#y7ch51

[missnight0wl]

Ok, let’s get annoyed with Fugly Slut! Y7Ch51, post Perry’s experiment commentary.

No. Don’t try to make him feel better. It’s his fault he’s a fucking idiot.

I’m shocked to agree with you, but I’m really surprised as well.

NO. HE’S THE REASON THE LIFE OF A STUDENT NEEDED TO BE SAVED.

SEE?!

It’s very uncomfortable to side with Fugly Slut, but you can’t argue with facts.

It’s very simple: you’re just a stupid idiot.

LOL! NO FUCKING WAY! And honestly, it’s not even about that dumb experiment.

Yes. You can ask again, so I can laugh in your face again and remind you that I’ll never forgive you.

Then perish.

WHY THE FUCK WOULD SHE WANT TO GET BACK TOGETHER WITH THIS PIECE OF SHIT?? 😭😭😭 HE LEFT HER WITH TWO LITTLE CHILDREN DURING A WAR!!! 😭😭😭

You know, as much as I hate that Peregrine is supposedly our father, it’s very clear that Perry and Fugly Slut are indeed related. They both apparently see the Mother as a mere object that’s supposed to please them. For Perry, she was just a fling and a fun time before he got bored. For Fugly Slut, she’s needed only to complete his picture of the ideal family. Who the fuck cares what she wants, right?

IT IS HIS FAULT!

NO, YOU DO NOT.

UM, NO?! HELL NO!!!

Trust me, I regret it deeply.

Ok, but the first important conclusion coming from this whole situation is that it’s once again painfully obvious that Fugly Slut has nothing in common with the original Jacob. Jacob was super smart and extremely cautious. He came up with his own code just to secure his private notes. He would also use Legilimency on Madam Rosmerta (who he had to be pretty close with), just to make sure it’s safe to trust her. You really want to tell me that any of that would ever occur to Fugly Slut?

But even that aside I have to point out that the whole “I wanted to bring our family back together” simply makes no sense... for anything. Sure, Fugly Slut was established as someone very naive and impulsive. But the problem is that we’re talking about Peregrine in specific now. And let me remind you our first conversation about him:

It always annoyed me that Jacob says this line even if you chose to tell Peregrine that you don’t want him in your life. However, on the other hand, I saw it as a build-up for the narrative: “Jacob was older when Peregrine left and he remembers how hard it was for everyone. MC was younger and therefore they’re more likely to forgive Peregrine”. It’s pretty much supported by our conversation from the next chapter, too:

Again, he basically was like: “I still remember how badly he hurt us”. So... it really makes no sense that he confesses now that: “Boo-hoo, I always wanted our family back”. I mean, it does make sense, but:

it’d make way more sense for MC because as I said, they were younger, they don’t remember everything, so they might be more likely to forgive Perry’s mistakes;

it makes Fugly Slut incredibly childish because it means his distrust towards Peregrine was just an act to get attention or whatever.

Seriously, it’s like JC was too scared to let MC make any mistake, so they decided to ignore everything they wrote just a couple of chapters earlier and put the fault on Fugly Slut. Which I don’t mind too much in general - but I wish it’d make sense at least. And the thing is that it could’ve been totally done. Just skip the whining about the family and make Jacob’s reasoning something like:

I might not agree with Dad, but he does have a point about the Ministry. I felt responsible for you and mum ever since he left, and I believed that by fighting the corruption, I can secure a better future for you. I didn’t trust him, but I thought it was a risk worth taking. I was wrong.

That’s it. As simple as that. Like... it’s basically right there already. Why the hell they thought it’s a good idea to make it about family right now?

[helenadurazzo]

Revelation

Here is a continuation of my year 7 chapter 51 rewrite

Cato and Reilly belong to @catohphm

“So how have you been doing after you left Saint Mungos?”

That was the first question Helena audibly heard after she entered the cottage, slipping off her dirt covered gloves by the door as well as her boots before entering the quaint living area. She was already expecting Erika to be coming, however, when her mother came out to the gardens to tell her that Cato and his mother had stopped by as well. The continent overlapping certainly made Helena pleasantly surprised. After all, it made for a perfect opportunity for her, Cato, and Erika to once again be within a room together under the comfort of a room and possessing a safe exterior. Perhaps it was a sign that now that R was defeated and trials were already underway, things would finally get back to a comforting sense of normalcy. Cato’s Mother, had seemed to join Helena’s parents in the kitchen to talk about their own recent news judging by a quick glance in that direction, allowing Helena, Cato, and Erika having their own peaceful environment to talk in.

