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
It wasn’t as though he couldn’t go to any party he liked, really, but this was one of the first that counted as a Ministry function, in which Kristoffer could attend as a newly-minted Ministry man.
Not that it made a whit of difference to him, really, particularly not when his metallic silver mask meant no one could tell him apart from any other gentleman; much as Kristoffer had no shame in his identity to begin with, the anonymity of the evening had granted him opportunity to rack up more dances than usual with hopefully-good-looking society women who might have been otherwise... less enthused to waste their time on far-too-young-to-be-eligible (but still probably out-of-their-league) young men like him.
And, in terms of shamelessness, he had downed a few more drinks than possibly necessary up on the mezzanine just now between sets.
But he made his way back down to try and find his next partner, all the same, his sauntering a little less steady than usual. Ah! He recognised the mask in the sea of them, and approached the woman without hesitation (nor much regard for whether he had been interrupting her). He cleared his throat. “I believe the next dance is mine?” He did not believe, he knew; they had definitely arranged it earlier. Probably.
Twinkle twinkle you can't hide
I'm the devil in disguise
Tig was in the midst of scathingly insulting the dress of a woman who'd just walked by - it probably wasn't Ellory but they certainly shared a garish taste in fashion - when she found herself rudely cut off mid-sentence. It was a good thing she was wearing a mask or else the look of pure disdain would've been visible to all as she turned towards the man who'd just spoken. She swiftly looked him up and down. I believe you're mistaken. Almost as soon as the words were out of her mouth, flippant tone and all, she realized she was mistaken. She had agreed to dance with him but she'd been distracted at the time and hadn't paid as much attention to what he looked like as she probably should have.
Well she'd said it now she couldn't take it back. Tig partially turned back to the friends she'd been talking with but looked at him from over her shoulder, wondering if he'd second guess himself and wander off or make a nuisance of himself and insist. Outfit | Tag: Kristoffer Lestrange | Notes:
There was no believe about it, besides in the fact that Kristoffer could not believe her stupidity. And if it was not stupidity, then it had to be sheer audacity, and that might be worse. Wasn’t a woman’s whole job to be pleasant and simpering and agreeable and polite? Because she was failing at all of that already; and even if he had been wrong she ought to have apologised, he thought, or decided to dance with him anyway, because whoever else was on her card was not currently present, and her friends that were looked like utter drips.
And, not that he cared, but she was making him look like an idiot in front of them.
“No, I’m not,” Kristoffer replied stubbornly, all thought of giving up for politeness’ sake going out the window at the way she looked him up and down. He stepped closer to her shoulder - feeling the faintest bit woozy at the motion - and extended a hand expectantly. “I remember it was you. You must be.”
Twinkle twinkle you can't hide
I'm the devil in disguise
He was either very sure of himself or else very taken with her (perhaps even both) and she supposed she had to credit him either way. Even if he did give off a faint whiff of barely-out-of-Hogwarts and something else she couldn't quite put her finger on.
She decided to relent but she had no intention of going so far as to admit to any mistake on her part. I assure you, you're confusing me with another lady. After a beat she continued. However, I'm feeling charitable this evening and as you're so determined to have me for this dance I suppose I could accept your... invitation... nonetheless. Only then did she slowly turn around to face him, a small and debatably insincere smile playing across her lips.
Tig daintily proffered her hand.
She really did enjoy the anonymity of a masquerade. Outfit | Tag: Kristoffer Lestrange | Notes:
Perhaps her mask was affixed a little too tightly to her head, and had addled her brain.
“Oh, I don’t get confused,” Kristoffer corrected her, a little peevishly. Though determined not to let her off without having the dance he was owed, he was equally determined not to let the issue drop before he had had the last word upon it. No mask could hide that smug smile on her face, and no cell in his body could ignore it.
“And you accepted earlier.” He grasped her hand with a touch more force than he ought to, and marched them out onto the ballroom floor, settling his other hand at her back in preparation – but with a slight flourish of so there.
Twinkle twinkle you can't hide
I'm the devil in disguise
It was probably just the ungentlemanly tight grip he had of her hand but there was something vaguely - very vaguely - reminiscent of Tiberius about this brusque upstart. It had the unfortunate effect of making her want to irritate him even more. He'd regret this dance soon enough.
