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.
It was, Gideon thought as he surveyed the third through fifth years before him, a healthily-sized group for a competition of this nature. Indeed, some of the faces he vaguely recalled from his last forray into the world of competition judging, albeit matured (understandably so). As a member of the London Guild of Potioneers, he had been happy to volunteer his time once more to judge the progress of the potioneers of the future, and to walk once again the halls he had trod for so many years.
"Your first potion today," the healer directed, "will be an antitode to common poisons. If, by some strange turn, you have not memorized the recipe for every potion in the world," he added with humour, "you will find the directions on the board behind me. You will have until the sand in the hourglass runs out, at which point I shall judge what you have produced. I hope that I do not need to warn you that tampering with a competitor's cauldron will see your immediate dismissal."
He looked over the youngsters, checking for understanding in their features.
As they were bid to begin, Eros got his ingredients together and started preparing them while his cauldron came to a boil. Making sure to crush the bezoar very finely, he prepared the rest of his ingredients just as meticulously before beginning the brewing process. Once he was done, he stood back so that his potion could be judged. He hoped he had timed the long wait time right. Potions could be so finicky.
eros is half-veela which means females tend to feel drawn to him with older ladies feeling protective of him
Charles didn't fancy himself as being particularly competitive most of the time, but competitions of an academic nature were something he was supposed to be good at, so he was here. Gathering his ingredients, Charles set about carefully brewing his potion, He may have double checked the instructions more than once as he did, just in case. But that was just being thorough, clearly. When he was satisfied--well, good enough, anyway--he stepped back from his cauldron.
Copper or Brass? Violetta thought to herself looking at the supply rack, copper was faster but her gut was telling her brass. Her gut was also telling her she was nervous, she wasn't the greatest at Potions, she had gotten lucky to make the draught of living death but then she had had good group mates. She grabbed the more orange of the two cauldrons and made her way to the bench where she had already gathered her other ingredients.
A little smile was passed to Anne and Millie as she returned, she had wished them both good luck before they started, but now was the time to be ruthless, and she quickly changed her friendly smile to a look of competitive determination, but then her cheeks rose to give the game away.
The blonde sat back down, grinding, mixing, reading and re-reading the recipe. The waiting time in the middle seemed to drag on and on, but eventually she was finished and slid her cauldron slightly towards the front of her desk. She carefully eyed the other students to see what position they were each in.
Benedict was ready, he had worn a short white button up under his robe with bronze coloured waistcoat and had pushed his sleeves up like someone with confidence should. He actually remembered this potion, except the one he remembered from Potions Club was slightly different, he grabbed at the honeywater and mint subconsciously even though it wasn't on the official recipe. "Miss Potts," he said politely greeting the other student as she sought out her own ingredients. "Best of luck" he added with a charming smile before returning to his bench and continuing. He mixed up the potion as instructed on the board, but did manage to find a way to incorporate the mint to improve the smell, whether that was genius or a ghastly mistake was up to the judges.
Yuri loved potions - it was practical and working with his hands had always come easier to him than the bookish and academic subjects like arithmancy or divination. Give him some wand waving and potion stirring any day.
He listened to his instructions and when Mister Browne said to start he gathered his ingredients and started working, hoping to do enough to get through the first few rounds.
There were no other Hufflepuffs in his round, but he flashed a greeting glance at some of other students before setting about his own work. He finished the potion and raised his hand to indicate he was finished
Anne had something to prove this year, whether her friends understood her need or not. She had made a mistake in potions class early in the year and she was still bitter about her error. She'd worked diligently to improve, memorizing as many potions recipes as she could, everything focused on succeeding in her OWLS next year. She was going to be better than 'better,' she wanted to bloody shine.
She'd managed to remain friendly this morning, wishing her friends luck as they arrived, but the friendly Anne was off for the day. She had potions to brew and a score to settle with herself. Anne worked fast and diligently, ignoring the room around her. Potions was one of the few places she could get lost in her work. Nothing else mattered but this brew.
Finishing her work, Anne sat back, lips pressed into a stern line as she awaited the results.
Millie decided that she must have been out of her mind when she agreed to join the competition. Dueling was one thing, she was handy at Charms, and was even getting better at the more advanced spells. When it came to Potions, the young witch felt hapless. There was no Anne at her side today, nor sharing nuggets of wisdom in her notes. Not even the cheery greeting from Benedict could reach her right now. The only measure to rely on was a stark set of instructions on a plain blackboard for the Antidote to Common Poisons.
Her head felt like a whirl as she gathered the ingredients. The beginning was simple enough, the young witch felt sure that she couldn't mess up crushing and measuring the common base ingredients. It was the timing where she began to worry, it was a long time to keep track of with her brass cauldron, though not so long as if she had pewter. She meant to spend it all practicing the steps for the second half, but nerves and idleness got the best of her. By the end of the time the young witch wasn't certain which stir was clockwise and which was opposite.
