Closed Slytherpuff? -Daph-

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily sat outside, enjoying the sun. She had found the biggest, shadiest tree she could and settled in among its roots. She was engrossed in the pages of Pride and Prejudice. She had read it many times; her copy was worn with age and use. She couldn't help it. Elizabeth was so strong, and Darcy so proud and charming. In his own way, of course. Lily wasn't much for romance, but she had to admit- even if only to herself- it would be wonderful if someone saw her the way Darcy saw Eliazbeth.

She turned the page, enjoying the cool breeze as it blew through her hair. The sound of students playing surrounded her, though she hardly heard any of it. She was a million miles away, in another era.

 

[Jasper Night]

Jasper had to get used to the fact that school started in the winter, but thankfully it was a pretty nice day. He wasn’t going to be stopped from exploring the grounds no matter what, but it was nice that he didn’t have to fight his way through piles of snow or anything. It was getting close to spring, anyway, and Jasper couldn’t wait until the weather was nice enough so he could spend all day outside without any problems. The boy had a lot of energy, and the fact that he was in a new and exciting place only made that more apparent. He loved being at Hogwarts, though he did miss his dad a little bit. He had told himself to write him soon, but he kind of wanted a cool adventure first so he could write about that!

He was happily exploring the grounds, when he noticed a girl sitting under a tree. He looked around, wondering if there was anyone else with her. He saw a few students wandering around, but none of them seemed to be here with the girl. Why was she just sitting there, anyway? Curiosity piqued, Jasper made his way over. When he saw she was reading a book, a frown appeared on his face. He looked at the title and the worn cover, and decided it looked extremely boring. “Hey, you don’t have to read yet. School just started.” He pointed out. Then he remembered her from the sorting ceremony. “Wait, didn’t you read a book in line for sorting too? Are you cursed so you have to read books all day? Maybe by some dark wizard?” That sounded horrible. “Maybe I can help you break it!” He suggested. He waved his hand between the pages of her book and her face. “Does this help?” He didn’t really think there was a curse, but if there was an opportunity mess around and have fun Jasper would take it. He didn’t feel too old for playing pretend yet.

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily was drawn out of her book when a boy began to speak to her. She didn't quite know how to respond, so she pretended to keep reading while she tried to think of a way to answer him. At first she thought he would be mean about her reading, but he seemed to quickly turn it into a game.

Once he waved his hand in front of her eyes, Lily knew just what to do. She looked up at him with a shy smile. "Oh! Thank you kind knight. I thought I'd be trapped in that book forever." She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "It really was a dreadful curse." She tried to play along. "I'm grateful someone so brave could try to break my curse." Her blue eyes sparkled.

 

[Jasper Night]

This wasn’t the first time in Jasper’s life that he had bothered someone while they were reading. He just always wanted to help them have actual fun, but most of the time the other person got annoyed with him and would tell him to go away. He half expected this girl to do the same, so when she actually played along with him he stared in confusion for a moment before picking the game back up. He grinned, nodding. “Try? I’ll do better than try.” He boasted. But he had no idea what to actually do. On a whim, he took the book from her and closed it. He was tempted to throw it somewhere in the grass, but he had the feeling she wouldn’t be happy with him that way, as he remembered his cousin getting annoyed with him for doing just that. Instead he simply put it on the ground and put some leaves on it at random. “There! Curse broken.” He announced. “So, uh, lady? Princess? What are you in this scenario? Anyway, you’re free now. What will you do?” He still thought she might tell him to go away so she could keep reading, but would play along with this as long as she did. “You’re a first year too, right?” He added, breaking character. The game was fun, but a little curious about the girl and wanted to meet his classmates.

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily watched carefully as he took her book. She let out a sigh of relief as he simply set it on the ground and set some leaves on the cover. She smiled. He asked what she was in the scenario. "Oh, um..." She bit her lip as she thought about it. "Well, Lillian was the Queen in Shrek. So I'll be Queen Lily." She clapped happily. She looked over at the boy. "My first act will be to know the name of my curse-breaker." She smiled shyly at him. "I am new here, after all." She wrinkled her nose playfully, pulling her knees up to her chest.

 

[Jasper Night]

Jasper wasn't entirely sure what a 'Shrek' was, but he nodded as if he knew exactly what the girl was talking about. Picking to be a queen over a princess did make sense to him. "Cool. What's up Queen Lily?" He asked with a smile. "I'm Jasper, a knight." He then paused and laughed at himself. "Wait, my name is actually Jasper Night! But not with a k, like the night when it gets dark and stuff." He enjoyed the unintentional pun for a moment. "I'm new here too, but I know a ton of people already. I met some kids before school even started." Jasper couldn't help boasting a little. "And I've been in the forest already, I wasn't even scared."

