A Very Merry Christmas

[Asaiah Murphy]

Even though his parents had gotten extremely angry with him the moment he set foot inside of the Murphy residence, because of the letter they received from Hogwarts, they had still agreed on letting Jessica stay over for the holidays. After promising that he was going to do the dishes everyday, including on Christmas eve, Asaiah went to his bedroom to make sure that it was all cleaned up before Jessica would arrive, so that he wouldn't be embarrassed about the mess that was usually there when they would enter his room. Asaiah ran downstairs after he was done in his room, because his friend could arrive via the floo network any minute now. For a brief moment he wondered where his sister was, as Jessica was her friend as well, but that thought was erased from his mind when the fireplace started to flash green.

 

[Jessica Park]

Jessica didn't know why she was so nervous to be visiting Asaiah and his family, or rather what she told her parents, Hannah and her family. She never had a problem being honest with her parents about her whereabouts or what kind of shenanigans she got into, so she didn't know why she had lied to them and said she was going to be visiting Hannah instead of Asaiah, but either way she was going to the same place so she tried not to let it worry her too much. As nervous as she was she was more excited to visit. She hadn't written to Asaiah much since they had first met in November, but the end of the school year generally made everyone busy so she was excited to catch up with him in person. She was curious as to what he had been up to that he couldn't write to her about.

Once Jess had packed her bag she put her pink hair into braids because it was less flamboyant that way and she wanted to make a good impression on the Murphys. With her bag over her shoulder and a small pinch of floo powder she stated the address that Asaiah had given her and closed her eyes as she stepped into the green flames and felt herself beginning to travel. When the spinning stopped and she felt her feet hit the ground, she opened her eyes and saw Asaiah standing there in a living room. "Hi," she said with a laugh. ​

 

[Asaiah Murphy]

Asaiah's smile widened when she stood inside of fireplace in his living room. He'd been looking forward to today for a long time now, especially with the punishment he received at schoot and at home, and there she finally was. ''Hey you.'' Asaiah said. The oak floor made a squeaking sound as the fifteen year old stepped forward to offer Jessica his hand to help her get out of the fireplace. He stood alone with her in the warm and inviting living room of the Murphy residence, quite happy that neither of his three siblings were here at the moment because he was blushing slightly. ''Welcome to my home.'' he said, looking around in the living room. The main area, like the rest of the house, was mostly build and supported by dark wooden logs except for the fireplace, which was made completely out of stone. Hanging on the one of the wooden walls were at least a dozen pictures, most of them displaying the four Murphy siblings, smiling and laughing and being goofs, others photo's his father and mother had taken during their vacation trips. It wasn't much, but he loved all of it. Asaiah smiled again and pointed at the couch standing further away from the fireplace and the chairs surrounding it. ''Would you like to sit and catch up first before I destroy you?'' the Slytherin asked with a grin on his face.

 

[Jessica Park]

Jessica took Asaiah's hand as he helped her step out of the fireplace and smiled brightly at him. "Hi!" she said again with a small laugh. The last time they had met she hadn't known whether to hug him or not, but she figured since she was staying at his place this time, they could get more comfortable. She leaned forward and hugged him briefly before stepping back and smiling at him, hoping she wasn't blushing. She looked around at the house, already noticing the pictures which she couldn't wait to get a closer look at later and said, "Thanks for having me!" She could tell this was a home that Asaiah had lived in all his life and she wished she could've had something like that but she was distracted by Asaiah asking her a question. She looked away from the pictures and looked back at him, nodding her head with a chuckle. "You're only prolonging the inevitable defeat you're gonna face, but sure!" she laughed. She carefully put her bag down beside her and took a seat on the couch, patting the seat beside her so Asaiah could sit. "Where's the rest of your family?" she wondered briefly, looking around, before turning back to him. She didn't want to be in the middle of some embarrassing story just to have his family walk in on the worst part so she wondered if they would have privacy to freely talk first before she asked him about his stories. ​

 

[Asaiah Murphy]

Jessica was looking at the pictures on the wall, and Asaiah could feel his cheeks burning as she did, feeling somewhat embarrassed that she was looking at them. ''It's a pleasure having you.'' he told her truthfully because it really was nice having his friend stay over for the holidays. Asaiah laughed at the girl's comment. However, all this talk of the two of them beating one another in a match made him wonder if she could actually strike him down during a game. He had only been hit once or twice during his years on the Slytherin team, so the sudden thought of getting hit till he was unconscious kind of scared him. He shrugged when Jessica asked where the other Murphy's were. ''I know that mom and dad are still at work, but I don't know where Thomas, Jen, and Hannah are.'' Asaiah had a feeling that he knew where Hannah was at the moment though, because she had been there pretty much everyday since she came back from school. ''Actually, I think Hannah is in her bedroom upstairs, sleeping.'' He knew that looking for work had to be very tiring but this was ridiculous. ''You can wake her up if you want to? I think she's been in her room ever since breakfast this morning.'' the fourth year told his friend, knowning that one of the reasons she'd agreed to come over was so she could see her school friend again.

