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 DIO GREYBACK on Sept 23, 2019 15:03:08 GMT
Dio had a long and terrible ride behind him. The Knightbus was an awful way of travelling when you were already hurt. The sudden stops and drops weren’t helping his many bruises and other injuries. He couldn’t believe he went this way but where else was he supposed to go. There weren’t many people he considered as an ally, now that was clearer than ever. Even with some ‘allies’ he couldn’t show himself in a weak position. So where could he go? His mother made it clear he wasn’t welcome home until tomorrow. Then Alex appeared in his mind. The soft boy who had formed a rare and odd alignment with him in their first year. It happened before they noticed just how different they were. Dio just kept hanging out with him because it had become so normal.
So that was where he went. Dio grumbled at the blood on his shirt, he should probably get rid of that. What was underneath however would probably turn even more eyes, so he decided to walk quickly to the door. Damnit his arm still stung like hell. Why? Hadn’t he learned to ignore pain? His entire body was still tense from the cruciatus curse. His nose was broken, and he had a large bruise on his forehead and around his throat, but his arm was noticeable still in more pain.
He didn’t even know if the Ravenclaw would be there. And even if he was home, if he would be the one opening. Come to think of it he had only been here once maybe twice. However, knowing Dio, he would likely let himself in regardless of who opened. Luck was with him for once because the tiny bird boy opened. “Yo, cancel all your plans, I’m staying for the night,” he announced in a crispy voice to the other boy, leaving no room for argument. “Where is your bathroom again?” Now Dio was quite sure that Alexander swung the other way. However, he was also confident enough in their friendship that he wouldn’t give his much softer buddy accidental hard ones. He had barely set foot in the building and he already took off his bloodied shirt. “Fuck,” he hissed as he checked the damage. Talking was hard. His ribs were starting to turn blue. His jaw seemed lock when he laid eyes on his left lower arm. It was covered in dried blood but between the blood one could spot cuts. Together they spelled a word. Failure ALEXANDER McCARTHY Note: takes place during the winter break
5'11 | dangerous outside soft inside | single | hetroflexible
Post by ALEXANDER McCARTHY on Sept 24, 2019 9:14:19 GMT
Alexander had been sprawled on the couch, rereading the Two Towers before the knocks rained down on his front door. His immediate reaction was to call for his mum, but she wouldn't be home for a day or two while she attempted to sort accommodation out for Gabriel. He picked himself off of the furniture, placing his book carefully on the coffee table. He ran a hand down his shirt, flattening it a little before he took a few long steps to the front door. He couldn't figure out who would be calling at this time, maybe his mum had asked a friend to pop 'round and check on him? He opened the door with a forced smile, which turned to a gasp as he saw Dio Greyback at his door. "Dio!"
Not only was his friend who certainly didn't live anywhere near him, right here in front of him, he was also covered in blood. "What the fuck?" He murmured as the boy stepped past him, shaking his head. He didn't have enough time to process everything before Dio was stripping, taking his bloodsoaked shift off to reveal bruising and gashes. Alexander stared for a few moments, before quietly closing the door. Panicking wouldn't do any good for him, so he tried to keep his breathing slow and even. His mum wasn't even home, and Alexander couldn't perform magic outside of school yet! He stepped closer to the Slytherin, gingerly grasping at the boy's elbow and wrist. "Jesus Christ. What the hell happened? Did your...did your mum do this to you? Fuck Dio."
Even as crude as it was, even Alexander could read the words that were sliced into his skin. Alexander had dealt with a myriad of injuries before on Gabriel, but seeing a word carved into skin turned his stomach sour and bile pooled in the back of his throat. His bright blue eyes surveyed the rest of Dio, noting the broken nose. He closed his eyes tightly, before letting a hand go from the elbow and raising it up to Dio's nose, before deciding against it and placing his hand on the other boy's cheek. "I better not fix that, you'll have to wait for my mum to get home. Come on, I can wrap up your arm and give you some painkillers. Is there any injury I can't see? Possible broken ribs? Concussion?" Although his voice was calm, and his eyes earnest, his head was swimming.
Post by DIO GREYBACK on Sept 24, 2019 20:10:30 GMT
Everything from the moment back home till this moment felt like it went by with the snap of a finger and lasted for eternity at the same time. Even if he stood inside Alex’s house now, his mind was still at home in Knockturn. The blonde Slytherin was pacing like a icebear in an unhealthy zoo. How was he going to explain this to Alexander? Dio stopped when finger grasped his skin. It looked more like he froze because the remaining colour disappeared from his face. His grey-blue eyes were big of fear for a second, as if he expected to be harmed again. Get a grip of yourself, Dio. Alex is a softie, he’d never be capable of such an act.
Alex’s words caused his mouth to go dry. “I- she-” His eyes were scanning the floor as if the answer was spelled out there. “I deserved to be punished,” he mumbled as if he were a computer reading lines (if he knew what a computer was). Dio forced a crooked smile on his face that was closer to insanity than happiness. “My mother loves me very much. This will make me learn to become stronger,” he added in that same monotone voice. Even with all she’d done to him, Dio would defend his mother. Because in his eyes she was completely in the right.
He blinked when his buddy placed his hand on his cheek. “What? Are you going to kiss me?” Dio attempted to joke but he was lacking his usual spirit. He sniffed but probably shouldn’t have done that because crusts of dried blood were falling out now. Gross. “I dunno, ribs maybe? I don’t think I really feel them anymore. Shit, that’s bad,” he mumbled as he inspected by poking into his bruise. “No, no painkillers. How can I learn from the punishment if I cannot feel it?”
Post by ALEXANDER McCARTHY on Oct 3, 2019 12:54:12 GMT
Dio reacting to Alex in fear was something he'd never thought he'd have seen. He tore his gaze away from his friend, squeezing his eyes shut to hide the anger he felt. The rage wasn't at Dio, it was the conditioning and the treatment that he had received under the so-called 'care' of his mother. "You deserved it? Fuck no Dio. Nothing you could do would deserve this!" he continued to mutter under his breath. He couldn't argue with the Slytherin when he was like this, Alexander knew that. He just wished he could snap his friend out of this cycle, but he knew he was fighting an uphill battle. As much as it sucked, comforting Dio after the fight, or literally torture, was the only thing that the prefect could do. Preventative measures had always fallen through and working on Dio's self-esteem...yeah nothing had seemed to help.
"Yeah, that isn't good." Alexander agreed with him about the ribs, deciding against poking them and twisting his lips. He'd also completely ignored Dio's statement about Alex trying to kiss him. He'd never considered it and he never would, not only was Dio straight; he was also a handful as a friend, let alone a lover. "We'll just deal with what we can see now, how about you sit down and be still." He pointed towards the couch that he'd previously been sprawled on. His dark blue eyes hardened as his offer of painkillers was denied. "Greyback, listen to me for a moment. You are not supposed to learn from what your mother has done to you, okay? If I have to shove them down your throat, I will. Mark my words." Words: 282 Tags: DIO GREYBACK
Dio was extremely tense and his mind wasn’t in a happy place. Inside his head, he was punishing himself more. Stupid. Always acting tough, picking fights with other students. Yet you cannot even fight back when your mother strikes. Why would you even? You deserve everything she did because you’ve failed at possibly everything. Every parent would be ashamed to call you their son. And now your useless presence is bothering a boy who never asked for this so called friendship. The Slytherin’s jaw clenched at the words his friend spoke. “I can’t do anything fucking right, Alex. I-I should-” Disappear His eyes stared blankly at the ground. The fingers on his right hand started to scratch on the wounds of his left arm. Dried blood was scratched away and with the blockage gone, fresh blood started to come from the wounds again. He felt like punching a wall but Dio had just enough self-control to decide destroying other people’s homes was a bad idea.
For once Dio didn’t argue and sat down on the couch. When he was settled, he realized his exhausted he was. Everything felt heavy as he closed his eyes for a moment. His head was literally pounding. His eyes opened slightly and stared at the Ravenclaw who argued about the painkillers. “I kinda want to see you try,” he said with a half asses smile, because even jokes couldn’t cheer him up right now. “Heck, you’ll probably win.” In his current state, Dio couldn’t really fight back. But he was being a difficult arse because… “Fine, I’ll swallow your stupid pill or whatever. If you’ll have a drink with me tonight.” Getting drunk was the only think that could possibly improve his mood right now.
Post by ALEXANDER McCARTHY on Oct 27, 2019 5:06:08 GMT
Alex's eyes softened as Dio told him that he was unable to do anything right. "That's because your mother has skewed ideas on what 'right' is." Alexander wanted to tell his Slytherin friend that Dio's mother would always change her standards, but to tell the other boy that he was correct would be more mental torment. Alex knew that Dio's mother would never be proud of her child, but that was her own twisted mind- it wasn't Dio's fault. Alex tapped on the fingers that scratched the wounds, his face stern and worried. "Do you want to lose more blood, you ninny?"
He shook his head as his friend sat down on the couch, biting the inside of his cheeks as it seemed like Dio had just fallen asleep. Then the eyes opened again and Alex shook his head, "Try not to go to sleep right now, you could have a concussion or something. Who knows what sort of damage she caused." It was cause for concern that Dio didn't really fight him too much, since the kid was usually as stubborn as Alexander was. The Ravenclaw rolled his eyes at the deal, "Whatever." He didn't count as agreeing, but Dio would. They could argue about it later, now was not the time. Dio just assumed that Alex's house would be full of liquor, or that he'd have the money to afford to buy it. Both assumptions were incorrect.
Deciding that Dio would be okay for the few moments that he had to be left alone, Alexander left the room in search of either muggle painkillers or a pain-relieving potion. He knew that they'd probably have at least one of those things, most likely a potion just because they lasted longer. He entered the kitchen, walking directly to the medicine cabinet. Lo and behold, there was a pain-relieving potion. He poured the correct amount into a nearby glass, returning the bottle to the cabinet and headed back into the lounge room. "Drink this." He ordered, thrusting the glass under Dio's nose. "I checked but we don't have blood-replenshing potion, I think Gabriel had to use the last of our stock, after last full moon. You better not have lost too much blood."
Dio bit his lip and lowered his head till his chin almost reached his chest. He could hear Alex’s voice but the words didn’t get through. They seemed tougher than any class he endured at Hogwarts. Because what his friend just said went against everything he knew. His fingers scratched the cuts uncontrollably until they were tapped. Dio blinked and looked up as if he hadn’t even noticed he was scratching himself until now. A feeling of shame pulled him under.
“Urh, yes auntie McCarty,” he attempted to humor by pointing out the obvious situation. Not falling asleep would be hard. Passing out seemed like a welcoming solution to temporarily be released from everything. The blood loss made him light in the head too, or was it something else? He did try not to move too much because he felt like throwing up with only the smallest nudge. Alex’s response was enough for Dio to believe they’d have liquor. He’d steal it from a shop if he had to. Dio didn’t care that drinking would be the stupidest thing he could do right now.
Despite his best efforts, he did nod off while Alex was away. Thankfully he wasn’t sleeping deep so he woke up once he heard footsteps. Blinking with his sleepy eyes, he pretended to have been awake the whole time. Dio sighed at the sight of the potion but for once he didn’t argue. He downed it and looked back at his friend. “Happy now? Do I get a sticker?” He shook his head and gave his buddy a rare smile. “He needs it more than I do. I’ll be fine. Thanks for letting me crash here, you’re a real friend,” he said as he leaned over to give the Ravenclaw a brotherly hug when suddenly he felt pressure from his stomach coming up. “SHIT, get a bucket,” he said trying to swallow it back with all his might. ALEXANDER McCARTHY,
5'11 | dangerous outside soft inside | single | hetroflexible
Post by ALEXANDER McCARTHY on Jan 10, 2020 10:47:23 GMT
Alexander wasn't perturbed by the honorific of "auntie", he was well-aware of his mothering type behaviour. When Dio turned up like this, it was par for the course anyway. He watched with a critical eye as Dio downed the potion and then gave a tight smile in return. It was good to see his Slytherin friend do something productive for his own health. "Only if I can find one, I don't keep them on hand." He responded wryly, before giving a nod. "We'll see about that. I can still take you to St Mungos if you'd prefer there instead of possibly bleeding out here?" His tone pushy, but his eyes were gentle. "You better not forget this," He muttered, sure that in their next argument that Dio would indeed forget about the fall out of his mother's actions, that Alex had been there to pick up the pieces.
If Alex had realised the boy was reaching over for a hug, he would have stopped him. The Ravenclaw's eyes widened with panic as he tried to follow Dio's instruction to find a bucket. He darted over to the bathroom, taking the bin and racing it back to Dio. Alex really didn't want to be cleaning vomit by hand- nor did he want Dio to vomit up the potion he'd just been given. "This isn't a good sign, you shouldn't be nauseous and vomiting, right?" Worry swirled in his stomach. Maybe...he should contact a healer. Someone who knew what they were doing.
