Etta twisted it clockwise first before twisting it counter-clockwise as well.. which turned the flames on but that was it. It yielded nothing. The knob seemed normal enough. She sighed and reached for the next one, self-doubts still running through her mind. She had managed the challenge quite well until.. the riddle happened, of course. The whomping willow, brewing the potion, getting hit by the Willow, finding the hole that led to this shack.. she had done all of it but the riddle managed to completely put her off. It was so embarrassing, really. If only she had figured out the sorting hat part of the riddle a lot sooner.. but she mentally tried to shake away those thoughts once again. There was no point in wishing what could have been but instead, she tried to focus on the present as much as possible. The girl twisted the second knob slowly.. and felt it wiggle. Uh, that was surprising. How interesting. Also, didn't it look very different as compared to the other knobs? It didn't look as old.. in fact, she felt that it had been attached very recently. It looked too shiny and new. All the more interesting.. hm. She pulled her hand away and stared at it for a moment before setting her wand down on the stove so that the light was shining on the knobs. She still held the sorting hat in her other hand for dear life. Etta just couldn't risk leaving it anywhere, not even for a second, when she was so close to finishing the task. Just, nope.

But, just to make sure, Etta diverted her attention to the other knobs. She twisted each of them but they seemed normal enough.. just like the first one. So, her gaze turned towards the second knob, narrowing her eyes slightly. This was it. She did wonder if this was the last part of the challenge.. since time was running short, anyway. Must be, yeah? Etta was just glad that she was done with the physical challenges because she would hardly have been up for it. She still felt the pain occasionally.. but trying to ignore it as much as possible.. at least, until she visited the healer. Etta just hoped it wasn't anything serious. She had her OWLs approaching as well and just couldn't risk losing hours of study because of a broken bone.. or whatever the injury was. The fact that she had managed so far without facing too much discomfort was an achievement in itself.. thanks to episkey.

Anyway, back to the current situation in hand, she twisted the second knob and gave it a firm twist but.. it wasn't loose enough to come off. So, she decided to give it another try. Etta twisted the knob once again, giving more force this time.. and she was successful as the knob came off and was resting comfortably in the palm of her hand. Wow. She placed it on the counter, next to the stove, before bending down to stare into the gap behind where the knob had been attached.. and sure enough, she'd been right.. yeah? Luckily, the brooch wasn't stuck too far inside so she slowly and very carefully reached for it with her fingers.

Wait, wait! Wait, Hogwarts champion! Don’t stick your fingers in -

Too late. You’ve done it. And inside where the knob was previously located is a rock. It’s just a...rock. But that part is very hot from all that flame action that had just happened on the stove. BE CAREFUL!

But the knob in your hand…..do you feel transforming? The magic has worn off now that you’ve found it, and it is very much the second item you have sought. Isolt Sayre’s brooch now lies in the palm of you hand. It makes sense if you think about it: The Sorting Hat, belonging to Hogwarts, and the brooch, belonging to Ilvermorny. You’ve brushed on your history, though. You knew it. Clever, girl.

But congratulations on the find. And just in the knick of time, too.

“OWWWW!” Etta yelled as her fingers brushed against the the rock underneath the stove, almost burning her hand in the process because of all the twisting that she’d done earlier. She'd turned on the flame, hadn't she? Great, now she could add burns to the list of injuries of the day. Ugh. She watched the tips of her fingers turn bright red, realising that she was going to have do something about it. But.. first and foremost, where was the brooch? It had to be the answer, right? At least, it had to be the only answer that made sense. Or was her guess wrong? Nope, that couldn't be possible but if it wasn't under the stove.. maybe it was somewhere else. Was she to go searching again? But, just when she was about to give up.. the girl noticed something almost incredible.

She watched, her eyes widening in surprise, as the knob that she had pulled out earlier was slowly transforming into.. a brooch. The gold brooch that belonged to Isolt Sayre. Uh. Well, that was unexpected but she was also extremely relieved. The girl stared at the brooch, that was sitting on her hand for a moment or two, marvelling at how beautiful it was. So old and yet, it hadn’t lost it's beauty or it's charm. Finally, she wrapped her fingers around it and dropped it into her pocket carefully before picking up her wand, quickly making her way right back to where the entrance door was. She looked around for a little bit. Now, that she had secured both the items..

The girl simply stood, unable to stop the smile that was tugging the corners of her lips. It was a nice feeling.. even if she'd taken a bit of time, she was literally done with the challenge. Etta sighed, chewing her lower lip in thought. Now.. what, though? Was she done? Could she leave? But.. she couldn't just leave, could she? Maybe she had to wait for a while, until someone showed up. Maybe. Who knew how long it would take? She pulled out the brooch and studied it for a while, absently walking around the lower floor of the shack.

You have found both items! After nearly getting killed by the Willow, getting off track from the riddle at first, and now being burnt by the stove, you have managed to survive and finish the task. Congratulations, Hogwartian. ‘

You are suddenly jolted awake….awake? Had you been asleep the entire time? There is white everywhere in every direction, and you feel yourself laying on a bed (somewhat comfortable, too). A Department of Ministry employee greets you when you open your eyes to find yourself in a white room located near where the Viewing Area is setup.

Well, this is good news. Perhaps you don’t have a broken rib, then. Might want to get it checked anyway to be safe. But it was…...a dream. You have just woken up from an elaborate, magically modified daydream. The department employee tells you that you are free to go down to the stands where everyone is watching the rest of the competitors (and previously you) compete against the Willow, and then in the Shack. Your scores will be shown shortly.

OOC: You may now look at the viewing area and/or other competitors' threads.