Sunday, January 6, 1923
Outside the Spellcasters' clubhouse
2:00PM
Where had the winter break gone?
It wasn't a secret that the break surrounding Christmas couldn't hold a candle to the lengthy reprieve of summer, but the man felt like each one was growing shorter than the last. It might have been the new baby. The not-so-new baby. Jude was already 8 months old and had joined the Barlowe clan in their collective vendetta to ensure he got no sleep. Some days it felt easier to rest while at work. Usually when both boys were handed off to Julia while he slinked away to hear his own thoughts.
Today wasn't one such day.
Maddox was blessed to have both Jude strapped to his chest and Evander tugging at his pant legs. They'd been inside just moments earlier, getting the last of the things sorted out before the students arrived. The boy had tried to throw a tantrum when it was time to leave but had been swiftly reminded of the sort of father he had. Now he sulked and pulled, hoping his sad blue eyes would be enough to convince his father to give him another go with the...
Well.
No need to spoil the surprise.
"Welcome, welcome," he drawled, his tone its usual cadence of detached fatigue. "Let's hope we didn't have too much fun over the break. This drill will require some sharp wit, a bit of stamina and some knowledge across your subject areas. As has always been the case," he paused to look at some of the more skittish first years who still weren't entirely certain what this club was about, "nothing in there is likely to kill you. Do your best. The important thing is to try."
This time, his gaze fell on a particular first year, one who filled him with no end of worry when it came to magic.
Would she try? He no longer knew. Nothing in there would kill them, but she was certainly on her way to being hurt if she kept it up.
"One by one, step through the door. Wands out, stay alert."
They could begin when they were ready.
Round One
The professor wasn't joking when he said you would be tested physically. Barlowe's warning to be alert quickly reveals its intent as you step through the solid oak door and into a wide prairie.
For the first few seconds, all is peaceful. There is a gentle breeze that bends the blades of grass, and the freshness in the air leaves you convinced you really have been transported to the outside, rather than a simulated experience. Above you, the sky is darkening as heavy clouds roll across the horizon. It's not quite rain, but the heavens puff in display of their mood, and there is an unmistakable moisture permeating.
But you're not here to discuss the weather.
Something is coming – many 'somethings', in fact. The ground beneath you vibrates, low thuds hitting against the soles of your shoes. They're dimmed by the carpet of grass but not so much that you don't notice.
Soon enough, the cause comes into view.
A herd of mooncalves runs toward you, the number vast and capable of trampling you if you don't begin to move soon.
The wiser choice is running. When prey animals move with such speed, it's never because of a party. You don't see what chases them, of course not; you're already on the move. The problem with herds, however, is that they tend to wait for someone else to do the thinking. In this case, none have volunteered for the role, and it takes you all to the edge of a cliff.
There's no stopping now; the herd will continue pushing you forward. Hanging just over the cliff's edge, you see a branch.
You know what they say: when life gives you lemons—or questionable tree branches.
OOC: Hi friends! Welcome to the first of 2 drills for the term! If you haven't already, take a look at the guidelines for how they'll work. Even though it's one student at a time, please just assume it was your character's turn and they headed in. No need to wait for anyone else to be finished. In order to qualify for full points, you must post in 3 rounds plus an ending post for a total of 4 posts. The drill will run for 9 days, and I'll be updating on a more frequent basis than lessons. This means that the more frequently you post, the sooner you can complete the drill. After 9 days, the thread will close for grading. Think of this as a somewhat 'timed' event. There's no one way to complete any round, as there are a few acceptable options, so get creative and go with your gut! Please don't RP the result of your spell, only the attempt of it. The results will be posted by me whenever I give updates. If I update before you've posted, don't worry about it! This is all within your time (within the 9 days). Only one spell is allowed per round, so choose wisely. Please make an OOC note at the very end of your first post (only) stating your character's magical strength for the drill. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out <3
This drill ends on June 10.
His body felt numb, foreign somehow. Like he didn’t belong into it. The shock still sat bone-deep, laced with a hollow pain that never ceased, never rose. Just…stayed. A steady stream though his blood that he tried to ignore.
They had buried her yesterday, now he was back here.
It felt unreal, as though the world had stopped spinning but only for him. The school had allowed him to stay home longer, but none of them had. They had returned as a united front, just as expected. Duty over desire. They could mourn their mother in private, within themselves, outwardly all of them were expected to be Zdravkova.
Father had been clear.
Others might have skipped the first Spellcaster’s Drill, taking place right on the day of his return. But to Drago it was just the thing he needed. Focus, discipline, exertion. The hand holding his wand was curled into a tight grip, back straight as Professor Barlowe began his instructions.
"Welcome, welcome. Let's hope we didn't have too much fun over the break.”
The irony of this was almost a little bit funny.
“This drill will require some sharp wit, a bit of stamina and some knowledge across your subject areas. As has always been the case, nothing in there is likely to kill you. Do your best. The important thing is to try."
Drago almost hoped that whatever expected him today would beat him up good. Not that he wouldn’t try, he would. A little bit of physical pain might dim the emotional one though.
When told to, Drago was among the first to step through the door.
A soft breeze ruffled the grass beneath, eyes scanning the new environment he stepped into. It was quiet, peaceful. For a moment. Until the ground began to rumble, growing stronger with every second. Drago remained where he stood, waiting. For whatever was causing the ground to vibrate against his feet and after a moment, the approaching herd of mooncalves appeared, determined on their way to flatten anything in their path.
Running it was then. Perfect.
Drago turned and ran.
The stampeding grew louder as he pushed his body into a sprint, lungs pumping. It felt good, pushing everything he had into his legs, heart thumping violently, adrenaline flowing. He didn’t stop, even when the edge of a cliff opened up ahead, promising a very likely and very unpleasant fall. There wasn't much choice anyway, not if he didn't want to get trampled within the first five minutes of starting this.
Spotting a tree to his left, he steered that way, pointing his wand. “Duro!”, he tried, hopefully turning the frail looking tree into stone, right the second before he jumped, hands wrapping around the branch before the herd could reach him.
Magical strength: Power
The boy had a case of serious senioritis, worsened because he wasn't actually a senior. The sixth year was all but fed up with school, trials, library shifts, exams and everything else that Hogwarts required of him. He was itching to get out into the real world, off to University where he could stretch his independence and quickly get through law school so he could focus on his real ambition - becoming an auror.
Not just any auror, but the kind that caused a shudder through evil people when they heard his name. Over the past few terms Benji had given a lot of thought to what he wanted his life to look like, and while James would need him in his later years to run the family and manage the estate, until then, he was free to do as he wished.
As long as he got his barrister license first.
It wasn't that Benji didn't really care for becoming the family lawyer. With Leo now locked up in Azkaban, the Laurences needed someone to take the helm and protect their name with the fervency that only one of their own could wield.
But it didn't mean it was his first choice.
Spellcasters leaned into that choice a bit. It was the closest he'd come to feeling like someone who knew how to wield their own power, and it was good practice for the trials he'd inevitably face as a junior auror and later a full-fledged one.
Maddox was never one to take it easy on the kids, and as the first in line, Benji knew he had something to prove. He grinned down at Evander, ruffling his hair a bit, despite how cranky the toddler looked. "Cheer up bubs," he said. "You get to watch Benny go fight some crazy beast."
Probably, Benji didn't actually know. "And after, I'll take you to the kitchens and we'll hit up Toddles for some treats. Sound good?" His stepdad probably wouldn't care if it meant he got one less child tugging on his trousers. Jude...well Benji couldn't help out there. Julia wouldn't appreciate her infant being fed cauldron cakes.
Stepping through the door, Benji found himself in a seemingly quiet field. Picturesque, really. Which meant it wouldn't be for long.
No sooner had the thought crossed his mind, then the ground began to vibrate. Benji drew his wand, hazel eyes casting across the cloud-covered prairie. In the distance, something formed, growing and growing until the boy could make out a series of long necks and dopey gaits, rushing directly for him. "Of course," he breathed. It would be something heart-palpitating right out the gate. There was never any easing into things when it came to Spellcasters, but he supposed that was the same in the world of aurors.
Not wasting a second, the boy sprinted, not fancying a trampling, as he ran across the field as fast as his feet could carry him, spells and incantations rushing through his mind. Did he know something to stop them? In the haze of adrenaline that coursed through him, Benji found his mind was a blur - a problem he would need to overcome quickly, considering the edge that was quickly gaining on him and the herd that chased him down.
"Shiiiit," the boy huffed, his eyes falling on a long branch that hung over the side of the cliff. He rushed for it, feet scrambling up the bark as his hands clawed against the wood. When he'd made it to the center, the boy quickly sat upright, one hand steadying himself against the branch, while he flicked his wand at the approaching herd.
"Arresto Momentum!" he shouted, waving his arms in a wide berth, hoping to stop them before the poor creatures tumbled over the edge.
Power
i'm always ready for a war again
who's gonna save me from myself
Spellcasters, Avery mused, seemed like a lot of fun.
When he'd first heard about the club in Charms class, he'd known right away that he'd sign up. The young boy had no illusions that he'd be the best in this extra-curricular or that he'd even pass the trials that were presented to him.
Rather, Avery saw this as the greatest practical learning opportunity he had been offered. A chance to really try out his hand at the spells he knew and learn from the mistakes he would inevitably make. He was nervous of course, but his excitement outweighed it as he practically bounced on his feet, waiting in line behind a few of the upper classmen.
He grinned up at Professor Barlowe - the man one - saddled with his two babies that were often seen traded between him and the lady one. Evander, the older one was called, and he only knew it because the little boy's name was hollered in exasperation so often. The little one strapped to the professor's chest - he didn't know, but was sure within a year or two, he'd know it better than he cared to.
"Great day, huh professor?" he asked excitedly as Benji Laurence disappeared into the doorway ahead of them. "I know you can't tell me what's in there, and honestly I don't wanna know." He didn't. He liked the surprise of it all, considering he wasn't big on surprises in general. "But how cool would it be if you had some killer sheep in there sometime? Did you know that if you come across an aggressive sheep, it's usually for hormonal reasons? That means that a girl sheep's in season." He looked pointedly at Professor Barlowe and then at the baby at his chest.
"You uh, you know what I mean right? You have babies and all that. Anyway," the boy took a deep breath as he continued his rambling, "During breeding season we have to keep all the boy sheep in seperate pens, or they'll fight each other. Headbutts and all, like rams. So maybe if you spray like a girl sheep scent in the trial, you could maybe get a really aggressive sheep sometime."
He paused. "Maybe a fake sheep. Since we don't really wanna hurt one, right Professor?"
Before he could wait or an answer, he was being nudged towards the big oak door for his turn. Splendid. The boy couldn't wait.
Inside, Avery found himself in a grassy prairie, the sky seeming to darken slightly with puffy clouds, but nothing that looked too ominous. He breathed deeply as the soft breeze filled his nostrils, the environment reminding him of his home in North England during the springtime.
A buzzing ricocheted beneath the soles of his shoes, and Avery looked down, wondering if he'd maybe stepped on something inadvertently, but finding nothing, he glanced up, his eyes widening at the herd that was making a beeline for him.
He'd seen such a thing before, when the sheep were spooked in the meadows, and it took a team of dogs to wrangle them back in. There were...no cattle dogs here, and whatever those things were that were running at him looked like business. Without hesitation, Avery ran, practically able to hear his father's voice shouting for him to get out of the way.
The boy whimpered as he looked back over his shoulder, his wand tight in his hand as he ran through his list of spells that he knew. It was an admittedly short list, but he had to try something. Especially as it looked like the edge of a cliff was coming into view.
"Oh God," Avery muttered, glancing back over his shoulder again. He could lie down in the grass and hope for the best, but he knew better. Frightened herds didn't stop just because they were trampling a child. It was a brainless hivemind, all focused on the instinct to run.
Which probably meant something scarier was behind it.
Putting the thought out of his head, Avery rushed for a branch he saw hanging over the cliff. It was better than being trampled, even if the inevitable fall was going to be terrifying. He...he only really knew foundational spells and such. Nothing that would help steady the branch or stop the herd.
As he climbed onto the branch, wrapping his arms and legs around the bulk of it, Avery screwed his eyes shut and pointed his wand at the branch. If nothing else and it broke, maybe he could keep from falling to his death.
"Wingardium Leviosa!"
Endurance
How wonderful to return after the winter break and find himself immediately at a gathering of the Spellcaster's Society, the club closest to the still-illegal duels that he like and the one where, perhaps more than in duels, he could show off his magical talent. The classes were interesting, and it was also wonderful that they were open to everyone regardless of the year they belong to. The older ones taught the younger ones, and the younger ones generally surprised the older ones. It was magical.
That day wasn't just a gathering of enlightened minds that lay before him, but a real challenge prepared by their Charms teacher. Who knows what was behind the door? He was eager to find out, but he would have let the others go first if they'd wanted, speculating on the content with those who had remained outside waiting their turn. He laughed when someone suggested that the challenge would be to fight the teacher himself. It was unrealistic, but also very interesting. Between the lawlessness of dragons and challenges worthy of a cursed Egyptian pyramid, the options were the most disparate, and who knows, it was perhaps different for every person who entered the room!
Finally his turn came. He drew his trusty wand from the holster on his belt, wand held high and ready to attack, and crossed the threshold of the door. Slowly at first, then with ever-increasing confidence, his eyes darted from side to side, ready to intercept any danger that might lurk in the shadows. The shadows soon transformed into a pristine field, green and lush, corrupted by a sky that threatened rain, or worse. Perhaps they needed protection from the weather, and some kind of spell like impervius might come in handy, he thought, observing the situation before him. On the contrary, he no longer even wondered where the evanescent entrance door had gone, or how to get back.
He took a few more steps before feeling the ground shake slightly, then he heard something. The two stimuli combined, growing louder and closer. In an instant, at the edge of his field of vision, there was already a horde of some animal, one he didn't yet recognize, charging in his direction. He sighed, vaguely hiding a curse. Animals, really?! His mother would probably be able to tell him their breed, name, age, weight, and everything else. Gareth, on the other hand, only knew that it was best to run away from a herd of creatures like that. There was no way to stop them all in place, perhaps not even attack them to make them stop coming in that direction. Perhaps he could scare them off with a wall of fire or something similar, but the prairie seemed too green and the sky too humid for him to create something so large and threatening in such a short time, especially with mastered spells like Pepper Breath.
He began to run. He was certain that the beasts were much faster than him, that they would catch up with him, but what else could he do? He gripped his wand tighter as his gaze wandered from the herd, ever closer, to some escape route. There was some sort of crevasse in the distance, and above it, possibly out of reach of the herd, a branch that could perhaps support its weight… perhaps. Perhaps with a little help from magic. While he still ran in its direction, waiting for the right moment and the right aim, his wand pointed toward the branch, ready to dance in the air to perform the magical gestures of the spell he had in mind. Once within range, the wand would move and his voice would almost implore a “Carpe Retractum” followed by the advance of his free arm and his entire body ina aan attempt to hug said branch. The idea was to cling to it with physical strength and magic, attempting to create a bond strong enough that not even the passing of that endless herd of mooncalfs could break it.
