Tainted Service Top Earner's Fate

Mentions: @Aida Mòrsgor-Ama Ellwood

Alexander's mind whirled, unsure of anything. Distrusting all of these things around him. Then Aida spoke. She spoke about the moon. But the moon was just a metaphor, on how the truth was still there. And that she would be there to find him. Alexander's mind latched onto her words like a drowning sailor would grip a rope from a ship. And he pulled willing himself to focus on Aida's words. But far more importantly, on her sentiment. On the idea of someone standing with him, even though he was unsure of anything. Alexander saw the look in Aida's eyes, of kindness and a genuine will to help. A rock against the waves of confusion and malice around him.

Alexander was still crying, tears going down his eyes. He looked at the elves surrounding him, offering to help. Such a contrast. Two offers to help. One genuine and something to rely and trust on, the other lies. The house elves did not wish to help. They only wished to make him suffer. To make him suffer and to make him forget everything. Now Alexander pulled himself up the rope that Aida had offered him. His mind once more focusing and becoming clearer. Driven on by a combination of gratitude and friendship and of ANGER

Alexander looked around the room for the second time. He gave Aida a genuine and thankful smile, and he softly whispered. "Thank you"

His eyes then focused and Alexander went straight. Still not totally recovered but led on rightful (in his opinion) anger and even a small amount of hatred. Hatred at these things wishing him to be ignorant and having lost all that he knew. So willing to take away his memories. All that he knew.
Then Alexander thought about how he could hurt them the most and get out of this whole situation. Clearly force would not work, and the elves clearly did not care about force. It did not make them suffer, no, it didn't.

Then his mind thought about what he had read in History of Magic and Fantastic Beasts. That knowledge still clear in his head.

What house elves valued the most was to serve. To be loyal and to please their master. In this case Hogwarts. They prided themselves on serving loyally.

And as such ALexander knew that to truly try to hurt them he had to do something to stain their one and true wish. To serve.

So Alexander looked at all the elves approaching him. Eager to help, perhaps in their eyes kind in their own twisted way. He almost ignored the elf that had reached out to him. Just one amongst the things.

He looked each elf in the eyes. A cold, focused and furious look in his eyes.

If only looks could kill....

If only...

Then with a similarly cold and angry tone Alexander spoke.

"House elves of Hogwarts, have you no shame"

"For centuries your ancestors have served this noble institution. Doing their duties and helping the school prosper."

"How disgusted would they be if they saw you ?"

"You have NOT served this institution and it's student. Rather you have taken the trust that this school has emplaced upon you and used it as toilet paper."

As Alexander spoke he felt a small feeling in his chest, just making the words flow from his head. A direct connection between his mouth and his brain.

"You have harmed the students enplaced in your care. Stripped them of their memories, their dreams, their identity. You have taken it all away from them. Taken from them what they value the most.
You have betrayed Hogwarts. Betrayed it in every way that matters. Betrayed the trust of the staff and more importantly the students themselves. Those whose future is shaped here. "

Then Alexander spoke in a viciously sarcastic tone, "And you have shaped it. In the worst, possible, way "

He looked each elf in the eye for the third time. An almost symbolic number. Considered holy by some religions. The holy trinity, the Trimurti, etc.

"If any of you have any shred of loyalty left. Then BY MERLIN, tell us what has possesed all of you to do this ?"

"What has made you turn against Hogwarts ?"

Actions: Making an over-dramatic teenage speech. And of course insulting the house elves.
Abilities: Evasive Maneuvers
Stats:
Stamina: 5
Evasion: 9
Strength: 3
Wisdom: 4
Arc Power: 6
Accuracy: 8
Total: 35

From behind, the sound of a spell fizzling out with a failed cast caused Aida to look over at Celynne, who had her wand out.

"Let her out." Said Canbey, gesturing towards Celynne. "In the direction of the dorms this time."

Well then, Aida’s suspicions appeared to be confirmed. This was not the first time this had happened. Perhaps last time they had drunk the juice, and this time they were having the tea forced on them. One does not “let someone out” in any particular direction. Not unless that person is being controlled… and if there was one thing Aida hated in this world, it was being controlled. Confinement in a physical sense was excruciating, yes, but mental confinement was the worst kind of control to be subjected to. It was the ultimate invasion of self, leaving no room even in one’s mind-- that one final place where someone could have a sacred place to escape into. The mind was the last place you could preserve your freedom in this world when you had nothing else left– and these house elves appeared to be violating it. Aida continued to hold the knife in her pocket, as she had been doing for several minutes.

