February 1st, 1890 — Hogwarts Library

It was on the last Hogsmeade day that you found it: a medallion with unfamiliar etchings upon it on the surface of the snow at Padmore Park. At first, you had thought it might be a foreign coin, though quickly determined it was too large, thick, and made of wood for that. You pocketed it, thinking it would do no harm (after all, it wasn't someone's money) and largely forgot about it until you returned to the castle.

In the days that followed, it was seldom far from your thoughts, though you could not pursue the vague hints of ideas that came to you. OWL year is a busy one, after all, and so it was not until today that you could fully devote your attentions to it.

Now, it sits on a library table before you, accompanied by a handful of books you pulled from the shelves in the hopes of identifying the medallion's markings.

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Once Clue Leverett posts, another 1-2 students are welcome to join in!

  

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Are your characters stuck in the smalltalk loop?
Does your imagination feel like it just can't perform as it used to?
Mid-thread crisis getting you down?
Unable to get that post up?
Is your relationship suffering because of your inability to satisfy your partner?
SUFFER NO MORE!
With a little intervention from The Suggestionizer your RP life could be back on track in no time!

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Known side-effects include: chronic ridiculousness, immense satisfaction, itching, uncontrollable laughter, burning, deep regret, despair, shock, horror, incidental dismemberment, joy, and death. Use at your own risk!

With his Astronomy homework finally complete, the slight Slytherin unleashed his attention on something that had dwelt at the back of his mind (and the back of his satchel) for days now. Clue recalled picking up the wooden medallion with a light frown, and running his thumb over its surface to shift aside a few snowflakes and reveal a most mysterious design.

Now the medallion lay on a desk in the library as he opened a heavy copy of Spellman's Syllabary. But for all his wits, Clue felt lost and dazed as he flicked through the pages. After twenty minutes of this, he sat back in his chair, tossed his white-gold hair out of his eyes and sighed in frustration; "why on Earth didn't I take Ancient Runes..."

  

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By now, it was known to some of Narcissus's other friends that he had somehow befriended Clue Leverett. They thought him strange and said things that made Narcissus like them much less. He liked Clue, the boy was interesting and a welcome change to the bigotry that Narcissus often faced. Narcissus wasn't even sure if Clue even knew Narci's heritage considering Clue didn't seem to ever really talk to anyone from what he had observed.

As such, when he entered the library with fleeting thoughts of studying on his mind, he immediately went over to his dormmate when he noticed the smaller boys presence. "Because you didn't plan on breaking into any tombs in your lifetime?" He said in answer as he plopped down next to the other boy and eyed the medallion curiously.

  

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Neither of the two boys were ones he liked to associate with. A working-class bastard from who knows where - how Mr. Leverett still managed to attend Hogwarts was beyond 'Mander's comprehension - and a half-veela. Though he did suppose the half-veela was better than the half-vampires or the half-goblin that had been in his house a few years prior. Technically, they weren't in his house either, so he - as a prefect - had no obligation to help them unless they directly asked. But his interest piped as walked past, his eyes catching on a piece of wood propped on the desk. While it was wood, the carving was exquisite. It wasn't something he could see the bastard having any means of affording, which made him slightly suspicious of where he'd acquired it.

"What is that?"

His interest was pipped. The urge to just take the pendant and the book and work through the methodical translations was stong. After all, unlike these two, he was actually taking Ancient Runes and had been for nearly five years now.

  

Narcissus showed up, as he sometimes tended to do, with his usual glow of self-assurance. He was heralded by a familiar little flutter in Clue's chest, like a sparrow taking sudden flight from its perch.

"I wouldn't count on that", he murmured by way of reply. For if a tomb seemed interesting enough, Clue felt he would have very little problem with investigating it. Deathly places held a very particular kind of magic.

It seemed it had taken Clue's little token mere minutes to attract two curious onlookers. The second was older, high cheekbones and cool gaze giving him a regal air. A prefect badge gleamed on his chest. Recognising immediately that they were about as alike as a hare and a Hippogriff, and being his usual odd self, Clue said nothing at all — but he did hold the medallion (albeit tightly) about an inch or two further for the older boy to see closer.

  

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"Then that is something we should aspire to do when we graduate," Narcissus said with a laugh, not even thinking of the implication that they would continue their unlikely friendship beyond Hogwarts hallowed halls and well beyond their schooling that he had just laid upon Clue.

"It belongs to Clue, I was just admiring it," he said to the boy that had rather rudely butted into their conversation with a suspicious sort of tone. The medallion was made of wood and even the poorest of men could do an exquisite carving so that was hardly an indicator of which sort of folk it came from. Hell, Clue had done an even better carving on their pumpkin so he had no doubt he could do a lot better with wood.

  

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Though you weren't expecting such attention and are reluctant to part with the medallion, you reason that three heads are surely better than one alone. Still, you're a bit wary.

