Lasting Requiem - AU Harry Potter RPG

The library was a haven to people like Harvey Reynard. Full of twists and turns, resembling more a maze or warren than an actual library in the conventional sense, it provided the perfect place to escape from tormenters and the rest of the world alike if you took the time to learn all the ways, routs between stacks and areas full of books so dusty that Harvey sometimes wondered if they had been touched in years. If he was a more imaginative sort of boy, he would have claimed the bookcases actually moved when you weren’t watching them, some kind of strange spell that the librarian claimed to have no knowledge of.

Personally, he didn’t know if they moved or not, all he knew was that if you hid in the library, took a book off the shelves with the intention to read it or least flick through the pages and you treated all the volumes within with the correct sort of respect, any bully chasing you would leave you alone and it was safe to spend a few hours within. Maybe it protected those who wanted to learn and maybe it just demanding the quiet you were supposed to have in these areas and was determined you keep it no matter way.

He huddled deeper into his corner, sandwiched between two bookcases, bag by his feet and library opened text in his hand. Now and then, he turned the page, only half engrossed in what he was reading, the other half of his mind focused on his bag and the book and the parchment inside that he swore was actually burning through it; Harvey didn’t know what to do about it, for once he was unsure of the course of action to take and it was seriously starting to mess with him. Every inch of his posture screamed to be left alone, Harvey trying to enjoy the quiet and freedom from the rest of the school while he could.

[Silence]

"Just lay down, Mr Kirkland, you aren't going anywhere whilst that potion is taking effect."

Drew watched with mild horror as Madam Pomfrey walked away, back to her own little office, leaving him under no illusion that he was going to get out of the infirmary any time soon. He'd gone there with a broken nose - which he'd been given as some late Christmas present for being in the wrong place at the wrong time - and upon further checking she'd also found a broken arm and fractured leg which meant staying there whilst the bone mending potion did it's bone-mendage. He thought the whole thing would take less than an hour, so he'd left his homework and books back in his dorm so that he wasn't carrying anything unnecessarily.

He sighed, leaning back into the fluffy pillows. Looks like I'll be pulling an all-nighter later on...

It wouldn't be the first time he'd had to stay up to finish homework that had to be put on hold for medical reasons. Earlier on, when it had all first started, he'd tried to explain to the teachers about his problems but a lot of them didn't really care, so Drew figured it would be easier and less painful to just to the work no matter how long it took.

Outside the window he could just make out figures on broomsticks far in the distance, no doubt practising for the next Quidditch match; he had been put on the bench because of his injuries and was in serious danger of losing his position as keeper. Quidditch was one of the things that helped him keep his mind off the crap that he had to deal with on a daily basis and losing that would be a huge blow... but he could understand why the captain might be forced to take that route; he's not really very much use if he's never able to play because of injury.

He yawned before giving another short sigh, taking his eyes away from the small specks flying around outside and fixing his attention on the ceiling again. Looks like Madam Pomfrey gave him the one that causes drowsyness, which was perfectly fine by him; he needed the sleep anyway. Slowly, his eyes closed and Drew fell into a sleep haunted by a miread of dreams, some good, mostly bad.

( Chenda )

[Backdated to Jan 12th]

Christmas had been a very quiet affair for the Silence, who had been forced to stay at school during the holidays as punishment for a fight she'd had with Malfoy which, by the way, had been started by him. Thankfully for her, most of the witches and wizards who had a problem with blood traitors and muggleborns had gone home to their mummies and daddies for Christmas so she didn't have to deal with their crap over the holidays.

Her aunt and uncle were well aware of the situation at the school so they weren't angry with Sil, just disappointed that she would be spending another Christmas stuck at the dreadful school. To cheer her up they sent her presents and food in the hopes that the day itself would be a little more cheery because of it. They'd learned about what they can and can't send after Sil's second year when they tried to give her some magical items, which were confiscated by the headmistress who 'took it upon herself to investigate all suspicious packages coming into the school'. So now it was books, books and more books for her, which suited the young Slytherin just fine.

