The tasks described here can be played out however you like, in any order, at any time! If you’d prefer to headcanon things rather than play them out, that’s also fine! Same with Trials from previous years. Consider this simply an info dump to have fun with however you choose.
Alumni
All alumni would have participated in The Trials. Not all alumni would have successfully passed The Trials, but they are designed in such a way that if you want to compete, you pass. All alumni who passed The Trials received a wooden box with a key inside. On the evening of The Trials, alumni keys rattle in the box, loudly, and the box opens to reveal a sharp shrieking noise. The only way to stop the sound is to pick up the key, which acts as portkey to the Quidditch Pitch for this year’s trials. The spell on alumni keys degrades with time, meaning the sound is at its sharpest for the most recent graduates, but alumni from the last few years could probably still hear the faint sound and be transported for The Trials if they wanted to.
The Scene
When alumni arrive there is a table with masks, scrolls and cloaks. The pitch is lit with torches. Professor Marks is sitting in the stands smoking a cone- supervising. No staff officially sanction The Trials and in fact warn seventh years against participating in literal hazing, but there’s a staff member present every year just to make sure no one dies.
Alumni pick up a scroll at random. It gives them a script to read out to the seventh years, who are summoned from their bedrooms, dazed and confused in their pyjamas. Again, they have been warned that this is the night The Trials usually happen. It’s Hogwarts’ worst-kept secret. Some of the kids arrive and immediately flip the group of waiting alumni the bird before stalking back to the castle in their slippers. Participation is voluntary.
One by one, alumni read their scripts from their scrolls.
“Any witch or wizard who applies themselves can graduate from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Finishing The Trials, however, requires a higher calibre of wix. To finish The Trials, you must be determined, courageous, and willing to work as a team. The Trials consist of three tasks, which will test not only the knowledge you’ve learned during your years in school, but also your ability to apply your skills and experience, think on your feet, and solidify your understanding of what kind of wix you want to be in the real world. Good luck...and don’t fuck it up!”
TASK ONE
OOC Information: Task One is a whole-group task. The 7th years work together on a task that every other year group has worked on in years prior. It is physically impossible to finish the task as the task magically extends itself- the idea is to build on the scribbled notes from years before and inch closer for the next year to maybe get a touch closer. The task is a long riddle on parchment which, when solved aloud, reveals an intricate set of runes and instructions to brew a potion for one student to drink, which would give them the ability to fly. There are several incantations and steps to brew the potion which requires every single student to participate. Students will be able to see signed notes from the likes of Harry Potter, to Newt Scamander, Albus Dumbledore and many of their professors from when they were students.
IC Information: The students are ushered into a well-lit area with clusters of tables and chairs. One long wooden table runs down the center of the enclosure, and upon arrival one masked alumni unrolls the extensive parchment onto its surface; it extends down the entire length of the table and spills down further onto the ground. Another alumni reads:
“You cannot step into your future in magic without reverence for the staircase of knowledge and experience of history that brought you there. Your first task asks you to build upon the knowledge of every wix who has walked these hallowed halls before you and stood where you’re standing, wondering what the fuck they were gonna do after they left this place. Synthesize their learning with your own and see if you can finally solve the unsolvable puzzle. You have six hours.”
TASK TWO
OOC Information: For Task Two, students and alumni work together, split into House groups and sent into the Forest. Every wix gets a tool and an instruction, which are properly mismatched- for example, using a butterfly net to catch a ghoul, chop the branch of an enchanted tree with a bow and arrow, etc. The idea is that House members will find each other and switch tools to help each other complete the task.
IC Information: The students are ushered to the perimeter of the Forbidden Forest, where large crates emblazoned with each of the four house crests are waiting. Inside each are parcels assigned with names. Once all are divided up, an alumni reads:
“At Hogwarts, your house was your second family. The bond of those like-minded individuals placed within the same house is invaluable and everlasting...and now it’s time to test its power. Each house will have three hours to complete all assigned tasks. If even one individual from a house does not complete their task in the allotted time, the entire house fails. So make sure everyone figures their shit out.”
A whistle blows, and the task begins.
TASK THREE
OOC & IC Information: Students and Alumni gather around an enchanted barrel. Students move forward when their name appears in the smoke coming from the barrel, stick their head over the fumes and inhale. The next words out of their mouth will be the name of their Alumni Mentor. Students do not choose it and cannot change.
The pair, mentor and student, then work together to complete the final task. After 30 minutes, the student and mentor must walk onto the centre of the field, in front of the barrel, where ghosts of the Founders of Hogwarts float. It is rumoured that these are the actual ghosts of the actual founders, but they are never seen any other day of the year. The mentor will introduce their student as a prospective alumni and request that they pass the trials. The Founders will ask the student a question- usually they revolve around a summary of what the student has learned in their years of education, what qualities they possess that mark them worthy or what their plans are. You pick the question and answer for your student. If the Founders are pleased with the student's answer, they will swear the mentor to an oath to protect and guide their student, the student to an oath to uphold and live their values, and to mentor another student. The student is then given their box and a golden crown followed by thunderous applause from the crowd.
Below the cut are the assigned student mentees and alumni mentors: