a lot is sure to have happened in the time between where we last left off at aurelius and now, given the eight month time jump. the spring term ended, everyone went off on summer holiday, and everyone is dealing with the aftermath of the attacks and disappearances, along with the new administration in control of the ministry thanks to the newly appointed minister gaunt. because of this, we've compiled a list of questions that might help you all figure out what your characters have been up to during the aforementioned time, and gauge their stance on the happenings in the wizarding community. these can be answered however you like, whether you prefer answering by talking about your character or through in character drabbles.
while all tasks are optional, we highly encourage everyone to take this opportunity to flesh out your character and get creative! once you have completed the task, tag your post under: #aureliustask
HOW have the new ministry happenings and the attacks during the time jump affected your character?
DID any of the disappearances or attacks involve someone your character knew?
HOW did your muse react to the news that their classmates ( aster, cormac, flora, hestia, mori, and pansy ) were attacked? were they concerned to learn of aster’s coma? did they go to visit aster or cormac in st. mungos during the months they were there?
DID your muse have any connection to the carrow sisters? what was their reaction to flora and hestia’s tragic passing?
WHAT are some notable things that your character did over the time jump? any big events? did they have a birthday?
WHAT did your muse do over the summer?
WHAT'S your character’s stance on werewolves now, after all of the happenings and attacks over the past year?
WHAT was your character’s reaction to the news that dumbledore was missing? what about when it was revealed that he died?
the focus of this task is connection and development. we want you to think about the types of connections and dynamics you'd like to develop, and how you view your character and what you'd like to do for development.
task 1.1 — dynamics
what's more important than connection? show us the types of dynamics and connections you'd like to build for your character. whether this be a list of wanted connections, a compilation of dynamics you'd like to explore and expand on, a list of important connections you have and how they impact your character, or anything else you can think of that ties into the theme of wanted dynamics!
task 1.2 — parallels
to develop your muse, first you must know them. show us things that reflect your character and where you'd like to go with them. this can be through parallels, moodboards, reflections - anything you'd like! get creative, and show us the essence of your character.
while all tasks are optional, we highly encourage everyone to take this opportunity to flesh out your character and get creative! once you have completed the task, tag your post under: #aureliustask
HOW have the new ministry happenings and the attacks during the time jump affected your character?
VC: Vincent has waited with bated breath for something to happen, like a pin waiting to drop. The happenings and attacks came as no surprise to them, though the danger pricks at his skin. As if all of Vince's defenses haven't been up this whole time anyway.
MB: Ever since the body was found at the bottom of the lake, Mandy has been on edge. The Wix world appears to be getting more dangerous with each passing moment. Mandy hopes this school year they will learn ways to defend themselves.
DID any of the disappearances or attacks involve someone your character knew?
VC: Pansy Parkinson and Vincent go way back. They run in the same circles and mostly have the same friends. Learning about Pansy's attack was a shock to Vincent's system. Knowing how headstrong Pansy is, Vincent fears that future attacks could happen to anyone.
MB: No. Mandy only knew them in passing and barely spoke to them in school. However, Mandy does feel for them and sends their regards.
HOW did your muse react to the news that their classmates ( aster, cormac, flora, hestia, mori, and pansy ) were attacked? were they concerned to learn of aster’s coma? did they go to visit aster or cormac in st. mungos during the months they were there?
VC: Vincent wasn't close with Flora and Hestia, though they often ran in the same circles. Their passing though came as a surprise to him. They did briefly visit Aster and Cormac in St. Mungos once while visiting Pansy.
MB: Mandy was shocked to hear the news and wore their concern on their sleeve despite not being close to any of them. While she didn't visit them in the hospital, she did send out flower arrangements.
DID your muse have any connection to the carrow sisters? what was their reaction to flora and hestia’s tragic passing?
VC: Vincent wasn't very close with the Carrow sisters, but they did have similar circles of friends. Their deaths came as a shock to him, though Vincent appears to be unfazed by it.
MB: While Mandy had no connection to the Carrow sisters, they were shocked and distraught by their passing.
WHAT are some notable things that your character did over the time jump? any big events? did they have a birthday?
