October 14th, 1893 - South of High street

For the attention of Charley Goode

---

Violetta was finally glad to get out of Hogwarts for the first time this term. She walked down the highstreet with the cool wind in her blonde hair and a spring in her step. She carried with her new Louis Vuitton bag at her side. A more cynical person might say the teen wanted people to see the designer bag and they would be absolutely correct on this occasion.

From within the bag was the trappings of a good day of shopping, a soft french baguette protruded from the unbuttoned opening and deeper within were Brie and a delightful little Époisses. There was also a set of winter gloves and some sweets to take back to her dorm. There were a few other things for her still to grab but she needed to stop for lunch. She had collected fruit from the breakfast hall before leaving this morning, she also had some less exciting breads from school to eat, wanting to savour her baguette at a later time.

Violetta hummed a french nursery rhyme to herself as she sat on a small bench and began to prepare to eat. She looked around at the other people passing by, there was a little cluster of other hogwarts students across the highstreet she gave a little wave to a girl she recognised as a second year slytherin who returned it before disappearing into the boutique. A lovely day, nothing could spoil it.

---

The following 1 user Likes Violetta DeCroix's post:1 user Likes Violetta DeCroix's post
   Charley Goode

---

The dry stem tasted bitter in her mouth as the urchin chewed it, watching the shriveled husk of its summer bloom bob up and down in front of her mouth. Her hands sat behind her back, proof to the world of her genuine intentions. Charley didn't always have to be up to mischief, she could mind her own business while walking down High Street as well. Not that it stopped her from looking or watching, enjoying the flatties with more galleons than sense, thinking they were being too clever by keeping their purchases discrete.

And then there was the blonde pigeon strutting about with her expensive handbag, making sure everyone could see.

Charley watched the girl, a few years older and many times dumber, like the hawk she was. Her mark was easy, humming some nonsense tune as she went, making it easy for Charley to follow. She stuck to the shadows, behind one big-footed fellow, and then a stand selling food. The urchin gave the vendor's evil eye a wide berth, stepping away to find a new shadow to lurk in behind the bench where the pigeon found her roost.

Pausing to take the stem from her mouth, the urchin let it curl into a sideways grin. This was too easy, even for her. The bag was just sitting by the blonde girl, looking none the wiser for all her troubles. And if Charley had anything to do about it, this girl's troubles were just beginning.

Stepping slowly at first, then more quickly, the nimble fingers of the urchin stretched out in anticipation. She danced on the balls of her feet, taking care where her mark was careless. Charley closed in, a heartbeat away, and let her fingers wrap around the soft, virgin leather of the handbag.

Victory!

"Posh bag!" Charley remarked, unable to stop herself from a moment of gloating. Her feet were already moving in the other direction, pulling at her torso and head to follow. "It's mine now, much obliged!"

---

The following 1 user Likes Charley Goode's post:1 user Likes Charley Goode's post
   Violetta DeCroix

---

October 14th, 1893 - South of High street

For the attention of Charley Goode

---

The day was lovely and the food she was eating quickly became crumbs, she was barely aware of her surroundings when a voice came from behind her.

"Posh bag!" she heard a voice say.

She turned her head to greet whomever might be interrupting her lunch, barely in time to see the boy's hand tighten around her beautiful handbag and move to leave. She was frozen for a few seconds, had she acted quicker she might have tried to snatch it straight back bit he was so fast and she was stunned. "Arrêt! Non!" she called out in a panic as she stood to give chase. The remains of her sandwich tumbled to the floor. "That isn't yours, boy!" she shouted as she ran across the cobbled street after the light lingered urchin. Her heart was racing, she would be devastated to lose that bag, it was brand new, and expensive, and beyond that there were things in there not meant for the eyes of a a boy.

The thief was quick and she followed him, trying to stay in sight with her robe fluttering behind her. An elderly couple gasped as she nearly ran into one of them in her haste and scowled at her as if she was some lower class trouble maker, but she couldn't stop to explain right now for fear of losing sight.

