WHO: Mary && Open
WHERE: St Mungo’s Hospital
WHEN: January 18th, Memorial Service
A MEMORIAL. Mary had thought she was going to throw up when she heard the news. The news that she, as a Ministry employee, was expected to attend the memorial service of Malcolm Mulciber. She had grappled with the decision for the past couple of days, before ultimately deciding that it would be looked upon as poor form if she were not to attend. Though she was only a low-ranking Ministry employee, if she ever hoped to make it further than Wizengamot Administration Services, she would have to play the part of a model employee, wouldn’t she? Once this war was over, she still wanted to have her job.
Mary sat in silence aboard the Knight Train, even as her colleagues prattled on amongst themselves. She didn’t know why she was so nervous, he wasn’t going to be there. He couldn’t be. It was his own memorial service -- as in for the dead. No, she told herself again sternly, she wasn’t there for Mulciber, she was there to pay her respects for the other unfortunate souls who had perished during the battle. That was all.
Of course, her composure seems to go to hell the moment she steps through the entrance of St Mungo’s, eyes casting over the beautiful memorial that had been set up for him. Mary feels bile rise up in her throat once more, and it takes everything she has not to collapse at the sight of all this. “Excuse me,” She murmurs, pushing through the small crowd of people huddled at the entrance, looking for something to steady herself. Finding a small table of food and drink, Mary leans against it, fingers digging into the material as she breathes heavily. In and out. She doesn’t notice the person beside her until they brush against her -- presumably trying to reach past to get to the food -- causing Mary to flinch and straighten up. Get it together, a voice sneers. “Sorry.” She mutters, a plastered-on smile finding its way to her face, “I must be right in your way.”
In the month and a half since the memorial at St. Mungo’s, the world has been quiet—-publicly at least. No one can deny that tension rang through the streets of London and the walkways of both Diagon and Knockturn Alley, setting a permanent grey cloud over the already dreary England skies. People speak in hushed whispers, milling about in shops long after they’ve closed and crowding the Leaky Cauldron more than what’s considered usual (though Tom isn’t one to complain from the profit earned from this scare). The wizarding world is waiting for the other shoe to drop… and finally, they get their wish.
On February 17, a flurry of owls are sent off into the sky, the number so great that some mistake them for clouds or, if near a park, the leaves of a tree. Early risers think nothing of it when a paper arrives at their homes, but some are confused when they receive two bundles instead of one: one of the usual Daily Prophet, and another from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Some look at that paper first, but all eventually turn their eyes to the Daily Prophet as they are wont to do, the staggering headline facing them in big, bold print:
‘HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY TO CLOSE INDEFINITELY’
On the second page of the paper, under the Auror Beats, another shocking piece of news comes into light: Alastor Moody has been declared missing in action, and Rufus Scrimgeour is to step in as acting Head Auror until further notice. His induction ceremony is set to happen eleven days from the publication of the article—February 29.
Meanwhile, the Order of the Phoenix and the Death Eaters don’t sit idly by. Hogwarts, once considered the safest place on Earth, is now free for the taking. After all, who wouldn’t want to put a castle to use? The Death Eaters have an advantage, thanks to the break-in earlier in the month by Bellatrix Lestrange and Rabastan Lestrange that led to the shut down in the first place.
FEBRUARY 29 - MORNING
(9:30 am) Fabian Prewett, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, and Lily Potter arrive near Hogwarts as a group, all with separate tasks and limited time to get them done. Nearby, Bellatrix Lestrange arrives at Hogwarts with the intent to find and combat any Order members she comes across.
(9:32 am) In Hogsmeade, reconstruction efforts are well underway. Narcissa Malfoy is there personally overseeing everything and, having been the first to declare public support for Hogsmeade and donated a large sum of money to the cause, is followed without question. While coordinating the volunteers, Narcissa comes across Molly Weasley, who had taken Bill and Charlie out with her to help. Unfortunately, the boys have gotten off somewhere while Molly checked on the twins, and the two women search together for the children.
