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.
Classes were over for the day and Sisse had a few hours to herself before supper. After supper she had to work on her Charms essay and then it was her turn to patrol after bedtime. But for now she had some time to herself. Knowing the sun would be setting soon, Sisse slipped outside.
She loved fall but hated how cooped up she began to get with the early sunsets. She walked through the courtyard outside the clock tower, thinking to head to the gardens behind the greenhouses. She didn't get very far behind a fanged frisbee whizzed by her, bringing her attention to Mr. Sirius Black who looked as if he was hiding something behind his back.
"Mr. Black." Sisse approached him, withholding the sigh that tried to escape her lips. She really hoped he wasn't up to anything, she didn't like being put in the position of having to take points from the headmaster's own son.
Sirius liked to store his contraband in various places; the most illicit stuff went under his bed, but casual pranks could be stored in other locations around the castle, like in trees on the grounds or under rocks in the courtyard. It was important to keep up a varied menu of places where he could easily be a nuisance. He'd left these fanged frisbees there at the end of last year, and was excited to see that they were still in place even though he'd forgotten about them.
He had not intended to bait the Head Girl with a fanged frisbee — he'd been testing his throws, and he hadn't realized it was Sisse Thompsett until she turned and looked at him.
"Miss Thompsett," Sirius said, pressing the other frisbee into the back of his robes. "I hope you're having a lovely evening!"
A faint smile crossed her lips, "I was." She agreed, keeping her voice pleasant as she crossed toward him. "Until a frisbee almost hit me. You wouldn't happen to know where it came from, would you?" She had long since learned that it was best when she approached students not with sternness but conversation to get them to own up to what was going on. There were certain younger students where the sternness was warranted, but many other students walked themselves right into admissions when she beat around the bush. Besides, she'd never truly been a stern person. She was going to be horrible disciplining children when the day came that she'd have to deal with that.
He managed to keep his face straight through Thompsett's line of questioning. Sirius had little doubt that she knew the frisbee originated with him — it was just about keeping enough plausible deniability to keep her from discovering the other one. (He was maybe-screwed, and he knew it.) He kept his hands behind his back.
"I have no idea," Sirius replied, face a mask of innocence.
It was an effort to refrain from sighing. Of course he would deny it. "Oh?" Her eyebrows raised as she stared pointedly at him. His hands were behind his back and there was no one else around, there was really only one option here as much as she didn't like it.
"Then I don't suppose you'd be able to help me find the culprit?" Her words were almost sweet as she asked, as if she were oblivious to what was happening. They both knew better.
Sirius shook his head at Thompsett. He was running on borrowed time and he knew it. Unfortunately, it was beneath him to try to run away from her before she could deduct points. "Can't," he said, "My vision's bad, too many bludgers to the head."
He had to try, even though he knew it would not work.
She couldn't help it, her eyebrows raised skeptically. "Unfortunately Mr. Black I've seen every game you've played," As one did when all their friends and siblings were quidditch fans, "I've seen how many bludgers to the heads you've taken." Which is to say, not enough to affect his vision. Although if she was wrong she knew she'd feel terribly. Not to mention they had had classes together for most of their school years. She knew he could see well enough.
As if dropping the topic she sighed, "Well, I guess I shall just have to assume you threw the frisbee and take points from Slytherin." She began to turn, waiting to see if he'd own up to it.
She did watch slightly too much Quidditch for him to lie about bludgers. Sirius supposed he ought to respect that she called him out, but he really did not want Miss Thompsett to take points away.
Sirius frowned at her. "Miss Thompsett," he said, in a tone that was as plaintive and reasonable as he could manage. "I think we ought to make a deal."
Skepticism was written on her face enough so that Sisse was glad she had turned around from him. Schooling her face to neutrality she slowly turned around to face him. "Oh?" She was not easily bribed, in fact she'd never been bribed, but she was curious to see how far Mr. Black would go to avoid losing house points.
She hadn't shut him down right away. Troublingly, he did not know what Miss Thompson wanted. Were she Miss Potts, or the late Miss Bixby, he may have figured her out. But instead he had to settle on something much less poignant.
"Should you look the other way," he said, "I will return from the Hogsmeade weekend with a reasonable quantity of anything you want."
Sisse's eyebrows arched. It surprised her that he was not as good at bribing as she would have thought. "Five points from Slytherin for contraband and five for attempting to bribe a head girl." She told him drolly. Even as she worked to keep herself calm thought she could feel her cheeks warming slightly. It really was excessive to take points for two things, but well... her conscious said she ought to. Besides, how else would he learn.
"Good afternoon Mr. Black." She inclined her head slightly before turning and heading back in the direction she had come from, trying to keep her pace steady, feeling his gaze on her as she retreated until at last she slipped back into the building and found herself wondering just what she ought to do with herself now - especially as she'd have to go past Mr. Black if she were to continue on the way she had been heading originally.
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