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!
maybe it is all a test/'cause i feel like i'm the worst, so i always act like i'm the best
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Post by MIA-ROSE LINWOOD on Aug 10, 2020 4:14:14 GMT
light up the sky
For the November Hogsmeade weekend, Mia-Rose had rather triumphantly handed the professor at the gate her new permission slip, that part of her punishment finally being over--at least as long as she met with Richard when she got to the village.
But that was alright with her, because Richard had finally agreed to give her lessons, which she was sure would be far more interesting than O'Connor's. She had started out with Defense Against the Dark Arts as her favorite class, but now she felt like they spent more time debating about exactly what a curse was than actually learning how to defend against them--something that wouldn't really help them in a real situation. And if she'd been slightly better at that, then maybe the whole deal with the werewolf wouldn't have turned out quite so much of a disaster.
She'd be ready for whatever the next thing was.
Adjusting her scarf around her neck, making sure it covered the scar on her shoulder properly, she scanned the village's square for her uncle, finding him quickly. It wasn't so difficult to spot such a large, red-haired man, especially when he looked exactly like a shorter-haired version of her father. She shoved her hands in the pockets of her jacket as she made her way over to him, looking up.
"We're going behind the Shrieking Shack, right?" They didn't need anyone else knowing about the lessons--there would be more questions than Mia-Rose wanted to answer. No, she wanted to surprise people when she was even better than before, and she wanted to avoid any talk about the summer incident. Nobody was supposed to know. "I've got my wand and everything, so I'm ready to go." If they needed a drink or snack, that could wait--she couldn't, not for the lesson.
Richard stood outside of the Hogs Head, smoke rising from his ivory pipe, hands hidden in the pockets of his winter coat. He wondered how he had managed to get himself roped into teaching not one, but two teenagers on how to duel. The first one he could rationalize to a moment of weakness, a pang of sympathy for a stranger, something rather uncommon for the ex-mercenary, but why in the hell had he agreed to teach his niece? He could just have said no, packed his bags once more and left Falklands, left her life just how he had arrived. He could have just disappeared like smoke in the wind, and yet... Yet he had agreed to stick around even after he was even with Andrew, after he didn't owe his brother anything.
There was something about the scrappy teenager that didn't give Richard peace -- besides her letters, that is. If Isobel made him feel odd with how much she resembled her grandmother at times, then Mia-Rose... Somehow Richard felt like he'd seen it all before, the defiance and the doggedness. He couldn't figure it out, and truth be told, it made him feel depressed. Richard hated introspection, and Mia-Rose was making him do a whole lot of it.
Speak of the devil. There she was, standing next to him, no doubt looking ridiculously miniature next to her broad-shouldered, tall, brooding uncle. For a moment Richard considered using her head as an armrest, but that would no doubt elicit protests from the girl, so instead he let himself be amused by the thought as they began to walk.
"Mhm," he grumbled, taking his right hand out of his pocket to free his mouth from the ivory pipe. It was white as snow against the black leather of his glove. "Can't take you away from Hogsmeade, so the forest it is."
"Wordless magic. Can you do it?" he asked, extinguishing his pipe. It would be a bit hard to lecture her with it in his mouth, so the tasty tobacco he'd bought in London would have to wait.
maybe it is all a test/'cause i feel like i'm the worst, so i always act like i'm the best
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Post by MIA-ROSE LINWOOD on Aug 15, 2020 16:16:40 GMT
light up the sky
"Sure, for a few things." The sixth-years had only just started non-verbal magic, but Mia-Rose had been determined to make it work for much longer, and had already been trying. She hadn't been able to cast any spells with it until about a month ago, but now that she knew how it felt, she was sure she could master it by the time she would take her N.E.W.T.s. "Obviously, it's better in a fight." And obviously, he already knew that, or else he wouldn't be asking me, she reflected, but she curled her hands into fists inside her pockets instead of saying anything. Speaking always seemed to get her into trouble, even though she wanted nothing more than to continue talking to her uncle.
Maybe doing silent magic was a good thing, then.
