Bye Bye Butterfree

[Xavier Jeffreys]

Xavier whistled a chirpy tune to himself as he sat cross legged and comfortable on the great lawn with glass jars containing different types of bugs lined up in front of him. The jars were his precious bug collection, with bugs and insects of various kinds captured within the glass, each containing their own small habitats. Xavier took turns picking up and inspecting closely one last time before untwisting the lid from each jar, setting the bugs free and watching them crawl back into the wilderness. He adored his bugs with his whole heart and felt pride knowing he had both discovered and captured them all on his own. Each of them were interesting creatures in their own right, with their own personalities and names. It made the Hufflepuff boy sad to let them all go after getting to know them but he knew all good things came to an end. He couldn't keep his beloved bugs captured forever because they belonged outside and setting them free was the only way to ensure his beloved insect friends would live long and happy lives. It was a bittersweet moment for the young Hufflepuff. But he tried not to let the sadness he was feeling to say final goodbyes to his bug friends bother him too much as he continued to whistle while watching them leave their makeshift glass homes to roam free outside once more. ​

 

[Diane Winters]

Diane didn't get outside onto the grounds much, lately she had been spending most of her time in the library or at Hogwarts monthly. Her social life suffered as a result and well into her second year there was no one she could really call a friend. The only thing she was thankful of was that her father didn't get the job as Astronomy Professor so he wasn't at the school to see how much of a social outcast she had become in such a short time. Diane had packed away her books early that day since she was reasonably on track with all her homework so she decided to take the opportunity to head out on the grounds to enjoy some fresh air and sun. Dropping her bag off in the Slytherin common Diane made her way outside and onto the lawn. It was a warm day as most were in New Zealand at the time of year, it was still strange for Diane, she still thought of November as a cold, snowy month as it had been in New York. Even one and a half years into her new life she was not used to the weather. Making her way across the grounds she spotted someone from a far and what he was doing seemed strange. As she got closer she realised what it was she was seeing, it was a boy and by the looks of it he was realising bugs out of jars and onto the ground. With no one else around, the Slytherin decided to approach him. "Whatcha doing there?" She asked the boy as she got closer to him.

 

[Xavier Jeffreys]

Knowing that his beloved bug friends would be happier in the great outdoors where they were supposed to be kept Xavier from changing his mind about releasing all of them, but that didn't make the heartache any easier. He had gotten to know each bug so well, even more so when he brought back to Ares and they took turns thinking up names and stories about each of them. It only made Xavier grow more attached to the bugs and he would have teared up as he let yet another one of them free if an unfamiliar voice hadn't interrupted his thoughts. He looked in the direction where the voice came from and saw a familiar face from his classes standing close to him. For a moment he was shocked to be approached by the girl while he was in such an emotionally vulnerable state over his bug collection, especially so when he did not even know her name, but he quickly gathered his composure enough to smile at her as he answered her question. "I'm letting my bugs go." He said. While having company wasn't what the Hufflepuff boy expected on that sunny day, he began to think it wouldn't be a bad idea to have someone talk to him as he let his beloved bugs free into the world. It would at least distract him from feeling sad over losing so many of his creepy crawly friends and focus on the positives of it all. "Would you like to join me?" He then asked as he patted the grass beside him, continuing to smile and awaiting the girl's response.​

 

[Diane Winters]

Diane gave the boy a curious look as she watched him play with his bugs. It was strange to thing the two of them were the same age and this was how he chose to spend his time. Diane couldn't think of anything more disgusting, of course she had nothing against getting her hands dirty, but playing with bugs was gross. "Sure..." She said reluctantly and crouched down next to the boy. Sure he was weird, but he was different to anyone else she had met so far, and different was interesting, Diane wanting to get to know interesting. "So you have bugs? Are you letting all of them go or just some? Surely you aren't getting rid of all of them?" She asked, wondering if he was the boy people called bug boy. She had heard the name batted around a little, one Hufflepuff seemed use it as an affectionate, others not so much. "Are you going to collect more?" She asked as she attempted to take a genuine interest in the boys hobby, even if it was disgusting.