Thank Merlin that at least Lucy got it. It was a relief, that Lucy could understand her whimsy the way she did. “I know, it really would just… crush us all. The morale of the world due to Beyonce being an Inferi? Lower than ever.” Sighing, Vic tried to think of some what they’d be able to find out what they desperately needed to. “I’ve been trying to think of something but one, we don’t have any AI’s lying around or, erm, y’know, fucking advanced technology so all my damn plans are then thrown out the window. I wish there was a way to portkey across the pond. Something. I keep finding it so odd that we’re not even aware if anyone besides us is alive.”
It didn’t even bear considering. Surely Beyonce was above things like that - surely there was no chance that she would be turned. “We can’t let this sort of speculation get out because it will just bring us all down.” Talking about AIs and technology was all beyond Lu, who had only ever been interested in having a good time, and did not have much of an academic or technological bent. “There’s got to be a way to travel that far, right? What did wizards do before? Do you think the outbreak spread that far?” It wasn’t so hard to picture inferi in Europe, because the distance wasn’t as great. But going all the way to America . . . “We can’t be the only people still alive.”
She shook her head. It was, tragically, to kill or ban poltergeists — if it wasn’t, she would have killed Peeves decades ago, if someone else would not have done it before her. He was simply part of the castle, and while he’d caused some good moments ( mostly during Umbridge’s reign ), he was one of the bigger disadvantages. “I’m afraid not. If it was, we’d not be standing here,” she said, her fingers rubbing her temples. “There quite interesting … beings, though. In theory, only, though.”
Jo made a mental note to see if she could find out more about poltergeists - the list of things she needed to research was never-ending, and her time was limited. Poltergeists would have to come behind the more practical things, like how to navigate the castle. “Interesting how? We didn’t talk much about them back,” she said, a half-smile crossing her face. Her parents had never been really interested in supernatural things like that.
“I suppose I could ask you the same,” she said, looking up to find Anthea standing there. Ailyn let her lips curl in a smirk, turned on her chair slightly, leaning sideways against the back. “I was preparing for a class and I just lost track of time, I suppose. It’s kind of like back in the day.” Fingers trailed her notes as she thought back to the days where the need to prove her worth had been so high — nowadays she’d prefer to stay in the shadows, than shine.
“At least you have a good excuse,” Thea said with a laugh as she stepped closer to take a look at the notes on the table. “I just can’t sleep, and reading always put me right out when I was in school. I thought it might help now too. Company is nice though, unless you’re busy.” Having always been a flirt, Thea found it difficult to turn off that side of herself, no matter what their circumstances might be. “Did you get a lot done for the class?”
“The thing with muscle pain, though,” she began, her tone a little less dramatic. “Is that you gotta feel it. Rule number one of being a pro player.” Alright, so she’d only been part of a proper Quidditch team for under two years before all of this, but still. Roxanne took that part of herself quite seriously. “But I never say no to chocolate.”
Lu couldn’t admit to knowing that much about being a professional Quidditch player. She didn’t even like Quidditch, really. But Roxanne would know so Lu just nodded, bowing to her cousin’s superior wisdom. “If you say so. That sounds pretty awful to me but I’m sure you’d know better than me. I can definitely help with the chocolate though.” She leaned in closer, dropping her voice as she added, “I actually have a little stash, but you can’t tell anyone about it.”
rowan had never been the best with the numerous moving staircases in the castle. and he was pretty sure that they simply didn’t like him because they always seemed to move while he was in the middle of climbing them. and now? well now rowan was well and truly lost. he’d attempted to circle back which was probably a mistake in and of itself. he’d just been trying to get to the kitchens and now he was somewhere on the third floor. in his defense he’d only been there a few months and before that the last time he’d actually set foot in hogwarts was sometime in early 2017. point being the kitchens were not on the third floor and rowan was getting tired of chasing his tail attempting to get to the ground floor. once he spotted someone who seemed to know where they were going he caught up to them using his long legs to the close the distance rather easily. “this is undoubtedly the saddest thing i have ever said but i need help getting to the ground floor.” rowan said, deciding to skip over the small talk and get to the crux of his current issue.
The castle had been very difficult to get used to, just because it was large and confusing. When the stairs began moving, Jo was sure that she had made a terrible mistake - until she remembered the zombies outside. Surely she could get used to some moving stairs in the interest of staying safe. She had a fairly decent working knowledge of the castle now though, aside from when the stairs changed on her unexpectedly. She was on her way down to the main floor when she was stopped, turning to look at the speaker curiously. “The ground floor? That’s where I was headed, actually, but the castle still gets the better of me sometimes.”
