Part 3 of "Coffee and Criminals"

An infamous mass murderer is on the loose, but it's not that simple.

Jieqiong x Eunwoo/Im Nayoung, featuring members of Pledis Girlz

"Ahem. So..."

“Huh?”

“Oh, nothing. This latte… is good.”

“Er. Yeah. Mine too.”

One polar bear. Two polar bears. Three polar bears. Four—

“I’m sorry!”

The coffee shop was busy. The machines whirred as the barista ran back and forth making drinks. The cashiers spoke with practiced dialogue. The customers chatted jovially. The few tables around two women, however, stopped all conversation at the sudden outburst.

“Apologies. Please, carry on,” said Eunwoo as she bowed her head in embarrassment but played it off as politeness. The surrounding couples and friends shrugged and returned their attention to each other.

Eunwoo turned to face Jieqiong again. They locked eyes for an agonizingly long, awkward second before averting their gazes elsewhere.

Jieqiong cleared . “Why, um, why are you sorry? It wasn’t your fault,” she squeaked, eyes glued to the dusty plant in the corner.

“It kinda was. I should’ve given you some space. It’s never good to crowd someone who’s panicking,” coughed Eunwoo, her eyes fixed on the latte warming her hands.

“You were only trying to help,” said Jieqiong quietly.

Jieqiong chanced a glance at Eunwoo, accidentally catching her stare. Eunwoo mentally berated herself for failing to glaze over her friend’s head to look at a teen entering the coffee shop, his trousers threatening to drop with every step he took. They peeled their eyes away and shifted in their seats. Eunwoo needed to keep her hands occupied. She tapped the tabletop with her fingernails to the rhythm of a song she recently discovered titled “We.”

This caught Jieqiong’s attention. She recognized the song and visualized the practice video in her mind. As the rhythmic tapping reached the chorus, Jieqiong imagined the soon-to-be idols switching positions. One girl in particular moved to the front and center. She had long, golden hair that flowed seamlessly with her movements. Her dancing was sharp but clean, befitting the happy, youthful song. The girl had delicate eyes that resembled a cat’s. She reminded Jieqiong of someone who happened to be sitting across from her. Jieqiong’s eyes were drawn to Eunwoo’s lips as the detective mouthed the lyrics silently. Then the feeling of suffocation and awkwardness came back in waves.

“Ugh, I can't take this anymore!” Growled Jieqiong.

Eunwoo’s hand froze above the table. “S-sorry, I’ll stop,” she stuttered.

Eunwoo retracted her hand so fast, the table wobbled on its single supporting leg. Jieqiong grabbed onto the tabletop with both hands and pulled it towards herself to even out the force. Their lattes shook dangerously, but neither spilled. They merely rotated on their bottom rims before settling on the flat surface. The women looked around with wide eyes, but nobody noticed their blunder. They sunk in their seats, mentally exhausted.

With a deep sigh, Jieqiong once again attempted to slash through the thick air between them. “I wasn’t talking about the tapping. I meant… You know,” she finished lamely.

Eunwoo raised an eyebrow helplessly, but didn’t break their eye contact this time. “This ,” she sighed.

Jieqiong recoiled a bit. “Hey, I wasn’t that bad, was I?” She said self-consciously.

“What? No, you were great! I mean not great, not that you were bad, but—” Eunwoo forcefully stopped her word vomit. She settled for melting onto the table, her arms and hair sprawled everywhere.

Jieqiong tentatively poked at Eunwoo’s head, earning a groan in response. “Thanks, I think. Get up, we have to talk. I hate this. We’re best friends, we’re not supposed to feel this awkward.”

“It’s because we’re best friends that we feel this awkward!” Eunwoo’s shout sounded muffled by her hair. That and how she graciously face-planted onto the table. “Stop poking me, I’m alive!” She snapped as she sat upright and glared at Jieqiong.

“Quit being dramatic. I’m not a kid prodding some splat of an organism on the sidewalk. I need your attention,” Jieqiong fired off rapidly. Her deep frown gave her an ostrich-like appearance.

“I’m literally within an arm’s length. I can hear you. And contrary to popular belief, I can multitask listening and wallowing in self-pity,” Eunwoo argued.

“Self-pity? As if you were suffering?! You just said I wasn’t that bad!” Said Jieqiong indignantly.

“You weren’t! Fine, I admit it, it was fantastic! But this is damn awkward and I can’t believe I just said that!” Eunwoo threw her hands up in the air, defeated.

“Well, for what it’s worth you’re a good kisser too! My God, what am I saying!” Spat Jieqiong.

The two women were breathing heavily from their whisper-shouting match, their lattes long forgotten. They stared hard at each other with a mixture of relief, confusion, and irritation that complemented their usual bickering. Their usual bickering. As if on cue, Jieqiong and Eunwoo burst into laughter.

After a good minute of hysterical cackling, Jieqiong wiped her pooling tears. “What on earth are we doing? This is ridiculous.”

“Let Merlin’s underwear burn for eternity if something this nuts didn’t happen to us at least once,” chuckled Eunwoo. She reached over the table and rubbed her thumb over a smudge of mascara from Jieqiong’s left eye.

“That makes no sense.” But Jieqiong smiled at the vernacular they picked up from their new group of friends.

“It doesn’t have to.” Eunwoo grinned and lifted her latte, clinking the recycled paper cup with Jieqiong’s in cheers.

They inhaled the scent of coffee wafting throughout the cafe. The casual ambience helped them relax into a greatly sought after comfortable silence. They were able to look at each other without the consequent flood of embarrassment they experienced for the past twenty-four hours.

Looking back on it now, the situation seemed downright hilarious to the two. It all started at a peculiar house in London. The circumstances surrounding the awkward event stemmed from a rather urgent and serious matter. Six women were discussing their findings related to one Brutus Nightshade, infamous mass murderer. Unbeknownst to the majority of the public, Nightshade was a dark wizard and Jieqiong and Eunwoo’s new friends were actually witches. From their exchange of information, they realized Nightshade’s ultimate goal was to attack the heart of the British wizarding community, the Ministry of Magic. Jieqiong had come across schematics of the magical Ministry’s architecture during a search of an apartment inhabited by Nightshade’s accomplice, Ralph Tyranno. That’s where it all began.

~|~|~|~

Siyeon immediately rose from her seat announcing the need to pick at Jieqiong’s brain for memories. She wasn’t particularly cautious with her words. Jieqiong sprung out of her own seat and backed into a corner far from the advancing young witch. Nayoung deemed it appropriate to exert her authority over the household and demanded that Siyeon keep her wand at bay. They would find another way to extract information from Jieqiong. Eunwoo was thoroughly confused and rushed to guard her friend. The witches at this point seemed to forget the presence of Muggles in the room. Yebin argued that one could not simply “prod around in her head,” for this was a serious violation of their guests’ personal space. This would also earn Siyeon negative brownie points with someone, though nobody asked nor cared what Yebin meant. This somehow dissolved into a shouting match in which Nayoung pulled her own wand out and created a force field down the center of the living room to keep Siyeon’s itching hands from grabbing Yebin’s shirt collar.

The ever-so-polite Yewon timidly stepped forward, keeping a hand on her girlfriend’s shoulder, and suggested they try one of her concoctions. She was developing it because it was non-invasive in the usual sense. Her eyes flickered across the room to a certain seething individual, which did not go unnoticed by Jieqiong nor Eunwoo. Yewon added that if Jieqiong didn’t want to take it, that was her choice. At the mention Jieqiong’s name, everyone stared at the two women leaning against the wall as if cornered by a pack of starving wolves.

“Let’s all just calm down,” said Nayoung in a tone similar to a school teacher in charge of misbehaving toddlers. “This is an urgent matter, but it most likely won’t unfold within the next hour. We need to approach this carefully and be sensitive to Jieqiong’s position!” Nayoung shouted the last bit over her shoulder towards one person.

Under Nayoung’s stern gaze, they resettled on the couches. Jieqiong glared back at a glowering Siyeon, who muttered that they were “wasting time” and “the two Muggles were involved anyhow” despite her constant refusal. When Nayoung was sure nobody would lurch out of their seats, she prompted Yewon to explain.

“Well, it’s a work-in-progress. It’s safe enough for Jieqiong to drink but there may be side-effects. It’s a derivative of the Wit-Sharpening Potion imbued with the essence of Memory Charms during the brewing process. Instead of unravelling the mind with a wand, one simply drinks this potion and will be able to recall memories with striking clarity. There’s no way to tell if the drinker is reporting the truth though, and I have yet to test it in conjunction with Veritaserum.”

“We could test it now,” Siyeon growled, her wand hand constantly readjusting its grip. Her left hand fiddled with a small object in her pocket.

“But think of the paperwork,” Yebin drawled sarcastically. “Ignore her. I think it’s a genius idea, Yewon.” Siyeon snorted at how sickeningly sweet and peppy Yebin’s voice turned.

Nayoung trusted Yewon to keep Yebin in check and outright ignored Siyeon. “What do you think, Jieqiong? If you have any questions, Yewon will gladly answer them. But if you feel uncomfortable, don’t feel pressured to give consent.”

“This would work best if you’re relaxed anyway. Since it’s ingested consciously, it requires a clear, focused mind. So please only agree if you’re fully up to it,” Yewon added.

Jieqiong is certain Yewon twisted her words to emphasize the functional importance of the decision rather than highlight Jieqiong’s inner turmoil. She was thankful for this. It probably kept Siyeon from blaming Jieqiong for being an uncooperative meddler who insisted on weaseling her way into their lives.

Jieqiong slowly turned to Eunwoo. “What—”

“If it were me,” Eunwoo began, “I would take it. I trust Yewon and this could help us figure out what to do next. But the most important thing,” she rushed before Jieqiong could interrupt, “is that I am not you. You have authority over your own body. This is your decision.”

Jieqiong stared at Eunwoo for a moment, who nodded her head encouragingly. Jieqiong then panned her vision around the room. Yewon was smiling gently and Yebin reflected her expression. Nayoung looked more troubled, but remained calm. From her time spent in this house, Jieqiong concluded Nayoung was the unofficial leader. Rather than hoping for Jieqiong to agree, Nayoung was probably assessing ten other plans to capture Nightshade should Jieqiong say no. Siyeon, surprisingly, was no longer glaring at her. It seemed that something said in the past few minutes had resonated with the usually aggressive witch. She still seemed frustrated, but resolved to stare at her own lap. For the first time all afternoon, Jieqiong saw Siyeon’s ebony, polished wand sitting on the coffee table.

Without looking up, Siyeon broke the silence. “You have the option to walk away. I want that explicitly stated.” She said nothing more.

Jieqiong took a second to consider her words, then turned to her left. “Can I speak with you for a moment?” She asked quietly.

