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Welcome to Charming, the year is now 1894. It’s time to join us and immerse yourself in scandal and drama interlaced with magic both light and dark.

Where will you fall?

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Queen Victoria was known for putting jackets and dresses on her pups, causing clothing for dogs to become so popular that fashion houses for just dog clothes started popping up all over Paris. — Fox
It would be easy to assume that Evangeline came to the Lady Morgana only to pick fights. That wasn't true at all. They also had very good biscuits.
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rather lose a good game than win a bad one
#1
July 24, 1891 — HWI Chess Tournament, Hogsmeade Hall

Grace had lost her first match, but Ford and Verity had both won theirs — probably the results anyone would have predicted, to be honest. It wasn't that Grace wasn't good at chess, only that she wasn't especially good at being around people. This wasn't the best sort of venue to showcase Grace's skill and talent, pitting her against a stranger and letting half a dozen mildly interested audience members watch from a stone's throw away. Grace's first match had been against another one of those wealthy men who played Quidditch as a "career" (only people who didn't actually need careers and sports fanatics considered Quidditch a career). Combined with Ford's opponent for his first match, this implied the Venn diagram overlap between Quidditch players and chess aficionados was much larger than he might have previously suspected.

And now he was playing against Cash Lestrange, who might have further confirmed the theory except that in Ford's mind his friend didn't really fit the same mold as all the other Quidditch people. He had no trouble imagining Lestrange being pensive and thoughtful and intelligent, where it was hard to picture the average beater displaying the same qualities. In fact, if Lestrange hadn't been playing Quidditch almost as long as Ford had known him, Ford probably would have had a harder time believing that than believing he was good at chess. In any case, he was looking forward to the match, and was already grinning as he dropped into the seat across the board.

"I didn't know so many Quidditch people played chess," he began conversationally. Cash had the first move, so there was nothing for Ford to do except banter and wait for him to make it. "I was just playing against your... uh, patron?" he said with a slight tilt of his head, the word sponsor having slipped his mind for the moment.
Cassius Lestrange




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#2
Usually Cash played chess against Seneca or against his father; this tournament was unusual for him. He hadn't played chess frequently in Hogwarts. He wouldn't have played it frequently now, except that he needed something to do during his weekly lunches with Lucius, and he was confident that neither of them wanted to spend that time talking.

He'd played the new sponsor for the Hogsmeade Howlers in the first round. Cash was more comfortable conversing with Ford, which meant that this round promised to be enjoyable. Cash was considering his first move when he heard patron and made a face. It took him a beat to figure out what Ford meant; he placed his piece before responding.

"Sponsor," he supplied, "You played Gallivan?"

He was... not sure how he felt about that.






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#3
"That's the one," he agreed pleasantly, though it was unclear from his tone whether he was reacting to the supplied word sponsor or Gallivan's name. "Hopefully he's better at Quidditch strategy than he is at chess strategy," Ford joked lightly. "I beat him, and I'm really not that good."

He moved a pawn out after almost no forethought as if to prove the point.


The following 1 user Likes Fortitude Greengrass's post:
   Cassius Lestrange


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#4
Cash shifted in his seat — now that Ford had confirmed it was Theo, he was distinctly uncomfortable with the thought of them chatting. Because what if they had spoken about Cash? What would either of them say? His other thought — and this one came with an uncomfortable burst of nervous affection — was that he desperately wanted to know if Ford and Theo got along.

"I've never played him in chess," Cash said; he eyed the board for a moment, thinking, before moving a piece in response to Ford's pawn. "He's fairly thoughtful with Quidditch, though."






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#5
"How does it compare?" Ford asked, pretending to consider the board though he was more invested in his conversation with Cash than with the game. "The strategy behind Quidditch and chess?"




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#6
"Well, chess is all mental, and Quidditch is at least half-physical," Cash said — no, he was not particularly excited to be saying the word physical in a conversation about Theo Gallivan.






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#7
Ford gave a half-nod in response. Lestrange's explanation made sense, and that was probably why Ford had never had much of an interest in Quidditch, even as a spectator. He was far more comfortable in mental pursuits than physical ones.

"This may be a silly question," he said as something of a disclaimer, as he thought back on that conversation with Gallivan. "But what's the relationship there, exactly?" The relationship there meaning the dynamic between a sponsor and a captain. All of Ford's Quidditch knowledge came from overheard conversations at school, and since there were no sponsors in Hogwarts he really had no idea. "Is he, like, your boss?" Ford asked, raising an eyebrow skeptically. He couldn't really picture Gallivan trying to boss Lestrange around.


