Previously, on the Caretaker...

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Merlin speaks first

“I think the basement might hold something of interest, I would recommend exploring it”

“Really? I don't know…it's a basement, they most likely only have some old equipment and storage stuff…but if you insist, sure, but may I recommend going for the 4th floor first? I just have a…feeling…”

“Sure, the order seems irrelevant as long as we are able to visit both areas, lets us go to the 4th floor”

And so, you go to the 4th floor, not before letting the reception witch know that you will be there, just in case they need to inform you of any updates regarding Artemis…you decide to omit mentioning your basement plans for now.

You ask for some quick instructions on how to reach the 4th floor, you then follow a row of wide stairs, you climb them and look up as you do so seeing several rows of steps, way more than you think would be needed to reach the next floor, but before you know it you are already at your destination, the 4th floor.

“I think we skipped the 2nd and 3rd floor somehow” Merlin says.

“Magic stairs, enchanted to take you directly where you need to, very useful for hospital emergencies”

“Hogwarts could really use something like that…”

“Yeah, perhaps we could find the spell and use it?”

“It takes great magic to break any of the castle's spells, let alone adding a new one”

“Oh c'mon, THE great Merlin and me? im sure we could make it work somehow”

“Hmm perhaps we could, but lets not dwell on uncertain futures, we have things to do”

“Right, right”

You begin exploring the floor, it's long and spacious, several corridors branch out from each side, creating an impossibly big area for such a small building.

There are a few doors that are open and let you see inside them, most look the same, with several beds and windows looking out the street despite knowing that they should have any kind of view blocked by the building next door, there shouldn't be any sun coming in either…thanks magic.

Sadly, that's the happiest that most rooms look, since their inhabitants are all either in some sort of catatonic state, sleeping or wandering around like zombies.

A couple of healer witches greet you as you walk around, a bit surprised to see anyone “visiting” this floor.

“Hello, may I help you find whoever you came to visit?” Asks a witch, her voice motherly but tired and soft.

“Thanks, but that's ok, I'm just here, umm…exploring a bit while waiting for some news on a girl” You say, not really lying.

“I see, well, do let me know if you need anyth-No! Mr.Jones! drop that! please excuse me”
The witch leaves to stop a wandering patient with a confused look on his face and lifting a chair for no particular reason.

You look at her go, wondering if you should give her a hand but a boisterous and egotistical yet still cheerful voice commands your attention.

“Dont worry about her, she can take care of him no problem, come here instead! it's been a long time since I've had somebody pay me a visit!”

Wait, you recognize that guy, what was his name? Figaro? Chilaro?...Gilderoy! That's his name, you have heard of him before, apparently he disappeared for a bit after some weird accident…or something like that, you know that most of the details are public but you never bothered looking into it.
All you know is that he can't even remember his name sometimes..
Still, whatever accident he went through, that didn't stop him from ageing gracefully, his hair is white with a gentle golden hue and still has lots of it, you are sure most people would kill for hair like that.
He is wearing a very comfy and fluffy looking yellow robe with white trims and matching slippers.

“Ah! a new face comes to see me and my masterworks!” He says loudly.

“You are-”

“Childero Rockhard! in the flesh!”

You struggle to hold in a chuckle.

“A pleasure to finally meet you, sir.”

“I know it is! Now, what brings you here boy? heard of my masterworks and came for an original piece huh? you aren't the only one, you know?”

“Masterworks?”

“My paintings of course! How many do you want? 2? 4? 10?! I can give them a special signature for you, make them even more valuable!”

You look behind him and see several easels, each holding paintings, some finished, some incomplete, behind those, down on the floor and leaning against the wall are rows and rows of canvases, all with finished paintings of different topics.

“Who is this person, Brandon?” Merlin asks.

“I believe he was a famous book writer back in the day, i remember hearing something about some sort of accident happening before i went to Hogwarts that ended up with him losing most of his memories…or something like that, i didnt really cared much for it so i dont know the details, all i know is that he was famous at some point”

You can feel Merlin looking at the paintings through your eyes as you reply, he appears to enjoy them.

You direct your attention back to Gilderoy.

“Would you mind if I take a look at your…umm…catalog, before we make a decision? i would like to see what have you done so far”

“ho! ho! Looking for my best huh? smart boy! sure! go ahead, I'll be here putting the final touches to my most recent piece.”
He then picks up a brush and walks closer to an unfinished painting.

You walk closer to the end of the room where all of his paintings are scattered on the floor or leaning against the wall.

“He has talent” Merlin begins. “His style reminds me of the ones from back in my day…”

You notice that most of his paintings are self-portraits and a few landscapes of places you don't recognize, with portraits of a few healing witches here and there.

“A bit full of himself though…but still, pretty good”

“I like your landscapes, Sir.”

“Ahh yes, places i think i´ve been to but have no memory of, most of those come to me from time to time, usually along with people who i also dont remember, im still unsure if they are related or not, but so far i just cant remember”

You see a few other paintings, nothing too interesting besides one that appears to be some sort of tunnel system and a BIG snake…no, that's a basilisk…weird.

“Nevermind those old paintings boy, im entering a new chapter in my artistic career! I call it…My “Cosmic Fate” era! it's going to sell like ice mice in summer!”

“...Your WHAT era?”

“Ooh! interested aren't you? here! let me show you!”

He leaves the painting he was working on and goes to a bed on the opposite side of the room, you suspect that's his bed.
He kneels down and pulls a set of paintings from under the mattress and lays them all on his bed as you get closer.

As soon as you see them, you and Merlin feel that chill once again running through both of you.

Paintings of space, constellations unfamiliar to you, abstract shapes and even stars.

They all are…dark, both in theme and color palette.

There is one painting of a constellation, but it's so messed up you can't even make out what constellation it's supposed to be.

There is one of a planet…? no, not a planet, a star, it appears to be the sun…with a giant hole going through it.
“Is that a hand coming out of the hole?” You ask Merlin without moving your mouth.

There is one of a bright, silver tree in the middle of the sky…it looks…familiar…

And there is a final one, it's a canvas filled with nothing but solid black, no stars, no color, not even his signature. Just black.

There is a pit in your stomach, a desert in your mouth and a chill in your spine.

You turn to look at Gilderoy, he seems happy, proud even.

“Some of my best if i do say so myself, 4 out of 5 paintings ain't bad at all, eh?”

“4 out of 5? What happened to the 5th one?” you ask.

He sighs dramatically and pulls out one last painting from under his bed.

“At the time it was my best work yet, but then one night while i was adding some small details, it simply became…wrong, not even me and my perfect artistic talent could fix it, so I had to abandon it”

He hands you the canvas.

As soon as you touch it, you and Merlin feel a wave of dread washing all over your body and souls.

It's a perfect image of a blond young wizard, sword in hand, standing his ground against a creature of darkness, you can't even make out what that creature is supposed to be, behind it there is a sea of indescribable creatures of madness and rage. The sky is aflame and both ancient and modern cities are destroyed.

It's an impossible level of detail for a simple brush and paint, and yet, after everything the painting shows, none of it is the source of your fears.

Instead, the small mistakes in the painting are the ones that cause you confusion and dread.

The painting is complete, you KNOW it is…but…it has more, there are things that SHOULDN'T be there, things that SHOULD be there, you don't know how you know this, you just KNOW, you know what's wrong with the painting.

Your eyes gravitate towards the small “mistakes” in the painting:

The blond wizard's arm, it's blurry, you can't tell if it's supposed to be there or not.

The sword, should be a bright silver, instead, this one is red and angry.

He stands alone, he should be surrounded by friends and allies.

In the corner of the painting, amongst the sea of creatures of madness, there is a woman in a yellow dress, she screams in agony as she burns and is torn apart.

Your grip on the painting is so strong, you can hear the wood of the frame creaking. Merlin forces you to drop the painting on the bed.

“Its awful, i know, not even i can stand watching it for long, ugh”

Gilderoy takes the painting and hides it under his bed.

“Thats why I've been working on a replacement!”

He walks to the painting he was working on while you were checking his catalog and turns it towards you.

The painting shows the dark silhouette of a man surrounded by the cosmos, holding a small but bright light cupped in his hands, he is offering it to a pillar of light in front of him while another pillar of light behind him is shown with cracks and crumbling…the man is missing his left foot.

When you see the painting, you also feel that dark ancient magic. So does Merlin.

“It's inside him” He says. “A piece of The Beast is inside this man”

You look at him, a bead of sweat running down your face.

He looks at you, smiling, unaware of what he just painted.

“And this is only one of the many paintings I have planned! They come to me in my dreams sometimes! I want to paint them all”

He then takes the painting off from the easel and puts it along with the other “cosmic” paintings, completing the set.

“I might expand this set of paintings later, if I have more of those dreams of course” He says cheerily.

“Sir. How are you feeling?” You ask with a small shake in your voice.

“Feeling? Fine i suppose, i have been feeling pretty good lately since i started painting, sure some dreams are weird and some might call them nightmare-ish, but I don't feel bad when I see them. It's almost like this is what I was made for! Like I'm fulfilling my destiny!”

He takes another empty canvas and sets it in the easel, readying his material to paint something new.

“I think The Beast is creating prophecies through him and his paintings” Merlin says inside your head with a hint of danger.

“Seems like it…what do we do?”

“The plan remains the same, boy. We remove The Beast”

“But…how do we do that?”

“I believe i know a way…but you are not going to like it”

“...what is it?”

“Do you know how to contain a fragmented soul?”

“...Oh, fuck off…”

“Told you you wouldn't like it…”

“But…Horcruxes? Is there no other way?”

“Do you know of any other way to contain a soul? im open to suggestions”

You scrape your brain for any idea, any plan that could work, any alternative you might know, but you find none. There is only one solution.

But then…an idea.

“Wait…before we do this…are we sure this is the best thing to do?”

“What are you talking about boy? this is what we have been trying to do since the very beginning, this is our main goal”

“I know, I know, but, hear me out…we could create a Horcrux to contain it, or…we could use it to our advantage”

“What foolishness are you saying, boy?”

“You think The Beast is spewing prophecies through his paintings and dreams, right? Perhaps we could take glimpses into the future through them, see what's ahead of us and use it to our advantage, adapt and counter attack!”

“You can't adapt to prophecies, there is nothing to adapt to, prophecies do not change, prophecies become real one way or another!”

“Theres gotta be a way to do it, i refuse to believe a prophecy is set in stone like that”

“Boy, you are talking about breaking destiny, no one has ever done that before, its impossible!”

“People used to think that hurting a Poltergeist was impossible, we eradicated one not too long ago, i have The great wizard Merlin stuck in my head, tell me if that sounded possible before”

Merlin stays quiet for a bit.

“We have done the impossible before, we can do it again.”

“This is a huge gamble, boy. Think this through…”

>Create a Horcrux to contain The Beast
>Leave it inside Gilderoy and use it to your advantage
>Other (Write in:)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
And now, we continue.

You stand there, looking at Lockheart starting a new piece, and based on the colors he has already laid down, it doesnt appear to be a prophecy this time, looks more like another landscape with clear skies and green grass.

You sigh.

“We have to leave it inside him, at least for now. We cannot create a Horcrux anyways…i dont even think i would be able to follow the necessary steps to do so”

“I understand” Merlin begins. “If you think this is the best course of action for now then i will not oppose it…However, i will say this…”

You feel him somehow staring directly into your soul, your heart feels cold and heavy as he does.

“You are merely delaying the inevitable, eventually we will have to take care of this.
That means, you better start getting comfortable with the idea of taking a life because sooner or later you will have to…and i think you will appreciate it better if it's under our own terms, because i doubt Salazar or any other pieces of The Beast will give us the luxury of choice in the future.”

Then, just as suddenly as the feeling began, it ended. The coldness in your heart goes away and you feel the weight on your chest disappear.

“Woah there, are you alright?” Says Gilderoy with a hint of worry. “You look like you just saw a dementor or something”

You shake your head a bit, trying to get rid of those last bits of fear from your mind.

“I-yeah, yeah, i just…i think i forgot to eat or something, just had a bit of lightheadedness…”

“You should never skip meals, my dear boy. Why don't you go ahead and get something to eat? I´ll be here painting my next masterpiece! you can come back later for any of my magnificent paintings!”

