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synergysilhouette · 3 days ago

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Remaking "Hogwarts Mystery" (Years 1-7)

This is my first time doing a rewrite for a mobile game, but I thought I'd try my hand at it, particularly since I feel like the game didn't live up to it's potential. To clarify, this isn't going chapter by chapter, but an overview of the school years. That said, SPOILERS GALORE. Now that that's out of the way, let's start off with general stuff:

Friendship matters. A big issue I had was that starting around year 5 or 6, it no longer mattered how close you were with your friends; unlike previous years, you no longer had the choice to include them on adventures. I'd fix that so you have choices on who goes on adventures with you rather than it just being a default number of people. Along with this, you'd maintain consistent friends; Rowan mentioned in Year 6 that you've been distant lately, and that's true, especially with them; Rowan was kind of always a background character on your adventures despite being your best friend. And possibly I'd reduce characters for a more intimate friend group: ie Rowan having Liz's traits (intelligent and rule-following), Penny with Chiara's traits, Barnaby with Diego's traits, Merula with Ismelda's traits, and Alanza with Corey's traits. This would leave Ben, Andre, Jae, Badea, Talbott, Tulip, and Victor unaffected (plus adding your quidditch friends, but more on that later). And possibly controversial option, but I'd make Merula and Barnaby twin siblings; I came up with the idea after removing Ismelda, and I think it'd explain why they stick together as a duo, and their similar background make for more synergy as twins. I'd probably also remove Beatrice as a friend due to her storyline being similar to Victor's and her not really being a big factor after Y6.

Further customization--I'm removing the familial elements of the storyline. While Jacob is still your brother, he's much closer in age to you (being about one or two years older, so you can go through school together), and you get to see your parents, go home, and establish what kind of background you come from, concerning your blood heritage. I feel like half-blood would be the most likely default in-universe (though muggle-born is also very possible), with pureblood being very unlikely here. I'd also show visual signs of aging; some characters such as Jae and Barnaby already look like adults when they're supposed to be 11, and everyone keeps the same appearance throughout the school years, making it easy to forget that 17 year-olds aren't 11. It'd also be cool if you could get an attribute boost based on your heritage, ie being part veela or merperson (though this may not be likely for a mobile game, since an aspect like this would probably not be changeable once set). Your dad wouldn't be leading "R"; that'd be Verucca instead, and their goal would essentially be Voldemort's goal of wizard dominance, but it's more global-scale now, recruiting purebloods from all over the world to help. If you're a pureblood yourself, dialogue with their members will be considerably nicer.

The story takes place AFTER Harry Potter's adventures, not before. Maybe even the year after his 7th year. I feel like it was very obvious that the OG HM game was riding off the coattails of the original, especially since "Beyond Hogwarts" coincides with Harry's school years. As such, this removes the Weasley brothers, Cedric, and Tonks from your friendship list, allowing more time for the other characters to shine and get attention. I do like the idea of some characters being in different school years, but it works out better if everyone is in the same year.

Side adventure characters have more involvement. Originally, Talbott and Chiara are people you just interact with in a couple side quests and become more involved in the main story in later years. In retrospect, they should've been included in the main story earlier on. I'd probably introduce Talbott in Year 3, based on when his Special Adventures pop up (Chiara isn't a factor here since I'm putting her characteristics into Penny). I'd also introduce Quidditch in Year 1 and allow for the Quidditich adventures to be weaved into the main story rather than seen as a side thing that all seems to happen in your 2nd year (according to the Special Adventures). While Murphy, Skye, and Orion wouldn't be involved in your fight against evil, they would serve a similar function of Alanza/Corey of taking your mind off of your adventures and reminding you of other parts of the magical world you can enjoy. Since Rowan and your quidditich team (plus Murphy) are in whatever house you're in, I like to think there's in a more intimate friend group, since you all hang out and study together, with whatever other allies that share your house weave in and out. Perhaps include the Wellnelly brothers as well, along with Rath.

Less Special adventures. I feel like some of them are unnecessary, like helping your friends prepare for the N.E.W.T.S. (the reward is that based on the subject, you can still miss a question and make a perfect score--but this means nothing if you follow an online guide), or repetitive like some romantic adventures, or something that could've been included in the main story rather than a separate thing, like helping Talbott find his special item. Then there's just some events like the Sorcerer's Olympiad that didn't seem to add anything to the story, nor was it interesting when compared to something like the Triwizard Tournament. And it SUCKS that some events are holiday-exclusives. Plus a lot of these wouldn't exist since they're focused on characters from Harry's time. And regular adventures don't exist since they don't offer rewards and most of them are related to your magical creature.

