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
I'm not sure whether we've had the pleasure of a personal introduction, but I have certainly seen the good work of you and your family at many an event. I hope business is good this time of year? My own wedding took place in November and so I tend to think of it as the season for wedding flowers, though I'm sure statistically mine was the outlier and not the rule.
I am, however, writing on my business, not to solicit yours. You may have read in the Prophet recently about my efforts to form a committee to consider the issue of voting reform.* I am firmly of the opinion that this committee must represent the views of the magical community as a whole and not merely those who work in government. For this reason I would like to extend an invitation for you to participate as a committee member. You are well connected in the magical community, especially in Hogsmeade, and knowledgeable about business and economics; moreover, to be frank, I am eager to include voices on the committee of people who do not currently have the vote.
I hope to formally convene the committee after the Christmas holiday; the expected workload is a few hours a week (primarily conducted at the Ministry of Magic) and a small stipend will be provided to offset the inconvenience of taking time away from your business and your family for this period. Please let me know your thoughts on the subject at your earliest convenience.
I have a proposition for you, related to the committee on voting reform, which I'm sure you've already heard about.* If you're inclined to discuss the matter over tea you are welcome to pay a call on any upcoming weekend to my Mayfair address; you were so kind as to host during our last conversation so it seems appropriate for me to repay the favor even if you aren't interested in the committee seat. I promise not to poison you.
The committee convenes (if everything goes to plan) in January, and I expect you would find the experience most engaging. Either things will go well and you'll be in the middle of interesting conversations, or things will go poorly and you'll be able to eviscerate some poor fools who ended up out of their depth despite my best efforts at screening them. Either way, I believe you'll enjoy yourself. And maybe by the end of it you'll have the vote.
It was a surprise to receive your letter yesterday, but that does not lessen my gratitude for your kind words. November is a lovely time for weddings, indeed, the flowers for such weddings are among my favorite to work with.
You do me a great honor in thinking of me for such a task as contributing to such a committee. I should be honored to serve on such a matter. Please let me know what dates will be required and I shall ensure I am available at those times.
If there is anything further I can assist with, or any flowers which you may need for upcoming events, please do not hesitate to reach out to me. We will be more than honored to assist the Ministry in any way we are able.
I'm gratified to hear it. I have high hopes for this committee — not for any particular result, as I won't pretend to have the perspective to solve this problem on my own, but rather for a nuanced and well-reasoned reform bill. Voices like yours are crucial to its success.
My secretary Mrs. Ainsworth will send a letter shortly with further logistical details, including initial committee meeting dates and instructions for the stipend. She may need some more information from you additionally to ensure everything is in order from a paperwork perspective — clearances for information and permissions to enter relevant areas of the Ministry, whatnot — but as I have thankfully delegated all of these matters to her I couldn't say what's entailed in any of them.
I expect I will meet with the full committee prior to starting work in order to establish purpose and tone, and look forward to seeing you then. In the meantime if you have questions or business related to this matter feel free to write me directly (or care of Mrs. Ainsworth) and we will see to it as soon as possible.
You may have already heard that I have been in the process these past two weeks of assembling a committee on voting reform. As I'm not sure how closely you followed the political race over the past few months, allow me to give you some context: voting reform was a large part of my campaign, and I am personally invested in seeing this issue through to completion. I have been vocal from the beginning that no one person, myself included, has the appropriate context to create comprehensive voting reform plans, hence the committee.
Your name was recommended from multiple sources. I've already spoken with the head auror who has vouched for your drive and attention to detail in your work, and has agreed that he would be able to spare you for the duties of the reform committee (estimated around five hours a week, to begin in January). Assuming you are interested in the post, the position is yours.
My, my, haven't you been busy since last we met? What on earth possessed you to run for Minister? You didn't strike me as the ambitious type, are you quite sure you know what you've gotten yourself into? Of course it's too late now...
I don't care for government as a concept if I'm entirely honest and I avoid joining organized groups of any kind if I can help it, however this sound vaguely interesting and January rarely fails in being excessively dull.
I may call on you for tea in the near or distant future.
I shall choose to take 'you didn't strike me as the ambitious type' as a compliment rather than an insult, knowing what I know about ambitious Ministry men.
I await your call. You may want to send a card ahead, and aim for a weekend; as you could probably anticipate, my schedule is rather busier than the last time we took tea together.
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