“Yeah I´ll…I think I'll do that…take care sir.”

“Until next time, dear boy!”

You then turn to leave the room but stop before you cross the exit door.

“Hey, Merlin, Sir…The beast is a part of you, right? Can't you just, I don't know...reconnect with it?"

“In theory, yes, that's the plan. But just like pieces in a puzzle i have to find the proper way to…”make it fit” and merge with…at least thats how i think it will work”

“You are not sure?”

“Well, we haven't really had the chance to do so, we have one piece here right now for us to test it, but you refuse to take action and I can't really force you to do so despite how much I want to.”

“But…we don't know what will happen, what if he gets hurt?”

“People WILL get hurt, Brandon, it's inevitable…so far we have been extremely lucky but we will soon reach a point in which innocent people being hurt will be the lesser of evils.”

You feel a pit forming in your stomach.

“You sure know how to motivate people...”

“Im just letting you know, it will happen, so better make peace with it…Now, shall we go to the basement? we don't have much time left before Miss Snyde returns”

“Yeah…let's go”

Just as you are about to leave, you see one final painting, it's leaning against the wall next to Lockheart's bed.
It's a painting of 4 people, they all lack distinctive facial features, all sitting in a long table, all on the same side, they appear to be having a nice conversation, their body language seems to indicate that but only one of them is complete, the one with green robes and a bald head, he seems to be enjoying some grapes.
There is a woman, slightly curvaceous in a loose yellow dress who is holding a cup of wine, but her head is painted over with black lines completely covering her face.
There is another woman with a body tight blue dress, she is sitting, but the head is missing. You can see the white canvas where the head should be, it's not finished yet.
The same happens with the big muscular man wearing a red robe over some light leather armor.

You stare at the painting for a second before deciding to finally leave.

You make it to the staircase without problems and think of the basement as you descend the many steps, however, you end up in the ground floor instead.

“This does not appear to be the basement” Merlin says.

“Huh…I was specifically thinking about it, wouldn't be surprised if magical access to it is blocked, it's not exactly an area that's regularly open to the public…”

“So how do we get there?”

“Simple, magic or not, that basement exists and must have a regular access to it, all we have to do is find it”

But before you start sneaking around, you cast your signature disillusionment spell.

“There, now we shouldn't have to worry about getting caught so easily”

Then you explore the corridors, trying your best to stay away from the path of distracted healing witches or the few wandering patients or visitors.

You walk and explore every corridor you come across, opening every door you can that doesn't look like just another patient room, office space or janitorial closet.
Until you reach the last corridor.
It looks just like every other one, this one is normal but it shows signs of being the least transited one, the walls are clean but it gives you an abandoned feeling.

At the very end of it and turning to the right, there is a staircase with white tiles just like the ones from the corridor, it's being blocked by some yellow tape and a singular “Under renovations - Do not cross” sign.

“That looks like the basement to me” you say as you get closer to it.

“Wait” Merlin commands. “I can feel magic…protection spells”

“You can feel spells now?”

“I learned how to detect them when I was still alive, i guess that still works even if i dont have an actual body”

“Sweet, so…what do we do?”

“Let me take control for a moment”

“Sure, go ahead” You close your eyes for a moment and give Merlin control of your body, he then slowly waves a hand around as if he were feeling the air.

He gives you back the control of your body.

“A simple protection spell, not hard to break, just hard to find for anyone who isn't looking for it, you should be able to break it easily” He informs you.

“Guess they weren't expecting any kind of visit, can't really blame them, who wants to go to an old basement when they are most likely here in a medical emergency? they probably just set this up as a formality”

It takes you a couple of attempts but eventually you manage to break their protection spells without alerting anyone.

And down you go, into the basement of St.Mungos.

You push open the double door at the bottom of the stairs and enter what appears to be a single big room with some old muggle medical machines, several cabinets of potion ingredients and a bunch of old hospital beds laid on their side and piled up next to a wall.

The room is lit up just like the ones above it, with a couple of orbs that gently float around the room casting a warm yellow light.

You stand around, looking for any obvious signs of…anything.

“There doesn't appear to be anything here…just old medical stuff”
You say as you slide your fingers over the frame of a bed next to the wall, picking up a small layer of dust.

“Not here, below us, Boy. Powerful magic is right under us…it feels ancient…familiar, but I can't figure out what it is, we need to go deeper.”

“Deeper?”

You look around once again, making sure to inspect every wall, look behind every cabinet, you pull the beds away from the wall.

There is nothing.

“Sir, there is no way to go deeper, i see no more stairs, there is no path”

“Yes there is, Boy. they are here, i…know it? How do I know this?”

“Sir?

“Why do I know this?” You feel Merlin freaking out a bit inside your head.

“Sir.”

“What is down there?!” He says frustrated.

“Sir!”

The floating orbs that light the room flicker for a bit, they look like flames being threatened to be extinguished by a gust of air, then they return back to normal.

“I-im sorry, Boy. I think I need…”

Silence, he stops talking despite your protests and no matter how many times you call for him he simply wont reply.

“Sir? what do i do now? there is nothing here…Sir? Sir!...Guess I'm on my own for now…”

You rest your hands on your hips and look around once again.

“Certainly I don't have to dig my way down, right? there HAS to be something around here that fits…whatever we are looking for…”

You do some quick calculations in your head, you should have between 30 and 50 minutes left before Merula supposedly returns and you are currently in a restricted area with Merlin giving you a silent treatment…not ideal.

“Ok, ok. I think we've come out of worse situations than this…just have to find…a solution to my problem, thats all…hmmm”

You look around once again.

“Its either use the rest of my time looking for an entrance or path to whatever it is below us…or dig my way down…that one is not going to be stealthy”

You fidget with your wand in your hand, weighing your options when you suddenly get another idea.

“Powerful magic you say?...”

You kneel down and touch the floor with your palm open.

There it is, that cold familiar feeling. The same magic you found in that classroom in your first days as a caretaker, there is LOTS of it down there.

You look at your wand and then at the floor, then back to your wand.

Then you remember when you made some weird sort of connection with that kid Elliot when you both were in the Great Hall months ago, that black tendril that came out of your shadows and linked both of you together for a moment.

“Could I do the same?”

You don't have much time left, what will you do?:

>Use the rest of your time to investigate the room as much as you can and find a path. (Roll 1D100)
>Use the rest of your time to DIG through the ground as quietly as possible. (Roll 1D100, Beat a DC of 75 to NOT get attention on you)
>Try to command the ancient magic within you and link up with the one below you. (Roll 1D100-5 (+10 from magical expertise) (+5 from a previous temporal stored bonus against a singular ancient spell) (-20 from trying to command ancient magic for the first time without Merlin's help) Beat a DC of 85)
>Other (Write in:)

After an unintended vacation, we are finally back!
sorry it took so long to create a new thread, i honestly just got lazy and couldnt make a thread before the last one got archived, but now that we are back the plot should move along, stakes will be higher from now on!

Rolled 20 - 5 (1d100 - 5)

>>6274569
>Try to command the ancient magic within you and link up with the one below you. (Roll 1D100-5 (+10 from magical expertise) (+5 from a previous temporal stored bonus against a singular ancient spell) (-20 from trying to command ancient magic for the first time without Merlin's help) Beat a DC of 85)
Experience is experience. But maybe we should try to channel the ancient magic through a spell that reveals magic, rather than doing RAW ancient magic. Ancient Revelio!

>>6274637
uff, with those numbers? i´ll keep the idea in mind for later if nobody else comes to our rescue

Rolled 11 (1d100)

>>6274569
>>Use the rest of your time to investigate the room as much as you can and find a path. (Roll 1D100)
rather not have the risk when we're on a time limit and in a place we aren't supposed be

Rolled 58 (1d100)

>>6274569
>>Use the rest of your time to investigate the room as much as you can and find a path. (Roll 1D100)

There is like no chance for the last option. Just running the numbers, getting something is better than a full fail with a set DC.

oh man, these numbers...
guess i'll close the votes now, update most likely tomorrow

Your hand lingers on the floor for a few moments, you try to remember the cold feeling of the world losing its color when you were in the Great Hall…this feels almost exactly the same.

“I could try…”

But just as you were about to push out some of your magic through your hand you lift it and hide it inside one of your pockets. Fear stops you from even trying it.

You grunt and stand up.

“I better give this place another look, just to make sure I didn't miss anything…”
You say, mostly trying to convince yourself that you chose not to try it because this is too complex to do it by yourself…yeah, that's the reason, it's totally not because you are scared of what would happen if you actually do it and don't have Merlin to pull you back if things go wrong, that's totally it.

You start searching again, taking your time with each wall, each corner, each space behind a bed, machine or cabinet.

All you find is some peeled paint on the walls and a couple of cracks.

“This can't be it, it just doesn't make sense, why cast protection and security spells on an old basement?...unless it really was just a formality?”

You look at the room again, the orbs that illuminate the room gently swaying in the center of all, you see nothing else that could really be worth anyone's time unless they are a muggle doctor or a healing witch.
It's all covered in a layer of dust, clearly no one has been here for a while.

“There is nothing here…”

You chose wrong, there is nothing down here and you have wasted your time.

“But…Merlin said…No, he can't be wrong, he couldn't, there is something in here, but where?!”

In your frustration, you kick one of the muggle machines with your left foot. It is some sort of chair with a small bowl attached to it, it shouldn't have been too heavy…except it completely detaches your prosthetic foot when you make contact with it.
You expected some sort of metallic sounding “THWOONG” or something, instead you got a solid “TUK”.

“What the hell?”

You inspect the chair after reattaching your foot. It doesn't look too heavy, just a chair with a wide base and a small and flimsy looking bowl attached to it by a small metallic tube, it's not bolted down to the floor, so why is it impossible to move?

You try pushing the chair but it wont budge at all.

You try pulling, that doesn't work either.

“Ok, you are definitely hiding something”

You take your wand out.

“Wingardium Leviosa” You cast the levitation charm…it doesn't work…

You try again, adding a bit more power to the spell…It's still too heavy.
You stop to catch your breath for a moment.

“This shouldn't be hard at all…”

You did a perfect cast, you are sure of it. You are also not tired enough to fail with such a simple spell.
There are only 2 explanations here:
1) something is messing with your magic.
or
2) That's not just a chair.

You are going with the second option. After all, you checked the room, not what its holding within.

“Revelio”

You expect to find a hidden magical item, maybe some sneaky spells you couldn't find before.
Instead you find that almost all objects in the room, the beds, most cabinets and muggle machines, all show traces of having some concealment spells casted on them.

“What? Why?”

Just as you were about to cast “Finite Incantatem” to see what they were hiding…

“Hey! What are you doing here?!”

A pair of wizards show up behind you, they are blocking the exit.

“Hands up! Wand where we can see it!”

>Comply and surrender before things escalate.
>Try to escape before they realize who you are.
>Other (Write in:)

>>6276006
They're behind us, so they haven't seen our face yet. That's good. Means we have options.
>Lumos Maxima to blind them, then try to escape before they realize who we are!

>>6276006
>>Try to escape before they realize who you are.

You freeze, hands halfway up since you were about to cast a spell but stopped when you heard their voices.

“Ssssssssshhhhhit” You mumble to yourself.

“Dont move!” Says one of, what you suspect are, the Hospital guards.

“Its ok, its ok” You begin, forcing your voice to be a bit deeper than usual to hide your true voice from them.
“Im not doing anything!”

“Good, keep it that way, now drop the wand and sloooowly turn around”

This is when you begin to panic but you don't immediately do as commanded since you are weighing your options.

…

Nope, there are no options you can think of right now, you broke security spells specifically to not let anyone down here AND went down by yourself, if there is an excuse for this then you can't think of it right now.

“ok, ok…im dropping my wand now, easy…”

You slowly let go of your wand, already visualizing where it's going to fall so you can summon it later with wandless magic.

After a second that feels like forever, the wand eventually falls to the ground with a couple of “tak taks”, it stops a meter away after rolling for a bit, right next to one of the legs of a bed frame.

