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!
Tobias hated coming here. As he couldn't apparate he had to rely on portkeys. Not the most comfortable way of transportation with a hangover. His left leg was limping after the full moon two days ago. His stupid wolf had turned on itself in aggression. There was a bite in his calve. Stitched together just so it wouldn't bleed because the cursed wound didn't heal without silver and ditany. Having no insurance he had nothing to do at Mungo's.
“Oh god…” The young werewolf's stomach turned when he arrived in a dizzy state. Stumbling on his feet, he found a trash bin to throw up in. “Urgh… much better,” he groaned and wiped his mouth to his torn jacket.
Hogsmaede… The place that reminded him of everything he could've been. Which was why he wouldn't have done this delivery hadn't it been for the great reward. He could keep a bit of the good stuff for himself as well as some cash. Finally he could buy the stuff needed to close that damn wound healers often didn't mind helping if you brought your own material.
After delivering the package, Tobias hid himself in the alley where trash of the Sticks was collected. He was hungry but needed to safe the small amount of money he got to heal his leg. Sitting down among the trash, he decided to get his own fix inside his body. It was good he was sitting down because the undoing of his belt would definitely have dropped his pants. “Come to papa,” he grinned as he squeezed off his arm so he could do his thing. Once finished, he groaned and threw away the needle before grabbing the leftover food from the pub to feed himself. Now all he had to do was wait for the shit to kick in.
While munching the dry crusts of what was once a sandwich, he lifted the leg of his trouser to inspect his wound. “Well, would you look a that,” he mumbled with a mouthful as puss started to appear at the edges. Tobias was content for the moment, not minding being alone. Actually he hadn’t expected anyone to enter this alley.
Note: let me know if I need to take out some, I tried to keep it vague. it takes place in the back alley of the pub, not actually inside of it
Post by JACK O'CONNOR on Apr 26, 2019 12:44:23 GMT
a falling star fell from your heart.
It was a weekend, the first weekend since school went back and having already completed marking the students assignments, Jack decided to treat himself to a small drink at Hogsmeade. All the students were tucked away in their beds (he hoped) and so there was no harm in indulging, so long as it wasn't in front of them.
Jack had only just received his drink and was walking towards a table towards the back when suddenly, a flash of curls and a familiar face when walking by him and into the back alley. Curiously, he walked towards the door, lingering there as he took in the sight of his old student sitting on the ground, a wound on his leg and a needle discarded on the ground nearby.
Slowly, Jack levitated his drink onto a nearby table so someone else could have it because he sure as hell didn't need it, not right now. Not when there were more pressing matters to deal with. Then he stepped forward, crouching until he was in front of Tobias. He'd helped the boy before, many years ago, maybe he could help him again now. Somehow.
"Tobias," he said calmly, placing a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder. "Would you like me to heal that for you? It might scar since I don't have the proper potions, but it's better than being open and exposed to the germs from your pant leg." That was his first course of action, his second was to hopefully buy Tobias a hot meal instead of the stale, old sandwich the boy held in his hand.
6'0". IRISH. BIG HEART. LOYAL. BRAVE. WORKAHOLIC. BISEXUAL. SINGLE. distinguishing features: a big scar runs across jack's left cheek credit for award goes to ollie! <3
Post by TOBIAS TURNER on Apr 30, 2019 17:37:03 GMT
With a hazy look in his blue eyes, the young werewolf gazed up when his name was called. “Oi, Jackie! Sup, dude?” He got up and hugged his former teacher as if they were bros. Obviously the kicked out Gryffindor wasn’t completely clear in the mind right now. Honestly seeing his old head of house was strange but he was too numbed out to care. “I’m gonna take a nap here,” he mumbled as he rested his head on the unfortunate man’s shoulder when he finally broke the hug.
“Huh? Oh. That… Yeah, sure do what you want,” he said with a shrug, not really caring. It was not like he could do much better. At this point Tobias didn’t care if he lived or not. Except if… “Can I come back to Hogwarts, sir?” A last ray of hope dared to appear in his eyes when he looked up from the shoulder and at the man. That had to be the reason he approached him, right? There was not much else that could save him.
