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!
It had been hours since Jack had decided to sit down in his office and work on the stack of third, fourth and fifth year assignments all about kappas, and as he made his way through Sally Jordan's work, the words were beginning to blur. Perhaps it was due to the fact that he needed glasses, or that he'd read about thirty other assignments before hers... or maybe that he just needed a break.
With a sigh, Jack dipped his quill in an ink pot of red ink, scribbling a note in the borders about spell-checking assignments before submitting them, before pushing the assignment forward. Tilting his head back over the headrest of his chair, Jack raised his fingers to his temples, giving them a small massage in hopes it would ease the headache he felt coming forward.
But apparently... hope was lost as he heard a knocking at his door. He wasn't sure who it was yet - a Durmstrang professor, here to grumble about the insolence of Hogwarts students? A student, here to complain about the class content again? Or maybe a Hogwarts professor, here to groan about the Dascălu siblings? Merlin knew, Jack had been fielding grievances from students and professors alike since school began,
Dropping his head forward, regaining a more professional composure and taking a sigh to steady himself for whatever was about to come him way, Jack said clearly, "Come in," before gesturing at the door, opening it just a crack so the person on the other side could push their way in.
6'0". IRISH. BIG HEART. LOYAL. BRAVE. WORKAHOLIC. BISEXUAL. SINGLE. distinguishing features: a big scar runs across jack's left cheek credit for award goes to ollie! <3
Classes were over for the day and Zoe had enjoyed a lazy hour in a charmed bubble bath – who needs a spa when you have magic? – that was filled with the luxurious sandalwood oils that reminded her of home. In short, Zoe was thoroughly relaxed and pleased with her evening and could only think of one way to make it better. A little bit of Jack in her box.
Travelling down the halls towards Jack’s office, the only part of her outfit that anyone else could see were her bright, floral wedges because her black academic robes hid the rest of the ensemble from prying eyes. Zoe herself wouldn’t mind brightening the hallways with one of her favourite outfits from the summer holidays but she didn’t want to give the Headmistress a heart attack with impropriety. Her strides down the hall were purposeful and Zoe couldn’t shake the smile from her face as she closed in on The Office. It had been a terribly long time since she’d been in a room alone with the Deputy Headmaster and they had a lot to catch up on. Hopefully with their heads on pillows and clothes on the floor.
”Oh shit, I forgot the coffee,” Zoe clicked her fingers in annoyance as she arrived at the door but she couldn’t drag herself away especially when she knew he’d have coffee ready with the wave of a wand anyway. When she knocked, it was not long before Jack’s door opened and that sexy Irish voice ushered her inside. ”How did I know I’d find you here even at this late hour, Jack?” Zoe asked with a playful smile on her lips as she slunk her way inside his office. ”Do you have time for a little… catch up? I haven’t laid eyes on that sexy smile of yours – y’know, that one that makes me melt – for too long,” Zoe made her way to the desk and daintily sat down in the chair across from him. ”How have you been, Jack?”
Last school year, simply his steel blue gaze on Zoe was something that made warmth curl in Jack's chest and a rush of relief zip through his body because he knew that in her company, he could relax a little. He didn't need to be so fully focused on playing the part of Deputy Headmaster, being completely professional around her like he had to do with his other colleagues... in retrospect, acting like that had been a lapse of judgement. A mistake. He'd crossed professional bounds under the misguided notion that something more could blossom from climbing into bed with her, and now he had to pay the price for it because things had not gone in that direction. There was no relationship to be had between them - and perhaps that was for the best. Zoe deserved someone younger, someone who could dedicate more time to her, like that man he'd caught leaving her apartment that one time.
As Zoe suggested that they have a catch-up before flirting with him, talking about his 'sexy smile,' Jack just barely withheld a sigh. He needed to approach this situation... tactfully, neatly, clearly. "Zo - Professor Savage, I don't think continuing whatever we had going on prior to the holidays is wise," he said, eyes flicking up to capture her own. Merlin, they were gorgeous... but he couldn't go down that track of thinking. He'd get distracted by the whole reason of why he was doing this in the first place. "You understand, right? It's just... not a good idea and it could come back to bite both of us."
Now that the difficult part was over, Jack ran his fingers through his short cropped hair before sending her a curt smile. "Fine. Busy, actually. Lots of new staff to show around the castle and students to get acquainted with. How have you been?" As he spoke, his tone wasn't unkind but less warm than it usually was. It was his 'professor' voice, the one he used when speaking to people on a more professional level and not a personal one.
6'0". IRISH. BIG HEART. LOYAL. BRAVE. WORKAHOLIC. BISEXUAL. SINGLE. distinguishing features: a big scar runs across jack's left cheek credit for award goes to ollie! <3
There was a distinct lack of enthusiasm in the Deputy Headmaster as Zoe slipped into the room, though the woman shrugged it off easily as his being engrossed in his work. Her quick appraisal of his posture told her that he was in dire need of one of her renowned massages - though whether that was wishful thinking on Zoe's part, only Bree can decide. The professor could hardly wait to offer Jack her services, her soft fingers stretching out in anticipation on the arm rests of her chair as Jack's ... professor voice addressed her. The smile on Zoe's face remained, though it had lost its anticipatory sparkle as her mind raced to fully comprehend what Professor O'Connor was saying.
