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Curiosity was probably the primary element of Vera Thanatos personality, much to the chagrin of... Probably everyone who knew her. Except Sia, the angel that her best friend was. So the route past the locked door was naturally a daily occurrence for her, even if she thought the mystery was revealed that didn't mean she didn't want the sweet satisfaction of confirmation. So when she noticed the door OPEN, naturally she had to double check her previous theories. And because she idolized Fox so much, she had to look through in the same manner in which he had brought attention originally. " HEY EVERYONE!!!! THE MYSTERY DOOR IS OPEN!!!!!!" Was she going to get into trouble? Probably. Was she loudly outting to everyone she was doing what she shouldn't? Yes. Should she have at least waited for an older student before traipsing into the room like she owned it? Undoubtedly. But did she do any of that instead of pushing the door open and skipping in? Absolutely not. "Helllooooo. Anything creepy in here????" Vera Thanatos. Self preservation skills = 0. |
Jude happened to be on the Ground Floor, alright. And he happened to be passing that particular restricted door, humming to himself as he did so. He happened to be on his way to the Laundry Room then after he was done there, back to the dorm then he was planning to hit the library. The Hufflepuff actually did not notice the open door. Not until he had heard someone shouting about it. He did a double take, wincing as he did so. Following the voice, he paused outside the room for a bit, eyeing the sign before shrugging and entering. Oh. It was Vera doing the shouting. "Gosh, you're loud,'' he told the girl but grinning all the same. Mini Reagan this one was. But already he was casting his gaze around. What could possibly be in here that anyone would want to keep the students at bay?? |
It’s not like Arden would have even noticed the door if someone hadn’t yelled about it. That someone being the first year…named….Vera. Yes. THey were in the same house and all. An older kid had appeared, and Arden put a hand on Vera’s shoulder. “Maybe we SHOULDN’T go calling into the mysterious suddenly unlocked door…” she said quickly before trying to catch a glimpse INTO the room without having to put her head or any ligaments INTO the room. BUT SERIOUSLY WHAT WAS IN THE ROOM? “Should we call for a professor????” |
Serena had just been minding her business—she was prepped to go out to the quidditch pitch for practice—when she heard something about a mystery door being open. The naturally curious Slytherin followed the voice. Indeed the door was open, and there were kids there already. ”You all could go check it out. I’ll keep guard,” she said innocently. She figured that’d be taken better than “let’s sacrifice the first year.” People usually take offense to that. |
Of course Lydia was curious about the odd locked door on the ground floor. But ever since it had been clear that no attempts to open it were successful - or so she had heard and observed from others' attempts, NOT her own because there was no way her magical skill (or lack thereof) would help - she tried not to think about it much. Which wasn't hard, frankly, because there were SO many other important things to think about. Like the dance. And making sure she didn't completely fail all her classes. And trying not to think about the icky frogs in Frog Choir. And the DANCE. These of course were the thoughts occupying the third year's mind when someone shouted about the mystery door being open. And that caught her attention. And apparently a few others too, as she noted the presence of the other students when she arrived at the door's location. Calling for a professor was...probably...the "right" thing to do in this situation. But also not fun. "I'll help guard too." And observe whatever was in the room from a safe distance. The others could risk it if they wanted, though. |
Anything creepy? Well... no. In fact, there's very little to be found at all, fortunately for young students lacking in self-preservation skills. Just beyond the door is the same side-corridor that always stood here, eerily empty and dim with none of the torches lit. None of the doors along here are locked, and all lead to the usual uninteresting storage areas, broom closets, and spare classrooms. It would seem that there's nothing to be found at all, but for the fact that an open doorway can be seen way down at the other end of the corridor, and it appears, from this distance, to emerge into sunlight. If you've come this far, there's no reason not to explore a little further, riiiiight? |