---

The following 1 user Likes Violetta DeCroix's post:1 user Likes Violetta DeCroix's post
   Charley Goode

---

With a tip of her cap, the urchin turned from her mark, scampering on ahead of words that called out after her. Ears picked up on an accent that sounded muddy, clearly her mark wasn't from around here. Charley beamed proudly to herself, taking the new knowledge as the sign of a job done well.

Now all she had to do was get lost.

That was the easy part. Hogsmeade was her town. Sure, Charley hadn't been a resident of the town as long as those who were born here, but each of the grown-ups in the young town had been new to Hogsmeade at some point. She knew the ins and outs of the neighborhoods from poor to pretty, and the ups and downs all over High Street. There was somewhere that the newcomer wouldn't be able to follow, the urchin was sure about that.

Charley veered down an alley, aware that a choice was coming soon. Her feet pounded the dirt beneath it as her eyes glanced toward nearby rooftops. The bag was too bulky, and would fetch a better price in its pristine state, to haul it up there. The urchin tried not to lament that option too much. When reality closed a door, there had to be a window she could shatter instead.

Alleyway dirt turned over to flagstones that Charley could hear as well as feel under her feet. She didn't have any more time to think, so she just moved.

And was almost mowed over by a horseless cart being urged along by its wizard driver. The urchin dived for the ground, flattening under the tall wheels of the cart until it passed. When she picked herself up, Charley made a frown at the bag, which now sported a dripping layer of mud over the bottom of it.

This was the south part of Hogsmeade, she reasoned, it wasn't going to be kind in the first place. She glanced back to judge whether her mark was still pursuing, then shrugged to herself. Sauntering lively down the street, Charley searched for another path, hopefully one without any more carts.

Or victims hot on her heels.

---

The following 1 user Likes Charley Goode's post:1 user Likes Charley Goode's post
   Violetta DeCroix

---

Violetta continued her pursuit, oblivious to the quickly changing buildings that lines the streets as she ran past. Gone were the pretty shops and boutiques of the highstreet, then the manicured footages of the expensive off high street apartments, now things looked a little less well kept. They weren't in the slums yet but Vee had never strayed from the classier districts so to her it might has well have been.

She thought she lost sight of the boy as a carriage went past and she stopped forna few seconds getting her bearings. Her robe was muddy now and her feet felt uncomfortable from running. "les filles élégantes ne courent pas" she heard her mother's voice in her ear. They did for Louis Vuitton she thought to herself dismissively. Movement caught her eye and there was the boy again clutching her MUDDY! hand bag. "Zut Alor! she exclaimed as she picked up the pace again and followed him down an alleyway. She couldn't see a way out beyond an iron gate and a couple of windows at the end.

She pulled out her wand and whipped other around "Colloportus!" she shouted and the gate and windows clanked shut. The boy in front of her stopped with nowhere to go and Violetta advanced on him with her wand drawn and pointed at him.

"I said that isn't yours garçon! Give it back" her breath was laboured from the running but her anger was evident but as she closed with the boy she realised her mistake. "Oh... you're not a boy, you're a girl?...

Well you're not a very pretty one." she spat angrily. "Hand it over or I'll turn you into un crapard." her eyes flicked to her bag, it was filthy now, maman would be furious.

---

The following 1 user Likes Violetta DeCroix's post:1 user Likes Violetta DeCroix's post
   Charley Goode

---

To the urchin's ears, the droning thrum of city life was music itself. The alley dropped it low, fading to a quiet hum to tickle at the back of her mind. It gave her time to focus on the spoils in her hand, the hard-earned prize she'd carried off, even if its bottom was newly painted with a layer of mud. She licked her lips, eyeing the baguette sticking out the end with a renewed hunger.

A hunger that drove her fingers to undo the fancy metal fastener of the bag, preparing herself for a feast of the imagination, when a sharp voice cut through her reverie.

"Oi, what now?" Charley leveled a stare at the approaching storm, her mark had found her once more. Which wasn't the worst setback for the urchin, who picked up her heels until another word came shattering through her confidence. The spell made the alley shut itself up, pressing in on the thief and her victim.

It was cozy now, far too cozy for Charley. She bristled in proximity to the girl, who marched right up to her face, spitting out words that sounded garbled and wrong. For her part, Charley tried to play indifferent, until the blonde's screeching wrinkled her nose right up against her skull. "Yer church bell got a broken clapper? I can't make heads nor tails of all yer blabber."

The sounds struck her ears, almost painfully, and as painfully unfamiliar as the urchin could think of. She had heard better attempts at mimicking a Frenchman from her father in his plays. Whatever the French-esque garble might have been, it couldn't have been very important anyway. Surely not worth puzzling herself over the battered, nearly indecipherable English.

When the girl seemed surprised about something, the urchin pantomimed it back on her own face. She had to hold back a bout of laughter along with, holding the bag out of reach and watching the girl's reactions gave Charley far too much amusement. And then it fell away as she caught a word, one she was sure was a real word this time. Using her hand to wipe it away, the urchin spat back, "Since when do I gotta be pretty to make it in this town? Look at you, all dolled up and still lost yer bag."

To make her point plain, the urchin leaned down to rip a large chunk out of the baguette with her teeth, chewing greedily as she looked back up to the flustered, definitely French, girl.

---

The following 1 user Likes Charley Goode's post:1 user Likes Charley Goode's post
   Violetta DeCroix

---

Clapper? Blabber? What was the girl in front of her talking about, the grubby little thief's voice had an unsettling musical quality that made little sense to the French girl. Violetta had never been in a situation like this before, her heart was pounding her wand shook with the tense grip that was being applied to it by the girl. Violetta considered her options, any number of spells could get her her bag back, but it could be damaged, she could get in trouble.

She scowled as Charley Goode made her retort about the irrelevance of being pretty in this particular situation, did she have to be right? The girl bit hard into her French baguette and Violetta muttered under her breath "Sacré bleu". That was hers, she was going to enjoy that with cheese, perhaps even wine depending on her luck, now, some grubby street girl was eating it dry.

"Bien! Have my bread you unpleasant girl, but give me my bag back, right now." She reached, trying to grab at the handle, but charley was keeping the bag just out of her reach. The poorer girl seemed to be enjoying tormenting her. This was getting her nowhere.

"Expelliarmus!" she finally snapped and lashed out with her wand to target the bag that Charley was holding, she probably shouldn't have done that with the bag unclasped, who knew what might spill out, but she had lost her temper with the girl.

---

The following 1 user Likes Violetta DeCroix's post:1 user Likes Violetta DeCroix's post
   Charley Goode

---

A great smile broadened on the urchin's face, watching the French girl's face as she chewed. The bread wasn't that good, all dry and sharp, with a taste like the air out back of a brewery. It made for truly awful bread, too much sweetness and not enough of the savory, belly-hugging warmth Charley yearned for in a slice of bread. Yet the savory smile of satisfaction stayed glued to her face, triumph tasted twice as good.

Especially under the blessings of the muttering and garbled cursings coming from the blonde girl.

"Make me!" Charley shot back, still not sure what the older girl was on about. She might be older, more trained with a wand than Charley's minimal schooling, but Hogwarts had left the urchin with one reason to keep grinning. "Yer not s'posed ta use magic outside," she waggled with a finger and tongue at the French girl, "'gainst the rules, innit?"

Of course, the older girl had already broken those in her pursuit. Flagrant violations that might have drawn notice outside the alleyway. Charley kept on grinning, so tightly she feared her lips might crowd all the freckles right off her face. "How 'bout we call this even, eh? Yer bag for my—"

Then the words, and bag, were ripped right out of her. Charley's shock came out as an, "Oi!" that left her silent for another moment while she worked out the sudden change in dynamics. Gone was the fancy bag and its promise of —if not tasty then perhaps just filling— dinner, and however much gold she could make for it. With narrowed eyes, the urchin directed the ire at her loss back to the source, tracing through its spilled-out contents on the road to the culprit left holding the bag.

Her bag.

Charley crossed her arms, her smile gone at last. In its place, her angry freckles had crowded around her mouth and nose, fuming at such a dumbfounded failure. Maybe she should have kept her mouth shut after all, or kept running long past the first alleyway. She would feel that reproach, and an empty belly, more keenly later on, swooping forward first to snatch something on the ground.

A pretty pair of lacy somethings that caught the urchin's eye, flashing back toward the older girl. Her mouth opened again, unable to help herself as she danced the pair of unmentionables in front of their, definitely very French, owner. "I see London, I see France..."

Charley snickered, leaving the rest off to tighten her grip instead, making sure her prize wouldn't be spelled back this time. She had earned this chance to humiliate the other girl in return.

---

The following 1 user Likes Charley Goode's post:1 user Likes Charley Goode's post
   Violetta DeCroix

---

The lower class girl was right, Violetta had technically broken the laws on underage magic but casting these spells. Her chances of getting caught were minor and she was quite confident that charges would not stick, she had been robbed, she was protecting herself, and of course, it was her word against the word of whoever this street girl thought she was.

Her second spell landed, catching the thief off guard and freeing her bag. It was scuffed, and muddy, but it was hers again and she felt a mending spell might set it right once she got it back to older girls in her dorm for a little assistance. Several of the other items however had spilled out. An open personal wheel of smelly cheese rolled a few feet and fell to the floor, no doubt the rats would be getting gout tonight. Violetta scowled at the other girl as she huffed cross armed back at her, as if she were the offended party. But then something must have caught Charley's eye, Vee watched as she quickly grabbed something and started taunting her with them.

"Arrête ça!" she called out, stamping her foot as her face turned red with a mixture of embarrassment and anger. Her hand tightened around her wand. "Have you no decorum? You would have the cane if my madam caught you behaving in such a manner." She was a girl too, likely not one that shared Violetta's style in French undergarments, but still, you just didn't do that. "What if a man sees?" she glanced around, there was noone here. And for the first time she realised she didn't actually know where she was having chased the other girl blindly down the alleys.

She looked back at Charley as her pants waved in the air. Vee thought could turn her into something slimey, but she doubted even in her position she could justify an illegal transfiguration spell in response to what was simply a case of appalling manners.

---

Charley Goode

The following 1 user Likes Violetta DeCroix's post:1 user Likes Violetta DeCroix's post
   Charley Goode

---

Charley threw back her head and laughed. Somehow her cap stayed on, and a good thing too as that would have put a damper on her spirits. Though, after seeing the look of pure terror on the French girl's face, there was nothing that could really rattle the urchin after that. It wasn't as sweet as the jingle of coins she'd have in her pocket after hocking a bag of that quality, and not even close to the satisfied feeling of a full meal she barely had to lift a finger for, but it was a victory Charley could savor anyway.

She was even starting to grasp a bit more out of the garbled, French accent that spilled from the other girl's mouth. And some told Charley that she talked oddly. "Well, I en't got to answer to a madam! " she told the girl. She didn't answer to anyone! Not her absent parents, not even Mrs. Mann really. "No nosy nanny's gonna tell me what to do!"

With the urchin's moment of fun starting to fade, her fingers suddenly felt grimy for having touched the stuffy girl's underpants. For all she knew, getting her knickers in a twist was no skill but some kind of contagion that the French girl could pass on. With a short gasp, she flung the pillowy fabric away from her, where it fell short of the other girl to drift lazily down toward the alley's muck below. Charley was already too busy wiping her hands on her pants to care, and without having anything to hold, she wound up folding them across her chest.

"And I en't afraid of a man," Charley sneered, unwilling to let the Frenchie's quest for decorum march on apace. Was this really what the society ladies fretted about? "I en't afraid of you, neither!"

