Open Special Delivery

[Theodore Hoshino]

open after rowan posts with finn​

Teddy had never been so tired. He'd also thought that the previous day, but his body had proven yet again that it liked to defy expectation for pain tolerance and exhaustion. Staying in bed all day sounded inviting, but he had assignments to write and and they weren't going to vanish even if he felt like all his muscles had been scrambled by an egg beater and put bag wrong. He chalked it up to growing pains - he had gotten taller over the last few months and it made sense for it to just be puberty taking its pound of aching flesh.

It had been a little too long since he'd written home, and Teddy didn't exactly feel like opening another howler in front of everyone. It had been a long enough time that remembering the first time he'd heard his ma's voice berating him for being in the wrong house was almost funny, but still terrifying. Even his little sister hadn't been spared from his ma's wrath. He hadn't seen Blue much around the school this year. Teddy had made himself a promise that he would try not to be the overprotective brother and hover around his sister like she needed looking after. It had been a little sad for his closest friend at Hogwarts to be his eleven year old sister and she had her own friends to hang out with anyway.

Teddy trudged up to the owlery, armed with a trite letter to his ma about how well he was doing in school. He doubted his ma actually believed anything he told her, and she was bound to pick apart every single failure as soon as he went home for Christmas, but Teddy wasn't going to be the one to ruin her fantasy world for now. Winded already from the long climb to the towers, Teddy leaned against a column while he tried to catch his breath. The castle really needed to install some lifts. He'd learned about the muggle invention from his cousin, and thought they were brilliant. As he thought about it, he absently pressed a finger to the crook of his elbow to see if it still hurt. It did. He was very surprised, and scowled at the offending limb.

 

[Ainsley Lynch]

ainsley appeared in the castle by magic and then disappeared immediately without anyone noticing wow so magic

 

[Finn Madison]

Finn didn't write home as often as he knew he should and it was a habit he was trying hard to develop. Having his mum and one of his older sisters at school with him made it embarrassingly easy to forget the family he had left behind at home, and Finn had been doing his best to remember to write to Odette and Charlie on a more regular basis. He would be the only one of his siblings left at Hogwarts before long, and he knew he would feel horrible if they all just forgot to write to him once they were all together, so why should he be any different?

So Finn had dispatched letters to Odette and Charlie, filling them in on his life at Hogwarts and asking about their careers and adult lives. He was making his way downstairs to head back to the dorm when he spotted a familiar face leaning against a pillar. Finn didn't know Teddy as well as he thought he should, but he had noticed his roommate seemed to have trouble with mobility sometimes, wondering if putting him in a dorm at the very peak of the castle was some kind of cruel joke. "Are you okay?" Finn asked, making his way down to Teddy's level a little warily. "Do you need help upstairs?"

 

[Theodore Hoshino]

Teddy startled and wrenched himself away from the wall as he heard Finn speak. He'd been too busy between classes and sequestering himself away in the library to really talk to the other boy often, but he supposed they were both rather quiet people anyway. He was more than a little embarrassed as Finn offered help, and quickly shook his head. The thought of needing someone to help him get around was uncomfortable and Teddy hated it. What kind of thirteen year old was defeated by a flight of stairs? "I'm just a bit out of shape and need to work out more," he said stubbornly. His ma always told him off for not being as athletic as other boys his age, and Teddy had accepted that his physical failings were his own fault for being lazy. He was sure he'd be fine in a second. Going back down the stairs was the worst part anyway, as it seemed that Teddy was having a feud with gravity. "Were you, uh, writing home?" he asked Finn. He instantly scolded himself for the obvious question and wracked his brain for something more intelligent to say.

 

[Finn Madison]

Finn didn't think Teddy was quite telling the truth about being out of shape, but he wasn't going to push the subject if his roommate clearly didn't want to talk about it, simply nodding once in acceptance. Teddy's business was his own business, ultimately. He nodded in response to the other boy's question, sticking his hands in his pockets for lack of a place to put them. "Yeah, half my family's graduated now, so...." He shrugged awkwardly, unsure of what else to say. "How... about you?" He asked, though Finn was fairly sure the answer was obvious. Why else would someone be going all the way up to the owlery? It certainly wasn't for the pleasant odour and peace and quiet.

 

[Theodore Hoshino]

Teddy was relieved when Finn didn't try to push him into saying anything further. He was fine and didn't want to make his insignificant issues into a big drama. "Oh cool, so they're all older?" he asked. Again, obvious question, but Teddy couldn't remember if Finn had discussed his family much before. It felt like a lot was dropping out of his head recently, but he just put it down to stress from upcoming exams. "I'm just updating my ma," he said. Teddy could feel the slight grimace twisting onto his face at the mention of his ma, and instantly felt bad. He didn't enjoy writing to her, but it was rude of him to even imply anything negative about his family. "My sister forgets that owls aren't just for petting, so I'm the one who usually, um, keeps in contact..." he trailed off awkwardly. Finn probably had important stuff to go do that didn't involve talking to Teddy, and he didn't want to force his roommate into a conversation if he was just being polite.

 

[Finn Madison]

Finn nodded when Teddy asked about his siblings, giving a small shrug. "I'm the youngest of four." He explained, relieved that he didn't trip over that number anymore. It had taken him a couple of years to really adjust to having a new older sibling, as that wasn't how things usually tended to work, but Odette was integrated enough into their family now that he didn't really remember what it had been like when it was just the three of them. He nodded when Teddy explained the letter he was writing. "It must be weird not seeing your mum for so much of the year." He commented, eyes going a little distant as he imagined what it would be like not having his mum right here at school. It was a weird thought, and not one Finn especially wanted to dwell on.

