So Great to See You PV Maria Dee Finished

Photo set by: Frost Cira

@Aaron Jones

The first time Maria left for Hogwarts she’d been so unsure of the new world she was entering. Coming back to it now still filled her with unease, but this time for entirely different reasons. It’s amazing how a person’s thoughts could change in a matter of a year, how so much could happen that could affect them in so many ways. Her baby brother’s face drifted back into her mind, Aiden looking at her with his wide blue eyes and brown hair, not knowing that she was saying goodbye but happy to see her anyway. One thing was for sure, she definitely didn’t dislike him being around, but it was all just so new to her and many things changed the summer she’d been home.

Her parents’ dynamic had changed some, she thought it was better now, but still different. They no longer went out as much, as a lot of things they did were centered around the newest member of the family. Her father was a little unsure, almost afraid at the new experience of taking care of a newborn. Her mother, she felt mellowed out a little more. She’d done this before, so she wasn’t as scared. But they always felt a little more distant and a little more on edge.

But amidst all this, she had one “constant”.

She and Aaron had talked often over the break, and it was one of her favorite things about the past summer. Not only because she had feelings for the boy, but also because he was genuinely a great person to talk to. Talking to him meant time that she didn’t necessarily have to think about how uneasy she was as well. Not to say that she still didn’t get a few odd butterflies, but it was a welcome feeling.

Arriving at the Quidditch Pitch, she saw the boy in question riding around on his new Moontrimmer. He was so excited to try it out, and it was nice to see he was fully enjoying it. She’d been on her way to see him and tell him to have a good year, luckily he was where she knew he would probably be. Seeing him stop by her made her expression light up, and that familiar flutter appeared again. “Hey you.” She greeted. The sweaty hug was also a surprise, the heat rising up and tinting her cheeks a dusty pink. “Oh- yeah, it’s pretty good, I’m still kind of settling back in though.” She looked down with a shy smile, trying to hide her blush. “And you?”

"It's great to be back! Weird though, that I'm feeling a bit homesick already.. I thought that I would've gotten used to saying goodbye, even if it is only second year," Aaron admitted. He didn't view his homesickness as weakness at all. After all, he had bonded with so many first years last year over being homesick. Sean. Lydia. Breana. He knew it was a normal feeling and would fade eventually, but for now he was a bit sad thinking about his family.

After a second, Aaron resumed his cheery attitude, not wanting to bring Maria down with him. "But yeah, I am really happy to be back! And look, check it out!" With pride written all over his face, he held out his new broom to her and allowed her a closer look. She would know all about how his parents had gotten it for him after hearing he won the match against Durmstrang. She was also one of the few people he had confided in about lying to his parents. How they thought Quidditch was a sport played up in the air on brooms, but that there was a net at the bottom to catch anyone who fell. If they knew how dangerous it really was, they never would have allowed or supported his dream.

"It rides so well!" he said happily, eventually taking back the broom. "I think I'll do really well this year.. that Durmstrang match was rough, but I'm really looking forward to this season," Aaron said, his eyes mainly focused on the broom as he said those words. Although he had considered stepping down from being a captain, he had never once thought about leaving the team entirely. He intended to be on the Hufflepuff team through his whole school career! And he had to make a comeback from his abysmal performance during the summer match.

Another moment passed, and Aaron raised his eyes back to Maria's. He smiled warmly at her, not wanting to go on and on about himself. "And you? Are you gonna be spending more time reading and writing?" He knew that was one of the hobbies she really enjoyed doing here at Hogwarts, since the views of the grounds were really nice.

@Maria Dee

Photo set by: Frost Cira

@Aaron Jones

Maria couldn’t help but smiles sincerely in Aaron’s presence, not only because of the giddy feeling from seeing him, but because this boy simply radiated good energy. “I know what you mean.” She said trying to hide it. “I wasn’t even sure if Aiden really understood that I wouldn’t be around for a while. Mum says he might forget me while I’m gone, but I think that was just to get me to write some more.” She chuckled.

Now seeing him up close she could see he’d grown a bit, but he still had his kind eyes and big smile. Since they’d talked over the summer she knew he was still the same Aaron but seeing him a little grown now in person made the flutter a little harder to ignore. But she wasn’t really ignoring it, was she?

“It looks really great! I bet you guys will be even more unbeatable now.” Over the summer this broom was something that came up in a lot of their conversations. He’d been so excited to get it and to play Quidditch again, despite his guilt of lying to his parents. The young witch didn’t have much advice to offer him on the matter, unfortunately. Lying wasn’t great but then again it was likely his parents wouldn’t be able to understand entirely. “You’ll seriously have to give me a flying lesson sometime.” A light joke, but also half-meant.

Maria could swear that his boy had a smile that could melt butter. He’d always felt like a person she could trust, right from the get go. He was genuine and loyal - very Hufflepuff as one might say. When he asked her about himself it was as if she was taken out of a trance. “Oh! I – uh, yeah, I guess you could say that. I haven’t been writing a lot really. I’ve been helping around the house and the diner and with my brother...” A pause was there somewhere, as if there was more she wanted to say but opted not to.

