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!
And while you are sitting indoors waiting for the storm to pass I will be outside dancing in the rain
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Ollie was still not feeling so well after the lesson, she never even talked about the accident and now she was confronted by it and everyone in her class saw it happen. The girl's hair was black like her mood and she wiped some tears away as she thought about how to face people again in the morning.
Ollie was curled up in a chair, holding onto a pillow as she stared into the fire. Maybe she shouldn't go to class, call in sick. Ollie heard people come in, back from the dinner and she just sat there, ignoring the lot of them.
What a horrible class. As if the teenage years were humiliating enough with voice cracks, pimples galore (despite a strict skin care regimen), raging hormones and occasional nocturnal accidents... no, now all of his classmates knew his family’s dirty laundry to boot. Of course no one would have been surprised to see his boggart was his brother... but Cassidy’s was shameful to say the least.
As he strode through the passage ways and down the stairs, the disgruntled Puff kicked an ancient suit of armour and it rattled violently; as if it were about to crumble from the mistreatment. Oh well!, Gabriel was sure the reparo charm would do the trick should the worst happen. After a moment, the metal settled and Gabriel travelled the rest of the way to the common room.
Gabriel wasn’t paying too much attention to anything really except... by the fireplace he noticed his housemate, his crush, curled up and rather... tragic. Taking a brief second to glance in a shiny surface, he made sure his hair was straight and his tie also before he swiftly closed the distance between them.
”Hey Olivia,” he said as he rested a hip against the back of an arm chair casually, ”I didn’t see you at dinner. Are you ok?”
And while you are sitting indoors waiting for the storm to pass I will be outside dancing in the rain
❧
Ollie hated being a sad puppy but the class really shook her up and she watched so many be upset about it. Viola was so sweet offering chocolate but Ollie really needed to cuddle with someone and her parents weren't here.
The girl looked up when she heard a voice and eyed the handsome boy that is Gabriel. She always thought he was handsome and she often blushed in his presence, like now. He asked her a simple question and Ollie just nodded slowly.
"The class really didn't make me feel so good, I wasn't hungry." she didn't even think he'd notice her not being there.
"I'm sorry that I wasn't at dinner, are you alright?" she asked him softly and bit her lip. Would he be up for cuddling or would that just be weird?
"I wasn't even sure you'd know my name.." she said with a bigger blush.
"I don't think the class left many of us in the happiest of places," Gabriel replied softly as Olivia spoke of how she felt after it. "I can only imagine how horrid it would be to face a boggart outside a classroom, though. Where we are all relatively safe. At least now... now we all know we are able to face them, that we won't die from fright," he supplied with a small smile. He moved closer then, when he was asked if he were ok.
"I'm alright, thank you Olivia," he said softly. "As long as you have a good breakfast tomorrow. Did you ask the matron for a calming draught for this evening? It might help. Of course I know your name, Olivia. I'm not completely brain dead," he said with a light laugh as he sat down in the chair next to her. "And that you sit in the third row, second chair from the left in History of Magic.."
And while you are sitting indoors waiting for the storm to pass I will be outside dancing in the rain
❧
Ollie never truly talked to Gabriel before, he was a handsome rich boy who seemed to be way out of her league. Then again Ollie never really looked at anyone romantically. The girl had cheeks as red as tomatoes by now and she barely felt like Gabriel even noticed. The boy made her feel weird and she didn't know what was happening to her.
Ollie made some room for him to sit with her and the girl nodded. "I am sorry I didn't notice your boggart.." she felt a bit guilty here because she couldn't support him the way he tried to support her which wasn't bad but she felt bad.
"I haven't asked her, she was pretty busy as it is. I figured just some snuggles with a blanket would do the trick." she admitted though if she could she'd look up Grace and snuggle her friend but she couldn't find her.
"It's just.." she swallowed a lump. "I didn't even realize that." she chuckled a bit embarrassed and chewed on her lip before offering some blankets. "Want to sit with me?" She asked gently.
"If you want you can sit with me in classes. I don't bite."
"Did you know how cute you are when you blush, Olivia?" Gabriel said with a grin as he took her offer to sit next to her. "You don't have to apologise - the less people that see my deepest, darkest fear the better," the young man said with a chuckle. "Do you want to talk about what yours.. is about? It's ok if you don't want to." He didn't want to press the issue, but he did want to... be there for her.
"If you'd like, I can give you a hug? Gem usually says I'm pretty good at it," he said as he opened his arm to her. Merlin, if his brother saw him now he'd never hear the end of it... but sitting hear with Ollie so emotionally vulnerable was... nice. "I appreciate the invitation.. what about your friends? Wouldn't you prefer to keep sitting with them in class?" She was a happy, popular girl and Gabe didn't want to rock any boats. "Maybe … maybe, if you'd like we could have lunch some time? Out near the lake..?"
And while you are sitting indoors waiting for the storm to pass I will be outside dancing in the rain
❧
Ollie chewed on her bottom lip as Gabriel talked to her, the way he said her name sent shivers down her spine and she liked it. The girl giggled a bit when he called her cute and rubbed her cheek as if she tried to rub off the red blush that decorated them.
"I am?" she somehow just felt both nervous and comfortable around him. It was nice and exciting. "Mine is... well my parents died when I was four in a car crash, I managed to survive but they didn't." she said softly and rubbed the back of her neck.
"I don't remember much, just the headlights.." when Gabriel offered a hug she lit up. Ollie loved hugs and whether people often liked it or not, her hugs were meant to cheer people up and she was sure his were too!
Ollie nodded and slowly moved closer to hug him. It was nice, his arms were strong and she loved the way he smelled. Was that weird? "Anyone can sit with me in classes, I don't mind." she told him and bit her lip a bit more.
"Oh I love that, at the lake?" she never really had lunch at the lake but it did sound good. "It sounds like fun! Should I bring anything?" Olivia was still in his arms and just felt really comfortable in them.
Gabriel simply nodded in reply as Olivia moved to ... rub her cheeks? Gabriel watched with curiosity, though he couldn’t for the life of him understand why she was doing so. His smooth features wrinkled into a worried expression though as Ollie began to explain what her boggart had represented. Headlights from an incoming car, Gabriel had very limited exposure to the muggle contraptions but the fact that her parents died in one was horrible. Gabriel wrapped his arms around the other student in a comforting hug, pressing his cheek against the top of her forehead. Her hair smelled lovely, he noted.
”I am sorry for your loss, Olivia. I... I know the pain all too well,” he murmured. Though it was a long time ago now, Gabe had lost his parents (yes, he had lost his biological father then too, in his stubborn mind)... and then lost his aunt recently, who was for all intents and purposes his mother for a decent part of the decade. ”That’s probably for the best, really,” Gabe decided. It really wouldn’t do for the poor girl to remember her parents lifeless, let alone possibly maimed and/or in the process of dying.
”I’ll see what I can do; though I don’t know if I can tempt fate and leave my brother to his own devices in class,” Gabe half joked, as if he had any ability to keep his twin in check. At least he could elbow him roughly in the side if he decided to nap - if anyone else tried they’d probably get a black eye for their troubles. ”All you’ll need to bring to the lake is your beautiful self,” Gabe said with a wide half smile, as half his face could barely move from being pressed against her head.
And while you are sitting indoors waiting for the storm to pass I will be outside dancing in the rain
❧
It was so hard not to think of his hug, how he was still holding her in a comforting way even when they were not even as close as Ollie might want them to be. She thought he was beautiful in so many ways but she didn't think he'd notice someone like her. She was just another silly hufflepuff girl wasn't she? Ollie looked at him as he told her he knew how she felt and she felt so bad for him right there and then.
"I am sorry for your loss too, I am happy you have your family as well to support you." she knew he had a brother and cousins in school and he seemed very attached to the professor so she was positive he was in good hands. Him being able to understand how she felt, knowing the feeling could only mean he suffered a loss of his own, it was logic.
"Your brother looks tough!" she chuckled and just snuggled up to him more, it just felt.. nice. "Do you cuddle a lot? You're really good at it." she said with a blush on her cheeks. "I mean.. you don't have to answer that if you don't want to." she added quickly, a bit more nervous as she said it.
"My beautiful self? I can do that!" she chuckled slightly and chewed on her bottom lip. "Do you go out on picnics a lot?"
As he held Ollie in his arms, Gabe found himself gently stroking her back. He paused after a few moments realising that was a rather... familiar thing to be doing, considering it was their first time sitting together like this. "That's very kind Olivia. I am very lucky to have my family close - it was a surprise when my father took a position here," Gabriel said with an indulgent chuckle. "I guess it shouldn't have been, really, given that my cousin was murdered in the werewolf attack and just how... protective.. he can be." Graham had good reason to be protective though, so Gabriel appreciated that he was looking out for the family.
"Are you related to all the Jones kids? I feel there's just as many Joneses as there are Averys… and that's saying something," Gabriel asked just as Ollie commented on his 'tough' brother. Gabriel choked out a laugh, "I'd tell him that except it'd probably make his head even bigger than it already is!" When asked if he cuddled a lot, Gabe's dark eyes widened because... he'd never been asked that before. "I'm a big brother, so yeah I have a bit of experience cuddling," he said finally, squeezing Ollie a little tighter before he sat back.
"No, I don't go out on picnic dates very often at all. I never really had any interest in doing so, until now."
Ollie was actually looking forward to the picnic even if that sounded a little odd since she never really went to picnics with boys before. Gabriel had been super kind to her and she didn't want it to go away. The girl pursed her lips and laughed a bit when he mentioned her own siblings. Oh yes there are so many of them, it felt like every day another joined the family. Honestly she was so proud of her parents and how caring they are, how much they do for her and the others.
"There are a lot of them but some are family, some are not. I believe it is a very common surname perhaps." she chuckled. "We are all adopted, I believe you'll be familiar with my brothers and my younger sisters more than the older siblings." Ollie bit her lip. "There is David, he is a writer and in Ravenclaw, Clary is in Gryffindor, Mia is the youngest and she is in our house and of course Suzie one of the only Slytherins." she blushed a bit at her rambling.
"My parents took the Reid siblings in last summer." she added and eyed Gabriel. "Do you like your other relatives?" she then eyed his wider eyes and her blush only grew bigger. Was her face turning red soon?
"Oh of course. Gemini is the little sister right?" she had seen her about before and she was in most of their classes too.
"Well I sure hope ours will be fun! I never go out on picnics either."
”Yes, I do believe that ‘Jones’ is one of the most common surnames here, yes. Along with Avery and Smith,” Gabriel said with a decisive nod. ”Is it hard, having that many ‘siblings’ around? Your parents must be very well off to have adopted so many of you..” of course, Gabriel had no real idea but he Imagined children were expensive. He was lucky that the Avery family were well-enough off.
”I .. yes, I know the siblings here,” Gabriel had caught himself when he almost said what he really thought of those she listed. David had the most vacant stare that he’d ever seen on a person. He’d honestly wondered if there were any brain activity happening some days - whereas Clarissa seemed to have stolen all of David’s brain activity, stirred in a bit of ecstasy and added the sound of a squealing howler monkey just to make Gabriel’s ears bleed. Suzie seemed tolerable and Gabriel had nothing much to do with the baby of the lot, Mia. ”Who is your favourite? ... are there any that you are biologically related to?”
Then Ollie spoke of how the parents had taken in the Reid siblings. Gabriel paused in his breathing because that meant... that meant that Ollie’s family just casually invited a werewolf into their home. ”The Reids? Isn’t one of them a wolf?” there was concern in his voice and it was hard to mask it because ... well having had two members of his family murdered by werewolves now, it was understandable that he wasn’t at all pleased. ”Yes, I love all of my family. Even my cousin who was murdered by wolves and haunts Hogwarts. Gem’s my little sister, yes. She’s a cutie.”
There was a smile as Gabriel heard Ollie’s excitement from the the picnic idea. ”I will send you a note on a day where the sun is shining and the weather not too chilly. You know how easily the weather changes here so it’s better to be a little spontaneous.”
The subject of werewolves has been a sensitive one among many of the people here. Of course Ollie didn't really understand their fear as much because she never met any werewolves that weren't kind and monsterous. But she could understand Gabriel's concern, it was only natural with the news items and the bad things happening with the wolves involved. That didn't make them all bad though did it? Ollie didn't think so but she wasn't going to press her opinion on him. Instead she just nodded and smiled a bit.
"He never shows up at home, I believe he lives far from everyone to keep them safe. We just have Morgan and Skylar with us." she said softly. "My parents are well, so are my grandparents. My grandfather is a very good psychologist and my grandmother bakes the most delicious cookies." Ollie was having a good time, she felt like she was really getting to know him.
"Oh I don't have biological siblings, it's just me." she blushed a bit. She wished she had a biological sibling but she sadly didn't. Ollie reached out to touch a lock of gabriel's hair, it was made out of gold it seemed and she was a little mesmerized by them.
"I can't wait until that sunny day. I do really like you." she pulled her hand back and just gave him a bright smile.