AN: I was debating posting each of these parts in pieces, but then I realized that due to FF's older set up, I would have to upload 8 sep chaps and post them. that's way too much effort. Chap 4 isn't finished yet, but each snippet is its own little piece of the pie. Have fun and let me know what you think! Feedback is what fuels me. More feedback = more motivation to write.
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Disclaimer: I don't own any source material.
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Chapter 4.1: Dragons.
"I don't think they like us."
"Nonsense, that was just a greeting."
"Hagrid, they tried to eat me."
"A nibble isn't much, just give em a good whack and be firm."
"Its five times my size."
"Oh, right, well, I'm sure you will be fine. I'll leave that one to you. I think those boys could use a hand."
Hagrid lumbered off to stop the Hungarian Horntail from rampaging while leaving Jin alone with the cage holding the Chinese Fireball.
Man and giant lizard squared off.
"Don't eat me and I'll give you alcohol."
A fireball and a growl was his answer.
A soot-covered Jin raised a finger. "Oh right, sorry, I've been dealing with those horses for a while. I'll get you some meat or something."
The dragon, more of a wyvern in Jin's eyes, seemed happy with that and laid down around its eggs.
Jin spat out some soot and sighed. 'I read about this before but who the hell thought nursing dragons was the way to liven things up. Try telling a pregnant witch to enter a contest, let's see the wizard with the bright ideas survive that.'
They had been trying to calm the dragons for three days already, while the first task built up steam before it would start in a few days. Jin wanted to have a word with whoever decided on the delivery schedule, but alas, that information was lost to him.
Fleur was getting annoyed that he smelt like soot and wouldn't tell her why, but he just told her if Maxime didn't say anything by that night, he would answer.
And low and behold, while Hagrid thought he was being sneaky bringing in Harry under his cloak, Jin just flat out told her.
"Dragons?!"
"Fleur, my house is only so big, I can hear you just fine."
"Jin, you just told me I will have to face a dragon in two days!"
"That's not what I said."
"Oh, really? Feel free to correct me then."
"I said you will have to face a nursing dragon protecting her eggs."
"…."
"…."
Flames ignited in Fleur's hands.
"Oi! Put down the flames Sparkles!"
Twenty minutes of roughhousing later, Fleur was sitting sideways on the leather chair by the fire with Jin beneath her wrapping his arms around her waist. "I'm so dead. What do you they expect me to do? Dance with it?"
"Meh, you'll be fine. Your dancing would be full of sparkly stuff. Plus, I doubt your competitors have nearly an understanding of Charms as you do."
Fleur rolled her eyes. "I do not bleed sparkles. And Charms isn't everything Jin."
"You bite your tongue. Charms can rule the world!"
"Your kinda cute when you get all melomaniac."
"…."
"Ow! You cant bite me, only I can bite you!"
"I stand for gender equality!"
"Who says that?!"
Only a little progress was made that night. Although Jin's joking reply of telling her to 'dance' with the dragon did plant the seed for her future plan.
00000 4.2: The First Task.
The stadium was packed. A cheering crowd blanketed the area with a white noise of chatter as hundreds of magicals waited around the protective cage with two doors of different sizes that the champions would compete in.
Up in the judge's box, the three school heads, alongside Ludo Bagman and Barty Crouch, sat at the highest point of the arena and looked down into the stadium.
Albus Dumbledore, head of Hogwarts.
Madam Maxine, head of Beauxbatons.
Igor Karkaroff, head of Durmstrang.
The five of them would judge the contestant's performance, with each choosing between one to ten points awarded to each challenger. Fifty points for the highest score.
The larger pair of stadium doors opened as a burst of fire shocked the crowd, and a following roar sent them screaming as they watched a group of handlers bring in an astounding sight.
An XXXXX magical beast, a creature most in the crowd would go their entire lives without ever seeing.
Before anyone could react, Albus Dumbledore stood tall and placed his wand to his neck to amplify his voice. "Everyone be calm! This is only part of the tournament. For the first task…."
While Dumbledore explained the challenge of the first task, Jin found himself in the awkward position of helping the handlers wrangle the Chinese Fireball into the arena. It was making a nuisance of itself hearing the noise of the crowd and they were about to start using charms when Jin acted. Having gotten a fix on the beast after a few days, Jin yanked on its facial chain and got its attention.
The alpha predator stared into Jin's amber eyes as he nodded his head to the side. "Your eggs are in there; go protect them."
The dragon's slit pupil shrunk as it huffed a lazy flame in the shape of a fireball like its namesake and moved into the arena without any more fuss. The dragon handlers all just stopped and looked at him, but Jin ignored them to listen in.
Dumbledore was just finishing. "Now, ladies and gentleman, at the sound of the cannon, please welcome…"
Cannon fire resounded through the stadium and the people cheered before he could finish his sentence. He gave the castle's janitor, a squib named Filch, a dry look as he finished lamely. "Victor Krum. His task is to steal an egg from the nesting clutch of a Chinese Fireball."
The crowd cheered even louder for their favorite sports star as the north European teen walked out of the smaller door on the opposite side of the arena.
Hard, nervous eyes stared into the wrathful gaze of a predator protecting its nest. The crowd collectively held their breath as a moment of silence rang. And then, Krum took a step, and the beast roared in fire as the crowd erupted.
A few minutes later, Jin was soothing the one-eyed beast and showing it its clutch was unharmed. The injured mother stared tiredly at the human wizard holding its eggs before its nose and finally went unconscious in relief.
The lead handler and his assistant, a man Jin recognized as one of the Weasleys by his hair, came over and pat him on the back. "Marvelous work, son. If you ever need a job, you're more than welcome to come by my ranch. It takes a special kind of man to deal with these beautiful creatures."
Jin laughed and shook the man's hand. "I appreciate it boss, I'll give you a holler if I'm in the area."
The man nodded firmly and went over to help deal with the next dragon while the Weasley introduced himself. "Charlie."
Jin shook the ginger's hand with a friendly smile. "Jin."
Charlie smiled back and went on. "Wicked work back there. How did you get her to trust you so much?"
Jin eyed the sleeping beast. "Her?"
He nodded like it was normal to talk to dragons. "Yeah, of course."
Jin chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "Would you believe me if I told you I just fed her snacks?"
Charlie's eyes widened before he burst out laughing. "Ha! I've been telling people for years you just gotta feed the ladies, and it all works out."
Jin laughed back and slapped him on the back good-naturedly, the poor older teen getting the wind knocked out of him. "Haha, I hear you, man."
Charlie blinked up from the ground, and Jin apologetically helped him up. "Sorry about that."
The older teen rolled his shoulders with a wave of a hand. "Bah, it's fine, I deal with dragons for a living. You just surprised me is all, your stronger than you look."
Jin rubbed his neck. "Yeah, puberty and what not, you know?"
Charlie snorted in good humor, but a shout from the side where the boss was got their attention. "Come on, it's the Common Welsh up next."
Jin paused as he recalled the name. 'Fleur's turn huh? I'm sure she'll be fine.'
"Jin?"
Charlie called back and Jin shook his head and caught up. "Sorry about that, was wondering if it was too late to bribe this next girl with meat as well."
Charlie Weasley tripped.
00000 4.3: Animagus.
A soot-covered Fleur stood beaming proudly before Jin holding her egg later that day, and he just sighed. "I didn't literally mean dance with the dragon."
"I did what I had to do."
"You drowned a fire breathing dragon in glitter while dancing around its fire and making illusions. Do you feel proud of yourself?"
"Yes."
"Good, I shed a tear in pride. Did you hear me cheer for you?"
"I knew you would, and you mean did I hear the brutish fool shouting 'Go Sparkles' while holding up a sign of a sparkly vampire, then no, I didn't hear you. I was too busy pretending I didn't know you."
"Bah, semantics. Those boring nuts needed to liven up."
"You changed half the crowd's clothes into psychedelic colors and gave Dumbledore a rainbow beard."
