Game History |
Some of the events referenced here will impact your character more than others, but this game history is provided as an overview of the plots on Alere Flammas since our inception. It is not meant to serve as a substitute for reading important logs. The Chronology section of this site provides links to relevant logs for the plot elements discussed here and many more. This history focuses mostly on the doings of the feature characters, but the Chronology is a more complete account of what everyone was doing, including the original characters.
1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 |
The game opened on the IC date of August 1, 1995 -- the middle of the summer between Harry's 4th and 5th year. That summer was a strange one. Voldemort was back -- except no one believed it. Sirius was still on the run. Snape was eating ice cream. Everyone felt very up in the air. The strangeness continued after everyone returned to school -- Draco's harem started to accumulate rapidly, much to Pansy's annoyance, and he soon had at least 3 girls stringing along besides her, including Ruby Kendall and Hermione Granger. Angelina Johnson was made captain of the Gryffindor quidditch team. Hermione became a Prefect. There was a new language teacher, Tristan Talbot, and a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Celeste Collingwood.
Later that fall, it seemed that the entire world had gone mad when it was discovered that Snape was not only seeing Professor Sinistra, but had proposed to her. The students were horrified to see them behaving in a gooey manner together at various events during the year. Draco continued his run on the girls, though eventually Hermione pulled herself free from her fascination and Pansy, fed up with his indifferent treatment, even went to the Yule Ball with another guy.
In the meantime, a new apothecary took over a shop in Hogsmeade, and charms from her shop began to appear amongst the student population. Gryffindor was doing well on the Quidditch field and Draco was not. Sirius, worried about Harry, was living in the Shrieking Shack. Lupin, worried about Sirius and working on a way to clear him, was plotting to force Peter to reveal himself. And an inexplicable explosion near Manchester served as a chilling reminder that Voldemort was still lurking about in the shadows.
Over New Year's there was another attack, this time at Godric's Hollow -- seemingly a message to Harry, though he was nowhere near the location at the time. A Ravenclaw 6th year, Artie Flinch, was killed in the attack. As the winter rolled on, strange(er) things began happening at Hogwarts, too. Accidents seemed to be following Harry around, and people once again started to wonder about him.
Things began to come to a head when Harry and Hermione discovered that Ron was somehow under the Imperius curse. He broke free, but they had no idea who might have done it or what was going on. So they remained vigilant until things came to a head in May 1996. It was during this month that one of the scariest events ever to take place at Hogwarts occurred: Snape's wedding.
Snape and Sinistra were married and the reception was held out on the meadow so that the students could enjoy the festivities. Unfortunately, Voldemort had other plans, and his minion, Judith Rache, the owner of the apothecary shop, arrived at Hogwarts with other things in mind. Cho, under Imperius, stole Harry's wand, and Judith used it to murder that year's Defense professor, Celeste Collingwood.
Now we digress for a moment to Hogsmeade: Lupin, as part of his plan to flush Peter out of hiding, had convinced Peter's mother that she would be in danger with Sirius still on the loose -- she was brought to the Three Broomsticks, where it was thought to be safer. Sirius/Padfoot got a 'job' as guard dog. On the day of the wedding, Peter decided to try and rescue his mum, assuming that everyone would be up at the castle. Unluckily for him, Sirius and Lupin raced back from the wedding in time to surprise him in the middle of the pub. They, with the *cough* able assistance of Minister Fudge, ran Peter off.
Back at the wedding was confusion. Judith was spotted before she could complete her plan of framing Harry for the murder and fled. Snape and Sirius chased her down and returned her to the group. Collingwood was dead, though, so there wasn't much that could be done. Sirius, having been seen, decided to turn himself in with the promise of actually getting a trial this time. After the wedding, the rest of the year was rather slow. Gryffindor won the Quidditch Cup, Slytherin won the House Cup. Summer break began and everyone went home.
The summer of 1996 held two exciting events: the trial of Sirius Black and the European Cup. The European Cup that year took place partially in Germany and partially in France, but the final was held in Germany. Both Ireland and England did well in the tournament, but England was the team that made it to the finals -- thanks mostly to the Chudley Cannons seeker, William Buckleman, who was under pressure to make up for the crushing disappointment of the regular season, where he missed the snitch in the final game and lost the League Cup for the Cannons. England came away with the Cup and Buckleman promptly retired, deciding it was best to quit while ahead.
Sirius's trial was not so long as the cup, but it garnered nearly as much attention. With Fudge as the featured witness attesting to Peter's still being alive, it caused quite a sensation. Eventually he was cleared of all charges and released. He soon took a flat in Hogsmeade where Harry could live during school holidays.
Harry's 6th year began in September of 1996, and it seemed that all would be quiet that year. There was a new Defense professor, obviously, Latimer Holmes, from the WWN. There were few rumblings from Voldemort, which caused everyone a bit of worry, because it was not clear what he was up to at all.
In fact, that year was pretty quiet. Almost unnervingly so. Snape was mooning about with his bride, Draco was mooning about with Ruby -- the year went off pretty much without a hitch. Certainly there were no more weddings. Hufflepuff won the Quidditch Cup, leaving both Gryffindor and Slytherin in the dust, while Ravenclaw came out on top in the points race.
There were some strange occurrences throughout the year, muggles vanishing singly or in small groups, but it was certainly nothing to affect the wizarding world. That is, until they discovered all of the muggles in Azkaban, and a large number of the prisoners missing. The muggles, in various states of distress/illness/madness were removed immediately and memory charms were placed on them (causing them to believe they'd been victims of alien abduction) before they were returned to their homes. But there was still the matter of all of the missing Death Eater prisoners.
1997 was also to be an election year. So the campaign was underway, and naturally the missing prisoners were a front and center issue. There were four major candidates in the race: Portia Rolle, the judge who had presided over the Sirius Black trial, Fudge, Lucius Malfoy, and Madog Fychan, a nudist, lover of emus, and fierce opponent of the "llama conspiracy".
All of the candidates continued their campaign over the summer, which was plagued by Dementor attacks at many major events. The Ministry could not explain how the Dementors were leaving Azkaban or why, and Fudge's popularity continued to plummet. For a while, Portia Rolle seemed strong in the polls, but she began to act erratically in public, almost drunken at times, and people started to worry about her ability to lead. Madog, of course, had his following, but unfortunately emus do not have the right to vote in England.
