But For A Stone (A Matou Shinji Series AU)

[skulkidcachi90]

Spend less time with Amber is the solution, she is our friend so its obvius than we are gonna han out with her the time in time.

[alfheimwanderer]

Why spend less time with her if Shinji enjoys it? They seem to get along well.

[neophyte]

[x] Formal Kimonos - which Natsumi can arrange for

[alfheimwanderer]

A set of formal kimonos it is then...

Natsumi's will look much like this:



Shinji's of course, will be black, as the most formal of male kimonos area.

---

Natsumi seemed rather happy at the choice, since she did enjoy the rare occasions when she was able to wear a formal kimono. There was something lovely and refined about them, after all, more so than a western dress - or dress robes, for that matter. She mentions that the kimonos will be ready in a few days, and inquires as to Shinji's plans for the Minister's Ball.

Coincidentally, the new cottage should be about ready for him to move things into, so perhaps that may be a nice occasion for a housewarming party of sorts.

He...

[ ] Plans to come down to Natsumi's house on the day of, and head to the Ministry via Diagon Alley
[ ] Ask Natsumi to come visit the Noel House on the 30th and sleep over
[ ] Ask Natsumi to come to Diagon Alley, and Floo to his new estate - there will be a housewarming party, and then the Minister's Ball the day after
[ ] (write-in)

[neophyte]

[x] Ask Natsumi to come to Diagon Alley, and Floo to his new estate - there will be a housewarming party, and then the Minister's Ball the day after

[shanagan]

[X] Ask Natsumi to come to Diagon Alley, and Floo to his new estate - there will be a housewarming party, and then the Minister's Ball the day after

[Skull Leader]

[X] Ask Natsumi to come to Diagon Alley, and Floo to his new estate - there will be a housewarming party, and then the Minister's Ball the day after

Sure, why not? Party at Shinji's~

Don't suppose this can also be a sleep over, unless people parents are worried about what a bunch of kids will do staying the night at a house that has no adults at. Not that a bunch of 11-12 yrs can get into much trouble. *Cue scene change of the aftermath of the party with the house on fire*

Now Alf that picture is wonderful but I can see her changing out the katana for her flashlight lightsaber. However that thought led me to wonder about if someone made a kimono themed around star wars...

And of course they do, and even Dark vader theme. Behold...



The dress of Natsumi's dreams.

[alfheimwanderer]

Yes, it can be a sleepover.

...and Natsumi's parents would not approve of that kimono. She will indeed wear her flash lamp.

[Daiki]

[x] Ask Natsumi to come to Diagon Alley, and Floo to his new estate.

Seems like a decent plan, yeah.

[alfheimwanderer]

[x] Ask Natsumi to come to Diagon Alley, and Floo to his new estate - there will be a housewarming party, and then the Minister's Ball the day after

---

A house-warming party it is then. Nobby (the house elf that Shinji acquired from Lady Black and her daughter) will be tasked with cooking and otherwise making preparations for the upcoming festivities. Invitations will be sent out to those who might be able to make it, and Shinji will be able to show his friends the fruits of...Amber's negotiation skills?

The rooms are decently furnished and comfortable, with most of the rooms seeming like one would expect of a country cottage - except for the bedroom, which features an extravagantly sized bed, with walls painted in reds and blacks and covered in various erotic tapestries, with the windows wrought of stained glass. But then, it was something that Lucius bought his fiancee for use during their honeymoon a long time ago, so...perhaps it makes sense. There is of course, a kitchen, study, living room, den, two bathrooms, a guest bedroom, and a sizable basement.

Where would Shinji like to place his workshop? What about any other special rooms?

[ ] (write-in)

[Daiki]

[x] Attic as Workshop & Library. Basement divided in two - One side used as Storage - Other side as Practice Area for spells - Study used as an Entertainment room (Videogames, Tabletop Rp, Home Theater etc...)

Here's my suggestion for now. I'm thinking maybe converting some of the garden for having tea with guests but not quite the season for it yet.