“Pretty good considering everything.” Erika gave him an assuring smile from the sofa. “And I am happy to say I will be perfectly ready to fly on a broom in a week according to the healers predictions, and just in time to.”

“Did another one of your beaters have to leave the team for a personal issue?” Cato asked, “I thought one just returned after being cured of Dragon Pox, or at least that’s what I recall Helena mentioning back at the hospital.”

“She’s fine.” Helena confirmed as she sat down next to Erika, picking up a cup of tea that her father had set out, however she figured it was made by her mother as she doubted her father knew how to make any beverage other than his espresso he had daily. “It’s actually Gwenog, she is going on holiday with her family next week so Erika will be filling her spot temporarily for that match while she is away for well deserved rest.”

“Do the Harpies have a chance still?” Cato asked curiously.

“Making it to the championship is unlikely in my opinion.” Erika admitted, “even with our recent streak we haven’t won by enough points to beat out other teams. However, knowing quidditch, one good game could change everything, makes the sport exhilarating. Regardless, this will be one of my last matches on a reserve, our other beater is planning on retiring soon and Gwenog wants me to take her spot and become an official member.”

“That’s wonderful to hear!” Cato exclaimed, “Congratulations!”

“Thank you.” Erika smiled, “Let me know when you are free and I can see if I can get you into a match when I am officially playing in the main lineup.”

“Will do!” Cato assured her before turning to Helena, “Have you heard any more about the trials for R members, I’ve learned a bit from my dad but not too much, it sounds like they are just beginning to commence.”

“For the minor members with less charges they are starting as they should be fairly quick trials.” Helena told him, “However, the leader, along with his two highest ranking officers, will probably be later as they have more crimes over their heads.”

“Let’s just hope the trials go well and that none of them who deserve to live their lives in Azkaban get to walk free.” Erika wished cautiously, “The world will be a safer place if there is no chance for R to regroup to its former strength.”

“I wouldn’t worry.” Cato confidently spoke. “My father is a member of the Wizengamot and each member on that court is chosen with precision. They won’t be so easily swayed, especially for the ones who are clearly guilty.”

“My brother, Erika, and I have already offered to speak as witnesses at the trials if they need us.” Helena revealed to Cato. “Along with most of the Aurors who helped with ambushing R.”

“That’ll certainly help” Cato said with the turn of his towards the window behind him at the sound of light pecking, “Looks like an owl just came, were you expecting a letter today?”

“I certainly wasn’t.” Helena admitted as she stood up and opened the window, allowing the brown owl to fly in and drop a letter into her hands before landing on a perch her mother had for the owls that came to visit by the cottage. She looked carefully at the cream colored letter with an emerald green seal, at first she thought it was a letter from her grandfather, however the owl did not match look like Zephyr, her grandparent’s owl. While that owl was a tawny owl, the one that delivered this letter was a barn owl.

“That’s Willoughby.” Helena heard her mother exclaim as she came from the kitchen towards the window, gently taking the letter from Helena to examine it.

“Your cousin’s owl?” Helena’s father asked as he walked out a few steps behind her mother with Mrs. Reese with him, “What does he have to say?”

“Not sure.” Helena heard her mother say rather contently as she broke the seal and took out the letter as if it was fragile and capable of disapparating or bursting into flames right before their eyes if it wasn’t read quickly enough. However, as she skimmed through the letter, Helena watched as her mother’s face turned to an expression of disbelief and concern, at least that was what she could infer.

“Is uncle Joseph alright Mum?” Helena hesitantly asked, anxiously messing with a strand of her dark blue hair.

“Yes, yes, he’s fine. Don’t worry.” Her mother quickly assured her, however by her hasty tone it sounded like something was certainly wrong.

Helena was about to ask for the contents of the letter, not daring to rip the paper out of her mother’s hands, however Mrs. Reese beat her to the question “Then what happened?”

