"If I didn't know any better, I'd say this place gives off perfect Halloween feels," Asha mutters with a little grin.

"Caw, caw", the crow perched on a nearby dead tree answers. Doing its best to further sell the 'spooky territory, do not trespass' vibe.

A fair distance away in the foggy marshes, there is an old ruin of what might've been a castle, looming menacingly, bits and pieces of the former grand building sticking out of the soil and piercing the steel-grey sky like giant rotten teeth. 

They sure are dishing out all the clichés.

Faraway ruin that looks ready to collapse or at least hold a promise of nightmares and haunted grounds? Check. Dead trees with branches grasping into the sky like greedy gnarly hands? Check. A crow screaming bloody murder every now and then? Check. Wooden signs reading 'Keep out' on the fence every few feet, almost falling off its hinches and creaking in the autumn breeze? Check, check, and check.

The crow caws again and flaps its wings.

"...Yeah, me too."

Wit a nod at the bird, Asha takes a few steps well past one of the 'Keep out' signs. She blinks a few times, tilts her head and waits for her sight to adjust to reality. It's weird, how she sometimes still falls victim to masking spells that are intended for prying muggle-eyes. Nobody knows why it keeps randomly happening, least of all the magizoologist herself. She is more witch than muggle, both by blood and mind. It absolutely makes no sense whatsoever.

Whatever.

She squints, and- ah. At long last, there it is.

Like a picture turning unfocused and then sharp again, the majestic grandeur of Hogwarts castle reveals itself to her. Asha drinks in the sight, giddy like the first time she got here. It's been a hot minute. Eleven years, to be accurate.

And still the sight takes her breath away. No wonder this place is a wizarding school, Hogwarts itself is made of pure magic. Sparks of wonder woven in the air, atmosphere crackling with the distinct feeling something great could take place any moment. That much hasn't changed.

Asha smiles. She loves her old school. (Only, they could've gone for a better name, in all honesty. But nobody is perfect, not even the four founders of the best school of wizardry and witchcraft - okay, maybe she is biased but can you blame her?)

The angry chirping of her pocket watch reminds Asha to hurry up. Or else she won't make it on time.

On time for what?

For her meeting with Hagrid, of course.

The by now elderly - though still imposing - giant Keeper of Keys and Grounds is to fetch her up and bring her right at Hogwarts' doorsteps - together with probably more than a hundred teenie-tiny First years. Because Asha is about to enter the school in First year tradition style, crossing the Great Lake in one of a dozen little boats while watching how the castle lights up and comes to life as night settles.

Way to introduce you to the world of magic.

Asha absolutely seconds. She still remembers how she'd thought Hogwarts at night looks as if an ancient giant had swallowed up a thousand stars, with the countless lights twinkling in the distance and reflecting in the black waters far beneath. Needless to say she'd been a madly impressed tiny First year. As it's supposed to be.

Nowadays there is not much being tiny about her anymore and she knows perfectly well what to expect. But she also knows herself and thus is pretty damn sure she'll be just as impressed as on her first and only ride with the boats.

But first things first. Hagrid can't pick her up at the docks if she keeps standing around gawping into thin air. One has to move if one wants to reach their destination. Right? Right.

Asha flicks her wand and sets the throng of luggage behind her in motion. Seven huge trunks lift themselves up from the ground and start floating after her in a wobbly line, her cat Yuki lounging atop the biggest one like the diva she is. (Asha loves her.) Broom in one hand and chirping pocket watch in the other, Asha gets moving.

 

"Ay me owd eyes deceiv'n me er is dat little Aqua ay see there!"

With three thundering steps Hagrid has caugth up to her, the sea of First Years parting for him easily. Nobody wants 'bulldozed by giant' to be written on their tombstone.

Hagrid pulls her high up in the air and in a bone-crushing bear hug. For a moment all Asha can see and feel is beard. She laughs into the grey fuzzy hair and lets herself be swung around like a ragdoll before being gently placed back on the ground.

"And Miss Yuki, should na forget Miss Yuki o' course."

The gentle wizard bents down to shake Yuki's paw, the cat hissing at first but ultimately snuggling into his big hand. No animal can resist Hagrid.

They stay like that for a little while, Hagrid happily petting the cat, cat enjoying the attention very much and Asha standing next to them with an exasperated smile. Some things never change.

It's when one of the First Years shrieks that 'no, I don't want to become a Kraken snack, I won't set foot on that lake' does Hagrid remember.

"Oh rite i've gorra job ter do." And with booming voice he shouts, "E'rrybody assemble!"

Cue little chaos ensuring because 'assembling means you walk in crocodile' - 'What the hell, I'm not a crocodile!' - 'Ohmygod you are so dumb Jeff.''

Asha tunes out Hagrid's little speech and the difficult task of getting the First Years into boats in groups of four in favour of mulling about her introductory speech. Does she even have to hold a speech? All new teachers hold a little speech at the first evening. But then again, she is not a teacher, not really. Maybe she'll get around it? Hopefully. Here is to wishing.

She ends up getting a whole boat for herself, courtesy of Hagrid. Perks of being an animal lover and thus one of Hagrid's former favourite students. Yuki sits at the bow, paw shooting into the water every now and then. Asha lets her have fun, not at all worried. She had to teach her cat how to swim a long time ago, with how often she was out on the open water or tending to enormous aquariums and their inhabitants, the curious kitty tagging along.

The sun is just vanishing behind the horizon once they set off, the last bit of light getting swallowed by the lake. Darkness falls fast enough and for a little while all they can see is inky blackness everywhere before the lights of Hogwarts blink to life one after another. There are several gasps around her at the enthralling sight. And even Asha herself is touched. Quod erat demonstrantum. Yuki meows up to the lights.

Leaving the boats and climbing up the stairs to the massive entrance portal happens in a blur.

Just when the First Years get handed over to Professor Longbottom for the initial greeting and mental preparation for the Sorting, Hagrid pulls Asha aside.

"Come 'ead, yous wanna sit at the table when dee get inside let me tell ya," he whispers.

Asha is almost tempted to pull away and stay, just so she can see how poor Professor Longbottom deals with the whole 'Ohmygosh I'm your biggest fan, can I have an autograph? Can you make that it changes colour with the weather? Can I have it as a tattoo on my cheek?' situation. Almost. At least nobody of the First Years did ask her something like that. Yet.

Begrudgingly she parts from the scene and follows Hagrid around a corner. Two smiling house elves are already waiting there, one taking care of her luggage with a snap of his fingers and the other getting entrusted with the safety of Yuki's life. The kind house elf lady is immediately smitten by Asha' little darling and vows to take the bestest best care of her.

Then it goes further down the corridor, down down down, probably walking as far as the Great Hall is long. And indeed, Hagrid leads her to a side door and pulls it open for her, revealing the brightly lit interior of the Great Hall behind it. Only, the perspective is a bit odd. Asha has never seen the hall up from the teachers' table. Gotta has to get used to it.