The way the young werewolf greeted Jack at first had him a bit taken aback but nonetheless, Jack gave the boy a pat on the back after catching a glimpse of his eyes. They were... off, not right at all. Jack had encountered many people a bit too fond of some potions like that before. He could tell when someone was high as a kite... something that was only confirmed when Tobias started trying to sleep on his shoulder. "How about we find you a nicer place to sleep, hey? Maybe I can talk to the owner, see if we can organise a room for you to sleep here for tonight..."
Nodding, Jack crouched down to inspect Tobias' leg. Waving his wand, he repeated the 'vulerna sanentur' spell three times over, at first watching as the spell slowed the flow of blood, then cleaned the wound and started to heal it, then finally healed the wound altogether. It wasn't as clean of a job as a healer would do, but then he didn't think Tobias would care all that much.
"Let's go get you some food and tallk, shall -" As he stood, Jack's next words were cut off by Tobias all of a sudden asking to come back to Hogwarts. Immediately, Jack's expression grew serious. "Tobias... son, I'm working on that. But at the moment, with the way things are, it's not safe for you to be there." Or if you asked some people, it wasn't safe for the other students. That was a crock of shit to Jack though. One awful incident set off by a particular group of people didn't mean all werewolves were bad.
Barely witholding a sigh, Jack tried to offer the boy some glimpse of hope. "That's not to say you can't still learn magic... look let's go inside out of the cold and get you some supper, shall we? We can talk more about it there." With that, Jack walked towards the inside of the pub, hoping that Tobias would follow.
6'0". IRISH. BIG HEART. LOYAL. BRAVE. WORKAHOLIC. BISEXUAL. SINGLE. distinguishing features: a big scar runs across jack's left cheek credit for award goes to ollie! <3
“Huh?” The sleepy wolf blinked up from the man’s shoulder and grinned at him in a sheepish and dreamy way. His hand reached up to pat his former head of house on the back. “Don’t be so harsh on yourself, you’ll make a great bed. Look at those big strong arms! Enough room to sleep on,” he said because it made totally sense in his head right now. What he said wasn’t completely nonsense though. There was a meaning behind his odd choice of words. Mr. O’Connor had been the closest thing he has had to a parent since his own parents cast him out when he was twelve. So it was only natural Tobias felt safe around the man. Sadly the older he became the more he noticed O’Connor was just helping him because it was his job.
His eyes were daring to shut close again. Because the stuff he used made him relax, Tobias finally was giving in to his exhaustion. It was hard to get some decent sleep on the streets. One had to be careful and be alert in case of trouble.
While the man worked on his wound, Tobias hummed a little tune. He was in a pretty relaxed mood right now. “That looks sweet, Prof,” he said as he turned his leg so he could have a better look. Way better than risking an amputation. “You aren’t half bad as a healer.”
When the man’s expression changed, Tobias’ face twitched in return. Even when he was shitfaced high right now, he was intelligent to put 1+1=2 together. The chatty wolf struggled to find an emotion to decide on. “Oh...” One thing for sure, his last piece of hope just shattered. Because he doubted the castle right now was more dangerous than the streets were. The lengths he had to go to just to survive were inhumane. Perhaps the three years of roaming around wasting his life had changed him. Enough to get to the point where he would be unable to return to Hogwarts again.
With his eyes down at the floor, Tobias didn’t respond anymore to what the man had to say. When O’Connor walked towards the inside of the pub, Tobias was tempted to leave. But he could never deny a free meal. So against his own will, he followed. When passing the man, he paused a moment and said in a bitter tone: “With all honesty, sir. I’m not really interested in learning magic anymore.” Had he never gone to Hogwarts, Tobias would still be living with his family. He’d never would’ve gotten bitten in the first place. JACK O'CONNOR,
| 5'10 | street dog junkie | casually dating Nadezhda | pansexual +ploy |
If Jack wasn't busy patting Toby's back and making sure the kid didn't fall over entirely, he would have been rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably. Not because he was insecure about his body or being complimented but because this was one of his ex-students and it would not do well for anyone to overhear that. "Maybe an actual bed might be more comfortable," he said, sighing a little before trying to make a bit more of a light-hearted about it. "Besides, my arms may be big for a two year old to sleep on, not so much a young adult like yourself, and I don't fancy getting a dead arm unfortunately."
