#nox.important

[noxtms]

THE FULL MOON HANGS HIGH OVER THE CAMPGROUNDS, silvery light cast over the neverending festivities down below. anyone under the illusion that the hogsmeade hippogriffs vs diagon dragons charity quidditch game would wrap up in good time and lead to a relaxing night away was sorely mistaken. in spite of the late hour, the celebrations - and for some, the drowning of sorrows - show no sign of stopping anytime soon. the burren is an isolated spot, even without factoring in the huge number of muggle deterrent charms and protective incantations cast over the area for one night only. wix who traveled from overseas or across the country have a rare freedom and are taking full advantage - it's equal parts loud and unruly, and the best fun that many have had since winter came. put enough people in a place and throw in copious amounts of alcohol ( and in a number of cases, something much stronger ) and you'll have trouble, but robed aurors that wander the crowds are quick to combat drunken disputes they happen across which in turn is allowing the more easygoing of partygoers to enjoy their night all the more. expectations were rather low, but the event is running better than anyone could have expected.  MURPHY MCNULLY of the wizarding wireless network is one of the unlucky number to have thrown in his lot with the hippogriffs. a schoolyard crush on rolanda hooch blinded him when it came to the bettering slips, and the modest fortune that he lost had been enough to make this grown man cry - quite a bit, actually, until a kind soul pressed a half empty bottle of firewhiskey into his hands and he started the process of acceptance. he's been making his way from tent to tent ( which is, in turn, like moving from party to party ) all night, accepting the kindness of strangers and moving on when their generosity runs dry. it's no wonder the poor guy needs the bathroom, but when the closest porta potty queue looks much too daunting for him and a quick glance around tells him that no one is paying that much mind to him, murphy darts between tents and heads for the edge of the campgrounds.  he stumbles over the uneven terrain of the burren, picking his way to a suitable distance and coming to a stop at an ancient, waist high stone wall. the cacophony of music and laughter and all round good cheer hides the sound of a zipper, and murphy tries to sing along to one of the songs he recognises in the din, as he goes - he's so drunk the words run together, but he's having a mighty good time. bladder emptied, he zips himself back up, now humming, and hears a low grumble. his stomach, he thinks. "too full of firewhiskey," he laughs to himself, too drunk to take much notice of the hairs stood up at the back of his neck, "not enough soakage." he turns to go, and there it is again. the telltale grumble. or… he frowns. a growl? he twists back around, and the last thing that murphy mcnully sees before the world turns wet and red is two yellow eyes glinting in the moonlight and the flash of jaws full of huge, pointy teeth. it lunges, and on a nearby hill another wolf lifts their head to the sky to let out a mournful howl, and the pack descends.

TRIGGER WARNINGS for death, injury, animal death, anxiety, assault, blood, body imagery, fire imagery, gore.

the gathered crowds confuse the first screams of abject terror for more joyful rowdiness, only realising the nightmare they have stumbled into when they catch their first glimpse of the wolves that move with inhuman speed - the teeth, the eyes, the stinking, matted fur. worse, still ( if only because the horror of them is so much easier to digest in the moment ) are the hooded figures that begin to pop up from place to place. as if things weren't already bad, the death eaters have arrived. the smart ones apparate without a second thought. MARCUS, at one end of the campground, is gone with a pop before the situation has fully sunken into their alcohol adled mind. others, like the MALFOY'S, rush out of their tents in their nightclothes, disoriented, and take a second to let it all wash over them. they disappear, too, but only after they've grabbed their peacocks. 

it really is just VIKTOR'S luck that he would put himself out there and run into one of the more unfortunate cases of deja vu. bleary eyed when he emerges from his tent, he only narrowly avoids the vivid purple spell that sails over his head and collides with a cabinet inside, sending wood splinters and glass scattering and waking DAMARIS from where they dozed. the next curse draws blood when it grazes his arm and he drops to the ground, the same as his unlikely companion who has slid all the way off his couch and thrown their hands protectively over their head, kneeling in the shattered glass. "what the fuck is happening?" they shout, but viktor doesn't know. 

ANDIE, holding her crying son in her arms, abandons the fire pit when a misjudged protective spell explodes into the middle of it, sending sparks flying over all that had gathered around. she gets caught up in the sea of wix stampeding in one direction and can't immediately find an opening to get out or a safe space to apparate. 

following their immediate instinct to just duck and take cover beneath a closed up, wooden stall ultimately does TEMPEST no good ; they're smart, but the penchant for utter, mindless destruction that the death eaters have trumps that every time. one of the hooded figures hits the wooden structure with expulso, not even to target them but just because it adds to the growing chaos. they only realise someone is cowering underneath it when the now brightly burning, collapsing structure draws a shrill scream from the wix caught below. 

throwing up an invisible block in the doorway of their tent the minute that chaos unfolded was definitely a good idea and saves them some initial trouble, but DUDLEY is the first to realise the other sort of danger that they have landed themselves into when smoke starts billowing out from the rooms at the back of the tent. "GINNY-" he starts, wide eyed and taking several steps back, whatever warning he was going to give interrupted by her shout of "fuck!" as she rushes past him, leaving DRACO alone to hold the barrier in place. her cry of aguamenti does little to douse the flames she can only barely see through thick, black smoke. she tries to put them out in vain while it continues to funnel into the tent, stinging their eyes and coating their lungs with every breath, until dudley grabs her upper arm and tugs her away. "it's no use," he tells her, through a cough, "we have to leave." he's right, of course. arms held over their mouths as they return to the front of the tent, a bead of sweat runs down draco's forehead from both rising heat and the pressure of holding the barrier, alone. "ready to go?" he asks them, to no reply ; ginny grabs a hand each, and they disappear with a pop. 

assuming that JUSTIN is close at their heels and with ISMENE holding tightly to her hand, ANTIGONE'S only thought is to get back to her van and get her dog. they were among the lucky ones - they hadn't been caught up at the heart of the campgrounds when everything went to hell, and has instead been hanging around the edges of the parties. they were ready to head back and get some sleep, but unwilling to be the first to leave. they are both so full of hope, so close to where they parked in the carpark when antigone turns to glance over her shoulder that it feels so stupid to stop at all, though of course they were always going to when she realises, with a jolt, that justin isn't behind them after all. ismene tries to tug her on as she opens her mouth to shout for him, but everything moves so fast - a furred body launches itself over a ford fiesta and lands heavy on top of them both, jaws snapping, and what comes out of her next is nothing but a wordless scream.

limping from an ankle that he twisted in his haste to get through the panicked crowd, OSKAR meets ELIZA at the flap of her tent and shoves her all the way back in again. "is elena-" with her fingers now knotted up in the sleeve of his shirt, she shakes her head. it's a relief. her husband appears in a doorway with a barely awake ezra holding on tight around his neck, face buried in his shoulder. "is it-" he begins to ask, but oskar interrupts, "it's bad. we have to go." a ground shaking explosion at that exact moment forces them to quicker action, and eliza pulls oskar towards the rest of her family so that when they apparate, they do it together.

( the explosion itself is one of the stronger cases for a person having 'just downright rotten luck' documented, in recent years. GRACE, dragging ASTORIA by her jacket towards the auror detainment tent with the promise that safety awaits, has no way of predicting the freak accident she ultimately involves them both in - she counters spells she sees zipping past with a quick protego, has barely caught a glimpse of a wolf since it all kicked off, is managing, just barely, to keep her cool… but when a powerful reducto from a stranger in the crowd collides with the gas tanks behind an abandoned food truck, the resulting explosion throws EVERYONE in the immediate vicinity backwards with painful force, searing their eyebrows and knocking them out without them ever really understanding what happened, in the first place )

on the other side of the campgrounds, a stupefy collides with the ground at MINETTE'S feet, only narrowly missing her. she lets out a terrified squeak and twists to face the hooded figure that targeted her, throwing a leg lock curse at them without taking the time to properly aim and parrying the spell they throw back at her with a protego. her shield sends it flying into a nearby tent - not the first casualty, not the last - and though it's luckily empty, her distraction in that moment after it hits is all it takes for them to hit her with a body bind. she falls with a strangled sort of yell, and the next sensation her body feels is blistering pain beneath a vengeful crucio. 

finally managing to break away from the crowd, ANDIE darts between two tents and turns left, weaving her way through temporary homes. her mind is blank with panic - she knows she should be apparating, but marco's cries in her ear tell her that it's a danger to do so with him so upset and all she's really trying to do, in this moment, is put as much distance between them and the wolves and the wayward spells as possible. of course, she realises she should've just risked it when the wolf jumps into her path, hackles raised, teeth stripped. she jumps so violently that marco lets out another loud cry, and as she starts to back up, the wolf follows. "please…" she sobs, "please don't hurt us…" the wolf, showing understanding, continues forward. "please-" an explosion of blue sparks from an off course spell cascades over them from where it collides with the outside of a tent, and she seizes the momentary distraction to turn on her heel and run. 

"oh, merlin-" seeing TEMPEST struggle beneath the weight of the burning, wooden debris of what was once a stall, MARIETTA rushes into action. her aguamenti does little to douse the roaring, magical flames, so she gives up before she wastes too much precious time and just grabs their hands and starts to pull while they use whatever purchase they can find in the ground beneath them to try and help. the debris doesn't want to let go of them, but after a few long moments of desperate pulling, an almighty tug gets them free - their clothes singed, smoking, actually smoldering from the fire that had been licking so dangerously close to them. marietta, for what it's worth, does more than just force them to roll around. she also violently smacks at where the smoke seems most likely to burst into flame with her bare hands, only stopping when she's absolutely sure the danger has passed. 

JUSTIN had gotten caught by the crowd. that was all. he had started hot on the heels of the xu's, but the rushing wix had cut him off halfway along the journey. when he tripped, he was forced to his knees. when he got stuck close at the ground, he was stuck there, unable to push himself back to standing or press ahead, forcefully frozen in place by the sea of wix that were so desperate to get away that they don't realise he's even there. he tries, he tries so hard, but when a knee collides with his forehead, his body folds in on itself - leaving him vulnerable to the heavy footfall of a panicked crowd. 

she was lucky enough not to experience the last time a quidditch celebration turned deadly, but she's probably heard all about it, by now. CARA is at a distinct disadvantage to everyone else, lost in the crowd and being unable to apparate out - she's heard stories of werewolves, heard the truth about death eaters, but she's not interested in combating either. she just wants to get safe, and when the going gets especially rough… "mum!" she weaves her way through the crowd of wix, screaming so loudly her voice is sure to go hoarse, "mum!" 

"PANSY-" is the last word that she hears before the werewolf that suddenly appears in their path leaps and THEO shoves her out of the way with all of his strength. he makes himself the target, though the wolf doesn't care which one of them it crashes into with enough force to send them both flying backwards into the nearest, wooden stall, a mess of both their limbs. pansy's scream of terror catches in her throat as she hits the ground hard enough to see stars, and she fights against every instinct that she has to just lay there and catch her breath to instead scramble for her wand and force herself back up again, blood running cold at the thought that she can only ever be too late. "theo!" she shrieks, rushing to where they have fallen and taking careless aim - it's a gamble of the worst kind, but somehow, her depulso lands true. the werewolf atop him gets thrown away into another stall as pansy throws herself over him in its place, apparating them away before it can get its bearings and come back for them, again. 

another spell that seems to have been fired directly at theme explodes in the fireplace that he had been allowing die, and with a loud "fuck this!" DAMARIS is gone. he can't say he doesn't understand, but with a little bit more of an emotional investment in his tent - and temporary home - VIKTOR doesn't immediately follow suit. still crouched low, a hand held over the gushing wound on his arm, he rushes over to douse the fire. glass cracks underfoot. he succeeds, but his relief is short lived, quickly replaced by the cold rushing of blood in his veins when he hears a snapping of jaws from behind him. to his credit, he doesn't take the time to look it in the eye. turning on the spot, viktor disappears the instant before the wolf's body collided with his own - he can still smell their rotting breath when he lands a few miles away, in safety. 

"get OFF-" SEAMUS, an arm broken by a stray curse hanging awkwardly at his side, roars. he was almost free of it all. almost out of the danger zone entirely when he stumbles on the most horrifying of scenes - two bloodied figures, strangers to him in the moment, a lone werewolf stood tall and tearing into them. he rushes toward the danger without pausing to think about whether he even should, if they're even still alive, drawing the attention of the wolf. it turns quicker than he thinks possible, but seamus is quick, too - his powerful expulso fueled by pain and fear sends the wolf flying into the night, crashing over the roof of a car, and though he gives it half a breath before he runs towards the XU'S, it doesn't come back again. 

CHO, who had already lost sight of her friends before the campgrounds went full chaos, isn't exactly looking for them - she's just trying to get away, same as everyone else. when a wolf lunges from the darkness and sinks their teeth into a strangers leg, she screams as loudly as they do and turns all the way around, running full pelt in the opposite direction. it is sheer chance that she happens on the same path as MINETTE, more of the same that a glance over her shoulder to make sure she isn't being followed results in her running full force into the death eater holding the other under crucio. their concentration is broken when they fall with cho in a tangle of limbs, but in the scrambling that they both do away from one another, the masked figure is quicker. they slash downwards with their wand and pain erupts, stemming from a large wound opened in cho's chest. she falls to her knees and, realising how exposed they now are, the death eater turns heel and runs. 

ANDIE trips over a tent peg. it's as simple and as utterly damning as that. she trips and falls with a cry, her ankle throbbing, and marco goes down with her. she doesn't know how long she has, and she still isn't thinking straight. her mind is clouded by terror, ten times worse for the fact that when she tries to get back to her feet, her ankle protests so badly she knows there's no point. "marco, baby, you have to run," she sobs, tears streaming down both their cheeks, "go. please, marco, go-" unfortunately, it isn't her pleading that he listens to. the deep growl of the wolf still in pursuit sends him running, and despite her terror - and the white hot pain that blossoms suddenly from her leg - andie is relieved. 

"ginny?!" ARTHUR shouts as loud as he can, pushing his way in the opposite direction of the moving crowd, making his way slowly - but absolutely surely - towards where he knows she pitched her tent. his robes ripped at the knee and sporting a nasty cut over one eye, he's already seen some of the worst of what's happening here but his main priority, as always, is his daughter. he's close enough, now, to spot a flash of red through the crowd. flames, he realises. flames, licking the sky. his heart feels like its going to burst out of his chest as he pushes through the final wall of people between him and his destination and he comes face to face with the stuff of nightmares. "ginny!" his voice cracks with the force of her name, and arthur doesn't hesitate - he charges forward through the opening at the front of the tent, headfirst into the smoke and fire. 

meanwhile, on the opposite side of the campgrounds, MARY collides with her daughter. she wraps her arms around her, protectively, and tugs her out of the still rushing crowd into a relatively safe pocket of calm at the edge of the beaten track, between two different stalls. CARA gives a terrified squeak and then relaxes - total trust in total chaos. "mum-" she cries, but mary knows better than most how little time they have in a situation as dire as this and has already ripped her wand from her shaking hand. "mum?" she asks, and mary holds her closer still with one arm, getting a feel for her wand with her other hand. "this is going to hurt," she tells her, solemnly, and then for the first time in twenty five years, mary apparates. for what it's worth, she's right. 

since the events of the derby, MARCO'S mother had tried to instill in him the idea that if he ever got lost like that again, he was to look for the nearest auror and stay with them until she came for him. terrified by what he's seen, tonight, he doesn't do it - but in a manner of speaking, he manages it all the same. it isn't an auror that finds him hunched down beneath the wooden counter of an abandoned food stall, but when MIKAELA finally inches her way into a clearing where once stood a now smoldering tent and comes face to face with ARTURO, she does so with the little boy held tightly in her arms.

"thank merlin-" she gasps, breaking into a short run to get to him faster without a single or second thought. he grabs onto them both, a desperate hug that lasts a few moments longer than is wise, in their current situation. 