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   Cassius Lestrange


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#8
If Cash was drinking something, he might have choked — instead, his face colored a faint pink. Of course Ford couldn't mean it like that — and obviously he didn't. He was asking if Gallivan was Cash's boss. Cash hated thinking about it that way only a little less than he hated the allusion he'd thought Ford was going for, and shifted in his chair.

"He's sort of my boss," Cash admitted, with a smile that borderlined wry.






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#9
"That's —" Ford started, both eyebrows raised. Ridiculous was the word that came to mind, but that seemed a little uncharitable. He didn't have anything against Gallivan, and didn't want to start disparaging him, especially when his own Quidditch knowledge was next to nothing. He also didn't want to put Cash in an awkward situation of having to figure out how to respond to whatever undoubtedly awkward and ill-informed thing Ford decided to say. He wasn't even sure why it felt so silly to imagine that Gallivan was Lestrange's boss, only that it did. Maybe it was because Gallivan was younger than both of them? That, or it was the impression Ford had of him from the match they'd just finished. From working at the Ministry Ford had an idea that a superior was supposed to be serious and imposing, and Gallivan seemed far too haphazard to give anyone that impression. Then again, Cash was a little haphazard, too. Maybe that was just how Quidditch worked, as a career.

Ford shrugged, deciding to say nothing at all, and chose a piece to move.


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   Theodore Gallivan


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#10
Cash frowned when Ford left his sentence unfinished. He waited until he'd picked a piece to move and slid it across the board. "That's what?" Cash asked. There was a weird feeling in his chest when he said it, although his tone was mostly just a little confused. Oh. He knew what the feeling was. He was defensive of Gallivan. Hm.



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   Fortitude Greengrass, Theodore Gallivan



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#11
Ford shrugged again, not sure how he was going to answer that. "It must be weird, that's all. Having him as a boss." He wasn't trying to imply Gallivan was bad at his job, or anything — he honestly didn't know enough about Quidditch to even speculate on that. He'd just always assumed there was someone higher up in charge of a Quidditch team, someone who was experienced and wizened. The idea of Cash and Gallivan running a sports team together was just sort of silly. Sort of like the idea of Ford and Noble trying to run their family after their father died. Where was the adult in this situation?




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#12
"We get along well enough," Cash said; he was careful to keep his tone light. Honestly, it had been weird when Gallivan started being his boss — but then they had both started trying — and now he mostly tried to avoid thinking about the boss part, for obvious reasons. "He took over the Cannons from his father." Ford hadn't asked, and maybe Cash should keep things superfluous where he could, but the sentence still slipped out.






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#13
"Oh," Ford said, feeling mildly chastised by this new knowledge. A too-young man taking over his father's legacy: Ford understood that. Not that he'd been mean to Gallivan, or anything, but had he known he would have been more empathetic. There was nothing easy about trying to fill someone's shoes after they were gone, particularly if you hadn't expected to put those particular shoes on for another decade at least. The least Ford could do was to not be dismissive of whatever efforts Gallivan was making, particularly when he knew so little about Quidditch in the first place.

"When did that happen?" he asked. While he spoke he considered a piece, chose a different one to move, and immediately regretted it. The first piece would have been a better strategy. If he was lucky maybe Cash wouldn't notice, but it seemed unlikely since he'd flinched the moment he'd realized.




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#14
It occurred to Cash, rather belatedly, that he spent a not-insignificant amount of time with people who were sad about their dead fathers. Lucius, of course, showed no signs of stopping anytime soon. "Uhm — 1888, I think," Cash said; more interesting than the deceased Nathaniel Gallivan was Ford's flinch. Cash raised an eyebrow and moved a piece in response to what he assumed was a mistake.






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#15
Lestrange had taken advantage of his mistake, and from Ford's perspective it seemed the game was nearly over already. He didn't know how to get himself out of the situation he'd just created, so unless Lestrange made a comparable mistake it was only a matter of time before he started giving up pieces left, right, and center.

He couldn't really concentrate on this game and keep up a conversation about Gallivan, particularly since he'd never been particularly invested in the conversation to begin with. Ford took a second to examine the board, but didn't come up with anything particularly brilliant. He eventually chose a piece, but it was more stalling the inevitable than actual strategy. "Sorry, what were we talking about?" he asked after moving.




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#16
Cash was relieved by Ford's question. "Nothing important," he said, as he selected the next piece he'd move. He thought he would probably win, and soon — unless this was part of some other strategy on Ford's part. "Tell me how the British ghosts are doing."






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