open event starter: july 31, 2020, hjp day, godric’s hollow graveyard.
If Kodi had ever felt more out of place in her entire life, she couldn’t remember it.
She had arrived in London a little over a month ago in the aftermath of a terrorist attack on a concert whose proceeds were meant to go towards werewolf welfare. As a brand-new Auror to the Department, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and eager to get to work, she had been swept up into the efforts at damage control. Tonight was a time for mitigation: upped security at this mass gathering for Harry James Potter Day so that they didn’t have a repeat incident.
So here she was among the mourners and the throngs of British citizens who loved the Boy Who Lived or at least knew him better than Kodi. Voldemort’s rise to power had left its scars on the American psyche, too, but when she saw the looks on the faces around her, she felt virtually untouched in comparison. She had a high-end Glamour Charm in place, and as long as her expression didn’t distort too drastically, it would remain stable. She didn’t actually want to punctuate anyone’s grief with fear.
She only had to be intimidating enough to be on guard duty; specifically, she was meant to be protecting the grave of James and Lily Potter from any attempts at vandalism. Her Shield Charm flickered brightly around the headstones as someone stepped a little too close.
“Excuse me,” she said, uncomfortable even at going there, but it was her job. Her accent sounded blaringly American even to her own ears. “I’m gonna have to ask you to take a step back.” She tried to get a read on their expression even as she positioned herself to make sure that the Auror badge, so similar to the one she had worn in Washington and yet so different in weight, was visible where it was pinned to her robes. “I know this must be a hard day for you. I’m sorry. Did you--know the Potters?”
The Charmed words finally burned golden on the wall, a half-dozen tries of the spell later. Neville felt triumphant at last.
It had been a particularly bad day at the school that had become a prison, a warzone, a hellscape. But he was determined to show that nothing was over yet--the fight had just begun.
The cloak of night was already smothering the castle in an eerie quiet. He was most certainly violating curfew to do this, but it was worth it for Hogwarts to wake to this message of resistance. Just when he was moving to stow his wand, though, footsteps from behind made him tighten his grip on it instead. These days, punishments for such flagrant disobedience could get a lot worse than detention.
open event starter / the three broomsticks. ( PRESENT DAY )
“ this is not turning out the way i wanted, “ susan murmured, typing and typing again on her phone. it was a simple caption to her picture ( “ pour one out “ ), but everything she typed was unintelligible. “ merlin, “ she said, hitting her phone against the counter top, hard, before leaning forward and resting her forehead against the grimy surface. she sat up, sharply, blinking owlishly, and turned to the person beside her. “ AM I DRUNK ? you’d tell me if i was drunk, right ? “
plotted starter for dudley [[@ddudleys]] - july 31st, 2016. the three broomsticks.
The Three Broomsticks was inevitably loud with the number of people gathered to remember Harry, but the mood was somber. Conversation rose and then petered out painfully, and Arthur had been swallowing back the lump in his throat all night. It was all too fresh and new.
Sometimes he could hardly process that the boy was gone, even on this second annual day held in remembrance of him. He kept expecting to see him at the table between Ron and Ginny in the Burrow for Sunday lunches, like he belonged. He had belonged. He had been their family. Arthur felt, and he thought Molly did as well, that they had lost two sons a year ago.
In the cluster of familiar wixen faces, Arthur saw an unexpected one. He almost didn’t process who it was for a moment. Dudley Dursley--some of Harry’s only living biological family. Arthur knew he had made the startling move of joining the Ministry when the dust settled after the Battle of Hogwarts, but Arthur had only just moved back to Muggle Artefacts. Thus, to this point, they had encountered each other neither professionally nor personally, not since the last time Arthur had been at the Dursleys’ home. That felt like a lifetime away, but he could still remember Harry’s eyes.
Arthur said something to the effect of needing another pint and then moved through the crowds slowly, coming to a stop before him.