Currently, Sil was sat in her usual spot outside the school on a cold stone bench with her knees hugged to her chest, pile of leftover mince pies on one side and pile of books on the other, busily reading away to pass what little free time the students had these days. School had only started again the previous Monday and the workload was still pretty minimal so everyone was taking advantage of any time they had to relax without being disturbed. The fact that people sometimes did disturb to pass their own time was unfortunate, but a fact of life at Hogwarts. Sil had made a point of trying not to get into trouble so much this term, but knew that was one resolution she'd be breaking in the not-too-distant future.

Without looking, she used one hand to keep the book open against her legs and reached down with the other to grab a mince pie, nibbling at it as she continued to read, attention well and truly sucked into the story she was reading; who knew Stephen King books were so awesome?

( OPEN )

[NB: Backdated to the day students returned to Hogwarts for the new term]

Christmas and New Year celebrations at Hogwarts had been a rather demure affair, as they always were, and although there was the odd smattering of tinsel here and there around the school the majority of the decorations were put up in the Great Hall; the huge Christmas tree took up its usual spot in the corner, covered in sparkling decorations and charmed so that lights would shimmer and dance among the branches without the need for electricity, holly and wreaths lined the walls, and the ceiling was charmed to show a beautiful winter sky. The weather outside the school had been mostly dark and cloudy with painfully brief moments of blue sky that peeked through an opening in the clouds. The snowfall had been pretty constant, so students braved the bitter cold to have snowball fights or build oddly shaped snowmen.

Everyone did what they could to lift the mood, taking advantage of the lack of strictness in the preservation of the rules (apparently even Umbridge wasn't immune to the festive spirit) by holding small gatherings to exchange gifts or just to relax during those precious days before the festive cheer dwindled and the day-to-day misery returned. The students had learned to cherish those moments to remind themselves that they weren't stuck in a permanent state of doom and gloom, as hard as it was to believe sometimes.

With another Christmas over the new year arrived with less than a bang, creeping in through the back door without anybody really taking much notice. Some as-yet uncaught students decided to rig some fireworks for the occasion but apart from that, like Christmas, there wasn't too much fuss.

On the 4th of January the students who had gone home for Christmas returned, arms full of the newest gadgets and gizmos they were given as gifts, most of which would only end up being confiscated by Umbridge by the end of the week. No doubt some of these objects would be used to cause some havoc and chaos before they were taken away. Everyone steeled themselves for the return of classes on the following Monday, and as the happiness from the Christmas season slowly began to disappear, drained by the return of the same old feeling of misery and gloom, the students could only wonder what the new year would bring them.

[The game is officially re-opened after the grand GJ-IJ migration; the Express returned on the 4th of January and classes began on the 7th.]

[Narrative from GJ - backdated to the start of the school year]

Term had started entirely as usual on the first of September at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The Hogwart's Express had waited patiently at platform nine and three quarters as parents ushered their children along with those all important trunks onto the train and as usual there had been a few tears from clingy mothers, fathers and children alike. First years had sailed across the lake -losing one of their number momentarily to the Giant Squid as seemed customary every few years at least- and the rest of the student body crammed into the carriages; nothing more eventful about that. Umbridge, again as usual, had greeted the students at the start of term feast in a voice that was too high pitched to be entirely believable, with breathy pauses and self-deprecating giggles that did nothing to endear her to her public. Students here and there rolled their eyes or exchanged meaningful glances with their peers surreptitiously as she set out the rules for the year ahead, complete with undercurrents of malice that returning students had come to expect and new students had heard through the rumour mill.

Each seated in their assigned place at the head table, members of staff had watched and waited silently, all with their own mixture of apparent culpability in the regime and stony faced acceptance of witnessing the continuation of what they could not change, either surveying the crowd of students or surveying Umbridge as she spoke.

Grey pressed into the castle from all sides. Grey clouds. Grey rain and grey wind, and inside the walls an equally grey mood seeped through the castle. As the weeks rolled into October and the brown began to overtake the green in the landscape around the castle there were few who could say they hadn't noticed it. It wasn't tangible exactly, a feeling of general unrest in within the walls and nothing more, but with the Dark Lord in power, who can say what ill-feelings are any more significant now than they were last year? All the students can do is go to their lessons and all the teachers can do is teach, for now at least.



[The Game is now open; feel free to post and interact as if the school has been open since September 1st and nothing has changed from the way the school usually runs under Umbridge ;D Details of that are all in the mod journal if you need inspiration!]