"After you," Hagrid gestures.

Asha chuckles.

"Thanks, Hagrid."

She sets foot in the Great Hall and immediately feels out of place. Several heads turn towards her and oh , there are three empty chairs on the teacher's table, which one is she supposed to take, how does the pecking order even look like, is she last place or only second-last or what is going on and-

Hagrid stomps past her to claim the chair next to Professor Sprout, effectively drawing all attention to himself. Then he pats the chair next to him with an expectant look at Asha and, yeah, attention diversion who?

Asha makes her way over to Hagrid, thinks halfway she panics enough to turn her hair a paler shade of blue. But she could be wrong. The other teachers nod at her and she awkwardly nods back. Good god, she'd never thought she would end up sitting at the same table as the people who taught her all she knows about magic.

As soon as she's sat down, Galleons start to wander up and down from one Professor to the next. Most of all finding their way into Firenze's hands. The centaur solemny accepts them, while the other Professors around him still keep muttering under their breath.

Asha is still lost.

"What-"

"Ah, pity," Professor Flitwick says. "I was so sure it would be pink."

Next to him, Madam Hooch huffs. "Oh please, Filius. She is working with marine creatures and literally wrote 'Aqua' on her essays instead of her real name. Of course her hair would be blue."

"Well I didn't see you betting on blue, Rolanda. You too lost a Galleon to Firenze, just like me. If anything, my guess on pink was still more realistic than yours on green."

"Ay, dun sweat it, Professor, Sir. We can juss make a new bet next munth er so." Hagrid is grinning from ear to ear as he too accepts some Galleons from his colleagues.

Asha narrows her eyes.

"Did you seriously bet on what hair colour I would have?"

Hagrid turns to her, surprised. "Oh, you could tell?"

"Well, duh."

 

"...And the First Years may follow the prefects to your house rooms once you are done. But first, you are invited to enjoy the festivities and celebrate your arrival at Hogwarts, of course."

The headmistress has barely finished her sentence when the stundents start chatting, voices rising everywhere and the usual chaos starting to unfurl. Already nobody is paying attention to the teachers anymore and even the ghosts start to strike up conversations with some terrified First Years.

Asha can't help but grin. the first evening back at Hogwarts is always a mess. She's glad that's still a given fact.

"Silence," Professor McGonaggal's magically amplified voice cuts through the cacophony. "I was not quite finished yet. Some of you might have hoped I'd forget about the Highly Discouraged Forest but rest assured I did not. The rules remain; nobody is to be in the forest after sunset, and only go in groups of at least three students or in company of a teacher, if you must enter the forest at all. If any of you get caught out there after sunset, there will be severe consequences, including but not being limited to a deduction of fifty points from your houses."

The headmistress gives a pointed look at some of the students - not surprisingly glaring into the general direction of the Gryffindor table.
"Did I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Professor."

Some of the kids are outright pouting, most of them just rolling their eyes. Yeah yeah, same old.

"And lastly-" Professor McGonaggal motions into Asha's direction - oh , is this the moment where it will bite her in the that she ended up not preparing a speech? , . - "I would like to welcome Miss Pleiter as new addition to our staff."

A wave of hesitant applause sweeps through the hall, one of the kind where it's obvious everybody is only clapping for manners and with no real idea what's going on.

Hagrid kicks Asha under the table with enough force for her to fall face-first into her empty plate if she hadn't shot out a steadying hand. Turning towards her old friend she sees him jerking his head up and- oh. Right. With all the dignity she has left, Asha gets up and raises her hand in a little wave, trying her best to give a reassuring smile to the student body. She's not sure if she succeeded.

Under the table, Hagrid tugs at her coat and she is quick to sit back down. So, no speech needed? Phew.

"Miss Pleiter will be teaching one of the triple T classes this year, specifically Marine Creatures. For those of you unaware, triple T stands for Triwizard Tournament Training. And no, I won't spell it out again so I suggest you better get used to the abreviation as of now. And as for our final addition to the staff," McGonnagal glances to the still empty chair next to Asha, on the far right of the table, "He couldn't make it in time, sadly. But you will meet him soon enough. I hope you will treat both Miss Pleiter and Mister Jeon with utmost respect, like you ought all of your teachers. Questions?"

One of the older students on the Ravenclaw table raises a hand.

"What's the wi-fi Password, Professor?"

"Accio nexu, with a capital A and an X," the Professor answers without missing a beat.

Cue collective uproar among the students.

"There is a new wi-fi password?!"

"Do Ravenclaws have steady wi-fi in their tower? They don't have to chase the signal? That's so unfair!"

"What is a wi-fi? Is it like, a secret society? How do I get in there? Is it any good?"

"HOGWARTS HAS WI-FI?!?!"

That last one, an exclamation coming from all the first years together, pretty much sums up Asha's thoughts. She feels so betrayed. Of course Hogwarts would get a modernization and of course it would only happen once she left. Life is not fair.

"Alright." McGonnagal claps once, the floating candles in the whole hall burning brighter for a moment. "Lord knows this was enough talk for tonight. I hereby declare the buffet open!"

This time, the cheers are deafening. There is even some stomping going on as the students watch how countless bowls and plates on the tables start to fill with the most delicious treats.

Asha can relate, man. The Hogwarts house elves sure know how to whip up a feast.

Only, the teacher's table does not turn into one giant buffet like the house tables below. Confused, she glances at the other Professors, their plates too filling with all kinds of things.

"You have ter fill out one o' these," Hagrid murmurs, pointing at little post-its laying behind all the Professors' plates.

He takes one from his own stack, picks up a tiny self-writing quill and scribbles something that with a lot of imagination could mean 'pumpkin soup' on it, then places it in the middle of his empty plate. Instantly it vanishes, and where the post-it had been, a big bowl with steaming creamy pumpkin soup appears. Hagrid grins.

"See? Not tew difficult."

Asha nods. Actually, pumpkin soup is a really good idea. She orders herself a serving too, together with some fudge, bacon, a whole corn cob and a nice cup of camomile tea.

At some point Professor Flitwick strikes up a conversation with her, which is quite a feat given he has to dangerously balance on his chair for getting a good look at Asha past the massive figure that is good old Hagrid. It's a nice gesture, especially as he seems to be genuinely interested in Asha's studies and latest discoveries regarding the effects of plimpy poison and different antidotes.

"If only she'd shown as much enthusiasm in Arithmancy," Professor Vector snides somewhere to Asha's far left.

"Oh, hush," Professor Sprout chides. "You are only fool-mooded because Mister Turing never took you up on your offer to join the Hogwarts staff. Besides, it's not like Miss Pleiter did get a T in her Arithmancy O.W.L.S., ain't I right?"

