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missnight0wl · 7 months

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Let’s talk about Elton Elderberry – and why he’s a total bitch

First of all, I want to thank @thedoodlecat because a lot of the ideas I’ll discuss were formed during our conversations. So, credit where credit's due!

Secondly, I want to make it clear from the start that it’s not quite a theory, meaning: I personally don’t believe Jam City might take the story in this direction. However, I believe that a lot of it might be a leftover of what’s the story supposed to be. And yes, it can also be explained by the writers having no idea what they’re doing, but on the other hand, it ties in with many interesting details from the past, mostly from Y5. And I still believe that year was super important for the narrative.

Now, without further ado, let’s move on to Elton. Spoilers up to Y7Ch56.

Ok, so the first thing that really bothers me about Elton Elderberry is that he was well aware of the Crown of Mneme, how dangerous it can be, and he had to at least suspect that it might be in the Sunken Vault – and for all those years, he did absolutely fucking nothing.

And it’s quite problematic because there’s no way he just… didn’t know about MC and the Cursed Vaults. At the beginning of Y3, MC told us that pretty much everyone could learn about it from the Daily Prophet. And we know that the Ministry was especially aware of it. Even if we ignore Moody’s involvement starting from Y6, first with Rakepick and then with Peregrine, we also had the Ministry sending Tofty to spy on MC during our O.W.L.s because of the Cursed Vaults. And honestly, I just don’t buy the explanation that Elton somehow… just didn’t hear about it. So, like, what the hell?

Now, I can hear you saying: “Oh, but of course Elton didn’t do anything because he wasn’t a character yet and Jam City probably just created him now!”. And you know what? That’s a totally valid remark and quite probable explanation. Still, I kept thinking about it anyway, and I quickly noticed another problem with Elton: how we actually learnt that he was directly involved in Ryusaki’s death. I mean, look at those scenes:

And then after our visit to the Archives:

(I just have to point out that he’s fucking grinning here…)

… and then:

Do you see the problem here??

Imagine this. You meet Steve. Steve tells you about the mother who died in a car accident with her two children. Sadly, she was the one who caused the accident because she was under the influence. Later you learn on your own that the said mother was a model parent, always there for her children despite having two jobs, actually sober during the accident, rarely drunk at all, and in fact, it was Steve who caused the crash. When confronted, Steve admits to everything and says he feels terrible about it and it haunts him every day. Would you believe Steve that he’s so sorry? BECAUSE I DEFINITELY WOULDN’T. In fact, I’d do everything to stay away from Steve.

Now, again, I’m aware that it might be simply JC’s incompetence in making a connection between the Crown of Mneme and Dai Ryusaki – even though it could’ve been easily done without Elton actively portraying Ryusaki as a bad guy. For example:

Elton: I advise you to avoid the Crown at all costs. MC: I wonder if it has anything to do with the Dark Scroll… Elton: You don’t mean Dai Ryusaki’s Dark Scroll, do you? MC: That dark wizard? Yes, I do. Why? Do you know anything about it too? Elton: *not answering right away and looking very ashamed instead, showing already that he doesn’t want to reveal the truth because of his loyalty to the Ministry, but also showing his guilt*

And yes, I know it wouldn’t be the first time JC didn’t see the simplest solutions in their writing. But as I was thinking about it more, I realised that if we assume that Elton indeed knew about MC and the Cursed Vaults all that time and did nothing on purpose, it’s both surprising and fascinating how many things start to add up. In this scenario, Elton would also want to portray Ryusaki as a bad guy. I know it doesn’t fully work currently because, in the end, it was Elton who let us go to the Archives, but I guess it’s possible that originally, we were supposed to learn the truth about Ryusaki in some different way. And either way, I have to point out that there’s something very off in this part of the story no matter what. I mean, let me ask you one question:

Why exactly Dai Ryusaki was killed?

Because if you think about it, it was never really explained… properly. Like, we keep using words like “miscommunication” or “misunderstanding”.

But… how the fuck can you kill somebody because of misunderstanding? I guess we’re supposed to interpret it as: “The International Confederation of Wizards thought Dai wanted to use his invention to do bad things while he was actually trying to destroy his invention once he realised it’s dangerous”. However, this interpretation doesn’t really make sense. Why? Look at Ryusaki’s notes we found in the Archives.

Ryusaki seems absolutely certain that once he destroys what he was about to destroy, it’s done. He accepted that his work would be no more after that. And that makes me believe that nobody else (or almost nobody) knew about his work. Because otherwise, he’d have to realise that someone might try to replicate his work, right? Or even force him to simply repeat it? Yet he’s not worried about it. And the thing is that Ryusaki was a very intelligent, reasonable, and conscious man. So… how the hell the International Confederation of Wizards knew anything to misinterpret Ryusaki’s intentions?

Well, what if there was someone other than Ryusaki who knew about his work after all? But Dai completely trusted that person, so that’s why he was so sure the whole thing would remain secret? What if that person happened to work at the British Ministry of Magic? What if this person was…

Elton “The Bitch” Elderberry?

Ok, so I know that everything I said so far is a big assumption, but I swear it does make sense, so please, bear with me. And I’ll actually start by summarising what I believe how it all began and then I’ll elaborate on each element because it’s gonna be easier for me that way.

So, I believe that Dai Ryusaki and Elton Elderberry were once good friends. They were both quite talented wizards, and while they had different goals in life, they realised at some point that the treasure from the Cursed Vaults might help them achieve that. Together, they created a group that we know as R. Unfortunately for Elton, Dai realised eventually that both his own invention and the Cursed Vaults themselves are dangerous, so he decided to quit. Elton didn’t like it, and he was afraid that Dai would try to stop him as well, so he decided to be proactive about it. Using his position as a Hit Wizard at the Ministry, he sold Dai out, claiming he’s a dangerous dark wizard. Elton kept R alive ever since, and he was waiting for MC to be born because MC is necessary to open the final Cursed Vault.

Of course, I assume that the original plans for the final Cursed Vault were different than what we saw in Y6. Also, from that point, I’ll keep calling Elton “Brelton” because:

BITCH + R + ELTON = BRELTON

… and I just think this distinction might be useful because, as I said, I don’t think it might still be true, yet it seems that Elton Elderberry will stay in the story anyway. Ok, but let’s talk about some details.

Dai’s and Brelton’s goals

As for Dai’s goal, it’s pretty straightforward. It’s basically said directly in the game: he wanted to help people with traumatic memories. What would be Brelton’s goal then? Well, let me remind you one note from R we found in Y5:

The interesting thing about it is that for the longest time, it was the only case where it was mentioned that R had any interest in immortality. As soon as the Dark Scroll was introduced, we only talked about R wanting knowledge. I even talked with my friend about how weird it is that the writers totally abandoned the immortality aspect (Bee, I’m not tagging you because I don’t want you to feel obliged to read this long-ass post, but if you’re reading it anyway: Hi! I’m talking about you!). In fact, I’m pretty sure that the word “immortality” wasn’t even used in the main story after that note from R – until our conversation with Elton in Y7Ch49:

And you know what? I don’t think it’s just a coincidence. Because it’s not even true! Every time we talked about Ryusaki’s potion, it was about mind-enhancing potion.

So… what if it’s the leftover of the original plans for Elton’s character? What if it’s Brelton who was all about immortality? And now, JC just looked at the notes made by Matt London and his team and simply put the immortality potion in there without thinking if it made sense. I realise it feels like another stretch, but I have to point out that Elton’s old age is a little sus – and they stress all the time how old he is. I mean, wizards do live longer than Muggles, but most of them don’t live over 300 years. (There’s actually the HP wiki page about it.)

And the thing is that from the story point of view, it wasn’t even necessary to make Elton this old. Sure, it adds some flavour with the reveal that he was actually there when Dai was killed, but on the other hand, he mentions every now and then that his memory is not the best anymore etc. So, wouldn’t it be better if MC met Elton's son or grandson, for example? Personally, I think it would, and that’s why I’m gonna assume for the rest of this analysis that R was always about “enlightenment and immortality”, and that Dai Ryusaki represented the first element while Elton Elderberry the second one.

Why they needed the Cursed Vaults?

Ok, so now that we know what they wanted in general, let’s try to figure out why they went after the Cursed Vaults – and as I mentioned already, I assume that the original treasure was actually… well, a thing. I admit that I wasn’t able to figure out what exactly it could’ve been, but I have some ideas about what properties the Treasure could have, based on Dai’s and Brelton’s goals.

This time, let’s start with Brelton because it’s a bit easier. Basically, I believe that Brelton managed to invent something that grants semi-immortality, but it’s not the perfect invention. Sure, he’s still alive and his mind is not in the worst condition, but still. So, I think that he believes that the Treasure could improve his invention by granting actual immortality and/or eternal youth.

