#also now that i think about it edwin would make a good remus lupin

[clumsily-stacked-fandoms]

Okay but it can’t be just me who’s getting modern Sirius Black vibes from Charles Rowland

[homenum-revelio-hq]

THE ENGAGEMENT PARTY: FEBRUARY 14TH, 1981.

The engagement party thrown by the Rosiers to celebrate the impending union of their own Jayesh with one Vanessa Abbott is hardly the shindig of the century - Vanessa is of middling social rank at best, and until a little over ten years ago was not even aware of her own pureblood heritage, but Jayesh is besotted and as he’s a younger son, a pretty, vivacious wife with pure blood and little fortune but great enthusiasm is acceptable.

     (Besides, there’s little chance of anyone outdoing the obnoxious gala that fêted the Malfoy-Black marriage any time soon.)

Nonetheless, in these dark times any happiness is worth celebrating, and the Rosiers are not known for their frugality or dullness so it is sure to be a memorable event...

                                             ...especially for the Order of the Phoenix.

THE MISSION.

Having learned from Isla Selwyn-Macmillan that the mysterious Orb that the Order has been chasing since that disastrous night at the Notts’ home, and which is believed to have recently been responsible for the deaths of 102 Muggles, is now being stored at the Rosier family’s chief residence, the Order has decided to take advantage of the party to infiltrate the estate discreetly and retrieve the Orb (and any other potentially useful secrets they can find along the way), an endeavor that will doubtless be helped by the fact that one of their own is the sister of the bride-to-be.

ASSIGNMENTS.

Ainsley Abbott & Amelia Bones. The latter will be attending as Ainsley’s date to the party, although they will not be arriving together since Ainsley will be there early to help her sister. Neither are technically there on Order business since Amelia is not technically in the Order, and it was decided that Ainsley would be busy enough already. Nonetheless, should any Order members find themselves in distress, both Amelia and Ainsley stand ready to help them get out unnoticed. Amelia also hopes to keep her date from being miserable...but that may be the harder mission.

Mary Macdonald & James Potter. They will be polyjuiced as Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy, respectively, with James brushing-off his rusty lessons in “social comportment” to keep the both of them from getting caught. Their duty will be to watch-over the bride-to-be and keep Vanessa from noticing that there is anything amiss at her party. Knowing that Nessie would be protected by wix whose skills she trusts was the only way to get Ainsley to agree to having her sister’s party used as cover for the Order’s mission!

Lily Evans & Emmeline Vance. No one is expected to cross wands with any enemies at this party, but the Order has been around long enough to know that’s always a risk. Given that they’re meant to be bringing back a Dark Artifact, the chances of injuries are high enough anyway - so the Order wants to be ready. This leaves Emmeline and her new, reluctant assistant, at headquarters to prepare for the worst. They are thus also tasked with keeping an eye on the Order map that shows if anyone is in trouble so they can send out patronuses to Remus and Peter directing aide, if needed.

Isla Selwyn-Macmillan & Archibald Macmillan. As invited guests, the couple are among the safest of the Order members attending since the worst thing they’re likely to be exposed as being if caught is too nosy - which makes them a perfect choice to search the main floor for the Orb without drawing suspicion. The problem with this is that they often get stopped by “friends of theirs” and have to stay in character, making the search a rather slow one!

Emma Vanity & Daisy Hookum. Emma had been invited to the party with her family, but no one goes without a date. With most wix expecting her to be on the arm of a dazzling pureblooded wizard, Daisy has been assigned to polyjuice herself as Igor Karkaroff in order for Emma and her to watch over the mission and provide distraction if anything goes haywire. This means a lot of small talk with a lot of other guests (an undue amount of which seems centered on how nice it is to see Emma finally “getting over" poor Antonin and on with her life - and with such a good catch, too!). Daisy’s not used to being a man, however - nor is she very happy at having to play pureblood. 

Amos Diggory & Artem Tremblay & Maurice Creevey. The Diggorys are still held in high esteem by pureblood society and Amos has thus been invited to the event. With Artem as his plus one, it’s enough to get them both through the door to look for the Orb on the upper floors where they will be joined by “Rabastan Lestrange” (really Maurice Creevey) whose name and reputation should dissuade any interference -- especially as many of the guests will have forgotten about Amos while he was away and aren’t likely to seek him out to chat. It’s expected (by many in the Order, at least) that Artem will also be willing use their veela charm to protect their mission from exposure if necessary; between the three of them, it’s hoped that they’ll be able to trespass so far beyond the bounds of the party with relative impunity.

Cordelia Greengrass & Sirius Black & Mundungus Fletcher. The former is an invited guest; the latter two are attending under polyjuice, Sirius using the old-fashioned manners he hates so much to maintain his cover and Mundungus trotting out his old theatre skills as they pretend to be Edwin Yaxley and his wife, Morganna (the rest of the Order let them fight over who’s paying whom). The assignment of the latter two is to break into the study and rifle through the Rosiers’ private documents...a task made difficult by the fact that they’ve run across an overly-curious young witch who is disinclined to let them slip away easily. But it’s not like she suspects on whose behalf they’re really there...does she?

Ryland Greengrass & Andromeda Black. Both in polyjuice, using their rusty (especially in Andromeda’s case) old social skills to pass as Bellatrix and Roldolphus Lestrange, their assignment for the night is light: they are to mingle casually among the guests, but to stay near the Entrance Hall to make sure none of the actual people they’re all polyjuiced as show up. Andromeda was asked (and suggested) for the role by Sirius, who trusts that she can pull out her old skills as a proper pureblood lady well enough to blend in; Ryland was given what was hoped to be easy duty as he is still recovering (and perhaps not entirely trusted by some) but which is likely to be made more difficult by all the familiar faces attending...not that Andromeda won’t be encountering some unwelcome familiar faces of her own, too!

