In the Cold PV Eun-ji Lee Hunt Finished

Eun-ji was getting really good at this. Finding places with as little people as possible. It was not difficult really. When the weather was nice and everyone ventured outside, she tended to stay in the castle and when it wasn’t, she would often go to her favourite spot on the campgrounds. Except the campgrounds weren’t that close and she didn’t want to strain her foot too much so she had to make peace with staying in the courtyard these days.

Today the weather was nice but it was getting a bit chilly so most of the students returned to the relative safety of the Hogwarts castle. The young Ravenclaw didn’t mind too much though. She preferred cold over the hot summer weather. I might have underestimated the weather a little. In all honesty, she would rather be in the ballroom today but if she wanted to dance at the ball, she had to make sure her foot healed up nicely. No ballet practice until that event was over. That is…if she was even going attend it in the first place. Despite her avoidance of others, Eun-ji didn’t really feel like going alone. She sighed, looking at her lazy sketches. She wasn’t really trying, just scribbling few things down to keep her mind relaxed. She was currently sketching a character from a fairy-tale book she used to read. It was not really meant for kids but she liked it. It had some good life lessons. She was so lost in thought that she didn’t even see a person approaching but she recognized the voice immediately.

“Oh…hello Aaron.” The witch replied with a smile of her own. If anybody had to find her here, she was glad it was this particular boy. She felt strangely comfortable around him. “Hmm…running away I suppose,” she answered offhandedly, not really bothering to come up with an excuse. She had a feeling Aaron wouldn’t judge her. Also now that he was sitting next to her, he seemed somewhat unhappy himself. Perhaps he would appreciate someone to talk to? For whatever reason people seemed to think she was a go to person when they were struggling with something but she couldn’t be sure if he thought the same. Nevertheless it wouldn’t hurt to try so she set her notebook down onto her lap to give the Hufflepuff her full attention. Eun-ji didn’t care if he saw her sloppy doodles. She was not an aspiring artist or anything. While she didn’t always feel like sharing her drawings with everybody, she also didn’t make a big deal out of somebody seeing them. “What about you?” She finally asked. The question was harmless really. If he wanted to elaborate, he could and if he didn’t, he could just give her a diplomatic answer and change the topic easily.
OOC: The art is not mine: Artist

Running away? He wondered what from, but just like on their train ride, Aaron thought about how she would have shared if she wanted to. And since she didn't volunteer any more information, he wasn't going to push it. He had some stuff in his own mind that he wasn't exactly eager to share either. When she put the sketchpad down in her lap, his eyes instinctively followed the movement and he caught a glimpse of what she had been drawing. They looked like people.

"Ah, I just got back from Hogsmeade," Aaron answered, his eyes lifting from the sketchbook back to her face, hoping he hadn't come off as nosy for staring. "I was just taking the long route to get back inside," he explained, then patted the pocket of his hoodie. The action made a crinkling sound like plastic being scrunched, and if she looked, she'd notice the pocket was bulging with what he must've bought in Hogsmeade. "Want a snack? I've got chocolate frogs and sugar quills and every flavor beans - take your pick. Oh - we could even make a game out of the beans if you wanted," Aaron said, removing those items from his pocket with a grin and placing them on the bench space between them. But he was a bit rushed in the action, and ended up dropping one of the chocolate frogs onto the ground.

As he reached down to grab it, Aaron caught a glimpse of Eun-ji's ankle and saw that it was wrapped in bandages. A frown etched itself onto his face in puzzlement, wondering what sort of injury she could have sustained that the School Nurse couldn't fix. He knew that ballet was one of her hobbies, so maybe it was related to that? "Is your foot okay?" he asked as he straightened back up, his brown eyes genuinely concerned as he looked at her.

