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.
The sun was starting to sink over the horizon and though she hadn't realized it was quite so late, Kenna had thought to walk home instead of taking the floo. She knew that being out in their neighborhood after dark was risky, so she hurried through the streets of the much nicer Pennyworth, wondering if she and Declan would ever make enough to move here. The neat little row houses were much nicer than their little ramshackle tenant. At least she had Deck with her; and she couldn't imagine him living there all by himself, though she supposed that he would be fine without her too. Of all of her life's events that had lead her here, she supposed it could be worse.
But it could also be better.
Kensy wasn't a jealous person however, and she knew that hopefully with enough hard work, or maybe finding a roommate or two, they might be able to make the jump some day. Until then she was going to keep saving her tips and spending frugally until they could better themselves for it. Still, it didn't stop her from admiring the ability to walk by herself for the time being, without needing to worry about anyone lurking in shady corners.
That was until someone stepped out of a nearby alleyway and Kenna yelped in surprise.
It had been a long day. Ivy apparated from the Ministry atrium to an alleyway near her home — it was bad practice to apparate directly home, for what if someone grabbed onto your sleeve, and she had anti-apparition wards on the flat, anyways — and took a breath to soothe out her Ministry robes. Then, she stepped out from the alley — directly into the path of a woman, who yelped.
''You're all right!'' Ivy said, holding her hands up in mock-surrender — she had not intended to scare the other woman, although as someone who was habitually quick to pull a wand, Ivy did understand her fear. She supposed that she ought to apologize, and after a beat mustered — "Sorry."
Kenna's heartrate had doubled in the fright and her hands flew to her mouth. Fortunately it was another woman that had appeared from the alley and the next sound that Kens emitted was a breathless laugh. "I wasn't paying attention and then there you were." She admitted sheepishly. She really ought to be paying attention, Pennyworth may be nicer, but she was still a woman walking home by herself near nightfall.
"I'm sorry I overreacted." She added as she felt the scare running through her limbs, unable to contain the reaction. Kenna noticed the woman's ministry robes and couldn't help but to wonder what it was she did at the ministry— and how she still lived in Pennyworth. Those were inside thoughts though and so all she could do was smile instead.
The other woman still seemed flustered, which managed to puncture some of Ivy's inherent sense of her own rightness. "I'm the one who popped out of nowhere," she offered; as some form of penance. "Are you sure you're alright?" she asked. Ivy hadn't done any real harm — but the taller woman still seemed as if Ivy had given her a significant scare.
"Yes, yes." Kenna assured her, managing to reel in the reaction a little. "I've always been warned about walking home to the far part of town in the evenings," she gestured toward home, meaning the slums beyond here. That was really where she shouldn't be alone. "So I should have been paying better attention." She wouldn't make that mistake again. "Clearly you are not about to attempt anything nefarious." Kenna chuckled quietly, brushing a hand over her hair and tucking the loose ends behind her ear.
August 5, 2024 – 4:11 AM
Last modified: August 5, 2024 – 4:12 AM by Ivy Sandow.
Ivy glanced over at the other woman's indication of the Slums, and then back at her. If she lived there, Ivy should let her go on her own. But instead she stuck out her hand in an offering for the other woman to shake it. "Ivy Sandow," she said, "I can walk with you, if you want."
Ivy clearly had the ability to apparate out of trouble if she needed to.
Smiling, Kenna shook the woman's hand. "Kenna Buchanan, it's nice to meet you." Despite the startle to the beginning of the interaction. Kens hadn't met too many people in Hogsmeade around her age, and hardly any women, so this was a pleasant surprise. "Are you sure, I don't want to be a pest?" Kenna didn't want to be inconvenient. She had yet to have any trouble in her part of town, but she had been pretty vigilant so far. Miss Sandow's ministry robes would certainly be a good deterrent to anyone with trouble on their agenda.
"It would be nice though." She added with another smile.
Ivy, tentative, returned the other woman's smile. "I can be nice," she said, (although Miss Buchanan would have no reason to know why that was unusual for her.) She put her hands in the pockets of her robe, casual and perhaps cool. "Lead the way."
Kenna quirked an eyebrow at Miss Sandow's comment, but wasn't sure how to react. She started off the way she had been going when the other woman had popped out of the alley. "What is it that you do at the ministry?" Kenna asked, unable to truly do much in silence, having grown up in such a chaotic household and surely that was a safe thing to ask? There were so many possibilities after all.
"I'm an auror," Ivy answered; it was obvious that she was proud of this, because her chest puffed out a bit in front of her. "What do you do?" she asked; if Miss Buchanan lived in the Slums, she certainly worked somewhere, and she didn't have the look of a prostitute or a thief.
"Oh! That must be very exciting!" Kenna gushed, looking at Miss Sandow with a grin. It would certainly explain why the other woman felt comfortable escorting her back to the shadier parts of town. Kens felt much better about it now.
Her smile turned sheepish. "Nothing nearly as glamorous. I'm a housekeeper at the Three Broomsticks." It was less comfortable than her life as a lady's maid, but she was good at it, and it paid, and she got to eat well enough at the pub.
Ivy grinned back at Miss Buchanan. ''Exciting is certainly a word for it,'' she said, tone bright. She loved being an auror, and did not bother to hide it — she'd wanted this since she was small.
"I'm sure that's still interesting,'' Ivy said — she didn't want to talk down to Miss Buchanan when the other woman had been so pleasant so far. ''I have a soft spot for the roast chicken.''
Miss Sandow was just being nice; working at the Broomsticks was nothing more than having something that paid the bills. Kenna was fine with it, and it could be worse, but with an incomplete education, her options were limited.
"I meet a lot of interesting people." She said by way of acknowledging what they both knew. "And it keeps me busy." Kenna could work a lot and make as much as she needed, which was nice. No harm in picking up shifts here and there. "The food is good." That was helpful too, at least she could eat a proper meal every once in a while.
Ken led the way down the turn to the less-desirable part of town. "I wish I could afford Pennyworth," she sighed softly. It certainly wasn’t on the table, but a girl could want.
The food was good, it kept her busy — Ivy had always been fierce about completing her education, and was never quite sure how to talk with people who had not been able to do the same. She made a sympathetic expression at Miss Buchanan's comment about the Slums being a worse neighborhood.
"Would flatmates help?" she asked, unable to help herself. She added, "I know it's tough — honestly we could do a lot more to keep the Slums safe." And smelling better, but the smell was not really the DMLE's role.
"Possibly. I already live with my older brother and we scrape through." Declan made more than she did, which was helpful, and she felt like a little bit of a burden, but she couldn't quite squeeze a second job into her day. "Oh, I didn't mean it like that." She flushed. Kenna hadn't thought about how that might come across when she'd said it. Mostly she just liked the look of Pennyworth and it was safer, which was a bonus. Plus it was closer to work.
"I know it's hard, lots of ground to cover, low priority." She shrugged. It wasn't the aurors who were responsible anyway. She rather thought that was the job of the constabulary and they were already busy enough.
She'd made Miss Buchanan flustered, which made Ivy in turn feel a little bad. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Priorities are a choice," Ivy said. She wasn't doing the choosing, and neither was (frankly) the already-understaffed constabulary — but the way that neighborhoods were prioritized was a choice. She shrugged her shoulders.
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