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.
Nikolai was always happy to lend a hand for this sort of thing, for it inspired the good will necessary to run his own dueling tournaments. Back-scratching was one of the pillars of civilized society, after all, though he was privately quite relieved to have been tasked with judging one of the more advanced groups. Frankly, the professor was not certain his patience could handle the bumbling beginners and their bastardized brews.
"You will find all of the ingredients you need in the cabinet to my left," he explained in accented English, the cabinet in question obediently opening as he gestured towards it. "You may take as much time as you need, though be advised that time will be the deciding factor when quality is too close to call. Begin!"
At the last, the ingredients and directions for a Hiccoughing Solution appeared on the blackboard behind him.
Potions was a class that Emmeline had always had to work at. It didn't come super easily or naturally to her but she knew she had gotten much better over the years and had even come to enjoy it.
She stood silently behind her cauldron and listened with an attentive mind as Professor Sleptov gave all the instructions and then let them begin. Emmeline made her way to the cupboard and got the proper ingredients and brought them back to her cauldron to get to work.
When she decided she was finished and feeling pretty well about her potion, she took a step back and raised her hand to indicate she was done.
Acacia tried not to let either excitement or nerves get too much into her head as she listened to Professor Sleptov. His words were not lost from her mind, so that was good. Keeping as focused as she could, she looked at the cabinet in question briefly before turning back to the professor.
And with the word begin, she studied the ingredients on the board carefully before heading over to obtain her ingredients. Wouldn’t want to accidentally get a wrong ingredient from lack of certainty. Checking that her ingredients were correct to those on the board, it helped to settle the nerves with organization.
Stepping back quickly the moment she was confident about her potion, the raised her hand quickly. It seemed like the thing to do.
Oh, hello. Pretty girls in his bracket. Suffice to say, James was almost immediately distracted. Miss Woodcroft was a brunette goddess and Miss Ruskin was a Raphaelite ( or whoever that guy was ) painting come to life. Somehow, despite his distracted state, he managed to finish before some of the other guys in their bracket.
Ugh, why had he signed up for this thing again? He had not even gotten started and he was already over it. Taking his sweet time about things, Royal was among the last to finish the potion that they had been bid to make. He covered up a bored yawn before signalling that he was done with his potion.
Potions was almost a habit for Somersby at this point. He enjoyed them and they came easily enough to him. So when the directions were given Somersby set to work with his full attention on the cauldron in front of him, only drawing his attention from the potion when the finished product sat in front of him.
The professor could not find any fault with Miss Woodcroft’s potion—a credit to her professors, he thought—and those of Miss Ruskin and Mr. Fudge neared the same mark. Mr. Baird’s and Mr. Pyrites’ potions, though not about to explode, were not nearly so flawless. He bid the gentlemen farewell, cleared the cauldrons, and directed the remaining trio to concoct a volubilis potion.
WOODCROFT 12.5 | RUSKIN 9.5 | BAIRD 8 | PYRITES 7 | FUDGE 8.5 You have 72 hours to post your character completing their potion. First to post gets a +1 to their score!
@"Acacia Ruskin" Emmeline WoodcroftSomersby Fudge
Emmeline was definitely feeling rather good about the potions and had quite the smile on her features to show it.
When the new potion was announced, she was quick to grab the necessary ingredients once again and bring them back to her station. She worked diligently at the voice changing potion and once again took a step back and raised her hand once completed.
Not entirely happy with the result of the last potion, Somersby focused on his potion preparation with the utmost attention. Carefully preparing each and every ingredient and following each step with great diligence and attention to detail.
The fact that Acacia was not one of those sent away washed away some of the nerves. A small smile appeared on her face. But she couldn’t let it get too much to her head. Setting to her work, she continued to remain careful of which ingredients she chose. Reminding herself that it was not all about ingredients, she was more careful with how she brewed it. When she was finished, she once again stepped back and raised her hand.
Carefully, Nikolai examined each brew. With all three completed well, it was nuances that mattered now.
"I'm afraid you will not be moving on, Miss Ruskin," he said to the Ravenclaw with an apologetic smile once he had completed his examination of the results.
Once the mess was tidied, he addressed the remaining two would-be potioneers, directing them to craft a Love Potion Antidote. Merlin knew, given what had transpired earlier in the season, it was a useful one to know.
WOODCROFT 10.5 | FUDGE 9.5 | RUSKIN 7.5 You have 72 hours to post your character completing their potion. First to post gets a +1 to their score! Emmeline WoodcroftSomersby Fudge
Again Somersby continued on to the next round, still feeling as if he could have done better. At least he had the chance to now. With the potion written on the board Somersby set to work, keeping his attention firmly on the task at hand.
Confidence bolstered, Emmeline was feeling rather good about her chances. She couldn't help the faint smirk that graced her features at the given assignment. She went to work immediately but found she wouldn't be the first to finish this time. Unphased by that fact, she finished and took a step back with a hand in the air to signal she had finished her antidote.
Though it was close, Nikolai was able to declare Mr. Fudge the victor, awarding five points to Ravenclaw.
FUDGE 13.5 | WOODCROFT 9.5 Congrats! Please keep an eye out for the posting of the Advanced Finals once all contests at this level have wrapped. Somersby Fudge
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