Closed Crossing paths

[Teddy Pirrip]

The second term at Hogwarts always passed by faster than the first, and now that events like Quidditch and the Dueling Tournament (which he won wooo) were now behind him, Teddy’s thoughts shifted, somewhat reluctantly, to exams. In theory, exams didn’t matter until next years OWLs, but for someone like Teddy who had never scored anything less than straight O's, it meant he was less stressed than he would be this time next year, but putting in about the same amount of effort. He was a high achiever after all, and while that surprised some people because of his personality, it didn’t surprise him. Teddy always knew he'd never be happy anywhere other than top of the leaderboard.

That afternoon, he wandered out to the courtyard, enjoying the warm temperature. He found a bench, pulled out some parchment, and tried to read it. But the words didn’t stick and before long, he gave up and started people watching instead and thinking about other stuff he could be doing.

 

[Caius Vaughn]

Caius hated feeling cooped up, and apparently that meant he could never stay in the dorms or common room for long. He just needed to get out, get moving. He threw on a pair of artfully faded jeans and a light blue sweater with a white tee under it. He walked down to the courtyard, hands in his pockets and humming. He smiled at everyone around him, wanting to get outside before he settled on who he wanted to talk to. He walked out onto the steps, taking a deep breath of the fresh air. Yeah, that was so much better. He smiled softly, running a hand through his hair as he looked around. He saw a boy nearby and decided to join him, walking over and plopping down beside him. "Hi!" He greeted, trying to remember why the boy looked familiar. "Mind if I join you?" He asked, not minding that it was a bit late to be asking.

 

[Teddy Pirrip]

Teddy looked up, a bit startled at first by someone joining him, but quickly masking it with a calm look. The boy seemed friendly enough, a bit overly cheerful maybe, but that wasn’t bad. Teddy raised an eyebrow, "Uh, sure," Teddy replied, smirking slightly and looking at him, he didn't recognise him, he definitely wasn't in the brotherhood. "I mean, you’re already here, aren’t you?"

 

[Caius Vaughn]

Caius chuckled. "I am here," He agreed, relaxing and looking around. "This is a nice spot," He commented, before glancing back to the kid he was sitting with. "I'm Caius. You run the brotherhood, don't you?" He asked, thinking that was where he recognized the kid from. "Ted or something?"

 

[Teddy Pirrip]

They already knew half his name, which was a decent start, and more than Teddy knew of theirs. Luckily he introduced himself, sparing Teddy from needing to ask. "Close. I'm Teddy, but to be fair I don't mind being called Ted." he replied. "And yeah, I do. So you interested in signing up?" He asked, using it as a recruitment opportunity.

 

[Caius Vaughn]

Caius was pleased he'd gotten it right, smiling easily. "I think I like Ted, if that's alright?" He asked, not sure he wanted to picture a stuffed bear anytime he tried to talk to the boy. He chuckled at the offer. "Nah, thanks though, I haven't bothered signing up for any of the clubs- I like to just do my own thing." He shrugged. He gave Teddy an easy smile. "You have fun with it though?"

 

[Teddy Pirrip]

Teddy shrugged, "Yeah that's alright with me." He feigned insult at the refusal to join his club but he also didn't really mind either way. Teddy had never intended to be leading the Brotherhood but now he was in charge he wanted to do a good job, "I think it's fun" he shrugged, "People show up and don't complain so I'll take that as a good thing." Teddy was curious what doing his own thing meant, "What's that then, what's your own thing that you do?"

 

[Caius Vaughn]

Caius considered the question, shrugging at it. "I like to explore the castle, take long walks, just spend time outside or reading," He offered. "I'm fairly chill. Usually I travel more but its the best I can do with being stuck here," He laughed at the joke, shaking his head. "What about you? What do you do outside of the club?"

 

[Teddy Pirrip]

Teddy listened to Caius, resisting the urge to poke holes in what he was saying which was a first for him. Instead, he asked, "Oh yeah? Found anything interesting on those long walks?" He chuckled at the idea of Caius feeling stuck at Hogwarts then answered his question, "Me? Mostly Quidditch. Keeps me busy, and schoolwork. Exploring the castle does sound fun though. I haven’t really done much of that since first year." He tucked the parchment he’d been planning to read away, then stood expectantly, "Alright, Caius. Show me your favourite part of the castle then."

 

[Caius Vaughn]

Caius considered the question. "Have you ever seen birds fight over anything? Lots of feathers," He chuckled, remembering how there had been a pair of them fighting over a nest. It had been interesting, for sure. He blinked when Teddy suddenly stood, and chuckled, following onto his feet. "Alright, come on then," He offered, motioning for Teddy to follow him as he walked back towards the castle.