The red in the rose.

[Jake Simpson]

Reading yet another school textbook in the shallow and failing attempt to finish his homework, Jake was bored out of his mind yet again. If the Slytherin had enough courage to talk to anybody new, he would have a friend or two to spend this time with. But unfortunately, he hadn't seen much of the friends he had made lately, they were too busy with other things, things that were more important than spending a little time with an underweight sleep deprived kid like him. Jake sighed at this thought, he had so many bad traits and he had to change so much about himself before he could have any real self confidence, instead of the fake smiles and conversations he had been hiding himself behind for the past few years, and honestly, he wasn't about to stop any time soon. It wasn't that he didn't care about the friends he had made it was just his safety net so they wouldn't know as much about him as they probably should. It was in his best intentions that they didn't know.

Finally making the lethargic decision to do something with his passing time, Jake stood up and left his dorm room. He walked through the common room, ignoring the bustling noise of his fellow Slytherins. He kept his head down, making the endeavor not to be noticed by anybody who wasn't worth his precious time. He hadn't decided where he was going to go or who he was going to see, he left that up to chance with the optimistic thought that he actually might have a good day. Jake hadn't brought his notebook with him, he had done it on purpose, much like he had done the whole year. He had grown out of the tattered front cover and ripped up pages that had fuelled his antisocial behavior for as long as he could remember, it took his attention away from how much he detested his school. He loathed everything about the school, he loathed how the insults his housemates shouted at him echoed through the hallways like they were there to haunt him for longer than it was intended.

It was just another daily chore, to ignore the weird looks from the people that noticed him in the crowd. Jake had always wished that there wasn't anybody that would pick him out of a group of people. He wished that they were just like the mass population that passed him without a second glance, which was if they had given him a glance in the first place. Sure, if everybody ignored him and pushed him aside, he wouldn't have the friends he did. Jake felt the warm tickle of the sun on his ghostly white skin as he made his way out into the Hogwarts garden. Jake had always looked unwell, that was just how he naturally looked, sickly. Jake leaned against a wall on the far side of the garden and brushed his fingers against the stem of a red rose, the thorns had pierced his skin almost instantaneously and a drop of blood fell from his index finger and onto the ground. All Jake could do was smirk to himself and overlook the situation at hand. He just continued to lean against the wall with the arrogant look of self satisfaction he rarely showed.

 

[Jennifer Boudreaux]

Before hopping into bed the night before, Jennifer had clearly stated, much to everyone elses annoyance, that she'd like a peaceful morning, instead of the usual racket that the Gryffindor girls created at 7a.m. Unfortunately, they had gone out of their way to wake up at 6a.m. instead and steal her duvet cover, before whacking her around the head with a pillow. They weren't bullying her, in fact she then proceeded to join in the pillow fight, until a Professor heard the strange noise coming from the dorm and had come in to find out what was going on. Obviously, she had not been best pleased, and Jennifer now had a whole morning to find something constructive to do. She couldn't go to the library again, there was no need. She smiled with the idea which passed into her mind. She could go to the gardens. The last time Jenny had explored there, she'd ended up lost in the maze of plants and bushes, but she was older now, and not as uncareful as she had used to be. Dressing into her neatly folded robes and tying her hair into a scruffy ponytail, Jenny practically skipped out of the dorm and down the spiral staircase, making her way through the many corridors and out of the door.

For an early morning, the school was fairly busy, and a few students lingered around in the great lawn. Jennifer started to walk away from them, her blone ponytail bouncing as she walked with a spring in her step along the castle wall, enjoying the sound of the stones moving around underneath her feet. The garden was only a short distance away, but her school shoes were far too small and were already starting to rub. Sighing, Jennifer turned the corner and inhaled the beautiful smell of every flower she could name, plus a few more. The sun peeped out from behind a small tree, perfectly lighting the garden to give the most amazing atmosphere Jenny had seen since she arrived at Hogwarts for her first year. She had grown significantly since that time, and had had to buy several new sets of robes, but that was better than being small. She turned away from the sun, removing her hand from her forehead and starting to see better. It was then that she noticed a boy leaning against the castle wall, who didn't seem to be looking well. Immediately, Jenny's comforting side kicked in and she made her way towards him.

