#nox.event031

WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE :  

ON DIAGON ALLEY : two years ago almost to the day, a group of werewolves assumed to have been led by known death eater loyalist, fenrir greyback, descended upon diagon alley and attacked the unsuspecting wix leaving an event at the poison apple nightclub. the diagon alley massacre ( as it was later dubbed ) saw several killed and more forever afflicted with the curse of lycanthropy, and the shadow of that dark october night has loomed long over the bustling hub of the british wixen world since. last year, the ministry quite controversially, given the circumstances, announced a set of guidelines on the wwn that outlawed large gatherings and events that ran past eleven on halloween night, all in a marked effort to ensure the safety of the general populace. the decision caused widespread uproar amongst the most youthful of wix - many of who threw their own secret halloween parties anyways - and silent scorn from the businesses affected on diagon alley. in their haste to avoid another unavoidable disaster, the ministry robbed various stores, clubs and pubs dotted throughout the cobblestone alley of the income they would usually take in on what was previously one of the best nights of the year. storeowners far and wide could be forgiven for their apprehension as skilled wix put up the usual spooky decorations at the start of the month, but they needn’t have worried at all. 

midnight on diagon alley was an idea pitched by the ministry to everyone who works there in the first week of october, and rapidly arranged when the resounding yes came back to them. for the first time since the massacre ( and as advertised, one night & one night only ), stores and restaurants have been given ministry grants to encourage them to go all out for the night of the 31st, and to keep their doors open through to 2am. for flourish & blotts, this looks like candlelight spooky storytelling, with celebrity guests greta catchlove, gwenog jones and rita skeeter. weasley's wizard wheezes have turned the entire lower level of their store into a hair raising & heart stopping haunted house, with the promise that only the bravest of souls will find the grand staircase and earn the right to purchase their scariest of games, tricks and sweets. sugarplums & fortescue's ice cream parlour are among a huge number of smaller, food oriented businesses that have put in the effort to overhaul their usual offerings and turn tasty treats into unsettling, bloody offerings. the magical menagerie will only be selling rats, bats and black cats to anyone who decides that tonight is the night to add a member to their family, and the apothecaries are all offering half price potions that bring on harmless and short lasting effects to anyone who wants boils, sores or different colored eyes to add to their costumes. while amortentia and the poison apple have been instructed to keep their doors closed, this year - a decision that neither business owner took well but stood no chance in arguing - the leaky cauldron has been approved to host a rather subdued wine tasting with a themed menu and live music. though some of the stores on diagon alley struggled to find a niche for themselves on this night and politely declined the opportunity ( most notably ollivanders, madam malkin's and potage's cauldron shop ), many rose happily to the challenge, while in contrast, EVERY business on knockturn alley took the offered grant and has changed nothing about the way they operate. wix have been encouraged by every advertisement to date to arrive in costume - and assured, in small print and several ministry statements, that the auror presence will be heavy. 

ELSEWHERE : if you were lucky enough to have stumbled on it on your own ( or, more likely, to have been one of the few that caught the whispers amongst your peers ), you might choose to abandon midnight on diagon alley and instead make your way to hogsmeade village, where the shrieking shack has just found its best use since a certain ex hogwarts professor waited out the full moon inside its walls. no one has actually taken credit for the idea of a haunted house party inside of a LITERAL haunted house, but someone definitely put in the work - there’s finger food on a rickety table in what was once a fitted kitchen, decorations hanging from rotten rafters and kegs to be tapped as needed in the basement, and though very few of the wix arriving spare much thought towards it, there’s a reason nobody is showing up to shut it down sooner rather than later. powerful charms have been placed around the perimeter of the grounds to muffle loud music & sounds of brave young wix having the time of their lives, another to disguise from anyone who looks in that direction from the village the signs of life at the dreaded shack. though no invitation was issued or rules laid bare, it seems obvious that costumes are mandatory and the only people welcome are the ones who won’t rat everyone else out to the relevant authorities. the shrieking shack, foreboding and condemned, has just become the site of the best halloween party that near ANYONE has attended in the last three years - the one who ruins that will undoubtedly face the unfiltered wrath of their peers. 

OUT OF CHARACTER:

surprise ! it’s that time of year again, and that time of year would not be complete without a surprise double event ! midnight on diagon alley was conceived by me as a way of bringing some life back to this main street after the massacre in late 2020, and is of course open to characters of all ages ! there’s very literally something for everyone, except if that something they’re looking for is a blowout party - they’ll have to go to the shrieking shack for that ( if they dare ), i’m afraid. 

the event will begin on tuesday the 25th of october at 6pm bst ( click this sentence to find out what that translates to for your timezone ) with a tentative end set for two weeks from then ! 

as always : no character is required to attend either event, nor are you required to take part though you are highly encouraged to do so ! the shrieking shack costume party is much smaller scale to midnight on diagon alley, with word of what was going on out there travelling by word of mouth, likely the very night of halloween ! 

this event was envisioned as being a discord & dash combo, with some of the rp for the shrieking shack party specifically 100% isolated to the writing server ( more info to come later ). any event specific posts to the dash should be tagged with nox.event031 ! the locations, for anyone who tags them, are diagon alley & hogsmeade village. 

feel free to continue enjoying the galleon system for the duration of the event !