The Dementor attacks during the summer had driven everyone to a pitch of uneasiness. It seemed clear that they were only the start of something awful. And so, Harry and gang came to Hogwarts to start their final year. Things looked even more bleak when Albus Dumbledore dropped dead in the middle of the Sorting Feast.
McGonagall held order admirably, but, of course, it was not a good time for such a thing to happen. The school year was not off to a rousing start. There was still another Defense professor, Gaspar Keleman, a Durmstrang graduate. For two weeks, everyone continued under a bit of a cloud. There was a memorial for Dumbledore, which Fudge attempted to invade, treating it as a campaign appearance and earning no fans in the process. Some of the professors leant their talents to planting an oak tree in the meadow in remembrance of Dumbledore. It's a tree exceptionally good for climbing, but which never allows anyone to fall from its branches.
On September 15, 1997, just as things started to get back to a new normal, bats and other nasty creatures invaded the Great Hall in the middle of dinner. Nearly Headless Nick helpfully arrived to mention that there were a lot of strange wizards down in the dungeons, and did anyone know about that? The students were hastily evacuated up into the higher reaches of the castle while the professors investigated: Death Eaters had invaded the castle and erected some sort of impenetrable barrier around the castle. Everyone was trapped.
Thus began The Siege. With the Death Eaters occupying the lower reaches of the castle, the students were forced to double up in the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw dorms. The older students assisted the professors in scouting the castle, attempting to prevent the Death Eaters from encroaching further and trying to find out exactly why the heck they were there. The younger students did what they could, learning from the older ones and sitting tight.
One expedition managed to net a capture, however, and the Death Eater was stashed in the hospital wing for interrogation. However, Sinistra, whom Snape had discovered was at least a former Death Eater, arrived and revealed her double agent status by killing the prisoner. Snape arrived too late to save the DE, but in time to accuse Sinistra. They had a sad battle in the foyer, in the midst of a crowd of students, where Sinistra attempted to kill him and instead was killed by him.
A number of students and teachers did not make it (including Sinistra). Eventually, all of the searching of the castle revealed a number of new and interesting passages, one of which was found in the library and lead down into the depths of the castle. The students there found an armory packed with all sorts of keen weaponry, and promptly ransacked it for their own use. But later, when further exploration was made, it turned out there were even more rooms, and one lead to the Root.
The origins and exact magical properties of the Root are a mystery, though theory suggests it can tap into the power of the denizens of Hogwarts, borrowing just enough from each person to maintain all the enchantments in place at the castle. With such potential, there's no denying that it can probably give you 'ultimate cosmic power', and that, along with immortality, is what Voldemort was after. He followed after one expedition and revealed himself to the group in that room.
Voldemort attacked the students and professors he found there, but his main interest was Harry and the Root itself. Harry, you see, still had some of his power, stolen way back when Harry was a baby, and he wanted it back. And then he wanted all of the power in the Root. But, unfortunately, he'd made a miscalculation -- or so it seemed. Harry, with the aid of the others, tapped into the Root and let Voldemort have the power he so wanted. Which promptly disintegrated him (along with the core of Harry's wand).
With Voldemort gone, the barrier between the castle and the outside world collapsed and vanished, and the students (those who weren't at the Root) won their way free of the castle. Other things vanished as well, like Snape's Dark Mark and any sign of the taint Voldemort had left upon Harry. Indeed, from that day forth there was no sign of a scar upon Potter's brow. When Harry visited Ollivander for a replacement wand, he was pleased to find that this time, he ended up with one much more similar to his father's than to Voldemort's.
In the meantime, outside the castle, much was occuring. Peter was in charge of the troops guarding the barrier, along with assorted dragons, trolls, graphorns and other nasties. The parents and family and Ministry were not just standing idly by during this whole crisis. But before they could attempt to dismantle the barrier, they had to be able to get at it, and that meant removing the people and creatures in the way. There were a series of organized incursions by the 'good guys', with Lucius prominently amongst those on the attacking side (after all, Draco was trapped inside the castle). Eventually, most of the animals were cleared from the barrier and the Death Eaters who weren't dead fled the scene. But there were casualties on both sides.
In any case, after about six weeks of being trapped in the castle, a week or two before Halloween -- election day -- the students escaped. School was cancelled for a couple of weeks so that it could be repaired and everyone could spend time with their families. And so an inventory of teachers could be made. Students were given the option to remain home for the rest of the year and restart their current grade the next year, or else to come back and attempt to do their best to catch up.
Before school reopened, the election came off: Lucius won, and would be inducted as Minister after the New Year. School started again in November with a number of classes cancelled until after the holidays. Muggle Studies, Astronomy and languages were among those. Defense, for a month, was taught by Remus Lupin. The month of intensive study, with any cancelled class periods being taken over by other classes, was designed to bring people up to where they should have been by the start of winter break. For the most part, it was successful.
Over break there were a number of occurances. The last week of December 1997 found the Hogwarts Governors voting McGonagall in as permanent Headmistress, then 5 of them promptly retired -- the 5 over whom Lucius held influence and could induce via threats to do as he wished. They were replaced by 5 new Governors who, as far as could be seen, could not be influenced by Lucius easily at all.
In January 1998, Lucius Malfoy was inaugurated as Minister of Magic. With McGonagall Headmistress, Flitwick became Deputy and Hagrid was promoted to Gryffindor Head of House. Snape was STILL not Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, much to his annoyance. Instead, Vindictus Viridian was hired to teach that course. The rest of the year was quiet. Voldemort was dead and people were feeling subdued. Even Lucius didn't do much in his first few months in office. His underlings were busy, though. Arthur Weasley was sacked almost immediately to curry favor with the new Minister, which resulted in his being hired at Hogwarts to teach Muggle Studies after the position was vacated post-Siege. There was a brief Quidditch season, which Ravenclaw won, and Slytherin won the House Cup.
