Once again, Aurora found herself in a forest like setting. It was even colder than the last challenge, which she expected, since it was the dead of winter now. As she walked along, her breath fogged in front of her again, and she really wished she could have worn her down feather parka. She knew that would have been completely impractical, but it was just sooooooo cold. Her hair was in a braid again, and she wished she had been smart enough to wear a headband. She could have used it as an ear warmer...

She pulled her wand out of her holster and held it in front of her, just to be safe. She didn't expect anything to jump out in front of her just yet - but then again, she hadn't anticipated a dementor during the last challenge either. As she kept walking, her eyebrows wrinkled in confusion as she came upon a large stone. What did THAT mean? "Lumos," she muttered, using the light from her wand to inspect the rock. No runes, no hidden message carved in to the rock Just a rock at the end of a path. It didn't look like anything too special...

"Whoa," she grumbled as she peered up and caught sight of the Whomping Willow. If she wasn't in the middle of a challenge of a lifetime, and if she wasn't completely FREEZING, she would think that this was one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen. There was something so...serene about the tree, with all the icicles hanging off of it like nature's own Christmas tree. They had NOTHING like this back at Ilvermorny.

She had done a bit of research on this tree and read up on its history in preparation for the competition. She knew that there was a secret passage that could be activated by hitting a knot on the side of the trunk - and she also knew that it was extremely dangerous. Plus, the secret passage led to that creepy old house in Hogsmeade, which was supposedly haunted. Maybe this challenge was going to involve fighting a ghost. How did one actually FIGHT a ghost? Maybe this was all just a distraction...? Or...maybe she was just hoping that.

Nope, her gut was telling her that this HAD to be part of the challenge. Get past the tree.

Glancing up at the icicles, she squinted to try and look at them. Something was off about this. It wasn't snowing or raining...so where did the icicles come from? She peeked down at her boots, making sure that she wasn't tracking through snow that she hadn't noticed. Nope. Nothing. Something was just weird here.

There was only one thing to do - try and get closer and figure out what exactly was going on here.

She needed more light. "Lumos Maxima!" she exclaimed. This would hopefully help her look at the icicles a bit clearer...and the extra light would also help her peripheral vision as well, so she could see if the tree began to twitch in warning...or so she hoped...

Your wand shines light upon the snow, making the path before you glisten. It is rather beautiful despite the fact that it is a cold night during the winter and the very air around you is still.

As you walk along, a tree slowly comes into view. Of course it isn’t ANY tree; nope, it’s the Whomping Willow, famous for doing exactly what its name says.

The light cast it intensifies, and the icicles in its branches glimmer. Of course they aren’t the only things that are shining, as there are also vials attached to the tree’s limbs. These become harder to see as the branches begin to swing. Better not get too close or you could get hurt! And avoid the icicles that have started to rain down onto the ground.

If you cast your eyes around, you will notice a workstation, but what is it for? It has to be connected to the vials that are dangling from the tree’s branches. Scanning your eyes slightly further, a cauldron comes into view. Inside it are written instructions:

"Well, this isn't a hat. Get on with it! Make your way to the passage beneath the tree."

Time to get started on that potion if you want to make your way further along in the challenge!

OOC: It is up to you to come up with both the ingredients to use and the potion to brew.

Aurora blinked a few times and stood on her tip toes in order to see the tree a bit clearer as her light lit up the area. Oh look, there WAS snow on the ground. Good thing she'd chosen boots. Still, that was all a distraction - she had to get a better look at this tree. Something was just not right about those icicles. She got as close as she dared, noting that the branches were starting to twitch ominously, and was able to get a good look at a nearby branch. Was that...a potion vial?? Multiple potion vials! That was why the icicle looked so weird. A few seconds after she noticed the vials, her eyes locked on the potion brewing station nearby. Puzzle pieces were starting to click in to place.

She hurried towards the station, grinning as she approached it. Potions was one of her BEST subjects after defense, and as soon as she made note of caterpillars, daisies and wormwood, she knew what she was meant to do. It was obviously the set up for a Shrinking Solution. While she wished it would do what it literally said - make her small, like in that No-Maj story, Alice in Wonderland - she knew it would instead change her into a younger version of herself. Who, by default, was smaller, and able to dodge flying tree branches to get in to the tree!

