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 SILVIA ODETTE STIRLING on May 21, 2024 18:22:28 GMT -5
A two-week break for Dahshur students did not equal respite from academics for fifth-years. N.E.W.T.s were fast approaching; that was all the school staff seemed to talk about nowadays. Silvia's Dark Arts professor had assigned his class a lengthy essay to write during the break - thirty inches on the creation of Dark beasts. Her papyrus was only about halfway full so far, and she was having a hard time focusing when the weather was so pleasing. Most locals were complaining that it was chilly, but she found 24°C to be the perfect temperature for spending time outside. It was a respite from the usual unbearable heat Egypt boasted; she was glad that the Dahshur Pyramid's thick walls kept students protected from the elements, otherwise heat stroke would have been her weekly experience.
The blonde flew her broom to the oasis one of her peers had told her about. This was supposed to be a fairly popular place for wizarding youth to hang out - too far from civilisation to be frequented by Muggles. From above, she couldn't see any surface water - no pond or river, not even a spring. Nor could she spot any people. Nevertheless, the lush plant life was inviting. Landing next to a particularly tall palm at the edge of the oasis, she listened for any sounds that could indicate another human being's presence. Nothing. Oh, well - at least she could work on her essay undisturbed.
Leaving her Nimbus 5000 leaning against the tree - nobody would try to steal it here, since the locals looked down on broomsticks and much preferred flying carpets - she entered the oasis. The shade provided by large leaves was welcome - despite today's tolerable temperature, her flight over the desert had left her with a heat headache. She had only been walking for a few minutes when an odd, gritty, almost purring voice sounded from behind her. It was speaking in Arabic, but with a strangely archaic dialect Silvia couldn't fully understand.
"'Tis a magnolious place to have a sumptuous meal..."
Her heart was drumming in her chest even before she turned around to face the unexpected companion, still harbouring hopes of it merely being some old deranged woman. The human face she was now staring into did look vaguely female, but the lion's body and scorpion's tail clearly heralded the creature's true nature. A manticore. Silvia paled as she slowly stepped back, retrieving her wand from its holster. The creature was preparing to pounce on her, its tail twitching in anticipation.
ooc: Open to characters who could logically be in Egypt around December 20-30, 2025!
A sharp whistle sounded from overhead, followed by a shout--
"Oi!"
--and then a whoosh followed by a fiery blast of non-verbal Confringo. The impact and flame did little to the magical creature, though, as it stumbled with surprise but otherwise remained poised near the young woman below. Manticores were known for being resilient to magic, it made them so deadly, not to mention the human face on the animal body and the damned crooning.
"Back up, quickly!"
Overhead, the Cleansweep 19 kicked into a wide sweep as the wind kicked up sand, and the rider dismounted in a smooth step-off. Dressed in a t-shirt, jeans and sneakers, Aiden clenched his jaw muscles as he held his wand outward at the threat. The thing had been sneaking up on a young woman - someone with a wand, at least - and she had been about to find out the hard way why...
"Silvia?" Aiden's eyes widened, as he saw the blonde witch, but the more immediate threat of the Manticore took his full attention - and surprise - away. "I see ya still findin' trouble, yeah?"
Either way, thankfully Aiden had been nearby. He had reasons for why, though at the present time they didn't seem overly important; and assuming the pair survived the encounter, Aiden would be more than happy to explain his presence. But right now they had a damned Manticore to deal with, and it looked a little ticked off about the fire bomb sent its way, as the thing stared with human eyes between Aiden and Silvia...
Post by SILVIA ODETTE STIRLING on Jun 10, 2024 10:56:54 GMT -5
When Silvia made plans to come here for a study of Dark beasts, having a hands-on experience of dealing with one wasn't what she had envisioned. The boredom of poring over numerous tomes in search of essay-worthy information would have been welcome at this point. She watched the creature creep closer, her mind working feverishly in search of spells to use against a manticore. She had read about them just a few days ago. All she could remember now was how magic-resistent their skin was.
The shout from above startled both her and the creature, although Silvia didn't dare to look up. Whoever it was sounded human, which meant his presence was nowhere near as threatening as that of a manticore. The Blasting Curse was Silvia's cue to take a few paces back, putting more distance between herself and the creature. Her eyes stayed on the four-legged threat, a list of damaging spells queuing up in her thoughts... until her potential rescuer spoke.
