12 Feb 2021, 09:20
Seeking the Master Detective
Interacting with: @Ross Stephens
For reading: @Howard White
Hogwarts was home to a great many personalities that could easily make up the cast of a television drama. Students here were quick to be angered, and their tempers burned hotter than a hamburger on a grill when sufficiently provoked. Yet, he had also encountered an unexpected amount of wisdom in others. Philosophy and matters of personal principle happened to be a frequent topic of discussion. Children in these parts seemed to be at either extreme of maturity and childishness; and sometimes both simultaneously. All he could conclude was that descendants of wizards were weird, to begin with, and the fierce happenings of Hogwarts only seemed to exacerbate that weirdness tenfold. Oftentimes, however, this diversity proved to serve the purposes of the school. Extraordinary times called for extraordinary individuals, and to prevent disaster yet again, the burden astoundingly fell upon the shoulders of children, whose naivety and innocence gave them a remarkable edge over even seasoned adults of their time.
Students of this school had enough to deal with, facing malicious hags with dubious motivations and living on the grounds on which a historic murder had been committed by an equally historic character. Life was dangerous enough as it was, and the last thing the school needed was for the students to incite enough chaos and violence on their own accord to allow evil forces to capitalize on the confusion. As of late, an old article published in the Hogwarts Headliner had relapsed into controversy. It was the Dhampir article, written by a student under the anonymous pseudonym T.Ruth. Well, anonymous until just a few days ago. One such Dhampir among the student body had suffered enough of the prejudice instigated by the written word. Howard White burst into the Great Hall towards the closure of dinner, bringing with him a stack of headliner papers and lighting them ablaze in a terrifying spectacle. He had cursed and roared like the monster the article made him out to be, demanding for T.Ruth to reveal herself. Unexpectedly, this worked, and a brunette Slytherin stepped up to confess and rebuke his views. For many, this was an invitation to express their take on the issue and throw about sweeping statements that misrepresented the significance of the altercation. The deeds and feelings of the individual were used to justify a heartless act of racism against an entire species of half-breeds. Amid the angered outbursts from several parties, Howard’s plea for help was drowned out by louder voices. But it hadn’t gone unnoticed by everyone.
Valentine didn’t see himself as a hero, or even as an agent of good. Both were equally subjective to the expectations of society, and society seemed to demand rampant freedom of speech and opinion. Valentine disagreed. Some lines shouldn’t have been crossed, and though he was not often moved to intervention, he was a boy of firm principles and sharp words. He had already resolved himself to confronting this T.Ruth character himself and giving her a piece of his mind. . . until matters became even more convoluted than before.
He had stood for three days outside the Slytherin dormitory during the dinner hours with a smuggled sandwich and a textbook under the guise of seeking help for his homework. He had seen a whole plethora of students; practically everyone he knew had passed him at least once. Some even stopped to strike up a conversation or attempt to ‘help’ him with his homework. Yet, not once did he encounter the Slytherin girl who had identified herself as ‘T.Ruth’.
Statistically, it was an impossibility, and it confounded Valentine even more. It led him to the soft conclusion that something sinister was at work, especially when he began to ask around the people he knew and none of them had any meaningful recollection of the girl before the incident in the Great Hall.
Unfortunately, his deductive skills were limited. Valentine was a strong force of personality and amplified by his dueling experience, he bore a formidable profile. But to figure out what exactly was amiss would require the work of someone cleverer.
He had come to learn of Ross Stephens via recommendation from friends. Granted, the two were unacquainted, everyone at Hogwarts met the other at some point, so there wasn’t much reason to put it off. Striding along the Hufflepuff table in his Gryffindor robes, Valentine made his approach coolly and casually. He knew who Ross was and what he looked like by description and last minute direction, courtesy of one of the boy’s housemates.
“Are you Ross Stephens?” he called out amicably to the person who matched the description of the boy he was looking for, coming up along his side while he was eating in the Great Hall. His next words were direct and informative, and he hoped that his relative seriousness would give some hint as to how grave the matter at hand was.
“I need your help. There’s a mystery I can’t solve and a student in this school who doesn’t exist. I’ve heard that you’re a something of a detective.”
He glanced cautiously to the other Hufflepuffs around him.
“Do you think we could talk somewhere in private?”
Discord: Valentine#6117
13 Feb 2021, 00:52
Seeking the Master Detective
In the past few weeks Ross had learned one thing: Mysteries were easy, socialization was difficult. Ever since the critique that he needed to begin genuinely attempting with friendships, he had become increasingly self aware in his own skin. He felt as if he could feel his muscles move with his bones. Every time he blinked, he swore he could hear the squelching of his eyes. But not only that, he had to be aware that people were no longer little mysteries in a flesh vessel to solve. He had to comprehend some people did not want to be decoded just because they were a bit grouchy. He had to listen to people not to find answers, but instead to learn more about them.