"Hrmpf."

Professor Vector continues to grumble some more but Hagrid is quick to pull Asha into a heated discussion of whether or not ramoras would have made good pets, effectively distracting her.

(The answer is no. Ramoras are huge, way too big to comfortably keep them in an aquarium. Asha tells Hagrid as much but of course he doesn't believe her. Not because he doesn't want to believe her but because he tries to make literally everything his pet. Dude used to keep a giant spider as his pet at some point, afterall, nevermind an actual dragon. Asha rests her case.)

 

The maybe best part of being a Hogwarts staff member is having an own room.

It's not that Asha has anything against company, she loves hanging out with friends and such.

But ever since the hormonal teenager syndrome started striking in forth year and some of the other girls in her dorm room thought casting a simple Muffliato is enough for nobody to notice them fooling around, Asha began to really appreciate her single bed room back home. She could've probably done with only one girl having fun at a time. But three at once, the old beds around her creaking, drawn curtains slightly shaking and all of that deep in the night after she'd just finished the required two metres essay about everlasting elixiers? No thanks.

So this, her own room where she could also put all her stuff in the open without worrying about someone sniffing around (ugh, she will not miss that pretentious Elaiza hag, ever) was an upgrade in every which way.

Yuki has already gotten comfy on a giant fluffy cushion on the windowsill, courtesy to the house elf. Asha decides to keep her own cat cushion in the bag for now, not wanting to offend the elf.

The most important things are quickly unpacked. Which is good, because Asha is ready to fall asleep like, yesterday. She could probably go stand in a corner, close her eyes and be out like a light within a minute. After casting a quick Adiuvate on  her little fireplace (her own fireplace! How cool is that) to keep it sizzling through the night and her room nice and toasty, she gets ready for bed.

Once she's comfortably snuggled into her blanket, Yuki abandons her spot on the window in favour of climbing onto Asha's bed and flopping down her whole furry weight on Asha's chest.

"Ooomph! Maybe we should get you on a diet, princess."

Yuki's green eyes peer down onto her accusingly, gleaming in that typical cat manner. "Mrrp!"

"Yeah okay, I was kidding."

full of fluffy black and white cat tail, Asha falls asleep in Hogwarts for the first time after graduation.

Being back is not bad, not bad at all.

So far.

 

---

Asha is terrified.

Okay, maybe that's too strong of a word, but then at least Nervous with a capital 'n'.

It's not that she's unconfident about her knowledge of aquatic creatures, not that she's feeling as if she'll fail to answer her students' questions. No. The problem is something else entirely. Because here is the thing: she never taught a class before. Or anyone, really.

What if she's not good with kids? What if she may be a great researcher but a failure as teacher? What if she forgets to teach something crucial and then a student dies during the tournament because of her?

So for just a moment she considers bailing.

But wait.

No. What? No way.

She is Asha Pleiter, successful magizoologist, one of the youngest bearers of a Third class Order of Merlin, author of  "A quick guide to Mermish and its different accents" and "Potions with and against Lobalug venom" and discoverer of several fantastical aquatic creatures around the globe.

She is not a quitter.

Her pocket watch chirps again, more insistant this time. Asha curses. At this rate she's gonna be late for her own class.

Sh*t.

She doesn't even know her classroom yet.

 

"HOW DARE YOU BREAK UP WITH ME THOMAS, YOU CAN'T BREAK UP WITH ME BECAUSE I'M BREAKING UP WITH YOU! YOU COLD-HEARTED BASTARD, I CAN'T BELIEVE I EVER LOVED YOU!" 

Once done with its tirade, the howler tears itself into shreds in front of a paling guy on the Ravenclaw table. Everybody in the Great Hall is staring, including the teachers. Breakfast on their plates all but forgotten.

"Told you he'd dump poor Miss Seymour sooner or later," Professor McGonnagal mutters.

Professor Sprout sighs. "They were so cute together though..."

What-

"Are they," Asha has a vague sense of gaping at her colleagues (colleagues... wow, this sounds so wrong, so foreign), "are they seriously shipping students?" She asks Hagrid under her breath.

Hagrid nods his head. "O' course 'ey do. I knew he wernt righ' one for her tho."

Huh. Fair enough, Asha thinks, diving back into her porridge. Wonders how many overdramatic breakups via howler she will witness in the next months. Of course she feels sympathetic for both the heartbroken girl and publicly embarrassed guy but seriously? The whole thing is hilarious. (She kinda hopes it will happen again. Better than any soap opera. Sue her.)

With some good food in her stomach and the knowledge about her classroom - she got told her room from none other than the headmistress herself, legend McGonnagal in the flesh - Asha feels almost at ease.

McGonnagal told her she'd be to claim one of the classrooms on the second floor, almost above the Great Hall. It's a good spot, very central. Students love that area because it's not too far to walk there from other classes, no matter what you had prior. Be it Potions in the dungeon deep down or Divination in one of the towers. Also a close proximity to the Great Hall is always good because that means food is nearby. Sated students are happy students. Asha got lucky with her classroom arrangement.

Only thing is, one of the stairs leading to the room is exceptionally moody but that can't be helped. Everybody has to suffer the everchanging stairs. Wait, are teachers allowed to apparate within Hogwarts? She has to check.

Leaning around Hagrid, Asha asks Professor McGonnagal.

The headmistress gives her a judging look (she's very good at it, always has been. Asha feels very small again.)

"Miss Pleiter, that would be an extraordinarily bad role model for our students, I hope you were just asking theoretically."

Asha nods quickly. "Of course, of course."

Damn.

Well, been worth a try.

At least she has good time to get there, her first lesson is supposed to start only at the third unit. Enough time for her to take a stroll, check up on the lake by daylight and stop freaking out about her first. Lesson. Ever.

So that's exactly what she does once finished with breakfast.

In front of the Great Hall, students are lingering as always, animatedly chatting about this and that. Asha picks up the word 'tweet', an abreviation nowadays used by the students for 'Triwizard Tournament' (trying to say TWT outloud was too much of a hassle, so it eventually turned into 'tweet', much to the amusement of halfblood and muggleborn students).

Oh, she certainly remembers that peculiar buzz. Back when Asha has been in her fourth year at Hogwarts, it was the first time after Cedric Diggory's death that the three schools were holding a tweet. The whole school has been in a frenzy, everybody talking about nothing else ever since the news spread.

Asha's emotions were all over th place back then, she felt kind of important, seing as Harry Potter himself had been in his forth year when unwantedly entering the tweet. But being one year too young and not having a death eater trying to kill her, no piece of paper with Asha's name on it made it into the Goblet of fire that year, or any year. With the tweet taking place only every five years and being reserved for fifth year students only, Asha never stood a chance participating. Which was fine, Asha didn't want to go anyway. Not with the tournament that time being held at Durmstrang, the wizarding school that's said to teach the Dark Arts and bring forth dark wizards and death eaters like no other. Thanks but no thanks. She was fine admiring it from afar and hearing the latest news about the Hogwarts champion from their teachers everyday.