[shanagan]

[x] Attic as Workshop & Library. Basement divided in two - One side used as Storage - Other side as Practice Area for spells - Study used as an Entertainment room (Videogames, Tabletop Rp, Home Theater etc...)

[skulkidcachi90]

[x] Attic as Workshop & Library. Basement divided in two - One side used as Storage - Other side as Practice Area for spells - Study used as an Entertainment room (Videogames, Tabletop Rp, Home Theater etc...)

[alfheimwanderer]

As entertainment, Selina will be hosting a collaborative storytelling session creatively titled "Iris Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", set in a fantastical world in which Iris Jane Potter, the only daughter of Lily and James Potter, survived her encounter with the Dark Lord, and so was styled the Girl-Who-Lived. Yet, shortly after that night, Iris Potter disappeared from the wizarding world, with few knowing of her whereabouts, and wild rumors speculating that she had gone to travel the world, was being trained in secret as an heroine who would rid the world of darkness once and for all, or perhaps had fallen into an enchanted sleep from which she was destined to awaken when her people needed her once more.

The truth - that she was raised by her Muggle relatives, and kept ignorant about the world of magic (or even that the strange incidents which happened to her, like her hair always growing back to a certain length, finding herself on top of buildings, talking to snakes, making flowers bloom early, etc) - is currently unknown.

The players - Shinji and his friends - assume control of Iris on the day she discovers her heritage from the savage giant who attacked her family and kidnapped her, with appropriate timeskips.

I am hosting these sessions on IRC.

So far, the following has occurred...

Trip to Diagon Alley: Iris encountered Draco and befriended him, convincing him to escort her around Diagon Alley and pay for her purchases

• Iris is cagey about her past, saying she will tell Draco in time
• Draco tells Iris about Hagrid's past as a "killer", which disturbs her, given the violence of his assault on her family, who may not always be in the right, but raised her for the last ten years
• Draco informs her of certain well-to-do families whose scions would be good to know - like the Parkinsons, Notts, Greengrasses - as well as how a certain family notorious for its irresponsibility and disregard for social mores (the Weasleys) should be avoided
• Draco buys Iris a biography of Lockhart, the new history teacher at Hogwarts, as well as one covering her own life
• Iris meets Lucius, who wishes her luck in the coming year, and learning of Hagrid's actions towards Iris' family, informs him that he intends to see the matter investigated by the Ministry, since its a curious thing that Hagrid was able to do all these things - when he was barred from using magic after being expelled from Hogwarts years ago

Riding the Hogwarts Express: Arriving at Platform 9 and 3/4, Iris catches the attention of everyone, with people milling about her due to her prominent scar. Draco waves for her to join him, but she shakes her head, caught up by a gaggle of what turn out to be very pretty second year Ravenclaws.