Alexander’s torment seemed ever more understandable as with each step the elves were becoming more forceful and it was increasingly apparent that the students had been under the elves’ mental control for some time. Were the elves responsible for what was happening to Alexander now? It was all so unclear, yet, Aida concluded that the elves were warping their memories and thus reality… and that was unforgivable, even for a creature. What had Aida said before, by the swing? Something to the extent that creatures had never mentally abused her the way humans had. Well, then, wasn’t this exceptional? A creature that could mentally harm Aida. She had a choice here to either categorize these house elves differently, as “not a creature,” or she could have her paradigm broken and come to believe that she was not safe from mental abuse from creatures either. That no one was safe to be around. A world where there was no safe “black” within black-and-white categories. A world with grey areas meant that no one could be completely trusted. Aida thought back to her head-of-house and former astronomy teacher, the dhampir. She had always felt safer around him, and other humanoids who were not human, simply because she had been putting them in the same box as the creatures she grew up with... those creatures who were not full of guile and torturous manipulations like so many humans were… If creatures were to hurt you they would do it honestly, Aida had thought. A creature would not lie to you, she thought… but these elves were clearly not what they were pretending to be. The suppressed irritation in their voices made it clear they were not being forthcoming. Before she could reach a conclusion, however, Aida was interrupted as reality had continued to move on without her.

“Drink and the panic goes away. The fear and the hurt,” said Canbey, carrying a pair of cups towards her and Alexander.

“HE SAID, STAY BACK!” yelled Aida at Canbey, pointing her wand in the elf’s direction while her other hand grasped her knife firmly and secretly in her pocket. Canbey was obviously not taking orders. You could not trust him to do what he was asked. “If you try to lay a hand on him, I will hurt you gravely,” growled Aida with rage. Alexander was a human. Why should she trust him?

Alexander then began looking at each elf in the eyes with a cold fury. It was a sinister look. Aida understood from that hateful glare that Alexander severely did not want to be controlled either, and his fury resonated deafeningly inside her own heart. At that time, Celynne began stumbling around in the direction of the door. She was massively swaying– she must be under their control to be obeying them like this. Intolerable, concluded Aida.

“You must not go!” Aida yelled to Celynne. “We have been here before. They have done this to us before. We can’t let this continue. They are controlling us.” Alexander then began speaking too, addressing the elves with a voice dripping with venom, prompting Aida to stand such that she was facing the opposite direction as Alexander: his back was parallel to hers (but she did not invade his personal space) so that they would together be able to watch for an attack from any and all angles.

If any elf or elves were to try to touch Alexander or Aida, if no disarming attempt is made Aida will attack that character with her concealed knife. If Aida’s wand becomes disarmed she will attack anyone who is trying to touch her or Alexander with the knife. If Aida’s knife becomes disarmed she will attempt to cast incendio at anyone trying to touch Alexander or herself. If any of the elves try to touch Celynne she will shout a warning at Celynne and attack the offending character with red sparks into their eyes (trying to be careful not to hurt Cel).

What was the basis for Aida’s trust in any of them? It didn’t matter at this point. Aida’s heart understood better than her mind. She would absolutely not let them hurt Alexander anymore, and she wouldn’t allow any of them to be compelled by these beings any longer.

Action: Stand ready to attack if any of them are touched (as detailed above)
Character Stats:
Stamina✵ 5, Evasion✵ 5, Strength✵ 4, Wisdom✵ 8, Arcane Power✵ 9, Accuracy✵ 4
Ability: Blindvision
Hit Points: 500/500
Color code: #351C75

@Celynne Gray was 'medicated', pliable and compliant. That is what the house elves wanted for the child, a harmless dismissal. Return to her room, take a nap and tomorrow would come has the previous had. She would be fine. Time loss something that happens in humans all the time, not that it was ever normal. Just, humans had a habit of explaining things away. Forgot I left that there. Must be a common face. I feel like I have done this before, what am overactive imagination. It was easier that way, to just go with the flow and to believe.