And the mooncalfs must have been truly crazy to attempt to cross that chasm. Or desperate.
A bit like him, after all.
-------------------------------------------------
Magical strenght chosen: Control
The babies were all she needed.
Rae perked up from the moment she approached the door to the clubhouse to find little Jude strapped to his dad and Evander clinging to him. Where the girl could – and often chose to be – rough around the edges when it came to the bulk of Hogwarts's students, it was well known that she had a soft spot for the littles. Rae had had the time of her life watching them over the summer on the few occasions she happened to be on 'this side of the pond'.
The boy she'd chased giggling through the fields didn't look too happy now. Rae crouched by him, making silly faces while she waited for the others to go on ahead of her. When Barlowe had first started the club, she was always eager to be among the first to go in. Age hadn't made her less interested in the drills, just more tempered in her patience. The Slytherin knew that something would be waiting and that half the time it would leave her side-eyeing her professor, but nothing that required her shoving and scrambling to yank the door open.
When there was a natural pause in willing participants, Rae abandoned Evander's side with a little kiss on the cheek to cheer him up before sauntering through the door and into ...
Huh.
Where did the man even find the energy to conjure such large and lavish illusions? Barlowe's dark-rimmed eyes looked ready to shut even on good days. Then again, at the rate he was popping children, he must have had energy for some things.
She stood still, knowing her challenge would find her soon enough. She wasn't swayed by the breeze or the serenity; rather, she was alert.
The rumbling was the first thing she noticed.
Turning, a cloud of white swept toward her, its features becoming distinct as the herd of mooncalves finally came into view. At a younger age, Rae may have wondered where the man had found so many of them. Knowing what she did, she wanted to know where he found the time. It was a question for someone who'd already finished the challenge.
Instead, Rae turned on her heels and ran, keeping pace with the herd until she spotted the upcoming–cliff?
Fuck's sake, Barlowe.
With the edge approaching and only a branch for a Hail Mary, Rae whipped out her wand and attempted, "Carpe Retractum!"
Please work. She didn't think she'd fancy knowing what awaited her at the bottom.
Power
I'm bulletproof, nothing to lose
✗ ✗ Fire Away ✗ ✗
Kathryn hadn't minded being told to sign up for the Spellcaster's Society. Not at the beginning. Learning what it entailed and how poorly she did as a result, her attitude toward the whole thing had abandoned its indifference and soured significantly. Given a choice, the little girl may have opted out. Mr. Maddox had...suggested that it wasn't as optional as her mother had first made it seem. Her own desire to remain occupied had been eroded by the desire not to be here.
But she showed up anyway. There was no real choice.
When she first entered Hogwarts in the official capacity of 'student', she'd been told in no uncertain terms that she wouldn't be allowed to spend her days in her mother's room. That was a privilege reserved for the babies.
The babies that appeared as she approached the door.
The sound of Evander's cheerful "Katie!" was worse than nails on a chalkboard. She never acknowledged the boy who'd managed to tangle himself with Ruth. Never lifted her gaze to note any disappointment that might have appeared on Mr. Maddox's expression at her icy reception of his son. Kathryn's gaze remained firmly on the door to the clubhouse. It wasn't usually locked, and there wasn't usually a crowd gathered outside in wait.
In the weeks leading up to the break, some of the others had begun talking about 'drills' but it had never crossed her mind to ask what they meant.
Did she regret not asking now? No, but it was certainly inconvenient.
She let the others go in ahead of her, in no particular rush to get on with whatever might have been happening on the inside. It hadn't escaped her notice just how long each student had taken on the inside, even if the intervals between each walk-in were short.
Nearing the end of the line, Mr. Maddox placed a hand firmly at her back and nudged her through the door.
It took her several seconds for her brain to transition from the stony corridor to the wide-open prairie. She stood frozen in the middle of this new and great unknown. The precious time that passed was time she didn't have, and the next thing she knew, she was being surrounded by...by...mooncalves?
She never screamed. She never ran. Instead, Kathryn let herself get carried away by the herd, unsure she was meant to do anything at all. No one told her there would be creatures or that she had to do something about them. No one told her about the cliff. She didn't notice it until the mooncalves had already taken her over the edge.
[No action]
Control
I am my mother's
✗ ✗ Savage Daughter ✗ ✗
Round Two
Drago
Fail!
The branch, as the Gryffindor will find, is sturdy enough on its own. More than fine. In the best shape of its entire life. The branch is not in danger and is not the one that needs to be fortified. The strong boy has somewhat the right idea, wanting to strengthen the place he intends to land, but he'll quickly find that accessing the tree is the harder part. With the stampeding mooncalves plummeting over the edge of the cliff, he only manages to get pushed further and further away. Perhaps he should've tried a spell that would've taken him to the branch – just to be safe.
Alas, the edge of the cliff can't support the weight of such a massive group for such extended periods of time. The ground beneath you begins to crumble, from the very edges inwards. Without the support of the tree, you sink with it. Never fear, the professor means it when he says you're unlikely to die. You don't fall far before solid ground miraculously appears beneath your feet.
The entire cliff is gone, as are the mooncalves. If you weren't already halfway to being traumatised by the sudden onslaught, it may have been easy to convince yourself it had only been a dream.
No such time for speculation of that nature. An eerie fog is rolling in. It quickly encircles you and is thick enough to blot out the already bleak light from the heavens above. Don't you worry, a new light has arrived in its stead.
Is it moving closer? It certainly seems that way.
It sways ominously from side to side as if beckoning you closer. Hollering erupts, echoing through the space until it becomes unclear where it's coming from. It is complemented by a series of low, deep grunts that appear to be getting louder. Then it comes, a flaming fireball headed in your direction. It's unmistakable now as the figure appears through the mist.
OOC: Two spells are allowed for this round given the nature of the threat. They will be rolled separately.
Benji
Fail
Such a strong, fast boy. The years without quidditch had done nothing to weaken the Hufflepuff's physique. Of course, physique only goes so far in a sea of panicking, frantic mooncalves. It's not certain what's got them in enough of a tizzy to propel themselves off the side of the cliff, but Benji will find it nigh on impossible to even get to the branch with all the bodies constantly crashing into him. He reaches, but tries in vain as the creatures carry him right over the edge. Even the spell does him little good. It slows what it can, but the backlog is immense and the white sea unending, and soon the force of the running tidal wave shoves those slowed mooncalves right over with the boy. Perhaps it would've been better to use a spell that could take him safely to the branch.
Alas, the edge of the cliff can't support the weight of such a massive group for such extended periods of time. The ground begins to crumble, from the very edges inwards. Without the support of the tree, you sink with it. Never fear, the professor means it when he says you're unlikely to die. You don't fall far before solid ground miraculously appears beneath your feet.
The entire cliff is gone, as are the mooncalves. If you weren't already halfway to being traumatised by the sudden onslaught, it may have been easy to convince yourself it had only been a dream.
No such time for speculation of that nature. An eerie fog is rolling in. It quickly encircles you and is thick enough to blot out the already bleak light from the heavens above. Don't you worry, a new light has arrived in its stead.
Is it moving closer? It certainly seems that way.
It sways ominously from side to side as if beckoning you closer. Hollering erupts, echoing through the space until it becomes unclear where it's coming from. It is complemented by a series of low, deep grunts that appear to be getting louder. Then it comes, a flaming fireball headed in your direction. It's unmistakable now as the figure appears through the mist.
