While his physical wounds had been healed back in May right after the battle, his mental scars were still very much present. The constant ringing in his right ear had never stopped, something he was panicked by when it was quiet and he heard it. Nyctophobia had been the result from his time being trapped in the mirror. A light had to be on at all times during the nights in the dormitory but that wouldn't stop the nightmares of being trapped in the void from happening.

One of those nightmares happened the previous night, resulting in him getting only an hour or three of actual sleep which was why the seventh year looked exhausted as he sat at the Hufflepuff table after a long day. He knew he wouldn't have been able to take his NEWT exams in his current state so he had decided to take them at the Ministry of Magic before traveling the world with Noah. Something he was hoping he would enjoy and would hopefully heal some of his wounds.

After so many nights sleeping on the floor in the Room, Mamie thought she would have felt well rested after sleeping in the Hufflepuff dormitory again. And it was true, she'd had no trouble falling asleep. It was the waking up that she struggled with. Especially today, she'd stayed in bed as long as she could, trying not to think about all her seventh year friends who were graduating. Not to mention, the thought of having to go home and be away from all her magical friends all summer made her want to refuse to leave at all.

Plus, she didn't even have Quidditch to look forward to anymore.

Her eyes were a little red and puffy when she got to the Hufflepuff table for the feast. She'd obviously been crying. Aboli was leaving, Noah and Minjae were leaving. And--and people had died. Some she knew. It was a lot. All these thoughts running through her mind, she almost started crying again as she walked into the Great Hall.

Then she spotted Minjae.

Mamie--nay, Margaret, she was no longer innocent enough for that childhood nickname--clambered into the seat next to the seventh year and tapped his shoulder to get his attention. "Minjae," she said quietly. "C-can I give you a hug?"

Claudine had purposely taken her time in getting to the Feast. This was only because she hoped to make a few stops on her way to the Snake table. That was unusual, wasn’t it, for her to be stopping at other Tables? The events over the course of the last school year had opened her eyes to a few facts and realisations. One of said realisations was that she had become quite fond of Minjae, and the more she thought of the year ending, the more she realised that there he was one Hufflepuff she’ll be missing.

Arriving at the Hall, her eyes scanned the Puff table. ”There he is,’’ the girl thought. The fifth year made a beeline for him. She was very close to him now when the words of Mamie were overheard. Oh. Well, Claudine wouldn’t be asking if she could hug her friend. Without a word, she sat on the remaining free side of Minjae and threw her arms around him.

Hugging anyone {with the exception of Heath} was awkward for her but Claudine didn’t care.

All she knew was that she didn’t want Rich Boy to graduate yet.

After the battle, his parents had wanted to take him home for the remainder of the year. But Minjae was stubborn, always had been. Although he had been wanting to see his parents for the entirety of the year, he also wanted to stay in the school that Rosier and his Alliance had wanted to kick him out of just because he was a Muggleborn. By staying and graduating until the very end it was like a last act of rebellion after the man’s dead.

He looked over at the Gryffindor table and spotted Noah taking a seat and thinking about the great adventures they were going to have after school made him excited for the future. A tap on his shoulder made him look next to him and as he saw Mamie he had to lean in closer to hear what she was saying.

A hug?

Had it been any other year, had the Neo-Alliance not taken over the school, had there never been a battle , Minjae would have refused. He did not like hugs, it made him feel uncomfortable and vulnerable ,however after everything he had went through this year he came to realize that hugs were not a bad thing. They meant love and positivity and everything that they hadn’t had all year long.

So without a word, the seventh year gave a small smile and held his arms open for a hug when he was hugged from his other side. His heart raced as the surprise hug from Claudine had startled him. He sat there, awkwardly. His mind was telling him to react, to hug back but his body didn’t move and instead there were tears starting to form in his eyes. Happy tears. He was going to miss Mamie. The thought that she was going to be the big sister of the House now made him so proud and Claudine, the girl he could not stand before this year, had arguments with and truthfully wanted to hex sometimes, he was going to miss her as well.

Oh great he was getting emotional again.

Oh. Oh, she could have a hug. The thirteen-year-old beamed as she wrapped her arms around Minjae...and around Claudine's arms, too, because apparently the Slytherin had the same idea as her.

She was completely oblivious to Minjae's tears. And to her own, apparently, Mamie Margaret Mamie was completely clueless she was getting the seventh year's robes damp with her tears. She wasn't crying only because she was going to miss him. She was going to miss a lot of people. Minjae was just closest in proximity. And they'd been through a lot together.

