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 Amber Lloyd on Nov 10, 2023 16:22:07 GMT 10
Straight after breakfast, Amber made her way to the Great Staircase on the suggestion from the 3rd year Ravenclaw girl. Zack Mercer should somewhere be here…
Well, she had heard rumours that he normally is to find in the Dungeons, but she was glad that today this was not the case. She really only wanted to go down there if absolutely necessary…
Amber gazed around to see if she could spot him or Slytherin robes – would he wear them on the holidays?
How would one find someone in this staircase chaos? Almost as difficult as searching a needle in a haystack... She sighed, but ambled along the moving stairs, keeping an eye out for the Slytherin boy.
The task indeed seemed impossible. It was both the appeal and the curse of the Grand Staircase that it branched off to so many different corridors, rooms, and floors. Some leading to more staircases, some going in the opposite direction you expect, and some even looping back somewhere else halfway through.
And even as a 5th year, Amber was yet to see it all. There were places unfamiliar to her, and paths not thoroughly explored or understood. In fact, a few she could have sworn had even moved since she glimpsed it last. Given the magic of Hogwarts, one couldn't rule that out.
So how was one to find a specific student among all of that, besides sheer dumb luck? Where did she even start? Well, she'd need to seek clues -- or, more likely, witnesses. After all, besides students coming and going, as well as staircases constantly on the move, the Grand Staircase could be quite noisy.
Surely at least one of these lively paintings had seen someone matching his description? Only one way to find out.
You can make up your own painting to ask, but without any names attached / known. Describe them and their setting so we know what we're working with, then we'll mod the rest.
Post by Amber Lloyd on Nov 17, 2023 0:43:01 GMT 10
Amber couldn't remember how many steps and stairs she had climbed so far, how many different corridors and rooms she had visited. But she had fun.
Paths leading her in circles? Fascinating!
A corridor she had never explored before? Exciting!
Amber was running around with a wide grin on her face, even ended up with taking her time examining an unfamiliar corridor. She couldn't help it. The whole staircase just smelled of adventure for her, which caught her attention for quite a while. Until her feet started to hurt.
She came to a halt and rested for a minute, leaned against a wall, the whispers of the multiple paintings only in the back of her head.
Wait, why was she again running along staircases? ... Ahhh, the Head Hog!
Amber grimaced annoyed from herself as she remembered her initial goal. How could she have forgotten that?!
Well...
She took a look around, as if hoping Mercer would just suddenly stand there. But of course he didn't. What chance would that be? Amber even didn't knew anymore where she was. She sighed.
What now? Continuing searching like this would not be fruitful.
How could she get clues on the whereabouts of the Head Hog?
Amber racked her brain over it as suddenly right next to her an awful song with few notes started to play, accompanied by a shrill male voice.
"What the -!"
A bit startled, she spun around just to see a minstrel with blond hair in purple medieval clothes plucking strings on a lute with exaggerating motions - and not very well. The addition of his voice just made the song worse (if that was even possible), and it gave Amber a headache.
Amber frowned. How could someone properly think with such music next to them!
She seemed not the only one hating his music. Inhabitants of the paintings next to him were holding their ears and some complained.
"Excuse me!" Amber tried to get the attention of the minstrel.
She was determined to get her almost quiet surroundings from earlier back. She needed that to think of a solution. On her own. It was not that there was someone here she could just a-
Amber facepalmed as she realised what she could have done all the time already: ask the paintings! They saw usually a lot of things!
She stepped in front of the minstrel a bit more and asked with a strong voice
"Excuse me, Sir Minstrel! I'm in need of assistance! I'm searching for a Slytherin boy. Zack Mercer. Might you have seen him?"
Amber tried to remember how Zack Mercer looked like. She surely had seen him sometimes... But how would you describe a person?
"Short dark hair, wearing a Head Hog badge?"
She wasn't sure if that would suffice - or if the minstrel would even be of any help at all. She just hoped he would STOP THIS SONG!
To the mercy of her ears, the minstrel stopped making noise when Amber approached him. He pondered for a moment, then tunelessly plucked at his lute again.
'The lady's searching for a knave, a tale as fusty as time,'he sang, badly. 'The lady wonders if it be true I've seen that gent, as I try to make this rhyme.'
Standing as if facing a captivated audience, rather than causing misery to nearby paintings who covered their ears and shot him glares.
