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.
With the same account, complete eight different threads where your character interacts with eight different usergroups. At least one must be a non-human, and one a student.
Did You Know?
Braces, or suspenders, were almost universally worn due to the high cut of men's trousers. Belts did not become common until the 1920s. — MJ
Dredfully sorry to be writing you without prompt, sir. I am a currant fifth year student at Hogwarts. I am considering a career in the Ministry following this school year and I was curios to see if you would mind answering questions regarding your department. It is completely understandable if you are too busy to do so and I would not be put out if you chose not to respond at all. My apologies once again for disturbing you, if that is indeed the case.
I don't mind the letter at all, and will answer any questions I can, though I hope my sister (whom I assume told you to write) did not oversell my experience or abilities. I'm just a regular employee in the Spirit Division; though if I don't know the answer to your questions, maybe I can ask someone who will.
My apologies for forgetting to mention, sir, that Miss Clementine Greengrass is indeed the one who told me. The Spirit Division is of interest to me, in fact. In the past I've been told that many of the jobs in the Department of for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures would be accessible to those who do well on their OWLs, rather than requiring NEWT exams. Could you advise on this? My concerns are mainly that I will manage somehow to earn a "Poor" on the OWL exams for which it would truly matter, but besides that I wonder if you find the job enjoyable?
Well, please don't consider me an expert on the subject, because I do believe that sometimes exceptions are made for individuals depending on different circumstances, but I can tell you my experiences. I did intern with the beast division and being division as well, so I think I can speak to each briefly.
The Spirit division likes to see good marks in Ghoul Studies; I had an O at OWL level but I think they'll take an E just as readily. Being division looks for History of Magic (since many of the beings were actually there for many of the events, and goblins can take offense quite easily if you aren't aware of what they've been through as a people), and if you want to work in the goblin liaison office, gobbledegook is a great benefit but not a requirement (I learned it while I was working there, though I'm still not fluent). Beasts, of course, likes to see Care of Magical Creatures, though there's more requirements if you want to work in one of the specialty offices in Beasts like the Dragon Restraint or Werewolf Capture offices.
If you're a fifth year now, my advice would be to intern with one of the offices this summer. It won't really matter about your OWLs, since you won't have them yet, and that way if you do fail something but you've already been doing good work, you'll still have a chance of being able to stay on after the internship. And if you decide you don't like it, you can try something else afterwards.
Is your schooling situation a matter of finances, or would you simply prefer to leave after OWLs? I think there is some benefit to having NEWTs if you want to make a career of it (they might care about that sort of thing for promotions), but if you can't get them you can certainly still work here, and if your work is good enough I think they'll still consider you for promotion.
I like it most of the time. I really enjoy talking to ghosts (Hogwarts has some of the best ones), and I do a good deal of that, but I hadn't exactly realized how many of the spirits I dealt with would be angry. So that can get a little draining. Overall, though, it's a good job. I think it's a better place for me than Beasts and Beings — ghosts don't accidentally kill you, so it's a sight safer.
A hundread thanks for helping me with such information. It is rather fascinating, and I am now thankful that I've stuck with keeping on top of History of Magic through out the years--and that by fortune I am also taking Care of Magical Creatures, even if I did not have the foresight to pick up Ghoul Studies in my third year (I was quite taken with Muggle Studies, at the time, you see.)
An internship seems intriguing, though a little daunting. Is it very common for fith fifth years to do so over the summer? I would hate to feel out of place.
The matter of my leaving after OWLs is indeed financial, though it does make me feel all bright to know I can still have the chance of Ministry employement when my schooling is done, though I now know that the relative safety of the spirit division is most likely out of reach.
The summer after fifth year is the earliest the Ministry accepts interns, I think. I interned the summer after my fifth year and my sixth, though some people only do it later. It's fairly common, though we don't have an intern every year. I don't think you'll have a problem getting a placement if you've taken the right classes and done reasonably well in them so far (though you're right that the Spirit Division likely isn't your best bet if you haven't taken Ghoul Studies).
If you're hoping for something safe and enjoyable, I might recommend the Goblin Liaison Office; goblins can be quite a lot of fun if you catch them in the right mood and I didn't think gobbledegook was too difficult to pick up (much easier than mermish). Another option you might look into is the Muggle Liaison Office, if you're particularly interested in Muggles, but that's in another department so I don't know much about it — but one of my Hogwarts friends, Nemo Fisk, works there. If you're interested I can ask him whether he'd tell you anything about it.
I will look into the Goblin Liason office. Though I will not last long enough at school to take Goblie gobbledegook lessons, as they're unfortunately a NEWT class, I will talk to my professors and see if I cannot find a few books on the subject. I'm no stranger to the library, so that task, at least, will not be too difficult.
It would certainly be helpful to here from your friend, Mr. Fisk, about his department! Muggles do have several interesting ways and it might be a bit easier to learn about Muggle inventions and the likes than to learn gobbledegook.
I may have misled you a bit — the Muggle Liaison Office is in the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, so I don't think it's much to do with learning their customs and inventions; mostly finding ways to lie to them about magic, I think, after they've seen something they shouldn't have done. But I'll ask Mr. Fisk to write to you and perhaps he can set the record straight — it's not my department, after all.
I'm sure if you're as studious as your letter suggests you won't have any trouble finding an internship placement, in this department or another.
First, an apology for the substance spilled on the parchment. A first year seemed to think bright blue ink was an excellent toy to play with.
I will admit that I was a little disappointed to hear that there wasn't much learning about Muggles but lying to them, though I suppose if one spends enough time in anyone's company they'll pick up a few things, so if that's the way I head, then I'll be happy there, too, I suppose. Thank you for agreeing to write Mr. Fisk for me. These letters have been quite helpful to me, and have brought up my spirits as well!
