affection between friends | mina

[prudence oria weiss]

━ the mirror's telling me to go home ━

early july 2028

WITH ALMOST TWO MONTHS SINCE Rue's overdose passing, the Weiss hadn't contacted Mina once. She was simply too scared to. Of course, Rue couldn't stop thinking about her friend, how she was coping, dealing with the same kind of bullshit each of them put up with..But alas the Weiss was still too scared. One thing about Rue Weiss was that once they made a promise, a contract, or any kind of binding thing with another person - they would never break it. But with Mina?...They had done exactly that.

May 2028 was a low point for Rue, it had come from a few months of spiraling way too far, the potion consumption and regular muggle drug consumption had pretty much doubled. Maybe even tripled. But that night in particular played on repeat for the Weiss, especially in the darkest hours of the day when the potioneer was afraid to even sleep. It was the last night she had seen Mina, tears streaming down her friends face as both her and Benny held Rue tightly, yet to Rue, the whole thing felt like she was simply napping for a few minutes.

That night, Rue Weiss was meant to die. But her subconscious, will, mind and body had plans otherwise. And here she was, painstakingly sober almost two months later. Of course, Rue wasn't going to let it end there, that continuous eight year spiral, so with the strongest strain she could find, Rue smoked every now and then. To an ordinary person, it would knock them out for a few days, but for Rue? It was just a weekly thing.

Luckily...they were healthy now. They looked the part also, eyes were wide open, their skin looked less pale and Rue finally had the energy to take care of themselves and even their hair. It was rough, going from a routine-like-habit for years on end to a huge sudden change. It felt sad to admit, but Rue somewhat..missed ruining their body. Which was why they wouldn't stop to try and find a way to numb themselves again.

Though, that wasn't important for that one particular summer's day. But finding the courage within them was. The potioneer knew they had to confront the scariest situation amongst them. Where she stood with Mina. So, making sure the weed-smell was rid from them, Rue made her way to the Oliveira home, and seeing that the curtains were slightly parted gave Rue the idea that maybe Mina was home.

Scratching at her side as she knocked on the door, Rue stood back, slightly rocking on their heels to give them the advantage to leave rather quickly if the Oliveira didn't open the door.

| mina pandora oliveira|

hopefully this works!

[mina pandora oliveira]

▲

It was a shitty summer so far. Hot, sweaty, and no time for anything enjoyable to slip into her life. Mina had been working herself into the ground, hoping for a bit of a promotion come September after the Hogwarts students went back. She had been at the bookstore for over four years now and felt that she deserved a jump in pay and better hours. They had enough employees now too. Obviously, she wasn’t manager material, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t completely irresponsible. There were times where she had been the last employee standing too, and frequently worked open to close when the owner was gone on vacation or conducting business elsewhere. When it came to keeping the store running, she was good with it. Working with others sort of meant goofing off a lot, but she still got everything done and didn’t come into work drunk or high nearly as often anymore. Especially not as of late.

She had the day off today, which was rare in the ramp up to school starting. While a lot of the older students had already started, the ones in MAGIC would be getting their supply lists any day now. Her boss had decided she needed a little more time off before that crunch began, so she had the day free. It was nice to get that every once in a while, and her dog was enjoying it already too. Titania had just asked for her third belly rub in the last ten minutes when there was a knock on the door. The first thought that came to mind was that Callisto had forgotten her keys, but Mina knew that would never happen. Standing up as her dog let out a loud yip of excitement, Mina cross towards the front door to peer through the eye hole. It was Rue.

The last time she had seen Rue was two months ago, when her friend had come over and been completely obliterated. Far beyond and out of their wits than Mina had ever seen them before. Everything about that little staged intervention had been out of concern, and while she was still worried, no news was maybe good news. She could only commit so much time and energy into Rue before frustration became the primary emotion running their relationship. Which was exactly what had been happening for the last two months. Zero communication. Normally Mina would have been worried sick, but there wasn’t anything else she could do for her friend at this point. If Rue wanted to get sober, that was their choice. Mina would be right there the entire way to help too if they wanted it. But there had been no texts or calls in response to the ones Mina had sent. So she wasn’t sure what that meant anymore. She didn’t think something as stupid as potions and muggle drugs would destroy their friendship, but here the two of them were.

