Welcome to TB, an all levels Harry Potter roleplay with no word count. Our purpose is to go through the books with one exception: the addition of original characters and what changes that makes.
We accept all beings and creatures in the Harry Potter verse including ghosts, veela, muggles and even centaur.
We have many active events ongoing for both students and adults and many characters and locations around the world.
Come join us and discover how your character can grow and evolve in the world of Harry Potter.
Post by ILONA KYLLI ROWLE on Apr 15, 2024 21:11:38 GMT -5
End of October
Almost two whole months had already passed in the school year. Ilona could barely believe how quickly the time was flying by as she set up the classroom for that evening’s potion club meeting. Perhaps it was simply the events of the summer that had skewed her perception of time, but it did not feel possible that they were already halfway to the Christmas holiday.
She finished writing that day’s potion on the board just as the first few students began making their way into the class. She smiled in greeting as she busied herself organizing the ingredients on the table at the front of the class, giving herself something to do as she waited for more members to arrive. Once she felt a sufficient number had taken their places in the classroom, she cleared her throat to get everybody’s attention. “Hello everyone. Glad to see you all again. Tonight we’ll be working on something a bit more challenging: the Laughing Potion.” She motioned towards the board where the instructions were written.
LAUGHING POTION
-- Clear Spring Water -- 4 Alihotsy leaves (chopped) -- 2 Billywig wings (ground) -- 3 Knarl quills -- 1 puffskein hair (shaved) -- 1 sprinkle of horseradish powder
Add the clear Spring Water into your cauldron. Add the 4 chopped Alihotsy leaves. Stir slowly for 30 seconds. Stirring too fast damages the leaves mirthful properties. Snicker at the potion. Add the Billywig wings to the cauldron. Stir slowly for 1 minute. Add 3 Knarl Quills. Heat the mixture and stir firmly for 1 minute. Giggle at the potion. Once again heat the mixture. Scatter the Puffskein Hair over the surface of the potion. Stir quickly for 2 minutes. Laugh loudly and uncontrollably. Add a sprinkle of Horseradish Powder. Stir for 3 minutes. If made wrong, side-effects can vary from hysterical mania to deep and inconsolable melancholy.
“If you are in need of extra ingredients, you may use some of the supplies on the table at the front of the class. Since it is a more advanced potion, I will ask that any older students pair up with the younger students to assist them.” Ilona felt it was a great opportunity to foster some mentorship within the club, while still giving older students the chance to work on something a bit more complex. It could be difficult catering to such a wide array of skill levels, so she thought this would be a nice compromise for everyone. “As always, if you need any assistance, please feel free to ask.” With a quick smile she signaled for everyone to begin and returned to her own table next to the board. Once students had made some progress in their brews, she would make her rounds to ensure nobody needed any assistance, but until then she would busy herself with her own potions research. After all, that was the point of the club, no?
Post by MAEVE THORNE on Apr 16, 2024 16:09:29 GMT -5
The Laughing Potion was something Maeve hadn't tried brewing yet. She could not see how it would be a useful recipe to know, and forcing out pretended mirth vocalisations at the cauldron seemed like a Muggle-created parody of the real potioneering process. At least this would be something new to try; as a seventh-year, she had already brewed most of the popular potions during class - and some less popular ones privately.
After sending an amiable smile Ilona's way, Maeve sought out the one younger student she did not mind working with. She had known Lia since the Hufflepuff's first year at Hogwarts and enjoyed watching her potioneering skills improve over time. The thought that her occasional advice positively affected the girl's progress was somehow appealing. From time to time, the idea to invite Lia to the Room of Requirement gatherings crossed Maeve's mind. The brewing area there would intrigue any Potions enthusiast, but how would the Hufflepuff react to the types of spells others would be practicing? Sadly, the risk was too great. Lia's unknown blood status could also cause at least one of the three other co-founders to vote against her. A Muggleborn at worst, a Muggle-raised half-blood at best, she would not fit well into the currently all-pureblood group. For now, brewing the more traditional potions with her would have to suffice.
"I imagine making sounds at a potion might be an unfamiliar exercise for you. Perhaps you should try all three vocalisations." With any luck, the third-year would agree. That would save Maeve from performing the parts she least looked forward to, and give Lia good practice at the same time.
