The Beginning of Everything
In the wake of former Headmaster Nicholas Halloway's exposed conspiracy to breach the Statute of Secrecy, Minister Wylder Merrow and Headmistress Ruby Haswell take charge of a wizarding world still finding its footing. Hogwarts reopens in 1920 with a diminished student body and mounting unexplained magical disturbances, culminating in the March 1921 Carnival attack, where radicalized staff loyal to Halloway abduct three students and unleash Dark magic across the castle. The plot is foiled by faculty and Ministry intervention, but with one conspirator dead and another in custody, it's clear Halloway's influence didn't end with his arrest.
Pre-1920s:
Former Headmaster Nicholas Halloway, a Muggleborn idealist turned extremist, is exposed for a decade-long plot to breach the Statute of Secrecy and integrate Muggle students into Hogwarts. His arrest topples the old guard. Wylder Merrow becomes Minister. Ruby Haswell becomes Headmistress. The wizarding world starts to rebuild, wary and divided.
Sept 1920:
Hogwarts reopens with a fraction of its former student body. Quidditch and Dueling are suspended. New clubs fill the gap. Strange magical glitches begin: the Grand Staircase freezes, doors lead nowhere.
Oct 1920:
The Hospital Wing becomes ground zero for escalating instability. Plants die, potions spoil, cupboards attack, spells misfire. The Head Healer quits. Students step in as informal aides, later formalized into four roles: Nurse, Alchemist, Greenhouse Attendant, Candy Striper.
Dec 1920:
The enchanted staircases stop moving entirely, stranding students and forcing staff to improvise with levitation and brooms.
March 12, 1921 (The Carnival):
A prefect-run carnival turns into the term's defining crisis. Creatures escape their paddock as a diversion. Dark magic sweeps the grounds and three students, Maevie Golding, Ruth Elliot, and Everleigh Ravenstone, are abducted by Professor Thayer, a radicalized instructor loyal to Halloway. He holds them in the Dark Tower, using Unforgivable Curses to torment them while broadcasting demands for Halloway's release.
Back at the castle, staff barricade students in the Great Hall. Wards fail under a Dark magic assault from Professor Farrow, revealed as a second conspirator and subdued by Roisin Byrne. Meanwhile Barlowe, Blackwood, Haswell, and Minister Merrow storm the Dark Tower. Barlowe kills Thayer. All three students are recovered alive; Professor Thayer is dead, Farrow is in custody, and the tower is sealed for investigation.
Aftermath:
Hogwarts is safe but shaken, still under close Ministry watch, with the carnival crisis serving as proof Halloway's network runs deeper than anyone assumed.
Pre-1920s:
Former Headmaster Nicholas Halloway, a Muggleborn idealist turned extremist, is exposed for a decade-long plot to breach the Statute of Secrecy and integrate Muggle students into Hogwarts. His arrest topples the old guard. Wylder Merrow becomes Minister. Ruby Haswell becomes Headmistress. The wizarding world starts to rebuild, wary and divided.
Sept 1920:
Hogwarts reopens with a fraction of its former student body. Quidditch and Dueling are suspended. New clubs fill the gap. Strange magical glitches begin: the Grand Staircase freezes, doors lead nowhere.
Oct 1920:
The Hospital Wing becomes ground zero for escalating instability. Plants die, potions spoil, cupboards attack, spells misfire. The Head Healer quits. Students step in as informal aides, later formalized into four roles: Nurse, Alchemist, Greenhouse Attendant, Candy Striper.
Dec 1920:
The enchanted staircases stop moving entirely, stranding students and forcing staff to improvise with levitation and brooms.
March 12, 1921 (The Carnival):
A prefect-run carnival turns into the term's defining crisis. Creatures escape their paddock as a diversion. Dark magic sweeps the grounds and three students, Maevie Golding, Ruth Elliot, and Everleigh Ravenstone, are abducted by Professor Thayer, a radicalized instructor loyal to Halloway. He holds them in the Dark Tower, using Unforgivable Curses to torment them while broadcasting demands for Halloway's release.
Back at the castle, staff barricade students in the Great Hall. Wards fail under a Dark magic assault from Professor Farrow, revealed as a second conspirator and subdued by Roisin Byrne. Meanwhile Barlowe, Blackwood, Haswell, and Minister Merrow storm the Dark Tower. Barlowe kills Thayer. All three students are recovered alive; Professor Thayer is dead, Farrow is in custody, and the tower is sealed for investigation.
Aftermath:
Hogwarts is safe but shaken, still under close Ministry watch, with the carnival crisis serving as proof Halloway's network runs deeper than anyone assumed.
Threads — in chronological order
Site Plot: The Kidnapping | Open to All
The Carnival, Hogwarts Grounds
Site Plot: The Kidnapping | Open
The Carnival, Great Hall
Site Plot: The Kidnapping | Invite Only
The Carnival, The Dark Tower
The Wizengamot vs. Blackwood | Invite
The Wizengamot Courtroom
Gideon Blackwood is accused of first-degree manslaughter under Magical Statute 345.B and child endangerment under Magical Statute 102. A. He is found innocent and is aquitted on all counts.
The Wizengamot vs. Haswell :: Invite
The Wizengamot Courtroom
Ruby Haswell is accused of first-degree manslaughter under Magical Statute 345.B and child endangerment under Magical Statute 102. A. She is found guilty of child endangerment, and sentenced to 2 years at Azkaban.
The Wizengamot vs. Barlowe | Invite
The Wizengamot Courtroom
Maddox Barlowe is accused of second-degree murder under Magical Statute 347.C and unlawful use of an unforgiveable under Magical Statute 201.A. He is found 'not guilty' and is aquitted on all counts.
The Wizengamot vs. Merrow | Invite
The Wizengamot Courtroom
Wylder Merrow is accused of first-degree manslaughter under Magical Statute 345.B, child endangerment under Magical Statute 102. A, criminal conspiracy under Magical Statute 410.D, and treason against the wizarding state under Magical Statute 001.A. He is found 'not guilty' on the charge of manslaughter, but 'guilty' on all other charges. He is sentenced to 20 years at Azkaban.