It’s a bit more complicated with Dai because we have to consider multiple elements. First of all, we have the mind-enhancing potion. The recipe for it was hidden on the Dark Scroll which was confirmed by the notes found by MC in the Archives. But earlier, MC also mentioned “a device”, and then they read: “I can’t bear to destroy my life’s work, but I know that I must. The scroll has already been hidden”. So… what exactly was he about to destroy? If we want to stick to the legend told by Corey, it might’ve been about the already-prepared potion. He might’ve also been referring to his research in general and his notes or something. But then we have the Crown of Mneme… And that’s quite interesting because we actually know that it’s something he found in Greece – which, by the way, confirms that the Crown was not something placed in the Cursed Vaults originally (I’ll return to it in a moment).

Either way, to simplify it a little bit, I’m gonna assume that Dai’s invention was about the Crown and the potion - and that together was considered his “device”. What about the Treasure then? I see a couple of options.

Perhaps the Treasure would give more control over the Crown or allow to exchange of thoughts both ways. I mean, what we saw in the game looked like the wearer could only send their thoughts, but if Dai wanted to treat patients with traumatic memories, he probably wanted to extract those memories.

Perhaps the Treasure could permanently remove/destroy traumatic memories. Because I don’t think you can actually do it with Obliviate, for example. I might be wrong, but I feel that there is always a small chance that the memory would come back or simply leave some mark behind it.

How the Crown of Mneme ended in the Sunken Vault?

So… If Dai was so certain that his invention was gone and to be forgotten, and on top of that I claim that he didn’t want to have anything to do with the Cursed Vaults, then how the hell the Crown of Mneme ended in the Sunken Vault? Well, I guess I won’t surprise anyone at this point by saying that it was Brelton who was behind it. And the best thing is that we actually know that R was in the Sunken Vault in the past – and that’s thanks to the note found in the Weird Sisters TLSQ:

So, this is what I propose. Brelton got the Crown of Mneme before Dai’s death somehow. I don’t think that Dai would just give it to him because I assume they already fell apart at that point. Or perhaps Brelton lied to Dai and offered that he’d destroy the Crown? Either way, he probably wasn’t planning to destroy it (as it might be useful for him), and he continued his search for the Cursed Vaults. Unfortunately for him, once he got to the Sunken Vault, he realised he couldn’t do anything without the key. And now, the key might be the Gillyweed/Coral Key Rakepick took from us in Y4, or maybe it’s about the siblings – or it’s both (like in my version of the story). Anyway, the Treasure was unachievable, so Brelton used this opportunity to hide the Crown of Mneme and just left.

Ryusaki and the creation of the Cabal

Ok, but why I assume that Dai Ryusaki even knew about the Cursed Vaults, to begin with? I just explained how it was probably Brelton who put the Crown in the Sunken Vault, and we don’t really have anything to prove that Dai needed the Treasure to improve his invention. Well, yeah. But we have something else. Something that I find very exciting. See, during our first trip to Knockturn Alley, we visited also Flourish and Blotts where we found a Black Quill containing this message:

And for the longest time, I was just… absolutely stumped by it. I couldn’t come up with any decent theory as to who left that note. But now, I do strongly believe that it was left by Dai Ryusaki. Brelton was too greedy to get his immortality and too afraid of his own mortality to leave the Cursed Vaults and refused to listen to his friend that it’s too dangerous. The note also talks about “them”, so maybe R had some more members at that point already (but only Dai and Elton knew everything). And you know what makes it even more fascinating? We found this Black Quill in the book by Maerwynn Montfort who’s a totally original author mentioned only in this specific scene in HPHM. Interestingly, Maerwynn is a feminine name that is of Welsh origin that means “joy”. And coincidently, Dai is a Welsh masculine given name (which means “beloved”), a hypocorism of Dafydd or David, as well as a masculine Japanese given name. Like…

Are you kidding me??

I mean, ok, sure. It might be just a coincidence. But you have to admit that it’s a pretty damn odd coincidence. Maybe Maerwynn was someone from Dai’s Welsh part of the family or just a friend whom he met there? Or maybe it’s just a pseudonym or something. But either way, it might be hinting at some (“Welsh”) connection. And that’s why they were exchanging secret information!

Still, that’s not even all I finally realised about the note. Because I also believe that it confirms that the Cabal from Jacob’s notebook is a different group than R – and I think that it was Dai Ryusaki who started that group.

Ok, so I explained the whole idea in this post. It’s one of my shorter analyses so I recommend checking it out. But to put it even shorter, my problem with the note from Y5Ch15 was always that Jacob was confused about why the Cabal wanted to kill him.

But R was very open about threatening Jacob and especially his family, so… it shouldn’t be surprising at all. He might’ve been confused if he was doing everything R told him to do – but then it doesn’t make sense that R would want to kill Jacob and MC. I mean, after Duncan’s death, they clearly told him to continue his search.

So, I always interpreted the Cabal as a separate group who wanted to protect the Cursed Vaults by killing the siblings because the siblings are necessary to get to the Treasure. And if we join it with the note from Flourish and Blotts, it totally adds up. Dai realised that the Cursed Vaults were dangerous and wanted to stop R. Brelton wouldn’t listen, so Dai wanted to destroy the vault portrait which, assumingly, would make it impossible to get to the Portrait Vault. On top of that, he started the group that was supposed to make sure that nobody would ever get hurt by the Vaults by killing the siblings (who can get the Treasure). It was about the creation of the Cabal this whole time!

Brelton as the true leader of R

In general, I have to say that Brelton being the true leader of R just makes more sense. In this scenario, it’d also mean that Peregrine is just… a current face of the organisation. A puppet. And yes, I keep saying that I don’t believe that Perry was always planned to be a part of the story, so why do I even mention him? Well, to be completely honest, I’m willing to accept that Perry was planned along with Dai and Brelton’s story – just not as MC’s father. Because it makes sense that Brelton would want to keep his position at the Ministry, and if so, he’d probably need someone to (occasionally) represent R. And that could be Peregrine. In fact, we saw some moments when the leader of R was treated weirdly ambiguous. The first case is our conversation with Rakepick in Azkaban. And yes, I know that we didn’t know about Peregrine then yet, so it kind of makes sense to leave it more ambiguous, but I want to point out a specific thing Rakepick said.

Honestly, I was always confused by it because “the one behind it all” sounds like someone who also created R, at least in my opinion. On the other hand, we had hints in the past that R is a rather older organisation. Not to mention that Perry claimed that he joined R, meaning that R was R before the current leader joined them. Of course, it is possible that Perry lies. It is also possible that the title of R is simply given to each leader. But… I don’t know. Rakepick’s words sound to me like she is talking about only one person. However, if that one person is actually Brelton, it makes sense that he’s both the current true leader and the one responsible for creating the organisation.

My other issue is with Olivia’s memories. Because Rakepick is very clearly talking to someone from R in those scenes, but for whatever reason we never learn who it was.

So, what if it was actually supposed to be Brelton? And speaking of that, ever since we learnt that Olivia was working at the Ministry, I thought it was pretty suspicious, and I fully expected that R was controlling that. And what a coincidence that Elton became Olivia’s mentor for all those years…

Hell, it’d even make more sense why Verucca is so damn worried about Perry being cursed by Ryusaki’s amulet. Because if Brellton indeed betrayed Dai, then it could mean that it’s Brelton who’s the real target of that whole revenge plan. The curse might be simply generalising it because, well, it’s just a spirit that’s basically the essence of Ryusaki’s anger. But if Verucca knows about everything as a high-ranking member of R, then yeah, she’d try to stop Perry from hurting their dear leader Brelton.

And… that’s it!

Once again, like I said, I do not expect the game to confirm any of the things I discussed above. But that being said, I feel very confident about pretty much everything I said. And even though it took me months to finally write it all down, I have to say that putting it together was really fun and exciting. Who knows, maybe it’s the last time I feel like that about HPHM theory, at least when it comes to relatively new content. But even if so, I’m kind of glad that I got some semi-closure to the things that were bothering me.

#long post #hogwarts mystery #hphm #elton elderberry #dai ryusaki #hphm mc #olivia green #patricia rakepick #hphm peregrine #hphm r #the cabal #cursed vaults #brelton theory #analysis post #theory #hphm theory

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livelaughlovewonderwoman · 1 year

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HPHM YEAR 4 SPOILERS BELOW!!!

i literally just got fucking petrified and i was literally waiting for angsty hurt/comfort trope to happen where all of my friends find out and are like "omg are you okay bitch" but NOTHING.

maybe i'm just an attention whore ( I am )

#harrypotter #hogwarts #hogwarts mystery #hogwarts mc #hogwarts mystery mc #hphm #rowan x mc #rowan khanna #i'm in love with rowan #penny haywood #merula snyde #ben copper #bill weasley #talbott winger #jacob's sibling #cursed vaults #barnaby lee #charlie weasley

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lins-fandom-hub · 1 year

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"Masquerades are the most romantic kind of ball!"

Quick romantic edits from the latest TLSQ! Hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I did--it gave me some Phantom of the Opera vibes too!