“But! I was hoping to join the Dueling team this year.” My, how quickly this child would change the topic, obviously not wanting to dwell on thoughts of home for now.

"I bet babies forget a lot of things," Aaron said. "They probably even forget their own name," he said with a grin, trying to bring humor to the conversation to distract from the fact that they would both be missing their families. Being back at Hogwarts was bittersweet, but after a few days and some classes, Aaron was sure he would be back to having proper fun with his friends rather than lingering on his family.

Aaron beamed as Maria complimented his new broom - his pride and joy of the new school year. He was sure nothing else this year would be as well looked after as this piece of Quidditch equipment. This broom would be subject to daily cleanings (if he didn't forget), and being the subject of Aaron's devotion. "Definitely! Our first game is at the end of October, and there's no way we'll lose," Aaron agreed, grinning at Maria's proclamation of faith in the Hufflepuff team.

When she spoke of getting flying lessons, Aaron picked up on the joking tone in her voice and rolled with it. "Anytime!" he declared, his huge smile never faltering. "Just name a time and place," he added. He didn't think she was serious, but he would've been happy if she had been. Any excuse to share his love of flying with friends was welcome. He really enjoyed practicing with the Quidditch team, but not many of his friends outside the team liked to fly just for the fun of it. Lydia in particular was not a huge flying fan, much to his disappointment, but he made do with his friends on the team when he wanted company in the air.

Maria shared that she hadn't done much reading and writing over the summer because she had been busy with family stuff, which Aaron knew about (he had even told Maria during one of their phone calls that he would have to visit her family's diner one day!), but he didn't realize it had been so time-consuming for her. "Well, maybe now that you're here you'll have more time for it," he said hopefully. He had never asked properly what she wrote about, but before he could ask, she mentioned the duelling team.

"Wow, really?! I hope you do! Then I'll get to go watch your matches and cheer you on!" Aaron said, genuine excitement in his voice. It wasn't often that he got to be a proper spectator these days. Sure, he had watched all the Quidditch matches last year as a spectator, but he hadn't had any close friends on teams to cheer on in particular. It would be really fun to cheer on Maria at her matches! "When are sign ups? Are you gonna be practicing a lot?"

@Maria Dee

Photo set by: Frost Cira

@Aaron Jones

It was an odd notion to Maria at first, realizing Aiden might have forgotten her already just from not seeing her for a few days. Though she was sure that he probably didn’t know his own name, but for him to look at her and not know who she was - she didn’t know how to feel about that. In the short time she’d been home they’d found their own little niche as siblings (it was mostly the baby asleep and her reading quietly next to him) but she found comfort in that. He no longer cried like the first time she held him, and in a way it felt like he knew who she was. The thought of losing that was sad to her.

However, sad thoughts could only dwell so long in the presence of the boy she adored. “I don’t even know if he knows his own name but…” Maria’s trailed off a bit as she saw this face light up again. ”Ehm sorry, I lost my train of thought for a bit there.” .

The boy in question however, directed his adorations towards other things, like Quidditch and space, and whatever boys his age thought about. At this age Maria didn’t necessarily understand this, she was far too overwhelmed with the feelings that she’d only ever really felt with him. To a twelve year old, it was a really strong like, or love or whatever she tried to describe it. She really didn’t know.

She liked that he was interested in her hobbies and liked to ask about them. She liked that he was nice enough to call her over the break to see how she was doing and to tell him about what he was up to. She liked that he was so willing to support her in her own competition as she would him.
She liked him, she liked him a lot.

But now that she’d realized that she’d been quiet for too long. Or at least long enough for it to be embarrassing for her.

“What? Oh, I’m really sorry something just came to mind.” His question about dueling would register late. “Yeah, they’re going to be soon.” She smiled shyly at him and tucked a piece of hair behind he ear. “I guess, yeah. But not too much I hope, I still really want to spend time with you- I mean, my friends, which includes you, um…”

Realizing her slip up she tried to recover gracefully.

“Are you done with practice?” Real smooth, kid.

Aaron tilted his head slightly when Maria lost her train of thought. It was a familiar feeling for him, who had a million trains of thought at once sometimes. But he was better at controlling it when he trained (like taekwondo and flying), and as he had been growing older.

As they spoke of the upcoming Quidditch match and the possibility of giving Maria flying lessons and Maria's writing habits, it felt like a lot of topics were being touched on. Of course that was to be expected, as this was the first time they were seeing each other since summer camp. Talking on the phone hadn't covered nearly as much as they could in person, and it was all coming up now. They really needed to hang out soon.

"Awesome, good luck!" Aaron said, when Maria confirmed that the duelling sign-ups were coming up. He would truly be rooting for her. His thoughts flickered to Lydia for a moment, remembering how she had mentioned she might be interested in the sport as well when it came back to Hogwarts. But Aaron's attention was soon focused right back on the Hufflepuff girl in front of him, as she spoke of hoping to have time to hangout with friends. The part where she named him specifically went right over the twelve-year-old's head.