'A malapert one, that gent was. Sullied mine own art with his tone,' the minstrel's pitch rose. 'Oh how I wish not to answer, and send this unfortunate wench home. Alas, I will send her hence with a song. I wish her the most wondrous, as the lady seeks the knave who is so wrong.'
There was an awful, merciful sound as the lute string snapped. The minstrel stared at it in horror, while those around him breathed a sign of relief.
'The one thee speak of went up three staircases, to the corridor of maps,' the minstrel reluctantly gave her a direct answer. 'The gent had so rudely asked for quiet by fig of my own art, then did question me of an arras. There best a dragon.'
With a sigh, he sat down -- then reached behind him, to procure a new lute.
'The lady should check behind it for the one the wench seeks,' he sang, somehow worse than before. 'Deep into the unknown, where the lady'll certes weep. Threatened to set me aflame, oh does that gent nay shame?'
Post by Amber Lloyd on Nov 24, 2023 18:47:19 GMT 10
Amber was relieved as the minstrel stopped playing – but this feeling was crushed the next moment he started plucking at his lute again.
Nooo, why did he have to answer with a song!
Amber would have loved to sob at the pain her ears had to endure, or join the other paintings in covering her ears or glare at him. But the minstrel was at least answering her question. She smiled bravely at him, feigning admiration. She was just glad he didn’t outright ask her what her thoughts were on his music. Amber wouldn’t be able to lie.
It took all her concentration to listen to the song and understand it’s meaning, as the text was in an archaic English, and the music was just awful, making her ears almost bleed.
Luckily, at the most important part, the lute string snapped. Sudden silence filled the corridor, which funnily enough was music to Amber’s ears right now.
Corridor of maps? Interesting!
Wait a second, dragon?!
Amber’s eyes shone brightly as the word had stirred excitement in her. However, it soon was replaced with agony, as the minstrel procured another lute and continued his song. How many did he have of them?!
The Ravenclaw almost burst out into anger, thinking something along ‘I’ll weep right in front of you if you don’t stop singing!’, but she didn’t say so. Instead, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then put on a smile again.
“I’m really thankful to you for taking your time to answer my question, but I would have appreciated it even more if you have done so without singing. Or playing on your lute. It would have been… easier to understand.”
That was no lie. Amber would have liked to state her opinion on the song, but after the minstrel had taken his time to answer her question, she didn’t want to devastate him with a harsh comment about his music.
However… Amber glanced at the other paintings and had the desire to at least try and help them out. No one deserved to hear his music all day!
“As thanks, I’ll give you an advice of myself!”
She took one step closer to the minstrel’s painting and hid her mouth with one hand as if she was providing him with a secret.
“You know, the other paintings will appreciate your music more if you reduce your playing hours. Like, your throat surely will get hoarse after singing for hours, so the music you provide will get worse! In addition, if you play all day long, your audience will grow tired of hearing your music! You wouldn’t want that, right?” Amber said in a hushed voice.
With a smile she stepped back and gave a slight bow to the minstrel.
“Thank you again, I am now on my way!”
Quickly, she turned around and left the minstrel behind, hoping he would take on her advice – for the sake of the other paintings.
So, three staircases up, corridor of maps, then searching for an arras?
Amber looked around to search for a way up and spotted the next staircase. She climbed it with ease. Others would have groaned by now from the number of steps Amber had already taken today, but she just walked onwards with a grin. She didn’t care, as a Ravenclaw she was used to it by now.
She ascended the next staircase after making sure it really led her upstairs, then there was only one left. After a thorough look around, trying to take the movements of the staircases into account, Amber scaled the last staircase and found herself in another corridor she had never been before.
Was this the corridor of maps? Well, she could at least spot some paintings or tapestries displaying maps. Hm, was there the Slytherin she sought?
Although, the minstrel had said she should look for Mercer behind a tapestry. With a potential dragon. This thought alone filled Amber with excitement again.
However, to not miss anything, Amber slowly walked along the corridor with a watchful eye, taking each arras into account, keeping an eye out for any movement, a lopsided painting or something even displaying a dragon. Or at least any hint someone had just been here before her.
It was indeed the corridor of maps, as if anyone could possibly be mistaken with various artworks and tapestries and even some glass cases all pertaining to various types of navigation, geography, and... well, yes, maps.
There was one in particular that caught her eye -- a tapestry showing a map of somewhere in Asia, if the fact it had Asian characters written a long the border was an indication of that. In one section there was a forest, with a rather keyhole-shaped tree in the precise location where an actual keyhole would be if it was a door.
