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ramblings-of-a-mad-cat · 2 years

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Do you think Merula was even being honest about wanting to leave R? After what happened in these last chapters I’m starting to doubt it. She was still lying even then because she claimed that R approached her after the final vault but that can’t be true because of several reasons.

About that? Yes.

I don't think Merula is even remotely happy inside R. I think she's realized just how dangerous it is to be part of The Cabal, and how utterly devoid of love they are for each other. She was led to believe that R could be her "true family." But it's clear now that they don't give a damn about her, and unless she delivers results, she's a dead witch walking. But leaving might not be so easy for her, even if MC's hand is still outstretched to her. (Which it may not be, for a lot of players.) The Cabal seems to be like the Mob, and the Death Eaters. "You don't just hand in your resignation note to Voldemort. It's a lifetime of service, or death." Not to mention that, depending on when they actually approached Merula in the first place, this may have been her reality for most of her formative years. I still think it's most likely that R made her into the mole all the way back in Year 1, possibly before she even arrived at school. Especially now that we know her aunt and guardian is a member. I don't think Merula feels like she has any means of escape from R, no matter how much she might want to leave.

Now that said, does that mean we can trust her? Hell no. It breaks my heart to say as much, but Merula has lied to MC's face too many times, and shown a lack of willingness to commit to their side, for them to ever be able to safely trust her. I don't hold it against her, what she's done and said, I genuinely feel like this is a Draco Malfoy case, where she's trapped and no matter what she does, she betrays someone she's supposed to be loyal to or care about. That's why Rakepick said that she's playing both sides. Because Merula doesn't want to fully commit to R, she doesn't have the stomach for it...but she also doesn't have the nerve to fully commit to MC. She's afraid of R, and they're basically all she knows, all she has. More than ever, I want to talk to her parents, but even if that doesn't happen...Merula has lied about too much for her to ever be a reliable and trusted ally. That doesn't mean we should stop trying to flip her, just that MC needs to be prepared to take everything she says with a grain of salt, and have a contingency plan in case Merula lies or betrays them again. Frankly, it may be smarter to just give up on Merula, and I'm sure a lot of players would prefer it that way. But I don't think the game will even let us do it - sorry, Merula Antis...she's just too important to the story.

One final note...whether or not Merula is ever honest with MC, I think we can infer that her claim to be fighting for them wasn't wholly a lie. It's worth noting that she must have known about Peregrine and his relationship to MC for a while now. Rakepick said that Merula had met the Leader, and for her to know about it, then it must have happened no later than Year 6. Earlier in Year 7, Merula also claimed that there were things MC didn't want to know. As silly as it might sound, I think Merula was able to guess just how much finding out the identity of the Leader would break them...or even worse, that it might make MC reconsider joining R. On one hand, R doesn't yet want MC to know the Leader's identity at this point, so Merula can justify it to herself and her superiors that she's simply keeping MC in the dark because she's supposed to.

But I also think she's trying to spare MC the pain that she's endured. The lack of autonomy she feels. Because to Merula, to have family in R is to be chained to them. That's what she would have been raised to think. So in her mind, if MC finds out who the Leader is, they no longer have a choice about joining R. Does that make sense? But in general, I think Merula is also very conflicted. Part of her probably does want MC to join. If only because that's literally her entire assignment - to bring them into the fold. But I also feel like, whatever she might say or do, she does feel something for MC. Not even getting into shipping right now, but purely in terms of the story, I think she's more fond of them (platonically or otherwise) than she cares to admit, even to herself.

#Merula Snyde #Merula Snyde Defense #HPHM R #HPHM Spoilers #HPHM Analysis #HPHM Jacob's Sibling #Merula Snyde x Jacob's Sibling #Not specifically about that but I do ship it and it can be taken that way so

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carewyncromwell · 3 years

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Have I mentioned how much I hate the whole “mole” subplot in year 6?

Well, I hate it.

#hphm #hogwarts mystery #jam city #I haven't even seen everything of the new chapter but I've seen some screenshots already and I just... *sigh*#way to go with one of the most predictable outcomes jam city #and yet really?#what does this add?#rakepick was the mole last year #we already got that serious betrayal #sixth year SHOULD'VE BEEN about coming together and learning to trust again #not...this #and also you'd think this would be just one more great use for the legilimency mc's been trained in #but nooooo #*sighs in aggravation* I think I'm just going to have to rewrite all of year 6 #someone's gotta do it #*rolls eyes*#hphm spoilers #spoilers

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missnight0wl · 2 years

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I wish Merula was still mostly in the background and being the occasional annoyance like in the first years compared to how interwoven they made her in the past three school years, especially in Years 5 to 7. The last time I didn't groan at the sight of her was in Year 4.

I miss not seeing her for many chapters then seeing her near the end of the year just to kick her ass or see her get stuck in ice like a moron.

There were always hints of Merula knowing more than us in those early years, sure, but I liked that MC would only care for a couple of seconds before moving on with their own research and forgetting about her.

MC truly did not give a shit about Merula in the early years: it was always Merula getting pressed over MC and their so-called rivalry. Compared to current canon that turned MC into a stupid puppy dog trying to snatch up whatever shreds of friendship Merula would throw their way, the former dynamic was a lot more entertaining and intriguing.

I both disagree and agree.

I still think that Merula being the mole and the implication of her bigger role in the overall story is one of the best things about the game. Therefore, I can’t really say I wish Merula’s involvement was smaller. On the other hand, I have to admit that almost everything about this plotline is executed horribly, and that’s where I agree with you – the current relationship between MC and Merula is extremely disappointing. And I think it’s my biggest problem.

I want MC to realise that they might’ve made a mistake dismissing Merula in the past. I want MC to question her now about all of that. I want MC to question Merula why she got interested in the Cursed Vaults so suddenly and what she really knew about Ben going missing in Y2. What she meant about Jacob when she claimed she knew “what happened to him”. I want to ask her if she knew he’s alive all those years. And if she’s brave enough to admit it, I want to smack her so hard that she feels the pain MC felt, fearing that their brother might be dead. I want MC to ask Merula what she really knew when she claimed “there are things in this school you have no idea about”. What was her relationship with Rakepick. I want to watch Merula squirm when she can’t answer all these questions.

I want MC to call Merula out on all of her bullshit. I want to laugh in her face when she says things like that R was impressed when she “stood up to Rakepick”. I don’t want to work with Merula, but I also want to tell her that if she doesn’t stay out of my way, Ismelda is gonna find out that the Wampus Cat attacked her because of Merula.

I want to see MC putting Merula in her place again. They have everything to do it – they’re just too fucking stupid to use it. And it’s infuriating.

#hogwarts mystery #hphm #hphm mc #merula snyde #anti merula #ask #anonymous

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that-scouse-wizard · 3 years

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Hphm profile: Amelia Booth

Just to clarify some things:

-This exists in David’s (Jacob’s brother) AU, so to reiterate: Merula isn’t the mole, the girl version of Rowan is David’s best friend and only Orion from the Quidditch characters is in Hufflepuff.

-Some more things:

-Amelia is two years behind David, starting her first year when David is in third year.

-Her ‘Rowan’ is the boy version and is called Alder in this AU.

Lastly, I hope you guys enjoy!

-----------

General Information

Full name: Amelia Margaret Booth

Nicknames: Amy (usually by friends and family).

Gender: Female

Age: 11-18 (1986 - 1993)

DOB: 22/01/1975

Species: Human

Blood status: Muggleborn

Sexuality: Bisexual

Alignment: Neutral Good

Ethnicity: White-British

Nationality: English

Residence: Lancaster (During her Hogwarts years and a brief time afterwards).

Edinburgh (After opening an apothecary there as a side business).