“Good, now turn…slow”

You turn, agonizingly slow trying to buy as much time as you possibly can.

“Merlin, Sir. If you have any useful tricks under your sleeve, I need them, NOW!”
You pretty much beg at the wizard in your head, but he says nothing.

“Fucking…fine, i´ll do it myself, if anything goes wrong, its not my fault”

You are about to reach the halfway point in your turn, half of your face is being covered by your hair and the neck fold of your coat.

You look down and easily find your wand, it might take a second to summon it back, so you´ll have to be quick about this.

Slowly, you stretch your hand open, readying to catch the wand, you shuffle your feet, getting yourself in position to jump away and…

“Accio!”

They react fast, your wand is barely beginning to move when you already have to jump away to dodge their-

“Petrificous Totalus!”
“Glacious!”

You land on the ground with a heavy “thud” that knocks some wind out of your lungs.

However, despite the pain of landing on your chest, you manage to summon your wand.
As soon as it touches your hand, you force yourself up and despite the lack of air in your lungs, you manage to force out the words.

“Lumos Maxima!”

There is an explosion of light so strong that you can still see the outlines of everything in the room through your eyelids.

The two wizards however aren't fast enough to react to your magical flashbang and are blinded by the light.
They take their hands to their faces while turning around, trying to rub the spots out of their sight.

This is your window to escape, but instead, you decide to buy yourself just a bit more time.

“Glacius!”

You push the guards back and try to ice them to the walls, however, you notice something strange.
No matter how hard you try, the ice won't stick to the walls, instantly melting and forming a puddle on the floor.

“Huh…”

You shake your head, getting your attention back to what's important.

You end the spell, leaving both of them encased in a ball of ice, strong enough to keep them there for a bit but not thick enough to leave them trapped for long and give them hypothermia or something…they´ll be fine anyways, they are in a hospital afterall.

You exit the basement, glad you didn't get caught, but mad that you couldn't get any real answers.

You´ll have to come back here some other day…

As you enter the corridor that takes you back to the waiting area, you take a moment to catch your breath and act normal, you guess you have enough time before the guards escape and go looking for you…something that will be hard because you are sure they didn't get a good look at you.

You take a few moments to get your adrenaline under control and your breathing back to normal…there we go.

You exit the corridor and take a turn that takes you directly to the waiting area, but stop and hide behind the corner when you see Merula, Apollo and Professor Flitwick, all walking into the hospital.

Merula has the look of a hunter in her face.

Apollo looks like he's ready to destroy the world looking for his little sister.

Professor Flitwick looks uncharacteristically serious.

Immediately, Merula goes to a healing witch and begins asking questions, you don't need to hear her to know that she is asking for you.

Apollo and Flitwick on the other hand, go to the reception, most likely asking for any updates on Artemis.

“...Right…no matter what I do, eventually i´ll have to deal with them…”

You once again try to call for Merlin.

“Sir, I could use some advice right now…Sir?...hmm nothing”

You take another peek.

Apollo looks a bit calmer, so does Flitwick, good, must be good news so far.

Merula is no longer there

“Great, she is on the hunt…Looks like i´ll have to:”

>”Confront them now, maybe i´ll manage to smooth things out…just hope the guards dont escape by then”
>”Escape and deal with them later, it's gonna look very bad on me to ditch a student in the hospital, but I can't risk getting caught by the guards and getting into even more trouble, especially with Merula hunting me down.” (Roll 1D100. Beat a DC 75 to escape)
>Other (Write in:)

>>6279256
>Change the appearance of your clothes with a spell or two. Conjure some cups of tea up and then walk towards the group. It makes you much harder to find, gives you an excuse for why you were elsewhere, and you might be able to offer them the tea to settle them down.
Here's hoping Merula prefers tea over coffee.

>>6279256
>Confront them now, maybe i´ll manage to smooth things out…just hope the guards dont escape by then

>>6279280
Supporting.

>>6279280
I support it too

You look back the way you came from, there are still no hints of the guards coming out from your frozen trap…still, if you have to be here for even 10 more minutes then you don't want to risk it.

You walk back a bit, looking for the bathrooms, it takes you a couple of seconds before you find them and enter.
Luckily for you, there are several mirrors adorning the walls on top of the sinks, perfect.

“Colovaria”

It takes you a few minutes to change the style and color of your clothes and hair into something different, not because it was hard but because you wanted to look different enough while also being recognizable for the people you want to be recognized by…If they manage to recognize you while being disguised then they would think the worst and assume you were trying to escape, best to keep it close enough so they don't immediately think you are up to something…

Your long black hair ends up becoming short and brown, you transfigured your coat into a vest and changed its colour from beige to red wine and the sweater you wore under your coat changed from blue to dark grey along with matching trousers and black boots.

“There…”

You look at yourself in the mirror, you are looking like you are part of some important pure blood family or something, which you are, just not an important one…nevermind that.

“Just one final touch”

You finally change the colour of your eyes from dark brown to a light grey, a minor detail but an important one, you are sure they didn't see your face, but it never hurts to be too careful.

With your new makeover complete, you take one last look in the mirror to make sure everything is ok and step outside.

As you walk back to the waiting area, you get an idea, you once again go back but this time you go to the last floor, you remember seeing in the guide poster that this place has gifts, snacks and is a lounge area for patients and visiting families in the last floor.
Sure enough, you find and buy a few cups of tea of different kinds, you are not sure what they would like, so you get a small basic assortment of teas.

Finally, with your liquid bribes and new look you go down the stairs.

But Merula finds you halfway through your descent and stops you.
“There you are!”

“Oh hey Merula, I was just on my way back to meet you, I assume Artemis's brother is here too? i came here to buy you guys some tea, im not sure what kind you prefer so i bought several-”

“Save it, I don't care. I'm here to escort you back to Flitwi-...what are you wearing?”

“Oh! this?” You show off your boots. “i just came back from meeting-”

“No, actually, nevermind, I don't care, just…just go, Flitwick is waiting”

“Oh, sure, lead the way”

“Good, Merula doesn't care about my looks, that's one less person to convince, now I just need to appease Flitwick and I'll get out of here” You talk to yourself while planning in your head.

You follow her back to the reception area, Flitwick and Apollo are both sitting on some green chairs next to a wall.

Flitwick is NOT happy.

Apollo is barely containing his anxiety, quickly rocking back and forward on his chair.

“Here he is” Merula says.

Flitwick and Apollo immediately lay eyes on you.

“Mr Tedmon, What the hell happened!?” “What happened to my sister?!” “What did this to her?!” “How did this happen?!”

They both keep trying to get their questions answered first, you hold up a hand in front of them.

“Please, I know we are all confused and worried, don't worry, i will explain as much as i can but first”

You give them each a cup of tea

“Its not much, but it should help a bit easing your nerves and keeping your heads cool”

They both look at each other, not really sure if this will accomplish anything, but they accept the cups and drink from them.
Apollo seems to calm down a bit, his hands no longer trembling.
Flitwick takes a long sip from it, it appears to get his breathing under control.

“Ahhh, thank you Mr.Tedmon, this does help a bit”

“My pleasure, now here is what I know…”

You begin explaining your side of the story.

How you were doing your patrols at night.
How you heard some screaming coming from the forest.
How you found most of her uniform torn and trampled
How you found Artemis being impaled and stabbed multiple times “by a unicorn”

You give just enough details to make it realistic but keep it just vague enough not to raise any suspicion towards you.

At least you hope you do…

Flitwick seems to calm down a bit, however, that's short lived, he mumbles and grumbles things you have never heard him say before.

“I cant believe this almost happened again” He says before finishing what's left of his tea.

“What do you mean “again” professor?” You ask.

“You can stop faking ignorance Mr.Tedmond, i am aware of what happened with Miss Lily Potter”

“Y-you knew?”

“Of course I knew! you can't just hide that and expect nothing to happen, Mr.Potter told me before he disappeared and left me in charge, i know he has been acting erratic lately but you people seem to forget that he was almost selected to be a Slytherin, he knows stuff…plans for stuff, nothing that he does is ever random.”

Well, now you have a new fear.

He continues
“I am aware that something dark is happening around Hogwarts but I am under an unbreakable vow with explicit orders of Mr.Potter NOT to interfere and just keep the school under control while he is away…”

Everyone freezes at this.

“I knew something very wrong was going on with the school” Apollo says.

“An unbreakable vow? but-” You are cut off halfway through your question.

“Please do not dig more into it, i wish i could tell you more, but i think you realize why i cant do that”

You stand there for a moment, not sure of what to say…How many more know about what's going on? How much do they know?

He slumps back into his chair, sliding his hand across his face in frustration.

“First a student disappears and now this…what a week”

“What?”

“Worry not about that, we'll take care of it, for now I need you to keep doing whatever you are doing to fix this before things escalate even more. Potter warned me that the Ministry might try to get involved, they mustn't"

You remember back when you encountered Potter and his old friends back in the black lake, they probably are already involved, the last thing you want is for them to be hunting you, you can barely avoid one single private investigator, there is no way you can evade the entire ministry.

“Im trying my best, professor.”

“I trust you are, dear boy. But we don't need your best, we need results before anything else becomes a threat to our students”

Then, all of you feel a small rumble on the floor.

That was definitely the guards trying to get out.

“What was that?” Asks Merula while getting her wand out.

“Thats one of the reasons why things are taking so long to get solved” You say as you try to hide your face and check your outfit one more time.

“Is that why you suddenly decided to change your wardrobe?” Asks Flitwick while standing up from his chair.

“Something like that…perhaps it would be best if we continue this conversation back in the castle?” You suggest while slowly stepping closer to the exit.

“As acting Headmaster, im afraid i cannot simply leave this matter to a student, you go, we´ll stay here for any news about Artemis, focus on doing…whatever needs to be done”

“Thanks professor, make sure nothing happens to Artemis…” You debate about mentioning that she “might” be involved with all of this, but decided to not say anything for now.

“...I´ll take care of it”

You slowly step away from the group and into the elevator that takes you to the exit door.

…

You make the trip back to Hogwarts without any incident.

By now, it's about 5PM, the sun is slowly starting to move down and the temperature is cooling down.

Last thing you ate was half a sandwich yesterday, and that was before your midnight battle, your time at St.Mungos and the trip back to the castle, you are STARVING.

You walk into The Great Hall and sit in your usual place, it takes a moment for an elf to take your order and leave to prepare it.

While you wait, you notice that the school feels quieter. Sure, most students are taking their last classes right now, but even then, you usually encounter a few groups of students wandering around the halls or having a snack in The Great Hall…Not this time.
Only a couple of students are currently in the hall and they are several tables apart, eating in complete silence.

Something doesn't feel right.

A moment later, an elf comes with your food.
Whatever is wrong right now can wait for a bit, you need to eat.

After downing almost an entire chicken, some apple tart and a jar of grape juice, you leave the room to look for Willow.

As expected, she is in the middle of her class, so you wait for it to be over, however, she notices you waiting by the door halfway through her class, so she ends it 10 minutes earlier than usual.

“Hey you, vhere have you been?” Willow asks when the last of her students finally leave the room and she closes the door.
“I´ve been looking for you all day”

“I´ve been dealing with some…” You look around, making sure there aren't any more students left “...You know…Things”

“Oh…”

“Yeah, I have a feeling things might be moving fast soon, so we need to start solving things, now”

You explain where you have been and why.

“Oh my goodness, is she ok?” She asks with actual worry in her voice.

“She is fine now, both Flitwick and her brother are with her at this moment, should recover in about a week or two”

“Glad to hear zhat…so vhat do ve do now?”

“Well, Merlin is positive that there is something below St.Mungos, so that's our next best shot, but right now it will most likely be under heavy surveillance, so we´ll have to wait a bit before i can go back there…or be very good at sneaking in”

“Vhat about Flitvick? can't he help since he is there right now?”

“He can't, apparently Potter got him under an unbreakable vow, he knows that something is happening but can't do anything about it, so he is now somewhat involved but we can't count on him at all”

“Hmm zhats annoying…vell, You cant go back right now and they can't help you, vhat CAN ve do?”

