Hogwarts: Year Six - Baelfire [IC/APPS CLOSED]

[Arlye Austros]

Ricardo

An endurance test? He had to struggle with the word for a fraction of a second before realizing what it meant. “So what. We run or something? It’s DADA, must be other endurance.” He thought aloud, then followed Andrew’s glare at the Auror.
“I am sure he will live, although I struck him pretty hard.” He smiled at him. “Now this couldn’t come at a worse time. I have done some pretty stupid thing and feel as if I was flying with a Hippogryph or something.”
With that he took the obvious place in the line. By the looks of it, this would be in turns, so he waited for it.

[The Anarcho-Syndicalist Commune]

Henry

Henry strode in with his hands in his pockets, waiting for the Auror to tell him what to do. Sitting down in the chair upon being told to, Henry asked simply "So what's this abou-"

He stopped as the Auror suddenly summoned ropes that bound him to the chair. Putting up some struggle against it, he heard the Auror say "Please relax and let the boggart take effect. The test will be over shortly after that."

A chest opened in front of Henry, slowly allowing a figure to rise out of it. It was a shorter man, with pale blonde hair and a pair of mismatched eyes. Stepping out of the crate and stretching, it took one look at Henry and said "Look at this. You're pathetic, an excuse of a wizard."

Henry squirmed a little, but remained visually calm, even if his internal terror was rising. The Auror began to ask him questions, while the figure paced around him berating him. As the session went on however, the terror grew less. Spitting on the floor as the figure passed around again, he cocked his head at the auror and said "Is this the best fucking interrogation you fucks can come up with? We almost died last year, some of us got hit with the cruciatus curse. You might be able to get the softees who hid behind a barricade while their friends died, but none of the fighters will fucking break from this."

[Britanania]

The Examination Room

Avery kept particular attention to Henry's examination. Raphael's was rather what he expected: from Henry is where his interests were. One of the guards seemed interested in stopping the test bu Avery held up a hand.

"We'll see what happens."

---

"You might be able to get the softies who hid behind a barricade while their friends died, but none of the fighters will fucking break from this."

The auror smirked.

"Perhaps not," he admitted. For a brief moment the auror considered the unthinkable--using the torturing curse--but when he remembered who this boy was--and more important who his father was--he relented. With a smile, he waved his hands and let the binds go.

"All right, you're free to go," he told him and pointed towards the opposite wall from where he entered. "You can exit through there. Just so you know, I'm only letting you go because of who your father is..."

[The Anarcho-Syndicalist Commune]

Henry

Henry spat again at the boots of the Auror as he let him go, before straightening his back and rising out of the chair. Years of playing quidditch had toned Henry's body so that it was atheletic to fill out his taller form, but not overly so. Looking the auror up and down he said "Then you're even more of weakling than I thought. Don't you know the first rule of torture? Don't stop until the victim talks. Well then, that's your test concluded, I'll make sure to put this on your report. Tell Avery, though I feel like he already is listening, that he's going to have to try harder than that. Oh, and that he's going to have fun with some of those psychopaths back there." Henry then stood up and departed the room, letting the door slam behind him. Fucking ridiculous, bastards couldn't even torture people correctly. Avery should take a page from his niece's playbook.

[Zhukovian]

Professor Blahone

Watching as the boggart went inside of Derek's head, and a few moments later he turned into a wolf, "An animagi!". Seeing the struggle of the boy he tried to use legilimency to get inside the boy's mind, disguising himself as a dragon he advised Derek what to do to kill the boggart. Just as he stopped the spell, he saw the boy already passed out and a moment later an auror ordered by Avery, went inside and took Derek to the infirmary.

He would then fetch Raphael and guided to the room, following the same procedure, binding him to the chair and opening the chest that contained the boggart. Observing at the side to prevent the boggart from being confused, he watched the facial expression of Raph as his greatest fear went out, Alexander. Alex would then bash Raph verbally, though the chains were tightly binding him to the chair he was somewhat surprised to see him slipping out of it and strangled Alex down. Thinking to himself that questioning him would be pointless, he lifted the now stiff boy and placed him back on the chair and bind him more tightly. Using his legilimency skills, he went inside the boy's mind but only at the shallowest level, discovering his state of mind, what his thoughts in the past 5 hours and the like. Writing down the data in an enchanted book where what he wrote there shall be read by Avery in a similar book at the other room. Pointing his wand at the boy's head he cast the spell, Obliviate followed by a bewitched sleep spell, facing the auror who was assigned for the purpose of fetching the sleeping students.

He went outside to get the next student for interrogation.

[Arlye Austros]

Isolde

The door opened after a while of expectation, and Isolde found Blahone looking at her.
“Madame Grenwald. If you please.” He looked at her inviting the girl into the tower. She tried, for a second, to look through his eyes for any trace of what was going on.

A minute later she followed the teacher through a dark hallway, and wondered if she would be able to see the others in there. She fell behind, and Blahone turned. “Don’t delay, please… Miss Grenwald!” He called as Isolde looked through a hallway opening to a side, trying to get any detail. But she looked back and followed.
A moment later they entered the examination room. Just as she crossed the door, Blahone asked for her wand. She sort of expected it, so handed it over. Isolde stared upon the lone chair, not noticing the chest.
“So what is this about? Where are the others?” She turned to Blahone. It was her time to make the questions.
“Please… Sit down. I will explain…”

She nodded and sat on the lone chair. It was then she noticed the chains crawling up and surrounding her wrists and ankles. She was in such a surprise she couldn’t even protest, just tries to stand up, only to find her chest pulled back, and her breath stolen for a second.
“Wait a minute until…” Blahone started while he opened the chest, but didn´t finish, standing back as the claws of the beast appeared on the edges, and pressed hard on the wood. Isolde opened her eyes wide, and looked around for a way out. There wasn’t. The door was closed, the chains were tight. She was trapped.