Sure it all was the same, each action reminiscent of the other; however, there was something different of it. Whether it was the miserable attempts of attempting to know what to say next without motive or the fact people seemed to actually remember his name now, it was different. It was not exactly the worst kind of different. In fact, he quite enjoyed the few friendships he had managed to make over the past few months. But part of his life felt empty now- like a worm had crunched a tunnel through his heart.
He desired the taste of questions and ideas wandering aimlessly within his mind.
He wanted the thrill of realizing he found the right answer, only a couple moments from pressing down on the weak point and finding out the truth.
He longed for a mystery.
He was a curious boy, of course he did. So as he wrote in his journal, upset thoughts replaced by dreams of unsolved problems and magnifying glasses, he could not help but find himself believing he heard something. Something calling out to him. It was not until he heard his name that it dawned upon him that this was no voice in his head. He hastily looked behind him until he noticed the boy who seemed to be speaking from him. He seemed a bit off, but who could blame him. Approaching a random boy and asking if they were someone else was an anxiety inducing experience he was all too familiar with.
Despite the fact his head movements gave away who he was directly, he instantly felt the need to reassure him.
"Suppose that's me, why do ya wanna know?" he inquired, speaking a little too loud to make his voice heard over the storm of chatter that consistently filled the school no matter how much the teachers seemed to resent it.
As the boy explained his reasoning, he felt his heart flutter. A msytery? For him? No no- and people knew he was a detective? He assumed he was keeping it on the down-low, but perhaps that was not the case after all. It was thrilling. Finally an opportunity that he could grasp. His surprised face instantly turned to an excited smile, though he was blatantly attempting to repress it. His first mystery. His first REAL mystery that was not a human being. There were a million things he wanted to say and a billion more words that wanted to pour out of his mouth. Yet somehow, he could only get seven out.
"Detective Ross Stephens is on the case!" he shouted, this time not to get over the crowds of people. No- this exclamation was made entirely out of his own excitement.
Glancing hastily around the room, he noticed the spot where he had hid underneath the Christmas tree. It was no longer good; however, to him it felt dead silent when he had arrived there that time. Perhaps now it would feel the same. He got up from the seat he had warmly made cozy for himself and snatched himself his goblet of pumpkin juice before gesturing the boy to follow him to the corner along with him. It was not too far from the tables, but it was far enough for the chatter to seem as if it was dying down. It was more of quiet enough to have a half decent conversation without being overwhelmed by voices. He leaned against the wall, hoping that his feet would hurt from how long he would be forced to stand.
"So, a mystery?" he inquired, not even bothering to get on first name basis. He would come up with a nickname for him if he had to. No, now was the time to think. Now was the time to solve.
Stamina: 7 Evasion: 7 Strength: 5 Wisdom: 6 Arcane Power: 8 Accuracy: 7
13 Feb 2021, 08:30
Seeking the Master Detective
@Ross Stephens
The way the boy's face lit up brought a smile to Valentine's lips. There was always something heartwarming about making others happy. Ross’s enthusiastic reciprocation convinced the first year that he had found the right guy.
Stepping aside, he removed himself from the other boy’s path as he got out of his chair, returning only to trail behind him as he was led to a corner of the Great Hall adjacent to a towering Christmas tree. There, the chatter and gossip seemed to lessen, though it remained present enough to serve as an atmospheric filter. The amorphous sea of voices drowned them out just enough to have their discussion proceed unheard behind the canopy.
"There was an article published earlier this year in the Hogwarts Headliner about Dhampirs."
Valentine proceeded to produce one such copy of this from the stack of notes he was carrying. He flipped it to the appropriate page and showed it to Ross.
"Just the other day, there was a Dhampir riot in the Great Hall, fueled by anger over this article. These outbursts are just going to keep happening if nothing is done. I just don't think it's right for someone to publish something like this about another race of people. It's dividing the school population, and we don't need even more mayhem when there's chaos enough," he substantiated his viewpoint before elaborating on what he had discovered. "Anyway, there was a girl who responded during the riot who claimed to be the writer of the article. Her response was pretty convincing, and you can ask anyone else who was there. There's no way that wasn't T.Ruth. She was wearing a Slytherin tie, so unless she was dressed in someone else's clothes, I'm sure she's a Slytherin. But. . . Here's where it gets weird."
He proceeded to share his findings regarding his three evenings outside the Slytherin Common Room.
. . .
". . . I'm not sure what to make of it. I’ve never seen her before and I don't know anyone who has seen her before that day in the Great Hall. It's like she vanished into thin air. All I know is that we have to track this girl down and give her a reality check before she turns the whole school on itself."