“Well, we´ll most likely go for Artemis in a week or two, until then, we should focus on hunting down as many pieces of The Beast as we can.
We know there is one inside Gilderoy, one inside Elliot, and Salazar is inside Artemis”

“Salazar is currently not a problem and you can't get close to Gilderoy right now, so zhat leaves us vith Elliot” Willow points out your only option at the moment.

Merlin´s deep voice startles you.

“He has been stuck with a piece inside him for a long time now”

“Mother of-! So you finally decided to show up, huh? what happened to you?” You ask, clearly mad at him.

“I apologize for my sudden absence, when I felt that weird magic, something inside my mind tried to surface, regrettably i was unable to recall what it was, but i suspect that finding our way down deeper into that basement should give us the answers we need”

“Yeah, well, going back there is out of the question at the moment, right now our best option is Elliot”

“I see, well, it was time we finally took care of whatever is plaguing his mind and soul…and i'd be lying if i didnt say i want a rematch against “Faith””

“Ah, right…i forgot about…that, you think we can take them now?”

“We must, they hold the only key we have access to right now and the longer they stay together the bigger their threat becomes”

“Guess we don't have any other choice, we'll hunt down Elliot and “Faith””
You yawn.
“...Tomorrow…i need a good night of rest, it's been a long day”

You give Willow a good bye kiss and leave her classroom.

It's around 6pm, the sky is slowly turning orange by now and you feel the warmth of the sun as you walk through the corridor that takes you to your office/room.

After finding the correct key to your room, you lie down in your bed for a few moments before going and taking a quick shower.

You removed the spells on your body the moment you stepped into the castle, but it took you until you stepped out of the shower to finally turn your vest back into the former glory that is your beige coat.

Now that everything is back to how it's supposed to be, there is only one thing left for you to decide.

You look at your bed, you look at your thermos on top of the table…

Will you:
>End the day early and go to bed so you can have some proper rest
>Fill your thermos cup and go out on patrol to make sure there is nothing else roaming around the school
>Other (Write in:)

File: drinking skye.jpg (374 KB, 1200x720)

374 KB JPG

and im back...
i would like to apologize for the sudden hiatus, i honestly have no real excuse this time, i just hit both a massive writers block and wrote myself into a corner, i´ve been opening my google doc file every day for the last almost 2 weeks trying to find a solution to it, but everytime i thought i had something that could work i would simply freeze and stay there for hours and hours unable to write down anything i wanted to, and the few times i did it wasnt more than a couple of lines at most.
but i finally did it, im sorry i said nothing during all this time but for some reason i just felt a crippling fear this time, its not really an excuse but i hope you understand.
in any case, now that this is out, i can finally move on from this roadblock and continue with the story, im honestly not happy with the final result of this update, but i simply couldnt delay it anymore, i just had to get this out and be done with so we could all move on.
i hope we can recover the pace soon.

>>6284862
>>Fill your thermos cup and go out on patrol to make sure there is nothing else roaming around the school

>>6284862
>>Fill your thermos cup and go out on patrol to make sure there is nothing else roaming around the school

>>6284862
>Fill your thermos cup and go out on patrol to make sure there is nothing else roaming around the school

You walk to the table and refill your thermos before closing the lid and putting it in one of the pockets of your coat.

“Its one of the few things I have to do here, best not to slack off”

You step outside, lock the door and begin your usual patrol route.

The last class of the day is over, so most students are roaming around the castle before curfew, you see several groups of students, most of them talking, some playing gobstones in some corners of the corridors, there are a few lonely students who are actually still studying or with their faces deep inside a book.

But you can't shake the feeling that something is wrong, something feels…fake, artificial, like they are putting on a mask or charade.

You stop to clean some sticky spill of…something you are not quite sure what it is, no potion you know could possibly look like that but there is a beaker next to it, so somebody really messed up.

After cleaning that mess, you continue your patrol in the lower floors of the castle.

You meet professor Flitwick coming out from The Great Hall, Merula is following him closely.

“Oh, Mr.Tedmond, great to see you, I presume you are doing your daily patrols?”

“Only time i've missed my patrols was when i was in the hospital, thats not changing tonight”

“Good! keep up the good work and do keep your eyes open for that…” He leans closer to you and whispers “...Missing student”

“Right, do we know WHO we are looking for?”

“A Slytherin student named Taylor, Taylor Cycad, disappeared without a trace, already tried my best tracking spells, but it's like he just…ceased to exist. Miss Snyde here was about to leave to look for a magical creature capable of looking for missing people but until then, we'll have to do this the old fashion way”

"I'll keep my eyes open, Sir.”

“Great, please continue, if you need me i´ll be at the Headmaster's office trying to solve some…bureaucratic problems, ugh”

“Good luck with that, Sir.”

He turns to leave.
Merula hangs back just a bit, she looks at you for a second and scoffs before walking away.

You just shake your head and continue your patrol.

Just like most nights, once you are done with the interior of the castle you head for the fields and surrounding area to make sure nothing else is lurking in the area.

As you step outside the castle, you take a few sips of the coffee inside your thermos.

“Ahh, i know it hasn't been that long, but i missed you” You take another sip before putting the cup away.

The rest of the patrol goes without much problem, you have kept your eyes open for anything out of place or suspicious behavior from anyone, but so far, nothing.

The sky is dark now and stars are gently twinkling in place, you are starting to feel the weight of the last couple of nights catching up to you, you yawn and stretch until something satisfactorily “pops” from somewhere in your skeleton.

“Things appear to be calm for tonight” Merlin says in your head.

“So it seems…Hey, Sir. Have you felt anything new since we returned from St.Mungos? How is that whole “feeling things again” deal been going?”

“Sadly, nothing new so far, i can feel the world, hear it, smell it a bit better than before, definitely an improvement but still some way left to go”

“I see…felt anything at Hogwarts so far?”

“Not yet, I'm feeling its familiar magic from when I was a student, but nothing that stands out at the moment, i´ll let you know if i can sense anything, for now, i think it should be safe to call it a night for now”

Another yawn escapes you.

“Yeah, I think we can-”

You look at some movement from the corner of your eye, you turn towards where you think you saw the movement.

It's the edge of the forbidden forest again.

You turn off the Lumos spell on your wand and submerge yourself in the darkness of the night.
It takes a few seconds for your eyes to adjust, but soon enough you can see the shapes of the trees in the dark.

“Hello?”

Nothing.

“It can't be Him, right?” You ask Merlin while trying to hide your rising panic.

“Impossible, this is something else”

*crack*

You hear a branch snap far in the distance. A handful of, what appears to be bats, fly away from the tree line of the forest.

“Well, if it's not Salazar and you haven't felt a new piece of The Beast awakening, then this is something unrelated to that…i should go check it out”

“It would be wise to call for reinforcements, even more so now since you are getting low on energy, you require rest.” Merlin suggests with a particularly caring tone.

“We have been dealing with Salazar and his world-ending schemes for some time now, I think we can take on…” You are interrupted by another yawn “...whatever this is”

There is another *crack* far in the distance.

>”Fine, lets go ask for some help, lets hope that whatever is out there won't run away too far while we do so”
>”We got this, lets chase it now before it *yaaawwwn* disappears”
>Other (Write in:)

>>6286560
>>”Fine, lets go ask for some help, lets hope that whatever is out there won't run away too far while we do so”

>>6286560

>”Fine, lets go ask for some help, lets hope that whatever is out there won't run away too far while we do so”

I have a bad feeling about this and we are tired and drained. If nothing else we should be able to get info if we dont find what ever it is. The only exception would be if we heard a human scream or something; then it is big dumb hero time.

You weigh your options for a bit before your mind goes blurry again thanks to another yawn.
This time it forces you to close your eyes and shake away some tears.

“…Fine, you make a good point, lets hurry”

You make the trip back to the castle at a jog pace, trying to get your blood pumping a bit while taking another quick chug of your “coffee”.
On your way back, the fastest path takes you closer to Hagrid's hut, as you run by pass it you debate whether or not you should call him too…you continue running though, you´d rather not involve him if necessary.

Once you get into the castle, you head straight to the only person you can trust in situations like these. She should be in her room at this hour.

You were about to knock on the door before you realize you might not have enough time for common courtesy, so you barge in.

“Willow i-”

“AAHHHH!”

“Oh my god! i'm sorry!”
You step back and close the door just in time to hear several objects being thrown at it.

“Vhat is vrong with you?! I know ve are together but you still need to knock vhen you come into a voman's bedroom!” You hear her scream through the door.

“I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I swear I didn't see anything!”

“Uuugh! vhat do you vant? i vas getting ready to go to bed”

You hear some shuffling inside.

“Oh right! i need your help, there is something in the forest and i could use some help with it”

The sound of shuffling stops for a moment and then you hear footsteps coming closer.
Her door opens and you can see Willow with a black silk crop top, wide grey sweat pants and her hair still wet from a shower, her abs are glistening thanks to some remaining moisture.

You can't avoid but stare for a couple of seconds.

“AHEM!” Both Merlin and Willow say at the same time.

“Yeah!? i mean…I uuuuh”

“You are cute vhen you are shtupid” she giggles as she finishes putting on her boots.

“Huh?”

“Cmon, lets get this over vith”

She then takes her jacket from behind her door and walks past you, you swear you saw a teasing smile on her face.

“Get a hold of yourself, boy.” Merlin commands with a hint of amusement.

“I-yeah, right, I'm sorry, it's just…wheew!”

You can feel Merlin rolling his eyes.

As you make your way out of the castle, you give Willow a quick briefing.

“So zhats vhy you disappeared last night?”

“Yeah, it's been a long day” You yawn again. “Im gonna need a long rest after this”

“Vhat about vhatever is in ze forest?”

“No idea, but Merlin said it would be better if i had some back-up”

You make it to the main floor and head to the exit, but Willow takes another path.

“Hey, where are you going?”

“Just a quick detour, vait here, it vont take long”

It takes a couple of minutes before she returns with some vials with some orange liquid in them.

“Here drink zis”

“What is it?” You remove the cork from it and take a quick whiff of it, it smells like peppermint.

“Invigoration Draught, i had some made just in case and vas keeping it in zhe potions classroom for somezhing like zis”

“I didn't know you were good at potions”

“im not, i asked professor Slughorn to make them for me”

“Huh…Thanks” You drink the potion and feel a surge of energy through your body.

A few minutes later, you and Willow are walking into the forbidden forest, the castle and its fields quickly disappearing behind you as you venture deeper into the forest.

“Vhat are ze chances of zhis being a magical creature?”

“High, but after all the problems that have been going on lately, i´d rather have someone i trust with me if we manage to encounter something other than a magical creature”

“Aww, I'm your first option? im flattered”

“Shh, listen…”

You both freeze in place, its quiet, deadly quiet, even for the forbidden forest.

“This forest is filled with nocturnal creatures, there should be at least a hint of them…”

You check your surroundings and see nothing but mist on the ground and long shadows being casted by the trees from what little moonlight goes through the canopy.

Then there is a scream, far far away and way deeper into the forest.
It was so far away that you could barely hear it, but it was distinct enough to get a general sense of direction.

“Over there” You point in the direction you think the scream came from and continue walking.

You follow a vague path on the forest floor, it appears to be long abandoned but you rather follow this instead of wandering about without any sense of direction or landmarks, specially in this particular forest.
You pass through some dead patches of forest, small areas of skinny trees and barren land immediately followed by some of the most dense and darkest sections of the forest.
It almost feels like even these dead patches of land are alive and constantly moving, trying to make you lose your way and trap you inside the forest until the end of your days.

Then, just when you were about to give up, thinking that whatever you saw before was gone…

Another scream, a female one, but it wasn't a scream of fear, it was filled with anger, desperation, rage.

Then a bit further away, you catch the silhouette of some ruins thanks to a series of bright blue flashes, there is the sound of something rocky being crushed or maybe they are being thrown, hard.

You look at Willow and put your finger over your lips, giving her a “quiet” sign, you hold your wand tighter and get closer to the source of the lights, Willow close behind you.

You both reach the ruins of what appears to be an old castle tower, or at the very least what little remains of it, only the circular base of the building remains, its walls not taller than Hagrid at the highest places and completely gone in others.
There are some wooden structures surrounding the area along with some crates too, even some old paintings and clothes are scattered around, all of them deteriorated and torn from all places.

