Jingle Bells PV Aaron Jones Reopened

"He won't be mad, I'll just say sorry, and everything will be fine," Aaron said to his companion Chae. The beautiful snowy owl was currently in a big cage he was carrying down the halls of the Hogwarts Express. Aaron was using her as a sounding board regarding his worries about going home for Christmas. This was the first time he was more apprehensive than excited to be headed back to his family.

The Hufflepuff teenager was specifically worried about seeing his father. The last time they had spoken was the day Aaron left for Hogwarts on September first, and it had not been a good conversation. Aaron had raised his voice and used an insulting tone with his father. Looking back on it, he did regret that, but he had been angry and his dad was being annoying. At the time, it seemed like a good idea to just storm off like he had. But over the last couple months, that anger had started to fade, especially after having a talk with Jack about their families. Poor Jack.

Speaking of his friend, Aaron hadn't been able to find his compartment yet, and it seemed like the train would start moving soon. He had been among the last to board the train, and a ton of the compartments were occupied by at least one or two people. Since some people stayed at the castle for the breaks, the train wasn't as full as it could be (like at the end of the year), but there were still quite a lot. He knew he'd at least need to be seated for the train to start moving or he'd be thrown off his feet, so as soon as he saw a familiar face, he would go in.

It just so happened that the next compartment had a friendly visage inside, so Aaron pulled open the door and offered Lindsey a smile. "Hi, Lindsey! Mind if I join you? I think the train's gonna start in a minute, and I'll get out of your hair after if you want," he said, his brown eyes meeting hers. Not only was he familiar with her from the third-year classes they shared, but Aaron and Lindsey had been on the Quidditch team together all through second year. This certainly wasn't the first time they had spoken to each other and likely wouldn't be the last.

"This is Chae-rin by the way, and she won't mind your cat at all," Aaron added, to explain the huge cage he was carrying. Chae's eyes were clearly on Lindsey's cat, but probably more out of curiosity than anything.

@Lindsey Springhall

Aaron has a Calming Presence.

Your presence simply puts others at ease, if it is your carefree personality or the trust others have in you, the result is still the same. With you there, perhaps through your encouragement, your allies are able to better focus.

interacts @Aaron Jones

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The train was not moving yet, and students were still streaming onto it. Gently giving Napoleon a small pat on the back, her eyes wandered back, falling on the compartment door, when it swung open. Aaron Jones showed up behind the compartment door, and Lindsey, upon seeing him, offered him a small wave. Aaron was a fellow third year Hufflepuff, and had been her Quidditch teammate during their second year. They had talked a few times before - to Lindsey, Aaron was a person to trust, not to mention his smiley countenance indeed gave her an aura of calmness. “Oh hey Aaron! Do take a seat - I’d be really glad to have someone to talk with during the ride.” She smiled merrily at the boy, chocolate brown eyes sparkling with joy.

Following Aaron’s words, she noticed the snowy owl that somehow made her remember her brother’s own one. She was a pretty creature indeed, resting in the huge cage he was carrying along. Aaron mentioned that her name was Chae-rin - that was quite exotic. She wasn’t very sure which exact language it was, but definitely not English. “Chae-rin is such a pretty and unique name! And she’s quite beautiful.” she praised, genuinely. The owl’s pure dovewing-like white colour was rather into Lindsey’s taste. “And, this is Napoleon - he’ll answer to Napp as well.” She gave a little point at the cat, who, upon listening his own name pronounced, raised up his head. His large amber eyes almost immediately fell on the owl, and seemed eager to leap forward. This was not Napoleon’s first time seeing an owl, but he had always been the curious and playful type. Lindsey sighed a bit seeing her cat’s curiosity - she really didn’t know if Napp would suddenly jump up and try to tackle the owl playfully. He wouldn’t harm the owl, she knew it, but he might scare her. “It’s alright, Napoleon!” She assured him. “That’s Chae-rin, and now sit down and be a good fellow.” The cat meowed in return, and rested himself on the soft seat again. Though his eyes were still on Chae-rin, but there were only pure curiosity now.

