White & Co. Invite Only

Made by Winnie Harper

@Howard White | July 7th

Opeila hadn't gotten many opportunities to walk around London on her own in the last years. Or... at all really. Ever since she had moved to Finland, she had been under the supervision of adults who might have cared about her, but made every effort to bury her past.
For years now, Opeila had been told to pretend she was a pureblood, she was given a different name and dressed up and taught to fit into pureblood society.

Her guardians had finally loosened their grip when Opeila had run away to France, they even let her have that summer with the Blanchards, despite figuring out quickly where their adopted child had disappeared to.
Now she was back. Back to Finland, back with the Virtanens, who clearly made an effort to rebuild trust. Only one thing had never been mentioned again after Opeila begged them to look into it years ago: her father. When it came to her parents, the Virtanens liked to just pretend that there were none.
But now, finally, Opeila was 17. It was time to take things into her own hands.

Lord Dorian Crane had invited the Virtanens to stay at his estate in Kent for a week, as they all were invited to Winnie's and Mathias' wedding and they had accepted the offer. It was certainly more comfortable than going back and forth between England and Finland, as Opeila also still had to buy books and supplies for her seventh and final year at England.
Lysander and Annika had offered to accompany her, but Opeila declined. After the wedding, the young woman had a lot to think about and she preferred to do so without her brother and his fiancé around her.

Early that morning, Opeila used her grandfather's fireplace to return to London to get her shopping done. She had thought about asking Cassius to come with her, but if she was entirely honest, today she did not even want to see him. Opeila was looking forward to a day entirely to herself.
And maybe it was meant to be. As a seer, Opeila had learned to question good or bad coincidences and she found herself doing just that, when she noticed the sign. White & Co. Tracking Service Opeila had never seen or heard of this service before and while she was still thinking about the convenience of it all, she had already pushed the door open.

A magical office building. Was it weird to feel weird about it? Of course wizards would have normal office buildings too, but after spending the majority of the last 7 years in castles and old manors, Opeila oddly felt like she had just stepped out of the wardrobe to Narnia and into real life.
She had to swallow a nervous giggle when she approached the office door. Wasn't this how a lot of movies and shows started? Young woman enters a detective's office to find a long lost family member... Who'd turn out to be the killer? Her sibling or her boyfriend?

Opeila shook off the silly thoughts when she knocked on the office door and entered. She already opened her mouth to formally greet whoever was behind the desk- and froze. "You.", was all she could get out, surprised. She had briefly spotted Howard at the wedding, but she had not really expected to see him again. At least no so soon. The last time they had spoken in the forbidden forest at Hogwarts. Only a few minutes later they were attacked. Like Jack, she had half expected Howard would disappear to eventually turn out to have died. Like Vladimir had.

But here he was, looking... fine.
She needed to say something. "Um... hi." She was really going to ask Howard for help to find her dad? Suddenly she was hesitant. In her first year, Opeila had been taught to fear dhampirs. She had been attacked by one and now she would ask one to find her muggle father, who would never be able to defend himself, if he lost control?
She really had to say something now.
Opeila was already looking for an excuse to give Howard, to go somewhere else with her real inquiry, when another memory hit her. In her fourth year, Howard had come to the hospital wing in pain and asked her for help, and in the end, after Opeila had done a little research, even let her pull his teeth.

If Howard had been able to trust her that much, maybe it was Opeila's turn now to show some trust.
"I need help finding someone. My dad." Opeila pulled a picture out of her wallet, showing her mother, an eight year old Opeila and her father, and placed it on Howard's desk. "Can you help me?", she asked, a little awkwardly. After all, Opeila was not a movie character. She did not show up prepared, with folders of evidence, letters and hints. All she had was old pictures, a story and tons of desperation.

@Opeila Winters

The scene begged to be in black and white film. A smokey haze would float gently around Howard as he adjusted his fedora and poured himself another scotch. He'd probably call Opeila "dame" or "toots" or whatever as he spoke over his pipe and adjusted his revolver. While this was far from reality it had been a part of Howard's daydreams as he reminisced on the old muggle movies when he thought of himself in this business. The real picture was a bit of a rundown office and secondhand furniture, but he was still proud of it. Nothing in the magical world had ever carried his name and now to have it on the door was a sight to see.

A knock on the door had him looking up from the receipt on the desk before him. The very first transaction made by White & Co. at Gringotts. It was only payment for an entry level contract, but he considered having it framed. When his gaze finally lifted his crimson eyes would flash with brief surprise. "You", the witch had blurted out. "Opeila?" Howard blurted back. Her name almost had slipped away, but a few choice memories had kept her name and image seared into his mind. His hand touched his abdomen and the wound there had healed long ago, but being skewered by an evil tree was something you didn't forget. Thankfully he could remember when she helped to pull his adolescent fangs as well. A much better one to remember her by.

