- Interacting with @Aaron Jones -

Time: morning
Day: September 1, 2020
Location: Hogwarts Express

The first thing Lydia noticed upon waking up was the crispy air coming in from the open window. September had always been quite a windy month in Brighton, so it wasn't like the delicate breeze that entered from outside was particularly cold, but after an entire summer spent in the hot, warm and muggy London, even the slightest chiller wind made her shiver a little.

She slowly sat up, her back rested against the headboard, finding Mačka sleeping all curled up on the pillow next to hers; since the moment she had brought him home, the kitten had immediately loved being close to her, sometimes even to the extent that he would follow her to the bathroom and scratch at the closed door. Lydia couldn't have asked for a better cat; he was sweet, cuddly, smart while at the same time extremely independent. She was sure he would have fit right in at Hogwarts.

She caressed him lightly, before finally getting up. It wasn't like she wasn't excited about going back to school; on the contrary, she couldn't wait to see all of her friends and start her classes; but at the same time, she had gotten so used to stay outside, to take walks and just sit under a tree that she was worried she would have missed all of that once school would have started.

Having already packed everything in her trunk the night before, there wasn't a lot left to do for her, aside from showering, having breakfast and actually leave and go to King's Cross. Once she had done the first two, she walked back up to her room and placed Mačka inside his crate, before taking her bag; she gave one last look to the room that had been hers for the summer, and that would have been hers once again during the Christmas holidays. Since the huge fight with her mother, she had decided not to go back home, and instead stay with her Grandmother; the two had actually gotten quite close during the last month, and Lydia found herself enjoining her presence more and more every day.

It wasn't like she didn't miss home, but... she just couldn't bear the thought of seeing her mom and having to spend time with her.

Her wand safely tucked into her jeans, she got in the car and once they reached the station, she said her goodbye to her Grandma, before walking towards the platform 9^3/4 by herself. She definitely felt different from the year before; she wasn't a first year anymore, she knew where to go and how to do everything, so her steps looked more confident, almost bold. But even if from the outside it might have looked like she knew who she was, Lydia was still struggling to understand that exactly.

Once she had gotten on the train, she moved towards the centre of it, finding finally an empty compartment; she pushed the door open and carried her trunk with her, before placing it under the seat. She closed the door behind herself and let Mačka outside, the harness safely secured on the leash; it wasn't that she didn't trust him, she just wanted to avoid him accidentally getting off the train and then ending up alone, by himself, in London. The cat lazily walked around a little bit, before jumping up on the seat next to her and flopping down in the form of a comma.

Lydia leaned her forehead against the window, as she waited for Aaron to come and find her. She was quite sure he wasn't there yet, she did check most of the compartments, but -for some kind of reason- she was scared he might not find her amongst the multitude of students. That was the last thing she wanted to happen, since she had planned on talking with him and tell him everything that happened during her summer.

She couldn't help but wonder how he would have reacted at the news of her heritage; would he have been surprised? Or maybe upset? Would it have mattered? Or would he have changed his view of Lydia?

All of these questions were going through her mind, worrying her, and somehow tempting her into giving in to the temptation of using her charm to somehow twist things into her favour, if they would have ever turned bad. But no- she had promised herself she would never cross that line; one thing was doing that to someone she didn't care about, another was to somehow manipulate her best friend. It was already bad enough that she was willing to do that to someone she didn't know, but she couldn't help her curiosity; she wanted to know what exactly she was able to do, how that affected people, and how much of that she could control.

With a sigh she looked towards the compartment door, her leg nervously bouncing up and down.

Where was he?

September first was both a sad and amazing day for Aaron Jones. It marked his journey back to his boarding school - a school for people born with amazing magical powers - but it also marked the day he would be leaving his family again. It had been a long year without them, and a very short summer with them. All in all, today would be a very bittersweet day.

That morning Aaron woke up to the alarm clock in his room. He shared a room with his twin brother Avery, so they stirred awake at the same time and spent a few minutes getting motivated to get out of bed. It was a three hour drive to King's Cross Station, meaning the whole family would be getting up extra early. It was 6:30 AM to be exact. When the boys went downstairs, they found their mum had already laid out an amazing breakfast spread. Rice, fish, eggs, mushrooms, soup, omelet bits, tofu. It was clearly a special occasion that she had prepared this food for. The whole family - except little sister still sleeping in her room - sat down to enjoy the meal together. There was a lot of laughter and chatter - all of them trying to focus on the positives of that morning, rather than the impending parting of ways.

