high flying soul surfin (jamie)

[Deleted]

Today was the day Aaron's little sister, Jamie was going to come visit his apartment in London. He had spent a good hour trying to clean up, but ended up just flicking his wand and shoving everything under his bed. He was never good at housekeeping spells. His mother would call him a disgrace for ruining such nice fabrics, being a seamstress and all.

He told her what corner to meet him on and then they’d walk to his apartment together. He stood at said corner in a light blue t shirt and khaki pants, shirt tucked in and shoes two-toned. It was the beginning of June and summer was, sadly, getting shorter every day. The sun was still bright, even though the London clouds always hung about. They made the heat bearable, really.

When he saw her approaching he lifted a hand to wave, his smile broad. ”Jamie!” he called out, moving down the sidewalk toward her.

@jamie

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There was so much that Jamie had to tell her brother. It was a daunting task, especially since she had been purposefully vague in her letters to him, but Jamie knew that if she didn’t tell Aaron soon, she’d never find the heart to tell him at all. She had even written everything out so that she wouldn’t forget or start stuttering or get so emotional that she just made random hand gestures. The piece of parchment was in the pocket of her jean shorts, weighing her down, but Jamie was trying her best not to let it bog her down. She was getting to see her brother, something she’d been waiting for since their family reunion.

Jamie spotted her brother, but didn’t really register it was him until he called out her name. “Aaron!” She shouted, just as joyfully as he had. Before she knew what was happening, Jamie found herself flying across the distance between them, throwing herself into Aaron’s arms. She had been doubting for a long while where home was for her anymore, but for that one glorious moment, Jamie didn’t have to wonder. Home is where the heart is, and for that second, Jamie’s heart was right where her body was – in her brother’s arms. 

@aaron

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Aaron wrapped his arms around Jamie tightly, slightly lifting her off the ground as he did so. He laughed, giving her one last squeeze before setting her down and pulling back and placing his hands on her shoulders. ”I’m glad you made it. Come on,” he stepped to stand beside her and threw an arm over her shoulders, holding her as he walked down the sidewalk toward his building. ”It’s not much, but it’s homey enough. My mother hasn’t come by yet but when she does I’m sure she’ll have some critiquing,” he chuckled, turning into the building and opening the door without releasing her.

Soon they were on his floor and he finally released her to open his door and allow her to step inside ahead of him. ”This is it! One bedroom, fairly small. I could afford bigger but.. You know, don’t have a reason,” he said with a shrug.

@jamie
(i was listening to ‘i know you care’ by ellie goulding when i read your post and i was all teary cuz aaron loves jamie so much GAH. she can move in with him if you want whaaaat)

[Deleted]

Every awful feeling that had been swirling around in the back of Jamie’s head oozed out of her when her brother’s arms were around her. She even managed to giggle a little as he lifted her off the ground – she felt like she was a little kid again. “I’m so happy I could come.” The Hufflepuff responded honestly when her brother said that he was glad she was there. She walked side by side with Aaron, his arm around her shoulder, and couldn’t help but smile. It was going to be a good day, even if she did have to darken it a bit with everything she had to say.

“It’s yours, so I’m sure it’ll be perfect.” Jamie said. Aaron, in her opinion, was capable of few faults. Even if interior decorating wasn’t his strongest skill, she couldn’t hold that against him. Besides, everyone had their own taste, so it wasn’t like a home could be decorated wrong. She was excited to see it, and was practically vibrating with excitement as Aaron swung the door open. She swallowed as she stepped inside, peering around. He was right – it wasn’t much, but it was definitely a place that could feel like home. “If your mother tries to critique you, tell her that your little sister says it’s beautiful.” She told him softly. “I – I have a lot I need to tell you.” Jamie said, echoing what she had written in her letter. “Is there any place we could…sit or something?” She asked weakly.

@aaron
(omg if she moved in I'd die happy)

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Aaron let out a good pfft sound as she said that she was sure his place was perfect. He knew that was far from true but at her words he tightened his grip on her shoulders affectionately. He was briefly reminded of his first conversation with Odette… how she had said that she wished she didn’t have any siblings on the Greyback side because she didn’t want anyone else to have that burden. Whereas Aaron wanted siblings more than anything, practically prayed for them. He was sure his motives were much more selfish than Odettes were… which made him feel pretty guilty that he was so glad to have Jamie in his arms. Still, he needed to try to stay positive out it. The upsides. Jamie.


He smiled as she said the apartment was beautiful, ”awe, well, you can tell her yourself. She wants to meet you. She’s even considering coming here this summer,” he said, sort of dropping that minor bomb casually. Then she said she had a lot she needed to tell him, which he already knew, and she slowly seemed to deteriorate in volume…


”Yeah, yeah. Of course, come here,” he gently reached out to touch her arm and led her to the small couch in the room right off the front door.


