Chapter 7 - The Ravenclaw Common Room - V1

As dinner disappears from the table, leaving my plate clean and sparkling in front of me, Professor Dumbledore stands up. I know from his Chocolate Frog card that he’s one hundred and twenty-seven, but he only looks to be in his late eighties. He’s wrinkled all over, seems strong in his bones still, standing tall without any hunches or obvious pains. Even if I do Observe him right now I very much doubt I’ll see a single one of his statistics. I already know he is a powerful man.

“Now that we’ve all been fed, and before dessert comes out to excite us again, I have some start of term announcements,” Professor Dumbledore says once the room quiets down. “First, Professor Butters will not be with us this year after a most unfortunate run in with the moving stairs on the last day of term resulting in the loss of one of her legs. Professor Allsbrook has agreed to take over the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. He has a Mastery in the subject and is a Curse Breaker for Gringotts. He’s on a break after his last season and has agreed to teach at our wonderful school.”

We politely applaud Professor Allsbrook when he stands. He is well built, middle-aged and the shoulders of his robes are cut around broad muscles. If I know teenage girls, he is about to become a lot of students’ favourite professor. As it is, I notice some appreciative giggles around the room.

“Next, all banned items are on Mr Filch’s door. These have been changed since last year. Please note them down, since the list is rather extensive.” I can’t tell what his tone is. Is he amused, angry at us, amused with Mr Filch’s list? Also, what type of headmaster doesn’t make sure we know the new rules? “And lastly, the Forbidden Forest is, of course, forbidden. Coriander, Malakai, Aeros, Sneeze! Thank you!” He sits down to a bit of confused applause.

What were those last few words? I hesitantly decide it is meant to confuse us. My parents have said on a few occasions that Professor Dumbledore is as insane as he is smart, so perhaps this is what they meant. I shake my head as dessert appears on the table and we all start picking out our favourites. For tonight, I make myself an ice cream sundae with extra strawberry syrup and fresh fruit, just how I like it.

It’s maybe twenty minutes later that the Great Hall is dismissed by Professor Dumbledore and the desserts disappear.

“First Years!” A tall boy calls, his Prefect badge glistening. There is a pretty girl wearing an equally as shiny badge at his side smiling at us Ravenclaw First Years. “Come over here, we’ll lead you to the tower.”

I listen and go over, the squadron of other new Ravenclaws following. There's immediate chaos as it seems like everyone gets up and starts shoving their way out of the Great Hall, excited to get to their Houses and their beds. The noise is almost deafening. I notice the names of Mandi and Jase leaving with their Prefects in the ruckus, and when they get to the doors their names fade away, out of range. I don’t see any of my friends.

Thankfully, the Ravenclaw Prefects stay still and wait for the hubbub to die down before they speak to us.

The boy Prefect starts. “Welcome to Ravenclaw, First Years! I’ll start by telling you about our House. Right now there are over one thousand students at Hogwarts, with our House being the smallest. As a result, even though we have a whole tower, you’re going to be sharing dorm rooms. We have just over two hundred people in Ravenclaw, and about one hundred and forty rooms, so you can do the maths on that. The less people that come, the more space we have. Beds are already assigned so when we get to your dorms, you’ll be able to go straight to your things and go to bed. If there’s an issue with where your bed is, please remember now: you will have the option to talk to Professor Flitwick, our Head of House.”

The girl continues. I bet they prepared this. “Our Common Room has some really unique parts that no other House has, just as they have things we don’t. Please keep in mind, no matter how exciting these things are, you do not have time to see them tonight and you must not tell any other House about it. This is our House secrets, just as they have theirs. Okay? It’s a tradition that’s lasted hundreds of years.”

I can agree with that. Exclusion isn’t good, but having team secrets, so to speak, sets up friendly rivalry I can get on board with.

The boy continues. “Now if you’ll follow us, we’ll take you up to our House Tower. Try to pay attention because you’ll need to come back this way tomorrow morning for breakfast.”

With that, the two smile at us all, who remain nervously silent, then look at each other and turn to lead us away. The boy stays behind us to make sure none of us somehow get lost along the way while the girl leads in silence.

