One would assume that the green and silver tie around her neck warranted a certain type of sense and shrewdness in her character, or perhaps tinctures of it surely to develop with age – especially at the finale of preadolescence as she prepared to be catapulted into the trials and tribulations of the teenage years, kickstarted at Hogwarts by the impending doom known as the O.W.L.s.

Oh, but at thirteen years old, the Ordinary Wizarding Level tests were far from Jung Mimi’s mind.

The type to live in the now, she was far too occupied with present concerns to think about the future. It’s this rashness that may suggest bolder Gryffindor qualities, but the Sorting Hat saw Mimi, and rightfully so, as a Slytherin at heart whose impulse was strongly driven by ambition and the desire for success.

Granted, she may have lacked the wise judgment and the ‘think before you act’ attributes possessed by many other Slytherins, but well, who’s got wisdom and prudence down to a T at thirteen years old except for over-achieving Ravenclaws anyways? And even then, they’re barely just past the tip of the iceberg.

At the back of their minds, behind the memorized incantations, Quidditch practice dates, how to ask that cute girl in Arithmancy for tutoring help without stuttering, and how to dress for maximum individualism despite the Hogwarts uniform coalescing everyone’s identities into one, everyone knew that the qualities that defined each House just made up a model of sorts; traits inherently in you or characteristics you aim for because of their importance.

They don’t completely determine who one is; you might have the traits of two, three, or all the Houses. It’s this cloudiness that makes working one’s way through the labyrinth of growing up all the more complicated.

But Mimi knew who she was – or rather, she was pretty sure of herself. Sure of what she wanted and sure of how to get it; she acts when she wants to no matter the circumstances or consequences.

Consequences. A word that barely made an appearance in third year Mimi’s mind.

And this was evident in a decision she made one Friday afternoon when everyone was itching to finish class for the day in anticipation of the second Hogsmeade trip of the year (and for all third years, only their second Hogsmeade trip ever).

But alas, Professor Hwang had a penchant for drawing out his History of Magic lessons. Quite frankly, every third year in that classroom was already too indulged in the reverie of their upcoming weekend escape to pay attention to their professor going on about the Bideford witch trial. Or was it Salem….

And to make matters worse, Professor Hwang had assigned a thirty-page reading to be completed by their next lesson. Who wants to read thirty pages from the History of Magic textbook especially when a Hogsmeade weekend was coming up? Nobody, not even over-achieving Ravenclaws.

That being said, Mimi’s decision, though surely witless and utterly mindless at the time, would go down as one she would never regret.

“Sounds fun, Jung, but the guys want to meet up near the Shrieking Shack and I don’t want to miss out if we get caught,” Wonsik had told her when she shared her proposal.

Despite this forewarning, Mimi, ever so cavalier, went ahead with her plan anyways, which involved sneaking in to not one, but two offices.

Now it’s imperative to note that Professor Hwang had a particular proclivity for spotlessness – in all aspects. He kept his office clean at all times, spent a great deal making sure his appearance was neat, and, most importantly, polished everything he owned until they were gleaming.

On the contrary, the office of the Care of Magical Creatures professor was disorganized and untidy, with critters crawling around and flying about – but it was a certain shimmering corner of the room that caught Mimi’s eye when she paid a visit while the professor was out that Friday afternoon.

An unlocked cage was way too easy.

With an artful glint in her eye, Mimi reached in and pocketed two sterling silver spoons – along with a fussy baby Niffler to go with the silverware.

***

“You’re as thick as two short planks.”

This phrase would be forever remembered by Mimi as monumental, though of course, she wouldn’t have known that back then. At the time, those words were meant to be an insult and yes, Mimi did indeed take great offence at the libel.

To no one’s surprise, a third year Slytherin, or anyone for that matter, would be insulted by having their wit likened to that of inanimate pieces of wood.

(Yes, Mimi was greatly offended at being called stupid. Who wouldn’t?)

Defending herself made sense when it came to saving face, but whether the comment was appropriate or not was something Mimi would avoid.

Because in other words, the speaker wasn’t necessarily wrong. Despite her pride, Mimi couldn’t argue against it. But though she might admit that she was acting quite foolishly, it doesn’t mean she felt remorseful about it. Others would use the word stupid; Mimi prefers conniving.

