#The Rotfang Theory

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

They gave us more info on Tulip’s dad in the Christmas activity. Apparently he set the tree on fire once so they had to get a new one. I think he’s an kind of a absent father cause Tulip was like “what do you get for a dad that’s hardly ever around?” in one of the flavor texts. I think he became more absent as she got older though, because she also said he used to play wizard’s chess with her every day after work, so yeah.

That's interesting. I haven't played the new Christmas activity, (Though as I recall, Tulip takes Rowan's place, and I haven't gotten to the point of losing them so I doubt I would have seen this anyway.) But maybe I should check out the holiday minigames more because they do offer some fun flavor text and details, like about how Rowan has a brother.

Either way...damn. That's a hollow thought. It almost suggests that Tulip's dad used to be more fun, but changed with time. Like, if he set the tree on fire...I'm sure it was an accident, but I don't know, it just suggests a more mayhem-oriented thought process, if that makes sense? What if Tulip's passion for chaos isn't just because she likes it, or to rebel against her parents, what if...what if she's trying to relive happier days of her life? Before her parents got strict and unforgiving, before they sent her away, back when they were willing to have fun with their daughter?

It's practically textbook for Tulip to rebel, especially if Mr. Karasu was an absent father on top of being a strict one. What, he's never around to actually see her, but he's gonna have all these rules about what she can't do to entertain herself when he isn't around? Speaking as someone who was a defiant child without strict parents...yeah, that doesn't surprise me. Especially if quality time with her Dad went away with time. Man, they should add a Wizard's Chess friendship mini-game. Why haven't they done that yet?

Y'know...(Tinfoil hat on) If the Karasus are indeed working for the Ministry...and R is there...I wonder if there's some connection between them becoming less involved with Tulip's life and the existence of the Cabal within the Ministry's ranks. Whether the Rotfang Theory is true or not, The Karasus might know something, or be involved, or have crossed paths with R. They might have crucial information and not even have any idea. Or maybe they do. Didn't Tulip once say they used to be sent dark artifacts? Yeah, it probably doesn't mean anything, but I smell blood.

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

Oh, it's the idea that "R" stands for "Rotfang" in reference to the Rotfang Conspiracy. A group of corrupt aurors mentioned in a throwaway line from the books. (And since Luna said it, they may or may not even be real.) But if they are real, and that's the Cabal's true identity...Tulip's parents could perhaps be involved.

OK I JUST REALIZED THAT TULIP DOESNT HAVE THE SAME GENERIC WAND THAT MOST OF THE HPHM CHARACTERS HAVE ??

now im scared bc ben had a unique wand so we’d be able to figure out that he was the red cloaked figure, BUT WHY DOES TULIP HAVE A UNIQUE WAND? i swear if she turns out evil im going to lose it

[justwannabeoutthere]

Is Doofenshmirtz a proponent of the Rotfang Conspiracy?

[fallingforfictionalcharacterss]

Could you write a femalereaderxLuna (platonic), where they are going to the yule ball together and having the time of their lifes?

Really hope you like it :)

Time of your lives

Luna Lovegood was probably the most amazing person you’ve ever met in your entire life. She came to Hogwarts when you were already in your second year, a Ravenclaw, just as you. You’ve noticed her the first time at the sorting ceremony. She was wearing the same robe as all the other students but she had a strange neckless around her neck and was wearing some huge orange earrings. At first you thought that they were shaped like carrots but it looked as they were upside down. As the sorting hat announced that she was from now on a Ravenclaw, the applause sounded restrained. Many of your housemates seemed to be confused why this girl, who was telling everyone, whether they wanted to hear it or not, that she was glad she became a Ravenclaw because the tower in which they lived accommodated some rare magical creatures, she was looking forward to finally meet, was sorted into their house.

The other students didn’t take long to realize that Luna wasn’t “normal” and so many of them didn’t take her very seriously. Especially when she was talking about things that weren’t proven as real. The Ravenclaws were known for their intelligence and they were also very proud of this fact that was probably the reason many of them couldn’t help but wonder, why this girl with the dreamy eyes who was talking about moon frogs and crumple-horned snorkacks was sorted into their house. And that lead to some very mean behaviour of some students towards her. They were sneaking into her dorm and stole some of her stuff and when Luna asked them if they had seen it they claimed that it were probably some Heliopaths. Luna, with the patience of a saint, explained them that this was very unlikely, because they would have probably burnt the entire dorm down.

But contrary to the opinion of many people, Luna wasn’t dumb. For sure, many of her views were very, very far-fetched but she somehow almost always managed to give you a logical explanation for her opinions if you just took your time and listened to it.

And you did.

You’ve never been one of the popular students in Hogwarts and preferred to be on your own. Sure, you had some people you got along with but there was never a real bonding between you and them.

That changed when you met Luna. For some reason she had chosen you to be the one she could talk about Blibbering Humdingers and her conviction that Cornelius Fudge had ordered to make Goblins into pies. And for some reason you had chosen her to spend your afternoons and weekends with, somehow sometimes even enjoying her company.

So as the time passed by, the two of you became very close and while she was asking you about your opinion on the newest circulation of The Quibbler, you may or may not hexed the people who would dare to play mean tricks on Luna. You didn’t spend your time gossiping about your classmates or simping over some cute boys but you visited the Thestrals in the woods or argued about whether or not it was likely that the Aurors were a part of the Rotfang Conspiracy. And you admitted to yourself that you had grown to care about the girl who, just as you, but in a very different way, just wouldn’t fit in.