The castle is made up of creamy, grey stones all over, all the ceilings high and with portraits covering a good fifty percent of all the wall space. We are led up the stone stairs in the entry hall, then divert from the other students going up again deeper into the castle and turn left down a corridor. I try my best to take in as much as I can, resisting the urge to Observe everything. I’ll be able to rack in so many Points and Levels in this castle, but I don’t want to get distracted or look strange at this moment! Tapestries are also dotted around here and there as well, and it doesn’t take long for all the doors and windows to show up. I wonder if any of them lead to classrooms I’ll get to learn in this year. I see as well that the rooms are labelled with a letter and number too, for the ease of students no doubt. That’ll help with navigation.

When we get to a corridor that no other students are on except some other Ravenclaws up ahead, the female Prefect turns her head to address us. “Entry is gained on the fifth and seventh floors of the castle, and tonight we’re going through the fifth floor entrance. Your rooms will be on the first floor of the Tower. This means you will have to climb at least five flights of stairs regardless of which way you come into the House Tower, so try to keep that in mind when you are time managing. Second Years are on the second floor, and so on up all seven floors, which were created using a mixture of lower ceiling heights and extension charms. Above that is the Common Room, then the Library and some other dorm rooms.”

We come out of the corridor onto a set of stairs with sleepy looking portraits looking down at us, some of them waving kindly and welcoming us to the school. The Muggleborns are obviously intrigued and excited by the moving portraits. Soon it becomes a novelty, though, and by the time we’ve trailed our way up dozens of corridors and staircases to our new House Tower, even I am excited to find out what secrets may be in store for us.

We find ourselves in front of a statue and come to a halt. It’s a stone eagle, one I can’t name without Observing it. It’s intricate and beautiful, blinking at us slowly.

“What’s the word on the wing?” The Prefect asks the statue clearly for us all to hear.

It replies with a slow, clear voice, velvety and deep. It’s almost melodic to hear. “With sharp edged wit and pointed poise, it can settle disputes without making a noise.”

A riddle? How exciting!

“You guys want to take a shot at it?” She asks, turning to us.

I beam and almost jump as I raise my hand and shout out from the side of the group: “A sword!” Then add, still grinning giddily, “But if I was a Dragon's Fang, what would I be?”

It chuckles lowly, captivating me. Is it possible to get a crush on a statue's voice? Or healthy, even? It is a day of excitement for my heart it seems. “A dagger.” Then, the statue glides out of the way, silently revealing a passage.

“The way to ask for the riddle will be posted inside on the entry points,” the girl says. “It changes weekly and sometimes randomly, so make sure you check it every day as you’re leaving or coming in. You must always answer a riddle correctly or the statue won’t move and you’ll be locked out until someone else comes with the right answer.”

We all nod and head inside after her.

The room has four immediately notable features - a portrait covering a whole wall, a massive stone statue of who I assume has to be Rowena Ravenclaw in front of it, a very large stairwell on the right side of the room, and many odd alcoves for people to sit privately in which, at a glance, I can see have ways to cover them. This probably means they can be silenced for private studying, and every single study nook has a view of the grounds from a small window, either to the lake or off into the courtyards of the castle. I can’t imagine the other Houses having better views than these.

The overall theme of the room, which hits me after the dominant features, is the deep rich colours of the night sky, shown in the way the upper walls are painted to look like the sky above the six and a half feet mark, with what I’m fairly sure is another view of the stars outside, but this time in paint form. The room is probably ten feet tall in total. The rule of being all blue above six and a half feet appears to be broken only by the wood trims, which have almost bronze hues, making it look like an extension of the furniture with their bronze legs and accents. Below six and a half feet is that same wood in a mixture of panelling and wainscotting.

The upholstery is all shades of blue, from lighter blues on the outer edges of the room, bleeding into navy in the centre, where a table large enough to seat ten is set up. All throughout the room there are other, smaller stations made to seat maybe four or five students. A couple are filled with upper years right now - one of which appears to be the Head Boy by his badge, chatting with a pair of girls at a round three person station.

Overall, the room is bedroomy, rich in colour and comfortable to stare at. There is elegance to the furniture, everything has been well thought out and must be expensive. It will be a luxury to live here.

