For approximately 650 years, Bannochdaen Castle has been the home of the MacDonell Clan.  It is located several miles south of Inverness, Scotland.

RESIDENTS
Jason D. MacDonell
Aurora Le Fey MacDonell
Jacquelynne Isolde MacDonell
Alexander Flavius MacDonell
Thalia the house-elf

HISTORY

Bannochdaen Castle was first established as a Wizarding fort in the second half of the 1300s by Fionnlagh MacDonell, a young but distinguished and ferocious warlock.  He took possession of a hill with a good command of the surrounding area and built a motte-and-bailey encampment.  This site served as a command center for the allied Scottish clans against their goblin enemies.  When Fionnlagh was slain by a basilisk, his son Eochaidh took over the fort and planned his successful assault on the serpent there.

With all known threats eliminated and relative peace restored, Eochaidh and his heirs became chiefs of the Clan MacDonell of Bannochdaen.  Many of their close clansmen, kin, and supporters began to occupy the area, and Bannochdaen was expanded, the “bailey” around the central keep expanding to a small village.  It is rumored, though unconfirmed, that the mysterious Bannochdaen Vault dates all the way back to this early time, as a hollow-out chamber dug deep beneath the motte.

At its peak in the late Renaissance, Bannochdaen Castle (as it was now called) included a stone fortress where the original motte had stood, along with a small village surrounded by a protective curtain wall.  Allan MacDonell (c. 1500 – 1560) is believed to have begun the precursor to the present-day Castle Gardens.  The entire enclosed area totaled some hundred acres, and the MacDonells exercised effective control over the surrounding countryside as well.

Tensions between the highland Scots and their Wizarding neighbors, however, caused issues.  In 1593, Findlaech MacDonell expelled all Muggles and Muggleborns from Bannochdaen’s grounds, resulting in an ugly clash of kinsman against kinsman.  Findlaech remained Master of the Castle, but bad feelings was intense on both sides of the survivors.  Bannochdaen increasingly became a practical fortress against neighboring Muggles under Findlaech’s heir, Lennox, and his son Aodh.  Some Muggles even begged Aodh’s younger brother, Cormac, to assassinate him and become Master of the Castle for everyone’s benefit, though Cormac refused.

With the passage of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy in 1692, Bannochdaen was made unplottable and had Muggle-repelling charms cast upon the fortress and all its grounds.  However, the remaining members of the clan departed over the next few decades, leaving the village around the castle empty.  Unable to convince their kin to stay, and unable to invite Muggles back, Lulach MacDonell and his son Ross set to modifying their home instead.

Many of the defensive features of the castle were removed in favor of interior comfort, the gardens were expanded, and both the village around the castle and the curtain wall around that were torn down, though the corners of the curtain wall were retained to remind the Masters of the Castle of the extent of their territory (and the Muggle-repelling charms).  Much of the spare material was given to those wizards constructing the wizard village of Upper Flagley in Yorkshire.  Meanwhile, by the time of Ross MacDonell’s death in 1806, Bannochdaen had reached roughly its present state, both inside and outside.

FIRST FLOOR



ATRIUM

A large, circular room with a domed ceiling.  Several ornately-carved hooks along the walls hold cloaks and coats.  The ceiling is a mosaic decorated with scenes of wizards locked in battle.  The floor is marble.

GREAT HALL

Three stories tall, the Great Hall has tapestries along its stone walls and a long, rectangular carpet covering the floor (with a section cut out of the middle for the staircase).  The carpet is colored with red, yellow, blue, and green, in varying degrees of prominence; the proportions shift every time a new MacDonell becomes master of the castle, to reflect the percentages of wizards in each Hogwarts house.  The color prominence, in decreasing order, is red, blue, green, and yellow.

Torches line the walls at all three levels, making the Hall very bright when they are all lit.  Above the door to the Atrium is a talking gargoyle head, which can communicate messages to the occupants from the outside gargoyles.

HALL OF HEADS

Part of the hallway is lined with busts of the former masters of Bannochdaen Castle.  Much like wizarding portraits, they have a shadow of the personalities of the wizards they depict, and frequently give advice (sought or not) to the living occupants of the castle, as well as speaking to each other.

ROOM OF RECORDS

A room filled with parchment, books, and scrolls, all with detailed histories and records of the MacDonell clan, going back to the AD 800s.  The room is very dusty, lit by magical glass orbs (rather than risk a flame for light), and has the feeling of an ancient and neglected bookshop.

SITTING ROOMS

The eastern sitting room, smaller of the two, can hold a half-dozen people comfortably; the western closer to two dozen.  They are used for entertaining guests that the castle residents do not wish to take further into the building, or for conducting business.

BATHROOMS

All bathrooms on this floor are just bathrooms; toilets and sinks, with no bathing facilities.