“I’m sorry, he’s such a playful little guy.” She told Aaron, smiling rather apologetically. “Though he’s quite a faithful companion of mine. Hopefully you won’t mind him!” Eyes falling on the boy again, she couldn’t help but showing her cheery mood a bit. “Are you excited for the holidays?” Rather willing to start a conversation instead of just sitting quietly together, she inquired, quite merrily.

Meanwhile, the train started moving slowly. Their trip home was finally on.

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"Cheers," Aaron said gratefully, entering the compartment and setting Chae's cage carefully on the seat across from Lindsey's cat. The thirteen-year-old himself sat down beside Chae and across from Lindsey. Since the two Hufflepuffs were sitting at the window seats, they had a small table between them which Aaron briefly leaned against. He sat back in his seat and got comfortable after a moment though.

"Thanks! It's Korean for color and unicorn, so it kinda translates to her being the color of a unicorn," Aaron shared, shooting his owl a fond look. "She also responds to just Chae, that's probably easier to remember." Aaron's brown eyes went to Lindsey's cat as she shared about his name. Napoleon. The thirteen-year-old smiled at the revelation. "That's a really cool name for a cat. Like a proper explorer's name," he observed.

Aaron's eyes raised to meet Lindsey's when she apologized, but he waved it away. "There's no need to say sorry, lots of pets are! And Chae's a pretty unbothered owl, she's got lots of patience, for me in particular," Aaron explained, offering his owl a sheepish smile at that last comment. She had put up with quite a bit of Aaron's ranting over last summer, and she still seemed to want to hangout with him. Looking back at Lindsey and Napoleon, Aaron added, "And I think cats are cool! I've never had one, but I like them well enough.".

Lindsey went on to ask about his feelings on the holidays. His smile faltered slightly and he avoided eye contact, glancing out the window instead. The train had started to move and they were leaving Hogsmeade station behind now, starting to see scenery of the Scottish terrain around. "Well, I'm happy to be going home and seeing my family, just a bit nervous about some other stuff," he said, finally turning back to her. He figured that was enough information - honest but not really needing to get into the nitty-gritty. "But I'm always excited for Christmas! How about you?"

@Lindsey Springhall

interacts @Aaron Jones

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“That’s lovely.” She remarked, upon listening Aaron’s explanation of the etymology of Chae’s name. Korean language was a field that Lindsey had never set foot in, but it did sound quite agreeable. “The name really fits her.” She said, while Napoleon meowed as if supporting the statement. The cat had certainly accepted the existence of another animal now, for he finally stopped staring at Chae a bit aggressively, even though curiosity shined in his amber eyes. “Yeah, he’s quite a little explorer.” Lindsey answered in return, pointing at the bengal cat. “And I guess that’s why I decided to name him Napoleon at last.” Chuckling slightly, Lindsey couldn’t help but remember the first time she had met this little guy. An exact love-at-first-sight story, perhaps?

Noticing Aaron’s slight uneasiness of avoiding eye contact with her, Lindsey decided to keep quiet on the subject. She had better not inquire about it any further, seeing that her train ride buddy wasn’t feeling so well talking about this - if the person sitting across Aaron was the Lindsey two years ago, she’d certainly offer her affection. But not anymore now. She was starting to understand that everybody wanted their secrecy sometimes on certain subjects, and probably she should just move on to another one which’s agreeable to both of them.

And thus she simply went on to answer his question in return, jumping right to her own thoughts about Christmas. “I’m quite excited for a family reunion, I think.” She replied, rather merrily. “It has been long since I have seen them in person - and I miss my hometown a lot.” She expressed. Beginning to feel that Yorkshire was quite a beautiful place that she would be honoured to call a home, Lindsey realised that she was actually missing it. She had missed the holiday decorations in the town centre last year, and she decided to herself that she’d ask father to take her there this time - the celebrations there were heavily praised according to what she had heard.