“This is where we’ll be leaving you for now,” the girl tells us, smiling. “Professor Flitwick will talk with you guys before bed, and we’ll be back to help you to your rooms when he’s done, alright? He’ll be here in a moment so take a seat for now and don’t go wandering! We’ll be back to see you soon!”

They never did introduce themselves, and now they’ve left us alone, going upstairs immediately. I’ll have to ask them, or Professor Flitwick, who the Prefects and Head Boy and Girl are later.

We all found seats relatively quickly. By the time we’re settled, the rest of the Common Room is empty. A few First Years, likely friends judging by their joking with one another already, have squeezed into a single armchair together.

I, on the other hand, sink into a lovely plush armchair of my own and instantly feel the exhaustion. Talking to new people all day had been tiring, and then sitting on that hard wooden bench in the Great Hall had been uncomfortable and straining in itself. Plus I’m full of food and that always makes me sleepy. Now, sitting in a comfortable chair in front of the fire, I’d love to curl up and sleep.

After a few minutes of soft chatter and yawning, Professor Flitwick appeared before us, none of us having been watching the door. I’d noticed he was shorter than everyone else in the Great Hall, maybe in the castle, and he looks downright tiny standing next to the insanely tall fireplace.

“Welcome to Ravenclaw!” He squeaks loudly, hopping onto a pile of books that somehow hold him without tipping. “I am Professor Flitwick, Head of Ravenclaw. I am so happy to welcome you all to Ravenclaw Tower. First things first, I will cover the rules. Simply put - they are on the billboard.” He points at the wall with the entry door which I hadn’t looked at yet, being so preoccupied with what was in front of me rather than behind, and I look upon a pin board starting two feet off the ground and going to the ceiling. The thing is also twice the width of its height, approximately. Needless to say, it’s huge. Rules cover it. “And secondly, expectations.” He pauses as we refocus on him. “In Ravenclaw, we strive to get all EE’s - that is Exceeds Expectations - on everything. If you get more than two A’s, or get anything lower than an A, you will be assigned a tutor from two years above you who excels at the subject. If you are having issues with anything at any time that might be hindering your work, don’t hesitate to tell a Prefect or myself. We want to give you a happy learning experience here at Hogwarts!”

We nod and some people smile at him.

He takes a breath and gives us a level stare. “I will tolerate no nonsense. If you break the rules without a very good reason, I will be punishing you, perhaps even on top of punishments from other professors if you break a rule in their classroom. There are punishments on the board as well, or you can ask some of your fellow Ravenclaws. I expect the best of my House, and I will not be happy if you do something to embarrass me.” He pauses for effect, to let it sink in.

There is now a lot of solemn nodding. I feel my eyes starting to get heavy and fail the fight to stop my body sagging. I’m just so comfortable, full and warm. If Tala were here, she’d be curled up purring on my lap.

“Lastly, and perhaps most importantly,” he continues, his tone lightening to something kind, “don’t be afraid to ask for help or advice if you find yourself having trouble or want more work. We honour and respect those who drive themselves to the maximum of their potential, but we also know sometimes we all need help. Not everyone is great at everything, especially not the first time. Yes, this is a House that strives to learn more, but it is not the House of perfectionism. Learning is never perfect, and you will fail a lot. Failure is a sign of learning, and we must embrace that,” he finishes, now looking about the room. A part of me wants to agree with him, knows it’s correct and healthy, but really… what fun is failing? “Questions?” He asks, smiling.

I raise my hand, as do a few others. I am called on third.

“What are the Common Room secrets?” I ask.

He smiles. “I’m glad you asked,” he smiles. “Our esteemed tower is about the same size as the other three Houses, but the majority of our space which is not on this floor, or the dorm rooms themselves, go into our House Library! It’s a source of student-led resources, primarily made up by top-student notes from your peers. In cases like History and Defence Against the Dark Arts, we keep study and classroom notes from the students with the best O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. results for five years, so those sections are the largest and always very relevant!”

I nod and, mercifully, the last question is about our dorms.