When Gemma, Aaron's little sister, was woken up to join them for the car ride, it was clear she didn't fully comprehend what was going on. They had explained it to her the day before - that Aaron was leaving again to go to school - and while she understood him leaving for school, they weren't sure if she understood he would be gone for a long time again. She had grown a lot while he was in school last year, and he was a little sad about that. It was like she had grown a whole new personality during his time away. She was so smart, learning her letters and reading books and everything. It made Aaron a proud older brother, but also sad that he wasn't helping to teach her.

The family of five piled into the family SUV and were soon on their way. It was a long drive ahead of them, and Aaron's dad was doing the driving, but he still helped keep up the conversation. At times, Aaron and Avery would talk about the letters they would write to each other, or the goals they had set for themselves for the upcoming school years. Sometimes, Aaron would talk to his mom, making promises in Korean to continue practicing the language while he was away. He told her about Carolyn - the Korean girl he had met during summer camp and would be able to practice with - to reassure her he was not losing his grip on the language. She had tested him enough during the last few weeks that she shouldn't be so worried. Some of the time, Aaron spent listening to Gemma read him a book that she had brought. She was very proud of her reading abilities, as she should be.

Some of the time, they all sat in silence contemplating the upcoming year or reflecting on the past summer. Aaron did the latter, thinking of all the family time he had been able to enjoy and hopint it was enough to get him through the upcoming school year. Of course he would be going home for the Christmas and easter breaks, but they already felt so far away.

Finally, three hours later, the family parked a ways away from King's Cross and walked over there together. They reached the barriers between platforms nine and ten, then ran through it as they had been shown the year before. The family of muggles and the muggle-born son made their way through the crowded platform until they reached an entrance to the train where they could say goodbye.

"I'll write often," Aaron assured them all, as they all gave hugs and kisses and fussed over him. He noticed his brother looking wistfully at all the other children who were piling onto the train, and Aaron felt his stomach drop a little bit at the sight. How he wished he could bring Avery aboard the train to meet all of his friends, and bring him to Hogwarts to learn way more than he ever had. But that couldn't happen, unfortunately. "I love you guys," he finally said, tearing his eyes away from his brother and to his parents. The clock was ticking closer to eleven, and it was clear that it was time for him to board.

Aaron lugged his trunk onto the train and started making his way down the corridors. He felt a weird relief once he had left the sight of his family and was surrounded by his peers on the train. He felt a grin creep onto his face at the sounds of owls hooting and children shouting as he walked. This was the frantic energy of Hogwarts - and he loved every bit of it. As sad as he was to leave his family behind, he felt an excitement creeping in already.

"Lydia!" Aaron breathed a sigh of relief once he finally located his best friend and swung the door open. His eyes landed on her cat and he quickly pulled his luggage inside and closed the compartment door, unsure if the cat would have tried to leave otherwise. "I'm so happy to see you," he said, pulling her into a hug as soon as he could. He hadn't grown much over the summer - only an inch or two - and he doubted she would even notice that. But her? Well.. something about her seemed different. Was it a physical change? Or mental?

@Lydia Cooper

- Interacting with @Aaron Jones -

Her gaze still on the door, Lydia slightly jumped up in surprise when she saw her best friend come in. Mačka lifted his head from the seat, the new noises catching his attention, before he decided that whatever was happening was not interesting enough for him to stop sleeping.

Lydia, on the other hand, got up from her seat and hugged her best friend in a tight embrace; he was slightly taller than when they has last seen each other, and even though Lydia had grown a little bit, the badger boy was still taller than her. "I'm so happy to see you too!" she said as she was still hugging him, only to then let him go. A small smile appeared on her face as she sat with her legs crossed, back on the seat; she didn't even notice it, but she had started chewing on her bottom lip as she waited for her best friend to sit down as well.