Directly above it was a dragon, which breathed fire and flapped its wings. It seemed to draw Amber in, as if its details demanded to be observed and analysed.
'I wouldn't do that if I were you.'
And suddenly, off to the side and near a wall a bit behind her and to the far right -- there was Zack Mercer. Dressed in his usual Slytherin robes and busy toweling his soaked, black hair. His clothes overall were only minimally damp, likely from the aide of a drying charm. He looked rather disgruntled, and eyed the tapestry with bitter offense.
Post by Amber Lloyd on Nov 28, 2023 23:16:59 GMT 10
Alright, it seemed the be the corridor of maps. There were maps. A lot of them!
But where was Mercer then? Or did he leave already?
Amber walked along the corridor, looking at the displayed artworks and tapestries - and of course lost herself again in investigating almost every piece of them. It was just fascinating to see how many different maps there were!
While she was just turning around towards another artwork, her gaze got stuck at one map in particular. She immediately made steps towards it.
With a glance she noticed that it was apparently an asian map, showing a forest. But what she was drawn to was the dragon.
Amber's eyes sparkled as she saw it, so beautiful was it in her eyes, though he hesitated for a moment because of the fiery breath of the dragon. It might have not been a real fire, but it still instilled fear in her.
However, the map had something captivating about it, like it demanded to be analysed: despite her clear wariness of fire, Amber made another step towards, her hand reaching for the map.
Her hand was mere inches away from the tapestry as a voice came out of nowhere.
Her movement stopped and she blinked in daze, as if her mind had to catch up to what happened - and to free herself from the pull of the map.
Once done, she quickly put her hand back next to herself and turned around, just to see a Slytherin boy, toweling his hair.
She immediately recognised him and his Head Hog badge. The boy she had sought. Zack Mercer.
Wait, where did he come from?! And why was he so wet? In the corridor of maps in Hogwarts.
Though these were not the only questions she had.
"And why is that?" Amber asked back to his advice, raising an eyebrow.
The map picked her curiosity again, though she quickly turned her back to it, fighting the urge to stare at the dragon again.
Surely, Mercer wouldn't have given his advice without reason. But why was he so annoyed?
Amber noticed his gaze towards the tapestry. Her mind was processing everything in full throttle, taking in everything she saw, remembering the words the minstrel had said - and it clicked.
"Don't tell me...You're wet because of the tapestry? Or perhaps because you had do extinguish fire from a dragon?"
Amber dared to cast a short glance at the dragon on the tapestry.
"A real dragon?"
By now, the Ravenclaw girl had completely forgotten the reason why she actually had been here. The adventure in front of her was now way more important!
Last Edit: Nov 29, 2023 17:19:11 GMT 10 by Amber Lloyd
'Hardly a real dragon.' Zack scoffed, finishing toweling off his hair. He cast a drying charm on it, then stored it away in his shoulder bag.
He approached her, warily giving the tapestry an annoyed look then focusing on Amber instead. He gave her a curious glance over, well aware of who she was -- though he gave her Captain's badge a glance for confirmation.
'There was supposed to be a secret passage behind this, but it's a trick.' Zack sighed, rolling his eyes at the dragon. 'A waterfall of water kind of trick. Quite unpleasant, and now an utter waste of my time.'
That was about all the details she was going to get from him. Zack crossed arms over his chest and eyed her again -- then raised his eyebrow, in clear question as to why she was there. It wasn't an easy place to find unless one went looking for it or already knew where it was.
Post by Amber Lloyd on Dec 1, 2023 19:14:51 GMT 10
As soon as Zack explained his ordeal to her, compassion flickered across Amber's face before it was replaced with utter disappointment.
No real dragon? Not even a fancy secret passage?
"What a letdown..."
Amber eyed the tapestry carefully and had the urge to test the waterfall trick - just out of curiosity. But perhaps not right now.
She felt the gaze from Zack on her and understood the meaning instantly - and it finally reminded her why she was here.
"Oh, right! I'm actually here because I searched for you. I'm Amber Lloyd, the new Quidditch Captain for Ravenclaw", she introduced herself as it was just the proper thing to do.
Not aware that Zack might know her or that her Captain Badge would clearly display who she was.
"Headmaster Rickhard told me I should seek out one of you Head Hogs to show me the Prefect Room."
Amber cast another glance at the tapestry, before she turned her gaze back to Zack.
