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!
Post by FLEUR WEASLEY on Dec 11, 2019 21:53:59 GMT
Brushing the chalk dust from her hands- the greatest trial of her life as a professor; she would swear that her skin had never been the same since-, Fleur turned to face the door and gave a nod to the first student to enter. She was looking forward to this lesson, as she always did; the students in this class had been studying the subject for long enough to have a good grasp on the basics, but there was still so much lying ahead of them that Transfiguration ought to be an exciting prospect; like a field of wheat seen only in the dark but with the sun beginning to rise above the horizon and reveal its full extent. Though the blonde wasn't sure that a field of wheat was quite an exciting enough comparison. Something that needed work, perhaps.
In any case, the students were beginning to flow in nicely now, and the French witch perched on the edge of her desk, watching them all as they entered. It was remarkable, really, seeing the way that the little groups interrelated and shifted as they chose their seats, but Fleur was no sociologist, and she had Transfiguration very firmly on the brain, as always.
Colwynn was in a bad mood. A really bad mood. After everything that had gone down in the history of magic class she just wanted to go home. Not to her dorm. She literally wanted to go home. She could bitch about how everyone in her school sucked, teenagers were dickheads, and unleash all her frustration while her dad, and possibly her 'uncle' listened.
It wasn't often that Colwynn simply wanted to leave school, but the day thus far had been a nightmare. She'd actually walked out of her history of magic class. Sure, she seemed like she gave no shits about anything, especially her homework, but she'd never actually walked out of a class before.
Still, she was either going to be in a bad mood somewhere else or she'd be in a bad mood in class. Knowing she'd regret messing up her attendance in the long run, she elected to be pissy in class. She sat in the front corner so she could focus better and limit her contact with her peers. Without raising her hand, she simply answered the professor's question with the word, "Evanesco."
a charming young woman... ...capable of being terrible
GRYFFINDOR
16
SIXTH YEAR
1/2 VEELA
we're not running when the world's on fire/we'll be dancing in the smoke
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Post by LYUBOV KAREVA on Dec 12, 2019 3:37:52 GMT
This day was the worst. Absolutely the worst. Even when you took out the fact that Lyuba had gotten so upset at her friends in History of Magic that she'd nearly set her own quill on fire, she had looked like an idiot not knowing the answers in that class. And now, sitting alone in Transfiguration as she wasn't quite ready to forgive Evan for what he'd said, she was hoping for something easy, just so she could get this whole class thing over with and go do something relaxing in the dorm.
But no.
Probably the most difficult thing they had to do at O.W.L. level.
Vanishing spells.
Lyuba had been struggling all year with Evanesco, even during times they weren't practicing it in class, because she hadn't been able to do it the first time she'd tried--or the second, or the fifth, or really the hundredth. The only thing that had helped her was the camera trick she had worked on with Papa, but as she'd told him miserably, it wasn't like they would let her bring her camera into the exam. Sure, she often felt like maybe she should just resign herself to the fact that she was never going to pass this O.W.L., but that somehow felt even more crushing than the thought of failing.
It still didn't help her vanish anything.
"You have to picture the item not existing, to make sure it actually vanishes," she told the professor miserably, with very little of her usual energy. She leaned her elbow on the desk, frowning.
Post by FLEUR WEASLEY on Dec 14, 2019 12:41:35 GMT
The blonde nodded. "Thank you, thank you. Both correct. Vanishing Spells are of course difficult, or at least more so than much transfiguration which you have learned so far, since the aim is not to take one thing and make it another, but to take something and make it nothing. Vanishing may take you some time to master, and so you should not be discouraged if you find it a challenge; it is however very important that you learn to perform this spell effectively. Aside from the fact that it is almost guaranteed to appear upon your OWL paper, it is highly useful in life. There are, as I'm sure that you are all aware, many things which you have no wish to remain in possession of for longer than is necessary." Certainly, she'd found it invaluable when she'd had babies in the house. Of course that was a long way off for her students, but to be able even to dispose of a useless piece of parchment without having to locate a fireplace or a bin was an immense convenience and not to be underestimated.
"As always, the key is practice. Vanish everything- the peas that you do not eat, the letter that you wish not to read, the jumper which would be better off lost, hmm? You will by the end of the term have moved on to Vanishing living creatures, which is far more difficult, but for the moment, we shall begin with inanimate objects. Like so-" Flicking her wand and pronouncing the incantation with a precise intonation, the blonde Vanished a bottle of ink sitting on her desk. "Questions?"
Colwynn glanced over at the only other person who'd said anything during the class, her face conveying a message that was something among the lines of 'how is this day not over yet?'. She had to applaud the teacher for either her complete ignorance concerning the mood of the class or her determination to push forward despite it. Colwynn actually liked transfiguration...most of the time. She was good at it. She'd always been good at it. It just came naturally to her.