Was being loud an insult or a compliment??? As the older student from the same house as Daniel (she thought) showed, up Vera looked at him with a slight head tilt. He said she was loud with a smile, so did that mean he appreciated the loudness???? It occurred to her while she was contemplating, that she LIKED being loud so she was fine with whichever outcome of how he thought it so she just smiled in return. She had been very very ready to enter the room when an older student, Ardvark she thought was the name, stopped her with a hand on the shoulder. While she probably should have been GRATEFUL, Vera just scowled instead and wiggled to get out from under the offending hand. "Where's your sense of ADVENTURE? And if we call a Professor they probably won't let us go in!" So they should absolutely go into the previously warned against room entirely unsupervised. Yep. Besides there was now TWO older students offering to watch over them, which meant nothing bad could happen right? Or if it DID they'd probably know some type of spellwork to get them out of it. Right?? Right. "Okay! You guys guard! I'll go in with whoever wants to join me!" Besides, there wasn't much noise coming from the room anyways. It actually kind of seemed empty. Outside of another door with some glowing to it. "What was here before? Was this a passage to the outside of the castle?" As a newbie to the castle, she had zero ideas on what she was supposed to be seeing versus what she did. "I'm going to go further in!" She announced, before continuing with sure steps further into the room and towards the other open doorway. What was back there?? |
Jude, in fact, did not appreciate loudness. Not when his older sister was so fond of shouting. It hurt his eardrums, okay? But the reason why he was smiling was because he was nervous. Because they weren’t supposed to be here… but he was also torn between retreating and satisfying his own curiosity as to what was hidden in this room. “I agree with her,’’ Jude said to Vera and nodded to Arden. “No more shouting. And maybe we should draw our wands, yeah?” If there was one thing he had learnt during DADA, it was to have constant vigilance. He doubted that Serena and Lydia really wanted to guard the door… they probably were just as curious as the rest of them were but didn’t want to get into any sort of trouble. He shrugged and followed the others. “Maybe you want to keep your voice down?” This was addressed to Vera once again. “Chances are a professor close by might hear you and we don’t want them to ruin the fun, right?” So far, the Hufflepuff could see nothing of interest. Or indeed, anything that would warrant the door to remain locked. But what was that doorway leading to?! To the outside of the Castle? Huh? “Wait for me! But slow down, will you? Strange and super weird things happen at Hogwarts so you want to be careful, okay?” Trust him, little lioness. He would know. Jude hurried to keep up with Vera. |
It didn't SEEM like there was much of anything behind the door, from what Lydia could see from getting on her tip-toes to look over their shoulders. Except for another doorway at the end with some bright light behind it. It reminded her more of sunlight than normal torch light. But even into her third year, she still got lost sometimes, so she couldn't remember if the doorway behind always led outside or to some other normal magical room with a lot of light. And she was still awfully curious. And standing out here wasn't going to do much good to get answers, even if Vera and Jude and Arden, if she followed them, told her about it later. "Actually, maybe we should guard in front of that door back there," she suggested, glancing at Serena. "Might be less suspicious than standing out here?" The professors would find them more easily here. And they'd get a better look at whatever was beyond it |
Didn’t curiosity kill cats? Arden wondered if it could kill humans, too. She had definitely inherited her dad’s sense of wonder, but she had equally gotten a lot of Eden’ skepticism. What she ALSO, unfortunately, developed was extreme FOMO. So if everyone were to go, Arden Toros would indeed follow. She nodded to Lydia and Serena who both said they’ guard and saluted them before following right behind Vera. And as Jude has suggested, she drew her wand. You know, because she as a second year with minimal magic experience would be totally helpful and all. It was at least a small sense of security; the hallway, however, looked so normal. So normal that Arden squinted suspiciously. “There’s a lot of light….I wonder what it is. Do you think it’s death?” She asked curiously. Didn’t people say they “went into the light” when speaking about death or whatever???? “I’m a little…nervous,” she admitted through gritted teeth. The little bounce to her step that she usually possessed was subdued, and she was on GUARD, looking left and right in such a paranoid way that she resembled a bird in movement. |
Hi everyone! Vasco had been heading towards the Great Hall but something told him to go the other way. There was a strong tugging in the pit of his stomach, if you will. That twin sense that said his sister was likely getting herself into mischief without him. A quick about face was made and the first headed in the opposite direction in which he had first intended. Straight through the corridors and all the way to the locked door. Only.. it wasn't locked anymore and it was open, voices drifting out from within. One of them he knew to be his sisters. He had been right. Why, oh why, did he have to be right? If anything was to happen to her it would look really bad on his part if he didn't do anything. Sighing internally, fingers already going for his wand.. just in case.. the twelve year old silently entered the room. Whether or not anyone else already there took notice to him was all on them. |
