PLOT DROP.
As the days drift by and tensions mount, puppet strings continue to be pulled. Tom Riddle sits and watches his marionettes dance to the music of his own orchestra, leading Operation Auror on a merry chase. Evidence is gathered by the police -- false clues all pointing at the same incorrect person. The rifts between factions grow ever deeper, ever wider. Dissent makes for a cruel man’s playground.
[ Tuesday 25th June ]
11:00am - 4:00pm: The Funeral & Wake of Mr Regulus Arcturus Black
All members of the Sacred 28 and House of Black staff are invited to attend the wake for our beloved Regulus Arcturus Black following a private family funeral on the Black family estate. A loving son, nephew and cousin, join us in celebrating his life. Flowers may be sent ahead of time, or if you would like to make a donation in lieu in memory of Regulus, a collection will be made in aid of a future charity to be set up in his name. Dress code of formal attire, black only.
Non-Sacred 28 members will not be permitted past the Black Manor gates, with the exception of wake staff and Miss Rita Skeeter ( attending on behalf of The Daily Prophet at Mr Malfoy’s request ).
Many are surprised by the choice of a private funeral for Regulus, with rumours as to why only family were allowed to attend drifting through the warm, muggy summer air. The wake, however, is as expected -- elegant and tasteful, tables dotting the pristinely manicured garden lawn, accompanied by a suitably mellow string quartet.
2:00pm: The Arrest
The set-up starts a little something like this: one man, significantly younger than he is now, hungrily lapping up the words of his professor in the quiet of a lecture theatre. All people have the ability to change the world they live in, the professor had told him. It was the sort of idea that stuck. Only, the two of them had different plans for how society should be shaped, and thus the schism was formed.
Tom Riddle has friends in high places. He also has friends in low places. The fake evidence Emma planted on the body of newly-deceased Regulus Black had been plucked from Dumbledore no more than twenty-four hours prior and with well-paid witnesses who had seen nothing all managing to give vague yet undeniably accurate accounts of the man they saw near St Mungo’s car park the morning the body was found, it is more than enough for alarm bells to start ringing up and down the country. London’s phone calls to Edinburgh and Glasgow cross-referencing past records are met with confirmations and agreements. Hogwarts University is surrounded by officers during afternoon seminars, their raid of the professor’s on-campus accommodation appearing in student’s mobile phone footage all over social media.
The door breaks. The police storm in. A few minutes pass.
They come out empty-handed.
The evening’s headline decorating ever newspaper and broadcast platform reads the following:
SUSPECTED MURDERER PROFESSOR ALBUS DUMBLEDORE ON THE RUN.
[ Daisy & Emma ] were both present with the rest of the Operation Auror team, having flown up to Scotland that morning. They fly back to London with minimal new evidence from Dumbledore’s house shortly after the unsuccessful arrest.
7:00pm - midnight: The Unofficial Remembrance Gathering
The unofficial wake is held in support of a friend; a colleague; an activist. It is as much a moment to sit and reflect on recent events as it is a chance to show moral support for Sirius Black. Organised by [ Marlene ], the gathering is to take place at The Leaky Bucket. All drinks will be half price.
The Order of the Phoenix will gather secretly upstairs for approximately twenty minutes for the sake of whether or not they are going to retaliate to the false claims that they were involved in Regulus’ kidnapping and murder, only to be informed by Minerva McGonagall that Albus Dumbledore has gone into hiding for his own safety. Nobody knows where he is, leaving the Order feeling lost without leadership.
Strapped for cash and often keen to help out, [ Ted ] will be working the bar that night.
Operation Auror has agreed to send some staff members to attend out of respect. Despite being tired from their tough day, [ Daisy & Emma ] will both be present. As they are representing their team, they have been asked by a superior to refrain from drinking.
Wanting to escape the Sacred 28 after a long, emotionally draining day at the funeral, [ Andromeda ] decides to pop in towards the end of the night. She is unknowingly followed by [ Bellatrix, Rabastan & Amycus ], identities hidden by the dark visors of their motorbike helmets, sent by Riddle to show those present in the pub exactly what happens when you hold an unauthorised event supposedly in respect for a Sacred member.
Others may also attend.
Please set threads on the date of 25th June.