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
She had told Alice that she was going to go back to the castle and when she'd said that, she'd meant it. But halfway there she'd found herself far to emotional to return to the dorm, not when she risked running into another friend or a dormmate. Goodness forbid she ran into Milo in the common room. He was to sweet. She wasn't sure she'd be able to maintain herself if she did but she'd already told Alice that she wouldn't tell anyone. So instead she ducked back and turned towards the pitch. She wasn't in the right clothes but at least she was in her school robes rather than a dress. But she needed to move. Something, anything, to help her work through the million thoughts running through her brain. She wouldn't fly. She didn't trust herself right now, not when her broom tended to be sensitive to her emotions. But she could run.
As far as she knew, there were no practices that night, which meant she'd have free reign of the pitch, and she run her laps in silence. She preferred coming out to the pitch to run. It was easier than around the castle where others might judge or bother her. And she especially preferred that last fact right now. So she bypassed the changing rooms, threw her bag on the ground next to the bleachers, stretched for a few seconds before settling into a ground-pounding rhythm where the green of grass under her feet numbed her mind.
Even days later, Wallace was absolutely thrilled that he had made the Quidditch team. Finally. The Quidditch pitch had been mostly silent when he arrived. Most people tended to hang out there in the stands but they seemed to have stayed indoors this time around. There was a sole chaperone doing her own bit of flying from the looks of things.
Wallace had been in one of the changing rooms and came out just in time to see Miss Potts going for a run. The pitch was large so one lap was enough to tire anyone out when doing it on foot so of course he opted for his broom. "Miss Potts, I didn't expect to see you out here tonight," he greeted as he hovered near her.
wally has extensive burn scars on the right side of his upper body (including his face and over his right eye) and the lower part of his left leg is missing.
She stumbled at the unexpected voice, though quickly found her footing and continued. She knew the voice without even turning her head. Wallace Bixby was someone she could recognize with her eyes closed having grown up following around after him his brothers with Sloane until they thought they were too old to be seen with them. He wasn't the last person she wanted to see right now, but she didn't really wanted to see anyone right now. But she wasn't sure if she could ask him to leave without having to explain why or potentially starting the waterworks again. And she'd left the dirt-stained napkin Alice had given her tucked in her bag so she really didn't want to do that.
"You either," she tossed back around ber breathing, her tone bright but echoy. "I'm out of shape after this summer," was her explanation, not really a lie but not really the truth either. "Oh, I never told you congratulations for making the team."
Wallace watched as the girl almost stumbled but caught herself. He leaned on his broom handle as he lazily followed after her on his broom.
Her tone was bright but something was... off. "Thank you. Too bad it was during my last year." He didn't plan to play professional anyway though so he supposed that was mostly fine. "Care to tell me what's going on with you?" He had known the girl all her life and while he didn't typically involve himself with Sloane's friends, he did know Miss Potts well enough to a point that he could sense when something was off with her usually cheery disposition.
wally has extensive burn scars on the right side of his upper body (including his face and over his right eye) and the lower part of his left leg is missing.
"Still, even if only for a year it will be nice. I know you've always wanted to do it. It will be something to look forwards to and I'm sure you'll make plenty of memories," Calla huffed, finally slowing her pace so that she didn't get a stitch in her side every time she attempted to speak. Four years of Quidditch had left her perfectly capable of talking while she ran as long as she didn't push herself. Which she had been doing prior wanting to pound the emotions out of her body. Had she been in a better mood she might have teased Bixby to get off his broom and join her rather than being lazy.
At his question, she said nothing for a moment, focusing on her breathing and running. This is why she hadn't wanted to run into anyone she knew. She'd never been a good actor in all the years she lived. Never been able to hide anything. "Nothing is wro-"ng. And she was just as horrible of a lier as she was an actress. There was no point in bothering. If he could see through her fake cheerfulness, he'd likely see straight through that.
"I'm just upset. I came out here to try and run it out. To much noise in my head to do anything else."
"That's true," Wally agreed. If anything, it at least gave him good practice in flying. He had enjoyed playing in the Quidditch Club but it would be fun to be in actual school games.
Wallace eyed her in some concern as she fell silent. Had she encountered anyone else aside from him or her gaggle of friends, Miss Potts might have gotten away with 'nothing is wrong'. But Wally could see through that. He wasn't always dense.
"What has you so upset?" He asked as he landed so that he could be more beside her and thus more 'there for her' if she chose to share.
wally has extensive burn scars on the right side of his upper body (including his face and over his right eye) and the lower part of his left leg is missing.
As he landed, she slowed further into a light jog that Wallace could keep up with without a warm-up. Besides, running with a broom in hand was likely awkward. She wouldn't want to do it. No, she was letting herself get distracted. When he probed for further details, a part of her wanted to spill everything right then and there - a part that surprised her. She wasn't sure if it was something about Mr. Bixby or just the state she was in but she couldn't do that. Even if she wasn't worried about him going to tell Sloane - for surely his loyalty belong to his sister, not to her - she'd promised Alice not to tell anyone yet.