#hogwarts mystery #hphm #hogwarts #cursed vaults #hphm clara lin #hphm spoilers #clara lin #barnaby lee #hphm dating

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the-al-chemist · 1 year

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Artemis Hexley and the Return to the Riddles

Chapter 21: The Last Battle

A/N: The Circle of Khanna prepare to face the final Cursed Vault, but they aren’t the only ones wanting to get to it. Warnings: threat, violence, and a *reveal*…

The days stretched longer and longer as May drew to its close. The sun was already high in the sky when the owls arrived at the breakfast table to deliver the post on the last day of the month, one of them landing on the Hufflepuff table with a small, peculiar shaped parcel attached to its leg, which it stretched out to Artemis.

Artemis took the parcel from the bird, and opened the parcel to reveal a silver key, decorated with green-painted leaf-like tendrils that rolled down the length of the handle.

“What’s that?” asked Tonks, and both she and Penny frowned at the item over the top of their Potions revision.

“It’s a key,” said Artemis, smiling as she read the handwritten note her great-uncle had wrapped into the parcel containing the key. “Sickleworth had it this whole time.”

“What does it unlock?”

“Well, judging by the fact that it’s decorated with Gillyweed,” Chiara looked closely at the key, “I’d assume that it unlocks something to do with water.”

“The Vault in the lake, maybe?”

“That’s what I’m hoping.” Artemis nodded. “I’ll see what Bill makes of it.”

As breakfast finished, Artemis placed the key in her pocket and loitered near the top table of the Great Hall, where Bill was mid-conversation with Hagrid the gameskeeper. When the two had finished talking and Bill left the table, she rushed to meet him.

“What do you think of this?” she asked him, holding the key out for him to inspect. Bill sighed heavily.

“Good morning, Bill, did you sleep well? Yes, I did. Thank you for asking,” he said, but he took the key from her. “What does this do?”

“I was hoping you might tell me. Rakepick sent me and Sickleworth into Filch’s office to find it back in my fourth year. She said it was important, and so I thought it might-”

“Be needed to open the final Vault? It would make sense, what with the Gillyweed.”

“That’s what Chiara said,” Artemis frowned. “I didn’t know what Gillyweed has to do with the lake-”

“It makes you breathe underwater.”

“- but Duncan said that Olivia Green found a key that she thought would open the final Vault, and it reminded me of this one.”

“Nicely remembered,” said Bill. He lowered his voice slightly. “You know, we might need this pretty soon.”

Artemis tilted her head to one side. “What do you mean?”

“Hagrid was just telling me that the Grindylows have started acting aggressively, same as they did last year. If you ask me, it won’t be long until…”

“The statue curse gets released,” Artemis finished Bill’s sentence for him, and he inclined his head, his face grim. Artemis looked at the key. “We need to get to that Vault. Tonight.”

“Tonight? Artemis, that’s… We aren’t ready, we don’t even know-”

“That’s the problem, Bill! No one knows how to open this Vault, not for certain.”

“No, but if we take a bit longer to research, then we can have a better idea of what we’re doing.”

“If we take much longer, more people will get cursed, or the Cabal might beat us to it,” Artemis argued. “We can’t risk losing out to them now just so we can spend longer reading books for clues that might not even be there. You know, the clues might even be hidden inside the Vault itself!”

Bill exhaled, his features softening as he did. “Okay, you have a point,” he told her. “A good point. But I’m just as worried about the Cabal as the Vault. Who knows what they know already? You said they have an informant in the Auror office.”

“They did have one, but not anymore. Kingsley said they caught him. Someone called Williamson, I think.”

“And did Williamson tell them anything about R after they caught him?”

“Nothing yet. Apparently he’s still pretending to know nothing about it all, even though Moody told him the information that got leaked and no one else. But at least the Aurors are all trustworthy now.” Artemis shrugged. An idea stuck her, and she turned to Bill. “What if we ask the Aurors to guard the school while we go down to the final Vault? That way, we won’t have to worry about the Cabal showing up, because the Aurors can stop them getting as far as the lake.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” said Bill, nodding slowly. “How long will it take for you to arrange that with Kingsley?”

“A day, maybe?” Artemis said. “Could be less. We might even be able to get to the Vault tonight.” Bill rolled his eyes. “What?”

“You really haven’t changed a bit, have you?”

Bill might have been sceptical about Artemis’ desire for haste, but both Kingsley and Mad-Eye Moody had thought her idea of getting to the Vault as quickly as possible a good one. The following night, an Auror patrol was set up around the perimeter of the school grounds, and the Circle of Khanna met in the entrance hall of the castle. The doors were open as they gathered, giving them a clear view of the courtyard beyond, illuminated by the crescent moon.

“That’s everyone,” Bill told Artemis, his eyes scanning the group as if he were counting them. Artemis nodded.

“Good. That’s good,” she said. “Right, so this is it. The final Vault.” Jae wolf-whistled quietly, and Artemis rolled her eyes before continuing, “The Vault is in a cave in the middle of the lake, and we are going to need to swim there. That means you'll need this."

She nodded to Tonks and Tulip, who began to hand out clumps of a stringy green plant to the others.

"This is Gillyweed, Tonks and I nicked it from the greenhouses. It'll let you breathe underwater."

"What happened to the Bubblehead Charm we used last year?" asked Barnaby, holding up a piece of Gillyweed and sniffing it suspiciously.

"Nothing happened to it, it's just that we might need to keep our wands free, that's all. The Cabal might be there, we need to be ready to defend ourselves if necessary."

Penny's blue eyes widened. "I thought you said the Aurors would be here to deal with the Cabal."

"Yeah, they will. They’re all stationed around the edges of the grounds keeping watch, and they have signals and stuff set up in place if there’s any trouble. But Moody still said we need to keep our wits about us, just in case."

Tonks screwed up her face and one of her eyes doubled in size, its iris changing colour to a bright electric blue.

"Constant vigilance!" she said in a gruff voice that was impressively similar to that of Mad-Eye Moody. A few of the others laughed, but most did not.

"I know it might be dangerous," Artemis told them. "It's okay if you've changed your minds. It's not too late to turn back."

"Like hell it isn't," muttered Merula. "Come on, let's do this."

Bill and Artemis led the Circle of Khanna out of the main doors of the castle into the darkened entrance courtyard, on the other side of which a set of steps carved into the cliffside wound down to the lakeshore below. As they walked across the courtyard, wands raised and ready, Artemis felt a hand on her right shoulder. She turned to see Charlie Weasley behind her, staring at the cloisters with his eyebrows knitted together.

"We weren't expecting anyone else, were we?" he asked, his voice low.

Artemis shook her head and followed his gaze to see that someone was standing in the cloisters, tall and cloaked in shadow. As they stepped out, the moonlight illuminated their features, their height cheekbones and silver-streaked dark hair. It took a moment for Artemis to realise that she recognised the newcomer.

She wasn't the only one.

"Dad?" Tulip pushed past Artemis and Bill to approach the wizard in the cloisters. "What are you doing here?"

"Shacklebolt told me what your friends had planned," said Ambassador Karasu, with a dirty look in Artemis' direction. "I came here to make sure that you have nothing to do with this."

"But-"

"I don't know why Shacklebolt even agreed to this nonsense. This is not something for teenagers to be engaged in, let alone when one of those teenagers is my daughter."

"We know what we're doing, Dad," Tulip rolled her eyes.

"This is far too dangerous for you. I forbid you to have any part in it."

"I'm of age. You can't forbid me to do anything."

Tulip's words seemed to have hit a nerve with her father. He reached out and grabbed her by the arm, so fast and so forcefully that Artemis was certain his hand would leave a mark.

"Let go of me!"

But Karasu did not let go of Tulip. Instead, he tightened his grip. Tulip winced as she tried to wriggle free, to no avail, and Artemis raised her wand, ready to take matters into her own hands. Before she had the chance to do anything, however, Barnaby Lee had already pointed his wand at the ambassador, his jaw clenched and shoulders shaking.

"Relashio!"

A flurry of purple sparks issued from Barnaby's wand and hit Karasu in the wrist. His hand jerked as if it were going into spasm, and his grip on his daughter's arm loosened. Tulip wrenched her arm away from him and rejoined her friends.

"My friends are going to the lake, and they are going to break these curses once and for all," she told her father in a voice that was laced with fury. "I am going with them, and there is nothing you can say or do to stop me, or any of us, for that matter."

As she spoke, Tulip's almond-shaped eyes were narrowed and fixed on her father, but he no longer seemed to be looking at her. Instead, his gaze had settled on the far corner of the courtyard, at the top of the cliffside steps. Frowning, Artemis turned to see what he was looking at, and her stomach lurched.

At the top of the steps were two more people: a pot-bellied wizard with a darkened nose who Artemis immedaitely recognised as her former teacher, Professor Topsy, and a tall, grey-haired witch in purple robes who she didn’t recognise, but knew without asking who she must be. If her violet-coloured eyes hadn't given her away, the fact that Merula Snyde had tensed beside her was all the proof she needed. This had to be Madam Buckthorn, Merula's aunt, the head Healer of St Mungo's Hospital, and the Director of the Cabal.

