I hunt for you

WHO: Zaccaria Borgin and Ji-Min Greengrass WHEN: Saturday, March 18th, 1978. WHERE: The Room of Requirement

How was it possible that she had never noticed just how pretty she was before? Beyond just the spray of her dark hair across the paleness of a pillow or a wit that was able to go toe to toe with her own. From the corner of her eye she glanced over at the other girl only to find her looking already, “I love it when I catch you looking at me”

@greengrassxjimin

Ji-Min smiled as Ari turned to face her. It was really more rare for Ji-Min not to be watching Ari, especially when they were out of class. The other girl just drew her in. Usually it was embarrassing, because she knew Ari didn’t reciprocate the feelings, but she didn’t really care tonight. “I love it when you look back,” she said, taking a step closer and smiling. “It’s quite rare though. I’m glad I did tonight.”

As Zaccaria pulled her boots on she eyed Ji-Min trying to make her hair look somewhat presentable and smirked, “I know I’m a decent witch darling but never has that entailed the ability to peer through walls” she said, zipping the boots up and standing upright. With a sigh she gestured towards the door, “You go first and I’ll follow in about an hour. I’ve got History of Magic and I very much doubt that Professor Binns will even notice that I’m gone”. She wasn’t really learning anything anyway. History was her best subject and as such she had already torn through the book numerous times. It definitely didn’t hurt her feelings to miss a class she knew she would be bored in. 

Ji-Min rolled her eyes but didn’t comment further; if Zaccaria was going to be ridiculous, she wouldn’t encourage it. “You’ll never be missed in History of Magic,” she said dismissively, trying to determine if she could get away with skipping her own classes to get in a nap. Probably not, and she had never liked skipping class anyway, even History of Magic. Ari’s plan was logical and Ji-Min couldn’t argue with it, but she found herself a little reluctant to leave now. She couldn’t admit to that, of course; it would seem like she had developed feelings and she knew very well how Ari would react to that. And it wouldn’t be true anyway. Still, Ji-Min lingered a bit at the door. “Would you like me to bring you back some breakfast? I can usually sweet talk the house elves in the kitchen and it would prevent you from making another stop.”

Good. She wasn’t getting any ideas. Zaccaria moved from the edge of the bed and scooped her wand off the floor. “You’d actually be rather cute with a dog” she mused, turning back towards her companion. Her lips pulled into a smirk as she walked towards the other woman and bending to whisper into her ear, “and bedhead does rather suit you”. Quickly she pulled away, turning so that she might slip her shoes on before making her exit. Truth be told this wasn’t something that she ever saw and though she knew she was likely a bit of a spectacle herself this had to be the only perk of actually spending the night with someone. The vulnerability of it was intriguing. 

“I would,” she said thoughtfully. Maybe she could talk her father into it. They had owls, of course, but you couldn’t cuddle with an owl, and there was some appeal in having a dog. It would also suit her reputation, especially if she found one of the little fizzy ones. Still mulling over the thought, she took a mental inventory of her appearance - blushing a little despite herself when Ari came over with that comment. It was enough to have her finger-combing her hair into a braid, which would have to do until she could clean up a bit more. “I could say the same to you,” she replied as she finally stood up, slipping her shoes back on and gather her remaining things from around the room. “Is the coast clear? I hope I have time before breakfast to go tidy up a bit more.”

Who: Zaccaria Borgin & Ji-Min Greengras  @greengrassxjimin When: March 1st, 1978. Morning.  Where: The Room of Requirement

Zaccaria had a set of rules for this sort of thing. She would not allow herself to be weakened and bogged down by emotional ties. Women were difficult to ensnare but she lived for the chase, the triumph and then eventually tossing them aside when she had gotten what it was that she wanted. The biggest rule of avoiding attachment was never EVER sleeping in the same bed and of course the peskiest of the sheep in her flock had made her break it. It was with an exasperated sigh that Zaccaria threw her hands up in the air as she searched the room for her wand. Of course she wouldn’t be able to escape the room before the other girl woke up. “Don’t get used to this. I don’t snuggle” she said, settling onto the foot of the bed. As she did so she heard a tell-tale clank onto the stone floor as the wand she hunted rolled from the bed. 

