It's supposed to be a nice evening. The copies of the daily prophet recieved this morning may put a dampner on it. How can one set aside their fear when they have just recieved news that things are getting worse and worse across the border, when they have just recieved news that their friends, or maybe even family members, are being held captive.
As the sun goes down and night settles in across the country, a large portion of the magical community in Scotland gathers at the Morgana School for Magical Children. This plan has been in place for a long time now: it is Narcissa Black's second annual celebration of the Winter Solstice and the start of the Yule season. She is leading the students of the Morgana School, as well as their parents, in a celebration — and a beginner's astronomy lesson. The grounds of the Morgana School, at the old Black Manor somewhat close to Hogwarts, are beautiful and gleaming under the dark sky. Golden telescopes glint against magical lights, and the children are happy. Some of them are muggle born, some of them are half-bloods. The headmistress does not discriminate. They smile as they look up at the clear night sky.
Inside the school, inside the house in a cozy drawing room — The Order of the Phoenix holds a tense meeting. So many of their members are being held captive by Tom Riddle — and no one can figure out exactly how they're supposed to save them. None of their spies can tell them where the prisoners are being held. Sirius Black insists that it isn't Azkaban, but they haven't been told exactly where the specific prison may be. Albus Dumbledore assures the Order that hope is not lost. Hope can never be lost, as long as brave men and women are willing to fight for justice. They will find a way to save their friends, they all vow, even if it is the last thing they do. They all just have to hope that the prisoners won't be killed before it's too late. 'We have to do it', people whisper, 'For Caradoc, for Peter, for Mary, for Edgar, for Gideon...'
Meanwhile... on the other side of the border, a conspiracy of Death Eaters is afoot.
They gather in dark clothing. Hooded. They have smiles on their faces and laughter in their lungs. They speak of the mission, of the purpse that Tom Riddle has given them. The glory of the world they are building. Their prisoners have given them precious clues, though against their will, about how they can hit Albus Dumbledore where it really hurts. They have a Yule celebration to attend, and they're going to be fashionably late...
The attention of the Order of the Phoenix is drawn away from their discussions when the laughter of children turns into screaming. Panic fills the air as dark cloaked figures apparate onto the grounds of the Morgana School. Parents scramble to get a hand on their child, to usher them away to safety. Narcissa Black and the other adults responsible for the event launch into action, fighting the Death Eaters to give the children time to escape.
The Order joins the fight, and its a brutal one. Many are hurt before they manage to drive the Death Eaters away from the school and establish new wards to keep them out. The Death Eaters go easily enough at the end of the day. It seems like they wanted to send a message more than anything else: we can get to you anywhere, and we won't stop until we crush you, not even your children are safe in their schools.
The cleanup takes hours, and there is a relief when the order learns that no children were harmed in the attack. The same can't be said for the parents and Order members who were hurt fighting off the Death Eaters. The atmosphere is tense, and almost frantic, but everyone knows that they won't stop fighting either, not until they have chased the dark away from the society they all love so much.
This plot drop specifies events happening on the evening/night of the 21st of Decmeber, 1984. You can feel free to set your threads before or after this plot drop, as well as during. You can expect the Yule celebration to have gone on for 1-3 hours before the Death Eaters attack the Morgana School. Anyone playing a Death Eater can also set their threads during the covert Death Eater meeting before and after the attack.
Any threads set specifically during or directly after/in response to this plot drop should be tagged appropriately to indicate that.
The second plot drop for this roleplay will be posted early next week.
