Going Home (Jason, Artemis)

Some things were the same as when she had last left, but many were different. Just like before, Amber knew that she would miss the place that she had grown up in, but now she was heading to a place she had never had before. A home. Last time there had been a number of people she would miss, but this time there were only a few. And she was leaving happy. Happy to be leaving, happy to have come. Just happy. Another foreign thing to the redhead.

Amber was leaning against a low wall in an off street of Hogsmeade. She would be leaving by portkey, as she didn't have her apparation licence in the United Kingdom yet. It was in the form of an old coin that sat safely in her pocket, and she knew that she still had some time before it would activate. She just hoped that the person she was waiting for would actually show up.

Jason had tried to drag Octavia to bid Amber farewell but he knew of his younger sister's hatred of saying goodbye so Jason wandered alone, his hood flattening down his raven curls so only the white stripe showed. He caught sight of fiery red hair, a small smile touching his lips as he got closer, reading his friend's features to find that she was happy. ''Why must we always say goodbye, Amber?'' Jason called out, finally reaching her side after forcing himself to slow down.

Amber heard the crunch of footsteps on the road, and turned her head to face the incoming Slytherin. From so far back, she was sure she wouldn't have been able to recognise him if she didn't have such good eyesight, as his signature curls were hidden beneath a hood. Smiling, she shrugged and said, "I don't know.. one could say it's because I live in France, though I like to say it's because you won't come with me." She had to admit that the biggest change was that she would now miss Jason the most. The other people she had missed so much before were not as high on her priority list as they once had been, which only proved to show how much she'd changed. "Either way, it's a must."

Jason sighed and naturally, moved his arms around her waist pulling her into his strongest hug. He knew she would not break due to her supernatural strength and he was thankful for that because he only gave such a hug to Octavia. He had two women in his life that could handle him at his angriest, his strongest and even his weakest. "I will. When Lexi is finished, I'll be there with her and then we won't have to keep saying goodbye. It's becoming quite the pain." Jason teased, breathing in her scent that soothed him.

Amber let out a quiet breath as Jason wrapped her in a tight hug. She could tell that it was tighter than normal and she closed her eyes for a moment, resting her cheek against his chest. "I know," she replied, a little more seriously this time though her tone was still light, "and I'll hold you to it. I'm sure Artemis will even more so." Artemis was the first person who she missed when she was away, though she also missed Artemis' mother. Though it would have been easy enough to just portkey from one place to the other, it was both expensive and time consuming. Both Ministries had constraints and limitations on the portkeys that they were willing to hand out, especially the ones for international travel. "Maybe next time you can come and visit with us, though?" she said, once again playful, as she brushed a kiss against his cheek.

Jason clenched his eyes shut, holding her to his chest until he softened his arms, not squishing her so much. "Artemis has been bothering me for months as well as her father... I'll be visiting at some point soon, don't worry." Artemis' father had taken quite the liking to him despite the fact he was a werewolf. It was something Phillipe wanted to improve but Jason would never allow the Hybrid change. He preferred to live his set life, unless he had a reason to live forever. "I will always visit. I can't be without two of my three favourite girls now, can I?" He said smoothly, returning the kiss on her cheek with one on her forehead.

"We'll all be waiting for you," she said cheekily, "and Octavia. She's a wonderful person." Amber had found herself enjoying Jason's younger sister's company during her visit, and while she's hoped that she would be able to see her before she left, she understood that some people just didn't like saying goodbye. "Her father wants you to come?" Amber asked, not entirely surprised but a little anyway. She wasn't used to other vampires liking werewolves. There was the whole eternal enemies thing. But some were more intelligent and saw their value as both people and wolves. "Oh, of course!" she said, smirking, "I tried getting Artemis to join me this visit, but she had things she needed to do back home. Maybe next time she'll come, too. And we can bring the Potter kid and leave her behind." Amber didn't hide her distaste for the Ravenclaw girl who placed her best friend in danger even if she didn't mean to.

Jason smiled, it hidden by her hair and pride swelled at the fact she complimented his sister. "I am glad you like my sister...I'm sorry she didn't come. She doesn't like goodbyes. It's why I waited a year to start Hogwarts so we could start together." He explained. He nodded at Amber's question, understanding her slight surprise at Philip wanting to him to come as well. ''Aye, he has always been a fan of werewolves and he's trying to tempt me into becoming a Hybrid but I will wait for the future to give him my answer. He has forever after all.'' Jason smirked lightly, releasing Amber from his tight hold and he leaned against the wall, staring down at her. "It's quite alright. Artemis and I talk through mirrors anyway whenever we have the chance so it's not like we've missed each other that much. Ah yes. The potter girl. I forgot about her. She's there so Artemis can control herself not to kill, quite amusing and unfortunate that she hasn't already."

"Of course I liked her," Amber replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world, "she's sweet and snarky, which is basically a perfect person." Obviously she was exaggerating, since there wasn't really such thing as a perfect person, but Amber thought that it was pretty close to it. "I'm surprised," the redhead said thoughtfully, returning to lean against the wall once again, "I thought I was the only one of us who had an unnatural fascination with werewolves. I mean, you are supposed to be the born enemy."

Tilting her head slightly to the side, Amber rested the tip of her index finger on her chin. "I didn't mean for you," she said after a moment, "I meant for me. I missed her within a few days of leaving. But yeah, I think she's getting a bit better when it comes to that.."

Jason beamed with pride and nodded enthusiastically in agreement. "To me, Octavia is the vision of perfection. I am a lucky brother." He mused softly, shoving his hand into his pocket to touch the pocket watch Octavia had made him. "Ysabeau says he's jealous, that he envys that we can still be as powerful as them but not live an eternal life. Which I, personally, find quite strange but I suppose if you've lived thousands of years, you'd get bored. Oh no. The De Clermonts always have had a fascination with werewolves. Why do you think Artemis was so quick to befriend us?" Jason explained with a light smile, pulling out a cigarette to rest it against his lips as he lit it.

Jason glanced down, almost embarrassed. "Apologies...I did not think. But yes, you are correct. She has gotten better. The issue..that causes her lack of control..is unable to be fixed but it can be covered and that is what she's trying to do. You know they won't even create Hybrids in case it passes down to them." He mused gently.

Amber smiled softly, though she was a little sad, as she said, “you are very lucky. Not only to have such a brilliant sister, but to also have a sibling at all.” It wasn’t often that Amber thought about her lack of family, but when she did it made her quite sad. Her father had been horrible, but another family member would have been nice. “I guess that makes sense,” the redhead agreed, “though most would think an eternal life would be a good thing.. Artemis’ family is so interesting.”

Raising an eyebrow as he lit a cigarette, she said, “that is horrible for you, you know?” She, of course, was are that he knew, but that didn’t stop her from saying it. Grinning, she shook her head and said, “no, it’s okay. And I know that it will never be gone. I just wish it wasn’t necessary to have such a well-known person being her guinea pig.” Glancing down at her wrist, she frowned slightly and said, “five minutes.”