Fortis Fortuna Adiuvat // Fortune Favors the Bold
The following months after Harold Minchum’s murder are increasingly difficult for the Wizarding community. The days are riddled with horror and uncertainty as the people call for an election to be held. Prime candidates for this election include prominent Wizengment member Rodolphus Lestrange and his surprising opponent Edward Bones. The Bones family name has always been synonymous with an unyielding search for justice and public service. Still the patriarch had never shown an interest in political affairs until now. It must be true what they say; everything changes in time of war…
It is not a pretty campaign. As hard as the Ministry of Magic tries to maintain control and decorum out of respect for the late Minister, the media could not be sated with empty promises and fancy words. Rodolphus was used to the scrutiny, however Edward Bones was not—and the light shining on his family and their history brought out some secrets he would have preferred to keep buried. The election was much more far reaching than previous. Assassination cut deep, and those who were not involved in politics before found themselves in a position where they were forced to choose a side, to have an opinion—one that could be seen as wrong or unpopular. There was no such thing as neutral anymore; playing on the safe side was no longer an option…
And then the first disappearances came.
He was a well respected Auror. A half-blood who had worked his way up through the ranks of the department. By all accounts a fair and just man who was notorious for asking the most difficult questions. If he was on a manhunt then he always made sure to get the correct person every time—he never took the easy way out. On the morning of March 12, Oliver Dearborn left his home after kissing his wife and infant son goodbye. It was discovered that he never made it to the Ministry that day after a colleague reported he didn’t show up for his shift, which was very unlike him. When word reaches Caradoc Dearborn, who is the younger brother to Oliver, he rushes to his old family home where he finds his nephew still sitting in his highchair. He is covered in blood and screaming with a note pinned to his shirt that reads, ‘ask me what happened to my traitorous parents.’ The bodies were never found.
There are many theories and misjudged hypotheses surrounding the young parents brutal disappearance, but ultimately nothing conclusive could be drawn from the scene except that this was an act brought on by some horrific wickedness. Those who spoke out paid the ultimate price for it with their lives. This became the turning point of the war. Fear gave the Dark Lord and his followers the upper hand. They grew more confident with each life they took by force. Eventually the Dark Mark could be seen painting the sky more times than not; it was becoming their world and everyone else was stuck living in it.
Dearborn was only the first; four other DMLE employees disappeared over the period of three months. The Department of Magical Law Enforcement was essentially silenced—and if they didn’t succumb to the peer pressure slammed down upon them like a raging sledgehammer than they knew they might be next. They learned how to read between the lines; they knew that if they didn’t follow in suit with what those newly in charge had ordered of them then they would wind up dead. Many felt obligated to switch sides if they hadn’t already and some even chose to pack up and disappear with their families altogether. After all, how could they be of any use to anyone during this war if they were dead? Or was it just a coward’s cover-up to escape an ending far crueler than one could imagine?
By the end of the election the Ministry was already a night and day’s difference from where it was three months ago when Harold Minchum still clung to life. Rodolphus already held a drastic lead over Edward Bones however anyone paying attention could tell it was not a fair election. Two weeks before Election Day an article appeared on the front page of the Daily Prophet stating the Bones family home had been subject to a raid where over twenty bodies had been discovered (and the count was apparently still rising). In the article published by Rita Skeeter it states that due to the condition of the bodies and various objects found with them it is believed they were used for dark arts and blood magic rituals. Weapons found at the scene also link Edward and Clarice Bones to the infamous and most perplexing Dearborn Disappearance case.
This alleged discovery sends everyone into a complete frenzy. There is a strong implication looming behind the Bones scandal insinuating that nobody truly knows anyone and you cannot trust your neighbor simply because they are cordial with you. The plan is to escalate fear and chaos and certainly somebody succeeds. Tensions are raised higher than they’ve ever been before, which comes on the heels of the election where it’s no surprise for many that it is a clean landslide of a victory for Rodolphus Lestrange. While the Wizarding Community is engulfed in a complete panic, members of the Order of the Phoenix are the only ones who hold onto any semblance of truth about the Bones family and the dirty election that just concluded before their very eyes. It isn’t until later on when the damage is already far too irreparable that the rest of society also learns the truth about the lies spun by Rodolphus and the rest of the Death Eaters to distract everyone from what was truly going on behind the scenes…
This time period covers March through May of 1979. Members may now interact and develop their characters through these months.