When Jennifer was a little closer, she saw a small drop of crimson red blood on his finger, and a rose next to him. Sussing out what had happened, Jenny slowly took a few more steps towards him. But he was sort of smiling, as though he was enjoying what had just happened, causing her to frown curiously. It didn't seem quite right, but she had no right to interferre with what he did and didn't like. What was important was that he was ok, and he certainly didn't look it. 'Are you ok?' She asked him in her soft French accent, which had gradually been fading since she'd met her English friend. 'You don't look well', she added calmly, her head cocked a little as though she was trying to work out exactly what was wrong. How the boy reacted was up to him. If he wanted to shoo her away, by all means he could, and Jenny would have forgotten about it in a couple of hours. But she really hoped he wouldn't, because all she wanted to do was help.

 

[Jake Simpson]

In the Hogwarts Garden this morning, there was nobody else but Jake, he couldn't help but feel like he was something more than just a mere wizard, it was deliciously evil. The thought of himself taking over the world and being in control of something for a change, because of the Slytherin's antisocial behaviour and low self esteem, he was usually the one being bullied and singled out. He understood why those kinds of people noticed him, because he walked with his head down and looked just plain weak. It would be highly amusing for Jake if he had decided to actually fight back for a change. The question was, could he stand up for himself? The faint problem was that even he couldn't think of a decent reason why he would. The people the made fun of him were just Neanderthals who had nothing better to do than pick a fight with somebody weaker than themselves. Jake pitied them, they were so pathetic, he was glad that he wasn't stupid enough to fall into the trap of making somebody feel worse than he did, which he didn't think was possible. Jake's messy jet black hair shone in the morning sunlight, his innocent eyes were hiding what his sinister thoughts were, he was silently proud of how much he was able to hide from an unsuspecting individual.

The melancholic bliss of a typical Hogwarts day gave Jake yet another feeling of anxiety in the pit of his stomach. He did the usual and ignored any feeling he had, leaving him in his accustomed state of empty emotions Jake had grown to call happiness, his home life hadn't been good, he loathed his mother, after all, she blamed him for his father's suicide every day and his grandparent's overlooked his existence, the lesser of two evils. That is to say he liked his grandmother and grandfather significantly more than he liked his mother, even if they thought he was worth a lot less than a normal teenager. It was when the third year heard footsteps getting louder, he looked up to see another student, a Gryffindoor, who didn't look much older than himself, approaching him, Jake followed his instincts and didn't say a word, he just stared at the blonde as she walked towards him. Jake felt the sickly numbing emotion of anxiety he had dismissed before creep it's way back into his gut as he kept his eyes on her. The soft prickling of pain from his finger still as apparent as the moment he had graced the rose stem, in Jake's mind this was all so sinister, a mild amusement for the boy.

When the Slytherin heard the girl's softly spoken caring words, the smirk he was showing left his lips and turned into a blank expression, the one he showed when he needed to hide his pain, he ad grown oh so used to it over the years. "I'm fine thank you." Said Jake, it was then he noticed the blonde looked rather, striking. It was a misfortune he hadn't noticed it earlier or he wouldn't have been so rude. Her accent was something different too, something European. Jake was from England himself but his accent had been diluted and was hardly noticeable now, if noticeable at all. "I just haven't had enough sleep recently, that's all." He said, attempting to explain his natural sick looking features. It was nice that the girl had a hint of a caring tone to her voice, Jake wasn't used to it and it was rather refreshing for him, although he expected it wouldn't last very long. Jake's low expectations of people weren't going to change anytime soon, at least he thought so. "I'm Jake." He said, making an effort to change the subject and to ignore the elephant in the room.

