Latest Site Notices

Anna Banana · 12-19-2010, 05:48 PM

GULPING GARGOYLES!

A bit confused on the plot? Seen some mysterious happenings going on and curious as to what it's all about? What in the world is going on in the Ministry of Magic RPG? Here's where you can catch up on all the happenings around the Ministry of Magic. If you have something to add that relates to employees in general, mysterious happenings around the Ministry, and isn't a personal roleplay, please feel free to post about it in here. Double posting is okay in this space. There definitely is a place to post all about your personal roleplays, though! Those type discussions can go here, in the Wizarding World Chat.

For summaries of past Ministry terms, be sure to check out the Interdepartmental Flying Memos!

Remember that this thread is OOC knowledge only unless your character heard this information from others or witnessed the actual event, your character doesn't know about it.

What do I do if there's no activity or plotting in my department?
It's possible that there may not be a plot or organized roleplay happening in your department each and every day. What we're hoping is that you'll take the opportunity to create your own roleplays (within reason), whether they be work-related or something personal to your character. Nothing happening on your level? Then roleplay something happening! No drama or nothing to take part in? Create something! There's many different threads in your department and around the Ministry that you're free to explore and create roleplays in! You are also encouraged to contact your department head with ideas and concepts!

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Current Ministry of Magic RPG Staff
Ministry of Magic Admin: sweetpinkpixie
Minister for Magic: Charles Hollingberry (sweetpinkpixie)
Head of Magical Law Enforcement [DMLE]: Franklin Paton (Zoe)
Head of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes [DMAC]: ---- (Nordic Witch)
Head of Ecological Regulation and Protection [DERP]: Violet Fawley (Nordic Witch)
Head of International Magical Cooperation [DIMC]: Isaek Edelbach (Charely Potter)
Head of Magical Transportation [DMT]: Almer Toots (Zoe)
Head of Magical Games and Sports [DMGS]: Firash Grunt (Charely Potter)
Head of Mysteries [DoM]: Airey Flamsteed (sweetpinkpixie)

Krel Ansell · 07-26-2019, 12:17 PM

Did someone upset maintenance?

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Announcer

With the warming temperatures outside the ministry's cooling charms always keeps the departments comfortable and happy, but as the day goes on it might start feeling colder and colder on level seven. Who was so hot that the room felt it needed to cool down so much?

Krel Ansell · 08-16-2019, 12:24 PM

It does kinda look like someone upset maintenance!

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Announcer

If one listened closely, there were a few clunk clunk sounds almost as if windows had been shut despite the fact that the windows on this level weren’t designed to open.

A moment later the view in the enchanted windows changed from a sunny blue-skied day to a rainy downpour; the tap of rain pelted against the glass like a staccato drum beat. The beat of the rain accelerated into a crescendo of noise.

And just as quickly stopped, the windows going black.

Hopefully you had your desk lamp or overhead light on, because lumos and other lighting charms will not work. In fact, it seems that none of the department charms were working. With any luck you’ve been keeping up with your multilingual skills because that foreign visitor you’re talking with is suddenly no longer speaking the Queen’s English.

Ginevra · 08-19-2019, 11:55 AM

Something's happened to the Fountain of Magical Brethren!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Announcer

Amid DERP’s colorful arrival, had one been paying attention to the Fountain of Magical Brethren, they would have noticed that the jets of water spurting from the tips of the witch and wizard’s wands sputtered. The stream changed from strong and steady to soft and babbling and back again. The water coming from the tips of the goblin’s hat, the centaur’s arrow, and the house elf’s ears faltered and then stopped all together.

As the memo hit the Ministry of Magic in the face, a sudden and unusual silence emanated from the fountain.

Did someone shut the fountain off?

emjay · 08-21-2019, 11:04 PM

The Department of Magical Transportation is currently holding a condensed Apparition class for anyone 17 years of age or older, interested in obtaining an Apparition license.

sweetpinkpixie · 09-04-2019, 06:17 AM

here we go

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie

URGENT NOTICE
FROM THE MINISTER FOR MAGIC

With the reports from the Department of Environmental Regulation and Protection bringing new light to the Hogwarts situation. We have confirmation that this is no weather phenomenon, there are no toxins in the air, and that we are dealing with physical entity (possibly shapeshifting in nature) that has very real responses to magical stimulation.

The time has come for a second attempt to breach Hogwarts' walls, this join by join effort from the Departments of Magical Law Enforcement, Magical Accidents & Catastrophes, and the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Debriefing documents have been distributed among the levels an further instruction will come from your respective department heads. This mission is ranked DANGEROUS and has three objectives:

All capable and able hands are required for this mission and one should contact their department head immediately with interest so that teams may be assembled and enough emergency portkeys created for each member by the Department of Magical Transportation.

Charles Hollingberry, Minister for Magic

...keep your eyes peeled here

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Narrator

In the midst of isolation following the departure of the last Ministry team, an eerie silence has settled over the grounds of Hogwarts. There is a stillness in the air, reminiscent of the fact the castle has truly and by all means been abandoned.