Ji-Min wasn’t a heavy sleeper, so as soon as Zaccaria began moving, Ji-Min woke up. She just stayed still, peering between nearly closed eyelids to watch the other girl’s movements. She had never been emotionally involved in any of her flings before, and it was disconcerting to find that she was getting emotionally attached to Zaccaria. It was just something to ignore for how, however, because Zaccaria clearly wasn’t interested in anything more serious, and Ji-Min wasn’t going to let herself look like a fool or end up with a broken heart. “I don’t think I said anything about snuggling,” she said with a shrug, sitting up and stretching. “If I wanted cuddles, I’d get a dog. Do you have everything you need?”

Who: Maggie Steward and anyone When: Her first day at Hogwarts, February Where: A corridor, in front of a mirror

“So… let me get this straight. The staircases just move whenever they feel like it, some of the stairs aren’t even real, and there’s a ghost who likes to just randomly drop water balloons on unsuspecting students.” Maggie let out a sigh as she continued to attempt to dry her hair. “And you all just accept this as normal parts of your school day?!”

“Peeves isn’t a ghost. He’s a poltergeist. A ghost couldn’t drop water balloons on anyone.” Ji-Min said, the words coming out almost without thought. She hated misinformation being spread and had a hard time resisting the urge to correct people. “And I read a very interesting theory about Ravenclaw designing the stairs like that on purpose - just think, if anything ever happened here - which used to seem impossible but this year has been so chaotic that it’s more realistic than I ever thought it could be - then the stairs would be excellent at throwing off any intruders. Even if they attended Hogwarts in the past, it’s unlikely that they’d still remember which stairs moved and which didn’t, and navigating the castle is always tricky. I think it’s very clever. A bit frustrating, of course, but so clever.”

Edward stood, helping the fallen student up, grateful to see that she had made it through the tumble relatively unscathed. He was sure that the last thing Madame Pomfrey needed with the Hospital Wing full of injured students from the attacks on Valentine’s Day was a case of a student tumbling down the stairs. Such cases were relatively common, however, in a school where the staircases shifted regularly. It wasn’t unheard of for students to have much more serious accidents, like the one the girl described and Edward winced. “Two or three places?” He asked. “I bet that certainly wasn’t a fun trip to the Hospital Wing.” He released her hand and smiled lightly. “Good to see things turned out better this time around.”

Edward’s smile slowly disappeared at the mention of the girl’s last name. Greengrass. His wife had once held that name, many many years ago, and Edward hadn’t been sorry when she dropped it to take his own. The Greengrass family, like many pureblooded families of the Sacred 28, believed that their bloodlines were something to be preserved at all costs. This had meant that Adeline’s family had not approved of Edward’s feelings for their daughter and made it clear they would have preferred she followed through with the marriage they had arranged for her. The Greengrasses had been livid when Adeline married him anyway, a disgrace to their supposed good name. Ever since, relations between the Bones family and the Greengrass family had been strained with very little communication between them. Edgar had of course heard of his daughter’s roommate, though distance between the family had meant he’d never met her before. “Nice to meet you Ji-Min. I’m Edward Bones.”

“Oh, I wasn’t conscious for the trip,” she said, giggling a little. “I hit my head too and woke up the next morning, almost all healed up again. My friends who saw it do love telling the story though.” She didn’t like when the story was retold but she hid her embarrassment under a sheepish smile most of the time. And this was different, as she was the one who had recounted it. Anyway, she didn’t think it mattered much if Edward Bones knew one of her more embarrassing moments; they wouldn’t have much interaction after this, most likely. It was curious to her that something so insignificant could cause so a family rift but these English witches and wizards were far more particular about everything, at least compared to her memories of home. “I’m glad it wasn’t so bad this time either thought. I would hate to have to go to the hospital wing.”

Her expression stayed in place, curious about his reaction. No doubt he was upset about how everything had played out, and that was only fair. It was incredibly foolish that her grandparents had allowed Adeline’s choice in a husband to tear the family apart, but Ji-Min had always put family before anything else. Growing up with just her mother, she learned very quickly the importance of family. “I know who you are,” she said, clasping her hands together. “You married my father’s sister.” She had always wished she could have more family, but trying to mend the distance would only lose what she had left, and her father was very important to her now. “It’s nice to meet you too. I’ve enjoyed having Amelia as a roommate. It was so odd, coming here and having family. It was just me and my mother before. I wish things were different.”

