Welcome Home

[Ainsley Lynch]

Ainsley had never, ever had a friend visit her home before. It felt surreal, seeing Amber standing there, in the middle of her living room. Like her two separate lives of magic and home had combined. She had just finished setting Amber up for the stay, showing her around the modest cottage and helping store her things. Ainsley and Mum had spent all yesterday afternoon setting up a mattress on Ainsley's floor so Amber would have plenty of space, and now things were perfect.

"So... yeah. That's pretty much the whole house. Welcome." Ainsley smiled awkwardly, gesturing around the living room as they finished the tour. Mum had made a slight effort to tidy the many bookcases around the small room but it was still definitely a mess. Ainsley felt at home in the clutter though, looking around peacefully. She was just considering taking Amber out to see her favourite places in the forest when Mum's voice called from the kitchen. "Ainsley? I'm going to make a quiche for dinner, can you and Amber please go get some eggs?"

"Sure, Mum!" Ainsley replied instinctively, only realising right after speaking that this could prove to be more difficult than usual. "It's okay." She said reassuringly to Amber. "The chickens are really tame, and you don't have to come near them if you don't want to." She smiled encouragingly, picking up the egg basket. "Come on, I'll show you around the garden on the way."

 

[Amber Chou Wilson]

Amber felt nervous more than anything as she stood inside Ainsley's home. It was so different from her own home, tiny but beautiful. It was almost like a fairy home from some story, which seemed to suit Ainsley very well. She looked around the living room, taking it all in. "Um, thanks." She said, giving Ainsley a small smile. "Thanks again for having me over." She thought the place was a bit messy, and while she understood that suited Ainsley, she didn't think her own parents would appreciate a living room like this. Ainsley's mother seemed very different to her own parents, though, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing. She wondered what they would do now, after the tour. Ainsley had been her friend for years now, but this was the first time meeting outside of Hogwarts or a magical shopping district.

Amber's brow furrowed when Ainsley's mother asked them to go get some eggs. As far as she could tell, the nearest store wasn't anywhere close by. It wasn't until Ainsley mentioned chickens that she understood. "What?" She breathed, blinking in confusion. "Oh, um. Yes... I.. I'd rather not get too close." Amber didn't like birds, and she somehow didn't think chickens were an exception. "Um... do you always use your own eggs?" She asked curiously as she followed Ainsley outside.

 

[Ainsley Lynch]

Ainsley smiled warmly. "Thanks for coming!" She said happily, rocking back and forth slightly on her toes. "It's so cool getting to see you in the holidays. Feels kinda weird, right?" Ainsley glanced around, still almost surprised at the sight of Amber inside her own home. Two such familiar sights, so unfamiliar together. It was nice though, comforting in a way.

Ainsley nodded, slipping on a pair of gumboots. She didn't wear them often, but the chicken enclosure wasn't the cleanest place for bare feet. "Yeah, it's about an hour's drive to the nearest grocery store." She explained, leading Amber outside. "It's pretty much the end of laying season, we won't have eggs much longer. We'll have to wait until spring soon." Leading Amber down the path, she gestured to a small area sectioned off with stones. "That's the herb garden, and over there's our greenhouse. We grow most of what we eat, so we really need the greenhouse in winter." She led Amber around the greenhouse and down the hill slightly, to a large fenced off area of grass. "Here." She smiled, and passed Amber a cup full of pellets. "You can throw their food over the fence, and I'll go in and grab the eggs."

 

[Amber Chou Wilson]

Amber smiled awkwardly and nodded. "It does feel a little weird. But your house is great." She said, looking around quietly. She did feel odd. Usually when she was with Ainsley, the two were at school with other students. Being here alone with her was strange, but not necessarily bad. It just made her feel a little nervous.

