Welcome to Until The End. We are a moderate Harry Potter role-playing site set in the Marauder's Era. Our plot is generally derived from details in the book, but as an AU site we do take liberties most anywhere we like. Those who died in the books can have a second chance at living, and those who lived are always at risk.
Tom Marvolo Riddle has long since disappeared and in his stead Lord Voldemort has risen, bringing a small army with him. The Ministry of Magic has thus far ignored the growing menace that is the Death Eaters and Albus Dumbledore has taken it upon himself to defend the wizarding community from an evil he knows is building. War is coming. Pick a side!
School's Out For Summer
The Hogwart's Express has pulled up to the station in King's Cross station and the summer holidays have officially begun. What mischeif will you get into in the warm summer sun?
*Coming Soon* - Summer Solstice Carnival
Travel by portkey to the biggest summer celebration in wizard society - The Summer Solstice Carnival! There will be food, games, prizes, fun and more!
Post by Lyra Ophelia Nott on Jul 10, 2018 20:51:59 GMT -8
Lyra had no plans to crash Christine’s witches night in, but it did give her an idea. “I get that,” she replied to Emara’s remark. “He’s not going to be pleased, though, if he hears we’re planning to go out without him.” The last time Lyra and Emara had gone out drinking during one of Emara’s school holidays, the girls had gotten in a spot of trouble and Nik had to come save them. Lyra had been given a sturdy lecture by Julian, who had happened to be with Nik at the time he was rung to come pick up the girls, and while she couldn’t be positive, Lyra was sure Emara heard something of the same from Nik when the pair of them went home – not that Emara would have listened. They hadn’t really had a chance to talk about that night much, because life sort of spiraled in after that and got in the way of things. It seemed to happen like that far too often. Regardless, Nik was going to want to have a say in whether the girls went out after the foiled kidnapping attempt on Emara, so they would have to be sure not to tell him. “We can just tell him we’re having a witch’s night in at my flat. There’s so many security charms on that place, he can’t possibly feel uneasy about that plan.”
Skies are blue, and the dreams you dare to dream, really do come true.
C
hristine waved off her cousin and nodded toward Lyra when she stated that they'd be at the carriage. She knew mingling - unless with persons of influence or power (or pre-Julian - exceedingly handsome) - was of very little interest to Lyra, and Sam had more or less been through a traumatic experience and certainly didn't need to hang around and be social. If Sam had acted any more perturbed by the events, it might have made Christine more hesitant to invite the girls over. As it was, Sam was one shrug away from developing a tick in her shoulder for how blase she was being about the whole affair. It was almost easy to forget that just a little over a week ago she had been the victim of an attempted kidnapping.
She turned her attention back to the friends she had in front of her, and rolled her eyes at Olivia's suggestion for table dancing. When Lily chimed in with a quip about sturdy tables Christine laughed, "Castle Eire has the strongest of tables." she assured the young girl, but she herself was ambivalent to alcohol. Perhaps growing up Irish took both the allure and the effectiveness of drinking. Christine was a heavyweight as far as alcohol was concerned. It took too much alcohol to get her buzzed, then she typically plateaued after a certain point.
When Olivia's family arrived she frowned and quickly gave the girl another hug. "Bye! See you soon - Owl if you need me to send a carriage!" she called after the girl.
It was the best of times and it was the worst of times.
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Post by Lily Jane Evans on Jul 13, 2018 12:13:26 GMT -8
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Lily Evans
Lily was not exactly acquainted with the joys of purebloods' parties- nor, come to that, was she particularly well acquainted with Muggle parties. The thing was that she was not the most sociable girl in the world- the trouble with that was that because she was friendly by nature, people generally assumed that she liked parties, and this was not in fact the case. People were all well and good in moderation, but she wasn't so keen on being trapped in a small space with them. She liked to have the freedom to go and do something else if she wanted to. Still, this wasn't going to be a party, per se... It was going to be the three of them at Christine's, having fun, possibly getting ever so slightly drunk, and that wasn't nearly the same thing- was it?
She didn't know Olivia especially well, she would be the first to admit, but the girl had seemed nice enough whenever they'd met in the corridors- and that was generally the only place that they did meet, being in different Houses and different years. It was enough to say that Lily didn't feel particularly apprehensive at the idea of spending a night in the company of two pureblood heiresses, which would probably not have been the case for a considerable number of their contemporaries. It wasn't that she was actually scared of the blood purists; she could just do without the unnecessary aggravation.