Helena’s mother turned to her friend, “Remember when I told you my cousin was investigating that old house with some of the other Aurors and investigators after all of the members of R had successfully been captured?”

“Yes?” Mrs. Reese confirmed, seemingly waiting to see what the point of this recalling was going to be.

“Well, he found some of my uncles old belongings, particularly some letters dating back to the forties and fifties.” Helena’s mother explained, “and apparently, one of the letters he managed to find consists of him admitting to participating in a plan to poison my grandfather so he could get his inheritance money.”

“Why would he do something uncalled for like that?” Erika asked shocked by the news like everyone else in the small living space of the quaint cottage.

“I don’t know.” Helena’s mother admitted, “I am trying to remember what I can about him back when grandfather was still alive. I was only fourteen when he died after all. I know my father thought he was being quite foolish when he resigned from his job as an obliviator in the late nineteen forties, it seemed to be a discussion at every mealtime. And I know after that he lost money quickly and never seemed to be able to hold another job, whether he wanted to or not.”

“I thought you once said he was in Italy at the time of your grandfather’s passing.” Helena’s father recalled.

“He was.” Her mother confirmed, “However, Joseph said he found a letter stating he used the imperius curse, meaning this must have happened at the last ball my grandparents hosted together, the one my uncle attended before he left, and also the first time he had been to the Hearst Hall in seemingly forever.”

Cato seemed to retain his shock and frustratedly said, “and he has just been allowed to walk around a free man until now? It’s not fair to your grandfather.”

“Don’t worry.” Mrs. Reese assured her son, “If this story has any truth to it, and judging by the discoveries of Mrs. Durazzo’s cousin it certainly seems that that is the case, then your father and the other members of the Wizengamot won’t let him to continue his life of freedom.”

“I hope so.” Cato replied.

“So I guess that was what he wanted to talk about with grandfather and grand uncle Thomas?” Helena asked her mother, looking at her with sympathy.

“It must have been.” Her mother confirmed, “If anyone in the family would be able to confirm or deny any possible plausibility these letters have, other than the colleagues of Zacharias of course, it would certainly be the two of them.”

“Joseph must be pretty certain if he is writing to you now.” Helena’s father inferred.

“He sounds that way in his letter.” Her mother replied as she gently folded it up and looked out the window, “According to it, he has also written to his own brother and my sister, he must be spreading out the word to the family before it has any chance to go public.”

“That’s smart.” Erika remarked, “Helena’s told me about the work of Phineas Hearst, to think that his own son murdered him would cause quite a scandal if it the topic wasn’t handled with care.”

“I agree.” Helena’s mother responded before turning to her husband, “He wants me and Elijah and some of the rest of the family to accompany him to the trial to make sure justice is served. I assume he isn’t asking Cynthia as she just left to the United States and it certainly wouldn’t be fair to ask her to be running back here on such short notice.”

“Do what you need to do.” Helena’s father comforted her, “I’ll be here for you.”

“We all will be.” Helena hugged her mother, “We won’t let him get away with this.”

[missnight0wl]

We’re birbs.

[missnight0wl]

I know I have a bit of a delay in my commentary of the main chapters, but let’s talk about that damn experiment from Y7Ch51 because… oh boy.

Ok, so let’s start from the meeting in the Courtyard when we have Merula come and say this:

But then, not even a minute later, we have this:

And I’m like… Excuse me? I don’t have to convince anyone about anything. You JUST said that Peregrine WANTS me there, so why the hell should I convince him about anything? You, on the other hand, OFFICIALLY JOINED R already, if I recall correctly. I assume what the writers actually meant is that we have to convince Perry and Verucca that the person we bring with us wants to join R (and that’s in fact what we do later), but it doesn’t change the fact that the wording Merula used simply doesn’t make sense – and it’s frustrating that nobody realised it while writing it.

I’d like to say that it’s also shameful that it went through beta readers, but let’s be real: HPHM has no beta readers.

Ok, but let’s move on.

