Chapter 52: Making Games
"Why are you so happy this year, Aurelius?" asked Silvia.
"What do you mean? I've more or less been like this," I said in response.
"No, I noticed it as well. It isn't very pronounced, but you are seemingly more relaxed than in the first year," added Hermione.
'Huh, I guess getting rid of all of my worries like the Chamber of Secrets, getting the ultimate defence and escape plans set up, and not worrying has relaxed me quite a bit. Then again, that ritual may have hit me harder than I thought,' thought Aurelius.
**Flashback**
"Is everyone ready?" I asked before starting the ritual.
They all nodded and I started to feed some magic into the circle that ties the magical materials to us.
'Grashnak somehow got his hands on these materials through an auction when I sent him the letter. It took him a few weeks, but he got everything except the phoenix feathers. Grashnak notified Dumbledore, but for some reason, he got no reply. So, with limited options and a deadline coming up, he had to fight tooth and nail for the phoenix feathers from Ollivander since they were in such short supply and he was the only one who had the supply to get it on such short notice. Short notice? It was a whole damn two weeks. I get that kids are getting their wands for Hogwarts this month, but come on! How is that short notice?! I had to buy a few feathers for 5,000 galleons. How the hell does that work? The man sells the wand with Phoenix Core for single digits to Harry Potter, but I have to spend a quarter of a senior Auror's salary?! I get the whole demand and supply bit, but that's just brutal. But no crying about it,' I thought while I was getting all of these materials.
An extreme warmth enveloped them all, and it was both incredibly invigorating and burning like all hell; that painful and pleasant feeling ended with half of them passing out and the others panting.
"No offence, Aurelius, but your family might have been masochists; it was like being hugged by a warm blanket while my insides were baking. I'm pretty sure my heart stopped a few times during that. Did we have to take off the rings? I could've really used the physical healing the rings passively do during that process," said Nagini.
"Unfortunately, rituals are very tricky business; if we were to add any other magical elements that weren't part of the ritual, it could result in just about anything happening," I said, feeling the same annoyance.
"I know what you mean, but at least I feel invigorated. Let's check up on my mothers; it seems that perhaps their bodies had difficulty channelling the magic through without causing more pain."
We put our fingers on their jugular and in front of their noses to check for their condition as I was talking.
"How do you guess?" she asked.
"My mother Martha has a very fit body, so she could handle quite a bit, but she passed out as quickly as my mother Ann did. In contrast, my mother Ann has a powerful mind. Both passed out at the same time as the moment the ritual ended. That suggests that the strength of the body or mind was irrelevant; however, we remained conscious because the most likely reason is magic. Our bodies are used to handling magic and having it flow through us, but they aren't. I'm sure they're used to small amounts through means like a potion, but I'm doubtful they've drunk a potion that potent," I said.
"It seems that they just passed out. I don't see any difficulties breathing," I said in relief.
"Well, let's get to sleep. I have school soon, and I need to get used to my new emotional levels," I said, ending the day.
**Back to the present**
"Well, I guess there isn't much to worry about, and I'm not worrying about things, at least for now," said Aurelius.
"What do you mean? I'm surprised you aren't cooking up something in that head of yours. You can't seem to relax and do nothing," said Silvia with a raised eyebrow in doubt.
"Well, I do tend to do some things, but I will take my time and get it done correctly," I said.
"And what do you mean by some things?" asked Hermione in protest.
"Well, I probably will make a new sport or fix Quidditch and have some people play it on the Galegold pitch. Maybe invent some stuff if I feel like it," I said with a shrug.
"Hmm, that's surprisingly lax of you," said Silvia.
"Lax? Is making a sport like that so easy?" asked Hermione.
"Well, yes and no; making up games is pretty easy, but dealing with all the technicalities is annoying. Making stuff like the techniques is rather fun," said Silvia.
"Besides, I said there is potential that I might be adjusting Quidditch like I told you girls last year," I said.
"That is true, and I agree they're far more reasonable," said the bushy-haired witch.
"I will probably do both, but it's not like it's going to be overly difficult," I said with a shrug.
"Famous last words," said Silvia with a chuckle.
"Okay, shoot some simple games, and I'll make them playable games into something more interesting," said Aurelius.
"Okay, dodgeball," said Hermione.
"Paintball," said Silvia.
"Really? I'm surprised you'd choose those two," said Aurelius.
