#dm stories

[cherrycocaineee]

36. Draco Malfoy - Avada Kedavra

*Synopsis: During the war, Maggie finds a way back to Hogwarts as she’s worried about Draco and the friends she made there. She’s surprised to find all of the students and teachers standing before Voldemort, while ‘dead’ Harry Potter was being carried by Hagrid. Spotting Draco, she runs out to the center of the battlefield and calls his name. But a muggle at Hogwarts doesn’t exactly make Voldemort happy.*

*Warning - doesn’t follow the movie 100%, mentions of death, anger, and war. Whatever else is considered a warning*

*Maggie’s p.o.v*

Every inch of my body felt like it was broken when I woke up in the middle of my Grandmother’s old farmhouse. There was a hole in the roof and the speculation of whether or not I fell through it came into question. I pulled myself off the ground; a layer of dust was collected on my clothes causing me to dust it off. Coughing from the cloud of dust, I stumbled out onto the porch and gasped desperately for some fresh air. I was greeted by the sickly green color of the England sky; the feeling that something was wrong burned me deep in my bones. As I stared up at the dark sky, the last couple of months hit me like a ton of bricks. Dumbledore was gone forever, just like Grandma Loral; Draco was a Deatheater, which he had refrained from telling me until the night he asked me to see him, and was meant to kill Dumbledore himself. Draco didn’t know that I had witnessed him trying to kill Dumbledore but failing to do so, or me seeing the mark on his arm when he revealed it. Snape, in the end, was the one who had killed Dumbledore and was a Deatheater all along. Harry and I confronted Snape at the beginning of the school year and I had managed to get him alone as he ran off to avoid confrontation. Our conversation was heavy on my mind.

“Snape!” I yelled out; his body coming to an abrupt stop, “Why? Why did you do it?” “A muggle such as yourself could never understand,” he hissed. “You were his friend!” I yelled back, “and Draco! Where is he?” He watched me and time seemed to move ever so slow the longer he held his gaze. The inside of my throat felt raw and sweat was practically pouring from my skin. “I know Draco met with you,” Snape said, “at your Grandmother’s house after Dumbledore’s death. He told you everything despite what you are.” I swallowed hard, being reminded by the burning in my throat how dry it was. “I love him,” I said; Snape got closer to me. “Even after everything he is?” I couldn’t answer that because I didn’t know if I did. That night I couldn’t abandon him, he was in so much pain, but my feelings for him felt rocky. Every part of me wanted to hold on to that love but it didn’t seem practical with where he was heading. “Yes,” I stated. “Then forget about him. With you around, you’ll only put him in danger.”

The next thing I remembered was a flash of light and I was thrown here. For how long was beyond me; it could have been days, weeks, months. I collapsed on the steps of the porch, fresh tears spilling from my eyes as I tried to cope with all the events that have occurred in however many days it's been. It felt like I hadn’t cried in so long and this was much needed at a time like this. My entire world felt like it was crashing before me and there was nothing I could do. I was nothing more than a muggle and I didn’t hold anything powerful inside me like all of my friends and family. It was a curse being born the only muggle to a family of wizards and witches.

  When I was done crying, I picked myself back up and went inside. There must have been something left behind here; since no one was able to sell it so all of her belongings had remained here and sometimes I would come stay here when I missed her so much. I picked up an old, tattered photo album and plopped down on the withering couch before flipping it open and looking through the photos. Like every other photo in the magic world, these photos moved revealing a few seconds before and a few seconds after the snap of the camera. There were tons of photos: my grandmother with her late husband who I had never had the pleasure of meeting, my parents who had died when I was terribly young; they were so young and in love based on the stories I was told and the photos I saw, then there was Draco and I. Some of the pictures I hadn’t known were being taken, for example, the two of us sitting in the garden; Draco’s head rested in my lap while I read to him from one of the many story books I kept around. He was watching me so lovingly, not an ounce of hatred in his eyes or heart that day. Another photo was taken with our knowledge; Draco had snuck away from school to see me on a particularly warm day and we were outside enjoying a fresh bowl of cut watermelon. His arms were wrapped around my waist and I was feeding him a piece when Grandma had snapped the photo. I smiled, a stray tear slipping off my cheek and onto the old paper.

  I flipped to the next page which happened to also be the last page of the album. There was something written on the empty page in black ink in perfect, loopy handwriting that belonged to my Grandmother. The words on the page were addressed to me which was odd because I had never seen them before. I traced my fingers over the ink as I read the inscription.