The summer of 1998 brought another World Cup. This time it was held in conjunction with a Wizard World Exposition, and all of it was held in Canada. Harry Potter was tapped to play for Scotland, and much publicity ensued. Snape managed to give himself partial amnesia (and extremely long hair) with a potion gone wrong, a mad muggleborn caused Sirius to fall in love with Snape, Snape to fall in love with Harry, Harry to fall in love with Hermione, Ron to get naked, Cho to sleep with Fleur, and Harry's girlfriend (Rebecca Astin) to sleep with Draco, and then India beat England for the World Cup.
Anyhow, Snape managed to regain his memories by the end of the summer, but not his sense, apparently, since he kept the hair. School opened in September of 1998 as usual. Harry was graduated, as were almost all of his classmates. McGonagall hired Sirius to assist her in teaching Transfiguration, much to Snape's dismay. Things did not improve when, during the Halloween feast, Sirius 'accidentally' busted the Slytherin hourglass, leading Snape to have a fit in the entrance hall in front of the students. Sirius was put on probation. Pictures were later available for purchase from certain Gryffindor entrepreneurs.
Harry joined the Chudley Cannons as a reservist, Ron did nothing, Hermione joined the Auror training program. School continued as usual, with Gryffindor getting a new seeker who seemed perhaps better than Harry. In the meantime, Lucius was busy with his new plans and a new bad guy by the name of Sangreserpens was starting to gather his allies. Draco married Pansy in December, and decided to create a little evil group of his own. Thus the Quidditch Club was born. They did not accomplish much, however, before Sangreserpens discovered them and folded them into his organization.
In January, at Draco and Pansy's wedding reception, Snape kissed Rebecca Astin in front of half of wizarding society, leading to a massive uproar and his near sacking by the Governors. Snape was put on probation.
A number of prominent citizens started to feel that the Ministry had entirely too much control over the Daily Prophet, and so decided to start another, more objective newspaper, located in Hogsmeade. The Northern Star started publication in February 1999, opening with the lurid tale of the Ministry bust of Draco's bachelor party. The Ministry passed a law in March, authored by Percy Weasley, which made the werewolf registry public for all and tightened restrictions on those afflicted with the disease. Some dissent was voiced in the media but not much, as most people either didn't care or agreed with it.
At school, meanwhile, Gryffindor won the Quidditch Cup and Slytherin won the house cup -- and put out a particularly dismal performance in the realm of Quidditch. Although this school year had been free from the normal good/evil crises that had typified life at Hogwarts, it was nonetheless rife with instances of bad behavior, especially on the Quidditch pitch.
Late in the spring, there were a series of werewolf attacks that resulted in the deaths of several muggles, and raised public support for the measures taken by the Ministry. In reality, of course, they were staged (somewhat messily) by the Quidditch Club under Draco's command. Mischief was planned at the shack of one Remus J. Lupin, but Lupin was not alone. Sirius and Snape were both with him, as the latter had begun doing experimental research into Wolfsbane Potion and the former wouldn't leave him alone with Lupin. Draco and his group were then ordered to undergo more stealth training as a result of their poor performance and the fact that Ruby nearly got hexed by Snape.
In June of 1999, the Chudley Cannons were bought by the mysterious company Wir Fireteeth, and Harry signed a new contract in August. He moved up to first-string, was made Captain, and was the only player of the Cannons' former lineup to be retained. That summer also saw the passage of yet more legislation, the Reese-Randolph Act, this one more restrictive over all defined as 'dangerous beings'. McGonagall was forced to let Hagrid go as a result, and he moved to the Forbidden Forest.
Charlie Weasley assumed Hagrid's teaching and groundskeeping duties. And, shortly before the start of term, Sirius agreed to take over as Gryffindor Head of House. Being Head of House meant that Sirius would need to permanently reside at Hogwarts castle, a prospect he did not greet with much enthusiasm. After he moved out of the flat he had shared with Harry, Ron (by then gainfully employed by the Wizarding Wireless Network) moved in.
The rumors of bad behavior at Hogwarts had caught the attention of the Ministry, who contacted the governors over the summer and started making demands. The governors resisted, and eventually a compromise was reached: the Ministry might send two observers to the school for the year, to see what was going on first hand. Their evaluative report would be given at the end of the year. And so Percy Weasley and Dolores Umbridge arrived at Hogwarts in September 1999 to watch and poke and pry into everything.
A report was published in January in the British Journal of Magical Sociology that linked family background to marital satisfaction, and reported that divorce rates were higher among wizard-muggle couples than they were if both parties were members of the magical community.
The students, faculty, and staff gave the observers plenty to write about, most notably an incident in February where Gryffindor's muggleborn Seeker, Viviane Wilding, crashed into the faculty stands during a game, which inexplicably caused them to collapse, taking the Slytherin stands down with them when they fell.
The Quidditch Club and Sangreserpens, having succeeded in discrediting werewolves and non-humans, shifted their focus to implicating muggleborns and muggles for acts of violence. After a rage fog was released at a New Year's Eve party in Knockturn, the enraged attendees caused many galleons worth of damage to the shops and homes in the area. Draco and his cronies ensured that muggleborn Justin Finch-Fletchley took the blame for the act, and he served one year in Azkaban prison. The follow-up occurred in April, when a group of muggle policemen were compelled to attack a group of witches on a shopping trip by use of the Imperius Curse.
A Witch Weekly cover story in June entitled "The Secret Pain of Muggleborns" portrayed the plight of muggleborns in a sympathetic light, focusing on their inability to adapt easily to new circumstances after being ripped from the only world they'd known at the cusp of adolescence, leaving some to flounder helplessly. The article focused mainly on students, including the caveat that the disaffected youth of today can become the hooligan of tomorrow. At the end of the month, the school year concluded with Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tying for the Quidditch Cup while Hufflepuff was awarded the House Cup.
Meanwhile, Umbridge and Percy performed their duties with zealous attention to detail, and neither was ever seen without notebook and quill close at hand. They frequently appeared in classes, and were not shy in offering suggestions and criticisms of the lessons. By late June of 2000, the observers had a juicy 2000-page report to deliver to the Ministry.
