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 past few weeks had been a flurry of training for the match, and to have lost to Slytherin by a ten point margin on Saturday was the most aggravating kind of loss, the kind that made Nelson very much wish they’d had bludgers on the field to knock Abney off his broom before he’d seized the snitch instead.
There wasn’t much time to wallow about it, though, because now he had the last week’s worth of homework to catch up on. Thankfully, there was nothing too difficult amongst it (now that none of his classes had much spellcasting in them), but there was a mountain of it. He’d made a dent in it this evening in the library, but had left it so close to curfew that he had been forced to race up towards the Ravenclaw tower, in hopes of catching a housemate to help with the riddle.
Except that he’d never made it to the Ravenclaw tower, because in his hurry one foot and then the other had sunk into one of the trick-steps he usually anticipated, and in his haste to retrieve his wand his bag had tumbled a few steps down from his grasp, and his wand clattered all the way down to the nearest landing.
And he was alone on the staircase, the lights in the castle had dimmed, and now even if he could have shot up some sparks for help he would have been stuck waiting for someone to see them. Nelson had tried drumming as loudly as he could against the stairs to attract some attention, but so far it had been in vain, and so here he was, resting his head wearily against the banister as his legs sank a little further into the vanishing step.
He'd made a mistake. He'd known it was foolish at the time but the only time he ever got to spend at the top of the astronomy tower was when he had astronomy class! The view from the top was the best the school had to offer and he'd just really wanted to stare out of it for a bit. Then he'd seen owls going about their business of delivering letters and he'd had to get his sketchbook out. He'd lost track of time and not only had he been out of bounds but he was out past curfew. He hadn't gone over by too much but if he was caught at the astronomy tower he'd probably be in serious trouble, not to mention losing house points.
Nico had managed to scurry back to Ravenclaw tower without being caught and he was nearly there when he heard something. He froze in place and tried to listen over the sound of his racing heart. It sounded like someone tapping on the flight of stairs ahead of him. The only possible explanation he could think of was that a professor or the matron had been told about his absence and they were waiting to catch him.
Did he give up and resign himself to whatever punishment might be in store for him or did he gamble on it being the matron or his head of house and wait for them to go back into Ravenclaw tower? There was also a chance they might not go back inside but come looking for him and there was no way for them to do that without passing him if he stayed put. If whomever was waiting for him wasn't within view of the trick step then maybe he could trap himself there and then pretend to have fallen asleep there waiting to be found. It was quite devious and would require some serious deception and his stomach was already knotting uncomfortably at the very thought.
Nico decided not to commit to any sort of plan but staying put seemed the worst of all his ideas so he began to quietly edge up the staircase. When he reached eye level with the landing he noticed a wand laying there seemingly discarded or perhaps dropped. That was odd. He inched up a couple more steps and tried to get a glimpse of the next flight of stairs.
Finally he edged onto the landing and picked up the wand. He didn't recognize it, not that he made a habit of committing other people's wands to memory. Who left their wand laying around for anyone to pick up or accidentally break? Even the first years who knew about as many spells as they had fingers wouldn't be so careless! Meanwhile the tapping sound seemed to have stopped for a long enough period of time that he figured the person waiting for him must have gone away for now which meant this was his chance. Nico grabbed the wand so he could see it safely reunited with its owner, and then made a run for it.
He'd kept his eyes cast downward at the steps until some instinct made him look up just in time to see Nelson. Fortunately he had spotted him before he could knock into him and potentially fall up the stairs. Unfortunately he was so startled that he recoiled, lost his footing, and fell down the stairs with a shriek instead. On the bright side his bag managed to cushion most of the impact and he didn't take his own eye out with the wand in his hand.
""
Nelson waited with bated breath at the sound of footsteps - not quite on this staircase, but certainly coming nearer. At this point he wasn’t even worried if it happened to be a professor or a prefect, because at best they would see he was stuck and know it was unintentional, and at worst he would much rather lose a few points and be able to sleep in his bed tonight, rather than spend it on a flight of Hogwarts stairs, probably only to be trampled over come morning.
He kept his eyes desperately peeled at the stairs below him, as if afraid that if he blinked he would miss the passer-by - but there, it was a younger student, another Ravenclaw, and Zabini - Zabini? He thought so - had even picked up his wand!
Thank Merlin, Nelson expressed fervently in his head, straightening up on the trick-step to smile and wave hopefully so the other boy would figure out what was going on and hurry up and come help. He did see, and he did start moving faster... but that, unfortunately, was downwards in a discomfiting tumble and a flurry of shrieking. Well, if any prefects were out, that might be loud enough to signal them for help, Nelson supposed.
He would have winced for Zabini’s sake, if only he hadn’t already been stuck here so long. As it was, Nelson only shut his eyes and facepalmed against the banister again in despair.
He muffled a further anguished noise as he felt a pain in his tailbone so intense it made him want to throw up for a few seconds. He had a feeling he'd just landed hard on the part of his bag where his ink bottle was. At least it hadn't broken, or he hoped it hadn't anyway, that'd be the icing on the cake.
After a few seconds the pain started to subside and he picked himself up off the floor, almost squeaking as he stood up and he felt the inevitable bruise that was surely forming on his buttocks. Carefully he picked his way back up the steps he'd fallen, mainly to avoid too much leg movement which it seemed hurt his new bruise, although it wouldn't hurt to be quiet in case somehow no one had heard him.
"Nelson Higgs?" he whispered loudly as he got close again. He didn't know the older boy very well but certainly well enough to know him by name and sight. It also helped that he was one of Ravenclaw's chasers and Nico had been dying to make the house team since first year. He moved up a few more steps and was left with no doubt that it was definitely Higgs. "Is this yours?" He indicated towards the wand in his hand.