"You tried, Karasu. Looks like your daughter is just as disobedient as my niece. You know, my dear, you should listen to your father," said Madam Buckthorn, smiling passively at Tulip. "He's right, this isn't a matter for teenagers. It's very good of you all to have helped Miss Hexley with the last few Vaults, but I must insist that we take it from here." Her eyes settled on Artemis briefly, before she turned to talk to someone behind her. "I see what you mean. She really does look like her brother. I do hope that she will not cause us as much trouble."

Artemis glared at Madam Buckthorn. "Don't you dare talk about my brother," she said, raising her wand. "If it weren't for you, he'd never have been in any trouble at all."

“Did you not learn anything from the prophecy you stole, Hexley? You and your brother have been in trouble since you were born.”

“What do you… Wait. How do you know about us stealing the prophecy?”

There was a soft laugh from behind Madam Buckthorn, who stepped aside to reveal another witch, one with dark hair and glasses that caught the silver moonlight. Artemis' heart skipped a beat.

"Rowan?"

Of course, it wasn't Rowan. But the witch looked familiar, with her curly hair and bright green eyes. Artemis had seen her before, spoken to her, been helped by her.

Olivia Green.

"You? You're one of them?" Artemis frowned. "But you… You were Jacob's friend."

"I still am,” said Olivia. “So is the Ronde. We all wanted the same thing. We're on the same side, Artemis."

"The Ronde tried to kill me. They did kill Rowan, Duncan... After everything that’s happened, how can you be on their side?"

"The Final Vault requires a life," Olivia Green shook her head sadly, but there was no regret in her eyes. "Duncan and I both wanted to get into the Vaults with your brother. Duncan should have felt honoured to lay down his life for it. It wasn't his fault that his life wasn't the one that was needed."

Artemis looked at her in disgust. "Your friend died, and you don't even feel sorry about it."

"I feel sorry that his death was a waste. I should've known that he wasn't the one," Olivia's green eyes narrowed. "Oh, but your brother was always so very clever..."

Beside her, Madam Buckthorn let out a noise almost like a laugh. "He still is. It's a pity that he had to go and put himself in Azkaban prison so we couldn't have him lead us to the final Vault. Although, naturally, that's what he planned all along. We needed one of you to fulfil the prophecy, and without him, we'd have no choice but to have you do it. Which meant that we'd need you alive."

"Especially after our plan with Shiratori failed," muttered Karasu. "Damn that Kingsley Shacklebolt."

"Where is he?" asked Artemis, her heart sinking as she realised that if the Cabal was here, at the castle, then something must have happened to the Aurors who had planned to keep them safe. "Where is Kingsley?”

"I expect that Burke has led him and his team on somewhat of a wild ghost chase.”

“Burke? The Metamorphmagus?”

“Loken infiltrated the Auror office almost a year ago, has been passing information ever since. You know that, though,” Olivia said. “You told me about it, remember? That night you came to the Department of Mysteries.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe you trusted a stranger so easily, after ‘everything that’s happened’.”

“Now, Olivia. We should be grateful that young Artemis was so generous in giving you that information. After all, if she had not, Burke would not have been able to frame another Auror and keep Shacklebolt’s trust, which would have been a great shame. I always think it useful to have friends in high places." Madam Buckthorn nodded her head in Professor Topsy's direction. "Take Topsy for example. Or your old ally, Patricia Rakepick. Both of them were so good at making sure situations were taken care of..." She smiled as Artemis' hand tightened on the hilt of her wand. "Now, now, there's no need to fret. No harm will come to your friend Shacklebolt, or any of your friends here."

“I don’t believe you,” said Artemis, he feet shifting into a duelling position.

"You should. We aren't interested in harming others unnecessarily. The Vaults have had their life, so no more need be taken. You can thank Rakepick for that, Rakepick and your dear little friend. What was her name?"

Artemis narrowed her her eyes and pursed her lips tight together. She wouldn't allow these people to say Rowan's name. They didn't deserve it.

"Khanna," Topsy said, his words almost completely clear. "Rowan Khanna."

"Of course. Thanks to Rowan Khanna, the Vaults are yours to open, Miss Hexley. Now all you need do is lead us to them."

"I'm not leading you anywhere," Artemis growled.

"You don't have a choice," said Olivia Green. "Your brother made sure of that the moment he put himself in Azkaban, as did you, when you picked up that prophecy. You have to lead us."

"No, I don't," Artemis raised her chin and stared defiantly at Olivia. "The prophecy says I have to lead a circle. I already have one, right here. I don't need you, and I don't want you."

"Ah," said Madam Buckthorn. "That complicates things."

Artemis shrugged. "Not really. It's simple. I lead my friends to the Cursed Vault, we open it, and you lot bugger off. Pretty easy to understand."

"I do understand, Miss Hexley, but what you don't understand is that my previous comment about not needing to hurt any of your friends was based on the assumption that they would not get in our way. You will lead the Cabal to the Vault, and not your little friends, or there will be a conflict, which we will win."

"We'll see about that," said a voice - Merula's voice - from beside Artemis. She was staring at her aunt with open revulsion, her hand trembling slightly as she gripped her wand with white knuckles. "Confringo!"

A jet of bright orange light burst out of Merula's wand and soared through the air in the direction of Madam Buckthorn. It looked like the curse might hit her, but she raised her hand and waved it once, deflecting the light before it could do any damage. But Merula had cast the first curse, and now more were following, as one by one, the CIrcle of Khanna turned their wands on the Cabal.

Battle had commenced. Tulip's father was duelling against the combined forces of his own daughter, Barnaby, Tonks, and Andre. Madam Buckthorn was up against Merula, Talbott, Ismelda, Jae, and Chiara. Topsy was fighting Ben, Liz, Diego, and Badeea; whilst Artemis joined Bill, Charlie, and Penny as they fought against Olivia Green.

The Circle of Khanna outnumbered the Ronde in terms of numbers, but each member of the Circle only had one wand, and just as Rakepick had known how to cast spells without one, so too did the rest of the Cabal. Despite seeming to have the advantage, the Circle found themselves having to fight tooth and nail to keep up with the force of the spells the Cabal were throwing their way.

With Olivia not using a wand to cast her spells, Artemis was finding it hard to predict which spells her opponent would use, and at whom. It was making it harder to counter every move, and her companions did not have the advantage of her Legilimency.

As Artemis dodged a spell issued from Olivia’s wand, Charlie pulled Penny out of the way of a sudden explosion caused by the snapping of Olivia’s fingers. Olivia’s lips curved into a smile that was more like a snarl, and she cast another curse with her wand in Charlie's direction.

Bill quickly cast a shield charm to protect his brother, exposing the side of his torso as he leapt to Charlie's defence. Olivia's free hand reached out and she clenched her fist, and Bill let out a cry of pain, his own hand reaching for his ribcage. Her nostrils flaring, Artemis volleyed her own curse in Olivia's direction, but Olivia pushed her hand forward, palm first, and the light from Artemis' wand stopped in mid-air and changed direction so that it shot straight back at her.

"Protego!"

A deep, rumbling shout echoed across the courtyard, and black wizard in deep purple robes entered the fray, his wand arching gracefully through the air, leaving a shield of silver behind it. Kingsley's shield charm hung in the air in front of Artemis, bursting into fractals as Artemis' returned curse hit it in the centre.

The Circle of Khanna’s luck had changed; they had reinforcements. From the cliff steps, more Aurors were appearing: Moody, Scrimgeour, Proudfoot and Savage, and Dawlish, his arm no longer in a bandage. And from the castle, too, more adults were joining the scene: Professors McGonagall, Flitwick, Snape, and Sprout; Hagrid and Professor Kettleburn; and Madams Pomfrey and Hooch were all running out from the entrance hall.

The courtyard was no longer in shadow, instead it was alight with the flashes and beams of spells and curses as the Circle of Khanna, the teachers, and the Aurors combined forces to battle the Cabal.

Kingsley shot another spell in Olivia's direction before pulling Artemis into the cloisters.

"What took you so long?" Artemis asked him, and he shook his head.

"We were each watching an entrance of the castle," he told her. "A distress signal went up, so we followed the call, but it was a false alarm. When we saw the flashes from up here, we realised it wasn’t a false alarm at all, but a distraction.”

"That’s because you never really caught the informant. It was Burke, the Metamorphmagus," Artemis said. "He's been in disguise as one of the Aurors all along. He's here."

Kingsley frowned and looked out of the cloisters at the battle that was still going strong in the courtyard. His eyes scanned the scene, before settling in the far corner.

"Dawlish," he muttered. "Of course."

Artemis looked out and saw that Kingley was right. Dawlish had disappeared from the scene, and in his place was a wizard with dark cropped hair and a sardonic looking expression, currently mid-duel with Tonks.

"What do you think he’s done with the real-"

"I dread to think," said Kingsley, his eyes still on the scene. "Can they all do wandless magic?"

"Yeah."

"Then we'll need all the fighters we can spare."

"We've all been practising duelling. We can all stay and fight," said Artemis, but as the words came out of her mouth, she realised that they weren’t true. “Except… Well, we still need to get to the Vault. That’s why we’re all here.”

Kingsley frowned. “How many people do you need to take with you?”

“I’m not sure.”