Aurora glanced down and grabbed the note out of the cauldron and tossed it aside. Even though she was sure the cauldron was probably clean already, she still pointed her wand at it and silently performed the Scourgify charm to give it another cleaning. Couldn't be too careful here, especially when a scholarship was on the line. She then took the daisy roots and began to finely chop them with the knife provided, making sure her cuts were even as she did so. There was an old fashioned scale on the station as well, so once she had the root all chopped, she measured out 8 grams worth of it before placing that off to the side. Ginger roots also needed to be chopping, so once she cleared away her finished daisy roots, she got to work chopping the ginger. She only need 4 grams of that one, so she took her evenly chopping ginger and measured that out with the scale as well before putting it with her finished daisy root.

Aurora was REALLY starting to get cold after that, so she stopped her preparation and instead focused on her cauldron. She waved her wand and silently cast Aguamenti over it, filling up the cauldron. It was kind of hard to see in the dim light of her wand, but she was able to successfully measure out 500 milliliters of it. She pointed her wand at the base of the cauldron and silently cast Incendio. She smiled at the extra light - and warmth - and returned to her prep work while the water began to boil.

She took the knife and skinned the shrivelfig, using the light from the fire to make sure she had cleanly removed all of the skin before moving on. She took one of the caterpillars provided in a bowl and began to chop. This was her LEAST favorite part of making this potion. Caterpillars were cute and fuzzy and adorable! She chopped as fast as she could while still making it nice and even before pushing it away with the rest of her finished ingredients so she didn't have to think about it anymore.

Finally, the dried nettles. She took the mortar and pestle and added the nettles before starting to crush it. Practicing beater with Chad all those summers had helped her get some good upper arm strength - so she had a nice, crushed powder of nettles in no time. She weighed out 8 grams of it on the scale -which was a lot harder to do with powder than chopped roots - but once she had the right amount, she picked it up and checked to see if the potion was ready. Aurora looked over at her cauldron and was pleasantly surprised to see that it had begun to boil already. She quickly took her nettles, caterpillar, daisy roots and shrivelfig and dropped it in. There was no clock that she could see, and she hadn't thought to wear her adorable black watch today to go with her outfit. Great. Looks like manual counting it was...

"One Mississippi..." she started mumble under her breath as she began to stir. This was probably the WORST part of the challenge so far. ABSOLUTELY THE WORST. Why had she not worn a watch?! WHY?! There was no clock provided for her either on her little work station. Maybe this was the whole challenge. Could you successfully brew a challenge without a clock and proper lighting? In the snow?

One could hope...

Two minutes was thankfully NOT hard to count to, and once she was done, she took the leech juice and added just the tiniest little dash of it to her cauldron. Now the hard part - letting this thing stew. Without a clock. For half an hour.

Grabbing a stick on the ground nearby, she began to count out loud again - it helped her keep track of how many "Mississippi's" she'd done. Once she reached sixty, she took the knife from the potions table and made a mark on her stick. Alright, one minute had passed. Then another...then another. She used the flames from her cauldron to warm her hands occasionally as she did so, focusing entirely on her counting.

Aurora couldn't help but feel embarrassed. Two WHOLE schools were watching her make notches in to a stick, counting aloud to herself, in the snow in front of the Whomping Willow. It was hardly a very humbling experience. She tried not to think about that, though. Scholarships were more important than social status...right?

Right. And she looked amazing right now, with her hair and nails and makeup still completely perfect, despite her predicament.

It felt like the longest half hour of her LIFE, but she did eventually finish counting her marks, and she grabbed her ginger roots and added them to the potion. She began to stir again, resuming her counting and thankful that at least the hard part of this potion was over. Two minutes went by a lot faster than the half hour. She took the cauldron off the fire and did a quick Finite to stop the flames, although that hurt her heart slightly to see the fire go away. It had been so nice and warm...

The potion cooled quickly, because it was FREEZING of course, so she had to move fast. She turned and pointed her wand at the tree. "Accio Vial!" she exclaimed, causing one of the vials to ZOOM right in to her outstretched hands. She grinned to herself and scooped up a ladle full of potion and poured it in.

She didn't need this to work for very long - half an hour tops, she hoped. One ladle full should do the trick, if it was brewed right. She was pretty confident in her potion brewing skills so...

"Bottoms up," she muttered before taking the potion and taking a big long gulp.

Wonderful! You are getting right down to starting that potion. The Whomping Willow remains on guard sensing your presence in the area, but as there is no immediate threat its branches merely continue to move slightly as if there is a wind blowing. A few more icicles fall from the branches, but other than that all is calm.

Incendio might have helped with the potion brewing, but it also served to make the tree grow tenser. Wood and fire do not mix well as anyone knows. The branches started moving more aggressively though it was not in full attack mode yet, and summoning one of the vials from its branches didn’t go unnoticed either. Lucky break that it didn’t get smashed by branches in the process.

Aurora grimaced as the potion made it's way down her throat - it certainly wasn't very appetizing. And it burned a little. As she waited for the potion to take affect, she peered up at the tree, taking note of the fact that it was starting to move a bit. It was starting to get irritated, that much was obvious. She wondered if this was the REAL tree, or if she was facing a duplicate. If the other competitors had trees of their own, it was likely a fake...which was sort of sad. Aurora would LOVE to brag about having defeated the legendary tree after all of this...

Slowly, she felt herself shrinking, transforming in to a younger and more agile version of herself. Once it was all said and done, she physically looked to be about eight years old. All those hours spent dodging other kids on the playground was about to pay off. The only problem was her clothes were now WAYYY too big. "Reducio!" she muttered as she ran her wand over her leggings, boots and coat, adjusting the size so they weren't hanging off of her. Kind of hard to dodge killer tree branches if you were tripping over your oversized boots...

Alright, if she had brewed this correctly, she didn't have a whole lot of time...the sooner she got moving, the better!

"Lumos!" she whispered, peering at the base of the tree with her wand to try and locate the knot she KNEW existed. That knot was her ticket in to the tree, and she just had to get to it! Carefully she began creeping around the edge of the tree, eyes darting back and forth from the killer branches to the base of the tree and back to the branches...

After carefully circling the tree for a few moments, her eyes fell upon the knot. Perfect! She looked up at the tree and braced herself. If she wasn't able to make it through to the base, she would have to find something to throw at the knot, but hopefully it never got to that point. It would be a lot easier - and faster - to simply dodge the branches and physically do it herself. Hopefully her smaller figure was enough to dodge the branches and make it in to the passage without damage.

Or at least, without much damage.

One...two...THREE! "Protego!" she whispered to herself, throwing a shield over herself (she would rather be safe than sorry!) before bouncing off her heel and making her move toward the tree. GERONIMO!

Congratulations! The potion you have brewed was successful and you are one step closer to completing the challenge. Of course you can’t progress until the Whomping Willow is out of your way… and of course it is even more agitated with all the time that you have spent in brewing that Shrinking Solution.

Casting a Shield Charm was an excellent idea, as branches start to CRASH to the ground all around you. Best not let it hit you as an impact would NOT be good despite the protection.

Now which knot is the correct one to push?

Aurora had her eye on the prize - or, what she assumed was the prize. She'd seen the round knot on the side of the trunk and that was her target. She hadn't seen any other knots on the tree after circling it a few times, and this was was almost TOO perfectly round to be believable. That HAD to be it. They might as well have painted it bright red to signal that it was the correct one.

She took a few steps forward, branches and snow crunching under her shoes as she began to pick up the pace. The first branch aimed for her, and she jumped to the side with relative ease. Wow, she had forgotten how much smaller she had been just a mere eight years ago - she was MUCH faster and agile than she had remembered. Perhaps she had just never noticed at the time, or maybe having the stamina of a sixteen year old in a eight year old body was making her move faster than normal. Each jump seemed to take less energy, and she seemed to move faster with less effort. Either way, she wasn't TOO sure her normal self could move like this - best take advantage of it before the potion wore off!