Continuing whatever we had going on. Zoe forced herself to swallow as she moved to tuck an incredibly annoying - fuck why did she have long hair? it just gets in the way of everything - lock of hair behind her ear. When he caught her eye, Zoe dropped her gaze because if she held those baby blues for too long, she mightn't be able to acquiesce to his request. "Is this because I forgot the coffee, Jack?" Zoe attempted to lighten the mood, glancing up at the man with her trademark cheeky smile. It didn't quite reach her eyes. After a pause, Zoe ran her tongue over her bottom lip and sighed into the back of the ancient wooden chair. "Whilst I quite enjoy the idea of biting you, I understand that you are no longer interested and I respect that." Her eyes sparkled with unshed tears that practically screamed why, Jack?
Zoe didn't want to get in Jack's way and... maybe he felt extra scrutiny with the Durmstrang professors and students being in his school. A dalliance with the muggleborn Muggle studies teacher, though discreet, was probably more than Jack wished to gamble with at this stage. Why did she feel a need to ask why he ... why he didn't want her anymore? It shouldn't matter one iota - it wasn't as if whatever they had going on was even something that had a label of any kind. So it was that she kept those questions resolutely to herself. "Yeah, I can imagine it's been pretty full-on. I think I may have made your job just that little bit more difficult, Professor O'Connor. I think I upset at least one or two at the feast straight off the bat," Zoe said with a wry smile. She was probably her own downfall, in that respect. A liability.
"How are you finding the kids in class? I haven't really had much interest from the Durmstrang students in Muggle Studies... I was almost preparing myself to be like some kind of side-show curiousity for them: The Reason Why Muggleborns Are Not Accepted Into Durmstrang I think would be my headline," the young witch said with a laugh, though if she were honest she was disappointed by the lack of enrolments in her class. "I can only imagine the kind of stress this extra workload has brought to you though Ja - Professor O'Connor - would you like me to make you a coffee or fetch some late night snack from the kitchens for you? From one colleague," Merlin this sounded so depressing, even if she hoped the smile on her face translated into her voice, "to another, overworked one... of course."
Even though Zoe was trying to joke around, lighten the mood, it didn't work. He couldn't bring himself to muster up a smile because to do this, to end things... it hurt a lot, but it was necessary. It needed to happen. "I do like coffee a lot but... that's not quite the reason," Jack said quietly, eyes scanning over face before his heart fell. Her beautiful blue eyes gleaned, as though she was about to cry, and he swallowed hard. He didn't want her to be upset, he didn't think he could take it. "It's not - Zoe, I... it's not - I know you're seeing someone else." Or multiple people, he wasn't quite clear on that. But it didn't matter. That wasn't the point. "I don't want to get in the way of anything you have going on."
Jack shook his head as Zoe began professing that she made his life more difficult with the Durmstrang students. He wanted to reach across the table and take her hand to reassure her she did no such thing but... that would be crossing the boundaries that he was trying his damnedest to set back up. "If you made things more difficult, I would have called you into my office and asked you to apologise in order to try and mend fences - but there's been no complaints from the Durmstrang professors regarding you or any other professors," Jack explained gently. "I think they mostly take issue with our students behaviour and the fact that we're not... overly strict on them."
"Most of them are well-behaved... some are quite unruly," Jack said, before blinking as Zoe cracked a joke about not many Durmstrangs enrolling in your class. "I'd advise you to not take it personally but... that's not my place. But I daresay that you haven't received any enrollments because of Durmstrangs..." Outdated. Wrong. Awful. "... attitude towards muggleborns themselves." To be frank, it was an attitude that Jack was very opposed to. His mother was a muggleborn, and stopping students from learning because of their backgrounds? Because of their blood? It rubbed him the wrong way entirely.
Jack's brows creased as Zoe offered to make him a coffee or get him a snack or... "I don't want you to do anything like that," he said, taken aback. "You're my colleague, Professor Savage. Not my -" House elf. "- I don't expect any of my workmates to run errands like that for me, and I would never ask them to do so either." Yes, he was in a position of power as the Deputy Headmaster. But besides having more responsibility, he didn't want 'favours' to be done for him. It seemed far too much like taking advantage. "Would you like a cup of tea? I can brew you some, while I brew myself a cup of coffee."
6'0". IRISH. BIG HEART. LOYAL. BRAVE. WORKAHOLIC. BISEXUAL. SINGLE. distinguishing features: a big scar runs across jack's left cheek credit for award goes to ollie! <3
Oh God, when her attempt to lighen the mood fell flatter than Jack's stern School {Deputy} Master face... well Zoe's stomach plummetted to the Hufflepuff basement and then a little further still. She wasn't ever accused of having the best poker face, but Zoe's mouth almost twitched out of her smile when Jack explained the reason for putting a stop to their adult activities. "Oh," she breathed, tearing her eyes away from Jack to fumble at the edge of her coral coloured shorts where her robe has slipped open on her lap. "Jack... I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt," Zoe tucked her lip in between her pearly whites and chewed down on it for a second and then shook her head. How presumptuous of you, silly woman, you can't just assume there were feelings, Zoe wrinkled her nose at the thought and breathed as she caught Jack's eyes once again. "Just so that you know, I am not in any monogamous relationship," she told the man, with a similarly school marm tone in her voice as he'd used for her moments ago. For some reason, Jack's good opinion of her meant more than she cared to admit and the idea that he thought she was cheating on anyone with him...