“In which case, Tiny, I want you to forget about this fight. You have your own to deal with. Run, take as many of your friends as you can without drawing too much attention to yourself, and get down to that lakeshore."

"But-"

"The rest of us can deal with the Cabal, you have to be the one to open the Cursed Vaults. Go. Run."

Artemis took a deep breath and wrapped her arms around Kingsley's waist before nodding her head and springing into action. She jumped out of the cloisters and weaved her way through the fighters, dodging and ducking and deflecting curses as she went, wondering how many of her friends she could pull away from the battle without either alerting the Cabal to their absence or giving them an advantage in the fight.

In the end, she managed to get eight members of the Circle of Khanna to follow her away from the courtyard and down the winding cliff path stairs: Bill, Penny, Tonks, Charlie, Ben, Merula, Barnaby, and Tulip.

“Where are we going?” Penny asked breathlessly, as Artemis led the group down towards the lakeshore.

“To the Vault,” replied Artemis. "We have to get to that Vault and finish this. Now."

"What about the others?"

"Kingsley said more fighters were needed and that we couldn't draw too much attention to ourselves. This is the only way.”

“But-”

“Hexley is right,” Merula said. “We’ve come this far. We can’t let them win. The Cabal or the Cursed Vaults.”

They reached the bottom of the cliffs, and paused on the pebbled shore of the Black Lake. The atmosphere far quieter than it had been in the courtyard, though the noise of the fight could still be heard in the distance, and the night sky was still lit up with curses which from here looked almost like the fireworks that had been set off the night Jacob had left home, all those years ago. Artemis took a deep breath of the cool night air.

"They'll be okay," said Bill, smiling weakly at Artemis. "I taught them well last year."

Despite his comment actually reassuring her, Artemis rolled her eyes at him. She looked back at the lake. The surface of the water was completely still, as if no horrors lay in its depths. But they did, she knew that better than anyone.

Artemis reached into her pocket and pulled out a sprig of Gillyweed, and the others followed suit. Tonks made eye contact with her and grinned.

"Bottoms up, right?"

#artemis hexley #hogwarts mystery #hphm fic #hphm #the hexley saga #bill weasley #penny haywood #nymphadora tonks #chiara lobosca #merula snyde #charlie weasley #tulip kasaru #barnaby lee #ben copper #kingsley shacklebolt #the cabal #cursed vaults #r

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jasminediaz · 2 years

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When I'm bored I can't help drawing, this time I'd like to introduce you... The Bennett siblings ^^

Feli uwu

My own version of Jacob.

I have to admit it, I took inspiration from a certain disney character 7u7

#jacob's sibling #Jacob Bennett #hogwats mystery #hphm mc #feliciabennett #hphm #harry potter #hufflepuff #cursed vaults #art #sketch #drawing

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hphmmatthewluther · 2 years

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Remember that one art ai that did the rounds a while ago?

Well, I found the pieces I made using it regarding the Cursed Vaults!:

(I used the keep reading thingy since they’re pretty large, and also are pretty surreal/spooky so. yeah.)

#hphm #hogwarts mystery #cursed vaults #ai art

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elizabethhm1967 · 1 year

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Once again entering my villian era

#harry potter: hogwarts mystery #harry potter hogwarts mystery #cursed vaults #6th year #anti snape #snape slander

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indigobackfire · 1 year

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I know I said the lore I came up with for the vaults was too grand for regular story and I needed to make it, an AU...

But...

I mean it doesn't have to be the definitive canon be all end all explanation, it's just for my writing and I like that there are several headcanons about it.

So, it's still under development but! A few defining points:

These aren't the only Vaults in the world.

In fact there are 7 sets of Vaults around the world at different spots, be it inside or around a magical school (not necessarily those canon schools).

The process of opening them won't happen simultaneously. But at the same time each of these schools has a Cursed One.

Something connects them and only R seems to know what. (So does the Cabal.)

Ben and Rowan... something about them... their loyalty reeks of devotion...

R stands for Revelation.

I don't know if I'll be able to pull it all off, but having a north about the Vaults makes the story way easier for me to navigate, especially since I don't want these grand details to come up until they're adults.

#and there's no evil dad #bc he sucks #anyway #I've chosen the places and characters names uuuhhhh #I know so mysterious xD #cursed vaults #fanon lore #hphm R

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centaurudesngc4258 · 8 months

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Recruiting Rowan and Friendship Level Up 👨‍👧‍👦

#harry potter hogwarts mystery #harry potter game #game #ravenclaw #rowan khanna #gryffindor #hufflepuff #slytherin #great hall #recruiting #friendship level #chocolate frog #cursed vaults

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cotardsdream · 1 year

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soon I will be looking for your name,

searching the graves with a flashlight

#gothic #cementary #cursed vaults #fallen angel #angel of death #nighttime

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olivedoesmagic · 2 years

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Chapter ???: Last of the real ones

youtube

I erased my lifeline as Adaimith Froster from the timeline. I erased myself from existance and now there is no Harry Potter adaimith froster character nor will Gamingtaile my actors let's play finish. He is now gone, the house, the face, it was all erased nobody will ever remember him or beleive me he was real, it was over a misgendering, and I'm sad I won't get to see what occurs but Ben will remember. I promise. Adamith cried, it was so sad like a death, he made Hermonie who promises us as Adaimith to always copy and learn to only take the memory...but the thing is I have only seen the movies on the tellie I dont know the books, she should only take the memory because hermonie often copies me as Adamith her ghost friend and she's so stoic and smart we can't have that. So she bound herself to if she performs this sacrifice in their world only take the memory. It's cheating my code. I miss my glasses and ginger hair but whatever happens next I want known in the multiverse is NY choice and fault

-Olive Brimstone

"I good doll" I love how you made that a trauma for me haru I can't hear the sound and not be triggered, so I gave up on doll making on this timeline. I hope your play pretend was worth it medsuastuck

- Olive Brimstone

3:17 PM

My letter got fucking lost in the mail

2022 Tuesday 13th

#hary potter #cursed vaults #fanfic #multiverse #adamith froster #Youtube

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missnight0wl · 1 year

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Don't you ever get annoyed how the game literally deleted Bill Weasley in y6 and y7? I thought that since Bill is an actual professional Curse-Breaker he'd be more involved with the MC and the cursed vaults especially since Griphook knew the MC and her adventures with the vaults and I expected him to ask Bill to investigate these vaults especially since he was in every vault in from years 1 to 5 with the MC. but nah the game decides to forget about Bill and shove Merula into our face along with Ben (no hate I love Ben, I have no objections about him). It broke my heart going to the final cursed vault in y6 without Bill. He's been here for us ever since the beginning, we went to every single vault with him, we should've finished what we started together with Bill 😭. I didn't mind Ben and Jacob being present at the final vault since I love them both (don't murder me for loving Jacob since we know he's a fugly slut for you 🤣)

So how do you feel about Bill being less involved after his graduation, do you think it makes sense?

People “apologising” for liking Fugly Slut never fails to make me cackle 😂 It’s fine, guys! Like I don’t exactly approve of it… but you do you! 👍🙂

As for your question though – I think it makes absolutely no sense. I actually even ranted about it in my longer commentary about the Sunken Vault in this post. It covers more problems than just Bill, but yeah, Bill’s absence is just a misunderstanding.

That being said, I have to point out that Bill wasn’t necessarily with us in all of the Cursed Vaults. HOWEVER, he was the only character who had a chance to be in all of the Cursed Vaults. Bill was a set companion for the Vault of Ice and the Portrait Vault, and one of the options for the Vault of Fear and the Forest Vault. And personally, I always felt that it might be meaningful in the future. You know, even aside from the fact that he actually ends up being a professional Curse-Breaker.

Also, the thing that makes it even worse is that it’s not even that he was totally forgotten after he graduated. The writers went through the effort of bringing him back for our private DADA classes in the evenings. And sure, it could be simply explained by: “Oh, JC didn’t want to get rid of DADA classes and so they needed a teacher”. But no! It can’t be the only explanation! Because Bill was actually pretty damn involved in the main story after Rowan’s death! Like, remember this?

For a short time, Bill became the brain for this group of idiots – the brain that we really needed. And sure, our return to the crimes scene led to absolutely nothing, but still. Bill showed that he could be our PROPER leader. But nope! After that point, JC totally forgot about any plans they might’ve had for the eldest Weasley brother.

Honesty, that’s a big reason why I still claim that after Rowan’s death, JC started changing the original plans for the story in general, mixing Y6 and Y7. I still believe we weren’t supposed to reach the final Vault in Y6 yet. So, because the writers stopped following the set course, they also started forgetting things and messing everything up. And we got a dumpster fire as a result. I mean, look at this scene from before Rowan’s death:

Yes, Bill still wasn’t involved in the end (even though it'd make sense), but at least it was addressed. Before the Sunken Vault, we didn’t even acknowledge Bill’s existence – which is simply ridiculous.

