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
Something was wrong with Yorick. Zelda wasn't sure what, but she'd noticed the dog refusing to go into certain corners of the house, and she kept squinting. Zelda would have brought her to Hogsmeade — an ordeal when she was so pregnant her gums were swollen — but then one of the Fudges told her that there was a creature healer at the zoo today, and Zelda went to find her.
It didn't take her long — no one else was climbing into the enclosures. Zelda leaned against the fence until the woman was coming out. "You're here for the creatures, right? Can you help me with something?" she asked, waving, at the other woman.
Among the chaos of moving to a different country, getting Marigold settled, finding new clients and enduring the Godforsaken weather, Avery’s only solace was oftentimes when she was amongst animals. Thankfully working at the Sanditon provided some much needed relief; peace and quiet away from the crowds and she was left to her own devices, murmuring the occasional croon at the animals as she went through their monthly check up. It was her first time working with zebras, but luckily they were close enough in anatomy to horses and unicorns that it wasn’t too hard to pick up on behaviors or diet.
Truth be told, when she was completed, she wasn’t entirely ready to leave the resort. It was quite lovely with a view of the sea-side. Her schedule was fairly open until when she had to pick Marigold up, so she contented herself with heading to the boardwalk instead. Before she could even exit however, she caught sight of a heavily pregnant young woman who had caught her attention.
Praying it wasn’t a birthing emergency, Avery gathered her supplies and hurried over. “Yes, ma’am,” She said, wincing at how intense her drawl came out. The cold air was even more freezing than the winter nights in the middle of the damned desert. She’d never experienced difficulty talking because her lips were so cold. “I can try,” She scanned the woman for any sign of physical distress. “Is everythin’ alright?”
American! Zelda hadn't expected that, and gave the woman a fluttering blink before continuing on her quest. She didn't hear a drawl that heavy very often; the woman had to be from somewhere specific.
She'd obviously caused alarm in the creature-healer; Zelda smiled in an attempt to be reassuring. "It's my dog," Zelda said. "She's not magic, but something's wrong with her." Zelda had had Yorick for longer than she'd known her husband — it seemed impossible that something be wrong with her dachshund.
Avery gave an apologetic wince again, hoping she would at least sound intelligible and that the cold wouldn’t freeze her lips together. She could see her breath blowing to trail behind her as she made her way towards the pregnant woman…who was asking about her dog. Oh, thank the Lord. If she had to deliver an actual baby today, there would be bigger problems at hand. Animals, she could do. Straightening up to don her professional mask once more and reached up to adjust her hat. “Your dog!” She exclaimed, clearly relieved at the revelation. “Magic, non-magic, I can treat ‘em all.” She replied with ease as she reached the woman. “Where is your little darlin’ and what seems to be the issue?”
"She's up at our house in the Terrace," Zelda said, gesturing. She set off on the walk, expecting the woman to follow her. It would save them both some time if they walked-and-talked.
"She's been squinting, and odd about going into corners?" Zelda explained. "I know that sounds weird, but it's really unlike her — and she's moving slower, too."
Squinting? Avery squinted herself as she followed the woman’s lead. Even as she speculated, hearing the symptoms, she kept an eye on the woman’s steps. If she lived here she likely knew the terrain very well, but even so Avery wanted to be at the ready just in case something happened o the way. “Hmm, movin’ slower…” she mused, the list of possible diagnoses running through her mind. “Any weight gain or favoring of one leg? Or have you noticed her bumpin’ into things more th’n usual?”
"She's not limping, but she is bumping into things," Zelda said, "And she's a dachshund. If that matters." If the creature healer didn't know how to help, maybe she ought to ask Professor Darrow. Zelda sighed. "Sorry, I'm slow right now," she added. She was usually a very fast walker, so it likely wasn't too bad — but she missed the level of mobility she'd had before she was this pregnant.
The limping would have meant a potential issue with her mobility, however bumping into things seemed like the creature might be having trouble with her eyesight. Still… “Bumping into things wouldn’t entirely rule out something wrong with one or more of her legs, but if she’s moving around fine otherwise…” Avery thought aloud, though shifted her attention from thoughts of the animal to the pregnant woman in front of her, and gave a small sympathetic smile. “You should have seen me when I had my daughter, I was rendered almost completely useless.” Her eyes shifted down to the woman’s pregnant belly before she refocused on the path in front of them. “How far d’you have to go?”