After she dodged the first branch, another one - a particularly LARGE one - was trying to come down RIGHT on top of her head. She sprinted towards the tree, avoiding the crushing blow from above while also hopping to jump over a vine that was aiming at her feet. This was by far the most challenging thing she had ever done. She had never been a particularly athletic child, but your body could do crazy things under the pressure of adrenaline! Her wide brown eyes were darting left and right, watching for the slightest bit of movement that would clue her in to the tree's next move.

She had to side step back a bit to avoid another branch, and as she did so, a branch came down and SMASHED on the ground next to her, causing her to throw out her arms to keep her balance. WOW. That had been a close one. The branch had come so close, she had goosebumps from the WHOOSH it'd made as it passed her ear. Shudder. If she had been her normal size, it would have gotten her ear, and gotten it good. The momentary set back didn't stop her from focusing though - the tree wasn't stopping, despite her small loss of balance, and she had to literally DIVE to the ground to avoid another branch crashing down on her.

Landing with a grunt, she got to her hands and knees just in time to see a GIANT branch that looked WAY too much like a hammer coming down RIGHT at her head. Aurora gasped and buried her face in the ground, rolling like a log to the right and narrowly avoiding being turned in to a pile of guts on the ground. Her heart was pounding out of her chest due to that near miss, but she had to remind herself to keep moving as she shakily got to her feet. She could feel her protection spell wearing off, and her suspicions were confirmed when a vine wiped at her face the second she got to her feet. In her attempt to dodge, it still got the edge of her cheek, causing a blinding burning sensation that made her eyes water and her whole right side of her face to grow numb. She reached up and a fresh streak of blood was on her cheek, which wasn't a surprise.

Still, she had to KEEP MOVING. She was so close!

Going in to a full on sprint, she decided to just go for it, eyes locking on the knot again and making a beeline for it. As she ran, she jumped over another vine that had attempted to take out her legs, and dove to the side to avoid a branch that was trying to take the OTHER side of her face. She scrambled to her hands and knees, half crawling and half running towards the trunk. Her hands were growing numb from constantly falling in the cold snow, and her leggings were starting to get caked in dirt - and she didn't even want to THINK about what her face looked like at the moment. Her beautiful, perfect face!

The giant hammer looking branch was BACK and wanting vengeance, but thankfully Aurora was better prepared for this one. She stopped, staring at the branch as it came for her, and she was certain it couldn't back out of the swing, she sprung in to action and power sprinted to the side, missing the blow and giving herself a few seconds of much needed safety while the tree recoiled from the attack. It wasn't until after she had dodged it that it occurred to her just how STUPID that move was, and how terrible that could have ended up.

Ah well. It had worked and that was all that matter. This was a competition, after all - you had to take risks!

The knot was just a few inches away from her, and she jumped forward, pushing her entire body weight onto the knot. Here's hoping that worked...

Well done!

You have managed to duck and dodge your way around the Whomping Willow’s wild branches with minimum damage. Good thing since it looks like your potion is starting to wear off.

The branches continue to crash around you as you jump forward and put all your weight against the knot. Fortunately that has done the trick, and the tree has been immobilized. And not a moment too soon!

Looks like you now have access to the hole near the roots.

Time to see what is down there.

Just as Aurora was CERTAIN that stupid hammer shaped branch was going to come crashing down on her again, the tree stopped moving. She grinned to herself and let out a long sigh of relief before pumping her fist in the air. YES! Success! And it had apparently taken her longer than she thought to get towards the tree, because she could feel herself getting taller as she stood there. She pointed her wand at her clothes and did a quick finite charm to rid them of the enchantment that was making them smaller, and in a few moments, her body was back to normal.

Either it had taken her a while to dodge the branches, or her potion making skills were NOT as good as she thought they were. Which was absurd. It had to be the former in that case...

Not wanting to stick around to see how long this knot kept the tree at bay, she turned around the edge of the trunk and made her way into the secret passage that was now available to her. Hopefully it would be a tad warmer in here, out of the direct path of the wind.

"Lumos!" she muttered, lighting up the passage as she descended into the darkness. She knew that if she was meant to get to that creepy old shack, she had to move fast. The village was a decent ways away from the Hogwarts grounds, but then again, who knew what this passage was actually like.

Only thing she could do now was move forward, since she obviously wasn't going back out to the murder tree anytime soon.