Now the Triwizard Tournament is back at Hogwarts grounds and the whole buzz is there too, even stronger than fifteen years ago. With the start of the new school year, the tournament is not too far off anymore. Sure, it's still months away but you can already faintly smell it in the air if you just try hard enough. With anticipation bubbling right beneath the skin of everyone at Hogwarts, it's no wonder each cobblestone is literally sizzling with energy and secrets. As if the whole school is taking a long, deep breath, to hold it until the tournament starts in a few months.

Until then, Asha has to have her students ready. Ready to survive the lake during the first task.

She leaves the castle, some students already bowing their heads at her, which, weird. Fumbles for the gillyweed in her pocket - if you are a magizoologist with focus on aquatic creatures, you always have gillyweed at you, always - and swallows enough to last her for two hours. Swathing herself with a quick Impervius, Asha walks down the stairs, up to the lake and straight into it. Doesn't stop walking, not even as the water closes in around her and all that's left for passing students to see from her is a cloud of turquoise hair floating on the water surface.

The lake hugs her from all sides, welcoming her back like an old friend. Asha smiles. This is where she belongs. The Lumos Multiplex she casts has a dozen of small light balls breaking out of her wand and hovering around her. Lighting up the lake around ger as it turns darker the further she goes. There is good reason why it also gets called Black lake. At the bottom, where the city of the Hogwarts selkies lays, it's almost pitch black with no sunlight reaching that deep.

Asha doesn't have to wait long for the first selkie to show up. She waves at the merman, instantly recognizing that crooked grin.

"Eroan. It's good to see you."

He puts a hand above his heart, then turns it around, palm facing Asha, the magizoologist quickly mirroring the action. 

"Indeed, it's been a while, Asha-burbuila." 

The selkie's voice is smooth around the edges as common for his folk, although deeper than Asha remembers. They both grew up, she supposes. Following him even further into the lake she asks,

"How is your family doing?"

Eroan is enthusiastic to tell her, words spilling out of him like a lively gurgling stream. He's always been talkative, and is the main reason Asha was able to learn mermish at all. They catch up each other on what's been going on the past years, Eroan leading her to his prospering family and later to some mutual friends. 

The whole time he keeps throwing in 'burbuila' as term of endearment every chance he gets. Obviously he remembers how much Asha loves it. Like seriously, hello? Being called 'bubble' by your selkie mate, a term reserved for close merfolk friends only? How cute is that?

...Sometimes it gets a bit extensive though. 

"Asha-burbuila, wouldn't you agree that crabs are always a superior choice, Asha-burbuila, or do you think otherwise, Asha-burbuila?"

The other selkies closeby are already cracking up, one laughing so hard she has to hold her stomach.

"That's not even a sentence anymore, that's an abomination of a sentence," she wheezes.

Asha has to silently agree. Eroan just smirks and continues as if that conversation never happened.

 

They part reluctantly, and not without Asha promising to come back soon.

Once she reaches the beach Asha instantly wants to go back but, priorities. She's got a class to teach.

Ugh.

 

"Alright fellas."

Asha decided to skip all formalities and rather treat the twenty-something teenagers in front of her as something like loose friends. She's never been big on status and formalities, especially if directed towards her. Hopefully her students will feel enough at ease that they won't hesitate to ask any kind of question.

"Name's Asha Pleiter, pleiter as in 'splash' and no, I did not make up that name just so it fits my expertise. I also didn't marry someone just for the name, it's my birth name. Whether you call it destiny or fool's luck is up to you."

Some of the students are already grinning. She takes it as a good sign.

"Okay, before we get started I just want to establish something. Do you all know why the triple T classes exist?"

A collective headshake is the answer. Asha sighs.

"Of course you don't. Not surprised here. Seems like the Hogwarts teachers are still annoyingly secretive about everything, huh?" 

Some students nod.

"I see. Well, then let me tell you. Basically, helicopter parents is what happened. Those of you who understand the term, good for you. Those, who don't, you can ask your friends after class but basically it means that some parents got a bit worried." Asha purses he lips. "Okay, that's an understatement. They got hysterical. After Cedric's death and Rolanda's almost-death in the previous tweet, a group of parents got together to request their children and any future children shall be better prepared for the Tournament. And if I say a group, what I mean is more like five hundred people."

She half sits onto the teacher's pult and continues.

"That's how the triple T classes came to be. There will be different triple T classes each time, as they are in direct relationship to the Tournament tasks. So seing as one of those classes gets taught by me this year, you can bet one of the tasks is about water and its inhabitants. Do I know more about it? Yes. Will I spill the beans? Not a chance. Got it so far?"

Nod.

"Cool. Okay, keeping that in mind, all of you have at least two things in common: one, you are in fifth grade. And two, you are considering to put your name in the goblet of fire. Now I want all of you to understand that the tweet is an incredibly dangerous thing. Many have died and probably more will die. Attending the triple T classes is no guarantee for you to survive or even win. So please keep that in mind. Putting your name in the goblet has to be very well contemplated. I, for one, will not think any lesser of you if you end up attending my classes but decide against putting your name in. At least you learned something new, and I got to brag about my favourite topic and made good money with it. So that's that."

And it may be just her imagination but Asha does have the sense that the students relax visibly at those words. She mentally gives herself a pat on the shoulder. Maybe she won't be a horrible teacher after all.

"Good, now I've talked a whole lot all by myself and still know absolutely nothing about you guys. We are not exactly a support group here so I won't ask you to tell me your name, favourite pet and what you had for dinner. Honestly, I'm quite terrible with names so I might not memorize yours anytime soon anyway. Please bear with me. Now what I will ask you to do is, to write me a list of the top ten aquatic animals that come up in your head right off the bat. Please also put down why you think they are dangerous. I don't need full sentences or a huge essay, I just want to get a base so I know where to start with you."

She pulls out her pocket watch and sets the alarm pointer on thirty minutes, then holds it up for everyone to see.

"You have half an hour before this little sh*thead goes off, and then another five minutes before it goes off even louder. So I suggest you try to be done until then. Any questions?"

A scrawny girl with Ravenclaw tie raises her hand. 

"Yes?"

"How are we to adress you?"

Asha tilts her head. "You can call me Professor or Miss Pleiter, I don't particularily care. If you wanna be extra cool, you can also say Miss Aqua."

"Do you have a doctorate degree?"

"...No."

The girl nods. "Okay then, Miss Pleiter."

Asha can't help but grin. Cheeky little brat knows her sh*t. She wonders how Snape would have reacted upon being denied the respect of being called 'Professor'. Ah, well.

