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!
Sprawled across his bed with a small, muggle tennis ball clutched in his hands, Rowan practiced tossing it up and down. Not just because it meant come the zombie apocalypse, he'd have great fine motor skills and ergo, great aim to take zombies out with an assortment of weapons, but also because... well, catching and handling balls in general was part and parcel of being a Quidditch player and Rowan definitely planned on making the team next year. It didn't matter that he'd failed every try-out since he was able to go to them in second year, he was determined to make his seventh year count by joining the house team finally.
Except... maybe that plan wasn't going to carry through because all of a sudden, the ball hit the roof with a huge, massive thud that had Rowan letting out a loud exclamation of, 'OH SHIT!' and standing up on the bed to inspect the high ceiling. It wasn't like he thought he'd dented the roof or anything, but more so the thought that the castle was old as balls and could crumble at any given moment from impact was, uh... a distinct possibility. Squinting, realising he couldn't see anything from this distance properly and because of the shadow cast by the bed itself, Rowan eyed the bed post speculatively as he heard the door opening. "Do you think I'd break it if I tried to climb it, man?" he asked, before glancing over and blinking at the sight that stood before him.
The one thing that often grated Rodrik when he thought about his friendship with Zoe was her utter inability to be serious about anything for more than five seconds. He'd told her twice that his goddamned brother was a werewolf, and she went to ask questions about the girls?
Rodrik didn't get angry often, but right now, amongst the anxiety, rising panic, directionless determination and sleep deprivation, he could feel himself becoming infuriated. Rodrik Belanger was a cocktail of raging emotions, and that was never a pretty sight.
He tore open the door room, slamming it shut behind him -- by the time the door closed, he was already on the other side of the room, opening the drawers of his desk, frantically looking for a pot of ink and a quill. Someone was speaking to him, and at first, he didn't quite register the words, nor the speaker, but then something clicked.
Eyes wide, he turned around to face Rowan. A roommate he'd had for all his years at Hogwarts, a decent guy all in all, though they'd never been close -- Rodrik didn't have anything bad to say about him.
He tried to look angry, but with the sniffling and the wet clothing and the sleep deprivation... Rowan could judge for himself how Rodrik looked.
"Dunno, cousin." He answered, looking right at him and feeling his eyes start to hurt once more that morning.
The first thought that absurdly crossed into Rowan's mind was that Rodrik looked like a wet dog, one that was sad and... angry at the same time. Sangry? Was that a thing? He didn't know, but he was going to roll with it, and he had a feeling that he knew why. That feeling was only confirmed when he was addressed as 'cousin' and he grimaced.
Okay, admittedly, he should have mentioned the whole 'oh yeah, we're actually related' thing to Rodrik himself but his roommate-now-cousin had been walking around, moping, and looking like a sad potato sack for the last few months. He hadn't wanted to make things worse by springing a surprise familial relationship on him on top of the fact that Rodrik's brother was a werewolf, and so he'd went to Lyuba for advice on what to do... okay, no, he'd asked Lyuba to outright tell Rodrik for him because he was worried the guy would cry on him, and Rowan would be left awkwardly patting his shoulder and giving empty pleasantries.
"Uh, so. Hey. About that - look, thing is, I'm kind of a cowardly lion - you know, like in Wizard of - actually, that doesn't matter. But I didn't tell you because really want to make you start crying on me since we're not that tight, and I thought you and Lyuba were, right?" Right. He'd totally heard about the cuddling in the common room... hadn't he? Oh shit, was that someone else instead? "Anyway... sorry for being a git. You can, like, punch me in the face now if you want."
'Didn't want you to start crying on me', 'you and Lyuba were tight', 'cowardly lion' -- those would have been valid excuses if Rowan had, like, broken Rodrik's bagpipes or something, not something as important as this (and that wasn't to say that Rodrik's bagpipes weren't important. They were, but in a very different way than Vaughn was).
"First of all, me and Lyuba weren't on speaking terms...Until last night, I guess, so...Thanks?" he said after a few moments of deliberation. Yes, he could punch Rowan for being a foolish bastard, but what good would that do? He didn't turn Vaughn into a werewolf, did he?
He let out a heavy sigh, his shoulders slumping, and leaned against his desk, crossing his arms on his chest.
"Rowan, I..." he started, his eyes darting around the room, trying to order his thoughts, "What do we...What do I do about this? Please, tell me everything you know, all the details. I have to help Vaughn and I don't know where to start." Maybe he'd forgotten to mention something to Lyuba? Any other clue on the whereabouts of Vaughn? Anything to keep Rodrik's despair at bay?
"Uh..." Rowan actually hadn't known about Lyuba and Rodrik not speaking, but apparently he'd fixed things? Maybe? It seemed like abysmal counselor was a future career option for him, and Rowan let a small smile dance on his lips before realising not appropriate. Oh shit. Oops. "Uh, you're welcome. Maybe you two will be best buds soon - oh, is that why you've been acting like a kicked puppy? Because you and Lyuba haven't been speaking? Huh." That made sense given Rodrik's recent mood.
Rodrik's question had Rowan going quiet for a long moment before he said, seriously for once in his life, "I don't know. Rue... I haven't told anyone else she's a werewolf." He hadn't wanted it leaked to his parents or Merlin forbid, Grimblehawk who could maybe use the small clues in their letters to decipher Rue's whereabouts. "Rue says she's in Scotland, but not near Hogwarts... something about near a forest, and there's farms around? I..." Rowan straightened his shoulders, clearing his throat loudly. "I'm going to look for her in the holidays. I can't let her... she needs to come home back to mum and dad. They're going out of their minds, and they think she's staying with Sally Jordan's family of all people for whatever reason Sally told them."
Rowan wasn't exactly sure how he was going to find Rue based on the small amount of information she'd given him, but he damn well intended to try. "Does your brother... uh, not Vaughn, the other one..." Shit. What was his name again? "Do they know anything about where Vaughn is? Shit, man, do they know he's a... y'know?" From what he remembered, Rodrik had two brothers at of Hogwarts, and maybe that could help them. Maybe not-Vaughn could start looking or talking to people since he wasn't shackled to Hogwarts like Rodrik and Rowan both were.
Rodrik couldn't help but to make a face at Rowan. "A kicked puppy? Excuse you! Watch it, before I..."he pointed a finger at his dorm mate, his mouth open for a few seconds as he tried to figure what to say. Nothing brilliant was forming, so he just mumbled "Before I kick you." and huffed.
He crossed his arms once more, waiting for Rowan to finally tell it like it was. Great was Rodrik's dismay, when Rowan didn't come up with anything he didn't already know. "Forest and farms," he scoffed, "that's like half of bloody Scotland to a T." His mind started reeling once more, a hundred different scenarios running by his eyes, making the boy feel utterly scrambled. So much for gaining composure. "You should... You should get ahold of Sally Jordan, talk to her, see what she knows. I... I'll try to figure out something on my own."
"Damian... No, I'm sure he doesn't know, if he would, he would have told me as soon as he found out. At least, at least I think so, but you can't be sure about anything anymore." He rambled, turning around to face the desk, running his hands through his hair and rubbing his face. Good Lord, he was so tired and exhausted, and he still had class to get to. No, Hogwarts could live without him for one day. He'd write Damian a letter, and then he'd try to sleep. Yep. That was a plan.
