in response to the question of whether the chair beside her is free, luca gives only a quiet mhm. for a moment, that’s all that’s needed : the hustle & bustle of the hog’s head on a night of memorial weekend drowns the sound, but actions speak volumes more and her foot goes automatically to the bottom rung of the stool to nudge it a couple inches out from the bar. she continues to nurse her pint of muggle cider between both hands and stares into the bottom of the glass while they settle in, giving the final dregs of it a gentle swirl. she was meant to have cut herself off a few hours ago, lest the hangover make the rest of the weekend even more unbearable than usual. she was meant to have headed back to the school before the sun went down, so she could be there for her siblings. she was meant to do a lot of things but for once, she didn’t have the strength of will to do them - and lucky for her neighbour, she was charitable in her sullen insobriety. “you want a drink?” this time she tries to speak above the noise, voice a little raspy from a day of disuse, “’it’s on me. i could do with the good karma.”
"you don’t wanna go in there, man.” dudley’s actually fairly lucky ; if arturo had been five seconds slower rounding the corner, he’d have missed him entirely. it would’ve certainly been a LESSON learned, but not even he can justify the pains he’d have to go through just to never go through it again. coming to a stop before him, both hands stuck into the pockets of his jacket, arturo gave a small shake of his head and then jutted his chin towards the ( thankfully still ) closed door. “that’s moaning myrtle’s haunt. i’ve never met a bigger headache. trust me, i’m saving you a lot of hassle - try the bathroom on the third floor.”
as much as maisie wanted to just ignore marcus entirely - it was proving to be incredibly difficult. with his good looks and natural charm - she was lucky she hadn't melted into a puddle. it was pathetic, but she had already made an executive decision not to think about that. "i guess i stand corrected."
𝙻𝙾𝙲𝙰𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽 : the divination classroom ( north tower ), hogwarts castle !
the whole thing is a recipe for disaster, really. if they weren’t overcome with emotion at the sight of their mothers old haunt ( remarkably unlikely ) or caught before they managed to find the right floorboard to pull up ( a worry not without merit, but they manage to work quick ) then something would have to go awry, and it makes sense that it would be something as simple as the unexpected arrival of another at an inopportune time. damaris has made good time. they’ve won, for all intents and purposes. all that’s left to do is to take care in descending the ricket ladder that had once led to sybill’s private quarters and keep a tight grasp on their spoils, but they don’t turn around at the bottom expecting anyone to be stood behind them, and their reaction is predictable. “oh, fuck me-” they exclaim, jumping back half a foot in fright and crashing painfully into the same ladder they’ve just come down, only having enough forethought to hide their prize behind their back as they right themself with a frazzled, “you spooky bitch. what the fuck is wrong with you?”
❝ 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 !
“right, let’s go get you a drink,” oliver’s brows furrowed together as he placed his hands on seamus’ shoulders before attempting to steer him in another direction. another person might have been concerned by seamus’ words, but they didn’t have that type of friendship. that and,oliver kind of felt the same way whenever he was at the memorial.
𝙿𝚁𝙾𝙼𝙿𝚃 : it’s too dark, i can’t see anything.
𝚁𝙴𝚀𝚄𝙴𝚂𝚃𝙴𝙳 𝙱𝚈 : @hoggleswart / seamus finnigan !
𝙻𝙾𝙲𝙰𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽 : hogwarts castle !
it made sense, initially, to fall into step beside one another. they had to travel in much the same direction to get to the guest quarters of their previous houses, breaking away only on the final stretch. between the simplicity of the directions given to them and the fact that catherine had left hogwarts far more recently than seamus, there should’ve been a pretty low possibility of a wrong turn - but that fact hadn’t stopped them from ending up in one of the corridors with their rows of statues, and a gleeful cackle had given them enough warning that something was about to go even more grossly wrong BEFORE the lights flickered out. “ peeves, ” she states the obvious, moving to stand a little closer to him in the hope that if she did, she’d be protected from whatever the poltergeist planned next ( even if it meant vaguely sacrificing seamus to it, instead ). “ i’ve gotten turned around. do you remember the way we came in ? ”
❛ do you ever stop being so serious and dull? ❜ @witchbiitches
he could've responded with a simple no - it was the expected answer. perhaps he even should've responded with no. but annoyed by the question, theodore opted for a different, less appropriate response. "well, we are at a memorial. i thought smiling would be inappropriate."