It appears to still have some “rooms” “inside”, most are completely exposed and only one has anything resembling a ceiling, though that one is completely collapsed on one side and what little remains standing is thanks to some mounds of dirt that reach the “ceiling”.

You step into the ruins.

“Vhat is zhis place?”

“No idea, I can't remember any particular landmarks in this forest, most guides and books just tell you to stay away”

“For a good reason, I bet…”

A bright flash of bluish green light illuminates the area for a second.

You both instinctively hide and protect yourselves behind one of the walls that are still standing.

“Its on the other side of this tower, a bit further behind the trees” You whisper.
“Stay close and keep your wand ready”

Willow nods and follows you as you make your way around the tower.

The first thing you see when you reach a proper spot to spy from, is the body of a student lying on the ground, you can't tell who it is but you are damn sure they aren't supposed to be here.

The next thing you see…is Elliot, standing in front of some big, flat stone. He is surrounded by candles inside a triangle drawn on the ground, there are several objects and ingredients on the stone, nothing that you can recognize.
He then pulls out a cup and leaves it on top of the stone, then…

“Reparifarge”

The cup spins violently and grows in size before twisting on itself until it becomes Taylor Cycad.

“Oh shit!” You whisper to yourself.

“Vhat?! Vhats going on? i cant see!” Willow whispers back.

“Be ready, i think this is about to get ugly”

Elliot takes a candle holder from the many candles that surround him and transfigures it into a long dagger.

“Your sacrifice will be remembered” he says while raising the dagger.

But before he could plunge it down, he gets hit with a red volt of magic.

“Expelliarmus!”

The student that was on the ground slowly stands up, wand raised and trembling, barely holding on.

The dagger flies away from Elliot’s hands and lands a few meters behind him.

“I thought i killed you already”

“That's not happening, not before I kill you first!”

It's the owner of the previous screams you heard before.
She then attacks.

“AVADA KEDAVRA!”

Elliot protects himself behind the stone and quickly counter attacks without any incantations.
Whatever it is, it lands directly on her chest and she flies away, slamming into one of the tower´s walls and knocking it down on top of her.

“Willow! i need you to:”

>”Take the girl and protect her while i take care of Elliot” (Roll 1D100+5 to beat a DC of 75, best of 3 rolls) (This option will protect the girl but the fight will last longer)
>”Help me 2V1 this little shit” (Roll 1D100+25 (+20 from Willow´s help) to beat a DC of 75, best of 3 rolls) (This option might make the fight faster but will leave the girl unprotected if rolls are not beaten)
>Other (Write in:)

Rolled 90 + 25 (1d100 + 25)

>>6289188
>>”Help me 2V1 this little shit” (Roll 1D100+25 (+20 from Willow´s help) to beat a DC of 75, best of 3 rolls) (This option might make the fight faster but will leave the girl unprotected if rolls are not beaten)

File: file.png (359 KB, 706x402)

359 KB PNG

>>6289318

File: a3805312134_5.jpg (85 KB, 700x700)

85 KB JPG

>>6289318
>>6289320
>mfw the original DC for this was 90 but decided to tone it down a bit so it could still have a chance of being beatable.
the ONE fucking time im counting on you guys having shit rolls so i can actually have some stakes on this and create some drama...looks like Brandon is just too good overall

Rolled 67 + 25 (1d100 + 25)

>>6289188

Rolled 62 (1d100)

>>6289188
1

“Willow! I need you to help me 2V1 this little shit! I´ve been dying for a rematch since it had me stuck at St.Mungos.”

“Vhat about ze girl?!”

“We won't go anywhere with that guy trying to kill us, we have to take care of him first!”

“Fine but ve are taking the girl straight to the infirmary after this!”

“Of course, ready?”

Willow nods.

“Here we go”

Elliot was walking back to pick up his dagger when he got a sudden blast on his back, sending him straight into a tree.

It takes a moment for him to stand up and run back to the stone where Taylor was still lying unconscious.

“You!”

“Me!” You say as you walk out from your hiding spot, wand at the ready.
“Im here for the rematch, asshole”

“You really shouldn't be talking to students like that” Elliot says as he climbs over the stone, stepping in front of Taylor´s body.
“I might have to report you for it”

“You gonna have to get past me first”

“My pleasure” He says with an almost unnaturally big grin.

“EXPULSO!” Elliot draws fire first which you dodge and respond with your own.

“BOMBARDA!”

You both begin dancing around explosions and blasts of magic. You block his attacks and counter, but he blocks those and counter-counter attacks.
One explosion goes off uncomfortably close to the body of the unconscious student on the stone, it chars part of his robes but the explosion was strong enough to push him off of the stone and fall unto the ground.
You hiss and cringe when he rolls down the little hill that surrounded the stone.

“Eesh, sorry about that!...glad he is unconscious…”

You block another spell and see Willow getting into position behind Elliot.

She gives you a thumbs up

“Hey Elliot or whoever is behind the wheel!” You dive to dodge another attack. “I don't think you have improved that much since our last battle! last time i was actually trying, now it's just too easy!”

He stops for a second, easily falling for the taunt.

“W-what!?” He shouts, clearly taken aback.

“Gotcha, bitch” You murmur to yourself.

“Matter of fact…” You stand still and cast a Protego spell around you. “Bet you cant even get past a simple protection spell!”

To add to the taunt, you cast Defodio on the ground, digging a small chunk of land to create a makeshift stool and sit on it, legs crossed and faking a yawn.

“What are you doing? you think I'm going to fall for that?” Elliot says, clearly frustrated.
“You think so little of me that you rather play these stupid games? I could easily kill you right now if i wanted”

“No you cant” You taunt back, arms behind your head.

“Y-yes i can!”

“Im still alive, aren't I?"

“LAGANN!”

A green light shows up at the tip of his wand, it quickly grows in size and materializes a long and thin drill that spins rapidly.
He slams the drill into your shield and instantly cracks begin to show up.

The smile on your face disappears.

“Not so smug now, are you? any last words?”

“Just one. NOW!”

Elliot gets suddenly slammed into your shield, it's so strong he bounces back only to get slammed into the shield again and again and again, his magical drill disappeared after the 1st slam.
On his last bounce, the shield actually breaks and he goes through it, only for you to catch him with a fist to the face, knocking him out instantly and dropping him to the ground with a loud “THUD”.

You shake your hand to ease the pain of the punch.

“Well, that was easy, nicely done, Willow.”

She is now standing a couple of steps away from where Elliot was previously standing, the tip of her wand smoking from the rapid-fire barrage of spells she casted on Elliot´s back.

She is panting due to the effort, but smiling.

“Is…is it bad if I say zhat zhat felt good?”

“Mmmmaybe a little bit, but in our defense, he is most likely being controlled by some evil magic thing, so it's fine”

You both chuckle for a moment before being interrupted by the sound of a girl grunting in pain and some rocks tumbling.

“Oh shit, I almost forgot about her! Willow, keep your eye on him, I'll go help!”

She wastes no time and immediately begins casting spells on Elliot to keep him in place in case he wakes up, meanwhile you run to the crumbled stone wall to dig out the girl that was struggling to get out.

“Don't worry! I'm here to help! just hang on for a bit!”

You levitate the heavy rocks away and carefully dig around the ones that are too heavy for a simple Wingardium Leviosa until you can safely extract the girl from within the rubble.

Once you carefully dragged her out and gently lay her on the ground, you cast a couple of basic healing spells on her, she will still need a visit to the Infirmary but for now looks like she will survive without much problem.

“Hey, are you ok?” You ask while kneeling next to her.

She grunts in pain while slowly lifting herself with her elbows.
Now that you can see her more clearly, you finally recognize who she is, is one of Elliot's friends, the goth girl that called herself Raven.

“This is gonna hurt in the morning, but i think i'll be fine” She says while rotating her shoulder. “Thanks”

“Dont mention it”

“Now i can just kill him”

“What?”

She takes her wand out and aims at Elliot, but you quickly snatch the wand out of her hand.

“WOAH! WOAH! WOAH! HEY! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!”

“We have to kill him now! before he wakes up and tries to do his stupid ritual again! Aaagh!”

She clutches herself in pain, her arms right under her chest.

“We need to take you to the Infirmary”

“Forget about me, just KILL HIM ALREADY!”

“We are NOT killing anybody! we already have an unconcious-oh fuck i forgot about that kid! Wil-”

Willow approaches you while levitating Taylor.

“I got him, zont vorry”

You exhale and relax for a moment.

“Is he alright?!” Raven asks with worry.

“He is fine, i zhink he is under some kind of potion, but zhat seems to be it” Willow says.

“Now that we know everyone is ok” You turn to look at Raven. “What do you think you are doing? Why do you want to kill Elliot?”

“You don't get it, I don't want to kill Elliot, I want to kill what's inside him!”

“...You mean Faith?”

When you mention Faith, she immediately turns to stare at you in shock, letting out an audible gasp.

“H-how? we have been trying our hardest to keep everything a secret from everyone, how do you know?”

You can't avoid but let out a small smile.

“i…have my ways” You give a glance at Willow, she rolls her eyes but also smiles.
You can feel Merlin rolling his eyes too.
“More importantly, sounds like to me Elliot hasn't been completely honest with you. Let me ask you something, have you been…“looking for something”? Something that only he can see?”

She looks surprised again.

“Yep, that pretty much tells me what I need to know, we have to talk, let's go back.”

“No! we cannot waste this opportunity! I finally have a clean shot at Elliot, I can try to kill whatever is making him act like this!”

She tries to stand up but immediately lays back down in pain.

“Dont move, I think you might have broke something”

“I don't care! I have to at least try!”

“And do what? Do you just want to throw an Avada Kedavra at him and cross your fingers hoping it will work?”

She stays silent.

“I saw you casting it before, you know that is an unforgivable curse, right? Even if you can't cast it, simply attempting to do so is enough justification to kick you out of Hogwarts and maybe throw you in Azkaban too…”

“I had to…”

“Yes i know…but thats not how you do it”

“Then how? I have been looking for a way to bring Elliot back to normal, but ever since the day he said he found some…dark thing, he has been acting weird…”

“He what?”

She bites her lip, thinking about if she should say anything about it.

“Was this…dark thing, something that you could not see? only him?”

“Y-yeah, he was acting all excited when he found it, but neither me nor Taylor could see anything, for a bit we thought he had finally lost it, shortly after it, he became stronger than before but slowly became meaner, grumpier…he started talking to himself even more than before”

“So its was true” Merlin says, “he found a piece, that's how Faith became corrupted”

“Makes sense to me” You reply.

You must have been talking with Merlin for a bit longer than expected before you realized that Raven was staring at you since you became quiet.

“...you have one too!”

>”Obliviate!”
>”I…might have something similar”
>Other (Write in:)

>>6292523
>"You must promise me that this information does not reach anyone else. Not Taylor, nor Elliot, nor a single other soul living or dead."
>If she genuinely promises it, tell her everything. If she does not...obliviate her.

>>6292821
Elliot already figured it out unintentionally

>>6292832
Only part of it.
This is offering to tell her a much bigger piece of the puzzle.

>>6292832
does this mean you are voting to obliviate her?

>>6293072
i'm with that guy, just pointing out that he already knows there's someone in our head

“I…” You turn to look at Willow.

She simply shrugs a bit after lying Taylor gently on the ground.
You turn back to Raven

"You must promise me that this information does not reach anyone else. Not Taylor, nor Elliot, nor a single other soul living or dead."
You extend your hand to her.

She goes to grab and shake it but before she could, you pull back.

“Im not kidding, if this goes out it could have catastrophic consequences for everyone involved, including you”

You extend your hand again.

“Not talking about getting expelled from Hogwarts and getting your wand destroyed, im talking death and suffering for everyone”

She looks you in the eyes, then your hand, then back to your eyes.

“If you truly trust me, shake my hand, if you think you cant, then i´ll just Obliviate you and none of this ever happened”

“What?! you can't just mess with my memory!”

