No Bears Allowed

This entire trip to France was out of Rhys' comfort zone. Though he was glad to be accepted into Beauxbatons academy, part of him wished that they were instead heading off to Hogwarts so he could be closer to home. Even then, he'd still be nervous about going away for school. What made matters worse was being asked to leave Benedict at home. Benedict went everywhere with Rhys since the moment Rhys had concocted the imaginary bear friend. His parents and Harry had played along with it in the beginning, but now his parents were starting to think he was getting too old for imaginary friends. They worried he'd be bullied in school for such childish frivolities. With much convincing, Rhys finally agreed to leave Benedict behind for the shopping trip, waving to his friend as he left.

Now he felt down in the doldrums without his dear friend. He had Harry for company, but she was so charismatic, she'd probably spend most of her time talking to the other kids also school shopping. Rhys sighed, leaning his head against his hand as the waiter brought them their butterbeers. He left his untouched. What would happen once they got to school? Would Harry make other friends and he'd never see her again? He wished Benedict was there. Benedict would talk it out with him and make him see reason.

Harry had been a little shocked when shed received the letter. They had both attended muggle school for years and now we're diving into a world magic that they ha never seen before. She excited for the new adventure! Exploring and trying new things had always been her forte. However, she couldn't say the same for Rhys. He was quiet and always had been, but she was usually able to get him to come out of his shell when they played pretend. Then again, they had always had their trusty Colonel Benedict beside them, but Mum and Da had asked him to leave him behind.

Harry was well aware that her parents thought that he was too old for Benedict, but she didn't. Benedict was his best friend (aside from her) and she too felt a little heart broken that he had to leave him behind. The school wouldn't allow them to share a bedroom like they had always had, and may not even place them in the same house, so Harry was a bit concerned for her brother.

They had decided to take a break a break from shopping to go try some butterbeer. It was supposed to be the best thing about arriving at Beauxbatons. So once they were settled and their drinks had arrived, Harry looked up to see her brother, who was a little more than melancholy. "Hey Lieutenant, you gonna be okay?" She asked softly and gave him a small smile.

Rhys played with his glass of butterbeer, swirling the contents around but not drinking any of it. They were told that butterbeer was really delicious and they had both been eager to try it but now Rhys wasn't feeling so excited anymore. He shrugged as Harry asked if he was going to be okay.

"I don't feel so well. Can we go home?" He asked, feebly. He knew he couldn't postpone going away forever, but he didn't feel like he was ready yet. So many things were going to change and Rhys just wanted them to stay the same.

Harry bit her lip and looked at her brother with pity. She wanted him to be happy, but she knew that they wouldn't be allowed to return home until break. She put a hand on his and smiled. "Hey big brother, whose gonna keep me company if you go home?" She asked and gave him a wink. She knew that the words were just sweet nothings, but she was hoping they'd help.

Harry had never been good at this stuff, but she knew that when she was sad, she'd try to make a game out of the situation. Smiling, she took his hand. "Imagine! We're captives on Thieves Island, and Colonel Benedict is trying to get the resources to get us home. We can't starve Lieutenant! We have to find the things on this list! Starting...with...coconut juice!" She smiled and picked up her butterbeer. "You can smell the sea salt on them!! Drink up! We need our strength to find everything else on the list!"

Rhys wrapped his fingers around his sister's small hand as she placed one on his out of comfort. He smiled slightly, appreciating her effort to cheer him up, but his stomach felt like a stormy ocean inside. "You'd have Lulu," Rhys pointed out. Though Harry didn't like to admit it, she needed her stuffed teddy Lulu to get to sleep. That was her only instance of weakness, whereas Rhys seemingly always needed some sort of crutch of support to function.

He was unsure at first as Harry made a plot in the form of one of their games in order to get him excited about shopping. He still wore a pitiful look as Harry called their butterbeers coconut juice and they had to drink them for energy to complete their task. A small smile creeped onto his face. "We did work pretty hard to get this coconut juice and it would be a shame to let it go to waste," Rhys spoke quietly. He clinked his glass of butterbeer against Harry's and raised it to his lips. He took a whiff of the beverage. It smelled sweet and warm. Rhys cautiously took a sip, the beverage's taste melting across his tongue. "Mmmmh!" He then took a few gulps and slammed down the half drunk glass with enthusiasm. "You're right, captain! Colonel Benedict Bear needs our help!"

The younger girl blushed slightly as her brother brought up her stuffed bear Lulu. Her father had given her Lulu when she was 3 and she had been overly fond of it ever since. Harry was so fond of Lulu that she did in fact have trouble sleeping if she didn't have her stuff teddy with her. The thought of it embarrassed her, and she didn't really want to bring it up, but the thought was quickly pushed away when Rhys started to play along.

Harry was happy that he decided to play along. She loved playing these games with her. They were a way for both of them to escape reality. She grinned. "That's the spirit!!" She cheered and high-fived her brother. "Where do we start our quest Lieutenant?" She asked handing him the list.

Rhys accepted the list, his eyes scanning over it. He was always more of the planner of the pair, whereas Harry liked to be spontaneous. Rhys needed plans in order to feel comfortable. He addressed a map of Amethyst Alley, trying to figure out what would be the most reasonable way of maneuvering between the shops. Then he realized an important detail.

"We'll need gold," He deadpanned, and then pressed a finger against the picture of the bank on the map. "We will reclaim our gold from the goblins guarding it first and then," his eyes danced across the map. The bank was seemingly at the end, so then they'd work backwards back towards the pub with their shopping. "Then we'll need to arm ourselves with sabers of glory," He pointed at the wand shop. "We'll need magical incantation scrolls," He pointed at the book shop. "Some food for Colonel," the potions shop. "And last but not least, armor," He pointed at the robes shop. Content with his plan, he leaned back in his chair and finished off the rest of his butterbeer.

Angharad grinned widely as the plans were unfurling and they were going to be going on an adventure in no time. She quickly gathered her things and finished off the 'coconut juice' and giggled a little bit as he talked about getting gold from 'goblins' and 'sabers of glory'. This was truly going to be an adventure. "Right! Once we have collected all of the items that we need, we can storm the hideout of the Thieves leader and take their treasures!" She laughed a little bit. She had meant the hideout to be Beauxbatons. She hoped that they game would help him cope with the whole idea of going there, it seemed to be working for now. However, you could never tell with her brother.

She smiled brightly and wrapped up them map once he was done and stored it in her bag. "For safe keeping." She said and winked. Taking his hand she looked up at him and asked, "Ready for an adventure?"

Rhys laughed at his sister's enthusiasm. Together they could usually create some pretty whacky plots to play out, which he always enjoyed. The game she made for them to play helped him focus on something besides his worries for the future, though they still rested in his brain on the back burner. He was trying his best though to not let them get to him. Overthinking only lead to anxiety.

He returned the now empty glass to the table and rose from his seat. He was content with his plan and so was Harry so their next step was to go and complete it. Harry had the map and list, so they were ready to go. He accepted his sister's hand into his own and together they walked to the door, unto their next step.