The weird part about all of it was that Rue actually looked healthy through the fish-eye lens of the door’s peephole. Another quick bark from a curious Titania and Mina started to unlock the door and opened it. She stared at her friend for a moment, her dog rushing past her to hopefully get a scratch from Rue. Without saying anything, she reached out to pull Rue into a hug. ”Where have you been?”

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[prudence oria weiss]

━ the mirror's telling me to go home ━

NOT ANTICIPATING THE DOOR TO swing open, Rue couldn't help but smile and laugh quietly as Titania made her presence known, begging for a scratch as she pushed her head against Rue's hand. Of course Rue accepted, giving Titania the best kind of reunion scratch they could muster before looking up at Mina, their smile slightly fading. Rue didn't know what to anticipate from it all, but Mina immediately stepping forward and pulling the Weiss into a hug was far from what she had imagined.

That was when the water works started. And Rue Weiss barely ever cried. She cried at her fathers funeral, and cried after the first time she had taken drugs and potions, craving that numb feeling and sticking to it for the last eight years. But here she was, holding her best friend just as tight and crying into her shoulder. "I..I just couldn't see you.." The potioneer began with a quiet sniffle.

"I made you a promise..to slow down..to stop and instead I broke your promise..and you watched me almost die in your arms.." Rue couldn't imagine the feelings both Mina and Benny faced that night, especially since she had gone cold turkey on the both of them - dropping all forms of communication for the easy way out. "I'm sorry..I'm so so sorry.."

| mina pandora oliveira|

[mina pandora oliveira]

▲

Mina really didn’t care what the neighbors thought, assuming they could even see or hear any of what was going on right now. She knew that with all of the silencing charms in place on the apartment, it was like the Oliveira sisters and Titania didn’t exist. A good cry in the hallway never hurt anyone anyways, and as Rue’s voice started to waver, Mina could feel her own. She had been so worried, to the point that all of her feelings had been bundled up in frustration and anger over not doing more. The truth was that she had done her best, but by not knowing where Rue was, she started blaming herself without having any final answer about what was going on.

Squeezing her best friend tighter, all Mina could do was listen. She wouldn’t have let Rue die that night – that was the whole point of trying to stage the intervention then. ”It’s alright,” Mina said, her voice cracking. Even if it wasn’t, Rue was alive and seemingly well. Just from the brief look through the door’s eyehole and before Mina went in for the hug, they looked better than they had in years. Something had clearly happened over the last two months.

By this point, Titania had started to jump at Mina’s back, paws scratching her legs as she hopped around excitedly. This always happened whenever people tried to hug around her, a poor habit that Mina had unfortunately taught her as a puppy. ”Let’s move inside,” Mina mumbled into Rue’s shoulder as she started to shuffle backwards. She didn’t want to let go of her friend, but also didn’t want to become a spectacle in her hallway. The door swung shut behind them, and that was enough to get the dog to back off. Titania now knew they weren’t going for a walk, despite giving the look that she wanted one. ”I don’t know what you did or how you did it, but you know I would have helped, Rue.”

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[prudence oria weiss]

━ the mirror's telling me to go home ━

FOR THE LAST FEW MONTHS, Rue Weiss generally believed they had lost their one and only. Their closest friend, that welcomed her with open arms the moment she had been enrolled into Hogwarts following her father's death. When the reality was, Rue was too scared to face the truth, to find out if she had failed as a friend and if the bond the two of them had was gone forever. Mina Oliveira would always be one of Rue's truest of loves, even if the two of them would never work in a relationship.