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily giggled quietly. "I was under a curse, remember?" She told him, pointing to her book. "Though it was nice sometimes. Books can take you on interesting adventures." She smiled softly at the boy. She couldn't help but giggle again as he told her his name. "Well, Night Jasper," She continued the pun, "Would that make you the Dark Knight?" She asked, twirling a strand of hair around her finger.

Lily smiled as he said he'd met kids before school. "I only know my siblings," She admitted softly. "Though they won't come to school until next year." She gasped, covering her mouth. "Oh! And Ettie. He might be my friend." She told the boy, not wanting to commit Ettie to something he might not want. She felt they could be friends but she didn't want to impose.

"Oh! Was it pretty?" She leaned forward, her blue eyes sparkling at the thought of the forest. "It must be such an adventure! Only Nights are brave enough to go in, though," She continued the game. "My curse confines me to the libraries."

 

[Jasper Night]

Lily seemed a lot better at keeping track of the game than Jasper was, who had already lost track of his role more than once. He scoffed when she said books could take people on adventures. “Maybe, but real adventures are way better.” He said confidently. “What sort of adventure was that book you were reading taking you on? It looks boring and old.” He didn’t stop to consider that maybe it was a prized possession of the girl he had just insulted, or even that she may have liked the book she was reading. He continued to talk. “I’m not dark, as in evil.” He said, a little offended. “You’re not saying that because I’m in Slytherin, right?” He frowned slightly at the girl. “It’s a great house you know.” He was interested to hear she had siblings, and perked up slightly. “Oh, what are your siblings like? How many are there?” He asked, curious. Jasper had grown up as an only child, and he had often wished he had a little brother he could pull pranks with. But the closest he had was his cousin Arkose, and he had left to a different school. “I don’t know Ettie.” He said, dismissing this person simply because he didn’t know him. “I know tons of people. Blake, Tyler, they’re boys in my dorm. Uh, Maddy is great, and I also met a girl named Cyzarine before Hogwarts even started. Oh and Deepa too, but she’s a pain. All she does is tell me she’s better at things than me.” He frowned slightly, shaking his head. “And Sierra, but most of those seem to be in Gryffindor.” He would insist until the day he graduated that Slytherin was the best house, simply because he had been placed in it. But he had to admit a small part of him wished he had been placed with all these people he liked. When she asked if the forest was pretty, Jasper scoffed. “Pretty isn’t the right word. It’s beautiful I guess, but in a creepy way.” A ‘pretty’ forest didn’t impress anyone. “I heard all sorts of noises. Though some of that was simply my friend Maddy.” He admitted with a shrug. “It’s really not that scary, though. I bet a queen can dare to go inside sometime.” He added with a grin.

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily nodded. "I can't argue that real adventures aren't better. But you can't always go on real adventures. Books are a good alternative." She smiled, a little more confidently than before. Jasper was easy to talk to. "The book I was reading is old, but I like it." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "You might not. It's a historical romance."

Lily's blue eyes widened as Jasper accused her of saying he was evil because he was in Slytherin. She shook her head quickly. "Oh, no! Of course not! Um, 'The Dark Knight' is a nickname for a muggle superhero. He's a character. Very popular, there are lots of movies and shows about him. He's a good guy," She reassured him. "I'm sure Slytherin is a wonderful house. I wouldn't know myself since I'm in Hufflepuff, but you're nice." She looked away, playing with her hair.

She glanced back as he asked about her siblings. "Yes, two, though we're all a few years apart." She listened as he told her about all his friends. It must be nice to have so many people like you, She thought with a smile. Jasper must be really nice if so many people wanted to be his friend. Maybe it was because he was so adventurous? He continued about the forest, saying it was beautiful and not pretty. "That still sounds wonderful," She told him softly, smiling when he said a Queen could dare to go in. "Oh, I don't know." She hugged her knees to her chest tighter. "Queens aren't very brave. I could never go in alone." She wished she could be as brave as he was. She would have much more fun that way.