Constant vigilance is always advised, and a relatively redeeming quality in the face of unrelenting curiosity and the impulse to step into the light. Those who venture as far as the first passage will find nothing dangerous or frightening waiting for them, though perhaps the lack of any action will only contribute to the building suspense. Progressing on through the next doorway, which once led to a large chamber... ... there seems to be nothing dangerous in here either (fortunately for the more curious cats among you). But it is a strange sight nevertheless. An outdoor scene lies ahead, oppressively hot beyond the threshold, and brightly lit with sunlight shining from the azure sky. The entrance stands where sand dunes transition into forest, and a body of water is visible, glittering in the distance. It's a huge outdoor environment, clearly not naturally occurring within the castle, nor within the country, but if you were to explore further afield you would find that this chamber is still exactly that, extended and rigorously enchanted, existing entirely within the boundaries of the school. One thing is for certain: whatever was in here, it's not here anymore. |
Jude was glad to see that Arden was sensible and followed his advice by drawing her wand as well. Merlin, he hoped that they weren’t headed into some sort of trap, the type that saw them coming out seriously maimed or injured. Nope. NOPE. He wasn’t going to go there. Positive thoughts only! So when Arden asked if the light was death, he quickly shook his head. “Let’s just approach cautiously, yeah?” Eyes on YOU, Vera. “I’m nervous too,’’ he added after an afterthought. “It’s fine if you want to join Lydia and Serena.” He doubted Vera would want to turn around and well… someone needed to keep her in check. And maybe Vasco too. But to his immense relief, there was nothing that warranted any drastic measure when they came across the first passage. The second doorway, the one with the noticeably bigger chamber though… Jude gaped. He was completely lost for words as he took in the strange surroundings. It was like a desert, a rainforest and a tropical paradise all transitioned into one. But Jude was hesitant about going further. “We don’t know what’s in there,’’ he told the others when he found his voice, gripping his wand even tighter. “We definitely ought to get a professor.” |
Everyone:3 Serena was pleased to hear a younger snakette announce she’ll stay behind with her. Not because Serena wanted company, but because that meant Lydia had a sense of self-preservation. Despite what her reputation was, the redhead cared about her housemates. Some more than others, but still. She was almost onboard with Lydia’s idea until her eyes zeroed in on the light that was visible from here. It made Serena’s curiosity rise. She stepped closer to the door, but she couldn’t see anything else from there. “I’ll watch—guard—from here. You could go over there if that makes you feel more comfortable.” That was okay too. Serena wanted front row seats for this. “Constant vigilance,” Serena said after the group. That’s what her uncle told her whenever she was up to no good. As the group wandered in, Serena held her wand tight in her hand, ready. Prepared. As she did that though, sparks came out of it. She hissed, but didn’t let go of it. They’ve been having issues due to her temperament lately. Getting burned by your wand wasn’t fun, but… Oh! It occurred to her, she could light up the nearest torches. Hopefully that’s help her see better. “Do you all see anything?” she called after a while. |
Lisa stopped when she heard Serena’s voice. She hadn’t expected to hear her voice but it gave her pause to think through her reaction. Run or run towards her. She was near the weird door that’s he had stopped by earlier so she found herself making a quick decision. She rushed to her side. Feet moving quickly, she made it to the door and stopped when she spotted the crowd of students walking into the open door. Heart racing, she readied her wand. “Serena, what’s going on?” she asked. Lisa made eye contact for the briefest section before biting her lip. |
Arden kept behind Jude, but peered around him when he made a noise of surprise. The light was not death at all, as Jude had said, but instead….? Her brain did not compute. Even with magic, she was confused. “Should we go in?” She asked at the SAME time Jude had asked about getting a professor. She looked up at him, her wand still aloft slightly, and stuck her free hand OUT into the threshold to feel the hot sun. If she could feel it at all. “This is weeeeeird!” She shivered. Sticking your hand in things you didn’t know about was not smart, and Arden knew that. But like…………… It was really hard okay? At Serena’s call, Arden yelled out, “WE’RE GOOD! THERE’S A ROOM INTO THE OUTSIDE WORLD WITH A JUNGLE OR SOMETHING!” A decent explanation, right? More confusing? Less confusing? WHO knew. |
