The Lure of Money ~open~

[eric]

During his winter break Eric had visited Gringott's Bank. His vault held many treasures, some expensive trinkets, some mundane. Trunks of sparkling gold almost fell over at the edges of the vault. The labors of hard work past. He had selected several of the trunks, two small and one medium sized to be delivered to his contact in London. His idea was simple, but he was sure no one had even thought of it before. In fact, he felt superior in the moment as he smiled to his American counterpart, and handed over the three trunks. The man was gone in a wisp, and Eric had returned to the Leaky Cauldron for a quick lunch. It was rare that he spent the holidays with his family. Honestly, he could care less for the festivities missed. It was not Eric's cup of tea.

Many months had passed since he had made the exchange with the American student. Although Eric was not at all apprehensive about the deal, he did have a tendency to grow impatient when it came to dealing with Americans. They always seemed so damned rushed, never stopping to enjoy the process. He figured that was fine in this instance. After all, he stood to gain a ton of money in this transaction. The American's fee was a small sum compared to the rewards that could be gained once Eric graduated this insufferable school. His eyes sparkled as he unrolled the parchment. Hazel orbs danced across each line under the low-light, and he nodded with every word. Things had gone exactly as planned, and the package had been delivered and inserted into his vault.

The current market value of gold overseas had sky rocketed in the last several months. Eric knew that there had to be a way to take advantage of this. His mind crawled over idea after idea until it struck him. His plan was simple, and delicious at the same time. A simple exchange could bring him more than he would give. The profits could be mind blowing, all he had to do was make contact with the right person. The right person turned out to be a long distance cousin of his mother's family. The male had some small amount of talent in magic and was going to a private school in the states. The tuition had to be hefty, and the con job Eric sent into motion was complete in a short period. His smirk moved across his lips as he rolled the parchment up and dipped the end into the flame from the torch on the wall. The parchment burnt to ash, and Eric began to move down the corridor.

He had talked his cousin into coming to London during the holidays and picking up three trunks of gold coins. These coins held the standard value in the wizarding world; however, melted down and turned into bars the same gold could be turned into mountains of muggle dollars. Muggle dollars were worthless in the wizarding cities, but they were a good thing to have when traveling abroad. With muggle money Eric could buy no end of muggle luxuries. He could rent a flat, buy anything he wanted or needed. He could use the money to bribe other muggles into his bidding without using a drop of his magical talent. Not to mention the fact that having muggle money could gain him access to more things those poor creatures produced that could turn a profit while inside the castle. Eric almost giggled at the thought.

He felt sure he was on an never ending cycle of profit and gain. Use muggle dollars to buy things that the other students would pay top gold to acquire. Smuggle in more items, and sell them at a premium price for gold. Then, take half the gold gained and turn it into muggle money to keep the cycle going for as long as his heart desired. Pretty soon he could make enough to employ someone else to do all the grunt work for him. He could sit back and watch his money roll in by the owl-load. Easy as taking candy from a first year Hufflepuff, not that he would bother to do such a thing. He never much cared for candy in the first place.

However, now was the time to consider who he could bring in on his little project. He would not mind having someone in charge of selling the stock to the other willing students. His mind played over many possible ideas, but he could not think of a single person at the moment. His own trust level was really low, and no one would ever be allowed to meet with his contacts, or know where the muggle items came from. No, all he needed was someone to sell items at the school, and collect their small cut while bringing the rest to Eric. Nothing less, nothing more. It would help if said person was attractive. Being attractive drove prices up, and made for pleasant business meetings. He leaned back against the wall and considered his plan a little more. Time slowly ticked by.

Tagg; Open Thread
Notes: Feel free to join.