"Other questions?"

A pale chubby boy with freckles literally everywhere is the next to raise his hand.

"Is it true that you can change your hair colour at will?" he asks timidly.

"Oh." Asha, raising her brows, wills her long blue hair to fade into an aggressive neon pink. Pictures the colour and waits for the tingling on her scalp to subside that indicates the complete transformation. She smirks. "Yeah."

"Dope," the boy breathes.

Some of the other students gape. Asha sees some knuts making their round from hand to hand under the tables. Really, what is it with people betting on her hair?

"More questions," she checks and as all hands stay down, activates the alarm. "Alright, thirty minutes starting... now!"

 

The whole classroom flinches when her pocket watch chirps a loud and high-pitched screech. Of course they do. Some of them curse under their breath, others begin to write faster. One of the girls in the first row is dramatically clutching at her chest.

A few moments later, the first students hand in their lists. But some seem to struggle a bit, staring at the paper in front of them as time goes by. They get their comeuppance when the watch goes off significantly louder, the screech now ear-piercing and a little puff of steam welling out of the little adjusting wheel on the top.

"Alright, I will only deactivate the alarm once I got a list from everybody but no presure," Asha declares. "If your minds are wiped and you absolutely cannot finish, just hand in what you've got please."

Something like panic settles on a few faces of those who are not yet finished. Others simply surrender and scuff to the teacher's pult to hand in their half-done lists.

The watch goes off one more time before even the last two students call it quits and hand in their lists.

Asha accepts them and then, with a relieved "Ugh, finally", switches off her annoying-as-flick pocket watch. They are in a love-hate relationship since a long time, the watch and her.

"Good. While I skim these, you can feel free to exchange ideas and theories about the tweet tasks. Just speak in a hushed tone please, so I have a chance to concentrate. The more possibilities you contemplate, the better you are prepared. That cool with you guys?" She quirks an eyebrow.

Her students nod enthusiastically. 

Asha feels accomplished. Something tells her, she's on her best way to be dubbed 'the cool teacher'. 

So while the teenagers turn around in their seats and start discussing in little groups, she fishes out her anti-dyslex glasses - the ones wih the sparkling blue frames - and looks through the lists one by one.

A few minutes later,  she stacks the pile with a dull rustling clunk on the pult and clears .

"Let me say it like this: there is hope for you. Many of you put down sea serpents, grindilows and similar creatures with extraordinary abilities. I even saw one of you put down sharks and kraken. May I ask who wrote it?"

The chubby boy from earlier raises his hand.

Asha points her wand at him and smiles. "I like the way you think. It's true that you guys shouldn't limit your thoughts to dangers that are of magical nature. Something doesn't have to be a product of the wizarding world to harm you."

Out of the corner of her eyes she can see some students grumbling and uh-oh. That's something she'll have to deal with soon for sure. Purebloods and their parents refusing to get taught about muggle world dangers. Hopefully most of her students are smart enough to see the importance of muggle knowledge.

She focuses back on the kid. notices the yellow-black striped tie. 

"Ah," Asha nods. "Hufflepuff, right? Now I'll be honest, I don't know if I actually can influence the hourglass of your houses as I am more like a guest speaker but I can at least try, right? So. Ten points to Hufflepuff!"

She raises her voice at the last sentence, lifts her hand into an imposing gesture.

And frowns.

If - just if - she too had influence on the hourglass, shouldn't she feel something? A tiny electric shock at her fingertips, some kind of tingle, anything? But there is just... nothing. She feels absolutely the same as before.

With a little pout, she lowers her hand.

"Well. I guess that didn't work. Or at least it went far less spectacular than I expected. Anyway. Where was I?"

"You said there is hope for us, Miss Pleiter," the witty Ravenclaw girl quips.

Asha hums. "Right. That. Honestly, your lists are not even that bad. Most of them are pretty decent, actually. But funnily enough, nobody of you thought of adding penguins to their list."

She purposefully mispronounces the word as 'peng-wings' in classic Benedict Cumbersnatch fashion. The squib actor is an icon for a reason and she loves him. Best Sherlock actor ever. And some of her students seem to get it instantly, giggling behind their hands.

Now Asha is on a mission. There is a good chance a part of her students has never heard about penguins. So from now on, she sees it as her duty to teach them all that is to know about the dangerous predators called peng-wings. Yeah. She will raise herself a group of Cumberes, starting right now. Asha grins.

She's in the middle of going through basic spells for protection against arctic water when the door creaks open and closed again.

"You are late," Asha says without turning around.

"S'pose I am," they - he? - admits.

Asha scans her attendance list. All names are ticked off, no exception. Finally she does look up, intrigued, and is met with the view of a young man bashfully grinning at her. Northern Chinese or Korean roots, maybe, dark wavy hair and- no school uniform.

Her first thought upon seeing the lad is, 'He doesn't have a tiger mum.' Asian kids with mothers strict enough to fall into that category would never be caught late, ever. Her second thought is, 'You are too old for the tweet, dude.' So what does he want in her class then? And why does he not have a uniform?

"Why are you here?"

"I, well..." the young man fidgets, averts his gaze. "Uhm. You are Professor Pleiter, right?"

Asha nods slowly. She yet has to get used to people calling her 'professor'. 

The intruder brightens up with a toothy smile.

"Then that makes me your trainee!"

What.

Asha scowls. Nobody told her anything about a trainee. Trainee for what? She barely knows the first thing about teaching herself. Trainee how long? Since when? Why? What the heck is going on?

"Is this a prank," she mutters.

With few long strides, the guy breaches the distance between entrance and teacher's pult until he stands right in front of her.

"Jeon Jeongguk, pleasure to meet you." He bows a perfect ninety degrees to her.

Asha gapes.

 

The remainder of her first lesson passes in a haze, with the Jeongguk guy hovering like two steps behind her all the time which. Not creepy at all. 

At some point it clicks that the headmistress mentioned some last staff member coming late. Maybe she said something like Jeon. That would explain at least part of Asha's questions but at the same time raise a bunch of new ones.

She finishes the lesson with "I don't care where you are from, you are in Great Britain right now and probably thinking very British and inside the box so that's what I want you to stop doing. By next lesson, please have an profile ready about one non-British aquatic creature that has caused at least ten recorded human deaths. Peng-wings nonwithstanding."

Someone sighs at the last sentence. Asha rolls her eyes. Students. Typical.

"Alright, get going guys, get going, the stairs are not waiting and I have no clue what's your next lesson so you better get moving. See you on Thursday."

Then she is left alone with that guy. She turns around and crosses her arms.

"Trainee, huh?"

He nods enthusiastically. "Yeah, I'm a magizoology trainee teacher."

"That makes two of us," Asha mumbles.

"Huh, what?"

"Nothing."