You can admit you were lying now; I think we both know that deception and manhandling a lady is the only way you can get a dance partner with manners like yours. As if she was one to talk. Or perhaps you're merely emboldened by the masquerade and decided to abandon social etiquette altogether. Which is it? Tig feigned a sickly sweet smile as if she had just complimented him on his attire. Outfit | Tag: Kristoffer Lestrange | Notes:
Everything she was saying was... mostly accurate... but Kristoffer bristled at it internally anyway, choosing not to loosen his grasp on her if she was going to be like this. Did she think she would be able to dissuade him this way? Enough to get him to storm off mid-dance and embarrass himself, or to surrender and let her pin the misunderstanding on him?
No. No way. All the booze had given him enough armour to let this slide, for now. So he smiled back at her as if he hadn’t heard any of it, though there was a ghost of a stupid little self-satisfied smirk in it. Because she was stuck with him for this dance now, whether she liked it or not. And, even with that terrible sharp tongue and that incensing faux-sweet smile, she was kind of hot.
“You can admit that no one’s ever asked you to dance before, and that’s why you don’t know how this works,” Kristoffer suggested, helpfully. She was making it seem like quite the ordeal.
Twinkle twinkle you can't hide
I'm the devil in disguise
And you can tell that to my husband. If he thought she'd be offended by that dig he was sorely mistaken, she wasn't Ligeia pathetically shriveling up on the shelf and hideously insecure about it. If anyone is lacking in experience at balls it's most definitely you. I'll bet you dance like an inebriated sea lion! For her sake - since she was apparently going to have to dance with him or else cause a serious scene - she hoped she was wrong but she hoped he'd be offended all the same. Outfit | Tag: Kristoffer Lestrange | Notes:
“Oh?” Kris challenged skeptically, as if she had just made up a husband out of thin air. “Where is he, then?” For all he knew, she might’ve done. She had been standing with other women just now, and no man had marched up to save her from this dance with him, had they? “Because it doesn’t look like he has much interest in dancing with you.”
Better to attack on this front than acknowledge her latest comment – mostly because inebriated, he couldn’t really argue; the sea lion bit was just cruel. As the early notes of the music struck, Kristoffer tried exceedingly hard not to lose his balance or miss even the slightest step in leading her, despite the fact they had scarcely moved and his head was already swimming.
Twinkle twinkle you can't hide
I'm the devil in disguise
Tig was unfazed by his attempt to either call her bluff or hit a nerve where her marriage was concerned. Of course she would prefer it if Tiberius danced with her more at parties but seeing as he wasn't really dancing with anyone else either it didn't register that highly on her list of things to resent him for. Au contraire, he's merely being a gentleman and allowing others the opportunity to dance with me. It was a touch brazen even for her but what else were masquerades for? But if you're that worried about it rest assured we dance a great deal together in private. She hadn't planned on innuendo but it was too late by the time she realized what she'd said. Outfit | Tag: Kristoffer Lestrange | Notes:
Kristoffer’s eyebrows rose behind his mask as her next remark sank in. It took a moment or two for the meaning to penetrate, but – they danced a great deal together in private, did they? If that was what dancing meant here, and her husband was so generous and open-handed a gentleman to allow his wife such free reign of dance partners, well... that certainly sounded to Kristoffer like there was the prospect of more than just a dance with her, after all. (Disregarding the fact that it had been a trial enough even to get her onto the ballroom floor to begin with, of course.)
But by now Kristoffer was not much thinking of the obstacles. “Well, why should I be worried, if he’s the philanthropist you say?” He said in a low tone, almost impressed at this hussy’s candour about her obviously open marriage, anonymity or not. (He must be a good dancer, then, because it sounded like she was beginning to change her tune.) On the next turn, he stepped in a little closer to her, let his hand at the small of her back drift slightly downwards in suggestion.
Twinkle twinkle you can't hide
I'm the devil in disguise
Well if he caught the accidental innuendo then that was fine by her, she was irked to have been so careless but ultimately what did it matter, she was supposed to do such things with her husband! She wasn't ashamed in the slightest, he could think what he liked - he didn't even know who she was anyway!