"So, how was your summer? Was it nice seeing everyone again?" she asked curiously, even though she was itching to tell him about what she had found out about her own family; however, she knew that for Aaron his family was important, so she was willing to listen to him first.

In her mind she kept wondering how he would take the news; she hadn't told any of her friends about this yet, with the exception of Alexander, but he wasn't a proper friend yet... or maybe he was, but it was just easier via owl, since she wouldn't be able to see the immediate reaction that the other person had. Anyway, Aaron would be the first one to know about this- about her- and that scared Lydia a lot. In her mind, as they kept talking, she kept playing the worst case possible scenario: Aaron that not only does not accept the news well, but he even tells her he won't be her friend anymore. Lydia had to remind herself that what she was thinking about was the worst that could happen, and for all she knew Aaron could actually take the news well.

When Aaron asked her about her summer, Lydia briefly looked outside the window before she found the courage to answer; her heart was beating fast and she felt as if her voice was shaking, but she knew she had to tell him. "It was alright; I've spent a lot of time with Grandma and... I'll actually go back there for the Christmas break, and not in Brighton,"

She paused for a moment, before continuing. "Me and mom- we had a fight. When I told her that I knew she was a witch, she promised not to lie to me again, that there were no more secrets between us but- she lied again. We- I... I'm not who I thought I was- what I thought I was," looking down at her hands, Lydia slightly frowned. "I'm not completely human, Aaron. I'm- I'm part Veela,"

After their embrace, Aaron turned his attention to the newest addition to the family. Mačka. Lydia had of course told him of the cat, but it was his first time meeting him. "Wow, he's really cool," Aaron said, reaching out to scratch the cat's head. His grandparents had cats, so he knew they usually liked to get head pats.

After greeting the cat, Aaron put his luggage away. He showed Lydia his new broom first, of course. "My parents surprised me with it in Diagon Alley! They sold my old broom from the Durmstrang match and put in a bit more money to get this - a Moontrimmer - it supposedly goes higher than any other broom!" he raved about it, then put it above on the luggage rack along with his trunk. Aaron then settled in the seat across from Lydia, with the window table between them.

Aaron's brown eyes lit up as Lydia asked about how his summer was and seeing everyone. Of course, they had talked a handful of times via the phone, but it was different telling it all in person. "Definitely! Family's good. The pandemic thing is still kinda weird to get used to - we had to wear masks when we went out, but we mainly stayed home to begin with - and we couldn't see my grandparents in Korea this year... but overall everything was good! It was nice hanging out with my family," his voice became a bit wistful, already feeling the effects of missing them. He looked out the window onto the platform as the train began to move, and he made sure to find and wave to his family as the train chugged along.

"So how about you? How was everything this summer?" Aaron was back to his cheerful self once the train had left the station, trying to put his own family to the back of his mind. He listened eagerly as Lydia spoke of her grandmother and going to spend time with her for Christmas. His cheerful expression faltered when Lydia went on to explain the reason she would be with her grandmother is because she had gotten into a fight with her mom. Aaron frowned at this, just now picking up on all the signs that Lydia seemed extremely nervous about something. She went on to fumble on about not being who - or what she thought she was.

"I'm not completely human, Aaron. I'm- I'm part Veela."

Aaron's head tilted at these words, and he sat back in his seat rather than leaning forward like he had been before. Part Veela? What did that mean? People could be not fully human? Well, obviously. He knew that Quinn Healy - the Hufflepuff Quidditch Captain - was part Giant. But what was a Veela? Lydia seemed really nervous about telling Aaron this, and he felt like he was already failing in the friend department since he didn't fully understand what she was saying. And she seemed so upset by the whole thing. What was he supposed to do? Well, he couldn't just act like he understood - that would lead to disaster.

"So, um, what exactly does that mean? What is a Veela?" he asked, feeling slightly embarrassed for not immediately understanding. "I mean, it's not like it's changing who you are right? You'll still be Lydia.." Aaron didn't know what else to say without understanding what a Veela was first.

@Lydia Cooper

- @Aaron Jones -

Mačka slightly jumped up in surprise when Aaron scratched his head, but soon melted into the touch and let the boy pet him. Lydia watched the scene fondly, nodding along to her best friend's words.