"If only I could have done such good work on myself," Jack said dryly, gesturing to the scar on his face. A wonderful little reminder from the war when he fought in the battle of Hogwarts. "Unfortunately I don't think healing was my calling when I was younger... I was and am a lot better at defensive and combative magic." There was a reason why he was the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor and had been for so many years after all.
'Oh...' was all Tobias said and Jack's heart twinged because he wanted to give the boy an answer, some hope, but he didn't want to make promises that couldn't keep or instill the boy with some false hope because that helped nobody.
Thankfully, when Tobias joined Jack inside, he was able to find them a table just as Tobias said he wasn't interested in learning magic any longer. Holding in a sigh, Jack pulled out the chair for Tobias to sit down in before he sat in a chair himself. "Tobias... I know that life isn't fair for you right now, at all, but... you have a gift, and for you to not learn how to use it would be a damn shame." Jack paused for a moment, handing Tobias a menu for the boy to peruse. "Besides... I really feel like it's in your best interests to at least try. If not for anything else, for protection. You need to know how to defend yourself against people especially with the way you're living at the moment. There's a constant threat of danger."
6'0". IRISH. BIG HEART. LOYAL. BRAVE. WORKAHOLIC. BISEXUAL. SINGLE. distinguishing features: a big scar runs across jack's left cheek credit for award goes to ollie! <3
Post by TOBIAS TURNER on May 28, 2019 10:32:45 GMT
This was nice. Tobias hadn’t been touched in a non-violent or non-sexual way in ages. Combined with what he took, he felt warm and content. Safe in what closely resembled a parental touch. In many ways Mr. O’Connor had become his father figure when he was twelve and his own family had disowned him. This man had saved him from the streets and brought him back to Hogwarts when he was a kid. Jack was a good mentor. But Tobias never dared to ask of more than just him being a mentor and head of house. O’Connor had been a role model for little Toby before everything went to shit. Now those childish desires returned despite being a grownup himself. He was a fool for even wishing. Who could ever care for someone like him?
“Hm? Oh…” Was he being an annoyance? Tobias let go and leaned on the trashcan behind him instead. His head was all woozy. Leading to some misinterpretations. “Wait, you’ve got a two-year-old? Congrats, man! So, you’re married to now? I don’t see a ring. Why do I never hear these things?” Because he was shut off from the world that was.
Tobias looked at the scar on his old Professor’s face. “I always thought you looked like a bad ass pirate, ARR,” he complimented his former teacher. “Much better looking than the ones I’ve collected. One full moon I managed to bite my own arse! Can you imagine that? I couldn’t sit for days,” Tobias joked about his misery to get through.
The young wolf followed the adult like a little ducking following its mom. Every step felt heavy and by the time he arrived at the chair, he basically fell into it. His gleeful mood had been replaced by a somber stare at the table. “I don’t want it,” he mumbled stubbornly. “I hate magic. I want to be normal and go home,” he cried like a ten-year-old. Hadn’t he been capable of magic, he would be preparing himself for university right now. Tobias had always been good at studying and was ambitious about his future. Nothing had remained of that.
The past years he’d kept himself strong and soldier through. Not showing his true emotions because any weakness could be his death. But with someone he trusted, his walls lowered. Exposing the scared and hurt boy he was inside. Even so he still hid his face behind the menu, feeling utterly pathetic. He couldn’t even read through his tears. Toby swallowed and listened to what the man said. The young man fell quiet and had an inner struggle with himself. He’d always claimed he didn’t care if he’d be killed the next day because at least the misery and pain would stop. However, the truth was… “I don’t wanna die,” he muttered when the tears had stopped. “Professor, I’m scared.” Right now it was the twelve year old boy speaking rather than the adult he was supposed to be.