They were letting her leave, simple as that. A simple guide and she would tramp up the stairs she had climbed a thousand times before. She knew the way, it was mechanical. Instinctual. It would be like those moments where she walked into a room and forgot the reason why. Where she had come from, what she was doing a bit hazy even. The brain rattles off a few things - hunger, thirst, socialization. It simply meanders its way through Maslow's Hierarchy until something catches your fancy. Must have been that, ignore the sinking feeling of dread.

It was simple, drink and be done with it. Be gone. An elf would extend his hand to the little girl. Big eyes and a thin, gentle smile. Who are they? "It does not matter much now does it? The elf replied as if they were returning a child back to bed after a nightmare. "But their names are Aida and Alexander," the elf replied casually. Words they had perhaps said before. No pause, no contemplation. They knew their names, just as they knew young Celynne's.

@Alexander Varellion was no longer willing he was no longer compliant. With the power of anime protagonist speeches the young boy would call shame upon the elves. Upon the elves families. Upon their cows. For generations house elves had served their great wizarding masters. They only wanted the best for them. They only wanted to see them happy and safe. They chose to stay with families in spite of mistreatment and abuse. They chose a life of service and servitude. It was more than a way of life, it was their source of honor and pride.

Did the House Elves do this of their own accord?



It was not Alexander, that was for certain. The elves were deferential for the most part, to their masters. They spoke with respect to most, a second or even third class citizen. There were a great many things for the house elves to be angry over. But why make the children and professors forget? What was there to gain? They could have simply poisoned their food, made them fall ill. They could have done so much, so why this?

The elf would try to appeal to Alexander. Drink and things will become easier. The worry and the fear. The pain and the torment. Just drink this elixir and all would be well once again, At least for a little while. Yet the agitation was welling up. Aida was acting aggressively. Posturing with her wand. Telling Celynne to not escape. To not take the fight to someplace outside their realm.

The elves would not attack. Rather simply insist. "You won't like what you have become. What you are. What you will be." Was that elf telling him what was or what will be?

"Dangerous," an elf commented. A snap of the finger and the wand was in her back pocket, holster, wherever it was that she kept her wand. Elves were powerful magical beings in their own right. Underutilized, underrepresented. Oddly, no terrifyingly powerful considering what they could do without a wand it was a wonder what they could do with a focus in their grip.

"Canbey is only trying to help. Help you all," the Elf appeared to urge reason but gave none. Some might see this as a valuable means of escape. Drink and be free. However, if they drank they would forget what threatened them. They would return to the same cycle they had been in for an indeterminate time. However nobody was holding them down, nobody was forcing it down their gullets.

They could try to fight them, attack a unit of magical creatures with their first through third year spells. They could just drink the potion and forget everything that they knew. They could make a run for it, try to break away from the House Elves. Regroup. Get help, IF they could get their help to believe them. Try to convince them of the error of their ways with limited information, less insight.

There were no good options here for them.

TDR;

IC this group is aware that the House Elves are tainting drinks (possibly food) with something to make them forgetful. The House Elves appear to be under their own power.

Aida made it sound in her narration as if she believes that the House Elves are not what they seem.

Aida still has her hidden knife. Aida still has her wand, it is just in her pocket. They did not attempt to take her wand away.

Celynne, possibly left with the House Elf?

Alexander gave a heroic monologue.

OOC: DAMN YOU LEAR !!! YOU AND YOUR OBSCURE CLUES !!! (Just good-natured frustration. We're really trying to figure out what is going on and it's intriguing

Alexander let out a breath of annoyance and frustration. WHAT WAS IT WITH THOSE DAMN ELVES ?!!! Why did they have to be so mysterious. What motivation did they have. They clearly wanted them to forget something but what ? Clearly the house elves would not tell. They clearly had no loyalty to the students or the general institution of Hogwarts. But then, who did they answer to ? The Headmaster ? Solomon Lear ? But from what he had heard, theman had been missing for quite a bit. Had the disappeared headmaster something to do with this ?

He then looked at the house elves and whilst they urged him to drink they didn't force him to do anything, but why ? They clearly had the numbers. And if they did not force them to drink now, then hadn't they forced them to do something similar beforehand ? Might this all be consentual ? Nah ridiculous. WHy would they consent to something like that, unless they had seen something. Maybe something to do with Headmaster Lear.

But that did not explain why the elves said something about what they had become ?

Had they done something bad ?

Something they could not remember ?

BUT WHAT !!!