Myers Briggs Personality type: ISFJ, the Defender

Character Summary: Quiet and hardworking, muggleborn Amelia Booth initially finds the wizarding world intimidating. With the right guidance though, she can become a great source of knowledge should one require advice on Potions, Herbology or Care of Magical Creatures. A love of gymnastics and cycling made her the perfect candidate for a keeper on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team.

Personality

Calm: It usually takes a lot to get a rise out of Amelia, there was however one instance when she snapped at Jacob in year 6.

Competitive: David’s competitive streak rubbed off on her once she became a part of the Quidditch scene. Though like him, tries to keep it to a healthy degree.

Hard-working: Despite being intimidated by the wizarding world at first, Amelia persevered in her studies at Hogwarts. Allowing her to become a well-respected member of the Hippogriff club for her expertise in Potions, COMC and Herbology.

Insecure: While she does appear to not care, she’s always worried if people are staring at her scars. She even briefly developed an insecurity around people in her year wanting to get close to her just to hang around with David (who keep in mind was considered a ‘Hero of Hogwarts’ as well as a relatively popular Quidditch player). Other ways her insecurities can manifest are as jealousy and pettiness.

Loyal: Amelia’s family and friends mean the world to her, she’d do anything for them.

Quiet: Amelia tends to keep her head down, preferring to study in silent contemplation.

Witty: Though she normally doesn’t joke about, there are certain occasions where Amelia has an incredible comeback

Appearance

Face claim: Maisie Williams

Voice Claim: Emma Atkins

Game appearance:

Physique: Athletic and lean, trained to be very flexible from a mix of her gymnastics and cycling.

Hair colour: Dark brown

Hair style:

Wears her mid-length and neat (1st-3rd year).

Grows her hair out a bit and keeps it in this wild mane look (4th-post graduation)

Wears it in a pony tail during gymnastics practice, potioneering or when tending to magical creatures.

Usually wears it like this for formal events

Eye colour: Grey (Blue in-game)

Height: 5′2′’

Weight: 75kg

Scarring: A diagonal scar on her left cheek, running from just next to her nose to the middle of the cheek, A vertical scar on the right side of her forehead. One on her right forearm. Finally, one that runs from her left shoulder to her chest.

Body modifications: Both ears have a triple lobe piercing, three simple gold bands in each lobe from third year onwards. Gets three small tattoos on the inside of her left forearm, the leaves of a chestnut (her wand wood), an alder (Alder Khanna) and a willow (David, her step-brother).

Inventory: Her wand, feathers from her hippogriff (Valkyrie), a fragment of crystal from her fire crab (Garnet), and a copy of the books Fantastic Beats and Where to Find them, and Advanced Potion Making.

Fashion: Prior to attending Hogwarts, Amelia used to wear smock dresses. Much like David, has a love of punk fashion when in the muggle world. Although thanks to Andre, grew an appreciation for wizarding world fashion and even Victorian fashion.

Background/History:

Pre-Hogwarts:

-Amelia had a fairly happy life, being quite well-off financially thanks to her mother’s accounting work and her father’s job as a plumber.

-Though she loved her older siblings, Alex and Sarah, the age gap of six and four years respectively meant some obvious differences in the closeness between the Booth siblings.

-Sadly, when Amelia was just five years old, she was involved in a car accident. A driver going too fast rear-ended her father’s car. While her father was killed on impact on account of not having his seatbelt on at the time, Amelia had hers on and was knocked unconscious. This event resulted in her scarring and subsequently, her ability to see Thestrals.

-The accident took a heavy toll on all of the Booths, Lyra though was determined to stay strong for her kids. Getting them involved in various activities in the hopes that it would get their confidence back, for Alex it was muay thai, for Sarah it was shooting and for Amelia, gymnastics.

-While Amelia regained some confidence in herself despite the scars, the accident caused her to develop motorphobia, she can’t stand the thought of being trapped in an automobile. However, she can still ride bicycles and broomsticks, at least then she has control over the vehicle in question.

Year 1 (1986)

-Amelia first comes to Hogwarts when the school is in the grip of the curse of the Vault of Fear.

-This also where she meets Alder Khanna, Rowan’s younger brother, who would become her best friend.

-When she first encounters a boggart, it turns into a Vauxhall Viva (the car her dad used to drive), blaring its headlights and revving its engine. Understandably, this troubles her.

-That event, combined with her insecurity over people wanting to befriend her just to get closer to David causes an argument between the two. This is where she gets closer to Rowan, who even though she’s the older sibling in her relationship, feels somewhat overshadowed by Alder.

-She reconciles with David thanks to the advice from Rowan and even an assurance by Alder he’s not her friend because she’s close to David.

Year 2 (1987)

-Open Quidditch positions are announced, for Hufflepuff’s team, it was keeper. Having expressed an interest in it, she sought out Orion.

-Orion asked her to balance on her broom, expecting her to fail a few times before she got it. However, thanks to her gymnastics training, she stood up on it first time no problem, something that visibly surprised Orion. It almost immediately made him consider her for a position on the team.

-She got the position and was noted for incorporating her gymnastics into her Quidditch manoeuvres, something that greatly helped in defending the goals from the opposing team.

-Because of this, she becomes quite popular in the school Quidditch scene.

-She comforts David when his friends Chauncy and Philip are killed by a Red Cap while under the sleepwalking curse. Hagrid introduces them both to the Thestral herd on the Creature Reserve.

-Admits to David that she doesn’t trust Rakepick.

Year 3 (1988)

-She selects COMC, Divination and Study of Ancient Runes as Electives. Though Divination isn’t what she hoped, she takes to COMC like a fish to water. While she had experience with certain creatures through her first two years on the reserve, she mentioned wanting to take COMC as soon as was feasibly possible.

-Is there to witness David emerge from the Portrait Vault, shocked to learn of Rakepick’s betrayal.

Year 4 (1989)

-Jacob comes back as the DADA teacher, Amelia confronts him about the pain he caused David last year. This culminates in an argument in which Amelia slaps him and screams, “He’s my brother, you selfish bastard!” Before she storms out the room.

-The biggest event for Amelia is when R comes after her, to truly make sure the condition that David must see a loved one die so that he may enter the Sunken Vault.

-However, Alder intercepts the attack meant for her, resulting in his death. The R assassin, Nisus Snyde leaves, believing the distraught reaction from David is enough to determine that Alder was suitable for the condition to be met.

-She’s distraught as well, blaming herself for being too weak to not help David or protect Alder, a fact that isn’t helped by Rowan also blaming her. This results in an argument between David and Rowan which climaxes with shouting “I wish I’d never met you David Willows!”. Amelia feels even worse after, believing herself to be the one who caused the argument.

-She insists on joining David for the expedition into the Sunken Vault and helps in bringing down its guardian.

-She becomes heartbroken when R murders Jacob but even more so when David leaves in the middle of the night, having snapped his wand.

-Moody tracks her down and talks to her as well as a few others, promising to bring David back and keeping them at Grimmauld Place.

-When David is brought back, it’s here that she alongside David and Rowan form the Circle of Khanna in remembrance of Alder.

Year 5 (1990)

-She assists in keeping David hidden in the Room of Requirement, knowing R is going to come after him. Using privileges she obtains as the 5th year prefect to wander the halls mostly unchallenged.

-She joins in the final battle against R, facing of against Nisus alongside Rowan. The battle ends when Valkyrie (Amelia’s hippogriff) grabs Nisus’s skull with enough force to fracture it, killing him.

-She’s able to complete her O.W.Ls and helps in winning the Quidditch cup for Hufflepuff, David appoints her captain seeing as he’ll be graduating.

Year 6 (1991)

-Takes Alchemy as an Elective.