“Trust me, erasing this from your mind is probably a mercy at this point, do you want to get out of this now or do you want to know what's going on? choose”

She hesitantly lifts her hand, halfway between her chest and your hand.

“Im really worried about Elliot, are you sure you can fix him?”

You nod.

She takes your hand and slowly shakes it.

“Good, you are fully on this now, but before we waste any more time with talks and details, we have to take care of some things first”

You help her stand up and return her wand.
“Willow, can you take her and Taylor to the infirmary? I'll take Elliot back to my room, meet me there in 15 minutes”

“Very vell, come on, Linda.”

“My name is Raven”

“Ugh…”

20 Minutes later, You, Willow, a still unconscious Elliot and the unexpected guest “Raven” were all in your room.

“What are you doing here again?”

“You might be part of Hogwarts' staff, but you are crazy if you think I'm leaving you alone with Elliot after you threatened me to Obliviate me”

“It wasn't a threat, it was an option…but fine, I get your point”

Raven sits on a chair next to your big wooden table, still clutching her chest wrapped in a bandage after a visit to the Infirmary.

"So what's the plan? How are we getting him back to normal?" She asks.

“Well, I've done this before, but last time he really resisted and fought back”

"You've done this before?! with who? how?" She asks while standing up.

"I'll let you know after we are done here, we don't have much time to waste”

“Willow, make sure nothing happens out here, im going in”

“Please be careful.”
She then gives you a good luck kiss and steps away.

You take a chug of your “coffee” and take out your wand.

“Alright…here we go again, ready sir?”

“I'm ready” He replies.

You touch Elliot's chest with the tip of your wand.

Immediately you feel a familiar coldness traveling across your wand.

“I'll try my best to help this time, Brandon. We cannot allow another piece to be lost or to escape, hang on tight” Merlin says as you feel a rush from the center of your stomach up until the tip of your wand.

“Now, just like you did with Miss Lily, Command it!”

>Roll 1D100+49 (+15 from your own previous bonuses) + (+34 From Merlin's help) Best of 3 rolls to beat a DC of 100

Rolled 10 + 49 (1d100 + 49)

>>6294433

Rolled 75 + 49 (1d100 + 49)

>>6294433

Rolled 84 + 49 (1d100 + 49)

>>6294433

Brandon sized rolls!

You take a couple of deep breaths and begin the process.

Once you feel like you made a connection with Elliot's magic, that's when you start “pulling”
Only for your magic to be immediately attacked by The Beast.

It's not a physical battle, you don't move, you don't complain, because you can't. Your body is frozen, your mind is in overdrive and your magic is doing its best to defend itself against the attacks of The Beast.

To any outsider or spectator, you are simply standing next to Elliot, the tip of your wand on top of his chest.
Nobody can see the magical battle that is taking place in front of them.

Your magic, your energy, it fights back against the dark magic of The Beast, it struggles to gain any ground, you feel yourself being bombarded by unseen attacks from everywhere, your spirit taking a beating like any other.

Then, for a split second, despite having your eyes closed, despite seeing nothing but darkness while you focus on pulling The Beast out of its hiding place, you see a face.
The face of a woman, once beautiful, now emaciated with sunken cheeks, hollow eyes, pale skin and a petrifying scream.

The face lunges at you while screaming, a pair of ethereal hands materializing next to her face, then the rest of her body gains form.
She is wearing a pale, dirty and torn yellow dress, barefoot, hair with disheveled braids.

It's horrifying, but you try your best to persist.

She then tries to grab you by your wrist, only for the both of you to be blasted away the moment she does so.

You open your eyes and feel a force push you away from Elliot, launching you back into the wall.

Both Willow and Raven jump away in surprise and run back to you to help you stand up.

“NO! NOT ME! HIM!”

Elliot stands up, rising from your bed akin to a vampire, simply being straightened up by some unseen force, not using hands or legs.
As soon as you stand, you push your big table into the door with a kick, creating an obstacle before he could rush to the door.

“PIN HIM DOWN!”

All three of you throw spells at him, stuff to paralyze him, keep him in place or straight up push him back, but he just swats the spells away with the back of his bare hands.

He rushes at you like a wild animal going for the kill, pushing both Raven and Willow away from you with inhuman strength.

You raise your left leg, stopping his advance by placing your foot on his chest.

“GET THIS FUCKER OFF OF ME!”

You try your best to push him away, but he holds onto you, digging his fingernails into the wood of your prosthetic foot.
You push and push until finally, your foot gives away and detaches from your body, making Elliot lose his balance and fall back on the floor.

“INCARCEROUS!” Shouts Raven. A black rope shoots out of the tip of her wand and binds Elliot by wrapping itself around him, tying his arms behind his back.

“INCARCIFORS!” Says Willow, making your bed transform into a wooden table with shackles and restraints.

Even in this state, it takes all of you to strap him to the transfigured table and keep him in place with all of his thrashing.

Once his legs are restrained and both Willow and Raven are holding him in so he wont move too much, you place the tip of your wand on his chest and try one more time.

Once again, the woman shows up and goes for you, but this time you are the one that holds her, not letting her grab you like before.

“My turn, bitch!”

However, before you can do anything, a 2nd pair of hands comes out of nowhere and holds her, one by the neck and the other by her right hand.

Is Merlin and he looks mad.

“You foul Beast! return to where you belong! I command you-!”

He stops for a moment when he sees you holding her other arm and begins to pull.

“-WE COMMAND YOU! LEAVE THE HOST AND RETURN FROM WHENCE YOU CAME!” You both say in unison

The woman…no, the creature, it screams while the both of you pull in opposite directions from its arms.

You feel something give away along with a sickening and gruesome sound of flesh tearing.

The creature slowly rips away from the woman. The pale, emaciated face pulls itself away from a new face that's forming from under it, like a snake shedding its skin away or a cell dividing itself through mitosis.

As you pull and the creature continues screaming, a new screaming voice appears.

You recognize the voice.

Faith.

“HANG ON!” You shout.

There is one final pull, both The Beast and Faith scream harder than before.
For a moment, it almost sounds like paper being torn, wood being broken and crystal being smashed.

The last thing you see before a bright white flash, is that pale creature being fused with Merlin, going through his chest and disappearing inside him.

Once again, you are launched into a wall, so fast that you didn't even have the chance to register how long it took to make it from one side of the room to the other.

Your…everything hurts, but don't have the energy to complain about it.

Instead, Elliot is the one screaming in pain, along with a second, female voice coming out of his throat.

He thrashes and arches his back almost unnaturally, you swear that you heard something *CRACK* inside Elliot, but don't have much time to think about it before he finally gives up and passes out.

You lean back into the wall, while clutching the side of your hip and panting.

“...We got it”

>YOU GOT A PIECE OF THE BEAST

You try standing up but find that your legs are too tired to do anything at the moment.

A sense of relief washes down on everyone in the room, you want to say something, but your mouth is too dry.
Instead, Raven is the one who breaks the silence.

“So what now? is he ok now?”

“I think so, yeah, he should be fine…probably will be VERY tired for a few days…weeks…so tell him to not use any magic if possible, but should be ok after some rest”

“Good, in that case, I'll just take him to the infirmary and-”

“No, don't. Just take him to his room, the last thing we need right now is more people in there, just get him a potion of dreamless sleep and some Invigoration Draught after he wakes up, he might need that for a bit”

“What about you?” Raven asks while unshakeling Elliot from the table.

“I think I'm gonna call in sick tomorrow, I need some…” You try standing up again but cant “...lots of rest”

Willow walks up to you and helps you stand up, she takes you back to your bed after she is done transfiguring it back to how it was and carefully lays you down on it.
“I zhink i´ll stay vith you tonight, just to make sure nothing veird happens to you vhile sleeping”

“yeah, that sounds nice, what do you think, sir?”

But Merlin doesn't respond.

“Sir?”

“Are you talking to your head ghost?” Raven asks.

“Something like that…”

“You still have yet to explain that to me”

"I'll do it later…after we've had some proper rest”

“Yeah, ok fair enough.”

Raven levitates Elliot and heads to the door, leaving you and Willow alone.

“Should ve be vorried about Merlin?” Willow asks after locking the door and walking back to the bed to sit next to you.

“I think he might need a bit of space and time to get used to being more whole again, it's probably not an easy thing to get a world ending creature inside you…”

She looks at you with a hint of nervousness in her eyes.

>”Lets just rest for a bit, im sure he´ll be fine”
>Keep trying to communicate with Merlin
>Other (Write in:)

>>6297140
>Go get an invigoration draught, a calming draught, and go tuck into bed just in case. You can try to communicate with him once gou actually have the energy and mindset to do so, and are in a secure enough location in case you go limp.
Honestly. Its a symbiotic link. A healthy and hale host is bound to help Merlin out. And make our efforts to reach out to him more viable.

>>6297140
>”Lets just rest for a bit, im sure he´ll be fine”
As the default option, but I am curious if >>6297234 would work too

You close your eyes for a second and exhale.

“Let's just rest for a bit, im sure he´ll be fine”

“Are you sure?” Willow asks while fixing a bit of the mess that the whole confrontation caused in your room.

“Not really, but there isn't much we can do at the moment, we did what we could and there aren't really any instructions or previous instances of this happening before to guide us, best to get some of our strength back as soon as we can before anything else happens”

After Willow sets the table back to where it was, she goes to the door.

“Im gonna go get a few zhings for you, be right back”

She leaves before you can say anything and end up alone with nothing but your thoughts and for the first time in a long time, you realize that your head is actually empty, no second voice in your head, no hyperawareness or numbness.

“I dont know if you can hear me, Sir, but…”

You stop before you complete your thought.

“Good night”

You fall asleep almost instantly.

…

You are falling, falling for what feels like forever down some infinite darkness, you can feel the wind rushing across your face.
Then, little spots, dots of lights begin to appear as you fall, far in the distance.
Stars, a few, a dozen, hundreds, thousands, more than you can count, all show up and form the cosmos.

Next, that big light, the one you saw months ago, just when this entire deal began.
The tree of light, you can see it stuck in place, unmoving as you fall, so big and infinite that no matter how far you fall, it simply won't look like its moving at all.

From the main ”trunk” of the tree, the biggest column of light, you see a crack slowly healing.
From that same “trunk”, the second biggest pillar of light comes out from just above the healing crack, the pillar dulls just slightly.

You feel yourself being drained of energy for a moment before a rush of it coming back into you.
You feel powerful, you feel limitless…you feel the floor.
“AACH!!”

You wake up, pain in your face and adrenaline filling your body.

“HUH!? WHU?! WHO!?”

You look up and realize that you fell off of your bed, you were probably moving a lot in your sleep.

You shake the pain (and what's left of your sleepiness) off and stand up.

Willow is sleeping in your bed, half covered by your blankets, still wearing that black crop top from last night.

You feel the adrenaline fading away when you realize you are fine, just to be sure though, you pat all over your body, checking that there are no unusual pains or sore spots, nothing out of place, nothing unusual.

“Oh thank god…”

You move towards the table where you see a few vials and a note sticking to them, but stumble a bit when you take your first step.

Your foot is still missing.

You find it at the foot of the bed and put it back where it belongs before giving it a couple of test stomps and walking to the table to read the note.

“Invigorating draught if you are feeling tired. Calming draught if you need to relax. Already let Flitwick know you are taking the day off today. <3 Willow.”

You look back at Willow, she is snoring gently, barely letting out any sound while breathing.

Then, the silence is interrupted by the ringing of the school's bells, the bells toll just once, indicating its around 5am.

“What are you doing up so early?” Willow says with a groggy voice and rubbing one of her eyes with the back of her hand.

“Sorry, did I wake you up?” You walk back to the bed and sit next to her.

She ignores the question and replies with another one of her own.
“Are you ok? How are you feeling?”

“Im fine, nothing feels off or weird so far”

“Vhat about Merlin?”

“No word of him yet”

“Zhink it's gonna take long to hear back from him?”

“Probably, even for him this is something that would take a lot of effort and time, I'll let you know if I hear anything new”

“Fine…so vhat now?”

“I dont know…i had a weird dream, but i think that was because i fell down the bed…maybe i´ll have to look into that soon”

“Hmmmmm…”

“What?”

