25 July, '94 — Auction House off Cobbler's Corner
Pennyworth, Hogsmeade
Daesyn Mackenzie

Market days also meant auction days as well, a day when the auction house in Pennyworth buzzed with activity. Bustling ladies and foppish men arrived early for the appraisals, and Charley liked to spot which ones left with galleons in their eyes. Those were the sort she knew to watch at auction, salivating over earnings that were sure to appear by day's end. All they had to do was wait until the winner of their auction lot returned with the right gold, and two people would walk off happy.

And all Charley had to do was get inside quick enough to be the happy one.

It was easy enough to arrive as a member of the public, stuffed into a dress that was still too long for her. Either the urchin was made all wrong for the borrowed dress, or Billie had somehow managed to stay scrawnier than her on the steady diet of Hogwarts buffets. Then again, it might just be the shirt and trousers that Charley layered on under the dress, fabric all bunched from where she pulled it up out of sight. She even enjoyed the auction itself, the energy of the crowd during the high-stakes bids settled her own stomach of nerves. It was only after that the dress made finding a place to hide more difficult, but once the auction house had emptied out for the afternoon she soon freed herself of the skirts and bodice holding her tight.

The empty hall gave the urchin space to shake out the shirt and trousers she emerged in, nearly forgetting to pull the ribbon from her hair. She hardly wore it down anymore, and it felt almost as forbidden as being in the locked building. The impish grin that plastered itself to her face was too much of a distraction, one that Charley tried hard to shake while she skulked back past the auction stage and into the curtained back room where the items were kept.

Which, by the time she was done, would be down one amulet as well.

---

The following 1 user Likes Charley Goode's post:1 user Likes Charley Goode's post
   Daesyn Mackenzie

---

Daesyn had made her way to the auction house on a tip off. There was apparently an item on sale in the next few days that might be quite the lucrative find if it made its way into the right hands... her hands. Laughably it would much more likely end up around the neck of some clueless debutante and the riches that it would lead to would be gone forever. From her leaflet she could see that the lot in question was not up for sale until tomorrow, so she had to act tonight. She did not attend the auction itself, it would arouse suspicion if there was anyone that knew of her profession in attendance, so she had chosen to attend the after party.

She stood in the shadows of the street and closed her eyes, she muttered a few words and the translocation spell did its magic, she had visited this particular sale house before, and via an insider, she knew of its blind spots for magic so she would arrive undetected. Opening her eyes she peered through the thick curtains that separated the alcove where chairs were stacked from the main hall.

Wait? there was someone out there, in the gloom, the cursebreaker saw a figure moving silently across the room removing something from their hair, at a guess Daesyn would say mid teens, wand to her head she would say male, the hair was a bit on the long side, but here she was herself in trousers and a waistcoat herself so she was not to judge the movements of another's fashion. Daesyn cursed to herself that her tip might have gone to another breaker, despite being on the same side, the rivalry could be intense and Daesyn was not intent on losing her commission. But, on the other hand, the other miscreant could have nothing to do with the cursebreakers, and she had managed to get in here. Daesyn cursed herself again for her curious nature, the very nature that had her traversing the globe after treasure when her peers were getting fat off their easy married lifestyles.

She would watch for now, she cast a silence spell and crept out from hiding after the teenager went into the other room where the treasure lay, she would watch and she would wait.

---

Charley Goode

The following 1 user Likes Daesyn Mackenzie's post:1 user Likes Daesyn Mackenzie's post
   Charley Goode

---

The urchin twirled the hair ribbon in her fingers while she prowled through the back room. It had far less dust than she'd expected, and she shook her own head at the idea her mind had conjured up about the place. She wasn't here for the fantasy of creeping through a dusty warehouse, with mysteries or booby-traps promised by every shadow and corner. The glimmer in her eye was for the necklace alone tonight.

Charley had to give a tug to her own trousers to keep away from the dozens of crates and boxes in the room, all of them pleading for the attention of her eyes. If she ever gave in, she could surely spend all night pouring over the contents of the auction house. There were just too many tempting items for an urchin girl not to be drawn to their splendor, it was only her stubborn side that was keeping her from wild abandon. Even knowing she would regret it when she was caught come morning wasn't enough to compel her to the task at hand, Charley had to physically steer herself away.

There!

When she finally recognized the case from the auction display, Charley eyes bulged and she nearly jumped with excitement. It drove her right up to the slim wooden case, just barely too big for her to slip inconspicuously inside her shirt. The jewelry itself would easily fit in any of her pockets, all she had to do was get to it first.

The urchin did jump the moment her hand touched the case, shot back across the room until a heavy crate abruptly ended her short flight. Some kind of protection spell, she realized when the pain of the impact cleared enough to think again. Getting to her feet, the urchin grimaced at the case as she circled it, wondering how she was going to open the case now.

This had all been a lot easier in her head earlier.

"Open sesame!" With her hands poised above the case, not quite touching, Charley compelled it to open with the most ancient spell she knew. One by one, she pried her eyes back open, only to see a closed case in front of her still. She wasn't stupid enough to try touching it again, not this time, and her mouth twisted bitterly. "Figured it." She blew out a breathe, glaring at the case, "Yer not so tough, I'll get ya to crack."

Reaching inside her trousers, Charley took out her wand. Now came the tricky part for the undereducated urchin, which spell to use.

---

The following 1 user Likes Charley Goode's post:1 user Likes Charley Goode's post
   Daesyn Mackenzie

---

You had my curiosity, now you have my attention...

What was that young girl up to? She had made a bee line past all manner of trinkets and treasures, right towards the amulet, Daesyn's amulet. The woman continued to watch though as the girl waved her hands about chanting open sesame, this brought a little smirk to her face, that was a phrase for kids and actors, but her use of it spoke of a relaxed demeanor. Perhaps she would use the correct spell next as she reached for her wand. The cursebreaker had her own wand in hand and gently rolled it back and forth. If Charley got the amulet out, she was confident she could hit her with a stunning spell and take the prize, she wasn't going to be out done by some other random treasure seeker.

"Alohomora" She silently mouthed as she spied the thief considering her options. She was enjoying this too much, she needed to get back on task, a voice in her head told her, walk out there, stun the girl, take the amulet and have her framed for the robbery, the whole situation was almost a gift from Merlin himself. "You've got to the count of twenty... one... two..." she spoke. The silence spell meant she wouldn't be heard, but would charley sense the intense gaze from the more experienced witch behind her? Perhaps not, but she should probably hurry before she was interrupted.

---

Charley Goode

The following 1 user Likes Daesyn Mackenzie's post:1 user Likes Daesyn Mackenzie's post
   Charley Goode

---