Open Where's my money?

[Teddy Pirrip]

Initially agreeing to the idea of writing to his parents on a weekly basis, Teddy shifted to a monthly occurrence very early on in his Hogwarts life. And now, his correspondence had become more sporadic, triggered by specific events or needs that prompted him to communicate with them. On this occasion, the catalyst was the fact that he hadn't received his allowance. Not wanting to give the impression that this was the sole purpose of his letter, he artfully wove in snippets about his recent activities, his circle of friends carefully referred to in vague terms, withholding names to maintain some level of privacy. As a final touch, he appended a brief "by the way, my allowance" note at the end before signing and sealing the letter, making his way up to the owlery to dispatch it.

 

[Audrey Beauchamp]

Audrey and owls were not a very good combination. It was probably something spanning back to when she may have accidentally hit an owl with a bludger. It was a training bludger, an accident, and the bird was totally fine after a bit of healing, but ever since that day it felt like owls eyed her with a degree of wariness. More aggressive ones were rather inclined to peck at her fingers, and on this day one of them had done just that. She wore a scowl as she held her wand out, prepared to stun the next owl that tried to approach her. Ilvermorny hadn't even won their game, so Dion hadn't even brought her good news. And she didn't think her parents would even read half the letter she'd written, so she'd filled it with lines like "I've actually been recruited by dark wizards and I'm going on exchange to Siberia" that she knew would be completely ignored. Even so, she was in a bit of a state as she turned around to face Teddy. She put her aching hand behind her back, quickly dropping her wand and trying to look as innocent as possible. "Ah, my good fellow, what a lov-er-ly day for letter writing," she drawled.

 

[Teddy Pirrip]

Teddy's demeanour faltered slightly as Audrey came into view, he instantly picked up on her behaviour. Her attempt to appear innocent and her quick move to hide something behind her back were clear indicators that something was amiss, after all it takes a troublemaker to know a troublemaker. His suspicion was piqued and his tone tinged with curiosity. "Lovely day indeed, but you're up to something. What are you hiding?" he asked, a wry smile playing at the corner of his lips. He wasn't one to let things slide easily, especially when he sensed trouble.

 

[Audrey Beauchamp]

Audrey absolutely didn't want Teddy to know about the owl issue. "I was practicing transfiguration," she said, revealing the hand holding the wand while still keeping her mildly injured hand behind her back. It probably didn't even look that bad, except for some redness. "There's so many leftover feathers here, and surely they work like quills, I figured I could turn them into spoons. Or forks? Did you know there's a muggle thing that combines the two called a spork?" She rambled a little, as one of the birds swooped down and started picking at her ponytail. Someone's raven, one that had been giving her an evil eye for a while. She squeaked involuntarily as it pulled on some of her hair. "Fine, I tried to send my parents a letter full of glitter since I couldn't get my hands on a howler, but the birds...they could sense it." She did manage to sneak some glitter in there, though.

 

[Teddy Pirrip]

Teddy's eyebrows raised in intrigue as Audrey told him she was practicing transfigurations. However, his attention quickly veered off course as a raven abruptly swooped down on Audrey's hairband. In a spontaneous reflex and using the only available item he had in hand—the letter he intended to send to his parents—Teddy swat the raven away. In his mind, ravens were far scarier than owls up close, since they've got that whole 'ominous and mysterious' thing and were totally capable of murder he thought.

"Merlin, I thought it was going to peck your head off!" Teddy exclaimed, his voice a blend of surprise and amusement. Audrey seemed remarkably composed, casually transitioning to talking about sending glitter to her parents as a substitute for a howler. Teddy decided not to probe into her motivations for wanting a howler in the first place; instead, he chuckled and mused, "You know, if you ever need an actual howler, I might just be able to get you one."