The main gist of the report was that the "corrupt, incompetent, and licentious professors" at Hogwarts had little control over the student population. The Headmistress was deemed unable to reign in her employees, and accused of allowing them to indulge in favoritism and attempts to rig the House Cup according to their liking (this after Sirius and Snape participated in a game of one upsmanship with House points at the Leaving Feast). Most alarmingly, the report read, "those in positions of authority are powerless to prevent attacks from Muggleborn students against those of wizarding heritage". The report cited many such instances, ranging from minor to criminal. After presenting a copious body of evidence, the Ministry Observers rendered their official recommendation that Muggleborn students should no longer be permitted to attend Hogwarts.
One week after the observers' report was made public, Penelope Clearwater, the muggleborn fiancee of Percy Weasley, stabbed her beloved with a steak knife in the middle of a renowned Diagon Alley restaurant after a heated argument. No one seemed to notice Lucius sitting nearby, quietly controlling Penelope by the Imperius Curse. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your point of view), Percy was injured in the shoulder, and survived the attack. He chose not to press charges, but the incident would not go unnoticed by the public.
Indeed, the violent acts perpetrated by muggleborns had energized one segment of the population that viewed them as villains. The studies and articles published earlier in the year served to convince another sector of the population. Members of this camp were concerned mostly with the best interests of muggleborns, so cruelly ripped from the world they'd known and thrust into a strange one. Thus, public support for some kind of action from the Ministry grew.
Two Acts were passed in summer 2000 that affected all of the British wizarding world. The Muggle Wizard Secrecy Act of 2000, influenced in no small measure by the observers' report, forbade new Muggles from being informed of the wizarding world and also assigned a caseworker to Muggleborn students. The end result of this was that there would be no new Muggleborn students attending Hogwarts and the ones already there would not be allowed to be Prefects or on the Quidditch teams without the permission of their caseworkers.
The other Act was the Percy Weasley Dedicatory Act, so named in response to the vicious attack Percy had suffered at Penelope's hands. This act enforced color designation for all persons in public wizarding venues. The colors were purple for pureblood, dark blue for mixed blood, light blue for half blood (defined as one Muggle or Squib parent), green for Muggleborns, yellow for Squibs, and red for non-humans (werewolves, part giant, part veela, etc). Hogwarts and St. Mungo's uniforms had the color designation on the robes. Students and children out of uniform had to wear a neckerchief in their color. Adult options were an armband, scarf, or brooch.
In reaction to these new acts, Headmistress McGonagall, with support from the Hogwarts Governors, set up a new school in Brittany called College Poudlard Ecole de Sorcellerie, commonly referred to simply as Poudlard. She took some of the faculty with her as well as the Sorting Hat and other necessities. All eligible Muggleborn 11-year-olds were contacted by owl and invited to attend Poudlard. The new muggleborn students children were smuggled in to Diagon Alley by Poudlard professors and other affiliated adults and 'disguised' as mixed bloods or halfbloods by dark blue or light blue neckerchiefs. When shopping for their uniform, they purchased one in this 'false' color. Hagrid resumed his groundskeeping and professorial duties at Poudlard, and Molly Weasley was brought on to serve as caretaker and oversee the kitchens. Hermione Granger also joined the staff as the librarian, after being sacked from the Auror training program in August when she lead a protest against the new legislation.
In addition, any other student who would have normally attended Hogwarts had the option (and an invitation) to go to Poudlard instead. Most existing Muggleborn students chose this option, especially if it meant possibly losing a Prefecture or Quidditch position. There were plenty of wizardborn students who also went to Poudlard for various reasons.
The trip to Poudlard was by ferry that left from Plymouth. From there, it was a trip by hot air balloon for the first years and by bus for the rest. Students lived in tents by year and gender, the average size of which was 17 students. First years had more students per tent, seventh years had fewer. They were expected to do chores.
Meanwhile at Hogwarts, Professor Snape was in charge as Headmaster. Professor Sprout was serving as Deputy. Snape made himself Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, naturally. He also hired on his mother, Lucretia Snape, a former professor of Potions, to return to her former position and also serve as Slytherin's Head of House. Lacking the Sorting Hat, Snape Sorted first years himself with Legilimency; a harrowing experience for the new witches and wizards. In addition, Muggle Studies was replaced by Wizarding Literature. All students enrolled in Muggle Studies were placed in this new class. Those taking three electives were allowed to drop it, but anyone else was stuck with it.
In December 2000, Draco brewed a polyjuice potion that let him assume the place of Theodore Sherman, a muggleborn wizard apprenticed to a Healer in Hogsmeade. In this capacity, he tried to recruit Harry for some anti-government action when Potter came in for an appointment and also appeared in public at a puffskein sale and behaved suspiciously.
Many students had stopped by that same sale, and soon Hogwarts was overrun by an infestation of puffskeins. Things got so bad the Headmaster had to call in a Ministry team to exterminate the pests. They also turned up as ingredients in potions class.
In January, a stage production of Lucas Lovewell's novel, Lessons in Love, opened in Carmarthen Theatre in wizarding London. In the middle of the second act, Hermione Granger stood up, antique muggle pistol in hand, and shot Lucius Malfoy, who was sitting with his wife and Snape in one of the balcony seats. Hit wizards swarmed the place, and Hermione was taken into custody. Little did anyone know Draco and Lucius had concocted an elaborate plot whereby Sherman would be framed for using the Imperius Curse to force Hermione to commit the act (although she was supposed to miss!). After a search of Theodore's flat turned up a second pistol matching the murder weapon, he was taken into Ministry custody. On April 20, after a lengthy trial, the innocent Sherman was sentenced to 20 years in Azkaban.
Not one to rest upon his laurels, Lucius/Sangreserpens promptly hatched a new plan, and, in February, instructed his devotees to kidnap Clark O'Bryan, muggleborn Bertie Botts employee. O'Bryan's knowledge was used to poison certain flavors of the company's popular Every Flavor Beans, resulting in the deaths of several children, including one student at Hogwarts (Fawna Prowse), one at Poudlard (Maisie Blanchard), and the daughter of Lucius' Undersecretary (Adhara Schwarz). O'Bryan was later killed, his death made to appear to be a guilt-driven suicide after he claimed responsibility for the poisoning.
