Open I don't know if this is home

[Juniper Steele]

Juno had known for a few years that coming to Hogwarts was going to be an escape from the mess that was her family. Throughout it all, she'd always believed that she would find a solid home at the school once she finally got there, as leaving behind mistrust and confusion she would finally be able to find a new family with her classmates. However for the Slytherin things weren't exactly working out like that at all. After her lesson, she'd left the room and taken herself up to the towers, just outside the common room of the house she thought she would have excelled in. It didn't make any sense to her that she'd been thrown down in the dungeons instead, left to hide away in the darkness when the whole skies were waiting for her up here.

As she entered the towers, they were even more beautiful than she could have pictured. There was a soft breeze and laying her bag down on the floor, she took a seat beside it, looking out across the rooftops of the schools buildings and beyond, as far as her eyes could see, over mountain tops too. She couldn't only imagine how pretty this place must have been at night, with the moon shining brightly overhead. For now though she had a little time to reflect on whether she had made the right decision after all. Hogwarts had meant to be her escape, and now here she was, trying to escape from that too.

 

[Apollo Bixby]

He nodded when she told him that she would go up to the towers after the Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson and whispered to her that he would come with her. Hogwarts didn't seem anything like he was told and he wasn't sure if he could stand seven years of it. He knew that classes would only get more difficult to understand after this week and he wasn't particularly looking forward to that. On top of that, Apollo sometimes thought that his Slytherin friend didn't really want to hang out with him in between classes and breaks. So when Juno told him where she'd be going he did not hesitate to tell her that he was coming with her. ''I thought that Hogwarts was supposed to be fun and stuff?'' he asked as they entered the towers. If it was then it better start showing him that soon otherwise he didn't know if he would return for their second year. He sat down next to her on the floor and sighed before taking out writing equipment so he could start doing homework whilst she looked outside.

 

[Juniper Steele]

She’d not been sure whether Apollo would actually want to come with her the towers but she’d been grateful when he did follow. It was a reminder that she wasn’t the only one feeling completely out of her depth, and she had to sympathise with him a little, given the Gryffindor had no prior experience of magic at all before Hogwarts. As the blonde sat cross legged on the floor, she looked between the boy beside her and the skies, in total agreement with him. This place was supposed to be and neither of them had expected the reality of it. “I had thought it would be a permanent home for a change,” she admittedly quietly for a moment, her Welsh accent stronger than ever when she was tense. She hadn’t really told anyone much of her personal life, not believing it to be of much importance if she wasn’t going to make any close friends, but since Apollo had been around her since day one, perhaps just a single friend wouldn’t hurt. “Apparently not,” Would she really have been able to stick it out for so many more years?

 

[Apollo Bixby]

He was annoyed at himself for going to Hogwarts when he could be spending his time with his other friends right now playing catch or tag or whatever they would do during their breaks. Instead, he sat here on the floor doing a homework assignment with Juno. If she hadn't been his friend here he would've asked his parents to take him back home already, she made life at Hogwarts a little better. Apollo nodded in agreement. ''Maybe it's just because it's early in the year?'' the Gryffindor said hopeful. ''Maybe we should go into the Forbidden Forest after classes today? A student from my house made a list of stuff she wants to do while here, maybe we should to that too? It'll keep our minds of the disappoint that is Hogwarts.'' Apollo told his friend. If he was to finish the year here, Apollo wouldn't just sit around and wait for the winter break to roll by.

 

[Leda Layton]

Eugh

 

[Juniper Steele]

The blonde didn’t know what she’d expected from Apollo’s response, but a small part of her had wanted him to press the thoughts going round in her head. Instead Juno listened as he was half distracted by his homework and what the other Gryffindors had said, once again irritated that she’d made a terrible house. “Oh, I see somebody’s making some friends then,” she teased, wondering what it was like to already have a gang from her own house to hang out with. She had those from her own dorm but even then they weren’t into the same things as far as Juno could tell. “I don’t know why you’d want me around if you’ve got all o’ them,” she admitted, unsure if she even wanted to hang around a bunch of his friends anyway. “But saying that, we do need to do something to fix this place.” She didn’t know what exactly would perk her spirits up enough to stay just yet but there had to be something. “Yous still don’t think you’re fitting in too well?” She asked, wondering if all his lessons had been like flying.

 

[Apollo Bixby]

He rolled his eyes in response to her teasing. He wouldn't exactly call the girl a friend from that one interaction but he wasn't going to correct himself to do Juno a favour. He hadn't made any real friends in Gryffindor yet except for Chloë's cat, Lotus, who seemed to like Apollo's scratches very much. If he would try a little harder he would've had a couple of friends by now, but with all of this being new to him, wanted to have a better understanding of the Wizarding World first before he could relax a bit. He put his homework down to look at her. ''If you don't want to be my friend, just say so,'' She had been acting as if she didn't want him around all week and it made him insecure about their friendship. Apollo but the parchment he had been writing on along with his writing equipment back in his backpack. ''And how would you fix this place?'' he asked, curious to know what she had in mind. Perhaps a party would fix it. Apollo shrugged, ''It's been just introductory lessons this week but I don't know... it's a lot to take in, you know.'' he answered with a sigh.

 

[Juniper Steele]

Juno hadn't meant for Apollo to pick up that she was being distant toward him, only that she was trying to stop herself from getting hurt again. She didn't look up at him at all when he questioned their friendship, and hoping that he wasn't about to just leave her, even if their friendship had been hard, the Slytherin figured honesty was the best policy,"I didn't say that now did I? No need to be chopsing, all I meant, is that I've only known you a few weeks and I'd rather not add to me list of people I've let down thank you very much." At this point, Juno wasn't fussed as to whether or not he was going to ask her for any more information, but she didn't want him to be mad at her either, "Besides I woulda taken the detention with you, if that's not a friend then who is?" she risked a sideways glance in his direction before continuing. "Well I don't know, it's gonna need a bit more than a little sprucing though. Maybe it's just about finding something that makes it all worth while," She wasn't sure even herself what would do that for her, but there had to be something in a place like this, more than just some towers, that gave her more hope and inspiration for the future than just some tall towers. They were in a magic school for goodness sake! "You'll pick it up as you go along I'm sure," she added in for good measure, not really knowing how he felt when it was all so new for him.

 

[Apollo Bixby]

He frowned at what she said. Did she really think that she would let him down? Why would she think that, had she let other people down in the past? ''Consider me a friend then cause you've haven't let me down so far.'' Apollo joked, though immediately realised that it might have been a little insensitive of him. ''I haven't thanked you for that, haven't I?'' Apollo asked when she mentioned the detention he had gotten himself in. He was happy that she stood next to him when professor Holland spoke to him about his refusal. ''Thank you.'' He wasn't looking forward to the detention on Friday but knew that if he would try and skip it, he'd be in much more trouble. Apollo straightened himself and listened to what she was saying. They did need to find something that would make staying here worthwhile, and so came back around to the idea of a list again. ''That's why we need a list of stuff to do! We could do something of the list every once in a while so it keeps us busy, I say that we go and enter the Forbidden Forest first. I'm still really curious as to why the headmistress is forbidding us to step foot in there.'' He felt like he was rambling on so decided to stop speaking for a moment. He nodded when she told him that he would pick it up along the way.

 

[Juniper Steele]

Juno couldn't help but let out a smile, although it had been the first really since she'd gotten here. "Alright, I will." she said, her head held a little higher. Anyone she'd called a friend in the past hadn't remained so for more than a year so she hoped she hadn't just jinxed it. "Oh don't be ridiculous. Some people need to be more attentive to the fact that not everyone has grown up with magic," she stated. It was easier for her, she had various family members that had told her what to expect. Her home life may have been unpredictable but at least she hadn't just been pulled from something she thought was her normal home. "Alright, alright we can go into the forest," she succumbed eventually, although mainly because it was the first time she'd seen Apollo excited about something too and she didn't want him to have to go by himself. The Headmistress must have had her reasons, but then again apparently them being sorted into their houses had a reason too and that was obviously wrong. "Listen, I had an idea." she added, hoping he wouldn't think she was crazy. "If I can get hold of some Ravenclaw robes, I might try and join your classes," she was speaking quietly at this point, just incase anyone else was around to overhear their conversation.

 

[Apollo Bixby]

He smiled softly at her words. It was nice to know that there were people at Hogwarts who did not forget that not everyone knew about their world from birth. He was lucky to have people at the school who would help him adjust to this new life. He grinned with Juno he apparently convinced his friend into going to the Forbidden Forest again. ''Nice. When do you want to go?'' He did not know what kind of creatures reside in the Forest, but if he was to believe his housemates, he would not be disappointed. He also just really wanted to know what it was out of bounds for the students of Hogwarts. He liked the idea of Juno joining him in the classes they didn't have together. Sure, it was nice to sit next to one of his dormmates, but sitting next to her was even better. ''Wouldn't it be better if you had Gryffindor robes for that?'' he asked, ''Because I only have Potions with Ravenclaw this semester.'' In his mind that made more sense if she wanted to sit with him in his classes. ''Whatever colour robes you need, though, count me in.'' the Gryffindor said.