Starting to Stir[1]

[Elric Marwood]

*The time had come to go public. His nerves ran high, but the recent Death Eater activity was the perfect opportunity for them to make their move. At least that was what Nyx had said. He agreed, but a part of him worried that taking advantage of the situation might be seen as out of order.*

*The team had set up a stage in the centre of Diagon Alley, and while the crowds bustled around on their business, Elric took his position in the middle. Nyx could not be here himself, due to it being midday, but some of the other supporters were there for him.*

*He pointed his wand at himself.*

Sonorus.

*He placed the wand away, and raised his arms wide and high, making himself as visible as possible.*

People of the Wizarding World!

We are fed up with the constant threat to our lives from the dark forces.

It is time to put a stop to it!

*He paused, hoping that some passers-by might stop to take notice.*

[Silvery Bletchley]

Silvery stopped walking when she spotted the commotion across the street. A man, sure to be from the Ministry, standing up on a stage saying something about being fed up with the dark forces, a crowd slowly gathering around him. Intrigued, Silvery decided to hang around for the rest of the speech.

"This ought to be interesting." She thought to herself as she took a seat on a bench nearby, her eyes and ears thoroughly probing the situation, ready to take back to the Dark Lord whatever knowledge she gained from this. Although, she suspected there would already be other Death Eaters around. But if not, all it would take would be for one single person to utter the "magic" word. That one powerful name. And then...

She finished the thought with a wicked smirk.

[Django]

*He stood close to the stage, keeping an eye out for any trouble while the crowd began to form. Being hired as a bodyguard was more his line of work, but he still was not all too pleased about it.*

[Lee Jordan]

*Hearing the commotion in the street, he stepped out of the doorway of Weasleys Wizard Wheezes, where he was working his shift. A sizable crowd seemed to be building and someone in the middle of it was making a speech. Lee was always keen to be in the know about the latest goings on, so made himself comfortable leaning against the door.*

[Elric Marwood]

*A decent sized crowd had taken notice, so he continued.*

A couple of days ago, a humble family lost their home and daughter due to the current Ministry's inability to protect our citizens from danger.

A daughter. Their most precious possession. Snatched away from them forever through no fault of their own.

Now, we are all aware of the situation surrounding the attack. And you may say that they brought the danger upon themselves by harbouring a fugitive.

But I say, if the Minister was able to embrace our allies rather than depict them as criminals opposing his regime, then the poor Weasley family would have never have had to face that terror.

I say, if the Minister had acted sooner and secured the safety of Potter, we may have even ended the war by now.

[Bernard Blotts]

*Bern leaned drunkenly against the door of his shop, listening to the speech with an Extendable Ear he purchased from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes before he took umbrage with the twins*

*Grins, knowing that this must be who Tariq was on about*

[Rita Skeeter]

*On her way to Gringott's, Rita's "spidey senses" start tingling, letting her now there's a story brewing*

*Walks to the middle of Diagon Alley, and almost smiles when she sees the Auror, Elric Marwood, up on his soapbox*

*Gleefully whips out her Quick Quotes Quill and a notepad, and lets the quill run rampant, taking down everything Marwood says, plus plenty of gilded descriptions of crowd support*

[Elric Marwood]

*The crowd was growing, and although inside his confidence was growing, he remained professional in his delivery.*

Now, with Potter's untimely, tragic demise, there may be those of you who believe that the prophecy means that we are doomed to defeat.

Do not lose hope!

Scrimgeour may be happy to let us continue fighting losing battles on all fronts, but not us.

He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has the support of trolls, vampires and other non humans, simply because our Ministry does not accept them as friends.

I say we reach out. Let them join our society in peace, strengthening us and weakening the enemy all in one.

We do not need a prophecy to dictate our destiny. We do not need a chosen one!

Together, with peace as our goal, rather than destruction, we can find an end to this war!

An end to the death!

[Rita Skeeter]

*Rita listens carefully, gleefully thinking of the article she can write with this*

*Hears his suggestion for reaching out to non-wizard part-humans, and gasps, then calls out*

Mister Marwood! Surely you can't be serious? Vampires are a serious threat to our society at large! Look at the Turner twins, the murders in Hogsmeade!

[Bernard Blotts]

*Hears Rita's shrill, shrewish voice, and rolls his eyes*

Merlin's beard, she's like a cockroach that just won't go away!

*Tries to concentrate on what Marwood's saying*

[Elric Marwood]

*He was getting a response, but this was all right. It was part of what he was here for.*

And on those minority are we to judge the entire community?

We could say the same about our own kind. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, Gellert Grindelwald, Bellatrix Lestrange!

I myself have friends among the vampire community, and I know of others that do too. Vampires who try to live a life in which they can exist side by side with the rest of society.

And what of centaurs, merfolk and giants? They too prove that they can be trusted, yet are treated as outsiders for their differences, and for the actions of the minority.



*The Phoenix murders were a terrible thing, and he was aware that the vampire culprit was being held for trial in the near future. He may be able to use this for his campaign, but was not sure entirely how.*

[Django]

*He kept an eye out. Rita Skeeter was a pain, but it was doubtful that she was any threat.*

[Elric Marwood]

*He was centre stage and had the attention of the crowd. He did not want to lose them now.*

The point though is that we need an end to the war.

We have fought and died for too long. We need to take drastic steps and finish it once and for all. We must not allow it to drag on any longer.

I call for a vote of no confidence in Rufus Scrimgeour. I challenge his position as Minister!

I wish to take our society and make it what it should be! With your support, I believe I can do that. WE can do that!

[Barnabas Cuffe]

*He had a clear view of the street from his office, and a story seemed to be breaking out there. He quickly sent a few notes flying around the office building ordering his minions to get out there and start taking notes.*

*He himself began working on a suitable headline.*

War Hero Claims Minister Is An Unprecedented Brain-Wrong

*For a first draft that was not bad at all. It could even make the final edit.*

[Daisy Ollivander]

Daisy had been in her shop when she heard the commotion outside her shop, someone was shouting out, giving a speech or some such... She would move toward her door, glancing out the window before letting herself out of her shop. She didn't go far from her doorway, but she got out in time to hear much of what was going on. She winced a little, not liking the idea of confrontation, but she supposed that's what all of this was about...