-(Note may not actually happen but I find the thought of Amelia taking the Golden Trio under her wing to be an intriguing idea).

Year 7 (1992)

-Her status as a powerful Muggleborn makes her a prime target for the Basilisk, resulting in her petrification.

-Saved by the efforts of the Golden Trio, though forced to cram and take her N.E.W.Ts in the summer.

Post Hogwarts

-Gets in touch with a contact provided by Professor Kettleburn as a trainee magizoologist. Starting up an apothecary business on the side.

-She attends David and Merula’s wedding in 1994 as one of the bridesmaids.

-She joins the Order of the Phoenix in 1995, using her apothecary as a safe house and providing potions for the Order when they’re needed.

-In 1997, her apothecary is destroyed, luckily she’s able to escape and goes on the run from the death eaters.

-She assists in the Battle of Hogwarts in 1998, once again providing potions and healing magic to those who need it. That being said, she takes down a fair few death eaters herself.

-She continues to work as a magizoologist after the war, even managing to rebuild her apothecary.

Family:

Peter Booth (Father, deceased):

Face Claim: Ben Whishaw

A fun-loving family man, Peter worked as a plumber known for his warm attitude. He taught all of his kids how to ride a bike, one of the last things Amelia really remembers about her father.

Sadly, he was killed in a car accident when Amelia was just five years old.

Matthew Hall (step-father):

Face Claim: Ben Miller

A stern but fair CIMA-qualified accountant, Matthew first came into Amelia’s life when she was just seven. When she was eight, Matthew and Lyra officially got together, something that upset Amelia, thinking her mum was trying to replace her dad.

The two would reconcile, though it would take time with the assurance that he wasn’t there to replace Peter. It was he who recognised Amelia’s magical abilities when they manifested shortly before her eleventh birthday.

Lyra Booth (nee Robinson) (mother):

Face Claim: Ruth Wilson

Another CIMA-qualified accountant, Lyra and Amelia are very close. She was shocked when she learned her daughter had magical abilities. It was her demand to invite David over for Christmas in 1984. Something which ultimately proved comforting knowing there was someone looking out for her.

Alex Booth (brother):

Face Claim: Jody Latham

Her older brother, Alex is very much protective of his little sister. Her going off to a boarding school that was part of a world that he had no idea about was worrying. That being said, he begins to worry about her less when she and David try to explain Quidditch to him.

Sarah Booth (sister):

Face Claim: Emilia Clarke

Amelia’s sister, initially very highly strung about Amelia joining the wizarding world and being far more vocal about it than the other members of her family. Though she becomes endeared to David eventually and is even fascinated by stories told to her by Amelia about her magical creatures.

Jacob Hall (step-brother, deceased):

Face Claim: Tom Holland

Amelia was highly of suspicious of Jacob, largely for causing David pain. To the extent she slapped him when they got into an argument after Jacob said “David is my brother, so-” *SMACK* “HE’S MY BROTHER TOO, YOU SELFISH BASTARD!”

That being said, their relationship becomes more cordial over the course of the year and is one of those who mourns Jacob’s death.

David Willows (step-brother):

Face Claim: Dave Franco

Initially intimidated by her future step-brother, Amelia didn’t know what to make of him. After he gave her a demonstration of a Lumos spell, she started thinking he was cool.

Though there’s been the occasional rough patch, Amelia considers David a blood relative and would gladly protect him with her life knowing he’d do the same for her.

Allegiances:

Hogwarts House: Hufflepuff

Affiliations: The Circle of Khanna, The Order of the Phoenix, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Professions: Trainee magizoologist (1993-95)

Potioneer (on the side) (1993-95 then 1998-present) (Full-time) (1995-1998)

Magizoologist (1998-Present)

Hogwarts Information:

Class Proficiencies:

Astronomy: P

Charms: A

DADA: A

Herbology: O

History of Magic: P

Potions: O

Transfiguration: E

Electives:

Alchemy: E

COMC: O

Divination: A

Study of Ancient Runes: E

Quidditch:

Hufflepuff Keeper (1987-1991)

Hufflepuff Captain (1991)

Extra Curricular:

Hippogriff Club

Hufflepuff Prefect: 1991-93

Favourite Professors

Professor Sprout: Her head of house and the one who suggested she become a Prefect, Sprout was there to comfort her after Alder was killed. Amelia often assists in tending to the greenhouses.

Professor Snape: Despite Snape’s dour and very much intimidating presence, Amelia found potion making a subject she often practised in her free time, using Snape’s instructions of course. Though not quite as enthusiastic about him as Penny Haywood, Amelia will admit Snape can be a good teacher.

Professor Kettleburn: Though considered nuts by most staff and students, Amelia very much respects Kettleburn for still working with creatures even they’ve maimed him so many times. She’s even talked with him about her insecurities around her scars.

Least Favourite Professors:

Professor Binns: Like many Hogwarts students, Amelia would rather sleep through Binns’ lessons than study. Even the most fascinating of magical history go in one ear and out the other when Binns is teaching her.

Best canon friends:

-Barnaby Lee

-Liz Tuttle

-Charlie Weasley

-Penny Haywood

-Orion Amari

Love Interest:

I’ve not decided on a love interest for her or even if I’ll give her one. If you’d like to suggest your MC to be her love interest, let’s chat!

Best MC friends:

David Willows: David is Amelia’s step-brother, being introduced to each other in Christmas 1984. Becoming Quidditch teammates in Amelia’s second year, David would go on to appoint Amelia captain of the Quidditch team

Judith Harris (@judediangelo75): Judith is the beater on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team. During a match, Amelia trusts Judith to keep the bludgers off her back. Judith sometimes supervises Amelia on the creature reserve and will even have races between her Swedish Short Snout and Judith's Ukrainian Ironbelly.

Lizzie Jameson (@lifeofkaze): Lizzie is one of the chasers on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team and was over the moon when Amelia joined as the keeper. Outside of Quidditch practice, Amelia sometimes spends time at the magical creatures reserve with Lizzie and Charlie.

If you’d like your MC to be friends with her, let me know!

Rivals:

During Qudditch: Andre Egwu, Erika Rath, Skye Parkin, Charlie Weasley, Oliver Wood, Cato Reese (@catohphm) and Katriona Cassiopea (@kc-needs-coffee).

Otherwise she doesn’t really have any.

Enemies:

Death Eaters

Magical creature poachers

Magical Abilities

Wand: Chestnut, phoenix feather core, nine and a half inches, rigid.

Chestnut wands prefer witches and wizards who are skilled tamers of magical beasts, those who possess great gifts in Herbology, and those who are natural fliers.

This is the rarest core type. Phoenix feathers are capable of the greatest range of magic, though they may take longer than either unicorn or dragon cores to reveal this. They show the most initiative, sometimes acting of their own accord, a quality that many witches and wizards dislike. Phoenix feather wands are always the pickiest when it comes to potential owners, for the creature from which they are taken is one of the most independent and detached in the world. These wands are the hardest to tame and to personalise, and their allegiance is usually hard won.

Animagus Form: N/A

Misc magical abilities:

Occlumency: David teaches her Occlumency when he can to keep her safe from certain threats, especially in relation to R and other magical effects such as the legilimency of the wampus cat.

Boggart form: Her dad’s Vauxhall Viva, blaring its headlights and revving its engine.

Riddikulus form: The car shrinks and turns into a wind-up toy playing a musical horn.

Amortentia (what do they smell like?): Damp earth and straw

Amortentia (What do they smell?): Lavender and mint.

Patronus: Abraxan.

Patronus memory: The feeling of freedom and wind in her hair as her dad let her bicycle go. She knows he would want his little princess to keep going forward.

Mirror of Erised: Her dad is back, telling her how proud he is of all of her accomplishments.

Specialised/ Favourite spells:

Bombarda (and Maxima): Taught to her by Rue, David’s mother, thanks to that teaching she’s learned to concentrate the spell so it’s much more powerful. Especially useful against creatures with magic-resistant hides such as dragons and trolls

Conjunctivitus curse: Not having the luxury of being a legilimens means Amelia has to get a bit crafty in her spellwork, especially when facing highly dangerous creatures. Blinding them is a guaranteed way to distract them.

Incendio: Useful for starting a campfire on her expeditions as a magizoologist, it helps that it can be used as an offensive spell.

Protego: Always useful when blocking projectiles and other spell attacks.

Misc Information:

She has far more creatures on the reserve than David: A niffler (Glimmer), a porlock (Macha), an Abraxan (Emerald), a fairy (Pearl), a Bowtruckle (Twiggy), a hippogriff (Valkyrie), a Thestral (Skull), a Unicorn (Bismuth), a frost salamander (Sapphire), a salamander (Ruby), a Swedish Short Snout (Torak), a fire crab (Garnet), an Imp (Clanger) and a Quintaped (Angus).

#harry potter hogwarts mystery #hphm #hphm oc #amelia booth

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rinamoe · 3 years

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**** Hogwarts Mystery Year 6 Chapter 45+ Spoilers / Theories

I've got some theories on the whole Merula is the mole thing. I've been reading some on tumblr when I finished the chapter. But also thought of some I havent seen, so I wanted to compile a list of all my theories.

1. Merula is the mole but she isn't doing it for bad reasons.

• When you think about how Merula has always viewed the MC as competition, its a no brainer to think she would play the MC for a chance to become more powerful. BUT during the course of 6 years their relationship has grown closer and she was even able to be the MC love interest several times. She also flirted with the MC and becomes shy when talking about crushes. She was also struck with revenge in wanting to avenge Rowan. And even almost killed Rakepick during the last cursed vault but was stopped by Jacob. I think if she was willing to kill someone whos in an organization she's so called committed to she would've been put to death had they found out. Merula could easily be trying to use R as a way to gain more power then betray them. She also used the truth potion to try to convince MC she wasn't the mole.

2. Merula is actually the mole

• Merula although I love her could actually be the mole. She could have been faking her relationship with the MC this whole time as a way to get closer to her without seeming too desperate. Notice key things like the fact that R has to somehow convince MC to join them. R knows the MC is powerful, impressionable, and want to use her. What better way to get someone to pretend to be her friend. Someone the MC trusts enough but wouldn't be suspicious about. Because Merula over the years before R was mentioned has always disliked MC. So Merula being caught hanging around shady people or being mean to her sometimes wouldn't be suspicious. As well as even though we have known Merula, amd could date Merula since year 6. We still dont have a friendship with her in the tab to gain friendship. So even if in game MC says she thinks of Merula as a friend, it can be the game showing that Merula never thought of MC as a friend and probably never will because she was betraying the MC. This is my least favorite theorie I've thought about since the last chapter of year 6 but it may be the one the game pushes.

3. Merula is being framed

• The option Merula stans around the world are praying and begging for. I have seen this theory a lot as well as thought about it myself. Merula could be being framed two ways Ive thought of.

Sitaution 1 : Someone is using a polyjuice potion to pretend to be Merula in front of R. This obviously means it has to be someone close to her because they need to consistently be collecting her hair/dna. And I say consistently because the dark witch who met 'Merula' said, "Late as usual". Which means they have been meeting up a few other times in order for the dark witch to inquire that 'Merula' is always late. This can be due to the imposters bad puncture OR because they have to sneak around since they're pretending to be someone else and are careful they aren't seen, which can lead to them being late. In this case R doesn't know that this isn't the real Merula Snyde but someone pretending to be her because of her obvious reputation of wanting to be powerful and being mean to the MC.

Situation 2: Merula is being framed BUT only that time during the last chapter of year 6. What if the mole knew that Mundungus Fletcher is somewhat of a friend of MC and purposely leaked information where he could find it and warn the MC. This would have had to be planned because the only way to pretend to be someone else is through a polyjuice potion. It also has to be someone like Jae or Ben who have connections to him or was with MC when doing deals. Dont forget once Ben turned into a 'bad boy' he was said to be hanging around the shady parts to 'find Rakepick.' Also on the topic of Ben, he was one of the friends who said they should disband the circle of Khanna. Ben knows R is out to get MC and that Rakepick wasn't the only member involved. And he knows about the hostage too. Which makes Ben a big suspect.

OR the dark witch was specifically asking around to make the MC interested in tailing them so that the MC could PURPOSELY overhear them talking. This still requires a polyjuice potion so they planned this at least a month in advance. But the dark witch and the imposter knew that the MC would be at the meeting place (which even though no one was around still in the public). All they had to do was pretend as if they're Merula and leave. Which we all know ployjuice potion wears off pretty quickly, and their meeting was quick then they left together.

This last one is the one I'm hoping for the most of course since I am a huge Merula stan and she deserves better honestly. She had this character growth and development, as well as shes always been a lobe interest and personally involved in lots of side challenges. (Unlike Ben a big suspect) Basically throwing her progress away by making her be actually working for R would be such a bad decision on JC part.

Also adding: Ben personality change could be his real personality all along. He probably didnt plan for Rowan to die or maybe he did.... Rakepick was aiming for Ben but if Ben was working for R and is powerful like they're making it seem he probably would have doged that attack but Rowan got in the way. Unless he also knew Rowan was following them and suspected they would get involved.

As well as another personality change, Merula. This and her newly aquired skill, wandless magic is what makes her look like a suspect. Since the books on wandless magic are in the restricted section at school that would mean Merula would have had to have access to 'illegal' books. Although since her parents are in Azkaban they probably had owned 'illegal' books and such at her home already. But then that begs the question why did she just learn it now and not the previous summer's going home? Why now when she's being caught in cahoots with R members? As well as shes acting much more mature but as well as distant. She came to the new school year celebration late. And also according to the MC been hard to track down.

I hope you enjoyed reading my thoughts on what I think is happening with Merula in Hogwarts mystery! Id love to hear what you think. Ive been playing this game since it came out but this was so interesting i had to make a blog to talk about year 7

#hphm spoilers #hphm #hphm merula #hogwarts mystery merula #merula snyde #hphm mole #jam city #jc

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missnight0wl · 3 years

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ngl I thought that maybe the Rakepick we encountered in the Sunken Vault (or Vault!Rakepick lol) could have been R's Metamorphagus all along because the impersonation is just so. Generic one-note cocky villain, which might be an impression that someone would go for if they only knew of Rakepick rather than knowing her directly...

But then I remembered that Vault!Jacob was also there, and it stands to reason that he could also be R's Metamorphagus, and unless they have two (which is unlikely, as they emphasise how rare metamorphagi are) it means that there can only be one.

UNLESS the Metamorphagus (god that's a mouthful) has a Time Turner and showed up first as Jacob, then rewound time and showed up as Rakepick meaning that they're BOTH the Metamorphagus!!! *insert spiderman pointing meme*

I've connected the dots except i haven't but also we've not had time turner fanservice yet so we can't put anything past jamcity 👀

All right, this might be one of the most convoluted time-travelling plots I’ve heard about, but you know what? I like it. I really do! :D It’s pretty silly, yet quite intriguing, and with the right execution, it could be simply entertaining. You made me smile with this idea :)

That being said, I think it also might be a bit too complicated for Jam City. It’s a very valid point that we didn’t have Time Turner fanservice yet, and I do expect it to appear at some point, but… I don’t know. I feel like they might try to do it in a more similar way to as it was in the books, meaning that something will happen, and MC will later discover that they’ve done it themselves etc. That’s just my hunch, though. Who knows what Jam City is really capable of.