VC: Vincent spent most of the winter holiday backpacking through Britain to avoid going home for the holidays despite the warnings of his friends. He stayed with multiple friends, hopping from place to place to avoid sleeping on the streets. Their birthday came and went in July where Vincent had spent the summer in Romania. While spending a visit in Australia, Vincent adopted a bearded dragon, smitten with the lizard's name, and named them Luther after spending the summer listening to the muggle artist, Luther Vandross.
MB: Mandy spent the winter holiday at Aurelius in the quiet of their dormitory or the library. They celebrated their birthday in March, the day after the announcement of Dumbledore's death. They spent the day overthinking over mugs of tea in Hogsmeade, trying to read books but finding themself too distracted, mind wandering, and having to re-read the same passages over and over again. The summer holiday was regretfully and painfully spent with her mother, swallowing words they wished they had the courage to say.
WHAT did your muse do over the summer?
VC: Vincent spent the summer in Romania as part of an apprenticeship for his Dragonology major. Desperate to have something to do over the summer besides returning home to the Crabbe family cottage, the cruelty of his father and siblings, and the indifference of his mother, the opportunity to study in Romania appeared to him right before the end of term. It was grueling work, and he acquired superficial injuries and burns from handling the young dragons, as well as a deep tan from the sunburn to his skin, but to Vincent, it was all worth it.
MB: Mandy visited her mother in Glasglow in an attempt to avoid returning home to their father and the childhood home in Edinburgh where Mandy's older sister Sam had died years ago in a fire. Much to their disappointment though, their visit to their mothers wasn't what Mandy had expected. She came with the expectation that she would reconcile with her mother and move past the resentment that Mandy still harbors over the fact that her mother had abandoned her children for another man. Despite Mandy's mother's warmth and excitement that her daughter would be spending the summer with her, Mandy still holds onto guilt and their grudge.
WHAT’S your character’s stance on werewolves now, after all of the happenings and attacks over the past year?
VC: Given that Vincent's best friend is a werewolf, it doesn't faze him. He's skeptical, sure, but since he is already close with a werewolf, he is more concerned about the stigma that they will face after the news of these attacks.
MB: Mandy is shook. They aren't sure what this means for the werewolf community, but they are most definitely wary of being in harm's way.
WHAT was your character’s reaction to the news that dumbledore was missing? what about when it was revealed that he died?
VC: Dumbledore was old--everyone knew that. Maybe the werewolf attacks are unrelated, who really knows? Vincent is aware that a powerful wizard has fallen, but death eventually catches up with everyone. He is curious to see what will happen to the school now that Dumbledore is gone.
MB: They wonder what this means for Aurelius, how it will affect the school, and who will take his place.
like a thousand golden urns pouring out of the sun
HOW have the new ministry happenings and the attacks during the time jump affected your character?
CC: It’s been tough for him. In combination with his close friends being impacted directly by the attacks and ministry changes, he’s been extremely nervous about his family and with the changes happening in the ministry. He’s extremely distrustful about what’s been happening and it’s pushed him to train more aggressively and to be prepared for the absolute worst in the case that danger approaches him or his family. He’s been dealing with insomnia and night terrors from unaddressed stress.
RTD: Anxious but has been taking this time to keep in close touch with her friends and loved ones. She has been speaking about her anxieties quite openly with her mother and has been immersing herself in her hobbies to distract herself from the fear that she feels. Talking about it has been helping her a lot and she definitely feels comfortable sharing her feelings with those that are open to talking about it.
DID any of the disappearances or attacks involve someone your character knew?
CC: Yes, Colin is very close to Cormac.
RTD: Renee did not really know them. Though possibly, had a hookup with Cormac?
HOW did your muse react to the news that their classmates ( aster, cormac, flora, hestia, mori, and pansy ) were attacked? were they concerned to learn of aster’s coma? did they go to visit aster or cormac in st. mungos during the months they were there
CC: Colin was horrified about the attack which caused him to spiral a little. Particularly the news about Cormac made him see red since he’s so close and cares for Cormac as much as he does. He visited Cormac pretty frequently and came with a plethora of shitty jokes to make his friend laugh to the best of his ability. Though while he smiled in the hospital room, he was riddled with anger and fear.
RTD: Renee had a crush on Aster when she was younger and while her opinion changed about him when he grew older, it was tough to hear the knew. She debated on visiting Aster for a while and eventually did for a short amount of time. It was hard for her to see. She did visit Cormac once, though, and brought him sweets.
DID your muse have any connection to the carrow sisters? what was their reaction to flora and hestia’s tragic passing?
