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.
Seeing the competitors, Fitz thought as he went over therules, this was likely to be either very interesting (owing to the women's long magical lineage) or very tedious (given they were both well-bred women). He hoped for the latter as he bid Miss Black to begin.
— Elladora Black — Please tag your partner in your post.
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Elladora was mildly surprised to see the younger woman in the second round of the competition. Suffice to say that her impression of Antigone Lestrange was not one that suggested she had any kind of proficiency with, well, anything. Of course she was the sister of the estimable Miss Lestrange so perhaps she had gained some skill via osmosis?
No matter. She was unlikely to put up much of a fight.
Inclining her had politely Elladora attempted to make all the bones in Mrs Lestrange's arm turn to jelly.
She'd died off and made it to the next round but now she was facing a woman who was old enough to be her mother - probably - and a spinster no less. Spinsters had so much free time it was entirely possible Miss Black had spent all that time practicing magic rather than embroidering and collecting dust. Maybe she hadn't though. Tig hadn't been introduced to Miss Black but she had the impression that she was one of those austere spinster types.
Whatever the reality was Tig thought it'd be a boon to best her in a duel. For her defense she tried to conjure an enormous swarm of angry wasps that would either go sting Miss Black or block her spell, but ideally both.
Mid-spell, the wand dropped from Mrs. Lestrange's hand. Indeed, her arm dropped from where it had once been, devoid altogether now of bones.
"The first point will go to Miss Black," the wizard declared. Righting Mrs. Lestrange's arm was above his capabilities, and so the duel had to wait several minutes while a healer saw to the arm. Once Mrs. Lestrange looked vaguely capable of functioning again, Fitz gestured for her to continue.
BLACK 8 | LESTRANGE 7
— Ursula Black — Please tag your partner in your post.
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Her arm betrayed her and flopped uselessly to her side, flinging her wand to the floor as it did so. Tig flushed with anger and humiliation. Whilst a healer restored functionality to her arm, she used the time to figure out what her revenge would be.
Tig no longer trusted the arm that had just been turned to jelly, it felt like the blood had been cut off for hours and the circulation was only very slowly returning to it. Luckily for her she could swap her wand to the other hand and was just as confident using it in that one. With a sharp flick of her wand Tig cast a spell to break all the bones in Miss Black's legs. An arm for two arms, but then she decided that the loss of a leg was worse than that of an arm so she went for those instead. She'd already decided on going for two limbs and didn't bother reviewing that number despite the change of limb.
The visible anger on Mrs Lestrange face was delightful to behold. The fact she had to change her wand hand was ever better and Elladora hoped the young Miss Lestrange was present. She did so enjoy the other woman's energy.
Flicking her wand rapidly Elladora sent a swarm of bees to throw the girl's aim off - and if they stung her then so be it.
It should have come as no surprise, Fitz thought, that the elder of the pair proved vastly more successful. There was little left for him to do but declare Miss Black the victor.
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