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 VIVICA THOSTENSON on May 5, 2020 23:35:49 GMT
A
djusting the strap of her violin case over her shoulder, the blonde glanced back with a smile to check that the older boy was still following her before leading the way out into the courtyard. It was a beautiful little place that she'd managed to find on her second day here, and as soon as she'd seen it, she'd fallen in love. It was just so perfect, with the golden light of the sun slanting down to bathe it all in a gorgeous autumn glow, and there was a little tree and some benches, and it was quiet and secluded... Absolutely perfect. The kind of place that she would want to be buried, if that wasn't too morbid a thought for such a lovely day.
She took up a position under the tree, letting her hair fall loose down her back because it seemed somehow wrong to keep it up, and unfastened the clasps of the case, carefully drawing out the instrument and the bow that went with it, and making all the little adjustments that were necessary on such occasions before raising it gently and placing it in the correct position, her fingers shuffling slightly to find the right place on the strings before she raised the bow and drew it gently downwards, producing a soft humming sound. Satisfied, she raised the bow once again and glanced over towards her friend, a smile on her face. "Well, make yourself comfortable!" she demanded, making a grandiose gesture towards the array of benches that adorned the courtyard. It wasn't as if there was a shortage, and if they didn't hurry, it would start to get dark. Not that she couldn't play in the dark, of course, but the music that she had in mind wasn't an evening kind of piece; it was one that would work best in the evening, when the sun was just beginning its dip towards the horizon.
"This castle is too big, Vivi, don't you think? I think I like our four floors a bit better, at least I don't get lost so often," August chattered away while following his friend through the halls of Hogwarts, trying his best to remember all the twists and turns they were taking. "You're going to have to take me back by my hand, otherwise they'll find my dead body in a dead end somewhere a week later."
Once they entered the courtyard, August's words got stuck in his throat and all he could get out was an amazed 'Woah'. The courtyard had a fountain in the middle, guarded by statues of different creatures, and there were trees the names of which August didn't know on all four corners, their leaves painted all shades of yellow and red one could conceive.
Vivi, always full of grace, stood in the shade of one such tree, with her blonde hair falling down her shoulders -- she was a beauty, even a blind man could see that -- raised her violin up to her chin. As always on these occasions, August felt like a country bumpkin next to her... Which was the truth, really.
"Alright, alright," he said, sitting on a wooden bench right across from her, "What will it be today? A premiere just for me? Or are our friends running late?"
Post by VIVICA THOSTENSON on May 7, 2020 15:08:11 GMT
Y
ou really think so?" she queried, her mind only half on the question as the other half focused on her navigation. Certainly, it was bigger than Durmstrang, but she rather liked that; it felt more spacious, more mysterious. Of course, the place would probably have felt mysterious regardless considering that she'd never been here before in her life, but even so, she thought that having seven floors over which they and the Hogwarts students could spread themselves was probably a good thing; for one thing, there was less chance of the overcrowding causing too many fights. She couldn't imagine that they would ever have been able to fit all the Hogwarts students into Durmstrang, should the need have arisen, but then perhaps they wouldn't have volunteered anyway.
She watched his face with a smile as he took in the courtyard- for all that the castle was too big, he seemed to have no such complaints about this particular corner of it- which was good, because then she would have had to complain about his taste, and she didn't want to do that! "No, this is all for you," Vivi assured him with her brightest smile. "I wanted to give my biggest fan a sneak preview, you know?" Admittedly, there was no, so far as she knew, a lot of competition for that title, but even if there had been, she would have awarded it to the same person.
"Oh, I am honored to have that title bestowed upon me," August replied, feeling a little giddy, "But I do hope that you yourself are your biggest fan first...Firstly? You get what I mean." He gave her a smile just as bright as the one directed at him.
In all truthfulness, August had an ever so tiny crush on Vivica. Had had for a year or two, now. It was hard to not admire her -- she was gorgeous, with all that blonde hair flowing down in waves, the gracefulness of her movements, and how she got carried away when she played her violin... If August would have been any good at writing poems, he'd probably devoted an entire book to her alone by now.
But he didn't want to complicate things between his friends by having feelings for them, so, if Vivica knew about the state of his mind, it wasn't from his mouth. No, he was comfortable admiring her from... From the three feet that separated them at this very moment.
"I am ready, unless there is something I should know about this piece before you begin. Has Hogwarts already inspired you? Or is this about longing for Durmstrang? Or shall you make me guess from the melody?"
Post by VIVICA THOSTENSON on May 18, 2020 15:34:30 GMT
W
ith a faint smile, Vivi shook her head. She didn't think she was particularly brilliant at anything; she just did her best and was happy with the results so long as she knew that they could not be improved short of involving someone else, which wasn't a tactic that she had ever employed up to now, and that being said, she didn't really think that she could qualify as her own number one fan. Not when up against Augusts, who seemed to wholeheartedly believe in her ability to do absolutely anything. Undeniably, it was sweet of him, and although she sometimes had to wonder as to whether any of it was put on for her benefit, in the main she just thanked Merlin for giving her such a supportive friend.
"You have to guess, silly!" she exclaimed. After all, music was supposed to be evocative, and if it couldn't evoke the correct response in her audience of one then she knew she'd gone wrong somewhere; if she told him what it was supposed to be about, then how on earth did she know whether he actually got the right impression or not. "Now don't distract me." Raising the bow once more, she half-closed her eyes as she drew it down over the strings, the melody soulful and soft.
