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.
With the same account, complete eight different threads where your character interacts with eight different usergroups. At least one must be a non-human, and one a student.
Did You Know?
Braces, or suspenders, were almost universally worn due to the high cut of men's trousers. Belts did not become common until the 1920s. — MJ
September 26th, 1894 — Prefect's Bathroom, Hogwarts
Using the prefects bathroom for Hesper was something of a treat. Hiking all the way up to the fifth floor from the dungeons to take a very decadent bath with no guarantee that it would be free wasn't worth the risk most evenings. However, every once in a while she would make the pilgrimage and treat herself. It just so happened that she'd found the frequency of her visits peaked during OWL season last year. Now that she was back at school again she'd allowed almost an entire month to pass without a single visit. So tonight was the night she was going to change that.
A lot of stairs and corridors later, the door to the prefects bathroom was in sight. Her pace quickened. Had her eyes not been locked firmly on her destination, she might've noticed that someone coming from the other end of the corridor seemed to have had the same idea. They met at the door at the exact same moment. Oh! was all she could say at first. Who'd gotten there first? It seemed like a draw to her, annoyingly enough. Merlin, if she'd just left a little bit earlier there would be no debating it. Her instinct to be polite was facing strong opposition from how very much she'd been looking forward to a bath in that particular bath tub. She couldn't just walk away from this. Outfit | Tag: | Notes: Open to a prefect/head boy/head girl/quidditch captain
Her Maman has been saying for months that this would happen soon, and her Maman just loved to be right didn't she? But she had been off school for three months, so why did it have to wait until September? Perhaps it had something to do with the less than comfortable atmosphere in her fifth year dorm right now, she had heard that those things might affect her. She shook her head as she walked along the corridor, her back ached, her stomach ached and she felt appalling, was this to be her life from now?
Even the brief detour to the nurse to obtain a linctus had not helped thus far, but hopefully that and a long soak in the bubbles of the prefect bathroom would soothe her and she could return to her dorm for a good night's rest. Her eyes widened as she saw Miss Gamp also get to the door and she quickened her step to try and get their first. She needed this bath, and she needed just fifteen minutes by herself to be away from everyone, her whole body under those bubbles and encased in the warm embrace of the magically heated water.
"Good evening Miss Gamp... just finishing, oui?" her voice was not confident, she knew the other girl wanted her prescious bath time and she hoped that perhaps just by saying it, she could make it true. "May I?" normally she would defer to the older girl of similar class, but not tonight, she needed this.
When everyone tells us what we can be
How can we rewrite the stars?
Why did it have to be Violetta? There were others she'd have found it somewhat difficult to stand her ground with but the majority of students who had access to the bathroom wouldn't have been an issue. Hesper opened her mouth to reply, not entirely what was going to come out of it, and then abruptly closed it again. Upon second thought, if Hesper knew that Violetta had been heading to the bathroom then Violetta had to be just as aware of Hesper and so she could only be pretending to mistake her as leaving it. Her resolve hardened at that thought. Besides, Violetta had been a prefect for two seconds, Hesper had put in more time to earn this bath.
Oh, I was just about to go in actually... If Violetta could feign ignorance to try and get her way, then so could Hesper. Outfit | Tag: Violetta DeCroix | Notes:
Violetta’s genius plan had not worked; simply willing her friend away from the door was not enough, so she was going to have to convince her instead. She really wanted this bath, and she didn't doubt that the older girl did too. But who wanted it more? Violetta was sure that it must be her and her mind quickly tried to calculate the chances of her winning a showdown.
She tried to make her voice as persuasive as possible ”Hesper, mon ami. I shan't bore you with the details, but I do rather need this bath, matron's orders.” She smiled and used her face in ways that would usually get her a new bag or a slightly larger wardrobe from her father. This was much less likely to work on a peer than a parent, but she hoped it would take steely conviction to resist. “You wouldn't rob me of this kindness, would you?” Her cheeks raised with a smile to the other girl as she considered the situation that she was in. Fighting over the hot soapy bath beyond. Either way, they needed to resolve this before someone else came; if a boy came storming past and took their spot, they would both end up stuck outside the magical barrier that excluded the opposite sex.
When everyone tells us what we can be
How can we rewrite the stars?
