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.
Play a character aged 35 or older for one month. Non-humans do not count. Show this by submitting two completed threads started one month (or more) apart. Threads must have at least ten posts, and at least three must be your own.
Did You Know?
It’s quite unusual for a caster's patronus to be their favourite animal, but very possible that it will take the shape of a creature they’ve never before seen or heard of. — Amy
Alvin had never lived somewhere where a persistent drizzle was not a thing. Oh briefly, down in the south of England, near the channel, but here, the Pacific Northwest, he was used to it. Or so he thought. Maybe it was his up and down moods. Maybe it was the exhaustion. Maybe it was the fact that he'd just spent a couple of hours solo drawing in the Potts' greenhouse that he was overheated, but as he stepped onto the High Street and into the misty afternoon, Alvin was longing for sunnier days. He looked toward the park for a moment, restless, wondering if a walk would do him some good, but he still didn't dare step foot in the park.
His pensive mood wasn't any good for the house either, he tried to leave his surly attitude at the door, but he wasn't ready yet and so he turned toward the cemetery instead. There were some large trees there he could shelter under until he was feeling more like good company. He had his sketchbook hidden inside his jacket, it would remain dry there. The walk would do him some good. He'd been sitting for too long. It was easy to get lost in the back of the greenhouse and just forget the world outside. Surrounded by the lush green and the hazy light, it had been far longer than he'd intended by the time roused himself from the corner, several pages of his sketchbook eaten up by what had caught his attention.
Long legs ate up the ground quickly and the lane gave way to the wider set of the end of the street. Maybe he'd go sit with Sloane for a while and just be silent. It was a strange sort of comfort these days. Alvin crossed the street just as a carriage came rounding the corner. It was a fraction of a second before he saw the tiny fluffball in the street and had no time to react. Alvin watched in mild horror as the carriage went right over it and he darted after, hoping the creature was too small to have been inured.
Gently he picked up the ball of fur by the back of its neck. The kitten seemed unhurt, if soaked and shaken up. Alvin sighed in relief, cradling it in the crook of his arm. It had to be a kitten. His track record with cats was terrible. "I've got you little guy," he scratched it behind the ears. Looking around, he wondered if it had gotten out of one of the nearby houses. He saw someone else coming up the street and he waved them down. "Excuse me, do you live around here? Is anyone missing a cat?" Alvin motioned to the mewling kitten in his arms awkwardly.
Sera had barely gotten to know the fledgling Hogsmeade before she was cursed. Now that she wasn't, London still grabbed most of her attention — Seraphina did not have an apparition license, having failed the test when she was in Hogwarts, and as she lived there London was just easier. (She was disappointed to see that she had not gotten an apparition license while she was cursed, given that she had apparently not developed any other interesting hobbies. Whatever.)
Also, her father had a residence in Wellingtonshire. Seeing as she was mostly trying to avoid him, avoiding Hogsmeade came easily.
But it was a dreary day in London, so she took the floo to Hogsmeade. It was a dreary day in Hogsmeade, too — raindrops thumped against the surface of her parasol and water was starting to collect on the bottom of her skirts. Seraphina walked the High Street, unhurried but considering — maybe it would be better to spend the day reading in London? Even in the rain, though, High Street interested her — the little town had blown up to larger proportions than she'd remembered.
She had not made up her mind as to what to do on High Street, or even if she was staying, when a younger man waved to her. Sera hurried over. She was already smiling her usual smile when she reached the man, but then she saw the soaked kitten, her eyes crinkled up at the corners with real joy. But the man was asking her questions, so her smile lines disappeared, and she shook her head at him as she looked from the kitten to his face. "I live in London," Sera answered, "So it's certainly not mine. It's a little thing, though — did you see its mother?"
Alvin could feel the kitten shivering in his arms, so he pulled his scarf off and wrapped up the little thing in it to help start drying it off. Also to keep its murder mittens away He didn't have the best track record with cats, Sloane's hated him and he was glad Splash was at Hogwarts with the girls. "I haven't seen anything else, it nearly got run over by a carriage." He looked around though, as best he could through the drizzle.
"I don't live on this side of town," he hesitated, wondering what to do. He supposed he could start knocking on doors on this street to see if anybody recognized the kitten, but the weather was miserable and unlikely to let up any time soon. It wasn't wearing a collar or anything and besides soaking wet, seemed a little bedraggled and skinny. He was certainly no expert on creatures, but it didn't look well-cared for.
Looking around, he realized they weren't too far from the Broomsticks, maybe he could go see if anyone inside had any information. It sounded like a good idea until the kitten wriggled free of his grasp and hit the mud with a splat, taking off toward the park. "Oh Merlin's beard," he looked at the woman helplessly before starting after the kitten.
The poor thing had nearly gotten run over? Sera frowned at it. They ought to dry it off with more than just a scarf before they started looking for its mother, but then the thing wiggled out of the man's hands, fell in the mud and sent some splattering onto Sera's shoes, and sprinted away and towards Padmore Park. Sera wasn't sure whether to giggle or to feel bad for the thing, but sympathy won over as she saw how wet it was.
