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Before you can even begin to ponder further, you hear a series of thunderous cracks all around you as cloaked figures begin to appear, one after the other. They start to close in, all of them spouting something about the usage of an "Unauthorized Portkey" as they point their sticks at you.
One of them murmurs something you don't quite catch, but as soon as they say it the stick you're holding flies out of your hand. Another one of them speaks and the next thing you know, you're being struck in the chest by a jet of red light before everything goes dark.
Hundreds of miles away, behind a locked door atop a secret tower inside Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, a quill sleepily lifts itself out of its inkwell as a thick, impossibly old book falls open next to it. The quill begins to write a name.
Your name.
You awaken in a stone chair positioned in the middle of a generously sized, windowless room made up of sleek black stone. Your hands and feet are bound to the chair and your chest is sore from being hit earlier by that strange red light. Where had it come from?
A door behind you opens and more of the same cloaked figures file in, surrounding you with those same sticks pointing directly at you. Now that you can see them, it would be comical how unopposing they appear to be in proper light if you didn't still feel the ache in your chest. From the tallest to the most squat of them, each are clad in a different shade of flamboyant color. They look like they ought to belong on a stage show, rather than this cold, dimly lit room.
Once the questions start, they don't stop coming. Any attempts to interrupt or to change the subject get another stick pointed in your face. If you don't cooperate, one them waves their stick and you find that you can no longer make a sound, no matter how hard you try or how hard you yell.
Who are you? Where are you from? Are you aware that it's illegal to create and use an unauthorized portkey? Who created it, if not you? Is this your wand?
One of the colorfully clad individuals holds up what you recognize as the stick you were holding earlier.
Whose wand is it? Where did you get it? Are you working with someone?
They begin whispering amongst themselves and you catch something about "you-know-who" and "death eater", before they get interrupted by an owl swooping into the room through the still open door. It flies over your head, depositing an envelope that is unmistakable addressed to you directly into your lap.
Department of Magical Law Enforcement, the tackiest stone chair, Interrogation Room #7
Chaos seems to break out around you as the letter is taken from your lap and your captors seem perplexed by the letter. It has the official Hogwarts seal, they marvel. What does it mean? Who's responsible for this?
Just as their questioning begins to turn aggressive, with sticks invading your personal space from all directions, a couple of more people enter the room. A tall man with long white hair and a beard down to his belt, dressed in similarly bright robes as the others, followed by a shorter woman in purple robes and short, blond hair with a large, round hat on top.
"We'll take it from here," she says. "This is much bigger than a simple unauthorized portkey."
She waves everyone away and all of your captors depart, giving a respectful nod and a polite "Ma'am" or "Minister," as they exit. Soon, it's just you, the woman in purple and the man with the long white beard.
He approaches you, withdrawing a stick of his own from within his long sleeves. With a wave, your constraints simply disappear.
"I'm Professor Albus Dumbledore," he says calmly, giving you a warm smile "I understand you have questions, all of which will be answered in due time. But for now, let's find you a more comfortable place to get your bearings, shall we? Perhaps a nice, warm butterbeer to settle the nerves."
Sometime later, with a warm mug of sweet, delicious butterbeer, your ensuing chat with Dumbledore proves enlightening.
You're a wizard.
You have an incredible amount of repressed magic inside of you, whether you feel it or not. A dangerous amount of it, in fact. He warns that unless you nurture and grow your abilities, you run the risk of turning into a monster... literally.
An Obscurial, a being whose repressed magical energy grew corrupt and consumed them, transforming them into an abomination.
Under normal circumstances, the process of becoming an Obscurial takes years and years of repressing and denying one's magical powers, through choice or by force. In doing so, it allows the magic to grow corrupt and form a parasitic manifestation of itself known as an Obscurus, which eventually overtakes it's host. It's an often traumatic experience for the young wizard or witch in question, not to mention the danger it presents to everyone if one were to be unleashed.
Currently, circumstances are very abnormal. After lengthy discussions, the Ministry agrees that any repression of your magic could cause the growth of an Obscurus and they can not let that happen.
It only takes one Obscurial to cause irreparable damage. If everyone who found themselves on the wrong end of Magical Law Enforcement for an unauthorized portkey were to turn into an Obscurial, it would mean the end of the wizard world.
The Ministry is confident that with the right education and practice, the dangerous levels of magic inside of you will safely disperse with use, so there is no need to panic. You may find that your spells are unpredictable, overly powerful, prone to flashy bursts and beautiful grandeur, but with time that extra burst of power will begin to dissipate to normal levels typical to witches and wizards of your age.
Until the Ministry of Magic can investigate your arrival and figure out how to reverse the process, they ask that you cooperate for the safety of everyone. They assure you that the Department of Mysteries is actively looking into it, starting with a thorough examination of the wand that you were holding upon arrival.
While you wait for answers, the owner of an inn located in the small village of Hogsmeade, just outside of Hogwarts School of Witchraft and wizardry, has agreed to put you up. A warm bed, a cozy atmosphere and free butterbeer are just what you need to settle down after such a long ordeal.
A letter addressed to you lays open on a desk.
We are pleased to inform you that you
have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.
Yours sincerely, Minerva Mcgonagall
Next to this letter on the desk is a large, heavy box. Across the front of the box in big, bright purple letters reads "Hogwarts for the Homeschooled Witch or Wizard: Year One". Inside this box is a stone basin, a stack of books, a cauldron, a set of brass scales, a set of glass phials, a telescope and finally, what appear to be numerous phials filled with a strange, string-like white substance.