"are you okay?" he asks, and though she gives a nod, he pulls her back and holds her at arms length anyways to check her and marco over, rambling all the while, "you haven't been hurt? where did you find him? you weren't bitten? the death eaters-" 

"we have to get out of here, right now-" 

"i know. you're right. we can apparate a few miles out, see if anyone's seen and-" there is a brief flash of red, bright as a flare, over his shoulder. arturo's eyes go blank and his body goes slack, stupefied from behind. she cries out as he loses balance, trying her hardest to keep him upright but finding herself entirely unable to support his weight with a quietly sobbing marco still held close to her. he falls and she adjusts the little boy, taking hold of him better with one arm so that she can raise her wand and defend herself against the death eater that targeted arturo, though instead-

a grey wolf, larger than any of the others that she caught a glimpse of in all of this chaos, stalks out of the shadows, one large paw after the other. intelligent, yellow eyes size her up. its lips peel back from its teeth in a vicious, warning growl, and mikaela is glad for the poor lighting - something viscous hangs from its canines, but if it's all over quick enough she'll never have to know exactly what.

"stay back," she tells it, aiming for bossy even as her palms sweat. she could run. she could apparate, even, risk the splinching just to get away - she'd probably make it, and better they're alive sans a finger or two than hold onto them all and be dead, but arturo… he decides everything for her. she holds her wand higher. "i don't want to hurt you," she says, trying to sound every bit as confident and as frightening as niko does when he puts voice to the horrid thoughts inside his head. 

the wolf steps forward again, unconvinced. marco buries his head further into the crook of her shoulder. 

"it's your last chance." 

it leans in. head low. hackles raised. a low grumble comes from deep within its chest. she's seen dogs like it, before, fighting in the street. she knows it's going to lunge, thinks it'll be faster than i can ever be, and then it DOES, and she shouts "avada-"

she knows it'll be close, too close to call, too close to know until one of them hits the ground-

the sickly green of a killing curse lands true, striking the wolf. it drops like a puppet whose strings have been cut into an unceremonious heap, crumpling to the floor as a man, not a beast. his unkempt silver hair is matted. his shrewd eyes unseeing. it wasn't mikaela's curse.

around her, dozens of figures pop into being. aurors and hit wix, the lot of them, hitting the ground running and rushing towards the chaos of elsewhere, their wands held high and at the ready. some of them slow down as they pass the body of the man, their eyes widening in recognition before they shake themselves from their shock and head off to get a hold of the situation. one girl falls to her knees beside arturo to cast the counterspell ; somehow she is able to manage relief when she sees his eyes, fluttering.

mikaela wraps her other arm back around marco, protectively, and turns to face her father. he keeps his wand held in his first when he closes the distance and performs an almost step by step imitation of her reunion from moments before - pulls her close, pushes her back, takes a good, long look at her, over her. 

she opens her mouth.

he cuts her off. "i told you."

ROUNDUP OF DAMAGES, INJURIES & FATALITIES :

by the time the aurors and general do gooders have everything under control, again, and the werewolves and death eaters have disappeared into the night, the campground is almost entirely levelled. anyone who didn't grab their belongings before they got out will likely not be able to find them, come morning, be it because their tent was burned to the ground or because the crowd stampeded over them. the death toll starts at ten, but climbs to thirty one as bodies are found and victims succumb to their injuries over the days that immediately follow. curiously, there are no deaths that can be attributed to the killing curse aside from that of FENRIR GREYBACK, who was killed by the minister of magic himself in defense of his daughter.

andie macnair is found by aurors and taken to st mungo's, quickly ; she was seriously injured and will need to spend a few days on a ward to fully recover. the bite to her leg was treated with dittany mixed with silver which has closed it, but she will be cursed with lycanthropy from this point onward.

antigone & ismene xu are in critical condition at st mungo's. if either survive, they will be cursed with lycanthropy.

arthur weasley had already suffered quite serious burns and smoke inhalation by the time he realised the tent was empty and passed out before he could get out - he would've burned to death had he not sent his patronus out and had it spotted by an auror, who dove in and dragged him out. he was taken from the scene and taken to st mungo's where he will need to spend several days, recovering.

arturo de la rosa suffered some minor injury but is mostly shook by the experience.

astoria greengrass suffered serious injury in the explosion that claimed lives and is lucky to be alive. she is removed from the scene and taken to st mungo's where she will have to spend several days to fully recover.

cara macdonald was badly splinched when she was apparated out and will need to seek treatment in st mungo's, though aside from this, she is mostly just shaken.

cho chang suffered serious injury from an unidentified curse that was thrown at her during the chaos and was taken to st mungo's from the scene, where she will have to spend at least the night having copious amounts of dittany applied to the gaping wound.

damaris vector is more shaken, than anything. they suffered a few minor scapes to their hands and knees, but apparated out before it could get any worse.

dudley dursley suffered minor smoke inhalation but got out quick and is more shaken by the experience than anything else.

eliza fawley ( and her husband and son ) are shaken, but unscathed.

ginny weasley (and draco malfoy ) suffered minor smoke inhalation but got out quick and are more shaken by the experience than anything else.

grace moody suffered serious injury in the explosion that claimed lives and is lucky to be alive. she is removed from the scene and taken to st mungo's where she will have to spend several days to fully recover.

justin finch-fletchley suffered serious injury when he was crushed beneath the crowd and is taken from the scene to st mungo's, where he will have to spend several days to fully recover.

marcus flint apparated out immediately and is unscathed.

marietta edgecombe suffered some minor burns to her hands, but is mostly unscathed.

mary macdonald was badly splinched when she apparated out and will need to seek treatment in st mungo's, though aside from this, she is also mostly just shaken.

mikaela karkaroff ( and marco macnair ) are badly shaken but mostly unscathed.

minette merrythought is badly shaken by her time beneath the cruciatus, but can be treated for shock on the scene. she's advised to have a stiff drink when she gets home, to further calm her nerves.

narcissa malfoy ( and her husband, plus a couple peacocks ) apparated out immediately and are unscathed.

oskar catchlove sprained his ankle in the chaos but can have this seen by an on site healer.

pansy parkinson suffered a minor concussion when she hit the ground, but is relatively unscathed. she's lucky that theo was there.

seamus finnigan broke his arm after he was hit by a stray curse, but has his choice ; he can take a shot of skele-gro on the scene and deal with it himself or seek treatment at st mungo's, where he will be fully observed overnight.

tempest clearwater has sustained minor burns, cuts and bruises from the stall that was collapsed on top of them ; they will need to spend a night in st mungo's to be properly treated.

theodore nott is miraculously unbitten but suffered serious cuts and bruising when he crashed into a wooden stall ; he will have to seek treatment in st mungo's and spend at least one night, for observation.

viktor krum was grazed by a ribboning curse and has suffered quite a serious injury to his upper arm. this can be taken care of with an administration of dittany by healers on scene.

OUT OF CHARACTER :

this marks the end of our charity quidditch game event ! no new event based starters should be posted from here on out, but you can feel free to continue any threads you began over the last few weeks and are welcome to transition to the aftermath.

#nox.plotdrop016 #nox.important #nox.event040 #hp rp #harry potter rp #appless rp #fandom rp #canon rp #oc rp #mumu rp #established rp

[dptms]

FENRIR GREYBACK, SCOURGE OF GREAT BRITAIN, KILLED BY THE MINISTER OF MAGIC IN LATE NIGHT ATTACK ! 

while the death toll following last night's burren attack continues to rise, the prophet is HONORED to be the publication trusted with breaking news that we hope will bring the many wix across the country who were caught up in the terror a modicum of peace. we can now officially confirm that FENRIR GREYBACK - the most savage and feared werewolf roaming free until today - was, as rumored, among the fatalities. his body has been postively identified by auror nymphadora tonks and transferred to a secure facility where we have been told a full autopsy will be performed before it is appropriately disposed of. even more impressive than news of the notorious werewolfs takedown is the way in which we have been informed he was finally defeated. though the ministry has yet to issue a formal statement to corroborate their story, eyewitnesses from the scene have told our reporters that MINISTER ANTONIN KARKAROFF, our derby hero, held the wand that finally put to end the threat of fenrir greyback, a feat no other has ever managed. though details differ from wix to wix, one fact remains true through all : the werewolf appears to have set its sights on mikaela karkaroff, the minister's only daughter, and his appearance at the burren campgrounds - along with the small force of aurors and hit wix that turned the tides on last nights attackers - could not have been more fortuitous. rita skeeter, our expert on wixen history in the past three decades, takes us through the ten worst crimes committed by fenrir greyback on page twelve, for anyone who needs a refresher !

#015. #nox.dp #nox.important #nox.plotdrop016 #nox.event040 #hp rp #harry potter rp #dark rp #war rp #magic rp #fantasy rp

[archivetms]

IT MIGHT BEGIN WITH A SMELL OF SMOKE. you’ll crinkle your nose and you’ll search all around, first glancing to your kitchen, as if there lies the obvious source. when it yields no answers you’ll look around and notice the rising grey smoke from a drawer you never really look into, and this’ll strike you as STRANGE, as it should, because there really is no reason for it. you’ll stride forward and pull it open with intent, wand ready to put out whatever fire has begun. and there, in the middle of a neatly charred hole, will lie a galleon. nothing special, really, except that it’s still red at the edges from how it burned red hot like a fire poker, and when you lift it with cautious fingers you’ll find a new message arranged around the edge : 20.05.2020, 21.00, 44° 42’ 7.9596".

mad eye moody’s dumbledore defense will surely give most of you a fright, as he rises from the thick layer of dust across the floor and rushes towards you before exploding. no one can work out how to get rid of it, the curse is that good - and only a lucky HANDFUL of you will have been given a heads up. once your heart stops THUMPING, follow the low hum of voices : they’ll lead you to the basement, unfamiliar for most, cleared of all but the table and chairs sometime in the last few years.

“wotcher,” GINNY is the first to speak up in greeting, her friendly grin still somehow lacking, “you look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

"not so much a ghost," NELLIE told ginny with a light smile. she wrung her hands nervously in her lap. every time her bouncing leg hit the ground, it changed a color, visible under her ripped jeans. "more like a support group for children with wands in crisis. the last real meeting i remember was before the war, i think."

HERMIONE gave a small nod. "it has been a while," she admitted, somehow managing to keep her voice steady. even though she had been the one to send out this call to arms, this felt wrong without harry here with them, the weight of his absence still hanging over all of their heads. she might have been the one to found dumbledore's army, but he had always been their leader. now that role would be in the hands of someone else. clearing her throat, she continued, "it seemed appropriate though -- after what happened at the memorial."

AURA was still a little shaken by the aparition at the front door, she wasn't sure if the chills she felt running through her body were due to the 'ghost' or because of the reason they've all been gathered. "weren't we all in the room of requirement?" she spoke up softly, her legs up against her chest and her arms tightly wrapped around her body. despite her entire expression being devoid of her usual cheerfulness aura allows herself a timid smile, "i was kinda hoping for it to remain the last one." it was obvious that she wasn't all that excited about the meeting... she would be, she was surrounded by old friends after all. but the air was a little thick and the circumstances weren't ideal. she could understand though, "you're right hermione, it feels... necessary... how- how have you guys been?"

"depends which army we're talking about." GINNY phrases it like it's a joke, but it isn't one, really. whether it was the group formed in the room of requirement, a response to umbridge or, the one that was birthed in a school that no longer felt like a home to combat death eaters - they'd been through a whole lot of war meetings for a bunch of kids. "it was... quite a message. loud, not so clear. i'd say i can't believe they're trying to spin it as a joke, but..." she tilts her chair back, and clucks her tongue - they also knew better than MOST how willing the grown ups of the situations were to push things under the rug. "i feel better now we're here. don't you all?"

she sighs softly, she'd hoped the true reason they were all gathered there would come up later. AURA didn't feel ready to talk about it all just yet, she's always been the kind to simply ignore unpleasant things until she can't anymore. but she supposes it's fine to get this out of the way sooner rather than later. especially if what's going on is actually serious and not some joke from some bored death eater that just decided to spice up their sunday afternoon, and doing it later involves yet another war for them to fight. "it's pretty much their brand at this point, isn't it? ridicule what you can't understand..." she shrugs slightly, even though with the way she's sitting -almost like protecting herself- it's hard to notice, "i'm taking it none of us believes in the prophet? and well... the mark has to mean something, right?"

the 'joke' stance would have been expected, from the likes of the prophet. that paper had consistently shown itself to be not much more than a pile of horseshit, and though a childish lark probably wouldn't have sold HALF as well as the fear mongering rubbish they'd gone with, GINNY wouldn't have put it past them. it was the fact that it came from the ministry - run by a man that ginny had the UTMOST respect for, who her parents had much the same feeling for - that truly stung. "someone had to take it seriously," she says, firmly, in perfect agreement with her brother, with her friend. it was cruel that it always seemed to be THEM who ended up back in this position, but if the people with sway were going to stick their head in the sand... so be it. "when the dark mark appeared at the world cup, my dad said that only death eaters know how to conjure it. that means it couldn't have been a joke. someone did that on purpose." she chewed her lip. considered her words. continued, before she thought otherwise. "and i don't think that prophecy everyone's talking about was that batty old woman just trying to save her job, either."

PARVATI drums her fingers on the table in front of her. she didn't know what to think anymore. she would like to think that the prophet, the people paying her bloody rent, wouldn't lie, but she knew better at the end of the day. "what about the kids?" she asks, eyes flashing. "maybe mum or dad taught them how to cast it? or there could have been more in training," she suggests, trying to soothe the knot in her stomach. then she looked up. "what about the order? have any of them said anything?"

in this very moment, ROLF was reminded of how long it took his grandfather to pick a side during the war with grindlewald. he had been similar during the war with voldemort. he had ultimately chosen the right side, but other than offering medical support and helpful knowledge here and there, rolf was never in the middle of the fight. it's not as though he was a coward, he just believed there was always good in people. he still tried to live by that, but after seeing what the death eaters had done to his friends, to his school, he couldn't ignore the fact that there was and always will be bad in this world. now, standing here with some many that did fight, rolf wanted to be more like his grandmother. she was never afraid to run into something head on that she knew in her heart was right. "regardless of what the order might think, we need to formulate a plan." rolf was staring at his feet firmly planted on the floor, his hand on his chin, so he didn't see those who looked at him with wide eyes. however, he could feel their stares. "i know that i don't usually speak in these meetings. i know that i wasn't much help the last time around, and i'm truly sorry for that. however, if something is coming, and i suspect that it is. then, this time will be different." he slowly looked up, looking directly at the one person's fighting spirit he admired almost as much as his grandmother's. "ginny, i want to fight.”

ALICIA could feel every single nerve in her body, all alight. fight. she wanted to do that too, wanted to punch and kick and scratch at whatever threatened to take away the small nuggets of peace everyone had managed to gather up in the past couple of years but — experience was screaming from the back of her mind. "what if that's the point?" she doesn't intend to speak, her thoughts being formed into sound before she’s had a chance to review. "what if they just wanna shit us up?" was that too muggle of a phrase?  "why else would we get warning? why not just attack when we're unprepared?" that's a grim thought — alicia can't keep eye contact, her hands behind her back to hide their shaking.

"don't you think it's a bit presumptuous, parvati, to imply that the likes of draco malfoy have nothing better to be doing with their time than taking over the family business?" GINNY can't help herself. the accusation causes something strange to bloom within her chest, and her words come out sharper ( and far more incredulous ) than she had truly intended on, and sit heavily between them. her expression is unreadable, but her mind whirls ; what reason has she to be defensive, beyond a solemn apology spoken at a memorial ginny's been trying hard to forget?

she's almost grateful for the implication of rolf's words, might JUST have been, if they didn't make her mouth dry up. "i didn't call the meeting, rolf," quieter, this time, than she'd chosen to be before. almost private. she understands the WANT between them all, to do something. she's been feeling that SAME itch beneath her skin, and she can't lie that it only started with the dark mark. wanting to fight makes sense to her. wanting to do something, to have an active role... wasn't that why they'd all answered the call? "half of it back then was fear mongering, but that didn't mean...- that it was any less serious." she almost shivers at the memory of a name too terrifying to utter, of methods used by the carrow twins, of a MYTHICISM of the death eaters that was meant to make your blood run cold... "for all we know, the order are ignoring all of this, but we're taking it serious, even if no one else is. we're all pretty much in agreement that dumbledore's army is reinstated, but, uh...- to circle back to something rolf said-" had implied? she looks towards him, briefly, before scanning the rest of the table, "we can't do much else, tonight, but we should probably work out who's leading us, now that-...." harry's gone. the words died in her throat. "you know."

anxiety spread throughout ROLF’S body, extending toward his fingers, which soon began to shake. he quickly tucked the under his arms, hoping no one else noticed. "i-i'm sorry, gin. i just assumed-" his heart rate picked up. "i was wrong." deciding it was better to not make any more assumption, rolf kept his lips pressed in a firm line, instead figuring it was best to let those who actually knew what they were talking about speak up. as he listened, rolf swayed back and forth on his feet, his eyes glued to the floor until he heard ginny's voice cut out. his head snapped up, eyes searching for hers. rolf knew she wouldn't be able to get his name out. he saw the look in her eyes and crossed the room, closing the space between them. resting a comforting hand on her shoulder, squeezing it just enough to let her know he was there for her, rolf got the courage to speak up once more. "she's right you know, but then again, i can't ever remember a time where ginny weasley was wrong. however, that's not the point." he cleared his throat, raising his voice enough to make it seem as though he was less anxious then he actually was. "regardless of what the order is thinking, dumbledore's army will stand strong, as it did before. so i just have one thing to say. i'm not sure if anyone else felt this way back when, but i feel it today as strong as i did when we last stood around like this. we're a family and we will get through this together, as one."