Charley couldn't imagine she had a thing to worry about from the older girl. She didn't share the shameful horrors that seemed to be terrorizing the French girl, even standing here alone in an alleyway. What sense did it make to be worried about all the thoughts and cares of others who weren't even nearby? "Go on then," the urchin told her, sweeping her fingers toward the girl, "Take yer silly bag an' yer silly clothes an' yer silly worries and git outta here!"

Twisting up her own face, as if she'd just eaten something putrid, Charley added bitterly, "Afore someone sees you with a lowlife like me!"

---

The following 1 user Likes Charley Goode's post:1 user Likes Charley Goode's post
   Violetta DeCroix

---

The demeanor of the girl in front of her was so alien to Violetta, how could she be being treated like this she had? Violetta had done nothing wrong to this urchin, and yet she taunted her. How dare she?

Her underpants fluttered the the ground and quickly absorbed the muddy puddle water, they could be cleaned for certain, but their purity was ruined and she would likely need to replace them. She tutted and shook her head, scowling at Charley Goode "Perhaps you would be good to have a time with a good madam." she retorted. "Had you a mote of social... intellect, you would know how little I care if you are scared of me... little gavroche. What are you, thirteen? fourteen? and you aren't even in school? You are nobody!" Her skin was flush and hand quivered with anger. She bent her knees and picked up her underwear, hastily stuffing them into her already soiled bag.

She was losing her own decorum and needed to calm down but right now she just needed to get back to the high street... "Oh merde!" she muttered to herself, thinking of the school chaperones who would likely be wondering where she was and counting the house points deduction.

She let out a long sigh looking around her for the route back, did she know the way, she quickly realised she had lost herself in the darker parts of Hogsmeade. "If we are done here, perhaps if you were to direct me back to the high street I could be convinced not to inform the authorities of your indiscretions?" She raised her eyebrow, lowering her wand a little, but still having it ready in case the other girl decided to try some last minute gambit.

---

Charley Goode

The following 1 user Likes Violetta DeCroix's post:1 user Likes Violetta DeCroix's post
   Charley Goode

---

She might have felt bad for ruining the French girl's underpants. From the way the red-faced, gibbering girl was shaking, Charley could have guessed she'd soiled herself. It had to be quite the rude awakening for the older girl, to meet someone she would have customarily left to trod underfoot. Even their height difference felt smaller between them, the Frenchie definitely wasn't so big and haughty now.

"A little whut?" The urchin shock blinked back her laugh, otherwise she would have spit it all over the other girl. "Do ya even hear yerself? Really, yer gulping down every other word. Mebbe you could try shutting that gob for a tick, an' smile a bit more."

Smugly satisfied with herself, the urchin blew out a breath of air, shifting the strand of hair that had lost its place up in her hat. It happened sometimes, though usually the hat did its job at keeping her hair from dangling like messy curtains in front of her face. Now that, she considered for a moment with a wider grin, would have been the look to scare the galleons out of the rich, French girl.

Next time.

Charley had to laugh again, and this time it came out as a guffaw. The Frenchie really didn't know how a mugging was supposed to go, that was the last person to ever ask for directions. "Nah," she beamed at the disheveled girl. It served her right for making the urchin lose the bag, and her chance at lunch.

Giving herself a running start, Charley jumped herself up to a window ledge overlooking the alley. The window was shuttered and barred from the inside, but that didn't matter. She climbed up past it, working her way toward the rooftops where she could perch and look for another mark. Sparing one, last, glance to the girl below, the urchin considered her and then shook her head, climbing upwards and onwards.

Getting a little lost couldn't be more than an inconvenience to the rich girl's day. Might teach her a bit about watching her surroundings, enough to keep her wits, and that bag, about her anyway.

---

The following 1 user Likes Charley Goode's post:1 user Likes Charley Goode's post
   Violetta DeCroix

---