Just like how unsurprising it was for a Slytherin to be offended by being insulted for doing something stupid, it was also unsurprising that said Slytherin who got offended for being insulted was caught and punished for doing something as stupid as releasing a Niffler into the very neat and very shiny office of the History of Magic professor.

Consequently, Mimi was stripped of her Hogsmeade trip privilege for that weekend and instead had to spend her break in Professor Hwang’s office tidying up the mess she had indirectly caused.

She had to undo the havoc the Niffler had wreaked without her birch wand (it had been confiscated) and under the supervision of someone who Mimi suspected was surely not authorized to supervise, but was apparently completely capable of doing so anyways.

“I’m a third year, I don’t need to be monitored by another third year,” Mimi grumbled, “I’m competent enough to do this without a babysitter.”

“I beg to differ. Clearly, you’re not competent enough to be left alone; who knows what trouble you’ll cause without me here watching you,” her "supervisor" fired back.

Mimi rolled her eyes at the other girl. She had a crystal bobby pin sparkling against dark brown hair cropped to her shoulders. Her scarlet and golden tie was knotted neatly, her robe was free of wrinkles, and, to complete the outfit, she marched  with waxed Mary Janes as polished as the egg trinkets Mimi had been organizing on the shelf.

Needless to say, her tidiness and thoroughly kempt appearance had Mimi feeling slightly self-conscious about her own untucked shirt, absent jumper, and scuffed shoes. Usually, she looked tidy enough to blend in with the rest and escape nagging by picky professors, but compared to the Gryffindor girl’s almost-terrifyingly-perfect presentation of herself, Mimi’s idiosyncratic habits became awfully conspicuous.

“You could at least help instead of henpecking me.”

“I’m not here to help you clean up the mess you created, I’m here to watch you clean up the mess you created,” the other girl answered as she wrote, her quill moving across the parchment in diligence, “And I’m not henpeck– hey, that frame goes on the chiffonier, not in the display case! Ugh, can’t you do anything right?”

Mimi paused in front of the display case, clutching a moving black-and-white photograph of their professor shaking hands with an elderly man in what looked like the Himalayas. She whipped around to find the other girl glaring at her.

“What in Merlin’s pants is a chiffonier?” Mimi asked, eyebrows deeply furrowed.

The Gryffindor girl heaved a deep sigh in frustration before standing from her desk – which was the only tidy setup in the entire room – and stomping over to Mimi. Grabbing the framed picture from the Slytherin girl’s hands, she made her way to the other side of the room towards the chiffonier (or what Mimi would call, like most other people her age, a small sideboard with a bookcase on top).

“You’re as thick as two short planks…” the girl grumbled under her breath.

“…Hey!” Mimi exclaimed with a stomp of her foot, “I heard that!”

***

Mimi only learned the girl’s name on the following Sunday when she overheard Professor Hwang speaking to her.

“…thank you, Hana. I will drop by later,” he had said before the Gryffindor girl re-entered the office.

“So, your name is Hana?” Mimi greeted. Much to her offence, she was curtly ignored as Hana resumed whatever work she busied herself with at her desk. “It’s my second day being stuck with you and I never formally introduced myself–“

“Jung Mimi, Slytherin. Broke into the office of the Care of Magical Creatures professor, stole a Niffler, set it free in this office, and ergo, triggering a mayhem for which she is now held responsible for and must repent and repair in the form of cleanup of said office,” Hana answered without taking her eyes off her work, “I know you already.”

In the midst of her long-winded explanation, Mimi had narrowed her eyes.

“Okay then…” Mimi paused, “Well, I know you too!" When the other girl failed to give any type of reaction, Mimi went on, “Hana, Gryffindor. Prim and proper, strait-laced, uptight, and does nothing but sit here, do her homework, and boss me around in said office. Uh, ergo.”

Hana ceased her writing to look up at the Slytherin. “You used ergo incorrectly.”

Mimi rolled her eyes. “Whatever, no normal third year uses that word,” she replied dismissively, “You are so prissy.”

“You won’t get any work done if you just stand there insulting me with superficial assumptions about who I am."