Amara drew her lip in between her teeth, thoughts turned towards the unnecessary amount of stairs that lead up towards Ravenclaw Tower. Madam Pince wouldn’t necessarily be happy about it but with a prefect as escort she likely could get Ji-Min into the library. “Medical text” she said lightly, shifting it in her arms before gesturing back in the direction of the library, “Lets go then”

Ji-Min’s curiosity didn’t abate at the shifty answer she got from Amara - Ji-Min was no stranger to evasive techniques to avoid conversation. But it wasn’t worth pressing for a better one. “That must be very interesting. Are you planning to become a healer? My mother was one.” Pressing her lips together, she began walking down the corridor; she didn’t mention her mother much. It wasn’t easy. That comment had just slipped out. “If you’re sure - I don’t mean to take up any of your time. I’m sure I’d be fine on my own, really.”

Breathing still felt incredibly labored but she felt absolutely zero desire to give anyone the slightest clue of how out of shape she must be to have difficulty climbing stairs she had been on near about every single day for the last seven years. Instead of focusing on the burning sensation in her lungs she turned her attention fully to the girl in front of her. This was far from the first time that one of her Claws had been out so close to curfew and the excuse that the needed to visit the library was the farthest thing from an original explanation. Occasionally, there was some truth to it but she also knew from experience that it was an easy way to sneak off and meet someone and still have enough time to hide away before curfew. “What book are you searching for?” she asked curiously, shifting the weight of the volume in her arms. 

“I’m looking for a different edition of Advanced Potion Making so I can compare something in my edition with it. I could probably wait til tomorrow, really. It’s not a vital part of the essay and I’m quite close to being finished anyway. Maybe I’ll just get up early instead, and go then.” Her attention shifted to the books Amara held and her curiosity got the better of her. “What have you got? That’s quite the load to carry back up to the tower, isn’t it?”

Edward Bones was confident in his rounds by this point, having been stationed at Hogwarts for months. The halls had been as familiar to him as the day he left at the end of his seventh year, but the hustle and bustle was something he had to get used to once again. Quickly, he had relearned the routine of the school, coming to recognize which flows of students were normal and what stood out of place. At this hour the halls were relatively quiet with students returning to their common rooms after dinner while some scattered about on last minute errands or with their friends before curfew. The sound of shuffling on the staircase, however, was not normal and Edward made his way quickly around the corner to see what had made the noise.

Seeing a girl on the ground at the base of the staircase sent him running in her direction, worried she might have hurt herself as it was evident she’d fallen down the stairs. “Are you sure you’re alright?” He asked, dropping to his knee and offering her a hand. “That sounded like quite a tumble.”

Ji-Min was an observer, and she always had been. As a child, she’d watched everyone she saw and made mental notes; it became a game with her mother, and they continued when she came to England where it was slightly more important that Ji-Min be able to nagivate the unfamiliar crowds. When she came to Hogwarts, things were no different. Her letters home were full of things she’d noticed about her classmates and how she was using the information. She wasn’t a Slytherin and didn’t manipulate or blackmail people so blatantly, but she learned the tactics that worked best in dealing with certain people. When the Aurors came, she’d done the same thing, but she’d spent quite a lot of time observing Edward Bones in particular.

Family had always been important to her, and she’d come to England with hopes of siblings in the future, or at the very least cousins and aunts and uncles. Growing up with just her mother had been a lonely existence. Her hopes were dashed quickly, but her curiosity about the estranged family members couldn’t be so easily forgotten. She’d watched Edgar and Amelia at school, and while she and Amelia talked occasionally, they weren’t close by any means. Ji-Min couldn’t risk upsetting her family, even if she wanted to expand it. “I’m sure,” she said, the words coming a little slower than before. If she were smart and followed her family’s wishes, she’d have nothing to do with Edward Bones. But they wouldn’t know unless she told them. Taking his hand, she stood and dusted her skirt off. “I’ve had worse. I fell all the way off one of the staircases my third year and broke my leg in two or three places. You’d think I would have learned not to read and walk but I still do it. Tonight I was just nervous though. I’m Ji-Min Greengrass.” There, if he didn’t recognize her, now he knew. She was curious to see what he would do.