"We have to help him," Sera said — half to herself, as the man had already started off after it. She folded her parasol — she couldn't run well with it in hand, and this adventure was more interesting to her than staying dry — and began trotting after the kitten, into the park, following the beleaguered young man.
The dark-colored kitten skittered under a shrub. Sera caught up to the man and crouched next to the bush — a difficult feat, in the shoes she was wearing. Her dress was rapidly getting soaked. "Do you have any meats?" she asked, looking at the man. "To tempt the poor thing out?"
Sera didn't have any meat on her, because that was weird, but maybe this was a weird man. One could never really tell.
Sighing, Alvin realized that the woman had followed him, which was... unexpected. She was keeping up too, which was impressive as Alvin had the impression she was of a higher class than he was. Hard to tell, but sometimes he just got the feeling. He made his way into the park without paying much attention, too focused on finding the kitten once more.
The woman found it first, cowering under a bush. Easy enough, he supposed. Maybe. Of course until she came out with the most random question. Meat? Did he have meat on him? He quirked an eyebrow at her, looking between her and the kitten. "Afraid not." He shrugged. What a weird question to ask. "I'm not great with cats, what else do they like?" Splash was pretty independent, she came and went as she pleased (clearly she had gone to Hogwarts without him knowing), and didn't need a ton of affection. It had been an interesting choice, honestly Alvin had hoped his mother would take to the cat, but perhaps she was too much of a reminder that Sloane was gone. It was good Splash had gone to Hogwarts to be with Calla and Miss Thompsett, she would be of much more comfort to them than she was at the Bixby house.
It was then Alvin realized where he'd found himself. The park had been wildly off limits for his sanity since Sloane's death and now that he was here again, he froze slightly, the events of that day washing over him as he looked out over the lake.
She should have known that he wouldn't have meat on him. Now he looked at her like he thought that she was odd, which did not bother Sera too much — he looked middle class to her, and even if word did get around, at least she could chalk it up to being passionate about saving the kitten. And — she was passionate about saving the kitten. He looked very sweet.
"Yarn?" Seraphina offered; she had never had a cat, but there were all those illustrations of kittens playing with balls of yarn. So, yarn and meat, and she was sure that she could not think of anything else. Except — "My daughter's cat likes ribbons." Sera didn't have any ribbons on her outfit, but maybe in her bag? They had gotten Harriet the kitten right before she went to Hogwarts. Sometimes Harriet mentioned the creature in her letters back to Seraphina, so she had to still have the cat — Sera did not have distinct memories of it, except as a kitten. She was pleased with herself for remembering, and looked gratefully at the soaking wet kitten.
Having her own moment, it took Sera a beat to recognize that the man had frozen above her, as if he was stuck in place. She squinted up at him, not bothering to hide her curiosity. "Are you alright?" she asked. She did not know him, so she was not sure that he would tell her. But he seemed obviously a little thrown off, and they were currently allied in trying to rescue the kitten, which she was not sure she would be able to do on her own. So Sera could ask, and maybe it was something simply — something that she could help with.
The woman's suggestions fell on deaf ears. Alvin was staring at the lake, choppy and restless in the windy gloom. He felt the same inside his chest, the unsettling feeling sitting there, leaving him unable to breathe. He could see the whole thing play out again, even the grey of the clouds was similar; he was sure lightning would strike at any moment. Dumbfounded, he stumbled back a few paces, bumping into the woman as she tried to coerce the cat from its hiding spot.
Time caught up with him again and he had to visibly shake his head to clear the images. This was exactly why he didn't come here. Sunny days, gloomy days, it all could turn at the drop of a hat and everything was over. As soon as they got the kitten out of the bush he was going to have to bolt straight home and sort his head out all over again.
"I'm sorry," he managed, still looking a little bit like a deer in the wandlight. He bent down, peering beneath the bush to see if he could reach the tiny cretin. All of this for ungrateful little feline. Hadn't it known it was already in good(ish) hands? Why jump and make a break for it? Honestly. "Pst pst pst," he made the noise he remembered Sloane doing when Cat was a kitten. Tentatively he reached out his hand, only for a whip of tiny kitten claws to rake over his good hand. Alvin hissed out an oath under his breath. "This is ridiculous." He mumbled, looking at the woman helplessly.
The young man didn't look alright, and he'd bumped into her, but it was not as if he owed Sera answers. She shrugged her shoulders at her and peered back into the bush, looking at the glow of the kitten's eyes. She had some hope for his kitten-appealing sound, but then it swiped at the young man. Sera pressed her lips together.
"He's small and wet and cold and scared," she said. She decided in that moment that the kitten was a boy, because continuing to call the creature an it in her mind seemed mean. Sera set her parasol down on the ground. She was rapidly becoming wet and cold, but no matter — she was a witch, and would be able to fix this easier than the kitten if they abandoned him. And she had a thick coat on, which was at least protecting her skin and some of her dress. The kitten just had fur.
