Year/Job
Professor of Ghoul Studies
Travis
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Post by Dr. Bryant Tannen on Jan 22, 2024 11:35:47 GMT -8
Bryant hadn’t even known what Ghoul Studies was when he’d applied for the job. All he knew was that Abbey was at Hogwarts and he needed to get back to her. So how did he end up in his position? Some say he’d rolled up to the interview with a cauldron full of galleons, others blamed a clerical error, and of course there was always the theory that McGonagall had shrugged and said, “What the hell, what’s one Assistant Ghoul Studies professor going to hurt?” Either way, Bryant soon found himself the beneficiary of a system that made it extremely difficult to fire professors.
For years, Bryant’s class had been a favorite for slackers who sought easy grades. Despite Bryant’s reputation for handing out detentions, it was easy to get on his good side, and his classes mostly consisted of drawing crude pictures of Casper the Friendly Ghost on the chalkboard and having students memorize and recite the eighty-eight different ghost type Pokemon. Inexplicably, Bryant had survived ten years unnoticed. He’d become head of the Ghoul Studies department and a member of the staff party planning committee.
So, understanding all of that, you can imagine Bryant’s horror when the owl arrived with news from the Ministry that he was needed at Azkaban for “an emergency of ghoulish qualities.” It had never been more over.
Bryant was packing a suitcase when the Ministry escort arrived at his door to take him to Azkaban. “Bryant who?” he asked. “I’m Miguel Sanchez!”
The escort produced a small picture from his breast pocket and held it up to Bryant’s face. He clicked his tongue in confirmation, “They said you were funny like that. Come on, Professor Tannen, everyone’s waiting.”
And that was how Bryant ended up in a leaky little boat in the middle of God-knows-what-ocean approaching the scariest island he’d ever seen. In the distance, Azkaban stretched up from the ocean like a great monolith. The wind whipped around him, and though the boat had been enchanted to stay dry, he could still sense the feeling of the cold rain on his skin. Bryant pinned his coat shut while the Ministry escort explained the situation to him. Most of the information rolled off of Bryant’s brain as he internally calculated how he was going to get out of this one.
“I said spooky stuff!” the escort shouted over the crashing waves. “Last week a cell sealed itself clean off, I mean nothing there but a stone wall. They had to blast through it to get the prisoners out before they suffocated. Our main concern is dark magic, but we thought we should bring in a ghoul expert just in case. We have a couple Aurors on the island already and I heard a rumor about the Department of Mysteries sending someone too.”
“Sounds like a crack team,” Bryant lied.
They were greeted by Stanley, the guard supervisor for block E, when they reached the island. He offered Bryant a big smile as he introduced himself. “But don’t get too familiar with me,” Stanley said brightly. “It’s my last day on the job. Yep, put my name in for early retirement. Next week I’ll be somewhere on a beach, knocking back cold ones and reeling in the trout. Want to see a picture of my newborn grandchild?” He passed Bryant a picture as they walked-and-talked to the entrance of the prison.
Bryant frowned at the sight of the baby who, despite being a good four Toilet Paper Babies less cute than Abbey’s children, still made him think of little baby Blossom back at Hogwarts.
“I knew we were dealing with something weird when they said they were calling in an expert,” Stanley said as he pocketed the picture. “A genu-wine Hogwarts professor,” he whistled.
“I’m not a doctor,” Bryant said. “I didn’t say you were,” Stanley replied. “Anyway, my cell block’s the one with all the spooky shit. You hear about the wall? Not too weird by old days standards, sure, but now we gotta worry about human rights and all that. My guards’ve been hearing this buzzing too that’s making them do and say all this crazy shit. I’ve had to cut their shifts in half and rotate them out or else they’ll go on for hours about how, ‘the flesh of the earth will be peeled by the incorporeal blade of the ancient one.’” Stanley laughed. “Whatever that means. Hell if I care! This is my last day!”
Bryant found a small group from the Ministry waiting for them when they reached the entrance to the prison. He recognized the two men with roguish good looks from the pictures the escort had provided in the case file. They were Aurors from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Towering above all of them, however, was a mysterious fourth man with features forged in the kilns of Mount Olympus. He was the most beautiful man Bryant had ever seen. They all did laps around him, and he hated them immediately.
“Hi,” he said to the three with a little wave, hen he pointed to Stanley who was preoccupied with the gate. “I’m pretty sure this guy’s gonna die.”
Atticus Galanis , Rip Winstead , JJ Winstead
Note: I wasn't 100% where to go with the ending, I hope I wasn't too presumptuous in putting all of the Ministry people together at the prison already. I hope this is good enough to build off of!
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Year/Job
Auror
Never meant to be a bad man, I just had a fast hand |
Occulmens
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Post by Rip Winstead on Jan 22, 2024 12:14:22 GMT -8
After seventeen long years, Rip has finally reunited with his brother. And he was training him. While their reunion was heartfelt and emotional, the following days were less so. Not that he wasn’t happy to see his brother, but there were just some concerns that he had. Mainly, he was worried about the farm back home; their parents were getting older and JJ had helped the homestead stay afloat for so long that he worried about how the rest of his family were handling it all. And there was the deep seated feeling that he just didn’t know his brother anymore. JJ had still been in school when Rip was forced to leave and the brothers never got the chance to say goodbye. His younger brother had grown a lot since then and it was like he was getting to know him all over again. They bickered as all siblings do, poor Nyle having to deal with it in the office, but when it came down to it JJ could be serious about his job.
There was more on his mind than his brother, but he was doing his best not to think about it. It was hard when they continued to go to the sanctuary as the case was not completely closed. They got Abernathy, but there were much larger forces at play here. He had to see Juniper frequently and it was impossible to get the memory of his lips on hers out of his head. JJ, of course, caught on pretty quickly but Rip didn’t entertain any talk on the matter. They weren’t together so there was no discussion to be had.
For the second time this week, Morgan beckoned him into his office. Rip was annoyed, but he did as he was bid. The last time he entered this office Morgan told him he had to give an interview. That was something he didn’t want to go through again. Rip closed the door behind him, but didn’t take a seat. He looked at his boss expectantly. “Alright, here’s the scoop: there’s some strange happenings going on in Azkaban and the higher ups are getting concerned about it. I need a senior Auror to go investigate and I’ve decided that Auror is you.” He nodded his understanding and moved to take his leave when Morgan added, “Bring your brother with you.”
And that’s how Rip and JJ ended up at Azkaban. They stood outside the entrance, Rip pulling his jacket closer to his body as the cold air billowed all around them. Waves were crashing against the rocks and he could feel the sea mist hit his face. They were told there were a couple experts coming - someone from the Department of Mysteries and someone from Hogwarts. A Ghoul expert. Rip snorted at the thought. The events they described couldn’t possibly have happened because of a ghoul. The first to arrive was a tall, good looking wizard with a strong chin. They introduced themselves, Rip discovering the man was Atticus Galanis, an Unspeakable at the Ministry. The three of them waited for a while longer before another, smaller man came with the guard, Stanley.
Rip was skeptical to begin with, but when he saw this professor he nearly groaned in response. He didn’t know this wizard, so he wasn’t going to pass any judgment on him, but Rip got the feeling that if push came to shove he’d have to protect the guy. Stanley moved to open the gate and Rip studied the newcomer. Rip remembered his name from the case file and he was getting ready to introduce himself and his brother when Bryant spoke up, waving at them. He raised a quizzical brow and glanced over at the guard who was still fiddling with the gate. “And what brought you to that conclusion?” Rip asked, turning back to look at him.
Dr. Bryant Tannen JJ Winstead Atticus Galanis
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Year/Job
Unspeakable
Head, Department of Mysteries
You cannot protect yourself from sadness without protecting yourself from happiness. |
rouch
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Post by Atticus Galanis on Jan 22, 2024 15:39:53 GMT -8
Azkaban was always a terrible experience. Even now that the dementors were gone, the evil that went on in the fortress and on the island lingered. When the request came in to join the aurors to investigate strange occurrence in the prison, there was no unspeakable more qualified than Atticus. When he was a junior unspeakable, he oversaw the death chamber in the department. The depths of secrets in that particular chamber may have been just as oppressive as Azkaban. That wasn't the only reason why he was the one to take this assignment. Containing the dementors after relocation had also been a special project he worked on. The first concern in hearing there was something seen within the walls of the fortress was that a wild dementor found its way back to its home. That was the speculation during the pre-briefing. Atticus wasn't sure that was the problem. Dementors couldn't manipulate the physical structure. The suggestion that a ghoul was somehow involved also seemed farfetched. Atticus wasn't even sure ghouls could swim. The ghoul expert could weigh in on that question. Regardless. Something powerful enough to affect the most secure structure in the country deserved a serious approach. That meant Atticus had to board the stupidly small boat to traverse the unplottable sea. He had tried to get comfortable on his bench. Any movement he made resulted in destabilizing the balance of the hull on the water. He didn't remember having such trouble the last time he made the journey. The boats must have gotten smaller. Anytime Atticus participated in an interdisciplinary taskforce, he made it a point to know the people he'd be working with before he arrived. And that didn't mean the official briefing materials. He had the unredacted copies. Still, he was pretty sure the file on Bryant Tannen got messed up when he requested it. It was missing several sections regarding his training and education. He asked for a corrected copy, but their admin was still sorting it out by the time he had to leave. He assumed Mister Tannen's credentials were achieved overseas and that was the problem. The two aurors. They were equally confounding. He didn't like that two brothers were assigned to the task. If the threat was serious, the last thing he needed were two aurors that might try to save each other before an innocent civilian. Their history was also suspicious to him. MACUSA hadn't been cooperative in his request for data. That alone had him watching his back. Whatever was in the prison was likely not the biggest, immediate risk he was dealing with. That was why he chose to keep his eyes on the members of their team and not the environment around him. A sneak attack could be dealt with. Unprofessionalism and questionable priorities, he wanted to see that coming. He was sizing up the aurors when the Hogwarts professor arrived. The offhanded comment Bryant made had Atticus gripping his wand tighter. He looked behind the newcomers to see if a threat was bearing down on them. There was nothing. Before he could question the professor's assessment, the auror jumped. Atticus nodded in approval at the initiative. "He looks unharmed," he observed, stepping forward to get a better look. "Are we needed at the entrance?"
Dr. Bryant Tannen JJ Winstead Rip Winstead
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