"... Do you have time or -?"
Her voice trailed of as she wouldn't want to interrupt his further exploration of the corridor of maps or any potential searches for another hidden passage. Amber herself would be annoyed if one would interrupt her with something unimportant during one of her own adventures - and she of course would make the other person first join her undertaking.
Now she wanted to go explore more... Maybe she should try out later one of her keys?
Though first, she would see what Zack's answer was.
Last Edit: Dec 1, 2023 19:25:09 GMT 10 by Amber Lloyd
Zack nodded, fussing with his sleeves, while Amber needlessly explained who she was. He saw no reason to be rude about it though, so just waited for her to get to the point. He wasn't the only Head Hog, but Zack wasn't surprised to be the one she'd sought out. People tended to do that, and Netti was near-impossible to find sometimes.
Not for him, of course. But you know, other people.
'The Prefect Room, huh?' He nodded again, casual and friendly though not all that interested. 'Sure. Why not? But first, how did you find me here?'
Post by Amber Lloyd on Dec 1, 2023 22:43:30 GMT 10
Great, so he had time! But why was Zack asking how she had found him?
In her mind, she had done nothing special. Although, Amber had to admit, it was difficult to find anything at all at the Grand Staircase. Or to not get lost. But if you found the right help...
Still, she raised an eyebrow at his question.
"Well, I heard that you would be somewhere around the Grand Staircase, so I started my search here. Walking around. Asking a painting."
Amber grinned as she remembered the minstrel. "You know, threatening someone to set them on fire does leave a lasting impression."
She remembered the minstrel's 'music' and grimaced instantly.
"But I have to admit, I can't blame you for the desire to do so. The music, if it can even be called that, was awful!"
Though Amber herself of course would never set anything or anyone on fire. Not if she could prevent it. And even if she had to endure a nasty song.
She shook her head as if to get the 'song' she remembered out of it, then tilted her head.
"Any more questions?"
Amber would, of course, answer them if possible.
For a second, she had the desire to ask Zack how he had found his way here, though remembered that the minstrel had told her something about the Head Hog asking him, so she guessed the same way she had then: with the help of a painting.
Zack smirked at that, clearly rather pleased with this threat against that awful painting. Or because he'd made a lasting impression on the occupant. Or, for all she knew, probably both those reasons. He wasn't the slightest bit apologetic, and was glad she at least agreed about the awful sound that Ministrel made.
Anymore questions, she'd wondered? No, not particularly... but now that she'd asked, Zack felt compelled to come up with something...
But literally nothing came to mind. Zack sighed, disappointed in himself, and made a rather formal "shall we" gesture with his hands. Not that they could follow through with Amber going ahead first, since he was the one who needed to tell her were to go.
'You're in luck,' he said, as the ended up back on the Grand Staircase. 'You were almost there.'
True enough, only a minute or two later and they stood outside the Prefect Room. It helped that the staircase hadn't changed on them, and this area of the castle wasn't particularly busy. Amber had at least heard that Prefects were often found around here. That explained the lack of activity, especially on a day like this when students had an abundance of free time.
Zack opened double doors to a huge, well-lit common room that was quite luxurious -- yet still managed to have a sense of comfort to it.
'It's available to anyone with a badge,' he explained. 'You're welcome to look around. I'm here if you have any questions, I suppose.'
Description of the Prefect Room can be seen in the location's image. There's a lot of visual detail there if you'd like to reference anything in your reaction.
Noticing his pleased smirk, Amber grinned in return, then followed Zack’s lead through the corridor of maps, back to the Grand Staircase.
And she was glad he was the one going ahead. She wasn't sure if she would have found the way back alone.
The staircase had mercy on them, not changing its direction at the last second, and the area ahead was rather vacant - arriving at their destination, she knew now why. Students tended to avoid Prefects after all.
Amber followed Zack through the double doors and was astonished by the size and luxuriousness of the room, yet she felt right at home at the same time.
She nodded at Zack's words, though a question already formed in her mind.
"You mean, only anyone with a badge can enter or no one else dares to do so?" Amber asked to clarify with a grin, before she strolled further into the room.
Paintings lined the ornated walls and even a staircase lead up to a higher level. She glanced around, then back to Zack.
“Rickard mentioned something about dormitories and the bathroom. Where are they located? And any rules I should know regarding them? Or the Prefect Room in general?”
Amber thought she should ask first before she just ran through the whole room in search for them.
