to where her sister's name was, and to where Jamie's name was, clucking her tongue. Grace shivered, nervously looking into the mirror. What was this?
Mirror-McGonagall shook her head again, frowning at the page of the admissions book, muttering something about how could Hogwarts have made a mistake and not seen it sooner? She then took a step closer, appearing to be so much more real than a simple reflection. It truly was as if all that separated them was a thin wall of glass.
Her approach continued. Mirror-McGonagall towered over Grace now, book still in hand and expression one of utter disappointment. She was so close to the glass that a corner of the book rippled the surface when it made contact.
Post by Grace Babineaux on Aug 13, 2020 16:43:50 GMT 10
Grace looked onwards in shock. She had seen Professor McGonagall so many times before. This had to be her. Still not fully comprehending what was happening, she blinked, staring at the book especially. She could see the book make contact with the mirror. No. No. No. No! This was wrong. Grace had loved it at Hogwarts. She wasn't going to let Professor McGonagall take her away.
"No! Professor, please, I promise I'm a witch. I can even do magic, look? See?" she shuffled through her pockets, searching for her wand. At first, she thought it wasn't there, which furthered her nerves over being a Squib. Luckily, it was just inside her pocket.
"I can do magic, see? See, Professor? Look!" Grace waved her wand around, "Lumos!" But nothing happened. She'd done it before. She had even just done it for the Ravenclaw mirror. She looked at her wand incredulously. Maybe she wasn't doing the motions properly. That had to be it. Right?
"Lumos! Lumos! Lumos!" Grace said, each time performing the motions exactly as she recalled. "Lumos! Lumos! LUmos! luMOS!" Grace said, her voice getting more wobbly as her wand stayed unlit. "LUMOS!" Finally, a bright light shone from her wand. She breathed a sigh of relief, then noticed that there were tears running down her face. "Please, Professor. I'm not a Squib. I can't be." Grace didn't stop crying. What if her whole magical life had been false?
Mirror-McGonagall closed the book, and it vanished in a spectacular display of magic - unlike anything Grace knew how to do. She eyed the wand as Grace tried to get her spell to work, and even when the light briefly illuminated the room - including the figure in the mirror, mirror-McGonagall only shook her head.
'You really shouldn't have a wand, if you can't use is properly,' she said. 'Only witches and wizards use wands, Miss Babineaux. I'm going to have to turn this over to the Ministry.' Mirror-McGonagall reached forward, gripping the frame of the mirror to begin climbing out of it.
Behind Grace, though seen in the duplicated chamber as well, the word Bravery glowed strong for a moment, like a lifeline to cling to in her helplessness to prove she wasn't a squib.
Post by Grace Babineaux on Aug 13, 2020 16:54:05 GMT 10
Grace continued crying as McGonagall started to push out of the mirror. Maybe she was right. Maybe Grace did belong in the Muggle world, with her dad. Oh, and if she were Jamie she'd be happy about it. The reversed word glowed in the mirror, and Grace turned around to read it. Bravery. That's right. She was brave.
"No, professor. I'm going to turn you over to the Ministry." Grace said, hoping that the cheesy one-liner would cheer her up and give her the strength to push Mirror-McGonagall back where she came from. She ran up to the mirror, shoving Mirror-McGonagall with all she had. Even if she was a Squib, they'd have to catch her first.
Confronting her fear held it back from escaping the mirror, but when Grace ran to the figure and tried to shove it back into the mirror - there was a burst of light and mirror-McGonagall vanished.
The final house mirror was unlocked, its glass becoming like the others.
Flaming torches lit around the room, which she didn't even know were there. The gerodenus napped, oblivious or uncaring to the change, as the chamber became well-lit and warm. The Gryffindor mirror shimmered and its glass melted away, becoming a pitch-black doorway that took a moment to venture.
On the other side was a smaller room. It was fully-curtained, though if Grace were curious enough to peer behind them it would only reveal more black nothingness. There were two vials levitating in the middle – one pale and smoky, the other violet and sludgy.
The curtains became Gryffindor colours. The voice of Godric Gryffindor himself was heard, sounding strange and accented then became clear as if adjusting to modern times. She had nothing to confirm it was him, except a deep certainty that it was.