Alexander just stood there, thinking, pretty sure that the house elves couldn't force them to do anything. So he mostly stood there and thought.

He was quite sure now that it was something to do with Headmaster Lear. Him disappearing and the house elves, who might have been loyal to him as headmaster of Hogwarts, were acting strange like this. Maybe this had something to do with his disappearance. But what and how. How would them forgetting everything be related to the man.

And why was the man missing in the first place ? Then a thought jumped into Alexander's mind.
Was the man simply missing or was he perhaps hiding ?But why would the man hide.

Maybe the man was hiding from something. Something out to get him or the Hogwarts students.
Then Alexander tried to connect this information with what the house elves had said.

From what the house elves implied they might have done something bad. Become bad or were so. He couldn't imagine being that willingly, but maybe they had been threatened or the Imperius had been used on them. Maybe the house elves thought that they helped them by making it so that they didn't remember what they had done.

So Alexander's mind had a basic sequence of events in his mind. Almost without thinking, and without realizing it, he said it out loud:
"
- We have done something bad (perhaps under the Imperius)
- This thing might be related to Headmaster Lear. Maybe they were used by something hunting for him
- The house elves were in some way still serving Lear
- The house elves gave them a substance to make them forget
- The house elves thought they were helping them.
- We might have seen something horrible
"

And so Alexander went through his mind. Furrowing his brows in frustration and trying to think. Trying to see if he could remember. He felt this gut feeling of dread in his stomach but was it merely from this whole situation or something else. Something he couldn't remember. So Alexander tried to remember. Trying to recount his darkest memories. Things that were linked to existential dread. Stuff that would make his stomach cold and his mind horrified.

Alexander forced himself to

Remember

Actions: Trying to remember what they had done/what happened to them. Exploring the dread they felt in general and any thoughts related to them.
Abilities: Evasive Maneuvers
Stats:
Stamina: 5
Evasion: 9
Strength: 3
Wisdom: 4
Arc Power: 6
Accuracy: 8
Total: 35

OOC: I think this might be something to do with Lear's wife. With Lear hiding from her and the kids having done something for her.(Just something for you to laugh about how wrong we are)

Aida listened as Alexander listed his thoughts aloud. As she thought about his words, the voices of the house elves echoed in her head. "You won't like what you have become. What you are. What you will be." "It does not matter much now does it?” "Canbey is only trying to help. Help you all."

One thing was certain, if Canbey’s “help” was to cause her to forget, Aida wanted no part of it. Something had deprived Alexander of his memories, and it was ripping him apart. They needed more information, badly, not to lose information.

“Who are your masters?” asked Aida, blunt as usual. “What do you really want? Have you been wronged?” She did not appreciate having had her wand disarmed, but she controlled her sense of disgust, deciding not to reach for it again in order to reinforce a peaceful atmosphere.

Aida knew in her heart that she was not interested in forgetting anything, no matter how terrible, about her past, nor anyone else's. No matter what she had done, as the house elves alluded to, and no matter what they said... she was a Ravenclaw and her modus operandi was to use information in the formation of strategies. Having knowledge concealed, or worse, stolen from her, was never something she would accept.

“What were we doing when you saw us before? Why do we keep coming here?” Aida expected more mysterious answers from the elves who already were clearly hiding things from them. However Aida would give them a chance to not force the elves and the wizard children into two opposing camps. There was still a chance that they had a common enemy. “Are you house elves happy with your situation, and if not, why? Are you forced to do something you don’t want to do?”

Aida heard Alexander falling silent as he grew deeper into thought. Turning around, she saw him focusing.

If the elves approached and tried to touch any of the students, Aida would act as described in her previous post. Else, Aida would join Alexander in trying to remember what had happened during all that lost time.

Action: Stand ready to attack if any of them are touched (as detailed above). If no one tries to touch them, try to remember what they have been doing during their lost time.
Character Stats:
Stamina✵ 5, Evasion✵ 5, Strength✵ 4, Wisdom✵ 8, Arcane Power✵ 9, Accuracy✵ 4 (stat change pending.)
Ability: Blindvision, Sixth Sense (approved).
Hit Points: 500/500
Color code: #351C75

-

Aida's voice gave her pause even as she began to allowed herself to be led out the door by Canbey. At her warning, she stopped in her tracks, planting her heels into the ground as a twinge of unease tinged through her like the sound of a water droplet hitting the surface of a pond. There... something was wrong. She felt like... that state right before she went into the episode, though she hadn't done that in a long time. Wait... she'd had that thought before. She tried to pinpoint it, remember.