She pulled back from the hug and sniffed, wiping her face with her sleeve once she realized there were some fresh tears again. "It's not the same when you're gone," she muttered, avoiding eye contact for fear there would be more tears. And, this she knew from experience, because Minjae had already been gone for some time. And it was bad without him.

Well days had passed or maybe it had been weeks, time really had no meaning since...well since that.. since things previous.

Dahlia had been in a quieter version of herself. The choice had been given to go home and while she had wanted nothing more than to do that and to never ever return to this place, she hadn't left. She had remained right where she was, along with the all the bottled up emotions inside of her that were begging to released and would be once she was at home with her family for the summer. A very long talk had been had among them all and it was felt (more so by some then by others) that they should complete the term. So... here she was in all of her.. not so happy little Ravenclaw glory, taking a very direct beeline straight for a table that was clearly not hers.

Not a word was spoken nor was anyone at all looked at until she got to where she needed to be. Stopping almost when she was stood a rather tall seventh year that she knew was graduating this year and she wasn't sure if she would get the chance to say anything to if she didn't do it now. "Minjae?" Lia's voice was barely above a whisper and hardly held the tone the happiness he might've remembered from closer to earlier in the year. She didn't know him as well as the two girls currently hugging him but he had floofy hair had while he could have gotten himself into huge trouble he had taught her a spell up on the balcony. She had never gotten to thank him for that.

Had the recent events changed her into an emotional sap?

Perhaps. But Claudine was only happy being an emotional sap for the people that mattered. Minjae was one of them. Had she expected the hug to be returned? No. The Hufflepuff wasn’t that kind of person; he was sassy and uptight at times. Maybe growing up rich had made him that way? Who knows. Claudine liked him that way.

As for Mamie, well… even though they girls didn’t know each other that good, it was still comforting to know that there was some degree of care there. Perhaps they could be better friends now. She gave the younger Hufflepuff’s arm a squeeze, surprising herself in the process. Perhaps she was indeed leaving her dislike and weariness for most of the world’s population behind.

Without realising {naturally} that Professor Schmoe was getting emotional over this little hug-fest, the Slytherin finally released Minjae. “You’ll write occasionally and tell me what you’re up to, won’t you?’’ Yes, you heard that right, folks! Claudine was actually interested in someone’s life.

And there was Dahlia. Minjae was quite popular, wasn't he?

Using the sleeve of his Hufflepuff robe to wipe away the tears that were pricking the corners of his eyes , Minjae waited until both Claudine and Mamie were done hugging him. Hugs were still foreign to him and he might have looked very awkward sandwich between them and not doing anything. But the fact that he had allowed them to hug him was a big step for him. When Mamie let go, he could see that his robes were damp and he hoped she hadn’t wiped her nose on them.

Normally he preferred eye contact when talking to someone unless that someone was Rosier, then it was intimating and terrifying but he didn’t say anything about it now because he understood how Mamie felt. ”I’ll miss you too” She was going to be the big sister of the House soon. And Minjae couldn't be more proud because he knew the new first years would be in great hands.

”Of course i will” he said as he folded his arms in front of him and nodded his head . ”I’ll write so many letters you’ll get sick of it. To both of you” he looked from Claudine to Mamie. "What are you two going to do during summer?"

When a little Ravenclaw appeared at their table, Minjae could hear her whisper his name over the ringing of his own ear. ”Yes?” he asked, as he put a finger in his ear as if to make the ringing stop but it wouldn't work. Would there be a spell for this? or a potion? he had to look it up one day. He tried to place her in his memory and an image of a balcony came to his mind. Oh! Wasn't she the girl he had taught a spell to? Quite possibly at his own risk if he had been found out. A muggleborn teaching a half-blood? Yeah that wouldn't have gone well... But he had no regrets about it except for that he had forgotten what her name was ”Whats up?”

Standing there behind Minjae, as close as she was, she was able to bits and pieces of things being said between him and the two girls she knew to be Mamie and Claudine. It wasn't that she wanted to because that wasn't something she did. And hearing the sadness in all of their voices, with promises to write one another and such.. well.. suddenly her reason felt really tiny and completely insignificant.

What was she even thinking coming over here and bothering him right now during the feast? She had hardly gotten to know him, which was highly unfortunate because he had seemed really nice and risked a lot to teach her one small spell. What if he didn't even remember who she was? Or he could think she was Lily since they were identical and she was a badger.

This was a bad idea. Maybe she still had time to change her mind. Dahlia was just about to take a step backward to leave in hopes that she hadn't been heard. Blue eyes meet dark ones telling her it was much to late now. "I umm..." she began quietly chewing at her bottom and shuffling her shoe against the floor, "well I never really got the chance to thank you for helping me that one time.." Yup. That totally cleared things up. Real smooth, Lia, real smooth. She felt so unlike herself right now.