More involvement with other schools. There's a large appeal to that, I think; there are 8 known schools, but we've only had an event relating to Beauxbatons and Alanza not being a big enough character for us to learn more about Castelobruxo. Having more insight into Ilvermorny, Uagadou, Mahoutokoro, Durmstrang, Koldovstoretz, and any other wizarding schools would be cool.

NO VAULTS. It was pretty repetitive, especially since the better half of each school year was occupied with researching and finding it, with only two or three chapters having you actually there, and once there, it was pretty straightforward. I feel like this wasn't a very interesting storyline in contrast to the goblin uprising of "Hogwarts Legacy" (though THAT story could've also been better) and the Second Wizarding War during Harry's time. Another wizarding war/dangerous wizard is always an idea.

Attributes have a lower cap and most classes are optional--In my version of the game, you don't have to complete lessons, but it's recommended so that you learn spells that can help you on your adventures, as well as special interactions you could encounter from going to class. Since classes are optional, the attribute cap isn't ANYWHERE NEAR 120; I'd cap them at around 50 or 60, but the required points for them are lower since most people probably wouldn't grind if they didn't have to. (I know this is more suited for a video game though, since reducing the cap and making classes optional greatly reduces the need for and desire to have diamonds). And since your overall player level only seems to determine what accessories you can buy, I'd remove that altogether.

Glad to have that stuff out of the way! Now I'd like to get to how I'd change the story for each year at Hogwarts. I may tweak some of this later.

Year 1--I'd probably make it longer (not TOO long since it's the first year; maybe 20-30 chapters), and introduce Barnaby here since he's Merula's brother and thus probably more involved and attached at her hip, given how big he is on loyalty, though he wouldn't become an ally this year. Collaboration with Merula also doesn't happen here since she starts off as antagonistic; instead more focus is on Jacob, Rowan, Penny, and Ben, and Ben and Rowan become close friends over the school year (though not as close as you and Rowan). The year is mainly introducing you to magic and magic culture, and the vaults don't exist in this story. I'd also make DADA classes available this year, with the DADA instructor being a half-elf, and he ends up being murdered at the end of the school year. Your first Quidditch championship happens this year as well. There isn't a major "break the rules" situation where you're given a stern talking to this year, so you just get the 100 house points.

New Classes: DADA, Potions, Charms

New friends: Rowan, Ben, and Penny

Side quests (Some would need tweaking to adjust for current Hogwarts staff): Party Planner, Christmas at Hogwarts, Dueling Deathday Parties

Year 2--Again, more chapters here. Merula is more antagonistic to you this year, but Barnaby ends up becoming an ally towards you in the end due to your loyalty to your friends and personal discourse between him and Merula, and he will help you track down your previous DADA instructor's murderer. The current instructor is a by the book woman, who's more into visual instruction and textbooks rather than kinetic learning styles, which both Rowan and Ben enjoy. She's a temporary teacher who was homeschooled in her youth due to travel, but she is talented, and while she comes off as strict, she has a soft side for pretty much anyone but Gryffindors, who she sees as reckless based on what she's researched (Hufflepuffs are loyal, Slytherins are misunderstood, and Ravenclaws are studious). At this point, the discussion of forming a team (similar to the Circle of Khana and Order of the Phoenix/Dumbledore's Army) is brought up to train and track down the killer, bur nothing is seriously considered due to everyone being in their second year. Given that Bill isn't present, Andre is available for recruitment this year, and he makes disguises for you and your trio (which will automatically include Barnaby, but you can pick between Ben, Rowan, and Penny to join you guys). Merula taunts MC about her learning wandless magic here and there, with your adventures and Barnaby being a skilled dueler, singer, and magical creature expert (all of which are canon in the game, anyway) making her very insecure and feel a need to be stronger. Rowan is still injured during the confrontation with the murderer, though this results in the murderer being killed himself by the organization he worked for because Rowan is a pureblood witch/wizard. It's revealed the previous DADA instructor was killed because he was considered impure, being a half-breed. The stress leads to you bonding with Skye (who feels like a "nice" version of Merula), who becomes an ally here and a reminder of the good parts of being at Hogwarts. Given Andre also is involved with quidditch, you interact with him more often there than during classes. And the reason Barnaby and Merula are having conflict is revealed: they sent word to her that they're planning to escape Azkaban and come for them. At the end of the year, it's revealed they (and several others) have escaped.