NEVILLE had been quiet throughout the meeting. the thing was, he was expected to have something to say. he was a founding member of the da and had formed it again in harry's absence. and now harry was gone, and...the mantle fell most obviously to him, but it already felt so heavy.

there were too many ghosts in this meeting. his heart had hammered for long moments after he saw the apparition of mad-eye. he had never had much of a relationship with the real mad-eye, but sometimes he thought about how it was the scheming of the impostor that had led him to his calling. in his life, all the good seemed entwined inextricably with all the bad. it seemed there was no letting go of everything, no moving on. the coin had burned, and he had come. but to what end?

his eyes flicked to rolf when he said they were a family. his gentleness seemed to balance ginny's fire. at last, neville leaned forward. "no one ever told us to form the da. there was no one telling us what calls to make or who to put in charge. we always decided that for ourselves. so i say that we nominate and then we vote."

he looked back at ginny for a long moment. she was brave, bright, and she was already stepping up. it was an easy decision to make. "i nominate ginny weasley," he said, chin lifting. "do i hear a second?"

"No, it should be Hermione." MICHAEL had been quiet through most of the meeting. That seemed to be his schtick. All the ravenclaws (geez, he was back in a room with the DA for one second and he was separating them back into their houses again) were usually sitting back and listening, thinking it through. Michel might not have been the smartest ravenclaw, but the bird on his robes wasn't just for show, or just because he dreamed of flying.

"Sorry Ginevra," Michael didn't call her Ginny anymore. Always her full name or Weasley, but given that the room was populated with multiple Weasleys, he stuck to her first name, "But I don't think you have the experience." He looked at Rolf, then back at the fiery redhead, "And I know of a few times you've been wrong." He was practically shouting 'you know, when you dumped me, no hard feelings' into the air between them. "You're reckless and headstrong. Makes you a great quidditch player. Not a leader. Not if we wanna be smart."

He turned to the room at large. "We might say that Harry was the teacher, and that Dumbledore's name was on the parchment," he swallowed, "But Hermione created the DA. It was her idea. She wrote the rules. She enchanted the galleons. She's also the only person in this room who's done this. Really done this. She found the horcruxes, hunted down death eaters; the works. This isn't a war. Not yet. We need to be quiet and stealthy, not loud and explosive. I vote Hermione."

“merlin, michael, issues much?” NELLIE tilted her head, arms cross over chest. nel tended to mind her own business. she knew she wasn’t meant to lead this, and was perfectly fine with that. too much responsibility she didn’t want. and what would she do to run them? in this hypothetical, nellie had no idea. she thinks maybe matching jackets. “do you have something to say to ginny? not much the time. were you even* in the second da?*” nellie knew she was being a bit mean, but she really couldn’t help it.

of course, nellie had a personal stake in ginny, as one of her friends, but hermione was undeniably competent. a member of the da twice, nellie was familiar with both their work with the group, but she felt the need to at least stick up for her friend. “i vote GINNYor NEVILLE.” nellie flicked a piece of orange hair over shoulder. it had been yellow, but her anger simmered at the offense on behalf of ginny, leaving it a sunset-colored mop. “hermione’s great, but i was around for the second installment. ginny, luna, and neville ran everything. if anyone, it should be them. it’d be stupid otherwise. so.” she usually didn’t talk this much, especially not during meetings, but she huffed a breath, leg bouncing with energy.

HERMIONE had remained quiet for the past several minutes. It wasn't that she had nothing to say. It was quite the opposite -- she had too much she wanted to express, deep in thought, her mind whirling with the possibilities as she tried to come up with the game plan that she knew everyone was expecting from her. It was hard to figure out how to fight when you weren't sure what you were fighting against. It wasn't until Michael spoke that she finally realized what was best. "No," Clearing her throat as all eyes turned on her, she paused for a few moments before she continued, "We shouldn't pick one leader. What we need now is balance. Neville's bravery. Ginny's spirit. Ron's strategy. My knowledge. Different perspectives are more important now than ever."

NEVILLE was taken aback by michael bringing an apparently personal agenda to such an important decision. he really wasn't impressed, especially with those insults directed at his friend. ginny had experience, and she wasn't reckless, she was brave. he would trust her with his life, many times over. he remembered what michael had done for the younger students, but he hadn't as much of a leadership role then, and he certainly wasn't playing one now with the way he was stirring the pot.

it wasn't that he disagreed with the choice of hermione. who truly could? she was brilliant and would no doubt keep the da several steps ahead of everyone else. however, he was somewhat biased towards ginny because of the way he had seen her rally together the students in that long and terrible year. they had different kinds of experience, but both would probably prove valuable. he wouldn't be unhappy at all if the group were to choose hermione. he was mostly unhappy about the way she was nominated.

neville was debating not saying anything, but it had gotten too personal. "i'm sorry, you're entitled to your opinion of who should lead the da, but that's not an acceptable way to talk about ginny. we've all made mistakes, even hermione." he glanced at hermione. "i respect everyone in this room. we should all treat each other that way."

he considered nellie and hermione's suggestions for there to be more than one leader. he'd been resigned to the idea that he would be nominated. neville was ready to do whatever he needed to do for the group, as he had before, if the vote fell that way.

"i think it's a good point that we all bring different things to the table," he said, looking around the room at his friends, comrades-in-arms once and now again. "i still think there's value to a strong leader at our head--" he could only think of harry, harry. "--even without a lot of other top-down organization. but i already made my nomination, so." clearing his throat, he sat.

as soon as michael opened his mouth, ROLF tried to hold his tongue. he had lived his life by always giving others the benefit of the doubt, but there was just something about that boy, other than the fact that he was ginny's ex, that rubbed him the wrong. thankfully, hermione spoke up, which distracted him from whatever he might've said to michael. her statement took him by surprise, especially since he was also in favor of ginny. the red head was one of his best friends after all. rolf was even in favor of nellie's nomination of neville, who was another brilliant friend of his. however, no matter his personal feelings and biases, hermione's idea made more sense. "i'm afraid i might have to second hermione. i think it might be..." not better he thought to himself, trying to find the right word. "smarter, to have more than just one person leading us. when it was just harry, i can't even imagine the immense pressure he was under as the leader, as the chosen one, and just as a normal student like the rest of us were. it isn't right to put that much pressure on anyone here."

AURA had chosen to remain quiet for the time being. not because she didn't have anything to say but because she wanted to think it through before voicing her opinion. the unwarranted jab at her best friend, made her train of thoughts derail and she shot a glare the boy's way. "we've ALL made mistakes at some point during our lives... at the moment, you're making it crystal clear the apparent mistake you think ginny made in regards to you wasn't one after all, michael." she knew full well the redhead sitting close to her didn't need her defense, she could protect herself on HER OWN. she's proved it time after time, but this was just the way aura was after all.

she takes a deep breath trying to calm herself down and organize her ideas. "i agree... different perspectives could be helpful in the long run. neville, ginny and you have already proved you're capable of being a leader; the ones that have been here since day one are witnesses of all you've done for this group. there's no denying that. but do all of you actually want to have that responsibility again? i think your own opinion should also matter. there's no point in forcing you to take a stand if that's not what you want."

To be perfectly honest, this was weird. DEAN hadn’t been back with this group of people since his Hogwarts days: and those were so ungraciously ripped away from him. He was glad to be back, he was. But a little part of him wished that Seamus were there, that the room didn’t feel suddenly so empty in the absence of his friends: the ones they had lost, or the ones who no longer wished to return.

And a bigger part of him wished that there was not so much bickering, so much bad blood. “Can we all lay off each other? None of us are death eaters, yeah?” He had been silent for most of the meeting, unsure of what to say: Dean hadn’t really seen the DA in it’s second iteration, and the group had clearly changed. They all had. But he gave a pointed glance at Aura, and then Michael in turn.

“Yeah well… without…” He couldn’t bring himself to say it. But no one else had and it hung in the air, an unspoken truth. “Without Harry, the fact that we’re having this debate maybe suggests that the group shouldn’t have just one leader. Unless we need one for like, a safehouse.”

“We’re all here, aren’t we? We all chose to take a stand, whether that means leading the group or being in it.”

up until a certain point, GINNY sat with her spindly chair leaning backwards, the front two legs off the ground. she kept her arms crossed over her chest and very uncharacteristically, bit her tongue, her gaze burning a hole into the CENTER of the table ( aside from a brief flicker towards michael, when he first spoke ) as everyone around her discussed her strengths and weaknesses and all the ways in which her friends were better options. she didn't DISAGREE with that assessment. ginny had been expecting her nomination, of course, but that didn't come from a place of her being vainglorious. when she thought of everything that she had done during the year where it was just... she and neville and luna and the few people they could gather to the cause against the world, she remembered a THOUSAND stupid mistakes, big and small, and had a million and one ideas for how they could have done better. they'd done their best, all of them, and they'd been all that a chunk of the hogwarts population had, but they were still just kids. what they'd been doing had come from a place of necessity, but it wasn't something to find pride in.

the thing that BOTHERED her - that continued to, even as the conversation wound this way and that - was the idea that she was the lesser than of three. her brow furrowed, a dent appearing as she thought about it, almost entirely tuning out the people that were jumping to her defense. lesser than of six, she supposed, if they were counting both armies. she had known the minute that her coin had burned, so hot it had left a mark when she had gone to pick it up, that in all likelihood she would be put forward to lead again. she'd also been well aware that neville and hermione would be, too, and anyone who'd thought otherwise for even one MOMENT was a fool. they'd done this before. they had the experience. in times such as these, the default was to fall back on the people who'd done it : and she was fine with that. more than, even. aura's point, caught just as ginny properly tuned back in, was sweet, but unnecessary. at least for ginny. that weight of responsibility on their shoulders wasn't something that people wanted, but she had decided a long time ago that she could handle it. being nominated didn't bother her. being treated like she was the one wild card in a sea of better choices pissed her RIGHTLY off.

the two front legs of her chair hit the ground with a thud.

"this is stupid." that wasn't a great opening. ginny was aware, suddenly, of how at risk she was of ticking dean off, so her next words were said in a rush, all the better to avoid that particular blow up. "we're going around in circles, either... making a case for the same people, or defending MY honor. which- thanks, but i don't need anyone here to do that." the corner of her lips twitched, though whatever bemused SMILE she might have offered the people in question never fully materialized. instead, her emerald hues fell upon michael once again.

"if you're still bent out of shape cause you got dumped nearly a decade ago, then that's your issue to work through. save it for the pitch and send a bludger my way, someday. just don't sit there and try invalidate everything that i've done for the da." a part of why ginny hadn't... chosen to speak up sooner, was cause she was AWARE of how much she'd have proven his point. she was headstrong, she was loud, in a word she was hotheaded : and she hadn't really wanted to give him the satisfaction of being right, which...- how WELL they were fitting the cliche of bitter exes, right now? laughable. at the end of the day, michael could say what he wanted - but the one thing she refused to be was DIMINISHED. if they were going to keep having these meetings, if they had to sit across from one another at them, then they had to get one thing clear. "hermione is a brilliant option, and so is neville - but you don't get to act like their experiences trump mine. i had voldemort in my head years before anyone but harry and i had faced him. i was in the department of mysteries. i didn't go on the same grand quest hermione did, but i was here, corunning the second army with neville and luna," she'd defied snape too. she'd been a part of the trio that had tried stealing the sword. she'd protected first years, smuggled muggleborns into the room of requirement, done everything she could, and she wanted to say all of that and more, like the fact that she - like many in the room - had the scars to prove it. the milky blood traitor carved into her arm felt like it were burning red hot, and it was the only thing that really sobered her, and she settled for leaning forward, and finishing with a simple: "we were in the same rebellion, protecting the same people, and we won the same war. the only difference is i restarted it with neville and luna, not you, or anyone else here. don't pretend i didn't."

she felt like she'd run a marathon, when she was finished - but she wasn't done. chewing the inside of her cheek, angrily, her words hung heavy in the air until she pushed her chair away from the table, suddenly, pulling out her wand - before anyone could WORRY about imminent danger, she gave it a wave and conjured a box before her. another jab ( that was meant to be a flourish ), and there were enough shreds of parchment and pens ( easier to scrawl quickly with ) to go around.

"there's too many PERSONAL-" yes, a little pointed, "feelings clouding everyone's judgement, and this is the only way we're going to get this over with quickly and fairly. write who you think should lead us. don't sign your name. put it in the box, and we'll tally it up." she was still fuming, but she directed a little smirk the other girls way, "no copyright infringement intended on you, tally."

It had been a while since KATIE was back with this group of people and she'd be lying if she had said being here didn't bring back memories, both the good and bad. She listened to the rest of the members speak as she nodded her head in agreement to whatever they had been saying. "Arguing isn't gonna solve any of our problems. so can we just drop it?" She asked the group, looking between all the people that she was sure people could here arguing from a mile away. She had her own problems to deal with, but she knew that arguing wouldn't solve anything, which is why she decided to be civil although she'd be lying if she'd had said she hadn't thrown a scowl or two Nellie's way. "Look, none of us want to do this without Harry, but he's gone whether we like it or not and someone has to lead whether it be one person or a group of people." She reassured the group, looking between everyone that had been in the same room as her. If she had to pick, she'd probably pick either Dean or Alicia as the new leader's, but she knew that it wasn't just her say and that the group had to agree with her too.

“ i think it’d be a bit uncharacteristic for us to be completely devoid of fight, but ginny’s right. “ when wasn’t she ? NELLIE twisted around, grabbing her backpack from where she’d carelessly left it on the floor. under her wand, a chocolate frog, and a pair of sunglasses ( it was not the weather for them, but nellie liked the aesthetic ), nellie grabbed out her notebook. passing by pages of scribbled notes, she started to rip out full pages, and then rip those in half. “ here. i have pens too, one second- “ she took them out of the front pocket, blue, purple, and pink glitter gel. taking a pen and a slip of paper for herself, she passed the rest on to the person beside her. “ who cares about constant vigilance when i’ve got CONSTANT CRAFT SUPPLIES ? “

nellie scribbled her vote, making sure to sign her name ( though ginny said explicitly to not. who was eleanor diggory if not a rule breaker ) and leave a heart. “ we aren’t just here for an election, i don’t think. honestly, maybe we are. i don't pay very good attention. “ nellie smacked her lips together, cherry chapstick pink. she took her slip of paper and placed it face-down onto the center of the table. “ what i’m wondering is what bellatrix is doing. obviously, she’s mad, but is she any real threat ? “ well, now that nellie’s said it aloud, she’s not so sure. the same thing could be said for voldemort, couldn’t it ? ONE MAN, ONE IDEA, and two wars with it.

ALICE hadn't talked the whole meeting, she wasn't very vocal about her opinions, she mostly kept to herself anyways. of course, she had opinions, but none of them would do any good out in the open, so she kept silent, making faces at certain people's statements. Personal feelings shouldn't be brought into a serious conversation, she thought that more than anything else.

When nellie brought up constant vigilance she sunk deeper into her chair. Alice had heard the phrase so often, it had lost it's effect on her, but something about hearing someone say it that she, frankly, didn't know very well, struck something in her, she didn't know the feelings ' name, but it wasn't anger, "constant craft supplies," she spoke for the first time, the whole meeting, "that's good" she smiled, writing her own response on the piece of paper in front of her.