DINING ROOM

The table in the Dining Room can seat thirty in great comfort, fifty if pushed.  The twin chandeliers hanging over the table each have sixty-three candles, and can be lit simultaneously by magic.

PREPARATION ROOM

Where dishes are prepared for the diners.  A six-foot-long, four-foot-tall window opens into the kitchen, allowing dishes to be stacked before delivery to diners.

KITCHEN

Three ovens allow the cooking of several dishes simultaneously.  A number of sinks line the walls.

PANTRY

The pantry is used to store dry goods; a small closet within has a Chilling Charm which allows refrigeration of other food.  A secret trapdoor leads down to the house-elves’ den in the basement.

PARLOR

Used for entertaining more welcome guests than the sitting room, the parlor has a billiards table, an Exploding Snap deck, and several cushioned chairs and couches.

CONSERVATORY

A glass enclosure which houses some exotic plants incapable of surviving outside in the Scottish winter.  A path made of small bricks winds through the miniature garden.

MASTER’S STUDY

A small room tucked into the southwest corner of the first floor, which is kept locked by several charms and houses the private and business papers of the master of the castle.  A secret door behind a bookcase provides access through the sitting room.

MUSIC HALL

A giant room equipped with an organ, a piano, and a stage on which to perform.  Several pews face the north of the room for an audience to sit.

GRAND LIBRARY

The largest room in Bannochdaen Castle, the library has books to rival the library at Hogwarts.  It is Jason MacDonell’s favorite room in the castle, and unlike most other rooms, has a hardwood floor and several wooden sculptures.  Giant glass windows open to view the castle gardens to the north.  Several desks circle the center of the room, allowing perusal of the books.

SECOND FLOOR



The decorations, paintings, and even stone walls of the second floor are kept meticulously clean.  The staircase from the first to the second floor has several tiny lights which can be bewitched to glow at night.

PARLOR

The parlor on the second floor has a fireplace with a stash of Floo powder nearby, as well as a full-length wall map noting important wizarding establishments and communities the world over.  The pelt of a Nundu has been made as a rug for the floor.

ARMORY

A concealed room which only opens by pressing a concealed knot on one of the torch brackets set into the wall, the Armory has a set of Muggle swords and lances, as well as two goblin-made axes and a suit of armor.

ART GALLERY

Filled with paintings and portraits, three of which are Muggle paintings, the rest magical.  The ceiling is painted to look like a clear night sky.

SCULPTURE GALLERY

A room filled with sculptures and graced with a marble floor.

BALLROOM

The other room in the castle which has a hardwood floor, the ballroom can accommodate dozens of wizards.  It has wall-height windows that overlook the eastern gardens, and a hidden room in the east is concealed behind a tapestry of goblins playing chess.  Light comes from a giant, 112-candle chandelier.

GUEST ROOMS

Well-apportioned rooms with fireplaces and windows overlooking the Abraxan stables, complete with curtained four-poster beds.

BATHROOMS

The unlabeled room next to the guest room is a bathroom with several Jacuzzi-sized tubs with wall-based taps.  There are several toilets and sinks along opposite walls.

The hall bathroom is a small toilet-and-sink closet.

GAZEBO

A room with thin glass windows that opens to the balcony.  Used primarily for insulation from extreme cold or heat outside when some exposure to the elements is desired.

OUTDOOR BALCONY

The giant pillar in the center of the Outdoor Balcony (as well as the five small ones along the edge) holds up the balcony on the third floor.  The balcony provides a wide, covered view of the northern lands.  The stone floor is weathered from both the elements and age.

 THIRD FLOOR



Most of the floors on the highest level of the castle are covered with carpets and rugs.  The torches are also slightly more polished, if less ornate.  The stairs from the second to the third floor can be changed into a slide to prevent guests from straying to the family quarters (or to prevent family members from avoiding society; it was for this latter reason that Gregory MacDonell in 1657 secretly built the passageway from the second floor gazebo to his bathroom.

OWLERY

Stairs on the third floor lead up to the owlery tower, where the family keeps its owls.

TUTORING ROOM

The tutoring room has desks, a globe, and a bookshelf of texts for basic arithmetic, geography, and magical history.  MacDonell children are taught here by their parents (or, in past days, wizard tutors) before attending Hogwarts.

ELDEST CHILD’S BEDROOM

The eldest child has a bedroom apart from all others, which is larger and better-apportioned.  It is the only bedroom with a fireplace, and has a private bathroom attached.

OTHER CHILDREN’S BEDROOMS

Equal-sized bedrooms for other MacDonell children; most have not been used in centuries, as the MacDonell Clan is famous for having only a single heir.  When Alexander MacDonell was born, it took three days for Jason, Aurora, and Thalia the house-elf to make the room fit for human habitation.