Lumos lighting the way, you make the journey along the passageway. Who knows how long it will take, though the clock keeps ticking. It feels like this will go on foreveeeeer, but of course everything must come to an end, and this will too.

Finally you reach the end of the passage.

A door is standing in front of you, and your wand shines a light on a piece of paper attached to it.

*Click Me*

Text Cut: Text Only

Remember: things are not always as they seem,
And with odd trinkets this shack does teem.
In the time remaining, you must find your way
And locate two items that have gone astray;

One is held dear to our pigletted friends.
It can’t build a home, but a house it does amend
To every boy and girl cherished at the castle,
But you won’t find it without much hassle.

You’re looking for a lever that unlocks a door,
But to find the item you might need a particular score.
Try them all, and you will see. Something is off.
Dust covers this place like an infernal cough.

Now, our next item is from across the seas.
It can attach and reattach as you please.
It doesn’t write; it surely isn’t a quill,
And it’s small in size as well as beautiful.

Twist clockwise and nothing you’ll get,
But counter that, and you might regret
The noxious gas that fills your space
If you turn it too quickly, wood it would deface.

Good luck, champions. Find them both here.
Look with your eyes, hear with your ears.
Search up and down, and then high and low,
But don’t be too hasty or too slow.

OOC: Here is a floor plan provided OOC to make it easier to RP your character exploring the shack. Feel free to be as creative as positive.


*Click Me!*


*Click Me!*

After what felt like eternity, but was probably only about ten minutes or so, Aurora descended upon the shack. She stopped at the door and used her wand light to read the note that was pinned to it. OOOOH a riddle! She read it over once, then twice...and a few more times for good measure. Ok, so she had to locate some objects in here. Shouldn't be too hard...

At least, that was what she thought until she actually opened the shed, and saw what a complete nightmare the place was.

She wrinkled her nose in disgust as she walked in to the main floor, taking in the completely trashed house. EWWWW, rotten food! The smell was nauseating, and she had to take a few seconds to steady herself and stop herself from retching. It smelled like rotting cheese mixed with animal feces. GROSS! Wasn't this like, a tourist attraction for Hogwarts students? Why was it so MESSY then?? Surely no one wanted to tour a house that was in this much disarray! She also found it hard to believe that absolutely NO ONE had wandered in here to clean up the place in all those years. Perhaps the place had been...re-cluttered specifically for this challenge. That had to be it. Otherwise, Hogsmeade would attract all manner of wildlife with this rotten food, and that would HARDLY go unnoticed.

She pulled the collar of her shirt over her mouth and nose and read the clues again. Ok, pigletted friends...did that mean actual piglets? Her first reaction was to look for bacon of some sort. No, that couldn't be it. There was definitely no bacon here - at least not any that was edible by any means. The house bit in the next line made her think that maybe she was looking for wood or straw of some sort. After all, wasn't there a No-Maj story about three little piglets building houses out of straw? She kept reading. Try them all...so something that had multiples in the house? Hmm. She turned in circles a few times, taking in the various objects around the house and also taking note of the stairs behind her. So there was a second floor...she'd have to venture up there if her efforts proved fruitless down here.

She went on to the next clue. Something small from across the seas...that made her think that maybe it was something that had to do with Ilvermorny. Something American. After all, they WERE here from across the sea...but what was that bit about the noxious gas? Her eyes darted over to the bathroom to her left. Could it mean, like...THAT kind of noxious gas? No, that would be WAY too disgusting. Surely even these English folk had their limits when it came to that kind of stuff. And waste didn't destroy wood - at least not right away...

Fire destroyed wood. She looked over to the dusty fireplace and went to examine it. She wasn't sure how she could adjust a fire in there, though, because she would just wave her wand a fire would appear. The fireplace at the Chae house had a lever that would adjust the intensity of the flame for them, but she didn't see anything like that here. There was no knob or switch to control a flame....

Suddenly, she sat up straight as an idea popped in to her head. She turned on her heel, facing the kitchen, and hurried over to the old kitchen appliances.

Stoves had knobs, and could create fire...

If the stove was old and broken, it could certainly be dangerous and cause a gas leak...

YES! This had to be it!