So, I obviously chose Talbott because he’s the one I’d like to interact with the most, but also the one who objectively makes the most sense, in my opinion. I know that the game doesn’t address it, but Talbott’s parents were killed by Death Eaters and Perry is very concerned about Death Eaters. They officially have a common enemy. It’d understandable if Talbott got interested in R’s mission because of that. But that aside, I also want to address Corey here who said this:

And I have to ask: why we’re ignoring Corey’s fascination with Peregrine after their kidnapping? Don’t get me wrong, I do think it was very uncomfortable to witness and I wish it never happened, to begin with. But if it happened already… we could actually use it. Why Peregrine would be suspicious about Corey if Corey was absolutely charmed with him when they met for the first time?

But no! Ever since we left the Shrieking Shack, Corey is only like… the loudest voice against R. And that’s totally fair, considering that they were indeed kidnapped, but again – what was the point of making Corey gush over Peregrine??

And speaking of the Shrieking Shack…

Please, don’t.

Alright so! The absurdity of the whole situation escalated from this point so fast that I’m almost impressed. First of all, when I first saw how they surrounded Perry, I was actually hoping they would use it to tackle him. But no! Because it’d make too much sense, right? None of them thought of stunning Peregrine either. But you know who thought of it?

I seriously screamed when it happened because like… what the hell. Also, I’m sorry, but I’m gonna use it as proof that it was Peregrine controlling Ben back in Y4. You know why? Because outside of the class, we see Petrificus Totalus being used twice: by the Red Cloak and by Peregrine now. Nobody else remembers about this basic spell, even when it’d be EXTREMELY useful. Rakepick didn’t use it in the Portrait Vault, we didn’t use it on Rakepick either back then or before Rowan’s death. I swear, NOBODY ELSE IS CAPABLE OF USING THIS SPELL OUTSIDE OF THE CONTROLLED CONDITIONS. So, it had to be Perry, as simple as that.

Okay, so here’s another important question: who was supposed to be a test subject originally? Because let me remind you, Talbott technically wasn’t supposed to be there. And you know when Perry later says:

When I read it in the datamines, I was certain there are gonna be more people in this scene. But nope. So again, who they wanted to use?

There’s no way Peregrine would sacrifice himself because he quite clearly was expecting that the test subject will suffer during the experiment. Even if Verucca didn’t know it personally, she was probably expecting it, so she would agree to it either. Jacob couldn’t be the test subject if he’s the one using the Crown. So, it leaves us with MC and Merula. And I think that neither option is a perfect explanation.

While I don’t suspect Verucca cares about Merula, as I said, she was probably expecting that the experiment might be dangerous. And I assume that Verucca thinks Merula is more useful if she’s fine and… well, not harmed. So, I don’t think she’d agree to use Merula as a test subject.

Now, when it comes to MC, Peregrine technically said that MC is too valuable to use them as a test subject, but then again… If Perry wanted to use MC that way, it’d explain why he wanted them to be there, to begin with. Because other than that, it doesn’t really make sense. Again, Perry knew the experiment is supposed to end with the subject suffering, so he should also expect that after seeing that, MC wouldn’t want to help him with the Ministry. But… he supposedly needs MC to use the Crown on the Ministry, right? So… was it actually about using MC as a subject instead?

There’s also the third option, though: Merula was told to bring one of MC's friends with them. Now, to be clear, I don’t really think that’s what the writers intended. I suspect that they simply didn’t think it through at all. But that being said, I believe that the third option is the most reasonable interpretation or the way to fix their mistake.

Merula was the one who suggested bringing only one person – which on its own is a pretty damn stupid argument. Peregrine was actively trying to make MC’s friends like him when he met with them at the Three Broomsticks, and he was quite successful with half of them. He also seemed rather happy about it. So, if MC was like:

“Hey, Dad. It turns out that you really impressed my friends. I mentioned accidentally your experiment in front of some of them, and they were like: Wow, of course your dad would come up with such a cool idea. It’s so cool that he wants to fight corruption at the Ministry. He’s just…. SO COOL! And so they wanted to come with me.”

… Perry couldn’t even be suspicious. I mean, he could, but it’d be unreasonable because as I said, he was the one trying to make them like him. So, we really should’ve ignored Merula’s “advice” and simply taken more people. Maybe not all of them, but even three of them would make the whole situation better for us.