Later that same month, Sirius showed Snape a draft of the autobiography he'd hired a witch to help him write: Little Black Book. Snape and he had a disagreement over revealing details about Snape's childhood and humiliations. Snape sacked Black and Professor Umbridge was brought in both to teach Transfiguration and as Gryffindor Head of House, despite being a former Hufflepuff herself. The Gryffindors had been unruly in Snape's estimation, and though he wasn't a personal fan of Umbridge, he had no qualms about inflicting her upon them.
In May, Harry finally acted on a suggestion Lupin and Sirius had made, and went with Ron to Privet Drive. After his aunt and uncle left to visit Aunt Marge, Harry and Ron entered the house and began searching for any items that might've belonged to Harry's mother. They uncovered a shoebox of letters Lily wrote to Petunia from school, but were then forced to depart by Dudley's unexpected arrival.
The rest of the school year was fairly quiet, the low-carb diet the House Elves started serving at the mischievous instruction of Dumbledore's portrait, discovered only after Molly went to Snape to complain about Charlie's possible malnourishment. The school year ended with Ravenclaw winning the Quidditch Cup and Slytherin the House Cup. At Poudlard, the Girls swept both categories.
That summer, Lucius's Undersecretary, Reginald Schwarz, a man who was privy to some of the Minister's more underhanded schemes, began to suspect the Minister's involvement in the Bertie Botts case. He managed to determine that Adrian Pucey was involved in the kidnapping of O'Bryan, and extracted from him the confirmation he desired before killing him. When Malfoy confided to Reginald of his desire to rid his son of a problematic and seemingly barren wife, Reginald went to Sirius with the information. He also revealed that Draco was the real owner of the Chudley Cannons.
Harry, who had been chafing against some of the embarrassing "charity engagements" his contract compelled him to participate in, had already decided the previous summer that he did not intend to make professional Quidditch his career. Reginald's information only solidified the decision. In July 2000 he had begun extra Defense lessons with Lupin, and one year later, sat for the two additional NEWTs required for entry into the Ministry's Auror training program.
Sirius, together with Ginny and Lupin, got to Pansy in time and managed to save her life. Malfoy was witnessed in the act of trying to kill his daughter-in-law and fled the country. Taking advantage of Malfoy's absence, Ginny drafted Harry to sneak into Malfoy Manor with her. There she was finally able to get her hands once again on Tom Riddle's diary. Confirmation that Lucius was behind the plot of poisoned Every Flavor Beans was soon discovered, and he was removed from his position as Minister. Shortly thereafter, it came out that Reginald Schwarz was really Regulus Black, previously thought dead. The information was a shock not only to his brother, but to his wife and son as well.
With the position of Minister vacant once again, a special election was called. Three candidates stepped up to run: Madog Fychan -- undiscouraged by previous defeat and re-energized by a failed attempt to emigrate to the U.S.; Jasper Covington -- grandfather, Hogwarts governor, and healer; Sirius Black -- former prisoner, former Hogwarts professor, werewolf supporter. As the campaign heated up, the families of the Bertie Botts victims filed a lawsuit against Lucius Malfoy, seeking damages for the pain and suffering he caused by murdering their relatives. The Malfoy fortune was frozen by the goblins while the lawsuit was pending.
In September, the Sorting Hat was returned to Hogwarts at the order of the governors. First years at Hogwarts were Sorted using the Hat. First years at Poudlard were not Sorted at all in the interests of promoting a united school.
Sirius Black won the election in late October and took office on Halloween day. He suspended the enforcement of the color law within a week of taking office. In early December, a new Muggle Wizard Secrecy Act was enacted, superceding many of the privisions of the Act of 2000. Instead of no new muggles being able to be told, there was now a written application to be filled out and approved before it could be done. The role of the caseworker was better defined and muggleborn minors regained permission to have wizarding objects outside of a classroom setting. With the new changes in the law, the governors decided to close Poudlard and integrate the faculty and students back into Hogwarts, starting after the winter holidays.
Also in October, Harry took his contract to a lawyer and found out about some hidden curses placed upon it. After soliciting Lupin's advice, he waited until after the election to start negotiations with Draco and Wir Fireteeth's lawyers. In December, he agreed to play for one additional year under a new, curse-free contract.
As the faculties of Hogwarts and Poudlard prepared to merge again after the winter holiday, McGonagall announced she would resign as Headmistress due to a family emergency. Snape was left as Headmaster and Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Lucretia Snape also retained her position on the faculty as Potions professor and Slytherin Head of House. And, although the Muggle Secrecy Act of 2000 had been revised, the Reese-Randolph law was still on the books, and the activities and rights of non-humans continued to be restricted. Therefore, Hagrid was unable to return to Hogwarts. Still, the Gryffindors rejoiced, as Arthur Weasley agreed to serve as their interim Head of House (Molly would not consent to a permanent arrangement) in place of Umbridge. Unfortunately for all, Umbridge continued to serve as Transfiguration Professor for the remainder of the year. Poudlard first years and any Hogwarts second years whose families requested it were Sorted using the Hat when school recommenced in January.
Sirius created two new committees at the Ministry, the Committee on Children's Safety and the Werewolf Affairs Committee. His brother was appointed to head the former and his godson, Harry Potter, to head the latter.
Back at Hogwarts, there was some friction between the returnees and the other Hogwarts folks, and everyone had to make some adjustments to new Heads of House, new Professors and living with a bunch of new people. But, to the surprise of many who doubted Snape could handle the job of Headmaster and Professor, the remainder of the school year was remarkably quiet.
In the outside world, the WWN announced a breakthrough in entertainment that spring, the development of Magic Mirrors which permitted the broadcast of not just sound, but images. They advertised widely, seeking participants for the mirrors' debut, a reality show to take place during the summer, called Mirror Image. 12 contestants were chosen out of hundreds of applicants, representing people from all walks of life. Lee Jordan, the primary mover behind the Mirror project, and Celestina Warbeck were scheduled to host.
Competing with the public's attention, tickets for the Quidditch World Cup to be held in Australia over the summer were also available, and the limited quantities made for a brisk trade amongst those who didn't manage to get any directly from the Ministry. Minister Black was also continuing his campaign to restore rights and privileges to those who had lost them during Malfoy's reign as Minister. Through the efforts of his Ministry employees, new guidelines for non-humans were established in June, permitting many of them to return to jobs and homes they'd been forced to leave due to the Reese-Randolph Act.