Another thing that makes me believe that Bill was supposed to play a much bigger role overall is actually his relationship with Rakepick, which got quite a lot of attention in Y4 and Y5 and then never had any conclusion. For example, Y4:

And then Y5:

And sure, it might be just a fanservice referencing Bill’s future, but if you ask me, it got way too much screen time to be just that. The problem is that it makes absolutely no sense for Rakepick to be so invested in Bill if she was always evil. Like, she only wasted her time, really. It’s not even like it could’ve helped her manipulate MC or whatever because Bill was never like: “I trust Rakepick, so you should too”. In fact, he’s pretty chill about your different opinion if you choose that option in Y5Ch21:

So… What was the point of building that background relationship between Bill and Rakepick??

And you know what makes it even worse? When we go to see Bill in the DADA classroom after the Portrait Vault, he admittedly is very upset about Rakepick’s betrayal, but then we talk about his job at Gringotts, and he’s like… totally happy??

But like… YOU GOT THIS JOB THANKS TO RAKEPICK! AND WE DON’T EVEN MENTION IT!

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m certain that Bill’s own talent and hard work also played a big role in getting this job. But he literally said earlier: “She’s even getting me a job at Gringotts”. And now we’re pretending it didn’t happen??

So, to sum up, I believe that both Bill and his job at Gringotts were originally supposed to play a much bigger role when it comes to the final Cursed Vault. Interestingly, when Diagon Alley was added to the game, Gringotts was a location to open in Y7. They changed it much later when they decided to make the Adventures in Curse-Breaking TLSQ taking place in Y6. And look at that, it happens that this quest was released after Rowan’s death, too – so when I suspect they started really changing the original plans for the story.

#long post #hogwarts mystery #hphm #bill weasley #patricia rakepick #sunken vault #cursed vaults #jam city #ask #chiefchildangel

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pooks · 6 months

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Charlie: Oh no, we're going to jail! Percy: Bill's going to jail. I'm saying I was kidnapped. Charlie: That's a good plan. You and I were kidnapped. Bill: If I'm going to jail, we're all going to jail!

#disaster older siblings

#incorrect hp quotes #source: young sheldon #bill weasley #charlie weasley #percy weasley #hogwarts mystery #this is why “jail” exists on the clock #bill charlie and percy were DISASTERS together in school #mcgonagall: your sons were involved with the cursed vaults-#mrs weasley: omg not AGAIN #bill and charlie were involved with the cursed vaults cause they wanted to #percy was just nosy af and decided they needed his brains for this

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lins-fandom-hub · 1 year

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Shhhhh...let's just keep this our little secret.

Finally back into digital art after a while! Here's a quick piece from me just in time before Valentine's Day. I hope everyone's doing well!

#hogwarts mystery #hphm spoilers #hphm #cursed vaults #hphm clara lin #hogwarts

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the-al-chemist · 1 year

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Artemis Hexley and the Return to the Riddles

Chapter 19: Empowerment

A/N: Artemis returns to the penultimate Vault with more friends than anticipated, and receives a lesson in art history. Warnings: a whole lot of lore drop and discussion of trauma.

With the exam season fast approaching, the Hufflepuff Common Room had turned from a cosy den to a hub of activity. Every armchair, sofa, and table had been commandeered by groups of fifth and seventh year students, their piles of books and scrolls competing for space with the usual decor of scatter cushions and pot plants.

Artemis and her girlfriends were one such group, however, the textbooks in front of them had yet to be opened, and their hushed conversation had nothing to do with schoolwork.

“So,” said Tonks, the armchair groaning softly as she jumped onto it. “Do you want the good news or the bad news?”

Artemis didn’t even consider her answer. “Good.”

“Ah. Well, I bumped into Moody in Hogsmeade this morning and they’ve still not found out who is passing information to the Cabal from the Auror office-”

“That’s the good news?”

“- but they’re still telling people false leads,” Tonks shrugged. “So they’ve got it under control. They’ve got plenty of time.”

“What’s the bad news?”

“We’ve not got plenty of time. You two” - she gestured at Penny and Artemis - “and Badeea are looking to go to the Portrait Vault soon, before anyone gets stuck in a portrait again, and then we’ll need to get cracking on the final Vault before the statue curse hits.”

“You’re just full of cheer, you are,” muttered Artemis.

“At least the dragon guarding it the Portrait Vault is dead already, so that should be easy.”

Beside Tonks, Penny sighed loudly.

“Well, yes, it should, but none of the others have been easy so far,” she said, fiddling with her silver charm bracelet as she spoke. “And besides, we still don’t have any way of getting there.”

Artemis’ eyebrows furrowed deeply. Penny made a very valid point. Two years ago, she and her fellow curse-breakers had travelled to the fourth Cursed Vault using a portrait of the Vault itself, which had been turned into a Portkey. After the expedition had taken a turn for the worse, the portrait had been left inside.

“Maybe we could Apparate,” she suggested. “Rakepick and Jacob both Apparated out of there, it would make sense if we were able to Apparate in.”

“Would it? Apparition requires an accurate destination, and without knowing exactly where the Vault is…”

“Or if it is even a real location,” murmured Chiara, a curious look in her pale blue eyes. “You were only able to get there by a painting of the Vault. What if it only exists inside the painting?”

“But then we’d need another portrait to get inside!”

“Oh!” Penny gasped. “We could get Badeea to paint one for us! She really is very talented, you know.”

“Would that work?” asked Artemis, and Chiara shrugged her shoulders. The girls fell quiet for a few moments, until Tonks slammed her hand down on the arm of her chair.

“Ow!” She winced and rubbed her hand, but her smile didn’t falter. “I’ve got it. I’ve only bloody gone and got it.”

“Got what, Tonks?”

“Okay. So, what if you don’t need that one specific painting to get in? Didn’t you say that last time, you were able to climb in and out of the paintings in there?”

“Yeah, but-”

“And, didn’t you say that your brother was leaving you a trail to follow from one Vault to the next?” Tonks raised her eyebrows expectantly. When none of the girls indicated that they understood her meaning, she sighed. “Come on, Artemis. Remember what you found inside the Forest Vault the first time we went there?”

“The tiny jumper,” said Artemis, and her eyebrows raised as she realised what Tonks meant, “and the painting of the dragon! Tonks, that’s brilliant!”

“Still not the foggiest what that jumper was about, but I bet you anything that if we turn that painting into a Portkey-”

“-it’ll take us into the painting where the dragon lived, and then we can go through the frame and into the Cursed Vault itself!”

“You’re going into a Cursed Vault?” said a small voice from behind Artemis, and all four girls turned to see Beatrice Haywood standing by them. “The one with the portrait curse?”

Artemis knew that there was no point in lying. “Yeah. The Circle of Khanna is trying to go back and break all the curses, for good this time.”

“I want to help.”

“Absolutely not,” said Penny, shaking her head emphatically. “Bea, you can’t-”

“Why not?” Beatrice pouted and crossed her arms in front of her chest. “I’m an honorary member of the Circle of Khanna. Bill taught me how to make a Patronus last year, and I could do it better than some of the actual members, even though I am younger.”

“Exactly. You’re too young.”

“I’ll be fourteen in August. That’s older than you were the first time you went into a Cursed Vault-”

“Yes, but-”

“And I’m the only one here who has actually been cursed before,” Bea raised her eyebrows. “I’m the one who got stuck in a painting for almost a whole bloody year. You have no idea what that’s like, Penny, none of you do.” She shuddered, before telling them, “It was horrid, like a nightmare you can’t wake up from. I still dream about it sometimes, even now.”

Penny blinked as if she wanted to cry and reached out to her sister.

“That’s why I am going and not you. I just want you to be safe,” she said, her voice quietly pleading. Bea rolled her eyes.

“I don’t need you to keep me safe. I need to keep me safe,” she turned to Artemis. “Please let me come with you. I need to see it for myself, or I’ll never be free from it, not really.”

Artemis looked from Beatrice to Penny and back again. Slowly, Penny nodded her head, her cheeks pale and eyes wide as she did so.

“Okay,” said Artemis. “If you think it will help you, you can come with us.” Bea wrapped her arms around Artemis’ shoulders before running away to find her friends, and once she was gone, Artemis turned back to Penny. “You sure you don’t mind?”

“Not really,” Penny laughed shrilly, and returned to fiddling with her bracelet. Chiara leaned across the table and placed one hand on her wrist.

“You know,” she said, in her softly lilting voice, “it might be really good for her. What happened to her was awful, but maybe going back and seeing it again will help her realise that the Vault doesn’t have any power over her anymore.”

Penny sniffed and smiled, and when Chiara removed her hand, she stopped playing with her bracelet. Artemis frowned as she considered Chiara’s words, before standing up and walking away from the table.

“Oi! Where do you think you’re going?” Tonks called after her, and she shrugged in response.

“To see if someone else needs to see the Cursed Vault for themselves again,” she replied, before walking out of the Common Room and out into the underground corridor outside.

She made her way through the dungeons towards the Slytherin Common Room, and once there, knocked loudly on the concealed stone door that formed its hidden entrance. She waited, and after a few moments, the door slid open to reveal a surprised-looking Barnaby Lee.

“Hello,” he said brightly.

