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 1895. It’s time to join us and immerse yourself in scandal and drama interlaced with magic both light and dark.
Complete a thread started and set every month for twelve consecutive months. Each thread must have at least ten posts, and at least three must be your own.
Did You Know?
Did you know? Jewelry of jet was the haute jewelry of the Victorian era. — Fallin
The first night was always quiet. The combination of excitement and nerves, mingled with a considerable feast and the warmth of the dormitories after a long day generally meant that the first years were dead to the world the moment their heads hit their new pillows. From outside their dormitory Connie smiled to herself as she heard the expected silence.
The same was not true of those that were returning though, and Connie took the view that what she didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her and what the headmaster didn’t know…well, that would probably be her fault too. As long as nobody was causing too much trouble she was inclined to let them be children before they were thrown back into study the following day. Most had already excused themselves to their rooms with friends, but some were still milling in the common room, enjoying conversation with the opposite sex, or simply those in another year.
Connie was unsurprised to see Miss Scrimgeour was amongst their number, though she was most decidedly apart. With a smile she strode over.
“You must be tired after such a long day,” she commented, taking a seat on the other end of the sofa she was amazed Miss Scrimgeour had been able to commandeer. “I certainly am.”
Displeased with the summer's events that had ultimately led to a damaged (but luckily not ruined) reputation, Holly had struggled to find excitement at the mention of Hogwarts. There was schoolwork to look forward to, but there wasn't any hope of budding friendships or anything - not unless she tried to befriend the younger first years. The only friend she had was not even a real friend; it was her house matron, the woman responsible for disciplining her. In the end, there was only Camille, and she had not exactly been the kind, understanding sort of sister.
Madam Sykes did seem to care though. That much was clear by the letters they'd exchanged and the effort she'd made to chaperon Holly at the museum when hers had wandered off. And now - she was here again. A smile came to her face almost immediately, situating herself on the couch so she could face the matron.
"The train ride is a long one," she agreed with a solemn nod. "Luckily Camille did not spent the entirety of it chattering away. It was odd not taking the boats this year."
“You’ll get used to it,” Connie replied with a wry smile to herself. It had been thirty years since her own boat ride and she could still recall the fear and exhilaration that had consumed her – she’d felt much the same emotions approaching the pyramid – and by comparison the horseless carriages were not quite as thrilling. They served a purpose though: Connie was quite convinced that without them the headmaster would expect the students to walk the long distance between the station and the school.
“In fact you might even come to prefer it. I find the motion of boats…” She trailed off. Miss Scrimgeour didn’t need to know about her various ailments or the fact that she had very nearly been violently sick over the side of the boat when in her own first year and had only managed to maintain her dignity by burying her face into the shoulder of the nearest girl. Fortunately Millie hadn’t minded and had seen her in much worse states since. “Nevermind,” she waved her hand dismissively. “I hope you left your family well?”
Holly's experience with boats was limited, but she'd had no problems riding the one to Hogwarts. She remembered vividly how calm the lake had been, the reflections from castle lights and the gentle bobbing of the boats having been the only reminder that they were over water. Unlike the carriage rides, however, the boats provided a reason for silence—and Holly did not like being left out of conversations while surrounded by a bunch of babbling girls as they rode through the woods.
"My family's as well, or as well as they could be," she responded cordially, her shifting gaze a silent signal that she had no desire to discuss the subject. The Scrimgeours were disgraced, and she was lucky—as much as she hated to admit it—that she still had her betrothal. Germander Macnair must have been thrilled.
It was odd to think that a summer in which Connie had made herself briefly famous, almost entirely by luck, had also seen the almost ruin of her student’s family name. Quite what it was that the older Miss Scrimgeour had done to deserve her lot in life Connie didn’t know, nor did she doubt it was anything other than the unfeeling kaleidoscope of society that seemed to judge their daughters on an ever-changing set of parameters they could never hope to keep to the bounds of whilst still retaining any sense of self. Whatever it was it had nearly spiralled out and hurt young Holly, a thought Connie found she was overwhelmingly opposed to.
She put the feeling to the back of her mind for now. If Holly wanted to talk about it then she would wait.
“Meanwhile my family finally accept magic as a reality but are convinced I’m making up the existence of sphinxes,” she said with a chuckle, happy enough to change the topic.
Since discovering the truth of the matter, Holly had avoided thinking of Madam Sykes as a muggleborn. She felt closer to the Slytherin matron than she did her own step-mother, but she'd been molded to believe that pureblood supremacy was as true as Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration. It made her uncomfortable, and she was unsure how to navigate that conversation without causing offense, so she merely nodded her head.
"They do seem rather silly in theory," she agreed. Creatures that were intelligent enough to speak the human language, yet too barbaric to possess the concept of mercy, sphinxes were a walking, talking mystery. "But from the perspective of an outsider, the whole tale of the Irvingly Expedition seems like something one would read in a storybook. It's definitely magic that students don't learn here."
And Connie was extremely glad for it. The very thought of these students, her students, ending up face to face with the sort of things she had encountered in Irvingly filled her with a very particular kind of terror. Was this how parents felt? She had never intended to become so emotionally invested in her charges but somehow here she was, smiling fondly at a girl and glad she had been able to do her part to make her life a little safer.
“Don’t worry Holly,” she said reassuringly, failing to notice her slip of familiarity when she felt such a swell of fondness for the girl. “Your education isn’t going to fall by the wayside just because it doesn’t involve encountering an ancient Egyptian witch with a grudge. And you can always read Professor Cramming’s book,” she grinned. “You’ll probably understand more than I did.”
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