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
Georgia, for one, had thought it an amusing turn of events when Ozymandias Dempsey had been elected--not necessarily because of the man himself (though there was certainly that) but because she had a difficult time imagining her friend as the Minister's wife. That said, Sina was handling the whole thing far better than Georgia would have in her place. She hadn't run screaming for the hills, at the very least.
"You look well," she told her friend when she was shown into the parlor. And then, because she wasn't actually to only make small talk--"I've seen the Prophet article about the suffrage bill." She raised her eyebrows. "Interesting. What do you think of it all?"
Sina stood up to greet Georgia warmly; squeezing the other woman's hand in cheerful greeting. Sometimes annoying people visited her parlor looking to find favor from her husband. So it was always nice when her home was visited by someone who was here just for Sina.
She gestured to the butler for tea, and sat back down on the nearest chaise. "I think that they'd better not mess it up," Sina said, "As I should like to vote. What do you think? You're more politically minded than I am."
"I'm worried they will mess it up," Georgia said. "The old guard doesn't have nearly enough incentive to change things." It wasn't as if it would affect most of their lives. Georgia would have preferred to have more faith in the government, but, well. Better to be realistic with the possibility of being pleasantly surprised.
Sina hummed. "I will be protesting my husband," she said, as if that was a surprise to anyone involved. "If things don't work out, that is." It maybe would actually be fun to protest Ozymandias — she thought they would both rather enjoy it. Also maybe then people would leave her alone about being the Minister's wife for a few weeks.
"At least we have negotiation tactic always open to us," Georgia said wryly. Well. Sina did, anyway. If hers and Sina's positions were reversed, she thought she'd had to threaten the opposite. At least, if Georgia were either more self-sacrificing or loved her fiance less and wanted to see him unhappy. Though they were only getting married on account of an abiding and purely platonic love, so it was a moot point.
"And I'm so good at it," Sina said — important to remind everyone that she and Ozymandias were consistently pissy with each other. She leaned back on her chaise lounge. "Have you two set a date yet?" she asked, lazily. They'd been engaged for a notably long time, but Sina certainly wasn't going to rush Georgia.
"October," Georgia said, grateful that she at last had a real answer to give someone. She had gotten so very tired to people asking, though she knew why. "I'll be glad when the whole matter of wedding planning is over," she continued. "I don't think I was built for event planning. It's a good thing Mr. Quirke doesn't expect it of me." She smirked a little at her own, private joke.
October! That was soon. Sina beamed, thrilled that her friend was finally going for it. "I'd offer to help," she said, "But if I add another event to plan to my list, I will simply have to set someone on fire." (Preferably Oz.)
Georgia laughed. "That is fair. Though you're doing a fine enough job from this perspective, if it helps." She grinned. "Though I'm not sure I'm the best judge. Some women make hosting look effortless." Georgia supposed practice must surely help. And it was probably different for ladies who'd expected to spend their adult lives doing that sort of thing. She and Sina had both chosen careers, they were naturally at a disadvantage when it came to gaining experience in society events.
Sina grinned back at Georgia. "I make it look effort-ful," she jested, "They should give me to Pendergast's school for a day." She'd rather die — obviously — but it was all well and good to joke about it with Georgia. And Sina's chest was warmed from Georgia saying she was doing a fine enough job; most days it did not feel that way.
Georgia snorted. "They should. Imagine the effect on the next generation of socialites-to-be." Georgia's own time between her debut and getting a job at the museum had been brief and fairly uneventful. She'd liked the dancing at balls, but it was a pity there was so much of the... rest of it to contend with.
Sina laughed; it came out as an unladylike snort-laugh. "I think I'd be a good influence," she asserted. Not in the way that Mrs. Abercrombie would like, of course, but in a way that ensured society was more interesting.
"No doubt," Georgia agreed, grinning. Though perhaps not the way Mrs. Abercrombie--or anyone who sent their daughters to the school--would like. More's the pity. "You may as well use your position for the benefit of all, after all," she added teasingly.
Sina laughed again. "And will you be upending the world of fashion?" she teased, raising an eyebrow at Georgia. Georgia and Mr. Quirke were more allied than Oz and Sina were, at least by reputation, so Sina doubted it — but she would still like to see it.
Georgia laughed. "Mr. Quirke certainly will, but you won't hear me complaining about being his canvas." Georgia, of course, had never wanted to be little more than a doll, but given that she was already that, she thought an appreciation for pretty dresses was hardly a sin. And it made her a supportive fiancée to boot. Thank Merlin Dio hadn't chosen a boring career then.