That couldn't be--
She hazarded a glance at the young man who had just landed next to her, and felt an odd sort of vertigo as her reeling mind tried to make sense of the situation. "Aiden?" He couldn't be here, what were the odds? This had to be the heat making her see things. It had been a while since she last daydreamed about Aiden, and now really wasn't a good time to resume the habit. Only, the manticore reacted to him, too - by becoming visibly irritated. Silvia forced the shock to the back of her mind, focusing on the situation at hand.
"Ignis Iunctis!" The creature shifted its head at the last moment, the curse only hitting one of its eyes. The feral screech that erupted from its throat spoke of slaughter. Still screaming in rage, it lunged forward and swiped at Silvia with its claws, while jabbing its scorpion tail towards Aiden.
Seeing Silvia was a mixture of things for Aiden. On the one hand, he was immediately reminded of dating her and how beautiful she was, and the fun they had; but on the other, the Veela secret and the breakup, and how depressed and low he had felt afterward. And on top of all that, there was a chance meeting punctuated by the appearance of a manticore, one of the most dangerous magical creatures - the circumstances were a literal rollercoaster.
"Whoa!"
Aiden sidestepped as the poisoned stinger lashed at him, his breathing fast and his eyes wide, because he knew what getting stung meant.
"Tarantallegra!"
The young man's wand whipped and the attack hit the recoiling and shrieking manticore, though the effect wasn't as powerful as hoped, as the thing instead stomped several times with its lion paws. Not quite the dancing distraction Aiden had hoped for. It was around that time that the manticore decided to charge, with its one good eye targeting the pair; and it moved quickly, which caused Aiden to grimace as he turned and started to run waving his arms, to get its attention--
"Hey, hey, come on ya furred bastard!"
--to which the manticore obliged and started to turn.
"Oh."
Aiden sprinted as fast as he could, even as the bounding leaps of the creature closed the gap quickly, and the young man jumped and grasped onto a leaning palm tree; and with all the strength he could muster, Aiden scurried up the rough bark surface and started climbing the tilted tree. The manticore smashed into the tree trunk with its bulk, which caused the entire thing to crack and creak, even as Aiden struggled to hold on... and then lost his grip and fell.
"Oh damnit," Aiden cursed, as he pointed his wand. "Pulvino!"
And as Aiden hit the ground, he landed atop an invisible cushion with a thump, unharmed. Though, when he rolled over to find the manticore, he saw the thing staring him down with the spooky face grinning as it closed to within mere meters... it was clearly ready to pounce, and Aiden was caught flatfooted on his backside.
Post by SILVIA ODETTE STIRLING on Jun 12, 2024 3:28:31 GMT -5
Silvia's reflexes, honed by years of Quidditch practice and further improved by her participation in Dodecawizard, took over as the beast attacked. She stepped away from swiping paw, one deadly sharp claw catching the fabric of her jacket and causing it to tear. Other than that, she was unharmed.
Like the missorted Gryffindor that he was, Aiden was now trying to direct the manticore's attention at himself. The speed with which he scaled the palm was incredible, but the beast wasn't perturbed. It managed to shake Aiden out of the tree, and seemed to be looking forward to feasting on him.
"Reducto!" Silvia's curse was aimed at the heavily damaged tree rather than the creature who stood right underneath it. With a final crack and a loud creak, the palm fell. It pinned the manticore to the ground, but didn't knock it out - the beast was roaring furiously as it twisted, slowly crawling out from under the heavy obstacle...
The relief Aiden felt was like after winning a Quidditch match, when the palm tree toppled with help from Silvia and pinned the manticore, stopping it from attacking. Not to waste a moment, Aiden scrambled to his feet and rushed past the clawing and roaring creature, as he hopped the downed tree and continued to sprint toward his gir--Silvia across the sand. He looked for his broom as he rushed, figuring now was a good time to use it for the pair to escape, but his expression dropped...
"Me broom's broken," Aiden said as he passed the cracked and shattered remains of the flying item. The manticore or trunk must have hit it, too. "Do ya have one? We can fly out o' here!"
Aiden reached Silvia and skidded to a stop, looking her over, noting the slashes to her jacket.