"I didn't see him upset."
"Why do I put up with you."
"My muscles charmed you."
"….maybe."
The two broke down laughing and went inside his hut to relax and talk about the faces the dragon handlers made when they came to pick up the sparkly dragon. That shit even resists magic in an effort to make it come off.
The magical world learned to fear glitter that day.
Fleur turned the burn she got on her leg into a teaching experience for Jin, showing how to deal with burns and what charms to use. Healing was his weakest area behind wards, there just wasn't an ideal way to train it without injuring himself, and he wasn't that committed to training.
Despite her great showing, Fleur didn't end up getting first place in the first task due to prejudice. Dumbledore was a hypocrite and favored Harry in everything. Durmstrang's headmaster only cared for Victor Krum. And Madame Maxine wasn't shameless enough to give Fleur a 10 like the others did for their own champions. She still pulled out second place, but it was a close call.
She came under more public scrutiny from her school, and she hid around Jin more to get away from it. She was in her final year, and with her grades, her classes were optional, so she could afford to disappear for long periods of time.
Jin's schedule didn't change much, just with an extra passenger along for the ride. Fleur found his schedule fun and decided to support him.
She rode a broom when he trained by running through the forest and acted as his sparkly cheerleader. The fact that she got trigger-happy with casting the Gemino charm on small packages of glitter she carried around made his workouts worse than a life-and-death battle.
When he took care of the horses, she helped him.
She followed him when he studied charms in the RoR and explored her interests. He honestly saw no reason to hide the room as it had nothing valuable for him outside knowledge. The two pushed each other to learn more about the subject and supported the other.
When he played with Shadow, she kicked him out of the way to cuddle her.
Hell, she slept over on his couch enough times to leave an extra pair of clothes for herself. He knew that meant she was comfortable, but he didn't see a reason to stop her.
They were practically dating but hadn't crossed the final line.
But things finally came to a head in mid-December when Jin was finally ready to turn into his Animagus form.
Fleur paced worriedly back and forth in the RoR while Jin meditated inside a ward Fleur made to increase his connection to the spirit.
"Sparkles, I can literally hear you wearing a hole into the ground, relax, I'll be fine."
"Do you really have to do this Jin? It's not like we can't wait longer."
"I only waited this long because I wanted to finish off my charms studies in the room. Outside of the branch paths, I have nothing left to gain from there."
"But we could still find…."
Jin's eyes opened, and his amber pupils pierced into her blue ones. "I'll be fine, Fleur. Now shush, your breathing too loud."
"I do not breath loudly!"
"You sure speak loudly."
"Jin…."
"Alright, put the fire down woman."
He let himself be pulled into the inner space of his soul, or whatever one would call it. The same rainforest appeared as the first time, the same clearing he found himself in. Except for this time, he wasn't alone.
A vicious smile stretched along his mental lips. "Hey there, let's make a deal." A growl was his answer.
Minutes passed in the real world as Fleur watched on worriedly before Jin clutched his chest in pain and fell over.
"Jin!" Fleur rushed over and knelt beside him while rapidly firing diagnostic charms before she froze at the sound of laughter. A shit-eating grin looked up at her, and her temper ignited. "JIN!"
A very thoroughly scorched ground later, and Jin was appeasing his upset friend. "Oh, come on, you know that was funny."
Fleur had her arms crossed and turned away from him. "It was not! I was worried!"
"Did you have so little faith in me?" Jin spoke in a low voice and wrapped his arms around the young woman.
She huffed but didn't stop him. "My faith died in that fire."
Jin chuckled and rested his chin on her head. "Your pretty sexy when you get heated you know."
She rolled her eyes but smiled and lightly slapped his leg. "Is that all you think about when you aggravate me?"
"I wouldn't say it's the only thing but it's definitely up there."
"You're lucky you don't burn easy."
"I'm pretty sure I would be a husk by now if I did. I hope your temper came from your father's side, otherwise I have no idea how he survived this long."
Fleur smirked up at him in amusement and patted his cheek. "By being a gentleman and not poking the phoenix. Maybe you should learn from him."
He play bit her finger. "That sounds boring."
Her smile widened as she leaned into him and traced his jaw with her fingertips. "Maybe it is."
Like a force of nature, their foreheads leaned in as their eyes stared into the other. The air was electrified around them, and their breathing deepened. The moment seemed perfect to breach that final line, only for fleur to blink in confusion. "Jin."
"Hm?"
"Did you eyes always have slit pupils?"
Jin blinked before his eyes widened as a memory came back to him. "The first change has to happen….oh."
Fleur pulled back in concern. "Jin? Whats happening?"
Jin held up a hand and backed off as his body began morphing. "I misunderstood the text, it's fine, my animal form is forcing the first change, this is normal." His face scrunched up as a bought of pain hit him.
"Are you sure?" She asked worriedly.
"Yeah, I'm su..row." His voice cut off as his vocal cords adjusted, and his words became growls. Fleur watched in fascination as fur sprouted over his body, limbs shifted, muscles adjusted, and his form elongated and fell to four legs.
His bones ground as pained growls echoed in the chamber until a primal roar shook the room.
[Congratulations. Your Jin has evolved into a Bengal Tiger.]
Fleur stared at the words for a silent moment before casting a stinging hex off to the side and hitting Bron off the wall where he was dressed as a ninja. She didn't bother looking his way as she watched over Jin in his new tiger form.
Said tiger was currently looking over his own body. Nine feet long from head to tail, with three feet of pure tail, close to three hundred pounds of meat, muscle, bone, and fluff. He flexed his hands as claws extended and retracted. 'Well, isn't that interesting.'
Jin already knew what his form would be, having met it during his earlier meditations and researching it in preparation for the current day.
Bengal tigers were no lions. They weren't kings; they were hunters. Lions, for all their title of being kings, were lazy and social animals with a pack. They could climb trees and hunt by blending into numerous climates. Many considered the tiger the stronger of the two in a one-on-one comparison, with tigers being more aggressive, solitary, and having greater muscle definition with much longer canines.
Shadow approached curiously and sniffed his paw as he looked down at his little girl. She licked his paw and meowed adorably up at him. He lowered his larger head and butted her own with it, and gave her an affectionate lick. Some inner instinct came to the front telling Jin she was like his cub. His family.
Whoever harmed his little girl would die a slow death.
"Jin?" A hesitant voice rang out, and he lifted his gaze to a nervous-looking Fleur with her wand raised. "You still in there?"
Jin tilted his head at her and tried to say something, only for a growl to come out. She lifted her wand higher, and he rolled his eyes and laid down on his stomach. His feline face practically said, 'I'm a perfectly harmless murder fluff machine.'
He tried to think of his human form, and slowly his form rippled as it began turning back into his normal body, except he was buck-ass nude.
Jin flexed his hands experimentally. "Huh, that was a weird feeling. Sorry if I scared you Fle…Fleur?"
He looked up to see her with flushed cheeks staring shamelessly at his nude body and rolled his eyes. "Really? Down girl. Bad Sparkles."
She stepped over and wholly ignored him to poke his body. "How fascinating."
He raised a brow and put a hand on his hip as he watched her poke at him. "Which part? The human turning into a giant tiger or my human muscles?"
"Yes."
He scoffed and chopped her head. "Don't make me bonk you. Can we focus on the whole me becoming a tiger thing?"
She blinked and seemed to realize he was speaking for the first time. "Oh… yeah, it was breathtaking."
His brow twitched as her gaze fell lower and stayed there. "Gol, bring me a robe or something please."
"No!"
"Yes! We can't seem to have a conversation otherwise."
She pouted at him. "Leave the top open at least?"
He bonked her.
A minute later, they were going over the details of his change. Fleur rubbed the red bump on her forehead as she read off a notebook. "So you recognized Shadow as your cub? Want to make more?"
He bonked her again.
A teary-eyed Fleur focused. "Alright, alright, I'm good. That really is adorable, though. Any other instincts come through?"
