When children in England are first identified as having wizarding potential, they are watched carefully.  Many of them are offered letters to go to Hogwarts, the world-famous school of magic, located in a beautiful location in southern Scotland: Hogwarts Castle.

Before the Great Wizarding War, if children didn't get a letter they were simply schooled at home or sent to ordinary state school and carefully counseled at home.  They were rejected for all sorts of reasons: some had very weak magic, some had magic that was very unstable, some of them had behavior problems.  There were also a few kids who got letters to Hogwarts and simply couldn't afford to attend.

In the wake of Voldemort's final defeat, a real push was made to give every child some education in magic.  You never knew, after all, when another seventeen year old would need to save the world.  (The new Minister of Magic, Augusta Longbottom, said "I suppose at least they learned something from the entire affair, even if the message was a little odd.")

As with all well-intentioned but unfunded mandates, the Ministry of Magic found itself flailing to find a way to give all kids an education.  There was no room at Hogwarts, and putting children up there for free would cost a pretty penny anyway.  The buck was passed, of course, first to the Minister of Education, then to lower and lower level employees, until it inexplicably landed on Malfalda Hopkirk's desk.  Malfalda had the unfortunate distinction of being the first employee who'd received the order and had no underlings.

She sighed, examined her budget, sighed again and did the best she could.

Pumwicket School for Practical Magic was born.

Pumwicket is housed in a manor house in the countryside "north of Plymouth, west of Exeter, and south of god knows where".  Once a coastal estate owned by a wealthy wizarding family, the property passed into the ownership of the ministry fifty years ago and was forgotten until Mafalda claimed it for the school. 

Over her protests, Gilderoy Lockhart was hired to be the President, Headmaster, and face of Pumwicket; his salary was easily half her budget.  Fortunately he has promised to do his level best to stay out of her way during the year; all he asks is that he be allowed give a few speeches and have his face prominently on all the advertising materials.

Students are sorted into House Hopkirk and House Lockhart by a mysterious procedure only the Headmaster understands.  Classes are in both magical and muggle subjects and lean to the practical, with seventh-years even teaching some of the younger students.

The place is crumbling, underfunded, decrepit, understaffed, and stuffed with the ignored, insane, and otherwise undesirable children from across the Wizarding world.

Some how, it survived its first year.

This game takes place in the second year of Pumwicket's tumultuous life.