Recognition? ((AJ))

[Aurora Chan]

“A butterbeer please.” Aurora smiled softly at Madam Rosmerta behind the bar; she immediately bustled off to get the order, leaving Aurora alone. Well, she wasn’t entirely alone, not when there were so many other people – mainly Hogwarts students – surrounding her in the corners, on separate tables. It was just Aurora was sitting alone, that was all. She wasn’t here with anyone. Ari had typically disappeared on her usual lone walks, probably to contemplate recent events, and Harmony was with friends as usual. Aurora would normally have been with her own classmates, but she had felt like a butterbeer, and the others had wanted to check out the Weasleys’ infamous joke shop. Aurora smiled and thanked Madam Rosmerta as her butterbeer soon appeared before her. Paying the lady, Aurora took a tentative sip of the substance, and savoured its sweet taste. She didn’t mind being alone, really. Aurora rarely got to be alone; it was a word she rarely toyed with. Ari was a different case, but then again... Ari had always been different. Aurora pondered over her real relationship with Jez Cuthbert, whom she thought was reasonably decent – mischievous, playful – but he was a decent Gryffindor. She just didn’t understand why Ari hated him. What had he ever done to her?

Aurora enjoyed a little peace and quiet time to herself; not that people could believe that because she enjoyed chatting and socialising so much with her friends. In all honesty, Aurora wasn’t a social butterfly. People just didn’t understand her. She liked to fade into the background, but somehow people always brought her out into the spotlight anyway; like being dragged unwillingly. Aurora wasn’t completely unwilling though, she just didn’t enjoy it. She didn’t appreciate it, certainly. She just wanted to be with her close friends and family, enjoy time with them, and be left to be herself. She knew that as she had gotten older, there were many people in her year she had come to dislike and learn well their flaws; she had accordingly avoided them carefully, but when the time came to socialise, Aurora put on a mask of smiles, and acted like a diplomatic person – friendly, welcoming and nice. That’s why she was known for being this way. Even though Aurora acted one way, her true feelings were very different. She wasn’t two-faced, per se... She didn’t act really nice to someone to extract things from them, then go to someone else and spill everything. She just always tried to remain as neutral as possible.

Aurora was taking a long draught of her butterbeer when someone slid in the stool beside her and ordered a butterbeer. She was about to turn to see who they were when a familiar voice uttered her name in greeting. Beside her Aurora was a little surprised to find AJ Murphy, sitting in his usual confident manner as he paid Madam Rosmerta. The Gryffindor looked himself, different to the condition the night Aurora had found him in. He seemed to have reverted back into his normal mode though, and she was a little glad of it. Still, she did find him annoying sometimes – it was something about his arrogance, which, although was probably just a front, Aurora did find irritating; it could grate on your nerves a lot. However, Aurora didn’t have anything against AJ. She generally felt comfortable around him, especially because of the incident the other night in the Student Lounge, and she considered him a friend even if he didn’t feel the same way. They had always socialised in different groups, but Aurora liked to believe she was friends with everyone even if she didn’t like them much and vice versa. Slytherins were just an exception, because they couldn’t stand her. “Hey.” She smiled at AJ friendlily. “What are you doing here? Where are your friends?” She asked, still surprised to see AJ here alone.

[AJ Murphy G6]

AJ chuckled. “I can’t believe you all got caught. How did you get caught? I made it out unseen.” AJ’s mocking grin was obvious to his dorm mates, who all looked either angry or depressed. Sometimes, AJ couldn’t believe the stupidity of those boys. The night before had been a rush of fun and laughter that was abruptly put to a stop when Filch started chasing after them. The plan had been perfect. He’d planned most of it himself of course, but that’s not the point. The point was, last night was perfect. Late at night, after everyone including staff was fast asleep, AJ and the rest of his dorm mates had snuck out. They snuck into every common room and let a bunch of pixies loose in the common rooms. Even the Gryffindor common room was hit. AJ was glad his friend Stan had been able to smuggle those pixies in from Hogsmeade, or else the prank wouldn’t have worked. They’d even gotten Peeves to help by having him wake everyone up with his hollering and screeching.

