MARCH 15TH, 2021. it’s two days before the planned st patrick’s day parade ( and evening celebrations ), and the spring festival is in full swing. the joint events have been as huge a success as they always have been : local business has boomed, and to those that care, it’s a pity that arcanum wasn’t back up and running in time to cash in like so many other stores had.
the building that had once been both life’s work & ancestral home of the trelawney’s had lay empty for the best part of two decades, and unfortunately, it showed. structurally sound though it was, near everything within required replacing - be it from water damage caused by several large holes found in the roof or destruction that had been caused by the innumerous break-ins over the years. magic could only go so far, especially when one was working alone. since the purchase of the building had gone through the month before, sybill had taken to apparating to london each weekend, working room by room. a vinyl of celestina warbeck’s greatest hits played loudly from a vintage turntable was her only company as she bustled throughout the building, early morning to darkest evening. it was slow going, and the work had grown monotonous, over time - but she had never expected anything else.
the fifth floor - containing two mirrored bedrooms sybill intended to invite cassia & oriana to personalize - was the first finished. she was making her way top to bottom, slowed even more by the onslaught that was memory. this was the birthplace of cassandra trelawney, the originator of their family status. this was where sybill had spent formative years, walking thin corridors, climbing spindly stairs, learning to read tea leaves at a shaky table in a now dusty kitchen, recording her dreams in a leather bound notebook she had kept on bedside cabinet in the room she had now reclaimed. this was home, and she had been gone from it for far too long.
the lower shop level would be the last to be tackled, working as she was, and so, the bell above the main entrance remained broken. this would join the long list of things to be blamed for why sybill did not hear anyone approaching - scrawled somewhere between the loud record that they’ll find scratching at it’s end & the happy crowd beyond grubby windows that did not remain so, for long. the truth is that when the ministry finds sybill, they’ll only be able to make a guess at what truly happened.
they will theorize that it was unlikely she had any forewarning ( a uniquely ironic phrase, given the woman’s status as a debated seer ). she probably knew her attacker, though it’s hard to say - there is no sign of struggle, and the killing curse does not leave a mark. even if she had realized in time to have a defensive instinct, her wand - nine and a half inch hazel, with a unicorn tail hair core - was found on the floor above her, resting on a rickety coffee table and so very far from reach. they will say she died before it happened, and there’s no reason to think that she felt any pain, or that the situations were connected.
the formal report will lodged by overworked aurors some hours later will not have certain details. there is no witness to the woman with wild hair & hooded eyes, nor her two companions, who apparated into the lane behind the building and entered through unlocked door. no one saw her look of fear, when throat cleared behind her & she turned on heel to see them looming in the doorway. there was no need for a silencing charm. sybill, unable to understand the position she was in, never called for help. bellatrix wasn’t there to interrogate her, and thus, didn’t give her much of a chance, anyway. their time together was short & sweet. the green light went unnoticed, and the loose cannon that was a seer with potential to urge foes in right direction against them was taken off of the playing field, with ease. conspiracy theorists in the future, inclined to look that bit deeper, may get a closer approximation of the truth than those aurors ever did.
but then again : it wasn’t their first priority.
it was such a lovely day. the sun, not quite beating down upon the heads of everyone bustling through the alley, still shone with more strength than it had all winter. the lack of brisk breeze made even the long shadows cast by mismatched buildings almost warm. the wwn predicted rain later that evening, and mothers ushering their children along stole glances every now and again towards the sky, waiting to see the telltale sign of dark clouds rolling in.
the first indication that anyone has to something being truly amiss was actually the sharp drop to the temperature, and the rolling fog that fell over them all, thick enough to hide anyone - and anything - more than a few feet away. thick enough to blot out the sun. the shadows grew longer. they stretched outwards. when the first scream pierces the air, only those nearest are able to see what’s causing those notes of fear.
it doesn’t take more than a moment for everyone else to realize. as the alley explodes into pandemonium, the dementors descend onto them all.
ROUNDUP OF INITIAL FATALITIES & INJURIES ( AS OF THIS DROP ):
sybill trelawney is very, very dead. as brutal as this’ll sound - that isn’t very relevant to this plot drop as a whole, so don’t worry about it ! she’s not.
OUT OF CHARACTER:
rather than transition the on dash event threads towards this plot drop, we’re going to do things a little differently with everyone’s current needs in mind. on dash will remain the period of time that is the start of the month through to the 15th ( which will make things a little less intensive as we begin the next part of the ooc noxtms ~ celebrations ~ ). off dash, and on the discord, several channels covering a number of businesses have been established. they each have a character cap of seven to make things less confusing, and can be used for plot drop rping !
as always with a plot drop of this nature, the discord announcement will include the allowance for injurys. there’s a smaller cap on these than usual, since the dementors themselves are sort of .... 0 - 100, and the injuries themselves will have to be discussed as happening in the chaos rather than from the dementors. that is, unless you uhhh ... really want your character to get a little kiss kiss ! that can be arranged !
the galleon system list has also been updated and now includes a reward of 250 galleons ( per character it’s completed for ) for a 250 word minimum drabble / self para, written with the patronus charm & it’s much-needed usage during this plot drop in mind. if this were english class, the prompt would probably be something to the effect of : write a detailed description of your characters happy memory, or what their experience is about to be, conjuring their patronus in this specific situation. you have a LOT of freedom on it, and can write it in any way you see fit. please feel free to use the tag nox.task on any posted to the dash !
there was never any intention of having a st patrick’s parade / party event. sorry for bamboozling you all, but i think it’s safe to say that after this disastrous ides of march, those events will have been cancelled ! once you’ve read this post, please give it a little like !
