AN: A few notes.
ONE = Jin's age is 17. I'm going back to edit that part, but moving forward, he is 17. Makes my mind feel better about things.
TWO = I add gifs/pics on QQ if you like that stuff.
THREE = I'm leaving the OLD version up out of courtesy to the readers who enjoyed it. Please do not give me constructive criticism on the OLD version. I spent a lot of effort and time to fix this story up.
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Word of warning for this chapter, I will not be writing with the accent in use for any characters with specific accents unless the character only has one or two lines. If it's a recurring character, f that.
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Disclaimer: I don't own any source material.
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Chapter 3: Harry Potter Part 2
Jin's first day in the castle was not a quiet one.
After Hagrid tried to assassinate him with a hug, McGonagall showed up to read him his Miranda Rights. He had the right to remain silent; wait, no, he didn't. The strict woman demanded he responds with 'yes ma'am' when spoken to.
Sitting in her office on the other side of her desk while Hagrid distracted himself in the background, the strict woman laid down the law quite simply.
He did his best to sit with his back straight and look her in the eye as he spoke. "Er…ma'am, must I address all the staff like this?"
She waved a hand flippantly. "I care not what you say to the rest Mr. Fluff. Just mind your manners and remember that the only pecking order you must adhere to is me first and Hagrid second. Understood?"
So, he didn't have to take shit from Snape. "Yes ma'am, is the headmaster not on that list?"
The old witch scoffed. "Perhaps when the headmaster deems such tasks within his line of sight, then he would matter. Until then, no." Her answer was swift and final.
Jin sweatdropped. 'Someone's not happy with the old man.'
She went on as she placed a stack of paperwork before him. "Sign here, here, and here. And use your full name, no alias's or such nonsense."
Before signing, Jin stopped to actually read what he was expected to follow and got a nod of approval from the strict woman as she waited patiently. 'It's a bunch of fancy wording but the facts are: Don't attack students, don't destroy property intentionally, don't attempt to….'
He raised a brow and pointed at a line. "Ma'am, must you really specify not cross-breeding magical species?"
McGonagall gave him an unimpressed look and pointed to the side with her pen where Hagrid was sitting and trying to combine a wooden figurine of a horse with a fish.
Jin signed the dotted line while she hummed.
It only took a bare hour to get through everything before she told him of his schedule. "While you were mainly hired for the upcoming month of October until the end of the year, that doesn't mean there is no work to be done. I'm sure Hagrid could use an extra pair of hands until that time."
Hagrid quickly nodded in agreement with a large smile. "Oh sure! Plenty to do, plenty to do. I'll give you the run around once your good and settled."
The old woman nodded in approval and dismissed them with a wave while Jin internally sweatdropped for the second time. 'Did she really just tell me I'm useless till October? Well, the free time would be appreciated. Wait, I want permission to use the library."
Jin stepped forward with a raised hand. "Ma'am?"
She looked up from her work with a raised brow. "Yes Mr. Fluff? What is it? I have work to do."
Jin scratched the back of his head awkwardly; there was no reason to fake his actions as he was feeling awkward saying this, just for different reasons than she might expect. "Ma'am, as you know, I wasn't accepted for formal education due to my….difficulties."
Her eyes gave him a once over, noticing his size, and gestured for him to go on.
"Would it be possible to….explore the castle in my free time? See the place I couldn't be a student in I mean?"
The old witch's eyes softened a tad, and she leaned forward. "And where would you be exploring, Mr. Fluff?"
Jin shrugged. "Wherever students usually can go? The Great Hall, Library, hallways full of paintings. I just wanted to see what it was like."
Her heart visibly thawed through her eyes for a wayward youth, but the old woman had far too much control to show weakness. "Very well, Mr. Fluff. You shall find yourself upgraded from guest rights to student rights under the castle wards. Do not become a distraction for my students, understood?"
Jin wasn't sure why, but he saluted the woman out of instinct. "Yes ma'am." Her lips twitched in amusement before she waved at the door, and he took the hint to leave.
McGonagall was a strict and stern woman, but she was an educator at heart and cared greatly for the coming generations. Jin played on her character to get public access to explore so he would have an excuse.
That didn't stop her from booting his ass out of the castle to go see his new 'accommodations.'
00000
"So, what do you think Jin?! Made er myself, I did." Hagrid's beaming smile reflected the light of the sun on Jin's employee benefits.
He was less than amused but also kinda happy. He was conflicted.
Apparently, Hagrid built him his own hut. They were making him sleep outside the castle.
Staring at the one-floor hut made of stone and wood, with Hagrid's beaming proud smile on the side, he couldn't help but thank the gentle assassination giant from out of arms reach and praise him for his work. "Thank you Hagrid, it's wonderful."
The half-giant blushed and rubbed the back of his head. "Bah, I'm used to it, I am. Plenty of overexcited critters did not knowin their strength over the years."
Jin's smile turned strained, and he hoped the larger man didn't have special plans for the year.
Hagrid waved him off and went to his own hut, leaving Jin to explore his new home. He pushed open the wooden door to get a look at the inside. "Hm, it looks better on the inside."
The hut was actually incredibly homy.
Made like a classic log cabin with a chimney, table, bed, and bathroom, thankfully enchanted to vanish waste and liquids.
It was also mostly empty, considering Hagrid's spares were five times his size. Apparently, the staff decided not to supply him with kitchen equipment as his meals were house-elf-guaranteed. "Not like I can blame them; how many young wizards or witches actually know how to cook?"
Thankfully, he had an easy solution. "Gol."
The well-dressed house elf appeared in a pop. "Yes sir?"
Jin pointed a finger around the place. "Think you can fix this place up with supplies from the castle?"
Gol took a look around and scoffed at the lack of everything. "Right away sir." He popped off, and Jin had nothing else to worry about. He stood in the center of the room as Gol, alongside Sil and Bron, began rapidly filling the space with fresh apparel.
New silk linen for the bed, toiletries for the bathroom, furniture for the living room in a table, table chairs, and plush leather chairs for use around the hearth.
Hagrid was friendly enough to gift him an animal fur rug, although it was in the half-giant's size, so it took up the majority of the floor space, and Jin was all for it. He laid down on the clean and fluffy rug made from something he probably didn't want to know about without a care in the world. 'Maybe just a short nap.'
Overall, Jin was quite happy with how things turned out. He had his own little bro pad where the school students wouldn't disturb him. No need to worry about loud noises, people moving around, or distractions from his purpose there.
