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
Archie had spent his life trying to please and be like his parents. He loved adventures and the great unknown, but Hogwarts had made him care about other things—or rather, other people—too. He'd spent the last week before Christmas holidays writing to his parents to convince them to vacation at the Sanditon Resort rather than the jungles of India, and by some miracle they'd agreed.
"I never thought I'd get out of my room," he breathed as he approached the spot where he and Sunday had agreed they'd rendezvous at that morning. He carried one small, poorly-wrapped present in his hand; the paper was red and orange, and the bow was bright blue. It was not the prettiest sight. He glanced at the clock that stood at the end of the corridor, internally cringing when he noticed that the large hand was on the six. He was a whole fifteen minutes late.
"My mother insisted on sketching me holding one of my presents. She might seem nice, but she's actually crazy," he continued, "Crazy enough to gift me a magical machete. What would I even do with that?"
Christmas! Sunday had practically bounced out of bed that morning. Christmas meant presants and presants ment new toys. As enthusiastic as the 11 year old was, she was more enthusiastic to meet Archie. It was his first time at the resort - his family's first time at the resort! – and she was eager to find out how he liked it so far. Of course, she'd asked him previously, but she knew first times at the resort could be overwhelming and take a few days to settle in.
After early morning Christmas festivities with her family, Sunday and her siblings were excused for the morning until the Christmas brunch at which point Sunday sent word to Archie's family's residence to see if he was free to meet up and exchange gifts. Of course, she'd arrived early and a glance at her timepiece after a while told her he was running late. Finally, she saw him coming towards her and she straightened, beaming. "And happy christmas to you too!" she chirped, throwing her arms around him, gripping her present to him in his hands. It was neatly wrapped only because Irene had insisted on helping her with it.
A magical machete? She looked him up and down as if expecting him to have brought it with him. "Perhaps we could go exploring with it." she suggested, "What magical properties does it have?"
Although caught off guard by the sudden hug, Archie did not hesitate to squeeze her tightly before letting go. He pulled back bright pink, not because of the hug, but because he realized her gift to him looked far better-wrapped and put together than his own. Maybe he should have had Mother wrap it for him.
He laughed at her inquiry. Despite his upbringing full of magical artifacts and spontaneous exploring, somehow Sunday seemed to find it more normal than him. A magical machete! To a twelve-year-old! He supposed he couldn't complain, though, if it meant he'd have more time to spend with Sunday.
"We could! Do you know any places around that might require a magical machete to explore?" he teased, unable to contain his smile. "It glows when treasure is near, apparently. It glowed near my mother's wedding ring, so I'm not sure what constitutes as 'treasure'."
Sunday scoffed, laughing at his question before realizing he was, in fact, serious. She straightened her face and then smiled again, gesturing around her. "Archie, we're at the Sandition!" she grinned, knowing it was his first time at the Inn. "We have a menagerie and a beach as well that we could explore!"
The thought of it glowing where there was treasure made it that much more appealing. Deciding that it was settled, she grabbed his hand and led him to the nearest bench. Guests were already milling about where she could wave occasionally at the ones she recognized. "Here, let's open presents and then you can run and get the machete and we'll go exploring and be back before tea." she said, thrusting her gift to him (a rememberall, pair of magical blue socks with golden stars that twinkled in the dark, and a book called "Moste Magical Creatures of Egypt") into his lap. "Plus mummy said there'll be chocolate raspberry cake and I want to make sure we don't miss it. Cook makes the most delicious cake in the world."
Right, right. This wasn't an ordinary resort. His mother had said that the Sanditon should be an 'experience', whatever that meant, so he supposed she knew more than him about the place. Archie only hoped that they wouldn't be accosted by security by running around the beach with a machete in-hand.
"It's a plan, then," he said, placing his gift in her lap (a seashell necklace, a box of chocolates, gold and red hair ribbons, and a model magic carpet that flew when touched) while he opened his own. He held the remembrall in his hand and smiled as it turned red—he'd already forgotten something! But what?
He set it aside for a moment and flipped through the book's pages and examined the socks, turning to look at Sunday a moment later. "I love every single thing! Thank you," he said in a soft, sincere tone before leaning over to wrap his arms around her shoulders in a hug.
