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 ASTRID SØRENSEN on Jan 18, 2020 0:30:05 GMT
Flitting around her 'office' a.k.a. her classroom, Astrid was using a good old fashioned muggle watering can to tend to her plant babies - it just made things feel so much more organic that way - and humming beneath her breath as she did so. "You're getting so big, dude," she commented as she tended to her ficus lyrata which sat nearby the window.
When a knock at the door frame covered with a flimsy curtain sounded a few moments later, Astrid raised her head in surprise. Shoot, had she lost track of the time again? A simple glance on her clock told her no, and besides... it was a Friday afternoon. She'd finished classes for the week, there were no more students to arrive for lessons.
"Hello? Just push open the curtain, man. What's up? Here for a chat?" she asked, placing her watering can down on one of the students tables before moving back towards her desk and planting her bottom on the chair. She never usually sat at her desk, preferring to sit on top of it, or move about during her lessons... so it was going to be interesting to see how long she endured the uncomfortable wooden chair.
and i'm calling for my mother/as i pull the pillars down
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Post by NADEZHDA KAREVA on Jan 19, 2020 2:48:22 GMT
"You've got plants." Naturally, it was the first thing Nadya noticed as she pushed the curtain open. The only place she usually saw so many of them was in the greenhouse, though she was certain that when she finally made it home from school that she would be able to fill her bedroom with them again. She moved further into the classroom, brushing her finger against one of the plants, one she recognized as having simple waxy leaves, even if she'd never been in the room before. Never before had she had any reason to visit the Divination professor. She had been more concerned with Care of Magical Creatures when it had come time to pick classes long ago. It was only that Astrid had found her in the woods that night, the only thing that had stood between her and freedom.
She hoped they didn't regret taking her back--neither of them.
But it was hard to be certain of that. Back then the laws had only been targeting werewolves, which was bad enough, but now--now, even if she hadn't heard too much about it, being at school, it was legal to discriminate against all creatures. It hurt her, deep inside, that her own Papa had somehow let it go through, that he hadn't fought harder for her and her sisters, who he'd always wanted to protect more than anything. For once, she'd wanted him to put that somewhere useful.
And he hadn't.
So what was the future supposed to hold? There was nobody better to ask than the Divination professor, right? Perhaps she hadn't been taking the class, but she was sure there was something small she could learn while here, just to know a little more.
"You said you were here to listen. In January. I remembered, that's why I'm here. I want to know how to see something about the future."
Post by ASTRID SØRENSEN on Jan 20, 2020 2:50:48 GMT
"I do. A lot of them. The only babies I ever plan on having - well, beside cat babies, of course," Astrid said with a nod, eyeing Nadezhda as the girl drifted into the room, lightly touching her plants. The sight made her smile - it was always nice to see a student appreciative of nature, and the way Nadezhda was handling her plants was with respect. "Are you a green thumb yourself, Nadezhda? Herbology was one of my favourite subjects as a student."
"I still am here to listen. Promise. No judgement here." Whatever it was, she wasn't going to freak out... and she still vividly remembered that night in the forest, the way Nadezhda had been clutching so tightly at a tree with her breathing heavy and uneven. She remembered the paranoia that had rolled off the blonde in waves, and the way her heckles had been risen. Seeing someone like that... in that state... it made Astrid's heart ache back then, and even now.
The question about the future had Astrid pausing because... not everyone was so open to Divination, nor did they like that it was so 'wishy washy.' "You're... I'm going to say that you're a non-seer. There's plenty of ways you can learn to see the future, but it's kind of... it's not always going to be accurate or successful, given you weren't born a seer, and learning takes time as it does with any other sort of magic."
and i'm calling for my mother/as i pull the pillars down
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Post by NADEZHDA KAREVA on Jan 25, 2020 3:16:38 GMT
It sounded sad, Nadya thought, to never want children. She supposed it was a thing amongst professors--more of them seemed not to have children than to have them--but it seemed one of those things she was destined not to understand. Perhaps it was just that she wanted more people like her in the world. Having grown up with a distinct independent streak, keen at spotting all the ways she wasn't like her classmates, maybe it was only natural to want someone like herself in the next generation.
"You don't want them? Not even to teach them to be better than the current generations are?" The question was honest. Nadya couldn't help but reach out and brush another plant, this one with velvety leaves. "Herbology is my favorite subject. Always has been. Plants tend to be more in tune with the earth than humans are."
She sighed, sitting down at one of the little tables in order not to feel quite so much like she was looking down on the professor. "I don't think I ever have seen the future, no, although you'll have to ask my roommates if I make prophecies in my sleep." Maybe it was something she should have tried more often--Nadya supposed it was never quite too late to start. It may have been her last few weeks of schooling, but there was so much to be learned outside the castle, she knew. "I only wanted to know if there was a way to tell my career prospects. I'm--nervous. For reasons I hope you would know about."