Post by SILVIA ODETTE STIRLING on Jun 12, 2024 5:38:19 GMT -5
Her plan worked exactly as intended, except for one small catch - Aiden's broom now lay broken, and she was almost sure it was the felled tree that got it. No time for apologies, though; they had to get out of here before the beast could free itself. It was doing so at an alarmingly fast rate, too.
"I left my broom some ways away." Too far to run to, but luckily she wasn't so shocked by the current ordeal as to lose her mind. "Accio Nimbus." It would take the broom some time to reach them, though. She glanced at the beast, which was almost free now - only its hind legs were under the heavy tree.
"I'm okay, you?" she asked, using as few words as she could. There was so much she would have wanted to say to Aiden, and none of it was suitable for their current situation. Escape from manticore first, talk about relationships second.
She could already hear the Nimbus breaking through the greenery, but it wouldn't reach them fast enough - the manticore had already crawled from under the palm and was rearing for another attack. "Incarcerous!" Ropes shot out of Silvia's wand, but the beast dodged and only one of its paws was caught momentarily. It shook the restraints off and snarled at the pair.
Aiden was glad about the other broom, because at least they had something to try and escape on, as the alternate wasn't great. When Silvia cast the ropes, Aiden had hopes, but they were dashed as the agile creature was only snagged by a single projectile; and it made short work of it, ripping free with a snarl and growl. The magical creature began to run toward the pair, inadvertently racing the broom that also closed the distance.
"Spongigenu!"
Aiden called, as he pointed his wand at the approaching manticore. The wand tip sent a blast of magic, which caught the manticore, though the effect was - again - no where near as effective as it should or could have been. The spell was used to give someone spongy knees, making it hard to walk, but the manticore only slowed and continued to approach at that slightly lesser pace.
It didn't look good.
Aiden glanced to Silvia and frowned--
"I'm sorry."
--and then he stepped in front of Silvia, arms outstretched, as he prepared to take whatever attack was coming from the manticore that was close enough to leap!
Post by SILVIA ODETTE STIRLING on Jun 12, 2024 6:43:30 GMT -5
Crap. Her spell didn't trap the manticore, instead only slowing it for a little bit. The Nimbus was so close, but the creature wouldn't just let them climb on it and flee. Aiden's attempt at slowing it down was a good one, but the thick magic-resistant skin weakened the effects of his curse. There were so few spells that could work against a creature endowed with such potent magical defenses...
Silvia's eyes widened as the solution came to her mind. At least one spell was utterly unblockable by any known defense. Her Dark Arts professor had mentioned how useful it was, and ridiculed schools that refused to teach it to their students. It was illegal, true, but only when used against a fellow human being. Everyone should know how to cast it, the professor had insisted, and had them practice it on scorpions until everyone got the hang of it.
Her brief hesitation lasted too long. The manticore had closed the distance and was about to leap. "No!" she shouted as Aiden stepped in front of her, clearly planning to sacrifice himself. That would give her enough time to flee, true, but she could never abandon him like that.
Stepping to the side, she ducked under Aiden's arm as the intent to destroy the beast that threatened her boyfriend bloomed in her chest like a poisonous flower. "Avada Kedavra!" Caught by the emerald light mid-leap, the manticore crashed to the ground and slumped at the pair's feet.
Arms out, as big a target as he could be, Aiden waited for the impact. Seconds felt like a lifetime, as the thudding paws of the manticore stopped and - he could only assume - it jumped to attack them, him. Except that didn't happen, Silvia didn't run and use the chance to escape; rather, she screamed a defiant no and then she was beside him, arm outstretched, even as Aiden opened his eyes to glance down--
"Avada Kedavra!"
--the emerald light lashed out at the manticore, which was mid-leap, and Aiden's eyes widened in shock. The monster hit the sand, as it slid to a stop in front of the pair, leaving a dead mass and cloud of displaced dust. Even in his stunned state, Aiden reacted to the broom that flew at them a few moments later, as he snatched it out of the air; while turning, as he looked down at Silvia, knowing that the escape would have come too late, and she had saved his life... but at what cost?
"Ya... ya didn't have to do that for me." he said softly, as he looked to the manticore that remained unmoving. "Ya should have... I should have..."
Aiden was at a loss. His rational mind knew the spell was likely one of the few ways to avoid death, but he also didn't want Silvia to have that kill on herself.
