Lawrence Hopkins, Damien Jones, Ministari

As any Potter or Weasley could tell you, it's very difficult to have famous family members. Society constantly compares you to that relative and expects you to be just like them, which can be rather annoying as well as stressful. But while the Potter/Weasley brood is the often cited example of living and dealing with famous relatives, they aren't the only ones to have to do so. Though their famous relative isn't a major war hero, Nicholas Hopkins, Damien Jones and Lulu Jones still receive a few stares and double takes when they mention that their grandmother, Alexandria Jones, is the rather formidable woman who replaced Kingsley Shackbolt as Minister for Magic in 2017 when he decided to retire. In the last few years of her term, Alexandria has carried on the reforms and pursued the ideas of Shacklebolt and his supporters as well as starting a campaign to stamp out corruption. Naturally this means that many adults believe the three Jones grandchildren are all aiming to become reforming politicians, ready to rid the wizarding world of it's last problems by coming out of a seeming quiet obscurity. However this belief couldn't be farther from the truth as each grandchild only embodies a part. Lulu wouldn't mind helping the world, but politics isn't her thing; Damien is all for politics and political power but for his own sake only and Nicholas is the definition of obscurity. At least in terms of the bigger picture.

When the three entered the halls of Hogwarts, they did so alongside the children of several war hereos and quidditch stars which helped them blend in and avoid the stares they sometimes got while with their grandmother. Seperated by house or year, they each found themselves a niche and embarked on their school careers. Unknown to them, they would not realize how far they would soon drift apart. The first chink came in the fifth year of Damien and Nicholas. As the grandsons of the Minister for Magic, they both were scouted by the shadowy group known to themselves as the Ministari. Their blood alone kept them in the running towards initiation but in May it soon became apparent that Nicholas just didn't have the drive or potential they wanted. This meant that while Damien was initiated alongside Adrian Weasley, Calais Aubrey and Othello Harper, Nicholas was cornered by several Ministari seventh years and had all memory of the group and its dealing with him erased, spelling certain doom should he every try for greatness down the line.

While Damien never really thought about the consequences of his cousin's failure during his sixth year, seventh year is proving to be trying. After all, part of one's oath to the group means that if an outsider needs to take the fall for the good of an insider, it must be done - especially if that outsider failed the initiation. So when Nicholas' sudden desire to follow in the footsteps of legends like Harry Potter, Kingsly Shacklebolt and Nymphadora Tonks and enter Magical Law Enforcement, it causes a minor uproar when the group finds that such a thing could impair the chances of one of their own, Tobias Goldstein, who graduated the year before. As there were no openings last year, competition for spots in the August selection will be difficult enough and Tobias is strongly invested in getting one of those spots and he's using his network of shadowy connections to get one. For the Hogwarts members of the Ministari, the course of action is clear - prevent Nicholas Hopkins from making an impression on the interviewer who has been invited to Hogwarts for the career fair for the seventh years. By any means necessary. In the meantime those members who have graduated, will try to call in any favours they have within the Ministry to put a good word in. For Damien however it is not quite so clear. A Ministari failure with no great ambition Nicholas may be, but the two boys grew up together and were once close. Which begs the question; is blood really thicker than water?

While Nicholas pursues his newfound goal with the Ministari trying to thwart it, which way will Damien lean? To the people who he swore an oath of loyalty in return for easier access to power? Or to his cousin with whom he shared his childhood, despite knowing that the Ministari does not deal well with traitors? The longer he remains indecisive, the more pressure to uphold his oath he will face - so how long will it take for Damien to crack under the first real morally grey situation of his young life?