In your fourth year at Hogwarts, your school was chosen to host the Triwizard Tournament and Luna and you were, just like the others, really excited about it. And for the first time since you got to know her you agreed to a hundred precent to one of her theories. You were also pretty sure that the fact that Harry Potter had been chosen as a champion, wasn’t a coincidence. Even though you weren’t that sure about her believe that all of this was happening because some dark wizards had infiltrated the ministry and were now forcing Barty Crouch to let Harry participate at the Tournament. But for now Harry had somehow managed to survive. He was even in first place. And Cedric Diggory had also shown a great performance. You both agreed that Hogwarts had a good chance to win even if you also agreed that this contest wasn’t about winning but making some new experiences.

And one of those experiences would be the Yule Ball. Professor Flitwick was now standing in front of you, explaining in a squeaky voice that the yule ball was a dance on Christmas Eve. After that he caused some public amusement by trying to show his students how to dance with a student who was double his size. He had to admit that he probably wasn’t the right person to teach you and let you try it out yourself.

The next days, everyone was only talking about the ball. And for the first time in a very long time you kinda regretted not having many friends. While all the other girls were always wandering around in small packs, staring at the boys as if they could get the right one to ask them out by telepathy, you were mostly on your own or walked around with Luna. And by now, no one had asked you out yet. Neither someone had asked Luna. But Luna was one year younger than you so if no one would ask her out she wasn’t allowed to participate. You on the other hand would have to choose whether you wanted to show up to the ball all alone or simply not going, still everyone would know why.

But while for a few days, when most of the girls already got their date and there was literally no one left you could go to the ball with, you desperately wished anybody would ask you so you would just have a chance to not let this event be a total disaster, you overheard a conversation, that made you realize you weren’t willing to pay any price to get a date.

You were just walking down a filled corridor as you overheard someone mentioning your name. Even if you didn’t mean to, you automatically pricked up your ears. Some Ravenclaws, a year above you, had gathered. You never really liked them. They were some of those who thought Luna wasn’t worth it being a Ravenclaw and always played tricks on her.

“Why haven’t you asked her yet?”, one of the boys asked, addressing a tall boy with an arrogant look on his face.

“Just gonna wait a few more days. So she will be really desperate. That poor girl won´t dare to say no.”, he laughed but it sounded mean.

“Aren´t you scared someone else will approach her?”, the other boy asked again.

“C´mon, who would actually wanna go with her? I mean (Y/n) might have a pretty face, but since she was hanging around with Loony Lovegood for the past two years she´s almost as insane as her.” They all laughed.

“But why would you ask her then?”

“Got a bet with one of the Slytherins. Five Galleons if I get her laid that night. That’s some easy money.” The other boys threw some admiring glances at him, patting his back.

You had heard enough and stormed into your dorm. At first you thought you were sad that people were thinking about you in this way but then you realized you were just angry. It wasn’t your fault if they were talking about you like you were an object, easy to manipulate, only worth the afford if there was another positive outcome for the person who dealt with you. And you would let them know. You would be going to that stupid ball and you would have the time of your life. With a date or without.

When Luna entered the room, she sensed immediately that you were upset. You told her about the conversation you had just overheard.

“Oh don’t worry (Y/n)”, Luna said in her dreamy voice. “Boys sometimes do say bad things. It´s because the Wrackspurts, I think. Boys are way more vulnerable to them.” You looked at her in disbelief. She returned your glance but there was a twinkle in your eyes you’ve never seen before when she was talking about her beloved magical creatures. And for the first time you thought that Luna might have just made a joke about them. Your assumption confirmed when she burst out laughing and you joined.

Then, suddenly, you had an idea.

“Luna?”, you asked you best (and only) friend. “You still wanna go to the ball to find out if they have actually invited a vampire?”

It was the evening of the ball. Even though you knew your “date” wouldn’t mind how you would look, you really tried your best. Not only because you wanted it to become a great night but also because you were still a little bit angry at the older boy from your house who actually had the audacity to come up to you, a few days after the conversation you had overheard, to ask you out. As you refused, he got furious, calling you a slut and at the same moment he told you there was no need to wonder that one wanted to go with you if you behaved like this. You didn’t mind though. Rather going alone than with him. But luckily, you weren’t alone.

You inspected yourself in the mirror. The tight dress stressed your curves in the right places and the colour matched your eyes, which you had outlined with some eyeliner. Even if on other days you really couldn’t care less what you looked like, tonight you looked absolutely stunning. And you were totally aware of this.

Luna had also dressed up. But in a slightly different way. Her dressrobe was coloured in a bright orange, matching her earrings. Her dirty-blonde hair was pinned up, held by something looking like chopsticks. She looked as strange as always, but in her own way very beautiful.

“You look very nice (Y/n)”, Luna complimented you.

“Thanks Luna, you look really good too.”

“You think so?”, she smiled. “I wasn’t sure about the amulet though.”

“What is it for?”, you asked.

“It keeps away the Nargles.”

“What are Nargles?”

“I don’t know”, Luna answered and shrugged her soulders. “But they are infesting mistletoes. And since it´s Christmas, there probably tons of them”

You didn’t exactly know what to say and just nodded. “Shall we?”

The Great Hall was by now filled with many people. You could feel many of them staring at you, whispering as soon as you turned your back, but you didn’t mind. You were used to it.

“(Y/n) you look amazing”, you heard a familiar voice behind you and you groaned in frustration. Why couldn’t this boy just leave you alone. You tried to ignore him but he spoke up again. “Look, about what I said earlier, about you being a… you know what I mean. I didn’t mean it. I was just upset.” You just gave the boy a sharp nod in response.

“Maybe we could dace later”, he continued with a nasty smile, trying to grab your waist. “You don’t wat to spend your whole night with her, do you?”, he added, glancing at Luna who was still stunned by the entire situation.

You stepped back, his hand fell from your waist. “I´m rather spending the rest of the night with her than anyone else, especially you, thanks.” You thought you were done now, but the boy now seemed to have a new idea.

