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The Founders' items: plausible abilities.

Discussion in 'Fanfic Discussion' started by Roarian, Dec 14, 2012.

  1. Roarian

    Roarian High Inquisitor

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    Hey, I was researching the Horcruxes and the items Voldemort used to make them, and basically only the sword and the diadem have some vague indications of their magical uses.

    The sword has the whole appearing to those who are worthy thing, and also the magic of the goblins, absorbing the basilisk venom into it. The diadem only has the vague description that it makes someone wiser or somesuch. The others, afaik, have nothing. (Well, parseltongue opening for the locket, but I imagine it was used for something.)

    I was wondering, since we are pretty sure that all of these items are magical to some extent, what would be a fanfic-plausible enchantment for these, you think? What do you think would be the uses for such things?

    Cheers,

    J
     
  2. Perspicacity

    Perspicacity Destroyer of Worlds ~ Prestige ~ DLP Supporter

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    Peverall's stone on the ring could, you know, raise the dead and stuff. That's sort of magical.
     
  3. Anarchy

    Anarchy Half-Blood Prince DLP Supporter

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    A common fanfic trope for Hufflepuff's goblet is that it is some sort of ever-filling chalice, sometimes only activating in time of the user's great need, or some such.
     
  4. wordhammer

    wordhammer Dark Lord DLP Supporter

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    I think Roarian's looking for more on the non-Hallows items-

    Ravenclaw's diadem might have been like a constant Wit-sharpening potion, or even have provided defense against mental attacks like from Dementors and boggarts. If one believes that the Snorcack is extinct and not imaginary, Rowena may have used it to hunt down the little pests. Perhaps their form of invisibility is more in line with the mythical Notice-Me-Not, and it took Rowena's insight (and her diadem) to capture them. For a sinister twist, the hides were used to make the Sorting Hat.

    Hufflepuff's Cup isn't widely touted, though it's known to be magically valuable, so let's follow the theme- perhaps it can duplicate any consumables put into it. One strawberry becomes a bushel. Magically creating nutritional food would be a masterwork-worthy enchantment.

    EDIT: ninja'd by Anarchy... and fanon, so I don't feel bad


    Slytherin's locket- only openable by a Parselmouth, it would make a good storage case... or an unusual key, reminiscent of the one used in the Mummy to open books and caskets. Perhaps it unlocks more Secrets in the Chamber.
     
  5. KHAAAAAAAN!!

    KHAAAAAAAN!! Troll in the Dungeon –§ Prestigious §– DLP Supporter

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    I read a crack fic a few years ago where Hufflepuff's cup enslaved whoever drank out of it. Hufflepuff tricked the leader of the House-Elves into drinking and that was somehow the explanation for the species having an innate desire to serve wizards 1000 years later. It wasn't well-written, but I really liked the idea, as well as the idea that one of the 'good' founders had a dark side.

    I mean, Hufflepuff valued hard-work and loyalty, right?

    What works harder than a House-Elf? What's more loyal than a magically-bound slave?
     
  6. Jormungandr

    Jormungandr Prisoner

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    Dude, you do realize that will spawn a ave of shitty slave-harem fics on FFn?

    Harry gave her a toothy grin. 'Hey, Hermione/Fleur/Tonks/Mary-Sue OC, want a drink?'
     
  7. KHAAAAAAAN!!

    KHAAAAAAAN!! Troll in the Dungeon –§ Prestigious §– DLP Supporter

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    What's your point, Jorm? Bad writers slinging their bad fics left and right doesn't make a quality idea shitty.

    If done right, it would be awesome.
     
  8. Thyestean

    Thyestean Slug Club Member

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    Hmm, interesting idea. And probably a way to make a dark hufflepuff.

    Hardworking to mold intelligence, friendship to define bravery, and patience to temper cunning. She was the greatest of them all, so why should she be the villain. For history likes to remember men, and slytherin most of all.

    Seems kinda op though with a mind control enchantment, although now that I think about it so does the sword. Thousand year mythical beast needs slaying. Stab. Almost impossible to destroy soul fragment. Slash. Borderline basilisk hourcrux hybrid. Just like spreading butter.
     
  9. InfernoCannon

    InfernoCannon Seventh Year

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    The Sword isn't that OP - its job is kill or destroy stuff, so if it failed in that regard it would be quite pathetic when it also has magical powers backing it up.

    As for Hufflepuff's Chalice, any enchantment on it I assumed would either make sure that the drinker was happy or would continually refill it. My knowledge of mythical chalices and the like is somewhat shaky, but that's mostly what I've noticed tends to crop up.
     
  10. Aekiel

    Aekiel Angle of Mispeling ~ Prestige ~ DLP Supporter

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    Meh, that's not really interesting though. How about a cup that gives foresight or inspiration? It could be a transformation cup that changes any liquid put in it into something else, or it neutralizes poisons and other such things. Or hell, it could just be a cup.