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[roseweasley]

A laugh escaped Rose’s mouth as she sat on her bed in the Ravenclaw dorms. Some of the other girls came up with a few jokes that were actually funny. But funny as in, seriously, you thought up that? What was better were some of the pick up lines her cousin’s created, now those were something to laugh about. Normally Rose would just leave, but she was in a good mood and could not help but to see what Ravenclaws could come up with in the area of humor. To her, they did pretty good. The girl actually was full of giggles when she left the dorm. The girl did appreciate their acceptance of her, but she could not sit any longer she had to go out and do something. So the first place she went was the library. But she found nothing useful in there, other than one good laugh. There was a kid asleep in his chair. He was completely out cold and from the looks of it, a Gryffindor. It just made the girl grin when she walked over to him. She gave him a good poke, but all he did was grunt. So she took the seat next to him and begun drawing on his arm. In the end the boy had a Dark Mark printed clearly on his arm and Rose was terribly bored once more. The girl found herself sighing and trying to wake up the boy. “Man you are seriously out.” Rose shook her head and got up.

The brunette had such a wide attention span. She could never stay on something too long, she always jumped to something else. It was what led the girl outside and searching for something to do. She was still in her Hogwarts uniform and her hands were placed in her leather jacket. She didn’t bother changing into something else or making another trip to her dorm when she had astronomy later that night. The brunette jumped into a puddle causing small drops of water to run off her boots. She ran a hand through her hair and down her locks before she found someone alone near the lake. She raised an eyebrow and tilted her head to the side. There was something about Rose Weasley everyone should know. She had way too much confidence for her own good. She never feared going up to people and saying hi, or yelling at the top of her lungs with some friends. She was one of those free spirits needed a fix. The brunette put her hand back into her pocket and took her time walking over to the boy. Rose really didn’t care about what house they were in, or years, just that if they were interesting. The girl went to the wall and point her back onto it. The girl looked around a bit before finally looking at him. “Hey.” She said with a small nod.

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[eric]

She seemed cool, collected, confident. He words smooth, even if she only said a small amount. Her attitude was attractive almost immediately. Most of the people in the school knew of Eric, and knew that he was an unusual Slytherin. His personality was approachable, and he was often kind to those who others in his house might shun. Still, even if his attitude was different than most of the Slytherin, he was still widely accepted in his own house. He was an enigma, but this girl was an instant mystery. She was like a puzzle his mind immediately wanted to solve. His thoughts of money flashed to the forefront as he looked her over swiftly, then returned his attention to the crowd further down the aisle-way. His lips twitched into a small smile, all the same.

Mysteries often turned out to be profitable if one knew which direction to look, and Eric had become a master at turning a profit. His normal cheerful attitude was a huge cover for his true personality. This was what kept him ahead of the crowd when it came to figuring out who people were in a short amount of time. In his swift glance of this girl he noticed she was a Ravenclaw, and a highly attractive Ravenclaw all the same. Attractive girls were his favorite. Mainly because when it came to doing business, most others were weak in the eyes of a well built female. It was a strength girls had that Eric liked to use when selecting business partners, or partners in general. However, as a Ravenclaw could be so clever, he knew he should proceed with caution when it came to this girl. His eyes moved back to touch hers and he casually nodded in her direction.

The crowd moved away and Eric turned his full attention to the girl leaning against the wall. "Well, hello to yourself. I do not believe I have had the honor of knowing your name, dear. But, for the sake of introductions, I am Eric. Eric Strobe, profiteer, charmer, and all around nice guy." He made a half bow in her direction while keeping his eyes firmly planted on hers. He extended his hand in a small wave in front of him to cap off the bow, and then turned to lean against the same wall beside her. His voice dropped into a whisper. "So what brings a gal like you to a place like this?" He added a small laugh to show that he was teasing with the question and to let her know that she should take no offense at his mannerisms. Eric tilted his head so he could watch her from the corner of his eyes. This girl was already proving to be really interesting.

Tagg; Open, Rose
Notes: Thank you for joining.

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[roseweasley]

Rose was something else. She was one of those kids who could get along with most people, shine a smile and get what she wants. But she was also a girl no one should mess with. She had a temper and never was scared to get physical or dirty. She sort of had an empathy for things and just knew how to behave. At this moment, her attitude was cool and aloof. She was really bored, but she wasn’t a total brat, she wasn’t going to put it on full display. No she was polite and refined, unless the kid would give her a reason to act otherwise. So far he was keeping himself in his own compsture. He didn’t make a negative move and just went along with her greeting. Expect his was quite something. Most people didn’t introduce themselves the way he did. Rose giggled a bit and shook her head. “That was quite the introduction Mr. Strobe.” The girl passed her hand through her hair once more, a signature move of hers and let her brown eyes go onto his, matching the stare. She watched him bow and raised an eyebrow. He was quite different and certainly caught her attention.

