test drive meme | 002

[multigen]

WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS HAPPENING?
(this is all very absurd.)

MINISTRY OF MAGIC sorry, it seems the ministry of magic is out of order right now! literally. every single time you step through a door, you end up somewhere entirely else. it looks like all the rooms have been scrambled and apparition is not working. this is going to make registration even more of a pain in the arse, isn't it? while ministry officials try to figure out the root of this problem, perhaps you can test your fortune by wandering through a couple more entryways for the right department or attempt to find the nearest exit. best of luck to you! DIAGON ALLEY if you're planning a trip to diagon alley, perhaps you should choose another date. the streets have inexplicably been swarmed with different types of creatures and most of them don't look particularly friendly. you might want to watch out what you decide to pet. but have no fear! the ministry are sending their best to come and round up all these beasts — at least once they've located the exit. feel free to risk going about your business or even assist with the problem at hand though. no one's going to stop you. just remember: don't harm the creatures! HOGWARTS why are we suddenly back in hogwarts? well, it's happening! feel free to explore the inner walls of the castle or, perhaps, venture out into the grounds. there is just the slightest catch. you're not actually physically there. it's a real out of body experience, yet, for the oddest reason, everyone can see and feel you all the same. try to avoid going out into the forbidden forest though. it's not the safest of places and you can still get hurt! M.I.A.V.I. not in the mood to go out? or maybe you're stuck in the waiting room at st. mungo's because you've been bit by a rowdy beast you tried to pick up. disregarding the reason, it's sure a good thing you've conveniently brought along your m.i.a.v.i. pen so feel free to browse the public network, create your own post, or private message someone! OTHER not interested in any of the options above? feel free to make up your own! the wizarding world is huge, so get creative with it. the setting is october of 1980. have fun testing out and shaping your characters, mingle with others, and start getting those crs down! FAQ | CAST | RESERVES | APPLICATIONS | WANTED | NAVIGATION got questions? dropbox us!

Comments

[alwaysreturns]

[About ten thousand thoughts race through Ron's head, only he generally prefers a speed of about 2k thoughts per minute and this is A Lot. Does he say no, protect Harry, do his best to keep them apart? No, stupid, Wizard London isn't that big. Does he tell Harry himself? Let him be surprised? No, that's a shite thing to do to a friend.

This is a shite thing, period.]

He's here but

I mean, it's been

[Rip off the bloody bandaid Ron, this is too much to sneak around.]

It's just been a few years since the tournament, for us

[sparely]

[ It's pretty damn clear that Ron Weasley isn't telling him something, and Cedric's not dumb. He can figure that much out. Something must have happened to him. Has the wizarding world gone darker again? Have there been more attacks like at the Cup?

Did more criminals escape Azkaban?

There's really no way to figure it out without asking. ]

What happened to me?

Or is it that something's happened to the rest of you, and it's my fault somehow?

[alwaysreturns]

It's not your fault at all

[That seems the fairest thing to say. What was it Harry said - how do you blame the 'spare?' Ron twists his quill in his fingers for a few moments, which just means there's a smattering of ink spots coming through his page. Bloody hell.]

Where are you? Maybe we should talk in person

[Which is like, the last thing in the world he wants to do, but it feels right somehow, doesn't it?]

[sparely]

[ He doesn't want to jump to conclusions. There's any number of things, really, that are better discuss in person. The sinking feeling in his gut, it could mean anything. ]

I'm in the back of a tea shop. Sweetea, it's called.

Ron... what the bloody hell is so bad

I'll be here another thirty minutes.

[alwaysreturns]

[So he can put this off for about 29 minutes, then. Right? Shit.

This is not, by any means, what Ron is good at. But he apparates nearby, trudges slowly toward the tea shop. He doesn't want to do this. Who else is going to?

Ron stops outside, scrubs at his face. Fuck.

When he heads inside, he scans for Cedric, hoping not to see him. He has to work to keep his shoulders from sagging when he notices the Hufflepuff, looking, well - looking just like Ron remembers him.]

Hey.

[sparely]

[ Ron isn't the only one he's been talking to, and Cedric's expression exists somewhere in the space between blank and pensive. Cho all but...no, he thinks, she's confirmed it. She's confirmed that he's died.

His eyes lift from his cup of now cold tea and he stares at Ron a minute. There are the differences that one expects between fifteen and seventeen, of course; he looked almost entirely different as a fourth year and a seventh. But there's...well.

Ron Weasley looks tired. ]

You've cut off all that hair, I see.

[alwaysreturns]

[Comes from being Harry Potter's best mate, most likely. Ron starts to reach up, confused at first. But he remembers his hair that year, and smiles vaguely as he sits down.]

Yeah. Got too annoying, I guess.

[There are a lot of things that Ron would like to just push off on other people, or at least have some camaraderie for. But bravery isn't just sacrificing yourself in a mad chess game, or signing up to fight Death Eaters and You-Know-Who.]

