Open Closest Thing To Home

[Juniper Veritas]

Juniper missed the beach, so very much. Even though she had a jar full of the sand from the beach there was a part of her that ached to look out the window and see the endless water of the ocean outside. Though it'd been rather exciting to be here, at the school, learning new things everyday it was also very exhausting. Having taken the afternoon for herself, leaving her beloved companion Pumpkin back in the dorm, she'd found her way to the lakefront. Juniper had sat down close to the water, so that she could put her feet into the water. It was a nice temperature. "I miss the water back at home, I miss waking up and walking outside to hear the soft crashing of the waves." She whispered to herself, staring off into the distance. It wasn't quite like home but it was close enough. Leaning forward to dip her fingers into the water as well she closed her eyes, imagining it was back at home.

 

[Professor Geovanna Adler-Cade]

Geo wasn't on patrol, so much as she had a free period that she didn't feel like spending indoors. With the exams around the corner, most of her Defense students were busy revising anyway, so unless any of them had any specific questions for her, she was more or less free to roam for herself.

The woman had been walking along the edge of the lake, making the most of the sunny weather they were having. Had she been back in America, no doubt it would be jacket weather by now. Instead, the walk was relaxing, and she made her way around the grounds she'd come to know so well as a student at the school. Up ahead she could see a student, alone and likely making the most of the weather too, on the waters edge. The woman stopped a few feet away, faintly aware that she was talking to herself before she'd closed her eyes.

Slipping off her own shoes and socks, and rolling up her black leggings to her knees, the professor took a seat beside the young student, joining her in the refreshing treatment the lake had to offer. "It's nice, isn't it? That something like this is just on the doorstep."

 

[Juniper Veritas]

Juniper's eyes flew open in alarm as she heard a voice next to her and she whipped her head around to see a nice looking woman, a professor, sitting down. She'd been so caught up in her own head she hadn't even noticed the blonde approach. Giving a faint smile Juni returned her gaze to the water. "Yes, but it isn't like home. We have a ocean just ten steps from the front door." She explained softly. "I miss it, but this is the closest thing I suppose." The Hufflepuff added with a soft sigh. Only a few more days and she'd get to go back home and see mama and mum and her siblings and the beach. She'd get to return to the comfort of home, but first she'd have to survive the exams ahead. "I like the soft sound the water makes against the shore, do you?"

 

[Professor Geovanna Adler-Cade]

"Well, nothing's going to be quite like home," Geo told the girl, "That's what makes home so special." The woman smiled, kicked her feet a little in the water to make little ripples, enjoying the sensation on her legs. "The sound of the water on the shore definitely beats the waves against the rocks," Geo noted. "When I was little, I lived next to a beach, but it was full of stones." It had been a while since she'd been to the city she'd grown up in. "Is your home next to a sandy beach?" she asked, imagining how much nicer it would have been to walk outside from her house, and immediately feel the warm sand between her toes instead of the sharp chipped sea shells she was accustomed to.

 

[Juniper Veritas]

Juni supposed the woman was right, home was special and nothing would ever quite be like home. She listened to the professors musings and gave a soft nod, yeah the waves against the shore were more pleasant than them hitting rocks. though Juniper herself didn't mind either or that much if she was being honest. "Yes, we live by a sandy beach. That's what I brought with me to Hogwarts," She explained pulling the jar that was neatly hidden under her robes she'd placed down, not having wanted to risk anyone seeing the jar after the incident with that older student. "Jar of the sand I mean, not like the whole beach." The Hufflepuff explained awkwardly, showing the jar that had butterflies painted around it. "Do you miss home a lot?" For some reason the woman felt like someone Juniper could talk to, maybe it was the carefree way she'd kicked her feet in the water or the gentle yet confident way she seemed to carry herself.

 

[Professor Geovanna Adler-Cade]

Geo had never seen anyone bring a jar of sand to school with them before, but it was sweet. The blonde picked up the jar as the student revealed she'd brought it in, turning it in her hands. "I'd been even more impressed if you'd managed to get the whole beach in here," Geo chuckled. "Is this so you feel like you have a piece of home with you?" There must have been a more practical solution than trying to carry a whole glass jar around the school, but perhaps that was a discussion for another day. The blonde had to consider the girls question carefully, "My home by the beach? Not so much anymore," that was mainly because the things she associated with that part of her life were no longer the things she wanted to focus on, "my home isn't really a place," she continued, "I now consider to my home to be wherever my family are, and the majority of them are right here at Hogwarts," she smiled, placing the jar back down between them.

 

[Juniper Veritas]

Juniper gave a soft smile at the subtle joke, yeah that would have been rather impressing wouldn't it? "Yes and no, it's also well easy answer is yes so yes." That sounded so terribly stupid, even to her own ears but that was all she was willing to say, she'd been ridiculed enough about the sand already. Professor or not Juniper wasn't taking more chances, it was her piece of safety. Raising her knees to her chest the brunette listened, it must have been nice to have your family where you were. Juniper had no one, well she did. She had Pumpkin and she'd made a few friends but at the end of the day it still felt like she was so utterly alone in this big castle. A lone tear slid down her cheek and her voice broke as she spoke. "That must be very nice, you are lucky. To have your family here with you I mean. It's not been so easy, settling into this new life all alone. Well I suppose I could have had it worse, if I had no idea of magic even existing prior it would have been worse, but it's still scary." Scary was an understatement. One day her siblings would attend this school too, but as of right now it was just her and Pumpkin here.

 

[Professor Geovanna Adler-Cade]

Geo had been so excited when she was a first year that she didn't miss her home in Brighton. Then again, she'd come from an orphanage, and while her best friend at the time had been sent to Scotland and she'd missed Riley, coming to Hogwarts had been a new start. "There's nothing wrong with missing something," she told the girl, leaning forward to trail her fingers through the clear water. Geo looked up to see the girl was now crying beside her and wrapping an arm around over shoulders she gave the student a squeeze. "Hey, there's no need for tears!" Geovanna smiled in her direction, before looking back out across the water so she wouldn't feel as though she was staring at her. "It's true, I am very lucky. But every single person starts out where you are right now, they come here, and everything is new. For some people even knowing about magic is new and it can be very overwhelming," just because it hadn't been for Geo, didn't mean she hadn't known others that had struggled, nor that she couldn't empathize. "It's okay that it's scary," she told her, hoping she didn't feel like an outcast, "but just remember that everyone is in the same boat. The more you surround herself with genuine curiosity about this new world, the more you'll come to learn about it. There are other people that feel the same way as you do right now," it may have been hard for the student to consider, but maybe it would help to get a different perspective, "why not try to help them feel more at home too?"