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 JACK O'CONNOR on Apr 14, 2019 11:07:26 GMT
I
t was Jack's fifteenth year teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts and by now, he was used to this gig. The first day back in classes meant introductions, laying down the law and informing the students of his expectations. As they were only first and second years in this class, he would be encouraging them to perform to the best of their ability, and to keep trying no matter what. They were only new to magic, after all.
As the students started piling into the classroom, Jack leaned back against his desk. It took a good five minutes but then finally, they were all there sitting in front of him. Pushing off from his desk, Jack levitated a piece of chalk towards the board and wrote his name. "For those of you who are new to Hogwarts, my name is Professor O'Connor and I am the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor. I have taught here for fifteen years and hopefully, I will continue teaching for many more. Now, for the second years who are returning back to this class, I expect you to already know and follow my rules, and set an example for the first years. I will go over them just this once, so pay attention."
"In this class, we raise our hands when we want to speak. That means, if you have something to say then you will wait for me to call on you. If your peer is talking, you will wait for them to finish what they are saying. Is that understood?" Pausing, Jack moved onto his next rule. "Whilst 'healthy arguing' is allowed, there are to be no raised voices when talking to each other and your wands must strictly stay on your desk unless you are performing a spell."
With Jack's rules laid out, he moved onto laying out his expectations. "Now, I know this is a mandatory class but still, I expect everyone to do the best they can. All assignments must be turned in on time and your work must be up to written to the best of your ability. If you need any help, you are welcome to come to my office or speak to me after class and I will gladly assist you. Understood?"
With that, Jack's stern expression softened and he sent his class a smile. For now, the serious stuff was over and the mood in the room could become a little bit lighter. "Now I think it's time for us to go around and do introductions. I'd like you to tell everyone your name, your house and year, and what you hope to learn in Defense Against the Dark Arts this year. Remember to speak loud and clear so everyone can hear you." With that, Jack gestured to the student who was sitting at the front, furthest to the left.
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
And while you are sitting indoors waiting for the storm to pass I will be outside dancing in the rain
❧
Scorpius was nervous for his first class back and of course the professor was all into introductions and wanting to know what they expected to learn here. There were girls, everywhere, and Scorpius was getting red flushed cheeks.
Scorpius ran a hand through his white hair and got up when it was his turn. "I am Scorpius Malfoy sir. I aim to learn whatever you are willing to teach and use it for good purposes." he then sat down again, almost feeling sick to his stomach.
fter a few introductions from some of the other students, Jack's eyes fell on Scorpius Malfoy who stood next. Last year when Scorpius had stood there and introduced himself, Jack had been taken off-guard by the fact that the kid looked like the spitting image of his father, somebody who had been only a year above him at school. He looked like Astoria too, of course, but the flash of white hair was unmistakably a Malfoy gene.
Once the boy had finished his introduction, Jack nodded with a smile. "Well done, Mr. Malfoy. Five points for being such an example to our new students," he praised, before his eyes moved along the rest of the students. There were still quite a few first years who had yet to introduce themselves, and he hoped they'd be inspired to do so after listening to Scorpius.
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
As Sally rushed into the Defense Against the Dark Arts class room, she let out a loud sigh of relief because sweet. She'd made it just in time and that meant no detention for her, no siree. She didn't want to spend a second outside of class with Buttface O'Connor and his stern eyes. She'd spent enough time with him in detention during her first year which totally wasn't even fair because Jerkface Justin started the fight by picking on her pal, and all she did was stand up for her... by stomping on his foot.
Standing up when it was her turn to introduce herself, she grinned because she definitely wasn't afraid of a crowd. "Eyy I'm Sally. Sally Jordan. I'm a second year Puff which doesn't mean I'm weak. I can still kick any of your arses," she declared confidently, ignoring Professor O'Connor's exasperated 'Sally.' "I'm just here to learn cool stuff like duelling." At the end of her little speech, Sally decided to up her cool factor even more by shooting little finger guns at her classmates before sitting down.
TAG: open for interaction NOTES: Jack is my character too. Hence why I wrote his reaction, promise I'm not godmodding others.
I will tiptoe down that line but I will feel unstable
Edmund didn't always enjoy this class. Not because he wasn't good at it, his grades were awesome but because he didn't like to get physical with people or.. things. The blonde boy eyed his roommate Scorpius who just felt very good about himself and it made Edmund roll his eyes and mumble suck up under his breath. This was terrible, he was associated with this idiot and he didn't even want to sleep in the same room as him.
The boy then turned his attention to a Hufflepuff who introduced herself and he frowned. It was very much the obvious said by many others and it just showed him how a lot of the hufflepuff's are just weaker Gryffindors living in the basement. With a sigh he got up and adjusted his clothes.
"I don't expect to learn anything here that isn't already obvious or well described in the books but I am sure it will be entertaining and useful in it's own way. My name is Edmund Rosaline by the way sir. Thank you for sharing your knowledge about the subject." he nodded and sat down. Edmund didn't mean to be rude but introductions didn't teach him anything.
And while you are sitting indoors waiting for the storm to pass I will be outside dancing in the rain
❧
Scorpius didn't know what to do when the spotlight was on him but the other kids seemed to do just fine. He just nodded at the professor and then looked down hoping they would do something fun where he couldn't make a fool of himself next. He just wanted this to be over with and go to his dorm.
He might have to check on his mother soon but he didn't really want to either.
Post by JACK O'CONNOR on Jul 11, 2019 13:18:12 GMT
S
ally Jordan's rather... exuberant introduction had Jack shaking his head, sending her a look of warning that was soon distracted by Edmund Rosaline. A keen student, one he had taught last year. "Well, Mr. Rosaline. I can guarantee you that reading spells from a book and putting theory into practice will definitely not be as obvious as you think it may be," Jack said, addressing the boy. "As for the theoretical portion of our classes, knowledge is power after all and it's still important to listen to what your peers may have to say on a subject."
Moving along, Jack waved his arm towards the chalkboard without a word. The word 'dueling' wrote itself in bold, capitalised letters. "Now, we will most likely not be dueling in this lesson today, although I guarantee you that when we do it will be understand very safe circumstances." He paused, sending an encouraging smile to the rest of his students. "Now, let's start with something easy. Who can tell me what dueling is and maybe a 'fun fact' or two that you know?"
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
It was Felicity's very first lesson at Hogwarts and she was so ready! She'd bothered her papa ever since she'd heard about the school, trying to get as many stories out of him as possible. And she had succeeded. He had told her the most magical stories she could've imagined, about his own time at Hogwarts and, as it happened, about the very teacher who stood in front of the class now.
Her back straight, her hands on the table and a face splitting grin on her face, she waited for the class to begin.
Her enthusiasm was dampened a bit when the lesson turned out to start with a round of introductions. Felicity didn't care right now who else was sitting in the class. She wanted to start using her wand! So she waited more or less patiently for it to be her turn before she stood up, which didn't add much to her height, and introduced herself. "I'm Felicity Redfield and I'm a first year Gryffindor. I just want to learn all the magic I can do!" she said loudly, her enthusiasm apparent.
At the question about duelling, Felicity stuck her hand in the air immediately, as high as she could reach. "My father is very good at duelling. He fights bad wizards with duelling and then he sends them to Azkaban," she explained proudly as soon as she was called.
Harper knew a bit about magic by the time she came to Hogwarts but not that much. The girl tried her best to be one who doesn't embarrass herself. It was one of her first lessons of the first year. So the girl was sitting in the classroom now and listening what others said.
"Duelling is something where you fight between at least two people by using magic spells. I don't really know any fun facts," she said after she had raised her hand and had permission to speak. She had decided to be part of class so much as she can. The little hufflepuff didn't know much about duelling.
Post by JACK O'CONNOR on Jul 21, 2019 23:43:56 GMT
J
ack directed a small, warm smile at Felicity as she introduced herself. Being the Head of Gryffindor, he was familiar with her name already. "I'm very glad to hear that, Miss Redfield. I hope you find my class useful then," he replied, before clapping his hands together in front of him. Introductions were over and done with, and his eyes swept over his class, waiting to see who would be game enough to answer him at first.
It turned out, that person was Felicity and Jack called on her, nodding at her response. "So your father, he's an auror then? That's a very important job," Jack acknowledged, although... these days, he wasn't quite sure how much he respected it. Back when they were fighting dark wizards? Yes. But now, knowing that the aurors enforced legislation that persecuted werewolves... he found his respect wavering at times.
Then he turned to Harper who was, amazingly, another member of the Tyrell family and he awarded her with a smile at her textbook perfect answer. "That's absolutely correct, Miss Tyrell. Well done, you just earned ten points for Hufflepuff," he said, before extending on that point. "It's a form of combat, using magic only, and the person with the quickest reflexes wins. Now, can anyone tell me what the formalities of a duel are - what do you need to do before you commence dueling? Then can another person please tell me how you win a duel?"
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
did i beat you at your own game?/typical of me to put us all to shame
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Post by KATRIN TYRELL on Jul 28, 2019 17:20:38 GMT
"I'm Katrin Tyrell and I'm a Slytherin. I hope we'll learn something practical this year." Professor O'Connor already knew her; Katrin didn't think she needed to say much more. Although she was only a second-year, Katrin already felt so done with all the new first-years who had introduced themselves. Had her voice been that shrill only a year ago? They weren't going to learn anything if they kept talking like that. Couldn't she go up to the next class group yet?
But when duels were mentioned, Katrin's head suddenly perked up. If they were going to duel in this class, she wanted to just get to it, knowing she could easily beat any of them. After all, she was the one who had actually learned a few hexes already--and not just learned, but actually knew she could do them. She'd never been in a duel before, but the thought was incredibly appealing. To get to send her classmates flying and not even get in trouble for it? They better get a chance. Her hand went up in the air. "You can win a duel by stunning your opponent," she started. "Or by disarming them, or making them too injured to continue, or killing them." She counted out each condition on her fingers. "I suppose if they agree to be defeated, then that would end it too."
Katrin Tyrell's voice spoke up next and immediately, Sally wanted to silencio her because the girl was everything she couldn't stand in a person. She was a bigot and clearly thought that Slytherin was the better house and for what? For wearing the colour green? That was the colour of people's snot and now that she thought about it, maybe it was fitting for Katrin because the girl was definitely a booger. The thought of the new nickname made Sally break out into a full grin and she glanced around the room, eager to share it with somebody but then she realised that none of her mates were sitting nearby.
Letting out a sigh, Sally decided to focus on O'Connor's words, and she was just about to pipe up and suggest 'death' would win a duel when Booger spoke up and gave about a million trillion different answers. "Question hog," Sally muttered, with a roll of her eyes. She didn't care if anyone heard her because it was true. Why not give other people the chance to answer? Jeez.
But then it struck Sally that Professor O'Connor's question about the formalities - far less fun, by the way - had been left unanswered and her hand flew up. "You have to have a time and a place for the duel... like, in a formal duel, you can't just have it in the middle of the class. But in an informal duel, you can whip your wands out whenever. Then you gotta face each other and bow and shi - er, I mean... stuff, and hold your wands up. You're not 'sposed to start firing off spells 'til the count of three."
Post by JACK O'CONNOR on Aug 10, 2019 12:24:50 GMT
A
s the questions he had posed were answered, Jack was a happy, happy man. He loved seeing kids participate in his lesson especially in his younger classes. Most of the first and second years were quieter, a bit hesitant to speak up and be heard. Katrin and Sally speaking up would hopefully inspire their other classmates. "Yes, well done to the both of you, Miss Tyrell and Miss Jordan. Ten points to Slytherin and Hufflepuff."
"Now, typically in a duel you will challenge somebody - this is what wewill be doing today. I hope everyone was listening to the rules Miss Jordan laid out - you find a time and a place which, in this case, will be this classroom, right over there." With a wave of his hand, the curtain hiding a podium at the back of the class was revealed and he nodded towards it. "Then you go on the stage, face each other and nod, then walk to the opposite ends of the stage. It's then that you will brandish your wands, like so." Withdrawing his wand from his pocket, the one he seldom actually used due to his ability to perform wandless magic, Jack demonstrated. "It is then that you will start performing spells. Now, the spells I expect the first years to perform are basic ones that you would have been studying during your spare time, I assume. I don't expect them to be perfect, or anything like that but just a refresher - you can use petrificus totalus, flipendo, fumos, or expelliarmus. Second years, you may perform the same spells on top of rictusempra."
Clapping his hands together, Jack moved over to the front of the podium. "Now, you can choose your opponent. Quickly though or I'll choose for you." When the students had arranged themselves, Jack smiled. "Now, who will be going first?"
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
did i beat you at your own game?/typical of me to put us all to shame
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Post by KATRIN TYRELL on Aug 11, 2019 9:05:57 GMT
Naturally, Sally Jordan had to make her little comments, probably to cover up the fact that Katrin knew the answer and she didn't. Whatever. If she'd wanted to be intelligent, she shouldn't have been such a loudmouth. Katrin's lips pressed together as she glanced over at the other girl, blue eyes icy, but she said nothing.
That was, until Professor O'Connor told them to find dueling partners. Normally, Katrin would have wanted to grab Declan when asked to form a group, happy to have her brother at school with her finally, but she didn't really want to have to fight him. He was a dear friend, but as a first-year, he'd be a useless opponent. That wouldn't be satisfying, not like it would be if she could toss Avery across the room. Someday, she'd get a chance to do that--see who was really the better witch between them, and Katrin was pretty sure she knew the answer to that. But Avery was in the third-years' class. Katrin's eyes narrowed as she looked around, figuring who she would ask.
"Miss Jordan," she called out, her voice as sweet as she could make it. "I'd love to have you as a partner. Since you apparently do know how to be formal about a duel." Unlike with everything else, she left hanging unsaid, hoping the other girl would catch her implication. She touched the wand on her desk lightly, ready to pick it up at any moment.
An annoying, whiny voice called her name, one that Sally unfortunately placed immediately, and Sally raised her eyes to meet Tyrell's face. It was a surprise that the girl wanted to duel her, seeing as Sally was well-versed in kicking arse and taking names. Wasn't this soft little Slytherin afraid of getting hurt? But whatever. If Tyrell ended up injured, then it was her fault for not knowing how to defend herself fast enough.
"Let's go, Tyrell," she said, moving onto the podium and bowing ever so slightly before drawing her wand, holding it up. She vaguely heard O'Connor's voice saying, '1, 2, 3...' and with that, Sally shot a spell as quick as her mouth allowed her to, shouting, "Flipendo!" Hopefully it would hit the little roach and a.s.a.p.