Jin rubbed his chin in thought. "I think…. I kinda feel like finding a warm place to curl up? I don't know why but the thought of sunlit places is suddenly really attractive."
Shadow nodded her head in perfect understanding.
Fleur added it down. "Alright, any physical changes? Your eyes changed into slit pupils earlier. They look normal now though."
"Let me try something."
He focused on the transformation but tried to keep his human form up, and his senses suddenly sharpened.
"Oh, your eyes changed again. And your hair got black highlights, hm… not a bad look."
Despite her talking normally, he suddenly felt like her volume increased dramatically and flinched. She noticed it and sent him a confused look, but he held up a hand to wait while he got a hand of things.
Ten minutes later, she finished marking down all his noticeable changes. "So increased eyesight, hearing, and flexibility. At least from what we can tell at the moment. How about fangs? Some Animagus with sharp teeth have said it crossed over."
It took some effort, but while he didn't get pronounced fangs, his nails did sharpen into points. "Ok, no teeth changes, but the claws changed your nails. Last test, can you sprout a tail in human form?"
They both turned to look at his back as he focused, and a tail slowly came out under his focus. "That's…. a weird feeling." The tail twitched as he looked at it, and it slapped against his leg. "It's like having a new limb and I should know how to move it, but its….hm….like trying to fit a square in a circular hole is the best way I can put it. It's weird." He removed his focus, and the tail retracted.
Fleur wrote it all down in fascination. "So you basically have two forms. The first as a human with a tigers senses, sharpened nails, flexibility, and you can sprout a tail. And the second in full tiger form. We might want to do some physical tests to see if it changes your strength and speed."
Jin smiled at that. "I'm up for that. I feel like I want to move right now. Let's go out and reset the room into an obstacle course."
The two tested things long into the night and had their answers by the early morning.
While in the first form, Jin gained a slight boost to his speed while gaining a significant boost to strength and agility. The instincts of his form gave him almost perfect balance and spatial awareness that had to be seen to be believed.
In his second complete tiger form, he gained an even more considerable boost to strength while losing out on all the benefits of his human form. He also couldn't cast magic while in tiger form, whereas he still could in half form.
Furthermore, his magic resistance carried over in his tiger form, making him deadly to magic casters despite not actually being a magical creature.
"That's just stupidly unfair."
"I feel like your point would mean more if you weren't trying to make me promise to give you rides."
"Are you telling me you wouldn't want to ride a super fluffy tiger if you could?"
"….Point to you."
Her smug smile was looking mighty kissable.
It was a successful night, but it left Jin with a weird feeling as he thought back to the jungle of his soul space where he met the tiger. 'Why did it feel like something else was still there?'
The question wouldn't be answered soon, but the seeds were planted for something more.
00000 4.4: Romance.
Time passed, and winter came on in full force at the castle up in the highlands of Scotland.
Fleur shivered and refused to leave the safety of the space between his coat and his skin. "W-what is wrong with you Brits. Its inhumane to live like this!"
Jin raised an amused brow at the girl as he fed the horses their booze. "I don't know, I think I'm seeing some of the benefit of it right now."
She shot him a coquettish smirk over her shoulder as her Allure flared momentarily. Jin's eyes dilated as her smile grew. "Oh, and why's that~?"
His mouth opened involuntarily. "Because I…." His eyes refocused and narrowed at the shorter blonde. "You're a dangerous one."
She burst into giggles and turned to hug him. "And don't forget it. Sorry, that was a little much for a joke."
He chuckled and kissed the top of her head. "Don't worry about it. It's probably good training anyway."
She looked up at him with a curious raise of a brow. "Oh?"
His smile was all teeth. "I'll have to get used to you eventually, wont I?"
Her smile could stretch no further. "What if I don't want you immune? What if I want to keep you?"
Jin's forehead came down to rest against her own. "You know what they say about getting on the back of a tiger."
Her arms traveled up to wrap around his neck. "Yes, to show it who's in charge."
Her lips claimed his own as she pounced. The two dueled in tongues beneath his coat as they stood in the horse stable that had become their sanctuary for just the two of them.
Only when they came up for breath did he respond. "It's really sexy when you get fired up, you know that?"
She smirked and bit his lower lip. "And never forget it."
He laughed and brought his forehead back to hers. "But what what would happen if another Veela showed up to seduce me?"
Her Allure flared powerfully for a moment before lowering as her eyes narrowed with an inner fire. "Its best we prepare you."
Jin's eyes refocused a minute later while involved in a kiss as he pulled back. "Wow, you really were toning it down. Didn't want someone else stealing your prey?" His voice was full of humor as she hummed in amusement.
"Veela are not like others Jin. We do not follow the same romantic and sexual inclinations that most have. We are closely related to avians, and we act like it." She traced a finger along his jaw and enjoyed the way he growled deep in his throat. "Veela, don't mind sharing; it's normal in our culture. So if another Veela comes around, they can touch all they want."
Her nails dug into his skin, and his growl increased like a drum as he was getting ready to pounce, but she put a hand against his chest to stop him. "But that's just touching. This." She pointed to his heart. "This belongs to me. That's what you're going to expect from me if we take this any further."
The way her eyes stared into his own dared him to even think of lying, and he responded with the first thought that came to his mind.
He kissed her.
The snow fell gently from above, with the only witness to the moment of two young lovers crossing the first line being dangerous magical horses who drank scotch and watched the entertainment with a critical gaze.
They were wondering if their manservant was becoming a man.
00000 4.5 An Invitation and A Talk.
"Excuse me?" Jin stared bewildered at the kneeling blond bombshell giving him a shit-eating grin.
"You heard me the first time Jin." Her eyes narrowed like a predator eyeing its prey.
"I heard you just fine, but-…." Jin raised a finger only to have it shot down by a single look.
"I don't care." She insisted.
"Fleur-.." He tried to kneel beside her and got football tackled for his troubles as she pinned him with a surprising amount of strength for her petite body.
"Jin, answer the question."
His brow twitched, and his hands came around her waist as he flipped her over in the blink of an eye and pinned her beneath him with a squeak of surprise escaping her lips.
Her flushed expression from the cold and proximity looked into his eyes with a gaze that wouldn't take no for an answer.
He sighed as he knew he couldn't change her mind. "You really want to do this? You know the consequences right?"
She reached up and pulled him into a searing kiss before pushing him off her with a laugh as he fell into the snow. "Damn the consequences. Let them talk, I couldn't give a shit."
He raised a hand from his impromptu snow tomb. "Language young lady."
She scoffed and threw a snowball at the mound he was under. "Oh get up you oaf and answer me like a man."
He pushed himself up. "Like a man, eh?"
His over six-foot frame that had grown since his arrival towered over her immovable petite form as he took a knee and held her hand. "Very well. I'll happily be your bride to the Yule Ball, my lady."
She rolled her eyes with a smile and kissed him with a playful hit to the chest. "Your my date you fool, I'm not marrying you just yet."
He raised a brow her way in amusement. "Yet, huh? Making plans in that head of yours sparkles?"
She huffed and stuck her tongue out at him playfully. "So what if I am? A girl likes to plan out her future."
Jin's smiling face momentarily lost its humor as he looked away. He knew she was joking; they had only been together a short time, but the reminder of his situation reared its guilty head for a moment before he schooled his expression and gave a wry smile back. "Don't plan too far ahead."
Despite his quick action, Fleur wasn't a woman who couldn't read body language. Her brow creased as she looked at him. "Sorry, was the joke too much?"
He chuckled and waved a hand. "A bit, but I started it."
She stepped closer and grabbed his hand before he could drop it as she stared him in the eyes. "Then what was with the look?"
"What look?"
"Jin…"
'How does she pull that off?' He couldn't figure out how such a small person could stare at him like an eagle eying a juicy meal and daring it to look away.
Thinking quick, he rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish smile. "I don't have a suit."
