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 Reena Ashworth on Sept 20, 2022 23:25:43 GMT 10
Reena was glad she had found herself something to occupy her mind instead of fretting over this morning’s happenings until lunch.
The uwell feeling on her chest had subdued as it was replaced by anxiety towards the beast that awaited her on the lowest landing of Astronomy Tower.
She was slightly out of breath as she reached it, yet glad she didn’t have to go all the way to the top. That would have been a long, long way in case of a needed second flight for her life from the Room of Mirrors.
Looking around, she expected the mirror she had first seen in the Vacant Corridor appear. She checked to make sure she had the Ancient Fruit with her.
She also made sure she had her wand and the Freeze Potion. Just in case.
She was not about to back down however, having decided on her way here that she’d much rather face the Ancient Beast than Kassia Saenz (and Amelia Twiggs) at this moment. Biding some time before she had to lie again in order to cover her original dishonesty.
The area was a tricky one in terms of searching for a door, as even on the lowest landing there was a lot of open space, stairs, and railings. it was rather alarming then, when the mirror appeared below Reena -- though was strong enough to withstand her weight with ease, and thankfully didn't open up to make her fall in.
Having experienced it before, Reena knew to press her palm to the surface of the mirror. This time called for some courage and bracing herself, as she'd have to crouch on or beside it to do so. Then she could step or drop into the room -- which was jarring, as she entered through a door on its wall rather than from above. Once she was inside, the mirror faded from the outside platform so no one else could stumble upon it... or into it.
Despite the change of door location, the large room was exactly as it was before. It was lit by torches and otherwise empty, except the door on the other side. The floor was typical Hogwarts stone, without the appearance of the puzzle -- her progress was retained; she didn't have to solve it again.
The door at the end wasn't locked.
Inside was spacious yet empty and dimly-lit, except for the sleeping beast in the middle of the room. Though she now knew the name of it, the ancient beast was no less intimidating. It resembled a massive, scaly bear with curved tusks and had three eyes. Hopefully, this time her encounter would be more successful.
Post by Reena Ashworth on Sept 21, 2022 14:20:38 GMT 10
Stepping back in alarm when she suddenly saw her own face peek up at her from the ground, she realised quickly that the mirror had held her weight.
Reena felt a little caught off guard by the mirror‘s location yet crouched down at what she felt was the bottom of it - it was hard to tell up from down on a horizontal plain. She briefly locked eyes with her reflection in an attempt to brace herself, before she touched the palm of her hand against the glass.
The mirror let her enter and she turned around to lowered her feet first into the room, holding onto the edges on the floor of the Astronomy tower before, after a deep breath, lowered the rest of her body into the mirror.
Reena did not have quite the arm strength to gently lower herself into the room and for a terrifying moment she felt the sensation of falling before she found herself laying sideways on the floor of the puzzle room.
She hastily stood up and looked around, afraid to be jumped by the Gerodenus.
When that wasn’t the case, Reena got out the Ancient Fruit and her wand and crossed the room towards the door. She opened it with her wand hand before peeking in.
The beast was as terrifying to look at as ever, yet Reena was less afraid this time as she was feeling more prepared.
Holding out the Ancient Fruit in front of herself, she dared to step into the room, yet had one foot on the other side, in case she had to make a run for it again.
“Wake up, it’s breakfast time,“ she cooed at the beast.
The Gerodenus seemed aware of her before she'd spoken, though her voice caused its ears to flick -- further stirring it from its rest. It stretched and yawned, shaking its head as it sat up. Then its eyes landed on Reena who was very small by comparison.
It snarled, whole body tensed and ready to attack, until it noticed the fruit in her hand.
Its entire form completely relaxed. The Gerodenus sat on the floor, almost like a dog, and watched Reena intently -- awaiting her offer of the ancient fruit. It could have easily snatched it, but apparently the Founders had instilled some manners in the beast. Or was that just its nature, when not busy guarding or whatever reason it was for being there and not letting anyone into the room?
Post by Reena Ashworth on Sept 22, 2022 0:19:01 GMT 10
When the Gerodenus snarled at her, she instinctively took a step back. Her grip around her wand tightened and she hastily stretched out the hand holding the fruit in an attempt to bargain with the scaly beast.