Post by ASTRID SØRENSEN on Jan 25, 2020 10:30:06 GMT
"I'll teach the next generation that passes through school," Astrid said with an easy smile. In truthfulness, the reason she didn't want children was because the idea of having children who may be seers? It wasn't something she'd wish upon them. There was a constant air of disbelief when Astrid mentioned her gift to others - the idea of people thinking she was a liar was a hard potion to swallow when she was younger - and there was also just... a misunderstanding of how being a seer worked. People expected prophecies on cue, for her to predict something as they demanded, but it didn't happen like that. But worse than that was prophesisng things that were cryptic and that you couldn't stop and dealing with the guilt afterwards. It weighed as heavy as the stone lining the castle walls. "I'll make a really cool aunt someday though, if my brothers or sisters decide to have babies. I dunno if they will but hey, their body, their choice."
When Nadezhda revealed that she was here to figure out her career prospects, Astrid nodded contemplatively. "I heard about creature refusal legislation. It's not right, man," she said with a shake of her head. Discriminating against any creature was just plain wrong in her mind. "I guess... well. I can't tell you what the right path is, I don't know what's going to be introduced in the future, but what I can tell you is that there's jobs out there that are lot more relaxed when it comes to legislation. You could always become a herbologist? Specialise in plants, growing and cultivating them, studying them if you wish... or you could maybe become a magizoologist if you like working with magical creatures?'
and i'm calling for my mother/as i pull the pillars down
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Post by NADEZHDA KAREVA on Jan 26, 2020 0:38:20 GMT
"I suppose that's a noble goal to have." Perhaps Astrid would teach Scarlett's child someday, Nadya thought, although she didn't mention it. She wasn't sure just how many professors were actually aware of the situation. As far as she could tell, most people only thought her best friend seemed a little more ill and tired than usual. She was impressed at how well Scarlett had mastered the glamour spell she used--Nadya didn't think she could have kept up magic like that for so long, but then again, the other girl had usually been a bit better at school things than she had.
Which was another worry for the future--but with exams happening in just a few weeks, it was too late to do much about that now. There were other worries now, anyway.
"It isn't right, of course, but as usual, nobody's stepped up to make any protest." Nadya frowned, leaning an arm on the table. "Not even my Papa. He says he cares about us more than anything else, but he doesn't use his position to change anything." She would never stop loving the man who had raised her for her entire life, but she could certainly be angry with him. "I would love to do something on my own like that, but you tell me who's actually going to pay someone to sit around and poke at plants all day. Besides, I want to do something that helps people." The way Toby had looked so rough every time she'd met up with him floated in her mind.
Post by ASTRID SØRENSEN on Jan 27, 2020 0:30:08 GMT
"Perhaps there are more people raising issues behind the scenes then you think... just because nobody's screaming and splashing on the pages of the Daily Prophet doesn't mean they're staying silent," Astrid mused aloud, before a small smile tweaked at her lips as Nadya asked who would pay her to fiddle around with plants. "Lots of people - those who need certain ingredients for potions, for example. There's certain plants that -"
In the middle of her sentence, Astrid stopped talking abruptly and her eyes glazed over, unfocused. Voice as deep as an ocean, the complete opposite of her usual voice that was as light and airy as clouds in the sky, she began to speak, "A babe born to those of red and white, cursed by the sun and moon, will be brought into this world and taken by those who seek it's father's end. They must be saved."
As soon as the word 'saved' had been pushed out from between her lips, Astrid's entire body went pliant in her chair, her eyes rolling backwards before closing entirely. A few seconds later, her body jerked with force and she sat upright once more, blinking at Nadezhda. "Sorry, I -" Had she fallen asleep? Maybe the chamomile tea from earlier had finally kicked in? "As you were saying..."
and i'm calling for my mother/as i pull the pillars down
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Post by NADEZHDA KAREVA on Jan 30, 2020 3:42:08 GMT
If there were people working behind the scenes, it wasn't doing much, Nadya thought. And every single protest she knew about seemed to be incurring the Ministry's wrath far more than its understanding. Why was it so obvious for her to see that the attack at the ball, the attack at the hospital, had been acts of desperation, a cry for help, and yet they saw it as more reason to crack down? It was possible that they were simply stupid, but Nadya was inclined to believe that they knew exactly how much their policies hurt.
She opened her mouth to start saying as such, but just as she was about to begin, the professor's eyes went blank, her body still as she started to speak in a voice far rougher than she had ever heard from her. Nadya sat frozen in place, not sure if she should try to shake her out of the trance, or if it would pass on its own.
A babe... red and white. Nadya's eyes narrowed as she listened to the words, the wheels turning in her mind. It could be ambiguous, certainly; but Nadya had only ever known one person with the name Scarlett Bianchi, the one who'd been sleeping in the bed next to hers for seven years. The room was warm, but she felt chilled, worry creeping into her body yet again, for an entirely different reason this time.