It wouldn’t even be the first time R made Merula do something that ended up hurting someone. Remember Ismelda and the Wampus Cat? And how Merula apparently had the courage back then to negotiate with her aunt?

You know... despite her fucking Unbreakable Vow?? It’s almost as if the writers came up with it only recently...

But anyway! Let’s move on!

You can’t enhance something that doesn’t exist, Perry. Don’t you know that?

…

WHO THE FUCK IS XENITH ZEEP?!?!

They did my girl so dirty and now they can’t even spell her name correctly?! 😭😭😭

Seriously, you could even check it on Google…

It’s like… It’s like every chapter nowadays is written by a totally new person each time and they have 10 min to learn what the whole story is about.

For fuck’s sake…

My brain was melting at that point already, but it was the sparkles that killed me. What the hell was that??

*sigh*

Stay tuned for the commentary on our heart-to-heart with Jacob!

[missnight0wl]

You know, with all that stupidity about wandless magic, you would think MC use it to knock the brain potion off the piano and break it but Jam City writers have -2 brain cells.

I KNOW, RIGHT??

Seriously, like… just look at this scene:

It literally begs to be like: “Oh, weeks, you say? Well, it’d be a shame if it got broken then… OOPS! I DIDN’T MEAN TO DO IT!  I’M SO CLUMSY!”. Because the thing is that they don’t even need wandless magic here – they need to make two steps and push it. And you know what makes it even worse? That MC is not even restrained in any way. I mean, I guess Merula is kinda pointing her wand at us and she’s supposed to keep an eye on things, but let’s be real – if MC acted quickly, nobody would have time to do anything. Like, the bottle is… RIGHT. THERE.

When I was reading this chapter in the datamines, I was certain that there will be more people in this scene. Y’know, random R members, simply for the background. And that maybe some of them would actually physically hold MC, so it could explain why they did absolutely nothing. But no! There’s just Merula looking very uncertain and MC being a fucking idiot.

Also, I do have a problem with MC actually using wandless magic later on the Crown:

… because:

1) Why MC used fucking Flipendo? Why not Accio? I mean, sure, they wanted to use a distraction, whatever. But the whole previous scene was about grabbing the Crown because R can’t do shit without it, so… what gives? And don’t even tell me MC doesn’t know Accio. They’re a student in their seventh year, about to graduate. They have to know such a basic spell, even if it technically wasn’t introduced in the game.

2) WHY MC did it at all, instead of using their wand? I mean, did they assume it’d be just faster or Perry actually took their wand? And if it’s the second option, why we weren’t informed about it? I get that JC might’ve been too lazy to animate it, but they could’ve at least made Peregrine say: “I’ll be taking your wand now” or something.

 3) Are we supposed to believe that R didn’t know MC knows wandless magic? Because it kind of looked that way. But how it’s possible if it was Merula who taught it us? Wasn’t she afraid that it’d break her Unbreakable Vow? Or Verucca told her to train MC in wandless magic? If so, WHY??

HM, IT ALMOST FEELS LIKE JC DIDN’T PLAN ANY OF THAT IN ADVANCE…

No, but seriously. What was the point of introducing wandless magic to the story? I always thought that somebody told Merula to do it, and now I assume that it was Verucca, but… why? Merula also acted in the past as if she was expecting that it might help MC in the future, but… HOW?? And now that it kind of helped MC, we don’t even mention Merula’s role in all of that??

The only situation so far when the introduction of wandless magic had some sense was the chapter when we met Rakepick in Azkaban. The problem is that that chapter shouldn’t exist, to begin with. First of all, there’s no fucking way insane!Rakepick would conjure a Patronus when she’s literally stuck in her worst memories. Therefore, realistically speaking, in the insane route, there’s NO REASON for MC to lose their wand. And secondly, we’re ignoring everything we learnt from Rakepick then anyway! Why we didn’t tell Peregrine she called him a tyrant? Or that insane!Rakepick is absolutely terrified of him? How it goes along with his claims that “we’re the good guys”?

sigh

For fuck’s sake.

