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 MJ Birdwhistle on May 10, 2022 23:21:24 GMT 10
"Ooh, isn't Snape's office interesting? Did you see the books he had on the desk?" She remembered something about Advanced Study of Counter-Poisons and an Ancient Guide to Forbidden Magical Practises. It made her wonder what sort of magic their Potions master knew, aside from the many Potions he obviously had to know for his job.
MJ was, of course, talking to her roommate, Misuk. The two of them had met up again after MJ's trip to the Niffler pit - which reminded her! "Oh! Look what I got earlier." She took out the bronze key to show her friend.
"There's a niffler pit, like a giant sand pit really, and if you give them something shiny, they might give you a key." She explained, "Oh Misuk! The niffler was so cute! He ran for the gem like it was the best treasure in the world and he was so fluffy - at least, I assume it was a 'he'. I guess telling the difference between them comes with practice if we take Care of Magical Creatures..."
They arrived at the Forest Path while talking and MJ brushed her hair to tuck behind both ears, fixing her Ravenclaw themed beanie (thank you Great Auntie!) more firmly on her head. It was still rather cold outside and she didn't want to get sick at all.
"I'm going to look for netles first, how about you?" MJ smiled to her friend, looking around for a nearby patch that would have semi-decent plants for her to pick from.
[OOC: @misuk here's the starter for us!]
Last Edit: May 11, 2022 1:09:48 GMT 10 by MJ Birdwhistle
Misuk nodded in agreement with MJ - glad to see that she also picked up on them. "I was especially wondering about the Unbinding Binding Curses ... but Professor Snape didn't want to answer my question there," they huffed indignantly, letting the inner kid out a bit out with their peer.
Then, they looked wide-eyed at MJ, not believing their ears - a niffler pit!! "Woah, that's- that's extremely cool. I need to check it out at some point, and talk to Ashley about it, too ... she said she really likes nifflers, too. You'll have to take me there soon, please?" they asked then, too, with a bit of a pleading face. "I can't wait until we finally can have Care of Magical Creatures. You don't think we can try and convince Professor Fairburn to work with some beforehand?"
They never talked to her before, not really at least, but ... maybe?? Probably not, tho.
"... anyway, potions, potions," they murmured, focusing on the ingredient search. "I'll join you with nettles," they said, then also looked at the trees, seeing if there maybe was a beehive, "I think insect wings would be neat to get, too, if we can spot any." Misuk would love to see some up close, if they could manage to find some good ones.
Nettles were no easy task to find, with the snowy weather being hard enough but also layering everything else with a cap of snow. Bushes were indistinguishable, and Nettles were not something you wanted to go blindly discovering by shaking them loose.
Neither of them had gloves, either. It was going to be quite the experience for the young Ravenclaws. The only indication they had was that Nettles tended to grow in patches, and none of the bushes nearby matched that. They'd need to venture further along the path -- or perhaps deviate from the path entirely, unto the more overgrown areas of the forest.
Post by MJ Birdwhistle on May 11, 2022 23:40:17 GMT 10
MJ couldn't tell if there were nettles around them or not. She bent over a little, pulling the sleeve of her coat over her hand and dusted snow off some plants with a sigh.
"What should we do?" She called to her roommate, wondering if Misuk was having better luck, "I don't want to leave the path. I'm not comfortable breaking the rules and going further into the forest without a teacher or prefect with us..." Someone older who knew more magic and could help them out of a tricky situation. As fun as an adventure further into the forest might have sounded, she didn't want to lose house points either.
She looked further down the path, "Want to follow the path? Nettles grow in patches right? I'm sure we can spot something if we keep going!"
But before she would move on, MJ had an idea she was confident could work in their favour. Checking around for a suitable branch, MJ plucked one that had some good, bristly pine needles and grinned at her roommate. She held it out, looking like a crude feather duster (but much more prickly), "We can use this to brush snow off the plants and see what's underneath!"
Pleased with this plan, MJ walked along the path at a slow pace, brushing off snow carefully and checking the plants underneath for nettles. She wasn't willing to give up just yet on finding this plant.
Misuk had brushed off snow with their sleeve over their hand, similiar to MJ. They used a bit more brute force, but like their room mate, didn't discover anything yet. They clicked their tongue in disappointment, shaking their head at MJ's question, not sure what to do either.
"I'd do that," Misuk admitted blunty, but looking at the snow ... "but the snow's doing a good job of discouraging. Freezing to death doesn't sound like a good idea," they added. Also, they had lived comfortably without their parents half-scolding them, so it was nice to keep it that way for a while. It wasn't boring here, either, overall.
As MJ picked a branch, they weren't entirely sure what she wanted to do with that ... but oh! "That's a good idea," they grinned, nodding as they also found a branch that would work for this purpose, their sleeve already half-frozen in the cold. "If we only go for the ones growing in patches, maybe ..." It's really hard to see with the snow, but similiar to MJ, they weren't ready to give up yet.
The clever idea to use sticks paid off, revealing plants without risk of contact. Apart from one spiky thing that tried to yank MJ's stick back in offense to being whacked. Unfortunately, it soon became clear that the Nettles simply did not like the pathed area.
If they wished to have any luck of finding them, the two Ravenclaws would have to wander into the overgrown areas away from the path -- though still in safe enough range to avoid the actual Dark Forest itself, which was much further in the distance.
Post by MJ Birdwhistle on May 12, 2022 1:37:01 GMT 10
MJ let out a squeak as something tried to grab her stick, "Excuse me!" She laughed nervously, glancing at Misuk. Luckily she was able to save her stick.