 

[Jennifer Boudreaux]

The sun was rising quickly over the garden, and the happy atmosphere had slowly faded away, and left a cold, damp morning, dew settling on the rose petals and blades of grass, a small mist over the far away trees. But there was still a lingering happiness in the sense that Jenny was stood next to a polite young boy of her age. She smiled again softly when he spoke, noting his accent. She wasn't sure where he was from, but she liked the way his voice sounded. Jennifer's voice was naturally calm and relaxing, making it enjoyable for people to chat to her when they were low or ill. Jennifer nodded. It did look like this boy needed some more sleep, that or his complexion was naturally pasty looking. 'It's kind of hard to sleep here, right?', she said, chuckling. It was true. She'd had trouble every night of the new year, and her previous years hadn't been much better either. Hogwarts was far too much of an exciting place to sleep in. Smiling with her own amusement, she looked down at Jake's finger, stained with his own blood. 'That could get infected', she warned, trying not to scare him but also knowing general safety. 'Maybe you should get it checked out', she added gently with a reassuring smile.

Having never felt this way before, Jennifer was surprised when she blushed. She'd never had any feelings for a boy, but she could barely look Jake in the eye. It was an interesting and curious feeling which Jennifer was enjoying, but was also slightly annoyed about. She undid her ponytail, which was too loose and scruffy anyway, tucking her hairband into her pocket and running her hand casually through her curls. They sat happily on her shoulder, bouncy and full of life wherever she went. Her hair showed a lot about how she was feeling, and today it fell fairly lightly on her shoulders, showing she felt carefree. Turning back to Jake, Jennifer smiled again. She couldn't help it. It was his eyes, which shone beautifully in the morning rays. They were very hard to look away from, but she diverted her gaze as not to stare. 'I'm Jenny', she said, leaning against the wall with one foot on the ground, and one bent behind her, her trainer against the wall.

 

[Jake Simpson]

The Slytherin boy sniggered at the girl's comment, sure, it was hard to sleep in his school but it was hard for him to sleep in general, it was either the stress of school or just life in general, Jake had an instinct that told him it was both. The warmth of the sun's rays pierced the cold morning air, making the yellow sunrise more illuminating than before. It was eerily beautiful, to a normal person, it would have been a mediocre form of harmony, to Jake it was just another thing to make him feel uncomfortable. "It is, kind of." Jake replied, keeping his tone of voice casual, he girl was nice and Jake wanted to say thank you to her for her kindness, but he just didn't know how. "I think I'll be fine, it's just a scratch." Jake said, trying to reassure him and the girl he was fine, which he was, it didn't look much like Jake was alright but it was really only a small cut, the bleeding had almost stopped and then he could forget all about this ordeal. "It will heal itself, that's what it's supposed to do." Said the third year, looking down at his finger and managing a quiet chuckle. He then looked up at the girl, noticing her kind smile, he smiled back, it was only a small smile but it was a smile nonetheless.

The girl was pretty and Jake thought the way she undid her messy ponytail to reveal her beautiful blonde curls was gorgeous. Jake never would have expected the morning sun to look so good on a blonde like her, he had never noticed that about a girl before, how pretty they could look. This caused the thirteen year old to look down at his feet, he didn't want to make it look like he was staring at her. "Jenny's a cute name." Jake said, being honest, it was hard for him to lie when he was blushing, he was quietly optimising that Jenny wouldn't notice, he was looking at the ground after all. In an endeavour to ignore his blushing, Jake decided to change the subject to something more practical. Making small talk seemed like a good distraction for him. "I noticed you have an accent, where are you from?" he asked, this was an easy way for him to get to know Jenny a little better. In waiting for her answer, Jake ran his hand through his messy hair again, in an attempt to make himself look better, although the Slytherin couldn't help but think it wasn't going to work. This day had been a decent one so far, Jake had met somebody new and that was good, plus as an added bonus, she was nice, something Jake was hoping he could get used to.