OOC: Two spells are allowed for this round given the nature of the threat. They will be rolled separately.
Avery
fail!
Little Avery Hale wouldn't have been the first to overestimate his ability to reach the branch on his own strength in the middle of a sea of frantic mooncalves. He also wouldn't be the first to find the action entirely futile. Small as the boy is, it doesn't take much for the rampaging herd to drag him along. He's lost in the tide and pulled ever further from the tree that should've been his refuge. Perhaps a spell that could've taken him to the tree would've been more ideal in such a harrowing situation. The levitation charm, while well-intentioned, does nothing for the branch that never leaves the tree
Alas, the edge of the cliff can't support the weight of such a massive group for such extended periods of time. The ground beneath you begins to crumble, from the very edges inwards. Without the support of the tree, you sink with it. Never fear, the professor means it when he says you're unlikely to die. You don't fall far before solid ground miraculously appears beneath your feet.
The entire cliff is gone, as are the mooncalves. If you weren't already halfway to being traumatised by the sudden onslaught, it may have been easy to convince yourself it had only been a dream.
No such time for speculation of that nature. An eerie fog is rolling in. It quickly encircles you and is thick enough to blot out the already bleak light from the heavens above. Don't you worry, a new light has arrived in its stead.
Is it moving closer? It certainly seems that way.
It sways ominously from side to side as if beckoning you closer. Hollering erupts, echoing through the space until it becomes unclear where it's coming from. It is complemented by a series of low, deep grunts that appear to be getting louder. Then it comes, a flaming fireball headed in your direction. It's unmistakable now as the figure appears through the mist.
OOC: Two spells are allowed for this round given the nature of the threat. They will be rolled separately.
Gareth
Success!
Hidden strength: Control +2
What a marvel of innovation urgency can bring. Gareth, despite being under pressure from the stampeding herd, manages to find his wit and charms expertise to see himself out of the pickle. The spell shoots from his wand just as the many moving bodies get him to the edge of the cliff. His control is impeccable. The rope shoots from his wand, latching onto the branch and yanking the boy free of the herd that cascades over the side of the cliff. He manages to save himself and not a moment too soon.
Alas, the edge of the cliff can't support the weight of such a massive group for such extended periods of time. The ground beneath you and the tree begins to crumble, from the very edges inwards. Without the support of the tree, you sink with it. Never fear, the professor means it when he says you're unlikely to die. You don't fall far before solid ground miraculously appears beneath your feet.
The entire cliff is gone, as are the mooncalves. If you weren't already halfway to being traumatised by the sudden onslaught, it may have been easy to convince yourself it had only been a dream.
No such time for speculation of that nature. An eerie fog is rolling in. It quickly encircles you and is thick enough to blot out the already bleak light from the heavens above. Don't you worry, a new light has arrived in its stead.
Is it moving closer? It certainly seems that way.
It sways ominously from side to side as if beckoning you closer. Hollering erupts, echoing through the space until it becomes unclear where it's coming from. It is complemented by a series of low, deep grunts that appear to be getting louder. Then it comes, a flaming fireball headed in your direction. It's unmistakable now as the figure appears through the mist.
OOC: Two spells are allowed for this round given the nature of the threat. They will be rolled separately.
Rae
Fail!
It's the right move, the perfect move, the one that would've gotten her out of her bind. Unfortunately for the Slytherin, she lacks the control in her spell to get it latching on where she needs it to. The spell shoots from her wand without a hitch, but where does it lands? Wrapped around a particular mooncalf that comes flying toward her from the force of said spell. All the way, the herd pushes her further along, carrying her away to the very edge of the cliff, where her doom begins to look a little more likely.
Alas, the edge of the cliff can't support the weight of such a massive group for such extended periods of time. The ground beneath you begins to crumble, from the very edges inwards. Without the support of the tree, you sink with it. Never fear, the professor means it when he says you're unlikely to die. You don't fall far before solid ground miraculously appears beneath your feet.
The entire cliff is gone, as are the mooncalves. If you weren't already halfway to being traumatised by the sudden onslaught, it may have been easy to convince yourself it had only been a dream.
No such time for speculation of that nature. An eerie fog is rolling in. It quickly encircles you and is thick enough to blot out the already bleak light from the heavens above. Don't you worry, a new light has arrived in its stead.
Is it moving closer? It certainly seems that way.
It sways ominously from side to side as if beckoning you closer. Hollering erupts, echoing through the space until it becomes unclear where it's coming from. It is complemented by a series of low, deep grunts that appear to be getting louder. Then it comes, a flaming fireball headed in your direction. It's unmistakable now as the figure appears through the mist.
OOC: Two spells are allowed for this round given the nature of the threat. They will be rolled separately.
Kathryn
Fail!
Doing nothing was certainly...a choice.
Without opposition, the herd has no difficulty carrying along the frozen little girl who never quite seems to find her bearings. No spell, no resistance, just a Ravenclaw adrift in a sea of white fur and panic. Kathryn is taken to the cliff's edge, the abyss below staring her in those impassive blue eyes.
Alas, the edge of the cliff can't support the weight of such a massive group for such extended periods of time. The ground beneath you begins to crumble from the very edges inwards. Without the support of the tree, you sink with it. Never fear, the professor means it when he says you're unlikely to die. You don't fall far before solid ground miraculously appears beneath your feet.
The entire cliff is gone, as are the mooncalves. If you weren't already halfway to being traumatised by the sudden onslaught, it may have been easy to convince yourself it had only been a dream.
No such time for speculation of that nature. An eerie fog is rolling in. It quickly encircles you and is thick enough to blot out the already bleak light from the heavens above. Don't you worry, a new light has arrived in its stead.
Is it moving closer? It certainly seems that way.
It sways ominously from side to side as if beckoning you closer. Hollering erupts, echoing through the space until it becomes unclear where it's coming from. It is complemented by a series of low, deep grunts that appear to be getting louder. Then it comes, a flaming fireball headed in your direction. It's unmistakable now as the figure appears through the mist.
OOC: Two spells are allowed for this round given the nature of the threat. They will be rolled separately.
Round Three
N/A
Finish Line
N/A
She'd...missed...?
Fuck's sake. If there was one thing that Spellcaster's Society could do, it was humble the girl in a way other aspects of her school life could never. It was reminiscent of the term before, where she'd only been trying to cast a simple lumos and had been greeted by a sputtering wand. Her. Ruth Anaya Elliot, sputtering on a lumos while a known maneater chased her through the forbidden forest. She couldn't explain it, either. Later that night, she'd cast Lumos without issue and had been doing so since without so much as an errant spark.
Her wand wasn't acting up this time. The rope did materialise, but with all the rotten mooncalves constantly slamming into her, it had been hard to steady her aim.
That was always it, wasn't it? When it came to firepower, Rae had it in spades. A wall to explode? Something that needed shattering? She'd get it done in a flash. The control behind her magic was sometimes her downfall – as was clearly the case here.
Sigh.
She'd have to find some time to be in the club room more. It would be difficult with everything else she had going on, but something had to give. There was no way she could keep ending up in these situa–
"Holy shit!"
Rae barely managed to duck as the poor mooncalf came flying at her from the force of her spell. It was a moment she could only find comical because of its absurdity. She watched it pitch right over the edge of the cliff and off into the abyss below.
She couldn't laugh, though, not when the ground was literally beginning to fall apart. The 6th-year tried scrambling out of the way, but the whole thing went down. Rae braced for impact that never came. Something steadied her as the scene changed. What light there used to be was now gone, and she was forced to again try to anticipate whatever death trap the professor had laid out for them. The fog had her back on high alert in an instant. In her experience, a lot of things tended to lurk within fogs, and she wasn't trying to be taken by surprise.