Smiling to herself, she put the parchment on the table as she entered the kitchen and examined the stove. If she just...turned the knobs and started the burners, would that be enough to reveal a clue? It was the best guess she had at the moment. She'd have to be careful of course, as she had no intention of dying in this stupid shed from a dumb gas leak. She wasn't sure if this was an automatic stove though, or if she would need to actually start a fire with the spark of her wand. She pulled it out of her holster just in case. She hoped not - Aurora had been spoiled all her life with very nice appliances and had never had to use a flame to actually start a burner on a stove, and she might very well blow this whole place up in the process.

Biting her lip, she leaned forward and examined the knobs. The right front burner was the only one that appeared to have a working knob. The other ones were all broken or hanging off the hinges.

The note had said that turning clockwise would do nothing. That made sense -she thought back to her own stove at home, and how turning it clockwise without first lighting it would do nothing. But turn it COUNTER clockwise, and she might regret it, the note had said. She'd have to go super slow, to make sure that she didn't accidentally cause a gas leak. This old thing WAS old and broken, after all. Taking a deep breath, she reached out and wrapped her fingers around the knob and pushed in, then turned it counter clockwise, holding her breath as she slowly turned the knob...she heard the click click click that most stoves made when you started up the burner, and hoped in a few seconds, she'd be rewarded with a flame...and not an explosion...

The shack is beyond disgusting; the smell itself is enough to make anyone more determined than ever to find the objects and get out as soon as possible. Stained floors, peeling wallpaper, and boarded up windows greet you everywhere as you make your way towards the kitchen. In there you find an oven with a knob that looks slightly different than the others. It’s shinier.

Turning the knob counter-clockwise does more than provide clicking sounds; the oven makes a strange noise and a bit of smoke comes out of it.

The knob wiggles and jiggles around as if it is about to detach itself, but in the end it holds.

Aurora let out a little cough as the smoke came from the oven, and using her wand, cast the Bubble Head charm around her just to be on the safe side. She was NOT dying in this shack. The knob seemed like it was going to detach, but never did. Hmmm, was it SUPPOSED to do that? She wasn't sure if the knob would reveal something else or not - it could also be meant to stay on and if she messed with it more, she might be engulfed in MORE smoke. It was a risk she had to take though. She was safe in her bubble after all!

First, she opened the oven and peeked in there, trying to see if anything had been revealed in the smoke. Then, she pushed in and turned the knob counter clockwise once again, to see if anything new would happen this time...pushing just a bit harder than she had previously...

The odd noise and smoke emitting from the oven could be seen as a good sign. Maybe a clue that you are heading in the right direction in turning the knob counter-clockwise. That is definitely more effective than peeking inside the oven, where all you are greeted with is more dirt and stench.

A clicking sound greets you as you turn the knob counter-clockwise once more, putting further pressure on whatever is holding the knob in place. Suddenly it breaks free and you hold it in your hand.

Is it really a knob though? Looks more like a brooch than anything else.

For a second, Aurora regretted this decision and was sure she was going to be engulfed with more smoke, but then - SNAP! The knob came off in her hand, and the oven didn't explode. Win win! Now, was that what was SUPPOSED to happen? Or did she just destroy the oven for absolutely no reason?

She picked up the broken knob and examined it. This wasn't a knob at all! It was a brooch of some kind. This HAD to be what the clue was talking about. It could be taken on and off, and it WAS rather pretty...but she didn't have time to sit here and admire it all day. It must have been some sort of heirloom from Ilvermorny, if it came from across the sea, but she would investigate that later. After all, the clue didn't say she had to figure out what it WAS once she got it, just to find them! She placed it in her pocket and then did a quick Finite on her Bubble Head charm, since it seemed like the danger of possible smoke inhalation had passed.

One item down - one more to go.

This clue was more puzzling to her than the one about the oven. That one seemed to have jumped out at her rather quickly, for whatever reason. She picked up the parchment from the table again and read it over and over a few more times. She was looking for a lever of some sort? And what did the thing about the dust mean? There was dust EVERYWHERE, so that was hardly helpful. She wandered over to the dining room table, wrinkling her nose and using her collar as a scarf again to keep the smell of rotting food at bay. That didn't seem useful at all. Moving on.