 

[Jessica Park]

Jessica shook her head when Asaiah said she could go upstairs to wake up Hannah. "No I don't want to bother her, I can just catch up with her later," Sica said with a casual shrug. "You'll just have to keep me company," she said, sticking her tongue out at him playfully. Jessica got comfortable and tucked her feet under her legs as she turned to look at Asaiah. "So how was the rest of your semester?" she asked, since she hadn't had a chance to talk to him since November and his letter it had seemed like a lot had happened for him.​

 

[Asaiah Murphy]

''You really wouldn't bother her at all, all she does is apply for jobs and sleep in bed.'' he said with a chuckle. ''But if you really don't want to, suit yourself.'' he continued, grinning. ''Oh... yeah, no, that's... keeping you company is such an awful thing to do.'' Asaiah replied, winking awkwardly at her while still grinning. He had only seen her before once, but the fifteen year old already enjoyed being around Jessica very much.''It was both the best and the worst semester I've ever had.'' The Slytherin told his friend when she asked him about it. ''My friends and I did some major rule breaking and then got punished for it.''

 

[Jessica Park]

Jessica laughed and said, "Well I wouldn't want to disturb this routine she's got going." She had plenty of time to catch up with Hannah, and she didn't know how often she would get to hang out with Asaiah once the older girl was awake so she wanted to take advantage of the opportunity now. She pretended to be offended by what he said but she laughed anyway saying, "Too bad, you're stuck with me!" She playfully hit him with a throw pillow as revenge and then quieted down as he began to tell her about his semester. Sica frowned a little as he said it was the best and worst he'd had. She raised her eyebrows, intrigued at the rule breaking he mentioned, but then she said, "Oh no, don't tell me you got caught?" That could explain the worst part of his semester. "Okay good stuff first, what did you guys do?" she asked.
​

 

[Asaiah Murphy]

Asaiah laughed when Jessica pretended to be offended and hit him with one of the pillows before telling her what he couldn't back then. ''Oh, we did, but not immediately after. No, it took the Deputy Headmaster a few weeks to find those responsible for it.'' He said. Thinking back on it now, he remembered how lucky he was feeling when the first week passed and the professor hadn't caught them yet. ''Depends on whether you think it's good - we did - but others might not. Basically my friend and I broke into another common room and then trashed it, even left a little surprise for some of the students. We thought we were good and went back to our own common rooms when we were doing there, but apparently some portrait saw us enter and leave the place. That's how Deputy knew it was us.'' Asaiah would've told her the entire story but didn't because he did not know whether or not she thought it was funny too. ''The punishment the three of us received is kinda sh!t, specially because the guy wrote to our parents. Imagine mine being all worked up and furious when I got back home - luckily I conviced them that you could still come.'' he said.

 

[Jessica Park]

Jess scooted closer eagerly as Asaiah began to tell what he and his friends had done. She laughed and shook her head when he said they broke into a common room and trashed it. "Why did you guys decide to trash it, just for fun? What kind of surprise did you leave?" she wondered, curious about what kind of group of friends just decide to do that. Not that she was judging, a little prank every now and then never hurt anyone. "Can't believe you got caught though, what a rookie mistake," she shook her head as if she was disappointed in him, laughing a bit to tease him. But when he mentioned punishment afterward she looked at him sympathetically. "I'm sorry about it, that really sucks. But at least I'm here!" she grinned brightly, trying to cheer him up. She was surprised his parents had still let her come over but she figured Hannah played a factor in that since she was the older girl's friend too and not just Asaiah's. After a moment Jess looked at him with a hint of mischief in her eye and asked, "...So...was it worth it?" chuckling a little. Sometimes doing the deed in the first place was reward enough even if you got caught afterward so she wondered if Asaiah was regretting his decision or not.
​

 

[Asaiah Murphy]