Was that...a light...?
Why did this feel like deja vu?
When the ball of fire came hurtling toward her, she suddenly understood why. Hinkypunk. Got it. Charms just the term before. Barlowe wasn't about to get her with this one. Rae chose the offensive. While the light moved closer to her, she made her own sure strides toward it. No way she could miss a second time, right?
"Lumos duo!" she tried, before quickly following it up with "Flipendo!"
With all the people she'd knocked on their asses, she'd call foul if THAT one didn't work. Rae would march herself right to the nearest exit and force the professor to explain whatever tricks he put into the room to fuck with her magic.
I'm bulletproof, nothing to lose
✗ ✗ Fire Away ✗ ✗
It didn't take any time for Kathryn to become overwhelmed. There were mooncalves everywhere, touching her, slamming into her, wrinkling her clothing and doing everything they could to ruin the neat bun she'd walked in with. How could she focus on whatever challenge this was meant to be when she was fighting desperately to keep her gloves on her hand while being hauled along? How was she meant to remember her spellwork when every nerve in her body was screaming to be removed from this hellscape of constant contact?
It was a losing battle from the start, she knew. Now it was a sensory nightmare from which there felt like no coming back. Was she meant to save herself? Kathryn never saw the branch. Even if she did, it was impossibly far away, and there were too many creatures in her way.
The edge came quickly, her world turning upside down as she pitched forward and tumbled in with the others.
Inside her chest, her heart was seconds from explosion. It beat like a thunderous war drum, quickening until it made her entire body vibrate. Once impassive blue eyes widened with genuine terror as she stared into the darkness that swallowed all the mooncalves before her. A crippling realisation gripped her. She was next. Like them, she would be swallowed into the impenetrable darkness, despite the promises no one would die.
Would she die or be trapped there until someone else came to save her? Would anyone notice she was gone?
The questions no longer needed an answer. Something did save her. It brought her trembling feet back to solid ground in time to see the fog.
Kathryn withdrew inside herself, her shoulders caving in and her legs shuffling while she tried to understand what was happening. It was darker than before, and the fog made it impossible to see more than a few feet in any direction. She must've looked a mess. The little girl could feel the way her bun had loosened and the loose strands of hair that had fallen into her face. They were her focus. Not the approaching light. Not the grunting. It was the way she felt pulled away and the image of the abyss that had burned itself into the back of moist blue eyes.
It hurt to breathe, each intake sharp and shallow.
Then the fire came. It rained down before she could register that it had ever been lit and landed only inches from where she stood. Still, she didn't move, frozen with nerves that had already fried themselves obsolete.
Why was there fire?
[No action]
I am my mother's
✗ ✗ Savage Daughter ✗ ✗
The herd of mooncalves caught up with him before he could make it to the tree, surrounding him like an impenetrable wall, a current too strong to escape. His spell fired away into nothing, useless as he tried to push against the animals’ bodies, but to no use. A whole herd was simply too much to fight against.
And as the herd continued to throw itself over the cliff, the ground began to crumble. Breaking away at the edges and inching closer, threatening to take him wherever it was these animals went. Jumping to their literal death rather than face what they were running from. Quite the omen but nothing that had him actually worried. First of all, worrying didn't help, and secondly, this was a simulation.
Still, he tried. And failed.
The earth broke away from beneath his feet and Drago fell, wand gripped tightly, but before he could worry about softening the impact, the ground rose up to meet him. He landed with a grunt, looking up to avoid getting buried beneath the falling mooncalves but they were gone.
Everything was gone.
Thick fog rolled in from all around, surrounding him a moment later, obscuring the sky. A hush fell, engulfing him in quiet and an eery stillness, one that promised he wasn't as alone as it looked. Drago didn’t move, wand raised before him as he waited. Surely this Professor Barlowe had more in store than mooncalves, and it was bound to come.
It did, in the form of a moving light, bobbing closer.
Or just swaying? It was hard to tell. Easy to spot however was the fireball hurdling his way.
Drago moved out of its way, pointing his wand in the direction of what he was sure had to be a Hinkypunk trying to lure him away. “Immobulus!”, he tried, stepping closer as he followed up with a sharp, “Confringo!”
His hope was to freeze the thing in place before it could shoot more flames, to then blast it apart in one swift manoeuvre. Quick work.
Round Two
N/A
Round Three
Rae
Success!
Hidden strength: Power +2
What started out as a lacklustre performance by the Slytherin prefects soon turns into the sort of spectacle she's known for. Under threat? No problem. The Lumos duo, fuelled with raw power, solidifies the creature in seconds. It's a true marvel, only to be outdone by the subsequent Flipendo. It's unclear what the creature must have done to Elliot in a past life, but the magic absolutely shatters the creature, leaving not a single trace.
Anger management...is a thing, even when one is not so angry.
Is it just you, or is the infinite space becoming smaller? With fog this thick, it takes some time for you to see it curling in on itself, but soon enough you can see the magic folding at the metaphoric seams. Then just like that, the fog vanished. It is not a gentle moving away; there is no wind to sweep it from your view. The vanishment is sudden and final.
You're alone again, but this time, the path before you isn't so clear.
There are no golden roads to follow or rainbows with pots of gold at the end. The abyss has returned on the edges of the ground you stand on, deep and unfathomable. Attempting to walk over its edge will do you no good. An invisible wall blocks your path. This path goes all the way around, trapping you within a box you cannot see.
It's not all barrenness, however. The professor has left one route for you. In the centre of this invisible box sits a lake. What you once thought was only a reflection of the abyss, a black mirror reflecting the unknown, reveals itself to be liquid. Drawing closer, you immediately clock a crucial detail. It's deep. You won't be sticking your head inside and magically appearing on the other side of your magical journey.
The next thing?
There's a light coming from somewhere deep within. Perhaps it's your key to getting out of there. This will surely test your metal. No way around, only through. Can you make it?
Perhaps there's a spell that might make your journey more feasible.
Kathryn
Fail!
At some point, no action becomes nothing more than foolhardiness dressed in a quiet suit.
Kathryn's stillness will do her no good. Her refusal to draw her wand and make even the smallest attempt leads her only further into peril. The next ball of fire doesn't miss. It connects squarely with her chest, flashing outward to burn her neck and face. The uniform is charred, and there is a subtle scent of burnt skin mingling with the swampy air. The creature doesn't slow its advance, realising it has the upper hand; it rains down balls of fire, each more accurate than the last, until all of her is consumed in flames.
The drill is built for contingencies such as this. The flames and the creature both vanish before further damage can be done.
Is it just you, or is the infinite space becoming smaller? With fog this thick, it takes some time for you to see it curling in on itself, but soon enough you can see the magic folding at the metaphoric seams. Then just like that, the fog vanished. It is not a gentle moving away; there is no wind to sweep it from your view. The vanishment is sudden and final.
You're alone again, but this time, the path before you isn't so clear.
There are no golden roads to follow or rainbows with pots of gold at the end. The abyss has returned on the edges of the ground you stand on, deep and unfathomable. Attempting to walk over its edge will do you no good. An invisible wall blocks your path. This path goes all the way around, trapping you within a box you cannot see.
It's not all barrenness, however. The professor has left one route for you. In the centre of this invisible box sits a lake. What you once thought was only a reflection of the abyss, a black mirror reflecting the unknown, reveals itself to be liquid. Drawing closer, you immediately clock a crucial detail. It's deep. You won't be sticking your head inside and magically appearing on the other side of your magical journey.
The next thing?