@Eun-ji Lee Hunt

“Hogsmeade, huh? I haven’t been there since Christmas.” Eun-ji recalled with a soft smile. Perhaps she should make a trip there soon. Should she go alone? Could be nice…or lonely. It was honestly hard to say. “Thank you…I don’t really eat sweets that much though,” she cringed inwardly. It still felt strange admitting said fact to other kids. Everybody seemed to love the chocolate frogs and other sugary snacks from the wizarding world but she rarely got to eat candies as a child and somehow got used to not doing so. “I do grab a Choco pie or two occasionally or a birthday cake if there is one but generally speaking I just…don’t have the sweet tooth?” Why was it so hard to explain? “Although, I never tried the beans game…that might be fun.” Before Aaron could react to her words however, he dropped one of the chocolate frogs. Naturally, Eun-ji wanted to help him pick it up but he was faster and she still had her sketchbook in her lap so it was probably for the best.

“Oh…that?” The witch looked between her injured foot and Aaron. He looked genuinely concerned and she had to admit it warmed her heart. Eun-ji was always great at handling her own injuries and so eventually people around her stopped fretting whenever she got hurt. She had seen so many people suffering through her childhood that it made her own pain pale in comparison. It was a weird mind-set to have but she found it quite useful. It was much easier to keep calm that way. “Please don’t worry. That one was entirely on me and it’s not too bad. On the contrary, I didn’t want to bother Mr. Brumby. I just over did it with ballet practice…it’s mostly healed now.” She explained immediately. To be fair it did look rather nasty but she had similar wounds in the past so she felt no reason to panic about it at the time. “In all honesty, I could have probably let him fix it but I thought it might do me good to let it heal slowly the muggle way? I suppose it doesn’t make much sense to you but…” Aaron never forced her to share anything beyond what she was comfortable with, which was the precise reason why she felt like she could let something slip with him. The fact that he was concerned for her just pushed her over the edge. “Sometimes I don’t know when to stop? I thought this might help me to slow down and to be fair, it did soo…” The witch shrugged avoiding the eye contact for a moment or two. “Thank you though…for the concern I mean.” She said with a smile. There was no reason to dwell on it. Like she said the injury was almost gone now and she was doing just fine.

"You went last Christmas? As part of the errand thing?" he asked. He knew that's how Lydia had been able to go last year. Aaron had never been to Hogsmeade before this year - his third year - though he knew there were rumors of fake permission slips going around among the younger years. Jack, for example, had snuck into Hogsmeade before third year before. "It's really cool to be able to go there any weekend that we want now - gives some variety in scenery," Aaron said, explaining his own thoughts on the wizarding village.

When Eun-ji revealed she wasn't a big sweets person, Aaron shrugged off the confession. He knew a couple people like that, his mother being one of them. She said she'd never liked sweets when she was young, so it wasn't a completely foreign idea to him. Strange, but nothing he was going to linger on. "Next time I'll make sure to get something more savory to share," is all he said on the matter, offering a small smile.

When she explained about her foot, though, Aaron's smile had changed into a frown and he looked troubled. Her reasoning was that she didn't want to bother the School Nurse? It was his whole job to heal kids here! He probably would welcome her stopping by for such a quick fix! In all honesty, he did not understand why she would want to heal the muggle way. Ever since he had discovered the magical way of healing, it was probably the only instinctively magical thing he went for. In all other scenarios of life he would do things the muggle way - lifting something heavy, travelling long distances, fighting. But ever since being part of the Quidditch team and learning what it was like to have your injuries healed so quickly? Well, let's just say if he injured his foot like Eun-ji had, he would've gone directly to the Hospital Wing that same day. How long had Eun-ji's foot been like this, for her to say it was almost healed?

But still, Aaron listened to her side of the story and tried to understand where she was coming from. He didn't interrupt her, merely listening as she spoke of healing the muggle way - and then she shared it was a way of trying to slow herself down. The Hufflepuff's expression softened slightly at this explanation, understanding finally dawning in him. She looked away and avoided eye contact, but his brown eyes lingered on her expression. What she said just then made a lot of sense. Aaron knew what it was like to dedicate yourself to something so completely that it felt like nothing else in the world mattered - and when you got a break from it, sometimes you clung to those precious moments of relief. Maybe that wasn't the exact same scenario she was describing, but it sounded similar.

