Charming is a Victorian Era Harry Potter roleplay set primarily in the village of Hogsmeade, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and the non-canon village of Irvingly. Characters of all classes, both magical and muggle — and even non-human! — are welcome.
With a member driven story line, monthly games and events, and a friendly and drama-free community focused on quality over quantity, the only thing you can be sure of is fun!
"Are you always this forward?" He asked teasingly since it would be a very short thread if he just ignored her entirely. — Tobin Cartwright in Take A Peek
Did you know? Churchgoers and worshippers had to endure a foul stench during prayers due to the amount of bodies often stored within the vaults of churches and chapels.
It wasn’t unusual for the Lestrange girls to have small parties to celebrate their birthdays. Turning eight was hardly as important as turning eleven, but it was still a good enough reason to invite over a bunch upper class girls with whom she could drink tea and eat biscuits and pastries.
The room where Meta’s party was going to be held was decorated with nice, fresh flowers and other small decorations. A big, round table was set at the centre and on it there were all kinds of confections, as well as a big empty teapot and teacups for when the girls wished to have their tea. There was even a piano charmed to play by itself in a corner, to add to the festive mood.
“You’re going to eat all the lemon cakes before the tea is even served!” Meta commented towards one of her guests with a sweet and polite smile, though inwardly she wished she could roll her eyes.
Open to upper class, pureblooded girls that are no older than 11.
Gretchen loved tea parties- especially those where she was one of the older girls. She liked how the little ones looked up to her and tried to copy her manners. It was quite endearing, really. Even the fact that it was Meta's party couldn't dampen her spirit.
She'd made sure to sit as far from her sister as she could whilst still seeming polite, and had gathered a few of the older girls around her. She was still one of the older ones there though- after all, she was almost a grown lady at nearly ten! She laid her gloves by her plate, unfolded her napkin in her lap and began to watch the party.
Gretchen had to bite her lip to keep her from chiding her sister about her manners. The other girl was a guest, after all, and there were more than enough cakes for each girl to eat their fill several times over. She contented herself with shooting Meta an icy glance before taking a shortbread biscuit in the shape of a unicorn and taking a deliberate but dainty bite.
Magda did not wanted to be here. She knew that she were to marry the girl's brother in years, but it did not change that she was scared of them. She wanted to just sit in the corner and avoid them all. She did not wanted to talk with any of them. She felt so alone in her black dress. She missed her mother and she just wanted to talk with Flora and be safe. Still, she did not cry - Samuil had told her not to, and Samuil was clever. She listened to him and wanted to do as he said, because she was sure that he only wanted her to be happy and strong. And she had to make mamma proud, right?
She just looked down on her hands and did not say a word, thinking of how much she wanted to not be here right now.
Flora loved parties, but she didn’t like Meta Lestrange. She was a nasty little girl, even on her own birthday party! No wonder that her only friends were a dog and Flora’s Lestrange’s brother; she was nasty and horrible.
She sat next to her cousin Magda in silence, not really wanting to talk with any of the other girls. Both she and Magda were going to be Lestranges one day so they’d have to socialize with them but Flora liked to think that her Lestrange wouldn’t make her go to parties his horrible cousin Meta hosted.
“What’s the point of having all these nice sweets if we can’t eat them yet?” Flora finally said when Meta complained about one of the girls eating the lemon cakes.
Laurentia was quite conflicted as to where her allegiance should lie. She was a Thicknesse by birth so had every right to be here but her mother's marriage meant that she should be siding more with her new cousin Meta, but Laurentia wasn't at all sure she liked the girl a great deal. She did like Flora Mulciber though, but then she wasn't family of sorts.
Certainly Gretchen didn't seem to like what her sister was saying and so Laurentia decided that however Gretchen reacted was clearly the right way to behave and so she took a dainty bite of her cake, pointedly not eating the lemon cake for the time being just in case. It all looked delicious but she didn't want to gorge herself and end up covered in crumbs!