She couldn't. But one thing was clear: something was wrong. While she didn't know exactly how wrong that wrong was, there was something out of place, and just like when anything was out of place at this cursedly over-adventurous school, she would probably do well to keep her wits about her. "Canbey, why's Aida telling me to stay?" she asked bluntly, slurring just a bit. If there really was something wrong, the elf wouldn't give her a straight answer that made sense—she only hoped she was lucid enough to discern between the two. "What—what are you trying to help us with? What have we become?" None of Canbey's words made sense, and she couldn't tell if it was because of the tea, because he was trying to be cryptic, or a mix of both.

"Wait—how do you know their names?" Cel asked, confused, though the question was muddled—there were a billion ways they could've known them. But the tone in Aida's voice, the repeating thoughts and increasing sense of deja vu were enough to have her backing away from the door, shaking her head. Did the elves have malicious intent? That she still wasn't sure about. But she knew she wasn't ready to leave until she had a few answers.

STAMINA 5
EVASION 8
STRENGTH 2
WISDOM 11
ARCPOWER 10

ACCURACY 9
ABILITIES Prodigial DADA and Perfectionist I

ACTIONS just talking and backing away from the door to Aida and Alexander, relatively far into the room, it's clear she doesn't intend to leave yet but she doesn't seem hostile either, wand is in her hand but not raised

-

That is the problem with forgetting, it is so hard to remember what you have forgotten when you can barely remember that you forgot. Alexander would try to put some sort of logical sequence together for all of this. Why would the House Elves try to make them forget? What boon could there possibly be in it for them? What boon could be in it for their master?

- We have done something bad (perhaps under the Imperius)
- This thing might be related to Headmaster Lear. Maybe they were used by something hunting for him
- The house elves were in some way still serving Lear
- The house elves gave them a substance to make them forget
- The house elves thought they were helping them.
- We might have seen something horrible

Could it be something so specific? That they in particular were singled out, if so why? Could answering their inquiries set them right? If so, then why did the House elves provide a stalwart defense against their questioning? Why did they insist that they take the drink and forget? There were more house elves than there were children. They could overpower them, force them to take the drink. But they did not. Was it because they could not or would not?

There were more questions than there were answers. Of course if the House Elves were doing what they were out of compassion, love or mercy rather than vindictive intentions then there would be no amount of indigence on the part of their 'victim' that could be used to force the elf to divulge the truth.

Could @Alexander Varellion remember what he forgot?

What he remembered seemed so mundane. Just faces. Images. People smiling. People crying. People whose names he had forgotten, perhaps he had never bothered to ask.
Ensconced in green. Fellow snakes each of them.
There were so many faces. Some with names. Some with none, just shadows. Avatars of a person utterly and completely forgotten, their eyes might even be something that they imagined.
Where were they? Where have they been?

Sometimes there is a reason to forget.

Aida was defiant. Always one to speak her mind even if she was not certain of its burdens. Those troubles belonged to her or so she thought.

“Who are your masters?”

“What do you really want? Have you been wronged?”

“What were we doing when you saw us before? Why do we keep coming here?”

“Are you house elves happy with your situation, and if not, why? Are you forced to do something you don’t want to do?”

@Aida Mòrsgor-Ama Ellwood barraged the House Elves with questions. The House elves at Hogwarts were free elves and they said as much. "We are free elves," for whatever value that had. Freedom meant different things to different people. Service was an act of pride, they saw value in their diligence, and their dedication. Their status of service was viewed differently from their collective viewpoint.

But that did not mean that Aida was entirely wrong. House Elves are also autonomous creatures, capable of rational decision-making, sentiment, attachment, sympathy and a sense of justice. "We want to keep you safe, trust us,"[/b][/color] one of the elves claimed. "The less you know the better," their eyes seemed to plead -- you do not want to know this. Of course they never said it was a singular incident that they were holding them away from. In fact, that was impossible unless Alexander only just now remembered that he forgot, but he forgot that he only recently forgot. (Confused yet?)

Aida had not forgotten as much as Alexander had. But there were gaps, small spaces in time that could not be filled. They were small, this day for instance.