• From a short conversation with Cho Chang et al, she learns that a) people are obsessed with her, b) they all expect her to have some kind of powerful magic, c) that there is all manner of gossip about the teachers - including Professor Gilderoy Lockhart and his apprentice/lover, young Nymphadora Black.
• Iris takes her leave of the Ravenclaws, citing a prior obligation, and steps out into the hallway, where she finds a bushy-haired brunette wandering about, helping a somewhat heavyset boy look for his lost toad. She joins them for a bit, meeting little success, though she manages to alert a perfect - a certain Robert Hillard, to the fact that there is a lost toad about, with Longbottom joining the prefect.
• Hermione gushes over the Girl-Who-Lived, having read all about her (listing off quite a few books, in fact!), and asks what magic she knows. Iris is somewhat cagey about this, saying that her magic is somewhat dangerous and shouldn't be demonstrated on a train, but that she'd be willing to show her later. Hermione agrees.
• After asking around to find where Draco and friends are sitting, Iris takes Hermione to the compartment, which happens to be adjacent to a nearly empty one, occupied by a single purple-haired girl with dusky skin. They ask if Malfoy is next door, to which the girl nods.
• Draco is delighted to see Iris, though is nonplussed that she has another girl with her. Iris introduces Hermione as a good friend and apprentice, who she has promised to instruct in her unique magic, and that they had been looking for Longbottom's lost toad.
• Draco's compartment has only one seat - something that is remedied after Crabbe and Goyle are dispatched to join the toad hunt
• A conversation ensues pertaining houses, choices, and ethics, with Iris declaring that she wishes to see a world where people are constantly moving forward, and that if the strictures of society stands in her way, then it is not she who is wrong, but society - and thus society must be overthrown. People must constantly push the limits of what is possible, seeking to be more than what they were, because without ambition, there is no future.
• Sokaris comes in around this time, posing some questions about this viewpoint, mostly with regard to society and stability - and how the very mediocrity of society was what allowed social structures and order to be maintained. She introduces herself as an orphan from Egypt, a ward of the Center for Alchemical Studies, who will be going from school to school in Europe over the next few years. She is looking forward to studying at Hogwarts this year under the tutelage of Lord Severus Black, the famous Potioneer.
• Lord Black, revealed to be Draco's godfather, happens to be the spouse of Lady Andromeda Black, the head of the Black Family - and the step-father of Nymphadora Black
• After some further comments from Iris regarding how those who do not struggle, who do not seek to transcend should be purged, Hermione...leaves the compartment, feeling rather upset and betrayed by her idol's...rather Social Darwinist ideology, which to her mind, sound very much like something a villain would say.
• Iris goes after Hermione, and spends a good while looking for her. She eventually finds her effectively hiding in a compartment with Fred and George, who make it clear that Hermione does not wish to see her, and that even if she's the Girl-Who-Lived, she can't force her beliefs down people's throats.
• Iris returns to Draco's compartment to find that most of the people there are engrossed in a conversation with Sokaris regarding potions and the inefficiency of current recipes. Upon entering, she's asked about her 'apprentice' and somewhat flippantly mentions that after some discussion, she decided that Granger's philosophy was not compatible with hers, and has dismissed her as an apprentice. This was done in a misguided attempt to save face; it backfired, with a rather severe reputation hit ensuing, as many of the others wondered if the Girl-Who-Lived was someone who could actually be relied upon to pursue a serious relationship.
• For the rest of the journey, the attention of those in the compartment is mostly focused on Sokaris and the knowledge she freely offers

Arrival at Hogwarts: In which Iris disembarks from the train, takes her first steps into what Selina calls "the moonlit world" (to which Shinji twitches), gets sorted, and meets Lily Moon

• Sticks close to Sokaris on the way, notices that the purple-haired girl mostly listens, instead of actively contributing to conversations
• Upon entering the antechamber to the Great Hall, speculates with other students as to how sorting will actually take place
  
  • Ronald Weasley suggests perhaps wrestling a troll is involved
  • Su Li wonders if it will be a question as to how one would approach wrestling a troll
  • Someone wonders if it will be a written test, with Ronald saying he would rather wrestle a troll
  • Sokaris briefly describes the tradition at Ilvermorny, and suggests that a magical artifact of some kind will be involved
  • Iris jokingly suggests a personality test of some kind
  
  
• The doors to the Great Hall open, with the students getting their first glimpse at the some of the students and teachers they will be spending their next few years with. Some of the more notable personages include...
  
  • Headmaster Albus Dumbledore is in rather flamboyant robes, and raises a jeweled goblet to the newcomers
  • Lord Severus Black, Potions Master of Hogwarts, is dressed, as his name might suggest, in black robes of a rather severe cut. He glances over the new students, seemingly...unimpressed by what he sees. But then, it doesn't seem he's impressed by much. Except perhaps...
  • Lady Andromeda Black, Advanced Charms instructor / Healer at Hogwarts, the head of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black, and incidentally, Lord Severus' lovely wife. While she has rather patrician features, her eyes are notably kinder than those of her husband, and she prefers more earthy tones. Her attention, however, is devoted not to the new students, but her young twins...
    