Mirror Image debuted to large audiences in July, as the wizarding world turned in to watch the exploits of such a strange assortment of characters forced to live together in a house. And they continued to tune in, absorbed by the personal drama and aware that their votes - along with all the other viewers of the show -- would eventually determine the 100,000 galleon prize winner at the end of the show. Of the revelations made on the show, one of the most shocking was Draco Malfoy's confession that he, not Theodore Sherman, had been responsible for the shooting of his father in January 2001.
Those watching were able to see live Draco's arrest by a combined force of French and British Hit Wizards. Malfoy was later permitted to return to the show, deprived of his wand and under the voyeuristic eye of all the United Kingdom. Theodore Sherman, in light of Draco's admissions, was released from Azkaban and sent to St. Mungo's hospsital for treatment after his lengthy stay in Azkaban prison. After that, even Minister Sirius Black's appearance on the show to announce the declaration of "National Potter Day" could not compete.
In the end, Draco's criminal activities did not win him enough votes to come away with the prize, which was awarded to Hogwarts Professor Juliane Wilmott, with student Rene Jaubert coming in second place.
The buzz of Mirror Image gave way to the buzz that always surrounds a World Cup, as half of wizarding Britain decamped to the land down under for the month of August. There, Harry Potter, playing again for Scotland, announced his retirement from Quidditch -- he would be joining the Ministry's Auror training program in September. Back in England, the money-strapped Narcissa Malfoy finally began divorce proceedings against her husband, and made arrangements with her old friend Snape to replace Umbridge as Transfiguration Professor at Hogwarts.
Snape, meanwhile, finally faced reality and hired an assistant professor to help with the Defense courses: Remus Lupin. With these additions to the Hogwarts faculty, and Hagrid resuming his duties once more, things at Hogwarts seemed to be back to normal. There were some rumblings in the wizarding world, however -- an article by "Merlin", claiming the muggles had been coddled and protected for too long stirred up some discussion at dinner tables around the country.
The WWN, capitalizing on the success of Mirror Image, soon announced another show for the Mirror Network, this one a straight up drama titled "Mists of Fate". Produced by Celestina Warbeck, auditions were held and planning began.
At Hogwarts, a relatively sleepy year was interrupted only by a series of strange pranks -- at least what the professors initially assumed were pranks. But no culprits were found, and with classrooms turning upside down and knives flying through the air, many of the students muttered that more serious action needed to be taken.
As Hogwarts dealt with these random and disturbing incidents, life was busy dealing Draco Malfoy another blow. Urged by his friends, Theodore Sherman, the young wizard framed by Malfoy and his father, filed suit against Draco. Already deprived of much of his family's fortune by the successful claim of the Bertie Botts families, then sacked from his job and forced to do community service, the freezing of the remainder of his assets put Draco in dire straits. Meanwhile, Harry Potter and his long time girlfriend, Cecily Winters, got engaged.
A new and exciting restaurant opened in Diagon: Quaffles and Waffles. But in Hogsmeade, the residents successfully blocked (again) the arrival of Pollywobbles, the wizarding fast food chain.
Toward the end of the Hogwarts school year, a most distressing event occurred: Rachel McCullough, the Head Girl, fell to her death in the grand staircase at Hogwarts. Though investigation was made and the death ruled an accident, many of the students remained convinced there was something more sinister at work. In response to the accident and the other incident reports, two members of the Committee for Children's Safety, Reginald Black and Molly Weasley, went up to Hogwarts and inspected it during the summer. Nothing was found.
With neither a European nor a World Cup during the summer of 2003, many had been hoping for Mists of Fate, the new Mirror show, to alleviate the boredom. Unfortunately, the production was continually delayed due to internal conflict and upheaval amongst the staff. The broadcast was eventually put off until the fall. The organization C.A.R.P.E.T. did what they could to break the monotony, spreading pamphlets and gearing up for a serious campaign against the powerful Broom Lobby. The news that Draco Malfoy would be taking over as Seeker for the Chudley Cannons caused a minor sensation in July.
In September, Lucas Lovewell joined the faculty of Hogwarts as Wizarding Literature Professor, amidst rumors that a connection between him and Celestina Warbeck was behind delays of "Mists of Fate" and his next novel. The "Mists of Fate" story was made still more murky by an interview with Polly Covington, who intimated that it was the relationships of others causing the difficulties on the set. It is true that soon after that, another starlet's name was in the papers -- Averill Barlett was said to be the reason behind Olga Schlemacher's split from her live-in boyfriend. Whatever the true reason, "Mists of Fate" was delayed again until December.
After a calm start to the year, during which many hoped the strange incidents from the year before were but a memory, problems began again at Hogwarts. But there was also something new: The WWN, in spite of the difficulties with "Mists of Fate", was moving forward with a new program for the Mirror. The Hogwarts Tournament of Champions was scheduled to run in the summer of 2004 and trials began at the school to select the four students who will represent the houses on the program.
After over a year in production, "Mists of Fate", a 6 episode series, finally aired starting in November. Though not the smash hit the WWN hoped it would be, it was quite popular and the network soon announced it was renewed for a second series.
The year ended with disturbing news: Starbucks was building a shop in Diagon across from the Ministry.
The Ministry decided, in light of the continuing issues at Hogwarts, to send observers again. Reginald and Molly returned to the castle after the students were back from holiday, and began attending classes and listening to the students' tales of holes swallowing people, doors that won't open, and ceilings that collapse.
The source of the problems was not deterred by the Ministry observers, and strange things continued to happen both in and out of classes. But no further deaths took place, and as much as possible, life at Hogwarts continued uninterrupted. The trials for the Tournament of Champions concluded in the spring, and Sargas Black, Harmony Blanchard, Richard Peters and Sally Binks were chosen to represent their houses during the competition. Ravenclaw finished the Quidditch season undefeated (Gryffindor, on the other hand, failed to win a single game) and Slytherin won the House Cup.