To get magically swoll.
He was within visual distance of Hagrid's hut. Still, he had enough space to be at peace, and the back of his hut faced an enormous, incredibly creepy, and deadly haunted forest full of dozens of magical creatures.
Very comforting.
Hagrid was in charge of his schedule, and the giant told him not to worry about things too much. He would show him the ropes of what needed doing and take him through the woods to get comfortable with his neighbors. Apparently, the gentle giant was very excited to have a friend who was more durable than the rest and shared his joy with magical creatures. Or at least that's what Jin's background would say.
Jin actually enjoyed wildlife; he just didn't feel great about hugging a grizzly bear-sized beast who wanted to eat his face off. And if the giant made him go anywhere near the spiders, he was setting the entire forest on fire and running.
He made his point very clear to his superior, although the man's assurance of 'they're harmless' didn't reassure Jin that his point was made.
By the time night fell and Jin wouldn't be bothered until the morning, he sank into a leather chair by a lit hearth and posed dramatically with Shadow in his lap. Stroking the feline with faux Dr. Evil vibes. "Gol."
The house elf appeared in a pop wearing a prepared Austin Powers Mini-Me outfit with dead eyes. "Yes sir?"
"Did you find the painting I asked for?"
"Yes sir."
"Goooooood."
"Would you like to go now sir?"
"Just a moment." He pulled on a full-face ski mask to fit the mood and gave Shadow her own mini ski mask. They were set. "Ok, beam me up, Scotty."
Gol just stared at him and questioned his new master's sanity.
Jin sighed. "We gotta work on your sense of humor. Just take us there, man."
Gol snapped his fingers, and in the next moment, the three evil masterminds found themselves before the painting of trolls on the seventh floor. The wards didn't stop him as McGonagall tied him in earlier that day.
He gave the tired-looking Gol a look. "Was it so hard to find the painting?"
The house elf gave him a dirty look. "Sir, there are thousands of paintings in this school. Hundreds alone on this floor."
Jin felt a little bad for his vague request. "Right, your getting a raise."
"I don't get paid sir."
"You can have more mana?"
"No need."
"You can have more off days."
The elf gave him a deadpan look, and Jin sighed. "Whatever, you can get something later. I command you to think of something you want."
Gol sagged and walked off. "Yes sir."
Jin looked up at the painting and admired it for a moment. 'I kinda want to steal it to fuck with people. Imagine someone comes looking for the door and can't find it because the painting is missing. There's no other landmarks up here.'
The castle was far too large for the current magical population cut down by the wars. Each of the seven floors of the castle, plus the underground dungeon floors, had hundreds of classrooms. The seventh floor was entirely unused, as the teachers had their rooms on the sixth floor. The Ravenclaw dorm, Astronomy tower, and Headmaster tower had their own staircases that reached the height of the seventh floor but didn't connect to it. So it was barren yet still fully furnished in every classroom and with hundreds of paintings, carpets, banners, armors, and everything else to make it seem filled. 'Whoever furnished the place did not do things half-assed.'
Focusing back on the moment, Jin's eyes shined in excitement as he quickly walked back and forth three times while wishing for a quiet place to study.
The door to the room appeared, and he ran inside to see...a quiet, comfy room with a fireplace, a chair, and a desk.
Jin deadpanned at it; he had just left the very same sight in his hut. "Right, it takes requests literally. Once more into the breach, men!"
"Meow."
"And lady."
Gol debated on jumping into the fire.
While grumbling at the annoyance of having to go back and forth to change the room, Jin left and changed his desire. 'How about asking for lost money? I want money, I want money, I want money.'
The door formed again, and he rushed inside to see a mountain of….junk. Jin's brow twitched. "Wtf is this?" He was so annoyed he verbally used an acronym.
Gol helpfully supplied. "Junk sir."
Jin gave him a stink eye. "I can see that. I asked for money, not junk."
Gol shrugged unhelpfully.
After a dozen more back-and-forth attempts and a bit of raving while throwing junk into more junk, a tired Jin sat down on a broken table. "Alright, so the room can't magically divide all the lost junk into exactly what I ask for. Great. It's either all or nothing with junk, but at least it can give me temporary copies of other stuff."
In his testing, he found that when he asked for the real stuff, he kept getting the entirety of the room of lost things with its mountains of junk.
But when he asked for specific types of books or even a place to test potions, he got conjured items of things that already existed in the castle. Conjured items couldn't leave the room but had all the properties of their counterparts.
So, in essence, he could study whatever he wanted as long as the book existed in the castle, but he couldn't easily get free stuff to take home.
He kicked a can and sighed. "Well, so much for easy money. Gol."
The faithful house elf that watched him rave around while filing his nails looked up at him. "Yes sir?"
Jin hummed and looked around the massive room of junk. "Exactly how busy are Sil and Bron in their stay here?"
Gol shrugged. "Not very. There be hundreds of elves here and only so much to clean. When students arrive, many elves just follow silently and make sure no young ones get injured falling off a staircase."
"Good, then I want you to tell them to go through this stuff when they have nothing else to do. I'm looking for money or anything that is still working. Oh, and tell them not to touch anything that feels dangerous. In fact, tell them not to physically touch anything, just levitate stuff."
"Right away sir."
Gol popped off to get the others while Jin stroked his kitten, who found a loose spring to play with. 'I can do a lot with the stuff in here. Sell valuable pieces of metal and grab anything that still works; it's basically a trash heap for magical stuff that never had anyone snooping around for treasure. And it all gets burned down in the near future anyway, so no one would notice anything missing….hm, I should at least deal with that Horcrux before anything else.'
Jin picked up Shadow and put her on his shoulder. "Come on girl, we have a dark broody unpicked dodgeball dude's soul shard to find." She meowed in acknowledgment and curled up around his neck.
One might think taking a walk through mountains of junk would be boring, but those people didn't have an adorable kitten.
It really wasn't all that difficult to find the dark nuggets diadem. The room was only so big, and without a rush from being chased by someone, Jin just had to walk aisle to aisle from one side of the room to another until he found a bust with a diadem radiating vibes on it. It was kind of similar to doing a word search puzzle and just searching for the starting letter of the word.
By the time he found it, he had already heard his elves in the distance working on the junk piles and casually ignored Bron's diabolical laughter as he called his head elf. "Gol."
He appeared after a beat. "Yes sir?"
"Can you find me an iron box? I think I saw one about two rows that way."