"Uh, hello." Howard answered back a bit awkwardly as well, but then remembered his manners. "Please, have a seat if you'd like." He gestured towards the two chairs on her side of the desk. A quiet moment would pass between them as they looked each other over. There was no hiding his features and these days he didn't try to anymore. His blood red eyes would pop against the colorless background of his skin. While the source of her pause could have been for any reason, he waited to see if she wanted to continue.

His brows rose as she spoke of needing to find her father. Not that he couldn't help, it was just a bit unexpected, but he focused and began to think of where he could start. Howard gently picked up the photo and looked it over. "Yeah, I think I can. Would it be alright if I made a copy of this?" The doubling charm ought to do the trick. "Let's see. It shouldn't be too difficult. I'm sure we can find some banking records or deeds in his name. We just need a thread and it should all unravel. Do you know his last location or anyone that he was last in contact with?"

Made by Winnie Athanatos

@Howard White | July 7th

Well, at least Howard seemed just as surprised to meet her in this place as Opeila was. She didn't miss his hand moving to his abdomen but wasn't entirely sure why. The attack in the forest- the first one- felt like it happened ages ago and Opeila was unable to remember the details outside of Vladimir in her head, the loss of control over her own body. Not exactly her favorite memory.

"Yes, um, thank you." Opeila took one of the seats he offered. When she had entered this building, the worst case she could imagine had been getting laughed at and brushed off as a child with no means to afford the service offered here, or even worse, be told that the service offered did not extend to muggles. Was this crossing the lines of statute of secrecy? After all, her dad already knew about magic, so this couldn't be a problem, right? Opeila was not as familiar with the law as she wished she was.

For not one second she imagined herself sitting at a table across from Howard White, watching and being watched. Maybe she just hadn't seen him for too long but somehow he looked more... dhampir now, which wasn't exactly helping shutting down this small voice inside her head telling her to get the hell out. Find a human detective, maybe even cross into the muggle part of town and look there. Silly, she scolded herself again. If anything, she should be grateful, no? Opeila had been taught not to feel safe around dhampirs in her first year at Hogwarts, but at the same time... she was relieved that she didn't have to tell her story to a complete stranger.

Opeila also likely didn't look like Howard remembered her. Her hair had been slowly turning white for years, but now there was none of the brown left at all. Sleepless nights had left traces in the form of shadows under her eyes. Winnie's and Matt's wedding had taken a toll on the young woman. Had she seen Howard there? Her memory was fuzzy, too many classmates had been in attendance, she wasn't sure.

"Yeah, I think I can. Would it be alright if I made a copy of this?"

"Hm? Oh, sure, go ahead." Opeila forced herself to return to the topic at hand. She had come here for a reason, she could still mull over the wedding later. Howard's next questions reminded her again just how embarrassingly unprepared she had shown up here. She should have at least written down the things she knew. How was Howard supposed to find anyone based off of a picture?

"No, unfortunately I don't. Five years ago he took me to a place my grandmother told him to bring me, where a portkey waited for me that took me to the family I have been living with since.", she explained, avoiding his gaze now and staring down at her own hands instead. "He is a muggle, used to work as a chef. My mother was a pureblood and she died just before he left, so he took me to that portkey to send me to safety. My grandmother prepared it all in case they were found and-" She paused, realizing how much she was jumping from one confusing point to another in the story. She hadn't even told Howard his name yet.

"I'm sorry for being so unprepared." Opeila finally looked up again. "I didn't plan to come here, I saw the sign and figured I'd give it a try. If you have something to write, I'll give you all the information I have- with less chaos."

@Opeila Winters

"Geminio" Howard muttered the charm with a flick of his wand. It still felt like he was doing something wrong when he cast magic outside of Hogwarts. The whole underage magic thing was hard to shake, but he was happy with his work when he was able to make a good copy of the photograph provided. The Opeila took her seat he met her gaze with a smile. It was still hard to believe that he had actual clients entering his office and harder still to think he was becoming a professional at something. The young man still had a lot to learn, but actually applying his knowledge and skill in a real world setting was just slightly blowing his mind.

Howard shook off the thought and focused on what Opeila had to say. It wasn't as much as he was hoping for and his mind began to churn for a resolution. "Let's see. Him being a muggle shouldn't be too much of a problem." There was a slight sugar coating there. Howard would have to be careful not to break any laws and his appearance was always a bit difficult around muggles. Blood red eyes, corpse like skin, fangs and claws always drew prying eyes, but nothing a bit of disguise couldn't hide. Inconvenient, but not impossible. The real challenge would be finding a place to start. "If you have any information on where the portkey was or which police department he used to work for that would be very helpful. I should be able to track something down from either. Yes, here. Help yourself. Any bit of information helps." Howard removed some parchment from his desk drawer and slide the quill and ink well over to her.