Valentine didn't think too much of the fact that Ross hadn't inquired his name. He presumed it was the result of overzealousness, which he certainly couldn't complain about. Besides, his main intention in seeking out Ross Stephens was to acquire his mind first and friendly second. As Ross had put all too correctly in his internal monologue, now was the time to solve!
Discord: Valentine#6117
13 Feb 2021, 18:21
Seeking the Master Detective
Ross adjusted his glasses before he took the article carefully from the boy's hands to get a better look at it. He handled it delicately, but the crinkling of the paper underneath his fingers brought him a feeling of nostalgia for something that was never there in the first place. Despite having never picked up a newspaper from the school in his life, he felt as if he knew exactly how to handle everything that was in front of him. Every time his heart pounded in his chest, he felt as if confidence was flowing into his veins.
As he skimmed the article, Ross could not help but feel as if his stomach was doing flips. It was disturbing. There were certainly rude kids at Hogwarts, as he had had his fair share of experiences with them, but he had never seen something quite like this. Ross was sure there were a million political words that could be used to describe the situation, but only one could cross his mind. Bullying! Considering his lack of education on other bloods within his school, he almost would have believed it if all common sense had left his body. But as any good mystery went, he understood it all had to be a lie.
This newspaper was his first piece of evidence.
He glanced up from the article to show he had finished reading the article. The boy must have taken the hint because he began his explanation. Ross was never fond of conflict. In fact, he had avoided it as a child to the point his first genuine conflict was at Hogwarts. If anything, he was surprised people had paid much mind to an article like that. Sure it was believable and contained some factual information; however, it just did not seem believable. Still, he supposed reading the article made him feel uncomfortable. Others likely felt the same, no wonder they were upset. The fact anyone believed it was more surprising.
He allowed him to continue, listening in to his explanation of T.Ruth. This was what he knew he could handle- an actual mystery. A genuine mystery. A missing person? no- was she even real in the first place? Questions buzzed in his head, his brain housing the thoughts like a hive for bustling bees.
"I dunno 'bout giving her a 'reality check' or that it'll do much for that matter, but I betcha I can assist with that second part." he remarked.
"Now, let's get run down on the facts. We're lookin for a girl Slytherin who wrote this article." he stated confidently as detectives did at the beginning of their story. He paused. "that's... not much to work off of. Happen to have any other details? Hair color? Eye color? Skin tone? Year?" he inquired.
He needed all of the information he could get. He found himself lucky due to the fact he had his journal with him- he could easily write down all of the information with his quill. Even then, it was hard to come up with ways she could have just disappeared. Did she even exist at all?
"Maybe she got an invisibility cloak or somethin'. Just shy and didn't want to come out til now. Or maybe she went back home or is bein' protected by the school 'cause she got death threats? Or maybe she was made up by the school to calm down the riots! They couldn't do with damaged property." he rambled.
His reasons did not make sense- they could easily fix damaged property; however, it seemed there had to be something. A shot in the dark was still a shot, and he was not running out of ammo any time soon.
Interacting with @Jackson Valentine
Stamina: 7 Evasion: 7 Strength: 5 Wisdom: 6 Arcane Power: 8 Accuracy: 7
14 Feb 2021, 02:59
Seeking the Master Detective
@Ross Stephens
Ross seemed to understand the provenance of the situation almost immediately. To his credit, his interpretation was largely accurate, except for it all having been a lie. The Headliner’s report was based on recorded facts. The violating aspect was in that it had twisted the facts to vilify Dhampirs.
He nodded when Ross assessed the things he had been told, and his eyes glinted thoughtfully. How was he supposed to give him an idea of what the girl looked like? Eyewitness descriptions could only go so far. He pondered on that as he spoke.
“She has brown hair, is not very tall, and is definitely not a first-year because the article was written by someone with knowledge of events that had happened last year.”
His comment about the invisibility cloak provoked yet another wave of contemplation. Ross had a point. Maybe he was on to something! As for the rest of the reasons, well, he made his opinions clear by voicing them.
“Unless someone has been smuggling food in from the Great Hall, I don’t think she could’ve missed dinner on every single night. Your invisibility cloak theory makes sense, though.”
He rubbed the back of his head, his eyes dancing about as he considered their options.
“If you have any friends in Slytherin, girls preferably so they can access the female dorms, maybe we can dispatch someone to look for this T.Ruth Mouse girl. The problem then would be giving them a description detailed enough for them to follow. . .”
His eyes lit up as an idea surfaced in his mind. “. . . Unless we find someone who was there on the night of the incident that can draw portraits.”