Approaching the gate, you’ll notice the mist has receded, allowing for more access than had previously been possible. Now, one could make it nearly to the lake in one direction and just shy of the courtyard in the next. Is it finally letting up or simply moved to somewhere else?

What hasn’t changed, is the thick nature of the mist where it remains. Stepping in will be no different from before, vision beyond an arm’s length virtually impossible.

Hopefully you’ve come more prepared this time.

lazykitty · 09-16-2019, 06:19 AM

An update on the mist situation:

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Narrator

The mist continued to thicken (seemingly coming from the the top of the grand staircase) and while the entirety of the entrance hall was shrouded in darkness, not a single torch lit, one could still make out shifting figures in the gloomy haze. Encroaching. Encircling. From the inky corners, the nooks and crannies around the hourglasses, slipping out of the broomstick cupboard, descending down the staircase and from the corridors branching off from its top. Their numbers began to increase and only thickened the feeling of fear in the air.

Not real? They certainly were very real. And they were creeping closer and closer..

Suddenly, as with every other encounter, indistinguishable forms suddenly lurched out from the mist and grabbed hold of those (Felixir, lazykitty & TakemetotheBurrow) closest to them. Holding tightly. Refusing to let go.

Still not feel real?

Though something unexpected happened. The forms latching on bleed into another shape, that which would terrorize the mind of their victim, but then it faded into another. Another form that could strike fear into the heart of the human closest to their captive audience. And then a blend of the two. A blend of three. Then a form resembling none of them at all. A muddled amalgam of frights.

DUN DUN DUN.....

lazykitty · 09-24-2019, 03:20 PM

Another update on the Hogwarts situation: IT WAS BOGGARTS!

Quote:

Originally Posted by BOGGARTS!

Boggarts.

By the hundreds. No. By the thousands if one were able to take a proper head count.

Infiltrating any and all dark crevasses found in Hogwarts castle, the swarm had moved across the country shrouded the mist in a collective effort to conceal them within it. Humans, magical and not, all feared the unknown and en masse this had become their most efficient means of mobility.

Those few who had been struck by Riddikulus remained hidden in their metallic sanctuaries inside suits of armour or the drawers of some of the cabinets lining the corridor. But it would take much...MUCH...more than that to rid Hogwarts of this infestation. A tedious task ahead but with an end in sight, maybe.

As one wave retreated, another wave swooped in. Trying to appear even more menacing and intimidating in forms than the first.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Felixir

It was a long shot, and a risky one at that. The Boggart-Banishing Spell was good for one thing, and one thing only, and it didn't take a genius to figure out what that thing was. If this was anything else, anything more dark or dangerous, Jake could have easily wasted his best shot.

But he was... free? He was free. It had worked, and not just for him, but the others too.

Backing away slightly, Jake watched as the figures whirled and fled, all the while feeling a mixture of relief and unease. The latter was probably because, despite knowing what the beings - uh, non-beings - were, the overwhelming sense of fear still stuck with him. He turned his head to glance at the others in the group, Alexa in particular, though he naturally ended up trying to assess the status of everyone as much as he could with just a brief look.

"... Now we know..." Sort of. That helped. A bit.

But there was a lot that they still didn't know. Like how on earth were there so many here? Was there someone behind it? Had the boggarts themselves orchestrated it all, or was just some kind of... weird phenomenon? How exactly had those kids died? Jake could think of about half a dozen possibilities in that moment alone.

As it happened, there wasn't actually much time to think about the details or the whys and wherefores. Unsurprisingly, there were more boggarts, swooping forward in the very next moment. Acting instinctively, Jake raised his blackthorn wand again and pointed it at one of the advancing figures. "Riddikulus!"

New question: how on earth were they going to get rid of them all? One at a time, in a continued onslaught of the Boggart-Banishing Spell? There were so many places in Hogwarts for these things to hide, maybe even places that nobody knew about... he wasn't even sure if they could be guaranteed to get them all. If Jake had had a moment to fully consider the matter, he'd probably have been exhausted just thinking about the task ahead.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Holmesian Feline

Simon wasn’t aware of the full report from Environmental and Creatures so he left Alexa’s question to be answered by those more knowledgeable on the matter. He was still paying attention to what might be said however, seeing as any part of it might prove useful for him in this mission. Anything that could help was to be a benefit to them. That and casting a few spells as he slowly progressed in search of the abnormal that could lead to solving the mystery or mysteries rather that them came here to solve.

As first one call and then another concerning the lost students, the auror turned security head didn’t need clarification to know it wasn’t good news. The tones expressed by Ronan and Jake said it all. He sighed and paused, lowering his head for but a moment. Kids...just kids. It didn’t get any easier over the years in dealing with death on the job especially those of the young. But it did strengthen one’s resolve to get to the bottom of things, Simon regrouping and continuing forward into the mist and letting those who had found their charges take care of them.