There's a light coming from somewhere deep within. Perhaps it's your key to getting out of there. This will surely test your metal. No way around, only through. Can you make it?
Perhaps there's a spell that might make your journey more feasible.
Drago
Fail!
The funny thing about hinkypunks – hilarious, truly; perhaps someday the boy would laugh – was that they were...wispy clouds that could pass through things and were thus...unable to be hit in that state. A strapping boy of good breeding such as Zdravkova needs no such reminders as he flexes his magical prowess and chooses to go in an entirely opposite direction. He shoots the Immobulus, and it goes right through the creature into the grass. The Confringo uproots the earth in a true display of raw and impressive power. Some of the earth is blown back at him.
The hinkypunk remains unscathed, firing balls of fire to its heart's content. The fire latches onto his sleeve, creeping up his arm as another ball hits him square in the chest. Light and fire erupt, blinding him temporarily. The fire burns his skin, sure to leave marks unless he gets to the hospital wing after. Perhaps if he'd tried solidifying it with light first...
The drill is built for contingencies such as this. The flames and the creature both vanish before further damage can be done.
Is it just you, or is the infinite space becoming smaller? With fog this thick, it takes some time for you to see it curling in on itself, but soon enough you can see the magic folding at the metaphoric seams. Then just like that, the fog vanished. It is not a gentle moving away; there is no wind to sweep it from your view. The vanishment is sudden and final.
You're alone again, but this time, the path before you isn't so clear.
There are no golden roads to follow or rainbows with pots of gold at the end. The abyss has returned on the edges of the ground you stand on, deep and unfathomable. Attempting to walk over its edge will do you no good. An invisible wall blocks your path. This path goes all the way around, trapping you within a box you cannot see.
It's not all barrenness, however. The professor has left one route for you. In the centre of this invisible box sits a lake. What you once thought was only a reflection of the abyss, a black mirror reflecting the unknown, reveals itself to be liquid. Drawing closer, you immediately clock a crucial detail. It's deep. You won't be sticking your head inside and magically appearing on the other side of your magical journey.
The next thing?
There's a light coming from somewhere deep within. Perhaps it's your key to getting out of there. This will surely test your metal. No way around, only through. Can you make it?
Perhaps there's a spell that might make your journey more feasible.
Finish Line
N/A
In an instant, his magic had gripped the branch like another arm clinging tightly to it, dragging his body toward it and holding it tightly, like heroes in bedtime stories.
The earthquake of hooves grew stronger and stronger, so much so that even the ground and the tree began to shake under the weight of Mooncalf's herd, which was running at breakneck speed from a still-unknown enemy, one that could not be seen even from that elevated position.
The herd continued on, toward the cliff. Gareth watched them, more out of fear that their advance would weaken his grip than anything else, and watched them as they plunged into the ravine, one after another, toward certain death. There was no other side to leap toward; they were literally heading for slaughter for some unknown reason. What danger was so grave that they would choose death over it? Captivity? Slavery?
He watched them fall, the ground beginning to give way under their weight, but as he watched them fall, he felt nothing. It was all a simulation, and he knew it, but even if it was true, he wasn't sure he would have felt anything for those beasts. Not for their fall, not for their final bellows before disappearing into the shadows.
But the ground continued to give way. The tree swayed, the branch became increasingly unstable. Until it happened. He felt gravity pulling him downward, toward the herd of mooncalf, toward the void. Nononononono, he thought, still searching for something other than the branch that was falling with him. The loose ground was no good, and there was nothing else to hold on to.
He fell. It was all an illusion, but the sensation was real, the wind puffing up his uniform, the speed with which the light was receding. For a moment he even felt fear, real terror.
And yet he crashed onto a floor without the mutilated corpses of beasts. Or maybe he simply stopped, because there wasn't the pain of a fall from an exorbitant height. Or maybe he'd stopped in midair as if under the arresto momentum spell and then collapsed to the ground; without any visual aids it was hard to tell. "Thanks" he said, turning to the professor who must have been watching from somewhere in the shadows. It was a fourth wall break, but it's always better to be thankful for any help you receive, even during seemingly lethal but legally anything-but-lethal tests.
He looked around again, in what was a black wasteland with a thick fog that was hovering ever closer, thicker and thicker, blocking even the single light coming from above. Was he supposed to find something in that fog? It would have been very difficult without any reference points. But no, something else found him.
A warm, fiery light was getting closer and closer, cutting through the fog and revealing someone hiding behind it. An enemy, or an ally, he couldn't tell. But he had recognized a fireball traveling in his direction.
His wand would have risen in the direction of the fireball and almost without thinking, it would have danced while his lips wrote "Immobulus" in the air, intending to slow down time, the fireball, the fog, enough to allow him to get out of the fireball's path by swerving to the left and seeking the best angle to see his presumed adversary. "Revelio" he would then throw at them, hoping to reveal the identity of his friend, or more likely enemy, and perhaps so he could see through the fog just enough to avoid further danger.
He had a half-idea of who that figure -the professor himself, of course— but he would have to play this game pretending not to know.
His first spell went through, and his second did too.
Earth and grass splattered the front of his robes, specks of it hitting his face as he stood in brief disbelief. The hinkypunk went wholly unaffected, waving its lantern, shooting its fire balls. One brushed his sleeve, flames latching onto the fabric with eagerness just as another ball of fire hit him to the chest. Cursing, Drago patted the flames out with his hands, ready to cast another spell a second later but the creature was gone.
A low growl rumbled up his throat, teeth grinding. So far this wasn’t going quite as planned but at least he got what he’d asked for. Something to beat him up a bit. The sting to his arm was a good start to that and the frustration a great continuation. What were the characteristics of hinkypunks again? He couldn't remember. That was most unnerving.
He shook the hinkypunk from his head, hoping the murkiness would follow.
For a moment, nothing happened, only the fog and him, standing in silence. After a while the space finally seemed to shift. Drago squinted into the mist, unsure whether he was seeing things right but yes, that was the fog curling and moving until, suddenly, it simply vanished.
Before him, the ground gaped open once more, deep, dark, uninviting. Drago peeked over the edge, eyes and ears alert. When he tried to kick a rock over, it merely ricocheted, landing back by his feet. Not what Barlowe intended then.
Turning on the spot, Drago faced away from the cliff and walked. Something was bound to cross his path, sooner or later. And it did, in the form of a lake, smooth as a mirror, dark as night. It hadn’t even looked like a lake at first, but standing before it now, there was no mistaking.
He kept a good few feet of distance. Who knew what laid inside and who knew what touching unknown waters might procure.
Only when a light began to shimmer beneath the surface did it become clearer that this might be the way out. Through. Maybe. Only one way to find out.
Pointing his wand at his head, Drago attempted to cast a Bubble-Head Charm on himself, in case the way truly was through. He didn’t feel like holding his breath.
That was more like it.
Rae allowed herself a moment to feel the pride running through her at the way she'd handled the last challenge. There was always time for an ego boost, especially with what amounted to such a resounding failure during the first challenge. It was as she'd already known. When it came to power, she wasn't lacking. It was a bit too much sometimes if you listened to the professor, but when you could so decisively destroy everything in her path, it hardly seemed like a problem.
If the man wanted it to be more of a challenge, perhaps he shouldn't have let her into a room with the very thing she'd done so well handling just the term before. She paid attention, despite what some of her professors still believed.
Moments like these were how she proved it.
Now then, what else did the professor have to throw at them?
Rae waited for something else to go wrong but soon found herself standing...before a lake? The fog disappeared in the blink of an eye, taking with it the eerieness that had shrouded the once open prairie. Able to see again, that same openness never returned. No matter the direction she walked, Rae found herself unable to get far. It didn't take her long to realise her only answer might have been the small lake itself.
