New Plots for a New Year

[Max Kameren]

Hey guys, sorry for all the inactivity. I've been amping up to my final semester at college, and I've had to write a lot more essays than usual! Anyway, I think I've figured out what direction the plot should be headed in. What we need is new, active people changing dynamics on the board and keeping things interesting.

What we need to do is move the plot further away from the Kamerens. They're a beast of our own, something we've groomed and put together with a long, convoluted history that is difficult for others to follow when they're first coming in. But, I've figured out a way to keep what we have, but shift the focus somewhere else: the gypsies.

Ulysses Holland and his granddaughter/protegee Rowena Holland run a very successful crime empire through Knockturn Alley. Though Ulysses has always been content to stay in the shadows, Rowena is more arrogant and wishes to take credit for their lucrative work. She does this by leading some kind of assault/raid outside the wizarding underworld (Ro, my dear, that's up to you if you're into this).

The appearance of the aurors/black watch/someone leads Rowena's endeavor to a failure. Ulysses, to protect his granddaughter and his empire, Holland uses his underground to perpetuate rumors that dark-wizards associated with the gypsies were behind the attack. This makes it to the Ministry, and Law Enforcement starts cracking down on the gypsy population, specifically in Hogsmeade.

After months of hostility between the two, a riot breaks out in London over the hitwizard discrimination against gypsies. This escalates the tension to the point where the the Wizarding public are on the brink of civil war against their own government.

This was Holland's plan all along, of course: distract both sides so he can keep his own business running smoothly, and possibly come out in a place of power once the revolution is over. But, perhaps, someone is watching him.


Thoughts? Input? We'll be moving a lot of the action to Hogsmeade and Knockturn Alley, using characters outside the Ministry. Both sides think they're fighting for the 'good' guys, while Rowena and Ulysses pull the strings and go about their respective double-lives.

[Elle Callahan]

I like this idea a lot (and not just because I have gypsies )

I think in order to get this plot started, if we're still going to do it, we need to create a little guide to gypsy life. I think there would be clans of gypsies that specialize in their own kind of trade (like pick pocketing, charm work, performance) These are just suggestions, because well gypsies could do anything they wanted in their own society.

Now, in my mind gypsies don't always get along but I could see them uniting against the tyranny of the ministry. Maybe there even is some kind of war counsel made up of the different heads of each gypsy clan.

Question, would the Hollands have used the gypsies in their underground network of criminals? Or would the gypsies have always been rivals with the Hollands and this is a good way of getting rid of them? I could see some of the gypsies resenting working with a non-gypsy crime lord but I could also see some working with them because they only see a money making opportunity.

[Elle Callahan]

I know the gypsy plot was heavily tied to the Hollands but I think there is a way to make it general and more inclusive.

What if there is some sort of event that prompts the ministry to enforce registry laws. This event could be a massive breaking of the secrecy laws by gypsies, werewolves, vampires etc. Or maybe by one of the groups, or a few members from each which causes the ministry to panic. I was thinking that gypsies should be registered because a lot of them are squibs or practice wandless magic. In my mind there are a class of gypsies that have a low level magic, they are not muggles but neither can they use wands. They have abilities such as brewing simple magical potions, creating healing herbs. Maybe they even do some wandless magic, like heal a simple cut etc. Some also have some seer abilities. Maybe over the years, Gypsy magic has evolved into something wandless, based on emotional need. They could even be related to the druids. Now some among the gypsies have both types of magic, and can do gypsy created spells and use a wand with enough ability to go to Hogwarts or some other wizarding school.
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What if somewhere in history like the 1600 or 1700s, the ministry of magic started a campaign against gypsies. History has not been kind to gypsies all over the world so it is likely this would be true in the magical world. What if there was this propaganda that gypsies caused squibs in prominent magical families. Maybe there was a time in history where magic was weakening and families were scared because a larger number of their children were becoming squibs and for some reason there were less squibs being born to the gypsies. This would be considered odd because gypsies have a higher rate of squibs on average. Now many cultures have believed that gypsies have stolen babies and replaced them with changelings. What if the magical world started to believe (falsely) that gypsies were either sucking out the magic of their babies at birth, or was replacing the magical babies with squib gypsy babies. This turns into mass hysteria and a gypsy registry is created, just like ones for other magical beings. Now, a gypsy can look like a proper English lady or Irish laddie so the ministry devised a blood spell/curse that marks gypsies. The marking curse/spell causes someone with gypsy blood to be born with an identifying birth mark. We could even take it further and have an identifying mark for each gypsy clan.

So now come back to modern times. It's been a while since everyone hated gypsies. THey fought alongside the war against Voldemort and the Dark Lady. However, it's peace time now and the government is turning it's resources on making society safer. Stories begin circling about those trouble making werewolf loving gypsies. See, gypsies have been kinder to magical beings than other witches/wizards, and have formed a bond with the fringe societies.

There could be reform requests asking gypsies, werewolves and other magical beings to not attend Hogwarts. Maybe there is an initiative to create a new school for those with inferior magical abilities.

This anti movement could start in the ministry but also spread to the general populace. It could eventually lead to protests and riots... Now not all witches/wizards will be anti-gypsy/magical beings (werewolves, veelas and vampires).

[Nuriko]

It looks interesting, but I'd be against that whole curse/marking thing, it seems a little too much like Hitler and the Jews. About the Ministry, I can see it starting with a small faction, maybe in Registration and Control of Magical Creatures, or some fanatical purebloods (The Blacks, or the Malfoys, possibly)