She held her stare for a few seconds longer before smiling and pulling away. "We can get you a suit, it can be a shopping day." The way her eyes lit up at the end sent all his mental alarms ringing.
He quickly shook his head. "No, no, no. No need for that, I have the perfect tailor in mind."
She stepped back with an evil smile. "You sure~? I know just~ the~ place~." Her sing-song tone only made it more deadly and he rapidly nodded.
"One hundred and twenty percent sure. No doubt in my mind. I got this." He pounded his chest with a reassuring look, and she giggled and turned away.
"Perfect, then you have no excuse for missing the ball next week. I'm heading back." Jin opened his mouth to comment and closed it a few times before he managed to answer.
"Damn minx!"
She laughed loudly from down the path and turned to look over her shoulder with a wink. "Oh and Jin~."
His amber eyes met her own blue as she gave him a look full of meaning. "I won't pry, but I expect you to tell me what your hiding eventually."
Jin's mouth clicked shut at that and he watched his French girlfriend walk away through the wooded snowy path in silence. 'Damn it.'
Fleur wasn't stupid. She had been dissecting people by their words and body language for their intentions and desires since her Allure woke up years ago. Jin was no master liar and manipulator; he just evaded certain questions or redirected things when he couldn't answer, so he didn't lie, just tell partial truths or nothing.
He had avoided plenty of targeted questions about his past while the two had talked over the weeks, and despite the emotions, vibes, and friendship that had formed, there was only so far that could go if he didn't give back from his side.
She told him of her friends, family, past experiences, and funny or sad memories. And all he had given her was everything he was today, nothing of who he was before.
None of that mattered in a relationship, but Fleur was a treasure and knowledge seeker. She would want to know eventually and he would have to make a choice.
And frankly, both options available to him terrified him internally.
He sighed and looked up at the falling snow. "Why isn't this shit easy?"
"It never is, I'm afraid." An elderly voice called out from the side, and Jin's body and instinct reacted before his mind did as his frame grew a few inches, muscles popped, nails sharpened, and his eyes changed into slits as he growled deep like an animal.
"Who..!" Jin froze mid-lunge at the amused-looking face of Great Britain's leading wizard. The great Albus Dumbledore himself.
Dumbledore held out a simple empty palm. "My apologizes for startling you, it was not my intention."
Jin's instinct was to stare the man in the eyes, but the second he processed who it was, he focused on the man's nose instead. He took a deep breath and reverted his changes. "Sorry about that, Headmaster."
Dumbledore stepped closer with a chuckle. "Nothing to be sorry for my boy, it was a fine reaction."
Jin scratched the back of his head. "It's still not good to react that way to my boss's boss."
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled in amusement as he ran a hand through his beard. "Well it seems we are both apologetic. Perhaps, we can forget it ever happened."
Jin nodded with a smile. "Forget what happened?"
Dumbledore let out an amused laugh. "Always nice when someone is quick on the uptake. Would you care for a walk, young Jin?" He waved a hand to the side in the direction of the black lake, and Jin shrugged.
The two were silent for a moment as Jin pulled a scarf closer around his neck to cover his mouth and try to hide his nervousness from the man unconsciously radiating an aura of power next to him. 'How did I miss him?! He's like a fucking beacon. And he smells like he bathes in sweet lemon water. God, I wish I chose the occlumency perk right now.'
Unknowing of the younger man's internal thoughts, Dumbledore continued to stroke his beard as he thought out loud. "Did you know many natural Animagi are born in a century?"
Jin internally flinched at the question but recalled the passage he had read about the subject in his research. "Less than ten."
Dumbledore hummed in joy. "Correct. I've met a few of them across the years, and its always fascinating how much more in tune they are to their inner animal." He inclined his head toward Jin. "You have a remarkable gift my boy."
Jin scratched his cheek at the praise and looked away. "Thank you sir. Did you ever go through the process yourself?"
The older man chuckled and shook his head. "I did not. Not many know this, but unless you pay a great cost, the process of turning oneself into an artificial Animagus must be complete before the age of thirty. By the time I was both advanced and interested enough to stop and research it, I was saddened to know I missed my chance."
Jin raised a brow at the nugget of information he never knew. "Was the cost too high?"
Dumbledore's finger twitched slightly as his face turned somewhat grave. "Some costs, young Jin, should not be made for the pursuit of simple greed. Every ritual comes with a cost, to gain something, you must lose something. Never forget that."
Jin's mind flashed to the cursed book of rituals he found, and he side-eyed the old man. 'There's no way he knows about that, right?'
The two reached the lake's edge as Jin coughed to change the subject. "Was there a reason you sought me out, sir?"
Dumbledore bent down and picked up a smooth stone. "Just a simple curiosity my boy. You had my eye since the schools arrived but I only really took notice when I saw the lack of fear and ease in which you handled the dragons during the first task and wished to take a closer look. My curiosity was settled with my first words to you." He bent his arm back and skipped the stone like a pro.
Jin winced at that. He knew he had given himself away too quickly, but he was still new to the whole Animagus thing and how much his form influenced him.
His eyes trailed the stone the older man threw and counted eight bounces. "Nice one."
Dumbledore nodded in pride. "Thank you, I like to come out here to get some fresh air now and then. It's peaceful, is it not?"
Jin smirked and pointed at the water. "If you don't count the giant squid and the rest of the hundreds of dangerous magical creatures down there, then yes. Very peaceful."
The headmaster chuckled at that. "Ah, but that's where the charm is, no?"
Jin shared the older man's mirth. "I can't deny that."
The two enjoyed a laugh and silently skipped rocks for the better part of ten minutes as the older man gave him tips on his technique. Jin managed seven bounces before the old man stepped back. "Well, this was fun. But it seems I must be getting back. Paperwork waits for no man I'm afraid."
Jin raised a brow and decided to just cut through the bullshit. "Sir, why did you really come find me?"
Dumbledore gave him a small smile. "Keen perception young man." His gaze turned back to the dark waters of the lake. "There are dark times ahead I fear, and it does me good to know all the potential players in advance."
Jin's brow twitched. "Sir, people are not chess pieces."
Dumbledore's trademark twinkle went at full blast. "Tell me Jin, do you plan to stay in Britain passed this year?"
A light scowl grew on his face as he avoided eye contact. "No sir."
Dumbledore nodded and began walking off. "A shame. Perhaps you will find work in France after this?"
Jin's scowl grew as the old man got farther away. "Perhaps."
Once he was gone, Jin turned around and began walking back to his cabin. 'What the fuck was that? One second he gives me good grandfather Dumbles vibes and the next its manipulator grey Dumbles. Damn it, I didn't want to be on his radar in the first place, I got distracted.'
Jin would admit that assisting Hagrid with the magical beasts and rug rat students, as well as the time he spent with Fleur, set him into an easygoing mood, and it caught him with his pants down.
He had never had any experience with this sort of stuff before; he was practically a blank slate, just taking things as they came and doing what he could.
As he marched into his home, his feet left deep imprints in the snow. 'I need to speed things up.' He had plans, and he wasn't waiting to act on them anymore.
00000 4.6: The Chamber and A Purpose.
The moon was high in the sky, and the castle's inhabitants were sleeping deeply as Jin appeared in a pop in the abandoned second-floor girl's bathroom wearing a ski mask. This time he left Shadow behind as he wasn't sure about the safety going forward.
He turned to Gol, dutifully standing by his side. "Stay out of sight and once I open the door, please begin cleaning the slide, I'd rather not get covered in filth."
Gol inclined his head. "Of course, sir." He vanished from his eyesight, but Jin could still smell him by his side.
The hallways were dark and silent as he made his way into the bathroom, only to pause at the sound of a toilet flushing. A feminine spectral form rose from a bathroom stall and blinked at him. "Who are-…"
Her voice cut off as a prepared charm left Jin's hand with an almost silent cast of ~Skurgify~. The ghost froze and fell to the ground, paralyzed like a statue.