 

[Jasper Night]

Jasper pondered Lily's words for a moment, then shook his head. "If you try, you can find an adventure everywhere." He insisted. "Sometimes it just requires some imagination, and some rule breaking." He added with a grin. He knew that wasn't everyone's cup of tea, but honestly he thought it was necessary to make life fun sometimes. He pulled a face when the girl said her book was old, historical, AND a romance. What a horrid combination, but he supposed girls liked that sort of thing. Or some girls did, at least. The girl seemed shocked when he asked her if she had meant he was evil for being in Slytherin, and Jasper was glad to learn it was not the case. He liked her explanation, as she had compared him to a superhero. "Oh, I didn't know." He said, not something he admitted often. "But that's cool! I bet I would be better than him as a hero, though. He sounds evil, even if he's not. I would make sure there's no confusion, you know?" He thought it over for a moment, but then got distracted. He nodded when she said Slytherin was a wonderful house, and took in the fact that she was a Hufflepuff. His cousin was a Hufflepuff, and she was kind of boring. At least Lily seemed happy to play along with his games and ideas. "How is Hufflepuff so far?" He asked her, but he couldn't resist adding "is it boring?"

Lily said her and her siblings were all a few years apart, but it couldn't be too much if they were going to Hogwarts soon too. "Cool, you can show them around when they get here." He said with a smile. But he quickly focused on how he told her about the forest, happy to boast about his adventure there. But she seemed sure she didn't dare to go in. Jasper shrugged. "It is] pretty scary, but I wasn't alone. Well, I did go in alone. I wasn't scared or anything, but I met my friend Maddy there and it was nice to walk around with her. She was very prepared and knew a lot about it." He still thought she had taken way too many supplies to the forest. "If you go with a friend, I bet you'll dare to go in."

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily giggled. "Alright," She conceded to Jasper. "If you're brave enough you can find adventures anywhere." She told him. She smiled softly at his comments. "Oh, he's actually called Batman. His story has been told for lots of years. 'The dark knight' was just something that one of the movies called him. Not that I know much more, to be honest." She smiled shyly. She hadn't watched many superhero movies. "What would you call yourself if you were a superhero?" She asked. He asked her how Hufflepuff was, and she spent a moment thinking over her answer. "The common room is very cozy." She decided at last. "It's a warm place, sort of... fluffy and sweet. I haven't made any friends in my house yet," She admitted, looking away. "But the beds are big and soft. With lots of pillows." She glanced back to Jasper. "How is Slytherin?"

She listened as Jasper told her about his adventure in the forest. She made sure to smile and nod in what she thought were the right places. She paused when he said she could dare to go in with a friend. She looked away, blushing a bit. "I... I don't have any friends." She told him softly. "I've only talked with you and Ettie." She brushed her hair out of her eyes. "I was bullied a lot in my old school," She admitted, "And I didn't have anyone who wanted to be my friend there. I'm... not very good at talking to people." She told the boy shyly, hugging her knees closer to her chest as she did.

 

[Jasper Night]

Jasper smiled, liking that Lily told him he was brave. She was nice, if a bit scared of adventure. When the girl told him the superhero was actually called Batman, Jasper frowned for a moment. "Why's he called that?" He asked, finding it an odd name. He couldn't really follow what the girl said about movies, glad she said she didn't know much more. Jasper knew some muggle things, but he had still mostly grown up in a magical family, with magical surroundings. His mother had been muggleborn and had known more, but he couldn't remember her telling him much before she passed away. He stubbornly refused to linger on that thought any longer. Her question made him pause for a moment, then he shrugged. "Something with Knight, maybe? I'm not sure. I think I would just use my own name, honestly. Why would I not want everyone to know I did those cool things?" He couldn't really understand the point of hiding one's name, especially when someone was an awesome superhero. It seemed silly to the boy. Lily didn't answer his question about if Hufflepuff was boring, but Jasper thought from her answer it kinda seemed boring. Comfortable and fluffy was nice, he supposed, but he definitely preferred the dark atmosphere of the Slytherin common room. "Really? It sounds totally different from my common room." He said, thinking back to his first impression on it. "The Slytherin common room is in the dungeons, so it's kind of dark and damp. Not really fluffy at all, or really cozy. The bedrooms are a bit comfier though." He said with a shrug. "But I like it." He added, not one to talk badly about the house he belonged to. He hadn't expected Lily to tell him she had no friends, and he frowned a little. "Well, it's only been a few days. And I'd be your friend, I bet this Ettie person would too. And you'll make more friends." The boy's frown deepened when she said she was bullied at her previous school. Why? For reading too much? "Well, you're fine at talking to me." He said with a shrug. "Why were you bullied?" He was never very delicate in his wording, and didn't even pause to think she may not want to talk about it. "If anyone here tries, tell me and I'll beat them up." He said, more to sound tough than anything else. "Unless they're really big, then I'll do... something else."

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily paused as Jasper asked why Batman was Batman. "I... don't know. He likes bats?" She listened as he said he would use his own name. "I always thought superheroes use names to hide their identities?" She asked, thinking about it. "Because the bad guys would hurt their family and friends if they knew who they really were. And if they knew they could attack at any time! Like, oh, he'll be sleeping in his room! Since we know who he is we can just attack him there." She explained, feeling her logic was sound.

She nodded as he described his common room. "That does sound interesting," She admitted softly, brushing her hair behind her ear.

She paused as he said he would be her friend, and Ettie probably would be too. She looked to him with wide blue eyes. "Wait, really? You wanna be friends?" She asked him, surprised. She hadn't gotten up the courage to ask Ettie if they were friends yet. He asked why she was bullied then, and she shrugged. "I don't know." She told him honestly. "The other kids used to laugh at me. Some of them made it a game to trip me in the halls or throw things at me when the teacher wasn't looking. My last year there got a little worse. Some of the older kids would push me around and pull my hair." She bit her lip, looking away. He said he would beat up anyone who bullied her, and she looked at him with wide eyes. "Wait... what?" She furrowed her brow in confusion. "But why?"

 

[Jasper Night]

Jasper snorted when Lily told him Batman must like bats. "Lame." He told her with a shrug. "And I guess they do, but if they're really good superheroes they don't need to hide. They could protect their families and themselves." He said it as if it was that simple, though he knew that Lily was making sense. He just didn't like to admit to being wrong, so he usually doubled down and continued defending whatever silly thing he had said. "And obviously he would protect his room with cool spells and stuff." He said, nodding quickly.

He nodded when she said his common room sounded interesting, and nodded again when she expressed surprise that he would want to be her friend. "Sure, more friends is more fun right?" He asked her with a shrug, unsure why anyone wouldn't want friends. "Unless they're boring people that think they know everything." He added, thinking of both Deepa and Luna. Jasper wasn't sure why Lily was bullied, even when she explained. He pondered for a moment. "Well, sometimes tripping someone can be funny. But it's not fun if it's always the same person, and the other stuff sounds worse." He said, thinking he was being pretty wise. When she asked why, he shrugged. "Because bullies are like the bad guys, right? I'd wanna fight bad guys."

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily giggled as Jasper defended his superhero stance. "I suppose you're right," She told him. He told her more friends would be more fun, and she couldn't deny that. Her brow furrowed as he said tripping people could be funny. She supposed she could see that, though it wasn't something she could see herself doing, or encouraging.

She nodded as he said he'd wanna fight bad guys. She felt a little relieved. At least he was only looking for adventure. She wasn't sure how she would have felt if he had said it was for her- that sounded too much like something out of one of her books. She offered him a shy smile. "If you're off looking for bad guys, maybe you already are a superhero," She told him.

 

[Jasper Night]

Jasper liked that Lily told him he was right. More people should tell him that, in his opinion. He liked her, even if she liked boring old books. He looked around at the grounds, not even noticing that Lily didn't seem to like his comment about tripping much. He was starting to get distracted, when her words pulled his attention back. "Huh? Nah." He said, shaking his head. "Not until I beat them up and kick their butts. Anyway, do you like Quidditch?"

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily giggled a little at Jasper's words. He was so brave. And a little silly. She shook her head at his question. "I don't really know." She told him honestly, leaning forward and resting her chin on her knees. "I don't really know much about it. What is it?" She asked, ready to listen to his explanation.

 

[Jasper Night]

Jasper turned his head to look at her incredulously at her question. He frowned, then jumped up to his feet. "How do you not know?" He asked her, looking dismayed. "It's a sport. No, it's THE sport for wizards. You play it on brooms in the air." He pointed over at the Quidditch pitch in the distance. "Over there. And there's different positions you can play. I wanna be a chaser, but I heard first years aren't allowed to try out." He frowned at that for a moment, then sat back on the grass. "Which is totally unfair." He looked at Lily for a moment. "Did you really not know?"

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily smiled at the boys' energy. "Well, that does sound exciting. I suppose I'll have to go to the games then. Would you go with me and explain the rules?" She asked him with a shy smile. She might still be learning, but there was no reason she couldn't learn with others. Was there? He asked her a question then, and she shook her head no in response. "My mama didn't say anything about it." She offered in way of an explanation.

 

[Jasper Night]

Jasper nodded at her enthusiastically. "You should go to the games for sure, especially next year. First years can't try out, but I will next year for sure! And I bet I'll make the team." He grinned at her. "I'll need people to cheer for me, you know." He said, already imagining himself in Slytherin Quidditch robes. He snapped out of the fantasy after a moment. "Is your mum a witch?" He asked her, curious. "I thought maybe you were muggleborn cause you didn't know what Quidditch was." He added.