pairing: im nayoung x pinky.

In hindsight, perhaps she should've thought twice before purchasing the toad for the sole reason it was on sale.

"Kuromon." Nayoung stares at her toad placed on the palm of her hands, her eyes blinking more than a few times. The common room is empty, and Nayoung sits in front of the fire place with her pet, enjoying the crackling of the hearth. The warmth soaks into her skin, soothing her in the ruthless November air. Scotland is rather cold, she notes. It's a stark contrast from what she's used to in Seoul — rays of sunrise slipping through the cracks in her windows, the hair clinging stubbornly to her skin, forehead damp with sweat — and she's unsure whether she likes it or not.

Her toad croaks weakly in response and the corners of her lips twitch downwards. Did she forget to feed him again?

"Don't croak at me like that," she mumbles, and suddenly Nayoung is grateful everyone else is having dinner right now. She's not sure if she wants to imagine the reactions she'll get if her friends find out she's been talking to her toad. (Eunwoo would be thrilled, and Yebin would try to find some kind of St. Mungos hotline.) "At times like these, I wonder why I got you in the first place."

Kuromon croaks something that could've been translated into 'ouch' if it were human, and Nayoung doesn't want to know how she understands. She sighs, letting the toad jump away from her palms and off to wherever it is toads party in their freetime, and maybe Nayoung should get better friends if she spends her time having conversations with her two year-old pet instead of actual breathing human beings.

Somewhere amidst the chaos that is the third month of the semester, Nayoung loses Kuromon.

The moment she realizes her toad isn't jumping beside her as she walks is during transfiguration, and she shows a semblance of emotion when she realizes no, her toad is not there with her. Yebin, her ever-so-loyal seatmate, notices Nayoung's sudden show in emotion and is immediately concerned of her best friend's well-being.

"You alright, Stone Buddha?" Yebin whispers, her lips nearly pressing Nayoung's ears. The teacher is strict, and Nayoung understands why Yebin feels the need to go through the lengths she's going to in order to ask about Nayoung's state of being. 

Nayoung nods, almost impercebtibly. Yebin is not convinced, and it's a no-brainer from the way her brows knit in confusion.

"I lost Kuromon," Nayoung finally admits, and Yebin sighs, as if to say is that it? 

(Her friends don't seem to realize why Kuromon is so important to her. Truth be told, Nayoung doesn't know why either.)

"I'm sure he'll come back later." At that, Yebin ends the conversation, turning back on her seat to focus on the teacher explaining how to turn a chair into a table. Nayoung feels herself dozing off the rest of the class, and in her dreams, she hears croaks. And also, a plethora of ribbits.

In the end, Nayoung finds Kuromon.

However, it's.. not quite as she expected, the girl notes as she eyes her toad being chased around by a cat. The cat doesn't seem hostile, Nayoung thinks. If the cat was hostile indeed, she would've dragged her precious Kuromon away from the devil cat a while ago, but it looks more like the animals are doing whatever is the equivalent of hanging out for pets. Kuromon keeps hopping (skipping?) gleefully — or as gleeful as toads could be, she supposes — and the cat doesn't look  as evil or grumpy as cats usually do.

"Whiskers!"

Nayoung nearly jumps out of her skin when an unfamiliar presence pops out from literally out of nowhere (or maybe the potions classroom), walking in a fast pace towards the cat. Or, Whiskers, as the cat has been dubbed.

Whiskers is a fat cat. Nayoung isn't sure why she thought of that, and it's either because of a) spite, or b) Hogwarts cats are fat indeed, and it's more of a fact than anything. With all the food the house elves supply, she'd be surprised if a cat residing in Hogwarts was as frail as the strays she would find during searing hot summer days in the streets of Apgujeong.

"There you are." The unfamiliar figure is a girl. The girl is tall, though not as tall as Nayoung (which would be a difficult feat, considering as Nayoung is magically tall, blessed with legs that go on for miles), and her features are strong, strikingly gorgeous. Nayoung takes a moment to admire the girl's beauty before scrutinizing her once more under Nayoung's analytical gaze, and a name appears in mind when the mystery girl smiles.

"Z-Zhou Jieqiong?" Nayoung calls out meekly to gain the gorgeous girl's attention, and it works. Jieqiong (or Pinky, as she had tried to get her peers to call her — to be honest, Nayoung thinks the name is ridiculous but she's not one to judge) tilts her head back, gaze searching for the soul who'd called her name. When her bright eyes meet Nayoung's (dull, boring, monotone - as Nayoung herself would say), Jieqiong smiles warmly, and it's nothing like the smiles Nayoung fakes in front of mirrors for a taste of conformity.

"That me!" Jieqiong responds happily, her tone airy. "Who might you be?" Jieqiong's hufflepuff crest seem to glitter in the natural light that somehow filters through the windows (it's winter. Is that the Jieqiong effect, wonders Nayoung) and her smile is radiant enough to make the light dull in comparison.