Nayoung froze at the sudden warmth on her thin wrist. She saw Jieqiong’s pleading eyes, though the request sounded professional. Nayoung realized Jieqiong was anxious. This was unfamiliar territory and she had no way of predicting what would happen to her mind or body, whereas the basics of potions would be common knowledge to the witches. Nayoung flipped her right palm up. Her slender fingers slipped between Jieqiong’s cold ones. She rubbed her thumb over Jieqiong’s and the woman responded with a firmer grip. Nayoung helped Jieqiong up and led her down the hallway to a small sitting room by the staircase. They sat down on a small couch, hands still interlocked.

Nayoung faced Jieqiong. “Yewon is a skilled witch who makes the highest quality potions I have ever used. I have personally tested many of her experiments. She has never failed me nor Siyeon. However, everyone’s body is different. Being a witch, I often ingest these kinds of ingredients. But this would be your first exposure. I will say this. Yewon is very precise. She is one of the more attentive individuals who can take the drinker’s status into account when allocating doses.”

“Being a Muggle affects how I take in the potion?” Asked Jieqiong wearily.

“Absolutely. Anything we interact with consequently reacts with our magic,” said Nayoung. “Powerful wizards can withstand stronger curses or more potent poisons. Vulnerable and untrained individuals, like children, cannot. There’s also four of us here who can intervene, even if it seems like only three are willing to.” Nayoung’s lips morphed into a tiny sneer and Jieqiong let out a weak chuckle. “We all know enough about potions to help you if you need it. At the end of the day though, it’s really up to you. We will find another way to get to Nightshade and protect the citizens of London, those magical and not.”

The gentle tone with which Nayoung used to explain the situation made Jieqiong melt. Nayoung continued to rub comforting circles on Jieqiong’s hand with her thumb. As the minutes passed, this seemed less like of a dreaded obligation on Jieqiong’s part.

“I still have a duty to help if I can,” Jieqiong declared. “My mind is the most precious and powerful tool I have. Regardless of my apprehensions, I know I’ll forever regret it if I don’t do this. You four and probably countless others are sacrificing yourselves to stop Nightshade. I bet you’re even breaking all sorts of laws by talking to Eunwoo and me, what more by giving me an experimental potion.”

“Working for the government, that seems ironic, no?” Said Nayoung. “But I’m taking it to be my better judgment. Likewise, you need to think carefully about what you want to do.”

Jieqiong hesitated, though more out of shyness than anxiety. “Will you stay with me?” She asked softly. Her hold on Nayoung’s hand tightened unconsciously.

Nayoung understood the action behind the words. “Yes,” she said.

“Then, yes,” Jieqiong parroted. “I’ll do it.”

Jieqiong and Nayoung soon returned to the living room where Yewon was explaining the process to Eunwoo. Nayoung relayed the news and Yebin clapped excitedly while Yewon left to personally bring the potion out. She didn’t want to risk conjuring the wrong batch to the living room and end up feeding Jieqiong a Draught of Living Death by accident.

“Alright, this one has aged for a few weeks so it’s rather potent. Not to mention you have never taken a potion before. Let’s start from half the concentration, add this to thin it out too…”

As soon as Yewon spoke, a quill flew out from a drawer and began writing in the air with thick lines of neon pink smoke, articulating Yewon’s thoughts. Numbers and unfamiliar symbols continuously spewed out of the quill tip long after Yewon had stopped talking. She was now portioning a black liquid into several glasses of varying volumes at a table away from the couches. Jieqiong and Nayoung sat opposite her while the others stood around idly. her lips in thought, Yewon consulted the floating calculations.

“Have I ever told you, you look hot when you think,” Yebin said unabashedly.

Yewon had a small coughing fit and visibly blushed. Even her floating quill stopped writing and turned about-face to jab its feathered end accusingly at Yebin. Siyeon came up from behind and yanked at Yebin’s ear. With an air of righteousness, the quill bowed to Siyeon and returned to scribbling calculations. Its movements became sharper and more rapid as if it felt greatly offended for its owner and needed to distract itself with work lest it poke Yebin’s eye out.

“Don’t mind her,” said Nayoung. “She’s always that flirtatious.”

“It’s actually quite funny—” Jieqiong began.

“You fell for that?” Eunwoo snorted incredulously but with a broad smile.

“She has a certain je ne sais quoi,” Yewon giggled without looking up from the table. She added a few droplets of a clear solution to one of the glasses. The black stock liquid bubbled before turning a shimmering silver, almost like liquid mercury.

“Well, I don’t think I even want to know what.”

“You questioning my game, Jung?” countered Yebin, playing along.

“Ugh, I can’t go one day in this house without wanting to walk in front of a Bludger.”

“Then, move out,” said Yebin jokingly.

“I can’t. I need Nayoung and she won’t leave,” Siyeon gritted while staring at the ceiling.

“It’s because Yebin’s game is so poor, Yewon might abandon her. And you can’t leave a desolate Yebin alone, thinking her pick up lines actually work,” snickered Eunwoo.

“Ha!” Siyeon guffawed and slapped Eunwoo’s hand in a high-five. “Finally, someone sensible!”

Jieqiong raised her eyebrows in a astonishment. “Did she just laugh?”

Nayoung chuckled rather close to Jieqiong’s ear. Jieqiong turned around slowly, but didn’t back away. She felt an unfamiliar but not unwelcome bubbling sensation in her gut. “She’s not that bad when you get to know her,” said Nayoung.

“She seems to get along with Eunwoo just fine,” said Jieqiong absentmindedly, examining Nayoung’s flawless skin. Thank goodness the latter was focused on the bantering trio.

Nayoung shrugged and looked down at Jieqiong. “Some people just click.”

Jieqiong couldn’t stop her smile from growing. “I like coffee,” she said randomly.

“I like coffee too,” said Nayoung, mirroring Jieqiong’s expression.

Yewon continued mixing and editing the potion while ignoring her girlfriend. Yebin was loudly exerting her prowess in all things romantic, emphasizing she had never touched a Love Potion.

“What prowess?” Scoffed Eunwoo, feeling more comfortable with the witches. “Looks like you’ve only dated Yewon. She’s your girlfriend, she’s going to be biased. I could come up with twenty comments more flattering than ‘you look hot when you think.’”

As Yebin dramatically held her hand over her heart at the fake insult, Jieqiong felt a gentle tug on her left hand. “Is Eunwoo’s confidence warranted?” Nayoung whispered, amused.

“Not at all,” laughed Jieqiong. “She’s never dated anyone in her life. She tried asking someone to our school’s dance and their dog decided Eunwoo made a nice toilet. They were nice and all, but they already asked someone else. At least they offered to replace Eunwoo’s shoes.”

“So what did she do?” Asked Nayoung as she played with Jieqiong’s fingers.

Jieqiong found this oddly comforting and most helpfully distracting. The potion across the table had taken on a disturbingly toxic green shade. “I felt bad for her so I told her we’d go together. Not like I had a date anyway, I wasn’t planning to go.”

Nayoung stifled a laugh while commenting how generous Jieqiong was. Jieqiong jokingly glanced up at Eunwoo to see if she heard them. From her peripherals though, she saw Siyeon was no longer a part of Eunwoo and Yebin’s heated competition over who had more game. Instead, she was side-eyeing Jieqiong and Nayoung. It wasn’t with the usual disdain she had in her fierce eyes whenever she spoke with the detective. Rather, she looked tense and lost in her thoughts as if struggling to come to terms with something, minor as though it may be. She obviously hadn’t noticed Jieqiong since she didn’t avert her gaze.

“You’ve known Eunwoo for quite a while, then? You live together,” said Nayoung with interest.

“Yeah, we’re best friends. We went through school, university, and training together. We practically share one life,” responded Jieqiong. After she had said this, Siyeon turned her body towards Yebin and Eunwoo. Jieqiong noticed the witch kept her eyes on the detective, though she looked like she tuned out their bickering.

“Have… Have you ever thought— I mean, I guess not, but you two seem awfully close,” said Nayoung cryptically. She furrowed her eyebrows. “Never mind, that’s probably too personal.”

“Eunwoo’s like my sister. We’ve never thought of dating each other, if that’s what you’re asking. Pretending got us out of some sticky situations though.” Jieqiong smiled at the resurfacing episodes, though she would take those to her grave. “We have a mutual non-attraction.”

When she looked back at Nayoung, the taller woman seemed relieved. Jieqiong was about to ask, but figured it was because of Yewon. The witch had just finished editing her potion which was now a deep crimson. The liquid seemed to glow as it sloshed around.

“Looks like blood,” blurted Eunwoo.

“Thanks. That’s… That’s really helpful. I’m sure it’ll make downing it easier,” Jieqiong said flatly.

Yewon handed Jieqiong a tall, thin glass about a couple centimeters in diameter.

“You won’t be drinking all of it. One and a half teaspoons should suffice. I’ll need a particular silver spoon. The metal reacts a bit with the potion and lets you see in color when you take it. Be back in a moment.” Yewon left the room to search her lab again.

“It’s actually kind of mesmerizing to watch,” said Eunwoo, staring closely at the tube-like glass.

“You’ll be fine. I’m right here,” said Nayoung, reading Jieqiong’s worried expression.

Jieqiong smiled gratefully and looked back at the glass in her hand. Clear globs of denser liquid floated up and down the column. She frowned skeptically. She tried to imagine it was strawberry gelatin that hadn’t set yet. Then she did what anyone presented with new edibles does. Jieqiong brought the glass up to her nose and tilted it back. The liquid pooled just close enough to the lip for her to sniff it. To her surprise, it smelled as sweet as the Calming Draught she drank earlier. In fact, it was slightly intoxicating.

“I don’t think everything’s dissolved. Look at the bottom,” said Eunwoo.

“What—”

Just as Jieqiong spoke, Eunwoo poked the base of the glass to point at the precipitate. The light jab coupled with the unbalanced distribution of the elixir made the glass tip backward. All of the potion slipped into Jieqiong’s open mouth. She barely registered the collective gasp. The sound of a silver spoon dropping on the wooden floor rang throughout the silent room. Jieqiong however, was more focused on the atrocious taste of the potion. It was a fusion of the stench of burning rubber, the texture of vodka, and the taste of very bitter unripe blackberries that had gone through a 72 hour brine for some ungodly reason. Out of reflex and respect for the witches’ spotless home, she forced herself to swallow the potion in one gulp. When she felt it drain down her esophagus, she recoiled and stuck her tongue out in disgust. The aftertaste was unsettlingly similar to that of spoilt milk and iron. Her left hand was clenched so tightly, there were shallow nail imprints in Nayoung’s skin.

“Jieqiong?” Nayoung’s amplified voice startled Jieqiong. Yet there was an airiness to it as if she was whispering. “H-how do you feel?”