“Professor, cut me loose, please.” She pleaded. But Blahone didn’t comply. The beast was dripping blood, as it moved leaving a trail of red dots on the floor. She looked around for a way out. There wasn’t. She was trapped.
“This can´t be happening.” She said. The beast’s body heat started to warm her face. It came closer and Isolde looked straight into its eyes. “Please…” She looked around. The room was closed. The wand had been taken from her. There was no way out. She was trapped.

His eyes… His shoes. His smiled. One after another they materialized on the werewolf. The can gave her an unnatural smile that creeped her soul. It also wore shoes, as it tried to approximate the figure of her father.

Someone appeared behind the beast. It wasn’t Blahone, but one of the Aurors.
“Why are you scared of it, Mrs. Grenwald?”
The chair leaned forward, closer to the beast, and threatening Isolde with falling forward at the werewolf´s feet. “Is it the claws or the shoes?”
“Stop, please!” She pleaded. “What do you…”
The chair fell back.
“I wan’t the truth, Grenwald.”

It was a short lived session. After four questions Isolde protested, somewhere between still frightened of the beast and angry at the men in the room.
“Stop it, please. I am tired of this. Want answers? Ask my mother. She was there, and I wish she was gone instead of him.”

The Auror looked, without expression, at the girl.
“Obliviate.”

[True Christopia]

Andrew

Andrew was called up a few minutes after Henry was - taking a step into the room. Upon sitting in the chair and finding the ropes binding themselves around him. He didn't speak for a moment, although thought to object. The auror said nothing, but merely opened a chest "What is this test?" questioned Andrew, although the auror still didn't reply. Instead, somebody else did.

"It's not a test." said a doctor - he couldn't tell his face in the darkness "You killed her. You cut too deep." It was then that his eyes drifted to the medical bed, low and bloody - with Rachel laid atop it. His throat clamped "You shouldn't have taken so long. You should have let the professionals do it." the Doctor continued, looking coldly over her.

The doctor shrugged, walking around the medical bed "This is the third patient that you've killed."

A wayward voice echoed the doctors thoughts "Why did you kill these people, Mr. Bishop?"

Andrew couldn't respond to the auror. His voice cracking, he responded "I - I didn't."

The doctor shook his head "The evidence is right here, Mr. Bishop."

Again, Andrew was quiet. He knew it was a boggart. That much was obvious. But he could not keep his eyes off her lifeless body, and his mind could not drift from the crippling thought of what he might have done "Can we please stop the test?" he asked, as calmly as he could.

The auror ignored him "Why did you kill her?"

"I didn't! I didn't kill her! I didn't kill anyone - fuck!" Andrew yelled, looking away for the first time "Can we please stop?" The auror waited for a few moments. The doctor slowly faded, replaced by Rachel's father - crying over the body.

The auror then finally nodded, drawing his wand and pointing it at Andrew "Obliviate."

[Miekzhemy]

Rachel

At the point of the so-called "endurance tests," Rachel had to double check if she was dreaming. It's as if everything turned topsy-turvy overnight. Then again, it more or less did. The morning announcement and the militaristic routine of Blahone's first class was one thing, but now they were all being subjected to some weird test out of nowhere? Were they even allowed to do this?

But nonetheless, Rachel had no choice but to follow along with whatever they were doing, merely hoping it wasn't anything bad. And when her turn came, she left the group of untested students and silently entered the room one of the aurors beckoned her into.

Things were already making her suspicious when she walked in. The room was more or less empty, save for a single wooden chair and a wardrobe several feet across from it, along with a single end table by the entrance. The auror locked the door.

"Miss Ackerley, I presume?" the auror said, checking a few notes he had written down already - most likely a list of the class. "Gryffindor... Prefect... Registered Animagus. Yes, I've heard of you. Your wand, please."

It was difficult for her to tell by his tone if he was making small talk or low-key insulting her. Rachel reached into her robe, and hesitantly handed her aspen wand over. The auror set it down and motioned further into the room.

"Take a seat."

The mere sight of the chair in such a room was intimidating. But regardless, Rachel walked over and sat down. The second she settled in, she felt bindings conjure themselves around her wrists and ankles, effectively pinning her in. Rachel squirmed a bit at the sheer suddenness of the ropes tightening.

"Wh-what is this?!"

"Please remain still," the auror ordered, so nonchalantly that it was obvious he had repeated the line with enough people already today. "The boggart will take effect in but a moment."

"Boggart? Wait--"

The auror didn't waste any time. Standing behind Rachel's chair, he flung open the wardrobe from a distance with a simple wave of his wand. Rachel looked straight forward, wide-eyed as the non-being within barreled out as if it were a ghost drifting through the wind. Rachel felt a chill go up her spine as this misty form began to darken and expand. She oddly expected what it would take the form of, but she was never prepared for it. The room dimmed as the light shining through the windows was promptly smothered with an umbral blanket of darkness. Finally, in a spiral of dark vapor, the boggart took its shape.

The once tidy room was suddenly awash with a pool of blood. Scattered about were dozens of corpses - young and old - all adorned in the typical Hogwarts robes with colored trimming of their respective houses. Their lifeless faces shared a mix of agony and horror as they lay spattered in their own blood. They were mangled beyond belief - ranging from mere gashes cutting deep into their bodies, to missing limbs and dismembered body parts. It took only a moment for Rachel to react to it. In a fearful fit of breaths through gritted teeth, she slammed her eyes shut and averted her gaze.

"No... No no no... No more..."

The auror said nothing, and simply waved his wand yet again. Another rope conjured itself around her forehead and yanked it back. The back of her head slammed against the back of her chair and held it in place, almost forcing her to watch the scene in front of her.