Hands on her knees, the girl leaned over the edge to peer through the surface of the water.
Dark. Likely deep. Why didn't she like where this was going? Rae spotted the light. It was faint at first, making it easier for her to excuse it as an illusion or a trick of the little light present, but soon there was no mistaking it. A light on the other side of the lake. At the very least, it might be a key that could aid in her escape. At the very most, it could be the exit itself.
Only one way to find out.
Rae attempted the bubblehead charm on herself. The girl took a deep breath, more to brace herself than anything else. Knowing Barlowe, there could be any number of things waiting for her once she hit the water. She would need to keep her wits about her and hope for the best with her charm – she wasn't blasting her way through this, after all.
Seeing no point in waiting around, she dove in.
I'm bulletproof, nothing to lose
✗ ✗ Fire Away ✗ ✗
She was burning.
Fire exploded before her, latching onto her clothing. It spread, creeping up to her chin and left cheek, licking at the skin along her chest. Kathryn patted at the fire with an urgency she didn't typically possess. Her gloves caught fire next, elevating the panic that had already begun its slow crawl through her. It wasn't slow anymore. All her muscles clenched, seizing up so that she had to fight for every move she made.
There were aches she couldn't see. Her neck was too stiff with terror to turn her attention in any direction, but it was unmistakable and harrowing.
When the fire vanished, she remained standing where she was. Movement had proven to be the problem. She'd moved and found herself at the edge of the cliff. Movement had taken her from the cliff and into the glowing lantern of a monster. The little girl dreaded thinking what else might greet her should she move so much as an inch in any direction.
The dissipating fog went entirely unnoticed by the unfocused blue eyes that looked out at nothing. Kathryn withdrew within herself, doing everything she could to block out the unwelcome stimuli and the discomfort they brought to her small frame.
She...she didn't want to be in the drill anymore – didn't think she wanted to be in any sort of drill ever again. It hadn't seemed an issue when Mr. Maddox had written her name down. When the club had meetings, it hadn't cost her anything to show up and wait for it to end. Much like the other things she'd been written down for, it was a means of occupying her time so she wouldn't spend too tremendous an amount of time sitting unoccupied and lost.
How she wished to feel lost and unoccupied now.
Kathryn never noticed the lake, not at first. Eventually, the glowing became difficult to ignore.
Rather than stepping forward, she took a step back. New terror gripped her at the thought something else might be coming. The first year shook like a leaf, trembling as her heart continued its arrhythmic pitter-patter.
She...she wanted her mother.
[no action]
I am my mother's
✗ ✗ Savage Daughter ✗ ✗
Round Two
N/A
Round Three
Gareth
Fail!
The fireball does slow, but it's not the only one. Soon, the dull sky is filled with several fireballs, all plummeting toward you with frightening speed. It is to be expected when trying to fight the symptoms, rather than the disease. Perhaps the spells would've been better cast trying to stop the offending creature. Equally, the revelio lands, but all it does is confirm you have a problem – a hinkypunk – that you did not solve. Fire continues hurtling down, striking against the boy's robes and catching them ablaze.
The drill is built for contingencies such as this. The flames and the creature both vanish before further damage can be done.
Is it just you, or is the infinite space becoming smaller? With fog this thick, it takes some time for you to see it curling in on itself, but soon enough you can see the magic folding at the metaphoric seams. Then just like that, the fog vanished. It is not a gentle moving away; there is no wind to sweep it from your view. The vanishment is sudden and final.
You're alone again, but this time, the path before you isn't so clear.
There are no golden roads to follow or rainbows with pots of gold at the end. The abyss has returned on the edges of the ground you stand on, deep and unfathomable. Attempting to walk over its edge will do you no good. An invisible wall blocks your path. This path goes all the way around, trapping you within a box you cannot see.
It's not all barrenness, however. The professor has left one route for you. In the centre of this invisible box sits a lake. What you once thought was only a reflection of the abyss, a black mirror reflecting the unknown, reveals itself to be liquid. Drawing closer, you immediately clock a crucial detail. It's deep. You won't be sticking your head inside and magically appearing on the other side of your magical journey.
The next thing?
There's a light coming from somewhere deep within. Perhaps it's your key to getting out of there. This will surely test your metal. No way around, only through. Can you make it?
Perhaps there's a spell that might make your journey more feasible.
Finish Line
Rae
Success!
Indeed, the only way out is through. Soon enough the Slytherin girl realises this for herself, and the world opens up with possibilities.
The water is cold, not frigid but enough to draw your attention as you become submerged. It's deeper than you ever expected, the depths stretching before you in all directions. Above you, the surface has vanished, leaving only the wet underworld of bariness and uncertainty. You lose your bearings for a moment, up looking like down and left looking far too much like right. Are you upside down? Right side up? Does it matter?
The light that enticed you into the murky depths grows brighter, lighting your path to the other side. Now it feels impossibly far, almost as if it were in another world or the other side of the world itself.
Do you have the stamina to swim so far?
In another moment, that doesn't matter either. What should appear but a faithful steed? It is already bridled for your benefit, the professor not actually wanting to see anyone drowned by the malevolent water demon. Tamed by its restraint, it is inclined to help you with your plight. The water horse moves close and gestures for you to get onto its back before speeding through the dark toward the increasingly blinding light.
Up and up and up...or down it goes, until you can make out the surface of the water.
It takes you to the very top, allowing you to get off in an incredibly small stone room with nothing but a door.
When you walk through, you'll find yourself in the observation deck of the club room, where others who have finished the challenge and chose to watch now sit. Some smile at you, some offer unsolicited advice. Stick around for a bit, if you'd like. Otherwise, enjoy the rest of your afternoon!
Kathryn
Fail!
To the surprise of no one who has been watching this particular student, the little girl does nothing. With her burns and her terror, she stands away from the water, not at all inclined to find out for herself where this may take her. The choice, as she may know by now, is not hers to make. A watery hand rises from the surface of the water. Before she can run, it grabs hold of her and drags her into the water.
The water is cold, not frigid but enough to draw your attention as you become submerged. It's deeper than you ever expected, the depths stretching before you in all directions. Above you, the surface has vanished, leaving only the wet underworld of bariness and uncertainty. You lose your bearings for a moment, up looking like down and left looking far too much like right. Are you upside down? Right side up? Does it matter?
The light that enticed you into the murky depths grows brighter, lighting your path to the other side. Now it feels impossibly far, almost as if it were in another world or the other side of the world itself.
Do you have the stamina to swim so far?
In another moment, that doesn't matter either. What should appear but a faithful steed? It is already bridled for your benefit, the professor not actually wanting to see anyone drowned by the malevolent water demon. Tamed by its restraint, it is inclined to help you with your plight. The water horse moves close and gestures for you to get onto its back before speeding through the dark toward the increasingly blinding light.
Up and up and up...or down it goes, until you can make out the surface of the water.
It takes you to the very top, allowing you to get off in an incredibly small stone room with nothing but a door.
When you walk through, you'll find yourself in the observation deck of the club room, where others who have finished the challenge and chose to watch now sit. Some smile at you, some offer unsolicited advice. Stick around for a bit, if you'd like. Otherwise, enjoy the rest of your afternoon!
Drago
Success!
It takes some time before the young Zdravkova has finally found his footing. When his testing reveals the true path, his bubblehead charm is the right move. It works! Not that he would know from the safety of the shore. Not to worry, the professor has prepared for such cautious spellcasters. A giant watery hand rises from the surface of the lake. Its fingers curl around the boy, yanking him in so he may complete his challenge.
