To Helena Armitage

[Owen Walsh]

(ooc: Attached is a box containing a set of antique vials from Borgin & Burkes, due to their shared inclination for poisoning people idk. OWEN IS A CREEP)

Dear Helena,

I would be remiss if I did not wish you the happiest of birthdays. Are you planning anything special?

Regards,
Owen Aaron Walsh

[Helena Armitage]

Dear Owen,

Thank you kindly for the gift, it was really rather unnecessary and you shouldn’t have gone to the trouble for little old me but I thank you greatly all the same, they’re rather beautiful.

I had a lovely birthday, I was in New York for it and it is so nice to forget England for a while and get away to new places. I cannot say I’m entirely pleased with being 32 but it seems the gods have chosen not to answer my prayers regarding aging and the possibility of wrinkles so… one must continue on regardless.

Apologies for the shameful and impolite belatedness of my reply; Christmas was rather tiring and trying on one’s cranium as, for no apparent reason, Mother decided we really ought to spend it with some of her side of the family from Scotland so we were at their estate deep in the Highlands for the holidays, cut off from most of humanity and technology. Let me just say, being trapped with one’s family (alright, namely I refer to my dear sweet brother, Leonardo) for longer than 4 hours ought to be considered a crime in the Western world.

But enough self-pity – how was your Christmas? Well, I hope.

Regards,
Helena x

[Owen Walsh]

Dear Helena,

It was no trouble at all. I saw the vials in Borgin & Burkes, and could not imagine them in the possession of anyone else.

I'm glad; I bet New York is lovely in winter. I've always wanted to visit the Met and the MoMA. You are beautiful, what are you talking abou Well, my mother has been 39 for eight years now. I sincerely doubt you have wrinkles, so it's hardly something to worry about.

Wow. I can hardly blame you for that; I only offer my deepest condolences for enduring such torture. I am surprised Leonardo decided to show

My Christmas was fine, thank you. My brother, of course, is too stubborn to come home for the holiday or pay his yearly visit to our father, and my mother refuses to reach out unless he does first. His housemates apparently had some sort of... multicultural winter solstice junkie pot-fest, so that's something, I suppose.

Regards,
Owen Aaron Walsh

[Helena Armitage]

Dear Owen,

Well you really are too kind, I must reiterate that, thank you.

New York really was lovely, it looks quite magical in winter and the shopping (admittedly the main reason I went) was every bit as brilliant as I was promised it would be. The Met and the MoMA were wonderful- you really ought to think about visiting yourself sometime, you know? I had to shush Isaac when he yammered on about his favourite works in the Met, however, so never ever go to a gallery with an artist, just a warning!

Ah well now, that is a point of course. Your mother is, if nothing else, relentlessly stubborn about being young. Oh, Owen, Owen, Owen... I am a woman therefore whether there are actual wrinkles or merely hypothetical ones, they're all equally horrendous to consider.

See, people think I am being unkind, that I ought to adore spending time with my family but I think you know just how tiresome it could be with the presence of a would-be rebel which Leonardo still considers himself.

I'm glad to hear your Christmas was good. Hmmm yes, I can sympathise with that, I similarly have a brother who often has a stubborness about returning home- maybe Kevin will also surprise you all one year...

Regards,
Helena x

[Owen Walsh]

Dear Helena,

Oh, you traveled with Isaac? That That's... nice That sounds lovely. I will most likely make the trip on my own someday, so I ought to be able to wander the Met in peace. I have no intention of whisking our artist friend Isaac away for a weekend, not to worry.

Of course, my mother being 39 makes me the product of a scandalous teen pregnancy. It is a real dilemma for her. I am sure you will remain beautiful at any age (and I remain certain that I am hardly the first one to tell you this), but if worse comes to worst, I find hiding behind glasses always works.

Not be rude, but I do not understand why Leonardo insists on staying in touch with the family if he is going to continue being difficult. I've come to a sort of equilibrium with Kevin... he's made his choices and I am not going to force him to do anything he does not want to do. It would be hell for all of us. If he does come around to the proper way of thinking, perhaps he will have done some much-needed growing up in the interim.

Regards,
Owen Aaron Walsh

[Helena Armitage]

Dear Owen,

Yes, Isaac had a meeting with a gallery contact and I invited myself along since he's recently purchased a rather nice apartment in Manhattan. We didn't travel together like that, you understand? I'd hate to give the wrong impression about my relationship to Isaac. No intention of whisking Isaac away for a weekend city break you say? Oh, come now, he'll be most disappointed to hear that! (I jest, of course)

I didn't realise just how many trials and tribulations your mother suffers to remain young. But you are really far too kind, Owen, to say such a lovely, complimentary thing about me. As to the glasses plan, I ought to wear them already but elect not to and favour contacts, but I'll keep that in mind thank you!

It's not rude at all, dear, I ask myself (and him!) the same question every time we meet at a family event. He has a soft spot for Mama, no matter how hard he tries to pretend he doesn't, and it was always Father who he butted heads with which, naturally, is no longer an issue.

Kevin being Kevin seems to be his way of, as they say, 'dealing with everything' that has happened. It's not the best way but there's nothing to be done about it. I have a sort of feeling that he has more affection for your mother and yourself than he'd care to show but it is there, of that I'm sure.

Now, I have a proposal/favour to ask of you. I've been invited to Ramone de Alessepi's new restaurant in Chelsea, it's a publicity thing that works both ways you know? Would you like to come with me? I simply hate eating alone and it is supposed to be really delightful food if that's any incentive?

Regards,
Helena x

[Owen Walsh]

Dear Helena,

How can he even afford-- I like Isaac, just not enough to spend an entire weekend with him. Unfortunately.

It's not that I don't understand Kevin's hesitation. My relationship with my father (and the rest of my family by extension) leaves me more... conflicted than I like to talk about, perhaps. Apologies, I do not wish to unload my entire history on you. I am sure that once my brother learns to string a sentence together, we can all look forward to the tell-all memoir about life as the son of a Death Eater murderer convict.

New restaurants are a bit of a gamble for my gluten allerg-- I would be delighted to accompany you, Helena. I do not do much dining out myself, but I am sure it will be wonderful. I eagerly anticipate being either strategically cropped out of pictures in the society pages, or misidentified as someone more notable.

Regards,
Owen Aaron Walsh