A pamphlet inside reads:
Greetings, aspiring Witch or Wizard! In this kit, you will find everything you need to complete your self-guided journey through your first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
The basin you received in your kit is called a "Pensieve", a wondrous piece of magic that allows the user to deposit and view the memories of other witches and wizards. Using the provided memories, you can use the pensieve to view past lessons, experienced by real witches and wizards that have attended and gone on to graduate and have successful careers in their respective fields.
It's our guaranteed assurance that each and every memory you receive has been reviewed by a qualified Ministry of Magic official and that the information contained in these memories will guide you in the direction you need to master each subject and pass your exams with flying colours.
Good luck, Student!
Sincerely, Wally Whizz Hard
Finally, next to the note lies the wand that you were holding when you arrived, returned to you by the Department of Mysteries after a long and thorough examination, of which they have nothing to reveal.
Perhaps the most perplexing mystery of all, according to Professor Dumbledore, is the very existence of this wand. Soon after getting settled in, he introduces you to an older wizard by the name of Mr. Ollivander, who Dumbledore tells you is a famous wand-maker.
He asks permission to examine your wand, whispering to himself as he looks it over. He says a lot of things that don't make sense to you, something about wood type and wand cores and loyalty, but that isn't the weird part.
It turns out, the wand you appeared with belongs to you, completely and truly with an unwavering loyalty. In fact, he confesses he couldn't find you a better fit if he tried.
"The wand chooses the wizard," he says mysteriously, brows furrowed as he examines your wand. "And this one has chosen you most unequivocally."
Mr. Ollivander leaves you with more questions than answers, but you get the sense that he doesn't understand the situation, either.
Everyone else who arrived under the same circumstances also awoke holding a wand, all just as specifically linked to the holder as yours and, as you suspected, no one really knows why.
Until more answers can be obtained, Professor Dumbledore urges you to ease your mind of those burdens and focus instead on your upcoming education and training. Though you may dream of home, he hopes you'll find contentment and happiness in your education and grow bonds with those that have befallen the same fate as you.
He presents you with a journal, which he tells you can be used to communicate with those other individuals. All you have to do is simply write in it, and everyone who has a journal like it will be able to see and respond in kind. A useful tool in the months to come, where you're encouraged to embark on this education hand-in-hand with your new peers.
Characters ages 11-17 will partake in a sorting ceremony to determine their Hogwarts house and begin their education starting in the year that corresponds to their age; 11 being year one, 17 being the seventh and final year. They will be given a specific subset of memories to view through the pensieve, specialized to help them quickly catch up to their corresponding year. It will teach them basics of wand-work, magical theory and a brief history of magic to get them acquainted with the wizarding world.
Students who are grandfathered into an existing year will be heavily encouraged to review earlier coursework to fill in any gaps in their education.
Characters over the age of 17 will reside in the Room of Houses, a special room created by the castle itself in order to solve the ever-growing housing problem that the community has found itself in.
From there, they will attend night classes taught by the same professors that teach the students- how? Their particular method is a secret, however rest assured they are using the finest in time management techniques to ensure a proper education for all.
Of course, they cannot teach everything to everyone, that is simply outside the scope of even those with the best time management skills. Instead, they will utilize a combination of night classes and a special homeschooling kit which they can use to study additional spells and subjects in order to prepare them for their future exams.
They will receive a Wally Whizhard Homeschool kit and may begin studying and practicing the material within as soon they have undergone a sorting ceremony to determine their school house.
In addition, during the summer holidays, Hogwarts will be hosting special summer classes, taught by Ministry of Magic representatives. These classes will be focused on educating new adult wizards and witches about the modern-day wizarding world, magical law, the technique of magical teleportation known as apparition and an in-depth look at the Ministry of Magic and its various departments, with a focus on determining what sort of career they might be interested in after they've completed their education.
Upon completing their first advancement exam and thus, their first year of Hogwarts, the Ministry of Magic will award them with their own magically built, one room cottage inside the village of Hogsmeade, should they wish to have somewhere to stay during the summer months when most students go home. It's as much of a reward for completing your year as much as it is for your continued cooperation in regards to your... displacement.
Portus Novus is set in 1984, three years after the downfall of the Dark Lord, Voldemort. While he may be gone, several of his most loyal followers still lurk in the shadows, searching for ways to find their master. While events at Hogwarts are often safe, there's a vast magical world out there with danger lurking under the surface.
Eventually, players will be given the option when they app to choose who finds them upon arrival; the Ministry or the Death Eaters.
We want to give players the ability to make an impact on the game and the wizarding world as a whole while also giving opportunities to those antagonists and villain characters that find themselves in this strange new world.
As both sides grow in number and strength, new events and plots will begin to unfold around the world and open up larger avenues of exploration. These events may include combat, espionage, wizarding politics and more, where characters may participate in various missions and goals to further whomever they may be allied with- for both sides!
These events, while potentially dark in nature, will always be optional and we will always strive to include aspects for everyone to engage in and have fun with.
Hogwarts is and always will be a safe haven for those in need and we at Portus Novus don't wish to force them on anyone. Many events will be volunteer or opt-out and will come with any appropriate content warning.
Additionally, there is the ever present mystery of how and why your character has been brought here that will begin to unravel as the game goes on. The Ministry of Magic is working tirelessly to investigate and will keep characters updated on any new information that they uncover.