“here, try some of this. i promise it’s good.” the boy voiced gently, placing a small piece of lemon meringue pie into a bowl for the person nearby, making sure to add a bit of whipped cream right on top. “but if you don’t like it, it’s all right. just try a little. i think i finally mastered how to make it.” cooking was a lot easier for rhys than baking, so he spent more time practicing on his baking skills — as long as the food supply inventory allowed it. he, of course, didn’t want to waste food, so he had to pick and choose his battles. “i promised one little girl a few days ago that i would bring her some if she did well on her homework.”
There were a good many things that were regrettable about the zombie apocalypse, but sometimes Thea thought the food situation was the worst. They had always enjoyed the best food; it was their favorite thing about not needing to worry about money. And now they just had to settle for whatever food the people at Hogwarts could scrape up. So when the pie was placed in front of them, they perked up with the thought of a good dessert. “All right, let me try it. I’m not stealing from a child, right? I’m heartless but not that heartless.” They did have limits, really, but for pie, they would do a lot.
Dom turned as she heard the door chime. She’d charmed it to ring whenever someone entered the classroom that was acting as her tailoring shop. It was a reminder of what she’d had, back in Diagon. Back when things were…never mind. Despite being there for nearly a year, it was still a messy set-up. Fabrics either lay on wonky shelves, the edges of the rolls draping over the side, or floated in a corner of the room. With borrowed curtains from the hospital wing, she’d set up makeshift change-rooms. One type of each robe style hung off old dummies, taken from the storage facilities, once used for Defence Against the Dark Arts. It was hardly enough to break even - charging extraordinary prices wasn’t something she could do in good conscience, even if it was a smart business move - but at least it was something to keep her occupied. She flicked her wand and moved out from behind the counter, a measuring tape shooting into her hand. “May I help you?” she asked.
Mari knew that in the grand scheme of life, she shouldn’t be as upset about her wardrobe as she was, but she had managed to keep all her clothing looking nice after all this time, and she wanted to continue with that trend. So she had a skirt draped over her arm, hoping that the tear up the side could be mended easily. Mari’s gifts lay in cleaning charms and things, not mending. But Hogwarts had a tailor, so that was a silver lining. She stepped into the room with a customarily polite smile. “I do hope I’m not interrupting,” she said as she stepped closer to the other woman. “I have a skirt that could use some mending, and I wondered if you might be able to help.”
“But, okay, do you think that HAIM is still alive out there making music? Because I don’t want to live in a world without HAIM. Oh god, do you think … Beyonce is … an Inferi? Please tell me that Beyonce is NOT an Inferi.” Victoire’s mouth went as fast has her mind, a mile a minute as she earnestly felt distraught by the words she was saying. “Oh my fucking god, do you think….. Hayley Williams is an Inferi? We HAVE to find out! I can’t stand being in his damn castle wondering who’s alive, if music is still alive or not. I need some news from the outside world or else I’ll go absolutely mad.”
Lu looked up at Vic, expression aghast with this sudden and very unwelcome thought. “Beyonce as an Inferi makes this whole thing even worse. And I didn’t think it could get worse, Vic!” She rubbed her hands together, trying to figure out if there was a way to find out what happened to the people on the outside. “I mean, how are we supposed to find out what happened to them? Like, we can’t just go off and look for them.”
MARIELLE HAYWOOD really is the spitting image of MEGHAN MARKLE, right? For someone only THIRTY-THREE years old, MARI has been forced to endure so much. Yeah, that HALF-BLOOD has been scraping by at the sanctuary since JANUARY, 2028, working as a HERBOLOGIST in the DIVISION OF RESEARCH. SHE identifies as CISFEMALE and is known to be PRIM and DEMANDING but also HONEST and DETERMINED. Best of luck surviving through this.
{ HISTORY }
Mari is the granddaughter of an OC of mine so here’s a little bit of backstory: Liliane Chastain was a French pureblood who attended Hogwarts a little before the Marauders era. She fell for a completely unsuitable person (he was their gardener) but after she finished her education, she just walked away from her family home and trained as a Healer then traveled to America where she found Luc again. They married and chose to stay in America.
Mari’s mother Viviane was born in 1977, the eldest of the Martel children, and she was very happy with her life. She met her husband Sawyer Haywood at Ilvermorney and they married and had Marielle shortly after that (the birth was a little soon after the wedding but no one bothered the young couple about it).