The hazy look in Toby's eyes and the way he consequently started babbling nonsense was enough to have Jack's hand running through his hair because... he knew, he knew that Toby was on something, and whilst he could see why the boy would resort to drugs to take the pain away, he felt guilty. Should he tried to reach out more? Would it have helped? Was it too late for Jack to try and help Toby now? He hoped not.
Focusing on Toby's onslaught of questions, Jack patiently answered him, "I don't have a two year old, no, or any children." He wanted children but... the likelihood of him having them was looking slimmer every day. He was starting to grow older, and he didn't want to have children when he was close to his 50s. He didn't think that would be fair on them, nor would it be fair on him. "No wife or husband either, I'm afraid." Whilst Jack had several relationships in the past, unfortunately none of them had made it to the engagement phrase. "How about you, Toby? Any significant others?"
At times, Jack made an effort to conceal the scar on his face, but every day was a bit too much and he wasn't ashamed of it. "A pirate rather than a school kid fighting in the Battle of Hogwarts would have been much cooler," Jack said, with a hint of a smile. The smile, however, broke into a laugh a few moments later because Toby had bit his own arse? Merlin's beard. "See, and that would have been much cooler if somebody else had bit it instead, I'm sure. Or perhaps even a creature like... a dog, or something."
Toby started acting like a sullen teenager a moment later at Jack's suggestion but, well, he was a teenager still, wasn't he? Even if the ministry wanted him and all other werewolves to 'grow up' prematurely. It was wrong, so wrong, and Jack made quick work to pour Toby a drink of water before pushing it towards him. "Perhaps we can try and make arrangements for you to live in the muggle world for a bit, hmm? I believe muggles have a welfare system, right?"
When the words 'I don't wanna die' flowed from Toby's mouth next, Jack's heart twinged because he sounded like that scared little boy from all those years ago, the one sitting in the shelter and looking lost. The one Jack had once upon a time, managed to convince to come back to Hogwarts. "I don't want you to either, Tobias, and that's... I think the best thing for you to do is get in touch with people who are similar. Who are werewolves. Teddy Lupin - you remember Teddy from school, right? Hufflepuff, a Prefect, a few years older - is second in charge of a pack, The Cotswalds. They're trying to help as many people as possible, and they can provide you with food and shelter... and Teddy's a real good lad, I know he'd take you in in a heartbeat. I can even contact him for you, if you'd like?"
6'0". IRISH. BIG HEART. LOYAL. BRAVE. WORKAHOLIC. BISEXUAL. SINGLE. distinguishing features: a big scar runs across jack's left cheek credit for award goes to ollie! <3
“No kids?” Tobias blinked in surprise. His hand rose and patted the man on his shoulder. “Man I really would’ve thought someone like you wouldn’t have trouble reproducing,” he grinned. As a student he never would’ve done anything like this. It was partly the drugs that made him ease up and lose the line of formality that usually has between a teacher and student. However it was mostly due to the fact that his world view changed. When Jack bounced back the question to him, Tobias laughed. “You’re a funny guy, Jack. I’m not really marriage material, am I?” He kept laughing, shaking his head. “And kids, god I hope not,” he shivered at the thought. Sure he had no money for condoms but he couldn’t possibly have a kid walking around somewhere. The horror.
“Oh!” A little spark of life returned in his hazy eyes. “We can start a family!” Weren’t they both looking for one. Right now all Tobias needed in life was a parent who made sure he was doing okay. If Mr. O’Connor was looking for a child. “I can be a good son!”
“Dude, you’re a war hero. That’s at least just as cool as a pirate. What is your superhero name?” The young wolf almost blushed in embarrassment when his teacher started laughing. “Oi! It’s no joke it hurt like hell.” However he soon joined in the laughter. “Well I technically was a dog at that time,” he shrugged, adding an extra joke.
