A Cry for Help PV Beatrice Dupont Closed

English | French Word Count: 655

Interacting with: @Odilon Wilde Mentioning: @Lucian Mornstern | @Colin McCoire

^{Any Mentions of Lucian and Colin were discussed and agreed to beforehand.}
Outfit

It was afternoon, Beatrice had just finished her studies for today and had decided to get some fresh air after spending most of the day inside the castle. A refreshing wind hit her face as she stepped foot outside, blowing her long hair out of her face. The sun was warming her face ever so slightly and she took a deep breath. School had been going on for quite some time now but it still felt like they were in the first couple months after summer break, with everything that had been going on. Beatrice had barely been talking to friends and she missed one of them in particular. Lucian had been acting extremely off and every time Beatrice tried to talk to him, he ignored her or lashed out with an excuse why he couldn’t talk. Something had happened over Christmas break, something that caused him to act like this. But.. what was it? He was acting so cold towards her, it honestly hurt. The slightly older boy had been her best friend since first year. It developed somewhere through a whole lot of drama and loosing a person that was very dear to both of them.

Her heart ached in a pulling sensation at the thought of her past dorm mate and best friend. She didn't want to admit it, but loosing Lucian sounded like the worst thing ever. She hadn't even realized how close they had grown and how much she needed his presence and friendship. Nights in the common room were different now, dining was never spent together and in classes he was silent and out before she could stop him. Recently she had seen him with Colin in the Common Room. They had been talking about something Beatrice only caught snippets off. Something about heading to Hogshead? She hadn’t been able to fully understand them but the conversation still worried her, not just because Lucian wasn’t in his third year yet, but also because he had been acting so off.

As Beatrice walked through the courtyard, loosening a button on her Cardigan and feeling the prefect pin bounce against her heart, she caught a glimpse of someone she hadn't seen in quite some time. Or at least not seen him knowingly and talked to him. Odilon Wilde. The Gryffindor was blonde and tall, a Presence that wasn’t usually missed. Beatrice slowly came to a halt. She had already walked past him but a very important detail was clinging to every thought her brain produced. Something that was burning itself deeper and deeper into her, like a burning object going through thin paper. She bit her bottom lip. They were friends. Odilon and Lucian were friends - at least as far as Beatrice knew. Granted, she hadn’t seen them together in some time but perhaps that was just the case because she was busy and sometimes felt like people were trying to hide from her. Turning slowly, her gaze focused on the Gryffindor.

„Mr. Wilde - I mean Odilon! Do you have a moment?“ calling Students by their last names had become a habit that Beatrice could barely suppress. She hurried over to Odilon, if he didn’t decide on something else, and positioned herself before him with an awkward smile. „I-“ the brunette stopped, unsure how to express herself. She pushed one of her hands through her hair mindlessly, her fingers running through the dark strands and leaving them just as perfect as they had been before. Now that she had stopped him, she would have to talk to him. Her eyes tried to meet his, suppressing the urge to burst out with a ‚Please help me with figuring out what in the world is going on with our friend.‘ Instead, she tried a more gentle version. „Have you talked to Lucian recently?“ A hopeful expression flashed across her features. „I am a bit worried…“ trailing off, Beatrice’s voice got softer.

. . .

❦ ❦ ❦

. . .

Cool air flicked the hem of Odilon's robes as he swept round to see who had called him. His eyebrow raised as he took in the conflicted expression on Beatrice's features, eyeing her up and down in an attempt to discover the source. "Beatrice? What's wrong?" He asked tentatively before pausing with a small teasing smirk. "Did you just call me Mr Wilde?" Even in the sour mood Odi found himself in, there was never a time that a flustered peer wouldn't send him into a state of complete ease.

His eyes drank her gaze in as she spoke. "Have you talked to Lucian recently? I'm a bit worried." Odi's grin faded as a flicker of hope crossed Bea's eyes.
"Have you?" He shot at her sharply. "I don't know if you've noticed, but he's not exactly been singing my praises as of late." He turned away, his robes swishing dramatically as he prepared to walk away. Any concerns about making up with Lucian would surely have to wait until he had solved the issue of this letter.

Suddenly the thought he had been pondering before he had been interrupted swam to the front of Odi's mind. If Lucian had been the one to spread this rumor around, perhaps he had told the author of this letter directly. Such a transgression would require a direct confrontation. Odi hovered while he considered this outcome, waiting for Beatrice to convince him to stay and hear her out with a tight expression on his face.

@Beatrice Dupont

English | French Word Count: 414

Interacting with: @Odilon Wilde Mentioning: @Lucian Mornstern | @Colin McCoire

^{Any Mentions of Lucian and Colin were discussed and agreed to beforehand}
Outfit

The wind picked up ever so slightly, strands of hair flying back and practically pulling on her thoughts. She felt Odilon‘s gaze trace over her features, possibly in an attempt to find out why she was talking to him, as he addressed her presence and smirked at what she had called him by. A frown accompanied by a smile that was washed away immediately spread across her face. „Yes, sorry, Prefect habit...“ brushing his words away, she expressed her concerns and watched his features change from that witty smirk to a more serious expression. He almost looked angry and he certainly sounded similarly. His harsh voice made her heart beat pick up, hitting against her rip cage as he turned away from her.

