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!
The camp was half-destroyed, the absence of the missing pack members deeply obvious. Verandi, imprisoned; Teresa, a traitor; and Vaughn--a corpse in the ground.
It had only been short months since Rue had come across her cousin for the first time in her life, and now he was gone, along with the fierce little woman who had taught her to fight, along with the woman who had seemed so loyal that she'd broken her own brother out of his imprisonment in the hospital.
She ran her fingers over the seal on the envelope that she had found in her bedroll after it all, the one with her name on the front in handwriting that she now knew was Vaughn's. It was taking time for her to work up the courage to see what was inside, after all that had happened--what would he be saying to her from beyond the grave? Would he be trying to convince her to leave, again, when the pack was at its weakest? Would it break her heart to read his words when she knew she would never see him again?
But she had to be brave. Wolves are brave.
Breaking the seal with her thumb, Rue pulled the parchment out slowly, looking around the tent suspiciously as if someone would have entered without her noticing. She took a deep breath, flipping open the letter.
If you're reading this letter, I'm dead.
Pain pierced her heart again, but she forced herself to continue.
I bit you.
Rue's hands trembled, startled by the revelation. Him? Caring Vaughn, who taught her to hunt and chatted with her by the fire? She supposed it couldn't be too surprising. She, too, knew what it was like to be a wolf, to lose her mind in the hunt, in the silver light of the moon. But she hadn't known...
What the Trossachs are doing, what I was doing this whole time is wrong.
There it was. Asking her one more time, like he'd done before he'd gone to the Ministry, to leave them. She knew it was coming, somehow. The conversation had been emotional, tears in Rue's eyes as she asked him how he could possibly believe that the Ministry would keep her safe.
Because he'd promised to keep her safe. And it had gotten him killed.
Tears filled Rue's eyes, blurring the words on the parchment, but she kept reading, needing to read his words to the end.
I know you won’t agree with my views right now, but I hope that someday you understand why I did this. I care for you, little songbird.
Droplets fell onto the parchment, Rue's grip crinkling the sides of the page. She forced herself to relax, not wanting to ruin Vaughn's last letter. With shaking hands, she folded it, tucking it back into the envelope, and sliding it inside her pillowcase. Nobody would find it--she'd keep it. As a memory. As a reminder.
You say you don't want a revolution, Vaughn. But how else can I honor what you did for me?
I want to explain why you’re here today, reading this letter. I bit you. I was the one who turned you into a werewolf. And I am so, so incredibly sorry. Back then, I was very angry with the world, and I believed Verandi that turning people was the right way to go, that it was the only way to make them see that we deserve to be treated better.
But it is one thing turning an adult human, and a completely different thing to turn a child. I don’t want you to think I’m calling you weak. You’ve probably got more guts than anyone else in that camp, including me, but a 13-year-old cannot be expected to be able to defend themselves against werewolf out of his mind.
The next morning I didn’t even know that I had turned someone. There were several of us down in Devon that night, and I could scarcely remember arriving in your town before sunset, even less anything that transpired after. You know how it is.
A few months later, though, I realized what I had done. I had harmed a child. Someone who, perhaps, hadn’t even formed an opinion about werewolves yet. Caused more pain than a child should ever even know exists.
Nobody should know such pain as werewolves do, not child, nor adult. What the Trossachs are doing, what I was doing this whole time is wrong. We aren’t going to heal any wounds if we just keep tearing them open over and over again with each attack. We should be encouraging the development of a new cure, or ways to make sure we get at least a little wolfsbane every month. Not spill blood in a doomed attempt at a revolution.
That’s why I went to the Ministry. To offer them my help in stopping Verandi from doing any more harm. But I didn’t help them for free. I only agreed when they made sure that you would be safe and wouldn’t be prosecuted. If I were still alive, any charges you would be facing would be mine. Since I am dead… I don’t know what will happen. But if they break their promises, then they’re no better than the Trossachs, and I don’t know who you can trust anymore.
I know you won’t agree with my views right now, but I hope that someday you understand why I did this. I care for you, little songbird.