'Matron's orders'? Hesper's eyebrow quirked upwards before she could stop it. She quickly lowered it again. It was dreadful luck that it had to be Violetta, but even for her Hesper couldn't quite bring herself to stand aside. She'd been really looking forward to this and really, Violetta had been a prefect for half a minute whereas Hesper was her senior so really the priority should be hers. But the way the younger girl was looking at her... No, to hell with it, she wasn't going to go all the way back down to the dungeons to sit around and wait for someone else to steal her spot and she certainly wasn't going to waste her time sitting outside the bathroom for Merlin knew how long. Violetta might take an hour or more! I'm afraid I'm in serious need of it too, you'll understand when you're studying for your NEWTs. I think I might be coming down with something... She sniffled and tried to somehow look more run down than she actually was. Outfit | Tag: Violetta DeCroix | Notes:
Violetta felt a flash of annoyance that was only worsened by the discomfort that she needed the bath to resolve, why was Hesper not understanding and not yielding to a lady in need? She would understand whilst she was studying for her NEWTS? She knew what that meant, it was a gentle reminder that she did have the age advantage and that of Violetta was remembering her etiquette, she should really acquiesce to Miss Gamp's request.
Vee's mouth edged up in a tiny smirk as Hesper emphasised how deathly ill she must be. "Oh my word, are you ok? Whatever is the matter? Perhaps you should seek the matron yourself if you are unwell, perhaps a herbal tea might be in order oui? I never find a bath quite hits the spot for a cold." she feigned concern for her friend and placed a comforting hand on her upper arm. She found it hard to supress the little giggle building up as the resolution seemed no closer than it was when she first reached for the handle.
She hoped the rumours were true that the bath never got cold while they wasted time out here.
When everyone tells us what we can be
How can we rewrite the stars?
She sensed Violetta's angle and only dug her heels in more. Oh, do you not? Baths have a miraculous effect for me, especially with winter illnesses, it warms me right to the core and sometimes that's all I need. Not if she was seriously ill, but in this case she needed a bath more than she needed the school nurse, not that she could say that without losing what leverage she had. A part of her really didn't want to argue the point much longer, but the rest of her felt like this was a hill she wanted to die on. Hadn't she earned this? And why would the matron specifically perscribe the prefect's bathroom when only a selection of students could access it? Any old bath would surely do!
So, it would really be good of you if you allowed me to go first. Not that Hesper was actually seeking permission. Outfit | Tag: Violetta DeCroix | Notes:
This was getting neither of them any closer to that bathtub and time was quickly ticking by, perhaps they would even begin to dance with curfew, no, that was at least a little while off. She ached for the bath, both figuratively and literally, she could picture that bathtub-sized pool of hot bubbles mere feet away from the pair.
There was of course a simple answer but right now acceptance of it was nearly as unwelcome as walking away, but perhaps. "Mon ami, please. If I were not feeling quite as ghastly as I do I would insist we just share, there is plenty of room, non?" She was struggling to remain firm and beginning to lean more into a plea. "I will accept this resolution if it suits you, but you will give me a moment alone first to feel more human, oui? You are so kind." Three minutes was enough to unwind and feel less unpleasant, one minute alone would let her lock the door behind her... perhaps, but she did still realise she was talking to a friend.
When everyone tells us what we can be
How can we rewrite the stars?
Share the bath? Hesper couldn't help but balk at the idea. It was certainly large enough that it wasn't impractical, but she simply wouldn'tbe able to relax with the constant threat of involuntary nudity - either of seeing it or presenting it. It was such an insane idea that she had to think it was all a ploy on Violetta's part, particularly as she was suggesting she go in first. Unfortunately, I don't think that would be proper. After a beat, she remembered she was supposed to be 'ill'. Besides, I wouldn't want you to catch anything from me. With a heavy sigh, she decided she needed to put an end to this and play her trump card. Seeing as we cannot reach an agreement and both have urgent need of the bathroom, it would only be fair if I went first as I'm the more senior prefect. This way it's not personal. Outfit | Tag: Violetta DeCroix | Notes: So sorry I killed this, no worries if you don't want to continue the thread!
Violetta gave a grin and a shrug, Hesper was probably correct but considering the living arrangements and the lack of proper privacy it entailed it wasn't really something Violetta cared about.
She let out a long sigh, neither of them were any closer to the bath and she was starting to feel cold in her gown, she would only feel worse if this silliness continued. Hesper did have a valid answer and with all else being equal that was the only deciding factor. "Very well, I am a lady and it would be even less proper for me to argue this further. I will retire." she looked saddened but accepting. "I may have a little linctus to soothe me. Please might you let me know when you are done so i dont lose my turn?" she smiled, she really hoped Hesper would not be punitively long in there.
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