She didn't want to be that person, but she'd already practiced the vanishing spell quite a lot and had gotten it right...most of the time. There was still the occasional hiccup, but she thought that, all things considered, it was pretty nicely along. Part of her wanted to show off, but that part was small in comparison to the part of her that was still cross about what had happened in history class.
Something the professor had said did catch her eye, though and her hand went up into the air. "Yeah, sorry, this question's more...ethical than practical, but if you 'vanish' a living creature it goes into 'non being' or whatever. Hypothetically, could you use the spell on another person? And if you used it on living creatures wouldn't that be...unethical? It sounds like murder and animal cruelty with extra steps."
Post by VIOLA ROSALINE on Dec 15, 2019 6:37:22 GMT
"Hi, Professor Weasley!" Vi trilled as she all but waltzed into the class, a sunny smile on her face as she headed towards an empty seat next to... dun dun dun, Lars. She didn't know him super duper well, but she definitely wanted to. He seemed like a cool kinda guy, one that might take you for a fly around the pitch once or twice, plus he was uber cute. Like, could stare into his eyes for hours kinda cute. Speaking of which, Vi totally wanted to paint a portrait of him sometime to try and capture that intense look he gained on his face at times. It would be positively magical if she was able to have that expression immortalised onto a canvas via her paintbrush. "Hope you don't mind me sitting here!"
With her small greeting over and done with, Vi started pulling out belonging after belonging onto the desk in front of her, making sure that the space was set up before Professor Weasley started her lesson. It wasn't too long after the blonde started speaking about Vanishing Spells that Vi's attention started dwindling, her leg bouncing underneath the table. It wasn't Professor Weasley's teaching method or anything, it was just that focusing on one thing for an extended period of time (ergo, a few minutes) was difficult. It always had been.
Picking up her cerulean blue-feathered quill, Vi dipped it into the ink pot in front of her and started doodling, her ears only half-listening to the conversation. She only tuned back in when Colwynn said something about animals and the state of non-being and a puzzled expression dawned on Vi's face. Leaning over to Lars, she asked, "Um, so, this... vanishing business. Where do the animals disappear to? Like, what's a state of non-being? Is that just not existing like... like poof, you're gone from the earth entirely?"
Vi tried her very best to dwell on the fact that asking this only gave to the stereotype that she was a dumb, airheaded blonde but if you didn't ask, you'd never know... right? Scrunching up her nose as she awaited the answer, Vi's attempt not to dwell failed miserably and she wondered if Lars was asking himself the very same question she often did late at night in her bed - why was she a Ravenclaw if she wasn't actually smart?
Transfiguration was supposed to be a nice distraction but the moment Cassidy walked into the classroom full of people who were there when it happened, she just felt like hiding. The blonde quickly sat next to her best friend and sank down in her seat, hiding as much as she could. The subject felt quite ironic with that, she truly felt like vanishing for sure. Lately nothing seems to go right with her and she just felt like noping the heck out of this school and ask her mother to homeschool her instead. The thing was, she would never risk her mother's job for that and make her leave.
"Do you think I can vanish with that spell?" she asked Casey though she was not stupid and knew the answer was no, she wondered if it would work even a little. "Oh gosh what if it makes my clothes disappear? That would be an even bigger disaster." she whispered and chewed on her lip.
Walking into this class was like walking into a shark tank with possible new drama that was going to unfold. Surely most of the students here have better things to do than causing havoc but on multiple occasions Felix had been proven wrong, like he was supposed to be surprised at it. Felix almost bumped into Viola and ruffled her hair before taking a seat beside bitch face because apparently all the others were taken. He took out his books and parchment before turning to look into Sienna's direction. Their engagement was going to be well known at some point and that would be a whole new type of bullshit he had to deal with from the other students.
Felix let out a sigh and just started writing down notes and made little drawings of things being vanished, he liked to draw between his notes, it helped him understand things better.
This class was going to be a fun one yes? History was horrible and Gemini was still having bad daydreams about it. The girl just wanted to enjoy the class with the new professor who looked very sweet. Gemini hopped in after her brothers and gave Gabriel a quick hug before heading for her own seat behind Greyson who she wanted to hug but he was already seated and she didn't think he'd want her hugs when he sat down already! The girl just happily sat behind her big brother and started drawing little bunnies on her parchment.
"Oh no bunnies won't disappear right? Into nothing?" she asked with a gasp at Viola's question. She turned to look at Viola and bit her lip. "Do you think they'll be poof gone? The poor bunnies!"
Casey was exhausted from practice and wanted to nap instead of being in class, but she also needed to pay attention because the exams are right around the corner and she wasn’t going to fail her OWL’s. At least she had come coffee before she walked into the classroom that day, but with the bags under her eyes, everyone would have noticed she had crap sleep the night before. She was seated at the table she had chosen that day, her eyes on the professor and trying not to zone out completely when she heard Cassidy’s question.