"Canbey, why's Aida telling me to stay?"

"Not a clue Miss Gray," Canbey answered handing his hand up to her to escort her to freedom. "Canbey thinks that they have an overactive imagination."

"What—what are you trying to help us with? What have we become?"

"Nothing Miss Gray," Canbey answered. "You came to Canbey," he reminded her. "Upset stomachs after eating in the Great Hall," a truth missing some key facts. "You come, Canbey help. You leave. You return again." He reiterated a partial truth once again. "To your quarters Miss Grey, sleep it off. Canbey is worried."

"Wait—how do you know their names?"

"The same way you know Canbey's," the house elf replied. Although that was not entirely true. @Celynne Gray knew his because he had told it to her dozens of time today alone. They were window dressings. Background servants. Not even seen if it was not necessary. Their names and their deeds less than footnotes in the history of their masters, but at least they were credited then. The meager sickles they earned was not nearly recompense. They were janitors. Faceless caregivers and servants. But that did not matter, not really. He gave her hand a squeeze, "Canbey will protect."

"You won't like what you have become. What you are. What you will be." Aida could not just let those words go, so Aida pressed them with a barrage of questions. "We are free elves," was their only reply. How typical: most of Aida’s questions went unanswered, and it just so happened this was one of her pet peeves. The house elves were like so many others, as Aida had been alienating people left and right since first coming to Hogwarts by peppering them with questions right off the bat. What had started as a childish habit, however, had just transformed into a test. How earnest and patient and helpful would some potential friend be if on the first day they lied and willfully concealed important information, let alone failed to feed Aida’s black hole of curiosity? To Aida, lies and obfuscations were a form of taking power over her. At this rate, the house elves were blowing up any possibility of having an ally in Aida, who had an automatic predisposition to help non-humans.

If the eyes of the elves were saying "you do not want to know this” then Aida’s eyes were replying with, Don’t tell me what I want. Wouldn’t that be hypocritical?

The elves seemed upset at their human “liberators,” but Aida could now see that they had themselves to blame for not answering when someone bothered to ask what they wanted. The power of a sentient, speaking creature was that they could say what they wanted, especially when an interested listener asked. Aida felt this should have made it easier to know what the elves needed. What help could Aida possibly give if the elves would not even say what they wanted? Still, Aida was patient, often to a fault… though as her patience dwindled, Aida’s strategies were prone to turning chaotic. After all, whenever Aida had been patient with life, it always seemed to reward her with chaos.

“Do you want to have a master? Let me be your master,” she said simply.

Action: Try to convince the elves to let her be their master. If this does not require a roll, then use sixth sense to discern how to get the elves to agree to having her be their master.
Character Stats:
Stamina✵ 5, Evasion✵ 5, Strength✵ 4, Wisdom✵ 8, Arcane Power✵ 9, Accuracy✵ 4 [old stats retained for consistency]
Ability: Blindvision, Sixth Sense.
Hit Points: 500/500
Color code: #351C75

Alexander leaned against one of the large tables. His face concentrated into a frown.

What had he forgotten?

He vaguely recollected the faces. Some he could even put a name to. Kyden Goodlow, Ailea Frost, Adohiro Morai. They were still students, right? He had seen them....... but when? Alexander let his fist hit the table in frustration as he hissed between his teeth. "Dammit" he had lost so much. But he did not know what, and he did not know what he could do. They could not physically force the house elves to do anything, they were far too numerous. And for some reason, they still would not tell. But why ? Why were the house-elves doing this?

Were they doing it to protect them? Was helping them forgot better.

No, no it was not. Even if the actions that had been committed were terrible. Forgetting them would not erase them. They would still have happened. Forgetting them was cowardice. Fleeing responsibility. Even if he had committed terrible things. It was better to know and try to redeem themselves. Everything better than this, this lack of anything. His memories lost and forgotten. His identity erased.

Alexander pondered what he could do.

He went through what they knew. This was not the first time they had been here. This meant that the thing the house-elves were using was not perfect. Or that they still regularly committed things that the house-elves wanted to hide. Which meant that all he had to do was not to be poisoned again by these house-elves. Yet to just leave like this, it felt weak and wrong. Leaving when there was still so much left to be done.

