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 GRACE LONGBOTTOM on Aug 14, 2019 10:22:57 GMT
It had been a few days since the whole winter ball attack, and Grace was fine - well, for the most part. Going into the Great Hall still made her feel terribly nervous but she was fortunate enough to have the company of Faith, her best friend, who was an excellent distraction when Grace started wringing her hands or bouncing her leg or worrying her bottom lip so hard it was on the verge of bleeding.
Sitting on her bed with her knees drawn up, Grace balanced her art book carefully on them, a black charcoal poised in her hand as she sketched her latest piece of work. At the moment, it didn't look like much but slowly... a face was forming, the bridge of a nose was being carved out, the deep dark irises were being drawn in. Eventually, it would resemble somebody Grace wasn't able to really... get out of her mind, no matter how hard she tried.
At the sound of the door being opened and disrupting her concentration, Grace nearly jumped a foot in the air because it felt like it came out of nowhere. But it could only be one person, given that her other roommate had suffered the very unfortunate consequences of being a werewolf and no longer got to share a room with... with them or... Grace wasn't too sure if she got to share a room with anyone at all at the moment, really. "Darcy, hey. How was your day? Was it... did you get up to much, or... or... gosh, am I prying? I'm prying, aren't I," Grace murmured, already babbling. "Are you going home for Christmas?"
Darcy had been in a daze the past few days and she knew it was all thanks to the attack at the winter ball. She had barely slept or ate and she kept getting anxious whenever she found herself in the dark. She had never been scared of the dark before, even as a kid! Did the school have a councillor, like muggle schools? Someone she could just talk to? Though saying that, did the wizarding world even understand mental health like the muggle world? Did they have some magical cure all remedy for it? She could just go to the hospital wing but they were so overrun at the moment with physical and really bad injuries - she didn’t want to seem silly and try to use a busy nurse as a therapist. No, that’s what Dad was for...when Christmas break came around in a couple of weeks.
This was the exact situation where she would just sit by the fire curled up in one of the big soft arm chairs with Ale purring happily on her lap, but her life long ginger tomcat had passed away over the summer break. He was pushing 14 years old and it hadn’t come as a surprise but she missed having her companion around all the time. He always knew when she was upset and didn’t leave her side until he felt she was happy. Maybe it was time to get another kitten over the break?
Instead of curling up with her cat she would just have to curl up on her bed...what was wrong with another good crying session when she had already lost count of how many times she had done so already. When she wandered into the dorm room, it became apparent that she hadn’t been the only person with that idea.
“Hey, Gracie…” She smiled softly at her room mate. Dropping onto her bed she found herself reaching for her pillow to scratch Ale between the ears, only to realise last second that he would never be there. It was the first time since he had passed away that she had gone to do that...she felt her heart sink a little and had to swallow back tears. “Yeah, I’m okay…” She rubbed her face roughly before turning her gaze back to Grace.
“Pry all you like...talking would be good.” The blue haired girl answered, another soft smile on her lips. “Honestly can’t wait to get away from school. Plus Mum would go ballistic if we didn’t go home for Christmas…” she was referring to herself and Levi, “not to mention my brothers for leaving them to deal with our babushka by themselves.” She chuckled as she mentioned her maternal grandma, though she had to be honest she always brought the most beautiful gifts from Russia for them all. Last year she had given Darcy this stunning handcrafted windup miniature carousel that played a Russian lullaby. That music would be so soothing right now…
Post by GRACE LONGBOTTOM on Sept 6, 2019 4:03:06 GMT
When Darcy said hello to her, Grace returned the girl's smile with one of her own, but it didn't escape her attention the way that Darcy reached back to scratch at her pillow usually occupied by her old cat Ale, nor did it pass Grace by the way that Darcy's smile didn't quite meet her eye. Before she could think it through, Grace hopped from her bed with her patchwork blanket in hand, moving over to her dormmate's bed with a serious expression as she draped the fabric around her friend's shoulders. "Are you sure? I... I'm sorry about Ale, Darcy. I know you... if it helps any, you can always pet Merlot when he comes by next? I think he's with Arthur at the moment but I'm sure he'll be back soon," she said quietly, moving to sit beside Darcy and drawing her knees up to her chin.
Pry all you like, the words actually did help because now Grace had permission to ask, right? She wasn't just assuming it was okay. "Why would she go 'ballistic'? Is it... I'm sure it's just because she misses you both, right?" Grace asked. Her parents wouldn't lose the plot if she didn't come home, but she knew they'd be disappointed because 'four months is too long without seeing you and Arthur's faces.' Grace had always returned for the holidays though, because she definitely missed her parents company throughout the school year. She missed the kisses her dad planted on the crown of her head, the warm hugs her mum bestowed on her, the little things that comforted her and she had grown up with. "Babushka... that's your gran, right? Is she a bit of a handful, or...? My Granny Augusta is definitely... um, well, dad calls her a 'tough nut.' I don't think he's wrong. She's definitely a strong lady." Grace nodded at the question of if she was returning. "Yeah, I think... I think it'll be a good break, and I want to see mum and dad anyway. It'll be nice, but I'll probably end up spending most days in the Leaky, helping out mum," Grace admitted. She enjoyed it though talking to so many people made her heart skyrocket at time, especially when some of them said wildly inappropriate things that made her wring her hands with how uncomfortable it made her.