"She's a loose canon, we don't know anything about her," Alice shrugs, "for all we really know, she's with the giants now, " Bellatrix lestrange had become an urban legend at this point, something for a 5 minute fame piece, which was terrifying, honestly. They had all seen the legend in work.

once the voting had commenced, NEVILLE decided that it would be best to move onto other topics--nellie brought up a salient point, as did alice.

"we can't ever count bellatrix lestrange out," neville said grimly. "i think her not being very stable just makes her more dangerous." besides all the terrible tragedy of death, his greatest regret about that night was that they didn't chase her down. neville thought that if they came face-to-face--he would kill her. he didn't think that about many people, but he was sure when it came to her. "what about her husband, rodolphus lestrange? he was never taken into custody."

he'd had trouble trusting the ministry for a long time, and this certainly wasn't helping matters. he wasn't impressed by the recent actions of the daily prophet either. he had been raised wanting to believe in the institutions of their world, but they had failed time and time again. he supposed that was why they found themselves here.

"do we have any evidence that they're recruiting? i mean, the dark mark isn't just meant to intimidate us. it's also a rallying call." neville didn't want to believe that they could be growing in numbers again, after everything. but those key figures had slipped through the fingers of both the order and the department of magical law enforcement, and neville knew very well that all it took was a seed or two...

she could ALWAYS count on nell. it was nice to know. GINNY was quick moving around the room distributing paper and pens, but her friend was quicker ; by the time she had circled round, nellie had her vote cast, and ginny plucked it from the table and dropped it in the ballot box. “thanks,” for the craft supplies. for catching that she wanted the topic changed and following through. for all of it, really, but she didn’t want to say too much and kept it all to a soft squeeze of the others shoulder before she moved back to her chair.

“she’s still in the country,” she slipped back into her seat, tone matter of fact. ginny’s focus was now primarily on the scrap of paper ahead of her as she bent her head, sheet of ginger hair acting as a privacy curtain and hiding what she scrawled from the rest of the table, but she could still multitask. “we know that from the fact that rodolphus WASN’T brought in.” she thought about the woman she had duelled : wild hair, wilder eyes, undeniably skilled with the wand she wielded as if it were a dagger. she remembers the flash of green light that had been a hairs breadth away from hitting her, and she’s grateful for the fact her face is obscured, though her hand still shakes. she’s quick to fold up the paper she’s finished writing on and push it away, hiding her hands in her pockets as she sits back. “if anyone could stop a convoy, it’s that woman.”

she doesn’t know if she believes that the dark mark at the memorial WAS a rallying call, really, but she won’t deny that neville isn’t wrong to at least... think it. chewing at her lip a moment, mind moving a hundred miles a minute, she thinks about - the mark in the sky, and bellatrix, and writhing tattoos, and masked death eaters, and the fact that THEY can only speculate, but... “leave that with me.” gaze flickers to neville. she’s aware she can’t say something so vague without being questioned, but she feels... weird, about the whole thing, and she hesitates before adding, “there’s no point in theorizing. i- i think i can talk to draco. i won’t need to say much, or tell him why i want to KNOW - but i might be able to get an answer out of him.”

He was glad, at least, that the arguing was over. At the very least, DEAN didn’t really care what people thought about leadership: he knew who he wanted before he stepped foot in the room, before his coin had burned in his pocket earlier that morning. “Thanks Nellie,” Dean grinned, grabbing a light blue pen and scribbling his vote quickly before sending it across the room with his wand and dropping it in the box.

“Yeah, I think she is. A threat at the very least, grand plan or not.” Dean said absentmindedly. He was not looking at the room, instead using Nellie’s pen to doodle a sketch of a dragon on his forearm. His few interactions with her had him worried: whether or not Bellatrix was planning on something, he certainly did not want to cross her again. “Why’d you say that, Gin?” This was more intentional: putting down his pen, he raised his eyes across the room to face her. Maybe Dean hadn’t been paying attention, but he certainly didn’t follow her logic. “The breakout was months ago, she could be anywhere by now. But it’s old Death Eater tactics, yeah? If they’re not actively recruiting, they’re definitely shoring up their own ranks.”

“Speaking of, do we know what the ministry is up to?” His gaze shifts to Hermione and Tally: the two people in the room he knew for a fact worked for the Ministry. “Maybe they’re handling it for once. At least with Kingsley in charge…” He trailed off, unwilling to finish that sentence. Maybe this time I won’t have to run. “I haven’t heard anything from the Order, but I can’t imagine they’re doing nothing.”

"you're never getting that pen back, nel," GINNY’S just kidding. the atmosphere hadn't exactly settled, yet, so she feels as if...- in a way, her little joke might be seen as her trying too hard - but she isn't. free of her ballot, waiting for the last of them to send in theirs, she was just searching for something to pass the time : and watching dean's fluid movements and the shape of a dragon take form was as good as anything. she wasn't expecting him to address her, but her eyes flicker upwards from his arm to meet his gaze, anyway. "just a feeling, i guess," she shrugged, only now aware she'd sounded an awful lot like she was stating FACT. "if she didn't think she had to leave the country in the last six years, i don't see her doing it now. we've all heard the rumors." and didn't the dark mark somewhat confirm them?

"i've not heard anything from mum and dad," about the order, that was. the ministry was a sore subject, still. "i doubt the ministry is doing much, if they're trying to spin the whole thing as a joke," she'd expected better from minister shacklebolt. that much was plain to see from the expression that had worked its way onto her face. before she could delve too much more into it, however, ginny took a sweeping glance along the table and realized the last of the ballots had been submitted - "we can circle back. first, let me get this over with."

she thought, briefly about asking neville to accompany her to a sideroom so that she wouldn't have eyes on her, as she opened up the box. that seemed like it'd be ASKING for trouble, though ( ballot box tampering, anyone? ), so - rolling up her sleeves and pushing her hair behind her ear, ginny took the top from the box and tipped it upside down. it really didn't feel great, having all eyes on her, but she worked quickly ; reading each scrap of paper and dropping it back into the box, keeping a tally ( and a couple lines ) on a spare sheet of all the votes. it didn’t take as long as she had worried it would. all too soon, as if she needed to, she gave a little cough to clear her throat.

“one vote for rolf. someone said they liked your speech, a lot. one for dean, cause you ‘have a good heart’. one for alicia, because you seem to have a good head on your shoulders, one for nellie for much the same, and one for michael cause someone wants to see you get impeached.” she rattled all thier names off one by one, and tried to remain matter of fact when it came to revealing the reasoning. she agreed, for the most part, but she was trying to seem... impartial.

“three for luna. she did a good job, when she was leading,” that was the essence of all the notes that had luna’s name scrawled across them. rightly so. “six for neville, cause...-” fuck impartialness, “you’re the best of all of us, nev. and- seven for hermione. for all the reasons already mentioned.”

“nine for ginny.” she’d reached the end of her page, and though she’d been hunched over her page, some, she sat back now - trying very hard not to look SMUG, as the sweeping look around the table she gave dwelled, a little, on michael. it wasn’t something to be proud of. “some of you guys said some really nice things about me, so thanks for that. i don’t think i have to tell you i’ll do anything for everyone here, but if everything goes...- bad, like we’re worried it will, then- whatever it takes. i’ll do it.”

she was grateful, you know. to be seen as COMPETENT. it was one thing, to think it of yourself, but it was another for others to think it too, and ginny...- couldn’t help the soft, sad sort of feeling that had built in her chest at the fact that some people in the room had thought she’d do even HALF as good a job as harry did. she’d been voted in, fair and square, and she was fine with that. but she felt... good, about her next thought.

“i was voted in, i won’t turn it down, but if something were to happen to me...” they’d be in the same place, later. they all KNEW it, and it was the one argument that stuck in mind. her words, now, were directed to the people who had come second and third. “neither of you- hermione, neville- have to, if you don’t want. but would you work with me, maybe?"

ginny's idea that bellatrix had helped rodolphus escape held water for NEVILLE, but dean's doubt made sense to him as well.

he felt a stab of nostalgia, sweet but sharp, when he saw dean sketching on his arm. they'd never been the closest at hogwarts, true, neville always on the periphery, but he he remembered watching dean draw while the weasley twins goofed off and hermione studied...memories. so many memories with so many in this room. whatever happened with the vote, he hoped the group would maintain that precious cohesion. what he'd read about his parents' iteration of the order told him that was one of their strengths, too, even if it made the battles they had to face more painful.

it was a good point about both the ministry and the order. they needed more information than they had. but it was time for the vote, so neville tabled that. the vote--mostly didn't surprise him. and he found that he was satisfied. he gave ginny a small, warm smile, twitching at the corners when he saw that bit of smugness in her face. if something were to happen...it didn't bear thinking about. but neville would be a faithful lieutenant. to the bitter end, if need be.

"in a heartbeat, gin," he told her with a nod. he looked around the room for hermione. three seemed right. "and not to get too far ahead of myself, but i am thinking...we need someone to liaise with the order." his fingers tapped slowly on the table as he further explained his point. "i don't think we have to decide to become one organization, but i think we'll be at a disadvantage if we keep information from each other. and you know bellatrix and her lot will use every advantage they can get."

MICHAEL was starting to regret being here. All he did was offer fair criticism of Ginevra fucking Weasley, and her goons leapt down his throat like he'd said she was a piece of trash. Then of course, her friends elected her mayor. He took a deep breath with his eyes closed, so he could speaking with some degree of calmness. He had to remember why he was here: Because someone had to act while the "adults" all had their heads up their asses. Someone had to do the work. It was the DA last time. It'll be the DA this time. Besides, these guys would all get themselves killed without him to reign them in.

So he was staying.

"Absolutely not," Michael said immediately when The Order was mentioned. Michael knew next to nothing about them, except that Voldemort had hated them and they'd done nothing to stop him. The fact that Neville knew some of them meant that Michael could take wild guesses at who they were: a number of people Neville knew came through the portrait right before the Battle of Hogwarts, but it wouldn't be any more than speculation. "The Order isn't going to help any more than they did last time. This is third time we'll have to fight their war. Let the relics lie in the dust. We'll handle this."

Then he turned to their new "leader". "So what're we doing? We don't know who cast the mark. We don't know if they were a Death Eater. We don't know if it was a call for help or just a dying gasp. We don't know where the missing prisoners went. We don't know what organization they have. We don't know which former Death Eaters might be helping them, or their children. We know nothing, oh gloriously elected leader." Michael shrugged. "We only know it wasn't a prank. So what's the agenda?"

"Third time is a stretch, Corner. Most of us were babies for the first war." ALICIA grins, a laugh dancing around her mouth and evident in her eyes. "Did you goo goo ga ga Voldemort away too?" Corner definitely had a bit of a chip on that shoulder of his, and Alicia wouldn't have the patience for all that bullshit Quidditch jock bravado for much longer. "Sounds like you reckon you could do better. G'wan. What would you being doing right now if you'd gotten enough votes, Corner?" She's slouched all the way back on her chair, hands painting her words in the air and looking the picture of nonchalance now that they had settled on something and had briefly stopped asking the questions none of them were gonna work out the answers to. "Other than give us a morale boost by listing all the shit we don't know?"

MICHAEL is undaunted. He ignores the taunt, knowing it for what it is. Arguing over what he meant by third and we would only delay actually getting something done. "I'm glad you asked, Alicia!" He speaks as if he was hoping for the challenge. "Neville is right in that we should be getting more information. Just not from the Order. Step 1 is recruitment. We are smaller than we once were, and we need fresh eyes and ears. And we already have a ready recruiting ground. Hogwarts. We rose from there because we saw the pattern before anyone else did. So I bet there are students there right now who are seeing things we're not. So we should go get them." He held up a finger, to indicate he wasn't done. "Meanwhile, the rest of us should start re-establishing contact with people from our years. This isn't a war. Not yet. There's no target to wave a wand at. But we all know people who were tied to the death eaters before. Pansy. Blaise," he quirks his mouth, "Malfoy. Any one of them could've heard something useful. I'll start working on a couple potions we could make excellent use of. Once we have facts...then we go in."

“ no problem, “ NELLIE said softly, addressing both dean and ginny. she shrugged her shoulders about getting her pen back. nellie brought her bottom lip between her teeth, chewing on it as they spoke of bellatrix and the rest of the death eaters. she wished she knew anything substantial. WHAT WERE THEY PLANNING ? she hoped that ginny was right. that draco would be able to tell her something.

nellie squinted her eyes. she resisted the urge to change them a color, MAYBE RED, for the hell of it. might feel good to give him a scare. “ sorry, need i remind you that you aren’t in charge ? we’re a secret organization. IT’S IN THE NAME. how would we recruit ? fliers ? a prophet article ? oh, maybe a howler ? “ it was an idea, she’d give him that, but how did he plan to put it into any actual action. “ they’re - they’re bloody children, no more than we were. WE DIDN’T DESERVE WAR, and neither do they. “ she was older now. old enough to recognize that she dealt with much more than a child should have ever had to. but wasn’t that hogwarts ? wasn’t that life ? nellie didn’t know anymore. this, she did not voice.

“ we should ask the order. it’s just being lazy if we don’t. “ not that nellie cared for them much, but she wasn’t going to say they didn’t have experience. they were just... different, she thought. she’d never wanted to be a part of that. “ and, yes, the death eaters that are less... death eater-y. but we should be aware that EVEN IF WE WENT TO SCHOOL WITH THEM, even if we’re friends with them... they have their own worries. we shouldn’t tell them much, like gin said. definitely not about da. “

“sorry, michael - i had no idea that voting hermione in ahead of me would have given us all the answers to those questions, immediately, from nowhere. silly me.” GINNY couldn’t help but CHUCKLE not-so-softly at alicia’s words, knowing now the reason she still had such a soft spot for the other, though she wasn’t much interested in what he actually had to say in response to them until... well.

“absolutely not.” she hadn’t thought she’d have to be so firm, so soon, but as it turned out - they were apparently VERY lucky indeed michael hadn’t triumphed in the ballot box. she nodded along to nellie, taking the time the other was speaking to pull together her own thoughts and work through the sudden flash of jaw tightening anger that had struck her. she needed to be able to say more than michael, you’re so fucking stupid, and she even took a moment ONCE nell was finished to make sure the line wouldn’t make an appearance. “we aren’t bringing kids into this war. not again. i’m not the only one here who lost my childhood because of things outside of my control, but we’re...- we aren’t doing it. none of them know what it was like. none of the current set of students were a PART of the war. we aren’t turning them into the next colin creevey’s.” her heart HURT to remember him ; not the only casualty, not by a long shot, but the one she was sure they all remembered. he had deserved better.

“i’ve already said i can talk to draco,” with the patience of a SAINT, she managed not to roll her eyes, “at least i have an in, with him. if you’re hiding one to the other goons, by all means, speak up- but if not, keep to who we know. i’d say you should get in contact with CHO, michael, but if this is the attitude you have with all your exes, it’s probably best someone else does.”

"So you wanna be just like them?" MICHAEL shot back. No long speeches. No grandstanding. "You wanna tell the kids they're too young. They should stay out of this? If war is coming they are already involved. Don't insult them like they insulted us."

“we were DIFFERENT.” GINNY’S losing patience with him. she’s lost it, actually, around the same moment her voice raises a couple octaves, her eyes trained upon him and only him. “we weren’t kids anymore, we HADN’T been kids in a long time. for ME, it was when voldemort was in my head- for NELLIE, it was the last triwizard challenge- for HERMIONE, and ron, and harry, for the rest of everyone here it was what HAPPENED while we were at that school. it was insulting to be left out when we went to war, because we had already been fighting it, BUT THEY HAVEN’T LIVED OUR LIFE, MICHAEL.”

"right now, we don't really know what's going on at all," NEVILLE pointed out. "i think it's too soon to start recruiting--" child soldiers, it would always be too soon to start recruiting child soldiers. blimey, michael. he wouldn't wish their childhoods on anyone. "--when we don't know the nature of the war. if there is a war." but it felt like there was always a war. that it would never be over. neville felt like he was speaking through thick grey exhaustion. "we can talk about ways to get information out to students, if information starts being repressed or misrepresented again, though. i think they do deserve that. of course, we'd, erm. need information first."