The stupid fat guest put her lemon cake back on her plate with a bit of a sad expression and Meta smiled, glad that things were going her way again when Flora Mulciber spoke. She didn’t even like the younger girl, but she was betrothed to her older brother so she couldn’t not invite her. Still, Meta did not like people who weren’t her Papa or someone other with actual power talking back to her. Especially not on her birthday party.
“It is my birthday party and if I say you shouldn't eat them yet then you will not!” Meta loudly retorted to the brunette. Her eyes fell on Mulciber’s stupid Bulgarian friend who was betrothed to Kristoffer then and a mean smile appeared on her face.
“In fact, I say that only those who are Lestranges are allowed to eat from the sweets!” she said then. Perhaps she’d let Flora Mulciber and her stupid friend eat if they begged her once they were very hungry. Oh, and Laurentia Thicknesse.
“Meta!” Gretchen scolded sharply. How unladylike could she get? It was a shame throwing tea came under something a well bred lady would never do, or the precocious brat would be dripping in scalding hot water.
She recovered her composure in a heartbeat, and giving a gracious smile turned to the group. “I do apologise for my sister’s lack of manners. She was allowed to stay up to dinner last night, and it has obviously had an effect on her temper. Miss Mulciber is quite correct. You may all eat as much and whatever you wish. It is a party, after all!” Gretchen gave another smile, passing a plate of biscuits Laurentia to emphasise the point. She was likely to do as she wished her to, which would help add weight to her quite correct point.
Gretchen turned to her sister. “Meta, darling, Mama allowed you to host this party because she believed you to have full control of your manners. If you are going to behave like Hilda or Aric in the nursery, then I am sure I can tell Mama and she’ll make sure that you’re not allowed to host any more parties, and are moved back into the nursery where you can keep company with those on your same behavioural level.” She gave a sweeter than sugar smile, turning back to the group.
As expected Laurentia immediately did as she had been silently bid by the older girl and took a biscuit with her head held high and her gaze never leaving Meta Lestrange. She should have known that the younger sister would be appalling – it only made sense! She was clearly the superior sibling of her and Livius and it was only logical that if Gretchen was wonderful then Meta would be terrible.
Picking the daintiest biscuit she could Laurentia nibbled the corner, taking a great deal of care not to make a mess. The last thing she wanted after Gretchen had been kind enough to hand her the treats was to make it seem like silly little Meta was right!
“I think you’re wrong,” she said, keeping her chin up. “I might not be a Lestrange but I’m a Thicknesse and that’s just as good a name. And my mama was a Selwyn and they’re one of the oldest families.”
She didn’t strictly speaking know why that was such a good thing but grandmama certainly thought it was and Laurentia was inclined to listen to that woman!
Meta could feel her blood boiling and rushing to her head. How dare Gretchen interrupted her and didn’t follow her orders! She had said that ONLY LESTRANGES could eat! She was a Lestrange, wasn’t she? Why did Gretchen always have to spoil the fun? But because she was not a proper Lestrange, that’s why! She was a stupid blonde! A traitor!
Meta was having a hard time remain calm and breathe normally as her stupid blonde sister pretended to be the oh-so-perfect hostess and humiliated her, when that brat Laurentia Thicknesse talked back to her.
That was it.
Meta raised from her seat and screamed: “THICKNESSE IS NOT LESTRAAAAAAAAAAAAANGE! I SAID THAT NO NOT LESTRANGES WILL EAT MY FOOOOOOOOOOD! NOOOOBOOOODYYYYYYY!”
As she screamed, her magic seemed to have gotten out of control, as some of the plates and cups on the table started floating and a sugar bowl even shattered, scattering sugar all over the table.
Screaming, she started picking up biscuits and threw them on Gretchen and the Thicknesse girl and the Mulciber girl and the Krum girl.
When the words birthday party had first been voiced, Mirella had paled in horror at the thought of having to attend. It was quickly made clear to her that the ‘young ladies’ would be supervised by less educated staff, and it would, in fact, make for a reprieve from Mira’s duties. This, the witch had thought, was a much better outcome.
She had gone to visit her aunt (and, as an extension, her brother) and was only very newly returned to her cousin’s house when the sound of chaos reached her ears. A year earlier, the governess would have ignored it.