(9:45 am) A little ways away, Lucinda Talkalot and Marlene McKinnon walk through Hogsmeade both to volunteer and build good PR for the Catapults. Billy and their coach have asked Lucinda to groom Marlene’s public disposition, but Marlene seems she would rather be anywhere else. Lucinda quickly manages to give Marlene the slip when they’re stopped by Narcissa and Molly, going to the Forbidden Forest and entering the Hogwarts grounds through the breach. She is meant to watch over the grounds while Bellatrix scouts inside the castle, but has the unfortunate luck of running into Fabian Prewett, who had been doing the exact same thing.
(9:57 am) Inside of Hogwarts, Peter Pettigrew and Lily Potter team up to search the lower levels of Hogwarts for anything that could be of use. Lily also scouts the condition of the castle to see if it’s viable to use for the RHEA Initiative. While Lily searches through Slughorn’s supply closet, Peter keeps watch and comes face-to-face with Bellatrix. Not wanting the most important part of the mission to fail because of a duel, he tells Bellatrix where she can find Sirius in the castle, knowing that he can take care of himself. Luckily for him and Lily, the witch takes the bait and leaves to find her cousin.
(10:10 am) Near the Gryffindor common room, Sirius Black is confronted by Bellatrix, their rivalry coming to a head in a duel against one another. Sirius is grievously injured in the fight and is left by Bellatrix to die. Back in Dumbledore’s office, Fabian, Peter, and Lily search through the old headmaster’s belongings one more time for anything that could be useful. When Sirius fails to show up at the allotted time, Fabian makes the decision to leave without him, and the three of them escape the castle through Dumbledore’s illegal Floo network.
(10:12 am) Outside of Hogwarts’ barrier, Amelia Bones waits in case the infiltrators need back-up. When she hears nothing, she decides to start an unofficial investigation as to how anyone got through the school’s wards in the first place; about halfway between Hogsmeade and the Forbidden Forest, she finds Pandora Lovegood, who is going the same thing under the guise of writing an article for the Quibbler.
(10:27 am) Not wanting to attend the induction ceremony that evening, James Potter volunteers to strengthen the wards around Hogsmeade while he waits for the proper time to join the team in Hogwarts. He loses track of time, however, between his work and chatting for appearances, and it isn’t until he hears Marlene mention Lucinda’s disappearance that he realizes something is wrong. James abandons his post and rushes to Hogwarts, where he not only finds that his wife and comrades are gone, but that Sirius is on the ground dying outside of their old haunt. He gets in contact with Amelia using his Patronus as a messenger, and the two quickly bring him to St. Mungo’s, unaware that Pandora followed Amelia inside and sees them carrying Sirius into the Floo Network to leave the building.
FEBRUARY 29 - EVENING
(7:30 pm) The induction ceremony for Rufus Scrimgeour is crowded, though it seems that more than half of the Aurors manage to get out of attending it. One of the few there is Alice Longbottom, who seems less-than-pleased to see anyone but Alastor Moody standing in Scrimgeour’s spot. She makes conversation with Alecto Carrow, who is lingering by the refreshments table, and becomes distracted by Mary Macdonald, who decided to make an appearance to provide more of an Order presence to the ceremony. In the moment of distraction, Alecto dumps several vials of poison into the various punches and leaves before the two women can speak with her further. She will not, after all, ruin the Dark Lord’s orders over measly conversation.
(7:52 pm) After Scrimgeour’s speech is over, Gideon Prewett makes his way toward him with his nephew Percy in tow, wanting to introduce himself to his new boss. After a shallow introduction, Scrimgeour brushes him off and leaves Gideon standing in the middle of the atrium. With a promise to give Percy a tour of the Ministry after hours to uphold, he turns to do so but is intercepted by both Mary Macdonald and Sinistra Lowe for some idle conversation. The conversation with Sinistra doesn’t last long, as a slightly-lost looking Lucius Malfoy begins to field press questions. If he seems to favor questions from the Quibbler more than anyone else, no one decides to say.