At least the house-elves did not seem to be forcing them to drink the tea. He supposed he could make one final plea to the house-elves. It probably wouldn't help, but he saw how Aida was making a plea herself and they had exhausted all the other options. He could only remember faces, not deeds. Perhaps they would come back in time. Perhaps he would recall what he might have done. Perhaps he might get some memories back if the house elves responded to a few questions.

Alexander looked to the house elves, letting out an exhausted, desperate and annoyed sigh. The damn things. Their problems wouldn't go away if they forgot, they would still be there.

As such Alexander turned to Canbey and the other house elves again, and spoke with sadness and exhaustion clear in his voice.

"I know that you think you are helping us. That by making us forget we will be safer. That by making us forget we will be better." Deep breath.

"But no act can be erased. History can't be changed. Crimes and atrocities will still have been committed. They are still there. Just because it is forgotten doesn't mean that it didn't happen. Forgetting does not absolve us of responsibility. "

"Hogwarts is a school. The purpose of a school is to learn. BUt what can we learn when we forget what happened. We learn from our mistakes. And even if the mistakes scar us, they are still a part of us. It will not disappear only because we forget it is there. Clearly the current tactic is not working. We keep coming back."

Another deep breath and a deep sigh.
"We will not fall into the same traps again. We won't eat the food that you have poisoned. We will find out what happened."

"Now you are faced with a question. Is it better for us three, or at least us two. " He says looking at Aida.

"To find out what has happened by ourselves, in an uncontrolled environment. Or here, where you can deal with the consequences. Think carefully and think fast. Because if you speak lies, keep obscuring the truth. THen we will walk out of here. And one day we will remember, and we will come back. And you or whatever master you have will face the consequences."

Actions: Making a final plea to the house elves to tell what they made the trio forget.
Abilities: Evasive Maneuvers
Stats:
Stamina: 5
Evasion: 9
Strength: 3
Wisdom: 4
Arc Power: 6
Accuracy: 8
Total: 35

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It was times like this that Cel cursed her lack of attention towards other people, because at this point she was quickly realizing that if she'd just paid a bit of attention to how the other two were reacting, maybe she'd be faring better off right now. But thoughts had started slipping through her grasp a while ago, and it didn't seem to be getting any better. She believed that Canbey wanted to help, she should go back to her dorm, that was probably for the best. That was what most of her mind was telling her. But her gut, that was telling her something was off, and that the feeling of memories fading was all too familiar to her. And she knew that when her mind had been compromised, it was better to listen to her instinct than listen to nothing at all.

But she still had that sliver of reason left that hadn't been convinced elves-good-resistance-is-a-dick-move, and she seized it like a man hanging from a cliff by one hand. Somewhere between wondering if the elves were hiding something and wanting to leave, it managed to push her. Nudge her. Reason through the fog of drugged tea, in a way that made sense, just as usual. Fine, maybe the elves were doing this for their own good—she certainly wanted to believe so!

But there was a sense, her own sense, of curiosity that no potion could dim, and of course there was a little push from reality, because she really had drank a lot of water that night. Just see how it goes, not like it'll hurt you, she urged herself, and then then decision was made.

"Oh," she said agreeably, tucking her wand up her sleeve, and it wasn't half a lie—Canbey's words made perfect sense to her as she nodded along dumbly. "Okay, that makes sense." But if Canbey's explanation was logical, where was that gut feeling of wrongness coming from?

She wasn’t the type to expect disaster for no reason, even if that might be wise in a place like Hogwarts—she tended to be mostly oblivious to the outside world, as much as she knew that was a bad habit. If there was nothing wrong, why were alarm bells going off in her head? She’d had this feeling before, and she did learn from her mistakes, if nothing else. This, well, she had to figure out.

"Canbey, I think I drank too much tea," she said, frowning. "Or water at dinner, I don't know. Can I use the restroom here before we go? It's a long walk from here all the way to the Common Room." And then she'd go, gladly—it was completely true. Lying wasn’t her best skill—or rather, she knew how to do it: with as much truth as possible. She just needed a moment, and then she'd go and sleep it off. She was tired, after all.

STAMINA 5
EVASION 8
STRENGTH 2
WISDOM 11
ARCPOWER 10

ACCURACY 9
ABILITIES Prodigial DADA and Perfectionist I

ACTIONS talking, moving away from the other two and towards the door this time, pretty much 100% on board with leaving later because... tea

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