She tries to look busy, grabs the pile of handwritten lists and starts arranging them in alphabetical order. Has no clue what to do with her unwanted protegé.

"So, what house are you?" 

Good. That's a good question, excellent ice breaker. Nothing can go wrong with that. Maybe he's a Slytherin too, then they could b*tch about the bad reputation of their house together. Or a Hufflepuff, Hufflepuff would be good. Maybe even Ravenclaw. Just please no Gryffindor, these guys tend to not think before acting.

But the dude just tilts his head, eyes going wide and questioning.

"House? What do you mean, house?"

Huh.

Asha halts.

"Your... Hogwarts house...?" She speaks extra slow, so he understands. What is going on here? There is no way somebody training at Hogwarts does not know about the Hogwarts houses. 

"I, I don't think I have one?" He looks as confused as Asha feels now. Great. Fantastic.

"What do you mean, you don't have one? You want to become a Hogwarts teacher, right? Why would you want to teach here if you weren't a former student?"

Something like realization dawns on his face. He shakes his head.

"No, no, I don't want to teach here."

Well. That makes even less sense than everything he priorly said combined. And Asha is a very patient person, she really is - except she isn't. Not right now, at least. So maybe she starts to get a little more demanding. There are too many questions and no answers.

"Then. Why. Are you here."

...And he's back to fumbling with his hands.

"I, well, you see, seonsing-nim-"

"Bless you?"

"Uh, no, it means teacher. But thanks. You see, my school doesn't exist yet."

Asha stares. "What."

Her trainee - maybe, maybe-trainee, nothing is confirmed yet, Merlin's beard - bites his lip and glances up to where she is still sitting on the pult. 

"Have you by any chance heard of the Bangtan School of Witchcraft and Wonders?"

Asha shrugs.

Yeah, maybe that name was mentioned somewhere lately. There has been talks about a new wizarding school in, what was it again? South Korea? Not that she paid attention to gossip like that. A big part of her occupation included travelling and venturing off the beaten track. See, you can't research and discover fantastic creatures with noisy humans nearby. (You can't research most non-fantastic creatures with noisy humans nearby either.) So saying that Asha is not up to date with the latest News regarding the wizarding world might be... a bit of a stretch. Scratch that. It's an understatement, really.

Her half-hearted shrug seems to be good enough for the lad. B with excitement, he goes on,

"Awesome, so. The planning for BTS has been going on for many years now and the headmaster - well, future headmaster I guess but he is already great and totally amazing - is now starting to make arrangements for the staff..."

Asha makes a mental note that her trainee has a little crush on his boss. Cute.

"...and because he is an absolute genius..."

Okay, maybe a medium-sized crush.

"...he told those of us who are new to the whole teaching thing, that we should visit the different already existing wizarding schools and see how they work."

"So basically you guys are doing the same thing as the Japanese did during their opening of culture thing in the meiji era, right? You pick the best parts from each school and copy them to craft a wizarding school you deem perfect."

Cue wide round eyes and a little gape that's way too adorable for Asha to cope with right now.

"You know about the opening of culture?!"

Asha huffs. "Hey, just because I am a pureblood doesn't mean I am ignorant."

"Right, sorry!"

Not one to hold long grudges (usually), Asha quickly waves it off.

"Whatever. So, are you at Hogwarts out of choice or were you ordered to go here?"

The Jeongguk guy shuffles his feet.

"Out of choice. I'm, actually," he looks up and makes direct eye contact  with he for the first time. There is an unruly glint in his eyes, something completely at odds with his whole naive demeanour. It is gone in an instant but Asha saw. Something about that guy is not right. "I'm kind of, a really big fan of you, Professor Pleiter, seongsing-nim, Miss."

Asha narrows her eyes.

"Sure."

He is most definitely no fan of her.

 

Begrudgingly, Asha comes to the realization that it's on her to lead her absolutely-not-trainee to the Great Hall for lunch.

She sits down on what's officially her spot now next to Hagrid and watches how that guy goes up and down the table, bowing his somewhat annoyingly perfect bow to each single teacher. And to the Headless Nick who just so happened to pop out of the teachers' table that very moment. Naturally everyone is smitten by his good manners and all. Except Asha.

Jeongguk takes the empty seat next to her, still sweetly smiling at all the other Professors craning their necks after him. 

That's when Professor Flitwick notices.

"Ah," he sqeaks and points at Asha, "I win!"

Another round of Galleons change their owner, this time Flitwick happily cashing in most of them. Together with Firenze, of course. Perks of being a centaur and well-versed in Divination.

It's only then Asha remembers she didn't change her hair back ever since the Hufflepuff boy. 

"You had a new bet going on about my hair colour, didn't you?"

Hagrid nods, sighs. 

"O' couse we 'ad."

He sighs again, a deep and long-suffering thing.

Asha takes pity on him and leans closer. "You did not bet on pink, huh?"

"Nah."

"Then what did you bet on?" It's barely more than a conspirational whisper.

"Dark blue. Like the b'arm o' the sea. "

Asha pats his big arm. "Gotcha."

She takes a deep breath, closes her eyes and pictures just that. The colour of the open sea in bright silvery moonlight, a deep rich and cold shade of blue. Her scalp starts to tingle as her hair gradually changes. Opening her eyes, she can see how the aggressive pink changes to plum, to a lovely lavender shade, and then baby blue before going darker and darker and darker. Until it's almost a midnight shade of blue.

There are several gasps and-

Oh sh*t. Right. She's got an audience!

Several of the younger students are pointing at her and even the Jeongguk guy-

Well, he is a story for itself. Gaping at her, mouth hanging wide open, eyes big as saucers.

"Daebak!"

Asha wants to face-palm. Yeah, she clearly didn't think that one through.

The lad is gripping his empty plate hard enough for little cracks to form.

"How did you do that?! That's the probably coolest thing I've ever seen," he declares, almost proudly.

It's Asha's turn to be slightly embarassed. 

"I, hm. My great-grandma was a metamorphmagus."

Jeongguk nods and 'ah's but it's obvious he has no clue what it means. Asha doesn't feel like elaborating.

Thankfully she gets saved from any further embarassement when Hagrid slams a fist on the table, the whole wooden constructure jolting.

"Professor Flitwick, Sir, ay want me Galleon back!"

"What-"

A shrill squeak. 

"That's cheating!"

The Professor is pointing at Asha, jumping up and down on his chair like a little Rumpelstilzchen and screaming bloody murder. 

"Cheaters, the both of you! I call treason, this cannot be going unchecked..."

Inbetween both men, Professor Sprout has started laughing so hard she threatens to fall off the chair any second.

Firenze too points out that one should not toy with fate by bending the rules.

Somewhere in the middle, headmistress McGonnagal sighs and rubs her temples.

And behind them, Fred Weasly is floating up and down the table, loudly cackling into the ear of whoever makes the mistake to look at him.