“Those who tell you that magic is the most powerful force known to all have never known the true power of absolute, undying love. Maggie, you may be a muggle but your love and heart are just as powerful as any wand.”

All of the memories of Draco and I flooded through my mind as I was reminded of all the times I was truly in love with this boy. Even now my heart aches to be near him, to touch him, to breathe in the unforgettable scent of his expensive cologne. Of course I was angry at him from betraying all of Hogwarts by becoming a Deatheater, and for him to not tell me or trust me with that information was heartbreaking but there was no denying that I was terribly in love with him because there was a better side to him than all of this. I needed to get back to Hogwarts and check on all of my friends, and I needed to find Draco. Fortunately I had managed to pick up a few tricks on how to get to and from Hogwarts after being there for so long. Not many ways worked for muggles but there were a few including a portkey which I was fortunate to own thanks to Grandma Loral. It was a stupid looking portkey, a piece of yarn with a paperclip attached to it but it was damn powerful. This portkey allowed for me to transport myself anywhere my Grandmother had been and that included Hogwarts. Taking a deep breath, I fished the object out of my jean pocket. As soon as my fingers touched the odd piece of trash, I was transported back to Hogwarts with a single thought of the school in my head.

   It didn’t matter how many times I used this thing, I would never be use to the sudden landing of the portkey. My knees always buckled and I always ended up falling down because of the lack of balance in my body. Oddly enough, there was no one around. Pulling myself from the ground, I did a swift scan of the halls of Hogwarts. They were in ruins; dirt and gravel and chunks of other pieces of the building were scattered all over the place. Something had definitely happened here. I ran to the window and popped my head out. Everyone was standing out there in front with defeated looks on their faces. Standing a couple of feet away from the people I’ve grown to call family was an ungodly pale man in dark robes in front of an even larger group of darkly dressed people. It hit me instantly, this was the man everyone had been scared of, who Draco had told me about that evening Dumbledore was murdered: Voldemort. Even from up here, I was terrified. Hagrid was walking forward with a person being held in his arms but I couldn’t really make out who it was. All I could really see was the sad look over Hagrid’s face as if he had just lost someone beloved to him. Then it hit me hard with the realization that it was Harry being cradled in Hagrid’s arms.

 From underneath I heard some murmuring but couldn’t make out the words. That is until Voldemort started speaking, his voice booming over the schoolyard.

 “Harry Potter…is dead!” He yelled.

 “No! No!” Ginny screamed, trying to push herself forward.

“Silence!” Voldemort bellowed, raising his wand and throwing a spell towards Ginny causing her to stumble backwards, “Stupid girl. Harry Potter is dead.”

  Every inch of my body felt hot and I found it harder and harder to breathe as I held back more tears.

“From this day forth,” Voldemort continued, “you put your faith…in me. Harry Potter is dead! And now is the time to declare yourself. Come forward and join us…or die.”

From behind Voldemort stood a man who looked like a much older Draco; he lifted his hands and waved frantically forward. I could hear his voice as clear as day as he called out.

  “Draco! Draco.”

  But even in the crowd I could hardly make him out because of the people surrounding him. Then a woman stepped forward, her black hair had a single streak of white in it. She raised her arms openly and spoke in a soothing voice.

  “Draco, come.”

Draco emerged from the crowd and slowly approached Voldemort and his family. A low, eerie chuckle left Voldemort’s lips as he reached his arms out to greet Draco.

  “Well done, Draco. Well done.”

  I watched as Draco made his way to his parents slowly before holding onto who I assumed was his mother. The look on my face made my heart ache. He looked sad and defeated, like he didn’t want to be where he was anymore. Not wasting another second standing at this window, I ran off down the hall to the entrance. I could hear more chatting, a speech is what it sounded like but it wasn’t coming from Voldemort, instead it was coming from Neville. I rushed out the side of the building and some of the students turned to me, gasping at the mere sight of me. I scanned the area and saw Neville speaking to the entire crowd while holding something in his hand, it looked like the sorting hat. He pulled out a sword from the hat ready to use it. That’s when Harry fell out of Hagrid’s arms and pointed his wand.

  “Confringo!”

 The spell blasted towards the snake beside Voldemort rather than at him but it bounced off and into the crowd of Deatheaters. Harry took off running and some of the Deatheaters started to leave at the sudden situation; most of them were being yelled at by some frizzy haired woman who wanted them to stay and fight. I pushed past everyone, even passed Professor McGonagall who tried to grab me but failed. Voldemort was shooting random spells at Harry, who managed to dodge a lot of them but used his wand to get rid of the ones he couldn’t. I ran past him but muggles have a different scent than wizards or witches, they lack the smell of magic, so as soon as I ran past him he noticed me. His eyes tearing away from Harry and I could practically hear him snarl behind me.