It was a random solution, but it solved two problems. Firstly, Ross would no longer have to work off of words to figure out who he was looking for. Secondly, if they could acquire the assistance of any female Slytherin instead of being merely limited to the ones that were present during the altercation, they might be able to track down the Mouse after all.
That left him with a new objective. He had to find an artist who was not only present that night, but skilled in realistic portrait drawing.
“You can keep the Headliner copy. I think you might want to look over it in a bit more detail.”
He moved off to the side, turning his body to signal his intention to leave. Before doing so, however, he reached forward and offered a neutral handshake.
“My name is Valentine,” he decided to drop his name anyway, in case the other boy ever needed to seek him out. “Gryffindor first-year. I don’t think there are many other Valentines around the school, so if you ask, you’re sure to find me. Now, I’m going to try to find someone who can draw a decently realistic portrait of the Mouse girl.”
He resumed his stride once again, half-turning as he met the Hufflepuff’s gaze one more time before he would go about his business.
“Ciao, detective.”
Discord: Valentine#6117
14 Feb 2021, 06:20
Seeking the Master Detective
Ross could feel his fingers practically twitch for his journal, but he remained still. He repeated the information in his head about a thousand times. He would jot it down as soon as he possibly could. Perhaps he would even dedicate a section of his journal to the mystery- oh how exciting that would be. He was never one for decoration, but he could fold up the newspaper article and put it between pages. It would be like a real detective journal- all messy from all the notes they had to take. Information in such disarray that only they could decode and recall where they put it.
"Noted. At least that cuts it down at least half the Slytherins." He attempted to remain optimistic.
There were quite a few Slytherins, and just by deducting the fact she had brown hair or that she was a girl already cut down quite a few. By determining she was not a first year well.. that had to be at least 50%, right? Still, if he was already receiving a profile of the girl surely this would be no difficult mystery. He had already received a 100% increase in information rate for the mystery from the day prior, so this HAD to be going well.
As he proceeded to debunk some of his theories, Ross' mind went to work again. Being proven wrong did not hurt whatsoever- no, it only meant he was involved in the mystery.
"Betcha there's a way she coulda gotten meals- Hufflepuff dorms have a candy train that goes through every hour- but i suppose it's unlikely. Still possible though."
Anything was possible to be fair. She could be one of those she criticized- though the description so far did not match it. She could be a house elf in a very good human disguise. It was all possible, despite the fact it was not likely. According to every mystery he read, the solution was not always likely but it was absolutely possible.
As he was lost in thought, he was snapped out as the boy's eyes lit up. An Idea. Every time that look appeared on a Hogwarts student, something of genius or pure stupidity was about to happen. Based on what he had seen from the boy so far, he had a feeling it might be genius. As they explained their ideas, Ross could not help but grin too. He had hardly contributed to the conversation itself; however, he felt proud in a way. He let someone bounce their ideas off of him only to find a more reasonable conclusion, and not only that provided an idea. Sure it was no master detective skillset, but he had contributed to solving a mystery and that was certainly enough by his standards.
"That aught to land useful information." he remarked, attempting to be as supportive as he could.
It was not because he wanted the student to be happy- but because it truly was smart. He was thrilled, and the compliment that flew out of his mouth felt natural in the moment. Mysteries truly could help with conversations, couldn't they. Finding information was the most important part of the mystery and he had just found easy access to some. With some witness testimony, it'd be easy to say the least to get a solid grasp.
"I aught to suggest getting witness testimony first. Might help with descriptors and all that." He recommended to the boy.
As he informed him he could keep the copy of the newspaper, his proud smile remained; however, he tilted his head to the side like a confused puppy. Was he not.. supposed to keep it? Oh dear, he was almost a thief. Then they would need to hire another detective to be assigned for the case of the missing newspaper. He shook the thoughts away visibly, shaking his head back and fourth before returning back to normal.
Just as he was about to respond, he introduced himself. It felt like talking to someone who knew what they were doing, and it was magical. He could not help but wonder if Valentine was some form of nickname, but his confidence surprised him. As a first year, his only goal was to blend in with the crowd yet this kid was out here trying to solve a whole nonexistent person case. It was admirable to say the least, and the pride he felt only seemed to swell.
"Nice to meet you. Ross Stephens, Second year Hufflepuff though I... guess ya already knew that, didn't you?" he uncomfortably remarked, correcting himself. "Adios! Wait, that wasn't that language is it? "Auf Wiedersehen!" he corrected himself once more.
He wished he could use the excuse that it was his excitement getting ahead of him when it came to those mistakes, but at least he was not lousy with his detective skills.
Interacting with @Jackson Valentine
Stamina: 7 Evasion: 7 Strength: 5 Wisdom: 6 Arcane Power: 8 Accuracy: 7