Gol nodded and found one soon. Iron had the properties of containing mana. It was terrible for enchanting, but if you put something enchanted in a box of it, it wouldn't let anything seep through.
The box was placed by the pedestal, and then with a quick jab from a stick, the diadem easily fell over and missed the box by a couple of inches. "God damn it." It felt like he was being given judgmental eyes by his elf, cat, and even the soul inside the diadem with a disembodied ectoplasm head.
He tried to get closer to pick it up with his stick, but the thing radiated negative vibes like an evil Jamaican. "Fine, I'll get a longer stick."
He stomped off and returned to try again by picking it up off the ground with his new longer stick. 'This reminds me far too much like trying to get a keyring out of a car with a hanger through the window.'
It took one or two dozen tries, but with the power of pure spite, the diadem was shimmied into the box. Jin made sure to kick it for good measure. "Ha! Victory is mine! Gol! How long did that take?"
His trusty elf faithfully responded while looking at a nonexistent watch. "Forty five minutes sir."
Jin died a little inside. "Just….take the box and bury it like twenty feet under the floor of my house alright?"
Gol nodded and popped away with the box while he pouted. 'Right, this has been a fun night. Why is reality so mean?'
He trudged back to the entrance with Shadow pawing his cheek in support. At least he had his adorable murder fluff with him.
On the way, he chose not to look at Sil and Bron levitating piles of junk while shaking them rapidly to knock out any loose change like an old cartoon. At least Bron found himself a crown made from a broken toilet seat, so power to him.
He casually left the room and changed his request, only realizing he had left his elves in the room as he re-entered, but when he came back inside, they were gone. Jin and Shadow looked at each other and shrugged. "Must be some space magic shenanigans." "Meow."
Moving on.
His new request was for books, specifically Charm-related books. He was presented with a few free-standing shelves with hundreds of books, most on theoretical work.
He sighed at the sight. 'Right, this is going to take a while.' He set the alarm on his watch and got to work. A year was plenty of time, but he had much to do.
00000
The rising sun burned intensely into Jin's irises. He hissed like the NEET shut in he was at the abomination. His annoyance with the ball of fire was only matched by his new boss's pounding on his door. "Up and at em Jin! It's a beautiful mornin!"
Jin was not amused by the glistening smile of the gentle giant. "Morning Jin! Here, have a breakfast muffin; I added raisins!" Hagrid dropped a softball-sized muffin into his hand, and Jin felt his back crack.
"Did you put a cannonball in this thing?!" Hagrid just laughed jollily and motioned for Jin to follow.
Bleary-eyed from an all-nighter, he listened in a half-daze to everything he was being told. Thankfully, Hagrid did not comment on whether he was paying attention. "Over there's the stables. I built em for Hippogriffs, but they should work fine for the horses we're expecting in a bit."
Jin hummed at that. "Why are we getting horses again? The tournament?"
Hagrid made a shushing motion despite not a single soul being in sight. "Keep the tournament on the down low you hear? The students don't know about it just yet."
Jin deadpanned at him. "Hagrid, it's August 31st, there are no students here yet."
Hagrid looked around and blinked, only seeming to realize that now. "Ah, right, the years just blend together haha!"
Jin shook his head in amusement. You couldn't be annoyed at the man; he was too innocent and optimistic. "So the horses?"
"Oh yeah, the headmaster said one of the schools would be bringing them. I'm counting on ya to care for them while they're here."
"No worries big guy. Any chance they said what kind though? There are a dozen types of magical horses."
Hagrid shrugged. "Beats me, although I was told to feed em with alcohol so maybe that might help narrow it down."
Jin stopped short as he thought about what he knew. "Hagrid buddy, the only magical horses that drinks alcohol are Abraxan."
Hagrid's eyes lit up. "Oh! Your right. How exciting right?"
"Hagrid, they are carnivores. They eat humans. They have an XXXX rating."
"Bah, don't worry about it. Plenty of beasties are just being playful, just give em a good talking to and it should be fine."
Jin did not feel reassured.
The tour continued with Hagrid pointing out where the workshop was for materials and tools to build stuff when necessary. "And I can use anything in there?" Jin hummed.
Hagrid happily nodded. "Of course! Nothing better than designing something by your own hands eh?"
Jin chuckled and slapped the big man's arm. "Damn straight."
The day went on with Hagrid showing him signs of where each magical beast's territory was marked.
Each one marked the tree's in unusual ways that were easily overlooked if you weren't paying attention. Still, Hagrid was an expert at spotting them. The more he talked, the more Jin felt his respect for the man rising; he had memorized the forest's layout, knew how to manage each of the residents, and could live off the land without an issue.
"Think you could give me a few bushcraft lessons?"
"With pleasure! I make a mean forest stew; I'll show you how to tell the poisonous stuff from the edible stuff later."
The giant was like a really cool big brother. During lunch, he winked at Jin and shot a stream of fire into his hearth using an umbrella. "I may not have a 'wand,' but as long as a focus don't look like one, no one bothers me. If you want to get around the rules Jin, have a blast. Just keep it on the downlow, you hear?"
Jin's background made it seem like he could cast charms if he had a wand, so Hagrid wanted to give him some friendly support. He felt sympathy for Jin considering his own history of having his wand snapped and being kicked out of school.
Even if Jin had his own plans, he was still thankful to the larger man, and the two bonded as Jin listened to the crazy stories Hagrid had to tell. The half-giant got into the craziest situations without himself realizing the insanity of them. After the second failed attempt, Jin stopped pointing out the weird parts and just listened with a wry smile.
And like that, the day passed quickly, with Jin getting a good understanding of where things were and what chores he needed to attend to.
The following day, the students arrived, and Jin got a look at them when Hagrid brought him along to gather the first years in the boats. Seeing the small kids all big-eyed and excited for the year to come was amusing.
If he cast a few subtle tickling, cheering, and shrinking charms to make things more exciting with laughter and shrinking boats, no one noticed. The waving tentacle arms seemed to find it amusing at least. They joined in on the scare fest as the kids huddled together like it was a Disney ride with half-fearful and half-shining eager eyes.
The screams were a delight to his ears.
McGonagall was less than amused seeing the riled-up eleven year old's and gave the innocently whistling Jin a stern look. "Mr. Fluff."
Jin saluted her like a military recruit. "Aye ma'am?"
She rolled her eyes and waved him off with a sigh and mutter. "Teenagers."
He whistled a tune and waved cheerily at the jumpy firsties as he walked off. As he passed, a tentacle absently rose from the lake, and Jin high-fived it.