As AJ and his friend Justin were leaving the Ravenclaw common room, (they had received the passwords from friends in other houses) Filch’s cat came out of nowhere and started meowing for his master. AJ headed straight for the room of requirement, where there was a hidden door that lead right back to the Gryffindor common room. His friends had been dull enough to forget that essential fact, and were all caught by Filch. They were given a month’s worth of weekend detention, and thankfully, none of them let slip to Filch that AJ was in on it. Of course, Filch assumed that AJ was the mastermind behind the prank (which he secretly was) and had been giving him dirty looks ever since. But of course, he had no proof AJ had done anything, since he was ‘asleep’ in his bed when Filch came into the Gryffindor common room.

AJ laughed as he walked with his friends down the corridors of Hogwarts. Even though most of them had been caught, everyone at school knew who had caused the madness of the night before. AJ and his friends received plenty of congratulations, pats on the backs, and generally a good reaction despite the fact that the pixies had pretty much destroyed everyone’s common room. AJ and his friends approached Filch’s office, where he was waiting outside. Filch glared at AJ and AJ smirked and waved good-naturedly at the old man. “I’ve got my eye on you, boy.” He said suspiciously. AJ laughed and walked away.

AJ sighed. Now he’d have to go the entire day without his friends. What on earth was he going to do until six thirty when his friends were freed from Filch’s first detention. It was only eleven thirty! Well, today was a Hogsmeade weekend. Maybe he’d go over to Hogsmeade for a Butterbeer and stop by Zonko’s or something. Yes, that sounded like an excellent idea; until AJ realized how crowded the Three Broomsticks was.

AJ only saw one free seat available. That seat was next to Aurora Chan, a Hufflepuff girl in his year. He remembered meeting her before, but he really wasn’t in the mood to think about the night he’d met Aurora. That was a night AJ wasn’t willing to think about. He was back to his normal self now, and he didn’t want to bring that angry depressed AJ back to life. Not now, not ever. “They’re all in detention. They were involved in that whole pixie ordeal last night and got stuck with a month’s worth of weekend detentions with Filch. I wasn’t caught though, so I decided to spend some time here in Hogsmeade for the day.” He said with a smirk.

[Aurora Chan]

Aurora raised an eyebrow at AJ’s answer and shook her head. “I see.” She merely said, returning to her butterbeer. His reply wasn’t unexpected, and Aurora wasn’t really interested in the aspects of problems involving pixies. “How are you then, AJ?” Aurora decided to make small talk as she put her mug down and fingered the circular rim dazedly. “Since the last time I talked to you, anyway. I hope you’ve been well, you didn’t look so great last time.” She sent him a pointed look from the corner of her eyes. “But you look so well today… especially since you’re escaping detention.” She teased with a chuckle, then ran her free hand through her hair. She was a little bit restless now in AJ’s presence; he didn’t make her feel uncomfortable, but she had been enjoying her rare solitude. Still, she was a polite child, and always made sure she didn’t ignore anyone because of her selfish preferences. As she took another long draught of her butterbeer, she sought for another topic, but came up blank. She hoped AJ would initiate more conversation, as she disliked silence in the presence of other people; Aurora tended to feel awkward. The only person she could pass silence comfortably with was Ari, and most of the time Aurora was talking her best friend’s ear off; sometimes about general news, sometimes about her homework, sometimes about her other friends.

Aurora reflected inwardly on the past few weeks, thinking back on the Winter Ball, the holidays back home, then returning to Hogwarts. In that space of time, a lot of things had happened. Ari had turned more distant but less cold; her feud with Jez Cuthbert still confused her greatly, and yet her tendency to sometimes disappear into thin air eluded Aurora. Harmony was also distant, and yet more open and talkative, which Aurora didn’t know the source of. Finally, Aurora’s own life had its own twists and turns; her friendship with Ian had been developing quite fast, and they had been spending a lot of time together. Aurora wasn’t sure where their relationship was going… she didn’t know if she wanted to know. But she knew she couldn’t run from admitting the truth forever, and so she resolved she had to speak to Ian soon; clarify what it was he felt between the two of them. That way, Aurora could put herself on the same level – not get too far ahead of herself, but also not to be left behind. Smiling into her palm, Aurora noted that she was meant to meet Ian after this Hogsmeade trip. There was a reason why he wasn’t attending, and it had nothing to do with pixies and detention, Aurora thought with an inward laugh as her eyes moved to AJ’s form again. Really, AJ was such a troublemaker. He was quite similar to Jez in that way. Jez, whom Aurora quite liked as well. He was a decent guy, always polite around Aurora despite his mischievous tendencies. Aurora detected no malicious aura from him. Ari on the other hand evidently thought differently.

