With the capture of Verandi Farley and several high-ranking Trossach members, the British wizarding world has finally caught a break. The rate of rogue werewolf attacks have started dropping at a steady rate and, hopefully, things will stay that way. The Ministry is starting to loosen some restrictions, like not arresting werewolves standing on the street for loitering, however there’s still an obvious power imbalance between wizardfolk and werewolves.
The Cotswolds pack are continuing to advocate for the rights of werewolves and petitioning to change the legislation that has been set in motion by the current Minister for Magic, whilst the remaining Trossachs members are trying to stay out of the spotlight and keep a low profile… for now.
Whilst the British wizarding world seems to have calmed down, the same cannot be said for over in Northern Europe where a rebellion of magical creatures has risen. The state of things has gotten so bad that the European Ministry has enacted protocols to protect those under eighteen whilst their adult witches and wizards fight to keep control of their countries.
Students from Durmstrang have been sent to Hogwarts to keep them safe and those not old enough to attend school have been sent to live with relatives or designated British Ministry officials outside of Europe for the time being.
Will the low rates of werewolf attacks in Britain continue? How long will Durmstrang students stay at Hogwarts? Will the creatures usurp the wizardfolk in Northern Europe? Only time will tell.
SEPTEMBER 2019 It's been a very long, eventful summer in the wizarding world. A baby was stolen, several high ranking Trossach members were imprisoned, and werewolf attacks have drastically dropped as a result. What will happen now school has returned?
MAY 2019 An attempt to capture the beta of the Trossachs has been launched. Were the Aurors successful in their mission? Go read more here!
There was an absolute calm that Raouf slipped into when in animagus form. His mind was focused on the best places to warm up, catch prey and avoid all the thundering of human steps instead of the mounds of homework that made his vision swim and head ache. Where he curled up now wasn't the warmest of places, nor the quietest but it was the safest. In all actuality, he shouldn't even be transformed, it was unlikely that someone would enjoy finding a rather sizeable venomous snake under the stairs- but it was a selfish desire that he'd decided to partake in. He found himself nodding off every so often, alert to the thuds of footsteps as they rained above him. The vibrations of Hogwarts wasn't as comforting as the team room at Uagaudo, nor did the area smell as familiar either, but he supposed it was suitable enough. He thought that the Slytherin common room would have been a pleasant experience, however, he didn't need the other Slytherins poking their noses into his business. That wasn't even considering that the others might be scared of his form- or god forbid- try to attack him while he slumbered!
He gave a quiet hiss, stretching out a little, tempted to find another spot to lay. His head was far too close to the bottom of the stairs for him to be comfortable anyway. He stretched out, reaching out to the cobblestone floor which he'd charmed to stay warm if he needed a bit more energy. Unfortunately, he needed a little more leverage than he'd initially thought, and a small object came flying down with him, missing him narrowly. He reared back quickly, before relaxing back onto the warm patch. It had definitely been one of his better ideas to do this, it was like scratching an unreachable itch, and the warmth felt really lovely against his scales.
Heavy footsteps alerted him to the fact another person was walking down the stairs, and he didn't pay it too much attention before he realised that they were starting to head towards him. He lifted his head, searching for a more secure spot. He reached upwards, but nowhere was suitable that would hide him completely. Raouf hadn't quite figure out what he'd do if someone came and looked under the stairs- because what kind of person did that on a Saturday? He didn't know if it was afternoon or evening, time wasn't too easy to keep while he dozed. He paused, trying to stay as still as possible as a human face came rounding into view. Words: 432 Tags: EVAN OLIVER WOOD
Post by EVAN OLIVER WOOD on Nov 17, 2019 8:46:45 GMT
"Mr Feathertail! Where are you?" Evan called in that particularly cooing voice that people adopted when they were calling out for their beloved kitty-cat. He'd looked in every nook and cranny from the top of Gryffindor Tower to the top of the stairs upon which he currently stood. The amount of hiding places was... it was astronomical and Evan quietly concluded that his cat was a diabolical genius probably kitty-giggling from somewhere super obvious because... that's where one always finds their cat, isn't it? Somewhere you are certain you'd already checked?
Evan ran his hands up the back of his neck, as if the shorter hairs would soothe his soul as he made his way down another set of stairs. "Hey - have you seen Mr Feathertail?" Evan asked one of the other students as he did, to which he received more than a few shakes of the head. The young man would just check a few more places before he would give up... the cat would come to the dining hall for dinner, no doubt. He had a fox kit that he'd have to bottle-feed shortly so he couldn't spend allllll day searching for the devilish Mr Fluffytail - honestly how does a cat the size of a main coone just go missing?
Reaching the space beneath the stairs, Evan paused because was... was that? Something was definitely under there. He heard an object fall or move. HA! I've got you now, the big boned teenager thought as he attempted to tip-toe towards it. When he finally found out what had caused the thing to fall, his bright blue eyes were as wide as saucers. "Oh... hello Mr Snake..." Evan said in as calm and low voice as possible. He mistook the snake itself for the less deadly Death Adder native to the British Isles.