"Glad to hear it," she returned with a grin, running a hand through her fiery hair. Lily certainly didn't much like the idea of her first adventures in table-dancing ending in a horrific tangle of wood and limbs on the floor.
I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down.
E
mara sighed feeling more and more put out.
"Well he's just going to have to deal with it. I don't need a bloody babysitter." she sniffed in mild disgust. The very idea was preposterous. Though recent events would suggest otherwise, Emara was more than capable of handling herself. At sixteen she had more cunning, audacity, and ruthlessness in her pinky, than most wizards had in their entire existence. Nik might have forgotten what she was capable of, but there were a host of Emara's bitter victims that probably thought the young witch got what she deserved.
She shrugged when Lyra came up with a plausible excuse. She didn't like that she had to lie - not that she had a problem with deception as a whole (on the contrary she practically built her scholastic career out of it) - but the fact that it was necessary to avoid Nik's relentless mothering was aggravating. She finished the cigarette and realized that she would probably need something a bit stronger to get her nerves and annoyance under control, but her stash was neatly packed away in her bags.
"Yeah, but you know Nik, he'd probably still send thirty extra guards to your flat, and I don't think your yummy landlord would appreciate it."
Derek Burke was indeed yummy. Both her father and mother had independently worked with the Senior Burke and Derek's older brother. Her mother had been skeptical and, as was the case with most of their society, trash talked the younger Burke's flagrant disregard for tradition - at least until he came back sporting a fortune and running a successful real estate operation. Her father on the other hand appreciated the man's desire to establish himself independently from his family and had been an early supporter of Derek's efforts. The last time she had seen Derek he had offered his condolences for her loss; it was one of the few expressions of sorrow and sympathy she found to be genuine.
Skies are blue, and the dreams you dare to dream, really do come true.
C
hristine on the other hand had experienced her fair share of parties. She wasn't a party girl per se, but she was typically wherever the action was. Sometimes the action was sneaking out of the castle for a midnight game of quidditch and sometimes the action was a house party in one of the dormitories or common rooms. In any case Christine lived for the adventure of the moment, but neither her studies nor her reputation seemed to suffer any for it.
Christine was the type to laugh at herself and at life. She had a boldness and a carefree spirit that was difficult to hold anger toward and absolutely impossible to tame. Even when caught by the austere McGonagall, she had typically accepted punishment with such authority and understanding, that it had become difficult to discipline the young witch.
"I don't think the carriages have ever picked anyone up in a muggle neighborhood before, it'll probably best to send a car." Christine said, pondering the new difficulty in retrieving Lily for their party.
Her uncle Aedan had a garage built to house his collection of muggle vehicles. Christine had to admit that cars were among her favorite muggle inventions. They were simply beautiful pieces of machinery - even without the added magical charms: invisibility, flight, etc.
It was the best of times and it was the worst of times.
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Post by Lily Jane Evans on Jul 18, 2018 7:37:40 GMT -8
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Lily Evans
"That would probably be sensible," Lily agreed with a wry smile, although she was taking a great deal of amusement in the thought of her sister's expression if she were ever to be picked up by a carriage in the middle of Cokeworth. Safe to say, it wasn't the kind of sight that was common in those streets- in fact, it would probably constitute a breach of the International Statute of Secrecy in its own right, and that was without even considering what it might be that would draw the carriages. Yes, on the whole, a car would probably be best all around.
It was funny, really, but she never thought of the magical world as involving cars. How could she? Cars were commonplace, they were everyday, they were ordinary; one could see hundreds of them every day. And the world of magic was more or less the exact opposite. It was unique, it was unusual, it was fantastic, and it was so well hidden that sometimes even she couldn't be sure where all the bits were sometimes.
Skies are blue, and the dreams you dare to dream, really do come true.
C
hristine's grin widened at the younger girl's amusement. Thank Godric her uncle had a fascination with cars, something told Christine that Lilly's fireplace wasn't connected to the floo network. Not for the first time she wondered what life must be like for Lily, and the strange differences in her muggle world versus the magical one. She didn't envy her friend's position, and was determined to at least make the summer solstice carnival an event to remember.
Christine glanced around, she didn't see Lily's parents, then again she didn't know what Lily's parents looked like. In either case she wasn't in a rush and decided to make additional small talk while waiting.
"So, have you figured out what classes you're taking next year?"
It was the best of times and it was the worst of times.