Alice Longbottom & Frank Longbottom. While not in the same social circles as the Rosiers, the Longbottoms are socially acceptable enough that the Rosiers decided to “invite” them...as hired guards, not guests. (“After what happened to poor Leina Nott, well...can't be too careful with that Phoenix rabble out there, can we?“) Ordinarily they would refuse, but for the sake of the Order they agree to be the Rosiers’ “Aurors at the feast.” They will pose as guests to the public while keeping their eyes out for possible trouble...just not the sort of trouble the Rosiers expect them to watch for.

Ndulue Travers & Dorcas Meadowes. Ndulue will be attending as the “pretty play-toy” on the arm of wealthy old pureblood Perpetua Bulstrode...who will secretly be Dorcas under polyjuice disguise. Their assignment is to search the Rosiers’ bedrooms for evidence (masks, robes, etc) that will allow the Order to pinpoint which of the family are active Death Eaters...a risky task made safer by the fact that the pair have a ready-made-excuse should they be caught “dallying” in said bedrooms!

Branwen Yaxley & Fabian Prewett. The former is a required invitee who, for once, is pleasing her mother by not causing a fuss, and even bringing a date - Fabian, although everyone there will think him Casper Crouch thanks to the polyjuice. Their task is to slip (or perhaps stomp) away from the party and investigate the grounds. While Ainsley has not been involved much in the plans for the night, being preoccupied with the actual party, she did get word to the Order just prior to the event that there's something odd - something Dark - hidden out on the Rosiers' lands. (Players should connect with admins to discuss what exactly they’ll find!)

Caradoc Dearborn & Edgar Bones. The Dearborn family is always invited to things like this as a matter-of-course; they also never attend. When Caradoc arrives with Elladora Rowle on his arm (really Edgar Bones under polyjuice), it causes a stir...but Caradoc doesn’t really seem to feel like talking. No matter - the families in attendance hadn’t expected that from him anyway! It gives them the ability to slip away - down to the cellar - in search of the Orb they’ve come for. 

Marlene McKinnon & Gideon Prewett. With Gideon’s position at the Ministry and Marlene’s vast knowledge in wards (given the ones set around her farm have held even under werewolves), they have been tasked with finding the anti-Apparition wards on the Rosier Estate and taking them down. The Order doesn’t know if they’ll have to make a quick escape - and they can’t all run to the Apparition point at once without getting caught! Marlene and Gideon are both purebloods who have not been invited but, should they be caught, can act as “gatecrashers” and dates of one another. They should not use their Phoenix Tags or polyjuice to keep suspicion down. 

Remus Lupin & Peter Pettigrew. Held back as reserves should things go south, the two friends may be especially relieved to not be among the attendees given Remus’s recently exposed secrets and Peter’s yet-undiscovered ones (although Peter’s Death Eater masters would doubtless have preferred him to be there, where he could give them more warning about the Order’s plans than a vague recommendation to keep their eyes open tonight...). Still, it cannot be easy to sit and fret at the borders of the Rosiers’ grounds while they wait to see if they’ll be required to charge to the rescue. They are not under polyjuice, but should have their Phoenix Tags ready. 

THINGS TO CONSIDER.

Anyone playing in a para where there is a polyjuiced party will need to decide how they kept their persona at home. (i.e. Did they break into their home and tie them up? Knock them out? Make them sick? Modify their memories? Maybe just falsified a nice sale in Diagon Alley?). This doesn’t have to be played out - we will assume it happened prior to the event - but should be kept in mind. It can also involve other characters through plotting.

Characters should be thinking about how their polyjuiced person speaks and acts - and how pureblood society in general behaves. Clothing should mimic high society wizarding families (high-end dress robes, jewelry, etc).

Some characters will be better at playing their part than others - not everyone will be perfect. It’s okay to trip them up...or even get caught!

Polyjuice only lasts for one hour and nobody has extra doses, while events like this tend to last well into the wee hours of the morning. This puts things on a tight schedule for our infiltrators! They can’t afford to dally.

Dark Marks do not show up in polyjuice and many of those being impersonated fall under the category of suspected but unconfirmed Death Eaters - but fortunately pureblood fashion and the icy temperatures combined should lead to full-length robes and long sleeves for most attendees anyway, so no one will be inadvertently exposed by failing to dress “appropriately” for their subject’s Marked status!

Just because there are para assignments does not mean you only need one thread. People can interact with others outside their assignment - this is just who the Order put them with for the mission. (i.e. Emma and Ryland could chat, Peter and Remus might find Gideon and Marlene messing with the wards, etc.) Feel free to branch-out and strike-up other interactions along the way!

Assigned paras should take priority, however!

Polyjuiced players may feel free to choose a temporary faceclaim to stand-in for whomever your character is impersonating!

DETAILS.

Some of the pairings above were set by admins based on events planned in-game. Others were chosen using random dice rolls. As always, admins will keep track of what is happening within threads. At random intervals, players might be asked to dice roll for their group, which will then spur a mini plot drop for their characters. 

Remember to tags your posts with the date of event and to tag any open starters with ‘homenumstarter.’ This event does not yet have an end date, as we will vote on that like we have in the past. Threads set prior to February 14th can still be continued and more can still be started, if needed for plots!