“Nothing, it's just…” She covers herself with the blanket, leaving only the upper side of her face out. She mumbles something you can't understand.

“Im sorry, what?”

She mumbles again, you notice she is looking away from you.

“I-i cant understand you”

“UGH!” She blurts out and drops the blanket.
“You have been at zhis for some time now…ve have barely had any time to be together…” she says, voice getting lower and quieter at the end.

“...o-oh”

“I know ve are a team and zhis entire zhing vith Merlin and the possible end of the vorld is important and…vhatever, but…you are still my boyfriend and ve have barely done anyzhing…you still owe me zhat date you promise me before, you know…”

“Right…I did promise you that…”

“Im not entirely comfortable with Merlin being quiet right now…but it is a chance, the situation is quiet for now and you have a free day today, so…”

You think for a few moments, it is true that Merlin is gone for the moment and you have no idea how long with that process take, it is a good moment to finally rest and have some personal 1 on 1 time with Willow after who knows how long…on the other hand, this could be a good opportunity to do some investigation on your own, who knows what you could find…if you manage to find anything that is.

>Spend time with Willow: write down an idea for a date (roll 1D100 to see how well that date goes)
>Investigate for any clues about the remaining pieces: where will you go/what will you do? (roll 1D100 for results)
>Other: (Write in)

Rolled 45 (1d100)

>>6299790
>Spend time with Willow

Rolled 9 (1d100)

>>6299790
>Spend time with Willow. Shadow puppets.
watch this 1

File: gathered concern.png (824 KB, 734x570)

824 KB PNG

>>6299797
>>6299803
i...wow ok...shit, lets hope we get one more vote with a better roll before i close down the votes...or we are in some trouble

>>6299806
45's not THAT bad...

>>6299808
its bellow middle of the road and you didnt give any ideas for the date, so unless you give me one, the date is gonna be a barely decent shadow puppet show...

>>6299811
add sock puppets

File: critical-role-travis-will(...).gif (200 KB, 220x278)

200 KB GIF

>>6299816

Rolled 11 (1d100)

>>6299790
You niggas ain't never been on a date before? SHEESH.
A'ight, here's the plan broskis. Thestral ride (you KNOW this shit gonna be up in the air) skimming over the black lake. Head off towards Inverness, because two muggleborns are gonna wanna enjoy some muggle as fuck activities. What does that include? You know what it fuckin includes.
>BOWLING.
>MUSEUM TOURS.
>LEAKEY'S BOOKSHOP. BITCHES LOVE BOOKS.
>HIKE AROUND NESS ISLANDS. SHIT'S SCENIC AS FUCK.
>THE MOTHER. FUCKING. BOTANICAL. GARDENS.
>TOP THAT BITCH OFF WITH DINNER. YOU TREATIN' THIS BITCH LIKE A FINE WINE. SAVOR HER PRESENCE, NIGGA.
YOU GOT THE PLAN, BITCHES?

Rolled 47 (1d100)

>>6299790
>Spend time with Willow: walk through the forest, enjoying each other's company, have a picnic under the trees, communicate about each other's thoughts, issues, and feelings.

Rolled 94 (1d100)

>>6299790
>Spend time with Willow:
>THE MOTHER. FUCKING. BOTANICAL. GARDENS.

Rolled 98 (1d100)

>>6299790
Go duck catching. With lassos. Tiny duck sized ones.

apologies for the delayed update, i´ve had to deal with some things irl, luckily nothing too serious but it certainly got in the way of the update.
anyway, the next update should go love tomorrow, thank you for waiting.

Rolled 60 (1d100)

>>6299790

If it is still open, how about an arboretum, by some flowers from, them for her, followed by a lunch at the Werewolf restaurant

File: Aubrey.jpg (65 KB, 680x648)

65 KB JPG

>>6302926

Guess not. Damn medical issues. Did not see updoot tomorrow.

>>6303484
yeah, sorry, most of it its writen by now, im just finishing the last pages and checking some spelling before i post it.
i´ll read yours as soon as im done with this. or maybe early tomorrow, depending on how late i finish this

>>6303486
Ty. It is rather long important vote at the end.

You think for a second and come to a clear decision shortly after.

“You know what? you are right. We have been under a lot of stress and problems and who knows what else, I think we have earned some personal time for us”

She smiles and lays her hand on top of yours.
“Im glad you agree”

You put your other hand on top of hers and squeeze it a bit while smiling back at her.

“I´ll have to think of something though…first things first, do you want to do it today or would you rather wait for the weekend so we can have a bit more time?”

“Uh uh! Today! Ve don't know how long it vill take for Merlin to come back and I'm NOT vaiting another day just for zhe chance of having it be over because of some…some…”KUHSCHEIßE!” getting in the vay”

“Woah! language!” You chuckle.

She chuckles too but then jabs a finger on your chest.
“I'm serious, i dont care vhat is it zhat ve end up doing, but it has to be today, ok?”

“Got it, don't worry, we'll have a great time, just the two of us and no magical beast or even the end of the world will get in our way”

She smiles once again and gives you a quick kiss on the lips.
“Zhats vhat i like to hear”

She then tosses the blanket aside and steps down from your bed, you now notice that besides her crop top, she is only wearing some cheeky black shorts that accentuates her…lower half…a lot.
“Vell, vhatever it is zhat you are planning, im excited for it, but for now, i got to go”

This gets your attention back from her strong and toned…lower half.

“Huh? what? where are you going?”

“Vell, just because you have a free day doesn't mean zhat everyone does, i still have classes to teach”

She puts on her sweat pants from last night while doing some small jumps from side to side to make them fit in.
“I´ll see you later tonight, ok?”

“Sure thing, take care.”

She takes her jacket that was hanging from a chair and steps out of your room.

You go back to bed and take a short nap, still a bit too early to start your day.

A couple of hours later, you are leaving The Great Hall with a full stomach but still munching on a piece of pumpkin pie.

Classes are about to start, you see students walking around, some getting some breakfast, some already rushing into their classes, but the ones that catch your attention are the ones that are walking around holding hands.
Thats something thats frown upon by the rules but one of the few rules you tend to ignore whenever you have the chance, after all, you were a student here, you know that hormones and romance go hand in hand with the teenage years, you don't really feel like getting in the way of that.

You see several students walking very close to one another, boys and girls, girls and girls, boys and boys, you even see what appears to be a 4th year girl with a 2nd year boy.

…Kinda reminds you of that time when you were in 5th year and one of the new 1st year students confessed her feelings to you but you had to turn her down, it was flattering at the time but it was quite a bit of an age gap, you think she had a twin sister but you haven't seen any twins since you got your job as a caretaker, you wonder where they are now…

Whatever, you can't afford to get distracted by memories now, you have a date to plan.
You finish the pumpkin pie and head to the edge of the castle´s property, thinking of good places for a date.

“The three broomsticks? nah, too crowded…The hogs head inn? too smelly…”

You think about Willow, she is a cheery gal, obviously has a romantic side since she is starting to get desperate for a date with you, so she might like some lovey dovey stuff…but she is also an athletic and very energetic woman, so she could also enjoy something more than just a romantic dinner…

“She does enjoy going fast, she does parkour afterall…”

Before you even realize it, you are already on the other side of the black lake and walking along the shore, stepping over some wet stones and abandoned piers.

You have been here a couple of times before, only because you were trying to familiarize yourself with the furthest edges of the school’s property.
There is only one place that's worth any attention out here.

The abandoned building sits behind a group of rocks, purposely hidden from view, almost every window and crystal that makes the walls of the greenhouse is either cracked or completely shattered, the wireframe is the only thing that keeps the building standing, you can still see some pieces of glass near the edge of the river that flows just a few steps away from the building.

“The abandoned outskirts greenhouse, perfect!”

You start doing a bit of cleaning, mostly taking away the most dangerous pieces of glass lying around and making a path through the overgrown plants.

After a couple of hours (and fixing your coat a couple of times after it got nibbled by a particularly aggressive plant with fangs), your date spot is ready for a romantic evening.

You make your way back to the castle.

…

After a midday meal and another nap to get back your strength, you make your way to Hogsmeade and buy a couple of things for your date, some candles, a mat, food, butterbeer and firewhiskey, stuff like that.

You make your way back to the castle again once the sun starts to go down.

…

The castle's bells toll once again, signaling the end of the school day. Students pour out from their classrooms, professors walk out after them, some looking tired, some relieved that another day is over.

You are making your way to the Muggle Studies classroom, going against the flow of students walking in the opposite direction.
Some students look at you and smile, some snicker, others whisper things you can't hear properly, but you are certainly getting a lot of attention.

“Huh, what was that all about?” you think to yourself.

You get your answer when you get to the door of Willow´s classroom.

She is still sitting in her desk, looking at nothing in particular, behind her, the chalkboard has a crude stick figure drawing of two people holding hands surrounded by a heart.

You chuckle for a moment before being interrupted by some snickering behind you.

You are surrounded by a group of students from all houses, at least a dozen, all standing still as if spectating an important event.

“What are you all doing here?”

“Shh! ignore us! just do your thing!” says one random Hufflepuff girl from the back row.

“She has been waiting for this the entire day, she could barely teach us anything since she has been so distracted, now we all want to know how this is going to end!” continues a Slytherin girl closer to you.

“Come on! don't keep us waiting!” Finishes a Gryffindor boy.

“What is this? some play to you guys? get out of here! this is between adults!” You try to shush them away but then, Willow finally notices you.

“Brandon?!” She says excitedly and stumbles away from her desk.

Nobody left, so now you are forced to begin your date with a small audience.

You step into her classroom and try to close the door behind you with your foot, but a couple of students catch it and keep it wide open for them to enjoy their “show”.

You grumble for a moment before getting your attention stolen back by Willow who is now hugging you, you can't avoid but hug her back tightly. You both spin around while she clings to you.

This feels nice.

“Oh hello” you say in singsong before giving her a quick kiss on her nose.
“Ready for a wonderful evening?”

She actually kicks in the air while still clinging to you and lets out an excited screech

“You have no idea how much i´ve been vaiting for zhis! vhere are ve going?! no! vait! dont tell me! i vant it to be a surprise! EEEEK!”

You can't help but to chuckle and blush a bit at her cuteness, you have never seen her like this, but then again you haven't really seen a lot of her lately, you really need to do your best today and get to know her a bit better.

“Lets go, we have a bit of a walk to get to our date spot”

“Are ve valking there? so it is close then”

“Ehhh, yes and no, you'll see when we get there”

“Uuuh! mysterious! i like it!”

You lock arms and walk out of the classroom, your audience steps away and lets you through without needing to be asked to.

You quickly make a “im watching you” sign to the entire group and leave the giggling group of students behind.

A few minutes later, you are walking along the shore of the black lake, the sky slowly turning orange and the sound of the lake's tide creating a nice background noise for your walk.

“I'm glad ve finally had the chance to do zhis” Willow begins.

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“I´ll be honest vith you” Her grip on your arm gets a bit tighter, obviously nervous to what she is about to say.
“For a few days, i vas getting a bit vorried”

“Worried? for what?”

“I…vell, you have been…understandably quite busy vith the whole “Merlin is inside of your head and might be zhe key to stop zhe end of zhe vorld” zhing, so i vas starting to feel a bit…forgotten”

“Forgotten?! i would never!”
You stop walking and gently hold her by her shoulders, looking directly into her eyes.
“I know we still have some way to go before we get to call ourselves a “regular couple” but that doesn't mean i dont think about you…to be honest i would love to have you next to me whenever we get separated, i feel like i can rely on you in case things go wrong”

She smiles and gently touches your arm while getting closer to you.

“Vhenever i can, i´ll try my best to help you, no matter vhat, i promise”

You lower your hands, letting them rest on her waist while she puts hers around your neck…and kiss.

…

After walking for another 20 minutes, you finally make it to your date spot, the abandoned greenhouse.

Naturally, she looks a little confused.

“I don't vant to start this date being negative, but…”

“I know, I know, don't worry, it's not what it looks like, this is just the entrance”

You guide her inside the greenhouse, stepping around some overgrown vines and broken pots until you make it to a small fountain in the center of the building. It has a bunch of rocks placed in a spiral formation, raising the closer it gets to center, water comes from the final and highest rock, somehow still working.