“Yes,” Professor Flitwick squeeks, “this is another part of Ravenclaw that is different from the other Houses. Your dorm rooms are fairly small in comparison to others. All our space has gone into our community sharing areas. This year you will be sharing with just one other person. Back when I came to Hogwarts, I shared it with three other people!” He laughs. “They are not large but I assure you, they are enough! If you have an issue with your roommate at any time you can swap, but do not do that without getting approval from a Prefect or myself. We need to know where you are should we need to find you in an emergency. For the same reason, please don’t swap beds with your roommate without telling one of us. Unless it is absolutely dire, try to get on with your roommate for at least tonight. And as fair warning, should you have to be separated because of fighting, you will both be in trouble. Try not to let it get that bad, because if it does, you might have to sleep with a Prefect in your room to keep you from bickering which would be embarrassing, and I doubt the Prefect would be best pleased with you, hmm?”

He smiles at us over his glasses, getting a few giggles from the students. I can’t even imagine how embarrassing having an angry Prefect bunking in a small room between me and someone I don’t like would be! Not to mention how irritating. I’d rather sleep in the Common Room.

“Now, any other questions?” No one raises a hand. “If you need me, I’ll be open every night after dinner for one hour. After that, I have an hour where I do a review with four students. I do four each day, going from oldest to newest. As we have two hundred and twelve Ravenclaws at present, the youngest of you can expect to meet me in fifty-three days. That is a month and three weeks, or so, if you were wondering. I wish you all a very good night.”

We all nod and a clap begins for him, and I join in politely as he hops off his books and goes to a side door that was painted to blend seamlessly with part of the massive portrait I’d noticed when I first walked in.

He gives us a final wave as he goes into his room. There is a Professor Flitwick sized stand outside the hidden door with a golden plaque that changes before my eyes as he closes his door. It goes from ‘Out’ to ‘In,’ and below it the writing changes from information of how to find him into a night message. In fact, I realise it is a haiku! “Stroke the feathers of, the goose to get my focus, I will come to you.”

That doesn’t seem so hard. It’s certainly fancier than a knocker. I wonder how many people actually use the service. It can’t be too many.

Maybe ten minutes later, the still unnamed Prefects come back down the stairs from what I assume is the House Library. I force myself up and walk up to them before they can escape their duties, as no one else is confident enough to say anything.

“I have two questions,” I state.

They smile at me. “Yes?” They reply in near tandem.

“What are your names?” I ask to begin.

“Quinton,” the male responds.

“Theresa, though I prefer Reese,” says the other.

“Nice to meet you, Quinton and Reese. Where is the House Library? We weren’t told where it is,” I ask. Quinton points behind him where they had just been. “The sixth floor? Is it all one room?”

“It’s the sixth and seventh floor. Not all of it is a library, but the good majority of it certainly is. It’s also where the top Performers’ Rooms are,” he replies.

I nod. I have no idea what type of performers he meant, but I’ll work that out tomorrow. “Okay. Thank you. So you know, Professor Flitwick is done with us so you can take us to our dorms now.”

He smiles slightly and nods, calling the rest of the tired First Years over. “Right, if you can all follow us down to the bottom, please make sure to keep your eyes on the ground where you step so you don’t spy into any bedrooms - trust me, you do not want to get caught or you’ll definitely get in trouble. At the bottom, the boys follow me and the girls follow Reese. Okay?”

We all nod up at him tiredly.

“Well, come on then.”

.*****.

I’m sharing a room with Sarah Owens. Our dorm room is about fifteen feet square, most of which is taken up by our four poster single beds, narrow personal desks and our trunks.

The room opens with the door, presenting an aisle down the middle of the room. On both sides there are our desks facing the wall, putting us back to back if we were to both sit at them. Then our beds, a little bigger than a single but not by much, with dark wood four posts that cap with bronze knobs, the ends pressed against one side of our desks. There is a large rug in the same style as upstairs, a deep navy blue centre fading to sky-blue around the edges, and it covers the space between our two beds. Of course, the beds both have dark navy linen sheets and a matching colour of thick curtains.

Our trunks are currently on the floor pressed up against our desk chairs. There are drawers under our beds, with enough space at the end to slide in one trunk. It would allow us both to take out some outfits or sections of clothes and unpack them and keep them under the bed without having to take our trunks out constantly. We both each have a small bedside table with three drawers, but they are exceptionally narrow. Each one of those drawers are about the size of a hardback book, but deep enough to stack a few on top of each other.