He wasn't actually welcome at the welcome feast, not that he minded. The less of a public image he had, the better. 'The less of a chance Dumbles takes an interest in me, the better.'
The school year started with a bang as Dumbledore announced the incoming Tri-Wizard Tournament. The following days had the school a buzz of activity as Jin watched from a distance, enjoying the free time to keep his studies going round the clock.
A week in, however, Hagrid came knocking with a request.
Jin raised a brow at the seemingly shy half-giant. "You want me to shadow your classes?"
Hagrid coughed into his hand and nodded. "Ya. I'm….well….I'm not great with….toning things down you know? The younglings, they are quite fragile. Ole Buckbeak gave one of the students a gentle peck the other year and it led to loads of trouble. They ain't like you and me used to being around magical beasts. If you could help keep me in line, so to speak, I would appreciate it greatly."
Jin found the man's shyness amusing but wasn't going to reject the request. "You got it, bud. Just let me know where and when." It would take a bit of time off his schedule but spending time around Hagrid was soothing downtime for him. He couldn't study 24/7, or he might just blow his brains out to end things himself.
The charms books were driving him up the wall. Why was there so much theory in charms? Nine out of ten books he read were on theory, and he had a completionism syndrome. When he played Skyrim, there was no pot or skeleton not searched in every single tomb. He couldn't skip a single book, or he feared missing something important. 'Every book is a possible quest, remember your training Jin, Bethesda made it second nature.'
So yes, when Hagrid called, he was happy to help the man with his classes as a welcome downtime period. Downtime to fuck with people anyway.
There was nothing quite like the looks of pure despair sent his way by groups of third years when he 'advised' Hagrid to tone down showing the fragile children the wonders of violent exploding giant scorpions by replacing them with razor-sharp toothed squirrels instead.
Hagrid sent him a thumbs up.
The kids sent him the middle finger.
It brought a tear to his eye, seeing hope turn to despair.
Not to mention, Hagrid's' classes were where he saw the golden boy himself. Just a thin fifteen year old boy in the back trying to blend into the background. If he wasn't specifically looking for him, Jin was sure he wouldn't have even noticed he was there.
Hagrid smiled brightly at the class of fourth years while slapping a giant shaking crate behind him. "I've got an exciting class this time. Who wants to see a chimera!" His optimism wasn't dampened by the twenty fear-filled pairs of eyes of the fourteen-year-olds before him. Jin actually thought he heard Malfoy whimper.
Hermione, the bushy-haired girl going on beauty at this point in time, raised her hand desperately. Hagrid saw it and pointed at her. "Hermione! What can I do for ya?"
The fifteen-year-old girl went on with a nervous look. "Um, Hagrid. Maybe we should study something else?" She sent him a pleading look that went right over his head.
He waved a hand nonchalantly. "Nonsense, you'll love Chimera's. They have the softest fur and love to be playful."
Ron's face was paler than snow as he tried to find an escape route while Neville just stood there woodenly like the Chimera was already inches from his face. Hermione's desperate plea went unanswered, and Jin silently let the despair stew for a long moment as Hagrid went on to describe the beast's characteristics as he worked on the crate's chains before Jin casually coughed into his hand and got the giant's attention. "Bud, maybe tone it down a bit."
His excited smile dimmed, and he really looked at the fearful class for the first time. "Oh, too much?"
Jin had to withhold a laugh as he nodded and held up two fingers to make a 'just a bit' gesture. He got a few glares for downplaying his downplay. Hagrid rubbed his beard in thought. "Let's see then, how about a Streeler?"
Jin gave him two thumbs up.
The class was less than amused at the idea of playing around with acid-spewing giant snails.
It was loads of fun shadowing Hagrid. He only had two weekly classes for collective third, fourth, and fifth years, so six classes in total. Each time, Hagrid tried to open with something incredibly deadly, and Jin pushed things down to just regular deadly.
There were a few questions about his identity, but Jin unsurprisingly made it work with a simple answer.
A bubbly Tracy Davis with curly, wavy black hair and brown eyes stared up at him while her best friend, Daphne Greengrass, stood to her side. "Hey!"
Jin turned from where he was climbing down a tree after appeasing a Flying Seahorse the class had startled as they passed through the outer edges of the Forbidden Forest and responded with a wave. "Hey to you."
She giggled and asked the question half the class had been trying to figure out but lacked the courage to ask. "Who are you?"
Jin looked down at the much shorter girl with an amused smirk. "I was wondering when someone would ask. Name's Jin." He extended a hand, and Tracey shook it excitedly.
"Hi Jin! I'm Tracey. This is my best friend, Daphne."
Daphne gave him a once over and scoffed at the lumberjack look. "Tracey, don't lower yourself."
Tracey rolled her eyes at her friend and whispered in her ear loud enough for Jin to hear. "Oh come off it, you were staring at his ass just as much as the rest of us."
Daphne's pale face lit up with a flush as she turned away with a huff while Tracey giggled and looked back at Jin. "Sorry about her, she's just shy."
"I am not!"
Jin winked at the younger girl. "Don't worry about it. Was there anything I could help you with Tracey?"
The teenager flushed a bit but pushed through with her usual curiosity. "Yeah! What are you doing here Jin? Are you a student?"
He chuckled and waved a hand. "Nah, you heard about the tournament coming up, right?"
She nodded her head. "Mn. Everyone's been talking about it."
"I'm just an extra pair of hands for handling the beasties they bring around."
She tilted her head in open curiosity in a way that made Jin think of her like a cat. "Oh! Do you know what they are bringing in?" Her question brought even more curious ears in, but Jin shot them down with a smirking response.
"Nope~."
Many scoffed and looked away in disappointment. But the next question drew them back in.
"Aw~, I wanted to know. So, what are you doing here then? The tournaments not till October."
Jin raised a brow and threw a thumb over his shoulder at where Hagrid was trying to teach Ron how to stroke an acid-spewing slug without losing his hand. "I'm reeling the big guy in."
Tracey looked over his shoulder without any shame in using him as a makeshift tree post to hide behind. "Oh, look how pale Weasleys face is, hahaha."
Daphne rolled her eyes at her friend shamelessly using the conversation as an excuse to feel up the hunky older teen. "And how exactly are you doing that? It looks like Weasley is about to lose his fingers."
Jin calmly picked the girl off him by lifting her by the back of her robe, where she dangled like a caught kitten, and smiled cheekily at him as he responded. "Would you prefer the Chimera?"