Feeling Mina squeeze her tighter as they hugged only resulted in the Weiss crying a little more. The last time she had been hugged like this was when she - alongside her family - found out that their father died. The ripe age of seventeen, when he was taken away from her, and the overall realisation that he wouldn't see Rue or even the rest of their siblings grow up to achieve whatever they wanted, or even grow older. It was all coming back to the Weiss now, and even the reason as to why they were spiralling in the first place, the memory of their mother saying she was ready to move on. When really, everyone was ready to move on except Rue.

Hearing Mina's voice crack in the same way that Rue's did only left the Weiss breathing in a little deeper to calm down themselves, to slow the tears down and the slight adrenaline rush that ran through their body. Being shuffled inside and the door swinging closed behind them, Rue didn't plan on letting Mina go, instead she nuzzled her face in the crook of Mina's neck - a common habit that the Weiss found themselves doing throughout the years of their friendship. "I didn't do anything.." She clarified, lifting an hand to wipe at her wet eyes.

"I did..die Mina..I died when you and Benny came that night..but something saved me.." Rue stopped for a moment, knowing that what they were saying would definitely be seen as a 'crazy moment'. "I didn't slow down..even after promising you..but I also didn't want to die..I really don't want to die Mina.." It was the truth. For eight long years of being addicted to a bunch of things, to then go cold turkey, would've taken months or even years of weaning, withdraws, the works. But whatever had developed within Rue had stripped them of the chance of that almost immediately.

"It sounds..ridiculous I know, but I truly can't...even explain it without..showing you. Can..you trust me?.." To any sane person, they would say no - but Rue meant it. She had spent the time since the overdose trying to research whatever this was, testing all forms of theories and even calling upon Nova for 'brownies' guidance. No matter what Rue did, there was no effect. And no reversal.

| mina pandora oliveira|

[mina pandora oliveira]

▲

Mina really didn’t understand what Rue was telling her. Rue had died? Had there been a resuscitation of some sort? If it had been from one of the potions, she knew of a few different ways that the effects could be neutralized. Only for her own benefit, of course, and not because she had ever paid much attention in any of her classes. All she could do was squeeze her friend tighter, hoping to shove the image of Rue laying somewhere alone, slowly fading out of existence. That thought had popped up intermittently over the years. A constant worry that something may befall them if they ended up going a tad too far. The downward spiral that Mina had observed for quite a while now had seemingly had an end in sight, culminating in Rue’s eventual overdose and death. Thankfully, it seemed to have not gone that way.

Hearing Rue repeat that they didn’t want to die was uplifting, only because she had always assumed that they had committed to the abuse as a slow way towards it. They continued, saying that there was a way to show what all of this meant. Mina pulled back slightly to look at Rue, confused even more than she already had been. Blinking the wet from her eyes, she could feel her eyebrows furrow at it. ”I don’t even know what you’re talking about,” she stated. ”But sure…”

Whatever this was, it seemed important to Rue. Mina stepped back further into her flat and gave her friend space to show whatever it was that they wanted to show. She was still concerned, obviously, because all of this time apart had only made her mind wander further and further into dark areas. The what-ifs on Rue’s potential death had hurt, but everything seemed fine now? She wasn’t sure though.

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[prudence oria weiss]

━ the mirror's telling me to go home ━

KNOWING THAT EXPLAINING SUCH A wild thing would be rather confusing, Rue came prepared anyway. It was unconventional, but they had a point to prove and perhaps this was the only way they could really have someone else test the theory with them. Dark, wet eyes looked at Mina while the Weiss' tongue ran across her lips, wetting them as they suddenly felt rather dry. "It's just...hard to explain...But I promise..nothing will happen.."

As they spoke, Rue's hands fumbled in their pockets, pulling out one of their potions - the modified version of course. It was the one the potioneer kept for themselves, to keep the high going for even longer, even in the darkest depths of the night. It was probably familiar to Mina and everyone who knew Rue no less. The Weiss never left their home or even the warehouse without it. Before Mina could object though, Rue unscrewed the cap, and placed three drops on their tongue.

