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
Zelda pressed her lips together. She had a hard time thinking of Yorick as anything but perfect, and never mind that developing vision problems was not really a reflection on Yorick as much as it was a reflection on her age."Is that common?" she asked.
“With age, yes,” Avery responded thoughtfully as she tilted her head to get a better look. “I do see the beginnings of cloudiness in her eyes which should easily be remedied with a potion.” Another wave of her wand saw a diagnostic chart weave itself into the air just above the dog. Beads of different colors on threads of gold hung like little jewels.
The witch stood up, tucking her wand back up her sleeve before reaching into her case to bring out some treats. The dog’s ears perked up as Avery held one out and began to walk around the room. “I’m just testing her motor skills, range of motion, things like that.” She explained, grinning as the small child toddled after them.
Zelda wanted to sit down, but felt guilty doing so when the other woman was walking her dog and her toddler around the room — she settled for leaning against her door frame.
''She does look a little slower than she used to," Zelda said. Yorick stopped abruptly whenever the creature-healer took a turn. Orion also stopped abruptly when she took a turn, but Zelda would have been shocked if he had suddenly gone and mastered turning on her.
Moving slower; the woman had said that during their initial chat, however Avery didn’t think that too concerning for her age. In her examining, she looked up at the woman to see her leaning against the door frame, and she let out a huff of a laugh. “I know it’s not my place ma’am, you should sit down in your condition,” She waved her wand to draw up a chair. At the same time, she saw the behavior change in the dog — let out another laugh as the child also copied Yorick — and pondered. She’d said the dog was odd about going into corners, but it also appeared she was odd about turning corners as well.
“And you said she wasn’t magic at all?” Avery wanted to clarify before feeding the dog a few treats and withdrawing a book from her bag to transcribe notes. It flipped open in mid air while she fetched a quill. At the top she wrote down the facts she had so far, plus the dog’s name and — “I don’t believe I got your name at all either, ma’am.”
Zelda smiled slightly and deposited herself into the chair the other woman had drawn up; at least she hadn't had to verbally admit how exhausted she was. She watched as the magizoologist looked at Yorick, still feeling nervous.
"She's just a dachshund," Zelda said, with a sheepish smile. "And I'm Zelda Darrow. You are?"
She probably should have gotten the other woman's name before letting a stranger into her home, but it was too late now. If the Fudges trusted her, Zelda ought to as well.
Avery smiled knowingly at the obvious relief Mrs. Darrow felt at having been told to sit down. She couldn’t blame the woman for wanting to stick it out, but the woman looked ready to give birth at any moment. While there certainly were heroines when it came to childbirth, they deserved a break as much as they could, especially if they had multiple children and a pet running around.
“Dachshund….alright.” She repeated, making more notes, then jotting down Mrs. Darrow’s name and place of residence. With another soft laugh she continued to write notes while she introduced herself, “I’m Avery Davenport - I’ll leave my card with you so you can contact me if you see any more issues with Yorick.” Before she went back to transcribing, she fished out a card with her details on it and handed it to Mrs. Darrow.
“Dachshunds are more predisposed to eye problems, which is the cloudiness that I see.” She explained, putting her instruments aside to reach down and see if she could examine the creature’s teeth. She massaged the dog’s face before moving towards its teeth and lifting up the gums to get a better look. “Could do with some teeth cleanin’ too, but it’s not so bad that I think it would affect her heart or her gait.”
Zelda smiled again, happy to take the woman's card — although she hated to admit it, Yorick was getting older, and it may be good to have the information for a creature healer who she already knew was willing to come to the Sanditon.
She pressed her lips together, suppressing a frown, at the woman's last comment. "You're worried about her heart?" Zelda asked. Orion, having gotten slightly bored of following the dachshund and the healer, plodded over to Zelda to hug her knees.
She realized with a start that she’d likely just given Mrs. Darrow another thing to worry about her dog. Dammit. “No, nothing of the sort. But I do think that dental health in all creatures has something to do with our internal health.” She summarized. “She looks to be quite fine so far, but I do think that perhaps I’ll give you a potion for her overall general health. Two drops of it to her water per refill should do the trick.” She reached down to her bag and pulled out the tonic. “And then here’s a pamphlet about diet for dogs around her age.” One couldn’t be too careful. “And finally the drops for her eyes. Once a day for those, it’s written on the bottle.”
Avery stood up, waving her wand to summon everything else back into her bag. “I think I’ll stop by next week to see how you’re faring, if that’s alright. And if the potions and tonics look to be working, then I can set you a longer care plan if that suits you.”
Zelda summoned a notepad and quill over, and wrote down Mrs. Davenport's instructions. She smiled gratefully at the woman's offer to come back again. "That's more than alright. Let me pay you, also," Zelda said. She did not feel as reassured as she had hoped — Yorick was still aging, faster than Zelda liked — but at least now she had a way to help her.
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