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arnold had run to his freedom, and nothing was going to stop him from living his best life, now that he had. he was weaving through the legs of the crowd when he had caught a whiff of something delicious, and anyone would be forgiven for any automatic response they may have had, as a bright purple pygmy puff scuttled up their leg and tried to take dive into whatever may have been in front of them. he’d have succeeded ( and they would’ve been forgiven most reactions they might’ve had to that, too ) if it weren’t for his breathless owner only then managing to catch up to him and, miraculously, grabbing him mid-jump and drawing from him a shrill squeak of annoyance from him.
“i’m so sorry,” are usually difficult words to get from ginny, but there’s probably something to be said about the combination at work, here. she’s got a stitch in her side from over exertion, and arnold is grumbling unhappily in her hands about being caught red pawed - she’s relieved to have him back, but her lips are pressed into a tight, thin line. “he doesn’t usually try to leave me in the dust, but he’s been cooped up,” they both had been, though ginny’s starting to think that getting back out into the world would’ve gone better if she’d just left him at home, “do you want me to pay for something fresh?”
“name something that looks illegal and somehow isn’t,” they muttered, darkly, their answer obvious enough : they’d already grumbled thrice, already, about how ‘fucking stupid’ it all was. the commoditization for sake of buyer appeal of a farmyard animal was going to end badly, probably for the sheep. the bright colors their fleeces had been painlessly dyed made them a HIT with the crowd, but the veritable cynic of very little faith that they were doubted the average nobody tempted to purchase knew the ins and outs of actually caring for them. nazli stood nearby, watching, working their jaw as their fingers played with the top of a cigarette pack. the hair they’d knotted atop their head in a close approximation of a ‘braided bun’ was luminous green, a shade that perfectly matched one of the nearest lambs wool. they hadn’t noticed. “roll up, roll up...- get yourself a lambchop,” another little kid spotted the lambs beyond the picket fence and excitedly rushed forward, and with a low sing-song’y voice, naz narrated their run, “don’t worry ‘bout not knowing how to fucking care for them, they’re just a living being with an obnoxiously bright coat. utter knobs.”
location: the leaky cauldron
for: @sqviidboy
status: closed
it was to no surprise that diagon alley’s most popular pub was bustling with witches, wizards and other magical creatures in the midst of the spring festival. though, most had decided to purchase drinks and enjoy them in the pleasantries of the outdoors. the leaky cauldron often smelled like a combination of warm oakwood from their slightly creaky floorboards, mildew from the wear and tear of their walls, and alcohol from the butterbeers and shots of firewhiskey they sold to loyal patrons. though in celebration of the spring festival, the subtle smell of camellias and witch hazels intermingled with the arguably comforting scents of the pub.
just after speaking and collecting drinks from the olden bartenders up front, kenneth trowler sat down at one of the tables in a cozy corner of the pub. his cerulean eyes shone brilliantly in sync with a bright flame peering out of a candle centerpiece. he laughed brightly and made a playful jibe at a comment that one of his near and dear friends made before she finally parted ways from him to go on her elusive, spring festival date.
what remained was kenneth trowler, uncharacteristically nursing an elderflower cocktail and entertaining himself through watching the drunken crowd as he awaited his forthcoming company to arrive.
"this might be my favorite of the wix festivals,” she announces to her nearby companion, merrily. it wasn’t the first time that she had experienced something new, since she had moved to london. it wouldn’t be the last, either, but the atmosphere of the spring festival was just... different, somehow, to the nearest equivalent she had already lived through. she couldn’t imagine why, but she wondered did it have something to do with the additional st patrick’s day preparations, all the bright colors in storefronts and loud laughter from the speciality stalls. she’d bought a large green, white & gold top hat for the parade she had decided she had to attend, and it was stuffed into a bag too small to hide it from view. it wasn’t the only purchase she’d made, either. “would you like one?” she asks, and in the palm of her outstretched hand sits two keychains decorated with the same rude irish phrase, póg mo thóin. “it was two for the price of one, and i couldn’t resist - the language seems so lovely. the vendor said that the phrase on them means that ‘my heart beats for you’...- you could give it as a gift!”