Yeah it didn’t really surprise Darcy that Grace didn’t believe her when she said she was okay. Who would be? “I don’t think anyone is really completely “okay” at the moment…” She used her index and middle fingers on both hands to form air quotations around the word okay. “Thank you…” This time she smiled genuinely at her friend when she felt the warm weight of a blanket on her shoulders. It reminded her of being home - it was her dad’s go-to-make-you-feel-better move. Blanket, shitty horror movies and ice cream. She would love a night in with her dad right about now. Maybe she creep into the Muggle Studies supplies and get a tv to work?
“Well, not ballistic but...she’d be pretty disappointed and upset. We’re a big family and she misses having us all around so she loves having everyone back together at Christmas. Even if it does get chaotic.” Darcy laughed a little as images of Christmas over the years popped into her head. Her eldest brother had been 11 by the time her and Levi were old enough to understand Christmas and for the next 3 or so years the first thing anyone saw was 5 kids all crowded around the tree trying to figure out who was getting the big present hidden at the back. Actually, no usually 6 kids if you included Uncle Gwaine which usually they did.
She smiled when Grace asked about her Babushka. “Yeah, Babushka is my gran. Mum and her side of the family are muggles soooo...there’s a lot of struggle keeping magic hidden from my Russian grandparents. We all sort of work together to help come up with...muggle cover stories for like school and my brothers jobs. Plus...she is a handful.” Darcy rolled her eyes. “She is very...opinionated. Doesn’t think that as respectful young lady that I should dye my hair…” She impersonated her gran’s thick accent the best she could as she pointed at her current blue hair. “Nor should Henry and I ‘ruin our perfect Russian skin’ by getting tattoos…” She pulled the collar of her sweater to the side to show Grace the small trail of cat paw prints that decorated her collarbone. It was the first of many she had planned. “And she’s very vocal in her believe that mum shouldn’t have given up her ballet career when she got pregnant for the third time. Even though she opened her own dance school!”
Darcy realised that she had been ranting and offered Grace a sheepish smile in apology. “Sorry, apparently I have issues with my gran…”
She shrugged part of the blanket off her shoulders, shuffled a little closer to her friend and wrapped some of it around her. Sharing was caring, after all! She didn’t want Grace to feel the chill whilst helping her feel better. “Do you like helping out at the Leaky Cauldron? I help out at my uncle’s antique store whenever I get the chance - I love it. It's a bit like escaping into another world!”
Post by GRACE LONGBOTTOM on Sept 26, 2019 8:03:08 GMT
Darcy's reply, that she didn't believe that anybody was truly okay at the moment, had Grace falling quiet immediately because she was right. Given what had unfolded at the Winter Ball... she didn't blame people either. "It took me a few days to go into the hall itself. I... gosh, I... it just brings back... and I wasn't even that hurt. I was just scared that it would happen again," Grace shared quietly, glancing down at her lap and pulling at a loose thread on her school skirt. It sounded so cowardly to admit, but she trusted Darcy not to laugh at her. Over the last few years of sharing a dorm room, she had grown to consider the girl one of her friends.
"I think it's nice that you spend time with her. I, um... I think that my Granny Augusta would be disappointed if we didn't come, even if she didn't say so in as many words. Last year, she ended up flicking Arthur behind the ears for being cheeky but I think she would have missed him a whole lot if he wasn't there, you know?" She was rambling, and she was painfully aware of the fact she was yammering on too, but the memory of last Christmas brought a fond smile to her face. It sounded lame to many, that she was certain of, but she enjoyed spending time with her family almost more than anybody else in the world.
As Darcy explained about her Babushka, Grace soaked in all the information that was being shared. "Cover stories, hey? Sounds like you guys are... what's the word for it? The muggle version of aurors? What did they call that James Bond man again? Oh, a spy! It sounds like you're a spy," Grace said with a giggle before shaking her head as Darcy mentioned all the opinions that her Babushka had about her appearance. "As long as you like the way you look, that's old that matters, right? Besides, you look absolutely lovely with blue hair. I mean, you always look lovely, but especially with blue hair." Grace's own words brought a tinge of pink to her cheeks because it sounded like she was hitting on Darcy and... yes, her roommate was gorgeous and once or twice Grace had entertained the thought of - but no, they were just friends. Strictly friends, and Grace would never flirt with anyone intentionally anyway. It felt... well, it honestly felt embarrassing to do so. Thankfully, Darcy mentioned her mum a moment later, and Grace's lips pulled into a frown. "Your mum sounds very successful though and even if she didn't... she sounds like she's happy doing what she's doing and like I said, that's all that matters, right?"
"I love helping out at the Leaky... I mean, sometimes it's not so great because you get really strange men saying really... really inappropriate things and it makes me uncomfortable but for the most part, the visitors are lovely," Grace shared, a smile tweaking at her lips. Her favourite part of helping out, however, was the baking. She loved making the freshly baked goods that people grabbed for a quick nibble and hearing the positive things they had to say about them. It made her feel good about herself, although she was too modest to admit that aloud.