Daphne, as well as those listening in, could only nod at that.
He helped any of the students who struggled and earned a lot of goodwill over the different years. At the very least, their death wasn't guaranteed with him around. It helped that he actually knew what he was talking about when questions on magical creatures were asked.
He found it weird how difficult it was for them, but then he remembered that he had basically drugged himself into memorizing the index. If it weren't for his stronger body, he would be brain-dead. But he didn't really care, magical beasts were interesting, but it was just his cover for his time in the school. As long as he had access to the Room of Requirement, he couldn't care less what he had to do.
Although, a few of the more daring female students didn't seem to be struggling as much as they proclaimed with their studies. Jin horny bonked them and used Luna as a shield to brainstorm a variety of topics he had no idea on the accuracy of but succeeded in mind fucking everyone who came within hearing distance.
With his reputation set, he just cruised through his days. He kept the kids from dying while internally laughing his ass off at Hagrid's actions and thoughts when they didn't include himself. The girls were cute, but he felt like he was dealing with misbehaving kittens with Hemione's endless theoretical questions, Daphne's targeted tsundere scorn as she instigated conversations, Luna's airheaded wanderlust making him have to retrieve her, and Tracey's bubbly excitement using every excuse to crawl over him.
For the most part, Jin was on his own. He chopped wood for his hearth, ran through the shallow parts of the woods, and drowned himself in studying while continuing his diabolical plans to conquer the Tri-State area.
His schedule for September was rough. He slept for four hours, helped Hagrid with two-hour classes, worked out for four hours with the increased gravity bracelet, and spent around twelve hours drowning in books. The last two hours were for eating, hygiene, and staring at a blank wall to turn off his brain.
The occlumency meditation techniques and the remaining druggy potions were doing wonders for his knowledge retention. And Arithmancy continued to prove its worth as he studied.
Each and every charm was its own puzzle. He had to take it apart, understand what the creator was trying to convey in the casting of the spell, how the wand movements focused the intent, and then put it back together for his own use.
First, the usual way, then without a wand using Latin, then without a wand using Parseltongue, and finally, doing it silently. And then he had to do it faster.
It was a lot of redundant steps, but the more he did them for each charm, the faster the process became for the next charm.
Many charms were also redundant; there were a dozen just for levitating things. But Jin learned them anyway because each one had different components, and he considered it skill grinding. Like playing Skyrim and training your lockpicking skills on every lock you can find.
First to third-year charms had thirty-one charms to learn. Five were redundant revisions. And two were useless in practical terms.
Meaning from first to third-year charms, only twenty-four charms were useful. And many of them had uses outside their name.
For example, the Wand-Lighting charm could be used to make light in various shapes, brightness, and even color. The Wand-Extinguishing charm could be used to extinguish not only your own light but the light of other sources.
There was some wiggle room in many charms for the intent that Jin only realized was possible thanks to taking them apart.
But the number of charms in total for all seven years was no more than forty-five. Jin hummed to himself one night while looking down at his notebook inside the Room of Requirement. "This is ridiculous. How could there be so few charms out there? This entire library for one of the oldest schools in the magical world, and this is it?"
He looked over his notes on each of the charms. At least half of them had revisions a dozen times over the seven-year curriculum. Still, overall there were only so many of them.
He went over everything he knew and could find in the library for days before he pointed out the problem and felt it somehow fit the culture. "There was no innovation. Almost every study into making a charm was just to make a better or different version of an existing charm."
He crossed referenced the math behind a few charms. "The equation for the light charm and the red, green, and blue spark charms are ninety percent the same. It's just a small tweak here and there and adding in parts of the color changing charm."
He sighed at the truth. "I'm sure there are more charms out there hidden away in private vaults, but it seems as far as the magic path of Charms go, this is what I have to work with. I just need to use them creatively. Hm…first let's make sure I can learn them all and silent cast them in the Parseltounge form. I'll change things after that."
The school curriculum had reasons for why it did things the way it did. Some charms, like the fire-making charm and levitation charm, were revisited every year because the formula was complex enough to allow for various adaptions.
That's why Arithmancy was simply that useful. It broke down each charm into its base components, and the lack of innovation showed how one charm bled into another.
By the end of September, he was finished with fifth-year charms and had less than ten left to go for the latter two years.
Furthermore, his elves finished scouring the Room of Lost Things for useful stuff. They tore apart the entire room and shook it down harder than a troll trying to win Umbridge's affection.
A massive pile of broken shit took up a corner of the room while the elves organized the valuable things into a few piles.
Gol recorded everything on a clipboard, Sil made sure everything was divided correctly, and Bron found a pirate hat.
Gol pointed at the pile of stacked coins first. "Sir, the first pile is all the coins we found. 20,706 Knuts, five hundred Sickles, and twenty Galleons. Altogether, 113 Galleons."
Jin eyed the literal mound of Knuts and wondered if it was like losing pennies to Wizards. "Mn, well done." One hundred and thirteen galleons wasn't a fortune, but it was a good amount he could use to buy more dru…potions. Money to buy potions.
The second pile contained a bunch of furniture Jin asked them to find for his warehouse. "Sir, like you asked, we salvaged and restored what we could."
There were dozens of tables, shelves, chairs, mattresses, and everything he could ever need to fill out a house. The elves had their own version of the Repairo charm to fix things that were still relatively whole, and it shined here as everything looked brand new and shiny.
And most of the furniture was made of expensive wood and plush fillings from the centuries.
Jin pointed his watch to the side and made a doorway to his inventory. "Right, everything goes in. Just pile it neatly in a corner and we can figure out what to do with it later."
The elves knew about his inventory because he told them. They were literally incapable of betraying him, and he told them not to tell another soul directly or indirectly unless he was minutes away from death. And only in the last case were they to find someone he specified they could trust. So far, that list was empty.
Admittedly, he was a bit worried about Bron being let near the potion supply and just what he might feed him if he was unconscious, so Jin left Sil in charge of his potion supply.
After the money and furniture, they got to the good stuff, the magical items. Gol read down his list. "These were what we could salvage that still had magic in them, sir.
A self-organizing wardrobe that cleans and maintains clothing placed inside while being spatially expanded.
A few dozen Magic Lanterns and Everlasting Candles.
A Bewitched Tea Set still in good condition.
A magic tape measure.
Self…cleaning….brooms….I must protest not burning these foul things."
Jin chuckled and waved a hand. "Feel free."