Zelda groaned. "She's probably coming in February," she said, sounding obviously exasperated with being pregnant. "January if I'm lucky. Fair warning, my son will try to climb you — he wishes I could still run around." They'd finally reached the terrace, but they still had at least another minute of walking before they got to the Darrow household — these houses were mostly let for the summer, and were incredibly quiet in November.
February. That sounded about right. Avery sent up her wishes that the woman didn’t have to wait long - just…at least long enough for her to get clear of the house after this. At the mention of a first child, Avery released a chuckle as she directed her gaze to the abode ahead. “Shouldn’t be a probl’m, I’ve got a little one of m’own that occasionally acts as if I’ve given her three cups of coffee.” Granted, Marigold knew not to interrupt Mama when she was working, whereas this child sounded quite rowdy.
Zelda was relieved that the other woman had her own child — Orion wouldn't be a surprise to her. Zelda opened the door to her cottage and held it for the creature healer. "He turned two in August," she said. "How old is yours?"
The house was tidy, but obviously lived-in — they had staff, but there was a lot to keep up with. The door opened into a hallway, with stairs ahead of them, and the parlor to their right. There were moving photos on the wall, and some ocean-themed art.
There were clomping sounds upstairs; Zelda supposed that was either her son or her dog.
“She’ll be turning about - thank you ma’am,” she nodded, touching her hat as the woman ushered her into the cottage. “She’ll be turning five this year. It was quite an experience traveling across the ocean with her.” The home was cozy and well taken care of, but had the distinct air and sound of one not unfamiliar with activity and - on the occasion - chaos. As evidenced by the racket above their heads that soon revealed itself to be the aforementioned child.
“I assume this is the child you were talkin’ about?” Avery drawled with a smile as she watched a small two year old beaming as he made his way down the stairs.
"My husband's a ship captain," Zelda said, "And I still can't imagine a five year old on the Atlantic." (Zelda could not imagine the Atlantic. Her trips with Alfred had kept them on the Mediterranean, and while it was still a sea, the ocean felt like a different beast entirely.)
Orion, with his bouncing curls, was making his way carefully down the stairs. "There he is," Zelda said brightly, beaming at her son. "Orion, where's Yorick?"
Her words summoned the dachshund — the golden dog trotted after Orion and began making her way, equally carefully, down the stairs.
A husband as a ship captain. Avery quirked an eyebrow at the woman curiously; as common as ship captain, or ship worker had been back in America, she had yet to run into a ship captain up here yet. She was intrigued, but not nearly enough to go about questioning what was most certainly a potential client. “It was…certainly an experience, I’ll tell you that.” She offered with a light laugh as she watched the child descend, looking around for her patient in question.
The scampering of claws scratching at wood told her his arrival was imminent; sure enough, the small creature came obediently at the sound of his name. That he was coming down stairs was a good opportunity for Avery to analyze his gait, and she stepped to the side slightly so she might get a better look. “How old did you say she was?” She asked, noting the woman wasn’t wrong about the dog not limping. Golden ears flopped like tiny flags as the dog came trotting down, hardly impeded by its gait.
Zelda bent as much as she was able, and scratched at the spot between Yorick's ears. Orion, having made it down the stairs, waved enthusiastically at the creature healer — he had a tendency towards enthusiasm when meeting new people, especially when they were on his home turf of the Sanditon.
"She's seven," Zelda answered, after briefly pausing to do the mental math.
Avery’s attention was diverted by the little boy’s wave. She laughed, waving back with a free hand as she knelt to inspect the creature. “Hello Mr. Orion,” she greeted back with a smile before turning her gaze back to the seven year old dog. She couldn’t see too many grey hairs beginning to develop on the dog which was a good sign; most of the ones she could see blended in well with the dog’s natural coat anyways. Avery lifted the dog’s head a fraction under the guise of giving chin scritches, but also to take a look at the dog’s eyes.
“It’s possible she’s developed something in her eye to impede her eyesight.” She speculated, tapping her wand to emit a soft glow and moving it in front of the dog’s face.
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