Before long the large doors that stood to greet the average visitor and inhabitant loomed over for them to enter, Simon tentatively doing just that. No point not going further by exploring the interior of the great castle. The feel was far from what he had ever felt there, even when he was first came as a small nervous eleven-year-old. Oppressive and unnerving to say the very least. He swallowed to gather himself, catching Alexa’s instruction about not moving alone and nearly berating himself. He’d grown so used to handling security often on his own that the safety in numbers didn’t always naturally occur.

If only he had the likes of Josh or Sabel to remain his partners.

Simon spotted the nearest member of their little group, a woman from one of the other departments he believed and moved to head along with her. “Anything on your end?” he asked, grabbing for any information from his current partner. He didn’t get any sort of answer from her at first, figuring she might not have heard him. Though before he could repeat himself there was the screams and he whipped around to investigate. Unfortunately the mist had seeped around and was impeding more of his vision.

“Lum---” he started to cast, stopping sort as the form he had been following was now collapsed on the floor. His eyes widening at the scene and bring him up short.

Wha…

Quote:

Originally Posted by TakemetotheBurrow

When the boggart lunged again, Emilia's eyes widened considerably, but her relief came shortly after. It had worked. The spell had worked. "Good thinking, Jake." Great, even. Now they knew the what that they were dealing with, but there were still so many. Far too many, if you asked her.

She tried to remember everything she knew about the creatures while casting another Riddikulus at the non-beings. It seemed like they were coming from everywhere, and she didn't see how they could trap them all. She'd do her part to trap some, at least.

"Riddikulus!"

"Should we summon something to trap them? Something we can lock?" Trunks, containers with lids, anything. She hoped the creatures crew had some plan in mind, because she wasn't sure they could cover this whole castle with the small group they had assembled.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lazykitty

Thankfully, his question wasn't important to the task they were currently facing-getting the creatures out of Hogwarts. It could help steer the direction of the investigation into how they managed to invade the castle, however.

As he started back up the staircase, Ronan overheard Emilia's question and answered by quickly transfiguring the suits of armor and cabinets the things had chosen to hide in into military-style steel trunks with the modification of thick locks, just to be sure the boggarts couldn't get free. And thank goodness it was quick, too, as more took their places in the assault. He aimed his wand at one and cast a silent Riddikulus, imaging the Inferius dressed as a 'gangster' with a small chuckle.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Charely Potter

As soon as his spell hit, Darej moved toward the figure to divert its attention. He was still angry at being in a vulnerable state earlier. He wanted to teach this thing a lesson. However, this was going to take more than Depulso as his eyes widened beneath his hardened brows at the changing form. It was burning and changing... That's when the proper spell hit directly sending it into hiding. Nodding in agreement.

Boggarts... That's what it was. It made sense as Darej got re-acquainted with his surroundings. His wand arm was out. Boggarts loved to linger in dark and enclosed spaces. They were like snakes, preferring to recluse themselves until tampered with. The question came and that sent him thinking rapidly. Where could they be sent to? Didn't the school have a vanishing cabinet in the Room of Requirement? Would this really be worth the treck into finding enough of them? Out of the corner of his eye, he could see one of the Aurors attempting to transfigure the suits of armor into trunks.

"Good idea.. we should make it small and portable." After all, Boggarts can take on any size. He could transfer one of the vases into a purse. Darej however, could see the danger was only going to get worse as more arrived. "Riddikulus!" His voice boomed to his regular volume, he would laugh at the sight of the figure falling to a mass of sheets.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BOGGARTS!

The trunks were effective, perhaps even a bit overkill given that a single boggart could be kept at bay within the confines of a locked closet. But better safe than sorry at this point.

While a few of their kin were now successfully contained and ready for transport, the rest continued to swoop down in almost relentless numbers upon their wand wielding foes. Some forms grotesque and specific. Others split into segments of multiple fears and horrors. Others became almost comical looking hodgepodges of several shapes.

Their numbers overwhelming and with the upper hand, the present climate was an uphill battle...and you all caught on your heels.

**The Announcer** · 10-21-2019, 07:25 AM

Who: all of the wizarding public
OOC: we encourage you to play your Ministry characters at this event but you are by no means limited to them! Play as many characters as you wish! Simply distinguish them all with different font colors and/or fonts, please.
Where: the Atrium at the Ministry of Magic
Why: to ring in the new century and start of a new working year at the Ministry of Magic through a formal fundraising event!

We look forward to seeing you there!

Krel Ansell · 11-01-2019, 01:38 AM

The Silent Auction is ending soon.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sourgreengremlin

The whole magic carpet conundrum was turning out to be quite the headache with only Conley seeming to know what anyone was actually talking about. If the situation were a bit different, Charles felt that this could have been the set up to a rather amusing joke along the veins of how many department heads it took to screw in a light bulb. Quite unusual for both Kendra and Victoria to be disorganized with their paperwork.

Merlin this was quickly becoming stuffy conversation now, wasn't it?

"We shall all simply have to regroup at the Ministry on Monday and see if we can get the matter sorted and properly document," he nodded to the trio accompanied with a casual clearing of the throat. "Clerical error somewhere, surely."

And here he thought the interdepartmental memo situation had been rectified.

"Yes. The bubbly," he chuckled while patting Victoria's hand draped around his arm as he bowed his head politely to the rest of the group. "If you will excuse us, raspberry bubblies call and I must make a final bids announcement." He waved his hand among the group. "Hop to it if you haven't already."

And then the Fletcher Family was unfolding before his eyes and despite the formality that the situation, mostly, demanded...Charles found the whole scene heartwarming and brought a rather pleasant twinkle to his eye. "Not at all, Mr. Fletcher," he grinned as he unraveled his arm from around Victoria's to place both of his hands firmly on the younger man's shoulders with a gentle squeeze. "Always have been the family man...and you have a very lovely one I can see." His eyes drifted to the young man and then to his charming wife. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mrs. Fletcher," he greeted the woman with a polite hand shake. "Charles Hollingberry, Minister for Magic. Very much looking forward to working alongside your husband in the Minister's Office." And then it was as though the Glitter Puff were baiting the man. Though, to be fair, it was quite easy to get the man to ramble on and on about his own family.

"You absolutely did!" his voice boomed, CLEARLY pleased that he had remembered his beautiful daughter. "She spoke quite highly of you, a first year during the whole Triwizard Tournament at Hogwarts. Though you were not her favorite champion to start, I lament to recall. She was quite close with a Miss Cameron Caddock...were you close with her? My precious ray of perfect sunshine always spoke fondly of the older Gryffindor. One of her first mentors at Hogwarts. She also spoke highly of a Raiden Kururugi...whom you needed to work together with to defeat a rather savage cockatrice. Oooooooh...she wrote PAGES and pages about that final task. A rather bit of brilliant thinking on your part to mimic the call of a rooster to confuse the beast. My daughter, she is a renowned dragonologist now...by the way. Works as a fertility specialist specifically trying to increase the dragon number of endangered species. I have pictures I can show you sometime..and of my five grandchildren her and her husband, Lewis...who was a Hufflepuff as well, blessed me with. Truly terrible what wizardingkind can do to creatures, don't you think? Hunting them nearly to the point of extinction. Getting those great creatures to mate under pressure and incubate their eggs according is quite remarkable...not to mention the conditioning required to get them acclimated back to their natural environment away from the reservation. It's quite delicate work but very important work. But anyway...back to this cockatrice," he chuckled a bit and smoothed his tie down. "Impressive quick thinking on your part under pressure! A valuable skill and quite the remarkable Hogwarts career!"

Forgive him, Victoria, they would be getting to those bubblies in a moment. Though a quick glance at the large pendulum clock on the wall reminded him of an announcement he needed to make as well.

"Oh, pardon me for just a moment..." Clearing his throat, the Minister pressed his wand to his throat and spoke once again. "FINAL CALL FOR ALL BIDDING IN THE SILENT AUCTION! I will be announcing the winning bids in 15 minutes!"

Krel Ansell · 11-06-2019, 10:40 PM

Auction results!

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie

Upon fetching himself and Victoria little slender glasses of bubbly, he would most certainly swing back around to ~~embarrass~~ chat with Fletcher and his charming family later, the Minister couldn't help but swirl it the two frozen raspberries that were floating in the liquid around a bit. "Doesn't that just look delightful?" he mused to himself while giving it all another proper swirl. "A raspberry Bellini, I requested it myself of the catering team. The Bellini itself was invented over a century ago by Giuseppe Cipriani in Venice, Italy. I do enjoy the region when I do get some time to travel." Which, outside of work related affairs, had not been since his honeymoon many many moons ago. "All from the admiration of a painting, if you can believe it. Though traditionally and originally it was made with peaches. I find my pallet prefers the tart raspberry flavor, however."

All utterly unnecessary information the man was spewing, but he was suffering from a bit of nostalgia as the evening wore on.

"Oh, do pardon me for just a moment, Victoria. I believe it is time for me to announce the winners of the bidding." And with that, he took his temporary leave to ascent the little makeshift stage between the seating and auction items with the Fountain of Magical Brethren framing him in the background.

His drink in hand, he gave the glass a few taps to alert the crowd that there was an announcement to be had.

"Witches and wizards of our great community, good evening and a belated welcome to our Centennial Celebration. It is my esteemed honor to now announce the winners of our silent auction. A reminder that the proceeds will all go towards the repair effort for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and not a knut shall go to waste of your thoughtful spending." With a flick of his wand, Charles summoned the boxes to his person and, thanks to some miniature goblin figurines placed within each box who hand sorted the parchments, pulled the winning bid from each. "Please do try to hold your applause until the end," he mused before clearing his throat. Not a single bid was had on the Jollyrocket 2200 Racing Broom, which was a pity, so Charles moved on to the next racing broom which fared much better. "The winner of the Nimbus 4000 Racing Broom with a bid of 55 Galleons is one Katrina Rotheberg!" Out came the next piece of parchment. "With a staggering bid of 200 Galleons, the winner of the Moontrimmer Dlite Racing Broom is Magical Games and Sports' very own Lucas Hawthorne! The winner of the Florean Fortescue's Delectable Delight Basket is James Summers with a bid of 75 Galleons." The Minister gave pause here as one of the tiny enchanted goblins tugged on the sleeve of his robe while chattering something shrilly. "Hmm?" he mused as he leaned down so that it may show him another piece of parchment. Charles smiled warmly seeing the note therein, the offering of Gaston Marchand to have his galleon accepted even if not the winning bid. Rather than announce this, he would seek out the man later for a more intimate discussion of gratitude.