Gol smiled brightly, for Gol anyway. Jin found it interesting how much emotion could show on a house elves face as they burned something they found offensive with fire while group chanting around the fire. Still, he remained silent as a visibly shining and soot-covered Gol continued reading like nothing had happened.
"Moving on, we found Two mokeskin pouches. Seven pairs of Omnioculars. Various vials of enchanted inks. Four Self-Inking Quills. The large memory viewing screen. A box with thirty contract scrolls. A Pensieve. And three iron boxes containing the diadem, a cursed goblin silver knife, and that book on rituals."
Jin examined the Pensieve for a full minute in excitement before it died down. "This….looks like a bowl. Anyone know the spell to remove a memory?"
He got three headshakes and a meow in reply and shrugged. "Well, I'll test it later then. As long as I have this thing, though, I never have to worry about forgetting anything I study. Now, show me that memory viewing screen; papa wants a home movie theater."
The screen turned out to be an item made by a witch who loved the idea of muggle movie theaters and ended up making a screen that could be stretched out to project memories like a movie. They became popular in the 60s before falling out of demand soon after. Despite that, the one they found was in decent condition.
The group went through all the valuable items and began setting them up in the warehouse. The everlasting candles and lanterns were set up to finally give his warehouse some light, shelves and tables were placed along the walls, and most of the rest of the stuff was stacked in crates or piles for eventual use.
Jin had his eyes set on one of those home camping tents. Unfortunately, the few they found in the room were in disrepair.
All the valuable parts of the broken items were salvaged for reselling. Most of the small nick-knacks were ignored as too much effort.
There was a pair of tarot cards and a crystal ball that glowed ominously at him and got kicked into a wall because "It freaked me out." That was his answer, and he was sticking with it.
The last few items he found were various jewelry he decided to keep since jewels were universal in worth, the vanishing cabinet, which got 'completely accidentally' kicked into a wall and broken, and two broken time turners.
Jin held up the cracked hourglasses. "So these things gave wizard the power to time travel, huh?"
Gol had a book open to the page on time turners with a monocle missing the glass on his eye and nodded his head. "It says so sir."
Jin hummed in thought and looked inside them, finding a silvery powder substance. "I guess the medium is the powder. What's the actual purpose of the hourglass itself?"
Gol shrugged unhelpfully, and Jin decided to keep them. 'Maybe I can just use the powder and charm.' He had no unrealistic belief in getting permission to use one of the working ones from the ministry. He wasn't even a student. But understanding a charm meant for time travel? 'Oh yeah, it's all coming together.'
The idea of being able to time travel and everything else he found gave him the perfect excuse to have a moment of maniacal diabolical laughter in the room's emptiness.
"MWUAHA – HAHA – HAHAHAHAH!" Lightning and thunder boomed throughout the room with strobe light effects as Sakura petals fell from the ceiling….
"Wrong visual effects Bron!"
"Sorry boss!"
Gol and Sil put down the speaker and strobe light with a sigh.
The only other exciting things in the stash were the cursed goblin silver sword and the rituals book.
Jin really wanted to 'gift' it to the goblins to get back at them, but they kind of do curse breaking as a profession, so he threw the idea out and just chose to use it for trade. "It's canon that they make weapons, so I should be able to find a blacksmith somewhere I could trade this thing to for something else."
For now, he kept it in an iron box to be safe. The last item to have his attention was a grimoire titled 'Rituals for the Daring.' To say he was interested would be an understatement; daring was his third middle name. But again, it was cursed and stored for a later time.
All the materials he collected for reselling were placed in trunks and stored in his inventory. At the current point, he would only come back for reading purposes.
Time passed in a blur as he messed with Hagrid's classes, studied, and kept working out under the influence of numerous potions and increased gravity.
Halloween rolled around the corner, and the weather grew colder while Hagrid had him tending to a field of giant pumpkins they used for decorations and juice when the other two schools showed up.
Durmstrang in their submarine and Beauxbaton in their horse-drawn carriage. Each one arrived with a certain flair, and the three headmasters had their theatrical showing of publicity by hugging in public while calling each other by their first names.
Real great stuff.
However, there was an amusing moment when Dumbledore called Hagrid to take care of Beauxbaton's horses.
Madam Maxime had a concerned look as she eyed her fellow half-giant. "My steeds require — er — forceful 'andling. Zey are very strong..."
Dumbledore raised a hand in his grandfatherly 'calm the fuck down' way. "I assure you that Hagrid will be well up to the job."
"Very well. Will you please inform zis 'Agrid zat ze 'orses drink only single-malt whisky?"
Hagrid coughed into his hand. "No worries, ma'am! They will be in good hands. Jin." Hagrid signaled him with his eyes, and Jin chuckled as he chucked a bottle of fine liquor at the lead horse, watching the thing's eyes light up as it snatched the bottle and crunched down, glass and all, and enjoyed its drink. The glass didn't even seem to bother it.
Madam Maxime's brow twitched at the brutish display, but she raised a hand in a hurry to stop Jin from approaching, only to freeze in shock as Jin grabbed the reigns and walked off with the horses obediently following along. "Er….that…is znat ormal, no?"
She addressed the question to Dumbledore, who looked amused and rubbed his beard. "Trust in my staff Maxime. Come, why don't you bring your students inside and warm up."
Meanwhile, Jin ignored the stares and had a friendly chat with the lead stallion. "Me and you, man, we're gonna be great drinking buddies; I'm naming you Alfred."
The horse neighed and budded him with his head in agreement.
His daily ritual now included a few hours to brush, feed, and ride the horses to make sure they had enough exercise, not that he was complaining.
Ride flying horses for a living? That's the fun life.
Time flew by until a week later; he had an unexpected guest.
Walking into the stables in jeans and a tank top while wiping his face with a towel, he paused at the sight of a blond girl humming and brushing Alfred.
She was tall and willowy, with an air of grace that made her seem like she was gliding when she moved. Long silverly-blonde hair fell to her waist, and her humming had an enchanting aura spreading through the surroundings.
He put his hand towel over his shoulder and leaned against a post, just enjoying the sound for a minute before he politely coughed into a hand and startled the girl. Deep blue eyes snapped to his amber ones as he smirked in amusement. "I didn't know I was getting some extra help around here, you the new girl?"
She stared at him for a moment, seemingly looking for something, before she calmed down and smiled. "Temporary help I'm afraid. Your that guy who stunned Madame Maxine last week, right?"
Jin chuckled and nodded. "In the flesh. The names Jin." He walked over and offered his hand, and she hesitated for only a few seconds before shaking it with a surprisingly firm grip.