"I just got in a fight with one of my friends a little bit ago," the fifth year confessed, her hand clenching the fabric of her robes as she spoke. "I can't say about what though. But she wouldn't accept help, she jumped to the conclusion she had to sacrifice herself and that there was surely no way around it. But I just wanted to help."
Miss Potts did not need to slow down much, Wallace's long legs mixed with his athleticism made it rather easy for him to keep up with the shorter student. There was definitely something heavy weighing on her mind. That much he knew.
Wally briefly wondered which friend it was. He knew most of them and most were shared with his sister. He understood that she didn't feel she could say the details of the fight. He was curious but he wouldn't press her about it. "Was you wanting to help what made you both fight?" He was not surprised that Calla Potts had been quick to extend this friend of hers a helping hand. It was who she was as a person, as far as he knew.
wally has extensive burn scars on the right side of his upper body (including his face and over his right eye) and the lower part of his left leg is missing.
She shrugged, unsure. "I guess. I think she just wanted me to accept her choice as it was but it was just ridiculous to give up so easily?" Calla groaned. This would be so much easier if she could just say the whole thing. She'd resort to her typical letters to Daffy but they'd agreed to talk about it tomorrow. She didn't have enough time to write her sister and hear back before then. But she'd promised Alice she wouldn't tell anyone. And it wasn't like her diary would tell her what to do. "But she also said some things that kind of hurt. I'm sure she didn't mean it, really. We were both upset and angry."
"I am sure she didn't," Wallace soothed even though he didn't have a real idea about what the fight was about. "Some people tend to say things they don't mean when they're angry." He didn't particularly like the thought of Miss Potts being hurt by anyone though. She was very much like another sister to him. And she was just so nice that it was hard to imagine anyone being upset with her but he knew it was possible. Especially if the other girl was a very good friend of Miss Potts. Sometimes friends fought, that was just how life was.
wally has extensive burn scars on the right side of his upper body (including his face and over his right eye) and the lower part of his left leg is missing.
"I know, which was why I tried not to get mad but I'm scared that she thinks there might be some truth in what she said," Calla replied, flipping between logic and the raging emotions in her head. Still she offered Wallace a small smile. Even if she'd wanted to be alone, she was grateful that someone else was there. Now that she was talking, part of her feared she might have just gotten sadder or angrier if left alone. "I would really hate that if she thought that of me. She asked to talk again tomorrow - once we've both cooled off. I guess I'll say something to her then. Thank you, Mr. Bixby."
There wasn't much else Wallace could do aside from awkwardly patting the girls shoulder in a gesture of comfort. "You both just need to cool your heads, contemplate things and then you can talk again when you've both calmed down. And it sounds like she is aware of that since she suggested doing so." If she had brought her broom, he would have suggested a race or offered to teach her some new techniques to keep her mind off of things but he hadn't seen it on her.
wally has extensive burn scars on the right side of his upper body (including his face and over his right eye) and the lower part of his left leg is missing.
She stumble slightly as he reached out and patted her shoulder, not expecting the physical contact but not opposed to it either. But after a split second, she resumed her pace, offering the older boy a soft smile. It was surprisingly grounding, bringing her out of her head. "Yes, we both needed to walk away. Even if I don't agree with what she was saying, but I don't want to hurt her or risk our friendship just because we disagree. Hopefully we might be able to figure it out tomorrow or at least reach some sort of common ground."
The idea of losing her friendship with Alice over an argument - even about something as big as this, made her feel sick. Alice had become someone special to her over their four years, hence the reason spending the last two without her felt wrong.
"Woah, you okay?" Wally asked when the girl stumbled after he had patted her shoulder. He nodded in agreement with her words. That sounded like the correct course to him. He knew that sometimes things could get overly heated when a little space was not given. "Being friends does not always equal agreeing on things. You're both entirely different people with different world views and experiences."
wally has extensive burn scars on the right side of his upper body (including his face and over his right eye) and the lower part of his left leg is missing.
"Sorry, sorry, yeah, I'm fine," she brushed, eyes narrowed in thought. Wally had a point, he did, but he didn't understand the situation. The two girls weren't just disagreeing on something small. How could she agree to let Alice just give up completely on of her dreams? It didn't seem fair that someone like herself ego coasted through her classes with mediocre grades had no questions of her future in school but someone like Alice who worked her butt off and needed it, couldn't have that guarantee. It was unfair and cruel.
"Thank you for letting me vent. I needed it," the Hufflepuff offered. There was nothing more Wallace could offer unless she told him the full story, and even if she didn't think he'd say anything, she promised Alice. Beside if Sloane ask, he owed ger folar more than he owed Calla. "I hope you know the offer stands in reverseas well."
"Of course," he said with a smile when the girl thanked him for letting her vent. "I will keep that in mind." Figuring their conversation was done, Wallace zoomed off on his broom.
wally has extensive burn scars on the right side of his upper body (including his face and over his right eye) and the lower part of his left leg is missing.
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