"Pardon me. Now, moving along we have the winner of the three original art pieces, which goes to Jonathan Kim with a bid of 200 Galleons!" OOOOOOOOOOH he would HAVE to tell his precious pea of a daughter about this. Perhaps they could all meet over lunch. It would be lovely. "The winner of our private robes fitting and the highest bid of the night at 500 Galleons goes to Guilia Barsi!" Impressive indeed! "The custom stationary set goes to Sterling Archer Calrissian at 30 Galleons and the rare stamp collection to Mysteries department head, Airey Flamsteed with a bid of 120 Galleons!" Charles could feel his chest swelling, perhaps even his eyes misting up a bit seeing just how many unique winners there were and how generous their contributions to the cause were. It was a beautiful moment, seeing the wizarding world come together. "James Summers will also be taking away the massive fireworks display thanks to his bid of 315 Galleons! Well done my boy!"

Setting all these boxes aside, it was time to dip into the department head 'dates'. "Priceless as the experience of spending a day with one of Ministry's own may be, we do have some definite winners to announce! Let us begin all the way down at the deepest reaches of the Ministry with Department of Mysteries head, Airey Flamsteed...congratulations to Katrina Rotheberg!" Oh this certainly was the fun bit of these announcements and yes, he was leaving the number values off these for a reason. Though there was a slight frown that tugged at the corners of his lips before he announced the next winner. "For a day with Magical Games and Sports' Victoria Culloden...congratulations Lucille Pembrooke! Congratulations to myself for a day with Magical Transportation head, Kendra Jordan-Durand. I think you may enjoy meeting one of my sons. We'll chat later." His sons were absolutely hopeless in meeting women, truly. "Congratulations to Giovanni Montanari for sagging the winning bid for a day with the Creatures head Zhuó Xiá Li!" Oh well, would you look at that! James had come out tonight! That was lovely and Charles found himself a little disappointed that he had not had a run in with him just yet. "Congratulations to James Draper for the winning bid for a day with the lovely Eliora Dodderidge! The lovely and impeccable January Bones, my right hand here at the Ministry, will be spending a day with Duncan Fletcher! I do hope the Mrs isn't jealous of that 101 Galleon bid of yours, my boy," he announced with a chuckle, somewhat oblivious to the fact that he had just announced the Galleon amount despite his intention to not do so when it came to the auctioning of his department head team. "And finally, a day with your Minister goes too...." Oh. Well then. "Victoria Culloden."

Well then.

"That concludes the results of our silent auction. A round of applause for our winners, please!" Which, of course, Charles lead off with strong clapping of his own. "And another round of applause for all our participants! Now, please enjoy the rest of your evening here at the Centennial Celebration!"

And with that, Charles removed himself from the stage and returned to Victoria's side. "Well then, Victoria. 55 Galleons, eh?" He was touched, truly. "Though would you believe that James Draper bid 200 Galleons on Eliora! He must fancy her something fierce, wouldn't you agree? I am, as Minister, capable of performing wedding ceremonies. I should let them know in case they are in need of such services."

OOC: forgive the absurdly late conclusion of the raffle <3 RL was absolutely swamped this past week.

For those who won bids with department heads, please reach out to one another to make arrangements for RPing that out! Looking forward to stalking those

The same goes for the other items - robe fitting, custom stationary, etc. Take advantage of these RP opportunities and have fun!

This thread will remain open for another few days (until Friday, November 8th) before it heads to the archives.

*Nordic Witch* · 11-12-2019, 03:03 PM

From the Chamber of Codes in Mysteries: What is going on?

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Announcer

The Chamber of Codes was a very quiet room. It had, after all, been designed to muffle sound. So it should come as a big surprise to the two unspeakables (Krel Ansell / Nordic Witch) that the room was suddenly filled with odd clickety-click noises. The clacks were soon joined with odd whizzes and buzzes, clicks, and clacks.

If the Seer and Potioneer were to travel a few feet further into the chamber, they would find that many of the revolving tools, recording devices, and the large machine that looked like a Lorenz Cipher were the cause of the noise. What had set them off? Had someone been using them only to walk away? The two Unspeakables were alone in the room. Or were they?

Krel Ansell · 11-15-2019, 04:14 PM

Mysteries isn't the only place where things are acting up:

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Announcer

The lifts were always noisy. The occasional clank and rattle was often heard as people rode up and down, left and right. Above the heads of the two men (Krel Ansell / FearlessLeader19) The gold ropes swayed back and forth reminding the men they were there to steady them should the lift make a dramatic change in direction. Or in case they stopped violently.

As they did now.

The lift came to a scccreeeeeecccchhhing halt that ended with a bang.

