Kingsley Shacklebolt (ta_kingsley) wrote in thealleyrpg, @ 2008-09-03 15:30:00 |
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Entry tags: | char: kingsley shacklebolt |
A Speech to the Crowds
Who: Kingsley Shacklebolt
What: An important speech and warning.
Where: The center of Diagon Alley.
When: Early afternoon of Wednesday, 3rd of September.
Once again, the magically enhanced announcement echoed through the Alley: "All Alley patrons, please report to the main square for a conference with Minister Shacklebolt. All Alley patrons, please report to the main square."
Kingsley stood on the makeshift podium in the center of the square and watched in silence as the crowd gathered. It had been quite a while since his last speech, mainly because he'd be so occupied with arranging all sorts of things and keeping an eye on the progress in the barrier. Most of the news so far had been spread by his Assistant or his other advisers and workers. But with the recent developments of the black spot near Borgin and Burkes, Kingsley had decided that it was time for an official speech.
As the swelling of the crowd finally settled, Kingsley cleared his throat, pressed his wand to it, and silently cast Sonorus.
"Greetings, people of the Alley," The Minister's warm and solemn voice carried over the crowd. "Today I shall dispense with trivialities and get right to the point. As I'm sure many of you have noticed from postings on the journals, there has been some sort of disturbance on a section of the barrier in an alley behind Borgin and Burkes. At this time we must warn you all to stay as far away from that section of the barrier as you can, for your own health and safety."
Kingsley paused to take a sip of the water that rested in front of him (speaking with the Sonorus charm always had a way of making him parched) and then continued, "As far as we can tell, the disturbance to the barrier occurred sometime around the night of Friday the 22nd of August. The disturbance was first noticed the following day as a Quaffle-sized black mark which marred the normally opaque shimmer of the barrier. Since then, the disturbance seems to have progressed. On the 28th, several people noticed that touching the barrier had adverse affects; namely an uncomfortable buzzing that progressed to dangerous levels the longer the spot was touched, to the point that one curious person actually passed out after touching the spot for too long."
His eyes surveyed the nervous crowd as he took another pause for water. He set the glass carefully down in front of him and met the eyes of the crowd as he continued, "And just yesterday, thanks to the information of another Alley patron, we learned that the spot has been changing the air around it. Over a few days the area near the spot has grown dark and heavy, and anyone who moves too close is overwhelmed with feelings of illness. As such, we have decided to warn people against going near the alley behind Borgin and Burkes. Alley patrol members will be making frequently patrols by that Alley at numerous times during the hour. Do not go near the spot, it is dangerous to the health and safety of anyone who goes near it."
"I must also emphasize that our best curse breakers are currently involved in studying the spot and figuring out what caused it and how to fix it. If you have any information on what caused this spot to form and who might have been involved, please come by Ministry Headquarters or inform any member of the Alley Patrol as soon as possible."
As the Minister grew quiet, a voice rang out from the crowd, the Scottish accent heavy and a bit hard to understand, "Wa dornt we jist send some curses at 'at spot? That'll fix it reit up!" Kingsley shook his head and replied, "We have no idea what additional curses would do to the disturbance on the barrier. There is a very slim chance that it would clear things up, but a much more plausible chance that it would just make it worse. And that is something we do not want to risk. So my advice stands: Stay away from that part of the barrier, and let the curse breakers do their jobs."
Again, the Minister paused to take a sip of water. He paused for another moment to glance down at the notes in front of him, and then continued, "Now, on to information about the rest of the barrier. I assure you that the curse breakers have been working under my observation almost constantly since we became trapped in here. I regret that my own immensely busy task load and our extreme focus on the barrier has prevented me from making an official speech on the progress of the barrier so far, but I will try now to rectify that."
His eyes surveyed the crowd, hoping that they would stay calm under what he was about to tell him. "From what we have observed, this barrier is very strong. It is also, in other ways, very unusual. At several times in the past couple weeks, the curse breakers have managed to break holes in the barrier." At the roar of the crowd, Kingsley held up his hand for silence. "But, immediately upon the breaking of these very small holes, the barrier immediately repaired itself. I emphasize that this repairing happened within less than a second of the small breaches. In all cases there has been no time to even try sending a spell or an item through the hole. Also, which each time that the barrier is breached and then healed, it is harder for the curse breakers to duplicate the break. We have tried numerous methods since discovering this, including having all the curse breakers aim spells at the same spot at the exact same time. All our efforts have, unfortunately, been to no avail."
Kingsley could sense the overwhelming heaviness of the emotions of the crowd. This was not what they'd wanted to hear. "I know that no matter how many times I tell you to not panic, and to put your trust in the curse breakers to figure us a way out, you will all still be frightened. There is nothing wrong with that, even I am frightened by this sometimes. All I can tell you, is that as you Minister I will do my best to keep you all safe, and healthy. The Healer's Headquarters is up and running well; they have created a good supply of potions and the building is staffed with some very qualified and talented Healers. We have made great strides in the growing of fruits, vegetables, herbs and other edible plants in the park at the end of the Alley, and also in the garden a top Libertas. I promise you that we will not go hungry."
He paused one last time, straightened up, and said in his most powerful and reassuring voice, "I promise you that we will continue trying whatever we can to break you all out of here. We will not give up."