New Classes: Tranfigurations, Flying

New Friends: Andre, Barnaby, and Skye

Special Adventures (Some requiring tweaking based on Hogwarts Staff): Become an Honorary Rocker, Comet, The Quidditch Cup, A Special Celebration of Hogwarts Teachers

Year 3--Again, we need more chapters. Starting off, the DADA instructor has changed again, due to the previous instructor having been injured battling against "R," but the new instructor is of little help, being a part-time worker from the ministry and a last-minute substitute. On your first visit to Hogsmeade, you're offered the opportunity to work for Zonko's, Madame Puddingfoot, or the Three Broomsticks, which you accept to explore the magical world beyond Hogwarts, which you accept because several Hogwarts students years 4-7 have started to disappear. Talbott becomes an ally this year, with his "Birds of a Feather" quest being part of the main storyline around chapter 7 or 8 ("Become an Animagus" is still a special adventure), and he shows you more isolated parts of the wizarding world, as well as Tulip helping you come up with ways to plot against "R" thanks to her creative pranks. The focus on extracurriculars is continued in Quidditch, with Murphy becoming an ally and helping you plan strategies against "R." Rowan is still reeling from the events of last year, but they're also important for brainstorming plans, and Penny, Barnaby, and Ben mainly work on their proficiencies in dueling, potions, and charms to protect themselves and their friends, however Penny, Rowan, and Barnaby end up being kidnapped as well. Jacob and your prefect encourage your intuition, but essentially acts as your protector from doing anything too stupid--and vice versa. It's revealed upon a failed attempt to kidnap Jacob that R is inducting wizards and witches whose ancestry is the purest--a Slytherin mentality, so half-bloods are permitted (if Jacob and MC are muggleborn, it'll be stated that they just wanted him because it's revealed that he's a seer, explaining his silver lime wand), explaining why many of your friends were kidnapped. Talbott managed to escape thanks to being an animagus, Skye managed to get to a brown and take to the sky to outmaneuver them, and Murphy was thought to be an "unattractive" option to join their ranks. Those who joined "R" willingly didn't return to Hogwarts, and while some of the kidnapped victims escaped, most of them were revealed to be trapped in the Forbidden Forest, some being subject to the cruciatus curse or imperius in order to be made to join. While Rowan and Penny are rescued, Barnaby and Ben are sadly not. Strangely, Merula is not one of the missing students, but she doesn't seem to be bothered by this.

New Classes: Herbology

New Friends: Tulip and Talbott

Special Adventures (Some will need tweaking based on Hogwarts staff): The Second Quidditch Cup, New Arrivals, Become an Anigamus, The Frog Choir, Wandering Sea Serpent, Slytherin Celebration, The Wisdom of Ravenclaw, Family Feast, Gryffindor Celebration, House Points, Hufflepuff Celebration, Pumpkin Johnny Rises, The Tale of Pumpkin Johnny, Secrets of Godric's Hollow

Year 4--Once again, more chapters. This year's DADA professor is Peregrine, who in this universe is a renowned wizard who loves to relive his glory days and wants to live vicariously through his talented students. He's not a bad guy, but very misguided; it's implied he's lost people he cares about against dark wizards and witches, and hasn't allowed himself to grieve and instead embraces toxic positivity. I like the idea that if you choose to be raised by a single father or by both your parents, Peregrine IS your dad in this game, resulting in more dialogue, including the fact that he took up the job to keep an eye on you and Jacob. Otherwise, he's just an unrelated teacher who's heavily dad-coded since he takes an interest in you. It's later revealed that the reason he takes interest in you (if you're not his child) isn't just because of a talent at regular school subjects, but your adventurous exploits and the fact that you're a Legimens (which you only just realized and are classified as of this year). Meanwhile, Jacob takes to the forest with his friends Olivia and Duncan in order to speak to the centaurs about divination after discovering he's a seer. You try to help him by speaking to the Divination professor, but she's less than helpful, and you instead focus on training your legilimency with the headmaster when you have time, though you tell no one about your skill except Jacob. You befriend Orion during your quest to understand destiny and the universe, as well as Badeea for her unique and artistic perspective. The Headmaster manages to rescue some of the missing students, and while Barnaby seems more or less the same, Ben is traumatized over being tortured by "R" due to being a muggle-born.

