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 Sept 29, 2022 1:23:29 GMT 10
It hadn't been that hard for MJ to find the cluttered room. She recalled hearing other students talking about it before, saying it was full of mountains of junk but she knew now that wasn't entirely true.
Not everything in that room was value-less.
The vision flashed through her memories of the room, the jewelled box and then the key inside. She wasn't entirely sure how monumental her task was going to be but she would make a good attempt before she would need to go to her flying lesson.
MJ opened the door and sneaked inside, closing it softly behind her. She was fairly certain no one had witnessed her coming in so she leaned against the door and looked around.
The piles immediately before her certainly seemed to just be broken or discarded items - a whole room of history. MJ let out a quiet sigh and looked around, stepping around the piles with care while sweeping her gaze over them carefully.
The cluttered room lived up to its name in every possible way. There were literal towers of items, which could only be assumed to have some sort of magic in place so they didn't topple over to crush whoever stepped near them.
The main areas that stood out to her were a corner of books, a set of tables with various ropes or jars, and a stack of empty birdcages.
Her task to find one object was both simple and absurd.
The books were ever-varied. Some thick and leather-bound, others slim and cartoonish. Some children books were among a stack of old encyclopias, while nearby a few tattered tomes were stained with mysterious substances and had dry pages. For a second, she could have sworn one of the books scuttled off like a crab to hide under a table when she wasn't looking directly at it.
During her searching, a few books were knocked to the floor or some cushions splayed over a rug by her feet. One book shone bright as the sun when it fell open, forcing her to shut it blindly in order to spare herself the intensity of it. During that, the light reflected against a handheld mirror propped on some History of Magic textbooks -- causing a shimmer under some scrolls by the cushions.
Post by MJ Birdwhistle on Sept 30, 2022 1:02:57 GMT 10
Out of the corner of her eye, MJ swears something scuttles away, under a table. Was that even possible...?
MJ reminds herself she's attending a magic school so yes, more than possible.
Accidentally knocking some books to the floor, one opened and a flash of light blinded her for a moment. MJ crouched, attempting to shield her eyes with one hand while feeling for the book and closing it.
While doing this, her gaze flickers to the mirror and she notices something shimmering nearby...
She blinked away the spots in her vision and when she looked at the book that caused the light, she noted it had no title.
With a sigh, she rose and carefully put it back onto a table.
MJ approached the cushions, crouching and carefully shifting the scrolls. She inhaled sharply, hoping to find the jewelled box when she moved the next one.
Shifting the scrolls indeed revealed a jeweled box identical to the one in her vision. It was latched shut, but didn't seem locked or much of a challenge now she'd found it.
However, moving those scrolls of ribbon-bound parchment had dislodged something else as well. Dust stirred, causing MJ to cough, though it was strange as most of the room wasn't dusty at all -- considering how abandoned and cluttered it seemed.
Then a furry imp shot out from under some woven cages, screeching at her. The box, along with various other items, were knocked to the floor. MJ didn't have a chance to retrieve it, as the imp had its sights on her. When she didn't react, it lunged -- and its fangs latched onto her forearm.
Post by MJ Birdwhistle on Sept 30, 2022 19:25:09 GMT 10
For a brief moment, she grinned but then the dust stirred up. MJ leaned back but it surrounded her anyway, causing her to sneeze.
Unfortunately, this also meant she wasn't able to dodge the creature that launched itself at her.
It screeched and she yelped.
Sharp teeth sank into her arm and for a few seconds, MJ was paralyzed with fear. Then she retrieved her wand, aiming it at the creature's face.
"I'm sorry! Lumos" Hopefully this would do the trick, blinding the creature with the bright light from her wand.
After all, MJ had no clue how to deal with magical creatures since it wasn't something she had been taught. If this didn't work, she would have to think of something else.
It certainly hated the light -- screeching at it and releasing her to shield its eyes. Instead of fleeing, it grabbed hold of her box and bared its fangs. It knew she wanted the box, and decided it must be important. So it guarded it, refusing to let her near it without being defeated first.
The room began to blur and MJ struggled to stay steady. The bite burned now and her whole body felt hot. Her life was in danger.
MJ didn't know this creature, and her spell list was limited. Would spells even work against it? That wasn't the problem though, nor was the box being out of reach the main issue... it was a wooziness that began to take hold of her. She felt ill and achy, which gradually began to increase. Her instincts forewarned her that she needed to act fast.
Post by MJ Birdwhistle on Sept 30, 2022 20:18:38 GMT 10
Why was the room so hot? MJ looked around a bit but her focus went back to the creature. It had her box (or well, the box she wanted).
She tried to think of a spell she knew that could help but drew a blank. Her arm ached and now her shoulder was beginning to hurt too. She had to get out of her and to the hospital wing quickly.
"Oh! I'm so, so sorry...!" She grabbed the book from before, the one with the sun. It was weighty in her hand, making her arm sting even more. She used it to knock the creature on the head while attempting to wrestle the box free with her other hand. If that failed, well, she might just boot it away with a swift kick.
But she needed to leave as soon as possible, her knees feeling a bit like jelly now.
If this didn't work, she would have to abandon her task for now and come back later.