She began pouring the spring water into the cauldron, careful not to splash it. "How are things with you?" The Hufflepuff was preoccupied nowadays, and Maeve realised she cared about it enough to semi-actively seek a way to help.
Post by LIA FLETCHER on Apr 17, 2024 20:20:19 GMT -5
Lia barely listened to Ilona’s instructions, finding herself preoccupied that day with her own thoughts. It had been almost two months back at Hogwarts, two months of research, and she was still no closer to finding her birth father. On top of that, all of the extra workload was starting to drain the third year. Not only were classes more difficult that year, she also had an additional three classes. Add her personal side research on top of that, and Lia was struggling to juggle it all, the growing circles under her eyes proof of her exhaustion.
So focused on her own thoughts, she didn’t even notice when Maeve joined her table until she spoke, causing her to jump. In her jolting movement, she knocked her bookbag off the table, causing all of her textbooks to scatter on the ground. She groaned under her breath as she stood up to start grabbing them all, trying to hide her shame as she did so. “Oh um yeah, sure, I can do that,” Lia agreed, not really fully understanding what she had agreed to. She had yet to fully look over the potion for that day. Although, even if she had, she was still a bit too intimidated by Maeve to disagree with her.
Quickly shoving her multitude of History of Magic and Wizarding lineage books back in her bag - her attempts at finding any mention of her birth father’s family - she settled back into the seat next to Maeve with a shy smile. She skimmed through the instructions on the board as Maeve added the water to their cauldron, hoping to get a better idea of the potion they were brewing, before starting to chop the Alihotsy leaves without a word needed. She’d been very appreciative of the Slytherin’s tutelage over the last two years and found it easier now to slip into a brewing routine when the two worked together.
“Things are okay, I guess,” Lia answered with a shrug, focusing intently on her ingredient prep. “It’s been a bit harder keeping up in classes with the additional ones this year.” It wasn’t necessarily a lie, it just wasn’t the whole truth. So far Lia hadn’t told anybody about her familial issues. Not for any reason in particular, it just didn’t feel like something she could casually bring up in conversation; and unfortunately she didn’t feel she had anybody in her life she trusted quite enough to confide in at that time. In fact, Lia had been feeling quite lonely since the summer.
Post by MAEVE THORNE on Apr 19, 2024 7:23:32 GMT -5
The Hufflepuff girl's jumpiness brought no comment from Maeve, whose typical response to clumsy accidents was pretending she didn't notice them. She did catch a few of the titles the spilled books flaunted. Not the type of light reading thirteen-year-olds usually chose. Maeve had been required to study some of those tomes when she moved to live with her father - the type of information they contained was mostly of interest to old pureblood families. Did Smith assign a genealogy project to the younger students? That didn't sound like his teaching style.
Still wondering about the younger girl's odd behaviour, the redhead placed two Billywig wings into a mortar. Thin, dry and fragile, they were reduced to powder in a matter of seconds. She didn't need to focus on what her hands were doing, as most ingredients were familiar and easy to handle; that enabled her to occasionally glance at Lia and study the girl's body language. Were a few additional classes really making her so tense? All third-years had to expand their curriculum, and most of them handled it just fine - once they were done whining about the extra homework. Maeve couldn't claim knowledge of Lia's overall academic aptitude, but she seemed to be a bright and hardworking kid. "It will get easier once you're more familiar with the new subjects," she tried to reassure. Not everyone had good time management skills, but she was certain the Hufflepuff was sufficiently organised to handle any challenges the education system might throw at her.
Could her stress be tied to the books she was carrying around? Was Lia becoming aware of the importance blood purity bore, and perhaps self-conscious about her status in the wizarding world? The typical reaction Muggleborns and half-bloods displayed towards traditional purist views was defensiveness and denial, but a few sometimes managed to understand and accept the facts. "Are you researching wizarding genealogy?" Maeve prodded tentatively. "I could recommend some additional literature - I've had to read quite a few works on the subject."
Post by LIA FLETCHER on Apr 22, 2024 9:43:52 GMT -5
Lia nodded at Maeve’s reassurance in regards to her class work. “Yeah, yeah, I’m sure it’ll get better with time.” Her words sounded insincere even to her own ears, her awkward smile not quite reaching her tired eyes. If she were honest, classes were the least of her concerns at that moment, although her side project had started to affect her performance in a few of them. Notably History of Magic, which, while more useful to her at that moment, was always the perfect class for a much needed nap.