In other words: it's utter chaos.

 

They do calm down eventually, after one booming 'Sonorous' courtesy to McGonnagal. The remainder of lunch passes calmly - or as calm as it can get with a thousand students chatting in a huge hall with tall ceiling that's just great for amplifying sound. 

After lunch, Asha corners Professor McGonnagal to ask about her absolutely-not-trainee.

"Oh, that's all right and just," the headmistress is quick to assure her. Even pulls out a letter from her robes and hands it to Asha.

 

The Headmistress

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Scottish Highlands, Great Britain

07 July 2021

 

Concerning the preparatory service

Dear Headmistress McGonnagal,

 

I can't begin to express my gratitude for granting us such an opportunity. As a new Wizarding school we have no history or experience whatsoever as it is on us to build everything from scratch. Gaining some insight on the work of other Wizarding schools therefore is an incredibly valuable aspect. My good friend and future teacher for magizoology cannot wait to arrive at your school and experience your teaching methods first-hand.

Attached you will find my recommendation letter for the aforementioned Mr. Jeon. With your approval, he will come to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry at the beginning of the new school year.

Of course you and your colleagues will always be welcome at Bangtan School. Thank you again for your tremendous help.

 

Yours sincerely

Kim Namjoon

Bangtan School of Witchcraft and Wonders

Seoraksan, Korea

 

Asha blinks.

"Huh."

It sure does look legit, written on heavy cream-white paper with an - actually tasteful - watermark of what must be the school's logo in the upper right corner: the three letters BTS, perched atop a steep and ragged summit, with the 'T' being the highest point and roofing the other two letters. Literally. The horizontal line of the 'T' looks like a stylized roof of some kind of Asian temple.

Asha has to supress the urge to test the letter on deceptive charms. If anything would be at fault with it, someone as seasoned and genius as the headmistress would've long noticed.

Still, there remains at least one more question.

"How come I didn't know about that trainee?"

"Oh, he was never supposed to be your trainee," McGonnagal quips. "That was never part of the plan. However, Mr. Jeon outright refused to work with anyone else..."

Asha squints. Suspicious.

"The one mainly responsible for Care of Magical Creatures is Mr. Hagrid, afterall. Next in line would be Professor Sprout. But once he heard about you, Miss Pleiter, well. He did not balk. Insisted that you could help him best to become the teacher he wants to be."

"But. I'm not a teacher."

"I'm aware, Merlin knows I'm aware, Miss Pleiter."

"Then why-"

Professor McGonnagal sighs. Suddenly she looks very tired.

"He is barely more than a boy, for crying out loud. Coming from a no-name school that's trying to invent itself. What's the worst that could happen? All I ask you to do is let him watch your lessons and answer his questions. I'm sure he will be gone soon enough."

Begrudgingly, Asha nods. Not because she changed her mind. But because you simply don't refuse The Professor McGonnagal. She is a polite force of nature, always will be. Nobody speaks against McGonnagal.

 

So Asha complies.

During her lessons with the fifth years she does her best to ignore the hovering pest next to her. Once the lesson is over, he will whip out a little list of questions he wrote and not stop following Asha around until she has answered everything.

What does strike her as strange is that the questions are never about general teaching methods. Not that she could've been of any help on that matter. No, it's always something about encountering fantastical aquatic creatures. Shouldn't Mr. Jeon focus more on how to become a teacher and not on how to turn into a marine expert? Weird.

Some of the questions Asha is really hesitant to answer. She spent years and years with hunting, research, trial and error to come up with her methods and only barely survived encounters with type five creatures more than once. And now she has to spill all the beans to some wannabe trainee? So he can reap the fruit of her hard labour?

Nope, no way. 

That's what she wants to say at least.

Oh, but. She promised McGonnagal. Well, technically she didn't, they did not spit and shake on it. However, Asha did nod. And that's almost the same. Thus she doesn't have much of a choice, has to answer question after question through gritted teeth.

But that's only half of the frustrating part.

The other half is, Mr. Jeon likes to challenge her knowledge. Which is the rudest thing. Insulting all of her accomplishments, all the limbs and bones she had to regrow, all the nights spent sleepless.

It keeps happening. Asha lowkey wants to smash the idiot's head into the next-best wall. Hard. Repeatedly. Maybe she doesn't hate Jeon Jeongguk yet but boi is she getting close to it.

"So earlier you told the students to throw a cuccumber with their name engraved on it at the kappa-"

"Not at the kappa, towards the kappa. As in, gently." She gives him a judging side-glance.

"Right right, same old."

'No it's NOT', Asha wants to scream. She just walks faster. Corridor after corridor, down, down, down- ah sh*t, dead end. The stairs are changing.

"Anyway, I was wondering-"

"Oh no," Asha breathes.

"-if I threw something that only looks like a cuccumber. If I, say, hex a carrot to look like a cuccumber."

"Then you would die a very painful death by severe bloodloss."

He pouts.

Asha wants to smack him. She does NOT think he looks cute like that, thank you very much!

"You don't know that," he insists.

"I do, actually."

"So? Maybe you just didn't try hard enough."

Asha spins on her heels, wand out, pointing it straight at Jeongguk's chest.

"Listen," she hisses, "if you wanna try out all these things you keep asking me about, then go ahead. Be my ing guest. But stop annoying me and questioning my knowledge and competence. Got it?"

Jeongguk nods. The determination in his gaze doesn't change though. It's obvious he won't stop anytime soon.

Asha swirls around and quickens her pace, takes a deep breath upon stepping into fresh air. She makes a beeline for the lake. Jeongguk strides behind her, doesn't have to try at all to keep up her rage-fuelled pace. What now, is he not only witty and an annoying pest but needlessly fit too? Great. It makes Asha just the more angry.

"Uhm, actually I still have one more question-"

"No."

"What are you- oh wow, are you going into the lake? Like, to the bottom? Are there sirens living in this lake? Can I come too?!"

"No," Asha snaps. "You are not invited." 

And fully steps into the lake.

Eroan is already waiting for her with a big warm smile. 

"There you are, burbuila. Wanna come and meet our baby hippocampi?"

 

The thing is, Asha can't stay mad at Jeongguk for longer than an hour.

She does try to keep them at arm's length, always only calling him Mr. Jeon even though he offered her to call him by his first name. She keeps thinking about all his stupid questions that feel nothing short of insulting to her. But then he gets excited about the most mundane things and. It's just really difficult to stay mad at him when he's practically glowing with joy over the fact that the house elves managed to whip up a decent beef bulgogi for him and asking where he can meet them to say Thank you in person.

Asha whines about it to Yuki but of course the cat is being of no help whatsoever. Yuki just keeps her paw, ignoring Asha through the whole rant until she deems it's cuddle time and pads over to the human, sitting her fluffy right on Asha's face and effectively shutting her up.

