Closed Is that really you?

[Jessica Cade]

The holidays had been relatively quiet for Jess, though she had spent a lot of time babysitting her new niece which had been fun. The Gryffindor had never seen her brother so happy, he had his dream job, his fiance was home and they had a child together. It was sickening but it was cute. Jess found once she arrived back at school that she was missing her niece and was eagerly awaiting the Christmas break so she could go home and see her again. The whole situation had helped take her mind off a lot of things but now back at school she would have to deal with it all.

With the welcome feast over Jess removed herself from the Gryffindor table and quickly moved away from the others and found herself walking absentmindedly into the entrance hall when she saw an impossible face in the crowd. Jess stopped even as people behind continued to push past her. "Geo?!" Jess called out over the crowd, not even sure if she could hear. Could it really be her? Things hadn't been good between the two girls when she disappeared but maybe this was her chance to fix that. Jess fought her way through the crowd to reach the blonde and without a word of greeting she flung her arms around the other girl's next and pulled her into a hug.

 

[Geovanna Adler-Cade]

Even though Geo had only been gone for a year, coming back to New Zealand has seemed strangely unfamiliar, and as though she was now a different person. A room she’d spent five years in before felt like a world away but she wasn’t entirely sure why. So many of her friends had now graduated too which made things especially difficult, that she secretly couldn’t wait to herself. After the feast. Geo hadn’t been hungry but stuck around to talk to the other students, trying to figure out what she’d missed. She was listening to a conversation between two excitable fourth years when she heard her name. Or was she imagining it? The Hufflepuff looked up to see a blonde running toward her, moving her arms just in time for Jess to jump straight into her. Shocked and confused, Geo hugged her back tightly, for a moment just revelling in the fact one of her former best friends was here. But she didn’t understand, didn’t Jess dislike her now? After the party in their fifth year Jess had left Geo standing outside in the cold by herself before Flavio had found her, after which they girls had never even spoken. She’d put up her own defences after Jess chose Leila, not for the first time, and while things between them had always been complicated, the seventh year just found herself hugging the Gryffindor tighter still. “Hey Jess,” she said quietly into her comforting blonde hair.

 

[Jessica Cade]

Jess hadn't really been thinking when she flung her arms around her former best friend, she had just acted on instinct at seeing her again. "I'm sorry," Jess mumbled, she wasn't sure if Geo could hear her as her face remained buried in the other girls hair. She wasn't just sorry for jumping on her unexpectedly, she was sorry for everything. Jess had put her through a lot the year before she left the school, hopefully now she was back Jess could work to put things right. Jess was relieved when she felt Geo hug her tightly. "I missed you," Jess whispered to her as tears began to roll down her cheeks.

 

[Geovanna Adler-Cade]

A smile appeared on her lips when Jess apologised, "Don't." she was saying quietly, not yet ready to let go of the girl who had left her. In all honesty she supposed she'd done the same to her in second year too. They'd both of course come along way since then, but it was only now that they seemed both able to let the other one back in. "I've missed you too," Geo pulled back a little, both her hands sliding to cup her cheeks as she looked properly at her former best friend for the first time in years. "Everything that's happened," she began, looking from one eye to the other, making sure she had the Gryffindors full attention, "it's all in the past okay? We can start again I promise, I'm not going anywhere this time." she vowed to the blonde, hoping she trusted her enough to believe that her friends were her biggest priority.

 

[Jessica Cade]

Jess was surprised how receptive Geo was to her, she wouldn't have blamed her if she had just pushed her away and not wanted to speak to her, it would have been no more than the Gryffindor deserved. The idea of starting over with Geo made her heart flutter. Jess had been down for a long time, she'd been through a lot and for the most part had been lonely throughout it all but now she had one of her best friends back. "I'm glad you're back, this past year has been awful," She said, though maybe the time apart was exactly what the pair had needed to come back together, it certainly seemed to have worked. "Didn't you have a boyfriend when you left? Did you guys break up?"

 

[Geovanna Adler-Cade]

Geo didn’t want to believe that her presence would have had that much of an effect on Jess but she knew what she meant when she said it had be awful. To be away for her friends for a year had been tough for her too and she didn’t have the additional things to face that the Gryffindor had, though not that she didn’t have things of her own going on. She was surprised Jess still remembered Austin. Then again, the last time they spoke, Geo had been running around the house with Jess trying to avoid the former Hufflepuff. “Austin and I are still together,” she said, trying to figure out the root as to why she’d asked. “It’s been just over two years,” The time had flown really, but similarly it felt like they’d been a couple for longer than that. It was weird to think he wasn’t at the school anymore now too, but at least they would be together again soon, “How’s Leila? And James?” She asked, curious to know how the others were doing too. She wanted to talk in more detail too but wasn’t sure the corridor was the best place.

 

[Jessica Cade]

Jess was glad to hear that things seemed to be going well between Geo and her boyfriend, it was strange to believe they had been together for two years even if one of those years had been away from her. "Being separated must have been tough," She mused. Jess didn't really know why she was prying into Geo's relationship, but she hadn't seen her in so long she wanted to know everything. "Leila is still with her boyfriend, I don't see her that much and James," Jess paused, she couldn't help but smile as she thought about baby Bailey, the only bright spot in her last couple of years. "James and Maddie had a baby, can you believe that?!"

 

[Geovanna Adler-Cade]

“It still is,” she admitted. Being away for a year and now still in a long distance relationship was difficult, especially for someone as affectionate as Geo. She couldn’t wait until the day came that she would be able to just wake up with him beside her everyday, something they couldn’t even do while at Hogwarts. She tried not to dwell though, and instead make the most of what she had right now in front of her. She was a little surprised to hear that Leila was still with Ulrich although glad they seemed to be making it work too. At one point Geo had been convinced Jess had left her for Leila in a way that was more than just friends, but perhaps Leila didn’t reciprocate that. She gasped a little when she heard James had had a baby already, the idea of another child just like him would certainly be a challenge for anyone. “Good luck to them! I’m not sure I could handle a child right now!” She mused, completely unaware that her own cheeks had a certain glow to them for the last few weeks.

 

[Jessica Cade]

Jess nodded, she couldn't imagine being away from the person she loved for a whole year. Not that she had anyone like that in her life. Things with Geo hadn't last long, Leila never returned her feelings and October didn't seem interested, maybe there was something wrong with her that made her unlovable. "You guys are closer now at least? I assume he's still in New Zealand?" She asked. With Geo being at school and her boyfriend out in the world she supposed it didn't really matter which country he was living in. "Yeah, I couldn't imagine having a kid, I don't know how James is coping he's not exactly the most mature person,"

 

[Geovanna Adler-Cade]

Geo nodded, glad that now she was back in New Zealand too they would still be able to see each other in the holidays. "Oh I'm so pleased for them though. I'm glad they're happy," she mused, trying to imagine James with a tiny child, knowing how arrogant he could have been at school. That kid was likely to grow up with a full vocab by the time they made it to Hogwarts. "Anyway, what about you? How was last year?" She said it was awful but Jess had to know too that Geo was still there for her. She didn't want her friends to to think that just because she was trying to get ahead with her career meant that she had abandoned her friends. "What happened?" she pressed, not letting Jess get away with not talking to her anymore.

 

[Jessica Cade]

Jess would have to make sure he told James that Geo had returned for her final year, her brother had always liked the Hufflepuff, he probably saw something of himself in her. While Geo was probably a little more serious their ambitions aligned. "Last year was...fine," She shrugged her shoulders. "Nothing really happened, I just kept my head down, I didn't see much of Leila so I've most been alone,"