 

[Theodore Hoshino]

"Huh, I'm the second-youngest of five," Teddy commented. It was kind of neat they had something in common, small as it was. "I suppose?" He automatically nodded in agreement. It did feel a little strange that his parents weren't always around for him to talk to, but Teddy had mostly gotten used to it by now and it was somewhat of a relief. "I think it would be weirder if she was here instead, though," he said with a grimace, and hoped that Finn wouldn't take his words the wrong way. Teddy nearly shuddered at the idea of his ma lurking in the castle all the time to pass judgement on what he got up to during the school term. He greatly preferred being away from his family, with the exemption of his youngest sister, but he did miss them at times even if his ma in particular was slightly overbearing.

 

[Finn Madison]

Finn nodded when Teddy talked about his family, not entirely surprised to find they were both among the youngest of big families. There was just... a youngest sibling vibe, Finn sometimes thought, and he knew it when he saw it. He nodded with interest when Teddy talked about his mum, shrugging slightly. "I suppose. I can't imagine my mum not being here." He said casually, before realising that statement might need extra context. "She's the counsellor, she works at Hogwarts." Finn added, rocking back and forth on his feet slightly.

 

[Theodore Hoshino]

Teddy had guessed Finn's mum was at Hogwarts from his earlier statement, but he was relieved to have his thoughts confirmed. "Right. That's awesome. So, she does counselling and stuff here?" he asked. Teddy wasn't exactly sure what what a counsellor did, seeing as he'd never seen one before, but it felt like something he should be aware of if they had one on the staff. He nervously bit the inside of his lip as he tried to come up with what to say next. "So, uh, have you been up to anything lately? Apart from studying, I guess?" Asking reminded Teddy that he should be studying for exams right now instead of wandering the castle and talking to people, and he shifted uncomfortably as the trickle of guilt crept up his spine.

 

[Finn Madison]

Finn nodded, smiling slightly. "Yeah, for kids who need help and stuff." He confirmed with a small nod. "I go see her sometimes, but that's more just... talking to my mum." He shrugged. Finn knew his mum had been a counsellor for all of his other siblings before she had been their parent, but that had never been Finn's situation. He only really knew her as Mum, and couldn't really imagine talking to her in any other capacity. He shrugged when Teddy asked what he had been up to, sticking his hands into his pockets. "Painting, mostly. I've been trying to experiment with doing paintings of the paintings around the castle, but none of mine move or talk." He explained, thinking back to the half-full sketchbook of drafts and attempts. "How about you?" He asked, wondering what his roommate got up to.

 

[Theodore Hoshino]

Teddy wondered what kinds of things kids at Hogwarts would need help with, and whether talking to a counsellor could help him too. He quickly decided against it, reasoning that other students probably had much bigger problems than his could ever be and he didn't want to waste anybody's time. He lit up when Finn mentioned painting, excited to be on a topic that he had a better understanding of. "Same! I mean, I paint. Mostly scenery, but wow, that's fascinating," Teddy smiled shyly. He was always a little frightened that painting a portrait of somebody would magically come to life by accident. "Could a painting of a painting even be able to talk, or would it need to be a real person as a model?" he mused.

 

[Finn Madison]

Finn grinned slightly when Teddy lit up, pleased that they had this in common. He liked all of his friends, but he had always wanted someone he could talk about art with. "Oh, cool." Finn nodded in agreement. He nodded more, eyes lighting up as Teddy hit on the exact thing that had fascinated him. "Exactly!" Finn agreed, grinning. "Like, where does the painting's spark of consciousness come from, would there be enough in another painting to copy over? Is it in the kind of paint used? A spell? It's so interesting, I really want to figure out how to do moving paintings so I can try and incorporate it into my more abstract art. It feels a bit frankensteiney but like.... how abstract could I make something that's still sentient, you know?"

 

[Theodore Hoshino]

Teddy's smile only widened as Finn continued to speak. He mostly only spoke about art with his cat, but Clover was not the best conversationalist and never would have brought up that the paint itself might be part of the result. "Maybe they're like ghosts? An imprint of the original, just without the dying part. It'd be interesting to find out how far removed you could make the image while keeping some form of consciousness." He thought about a portrait of some sheep he'd seen on the fourth floor, and whether each individual animal held some kind of essence of the original beings or they were only animated to look like sheep. "I wonder what would happen if you painted a ghost..." He shook himself out of his ramblings as he remembered why he'd come here in the first place. Teddy was worried he hadn't said anything that Finn hadn't already thought of him and that Teddy was just filling the room with useless words. "Oh, um, I should probably go send this," he held up his letter awkwardly. "But, uh, only if you want, maybe we could study this further another time?"

 

[Finn Madison]

Finn leaned slightly closer as Teddy gave his theories about paintings, mulling them over as he nodded. "Maybe!" He said quickly, pleasantly surprise by the possibility. "I wondered about abstract paintings, but I also thought about.... would it be cruel? To draw someone all... abstract and weird and then give them life? Like... would they be... insecure? Because the painted version doesn't look how they look in their head? Would they have difficulty moving if their body didn't work the same way it does in the real world? I usually prefer to paint abstracts, but I don't know if I would... want to give them life." Finn shrugged hesitantly. His face fell slightly as Teddy said he should go but he nodded, leaning back slightly. "Oh, sure. We should definitely talk about this more though, I really like your ideas." Finn smiled, hoping they could continue the conversation later on in their dorm.