"Not much of a gentleman, are you Jin? Fleur Delacour." She pointed her chin at the handshake, and he just laughed and mock kissed the back of her own. "A thousand apologies."
"A real charmer aren't you?"
"I try."
She scoffed and slapped his hand away playfully as he grabbed another brush and went to the other side of the horse. "So what brings the fabled and legendary Tri-Wizard champion down to this unworthy chamber?"
She huffed and went back to brushing. "I can't even get away from that here. Why? Am I not welcome?"
Jin raised a brow and held up his hands. "Wo, easy girl. Want some whiskey?"
The horse they were brushing perked up, and she gave him a deadpan stare. "I am not an Abraxan Jin."
He smirked back. "No, you're an angry female. Whiskey helps in both cases."
The horse nodded sagely.
She rolled her eyes in amusement. "No, I don't want to drink whiskey at eleven in the morning. In a dirty stable. Alone with a strange man."
Jin mocked an offended look. "Oi, I'll have you know this is a perfectly clean stable, right Alfred?"
His boy Alfred neighed in agreement, and Fleur slapped its side with the brush lightly. "Don't you take his side; I've been brushing you for years. And why Alfred?"
Jin shrugged. "I've noticed wizards and witches tend to not name things and just call magical species by their race names. I didn't want to call my new drinking buddy 'horse'."
Fleur looked thoughtful and ran a hand through Alfred's wing. "I…never really thought about that before. I'm sorry Alfred."
The horse neighed and turned its head to butt against her lightly as she laughed and kissed its head. Jin watched with a light smile. "So you said you've been brushing him for years?"
She gently pushed away Alfred's head and went back to brushing. "Yeah. Most people don't like coming around the stables due to the smell, so it was one of the only places I could find some peace and quiet at Beauxbatons."
Jin hummed at that. "A bit too popular at school?"
She scoffed. "You could put it like that."
He nodded thoughtfully, seeing the depressed and defeated look on her face before he tossed his brush in a bin. "You know how to ride one of these Fleur?"
She raised a brow at the question. "Wee, my mama taught me when I was young."
He grabbed a saddle and lifted it onto Alfred's back. "Then saddle up girl; if you're going to help me brush them, you can help me give them some exercise."
Fleur's eyes lit up, but she hesitated. "Er… I'm not sure if I'm allowed to…."
Jin waved it off. "Bah, by the power invested in me as an assistant groundskeeper, you're allowed. Now hop on. Unless you need a boost?" He winked at her, and she scoffed before expertly getting her foot in the harness and swinging her perfectly round, petite ass over. "Don't patronize me."
He chuckled and moved to her side. "I wouldn't dare. Tell me when you are comfortable." He gently grabbed her ankles and adjusted her boots into the straps until she was set before she sent him a thankful nod while trying to ignore the pleasant feeling of his hands on her legs.
Soon the two were out of the stables and taking to the air with the remaining horses following behind their lead. They twirled and raced through the air over the forbidden forest, with Fleur's laughter trailing in their wake.
How long they stayed up there neither knew, but Jin didn't take them down till he felt Fleur thoroughly enjoyed herself.
They touched down and rode into the stables among much laughter and joking. By the time the horses were unsaddled and brushed down, the sun was already beginning to set in the distance, with it being the late fall season.
Fleur tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she stood by the door with a smile. "Thank you Jin, I…. I really needed that."
He smiled back at her and shook his head. "I would say you helped me but I'll take it. I'm glad you're feeling better Fleur, I only have so much whiskey to go around and I don't think Alfred is keen on sharing his portion."
She slapped his arm playfully in mock outrage. "He would be honored to share it with me! And what about your portion huh? Too greedy to share with a lady in need?"
Jin faked a haughty look. "Ma'am, I don't drink on the job. Shame you would assume I did." The fact that he said it while kicking an empty glass bottle away from an area with a hammock said everything.
She laughed and shook her head in amusement. "I'm sure you don't."
Movement from the corner of his eye caught Jin's attention just as a mighty, black-furred beast assaulted him. He laughed, and Fleur squeaked in surprise as Shadow dove into Jin's arms. "Haha, there's my fearsome guardian. Did you have fun, girl?"
Shadow meowed up at him and rubbed her cheek against his own before curling around his neck with a purr. "Fleur, meet Shadow, my deadly apocalyptic familiar of fluff. Shadow, meet Fleur, an alcoholic depressed teenage girl."
"Meow."
"Hey!"
They both clearly agreed with him.
Shadow eyed the girl curiously while Fleur quickly melted at the adorable fluff ball. "Can I hold her?"
Jin shrugged and bent down a bit so Fleur could pick her up, absentmindedly bringing their faces close to one another. They only realized a moment after, and Fleur blushed before pulling back with Shadow, who was obediently letting the mortal pay tribute in head pats.
He nodded in approval at the blissful look on her face as she cooed over Shadow. The two sat on a bench and just talked for a while longer. Jin asked about her future goals and hobbies. He made it a point to redirect many of the questions sent his way, but thankfully she didn't seem to notice.
And soon enough, the light of the setting sun hit them as Fleur sighed and stood up. "I should be getting back before they send a search party." The fact that she said it with a depressed air said a lot.
"Your friends wouldn't worry?"
"More like Madame Maxine would want to know where her champion is, the rest would be divided between wanting to kill you for breathing the same air as me or kill me for charming 'another' male."
"Oof, that's rough. It's because of the whole half-Veela thing right?"
Fleur blinked in surprise and looked up at him. "You knew?"
Jin shrugged. "It's not hard to know, it was in the paper the day after the champions were chosen."
"But this whole time…." She paused in hesitation, and Jin chuckled, much to her annoyance. "Hey! This isn't easy for me."
Jin just held up his hands in defense. "Sorry, sorry, it's kinda cute seeing you with that look on your face. I didn't take you for the hesitant or shy type."
She huffed and kicked his shin lightly with a flush. "Don't call me cute you brute. How are you not affected by my alure?"
Jin smirked at her. "Who says I'm not?"
She gave him a deadpan look. "If you were, you would be a drooling mess like the rest of those annoying boys."
Jin laughed and gave in. "Alright fine. Your still a beautiful young woman Fleur, but I'm a bit more resistant to magic than most. It's how I ended up in this job in the first place."
Her eyes lit up as she came closer. "Is it something you trained?! Can you teach it to others so they stop annoying me?"