She followed Ainsley outside, listening to her explanation. It felt odd to her that they would get their own eggs, and just wouldn't have them anymore until spring. If it wasn't for mugglestudies and experience with her own grandparents, she might think muggles just lived a lot more simply than she assumed. But that wasn't the case. It was just Ainsley's family, and the way they lived. It suited her friend, but Amber didn't think she herself could get used to this. She looked at the herb garden and greenhouse, marveling a little. "No wonder you're so good with plants, you've had practice." She said with a smile. But as they approached the fenced off area her smile faltered. She didn't like birds, and chickens were no exception. It was a relief when she was allowed to stay on the other side of the fence, eve if she didn't really want to feed them either. She didn't complain, though. and dutifully threw some pellets over the fence. She watched Ainsley as she did, the other girl seemed completely at ease and in her element. "Do you ... miss this at school?" She asked her friend curiously.

 

[Ainsley Lynch]

Ainsley smiled brightly. "Thanks." She looked around. "It's probably not as tidy as yours, but I like it. Mum's a book editor, so we just keep getting more and more books. Feels like living in a library." She smiled, rocking back and forth on her feet awkwardly.

Ainsley laughed and nodded happily. "It's why I love Herbology and the Wild Patch so much. It's just like being at home. It feels weird growing things that aren't for eating though." She smiled, glancing over the herb garden. The weaker plants were beginning to die off in the winter cold, but some of Ainsley's favourites were still going strong she was pleased to see. When they reached the chicken enclosure she jumped the fence easily, laughing as the chickens swarmed over to Amber, clucking and flapping in delight. Ainsley pondered Amber's question while she climbed into the hutch, grabbing a few eggs. "A little bit." She admitted from inside the hut, filling her basket with eggs quickly. "It's definitely more convenient not having to do all this, but it's nice to eat something and know that you made all of it, from seeds to meal. There's a lot more variety of food at school though. We don't have meat often." She headed out of the hutch, holding up a basket with a few eggs in it. "Ta-da!"

 

[Amber Chou Wilson]

Amber and Ainsley had been best friends for four years, so it was almost strange they hadn't been at each other houses yet. She suddenly wondered what Ainsley would think of her house, as it really was a lot different than where Ainsley lived. She felt a little bit unsteady here, though. It was so different and unlike what she was used to. The chickens were scary to her, and when they all swarmed over to her and started making noise she took a big step back, even with the fence in between. Hastily, she threw the rest of the pellets as far away as she could, hoping the chickens would follow and leave her alone. She waited from a small distance until Ainsley was done. "I think I prefer not making it myself." She said, laughing a little awkwardly. "Though I have to admire it, it's really neat." She smiled as Ainsley presented the eggs to her. "Do we go back inside now?" She asked her friend, glancing around.

 

[Ainsley Lynch]

Ainsley laughed. "Oh, but cooking is fun! It's so rewarding. I've always helped mum with the cooking. It's nice not to HAVE to do it, but it's fun to do sometimes." She smiled, hefting the basket of eggs. "Pretty much. Let's go around the other way though, we have fruit trees on the other side of the house, I think the last of the apples are ready to be picked." Feet jangling around in the large gumboots she trotted down a slight slope behind the house with Amber, looking up at the fruit trees as they rounded the corner and a small orchard of various fruit trees came into view. "Here! Grab a couple, they're really nice." She said happily, skipping down to a tree laden with apples.

 

[Amber Chou Wilson]

Amber was happy to see Ainsley so relaxed and carefree, as she had a very nice laugh and looked cute with her basket of eggs. It was perhaps a strange thought to have, but she couldn't help it. Ainsley just seemed so completely at home here, that it made Amber strangely jealous. She didn't think she fit anywhere as effortlessly. Even at home she worked hard to keep up appearances of being the good daughter. It was tiring sometimes. Being in Ainsley's company was one of the few moments Amber had where she felt no pressure at all. It was nice.

She shook her head to clear the thoughts, it was strange to think so much about how she felt about her friend. It was a very special bond the two had, she was sure about that, but she wasn't quite sure how to put that into words. She followed Ainsley down to the fruit trees. "Wow, how many different types of trees do you have?" she asked, really quite amazed by the diversity of the food Ainsley and her mother produced. She followed Ainsley to the apple tree, but it soon became clear she couldn't follow her suggestion. Even standing on her toes, she couldn't reach any of the apples on the tree. "Ainsley, did you forget you're a giant compared to me?" She teased her friend gently. "I'm never going to be able to reach these."

