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.
Rather than a proper journal, these are unsent letters left lodged in a locked desk drawer of August's office.
8.09
Dear Lyra,
I have not previously had the heart to tell you of the half-breed ban, because that would require acknowledging that it may prove a problem for Lysander. It's so far off that I have been hoping that society will right itself by the time he receives his Hogwarts letter, but the more things regress... Hogsmeade has made it legal, two days ago, to fire half-breeds.
I do not believe that anyone has caught onto his heritage, yet. He's very pale, of course, but he's also a three year old asthmatic, which tends to throw people off of their 'pale = vampire, vampire = threatening' assumptions. Supposedly. My mother and Leon are arguably the adults who see him most often, and if they've caught on they haven't said anything to me. (Although perhaps Leon already knows, if my sister told him. I don't know.)
If, when the time comes, the half-breed ban is still in place - I'll have to leave. I have the money to up and move. You know how I feel about the French, but Beauxbatons would still let Lysander in, or even Ilvermorny in America. There are things that can be done.
It could be worse, apparently - Lysander could be a werewolf. (He couldn't, as far as I know, given the circumstances of his birth, but let's suspend logic for the sake of my hypothetical.) Then there would be no hope of getting him into Hogwarts, or anywhere else for that matter. I'd have to outfit my basement... or give him to the Ministry, which I would not have the heart to do.
The point of this being: the Minister's daughter was turned. I feel terribly for her, and her family - she's a human the rest of the month, after all, and someone outed her to the Prophet even after her life was already ruined. The girl is doomed.
Minister Urquart seems to be having trouble now, too - I'm worried that the WG may try to sneak more things by him, and a conservative government would present even more of a problem for my political faction and (equally important) our son.
Leon is forcing me to go on this damn boat to Athens tomorrow. It's part of this whole regatta thing at the Sanditon resort - Marcus Lytton is taking a group on a magical cruise ship, and apparently I agreed to go. You can more or less guess how I feel about it.
Thom and Hannah aren't coming. Hannah is very pregnant (!) and Thom suffered a leg injury last month - Britain hasn't gotten any less eventful in your absence. He's said that he doesn't want to end up like 'poor August,' and I can't blame him. I can scarcely remember what it's like to walk without a cane.
Hopefully I'm able to keep my balance on this boat. It's a petty thing to complain about, especially to you - and it might be all right once we're on the boat and I get to watch Leon try to defile some rich bastard's wife. Or whomever. I'm not entirely sure who else is going.
Have I mentioned that Hannah is trying to get me married? She thinks I'm lonely. She's not wrong, but she won't listen when I tell her that I'm not interested at the moment; maybe it's for the best that she won't be on this yacht to force me to talk to some single girl.
I never liked your brother. Darcy, I mean; Bennett was alright. (Merlin, do you even know that Bennett's dead, too? What has become of us?)
He wasn't my favorite Ministerial option, but I didn't really have a favorite, that year. I was still living in Ottery St. Catchpole. My leg was mostly recovered. I had not reconnected with Elsbeth. Darcy was not liberal enough for me, and he was too young.
I did not consider running, then; I was too young and too crippled, and I didn't have enough political experience to feel positively about it.
Then, of course, I met you, and I fell in love with you, and Darcy Potter did not like me at all, so a passive feeling of indifference became a personal feeling of dislike.
I didn't want him to die, obviously. I felt terribly for that, because a person was dead and because you felt so terribly for it. If anything, I've started to feel more positively about Darcy Potter in his death... our son is named after him, after all.
I think if it wasn't for our ties - and for the situation we were in at the time, with your pregnancy - I may have considered running. But it's wrong of me to say that, isn't it?
I feel like I have to do something; Lysander hangs in the balance, whether anyone knows it or not.
It's not as if it's just because of Lysander. I have a lot of political opinions, as you well know - and a great deal of experience in activism. I could try to get some progressive policies through the Wizengamot. Even if I just ran, I could at least publicize progressive policies.
I'm good at talking. Not to people, but through writing - I think I could do something with that. And I could afford it.
The worst that could happen, of course, is this; someone guesses Lysander's origins. I may be noteworthy, but not that noteworthy - as far as I know, no one is delving into my personal life. If I ran now - well. He becomes of much greater interest. To everyone.
But - there is good to be done. There is work to be done. Decisions, after all, are made by those who show up.
Thom thinks I should do it. Leon, predictably, does not. I'm not entirely sure what I think I should do - I wish you were here. You would certainly have opinions about this; about all of it. I always wish that we had done things differently, but I don't know where I would have changed things.
We could have met somewhere else, when we went to elope. We could come back within a year or two, and have a handful of children (all named after Shakespeare characters) and be a proper political dynasty. I would even go to parties for you. That's a life I wish we had had. Instead I'm getting old and you aren't, and Lysander is growing up without a mother and hidden in plain sight, and he might not even get to go to Hogwarts, and if things had gone differently all those years ago it would all be... I don't know. Somewhere along the line I messed everything up; perhaps from the very beginning.
Well, I'm convinced: I'm going to declare my candidacy at the beginning of October. The first candidate is a businessman with no political experience; arguably I don't have much of that, either, but still. Thom convinced me. Leon's not going to be thrilled, I'm sure.
The second candidate is better, but - I don't know. Surely spreading my political views will at least help -
it can't hurt. Things are bad here, Lyra.
Next up: a shut-in socialite and the Minister's former assistant. I don't know very much about Mrs. Greyback other than that she is very adamant on half-breed rights - more adamant than I would dare to be.
She fights Witch Weekly apparently, which I really think is a waste of time but... whatever.
The other candidate is Mr. Roman Crouch, who I also don't know very much about - he's from an old pureblood family and his twin is friends with Thom's fuck-up cousin. This perhaps doesn't say very much about him. He's from a more conservative political background, so we'll see what he does when the platforms begin to come out.
The closer we get to October the less sure I am, to be entirely honest. Eugene is running and I could vote for him in full confidence - obviously. I did last time. There's also an American running which is an entirely insane situation; he also seems to be pretty far-right, politically, so that's an absolute no from me.
I suppose if the worst happens I could always back out and endorse Eugene? I don't know.
![[-]](https://old.charmingrp.com/images/collapse.png)
![[Image: 21vhj8.png]](http://i42.tinypic.com/21vhj8.png)
![[Image: 2pt1c10.png]](http://i48.tinypic.com/2pt1c10.png)
