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!
Vinda was... she was losing it, plain and simple, and as she burst into the unused classroom on her left, she finally had somewhere safe to do. She wasn't going to make it back to her dorm in time, not without someone seeing the tears threatening to track their way down her cheeks, and she couldn't... she couldn't risk that. Nobody could see her in a moment of weakness, that simply would not do. She preferred to have her moments of breakdown in private.
Stumbling down to the desk at the front of the room, Vinda's fingers curled around the wooden top, gripping it in an attempt to brace herself, to get some much needed stability because Salazar only knew that her life was anything but stable right now. She didn't have any control over it either and it felt like slowly but surely, it was unraveling in front of her eyes like a piece of yarn being toyed with by a cat.
Letting out a soft hiss under her breath, along with a string of inventive French curse words, Vinda completely missed the sound of the doorknob being jiggled. Normally, she wouldn't leave an unlocked door up to chance, but she'd been so focused on getting into the safe haven of the empty classroom in the first place that charming the door shut was the last thing on her mind.
Wolfgang was walking through the fourth floor corridor, hands running through his slightly messed up hair, trying to pat it down. He'd been to the library to return a few books, and somehow he hadn't grabbed his trusty satchel with him, so there was no hair-gel to fix the situation on the top of his head. It had grown out rather rapidly in the last few days, a fact that puzzled him immensely... But perhaps Isobel would like his natural curls? Yes, he inherited them from his father, but Isobel had told him that his background meant nothing to her, so perhaps... Perhaps the hair could stay?
His pondering over such details was interrupted rather abruptly at the sight of one Vinda Selywn rushing towards him, covering her face and ducking into one of the unused classrooms in the hallway. There was no one pursuing her, so, naturally, Wolfgang was curious -- what had gotten into the usually so proper and right Slytherin?
He slowed down his step, making sure his leather shoes weren't clicking against the stone floor and approached the door. To his surprise, Vinda hadn't locked it. Carefully, he opened it in a small gap, holding his breath and listening to any sounds she'd make.
There was hissing and some speaking. Wolfgang didn't understand the words, but that didn't matter. What mattered was the her voice -- shaky and alarmed. Vinda Selwyn was about to cry in an abandoned classroom, with Wolfgang as her only witness.
This situation held so much blackmail potential that, be it any other person, or even a few months prior, Wolfgang would have wanted to exclaim 'Yes!'. But Vinda was Isobel's friend, hell, Wolfgang would go so far as to claim that they were best friends. And if he knew his girlfriend at all, then she wouldn't take kindly to Vinda being swept up in the Hogwarts rumor mill.
He had only one other choice -- help avert Vinda's social suicide. Of course, the easiest way would be to just close and lock the door for her and pretend he never saw anything, but Wolfgang wouldn't be Wolfgang if he didn't try to get something out of it. Instead, he slipped into the room, closing the door behind him and muttering the locking spell before leaning against the wall, his hands crossed over his chest.
"Has O'Keeffe dedicated yet another of his speeches to you?"
MADE BY VEL OF GS, WW + ADOX 2.0
1.75m (5'9")| Open relationship with ISOBEL LINWOOD | Bisexual | English
With her hands clutching the wooden top of the desk, Vinda tried her best to steady herself and not burst into tears or hysterical laughter because what the fuck was her life right now? She had no idea, and she despised that. She hated not having power in general - she always, always wanted to be in control - and losing any semblance of power over her own life was near unbearable. Breathing hard through her nose, Vinda only just managed not to scream when a voice sounded from behind her. Who the...
After giving herself a chance to gather her composure whilst facing the desk, training her features into the best neutral expression she could muster, Vinda turned around to see Wolfgang. Isobel's beau, and someone who she considered to be somewhat of her standing even if he wasn't a pureblood. Those with full magical blood were rare these days anyway, so she'd grown to accept the company of anyone except mudbloods and creatures.
"The day I step into his classroom again is the day I say that Arthur Longbottom has the potential to score more than a menial job in life, Wolfgang, and we both know that's never going to happen. It would mean he'd need to achieve more than all trolls on his NEWTs, for starters," she bit out, words haughty. Vinda failed to mention that she was actually forbidden to enter the classroom in the first place, but she paid that piece of information no mind. Even if she was allowed in there, she wasn't about to subject herself to a man who spoke to his students like that. "Why are you here?"
Vinda was on the other side of the room, but Wolfgang could hear her heavy breathing from where he was standing. His fingers were digging into his own arms, squeezing the fabric of his white dress shirt. This was a rather uncomfortable situation, because he wasn't any good at comforting others, not that he ever found himself in such a situation. And Vinda wouldn't accept his comforting, or anyone's comforting at that. They were nothing to each other anyhow.
Yet he had locked the door behind him, not in front of his face. And now, when she was aware of his presence, he couldn't just leave.
The pride and arrogance she managed to show even when cornered like this... It was impressive. Wolfgang's mouth turned into his usual crooked smirk, and a short laugh left his mouth as he listened to her drag the older Longbottom through the mud -- though was it dragging if he already lived there, in the muck, like a pig ready for slaughter?
Why are you here?
"Well," he started, carefully considering his words, "for starters, you left the door open. Now, I don't make a habit on checking up on every person who is having a breakdown in an empty classroom, but I knew it was you. Wouldn't you agree it is better that I am here, and not, Longbottom, for example?"
"Isobel would kill me if I didn't do anything to save you from embarrassment," he continued, "And before you ask, yes, I could have just locked the door and left. Alas, I am too curious for my own good, so here we are."