As much as Rachel fought to look, she couldn't help but notice the faces of her closest friends and peers among the dead that littered the room. At the far end of the room, she saw a shadowy form rising from the darkness. It took the shape of a large brown bear, fur matted in crimson. This towering beast stood over one of the bodies with its back to Rachel. The still living body of this student - barely the size of a second year - could only squirm as the bear voraciously tore into him. It was the same nightmare that plagued her off and on for years. Then, something new happened. Something she had not seen before...

A duo of students, both clad in Hufflepuff robes, sprinting out of the darkness with wands at the ready. They skidded to a halt between Rachel and the bear.

"Rachel!" one of them shouted. It was Andrew's voice.

The bear shot upwards and snapped its gaze towards the lot of them. It let out a low growl, all the while baring a set of sharp and bloody teeth. Its emerald green eyes, matching her own, were almost glowing with a tint of red - as if she was consumed by a maddening bloodlust. Finally, the bear roared, and broke off in a relentless charge towards the two.

"WATCH OUT!" the other student screamed. This familiar voice was Adam. He dove towards Andrew to shove him out of the way, but only succeeded in getting swept up by the incoming bear. Now merely feet away from Rachel's chair, the bear dug a single claw into Adam's back, and slammed him face first into the ground.

"Please...stop this..." Rachel hissed, almost seething with both anger and despair. But still, the auror did nothing. The bear dragged Adam along the bloodied floorboards, prompting a sickening coughing fit from his lips. Then, it reared up on its hind legs, yanked Adam from the ground, and flung him off to the side. His limp form spiraled off and into the darkness.

The beast stood tall as it directed its gaze to Andrew on the ground, towering over the boy as he scrambled to his feet.

'...not real...'

"Rachel..." Andrew stuttered in a pleading voice. He extended a shaky hand outward towards the bear. "It's me... P-please...we can...help you..."

'...not real...!'

But it was no use. Lost in its own madness, the bear let out another furious roar as it swiped downward. The claw tore through Andrew's clothes and skin, slicing effortlessly through his arm and tearing through his abdomen. He let out a hoarse gasp for air as he was swept off balance. He fell to his knees in front of Rachel.

'...not... Not...'

He was finally facing her, utterly disemboweled. Her vision of Andrew gazed forward to look Rachel in the eye, his entire face expressing anguish as more blood began to trickle from the corners of his mouth. Then, he fell forward, landing flat on his face - counted among the dead.

"...stop." Rachel muttered. Tears streamed down her face, and her fingernails dug into the arms of the chair. The bear dropped back down to all fours, and turned its attention towards its double: Rachel. It growled at her.

"Stop!" she outright yelled this time. She writhed about in the chair as the beast in front of her advanced. With a third roar, it started running. Then, it leapt forward.

"STOOOOOOP!"

The auror finally lashed his wand outward. Immediately, the charging bear was yanked backward. The auror twirled his wand again, and the scene dissipated into the same mist from whence it came. In seconds, the boggart was forced back into its wardrobe. The door slammed shut, and the room was left silent.

Rachel was practically hyperventilating in her seat, drops of sweat trickling down her brow. The moment the binding on her head was released, she hung her head.

"Why..." she whispered under her breath. But even now, the auror remained silent. He pointed his wand at the back of her head.

"Obliviate."

[Skylus]

Madi

When Madi's turn came, it was sometime after Rachel had gone up the tower.
An Auror approached her.
"Miss Goodwill? Follow me. And keep up."
The man took off up the stairs and Madi had to skip every other step to keep up with him.

When the two reached the tower, Blahone was standing by a chest that was on it's side; a chair was placed before the chest.
Madi stood in the doorway for a moment, trying to figure out what was going on before a rude shove sent her to the wooden floor.
"Get up. We don't have all day."
Madi thought about sending a glare at the Auror but decided against it and slowly rose to her feet.
The Auror then directed her to sit in the chair before the chest and she reluctantly did so.
He then asked for her wand and she handed it over.
Madi watched as the wand was placed in a drawer away from her reach and followed the Auror as he walked back over to her and stood before her.
"The man then said something and Madi felt something cold begin to wrap itself around her body.
She looked down.
Iron-Sliver chains? What the hell...
The Auror was saying something about a Boggart and before she could react, the classroom disappeared.
-----------------------------------------------------
She was somewhere on the grounds of Hogwarts.
The sky was dark, with no stars shining overhead, then, a full moon slowly appeared in the night sky.
A uncontrollable shudder passed through Madi as she started up at the moon, which promoted the Auror to speak.
"Why are you afraid of the moon?"
She couldn't answer.
The man kept on asking questions but received no response to any of them, which finally made him walk up behind Madi and say "Obliviate"

[Segral]

Ed Wilson

Not long after Madison disappeared into the tower, it was Ed's turn. He was one of the last to go, his plain figure and silence having escaped the eyes of the Auror for some time. But now he was caught, he had to go. He hadn't seen a single one of the selected people come out yet, which had some ominous intentions. Could they simply not endure the task, was it that difficult?

Ed managed to keep his signature smirk on his face as he climbed the stairs, but the slight tremor in his hands showed otherwise. He felt a bit more relaxed than what some of the others had looked like, but a few worried thoughts were still racing in his head. It didn't look like Avery was going to kill him or anyone else, the security measures he was putting in place proved otherwise. It was more likely he wanted them to break, to snap, he wanted to know their weaknesses to turn them all into pawns. It explained all the militaristic measures quite nicely, in fact.

When Ed finally reached the room, he was slightly underwhelmed. A chest? A rickety chair? What kind of endurance was this? He wordlessly handed over his wand with no fuss, just silence. He would probably get into even deeper shit if he rebelled or put up a fight, it was better to just comply. At the Auror's motion, he plunked down into the chair, staring at them with a mix of worry and curiosity.