The child was visibly shaking, fear rolling off of him in what was nearly palpable waves. Frank’s stomach rolled in disgust as a sneer covered the older Slytherin’s face, the first year being backed into a corner and the image of hunter versus prey was playing out before his eyes. These were people for goodness sake! They never should have been hunting one another, bringing others to such vast degrees of fear and actually relishing in it. “Hey!” he called, hoping that his presence might ward off the attacker. Whomever it was thankfully seemed to be surprised by his presence and stopped their onslaught immediately, tucking tail and running before he got the chance to see their face. 

He approached the Ravenclaw boy slowly, as one would a frightened animal. “Are you alright?” he asked gently, examining the boy for any wounds that weren’t simply mental, “can I teach you something just in case something like this happens again?”. The boy didn’t move, so Frank offered him a small smile and lifted his wand going through the wand movement, “You move your wand like this and yell ‘Expelliarmus!’ and then you run. Run as fast as you can and find someone like them” he said, waving his hand down the hallway where he could hear someone approaching the pair of them, “The ones in red are very brave people and they will protect you from the bullies. Anyone in yellow would drop everything to help you too. Do you want to try it?”. The boy nodded, still not speaking and Frank backed away from him, holding his wand at the ready and waiting for the child to disarm him. At first he failed, but Frank encouraged him to try again and when finally he succeeded the child quite literally ran away from him, just as he had said.

As Frank went to retrieve his wand his attention shifted to the person who had continued down the hall towards them. “Sorry” he said, as if he had something to apologize for. 

Ji-Min had left a book in a classroom, but she couldn’t remember which classroom she’d left it in, so she was stuck wandering in and out of all of them. It was a waste of time, and she had a great deal of work she could be doing instead, but the book was important and she needed it to keep going as well. As she wandered down another hallway, she spotted a couple of students ahead of her and slowed her footsteps. These days, it wasn’t possible to be too careful, and she reached for her wand as she continued on her way. It turned out to be unnecessary though. She watched curiously until the little boy ran away and Frank’s attention turned to her. 

“Oh, there’s no need to apologize! It’s lovely that you were helping him but so sad that we have to take such precautions these days, isn’t it?” Frowning, she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Hogwarts used to feel so safe, and I just haven’t felt that way since . . . since the beginning of the year.”

Hestia didn’t consider many people her friend. It wasn’t that her and Ji-Min were particularly close, but the other girl brought back feelings of home, and her mother. It was nice on occasion and often helped er when she was feeling rather melancholic. Hestia herself had been to South Korea on a few occasions to visit family, and had a fond spot in her heart for the country. She enjoyed discussing it with Ji-Min, partially in hopes to make the other girl feel less out of place at their school. If she thought about it, she supposed that made them friends of sorts. 

“Which book are you checking out?” She only asked out of slight curiosity, wondering what was so urgent to go to the library now. Thankfully their dorm was a pretty good place to study, since most of their housemates put a high value on their grades. Which was good for studying at any time of the day, so Ji-Min wouldn’t have to worry about being interrupted by people being to rambunctious. 

“It’s for a Transfiguration essay. McGonagall recommended a book that’s in the library to round out some of the theoretical explanations and I thought I had taken sufficient notes to finish it. Only I was wrong.” Ji-Min glanced over herself one last time, satisfied that her clothing was in order and not rumpled or dusty. “So I thought I’d better run down to the library and just check the book out, which I should have done in the first place. It would have saved me all this bother.” She had even considered it too, but dismissed the thought.

“What were you doing out?” She hadn’t expected to run into anyone at this time of the day. It might not be too late, but it was getting to the point in the day when most people were making their way back to the common rooms. “Oh, am I keeping you from anything? I don’t need the company that badly, if you have something you should be doing.”