“Oh, that’s what this is about.”

You ignored him.

“Well, why didn’t you just tell me? That you are that kind of girl?”

“What kind of girl?”

“Well you know what I mean, being bent.”, he whispered the last words.

You rolled your eyes. “Exactly, I haven’t just changed my clothes tonight but also my sexuality.”

The boy wanted to respond something but in this moment the champions entered the Great Hall.

From now on it was an amazing night. Luna and you danced until your feed hurt. She was a pretty good dancer, apart from the fact she wasn’t that much into dances that were socially approved. But you learned much about how pirouettes could scare away the Nargles, since they were swirling around your head and if you just kept on spinning long enough, it would confuse them.

Also, by the end of the night you had a great time not only with Luna but also Ginny Weasley and Neville Longbottom, two Gryffindors, from yours and Lunas year. The four of you had much fun, drinking and eating and also dancing and talking. When you told Ginny about the boy who had harassed you, she may cursed him with a Bat-Bogey Hex and gave all of you a good laughter. Neville was actually a great dancer and could hardly believe his luck, as at the end of the night, three witches wanted to dance with him.

The four of you stayed until the music stopped and Mr. Filch threw you out because he had to start cleaning the mess you had made.

And at the end of the night, you actually have had the time of your lives.

[bookishable]

half-blood prince book moments

“you can do magic! surely you can sort out anything!” “the trouble is, the other side can do magic too, prime minister.”

“it is a long time since my last visit, i must say, your agapanthuses are flourishing.”

‘it was clear that as far as he was concerned, any man who could look at harry and say ‘excellent’ was a man with whom he could never see eye to eye.’

‘the dursleys tried to ignore their glasses completely, a difficult feat, as they were nudging them gently on the sides of their heads. harry could not suppress a suspicion that dumbledore was rather enjoying himself.’

“and now, let us step out into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure.”

“ah, yes, of course, i haven’t told you” the harry potter series, a summary

“you have not asked me, for instance, what is my favourite flavour of jam, to check that i am indeed professor dumbledore, and not an impostor. for future reference, it is raspberry … although of course, if i were a death eater, i would have been sure to research my own jam-preferences before impersonating myself.”

‘he seemed remarkably unabashed for a man who had just been discovered pretending to be an armchair.’

slughorn being more than a comedy character and being more prejudiced against muggle-borns than the movie showed

“i realised i can’t shut myself away or crack up. sirius wouldn’t have wanted that, would he? and anyway, life’s too short … it could be me next, couldn’t it? but if it is, i’ll make sure i take as many death eaters with me as i can, and voldemort too if i can manage it.”

“i won’t have to do occlumency lessons with snape, will i? because they were a—” “i think the word ‘fiasco’ would be a good one here”

“what is your dearest ambition?” “to find out how aeroplanes stay up.”

“mollywobbles”

“dumbledore says people find it far easier to forgive others for being wrong than being right” “sounds like the sort of mental thing dumbledore would say” “he’s going to be giving me private lessons this year” said harry conversationally

‘a warmth was spreading through him that had nothing to do with the sunlight; a tight obstruction in his chest seemed to be dissolving. the mere fact that they were still there on either side of him, speaking bracing words of comfort, not shrinking from him as though he were contaminated or dangerous, was worth more than he could ever tell them.’

harry getting an outstanding in the defence against the dark arts OWL

“who blacked your eye, granger? i want to send them flowers.” i’m sorry but this is such a great insult

“dumbledore won’t always be there to protect you.” “wow … look at that … he’s not here now! so why not have a go? they might be able to find you a double cell in azkaban with your loser of a husband!”

the weasley twins’ shop window telling people to worry about ‘u-no-poo’ instead of you-know-who

the constipation sensation that’s gripping the nation

hermione saying fred and george’s products are “extraordinary magic”

“certainly they work, for up to twenty-four hours at a time depending on the weight of the boy in question—” “—and the attractiveness of the girl”

fred and george accusing ginny of going out with five boys and ginny being like “last time i looked, dean thomas was definitely one boy, not five.”

“people expect you to have cooler friends than us” “you are cool, none of them was at the ministry. they didn’t fight with me.” “that’s a very nice thing to say” i honestly love luna and harry’s friendship

slughorn inviting ginny to lunch on the train because of her “marvellous” bat bogey hex on zacharias smith

nick: harry potter knows that he can confide in me with complete confidence, i would rather die than betray his trust. ron: that’s not saying much, seeing as you’re already dead nick: once again, you show all the sensitivity of a blunt axe

“snape’ll be gone by the end of the year, that job’s jinxed. quirrell actually died doing it. personally, i’m going to keep my fingers crossed for another death …” christ harry is a savage but tbh same

‘it was a mark of the strength of their friendship that ron did not laugh.’

“it’s high time your grandmother learned to be proud of the grandson she’s got, rather than the one she thinks she ought to have” stan minerva mcgonagall

“there’s no need to call me ‘sir’, professor.”

“i thought he sounded a bit like you. when you were telling us what it’s like to face voldemort. you said it wasn’t just memorising a bunch of spells, you said it was just you and your brains and your guts—well, wasn’t that what snape was saying? that it really comes down to being brave and quick-thinking?”

the polyjuice potion being something students should be able to make after completing their NEWTS, but which hermione made at age thirteen

slughorn giving hermione points for knowing all the potions and being an intelligent muggle-born, and ‘malfoy looked rather as he had done the time hermione had punched him in the face.’

“it’s not quidditch that’s popular, it’s you! you’ve never been more interesting and, frankly, you’ve never been more fanciable.”

hermione: harry’s got scars from umbridge ron: look at where those brains attacked me hermione: he’s grown over the summer ron: i’m tall

‘he did not usually lie in bed reading his textbooks; that sort of behaviour, as ron rightly said, was indecent in anybody except hermione, who was simply weird that way.’