“You started it! You said I was as thick as two short planks!” argued Mimi when suddenly, Hana broke into fits of chuckles. “What’s so funny?”

“Two short planks,” she said between giggles, “It’s funny.” Taking a moment to give herself a pat on the back, she promptly returned to her work.

Mimi let out a huff. She did not find it very funny. “What are you even doing here? Shouldn’t you be at Hogsmeade like everyone else?”

“I have responsibilities to uphold as Professor Hwang’s assistant, which includes overseeing you while he is busy this weekend supervising the Hogsmeade trips. He is also quite swamped with writing his book.”

“Professor Hwang hired a third year? How much do you make?”

“I don’t work for him, I work with him. And I wasn’t hired, I volunteered. It will look commendable on my student record.”

Mimi scoffed. “Are you sure you’re a Gryffindor? You’re a bit of a nerd to me,” she paused to her head then resumed, “Maybe you’re actually a Ravenclaw. Did you put on the wrong tie this morning by chance?”

Hana crinkled her nose and pursed her lips in annoyance. “Don’t be dense, not all Ravenclaws are nerds. And for your information, I come from a long line of honourable Gryffindors. I’d be surprised if you’ve never heard or read about a Shin in your life,” said Hana, her nose in the air, “though it won’t be surprising if you don’t even read.”

“…Merlin, you are so snooty. Maybe you should go outside more,” Mimi suggested as she sorted through a stack of parchment riddled with cursive handwriting she couldn’t read.

“I go outside often,” Hana replied defensively before sighing. “Whatever, we both have work to do so stop bothering me. I’m already missing an important club meeting for this.”

Mimi hummed in response. She and Hana did not speak to each other for the rest of the day.

I will never get along with this girl, she thought, after this hellish weekend, I’ll never have to speak to her ever again!

It’s with this hope that kept her going as she cleaned Professor Hwang’s office – but little did Mimi know just how false of a hope it was and, more importantly, how untrue of a statement her first assumption about their relationship would be.

***

Fourth year at Hogwarts was nearly identical to third year, except everyone was a year older and impending doom in the form of Ordinary Wizarding Level tests begun to plague the minds of all the students as they realized that they must start cracking down on their studies if they wanted to succeed.

(Unless you were an overachieving Ravenclaw, of course, in which the O.W.L.s had been plaguing your mind ever since your wand chose you.)

Mimi, still as cavalier as ever, carried on with her nonchalance on subjects she didn’t care much for. If she wanted to succeed, she’d find ways to do so and always thought of herself as skilful enough to scrape by the theory and non-practical components of her classes.

Except Astronomy. Oh, Astronomy, the absolute bane of every fourth year’s existence at that time.

Professor Nebuleuse (yes, his name really was nebula in French, much to the skepticism of everybody who took the class) was a bald and plump man who spoke with a heavy French accent. For a while, some students suspected if he was really a wizard, but when he casted a tongue-tying spell on gossiping students in the middle of class, any further suspicions of his magical heritage dissipated.

He was passionate about Astronomy and had a propensity to teach topics that were far beyond what the curriculum required. For instance, he’d get carried away blabbing about gravitational radiation to a group of fourth years who would much rather be someplace else. In addition, since it was almost midnight, students like Mimi would be dozing off in the Astronomy Tower during class. Many joked that their late-night Astronomy lessons were a way to catch up (or get a head start) on your Z’s.

And sleep they did – but this also meant that when it was time for tests, many fourth years that year were royally screwed.

Now Mimi was not cavalier enough to not care about failing classes, especially since failing Astronomy with Nebuleuse meant retaking Astronomy with Nebuleuse.

So she had hoped her all-nighter and last minute cramming was enough for her to at least pass the midterm with a satisfactory Acceptable. However, as her classmates descended the stairs of the Astronomy Tower after the examination, Mimi knew that she had submitted a Dreadful-worthy test at best.

“What did you write for question number four?”

“Um, Saturn, I think,” her friend Jiwoo answered, “or was it Jupiter? One of those two.”

Mimi came to a stop as they reached the landing. “Wait, what? But I wrote Sirius!”

“Mimi, it was asking for a planet,” Jiwoo replied before reaching over to knock on Mimi’s forehead, “Is there anything in that skull of yours?”