Yeah… Jude was having mixed feelings about this: to explore or to simply bow out while they were all in one piece. Apparently this was his thing lately, being on the fence while his feelings went in opposite directions. But this wasn’t the time nor place for that sort of thinking. He stayed right where he was, wand held out even as he heard Serena call out to them. He hadn’t heard Lisa’s voice, otherwise he’d have shouted to her to stay outside. Jude even stayed silent as Arden shouted a reply to those waiting outside. All the while, he was observing the strange place after taking a few steps closer to the scenery. It at once hit him that the strange environment was magicked to sit within Hogwarts. What also hit him was the bit of heat radiating from the environment; this could mean that it was a lot hotter on the inside. The Hufflepuff looked around at the small group which had come to explore; he was the oldest here so if anything untoward happened, there was not much he could expect from the younger ones in terms of defending themselves. But he also remembered something Kazmi said at the start of term feast. “Explanations will come in due course. Do you guys recall the Headmaster saying that about this room at the Feast?’’ he asked. “If the staff is planning to tell us about it, does it mean this place is harmless??’’ Listen, Jude was thinking everything through carefully, okay? One didn't attend Hogwarts for a fifth year without knowing a thing or two about the dangers that lurked here. He wasn’t going to risk his neck doing anything stupid; there was a particular messy haired Muggle boy he would like to see again during the next holiday break, thank you very much. "If that's the case, then I don't see why we shouldn't explore." He was just going to give the others a moment to weigh in their thoughts. |
Those times when the heart stops and somehow air gets lodged in your throat, so sudden it makes you cough, happened to Serena the moment she turned and was met with Lisa. What was she doing here? Was that concern written on her face? Stormy baby blue eyes caught sight of Lisa’s wand, ready. Was she here to hex her? Was she that mad? Serena adored her friend, but she was not the kind to take lightly to attacks. It was embedded in her DNA to stand and fight. Ugh. Why was life like this? But her gut said otherwise. Lisa would never hurt her. Not physically, anyway. “Lisa,” she said, the name feeling foreign despite how much it crossed her mind. “There’s—“ At that moment she heard Arden’s voice. “A jungle.” That didn’t make sense. Serena stepped much closer to the door. “There’s a JUNGLE????” Someone explain, please. |
Serena's reaction to her entrance gave her pause. She bit her lip, feeling incredibly awkward now that she had rushed forward. She noted the panic or awkwardness evident in the cough that she had given. Lisa looked down at her wand and then back at Serena. "I... I heard loud noises and thought you were in trouble... so ta da?" she offered in the most awkward but endearing Lisa Nam manner that she could deliver such a line. So much for acting cool and cold in front of her... That was too hard. It was def panic that she saw reflected in her friend's pretty eyes. After Serena spoke her name, she paused and let the silence fill in the space momentarily. She wished that she had her hands free to wring them but instead she gripped her wand. The next words out of Serena's mouth made her even more confused. So confused that she accidentally dropped her wand. Was it out of confusion or nerves? Ha. No one would know.. "A what?" she repeated in disbelief before she saw her friend head towards the door to ask about said jungle. "Should we go take a peek or should we wait in case a Professor walks past... Will we get into trouble?" she whispered to Serena. She didn't really want to get detention for this... |
Kazmi’s words echoed in his mind and now that the opportunity for the great, big reveal to be done earlier had presented itself, Jude was starting to feel more relaxed about possibly exploring the area. Relaxed but not completely lax about being vigilant. He took steps forward, still very much carrying a strong grip on his wand, until he was standing in the heat. GOSH! It felt as though his skin was baking already! Were those beads of sweat already popping up on his forehead? Yes, they were. Jude looked out in the distance, squinting as he did so. So far, everything was quiet and he took this as a good sign. Now he was going to see if he was indeed correct in surmising that this weird place was situated within the School and didn’t lead anywhere else. But maybe he wouldn’t explore for a lengthy period of time? He didn’t exactly want to be cooked out here. Jude looked over his shoulder to see if anyone else had followed before he headed off. |
A short way along from the door, amongst the sand dunes, the wall of the chamber is suddenly a lot clearer despite the enchantments that give it the appearance of the horizon. On the wall are scratch marks, similar to those that appeared in the castle earlier in the term. And, just as before, these marks form a set of words... I prowled these lonely sands Found now in greener pastures Though not in distant lands Who is your little vandal? Who writes upon your walls? Who might have caused a scandal Beyond these sheltered halls? Guardian turned treasure One question and one chance Find an answer at your leisure In the meantime, shall we dance? |