"for now..." he looked over at michael for a moment. he wasn't impressed by his behavior, but this wasn't the time to make enemies among their own. "i do like the idea of the potions--sort of stockpiling, preparing, practicing in general. for most of us who aren't aurors or similar, we aren't doing defensive magic every day. we need to review our hiding places, our supplies. make sure we're shored up, no matter what happens."

"Ginny," MICHAEL says the nickname for the first time in the meeting. It is deliberate, and calm. Like her, his words were aimed at the redhead and the redhead alone. "I know this is hard to understand, but not everyone has lived the same life you did. I didn't join the DA because I had something horrible happen to me and I was somehow magically not a child anymore. I joined because I wanted to do something. I was a child, and I wanted to do something. We're all still children, Ginevra. You think twenty-two is really that much older than sixteen? And those kids? Those 7th years who were 1st years at Hogwarts when the battle happened? They aren't mythical spotless children. They were there too. They lost people, too." Michael could name a few of those 1st years. He'd freed more than one of them from dungeons multiple times. They'd been fighters, even then. "There's not a single person in Hogwarts who doesn't know what the war was like. You are letting your emotions and your ideal of what you wish these children could be cloud your judgment, blinding you to the real fact that if you asked them, they'd volunteer in a heartbeat, just like we did. Which I believe was my reasoning against you in the first place."

Michael then turned back to the group at large. "I approve of Neville's suggestion. I haven't cast a battle spell in years. I think new lessons would do us good. We also need to be able to cast a wider net, bring in information from people we don't already know. Yes of course it means being careful, but if it's not going to come from recruitment, then we need to brainstorm something else. Lack of info will kill us as surely as a failed Shield Charm."

"michael." ALICIA is aware that ginny can more than defend herself, but she can't just sit back and let this become the bloody corner-weasley showdown. his quidditch jock bravado opinionated shit had officially reached its end-of-alicia's-patience phase. "we DEMOCRATICALLY elected ginny leader. not you. would taking a step back from the centre-stage spotlight kill you for two seconds? you've not let her fuckin' BREATHE since we voted her in." she's slowly relaxed herself out of her pretend cool-calm-composed facade, leaning forward on the chair and finally standing up to look directly into his eyes. "so SIT. DOWN. now." if alicia had ever had aspirations of teaching children, this would be the moment she finally perfected her teacher's voice, along with those teacher-y eyes. she won't blink first.

thank merlin for alicia. GINNY was WELL aware that she had proven many of michael's points against her, this evening ; but she wasn't above proving a few more of them, and was ready to launch into another tirade - or, as the case might've been, launch herself across the table - when the older girl spoke up again. crossing her arms over her chest once again, her gaze more of a glare, ginny resisted the urge to stick her tongue out ( and probably add 'childish' to his list of complaints against her ), and for once, chose not to unpack what he had to say. she had no problem being a source of information for the kids at hogwarts, if it got to that point - but ginny's feelings on including them in the army were clear as day.

"i think when the conversation turns to child soldiers, it's about time to call an end to this shindig," she said, evenly, looking all around the table at the gathered faces of friends ( and she supposed in some cases, now, foes ). "i agree with neville, though. if anyone here-" she looked to mafalda, due to her attachment to the diagon alley apothecary, but her words were general, "has a particular talent for potions, we should probably begin stockpiling them, and... anything else we'd need. and i think-"

she really didn't want to agree with michael, specifically.

"we should get back to training. practice duelling regularly, start... polishing up old spells, learning ones we didn't know existed back when we were first doing this. weekly or- bi weekly meetings. as much as we can, until something changes. if hermione will lend a hand-" she did, after all, have more expertise when it came to PROTECTIVE SPELLS, "we can secure this building. it can be used as a storage unit, of sorts, and there's a larger room upstairs we can clear out for duelling practice."

that seemed... decisive. ginny let her words sit, for just a moment, before adding-

"i guess all that's left to say is... keep your coins close."

#nox.important #nox.da #nox.da001

[noxtms]

❝   THIS MIGHT BE THE FIRST YEAR SINCE SHACKLEBOLT'S RESIGNATION that the ministr gala has managed to avoid being overshadowed by a truly terrible event in the weeks preceeding it. minister karkaroff was asked late last month whether he was excited to share the work that his ministry has done over the past year with the public but remained characteristically tight lipped about what we could expect to see ! instead, he praised the organisational team - overseen this year by his own wife, mrs eulalia karkaroff - for their hard work starting in late june and the department volunteers for putting together a truly comprehensive schedule of presentations for the night. an anonymous ministry official has informed us that with this years reduced auror presence, funding for the event was able to be increased dramatically, ensuring world class cuisine, even more expensive bars and the presence of one of the most distinguished orchestras in london. say what you will about the guestlist ( and one rita skeeter certainly will ), but one thing is for certain : the ninth ministry gala is set to be one of the best we've ever had ! ❞

WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE :  

nine years ago, the annual ministry gala was envisioned by kingsley shacklebolt and his closest advisors as being a way to showcase the many ways in which they had improved on the ministry of magic itself, following not only lord voldemort's rule but a string of poor ministers. the general public needed something like the gala, in the months following the end of the second wixen war. their trust in the government and the people in running their country was almost non-existent and it was important to show them that there were real changes being made and that they, in turn, were all for the better. over a few years the gala managed to carve out a very specific place for itself within society - tickets for the event held on the first weekend every august are in hot demand with everyone hoping for the opportunity to see, firsthand, the changes made across departments since the end of the war.

an automatic invite is issued on heavy parchment paper to ministry officials and those that fought in the battle of hogwarts every year, allowing them to bring a plus one, if they so desire. the remainder of the seats are randomly allocated to 150 members of the british wixen community, with those invites arriving no later than two weeks before the gala itself, by owl. this year, french wixen chefs have been hired from overseas to cater the event - the four course meal is, as always, to die for, and will be served early in the evening so that the tables and chairs can be banished to make room for the atrium level dancefloor where guests will be able to slow dance ( or sway ) to the tune of orchestral music. there is never any shortage of alcohol to be found at the several tended bars, but servers dressed in beautiful blue robes with golden trim are at hand to provide drinks to anyone who can't find the time between conversation to head on over to one of them. department heads ( of every level except the department of mysteries which remains closed to the public ) are expected - as they are each year - to rehearse ten minute long presentations for interested guests to enjoy, making themselves free at the end of the five they must perform over the course of the night to answer any question thrown their way. of course, said presentations have been heavily edited in advance to make sure that each department is putting their absolute best foot forward - without making the minister of magic look anything other than the best.

though the year before last saw the famous dumbledore's army delegated to the far corner of the atrium and last year saw them disinvited altogether, this is the year where it becomes most apparent that things have changed underneath antonin karkaroff. before now, it could have been construed as budget cuts or even a simple change, for the better, for how the young heroes were presented to the public. most civilians assumed that minister karkaroff, like his most vocal opponent, flavia scrimgeour, disliked the idea of placing anyone onto a pedastal, false idols and all that. before his appointment, the members of the da who took voldemort's life and brought an end to the second war were treated like celebrities - vip lanyards, pride of place at the head table with the minister of magic, private tours of the ministry... they shone, on a night like this. last year it could still be seen, not well, but in a way that made sense. this year their total exclusion is sure to have tongues wagging throughout the night.

OUT OF CHARACTER : 

it's time ! the ninth annual ministry gala is upon us and sees a very important continuation from last years most intentional snub. it's actually a fairly big deal that dumbledore's army have now been left off of the guest list two years in a row, and i don't want to understate it - they mightn't be here tonight, at least depending on how their preparations for this inevitability went, but they are still ... wix of honor, in their own way. it's up to you whether your non-da affiliated characters are simply happy to be here & enjoying the event or whether that enjoyment is coming with a healthy dose of gossip on the side.

the event officially begins on friday the 18th of august at 12:00am gmt. click here to see what that equates to for your tiemzone ! 

it’ll last for two weeks, but i’m not going to request the pausing of current threads provided that event threads are appropriately tagged and differentiated from them. 

all event related starters can be tagged with nox.event036 ! the location is the ministry of magic, but feel free to specify what level your character is on ( while keeping in mind that the main level - where meals are served and the orchestra plays - is the atrium, while the department of mysteries is locked and strictly off limits ). you can post outfits into the channel on the main discord !

much like last year, the only publicly known members of the da who received an invite were the ones who would have ( believably ) been issued an invite due to being seen as an important figure in the wix world in their own right. the only other option for them remains being the plus one of another character, and once again, i will ask you guys to take that snub and use it for your writing ! it is an intentional slight and the loophole shouldn't be exploited ! membrs of the da that attend will not receive the sort of special treatment they would have received under the shacklebolt cabinet and will find most high ranking ministry officials to be kind of distant.

if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to message the main with them ! please comment your ( current ) favorite tv show on this post to show you’ve read it !

#nox.event036 #nox.event #nox.important #hp rp #harry potter rp #appless rp #fandom rp #canon rp #oc rp #mumu rp

[noxtms]

MUGGLE METEOROLOGISTS MIGHT HAVE PREDICTED A LATE NIGHT DROP IN TEMPERATURE ACROSS THE COUNTRY, but nothing could have prepared the tiny population of carsington for the hopeless chill that descended on them in the earliest hours of the morning. most were, in a sense, lucky ; the ones who turned in a few hours before would shiver in their beds and find their dreams take a more sinister turn, but if they did manage to shake themselves awake, it wouldn't take long for sleep to reclaim them. it was the muggles awake past what was considered reasonable who would be most affected by what they couldn't see. it was these who would pull their dressing gowns closer when their breath came out in little clouds / who would take the chance to peek outside their curtains and watch the fog rolling in, see the unexpected frost that formed on the grass in their well tended gardens / who would find themselves preoccupied by thoughts of devastation that had no place in the comfort and the safety of their homes. in the morning, it would be an easily forgotten, freak weather incident that brought with it a village wide depression. for now… 

well, the dementors paid them all very little mind. they were only present to provide a cover to the masked and heavily robed figures that apparated into the town square, one by one - an added security measure, nothing more and nothing else, stationed along the path that these chosen death eaters took through the sleepy village. they did not turn their heads to watch them, as they went, but their presence led them all the way to the abandoned, stately home where their burning rings had told them they were to meet. 

floorboards creak underfoot as they make their way to the highest floor and a dreary attic space that was draped with dusty velvets and lit by dozens of taper candles, complete with the antique table and elegant backed chairs that they have come to know so well over their years of service. the location might have changed from meeting to meeting, over the years, but it is a familiar scene, save for the unexpected reappearance of an unmasked figure who stands loftily behind her throne, white knuckle gripping the back of it. her right hand man, rodolphus, returned to his place seated at her side. 

it's been two years since bellatrix deigned to appear at these meetings in person, but in all of that time, her presence has been felt as a suffocating weight, regardless. rodolphus has been her most trusted set of eyes and ears through it all, an ever willing mouthpiece putting voice to every thought and every instruction she's ever issued : a priest through which the lord's will is spoken. this arrangement has always been enough, until now. 

"it seems that in my absence," long documented, never discussed. her voice is clear as a bell, "some among you have dared to exaggerate your own importance."

nine individuals, their faces hidden from one another by the silver masks that mark them death eaters - not just any, but inner - exchange nervous glances from where they sit around the table. bellatrix's stormy gaze levels with the tenth, the one stood opposite her, face likewise hidden. her lip curls.

"sit," she tells him, a warning shot.

the room holds its breath, though the problem, perhaps, is that he doesn't.

"i am not a dog for you to call to heel, bellatrix," he replies, all silk.

and then, before their lady can say another word, antonin karkaroff commits the most cardinal of sins ; raising his hand to his face and pulling from it the mask that hid his features from view. he stands taller without it. shoulders back. chin held high. he is unafraid. his companions, the seated inner circle handpicked for their years of devoted service and unwavering loyalty, look down.

"if you were, we'd have already taken you out back," rodolphus murmurs dangerously from where he lounges, the pallid hand that his wife puts on his shoulder in that moment stopping him from saying any more. "you forget yourself, antonin," one of the mystery figures whispers like a prayer, a truth that goes ignored.

"my wolves were not for you to command," straight to the meat of it, she goes, her gaze unwavering. "and neither are my soldiers. you do not tell my death eaters where to go, what to do, when to die-"

"fenrir greyback was a rabid beast," he interjects, matter of fact. it isn't hearsay. they all knew it. "a loose cannon. untameable. he is no loss-"

"you had no right! you-" she snaps, but he doesn't stop there.

"i had every right. if i forget myself, then so do you. for two years, you have left rodolphus to oversee a crumbling regime while i, the minister of magic, have done more for introducing our best interests to the community and exerting control than you have since you took over. all you've done is chase meaningless relics and put your trust in a children's fairytale-"

"you insolent cunt-" rodolphus spits. he might've said more - might've risen from his chair, even - if bellatrix had not kept tight hold upon his shoulder while antonin charged ahead. 

"after the dark lord fell, you promised us power and yet, i am the one who's gotten the closest to delivering it. i'm a hero. i have the wizengamot eating out of the palm of my hand, and all i had to do was banish a few dementors with the flick of my wrist and serve them greyback's head on a platter. neither of which were difficult."

bellatrix, to her credit, remains a stoic. rodolphus' rage is an obvious thing. barely contained. he holds the edge of the table for good measure, but a muscle twitches in his jaw, fire reflected in his eyes. even the masked circle, a rapt audience, fidget in their chairs. they shift their weight uneasily and look between them both from beneath their eyelashes, unable to tear their gaze away. she, in sharp contrast, is unreadable. one hand remains visible, where it lays. the other - hidden by the back of her chair - wraps tightly around her wand.

the tense silence that follows his words stretches for so long that it becomes downright uncomfortable. and then, with an admirable simplicity, antonin speaks his truth into the world - long felt, never discussed. "you're done, bellatrix. we have no need of you, anymore."

she lifts her chin - an almost imperceptible movement, an almost betrayal of the raging storm inside. she works her jaw for one, long moment, and her voice is ice when she replies, holding tight to the illusion of her power, here : "with all due respect, you do nothing without my say." 

antonin, unmoved, continues to speak plain : "since when?" 

if it were not for rodolphus and one of the figures sat at antonin's side moving in the same instant that she did, antonin karkaroff's coup would have ended there with her fingernails at his throat. bellatrix, her expression finally splintering into an unfathomable rage, is little more than a blur when she lunges, her wand forgotten. her husband has to be faster and is hard pressed to pull her back, forced to wrap his entire arm around her waist to tear her from her path. the other figure, hidden behind their mask, is ultimately unneeded in a protective capacity but stands in front of antonin anyway… though he is unaffected by her outburst. the others, most of who jumped / pushed their chairs back / even went so far as to stand, also, and move a few steps away, are unsure what to do. 

the most surprising thing, of course, wasn't the explosion of her anger. it wasn't the need for intervention or the way that the feral fight goes out of her body the moment that both of her feet are put back on the ground. it's not that she gives up without her taste of blood, though when antonin's lips quirk upwards in a quietly satisfied smirk, she would be forgiven for going for seconds.

it's just how the ragged silence that falls over the room is broken, as bellatrix begins to laugh.

"you'll see," she says around a chuckle, dark eyes manic, "oh, you'll all see." 

it's how she keeps laughing until it leaves her system, encircled by her husbands arms. 

it's how her sobered declaration of, "and it'll be much too late, when you do," hangs in the air around them.

and it's, how despite everything, when rodolphus leads her towards the door - a stalwart protector recognising when best to fight and when better to live to fight another day - and a masked figure steps protectively in front of antonin again, she manages a smile for him. their protection is unneeded. she leans in as she passes by, teeth bared, voice low, but her words are for him alone.

"don't get too comfortable. minister." 