Amelia saw her estranged cousin make that unfortunate trip down the stairs. For a moment, she wondered if their relationship was still too touchy for her to step in and ask if she was alright. It was awkward enough being roommates. After all, they rarely spoke as is. Save for the occasional  “How are you doing”, “D’you mind handing me my toothbrush” or “What did you get on that Potion’s examination? Do you think Sluggy will curve it?”.  But - social constructs be damned, Amelia had to go out and help the poor girl. “Merlin’s sagging left tit - Are you all right?” Amelia exclaimed as she dropped down to Ji Min’s side. She extended her hand out to the girl, tucking her school books into the crook of her arm. “Here.” 

Ji-Min wasn’t expecting to see Amelia. They really didn’t speak,  which was understandable given the family history. Ji-Min didn’t want to jeopardize her situation with her father - especially now, with her mother gone. Father was all she had left now and she wasn’t going to ruin that relationship by trying to mend fences with her estranged cousins. But she wanted to know them, better than she did. Family meant so much to her, growing up with just her mother and then just her father. “I’m fine,” she said, huffing a little as she took Amelia’s hand and stood, dusting at her skirt. “I didn’t pay attention to the steps is all. It’s more embarrassing than anything else. Thank you.”

It’d been a total of 3 days since the last time Hestia had actually laughed, or even truthfully smiled from what she could recall. These days after the attack had been rough, most of the time was spent alone. But, when she saw Ji-Min tumble off of the stairs and onto the ground she couldn’t help but burst out laughing. She couldn’t help but feel a bi bad though as the two generally got along. Which was often tough to do in their dorm with Rita constantly watching what they do, waiting for the next gossip piece.  

“Well then you might want to get up from the floor.” She smiled, not offering to help the other girl at all. “I’ll join you though if it’s really that frightening.” Hestia told her with a shrug, although she didn’t truly believe that was the reason as to why the other girl fell. It was most likely just clumsiness, but she was going to try her best not to judge her too much for it. 

It was a good thing that Ji-Min was very fond of Hestia, or else she would have been quite put out about the laughter. She had never reacted well to being laughed at, especially here in England where she already felt so out-of-place, even now. But she hid her irritation under a sheepish smile as she pushed herself to her feet and straightened her clothes out. “That was an excellent point,” she said, looking at Hestia once she she was satisfied that she looked orderly again. Ji-Min didn’t like things out of place, whether that was the books on her shelves or her clothing.

Really she would have been just as fine without Hestia’s company but it would probably be smarter to accept it. Better for her image, especially after what she had said. “Company would be lovely,” she said, smiling at Hestia. “I think I can get there in time just to check out the book and then I can finish the work in the common room or in the dormitory.”

The false helplessness of Ji-Min’s expression brought a smirk to Zaccaria’s face. The two could not possibly be more different in their approach to how they wished others to view them, one a sweet mouse and the other a snake in the grass. Predator and prey, how utterly fitting she mused as she lifted a hand to the girl’s chin, tilting her face up slightly so that their eyes would meet, “You poor sweet thing” she said with saccharine sweetness, playing into the other girl’s ruse, “We’ll just have to find some wait to keep you safe then won’t we, doll?”

Zaccaria’s hand dropped abruptly from her companion’s face as she backed down the hall, crooking a finger so that Ji-Min would follow her. Were she to say that she hadn’t noticed the way the other girl looked at her from time to time it would be a complete lie. She was uncertain of precisely how to go about utilizing that information for the time being but was sure she could utilize it somehow. “Tell me, what is it my studious girl is working on today? Anything exciting?”

Despite the differences, both obvious and hidden, between the two of them and how they handled the world, Ji-Min thought she and Ari were far more similar than anyone would guess. Maybe that was part of the appeal of the other girl, that she understood so well how Ji-Min’s mind worked and she appreciated it in a way that very few others had. She met Ari’s gaze, playing the part of the helpless, frightened girl for a few more minutes as she let out a soft, relieved sigh. “Oh, please - I would feel so much better about everything if I knew someone were looking out for me.” If anyone were around to see, she knew she would paint a very convincing picture of a girl who was terrified of what was going on around her, even if that were the furthest thing from the truth.