Which leads us to Marielle Charlotte Haywood. She was named after her maternal grandmother (Marielle is Liliane’s middle name) and grew up idolizing her grandmere, to the point that Mari insisted on going to Beauxbatons rather than Ilvermorney. Mari was always very in touch with her French roots.
After Beauxbatons, Mari pursued Herbology; she had the green thumb that her maternal grandfather had and was very successful in her chosen field. She ended up traveling and working with various magical hospitals in cultivating plants for their potions departments.
So when the outbreak started, she was located in England at St. Mungo’s. She stayed in London for as long as possible and then took to the road, trying to make it to Hogwarts. She hadn’t attended but she remembered her grandmother’s stories and trusted that the school would be safe even in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. But it took her a long time because she was alone and didn’t know exactly where she was going.
But in January, she finally made it, and settled down into what she knew best: plants. She liked working with the healers and in the greenhouses and while nothing else was the same, it was close enough.
{ About }
So personality-wise, Mari is a little prissy. Like she doesn’t mind getting messy in the greenhouses, and she’s not opposed to sleeping with people, but she likes to look as neat as possible and she is pretty exacting and demanding about most things. Her clothing is always impeccable (she mastered cleaning charms at a young age, and didn’t think the zombie outbreak was enough to change that). Her bedroom is equally clean at all times (or her part of the bedroom now that she’s sharing again). She’s honest almost to a fault and doesn’t like telling lies or half-truths if she can help it, but she tries to couch her honesty in polite terms. She’s a romantic and likes stereotypically girly things without any shame.
Quick note: by prim, I mean mostly very conscious of propriety and the appropriateness of situations. So like she’s not the type for public displays of affection or kissing in the workplace or anything, but she can be very affectionate in private or when she doesn’t have to be professional.
{ CONNECTIONS }
These are really just possibilities but I wanted to toss some things out
Family: So Liliane and Luc had several children (four or five, I’m thinking ??) and then those children could have had multiple children too, plus I’m picturing the Haywood family with three or four kids as well. So siblings and cousins are open!!
Traveling companion: Mari is a good witch and when push comes to shove, she’s good at protecting herself, but she would have much preferred to have company while traveling. So if anyone wants to fill that role, please feel free!!
School friends or coworkers: Mari attended Beauxbatons and then has traveled a lot for work, so anyone from Beauxbatons who’s around the same age or people who worked in hospitals would probably have known her!
Love interests: I’m a sucker for romantic plots and connections. Mari is pansexual, panromantic, very open to people in general. She also has a romantic streak (her grandparents influenced her a lot - forbidden romance? chance reconnection? love that lasted for years? Mari was swooning.)
Minerva had known exhaustion for most of her life — as a chronic overachiever as a student to a driven professor ( and later headmistress ) to a council member in a damned apocalypse, she simply didn’t stand still, almost always felt a slight hint of fatigue. She was used to it, simply, didn’t know much better, but the tiredness she felt now was much stronger than it usually was, and it made her irritable and short-fused. Of course, in an overpacked, ancient castle, that was not convenient. Especially when there were poltergeists making life even harder.
—– “One day I will find out how to use silencio on Poltergeists and I won’t ever be disturbed again. Or I will just kill Peeves.”
Jo came to a quick stop at the very irritated voice that interrupted her thoughts. She was on her way back toward her room to read a little bit - which was a perk of being in a place like this. There was a lot to read. But she didn’t want to aggravate Minerva McGonagall further. Although Jo didn’t know much about this place or the people in it, even after her time here, she had come to the conclusion that Minerva McGonagall was not a person to cross. “Is it possible to kill a poltergeist?” That didn’t seem likely, but she didn’t know very much about poltergeists.
She was surrounded by parchment and paper. The best ( and possibly only good thing ) about being back at Hogwarts, was being able to retreat to the library and have endless access to knowledge. Ailyn needed the escape these days more than ever, and was hastily scribbling notes for her classes ( which she gave with surprising passion ) as if time was running out. And, apparently, it was.
“Shit. How the hell is it already past midnight?”
Thea couldn’t sleep. It didn’t happen much these days; she had always had a very good ability to sleep whenever she needed to and that served her well these days. But sometimes she couldn’t sleep, and when that happened, she found herself wandering the halls. She’d detoured into the library in search of a book that might lull her to sleep when she spotted a familiar figure. “What are you doing up at this time of night?”