‘the prince had proved a much more effective teacher than snape so far.’ hm right

“it’s only muggle-borns they hate, they’d be quite happy to let you and ron join up.” “my whole family are blood traitors!” “and they’d love to have me, we’d be best pals if they didn’t keep trying to do me in.”

ron and hermione’s ‘new policy of feigning deafness whenever harry mentioned his malfoy-is-a-death-eater theory’

“nice suit, sir”

“very astute, harry, but the mouth-organ was only ever a mouth-organ.”

tHe SLuG cLUb

‘it was natural that he should want to rip dean limb from limb for kissing her … no … he would have to control that particular brotherly feeling …’

“it looks like he’s eating her face, doesn’t it? but i suppose he’s got to refine his technique somehow.”

‘harry could not help admiring her spellwork at a time like this.’

‘ginny kept cropping up in his dreams in ways that made him devoutly thankful that ron could not perform legilimency.’

madam pince ‘looked as though she might have a seizure’ after seeing the half-blood prince’s book

‘arguing about whether or not filch and madam pince were secretly in love’

“he says very funny things sometimes, doesn’t he? but he can be a bit unkind. i noticed that last year.”

‘luna was demonstrating her usual knack of speaking uncomfortable truths; he had never met anyone quite like her.’

“what did you have to imitate her for?” “she laughed at my moustache!” “so did i, it was the stupidest thing i’ve ever seen.”

harry’s observation that ‘girls were very strange sometimes’

‘harry was left to ponder in silence the depths to which girls would sink to get revenge.’

the guy named worple at slughorn’s party bringing along his friend sanguini who happened to be a vampire

sanguini: *edges towards group of girls* worple: here, have a pasty

luna telling everyone that the aurors are part of the rotfang conspiracy “they’re working from within to bring down the ministry of magic using a combination of dark magic and gum disease”

ron: you can’t break an unbreakable vow harry: well it’s a good thing i have at least one brain cell

“fred reckons his left buttock has never been the same since.” “yeah, well, passing over fred’s left buttock—”

“aaah, george, look at this. they’re using knives and everything. bless them.”

*the twins discussing ron and lavender* “did she have an accident or something?” “what?” “well, how did she sustain such extensive brain damage?”

“he called it my ‘furry little problem’ in company. many people were under the impression that i owned a badly behaved rabbit.”

lavender giving ron a necklace saying ‘my sweetheart’ for christmas

kreacher sending harry a package of maggots and him being like “i’d rather have them than that necklace”

“you might have noticed he’s not minister anymore, but dumbledore’s still headmaster. i’d leave dumbledore alone, if i were you.”

‘percy had stormed from the house on christmas day with his glasses splattered with mashed parsnip (for which fred, george and ginny all claimed credit).’

“stay out of trouble” “i always do, mrs weasley, i like a quiet life, you know me.”

“he accused me of being ‘dumbledore’s man through and through’.” “how very rude of him.” “i told him i was.”

“blessed as i am with extraordinary brainpower, i understood everything you told me”

‘there was a certain amount of ill-feeling towards wilkie twycross and his three Ds, which had inspired a number of nicknames for him, the politest of which were dog-breath and dung-head.’

‘friends they might be, but if ron started calling lavender ‘lav-lav’, he would have to put his foot down.’

harry resisting the urge to let ron run around under the effect of the love potion and instead taking him to be cured by slughorn because ‘they were supposed to be friends’

‘madam pomfrey seemed to have been counting hagrid as several people due to his vastness.’

“half our family does seem to owe you their lives, well, all i can say is that it was a lucky day for the weasleys when ron decided to sit in your compartment on the hogwarts express, harry.”

ron pretending to be asleep whenever lavender came to visit him in the hospital wing

luna’s commentary at the quidditch match

“smith was being quite rude about gryffindor, i expect he regrets that now he’s playing them—oh, look, he’s lost the quaffle, ginny took it from him, i do like her, she’s very nice …”

LOSER’S LURGY

harry: i want to find mclaggen and kill him madame pomfrey: that would come under the heading of over-exertion

‘harry’s imagination zoomed into overdrive, rapidly constructing a scene in which ginny, weeping over his lifeless form, confessed her feelings of deep attraction to him while ron gave them his blessing …’

“how d‘you spell ‘belligerent’? it can’t be B-U-M”

“we were asked how we’d deal with dementors, not ‘dugbogs’, and i don’t remember you changing your name to ‘roonil wazlib’, either.”

“i love you, hermione” “don’t let lavender hear you saying that.”

“the more i hint i want to finish it, the tighter she holds on. it’s like going out with the giant squid.”

“yeah, we don’t need to hear about you being in love with malfoy”

‘harry swore. someone screamed. he looked around to see a gaggle of first-years running back round the corner, apparently under the impression that they had just encountered a particularly foul-mouthed ghost.’

“ghosts are transparent.”

“when we come face to face with one down a dark alley we’re going to be having a shufti to see if it’s solid, aren’t we, we’re not going to be asking, ‘excuse me, are you the imprint of a departed soul?’”

harry deciding to go to aragog’s funeral because he saw the tears left on the letter hagrid had sent them

ron thinking of using felix felicis to get slughorn’s memory

“this is felix felicis, i suppose? you haven’t got another little bottle full of—” “essence of insanity?”

“in spite of all the temptation you have endured, all the suffering, you remain pure of heart, just as pure as you were at the age of eleven, when you stared into a mirror that reflected your heart’s desire, and it showed you only the way to thwart lord voldemort, and not immortality or riches.”