Finally, above each of our desks is a short pinboard, but no pins, and shelves going all the way to the ceiling. No doubt I’d fill them with my books in the morning. The only other notable feature is that my desk chair is essentially the doorstop - meaning when I’m sitting to study I could be smacked in the back if someone threw the door open. How wonderful.

Sarah has the left side of the room, and I have the right.

As soon as we get our room, me and Sarah enter it, look it over with tired, curious eyes, and then I go directly to my trunk. I pick it right up and throw it onto my bed with ease. I unzip it, standing on my toes, and throw the lid open.

“Oh, wow! Cool!” Sarah gasps.

I turn to her and she blushes. She has blonde hair down to her mid-shoulder blades and grey-blue eyes. Her oval face is somewhat cute with an innocent look to it, a small, faint amount of freckles on her nose, but mostly a little pre-teen and plain. There is nothing bad about her, she is just a little gawky as many children are when they hit puberty. No doubt her remaining baby-fat will fade over the next few years and she’ll grow into herself.

“Would you like me to put yours on your bed too?”

She grins, lighting up despite her eyes being bloodshot with exhaustion. “Oh, please!”

I cast a simple feather-weight charm on her basic, thin wood trunk, covered in fake, dark brown leather. “There, try it now.”

She eagerly grabs it and almost topples over as she didn’t expect it to be so light. She thanks me and when her back is turned, I Observe her and read her profile as I slowly take out my clothes to put away.

Sarah Owens

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Level 5

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Age - 11

Race - Human

Sex - Female

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Str - 9

Agi - 12

Dex - 15

Con - 12

Int - 18

Wis - 22

Luc - 14

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Sarah Owens is a Muggleborn girl, excited about magic and all its possibilities. She scores very high on her tests, always getting top three in her class on any given subject. Her best talents, however, lay in the arts. She’s hopeful magic can empower her creativity

She likes you so far, but is curious as to why your Sorting took so long. She’s really tired and wants to go to sleep

She seems nice enough, I decide.

I move quickly, gathering my piles of pre-organised clothes and putting them away in the drawers below my bed, and then put my underwear, socks and training bras - of which are all designed for young girls and have little animals on them dancing around - in my bedside table. I grab my school books and others I haven’t read yet and put them on my desk, too tired to put them away properly on the shelves. I also get out a fresh uniform which I already have on a hanger and throw it over my bed.

There is a small amount of room between mine and Sarah’s bedside tables, so I decide I may as well try to impress her some more.

I measure up how far I want it to be, and then I do a simple twist, flick and pull with my wand. I remember the spell from Mum’s Easy and Quick Home Storage Magic Solutions book. When I finish, there is now, on the wall, a blue wooden hook the same colour as the wall paint. It was meant to be a dark wood colour to match the other furniture, but this actually looks really nice as it is. It’s just a straight rod with a small turn up at the end so that I can put hangers on it without them falling off. Nothing fancy or extremely magic heavy, but quite practical.

Sarah is looking at the hook with her mouth open, toothbrush in her hand.

“Do you want one too?” I ask her kindly.

She nods quickly.

By the time I am done with that, I’m beyond tired and ready for bed. I hang my uniform for tomorrow, get out what I need for tonight and put both mine and Sarah’s trunks under our beds. We go to the bathroom together, where we have to wait a moment as all the other girls are already in there finishing up. We had apparently been the only ones not to get the memo that they were all going here together first thing.

As I wait, and Sarah starts chattering with someone else waiting for her roommate to finish, I notice there is a board outside the bathroom. It’s a timetable, giving each person a time slot in which they can shower. I suppose today doesn’t count.

My time slot is at five past seven in the morning and at exactly eight in the evening, giving me two options.

By the looks of it, there are four showers and eleven of us including me, so a time slot seems a little overkill. I really doubt there’ll be an issue if I want to get a shower at any time. I suppose it’ll help in times like now though, when everyone wants a shower at once. We all have a time we’re guaranteed showers.

That said, I don’t get a shower now as according to the clock above the bathroom door, it’s twenty past midnight. I brush my teeth and make my way back to the room before Sarah does, stripping and getting into my night clothes.