No.
On more professional topics, Zoe let out a held breath of relief that there'd been no complaint from the other night. She had been sure that the Dark Arts Professor, she who was surely an older version of Madame Up-Her-Own-Arse from Potions, would have had words to say about Zoe's apparent xenophobia. People could be so damn touchy!"Thank Merlin, cuz the visits to your office will be a little less satisfying now," the woman joked, her default attempt to lighten the mood coming back with vengeance. "Yeah they seem so straight-laced,"stifling, almost, Zoe finished the thought in her head. "How are you feeling about the whole .... theory of Dark Arts being taught?" With her comment about the enrolments in her class, Zoe nodded slowly. "Nah, I get it. I think it's important in their last few years to focus on subjects that they'll get proper academic credit for when they return to the Institute," she shrugged, sad for the knowledge that many even in Hogwarts didn't believe her subject held much academic credit. "I wonder, though, have they ever had the joy of a rubber ducky in their baths?"
God, he really wanted as little to do with her as possible, Zoe shuffled in her chair as he refused her offer to help. Thank God, she hadn't offered to give him that masage she'd been ready to provide when she'd strode on in here. "Oh Jack, I promise I went to a barista course over the summer so my ability to make a coffee far exceeds the first one I brought you... like now I know that the beans need to be ground first," she teased, lying to herself that it was her bad brews and not her company that he was trying to politely decline. She'd keep the fact that the barista course was more a one-on-one arrangement with a lovely young woman from an artisanal cafe in London. "No no, Jack, tit for tat my ... Deputy," she relented and shook her head, realising that she'd best not call him 'friend' either. "If you cannot accept a favour from a colleague, then neither can I. As this is a ... beverage stale-mate, I suggest we have three options: we summon a house elf, we both get to brewing our own drinks together or I bid you adieu for the evening and leave you to your marking?"
I never meant to hurt. "You... you didn't," Jack said, trying to give Zoe an encouraging smile, one that unfortunately came out as more of a grimace instead. He was lying - it had hurt, seeing another man leave her apartment, one she was clearly romantically entangled with - but he didn't want to make her feel guilty about it. Besides, they had never been in a relationship in the first place, he had no right to feel hurt by her sleeping with somebody else. It's not like they'd discussed not having sex with other people. The mention of Zoe not being in a monogamous relationship had Jack's eyes flickering up, confusion written across his face. He didn't quite know what to make of that, but eventually he said quietly, "Regardless... I don't want to stand in the way of your happiness with anyone and... you deserve to be happy, Zoe. More than - well, more than most people. You're a good person."
Jack had to agree with the fact that the professors appeared to be straight-laced because, well, one look at them told you that but, "I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing... everyone has different methods of teaching students and perhaps their teaching philosophies are effective. Maybe we could all learn a thing or two from them." He wasn't opposed, even if he was quite... well, set in his own approach to his students. Sixteen years of teaching would do that to a man. As the subject was brought up about a separate class for the Dark Arts being taught, Jack hummed contemplatively. At first, he had been quite apprehensive towards it - he covered the Dark Arts theory in his class, after all, but eventually he'd come to think, "I think it's a good thing, ultimately. Students are able to go a lot more in-depth into Dark Art theory with Professor Dąbrowska than I'm really capable of, given the curriculum primarily focuses on the defensive side of things. Ideally... I would like to go into more details on Dark Arts theory during my classes, but... unfortunately, there's just not enough time, I've found."
Jack flashed Zoe a half-hearted smile at her joke about being able to make coffee much betterthan the first time she'd brought him one. "Perhaps now I won't have to drink bitter sludge out of professional kindness," he joked. It felt far too... well, cruel to ignore her repeated attempts at lightening the mood, but moments later, she was offering him an out of this whole interaction entirely. Thank Merlin. Remaining professional with her... it was difficult, even if it was necessary and even though he'd thought he was prepared to do so prior to now... maybe he needed more time to adjust to it. Shooting Zoe an apologetic glance, Jack admitted, "I do have an awful lot of marking," before trailing off, eyes averting to the stack of paperwork in front of him. Moments later, the tell-tale click of his doorsounded in his ears, indicating Zoe had picked up on her cue to leave. With a certain heaviness in his heart and a long winded sigh, Jack picked up his quill and dipped it into the red ink once more. Time to get back to work.
6'0". IRISH. BIG HEART. LOYAL. BRAVE. WORKAHOLIC. BISEXUAL. SINGLE. distinguishing features: a big scar runs across jack's left cheek credit for award goes to ollie! <3
