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.
Kingsley peered around at the group of people waiting to be judged. Some of them he recognized. Others, it was only by the conveniency of his photographic memory that he recognized by face and not by name. Regardless, it was his job to remain impartial, and impartial he would be.
He gave the contestants a smile before clearing his throat and laying out the rules. What an interesting group of people - he'd have to tell Jude about this once he got back to the flat.
"If you would all brew the Antidote to Uncommon Poisons please." he said clearly, lacing his hands together behind his back before giving them an encouraging nod. "You may begin!"
While her standard expression was that of vapid femininity, in here, it was with almost a hungry look that Tatiana ignored the directions being issued, taking the opportunity instead to survey (judge) her competition. None, the witch noted smugly, seemed particularly adept, and so this should be an easy enough competition to sweep.
When indicated, the witch set about concocting her antidote to uncommon poisons, a brew she knew well—no child raised by Mariana Macnair was likely to last long otherwise, Tatiana thought fondly.
She worked diligently and finished swiftly, a smug smile tugging at the corners of her lips as she realized she was first done.
Zachariah was, by no means, the competitive sort. It seemed his motivation to even partake in the competition was influenced by the fact that Rosie had also entered. He found brewing rather soothing, even if he had few opportunities to do so nowadays.
He shot a cursory glance at his competition, his gaze resting on Rosie while he listened to the instructions. An antidote for uncommon poisons. It wasn't something he'd brewed recently, but he would give it a try.
Zach very careful began to brew. He wasn't one of the first to finish, but he also wasn't the last.
Lorcan had been raring to go and just about ready to sign up to the professional bracket of this competition (he was a mediwizard, after all, he could brew a potion - and he often saw what went wrong when people couldn’t!), only then he had remembered he’d gotten a Troll on his NEWT, and thought it prudent to be the best in his bracket, rather than by far the worst.
The Troll hadn’t been evidence of his capability, at least, Lorcan was sure; no, it was only proof of his tendency towards distraction - and this antidote might be going a little more smoothly if he were brewing it shut up in a dark cupboard with nothing else to see or do. Here, however, he kept glancing up to see how his competition was faring, distracted in turn by them all. And so many attractive women! The one who had finished first looked a little severe, but then there was a pretty blonde and another pretty blonde - a married one - and then a man, and then another married one.
Eventually, Lorcan remembered that he, too, was married, threw in his fire seeds with a flourish, and finished stirring with a shrug.
It was harder to gauge her competition as an adult, as a student she could at least roughly guess which of her competitors she needed to worry about most. Here she wasn't sure at all. There was no time for dwelling on it, however, if she wanted to progress in the competition she would have to actually brew a potion.
After a reasonable amount of time, Pet finished her antidote. She hoped the others who had finished before her had done so in haste rather than ease.
""
Dionisia had always enjoyed Potions, and had done well enough on her Potions OWL to become a mediwitch. Not having her NEWTs was something she took into account when signing up for the competition, but it was not something she pondered on. Her competition was a decent, if not terribly mismatched bunch, and Dionisia only recognized a few of the names.
She supposed this competition was the first thing that had given her a thrill in the past year—at least the good kind of thrill. There was no denying that her pregnancy, sudden engagement and marriage, and childbirth had given her a thrill, but it was one she would have avoided if she'd been able.
Her antidote was brewed with great care, as it was one she'd used dozens of times on the field and had no excuse for messing up. She eyed her opponents once she was done, wondering if it was a good or bad sign that she was one of the last to finish.
When Rosie had entered this competition, she had not realized that he would be entering. But there Zach was. In her group. How could she concentrate like this? All she wanted to do was annoy Hugo a little by entering. But still. It would be quite damaging to her pride if she lost over a man. One she couldn't even admit she had feelings for!
Oh, but then his gaze rested on her and she almost missed the instructions as she was busy focusing on trying not to blush as she felt his eyes on him. Men! But she did catch that they had to make an antidote to uncommon poisons, bless her determined soul! And she set to work as she tried not to think about the man whom she wished she could have.
It didn't escape King's attention that two of the contestants – Mr and Mrs Binns, though King was sure they were not married but rather related by marriage – seemed rather distracted during his instruction portion. As a result, once the contest began he made sure to keep an eye on the two - god forbid they have an accident because of some unspoken discrepancy between them. Surprisingly enough, the woman did rather well, only matched by the dark-haired [obviously upper class; she stuck out like a sore thumb] beauty.
The others faired....well enough. This potion wasn't too challenging by any means, and the remaining contestants seemed to have a good enough grasp of potions. Though it had been close, King finished his observations and said evenly, "Miss Sleptova, Mr Binns - Mr Byrne, thank you for your time, you are free to observe as you please." Turning to the remaining contestants: "Miss Lestrange, Mrs Fisk and Miss Binns. This time it'll be a Wit-Sharpening Potion." He grinned - this was one of his favorites to witness. Glancing at the hourglass, he flicked his wand at it. "You may begin."
The witch had scarcely had to break a sweat on the first potion, though was not quite as familiar with the second. After all, Tatiana thought to herself, my wits hardly need any sharpening!
Nonetheless, she worked swiftly and diligently on her wit-sharpening potion, and it did not slip her notice that she was once again the first to finish.
There had not once been a moment where she doubted her own abilities, yet a sigh of relief found its way from her lips nonetheless. The next potion she'd be working on was a wit-sharpening one, and her two opponents were two women: an older, practical-looking woman with pretty blonde hair, and another one around Dio's age who gave off an air of confidence despite having spoken not one world.
She got to work on her potion without a single word, opting to keep her eyes on her own concoction rather than her opponents'. Once she completed the task, she took a step back and waited for the results.
Success! But she couldn't celebrate yet. Still more potions to brew. It was disappointing that Zach had not succeeded, but she would not let that stop her from focusing. It did help her pride that the only contestants left with her were fellow woman. A sort of refreshing feeling to see other woman do well. If she didn't succeed, she hoped that at least one of the other two ladies would.
She she brewed this next potion to the best of her ability, staying hopeful in her own success.
Despite his determination to remain neutral on the subject, King found himself rooting for the other to women rather than the debutante. It was not to be, however, as Miss Lestrange finished first and Mrs. Binns finished well outside the time limit. Mrs. Fisk's potion, while good had begun to smell a tad bit more sour than was considered normal.
With a resigned sigh, he announced, "Congratulations, Miss Lestrange, you've brewed a perfect Wit-Sharpening potion," He turned to the other two ladies, "Mrs. Fisk, Mrs. Binns, a good effort put forth, but perhaps next time."
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