The girl of course avoided her own introcution, seeing how far she could get away with it and went to his question. The girl sensed the lightness and smirked. She decided just to go with it. She turned and adjusted herself so she was leaning her shoulder and head against the wall, her brown hair hanging against it. “Well you see, a gal like me wants to know things. Magical things.” She nodded looking at him. Her eyes took his in. His almost matched her colored eyes, except she was pretty sure hers was a lighter brown. She thought about it for a bit. Just letting her mind wonder over the little appearances the boy held. He certainly did present himself more mature than immature. “It is quite simple.” She nodded, continuing from her last statement. “But a more interesting question would be, what brings a boy like you to this place in general?” she raised an eyebrow, a hint of smile danced on her face. She was being her playful self and continued the light atmosphere. She wasn’t one to go around picking fights, she enjoy people’s company, it was all in her nature, and so far, this kid had a good nature to match her’s.

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[eric]

He remained at her side, and continued to study her. She seemed bored, and Eric was not above a small spot of entertainment if the need arose. It appeared it had, because she was still talking to him. Although she had not introduced herself, Eric continued with the conversation as if she might have. Did he need her name? Not particularly, names were mere titles and held no weight in certain situations. What he was more interested in was her intentions. Was she simply in need of someone to keep her from being bored, or was there an ulterior motive for this conversation. Eric was always curious, and he flowed with the situation well. After all, she was attractive, and that alone could have it's uses.

Eric smiled at her statement, and wondered if he heard a small amount of flirtation in her words. It was not impossible. Flirting was a good way to cure the burden of boredom. However, flirting also was a great way to cover other intentions. Yet, flirting could also be just flirting. Eric pondered the complications of each cause and effect, and decided he would just play along and see where the conversation might led him. She was highly interesting, but he knew every path had to take him somewhere. Just where that somewhere might be was the real question. He leaned in to talk to her, mostly to be nearer to her and see her reaction, but also so he would not be overheard should someone else happen to walk by.

"In general," his soft voiced floated into the small space between them. His eyes continued to look into hers. "I suppose that, in general, I am just here to see where the day takes me. What profits might be gained, both physically and mentally from just being around. Seems to me that both needs might just as easily be filled at one time." He let the words fade into the air, and their meaning could be taken two different ways. He was curious as to which way she might decide that his meaning was meant. Eric was delighted he had encountered her today, her company was proving to be most entertaining.

[roseweasley]

Rose didn’t care much about the intentions of others. Everyone sort of had some kind of intention unless they were in the spur of things. She just thought if someone wanted something or to do something, well just go ahead and do it. But for Rose to have some kind of intention. Well that was a new one. She was always doing things out of the random. All different things but all for one thing, entertainment. That was what she was looking for. The brunette wanted something to do, something that would please her. Sadly she couldn’t find anything to give her that. It made her subconsciously walk up to the boy and talk to him. He, so far, seemed to keep her interest. But she was of course, sadly, entering her boredom. It was a constant thing that she could not shake. Could it be the want of having what her parents had? The constant adventure, something she would love to have, but never got. Excitement? That could have been it. It would have surely made a difference for her. The space between her and Eric became smaller but she didn’t move. She had a problem with limits and usually trying to push those limits, which left her close to Eric.

He never left her eyes and just went on with his answer. “Another victim to fate I see.” The girl nodded. She was one just to go with things and see what happened. She hated planning things. It left things too obvious and predictable, something that made things boring, well unless if it were a prank she was dealing with, then things just changed from there for her. But she was not dealing with a prank at the moment. The girl left his eyes and looked behind him and around. Students were minding their own business and going through with their day. None more interesting than Eric. The brunette’s eyes went back to his. “If you need a day to earn these profits,” she began with, her mind leading off in different directions, “Wouldn’t it be troublesome for it all to be filled at once?” the girl didn’t wait for him to answer. “What would you do for the remainder of the day?” Rose gave him her usual curious look. She liked challenging people and making them think things through, even though she hardly ever did that herself.

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