‘it was, he thought, the difference between being dragged into the arena to face a battle to the death and walking into the arena with your head held high. some people would say that there was little to choose between the two ways, but dumbledore knew—and so do i, thought harry, with a rush of fierce pride, and so did my parents—that there was all the difference in the world.’

“that’s my nickname”

‘there was ginny running towards him; she had a hard, blazing look in her face as she threw her arms around him. and without thinking, without planning it, without worrying about the fact that fifty people were watching, harry kissed her.’

“the truth is that you don’t think a girl would have been clever enough” “how can i have hung round with you for five years and not think girls are clever?”

harry admiring dumbledore swimming as they head to a cave on the most dangerous mission he’s ever been on, like ‘bloody hell this man is 300 years old look at his fantastic breaststroke’

“it is the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more.”

“i am not worried, harry, i am with you.”

‘harry felt, as he had felt about phoenix song before, that the music was inside him, not without: it was his own grief turned magically to song that echoed across the grounds and through the castle windows.’

“what do i care how ’e looks? i am good-looking enough for both of us, i theenk! all these scars show is zat my husband is brave!”

“young and whole men do not necessarily remain so.”

“dumbledore would have been happier than anybody to think that there was a little more love in the world”

“i feel that if a single pupil wants to come, then the school ought to remain open for that pupil.”

“professor dumbledore always valued your views, and so do i.”

“no other headmaster or headmistress ever gave more to this school”

‘he felt no curiosity at all: he doubted that he would ever feel curious again.’

‘and he knew, without knowing how he knew it, that the phoenix had gone, had left hogwarts for good, just as dumbledore had left the school, had left the world … had left harry.’

‘all that appeared to have changed was that he now had a great liking for very rare steaks.’

“so eet ees lucky ’e is marrying me, because ze british overcook their meat, i ’ave always said this.”

“she was snape’s mother!” “i thought she wasn’t much of a looker”

‘the strange music and the knowledge that dumbledore’s body was so close seemed to take all warmth from the day.’

‘it was important, dumbledore said, to fight, and fight again, and keep fighting, for only then could evil be kept at bay, though never quite eradicated’

‘she met harry’s gaze with the same hard, blazing look, and he knew that at that moment they understood each other perfectly, and that when he told her what he was going to do now, she would accept his decision, because she would not have expected anything less of him.’

“i never really gave up on you”

scrimgeour: the ministry can add two and two harry, inwardly: but there’s no maths in the wizarding world harry, outwardly: glad to hear it

“he will only be gone from the school when none here are loyal to him”

“you said to us once before, that there was time to turn back if we wanted to. we’ve had time, haven’t we?”

“we’re with you whatever happens”

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

The Rotfang/Imperius'd Moody theory is feeling more and more true...I also got a bad feeling when MC told him about the Circle. In general, the way Moody keeps encouraging MC down this path feels creepily close to his GOF characterization, and we all know how that turned out...

Great. THEN WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU AT THAT TIME?!

Hold on. You agree that Rakepick saved us? So, you’re admitting that the Ministry failed to control the Dementors? What’s the official statement? It doesn’t even make sense for those Dementors to go rogue: there were too many of them, they had to be sent by someone. If Moody assumes that Rakepick saved us, he doesn’t think they were sent by R. Otherwise, he’d question that, wouldn’t he? Like, what do you mean?

No, I’m trying to say that you did absolutely NOTHING to prepare me.

Why I have a feeling that it’s a bad idea to tell him about it…?

Finally? Since when I’m even supposed to act like an Auror? I’m a Curse-Breaker if anything. We established that during our meeting at the beginning of Y6.

Yeah, about that… WHY weren’t you there?! Seriously, why can’t I even ask about it? I could snap at Moody for failing me, but I can’t question him about the most important thing? He was responsible for the whole action of patroling Hogwarts!

Wait. “We” as the Auror Office? The Ministry? We know that the Ministry knows about the Cursed Vaults - they sent Tofty to spy on MC during O.W.L.s because of that, after all. But how much they know? How much the Auror Office knows? And how much Moody keeps to just himself? Yes, the Aurors are after Rakepick, but it’s mostly because of her use of the Cruciatus Curse, isn’t it? They don’t have to know the details about R and/or the Cursed Vaults. Seriously, can we finally get a long-ass chapter explaining all of that?

Was there even any investigation about Rowan’s death? Did they search the Forest? Did they find the necklace? What happened to Rowan’s body? Was there the funeral? What about Rowan’s family? Was anyone interrogated in that case? Can we finally start asking important questions?

[mrsprobie]

Investigative Assistance [a drabble]

Also posted on: AO3 | FFN

Parvati was up to something, Padma knew that much. You didn’t grow up sharing a bedroom and a face with someone and not learn to tell when they were up to something. The problem was, she couldn’t figure out what exactly it was that Parvati and Lavender were up to.

Yes, Padma could tell, Lavender was in on this… plot too, or whatever it was. The two of them were giggling their way through dinner - nothing new there. The problem was that they kept glancing over to the Ravenclaw table, at her. It had been pointed out to her by Luna Lovegood, of all people! The girl was clever, she’d give her that, but she’d never been touted as one of Ravenclaw’s proudest students. Apparently, however, she was observant in her own way:

“Are your sister and Lavender aiding in the plot against the Ministry? If so, are you involved?” Padma had nearly fallen out of her seat in her hurry to shush the girl next to her, panicked and realizing that these were not words she wanted Professor Umbridge associating with her or her sister.

“Luna,” she’d hissed, “what on earth are you talking about?”

“The Rotfang Conspiracy, of course,” Luna had continued at a normal volume, batting her big blue eyes quite innocently. Padma felt rather stupid, then. Surely even Umbridge couldn’t twist Luna’s silly conspiracies into a serious accusation, right?

She glanced up at the High Table, where the very woman was sniffing disapprovingly across her lamb at Professor Sprout. On second that, she had better find a way to shut Luna up.

