From the Ashes

Who: Gerard and Spencer
Where: The grounds
When: Early Tuesday morning
What: Carnivorous plants

If that kid had gotten Diluclo mixed up with thistles, Spencer was going to start handing down some slightly unjust detentions. It was not quite half past five in the morning and he was trudging through long grass that soaked his robes up to the knee with dew, clutching a large mug of coffee at his chest and trying to stay awake in order to avoid faceplanting on the ground or something.

On the one hand, if it was Diluclo, he thought with faint hope, everything would be awesome and completely worth it; he'd been trying to get his hands on some for months, and the idea of it growing wild at Hogwarts was too good to miss. Unfortunately, Diluclo -- or Dawn's Bloom -- looked exactly the same as thistles at every moment except the brief one when the first rays of the sun touched it, and now Spencer was stumbling about in the blue gloom, with a vague direction in mind based on a fifth year Slytherin flapping her hand idly and saying, "Yeah, there was something glowing all blue for a few moments, I don't know."

He was abruptly distracted by sudden shouts, one most definitely a young student screaming, and swung around, blinking in the dim light. Just past a clump of trees near the shore of the lake he thought he saw movement, and he whispered, "Lumos," and set off quickly, flicking a quick charm in the way of his cup so that he didn't slop hot coffee all over his fingers.

There were two students and an adult, and -- perhaps more importantly -- a really pissed off looking Venomous tentacula. Spencer swore under his breath and then pointed his wand, shouted, "Immobulus!" and darted closer. The spell wasn't targeted to work on plants, but it did slow its frantic thrashing down somewhat, and Spencer said, "Domito!" That managed to do the trick; the Venomous tentacula made a harsh, crackling sound and then retreated, drawing its spiky tendrils back into the bloom, and snapping its petals shut closed.

Spencer lowered his wand, breathing quickly, and said, "What's going on?"

WHO: Anyone. :)
WHERE: the Great Hall
WHAT: Dinner, shenanigans, men with babies... the usual.
WHEN: Evening, Tuesday (10/20)

Having dinner in the great hall was potentially a bad idea. Adam had a full list of reasons why it was a bad idea, written down on his desk back in his office.

The first reason was that it was loud. He could hear it all the way down the corridor. Unsurprising, there were a lot of people in there. Secondly, he was late, and it was rude to join dinners late. (Nevermind that he was late because there had been a diaper emergency, and only a parent could still want to eat after that.) The third, and possibly the most important reason, was that he'd had his fill of teenaged girls cooing at him. Well, not at him, but the little bundle of human currently occupied with gleefully pulling on his daddy's hair. Parenthood was awesome.

He pushed open the door to the Great Hall and sneaked as best he could into a seat, trying to assess whether he was getting himself into Deep Shit by choice of seat, since Merlin only knew what was going on with Certain People anymore. He greeted the person to his left (but not the empty chair to his right) and deftly served himself with his free hand while fending tiny grabby hands off of his face.

Who: Everyone
Where: The Staff Lounge
When: Tuesday morning
What: Emergency staff meeting

William came straight from London to the staff meeting, arriving just as the clock was ticking over to 8 AM. The amount of information collected in the archive was vast, and he'd worked through two nights to look at as much of it as possible, not wanting to waste any time. Whatever the students had was getting worse, and still spreading. Over the week and a half since they'd first noticed it, at least four dozen students had developed magic fatigue and an increased inability to perform spells. The affected first- and second-years were all but Muggles. He didn't even know that a quarantine would help them at this point, but that was undoubtedly one of the things they were here to discuss.

Most of the seats were taken when he arrived, and the number of people in the room meant that the way to the sideboard was blocked. He cast a pleading look at Pete for a cup of tea, settling in the corner and shuffling his notes out of the way so he could draw a small vial out of the pocket of his robe; one which Gabe probably shouldn't see. If he was going to get through the day, though, he needed something slightly stronger than caffeine.

"How are the students?" he asked, glancing around the room and blinking back the threatening exhaustion. "Any change?"

WHO: Adam and Gerard
WHERE: Adam's office
WHAT: Adam has very important information that Gerard must receive as soon as possible.
WHEN: After the emergency staff meeting, Tuesday morning (10/6)



[via a very upset-looking house elf, tuesday morning]
Gerard,

I need to speak with you at your earliest convenience. Likely I'll be in the infirmary, or otherwise laid up in bed. Knock very hard.

- Adam

PS: This absolutely can not be discussed in front of other professors/Aurors/who-the-fuck-ever.

Who: Gerard and Patrick
What: Lunch. Revelatory lunch.
Where: A secluded alcove on the grounds.
When: Monday afternoon

Gerard had gladly taken Patrick up on his offer to go eat lunch outside. It was a gorgeous day, unseasonably warm, and probably one of the last few they were going to get. He'd picked up a sandwich and a thermos of tea from the kitchens and then walked outside and around the corner of the castle, settling into a quiet, cool niche in the stone. It was shady and pleasant and, best of all, quiet, especially in comparison to the great hall.

He settled in and unwrapped his sandwich, figuring it was okay to get started on it because Patrick hadn't arrived quite yet.

WHO: Adam and Gerard
WHERE: Hogwarts Infirmary &c.
WHAT: Adam totally doesn't have whatever the kids have. Seriously. He's fine, officer, he's never done anything bad in his life!
WHEN: Afternoon, Sunday. (September 27)


[Owl to Gerard Way, shortly after lunch, Sunday]

Gerard,
My suspicions were correct; I am nearly cured by a good night's sleep. Please spring me from the infirmary, ASAP.
- Adam
PS: I have a ritual that I'd like to do to ensure my health and well-being, if you'd like to join me/watch/learn. That sounds dirty. I apologize.

((OOC: I'm jumping into next week early by a day. Keep on trucking for this week, however. I'm just jumping the gun a smidge in order to get the ball rolling.))

Staff--

As many of you already know, approximately twenty students have now been struck by magical fatigue. Most of the students originally showing symptoms were in the lower grades, but as of this morning, a few seemingly unrelated N.E.W.T students also started showing symptoms. The exact cause is currently unknown. We also don't know whether or not it is contagious or just taking longer to show in the older, more experienced students.

If you see any students who are exhibiting symptoms of magical fatigue, please escort them to the infirmary. If you have any relevant information that may help us pinpoint the cause of the issue, you can contact me by owl.

-Auror Way

Who: Dallon and Gerard.
What: Gerard continues his interrogations.
When: Saturday evening.
Where: Dallon's quarters

Gerard was on a roll, and he was coming to the end of his list of people to talk to. After speaking with Adam he was starting to think he might know what was going on, but he had to be sure before taking any sort of action.

Dallon was next, and while he hadn't heard anything about him feeling sick, it would be good to check up on him, especially since he had arrived late to the castle in the first place, which might give him a better idea when and where the sickness had come from. Light was streaming into the hall from beneath Dallon's door, which was a good sign that he was home. He knocked lightly, pausing before asking, "Professor Weekes?" He'd thought about just 'Dallon', but that was too familiar for someone he'd met only once, and he was on official business, and everything.

Right. Now was not the time to be distracted.

Who: Adam and Gerard.
What: Gerard interrogates! Politely.
When: Saturday afternoon.
Where: Adam's rooms.

Gerard had, by Friday night, made a fairly comprehensive list of the people to speak with about the magically fatigued students. Whether it was some form of magical illness or a classroom activity gone wrong, something had to be done to find out how far its reach was and whether or not it would spread to anyone else in the castle.

As he'd promised the Headmaster, he took precautions by wearing gloves throughout the day as he spoke to people. Just in case. It sparked a little bitterness in him, of course, even though it was such a minor concession--just one more reminder that he would never be able to do his job in quite the same way another auror would. But it was chilly enough already, thankfully, that the gloves wouldn't look entirely out of place.