Aurora noticed AJ was finishing his butterbeer, and hers was near empty too. She raised her hand as Madam Rosmerta looked her way, signalling the owner over. “Two more butterbeers please, Madam Rosmerta.” Aurora smiled pleasantly, laying the coins on the table after extracting them from her purse. Madam Rosmerta soon had two new mugs before them, and Aurora gave AJ a small smile as she pushed one of them towards him. “My treat.” She said, putting her purse away again. Taking her own, she drank it and savoured the sweet taste. “Tell me about yourself, AJ.” Aurora finally asked, disliking the silence and needing conversation to flow. “I don’t know much about you. I realised that the other night. Tell me something I don’t know.” She shrugged with a wry smile. “Surprise me. I haven’t had much surprises lately.” She chuckled as AJ tried to think of one. “Fine, fine, how about I start? I assume you don’t know much about me.” She teased lightly, sipping her drink. “Well, let me see… I was born in Manchester. I live with my parents there, and my little brother, Leo. He’s in Gryffindor, second year. You might just know him.” Aurora gave a fond smile, then laughed. “I’m sorry, that wasn’t a very exciting piece of information about me, was it? I’m sure you can do better.”

[AJ Murphy G6]

Aurora’s worried little comment didn’t surprise AJ much. She was a Hufflepuff; therefore she was somehow compelled to make sure everyone was bright and cheery, just like them. He didn’t blame them for worrying about him, but sometimes it did get a bit annoying. Especially when it made him think of those touchy little subjects like his father and such. Last time he had seen Aurora, it had been in the student lounge, right when he was in the middle of one of his little moods. AJ was generally a pretty upbeat and energetic kid. He always seemed to have a confident (though others would call it arrogant) smirk on his lips and a cute girl or best friend at his side to keep him company. That night, however, he had been quite alone and his smirk was far from its normal position in the center of his face. There were those very random and few times when AJ fell into one of those depressed and touchy moods. And once he was in one of those moods for any reason whatsoever, the subject of his father came about almost instantly. AJ’s father had always been somewhat of a button pusher for him, and he tended to avoid the thought of him completely in fear of falling into one of those moods again.

“Yea, I’m feeling a lot better now, thanks for asking. I wasn’t feeling very well that night. The next day I woke up with the worst head cold you could possibly imagine. It was probably just because I was coming down with something.” AJ lied, not thinking too much of it. AJ lied very frequently to many people over the years, so he had no problem doing it to someone who may as well have been a complete stranger to him. His conscious had pretty much dissolved over the years until almost nothing could faze him. There were some people though, that AJ somehow could never lie to. Back when AJ’s dad was his hero, he could never find the courage nor the strength to tell a single false tale to the guy. After all, he was a detective, and a darn good one at that. He’d be able to tell what AJ was really up to right off the bat.

AJ almost laughed at the thought of Aurora paying for his butterbeer. The Murphy’s were never a very wealthy family. They lived on the outskirts of London, away from all the tourists and fame that inhabited the rest of the beautiful and historic British city. However, AJ was a man and even a gentleman when he wanted to be. There was no way possible he was letting Aurora pay for his drink. He never let a lady pay for him. It simply wasn’t done. It wasn’t done when AJ was around, anyway. He reached into his pocket and grabbed a few coins. “Thanks, but that’s not how I do things.” He smirked at her and passed a few coins across the table to her. “Here’s for mine.” He took a sip of his butterbeer, savoring the sweet flavor of the drink. Butterbeer had always been his favorite drink, and Madame Rosmerta made it the best. AJ smiled at Aurora’s random burst of conversation. She really was a talkative girl, wasn’t she? AJ almost choked on his butterbeer. “You were born in Manchester? That’s weird, so was I. I moved to London after my parents split up, but I stayed there for a good portion of my life. How come I’ve never seen you around there?”

((Sorry this took so long, but it’s finally done...barely. And is Aurora going to find out about this as well, or will it just be AJ that figures it out? It’s been so long since we’ve talked about this I’ve forgotten.))