Jieqiong opened her eyes and recoiled again. Her vision was so focused, it made her head spin. Changing her depth perception between the floating dust particles and Yewon standing less than a meter away was absolutely disorienting. Slightly panicking now, she turned to face Nayoung. This was a mistake as her brain couldn’t keep up with her eyes. It felt like the living room was both dragging at a snail’s pace and blurring as fast as a fighter jet. Disorienting was now a gross understatement. Jieqiong wanted to shut down.

“What’s happening to me?” She asked shakily. She felt Nayoung rubbing circles on the back of her left hand.

“Your senses are sharpening.” Nayoung lowered her voice considerably. “Don’t focus on any one alone. Now, try to remember Tyranno’s apartment.”

Jieqiong saw Nayoung’s eyes shift to someone behind her, most likely Eunwoo who was standing nearest. Jieqiong forced her eyes to cross and faced where she thought the table top was. Impairing her visual acuity helped significantly. At least she didn’t have the urge to puke. She pawed around for a quill and positioned it above a stack of papers.

Someone placed their hand gently on her right shoulder, though their fingers felt like they weighed a ton. Each. She rolled her shoulder at the discomfort and the person removed their hand. The immediate loss of pressure was relieving to her bones.

“We’re in the apartment,” came Eunwoo’s soft, slightly nasally voice from the right. “In the bedroom. You’re by the desk. You have your camera out. The desk is littered with papers, blueprints,” she directed.

Jieqiong’s hand moved automatically. The quill shook as its ink-filled tip scribbled across the page in a flurry. Jieqiong’s hand shot to the top of the page and wrote Diagon Alley in large letters before returning to the bottom of the page.

“You pick up the ones labeled ‘The Ministry,’” Eunwoo corrected hastily, but kept her voice low. “The first level. What do you see?”

Jieqiong ripped the first page off the pile and ungraciously threw it to the side. She immediately began drawing on the next page, scribbling The Ministry, Level One at the top. She felt her eyes were unfocused, but she could still differentiate the defined lines she drew from the clear blueprints in her mind’s eye. It was all the feedback her brain needed. It was like tracing a template from her memory onto the paper currently in front of her.

Several sheets later, her hand began to ache but her vision grew clearer. The potion’s effects must have reached a peak. Jieqiong willed her hand to keep moving. Draw, she egged herself on. She didn’t know how long this would last, or rather how long she would last.

For a brief second, Jieqiong felt completely normal again. Her hand constantly etched arrows and circles across The Atrium. This page had tons more writing than the previous levels of the Ministry. There were rectangles evenly paced along a hallway with fire icons inside them. Each was marked with an X and initials. What really intrigued Jieqiong was a mass of scribbles in the middle of the page that didn’t resemble anything. Lines like a funnel led from the mass to an X that marked the Minister. A single word was bolded underneath. Crucio.

Then all at once, her refined senses rushed back tenfold. The information overload brought on a migraine so tremendous, she slumped out of her chair. Hitting the floorboards felt like she was being crushed under a landslide. Her ribs sunk, squeezing the air out of her lungs. The rushing of blood in her ears was deafening. The chandelier blinded her. How she wished she could scream. The pain was excruciating. She wanted it to stop, to feel nothing. So she shut her eyes and willed her heart to slow down.

Suddenly, she felt light as a feather. Nothing but air touched her skin. She had to know what was happening, so she opened her eyes. She was floating in mid-air, her limbs dangling limply at her sides. Terrified, she let out a blood-curdling screech. Whoever was making her levitate had broken concentration and she landed right on her unstable feet.

Run, she told herself. She crashed into a surface waist-high. Then into something soft with a solid base. Then into a person. Their arms wrapped around Jieqiong in an attempt to calm her but it had the opposite effect. She felt restrained, imprisoned. She lunged forward, twisting and flopping around, hoping the person would release her.

The two toppled over and crashed onto the floor. But instead of wriggling herself free, Jieqiong froze. She couldn’t see nor hear anything. The world went blank. Reality had disappeared. All that was left was a warm, soft sensation against her lips. Whatever she was touching moved slightly. Jieqiong’s lips moved with it. All of the pain in her body evaporated. It was odd. What exactly was she doing?

Her hearing tuned back into the moment. An inappropriately timed “Hey! That wasn’t the plan!” came from behind. The person above let out a frustrated growl of “For Merlin’s sake!” A timid, high-pitched “Help them!” carried over the ruckus, followed by frantic huffing from a fourth person. Jieqiong’s body once again felt void of weight and substance until she stood upright.

“Jieqiong,” came Nayoung’s soft but wavering voice. Jieqiong felt a warm hand wrap around her waist. Her hands moved of their own accord toward the tall woman for support.

“Sniff,” someone else commanded gingerly.

An herb tickled Jieqiong’s nose. It smelled fresh and floral like lavender. Best of all, her brain stopped vibrating in her skull.

“Drink.”

A small vial was held to Jieqiong’s lips as someone tilted her head back. What flowed into completely washed away the foul taste of the memory potion. Her tongue was coated in a citrus viscous extract that warmed her body and dulled her senses.

“Now, sleep.”

A wand tapped the center of Jieqiong’s forehead. She welcomed the reprieve of darkness.

~|~|~|~

“Well now I actually have a right to laugh at Yebin,” said Eunwoo happily.

“Kissing and dating me are two different things, neither of which will happen in the future,” said Jieqiong as she took a sip of her latte.

“Tsk. You’re supposed to be on my side.”

“Don’t get me involved.”

Eunwoo swirled the contents of her cup. “So when do you think we’ll see them again?”

“I don’t know, but I’d kind of like to apologize for rampaging around their living room,” sighed Jieqiong guiltily.

“I wouldn’t call it rampaging. Honestly, you just took like three steps while screaming bloody murder before crashing into me. No biggie,” Eunwoo shrugged.

“Well everything felt exaggerated to me until I woke up back at our apartment with the sky pitch black and you acting all awkwardly distant.”

“I can deal with all sorts of people and situations, but you are on a whole other level.”

“You’re saying I’m not a person?” Jieqiong raised her eyebrow.

“No. You’re a Jieqiong. Completely different. If it makes you feel better, you’re on a whole higher level.” Eunwoo shot Jieqiong a wink.

Jieqiong rolled her eyes and lightly kicked Eunwoo under the table. “Really though. I wonder if I helped them at all. I don’t know about outside, but inside my head, I was going nuts.” Jieqiong stared down at her hands wrapped around her coffee cup.

“Hey. Given the circumstances, you did great. You were tearing through those pages at the speed of light. You extracted tons from your memory. The wit— others, well from their expressions, it seems like they found out a lot they didn’t know. And they didn’t like it one bit.” Eunwoo’s initial encouraging tone trailed off dejectedly.

“Why? Was it something specific they were worried about?”

“Couldn’t say. They didn’t really explain much before we were whisked away back home. I was more focused on giving you cues anyway. Yebin and Siyeon were discussing an awful lot though. It was weird seeing Yebin that serious and Siyeon not baring her teeth at someone.”

Jieqiong was about to point out that Eunwoo never seemed to be part of the “someone” category, but left it alone for another day. “I wonder if there’s anything else we can do to help.”

“You’re not ingesting any more experimental liquids,” Eunwoo said sternly. She didn’t want to put Jieqiong through anything like that ever again. “And you’re never ingesting any more experimental liquids around me,” she added a tad shamefully.

“I won’t,” Jieqiong laughed. “At very least if I have to again, I’ll be prepared.” Or so she hoped.

“Hmm.” Eunwoo frowned. Her eyes wandered around the busy cafe. A flashing banner on the large TV screen caught her attention. She bolted upright in her chair, completely alert. “Jieqiong,” she said urgently.

Jieqiong looked up at Eunwoo’s strangled tone. “What’s up with you?” She scanned the shop quickly for suspicious activity. Then she saw it. Her eyes widened. Fear and heartache clashed in the deepest pit of her stomach.

Breaking news. Two investigators from the London Police Department have disappeared. Detectives Sungyeon Bae and Kyla Massie have been reported missing. Our reporter Steven Gordon is on sight for the press release. Steven?

Thank you, Michelle. Behind me is the head of the police department Chief Officer Fenton and the head investigator Chief Detective Warren. They regretfully informed the public about the disappearance of two of their team members this morning. The force is currently searching the streets for any sign of them. The two women have been missing for just over 24 hours. Let’s hear the current statement.

Hello everyone, this is Chief Detective Warren. As of now, no sightings of our treasured team members have been reported. Every employee and recruit is out in the field searching for them. We do not have any suspects at the time. This seems to be an isolated event, unrelated to our previous cases. We are keeping watch over their families until we see their safe return. Please, if anyone has any information, contact us immediately.

Our correspondent, Steven, will remain on site for further developments. Stay tuned for updates.

~|~|~|~

“Please, sir. I—”

“Miss. I’d really like to help you, but you need to give me an address for me to tell you where to go,” the businessman said exasperatedly.

“I’m trying,” groaned Jieqiong helplessly. “It’s— It’s—”

“Uh huh?” The man gestured for her to continue.

Jieqiong’s mouth opened and closed. “Ugh!” She buried her face in her hands.

The man checked his engraved silver watch. “I’m sorry, but if I stay any longer, I’m going to be late for my meeting. It seems like you really need help, but I can’t do anything for you.” He rifled through his leather wallet. “Here’s ten pounds. I hope you and your friend can find your way.”

“Wait, I don’t need— Um, thanks…” Jieqiong trailed off.

The man insisted she keep the money as he walked away hurriedly and waved goodbye.

“Any luck?” Jieqiong asked as she slumped down on the single bench facing the street.

“No,” Eunwoo grunted. “My thumbs won’t move to type in the address on my phone, so GPS is out of the question. I’ve tried writing it down too. My fingers cramp up, minus the pain.”

Jieqiong looked down at the pile of small square papers between them. There were multiple small lines and dots, as if Eunwoo had succeeded only as far as writing a dash of a letter. “Must be you know what if this is happening.”

“What do we do? We can’t ask anyone and we can’t show them.”

“I don’t know,” Jieqiong said monotonously, her eyes staring unfocused at the concrete. “We have to though. Somehow. They’re our only hope.”

Eunwoo abruptly faced Jieqiong, who raised an eyebrow in response. Eunwoo opened to speak. As Jieqiong expected, nothing but a strangled croak escaped.

“Are. You. Kidding me?! We can’t even spell it out to each other?” Eunwoo exclaimed.

Eunwoo continued to babble on angrily but Jieqiong wasn’t listening anymore. There was no breeze yet the tips of her hair shifted as something crossed her path. She breathed in slowly. A faint scent of honey. Contrasted with an unmistakable aura of contempt personified.

“Siyeon!” Jieqiong shouted into the open air.

Eunwoo went quiet and stared over Jieqiong’s shoulder in disbelief. A meter away from their bench was the floating torso of Siyeon, her back facing the street. Her legs appeared soon after in that same paint-drenching fashion Jieqiong first observed from Nayoung in an alleyway. But Siyeon didn’t turn around. She stared hard at a point ahead of her, face stoic, jaw clenched.