“Hi,” replied Artemis. “Um, is Merula there?”

“Where?”

“In the Common Room. Your Common Room,” she added for good measure, and Barnaby nodded.

“Yes, she is.”

Neither Barnaby nor Artemis spoke for several seconds. Eventually, Artemis sighed.

“So, can you go and tell her I’m here? I want to talk to her about something.”

Barnaby smiled good-naturedly and nodded his head, before disappearing back into the Common Room. Nearly three minutes later, Merula came outside and stood in his place.

“What do you want, Hexley?”

“Tonks thinks she might have figured out a way for us to get back into the gallery room outside the Portrait Vault. Bea Haywood is going to come now, too.”

“So?”

“I thought maybe you might want to come with us to break the curse.”

Merula’s expression had not been friendly to begin with, but at Artemis’ words, she looked at her with even more contempt than before.

“Why?” she asked, in a scathing voice.

“Because of what happened there last time. I know it was really horrid for you, what with Rakepick-”

“Exactly. Why the hell would I ever want to go back there?”

“So you can see that it doesn’t have power over you anymore,” Artemis told her. Merula scowled and turned to go back inside her common room, but Artemis wasn’t ready to give up. “No, wait. Look, Merula, I know how you feel.”

“Really, Hexley? You’ve had the Cruciatus Curse performed on you, have you?”

“Well, no, but-”

“Then you can shut up.”

“I felt it, though. I did, when Rakepick used the curse on you. Because of my Legilimency. And it’s not like Rakepick’s not hurt me, is it? Look at what happened to me in the Vault, when she wanted to kill me, and in the forest last year, with Rowan…” Artemis swallowed. “Rakepick was our teacher and our mentor, someone we both thought could trust, but she betrayed both of us, and hurt both of us. And that affected both of us, right? I mean, we’ve both changed because of it, haven’t we?” Merula said nothing, but she looked less confrontational, so Artemis continued, “I know I have, anyway. I didn’t realise quite how much it was Rakepick who had that hold on me until we were in the Vault of Fear again, and I saw my Boggart.”

Merula frowned. “Your Boggart was Rakepick?”

“Sort of, it was her, then me and my brother both turning into her. It didn’t use to be. I’m not sure when it changed exactly, but now…”

“What was it before?”

“You-Know-Who,” said Artemis, and Merula snorted derisively. “What’s so funny about that?”

“Because it’s stupid. Why would you be scared of You-Know-Who? He’s dead.”

“Maybe, maybe not.”

“What?”

“Nothing, just something Dumbledore said once about him not really being gone,” Artemis shook her head. “Anyway, that doesn’t matter. It’s not him that I was scared of, not really, just that he was the worst wizard I could think of. Now, Rakepick is worse. To me, anyway, because she is real and has actually hurt me.”

She wasn’t sure what it was she had said, but something seemed to have struck a chord with Merula, who now looked more thoughtful than anything.

“Did you manage to see off the Boggart?” she asked, and Artemis shrugged.

“Just about.”

Merula was silent for several seconds before nodding her head.

“Okay, Hexley. You win. I’ll come with you.”

“You will?“

“Yeah. Rakepick hasn’t got power over me. Even if she doesn’t know it, I do.”

Being interested in art, Badeea Ali was fascinated by the portrait Artemis had found in the Forest Vault the first time she visited. The painting depicted a vast field, charred in places, but no longer occupied by the dark-scaled dragon who had sat in the centre of the image when she first discovered it. Bill Weasley had managed to turn the portrait into a Portkey for them, and as the group of curse-breakers waited for the Portkey to transport them towards the next Cursed Vault, Badeea examined the painting closely.

“It’s masterfully done,” she said, tilting her head one way then another. “The way the artist has played with light and shadow. It looks very realistic, and it’s obviously aged remarkably well. Did you say you found this inside a Cursed Vault?”

“Yeah, my brother put it there,” replied Artemis. “This and a tiny jumper.”

The meaning of the small jumper was still unclear, even after Artemis had rummaged in her trunk to find it the night before and looked at it closely. She supposed that it was small enough to fit either a large house elf or small child - most likely the latter, judging by the pattern of cartoonish blue Kneazles across the chest - but its significance was still as much of a mystery to her as it had been three years earlier.

Badeea, despite being good friends with Andre, did not seem overly interested in the jumper, significant or not, and instead continued to admire the portrait Portkey until it set off, spinning in the air with all five curse-breakers clinging on for dear life.

The Portkey carried them not to the gallery room that acted as a large antechamber to the Cursed Vault, but to a vast grassy plain, where they landed on the burnt ground beneath a bright blue sky. Artemis quickly scrambled to her feet and looked around. The landscape of the painting extended as far as the eye could see in all directions, and she had no idea where it ended.

“Great,” muttered Merula, also surveying the land. “Now where do we go, Hexley?”

Artemis glanced at Badeea. Being somewhat of an art expert, and having spent so long before they left looking at the painting, she might have an idea of how to get out of it. But Badeea looked at lost as Artemis felt. Beside her, Penny was gnawing at her lower lip, her blonde eyebrows knitted together.

“That way.”

Artemis turned to see who had spoken. Behind her, Bea Haywood was staring into the distance, her face pale and her eyes slightly glazed.

“We need to go that way,” Bea repeated. “I can feel it.”

Without another word, she began to walk. Artemis shrugged at the others before following her, and though her friends looked sceptical, they all did the same.

The grass plains felt as if they went on forever, and Artemis wasn’t certain how long the had been walking - it might have been minutes or hours - before Beatrice stopped and pointed her finger again. Further across the plains, a large rectangle appeared to have been cut out of the air, as if there was a window floating in the distance. At first, she thought it might be a mirage, but as she squinted, she could see that through the gap, a painted wall and a pile of rubble were visible.

“That’s it, Bea! That’s where we’ll find the Vault!”

Beatrice did not respond before she started to walk once more, only stopping when they reached the window. One at a time, they stepped through the air and down onto a marble floor. Behind them, the landscape through which they had just walked was now no more than a large, gold-framed painting.

Now, they were in a gallery, with no sunlight on their faces and no breeze in their hair. The walls of the gallery were covered in large scorch marks, and several piles of rubble were dotted around the hall. In the centre, an ancient-looking dragon lay motionless as if fast asleep; the only clue that it wasn’t merely sleeping was the fact that its chest did not rise and fall. Artemis glanced at Merula, who swallowed hard before rolling her eyes and walking away.

“This is incredible,” said Badeea, her mouth agape as she turned back to examine the painting closely, placing her hand straight through the canvas and out again, before meandering around the edges of the room to look at some of the others. Beatrice also walked over to a painting, but with purpose.

The painting Bea had chosen was unlike all the others in the room, and unlike all other magical paintings Artemis had ever seen. This one was completely still, like a Muggle picture, depicting a woman - or perhaps a witch - in very old-fashioned robes, with long red hair crowned with a ring of amber stones and a small bird perched on her index finger.

“She’s hiding the Vault,” said Beatrice, as Artemis approached her. “She doesn’t want the wrong people to find it.”

“Who doesn’t?” Badeea asked, also having made her way across to the painting that disguised the entrance to the fourth Cursed Vault. “Morgana?”

Artemis did a double take. “Who?”

“Morgana. You know, Morgan Le Fay. That’s her in the painting.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because of the iconography,” said Badeea simply. She seemed to notice Artemis’ confusion, so she explained further. “The bird represents her Animagus form, and if you look behind her, there’s a lake and an apple tree. Those symbolise her as the lady of the lake and Queen of Avalon.”

“Queen of what?”

“Avalon. It was said to be a magical island that was her legacy and greatest secret.”

“Right,” Artemis nodded. “What else do you know about her?”

“Not an awful lot really, I know more about the paintings themselves than the people they depict,” said Badeea, still looking at the painting of Morgana. “If you want to know more, you’d be better off asking some of the portraits of other wizards and witches from the era. Merlin, for example. Why?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Artemis told her. “Not right now, anyway. We came here to break a curse, right? Revelio!”

The portrait of Morgan Le Fay faded away, and in its place stood a large wooden door with a brass knocker in the shape of a dragon.

“My,” murmured Badeea, “that is interesting. Very clever, too, if you think about it.”

“What is?”

“Well, Bea said that Morgana doesn’t want the wrong people finding the Vault. It’s interesting that the Vault is behind the only Muggle painting in the whole room.”

“Yes, it does rather stand out,” said Penny, with a little high-pitched giggle.

“Yes and no. A lot of witches and wizards wouldn’t even think to look at a Muggle painting. Notions of blood purity and magical supremacy didn’t just start with You-Know-Who and his Death Eaters, you know.”

“Yeah, sure,” Artemis made a non-committal noise, all too aware that behind her, Merula was clearly uncomfortable with the direction the conversation was taking. She looked at the door. “Whatever you do, don’t knock. The dragon is dead, but knowing the Vaults, it might be enchanted so it comes back to life if we touch the door. It has to be done with Legilimency.”

She stepped to the side so that she was face to face with the dragon-shaped knocker, and looked it in its carved brass eyes.

