(Untitled)

[jackie_zhang]

Week Name/Date/Time: A Moment's Peace / Sunday, October 2 / 4:30 pm
Location: Lakeside
Open To: Avery
Currently Involving: Jackie

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[jackie_zhang]

"Well... I don't think they don't look at you like a little sister." Jackie blew the bangs off her forehead. "I think they look at you... like someone they'd want to protect. Not that you can't protect yourself, mind you. But you seem to bring out that side of their personalities."

She smiled. "And that's not a bad thing. It's just a part of your charm."

Ah, yes. Jackie figured relationships would be complicated, especially when getting into one seemed so nerve-wracking. And it couldn't be as simple as telling someone that she liked him, as she wasn't even sure of her own feelings much less his.

When Avery wanted to pinkie promise, Jackie chuckled. Sure, she could tell her when she was sure of it herself. "All right, on one condition. You have to tell me if there is someone you like, too." She curled her pinkie around Avery's and shook.

Talking about her brother always added to her good mood, and she grinned again. "He likes it there, but I'm not sure how many patients he actually gets to see. He works on creating new potions and antidotes to combat new ailments and curses."

[averykellaway]

"Wow, I've never looked at it that way before," Avery admitted, smiling gratefully at her friend. She had always thought that her being so quiet and defenseless and such a demure girl made people treat as nothing more than a younger sibling, just like Bran. But to say that it was all part of her charm? Avery suddenly felt very flattered, not to mention embarrased.

"..You have to tell me if there is someone you like, too."

Well, she would, if she could come to terms with it and accept her own feelings. No, just don't think about it.

She merely grinned back when Jackie shook her pinkie, suddenly feeling very giddy, as if they were both young again, playing a prank and promising each other not to tell anyone.

"He's really like you in that sense, isn't he? Good at potions and stuff. What about you though? Thinking of putting that talent in potions of yours into good use, too?" she asked, wondering if she had thought about life after Hogwarts.

[jackie_zhang]

Jackie nodded, quite sure of her thoughts about Avery. Guys would never - well, perhaps the closer word would be "rarely ever" - see her the way they saw Avery. But she couldn't change herself, be something she wasn't, so she doubted her love life would blossom into anything more than thoughts. And she was content for the most part, knowing that.

As for her brother... "He's more brainy than I am." Jackie smiled. "Which is why we were surprised he made it into Gryffindor instead of Ravenclaw. But yeah, we share a few strengths - potions being one of them."

Now, Avery was the second person to ask her what she planned to do post-Hogwarts. It must be because she had those dreadful OWLs to look forward to. Jackie shrugged. "I'm thinking of becoming a healer or maybe work for the Ministry's Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes. Not quite sure which though. I suppose it'll all depend on how well I do on my OWLs."

She turned to the younger girl. "What about you? Do you have an idea what you want to do after graduation?"

[averykellaway]

Seeing that Jackie had decided to drop the matter, Avery was a little relieved to oblige. She had no problems with girl talk, as long as she didn't have to divulge certain information about her love life, or in this case, feel uneasy because she kept thinking about... things. Or people. Just get over it already!

She focused instead on what Jackie was telling her, nodding when she spoke about the two houses. "Well, he could be brainy AND courageous, and perhaps his bravery stood out more. I suppose I could say that for myself, since sometimes I do wonder how on earth did I get into Gryffindor. Don't get me wrong. I love it here, but I just feel so different sometimes, you know?" She offered a lopsided smile which meant that she was quite unsure about the situation.

"I've confidence in you, that you'd do well. Don't worry," she assured her friend, placing one hand lightly on her shoulder.

At her next question, her expression turned thoughtful. "There's so many htings I want to do, actually. I thought about teaching for awhile, and then I thought working for the Ministry would be quite a good option, but now, I'm just not sure. There seems to be an urge within me that makes me want to try something risky. Like.. becoming an Auror." In actual fact she was really quite unsure, but if it wasn't an ambition, then it must be a purpose for her. Something she was sure that she had come to Hogwarts for.

[jackie_zhang]

She smiled at that. Where Avery thought her intelligence outweighed her courage, Jackie always thought the opposite about herself. Maybe it was because she only had her brother and her dad to model herself, and then of course, there was all the time she spent with her brother and his friends, most notably Deryck and his sister, Charlie. Maybe if fate had played her life differently, if her mom was alive and she never met Charlie, maybe she would have been more similar to Avery. She winked. "Well... if it makes you feel any better, all of us feel like that. Trying to belong but also trying to be an individual. We're all oxymorons."

When Avery mentioned becoming an auror, Jackie was a bit stunned again. She knew Charlie, and Grady, and many other Gryffindors were thinking about that career, but she never realized Avery might want to become one. She tilted her head to the side in thought. "Actually... I think you'd make a good auror."

She smiled as her thoughts formed words. "You're level-headed and reasonable. People think you'd have to be reckless and aggressive to be an auror, but being an auror takes subtlety, intuition, and skill. And I think you'd always have the element of surprise too."

[averykellaway]

Avery simply nodded at what Jackie said, pondering over the matter. The girl did have a knack for saying the right things at the right time, doesn't she? "You're absolutely right in saying that. We're just never one or the other. Perhaps that's what makes us human, do you think?"

