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 times like these that Regina really needed a friend. She could not go to Bella anymore, and any mutual friends that they shared were just hard to talk to now. So this was why she went to Avril. A friend who didn't have any connections to Bella that she knew of. It was a relief that she had people to speak with still. Though it was frustrating that apparently Miss Lukeson's brother had been refusing to allow Avril to have many visitors outside of the family since the expedition. It wasn't as though Regina was going to drag her away to cause mischief or some other nonsense.
After being greeted at the door by a staff member of the household, she was directed to the parlor to wait. Upon seeing her friend, she gave a friendly smile. "Hello Miss Lukeson." She said for formality sakes. Once the staff member had left however, she hugged Avril quickly. "I've missed you, Avril." Finally, someone she can talk to. And she was more than willing to listen to the troubles on Avril's mind as well.
When Avril heard that Regina was there, she was both excited and surprised to see her friend. She hadn't really had much contact with people outside her own family and it was starting to drive her crazy.
She loved them, she did, but her social life could not be limited to just them for the rest of her life. She would probably die if that were the case.
"Regina!" she greeted warmly as she returned the hug. "How are you?"
Yes, the question of how was one. That was a complicated matter for Regina. She was conflicted between happiness, sadness, and a bit of frustration. There it was. "Conflicted, if I must be honest." There was no sense in lying to her friend. Avril was certainly one to be trusted. Probably far more so than Bella. If the Ravenclaw hadn't gone through so much tragedy in her own life, Regina might have gone to Avril for her problems rather than Bella.
... No, she and Bella had a habit of gravitating towards each other when they needed someone to complain to. Even if Avril had been available, Regina was convinced that she would have gone to Bella out of habit.
Avril was concerned over her friend's tone. She didn't know, exactly, what Regina was going through or had gone through since last September when she had stayed with the Lukeson's, but knew that she'd been close with Miss Annabelle Scrimgeour. She motioned to her friend to sit down and called for some tea for them.
"What is on your mind?" she asked, sitting across from Regina.
Would Regina tell her everything? She wasn't sure. She wanted to, so badly. Perhaps Avril could be more trustworthy than Regina. Perhaps she had always been more trustworthy. Sitting when Avril motioned for her to, she thought on what she should say. It took her a moment. Long enough for tea to be served and for them to be alone once more.
"Avril, if I tell you, will you promise me that you will not tell another soul?" She pleaded. It wasn't as if she wanted the world to know of the drama between herself and her guardian. But if she was going to tell the story, she might as well tell Avril the whole thing.
If Avril was surprised by Regina's request, she didn't show it. With secrets, she would say she diffidently was. In every other aspect of her life... it was questionable, to say the least. She watched her friend in concern, wondering what could be so troubling that she'd have to ask if the redhead was trustworthy.
"Yes, of course. I won't tell another soul." Meaning she wouldn't even write it in her journal. She wrote everything down, so she wouldn't forget. But if whatever Regina was about to tell her was something the other girl didn't want anyone knowing... Well, she'd respect that. Even magically sealed books were not completely protected from outside forces.
Deep breaths. How could she even put all of it into words? It was all long and confusing even to her. Like a stupid novel that most girls read. Seeing the concern in Avril's eyes, she knew that she shouldn't wait too long to think of what she was going to say.
And so she told her tail. The secret engagement that was never official and didn't last, thankfully. Telling Bella, then getting into a fight with Bella and Bella threatening to tell everyone about the damn engagement. That stupid, drunk engagement that was only made possible because both were drunk and Regina hadn't wanted to be hexed for a no answer. And then the man, the one that she had a crush on. Figurative butterflies fluttered once more in her stomach at the thought of him. "And I don't know what I should do." She concluded.
MJ made Magic!
December 22, 2018 – 3:39 AM
Last modified: December 22, 2018 – 4:20 AM by Avril Lukeson.
Avril was positively flabbergasted when Regina started telling the story of what had happened to her over the course of the year. She knew that Miss Annabelle Scrimgeour and Regina had been close friends and that they'd have some sort of falling out, but she hadn't known the exact reason. When she had heard about it, she had thought it odd considering how close the two had been. A little social decline and being scrutinized by society hadn't felt like a good enough reason to completely cut ties, even if it appeared so.
