Closed Tagging Along

[Augustus Westwick]

Augustus was noticing lately how his parents kept taking him with them whenever they went shopping in wizarding villages. With their work being in antiques, these trips were fairly frequent. Today, his mother had taken him with her when she went hunting for good items in a few stores in Brightstone Village. But instead of taking him into the stores with her, she had tried to encourage him to spend some time at the park. She had told him it would be good if he made friends before he went to Hogwarts, and while Augustus agreed, he had no idea how to do that. He'd gone to the park, and for a while, he had watched a few kids playing a game together. Augustus himself had been half hidden by a tree, too nervous to approach. By the time he had gathered some courage, the kids were leaving, and he'd lost his chance. The park was now mostly empty, and Augustus found a bench to sit on. He wished he had brought a book with him. The boy cast a glance in the direction of the village, wondering when his mother would be done. But he knew from experience that could take a while.

 

[Addison Beckett]

Addison's father traveled quite often for his work as an author. Her father was a witch, but spent his days as a children's book author. One of his favorite places to find his muse was Brightstone. Today he had brought her with him, and told her to go play at the park. 'Maybe you'll make some friends, Addy,' he'd told her. She sighed and made her way down to the park. It was mostly empty except for a single boy sitting on a bench. She took a deep breath. Okay, let's make some friends. "Hello," She greeted shyly, stepping up to the boy.

 

[Augustus Westwick]

Augustus folded his hands in his lap as he looked around the park. It was a shame it was so empty, Augustus could usually entertain himself by watching other people. He was always fascinated by what he saw, especially when he watched groups of friends who effortlessly seemed to interact and understand each other. He wondered what that was like. Observant as he was, Augustus spotted the girl coming. He was alarmed to realize she was heading in his direction, and looked around nervously. When she said hello, Augustus looked around to make sure she was speaking to him. Then he looked at her with wide eyes, staring unblinkingly for a long moment. "Hello." He finally mumbled after a long pause.

 

[Addison Beckett]

Addison was nervous for a moment as he didn't speak, but let out a small breath when he finally said hello. "I'm Addison. Addison Beckett." She introduced herself with a shy smile. "I... can I sit with you?" She asked. It was a more interesting alternative than playing alone. And he looked a little lonely sitting here all alone.

 

[Augustus Westwick]

Augustus felt anxiety creep up his stomach the longer this conversation went on. The girl was nice now, but he knew that wouldn't last. He was usually seen as strange by his peers, and didn't think this girl would be an exception. As curious as he was about kids his age, actually talking to one made him extremely nervous. He kind of hoped someone else would come along to distract her. "Oh." He said as she introduced herself. "I'm Augustus Westwick." He added in a voice only slightly louder than a whisper. "You can sit wherever you like." He added quietly, looking down at his feet nervously.

 

[Addison Beckett]

Addison smiled and sat down next to him, brushing her hair behind her ear. She shut her eyes enjoyed the feeling of the sun on her skin for a few moments. "It's so nice here," She commented to Augustus. She reached into her bag and pulled out a couple of cookies, biting into one and offering the other one silently to her new friend.

 

[Augustus Westwick]

Augustus watched the girl as she sat next to him, blinking slowly. She seemed to be enjoying the sunshine. He kept staring at her as she pulled cookies out of her bag, and blinked at the one she offered to him. He took it. "It is." He said softly. "I don't think there's anything dangerous here. But did you know that giant spiders exist that eat humans? They're called Acromantula." He informed her. "They eat kids too." He added seriously.

 

[Addison Beckett]

Addison ate her cookie, listening as Augustus talked. She paused mid-chew as he started on about spiders. She looked at him, eyes wide, swallowing carefully. "Well..." She tilted her head a little to the side. "I suppose if they're giant spiders you would see them coming." She decided, taking another bite of her cookie. "Are there any other child-eating creatures to watch out for?" She asked, curious now that he'd brought it up. She reached into her bag, glad that she'd brought a few drinks with her. She offered him a bottle of water.