Jin clicked his tongue in distaste and moved the frozen body back into her stall. 'I still need more practice to get rid of the verbal que.'
Generally, Jin could cast every charm below the sixth year silently, mentally using Parseltongue, and without a focus. It would take him precious seconds longer than a trained wizard with a wand, but he was making steady progress with each day and his increased talent for charms.
The problem came from charms he created himself using arithmancy and the lack of need to use the charm he just used in most cases. He only made charms when a burst of inspiration hit or if there was a necessity for something special, and this case constituted one.
He knew in advance that Moaning Murtle would see him pass through, and he wanted no witnesses. Unfortunately, charms didn't work on ghosts.
Jin racked his brain on how to deal with it and considered bribing the unfortunate girl before he recalled something. When the Basilisk was alive, its paralyzing gaze affected ghosts. So if a magical creature could do it, why couldn't wizards and witches?
He looked back at any charm that involved ghosts and focused on the Skurge charm. An interesting charm invented in 1492 by a Scottish wizard whose literal job was shoveling ghost ectoplasm, a material unaffected by usual cleaning charms.
The man grew to hate ectoplasm so much that he accidentally created a spell to clean it away and went on to make a great deal of money trading it with others.
Now, the question that Jin had to solve was why the Skurge charm affected something left behind by ghosts when the regular cleaning charms didn't. He took apart each charm into its base components and spent days reviewing it when he realized the simple answer.
It was intent, will, and the formula.
Wizards simply believed that a ghost was a ghost and wasn't affected by spells. They could go through walls, and nothing physical could touch them, so of course, their spells didn't work either.
It was the mentality that bred itself into the culture. Although, ghosts also had minor magic resistance, so when kids tried playing with ghosts, nothing happened and it only increased the mentality while lowering the will.
Further, the spell formula behind the charm was made in a way that expected a charm not to work on ghosts, meaning the existing charms that wizards used didn't work on ghosts.
Using all that, Jin simply made his own charm by taking parts of the Skurge charm and the Stunning charm to create Skurgify, a spell to stun a ghost. He tested it on two separate occasions using other ghosts in the castle and revived them before they could think it was anything but a hallucination.
Jin doubted he was the only one to see the simple solution, but considering it wasn't public knowledge, it seemed whoever else made their own version kept it to themselves or their families.
When Moaning Murtle woke up, she would think it was just a bad dream.
Jin quickly found the sink with the snake symbol and opened the door. A horrible stench breathed outward, and Jin side-eyed where he smelled his house elf. "Gol."
Nothing else needed to be said before the stench vanished with a trace of lavender. Jin blinked at that but shrugged. 'Note to self, figure out how he does that later.'
He grabbed the handle and jumped into the slide while the door closed behind him, and his rapid descent began. Without the ick, he could appreciate the ride and threw his hands up with a silent cheer.
At the bottom, Gol was shaking off his shoes with disgust. "Sir, that was atrocious."
Jin chuckled and took off his mask without care. "Still haven't thought of a wish yet?"
"Does burning whoever locked house elves out of this space count?"
Jin blinked and burst out laughing. "Ha! Seeing Slytherin burned by a house elf is a hell of a mental image. Leave it for now man, you can come back later and clean it if it offends you so much."
Gol's face could be carved from stone as he suddenly held a spray bottle and rubber gloves. "In the name of all house elves everywhere, I shall not rest until this grisly task is done."
Jin walked passed him with his laughter trailing and patted the small elfin head. "Sure thing buddy, but do it later, we got a job to do."
Gol sheathed his weapon and followed behind with his head held high. He had permission so he could do what he wanted later on. And he would be back.
Jin whistled at the sight of the snake sculptures as they followed the path. "Man, even centuries later this place still has some style."
They came upon the cave-in from the screw-up with Lockhart two years earlier and hummed. "Gol, think you can move this stuff if I break it up while reinforcing the walls?"
Gol squared his fingers as he looked at it and nodded. "I'll need more mana sir, but it can be done."
Jin grunted and held up his palms forward. "Take as much as you need." Red light built in his palms before he began rapid firing the Gouging charm repeatedly. The charm was literally invented for gouging a tunnel through its target.
The tunnel they were in was filled with dust as Jin plowed a path straight through, and Gol moved the debris aside to support the empty space.
In a manner of minutes, they were through and moving forward. 'Makes sense that a twelve-year-old Ron couldn't get through that, I think I drained myself down to half my tank fueling the two of us.'
Since the day he learned his first charm, Jin had practiced a specific technique that any Harry Potter fanon fan would know quite well. Drain his mana every day before bed and push his core to enlarge. It was a legitimate technique that anyone could use if they knew it worked and had the will to do it. But like most things with the culture, the phrase pushing the limit wasn't in their vocabulary.
Past the blockade, they came upon the chamber doors quickly and opened them with a single word, coming upon the sight left behind when Fawkes's fire traveled Harry out of the chamber two years before.
Jin held his breath at the corpse of the Basilisk before him. "Wow." He was confident it was down here. He took the Parseltounge perk mainly for this specific purpose. But visually seeing the corpse of a monarch of serpents was breathtaking. "And a twelve year old killed this with a sword. Props to him."
He shook his head at the absurdity and walked up to the corpse to run his hand along its scales. "Remarkable, even two years passed and there isn't a single sign of degradation."
Traveling down to the head, he looked up at the clawed-up and destroyed eyes with some pity. 'The power to kill on sight, those eyes must have been worth a fortune.' He patted the snake's nose softly and took a silent moment to appreciate the beast before him. 'I hope you found your master in the afterlife, oh great emperor of snakes.'
He wasn't sure if he would be bothered by taking life, but at the very least, he felt that all life should be given its respects once it passed on.
And then he finished, and it was time to carve up the turkey. "Gol, Sil, Bron."
His three house elves stood tall behind him in seconds.
"Yes sir?"
"How may I serve master?"
"Reporting for duty!"
Jin shot them an amused look. "Seems like you three have been sticking to those English lessons."
He got a round of nods in response.
"Two hours a day sir."
"Before I sleep and when I first wake."
"When I'm on the John."
Jin and the other two gave Bron a deadpan look.
"What?"
The three turned away, and Jin went on. "I know we talked about this before, but I'll ask again to be sure. Think you guys can carve this one up?"
Gol already knew his answer, having been sizing it up since they got there, and nodded.
Sil started muttering calculations and seemed to be sure he could.
Bron just smiled widely. "Oh! I'll get my tools!"
He popped off and left silence behind as Jin voiced the question. "Did we give him tools?"
Gol and Sil slowly shook their heads in denial, and the three silently waited as Bron popped back in, holding a massive fuck off butcher's knife larger than his own six-foot frame and covered in dry blood.
Jin held up a finger. "Bron."
The small house elf looked up in excitement while already somehow standing on the snake's neck. "Yes, master?"
"Where did you get that….knife?"
Bron pointed a hand at the fuck off blade. "This one?"
Jin's expression could make a Buddha proud. "Yes Bron, that one."
Bron made an 'aha' gesture and explained. "Ah, we used it to cut up the big baddies who come out of the forest. The head Hogwarts elf showed me how to not ruin the meat."
Jin's finger lowered as a face of disgust came on. He turned to Gol with a pleading look. "Please tell me you cook my food yourself."
Gol pointed a finger at Sil.
Sil began sweating. "I's be using the Hogwartsie ingredients master." He reverted to his speech for a moment under the pressure of Jin's gaze and was saved only by Jin's face turning green as he ran to the side to throw up his dinner.
Bron missed the end of the conversation and looked over to see Jin bent over before rushing his way. "AH! Master! Whats wrong?!"
Jin rapidly waved a hand as he held the other to his lips. "Urg. Bron. Urr. Put down the, urrr, damn knife! Urg!"
Gol and Sil just looked at each other and shrugged as Bron chased their puking master around the dark sewer while his bloody butcher knife scraped along the stone. They silently agreed to get to work and hoped their master had forgotten their last conversation.
