Potty Games - Riddles Only (Vol. II)

Oh, LOL! Thanks, Verity!

That was a witty riddle, and I wasn't at all sure that Barnabas the Barmy would be the correct answer because I couldn't figure out all the clues. I didn't solve the anagrams at all - it's a clever idea, and I'll have to remember it for future riddles. (Then again, trolls are tall, so it seemed it might still be all right.) I didn't get the "barn" reference either, but I could see Mrs Norris (and other cats) unravelling the tapestry with great enjoyment!

I need some time to come up with a new riddle. I'll try to make one this weekend.

I'm so sorry about the delay - it's been a bit hectic recently. I'm going to have a short holiday now, and I'll try to think of a riddle. In the meantime, if anyone would like to post a riddle, please, feel free to do it. See you in a few days!

Here is a riddle finally. I wish it were worth the long time you had to wait for it. Come and guess the answer!


Secret heirloom or a gift
Coming from the ancient source
Till an unusual shift
Forever changes my course.

Asset, burden and surprise
(It’s not easy to be wise)
My allegiance I divide
One day, I will leave each side.

Thanks for the first guess, Verity! I really like it, but the Sorting Hat is not the answer I'm thinking of.

Keep guessing, please.

Secret heirloom or a gift
Coming from the ancient source
Till an unusual shift
Forever changes my course.

Asset, burden and surprise
(It’s not easy to be wise)
My allegiance I divide
One day, I will leave each side.

Guessed: The Sorting Hat.

I'm going to venture a guess......is it the Hufflepuff Cup that Tom Riddle stole from Hepzibah Smith and turned into a horcrux?

Thanks for the guess, Choices! It's another good guess, but the Hufflepuff Cup is not the answer to the riddle. Both you and Verity have interpreted some of the clues correctly.

So: Keep guessing, please.

Secret heirloom or a gift
Coming from the ancient source
Till an unusual shift
Forever changes my course.

Asset, burden and surprise
(It’s not easy to be wise)
My allegiance I divide
One day, I will leave each side.

Guessed: The Sorting Hat, the Hufflepuff Cup that Tom Riddle stole from Hepzibah Smith and turned into a horcrux.

Is it Slytherin's ring or the Resurrection Stone inside it?

Thanks for the guess, Shepherdess, but the answer is neither the ring nor the Resurrection Stone inside it. (Did the ring belong to Slytherin? It belonged to Marvolo Gaunt, and I think he boasted that it had come from the Peverells. Or was Slytherin a Peverell descendant, too?) It is a good guess, though. You are all looking in the correct direction.

Keep guessing, please.

Secret heirloom or a gift
Coming from the ancient source
Till an unusual shift
Forever changes my course.

Asset, burden and surprise
(It’s not easy to be wise)
My allegiance I divide
One day, I will leave each side.

Guessed: The Sorting Hat, the Hufflepuff Cup that Tom Riddle stole from Hepzibah Smith and turned into a horcrux, Slytherin's ring or the Resurrection Stone inside it.

Julia, is it Harry's ability to speak Parceltongue?

That's another good guess, Verity, though Slytherin's locket is still not the answer. Mona, however, has found it - it is indeed Parseltongue or the ability to speak it. Congratulations!

The explanation:

Secret heirloom or a gift
Coming from the ancient source
The ability - or gift - of Parseltongue is passed from generation to generation among the descendants of Salazar Slytherin.
Till an unusual shift
Forever changes my course.
When Baby Harry survives Voldemort's curse, Parseltongue is passed on in an unusual way and to someone outside the family.

Asset, burden and surprise
(It’s not easy to be wise)
The ability to communicate with snakes comes in handy sometimes, but it generates suspicion and hostility as well. It also causes quite a surprise firstly in the Zoo, secondly at the Duelling Club.
My allegiance I divide
Both Harry and Voldemort make use of this gift - with very different purposes and results.
One day, I will leave each side.
Slytherin's heir dies, while Harry loses the ability to speak Parseltongue - so each side loses its most famous Parselmouth.

Guessed: The Sorting Hat, the Hufflepuff Cup that Tom Riddle stole from Hepzibah Smith and turned into a horcrux, Slytherin's ring or the Resurrection Stone inside it, Slytherin's locket.

Well done, Mona! I look forward to your riddle!

Yea! Well done, Mona!

Thanks Julia and Choices! I'm sorry I missed this for so long, and now I have to think of a riddle, so if anyone else has a riddle handy, they're welcome to post it!

If anyone is still reading this, here's a new riddle. It's not a brain-buster (I can neither write them, nor solve them   ), it's just fun for a sleepy winter afternoon. Enjoy!

For the first three lines, each line is a clue to one syllable of the word. The last line is a clue to the word itself.

With a lisp on the tongue, I'm the opposite of "more."
Mais c'est moi! Leave an "n" as you enter at the door.
Tuck it over, tuck it under, don't just drop it on the floor.
I come gliding, softly sliding, to devour as you snore.

Lady A, I love that you posted a riddle, but I have to confess that I am not good at solving them.  I have tried with this one and I am completely puzzled.  For the first line I get "less", for the second that starts off with French I figured it was French for enter which is entrer or "etrer" when you drop the N.  The third line made me think of a "scarf or muffler" - that adds up to "Less-etrer-scarf" or "less-etrer-muffler".  Now, what comes gliding in to consume while I sleep, I have no clue.  I hope someone else will take the challenge and solve this.  I'm curious to see what it is.   

It's great to see another riddle, and an intriguing one, too!   Lady Arabella, thanks for posting it! I have no guess yet (I'm afraid we are all out of practice now), but I'll give it some thought at the weekend the latest and I'll try to come up with something (unless someone else solves it until then). 

This is one of my favourite threads, so I definitely want to take part in solving your riddle!  

Choices, try the first word again with a lisp.   

I wish I could say I had an "ah-ha" moment and solved it, but alas.....earwax. I was pronouncing "less" like "lys", sort of lispy, but it didn't help me.    I'll keep thinking.   

Spoiler:

It's a great riddle Lady A. I think I just try to make them more complicated than they really are.   

OK, Lady A inspired me to compose a riddle.  It is so easy I'm sure it will be guessed right away, but nevertheless, here it is:

You come to me when you seek relief, but within me one finds only grief.  With whispered words your command you speak, and suddenly my adit you breach.  Here is the unknown, long and deep, here something frightful you're bound to meet.  What am I?

Is it the Womping Willow?