It’s a pity the lifts no longer were manned by an attendant from Magical Maintenance, because, dear Ambassadors, you both appear to be stuck.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Announcer

It wasn’t unusual for purple paper airplanes to flitter back and forth across the lobby. Being a Reception Area, the air was often peppered with the purple things. Most landed on the Reception Desk, notes informing the Receptionist of people coming and going amidst other request for supplies and outgoing mail requests. Other memos flew past the desk to their destinations or flew to the lifts to on their way to other levels of the Ministry. It was such a normal sight that Ministry employees often ignored the little purple papers as they flittered about and the papers usually ignored the employees.

Three of the paper airplanes flew over the heads of the two employees below (Love-for-HP / GD2204) on their way like usual.

Only after those three memos passed by, there were no airplane memos for an unusually odd length of time. Funny, why did the mail stop? Was it a national holiday?

And then a lift arrived. The doors opened with a ding and out poured a small mountain of purple memos. The paper airplanes tumbled and slid across the floor. Quick! Better gather them all up before the lift gates crushed them beyond repair.

sweetpinkpixie · 11-16-2019, 12:31 PM

Notice from the Minister for Creatures, Transportation, and Mysteries!

Quote:

URGENT NOTICE
FROM THE MINISTER FOR MAGIC

Thanks to the efforts of the departments of Magical Law Enforcement, Magical Accidents & Catastrophes, the Care and Regulation of Magical Creatures, and Environmental Regulation and Protection, we have confirmation that the the situation at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizarding is the doing of an unprecedented boggart infestation and were able to contain a few of the creatures.

The time has come for a third and, hopefully, final attempt to restore Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and remove all boggarts. With the assistance of the Department of Magical Transportation, a series of modified emergency portkeys have been created that have been successfully tested on the captured boggarts for both luring and containment purposes and have additional high security level enchantments placed on them by the Department of Mysteries. Debriefing documents have been distributed among the levels and further instruction will come from your respective department heads. This mission is ranked DANGEROUS and has two objectives:

Quote:

1. Successfully infiltrate Hogwarts castle
2. Seek out and contain all boggarts, effectively rendering Hogwarts boggartless

All capable and able hands are required for this mission and one should contact their department head immediately with interest so that teams may be assembled and enough emergency portkeys created for each member by the Department of Magical Transportation.

Charles Hollingberry, Minister for Magic

sweetpinkpixie · 02-17-2020, 03:21 AM

Come get your sing on! You're invited to...

Who: All new and returning Ministry employees
When: Saturday, January 15, 2101 @ 8 pm
Where: Underground Coffee Club
Why: to have a good time with new and returning employees, enjoy a song and some refreshments, and start a great new working year at the Ministry of Magic!

We look forward to seeing you there!

*Holmesian Feline* · 02-18-2020, 04:31 AM

Oh joy...

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Announcer

You may recall the carnage of flaming interdepartmental memos prior to the Ministry closing before the holidays, so you may be relieved to see that there are none this year now that the Ministry has reopened.

Though the truth of the matter is that there are no interdepartmental memos flying at all. None.

Despite efforts and expectations set forth by the Minister, the problem regarding these colorful paper airplanes could not be solved and all new attempt to charm any papers were fruitless. Only one, rather archaic, method proved to have any level of efficiency: owls.

Real hooting tooting owls

So while there may be no colorful paper airplanes in there air, there were plenty of white owl droppings and feathers scattered across the floors of the Ministry. Sometimes the droppings came with a bit of variation in them: black or black and white. Festive.

So watch your heads and mind where you step, dear Ministry personnel. It's looking like a messy year if the janitorial staff cannot keep up.

Bazinga · 03-06-2020, 06:36 PM

Oh the owls

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Announcer

Owls swooping in and out are starting become normal with the memo system not working, but as one big snowy owl comes into the offices of the Magical Games and Sports it gives some extra droppings on a desk as it flies by. Landing on the department heads desk the bird smelled some treats in a bag and began ripping the bag open to find them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Announcer

A letter in it's mouth, the little owl seemed to be either lost or stuck in the training room. It flew around and pecked at the walls, but it didn't seem to know how it got in or how to get out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Announcer

Was it lunch time?

Two owls swooped in with packages and dropped them on the table, instead of leaving though they perched on the table to have a snack from someone's lunch.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Announcer

Owls were in and out of the offices of International cooperation. With it such a busy area it was no surprise that the office was looking more and more like an owlery then an office. From droppings to feathers all over the desks and the floor.

sweetpinkpixie · 04-16-2020, 10:57 AM

???????

Quote:

Originally Posted by sarahlooo

At the sound of a voice behind her, January turned her head and saw a blonde woman and she registered her saying something about dropping something out of her purse. "Oh-" January started, looking around on the ground. It was just a piece of paper. Honestly, the woman could have picked it up for her instead of just telling her, but that was neither here nor there.

January stooped over to pick the piece of paper up, inspecting it quickly to see if it was anything important.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Simone Krafft

It was all going smoothly, better than she had planned since the woman stopped right near the alley. Now all she needed to do was a quick silence spell, bend down and tell her not to try anything and move into the alley. As she went to slip her wand out of her rob she noticed two students down the street.