 

[Audrey Beauchamp]

Audrey raised an eyebrow. If any birds did seriously harm her beyond finger biting, she'd...probably go speak to the headmaster, she supposed. Not like her parents would do anything about it. Still, she shrugged. "It wouldn't be able to get through. My brain is too powerful." She said that as though the corners of her eyes weren't watering a little from the hair pulling. But her father's mantra was basically 'toughen up', so Audrey had done so. She wasn't going to go into the tragic backstory though, it felt a bit too pointless. And not even that tragic, really. "Why, would you now? Hmm, I think I hear the clink of galleons..." she said, eyes lighting up, the pain almost forgotten as she moved her hand from behind her back to try and fix her hair, forgetting to hide her swollen index finger. "I'm sure it's not just me who wants to send howlers, right?"

 

[Teddy Pirrip]

Teddy's mouth fell open in playful disbelief as Audrey confidently claimed that her brain was too powerful to be affected by a bird attack. His lips curled into a smirk, and he nodded, thoroughly intrigued. "Is that so? Are you sure it's not because it can't peck though the thick skull?" he quipped with an amused grin, noting the slight watering of her eyes and her attempt to tough it out.

He leaned in a bit closer, adopting an equally mischievous grin. "Oh, this wasn't a business proposition. I was just offering a favour for a friend." He replied, feigning a contemplative expression. "But I don't mind taking gold if you insist."

 

[Audrey Beauchamp]

Audrey simply shrugged, there were more important things at stake than birds being annoying. She knocked on the side of her head with a smirk. "Solid. Inheritance from my father. Which is why I need a howler to get through to him." She caved and wiped her eyes, which probably put some flecks of glitter over her cheeks but it wasn't the worst look in the world. "Although I imagine your parents are far less difficult...?" She was actually somewhat curious. "Oh, I was just going to take that one as a favour and figure I'd make it up to you sometime. But if you can get more than one, we could sell them. I'd even let you have most of the profits, as I am a most generous businesswoman." She said this as though she would have been doing much of the work to begin with.

 

[Teddy Pirrip]

Teddy nonchalantly responded to Audrey's question about his parents, "My parents are pretty easy going," he replied, "It was my dad I was thinking of asking for a howler. But I'll send him a separate letter because my mum would say no."

The idea of selling howlers seemed to intrigue Audrey while Teddy found it amusing. "Audrey, you are a true entrepreneur," he said, his tone light-hearted, edging on sarcastic. "I'll see what I can do about getting more howlers for you." He needed to get hold of a single howler first.

 

[Audrey Beauchamp]

Audrey couldn't help but grin. "I think my mother's the one who'd maaaaaybe say yes. Dad would have a meltdown." Her dad was pretty full on, she was starting to realize, compared to other people's. But it was what it was. Maybe it was just part of being a beater. Though Dion also played beater, and he was as easy going as anything. He didn't play too seriously, though. "Now I'm just wondering what would sell well. Maybe not everyone wants to send howlers to their parents," she said, contemplatively, like she was hit with a deep realization all of a sudden that maybe she was an outlier. And then shrugged it off. "Teddy, you are a true galleon amongst knuts." She gave him a mock curtsey. "I would have to make it up to you somehow if you did. Not sure how. But I'll think of something. I always do."

 

[Teddy Pirrip]

Teddy grinned at Audrey's assessment of her parents. He pondered the market for howlers, "We could offer customisation. You know, people can pick what they want their howler to say and we'll say it for them," he suggested. Teddy laughed at Audrey's compliment, "Why, thank you, Audrey. I'll hold you to that promise." He enjoyed that Audrey shared his sense of humour and adventure.

 

[Audrey Beauchamp]

Audrey's eyes lit up, already forgetting about being attacked by birds and the disappointment of Dion's letter. "I mean, sometimes parents just need a liiiiiiittle reminder about us, right?" she said, innocently enough. "I bet there'd be messy breakups that would be made really entertaining with howlers." A wicked grin spread across her face. Sure, it wasn't a nice idea, but maybe people deserved to be yelled at in front of the school. The look on the face of someone getting called out for two-timing over breakfast would have been incredible.