 

Coming next day, Asha has almost forgotten about the grudge she is supposed to hold when she sees how Jeongguk greets her enthusiastically at the breakfast table.

Hagrid even has the nerve to coo at her. She discreetly kicks him under the table. He just laughs, loud and roaring.

The weather is a little rough on that morning, the ceiling of the Great Hall mirroring it and even providing steady gusts of wind The many house banners hanging from the ceiling dancing in the wind. Jeongguk watches with big eyes.

"Miss Pleiter, I was wondering how exactly the thing with the houses works, could you maybe explain?"

Asha snorts. Of course he is on his best behavior when the other teachers are around. Of ing course.

"Well." She takes a long sip from her pumpkin punch. No alcohol at work may apply to the teachers but she is not a teacher. Sue her. "First of all, we've got the four Hogwarts houses - punch, lie, hug and think..."

"Wait, are they seriously called-"

"Miss Pleiter!" Professor Flitwick is all but standing on his chair as he shrieks at her. "I beg you pardon?! That is no way to speak of the noble houses of our beloved school, let me tell you..."

And thus, breakfast drags out exceptionally long and Professor Flitwick's first class starts an hour later, the small man being immersed in telling young Mr. Jeon everything about the houses there is to know.

To Asha's surprise, the trainee seems to be actually interested. Enough so, that his daily questions after triple T lessons focus on the Hogwarts houses and nothing else.

"Which house are you from, Miss Pleiter?"

"Slytherin."

Jeongguk tongues at his cheek. Not that Asha has been looking.

"So does that mean you tend to lie a lot?"

"All the time," she deadpans.

"Oh." Jeongguk falters. "And, does that make you an evil wizard by default?"

Asha rolls her eyes. "Yes." Then huffs. "No. Of course not. I don't know why everyone thinks Slytherins are all evil just because we are ambitious. I mean, honestly? In most cases ambition really just means you're shoving a whole pizza in your mouth because some hoe challenged you and said you couldn't."

Jeongguk blinks, laughs. "I, wait, what? Seriously? Wait, did you try?"

The grin Asha gives him is pure spite and victory.

"You bet I did."

 

Later that day, Jeongguk miraculously manages to convince McGonnagal that he too has to try on the Sorting Hat. Claims, he wants to know which house would've been his, just out of curiosity.

It's going all well, the headmistress inviting both Jeongguk and Asha  in her office ("Is that- is that a Gryffin shaped staircase?!" - "I'm not saying Dumbledore was biased but that's exactly what I'm saying." - "Dumbledore?" - "Don't tell me you don't know him or else, I swear...") and getting the hat out of its cabinet. Everything is fine and dandy, until.

Until she wants to set it on Jeongguk's head and the hat clamps up, sewing itself shut at the bottom and rolling up its whole tip until it doesn't look better than an old dirty towel.

McGonnagal glares. "Oh come on, it's just one person."

"No!"

"It's gonna be over in a second, don't be difficult."

"NO!"

She does not manage to convince him otherwise.

 

After half an hour of coaxing, cursing and even contemplating to hex the hat, McGonnagal seems to give up.

"If you weren't one of our most famed possessions I would've hexed you a long time ago for the bad manners you are showing tonight," she sighs.

"You will NOT hex me!" It shouts in indignation. "Hex me once, just once, and I will never do the Sorting for you ever again. I don't get paid enough for this anyway. I don't get paid anything at all! This is slavery is what it is! Free me now, woman!"

"Alright, that's quite enough."

With three brash steps McGonnagal is out of the door.

The whole thing just turned into a personal mission.

 

A few minutes later, Asha and Jeongguk having been stuck in the headmistress' office with the hat still cursing like a sailor, Professor McGonnagal returns with the whole Hogwarts staff.

They all try their luck, Professor Sprout going as far as to tickle the hat yet nothing works. 

Until Hagrid grumbles, "Maybee i'ss jas 'ungry"

Half of the teachers throw exasperated looks at him, the other half ignoring him but. The hat. The hat, upon hearing those words, shuts up.

Bless.

Everything turns around to the half giant.

"Hagrid, quick," McGonnagal urges.

Caught a little off guard, Hagrid fumbles with his enormous coat until he finds an old tangerine. It almost looks like an oversized orange raisin at this point but still better than nothing, right? He stretches out the fruit to the hat and everybody watches with bated breath how it unfurls, grabs the tangerine with its tip and puts it in the fold that is its mouth.

Asha thinks she's gone mad as she watches the hat chewing on a tangerine. 

What the actual hell.

Professor McGonnagal, still a bit in shock herself, smells the golden opportunity and grabs the hat to put it on Jeongguk's hat.

"SLYTHERIN," the hat bellows, bits and pieces of the half-eaten tangerine flying everywhere. "No wait, I mean. RAVENCLAW!"

Then it continues chewing, right where it is perched on the young man's head. All of the Professors are staring at the hat as if it's the tenth wonder of the world.

Only Asha looks directly at Jeongguk, the wizard that just got sorted.

 

Somehow - Asha has no idea how, but just somehow - Jeongguk being Ravenclaw and making the Sorting Hat eat a whole grown pumpkin becomes the hot topic of the next day. After two failed attempts to correct some students and tell them that no, it was not a pumpkin but just a shriveled tangerine, Asha calls quits. If this is how the latest Hogwarts legend shall go, then so be it.

Funnily enough, the celebrated boy himself seems rather distracted that day. Asha catches him staring into the distance and mumbling something under his breath more than once.

And when after her lesson he does not ask her one single question, she decides to do something that's probably a very bad idea.

"Abscondere," she murmurs and watches how her entire body takes the colour of the castle's wall behind her. Slowly, oh so slowly, she follows her trainee down the stairs and out of the castle until he's half on the bridge. She ducks behind some old statue and watches Jeongguk pulling out a smartphone. Something she hasn't seen on him ever before. 

The wind seems to be in her favour, carrying most of the conversation towards her.

"Hey yeah, it's me... I know, I know, I got it all under control, Don't worry. ...Yeah, soon, I think soon. I almost brought her round... Dunno, maybe two weeks? ... Of course, don't worry. I'll take care of it. ...Yeah. Okay, good..."

He ends the call.

Asha scrambles around the statue to stay hidden.

Watches Jeongguk storming back to the castle with a serious expression that just won't fit with the picture she has of him.

And then there are all those things he said. Take care of what? And brought her round... does he mean Asha? Is he playing her? 

Just what is going on?

Asha's gut is telling her there is something going on, a bigger picture that she cannot grasp yet. For now it seems all she can do is wait and be at the ready.

That day, Asha vows something to herself.

Once Jeongguk reveals what all of this is about, she will be prepared.

 

 

To be continued next year...

 

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A/N: ...Lemme know what you think?