However, that expression quickly morphed into full worry and shock as the chains began to loop around his limbs. The expression only lasted a second before he attempted to settle back into his expression of his calm, but his eyes betrayed the nervousness he was feeling. The chains covered his entire body now, aside from his head and neck, pushing him against the back of the chair. Staring straight ahead, his Adam's Apple bobbing in his throat, he watched as the Auror pulled open the chest with a creak, tipping the chest's lid all the way back.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!"

A green flash of light burst around the room, as the Scottish-tinged, rough voice yelled, a female shriek emanating from the chest. Ed let out a hoarse yell, cringing backwards in his chair and attempting to cover his eyes. It seemed like the light lasted much longer than it should've, far too long, light burned into Ed's eyelids.

When it finally faded, he was standing in front of the form...of his father. The same broken, dirty fingernails, the same scar on his cheek, reddish hair, thick beard. He was wearing a dirty set of clothes, wrinkled and filthy. His grin had the same chipped tooth. It was his father, no doubt about it. Ed stared with growing horror at the figure as it walked closer to him, the Auror now berating him with questions.

"Who's this man?"

"I-I dunno!"

"Clearly, you must know him if the Boggart took that form."

"I don't know who the fuck this guy is!"

The questions continued, Ed trying to futilely hide his fears as the figure strode ever closer. A single, croaking laugh emitted from its throat, wild look in its eyes. The Auror soon ceased with his questions, now apparently interested in the forms in front of him.

"Edward....all those years, I'd have thought you'd actually changed. But you're nothing. You're as worthless as the day you popped out of that slut's hole."

"Cut it out, you shit! I'm better than you ever were!"

"No, you're not. Better than me? Some thin, stupid, depressed failure, is better than me? Face it, Edward, it's the truth."

"And how is a drunk, dirty-mouthed, filthy crim...crusty pig worth more than me?"

"Years of all that training, time, for what? You? You've done nothing, Ed, you're still stuck here, you've done nothing, you've helped nobody but yourself, you're worthless."

"CUT THE BULLSHIT!"

"YOU'RE WORTHLESS!"

Ed was now visibly furious and upset, looking like he was going to burst through the chains. The Auror was still persisting with questions of who the man was, what he'd done, what those years had been. Ed didn't respond, just stared straight ahead, breathing heavily, chest rising and falling. His father had now started laughing, and wouldn't stop, looking like he would never stop. Ed was screaming at his father to shut up, shut his filthy mouth and crooked teeth, he was screaming it for the whole world to hear, but nobody was listening.

Except for the Auror.

And his response?

"Obliviate"

[Arlye Austros]

Ricardo

The same Auror that a moment ago fetched Ed came back. Ricardo, somehow, found himself next in line.
He followed the Auror through the halls, wondering what was to come. However, Ricardo faced with a slight excitement. It was only when the Auror demanded his wand he grew worried, yet didn’t protest.
Then he found himself strapped to the chair, confused.

“What the…” he started, but the man was out of his sight, standing behind the chair. “Where is Blahone?”
But the man made no sound, just raised the wand and opened the chest in front of the chair. Ricardo felt himself like some sort of experiment rat. “I swear to God. Once I get free I am going to…” But his threat was cut short. Before he realized, the figure stood in front, and tried to speak, to no avail. The silence between them both was worse than a storm of screams in Ricardo’s mind.

It was a face. Twisted and sewn-shut in both mouth and noses. The eyes had been sewn, but had been cut loose. The figure was both slightly hairy and slightly dead. Half human and half something else. It wore a rag to cover itself, and its right leg was bent over the back, and tied to its neck from behind by a red cord. It walked on three limbs, and slowly approached Ricardo.
“H- How?” He muttered. The Invunche looked at him with partially dead eyes. It didn’t talk, but it didn´t need to. It´s eyes seemed to communicate far more than words could. Ricardo tried to look somewhere else, to close his eyes, but he was fixed on its eyes.

“Can´t be…” He recognized the face. ”Nunca te harían daño...”
But Jacinto stopped, and the creature forced a smile. It then opened its mouth, making a horrible sound of pain and struggle. The stitching started to cut through the flesh and lips, and eventually was cut free. “¿Nunca?”
The Auror noticed they spoke in Spanish, and took device, a sphere with a white hemisphere and a black one. It was held on the hand, and when Ricardo spoke in Spanish his own voice replied in English from the sphere.

“I swear…”
“I know what happened to your brother. If your own father and mother were willing to give up their son to the Kalku and then kill him, why wouldn’t they give me up to them as well?”
The Auror spoke. “Who is this?” He asked.
Ricardo replied. “My cousin, Jacinto.” The Auror’s voice was a relief. He raised his wand and aimed at the twisted boy. Jacinto protested as the stitches grew back and forced his mouth shut again. The Invunche struggled on the floor, trying to cut them free, but couldn’t. The Auror chuckled a bit.

“Why is he like this?”
Ricardo didn’t answer. The Auror aimed at the monster again. Jacinto uttered a scream through an opening between his lips.
“PLEASE…. NO!” The sheer sound made Ricardo shake to his bones. “Don’t let him talk.”
“Why not? You scared what he might say?” The stitches shut again.
But Ricardo didn’t answer, just kept looking at the struggling figure of his cousin, lying on his back and scratching his face. “It seems willing to talk, Ricardo. What is it going to say?”

Ricardo was silent. The stitches were now cut loose, and the beast spoke again.

“You said you would protect me as a brother, Ricardo…. Now look at this. Is this what you wanted me to be?” It crawled back up and towards the chair. Ricardo tried to kick it away. The Auror aimed once more and the stitched were shut so violently that Jacinto fell back.
“But how would you help him?”
Ricardo moaned an unintelligible answer. “Again?”
He took a deep breath. “I can´t…”
“You can’t help? Or you can´t say?”
The stitched cut loose again. Jacinto talked in between a cry. “You wanted to keep me safe...”