"Alright, alright, you know I like the guessing game," he responded, his smile growing as he watched Vivi prepare herself to play. Ah, there it was, the way she closed her eyes, leaving the world behind, as if there was only her and her violin, the extension of her heart, the violin strings a loudspeaker for her soul. Her movements were fluid, yet precise, her fingertips danced over the strings, pressing down one or the other, and the rays of the setting sun played in her blonde hair...
And the music, oh, the music! Soon enough August had closed his eyes, hands wrapped around the edge of the bench seat, gently swaying side to side with the melody. It was gentle, at points even languid, but yet full of emotion, emotion that August couldn't name, no. A thousand and one association ran through his mind, a new one appearing before the last could even be comprehended. He didn't want the music to end, yet he didn't know how long he could keep his mouth quiet -- if he didn't say what he thought, he'd might forget it instead!
But all good things come to an end, and so did the song. He opened his eyes, rubbing them with his hand before looking right at the girl. The floodgates were about to open.
"It isn't Durmstrang," he started, releasing the bench, "No, all your Durmstrang pieces, even the softer ones, there is an edge to them, like the frigid arctic winds we oh, so, love," he chuckled for a brief moment, before his expression grew distant, his eyes trailing away from Vivi's face, wandering somewhere between the leaves of the trees around them, the cracks in the stone bricks under their feet, "Or at least, it isn't about being at Durmstrang. No, maybe...A sense of longing? For somewhere, something, maybe someone? I do not know your mind, but, " he got up from his seat, his movements just as fluid as the melody had been, "It makes me think of looking at this sunset from a, uh, what's the word, what's the word, a patio? Yeah, that. At a sunset over a field of daisies, while you're cradling a cup of tea and you're waiting for someone to come home."
"And I thought I heard a little bit of a waltz rythm a little bit before the end, right?" he said, turning around and, without second thought, wrapped one arm around her waist and putting the other on her hand, even though she was still clutching her instrument. They'd all had dance lessons at Durmstrang, and while he'd never been good at it, waltzing was just so romantic. "You're waiting for them to come home so that you could dance amongst the flowers until the moon is high up in the sky."
Post by VIVICA THOSTENSON on May 18, 2020 16:48:10 GMT
I
know," Vivi agreed with a smile, remembering a few other similar occasions. Merlin knew she was glad that she hadn't been the only one to come to this place this year; she would never have managed cut off from all the people that she'd come to know and love over the last few years. August was great; he had probably sat through more of her music than any sane person should have to be subjected to, but he never greeted it with anything other than enthusiasm and what was certainly well-simulated delight if it wasn't genuine. "And I appreciate it."
As ever, she lost herself somewhat in her music- that was what she loved the most about it; it was a way of abstracting herself a little from the world, of sinking into a reverie in which the universe contracted to contain only her and her violin and the motions of one arm up and down as the fingers of the opposite hand danced across the strings. It was endlessly satisfying, knowing that such small motions could create such a grand effect, and although she harboured no illusions as to her own talent- she was good but she was no Mozart- it was pleasant to think that she could, in her own small way, alter and affect the feelings of the people around her.
At long last, she came to the end of the piece that she had spent so many long hours trying and discarding and altering and reattempting, and she lowered her bow, her breathing coming a little quicker although playing a tune of such a steady nature was not in fact a particularly physical activity and certainly wasn't especially demanding for Vivi, who, despite not being very sporty, did her best to stay in shape and training nevertheless. Once you started developing a few extra chins, it became appreciably more difficult to jam a violin under there.
"That's right," she agreed with a smile, suppressing a giggle as August suddenly took her hand. "Hey, hey... I'll dance if you like, but at least let me put this down first." The blonde leaned forward for a moment, resting her head against his shoulder.
"Of course, of course," he answered, releasing her hand, though a part of him felt a little tinge of disappointment as he had to give the girl physical space. Her head on his shoulder... Fragments of her song were playing in his head, and now he was the longing for something, someone...He wanted to hold her close and give her the longest hug imaginable. But her violin was much more important than his whims, so he stepped away, his other hand slipping away from her back.
"I adore how you can craft such beauty," he said, tugging on the sleeves of his sweater, "I've always envied you a little, you know? All artist types, really. I, too, would like to create something beautiful that people could enjoy or seek solace in, but..." He ran a hand through his hair, suddenly feeling very shy, which was a rarity. "Eh, we didn't come here to listen to me blabber, did we?"
"Shall we dance, madam?" he said, the smile right back on his face, extending a hand and bowing down in a greeting before settling back into position. "It would be great if you could charm the violin to play for us... But could you count the rhythm for us? You're way better at that than I am."
Post by VIVICA THOSTENSON on May 18, 2020 17:37:31 GMT
Y
ou're so sweet," Vivi told him with a smile, laying the instrument and the bow carefully on the seat of the bench and withdrawing her wand from somewhere about her person. She murmured a charm, waving her wand across the polished wood, and the violin rose gently into the air, the bow poised for action beside it. That was a charm which it had taken her considerable time to master, but it was well worth it, she was sure, and as she shed her outer robe, draping it over the back of the bench so that she wouldn't be tripping over it, she returned to where Augusts was standing, taking his hand in hers and placing the other on his shoulder. "And your company is worth as much as any work of art, I promise." She smiled up at him, leaning in to kiss his cheek. "Right, shall we?"
Without waiting for an answer, she gestured towards the hovering violin, which commenced with a gentle waltz that she recognised, after a moment or two, as one of her own, which she'd rather unimaginatively named Winter Mountain Waltz. She began counting softly under her breath, looking up into the boy's eyes to check that he was following. "One, two, three... and off we go."