[Aurora Chan]

“Oh dear.” Aurora commented with a slight frown, sipping her butterbeer and propping her head up against her palm, her elbow against the table. “Hm. Might have been something going round. Lots of people have been ill recently. I’m glad my immune system is particularly good at battling against colds and stuff.” Aurora’s smile was tight, a little forced, and she felt guilty for holding a facade of friendliness. She could be honest and not bother with conversation at all; she didn’t know AJ that well anyway, he wouldn’t care if they didn’t make small talk. And yet, that stronger part of Aurora was always adamant she make an effort, however fake it was. Only if her company did not seek conversation with her in an obvious way did she back down, because she wasn’t about to force herself onto someone. Continuing to smile politely, Aurora said in a more genuine, caring tone of voice, “But I’m glad you’re feeling better. I’m sure something as trivial as a cold couldn’t hold you down. Though they are the perfect excuses for ditching lessons and detention, Mr Murphy.” Aurora teased, knowing AJ wouldn’t take it offensively. That was an advantage of having a chat with AJ; he was light-hearted and carefree, and he enjoyed joking around, not being serious and sombre, and that was exactly what Aurora needed right now. To ignore all the darkness in life and focus on the light, if only for a short while.

Though, Aurora could tell, since she was an expert at it herself, that AJ too was playing a game of masks and trickery. Not purposefully, perhaps, and she didn’t blame him for it either. It was the nature of humans, to hide their true desires, to keep them close to their hearts. Self-preservation and playing the game right... it was a fight for survival, that was what life was. Aurora had to see it for what it really was; there was no denying it anymore now that she had lost her inner child innocence. She may appear so naive on the outside, but really, her face didn’t reveal what she really felt. Even her eyes were an empty brown, because Aurora was not the emotional person people thought she was. Her classmates perceived her as warm, friendly, bubbly... And yes, she was all those things, but there was more underneath that outer skin; and often, it was only a mask to hide her true feelings she couldn’t bring to light; hidden in darkness, shrouded in shadows... Aurora could tell AJ was doing something similar from the lightness of his tone, the curve of his lips, the creases by his eyes. He wasn’t an open book, but she could see well enough he was also making small talk with her, and nothing he told her was necessarily the truth. She didn’t mind; it was human nature to be false, particularly in her character, and so she let the ride flow as it normally did. AJ had things on his mind, and so did she.

Aurora returned the smirk when AJ handed her the coins in repayment for their next butterbeer, and a genuine smile tipped her lips. She wouldn’t have minded if he hadn’t paid her back, but she was impressed that he did. She guessed that was what made a good gentlemen (since Aurora wouldn’t call AJ a ‘true’ gentlemen); she would prefer it if her future man didn’t just let her pay for everything. She liked to have some gentlemanliness. It was endearing, she supposed, and made a girl feel wanted and treated well. Then again, if the man treated the girl too often, then he would easily be tricked out of every Knut he had. “Thanks.” Aurora said smoothly, slipping the coins into her purse without argument, before her eyes met AJ’s questioning ones. “Really now?” It was more a pondering statement than a question as she drank her butterbeer. “I had no idea. We have something in common.” She smiled automatically. “Yeah, I was born in Manchester, and I’ve basically lived there all my life, save the time I spend at Hogwarts... which has become nearly all my life.” She joked, curling a strand of black behind her ear and tilting her head to gaze at AJ in slight interest. It wasn’t that shocking that AJ used to live in Manchester, since lots of people from Hogwarts probably did too. However, Aurora was interested to know how close AJ had lived from her; if they had been next door neighbours or something. Now that would be a coincidence. She shrugged at AJ’s question.

“Manchester’s a big place; maybe you were on the other side of town or something. I wasn’t that outgoing back then... I haven’t changed much.” She cracked a wry smile. “People would beg to differ, but I’m really no party animal, however crazy I act, and that came through as a kid. I preferred to play with my neighbourhood friends, so I was really secluded from the world until high school. Then, wham!” She grinned fondly, genuinely. “Hogwarts changed my life forever.” Her eyes drooped somewhat as she remembered more. “And my childhood friends just... slipped away. Disappeared into the background.” A short pause ensued, before she raised her gaze again and propped a tight, small smile for AJ. “But whatever. The past is the past, right? I live for the present.”

((Only AJ remembers. )