Mimi swatted her hand away with a wretched look on her face. “That test was too difficult. You know, I was this close to just accepting my fate and jumping over the rampart to my death.”

Jiwoo responded with a pitying laugh before bidding farewell as the staircase emptied. Waving goodbye, Mimi turned to face the opposite corridor when oh! What luck had befallen for her to bump into the last person she had wanted to see.

If she hadn’t been haphazardly rushing down the stairs, perhaps the contents of Hana’s fallen book bag would not have scattered all over the floor.

“Hey, watch where you’re going!” Mimi cried out as she glared daggers at the Gryffindor girl.

Hana, who had instantly dropped to her knees, was too busy gathering the contents of her book bag to give a reply. Mimi let out a loud hmph and was about to stomp away when something as stark red as a polished apple caught the corner of her eye.

She snatched it from the ground before Hana could reach it with her fingertips.

Inspecting the item in her hand, Mimi’s eyes widened to near-perfect circles. She knew exactly what this was.

“Oh? What is Ms. Priggish Shin Hana doing with a Revealer?”

Hana quickly got to her feet and tried to reach for the red eraser, but Mimi had better reflexes and pulled back.

“It’s–it’s not what you think it is!” Hana retorted as she tried to reach for it again, to no avail. How did Mimi have such fast reflexes?

Shaking her head, a tsk slipped past the Slytherin girl’s lips. “I know what this is. Why, oh why, in Merlin’s long, white, groomed beard do you have a Revealer in your bag after we have just written our Astronomy midterm?”

“It’s none of your business,” Hana replied through gritted teeth, “Now give it back, it’s not yours!”

“If you tell me why you have it,” Mimi countered, her lips upturned into a devilish smirk. When Hana just pursed her lips and tried to (unsuccessfully) grab the eraser (again), Mimi looked past over her shoulders and teased, “Oh, Professor Nebu–“

She was interrupted by a hand to from a panicked Gryffindor girl nervously looking over her shoulder. Luckily, the staircase was empty. Retracting her hand and wiping it on her robe, Hana shoved Mimi into an empty corridor.

“Fine. You know exactly why I have it. Now give it back and keep your mouth shut or else!” she threatened. Despite her poisonous words, she kept her distance and stood holding out an open palm in front of Mimi, “Please. I have an important meeting to attend.”

“What club has a meeting this late in the evening?”

Silence.

“Nevermind, I don’t care about that,” Mimi said with a sigh, “Now on to what I do care about…did you cheat? How’d you do it without getting caught?”

Again, silence.

“Hmm, let me guess, did you sneak in notes written in invisible ink and used the Revealer when the professor wasn’t looking?”

Hana remained tight-lipped and was visibly trying to keep her composure, but Mimi could tell in her eyes that she was growing increasingly anxious; she had never seen Shin Hana this high-strung and antsy before. Mimi played with the eraser in her hands as she pondered.

Finally, after what felt like a century for Hana, Mimi handed back her Revealer.

Stuffing it deep in her book bag, Hana straightened her back, fixed her hair, and clasped her hands in front of her. “Thank you. Now, I would very much appreciate it if you keep mum about this. Have a good night.”

Just as she was about to turn on the heels of her polished Mary Janes, Mimi grabbed her arm and stopped her.

“Oh, no, no, you’re not escaping me that easily,” Mimi said, the smirk yet to disappear from her face, “I won’t tell anyone about your little misdeed…on one condition.”

Now, that night in an empty Astronomy Corridor after a disastrous midterm that was surely failed by more than half the class, a sprout that had been waiting in the dirt since it was planted in their third year began to burgeon.

It’s not everyday that a certain type of camaraderie blossoms out of blackmail, grounded by threats of defamation and backed by the very scary risk of flushing a very august reputation down the drain.

Granted, it doesn’t sound very promising and it’s true that neither Hana and Mimi knew back then that anything real and long-lasting would come out of the pact Mimi had offered that night.

But if you were to look at them now, you would see that every insult and threat they had sputtered at each other at the time was truly worth it.

***

“You interned for him last year, I know that you know every nook and cranny of his office!”