It seemed to work as the Gerodenus sat back and watched her calmly and attentively, its gaze trained onto the fruit like a dog might do a treat. It was weird, comparing this enormous, ancient being, which had scared the life out of her upon their first meeting, to man's best friend. But alas, here she went.
Holding out the Ancient Fruit like a peace offering, Reena took a cautious step towards the Gerodenus, eyes wandering to see what the Founders had left the beast to guard for the past thousand years.
The hair on her body was standing upright as she approached the beast, momentarily contemplating whether she should hold onto the fruit as leverage or give it up in an attempt to befriend the beast and gain its permission to search the room.
After some internal back and forth she decided on the latter and placed the fruit onto the ground before giving it a careful push and sending it rolling towards the Gerodenus.
The Gerodenus sniffed the air, eager for the fruit. When Reena rolled it towards the beast, the fruit was stopped by a large paw. It was formidable and intimidating in size alone, never mind the tusks and fortified scales as well -- yet the paw alone could do some serious damage, yet so gently kept the fruit from rolling away.
The Gerodenus studied Reena for a moment, confirming it had her permission to retrieve and claim it. Picking it up in its powerful jaws, the beast wandered to the far left of the room -- eating the fruit in one gulp. Its scales shimmered and glowed like pearls, then the Gerodenus returned to its slumber in the shadows.
The floor beneath Reena's feet rumbled. Across the room, the wall changed and shifted to reveal her next task. There were four mirrors with a Hogwarts house crest above each. A phrase was carved in stone in front of the mirrors where Reena stood. Its an ancient language, but the letters shift to English:
The hat chose yours, but to enter you must be whole. For each of ours, tell us how to test you. Show us your bravery, your loyalty, your wisdom, and your deepest ambition. Show us your soul, and the window shall become the gateway.
To use one of the mirrors, step close to it -- the frame will change to match its house colour. Be sure to specify which house you've picked. You can only use one mirror / house at a time. This task is co-op modded -- meaning your input is needed as part of the progress, when requested.
Post by Reena Ashworth on Sept 24, 2022 23:23:00 GMT 10
Reena watched the Gerodenus apprehensively, almost unable to tear her gaze away from its enormous paws. She did however notice it looking at her as though asking permission and she gave a nod.
It felt weird to interact with something that was clearly ancient and dangerous, yet so gentle at the same time. As its scales sparkled like pearls she almost found it beautiful in a strange way. Perhaps if it wasn’t for those awful tusks.
The rumbling of the room turned her attention away from the slumbering creature and she soon understood why this room was called what it was called.
This made a lot more sense to her now and she walked across the room until she was close enough to read the words on the stone next to the four mirrors.
Her gaze swept over the crests, puzzled. There was a reason she was put in Slytherin, eventhough she had been given a choice back then, there had never been a question in her mind that under the lake was where she belonged. And now it appeared she had to prove she could have belonged with any other house as well?
What was the point of the Sorting then?
She was a bit nervous about what it meant to tell them to test her, yet after some hesitation she stepped in front of the mirror with the Ravenclaw crest above it. She watched as its frame turned blue and looked at her reflection as though it held the answers.
“The Sorting Hat offered to put me into Ravenclaw when I first arrived at Hogwarts,“ she was not sure why she had picked this mirror to begin with.
But she felt like talking was the right way to show wisdom. She was less sure how to show loyalty or bravery.
“Yet I knew that wasn’t the place for me. I am too stubborn to be wise. All my perceived wisdom comes from experience.“
Reena cringed a little as she talked. Was this already part of her test, just laying out her flaws into the open like she did?
“I guess I am saying that, I was wise enough to know that I am not wise.“
She gazed up at the Ravenclaw crest, hoping this was a sufficient start for this mirror. It was kind of a smart ass answer but she had heard her Ravenclaw classmates say all kinds of smart ass things. So perhaps there was a chance this would work in her favor?
Then Reena admitted her shortcomings in the face of proving wisdom -- that she perceived her own level or lack of wisdom, not that it was fact. She understood her own limitations, or rather was willing to bear her flaws as a means of progress.