"It's not a good idea to lay here in the castle you know, Mr Snake. I can help you out but you... you have to promise not to bite me," Evan slowly brought out his wand and tried to calculate the best way to catch this ... this fucking huge snake. "You're very big... but seeing as I'm not dead just from looking at you I'm guessing you're not a baby basilisk," Evan chattered away in a low voice because it helped soothe his nerves. He was more concerned about relocating the poor snake than a bite ... because venomous snakes weren't that bad, were they? They still had a role to play in the... "Alright now... deep breath," he just... he needed the tail. That would make things a lot less painful. "It's ok Mr Snake, I won't... hurt you." Evan's heart was racing and beads of sweat formed on his forehead as he concentrated on fluid, quick movements.
TAG: RAOUF NASHAAT NB: The Emperor Penguin is Evan’s corporeal patronus, when he learns it.
Post by RAOUF NASHAAT on Nov 19, 2019 11:30:05 GMT
Oh. That wasn’t good. The human face had definitely seen him. He swayed a little, a little terrified. Would this boy start flinging curses and books at him? Or run away to tell someone that a humungous snake was now taking residence in Hogwarts? One would result in his certain death, and the other a lecture from Professor Samuals. Raouf smelt the air, his tongue poking out of his dark mouth as the big Gryffindor greeted him. He seemed…oddly calm and Raouf reached forward a little, curious. A human who wasn’t scared? That was new and different from his expectations.
His serpentine eyes caught the movement of the wand, and he dragged his lower body onto the ground, trying to give him more weight and strength to lunge if he needed a quick getaway. The boy was saying something about helping him and not biting… but Raouf was transfixed on the wand. He did not that the big man had it in his hand, but he hadn’t cast anything yet? Raouf was suspicious but he looked back at the Gryffindor’s face as he spoke about Raouf being huge. It was true, he was inconveniently large. Definitely not a baby basilik, although he could imagine that would be an incredible animagus form- although quite deadly. He wondered if anyone had been one, possibly not. They were such odd snake-like creatures. The snake animagus listened intently as the boy spoke to him in low tones. It seemed like this boy wanted to…move him? Raouf didn’t like that idea at all.
He tried to make a run for it, but the Gryffindor was faster. Raouf let out a stream of hisses as he was caught. If there was a parslemouth around they would recognise them as words such as ‘oh no why me’ and ‘he’s going to use me more potion ingredients’. The big Gryffindor was obviously not used to handling snakes as big as he, so he made sure to get a good tail grip around the hand that had grabbed him, and then slithered up on the opposite shoulder than grabbed him. Raouf refused to be injured while being manhandled. He was disgruntled about his peace and calm being interrupted, and a little worried if he was being honest. He didn’t know this Gryffindor, although his voice sounded perfectly polite and kind. He gave another hiss before smelling the other animals that saturated his clothes. Words: 404 Tags: EVAN OLIVER WOOD
Post by EVAN OLIVER WOOD on Dec 29, 2019 14:14:01 GMT
Calm. Down.
Evan had a forced smile on his face - his mother had always said that you cannot be afraid if you’re smiling, after all, but despite his efforts the moment the serpent’s tail coiled tightly around his wrist it was like an iron first clamped over his heart. Stay. Calm. Evan’s grip around the snake’s tail became a little firmer and then the huge, mistaking my identified as a a Death Adder, snake curled up lithely towards Evan’s body and despite the boy’s impression of a ballerina to try to stop it from happening. See, the reason Evan was trying to calm his racing heart was that even herbivorous, otherwise gentle creatures grew agitated and dangerous around nervous humans. ”I... ok Mr Snake, you’re going to give me a heart attack at fifteen if you...” for one terrifying moment, Evan had to admit defeat. The snake made itself comfy on his shoulders and his own big, blue eyes could probably be seen from space as he stood stock-still.
”... ok. Ok I guess ... this is fair. No biting Evan, ok? You’re heavy, my friend. Are you the reason I haven’t seen a rat in the school for ages,” chattering idly helped to get some movement back into his body until there was a sudden barrage of hisses. ”Hey. Don’t you use that kind of language with me, Mr. Snake. I’m trying to do you a favour but if you’re going to be rude...” Evan, are you really trying to teach a black mamba manners? Merlin’s merciful aunt. ”No, even then I’d still try to help. But stop hissing at me please?” Evan noticed finally his feet were putting one step in front of the other and somehow he was almost out of the castle.
”I know the castle is warmer than it is out here, but there are some very cruel students here that... “ Evan recalled Agnes’ Valentine surprise of animal bones with a shiver and then instantly hoped to Merlin that his muscled back and shoulders didn’t betray the shiver enough to upset the snake, ”they’re not great people. Plus, someone might accidentally step on that tail you’ve death gripped me with - is your pa a python or something?” Evan knew the quick way to the edge of the Forbidden Forest and so he wasn’t too far from it now. He was lucky that there seemed to have been no one to find them. ”Almost there Mr Snake. When I let you go, just slide on away into the forest ok?”
TAG: RAOUF NASHAAT NB: The Emperor Penguin is Evan’s corporeal patronus, when he learns it.
