The Doom of Graduation

Hello dear readers! Now, with this article, I’d like to begin with asking you a rather peculiar, yet (probably) still relevant, question. What’s the best way to bring stress and bewilderment to students? Some of you might say detention, others may say Filch himself, but this year it has been proven that one trumps all, the student challenge! Recently, the air has been thick with mystery, tension, and drama as students (and alumni of course) took part in the delightfully named “Doom of Death Day Challenge.” This involved various tasks, each narrowing down the number of challengers until finally, the winner emerged. It all started so innocently: a party for Sir Nicholas on his 526th Death Day, but this soon took a turn for the worse when the most horrid of events took place, as you'll find out in this article.

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It was a cool, crisp morning on October 29th, and at 7:45AM the flap of wings was heard resounding in the sky, from the furthest reaches of Devon to the northernmost peaks of the highlands. People looked up to see identical small, envelopes fluttering down to them. In opening them, it became apparent that there was to be a party, namely the aforementioned one for Sir Nick's Death Day, and that many were invited.

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It was October 30th, and the atmosphere in the Great Hall was buzzing with energy; the excitement of the living must really be outweighing any effect that the ghosts have. Either that, or their passion for partying is somehow breaking the barrier between the living and the dead.

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These vibes simply couldn't continue however… and sooner or later, a speech had to be given. :P Sir Nick hovered at the front and began his speech. Without warning, there was a mighty crash, and all went black. Once people could see again, they noticed something… Sir Nick had disappeared, along with all the other ghosts! All just gone!

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It seemed the Challenge had begun ;)

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The first task appeared to be simple; just round up the ghosts from where they'd been sent to, including Sir Nick. Many searched far and wide, throughout the expanses surrounding the castle to locate them, and the struggle proved to be real. The mindbending search continued until eventually, twenty succeeded in rescuing the poor soul, with Rose Jean coming out on top, closely followed by Disa and xSarahsan.

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After he had somewhat recovered, Sir Nick revealed another problem, the next task. Peeves, being Peeves of course (does he really need any explanation?) had been trying to destroy his contract with the DRMC for a new job as Spirit liaison, but fortunately Sir Nick had a solution. In a conveniently close cupboard, there were potion ingredients along with a convenient set of instructions, that together would just so happen to be suitable for this specific situation. How… convenient. ;)

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Rather inconveniently (ooh there’s a surprise), Peeves had discovered that Sir Nick had recruited people to help retrieve the contract, but rather than going to steal it faster, he set off to play a game of sorts with these three. As such, it seems they will need a way to hide themselves from him as they traverse the fun-house, so Sir Nick reveals the nature of these potions; they make the drinker invisible! Now that’s convenient! ;) So, the final three challengers entered, and the task was underway! 

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As Peeves’ madhouse carried out the mayhem for which it was designed, a conflict ensued between the house and the three students. Given the creator of each of the wild rooms, one can assume that wandering through them will be no easy task, and oh an easy task it was not. After a battle with puzzles, weapons, teamwork, and even some espionage, Peeves was finally encountered. But in his hand was a piece of paper, that looked rather peculiarly as if… no, it couldn’t be... he had the contract! Was it too late?

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In a final showdown, Disa and Alyssa now needed to work together to take him on. Meanwhile, Asphodel continued to travel around the house in search of the others. A plan was hatched so that Disa would distract Peeves while Alyssa would sneak over and grab the paper out of his hand. They tried this, and Disa’s fiery taunting managed to capture his attention while Alyssa climbed the staircase towards his hand. After a couple of failed attempts, a tickling hex worked, and Alyssa grabs the contract, but it worked too well, and Peeves launches up into Alyssa’s arm and knocks the paper into the air. As it floats down towards the desk, Disa and Peeves both cannoned towards it while Alyssa cast Depulso at Peeves to try and give Disa the edge. Both hurtled into each other and Alyssa, staring rapt at the situation, managed to lose her footing and fell down the stairs. Ouch! That must have hurt. A cry is heard from the struggle as Peeves calls out for the baron, and Alyssa is drawn into the wrestling as she tries to find the contract.

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After untangling themselves, Peeves lurches towards the contract and grabs it triumphantly, but then a voice resounds in the room. The Baron enters the room, and sternly orders Peeves to hand over the contract; he reluctantly does, and then proceeds to leave by floating through a wall. After Sir Nick and the Baron confer, Sir Nick thanks the two before leaving with his contract, just as Asphodel walks into the room.

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Congratulations to all the participants, especially Asphodel and Alyssa Pan as third and second place respectively, but Disa most of all as champion!