 

[Augustus Westwick]

Augustus worried for a moment that he had scared the girl with his story, but she didn't run away. Thankfully, she just replied to him, which encouraged him to speak more. He held his cookie in one hand as he spoke, looking at her without blinking much. "That doesn't help. If you see them its already too late." He said earnestly. "They are very fast and strong. You can get away by apparating or flying but we're too young for that." He said. At her question, his big eyes seemed to grow even wider as he nodded slowly. "Many." He said solemnly. He blinked as she offered him water, then reluctantly took it. He held the bottle in his other hand, making no move to eat the cookie or drink the water. He simply stared at the objects in his hands and then back at the girl. "But there's dementors, they don't eat children but they do eat souls, which is even worse."

 

[Addison Beckett]

Addison ate her cookie, cocking her head a little to the side and listening as he went on about the spiders. "Well... then I won't go anywhere where I could be eaten by giant spiders. I haven't seen any so far, so they must not like being in town. So if I stay in large groups of people I should be okay." She nodded decisively. She ate the last of her cookie, opening her water and taking a sip. "Dementors are worse," She decided, reaching into her bag and pulling out her notebook. She turned to a new page and wrote down what Augustus had told her. "Dementors eat souls? I wonder if that would kill you or just like... leave you alive and wondering around this empty thing. Oh, maybe like a zombie? I wonder if there are zombies... do you know?" She turned to Augustus, curiosity in her eyes.

 

[Augustus Westwick]

Augustus nodded. "I think they live in large groups in hard to reach places." He told her. "But they could really be anywhere." He added, as that was what his cousins had told him once. He then took a small bite of the cookie and chewed it as he listened to Addison. It was kind of nice that she was discussing these things with him, as he didn't really often get to talk to people his own age. Especially not about things that interested in. "I think they are too." He said quietly when she said Dementors were worse. "I don't know what happens if they do that..." He mused. "I don't think you can live without a soul." He added quietly, though he really wasn't sure. He blinked when she asked about zombies. "There are animated corpses, if you mean that." He said a little shyly.

 

[Addison Beckett]

Addison nodded as he said they could really be anywhere. "Well, then we'll just have to learn magic quickly at school then. Are you going to school? I'm going to Hogwarts New Zealand, my dad said it would be a good place for me." She added a note next to the spiders, folding her legs up under her. She tapped her pen against her lips. "Hmmm it doesn't really make sense to live without a soul, does it? Like if it's so important then it would probably be fatal." She scribbled a note next to dementors. "You know a lot of really interesting things," She told him idly, moving on to note the reanimated corpses bit. "I think reanimated corpses are done by Necromancers, and I didn't hear about a Necromancy class, so it probably isn't a common thing, right?" She asked curiously.

 

[Augustus Westwick]

It had never been very easy for Augustus to talk to anyone, but this was going pretty well. So far he hadn't scared the girl off yet, and she seemed to be nice. "I am." He said softly. "My cousins are in seventh year there." He added, though he wasn't sure if she would care about that information. He watched her take notes, a small frown appearing on his face. "Why... are you writing that?" He asked uncertainly, in case it was a rude question. Augustus faltered when the girl brought up Necromancy. "I don't think it's at Hogwarts no... that would be dark magic." He said solemnly. "I meant Inferi. They are dead people who get animated by dark wizards." He said, remembering how Theodore had told him that. "They kill."

 

[Addison Beckett]

Addison smiled. "That's really cool! My brother just graduated from Ilvermony," She told him. She paused as her tapping as he asked why she was writing it down. "Because it's interesting," She replied simply. "I like to keep little books of things I find interesting." She smiled shyly. "It's... kinda weird, I know." She tucked her hair behind her ear, adding 'inferi' to her list. She looked up to Augustus. "It's really cool how you know all this stuff,"

 

[Augustus Westwick]

"I think it would be nice to have a brother." Augustus said quietly, though he then felt a little embarrassed at the admission. He had often wondered what it would be like to have a brother, especially a twin like Theodore and Edmund. But he was an only child, and it seemed like it was staying that way. "Oh." He said when the girl said she kept a book of things she found interesting. "I don't know if that's weird or not." He said honestly, because he didn't. "Is it weird?" She seemed to think so. "My cousins tell me things and I read books." He said. "I don't know a lot."