Halfway through his rounds of the castle, speaking to students and teachers alike, he heard whispers about Professor Lazarra had behaved strangely on the Quidditch pitch, and those whispers were more than enough to pique his interest. He'd planned on talking to Adam at some point or another since once of the students afflicted had been in a class of his, but now he had even further reason to pay him a visit.

He was at his rooms by late afternoon, and knocked briskly on his door. "Professor Lazarra? Are you in?"

Friday, September 25, 2009
Attention: all teaching staff,

The following students have been excused from the remainder of classes today due to magical fatigue:

Abdelkader, Hafeza
Applesmith, Granby
Boyle, Daffodil
Dander, Lucas
Hoopes, Wendy
Kalanadhabhatla, Prita
Lovelender, Oliver
Miltwallop, Sagittarius
Nitya-Sundara, Kamik
Tempest, Cassidy
Thoms, Marjory
Vasilakis, Adonis

We have every confidence that they will return to all scheduled classes on Monday, and will keep you informed of any changes in condition.

Sincerely,
Headmaster Schechter

Who: Gerard and Patrick
Where: In a distinctly dungeon-like area of the castle
When: Wednesday, early evening.
What: Scouting


"This place kind of creeps me out a little," Patrick said, pointing his wand at an unlit sconce on the wall and igniting it.

"Not in a legimate way where I'm, like, quaking in my boots. But it's a little. Unsettling." Patrick wasn't normally talkative when he was scouting, but then he didn't normally have anyone to talk to. And when he did, it wasn't always someone who'd been in the same situations as him, the same school of thought (literally), so the words seemed to tumble out of their own acccord at the opportunity.

He continued his way into the room with Gerard, squinting slightly as he scanned his surroundings. Everything more than a little damp, musty, and covered in some odd moss-like growth.

"And the ghosts here are bizarre," he continued on distractedly. "I've never been scolded by one before."

Who: Brendon, William, Gerard
When: Tuesday night after dinner
Where: The South Wing
What: More adventure than was originally planned

With the advent of Gabe's theory that the curses on the castle were being renewed by a power source somewhere on the grounds, Headmaster Schechter had redoubled efforts to clear out the quarantined areas. No one was to work alone and most of the spells were complicated enough to require a second set of eyes, which was how William found himself being relieved of evening library duties to assist Brendon with one of the most intricate charm-webs he'd ever seen up in the South Wing. Also affectionately known as the Nightmare Room.

William flipped a page in the enormous charms text he'd brought up with him, noting a few similarities in the diagram but just as many differences. "It's set up like a chain reaction, that's all I can tell," he informed Brendon, pushing his glasses up on the bridge of his nose. He'd use the vision charm for the rest of the day, but tonight promised many hours of poring over crabbed, handwritten explanations that had faded over hundreds of years in poor lighting, and for that he was giving up and reverting to the mechanical. He looked up at the web again, spelled temporarily into shimmering visibility. "It's all interlinked. If we try to trigger or disable one, we'll end up setting them all off."

Who: Dallon and Gerard
Where: Outside the gates to the school
When: Saturday, midnight.
What: Dallon arrives at last.

Dallon had never been this wet before in his life.

The lights of Hogwarts twinkled tantalisingly in the distance as he trudged up a particularly muddy piece of road, lurching as his trunk fell into a deep wheel rut. It was part of Dallon’s eternal torment that after a long spell of rather lovely fine weather, it had begun storming just as he had Apparated into Hogsmeade at midnight. Admittedly, crawling up the road in the middle of a Biblical deluge at ass o’clock hadn’t been one of Dallon’s more brilliant or Professorly plans, and his fucking trunk wasn’t helping, seriously. He’d tried to charm it feather-light but the wind had buffeted it like a piece of tumbleweed back down the main street and into a rather tall tree, much to Dallon’s misery and anguish. He was certain that as Arithmancy professor he was meant to be making a very grand first impression, preferably involving a monocle and quoting Pythagoras whilst twitching his non-existent moustache and puffing sternly on a pipe. Definitely not some lunatic cursing and chasing a flying trunk down the road. Dallon’s plans were genius, really. Walking. Uphill. At midnight. In a storm.