Asaiah smiled when she moved closer to him whilst he was telling her about the Ravenclaw common room, blushing slightly. "We decided to trash the common room because some students in that house have been a pain in our butts." he replied. "It was retaliation for everytime they were shitheads to us. As for the surprise, we put manure on their pillows, made them roll their faces into it." Asaiah snickered at the mere thought of Teagan's face right after she woke up. It served the girl right for going after his best friend at the Yule Ball back in their previous year. The Slytherin chuckled slighty when she was teasing him about getting caught, and hit her back with the throw pillow next to him, smiling playfully while doing so. "Yeah, I am glad you are here." he said truthfully. "You being here makes the break a lot better. If you weren't, I'd probably be cleaning the bathroom with my toothbrush." He knew that if she hadn't decided to stay over he would really be cleaning the house. He nodded his head when Jessica asked if trashing the common room was worth it. Besides from the punishment the three of them received, it was fun to hear about how the girls reacted when they found out about thw manure.

 

[Jessica Park]

"Oooh so it was an act of revenge," she said excitedly, raising her eyebrows, surprised and impressed that someone like Asaiah had it in him. Sica laughed when he mentioned the little surprise they had left and shook her head. "You're evil," she said, still laughing. "I didn't think you were capable of something like that, but I'm impressed," she teased. She laughed when he hit her back with the pillow like she had done earlier. "I bet as soon as I leave you'll be under house arrest," she said in her accent, shaking her head for him. "So we gotta make the most of it while I'm here!" she decided. "It's a pity I'm gonna have to beat you at Quidditch too, that's two losses for you," she teased, laughing at him again before saying, "Sorry!" because she wasn't trying to make fun of his misfortune.
​

 

[Asaiah Murphy]

Asaiah grinned at Jessica's comment. ''I guess there are a lot of things you don't know I'm capable of.'' he told the girl next to him. ''Yeah, I'm pretty sure I will be.'' he said, not looking forward to the day she would leave because he knew it was going to happen the minute Jessica was gone. ''Can't you just stay here until I have to get back to school?'' the fifteen year old asked jokingly, though a part of him wished that she could stay. His smile faded away when Quidditch was mentioned once more. ''Right, I should probably say this, don't expect me to be one of the Beaters when it's us you and your team are playing against. We've been pretty much been kicked off our teams.'' Asaiah still couldn't believe that professor Cliffeton had done this, couldn't believe that he was actually kicked off the team.

 

[Jessica Park]

For some reason, Asaiah's comment about her not knowing what he was capable made the girl blush and she wasn't sure why. She laughed nervously and hoped her cheeks weren't as pink as her hair but his next comment did little to stop her from feeling something like butterflies in her stomach. She had thought Asaiah was cute the moment she saw him but she had tried to brush it off because she barely knew him and he was Hannah's little brother. But after talking to him through letters for so long and meeting him in person twice now, she was afraid she wouldn't be able to deny it to herself much longer. Sica tried not to think about that as she shook her head with a small laugh. "Nah you'd probably get sick of me after a week," she joked, trying not to get her hopes up over his comment.

Then her face fell when he revealed he had been kicked off his team. "No!" she said rather loudly, clapping a hand over her mouth quickly and mouthing 'Sorry.' She was enjoying her time with Asaiah so she didn't want to accidentally wake Hannah up just yet. Jess looked crestfallen at Asaiah and said, "You got kicked off because of your prank?" though it was more of a rhetorical question because she could pretty much assume she was correct. "That sucks so much!!" She was disappointed she wouldn't be able to play against Asaiah professionally but she was also upset as a Quidditch player herself. "I would die if that happened to me. I'm so sorry Asaiah," she said sympathetically.
​

 

[Asaiah Murphy]

Asaiah shrugged. ''I don't know, between having to spend the holidays with you, or having to do every chore in the house? I think that I would definitely choose to spend it with you.'' he told Jessica with a smile on his face. Of course he would rather spend his time with his friend, she was interesting, fun, and for some reason he couldn't get her out of his head.

He chuckled and said. ''Oh, trust me, I feel dead inside.'' Although it was meant as a joke, Asaiah couldn't shake the thought of having to disappoint the two captains. He knew how badly Alana wanted to win this season, and had done his very best to make sure that she'd be proud of him whilst playing, but here he was; confined to his common room and banned from any extracurricular activities. ''It's okay, it's my own fault really.. Now, tell me, what do you want to do today?'' Asaiah didn't feel like talking about the punishment they received anymore, so brought up something that was a bit more important at the moment.