CC: Colin did not know them but caused him to realize that they weren’t untouchable.
RTD: Renee knew them through others and it was extremely disheartening and it made her quite sad.
WHAT are some notable things that your character did over the time jump? any big events? did they have a birthday?
CC: Stole a few high-level and unnecessarily expensive defense against the dark books from the magical bookstore. He learned how to counter an anti-theft charm at a pretty notable shop that summer which spoke for the work that he’d been putting into his magical abilities.
RTD: Renee had a birthday in May. Her mother, as tradition went, sent her a delicious cake decorated with edible flowers. Renee did her best to enjoy it among all that’s been happening. Other than that, nothing notable.
WHAT did your muse do over the summer?
CC: Overworking himself. Constant practice, feelings of inadequacy no matter how objectively good he is getting in magic, feeling like it’s never good enough. He’s been colder, steering clear from romance, almost isolating himself except when he was seeing Cormac in the hospital. There have been very meaningless flings (at least to him) during that time as a lot of the focus has been on the happenings in the ministry and Dumbledore’s death. He’s even been distanced from his mother and Dennis and that doesn’t help the fear that he feels. Ideally, when the school year starts, there is someone there to help coax the words outo f him.
RTD: She’s been feeling a little down in her romantic relationships, where things seemingly seem that they’re going to work out and then they don’t. Went on dates during the summer but with an open heart and open mind. Though even with being let down, she’s still patient. It’s just been a tough few months and so her home’s studio is littered with new paintings where she’d been dabbling with different paint styles and immersing herself in new literature. Hobbies, hobbies, hobbies.
WHAT'S your character’s stance on werewolves now, after all of the happenings and attacks over the past year?
CC: Colin doesn’t have any disdain towards werewolves as a whole and he recognizes that this is an issue with the establishment and that there’s something strange with the WIPD. His fight or fight is off the radar regardless of there’s a werewolf or witch or any other creature in his or his loved ones vicinity if he senses there is danger especially after the attack targeting Cormac.
RTD: She gets a little anxious about the idea of being around them but immediately feels a sense of guilt afterwards when she has those thoughts. She doesn’t think werewolves are any more or less evil than wizards but just the heightened awareness along with family in her ear has made the negative perception of werewolves more prevalent. Though, she tries to challenge those thoughts.
WHAT was your character’s reaction to the news that dumbledore was missing? what about when it was revealed that he died?
CC: Terrified. Dumbledore, above anyone else, felt untouchable. While Colin doesn’t show his fear as much, it shows in his desperation to be better and his more frequent panic/anxiety attacks in tandem with some difficult depressive spirals.
RTD: She was very, very sad to hear about Dumbledore's death and alongside that, frightened, but loss wasn’t particularly new to her and her perspective on it and how Dumbledore’s journey wasn’t at its end helped ease the grief felt. Nonetheless, Renee is incredibly uncomfortable with what this signified overall in the magical world and the myriad of what she suspected would be negative changes that were going accompany his untimely death.
HOW have the new ministry happenings and the attacks during the time jump affected your character?
RA: A lot, just on a personal level. Her anxiety levels have spiked exponentially to the point she's been put on new medication just to mellow her out. Everything is happening too fast and too much that the state of the wizarding world genuinely scares her. It doesn't help that she's connected some dots in the bigger picture that she deliberately ignores just so she can have some peace of mind. Not as much on a worldly level. She was not visible to the people who were attacked, even if the thought of it scared her, and if anything, her parents are becoming more protective especially since her youngest sister is starting at Aurelius in the new year.
RW: He likes to pretend that it hasn't affected him much, but in reality, he thinks about what's been happening probably an unhealthy amount. He's terrified for his father as a ministry worker and has very very deep suspicions about what's happening when it comes to the new minister. It's a lot, so much so that he can't really truly wrap his head around what is actually happening? Basically, he knows it's bad vibes but has no idea why. The attacks too affected him in a way he didn't expect. A lot of the people who were attacked he's never liked very much, maybe even hated, but it scared him to know these people were hurt (and dead!) which made whatever happening too real. So he's holding on to the people he loves even tighter now.
DID any of the disappearances or attacks involve someone your character knew?
RA: She only really knew of them, and many of them don't know of her. At most, she knew some of them through their quidditch matches.