The aforementioned storm showed no signs of abating when Dallon reached the gates. He threw his trunk against them with a deafening clang, warping the whine of the wind through the cast-iron bars. Leaning against the centre, he crossed his arms and called wearily over his shoulder. “Anyone there?”

Who: Mikey and Gerard
When: Backdated-Last Wednesday evening
What: Brothers finally getting a chance to catch up. While drinking at the astronomy tower.
Where: Astronomy Tower

Gerard had, as promised, brought the Firewhiskey, and managed to get to the top of the astronomy tower before Mikey. It was, thankfully, deserted, and it gave him a moment to sit down by the railing by himself.

The sun was close the setting, and the light was gold and long. The view was beautiful, and it halted his chasing thoughts over whether or not he'd checked this corridor or that classroom during his patrol of the castle. The peace and quiet and privacy were almost strange. That in and of itself was bizarre--he'd spent so long isolated from other people that he'd forgotten what it was like to cherish time on his own.

Footsteps on the stairs shook him out of his reverie. He turned to look. "Mikes? That you?"

Auror Way,

Professor Saporta has agreed to brew the potion you and I discussed. I expect to have a dose in advance of the necessary date this month, which will be delivered to your rooms. He has requested the opportunity to perfect the potion with you directly, but I leave that to your discretion. I am making arrangements for your recuperation which ought to keep your identity suitably cloaked for the time being, unless of course you choose to reveal it. Thank you for the service you are doing this school, and of course let me know if I can be of any further assistance.

Sincerely,
Headmaster Schechter

When: Monday evening (backdated)

Managed to survive whole of first day but suspect may have set all the wrong texts. Is it all a mess for you too? Stupid to send you an Owl, I know, but too tired to try and work out where in castle you are. Also managed to miss you at lunch today - did you go? Sure I'll bump into you in the corridor soon though - seem to be bumping into every suit of armour just fine.

Did everything go okay with the headmaster and that thing you had to discuss? Guess so if you're here, but let me know if you need back-up somehow.

Mikey (or Professor Mikey now, hah)

Who Anyone and everyone
What Staff party
When Eleven and any time after on Friday
Where Pete and Brendon's Magical Muggle Pool Ballroom

For the evening, they've given up on the dream of muggle accuracy and the whole thing is decked out magically; the pool is full, but the water glows for no apparent reason. Brendon has decked shit out with trees, there are portraits of jungle animals hung on the walls in various parts of the ~forest that make their applicable noises, and there's even a "beach" of pure white sand. The ceiling is charmed to look like the night sky, complete with a moon about half-full (just in case there are any werewolves in attendance whose biology might get confused), and there is a "cabana" of sorts with food and more alcohol than you can shake a stick at.

It's a casual affair and, despite Pete's careful wording on the invitation, the point, plain and simple, is to get wasted.

[OOC: basically a free for all where time is fluid and threads can be started all willy nilly!]

Who: Gerard and Open! Particularly Adam.
When: Thursday afternoon
Where: The hallways close to the library.
What: Gerard is wandering Hogwarts, bumping into people.

After the students had begun to truly settle in, Gerard had begun to comb the castle. Now, four days in, he still felt like he'd barely even scratched the surface. There were so many passages, so many nooks and crannies, that he didn't know if he'd finish combing the place any time this year, let alone within the first week.

That was problematic. Remnants of dark magic could be hiding anywhere, and there were simply too many places to look. He'd just have to spend more time searching each day.

While he was considering this, trying to figure out how he should map out his plan of attack, he ran directly into someone. Well, that figured. He backed away immediately. "I'm sorry," he said swiftly, automatically, and moved to steady them.