There was a low snort from the Seeker as she tried to keep herself from laughing and rubbed her face for a second. ”Cassie, are you trying to ask me to use the vanishing spell on you? Cause I would hate myself forever if I tried it and succeeded.” she whispered back, grinning.
The vanishing spell really felt like a good thing right now but when Casey didn't seem to pay attention much until she asked about making her vanish. Damnit, it seemed like such a good idea to disappear from the world and just be.. gone. Sure she didn't think it would send her into the void but she wanted to disappear because she felt so awkward in general right about now. With a sigh she nodded and looked at Casey with a small pout.
"Really? But it would be so easy to be invisible.. I used to be invisible.." she whispered and she wished she could just hide and not be seen like she used to.
Post by FLEUR WEASLEY on Dec 29, 2019 11:31:09 GMT
"A good question," Fleur remarked with a radiant smile at the girl who had asked it. "Vanishing, as I am sure that you are aware, becomes progressively more difficult with increased complexity and size of the organism used as a subject. Thus, to Vanish a human is considerably more difficult than to Vanish a toad, for example, or even a mouse, for while the internal structure of most mammals is astonishingly similar- as you may perhaps observe for yourselves should your spellwork in this lesson be at fault- the difference in size is considerable. It is not usual to Vanish any mammal larger than... a medium-sized dog, say. This is largely because the magical power required to do so would be beyond the abilities of most witches and wizards, and so to Vanish a human being would be quite incredibly difficult. To say that something disappears into non-being is not an especially helpful statement, though it is the technically correct definition of Vanishing, since it simply means that the target ceases to exist. Yes, Miss Rosaline, in one fell swoop. The ethics of Vanishing have been discussed for centuries, and no consensus has ever been reached, which is largely why much of your practice will be with snails, frogs, mice, and such creatures- surprisingly, many wizards seem less concerned with their welfare than rabbits, cats, and dogs."
She flicked her wand at the chalk, which leaped into the air and inscribed the word EVANESCO on the blackboard. "Now, if there are no further questions, you may begin. Helpful notes will be found on page two hundred and twenty of your textbook for those who have remembered to bring them; otherwise, I will, as always, be here to assist if necessary. There is a tray of empty inkwells at the back of the room; you will please select one and begin attempting the spell."
The professor was really sweet and Gemini already really liked her! Gemini listened to the woman's every word, her accent making her shiver a bit because it was really pretty and she was really smart to be teaching something this complicated. It was then that she told them they could vanish something and Gemini felt slight panic but also excitement. The girl almost fell off her chair when she got up to grab an inkwell and quickly returned to her seat with one before looking at her girlfriend next to her, her brothers and Viola.
"Good luck!" she told the blonde girl before looking at her inkwell. "Ehm.. Evanesco? Please?" she tried but nothing happened. "Well dangnabbit.." she mumbled and tried again, no luck.
"Hi, Professor Weasley!" Vi trilled as she all but waltzed into the class, a sunny smile on her face as she headed towards an empty seat next to... dun dun dun, Lars. She didn't know him super duper well, but she definitely wanted to. He seemed like a cool kinda guy, one that might take you for a fly around the pitch once or twice, plus he was uber cute. Like, could stare into his eyes for hours kinda cute. Speaking of which, Vi totally wanted to paint a portrait of him sometime to try and capture that intense look he gained on his face at times. It would be positively magical if she was able to have that expression immortalised onto a canvas via her paintbrush. "Hope you don't mind me sitting here!"
Transfiguration was supposed to be a nice distraction but the moment Cassidy walked into the classroom full of people who were there when it happened, she just felt like hiding. The blonde quickly sat next to her best friend and sank down in her seat, hiding as much as she could. The subject felt quite ironic with that, she truly felt like vanishing for sure. Lately nothing seems to go right with her and she just felt like noping the heck out of this school and ask her mother to homeschool her instead. The thing was, she would never risk her mother's job for that and make her leave. 
Walking into this class was like walking into a shark tank with possible new drama that was going to unfold. Surely most of the students here have better things to do than causing havoc but on multiple occasions Felix had been proven wrong, like he was supposed to be surprised at it. Felix almost bumped into Viola and ruffled her hair before taking a seat beside bitch face because apparently all the others were taken. He took out his books and parchment before turning to look into Sienna's direction. Their engagement was going to be well known at some point and that would be a whole new type of bullshit he had to deal with from the other students. 
This class was going to be a fun one yes? History was horrible and Gemini was still having bad daydreams about it. The girl just wanted to enjoy the class with the new professor who looked very sweet. Gemini hopped in after her brothers and gave Gabriel a quick hug before heading for her own seat behind Greyson who she wanted to hug but he was already seated and she didn't think he'd want her hugs when he sat down already! The girl just happily sat behind her big brother and started drawing little bunnies on her parchment. 