[helenadurazzo]

Recuperation

Welcome to the third part of my rewrite of year 7 chapter 51. This story picks up a few days after part 2, Experimentation, and features Helena visiting her girlfriend, Erika, at Saint Mungos, eventually phasing into a discussion she has with her childhood friend Cato, who belongs to @catohphm

Helena was thankful for the fact that her mother knew so many of the healers at Saint Mungos. In her fact, most of her mother’s friends who were not herbologists, were healers. Most of the friendships had sprouted due to the fact that her mother, being one of the most successful herbologists in the country, provided many essential potion ingredients and healing herbs. In fact, she recalled when her mother was sent to Saint Mungos after an incident with some baby Mandrakes a few years prior, one of her mother’s friends who tended to her wrote the family every day providing updates.

When she caught sight of Erika it appeared that she was doing alright judging by the fact that she looked like she was reading something and especially considering everything which brought Helena some much needed relief. It had been the first time she had seen her doing well since before they were kidnapped by R. She had wanted to visit sooner, yet found herself getting caught up and busy with other matters, she was going to graduate soon after all.

“How have you been holding up?” Helena asked as she got closer to Erika’s bedside, sitting down in the wooden chair next to her.

“I’ve felt better today.” Erika smiled as she set her book down. “The Healer says that I should be able to leave Saint Mungos the day after tomorrow. However, they suggest that I should wait at least a week or two after that before I get back on a broom, just in case there is any lingering side effects that would cause me to fall off a broom.”

Helena nodded understandingly, “Good to know you are being both cautious and obeying the requests of the healers. Still, it is a shame that you will not be able to play again this season especially knowing the chances the Harpies have of winning and considering it is almost over as it is.”

“It’s alright.” Erika comforted her, “Gwenog came by not too long ago after visiting Rhonda to inform me that the healers believed she was fully cured of dragonpox and capable of playing in the next match. With her returning, I would have just been a reserve.”

“Regardless you still got injured.” Helena insistently reminded her, “even when I did not tell anyone from the Circle of Khanna about me and Jacob’s plan, R still manages to hurt someone who does not deserve it.” She then muttered something only for her own ears: “it should have been me…”

“You need to stop blaming yourself for everything R has done.” Erika firmly told her with a sympathetic look on her face. “You did not take me to a R’s headquarters, a member of R did, you did not put on that crown, a member of R did. Trust me, I know you and your brother were nothing but pawns in their game, and while you might have been tricked before, you still managed to outsmart them again and break out of that role R desires, I find that rare level of strength admirable.”

Helena found herself comparing her own actions and story to that of Merula Snyde. Ironically, both had someone from their family who was a ruthless member of R who would never dare sway in their loyalty judging by their high positions. She figured that if Merula was a legilimens like her and Jacob were, R would have certainly used her to go to what they wanted and would have arguably been more successful in doing so. Helena managed to avoid the influence of R due to her support system, while Merula fled to R as she felt her aunt was the only support system she had. Helena pitied Merula however knew she probably did not deserve it, after all, many of their classmates had shown her kindness, yet she rejected all of them in favor of staying true to her family, she had made her choice, and Helena had made hers, leading them down very different paths.

Helena placed her hand on Erika’s, “I am just glad you are going to be alright… I don’t know what I would do if something happened to you.”

“At least it was me and not you.” Erika assured her. “You’ve been through too much…”

Erika’s positivity was strangely comforting to Helena. Perhaps it was because of how bad everything seemed ever since her Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher betrayed her and her friends at the portrait vault. She had lost so much to R and knew her brother lost even more. After the murder of Rowan, Helena feared the day that R would force another person out of her life again, whether it be a family member or a friend. Back at R’s headquarters, Helena figured her fear had come true and she had lost Erika. Yet, her mother’s words when she initially arrived at the hospital with her brother and aunt, assured her that it was not the case, and overwhelming relief flowed

through her in the form of tears. It had been a couple of days since that eventful day though, and she managed to pull herself together.

“You just missed my father.” Erika revealed, “He left about half an hour before you walked in.”

“What did he have to say?” Helena curiously inquired.

“Nothing much.” Erika stated, “Then again he has visited me every day that I have been here. He was actually visiting me when the healer gave the good news that I’d be able to return to some sense of normalcy soon.”