Hana’s fingertips traced the bookshelf before stopping on a red book with ‘Curses, Counter-Curses, and Counter-Counter-Curses’ inscribed on the spine in dark green lettering.

Sliding the book out of the shelf and placing it on top of her towering pile, Hana answered, “Professor Hwang carries his manual, along with the syllabi for all of his classes, in his bag at all times.”

“Well, maybe he leaves his bag in his office!” Mimi furiously whispered (they were in the Library, you see), “It’s worth a shot.”

Hana paused to look at Mimi with a suspiciously raised eyebrow. “You want me to sneak into his office and swipe his bag for the teacher’s copy of our History of Magic textbook? Didn’t I already help you with your Herbology project?” she questioned.

“Yes and yes,” Mimi answered, “And just in case you’ve forgotten our agreement, you promised you’d help me with anything and everything I came to you for. Did you think it was just a one-time thing?"

"By that, I thought you had meant helping you with tutoring, not cheating."

"Don't be silly. I know what you do and I want in on it too," replied Mimi, "So, what do you say? Don’t forget, your reputation is in my hands.”

“…I’ll be honest with you, Mimi…” Hana started with a sigh, “No one is going to believe you if you tell them that I cheated on my Astronomy midterm.”

Mimi scoffed. “Maybe, maybe not. But you’re underestimating the power of rumours. Words travel fast from loose lips to loose lips on the Hogwarts grapevine, you know… And I will not hesitate to let anything slip. You don't want to know what I'm capable of.”

Hana narrowed her eyes. “…Fine, but you’re coming with me,” she grumbled as she picked up her pile of books so high that it went up to her nose, “Have I ever told you that I hate you?”

Mimi chuckled, clapping her hands triumphantly. “Why the hell do you have so many books?” she asked.

“They’re for my upperclassmen,” Hana answered, “and one very ambitious second year. She’s a Slytherin, maybe you know her.”

Mimi shrugged before reaching over to grab a few books from the top of Hana’s pile so she saw where she was walking.

If the Gryffindor girl wasn’t so stubborn, she might’ve even squeaked out a meager thank you for the helping hand. If only.

***

Mimi could often remain calm and collected in even the most nerve-wracking of situations, or at least hide it well enough to keep her cool. This was a required skill, she would say, when it came to escaping messes she would get herself in as a result of her impulsivity.

So when Professor Hwang returned to his office much earlier than they had anticipated, Mimi was more than prepared to deal with the situation – somehow, someway.

But Hana, on the other hand, let her anxiety and misgivings get the best of her.

“What the bloody hell did you just do?!” Mimi furiously whispered.

Their History of Magic professor was lying on the floor – knocked out and unconscious, as a result of an unforeseen and completely unplanned stunning spell courtesy of the Gryffindor girl who stood frozen near the door of the office.

“I-I don’t know! I p-panicked and, I don’t know, I thought he’d be out longer, I didn’t expect him to come back so quick a–and I knew that look in his eye when he saw you, I knew we were bloody screwed– and I wasn’t…I’m– I don’t know,” Hana cried, her words tripping over each other as she looked at Mimi with wide, alarmed eyes.

Mimi made a beeline for the door to close it before approaching Hana. She wondered if anyone else had ever seen Hana this jittery and wound up before. With how dignified the Gryffindor girl usually presented herself in public, she wouldn’t have been surprised if this was a temperament that Hana hid well from everyone else.

But Mimi had already gotten a glimpse of this side – twice! – and she pushed the foreign feeling this gave her to the back of her mind.  

“Relax, stop freaking out,” Mimi reassured, “We’ll just…” Mimi thought for a moment as she threw a quick glance at their professor’s motionless body, “Um…do you know how to obliviate?”

As if she wasn’t in enough of a tizzy already, Hana glared at her incredulously. “You want me to cast a memory charm on our professor? Are you mad?! You’re out of your mind! We can’t just do that to our professor!”

“Oh my bloody pink Frolicsome Feline plates, can you stop having kittens for just a damn second? Get it together, Shin, I could've very well talked us out of this jam, but you’re the one who casted flippin’ Stupefy on him!” Mimi said exasperatingly. “But listen, this is not really a big deal–”

“Um, this is kind of a gigantic deal!”