I lie down in my tall bed and pull the covers up. It’s quiet here. Thinking over all the people I’ve met today, most of them seemed… agreeable. Not really friend quality, though, or rather, no one has struck me as someone I desperately want to spend more time with right now. For instance on the train, I didn’t like someone and their friend trying to bait me into a card game so they could hijink my money.

I think that’s what they were doing, anyway.

The Ravenclaws seem socially awkward, largely. Most of them at the table earlier seemed either far too direct, asked indirect questions to force someone to be confused, used words that were aimed at confusing other people so they could feel smarter than them, or else they just said things that went past blunt and into obnoxiously rude. That was only from one Feast too! How am I meant to find a good friend in all this?

Sighing, I turn to face the curtain covered wall. I wish Tala was with me. Anxiety begins bubbling in my stomach. I need to write to Mum and Dad, maybe something separate for Adam and Jasmine as well. They’ll like that. And something for Grandpa and Grandma. I haven’t felt this alone in so long.

Sarah comes in then, and I turn back over to smile at her. She smiles back, in her pajamas already. She gets in bed and fiddles with her curtains for a moment, and I have to sit up and do the same. When they are closed and we’ve said our goodnights, I feel a bit more secure. My bed is like a little dark hole, away from other people, secure and quiet.

Sarah seems like someone I’ll be able to get along with, I muse. She hasn’t been rude, anyway. It’s promising. We are going to be roommates for a year at minimum. There have to be nice people in my new House and my age. I still have Cormac who will likely be in a few of my classes, and I really hope me and Sarah can be friends.

I sigh and then grin to myself, suddenly filled with a last jolt of energy.

I’m at Hogwarts!

I pull up the Quests tab. Immediately I notice I have three new ones alongside my regular one to pass the year with good grades.

Quest Alert -

Impress all your Professors

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Objectives -

Impress your Professors

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Bonus Objectives -

??

??

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Rewards -

50 xp per Professor impressed

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Bonus Rewards -

??

??

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Failure -

-25 xp per teacher who comes away liking you less

The second one:

Quest Alert -

Mapped?

Acquire a map of Hogwarts
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Objectives -
Find the Map of Ravenclaw

(or)

Find a Student Made Map

(or)

Make your own map

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Bonus Objectives -

??

??

??

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Rewards -

Variable

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Bonus Rewards -

??

??

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Failure -

No map, Prank Target Debuff

And the last new Quest:

Quest Alert -

The Heart of Hogwarts

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Objective -

Find Hogwarts Heart!

??

??

??

??

??

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Bonus Objectives -

??

??

??

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Rewards -

100,000 xp

Variable Rewards

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Bonus Rewards -

??

??

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Failure -

Death

That’s not great. A chance of death in First Year? I’ll hold off on that Quest then. Wait a second…

‘Game? Does the Failure consequence mean I die if I don’t do it, or that I’ll die if I fail while trying, or what?’

Good question! You will not be killed out of turn for not doing something. You are living your life. When you failed in your last life, we did not kill you, and so you will have the same consequences here

When you have a Quest with such a Failure consequence, we already know you are going to, in every conceivable timeline, make an attempt at it. You will either succeed or die in the attempt. As such, your Quest tells you this

I assume that means I also have a chance of succeeding and not dying, which is a good thought. I know I will find the Heart then, because The Game as good as said so. The hat also indicated its existence, and gave me my first clue.

So what about the rest? What might be able to kill me in the school? The only malicious thing I’ve heard of here except the Forbidden Forest is the curse on the Defence Against the Dark Arts position, but it usually removes the professor in a benign way, though there have been a few violent exits, so to speak. Such as a few years ago when a witch who taught here killed a student while trying to perform a curse to harm the school at large. She’d been violently dragged to Azkaban for her deeds. She’d been a retired Curse Breaker, I’d heard. But the issues with the Defence Against the Dark Arts position could all be a really weird coincidence.

I might believe that if I believed in coincidences.

I’ll get a book on Curse Breaking for self study at some point.

The other two are more doable in the next year or two. I hope they are, at least. I don’t think the professors expect much of us as First Years. I will certainly try to blow their expectations out of the water.