“I see you made it out here,” he said after a moment. There were posters of Harry up on the walls, and the streets outside were still packed. “It’s not just about his fame or his--his great deeds,” he said suddenly. “A lot of people loved your cousin very much.” Realizing that sounded pointed, and that Dudley was likely here to mourn, too, he cleared his throat. “You must...miss him.” He must, even if they weren’t so close. They had been raised in one house together; they should have been like brothers.
One look at the group of people trying to find Harry’s grave is enough to send her into a fit of anger. It happens every year but time doesn’t quell her grief, nor her protectiveness over the now passed boy. Her hands shake as she tries to control herself, but her hair and eyes go a startling black.
“You should be ashamed!” She yells before she could stop herself. “He’d done enough, spent his life protectin’ us all! Let him rest in peace now!”
❝ HARRY JAMES POTTER DAY, sometimes referred to as hjp day, is a british wixen holiday marking the birthday of the late harry james potter. it is observed on the 31st of july, annually, though celebrations often last through the week. it was officially registered with the british ministry of magic on may 19th, 2014 by minister kingsley shacklebolt.
potter, famous from birth for being the ONLY person known to have survived the killing curse, was a key figure in the fight against he-who-must-not-be-named during the second wizarding war. many credit him as the most important person in bringing about the dark lords eventual demise, thanks to his unique efforts to find and destroy several horcruxes. the campaign for a holiday in potter’s honor was mostly undertaken by his former classmates and freinds, soon after the end of the war. there was some controversy surrounding the date chosen, as many older wixen wanted the day to be the end of OCTOBER ; the date that marked the end of the first wizarding war and the day that potter originally survived the killing curse. ❞
WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE :
IN GODRIC’S HOLLOW : it’s become a bit of a tradition for members of the wixen community around britain ( and sometimes the world ) to make the journey to godric’s hollow as a sort of pilgrimage, if you will. the muggles who live in the village have never quite made sense of the influx of robed individuals they get at the end of july each year, but they’ve long since accepted it happens - and have gone out of their way to encourage that this ‘tourist boom’ continues by turning it into a sort of village wide festival. while they hang bunting, put balloons outside their shops and quietly murmur about how all the inns in town have been booked out for the sixth year in a row, wix make the journey around town, visiting the site of the potters home, and leaving flowers at the statue of them in the square. this, of course, is in place of the fact that no matter how hard they search ( and a small number try their HARDEST ), they’ve yet to find his grave.
IN DIAGON ALLEY : how else would businesses celebrate the birthday of the chosen one, if not by slashing their prices for the weekend of july 31st and holding what some would consider a small street festival? it’s not exactly in good taste, but it did originally come from somewhere well intentioned. the very first alley celebration of harry potters life WAS ministry sanctioned, after all ( even if they’ve since tried to put some distance between them and the capitalists ).
IN HOGSMEADE : it isn’t the only event that happens each year around this time, and it certainly isn’t the biggest ( or most highly advertised - that honor goes to the new nightclub on knockturn alley, who’ve been plugging their free ‘daiqharry’ cocktail with each ticket purchased for entry to their party on the night of the 31st ), but its the one pulled together by madam rosmerta at the three broomsticks that often draws the larger crowd of those who actually knew the boy. the hogwarts professors, sans mcgonagall, often book out one of the back rooms to share a drink the night of his birthday - and many of his peers use it as a way to get together and honor the boy they know they can thank for much of what they have, now ( and that they wouldn’t, without him ).