Mimi grabbed Hana’s shoulders to give her a shake. “We’ll get out of this, but you need to relax first. Listen, we’re going to get him to his desk, wake him up, and cast a little memory charm on him to make him forget that he ever saw us in here. Then we get the hell out of here. Understood?”

When Hana just stared at her blankly, Mimi groaned, “Merlin, do you want me to slap you?! Can you or can you not cast a memory charm?”

Blinking, Hana quickly shook her head. “No, no, don’t slap me. I’m fine, I’m fine,” she replied, pausing to take a deep breath, “And yes, of course I can. I’m ready when you are.”

After exchanging resolute nods, they put their noses to the grindstone as they worked to erase the fact that they were ever there.

With some toil (“he’s too heavy, we can’t possible carry him” “you’re levitating him too high!” “if you drop him there, you’re going to surely break his neck” “that position looks unnatural, put his hand over there” “hurry up!”), they made quick work and found themselves at the door staring at a tidy office and Professor Hwang slumped over his desk as if he had simply dozed off while doing work.

A messy pile of assignments and a mug of warm dragon milk (Hana claimed that he liked to drink it while he marked students’ works, much to Mimi’s disgust) were the cherries on top.

“Good work,” Mimi said as she admired their handiwork. “We make a decent team, I must admit.”

Hana rolled her eyes. “Can we please go before anyone sees us? I think I need some Butterbeer after this…”

After a hushed Rennervate followed immediately by an even quieter memory charm, the two girls scampered down the corridor, wands in hand, as their groggy professor slowly stirred awake.

***

“I wasn’t sure if you like crystallized pineapples, but my uncle runs a confectionary manufacturer and sends me a parcel every year so…here you go.”

Mimi stared at the golden box of candy being offered to her before taking it. Eagerly, she popped the box open.

“Thanks,” she spoke with full, “but what’s the occasion?”

“Nothing,” Hana answered sheepishly, “Just a thank you for last week. You kept me from losing my nerve in Hwang’s office–“

“You did lose your nerve.”

“–Uh, whatever, nevermind. The point is, thanks for helping me get out of it. If we got caught, we would’ve been done for.”

Mimi narrowed her eyes before her lips curled into a smirk. “No problem. We were in it together.”

Hana nodded her head. Just as she was about to walk away, Mimi stopped her from spinning on the heels of her polished Mary Janes.

“My friend bailed on me, saying she had Slytherin tryouts to attend. That was a bit random since I don’t even think she can ride a broom…” Mimi shook her head, “But do you want to stay and grab a Butterbeer? It’s quite boring sitting here alone.”

Hana hesitated. “Oh…alright. Okay,” she replied with a small smile as she sat beside Mimi at the bar. The Three Broomsticks was teeming with Hogwarts students, as the usual with every Hogsmeade weekend trip.  

“Barman! A Butterbeer please,” Mimi called out before leaning towards Hana furtively, “Wonsik told me we don’t have a History of Magic test this week. Apparently, Hwang forgot about it.”

Hana chuckled, nodding a quick thanks to the barman who served her Butterbeer. “Seems like we may have erased more memory than we intended.”

“We snuck into his office for nothing. Why didn’t we just obliviate him in the first place instead of going through the trouble of secretly borrowing his copy of the textbook?” Mimi replied with a shake of her head, “But I’m not complaining. We still get no test after all.”

“Your shenanigans strangely worked out, albeit unexpectedly,” Hana said before raising her eyebrow, “You won’t get into more trouble, will you?”

Mimi looked at her with a familiar smirk. “I can’t promise you that.”

Hana sighed. “Well…you know where to find me.”

With a clink of their mugs, they shared mischievous giggles as the nuances of their devilment faded into the bustle of the pub, their growing fraternity fitting right with the atmosphere.

a/n: some tidbits for Illusion readers…this oneshot took place during hanami’s  3rd & 4th year. hana joined the gobstones club in her 3rd year (if u noticed the mentions of club meetings) and mimi joined in her 5th. the original outline for this story actually covered years 3 to 6, but maybe I’ll save their 5th & 6th year adventures for another time haha

also, I briefly referenced 2 gugudan/current gobstones club members in the story, can u guess who they were? ;)

thanks for reading! comments are always appreciated~