New Classes: Care of Magical Creatures and Divination

New Friends: Badeea and Orion

Special Adventures: Become a Prefect, First Date, The Third Quidditch Cup, Become a Prefect, Celestial Ball, Torvus and the Troubled Forest, The Valentine's Day Masquerade, A Dragon's Quest, A Bad Omen, Magical Creatures Everywhere, Making Mischief, Hosting the Beauxbatons

Year 5--After speaking with Peregrine, he decides to retire from the position in order to relax and work through his past trauma (if he's your dad, additional dialogue will say that you guys have been vacationing in various spots and he's more attentive to you, not just for your skills, but as a person). However, after taking Peregrine's advice about sacrificing yourself for your friends, you are given detention for your recklessness, even though Peregrine profusely assures the Headmaster that it is his fault. As such, you befriend Jae in the kitchens. The new DADA professor is a mute, bringing a unique perspective on spellcasting and manifesting your power through your wands via your feelings rather than your words. This causes a stir at the Ministry, as some officials think this is the gateway to practicing wandless magic. Whispers begin to circle that the Ministry is interfering with Hogwarts, putting all your friends on edge. Penny's identity as a werewolf is revealed, and your friends begin to become suspicious of each other, with Barnaby begging everyone not to fight, but to no avail, creating factions among the friends (such as a suspicious Rowan and a cynical Ben, your quidditch friends, etc.) Barnaby sticks to you in order to solve the situation, and Merula is surprisingly sympathetic to you, expressing vulnerability to you, and introducing you to a friend of hers, Kuzuhiro, who acts somewhat as a therapist to you. Rath notices your increased aggression in quidditch, and unofficially takes you under her wing since she harmed Skye back in the earlier years by accident and don't want you to do the same (though her attitude towards helping you depends on whether or not you believed her or not). To focus on the root of the "problem," you join Penny for the Wizarding Schools Potions Championship in order to bond with her and remind her of your friendship, and in a rare moment of vulnerability, she asks you not to tell, since they're all she has left (despite MANY consequences of harboring dangerous fugitives). You can promise not to tell or tell her that you've got to report them; regardless, they're found out, but how Merula interacts with you later is reflected in whether or not you promised to keep the secret. It is eventually revealed that a member of "R" had infiltrated the school, and your DADA professor is arrested as a result of a student reporting her practicing the dark arts. You attempt to use your legimens ability, but you find nothing to ensure her guilt. Before graduating, Duncan reveals (against Jacob's wishes) that Jacob had a prophecy of someone close to you betraying you, further stressing you out at the end of the year. You notice Talbott acting oddly at the end of the year, and decide whether or not he's a part of "R."

New Friends: Rath and Jae

New Classes: History of Magic

Special Adventures: OWL, CDAH, Ticket to Love, Valentine's Day Ball, An Enchanted Kiss, The Legendary Snitch of Hogsmeade, Out of Sorts