“I am UNAVAILABLE for human interaction today, sorry!,” said Roxanne, pulling a rather self-pitying face. “I pulled a muscle on my last run and every movement hurts and I’m too disappointed in my running skills to face the world, let alone its inhabitants.” And she was too proud to ask Pomfrey or another healer for some kind of pain relief — the inner athlete in her believed in suffering through her muscle pains, even if it sucked madly.
Lu paused by her cousin, her face crinkling in sympathy. “Oh, Roxanne, I’m sorry to hear that. Do you need anything? I’ll get something for the pain, if you want. Or go find some chocolate or something. That always makes me feel better when I’m in pain.”
JOSEPHINE CALHOUN really is the spitting image of CHYLER LEIGH, right? For someone only THIRTY-FIVE years old, JO has been forced to endure so much. Yeah, that MUGGLE has been scraping by at the sanctuary since OCTOBER, 2028, working as an INVENTORY CLERK in the DIVISION OF FORAGE. SHE/THEY identifies as DEMIWOMAN and is known to be CAUTIOUS and DETACHED but also LEVEL-HEADED and SELFLESS. Best of luck surviving through this.
Jo is American. She grew up in the South Carolina countryside, learning to hunt and fish and all of that. Despite the conservative area, her parents were always very open.
When Jo told them she was a demigirl, they were understanding and accepting, and always did their best to use the right pronouns. Her siblings were the same way - she was adopted, as were several of the other siblings, but they were close despite all that.
Jo wasn’t really a scholar, but she made it through school with some effort and then went to a local college to get her associate’s degree. She worked as an inventory clerk at a local store, which wasn’t the most glamorous or lucrative position, but she enjoyed it.
She and her siblings began saving up vacation days to take trips together - hiking in the mountains, biking or backpacking across the country, things that allowed them to be in the country together.
The siblings took a trip to Europe (their first!) in late January 2028, planning to spend about three weeks together before heading back home. Unfortunately, their timing coincided with the inferi outbreak and they were unable to make it back. Jo stayed in London until the spring, when the city was no longer safe. She took to the country, where she felt more comfortable, and when she learned of the rumored safe haven, began making her way in that direction.
She arrived in October, very glad to be safe again, although she has mixed feelings about magic and all of that. She’s not really opposed exactly, but she’s not really sure how she feels about knowing there’s magic in the world.
She started working as an inventory clerk again, because it’s what she knows, and also got a position on the executive counsel, because she wanted to be involved in making decisions and knowing what’s going on.
Jo is a Muggle and never had any inkling about magic, so this is all new and difficult for her. (Another reason why she wanted to be on the counsel, because she’s still a little skeptical and untrusting of the wix community). The adjustment process is hard but she’s trying her best.
In general, Jo is a very selfless person - she was brought up to put others first and that hasn’t gone away. It can backfire too - she’ll put anyone else’s safety above her own. She’s responsible and smart, but that can lead to her being overly cautious at times and slow to act. She’s also a little aloof and detached, partly because she doesn’t trust the wix, and partly because that’s just her nature.
Timeline:
Jo arrived in October and had barely settled in by the time the wedding rolled around, and the breach at Hogwarts. She was less than thrilled about it, but did her best.
She’s been doing her thing since then, just very reserved about most of the people at Hogwarts.
Miscellany:
Like with Thea, I’d really love to see some of her siblings taken!! I headcanon it as a large family so there could be quite a few, and they’re adopted, so any fc would work!
ANTHEA DE LA FUENTE really is the spitting image of EMERAUDE TOUBIA, right? For someone only TWENTY-SEVEN years old, THEA has been forced to endure so much. Yeah, that PUREBLOOD has been scraping by at the sanctuary since SEPTEMBER, 2028, working as a PATROL GUARD in the DIVISION OF PROTECTION. SHE/THEY identifies as DEMIGIRL and is known to be SELFISH and COLD but also LOYAL and FOCUSED. Best of luck surviving through this.
Thea is a demigirl and uses she/her or they/them equally. (I’m using she/her throughout this intro just to make it simpler.) She’ll tell people about it because she’s not shy, but she’s not really offended either way.
She was born to Evander Joaquin de la Fuente, a pureblood man who lived in London but had roots in Mexico, and Saria Nassar. They never planned to be married, and Saria’s parents had a marriage arranged for her, so Evander took Anthea after her birth. Saria was distantly involved, sending letters and gifts and visiting occasionally, but Thea was never really close to her mother.
But good lord, was she close to Evander. He was her hero, she wanted to be just like him. She practically idolized him. She was fully aware of his flaws, but she thought he was the most amazing man in the world.