@jamie
(consider it done.)

[Deleted]

Jamie was so distracted with her own thoughts that she barely registered that Aaron wanted her to meet his mother. She managed a small smile, but the fear plunging through her gut made that revelation no more than a small blip on her radar. She didn’t know why she was so psyched out about it – she had told more than enough people, and in a variety of different ways. She had had an emotional breakdown in front of Lily’s mother and told Jayden’s mother all the logistical reasons why she couldn’t leave, no matter how much she wanted to. Still, telling her siblings was different. Jamie had avoided telling Max because she was afraid of the repercussions, and she still wished that she could chicken out of telling Aaron. But she couldn’t.

She sat down on the couch, glad that she had the forethought to write everything down. There was more to add – Jamie had written her speech before the encounter in the bookshop. She unfolded the piece of paper (loose leaf taken from her mother’s study) and began to read. “Aaron: the day we first met, I told you a lie. I’m sorry.” She glanced at her brother nervously. “At the time, I didn’t know it was a lie, but I’m still sorry. I told you I was born a werewolf. I learned at the beginning of this summer that I wasn’t.” It all sounded so clinical, the way she had written it. “When I was seven years old, Fenrir found out my mother wasn’t a witch, as he assumed she was. He was angry.” Jamie swallowed. This was the part that would probably end up angering Aaron. “She told him he had a daughter who was magical. Instead of biting her, as had been his plan, he offered her a choice: if he bit her daughter, she would be spared. My mother chose. She chose to save herself.” Jamie paused. “My mother chose to make me a wolf.”

@aaron

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It was clear that something bigger than Aaron initially realized was going on. He was silent and engaged as she lead forward when the pulled out a piece of paper. A million different thoughts ran through his head as to what it could be. A letter from their father? Some kind of warrant for her arrest for some reason? Some new ban on werewolves? His heart was pounding loudly in his ears for a few moments before she looked down and began to read.


Oh, it was some sort of letter to him. She had written it herself. Probably to remind herself as to what she wanted to say. He kept his eyes on her, his heart slowing down just a bit at his fears being silenced… but not for long. As the letter ended and she explained what had happened with Greyback, her mother, and herself, Aaron’s heart started to pound again, loudly in his ears.


A white hot rage started burning inside him and he felt his entire body tense up. He took in a deep breath, knowing that he didn’t want to show this kind of anger in front of Jamie. But, as his words came out of his mouth, the anger was clear. He couldn't hide it. Especially not from the, ”does she know that you know this? How did you find out?” he asked, trying to keep his voice even, and failing.

@jamie

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Jamie winced a little at the sound of Aaron’s voice. She knew that his anger wasn’t for her, but it was still jarring all the same. She had never heard Aaron sound anything other than pleasant, and now she knew why. Aaron when he was angry was…not scary, because she could never be scared of him, but he was…intimidating would probably be the right word, or close to it. Even with her brother’s voice warbling with rage, his intentions were clear, and Jamie was glad that she was not her mother at that moment. The questions that he asked were valid ones, though, and Jamie had spent enough time hiding from the answers already. Aaron deserved the whole truth.

“Odette told me on the last Hogsmeade visit of last semester that it was impossible to be born a werewolf. I didn’t believe her.” Jamie said, deciding to start from the beginning. “I went to a session with Hogwarts’s school counselor, and I asked her if that was the truth. The counselor said yes, and that went against what my mother has told me since I was old enough to ask about being a wolf.” Even as much as she wracked her memory, Jamie couldn’t find a time where she remembered being anything other than a werewolf. Logically, she should have remembered something about the first seven years of her life, but apparently it had all been erased in the trauma of the bite that had changed her forever. “When I came home, I told my mother that I knew I wasn’t born a werewolf, and I asked her why she lied to me. She told me the truth.” As much as the truth had hurt, it had been told, and it couldn't be snatched back. Some days Jamie wished it could, but others she was grateful for being freed from a web of lies she didn't even know she was in. “I really don’t know what to do, Aaron. She keeps trying to talk to me, as if words would somehow fix this all.” But they couldn’t. That was the sad thing about words; they could gauge wounds deeper than any physical blade, but they couldn’t seem to mend anything at all.

@aaron

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At the sight of her wincing, Aaron knew he hadn't hidden his anger very well. He tried to take in a deep, calming breath, but it just ended up sounding shaky. He listened in rigid silence as she explained. He didn't know that you couldn't be born a werewolf, but he figured he should have looked that up. Then she explained how it all came out, how she didn't know what to do and how her mother wanted to talk to her... he let out the breath he had been holding, sighing slightly. He looked down, blinking for a moment before looking back up at her.