Year 6--This year, there is a great emphasis on exchange programs after the success of the Beauxbatons' visit, leading to Alanza to come to Hogwarts, and Kuzuhiro is the new professor, having been personally appointed by the Ministry. You don't share Jacob's prophecy with anyone but Rowan (against your better judgement), and as you suspect, they are weary of your friends, but vow to stick by you better than last year. This year, you become friends with Alanza, who is unperturbed by the revelation and dark circumstances at Hogwarts, becomes stronger as the two of you interact more so you can "get away" from everyone, and Merula is pushed in your direction by Kazuhiro, who wants more "unity" between his students and less conflict. Dementors begin to appear on the school grounds, despite no longer being used by the Ministry, leading many students and even some staff members to become suspicious of the Ministry and fearing that it's been corrupted once more, perhaps by "R." As such, you see even the teachers become more secretive as rumors swirl that the Ministry has planted spies at the school, and you wonder if Alanza is one of them. Your friendship with Merula comes to a head when she invites you to visit her and Barnaby's parents, and you agree to it, and you're joined by Alanza, Rowan, Barnaby, and your new friend Victor, a transfer from Beauxbatons (he was originally a Hogwarts student, but after being attacked by a vampire in his 3rd year, he had to regularly visit the a local magical hospital to help him overcome his bloodlust, only letting him go to Beauxbatons when he presses to continue his education). It's revealed Ben, Tulip, and Jae also followed you, and that Kazuhiro reveals he is the teacher working for "R." In the middle of the year, they kidnapped Talbott, who had discovered at the end of last year who Kazuhiro was, as he was the one who killed his parents. Kazuhiro reveals R's true goal; to reveal magic to the muggle world and establish supremacy (similar to Lord Voldemort's goals), and that they have achieved an international scale at this point, with several schools already having fallen--and the Ministry was covering the whole thing up. This sheds a negative light on Talbott, who had become a spy for the Ministry upon realizing who Kazuhiro was, as well as making the Ministry look bad for putting his life in danger and hiding sensitive information from most of the wizarding world. You are considered a significant member of the group, since you are a direct descendant of one of the four Hogwarts founders (which one it is is dependent on your house; it'll be the opposite of whoever you choose), which is used to dismiss your "inferior" blood heritage if you're not a pureblood--though other members of "R" will contest this. When Ben engages in a fight, Tulip and Jae sneak away to get your friends, which sends a chain reaction of students and staff discovering what's going on. With Ben defeated, you beg the present members of "R" not to hurt him, and they say he's damaged enough, and they will stop hurting him if you join them. Before you can answer, the staff members appear and chase off Merula and Barnaby's parents and arrest Kazuhiro. While things seem to be getting back to normal, Barnaby is revealed to be controlled by a legitimens, and kidnaps you while you're on the train leaving Hogwarts.

New Classes: Astronomy

New friends: Victor and Alanza

Special Adventures: Love Story, Hogsmeade Festival, Valentine's Day, Rivalry Respect and Rath, Head Boys and Girls, The Dragon's Treasure, Career Days at Hogwarts

Year 7--You wake up unsure of where you are. You're no longer in Hogwarts, and you're unsure if you're even in the UK. You discover that it is the first day of your seventh year, but you cannot recall the events of the summer, only that you have to keep ahead of individuals chasing you, those who brazenly wear clothing "R" on their clothes. You make friends with a red-haired adult, a Weasley, who says they are the new DADA instructor following Kazuhiro's arrest. They explain that the professor from Year 5 is helping to hunt "R" down after being released of false charges, and while they bring you back to Hogwarts, you're horrified to find out that this year is the Triwizards championship, resulting in your headmaster and most of your friends gone, having gone to France (as Rowan suspected "R" may try to pull something during the championship and bring you there). Slowly, your memories resurface as you recall being imprisoned for months until escaping one day somehow, though how you did, you have no idea. Only Merula remains among your "friend" group at Hogwarts, who makes your blood run cold at the thought of having less defenses than before, especially as several students give you strange glances. She's always following you, and you insist on focusing on your studies despite the frequent nightmares, and you eventually find yourself in the mind of Jacob, seeing your friends die in France. Eventually you convince your eccentric Muggle Studies professor (who is also new this year) to bring you to France during your Christmas break, and you reunite with your friends, several of whom have stuck close to Victor, one of the few students who is educated in French thanks to his stay there. Throughout your stay in France, you do battle with several members of "R," including Kazuhiro, who somehow escaped imprisonment. You recall Barnaby kidnapping you due to being controlled by a legitimens, and you fight the urge to become suspicious of the friends you had fought to reunite with. Jacob is also present as he took time off of work (having become an Auror last year) to come and see you, and is happy to find you okay when he didn't originally see you with your classmates. However, his actions make his friends worried. In a battle, Duncan is killed, as is Rowan (though your actions beforehand can prevent one or both of these deaths), and the trauma undoes the false memory spell, revealing that you were tortured by "R" in many ways until you managed to come around to their ideals, and you even helped them with certain criminal acts, including rescuing Kazuhiro from Azkaban. You defeat your friends while they're distracted in battle, and you must decide who's side you're on: "R" or Hogwarts.

New Classes: Muggle Studies

New friends: Merula

Special Adventures: NEWT, Summer Nights, The Curse of Love, The Fourth Quidditch Cup

Hope you enjoyed my idea! To note: I kinda fell off of this game series not too long ago, so I didn't have all the special adventures that are currently available.

#harry potter #hogwarts #hogwarts mystery #merula snyde #barnaby lee #rowan khanna #penny haywood #andre egwu #ben cooper #badeea ali #jae kim #talbott winger #victor ketsueki

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