The Alihotsy leaves now chopped, she added them to the cauldron and began stirring slowly. It was during this process that Maeve asked about the textbooks in her bookbag, causing Lia to jolt in response. She winced immediately after the jerky movement as she glanced back at their potion, hoping the sudden movement hadn’t ruined the brew. She hadn’t realized Maeve had seen the titles of the books, but quickly realized it might have been an odd subject matter to be researching since there was little relation to any of her class subjects. How much to tell Maeve, however, was what had Lia biting her lip in concern.
Taking a few moments to focus on the potion gave her a reason to delay her response, only stopping in her stirring after the required time and snickering awkwardly at the cauldron. Lia felt her cheeks heat at her performance of the odd instruction, but at least she wouldn’t be the only one in the classroom laughing weirdly at a potion. With that complete, however, she had no more reason to hold up the conversation, particularly since Maeve was handling the Billywig wings needed for the next step. “Um… yeah, sort of.” She paused, trying to compose her thoughts. “I’ve, um, I’ve been looking for my dad,” Lia finally explained, avoiding Maeve’s eyes as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “My mum let slip this summer that she knew more about him than she told me. I- I don’t have much, just his first name and a partial last name. And a description of how he looked at the time.”
Finally looking up, she tried to get a read of Maeve’s reaction. She already knew that Lia had never met her father, something Lia didn’t really divulge to most, but Maeve had sounded so interested in her family previously that Lia had felt comfortable sharing. This, however, was a new development, and one Lia was keeping to herself for the most part, at least until she had more answers. “I tried looking for him in muggle libraries over the summer, but couldn’t find anything, so I thought maybe he wouldn’t be in those records because he’s actually a wizard.” Her tone lifted a bit at the end of the sentence, since the idea that half of her family could be magical was a very exciting prospect. She’d always thought she was the only one in her family who could use magic, but maybe that wasn’t the case, and she actually came from a long line of witches and wizards!
Post by MAEVE THORNE on Apr 23, 2024 14:27:07 GMT -5
Maeve awaited Lia's answer patiently, all the while keeping an eye on the potion's progress. The Hufflepuff carried out all the steps with commendable accuracy. It was now time to add the Billywig wings, which the Slytherin did while listening to the younger girl's response. Looking for her dad? That was mildly intriguing, although Maeve could not truthfully say she wanted to know who the man was. If he turned out to be a Muggle, the mentorship bond she had with Lia could suffer. She could be a half-blood, she certainly was talented enough... and yet, some Muggleborns did occasionally show a modicum of skill. That did not make them worthy of joining the magical world - only a little less unworthy. Sometimes, not knowing was better. Maeve was self-aware enough to realise she was passively convincing herself that Lia was likely a half-blood, and did not want this fragile belief shattered.
The redhead took off her locket and set it down on the table, opening it so she could use the watch it contained. She listened to Lia's explanation carefully, even though her eyes were focused on the watch hands. One minute of slow stirring went by quickly enough; she added the Knarl Quills and turned up the heat before looking at Lia.
Only a first name - unless it was exceptionally rare - and a partial last name was not much to work with. Maeve could only imagine how much time it had taken her to study the Muggle records with so little information. Was that what had Lia so preoccupied nowadays? She wondered if the man had even given his real name to Lia's mother. Still, this story was so similar to how Maeve herself came to exist - a one-night stand between two near-strangers, though luckily both Pureblood - that she couldn't help but sympathise. "That may well be the case," she responded, agreeing with the third-year's reasoning. Muggleborns were fairly rare - the likelihood of her father being of magical blood was high, though that didn't mean he could be found in history tomes or wizarding lineage books. Maeve offered the ladle to Lia, so she could perform the next round of stirring. "If he's a wizard, he might be easier to find, especially if he's British. What was his name?" On the off-chance that he himself proved to be a Muggleborn, Lia's search might be doomed. A half-blood with a Muggle surname could be similarly difficult to find... She didn't mention any of that, however, not wanting to destroy the girl's hopes prematurely.