(8:12 pm) Rabastan Lestrange, having been tricked into attending the ceremony, has happily indulged in the free punch and freely admonishes the event under his breath. He latches onto Mary and begins drunken ramblings that only leaves her with more questions than answers. Across the way, Alecto sees his state and cannot save him from the poison without exposing herself and angering the Dark Lord. On her way out, she passes by Sinistra, drink in her hand, and presses a vial of antidote into her palm with the whispered instruction to pass it to Lucius. She makes her exit quickly, and Sinistra does what she says without asking questions for the moment.
(8:15 pm) Alice Longbottom is the first to fall, the cup in her hand shattering on the floor and sending wine and glass everywhere. The concern is small at first, with the nearest people going to help her, but when Rabastan Lestrange and Sinistra Lowe fall one after the other, the crowd becomes panicked. The people who drank that evening begin dropping like flies, the horrified yells of those who did not drink emphasized by the ever-present thumping of bodies and breaking glass. Having not had anything to drink, Lucius and Gideon begin working together to help the fallen, aided substantially when Lucius realizes the vial passed to him is an antidote. Mary helps the two of them as well, but the small amount she did drink catches up to her, and she falls with the rest.
MARCH 1
News of the disaster at the Ministry from the previous night spreads like wildfire, and for his first act as Head Auror, Scrimgeour separates the Aurors into two teams: one team will continue to investigate the Hogwarts security breach, while the other puts all their time and resources into figuring out who was behind the mass poisoning and why. With some of his best Aurors currently in the hospital, however, it proves to be a substantial task to take on. His next act is assigning a new security detail to protect Minister Minchum, the unit headed by Corban Yaxley and (unknown to Scrimgeour) composed of several Death Eaters.
The plan to take over the Ministry of Magic is underway. Corban just needs to take care of Rufus Scrimgeour before it can come to fruition.
WHO: Peter and ?
WHERE: St Mungo’s
WHEN: January 18th, Memorial Service
He slumped into a chair.
Peter was working up the will to pay his respects to the families. He had little interest in approaching the Mulciber family. He was unsure if it would be received well anyway. They seemed like the type who might find his condolences insincere. Of course, he would go pay homage to the others, but if he was making an effort to approach all the families the Mulciber’s were last on his list. He leaned back in the chair, running a hand through his hair. He couldn’t shake the feeling that this somehow wasn’t real. Each memorial he attended felt more and more like a place where he was playing a part. Numb to the reality of the experience he was in.
The portraits that were at the front of the room were a reminder that this wasn’t the case. Although he half expected them to move, or talk back, like the paintings at Hogwarts had. To tell one last joke, or leave a sense of advice to those who remained. The world these days was shrouded in mystery and uncertainty. Peter had not been exempt from that. If anything his involvement with the Ministry and other organizations led him into the fray. He took a deep breath, eyes darting around the room. A pit grew in his stomach, with the sinking feeling that he was waiting too long to visit with the families.
“Merlin,” He muttered to himself, wishing for much harsher language. However, this was still part of his Ministry position and he wouldn’t want the wrong person to overhear him. Peter put one of his hands in his pocket, slowly pulling out a chocolate frog. He opened the packaging, quickly breaking off the legs so that it couldn’t jump away. Peter looked up, looking at the looming shadow that was in front of him. “Do you want a piece?” He offered. “I am more than willing to share.”
Harold Minchum, the Minister for Magic, & his office of advisors have spent the last few weeks pulling together a community event to celebrate St. Valentine’s Day! After buying a week’s worth of advertisements in the Daily Prophet & Quibbler, the day has finally arrived! All in the wizarding community are invited to this celebration of joy, laughter, and most of all, love. Bring your sweetie, bring your friends, or bring your family for a full day of sweetheart-themed activities! Festivities will kick off Saturday morning, starting with a street market spanning from the Leaky Cauldron all the way through to Knockturn Alley, to a late night social mixer hosted by The Century Casino in London.
For further worldbuilding information regarding the event, including the schedule of activities throughout the day, please refer to the supplemental Daily Prophet article { x }.
Under the read more is the introduction of a NEW location, The Century Casino. It has been added to the secondary location directory for future plots & frequent locations of characters!