Her willingness to do so appeased the mirror -- its glass was no longer reflective, though whatever was behind it was too black to see.
One house was unlocked. Three awaited her approach.
Post by Reena Ashworth on Sept 25, 2022 8:03:35 GMT 10
For a moment she thought nothing would happen yet when the mirror turned dark and she couldn’t see herself in its darkness anymore, she was certain she must have passed Ravenclaw‘s test.
She figured she just had to be honest with the mirrors, which made sense since most mirrors also reflected only the truth. She still thought it should have been enough to be tested by Slytherin‘s mirror. But if they wanted her to be not just one thing…
She checked to see whether the Gerodenus was still behaving before her gaze flicked towards her own house‘s crest, then to Hufflepuff‘s.
For some reason she felt rather nervous to be tested by her father’s house, so she opted for which she felt was the safer bet, and stood before the snake crest.
The frame turned green which felt familiar and almost reassuring to her as she tried to spy past her own reflection for any hint of darkness or what lay beyond the mirror.
“I am ambitious. I give my best in every class and study so that I can get good grades and have the best options for my future.“
This felt rather vague and she doubted it would be enough to appease this mirror. The sign had read to show her deepest ambition.
But it was. Sort of.
“I want the best options so that I can lead a good life. I want to be stable and independent. Financially of course. And emotionally.“
She added the latter with a frown. Having witnessed first hand at the example of her mother just how sad and scary an emotionally unstable living was, it felt important to add.
“I want to be able to always afford any necessities for myself and my family should any of them need support.“
Reena thought of how she and Jaxen had to often struggle to get a proper meal on the table. She would do almost anything to make sure that never happened again. And she wouldn’t mind a luxury or two on the way.
“And I want to be great,“ she added almost inaudibly. As though the Gerodenus might judge her for it.
“I want to be recognized, I want to be important. And I will make people see me.“
The Gerodenus was unbothered by Reena's presence or task at hand, content to nap now it was fed. It snorted softly in its sleep, as if aware of her attention on it, but simply shifted in its slumber and remained at ease.
The mirror was unresponsive for a moment, even after she'd finished talking. Then it fogged up, making it hard to see her own reflection or that of the chamber around her. As if drawn by an invisible hand, a word formed on the glass:
Post by Reena Ashworth on Sept 25, 2022 16:46:58 GMT 10
Reena felt raw and vulnerable with her truth out there, so when nothing happened she started fidgeting nervously, touching an almost trembling hand to the green frame.
Then the mirror fogged up. Alarmed she pulled her hand away, scared that she had failed her own house‘s tests of all and somehow broke the magic mirror with her answer.
Yet when the three letters appeared written by a ghostly hand, she knew she was still being tested. Reena stared at the word for a while, wondering what hadn’t been enough about her declaration of ambition.
Furrowing her brows, she was certain she had given enough reason for why she wanted good grades. Although - her gaze flicked towards the Hufflepuff crest - wanting a good life and being able to support her family might be too much of a Hufflepuff reason. So perhaps she was a little bit like her father after all.
So the mirror‘s hang up must’ve been her want for recognition. She inwardly scolded herself for letting her mouth run away from her and admitting to that.
Why wouldn’t she want that?
She got an all happy, tingly feeling upon earning House Points, which she never wanted to go away. When Ezra had helped her brew the Freeze Potion, and admired her skill, she had felt the same.
When Amara, an impressive and likely to be important person, had told her that she was seen by her Alliance of Partisan and offered her a space among them, her heart had never felt so light.
And when Jaxen and their mum had shown mistrust in her, she had felt so small and angry and scared for some reason.
Yet somehow she doubted it would be enough to tell the mirror she wanted to feel good.
Then her thoughts drifted towards a topic which she liked to pretend they circled around usually, as though it did not occupy her mind most days.
She thought about the magic memory of her dad that was tethered to his secret, wrecked laboratory underneath their backyard. Naturally her own memory she had seen in the Gringott‘s vault also came to mind.
“Because-“ the word caught in her throat as she choked up. She could feel her jaw tremble and she quickly looked away at her feet.