  “Muggle,” he hissed, angrily.

 “Maggie! No!” Harry yelled.

  “Draco!” I screamed.

  The blonde haired boy stopped and turned around quickly, his eyes almost popping out of his head at the sight of me.

  “Draco! I love you!” I called out, “I’ll always love you! No matter what! Do you hear me?! I love you, Draco Malfoy!”

*Draco’s p.o.v*

“I love you, Draco Malfoy!” Maggie yelled towards me.

   Tears started to stream down my face and I yanked myself away from my mother and father as they desperately tried to reach me. The single sight of Maggie filled me with so much warmth, and all I needed was for her to be in my arms. As I started walking faster towards her, her own feet carrying her even faster to meet me, I spotted Voldemort raising his wand towards her. Everything felt slow and I could hear the sound of my heart beating inside my chest rapidly as I watched.

  “Maggie!” I cried, time returning back to its normal path and more tears spilling from my face.

 She didn’t bother turning around as if she knew what was coming next. Instead, she smiled at me.

  “Avada Kedavra!” Voldemort hollered.

 A green flashing light soared through the sky towards her.

  “Maggie!” I screamed just as the flash of green light hit her.

I felt my mother grab me, trying to drag me away but I just pulled myself away from her again and ran to Maggie’s body that now lay on the ground. I fell to my knees and grabbed her body; it was heavy and limp with no sign of movement. My tears fell onto her face as I cried.

 “No, please. Maggie, please, wake up.”

  Voldemort raised his wand at me this time but his spell was defiled by Potter causing the attention to be thrown back to him.

I pulled Maggie’s body upwards and hugged her tightly as I sobbed; my mother’s hands touched my shoulder as she knelt beside me. She tried to pull Maggie out of my arms but I didn’t allow it.

  “I love her!” I cried out, “Don’t take her away from me!”

[littlefoxess]

[dungeonsandkobolds]

Heyya! Thanks for your advice the other time.

I thought I'd give you an update about my first one-shot as DM with one player. The game ran long - I thought we'd finish the entire adventure in 2 hours - more fool me! Instead, we only got through half the story in 4 hours. Here's what happend (Long Post, sorry in advance)

Simply put, I misunderstood how the player liked to play and the PC's motivations.

The plot was intended to feature a Lvl 10 rogue (the PC) whose mouse companion was kidnapped, and had to infiltrate the BBEG's dungeons to rescue it and also save the town.

I did not realise that the player was (overly) cautious - stopping everywhere and making perception, insight and other checks to see if anyone was lying, spotting any traps etc, rather than just allowing the play to happen and dealing with anything that occurred (espcially since she was Level 10, i wasn't going to kill her straight up). This led to more problems:

The time blew out - I started the PC pretty much at the dungeon, and intended the backstory to be told through a flashback scene (selfishly, making it a fait accompli that the incident already happened). But because I gave scope for the PC to roleplay in that scene, she interrogated everyone and distrusted the information the NPCs provided to her, went off on her own tangent and explorations, and basically refused to be 'helped along' to get to the actual story.

She had a +13 to perception, so i had to artifically raise the DC for any checks she wanted to make, and I had to (unconsciously) railroad her into finishing the investigations and go straight to the dungeon. For example, the NPC told her about the BBEG and directions to the dungeon. She wanted to ask the rats who lived in the town about intel. I had to do some tap-dancing and tell her the rats are gone becuase the BBEG experimented on them so they all fled. (I did allow her to make a History check and find basic information that way though)

I wanted to make the encounter a 'ticking clock' - save the world in 4 hours kind of thing - but she basically "refused" to accept that and spent 1 hour casting Find Familiar and other spells just to make it so that she had extra eyes etc. As a player, she refused to be hurried along by me.

The main area of contention was when she entered Room 2 of the dungeon where she would encounter Animated Armor that activated (1) when she moved to the centre of the room and (2) because she didn't pickpocket the guard and got his security amulet. The Armor had False Appearance as a feat, which meant that despite her 19 perception check she wouldn't spot them. When they activated, she pretty much threw a tantrum because I told her she didn't spot any traps. I had to metagame at that point and say that the armor had False Appearance, although my bad was I didn't give enough details about the guards's uniforms or the room/statues to potentially hint that there was the amulet.