Post by SILVIA ODETTE STIRLING on Jun 12, 2024 7:29:13 GMT -5
The electric jolt that went through her spine as her curse hit the manticore had felt exhilarating, but also horrifying. She took down one of the most dangerous magical beasts, it was such an undeniable feat... and yet, she felt oddly shaken. Lowering her wand, she looked at Aiden. He sounded almost apologetic, which was odd - considering his arrival had saved her life. The fight wouldn't have been anywhere near as equal if she'd faced the creature alone.
"It's--- it's fine, I think. It's not a human..." she trailed off, glancing down at the manticore's face. It looked less feral in death, the features more relaxed, sharp teeth concealed by its very human lips. Did it count? Was this something that would affect her soul, as those who despised Dark Arts claimed? But she didn't have a choice. If she'd decided to flee, the cowardice would have resulted in Aiden's death just as surely as the Killing Curse resulted in the manticore's.
Turning away from the lifeless monster, she tried to come up with an answer to Aiden's question. "We just... return to Cairo, I guess?" Her hands were beginning to tremble a little. She slid the wand back into the holster. "So, ah-- do you... come here often?" she asked, the feeble attempt at a joke further weakened by her shaky voice.
"That's true, yeah," Aiden said with a slow nod, as he heard the reasoning for why - in this instance - using the curse might be fine. "Definitely not human. And it definitely woulda killed someone else if we left it here, maybe some younger students visitin' this place."
It also made Aiden question what he knew about Silvia, about how she had the capacity to do that spell, or that she knew it at all. Of course, mostly every witch or wizard knew it, but not as many knew how to do it, or so Aiden assumed. He didn't, not really. But because of that knowledge, they were both alive, and a dangerous magical creature that had intended to eat them while crooning was not... and for his part, despite the shock and situation, Aiden felt like he might learn to be okay with that.
Maybe not right away, but eventually.
"Back to Cairo, then," Aiden said with a chuckle, despite himself, as Silvia made her joke. "Not very often, nah. Glad I did this time, though."
Aiden leveled out the broom and held it there, to sit on. He noted Silvia's shaking and reached out to her hand to touch it gently, then motioned to the levitating vehicle.
"I'll drive, yeah?"
With a smile, one that almost faltered as he glanced quickly to the manticore, Aiden slid onto the broom and helped Silvia into place behind him. The adrenaline was still up for the young man, it would subside soon he didn't doubt, but thankfully he was capable of handling the reaction from his time as a Quidditch player - the amount of times Aiden had played through nerves or the shakes was innumerable, so he felt confident that when he started to tremble as well, he would be fine steering.
"Let's go," he said as he pushed off with the broom. "Hold tight."
And before long, the wind was rushing past the pair, as they flew over the near endless sands below. It was several minutes before Aiden worked up the nerve to speak to Silvia, mostly out of concern that she didn't want to talk to him, but eventually he looked over his shoulder.
"I saw news 'bout yer Dodeca win," he offered a smile. "Bloody brilliant, I think, good on ya."
Post by SILVIA ODETTE STIRLING on Jun 13, 2024 2:37:13 GMT -5
Although Aiden's words agreed with her conclusion, Silvia was beginning to worry if his actual thoughts differed. Hogwarts didn't teach any Dark Arts, especially not the Unforgivable Curses. She knew Aiden didn't agree with the use of such unsavoury magics, unless a lot had changed since she last saw him. Somehow, she doubted that. Should she explain herself, tell him how she came to know the spell? Later, perhaps, once she was able to think more clearly - and once they were away from this dead beast whose human face was accusing her of murder.
Aiden's touch sent warm ripples up her arm. She allowed him to help her onto the broom, smiling faintly at his chivalrous manners. No, he hadn't changed at all - except for looking older and even more fit than the last time she'd seen him.
Then came the somewhat tricky part of wrapping her arms around his waist without it feeling awkward. She failed monumentally, her cheeks beginning to burn at a moment's notice. Hopefully, he couldn't feel the speedy fluttering of her heart. Once they took off, leaving the oasis and the manticore carcass behind, her mind began to clear. The horror was slowly fading now that she wasn't looking at the dead creature, and Aiden's presence was becoming more and more significant. She didn't have any expectations of mending their relationship - it had ended over a year and a half ago, he probably had a new girlfriend by now - but at least she could apologise coherently and, hopefully, remove some of the stains from his mental image of her.
