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 ALEXANDER GREENAWAY on Jan 5, 2020 1:57:25 GMT
Paused outside the door to the fifth year boy's dorms, his hands shoved deep in the pockets of his baggy jeans, Alex wondered if he was overstepping by what he was about to do. It just - it was a real rough day and he still hadn't shaken the vision of his boggart, Zoe gleefully telling him she didn't want him anymore and cackling as she set his adoption papers on fire, from his mind. It just kept replaying on a continuous loop, and every single time he froze up before wanting to cry, just as he had in class. O'Connor had to step in because he hadn't been able to cast the stupid charm to get rid of it, something that became even more embarassing the longer he thought about it.
He needed something to feel better, like the weight of someone else's… someone in particular's warm arms slung around him, holding him so tightly he thought he'd burst, and that's how he found himself standing here. Taking a sharp breath, Alex knocked on the door and called out in a surprisingly loud voice - or maybe just a normal voice, instead of his quiet one for once - through the wood, "Xander, it's… it's Alex. Uh, Greenaway, in case you didn't - I know it's a bit… late." It was only 9pm. "But I'm going to go sit in the… in the common room for a bit and - I know you're probably busy. It doesn't matter. Uh, nevermind. I'll… I'm… see ya."
Shit. Why was he such a loser? Alex swore beneath his breath as he tore away from outside of the dorm room and down to the common room instead, collapsing on one of the deep blue lounges in front of the dancing fireplace.
Post by ALEXANDER McCARTHY on Jan 6, 2020 15:14:44 GMT
Alexander was sprawled across his bed, Defence Against the Darks textbook in hand. His eyes scanned across the pages, rereading the sections on boggarts as if he could distance himself from the recent class with all the knowledge in the world. It had shaken him, although not as bad as some others. There were some brutal ones, like Dio and his mother, Alex and the muggle studies teacher. He respected that the teacher had to introduce them to the topic, give them a real life scenario to figure out their spells but he'd be lying if he said it hadn't upset him. He'd tried to be calm and collected, to give the other kids a good role model. There'd been a lot of storming off last time Professor O'Connor had attempted the lesson, and Alex didn't want to be one of those kids that lost the house points...or looked like a coward.
The prefect sighed in irritation as he realised that he'd stopped reading again, recalling the vivid scene of the flames licking up his legs and- no. There was no reason to dwell on it, that's why he was reading, thinking about it just made him feel dreadful. He flicked the page over, deciding that if he wasn't going to defeat the boggart in his head, he'd at least get started on his homework.
A knock on the door startled him a little, and he jerked his head up. He was bemused. His roommates usually just sauntered in, there was no need to knock when they all lived there. He placed the book down on his neat stack of textbooks, responding to the nickname and voice. It was Alex! He shared a shrug with one of his roommates who tossed him an accusing look, as if it were his fault there was a minor disturbance. Xander was certainly surprised that his friend was at the door, but it wasn't an unpleasant one. He wondered if the boggart had stirred up feelings as strong as, or stronger than his own. It pleased the prefect that he was the one Alex had come to. He'd almost reached the door when the other Ravenclaw apologised and said goodbye.
Alexander blinked owlishly, reaching for the door knob and pulling it open slowly. When no Alex figure jumped out of the shadows, he meandered down the stairs. Xander could see the top of his hair in a couch near the fireplace. His frown was one of curiouity as he moved past a few upper years and to the lounge his friend sat on. He slid onto the couch beside Alex, closer to the boy than he'd meant to sit. "Hey, what's up? Don't apologise for coming to talk to me, my doors always open for you." He told the other boy, his voice low to match the soft murmurs of the Ravenclaw common room. Words: 481 Tags: ALEXANDER GREENAWAY
Post by ALEXANDER GREENAWAY on Jan 7, 2020 2:19:06 GMT
Slumped on the cushy lounge, Alex didn't actually realise Xander was there until there was a sinking of the cushions next to him and... and body warmth that radiated onto his own skin. Xander was close - really close, in fact... or maybe just closer than Alex was used to people being near him. The feeling of his stomach twisting up at the realisation he could just slide straight over and their outer thighs would be touching was a surprise, but it was ignored in favour of focusing on what Xander was actually saying.
As always, the older boy was being his kind, friendly self, always offering for Alex to come to him if need be. Nodding, as if to say, 'yeah, I know,' Alex was certain Xander's door would be open for anyone if they needed it, and he liked that about him. He liked knowing that he was so selfless, willing to always be a listening ear to those who needed it, but sometimes he wondered if Xander put the needs of others above his own. "My... my doors always open for you too. You just have to mind Nico's bugs," he said, before he was nervously tugging at the sleeves of his ratty old jumper. It took a while before he spoke again, but his voice as a quiet murmur when he did. "Today... it was just - it was a lot. I... God, it's so - I hate that everyone knows what I'm scared of, and I'm going to have to talk to Zoe - Professor Savage - about what I saw, and explain that I don't think she'd actually do that but there's a tiny voice in the back of mind that sometimes worries she would and..."