Her mouth opened wide at the sight of the broom, "It looks so cool Aaron!" she said, her lips curling up in a smile. She could hear how excited the boy was, and his enthusiasm was quite contagious. He let him put it away, and then listened to how his summer went, humming and nodding along; the pandemic had been quite weird for her as well, but she had been lucky enough to live at her Grandma's that summer, where she could just go in the garden and not wear a mask there. As the conversation went on, her nervousness grew more and more, and as her confession left her lips, she raised her eyes from her hands and studied her best friend's face.

She saw his move back into his seat, tilting his head, and all that she could think about was how he had just put more distance between them. Lydia furrowed her brows, her eyes gluing themselves on the changing landscape outside of the window. Did he know what that meant, that she was part-veela? Was that why he had moved away? However, those answers were solved by what Aaron said next, and Lydia, for a small second, felt relieved.

A sigh left her lips, as she leaned with her elbows over her legs. "Well... Veelas are a race of magical beings, so they are not human. They are originally from East Europe, and pure Veelas are all females," she started, trying to tie together everything that she had learned. "My Grandma is a pure Veela, but my Grandpa was a Wizard; my mom is a half Veela, which makes me and my sister, just like my cousins, a quarter-veela,"

"But this is not- the real differences between humans and Veelas are several. You know how giants and part giants are, well, taller, and stronger than humans? Veelas and part-Veelas are beautiful; that's... kind of their talent. They can allure and attract the people that look at them, and they are extremely good at dancing and singing, which- helps them allure people," Lydia paused, biting down on her bottom lip, unable to look at Aaron. "They- we can't control that, unfortunately. People will always be drawn to us, no matter what. Of course full Veelas like my Grandma have more of these powers; it's as if they got 'diluted' with the different generations, but they're not gone. I don't... I still don't understand how this works but- " she added, and gestured towards herself.

"Grandma thinks I should be proud of this, that people will always be drawn to me, no matter what. Mom thinks I should be careful, that I should... hide this, and not tell people..." trying as hard as she could, Lydia slowly moved her eyes towards Aaron, unsure of what she would have found written on his face. "But I can't do that, I- I want to tell you because you need to know and- if you don't know who, what I am, then...then you'll be able to choose if you still want to be my friend," By the time she was finished talking, her heart was beating fast and loudly in her chest.

So Veelas are another magical race, like Giants, but also not like them. An all-female race. He briefly wondered how they could have kids without having boy Veelas, but his attention was soon back on what Lydia was saying. He tried to follow along as she explained about her grandmother being a full Veela, making her a quarter. Interesting.

Aaron raised an eyebrow when she described Veelas as having a beauty skill. She wasn't looking at him as she spoke, leading him to wonder why she seemed upset or nervous by this. It didn't make much sense. He definitely thought his friend was pretty, wasn't that a good thing? He didn't think it was as cool as super strength or anything like that, but it must still be a nice thing to have. A bit lame, maybe, but still cool.

As she went on to describe how they could use their powers to "allure" people, he tried to imagine what exactly that meant. Magical beauty. His thoughts traveled to sirens, which he briefly remembered learning about in muggle school. How they could lure sailors to their death because of how pretty they sounded or something like that. Could Veelas do stuff like that? It sounded like a better skillset than just being pretty, after all.

As Lydia explained not even she fully understood what it meant for her, he went back to just listening. Her grandmother wanted her to be proud, but her mother was advising her not to tell people, that it was something to hide. Aaron grew a bit concerned. The second year did not understand why she would need to hide such a thing. Were Veelas considered bad because of what they could do? Sirens had a pretty bad rap, if he was remembering correctly. But he also wasn't sure if he was right to be comparing them.

"Be your friend?" Aaron repeated Lydia's words, brown eyes widening slightly. "You think I wouldn't want to be your friend because you've got the ability to "allure" people or whatever? That's rubbish," Aaron frowned considerably, almost glaring at her for such an idea. Not genuinely, but like in a playful manner. It was clear to him that she was really concerned by the thought of him not wanting to be her friend because of this, so he was trying to lighten the mood a bit. "You're my best friend because you're you, not because you look pretty," he ended up saying. And in the next moment, he grinned and closed his eyes. He didn't know if she was watching him, but he continued to speak. "Look, even without seeing you, I still want to be here. And if it's your voice that draws people in, I'll plug my ears too," he joked, then reopening his eyes.