#nox.plotdrop017 #nox.important #hp rp #harry potter rp #appless rp #fandom rp #canon rp #oc rp #mumu rp #established rp #slur cw #blood cw #( mention but regardless ) #eye contact cw

[noxtms]

❝   CAN WE JUST ADDRESS THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM ? i know we all love them but are we really believing that the weird sisters just happened to decide their long awaited reunion should occur the exact weekend that the musical dedicated to celestina warbeck opens at merlin’s music hall ? i hope we all see what they’re doing, here ; the final performance of their farewell tour was totally eclipsed by her TRAGIC murder and i’d bet all the galleons in my savings vault that they recognised the opportunity to pay her back in kind a mile away-   ❞

WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE :  

IN SCOTLAND : a mere week after news of their surprise reunion tour hit newstands across britain, a stage covered by the strongest of cloaking charms appears out on the moors beyond hogsmeade village. just like the final performance of their farewell tour a few years back, THE WEIRD SISTERS chose the location for the sense of symmetry it gives them - the famous band had a humble start in the depths of hogwarts castle and there’s something to be said for doing it all over again so near to the place where they first began. tickets were a hot commodity when they went on sale last week, with plenty of diehard ( & lifelong ) fans losing out due to the short notice of it all - the first concert of the uk & ireland leg of the tour sold out within the first two minutes and a lot of the wix who didn’t manage to score tickets on the knockturn alley black market in the aftermath have decided to camp outside the stage area anyway, just to be able to hear their favorite songs.  to get barricade, wix had to apparate in to the designated apparition areas or leave their nearby camping grounds or b&b rooms before the sun had even started to rise on saturday the 8th of july. anyone content with a slightly less impressive view of the reunited band is able to turn up a little later in the day, with people trickling in at a steady rate the minute that gates officially opened. there are food stalls and merch stands and people handing ponchos out to anyone who didn’t bring one because the sun was meant to stay shining all day and ultimately let them down, and there’s palpable excitement hanging in the air - everyone present, be they milling around inside the barrier or sitting on picnic blankets outside, feels the promise of new music and a longer term reunion.  IN LONDON : elsewhere, press have had a field day reporting on the unlucky coincidence that sees SPELLBOUND! ( a musical that was written about the late celestina warbeck and starring selina halkirk in the main role ) open on the exact same night as the first reunion concert. it was three years ago - almost to the day - that miss warbeck was murdered by walden macnair for daring to raise money via benefit concert for a charity aimed at providing crucial aid to those afflicted with lycanthropy, a tragedy that just happened to occur on the eve of the weird sisters final show. no doubt the wix in charge of organising both felt the importance of this time of year, but there are plenty of people who feel one or the other should’ve pushed their performance out of respect.  the show is undeniably a masterpiece that took the last two years to perfect, but tickets for the opening night of the musical haven’t sold out just yet, but they’re not far off it - the wwn has been giving them out as competition prizes all week, and even so, plenty of hardcore fans will be in attendance regardless. the daily prophet reported that the minister of magic and his lovely wife will be watching from one of the private booths ( and have made quite a large donation to said charity, too, though how someone on the outside of the karkaroff family circle managed to guess the exact number of figures in said donation is impossible to say ), making it an event that a number of highly influential families across britain feel they should at least show their faces at - that side of the guestlist including FLAVIA SCRIMGEOUR, minister hopeful. in addition to a small portion of the price of admission going to the same charity that celestina last backed, performers will head into the crowds during intermission and accept any further donations that kind souls ( or people looking for an instant good karma buff ) might want to add. 

OUT OF CHARACTER :

in a way, we’ve come full circle ! three years ago, we waved goodbye to the weird sisters on the exact same night that celestina warbeck was murdered at our very FIRST big, big event - the benefit concert launched us into a totally new era of nox and really set the tone for how the rp ended up continuing, in the best of ways. i feel like i’ll always want to memorialise her in various ways because i kind of feel as if i sacrificed her for something great and thus kinda owe the lady something, but i wanted this to be a nox classic as much as it is a sort of remembrance ceremony for her ! the benefit concert & weird sisters combo was also our very first double event, so here we are again, enjoying yet another ! it’s entirely up to you which event your character/s choose to attend, though they can each only attend one. just like the original duo three years ago, some of your characters may have been forced to choose between the event they actually WANTED to attend and the one that their boss highly encouraged that they make an appearance at, and for some that decision has not come easy. please feel free to get as involved as you want to and really explore the various levels to each event - you aren’t isolated to the performances at either one and can set your threads wherever and whenever you like ! 

the event officially begins with the posting of this message and will run for two weeks, right up to the 18th of july. the in game date is technically the 7th through the 9th of july - at least for concertgoers - though both events are taking place on the 8th.

you do not have to pause your current threads, provided that threads taking place over the course of the event are appropriately tagged and differentiated from them. this is a dash & discord hybrid event and you can find categories for both the concert and the musical on the side discord.

all event related starters can be tagged with nox.event035 ! the locations are the hogsmeade moors for the concert and diagon alley for the musical. 

if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to message the main with them ! please comment something nice about celestina warbeck on this post to show you’ve read it !

#nox.event #nox.event035 #nox.important #hp rp #harry potter rp #appless rp #fandom rp #canon rp #oc rp #mumu rp #established rp

[noxtms]

❝   AND WHILE WE'RE ON THE SUBJECT OF HALLOWEEN, can we take a minute to talk about what's happening up at hogwarts this week ? if any of our listeners aren't in the loop, headmistress mcgonagall has given permission for the graduating class of 2014 to use the great hall for their 'ten year reunion' - an event long expected not to be happening given the, well... everything of their final school year. i mean, it's a little gauche, isn't it ? i understand the sentiment, and i think we can all agree that this is better than the alternative, but are any of them even in the celebratory mood ? perhaps they should've contented themselves with mikaela karkaroff's entry to awestriking halloween parties - hers at least comes without a side of survivors guilt !  ❞

WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE :

HOGWARTS : though there is a long standing tradition for graduates of hogwarts school of witchcraft & wizardry to reunite ten years to the day of leaving school and celebrate with a blowout sort of party, it's long been accepted that the graduating class of 2014 would have to go without for fairly obvious reasons. the anniversary of the battle of hogwarts lies much too close to the date where students usually sail across the black lake for the final time, and most would agree that it would be in poor taste to celebrate leaving school for good around the time when so many of their classmates lost their lives. with that being said, however, there have always been those few among the 2014 class group who felt like it would be unfair to miss out on such an important milestone - ideas for how to throw their party in a classy way have been thrown around for years, usually by pansy parkinson and friends, but it was actually professor mcgonagall who came up with the bright idea of celebrating around halloween and extended the invitation to her ex students. the hogwarts owls delivered invites scrawled across heavy parchment exactly two weeks before the 31st of october, 2023 - on them she had written plainly enough that they were, in a sense, owed this event. no previous school year had missed out so completely and the heroes of the battle of hogwarts deserved their chance to reminisce without feeling the heavy weight of that day pulling them down. she said that the great hall ( already decorated for the halloween feast that current students would attend earlier in the night ) would make a perfect setting for a halloween themed reunion, and promised the bloody baron would be kept on a tight leash for the duration of the night. it came together rather perfectly.

MIKAELA KARKAROFF'S HOME : mikaela karkaroff doesn't really care about the record, but if she did, she'd probably want it known that her 'blowout halloween party' had been in planning for WEEKS before the class of '14 got their special set of plans. minister karkaroff might have a habit of stealing the thunder of the boy who lived, but the same just can't be said for her. as always, she tried to keep her guest list exclusive with invitations written across parchment dyed black, but her brothers loose lips have led to it being another one of those 'word of mouth' sort of things she hates - a lot of money has been sunk into the event to make sure that it's a night to remember, and she's loathe to share that with any of the more unsavory types. the overall theme is a classic haunted house, her london abode transformed into a creepy set dimly lit by melting candles, thick fog layered over expensive carpet. she's outdone herself in the design of each individual room, going for an obvious 'less is more' sort of strategy - everything is covered in heavy red and black velvets, cobwebs and dust placed to give the impression of neglect, but the 'scares' are well placed & just right. she mightn't have covered a room in fake blood or placed fake skeletons where they might get a jump, but hired ghosts of various periods have made her home their own for the night and have promised a perfect performance. kaela's bar is run by ned weasley and a few of his staff, an intentional annoyance she gleefully arranged, while the same prestigious catering company who deals with the menu of the ministry gala has provided appetisers for guests to enjoy. she even hired an up and coming wixen band - the ghouls - to play for the duration of the night, though she probably didn't expect them to arrive with an actual ghoul in tow.

OUT OF CHARACTER:

happy halloween, nox ! this very special two - in - one event has been in the pipeline for a while, and i hope that you're as excited as i am about the lore implications of it all. i always knew there could be no true 'ten year reunion' for the golden trio characters - it'd just be in poor taste, considering the boh - but i was also aware that i couldn't let that opportunity slip is by, and with halloween being so important in the world of hp ... this idea was born, instead. i couldn't just cater to them for this event, but i can't disguise how hyped up i am for that half !

the event begins as soon as this is posted and continues for two weeks ! the galleon system will continue to run throughout and end the same time, so don't worry about missing out on earning more coins to spend as you wish !

as always : no character is required to attend either event, nor are you required to take part though you are highly encouraged to do so ! the reunion party is, of course, intended to be the smaller of the two events - there's only so many characters in that specific year ( especially thanks to, you know ... the war ) but mikaela's party is much more open, invites spreading by word of mouth thanks to niko !

this event was envisioned as being a discord & dash combo, mostly because i didn't know how many people would be getting involved in either or ! any event specific posts should be tagged with nox.event038 on dash, and the locations for anyone who tags them are hogwarts & london !

if you have any questions or concerns, please just send them to the main ! and please comment your favorite scary movie once you’ve read the post ! 

#nox.event038 #nox.event #nox.important #hp rp #harry potter rp #dark rp #war rp #magic rp #fantasy rp #book rp #appless rp #fandom rp #canon rp #oc rp #mumu rp #established rp

[noxtms]

so  have  yourself  a  merry  little  christmas,  now.   [  ...  ]   coming  soon. 

#nox.important #nox.plotdrop014 #hp rp #harry potter rp #appless rp #fandom rp #canon rp #oc rp #dark rp #war rp #magic rp #fantasy rp #book rp #blood cw #flashing image cw #flashing cw

[noxtms]

❝   OVEREAGER VOLUNTEERS FINISH UP THE FINAL PREPARATIONS FOR APPLEBY AUTUMNFEST TONIGHT, with gates opening bright and early tomorrow morning for the thirteenth festival of its kind ! this year, the event will run through the entire month of october, with gregory cotton of the appleby arrows team promising our reporter that everyone involved has done their utmost to ensure the smooth running of this favorite family friendly event, this year. as always, the event is taking place just outside of the village of appleby, and the ministry of magic has aided event organisers in the casting of several strong protection charms to ensure the privacy of the hundreds of visiting wix that are expected to descend once the event kicks off. with entry costing just two galleons for the first week, come one, come all, and enjoy what the appleby autumnfest has to offer you !  ❞

WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE :  

the appleby autumnfest is a wixen fall festival endorsed by past & present members of the appleby arrows quidditch team, located just outside of the tiny village that most of them hail from. it was probably conceived, originally, as a way of generating a little bit more money for the team - but after a few years of running, the whole thing paid for itself thanks to the small business owners and eager performers who were all more than happy to take part ! bigger and better than ever, the event is running from the 1st of october through the 31st, this year, and remains a family friendly alternative to the celebrations that will occur along diagon alley a bit later in the month.

the ministry of magic organises muggle repelling charms over the square acerage of the festival itself, which this year includes five large fields that were 'loaned' to the organisers from their muggle owners - though, not to worry, they have been appropriately compensated. among the pumpkin patch and maize maze - two to six galleons per pumpkin, depending on the size, and a galleon for entry to the maze that includes a map that'll offer you hints in the form of riddles if you get lost and need a hand - visitors can enjoy the many wooden boothes that have been set up to sell fall themed gifts for the whole family and, of course, a large collection of autumnfest themed carnival games.

there's something for everyone - bobbing for crab apples, playing carved pumpkin golf, pinning the tail on the thestral, partaking in an hourly potato sack race or throwing brightly colored plastic hoops onto the legs of a fake acromantula that looks strangely convincing - and, even better, most if not all of the games available come with the option to win some cheap prizes ! after having your fill of what carnival games are on offer, wix can find plenty of food stalls selling savoury and sweet treats, as well as bars serving homemade hot apple cider to wash it all down with !

OUT OF CHARACTER :

it's been a few years since we had an appleby autumnfest, though that doesn't mean it's been missing in action ! the organisers made a few changes, last year - namely with opening times, thanks to the curfew that was enforced for most of october - but the festival has remained strong and now, finally, we're back ! this marks the first of two events planned to cover the month of october here on nox, and is a much broader sort of celebration - there's plenty of halloween themed things to enjoy, but consider this a more generalised autumn celebration than it is a spooky setting. appleby is family friendly, first and foremost, and everyone that swings by should keep that in mind !

the event officially begins on sunday the 15th at 6pm gmt ( click this sentence to find out what that translates to for your timezone ) and will continue for two weeks, wrapping up on the 29th !  

you are not required to pause any threads you're currently writing, though make sure to tag and differentiate as needed !

all event starters can be tagged with nox.event037 and the location is appleby ! you can also find a channel on the side discord for threads, if you'd rather do some of your autumnfest writing over there - just don't forget that you can earn points throughout the event via the galleon system !

if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to message the main with them ! comment your favorite halloween specific movie on this post, to let me know you've read !

#nox.event037 #nox.event #nox.important #hp rp #harry potter rp #appless rp #fandom rp #canon rp #oc rp #mumu rp #established rp

[noxtms]

DATE : 8th of may, 2023. WITH THANKS : to mozzie @ofmccnlight​, who contributed the final third ( & to who i owe my life ) ! 

I.   HERMIONE GETS OFF THE BUS AROUND THE CORNER from her parents house. it's late enough that she probably could've risked apparating, but the last time she'd thought that she'd been distracted by something at work and tripped on the landing ; her neighbour had been out watering his begonias in preparation for the 'sunny spell' in their forecast and she nearly jumped out of her skin when he straightened up behind their shared fence and called out to say good evening. it was a narrow miss, almost ruinous, and though she was resolved to never have a repeat, she wasn't confident in her ability to be altogether present following memorial weekend. too many feelings were dredged up over those hellish few days, and even the bus ride was a solemn, distracted affair - forehead pressed against cool glass and eyes pressed tightly shut, hermione let the muted hustle and bustle of the late night crowd wash over her and very nearly missed her stop.

she's disappointed but not surprised to find that the council still haven't fixed the streetlight that sits directly in front of her semi detached. she takes a moment beneath it to adjust the strap of her overnight bag one final time and stare up at the flickering bulb - briefly entertaining, not for the first time, the idea of simply using magic to do their work for them - and then shakes herself from looming reverie and sets off down the drive. magic, as mrs weasley has often chastised in her presence, is not a fix all ; a LOT of her life in the past few years has been spent accepting these things she just cannot or should not change, and the council will send someone round soon.

probably.

no sign of her neighbour, so she probably didn't have to go through the pains of catching a muggle bus from the leaky cauldron - she sighs at the thought and crouches to retrieve the spare key her parents had kept in one of those silly faux rocks, her own still with the other neighbour trusted to care for crookshanks the past few evenings. she was a nice girl, similar in age but lacking the same sort of life experience that had caused the perpetual bags beneath hermione's eyes. when she'd dropped the key over the road to her, she'd offered to get her a good deal on a sleep mask from the avon like company that she'd signed up to recently, telling her that it would 'clear them right up' ; she'd bit her tongue and told her 'thanks again', managing to rush out the door before saying anything too critical. she'd probably have to do the same when she called round the next morning, but that was definitely a problem for tomorrow and for now, hermione was happy to trust in a good nights sleep in her own bed. 

she straightened up, plastic rock in hand, and set about sliding the little compartment open as she turned to face her door and, suddenly, froze. no need for the key ; she drops the rock back to the ground, hoists her bag further up on her shoulder and pulls out her wand from her back pocket, no longer caring who sees her doing it. with just the streetlight to illuminate the front of her house, it hadn't been immediately noticeable to hermione that the door was hanging just slightly ajar and naturally, her first thought isn't that the newly minted avon girl simply forgot to pull it closed the way she'd told her. she doesn't have that luxury. 

her heartbeat pounding in her ears, hermione forces herself to take one step at a time and approach the door. it's her worst nightmare come true, the very reason that her parents still think they're living their dream in southern australia ; the idea that her muggle existence, here, her childhood home, that it's all been found out and…- she pushes it open with her foot, wand raised and ready, and then there is a FRIGHTFUL yowl and she jumps, violently, only just managing to hold out her arms to catch him as her ginger cat launches himself at her, full force. 