He knew what he had to do, because he loved her and he had to respect her and her mothers relationship, even if it was a sham. "I think you need to talk to her about it, when you're ready," he didn't want to say it, but his logical side always won over his anger. "But, until then, you should take your time sorting this out. You can stay here with me. Heck, depending on... well, I don't want you to feel like you have no choice but to go back there if you don't want to," he explained. "If the times comes that you decide to talk to her and don't want to stay, we can get a two bedroom apartment even. When you graduate or whenever you want. But for now, I think you should try to fix... it..." he shook his head, feeling his anger coming back and he looked down again.

"A strong part of me wants to tell you that I never want you to speak to her again, Jamie, but I know that's the wrong answer. It's wrong to solely follow emotion on thimgs like this," he looked up at her again and reached a hand out, placing it on hers, "okay?"

@jamie

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Jamie wasn’t sure if she was ever going to be ready to talk about it. Even if she could bring herself to do that, Jamie didn’t know if her relationship with her mother was salvageable. At best, it would be awkward and distrusting for years to come, and at worst, it just fell apart. She was oddly okay with both of those options, though she didn’t tell Aaron that. He probably wouldn’t appreciate the bitterness, or recognize the person behind it. Just as Jamie had never seen her brother angry, he had probably never seen her so vindictive or unforgiving.

Had Jamie heard Aaron correctly? She almost couldn’t believe it. The lead ball that had been sitting in her stomach since the beginning of the summer had just been lifted out of her insides with a few simple words. Jamie flung herself at her brother, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. She was on the brink of tears, relief mingling with utter joy and wonder at how good of a person her brother was. “Thank you so much.” She choked out. “I – I’ll talk to her, but not having to live with her will be so much help. I need to do this when I’m ready, and she…She just keeps trying to guilt me into forgiving her when I really don’t want to.” All of her earlier acrimony towards her mother had vanished, because she finally had a choice. Aaron had always made choices easy for Jamie – the choice to build a relationship with her siblings, the choice to love him, the choice to stay with him.

“I love you, big brother.” Jamie said with a smile, tears dried. She had meant to tell him about the bookshop incident, but she wasn’t sure if she could bring herself down from cloud nine long enough to relay the story. She would just…let it go.

@aaron

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As Jamie was launching toward him, Aaron prepared himself by opening his arms out to her and pulling her close to him. He was on the brink of tears as well now, though he wouldn't cry in front of Jamie. At least, he hoped he wouldn't. He closed his eyes tight and bit back his emotions as he held her. He wanted to take away all the pain she was feeling, all the pain she had ever felt. He wished his arms could pull all that darkness out of her and into himself, where he could take it somewhere far away and make it disappear forever. He held her tightly, as if he could do just that. And that part of him that never wanted her to see her mother again didn't want to let her go. He didn't, and he wouldn't until he pulled away first. As she spoke, about how she wasn't ready and how she was going to come stay with him he could feel himself relaxing more. Everything was going to be okay and while she was sorting through all of this he would be right there, ready to help.

I love you, big brother,aaaand there went his chances not to let any tears fall from his eyes. One did, and he didn't say anything for a moment, taking extra time to make sure his voice didn't come out shaky when he spoke. "I love you too, Jamie."

@jamie

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Jamie had wanted this hug for a long, long time, and it was everything that she had imagined it would be. There was nothing really to say about the hug other than that it solidified her choice; her mother would still be there for a long, long while, when she was ready to talk. Jamie began to draw up plans for moving her stuff in her head, but her train of thought was abruptly cut off by her brother’s words. He loved her. It felt almost as nice to hear it as it did to say it. Wiping the last of her tears off her face with the heel of her hand, Jamie carefully extracted herself from her brother, looking up at him with adoring eyes.

“Today is the first day of the rest of my life.” She informed him, trying hard not to sound too soppy or sentimental. It didn’t work. “How’s your summer been?” Jamie asked, crossing her legs under herself. It was a sharp turn from deep, emotional hoopla to small talk, but Jamie thought they probably both could use a little bit of an emotional break, even if the emotions had all been good ones. “And how’s organizing the charity game going? It sounds like it’s going to be a blast, with so many talented players on the field.” She paused. “You’d better beat them, though.”

@aaron

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As they pulled apart, Aaron brought his hand into his lap as she spoke. He smiled, not responding to her comment about the rest of her life starting today, and simply nodding in agreement. His mind was racing with all the lifestyle changes he would need to make in order to have a teenage sister around. He'd have to clean more, make food, not stay out so late... it wouldn't be that hard of a transition, but he still had to think it through, his his brain working around the idea in preparation.

Then she asked how his summer had been and about the charity game and he smiled, grateful for the opportunity to take a moment to chat about less serious things. "The summer as been great! The game is going to be wonderful. Though, it's always hard playing against the harpies because of so much romantic drama between players, current and past," he rolled his eyes, "but it will be fun. I'd love it if you came. And," he laughed, "we'll beat them! Though, girls seem to get more vicious when playing against boys..."

@jamie