Ten minutes later, a fuming Jin wiped his mouth with a towel while Bron went to join the older elves in their work with a red bump on his head. 'I'm going to have nightmares of this moment.'
He walked passed them and was aware of the worried gaze Sil sent him. "Sil."
"Yes master?"
"All my meals from now on, make sure its made with non-magical creatures. Understood?"
"Yes master!"
"Good."
Jin didn't say anything else, and Sil returned to work with a relieved expression.
He turned away and tossed the towel into the sewer drain pipe. 'I'm banning Bron from carrying weapons larger than my body after tonight.'
While the three worked on carving, he laid out a series of chests, jars, and vials for them to store parts in before heading over to the statue of Salazar's head. 'This is a fifty-fifty cliché from fanon and unconfirmed in canon, but let's see if there's a secret room back here.'
"~Open in the name of Slytherins Heir~."
A grinding noise sounded out as the mouth of the statue opened and revealed a dark path ahead. 'I was worried the entrance was really spelled to an heir. Seems it's just focused on Parseltongue and the words.'
Eyeing the dark space, Jin tried to cast a ball of light at it, only to see it fizzle out at the entrance. 'Ok, purposefully dark. That's either a good sign, or Slytherin was dramatic, possibly both.'
He stuck a piece of debris through just in case before he slowly moved through it. On the other side, he blinked at the ample space.
A massive cavern with a gigantic, padded snake bed to one side near the entrance, a small waterfall and stream in the back, and a light source from something far above that shined a sole ray of light down onto a desk where a sole journal sat.
The visual image was surreal and fantastical.
Jin stepped in with wonder at the sight. 'I guess this was Salazar's real chamber and the one outside was for intruders his pet would eat.'
The cavern was big enough that even a standard Expansion charm couldn't match its size.
He took steady steps over to the desk and didn't feel his animal instincts flare, but just in case, he called over his elf. "Gol."
The elf appeared by his side with bloodstains from the work in the other room. "Yes master?"
"Sorry to interrupt, but can you tell me if any of this is cursed?" Jin had his own charms for checking for curses. Still, he wasn't up to the level his oldest elf was, considering his familiarity with cursed objects from his past master.
Gol took a scrutinizing look at everything and waved his hand a few times before shaking his head. "None of it sir. I can see preservation charms but no dark magic."
Jin came to the same conclusion and nodded. "Great, thanks for double-checking. I'll let you get back. Oh, and do tell Bron to mind the eyes; even destroyed, they probably have some residue…."
Before he could finish that sentence, the voice of Sil resounded from the other room. "Bron! Speak to me!"
The two matched blank stares.
"Well, it's a good thing we decided to prepurchase some Mandrake Restorative Draught just in case."
"Indeed sir."
Jin passed the elf the potion, and he took it with both hands and a gratified expression. "I shall administer it at once; thank you, sir."
Jin waved him off with a smile. "Anytime man."
The elf popped off, and Jin shook his head. 'Poor guys are so used to being treated like they're less than others. They might love work and feed off my mana, but at the very least, I can treat them like friends. Like Lucy and her Celestial Spirits, except with less feminine emotion on my part.'
He chuckled at the thought and focused back on the desk. Pulling out the surprisingly clean wooden chair and sitting down, he opened the sole journal's cover.
The following words on the pages lit up as his hand touched them and began to rearrange themselves before a sentence appeared on the front page.
"To whoever it may concern, I welcome you to my chamber. This journal has been spelled to correct itself to the language with which the reader is most familiar.
I apologize for my chamber's guardian, but it didn't matter if you were a speaker or not; my dear girl would have never spared anyone who tried to enter this chamber. It was part of the fundamental core rules I embedded in her before she was born.
If you tried to take control of her and left, she may have obeyed, but any attempt at stepping forward and she would shatter her chains to kill the intruder.
Only the genuinely ambitious who can ignore the surface rewards for what may hide deeper inside are welcome to my reward.
But, of course, you would have had to defeat my guardian first."
Jin paused at that with a sweat drop. 'No dude, I didn't kill her and the kid who did was twelve and left without looking back. Your secret room was entirely ignored.'
"I know not how long how many years will have passed before this is read, but for each century that she slumbers, she will lose strength. At her peak, dragons would be nothing but prey to her, but alas, age catches up to us all."
Jin rubbed his chin in thought. 'That explains a lot actually. Exactly how strong was she at her peak? Scary thoughts.'
"Anyway, I cannot give you my heirship, for it was carried through blood. If you have it, rejoice, for your ancestor welcomes you. If you don't have it, no matter, I care for strength rather than blood purity."
"Kinda cold but fitting."
"I gave most of my life and resources to build this castle and lost most of the rest in my war with muggles after they killed my wife. Many of my books and tomes were left to Rowena, I know not what she had done with them, but I assume they are in her vaulted school library."
Jin grumbled at that. 'I wouldn't know, I've just been reading theory for fucking months.'
"But I leave to you, my knowledge on Parseltounge, for if you entered this chamber, they should surely be of value to you. You will find it within this desk."
Jin's eyes shined as he opened the drawer he didn't notice at first and found a small book sitting within. 'Mine.'
He kept reading in hopes of more rewards.
"Do what you wish with it; it matters not to me.
I am but an old man at the end of his time, my best friend Godric has passed on, Rowena was lost due to heartbreak when her daughter was slain, and Helena and I are on the last legs of our journey.
I miss my friends, I will give my farewell to Helena and hope to see her on the other side with the others.
But I will not go down quietly; no, I will carve the name Salazar Slytherin into the annals of history.
I am off to my final battle, farewell, young one.
Veni, Vidi, Vici.
P.S. Screw you Godric; I chose this motto before you did!"
The rest of the pages were blank, and Jin silently closed the book with a stifling feeling in his chest. 'Rest in peace, Salazar; I pray you're with your friends and family now.'
Jin sat there in the chamber feeling silly. He came for rewards, and only a few lines from an old man at his end somehow hit him deep down.
It was only then that the weight of the fact that he actually died before truly hit him. He never really cared about it, but hearing the words of a man who lived a long life struck a different tune in him.
'Those words, that acceptance of death, that bittersweet feeling of reminiscing on good times, that bravery to face death head-on.
I…I admire it. I admire this man's courage, but….'
He thought back to that moment when he woke up in his warehouse, not knowing reality from an illusion.
'I don't want to reach that point.'
His fist came down to slam on the desk as he stood up. 'I don't want to have to grow old and die like that.'
Jin's first life was so boring and dull that the feeling of it crossed over even after he died. His mind grasped onto fantasy before it chose reality with a deep wish for something more in life.
That was why he never cared that Zelretch killed him. That was why he accepted things at face value and jumped right in.
He loved this. He loved all of it. Here he was, learning magic in a fantasy world his old self would think was just a hallucination. Here he was interacting with magical creatures and people from a fairy tale. Here he was, getting a Veela girlfriend who just clicked with him naturally.
He couldn't get any of that before. Hell, he was still slightly afraid he would wake up in a hospital room, finding out he was in a coma.
But seeing those words from Salazar lit a fire in him. 'I don't want to lose this. I don't want to fail. I don't want to reach the end of my journey. I want to live, to see more, to experience more, to push myself to the brink of death and overcome it. I want to be immortal and everlasting in my journey.'
His mind flashed to dozens of worlds from fantasy. From wuxia, to books, games, anime, movies, and more. Ways of achieving immortality, invulnerability, powers of gods, power to kill gods, bloodlines that could destroy universes, weapons, and tools that could crush worlds.
There was so much out there in the multiverse, and he was an explorer stuck on a boat that wouldn't slow down.
His eyes trailed to the timer in the corner of his vision, still counting down ever so slowly. 'I will rise, and I'll have fun and live free while I do it.'