Yet, she made an effort to get in his way again. „Look.“ her voice had hardened „I get what you mean. Something has been going on with him and I don’t imagine I am the only one he is practically running from, but you’re a wealthy Pureblood and a boy and I need someone that is both of these things, for what I am about to ask. So please, for the love of Merlin, listen to me if you care even just a little bit about him!“ Her eyes tried to meet his in an almost desperate attempt of keeping the Gryffindor from walking away. It felt like something dark had leaked into the Courtyard, seeping through the cracks in the cobblestone path and the walls of the castle. There was an almost touchable tension in the air, conjured of desperation and helplessness.

Perhaps what she had heard her friend talk about was nothing to worry about, but she was worrying about him. It was ridiculous how protective she felt of him, but then again, he was one of her first friends at Hogwarts. And now, she felt him slipping away and getting caught in shadows she could not reach. „I heard him talk to Colin McCoire in the common room. They are planning on going to some kind of weird meeting for male Purebloods. It’s at Hogshead.“ She moved closer, ever so slightly, as to not talk too loud. „Do you know anything about that? Were you invited?“ Beatrice tried to read Odilon‘s expression and sighed. „Apart from rule breaks, I feel like if he goes, it won’t be good for anyone and with the way Lucian has been acting… I don’t know, I just thought you may know something.“

. . .

❦ ❦ ❦

. . .

Feinging indifference, Odi rolled his eyes and jutted his chin out moodily as Beatrice shared her concerns. "Something has been going on with him." She declared, "And I don’t imagine I am the only one he is practically running from,
"but you’re a wealthy Pureblood and a boy and I need someone that is both of these things, for what I am about to ask. So please, for the love of Merlin, listen to me if you care even just a little bit about him!"

Odi gritted his teeth. There were a few things wrong with what Beatrice had said, even if she didn't quite realise it. He was not a pureblood wizard by any stretch of the imagination for one, though he knew most of the school were unaware of this fact. Someone knew though, it occurred to him as his mind drifted down to the letter in his hand.

A choice lay before him. On the one hand, Lucian had abandoned him. It had been a miserable few months without perhaps his closest friend, and Odi had no intention of giving Lucian an easy time of it given how events had transpired. But on the other hand, he knew that living with the guilt of having done nothing when Lucian was in danger would be significantly harder than swallowing his pride for a brief side mission. Not to mention the opportunity to confront his former friend on how the letter's author had discovered the truth about Odi's heritage.

He looked back at Beatrice. Her gaze was imploring and pained, and it made Odi's stomach ache with guilt. He swallowed it harshly and jutted his chin up haughtily. "I suppose..." He said slowly "...I could do you a favour. Just this once."

Beatrice drew close as she spoke, her tone barely audible now. "I heard him talk to Colin McCoire in the common room. They are planning on going to some kind of weird meeting for male Purebloods. It’s at Hogshead."

Odi took a deep breath in through his nose and closed his eyes in resignation. "Leave it with me. I think I know what he's doing." He thought for a moment about wether he should elaborate on this statement, before adding with a severe look. "Trust me. If it's what I think it is, you'll want to be as far away from it as possible."

@Beatrice Dupont

English | French Word Count: 338

Interacting with: @Odilon Wilde Mentioning: @Lucian Mornstern

Outfit

Odilon’s mood seemed to worsen instead of change into a similar concern as the one Beatrice held within herself. It was like watching a battle going on between her words and his thoughts. Granted, the two of them weren’t exactly friends but she never held him in bad regards and she was under the impression that he was Lucian’s friend. Her blue eyes searched for his and she wondered if Lucian had disregarded him like he had done with her. Either way, he seemed more mad at the Slytherin boy, while all that Beatrice felt was sadness and frustration in not being able to get close to their friend again.

He finally turned back to her, his chin up high and a hard swallow before he spoke again. He spoke slowly and yet his words brought a smile to her lips. „I owe you.“ She said, her gaze catching his if he allowed it and her voice serious. It was somewhat of a promise, an owe she would hold onto. She drew closer and took an uncomfortable look around before sharing her concerns with the blonde boy. She tried reading his expression as she moved back, yet she wasn’t really sure what to take from them.

His words however, they made her heart beat a little faster. Her features fell into concern. Thoughts racing, heart beating in a fast rhythm, breath slightly ridged, she finally took a step back and nodded at Odilon. She wasn’t sure what to answer to him or what to do. It took her a minute to acclimate, all while she just stared at him. Then she cleared her throat, her next words spoken with a silvery voice, grateful smile spread across her lips „Thank you, Odilon.“ She appreciated his help. For once in her life, she did not have a plan on how to do something, approach someone or get them out of trouble. She had always done so for her sibling and in a way, Lucian was something very close to that.