“From what you have told me, he seems to be a great person.” Helena spoke with interest. After all, Erika’s father was a former Slytherin who unlike other Slytherins, did not fall into the prejudices that belonged to the type of people the house typically produced, which was always a sign of a good person.

“He is.” Erika smiled. “I really need to organize a meeting with him for you. He has mentioned wanting to get to know you many times.”

“I’d love to meet him.” Helena cheerfully accepted.

Suddenly Helena noticed a healer approach them. She recognized her as Shannon Embley, one of her mother’s friends. She was slightly older than her mother, maybe two or three years, although she had a youthful appearance for her age, still possessing golden blonde locks.

“We need to do another examination to make sure everything is improving.” She informed Erika

“Alright.” Erika politely replied.

Madam Embley smiled warmly and comfortingly prior to turning to Helena “I apologize for the short visiting time, you can come back tomorrow.”

“It is not a problem at all.” Helena assured her as she stood up, “I may not be a healer but I know full well that the health and well-being of a patient is of the upmost importance.” She then turned to Erika with a hopeful look, “Perhaps the next time I see you, you will be out of the hospital wing.”

Erika chuckled, seeming to maintain good spirits, “Let’s hope for the best.”

Just as Helena was about to depart, she heard Madam Embley call out, “Tell your mother I said hello.”

“Of course.” Helena agreed with a wave as she walked out of the area with the patients and into the hallway.

Ironically, even with her glasses, it certainly did not stop Helena from not looking where she was going occasionally. She felt herself fall victim to this very mistake as she bumped into someone, causing her glasses to fall off her face and succumb to gravity and hitting the floor below, yet most likely their glass did not shatter on impact as Helena could not hear the sound that came with glass breaking into millions of pieces. The fact that somehow managed to catch the person she bumped into surprised her. Even though her vision was blurry, she could tell who it was, just from the vague silhouette a guy her age with brown hair and brown eyes.

“Sorry about that Helena.” She heard Cato apologize as he picked up her glasses and handed them to her, “didn’t see you there.”

“It’s fine.” Helena answered as she put back on her glasses, giving a couple of seconds for her vision to become clear as a crystal again before speaking again with a chuckle, “then again I should be watching where I am going as well. Anyways, what brings you to Saint Mungos?”

“My mother is visiting a friend here and I decided to tag along.” Cato replied, allowing for what seemed to be a couple of minutes of awkward silence, “I read your letter… how have you been holding up?”

“Well, I am certainly doing better than Erika is right now.” She stated, not going into the whole story about her forced encounter with R for two reasons, one was that Cato already knew about it thanks to the letter, and the second was that she just could not bear to talk about verbally. “I would take you to go see her, but the healer is checking in on her right not and can’t be disturbed. However, it seems like everyone all around is confident that she will be able to leave Saint Mungos in the next day or two which is a relief.”

Cato suddenly hugged her, “I am just glad you and Erika made it out of there.”

She embraced him back. “I am to.”

He took a few steps back afterwards, “I am impressed your brother managed to get enough Aurors together to ambush R in that short of time.”

“Our mother’s cousin is a well respected member of the auror office.” Helena explained. “Honestly, he could probably become head of the auror office if he really wanted to, however he is too humble to do so.” Something that Helena found quite ironic for a former Slytherin, a house that preached ambition.

Cato nodded in understanding, “So they caught most of the members of R?”

“Pretty much everyone that was at that meeting and that was a lot of the members.” Helena explained. “I will not deny the chances of there being a small resistance force of R members, however I’m not sure who would be leading them. The Aurors managed to capture their leader and his two highest ranking members. After the three of them, I have no clue who would be next in charge. And with that big of a gap in leadership, I doubt a successful resistance could from to any capacity.”

“At least the threat has diminished significantly so no one else will get hurt.” Cato summarized with a relieved smile, “You deserve some relaxation.”

“I guess I do.” Helena admitted. “However, I would not consider R fully defeated until all of the members captured during the ambush are thrown into Azkabans. According to my sources, trials will be underway as soon as possible to avoid any possible escape attempts or false testimonies to take place.”

“Fair enough.” Cato admitted. “I would not worry too much about that though. “The Wizengamot tends to find its representatives among those who have a strong sense of justice with no tolerance for extremist groups such as R. A member of R would have to come up with a strong and extremely convincing excuse to convince the court of their innocence after the crimes they committed.”