This went for a while. After five or six questions Ricardo was sweating cold, and barely even there. Jacinto’s fingers closed around his neck, and Ricardo faintly struggled by shaking. The Auror aimed, but didn’t do anything, as something changed in Jacinto. His hair that covered his back, brown and black, changed and grew. It became clean and distinctive, and silver. The hair grew through his entire body below the neck, and a fox tail appeared from behind. It spoke with a different voice, in English.
“Do you have any respect? We are just trying to live normalish lives here…”

It didn’t finish, though, as Ricardo blasted the beast in the face with his head. It fell back while still holding the neck of its victim. The Auror once more used the Riddikulus charm, and this time the Invunche was set ablaze. It screamed and deformed, wrapping around itself until it became a smoldering nugget that kept hizzing until it jumped off the floor and back into the box.

Ricardo struggled to breathe, his eyes shut and wet.
”Obliviate.”

[World Anarchic Union]

William Darkenstone

After some time of waiting, an Auror came out of the room and looked towards William. The wizard suddenly realized he was next in line. The Auror pointed at him and nodded to follow him. What could be the purpose of all these? William had a feeling, and it wasn’t a particularly good one.

As they reached a room, with a chair in its centre and a chest right in front of it. The Auror glared at William and demanded his wand. Reluctantly, the boy complied and sat on the chair. At an instant, silver restraints appeared and started holding William down, strapped on to the chair. William tried to break free but to no avail. His mind turned to the worst and as he was attempting to throw the chair on to the wall, the chest opened with a thundering noise. A boggart...

Shadow covered his eyes. After a moment- or an eternity- he managed to open them. He was standing alone, dressed in black. Nothing of importance was on his possession and no man or woman could be seen around him. Alive at least. For the bodies were plentiful. At first, his parents, as he had seen them all those years ago. Then his aunt, with the lake of blood around her body. Ava, hung in her cell. The Ravencloaks thrown around, corpses scattered across the floor. He could make out the twins, Klara, Emma, Anton, all bloodied, broken, dead. People with Muggle clothes were stepping over them, ignoring the dead, disrespecting them. Treating them as worms.

“What is this?” He exclaimed loudly, trying to figure out what the creature was showing him. But then he saw the final body. And he realized.

A boy with a scarred eye and raven black hair was laying on the floor. A mask was by him, broken in a thousand pieces. And a raven biting into the wizard, feasting on the boy.

William couldn’t look anymore.

“Has it ended?” he murmured and, although distant, he heard the voice of he Auror, calm as it was, urging him to look on.

William opened his eyes. He could still see the bodies around but there was something else too. His corpse wasn’t anywhere to be seen. But he knew he wasn’t alive. A grave was now in front of him, with an unmarked tombstone. There was nothing there that signified who was inside. Not a hint. Only William knew who was inside. A raven was standing on top of the tombstone, crowing and spreading its wings; but not being able to fly. After a seventh crow, it dropped to the ground and stayed silent and still.

His plans destroyed, him dead and forgotten. That was his fear. Failure and death. His failure and his death.

“Interesting.“ The voice of the Auror echoed in his ears. “Are you afraid of death in general? Or your own?”

William didn’t answer but the Auror hit his hands on the table and glared at the boy.

“My own...” His own voice seemed alien. “Only my own.”

“Then why did you see all the other bodies before?”

“It showed that I had failed. Everything that I had done had failed. And I was dead. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t defeat it. I was defeated.” He was shaking and no matter how much he struggled, he couldn’t release himself from the restraints. Now he didn’t have the power as well. All he could see was his lifeless body, over and over.

“And who were they? All of them.” Seeing the delay, the Auror approached William and grabbed his shoulders increasing the pressure he exercised. “Now.”

“My parents, my aunt. Ava. And... And the others. My... The twins, Klara, Emma, Anton... All of them.”

“And the ones who were stepping on the corpses?” William wasn’t answering and the Auror pressed his hands against the wizard’s legs. “Answer me, boy.”

“Muggles... We couldn’t stop them. We remained enslaved. We... I was killed. And I was forgotten. Everything in vain. All for nothing but an unmarked grave...”

The auror looked at the wizard and let out a little smile. He pointed his wand at his direction.

“I guess we are done here. Obliviate”

[New Roman Empire]

Adam

He had watched several of his classmates and friends enter the tower, he wasn't sure what to think about this test. But, he did know it was probably something terrifying if it had anything to do with the headmaster. Eventually, it was his turn, "Okay let's get this over with." He stated as he was escorted into an empty room with a cabinet and a single chair. He could already feel the sweat forming on his palms, the adrenaline started to excrete as he sat down in the chair.

After a few seconds he started to calm down, suddenly the chair started to restrain him, "Oi! Let me out of this thing! You cant do this to a student!" He barked as the Auror smiled and the doors to swung open to reveal nothing. "Oi, what the fuck is this?" He barked as the Auror stood there waiting for the boggart to finally take effect.

"Oh don't worry, you will see soon enough," informed the Auror as suddenly the room went dark. Several bodies were around the room with some tables being overturned and a few of the bodies laying on the overturned tables. Adam started to squirm as he took a closer look at the bodies, he saw Andrew, Ricardo, and others he knew from his time at Hogwarts.

"What, what is this! End this already! I don't want to see anymore!" He pleaded as the corpses slowly started to get up and in unison started to speak.

"Adam why didn't you help us! You could have saved us but, you let us all die." Chanted the corpses as Adam started to feel tears forming in his eyes. Terror was filling his heart, he couldn't even manage to get a sound out of his throat.