 

[Teddy Pirrip]

Teddy laughed at Audrey's sly enthusiasm. He noticed her eyes sparkle and her words were laced with a wickedness that Teddy found amusing. "Well let me try get hold of one first." He was up for the challenge. "I'll send this before I write another letter to my dad." He said, waving the letter he had come here to send.

"Now, watch how a pro handles an owl," he added with a playful wink as he moved past Audrey. His hand delved into his pocket, retrieving a piece of bacon fat he had saved from breakfast. Teddy held out the treat in his hand, and as if on cue, a sleek grey owl swooped down from the rafters. Teddy's gentle strokes reassured the owl as he attached the letter to its leg. "Please take this to my parents," Teddy instructed the owl, which promptly finished its snack and took off into the sky.

Turning back to Audrey, Teddy sported the smuggest of grins across his face. It was a look of triumph. "There you go, you just need to be..." Teddy grinned, he was going to say it, "Prudent." he said, his tone playful yet proud that he managed to get that one in.

 

[Audrey Beauchamp]

Audrey rolled her eyes as Teddy pulled out some remnants from breakfast, by the looks of it. "Oh, bribery, is it?" she joked, though she had no intention of putting greasy food in her pockets. Even if it was probably a good idea to appease the birds. She wasn't averse to dirt or mess, but a greasy piece of bacon? That was just going to make her pockets smell, and probably attract ants or something. At least when she had sandwiches she wrapped them up first. "Well, I suppooooose that could wo-" she stopped, blinking a few times as what he said actually registered. The nerve! "Edward Pirrip, you jerk!" She stamped her foot, looking for all the world like a petulant brat throwing a tantrum. Which, to be fair, was kind of what she was. She folded her arms, turning her nose up and making a 'hmph' sound of being generally disgruntled. "Honestly, that's barely even the right use for the word." She slowly turned her head back, the corner of her lip twitching into a smile she wanted to avoid. After all, she was terribly cross with him. "You can see why I want to send a howler to my parents, right?"

 

[Teddy Pirrip]

Not that Audrey asked, but Teddy had chosen crispy fat and removed the grease before he put it in his pocket. Nevertheless, his robes did carry a faint, bacon-infused aroma. Teddy nodded with an air of authority, as if he were an expert ornithologist imparting his wisdom. "Yes, always a bribe! It doesn't have to be bacon; owls also eat mice if you can get your hands on one of them. You could try a spider or worm, but I doubt they'd come down as fast for that. It's got to be a treat for them"

Audrey's dramatic exclamation prompted an uncontrollable burst of laughter from Teddy. Her demeanor only served to further amuse Teddy. As Audrey's lips twitched with suppressed laughter, he decided to indulge. "I apologise, Audrey," he began, adopting an exaggerated tone of contrition. "But you can't deny, it was quite clever, wasn't it?"

"Oh, I can see why you'd want to send a howler to your parents," he replied, feigning a solemn nod. His tone turned slightly more earnest as he added, "But it's a shame you miss out on their reaction."

 

[Audrey Beauchamp]

If Audrey ever succeeded in becoming an animagus, she would have probably been some type of spider. Which probably would have been further reason for owls to give her lingering distrust and attempt to bite her, but as Audrey herself didn't know that and it was mere wishful thinking on the writer's part, the Ravenclaw girl was blissfully free of any discomfort at the idea of owls eating spiders. "Mm, I'd rather not carry around any real dead mice if I don't have to." Perhaps it was another reason she hadn't been allowed a pet.

Audrey intended to keep up her haughty demeanour, but her lips kept giving away her urge to smile even as she put on more of a show of being annoyed. She just found it so hard to be mad at Teddy. Even though 'Prudence' was exclusively used when her parents rage was at absolute boiling point, which meant she was really in for it if she got the full name treatment. (Although, in all honesty, sometimes she found it hard not to laugh at that, too). "Six out of ten," she admitted, begrudgingly, trying not to look at him lest she break out into giggles. She was sobered a little by the follow up comment, and shrugged. "Well, they'd probably ignore it, anyway. Unless it was about Quidditch."