OTHER CHILDREN’S BATHROOM

A large bathroom for all children after the first, it features a single long, pool-like tub with a central series of taps.  A private toilet stall is next to each bedroom door.

MASTER BEDROOM

The bedroom of the owners of Bannochdaen Castle features a huge four-poster curtained bed and several wardrobes, as well as a talking mirror.  It also has a private bathroom.

PORTRAIT ROOM

Concealed in the east of the Master Bedroom is a room with portraits of two of the ancient MacDonell elders and the architect of Bannochdaen Castle.

BALCONIES

The Grand Balcony provides the most sweeping view of the castle environs (except from the owlery), allowing one to look far in several directions.  It also provides a convenient landing place for those traveling to the castle by broom.

A smaller balcony, more for personal relaxation, is based off the Master Bedroom.

STUDY AND LIBRARY

A private study for the owners of the castle.  Jason MacDonell keeps his books about the Dark Arts in this room.  It is the only room in the castle which is completely carpeted.

ARMORY

Concealing another arms cache, as well as two goblin swords, this room also has a large store of explosive potion which, if released, will bring the entire castle down.  It was put in place so that if all defenders of the castle fell, they could bring it down on top of their enemies.  It is lit by only two torches, and has a secret door to the bedroom of the second oldest MacDonell child.

BASEMENT



Most of the basement floor stones are dusty and of lesser quality than the upper floors, as the basement is rarely visited, and then almost never by guests.  The ceiling is also of normal height (approximately ten feet) rather than the high ceilings of the upper floors.

HOUSE-ELVES’ DEN

In olden days, this was the home of the MacDonell house-elves.  As there have not been any for generations, it is questionable whether any of the current occupants even know it is there.

CELLS

Used to hold prisoners in olden days when Scottish wizard clans were at war with each other and with goblins.  The cells are very dark, with only a single torch illuminating the entire block.

TORTURE CHAMBER

Used to torture prisoners at the same time period.  Most of the equipment was kept, but it has grown brittle and moldy with age and disuse.

ARMORY

The only non-secret arms cache in the castle, this armory is stocked only with Muggle (i.e., non-enchanted) weaponry.

STORAGE ROOM

A large repository for furniture, supplies, and other things which take up large amounts of space but have little monetary value.

WORKSHOP

The workshop has seen so many uses over the centuries that a general description of its function is impossible; it changes with every master of the castle.  The room has a long workbench with covers two walls, and is lit by a magical orb attached to the center of the ceiling.

FURNACE ROOM

Home to a giant furnace that provides heat to the entire castle in winter.  The furnace itself is Charmed to radiate less heat into the room itself, so that its otherwise extreme output will not injure those who come to check on it.

DUELING ROOM

A specialized chamber with a smoothly coated floor and magicked walls and ceilings which can deflect all but the most powerful curses.  Various spare objects line the room for use in dueling practices, but the majority is empty to give residents plenty of space with which to work.

THE VAULT

Deep beneath Bannochdaen, accessible only by a secret staircase off the basement stairs proper, is the MacDonell vault.  It is an enchanted chamber which houses a great deal of gold, as well as a portion of the family’s treasure.  The spells protecting the chamber are complex, and generally only the master of the castle can access it safely.  Charms over the vault are extreme; many are designed to seriously injure or kill those who try to force entry.

CASTLE ENVIRONS



THE CASTLE

Bannochdaen Castle is a towering, imposing structure.  The owlery tower in the southwest is its tallest point.  The roof and various overhangs are adorned with semi-sentient gargoyles, which can make comments to visitors or relay information to the master of the castle through the gargoyle mounted inside the Great Hall.

THE GROUNDS

Around one hundred acres make up the estate surrounding Bannochdaen Castle.  The grounds are protected by Muggle-Repelling Charms, making them appear a dangerous bog, complete with “Danger: Do Not Enter” signs.

ABRAXAN STABLES

Added by Rufus MacDonell, Jason’s grandfather, the castle is home to a small herd of Abraxans, giant palomino flying horses.  Their stables are enchanted to resist breaking against the occasionally aggressive spirits of the Abraxans.

DUELING PITCH

An area of the grounds set aside for dueling practice and coated with sand.  More intense and dangerous magical skills can be practiced here without risking destroying anything, unlike the Dueling Room in the castle.

CASTLE GARDENS

Covering nearly as much ground space as the castle itself, the Bannochdaen gardens are home to a wide variety of plants, some innocent and some not.  Used to house a Devil’s Snare, until it strangled Eldridge MacDonell in 1832.  Now the most dangerous plant is a Venomous Tentacula, which was moved from the center to the far northeast corner by Jason MacDonell, as most such plants have a peculiar taste for his blood.