"oh, crookshanks-" she surveys the initial damage, the shattered glass of a hallway mirror and the contents of a drawer that have been spilled across the carpet, clutching him to her but keeping her wand high, "oh, silly boy. what happened?" 

II.   she almost misses him. wakes too late in the morning & gets stuck in the entrance hall saying her goodbyes to the wix she won't see again until the next memorial ; she never really unpacked and she's been ready to go since the remembrance ceremony wrapped up the night before, but GINNY knows how it would look if she was one of the first to go. visceral discomfort is boxed, residual anger is bottled, everlasting grief is locked away - memorial weekends are perpetually marked by the sacrifices that she has to make for the sake of her friends and family, but it never gets any easier. she's usually ready to blow, about now, but she manages to extract herself before disaster strikes and sets off down the trail before anyone tries to call her back again. so one minded is her focus on escaping the castle grounds that ginny doesn't realize that he's making the same trek alone until he's almost at the hog flanked gates. it's a split second decision - she glances behind her, quickly, establishes that there's no one to witness it, and then she breaks into a bit of a mad dash. she doesn't call out to grab draco's attention, but she does manage to reach him before he apparates or sticks out his wand arm for the knight bus with only minimal breathlessness, which she considers a win. 

quizzical, he turns at the sound of heavy footfall & ginny comes to a halt that she tries to make look natural. 

"hey," she says, lamely, "i didn't know you were here this weekend-... i didn't see you." 

he lifts a single shoulder in a lazy sort of shrug. "our circles don't overlap," he's distant, but that's to be expected. she doesn't think it's aimed at her, specifically. memorial weekend brings out a different side to all of them, really, and ginny isn't fool enough to think that he's always as open as she once found him ( nor as distrusting as she would need to be to consider it a falsehood ) but since then, it's been a lot harder for her to ignore the dark circles pressed beneath his eyes.

she's no longer sure where the initial instinct came from, and a little too willing to see it through to the end : "do you want to come back to mine?" she asks, and when she sees his next thought forming, adds, "just to… hang out. that's all. you can leave if it starts getting claustrophobic." 

his lips quirk at that, a tiny tease of the smile she's come to look for, and when she reaches out a hand - ginny knows he'll take it. 

they apparate onto her 'doorstep', though it can't really be called that. she's tried to dress it up a bit in the few years that she's been living there but there's only so much that she can do. a fresh lick of paint, a funny doormat that luna found funny but neville had gone beet red when he'd seen ( i see london, i see france… ), one potted plant that was slowly giving up on life - seven wix lived on the same floor as her and had put about the same amount of effort in, but ginny was suddenly quite conscious of how it looked to an outsiders eyes. a bit sad, probably. cheap, she thinks, and then she banishes the thought ; he knows who she is, by now, where she's come from & where she got to. she's not ashamed of either, and for all that almost fretting, all her worries about this sudden marrying between two worlds - the one where they are ill defined and this one, where he's… well, let in - he doesn't say anything except a dry, "your plants gone brown."

"yeah, well, i've been a bit busy to remember to water it-"

"for its entire lifetime, i presume…?"

"shut up," she tells him, sternly, rooting around in her bag for a moment until she finds her wand and tugs it free. she taps it against her door handle ( she can never find her key when she needs it ) and the lock gives a loud click as it moves out of place.

ginny turns her focus to him as she pushes through, keeping her wand in hand - just in case he feels the need to make any undue comments - and explains, "you might be unfamiliar with the concept, but this is a flat. they're a bit small, but they're very cosy. mine's probably a little messy, but i-" he breaks their gaze and looks over the top of her head, and it is the tiny widening of his eyes that forces ginny to turn and notice, for the first time, the elephant in the room.

this isn't her mess. the burrow, that had looked like this every once in a while, usually at the start of summer when everyone was back under the same roof and in the same state of disorganized unpacking - but she never would've been so careless. everything she owned that had once had a place had now found a new one on the floor. her mattress was shoved up against the wall ; drawers turned upside down ; the cushions on her sofa had been torn into, their down strewn across the chaos. she didn't have to peek around the corner to know that her kitchen was in much the same awful state - she could see that something had spilled on the tile, because it had crept dangerously close to the carpet in the doorway. 

she was speechless.

malfoy was not.

"merlin… do you actually live like this?" 

III.   a crack rings out through the stillness of ottery st. catchpole as LUNA LOVEGOOD stumbles into view out of nowhere . the speed in which she had thrown herself into the apparation prompts a forward momentum that continues even as the spell spits her out smack dab in the middle of her front garden , more than a few yards away from the front porch sheʻd been aiming for . no one is awake to witness the way she almost ends up ass over teakettle in the dirigible plums . the surrounding night is entirely silent barring the giggles that follow the blonde figure as it trips itʻs way through the garden plants , interrupting the quiet snores of the weeping flowers near the kitchen window. they shake their bell - shaped bulbs at her , tinkling softly and sleepily , in admonishment . she blows a raspberry at them . they pull back in reproach and donʻt bother trying to pass on anymore messages . it certainly wasnʻt they who raised her to have such manners . besides , they were sleepy . their night had been interrupted enough as is .

the idyllic garden life continues to sleep even as she noisily makes her way into the house , not even blinking as the front door gives way beneath her prodding hands . neither her nor xenophilius were ones to lock the door when an alohomora was a master key for anyone who really wanted it to be . besides , their home was an open one . all were welcome if they needed a place to sit and have tea with someone always willing to lend a listening ear .

she breezes through the entryway and into the kitchen , handbag landing on the floor with a thump after she aims for the coat rack and misses by a mile , nearly tripping on the various bits and bobs that are always scattered across the floor . she knocks into more than one end table or bookshelf , teeming with items that have a tendency to just spill over . the mess that she spies through her peripheral , blurry as it may be , seems par for the course .

through the doorway of the kitchen , she spies a light coming from beneath the door and goes about setting two mugs out on the counter . the teapot is an heirloom from her motherʻs grandmother and sits waiting , already full and already heated , for when she pours the two cups that have become more nightly ritual than it was originally intended . itʻs as practiced as the way she places the cover on the sugar container , more than used to the way that her father leaves things about in his forgetfulness . 

“ bit of a late night writing spree , then ? ” she calls to the light still on way later than it should be and is not surprised when she doesnʻt get an answer . this is how things go when heʻs deep into his writing binges . luna talks and talks and talks and her father resurfaces to hear her eventually . not immediately. but eventually , 

“ you know , you really arenʻt producing your best work when youʻre straining yourself by staying up so late , ” she scolds across the house , nudging loose parchments out of the way with her socked foot as she makes her way to the door and gently opens it with her hip 

“ so you might consider heading to bed after this cup — ”

the mug shatters moments after luna hastily shoves them onto the desk , uncaring as to where it is set and not even flinching when it lands too close to the edge and slips right off . 

xenophilius lies crumbled on the ground . heʻs bleeding profusely from a wound on his head .

#nox.plotdrop015 #nox.important #hp rp #harry potter rp #appless rp #fandom rp #canon rp #oc rp #mumu rp #established rp

[noxtms]

❝   WE STAND HERE ON THE NINTH ANNIVERSARY of our defeat of he who must not be named and we remember all of those who fought valiantly in the final battle and who selflessly gave their lives for a future that they did not get to see. we honor our fallen friends and family for the sacrifice that they made to ensure that we could stand here, today, and we repay them each day by ensuring that their stories are told and most of all, remembered. it is important that we never forget them, and it is equally so that we use the lives that we gained that day to do good in their name, in this world, for as long as we have them.    ❞

WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE :  

the annual battle of hogwarts memorial is held on the grounds of hogwarts school and is understandably one of the most elaborately planned events of the year. while the rest of the english community of wix honor those that fought the final battle of the war with survivor discounts and temporary remembrance walls at the heart of major wixen towns, the hogwarts run event has always been the most important and has always been run to an impossible to reach standard. 

previously run entirely by the ministry of magic, the election of minister antonin karkaroff has seen ministry involvement in the memorial diminish over the past few years. indeed, one such change that he pushed for this year was reduced auror presence at the school over the chosen weekend ; this resulted in an argument between headmistress and head of wixen state that could apparently be heard two levels up from his office, and though she won, it was at the cost of a large portion of the allotted budget. mcgonagall won’t say and nobody has thought to ask, but the difference this year was made up from her own funds - all to ensure that the event many rely upon goes ahead without major and noticeable change.

the wix who fought the two halved battle always receive a personal invite on heavy parchment weeks in advance, with the same sent to the loved ones of those that lost their lives. for the ninth anniversary, the opening remembrance ceremony will be held on castle grounds early in the morning of the 5th of may. recognisable public figures - minister excluded - and the members of dumbledore’s army who killed lord voldemort are expected to give speeches to the gathered crowd and say a few, kind words about the friends and family that they lost. an early feast follows inside the great hall and house tables and colors are abandoned in favor of a more intimate set up that allows for everyone to mingle and conversate, regardless of old alliances. black candles are suspended by magic overhead and refuse to burnout until the end of the weekend. though this first event usually continues late into the evening, a large number of guests head towards hogsmeade - and the pubs located there - once the sun goes down. 

the last quidditch match of the hogwarts season usually manages to lineup with the memorial, but unfortunately, this years game between slytherin and hufflepuff has been cancelled due to an epidemic of mumblemumps that curiously only infected the slytherin house team. anyone who hoped to spend the majority of the saturday watching the teams play are invited to spend the day reflecting, instead, and are welcome to wander the school or grounds - though if that doesn’t interest guests, the duelling club is having their semi final on a stage set up near hagrid’s hut. the goodbye ceremony, a gathering in the courtyard where wands are raised and orbs of multicolored light are sent high into the sky like muggle fire lanterns will go ahead as normal late on the 7th. 

in the past, wix travelling from far away were welcome to pay for a room in hogsmeade or one of the nearby muggle villages, but this has been done away with for the sake of security. hogwarts alumni may avail of the guest quarters of their old common rooms, while non hogwarts alumni may claim a space in the quest quarters located beneath professor lodgings - either way, well paid house elves have been hard at work in the last week freshioning everything up and making sure that everything is up to the standard to which hogwarts is expected to run. this year, more than ever, headmistress mcgonagall is aware of the eyes upon them all ; as minister karkaroff told her in much quieter terms, he only really needs a reason to pull ministry support of the event entirely. 

OUT OF CHARACTER:

and just like that, the ninth battle of hogwarts memorial is upon us ! fun fact : this is the fourth one that we’ve done in real time, and very little has changed. the event itself runs much the same way it always has, though the extra security measures introduced last year remain ! those that fought in the battle and that intend to attend every day of the memorial are still required to stay in hogwarts guest quarters and professors have placed heavy protective enchantments around the castle itself. headmistress mcgonagall fought tooth and nail to force minister karkaroff into honouring last years security agreements, and guards ( a handful of the aurors ‘spared’ by the minister and many more professor volunteers ) will continue to rotate watches on the secret passageways in and out of the school. given that the sixth anniversary saw the appearance of a dark mark in the sky during the goodbye ceremony and the seventh saw the abduction and murder of an innocent healer, the headmistress would really like if they could avoid any unnecessary drama for at least one more year. 

the event will officially be starting tomorrow ( may 22nd ) at 6:00pm gmt : click this sentence to see what that translates to for your timezone ! the plan, as of this minute, is for it to run through the end of the month. in game, this covers the weekend of the 5th, 6th and 7th of may. 

with the success of this set up for the last boh memorial at the forefront of my mind, this event will be a discord / dash hybrid ! you’re welcome to post starters into the memorial category set up over on the writing discord, and though it is not a requirement for you to pause current threads or keep things specific to this event on the dash in gen, please make sure to differentiate between old threads and new in some way ( title, tagging, etc ). 

most characters would be expected to attend at least one of the memorial days, regardless of whether they fought or not and the myriad of other factors - remember that even if the rest of the wix world is standing still over those few days, this is the biggest event honouring the lives of those lost. it sends a message if you’re not present, so i highly encourage everyone’s involvement ! 

starters can be tagged with nox.event034, and you have the wide range of location choice that comes with an event set at hogwarts and the surrounding hogsmeade area ! 

if you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to message the main ! say rip to one of the characters lost on this post once you’ve read it ! 

#nox.important #nox.event034 #hp rp #harry potter rp #appless rp #fandom rp #canon rp #oc rp

[noxtms]

though our first exposure to this event was through the celebration of harry james potter day, minister karkaroff's dissolution of that national holiday a couple years back means that there's nothing really bookmarking it for us anymore ! it's unfortunate, but it doesn't mean that we have to miss out on what has always been a very special, noxtms brand of blast from the past ! for the fourth july in a row - and for the next two weeks, inside of our writing discord - everyone is welcome to once again enjoy FLASHBACK THREADS set at any point in their muses past, exploring major memories and moments from the past nine years ( or long before them ) that shaped them ! it's entirely up to you how much or how little you want to involve yourself in this event and i encourage you to do whatever you want - the threads can focus on things that really mattered to your characters and helped make them the character we know today or they can be more throwaway, in nature ! you might just want to enjoy a quiet moment from your muse's past and this is the perfect time to do that in the comfort of a personal discord channel. like i did last year, i want to challenge each of you to do at least ONE thread with someone who you either haven't done anything at all with yet or who has a character yours is implied to be connected to but you haven't got the chance to get into things with, so far. you only have to do one ( and that isn't per character, so don't feel pressured ), but you have the opportunity to do way more and if you have the ideas, feel free to go wild ! it's always nice to branch out of your usual circle, and i believe that all of you are capable of creating things i'm going to be hooked on, from this !

the flashback thread event starts today and ends in two weeks time on AUGUST 8TH. 

flashbacks are to be confined to the discord with none posted to the dash under any circumstance. the category has already been set up and you can find the link to join in #ooc assignments & extras ! 

if you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to message the main ! 

#nox.mini007 #nox.important #hp rp #harry potter rp #appless rp #fandom rp #canon rp #oc rp #mumu rp #established rp

[noxtms]

❝   WE’VE JUST RECEIVED WORD THAT the annual malfoy family ball has just begun in wiltshire, and can confirm for the curious listeners out there that didn’t manage to score an invite of their own that up and comers vulpecula are, indeed, playing the event ! it should come as no surprise that a band named for the little fox constellation would appear at this years heavenly bodies inspired party, but for any fans missing out on their first live performance since summer, we promise an hour filled with their greatest hits : starting with their breakout single, sirens of the- ... KRZZT ... we interrupt this broadcast to bring you breaking news ... KRZZT ... we have, from a reliable source located on diagon alley, been informed that a local business has been the scene of a gruesome crime, tonight ... KRZZT ... aurors have begun arriving on the scene and seem to be treating it as a homicide ... KRZZT ... an unknown number of wix have been killed in the ... KRZZT ... a local apothecary -   ❞

WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE :  

the malfoy family christmas party ( often abbreviated to just the malfoy ball ) is held annually on december 24th or december 25th, dependent on the day of the week each falls. this year, since christmas eve is a saturday and thus perfect for the event of the season, they’ve chosen the night before christmas to throw their blowout party for the dozens of closest friends receiving invites. it returns to its eight o’clock start, but never fear ; as always, while the end is noted vaguely as being midnight, it’ll run ( as usual ) well into the early morning of christmas day. handcrafted invites are sent by hired owl on the first of december, first to the most influential of families in the magical community and then to whoever is left over. not receiving an invite when you’re of any amount of importance is rare, but considered to be quite a vicious personal slight, when it does happen - who did and didn’t make the years guestlist usually becomes the most enduring gossip of the evening and often indicates a personal problem between the malfoy’s and the individuals in question. the weasley family, for example, have never found themselves on the mailing list... until this year, for some strange ( and surely fascinating ) reason. it doesn’t really matter if a name appears or not. lucius & narcissa malfoy don’t put names on a list for security, always acting as if this was a horrible accident when really, they enjoy knowing that even their enemies want a spot at the table. there are always far more individuals attending than they insist they planned on, but there also happens to always be enough champagne to go around. the malfoy’s are nothing if not a family who enjoy flaunting their wealth, and their annual ball is the most enjoyable way for them to do so. 

this years theme is heavenly bodies, with the party itself expanded - after the success of last year - to include, not just the inner ballroom, but also the well tended gardens. a spell has been cast over a certain boundary to ensure that even those in the skimiest of dresses and most unprepared for the chilly outside remain warm throughout the evening, though if one happens to wander too far from the accepted bounds in any direction ( their magical creature sanctuary is entirely off limits, this year, as well as their hedge maze ), they’ll soon realise it. 

no expense is spared by the family for obvious reasons that are not in the slightest bit altruistic - the one must is that their honored guests and the daily prophet, both, continue to talk favorably about the evening they had for weeks to come. the ballroom has been turned into an impressive planatarium that rivals the ceiling of the great hall, at hogwarts ; each constellation is enchanted to glow softly and constantly overhead, while shooting stars can be wished on to summon another drink from a well dressed server. outside - beneath the real stars - a large dancefloor has been laid that looks, for all the world, like one large mirror, reflecting the sky above, with the delicate, black tables and chairs arranged throughout covered in an unnaturally glittering fabric. velpecula, a highly reviewed and newly emerging wix band, have been paid to play all night, and themed cocktails & food have been prepared by london’s finest chefs and the never anything but beautiful cocktails are usually so popular amongst guests that the malfoy’s send late leavers home with a bottle or two of expensive alcohol as a kind of party favor in addition to whatever gift they already plan to bestow upon their guests. 

the ball is never anything but the most incredible of experiences for those that show up to enjoy it, and the only thing that the family ask in return is that guests provide a small donation for the peacock academy, an institute for magical children overseas that also happens to be a rather well known for profit founded by the late abraxas malfoy. 