She did defeat the Armor anyway like i knew she would - those Armor were only CR 1 with like 30HP.

There were still some positives over the night:

It did provide an opportunity for me to improvise and change my story. I was initially going to make the NPC who gave the information doing so for nefarious ends, but because of the player I had to play the NPC as just someone who was honestly motivated to save the town. This would be a much more interesting motivation when (spoiler!) the NPC would appear at the end and fight the PC.

I got to actually play out mechanics of combat, storytelling and roleplay. Even though I had to artifically inflate DC checks to compensate for the PC's high ability, I could justify it in the story (and told the player verbally when I did).

The story is still mostly on track.

I did have the learning experience of making more notes to tell players, specifically things that could be considered hints to players to allow them to avoid or better beat my encounters.

I am concerned when we play again though, because the next encounter is a puzzle one with more traps, and she might not like it if I carry on with my plans (basically, she has to pick 5 locks. Every lock she fails a 'ghost' emerges and tries to banish her from the room. How do I alert her without a perception check basically telling her what is going to happen?)

Overall, it's a bit of a mixed feeling. I really enjoy the roleplaying aspect of DnD and it's difficult when this player is almost fighting me as the DM and not letting the story go on. I do realise that it's unfair to think this way though - it's a collaborative story - but I wish that she would be a little bit more collaborative in trying to tell the story, and realise I want her to win as much as she does (just making it slightly more challenging)

I also admit it wasn't a shining positive first example of DM-ing, but I'm hopeful I get to learn more by doing more.

Apologies for the long text, let me know if anything is unclear. I'd love to hear your thoughts and feedback!

Omg I love an update! Some of this tbh is just teething issues (although time always either goes longer or shorter than you think, that's just the facts of DM-ing haha). And I love that you're dissecting it to learn from the session (genuinely a fantastic thing to do)

With the collaborative story - remember it's collaborative on both ends, you both have to meet each other in the middle (and it sounds like your player may not have always been doing that? It's the player's first time too yeah? sounds like at least). So it's not always on the DM to 'fix' everything

I'd say most of it is teething issues but there's 2 things just to like watch out for with your player (remember I'm not at the table tho) - not following the ticking clock scenario, and not accepting that sometimes even a skill check can't beat everything. That kinda goes into territory of resisting the basic concepts of the story and sounds like it probs wasn't fair to you. I might when describing the guard mention that there's like a chain poking out of his pocket and then it's up to them to investigate? But apart from that...

I think my suggestion for the ghost thing would be some kind of riddle/cypher/note that she has to solve to get the clue about what will happen? Doesn't always have to be a check per se and it'll give her the option of just going ahead or having more info. Plus solving those kind of puzzles can add to the interactivity of the game

It sounds like you're doing really well though!!!! And have put a lot of care and thought into the session!!

I hope you had some fun even despite frustrations :)

Feel free to come with more questions or just updates! I love hearing people's DnD stories

[whimsicalsesquipedalian]

The last D&D campaign I ran I had a heap of my NPCs lying to my players because there was a war happening in the world the campaign was set in, and so there was a big propaganda campaign happening from both sides. And then had the everyday people and the world contradicting those ideas to show the reality of what was happening.

Never was an insight check made because the players were just taking everything that an important NPC said about the world as an official “lore dump” from the DM. And then when the real information would come out, they would get so angry and frustrated that they had contradictory intel. To the point where they started getting snippy with me because my world didn’t make sense and they didn’t understand what to do because I kept giving them contradictory information.

And I literally had to sit the group down and say that NPCs WILL lie to you for their own agenda. As the DM I am allowed to do that to help tell my story. If you can’t tell the difference, there is a whole ability geared towards that exact thing that you can use. But it is not my job to always give you 100% true information all the time through my NPCs. They will lie. That’s how the game works. That’s how stories work. If you as the players can lie for your own agenda. Assume all the NPCs have that skill too.

I’m not here to give you truth, I’m here to make a story. Part of that story is the danger of lies and misinformation in war time. It’s a shame that my players proved that particular theme so thoroughly they didn’t even notice they were doing it.

it never fails to surprise me how some people will simply take every single thing in a story at face value and assume that what the characters are saying or doing or thinking must always be true even when all of the context clues are screaming the opposite

[acorviart]

not to sound like a boomer, but I need some people to learn how to write emails in a semi-professional (at the very least) format so you're not cold emailing a business/potential employer/any other stranger about formal matters in the exact same way you'd DM a close friend on instagram

the formality/language can loosen up in the email chain once you've established a rapport and you match the other person if they're being less formal, but please don't have the very first email you send a stranger be written in all lowercase ultra-casual sms slang with no greeting or signature and a billion emojis

[ibahibut]

💀: Fewer wounds, more kisses from me.

