Dancing in the Moonlight

“Exactly! My best friend from back home hates when I spin her.” It was the reason Jak had started going on the spinning teacup and tilt-a-wirl rides by herself. “But where’s the fun in not spinning? That’s what the ride is there for.”

“I know, right?” they exclaimed, hands going up expressively. “It’s not fun unless you feel a bit ill to your stomach after!” Aaron was a bit of a thrill seeker, unless it came to horror themes. Then they were a weenie.

“You mean the tilt-a-hurl?” The brunette joked, grabbing their hand, an excited grin making its way onto her face. “I hope you’re okay with being spun.” She oved to spin around on those types of rides.

Aaron chuckled at her word choice, letting her pull them towards the line. “Fuck yeah I am!” they exclaimed, getting their usual hyper energy back. “Glad someone else gets it! It’s way more fuckin’ fun the more you spin the thin’!”

“I’ll give you that one.” Clowns looked creepy enough when they weren’t of the murderous child eating kind. At their admission, Jak’s face softened. “Okay. I won’t push anymore. How about we go on a ride instead?” She knew that at least they weren’t afraid of heights. Or if they were, they hid it pretty damn well.

Aaron dramatically sighed in relief, leaning over and placing their hands on their knees. They then stood back up and said “Thank you, fuck yes, let’s go on the tilt a whirl.” 

“It was a little funny.” Or at least it was to her, considering who she was dressed as. If she’d been dressed as anyone else, she probably wouldn’t have found a comment like that funny either. Even with the sense of humor she possessed. “They’re not going to hurt you or touch you. And if they do, I’ll kick their arses.” Jak had gone to enough haunted houses to know that the actors never touched the guests.

“Clowns are fuckin’ terrifyin’,” Aaron explained solemnly. “Thought you’d understand that with your fuckin’ costume choice.” He then shook his head. “I know that, and I appreciate it, but I’m just… I’m not good with scary shit, alright?” He was a little embarrassed that he had to be that explicit about it, avoiding looking at Jak’s eyes.

“I think that can be arranged, although I might have to call up a clown first.” She joked. However, she put a hand on his arm. “If you really don’t want to go in, I won’t make you. Although I do highly recommend it, since it’s a lot of fun and everyone’s really committed to their roles.”

“Fuck.” She swore under her breath, annoyed that her tactic had failed. Although she had to admit that in her current costume, she didn’t exactly look very seductive (and she hadn’t ben aiming to). “What will get you into the haunted house?”

“I told you, you’ll have to kill me before you get me in there,” he repeated, crossing his arms. “You have fun, I’ll sit here and enjoy… not being in there.”

“Eh, tomato, tomato.” She replied with a shrug. “C’mon,” She stood up on her tip toes in an attempt to whisper in his ear. “It’ll be fun.”

He squinted at her, a small smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Are you trying to seduce me to get me in the haunted house? A noble attempt, but it’s not happenin’.”

“Oh come on, Aaron! I was in there before, do I look any worse for it?” Truth be told, Jak had been in there because she was one of the volunteer actors, and not because she’d been looking to get scared. 

“No, but you like that kind of shit,” he argued, shaking his head. “I do not. No thank you.”

“Fantastic!” Jak exclaimed, punching the air. Exploring was always much more fun when she had someone to explore with. When Aura linked arms with her, Jak started to lead her out of the classroom and into the hallway. “Which way do you want to go? Left or right?”

At her friend’s question, Aura beamed. “I get to choose? Ooh, okay. I like this adventure—right!” she said, a spontaneous decision, though she did know where it was going. She decided it wasn’t spontaneous enough. “Jak, what if I close my eyes the whole time so it’s really random? I’m holding onto you anyway, so I’m not scared of falling down the stairs!”

Jak watched with relief as the glass repaired itself, glad that Aura no longer would have to worry about broken glass on the floor. “I’m just taking a walk around the castle.” She said with a grin. It wasn’t the first time she’d decided to explore the castle, and it most certainly wouldn’t be the last. Every time she did it, she felt eleven again, filled with a sense of adventure and curiosity. “Why don’t you come join me?”

“I’d love to!” she said, flashing her friend a big grin. She could take a break from practicing her wandless magic for now. Aura typically had plenty of energy but even too much would make her tired. She skipped towards Jak, looping an arm around hers. “Bring me on one of your adventures!”

“I mean calm down. I’m not going to step on the glass.” As a matter of fact, her plan was to dodge the pieces, by jumping over them. Coming into the classroom, she navigated her way to Aura, looking down to hop and jump over the pieces of glass. “Now that I’ve parkoured my way over to you, why not cast reparo?”

“Right,” she said, expression brightening up. “Good!” She watched as her friend expertly jumped over the glass shards, as if she’d done so a million times before—Aura wouldn’t be too surprised if Jak would say so. She always thought her friend was quite the adventurous type. “Ah yes! Great idea,” she said, pulling out her wand and doing as told, relieved that this was something she could do without messing it up. “So what are you up to today, Jak?”

Jak had been wandering around the castle as usual, talking to the portraits and ghosts whenever she passed them. She was excited for the day, aince life at Hogwarts was never dull. And that could especially be said since she heard a loud shattering sound. Curiosly, she went in the direction of the sound, finding a classroom door. And upon opening the door, she peered in, discovering her friend. “Okay, okay, I will.” She replied, looking down at the floor and then back up at her friend. “It’s okay Aura. Deep breaths.”

Her panicked concern seemed to dissipate as the other only peered in, and upon discovering that it was her friend Jak on the other side of the door, Aura smiled, though an expression of slight confusion crossed her face at her instruction. “You mean a gasp isn’t deep enough?”

With bated breath, she followed its path with her gaze, a grin forming on her face—though just as she raised a fist to declare victory, the glass shattered, falling to the floor in a million tiny pieces. “Noooo!” she whined, shoulders slumping slightly, taking a moment before she straightened herself up again. “Nobody’s perfect.” 

When the door to the classroom opened, her eyes widened in alarm, a loud gasp escaping her lips as she glanced from the broken glass to the newcomer, words flying out of her without a second thought. “Ah, Merlin—no! Stay there. Watch your step. Hazard! Hazard!”