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Post by Lily Jane Evans on Jul 18, 2018 14:05:31 GMT -8
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Lily Evans
With a sigh, Lily ran one hand through her long hair. "I don't know..." she admitted, resisting the urge to start pacing. It was what she usually did while she was thinking, but not only would it have been at least a little rude to Christine, it would also have been quite impractical in the crowd that was still filling the majority of the platform, though the press of people was at least beginning to thin out a little. "I mean, there aren't any classes that I really hate... Some of them I like more than others, like Transfiguration and Potions, but I have to keep on taking those anyway, so it doesn't help much. I probably won't take Care of Magical Creatures, but I do like Arithmancy..."
Post by Dominick Rhys Montague on Jul 18, 2018 22:07:38 GMT -8
Dominick sat with a pair of his friends throughout most of the journey from Hogwarts back to King’s Cross in London. The journey seemed counterproductive for some students who actually lived in Scotland, but it was perfect for Dom and his brother Xander who lived with their folks just south of London. They could ride broomsticks to and from the train station if they had wanted to, though carting the boys’ trunks behind a broom would have been a bit of a hassle. Their dad, Rhys, drove a muggle automobile whenever he needed to tote the entire family along and the Montagues viewed it as a relaxing way to travel, so long as dad didn’t get lost driving around in the city which had happened a time or two.
As the train neared the station, Dominick parted from his mates, making last minute plans to owl each other have a fair few adventures over their final summer holiday as students. Levitating his trunk behind him, his wand held over his shoulder lazily as he zigged and zagged around the other students moving around, eagerly awaiting their arrival home, Dominick strolled down the train peering into each compartment as he passed looking for his brother. He only had to travel between a few train cars before he found Xander and a gaggle of fourth years playing a card game. Dom played chaperone to the younger boys for the last few minutes of their journey and when the train rolled into the station the Montague boys exited together.
Xander saw their parents first and ran ahead excitedly to greet them in a big hug, their mum visibly crying with joy as she did every year at seeing her sons return home. As Dominick followed behind at a brisk but not overly hurried walk, he passed a group of girls chatting excitedly. The tall one in the middle was his ex-girlfriend of a week, and currently one of his better girl friends, Christine. She was chatting with another of his friends, Olivia. The third girl he recognized as Lily Evans. They seemed to be enjoying themselves and his mum was gesturing wildly for him to come and give her a hug, so Dominick slipped by the group inconspicuously and greeted his parents with a sturdy bear hug. The family trotted out of the train station and filed into dad’s grey-blue Austin Allegro, throwing the boys’ trunks into the boot, and heading off for home.
Skies are blue, and the dreams you dare to dream, really do come true.
C
hristine smiled as Lily rambled about her classes. She could tell the girl wanted to pace. It was a wonder that Lily hadn't made Ravenclaw for the redhead's brilliance.
Christine was talented in a few classes, and the ones she wasn't particularly gifted in, she studied hard and earned her high marks. Her father had been a Ravenclaw and Christine often felt pressure to measure up. The two classes that came to her effortlessly was Ancient Runes and Defense of the Dark Arts. Ancient Runes was to be expected as she traveled often and had experience in translating various ancient texts, learning from the source rather than a book. It helped her further as she seemed to have a knack for different languages.
She didn't know why defensive or offensive magic came easily to her, or why her mother often seemed perturbed by the mock duels she'd have with her uncles. She chalked it up to her mother's genteel upbringing.
When Lily mentioned Arithmancy, Christine couldn't help but make a face, "You enjoy that." she said shaking her head.
"I thought about taking it this year - mostly for my da - but I'm rubbish with numbers."
It was during that pause she saw Dominick and gave a small nod in his direction. She'd write to him over the summer and hopefully see him at the carnival. They dated for a whole five minutes(okay perhaps it was a tad bit longer), before realizing they were better as friends, but Christine had a soft spot in her heart for the troublemaker.
She turned her attention back to Lily, "I'm surprised you weren't sorted into Ravenclaw with that brain of yours."
It was the best of times and it was the worst of times.
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Post by Lily Jane Evans on Jul 21, 2018 12:48:57 GMT -8
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Lily Evans
Lily enjoyed learning. Even when she'd been younger and attended a Muggle school, she had been the same. There was nothing- well, almost nothing- that she liked more than having the opportunity to develop a fuller understanding of the world around her and how it worked. An understanding of language, of numbers, of physics and how different things interacted... It all went into the redhead's impressive memory banks, and she loved it. Some people were addicted to chocolate- Lily was addicted to knowledge. She might never admit it, even to herself, but her goal was to know everything that there was to know, and she was unlikely to rest until she'd achieved it.
Now, she was learning magic, and that was just even more amazing! Lily had grown up in a world where wands and wizards were strictly the province of fantasy novels, and to find that that wasn't the case had put an edge on her curiosity- an edge which it was going to take quite some considerable time to blunt. But she was fine with that. Yes, people laughed at her, but she didn't doubt that they'd do that anyway. After all, that kind of person could always find something to pick holes in, but Lily didn't give them the opportunity to get into her head.
"Oh, I will," she assured the older girl with a grin, well aware that Arithmancy was far from being Christine's favourite subject. "I mean, we can't all be good at everything, can we?" Certainly, Lily was aware that she herself wasn't. Put her on a broom, for instance, and she'd never get off the ground.
The redhead flushed at her Housemate's compliment- at least, she thought it was a compliment- and shrugged a little awkwardly. "I mean... the Sorting Hat did think about it. But I'm very happy in Gryffindor." She gave Christine a cheeky grin. "I might never have met you."
Skies are blue, and the dreams you dare to dream, really do come true.
C
hristine shook her head at the younger girl. They would have met, Christine was too sociable to let something as minor as house alignment prevent her from making friends. She would have stood up for Lily no matter what house the girl was in, but being in the same house had helped their friendship blossom.
"I doubt I'd have missed all that fire," she said looking at Lily, " or your hair." she smirked. Lily was fire and brimstone under the right circumstances and yet quiet under other circumstances, much like a lioness waiting for the right time or the right reason to strike.
"And as for not being good at everything..." Christine gave Lily a look. She knew what the redhead was referring to, Lily wasn't as confident on a broom, but Christine had faith in her. Her stern look indicated as much and then what followed was a familiar sales pitch, "You could make the team if you were just the tiniest bit interested in a broom as you were a book."
Christine had been nudging Lily to join the team or at least try out for it on more than one occasion over the years.
It was the best of times and it was the worst of times.
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Post by Lily Jane Evans on Jul 25, 2018 6:08:55 GMT -8
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Lily Evans
Lily rolled her eyes at the good-natured teasing. She was well accustomed to people making comments about her hair; it was quite frequently the first thing that they noticed and almost always the first thing that they said something about. And fair enough, it did make her conspicuous- easy enough to pick out of any given crowd, which was a benefit in some cases. In other cases, of course... Well, when it was Potter doing the picking then it was less of a blessing than it was a curse.
She groaned aloud as Christine began to go back over familiar ground. "Christine, we've talked about this..." the Lioness complained, brushing her hair abruptly out of her eyes. "I am not going to try out for the Quidditch team. For one thing, I'd make an idiot of myself, and if by some ridiculously small chance, I did make it onto the team, I'd lose us every match. And that's not even considering the fact that I'd have to play with Potter." Lily folded her arms. "So, can we leave this alone? Please?"
Skies are blue, and the dreams you dare to dream, really do come true.
C
hristine huffed indignantly, but with very little heat. She knew her friend well enough to know it was like beating a dead horse, Lily wasn't going to budge on the matter. Still Christine's brow rose with an almost predatory smirk attached when Lily mentioned James. James was a lovable prankster, he could be a bit full of himself, but he was a good kid underneath it all - deep, deep down. But while most people brushed off his antics as harmless fun, Lily always seemed to take particular offense. Christine suspected the red head had a thing for the wild Gryffindor, but James had a lot of growing up to do before Lily would ever admit it - even to herself.
"Still harboring that secret crush hmm?" she teased, then put her hands up in defense letting her friend know she wasn't going to pursue that line of questioning, it was bad enough that she brought up quidditch, but Lily was even more adamant about James.
It was the best of times and it was the worst of times.
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Post by Lily Jane Evans on Aug 19, 2018 3:43:02 GMT -8
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Lily Evans
Lily rolled her eyes with a fond grin at Christine's melodramatics. She knew the older girl well enough by now to be well aware that half of what she said meant very little, while the other half was probably deep and meaningful on a level which was far beyond the comprehension of lowly mortals such as herself. It made for an interesting friendship, but it was one that had stood the test of time and was likely to continue to do so- or at least, the redhead sincerely hoped that it would.
She groaned aloud at the older girl's question, but before she could embark on another of her long and detailed explanations as to exactly what it was about James Potter that drove her so completely and utterly up the wall, Christine was apologising, and Lily allowed her metaphorical hackles to lie flat again, at least for the time being. "I should think so too," she muttered.