She walked back to the fireplace and the furniture, which had seen better days for sure. She ran her hand over the fireplace over and over again, getting dust EVERYWHERE but hoping that she maybe would find something helpful, like a loose brick or something - nope. Nothing. Nothing inside the fireplace either, just more dust. Which she was now covered in.

She stood up and dusted herself off, sighing as she did so. Didn't seem like there was a lever of any sort around here. With that, she turned on her heel and walked back towards the entrance, heading for the stairs. She stopped at the bathroom along the way and peered inside, JUST to be sure she checked every inch of this place...BLEGH. Nope. There was no way these Ministry officials were sadistic enough to make her go rooting around in THAT.

So it looked like the second floor was her next stop.

Aurora walked up the spiraling stairs, going slowly since she wasn't sure how much integrity they had left to them, being so OLD, and made her way to the upper level. There wasn't any rotting food up here at least, but more dust of course. Her brown eyes scanned her surroundings. Ok, a table missing a leg...a bunch of dusty books, and a piano with a bunch of missing keys. There was also a bed, but as soon as she walked closer, she could see the sheets...MOVING...so yeah. Aurora was avoiding that for sure. It was making her itchy just looking at it!

So where did she start? She still had no clue what this clue was talking about! It was so frustrating!! She read it over a few more times, stopping to scan the items she had at her disposal after each read. There were no straws, bricks or sticks around, so her idea about the three little pigs connection seemed to be out. Looking for a lever that unlocks a door, something is off...she looked at the table, wondering if maybe THAT was what the clue was talking about. One of the table legs could be a lever...but then she would have to probably physically BREAK the table, since that would leave only two legs standing, and she had already defaced one thing in here today. Would they really want her destroying another? Didn't this place have like...history and all that? You'd think they'd want that preserved to some extent...

She looked at the books directly ahead of her. That could be a good starting place. After all, when Aurora thought of secret passages - she thought of bookcases. She could rip them all off the shelves and hope one opened a secret passage. She decided that was a good starting point. She started to walk toward the bookshelves, leaving dusty footprints in her wake....but then she stopped abruptly when she passed the piano.

Maybe the PIANO keys opened a door. It wasn't exactly a lever, but if she tried pushing all the keys...maybe one would open the door? Maybe the clue wasn't even talking about opening a door at all - after all, pianos had KEYS, and KEYS opened doors. It could simply mean she had to play with the piano to get the item! Worth a shot, she had nothing to lose, really. She walked back and stood in front of the piano, taking her manicured finger and pushing down on the very first one in the row. She winced at the note that it played - this piano was TOTALLY out of key. Wait, that could be what the clue was talking about! Something was off...the tuning of the piano was DEFINITELY off.

If this didn't work, she would try the books next. But for now...she took her finger and one by one, pressed each key, white and black, making her way down until she had hit every one.

Congratulations!

You have found the second object of the challenge. You are getting closer to the finish line, though it's not time to celebrate. First there is that other item to find.

Exploring the Shack further, you make sure to avoid stepping on and food, though that isn't the only thing that you should worry about; a few rats scamper by, not pleased that their home has been intruded on. Best to stay as clear of them as possible while you continue on your quest.

Reaching the old and dusty piano on the second floor, you soon fill the air with out of tune music. One by one you go down the line, but what is that? Did one of the keys sound weirder than the others?

As Aurora was pushing down on each key, she heard a small squeak and looked down at the floor - OMG. A RAT! She let out a little screech and jumped up on to the piano bench as she watched it scurry away into a dark corner. Yikes. She didn't mind rats but she had been so focused on her task, it had startled her. She hopped off, and good timing too - the bench was not very steady, it seemed, and as soon as she had jumped off the whole thing collapsed.

Whoops.

Kicking some of the pieces out of her way, she resumed her task, and once she had reached the end of the line of keys, she paused. One of the keys, the third to the last one to be exact, had sounded a bit...weird. All the keys were out of tune, of course, but that one in particular had sounded odd. She didn't play the piano, but she knew enough to know that the keys had set notes, and the one she had pushed didn't sound right at all compared to the others around it.

