Open Change of Scenery

[Jasper Night]

The holidays were over, and Jasper was pretty thrilled to be back at Hogwarts. As fun as it was to be with his dad at home, it was more fun to be surrounded by kids his age. He loved his dad and missed him a lit while at Hogwarts, but he liked the friends and the adventures at Hogwarts a lot too. So once he came back from the holidays, he was eager to catch up with all his friends. The boys in his dormitory weren't really his friends. Two of them he even considered enemies before anything else. Most of his friends were in different houses, and Jasper was happy enough about that. Even though he would claim to anyone that would listen that Slytherin was the best house, he thought some of the other Slytherins really weren't all that friendly. It was because of that reason that he sat down at the Hufflepuff table this morning, sitting next to his friend Lily. "Hey! How was your break?" He asked, reaching over to grab some food. "I'm sitting here today, surprise!" He added with a grin. "Making the Hufflepuff ten times cooler with just my presence." He teased with a wide grin.

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily had enjoyed her break. Her mama was an amazing doctor, as always, even receiving a few gifts in the mail from some of her patients. Her daddy had been caught up in another of his research papers, spending much of his time in the library buried in his books. That was alright, she had enjoyed taking him his meals and curling up in his lap as he read. She was getting a bit big for it, but her father was a tall man. Rose had progressed with her guitar skills, and was even piecing together her own songs. And Ren's art was becoming more and more beautiful every year. She felt so proud of her family.

It did make her wonder about herself, though. Sure, she could bake a bit. But it was a hobby. So was the doodling she did for Ren. She pushed her eggs around on her plate, lost in thought. Everyone in her family was so talented. What could she do? She was startled from her thoughts as Jasper appeared in front of her. "Jasper!" She smiled, glad to see her friend.

She giggled as he teased her. "I don't know what the Slytherin table will do without you," She teased him right back. "My holidays were good." She continued on a more serious note. "It was really nice to spend time with my family again. Though, I did miss my friends here." She set her fork down. "How was your break, Jas?" She asked, casually adding in the new nickname she'd been trying out for him in her mind.

 

[Jasper Night]

Lily had looked a bit sad as she had poked at her eggs, and Jasper was happy to make her smile with his presence. Maybe she didn't like eggs? "Do you not like eggs?" He asked, as the thought popped into his head. He laughed as Lily said she didn't know what the Slytherin table would do without him. He liked how she always went along with his jokes. "They can deal with it for one meal. Though I'm sure they'll be begging for me to come back soon." He said, starting to butter a piece of toast. "I missed my friends too, and the forest. You still haven't been, have you? I met a centaur there!" He said with a grin. he blinked at the new nickname, then pondered it for a moment before deciding he didn't hate it. "It was okay, my dad and I did a bunch of cool things. He's the best." He smiled, thinking back to the adventures they'd had. "He helped me practice for Quidditch too. I hope I get to play."

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily giggled as Jasper asked about her eggs. "No, they're fine." She reassured him. She took a bite of them just to prove her point, chewing and giving him a smile as he continued with his joke. "I suppose I should just enjoy your company before they steal you back then," She joked lightly before taking another sip of her drink. She shook her head as he asked if she'd been in the forest. "You met a centaur? And he didn't hurt you?" She asked softly, worried about her friends' safety. "Everything I've read has told me they're very territorial." She worried. She smiled as he accepted her nickname. "I'm glad you and your dad had fun." She smiled at him. "I hope you do too! Maybe I can come to watch you play." She mused softly, taking another bite of her eggs.

 

[Jasper Night]

Jasper grinned as Lily went along with his joke. He liked her a lot, she was always very nice to him even when he said stuff that wasn't very nice by accident. Sometimes Jasper's mouth worked faster than his brain, and things were said that he immediately regretted. "I won't be stolen back, I'll stay here as long as I want." He told her, punctuating his statement by pointing at her with his fork. Then he grinned as she seemed worried about the adventure with the centaur. "No! It was a girl centaur and she did have a bow to hunt with. But she didn't hurt us, she was pretty curious about humans, really. Called us 'two hooves'." He said, eager to impress Lily with his story. "I still have to show you the forest sometime! Maybe you can meet her!" He said eagerly. Jasper beamed as she said she could come watch him play. "If I do play, please cheer for me okay? Ravenclaw stinks anyway."

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily giggled at Jasper's stubbornness. She bit her lip as he explained about his adventure with the centaur. It... didn't sound so bad. It might be kinda cool to meet a centaur. She twirled her hair around her finger. "I... guess I could go with you," She said uncertainly. "Just to make sure you're really okay out there," She hurried on quickly. She was nervous at even the thought of going. A small smile graced her lips. "Hey, my cousin is in Ravenclaw," She told him, but nodded anyway. "But she's not on the Ravenclaw game. I suppose I can come cheer for you," She gave him a small smile. "Should I make some after game snacks?"

 

[Jasper Night]

Jasper threw his hands into the air as Lily said she could go with him. "Yay! Hopefully we'll run into Aspen again. I bet she'll like you more than Aiden, he was kind of rude to her. But you're not rude." Lily was really too polite sometimes, but he guessed the centaur wouldn't mind that. "And I'm fine out there, you don't have to protect me. If anything, I would be protecting you." He said with a smile. He waved her concern about her cousin being in Ravenclaw off. "Alright, your cousin is the exception and only stinks a little bit." He teased. He was pleased Lily would come cheer for him, and even more pleased with the idea of after game snacks. "OH! Please? Are you gonna make cupcakes again?" He asked hopefully.

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily swallowed nervously. What had she just agreed to? "You shouldn't be rude to centaurs..." Her eyes went wide when he thought she would protect him, but he moved past it too quickly for her to respond. She giggled. "Hey, be nice. Ava is a very talented painter, I bet she could make anything you asked her to and it would be beautiful. And Emily knows scary stories that would scare you silly," She told him. She giggled again as he asked for cupcakes. "I can make cupcakes if you like! What kind?"

 

[Jasper Night]

Jasper frowned. "I wasn't rude to centaurs, that was Aiden." He insisted. "She liked me, I could tell." He added confidently. Lily's defence of her cousin confused him a bit, because there were now two names. "Wait, you have two Ravenclaw cousins?" He asked her. He sort of knew Ava, just from seeing her around. He scoffed. "I bet this Emily can't scare me at all." He boasted confidently. "And uh... chocolate? With caramel?" He asked hopefully.