Howard would wait while she wrote out whatever she could, but while the moment passed his inquisitive mind would get the best of him. While they knew each other from school, Howard had very little idea about Opeila's history or why she would be searching for her father. He gently pried. "Is it alright if I ask why you're looking for your father now? Oh, and if I can find something. Do you want to come with me?"

Made by Winnie Harper

@Howard White

Opeila watched Howard create a copy of the photo, then took back the original and carefully slid it back into her wallet. She would not be losing that.
The portkey. Where had that been again? Opeila dug through the memories of that day and the days prior, the car journey through England leading up to the moment her dad closed her fingers around the portkey, sending her on a journey without him. "... Middlesborough. It was at a park, I don't remember exactly where. The portkey was an old shoe under a bench." Opeila had always intended to retrace her steps, but Middleborough was never the starting point she had in mind.

When Howard gave her something to write, Opeila started listing all the things she could think of.

• Nicholas Seilun, 42
• Chef at Italian restaurant in Cambridge until July 2020
• Resident in Cambridge, 113 Eddington Ave until July 2020
• I (Opeila) went to Cambridge University Primary School until July 2019
• He married Fioria Crane in 2007
• Fioria was married before, to Leopold Ravensburg and had a child with him (Maybell Seilun)
• Maybell was a squib and Fioria believed Leopold would ruin their lives, so she ran away with her and my grandmother, Lady Margary Crane
• After she married Nicholas and had me, Maybell was given into foster care, so she could have a normal and safe life, but she died in 2020
• Nicholas and Margary practically raised me alone, he liked to travel abroad with me in summer
• Fioria died from poisoning in 2020, she liked to experiment with potions
• Lady Margary died in 2020 as well
• Nicholas still believed that I was being looked for by Leopold, so he brought me to Middlesborough, where a portkey waited for me that took me to friends of Lady Margary's

Not even half through the list, Opeila started tearing up. Eddington Ave, how long hadn't she seen that name? Still she could almost hear the always present laughter and shouts from the playing field not far from her house and the cars from the main road. Lady Margary had sometimes complained about it, noisy muggle area. But Opeila... when she was taken to Finland, she had found herself missing it.

"That is all" She pushed the list across the table and ran one hand over her eyes in what she hoped looked like a casual manner.

"Is it alright if I ask why you're looking for your father now?"

Opeila felt her face heat up. "I should have started earlier.", she said, still staring at the list on the table. She couldn't bear looking at Howard. She should have found a way so much earlier. "I know now that he is not in danger. And I am 17 now, so my guardians finally let me do things on my own. They wouldn't let me look for him, they genuinely believe that stopping me from bringing him back into my life was for my own good. They don't know that I am here now."

The guilt never left her. It always simmered somewhere and Opeila had learned to push it away. Sometimes it hadn't even taken any effort, as she was pretty skilled at putting herself in danger regularly, even if she didn't mean to.
But now she had to set it right.

"Do you want to come with me?"
Now Opeila looked up. "Yes. I would love that. We have exeat weekends now, I can leave Hogwarts during the year."

@Opeila Winters

Howard listened carefully as Opeila spoke about the portly location. He should be able to pop over to the ministry and look up all of the details about the portkey registration. It wouldn't provide too much information pertaining to Nicholas' current location, but no point in leaving any stone unturned. Unless it was done illegally? Howard wasn't one to judge right or wrong. It wasn't just bad grades that deterred him from pursuing a career as an auror. Sometimes in life you shift into grey territory as he well knew. "Do you think Lady Margary would have registered the portkey? Probably not important, but I'll look into it anyways."

Opeila was busy scratching away with the quill, but with as much detail as she was providing, Howard should be able to get this done. He looked up to her to ask another question, but quickly looked away as he thought he spied a tear forming in her eye. It was something that he would probably run into from time to time in this field. People searching for lost family or friends. Desperate or even a clue to their whereabouts. Howard could handle it, but he didn't want to make anyone feel uncomfortable, so he waited just a moment until she pushed the list back in his direction.

Howard had full names and locations. They were all a bit dated, but surely something would pop up with a little bit of digging. "Sounds complicated." Perhaps that was a bit blunt. Howard wasn't the best with subtleties. "But good on you for doing what you feel is right. We've got a good bit to go on here. I'll stop by the ministry and plan a trip sometime soon to Cambridge." He'd have to research the Italian restaurants there and track down which one had employed Nicholas at that time. It'd take a minute, but there should be records.

Howard nodded and smiled when Opeila seemed eager to accompany him. If he could pull it all off it would be quite fulfilling. "Ok, I'll send you an owl if you don't mind leaving your address. We can plan it all out and discuss payment. If there isn't anything else I'll go ahead and get started."