Some part of her grated at the way she followed Ari without a second thought. Ji-Min never meant to turn into a twitter-pated fool, but she had and it was embarrassing. But that didn’t stop her from hurrying along, eyes brightening at the question about her studies. Ji-Min was a Ravenclaw, after all, and she loved few things more than studying. “I was catching up on my work for Charms. The uproar at Valentine’s Day disrupted my work and I don’t want to fall behind. I still expect to do well at NEWTs next year, after all.”

A little over a month ago Amara would have hated to have been caught in the halls with a stack of books in her arms. Sure, people knew that she was intelligent but they didn’t know just how intelligent she was. She played heavily into the fact that people thought she was beautiful. It allowed her to smile and speak very little, but observe everything and make connections where she deemed them potentially beneficial. For years she had been playing dumb, acting every bit the artistic Ravenclaw rather than the intellectual. Now though she had hounded her family for books and finally they had managed to deliver the text she had asked. Sleisenger and Fordtrants Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease: A Study in Hepatology and Gastroenterology for Internist, Medical Students and Surgeons. The tomb was rather heavy and she quickly found herself cursing all the steps in the castle. When had she become so out of shape?

Amara had paused at the base of the stairs to lean against one of the walls, her breath surprisingly heavy. Her eyes turned to the book in her arms. It was a bit over 3,000 pages. Typically, she didn’t carry anything on the stairs, so that was likely why she felt as she did now. She’d been looking at the book when someone fell at her feet and didn’t bother looking at them until they spoke. “Oh. Greengrass, you know it’s nearly curfew, right?”

Amara Zabini had always been fascinating to Ji-Min, for a variety of reasons, not the least of which was simply that Ji-Min found her immensely attractive. So it was less than pleasing to end up sprawled on the floor in front of her. Luckily she was too absorbed in her books to notice, apparently, and Ji-Min managed to get on her feet without looking more foolish. Ji-Min eyed the books curiously, noting the titles and trying to remember if she’d ever seen Amara with anything like that in her hands before, but she truly didn’t think she had. Medical texts - an interesting choice for someone who was undoubtedly going to end up married to someone for his money.

“I know,” she said, twisting the end of a strand of hair around her finger. “I just needed to finish this Potions essay and I don’t have the book I need so I thought I had time to run to the library. Do you think I do, or should I just wait til tomorrow? I was doing very well but then . . . everything happened at Valentine’s and I just lost my chances to work. But I don’t want to lose any possible work time.”

Should anyone else send her such a summons Zaccaria might not have even bothered showing, but the clandestine meetings with Ji-Min Greengrass (and a few select ladies) were the best thing to have come from her time at Hogwarts. As of yet Ji-Min was still the only one she graced with any sort of pillow talk. The others were pretty but she bored of them quickly once she had had her fun while the Greengrass girl actually seemed to have something more than just dead space between her ears. Not that her feelings extended much farther than enjoying the look of her hair spread across a pillow, even if the other girl was her favorite. 

Her ascent from the castle’s dungeons were rather slow. It wouldn’t do at all to seem as if she was eager for their little meeting. “Waiting for me?” she asked, smirking at the girl as she leaned on the wall across from her, “What’s your plan today, doll? Corridors are a bit ballsy for your usual taste” she added, looking around them. 

When had she turned into such a fool over a girl? Because no sooner had Ari come into view than a swarm of butterflies took residence in Ji-Min’s stomach. It was absurd; she’d slept with a good number of other girls and none of them had affected her like this, and she hated it, but she couldn’t deny it either. So she settled simply for burying the feelings as deeply as she could and hoping they didn’t become noticeable to Ari. “Only for a minute,” she said, tossing her head. “I just finished studying, really.” It wouldn’t do to let Ari think she had been just waiting. “And as for the corridor . . .”

She took another step closer and widened her eyes, assuming the shy, frightened expression that she wore most of the day and pitching her voice higher. “I’m just so terribly frightened, Ari, and I simply couldn’t wait to see you. With Death Eaters on the loose - whatever shall we do?” She maintained the expression for a moment before letting it melt into one of carelessness. “Anyway, I’ve been paying attention and no one is on this corridor for nearly an hour from now. There’s some empty classrooms we could put to good use, or we could go somewhere more comfortable, if you’re in the mood.”