Simone didn't bother with them even though she could have easily fixed the issue, but they were far enough down the street that she bent down close to the woman and as she did she did a quick nonverbal stunning spell. Placing her arms on January's arms to steady her and to seem like she was only helping January if onlookers would see from the distance they were.

Simone swiftly apparated away from Diagon Alley with January Bones.

BanaBatGirl · 04-22-2020, 02:58 PM

And another one gone, and another one gone, another one bites the dust!

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie

..................................

It all happened in slow motion. His sandwich and apple slices following the momentum of the knock and up into the air, the CLINK of his tin vintage lunch box as it struck his sundial wristwatch in his attempt to catch it, a bit of mayonnaise and leaf of lettuce falling on to his thigh AND ON HIS SUIT...it was truly a scene from a horror movie and one Airey Flamsteed could not look away from it...while also did not know WHICH to rubberneck about more - his ruined pant leg or his poor now slightly dented lunch box.

"Aba...abababa...abababababa...noooooooooooooooo!" he mourned in a low wail as he flung the mayonnaise covered piece of lettuce aside (and towards the woman entirely on accident) before bending down to scoop up his lunch box and cradle it in his arms.

He could fix this...it was just a small dent.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Simone Krafft

Knowing he'd be dramatic Simone took a chance that he would bend to grab the food or the lunch box. As she was scooped down she kept apologizing and instead of picking up the pieces she pulled out her wand. "It's okay, I can take care of this and fix your lunch box." She was being the sweetest citizen and lifted her wand, but instead of cleaning up the mess she turned slightly more toward the man and whispered

"Stupefy"

Without missing a beat she reached for the man and apparated them both away. It was like Airey and the lunchbox had never sat down to lunch after all.

Krel Ansell · 04-22-2020, 03:27 PM

Oh no! Wonder how everyone will get to work now?

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Announcer

The floo area is a busy part of the ministry, but on a warm morning something seemed off. The floo powder didn't seem to glow the way it normally did and with a weird flicker all the floo networks that usually were very busy stopped working all at once.

BanaBatGirl · 04-28-2020, 08:34 PM

I'm starting to sound like a broken record but here we go, anotha one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shanners

This was always a peaceful walk - sure there were a couple of people on the streets of London commuting to and from their own jobs, but Eliora enjoyed walking among the muggles and observing them. It was a welcome distraction to the magical hubbub she would walk into as soon as she got to the ministry. It was true, she had one of the most involved departments (or so she would say) and her job was busy but brilliant.

Eliora took a sip from her coffee as she too came to a stop to look at the woman in front of her. "Coffee? Oh, I got you!" Whilst she couldn't suggest the coffee machine in her office, she knew of the perfect early morning coffee joint. Perfect enough, anyway. Any coffee was good coffee. Just the best coffee belonged to her.

"Straight down the end just before you get to Trafalgar Square. Orange umbrellas outside and a little dog statue by the door. I don't think they ever close. I bet a night shift in a coffee place is great. How many customers could you really have at 2am?" Just for assistance, Eliora turned slightly to point down the way she had came from.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Simone Krafft

Not taking her eyes off the woman Simone nodded as she listened. She was a chatty one for such an early time in the morning but this didn't bother her at all. She just listened as her hand stayed in her pocket around her wand waiting for the perfect moment.

2 a.m. and costumers did make Simone tilt her head a moment, but soon Eliora turned to point down to where the coffee shop was located and that gave Simone the moment she needed stepping a tad closer and pulling her wand just enough to do a nonverbal stunning spell she reached out to touch the back of the department head and hold her up right as she apparated them both away.

I would consider this kidnapping, wouldn't you?!?!

BanaBatGirl · 04-29-2020, 12:35 AM

....it's me, your reporter on more happenstances. It APPEARS that January Bones and Airey Flamsteed are back at work, even after their kidnappings.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sarahlooo

January was in a very good mood today. The sun was shining and she was inside the Ministry, ready to get to work. Sure, it was just another day in the Ministry, but she felt good to be there.

And she wanted tea. Part of her wanted to spice things up and try a different kind, or perhaps even a coffee, but she decided it was best to stick to the usual. After paying for her tea, January used her food to nudg a kitty cat out of her way with no regard her and looked over a few plants. Today seemed like a good day to buy a new plant for the office.

There's something weird about Mrs. Bones but I'm not going to point it out to you. ~~psych! look at what i bolded~~

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Announcer

The floo powder no better than sand from a sandbox (perhaps some use to be had for kneazle litter?) and with smoke beginning to billow out from the fireplaces in a thick pea green soup color, it would seem as though there were more than simple magical malfunctions at work here. Or was it a simple case of charms gone wrong?

Suspicious indeed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie

Interesting...that the employees of this Ministry did not know their own Minister. He would tuck this little bit of information away while he proceeded to attempt to appear more animated. Surely the situation would demand this.