 

[Teddy Pirrip]

Teddy raised an amused eyebrow at Audrey's remark about dead mice. "Well, I didn't specify they had to be dead," he quipped back with a grin. He appreciated that she had given his attempt a six out of ten. "Not too shabby. I'll take it," he replied playfully stretching out his arms, pleased that she found it reasonably smart despite her annoyance.

He nodded as she mentioned Quidditch. ""Ah, Quidditch, well yes it is very important," he remarked. "Are you going to try out for your house team next year?" Teddy hoped to make the team next year. The prospect of potentially facing Audrey on the Quidditch pitch was intriguing, and he silently resolved to steer clear of any Prudence comments in that scenario.

 

[Audrey Beauchamp]

Audrey wasn't sure how she'd go with carrying a mouse around, but that just came back to her not necessarily being much of an animal person. She didn't have problems with a lot of animals, just not a lot of experience either. She couldn't help but roll her eyes at the Quidditch comment, though, even though she'd been the one to bring it up. "Ah, I'm already on the team." She could've lied about something like that, but thankfully with Ravenclaw's standards, she didn't have to. "I play beater. Well, an alternate, but that's probably just 'cause of the whole first year thing." She gave a more wicked grin, pushing aside the awkward feelings about the whole parental expectations thing. "So, as much as you are a dear friend of mine, Teddy, I won't go easy on you if you end up playing for Gryffindor. Though perhaps I can bring you a mouse as a bribe if I injure you."

 

[Teddy Pirrip]

Teddy had been unaware of Audrey's spot on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, making it blatantly obvious that he did not pay much attention to teams outside of Gryffindor. "Beater, huh?" Teddy laughed, his playful skepticism apparent. He believed her, of course, but he didn't want her to know that. "I'll have to see it to believe it." He smiled warmly at Audrey's threat, "I wouldn't expect anything less, Audrey. It's Quidditch, after all!"

Teddy raised an eyebrow at her mention of bringing a mouse as a bribe, "I'm not an owl!" Teddy never thought he'd say those four words. "If you ever bring me a mouse, I'll consider it a sign of your undying fondness, just like when my cat brings home 'presents'," he quipped, enjoying their banter. It was tough competition, but Audrey was shaping up to be one of Teddy's favourite people at Hogwarts.

 

[Amodeus Jones]

Amodeus was looking for Teddy- he was bored and the other boy hadn't been in the dorms. He'd been searching all over for a good while, and eventually he climbed up some stairs, and finally he spotted his bestie. "Teddy bear!" He called, bouncing up the steps. At least, until he spotted who Teddy was talking to. Deus skidded to a stop, and after a brief moment of surprise, he ducked behind Teddy and peeked out from behind him. "Hi, Audrey," He greeted shyly, reaching up and meaning to clutch at the back of Teddy's shirt.

 

[Audrey Beauchamp]

"My parents were beaters, I've been swinging a bat since before I could walk," Audrey half-bragged. She had complicated feelings about Quidditch, and her parents, but she did hold a bit of pride in her skills. "Maybe we can practice together sometime. Or just go flying," she added, quite liking the idea of hanging out more. She wouldn't even try to get him off his broom with bludgers, which said a lot about her esteem. "We'll make sure you get on that team."

The nice feeling in her chest at the idea of making plans with a friend, regardless of whether or not he'd actually agreed to them, evaporated in the wake of the stinging of her fingers as Canary Boy came and spoiled the atmosphere. "Teddy bear?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow in bemusement before turning her attention back to Amodeus. Alas, a reminder that the school really would just accept anybody. "Oh. It's you." The lightness of her tone fades to a more bored sound, especially as he seemingly hid from her. Childish. It had just been a silly prank, one that even a first year shouldn't have fallen for and even if they had, one that was more funny than anything. She really didn't get why Teddy was friends with him. "Haven't you gone back home to your mummy and daddy yet?"