OUT OF CHARACTER :

we’ve had a masquerade, a winter wonderland and now, for the third malfoy family ball, we’re exploring the theme of heavenly bodies ! the one thing that i want everybody to keep in mind before we proceed is that this is not really a rehash of the met gala theme - that tied in with the c*tholic imagination, and wix don’t have the same sort of ideas about religion. heavenly bodies, in this context, should be understood in the most basic of ways ; the planets, the stars, celestial bodies as a whole. 

as always, this is an event which might initially feel difficult to slot characters into, but never fear - even if your character would not have received their hand addressed invite, there’s always the option of appearing as a plus one ( or party crashing ) available to them ! you’re welcome to throw everyone in wherever you’d like ! 

this event starts with the posting of this message ( sorry that it’s so late - the plot drop was more important ! ) and will run for two weeks, ending in the new year. 

i already touched on this above, but no character is required to attend this event, nor are you required to take part - but you are heavily encouraged to do so ! 

this is a dash only event, and starters can be tagged with nox.event032 and nox.celestial ! the location for anyone who tags it is malfoy manor, wiltshire. you can find the channel for formal wear on the main discord ! 

if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to message the main, and just give this post a like once you’ve read it !

#nox.event032 #nox.important #nox.celestial #hp rp #harry potter rp #appless rp #fandom rp #canon rp #oc rp #mumu rp #established rp

[noxtms]

🎵  BOYS AND GIRLS OF EVERY AGE, WOULDN’T YOU LIKE TO SEE SOMETHING STRANGE ? COME WITH US AND YOU WILL SEE, THIS OUR TOWN OF HALLOWEEN !   🎵  ...  KRRZZT ...   ❝  join us this halloween for midnight on diagon alley : an event set to revitalise the wixen community and bring business back to the people that were most negatively affected by the diagon alley massacre ! with huge thanks to the ministry of magic for securing the necessary funding, the shopowners of diagon alley are delighted to announce that this monday the 31st they will be opening their doors through 2am and playing host to a wide variety of gimmicks & games to make this a halloween night you’ll always remember ! costumes, though encouraged, are not mandatory, and while you wander the wares and explore haunted storefronts do so with the peace of mind that ministry affiliated aurors will be watching from above to keep you and your loved ones safe this spooky season !  ❞   ...  KRRZZT ...   🎵  THIS IS HALLOWEEN, THIS IS HALLOWEEN, PUMPKINS SCREAM IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT -  🎵

WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE :  

ON DIAGON ALLEY : two years ago almost to the day, a group of werewolves assumed to have been led by known death eater loyalist, fenrir greyback, descended upon diagon alley and attacked the unsuspecting wix leaving an event at the poison apple nightclub. the diagon alley massacre ( as it was later dubbed ) saw several killed and more forever afflicted with the curse of lycanthropy, and the shadow of that dark october night has loomed long over the bustling hub of the british wixen world since. last year, the ministry quite controversially, given the circumstances, announced a set of guidelines on the wwn that outlawed large gatherings and events that ran past eleven on halloween night, all in a marked effort to ensure the safety of the general populace. the decision caused widespread uproar amongst the most youthful of wix - many of who threw their own secret halloween parties anyways - and silent scorn from the businesses affected on diagon alley. in their haste to avoid another unavoidable disaster, the ministry robbed various stores, clubs and pubs dotted throughout the cobblestone alley of the income they would usually take in on what was previously one of the best nights of the year. storeowners far and wide could be forgiven for their apprehension as skilled wix put up the usual spooky decorations at the start of the month, but they needn’t have worried at all. 

midnight on diagon alley was an idea pitched by the ministry to everyone who works there in the first week of october, and rapidly arranged when the resounding yes came back to them. for the first time since the massacre ( and as advertised, one night & one night only ), stores and restaurants have been given ministry grants to encourage them to go all out for the night of the 31st, and to keep their doors open through to 2am. for flourish & blotts, this looks like candlelight spooky storytelling, with celebrity guests greta catchlove, gwenog jones and rita skeeter. weasley's wizard wheezes have turned the entire lower level of their store into a hair raising & heart stopping haunted house, with the promise that only the bravest of souls will find the grand staircase and earn the right to purchase their scariest of games, tricks and sweets. sugarplums & fortescue's ice cream parlour are among a huge number of smaller, food oriented businesses that have put in the effort to overhaul their usual offerings and turn tasty treats into unsettling, bloody offerings. the magical menagerie will only be selling rats, bats and black cats to anyone who decides that tonight is the night to add a member to their family, and the apothecaries are all offering half price potions that bring on harmless and short lasting effects to anyone who wants boils, sores or different colored eyes to add to their costumes. while amortentia and the poison apple have been instructed to keep their doors closed, this year - a decision that neither business owner took well but stood no chance in arguing - the leaky cauldron has been approved to host a rather subdued wine tasting with a themed menu and live music. though some of the stores on diagon alley struggled to find a niche for themselves on this night and politely declined the opportunity ( most notably ollivanders, madam malkin's and potage's cauldron shop ), many rose happily to the challenge, while in contrast, EVERY business on knockturn alley took the offered grant and has changed nothing about the way they operate. wix have been encouraged by every advertisement to date to arrive in costume - and assured, in small print and several ministry statements, that the auror presence will be heavy. 

ELSEWHERE : if you were lucky enough to have stumbled on it on your own ( or, more likely, to have been one of the few that caught the whispers amongst your peers ), you might choose to abandon midnight on diagon alley and instead make your way to hogsmeade village, where the shrieking shack has just found its best use since a certain ex hogwarts professor waited out the full moon inside its walls. no one has actually taken credit for the idea of a haunted house party inside of a LITERAL haunted house, but someone definitely put in the work - there’s finger food on a rickety table in what was once a fitted kitchen, decorations hanging from rotten rafters and kegs to be tapped as needed in the basement, and though very few of the wix arriving spare much thought towards it, there’s a reason nobody is showing up to shut it down sooner rather than later. powerful charms have been placed around the perimeter of the grounds to muffle loud music & sounds of brave young wix having the time of their lives, another to disguise from anyone who looks in that direction from the village the signs of life at the dreaded shack. though no invitation was issued or rules laid bare, it seems obvious that costumes are mandatory and the only people welcome are the ones who won’t rat everyone else out to the relevant authorities. the shrieking shack, foreboding and condemned, has just become the site of the best halloween party that near ANYONE has attended in the last three years - the one who ruins that will undoubtedly face the unfiltered wrath of their peers. 

OUT OF CHARACTER:

surprise ! it’s that time of year again, and that time of year would not be complete without a surprise double event ! midnight on diagon alley was conceived by me as a way of bringing some life back to this main street after the massacre in late 2020, and is of course open to characters of all ages ! there’s very literally something for everyone, except if that something they’re looking for is a blowout party - they’ll have to go to the shrieking shack for that ( if they dare ), i’m afraid. 

the event will begin on tuesday the 25th of october at 6pm bst ( click this sentence to find out what that translates to for your timezone ) with a tentative end set for two weeks from then ! 

as always : no character is required to attend either event, nor are you required to take part though you are highly encouraged to do so ! the shrieking shack costume party is much smaller scale to midnight on diagon alley, with word of what was going on out there travelling by word of mouth, likely the very night of halloween ! 

this event was envisioned as being a discord & dash combo, with some of the rp for the shrieking shack party specifically 100% isolated to the writing server ( more info to come later ). any event specific posts to the dash should be tagged with nox.event031 ! the locations, for anyone who tags them, are diagon alley & hogsmeade village. 

feel free to continue enjoying the galleon system for the duration of the event ! 

if you have any questions or concerns, please just send them to the main ! and please comment your favorite scary movie once you’ve read the post ! 

#nox.event031 #nox.event #nox.important #hp rp #harry potter rp #appless rp #fandom rp #canon rp #oc rp

[noxtms]

saoirse in flat #22b is under the impression that everyone gathered is commiserating yesterday’s montrose magpies loss at the quidditch league. her friend, roger, considers what’s happening to be more of a celebration of the falmouth falcons unlikely win - this disagreement will be heard all the way up in #35b, where eloise is treating the open tower block party as a slightly belated birthday bash. sarah, still at home but soon to show, receives a very confusing text message from a friend who received an equally confusing owl, earlier that night. something, something, the demiguise ddnt turn visible so sumemr is fucked. she won’t get an explanation on that one, but she will get a location : BEAUMONT COURT, MARJORIBANKS ROAD.

WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE :

only ONE thing is really for sure, and that’s that nobody is actually all that sure on how or why the tower block party on marjoribanks road kicked off. everyone that turns up gets another version of an everchanging story, to the point where even the most simplest of facts, like where it even started, are lost by the time it’s in full swing. someone says an apartment on the lower floor got a couple of kegs at a discounted rate and wanted to put them to good use. someone else says that someone farther up the building just got fired from their clerking job at the ministry of magic, and this is where it led. no one seems all that concerned about the lack of information going around, but then again, with so few and far between reasons to celebrate, of late, why would anyone in their right mind turn up the opportunity to really let loose ?

beaumont court is a 37 floor tower block at the heart of marjoribanks road. it’s not the tallest of the buildings that surround it and as one of the first ones to be built in this wixen settlement, it also isn’t up to the same sort of standard as some of the newer buildings - but what it does have going for it is the willingness of its residents to throw a hell of a party, when given half the chance. rules are established very early on in the evening. wix that want to get involved throw open their doors and invite partygoers ( many of whom are apparating in from farther afield than the surrounding london area ) into their humble abode. wix that don’t keep their doors charmed shut and throw up a ward to keep the noise out, letting everyone else have their fun without doing something silly like calling in the aurors. there is no dress code, and the overall code of conduct is a little shaky. some fights are expected to break out, but as long as the people involved deal with it without involving anyone else, no one is expected to be kicked out or anything. obviously, the statute of secrecy remains at the forefront of most people’s minds - or, some people’s minds, at least - but since most properties on marjoribanks road are already somewhat protected, as long as everyone keeps this within regular party bounds, everyone should be fine.

news travels by word of mouth. residents tell their friends, who tell their friends, who tell theirs, and that’s how it got so big, so fast - whoever did kick off this night of festivities probably didn’t expect the turnout that they got, but there’s no denying how magnetic it all starts to feel, after a while. as the first blowout event since the christmas attack, it’s obvious that everyone is glad to have an excuse to drink with their friends and laugh over drunken antics, and nobody can really deny the good it seems to do.

OUT OF CHARACTER :

it’s time to celebrate noxtms’ birthday, and this is an event that i have wanted to do for a really long time - so i hope you guys are as hyped up about it as i am ! the beaumont court tower block party is a little different to things we’ve done before, but the premise is much the same. this is your chance for your characters to let their hair down and get up to some - probably troublesome - antics, so make sure to take full advantage of that !

it may feel difficult to slot characters into this, especially those on the older side, but don’t worry - there are ways you can do it ( aurors could be making sure everything stays within the statute, for example ), and even if there ultimately aren’t, this is only the first of two events. the other one is a staple of the rp, and anyone who couldn’t dive in here will be able to dive in there ! go forth and enjoy, folks !

this event will kick off on thursday the 20th at 6pm gmt and will end on the 30th. click this sentence to find out what that start time translates to for you ! in game, this is happening on the 8th of april ! happy birthday nox !

no character is actually required to attend this event, nor are you required to take part, but you are heavily encouraged to !

this event is DASH ONLY, and starters should be tagged with nox.event033 or nox.beaumont ( or both ). the location for anyone who tags it is broadly marjoribanks road, a wix settlement located in south london comprised entirely of flat blocks and a small housing estate, with a handful of community areas ( allotment gardens, a plaground & a park ). you can find the channel for outfits on the main discord !

if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to message the main, and just give this post a like once you’ve read it !

#nox.event #nox.event033 #nox.beaumont #nox.important #hp rp #harry potter rp #appless rp #fandom rp #canon rp #oc rp

[noxtms]

AND ONCE AGAIN, IT'S TIME TO WISH NOXTMS A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY ! it’s been another year, and while this isn’t the prettiest attempt at a birthday graphic i’ve ever put out into the world ( and once again, this post won’t be hitting your dashes at a very non gmt inclusive time ), i just can’t bring myself to feel. bad about that. it feels the right amounts of corny when i consider how corny this entire message is going to be in and of itself, but isn’t that something we all deserve to indulge in a little, today of all days ? i never really know where to begin when it comes to these messages because everything i want to say already feels like something i say all of the time, but ... give me a sec, and i’m gonna try <3 

i hope by now you guys have managed to pick up on the type of person i am. i try to say what i feel where everyone can see it, and often, at that, because i know that showing love and gratitude is important to do, and i am always really overwhelmed by how much of both i feel towards the community that has been built here. i have never felt such a strong sense of belonging in an rp group, and i don’t just say that because i’m the lone admin and have a bias ( though believe me, i’m biased towards all you guys all the time, always ).

this year also happens to be my eleventh year of writing in designated rp spaces, and i want you all to know that i have truly been around the block, when it comes to this hobby, so you know i’m not saying any of this lightly ! i’ve experienced dozens of fansites, forums and even more tumblr rps. i’ve written in groups and i’ve dabbled in indie and i’ve limited myself to 1x1s, and i’ve made so many wonderful, lifelong friends and incredible memories, a lot of them as a member and many more as the admin of the space i was in at the time, and i’m not diminishing those things ! but nox is just ... so much more special than i even have words for, most of the time. i’ve never been so happy and so seen and so creatively inspired as i have been since i’ve been a part of the three groups that create the nox cinematic universe, and i count myself incredibly lucky that the stars aligned in a way that all of these individual things worked out and combined to create something so consistently fun and exciting ! 

i’ll take the credit for coming up with the ideas that brought us all here initially, but that’s where i’ll have to draw the line and start heaping the praise onto all of you, instead. everything nox has become since has been thanks to you, and i don’t just mean everyone here right now, but every single person who’s been through this group since it opened, too. it literally could not have survived without every single person who carved time out of their real lives to write here and to create with us all, and i cannot understate how much it means to me that so many people have chosen my wacky little au group to dedicate all that time to. the success it has experienced has been, truly, the greatest gift i ever could’ve been given. it’s worth something because everyone who decided to send an app my way and then pick up what i was putting down made it worth something, and i hope you all know how much i appreciate and love you all, for that, and how glad i am i’ve gotten to be a part of it. 

thank you all so, so much for being willing to throw yourselves into the world i thought would be fun to explore. i want you all to know how truly excited i am to continue writing the noxtms story with you all and seeing where it goes next, and that goes double, then triple, for the lumostms and auroratms stories, as well. i promise i’ve got plenty more tricks up my sleeve, but let’s be honest - they’re only as good as the reactions you guys and your characters have to them and the way that you weave them into your stories, and i can’t wait to see how it all ends up playing out. I LOVE YOU ALL SO VERY, VERY MUCH, and i’ll make sure to keep on saying it ! 

#nox.important #template by cavalierfou on deviantart !