"Nayoung. The Im one," she adds hastily, upon remembering another Kim Nayoung exists, but that's a story for another time.

Jieqiong chews down on her lower lip in thought before snapping her fingers together, making a sound to express her pride on her memory. "Ah! I know you. You're Siyeon's friend, right?" Park Siyeon is a Slytherin a few years younger than Nayoung with a face that would put any beauty pageant contestant to shame and a smile that could cure first world problems. The both of them aren't close, but Siyeon talks to Nayoung's friends so much (Yebin in particular) that the both of them are automatically friends by association, apparently.

Nayoung nods, and Jieqiong points at Kuromon the Toad. "Is it yours?"

"It's a he. His name is Kuromon."

Instead of laughter, fear, shock, or any of the emotions Nayoung has seen from others upon hearing her say those words, Jieqiong looks thrilled. Ecstatic, even.

"So that's why Whiskers likes him so much, huh?" Jieqiong grins, and Nayoung looks in horror as the two pets seemingly make googly eyes at each other. Were these things even supposed to happen..? 

(She should've watched Animal Planet instead of bingewatching Cartoon Network during summer break, Nayoung decides, because hours of Powerpuff Girls reruns did not give her enough knowledge for the Real World.)

"What do you mean?" Nayoung manages to stammer, and Jieqiong blinks.

"Love, of course. Whiskers seems absolutely smitten with Kuromon. It's so cute!"

Like an idiot, Nayoung only nods, her lips unmoving as her brain goes on blank to figure out what the is she supposed to say. She likes the idea of cats and toads marrying each other and producing little hybrid babies, is that what she's supposed to say? Nevertheless, Jieqiong doesn't push her for a response.

Giving a last coo at their pets being generally as in love as a cat could be with a toad, Jieqiong's eyes focused on Nayoung's Gryffindor badge, her eyes flashing in recognition. Under Jieqiong's scrutrinizing gaze, Nayoung wanted to crawl into a hole. Or suddenly be shorter, though given her height, that seemed to be Mission Impossible.

"Siyeon never told me you were a Gryffindor." There it was again, Siyeon.

Do you guys talk about me? is what Nayoung so desperately wanted to say, but instead she stammered out an unsure, "I'm a Gryffindor, yeah."

Way to go, Nayoung. Be a nervous wreck in front of the pretty underclassman.

Instead of laughing at her face, Jieqiong, ever-so-friendly and warm (honestly, Nayoung heard stories of how the girl would hug someone she's only talked to once in the hallways, and that sounds like the stuff out of Nayoung's 'crazy ' list - though that may be more because of the fact Nayoung is Nayoung, a tall and perfect proportioned lump of awkwardness) sounded a bubble of laughter, the smile never leaving her pink stained lips. Pink lipgloss. How appropriate for the name Pinky. "That's cool! All the Gryffindors I've talked to are great. You are too!"

How it's possible for someone to be this open to strangers, Nayoung does not know.

"Thank you." Somehow, Nayoung manages not to stumble through the letters, and she silently thanks all the speaking gods out there. However, being around Jieqiong makes her feel jittery and nervous (in a good way, but nervous is still nervous and Im Nayoung is generally a mess when she's a nervous wreck) and she feels the need to retreat, either to save her dignity or come up with a better way to strike a conversation with the girl, she is confused. 

Sensing the distress on Nayoung's face, Jieqiong coughs. "I have to go now, but it was really nice talking to you. I hope I'll see you around!" The smile Jieqiong has on her face turns hopeful, if Nayoung's eyes aren't failing her, and the older girl nods weakly, attempting a smile back.

(It looks like a grimace more than anything, but at least she tried.)

Yebin doesn't know what to make of Nayoung's sudden interest towards a younger Hufflepuff named Zhou Jieqiong, but Eunwoo does, and she has the time of her life teasing Nayoung about her little 'crush.'

"Honestly, you and your frog were meant to be," says Eunwoo one day, and Nayoung blinks, unsure whether she is thankful or offended. Being compared to a frog doesn't seem to be a positive thing, but then again, her toad is pretty cool. 

"It's a toad," corrects Nayoung out of instinct.

"Frog, toad, whatever. Your frog fell for the girls' pet, and you fell for the owner. It's like, owner-pet compatibility."

"I don't think that exists, but... okay?"

Kuromon croaks. Nayoung attempts a croak back to try that owner-pet compatibility Eunwoo mentioned, but she sounds more like a dying grandmother than an actual toad.

author's note

ahaha so that was the first oneshot. i'm posting this when it hasn't been betaread so please forgive me for any grammar or spelling mistakes! sorry if the plotline was rather dry; ; the next ones will hopefully be better. i'm overwhelmed by the support this has so far, thank you so much and keep supporting our girls! please comment if you liked the story oR maybe not, , sweats.