The Auror looked at Adam and smiled, "Do you care to explain this?"

"Fuck off! Make this stop already! This has gone too far!" Adam pleaded once again as tears were flowing from his eyes.

"The sooner you explain this and we get to your darkest fear the sooner this will end Mr. Tarkin," advised the Auror.

"I'm scared that ill never be good enough to save my friends when they truly need me! During the battle last year I wasn't there on the front lines, I was rushing through corridors trying to get supplies to help those injured. I didn't really help with any of the fighting, just....just make this stop!" He pleaded once again but the Auror didn't flinch.

"Oh what do we have here, let's see where this leads to," inquired the Auror as Rachel and Sabrina rushed into the center of the scene. All the bodies were once again where they were before they stood up. Adam was attempting to knock over the chair, he was going to try anything he could to end this nightmare. After several moments of struggling he knew nothing could be done and he was going to have to watch this play out.

Adam saw two people from the far end of the room barge in through the doors and shouted, "AVADA KEDAVRA!" The spell shot across the room and nailed Sabrina and Rachel in the back before he could say anything.

"NOO! END THIS ALREADY IM BEGGING YOU!" He wailed as he was ready for this nightmare to be over. He was shaking in the chair now hyperventilating over what he had just witnessed.

"You want this to end, then spill everything about this." Informed the Auror as he was certain they had reached the deepest fear of the student.

"Fine, I'm scared of.........I'm scared of losing those closest to me and not being able to do anything to stop them from getting killed," he whimpered.

The Auror though for a moment, "That doesn't explain why you saw those two specifically, so tell me why those two?"

"Just make it stop. Please! I saw those two cause those are the two people that I want to protect the most. The two that if it came down to a life or death situation I probably wouldn't be able to protect," he admitted.

"Good we are done here, you are free to go Mr.Tarkin. But first, obliviate."

[Revlona]

Savannah
"Miss Woods, please come with me" The auror who had taken everyone else said

Looking worriedly over at Robert, she gave his hand a squeeze and stood, following the man into a room.

"Please sit down, and hand over your wand" He said

Doing as she was told, she handed over her wand and sat down.

Suddenly she was bound by ropes to the seat, panic appeared in her eyes, before the auror told her to stop struggling as he opened a chest.

Before her was Robert, chained to the roof from both arms, all bloodied and mutilated.

She screamed, in her mind she knew it wasn't really him, but the sight of him added to her panic of being bound boiled over.

She screamed until the auror realized that he wouldn't get anything out of her.

Suddenly Robert dissipated, and then she was asleep.

[Britanania]

Caitie

Over the course of the hour Caitie watched as one by one her classmates were brought up into the Dark Tower for their endurance exams. She wacthed as the aurors took them, like sheep to a slaughter, and never say any return. All the more disturbing, Caitie remembered, was that the Dark Tower only had a single entrance--officially, that was.

Then the stories Henry and the other boys say about secrets rooms and passages in the Tower are true, then, she reasoned. Finally, when she was the last one left, the auror came for her next.

"Caitlin Glacies?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied laconically. He nodded and ushered her.

"Right this way," he instructed and showed her into the examination room and closed it. Another auror stood and approached. He looked her over and recognised her: he was one of the aurors who went with Lucas to rescue Caitie just before Christmas and he saw things he could never un-see. He shuddered for a moment and demanded her wand.

The young woman shot the auror and icy glare from her striking eyes and he took a step back, somewhat unnerved, but eventually she relented and handed over her wand with a sigh before she sauntered over to the chair.

"So what's this all about? Some type of psychological exam?" Caitie asked, somewhat incredulous. No sooner did Caitie sit, however, did the enchanted straps appear and bound her to the chair.

"What the hell is this?" she hissed, more annoyed than angry or fearful. The auror bit his lower lip and took a step back and tried not to think about what Caitie did to the Muggle Terrorists as he magically opened the chest at the opposite end of the room. Even before the figure materialised, Caitie realised--like many of her classmates--what was going on.

Bloody hell, they're using boggarts..., Caitie thought as she stopped struggling and held her breath. While a pit sank into her core, part of Caitie wondered what would come out of the chest: she missed their Third Year lecture when Gleen brought in boggarts and had no idea what she would see.

After several tense moments the swirling darkness coalesced into the barely recognisable figure of a beautiful young woman: a goddess, more beautiful and radiant than the sun that filled the chamber not with shadow but with dazzling and blinding light. However, quickly the boggart changed shape again as Caitie grasped the ends of her chair and her knuckles turned white.

The figured collapsed in on itself in a bizarre and horrific reverse-birth. The form it took next was nearly beyond description, a grotesque mockery of creation and of reality that defied all conventional reality. For a moment the figure took the shape of a man, tall and thin with a swarthy complexion with the resemblance of an Egyptian god-king. However this lasted less than a fraction of a moment as it changed shape again.

The boggart took the form of a mass of bulging flesh and innumerable, flailing tendrils grasping at the void. All light ceased and fled before the boggart's latest form.

The auror dropped his wand and shrank away from the boggart and unable to scream fell to his knees in utter terror of the horror before him, it's evil incomprehensible to all...

---

"Oblivate!"

A bolt of magic came seemingly out of nowhere and hit its target. However, it did not strike the seated Caitie--no, it hit the auror. Caitie jerked her head to see the wall of the chamber dissipate and the form of Headmaster Edmund Avery walked out. He pointed his wand at the boggart and forced it back into the chest. The straps binding Caitie recoiled and released her as Avery sighed.

"Take your wand and leave," he said gruffly with the shake of his head...

Caitie walked over to the downed auror and retrieved her wand. She stopped to look at the chest for a moment before she exited the chamber and returned to the halls of Hogwarts.