SPOILER!!: Minjae <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by DuckyLinJi

Using the sleeve of his Hufflepuff robe to wipe away the tears that were pricking the corners of his eyes , Minjae waited until both Claudine and Mamie were done hugging him. Hugs were still foreign to him and he might have looked very awkward sandwich between them and not doing anything. But the fact that he had allowed them to hug him was a big step for him. When Mamie let go, he could see that his robes were damp and he hoped she hadn’t wiped her nose on them.

Normally he preferred eye contact when talking to someone unless that someone was Rosier, then it was intimating and terrifying but he didn’t say anything about it now because he understood how Mamie felt. ”I’ll miss you too” She was going to be the big sister of the House soon. And Minjae couldn't be more proud because he knew the new first years would be in great hands.

”Of course i will” he said as he folded his arms in front of him and nodded his head . ”I’ll write so many letters you’ll get sick of it. To both of you” he looked from Claudine to Mamie. "What are you two going to do during summer?"

When a little Ravenclaw appeared at their table, Minjae could hear her whisper his name over the ringing of his own ear. ”Yes?” he asked, as he put a finger in his ear as if to make the ringing stop but it wouldn't work. Would there be a spell for this? or a potion? he had to look it up one day. He tried to place her in his memory and an image of a balcony came to his mind. Oh! Wasn't she the girl he had taught a spell to? Quite possibly at his own risk if he had been found out. A muggleborn teaching a half-blood? Yeah that wouldn't have gone well... But he had no regrets about it except for that he had forgotten what her name was ”Whats up?”

Minjae was crying.

That was very obvious but Claudine wasn’t judging him about it. After all, she did believe everyone should show their emotions if they wanted to. She reached out to pat him on the nearest shoulder. There, there, Minjae.

Her get sick of him? Yeah, right. “Sure, we’ll see if I get tired of you,’’ Claudine replied with a small smirk. “You’ll know it because I’ll start calling you ‘Rich Boy’ again.” Her plans? “Just hanging around. Oh, I’m taking OWLs too, so there’ll be lots of studying. If you’re taking NEWTs then, good luck.”

Claudine's gaze drifted to the Ravenclaw table where she saw Ashley arriving. "I'll catch you guys later, okay?'' She gave Minjae a quick hug before standing and heading in the direction of the Ravenclaw Table.

Mamie's shoulders slumped. All year, the only thing she'd had to look forward to had been the prospect of going to her first Quidditch camp, of maybe even playing in the U14 league. But it was too late, and she couldn't sign up without her parents' permission. She was probably going to have a lot of convincing of her parents to do, too, so they'd know it was safe. For next summer.

"Not playing Quidditch," she said sadly. Though, her heart did lift a little bit when Claudine squeezed her arm. She didn't know the Slytherin well, but that was nice, at least.

She liked Claudine's idea of Minjae writing. "I don't think I'll ever get sick of letters again," she declared. After a whole year with no letters? It was not something she would take for granted. Even if the owl post couldn't deliver her Babulya's soup.

Mmmm. Soup.

Distracted by her stomach suddenly growling at the thought of soup, Mamie--whoops, Margaret--missed Claudine's leaving, and did not listen to whatever Minjae and the Ravenclaw (Dahlia? Was that her name?) were discussing. Not food, probably. But then, floating bread appeared? And someone was talking up at the staff table.

She didn't want to look at the staff table.

She noted Professor Aguilar was there. That was good, she wanted to ask him some last minute Quidditch questions before leaving for the summer, if she had the chance. And the empty seat... Her eyes welled with tears while she tried to focus on what the lady in the headmaster's spot was saying. A healer? And these were snacks? Mamie Margaret helped herself to some of the...strawberry bread, breaking off pieces to toss in her mouth. It was a little unexpected, putting fruit in bread, but she was hungry enough that she didn't care. Strawberries were good. Bread was good. Strawberries + bread were good.

She found she couldn't cry and eat at the same time, which was good, because it meant she was able to actually listen to the lady's speech while she chewed mindlessly on pieces of fruit bread. Not that the Healer Poppy lady really said much. Did she? Also, didn't they already have a school healer? Margaret hoped this didn't mean Professor Recard would be leaving. Maybe it just meant that the, er, what was it? Board of Governors? Maybe it meant the Board of Governers realized they needed two healers now, given all the. All the. She stopped chewing, tears returning as she suddenly looked around for Gemma. Was Gemma here?