Living in the muggle world. That seemed like a dream. However there was one problem. “Too bad they don’t have the medical care I need.” Would he go to a muggle hospital he’d bleed to death. Werewolf bites were cursed and couldn’t be closed by muggle techniques or regular magic. He glared towards the water. “I neither have a muggle or a wizarding diploma. I won’t get a job anywhere,” he sighed.
These days he shifted between happiness and sorrow like it was changing a colour of lipstick. It could differ within a few minutes. Where he had been laughing just a moment ago, he felt utterly miserable right now. A scared lost boy stuck between two worlds, that was who he was. But his sadness was replaced by anger within a split second. He shoved the glass of water back towards his former head of house. “A pack,” he hissed, repeating the words like they burned like acid in his mouth. “I’m not a beast. I don’t want to join a cult of rebels.” At this point he felt hurt that the man he looked up to for so many years could even suggest something like this.
Post by JACK O'CONNOR on Jul 10, 2019 12:33:35 GMT
a falling star fell from your heart.
At Jack's age, the question of kids were brought up fairly often. By his parents, by his friends. So when Toby asked, he gave the kid a polite smile. "Reproducing wasn't the issue. It was more so the fact that my longest relationship was with somebody who worked in the ministry and therefore neither he or I had the time to commit to a baby… we had a dog though. Daisy. But he kept her in the break up." Jack was oversharing but given that Tobias was no longer his student and he likely wouldn't remember this conversation in the morning, he didn't dwell on it. "You could be marriage material, one day. Do you want to get married?"
The light that shone in Tobias' eyes suddenly had Jack reaching out because, "You are a good son, Tobias. It's your parents that.. and I don't think I'd make a good father… I'm always busy. Like I said, lack of tune. Perhaps I could be the cool uncle instead." He offered Tobias a friendly smile, hoping that this didn't cause a minor upset.
"Uhh... Professor Man. Is that a good enough superhero name?" Jack joked. He started laughing a moment later at Tobias pointed out that he was technically a dog at the time. It was true, after all. "I bet my sister has a few interesting bite marks from being turned. Have you got any others?"
"Living in the muggle world doesn't mean you won't have access to St. Mungos when you need it... you can always hail the Knight Bus," Jack told him quietly, before pondering over Tobias' next statement. From what he knew of the muggle world, there were jobs out there. "There are jobs out there that don't require a diploma, Toby, like cleaning or working at the supermarket. There's even work at my parent's farm, if you can handle working with animals. It might not pay much, but... there are options out there. It's better than nothing."
It was like Jack had flipped a switch all of a sudden with his suggestion of a pack. Toby's anger burned at him, scorching and bitter it appeared with the way that he hissed. "A pack doesn't mean you're a beast, Toby, it means that you have a group of people that look out for you," he explained calmly. "It means that you have people you can call family, who you can rely on, who know what you're going through. If you don't want me to contact Teddy, then I won't. Simple as that."
6'0". IRISH. BIG HEART. LOYAL. BRAVE. WORKAHOLIC. BISEXUAL. SINGLE. distinguishing features: a big scar runs across jack's left cheek credit for award goes to ollie! <3
Post by TOBIAS TURNER on Aug 18, 2019 12:41:20 GMT
Tobias listened to his former teacher’s story. He was a bit spaced out so it seemed like the story placed before him as O’Connor told it. “I’m sorry about your dog. That sucks. Why would you date someone who works for the ministry? They’re a bunch of meanies,” he said as if it was the wisest thing to ever leave his lips. Toby looked up when he was asked if he wanted to get married. “Hell no. weddings are expensive. How am I going to afford that? Sell a kidney? Nobody wants a werewolf kidney. Trust me I tried but they won't buy it.” Besides how could he expect someone be willing to live with him while Tobias could barely live with himself these days?
“I don’t blame my parents for what they did. They were scared and didn’t know what they were dealing with,” he mumbled even if it had hurt him to the core. There were days where he wanted to curse his parents for what they did but in the end he understood why they did those things. Tobias wasn’t fully pleased with the response he got but could work with it. “Okay. But that also means you have to buy me candy because that’s what cool uncles do. And when I turn eighteen you have to take me to a stripclub.” Not that he had never been there. But it would be nice to actually visit one instead of working at one.