Her efforts proved futile. The creature was unaffected, even unharmed, but the whole ordeal. It screeched at her again, looking ready to go for another bite. MJ wasn't sure what it was or what was happening, only that it wasn't likely she could handle another venomous bite.
Having whacked the creature -- though not to bothered, it did scamper aside a bit to regain its balance. It was too risky to stay. MJ needed medical help, now. With the creature distracted, she was able to flee the room. Perhaps, if she wished to claim that box, she would be back another time and far more prepared to confront it.
Post by MJ Birdwhistle on Sept 30, 2022 20:27:47 GMT 10
"Fine! You win this time!" MJ huffed at the creature, and despite the pain, feeling upset that she wouldn't get the box this time. She had no choice but to turn tail and rush out of the room.
Hopefully she wasn't too badly hurt that she wouldn't remember the creature, to find a book to research it or ask an older student.
But now her head swam, felt heavy and foggy now but she knew she had to get to the Hospital Wing. She would come back, perhaps better prepared if she could find out more about the creature.
The box was important and she couldn't move forward without it.
MJ is permitted to return to this thread and resume, once her character has recovered and sought help -- unless the RPG time changes or she moves on to something else.
Post by MJ Birdwhistle on Sept 30, 2022 22:23:40 GMT 10
MJ carefully opened the door to the Cluttered Room and stepped inside, waiting for Professor Hathmore to join her.
"Madam Pomfrey said the creature that bit me was a Snuffron? I found it over there—" She pointed towards the piles of books not too far away. The scrolls had been disturbed when the Snuffron had jumped out.
She let the Professor go ahead of her, "I was looking for a jewelled box and the creature has it. I hope it's still nearby."
Looking, she saw the book she had used as a weapon abandoned on the floor. Thankfully it was closed this time.
Sticking close to her Professor, she was ready to face the creature again, confident it wouldn't win this time. How could it? She had a brilliant DADA expert on her side!
Last Edit: Sept 30, 2022 22:25:02 GMT 10 by MJ Birdwhistle
'Yes, she mentioned it.' Professor Hathmore nodded, casually finishing his sandwich slice as if a creature with a venomous bite wasn't in the vicinity.
He even took a moment to glance around, curious as to why this was her destination of choice -- and had a rather unusual (possibly amused) look at the mention of the jeweled box.
'That box, I presume?' he pointed.
The Snuffron was exactly where MJ had left it -- though jumped onto a rickety table instead of staying at the floor. It glared at them, unsure who to fixate on first, and clutched the box tight in refusal to let it go.
It braced itself, ready to attack whoever made the first move.
'Not to worry, this is a year four level spell,' he said, confident and clearly in his element. Hathmore dusted off from crumbs, then drew his wand. 'A Snuffron, indeed. They love dark and dusty places. Tersus perito.'
His spell was precise and effective, with the ease of a master.
The Snuffron shrieked as it was blasted onto the floor, scattering books and scrolls it. In the process, it released the box -- which was flung among a pile of goblets, vanishing from view.
Having repelled the Snuffron, Hathmore's spell then took hold of it. The creature shrieked as its skin began to crack -- then it turned to dust, defeated once and for all. With the Snuffron no longer a concern, MJ just had to locate the box in order to finally claim it as her reward.
Hathmore tucked away his wand, then wandered a little to give MJ privacy as if knowing she needed it. He busied himself with inspecting a broken piano, and checking the area for anything dusty enough to hide another Snuffron lurking and waiting. Thankfully, it seemed they were safe now.
Post by MJ Birdwhistle on Sept 30, 2022 22:51:46 GMT 10
Okay, Professor Hathmore was freaking cool. He just... Blasted the thing with his spell and acted like it was no big deal.
"Woah—" She managed after he was done, clapping lightly only because she was too amazed to say or do anything else for a moment. That was a fourth year spell!? MJ couldn't wait to learn it!
"Thank you, Professor! You're amazing!" MJ grinned, pleased she could get on with her task.
Noting the dust the Snuffron left behind (or rather, had become), MJ stepped over it and towards the goblets. She felt bad for a moment and then remembered what the creature had done to her and shook away her concerns.
Instead, she focused on what she needed to do - find the jewelled box.
Professor Hathmore seemed to be sticking around, which was good in case another Snuffron made an appearance but he seemed to give her space to do what she needed to do. The goblets made it hard to spot the box, since some of them were shiny or had jewels as well.
MJ wondered if any of them were valuable but if then had been abandoned here... She dusted one off, which caused her nose to tickle and she let out a soft sneeze. Luckily, that didn't seem to bother Professor Hatmore.
She dug through the goblets, marvelling at how many there could be and set some of them to the side in her search. There was a worry that something else would jump out but at least she had Professor Hathmore to help if it was something dangerous. This helped her to relax a bit more.
Her hands brushed over something that definitely wasn't goblet shaped, and more box shaped, and MJ let out a relieved sigh when she unearthed the item she sought.
Finally! She tugged it free and gently brushed it off with her sleeve, "Got it, Professor!"
She tucked it away into her robes and gave the room one last look around, "Thank you again for helping out. Sorry if I interrupted your morning."
There was a sheepish look on her face as she headed towards the exit, opening the door for Professor Hathmore first.
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