[Skylus]

Derek

He was running through a field of flowers, chasing a doe, leaping over logs and holes belonging to other animals as he pursed his prey.
The beast could smell the beast's fear as he neared her, he was so close now. Still running, he gathered his legs beneath him and left the ground with a powerful kick of his hind legs and opened his mouth as he fell towards the still running doe -
- Something tickled his nose and he sneezed violently and his eyes opened, only to see white feathers flying all around him.
Derek blinked and then looked down to see something hit his chest - a torn pillow was in his mouth and was covered in slobber.
The wolf was somewhat amused by this and he opened his mouth to let the ruined pillow fall to the sheets beneath him and the beast shook his head, then sat down on the sheets.
Derek then yawned and laid down and tried to go back to sleep.
The wolf then heard some kind of commotion downstairs and sighed when he realized that he'd have to stay up now and Derek leapt off his bed and shook himself, then trotted out onto the landing.
He gaze swept the room until his gaze settled on two women sitting on the couch.
The wolf wagged his tail and trotted down the stairs and up to them, then rested his head on the lap nearest him.
"You're up. Though we have no idea what happened to you or where you've been. We were told you had some kind of accident...What I want to know is why you're a wolf right now."
Madi smiled down at Derek and looked over to Rachel, who seemed to be looking down at the wolf with a strange expression.
Derek nodded and a second later, he was shooting upwards.

"Did I sleep all morning?"
Derek was now sitting in the chair across from Madi, trying to remember what had happened in the time that he seemed to have forgotten.
Madi leaned back into the couch.
"You missed all your morning classes. But yet...I don't remember what we did in Blahone's class...But, hey, this whole day seems like it's been a blur."
The girl shook her head and got up.
"Come on."
She walked towards the Fat Lady and Derek got up from the chair and followed her.
"Where are we going?"
"Hagrid asked you to see him when you woke up. Something about Buckbeak or something."
Derek's face lit up and he nodded.
"Yeah, he sent me an owl over the summer saying that we had to talk at some point about him. Lead the way."
And so the two began their walk through the castle towards Hagrid's hut.

[Britanania]

Caitie

After Avery let her go, Caitie got out of the Dark Tower as quickly as she could. Her breathing was heavy and at the bottom of the staircase she stopped for a moment and recomposed herself. Before heading to her next class, Caitie took a brief detour to the nearest lavatory.

Caitie washed her faced and looked at her reflection in the mirror she shattered two years previously and sighed. Just as she turned to leave, she was greeted by a familiar spectral face.

"Hello Myrtle," Caitie said with a sad smile. "It's been a while, hasn't it?" The bespectacled girl nodded.

"Yes, it has Caitie. I was hoping you would show up eventually," the ghost mentioned. Caitie cocked her head.

"Oh? Why is that?"

"That boy came in here last night with another girl. He took her to that place..." Myrtle almost whispered her final words. Caitie nodded.

"I'll keep that in mind," she muttered...

---

Throughout the rest of the day, to Caitie's surprise, no one mentioned the the "endurance test"--to the point that Caitie questioned it actually happened or not.

No, I'm sure it happened. Were we administered different exams? Was I the only one shown a boggart? That doesn't seem likely, though. The auror made it seem routine. So what then?

[United Democratic Christian States]

David

He suddenly woke up in his bed. Completely unaware of what had happened. How had he gone from DADA straight to his dorm? Without him knowing?

He then checked the time.

How is already the afternoon?

Suddenly he remembered he was to meet Isolde. He grabbed the note and raced to the second floor arriving in front of a painting that looks like a large pile of ash. Hoping we wasn't late.

[Arlye Austros]

Ricardo

He was looking at a painting in the third floor when he snapped out of it, unsure of how he had got there. A party of half-cock humans giggled at him. How long had he been there? Ricardo looked around. Nobody seemed to notice his confusion. Perhaps he was late for class already?
He looked into his pocket, then at the clock out of the window near the painting. He still had twenty minutes before the next class. Did he even go to Blahone’s class? He started walking towards the Common when he realized his neck was sore and found hard to swallow.

Isolde

She was sitting at a starway, her hace behind both hands. Was she asleep? Isolde looked to the front were a First Year seemed to observe her.
“What are you looking at?”
She smiled out of some worry. “Are you crying?”
She touched her cheeks but they were dry. Actually, Isolde wasn’t really sure about what she was doing at all.
“No. I must have fallen asleep. Last night I barely slept.”

She got up and sent the First Year girl on her way, before checking the time. After class… She must have walked out of the class almost asleep. That’s why she couldn’t remember it very well. Or maybe Blahone asked her out of it because she was falling asleep?
In any case, she realized she had a date, and headed towards the place.

David stood waiting on the second floor, by the painting of what appeared to be a large pile of ashes. She came from behind and rested her arms on his shoulders.
“I was hoping I would see you here.”

[The Flutterlands]

Raphael Raymond

Raphael woke up with a grunt after having fallen asleep over his books. He was studying in the Library after getting out of potions, going over his notes and looking through his texts. However, the entire day just felt weird for the muggleborn, having forgotten what he learned from DADA, without any notes, and feeling absolutely drowsy during potions. Even more concerning, whenever he slept, Raph had a strange nightmare of Alex, all burnt up and laughing at him, calling him weak. Such a dream woke him up this time and it gave Raph quite a sickening feeling, despite thinking it as nothing more than a dream. He wondered what it meant though.

Considering himself starving, Raph decided to skip studying for now and have lunch. Perhaps that could help solve his ills. After stretching out his fatigued joints, Raphael gathered his books and got them into his bag. Leaving the Library, the Muggleborn walked down the hallways to the Great Hall. On the way, Raph felt so tired he almost ran into Anton.