Jude was so not going to spend longer than necessary here; just enough to grab some intel so that it could be reported back to the professors. The sand dunes were perhaps what held his attention the most. Don’t ask him why, it just was. The Hufflepuff had walked only a small distance in and had come to a pause because he had just realised something: he could clearly see the walls of the place. Um… hadn’t it been far off before? Strange. Very A crease appeared on his forehead. “Hang on…” Jude muttered. Strange words? And in similar writing style? These were written by the same… whatever… that had written those words Daniel had shown him a short time ago. Unfortunately, the fifth year did not have a notebook to write these words down. Did any of the others? One thing was sure: something unknown definitely was living within the Castle. “Anyone of you by chance have a book and pen with you?” he called to his fellow explorers as loudly as he dared. Jude was pointing to the words on the wall in case they needed a reason for his strange request. |
may have some plot overlap soon, but we'll wrap up here at a steady pace all the same Ahem. Listen. Arriving at the end of a certain corridor containing a certain forbidden area, seeing the door open and students stood without with wands drawn, and hearing loud voices from within... well... maybe a better man than Kamran might not have been immediately suspicious. Kamran was not a better man than himself, that would have been an impossibility. However, it quickly occurred to him that not only was it extremely unlikely that a student could have forced open the door - or even removed it entirely - without triggering the security charms, but that it didn't really matter so much now in any case. Clearing his throat, he approached the artist formerly known as the locked door, and Baltazar-Dos Santos and Nam loitering outside of it with their wands drawn. With a world-weary sigh (exaggerated for effect), the headmaster reached past the both of them and pushed the door open a little wider. "If you're that curious, you can come and have a quick look. Very quick, mind." As in, in the time it took him to round up anyone who'd gone exploring. Kamran stepped inside, and towards the doorway down at the other end. He didn't draw his wand; a non-verbal assurance that the students didn't need to either. |
Having followed in behind the group, Lydia eyed the walls of the corridor, hoping there was nothing invisible hiding behind a torch or something, before stopping once they'd reached the threshold of the next doorway. She leaned up on her tip-toes again to peer over everyone's shoulders and caught sight of the blue sky and green forest and water beyond. Wow. Wow. Magic was so cool!!!! Even after a few years, she still found herself in awe of the things one could do with magic. It all looked so real! And safe! No scary creatures to be seen! ...Of course, something could be hiding in the forest. Or the water (how deep was it?). But right NOW it looked pretty safe. So, after Jude had continued onwards, she also stepped through the doorway and onto the sand. Merlin, it was hot too, as if that actually was the sun beating down on them from above. There was a little bit of an urge to explore herself, but considering there maybe could be something hidden around here, Lydia followed a few paces behind Jude...not that said exploration lasted long, because suddenly there were walls. Huh. Well, that was...wait, there was something there! Scratches, but...they also said something. Lydia took a few more steps forward so that she was standing beside the older Hufflepuff now, casually twirling her wand between her fingers as she read the words. Guardian? Dance??? Hmmm... She shook her head at his question. Of course it would be the one time she didn't bring her school bag with her that was also the one time she actually needed it. "Is there another way we could copy this? Or take a picture?" At least, that was what she was assuming Jude wanted to do. And magic could do lots of things, so maybe there was a spell out there that would be useful right now? |
Yeah… Jude was pretty much confused as Lydia and anyone else. Then it hit him. How they could make a note of these words, that is. “There is!’’ he told Lydia, in awe of the inspiration he had just had. “The Voice Recording Charm!’’ But first he would need an object… any object… The fifth year fished into his pocket, coming up with the golden coin he’d won in a Dueling Club Meeting. “Intonio!” The coin was tapped with his wand. Immediately after, he read the words clearly and verbatim as he saw them on the wall. Once done, he tapped the coin once more. “There! Now we’ve got it all on here should anyone need it for reference.” Thank you, magic! Jude wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. "You reckon we should leave now?" |
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