“I expected you to ignore me,” Jieqiong said in mild surprise.

“What do you want?” Siyeon barked, still not looking at them.

“We need you. All of you.” Jieqiong looked expectantly at the woman’s profile.

“Excuse me?” Siyeon scoffed. “Our exchange of information is done. That verbal contract was terminated the moment we brought you home.” Siyeon marched one step forward.

Jieqiong sprang out of her seat and stood in front of Siyeon, meeting her eye to eye. “I don’t want to start a fight with you—”

“Then, move,” Siyeon snarled impatiently. She stepped around the detective, her sturdy boots clacking against the pavement. When she heard an intake of breath, she interrupted again. “I have other business to attend to. Shouldn’t you be stalking Nayoung instead? Except don’t. She has her own affairs to sort out without you distracting her—”

“Siyeon.”

The witch stopped in her tracks. Her eyes widened from their usual aggravated squint. Her jaw slackened a bit. It was not Jieqiong who spoke this time. And that’s what made it worse. This woman had the uncanny ability make Siyeon obey.

“We want to speak with all four of you.” Eunwoo’s voice sounded both frail and resolute. Like one who had given up everything in anticipation of losing everything. One who had fully accepted the fact, which was rare in the world.

Siyeon felt a twinge in her heart. She swallowed hard. She knew she wouldn’t agree with their proposal, but asked anyway. “About what?”

Eunwoo looked up at Jieqiong, surprised, and continued speaking to Siyeon’s back. “We want to help you find and capture Nightshade—”

“Absolutely not,” Siyeon cut across. Her tone wasn’t venomous, but it was curt all the same. “You have no business chasing after him.”

“No business?” Jieqiong repeated incredulously. She strode up to the witch with fury. “Listen.”

“No, you listen.” Siyeon turned sharply on her heels and almost crashed noses with Jieqiong but didn’t flinch. “I don’t care how much you knew, how much you know now, or how much you think you know. You don’t know what you’re dealing with. I outright refused to let any of them speak to you two but Nayoung holds the authority. At the very least I respect her. So I relented.” Siyeon took a step forward.

Jieqiong was forced a step back, but held Siyeon’s burning gaze. “Then you won’t mind—”

“I’m not finished,” hissed Siyeon. “Nayoung reasoned that it was because you didn’t know what you were up against that you needed to know. She thought it would slap some sense into you, stop you from getting into more trouble, from getting into more danger. I fully respect that. But you insist on digging deeper into things you don’t understand. I’m fully aware of how horrible I act towards you. Do you have any inkling as to why?”

Jieqiong took another step back as the seething Siyeon advanced closer. “In your terms, I surmised you don’t exactly hate Muggles but you sure don’t seem fond of them.”

“I’m not fond of losing life!” Siyeon growled menacingly. “Don’t you understand that we’re trying to protect you? We’re trying to protect everyone! You think Nightshade is just some pest we’ve got to scrape off the sidewalk? Of course you don’t, it’s your job to not think that way. So why can’t you get that through your head? Some people don’t have the luxury of walking away from horrors unknown. You got your answers, now out before something worse happens.”

“Something worse has happened! That’s why we need your help! We’ve been trying to figure this out, we’ve been trying to offer anything we can to you four. We have nobody to turn to!” Implored Jieqiong. “If you’ll only listen to us—”

Crack! The distinct sound of someone Apparating echoed down the empty street. A tall woman strode right up to the arguing pair, briefly patting Eunwoo on the back as she passed. She placed a hand on each of the women’s shoulders and put some distance between them.

“When you’ve calmed down, we can go inside,” said Nayoung, her voice emotionless.

Jieqiong spoke with a sense of foreboding. “Nayoung? Are you alright?”

“We’re not taking them inside,” stated Siyeon. “How many times do I have to say this?”

Nayoung slowly turned her head to look down at Siyeon. Her lips barely moved as she spoke. “We’ll discuss this inside.”

Jieqiong eyed the witches warily. While totally willing to have a go at Siyeon, she was surprised to see a flicker of anger in Siyeon’s eyes directed at Nayoung. Sure the younger witch might be annoyed at her partner, but never the least bit enraged.

“Nayoung. They can’t be involved anymore. They’re Muggles and they could end up dead.”

Jieqiong saw that Siyeon regretted the words as soon as they tumbled out of . Jieqiong glanced at Nayoung just in time to witness a flash of hurt in her bloodshot eyes.

Siyeon shook her head helplessly. “I didn’t mean it. I’m sorry. But that’s exactly why we can’t speak to them. We can’t let it happen again.” She was begging now.

Jieqiong was stunned to hear such desperation in Siyeon’s voice. She didn’t have the heart to feel triumphant. She was empathetic. Whatever they were talking about, she suddenly wanted Nayoung to agree with Siyeon and refuse her and Eunwoo’s wishes. Was this how Eunwoo felt when she “dealt with people”? It was a whole realm Jieqiong didn’t want to dive into.

Nayoung sighed. It wasn’t out of frustration at Siyeon’s rebuttals. It was heavy, like all the energy had drained out of her. She cleared , though her voice came out hoarse. “You’ve been on an assignment alone, out of contact. I need to fill everyone in, including Jieqiong and Eunwoo. In fact, they should’ve been the first to know. But I’ve only just got back.”

Nayoung’s words ended the conversation. The tall witch walked forward a few paces before stopping in front of a decrepit, rusty gate. It led to a trash-strewn gap between two buildings with soot-stained, boarded up windows. Jieqiong looked at Siyeon apprehensively, not wanting to set her off. Instead, she found herself looking at a rather pale woman with a stiff posture.

Siyeon’s eyes refocused. She looked at Eunwoo for a few seconds before turning to face Jieqiong fully. “Follow Nayoung, she’ll take you inside.”

Her voice sounded just as weak and quiet as Nayoung’s. She must have caught on to something that Jieqiong didn’t. The two witches were partners after all. Jieqiong nodded and moved toward the bench to help Eunwoo, but Siyeon shook her head and gestured at a waiting Nayoung. Jieqiong hesitated then walked to the woman at the gate who held her arm out. Jieqiong took it silently. She looked back to see Siyeon gathering the papers scattered on the bench and helping Eunwoo to stand up.

One moment Jieqiong was watching the pair by the street. The next she was staring at an intricately carved mahogany door with no doorknob. She faced forward to take in the homey living room of the magical house. She and Nayoung stepped further inside to make space for Siyeon and Eunwoo who had melted through the door behind them.

“Hey, you two are back! How’s—” Yewon popped her head out of the kitchen doorframe but abruptly stopped talking. Her gentle, welcoming demeanor faded into one of concern. “Yebin! You should get out here!” She called.

“I’m in the middle of something!” Yebin called back.

“Yebin. Meeting. Now.” Nayoung’s voice carried throughout the giant house despite not increasing in volume.

All buzzing and whooshing ceased from the distant room Yebin was working in. She entered with stains on her clothes, a bit ticked off at the interruption. But when she saw Nayoung’s hardened expression and the two Muggles with slumped shoulders, her irritation vanished.

Everyone sat down on the couches. Nobody knew what to do with the current mood. Nayoung decided for them and asked Jieqiong and Eunwoo to explain why they sought out the witches.

It was oddly nerve-wracking to say this with five pairs of eyes staring back at her. “I-I don’t know if you w-watch the Muggle n-news.” Jieqiong berated herself for stuttering. “But t-two detectives went m-missing since yesterday. Our j-juniors. Our f-friends. They…”

“Sungyeon and Kyla.” Everyone turned to look at Eunwoo who sat upright with her legs crossed formally. “Their names are Sungyeon and Kyla,” she finished quietly. Jieqiong couldn’t say anymore after that.

“This has something to do with Nightshade,” Siyeon half asked, half stated.

“It has everything to do with Nightshade,” Nayoung confirmed.

Nayoung took out something from her jacket and slid it to the center of the table. Everyone gasped at the disturbing sight. Yewon and Yebin’s eyes shot around the room to gauge the others’ reactions. Their hearts plummeted when they were met with the state of the Muggles.

Eunwoo’s hands darted up to her quivering lips, keeping her squeaks from dissolving into wails. Jieqiong felt hot tears pooling in her eyes. Her hands balled into fists. Her knuckles turned white and her nails dug into the flesh of her palms, breaking skin. She was shaking and trying so hard to keep herself together. At the slightest touch from Nayoung’s long, slender fingers wrapping around her fist, Jieqiong felt herself unravel. She sobbed into Nayoung’s shoulder, who held her closer as if she was the only bit of reality Jieqiong could believe. Jieqiong’s cries triggered Eunwoo, who suddenly found herself in Siyeon’s arms. Yebin and Yewon were frozen stiff, hands glued together, eyes boring holes into the object with disgust.

At the center of the table was a photo. A moving photo. About a hundred eyes glowed in the shadows of the background, jostling restlessly like caged animals. Sparks emitted from what could only be their wands. Three individuals stood in the foreground. One of them was a proud Nightshade, wand in one hand and an eerily familiar chain’s cup in the other, a demented smirk plastered across his face. He raised his coffee in cheers. The other two were Sungyeon and Kyla, hanging upside down and rotating in mid-air, their mouths open wide in silent cries of fear.

One line was scribbled along the bottom. You keep interesting company. So do I.

~|~|~|~

“This is all my fault,” choked Jieqiong. “I got so wrapped up in closing this case despite everyone who told me to drop it. Why didn’t I turn a blind eye, just this once!” She pounded her fist on her knee, closing her eyes in pain that wasn’t physical but felt very much so.

“I encouraged you. You were about to leave it behind but I told you we could figure it out if we just looked through all the station’s remaining evidence,” hiccuped Eunwoo. She blew her nose into a tissue and added it to the growing pile in the trash bin.

“You wouldn’t have if I didn’t make such a big fuss out of my weird memories,” sniffed Jieqiong.

“But that’s what you do! You’re Jieqiong, you analyze the world around you! You see what others don’t,” countered Eunwoo through her sobs.

“Ugh, I just have to stick my nose in everything, don’t I? Why’d you have to have me for a partner?” Jieqiong lamented, said nose very red and very stuffy.

“Don’t say that!” Wailed Eunwoo. “We’re best friends, of course I’d stick with you. We share the blame.” It wasn’t up for discussion.

“If anyone’s to blame, it’s me,” said a solemn voice. Nayoung wasn’t crying, but her heart felt like it had been pierced with a cursed dagger. “I insisted you know everything about Nightshade. If I hadn’t brought you into our world, he wouldn’t have cared after that fiasco downtown. He’s targeting our Ministry. He only uses random Muggles when he wants to send a message.”

“But he’s targeting our team because we kept meddling. If we didn’t pry, they’d be safe.” A few more tears rolled down Jieqiong’s cheek. Nayoung caught them with a swipe of her thumb.