Padma gripped the pretty blonde by the shoulder of her robes and jerked her in close, hissing into her shoulder. “Listen, Luna, you can’t just say things like that - I know you’re clever, I know you understand. I cannot let something bad happen to my sister, or to Lavender, just because Professor Umbridge might misconstrue what you’re saying.”

Luna spoke again, in a mercifully soft, quiet voice, her breath distressingly hot in Padma’s ear: “I was only hoping that if the High Inquisitor focuses on a dental theory, she might be distracted from Harry Potter’s resistance group.” Padma’s eyes widened, and she grasped Luna’s shoulder tighter, silently urging the girl to continue. She prayed that this only looked to Umbridge like schoolgirl gossip. “I heard from Ginny Weasley, who heard from Hermione Granger. I would ask your sister, if you want to know more.”

With that, Luna placed a gentle hand over Padma’s and wrung herself free of the older girl’s grip. She gave a small, dreamy smile and nodded towards the Gryffindor table. Padma glanced over to see Parvati and Lavender watching her with odd little smirks. She resolved to speak to them as soon as possible and watched them closely for the rest of the meal, waiting to follow them out of the Great Hall and get to the bottom of this.

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

Idk if you’ve already seen this but @missnight0wl made a post about Tulip’s relationship with her parents. Just thought you might be interested seeing how you’re a huge Tulip fan and you’ve talked about her parents too.

Thank you for telling me! I hadn't seen that one and I'm so glad to have found it. Y'all should check it out here because MissNight0wl is amazing, definitely a source of inspiration for me and totally the top analyst of this game and fandom.

Though I vastly appreciate all of the points she brings up and I love the analysis like I always do, I'm not sure I agree. Particularly in light of what we've learned recently, about Tulip's family. That her grandmothers are the only people she feels that she can be herself around, and even in this case, her first instinct is that she must make them proud, it doesn't even occur to her that they don't care about that and just want to spend time with Tulip because they love her. I cannot explain to you how much that broke me.

But because of this...I just don't get the sense that Tulip has ever been shown unconditional love. Sure, she could have mistaken it for something else...but I don't know. I like the interpretation that her parents care about her, but I just don't know if I can see it. Her mentioning that they used to mess around in History of Magic...I mean, Tulip doesn't say that they were the ones who told her this story. For all we know, Mary and Rosa did. I'd say that's more likely. I also don't get the sense that Tulip resents her parents for taking on a dangerous job, though I would love to see that kind of thing explored. She seems to embrace danger. Her complaint was always that they were restrictive and didn't understand her.

Of course, whether or not Tulip's parents are Aurors is another question that has been left up in the air. I always interpreted them as working for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, like where Crouch used to work...but I'll admit, there's no reason that Aurors couldn't be be the kind of strict, lawful to a fault type of people that the Karasus have been implied to be. But the thing is, if they're Aurors, that leaves open many other implications and opens up a different can of worms. First of all, let's address the elephant in the room: Aurors are magical cops. And all cops are bastards. (Except Tonks, she is the one exception, no I don't take constructive criticism.) I'm not saying that Aurors are automatically part of a broken institution because racism has not evolved in exactly the same way for this world. We don't hear anything about Aurors evolving from a "muggle patrol" or any examples of them discriminating against muggle-borns. Still, there's an allegory here that would be pretty difficult to ignore, and I'm not even sure this franchise is planning to fully ignore it. The Crimes of Grindelwald had some surprising social commentary about it.

Either way, I feel like Tulip is the kind of person who would dislike Aurors for a variety of reasons. I don't personally see her ever joining the Ministry, even if she accepts that Tonks wants to. Not even the Department of Mysteries. I believe she'd have as much personal problems with Aurors as Newt, even if her parents weren't part of that office. And then there's another elephant in the room with this head-canon. The Rotfang Theory. We know that R has infiltrated the Ministry and it's long been speculated that if R is Rotfang, that Tulip's parents are involved. If the Rotfang Theory is true, and her parents are indeed Aurors...well, I'm not saying they'd be members, but they would have to be involved in that particular storyline. It could also explain why they've received cursed objects in the past. Like I said, I don't know if the Potterverse is planning on ignoring the unfortunate status of Aurors as magical cops. Obviously, Jam City couldn't have known about George Floyd and everything that has resulted from his murder at the point they planned the skeleton and outline of this game...but it's not like George was the first. If R is truthfully orchestrated by corrupt cops...that would actually be pretty awesome.

Anyway, I just don't think there's enough evidence, personally, that Tulip's parents are good people. Even the fact that she and Merula were drawn to each other is almost a kind of thematic parallel. Though we haven't met any of these parents, I feel like Tulip's family would be a lawful echo of Merula's family. One thing MissNight0wl's post did help me realize though, is that Tulip actually does talk about her parents more often than I thought. Still, it's always distant, and I hesitate to chalk up everything to just "teenage rebellion" Tulip didn't just rebel, she befriended someone like Merula Snyde. She doesn't just play pranks, she actively sought out danger and glory. I don't know how bad her parents are, but this is so much more serious than just them being strict and her acting out because of it.

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

So what exactly is R’s deal? Like what’s their goal? You’ve mentioned the rotfang theory before, do you have a post about that?

I do indeed! But I’ll be happy to talk about it more. At the end of the day, I’m not sure what R’s goal is beyond generally wanting more power and influence. They do seem to want...something, to do with the Cursed Vaults, but a lot of the answers there will depend on the secrets of the Vaults in the first place. And call me crazy, but I don’t think we’re done with that story just yet. 