The water is cold, not frigid but enough to draw your attention as you become submerged. It's deeper than you ever expected, the depths stretching before you in all directions. Above you, the surface has vanished, leaving only the wet underworld of bariness and uncertainty. You lose your bearings for a moment, up looking like down and left looking far too much like right. Are you upside down? Right side up? Does it matter?
The light that enticed you into the murky depths grows brighter, lighting your path to the other side. Now it feels impossibly far, almost as if it were in another world or the other side of the world itself.
Do you have the stamina to swim so far?
In another moment, that doesn't matter either. What should appear but a faithful steed? It is already bridled for your benefit, the professor not actually wanting to see anyone drowned by the malevolent water demon. Tamed by its restraint, it is inclined to help you with your plight. The water horse moves close and gestures for you to get onto its back before speeding through the dark toward the increasingly blinding light.
Up and up and up...or down it goes, until you can make out the surface of the water.
It takes you to the very top, allowing you to get off in an incredibly small stone room with nothing but a door.
When you walk through, you'll find yourself in the observation deck of the club room, where others who have finished the challenge and chose to watch now sit. Some smile at you, some offer unsolicited advice. Stick around for a bit, if you'd like. Otherwise, enjoy the rest of your afternoon!
He gritted his teeth. He had stopped the first fireball, but he hadn't expected his mysterious enemy to create more while he tried to investigate their identity. The spell had simply failed, and he hadn't gained any new information. Instead, he had gained the ability to dance through lightning-fast fireballs that had reached him, scorching his face and hands and burning his clothes. Teeth gritted in the heat and pain, he wanted to curse his attacker, but they had vanished into the fog. He continued to point his wand at them, as if expecting another attack from somewhere he couldn't see, but nothing came. Perhaps behind him? He turned again and again, searching for the misterious attacker, for an attack, for something, but there was nothing but fog, fog, and more fog, perhaps even thicker than before. "Oh come on" he blurted, having been deprived of a much-wanted duel.
He remained on guard for a few more moments —perhaps the enemy would change his mind?— but nothing happened, and his dream of glory would have to wait yet again. He had to do something else. If the fog didn't lift, the ordeal wasn't over yet. But what was he supposed to do? Chase it away? Find something inside? He tried closing his eyes to concentrate on his other senses. Perhaps he could detect a sound? A smell? Or even a breeze on his skin? None of the three. He had to forge ahead blindly, trusting that whatever path he took, he would get somewhere. So after an eeny, meeny, miny, moe, his pace turned to the right and he would continue until he found something, be it a wall or a solution.
And a wall was what he found when he crashed head-on into it. He hoped no one could see him as he rubbed his face, so he placed his hand on the wall he couldn't see and tried to use it as a guide to get somewhere. He came to another wall, perpendicular to the first, and began following this one to its end. Was he perhaps walking along all the walls of an invisible classroom? Possibly, but he certainly hadn't found anything along the edges, which meant what he was looking for was elsewhere. Perhaps in the center? He backtracked until he found a point where the walls intersected and walked along their hypothetical diagonal, hoping it would lead him somewhere.
Indeed in the center there was something… a… lake? The darkness of the floor seemed different… mobile, liquid. He tried to feel it with his hand. It looked like water, freezing, but it behaved like water. It was then that his gaze was caught by a glimmer in the middle of the puddle. There was something down there in the very center… further down… ”Oh no, I'm not going in! “ In the freezing water? He wouldn't have undressed for his unknown spectator or spectators, but he wouldn't have bathed fully dressed either. The water was freezing too! He would have caught a cold! In January, just back from vacation, he couldn't have missed days of school because of that!
He tried to focus on the glow, trying to figure out what it was. Was it an object? How big? Made of what? It wasn't easy to tell, but it looked like a solid object at least, something he could attract. He held his wand out, pointed at the glow, and with a quick flick of the hand and a "Accio" he tried to attract his target. He wasn't sure it would work since he had no idea what it was, but hey, better than stepping into the water!
Hoooooly shit, the water was cold.
Of all the offensive things the man had presented throughout the drill, Rae had to conclude that frigid water was nothing short of a cardinal sin. Would he listen to the piece of her mind she was about to give him? Unlikely. Was it worth the fuss? While her body acclimated to the sudden temperature shift, the girl couldn't really bring herself to thinking so. Her priority was getting herself out of the water before she turned into a block of ice with wild curls.
Thankfully, her bubblehead charm was holding up. It should. She'd had enough practice with it during her time in the hospital wing and on occasion over at the black lake once she'd learned how to swim. Circe, what a disaster this might have become had Billie never bothered to teach her.
It was one problem solved and another arriving in the form of a light that was too far away to be possible. Squinting in the murky depths did nothing to help her visibility, but she knew she wasn't looking at a 2-second swim.
Would the bubble even hold that long?
Something caught her attention from the corner of her eyes, something moving at great speed. Would the professor really have sent something to devour her while she was trying to catch her bearings? Yes, Rae reasoned. Yes, he would.
Thankfully, his whim had swung in the other direction, and a friend had shown up rather than a foe. Rae helped herself onto the creature's back and let it zip her straight through the depths of the lake into the shining light of the surface. Admittedly, she wasn't expecting the tiny room. Nearing the end of the challenge, the girl was expecting the observation desk with her peers.
"Thank you, friend," she said, patting the demon horse in gratitude before fully climbing out of the water and taking hold of the door.
One yank was all it took her to return to normalcy. Right where she belonged. No sticking around for her. It was right back to the hospital wing to check on the late afternoon shift.
I'm bulletproof, nothing to lose
✗ ✗ Fire Away ✗ ✗
What...what was that?
Before Kathryn could fully interpret the disturbance in the water, it had come to her. The massive hand swept forward, grabbing the already terrified girl and yanking her into the icy water. She gasped reflexively, certain she was seconds from drowning if she wasn't devoured first. The sudden intake of water never came. A small bubble of air appeared around her mouth and nose, providing her with the oxygen she would need to see her to the other side.
The hand disappeared without a trace. In its place came a horse. The creature barrelled toward her, perfectly at home in the water. Unlike her. Kathryn knew how to swim. Her mother had gotten someone to teach her the skill, which, while seldom used, was one that had stuck with little effort. Swimming wasn't the issue; getting rid of the paralysis that had taken hold of her was. With each new thing that was thrown at her, the little Ravenclaw found it harder and harder to pull her mind from the fog enough to stir herself into action.
The water horse drew close, as if trying to encourage her to take hold of it, but she couldn't.
She couldn't feel her hands; despite the water, they moved to keep her level in the water. Her breathing had no chance to recover from the assault back on land, her chest heaving with great force. It was a wonder she hadn't yet passed out from the excess of oxygen flooding her system. There was no calming down, only wide-eyed looks and a frenzied mind that struggled to understand the basic concept of rescue.
The horse wouldn't wait. It grabbed her by the back of her shirt and yanked her through the water.
When it got her to the small room, it nudged her up onto the platform, helping her to regain her footing. She didn't have the capacity for gratitude. Every nerve within her was fried, her systems not far from a full shutdown.
It gestured her toward the door she hadn't seen.
A door.
The way out?
Carefully, Kathryn reached for the knob. The small first-year spared a glance over her shoulder to make sure the horse wasn't following before slipping through and back into the safety of the observation deck. Stay? Go? She thought about neither. Kathryn simply made her way to the closest seat and sank onto it, too stunned to do anything else.
Never again. She never wanted to do this ever again.
I am my mother's
✗ ✗ Savage Daughter ✗ ✗
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