 

[Teddy Pirrip]

Teddy accepted Audrey's Quidditch invitation with a nod and a bright smile. "Yeah, I'm up for that! Sounds fun!" He turned around when he heard Amodeus's voice. "Hey, Amodeus!" Teddy responded enthusiastically.

His joy turned to concern when he noticed Amodeus ducking behind him and clutching the back of his shirt. Teddy furrowed his eyebrows at Audrey, a stark contrast to his usual jovial self. "Audrey," he said, his tone carrying a warning. "Amodeus is off-limits," Teddy stated firmly, his tone devoid of playfulness. Audrey's comment put their friendship at risk, and Teddy wanted to make that clear.

 

[Audrey Beauchamp]

Audrey blinked a few times, as though taking a moment to process things. As intelligent as she was, academically at least, it didn't necessarily translate to much in the way of emotional intelligence. She looked more confused than anything, moving a hand to fiddle with her ponytail while she thought. "But I was just asking a question," she replied. She did have enough in the way of social knowledge to know she shouldn't push too hard, but she did suddenly feel rather annoyed. Wasn't he supposed to be a Gryffindor? And he was hiding from her, and she wasn't that scary, was she? She was only a first year, even if she was a beater. "Merlin, it was just a dumb prank. I'm not about to do it again or anything. I've got bigger and better targets in mind." Maybe an apology was asking a bit much. She gave a small huff of frustration as she turned on her heel, all her excitement dissipating quickly.

Audrey had no idea why she felt bothered by this, and realistically she shouldn't have. Logically, people had all sorts of friends and sometimes they didn't get along and she just had to respect that and everything. But Audrey was a twelve year old girl who had never really had proper friends before. There was a kind of possessive jealousy in her chest, the kind that made her want to yell about how she was here first and she was allowed to talk to Teddy without being made to feel like she was some kind of scary monster. He was funny and made her think and she thought his cleverness was wasted on Amodeus. But she did manage to pick up on the fact that if she said any of this, Teddy would probably never want to talk to her again and she couldn't have that. She'd just have to go find something else to do. Read one of those muggle books people talked about. More than likely just sulk a bit, for some reason she didn't quite get either. "I've done my posting anyway. You two have fun, I guess."

 

[Amodeus Jones]

Teddy was surprised by Audreys words- they were mocking him, and something he'd heard before. His eyes teared up and he looked down, hiding a little more behind Teddy. He was about to apologize, though he didn't know for what, but before he could speak Teddy was. It was a tone that Amodeus hadn't heard from Teddy before, and it surprised him. His grip on Teddy's shirt tightened a little bit, and he swallowed hard. He didn't know what to say to Audrey- how to explain that he'd been bullied all his life, explain that he was just dumb, explain that he was just shy and unsure around her. Instead, he kept behind Teddy, but tried to edge himself out just a little bit, still keeping his grip on Teddy's shirt. "You don't have to go," He offered softly. "I was just- going to see if Teddy wanted to play a game. Do you want to play, too?" He asked, trying to extend an olive branch without even realizing thats what he was doing.

 

[Teddy Pirrip]

Teddy felt protective of Amodeus and he didn't want Audrey targeting him. Sensing that his initial warning had been heard, he softened his tone, saying, "It's just, well, Amodeus is a bit... sensitive about certain things." He glanced at Amodeus, who was still holding onto his shirt. He chose not to mention that Amodeus was the easiest of easy targets, avoiding being too harsh when he was stood right there.

As a twelve year old boy, he couldn't fully grasp the complex emotions of a twelve year old girl like Audrey. Audrey turned to leave, and Teddy watched her go. It was Amodeus who made the effort to bridge the gap and include Audrey. Teddy honestly couldn't predict what she would make of the offer. "You're welcome to join us if you want." he added, showing that he was happy to have her stay if she wanted to.