All of the Vaults are open but the Sunken Vault is not safe. R is going to try and break into it again. The Coral Key is still in MC’s possession, but they don’t seem to know what to do with it. I think R/Rotfang wants whatever power is hidden within the Black Lake, within the Sunken Vault. Perhaps they want that Nightmare Curse. It would align with them trying to bring down the Ministry of Magic with the Dark Arts. The thing is...The Nightmare Curse has a similar affect to the Dementors. We now know for sure that R has infiltrated the Ministry, and we know they have access to Dementors who are willing to do their bidding. Would they really need a curse like that badly enough to devote several years to this whole Vault Expedition? I...I don’t believe that. 

There are other clues as well. Ever notice how the Sunken Vault was never technically opened? The centerpiece didn’t come apart like it has in all the other vaults. Y’know, to reveal the clues inside? MC and the gang touched it, and were immediately affected by the Curse. Call me crazy, but that seems like a clue that the Vault has not actually been opened yet. What if the Curse isn’t the secret treasure of the Vault, but is instead meant to be a safeguard against anyone finding it? I mean, it would explain why the Sunken Vault didn’t otherwise have a line of defense, when every other Vault has had one. The Acromantula, The Boggart, The Horntail...every other Vault had a guardian. So why didn’t this one? The Merfolk can’t have been the guardians or they could never have been negotiated with. And the grindylows? Come on. That could have easily just been a coincidental appearance of local wildlife. Grindylows would be a pretty anti-climactic guardian for the Final Vault anyhow, certainly less dangerous than The Horntail. I bet you that the Nightmare Curse itself is the Sunken Vault’s line of defense, it’s “guardian.” 

It would also explain the importance of the Coral Key. Which we know is a requirement to enter The Sunken Vault, yet MC doesn’t know this in the main story, so they didn’t bring it, and were seemingly able to enter the Vault anyway. Or were they? Remember when MC had to touch a broken wand to the centerpiece of the Vault of Fear to make it open? (Or maybe it was just Jacob’s wand specifically, who knows.) What would happen if MC returned to the Sunken Vault and held the Coral Key up to that pillar? Would the curse still take hold? Or would it open? See, the existence of the Key is proof, to me, that there’s more to this story. That the Vault is hiding something else. Come to think of it...Rakepick knew that. She must have known. She said she was looking for the Key for a while, when she found it in Filch’s office. She identified it by the gillyweed it was covered in. How did she not know what would happen when she went inside? Or maybe she assumed that MC had already used the key? I don’t know...

The trouble is, whatever R truly wants, it isn’t just about Hogwarts. They operate worldwide. Their end goal may be as simple as world domination, when you break it down. But each of the branches would probably be tasked with toppling their respective nation’s government. At this point, it’s not technically confirmed but it’s pretty obvious, that R has taken the Shrieking Shack as a base of operations. They have people stationed near and within Hogwarts. Rakepick lost the Coral Key when she left, but Merula is still there. But does Merula know that MC has the Coral Key? I can’t remember, but I don’t think she does. Another question: Is Sickleworth still working for Rakepick? Does he answer to someone else now? I mean, he was the one who had the Key. I think that whatever R wants, they need the secret of the Sunken Vault for something, whatever it may be. What kind of power could be worth it to them? Not the Deathly Hallows, they’re all accounted for. Could be the Philosopher’s Stone, and it would tie in with the promise of “enlightenment and immortality” but I wonder if Jam City doesn’t have something else in mind...

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

too bad we didn’t get to see Tulip’s parents and/or Ismelda’s sister while we were at the ministry, was kinda hoping we would. guess we didn’t go to any of their departments or something.

I'm not surprised we didn't meet Ismelda's sister, alas, simply because her character was introduced (or well, referenced) in a side-quest. Compared to Tulip's parents who have been talked about in the main story. I suppose we did get to see Cecil Lee, so maybe this kind of thing wouldn't have made a difference in the long run, but I imagine that it's easier in the writing to incorporate characters who have already been referenced in the main story since the player will have seen those lines no matter what. Sure, they might not remember by this point, but hey - that's what the journal feature is for, right? Ultimately, the reason none of these characters appeared is likely just as simple as them not being strictly necessary for the plot that the game was depicting while we were there. It's not too late for them to show up now, I suppose, but my hopes aren't high. One more thing - it has long been a theory that R is actually the Rotfang Conspiracy, and that Tulip's parents are involved. Well, at this point R could very well be Rotfang, but I think The Karasus being involved is less and less likely every day. If they were, then we would have met them already. Checkov's parents and all that.

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

Sorry, but you talk about a rotfang theory a lot and I have to say I'm somewhat confused. Surely you don't mean that the aurors are trying to take down the ministry using gum disease right? Is there something else that just shares the name?

Oh no, I am indeed talking about the Rotfang Conspiracy that Luna mentions in Half-Blood Prince, and I’m not the only one who’s speculated that perhaps Rotfang is real, and is R’s true identity. Now, I want to clarify that I don’t believe the gum disease bit is true. But here’s the thing - The Quibbler posted an article about how Sirius Black was not truly a mass murderer, he was an innocent singing sensation called Stubby Boardman. Obviously, the Stubby Boardman bit is nonsense - even if it makes me laugh every time - but despite that, the Quibbler got one thing right: Sirius was innocent. 

I believe something similar is happening here. Maybe R isn’t actually Rotfang, but I don’t think it’s outside the realm of possibility. Subtract the detail about gum disease, and all of a sudden, a cabal of corrupt Aurors trying to influence the Ministry doesn’t seem so far-fetched, does it? That’s a totally realistic idea for this world, especially considering how inept this Ministry has been shown to be. They fell to a different Dark Wizard coup pretty easily in Deathly Hallows. 