But in the next moment as he sat there across from her, he had to admit there had always been something about her that he couldn't place his finger on. Being around her was nice, and he always wanted to be there for her... But he was convinced it was because they were best friends. Not because she was born pretty and alluring. She didn't even know she had these powers before, so it's not like she could've used them to intentionally lure him into being her friend or anything.

Aaron quickly swept that train of thought to the back of his mind, focusing instead on his best friend. "Really, Lydia, you don't have to worry. I'm not upset or going to not be your friend because of this. That'd be so stupid," he said, trying to reassure her.

@Lydia Cooper

- @Aaron Jones -

!I- I don't know... maybe?" Lydia almost whispered, looking at Aaron with an apologetic look. It was difficult for her to explain why she was afraid of him not wanting to be friends with her anymore; she thought that if he knew that she could "attract" people at her, make them like her, maybe he might question if he was really her friend because he wanted to, or because of what she was. Lydia knew that was the jist of her worries, but she wasn't able to voice it properly.

As she looked at him, for a second she got worried that he was really upset, but she quickly realised that his glare was a playful one. That brought a small smile on her face, as a spark of hope started filling her stomach; maybe things would have been okay between them, after all. The smile only grew bigger at his next words, and Lydia couldn't help but chuckle a little when Aaron closed his eyes, looking at him fondly. "You're so silly," she said as, for the first time since she had found out the truth about herself, her chest felt lighter, as if it was easier to breathe.

"I was so scared you wouldn't want to be friends anymore," she admitted, "I thought that maybe if you knew the truth, then you might think that I tricked you into being friends or something," Probably feeling the storm of emotions going around, Mačka woke up from his nap and slowly crawled over Lydia's leg, meowing at her and pushing his head into her hand. She promptly obliged and started caressing him as the cat immediately began purring loudly, filling the room with the rhythmic sound. "I guess my mom's words really got to me. She told me that when she was in Hogwarts some of the other students kept talking badly about her, and saying mean things about her. She said it was because she was good in school and had excellent grades, and since everyone knew that she was half-veela, then they started talking badly about her," Lydia could only imagine what her mom had gone through during her school time, and she really hoped that wouldn't happen to her. "That's why she told me not to let anyone know about my race, but I can't hide that, not from you at least," as she finished talking, she gave Aaron another smile, feeling extremely lucky to have a friend like him.

Aaron smiled at the fact that he had successfully lightened the mood after his joking around. The twelve-year-old listened to his best mate describe her fears about him feeling tricked, and he shook his head vehemently to indicate that's not at all how he felt. "I feel no trickery here," he reassured her, still offering a goofy smile to keep the mood light. He watched as Lydia's new cat woke up and moved closer to his owner, which made Aaron's smile soften slightly. Mačka clearly made a great companion for the redhead.

The Hufflepuff boy listened to his friend describe her mother's experience at Hogwarts, and it made him frown. "Bullied for... being pretty?" he asked. It was more of a rhetorical question, because he was just trying to verbalize his understanding of a weird situation. Bullying of any kind wasn't cool, and Aaron had dealt with his fair share of bullies. Mainly sticking up for his brother being picked on back in muggle school, but not for being too pretty. It seemed like a weird thing to be bullied for, but maybe that's just how girls work. Jealousy and all that. Avery had been picked on before for being a bit of a loner and nerdy, and the fact that Aaron wasn't there for him while he was in secondary school still worried him. But Avery said things were going fine for him, so Aaron could only focus on his own schooling experience, being in a magical school and all.

"I'm glad you wouldn't hide it from me," Aaron said to Lydia, a small smile returning to his lips as he looked at her. "I won't tell anyone if that's what you want, but if you ever do tell people, I'll be by your side and kick the butt of anyone who tries to bully you," he promised, offering a karate chop to the air in jest. There was no way he would let anyone treat Lydia like her mother had apparently been treated. Especially for something as ridiculous as being part-Veela. All it did was make her a bit prettier, it's not like she would abuse her alluring powers for anything nefarious.

@Lydia Cooper