She was trying to think of how best to begin when Aiden spoke. Silvia gave a subdued little laugh. She could remember thinking about him when she placed her name into the Goblet of Fire, hoping he would learn about her being a champion and perhaps reach out to her. Well, at least part of her fantasy came true, although it was to be expected - the Daily Prophet must have mentioned her participation in the tournament, and later her victory.
"Thanks. It was a tough competition, I was neck and neck with the runner-up." She had only followed Calvin because he chose to attack her, after acting friendly during the entire tournament. He then claimed not to have recognised her, but she didn't dare to let him out of her sight in case he tried something like that again. In the end, this strategy brough her the victory.
"I heard you joined Puddlemere United and later the British National Team. That's an amazing career leap." One only needed to have a passing interest in Quidditch to learn these facts, though Silvia did check for such updates quite actively... "So what brings you to Egypt?"
Aiden focused on the broom, on maintaining their combined balance through the air, and definitely not on Silvia's arms wrapped around his waist. He had mentioned the Dodeca because he had been, well, he didn't really know - proud? He also definitely wasn't thinking about how Silvia was beautiful, as seeing her again up close had brought all those fleeting memories over the last year or two flooding back, the good and bad.
But mostly the good.
"It sounded pretty rough from what I read," Aiden said over the wind, as he nodded. "No doubt it was tougher than that, ay?"
The sand dunes beneath the pair dipped and raised, as the broom lazily drifted side to side, avoiding collisions with ease. The thing was hardly a racing broom, a Nimbus 5000, but it responded well and went fast enough, and Aiden was more than capable of keeping them safely on the way to Cairo. There was a moment when Aiden wanted to speak up again, but he stayed quiet, if only to avoid making anything awkward; there was still a bit of a trip to the city, and being stuck on the same broom with silence created by something he said would have been hell.
Thankfully Silvia spoke instead.
"Oh, yeah, thanks," Aiden offered a lop-sided smile as he looked back to her. "I was only really good at Quidditch, if I'm bein' honest. So it made sense t'try for the Pudds, ya know?" he said, as he focused on the open sky in front of them. "And I'm here for business, surprisingly. Me new team, the Brit Nationals, the coach wanted us to start trainin' in different climates... so, a bunch of the lads and me ended up here, an' we're 'bout to start training in a day or two."
Aiden offered a shrug, unintentionally rocking the broom.
"I was told by some wizardin' buddies 'bout that oasis, an' how it's a nice spot to check out. So I did. An' that's how I found ya."
The young man fell silent for a few moments, before he asked.
"An' what 'bout you? Why are you in Egypt, ya not at Firenze anymore? Italy sounds much nicer than this sandpit..."
Post by SILVIA ODETTE STIRLING on Jun 13, 2024 5:38:05 GMT -5
The tournament victory was still a source of pride for Silvia, but she didn't feel like gloating or bragging at the moment. A part of her felt that the amicable interaction could end quickly, if she said the wrong thing. Her last conversation with Aiden was replaying at the back of her mind, and although the pain it caused had all but faded, she did not wish to trigger its reenactment.
"You were also good at dueling," she pointed out. For most people, that would open up a whole new set of possible careers. However, she doubted if the Ministry would want a werewolf working as an Auror or a Hit Wizard. Silvia was curious to learn how his team treated him, or if they knew of his lycanthropy at all - they must have, he would be missing from team practices during every full moon - but didn't dare to ask.
She perked up when Aiden mentioned starting the training in a day or two. That meant he might be staying in or near Cairo for a while. "Does that mean you have the next few days off, or..?" Perhaps they could spend some time together, catch up. Unless, of course, he had plans with someone else. He was something of a celebrity now, after all.
Aiden's explanation of how he ended up in the oasis finally allowed her to make sense of the chance encounter. It didn't seem quite as bizarre anymore. "My new school is in Egypt - Dahshur, located under a pyramid. Muggles have no idea, the enchantments keep them from trying to explore it." She was only just getting used to her new school. All the students who were old enough joined the delegation sent to Firenze the previous term, which meant that she'd only spent a month at Dahshur before going to Italy. Even now, halfway through her last school year, she still had spent more time at the Italian school than at the Egyptian one. "I agree, though, Italy was much better. But Dahshur is great for those who want to be curse-breakers, so I can't complain." Her intention of following in her parents' footsteps had never once wavered; in less than a year she would reach her goal and begin her career as a curse-breaker.