For a moment she thought he'd actually missed the double entendre and was sure that he must be naïve or else a simpleton. Suddenly her heart skipped a beat, her stomach gave a sickening lurch, and she felt every muscle in her body instinctively tense. Seemingly without warning he was uncomfortably close but what had really done it was the arrogance of his wandering hand. Was it something she'd said or was he emboldened by the anonymity of it all? As far as she was concerned she hadn't even come close to issuing an invitation so she wasn't convinced it was her poor choice of words that had brought this about. What she did know though was that this was possibly the closest she'd ever come to breaking the clause of her vow that assured her fidelity to Tiberius on pain of death.
There was no way in hell she was going to let this upstart, this runt be her cause of death. Over his dead body. Rigidly, Tig tilted her face upward so she was in a better position to whisper in the direction of his ear. If you move that hand any further I will wrench your flimsy little spine out through your navel. The very real threat he was currently posing to her life inflicted a chill to her words, an earnest threat of danger.
She hadn't thought ahead to what she'd do if he didn't heed her warning but she'd put her own life before propriety without a second thought. No one could blame her in this case, not even Tiberius. At that thought she almost wanted him to push his luck. Outfit | Tag: Kristoffer Lestrange | Notes:
Funnily enough (given the direction his hand was currently moving), Kristoffer had just begun to feel like he had the upper hand here. All the fuss she had made about not agreeing to this dance and insulting him through it was easily forgotten, now that they were – but something changed again, abruptly, as her whole body tensed.
Kristoffer missed a step of the dance, but did not fully freeze where he was standing until she had whispered in his ear. Had he... heard that wrong? Fuck, that was either the strangest dirty talk he had ever heard or it was a threat. Why was she threatening him?! She’d all but said she was open for business!
Maybe this was her idea of flirting? She was extraordinarily tense: and he knew this, because he had been holding his hand perfectly immobile against her, in case she was serious and at the next fraction he moved she started to mangle his body. But, Kristoffer thought slowly, his brain working overtime against all the liquor bogging it down, maybe it was still worth taking her for a spin. She wouldn’t actually do anything insane – like disembowelling him in the middle of a party – would she? So... “Oh, yeah?” He said in a low tone, leaning close down to her, still almost amused – because she might be a psycho, but she didn’t even know who he was, so it wasn’t like she’d ever track him down later to make good on her death threats. “Tempting, but not really what I had in mind.”
Twinkle twinkle you can't hide
I'm the devil in disguise
And he did.
Tig was unprepared for his abrupt stop and the momentum caused her to stumble slightly much to her annoyance. On the bright side her threat had apparently had an effect and she couldn't help but to get a kick out of it. Was he now finally regretting this dance he'd insisted upon? From what she could tell he seemed to be reconsidering his life choices and as well as a strong sense of satisfaction she also felt a wave of relief. As entertaining as it might to humiliate and/or maim him, she'd nipped it in the bud before there was any loss of life and he'd let go of her any second now and excuse himself to get a drink. Alternatively he'd restore his hand to its former location, see out the rest of the dance in awkward, stony silence, and then excuse himself. She'd prefer the former but as long as her life was no longer in danger she could tolerate the latter.
To her surprise and outrage he did neither. She'd be lying to herself if she said the rush of adrenaline wasn't invigorating but she would also be lying to herself if she said the way her stomach clenched was purely fear. The fear itself was more welcome than the other sensation. Shit. Her heart was racing faster than she could remember it doing so in a long time. She regretted even half willing him to push his luck with her. If she merely tried to push him away what if he only held on tighter? What if it made her feel that pang of misplaced desire again? The vow might well detonate at that. If she could get to her wand without him stopping her she might be able to jinx him and make her escape but she'd just threatened him and she didn't fancy her chances of withdrawing her hand without him noticing. What disgusting form of irony would see her die here because some arrogant swine couldn't take a hint and just so happened to speak to her in a way that reminded her of Tiberius. Her own body would betray her and get her killed because the stupid vow probably couldn't tell the difference between want for this wretch or her husband when it wasn't the latter whose hands were on her.
Tiberius, Tiberius, Tiberius, Tiberius, Tiberius! Where are you? Tiberius, damn it! Damn you! Tiberius this is your damned fault with your stupid vow! I told you, I told you it was too vague! It's going to kill me, Tiberius, this is your goddamned fault! Which clause do I break to save myself from breaking another? If I survive this I will kill you, I will! Tiberius, where are you, damn it? Save me, you bastard, get him away from me! For all her frantic willing of him to appear Tiberius did not, in fact, miraculously materialize in this her hour of need. Wasn't there at least some link between the bonds of the vow they were both marked by that meant he might be able to sense the imminent breaking of it?