Still, I didn’t abandon the idea that vault!Rakepick might’ve not been Rakepick at all – they’d just have to use a Polyjuice Potion. As you pointed out, her behaviour was ridiculous and simply out-of-character. Admittedly, the same can be said about Rakepick in the Portrait Vault, but the version in the Sunken Vault was somehow worse. And I keep thinking about her claiming to not remember Rowan’s name – which is so bullshit. She obviously did it purely to upset MC, but… Rakepick wouldn’t do it like that. She knew Rowan for two years, so she’d use that knowledge to hit MC super hard emotionally. I mean, she was pulling that emotional strings in the Portrait Vault! Taunting Merula about her parents? Saying she’d leave Jacob to rot anyway? And now, the best she could come up with was: “I didn’t bother to learn their name”? Bitch, please. Unless, of course, it was someone else who knows shit about Rowan, so it really was the best they could think of to upset MC.

Also, I think it goes along with the Rogues theory, Rakepick being compromised, and even with a Polyjuice Potion. As I mentioned previously while discussing this idea in general, R would want to use Rakepick’s appearance because MC already knew about her being their member, so they didn’t risk revealing anyone else’s identity. But consider this: R finds out that Patricia staged the meeting where MC learnt about the mole, perhaps even that she suggested the kid should Polyjuice into her. Now they want to bring her down, yet she manages to escape. Still, they can ruin her reputation even more than it was already tarnished by using her appearance. And how ironic would it be if they also used a Polyjuice Potion for that – the very same tool she used to betray them.

One last question here would be why R needed to send another member if they already had vault!Jacob (who, in this scenario, is the Metamorphmagus). Well, while impersonating Jacob has its advantages like having MC’s trust, there are also some limitations. For example, vault!Jacob couldn’t act “too evil”, if necessary, to not blow his cover. Besides, Rakepick’s presence had a pretty big emotional influence on MC which, in my opinion, can be seen when we decide about her fate. If you choose to trap Rakepick (which I see as a more “emotional” option), MC says: “Now she’s trapped… forever”. But if you choose to turn her in to the authorities (which I see as a more “rational” option), MC later says about the Vault:

It’s a shame we didn’t return to it, at least yet, but I still find it super interesting that in the rational option MC is aware that their solution is not permanent. And the thing is that in both cases they use the very same spell to seal the Vault! In other words, in the more emotional reaction – caused by Rakepick’s presence – MC didn’t even notice that they hadn’t fully solved the situation, and that means they wouldn’t even think that R might simply walk into the Sunken Vault and do whatever they want. And wouldn’t it make sense that it was R’s plan all along?

#hogwarts mystery #hphm #patricia rakepick #hphm jacob #hphm r #analysis post #ask #nightingaletrash

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missnight0wl · 3 years

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Alternative idea to "Rakepick and Merula staged the torture scene together": what if Rakepick learnt that Merula is the mole,but she didn't learn it from R. Rakepick wants Merula to get away from R, at least emotionally, so she tortured her and at the same time revealed that she herself is an R member, or at least that's what Merula thinks. Merula hates her now and realises that R can't be a good "family" for her if they are like Rakepick, and that's when she decides to become a double-agent.

After the torture scene, Rakepick could then just pretend in front of R that she didn't know Merula was their mole. R might not have told her, they could have used Merula to keep an eye on her too, not just on MC. R might then tell Merula that if Rakepick had known about Merula being the mole, she wouldn't have tortured her, but Merula has already built up so much hatred inside and doubts about R as a whole now that she decides to play double-agent from now on.

All right, first things first. I’m absolutely certain that Rakepick knew about Merula being the mole pretty much since she arrived in Y4 – and she didn’t know it from R. However, I do strongly believe that the torture was indeed staged. You see, while your explanation could work, it leaves some unexplained elements of the story. To be specific: Merula recognising Veritaserum in Y6Ch9:

Then, in the actual Veritaserum class, we learnt this:

Sure, that information could’ve been added to simply make the class more interesting. But then, why was it important to tell us that Merula is familiar with Veritaserum if it didn’t mean that she used it while learning Occlumency? And yes, Occlumency would be useful for her as the mole either way, but then we also have a very sudden switch in the behaviour of both Rakepick and Merula.

Before Y5Ch28, Rakepick barely paid any attention to Merula, and Merula’s admiration towards Rakepick was also decreasing. So, why Patricia suddenly started grooming Merula? And while Merula might be craving attention, she wouldn’t fall for that this easily. There’s also that one contrast between Y5Ch27 and Y5Ch28 I always talk about. In Y5Ch27, MC met with Merula and Bill to tell them that Rakepick told them about a dragon.

If MC answers that it’s because Rakepick trusts them, this is her reaction:

But in Y5Ch28, she already said this:

Notice that in the first case, she talks about herself AND Bill – she sees all three of them as a group. She didn’t say anything like: “Rubbish! She should tell me, not you!”. And like, there’s no way her feelings about Rakepick would change so drastically, considering there was like maybe a day in between those two conversations. Funnily, Rakepick pretended they didn’t change at all! In Y5Ch29, she said:

But in Y5Ch27, they had this interaction:

What do you mean, she never questions your good judgement? She just DID like a day ago!

Both Merula and Rakepick were trying really hard, so MC believed that Merula was totally charmed. Sure, you can believe that Jam City was just extremely inconsistent with their writing over just three chapters. But if it can be explained otherwise and make sense, I’m choosing that option. And to me, it means that there had to be something planned between these two.

The act of torture alone wasn’t about Merula – it was about the others. Rakepick wanted to shatter any positive feeling any of the kids could still have about her, so she played a performance. And what would be more devastating: a teacher torturing a student who was always ignored by them, or a mentor torturing a mentee who deeply admired the said mentor? I mean, of course, both things would be terrible to witness. But I think that we can agree that the second one is worse. The problem was that Rakepick screwed up by not giving Merula enough attention over the year leading to the Portrait Vault. She didn’t have a student who truly admired her. There was Bill, sure, but I imagine she actually liked him, seeing how she got him a job at Gringotts and whatnot. So, Merula was the best choice, but it doesn’t change the fact that they both needed to act. And Patricia couldn’t be just like: “Hey, Merula, let’s pretend that you really like me, kind of like it was last year”. She had to share her plan with Merula, at least to some degree.

If the torture was supposed to just make Merula hate Rakepick, the change in behaviour of both of them wouldn’t be necessary. Patricia could still mostly ignore Merula and the torture would still make her hate Rakepick (and R).

All of that being said, I agree with the parts saying that Rakepick wanted Merula to also hate her and by extension hate R. You see, I don’t think that Merula was expecting all that hurtful comments during the torture, for example. This already made her doubt Rakepick and question whether she’s not really loyal to R. And after that, I’m fairly certain that Merula wasn’t expecting that Rakepick would actually kill anybody. So yeah, I’m with you on that.

One thing Rakepick didn’t predict is that Merula would decide to try being a double-agent. And I said “TRY”, because Merula is not a double-agent, guys – at least not in a way people seem to think. I mean, Merula would be a terrible double-agent. Sure, she fooled MC, but fooling R? No way. Have you seen her totally losing her cool the closer we were to the Sunken Vault? She’d be busted within a week.

No, Merula didn’t join R at the end of Y6. I mean, she thought that that’s what she’s doing. But if you want to know how she was tricked, you have to check my long-ass analysis HERE.

#long post #hogwarts mystery #hphm #hphm mc #jacob's sibling #merula snyde #patricia rakepick #pro rakepick #hphm r #analysis post #ask #anonymous

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ramblings-of-a-mad-cat · 3 years

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i wanna see how everyone will react to Merula being the mole but mostly Tulip and Ismelda also maybe Barnaby since they were all close to her

I think about this a lot.