Helena nodded, “Absolutely.” She knew full well that Cato certainly knew the genuineness of his own statement considering his father was a legislator for the Wizengamot. In fact, the older brother of Helena’s own great grandfather had also been a member of the Wizengamot, and she knew from family stories that getting the position was not an easy one.

“It’ll be particularly interested in hearing what occurs at my great uncle’s trial.” Helena continued, “the family has always simply tolerated him and nothing more so him being sent to Azkaban would not do any of us any grief. However, my uncle Joseph did say that he had found some letters when he was helping investigators look around his home which had served as the testing area where R was ambushed. He refuses to share the contents though, wanting to talk with his father and my grandfather first, I assume to get some more insight on Zacharias.”

“What do you think he found?” Cato asked.

Helena shrugged her shoulders, “not sure but I assume something that could be used against him in the trial. He probably just wants to do a fact check before he shares it professionally.”

“I suppose that is the responsible thing to do.” Her childhood friend admitted.

“I don’t want to keep you for too long.” Helena apologized. “You can go if you need to.”

“It’s not a problem.” Cato brushed off, “why don’t you come with me, I’m sure my mother will be just as glad to see you in one piece.”

“Alright.” Helena smiled

[missnight0wl]

Alright, alright. But let’s talk about R and Death Eaters.

So, in Y7Ch48, Peregrine is very upset about Death Eaters in the Ministry, right?

And honestly, when I was reading it, I was like: “Girl, what were YOU doing at the devil’s sacrament??”.

Seriously, how he is so certain of any of that? I mean, okay, maybe Rookwood’s case was known to the public, but still. I’m pretty sure that the Imperius Curse was pretty commonly used during the war. And I’m pretty sure that’s actually the reason why Malfoy and Macnair were able to use it as a believable excuse. Y’know, because things like that happened. On top of that, there’s no implication that Peregrine knows either of them well enough to have personal reasons not to believe them. So… what gives?

Imagine that a person in your workplace gets stomach flu. Then, the second one and the third one report that they’re vomiting for hours. When Johnny says that he has stomach problems as well, you’re probably not assuming that he’s lying, unless you know that Johnny is a slacker who would use any excuse not to come to work. But even then, you should admit that it’s quite probable that Johnny got sick for real this time.

So again, what’s the deal with Peregrine vs Malfoy and Macnair?

Admittedly, the writers might be simply trying to use it against the audience. Because we know that Malfoy and Macnair are indeed Death Eaters. Therefore, in theory, we’re more likely to get tricked and believe that Peregrine has a point here. You know what I mean? However, from the story's point of view, it just doesn’t really make a lot of sense.

And at first, I thought that I feel off about it simply because I’m always suspicious of Peregrine. But then, I remembered that there actually is a specific reason to be suspicious about it. Because back in Y6, Moody told us:

Now, I know it’s bold of me to assume that JC is capable of this kind of continuity, but… what if Peregrine knows about Death Eaters in the Ministry and is so certain about it because he was told about it by former Death Eaters who are now members of R? I mean, doesn’t this kind of hypocrisy suits Peregrine perfectly?

Interestingly, if you choose Barnaby in Y7Ch51, Peregrine says:

And like… DUDE. Barnaby’s parents are Death Eaters. So what, Death Eaters at the Ministry are bad, but if Verucca speaks highly of someone, it’s suddenly their advantage?

Just admit you’re jealous of Lucius’s fabulous hair, Perry, and so it’s a personal issue. I don’t know what’s his problem with Macnair, but I could believe that Peregrine wanted to be an executioner and Macnair snatched this job right out of his hands.

Oh, and by the way. I’m kind of surprised that Talbott’s past wasn’t mentioned at all if you choose him.

Talbott’s parents were killed by Death Easters, so technically, he has the most believable cover to come to the meeting: he learnt that R is against Death Eaters at the Ministry, so he wanted to know more about the organisation and their plans. But apparently, it’s too complicated reasoning…

Anyway! Here’s possibly another example of Peregrine being a piece of shit! I don’t know if it might lead to anything more, but I thought I can share it either way.