He pushed her face away with his hand. "Too close woman, and no, I can't teach it. I guess you could say I'm a half breed as well. I'm only half wizard."
Her eyes took on a different glow as she looked closer at him. "And the other half?"
Looking into those big blue eyes, he didn't want to lie, but he wasn't going to say he was a homunculus, so he winged it. "I'm unique, alright. Just know that while I can feel your allure, it doesn't really do anything besides make you look kinda sparkly."
She pulled back with a hiss. "Sparkly?! I am not sparkly!"
Jin smirked evilly. "Very sparkly, you could pass for a vampire with all those sparkles."
"You take that back!"
"I regret nothing!"
"Jin! Get back here! Shadow! Get him!"
"You can't use my own familiar against me! Oi! Shadow! Friendly fire!"
The time passed in a blur, and both of them found a friend in the other. As the days went on, Fleur found herself drawn back to the stables and Jin's teasing smile. Jin likewise found the French girl to be a fun pastime.
He knew who Fleur was from fanon, knew all the cliches surrounding her, and yet they didn't really do her justice in person. She wasn't perfect, she wasn't stuck up, and she was surprisingly down to earth. She was a real person with real worries, thoughts, and quirks.
She kept a cold persona in public since everyone was against her. Her Veela allure was a passive effect, and there were very few ways to deal with it, so after hitting puberty, males became a mess around her, and females either joined the men if they swung that way or were jealous of her for taking away the attention of their boyfriends.
So she got screwed from both sides. Thankfully, she wasn't friendless, as Veela culture is a pretty tight-knit group. She had friends around the world in conclaves who understood her issues, so outside of public view, she had a fun personality.
She eventually just started showing up at Jin's hut instead of going to the stables, having meals with him over sitting in the crowded Great Hall in the school where she was literally drooled on by a male.
The two carved pumpkins, had hot chocolate by the fire, tended to the horses, raced through the air, and found a shared love of charms. Fleur herself was indecisive between trying for a future career in Curse breaking or being a charms mistress.
"Which one interests you more?" Jin asked one day while chopping wood.
She made a strange, frustrated, growling noise at the question. "I don't know! Why can't I decide already!"
Jin flicked a ball of light at her, and she batted it away with a huff. The two had long since talked about charms as Fleur learned about his circumstances from asking around. Jin's background wasn't popular news, but it wasn't a hidden secret. How the two got into talking about charms one day is anyone's guess. Still, when the two realized the other was heavily knowledgeable about the subject, it just went from there.
Now she was well aware how scary good he was with charms and Arithmancy while he knew she had a brilliant mind for applying charms to ward schemes and breaking curses. He even taught her his trick to wandless casting, and she revealed she mostly knew about it from her Veela side. Generations of sexually attractive women had more than a few geniuses over the ages. They learned how to defend themselves and their kind.
Just like a giant with magic-resistant skin, Veela have their allure, which acts like a sonar broadcasting their mana outside their body. It still required talent and skill to harness it for wandless casting, but outside of fire spells, most Veela just stuck to using a wand since it was easier and most lacked the raw mana required.
He rested the axe on his shoulder and gave her a look. "Calm down sparkles, list the pro's and con's when you can't decide."
Her ire turned toward him for the nickname, but he already went back to chopping wood and ignored it while she enjoyed her favorite eye candy with him working up a sweat. "Curse breaking is more fun and adventure. Delving into forgotten tombs and visiting foreign lands sounds a lot more fun than being stuck in an office or lab writing out spell formulas all day."
"And the other side of that?"
She crossed her arms and hugged herself for warmth in the light snow around them. "It's also very deadly and one in three curse breakers die gruesome deaths."
"Go on."
"Fine. And the market is basically owned by goblin tribes who you have to partner with to actually delve into ancient tombs they have partial ownership of thanks to stupid old people making stupid magic binding contracts with them centuries ago."
Jin sent her an amused look. "Didn't you just enter a magical binding contract?"
She paused mid-rant at that and narrowed her eyes at him. "Shut up."
"I'm not wrong."
"I'll bite you."
"Please, your teeth couldn't get past these muscles."
She got up with a predatorial look in her eyes. "Oh~? Let's try again."
"What? W-wait! Fleur….I'll make you that pie agai…YOW!"
The two fell over in the snow with her straddling him after taking a play bite out of his shoulder. "Hehe you were saying~?"
"Woman, don't play with fire."
"You're telling a Veela not to play with fire. Good luck with that Jin~."
He huffed and wrapped his arms around her, not bothered by the cold, as he was already heated up from chopping wood for the last hour. "So what are the upsides to being a Charm Mistress."
She hummed and laid her chin on his chest while enjoying his body heat. "Honestly? Safety and assurance in my financial future. I could just rely on my parents, but my pride wouldn't stand for that. If I apprentice under a master for a year and submit a paper on my knowledge of charms, I can get credited and go around being a warder for a living. Much safer and cost effective, but utterly boring and dull."
"I thought you liked researching charms."
She huffed and let her face fall flat against his chest while she cuddled closer. Her voice came out in a muffle. "I do. But I want the adventure too. I want to explore and see new things while I'm young, not be cooped up for years and just travel when I'm old and wrinkly."
Jin hummed and trailed a hand through her silky silverly blond hair. "Hm, why don't you do both?"
Her eyes closed in pleasure at his ministrations. "What? Be a curse breaker and a charm mistress? I mean, I could but I wouldn't have respect from either side. Curse breakers and warders don't really see eye to eye on a lot of issues."
Jin clicked his tongue. "Ah, ego issues on whose method works better?"
She chuckled ruefully and rubbed her forehead against his chest. "Pretty much; you know how the two fields connect with…."
Their conversation went on for a while longer as they cuddled in the snow but ultimately didn't result in an answer.
Jin had a possible option, but he kept it to himself for the moment. He never sought out Fleur, he wasn't trying to start anything, but he never rejected her when she came to him. He didn't fight life; he just enjoyed the ride.
And soon enough, late November rolled around, and it was time for the first task when Hagrid came knocking. It was time for them to deal with some dragons.
Chapter end.
AN: Thoughts on this chapter?
I was thinking of releasing chapter 4 in sections if everyone is interested. It will let me just keep adding to the chapter and posting it as soon as I finish it.
I won't do it most of the time, but for chap 4, I have the luxury of it. Otherwise, I can post the finished chap 4 when I fully finish it.
ArktheLegend, Winter Metor, arjunnagarajan2, and sid99, thanks for the reviews and feedback, I really appreciate it.