What’s more, the Rotfang Theory would explain a lot. Like why two Aurors attempted to kidnap Jacob, who was still school age at the time, even though MC’s mother was never notified of an Arrest. Or why the “missing fugitive” oh so conveniently left Hogwarts grounds just as soon as R fulfilled their promise to kill one of MC’s friends. That timing can’t be a coincidence. It would also explain why Moody didn’t want MC poking around at the Ministry. If R is Rotfang, then I find it hard to believe Moody doesn’t know. He either knows and is playing a long game, or they’ve gotten to him and Imperius’d him. That’s another thing - one of my oldest theories lines up with Rotfang completely. 

Oh, and one more thing - the Ministry has a transition of power in between the end of HPHM and the start of the books. Fudge had only recently become Minister when Harry arrived at school. Again, the timing on that just feels too convenient. The word "Cabal" even refers to a political faction. R operates worldwide, so I'd be surprised if they didn't have their eye on the wizarding governments.

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

What the hay is the Rotfang theory?? I'm so confused!

Oh, sorry! Long story short, the Rotfang Theory originates from a line spoken by Luna Lovegood in Half-Blood Prince. She advises Harry not to become an Auror because supposedly the Aurors are part of the "Rotfang Conspiracy" which intends to bring down the Ministry of Magic with dark magic and gum disease.

Obviously, anything Luna says should be taken with a grain of salt. But the Quibbler has been known to be right before, at least partially. Sirius wasn't a musical star called Stubby Boardman, but he did turn out to be innocent. And with how incompetent the British Ministry has been shown to be, an Auror conspiracy isn't really that far-fetched.

The theory is that R, now revealed to be an organization, will turn out to be this very conspiracy Luna mentioned, and the letter "R" will ultimately stand for "Rotfang."

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

Hogwarts clearly covers everything about the curses up though, and the ministry probably does their part as well , otherwise there’s no way parents would just let their kids go to school there. So it isn’t surprising that a student, especially an exchange student whos even less likely to have heard of what’s going on, doesn’t know about this. And exchange trips (even in the wizarding world) have to be planned in advance so it was probably during a time where it was calmer at Hogwarts

You know, I have to assume that you’re right. Between the Chamber of Secrets, the Cursed Vaults, and all the Dementors...it blows my mind that Hogwarts has the stellar reputation that it does. Like ask anyone and they’ll say that Hogwarts is top-tier magical education. 

But on the other hand...there’s no way that stuff could be kept quiet? If nothing else, students are going to send owls home to their parents. Said parents are going to find out about all the chaos. I suppose the majority of them trust Dumbledore to resolve it, and that seems to be the attitude of the Wizarding Community at large, including the Ministry. It may just be considered an occupational hazard of the magical world. 

It shouldn’t be, of course, but I’m not seeing how the Cursed Vaults could be covered up when there was already a major story in the Daily Prophet about Jacob. Unless we assume that the Rotfang theory is correct.  Alanza might not know anything about this, but I’m pretty sure the Potterverse has never had an “exchange student” before outside of fanfiction. HPHM would be the first. 

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

Okay, but you don’t know that she’s had to go through a summer about hearing how she’s failed the Parkin name though? Like her father might not even be part of her behaviour change, and there’s a chance that he never said those things to his daughter. But yeah, I’m not surprised if the reason for her change in behaviour is because of something entirely new.

Oh no, of course not. I don’t know if any of that theory is true. But it’s just a theory. All we can really do until we get the answers is speculate, and I do love to speculate. (See my theory about Moody, #ShamelessSelfPlug) I suppose my bias could also be showing. I haven’t made it much of a secret but I really don’t like Ethan Parkin. 😅

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

The more I think about it the more suspicious I am of Alanza. Like even before what happened in chapter 18, the school was afflicted with a curse that turned people into statues and prior to that students were frozen alive, risked getting panic attacks, sleepwalked into a forest with giant spiders, and became trapped in portraits were they lost touch with reality. This says something about her character. Either she’s a spy for R or she loves nightmarish things just as much as Ismelda.

I’m with you, anon. I don’t know if she’s come to Hogwarts to fight against R, or to represent their interests. But she’s definitely involved. I mean, like you said, Hogwarts is in crisis. Of all times, why would an exchange student want to come here now? Why would the staff even allow it? 

Unless of course, Dumbledore knows what’s really going on. Which he might. Or perhaps the Ministry pushed for this, if we assume that the Rotfang theory is correct. 

I also just think there’s no way it’s a coincidence that we’re getting a foreign exchange student, when this Year has already established that R operates worldwide. 

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

but making death to be something that can be taken lightly & reversible is kinda wack, methinks. it'd be a different story if, say, [redacted] isn't really dead and this was all staged, and should the gang got their hands on a Time-Turner, they go in with their main goal to reverse [redacted]'s death, only find out that they never died in the first place—then a Time-Turner storyline would be less wack, methinks. (2/2)

^^ This is such a good point and it’s why I honestly won’t mind if (Redacted) truly is dead, and doesn’t come back to life at all. Anytime a story introduces a way to reverse death in it’s universe...it basically robs character death of any emotional impact. The more you defy death, the less it matters when a character dies, because they can always be brought back to life, and what’s the others characters’ excuse for not doing so? 

This is particularly true in the Potterverse, and why I don’t want anyone to be resurrected via Time-Turner. I’ve made my peace with that possibility, but I still don’t want them to do it. Not unless there’s some unimaginable price for it. Say, for example - another character has to die to save (Redacted) since otherwise you’re cheating death, and...in the Potterverse, that’s never been an advisable path. 

As for the death being staged...that would be much better than Time-Turner shenanigans, and I wouldn’t mind if using a time-turner was how The Circle discovered that Rakepick faked the whole thing. That would be pretty cool, actually. It’s also the only real explanation for how one of Rakepick’s dark artifacts could have gotten into the Forest in the first place, unless the Rotfang theory is correct....