In any normal circumstance, Rue would have felt the high almost instantly, their pupils would've blown wide and their body would've felt light. But in that moment, the Weiss blankly stared at her friend. Pupils remained normal, as did her behaviour and attention. Nothing was happening. And that was the problem. With just a few minutes of silence passing, Rue then began. "Do you..understand now?" They asked, even going as far as putting the potion in her friends hand.

Rue stepped a little further into Mina's apartment now, pacing a little while the theory still ran around in their mind. Sure, they missed the feeling of being numb, but nothing was ever worth it, like the pains of withdrawals. The Weiss refused to go through such a thing again. "When I woke up, everything changed." She began, eyes lifting up from the floor to look over at her friend. "I tried everything, from my potions, other potions and even Muggle things. And I'm..I'm like a Seeker running off a winning high. Except I'm completely sober."

| mina pandora oliveira|

[mina pandora oliveira]

▲

Mina could feel her mouth dry out and get cottony as she watched Rue produce their infamous potion. She clenched her hands into balled fists, and watched her friend place a couple of drops on their tongue. This potion had been the big one; the one Rue always had at the ready and the one Mina had been worried about the most over the years. It was true that they looked a lot better now than a few months prior. Anyone could see that a change of some sort had occurred. That didn't stop Mina from worrying though, especially how things ended the last time Rue was most certainly in the throes of this specific potion.

The raw swallow of worry that followed as Mina watched and waited quickly turned into more confusion when nothing happened. It wasn't like the potion was always instantaneous, but there was a clear demarcation between when Rue was on it and when they were not. And typically it showed quickly in their eyes. Mina inspected her friend, but was surprised to see that nothing had happened. She didn't understand. Was something wrong with the potion? Was this merely a trick to try and convince her that everything was better than it actually was? That thought killed Mina, but she'd heard of it happening with addicts before. "It didn't work?" she asked carefully.

Rue went on to explain what happened and Mina listened silently. That was basically all she could do, her brain buzzing as she tried to make sense of it all. "So...you're saying nothing gets you high anymore? No matter how much you take?" If they hadn't had magic bursting out of their fingertips, she would have claimed that this was either impossible or that Rue had somehow just become a superhero. But it had apparently taken them overdosing to achieve this.

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[prudence oria weiss]

━ the mirror's telling me to go home ━

KNOWING THAT IT WAS RISKY, doing what they had done simply to prove a point, Rue felt relieved anyway. To get to the point, quickly and simply - Rue had to show what they meant. Nothing got them to the point that they used to be at, the numbingness that would take away all the pain, mask the feelings of it all...nothing.

"It didn't work.." They repeated, putting the potion down on the table in front of them. "Look at my eyes Mina..they're exactly the same. You've seen me at my worst right?..Nothing's changed." Rue knew that all the explaining was bound to cause confusion overall, but the Weiss wanted to move forward, past the pain of it all - and get her friend back.

Nodding, Rue cracked a small smile, knowing that it all sounded unbelievable. "Absolutely nothing." It was as if Merlin had played his own twisted hand in it all, seeing an addict slowly (quickly) dying by their own hand, and decided to put a stop to it all.

"Eight..or so years..being an addict, having countless inventions, never seeking help...immediately wasted from a near death experience." Rue found themselves sitting then, unsure of what else to do or if she should even look in Mina's way.

| mina pandora oliveira|

[mina pandora oliveira]

▲

Rue confirmed that nothing happened, and Mina watched in wonder. This solved so many problems, even as unbelievable as it seemed to be. Her friend showed of their eyes, which were definitely a great indicator on whether or not the potion had taken effect. They looked perfectly dilated and like how she remembered them being prior to the descent into madness these last few years. She wanted to grab Rue by the cheeks and get as close as possible to double-check, but she knew she didn’t have to. The lack of immediate symptoms from the potion was evidence enough.

