Wizarding and Pureblood Customs

## Clothing

Wizards in Britain tend to wear 18th century style clothing like robes, capes, and cloaks, usually with jewel tones. This includes under-robes depending on the style of robes. Women wear both dresses and robes (as well as stays as an undergarment). The difference being that robes have buttons down the front of the outfit. Witches hats are also regularly worn.

Hedgewitches have a medieval fashion, wearing things like tunics, vests, kirtles and dresses. Generally they'll have belts cinches around their waist or hips that have pouches tied to them.

In France, wizards don't tend to wear robes. Women wear dresses or collared blouses with skirts, and a soft hat. Men tend to wear trousers and collared shirts with vests or blazers, occasionally with a tie. Most clothing leans towards pastles or neutral shades.

## Courting

For high society wizards, arranged marriages and betrothal contracts are still a thing.

### Pre-Courting

If someone is interested in courting a person, they often will gift them clothing to show intent. The receiver is obligated to wear the gifted clothes at least once, so as not to slight the giver.

### Courting

Giving a gift of jewelry is a formal statement of intent. The appropriate time to court someone depends a bit on their social standing. For the Sacred 28, courting and betrothal can start as early as people want. For others, it's generally when a witch has become "of an age" and makes her debut at a ball.

#### Puberty/"Of An Age"

The term "Of An Age" describes when a witch is becoming a woman. After a girl gets her period ("cycle"), she wears a form of butterfly jewelry when out into society (essentially, not until summer or winter break). This tells the world that she's *"chrysalized"* from girl to woman.

### Betrothal

Giving a gift of bright jewelry (diamonds, fire opals, etc.) is a formal statement of betrothal. Marriage can only happen once the couple is of age (seventeen).

## Gift Giving

Gift-giving is a delicate affair. There are many categories of people to consider giving gifts to. There are normal ones like Friends, Close friends, Acquaintances, Allies, and Coworkers. But also high-society ones like Enemies who don't know they are your enemy, Possible future romantic attachments, and People of tainted blood whom you can't dismiss.

There can be confusion or multiple avenues with types of gifts. For example, clothing is considered a pre-courting gift. However, school-based clothing is a Friends gift. Draco is known for giving Hermione confusing or double-meaning gifts. Most are borderline courting gifts (pins or jewels, but not jewelry; or school-pride clothing that's not from the uniform). He has also given butterfly pins secretly enchanted to reveal if a girl is "of an age".

For birthdays, gifts must be opened up in front of the guests so everyone can see what was given.

## Holidays

Much of Wizard Britain has stopped celebrating magical holidays, in favour of celebrating muggle holidays. Nowadays, wizards have been led to believe that the holidays are "Dark" and archaic. The truth is that magic works best on these holidays, which means that rituals work best then. Since rituals are also seen as "dark", and dark wizards have taken advantage of the stronger magics on these days, the association got linked. Hedgewitches are an exception to this, as they regularly celebrate the magical holidays. That said, they lack the magic to do major parts of the celebrations.

See Magical and Muggle Holidays for more information.

## Oaths/Vows

Oaths and vows made using magic are very serious. Magic will guide a person through these oaths, and can even inflict punishment on them should they break them.

### Debt Binding

When a person feels deeply indebted to another, they can make a debt-binding vow so that magic will guide them to eventually pay off that debt. They clasp the receiver's hand and bow over it, proclaiming that they are in the second person's debt. The person who helped them responds with "Your debt is our bond, and may magic see to thee." After a "so mote it be" a ribbon of magic will swirl around their hands before vanishing. Once the debt is paid, the magic will dissolve.

### Oath of Fealty

Making this oath requires a sword. It's considered a step about and Oath of Loyalty because it includes the receiver making an oath to aid the Oath-Giver person in times of need.

### Oath of Loyalty

"I, \_\_, swear to you my loyalty. I will not deceive you, nor shall I try to harm or hinder your aims. My arm is your wand, my eye your scout, and my body your soldier. I swear this on my life, my magic, and my honor."

This type of oath can have additions, such as ones to prevent secrets being revealed. "I will keep your secrets as my own; may my tongue tie itself into knots if I try to speak them, and may my fingers break their bones if I try to write them down."

## Miscellaneous

* Swapping cups - During a toast, wizards swap cups as a deterrent to poison-based assassinations.
* Blood Prejudice - Blood prejudice is so ingrained in Wizard Britain that there are rules and customs involve in how to act around someone of a different blood status. For example, in *The Pureblood Etiquette Guide* there is a section on "how to best scowl at a Muggleborn if one touched you, depending on the societal status of the person and whether of not they smelled." Hedgewitches, too, believe in it to a degree. However they believe that more powerful bloodlines are a result of differing Fae bloodlines.
* High-society children go to dancing school, take deportment lessons, etiquette lessons, and such.
* Seating - It's typical to have romantic consorts sit on your left, and advisors sit on your right.
* Flower language is still commonly used. In New Blood, there is emphasis on the meaning of roses based on their colour.
	+ Pale Pink: Grace, admiration, and elegance
	+ Lavender: Love at first sight and enchantment
	+ Yellow: Joy and friendship. It can also mean 'welcome back'.
	+ Yellow with Red tips: Falling in love
	+ Orange: Desire, enthusiasm, creativity, and fascination
	+ Deep Red: love, passion, beauty, courage, and respect

1. ↑ Chapter 241: La PLace Cachéehttps://www.fanfiction.net/s/13051824/241/New-Blood
2. ↑ Chapter 139: Chrysalization https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13051824/139/New-Blood
3. ↑ Chapter 33: Winter Break https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13051824/33/New-Blood
4. ↑ Chapter 35: Christmas Morning https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13051824/35/New-Blood
5. ↑ Chapter 45: Valentine's Day https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13051824/45/New-Blood
6. ↑ Chapter 65: The Journey Home https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13051824/65/New-Blood
7. ↑ Chapter 8: Preparing https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13051824/8/New-Blood
8. ↑ Chapter 13: School Photos https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13051824/13/New-Blood