“No offense but that sounds super lame. You should go for something like Super Prof or Defense Master,” he suggested, chuckling at the names. “I’ve got plenty. But my coolest scars aren’t from that. One night I got really high in some guy’s house. I don’t even remember his name. But we decided to put leeches on each other for some reason. One got my nipple and well I can’t even describe how it looks like. Wanna see?” A few years ago Tobias would never have thought he’d ever talk about his nipples with a professor. Then again, back then he wasn’t the type of guy to put leeches on his nipples either.
Those actually were some options. Tobias repeated them all in his head in the hopes of remembering them. No use. Eventually he gave in and dared to ask. “Uh, Prof can you perhaps write that down so sober me can put it to work?” Anything would be better than selling his body to dirty old men and women. Soon he would be too old for them to have interest anyways.
“No, no, no,” Tobias shook his head at the idea of a pack. “I don’t need a family, they’ve betrayed me before. I don’t want to pledge loyalty just because we have the same problems. M-my friends are all I need. They’ll help me,” he said but his insecurities were easy to tell. At this point he was convincing himself more than he was convincing O’Connor. Because where were his friends? At Hogwarts having fun without him. Their lives went on and there was no longer a place for him beside them. Toby sniffed and rubbed his eyes before tears could fall out. “I need a hug.”
"I met him before the Ministry, actually. I went to school with him and back when he joined... they weren't so restrictive or harsh with werewolves, not whilst Shacklebolt was Minister for Magic. It's this new Minister..." Jack murmured, though that wasn't the entire story. The Minister... he could understand his views to a degree. Losing a daughter to a werewolf attack was brutal, but there were kids attacked alongside his daughter who were now werewolves. They suffered as well, despite not choosing this life for them. "I hope you don't resort to selling your organs, Tobias. I'd very much prefer them to be inside your body because they keep you alive."
Tobias was surprisingly okay with Jack's cool uncle deal and he started to nod at the suggestion of buying him candy, though his nodding came to an abrupt stop at the strip club suggestion because he was not taking an ex-student to a strip club, nor did he have any desire to visit one. He'd been once or twice and it definitely was not his thing.
"Do I want to see your... no, that's okay. I'll take your word for it, Tobias, you can reserve that viewing experience for someone younger than me. Perhaps someone your own age," Jack said, coughing out a laugh because Merlin's beard, this boy... he was certainly a rollercoaster of emotions, wasn't he? Although... Jack suspected that was more to do with whatever he was on right now than anything else.
Levitating a napkin from the bar and over to the table, Jack withdrew a pen. He'd grown up with a muggleborn mother, and so they weren't exactly foreign contraptions to him, and they were a lot easier on the go than a quill was. He quickly jotted down the different job options for Toby before handing it to him. "If you end up losing the napkin, send me an owl, would you? I'm happy to talk to you, Toby. Any time you need me too, okay?"
Jack let the pack issue drop, carefully studying Tobias' face and the tears that shone in the boy's eyes. He didn't want to upset him further and the boy saying he needed a hug... it made Jack's heart twinge with sympathy and immediately, he was moving closer, wrapping his arms around the boy in a brief hug before clapping his back and taking a step away. Reaching into his pocket, Jack pulled out a few galleons and slid them into Tobias' hands. "I want you to take these, find a room for the night, okay? Don't waste these on... you need to look after yourself. Promise me you will?"
With a sigh and a glance at the clock, Jack said, "I ought to be getting back to the castle now, but I meant what I said. Please just owl if you need someone to talk to." Giving the boy a small smile, Jack nodded at Tobias before he headed towards the door and made his way back up to the castle.
6'0". IRISH. BIG HEART. LOYAL. BRAVE. WORKAHOLIC. BISEXUAL. SINGLE. distinguishing features: a big scar runs across jack's left cheek credit for award goes to ollie! <3