Open, she told it. Go on, open up…

With a click and a loud creak, the door swung open. Beyond it lay a narrow candlelit corridor, the walls of it covered with yet more smaller frames. Artemis stepped up and through the door, followed by Bea, Penny, Merula, and finally, Badeea, who stopped and lingered at each and every painting lining the walls of the corridor.

At its end, the corridor opened into a heptagonal room, containing a single glowing column: the Cursed Vault. Each wall of the Vault bore a framed portrait of the Vault itself, so that looking at the portraits on the walls, it seemed that the Vault went on forever. Artemis avoided looking at the endless Vaults surrounding her, instead focussing her eyes on the golden column in the middle of the one she stood in. Like she had with the door, she stared at it and, using her Legilimency, willed it to open.

It did not.

She blinked and shook her head, ready to try again.

“Artemis,” Bea’s voice came from behind her. “Can I try?”

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea, Beatrice,” said Penny, before Artemis had a chance to answer. “Artemis’ brother got stuck in here when he tried to open the Vault.”

“He did?”

“Yeah,” Artemis nodded, and pointed her finger at the portraits of vaults lining the walls. “In those.”

“I always thought I could feel something living in the portrait with me,” said Bea. “I couldn’t see them, but I knew they were there. At first, it scared me, but then I got used to it and it felt… nice, I guess. I liked knowing that I wasn’t alone.” Her voice was soft and monotone as she stared at the crystal column and continued, “Sometimes, I felt other people, too. Coming closer on the outside. Not in the portrait, but in other places. But it wasn’t me they were close to, it was the Vaults. They’re all connected, I think. Maybe I’m connected to them too, now.”

“Bea-”

“I don’t want to be connected to them anymore.” She looked at Artemis, and the trancelike tone to her voice disappeared as she told her: “Show me how to open it.”

Artemis did so, positioning Beatrice in front of the glowing column and instructing her to stare at it, to feel it and connect with it in her mind before telling it to…

Open.

Bea’s lips mouthed the word silently, once, twice, three times. And then, the sides of the column sprang apart, and the light inside flooded into the Vault around them.

Bea’s eyes widened, and a smile spread across her face. Behind her, Penny burst into tears.

“You did it!” she said, throwing her arms around her little sister. “Bea, you did it!” She released her hold slightly and looked Beatrice up and down. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I think I am. I will be, anyway.”

“I know,” said Penny, pulling Beatrice into another hug, one which Bea returned, burying her face into Penny’s shoulder. “I know you will. I love you.”

Bea’s words were muffled as she replied: “I love you, too.”

Later that evening, after they had apparated back to Hogsmeade and returned to the castle, Badeea took Artemis to the portrait hall, where they stopped next to the painting of Merlin, who was twirling one finger through his impossibly long white moustache.

“Excuse me, sir,” said Badeea, and Merlin frowned before looking down at her from his frame. “My friend and I were just wondering if you might be able to help us.”

“Might, indeed,” said Merlin. Artemis frowned deeply, not sure whether this was an affirmative response. “With what do you require assistance?”

“We would like to know about Morgan Le Fay.”

“Morgana?” Merlin’s white eyebrows furrowed. “Why, I am surprised that you do not know about her already. The Lady of the Lake, the Queen of Avalon... She really was the most formidable and infamous Dark Witches of our age.”

“What about before?” asked Artemis.

“Before?”

“Yeah. Before she became un-famous. We always get told about her being this all powerful dark witch, but she can’t always have been like that.”

“Can she not?”

“No,” Artemis shook her head. “No one is born bad, are they? I mean, you don’t get evil babies. So, when did she become the Dark Witch Morgana, and stop just being… a witch?”

“I am afraid that I cannot tell you for sure,” said Merlin. “However, I can tell you all about our duel at the-”

“What about how there got to be a portrait of her inside one of the Cursed Vaults? Can you tell us about that?”

Merlin blinked, clearly disconcerted by Artemis’ question.

“You know about Morgana’s involvement in the Vaults of Truth?” he asked quietly.

“Sort of,” replied Artemis. “The centaurs told us that she foresaw a great darkness, and a way to put an end to it. We know about the prophecy she made about the person who could break the curses for good, and the enchanted arrowhead she gave the centaurs to protect them against the curses until then. What we don’t know is why there’s a portrait of her guarding one of the Vaults when she wanted to destroy them.”

Merlin shook his head, his white eyebrows knitting together.

“Sir, we aren’t asking out of pure curiosity,” Badeea told him. “We are curious, of course, but mainly we are trying to do something good and worthy, like you. There are dark witches and wizards trying to access the power inside the Vaults and use it for their own gain. We are trying to get there first, and we have nearly reached our goal. If you help us, we might well achieve it.”

“I do not shake my head because I do not wish to tell you about Morgana - though I do have my reservations about doing so,” said Merlin, with a deep sigh. “I shake my head because you have misinterpreted the information you have received.”

“How so?”

“Morgan le Fay did not seek to destroy the Vaults. Morgan le Fay created the Vaults.”

Badeea’s brown eyes widened and Artemis frowned, her mind reeling. Merlin continued:

“She and I attended Hogwarts together in our adolescence. We were here at the very beginning, you know. Taught by Salazar Slytherin himself, some of the very last students to have been taught by him, before the schism.”

“The schism?” Artemis asked.

“Don’t tell me that you don’t know about the schism, girl,” Merlin tutted. “Education these days… Salazar Slytherin left the school to the remaining three Hogwarts founders - Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Helga Hufflepuff - over a dispute regarding which students were worthy of being taught magic, and which were… not.”

“Muggleborns,” whispered Badeea, her lips pursed tightly. Merlin nodded.

“Indeed. Slytherin did not wish to teach students who were not of magical lineage, Morgana included. She was the child of two Muggles - noble Muggles, mind you - but Muggles all the same,” Merlin sighed. “Slytherin was not the only one to believe that those without magical blood were inferior to pure-blooded wizards. Even after he left the castle, Morgana had to work twice as hard as our peers to be considered half as competent.” He paused and smiled wryly, before adding, “In truth, with her talents and power, she surpassed all of them. All but one, perhaps.”

“Who was that?”

“Well… me,” said Merlin, bowing his head as if he were making a modest comment. “I dare say that she was my equal. But this could be wishful thinking on my part. She truly was a most remarkable sorceress. We shall not see her likes again, for better or worse.

“I think it was her wish to prove herself and be recognised for the great witch she was - because she was a great witch, even if she was not a good one in the end - that drove her looking for greater powers, ones that exist at the very limits of what magic can achieve. And because of the snobbery she faced by her fellow witches and wizards, she was willing to look beyond the limits of the sort of magic to which our kind is more more accustomed.”

“She went to the centaurs, you mean?” said Artemis.

“Yes and no. She learned some noble and primitive forms of magic from the centaurs, including that of prophecy, as you mentioned,” Merlin replied. “However, in her efforts to foretell the future, she foresaw this darkness of which you speak, though the darkness was not that of the Vaults itself. Or perhaps it was, looking back.

“You see, once Morgana foresaw this great darkness, she redoubled her efforts to find greater powers that might be used to prevent or fight against it. At that time, she and I were one another’s trusted confidants, and thus I was the first she told after she found what she believed to be the greatest one of all.”

“What was it?” Artemis asked Merlin. “The greatest power of all, what was that?”

“She called it the ‘true’ power, but what it was exactly, she would not tell even me. She wanted to keep it a secret, to protect it. That was why she started to create the Vaults, and the enchantments to protect them.

“At first, I tried to help her, but as time went on she became more secretive, more obsessive. Eventually, she the enchantments became curses, and dark and dangerous curses at that.” Merlin shuddered before continuing, “I attempted to make her see sense, but it was too late. She said the only thing that mattered was keeping the power safe for the right time and for the right people. The wrong people would surely resort to dark magic in order to access the power within, it was only right to resort to such things herself to ward against them. She thought that the ends justified the means, that it was for-”

“The greater good,” said Artemis, her jaw clenching slightly as the words echoed in her ears. Merlin inclined his head.

“I cannot help but wonder, however,” he said thoughtfully, seeming to speak as much to himself as to the two girls, “was the darkness Morgana foresaw a reflection of her true self? Or maybe Morgana’s ‘true’ power never was as good and pure as she believed it to be. The power it held over her drove her to darkness, after all. Perhaps, it was always just as evil and dangerous as she was herself, in the end.”

“The centaur I spoke to said that no power is either good or evil, it’s just the way witches and wizards use it that makes it so.”

“I am not certain that I agree, but I could be wrong. After all, I was wrong about Morgan Le Fay.”

Artemis tilted her head at Merlin. “What do you mean?”

But Merlin did not tell her what he meant. He just smiled sadly and shook his head, and said:

“It does not matter anymore. ‘Tis but ancient history.”

#artemis hexley #hogwarts mystery #hphm fic #hphm #the hexley saga #penny haywood #badeea ali #merula snyde #beatrice haywood #nymphadora tonks #chiara lobosca #cursed vaults #vault lore

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