“Christmas is my favourite holiday among all!” She told Aaron. Warm chocolate brown gaze fixed on the boy with a cheerful air, and golden brown curls fluttered slightly on her shoulders. “I especially love the decorations as well as the idea of giving presents to your loved ones. And the Christmas dinner has always been appealing to me.” She laughed slightly realising that she had actually mentioned the Christmas dinner, but - oh, she herself was a foodie, and you couldn’t blame her for finding interests in the food related to the holiday! Plus, Christmas was not Christmas without its special little treats, right? “I also heard that the Christmas feast in Hogwarts is rather spectacular, but I have never stayed during the holidays.” Really, it’s certainly a pity that she had never tasted an authentic Hogwarts Christmas feast.

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The way Lindsey said it had been a long time since seeing her family in person felt a little different than just saying "I haven't seen them since summer," but maybe Aaron was misinterpreting that. He didn't think too much of it, and instead listened to how happy she was about her Christmas traditions.

"Christmas is definitely one of my favorites too," the thirteen-year-old boy said, grinning at Lindsey. As she spoke of the decorations and the presents and the food, Aaron was actually getting more excited. He really did love Christmas time - especially the presents - but he also loved the fact that it was the time to spend with his family. With how often he was at Hogwarts now, he really did like these breaks where he got to see them. Sure, summer had kinda sucked - he wished he'd just gone to the summer camp like his original plan had been - but lately he'd been missing them. He was both excited and nervous to be heading back. And my broom is there.

"I heard that too!" Aaron exclaimed, when Lindsey brought up the Christmas feast. "I've never stayed at Hogwarts for any of the breaks either - except like, summer camps - so I've always been curious about the over-the-top traditions they do for the people who stay during holidays," he explained.

After a moment, the thirteen-year-old added, "So, where do you live? I'm headed back to Cardiff," His hometown was the capital of Wales, but Lindsey's accent didn't sound quite Welsh.

@Lindsey Springhall

interacts @Aaron Jones

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“Yeah, me too.” she nodded towards Aaron, “I’ve always pictured the holidays in Hogwarts as - well, grandeur. Like, the celebration in such a large castle must be large as well, I guess.” she said, rather slowly. Through the years Lindsey had slowly adapted a thoughtful way of speaking - though it was unexpected, really, she was much more tumultuous to get along with when she’s younger - and to be frank this change was welcomed. She wasn’t so interested in being that loud anymore - adequate quietness would provide a much better life - for, why not?

Napoleon, having finally relieved from his observation of Aaron’s Chae, meowed and patted her with his paw on the lap. He was, no doubt, willing to remind his owner of his presence. Smiling, Lindsey gave her beloved little adventurer a scratch behind the ears, when catching Aaron’s words. Her housemate introduced himself as a resident in Cardiff - that’s somewhere in Wales, right? Being not so sure about it, she turned to his accent for help. Even though Lindsey was definitely not (and would never be) a linguist and wasn’t very aware of what exactly the Welsh accent was like, but Aaron’s accent did somehow make her believe that he was, indeed, from Wales.

“I’m heading for York.” she replied, much pleased to show her hometown pride. If Aaron was familiar with the Yorkshire accent (it was quite peculiar according to herself), he might find that her words were it was rather a mixture of Yorkshire accent and the Received Pronunciation. The latter was due to the twelve years living in London and the kind of accent she had taken after her father, though her mother did have a Yorkshire accent even before the family moved to York two years ago. Having grown up in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, Carolyn Springhall tended to use that kind of accent a lot in their household. And upon moving to York, Lindsey herself had been working hard on studying and mimicking the Yorkshire accent, in order to understand the local and make an attempt on making herself feel at home. She was halfway through it now, and Lindsey was satisfied with her progress. “York is a beautiful place, especially in spring.” she told Aaron. “You’ll enjoy a walk on the heath with flowers here and there after an afternoon rain.” she added, with a merry smile on her face, as certainly it had brought back some treasured memories.

“And Cardiff’s in Wales, right?” she inquired, with curiosity. “I’ve never been to Wales before - what do you like the most about your hometown?” with a genuine smile, she added - “Like, in case I’m going there for a visit sometime in the future, any recommendations for a visitor?”

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