Located in the heart of London, the Century Casino was founded by Stanley Bulstrode twelve years ago and has become a focal point for entertainment ever since. Enter the casino and be greeted by golden decor throughout the wide, open-floor plan, a large crystal chandelier hanging in the dead-center of the room. Immediately to the right, treat yourself to high-class mixed drinks and other beverages at the bar, tended to and overseen by the talented Magnolia Filch-Deveres. Here to gamble? Choose from a number of games set out along the main floor, from slot machines to Blackjack. Be sure to stop by the poker tables to be entertained by Coerf and Audrey, the dynamic duo of dealers if the world has ever seen one. If food better suits your fancy, head to the back of the casino to be served delectable meals from head chef Donnell himself.
If you’re looking for something a bit more magical, fear not: simply approach manager Randy and he’ll lead you to the second floor dedicated purely to the wizards of the world. There, you’ll find games similar to what’s found on the first floor, but also classics directly from home as well, such as wizard chess and exploding snaps. The gambling tables are enchanted to make things a bit more exciting for magical folk, so be sure to check the tables out for a new casino experience.
Tuckered out for the evening? Don’t trust yourself to get home safely? Speak with Randy or Stanley himself, and rent out a room for the night on the third floor of the casino. Enchanted to be soundproof, these rooms are sure to meet the quality of any nearby hotel, complete with plush beds and a view of London to die for. Enjoy a morning breakfast that comes with the purchase of a night at the Century, and either try your hand at games once again or go home satisfied by a night well spent.
At the Century Casino, we’re dedicated to make your time here the best it can possibly be. No other casino in London can match the quality that Stanley Bulstrode put into his business; if you doubt it, pay us a visit and see for yourself. We’ll be waiting.
THE ELPHIAS DOGE FOUNDATION EXTENDS AN OPEN INVITE TO A MEMORIAL AT ST. MUNGOS
January 18th 1980
As reported the day after the attack, four lives were tragically lost at the hands of You-Know-Who and his followers during a brutal attack on Hogsmeade three days ago. Hogwarts remains closed in the aftermath of Albus Dumbledore’s sudden disappearance, and will be closed for the next week. An inside source has announced that should Dumbledore not return, Minerva McGonagall will take over as headmistress.
Hogsmeade is rebuilding in the aftermath of the attack, but four people will not be able to see these efforts as a result of the brutality of the Death Eaters. Elphias Doge, Emma Vanity, Malcolm Mulciber and Gideon Bones passed at the hands of the unknown assailants, who remain at large. In their kindness, the Elphias Doge Foundation have organised a memorial for these four souls so that friends and family may be put to rest.
The memorial will be held at St. Mungos tonight on January 18th. It will begin at 7PM with a short candlelit vigil in the chapel, and then there will be time to mourn and remember these lost souls in the atrium. Celestina Warbeck will provide quiet, reflective music in the atrium in front of a large backdrop of white gladiolas flowers, an anonymous gift donated in Mr. Doge’s memory. The Elphias Doge Foundation will provide light refreshments, and space will be made for family members to give a small obituary should they feel able to do so. The chapel will close at 10pm and the memorial will draw to a close then, but grief counselors paid for by the Doge Foundation will remain after that should anyone require their services.
Ministry employees are encouraged to travel to St. Mungos via The Knight Train. Other attendees are asked to use broomsticks where possible so that those who cannot fly are free to use the Knight Bus. Portkeys will be organised from major cities so that groups can attend together, please contact your local ministry representative for news on times of departure. The floo network will be closed at St Mungos to allow for a quiet memorial service.
We thank the Doge foundation for their efforts in organising this memorial. Any donations made at this time will go to the families of the deceased.
{ OOC: This event will be active and open for new threads as of now, and will close on the 29th November. Please feel free to post non-event threads as you wish during this time as well, and event threads can continue after the 29th but no more should be started after this date. We are aware that Thanksgiving falls within this time frame, so please don’t feel any pressure to close threads before the 29th. Just ensure that no fresh threads are posted after this date. Please remember to date tag your threads! Please bare in mind the travel restrictions { x }, and also that St. Mungos is considered neutral ground. Have fun and happy roleplaying! }