RW: Yes, but most of them if not all have antagonistic relationships with him. Losing Dumbledore hit him hard though.
HOW did your muse react to the news that their classmates ( aster, cormac, flora, hestia, mori, and pansy ) were attacked? were they concerned to learn of aster’s coma? did they go to visit aster or cormac in st. mungos during the months they were there?
RA: Fear, mostly. These people, young people, were being attacked for things seemingly out of their control, and she happened to live in their periphery even if she didn't know them personally.
RW: It was weird because he never expected to ever feel bad for these people because of how they treated him and his friends. But hearing how serious it was, and for the Carrow twins to have died... It hit him in a way that he didn't expect. Like a weird grief, almost. He didn't visit, but did genuinely think about it lol. Just to give flowers or whatever.
DID your muse have any connection to the carrow sisters? what was their reaction to flora and hestia’s tragic passing?
RA: No, but she did get a panic attack at the news.
RW: He didn't really like either of them. One of them was particularly rude to him, and he despised her at some point. But hearing of their passing just made him feel bad.
WHAT are some notable things that your character did over the time jump? any big events? did they have a birthday?
RA: Nothing particularly of note, but she is started to like her shifts at the hospital wing!
RW: He got a minor injury on his knee, so he couldn't play pick-up quidditch games for a couple of weeks. Ron also turned 25 in March which he spent with his friends at Hogwarts!
WHAT did your muse do over the summer?
RA: She had a month of placement at St. Mungo's - a requirement for healing specializations starting 3rd year, which went off without much of a hitch (thanks meds!), and hung out with her friends (particularly Vale & Effie) in London. Her and her family visited her dad's side of the family for about a week and half in Seoul. Other than that, she was definitely mostly at home becoming a hermit for a bit lol.
RW: Went to the Quidditch World Cup with Harry and Hermione (and his family) where he got to ignore the things happening in the world. Probably slept over at Harry's and Hermione's a lot when he wasn't at home because his mom stresses him out and he'd rather not be in that energy if he can help that. He also was a part-time kiddies quidditch referee, which he surprisingly enjoyed... partly because seeing the kids' clumsiness was funny.
WHAT’S your character’s stance on werewolves now, after all of the happenings and attacks over the past year?
RA: She isn't particularly suspicious of werewolves in general because she gives anyone the benefit of the doubt, but she's highly suspicious of what's been happening with the ministry and doesn't trust the werewolf task force.
RW: Because of his family's history with werewolves, he's never liked them much. With the attacks and such? He really doesn't like them right now, especially because of the threat they pose to his family and friends. He wouldn't wish being a werewolf on anyone, even his enemies.
WHAT was your character’s reaction to the news that dumbledore was missing? what about when it was revealed that he died?
RA: It struck terrible fear in her heart, especially his death. The castle always felt safe with him in it, and now without it, she doesn't know if she can find the same comfort she did before. Wth everything unfolding, she feels like she always needs to look over her shoulder now.
RW: Shock, then fear, then anger. Ron still cannot believe it, honestly - who had the gall and power to overtake a legendary wizard like Dumbledore? What would this mean for the wizarding world? Ron doesn't know, but god dammit he's going to be angry about it.
aurelius institute grants its students a two week vacation for the winter holidays, spanning from DECEMBER 22ND to JANUARY 5TH. the focus of this task is to get into details with your muse's home lives, or lack thereof, and their idea of celebrating the holiday period during this time off. these can be answered however you like, whether you prefer answering by talking about your character or through in character drabbles.
while all tasks are optional, we highly encourage everyone to take this opportunity to flesh out your character and get creative! once you have completed the task, tag your post under: #aureliustask
HAPPY HOLIDAYS! does your muse go home for this time, or do they remain at the castle?
WHY does your muse do this, and how does their family feel about this decision?
DOES your muse celebrate any holidays around this time? if they do, how do they celebrate? if they don't, how do they spend this two week vacation?
WHAT is your muse's favorite holiday tradition that they partake in, no matter how big or small?
DESCRIBE a time your muse got a gift for someone for the holidays ( this year or previous years ), and how it made them feel. was it out of obligation, love, ulterior motives, or another reason?
PICK one or two ( or more ! ) other muses that your muse would get a gift for, and what they would buy them. you can make this a real scenario and make a thread of it, or it can be something your muse has only considered—explain why they wouldn't go through with it if so.