WHAT DO YOU DO?
a. Make your excuses and retreat to the dormitory
b. Give the medallion to Macnair and ask him to let you know if he finds anything [Graceful Exit]
c. Ask both boys for help
d. Ask one or both boys to leave you to your research

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— Clue Leverett —

  

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Are your characters stuck in the smalltalk loop?
Does your imagination feel like it just can't perform as it used to?
Mid-thread crisis getting you down?
Unable to get that post up?
Is your relationship suffering because of your inability to satisfy your partner?
SUFFER NO MORE!
With a little intervention from The Suggestionizer your RP life could be back on track in no time!

--> Click here for more details <--

Known side-effects include: chronic ridiculousness, immense satisfaction, itching, uncontrollable laughter, burning, deep regret, despair, shock, horror, incidental dismemberment, joy, and death. Use at your own risk!

The two unlikely friends (and would-be tomb raiders) regarded the prefect, and Clue knew Narcissus would probably prefer he left them alone so they could embark on another one of their adventures alone. But Clue had the vague impression that this could be bigger than just the two of them. The medallion was still and silent, but gave off a kind of heady, ancient power. Like when you find the oldest tree in the forest and stand in its shadow.

"Any ideas...?" he asked the older Ravenclaw uncertainly, hoping that he was the Ancient Runes expert in the room.

And in the meantime, he passed one of the books to Narcissus for him to leaf through. They would surely be able to identify the markings if they teamed up. Unfortunately, the book he'd passed Narcissus was so old it was barely legible, and its cover was as crispy as a mummy's skin.

  

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Given invitation, he shifted his weight forwards on his feet to peer closer at the madallion Clue had held up. The script was unfamiliar, though it hinted towards something he knew. "It is not a script covered in Ancient Runes, but the design hints towards it being celtic in orgin. Celtic languages tend to have these looping branched patterns. Lots of circles and knots. Finding a book that specialized in that would be as good of place as any to start."

With that declaration, he leaned back and took a seat on the other side of the table then the two other boys currently resided and started to scan the books Clue had collected, searching for one that seemed to hint towards focusing on Celtic languages.

  

Narcissus carefully leafed through the pages of the book Clue had handed to him. Macnair started telling them what he thought and Narcissus nodded in agreement that the symbols looked Celtic in origin. His mother had some Celtic jewlery and they tended to have those sorts of designs on them though he couldn't tell you what they meant if asked. He leafed through the book in his hands and scanned for anything relating to Celts.

  

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Clue gave a single, silent nod in response to the prefect, then immediately began scanning the bookshelves for texts on Celtic symbols. He glanced at Narcissus to see what he was doing, and suddenly noticed something on a page his friend had turned to. "There", he observed, coming to stand next to Narcissus and look over his shoulder. He always felt a little odd standing so close to him... but didn't let it distract him from the mission at hand.

"That's the central knot design, look", Clue said with a quiet urgency, placing the medallion on the opposite page so they could compare.

  

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Narcissus stayed on the page that had caught Clue's attention. He nodded in agreement as they compared the medallion to the image within the ancient book. It was practically falling apart so he was very careful as he placed it on the desk so they could all get a better look at it. "Pictish," he was able to decipher.

  

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Happy now that he had a task at hand, he was content to flip through the pages in mind-numbing silence, or at least he was until the two other boys spoke and startled him from what had become a trance. He peered over the edge of the book, eyes tracing the swirling design that echoed in the book the pendant that sat between them. It did indeed match. "If it is Pictish, that dates it anywhere from the 3rd to the 10th century. Assume the pendant is actually an artifact and not someone screwing around. I'll ask the librarian if there is anything here we can use to translate it."

  

They'd found it — the distinct knot design was Pictish, and apparently could be a thousand years old or more. Clue was silently fascinated, and as Macnair mused on asking the librarian for help, Clue extended one pale finger to trace the medallion's ancient design...

And then a few things happened in very quick succession. He felt a sharp shock from the medallion as he touched it, giving an inhale of pain as he quickly withdrew his hand and took a step back — which pushed back his chair suddenly. From the chair fell his battered satchel, and from the satchel dropped his wand onto the floor — the wand, as if alarmed at being woken from a deep sleep, shot off a spontaneous burst of energy at random, which hit the nearest set of bookshelves, which swayed precariously, seconds from starting a catastrophic domino effect.

  

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"Are you okay?" He asked in immediate concern when Clue seemed to have gotten hurt. His eyes widened in alarm when an unfortunate series of events took place. Macnair was the oldest year here as well as a prefect so Narcissus hoped he would know what to do with the situation. He was more focused on tending to Clues injury.

  

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Having not even heard of electricity, let alone felt what it could do, Clue had never before experienced something like the shock he'd just felt. He was more curious than pained. But even as Narci voiced his concern, the bookshelf swayed alarmingly... and then crashed into another. Thankfully it didn't go further than that, but the damage was done — there were books scattered everywhere, a girl nearby had squealed in surprise, and Clue was certain the librarian would be here in moments, furious and vengeful.

"Come on", he muttered to Narcissus, hurriedly grabbing his wand and satchel, then pulling up the sleeve of his robe to pick up the medallion without touching it. The young Slytherin moved swiftly towards the library door before he could be made to face justice for the (albeit accidental) chaos he'd caused.

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