She looked up at the young man. An idea was starting to spark. "Give me your scarf," Sera said. Then, realizing that she was being demanding, she smiled — "It's the closest thing we have to a ribbon." She didn't know the young man, but he was her ally in this — and if they were trying to catch the kitten together, then she'd decided that he was a decent person.
Sighing, Alvin was ready to just crawl into the bush himself and use his bad hand to wrangle the tiny cretin. What was a few more scratches on his already-mangled hand? At least he couldn't squeeze too hard that way either. He knelt down, already too wet to be concerned about any water seeping into the knee of his trousers now. He desperately wanted to be out of the park and as far away as he could get. Preferably in his nice warm bedroom with dry clothes and some tea. It was times like this that Alvin missed drinking. A warm brandy by the fire would have, once upon a time, been a good remedy to his currently situation. He had however, quit the drink after his accident and he was resolved not to touch it again. It made his dark thoughts worse too and he was afraid if he started drinking again, he wouldn't be able to stop.
At the request for his scarf, Alvin handed it over. There was already mud on it and he'd had the kitten in it at one point, maybe it would work out. It could be washed. Or it could be for Cat's bed, if the creature ever deigned to return to the Bixby home. Maybe it would stay at Hogwarts. No, unlikely. Without Call or Miss Thompsett there anymore, he doubted the furball would stick around. Maybe she could go live with one of them too; clearly he was not a cat person.
"Do you think we could just summon it out?" Alvin asked, thinking he might have a good angle for a direct recall if he got a little lower to the ground. He was afraid it would somehow get trapped in the branches and get hurt if he didn't do it just right. Perhaps they should try whatever it was the woman had up her sleeve first. If they could just lure it out, he could grab it and wrap it up in the scarf and hopefully send it on it's merry way with the woman beside him. She was obviously in a better place to keep the creature. Obviously.
Sera pressed her lips together. "I'm worried he'd get hurt by the branches," she said, eyeing the cat thoughtfully. "But it may be worth a shot. Let me try this first." Hopefully the kitten would like the scarf enough to be lured out — it was the best idea Sera currently had.
She crouched as close as possible to the ground and dangled the scarf over the kitten, waving it so that the tasseled end wavered in the air. It caught the kitten's attention. He was tracking the tassels with his big green eyes, clearly interested in the young man's fun piece of clothing. Seraphina paid no mind to the mud that was now getting into her wet skirts — she could deal with getting herself clean and dry once she was at home.
She let the scarf lay on the ground in front of the kitten. Carefully, Sera backed up, (getting even more mud on herself.) She slowly tugged the scarf in prey-like stop and starts, and let it lie still in front of the bush. "Once he comes out," she whispered to the man, without looking up — she was worried additional body motion scaring the creature, "grab him."
She gave the scarf one, two, three last little wavers. This had to work...
Alvin hoped this worked too. He was starting to feel the cold and wet seeping into his jacket and he wanted out of the park as soon as possible. He could feel the discomfort creeping along his skin uncomfortably and he'd been doing so well lately that he didn't want to start slipping backwards.
He couldn't even be annoyed that his scarf was getting all muddy, anything to get this to go faster. It seemed to be working, the more she shook the scarf along, the kitten seemed more and more interested, stalking the fringe on the end. Finally he could see enough of the kitten poking out from beneath the branches that he reached out with his good hand and despite the kittle kitten claws sinking into his skin, held on to the little tyke. There would be no repeat of its escape this time.
"Please tell me you're in the market for a kitten. I already have a hand-me-down cat I can't keep track of." He said as he maneuvered the feisty fuzzball into the crook of his arm, skin sheltered from its murder mittens by his thick wool coat.
Finally! Sera felt a jolt of excitement, well-pleased that her experiment had worked. The kitten was even more desperately muddy than it had been before, and looked resentful in the crook of the man's arm. Sera considered his question, smiling vaguely — she had never had her own kitten before.
"I'll take him," she said, with a smile. "We'll be great friends." Sera held her purse open for the man to drop the kitten in; she'd have to head home quickly, lest the creature escape, but had faith in her ability to keep him in there until she reached the nearest floo network.
"Seraphina Bythesea, by the way," Sera said — she liked the way her name flew off her tongue when she introduced herself like this. "Since we rescued him together, we might as well share names."
Relieved the woman, Mrs. Bythesea, seemed apt to take the kitten, Alvin handed over the tiny creature along with his mangled scarf. "Alvin Bixby," it had been a little bit too much of an adventure, but at least he wasn't leaving with another cat that would probably hate him. That reminded him, he should probably check in on Cat and make sure it was still roaming Hogwarts successfully and hadn't been eaten by something in the Dark Forest. Surely Call or Miss Thompsett would have told him if she'd disappeared, right?
"I'm glad to know it'll find a good home." At least he suspected. He hoped, given Mrs. Bythesea's determination to rescue it. It was one less thing for Alvin to worry about. He had too much on his plate already, never mind adding in another thing to look after. It was sort of fortunate that Cat had made her way to Hogwarts, he didn't have to do much looking after her either. He wondered what would happen in June, though, after they were all graduated.
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