"Well, you said you'd make it playable, and what I thought was that it had to be playable by anyone, so I chose one that seemed like fun but I wasn't very good at it," said Hermione.
"You said shoot, so my mind just went straight to that; plus, my father was part of the army when he was younger and took me paintballing when I was little," said Silvia.
"Well, alright then, those are interesting choices, so I'm going to mix those two and add in capture the flag," I said.
"At that point, it just sounds like going to battle," said Hermione.
"It more or less is, but that's the fun. It requires many elements that put more pressure on the event, making it more exciting," I said.
"Well, I suppose. Please continue," she said.
"Okay, this game to play relies on both strategic and physical capabilities, but those roles can be separated; first off, 60% of the person's body must be completely covered in paint if they have not been struck in a vital area with paintballs," I said.
"Won't that require a lot of paint? And the balls for paintballs are only large enough to cover a small piece of your body. It would take at least 100 paintballs to accomplish that," said Silvia.
"Precisely, that's why it works for those who prefer to be precise in their methods," I said.
"Now we have the grenade launcher and the catapult. With a proper hit, it can cover the person entirely; however, the grenade launcher projectile will have a charm on it making it travel at a slower pace. This will make escaping it far easier, but when used correctly, you can set the person up to be quickly taken out later. The catapult will be like an aerial strike that will prevent tactics like remaining in a single spot for long periods of time, such as a hiding spot or near the flag. It will have a balloon with the volume of four grenade launcher balloons that will have a whistle built in," I said.
"Doesn't that give an unfair advantage to those with the catapult? You could take out an entire team with one good hit," said Hermione.
"That is true, but that's only if you decide to remain close to each other. Dealing with widespread attacks, the standard method for dealing with those is splitting up so they are forced to play more carefully so as not to waste their limited wide-range ammunition by firing," said Aurelius.
"I'm still confused on why it requires 60% of their body to be covered with paint," said Hermione.
"The reason why is that being struck by, let's say, a wide-range attack like an explosion, but the damage is spread out throughout the target body instead of in a particular area. As a result, their body takes damage, but they are likely still able to move," I said.
"Okay, that makes sense," said Silvia.
"Well, as I was saying, strategic planning is a key element. They aren't allowed to make decisions that deviate from the strategic planner; if they do, they are court-martialed or rather, they are out for a few minutes five minutes after taking action, so basically they have a time limit to make their play," I said.
"Wait, so they're a commander. Doesn't that make this chess but the pieces can win or lose their fights?" said Hermione in understanding.
"Exactly," I said.
"But that doesn't incorporate the dodgeball element," said Silvia.
"The larger balloons, since they're slower, force the person to learn how to predict the trajectory and dodge. The only element I'm removing is capturing the ball, but now you can throw the balloon and still hit the target even if you aren't precise," I said in response.
"Alright, that sounds pretty fun. When are you going to make it?" said Silvia.
"I'm not, at least not this one for now; these methods are more akin to muggle warfare. It's an excellent game for purely muggle-born and half-bloods, but it heavily alienates those less familiar with such tools. Perhaps when I introduce and transition them into these tactics with less direct means, like a chess game mixed with warfare," I said.
"I can see that, and I must agree that it's better to do this later," said Hermione.
"Aww, but it sounds fun," said Silvia.
"Well, for now, I guess I should make an actual game that can be readily implemented," said Aurelius.
Silvia sighed but accepted it with a half-hearted nod.
"Okay, well you've already restructured Quidditch. Now you just need to make the materials," said Hermione.
"True, I will do that quickly, but while creating that, I'm going to be making a new sport," said Aurelius.
"Oh, how about making a learning game? Like those game shows on the telly," said Hermione.
"Oh, like the Krypton Factor?" asked Silvia.
"Not what I was going for, but it could be fun. It seems more like a game night type of thing, but I like how you're thinking," said Aurelius.
"Oh no, they're not just purely trivia. They also have physical challenges as well. Many challenges require teamwork as well," said Silvia.
"Oh, that works wonderfully for all the houses. I like it, but it's just a game show at that point," said Aurelius.
"Well, what's wrong with that? Plenty of sports have existed but just haven't resurfaced from history," said Hermione.
"I suppose, but some were rather questionable, like jousting," said Aurelius.
"Yes, I can certainly see how two people who rush at each other as fast as possible with a metal pole while wearing armour would be ill-advised," said Silvia.
"Well we'll see I suppose."
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