But the school year was to end with several disturbing incidents which would cast a pall back over the relatively unexciting year. First, one of Professor Trelawney's divination classes was the scene of a strange visitation. While the students were attempting to see the future in smoke and fire, a shadowy apparition appeared in the same and pointed accusingly at the observer, Reginald Black. Though the wands of all present were inspected, no culprit for the prank could be discovered.
And then, as everyone was enjoying their food at the Leaving Feast, a strange thing began to happen in the Great Hall. The ghosts of the castle, far more than usually bothered to attend such events, were seen to be circling the room. After a little while it became apparent that the ghosts were not doing this of their own free will, but were caught up by some unseen force. The Professors acted quickly, but even their combined efforts were not enough to prevent almost every ghost at Hogwarts from being sucked unwillingly into a magical vortex.
Those few ghosts who escaped the trap, including Moaning Myrtle and the Head of Nick (though not his body), were unable to provide any useful information, leaving the fate of the other ghosts a complete mystery.
The Ministry and the Professors once again investigated the castle during the summer. They were unable to locate the ghosts, but they did happen upon several apparitions similar to the one which had appeared in Divination in the spring. This time the figure was clearer, and it was thought it might have been wearing a Hogwarts uniform. Hagrid, among those investigating, seemed especially disturbed by the sight.
Meanwhile, the Tournament of Champions was broadcast over the WWN's Mirror Network, drawing big ratings and promising exciting competition between the four Houses of Hogwarts. The participating students were granted special permission to use magic during the course of the event, which took place over several days. Though not as lethal as the Triwizard Tournament, the WWN tried hard to make the challenges as difficult and interesting as possible. The network was also able to try out its Mirror magic in an outside arena, a necessary first step toward being able to broadcast quidditch matches visually.
Slytherin Sargas Black eventually won the tournament for Slytherin, and was awarded the grand prize, which included a trip for four to Australia.
The summer also saw a surge in protests by the group C.A.R.P.E.T. (Citizens Against Regulations Proscribing Effective Transportation), culminating in a very large one which took place in early August just outside the gates of the Ministry complex. The group's blatant display of the forbidden magic carpets forced the Ministry to issue citations to many of protestors, including both Molly and Ginny Weasley. Three days later, Minister Black announced that the embargo against magic carpets was ended and they were now legal in the U.K.
But this surprising news was quickly chased from the headlines by an even more exciting story. The wedding of Harry Potter and Cecily Winters, long anticipated as the social event of the season, took a strange turn when the bride chose to flee the venue before the marriage took place, leaving Potter and everyone else in confusion.
The wizarding world was still busy gossiping about the Potter scandal when school at Hogwarts resumed in September. In spite of the disturbing lack of ghosts at the school, things were quiet. Very quiet. There were few of the strange incidents that had marred the past two years, and everything proceeded according to plans. At least one set of parents was unnerved enough by this that they removed their children from the school.
The second season of Mists of Fate began airing soon after school began again, giving people another distraction, along with the Professional quidditch season which was getting underway. There had been significant tinkering to the show's cast and plot for the second series, to add additional plotlines and interest. Though ratings were good, a third series was not immediately announced. This may have been due to the pregnancy of one of the show's stars, Polly Covington, who had been seeing Ron Weasley.
A bit later that fall, Ginny Weasley made significant progress on one of her personal projects. Long interested in Tom Riddle and his history, she had been working on a book about his childhood and early adulthood. To this end, she had acquired from McGonagall the contents of Dumbledore's Pensieve which related to Riddle. A draft of the book was completed and she leant copies to her friends for feedback.
By the Ministry's tree-lighting ceremony in mid-December, Ron was back with his ex, Hermione. Harry was pressed into service as a waiter, and the Minister presented the tree. Later, Sirius finally proposed to his long time girlfriend, and the pair informed her family at Christmas. Ron in particular was shocked.
The new year began as quietly as the old had ended. The students returned to the still calm Hogwarts and classes resumed. The problems of the past two years had not been forgotten, however, and the Professors and the Ministry continued their attempts to get to the bottom of things.
Finally, on February 10th, an exploratory group went down to The Root of Hogwarts to see what might be discovered there. But the group was unable to reach the Root; they were prevented by a barrier of suspicious similarity to the one which had encased Hogwarts during The Siege.
The Headmaster immediately evacuated the castle, and the students were gathered outside before the entire population marched down to Hogsmeade. Unbeknownst to everyone, however, Voldemort (for it was he who had taken control of the Root) reached out and cast Imperius on several of the evacuating students, gaining a hold on their minds.
The evacuation went smoothly, and no one was hurt. In fact, there was no outward evidence that Voldemort's influence reached beyond the castle itself. Little more than a week later, school was able to resume in a new location: the Dalrymple Hotel, in Diagon Alley. Though this location was unable to provide lodging for all students and forced most from wizarding families to commute from home, the transition was surprisingly free of problems.
In the midst of all of this, a personal upheaval was taking place: Polly Covington had given birth to a child she named Vetiver. For nine months Ron Weasley had, with Polly's assurances, thought the child was his. But as soon as it was born, it was clear that this could not possibly be the case. Molly's hopes for a grandchild were dashed for the time being.
While the Ministry and the faculty grappled with the problem of exorcising Voldemort from the castle, the students Voldemort had a grip on felt the urge to research the Death Eater Bellatrix Lestrange. Lestrange was among those who had escaped from Azkaban back in 1997, and had not been captured after The Siege. Eventually, through their various efforts, she was alerted and returned to make contact with her Master.
Voldemort had specific instructions for her. Though he was now able to exert some slight control over the Root, and consequently over the castle, he was still trapped. He theorized this was a result of the splitting of his soul and the fact that less than half of him remained together. Bellatrix was told to use the students to gather up the horcruxes and return them to him. In pursuit of this, she paid a surprise visit to her sister Narcissa. The transfiguration professor found herself locked in a room while Bellatrix, courtesy of the polyjuice potion, took her place at the Hotel.
The Ministry, unfortunately, was still in the dark until Reginald Black provided them with some useful information. He informed the Aurors of the fact that Voldemort had created more than one horcrux and was even able to turn over one such to them -- an old locket. The Ministry, now provided with a direction, if not with any idea of how to get started, began casting about for the possible locations of these additional horcruxes.