After Evander, she thought the most perfect person was her sister Thalia. Thalia was the perfect pureblood girl, all sweetness and light. Thea knew it was her job to take care of Thalia and did that all her life, so far. (I’m going to send in a wanted connection for her because I need this sibling relationship in my life.)
There are other half-siblings as well. Evander was a man very free in his love, and he fell into and out of love easily. I’m open for more siblings to come too! They could have lived with Evander or not.
Evander is a pureblood, and so is Thea (although the half-siblings don’t have to be). Evander is proud of his heritage and always thought purebloods were superior but he was never rude to anyone with less than pure blood. (So it’s completely feasible that he fell for a halfblood, or even muggleborn, and there could be half-siblings who aren’t pureblood.)
Thea was sorted into Slytherin because she is very determined to get her own way. She did well in school, in subjects that mattered to her. If she thought a professor would be a good ally, she was a model student (this is probably most of them honestly).
She learned from her father and has always been free with her love. (Her emotions are a different story; she was physically affectionate but rarely let her heart get involved. There was that one pureblood girl, the one who couldn’t return the affections or couldn’t risk what her family would say but Thea didn’t dwell on that one.)
After Hogwarts, Thea basically became a socialite. She didn’t really work, she just flirted and went to parties and looked after Thalia. She pursued some interests but didn’t want a job, and was on her way to either turning into her dad and having multiple children with various partners OR becoming the vodka aunt when Thalia settled down, and that’s when the outbreak started. Thea was in London and stayed for a while but she knew things were looking bad so she headed for Hogwarts.
She had always loved martial arts so she was well-equipped to fight off Inferi. She was fast and strong and thought quickly enough to be good. So she works as a patrol guard now, and she likes it.
She’s still flirting with anyone who catches her eye (Thea is pansexual) and trying to be pragmatic about their new reality.
Timeline:
Thea has been at Hogwarts since September, working as a patrol guard because she found that she really liked fighting.
She attended the wedding and went straight into work mode when everything got crazy.
Since then, she’s mostly been keeping a low profile and doing her job.
Miscellany:
I’d love to see some of her half-siblings taken!! The only one I have set in stone is Thalia (I pictured her as older but I’m fine with her being younger too!!) but I definitely picture her as having multiple half-siblings.
LUCY WEASLEY really is the spitting image of KATHERINE MCNAMARA, right? For someone only TWENTY-TWO years old, LU has been forced to endure so much. Yeah, that PUREBLOOD has been scraping by at the sanctuary since AUGUST, 2028,working as a SUPPLY RUNNER in the DIVISION OF FORAGE. SHE identifies as CIS-FEMALE and is known to be FRIGHTENED and CARELESS but also CARING and RESPONSIBLE. Best of luck surviving through this.
Lucy is a Hufflepuff, more on the just and loyal side than the hard-working side though. She is with you 110%, no matter what’s going on, unless you do something really unforgivable, or cross a family member. Because family is the most important thing to her - her cousins are her best friends, after her sister.
She is very much the floater in life. After she finished school, she worked with her uncles for a while and she loved the joke shop but she didn’t love it enough to stay there forever. So she left and worked at other various shops, and as a nanny for a while. Nothing ever really stuck with her, although the nannying job was probably her favorite. This aspect of her personality has led to a lot of strife with her dad.
So I know I listed both careless and responsible as character traits and that probably seems very backwards BUT. The responsible part is that when you ask her to do something, she will do it. She’s sort of thoughtless and doesn’t always consider her actions or words and how they will impact people.
She’s not brave at all. So like she’s from this family of people who are just so brave but she’s pretty sure she’s not. She’s terrified of the inferi and terrified of her family getting hurt and thinks everything is awful right now so her method of coping is to be extra cheerful and happy. (Her quote is ‘a lionhearted girl’ BUT it’s from ‘Rabbit Heart’ by Florence + The Machine so the full quote is ‘I must become a lionhearted girl’ - so it’s an aspiration for her, not how she actually is.)
She’s very loving too so she’ll do her best to help anyone, for anything. Like her sister, she’s not necessarily always the best at it, but she tries so give her a gold star.
For her timeline specifically:
She came to Hogwarts in August, after wandering in that direction for a good amount of time before she actually made it. She’s been there ever since, as a supply runner.
She attended the wedding and did her best to help after it but was definitely spooked by everything.
She’s still just trying to be as aggressively cheerful as possible, to pretend the world isn’t falling apart around her.