Merlin's beard if she died like this he'd think she was as guilty of her untimely death as the man in whose undeserving arms she'd regretfully die. This gnome prick bastard would probably claim she'd encouraged him! Tiberius would hopefully seek revenge and murder him later - a small consolation to her now but it was something - but he'd forever think she was intellectually deficient for having broken the vow in so stupid a manner!
There was her fury. Positively desperate to show me your guts, aren't you? She muttered this through gritted teeth. Meanwhile she started to slip her hand from his shoulder and reach for the pocket of her dress where her wand was stowed. I'll bet you're not half so bold when you're not hiding behind a mask. Coward. Outfit | Tag: Kristoffer Lestrange | Notes:
“I’m the coward, am I?” Kristoffer hissed, eyes narrowing dangerously. Not that he made any attempt to remove his mask or declaim his identity to her, not after how this had gone. But really, she was the one with a mouth on her: she would never have dared say any of this to a gentleman if anyone knew her name or her face, would she? It would be society suicide. (If being a fucking slut wasn’t already society suicide enough.)
Thinking about this did make him slightly aware at the possibility that, anonymous or not, they were going to make a scene here if they kept on this way in the middle of the dance floor – and at this point Kristoffer wanted to throw up his hands and stalk off, because no whore was all worth this trouble... but then no doubt she would think she had won.
He glanced downwards, as if to feign that she’d had a problem with her shoes or something that might have caused them to stumble mid-dance – and he couldn’t actually try anything more right here, but if he could just make it to the end of the (overtly hostile) dance without storming off in surrender, that would be enough.
“You’re the one who’s all talk and no action,” he said, feeling her hand slipping from his shoulder and grabbing her by the waist in response, hard – less in an attempt to feel her up now, and more just digging his fingers in to keep her there, because he had assumed by her loosening grasp that she was going to try and flee. (And he wanted to be rid of her, true, but she wasn’t going to be the one to stalk off and leave him looking like he was the one to blame.)
Twinkle twinkle you can't hide
I'm the devil in disguise
He was calling her a coward to rile her, wasn't he? He couldn't have sensed her flash of fear concern for her life, could he? No, no he couldn't have, he couldn't even see her face! It was reflexive, knee-jerk defensiveness that was all. That didn't mean she was going to let him get away with it though. She'd have the final word and then jinx him if she had to, she'd have her wand in just a few moments...
Her hand's progress towards her wand was abruptly halted by the sudden harsh grip on her waist. Her hand balled into a tight fist and to her utter horror her breath hitched in her throat. Audibly. Her stomach lurched sickeningly and then her fist unclenched moving to the opposite extreme of going limp. Her heart was beating so fast she was convinced it was going to rupture - was this how the vow killed? Was it supposed to give her enough time to comprehend what was happening and why before her heart gave out? She'd always thought it would be like an aneurysm, that she'd be snuffed out in an instant like a candle. Maybe this was only a warning, if she extricated herself quickly she'd escape but if she let things get any further out of hand it would be fatal.
If she was about to die then she'd take her murderer with her. Arguably Tiberius would be her true killer since he forced the vow on her but she'd been doing fine until this bastard had gotten under her feet, besides he was the closer of the two. The hand that had been heading for her pocket before it had been so rudely interrupted sprang back to life and swiftly snapped to her pocket, subtlety no longer a priority. As her fingertips brushed against her wand Tig noted with chagrin that her hand was trembling. Do you really want to test that theory? she snarled under her breath. If he let go of her now or at the very least stopped manhandling her there might be a way she could survive without ruining all of the progress she'd made rehabilitating her public image.
Out of the corner of her eye she thought she saw Tiberius and she tore her eyes away from her dance partner to see if she was right. It wasn't him but he was dressed similarly and it gave her an idea. It looks like you're in luck, my husband is headed this way. She resented having to use the threat of him as a deterrent as though she needed help defending herself but if it saved her then so fucking be it. Outfit | Tag: Kristoffer Lestrange | Notes:
