Post by Claire on May 3, 2009 17:10:41 GMT -6
<div align="justify">Whispers of a Dark Lord and rumors of murder have turned into cries of panic and front page headlines. Until now, the murders were sporadic and not enough to cause any real panic. But times change. Lord Voldemort and his Death Eater followers have taken their evil to a whole new level. Now his followers slaughter more and more frequently, sometimes dozens of people at a time. Muggles, Muggleborns, and anyone who supports them risk extermination.
The flood gates of panic opened when the Dark Mark was exposed to the public in a bloody debut: a gruesome exhibit set up in Diagon Alley displayed the brutally murdered Minister of Magic with the Dark Mark seared into his flesh. This scene has put the magical community in an uproar, and nobody is quite sure how to handle it. Already strained to keep up with the outbreak of murders, the Ministry of Magic is no longer able to calm the panicking wizarding community.
Not even Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry remains a safe-haven. Voldemort has started recruiting younger members to his group of followers, so now his helpers run amuck in the school. They bully the Muggleborns and Halfbloods, making the school a generally unpleasant place.
The Dark Lord is not without worthy opposition, as Headmaster Dumbledore has formed his own elite defense group to protect the wizarding world: the Order of the Phoenix. Mindful of keeping children as safe as possible, the Order of the Phoenix refuses to recruit such young people into their ranks, but that hasn't stopped the students from forming underground rebellious organizations of their own.
The Ministry is doing it's best to take a stand. A curfew has been imposed on Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade, and breaking the law risks extreme punishment. Even the slightest suspicious activity is being investigated. Aurors now constantly patrol Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley and even Hogwarts. The school has now gotten far more serious about enforcing their own curfew rules; the staff are not making the mistake of thinking all their students are innocent.
With the peace of the wizarding world shattered, it is impossible to know who to trust. Friends turn on friends, strangers are kept at a far distance, and the whispered stories of the Dark Lord's doings keeps everyone afraid and wary. The time for choices and sacrifice is now, and each side of the impending war risks torture and death if the other side wins. In this world of panic and chaos, where will you stand?</div>
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