Spoonful of Sugar (Freddie)

[Ophelia Mae Teller]

Ophelia was so excited; today was the day she’d be heading to the orphanage for volunteering! She had taken Shilo’s advice and gotten in touch with Freddie Cache, the director of the orphanage, and he had invited her today to meet with him, and discuss what she would be good at doing for the hospital. She had of course, done her research; Freddie seemed like a very respectable person who absolutely loved what he did, qualities Ophelia herself valued greatly. She had tried to dress less….outlandish today, but hadn’t been able to resist pairing her black long sleeved dress with her bright yellow and black striped tights; it just went so well together. She bounced up the steps of the orphanage and knocked. A young girl answered the door; she seemed momentarily speechless as Ophelia beamed down at her. “Hi! I have a meeting with Fred- Mr. Cache today, can you let him know I’m here? My name is Ophelia,” she told her kindly.



@frederick

[Deleted]

Freddie was really going to have to talk to those kids about answering the door. First Brian the other day, now Jenny! He sighed when he was retrieved, already exhausted from a day of paperwork. He set aside time for paperwork once a week, and today was that day. Luckily, it was almost time to be finished when Jenny came in to fetch him. His office was beside the entrance and the door always open when he wasn't in a meeting. That was one good thing about being close to the door, the kids who answered it weren't too far away.

He jumped up and ran toward the door, ecstatic about stopping his paperwork. "OPHIE!" he cheered happily when he saw who it was, "come in, come in, love," he leaned forward to kiss her cheek as he ushered her inside. Once in he took a step back to survey her, "my, my. Did you get more beautiful since the last time I saw you?"

Ophelia Mae Teller

[Ophelia Mae Teller]

Oh he remembered her! Ophelia was very happy; she’d met him once when Shilo briefly introduced him to her, but that was weeks ago. She knew he had been a fellow Hufflepuff at Hogwarts, but the man was ten years older than her; they had not gone to school together. She beamed as he ushered her in his office, and laughed at his compliment. “Oh stop I do not,” she bantered back playfully, taking a seat in front of his desk. “Though I did put more effort into my hair today than just throwing it up in a bun,” she admitted, laughing a bit. She had looked quite a bit less professional than she did today; though this wasn’t necessarily an interview for a paying job, she still wanted to keep up her good impression. “I must tell you I am so impressed by how things are around here; everyone seems quite happy,” she told him, looking around the small office.

@frederick

[Deleted]

Freddie chuckled as she bantered at his compliment. Freddie didn't consider himself a flirt, just an honest person who liked to tell it how it was. Especially when it came to compliments that were well deserved. "Well, the hair is lovely," he complimented as she drew attention to it.
"Thank you so much!" Freddie beamed at her words. "It is a lot of hard work. Our volunteers carry us," he moved to stand beside her, gesturing to a picture of some volunteers on his wall, "are you ready to get started?" he added.

Ophelia Mae Teller

[Ophelia Mae Teller]

Ophelia’s smile grew wider as he complimented her hair. “Oh stop,” she said with a giggle. She looked at the picture of volunteers; they all looked quite happy to be there, doing what they liked doing instead of a mundane job they went to every day. “Are there a lot of people who work here full time, or mostly volunteers?” she asked, as she got up to walk with him. “And of course I am ready! I brought a change of clothes too to something more casual if needed, just in case,” she told him excitedly. Ophelia had come prepared; she hadn’t been sure if they were going to just talk today about the different opportunities the orphanage used their volunteers, or if she would actually get to meet and interact with the kids, aside from the girl who opened the door of course. “Also do the kids call you Mr. Cache, or Freddie?” she asked him curiously. He seemed to be the type of fellow who would let anyone just call him Freddie and not worry about the


@frederick

[Deleted]

Ophelia was so nice, Freddie was happy to have her around. She asked about people who worked full time verses volunteers and he shrugged sadly. "There are a decent amount of employees, of course, but most of our help is volunteer. There are just so many other important and great jobs out there, so I understand, but... it's still a little hard," he admitted. She said she was ready and that she brought a change of clothes and he grinned. "Perfect! I could use some help in the kitchens today, so you may want to change. It's down the hall, to the left if you want to meet me there. Some of of the kids will be helping us as well!" He spoke excitedly and quickly, opening the office door for her. At her question, his grin grew wider. "Mostly everyone calls me Freddie. You are free to as well!"