A resolve he didn't know he was missing took root and sprouted inside his soul. Jin's head turned to the desk and the journal on it as he bowed his head in respect. "Thank you for showing me the way."
The man's words said nothing about Jin's thoughts, but they were a catalyst, and he owed an old man his respect for sharing what he did.
And when he looked up, Jin blinked in shock as, just for a bare moment, he felt like he saw a bald old man with a long beard wearing dark green robes, sitting in the chair and writing his last words with a quill as tears fell from his face to wet the wood beneath him.
It was only a moment. Less than a second. And yet he saw something there. The image was gone, but the emotion remained. Jin carved the memory of the lonely chair into his mind. 'I came here for a dead snake and ended up putting a checkmark in my story. I won't forget this moment old man. I won't let myself end up like this.'
His iPhone flashed into his hand as he took a picture of the space and set it to his background. The incredible sight would forever be a reminder to him to push on.
He put the small book on Parseltongue away and walked back to the entrance, taking a final look around the cavern. The sole light shining down illuminated the solitary piece of furniture as the small waterfall echoed from the back, and the empty snake bed that once held a legend grew cold.
'Thank you again, Salazar Slytherin.'
00000 4.7: Diagon Alley
The sound of heavy knocking woke Jin from his slumber the following morning.
He groaned and turned over in bed. "Gah, whoever it is, go away until the sun is up!"
An exasperated French voice shouted back. "Get up and open this door before I break your locking scheme again Jin!"
Jin groaned louder and pushed up out of bed shirtless in a pair of pajama bottoms as he stumbled to the front door. "Yeah, ok, I let you in last time."
The door swung open, and a picture of beauty stood on his doorstep with a hand on her hip. "Keep telling yourself that, hun." She eyed his chest in appreciation and walked passed with a light tap on his cheek. "What are you doing asleep at this hour?"
He shut the door and grouched as he made his way to the bathroom. "I'm not asleep anymore, am I?"
She giggled and went about making herself a cup of coffee. "No one likes a grouch my Jin~."
The teasing tone at the end made him stop to turn and smirk as he sent the girl a wink. "Yours, huh?"
She playfully winked back. "Got any complaints?"
He scoffed and entered his bathroom. "Ask me in five minutes."
"Oi!"
Her call was entirely ignored as he went about his morning duties and came out a couple minutes later gargling mouthwash. "Wa uh uo ere o ealy or."
She sent him an unamused look. "Don't talk with you mouth full."
He chuckled and spat out the window. "I said what are you here so early for?"
Her raised brow said it all. "Early? Mon Tigre, it's noon."
Jin blinked at the term of endearment. "Did you just call my your tiger?"
She stepped up to him with a smile and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Mn, I thought it was fitting." She pecked his lips before returning to her coffee, and he couldn't help but slap her ass on the way out. "Oi!"
He laughed and saddled up beside her. "If you want me to be your tiger, you only had to ask."
She wrinkled her nose at him adorably, and he stole a kiss himself before she smiled mischievously. "I did, remember?" Her hand slipped down and pinched his butt as he shot her a look. "I had to be the woman and ask you to the ball."
He rolled his eyes and leaned back against the counter with his arms crossed. "If you don't remember, I wasn't exactly invited to attend the ball in the first place. And I'm sure you can understand why I didn't ask you."
It was her turn to roll her eyes as she cupped her coffee and ran a hand down his abs in satisfaction before turning to move to the couch with a finger telling him to follow.
She pushed him into the couch and got comfortable on his lap as she leaned back into him.
He raised a brow. "Comfortable?"
"Wee." She giggled and patted his cheek. "It's adorable that you care for my reputation, but I told you I didn't care."
He huffed and wrapped his arms around her petite waist. "You, the prized champion and model of beauty to over ninety percent of all three schools, want to take the assistant grounds keeper to the ball. It will be in the papers like a fairy tale."
She snorted unladylike and sipped her drink. "Like I give a shit. Screw them. The only people I ever cared for were my family, the Veela who cared for me, and to a smaller extent Madam Maxine. Although, Maxine is blinded by my talent and forgets the care she once showed me."
Jin noticed the temperature rising and raised his hands to rub her shoulders. "Relax sparkles, I know how you feel about that, we talked about it, remember?"
Fleur groaned at his touch and nodded. "Merde, don't stop. And sorry, talking about it always gets me heated."
Jin smirked and leaned forward to kiss her neck. "I know, it's pretty sexy seeing you burn a tree to the ground to work out the anger, but please don't ruin my house."
She turned her head with a mischievous smile and stole his lips as he tasted the coffee on her lips. "I would never. Whatever would I do without this place? You would be forced to sneak into my room on the carriage."
He smiled into the kiss. "I think I could manage."
She hummed back. "There would be a lot of security, think what people would say if they caught you."
He savored the taste of cherries she always had beneath the coffee. "Worth it."
She smiled wide and turned back around to get comfortable. "Good, then you won't care about people seeing you with me."
He stopped short and narrowed his eyes at the girl. "You're evil."
She wiggled her French derriere over his lap, and he groaned for an entirely different reason. "It's good that you're learning~, Mon Tigre."
He bit down on her collarbone and got a squeak of arousal out of her. "What was that about playing with fire?"
The look she sent him made his instincts tell him to push her down and take her at that very moment. "Non, fire doesn't play, it consumes."
And consume it did as the two fooled around for the next hour without any useful conversation happening.
Despite the sexual tension, they hadn't crossed a line out of respect for time rather than emotion. At least, Jin saw it that way. Fleur seemed to care more for the right 'moment' rather than how long they had been together. Veela cared little for such things. They saw something they wanted, and like the birds of prey they were, they attacked.
The day was Tuesday, and it was one of the days Fleur had classes she couldn't skip as she got ready to leave with a pout.
Jin chuckled from his bedroom, where he had gotten dressed, and came over to wrap an arm around her shoulders. "And what are you pouting at, Sparkles? Did me putting a shirt on ruin your day?"
She sent him a smirk and slapped his chest lightly. "Maybe a little. But it's not that. I don't want to head back and be surrounded by them." She sagged a bit, feeling free enough to show Jin how much it annoyed her to have no one to really be open with in public.
His finger came under her chin and lifted her head back up so he could steal a kiss. "How about some motivation then?"
Her eyes lit up as she looked up at him. "Oh~?"
He chuckled and resisted the urge to kiss her again. "What color will your dress be?"
She grew confused for a second before she realized what he was saying, and her smile lit up her face. She squeaked in his ear and hugged him firmly. "Blue! Silverly sky blue. And it will be French modern, not that silly British traditional style. Are you going now?"
He tried to pry her off and failed, so he just shrugged and left his house like that. "Yup~, I'll go grab my suit, so cheer up sparkles; I'll do my best to give you a fun ball."
Her smile could light up the sun from how much it dazzled him as she grabbed his cheeks and kissed him passionately. "Mercy Mon Tigre."
"Anytime sparkles."
She giggled and tapped him to let her down as her boots hit the ground. "You really need a better pet name than that Jin, I will not have you call me Sparkles in public."
He raised an amused brow her way. "Oh? And what would you prefer? Mon amour?"
She scoffed and waved a hand. "Non, that's just tacky. Thing of something unique."
Jin rubbed his chin and shrugged. "I can't think of something special on the spot." She pouted at him, and he waved her off. "I'll have it ready by the ball, be happy with that."
She threw away her fake pout and gave him a final kiss. "Fine, be that way. See you tomorrow?"
He rolled his eyes playfully. "Like I have a choice, your going to investigate my suit aren't you?"
Her smile said it all as she winked and disappeared with a twist and a soft pop. Jin shook his head at the empty space. 'I gotta learn how to do that.' He had yet to try Apparation, not knowing if it fell under charms, mana manipulation, or some other category. 'Something else to research I guess, I'm almost done with those dry-as-chalk charms books, not like I'm learning much anymore.'
