Welcome to Charming, where swirling petticoats, the language of flowers, and old-fashioned duels are only the beginning of what is lying underneath…
After a magical attempt on her life in 1877, Queen Victoria launched a crusade against magic that, while tidied up by the Ministry of Magic, saw the Wizarding community exiled to Hogsmeade, previously little more than a crossroad near the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In the years that have passed since, Hogsmeade has suffered plagues, fires, and Victorian hypocrisy but is still standing firm.
Thethe year is now 1894. It’s time to join us and immerse yourself in scandal and drama interlaced with magic both light and dark.
These kids looked so young. Had Noble ever looked so young? He didn't believe that he had, but he must have at some point - regardless, it made him uncomfortable, and he was not entirely confident that they would pull off potion brewing without incident. Still, this was an afternoon, and it was good for his profession, and it was too late to back out now.
"Your first potion will be Cure for Boils," Noble announced, sounding more enthusiastic than he felt, "You may begin now."
Lucy was terribly nervous, though she hadn't expected to be. Something about it being a competition, where it really mattered if her potion was a little off compared to her classmates', made it feel entirely different.
Still, she knew this potion, and that at least took some of the edge off. She set about getting her ingredients organized, and then began working on the potion. After a bit of work--and maybe staring at her cauldron a little too intently--Lucy finally deemed her potion done and good enough by her standards, and stepped back from her cauldron.
It was an unfortunate truth that Charity was not at the top of her class in Potions. Sure, she was not bad, but it took only three Potions classes at the beginning of the year to understand that some students were simply better than other. She was no Lincoln Dashwood, who she'd watched in more than one class make a potion twice as fast as her. She'd considered passing on the competition, but it was at her dorm-mate's insistence that she put her name on the list outside the potion master's office.
Now she was regretting it. Just a smidge.
She did her best to brew the assigned potion, glancing over to the desk at the person nearest to her more than once. She took her time, trying to remember each step. Only twice did she stop and stare a her cauldron, trying to remember if she should stir it just once more, but then finally it was over and all she could do was wait to be judged.
February 5, 2023 – 9:35 PM
Last modified: February 5, 2023 – 9:36 PM by Chuntao Chang.
Tao couldn’t help but frown as the potion was announced; he liked potions but he certainly wasn’t the best in his class. Maybe one day he’d have a better handle on it. At least he knew this potion – what it looked like and what it cured – which eased something fluttering in his stomach.
Still… he wasn’t one to back down from anything. Tao nodded, more to himself than anyone else as he moved to gather his ingredients. He looked over things twice and lined his ingredients up in order before he began to make the potion. Slow and steady. Stir clockwise. Or at least, Tao hoped as he stepped back for judgment.
She'd followed the crowd into the great hall, found her spot in the established intro section and sat down. The supplies before her were a little bit overwhelming even if the requested potion was, in theory, easy. Numbly she gathered up the instructed ingredients and settled in. It didn't take long for her station to look like a storm had rolled through but she found comfort in the chaos and eventually raised her hand to indicate she was done.
Lincoln was excited for this potions competition but also regretted it at the same time. Being inherently shy, he did not feel so comfortable having so many eyes on him. He tried to focus on the potion by getting his ingredients together and starting to brew. When he was done, he waited for judgement along with his schoolmates.
Lou stared at the directions as if willing them to divulge their secrets as she tried in vain to remember the tip Honoria had given her for this particular concoction. Nothing came to mind, nothing was revealed, and so the Hufflepuff was left to fumble through the potion on her own steam.
She could tell very quickly that it was not going well.
I know I missed the cutoff, but it's not like she wouldn't be disqualified anyways xD
Some of these students were.. much better than others. Miss Weasley's potion had turned into a solid, so Noble dismissed her — Miss Lloyd's fared only slightly better. Miss Rowan Tatting's potion was not visibly poisonous, but it did nearly explode, and Noble had to vanish it before dismissing her.
That left him with three: Mr. Dashwood's potion actually seemed decent, Mr. Chang's would probably cure some boils, and Miss Lucy Tatting's also likely worked. Noble sighed before bidding the three to brew him an antidote to common poisons.
Lincoln was delighted, a blush coloring his cheeks as he was moved onto the next round. This was a much trickier potion but Link was certain he had the right ingredients gathered up. After he had taken the time to prepare them, he began the actual brewing. Once the potion was done to his satisfaction, he stood back and waited to be judged.
Lucy was very pleased to be moving on, though she felt bad that Rowan wasn't moving on with her. She would just have to do her best for both of them. She set about preparing and then brewing her next potion. When she was satisfied she'd done all she could, she stepped back from her cauldron and awaited judgment.
Tao was thrilled to have moved on to the next round, and he was excited to owl his siblings after the competition ended to tell them all about it. He couldn't help the small grin that tugged at the edge of his lips as his attention turned toward Mr. Greengrass for further instruction. An antidote to common potions; tricker, but he knew he could do this one. After gathering his ingredients and lining them up in order, Tao went to work measuring before the actual brewing. He mouthed the numbers as he counted to five, waved his wand and then stepped back for the judging.
Mr. Chang's potion was shockingly sludgy, but Miss Tatting and Mr. Dashwood's both seemed decent. Noble dismissed Mr. Chang — more kindly than he had the first round failures, because making it to the second round meant some competency — and vanished all three potions before turning to his remaining students. "Your last potion will be the swelling solution, please," he instructed.
Phew, he had made it to the final round. He was up against Mis Tatting, the girl who had found him trapped within the stairs once. He got his ingredients together and tuned the world around him out as he began to brew his potion. It was quite easy for him to do when he had a tendency to be lost in his own head. Though this time he had to be more careful not to let his mind wander lest his swelling solution become something else entirely. Once his potion was complete, he stood back for the judging. No matter what, he was rather proud of himself to have made it this far.
Well, this was it--the final round. Lucy felt much more confident now than she had in the first round, at least. Whatever happened now, at least she'd had a good showing. Still, she paid careful mind to the next potion. She still wanted to win, after all. When she was satisfied that her potion was the best it was going to be, she stepped back and waited.
Miss Tatting's potion was... sizzling. Noble gave her a sympathetic smile before turning to Mr. Dashwood. "Mr. Dashwood is our victor today," he announced "And will take twenty points for Ravenclaw."
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