She played with the ends of her hair, twirling it between her fingers over and over, seemingly lost in thought. Bringing up her dream of being an auror had this effect on her. "You think so? Well, yes, that would be the norm. And being an auror does need a lot of thinking and ability to adapt. I think it's a really noble thing to do though."

Looking over at one of the sheds, she pointed it out to Jackie. "Why do you suppose noone ever comes here? And all those sheds, they look quite creepy, now that I think of it." Avery eyed them curiously, wondering what was in them.

[jackie_zhang]

Jackie chuckled at their inadequacies. "Yes, human. We're not perfect. At least, I'm not..."

She looked thoughtful, wondering if Avery was serious about becoming an auror. If she was... "When I get the chance, I'll see if I can introduce you to Kaleb. He's a bit busy, so it may be a while... but he wouldn't mind. He could probably answer most of your questions about the training program and whatnot. Better than I could, definitely."

She grinned and waved nonchalantly at the sheds. "That's because they're haunted, and not by your average run-of-the-mill ghosts."

[averykellaway]

"Oh, don't worry, I can assure you that we're on the same boat," Avery said, chuckling herself.

At the mention of meeting an Auror, her ears perked up and she immediately sat up straighter. "Really? That would be marvelous! Though I don't really know what to ask him or talk to him about." In her mind she pictures a stern looking Auror who's uptight about the things he did. But if Jackie knows him, then maybe he wouldn't be that bad. "What's he like?"

She frowned at Jackie's answer on the sheds. "What do you mean? There are dementors in them?"

[jackie_zhang]

Jackie giggled, trying to figure out how to describe Kaleb. "He's... very much like an 'ideal' older brother in the protective sense but he likes to joke around like we're his kid sisters. He's nice once you get to know him."

When Avery asked about dementors, Jackie shook her head. "Oh, nothing like that. Dementors are forbidden on school grounds; I believe Dumbledore has banned them from Hogwarts. Besides, dementors wouldn't waste their time being confined to abandoned sheds."

She tilted her head to the side. "There's a boggart in one of them, a baby blast-ended skewrt in another, and well... I'm not sure what's in the third one. Everyone just thinks they're haunted because of the shrieks sometimes heard at night. Wanna check it out?"

[averykellaway]

Avery smiled in relief after being told that Kaleb was a nice person. She wouldn't want someone she didn't know, much less an older person, to think she was a bother. "Well, that's nice of him. Yeah, maybe one day I'll get to meet him and talk to him about things. Thanks, Jackie."

She smiled sheepishly at the mention of dementors. "See, I obviously didn't think. It's just that when you mentioned them being haunted the first thing which came to mind was a scary looking dementor. I think it's because they do look like ghosts, you know. All billowy robes and stuff." She giggled softly.

"Shrieks? Ack, stop scaring me, Jackie! No I don't think we should go in there. There might something else there." She looked at the third shed that her friend had pointed out and shook her head. "No, no."

(OOC: I've a feeling the thread's coming to a natural end? :P Do you think we can wrap up soon? :)))

[jackie_zhang]

"No problem." Jackie smiled, and stood up from her spot on the ground. She wiped her hands on her skirt before offering it to Avery. She winked. "I just have to find him."

"Oh, and don't worry about it." She nodded at Avery's description of dementors. "They do look like ghosts... like walking death."

She picked up her broom and grinned. "Well, I suppose if you're not in the mood for an adventure, we should head back to the castle. It is getting close to dinner time."

((OOC: Sure. I have no idea where else to go with this either. ;).))

[averykellaway]

Avery grabbed hold of Jackie's hand and let herself be pulled up. She smoothed down the back of her skirt and retied her hair, which she thought must have looked really disshevelled by now. "Well, I should thank you first then." She smiled gratefully.

"I've never actually seen one, only in the books, and their illustrations are so real that it's just plain scary. I can't imagine ever seeing them personally." She shook her head and grimaced at that thought. She couldn't actually think of any instance in which she would come face to face with any of them, but it was still a scary thought.

She nodded in agreement to Jackie's comment. "Yeah, I don't think I'd be up for adventures anytime soon, Jackie. I'm just not very fond of the idea. Sorry," she explained, trying her best to look apologetic. "But anytime you want a talk, I'll be here, yes?" She smiled at her friend and began to walk back to the castle.

"Oh, and I'll inform Soren about what we talked about. See when he's free, so you can sign the paper?" she asked, knowing what had to be done, had to be done.

((OOC: Yep! You can wrap up after a final comment :D It's been a great RP, Jade ;)))

[jackie_zhang]

"Maybe you should talk to him before you thank me." Jackie joked, but gave a pleasant smile. "Kidding... Kaleb's great!"

As they started walking back towards the castle, Jackie felt herself mimicking Avery's nod. Same old Avery, she thought and grinned. She might not look for adventures, but somehow sometimes they came to find her instead. All part of her charm.

As for Soren... Jackie had the urge to chide him for not bringing it up the DA to her himself. But with everything going on, she'd forgive him for forgetting about her in the midst of all the drama. After all, they were friends, and friends forgave.

"Sure." Jackie said simply. With one signature, she would seal her fate... and it wasn't something she would have done lightly.