The air was cold and damp and threatened to chill any part of Mia-Rose's body that wasn't covered by wool, the ground soft beneath her feet, her boots making a squelching sound as they moved from the cobblestone roads to the grass. There would probably be snow soon.
Why did people, young people especially, always deem it necessary to fill silence with their incessant blabbering? Especially when they insisted on stating things that were painfully obvious. Truly, Mia-Rose's words made Richard want to groan out, because, yes, of course, wordless magic was better in combat, that was the entire point he'd even asked. His hands were aching to pull the pipe back out and light it up once more, so that he could use it being in his mouth as an excuse to stay silent. Not that he really needed an excuse to ignore his niece, but maybe then she'd would be more aware of the fact that he wasn't here to chit-chat.
God, he felt so grumpy and they had been in each other's company for less than a minute.
But he couldn't just bail out of this -- he knew Andrew would never be able to live with the fact that his dear daughter blew herself up, never mind what circumstances. Even if her demise would be her own fault, it wouldn't make Andrew feel any better, and, as much bad blood there was between the brothers, that was the past now, and Richard had to admit to himself that he cared for his brother's feelings. So here he was, getting ready to be pestered by his niece to save some grief for Andrew. Yes. This was only for Andrew, even if he hadn't asked.
"Duel me. Need to see what you know." He stated as the distance between the duo and the village increased. "Don't hold back."
maybe it is all a test/'cause i feel like i'm the worst, so i always act like i'm the best
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Post by MIA-ROSE LINWOOD on Aug 24, 2020 2:28:43 GMT
light up the sky
They stopped near the edge of the forest, the one that Mia-Rose knew was known as Forbidden when you entered it from the other side. But they stayed in the clearing around the shack, the short brown grass crunching under her boots even as the mud beneath gave way to her steps. Of course they wouldn't go into the trees, she thought, looking into the darkness underneath the branches. The incident had happened in a forest nearby--in the other direction, sure, but that wasn't important now. The hope was that the humiliation would all be forgotten after these lessons.
But it hadn't yet, she knew. She knew that in how much argument she'd had to use to get permission to go to Hogsmeade again and convince her uncle to teach her something. And because of how much Richard had lectured her for being reckless, Mia-Rose hadn't thought that they would have gotten to dueling right away, and she didn't quite believe it at first. She had to look up at her uncle with narrowed eyes to consider his words. Did he just want her to--cast something? Was it a trick of some sort?
"Just like that? Right now?" Her head tilted as she questioned him, skeptical. She took a few steps back, facing him, so she could see him better. She didn't detect anything jesting in his face, but then again, he was just as unreadable as her father--just as Mia-Rose felt like she was sometimes. But if he said he meant it, then he couldn't be upset when she raised her wand at him.
Gripping the wand in her pocket, she focused her thoughts on the incantation Everte Statum, repeating it over and over in her mind, imagining the way it felt to cast the spell. She wasn't certain at all if it would work, but it was one she had been able to do in second year--there was a reasonable hope that she'd be able to make it happen. Before she could let herself regret the action, the wand was out of her pocket and pointed at Richard, a burst of orange light flying toward him.
"When else?" he grumbled in response, a frustrated sigh escaping his nose. Which part of 'Duel me' wasn't clear? "Don't tarry, we haven't got all day." Richard said, taking his hands out of his pockets, wand firmly gripped around the non-slip handle he'd ordered soon after Andrew had given him the wooden hand. While the prosthetic served as a good enough hand most of the time, Richard missed feeling the texture of... Everything, including his wand. Now he always gripped it so hard that, if there would be any flesh on his knuckles, it would turn white. Good thing wands were sturdy and didn't break like dry branches.
Thankfully Mia-Rose didn't continue asking stupid questions, but proceeded to take action, wand pointed at him. Moments later, a bolt of light just as orange as their hair was flying towards Richard. He didn't even blink as he felt a push against his torso, simply taking a step back, getting into position. One foot slightly in front of the other, knees bent, but not bent.
"Again. Until I lose my breathing or fall over," he said, crossing his arms on his chest, looking right at his niece. What was she capable of when she didn't hesitate?