Ophelia Mae Teller

[Ophelia Mae Teller]

Ophelia beamed happily as Freddie outlined briefly what they’d be doing today. “Oh! I love cooking!” she exclaimed, clasping her hands together. “Of course, I’m no gourmet chef but I do love it,” she said with a giggle. She hurried off to the bathroom to change into leggings and a bright pink tshirt. She came back out and did a little twirl. “Is this better Freddie?” she asked, putting her hands on her hips and laughing a little. She pulled a hairtie off her wrist and tied her hair back better in a bun. “Just in case it gets messy,” she teased, rubbing her hands together. “Right! I am ready,” she declared.

@frederick

[Deleted]

Freddie prepared things in the kitchen with some of the older kids as she arrived, spinning to ask if her outfit was any better. He grinned, nodding excitedly, "what a bright color! It suits you! Now, come along, over here," he beckoned as she put her hair up and rubbed her hands together. "Oh, it most certainly will get messy. We like to make quite a ruckus around here, love. All right, you and Charlie over here will get started on the batter. Here is the recipe," he shoved the book toward her, "we're making pie!" he exclaimed happily and soon her and about four kids were all set at work, laughing and making the biggest mess they could as they went. At one moment, he turned to Ophelia and reached over to wipe a bit of chocolate frosting onto the tip of her nose. "What a good look for you!"

Ophelia Mae Teller

[Ophelia Mae Teller]

Ophelia beamed; ruckus and messes suited her just fine. “I am ready,” she declared, following him into the kitchen and taking the book with the recipe. “Pie is my favourite, especially chocolate!” she exclaimed, and smiled as one of the children shyly agreed with her. She crouched down to be level with the child. “Can I count on you to be my special helper today?” she asked kindly, and the girl nodded in excited agreement. They made the inner contents of the chocolate pie, making a happy mess along the way. Ophelia giggled as Freddie wiped a bit of the chocolate frosting off the tip of her nose. “Why thank you!” she said, curtsying, then grinned at her little helper. “I think I know a good look for you too,” she said, trailing off before the little girl ran forward covered in flour and wrapping her arms around Freddie’s middle. “See? The white is a nice contrast!” she said, laughing as she gave the girl a high five.

@frederick

[Deleted]

Freddie grinned as she said that pie was her favorite, "well, that's perfect!" he exclaimed, ruffling one of the kids hair. Ophelia made friends with one of the kids, and they got to work. Then, it seemed Ophelia and the little girl had planned an attack! Freddie yelped and then laughed, looking down at his waist. "Ooh, that is a good luck, you're right!" he turned toward Brian, one of the kids beside him, "how shall we repay miss Ophelia?" he asked him. Brian grinned, picked up a scoop of sugar with a spoon and turned to Freddie with a raised eyebrow. Freddie nodded, and Brian flung the sugar toward Ophelia, careful not to aim for the eyes.

Ophelia Mae Teller

[Ophelia Mae Teller]

Ophelia knew there’d be retribution and it came in a sugary sweet format. She squealed but was laughing; the child had made sure to not get it anywhere near her eyes, but now of course her shirt was covered in a sticky mess of chocolate, flour and sugar. “I think after this is all said and done we’ll need a lesson on cleaning,” she said teasingly. She didn’t mind getting messy though; after all what was life without a few messes to clean up? She was having a delightful time; she could tell Freddie was running a great program and cared about all the kids, which was heartening. She couldn’t help but feel sad for the orphans losing their parents, but was happy someone like Freddie was there to help care for them. “Alright, lets get these beauties into the oven, and remember to always ask an adult for help with hot things!” she told them. She pulled on a pair of oven mitts and gently put the pies in the oven. She closed the door and reached over for the timer. With a smile, she held it out to Brian. “Can you set that for thirty minutes for me? We can count by fives together,” she told him, showing him the numbers on the dial so that he’d understand where to set it for.