Ben will be angry. He’ll become even more jaded and probably sink further into the unhealthy mindsets he developed last year. What’s worse is that I think he’s grown to genuinely trust Merula and even care about her. Which makes it that much harsher. Penny will be saddened, no doubt, but not truly surprised. If it was going to be anyone, Merula would make the most sense to her, I expect. Bill won’t really show it, but I think he’d be devastated to learn the truth. I’ve talked about this before but he spent a year in the Curse-Breaking Squad with Merula, he probably projected big brother instincts onto her since he radiates them so much. Imagine having to find this out after Rakepick’s betrayal and Rowan’s death.

Barnaby will be hurt by this, for sure. He won’t understand, he won’t get why Merula chose to do this. He might turn to Ismelda for help and she’ll snap at him because she doesn’t understand it either, but she’ll want to understand. Won’t admit it, maybe, but this means she didn’t know Merula nearly as well as she thought she did and while she may have long-since accepted Merula’s flaws...she never would have foreseen something like this. Barnaby will probably put this pain in a box because that’s what he always does, by his own admission...but who knows, maybe this will be the twist that breaks open a few of his boxed. I mean, we’ll still waiting on MC to have a meltdown but realistically Barnaby is due for one too.

Something tells me Jae won’t be surprised either, he kind of knows the Dark Arts better than most other Circle members even if he doesn’t show it. Same goes for Talbott, but if we assume Flying Solo has been completed, I think this will still go through him like a knife, either because MC obliviated Merula or because she and Talbott had that touching conversation. Chiara and Badeea would mostly be unaffected by this. It would be terrible to learn Merula is the traitor, but they aren’t particularly close to her and they already knew there was a traitor. Liz might take it more personally, being Merula’s roommate, but do you want to know who would struck by this like a club to the head? Diego. He and Merula are good friends. The sense of betrayal would be personal there. But speaking of personal betrayals...

Oh Tulip...I feel like this would absolutely shatter her and be the worst possible outcome. The one that a villain and/of omniscient character shows the protagonists in the “AU” episode to prove to them why plot has to happen exactly the way it happened because things will go to hell otherwise. For Tulip, this is the darkest timeline, no doubt about it. Imagine how this would affect her, knowing she herself betrayed Merula years ago? How this would affect her guilt, self-loathing, and outlook on life. On the other hand, one theory I’ve tossed out there, to potentially explain why Tulip is so “suspicious” (I really, really don’t see this...but a number of other players do, so I’ll be fair and assume it could be personal bias on my part.) is that perhaps Tulip has known, or suspected this, for a while. What if had something to do with why Tulip and Merula fell out in the first place? What if Tulip has known this whole time, but either lingering affection for Merula or guilt for having hurt her led Tulip to keep her silence about it? Since Merula’s loyalty was arguably always presented as questionable, this would, in effect, make Tulip the true “Hogwarts Mole.” by way of inaction.

#Tulip Karasu #Merula Snyde #HPHM Analysis #HPHM Theory

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carewyncromwell · 3 years

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I hate to be so down on Year 7 when it’s only just started, but...I gotta say, if the whole idea of Hogwarts Mystery is to be something of a fantasy for the player, allowing them to imprint on an MC that goes to Hogwarts and becomes Prefect and Head Kid and plays Quidditch and collects all sorts of pets and magical creatures and stuff...then wow, I guess a lot of people’s fantasies are different than mine. Or at least, the staff of Jam City’s.

Because here’s the thing -- when I was a kid, I moved a lot. The longest I ever stayed in one house was six years, and that was for my second middle school and all of high school. I haven’t even lived in one place longer than that since. I’d moved five times before I even started second grade. My life has always been very transient, which made it close to impossible for me to lay down roots...and, therefore, I made a lot of friends over the years who I’ve subsequently lost touch with after leaving the area. I never had my own Ron Weasley or Hermione Granger who stuck with me through thick and thin. A lot of the friends I’ve had in the past were fair-weather, and although I don’t angst over that much or anything because I do still feel fondness for the memories we had and I know I’m just as much to blame for not trying harder to stay in touch, I realize that that kind of stability and lasting friendship is something I’ve never really had in my life.

So for me, one of the things that appealed to me so much about the wonderful, diverse cast we meet through Hogwarts Mystery were the friendships our MCs would get to make. I wanted my girl Carewyn to have friends who would stick with her when times got tough -- who would give her just as much as she gave them -- who wouldn’t abandon her when she showed the sides of her that weren’t all that pretty. I wanted her to have a Weasley best friend, like Harry did...and that Weasley ended up being Bill, who I loved even while first reading the books and have only become fonder of since! I wanted Carewyn to find a warm, loving family of friends that she could love just as deeply as she did her mother and brother. Dueling and Quidditch and magical side quests are fine...but what I wanted most was for my girl to grow through reaching out to others and through them reaching back.

But this is one of the biggest problems I have with Hogwarts Mystery as a game and almost as a concept. Because MC is supposed to be a self-insert for the player, the game developers are reluctant to give MC too much personality, since it could potentially (and inevitably will) contradict how the player views their character. This means, though, that the game creators can’t write any compelling relationships between MC and the other characters that actually fuel character development and organic plot turns, because it would either make it so that every single choice the player makes has the power to change things (which would be a programming nightmare) or that the player has no say in how MC behaves (which would frustrate the player). And when relationships are about how two different personalities interact and bounce off of each other, it’s almost impossible to have interesting chemistry between one semi-fleshed out character and another nebulous and vague character that could be replaced by absolutely anyone. Add to that that the game almost always focuses on friendships that involve MC to the exclusion of all others, and it results in our diverse, potentially interesting cast of characters having no relationships that could really prompt them to grow and develop as people, at least not in an organic sense.

This is why we don’t see Ismelda softening as much as she probably should have, after coming to grips with her unrequited feelings for Barnaby and growing closer to Beatrice.

This is why we don’t see Cedric gaining more confidence, while bonding with Ben and/or Diego over wizard dueling.

This is why we don’t see Charlie learning how to trust again after Rakepick’s betrayal by connecting with other members of the Circle of Khanna like Barnaby and Liz.

This is why we don’t see Tonks and Tulip constantly bouncing off each other and doing pranks together, and maybe inspiring future mischief makers Fred and George in the process.

This is why we don’t see Ben, Merula, or MC having learned any lessons about keeping secrets or not trusting their friends after what happened to Rowan.

This is even why we’re all left wondering if every choice MC has made regarding Merula their entire school career had any impact on her at all, upon finding out she was the mole.

And this is why I’m rewriting year 6, because this is what that part of the story should’ve been all about -- cultivating that love and trust. After the events of year 5, MC and by extension their friends were scared. They’d been betrayed by an authority figure they’d trusted, who then proceeded to come back and kill one of their closest friends. Our response to that -- namely, the Circle of Khanna -- should’ve been fueled by fear’s worst enemy: love. It’s a theme familiar to the original Potter novels, that love is stronger than fear, and it’s one that I think just about anyone can draw strength from. MC brought their friends together physically, but did they ever bring them together emotionally? MC’s friends are willing to fight to get revenge for Rowan and capture Rakepick, but by the time year 7 starts, everyone is so focused on themselves that they won’t even take a minute to listen to MC when they asked the group to meet up and was clearly concerned about something. They don’t even care enough to hear what MC’s concern even is. That tells me that the answer to that question is no -- MC and crew created a whole friggin’ secret society, and yet the chains of camraderie they forged are as insubstantial as tissue paper. But then again, what do you expect, when MC only ended up needed three of the Circle’s members (Merula, Ben, and Barnaby) to deal with the Sunken Vault and only two (Jae and Tonks) to get a single shred of information about R?