It was baffling, in a way. Why had it happened this way? People didn’t normally overdose and then suddenly become immune to all drugs and alcohol. That was preposterous. Had it been a combination of potions that Rue had ingested. Something that changed their inner magical workings? Again, Mina didn’t know if that was a thing that could happen or not. ”Huh…” It was all she could utter as she tried to process it all in her head.

She took a seat next to Rue as they muddled over the last eight years. It had been difficult to be on the other side of it too, especially when she realized how much she had enabled them early on. She was absolutely to blame for quite a bit of this too. ”It wasn’t wasted,” Mina said after a moment. Her hand reached out for Rue’s. ”You’re still here. And nothing has changed between us.” If she were being completely honest though, they could finally go back to spending time together where both of them weren’t completely blasted or on something. Mina had been slowing down herself these last few years anyways too. Now was a good time to start wrapping it up and finding new fun things to do with Rue.

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[prudence oria weiss]

━ the mirror's telling me to go home ━

MINA HAD KNOWN RUE FOR years, even before the real rollercoaster of their addiction. Sure, she had moved to Europe and the UK altogether following the passing of her father, but going off the rails only began in their last few years at Hogwarts. Every chaotic or heightened moment was usually spent by Mina's side, so being able to see her in a different light almost felt..odd for the Weiss.

Smiling small, Rue's eyes watched as Mina's met her own, and the potioneer couldn't help but wonder what she was thinking. The Oliveira was rarely quiet and if an occasion ever happened, it usually meant Mina was thinking - intensely at that. Going off on a tangent about being addicted for the last eight years made the Weiss truly wonder what they had done with their life since then. It felt like a waste the more they pondered on things but yet, these thoughts were exactly why she continued with it.

As Mina's hand reached for Rue's, they couldn't help but look up at their friend, tears brimming around their eyes as they contemplated more. "It hasn't?" She questioned, especially since the time they spent hiding away from Mina, they considered that the Oliveira had grown to hate her; considering Rue broke her promise about slowing down and all. Rue was thankful to have Mina, through the ups and downs of it all but at the same time, their life had been spiraling.

Sure, they were healthier, making time to see others, be out in the sun and less cooped up in their warehouse but..Rue hadn't stopped finding a way to reverse what had happened to them either. There they sat, holding tightly onto Mina's hand while tears streamed down the potioneer's cheeks. "I don't know what I've done with my life all this time and now I feel like there's nothing left..its all that I know, how..how can I process anything when all I've done is sit in silence?"

| mina pandora oliveira|

[mina pandora oliveira]

▲

There were so many different emotions blasting around in her head, that Mina was starting to feel overwhelmed by it all again. Every single revelation made her rethink situations the two of them had been in and how she could have maybe tried to lead Rue down a different path. On one hand, she was obviously overjoyed that her best friend was seemingly sober now, a way to hopefully avoid the inevitable that Mina had been so worried about for years now. She had seen it in herself too, at one point, drinking herself to sleep almost every night as a way of coping for her brother’s death. And then it became such a reliant that she was afraid to give up. She could only begin to imagine what Rue had done though. They had always taken it a step further than Mina had been afraid to go.

”No…of course it hasn’t,” she answered. Even though she had been pissed off and confused over the whole situation, it had easily been wiped away in the matter of seconds. How could she think this changed anything? The two of them had been through everything together. This was just the next small bump in the adventure known as life. It had been terrifying not knowing if they were alive, but the end result was a totally unexpected and welcomed outcome.

Rue went on to say that they didn’t know what to do now, which made Mina pause. That was a good point that she hadn’t thought of. ”Well…what do you want to do? What have you always wanted to do but felt like you couldn’t because…well, you know…” The fact that they were too busy chasing the next high had interfered with a lot, Mina assumed. Rue had a chance to start anew. Not many people were given an option like that in life.

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