🐦‍⬛: Contract's accepted, mi amor.

Music inspiration: A Little Death by The Neighbourhood

[my-darling-boy]

A couple of vintage inspired Christmas cards for our degree exhibition shop!

[mybrainisthickerthanmyass]

Just had my players fight an oread which went to hide in lava (oread are invisible when fully in fire, I extended that to lava) and was killed in the lava and one of my barbarians just kept attacking the lava even after the oread was fully dead and no longer attacking.

The barbarian lost 5 handaxes, 4 javelins, and a warpick to the lava.

The other barbarian lost a javelin too and the fighter’s double bladed scimitar is now a normal scimitar

10/10 recommend

[acquired-stardust]

Yu-Gi-Oh! Dark Duel Stories Gameboy Color 1999

[kitteecassee]

care to join me? more on my private story 🧼

[viviraptor-art]

a nice sunset can make you do the weirdest things... ☀️

just something sappy for a certain someone's special day... and i'm a sucker for sunsets. is that enough alliteration? anyway, happy birthday, weevil! 🪲

[passingnights]

A flower, clutched and crushing in her hands, the blue-white staining and eating her fingertips— a cyanotype. She gazes across the battlefield. She sneaks into the bedchambers of a beloved she kept too close, kept too far. 

Karna stands in replaced positions. A Colin sized position. An Ariana sized position.

Her heart skips a beat as she skims over Deli’s haphazardly hidden notes. She finds motes of anger, of resentment, of despair and heartbreak at the corners of rapid heartbeats. She pulls and tugs at them, rearranging herself. Presentable. Useful. Disposable. 

She slides her note underneath the pillows of Delissandro Katzon’s bed. A quiet confession. A hopeful confession. She must survive.

She is dying, she is a child, she is in love. She hopes and she fears as tears crawl down her face and the rot eats her body. She knows the ways of war and the smell of murder better than the scent of a well prepared meal in the comforts of home. She knows the quick breath of death and the slow of a pulse better than the warmth of a family and the embrace of a lover. “She died nine years ago”.

At the bottom of the earth, in the embrace of Heart of the World, her story ends in a realm unknown to the rest. All the fighting to survive, the lies and the murder, the whispering of secret secrets and the blood dripping from the end of a blade. It all comes to a rest. Karna gives in to her exhaustion with an exhale (exhale, exhale). Eyes closed and a prayer to no god. A Hunger greets this tired warrior.

Cold steel rips apart her torn body. She dies and no one will mourn her. She dies and no mother, no sister, no lover will leave flowers by her gravestone, no eulogies sung, an insignificant name. 

She dies and she looks at the face of her lover. A letter remains underneath his pillows. Will he mourn for her?

“The only secret I have left, is that I love you” and in a title that was never made for her— “Signed, Sklad Karna Solara of Scoville”.

The Pawn resigns.

[littlefoxess]

[axolotlclown]

We need to remember that Shubble stated that Wilbur would manipulate and gaslight friends and family. With this, we must be patient with streamers that were close to Wilbur. This was likely surprising and shocking for them. They may need time to come to terms with what has happened.

I have been vocal about how important it is for men to be critical about abusive behaviors. However, Wilbur had many close friends—some would even consider him family—and now they may feel they hardly knew him at all.

There is a deep stress felt by viewers. It is difficult to think we have given any amount of time or money to an abuser. Could you imagine a close friend right now? The pain and betrayal must sear. They need time to understand what has happened and come to terms with it. Many of them may not be live in the coming days (weeks even).

That being said, as time passes, criticism may be necessary. Complacency is not an option. Men that are willing to ignore abuse to protect an abuser are just as pathetic as the abusers themselves.

Let's give this situation time to breathe. I ask that we give patience and courtesy to those close to Wilbur at this time. But please do not forget that this happened. There may be a few streamers hoping to lay low and then drop a collab in a few months. Do not let them. This is too important.

[arainywriter]

honestly, brennan getting completely fooled by zac is so relatable to me because whenever I DM, all knowledge of dnd leaves my brain except for the basics. like I cannot for the life of me tell you what a spell does when I DM. my player's abilities are unknown to me. I am simply here to be fooled by my players

[artharakka]

Star of the Forest