“Then it’s my fault too.” This surprised everyone in the room. Siyeon stared at Jieqiong, eyes full of guilt. “I shouldn’t have Obliviated your memory. Eunwoo said it’s your character to work out your suspicions. My Charmwork didn’t work as well on you and it led to you two delving deeper into this mess. If we just flushed out the truth earlier, you would have followed your boss’ orders. You’d all be safe and far away from that horrid excuse of a human being.”

“That’s exactly it, though!” Yebin exploded. “It’s none of our faults! He’s a twisted, insane wizard who abuses his powers and abuses life! He’s to blame for the right state London’s in! All of us were just doing our jobs, trying to protect the people. Why should we be ashamed of that?”

“What’s important now is how we move forward. The fact is he’s taken Sungyeon and Kyla. We need to figure out how we’re going to bring them back. And they will come back alive and safe.” Yewon’s voice was unnaturally stable. Anyone could tell she had forced reason over emotion.

Nayoung sighed deeply. “I think it’s time we brought you two back. It’s getting late.”

Jieqiong and Eunwoo’s heads snapped up. “Go back? No! We need to help. We have to fight! He took our friends, he made it personal! We can’t just leave them!” Shouted Jieqiong.

“You said it yourself. If you get more involved, he could target more people. He could target you,” said Siyeon. “Trust me when I say we’ll do everything we can to help your friends. But at this stage, there’s nothing you can do.”

“So you expect us to just go home and sleep it off? To just wait for devastating news to show up on the cafe’s TV screen again? Our friends are now hostages! They’re probably being tortured by that lunatic! They’re afraid and alone!”

Siyeon was stunned into silence. Her speaking to Jieqiong peacefully was one thing. Eunwoo speaking savagely to her was another. She didn’t know how to respond. She felt ten times worse now. But the detective didn’t recoil from her embrace. Siyeon took that to be a good sign.

“Please, you have to let us help somehow. We’re already in so deep that Sungyeon and Kyla’s lives are in jeopardy. We can’t wait idly in our apartment wondering ‘what if.’” Jieqiong didn’t have the energy to flinch at her voice cracking.

“Jieqiong. You and Eunwoo aren’t witches. You can’t possibly hope to go up against a powerful dark wizard. You’d be obliterated in seconds. You stand no chance,” said Yebin softly.

Jieqiong knew Yebin was trying to be gentle, but she just couldn’t accept it. It felt so wrong to give up at this point. She looked over at Eunwoo who was resting her head on Siyeon’s shoulder. Her friend’s eyes were closed, resigned after hearing Yebin’s thoughts on the matter. Jieqiong didn’t care about the tears dripping onto her arms, which were crossed tightly over her stomach as if keeping herself from shattering into pieces.

She turned to look up at Nayoung. She had to make them understand. She her chapped lips and swallowed with no relief to her dry throat. “We can’t leave only to find out in a few days that Sungyeon and Kyla’s deaths were covered up because magic was involved. They were taken as direct punishment to Eunwoo and me. They need us. We’re willing to risk everything for them. Wouldn’t you do the same?” Jieqiong’s question added to the already dense atmosphere of the room. She didn’t mean to pressure the witches. But oddly enough, her words seemed to possess their own inherent burden.

Nayoung never looked away. There was a certain fire in her eyes that honestly scared Jieqiong a bit. “We would,” she said. “And some of us have.”

A squeak slipped from the other side of the table. Jieqiong saw Yebin cradling Yewon who had broken into a fresh round of sobs at Nayoung’s words. Yebin wasn’t holding up too well either.

Siyeon felt the need to voice her thoughts. “I retract what I said. I think we should let Jieqiong and Eunwoo fight if they want to.”

The other three witches were in an uproar at Siyeon’s suggestion.

“How could you possibly think that? Aren’t you the reasonable one?” Snapped Yebin.

“They’ll just be in even more danger! We’re trying to save them, not serve them to Nightshade on a silver platter!” Cried Yewon.

“We’re not repeating history. We’ll find another way, we always do,” said Nayoung with finality.

“Listen!” Siyeon shouted. All four witches were now standing and glowering at each other. “I know it’s insane to send them off to fight a wizard’s battle! But don’t you get it? It’s that exact reason we have to let them. It’s their choice and frankly, it’s their right. Just as it was… theirs. We’re the ones who have no right to stop them.” Siyeon stared down the others. Emotions were running high and they barely kept reign of them. “Jieqiong, do you have something else to say?” Siyeon asked knowingly.

Nayoung pleaded with her eyes to back down, but Jieqiong stood firm. “We might very well be killed alongside our friends. But to hell if it doesn’t kill us knowing we didn’t try.”

~|~|~|~

“I don’t like the rain.”

“Why’s that?”

“I don’t know. It washes things away. Important things.”

“But that’s why I kind of like it.”

Jieqiong tore her gaze away from the drops speckling the window. She looked inquisitively at her best friend.

“Sometimes it’s more important to wash things away. Rain has a sort of restorative, purifying effect,” said Eunwoo thoughtfully.

“We’re not talking about the physical realm anymore, are we?” Jieqiong asked rhetorically.

“No,” Eunwoo answered anyway. “Is it so bad to talk about people instead?”

“Not bad. It’s just different,” replied Jieqiong. “Not really something I prefer.” She turned to stare at the pouring rain whose sole purpose seemed to be drowning the city.

“You mean to say it’s more difficult to deal with,” remarked Eunwoo.

“To each their own. We work in different spheres. I look at what people do. You listen to who they are.”

“Yet we work together in the same world, in which the two coincide.”

“This is getting a bit too philosophical for my taste.”

“I just went with the flow. Heh, get it? Flow?” Eunwoo gave Jieqiong a cheesy grin and gestured at the rainwater flooding into the sewers outside.

Jieqiong rolled her eyes and let out an amused huff. “That was awful.”

Eunwoo shrugged. “Mind helping me? These buckles are being finicky.”

Jieqiong pushed off the wall and walked over to the couches. Eunwoo turned and moved all of her hair to one shoulder. Jieqiong knelt down to wriggle the metal buckles along Eunwoo’s side until they clicked into place. She pulled on the adjustable straps, securing a snug fit for the vest, then tucked them in neatly. Jieqiong gave a good pat to Eunwoo’s rear before standing up.

“Thanks,” said Eunwoo. “How are you on ammo?”

Jieqiong checked several small boxes spread out on the dining table. “Magazines are nearly empty.” Eunwoo handed her a case over the couch. Jieqiong loaded both of her guns and placed them in their holsters. She heard two similar clicks from behind.

“It’s nearly time,” said Eunwoo, checking the clock on the wall.

There was a knock on the door. “Right on schedule,” nodded Jieqiong.

“Hey, ready to go?” Nayoung asked as she stepped into the apartment.

“Pretty much,” answered Jieqiong. She paused and raised her eyebrow. “Did you Apparate? It doesn’t look like you’ve stepped outside at all today.” Jieqiong reached out to feel a perfect curl of silvery blonde hair.

“You would’ve heard me if I did. And I thought it’d be a bit rude popping into your apartment unannounced. I walked,” said Nayoung.

“Witchcraft!” Eunwoo exclaimed and waved her finger in the air in mock accusation. She walked past the pair to retrieve her coat from her bedroom, their laughs following her down the hall.

“Do you really need all of this stuff? We said we’d prepare for you,” said Nayoung as she walked over to the dining table. She inspected a leftover bullet casing curiously. The smooth metal slipped out of her fingertips and clattered onto the floor.

“Yebin said to bring what we’ve got. And this is the best of it, at least what we can access.” Jieqiong bent over to pick up the casing that had rolled by her foot. She straightened up with a small grunt.

“Take it easy, you might break a hip,” teased Nayoung.

“Shut up. I haven’t worn this for like three years. It’s gotten stiff,” said Jieqiong indignantly. She turned her nose up at Nayoung.

“Sure, the clothes are clearly in the wrong.” Nayoung swiftly dodged Jieqiong’s flailing arm.

“A death match between an ostrich and a boulder. The things I see,” said Eunwoo as she swung her jacket over her shoulders. She looked reprovingly at Nayoung who snuck in a successful poke to Jieqiong’s waist, then at Jieqiong who retaliated with a quick slap to Nayoung’s arm.

The three gathered everything by the doorway. As Jieqiong and Eunwoo stepped into their sturdy boots, Nayoung whipped out her wand and tapped each bag and case. Nothing visibly changed, but she didn’t do anything more to them. She then turned to the detectives and tapped them on the head once each, before twirling her wand around her own body like a lasso.

“S-should I be w-worried?” Eunwoo asked through chattering teeth. Nayoung shook her head and waited.

Jieqiong didn’t think it was as frigid as Eunwoo made it sound, but it was weird. It felt like a raw egg had been cracked over her head. She looked down and for a second, she thought she was invisible. Upon closer examination, she realized her body had merely taken on the appearance and texture of the carpet below. She could see a disturbance in the air, similar to staring across the haze above a flame. She lifted her hand up to eye level. It now looked like their kitchen doorway, though Jieqiong could see the distinct blip where the edge of her palm curved over.

“Apparating to our place was a one-time thing. We prefer to limit who visits us. At least this way, nobody will see us heading towards the house,” explained Nayoung.

Nodding in understanding, Jieqiong and Eunwoo grabbed a bag off the floor while Nayoung carried the black case.

“Whoa!” Shouted Eunwoo as her bag swung around her from the force. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t this weigh like eleventy thousand tons before?”

Jieqiong ignored Eunwoo’s exaggeration but was just as intrigued by the weightlessness of their belongings. She looked at Nayoung questioningly.

“Thought I’d give your joints some relief,” snickered Nayoung, wiggling her wand in the air.

Jieqiong clicked her tongue but smiled as she locked the door behind them and led the way down the stairs. Eunwoo almost crashed into her when she stopped short before the door.

“Umbrellas,” Jieqiong remembered belatedly. “Unless you’ve got more tricks up your sleeve?”

Nayoung smiled down at Jieqiong. “I’ve got a few.” She pulled out her wand again, tapped each of their hooded heads with the tip, and stowed it away. “Let’s go.” She stepped forward.

Jieqiong and Eunwoo glanced at each other. There was an odd stillness to the air. Normally there would be a draft in the lobby considering the nasty storm just outside. When the detectives joined Nayoung on the sidewalk, they were pleasantly surprised. The trees lining the street fought hard to keep their windswept branches intact, yet the women didn’t even notice a breeze. The raindrops avoided their heads completely. Jieqiong squinted through the rain. The spell Nayoung casted to make them one with the scenery made Eunwoo look like a very clear blob with raindrops rolling off her unresisted. To any passerby, they were practically invisible.

“Disillusionment and Impervius Charms. Useful little ‘tricks,’” said Nayoung and she walked on.

