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
Dean wasn't so sure Lestrange was in a good headspace for this, but he didn't know the other man well enough yet to make that call and so when he'd asked if Lestrange wanted to go to a small magical distillery in Belfast with him, Dean had to take his agreement at face value. This little place was new, hardly a year old and Dean had only tried their regular whiskey, but he was open to trying other malts and letting the day take them wherever it may.
"I'm curious to try the single malt, I've only had the rye." It was pretty good, but he'd never cared much for rye if he had other options. Dean had arranged with the owner to have a private tasting, a perk of knowing the right people and having a smooth tongue. Maybe he ought to learn Gaelic next; he liked the way their vowels flowed. Once they were shown into a back room, he took one plus armchair, looking around the homey room full of rich woods and darker colors. "I must say, this is a first for me." Well, such an official one anyway. He'd had plenty of private whiskey tastings before.
A distillery in Belfast was so far removed from Cash's regular life that it felt like a reprieve, so he had been happy to accept Hudson's invitation. He was actually excited when he saw the personal attention that the owner offered them, and the private tasting in the back room. Hudson really seemed to have gone out of his way for this one — or if he hadn't, then he had access to interesting luxury in a way that Cash was intrigued by.
He sank into the plush armchair across from Hudson's. "The blended whiskey sounds lovely," Cash said, "And I've never tried something like this, either — thank you for thinking of me."
There was a little menu of the different kinds and Dean rather thought there were several he'd like to try, but he also knew he shouldn't get plastered either. "I'll turn you into a whiskey snob if it kills me." Not to mention Dean enjoyed the other man's company. It was nice to make new friends and keep things companionable. Dean had the bad habit of sleeping with most of his friends. Assuming, since Lestrange was married to a woman who was with child, that wasn't an option here.
A butler came in and Dean requested a couple different things to try, waiting for Lestrange to do the same. "I wonder how in depth it'll be, I can do the basics, but I bet there's more to it." He knew about the warm water and letting it breathe a little bit, but Dean was hoping to learn something new today. Hopefully both about whiskey and about his company. "I managed to once again avoid a Hogsmeade catastrophe, I was in the Mediterranean for the sinkhole." Dean was starting to think he should spend more time out of the country than in it.
Hudson wanting to turn him into a whiskey snob meant that they were friends; being friends meant that Cash had made one new friend at the Ministry, which felt a littler bit like a miracle given his general disposition at the Ministry.
"Mrs. Lestrange and I made it through alright," Cash said; this was the best he could get to encompassing the horror they'd both felt without talking about it too much. He shifted in his seat. "What would you say are the basics? It's all going to be new to me." If he left here knowing the basics, that was a win.
Without much else to do, Dean nodded along and chose not to continue down the conversation. It was much easier to answer Lestrange's question about what to expect. "I assume not much different than what I've already taught you, though they will have much more details on the underlying notes, aromas and distilling process." Dean hadn't done a tasting this fancy before, but he thought it would be similar to what he already knew. "Try first, add the warm water, try again." It might be a little more in depth, the sniffing and the swirling maybe.
The butler returned with a glass for each of them and Dean paid attention as he described to each of them what was in the glass. The process really wasn't much different than what Dean knew, sniff, swirl, taste, add the water et cetera. He could handle this. The butler excused himself with the directions to just knock on the door when they were ready for something else. "Straightforward, cheers," He raised his glass to Lestrange with a grin, following the directions and letting the whiskey sit on his tongue for a moment. "Oh, that's smooth." He sighed, trying to pick up any additional notes on the afterburn. "How do you like that one?" Lestrange had been a quick study so far, he was curious to know how it translated to now.
Try it, add water, try again. It wasn't that complicated — even though this place seemed significantly more intense about whiskey than Hudson's parlor had.
He listened attentively to the butler, although Cash wasn't sure he would be able to get any of the notes that were allegedly in the whiskey. Certainly he would not be able to get the undertones of flavor without the water opening the whiskey up. Still, he was happy to play along — he took a sip of the whiskey and let it sit on his tongue, mimicking Hudson.
"Softer than some of the other ones I've tried," Cash said, when they were done. He smiled. "Ready for warm water?"
Hmm, softer, Dean might have to try that one next. He wasn't sure what that would taste like. He nodded and took care of adding the warm water, swirling it around to open the whiskey up before taking another sip. This time he got the undertones of vanilla and something a little more smokey. It was delightful. "Do you want to try this one? It's got some nice notes to it." Dean held his drink aloft for Lestrange to take if he wanted. Was that weird? He wasn't sure, but it felt like it fit.
"Sure," Cash said, taking Hudson's drink without a second thought. It already had the warm water, so Cash didn't think he had to do anything fancy with it, but he was careful to sip it slowly, and let it sit on his tongue. Hudson had asked him to try it, which meant that Cash ought to — try with it. He handed the glass back to Hudson. "It's sweet!" he said, cheerful to identify something that he noted in it.
Chuckling at Lestrange's appraisal, Dean nodded in agreement. "I like it, might have to get a bottle to take home." His collection was... quite extensive, but he also tended to go through it as he hosted a lot of late night company and there typically a drink shared at some point. Dean had no shame in it.
"Perhaps we'll have to get our hands on some bourbon for comparison," all in the same family, but distinctly different. Dean for one, could not stand Scotch, but he was fine with a solid bourbon, even a rye. He always fell back to whiskey though. It had the right amount of burn and hidden flavors to keep him interested and willing to try more. "I'm not sure I've ever thought to try the different kinds altogether." It would make for an interesting experiment.
"Oh, you definitely should," Cash said. It was a good whiskey, and he was not nearly as committed of a whiskey drinker as Hudson was. (At least not yet. Hudson may still make one out of him.)
"And you know that I would love a bourbon tasting. You do have a better palate for this than I do, though," Cash said. Whether that was through practice or through travel or through understanding nuances, he was still confident of it. Cash was just along for the ride.
Dean chuckled. His collection was... almost embarrassingly expensive, but truthfully he didn't care. He drank casually enough that it wasn't too outrageous and he only bought bottles he was actually going to drink.
"I think it's enough to enjoy it," Dean acquiesced as the butler came back in with their next round. It was well-timed and he was curious just how they knew when to bop in and out. He wasn't meant to worry about it though, so he wouldn't. He took a sip of water to cleanse his palate and raised his second glass to Lestrange. "I think the best bourbon comes from the States, so it's pricey to get ahold of, but I'm sure I can manage." He had to know someone with a connection. "That's what you prefer, right?" Over their conversations, he thought that was what Lestrange had said.
Cash nodded, feeling vaguely charmed that Hudson remembered. "I do prefer it," he said, after cleansing his mouth out with the water. He raised his glass back at Hudson in a salute. "But I don't want to be difficult for you."
It was nice enough just to know someone who didn't make him think about his life.
"Nah, I know a guy." Dean chuckled. His connections were vast and he liked booze, he probably could get his hands on some. It wouldn't be too hard. He might have to cash in some owed favors, but nothing wild. "I'll see what I can do."
![[Image: Dean-Sig-New.png]](https://i.ibb.co/b12dTvC/Dean-Sig-New.png)