MADE BY VEL OF GS, WW + ADOX 2.0
1.75m (5'9")| Open relationship with ISOBEL LINWOOD | Bisexual | English
Vinda drew a laugh from Wolfgang, something that didn't entirely catch her off-guard because he felt similarly about the Longbottoms, purely based on how he'd acted towards the sibling duo at the Spin the Bottle game. A game that the mere thought of instantly had fury surging beneath Vinda's skin because that night had not gone perfectly for her, mostly because of her own doing. For starters, she'd had to sit with her betrothed all night, cuddled up with him, to sell the fact that they were a couple... and then she'd damn near sabotaged her own act by sicking Arthur onto Willy and for... what? What purpose had her actions served in the long run? Absolutely zero, and that was a prime example of why Vinda rarely let her emotions - her confusing emotions - guide her actions. The whole event had blown up in her face.
"Do you make a habit of following people into abandoned classrooms, Wolfgang, or do you reserve that luxury for me?" The words had only just left Vinda's lips when he declared that he was checking up on her because she was having a breakdown. Immediately, Vinda's shoulders straightened and she smoothed down the front of her skirt. She didn't believe him, that he was acting out of concern for her well-being. "I was not having a breakdown, nor do I need you to come and rescue me from... what? Somebody seeing me breathe and hold a desk? For all you and everybody else could know, I could be having god-awful cramps from all this disgusting food that Hogwarts serves."
Was she being too defensive? Perhaps, but if it helped her save face then it was worth it. Another face-saving method Vinda had learned across the years was distraction too, and so she turned the conversation back onto him. "Or perhaps you were hoping to find somebody else in here entirely, one that engages in the sport of what you usually do in empty classrooms." It was no secret that Wolfgang got around - hell, at that party, he had practically announced to the room that he and Isobel were eager for a third to join them in their activities.
As expected, Vinda was a tough one to crack. Immediately retaliating, she came up with, in Wolfgang's mind, the most basic explanation for her obvious discomfort -- food. He couldn't help but to sigh and roll his eyes as she spoke. If it was the food, she'd have died of food poisoning several years ago. Bullshit.
"Sorry to disappoint, but I'd never approach you with the intention to bed you," he said, offering a smile that was both apologetic and a little mocking, "You've already got a boyfriend, and I don't make a habit of ruining other's relationships."
"And frankly, it is quite insulting to my intelligence that you think I would believe the cramps. I've had plenty of breakdowns in empty rooms, I know how it looks." A few months ago he would have never admitted, but being committed to being honest about his feelings to Isobel translated into other parts of his social life.
"It's obvious to me that you wouldn't accept any help from me, or from anyone else for that matter," he continued, sliding a hand through his hair, his eyes firmly looking into Vinda's, "I would offer to give the Unbreakable Vow of silence to hear what's made you so distressed, but that requires a third party and we both know you wouldn't agree to that either." He knew that if this episode made it out to the public, Vinda would find a way to sink right into the earth. This filled Wolfgang with confidence that whatever he said would stay between these four walls.
"So I'll leave you alone and pretend this never happened, but I do suggest you try and work through your issues in a more productive way than breakdowns. Talk it through with someone, or write your thoughts down before you have an O'Keeffe style blow-up at the most unfortunate moment."
He turned around, pointing his wand at the door handle and unlocking it. He placed his hand on it and was about to leave, when he spoke, his head turned to the side.
"And even if you don't see a way out, everyone can be dealt with one way... Or another." And with that he pushed the door open and disappeared into the hallway, leaving Vinda to her own devices.
For some reason,the fact that Wolfgang outright stated that he had no intention to ever bed her stung. Although she would have said no if he ever approached her with that suggestion on his lips, it... made her wonder if he, too, saw what she did ever morning in the mirror. If he noticed that her cheeks were too full, or her thighs were too big, or... that just some parts of her were out of proportion compared to the rest of her body. Did he find them as repulsive as she did? Swallowing the self-consciousness down, Vinda's voice was haughty as she replied, "I assure you, it's not a disappointment at all. I'm flooded with relief, as a matter of fact. Now I won't have to hurt your feelings by saying no."
The fact that Wolfgang was sharing with her that he had breakdowns too made Vinda look at him sharply, startled. Why was he sharing that with her? Was it to try and lull her into a false sense of security so she'd admit that yes, she too had moments of weakness? It wasn't going to work, and her lips parted to tell him as much but then he continued talking. "An Unbreakable Vow means nothing until it's made. I don't put my faith in promises that could wind up being empty. That's an insult to my intelligence."
As Wolfgang doled out some advise on how to deal with her own issues, talking at her instead of to her, Vinda shoulders straightened in a show of 'this isn't affecting me' when in reality, every word was hitting her over and over again. But the words that crawled beneath her skin the most were the ones that advised she find someone to talk to because who would that be exactly? Willy, who was part of the problem? Isobel, who would likely go and tell Wolfgang everything? Pierre, who had his own issues to deal with? There was nobody. Not a single soul she could lay out all of her problems to.
When the door clicked, signalling that Wolfgang had finally exited, Vinda let out a shuddery breath before wiping her eyes just in case any signs of wetness remained. Then she moved towards the door because it was nonsensical to stay in the classroom any longer. Wolfgang had interrupted her moment, and now instead of letting her emotions out as she'd intended, she'd bottled them back up and made sure she sealed them with a push of a cork so they wouldn't escape again.
