Previously On Alternity: Year One, Autumn Term

[alt_moderator]

Previously On Alternity: Year One, Autumn Term
September 1 - December 31, Year One (2008, realtime)
 

Other Previously on Alternity Recaps:
September 1 - December 31, Year One
January 1 - April 30, Year One
May 1 - August 31, Year One
September 1 - December 31, Year Two
January 1 - April 30, Year Two
May 1 - August 31, Year Two
September 1 - December 31, Year Three
January 1 - April 30, Year Three

Please remember - this post just summarizes some of the major plot points of this term. In order to get a full sense of the game, it's best to read every post.

• The students arrived at Hogwarts on 01 September to find that they were assigned journals. We also learn that the Order of the Phoenix has found a way to lock some entries in the journals - entries prefixed with ORDER ONLY. McGonagall is the headmistress and a double agent - a member of the Order and a Death Eater - loyal to the Order.
• All the characters' introductions are listed in the recap post for the first week, but it's most important to know that Harry was originally sorted into Gryffindor, but Lord Voldemort intervened and moved him into into Slytherin. Nevertheless, he started making friends across Houses. Draco and Harry apparently grew up side by side, based on Lucius' paternal behavior.
• The Philosopher's Stone was stolen from Gringotts, and Bellatrix is heading up the investigation.
• There was a fairly major kerfuffle over someone pouring mud in Percy's bed. It was revealed to be the twins, and they were punished, but not before Hermione got in trouble for standing up for herself (in this world, she's a Mudblood slave in the Hogwarts library - and a member of the Order already).
• During their first flying lesson, Draco stole Neville's Remembrall - and Harry made him return it, catching Professor Slughorn's eye to become Slytherin Seeker.
• Hermione and Terry Boot, who is the Mudblood slave of Amycus and Alecto Carrow, had been posting too publicly. Lucius Malfoy called them out on it and forced McGonagall to punish Hermione severely - sleeping in the hallway, 'Filthy Mudblood' emblazoned on her forehead, bread and water, and serving at the Head Table and doing menial chores.
• Something happened involving Draco, Neville, Harry, Ron and Hermione down a forbidden corridor, but none of them spoke too candidly about it, except to make clear that a three-headed dog was definitely involved.
• Everyone, not just the muggle-borns, find the Carrows scary.
• As a result of idle speculation, Theodore Nott, Harry, and Draco bribed Hermione to let them prick her and see her blood (it's red, not brown). This caused an enormous outburst of controversy.
• Sirius began publishing a series of journal entries called the 'Grim Truth.' He continued throughout the term.
• There seem to be shortages in Britain, of luxuries if nothing else. This is most apparent in Lucius and Molly Weasley's entries, although for very different reasons - Lucius is on several commerce committees, whereas Molly has to make ends meet.
• There is a Sanctuary for Muggle-borns on a southern island; Alice and Frank Longbottom are involved with it, as is Arthur, who works as a Ministry official in the camps for Muggles and so on.
• Regulus Black's hand was cut off by the Lord Protector, although the circumstances are unclear; eventually, he came back from convalescing with a hook hand.
• Order Only can be used for more purposes than just communication - they can even hijack the comments on Lucius Malfoy's posts!
• The Quibbler was shut down for several months for attempting to sensationalize the Grim Truth, and for a time, Xenophilius Lovegood and his daugher Luna went to live with Molly and Arthur Weasley - driving them up a wall.
• Lupin seems to be isolated from the Order, and very sad; they don't trust him, believing him to be a collaborator. (He works as the groundskeeper, doing both Filch and Hagrid's jobs.)
• Bellatrix Lestrange has a daughter, Hydra, who is a bit younger than Harry and Draco; she is quite concerned with the quality of her tutelage. Could Hydra be a little rebel? Perhaps...
• After an incident where a Muggle-born child was given to werewolves, Lupin was seriously hurt trying to stop it and had to be saved by Frank and Alice Longbottom; the Order still didn't fully trust him.
• Neville was hexed to insult everyone, which set off a discussion of the Imperius curse among students, who had varied ideas about its morality.
• It turns out that Pansy Parkinson is quite the curious little rebel regarding Muggles, which results in her going round after round with Lucius and McGonagall (whose public and private perspectives on the situation differ quite a lot).
• Halloween turned into quite a hullaballoo: there was indeed a troll in the dungeon, and the Lord Protector was visiting, adding another level of intensity to the proceedings. The event played out as in Harry Potter canon, but with more students attending - and Hermione was blamed for 'luring' Harry into a trap.
• Harry received Dennis Creevey as a Mudblood slave present from his Father on Halloween. Everyone found Dennis quite creepy, as he would not allow Harry to befriend him, but instead acted like a house-elf.
• Harry's broom went missing prior to his first Quidditch match (he only found it later, in Lupin's pumpkin patch), which was probably responsible for how it flipped out during the match.
• Quirrell has apparently been seen skulking around the castle, presumably ticked that he was fired from the Muggle Studies position to make way for Alecto Carrow.
• For the week prior to the Quidditch match, Boot had been transfigured into a dog by the Carrows and cared for by Fred and George.
• Alice and Frank Longbottom are pregnant!
• Bellatrix is in charge of cleaning up New Wizarding London, not just the hunt for the Philosopher's Stone's thief.
• Pansy's mum is revealed to be "ill" - that is, extremely alcoholic. Pansy spends much of the term worrying about her, and Lucius uses her as a technique to keep Pansy in line.
• Nymphadora Tonks had a terrible time finding work throughout the term due to her half-blood status, and eventually became employed as a janitor at the Ministry.
• Sally-Anne Perks organized a chess tournament, which many students played in.
• The professors are allowed to perform the Cruciatus curse on students, as Professor Carrow did so on Wayne Hopkins. Eventually, this leads to the decision that the Head Boy and Head Girl should also be allowed to use the Cruciatus Curse as a punishment - a decision that Percy Weasley opposes, despite his frequent kowtowing to the Lord Protector's regime.
• The Carrows played a nasty trick on Terry Boot, making his clothes disappear in the Great Hall during meals - just one of many ways that they make his life miserable (later they almost drown him and cause him to get pneumonia.)
• Pansy Parkinson began throwing music parties, as she's gotten more and more into music as time goes on.
• Kingsley Shacklebolt is apparently leading a troupe of actors through Britain, performing as he goes, and is in the Order.
• Harry, Teddy Nott, and Draco melted Ernie Macmillan's cauldron in an ill-fated attempt to study for Professor Slughorn's killer Potions exam at the end of term.
• Penelope Clearwater and Percy Weasley appear to be dancing around each other, socially speaking.
• Lucius Malfoy threw an enormous Christmas party; many people attended, including all the Death Eaters (McGonagall too), Seamus and his guardian, Harry, Draco, Pansy, Hydra and others.
• Sally-Anne's foster family, unlike Seamus', seemed to be using her as an unpaid nanny. (Seamus' guardian gave him everything.)
• The Weasleys spent Christmas with Charlie at the Stornoway Dragon Reserve, and they discovered that the dragons have something to do with the wards covering Britain.
• Draco got a Nimbus 2001 for Christmas; he and Harry apparently also found the Mirror of Erised at Buckingham Palace over the hols. In response, Harry owled Sirius, and they are now in contact talking about his parents (Harry knew that Sirius, who's behind the Grim Truth posts, knew his parents due to a not-so-fortuitous earlier meeting).
• Throughout the term, Sirius attempts to follow through on Dumbledore's plan to smuggle wands into Britain via France, working undercover as "Heinrich Lazlo," using bribery and any other means necessary. Unfortunately, when he was caught he was almost back to square one, having to Transfigure a corpse into Lazlo's "body." He only managed to get a run of the mill importing business going - no wands