OUT OF CHARACTER :
'harry potter day’ is a bit misleading, really ; the CELEBRATION of harry potters life and the honouring of a boy who made so many sacrifices for the wixen community spans the entire weekend, usually, and brings with it both... undeniable reverence for him, and a frankly inappropriate amount of commercialism. the recent benefit attack is still fresh in the minds of many, but won’t stop the usual festivities that span the entire country. in godric’s hollow, people carry on the yearly tradition of trying to find his grave site ( while those that know quietly visit to pay their respects ), and on diagon alley, shops cut their prices by half and shopkeeps talk fondly of the boy with messy hair they once had the privilage of serving. there are get togethers across the nation, big and small, but the three broomsticks in hogsmeade is a favorie of many who personally knew him, and who find the ‘holiday’ a rough one to pass.
these are all things you guys can use in your roleplaying this week, but this event is going one step further by asking one more thing of you : this week, you’re encouraged to do at least one flashback thread set at any point in your muses past, even just the last six years, exploring... anything that you want. a key event with another character, the immediate aftermath of the war, a summer visit to hogsmeade before everything went so bad. more than that, you should plot and rp this thread with someone who you either haven’t done anything with, before, or who has a character yours is implied connected to, but you haven’t gotten the chance to explore things with yet. you’re only required to do the one - but feel free to do more, if the muse strikes !
the event officially begins on tuesday the 28th at 12:00am GMT, 10:00am AEST & 12:00pm NZST and monday the 27th at 5:00pm PST, 6:00pm MTN, 7:00pm CST, 8:00pm EST & 9:30pm NST ! it’ll end the same time a week from now, bringing us to august 4th - and catching us up a bit, timeline wise.
you are not under any obligation to pause any threads you currently have going, and are encouraged to put as much a focus on the event gimmick and event itself as you feel comfortable doing !
ALL event related starters ( including private ones, this time ; let us see ‘em ) should be tagged as nox.event005 ! you have as much a choice as location as you always do !
if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to message the main, and please reply ‘rip harry’ to this post once you’ve read it !
“he could’ve gone pro,” oliver spoke slowly as he stared at the framed photograph of the gryffindor quidditch team hanging on the wall, his already sad smile faltering as his eyes landed on the smiling figure of harry potter. “he was that good,” he whispered, his words containing an unusually high level of melancholia as he allowed his arm to fall to his side. there were a lot of things that harry james potter would never get to do, and quidditch was minor, but still, it was quidditch that had brought them together, and that is how oliver would choose to remember his fallen friend. allowing one final sigh to leave his lips, this time followed by a long sip of his beer oliver turned to face the person standing next to him. “cheers then, to the greatest seeker gryffindor ever saw,” he managed to smile as he lifted his glass..
closed starter for dudley [[@ddudleys]] - july 31st, 2020. frank & alice’s fine flora.
It was nearing dusk now, and Neville was weary to the bone. He was always busy around HJP Day, with flower orders pouring in the whole of July and last-minute wreath and bouquet walk-ins coming along to dwindle the rest of his stock. Of course it felt absolutely evil to profit from Harry’s remembrance, but he couldn’t just refuse to do business.
Still, with the pace of the day frenetic, Neville scurrying from the greenhouse in the back to the register, spelling wreaths into rounds and perking up drooping roses and failing to conjure handkerchiefs for weeping wix he was pretty sure had never met Harry in their entire lives, so what did they know about the grief--he hardly had time to mourn. At the end of the day, it wore him thin with the exhaustion of suppressed emotion.
He turned the sign on Frank & Alice’s Fine Flora to closed with a shaking hand, then stepped outside the door. He had hung a wreath there of his most lovingly-tended lilies, pure soft white. His expression fell when he saw they had been buffeted by the rush of foot traffic today, their petals crushed brown. Somehow that more than anything else today had made him want to cry. His palm trembled as he flattened it against the shop door. Harry. Harry would have hated the shameless commercialism of the day that was supposed to be for him. Harry would have had something bitingly funny to say, Harry would have--
A noise from behind made him turn suddenly. He was baffled and unhappy to see not a friend standing there, but someone who was still a stranger by everything but hinted reputation, one who awoke in him mixed feelings a lot less welcome than warmth. And he didn’t like the look on his face.
“What is it you’ve got a problem with?” Neville demanded of him, drawing himself upright. He didn’t have the bulk that Dudley Dursley did, but he was happy to hold his own against any bully. “Is it the flowers or the crying?”