All Millie could do was hope the potion was done properly. She was quite certain it couldn't actually explode. Fairly certain.
When everyone tells us what we can be
How can we rewrite the stars?
Hesper was feeling quite confident about the competition - not arrogantly so, but she was older than most of the competitors in this particular bracket. That and potions class was usually quite straightforward for her, it was rare for her to struggle.
Once the competition was officially underway, she got to work. She took her time preparing her ingredients and double checking the recipe; haste would not be her downfall.
By the time she finished with her antidote there were a number of others who had done so before her. She refused to let this unsettle her. Outfit | Tag: | Notes:
As she was a rather competitive perfectionist by nature it would be a lie to say that Greta hadn't been looking forward to the Potions Competition, especially as she now felt confident in her abilities compared to her class mates - and had so far been able to avoid any major missteps in class. She tried her best to be patient as she added her ingredients, watching for the correct colours and consistency as she stirred and progressed to the next steps listed both on the board and her mental checklist that she'd made and memorised so it would be just so.
Gideon was glad for the small paper placards provided with each student's name; without them, he would not have been able to tell a Podsnapper from a Potts.
Though finishng just under the wire, Miss Gillenwater's brew proved to be a solid one. Conversely, Miss DeCroix's potion was 'solid' in a rather more literal sense, have thickened in the extreme and requiring an extra forceful vanishing spell to be rid of it. Miss Moony's antidote was declared exemplary, and Gideon wondered if he might see the young witch at the hospital in a few years.
(Professionally, that is.)
"Next," the healer directed, ocne the potions had all been cleared and the less successful of the herd had departed, "you will be brewing a pepperup potion." He gave what he hoped was an encouraging smile.
Benedict was more than happy with his potion, not top, but a passing attempt. He gave a polite rap on the table when Anne Moony was singled out at the leader of the pack. He had had to supress a little laugh when he had seen Miss DeCroix watch her spoon stand itself upright as her potion hardened, he wondered what she had done. But after some fuss with a vanishing spell, the blonde girl left with her Ravenclaw yearmate Millie Potts , Violetta being sure to wish the other Slytherin girl luck on the way past her desk. "Gryffindor versus Slytherin now!" he said playfully as they all began.
He had taken this potion over the winter during a frightful bout of cold, he knew the recipe well although he might skip the nip of brandy his mother sometimes added towards the end. He gathered his ingredients together and went to work, making quick work of the relatively familiar concoction. When done he place the vessel down and smiled towards the others with his fingers crossed.
He had made it to the second round! He hoped Professor V would be proud. When they were told to begin, Eros did so. Once he had finished, he awaited Mister Brownes judgement.
eros is half-veela which means females tend to feel drawn to him with older ladies feeling protective of him
When everyone tells us what we can be
How can we rewrite the stars?
It was rather 'Gryffindor versus Slytherin' now, wasn't it? She glanced Miss Mooney's way to give her a reassuring, teamly sort of look even as she fully intended to outperform the younger student in this next round.
A pepperup potion then... As far as usefulness was concerned, this one definitely made Hesper's top 20 favorite potions. She wasn't entirely sure what the other 19 were but if she had such a list the pepperup potion would definitely be on it. There had been one time she'd decided not to take a pepperup potion for a cold because she didn't like the side-effects but then she'd learned they were infinitely preferable to an actual headcold. Never again!
Some time after she'd started preparing her potion, Hesper indicated she was finished and awaited the final result. Outfit | Tag: | Notes:
Anne soaked in the praise of her potion readily. Now, this was how to start a competition. Anne was polite enough to offer a reassuring smile to Millie and Violetta as the two girls were dismissed. Anne made a mental note to review this potion with both girls later; this would definitely be on their OWLs. It wasn't lost on Anne that her rival was still standing. In fact, Greta and the Gryffindorks were all that stood in the way of a Slytherin victory. She gave Miss Gamp a decisive nod to signal her silent agreement - the two of them would take care of the competition and then duel it out for total victory. As Anne settled into the practiced cadence of brewing, humming the steps to herself, she imagined no other outcome.
Greta tried to ignore the feeling of quickening in her chest and the rather undignified amount of glee that surged through her at the feeling of victory over the others in the first round - though she was quite disappointed that Anne had done better.... well. She'd have to do better this round and now that it was down to the age-old rivals of Slytherin and Gryffindor : it was now more than a matter of pride.
She tried not to focus on the fact Millie, or the others, had been eliminated and focused on the Pepper Up Potions process, ingredients and what she knew was supposed to happen.
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