So yeah, Jam City...I’ll respect whatever you want to do from here as much as I can, but it’s not canon for Carewyn Cromwell. Our plot lines have always diverged on several things (Jacob’s characterization and development, Carewyn’s mother Lane’s family being part of R, and how Carewyn reacted to the events in the Portrait Vault, for example)...but consider them formally divorced after the formation of the Circle of Khanna.

#looks like sophie turner is my new face claim for carewyn now #even if she's not a real redhead XD #hphm #hogwarts mystery #hphm spoilers #personal #opinion #now you see why i have the tag 'oh boy here i go' on my home blog #analysis #jam city #carewyn cromwell

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ramblings-of-a-mad-cat · 3 years

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I like how if you choose to trap R*kepick, Merula looks smug at hearing her scream while Ben and Jacob look more disturbed

Really makes a fan wonder...

Seriously, the biggest unanswered question about Merula's status as the Hogwarts Mole is the true nature of her relationship to Rakepick. I want to see a timeline spread out over how this worked, and I think we deserve that. Sure, I know they're two characters that I'm personally invested in, but they're also two characters that are extremely significant to the plot. Who have had key moments occur offscreen to mask the twists of the "Hogwarts Mystery" but once that mystery is solved, I want some answers.

There's the question of when Merula became the mole. Of how she and Rakepick got along prior to and after the Buried Vault. Was Merula with R all along? Did she know who and what Rakepick was from the start? Or did Rakepick recruit her into R? Did Merula work for her because she was a Cabal Operative or did she not know? Suppose Rakepick brought her into the fold during Year 5 and after her betrayal, Merula continued to work for R with the promise of getting her revenge? Was the betrayal staged, or was it real? If Merula was already a mole, it might very well have been the two of them putting on a show. Or it might have been Rakepick punishing Merula for something, or just generally going off-script for her own amusement.

Either way, I sort of hope Merula's vendetta against Rakepick was real. Because I want to believe that not everything she told us over the last six years was a lie, that at least some of her emotional development was real. I also don't think she's that good an actor. Plus, I can believe that Merula would revenge on Rakepick for what was done to her, regardless of whether or not they were on the same side. This is Merula that we're talking about. And to retain Merula's loyalty, R may have immediately thrown Rakepick under the bus and assured her that they did not authorize this. Suppose they appeased Merula by offering her Rakepick's position, assuming that Merula could defeat Rakepick? Sith Lord style. "Prove yourself by taking the vengeance that is yours, and earn your place among our ranks." That would recontextualize a lot and it would make sense. I can see R doing this.

Merula may have simply been satisfied at Rakepick's pain because it gave her a dose of sweet, sweet revenge. Or maybe she was happy because she knew the Cabal was low-key done with Rakepick and wanted her out of the picture. Hey, it wouldn't surprise me if Merula took the credit for defeating Rakepick when she made her report to R. Especially if we go with the theory that she was promised Rakepick's old job. R probably would know that Merula was lying, but not especially care. To them, she's just a means to an end, that end being the recruitment of MC, and MC was the one who actually defeated Rakepick. I bet they're much more satisfied with that outcome anyway.

#Merula Snyde #HPHM Analysis #HPHM R #HPHM Theory #Patricia Rakepick #HPHM Spoilers #HPHM Cabal #Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery

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missnight0wl · 3 years

Note

I've been thinking on some possibilities about the last chapter. What if the real mole has the same ability as Tonks and can transform themselves into anyone, that would explain how they transformed into a student. But if it that was the case...Who say they didn't transform into Merula in the last chapter knowing MC would be there and see it, so MC would think the mole is really Merula but maybe is not?

I mean, I suppose it’s possible, but... what would it explain exactly?

All right, I can see your point of distracting MC from the real mole and putting false accusation on Merula. But then, why telling MC about the mole so long ago in Y6Ch35 (when we were polyjuiced as Rakepick)? Because here’s the thing: R knew that MC was infiltrating that meeting disguised as Patricia. Even if Merula isn’t the mole, everyone from the Circle of Khanna was aware of this plan - so the mole had to know as well, meaning that information had to reach R. Moreover, it had to reach Verucca. And Verucca was at that meeting. She talked about the mole. And... I just don’t get it.

If R wanted to put accusation on a false mole, they should’ve staged just the recent meeting - where, as you’re suggesting, someone would transform into Merula. Then, MC wouldn’t even consider that someone else might work with R. Giving them all that time to wonder about the matter is simply pointless, if they were going to fake it later anyway. Do you see my point?

Seriously, just let Merula be a true Slytherin for once - because she was a terrible one so far. Her ambition is empty - she only focuses on being better than others, not improving. She’s the worst leader. But apparently, she’s pretty cunning. And you know what other Slytherin trait she shows? Self-preservation.

Merula was a fucking stupid 11-years-old kid when she betrayed MC. I’m not saying she’s not a stupid kid now, but that’s not the point. The point is that there’s a lot of evidence that Merula was working for R for a long time, but none for what’s going on with her now. I’m not gonna call her a double agent - she might be trying to do that, but my guess is that she’s gonna fail. But even without that... she’s just too deep in that now. What else she’s supposed to do? But no, let’s be overdramatic about it, and let’s curse Jam City for doing something right for once.

Let Merula have a decent storyline.

(I can’t believe I basically have to defend her...)

#hogwarts mystery #hphm #hphm spoilers #hphm mc #jacob's sibling #merula snyde #madam verucca #hphm r #ask #anonymous

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ramblings-of-a-mad-cat · 4 years

Text

Who is the Mole?

@dalekofchaos I’m not taking any chances, your Ask will be given the security it deserves, from the demons of Tumblr who have been eating my messages!

So, who is R’s agent? Well, let’s look at what we know. They’re apparently someone within the walls of Hogwarts, that this dark witch has regular contact with. It’s never established when the mole arrived, but MC seems to think that it was after Rakepick left, and that would make sense. Let’s narrow down the suspects.

It’s not Jacob. Make no mistake, he is shady and he always has been. But he comes and goes. They specifically talked about a mole being present at Hogwarts. Plus, why would the White-Robed wizard flee when Jacob showed up, if he was on their side? Jacob is clear.

It’s not Alanza. She simply arrived too late in the story. Why would R wait this long to have another agent planted at Hogwarts? One who could not slip in undetected, but would inevitably have attention drawn to herself by transferring? What’s more, Alanza declined to join the Circle and she admitted to knowing Rakepick. I know a lot of people think that it’s her, but if she’s a spy, she’s a pretty lousy one. Alanza is clear.

Of the younger characters, the only one who isn’t canon is Beatrice. With how much focus she’s gotten, it’s a possibility. But she’s almost always under the watchful eye of Penny, or hanging with Ismelda. The only time she wasn’t, she nearly drowned in the Black Lake. She can’t even go to Hogsmeade, no way she’s meeting up with R in secret. Not to mention, she would never be on board with having her mind probed if she was the mole. Beatrice is clear.

Regarding the rest of the Year 6 characters, Talbott and Chiara are both secretive and keep their distance from the group. But we already know why they do this, they have well-established backstories and character-based reasons for why they would. Beyond that, the mole should want to join the Circle. They should want access to that intel. Just like Alanza, Chiara didn’t even want to join at first. No, I’m gonna say Talbott and Chiara are clear.

I could go through every member of the Circle, but I’m going to streamline the process and say that I don’t believe it’s anyone who was introduced from Years 2-5. The way HPHM is written, the only characters who get major plot importance are the Year 1 characters,and the people who are “guest-starring” in the current year, who were introduced in that Year. I consider The Year characters to be possible suspects, but I’ve gone through why it won’t be them. Many people suspect Tulip, but when was the last time she was relevant? Or Barnaby, or Jae, or Badeea? Sorry, no way it’s anyone who guest starred in a past year. Let’s go through the Year One folk, because I believe it is one of them.

