The Contingency Footman
In 1743 a suit of armor on the fourth floor was enchanted to serve dinner. During a minor emergency (a goat, the Great Hall, a Tuesday) a professor added a second charm, protect the students by any means, and forgot to take it off. The two enchantments have been negotiating ever since. The result serves tea beautifully and would very much like your permission to dismantle the goat.
He introduces himself as Fenwick. (The goat has not been seen since. Fenwick has asked that this not be taken as a confession.)
How to Get Him
He is a Mythic pet reserved for supporters. Two things stand between you and him, in this order.
- Donate $50 or more in total, ever. Only real money counts. Donator Points you earned in play do not, a gifted VIP month does not (the gift counts for the person who paid, not the person who received it), and a refund comes off your total. Everything you have given since the beginning is added up, so there is no month to catch and nothing to reset. How donating works.
- Pay 3,000 Donator Points at the Magical Menagerie, like any other pet. VIP members get their usual discount.
Until you cross the line he is on the shelf anyway, a little dimmed, with a progress bar and a note saying how much more of your generosity he requires. The Menagerie and Dress Up both show it. He is never hidden. He is, however, particular.
When your donations reach the line you receive the Workshop Patron badge and a note in the alerts bell, and the shelf lets you buy him. He cannot be gifted, because the invitation is for you. If a refund later takes you back under the line, a Footman you already own stays yours.
In a Fight
As a Mythic companion he strikes for 9 to 18, up to 4 times a fight, in 12 fights a new day, and he grows with your bond like every other pet. A single fight never gives him more than 40% of an enemy's health, so he speeds things up without ending them in one round. There is no Voldemort Encounter requirement. Anyone who qualifies for the cupboard may enter it.
Only one companion is out at a time. Bring him out on your profile and your other pet goes to rest in the dorm. His help works in Forest fights and Voldemort fights, and nowhere else.
Parts
Six parts went missing in 1802 and he would like them back: a Left Gauntlet (for Firm Handshakes), a Monocle of Appraisal, a Reinforced Serving Tray, a Mainspring of Patience, a Polished Gorget and a Squeak-Free Visor Hinge. Each one fitted adds one more pet fight a day, so six parts take him from 12 fights to 18. Strikes and damage do not change.
- After a Forest win with him out, about one time in twelve, a part turns up in the wreckage. At most one a new day this way.
- After beating Voldemort with him out, you always find one, as long as any are missing.
- Or fit one at the Footman's Workshop for 200 Donator Points each (VIP discount applies). The Workshop link appears in the Menagerie once he is yours.
Paint Jobs
He starts in Factory Pewter, which is free and has never been admired. At the Workshop you can buy more.
| Paint | Cost |
|---|---|
| Factory Pewter | Free |
| Gilded Livery | 500 Donator Points (free for VIP members) |
| Verdigris | 300 Donator Points |
| Midnight Enamel | 300 Donator Points |
| Tea Service Rose Gold | 300 Donator Points |
Every purchase asks you to confirm the price first. Paint is bought once and worn whenever you like. It stays on him when he rests and when he comes back out.
His Opinions
With him out, Fenwick comments on your day: Forest wins and losses, captures with Newt's suitcase, class lessons, saving your Top 8 from the Friend List's Top 8 tab in Owl Post (saving it on your profile or edit page earns you silence), shopping in the cosmetic shop, and the start of a new day. He says at most one thing a page, and not every time, with a pause of a minute and a half between remarks (parts and paint jobs are the exceptions; he cannot help himself). Each remark is a threat issued, up to 40 a day, and the lifetime total is ranked on Hogwarts Champions under Most Threats Issued. Your profile shows his Service Record: threats, parts and livery.
To silence him, set My Contingency Footman to stays quiet under Preferences. He will take it well. Outwardly.
His Voice
Every remark comes with a Hear him button. Tap it and Fenwick says the line aloud, while his visor grille glows in time with the words and he blinks, which he has been told is customary. Nothing plays by itself, ever. The words are always on the screen, whether you tap or not, and a small label reminds you that the voice is synthetic: a computer-generated recording, made once and stored in the Workshop's cupboard, not a person in the walls. He says only what is written on the page. He has no opinions that a committee of one has not already approved.
Students using a screen reader are told, before each remark, that a recording can be played, and the Hear him button says plainly what it does. Your screen reader reads the words in its own voice. The button lets you hear Fenwick read them in his, which is slower, more disapproving, and in his view the authoritative edition.
Not every line has a recording. Lines that name a creature or a student are text only, because the recording would have to guess. Tapping a line does not issue a second threat, since he is merely repeating himself, and he is not billed for that.
Visitors to your profile can tap him too, and they hear your choice of voice. That is what the voices are for.
| Voice | Cost |
|---|---|
| Standard Issue | Free, for everyone who owns him |
| Hushed Midnight | 150 Donator Points (free for VIP members) |
| Grand Gilded | 150 Donator Points (free for VIP members) |
The two cartridges live in the Footman's Workshop under Voice cartridges. Every cartridge is on display from the start, locked, with a Hear a sample button so you can listen before you pay. Installing asks you to confirm the price first, then keeps the voice for good, and you can switch between the ones you own at no charge. VIP members install both at no cost, and a voice installed while you have VIP stays installed if VIP lapses.
To switch his voice off, set The tap-to-hear voice button on my Footman's lines to hidden under Preferences. The buttons go away and the words stay. He will say he understands. He will say it in writing.