Hogwarts Adventures: Game 3

Stacey and Gandalf are given a full complement of spells.

We find our young heroes in Care of Magical Beasts class where Hagrid takes them to visit a Fwooper (hardly ever seen in England). The kids get earplugs, since hearing the creature can drive a person mad. They see the bird, Hagrid attempts to "silncio" the bird, so they can talk about it. It sort of works, but not long enough, it screeches, one kids goes mad and Hagrid has to carry him to the hospital wing. On the way they saw a strange woman who looked like a cloud beckon them, but when they told Hagrid about her, she disappeared.

They head back to the dormitory, Spotty, Stacey's cat, is agitated and demanding attention. So they decide to take their pets (Gandalf brought Merlin his Owl) to their next class. Herbology with Prof. Sprout.

Their they learn of the zumazuma plant, a power magical herb. They are sent off to remove any Dragon Snails from the leaves of the zumazuma. About the same size as normal snails, dragon snails, have horns.. oh and they breath fire. Only quick and sporty Stacey is able to pluck one from her her plant without getting singed, including a curious cat by the name of Spotty, who runs off whimpering from the burn. They collect the snails in a fire-proof bucket and give them Prof. Sprout to dispose of. She said something about dragon snail soup.

Stacey asks Prof. Sprout if they can go find Spotty, and she agrees. Gandalf sends Merlin after her, and he too soon disappears deep in the garden.

They wander in calling for Spotty, but so far no sign of the cat in the vast East Gardens. While calling for her, they hear a voice respond asking them who they are looking for. They look around but don't see anyone. Eventually they discover it to be the Tulips in the garden. The ask the Tulips if they've seen Spotty.
"Yes, yes she went East!" They all cry in unison.

The kids head east.

After traveling a bit, they come upon more Tulips, who claim they haven't seen a cat. They engage the Tulips in more conversation, and it becomes clear the Tulips are not lying. (I don't remember the exact exchange that lead them to this. I think the Tulips said it wasn't their cat, and it was purple or something. Flagrant Lies). A successful Study Roll helped them realize that these were Tale Telling Tulips, which always lie.

Both Stacey and Gandalf were disappointed, they couldn't see how they could find Spotty and Merlin. Then they asked which way the cat went. The Tulips replied, South. So they talked about it and knew it couldn't be South. Did it go West? They asked. Yes sir, it went West. They realized it couldn't have. Did the cat go North? No no. I said it went West. They realized that North it was. They repeated this exchange at every intersection with these treacherous tulips, and eventually found their way to the Hedge Maze.

I actually downloaded a simple enough looking Hedge Maze photo and let the kids find their way to the center. It took longer than I thought, but the kids didn't get bored.

Eventually they found their way to the center. There was a statue on a large pedestal with a Sphynx atop it. Being my kids they instantly recognized it. I was about to read them a riddle, when they started talking about "four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon..." I was pleased, but told them that no, the riddle on the pedestal was different.

I had a print out in big font, but they read it themselves.

A silver road leads to my majestic home.
I bring it with me ‘ere I roam.
I never run, or race in fear.
I'll burn you good, if you come near.
I eat my way through forest green
But never leave my home serene.

It took a little coaching. But pretty soon they guessed a Turtle, which does bring its home with it, and doesn't run. But, I pointed out, a turtle can't burn you. The puzzled over it a bit longer, and almost simultaneously spoke. "A Dragon Snail!"

A hidden doorway in the pedestal opened revealing stairs down into a secret chamber. They heard a "meow" and "hoot" and discovered their lost pets. They also found a treasure. Two magic rings linked (like a stage magician might link two rings). They retrieved those as well and brought them to back to Hogwarts. They asked Prof. McGonnagle about the rings. She verified they were magic, but didn't know. They looked for Dumbledore, but he was out. So grudgingly they visited Prof. Snape, who, with a look of sadness, but then corrective cynicism told them the rings were bound by a companion care curse. Only two people who care about each other would be able to wrest them apart, and free them of the curse. Useful emotion, Snape added.

Will was quick to suggest they hold the rings and say they care about the other. Stacey refused. She was not ready for that level of commitment yet. This surprised me a bit. Stacey would like to try the rings out with Hermione, since they are cousins. Hermione was unavailable at the time. Later they saw Dumbedore who told them that the Sphynx sometimes helped people find companions they didn't even know they would care about. And that the future might be different from what they expect. Stacey was unimpressed. Oh well. They didn't obsess about the rings or anything. I was disappointed, I even made cool cards with pictures, just like the ones from Arduin Grimoire, only these rings didn't instantly (irrevocably) kill or turn you into a female dwarf or anything bad. Well, maybe they will appear in another episode. Serves me right for trying to railroad them into a display of sibling affection.

Yet more changes to our childhood memories