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“ if i was going to steal this baby goat, would you stop me ? “ it was always good to know you’re audience, and regulus definitely wasn’t going to find himself in any trouble ( and didn’t want to give any auror a fright when he gave them his date of birth ). it would’ve been a funny joke, if he was actually kidding, but he wasn’t. staring into their soft, thoughtless eyes, he was willing to sacrifice his second life for that little creature. “ OR REPORT ME ? though i’d love an accomplice. “
“ oh, merlin, “ susan cursed, standing for a moment as she just watched as her bag and coffee with it landed at her feet and all over the pavement of diagon alley. SHE WAS TIRED, and she looked it, too. it took her another long moment before getting to her knees to begin to gather about her things — carefully and quickly, this was embarrassing, after all. she nearly missed the legs she had been kneeing in front of until she glanced up, and with a startled, happy, “ HANNAH ! “ did she rise to her feet before throwing herself at the other, bag entirely forgotten.
❝ WE DOUBT EVEN THE MOST SEASONED OF SEERS could have predicted the way that we would exit the dismal winter season ! spring is finally here, and though we’ve all been shaken by the events of the past three months, the wwn is here to remind you that while some things do change... there’s even more that doesn’t. a diagon alley staple, the start of spring festival, kicked off this week in a rather exciting fashion when the leprechauns employed by the ministry of magic to run their annual treasure hunt decided to take to the alley on the backs of some of the magical menagerie’s unmistakable lambs ! it took four aurors several hours to round them up again, and if you were wondering where your tax galleons were going, now seems a good time to remind you that it’s to that specialist department ! we’ve been assured that everything is now completely under control, and that the spring festival and the assorted st patrick’s day celebrations are expected to run without a hitch... and without any more runaway leprechauns, though i think i speak for everyone when i say that that’s something i’d kind of like to see for myself... ❞
WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE :
there’s almost always some celebration or another taking place on diagon alley. as the heart of the british wixen world - and given the sheer number and variety of businesses and vendors all hoping to maximise their profits - they tend to take any opportunity that comes their way, as is their right.
the first START OF SPRING festival happened decades ago, and what it looks like often changes. the magical menagerie will always have baby chicks and tiny ducklings on front window display, and sometimes, you might just be able to get yourself a little pet lamb ( usually dyed an outrageous color ). the leaky cauldron will always serve meals heavy on the spring vegetables, and vendors along the alley will promise that the ones they’re selling are the very best type of hand picked organic. shops will slash their prices on certain items ( almost always the ones they haven’t managed to shift since the holiday season ), and there’s always little activity stands, for families and kids and really, anyone who wants to take part. learn how to make a crown from freshly picked wildflowers, or bet a sickle on which magic endowed butterfly will emerge from its cocoon first on the stand outside of gringott’s. try the specially themed ice creams at fortescue’s ( honey is particularly popular, at the start of the month ), and indulge in the feeling that springtime brings ! the days are getting longer, the air is thick the smell of freshly bloomed flowers, and life is... returning. it feels particularly poignant this year.
as it turns out, no one is immune to the charms of the irish, either. the diagon alley celebrations probably started out drenched in irony, but they’ve become wildly separated from what they were originally attached to over the years - probably helped by the fact they blend so much with the spring time festivities. quality quidditch supplies almost always begins pushing their irish team merch in the leadup to the day, and the ministry employs real life leprechauns to do a kid’s treasure hunt with real leprechaun gold. there’s even vendors selling muggle beers to those above the legal age that they promise will give you an authentic irish experience - though, take my word for it : guinness doesn’t compare to a good old fashioned butterbeer.
the fun doesn’t stop as the week goes on, of course : on the day, families have been promised their annual little parade. little is the operative word, given it’s a bit of a tight squeeze - floats that actually float are decorated in garish greens and oranges & everyone is guaranteed a faceful of fast sticking confetti. if that doesn’t do it for you, there’s no need to worry. it wouldn’t be a proper irish celebration without an ‘all out bash’, and the leaky cauldron has flyers up from the start of march about their february 17th patrick’s day party. this year’ll be the first where they have to compete with the poison apple nightclub, of course, but... what do they really have, aside from their themed magical drinks ?
OUT OF CHARACTER :
it’s a little on the nose, i won’t deny it : but a festival that really celebrates the everything that makes up the spring season, with a real special focus on the new life that it brings - really felt like a good place to start, this month. of course, i’ve also managed to throw in good ‘ol st paddy.. this may be a britain based rp, but who would i be if i were not constantly making ireland relevant ? we move in real time, which means that while all the little extras provide setting and content for threads, we won’t hit the end part, the party, until later on.
this event will be two weeks long, beginning officially on monday the 8th of march at 12:00am GMT - click this sentence to see what that works out at for your timezone !
you're under no obligation for the first week to pause any threads you currently have going - when we transition from general festival to final phase, we’ll take a little vote and we’ll see what the consensus is !
event related starters ( including private ones ) should be tagged with nox.event013, and the location is strictly diagon alley. please keep the galleon system in mind with these starters, since they can earn you points !
if you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to message the main, and please reply with your favorite holiday song once you’ve read the post !