Aurora HAD to be on to something here. She just knew it! She played the keys backwards, stopping after she pressed down on the suspicious key once again. Yup, that note definitely hit the ear wrong.

She pushed it again, and again, and again, hoping that something would happen...if nothing happened soon, she would have to move on, and she'd be back to square one!

With each pressing of the key, the same sound can be heard. There has to be something going on here, but of course no other sign greets you in order to tell you what to do next. Just the sound of the note being played over and over again.

There has to be something else that you can do here, but what?

The annoying note was starting to carve itself in to Aurora's brain, and she was sure that she would hear it in her sleep tonight. But nothing was HAPPENING. She had been sure that she had been on to something here. In annoyance, she kicked another piece of the now broken piano bench across the room, letting out a yell. She was sooo close to finishing this stupid challenge, and she felt like she had hit a roadblock.

She had one more idea before giving up and moving on to another piece of furniture. She walked back to the piano and let out a sigh, reminding herself to remain calm. She still had time. She looked down at the suspicious key, which was missing the surrounding white keys, oddly enough. Or maybe it wasn't odd. Maybe that was on purpose. It was perfect for her to wrap her fingers around...

Which is exactly what she did. Maybe this key was an actual lever, and pulling it out would open some door somewhere...or maybe the key itself was a PHYSICAL key, and she'd need it to open, something. Either way, she knew this had to work. It HAD to.

She pulled back on the key with all her strength, hoping that something, ANYTHING, would happen...

It’s easy to become frustrated, but do not lose hope, Ilvermornyan. Not when you are so close to finishing the challenge. There has to be a way to access the inside of the piano and retrieving what is inside it.

You start to tuuuuuuug away at the key in the hopes of loosening it - something that shouldn’t be too difficult given the fact that it is so old and decrepit; already there are several keys missing from the instrument and what is one more to join them?

POP!

The key comes loose from the piano leaving a hole and there is a rumbling sound. What shall you do next?

Aurora was surprised at how long it took for the key to actually become loose and was a bit shocked when it finally did so - she stumbled backward a bit, holding on tightly to the key that she had finally misplaced. She wasn't sure what she was expecting to happen, but when all the came was a low rumbling, she frowned. No secret door? No grand explosion of success? She sighed and looked down at the key in her hand before dropping the dumb thing on the floor.

There was now a space where the key had been. Part of her just wanted to rip out all the keys and hope she found something underneath...but that would be silly. And awfully time consuming.

Instead, she rolled up her sleeve and leaned forward, reaching her arm through the hole she had just made. Thank goodness her arms were skinny, otherwise it might not have fit! She reached her hand as far as it could possibly go into the inner workings of the piano, hoping her fingers would wrap around something useful...and not a dead rat or anything horrifying like that...

You try your hardest to reach the object inside through the hole where the key had been, but you can’t seem to grab a hold of anything at all. Whatever is inside there is still out of your reach. Don’t give up hope, however, as you are so close to being finished.

Suddenly there are sounds within the piano as if there is something inside wanting to escape. Hmm, this seems like a good time to investigate further.

Aurora stopped abruptly as she heard the sounds of something - something sounding like it wanted to get out. Something moving. Something ALIVE. OH NO. It was a rat wasn't it?! She jumped back a bit in surprise. What on Earth could possibly be in there?

Heart racing, she reminded herself that just because something was moving, didn't necessarily mean it was an animal trapped in there. It could be a charmed object. It didn't HAVE to be a dirty rat. That would make no sense, really.

Alright, enough messing around. Aurora knew she was wasting time and she didn't seem to get anywhere going slow. This next move was risky, she knew, but she had to take chances. Time was running out, she had to be nearly out of it at this point...

She pointed her wand at the piano and muttered "Reducto!" She didn't need the piano to smash in to a MILLION pieces, or turn entirely to dust, so she didn't put her full strength in to the spell. She just needed to get inside! And hopefully not damage the item inside in the process...especially if it was alive...

BOOM!

The spell has the immediate effect of blasting the piano. The sound of it echoing around the room, and pieces of wood flying everywhere. A disgruntled bat arises from the debris and shrieks, rushing past you on its way to escape. It didn't appreciate the explosion.

No matter because there is something lying in the wreckage. Is that a hat?