"I think I understand," he said, finally looking away from her face and instead down at the drawing in her lap. "But even so, you have to climb so many stairs with being in the Ravenclaw Tower and all - aren't you in any pain? Maybe since it's almost healed anyway, you could go to the Nurse just to make sure it's all proper." He wasn't sure how she would react to him not letting the topic drop, but a foot injury was still pretty concerning, even if he did sorta understand the motivation behind it.

"Plus the ball is just around the corner, aren't you going to want to be in tip-top shape for that?" Aaron added, hoping that might help convince her to go see Nurse Brumby.

@Eun-ji Lee Hunt

Eun-ji nodded. “Yes, I was helping with the present wrapping. I do hope a similar event will be held this year. It was truly beautiful there during Christmas.” Eun-ji recalled with a fond smile. She supposed she could go alone even if there wasn’t one now that she was allowed to do so but... would it be the same? Well plenty time till December. No reason to ponder about it now. She was glad to hear, Aaron would think about her preferences next time he went there. Even if he forgot, it was still nice of him to say that. And well…perhaps they would meet there one of these days.

The later conversation about her injury was less nice. She felt somewhat embarrassed that he found out and she even shared something very personal with the boy. It was rare for Eun-ji to do so. She didn’t like being vulnerable in front of others but Aaron just had that effect on her. He had a strange aura around him and she really felt like she could trust him. Thankfully, so far, he didn’t give her a reason to believe otherwise. On the contrary, his reaction was far beyond what she expected. He didn’t look happy about her solution at first but eventually seemed to understand. At least to some extent, which was enough for the raven-haired girl. She knew her reasoning could be a bit twisted at times so she didn’t expect him to just go along with it. It felt rather nice to have someone worry about her. Though she assumed he would react the same with any other friend, should they be in the similar situation. It still made her feel somewhat special.

“Well…a bit I suppose.” The Ravenclaw muttered under her breath as if she didn’t want him to hear. In hindsight, it was a bit silly of her. The stairs didn’t make it easy on her and she knew that. She was just being stubborn. As reasonable as she was, there were still times when the witch failed herself. “I did make sure to rest plenty though. My dad is a doctor…” If she recalled correctly she already told him in the past. “So I knew better than to go up and down needlessly.” Eun-ji desperately wanted to make it sound better but saying it aloud now even she could tell, it was a losing battle. Sighing, she surveyed her foot once again before turning back to Aaron. “You are right, I should probably do that.” I would be an easy fix for the nurse for sure and she wouldn’t have to worry about being okay for the ball.

Speaking of the ball. It was as if the Hufflepuff read her mind. “Well yes. Although I’m not sure if I’ll go this year? I was planning to go with a friend but she already has a date,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. Eun-ji wanted to go. She loved dancing and the decorations were always amazing to look at but there was no way she would go alone. Standing awkwardly in the middle of a crowd was not an ideal way of spending her evening. Nuh-uh. No, thank you.

Right, her dad, the surgeon. And wasn't her mother a... magical doctor? A healer or something? Reminded of these facts, Aaron was even more surprised she hadn't gone straight to see Nurse Brumby. He was relieved though when Eun-ji acknowledged she should go to see him now. Aaron offered a small smile at this.

"I'd be happy to go with you to the Hospital Wing if you want company," he told her, though he said it in a way that hopefully didn't sound pushy. He wasn't offering this to make sure she followed through - she was just as grown up as Aaron was, and could get there on her own. Instead he was offering to escort her because sometimes people preferred to have company during a visit to the nurse. If she turned him down, he wouldn't mind at all.

When Eun-ji shared that she had originally been planning to go to the ball with a friend only for that friend to find a date, Aaron's brown eyes widened. "That's like what happened with me! Jack was all: 'you have to go, Aaron' - but then when I said we should just go together - like, as friends - he told me he already had a date!" Aaron was paraphrasing the conversation between himself and his good friend, but that's essentially what happened. He left out the part about Jack telling Aaron he had to get a date, too - because when he had tried to follow through with that plan, it hadn't turned out so well.