A few minutes later, the trio came up to a familiar rusted old gate between two buildings damaged by fires. Without breaking stride, Nayoung looped her wand arm around Jieqiong’s right arm and offered her left arm to Eunwoo, who grabbed onto the witch’s elbow just in time. They melted through the mahogany door together and stepped into the foyer of a house.

“This way! Chop chop!” Hollered Yebin dramatically. She swooped from the kitchen, past the three women, and into the back hallway in a large arc marked by a trail of crumbs.

“After you.” Nayoung bowed slightly, gesturing for Jieqiong and Eunwoo to follow Yebin’s path.

As they passed one of the rooms deeper in the house, they waved at Yewon. The resident Potions Master was busy brewing, but returned their greeting. When they reached the room across the hall, Jieqiong’s mouth fell open. She slowed her pace, much to Eunwoo’s annoyance as she herself was usually a speed-walker. But she too came to a halt upon entering the room.

“Welcome to my lab!” Yebin spun on her heels, gestured grandly at her surroundings, and took a deep bow. Standing back up, she was met with the distracted, awestruck faces of Jieqiong and Eunwoo. Her lips curled into an arrogant smirk before deflating at Nayoung’s deadpan expression. “Fun er,” Yebin muttered and nibbled on a biscuit shaped like a newt.

The spacious room looked more like a workshop than a lab. Jieqiong supposed Yebin meant this was her counterpart to Yewon’s potion center. Mounted on the wall behind Yebin were three refined blades on which strange glowing runes flashed across their surfaces. To the left was a giant chalkboard filled with dimensions and lists written in tiny font. Scattered around the room were various mannequin frames next to tables stacked high with materials. The other walls made the room resemble an armory. One corner had a neat array of daggers, one of which had black smoke revolving around it. Another section of a wall had a set of double-ended spears mounted from the ceiling to the floor. Weapon displays were punctuated by various full body armor sets, a couple of which were encased in glass.

“I’m home! Finally…” A voice groaned from the front of the house. Nayoung stepped out into the hall and waved the newcomer over. Siyeon appeared in the doorway.

“What are you two wearing?” The youngest witch eyed the detectives up and down. While significantly less hostile after their last encounter, Jieqiong still heard that characteristic bite in Siyeon’s tone. It was most notable when speaking of anything that annoyed her, which was, incidentally, almost everything. The current subject of her displeasure was the Muggles’ attire.

“Nayoung, you can set everything on that open table in the back,” instructed Yebin.

Siyeon skirted around the room, eyes still inspecting Jieqiong and Eunwoo. “Is that supposed to be protection?” She said distastefully. “And those.” She jabbed her wand at Jieqiong’s holsters. The gun flew out to the center of the room and rotated as if on display. “I’ve seen people shooting these for fun at paper cutouts. Awfully loud and clunky, aren’t they?”

Yebin turned around from scrounging some items off of the tables. At the sight of the floating guns pointed directly at her, she sprung up nearly half a meter in shock. The items went flying out of her grasp, but caught themselves in mid-air instead of clattering onto the floor. “Hey! Be careful with those!” She yelled.

“What? I didn’t activate them.” Siyeon guided the guns to the back table by Nayoung.

“You’d think she would handle them with a bit of caution if she’s seen them in use before,” Yebin whispered to Jieqiong. She trudged around the room to grab her dispersed items from the air.

“You must be joking,” Siyeon continued, drawing everyone’s attention back to her.

“What’s wrong?” Asked Eunwoo, a bit self-conscious. Did the outfit make her look fat?

“Your ‘bulletproof vests’ and ‘guns’ and ‘bullets,’ that’s what!” Siyeon said exasperatedly. “It’s like wearing a blanket and firing cotton balls with a slingshot. Useless!”

“So you don’t think this makes me look fat,” blurted Eunwoo.

“These— What?” Siyeon did a double take and stared at Eunwoo. “I… No, I don’t?” She said with a confused expression. Eunwoo just cleared and looked away.

Yebin cut through their awkward moment without a care. “Yeah, thanks Einstein—”

“Who?” Said Siyeon, wondering if she should be offended or not.

“Never mind,” said Yebin, waving her hand around as if swatting away her comment. “I know these are powerless in a duel. I’m going to edit them. It’s much easier to meet halfway so that Jieqiong and Eunwoo can still fight and be protected while using equipment in a familiar form. A weapon is as dangerous as one who wields it improperly. They at least know how to use guns.”

“I hope you don’t mind me asking, but what exactly is your job?” Jieqiong asked hesitantly, unsure of how to phrase her question without sounding rude.

“I’m a weapons specialist, which includes working with armor. I supply our two beloved Aurors,” she sneered at Siyeon, “with whatever offensive and defensive equipment they need. I prefer to focus on them specifically, though I do occasionally provide for the Office.”

“You’re full of surprises,” murmured Jieqiong and Eunwoo. Yebin was pleased with their looks of admiration. Nobody paid attention to the pair of witches pretending not to care in the corner.

“Up here, if you please,” said Yebin as she flicked her wand.

Two elevated stands shot out of a cabinet and settled in front of Jieqiong and Eunwoo. They each stepped up tentatively. Tape measurers and strings materialized around the two and began stretching across all lengths of their bodies.

“We’re not making that,” corrected Yebin with her back turned.

The tape measurer wrapped around Jieqiong’s ear rolled back up with a snap and shot down to record the circumference of her ankle. A pair of scissors cut an infinitely long string every time a length was marked. The chopped pieces peeled off of Jieqiong’s body and settled themselves loosely on a wire stand.

“Watch it,” Siyeon snarled at a pair of scissors that almost cut some of Eunwoo’s long hair along with the string annealed to her back. It recoiled, clicked its blades in a “Yes, ma’am” sort of way, and brought the string far away from Eunwoo before snipping it.

As Siyeon continued to monitor Yebin’s materials at work, the specialist sidled up to Nayoung who was examining the wire frame adorned with Jieqiong’s measurements. “I could… lend you some of these strings,” said Yebin with a sly tone.

“Why does that sound so creepy?” Said Nayoung suspiciously, looking down at the tiny witch.

Yebin cackled quietly and continued. “I think a nice little black dress would be a good Christmas present for your girlfriend.”

“I don’t have a girlfriend.”

“Yet.” With that, Yebin sauntered away to a cluttered table and began tinkering with her tools.

“Honey?” Yewon peered around the doorframe adorably.

“Their weapons are on the back table by Nayoung,” informed Yebin. “Was there anything else in there?” She called out to the room.

“The larger case has a dismantled rifle and a box full of tranquilizer darts,” answered Jieqiong seeing as how Eunwoo was busy holding her breath while a string documented her waist size.

“It’s a weapon that uses a Draught for Dreamless Sleep,” explained Yebin. “Sort of…”

Yewon squeaked an “Ok” and bounded back to her lab with the case and one of the bags.

“What is she going to do with them?” Breathed Eunwoo when the string around her waist had flown away.

“Well, we wondered how you’re going to fight without wands. They’re by far the best option, but not the only one. Most of the time though, you’ll only be able to attack if your target is distracted. The best we can do without completely replacing your arsenal is to give you different bullets, or otherwise coat them with Yewon’s potions.”

“I thought her products were only made to be ingested,” said Jieqiong.

“You can have a variety of things that you drink, throw, pour over your skin or other objects. She’s experimenting with venoms and toxins. We’ll see what stands during testing.”

“No pressure, but we’re limited on resources. We brought everything we own,” said Eunwoo.

“We can supply more for both testing and to restock your equipment,” said Nayoung.

“You know how to make guns?” Jieqiong asked Yebin, who seemed to be very familiar with anything Muggle related.

“I don’t think it would be that difficult but no, I won’t be making new ones. We can duplicate them using magic,” said Yebin while fiddling with a strange apparatus.

Then Jieqiong remembered something. “I thought magic couldn’t be used on Muggle objects.”

“I said electronics,” Siyeon piped up.

“Hey, you got it right! Good girl!” Yebin cooed. Siyeon hissed back at her. “Anyway, there’s a bit of buffer room for how much you can mix the two. Think of it this way. How do you light up a room? Muggles use electricity and wizards have illumination spells. Different mechanics, same result. Besides, in duplicating your guns and switching up the ammo, we’re not changing how they function. The most we have to worry about is not fiddling with them when loaded.” Yebin emphasized the last bit at Siyeon, who pretended not to hear her.

Just as Yebin finished speaking, a loud buzz filled the room. Jieqiong saw an expansive sheet of metallic silver material being sawed into smaller pieces. Yebin piled a few into two stacks, which shunted themselves to a table by each of the wire models. Squinting under Yebin’s arm, Jieqiong could see repeated grooves in the material similar to reptilian scales. It was about half the thickness of their vests, but looked ten times more impenetrable.

When the measuring tapes and strings had recorded all of Jieqiong’s bodily dimensions, she stepped down from the small stage and walked over to Nayoung. “What is she working with? That doesn’t look like normal leather.”

Nayoung tilted her head and briefly considered the material. “It’s dragon hide and not even the usual kind wizards make clothes out of. This one’s from a Ukrainian Ironbelly by the looks of it.”

Jieqiong gaped at Nayoung’s casual tone. “Dragon hide?”

“Mhm,” murmured Nayoung. When she finally met Jieqiong’s bulging eyes, she bounced on the balls of her feet. “Oh, sorry, you don’t know about dragons. Wait, aren’t there legends about them? Well I suppose you wouldn’t heed those tales.”

Jieqiong shook her head slowly. She swallowed the lump in and stared at Yebin’s back. “She didn’t… you know, did she? I can’t imagine…” She whispered.

Nayoung chuckled. “If she had slain a dragon, we’d never hear the end of it. No, Yebin’s not one for combat despite making a career around it. She imported the hide from one of my contacts. You should feel honored. Siyeon nor I have ever gotten anything this high quality.”

“You don’t need it!” Shouted Yebin over the clanking of her saw. A scale had jammed the machine. The scale was perfectly intact, albeit roughly dislodged from the skin. The blade of Yebin’s tool however, was badly damaged.

“Ukrainian Ironbelly hide is wonderful for armor,” continued Nayoung. “But as you can see, it’s difficult to work with. That should give you some indication of its indestructibility. The scales themselves are as strong as steel. That saw isn’t an average Muggle tool either. Yebin had to modify it quite a bit and constantly repairs it.”

“I don’t think Nightshade and his army will be hacking at us with swords and axes though,” said Jieqiong, still in awe but wanting to continue the conversation.

“You’d be surprised how effective weapons besides wands can be. I prefer a Basilisk dagger myself if I don’t have a wand. Anyway, do you expect anything they have or we give you to not possess magical properties? Being magical beasts, dragons are immune to some spells. This hide is especially good for deflecting Stuns and minor curses and jinxes. I reckon it can even stand up to any fire spells besides Fiendfyre.”