I'm sorry, mate. Wish there was someone better around to - catch you up.

[sparely]

Cho's here.

[ He's keeping his voice low, and they can pretend it's just because it's best that they not be overheard in this shop. He put a muffling charm around the table after he closed the miavi, but.

Increasingly it feels like it's the time to develop a little paranoia. ]

I get the feeling that she's older than I remember her, but I don't want to put this on her. It's not fair to her. Not fair to you, either, but...

[ He clears his throat. ]

So. I'm dead, in your year. And I'm guessing I didn't make it out mine.

[alwaysreturns]

[Ron startles a little. Cho? He hasn't seen hide nor hair of her, and the look on his face says it's certainly news to him. But really, ought he be surprised at all? Whatever's pulling them to this place isn't exactly clear.

And then Cedric lays it all out, and Ron lets out a long, slow breath he hadn't realized he'd been hiding. He's right, after all: it's not fair to put it on Cho of all people. Maybe it is better that Ron do it. It's a nice thought to keep in mind, at least.

So he nods slowly, leaning forward. He's had plenty of time to develop his paranoia.]

The cup was a portkey. You-Know-Who - he was behind it all. He was the reason Harry got chosen. He needed him, so he could come back.

[sparely]

[ Everyone's still pretending everything's just fine in the spring of 1995. There are isolated incidents, of course, but their parents - the Ministry, too - are adamant that You-Know-Who is dead, that the Death Eaters are dead or locked away. But Cedric's not a fool, and he's older than Ron and Harry.

There's been something weird most of the years that Harry Potter's been at school, and it can't be coincidence. He doesn't believe it's Harry Potter looking for attention, either, the opinion of a certain portion of the school. He likes what he knows about Harry too much to believe that.

All of which makes what Ron says all too plausible. Cedric scrubs his hands over his hair. ]

Right. Of course. And what, I was in the way? Or I tried to stop him?

I'm sorry, I'm sure you don't want to talk about this, and if he came back, the last couple years must be even worse.

[alwaysreturns]

It's...[Ron shifts his chair a little closer to the table, uses it as an excuse to hunch his shoulders forward, forearms resting on the tabletop.]

Harry didn't talk about it much. [They talked about how this wasn't fair to Cho, or to Ron, but is it really fair to Cedric to tell him Voldemort thought he was a spare? No, Ron decides. He doesn't need to hear that.]

But it happened fast. Once you got there, I think. You-Know-Who didn't want anyone else there.

And blimey, it's-- [He shrugs, shakes his head, because how else does he put into words the horcrux hunt?] A lot's happened. He took over the ministry earlier this, well, earlier in the year for me.

[sparely]

[It would be hard for him to describe his reaction to all of this, to be honest. It was one thing - one incredibly off-putting, jarring thing - to one minute be in a maze at Hogwarts and the next be waking up in his bedroom at home. To have to slip out of that room because it's clearly not really yours.

It was another to find out that by doing that, you escaped...postponed...death. He wonders if there's a way to get back, and figures there must not be, if Ron is sitting in front of him. And does he want to, knowing what's there?

He's a bit pale and silent, and who can really blame him? ]

He's got the Ministry here too, from what I saw in the copy of the Prophet I picked up.

[ It's easier, at least for a second, to focus on the here and now, the big problems, not the small, mostly insignificant issue that is him, supposed to be dead. But Cedric's not the type to push things into a corner and ignore them. ]

Look, I don't want to upset Harry more than he probably is. If it's that bad, in your year, he - and you - have probably got enough on your plates. So you don't need to tell him I'm about.

[alwaysreturns]

What, and let him bump into you on the street? [Seems like a bad plan, too. Ron knows he ought to feel bad - Cedric was all right, as school things go - but it's Harry's side he will probably always take. Even if there aren't really sides here, so much as, well. Harry's been through a lot, and Ron's recent guilt is far from assuaged.]

Not a great idea. But it's all right, what's going on back home - well it still matters, obviously, but we've all got a bit more pressing matters to deal with, yeah? We're trying to stop him, and - and get back home.

[He hesitates a little, realizing that's...not something Cedric is probably so eager to do, now. And frankly, Ron wouldn't want to send him back to die. What if there's a way to save him?]

[sparely]

[ London's a big city, Cedric thinks, and there's no reason he needs to stay here. Technically speaking, unless he registers - something that seems like less of a good idea the longer he sits in this version of 1980 - there's no play for him to stay. He doesn't have much in the way of access to money, either.

He'd like to think there's a way to save him from the death - and maybe there is, maybe this pessimism is part and parcel of just dealing what he's barely learned - but that would change the future, wouldn't it? Besides, what would he do? Kill Voldemort?

He reaches out and turns his cup in his saucer. It seems to be idle, but even Ron can't be fooled by that.

Right. Back home. He looks up and gives Ron a serious stare.]

And what exactly are you lot doing about those pressing matters? What exactly do you expect me to do?