@frederick

this thread is so sugary sweet I'm in love with it

[Deleted]

Ophelia was a complete delight and Freddie was laughing the entire afternoon cooking. He nodded as she spoke about the lesson on cleaning, "awe, yes, well, we've had a lot of lessons on that because of the messes we love to make, right guys?" a few of the kids nodded, a few cheered and giggled. "But we do it the muggle way, since theses ones can't do magic. Or shouldn't be overusing it at least," he chuckled.

Freddie grinned as she helped the kids get the pies in the oven and he started to clean up a bit as she had Brian help her with the timer. He smiled at her, grateful to have her around today.

During that thirty minutes on the timer, the two of them helped the kids clean up. More than once Freddie had to leave the kitchen to handle a few things but Ophelia was all right alone with the kids. Then, when the time came, they let the pies cool before eating them with dinner. The cooks had prepared the official meal, and Freddie was glad to have a chance to sit down. "Now, we just need to get the kids to bed. The older kids are fine, but if you're comfortable with reading a story or two I have just the spot for you!"

Ophelia Mae Teller

[Ophelia Mae Teller]

Ophelia beamed at the suggestion. “I’d love to read a story!” she exclaimed. She skipped over to her bag and pulled out her book of fairy tales. There were of course some dark tales in the Grimm world, however this particular tome had been revised in order to be more child friendly. Her mother had read to her from that book every night when she was a young girl, and her particular favorite was Sleeping Beauty. While it seemed for a moment hope was lost, there came the happy ending


She followed Freddie into the room and she settled down on the floor with some beanbags. “Gather round, it’s story time! Tonight you guys will get to hear my favorite; Sleeping Beauty,” she said. The little girl who had helped bake the pies scurried over and nestled against Ophelia, and she couldn’t help but smile at her. “Once upon a time, in a far away kingdom, a king and queen were celebrating the birth of their baby girl. Her name was Aurora…”


When she finished her story, she was glad to see most of the kids were sleepy or sleeping, much like the kingdom of Sleeping Beauty. Careful not to disturb them, she got up and tiptoed out of the room and closed the door behind them. “They’re so sweet,” she told Freddie softly, holding the book to her chest.

@frederick

[Deleted]

Freddie grinned as Ophelia agreed to reading a story. She had even brought her own book! Fantastic. Freddie followed her into the room where some of the kids were gathered and more appeared as she called out for the story time. Once they were all settled in, Freddie left the room to let her lull them to sleep with the story as he got finished up with some other things.

He arrived back just in time for the story to end and to help the girls into their beds and tell the older kids to get to their beds as well. They slipped out and closed the door and Freddie turned to her with a wide grin. He nodded at her words, "they are when there is a pretty girl around. You should see them on a normal day," he winked, only half joking.

"Would you care for a spot of tea in my flat before you head out?" he offered, gesturing above them. "It's just upstairs," he offered sweetly.

Ophelia Mae Teller

[Ophelia Mae Teller]

Ophelia giggled and swatted at him. “Such a flatterer,” she teased. She didn’t mind it though; Ophelia thought the world was a better place if people were kind and said nice things to each other. Especially when the compliments were coming from someone who was kind, and handsome to boot. “Tea would be lovely, thank you,” she agreed, following him up the stairs to his flat. She took a seat on the couch as she waited for him to make tea, giggling a little as she saw she still had a few chocolate stains on her shirt.


“So Mr. Cache, I’ve read about your story in the magazine, and Shilo’s told me about you. But what about you should I know?” she asked him, accepting the mug of tea with a bright smile. She was interested in his back story; how he became the director of the orphanage that was famous for treating its’ orphans with love and kindness, an unfortunately rare thing in todays’ world. Freddie overall just fascinated Ophelia; she didn’t think she’d ever meet anyone else as bright and bubbly as her, but here he was in the flesh!

@frederick