One would think there was an incredibly expansive ocean of books on such a practical subject as charms, but in reality, knowledge was hoarded, and the hundreds of books Hogwarts had specifically on charms were split between theory, history, or being references for students to learn more about the course material.
He scoffed at his expectations and tilted his head to the side while taking a solid whiff of the air to ensure no one was around. "Gol."
His house elf appeared without missing a beat. "Yes sir?"
"Let's head out."
"Right away sir."
Gol held out a hand, and Jin grabbed it before they were whisked away, landing in a back alley in Diagon. Jin shook his head from the disorientation. "Thanks; you can go do whatever you want till I call you."
Gol inclined his head and vanished as Jin pulled out the map he paid eight fucking galleons for to that goblin on his first day. 'Let's see…clothing first I guess.'
He squared his broad shoulders and marched to his doom as he approached [Jamie's Jammies]. The door jingled as he went in, and the customary greeting was right around the corner. "Welcome! How can I help…oh! Jin~!"
He got an enthusiastic hug from the more petite woman. "Hey! How have you been? It's been a while; how's the clothes I sold you? Everything still fit? Man, you grow like crazy, huh? I wonder what else is growing, eh?"
She went off like a train and Jin felt tired without even having said anything. He brought his hand down in a gentle chop on her forehead and finally silenced the chatterbox. "Jamie, I'm good, clothes are great, everything fits, I am growing, I need a suit, hands above the waist." He gave her a meaningful look and she just pouted and stuck her tongue out at him.
"Boo~! You're not fun. Well, whatever; I get my fun from using you as a pin-up model. Come on to the back; if you need a suit, I'm gonna work some magic and make that ass of yours pop." She popped the P at the end, and Jin just accepted his fate as he entered the death chamber.
An hour later, he was coming back out dragging his feet, and Jamie scoffed and slapped his shoulder. "Oh, don't be such a baby; you did fine. Have some confidence in your performance."
He shot her a dirty look. "Woman, if I was single…."
She scoffed and ran him up at the register. "Boy, I don't care if your gay, bring em by and buy some clothes and then we can all have some fun."
He choked on his spit while she laughed evilly and just paid so he could leave. The mental image of Fleur and Jamie all tangled up in bed nude wasn't leaving his mind anytime soon.
"Come back before closing time and I'll have it ready."
"I'd call you a saint, Jamie but well…."
"Kakaka~, call it like it is boyo, I'm a devilish witch seamstress and damn proud!"
He shook his head with a wry smile and waved goodbye. 'Alright, one down; next up is the auction house.' He would have gone to the bank, but his first experience taught him not every cliché was real.
Diagon alley was truly more significant than canon portrayed, and the map he bought was roughly worth the money, even if the goblin who sold him it was a smug shit.
Jin walked into the designated building and deadpanned at the smirk of the creature behind the front desk. "I was wondering when you would show up wizard."
Amber eyes stared at their hated foe. "You…" He was a step away from hissing it in Parseltongue.
The goblin across from him laughed and slammed a hand on the desk. "Ha! I waited months for that look. Worth it. Now what do you want, your holding up the line."
Jin looked behind him at the empty lobby and turned back to the goblin, waving him to hurry up. "One of these days…"
The goblin reached a hand behind its fat ear. "What?! Speak up, I'm not that old youngling."
Jin flipped the fucker off and stepped forward. "Can we please focus; I've got shit to do."
The goblin raised a brow. "Do you actually have anything useful to say? I figured you were just pent up and needed a whorehouse the first time."
Jin's brow twitched violently, but he suppressed the urge to throttle the goblin. 'Don't attack the fucker; he probably has an axe behind that desk; my skin isn't resistant to blades. Yet.'
He rubbed the bridge of his nose and spoke. "Look, do you have a name or something?"
The goblin scoffed at him. "Not for broke whelps."
Jin gripped the counter and growled at the goblin. "I have a VERY old magical beast carcass, am I still a broke welp?"
The goblin eyed the nails digging into the wood like butter and smiled wide and toothy. "Heh, you might be more fun than most of the flesh bag wizards, younglin. Names Gorluff." He extended a clawed hand, and Jin met it without hesitation as the two tried to break the other hand.
Jin's bones creaked, and he squeezed back harder with his animal side influencing him. "Names Jin; why do you keep calling me younglin? You an old bastard or something?"
Gorluff laughed and let go first. "Nah, age don't matter much past a certain point. It's about being a warrior, and any goblin can take a look at ya and see you haven't spilt blood before. Fight like a real warrior with a weapon against something trying to take your life, then you will be a man to us."
Jin flexed his hand and silently cast a healing charm on it from inside as his bones snapped back into place. He kept his face neutral and nodded. "Fair enough, now, can we talk business?"
Gorluff tapped his foot and a wall of earth rose at the door with a [closed] sign. "Come on back."
Jin was interested in the use of transfiguration, but Gorluff beat him to the punch. "Don't look too much into it. I tapped a rune square. Goblins own the territory we build in, but we still can't cast magic without a focus, thanks to the bloody fucking laws."
Jin grunted in acknowledgment as the two headed into a meeting room, and Gorluff sealed the door. He noticed Jin's look and waved a hand. "Don't worry, just keeping out eavesdroppers."
The two sat down as Gorluff leaned forward. "So, what do you have for me? If you wasted my time, I'm charging you to open that door."
Jin scoffed. "Nondisclosure agreement."
Gorluff growled. "Are you insulting my honor?"
Jin stared him right in the eye without backing down. "Your insulting my intelligence."
Gorluff growled a moment longer before flipping a switch and laughing. "I knew I liked you younglin, good on ya. Never tell a goblin where your gold is stashed unless it's in our banks." He reached under the desk and pulled out a file before sliding the contract Jin's way.
Jin made sure to read it over before he signed and dated it and passed it back for Gorluff to do the same. Only after it flashed and indicated it was active did Jin speak. "How well can you auction off fresh thousand-year-old Basilisk parts without anyone knowing where it came from?"
Gorluff blinked and then smiled wide. "Jin, I think me and you are going to be great friends."
Two hours later, Jin left the auction house even more tired than he was after dealing with Jamie. Gorluff was ruthless with negotiating; it took everything he had to focus so he didn't get ripped off. Hell, he was pretty sure he still got ripped off, but he didn't care as much.
Gorluff would handle things on his end for thirty percent of the cut. All Jin had to do was hand over the materials and get his gold back. He could have driven it down to ten percent to Gorluff if he didn't want to be anonymous, but one run-in with Dumbledore was enough attention for him.
What did he want money for anyway? Well, the answer was simple. He wanted to enhance himself. The wizarding world had rituals, potions, tattoos, and all kinds of things that could strengthen oneself for a price. Dumbledore was absolutely right about a price being necessary; the only difference was most of the time, that price can be solved with money. And goblins were some of the best ritualists in the world, for a price.
He had also asked Gorluff if he could connect him to a goblin smith for a custom job and the goblin just scoffed at him. Jin was told in no uncertain terms that he needed two things to get a goblins smith's interest. Enough gold and to be an actual warrior. He wasn't getting anything until blood was spilled, his or another's.
Jin took that into consideration, but where was he supposed to find something to kill? His mind flashed to the death eaters and the plot for the year, and he pondered it. 'I'll need to think deeper on it, I planned to just avoid the plot until now.'
He shook his head and threw it to the back of his mind while pulling out the map. His last stop was refilling his dru…potion supply. Potion supply. He would get that right eventually.
00000 4.8: The Ball – coming soon.
Chap will be updated when I write it, I'll send out a notice.
Also, to the users: Ravenjuubi, Amyn27, Hayden792, . Thanks! I really appreciate it. But don't be afraid to share your thoughts. Any parts you specifically like or dislike? Any desires or ideas? Feel free to share.
Winter Metor – do you want spoilers for the future?
Lolmlbb – I am personally not familiar with Fallout. I know of it, but I know no details or specifics. Never played or read dedicated stories for it.