I feel the need to gather information and roll over restlessly. I will never be able to sleep until I do something, so I sigh and sit up.

Silencing my bed curtains will last for maybe ten minutes at best. I may need to reapply the charm for my conversation with the Elves of the castle, as the hat had recommended, and make sure the curtains are tightly shut for it to work, but it should do the trick.

Two whispered incantations later, I call for a House-elf.

“May I have a House-elf come here please? The Sorting Hat recommended that I ask some questions,” I whisper aloud. It’s not the first time I’ve done this. My paternal grandparents have House-elves.

With a slight pop, a House-elf with its tennis ball sized eyes, looking a bit like a Brownie did in my past life, appears. Truely, the two creatures, though an entire universe apart, are rather similar.

“How can Mipsy help you?” She asks. Her uniform, for what it is, is pristine.

“The Sorting Hat said you could help me if I don’t feel like I can go to a professors. Is that true?” I ask quietly, in case the silencing comes undone. It’s not like I’ll know until Sarah tells me!

She nods seriously. “Not manys of you Firsties knows this, but yes wes can! We’s can be helping if you can’t be going to the Professors,” she agrees, nodding quickly.

“Can you promise not to tell the Professors, Mipsy? I don’t want to get in trouble or embarrassed if I ask you something I don’t want to talk to them about,” I say, putting on a sad little First Year voice.

“Of course I cans!” She agrees, nodding quickly and putting her hands together. “We House-elves are happy to serve!”

That’s good. It would really suck if something happens with my Quest solving and I need outside help, for instance. Or just something I didn't want the staff to know I was getting into, like now.

“Can you answer any questions about the castle I might have? Like the location of things? The hat mentioned a few things in its song, and I’ve found myself curious about them. I’d like to help the school if I could, you know?” I tell her earnestly. I really would love to be useful.

Again, she nods. “Oh yes, Mipsy can be helping you’s find places. Not many remember, but we’s, the Elves, were originally hired on as cooks, caretakers and guides. We’s have good memories and we’s can get everywhere! Sometimes peoples get lost and we finds them! I’s be excited to be helping a Firstie!”

“I guess my first question, then, is about the Heart of Hogwarts. I was told we’d need to find it to save the school, and I want to help! Do you know about it, and where it is?

She nods, quickly becoming serious. “The Heart Room was the first room built, like with all magical castles. It’s on the ground floor. The room is hidden from peoples that aren’t worthy, Hogwartses hides it. If you can see it, then you are worthy! It is a great honour! I’s been told the Heart Room is Master Professor Founder Godric Gryffindor’s room! I have never been to the Heart Room, but the other Elves talk, and they think it’s in the old castle, in the western halls! They says the portrait of Lord Rottingham knows. The hatsie could have been talking of the Spirit of Hogwarts, though! Cooperation and togetherness! Hogwartses is full of corruption and it makes her sickses. Me thinks she hurts because the studentses fight and are upset! Their hate feeds the Spirit and makes her hurt.”

I hear a Quest Alert ping in my head as I nod enthusiastically at her. “You said it’s Godric Gryffindor’s room. Are there other rooms for the other Founders?” I ask.

She nods, ears flapping back and forth. “Oh yes! Mistress Professor Founder Rowena Ravenclaw’s is on the seventh floor of the original tower. Her rooms is across from Barnabas’ teaching trolls to dance! It’s a secret room, we Elves use it lots! It’s the Come and Go Room, we calls it. Yous be needing to walk the corridor three times, thinking what you need. It’s where all lost things end up,” she rattles off excitedly. “Mistress Professor Founder Haelga Hufflepuff’s is in the kitchens with the Elves! It’s the Food Room,” she finishes happily.

“And Slytherin?” I ask eagerly.

She scowls. “Master Professor Founder Snake’s room has two entrances. One for the boyses and one for the girlses. Master Professor Founder Snake has pretty door for boyses through his study in the dungeons, but it is locked. Even us Elveses can’t open it with our magics! The girlses entrance is in the girls bathroom on the fourth floor, but when there were Master Professor Founder heirs to use it, they weren’t allowed. No girlses allowed down there. Only for emergencies. We Elves had to save girlses alone.”