He looked over at one of the stone walls lining the courtyard, where one of the posters for the ball had been pinned. "Samhain" was written across the top, which Aaron still did not fully understand the meaning of. Kinda looked like a pumpkin patch and casual dress according to the pictures, though, so that's what he was expecting of the ball itself. If he ended up going. He didn't want to be a third wheel to Jack and his date. Eun-ji probably felt the same way about tagging along with her friend and her friend's date, which must be why she said she didn't know if she would go.

"Did you go to the Blossom Ball back in May?" Aaron asked, turning back to Eun-ji. "I actually haven't been to a school dance since first year - the secret Blossom Ball, and all," he shared, averting his eyes at the mention of the ball he had been part of putting together and ended in the disaster of vampyr mosps.

@Eun-ji Lee Hunt

Eun-ji was a bit surprised by Aaron's offer at first but then again she wasn't really sure why. He had always been very kind to her and seemed precisely like a person that would do so. It was nice. It also scared her a little because she was about to agree without giving it much thought. She took a breath; ready to answer before finally realizing she was making a mistake. The witch vowed to rely on herself and not let anybody get too close her after the whole summer fiasco. She was scared especially if it was someone Mrs. Hunt would not approve of and Eun-ji knew for a fact Aaron would fall into that category. Unfairly of course. The Ravenclaw herself thought the boy had many admirable qualities and anybody would be lucky to have him in their life but her grandmother had different standards. She was a twisted woman that one.

"Thank you but I'm a big girl and perhaps far too familiar with both magical and muggle hospitals. I can do it alone, there is no need to waste your time. Though I appreciate the offer. That's very sweet of you," she said sincerely. There was no reason to pretend. Just because she didn't want to cross some invisible line, it didn't mean she wanted to push him away. It may have sounded stupid that this particular thing felt like crossing the line but Eun-ji was used to being the dependable one at this point. She was always the one to look after herself and help others if they asked for it. Letting Aaron accompany her seemed like breaking those rules and admitting that she also needed help from time to time. It was ridiculous really. Everybody needed help sometimes, no one probably assumed she didn't but her brain worked in mysterious way sometimes. In any case...she already revealed far too much to the Hufflepuff anyway.

"Oh...that is a tricky situation. Though I think you won't have trouble finding a date for yourself should you decide to do so." She said encouragingly. It seemed like he was quite popular. Or was it just her assumption? Eun-ji followed Aaron's gaze and looked at the nearby poster. Interesting theme for sure. She wanted to go. "Last year? Yes, I did go with a friend. I participated in the trials with her as well. It was both a little scary and fun." She paused to think about it some more. "In fact, I think I did the exact opposite. I went to all of them except for the secret blossom ball. I didn't really have friends back then so I decided not to go...which turned out to be a smart decision." She definitely dodged a bullet on that one. It looked like Aaron didn’t have very good memories of that one either considering his reaction and the fact that he avoided balls ever since. The witch wondered whether she should say something but decided not to pry. If he wanted to share, she would listen if not then she would just let it go. "I do love dancing so if there is an opportunity to join an event like that I usually do. It's just...I'm not particularly fond of crowds so I prefer going with someone just to avoid any awkward situations. Curiously, I’m good at stage performances but mingling among people isn’t necessarily my forte." She wasn't sure why that was and she made a peace with that part of herself. Everybody had their shortcomings and this simply seemed to be hers. Not much she could do about it.

Aaron nodded and offered an understanding smile when Eun-ji turned down his offer to accompany her there. He didn't mind, he just thought it was the right thing to do - to offer. The fact that she was going at all was the accomplishment, and hearing that she intended to follow through was enough. His mind moved on to the next topic pretty quickly.

The thirteen-year-old nodded solemnly when the Ravenclaw sitting beside him sympathized with the part about Jack demanding he get a date. But then she went on to say that she thought Aaron wouldn't have a problem finding a date. He avoided her eye in that moment, thinking about how that might be true if he asked a friend. He actually had a lot of friends who were girls, and he wouldn't mind going to the ball with a friend. In fact, he could see himself having a great time with a friend. It's just that- well, for a minute he had thought of a girl he actually liked and thought it could be a date date. But that hadn't worked out, so yeah, maybe he should just ask to go as friends with someone.