Comments

[alt-player.livejournal.com]

Awesome. Thanks for doing this, Fearless Leader.

A point about the tag: besides the "previously on alternity" tag, perhaps we might add a "year one" tag to this post, as well as all the weekly recaps? Next year switch to "previously on alternity" and "year two," etc.

[alt_moderator]

Done!

[lapin-agile.livejournal.com]

Beautifully done! That was a huge task, but it will be so helpful (even to those of us who have been reading along from the beginning).

[alt_moderator]

Thank you! I'm going to be doing an "intro for people who haven't read Harry Potter" kind of thing next. :D

[frozen-jelly.livejournal.com]

Can I ask why its a 'Trimester' and not a term? Great summarizing!

[alt_moderator]

H'm.

I originally said 'trimester' because I feel like 'term' implies the 4-term system (hilary/easter/trinity/michaelmas or, according to wikipedia, candlemas/whitsunday/lammas/martinmas in Scotland, apparently). But then, we don't really use the term 'term' in the US, where I am quite obviously from, so I'm not the best person to decide. 'Trimester' is decidedly un-Potterish, which is partially why I picked it - didn't want to imply that it was something that was an in-game term, yknow?

Hm, now I will have to think about this more.

[frozen-jelly.livejournal.com]

I am totally unaware of a four term system! Most placxes have the standard three, in colloquial (ie non Oxbridge terms) its Autumn Spring and Summer Terms. Trimester just makes me think of pregnancy, and also suggests three equal parts, which terms are(ish) of the school year but not of the calender year.

[alt_moderator]

Huh! Good to know. I'll switch it over, then. It is true that the parts aren't equal. *thinks hard at all times*