The loss of her dad was still fresh in her mind, an old wound, that’s never healed completely, ripped wide open again, perhaps even wider than it had been to begin with.
She refused to cry in front of the mirror and that stupid three letter word.
Which was difficult to do right now. Because her dad had been the only one to ever truly get her. The only one she could rely on completely and trust blindly to support her, to always have her best interest at heart.
And he was gone.
Taken from her forever.
And she was left to fend for herself, left to make morally questionable decisions like she had just done this morning - but she didn’t want to think about that right now.
Reena glared back up at the word on the foggy mirror. She was starting to get angry at it. She did not want to explain herself.
“Because important people get support all the time. And they get told things. And they are known. So they aren‘t forgotten about easily.“
Reena crossed her arms in front of her chest as she huffed at the word.
“And I‘ll need all the support I can get. If my own mother won’t lift a finger to help me, I will get it elsewhere. Because it bloody sucks to be helpless. That what you want to hear?“
She stopped and glared at the mirror before she could talk herself into a rage. Her parents were a sensitive topic for her and she hadn’t even wanted to go there.
She needed still needed to figure out what mysterious circumstances had lead to her dad‘s death. And she was not supposed to let anyone stop her, as were her dad’s instructions to her.
And yet she still had to keep an eye on her own future, not just the past.
It all felt so overwhelming, so she refused to feel it, dabbing into strong distractions like the Founders‘ quest.
It was easy to say she was angry the quest had brought her back full circle. And she felt betrayed that it was by her own house’s mirror.
Last Edit: Sept 25, 2022 16:48:22 GMT 10 by Reena Ashworth
The word faded, accepting her answer. However, unlike the other house mirror so far, it was not as easily appeased. The fogginess remained, and new words formed.
Post by Reena Ashworth on Sept 26, 2022 7:09:21 GMT 10
As the word faded, Reena could feel her anger deflate a little. The mirror hadn’t turned dark as Ravenclaw’s had thus she wasn’t surprised when there was more.
Her lack of surprise did not mean she wasn’t annoyed however and she sighed before she thought about the question. She cocked one of her eyebrows as her gaze jumped between the two options.
After a few moments she uncrossed her arms and flung them up in an exasperated motion before they dropped down heavily against her thighs.
She was tapping her foot as she placed both her hands onto her hips and glared at the base of the mirror in green frame.
It was a difficult question to answer and her current, riled-up state did not help her case.
She took a step backwards, turned her back to the mirror and briefly paced up and down along the mirrors, hands remaining in her hips, in an attempt to walk it off and calm down. She halted in front of the foggy mirror and squinted at the question as though that might change it.
Success without recognition was simply jarring. Imagine working day and night towards a goal, succeeding and nobody would ever even know about your efforts.
Yet recognition without success was no better. Imagine being known for your efforts yet unable to succeed. Everyone would just pity you and you‘d have to live with that shame forever.
Post by Reena Ashworth on Sept 26, 2022 14:34:30 GMT 10
With a sigh, Reena uncocked her hip and mumbled incoherent nonsense under her breath. She had expected as much yet she had hoped to cheat her way out of making a choice.
She had actually leaned towards one already but it wasn’t the one she wanted.
She crossed her arms protectively in front of her chest once more before she sighed again and flicked some stray strands of hair out of her face.
“Success,“ she said.
Reena thought about the research her dad hadn’t finished and which had been destroyed by whoever had wreaked havoc in his laboratory.
He had died unsuccessful and unrecognized, at least in regards to that. It was an awful fact of life.
But the fact that it had been unfinished had hit her harder when she had first learned about it. She felt like it would have been more comforting to know he succeeded.
Although, it didn’t really matter now, since it had been destroyed. Had he been recognized and published anything of it, perhaps she could try and finish for him, or someone else might have done it by now and he would have been recognized post mortem.
Ugh. Now she leaned towards recognition. But she had said the first option out loud, so she felt she ought to stick by it.
“Because recognition without success could make you a fraud,“ she reasoned.
It wouldn’t have in her father’s case but the way she saw it, recognition without success might also mean stealing someone else’s success and framing it as their own.
Which she did not want.
It was dishonest on a grand scale and she figured she had been dishonest enough today already.
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