Interception of Love PV: Hanako & Jack

XXXXX𝑇he initial start of the new year had sailed smoothly, Meiyu's return to the castle had brought bouts of new motivation, a desire to perform differently following her admission to St. Mungo's over the summer. Her treatment plan had included an academic adjustment plan, compromised of most faculty going easy on her, sparing her from answering questions amidst class, at times, early dismissal which had only worked in her favour with her role as a prefect of Gryffindor. During the instances in which she had been dismissed early from her final classes, Meiyu roamed the castle, stoic in her expression, half-mindedly striding through corridors and occasionally casting glances at faces whom she had yet to cross paths with.

Over the course of two weeks, she had often crossed paths with an upperclassman, previously paying the boy no mind, yet oddly, infatuated by his presence. Perhaps it had reminded her of the snake she had been infatuated with during months at the school, a boy she had rarely seen since and soon began to care little for despite her devious plans of obtaining a potion to lure him into her arms — Meiyu since learning it had been consequence of borderline personality, the boy previously being an object of desire and obsession at the ripe age of eleven, information which had been forced out of her during assessment. She had unhealthy coping mechanisms, latching onto others at times, growing unhealthily attached to very few people, most notably, her first true friend Hans.

Immense studying had began. At first, it had been unintentional, most times Meiyu striding past the boy, glancing at his striking yet soft features. Then, an idea had emerged, one that she had left laying dormant for months, a detailed step-by-step into getting the broom racer she had once been infatuated by to return the sentiment, successfully obtaining a love potion to progress her mission of love. One evening, she dwelled on the thought of a trial, splitting the potion into two, using it on another to test it's efficiency — evidently not paying much attention in potions to truly realise such motions would hinder the effectiveness of the potion, curious as to whether it would work, she proceeded regardless. For a moment, Meiyu felt as though the time spent during her forced admission into the psychiatric ward had been for nothing, returning to old behaviour rather too quickly for her own liking, though, if she had been honest, she had done her best performance in the institution — cosplaying a normal child to escape the vicinity of insane much quicker than those who had experienced far worse.

On this particular afternoon, she had been granted permission to leave a few minutes early, almost rushing to the dungeons to await the boy and begin the first phase of her trial. Observation played a vital role during any trial. So, Meiyu used this opportunity to begin a series of observations on the boy, whom he interacted with, his routine and what he sounded like, vital information to determine the efficiency rate of the love potion which she would eventually segregate into two separate doses or alternatively, bribe another upperclassman to brew her another. She stood near the stone tiles of the dungeon, awaiting her suspect as though cosplaying a primal animal seeking their prey, eyes narrowing as she observed students making their way to the common room nested in the dungeons, hoping the boy would make some appearance soon as it was not entirely Meiyu's desired Friday evening activity.

All she had gathered had been he was good looking and unfortunately, a snake — nauseated by the preference she had unwillingly developed when it came to her taste in men. At the very least, she had been grateful that the men she did show some interest with would reside in the dungeons, proving that men were rats who deserved to be banished to the pits of the dungeon where they belonged.