“Fascinating,” breathed Jieqiong, forgetting to ask what half of Nayoung’s response meant. Nayoung nodded and continued to watch Yebin at work.

Jieqiong observed Nayoung’s profile. Part of her mind was still stuck on the fact that dragons existed. But the other part had drifted to the witch’s voice. Jieqiong unconsciously noted various inflections when Nayoung spoke. She had an adorable, childlike slur when she was comfortable with someone. Her voice was deadpan and aloof when interacting with strangers, or when she was totally over her friends’ antics. She could be stern and articulated when the group demanded her leadership. But now, Jieqiong was enamored by how words just rolled off of Nayoung’s tongue. Being knowledgable was an extremely attractive quality in Jieqiong’s book.

“Brains and brawn. This Auror just doesn’t have a bad side,” she muttered to herself.

“Hmm? Did you say something?” Nayoung turned her attention back to Jieqiong.

Jieqiong shook her head to clear her thoughts, but Nayoung took that to be her reply.

Yewon came knocking on the doorframe again. “Yebin, mind if I steal our guests?”

Yebin smiled over her shoulder. “Not at all. I’m done taking measurements.” She finally yanked out the loose scale and her saw sputtered back to life.

“Excellent! If you two will follow me,” Yewon grinned at Jieqiong and Eunwoo. Nayoung and Siyeon followed without invitation, but Yewon raised no objections. “Some of your bullets will be ready for testing soon. The ones I’m making from scratch will take a bit more work.”

“How can we help?” Jieqiong asked as she stood in front of Yewon’s marble countertop.

“I want to know about the structure of your bullets and darts. Usually Yebin would take care of this, but she’s a bit preoccupied with your armor. I’ve offered to take the project off her hands,” said Yewon, pulling out the boxes of ammunition from behind the counter. “Can you take these apart? I was thinking I could replicate it using my own materials.” She held up a random bullet.

“Well we can’t, but you might be able to using magic,” said Jieqiong hesitantly.

Yewon tapped one end of the bullet with her wand, then dragged the tip horizontally through the air. The components expanded in the direction of the wand and floated just above the marble surface. Even the propellant powder retained its shape from when it was packed into the casing. Yewon examined each part closely with Jieqiong’s guidance.

“What are you thinking?” Asked Nayoung, who tried to keep up with Jieqiong’s explanation.

“Bone.” The others raised their eyebrows with interest. “Bone might be able to withstand firing and even if it shatters on impact, that could be effective though gruesome,” Yewon shuddered. “Also, certain creatures have a skeletal vasculature strictly for venom. Sometimes the best ingredients are those left in their raw forms.”

“Admittedly, these Muggle weapons are starting to intrigue me,” said Siyeon, leaning over the counter to inspect the flasks of bullets soaking in various solutions. “This one isn’t doing too well though.” She pointed at a flask in which only half a bullet remained in the bubbling liquid on ice.

“Darn it, I had high hopes for that one,” moaned Yewon and she waved her wand. The liquid vanished from the flask. She turned back to the detectives. “And these?”

Eunwoo picked up a dart. “These are hollow. The injected chemicals incapacitate an active target. It’s the alternative to using bullets which are more fatal, but…”

“It requires better aim, more time, and humans can pluck them out. The biggest downside is it works best with exposed skin. It can pierce clothes, but if their side has armor like us, then these will be of little use,” finished Jieqiong, side-eying the dart.

“Then again, not every wizard owns robes of Ukrainian Ironbelly hide,” said Nayoung.

“Nayoung makes a sadly obvious point,” said Siyeon. “A trait shared among many dark wizards and witches is arrogance. Wielding a wand and casting a decent Shield Charm does not equate to invincibility. I’ve actually smacked one wizard with a crowbar lying around after being disarmed. If he bothered to wear anything besides that ridiculous toga, he might’ve remained conscious long enough to blast me away.”

“Robes are actually pretty annoying,” remarked Nayoung when Yewon had returned to her experiments. “Agility is not something you can achieve with them billowing about. I’m quite glad Yebin introduced us to these Muggle outfits. They’re much lighter and easier to move around in.”

“I don’t suppose with your growth spurt you’ve had much experience tripping over the hems of your robes all over Hogwarts,” said Siyeon with a slight scowl.

“No. They’ve always been two inches above my ankles. I never remembered to lengthen them,” said Nayoung glumly. Siyeon let out a “pfft” as this seemed to amuse her greatly.

~|~|~|~

The witches offered Jieqiong and Eunwoo a spare room to stay in. It was much easier than bringing them back and forth from their apartment. Over the next few days, Yewon asked them to test her bullets. Siyeon had somehow soundproofed the backyard. Yewon would take notes and scurry off to her lab to work in solitude, though she always kept her door open. Yebin was rarely seen except during meal times. For the most part Jieqiong and Eunwoo were left to their own devices. As time passed, they shared their worries over the safety of their fellow detectives. They knew the witches were working tirelessly to help them so they had no right to complain. However, keeping silent slowly ate away at their morale. It was very difficult to stay in the same room alone without the topic resurfacing. The fact that Nayoung and Siyeon hadn’t returned from work for the past two nights only added to their anxiety.

“Don’t worry too much. They’re usually out for days at a time. Hopefully the Ministry will find something soon since all they could do is up security,” Yewon had told them.

And with that, they left the matter alone. Worrying more wouldn’t help anyone.

Jieqiong roamed around the house alone, watching the pictures hanging on the walls. In one of them, Nayoung and Siyeon smiled stiffly back at her, both with sleek brown hair. They posed with an aged wizard in elaborate emerald robes. Jieqiong couldn’t read their certificates. The next frame over showed Yebin and Yewon holding hands while walking along a beach at sunset. They waved at Jieqiong and continued strolling through the sand.

Across the hall was a photo of all four witches. Jieqiong found this one quite comical. Yebin was closest to the camera, only her nose and above visible out of the corner. Jieqiong could tell she was smiling cheekily. Next to her, Yewon wore an amused yet guilty expression as she looked from Yebin to the scene behind her. Nayoung and Siyeon were throwing some kind of gooey sludge at each other. Jieqiong thought Siyeon would’ve been furious, but the witch instead grinned nastily and slapped a handful of slop on the back of Nayoung’s neck. A good portion of it slid down into her shirt. Siyeon doubled over in silent laughter and pointed at Nayoung standing with her limbs outstretched in surprise. With a lighter heart than she’s had all week, Jieqiong giggled out loud at the witches’ antics.

A giant picture filled up the wall at the end of the corridor. Jieqiong paused and looked up at it curiously. There were six women, four of whom she recognized. Siyeon and Nayoung stood on either side of the group. Two unfamiliar women stood in the middle, each hugging Yebin and Yewon from behind. One had shoulder-length brown hair. The other had long black hair with fringe. They were as tall as Nayoung. Everyone was smiling with ease. The two women shared a devious look before smothering Yebin and Yewon in sloppy kisses to their temples. Jieqiong felt like she was looking at a family portrait. But she hadn’t seen these two around. In fact, the others had never mentioned them. She didn’t know why, but Jieqiong felt it wouldn’t be prudent to ask. At least some of Eunwoo’s intuition had rubbed off on her.

Jieqiong turned away and walked back up the hall. She stopped in front of a room she never dared to look at. A gleaming, shimmering light peeking from under the door caught her attention. Jieqiong supposed witches didn’t have to save energy like she and Eunwoo. Still, Siyeon had left in a hurry two mornings ago. Maybe she forgot to turn something off. Jieqiong reached for the door handle, but there wasn’t one. This seemed to be a recurrent theme in the house’s decor. Feeling a bit foolish, she rapped her knuckles on the smooth wood.

“Password?”

Jieqiong jumped at the low, masculine voice. “H-hello?” She whispered to the empty hallway.

“Incorrect.”

Jieqiong furrowed her eyebrows. The disembodied voice must be Siyeon’s gatekeeper. She knocked on the door again.

“Password?”

“Um… Siyeon Park,” Jieqiong tried lamely.

“Incorrect.”

It suddenly occurred to Jieqiong that she was attempting to break into Siyeon’s room, and was doing a very bad job at it. But she wasn’t going to snoop. She just didn’t want anything to be left on while the owner was away. That couldn’t be safe. She knocked on the door again without thinking of a proper password attempt.

“Jieqiong? Do you know how long it takes to load and fire the rifle?” Eunwoo called up the stairs.

“Password?” Came the low, soothing male voice of the door.

Jieqiong’s mind blanked. “I don’t remember!” She called back to Eunwoo.

She heard footsteps trod away from the stairs. And then there was a click. Jieqiong stared wide-eyed at the bedroom door as it swung open on its own. She frantically searched up and down the hallway half expecting Siyeon to pop up and schedule her beheading. With no sign of life on the second floor, Jieqiong stepped inside.

“How functional,” remarked Jieqiong as she spun on her heels.

The room was incredibly plain and neat. In one corner was a bed, made and untouched. There was a desk and an adjoining bookshelf with what Jieqiong figured to be work files Siyeon brought from the Ministry. An empty hexagonal jar hung from the center of the ceiling.

Glass cabinets filled with tiny vials lined the entire right side of the room. The shelves looked deeper than the furniture itself, perhaps a whole arm’s length further into the wall. Jieqiong followed the shimmering light to a windowless corner. There was a folding pane that had been pushed aside. It probably contained the light when Siyeon wasn’t home. Jieqiong could see why. This peculiar object had no on or off switch.

The light seemed to be an inherent property of a silver mirror made into a concave vessel, or rather what it held. It was filled with a strange substance in some phase between liquid and vapor. It was entrancing to watch. Jieqiong’s hand itched to feel the sheen of swirling wisps. But one mustn’t touch random magical artifacts just because they are intriguing. Jieqiong stepped back and reached for the folding pane to conceal the shining bowl.

“Please… Don’t… We know nothing… Nightshade…”

Jieqiong froze. She didn’t think she would ever get used to hearing disembodied voices. She looked around the room. She was definitely alone. Peering into the silver dish, she recoiled in shock when a man’s face floated up to the surface.

“Mr. Grand?” Jieqiong whispered to the wisps.

“Please, not my children!”

Jieqiong jumped at the very clear shout of the hostage from her and Eunwoo’s stake-out a few weeks ago. Her heart shriveled at the pain in his wavering voice. When she dared to look into the bowl again, Grand’s face swam away into the depths of the wisps.

This was a memory, one Jieqiong didn’t possess because she had been far away observing the situation through a sniper scope. Then it clicked. It was Siyeon’s memory. The witch had been hiding inside the shop until Nayoung caught Nightshade’s attention.

“An Obliviator,” Jieqiong thought out loud. “She modified Grand’s memory. And yet she keeps hers around, floating inside a bowl?” A crease formed on her forehead as her eyes traveled to the vast collection of crystal vials. “She keeps all of these memories. Those of people she’s fought, those she’s saved, and probably those who… who didn’t… who couldn’t…”

The mere thought brought a foul taste to . She ran straight out of the room, forgetting to pull the folding pane out like she intended. The door sealed itself shut behind her.