"Minister?" he replied with a bit of a forced chuckle. "Afraid the stars have not aligned in such a manner for myself. Still the department head over at Mysteries, however." His piercing blues looked the brunette up and down for a moment, just as a bit of smoke from the fireplaces began creeping along the floor over his well polished shoes. "Someone should inform Transportation," he noted casually while dusting his hands off and using his wand to vanish any of the remnants of floo powder in his hands. "Their floo powder is worthless...as too seem to be the fireplaces."

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlwaysSnapesGirl

Merlin's beard, what was wrong with her?

Maybe it was earlier than Regina realized if she was mixing up faces and names like this. Or maybe it was the empty stomach messing with her brain.

Either way, she now had a strong urge to dig a hole to hide herself in.

"Sorry, my bad," she said as she felt her face warm.

Aaand...now there was green smoke pouring out of the fireplaces. Yep, something was definitely wrong. Great.

"I...could go let someone know?" She wasn't entirely sure if he was looking for a volunteer, though since he'd only said 'someone' and they were the only two who'd noticed this so far, she figured she might as well offer. "Seems kinda...suspicious that they would suddenly start malfunctioning though." She'd never heard of floo powder just suddenly not working. Not that she was exactly an expert. But did it have an expiration date? Or even if it did, why would that cause the fireplace to spew green smoke? Or maybe it didn't cause it, but...

Yeah, it was definitely too early in the day for all this.

More emphasis by me, you're welcome, dears.

Also, floos are down, so there's that.

SilverTiger · 05-07-2020, 12:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Announcer

All aurors had checked in to their assigned posts on time and it was as any day towards the end of September should have gone. Nothing amiss. Business as usual. Even the prisoners seemed calmer this day...

The history books and papers, however, would look back on on the 24th of September, 2101 with entirely different regard.

There was no warning. No indication of anything amiss. Nothing to warn the aurors of the series of explosions that took place, blowing away walls, doors off their hinges, and allowing a WHOOSH of icy cold air from the OUTSIDE that SWOOSHED through the cells and stone corridors of Azkaban. The bone chilling draft was enough to cause even the most capable of wizard to still, to feel the goosebumps form and hairs raise on the back of their neck.

Pure chaos ensued. Some were recaptured. Many were not. And none noticed a handful of figures fleeing the scene towards the cliff. A series of green flashes later and only two departed the scene. The others fell limply into the raging ocean below.

Azkaban was compromised, it's walls resembling that of Swiss cheese in some places, and then came the roar of the prisoners' as they celebrated their release.

hjhm · 05-08-2020, 06:18 AM

*gasps*

Quote:

Originally Posted by Azkaban Escapees

A celebration was needed as the man came strolling into the pub and ordered his drink. Looking around the area he came to sit near two men that seemed to be having a good time. Paying for his drink with money he just took as he had come in he grinned to the two and lifted his glass spilling on the one close (Valentin) "To the future and the freedom for fun!"

lazykitty · 05-08-2020, 12:29 PM

Welp, looks like we've found the missing paperwork.......

Quote:

Originally Posted by Azkaban Escapees

Swift and efficient, a trio with a familiar triangular tattoo inked into the sides of their necks rushed into the station as they had been instructed to. They had already secured themselves coats (by what means we will spare you) to cover the majority of their Azakaban uniforms and were on to the second step of the plan.

"That him?" sheered one of the women with blackened teeth as she pointed a crooked finger towards the dippy looking fellow with frizzy hair.

"Reckon it is," nodded a second, a tall lanky man with hollow eyes.

The third remained silent, though was curiously eyeing this Jack Roller's neck with entirely too keen an interest as he extended his pale hand out to receive his paperwork.

BanaBatGirl · 05-10-2020, 02:21 AM

ARE YOu SERIOUS RIGHT NOW?

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaniDiNardo

Lex made her way over to the warden's office with the on duty aurors, her wand out and ready as she went. It was likely that whatever and whoever had done this was already gone, having potentially broken out whoever they wanted, but caution was never a bad thing. Constant vigilance.

Her team would round up the criminals just fine. She wanted every criminal back in a cell if they were still on the premises, then they'd scour London and spiral outward from there. This was going to be a long day.

After checking the surrounding area, an auror stepped forward to get the door open to the warden's office. Not a one of them let their guard down, half expecting someone to run out. When that didn't happen, the small team slowly entered the room.

"Oi, Warden? The hell's going on here?"

Where was he? Were they really looking for a body? The room looked empty but, "Check every inch."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Simone Krafft

She had been waiting for the right moment, lurking in a corner as she heard the guards and ministry aurors. A smirk crossing her face as she thought about the ones that were supposed to be the best of the best not evening knowing all she had plotted and planned. The voice she was waiting for came closer and Simone lifted her wand.

As the woman she had been waiting for entered Simone flicked her wand and a think smoke filled the room causing anyone to be unable to see and while the distraction was in place Simone didn't take long to get behind the department head, stun her, and apparate them both away.

Alexa Cambridge, HEAD of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, KIDNAPPED at AZKABAN during a MASS BREAKOUT?!

Who's next, the flippin' MINISTER HIMSELF?!!?