'Fortune was fit to favour the brave,' Godric said. 'A leader rarely has free time, but I shall do my best. Hogwarts will remember.'
There was a magical pause, as if the message was still being translated. It was an urgent voice of a thousand years ago, after all.
'Now you must make a choice for your own path ahead, as each of us have done time and time again,' he continued. 'My artefact was a dagger gifted by a merciful and powerful king, though what you may not know is that it is only one of many – one magical object, yet a tiny portion of our founder's treasure.'
A light without a source beamed onto the strange potions hovering in the middle of the room.
'There are two vials before you,' Godric said. 'The pale one will guide you to my artefact specifically and for a purpose beyond either of us. The violet vial will guide you to the treasure, where you may carve your own choice and intention. There is no right or wrong answer, but choose carefully as your fate may be decided within this room.'
A pause, though the voice became more sincere than informative - as if it truly was a message intended just for Grace.
'If I can impress on you any such knowledge, it is that Hogwarts is more than a school. A terrible price was paid in its creation, but everything we did was for you,' he said. 'You may belong to Hogwarts, but Gryffindor belongs to you.'
The room fell silent. The vials awaited. It was time for Grace to make her choice.
Post by Grace Babineaux on Aug 13, 2020 17:29:55 GMT 10
Grace closed her eyes, shielding them from the bright burst of light as her false head of house disappeared. The empty glass stared back at her when she opened her eyes, then transformed into a door. Grace looked around at the flaming torches, then headed down the doorway, hoping that she wouldn't get eaten.
The colours changed to match her house, and Grace looked at the bottles with a curious eye, examining the pair. She did like violet as a color, but the texture looked gross. The pale one looked interesting, too. She had never seen anything like either before, but she was a first year, after all. Even if she did now think of herself as one of Hogwarts' chosen people.
She listened to Godric Gryffindor's words, peeking behind the curtains almost like she expected him to be hiding behind them. Alas, they were empty, black nothingness. "Fortune was fit to favour the brave." she whispered to herself, the message's urgent tone making her pay extra attention.
Grace's eyes went wide. She would have to make the choice? Grace stepped closer to the vials, dreading the choice. She was eleven! How was she supposed to know which was better? She was tempted to grab the violet one. Treasure was always pretty cool, and whatever that business was about choices and intentions also sounded neat.
But...the idea of contributing to a purpose beyond herself was more appealing to Grace. She stepped in front of the pale vial, ready to grab it, but then Gryffindor's voice became more sincere. She listened deeply to those words. Gryffindor belonged to her. What did that mean? Was she Head of House now? What price was paid for Hogwarts?
Grace grabbed the pale vial and drank, hoping that this wasn't poison, or if it was, she could make it to either the Hospital Wing or Professor Snape in time to not die.
When Grace drank the pale potion, the other vial dropped and smashed against the stone floor.
Everything became a blur, then she received what could only be described as a vision. She saw the Cluttered Room, then a jewelled box... then an impressive-looking key. The precise succession of location, box, then key repeated several times.
Then Grace woke lying on the cold floor of the first chamber - the one where she'd originally completed the puzzle. The door to the other chamber, with the gerodenus and mirrors, was gone. If she were to check, she'd notice her Founder's Clue scroll has also vanished.
She no longer needed the chamber, and won't be able to return.
Chapter 6 complete! Grace has chosen path 1 - the Artefact
Post by Grace Babineaux on Aug 14, 2020 14:47:53 GMT 10
Grace's head spun with the vision. She tried to imprint all the images directly into her brain so they would stay. Jewelled box. Impressive key. She was a little sad that she hadn't been able to give the gerodenus some goodbye scratches and pats. The door that way was gone, though she suspected that if Gerald made an appearance later it would work for him.
She stood up. The Cluttered Room was on her mind, and she knew if she waited too long she might forget. Grace was grateful, at the very least, that the pale potion hadn't been poison. She was still, as far as she could tell, alive. Was it really that simple? Just a box and key in the Cluttered Room? Grace had never ventured there before, but she would start today. She waved goodbye, feeling the permanence of leaving on her shoulders as she exited.
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February
