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 1894. It’s time to join us and immerse yourself in scandal and drama interlaced with magic both light and dark.
Back at school, things weren't so bad. Maxie was still roaring angry that Saxon had actually attacked her. Being in school, however, did give her the power to avoid him like the plague. And that was certainly what she was doing. Even her twin, the sweet Hufflepuff, was avoiding Saxon at the moment. What he had said had hurt Maxie's darling twin, and Maxie did not know how to make it better.
That was a matter for another time. At the moment, Maxie was on the lookout for one Sisse Thompsett. The quidditch loving girl had ruined her potion in class by mistaking it for her own, and Maxie would be damned if she wasn't going to say something about it.
Finding the Gryffindor, she cleared her throat to get the other girl's attention. "I am still quite upset over the fact that you ruined my potion. Perhaps you ought to pay less attention to gossiping with friends, and more time focusing on class." She snapped, wanting to make her point perfectly clear.
It had been a complete accident, putting an extra beetle eye into Miss Goshawk's potion. But in Sisse's defense Miss Goshawk had been watching Sisse's potion like a hawk the entire class and had been copying her every move. So when Sisse had stood up to get additional beetle eyes for her own potion, talking with Sloane about the fact that the potion looked a little too green, she hadn't even realized she had stopped the bench before her own and put the beetle eye in an equally too green potion. The fact that Miss Goshawk had then put additional beetle eyes into the potion hadn't been Sisse's fault, nor the fact that it had begun to smoke after that. Sisse had apologized when she discovered the accident, but apparently Miss Goshawk wasn't willing to leave it at that, storming up to them at dinner at making a scene like this.
Sisse's cheeks turned red as she realized everyone around them was listening in and she indignantly bit back a retort that she hadn't been gossiping! Instead she lost her temper. "Well perhaps it wouldn't have happened if you weren't copying my potion!" Sisse retorted, attempting to make it sound rather more logical than a petulant child.
Ugh! The utter nerve of this girl! To Maxie's recollection, it certainly hadn't been the entire class that she had watched her. She had... thought she had missed an ingredient. It wasn't like she was stupid enough to admit it. As a Slytherin, pride did have some hold on her.
"A few quick checks to make sure I didn't miss something isn't copying, Miss Thompsett. At least you weren't focusing so much on me that you didn't realize that." Ugh, but that felt more like a compliment, and Maxie wasn't in the mood to make compliments. "Perhaps you should start working more on that skill, since it seems you are so lacking in such talents." There. That was better.
“Perhaps you ought to focus on practicing your potions, instead of looking for someone to blame when they go wrong.” Sisse said tensely, disliking the girl’s attempts tell her what she thought she was doing wrong. It wasn’t like Sisse had approached Miss Goshawk’s table and begun to insult her in front of all her friends.
She took a deep breathe and then looked at Miss Goshawk, really wishing not to make a scene. “As I said in class, I apologize for the mistake.” Her mother was always telling her to take the high road and in this case she truly felt she should.
It took everything in her not to growl like an animal. She was above such nonsense. "I'll have you know that I am one of the top members of the class." She huffed. It wasn't like she could help with getting distracted upon thinking about what her brother... no, she wasn't going to think about it.
But she wasn't truly hoping to deal with this again. She would have to study that recipe once more before class. "I request that you refrain from sitting next to me in class, Miss Thompsett." The less distraction and accidents to mess with her day, the better. She didn't need the quidditch enthusiast to ruin her time at Hogwarts. Her brother seemed to have that covered plenty.
Yes Sisse didn’t have top marks in the course, but that didn’t mean that Miss Goshawk got to take such a tone. Sisse’s lips narrowed and was trying her best to keep her face composed. “Then you needn’t watch my potions.” Sisse put forth firmly, feeling angry tears picking at her eyes, ridiciously.
“With pleasure.” Sisse said, still in her voice. It wasn’t like she had wanted to sit next to Miss Goshawk after all. It had been the only seat left in class and Sisse never liked to think she couldn’t make friends with someone new. She might have misjudged that this time. Afterall she and Miss Goshawk had never been anywhere near friendly.
Ugh! It was embarrassing enough that she had the need to glance over at all. But now this little wench seemed rather content to view her as the dunce of the class. It had been the Gryffindor's fault the accident had happened in the first place! Maxie had to remind herself that she wasn't her brother and that she was in no way about to go down to his level of childishness by screeching and stomping her feet, no matter how much it tempted her. "I'm sure it was only a one time thing to begin with." She muttered.
It had been a grave mistake indeed. If only more of her friends hadn't decided to sit with other friends. She didn't judge them. She understood that friends had other friends and the world wasn't about her. Quite frankly, it would simply be nice if Miss Thompsett had been early enough to sit far away from her. At least her brother couldn't be in the same class this year. Things would certainly have gone a lot worse if he had decided to sit next to her. "Good. A topic we can agree on."
A one time thing. Sure. If Sisse believed that she wouldn’t be as upset about the whole situation in the first place. But she felt her point had been made by the way the girl grumbled about it and let it drop. Afterall a lady wasn’t supposed to be argumentative.
“Indeed.” Sisse agreed coldly, narrowing her eyes slightly at Miss Goshawk, as if that alone should clue the girl in that she should leave them in peace. “Is that all?” Sisse asked to make her point, making sure to be as polite as possible and even pulling a tight smile across her lips.
There was one thing that set Maxie off on an absolute spiral, and that was when one messed with one of her potions. Or her brother being her brother, but that was another matter entirely. Maxie prided herself on her potions, so for one to practically insult her skills by any means or matter, it was as though they were truly trying to get under her skin. It was like the one topic that would really make her forget herself when it came to be lady-like in terms of being an agreeable young lady.
The determined Slytherin did not find herself to be intimidated by Miss Thompsett's cold stare. But none the less, the rage was beginning to leave finally after so long of being bottled up inside since class. A deep, yet subtle, breath and Maxie gave a swift nod. "We are." She stated, her own voice beginning to migrate back to it's typical proper-young-lady tone.
“Good.” Sisse nodded in the best imitation of a hostess dismissing her guest. She’d seen her mother do the same move countless times to guests, staff, even to her children, that as far as Sisse could tell she executed the move precisely as it had been intendedly, clearly indicating that Miss Goshawk should excuse herself from the group.
Maxie certainly did not like being dismissed, as that little nod had indicated. For that, she would have the last word. "Well, I have matters to discuss with my friends. Excuse me." She stated, head held high as she then took her leave without allowing for another word.
Thank Merlin Miss Goshawk had finally gotten her hint and left, Sisse let out a sigh of relief. However, as she glanced back at the table and saw the faces of her friends and curious housemates any resolution not to let this rattle her dissipated like smoke over a cauldron. Sisse's cheeks flared red as she took her seat again, determined not to appear any more foolish she quickly attempted to change the conversation to something - anything - else.
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