Getting up and moving over to Astrid, who seemed to have broken out of it, shaking her head in confusion, Nadya placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to force it not to shake. "Astrid. Tell me. You're a real Seer, aren't you? Tell me what it means, what you just said."
Post by ASTRID SØRENSEN on Feb 1, 2020 1:28:17 GMT
Nadezhda was mere inches away from her, and Astrid blinked up at her foggily. "I am a real seer," she said slowly, before shaking her head once more. What she had just said? What did she mean? She'd fallen asleep, or... but then it all clicked into place like interlocking puzzle pieces and her eyes widened. "I don't remember. Last time - I didn't remember either." And Merlin, didn't that create a pit of despair in her stomach, recalling the last time she'd had a prediction. "What did I say?
All she could hope... was that this time, she could decipher it. The last time, her and her grandmother hadn't been so lucky. They'd worked all night, trying to figure it out and stop it, but they hadn't gotten there in time. The next morning, a memorial for the fallen students at Hogwarts was splashed all over the front of the Daily Prophet - the one she had unknowingly predicted. The photographs of the innocent victims, the children, burned into her mind, demanding to know why she hadn't stopped this from happening... Astrid had wound up screaming and wailing and committed involuntarily to St. Mungos.
and i'm calling for my mother/as i pull the pillars down
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Post by NADEZHDA KAREVA on Feb 7, 2020 4:13:49 GMT
"You don't remember." Nadya's eyes narrowed. Some use that power was, if Astrid couldn't even remember what she predicted. So it was only herself that knew, only her who could figure out what was going to happen. "I think you were talking about my friend. That something's going to happen to her." But I can't say exactly what it was, a voice in her head reminded her, one that sounded suspiciously like Scarlett's voice begging her to keep the secret. How could she tell the professor what she'd said without revealing everything? They were almost free from this school; she couldn't betray her friend's trust now. No, it was her knowledge to keep safe.
She was sure she seemed oddly quiet, but if Astrid asked, Nadya resolved herself to ask the professor what her problem was. Instead, she turned the problem over in her mind. If she needed to keep Scarlett safe, what should she do? Where, where in this country was safe? If it was herself, she would leave, she would disappear into the forest, somewhere unknown, where nobody could simply Apparate in and threaten her.
But she had veela blood. That would be natural to her, she was certain. Not so much for Scarlett. There was Hogwarts, always said to be the safest place in Britain, yet there was nothing about the castle that spelled security for a werewolf's child, Nadya knew. She needed to know more, to figure out what she had to do.
"You really don't know what you said? Nothing at all?"
Post by ASTRID SØRENSEN on Feb 11, 2020 10:20:29 GMT
"No, I don't," Astrid said easily, shaking her head. It would be good if she could, there were some seers out there who remembered their prophecies vividly, but... based on the two big ones she'd had, she didn't fall into the category - or perhaps she did, when there wasn't another soul present to hear what the prophecy said. It was hard to know based on the fact she'd only experienced a prophecy twice in her twenty-six years.
"Which friend? What did I say specifically? Nadezhda, you need to tell me please. It's important." Because Merlin forbid that she didn't know what her own prophecy said. "It may not be as clear as it seems - they're not always easy to decipher, and things can become misinterpreted." If they were easy as pie to figure out... then the whole Hogwarts attack wouldn't have happened in the first place, she would have been able to stop it in it's tracks and warn someone, but it had just been so vague.
Nadezhda was questioning whether she truly didn't recall what she'd said, and once again... Astrid shook her head because no. No, she did not.
and i'm calling for my mother/as i pull the pillars down
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Post by NADEZHDA KAREVA on Feb 12, 2020 18:15:25 GMT
"No. I can't." Nadya's voice was firm, even as she answered perhaps too fast. "It's a secret that I promised to keep. If you don't know, I can't tell you." Astrid had been kind to her on every occasion she'd talked to her so far, but she wasn't someone Nadya knew well. And she was a professor for Hogwarts, which was technically run by the Ministry, and that in itself was enough to make her pause. She would never forgive herself if something she said put Scarlett and Teddy and their child in danger, not when she'd made a promise not to tell.
Because who would be seeking Teddy's end? It could be more than a few people, and it made Nadya want to hide her best friend away with ten locks on the door like her own Papa would do if he was afraid. And the first thing that came to her mind was the Aurors, the power-hungry law enforcers, and her mind went back to that night in the forest, the deep anger she'd felt that they were sending one of them to look over all their shoulders, the fear for all her family and friends. Would she put it past Grimblehawk to steal a baby for herself? A wild accusation, she knew, but she'd heard the prophecy.
"It's just that she's in danger. I can't misinterpret that," Nadya said. "I'll keep her with me. I'll do what it takes. You don't have to worry, I'll do it."