“Here, hold my hand” You extend your hand and she grabs it.

“Now, hold on, it might get…twisty for a second”

“Vhat?”

You touch the tip of the highest rock from where water is coming out and you are both immediately pulled into the fountain, you feel your bodies being twisted and shoved into some sort of tight space and being pulled from somewhere.

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The trip takes less than a second, before you know it, you are both disoriented but still standing somewhere completely different.

“UUUGH! I feel like im gonna…” Willow takes her hands to her belly and struggles to maintain the contents of her stomach inside for a few moments.

You do the same but not as much as her.

“Sorry, I think it gets a bit more aggressive when it takes more than 1 person at the time”

Once the strange feeling in her stomach goes away, she asks.
“Vhere are ve?”

“Our private date spot” You step aside to stop blocking her view.

You are in a vast green field with some small hills surrounding a deep blue lake, the water is sparkling thanks to the sun slowly going down the tall mountains far in the distance, in the middle of the lake there is a small rocky island with a couple of trees.
Everything is surrounded and protected by a dense forest, with no sign of anyone else for miles and miles, a secluded paradise in the middle of nowhere.

You are both standing in one of the small rocky hills that surround the lake, the tallest one of them all but still rather small, it overlooks the lake and has its own shade thanks to a lonely tree.
Under the tree, a rather cliche but lovely looking picnic is set up, white and red checkered pattern mat, a basket with some food and a couple of candles gently floating around the area, they aren't lit yet since it's not dark enough though.

“Oooh, how lovely! a picnic!”

“Not just any picnic”

You walk down the hill and head closer to the lake, Willow follows you soon after.

At the edge of the lake, 2 Hippocampus are splashing around. They are green aquatic horses that look like they are covered in sea algae, they stop their splashing when they see Willow approach them.

“Im not making our first date just a simple picnic, i know you like something exciting and going fast, so i called in a favour from Hagrid”

When Willow stands by your side you cast some modified spells on her shoes to make her barely float above the ground.

“Race you to the other side of the lake”
You cast Carpe Retractum on the sea horse and are immediately pulled by it, so you begin surfing on the lake while being pulled by the horse.
Willow follows soon after.

Before you know it, she is already doing some advanced tricks by taking the waves you create and using them as ramps for her to jump high in the air.

She can't stop laughing and screaming from excitement with each jump. Even the Hippocampus seems to be having fun.

Soon enough, the green creatures need some rest so they start to slow down.

“Perhaps it's time for some dinner, care to join me back at the picnic?” You say while sliding on the water next to her.

“I could use a bite.”

You both return to the shore, pet the sea horses for a moment and give them something to eat before letting them roam free for a bit.
By now the sun is mostly behind the mountains and the first stars are starting to appear in the sky.

“I cannot believe ve just did lake surfing vith Hippocampuses!”

“I had to make this date memorable somehow, what better way to do so than some extreme sports, i know you like those”

“I vill not be forgetting zhis anytime soon!”

“We still have some stuff to do, come, lets go eat”

You walk the way back to the picnic area and turn the candles on with the tip of your wand, creating a secluded but romantic area at the edge of the cliff.
You pull out some cushions from the basket along with your food, some Charcuterie, cheeses, a bit of fruit and some wine, butterbeer and firewhiskey.

“How is it zhat you managed to do all of zhis in just a day?”

“You´d be amazed at how much free time you get when you aren't working. Hagrid took care of the Hippocampuses, that was the hardest part, everything else was just a matter of being creative and thinking of the best way to spend a day with you…and going to buy and prepare the food.”

She smiles and takes a bite from a piece of cheese.

“Vell, remind me to give Hagrid my zhanks”

“Will do”

You continue talking and eating for quite a bit, by the time that you are fully rested and with a full stomach, the night is fully set and the moon is perfectly reflected on the lake.

By now, you are both comfortably lying next to each other on the mat, holding hands while looking at the clouds slowly drifting away in the sky.

“You know…” She begins talking after a nice moment of comfortable silence that the two of you were sharing.
“Never in my live i vould have expected zhat i vould be involved in some veird and dangerous mission to save the vorld”

You respond with a smile.
“To be honest, i dont think many people do”

“Heh, yeah maybe you are right, but…” She turns and ends up lying on her side to look at you.
“...Of all zhe people in the vorld, i'm glad zhat it vas you who i get to help”

“And i am glad that i get to have such a wonderful woman at my side to help”

“Oh stop, im not zhat special”

You quickly sit up.
“Not that special?! Excuse me, but I don't think I would have done half of the things I've done if it weren't for you!”

“I dont believe zhat, you never needed me to do any of zhat stuff”

“never needed-...If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have stopped Salazar that first time, I wouldn't have been able to banish Peeves, hell, you stopped Salazar with a flying kick the second time! don't ever say that you aren't “that special” because to me…”
You get closer to her, taking both of her hands and looking directly at her eyes.
“...You are the most special person in this world”

After that, she tears up a bit, not from sadness, but happiness, happy for being someone special for somebody, happy that she gets to be with you.

You can't avoid but to feel happy too, happy that you get to have such a special lady by your side.
And after staring down each other's eyes for some time, you kiss, a slow and sweet kiss, a kiss that tells each other what couldn't be put into words, a kiss that begins the foundation of something stronger between the two of you.
Slowly, that kiss becomes more passionate, deeper…lustful.

“You know…it is a friday, i dont have any classes tomorrow” She says after taking a moment to catch her breath.
“Ve dont have to go back to zhe castle and…ve could spend zhe night here…”

>”I want to, but we might be going a bit too fast right now”
>Spend the night with Willow (Roll 1D50+31 for “performance” (12 from penis size + 10 from stamina + 9 from expertise) DC 40
>Other: Write in

Rolled 9 + 31 (1d50 + 31)

>>6303549

>Spend the night with Willow (Roll 1D50+31 for “performance” (12 from penis size + 10 from stamina + 9 from expertise) DC 40

Rolled 35 + 31 (1d50 + 31)

>>6303549
>>Spend the night with Willow (Roll 1D50+31 for “performance” (12 from penis size + 10 from stamina + 9 from expertise) DC 40

>>6303562
btw, hope you caught the reference

>>6303797

It likely went over my head, lol. No offense. I will blame it on the head injury.

>>6303797

Unless the twins are Jenn and Emmy. Best I got.

>>6303815
>>6303817
yeah, it was the twins

Rolled 40 + 31 (1d50 + 31)

>>6303549
>Spend the night with Willow

>no duck lassoing
we are cursed

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>>6303839

Fuck yeah! 3 for 3 with predicting shit in these games!

It is nowhere near there.I usually get it wrong.

>>6303858
ooh, the duck thing MIGHT still happen, just after the night, same with the puppets, most likely wont affect the story since they were out-rolled, but they might still be mentioned later

Rolled 37 + 31 (1d50 + 31)

>>6303549
Watch this.

>>6303968

>68

1 away from 69 but even then out of the roll range.

Sucks.

You say nothing, instead you continue the kiss, pressing yourself closer to her and pushing her into her back. There is some playful kissing around her neck as you slowly make your way down her body until you reach the heat in the middle of her legs.

“I´ve been vaiting for zhis for a long time…” She says in between barely audible moans.

Before you know it, you are both lying almost naked in the middle of the night, the mat being the only thing separating you from the ground and the floating candles offering some slight warmth to protect you from the weather besides your underwear.

This time, calling it “underwear” feels like a disservice, that was actual lingerie, black and plain bra and a matching thong with some frills at the edges…she was ready for this.

You on the other hand…you can't say you weren't expecting it, but you certainly weren't as prepared as she was, just some plain blue boxers and nothing more.

It doesn't matter in the long run, it's all gone and forgotten shortly after.

“I almost forgot how…big…”

You get in position.

“V-vait!...just be careful, ok?”

“Dont worry, I'll try my best not to hurt you”

She closes her eyes…

And for that night and only that night, that desolated and private area away from everything and everyone experienced its first night without silence.

…

You are woken up by some sun rays hitting you in the face, you try to roll over to hide your face from them but find that you can't move, your arm is trapped under Willow.

She stirs a bit and grunts while still sleeping, so you instead stop and snuggle closer to her, acting as the bigger spoon.
This calms her down a bit and you hear a content exhale coming from her…you also feel a wet spot in your forearm.

You stay like this for around 20 more minutes before you feel a morning breeze running through your body and making you shiver…feels like it's time to wake up.

“Good morning, sleepy head, time to wake up”

“Noch fünf Minuten…”

“...yeah ok”

A couple of hours later, you are both awake and dressed, finishing up a small breakfast sandwich.

You cannot lie, a regular breakfast after a night of passion next to a lake does wonders for your body, you feel a weight being lifted from your shoulders and you feel your lungs filling up a bit more each time you take a deep breath.

Willow is sitting a bit weird, but she keeps saying that she feels great…she might need to go by Madam Chiara´s office to get something for the soreness though.

You then hear some quacking in the lake and see a small group of ducks swimming around.

“Oh! ducks! i alvays vanted to feed ducks, can ve do it?”

“Sure, we still have a couple of hours before we need to go back”

After you are done with your sandwiches, you head to the lake and throw bits of food by the shore, some ducklings munch on the leftover bits while the bigger ducks look skeptically at the both of you and get in between you and the ducklings.

“Be careful, ducks can get really protective of their babies”

She kneels down trying to pet a small duckling.

“Relax, zhey are ducks, zhey can't do much of any-AAAAAHH!!!”

The mother duck flies at her and starts smacking her with her wings.

“Get it off! Get it off!”

She runs away and the duck follows her. You can't help but to laugh a bit before using “Carpe Retractum” to lasso the duck.

“It's ok! I got her!”

The duck tries to escape for a bit but eventually calms down after you give it a bit of food and her ducklings waddle her way back to her.

“Shh shh shh, it's ok, we are not going to hurt you” you say, trying to soothe the duck.

The bird seems to quickly catch on that it's actually safe and snuggles up to your leg.

“Hey Willow! it's ok! she was just being an over protective mother, she is fine now”

Willow comes out from behind a rock.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah I'm sure! Look!”

The duck is now sitting in between your legs, the little lasso of light still around its neck.

“Maybe we could do something like this again next time we come back here”

“Zhat sounds nice, ve could make it a game”

She steps closer and sits next to you and the duck. You sit next to her, making sure to cross your legs so the duck can use it as a makeshift nest for now.

“Zhis has been great…zhank you, Brandon”
She rests her head on your shoulder.
“Thank you for putting up with me and everything that has been happening”

“It vas worth it”

And you stay like this for a bit more, you can't tell how long exactly, but whatever it was, it felt too short. You want to spend more time with her like this, but even she knows that it's time to go back to Hogwarts.

“What a shame, I didn't get to do the puppet show”

“Zhe vhat?”

“Don't worry about it, maybe next time”

She is smiling but also has a curious expression on her face.

…

It's around midday when you step out of the abandoned greenhouse and back into Hogwarts territory.
Willow looks happy and relaxed, you feel the same and also a bit renewed, like your emotional battery has been recharged.

“Zhank you for such a vonderful night, Brandon” She steps closer to give you a final kiss on the cheek.
“But right now, I need a different kind of rest and a quick visit to Madam Chiara's office, I'll see you later, ok?”

“Go ahead, its a new day and i need to go back to work, don't want to push my luck with Flitwick”

She walks in direction to the castle and you can notice a particular spring to her step and a sway to her hips.

“Hate to see you go but love watching you leave”

You smile and head back.

Shortly after, you are back in your room, you take a quick bath, get your clothes cleaned and refill your thermos cup, but before you leave to go back to work, you remember…

“Merlin? Sir?...”

Still nothing

“Ok, no time to panic yet, just…give him time”

You push your panic back to the back of your mind and begin patrolling the castle, all while thinking what should be your next move.

>”Just wait it out, its Merlin after all”
>Try looking for any other hints for the remaining pieces of the beast
>Look for Elliot and friends, maybe they know something
>Other: (Write in)