He fell quiet, glancing at Xander out of the corner of his eye. He remembered the other boy's boggart vividly, it was hard not to when someone had fire creeping up them. It reminded him of... of the fire that took everything away from him, the one that had consumed his parents and their home and his happy childhood, and he wondered: what had happened that was so bad for that to be Xander's boggart? "I don't like fire either," is all he said, instead of asking.
Post by ALEXANDER McCARTHY on Jan 7, 2020 7:21:57 GMT
Alex was warmer than expected, Xander noticed. The flickering heat of the fireplace saturated the chair and he felt himself relax, throwing an arm around the other boy and leaning his head against him. Alex's response his offer was sweet, his heart lightened by words. "Thanks, I don't think a few insects would bother me too much. I think you forget I used to live in Australia, which is like bug central." He was trying to reassure the boy with a little ribbing. He was pretty sure that nothing the younger Ravenclaw could do or situation he could be in that Xander couldn't handle. He'd been there for one of Alex's darkest moments, and they'd bore through it. To him, nothing could be worse than that.
The prefect calmly waited for Alex to speak again, knowing that the boy wanted to talk about something. A little "oh" escaped his mouth as Alex began to talk about their DADA lesson. Xander remembered that the other boy had been unable to move, that O'Connor had to step in...even worse was that the professor probably would have told Professor Savage. "Hey hey," He murmured, his eyes focused on the other Alex's face. "You don't have to justify yourself to anyone. Having Professor Savage adopt you is huge. It's probably one of the best things to happen for you right? You don't need to apologise to her that you fear something will take that away. She must be so proud of you for facing it, I know I am."
At the mention of fire, Xander's eyes darted to the fireplace. "I feel like it's a stupid fear, I don't have a justifiable answer to why it scares me. Just the idea of the pain it could bring me is enough, I guess. I always thought it would be...a car or something." Self-exploration was not very high on Xander's to-do list, so his boggart had come to a bit of a surprise to him. He was pretty anxious about getting into cars after his father's accident, but fire was pretty bloody terrifying. He'd managed to use the spell to douse it with water balloons, which he was proud of himself for.
Post by ALEXANDER GREENAWAY on Jan 7, 2020 11:26:37 GMT
There was an arm around him all of a sudden and after closing his eyes, breathing deep for a moment, Alex relaxed against it. Xander was safe, this was fine... it was nice and then the older boy's head was on his shoulder, and the scent of whatever shampoo Xander used met his nostrils. Alex inhaled before realising that sniffing his friend's hair was like... something a dog would do, and he was a human boy. Not a dog. "Uh... yeah, no, he's like - it's not a few insects. There was a cockroach on my bed the other day, one that I think he was keeping as a pet," he said with a shudder, but then he eyed Xander speculatively. "There's a supervillain who was born in Australia. Boomerang... not saying you're a supervillain or - but there's one which is... cool. People from Australia are - not all people, but the ones I've met."
To Alex's complete mortification, his eyes were burning with hot tears all of a sudden and he blinked rapidly, trying to dispel them. He didn't want to cry like some... some kid in front of Xander over this. It had just really gotten under his skin. "It's... I've been waiting a really long time for... for it to happen," he said quietly, voice raspy. "When I was at the group home... there were a few times they placed me with 'prospective' families, and I used to think - hope - that they'd adopt me but... I guess I wasn't good enough. Too quiet, too withdrawn... and they always used the words 'it's not you, it's us' or 'it's just not a good fit' and -" And the last time it had happened was right before school started back and he'd felt so... so miserable, he'd climbed up onto that owlery window. The word proud had Alex shaking his head, adamantly trying to deny that Zoe or Xander felt such a thing. "I didn't even get rid of the thing. There's nothing to be proud of. I'm... I'm such a loser, Alex. "
A stupid fear had Alex shaking his head because fire? It was... it was terrifying. It was like a rabbit, or something irrational - it was dangerous. "Fire isn't a stupid fear to have. Just ask Martian Manhunter." Or Alex himself. "It's destructive, and the... it causes a lot of... of pain." Alex swallowed, shaking his head as the memory of his house set alight started creeping into his brain. He didn't want to think about that. But then Alex's words had his head tilting curiously because... "Why would it be a car?"