    • Alberio Rigel Black, a well-groomed, happy 8 year old who takes after his mother, with wavy brown hair and hazel-colored eyes
    • Alkaid Merak Black, a serene, mysterious girl who takes after her father, with lustrous black hair and eyes the color of night.
    
    
  • Remus Lupin, Care of Magical Creatures Instructor, an exhausted-looking man with a pale face lined with worries, a rather unkempt head of grey hair, and a rather shabby set of wizard's robes that had been darned in several places.
  • Gilderoy Lockhart, History of Magic Professor, a rather handsome man dressed in robes of gold, taking over from Professor Binns for a semester while the phantom is on sabbatical, who is seated together with his apprentice (and assistant), the lovely Nymphadora Black. Rumor has it that he only accepted the position as Nymphadora's stepfather, the rather stern Lord Black, rather...insisted that she have a year of training before he would trust Lockhart to take his daughter out on an adventure...unsupervised.
  • Arthur Weasley, Muggle Studies Professor, who is new to the position, having worked until recently as a clerk in the Ministry
  • Filius Flitwick, Charms Instructor and Ravenclaw Head of House, a part-goblin dueling Champion
  • Horace Slughorn, Alchemy Instructor and Slytherin Head of House, a heavy set man
  • Pomona Sprout, Herbology Instructor and Hufflepuff Head of House
  • Minerva McGonagall, Transfiguration Instructor and Gryffindor Head of House
  
  
• Sorting commences, with some changes from canon:
  
  • Slytherin: Lily Moon, Draco Malfoy, Michael Corner
  • Ravenclaw: Tracey Davis, Daphne Greengrass, Pansy Parkinson
  • Gryffindor: Hermione Granger, Hannah Abbott, Susan Bones
  • Hufflepuff: Neville Longbottom, Padma Patil, Terry Boot
  
  
• Iris' Sorting, wherein she discovers that (surprise, surprise!), the Sorting Hat offered her a quiz of sorts
  
  • Question 1: What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow? (Ethiopian Swallow)
    
    • Iris could not answer
    
    
  • Question 2: The Trolley problem, with a collapsed mother on one track, and a daughter trying to free her, and a car full of potions bound for St. Mungo's on the other
    
    • Iris chose to sacrifice the mother and daughter for the sake of the greater good
    
    
  • Question 3: If you - and the rest of the fresh off the boat first years were trapped in a hallway with a rampaging troll - what would you do?
    
    • Iris chose to ask others to stand by the door and taunt the troll with what magic they knew, in the hope that the troll, while trying to get at them, might smash the door open. Iris specifically wished to avoid the front lines, mentioning that it would be easy enough to get someone else to lure the troll, assuming she told them she had a plan. A few would die, but the rest would survive.
    
    
  • Verdict: Slytherin (much to the shock of the entire Great Hall)
  
  
• ​Sits next to Draco, who seems rather pleased, though as they discuss the Sorting, they realize each was treated differently
• Lily Moon (or Liliana Spencer-Moon, if she is being formal), a striking green-eyed blonde seated beside her, introduces herself as the grand-daughter of Leonard Spencer-Moon, who was former Minister of Magic during the close of the Great Wizarding War. As part of the Spencer Family, she is, incidentally, related to Winston (Spencer-)Churchill and to the current Princess of Wales.
  
  • She has an unusual accent which she attributes to spending much of her time in the colonies (specifically New Zealand, Australia, and India)
  • Has traveled around the world with her grandfather after her parents died in the Wizarding War, and has seen many magical lands, traditions, and people
  • Is thoroughly unimpressed with British wizarding fare after tasting the cuisines served in different parts of the world, with a special weakness for curry and other spicy dishes. Hates pumpkin juice with a passion. Mentions a knowledge of the kitchens.
  • Curious about Iris' past, but not particularly fixated on her - assumes she might have just grown up hidden in the Muggle world to hide her from possible dangers
  
  
• Lily is looking forward to meeting Lord Black, the famed Potions Master whose work on growing plants that naturally possess the effects of Wolfsbane and other potions, has made him a sensation all over Europe; When Draco reveals that Lord Black is, in actuality, his godfather, she offers to have him join her in paying her respects to Horace Slughorn, an old friend of the family (she has even brought his favorite snack - crystallized pineapple), in exchange for an introduction to Lord Black. Draco agrees.
• Sokaris is sorted to Ravenclaw.