“Jieqiong?” Eunwoo called again.

Jieqiong took a deep breath, slapped on a relaxed smile, and walked to the edge of the staircase. “Did Yewon need something else?”

Eunwoo’s eyes narrowed in suspicion, but she knew not to ask. “Want to help us make lunch? Yewon has some down time while her potions simmer.”

“Sure, I’d love to.” Jieqiong descended the stairs quickly and walked in step with Eunwoo.

Before they reached the kitchen, Eunwoo tugged gently on Jieqiong’s elbow. “Is everything alright?” She whispered in concern.

Jieqiong didn’t know how to answer that. She and Eunwoo both felt on edge the past few days, so things were certainly not alright. They wouldn’t be until Sungyeon and Kyla were back with them. But she didn’t want to bring that up again. That and she couldn’t really describe her encounter with Grand’s head floating in a bowl at the moment. “Yeah, I’m fine,” she replied.

“You know you can talk to me. I’m sure Yebin and Yewon would listen too, but I’m always here.”

“Um, maybe later. Let’s go, I want to see how much easier our lives would be if we could charm our pots and pans.”

As Jieqiong predicted, she and Eunwoo would have saved a lot of time, and probably a burned meal or two, if only they could use magic to cook. Yewon let them peel, chop, and sauté to their hearts’ content, but they felt more like a support team than sous-chefs. Yewon asked how she should marinate this or roast that. The more food they made, the slower Jieqiong and Eunwoo felt. Eventually they stopped trying to help and their utensils moved much quicker without their assistance. Eunwoo gave a small whine seeing her knife correct some of her cuts.

In no time, lunch was ready and set itself out on the dining table. The decadent aroma attracted Yebin, who promptly wandered into the room as if she had been on a stroll and plopped down in a chair. Everyone dug right in. Jieqiong was surprised at how much of her plate she had finished. She didn’t have much of an appetite lately from being inactive and worrying about her friends. Yewon’s cooking was just that good. A ding interrupted the soft chatter at the table.

“Oh, my potions are done brewing. I’ll need one of you to help me out after lunch,” said Yewon.

Eunwoo shared a look with Jieqiong before saying, “I’ll do it.”

Jieqiong pushed a potato quarter around her plate. It made a wide line through the pool of sauce before the liquid closed the gap. She felt like a freeloader. All she did was walk around the house, eat, and sleep. Eunwoo answered most of Yewon’s inquiries and she didn’t think she had the experience to step foot in Yebin’s workshop. Maybe she could help wash the dishes.

“Jieqiong, why don’t you help me make the vests? I finally have everything cut out.”

Jieqiong looked up from her plate to find Yebin staring back at her thoughtfully. She had a gentle smile on her face that Jieqiong couldn’t say no to. Not that she would, she wanted a job.

“Great,” said Yebin without hearing Jieqiong’s answer. “And the dishes will wash themselves.”

Just then, the stained dishes and used cutlery floated off the table and into the kitchen. Jieqiong could hear the faucet turn on and the pots clanging softly as a brush scrubbed them in the sink.

“What would you like me to do?” Asked Jieqiong as she followed Yebin into the workshop. She spied Eunwoo and Yewon sorting bullets and potion vials across the hall.

“Pop a squat.” Yebin smiled at the detective. Jieqiong sat down and Yebin walked around the table. “Do you know how to sew?” Jieqiong nodded. “Do you think you can follow these?”

Jieqiong looked behind Yebin at the giant chalkboard. All previous dimensions had been wiped away and replaced with at least twenty different stitching patterns. It was a bit overwhelming, but Jieqiong wanted more than anything to assist the witches. She nodded again purposefully.

“Fantastic. I’d like for you to alternate between the odd and even numbered patterns every few inches. I mean centimeters. Well, let’s just make it the length of your finger. One more thing.” Yebin held up a thin needle. “You can’t pierce dragon hide with this. Instead, thread the needle through the pores in the skin.”

For the next half hour, they threaded the dragon hide vests in silence. Jieqiong wondered if she appeared standoffish by not talking as much as before. But Yebin didn’t seem to mind the lack of conversation. Jieqiong thought Yebin might have pulled her in just to give her something to do. And she was thankful for it. She was being productive. But this wasn’t what she was used to.

“Been a while?” Asked Yebin. She eyed Jieqiong shaking her hand in the air after transitioning to her fifth stitch pattern. “You’re doing pretty well, though. You’re faster than I thought.”

Jieqiong rested her sore hand on the edge of the table. “It’s been a few years since I’ve sewn. But I’m glad to be of some use.”

“You can take a break if you want. This is pretty much what we’ll be doing all afternoon. Perhaps all night too,” said Yebin, continuing with Eunwoo’s vest as she spoke.

Jieqiong felt her left foot growing numb. Moving around should put some feeling back into her leg. She stood up and limped around the room, studying some of the displays.

“I’m curious,” said Jieqiong. She bent down to look at a pair of leather boots, recognizing some of the thread patterns from the chalkboard. “Do you always stitch your armor by hand?”

“Usually, if I have the time,” answered Yebin.

“Why? I would’ve thought you had self-sewing needles. Wouldn’t it be more efficient?”

“Efficient for who though?” Yebin gave Jieqiong a dry smile. “Mentality in spell casting. The difference between doing and undoing something could save a life. I do all of these patterns by hand and alternate to decrease predictability. Someone could just flick their wand at my armor and try to unhinge every screw or unravel every thread. But it’ll be difficult. I make sure it is. If that buys you time to run while you’ve still got armor on your back, it’s worth the extra work.”

Jieqiong walked over to a large glass case with two full armor sets of a different dragon hide. “I think I get it. A wizard would have to cast multiple spells to deal with each technique. And it’s whether they cast a spell to break the armor or to undo what’s been made.” Jieqiong noticed the stitching along the sides were uniform and much simpler than the ones they were doing now. Perhaps Yebin had come up with the idea after she made these sets.

“Exactly,” said Yebin. “It’s more inconvenient for them and they don’t even know it. Besides…”

Jieqiong looked over when Yebin stopped speaking. She initially thought the witch was looking back at her. She then realized Yebin was gazing at the armor behind her with a soft, forlorn expression. Jieqiong’s eyes strayed to the golden placards at the bottom of the glass case.

“There’s a certain charm to doing things by hand. Some people use magic so easily without thought. When it takes me days or weeks to make one weapon or one piece of armor, I feel humbled. I didn’t just bewitch my tools to do the work for me. Everything in this room has a bit of me in it. It has my time, my energy, my ideas. I put value in them beyond their utility.”

Jieqiong observed Yebin. There seemed to be something deeper to those words. Evidently, her magical arsenal was not an open business. She made what she wanted, how she wanted.

“Have you lived with Muggles before?” Asked Jieqiong after a moment. “You seem very comfortable with things that don’t involve magic. You understand everything Eunwoo and I say.”

Yebin snapped out of her daze and smiled at Jieqiong. “I’m a Muggle-born, the first and only member of my family to have magic. Yewon, Siyeon, and Nayoung are of wizarding parentage.”

“How did you meet them? Through the Ministry?” Jieqiong settled down next to Yebin to continue sewing up her vest.

“I first met Yewon at Hogwarts, our wizarding school. We were in the same year. It wasn’t until I visited her over the summer that I met Nayoung. Their families lived close to each other. Nayoung didn’t care much for age differences, she treated us all like friends.”

Jieqiong tried to ignore the quiver in Yebin’s voice at the word all. “And Siyeon?” She prompted.

Yebin chuckled. “That bundle of joy? We never spoke at school. She was pretty cold to everyone, even to her housemates. It’s not like she went out of her way to be rude though. I didn’t really get to know her until she and Nayoung became partners. Nayoung had been an Auror for a while, but Siyeon burned through her training. One of the youngest Aurors ever, I believe. Inducted within two years of graduation from Hogwarts, and usual training takes three.”

Jieqiong was right to believe Siyeon was a force to be reckoned with. She heard from Nayoung that becoming an Auror was intense, what more staying alive as one. Jieqiong had stopped sewing for a second and spotted the shadow of an eavesdropper by the doorway.

“Hey Eunwoo!” Shouted Jieqiong with a smirk. She heard a clatter of dishes.

“O-oh, ahem, hey. How’s it going in here?” Eunwoo walked into the room in what she hoped was a casual manner. “Yewon made mini tarts and thought you guys could use some sugar.”

“Yes! I love my Yewonie’s treats,” Yebin groaned happily. She swung the dragon hide onto the table and stood up to grab a tart from the tray.

“These are really good,” said Jieqiong, taking one herself.

“Top notch,” agreed Eunwoo with full. She had stuffed a whole tart in despite having eaten four in the kitchen. “Hope everything’s going well!” She said over her shoulder as she walked across the hall.

Jieqiong settled back in her seat and took up her needle again. “So, um…” She began, but paused at the warmth creeping up the back of her neck.

“Go on, ask me about Nayoung. I’ll spill anything and everything,” Yebin said with a sly tone.

Jieqiong choked on air. Yebin looked at her as if to say, you can’t fool me, so Jieqiong didn’t bother denying it. “I don’t know, I was just wondering how… How Nayoung was like as a kid.”

“Teenager. She’s a few years older than us and I didn’t meet her until she was an upperclassman at school. She was an excellent Chaser, adored by everyone. Girls and boys alike swooned when she spoke. Because, you know, monotonous voices are just so y. Oh, she’d petrify my right now if she heard,” laughed Yebin without a care.

“What’s a Chaser?” Asked Jieqiong, more interested in why Nayoung had a fan club at school.

“A position in Quidditch, a wizarding sport. Star athlete Im was the one scoring all the goals. I mean, there were two others but she was the one everyone cared about. She was team captain. Head Girl too. Incredibly smart, she tutored me for my upper level exams. Yes, I know what you’re thinking. Brains and brawn, she’s got it all.” Jieqiong went into another coughing fit. “Quite a catch, isn’t she?” Yebin wiggled her eyebrows.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” wheezed Jieqiong, trying to focus on sewing.

“Of course you don’t,” grinned Yebin. “Eunwoo’s is done. How are you doing?”

Jieqiong held up her own vest. “Almost there, just half of this side left.”

“You’re pretty handy with this. If you ever want to retire from Muggle investigations, I’ll hire you as an assistant. You can even bunk with your girlfriend,” said Yebin casually.

“I don’t have a girlfriend,” responded Jieqiong, a bit too loudly.

“Yet.”

A/N: I really should have published this as a separate story if I was striving for both character and plot development. Excuse me while I hide in isolation and write a fourth part. Also, happy belated birthdays to Jieqiong and Nayoung! Woot woot! And happy holidays, everyone!