    Or it gives immortality. :p
     
    Last edited: Dec 15, 2012
  11. Perspicacity

    Perspicacity Destroyer of Worlds ~ Prestige ~ DLP Supporter

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    Here are some alternatives for the artifacts:

    The cup could function like a Pensieve, save that it allows one to travel to the time of the memory and change things (similar to how Albus's time travel worked in Ella/Deadwoodpecker's Backward With Purpose book 2), a sort of time travel that allows manipulation of the past.

    Alternatively, I've seen it used as a scrying device, like a LOTR Palantir, permitting one to view what's going on elsewhere.

    The locket could be a soul cage, allowing the wearer to vanquish a foe, trap his soul within, and bend the consciousness to the wearer's will. Rather than destroy the locket, Harry could keep it and use it sort of like Bob in Dresden as an advantage in learning magic, the Dark Arts, etc. (Used improperly, the locket seeks to consume the nearest soul, usually that of the bearer, which explains the despair the trio felt in canon.) Voldemort never learned the secret of the locket, of course, which is why he foolishly placed his own soul within...

    The sword could present the bearer with a sense of martial precognition, giving subtle direction to its bearer's actions. This is how Harry was able to defeat the Basilisk and explains the legends of why Gryffindor was so deadly in martial combat (the most accomplished dueler of his time, according to JKR).
     
  12. wordhammer

    wordhammer Dark Lord DLP Supporter

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    A new Hufflepuff cup idea- can be expanded into a cauldron that can brew any potion that's been put into it before, merely by adding the ingredients and letting it sit for a while.

    or

    Can purify any liquid put in along with a sufficiently-sized piece of diamond. The diamond absorbs the impurities. Such an effect could have countered Riddle's nightmare potion in the cave by the sea.

    or

    It will irrevocably Vanish anything put into it- it was originally made as a disguised chamberpot, you see.


    EDIT: given that goblin-made weapons absorb anything useful to them, the Sword of Gryffindor learned how to shapeshift into any melee weapon when it drank the blood of a metamorph (already in use for my stories, but I still think it's a reasonable idea).
     
    Last edited: Dec 15, 2012
  13. Glimmervoid

    Glimmervoid Professor

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    Maybe Hufflepuff cup's can bind anyone who drinks from it to the rules of hospitality. Similar to the mind control idea but less evil.
     
  14. J22

    J22 Seventh Year

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    Hufflepuff's cup was the world's first magical version of those cups you put in the freezer to keep your beer cold.
     
  15. Hawkin

    Hawkin Chief Warlock

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    What about a parallel between the Cup and the Graal. It was said to contain the blood of the Christ.

    Hufflepuff's cup could grant something (w/e it is) to those who bled into the cup or those who drink said blood. It could even be that the cup was never Helga's to start with and she later scavenged it somewhere and reworked some key aspect.
     
  16. afrojack

    afrojack Chief Warlock DLP Supporter

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    It could also be the combination of a number of things, as it was with Gryffindor's sword. One of the interesting things about the sword I don't think has been mentioned is that it probably re-sizes itself to be the correct length for any user.

    The locket may have contained a mirror or window that allowed you to view memories or other places (the Chamber), or even a window into a limitless dimension sort of like Hermione's bag, though that one seems more whimsical.

    On that note, maybe you could use the cup to carry any amount of weight or objects without feeling it (hard work made easy).
     
  17. KGB

    KGB Headmaster

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    Is that canon?

    If we are talking about the grail and mind control properties why not go with Tennyson's grail. Have Helga use it to drive Slytherin out of Hogwarts. Have the cup be the reason why Voldemort is so obsessed with conquering the wizarding world. The ability to inspire unattainable dreams has endless possibilities.
     
  18. Doctor Whooves

    Doctor Whooves High Inquisitor

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    You could always have the cup... just be a cup.
     
  19. Iztiak

    Iztiak Prisoner DLP Supporter

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    Or you could have all of them have really bad enchantments, operating under the impression that wizards have made some advances in the last thousand years.

    You could do what J22 suggested, the cup just keeps drinks cold. And that was the first time someone had figured out that spell, and it was an amazing enchantment for its time.

    I don't know, the concept of "the older it is, the more powerful it is" has always bothered me just a little bit. I mean, it IS magic, you could operate under the assumption that wizards get progressively dumber and weaker, or that the knowledge was "lost"...

    Really, I'd say it's personal preference. Ancient powerful artifacts are still fun to read about, even if it doesn't make much sense sometimes.
     
    Last edited: Dec 16, 2012
  20. KGB

    KGB Headmaster

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    "The older it is the more powerful it is" is a carryover from other fantasy stories where the author uses it as a hamfisted metaphor for people losing belief in god. It makes no sense in HP universe as magic is something you are born with instead of gain from nature/devotion.

    But there is the fact that wizards vary in power. It is not inconceivable that there might be spells most people are incapable of and the founders were supposed to be very powerful.

    The "Lost knowledge" is dependant on how the creation of new spells works and since there is no canonical explanation there is no way to argue it either way. But from Snape's spell i take it that spell creation is a solitary process and than it's not to farfetched that powerful spells are lost, because the creator never shared it with anyone.
     
    Last edited: Dec 17, 2012
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