 

[Jessica Park]

Jessica smiled softly when he said he would choose to spend it with her, but she told herself not to think too much into it. Anyone would choose to have a friend over instead of doing chores, so it wasn't a big deal that Asaiah would say that. She had to keep that in mind. "I'm sure we'll get a chance to play against each other some other time," she said optimistically. She smiled sympathetically at him for one more moment before considering his question. "Well, since you will be under house arrest until probably forever, we have to make the most of this time!" she said brightly, smiling at him so her eyes crinkled. "Let's go somewhere! Are you allowed to leave while I'm here? Take me to the glowworm caves?" she said all at once excitedly, shrinking shyly in embarrassment slightly. "If not a tour of the Murphy house would be just as good," she offered happily, in case he couldn't leave the house. "Maybe you can show me your room," she said boldly, though she tried to sound as casual as she could.
​

 

[Asaiah Murphy]

Asaiah smiled when she did, feeling a rush of happiness, or whatever it was that he was feeling, flowing through him. He nodded. "I'm sure we will." he commented. Of course there was going to be another time for them to play against each other because, let's be honest, the Slytherin Quidditch team was probably the best team at the moment. Asaiah agreed with her that they should make the best of their time while she was still here. The teen shook his head at Jessica's question. "I'm not. I'm only allowed to leave the house with one of my parents. But don't worry, we will go to the caves for sure." he told her. Asaiah was excited to show her more of New Zealand and knew that she was going to love it here. "Sure, we could go to me room." he said, smiling nervously for a moment. He couldn't figure out why he was feeling nervous all the sudden, she was his friend so surely nothing would happen, nothing had happened when he brought Marisol to his bedroom. Asaiah stood up and gestured Jessica to follow him.

 

[Jessica Park]

Jess nodded in understanding when he said he wasn't allowed to leave the house unless he was with his parents. She had figured as much, but she smiled brightly when he assured her they would go to the caves while she was visiting. Whether it was with Asaiah or all of his family she was just excited to go eventually. In the mean time, she liked hanging out with him now. She knew she had suggested it but she suddenly felt nervous to go to Asaiah's room but she stood up and followed him anyway. "Lead the way," she smiled politely. Jess didn't know why she was feeling so nervous, usually she didn't shy away from someone if she liked them, and she wished she could flirt with Asaiah more just to try and figure out if he liked her back. But something about him being Hannah's little brother made her hesitate to do that so she had to keep her distance, even if she didn't really want to. "How close is it to Hannah's room?" she asked, throwing caution to the wind. During her stay at the Murphy house she would be staying with Hannah in her room, and Jess was so excited to catch up with the girl because she hadn't seen her since she had graduated, but she was still curious as to how close Asaiah would be in case she wanted to hang out with him too. Jess was feeling conflicted and she knew she was flirting with danger by asking these kinds of questions, but she couldn't help it. She wondered how Asaiah would react if she kept asking certain questions.
​

 

[Asaiah Murphy]

He walked out of the living room and into the hallway with Jessics following him. Asaiah could feel his heart beat faster as they walked up the stairs and towards his bedroom at the end of the landing. He'd only once felt this nervous before and that was when he was about to kiss Zara, but he wasn't going to kiss Jessics was he? He pointed at the open door closest to his when she asked where Hannah's bedroom and said. "It's that one." and grinned when he saw a sleeping Hannah lying on her bed. The teen approached his door and opened it. His bedroom was rather small, probably the smallest bedroom in the house because he was the last to be born. It was filled with posters of his favourite Quidditch team, the Macaws, hanging on the walls, as well as several scarfs and other merchandise. "So, this is my room.." he said as they entered, hoping that she wouldn't think it was childish of him to have so much Quidditch related stuff on his walls.

 

[Jessica Park]

Jessica peeked into the room he said was Hannah's and snickered lightly when she saw her friend asleep but she tiptoed past it because she didn't want to disturb her and wake her up. When they got to Asaiah's room, Sica inhaled as if bracing herself for something, but as he opened the door and she looked in, any nerves or worriedness just melted as she smiled. She stepped in cautiously at first and looked around at everything, running her fingers over things lightly. "So you're a Macaws fan?" she asked mock-innocently since it was completely obvious from the state of his room. She grinned at him and laughed lightly. "Would it be cliche of me to admit right now that I'm a Holyhead Harpies fan?" she said with a nervous laugh. "But I also like the Tuscan Charmers a lot too!" she added quickly as if that would make up for her predictable taste in Quidditch teams. Sica looked around his room some more and then sat on his bed comfortably, crossing her legs underneath her. "Is this okay?" she asked, referring to sitting on his bed, after the fact.
​

 

[Asaiah Murphy]