Nelson nodded at hearing his name, and nodded more vehemently at the second question, accepting the wand gratefully. Not that he was much good at using it, to be honest, but that also didn’t mean he wanted to deal with it being lost or broken. He ran a thumb along it, checking for fractures in the wood in the dim light, but it seemed alright.
His first order of business ought to be casting himself out of this, but managing a spell to get himself out of the step wherein he was stuck was a bigger ask than a summoning charm, which Nelson managed silently without incident - although that his schoolbag only had to float up a few steps towards him was probably part of the reason. He set it safely on a step above him, sure that he could dig out something to write with if he needed to, but for the moment he turned back to Zabini and instead mouthed slowly: You alright?
Hopefully he’d be able to get the gist; to be sure he did, Nelson gestured meaningfully at the younger boy with a handwave of vague concern. It hadn’t looked like a pleasant fall.
Nico watched as the dingy outline of Nelson's bag floated past him. He probably should've spotted that and brought it with him. Oops. Oh well, it was too late to do anything about it now. He was quite impressed to see the older boy using non-verbal incantations though. If he could non-verbal magic by the time he was Nelson's age his father would surely be proud of him.
Thankfully he noticed that the older boy was mouthing words at him just in time to catch it all. He felt a tug of guilt, had he been too loud? Did Nelson know that a professor was nearby? Nico didn't think he wanted to know so he decided he'd just match the other boy's volume (or lack thereof) just in case. He nodded in response to the question. His butt still hurt but it was a dull, manageable ache and he was unlikely to dwell upon it properly until he next sat down. "Do you need some help?" he mouthed back, overemphasizing each syllable because he thought that would make it easier. He then pointed at the step, although he wasn't all too sure what he could do.
He’d nodded, which was good - if he’d cracked his head open and been bleeding out and Nelson was still stuck in the step in a currently deserted castle he wasn’t sure what he’d have done. Probably accidentally spoken and got himself killed, too.
Nelson’s brow did furrow at the boy’s lack of answer back. He was used to weirdness - people often over-compensated, talked twice as fast or slow as usual because they assumed he was probably a simpleton - but the silence was a new one. Maybe the younger Ravenclaw was trying not to get in trouble? Nelson had been in place too long - maybe at Hogwarts too long, too - to care about being caught out of bed. (He had an excuse anyway; maybe the other boy had been mischief-making before he got here.)
But beyond a look of slight confusion, Nelson managed to read his lips and, after a pause, decided it would be easier if he accepted it. So he nodded hopefully, yes please, and straightened up, preparing for the boy to help drag him out.
No bird soars too high if he soars with his own wings
He noticed the older boy's change in posture and drew the conclusion that he was expecting him to pull him free. Nico wasn't really sure he had any other alternative if he was honest, his spellcasting repertoire didn't include one for removing people from trick staircases, not without potentially causing injury anyway.
Nico pocketed his wand and reached out to take hold of his arm. It quickly became apparent that he'd need to use both arms. Is it working? he wheezed as he pulled on Nelson's arms. He momentarily forgot that he was supposed to be quiet. Outfit | Tag: Nelson Higgs | Notes:
The younger Ravenclaw wasn’t who he would have necessarily chosen to pull him out - he was shorter than him, and probably not that strong - but since he could have been discovered by a girl or a weedy little first year, Nelson supposed he could not complain.
And he was trying to do the best he could to help, leaning as far out as he could, and though he didn’t bother answering the question, not even with a nod or shake of his head, in the next moment one of Nelson’s legs came free, and he toppled halfway forwards into the younger student, grasping him by the shoulder to regain his balance without letting his first foot sink back in.
Now he was in a rather ungainly position, but had a little more leverage of his own; with a forceful movement, one hand on Zabini and his other using the banister, Nelson loosed his other leg from the step. Freedom, finally, he thought to himself, as he slumped tiredly against the banister on the next step, both his legs tingly with pins-and-needles all the way up after that experience.
No bird soars too high if he soars with his own wings
He didn't receive a response but Nico was sure the older Ravenclaw was coming away from the staircase. What he was actually observing was Nelson leaning towards him. He gritted his teeth and pulled as hard as he could, as quietly as he could. Thankfully he didn't go flying back down the stairs when finally the sixth year broke free. He did nearly lose his footing but caught himself in time, leaving him with a sick startled feeling pooling in his stomach.
As cold as the castle was at night that time of year Nico was overheating a little from the exertion. Do you think we're the only house with a trick step on the way to our common room? He silently vowed to do everything in his power to never get caught in it himself, he'd come close once or twice in the past and seen it happen to a few classmates but it had now taken on a greater degree of seriousness. Outfit | Tag: Nelson Higgs | Notes:
Breathing heavily, Nelson flinched as Zabini teetered – one mishap on the stairs was plenty for one night without being followed by another. That in mind, the common room seemed like the only reasonable destination – the younger Ravenclaw seemed to be on the same track. Shouldering his bag and moving up the staircase, Nelson only shrugged, mouthing the word probably, though he wasn’t sure whether the other boy would notice it.
And a stupid riddle door-knocker that hates me. Curse Ravenclaw: he bet Slytherin and Hufflepuff, down somewhere from the Entrance Hall, didn’t have these issues. Or all the added exercise. Nelson yawned.
September 15, 2021 – 12:24 AM
Last modified: September 15, 2021 – 12:24 AM by Nicodemus Zabini.
No bird soars too high if he soars with his own wings
Nico caught the shrug but nothing else. As the old boy began ascending the staircase, Nico hesitated after him wondering if he'd somehow offended him. Perhaps he'd been too loud again? Or could it be that Higgs was embarrassed? He decided to push the train of thought aside and follow after him to the common room before they were actually caught. Outfit | Tag: Nelson Higgs | Notes:
