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!
She had just done a performance in the United states and there it had been a whole lot earlier than back at home in Hogsmeade. About an hour of five, maybe seven, Aurora really wasn’t the best with time zones. After the intercontinental portkey she had apparated to Hogsmeade and decided she needed a drink, if only to get tipsy enough to sleep well and adjust her internal clock. If something more came of it she didn’t mind. She had been alone and on tour long enough away from home that she longed for just about anything from Scottish soil. The first and best thing from Scottish soil was already on the table, single malt Scottish whiskey. Filling her glass again she took another sip, was this her fourth or fifth, Aurora couldn’t remember.
Her performance had gone well enough, given an interview, hugged some young fans and of course there had been one idiot in the crowd who thought he could get with her if he was forward enough. Muggle baiting, or no mag baiting was not allowed anywhere, but if innocent enough she figured she could get away with it. Which was why she had cursed him silently, bowel loosening charm, good for more than constipation. If Aurora said so herself. Not really paying attention she had already emptied her glass again and poured another. That was the one downside to having been raised there, she had an iron liver and needed a lot to be hammered, now if only she had some at the very least drinking company.
Post by EMMA MOUNTBATTEN-SMYTHE on Dec 19, 2019 21:51:27 GMT
Emma's heels clicked on the hard floor as she walked into the bar, glancing around at the clientele with a well-practiced smile. She had just had quite an outstandingly successful day, having finally brought a long-running court case to a conclusion, and was consequently in a wonderful mood, feeling rather inclined to spend most of her evening in the company of a succession of glasses of wine. Champagne might well have been on the cards, of course, but she tried not to bow completely to the pressures of stereotyping.
A sort of half-curtsey was entirely acceptable, however, and so she made her way up to the bar, perching on a stool and crossing her legs elegantly. "What've you got?" she enquired pleasantly of the bartender. To be honest, with the way that Emma was feeling at the moment, she would have drunk just about anything that was offered to her, but it was always good to be aware of the full range of available alcohols before committing. One day, she was sure, she would be offered something surprisingly exotic, but she doubted that it was going to be today. This just didn't strike her as the right sort of place.
Hearing the question Aurora turned her head to the side and saw a woman around her own age asking what kind of alcohol they had available. Chuckling a bit she thought about the drinks she had had there in the past. She had been one of the few that didn’t mind when they had tried to bring in muggle cocktails and eagerly partook in drinking them. ’’I apologise for chuckling at the question, but they have just about anything here. As apology let me buy you your first drink, if you don’t mind that is?’’
With that she made a movement to one of the bartenders that meant she would be paying for the drinks of the other woman for the evening at the very least. They knew she had the money to do so, hell she could have ordered the entire booze department and the store itself without worrying. ’’I really can recommend the cocktails they make here, the added magical liquor in a regular muggle drink makes for rather interesting effects, like literal sparkles from the surface.’’
Post by EMMA MOUNTBATTEN-SMYTHE on Dec 22, 2019 22:39:23 GMT
,
Emma regarded the other woman flatly for a long moment. She did not at all like being laughed at, and generally speaking, people didn't, so that she had never really had cause to get used to it. And so having to put up with it from some random person she'd happened to sit next to in a bar didn't really feature on her top ten experiences ever to have in an establishment that served alcohol. Heck, probably not even her top fifty; she was a pretty girl who could afford a nice dress and a hell of a lot of nice drinks, which meant that she'd had some pretty entertaining evenings in pubs, clubs, and bars all over London in the last few years.
"I'd really rather you didn't." It was unlike the brunette to be brusque and even more unlike her to be rude, but she hadn't the first idea who the hell this woman was, and she wasn't about to drink at the expense of a female stranger in a bar she didn't know. Emma's self-preservation instincts cried out against it.
Aurora shrugged it off, she had had way too many people being rude to her, or trying to be tough about it all. That did not take away they meant what they said, it just did not bother her anymore when they were that way. ’’Suit yourself, I can still recommend the cocktails though.’’ She herself was on her fourth drink and so far it had literally no effect on her and she hoped that that would change soon enough, even though she did not expect it. Wordlessly ordering herself another drink. A slightly different one for that moment. She had had more than enough of muggle whiskey and the magical flaming variety to it.
Right now she was going for hot cocoa with a well sized added splash of Stroh Rum of about 80 percent alcohol, sweet and yet it packed an alcoholic punch. That and she hoped that that way it might just kick in a bit sooner. Still not denying the looks of the other woman to herself she realized she still had not introduced herself, which on her turn was rather rude. ’’Excuse me for not stating my name earlier, name’s Aurora Anderson. May I inquire after yours, or is that a similar ‘I rather your didn’t’ question?’’ Throwing the words out there the singer waited for an answer.
Post by EMMA MOUNTBATTEN-SMYTHE on Dec 30, 2019 13:15:05 GMT
Obligations were not the sort of thing which Emma ought to have been getting herself into in her business- in either of her businesses, come to that. In the one, it could be very embarrassing, and in the other, it could well be fatal. She'd met some vicious litigators in her time. Ordering one of the range of gins she could see arrayed along a shelf behind the bar, she slid a few coins across the polished surface in exchange for what she thought was rather too large a glass. But then again, it wasn't for her to complain; she didn't need to be back in the office for at least another few days, and she supposed that her father might be just about capable of managing his own affairs without getting himself into trouble for that long. Maybe. Though she still needed to do something about that; the man was far too competent for his own good...
"Emma," she told the other woman, having lubricated herself with several sips of the drink. "Emma Mountbatten-Smythe, but don't bother with the tongue twister." Merlin... Of all the many things which her father had done to her over the course of her lifetime, lumbering her with an eyesore of a name like that had to be among the worst.
Nodding along as her drinking companion introduced herself she took another good drink of her rum spiked hot chocolate, so Emma was her name and tongue twisters were her game, for that moment at least. So it seemed to Aurora at least. ’’Ok, I won’t bother with the tongue twister, even though I think I could manage it. With some of the lyrics I’ve had to sing, but aren’t you a well known lawyer? One that won a case today if I am not mistaken?’’ Aurora knew it was a long shot, to get the woman to open up, or at least reply to her questions, but she kept at it as drinking alone wasn’t something she enjoyed.
One thing she was glad about though, was that she wasn’t dealing with some kind of crazed fangirl at this moment. Those had driven her to drink more often than any kind of mental discomfort ever had. Not to mention the general drinking that she liked to indulge in. No, fans can be the best and the worst both at the same time. ’’Did that lead to a celebratory drink?’’
Post by EMMA MOUNTBATTEN-SMYTHE on Jan 6, 2020 18:40:36 GMT
"Not as well known as all that," Emma temporised, somewhat surprised- she hadn't taken the other woman for being the sort to take any interest in legal cases, and certainly not anything so ostentatiously complicated as the one that she'd spent the past six months banging her head against a brick wall over. Still, she supposed it just went to show; you never could tell. "But yes, as a matter of fact, I did." It had been a close call at times, and she was quite convinced that the judge had had a grudge against her, though Lord only knew what it had been. Perhaps she reminded him of something. Generally, male judges didn't present much of a problem.
"And I suppose you could say I'm celebrating." Though she usually made sure to do that in close proximity to opposing counsel, just to make absolutely sure that they were doubly aware of the fact that she had won and they had lost. These things were important.