"You're welcome!" she chirped. If she'd been honest, she was more excited for him to open her present, but nevertheless she eagerly opened his and gave a squeal of delight when she saw what lay in her lap. The ribbons slipped through her fingers like water, and the magic carpet immediately zoomed in a few circles above her head when she reached out to touch it. "Ooooo, thank you too Archie!" she said, returning his hug enthusiastically before putting the seashell necklace around her neck. She did a cheerful little shimmy, giggling as the seashells rattled in sync.
"Did you see the drawings pop up? So if you touch it, it'll pop out of the book!" she hopped down, not bothering to see if he'd checked that or not. "And I think I know what you forgot -" She pointed back to the cabin. "Your machete!"
Archie watched with a shy smile as she looked through her presents and was pleased to find that she enjoyed them. He had more than enough weird stuff at home; one day he'd have to let her explore his parent's vaults with him. They weren't rich by any means, but most of their family treasures went beyond monetary value: artifacts, manuscripts, and random objects from around the world that sat around until someone asked about them.
He peeked down at his book and touched the pages as she'd said. He touched the picture of the sphinx, and was half-startled by how quickly it popped up. It turned its head and looked at him, smiled, and then lowered itself onto the pages as if it was preparing to take a nap. "I've never seen a book like this one. I bet my parents will like it as much as I do," he explained, closing it carefully so the sphinx wouldn't be disturbed.
Archie touched the spot next to him on the bench, gasping as he realized the machete was, in fact, not there!
"I can't believe I left it! I put it right by the door, too," he complained, his lips slipping into a pout. "Wait for me and I'll grab it, alright?"
Sunday clapped her hands, gleeful that Archie liked his presents. Once he'd mentioned Egypt, she knew at once what she'd be getting him - it was only a matter of asking the proper grown up where to get such a book. She knew she'd seen them around, as she had a few in her collection too, but it wouldn't do any good to give Archie a book that had been handed down to her!
"Okay!" she said happily, content to wait for him to run back to his family's room. She toyed with her new necklace, enjoying the way the seashells gleamed in the daylight. "Oh take your book too, we don't want it getting dirty!" Sunday hopped back up onto the bench and swung her legs, looking gaily up at the sky at the clouds. Maybe if she wished hard enough they would form animal shapes.
With his book in hand and mind trying to conjure up the image of his sword placed somewhere near his bed, Archie raced back to his bedrooms. He returned nearly five minutes later, the elegant and dangerous-looking machete tucked comfortably under his arm.
"It's charmed to only be sharp when it needs to be," he said, holding it out to her. It was child-friendly that way, but still capable of being used to protect him if needed. "So we can cut through leaves to get to a path we can't reach, but it can't cut anything if I'm just swinging it around." He held it out for her to take; he imagined she'd get just as much fun out of it as he did.
Sunday's eyes widened as she caught a glimpse of the machete, and she hopped off the bench to get a closer look. It was very pretty, she thought as she gazed at the engraved handle. "How clever!" She said, accepting the machete from Archie. She glanced around briefly to make sure that she was clear of people and slashed it through the tall grass behind the bench. Immediately the blades fell as if she'd cast a severing charm.
Visibly impressed, Sunday brought the blade in front of her and gingerly brushed a fingertip along the blade. It remained quite dull. "Wow, I wish my parents would get me something like this!" She gushed. "You're so lucky!" She was sorely tempted to keep it for the remainder of their outing, however, it was Archie's, and so she handed it back.
Archie beamed with pride as Sunday looked over his gift. It was something he had that was his own rather than his parents'. He would be able to use it, presumably, whenever they went out exploring, and he could be the hero (in theory). It was a little silly how impressed she was, though, given that they were standing in the halls of the Sanditon.
"I'm lucky? You're the one with the resort!" he exclaimed. She could go anywhere on the whole property and he doubted they'd question her. She was like a princess in her own kingdom around here!
Sunday's eyes widened and she looked around, a dawning expression on her face. "I suppose that's true," she said frankly, shrugging her shoulders. "But at least you get cool presents like that!" She pointed to the machete. She was lucky to call the resort her home, for she was never really want for anything. They weren't monetarily rich by any means, but they did have a good livelihood – something the Gryffindor was only beginning to realize.
"Come on Archie, we only have so long before we have to be back!" She said, grabbing his hand and tugging it.
Archie squeezed her hand gently and pointed towards the shore. "That way first!" he said, smiling brightly. At least they'd be able to spend Christmas morning together!
![[Image: 3Zj8nG.png]](https://*****.host/3Zj8nG.png)