The World of Wizardry; what you all know!

This section details the common background information knownm to all the characters in the game. It is fairly simple but worth remembering when playing, and copies will be available on the day, s don't feel you have to commit it to memory as home work! It is almost entirely take from J.K. Rowling's books, and full credit is given...

There are really two entirely different worlds, both sharing the same space in contemporary Europe. One of them is the world we all know, but the other is one we can not see. We are muggles, sleepers, poor dumb mortals, blind to magic. All around us are villages and communities of witches and wizards and magical folk, doing their own thing, studying grimoires, casting magic, and generally living exciting lives which are nothing at all like ours. We drive past their villages, but never even notice, we share trains with them, and never look twice. Muggles are sleepers, living without really seeing the magic all around. Dragons, giants, ogres and goblins share our land with us; but unless we happen to be unlucky enought to be on the dinner menu, we'd never know.

There is in fact in Britain an entire Government Department, the Ministy of Magic, composed of hard working Civil Servants whose job is to ensure that muggles are not disturbed by magical folks, and vice versa. It is an offence to make magic item which could be accidentally used by a muggle believing it to be a mundane piece of technology, or to interfere with muggles.

Magical folk tend to look down on muggles, but as they live in magic places and don't hve much to do with muggle culture they can be astonishingly ignorant of what muggle life is ablout. They have very little understanding of muggle money, politics, entertaiment or lifestyles - all of those things are very different in their world. They even look down on wizards and witches who were born to muggle parents - such prejudice is of course not acceptable, but many hold it anyway, seeing such people as inferior. This is particulalry true of those influenced by one of the great Wizards of the early Middle Ages, Slytherin, who taught a sort of racial superiority in which muggles are second class citizens, barely more than cattle, and the muggle born wizard is an object of contempt. They follow a sort of 'purity of blood' ethic and hate and despise 'halfbloods' as they call them, though they would never admit it in front of a tutor. Almost all the muggle born feel some shame or resentment at the treatment handed out to them, but many true wizards genuinely welcome the muggle born and treat muggles with respect if not some bafflement.

John Dee University was greatly influenced by Slytherin who worked hard for it's founding; he was also one of the four founders of Hogwarts. While Hogwarts has embraced complete toleration, it is believed that the old prejudices are strong at John Dee University where you are trying to gain admission.

You are all magical folk; bear in mind you relly don't understand muggles at all.

Education

There are a number of magical schools scttered throughout the world, of which by far the most prestigious is Hogwarts. You are all sixth formers (or equivalent) with your Owls and your Newt Level examinations now tkena nd awaiting results (though apparently there is some scandal athe Ministry of Magic about the marking, but that is neither here not there...). You are attending one of the rigourous selection days which establish which few students will be chosen to attend John Dee University and gain their degrees in Advanced Thaumurturgy which pretty much guarantee a fantastic career in the Ministy of Magick or elsewhere.

The Schools from which attendees at today event come are as follows...

Hogwarts, somewhere in the north of England
The greatest school of all, divided in to four Houses - Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravensclaw and Hufflepuff. Gryffindor students are brave and loyal, Hufflepuff clever and bookish, Slytherin sneaky power hungry cads and Ravensclaw decent and sociable types. Your loyalty is greater to your House than to the school, and you may well actively dislike students from other houses even if they are from Hogwarts. Slytherin are almost universally disliked, and are often cruel callous and untrustworthy, a reputation that has spread far beyond Hogwarts. Harry Potter is a famous young schoolboy currently studying in his fourth year at Hogwarts, best known for his surviving an attack by Lord Voldemort (q.v) and apparently breaking He Who Is Not to be Named's power. He is readily identifiable by a lightning bolt scar on his forehead, a result of that magical battle which took place when Hrry was still a baby, killing his mother and father. Potter and his friends Ron and Hermione are all members of Gryffindor House. Every Wizard in the world has heard of him, and all Hogwarts students will know something of the events of the books (or film). He is of course far too young to be at the Open Day, but people will probably talk about him.

Agnes Nutter's School for Young Women at Stonehenge

The Nutter School is a first rate girls school given to a very traditional curriculum. Students still wear the traditional black robe, pointy hat and other regalia of traditional witches, and express a passionate hatred of trndy icars, vacuumn cleaners and people who call themselves wiccans. Rarely seen without their broomsticks, Nutter girls lead the world in ladies quidditch, a sort of high speed broom-flying ball game with elements of lacrosse, hockey and bloodsport, played by all magical folk. In mixed quidditch they are routinely in the top of the British Schools Quidditch League, and were in not for their disconcerting cackling, in which al young nutters ar trained shortly after arrival at the school, plus positively anti-social approach to delinmg with male chauvanists (fancy being turned in to a newt, and then sufferring surgical intervention lible to severly curtail your prospects of familyby her penknife? - make a lewd comment at a Nutter girl!) they would be very well respected.

Some History: About Lord Voldemort

In the early 1980's a terrible magical Dictator arose in Britain, and with his magical colleagues managed to take over the country and institute a reign of terror. So awful was this man, who slew any who dared resist him and his minions, that to this day noone dares peak his name, but all know it - Lord Voldemort. Your character is not able to say 'Voldemort' under any circumstances - to do so is to run the risk of invoking the evil that was, and the slightest mention of the name causes you to cower in fear. Noone would ever admit to desiring the return of Voldemort, though it is rumoured that some may secretly work for just such an end.

Voldemort was eventually destroyed in a magical conflict in which he confronted and killed both Harry Potter's parents, among the last of the resistance. Having slain Harry's mother Voldemort then turned to kill the baby Harry, and his terrible spell was what gave Harry the lightning bolt scar on his forehead. However the spell somehow backfired, and did not slay Harry, but instead somehow crippled or destroyed Voldemort himself, ending his reign of terror. Obviously if you want the whole story you will have to read the Harry Potter books! :)

About Parseltongue; Parseltongue is a magicl language known only to the magical Heir of Slytherin, a particulalry unpleasant prophesied mage to come, Voldemort, and Harry Potter. A few of Voldemorts associates know the secret language, which is also the natural language of snakes.

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Last updated: 12th September 2002