"Ugh... Sorry... Sorry about that, Monsure." Raphael apologized to his fellow Slytherin, "I don't know why but I feel like total shit today. Do you remember what we learned in Dark Arts class? Forgotten everything and haven't even taken any notes. How could I have forgotten to take notes? I always took notes! Did you take notes?"

[United Democratic Christian States]

David

By some miracle he wasn't late and managed to arrive not half a minute before Isolde.

"Ah there you are Is. So, you mind telling me what it is we are doing here?" he said with a smile.

"Or am I gonna get blindfolded or something?"

[World Anarchic Union]

Anton Valgerth Hurt

Anton had followed an Auror into the Tower. After suddenly being tied to a chair, a shadow had covered his eyes. Now images were flashing by him. The all too familiar memory of his parents killing one another, a destroyed village, a collapsing orphanage, a burning forest, a castle in ruins. And, in every passing image, he could see a dark figure wearing a mask, his own mask. Every time he saw the figure, he knew who it was and that he was responsible for everything he saw. For all the bodies that passed by him. Caitie, Klara, Susan, all the people he knew, in pools of blood, under rubble, all gone. And he was responsible for all of it. And suddenly the man-he himself- removed his mask. He could now see his face but he could hardly recognize himself. This face-his face- was twisted, as if deformed. And then, the Ravencloak grabbed another mask, a different one. Anton knew it too and the person it belonged to. His reflection put on William’s mask and turned his wand towards Anton. His words escaped coldly from his mouth, as the green light left the wand.

Avada Ked-

Obliviate

Now, some hours had passed and Anton had no recollection of anything that had transpired. He had woken up confused, thinking that he had a weird dream. But his thoughts had been wrong. He had been to class and hours had passed since then. But he couldn’t remember anything! I know I am not the greatest of students but this is too strange, even for me.

He was traversing the halls, still confused at everything, when a student almost fell onto him. As Anton looked at the hurrying wizard, he recognized Raphael.

“Raph! Slow down, pal. No, I haven’t taken any notes either. I don’t remember anything from the Dark Arts class apart from a vague memory of Blahone saying something. Now, that this is all I remember isn’t so weird, to be honest. But this day has been stranger than usual. Are you feeling the same?”

[The Flutterlands]

Raphael Raymond

Raphael shook his head and grunted, rubbing his forehead. "Ugh...Sorry... Everything feels like shit..." he groand, "All I can remember myself is that Balhone was going to teach us... uh... non-verbal spells, I think? Yeah... Funny I haven't wrote any of that stuff down. That felt important..."

Raphael shook his head again. Everything just felt so weird. It was as if the entire Defense Against the Dark Arts class just didn't happen. He groaned as he felt ane heard his stomach growl. "Ugh, anyway... I'm on my way to Lunch." he said, "Stomach needs fuel to function and all... Want to come with me? Then later we can go see Professure Balhone and ask him for a debrief..."

[Segral]

Ed Wilson

Ed was currently descending a staircase, rubbing his temples vigorously the whole way. Over the course of the day, a grinding headache had been ringing through his skull, like someone was crushing his head. The whole day just felt...murky. He couldn't even remember what he did in DADA, he had no notes, no memories, nothing. Usually his classes felt like muddy blurs to him, endlessly dragging on, but this was different. He couldn't remember a single thing about the entire class. He didn't know if he fainted, or hit his head, or ingested some weed, but he later woke up sitting in his favorite armchair in the Ravenclaw common room, in the middle of the day, head feeling like a rock. Honestly, he wouldn't have put it past himself to pass out with some weed, seems like something he would do.

Finally reaching the bottom, he strode into the hallway, moving across with wide, clean strides, seemingly with purpose. Truthfully, he had absolutely nowhere in mind to go, he was just aimlessly wandering. He wasn't really in the mood for any reading or studying in the library, he had no classes at the moment, he had apparently just spent the last few hours sleeping, and meeting with a friend was out of the question for seemingly obvious reasons.

Quidditch. That was something he could do. Flying had a thrill to it, was energetic, perfect for all the pent-up energy he had at the moment. Back up the stairs he would go.

---

Sometime later, he was standing in front of the empty Quidditch field, breeze tickling his face. He had retrieved his Cleansweep 13 from his deep, magically expanded trunk earlier, and...well, that was all he needed. No teams were booked on the pitch for today, so the field was completely empty, he had it all to himself. He hadn't flown all summer, being in a muggle dwelling and all, a good fly would be perfect to get back into shape.

Mounting the broom, with his feet still planted on the ground, he let his hands grip the worn wood, shoulders tensing, legs locking into place. He felt like a spring, coiled up, ready to lash out. The mud was still cool and hard, the breeze was light, the sun was out. It was the perfect condition to fly.

3...

2...

1...

GO!!

With a mighty push, he kicked hard against the ground, broom suddenly jutting into the air, rising high into the air. It wasn't the cleanest of starts, one of his boots had dragged against the ground for a bit too long, causing the broom to tilt. However, Ed managed to wangle it back into position, and it was a clear flight from there.

He didn't fly very high off the ground, maybe fifteen feet high, but all the exhilaration was still there. The wind practically slapping your face, the warmth of the sun, the view of the grounds. Roll after spin after every trick in the book he knew, it all seemed to blur together, like the greatest adventure of his life.

[World Anarchic Union]

Anton Valgerth Hurt

Anton nodded at Raphael’s words. He was also experiencing something similar. He felt as if the previous hours had never happened. He nodded once more as he turned back to Raphael’s direction and walked alongside the boy.

“You are right, I remember something about non-verbal spells but nothing further from that. Blahone May know something, maybe a visit to him can be beneficial.” As they turned a corner of the castle, Anton turned back towards Raphael.

“Do you think the others have experienced a similar phenomenon?” he asked, as they cut through another corridor and made their way towards the dining hall.