Well, aside from that, it was obvious they weren't going to find any nettles along the path. MJ put a hand on her hip and weighed their options. Do they head into the under brush for nettles, since they might be growing there? She gestured with her stick, thinking it over, or should they abandon the nettles and look for something else?
"Ugh, right. We need the nettles, don't we? I mean, we don't have jars to collect honey or pollen... We don't have a lot of choices left for things we can find here. Let's head into the overgrown area and check there. We can be quick and if we don't find anything, at least we tried." Her stubbornness was taking over.
Armed with her stick, MJ tramped a path forward for them, gesturing for Misuk to follow carefully. She brushed snow off the plants as they got to the overgrown area, checking carefully for nettles. Of course, she knew if she did get to pluck them, they were going to sting.
She regretted not being better prepared and bringing gloves with her.
Last Edit: May 12, 2022 1:39:22 GMT 10 by MJ Birdwhistle
Misuk was alerted at MJ's shout, but gladly nothing had happened. Not that they had a plan, but they were sure they would find one along the way. If they were to find nettles along the path way, however? That seemed to be more and more unlikely.
They were glad to find MJ on the same side as they were, and nodded. "Let's head a bit further in - there got to be some nettles around, not?" they said, as stubborn as MJ was about it. "We could also see if we find burrows or something, or a wild primpear ... conserved by the snow-? ... think I saw them on the list, too."
Even with the other options, there was a reluctance to go without finding those stubborn nettles (how could they not! grow where they wanted!), so they followed MJ into the overgrowth. Their steps became more careful, aware of the sting of nettles, but not having experienced it themself so far.
Their change of location certainly increased their chances, as the area became less contained -- longer grass, even with all the snow, and patches of various bushes. Some in particular looked smaller, more fern-like, which was promising for some potential Nettles.
Post by MJ Birdwhistle on May 12, 2022 4:42:49 GMT 10
"This looks promising!" MJ exclaimed, pointing out the clump of smaller plants. It felt like they were finally on the right track. She dusted away the snow with her make-shift brush, clearing as much as she could to expose the plants underneath.
"You know, pulling the nettles is not going to be a fun time... We should invest in some proper gloves next time." She sighs, looking at Misuk. Nettles were annoying at the best of times but magical ones? MJ knew this was going to be sore (and tricky). A trip to the infirmary was going to be in their near futures.
Still, as long as they found something, MJ would be happy, so she bent closer, taking a good look to be sure.
"Did you ever pull out nettles?" Misuk asked MJ, as they also found a promising patch of plants that might be nettles. "I only touched them once, and it was ... not pleasant." They grimaced at the memory, but nothing in their demeanour suggested hesitation. It might even be the contrary, as if there was a personal agenda now to get these nettles.
(These two were too stubborn for their own good.)
Misuk brushed the snow away, revealing the plants underneath. "Do you have a how-to on how to approach that best?" they asked, too, as they crouched down to investigate them a bit further - without touching it directly at first.
After a few good whacks from their sticks, the snow fell away to reveal a healthy patch of Nettles. The cold weather seemed to have no impact on them whatsoever. Their area was quite wide though, meaning the first years would have to risk wandering a bit among them -- which did not bode well even if they had some minimal protection from any cloaks or robes they wore. Otherwise, yeah it was going to hurt.
The good news, if it could really be called that considering the situation, was that there were enough viable and perfectly-sized Nettles for five ingredients. They'd have to choose who got how many, though no one would be able to get more than three.
It was going to be rough, there was no doubt about it. They were eleven years old, skin already tender from the cold, and came without any gloved protection that could withstand the plants' stinging rage which would instantly injure their poor hands.
They would be able to collect the ingredients in time, but it came at the cost of intense stinging and redness spreading over theirs hands that would most definitely need medical attention. The sooner the better.
Post by MJ Birdwhistle on May 12, 2022 23:01:30 GMT 10
MJ sighed.
Partially in relief at having finally uncovered some nettles, partially in regret for what she knew was coming next. Nettles, the mundane kind at least, she had experience with already. She didn't think a doc leaf was going to do her any good in this situation however, no, they would need to go to the hospital wing and see Madame Pomfrey.
She tramped through to the best spot which had five good nettles for them to pick.
"I'll take three and you can have two." MJ stated, wanting to save her friend for a bit of extra stinging at least, "Since I kind of got us into this mess, I'd rather take the extra stinging and save you a bit, at least."
Hopefully Misuk would think it was fair.
Bending over, MJ winced as she plucked each bit of nettle free from the patch and carefully stowed it away to take back to the castle. She could feel her hands thrumming with the pain but she was determined to keep a brave face in front of Misuk. Of course, if Madam Pomfrey scolded them, she might end up crying then...
"Come on, we should hurry to see the Matron." She said to Misuk, checking that they had got all the nettles they could.
She would be walking faster than normal, to get back to the castle.
[OOC: Nettle distribution decided ooc between me and @misuk & EXIT!]
Misuk was about to protest at the suggestion and take more of the stinging, but it was also a fact that it was going to hurt a lot and facing that, there was a bit of hesitation now. They wouldn't back down, however, and hoped that MJ had more experience with nettles than themself - they couldn't recall having stumbled upon them in their recent memory.
"We better make it quick," they agreed, lack of preparation coming to get them in a few seconds ... they watched MJ get a nettle first, before starting to take their own - and yeah.
Yeah, that hurted.
Stubbornly, they blinked to keep the tears at bay, nodding. "Let's hurry." They took the lead for the forest-y paths, making sure there was nothing to stumble over, before letting MJ run first to the infirmary.
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