Penny has simply never had the relevance that Ben and Merula have had. She didn’t even have a connection the plot prior to Year 5, prior to Beatrice’s introduction. I’ve talked about this before, but assuming you chose not to bring her along on any adventures, she could, in theory, but cut from the first four years, without the story changing much. Which is not to say Penny isn’t important, just that I don’t think she’s the mole. Penny is (basically) clear.

Merula’s loyalty has always been questionable, even as a major of hers, I don’t deny this. I can believe that even now, she would work against MC. The only question then, is when did this start? Did Rakepick give her this job before the Portrait Vault? Was Merula in on that? It might explain why Rakepick told MC to look out for her. But we’re forgetting one key detail about this character. She’s a terrible liar. This has been well-established. Merula’s emotions get the better of her. She would have given herself away by now. If this theory is true, she would need to pull a serious long-con, and I just don’t believe she’s capable of doing that. Merula is clear.

Ben has always been suspicious. From Year 2 on, Rowan them-self suspected him. It’s abundantly clear that he’s keeping secrets. Who did he write that letter to, prior to the Portrait Vault? Why did he insist on coming? Does he remember the time that he was kidnapped, or not? Why did he panic upon seeing Rakepick for what we can only assume was the first time? He’s hiding something, definitely. However...Year 5 seemed to settle the question of “who’s side is he on?” by using Rowan to prove that R can and will Imperius people, and exonerating Ben from his time as the Red Cloak. What’s more...Rakepick aimed that curse at him. She tried to kill him outright, and she couldn’t have known that Rowan would rush in. She wouldn’t do that if he were the mole. Maybe Ben can be trusted, maybe not, but regarding this...Ben is clear.

But hold on, I said that I believed one of the Year 1 characters in the mole, didn’t I? And I do. I’ve talked about this before, but I sincerely believe that the Mole...is MC.

Now, I’m not saying that MC is pulling a long-con, that they’ve always been loyal to R, and that even the player didn’t know it. That would be one hell of a twist by itself, but people would probably hate it. No, I think that MC is the mole...without knowing it. I have on many occasions, expressed doubts about Moody. I know he’s canon, but like I said, R has proven that they can and will use the Imperius Curse. That would be a way to use Moody as a secret villain without breaking canon, and it’s not like we haven’t seen that done before. Seriously, the way he’s acting in this game, particularly his encouragement of MC’s revenge and blood-lust? This reminds me more of Barty Crouch Jr’s impersonation than anything else. We know from the Weird Sister TLSQ that the Cabal was planning to contact Moody and “see what he knows” about the Sunken Vault, and the Coral Key. (A quest that, curiously, has since been removed, and it seems like they’re not putting it back. I wonder why...) At the end of Year 5, not long after Rakepick abandoned her role as R’s agent at Hogwarts, Moody shows up and abducts MC. Swearing them to secrecy, almost always insisting that they not tell Jacob and their friends important information, or otherwise encouraging them not to. Think about it, what new information has Moody actually provided? Compared to the fountain of intel that MC has been providing him, for no real reason. MC told him about the Circle almost immediately. Now, Moody isn’t the dark witch, but suppose she was the one who Imperius’d him? If my theory about this is true, then MC has been passing information to R, without their friends knowing, for this entire year. That would make them a mole.

Of course, they have no idea. Which means that in this context, to call them a “mole” or a spy isn’t really accurate. It’s twisting the facts. But I firmly believe that’s the interpretation that we’re going with here. Which is a good lead-in to another phase of this theory that I have. Not only do I think R has been using MC as a mole, the way they’ve been using them as a weapon to open the Vaults this entire time...I also believe that R wanted MC to find out this bit of information. I believe that entire Infiltration was a trap, that R knew MC was there, and that it went exactly as they wanted it to. Setting aside my theory about Moody, I have to confess that the “advertisement” MC and Merula found at the Whomping Willow never made any sense to me, and felt like bait for a trap. Seriously, even if we ignore that the tip-off about The Whomping Willow being a secret meeting place was almost certainly referring to the Shrieking Shack, and not this...why would R do something like that? Leave a note like that out in the open, for any student or teacher to find? It’s not like dark witches and wizards are going to be prowling around Hogwarts that often. Wouldn’t it make way more sense to post that around say, Knockturn Alley? No, they wanted MC to find th at. Not to mention the tone of the note, “Dark wizards, come one, come all!” Please, if I’m a dark wizard, and I read that? My first thought is, “Well, this is clearly a sting. I’m not getting involved.” Not to mention, this wouldn’t be the first time MC tried to crash an R meeting based on written information that they supposedly left laying around. The Forbidden Forest was a trap, and Rowan paid the price. So why wouldn’t this be a trap? Sure, it seemed to go well...but I can’t help remembering the White-Robed Wizard’s line about how R would never let MC learn something that they didn’t want MC to know...

And that’s just it. They wanted MC to know that there was a mole. They wanted MC to tell the Circle that there was a mole. Moody instructed MC not to say anything about R wanting them to join and someday lead, but he didn’t tell them not to bring up the mole. Really, it isn’t so much that they wanted MC to know, it’s that they want the Circle to know. They want The Circle of Khanna to know there’s a mole. They want MC to find out about R’s plan for them, and they want MC to keep this plan from the Circle, so that when the time comes, R can drop this bomb. That MC is the mole, and always has been. MC can deny it of course, but what will they do when it comes out that they’ve been reporting to R (Through Moody) all this time? There’s a reason no one else is ever in those scenes - not even Jacob. There’s a reason Moody has been trying to put distance between MC and their friends. Imagine if The Circle finds out that MC knew R wanted to recruit them, and they said nothing? People have been speculating that MC losing a friend in an “unexpected way” might be referring to the mole, and how one of their friends is a traitor. But it could work in the opposite direction as well. If people find out that MC is a “traitor” I mean...how are Ben and Merula going to handle that news? Sure, some people might not immediately turn on MC, some people might believe them, or be uncertain...but R has been building up “evidence” of this for months, and Ben and Merula are both in a place of being so traumatized and unstable that they’d probably just buy it hook line and sinker. And they’re the co-leaders of the Circle. They might, at that point, kick MC out. Or at least call for a vote.

And what happens if MC is expelled from the Circle? The very organization they formed to honor Rowan? They wouldn’t be able to investigate the Vaults anymore, because they’d be working against two secret organizations, one within the walls of Hogwarts. The Circle of Khanna, presuming MC to be a spy for R, would never let them within fifty feet of their investigation - hell, they could be the opponent that MC has to face, from the Centaur’s prophecy. (Or it could be R’s leader.) The Circle, at least initially, wouldn’t take MC back or trust them. But the Cabal? Oh, you just know that they would open their arms to MC and welcome them to join, pointing out that they have nowhere else to go...not saying MC would agree to join them, but this could be R’s plan. This could be the big choice that MC has to make from the Centaur’s prophecy. Suppose Dumbledore was told by Circle members that MC is an R agent, and, oh I dunno...expels them as a result? We’ve all speculated than an expulsion arc is coming. If it is, that would be the perfect opportunity for R to try and get their claws into MC.

Thank you for sending me the Ask! This has been a lot of fun, and I’ve enjoyed getting all these suspicions out in the open.

#HPHM Theory #HPHM Spoilers #HPHM Cabal #Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery #HPHM Analysis #HPHM Jacob's Sibling #Ben Copper #Merula Snyde #Alastor Moody #Patricia Rakepick #HPHM Jacob #Alanza Alves #HPHM R #The Circle of Khanna

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