This is how far things have progressed to date - much more is needed!

[Skull Leader]

[x] Attic as Workshop & Library. Basement divided in two - One side used as Storage - Other side as Practice Area for spells - Study used as an Entertainment room (Videogames, Tabletop Rp, Home Theater etc...)

I have been meaning to comment about this vote but I got wrapped up yesterday that I forgot to do this. I do like most of this option but I do have a couple of issues/improvements that need to be addressed.

1) There is likely a garage/shed for this place if it was design to blend into its muggle neighborhood as I would think it would look rather weird if someone did not have a place to storage a car or never had a car parked in the driveway to other muggles. Why not use that space (if it exists) for storage?

2) The idea of just using the basement for a Practice Area for Spells seems like a huge waste, when Shinji has his Spell Kit that makes an area for learning spells and practice them. We are trying to do the same thing at the home that we already have. Now I not against having the basement set up for spell practice and casting, but the area can be so much more.

I propose that we take the full basement and make it in a large Spell/Training Dojo of sorts. Give an area so that we can work on learning our rapier skills and a small area so that we can practice our knive throwing as well as have the runes/protections needed so that one can duel with spells and not destroy the place. However we really do not need to go nuts right now and get all the basement protected for all this at the moment. Or get it enlarged by magic to make it a grand room. We can invest in the basement at a later point if we come into more money/favors and make it a better training area in the future. But for now a simple dojo with the spell kit is enough, especially if we stay friends with the Noels and can use their facilities.

For now the basement should be a simple wide open training area dojo set up.

[X] Attic as Workshop & Library. Basement turned into dojo for weapon/spell training with a throwing knife range. Study used as an Entertainment room (Videogames, Tabletop Rp, Home Theater etc...) Garage as a storage area.

[alfheimwanderer]

[x] Attic as Workshop & Library. Basement divided in two - One side used as Storage - Other side as Practice Area for spells - Study used as an Entertainment room (Videogames, Tabletop Rp, Home Theater etc...)

---

On a more whimsical note, how should Shinji tell his friends (especially the Noels) about his acquisition?

[ ] Through a formal invitation to a Housewarming Party at his place
[ ] By agreeing to a tour of Exton Park...and then showing them a part of the area they didn't know was there (the cottage)
[ ] Through cryptic hints and riddles
[ ] With Tonks paying a visit to the Noel residence
[ ] (write-in)

[Daiki]

@SL Nothing against your idea of using the basement for more than spells but, the vault is located in the basement (and not sure you can relocate that). The room should be large enough to accommodate all options though, since it is quite large (without the need of using the garage).

Anyway, for the choice here... Why not a combination of 2 and 3?

[x] Get up early and carefully prepare a treasure hunt of sorts where the twins have to find out clues / riddles left by Shinji in Exton park, which will lead them to the house (and the party waiting).

Make it fun, yeah?

[shanagan]

[x] Get up early and carefully prepare a treasure hunt of sorts where the twins have to find out clues / riddles left by Shinji in Exton park, which will lead them to the house (and the party waiting).

[skulkidcachi90]

[x] Get up early and carefully prepare a treasure hunt of sorts where the twins have to find out clues / riddles left by Shinji in Exton park, which will lead them to the house (and the party waiting).

[alfheimwanderer]

[x] Get up early and carefully prepare a treasure hunt of sorts where the twins have to find out clues / riddles left by Shinji in Exton park, which will lead them to the house (and the party waiting).

---

With regards to Selina's planned session, should the group's chosen protagonist continue to be Iris Potter...or should they switch over to the newly introduced Liliana Spencer-Moon?

[ ] Iris Potter
[ ] Liliana Spencer-Moon
[ ] (write-in)