For the rules, she particularly wondered if the dormitories were shared rooms or divided like the ones in the Ravenclaw tower or any other Hogwarts house, same with the bathroom.
Last Edit: Dec 2, 2023 8:11:34 GMT 10 by Amber Lloyd
'Only someone with a badge can open the doors,' Zack confirmed, giving her a look that clearly implied a difference between the one who opened the doors and those who entered. 'Company isn't forbidden, but they must be someone who can be trusted to behave and respect this space. This is a sacred place, and all it'll take is for one to ruin it for the many.'
He was less direct in his information-giving, as to hint at Amber that the rules were not as exact either. There were loopholes not only permitted but, at times, even encouraged. But one had to be absolutely careful in it, as to not lose such privileges.
'Dormitories and the Prefect Bathroom are upstairs.' Zack pointed to the rather fancy staircase. 'The Prefect Bathroom can also be accessed outside this room, but it has some rather impressive privacy charms when someone's in there and doesn't wish to be disturbed.'
He told her the password. Should it ever change, they'll be informed of such from the Head Hogs or a Head of House. But if it came from the latter, then someone got in trouble to have caused a new password being needed.
'The dormitories are not intended to be lived in,' Zack went on to explain, while peering at a book someone had left open on a study desk further into the room. 'Each bed is no one's in particular. Most have four beds, but some have more or less. No particular rules than to keep them clean; leave it how you found it.'
He raised an eyebrow at her, awaiting further questions. Rather, he seemed to expect there'd be more.
Zack was quite casual, despite his informative tone and sense of authority as a Head Hog. He had a comfortable presence about him, as if anyone could say or ask what was really on their mind. If Amber had those kind of questions or not, at least a certain amount of boldness or courage wasn't required.
Amber listened to Zack, though a slight smirk appeared on her lips at his indication regarding entering the Prefect Room. Ah, loopholes. They were great!
She enjoyed discovering and exploiting them to a certain degree. Well, with all the chaos she got into at Hogwarts (mostly with her friends), one tended to need them.
However, she, of course, would use them in moderation and consider them carefully beforehand, especially now regarding the Prefect Room. She definitely didn’t want to be the one to ruin the atmosphere here!
To convey that feeling and that she understood, Amber nodded with a rather serious expression.
While Amber respected Zack as a Head Hog, the way he carried himself put her at ease. His presence was calming, making her feel quite comfortable. She liked that.
Amber, in general, had taken a liking to the Slytherin boy since she had met him near the dragon tapestry. He had appeared to be a fellow adventure seeker and never brushed off any of her questions, even the non-prefect related ones.
Therefore, she listened to his explanations with a smile and felt no need to hold back any further questions – especially as Zack’s expression clearly showed that he expected her to have more. She grinned. He was right, of course!
“Hm, I see, not divided then like the House dormitories…” Amber mused aloud the obvious, though not expecting an answer to it, her gaze following the staircase upstairs.
That meant, should she ever sleep here in the dormitory, she could expect to share a room with another Captain or Prefect, regardless of gender. Although, she expected privacy, especially from those authoritarian students, likewise if she would leave stuff of hers here behind.
Her gaze returned to Zack, before she continued with an actual question.
“So, I guess, the Prefect Room is like a retreat for Prefects and Captains? Or also a meeting room for them to exchange information and such?”
Amber pondered only a second long before another question escaped her mouth.
“Do Prefects and Captains use the room frequently?"
She wondered, how often she would encounter one of them when she herself entered. But that led her to another question.
"And what are they actually doing here or use it for? I doubt only bathing and sleeping,” Amber grinned.
She quite enjoyed asking the questions and learning more about the Prefect Room in the process, uncovering another part of Hogwarts previously hidden from her.
While she was excited for this new knowledge, she also asked for her own benefit, trying to grasp what others expected from her role as Quidditch Captain.
Why did Captains even have access to the room? How would they use it?
"Why should I use it?" She mulled over it aloud, more as a question to herself than directed at Zack, though she wouldn't mind an answer.
Right now, Amber didn’t even have a specific reason in mind on using the Prefect Room, other than because it seemed cool, like the Prefect Bathroom. She wondered what it looked like...
Amber’s gaze flickered to the staircase again, and one foot of her slid an inch forward, as if her body wanted to get going and explore the rooms upstairs.
Last Edit: Dec 6, 2023 20:15:23 GMT 10 by Amber Lloyd
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