 

[Ainsley Lynch]

When Ainsley reached the trees she looked back, surprised to see Amber just watching her with a slightly strange expression. She waved, cheerfully waiting for the other girl to catch up. It was only when Amber was standing under the tree that Ainsley saw the problem with her friend trying to help harvest them. "Oh." She laughed gently. "Well, I'll pick some and pass them down to you." She smiled, grabbing a couple of apples hanging just above her head and handing them down to Amber.

As Ainsley looked about the branches for fruit she returned her attention to Amber's first question. "We don't have a ton of different kinds of fruit trees, these ones are all apples and those two are plums..." She looked around, pointing to the different trees as she talked about them. "That's a feijoa tree, these ones are orange and lemon, and those two are both walnuts. That big gnarled one on the edge of the forest is actually a pear tree, it's been here longer than our house. It's a bit of a nuisance though, the pears grow too high to harvest, and when they fall they attract wasps so we have to try and pick up the fallen ones as quickly as possible..." Stepping back from the apple tree, Ainsley looked around. The orchard was such a peaceful place to be, and it was so nice to take Amber here, the mixed smell of fruit and the rainforest making Ainsley feel truly at home.

 

[Amber Chou Wilson]

Amber laughed and thanked her for the apples as Ainsley handed it to her. She took a small bite of one as she watched her friend. Ainsley was so tall, it seemed like she grew a little bit every day. Amber was shorter than average, and it was a big contrast between the two. The apple was really nice. "It's delicious!" She said, taking another bite. "It's so nice you have all these different kinds of fruit right outside your house." She said, listening to Ainsley explain and point out all the different kinds they had. "Once you're of age, you can use the levitating charm to help harvest the pears." She pointed out happily. "That would be useful, right?" Wasps sounded like a nightmare to the girl, so she hoped that solution helped. She had nearly suggested Ainsley could ask her mother to do it, forgetting for a moment her friend was muggleborn.

A small silence fell between them, and Amber looked around the orchard. It was such a nice place, and being here with Ainsley felt good. It felt right. Her cheeks flushed a little, was that a weird thing to think? She averted her gaze and ate some more of the apple before finally clearing her throat and breaking the silence. "Should... we go back to the house? Or is there more for me to see?"

 

[Ainsley Lynch]

Ainsley beamed brightly, pleased to see Amber enjoying the apple. It felt so good to see Amber here, in her home, all of Ainsley's favourite things together at once. "It is! We have fruit almost the whole year round, and mum jars it so we have preserves in winter." Looking up at the pear tree, Ainsley nodded. "There's a lot of stuff I wish I could help mum with. I didn't realise how hard it is providing for ourselves until I had magic. Even being able to floo to the grocery store or something would make such a huge difference. Just a couple more years..." Ainsley sighed, looking back at the cottage.

Ainsley shook her head and began heading back up the incline to the cottage. "We get our milk from a farmer down the road." She explained as she walked. "There are a few farms and an apiary nearby that do stalls every so often where they sell extra produce. It's a lot quicker than going all the way into town for groceries, and everything is fresh." Returning to the cottage, Ainsley set the basket of eggs on the counter for mum. "We got some apples too." She announced with a smile.

 

[Amber Chou Wilson]

Amber listened to Ainsley explain about the fruit, and was glad her suggestion of levitating wasn't a stupid one. "Well, you'll be able to help in no time." She said with a smile. "it's only two years until we're of age, which is kind of scary right? I don't feel anywhere near an adult yet." She confided. "But when the time comes, maybe I can come help too?" She hoped her friend wouldn't mind this, as it was sort of like she was inviting herself back which was a little rude. But she had the feeling Ainsley would want her to be over more, and she wanted that too. It was nice here, and Amber liked spending time with Ainsley alone.

She followed Ainsley back to the cottage, nodding along to what she said. She knew the type of farms with stalls she mentioned as that also happened near her own house. Her parents still tended to go to the store for most things, though. She grew quiet once they were inside, feeling oddly shy around Ainsley's mother. She wanted to make a good impression, and while that normally came easy to her, she didn't really know how to do it int his situation. It was usually Amber that took the lead in any type of social situation, but now she looked to her best friend for guidance.