I nod, being more serious to match her tone. I’d have to work out a way to crack Slytherins magic. “Is Gryffindor’s room safe? Are they all safe?” I ask.

She nods happily. “We's not being aware of anything bad in them. We can’ts be getting in the Snake room though.” She tilts her head. “Master Professor Founder Godric Gryffindor’s room has things Headmaster Dumblydore wouldn’t like,” she finishes, looking a bit distressed.

I smile at her. “Oh, this is all very useful! Do you think I could use the Founders rooms to learn?” I ask, noting I have maybe three more minutes to ask questions.

She nods her head. “The Come and Go Room can be anything you wants, if it cans! Yous just be having to ask. Master Professor Founder Godric Gryffindor’s room is full of duelling stuff and books. Not stuff for Firsties, so don’t be touching,” she continues, before tilting her head up at me. “I don’t think you’s will be able to get to Master Professor Founder Snake’s room. We’s don’t know if it’s safe for students. I’s been told that whens Master Professor Founder Snake was alive, he had a Guardian and traps! You shouldn’t be looking for its.”

I hear another Quest Alert ping. I’ll learn about curses and how to break them before dealing with Slytherins room. If anyone has a book on how to get down there, I’d bet it’ll be in Ravenclaw’s or Gryffindor’s room. Plus, I want to find the Map of Ravenclaw, so I’ll try to find her room first.

“Thank you Mipsy. You’ve just done me a great service!” I say kindly. She beams. “Is there anything you’d like me to do for you, or should I mark it down as owing you a favour?” I ask. She shakes her head, going to decline, but I stop her. “And I want to help you back, you’ve really helped me.”

She opens her mouth a couple times, before shaking her head as her eyes fill with tears. “Yous being very nice to Mipsy! Yous being nice is reward enough for Mipsy! Yous just be safe and do your workses!”.

She instantly popped away afterwards, likely to go sob. I sigh and settle in bed. At least I tried.

I check my new Quests again.

Quest Alert -

Finding the Secrets of the Chamber!

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Objectives -

Completely explore the Chamber

Find all of the Chamber of Secrets secrets

Disable or defeat all Guardians, traps and oppositions in the Chamber

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Bonus Objectives -

??

??

??

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Rewards -

10,000 xp per Trap / Guardian defeated personally

25,000 xp per objective completed

Variable

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bonus Rewards -

??

??

Ah. So the Guardian is still alive. Or, at least, I assume The Game and my Quest Objective wouldn’t trick me. And for 10,000 xp each, everything I have to do there will be a really high Level. Great.

And the other one:

Quest Alert -

The War Room

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Objectives -

Find Godric Gryffindor’s room

Learn one subject in Godric Gryffindor’s room

Surpass any tests in the room

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bonus Objectives -

??

??

??

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rewards -

10,000 xp per Objective

Variable

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bonus Rewards -

??

??

Now I’m confused. This Quest contradicts with the Heart of Hogwarts one. If the Heart is Gryffindor’s room, then why do I have two Quests for essentially the same thing? And the fact it’s called a War Room too!

It’s possible the Heart Room isn’t Gryffindor’s, and that the old chambers of the Gryffindor Founder are what the Elves refer to as the Heart Room. Often the ‘heart’ of a castle is the first room, or the room of the ruler of the castle, and Mipsy had confirmed that the Heart Room was first built.

Was Gryffindor considered the original ruler of Hogwarts castle? I had thought the Founders built the castle on equal footing.

If Gryffindor made the castle alone, or perhaps the original building before expanding with the others, his room being the Heart Room makes sense, but that’s the literal Heart Room according to the Elves. In that case, the Heart could be the Spirit instead, like Mispy suggested, thus the two Quests. Or, what if the Heart Room is a metaphorical room? It could be any room, then. In fact, the Great Hall would be a perfect example of a metaphorical Heart Room! It’s likely it is a room where the ley lines of the school interact, but I have no way to figure out where that is.

Or if I’m even on the right track.

Well, whatever. Slytherin’s and Gryffindor’s rooms are off the list for now. I’ll re-evaluate next year when my Statistics are higher.

Sleep couldn’t come soon enough. Today has been exhausting