Aaron lifted his eyes again when Eun-ji went on to explain her experience with the balls. When she spoke of not going to the secret ball being a smart decision in the end, he nodded in agreement with a slightly off smile. "Yeah, I guess those who didn't attend were definitely better off."

She went on to talk about how she loved dancing - something he definitely knew about her - and that she wanted to go, but only if she had a date because she wasn't so great around crowds. Now that he thought about it, Aaron really had never seen Eun-ji around a ton of people - she was definitely the sort who had a select few friends and hung out in small groups. Aaron on the other hand had no problem with situating into small or big groups, like hanging out with just Lydia or hanging out with an entire Quidditch team. Striking up conversation and making friends was something he was kinda good at.

"What if-" The idea that had popped into his mind made a lot of sense, but Aaron hesitated nonetheless. His thoughts flickered to what had happened with Santario, and how he had essentially been rejected before even being able to ask... but this was different. Aaron shook off the sudden nerves that had gripped him, and he caught Eun-ji's eye. "Well, would you maybe want to go with me?" he asked. "I like hanging out with you and maybe I can help be a buffer? Like we wouldn't have to talk to a ton of people if you didn't want to, but I could also help with conversation if that's what you're nervous about?" Aaron said, trying to make himself sound useful. Another thought crossed his mind though, and interrupted him trying to sound like a good choice. "But I'm not really the greatest dancer... I don't think I'm awful, but I'm not trained or anything," he was starting to realize maybe she would prefer to go with someone who could dance and was already preparing himself for her to kindly turn him down. "So I'd understand if you wanted to find someone who can properly dance and keep up with you," he ended up saying, letting his dark eyes go back to the ball poster across from them.

@Eun-ji Lee Hunt

If Aaron not attending any following balls wasn’t obvious enough, his general tone and expression were a clear indication that the Blossom ball was an event he’d rather forget. Eun-ji would be lying if she said she wasn’t curious at all but she had seen what it did to Elspeth and she would never reopen the old wounds for somebody else. And so, the witch marked this topic as off limits unless the boy decided to share something about it first. He had already made a huge progress by going this time and she admired his courage. She wished she was at least half as brave as the Hufflepuff. If that was the case, perhaps she would be bold enough to defy her grandmother.

"What if-" Eun-ji turned to look at the boy. It sounded like he had an idea but he was hesitating for some reason. "Yes?" She asked in a gentle tone, making sure not to sound pushy but leting him know that she was there and listening. "Well, would you maybe want to go with me?" Oh? Oh! That actually made sense. Why didn’t she think about that before? Then again, even if she did, she wouldn’t dare to ask. Somehow, she assumed he would prefer to find a proper date. This would be a win for her as she liked hanging out with Aaron and he also seemed pretty smooth in social situations but would it be fun for him as well? "Yes, I would like that but... are you sure?" The Ravenclaw wanted to give him the opportunity to change his mind, should he wish to. Knowing him, he probably wouldn’t but still…"I’ll let you know I can be funny at times but probably not as much as some of your other friends," she admitted with a smile. That much was true. She could be quite witty at times but it really depended on the situation and the people she was interacting with. What was Jack like anyway? She’d seen him around but they never really talked.

At least, Eun-ji wasn’t the only one to have concerns. Aaron also seemed to pause and think about it some more but in the end it was nothing he should be worried about. The witch chuckled quietly. Not in a mocking way, it was more of her relief coming out. "Nonsense, I’m not preparing for a championship or anything. I enjoy dancing but that doesn’t mean I expect my dance partner to excel at it. I much prefer them having fun with it," she explained with a smile. To be perfectly honest sometimes she was content just watching the pairs gliding around the dance floor but the yearning to join in was always present at the back of her mind. "I’m also not expecting you to dance the night away with me. I know not all people enjoy dancing like I do but…" It was her turn to pause for a moment, suddenly feeling a bit shy even if they only went as friends. "Would you save me at least one?" She finally finished the thought.