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
January 13th, 1889 - Potter Home, North Bartonburg
@'Odira Potter'
Baxter was not going to let Cassandra Trelawney put him off indefinitely.
If he were being honest, his run-in with the Trelawney sisters on High Street had been a little ominous, and had certainly given him pause. Baxter was cautious with his personal life by nature, clearly it had caused issues in the past, but unlike last time, he felt more confident in this and he was not going to let a jilted seer ruin his shot this time. The decision had taken him a long time to come to, but Bax had also become increasingly aware that he was not getting any younger, nor were things as likely to go awry this time around; he was still a nervous wreck.
Having arranged to call on Odira at her Bartonburg home had put things in motion however, and now he was determined to follow through. Still, he felt like a man many years younger than he actually was, especially considering how long ago he probably should have done this. Still, he had a ring burning a hole in his pocket, though he wasn't even sure he was prepared to ask today- or how amenable Odira was to the idea itself, which was really his mission today, first and foremost. Perhaps he'd gotten ahead of himself, but frankly he was past caring. He enjoyed spending time with Odira, she'd said the same of him in the past, there was certainly a history between the two and Bax rather thought that it was time to do something and stop thinking about it.
Steeling himself as he knocked on the door, Bax, waited to be let in and held his breath.
Patience was a virtue, one Odira Potter did her best to employ. She tried to be patient with the children when they were being particularly obstinate, tried to be patient with herself and the little mistakes she made still about people—or the magical world—years after her return. Patience, the young widow thought, was a skill, one that she had finely honed a courtesy she extended indefinitely to those around her.
Baxter Keene was included in that number.
An avid reader, she had experienced enough Austen to recognize her feelings towards the healer as distinctly more than friendly, and more than suspect that the affection was mutual. He was, however, a decidedly busy man, and she, with plenty already to keep her occupied, was hardly about to push the matter and add stress to the hospital director’s shoulders.
It was, then, a surprise—wholly pleasant—to find Mr. Keene on the other side of the door, Odira having shouted to the cook-maid-housekeeper-sometimes feminine butler not to worry about fetching it. A broad smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she stepped aside to allow Mr. Keene entry into the house.
“Even on a Sunday, I confess it’s a shock to see you out of the hospital!” she teased. “To what do I owe the pleasure, Mr. Keene?”
If I could marry Bee I would but I can't so I ship our characters instead.
Well, he certainly hadn't expected Odira to be the one to open the door and Baxter, a man late in his thirties, a man who ran an entire hospital with multiple wards and hundreds of employees, was flustered to say the least. What in the name of Merlin's beard was wrong with him. "Pardon the interruption," He made to excuse himself, to let her get on with her day without his interruption, but that would be an utter defeat of his entire purpose. Plus she'd opened to door wider for him to come in, so that surely meant she didn't mind?
"I apologize for not arranging ahead of time, but I rather thought I would wind up backing out somehow." Frankly it was still a possibility, but now he'd just started down the trail and had to keep plugging along. "Do you have a few moments?" He certainly couldn't run away now!
If Baxter Keene still thought she’d mind his interrupting after all this time, Odira doubted there was anything she could say to convince him otherwise! She let out a soft laugh before replying, “The girls are in the nursery and Jameson is with his new governess; I am very much at loose ends, and so would welcome the distraction!”
Why he should ever back out of coming to see her was, though, an entirely different matter, and Odira tried not to let her puzzlement show in her features.
If I could marry Bee I would but I can't so I ship our characters instead.
Some day, in the near future he hoped, he'd look back on his day and laugh at himself, but now, standing in the entryway of the Potter home, unannounced and awkward, Bax rather felt anything but amused. Nervous, fidgety, and unsure, was more like it.
Fortunately, Odira seemed willing to accept his intrusion, which helped him to relax, a little. Just a little. "I was hoping to discuss something important with you," This was going to seem entirely out of the blue, he knew it, but in reality it was a long time coming. For a man who could read a medical situation in an instant, social situations were not his forte, though he hoped he'd read the signs correctly here. The road to right now was twisted and bumpy, he'd unintentionally ruined something with potential on the hope that this was something more and now he was here to actually find out.
What he needed to do was sit down and stop fidgeting. Or maybe stop beating around the bush, but somehow he thought that this particular spot in her home was not the best for this discussion.
It was the first hint that—in spite of how peculiar he seemed—of what he might truly be there to discuss. No, Odira thought, especially because of how peculiar he seems!
Her heart leapt at the prospect, and she found herself struggling to maintain her composure and ensure her hopes did not raise too high.
“Of course, Mr. Keene,” she reassured him gently. “Why don’t we go take a seat in the parlour?”
If I could marry Bee I would but I can't so I ship our characters instead.
Bax was ever-envious of how Odira managed to maintain the utmost decorum in social situations such as this- well maybe not exactly like this, but still, welcoming a man into her home unannounced, perfectly polite in moving them to the parlor, straight-faced and kind. It was far better than he could ever manage.
And so he followed her into the parlor and waited for her to take a seat before finding one close by himself. It was probably forward, but this was going to be a forward conversation and one best had in close quarters, really. "I supposed you're wondering why I'm here and why I'm acting like a fool," He chuckled wryly at himself before taking a deep breath. This was it, explain and ask or forever keep on wondering what could have been. "I know I don't have the most free time, though I've made a concentrated effort to amend that habit," Then things like magic-inhibiting fog roll through for months on end, but that was neither here nor there at the moment.
"And I truly enjoy spending that free time with you, which I hope is mutual..." Bax questioned a lot of things in his life, but he almost had himself convinced Odira would not humor him so often if she were not at least in an agreeable sort of mood to what he was about to offer. "However it never seems like we have enough time, so I was wondering if perhaps we could come to some more... permanent arrangement." He paused, pulling the little ring box from his pocket before he could lose his nerve.
As paradoxical as it was, Odira felt like her heart had stopped and as though it were racing. A permanent arrangement could mean—she hoped—one thing and on thing only. Her eyes widened at the sight of the ring.
"You must say it aloud, Mr. Keene," Odira directed cautiously, "for I fear my imagine might run off with me if you do not."
If I could marry Bee I would but I can't so I ship our characters instead.
So she wouldn't let him get away with being vague after all. It seemed at least, that this proposal, compared to the last, was far more likely to be permanent. If something were to go wrong this time Bax would certainly just call it quits on romance and marry his job finally.
And so Baxter slid down onto one knee, ring held out before him. "If you insist," He chuckled, albeit a little nervously. "Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?" Their relationship had never been the epitome of proper or normal, but Baxter couldn't be bothered to worry about it now. Though he was and always had been slow on the uptake and making decisions, he knew this had potential that he wanted to see out.
I may never actually change this set by MJ
June 2, 2019 – 9:47 PM
Last modified: June 2, 2019 – 9:49 PM by Odira Keene.
The word came without hesitation, and was spoken almost matter-of-factly, though the fact that Odira choose that moment to throw her arms around Mr. Keene's—Baxter's—neck did somewhat betray her enthusiasm.
There was, Odira thought, absolutely nothing about this situation that didn't feel altogether natural to her, as though fate had shown its hand and it had been dreadfully predictable. Her dearest friend was to become her husband. What could possibly be more right?
If I could marry Bee I would but I can't so I ship our characters instead.
![[Image: 33xh0N.png]](https://*****.host/33xh0N.png)