He was glad that she didn't say anything about the posters and stuff because he was sure that she would think that it was a bit too much. Instead he apologised for the mess lying on the bedroom floor. Asaiah had never really been a fan of cleaning his room, preferred it so be messy instead because now he was able to find his stuff. Asaiah grinned at the girl's question. ''Big time.'' he told Jessica. He'd been a Macaws fan ever since he went to his first Quidditch match, and was still a fan of them nine years later. He smiled and shook his head. ''Not at all, the Harpies are a pretty good team so I get why you would support them. Same goes for Tuscan Charmers - just don't forget that the Moutohora Macaws are the best team out there.'' He commented, winking playfully at her. Then Jessica sat down on his bed and asked if that was okay. ''Of course.'' Asaiah replied, smiling nervously. He sat down next to Jessica and turned himself towards her. ''So, I figured that after dinner I could maybe show you around the area if that's okay with mom and dad? There are some pretty cool spots in the forest.'' Asaiah said.

 

[Jessica Park]

Jessica laughed when Asaiah told her the Macaws were the best team out there and shook her head. "I'm not sure about that, but if you say so," she chuckled. "I like the Harpies and the Charmers so I don't know which one I would like to play for when I go pro," she said thoughtfully. She smiled when Asaiah came to sit next to her and nodded when he suggested what they do after dinner. "Sounds good!" she said brightly, nodding her head enthusiastically. "I'm kind of nervous to meet your parents," she admitted afterward, twisting a pink braid in her hands. "Have they ever met a girl friend of yours?" she wondered, fishing for whether he had a current girlfriend now or if he had brought someone over before her. She shouldn't care about this stuff but she did anyway.
​

 

[Asaiah Murphy]

Asaiah laughed too. He knew that the Macaws weren't actually the best team out there at the moment, but he would happily take any chance he got to tease his friend about Quidditch, as they had been doing that to one another from the get-go. ''I'd say play for the team that has the best stats, which is probaly the Harpies. Besides who wouldn't want to play for the team legendary Beater Gwenog Jones once played for?'' he asked, looking at Jessica with a questioning look. He was happy to hear that she thought it was a good idea to walk around the house after dinner, because there was a lot he wanted to show her, specially their own Quidditch Pitch. He nodded at Jessica's question. ''My best friend, Marisol, stayed with us back in our first year so mom and dad have met her. They've also met another school friend of mine when we were on a vacation on the South Island, but that's about it, I think.'' Asaiah thought that it was kind of cute of her to be nervous to meet his parents because he knew that she really didn't have to. ''I will bet you that they'll think the world of you, especially dad, since you play Quidditch as well.'' Asaiah added.

 

[Jessica Park]

Sica considered what he said and nodded thoughtfully. "True, true," she agreed, "But I have a soft spot for the Tuscan Charmers because they were the first team I ever saw play back in Italy," she explained to him. As a military brat she had traveled to a lot of places and Italy just happened to be the first place where she learned about Quidditch since she was also muggle born. "Plus, whatever team I choose will end up becoming the best and have the best stats after I join, so what if I like the challenge of a lesser known team," she said with a playful laugh. She liked talking to Asaiah about Quidditch because most of the time her other friends didn't understand her passion for it. She nodded when he explained that two other girls had already met his parents before and she didn't know whether to feel relieved or feel more pressure because of it. But his next comment made her smile softly. "I hope so," she said truthfully. She laughed lightly when he said her dad would like her because she played Quidditch and said, "Are you going to show me the Quidditch pitch where we can play? Does your whole family play with you? Since you can't play back at school we should play as much as we can while we're here!" she rambled before laughing a little in embarrassment. "Sorry, sometimes I get too excited," she half covered her face with a hand, laughing lightly.
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[Asaiah Murphy]

He understood why she would choose to play for the Charmers because he wanted to play for the Moutohora Macaws for the same reason. ''Fair enough.'' he said. ''Go with whatever team feels like the natural choice to you then.'' He couldn't really say more about it, as this was a choice she had to make herself, he just hoped that whatever team she would join later, they would get to play against one another. Asaiah chuckled at Jessica's next comment. ''You really think you're the best do you? Man, I hate to burst your bubble, but we both know that the best Beater is a boy from Auckland, New Zealand.'' He bit his lower lip and smirked. A smile curved his lips when she began to ask him questions. ''I'm definitely showing you our Pitch.'' he began. ''Sometimes everyone plays, yes. And I was already planning on playing as much as I'm allowed to while you're staying over.'' He loved that Jessica got so excited over Quidditch, loved that she was probably more excited about it than any of his other friends. He shook his head whilst laughing. ''Don't apologise, I think it's cute you get all excited about this.'' the Slytherin told Jessica.