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 Latvian language did not have enough angry expletives to express Augusts' frustration as he walked through, what to him seemed like the same corridor, for the thousand time. He'd had time after dinner for a little more exploration, but somehow it was now most definitely several hours later, and he couldn't find his way back to the Grand Staircase to save his life. All these stone walls looked the same, all the paintings were landscapes, so, unless one of these damn horses could talk, there was no living -- or undead -- soul around to help him.
Defeated, Augusts' had taken out the last menthol tinged smoke from his packet and lit it using one of the torches on the wall. He knew it wasn't good to smoke indoors, but the thought of having to sleep on a bench devil knows where for an entire night wasn't making him exactly calm. Plus, judging by his luck so far, by the time he'd find his way out, the cig would be long gone.
But then, somewhere on the far end of the corridor, he spotted a moving light. Was it finally someone?
"Hey! Over here!" he yelled, his voice bouncing off the walls.
Late-night patrols were a common but draining duty that came with being a prefect. Alexander moved through the sixth floor with practised efficiency, his eyes alert and ears pricked for sounds. He was doing this one alone, because his patrol partner, one of the Slytherin prefects was stuck in the infirmary overnight. He could have asked another person to cover, but despite the eeriness of walking around the big castle alone- it was also peaceful—a time to ease his thoughts. There was the stupid argument with Aggy or the nasty cold shoulder from both Dio and Alex that he could dwell on. Maybe the fact his brother hadn't bothered to write to him like he had every other year when he arrived back at school. Alex huffed a little raising his wand to keep an eye on the stairs as he tiptoed up them. There'd been no one down in the sixth, like as people tended to favour the towers, but as he entered the seventh floor, he heard a noise.
The Ravenclaw hadn't expected to find anyone, especially because it was so close to the end of his rostered shift that he blinked blearily before following the footsteps. You couldn't be quiet in this castle, the stones held echoes, and Alexander was good at following his intuition. He waved his wand around before hearing the loud shout of someone- someone calling to him? He took a moment to process, the word and the heavy accent before coming to a realisation. This wasn't one of the Hogwarts kids; this was one of the Durmstrang students! There was a tiny glow across the hallway, and he followed until he could see the figure.
His mouth dropped in surprise, but he quickly covered it up with a bright smile. Although he hadn't interacted with Augusts much, they shared a dorm and his accent was unmistakable. "Augusts!" He replied, moving his wand so the Lumos would show his own features a little clearer. Alexander assumed that someone calling for him wasn't looking for trouble- or possible even knew that they were breaking any rules. "You know it's past curfew, right? Are you okay?"
The voice that answered him was one he'd already become accustomed to -- it was none other than one of his own dorm mates. They hadn't spoken much, but right now August felt like he's meeting a childhood friend.
"Alexander! I'm so glad to see you that I think I could kiss you!" he exclaimed, running towards the other boy, all the nerves he'd worked up in the last few hours, vanishing in an instant. When he reached the Hogwarts prefect, he took the cig out of his mouth and extinguished it against the wall, putting the rest of it back into his pocket. "Sorry about smoking indoors, know I shouldn't. I'm okay."
"After dinner I decided to have a walk, see what else Hogwarts had to offer. Went up the stairs, and I think at least one of the doors I passed through teleported me halfway across the school or, or... I don't know how this place works. Why don't you have maps? Do you just let first years into the halls and let them wander around like this, or, or does this castle hate intruders like me so much that it gets me lost?" His words might have been tinged with annoyance, but none of it was directed at his savior.
"What time is it, Alexander? I left at 8, and I've lost all sense of time and space out here. "
A laugh bubbled from Alexander's lips as Augusts claimed that he was so relieved that he could kiss Alex. "No one's stopping you." He teased, a smile lighting up his face. Alexander raised an eyebrow at the cigarette, wincing as the other boy put it out against the stone walls. The only reason he didn't chastise him was that he was very distracted by the words. "On second thoughts, I don't fancy the durry taste." He mused, scrunching his nose up as the smell wafted over to him. He was grateful that Augusts had the decency to put it out when he'd seen the prefect, so he shrugged off the apology.
After hearing how long the other boy had been wandering around for and shook his head, "Nah we don't have a map, the school is...hard to map. The moving stairs and hidden passages don't really make it easy. Honestly, the firsties stick together and are supposed to ask older kids for help to get to classes." He laughed at the Durmstrang's suggestion that Hogwarts hates intruders. "I wouldn't be surprised, she's had some...bad experiences. With the war, there was a lot of intruders...nothing like you though, so I think you just got lost in a big dark castle." He suggested, patting the cold stone with his free hand.
His eyes widened as he realised how long Augusts had been lost for, "Holy shit Augusts, it's nearly 12 am, I was actually going to finish my round soon and go back to our dorms. I can't believe no one reported you missing. I would have noticed, but you know. I was studying in the library and then, of course, I had rounds... I'm so glad I found you!"
Augusts chuckled, when Alexander indirectly invited Augusts to kiss him, and his smile turned into an exaggerated pout when the prefect back tracked. "Aw, all my hopes and dreams have been shattered," he drawled, but then the smile was back where it belonged. "No worries, these are menthol flavoured cigs. And if you don't like that, I've got my watermelon chewing gum, so just give me a few minutes and I'll taste like a summer's dream! You want any?" he said, pulling out a little foil packet with white chewing gum pillows and extending it towards the other boy.
While Alexander spoke about the castle, Augusts tossed one of them into his mouth and started chewing. But when he was informed about the hour on the clock, the boy promptly chocked on the treat.
"Midnight!" he exclaimed in disbelief between coughs, "Jēziņ!1 Now I'm sure that this castle will kill me by the end of the year! I just hope you won't be the one who finds my body in a hallway after hours! I am so very, very glad that you found me, too. I'd love to get back to the common room, but I don't suppose there are any snacks there? I'm a bit, what's the word... Uh, peckish? And kind of cold, if I'm honest."