Deciding to take a few minutes to process the information, she took a cup of tea that the servants had brought and sipped on it, ignoring the fact that it was still steaming and the slight burn that came with sipping from a hot cup.
"I think," she started and paused "That you should inform Mr. Gladstone of you crush on him." she took another sip of her drink. "You could always send him another anonymous letter to tell him, if you do not want to be embarrassed." She didn't know what advice to give her in regards to Miss Scrimgeour. That seemed like a whole other problem that she still needed to get her head around.
Regina was not the type to abandon her friends. She certainly didn't feel like she had with what happened between her and Bella. Even after the fight, she had tried to do her part to reach out. Even after being threatened with terrible rumors and the possibility of her own reputation being ruined. Perhaps that friendship was simply meant to not last. Not now anyway.
Blushing slightly at the very thought of telling him, she bit her lip in thought. "I'm not sure. Not by letter, it seems far too neutral. And it brings up too many bad memories from what I tried to do for Bella." As she thought about it more, anonymous letters and Bella, and even the name Gladstone, her eyes began to widen as she put the pieces of the puzzle together. "Oh my god."
Avril raised an eyebrow at Regina as if to say, Really? You didn't realize... but didn't actually say it. She was sure her friend felt foolish enough already, for missing such a thing. She figured whatever her expression was, that it said pretty clearly what she was thinking. She didn't really know what to say, if she didn't want to be snarky, so she drank more tea and kept her eyes on Regina
"She's going to kill me." Regina said after a few moments of silence. "Oh, but this makes things even more complicated. It's not as if I can say 'by the way, I sent you a letter once for a friend who had a crush on you'. And I truly have feelings for him. What if he sees my handwriting and calls me a foolish girl before cutting off all contact? What if Bella finds me and murders me? Or at least slaps me in public, which I'm sure will do wonders for my reputation. Oh, what should I do?" During that whole rant, she had gotten up, paced, then sat back down with her final statement. Huffing after she had spoken, she put her head in her hands and groaned. "I'm so stupid. I've ruined a friendship, and possibly made a man I have feelings for hate me for life."
MJ made Magic!
December 22, 2018 – 5:43 AM
Last modified: December 22, 2018 – 5:43 AM by Avril Lukeson.
Avril watched her friend pace and talk, before finishing and sitting down. "Take a breath, and have some tea, Regina." she sighed as she finished her own. It was to risky to call for more. Which was a shame because it was the only reason she could avoid talking. She placed the tea cup where she had gotten it. "It's going to come out, one way or the other. Do you really want him finding out because he happened to see your handwriting? Or do you want him to find out because you told him? Even if Miss Scrimgeour slaps you in public, which I don't believe she will, it wouldn't cause many problems for you. It might make you the subject of rumor for a few months but something else will happen and it will all be forgotten. From what you've told me, she cut ties with the both of you – she doesn't get to have an opinion of how you have lived your life since."
While her friend was right, Regina hated that she was. The thought of telling him made the butterflies turn to rocks. Ugh, but what else could she do? If he did begin courting her, they would send each other letters at some point. Seeing her handwriting and putting the pieces together himself would be far worse. But when could she tell him? Why was this kind of thing so difficult. "You're right. He deserves to know. But what do I do if he hates me?" She said as she looked up at her friend once more.
"If he hates you, then you move on." she said simply. She really hoped that she'd helped her friend in some way. If even just a little. "And who's to say he would even care? You did nothing wrong by sending him a letter in name of one of your friends."
Was she right on that part? Just move on? Who to? No one seemed to want to marry the orphan girl with the strange guardian. But still, she made no comment on the matter. "Bella would say otherwise." She mumbled softly.
Avril didn't like being compared to Miss Scrimgeour, but she didn't say anything on the matter. She felt like she'd said enough on the matter. She felt like her friend was worrying about nothing, but she also wouldn't say that. She did hope she'd given the right advice. She'd hate for Regina to hate her because she gave advice that wasn't any good. It was times like these that she really wished she could rely more on her curse gift and point people in the right direction.