Bellatrix, meanwhile, with exact instructions, was soon able to put her hands on the first horcrux -- a ring which had been buried in the ruins of a house. She quickly returned it to Voldemort, who gave her the location of the next horcrux. But the Ministry had its first stroke of luck around this time. Several of those working on the problem recalled Ginny's book draft, and they went to her to see if she could provide additional information. She and Harry reexamined the memories Dumbledore had collected, and were able to glean additional information about some of the missing horcruxes.
With this information in hand, the quest to gather the horcruxes became a true race. Bellatrix was hampered by the fact that her assistants were all underage and only loosely under her control. The Ministry had little exact information as to the whereabouts of the items.
The summer did not put a stop to the race, though it slowed Bellatrix down considerably. The general public, of course, had no idea of what was going on, and were readily distracted by the arrival of the European Cup tournament, which was held in Iceland during the month of August. For the first time, George and Fred Weasley, Beaters during the regular season for Puddlemere United, were asked to play for Ireland. And Ireland came out on top, burying Latvia in the final to take the European Cup title.
Back in England, Bellatrix discovered the Ministry's involvement after she went to collect one particular horcrux and found it already gone. On her way back, she encountered Fenrir Greyback in the sewers under Knockturn, and he promised to exchange some information with her for a price. Her agreement sealed the fate of several of the students who had been assisting her. At their later meeting, Bellatrix agreed to provide Fenrir with several new victims, and he told her that the Ministry had taken the horcrux.
The Ministry's teams encountered problems of their own. One team, exploring a series of caves inside the mountain near Hogsmeade came upon a lake full of inferi snakes, which attacked the party as soon as they attempted to collect the horcrux they were guarding. Harry Potter was injured in the process, but the Minister and Kingsley Shacklebolt waere the ones who bore the brunt of the attack. The Healers at St. Mungo's managed to save them both, but it was a very close call.
Better prepared, a new group from the Ministry returned to the cave to make a second attempt for the horcrux, but instead found a group of students inside, fleeing from the angry inferi snakes. After rescuing the students, the Ministry learned of Narcissa's apparent involvement in the business, and they promptly executed a raid on Malfoy Manor. There they found Narcissa imprisoned in one of the bedrooms. After close questioning, they were unable to find a hole in her story, and a search began for Bellatrix.
Bellatrix, however, was ahead of them, and had already captured someone else. Dean Thomas, roommate of Ron Weasley and worker for the Northern Star newspaper, was taken prisoner and kept under Voldemort's watch in the Root while Bellatrix took his place. She completed her arrangements to send her former student assistants into the clutches of Greyback, and resumed her hunt for the remaining horcruxes.
The students were lured by a mysterious note to the Museum of Magical Creatures on the night of the full moon. Once there, an argument ensued amongst the group, and several of the students retreated back to the hotel to warn an adult of what was going on. Three, however, chose to take the provided portkey and their chances with what was obviously a trap. Unfortunately for Jeoffrey Winthrop, Lucy Feldspar and Cora Petit, the trap was sprung on them much too quickly for them to react. Fenrir, in werewolf form, quickly rendered them unconscious and left them well-bitten. Though they were rescued a short time later, it was too late: they were now werewolves.
Happier news was soon available to distract the public, if not those directly affected by all of the events. On October 29th, Minister Black was finally wed to his long time girlfriend, Ginny Weasley. The Minister, recovered from his encounter with the snake, departed for a two week holiday, his first since taking office. But it wasn't all holiday, as he and his new wife came upon the recently deserted campsite of one Peter Pettigrew while they were exploring the island upon which they were staying. The authorities were alerted, but Pettigrew remained elusive.
Efforts by the Ministry to recover more horcruxes had slowed to a crawl, due to a lack of knowledge of where to look. Exploratory teams were sent out again and again, only to return with nothing. Finally, a new location was discovered inside the crypt at the cemetery where the Riddles were buried. The group discovered that this horcrux had already been collected, but were pleased (and chagrined) to find it was an item which had been in their possession all along -- the sword of Godric Gryffindor.
The new year began as the old one had ended: in search of any remaining horcruxes. But the Ministry had already begun to shift people from this task; there was no way to tell how many horcruxes Bellatrix had acquired, nor was there any definitive answer as to how many there were in total. With three in their possession, people from several Departments worked on trying to figure out how to use those three to somehow force Voldemort from the castle.
In the meantime, classes at the hotel were ongoing, but after a full year of being dislocated from Hogwarts, the students (and the public) were beginning to grumble. To all outside the efforts, it appeared as if little was going on and no progress was being made. The Ministry had been successful at keeping the horcruxes from the news, but unfortunately that made it impossible to be more than vague about what was being attempted.
Finally, after endless meetings and back and forth, the Ministry settled on a plan. On April 17th, A large contingent of Hit Wizards, Aurors, Spirit Division employees and Hogwarts faculty gathered some distance outside of Hogsmeade and began setting up an apparatus to hold the three horcruxes they had captured. To the surprise of many, the plan was as successful as they'd hoped: the combined magical power of the horcruxes and the witches and wizards casting the spell was enough to suck Voldemort from the Root in much the same way as he had earlier captured all of the Hogwarts ghosts.
During the short battle which ensued, the Minister sustained a concussion, and Harry Potter managed to impale himself on Gryffindor's sword, but most other injuries were minor. The group, which included Hermione Granger, Severus Snape, Remus Lupin and Rubeus Hagrid, managed to subdue the shade of Voldemort and trap it in a specially prepared muggle television set. The television set, along with the horcruxes, were then brought to the Ministry and disposed of by the Department of Mysteries in a secret manner.
Reports, of course, were as inaccurate as they tend to be, and, in the eyes of the public, Harry Potter got most of the credit for what had happened.
The Ministry moved to recapture Hogwarts immediately, and during their initial inspection discovered Dean Thomas and liberated him from the Root. Bellatrix, however, escaped. It was decided by the Governors to finish out the school year at the Dalrymple rather than attempt to move everyone back to Hogwarts at such a late date. Instead, the Leaving Feast only would take place at Hogwarts, following a special trip on the Hogwarts Express.