A year earlier, she was not a year closer to spinsterhood with only her position to keep her.
Mirella stepped quietly into the room, quickly taking stock of the situation. It was plain that one of Meta’s tantrums to blame. Though usually her preferred of Orestes’ children, the child certainly had a temper—that could rival Mirella’s own—and so she was little surprised to see that the child had gone off.
“Accio!”
She summoned a biscuit just as it was about to hit the Mulciber girl in the nose.
“Miss Lestrange!” Mira snapped. “Is this how we behave at tea parties?!”
If she got blamed for this, heads would roll.
mirella was born and raised in the upper class, and still behaves as such. set by bex
That would teach them a lesson! They’d surely have biscuits in their hair for the next days and they’d smell like biscuits and have bruises! That would teach them for talking back to her and eating when they wern’t Lestranges! Or dark haired!
And then, Mirella came in.
While with previous governesses Meta would have probably continued her tantrum until she got bored or they threatened to bring her father, Mirella was Mirella and Meta adored Mirella.
Slowly the biscuit she was about to throw at her cousin Seneca - who was a wannabe blonde Lestrange like Gretchen - fell from her hand and Meta’s face dropped.
“No” she said quietly, turning her face down. Quickly, she went rushed to Mirella. “But they were all mean to me! Gretchen even called me stupid in front of everyone else!”
Maybe if she managed to cry they’d blame Gretchen for everything?
Magda had stayed quiet during all of this. She did not wanted anyone to think bad about her, but it seemed like they already disliked her. It was not her fault, she had not done anything wrong, she had not even wanted to be here in the first place. But her governess had told her that she had to go, and seeing as she were to marry the oldest Lestrange boy, then there was no way she could get out of meeting them sooner or later.
The dark-haired lestrange and the one who's birthday they celebrated seemed evil, just like the Mr. Lestrange she had to write. The blonde was sweeter, but did not offer to talk with Magda, not that she wanted to either, but at least she did not throw biscuits at her. Magda tried to hide and avoid it, she was so close to crying right now that she was not sure what to do. Remember Mamma, remember Samuil. she thought to herself and forced herself not to cry.
And then someone older stepped in, Magda was close to crying once again and just hide behind Flora, but she did not wanted to put her best friend in trouble either.
Unlike her friend, Flora had started crying. First she wasn’t allowed to eat from the food and then she was thrown food at! One biscuit had even found her in the eye and Flora was now foolishly worried that she might end up wearing an eye patch like she was some pirate because of Meta Lestrange!
She just wanted to leave the stupid party and never play with Meta Lestrange again.
Gretchen was just about to make a comment when Meta went into full on tasmanian devil mode. She’d read about those brutes once, and it seemed quite a fitting allegory for her sister. As biscuits began flying and the party descended into ill-contained pandemonium, Gretchen’s magic kicked in too in an effort to protect herself from the assault, managing to deflect a few shards of the flying china from the sugar pot which otherwise would have gone straight in her face, instead giving her a nasty, but thankfully not deep, gash on the arm. She made a small exclamation of shock, quickly stifled when their governess stepped in.
“Meta, do not lie! Have you not done enough?” Gretchen still trembled a little from the swift turn of events, one hand on Miss Mulciber’s shoulder, who was actually in tears. She bit her lip a little, trying to recover her composure enough to not snap and throw something delightfully heavy at Meta’s head. She always ruined everything, even her own birthday! “Miss Lestrange, Meta was being very rude- she said that only Lestranges were allowed to eat at her party. I tried to make her see sense, but she seemed intent on embarrassing herself.” She bit her lip again. Her arm hurt and Meta was so stupid!
“If the pair of you,” Mirella said to both Meta and Gretchen, “cannot agree upon one version of events, then I shall have to see you both chastised—unless one of your guests would like to educate me?”
Mira was not holding her breath on that count; at least two of the guests looked to be on the verge of tears and decidedly younger than both of the young Misses Lestrange.
mirella was born and raised in the upper class, and still behaves as such. set by bex
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