"It's a bit tough balancing in the beginning, but you'll get the hang of it, I'm sure! Plus you'll probably make lots of friends out of your team, so it'll be like hanging out with friends even when practicing," Aaron said, trying to reassure her. Being part of the Quidditch team and loving the sport as much as he did meant that he spent a good chunk of his time practicing flying, either solo or with the team. He considered all of his teammates as friends, and even though it was hard work, he enjoyed their practices more because of it. He hoped it would be the same for Maria. He had no idea if she wanted to pursue a duelling career like he did with Quidditch, but he had a feeling she would work hard at it regardless. And hopefully the friends she made through the team meant she would enjoy the practice, too.

"And if you ever need someone for target practice, I'm your guy," Aaron said with a joking smirk, using his thumb to point to himself. With a nod of his head he even wiggled the hand that held his broom. "I'll even use my broom when you need more of a challenge," Aaron added, this idea sparking a true desire to do so. That would be an interesting practice! He could practice evading and Maria would practice her spell accuracy. A win-win!

Before he could elaborate more on the idea, Maria asked if he was done with his flying practice. Aaron shook his head, "Well, I wasn't practicing really. I was just testing out the new broom. I wanted to fly a bit more just to really get a feel for it, so maybe we could meet again in the common room later? Or sit together for dinner?"

@Maria Dee

Photo set by: Frost Cira

@Aaron Jones

She was mostly relieved to know Aaron didn’t catch her slip up. Maria had no doubt that dueling practice would be fun. She also know she could probably handle some semblance of a club-school-social life balance, but being able to spend one on one time with someone you like is a whole different thing. By now Maria had understood that boys her age were mostly oblivious, or incredibly full of themselves. Thankfully, Aaron fell into the former.

Maria giggled when he volunteered for her target practice. Partially because of the hilarious image of the boy trying to dodge her spells, and mostly at the prospect of spending more time with him. Her blush was up to her ears now, and she silently cursed herself for putting her hair up. “I’ll keep that in mind. I don’t think my opponents will be dodging as fast as you on a Moontrimmer, but it’ll definitely be good practice.”
She was slightly disappointed that they couldn’t spend more time together. But she couldn’t blame Aaron for wanting to fly around on his coveted broom. He’d waited for the opportunity for months, and she wasn’t going to come in between that.

Her young heart skipped a beat when he asked if they could hang out later. She was fully ready to give him an enthusiastic “Okay!” but she realized she already made plans.
“I-I actually have some charms homework to finish so I can catch up on some dueling spells. But I’ll definitely see you around.” She smiled at him, taking in the sweet boy she liked so much. He was only of her closest friends in the crazy world of Hogwarts and she trusted him so much. He was kind, funny, and she couldn’t ask for better company.

The barrage of butterflies in her chest only seemed to become stronger, and in a flurry of emotion and without a second thought, Maria leaned over to Aaron and planted a quick kiss on his cheek.

The moment passed just as quickly as it came, and immediately Maria felt as if she’d been doused with cold water. If she was seeing things with rose-colored glasses earlier, now everything was in stark black and white. What the heck was that? Realizing what she’d done, she turned around, eyes wide and her pulse felt like it was a hummingbird trying to escape the second hand embarrassment it felt from the girl.

“I- uh… I’ll see you later!”

And with that, she ran away.

Maria Dee has left the thread.

BONUS CONTENT: Art by @Breana Oliveire, commissioned by Aaron Jones.

Reducio

"Oh, yeah, crazy how they're assigning homework already, right? Guess second year is going to be a whole new beast," Aaron said, recalling the Charms homework that Maria was mentioning. He also needed to do that assignment, but he knew some people like to study and do work on their own because it helped them learn. He would just ask Lydia for help later that evening or tomorrow.

"And yes, I will definitely see you around," Aaron said, beaming at his friend. It had been so good to see her and everyone else back in school the last few days. Being away from everyone had just made seeing them again that much better. The twelve-year-old boy was about to move to offer her another hug goodbye, but it seemed that she had other plans? Maria moved in a way where he hesitated because he couldn't register her intentions, and he instead felt something soft on his cheek. Did she just..?

Before he could fully process what had happened, Maria said another farewell and ran off. Aaron's whole face was warm now, not just his cheek. She had kissed him. Had she meant to do that? Had it been an accident when moving to hug? That didn't make sense. Maybe it was something she had picked up over the summer? Girls in France kissed cheeks all the time, right? Maybe that's what she was doing?

Aaron could tell his whole face was red from the shock of it. Without a second thought, he mounted his Moontrimmer and took off back into the air over the Training Pitch. Up here, his face would cool off and he wouldn't have to think about what just happened. It was just him, his broom and the air. He needed to focus on training, not... a cheek kiss that had clearly just been a way of saying goodbye.

[Thread Finished]

@Maria Dee