solo child drinker | harper

[Deleted]

wrong choices.

25.01.2025

HOGSMEADE WEEKEND…

CHRISTMAS HAD COME AND GONE, a brief holiday for the students and more time for the Professors to finish off their markings for the winter term, ready to present the scores for each class upon the students arrival on January 6th. As expected, those who put the work in were delighted to see their results and even Lily had a slow increase on her scores as well (even if the possibility of it came from copying Cordelia’s answers). Still! There was progress and possible hope for the Potter girl and the Charms Professor could only provide so much of her support to her. The days however, rolled on like normal, especially for a woman like Ji-Yu who simply done nothing but immerse herself amongst students and grade papers. Hogsmeade weekend meant for a slight breath of fresh air.

Alongside three other Professors, it was Ji-Yu’s turn to conduct the trip for the students and in the early afternoon of Saturday, she watched as they all departures, allowing her and the other Professors to relax. Waving her goodbyes to them, the Choi declared her day to be mainly spent shopping while enduring the last hours in Hogs Head, the only place that only allowed adults and kept the children away. Pushing open the doors a few hours later, dark eyes watched the many patrons around, before listening to the loud laughter coming from the bar. As she walked closer for a seat by it, the bartender had a drunk patron’s arm slung over his shoulder but it didn’t seem to bother the man.

Hands gripped onto the side of the bar, and in a low tone she murmured an order for a Butterbeer. It was a good start for the Professor, especially since she was in charge of some students for the day. Eyes glanced around as she waited, and the sight of a young female on the far end of the bar caught her attention. She seemed young, surely nothing older than seventeen, perhaps a sixth or a seventh year…which was odd considering…only adults were allowed inside Hogs Head. Brows furrowed as Ji-Yu turned her head, contemplating her thoughts on the girl, pondering on whether it was right or not to out the girl for being a student but the soft thump sound of a glass being put onto the counter had distracted her.

She thanked the bartender, whose name tag flashed Ares, before narrowing her eyes in the direction of the girl. Like Ji-Yu, the girl had a drink of her own now, except the glass was smaller and the content poured was…Smaller also. Widened eyes lead to her body moving before her mind had time to process the situation and soon enough, the Choi’s hand reached out, snatching the glass before it could even reach her lips. ”Y-You can’t drink that!” She stammered breathlessly, eyes stern as she started down at the girl. Surely the drink spilled over her.

@harper & !!

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[Deleted]

@jiyu

01.25.2025

Going to Hogsmeade during a weekend where the students were everywhere was not Harper’s intent in the slightest: she had just finished officially moving all of her things into her new apartment earlier that afternoon, and to celebrate, decided to go to the magical village to get a drink to congratulate herself. Her parents had helped with the move, though they weren’t exactly needed because she barely had anything to move. It was more the emotional support as the last two days had dragged on and on when it came to officially signing the apartment lease and picking out furniture that would fit into her tiny one-bedroom flat. She realized too late that she probably should have gone for a larger studio apartment, because the walls in her current place took up a ton of room, trying to create a tiny hallway for storage closets and the washer and drier. At the end of the day it was hers and she was going to love it no matter what. Her mum had already offered to help with charming the place up, but a call from the dragon sanctuary had pulled both of her parents away from that until tomorrow.

Thus, she was on her own getting her celebratory drink at the Hog’s Head. It wasn’t the most glorious place in the world and was exactly the same as it had been two years prior when she graduated. Her parents were supposed to meet her if they finished with their job earlier, though she sort of doubted that would happen. Years of dealing with a temperamental Ondina didn’t even come close to putting out a dragon temper tantrum, as hard as that was to believe.

The Hog’s Head was never boring though, despite its grunginess, and that was something Harper could respect one-hundred percent. The bartender was even one of her old schoolmates, Ares Lestrange, which was sort of funny. His sister had been a year under her in Gryffindor, while Ares himself was a couple years older. Still, Harper did her best to chat with him when he wasn’t shuffling drunk old men out of the bar, the most being a blonde giant of a man that had apparently been there all day drinking and telling silly stories of his home country of Norway. An impressive feat considering she was the lightest of light weights with her tiny frame and lack of drinking experience. Tonight was going to be two or three beers tops before popping back to her apartment, her current glass on its way towards her lips when it was suddenly yanked out of her hands and a voice next to her squeaked that she couldn’t drink it.

Needless to say, Harper was confused. Her first thought was that the woman now next to her thought someone had done something to her drink. While it was easy to assume the Hog’s Head crowd was a sketchy bunch, they were all nice guys at the end of the day. They really liked her motorcycle when she used to bring it round. “Why not? It’s my beer…” she said as she started to wipe off some of the spilled beer that had gotten on her hands on her pant legs before reaching back towards the glass to try and pry it back from the woman.

[Deleted]

wrong choices.

WIDENED EYES ONLY LEFT JI-YU in a continuous spiral of shock. The brunette bartender who was handling a blonde man seemed occupied and with no one else on the bar, the Choi knew she didn’t have anyone else to blame. It was almost shocking, as to how the woman before her even got inside of the bar without being ID’ed, nor how she was easily served the beer Ji-Yu had snatched away. The mug, held in her hand slowly floated down to the countertop, away from the woman thankfully to non-verbal and wandless magic while the Charms Professor’s brows furrowed. Slowly she bent down, not wanting other raving patrons to listen in and ultimately to avoid raining on their parade. ”Aren’t you in one of my classes?” She murmured, disappointment written across her face.

”How did they allow you in? Did you purchase a fake ID from somewhere?” She continued on, bombarding the female with questions. A hand raised to her forehead, pushing bangs up before allowing them to fall. Processing what just happened, the Choi mumbled quiet curse words in Korean until her palm dropped to the side of the bar, somewhat leaning against it. ”You know, I’ll have to report this back at Hogwarts. No student is meant to drink anything until they’re seventeen. How old are you anyway? How did you convince the bartender otherwise?” The girl…woman…person? Didn’t look a day over fifteen, which was miraculous. How was a simple fourth or fifth year able to funnily confuse everyone?

@harper

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[Deleted]

@jiyu

01.25.2025

Harper was confused. Her first thought was that the woman next to her had seen someone slip something into the beer, for god knows what reason, and was trying to save her skin by pulling it away from her. The problem Harper had with that was that she had watched Ares pour it himself, and she was pretty confident she could trust the guy since it was his job. And the hulking giant of a blonde man in the corner? He was too far away to interfere with the drink at all, as well as too preoccupied regaling his years as a Quidditch player. The only reason she knew that was because he had a booming voice and was impossible to talk over. So the problem was still at hand. Why was her beer being taken away from her? All she wanted was a drink after a long day of moving. She didn’t ask for a lot in life other than for a motorcycle in working order and a drink every so often.

And then the woman was going off, firing questions left and right about being in one of her classes and having a fake ID and how she had somehow tricked Ares into giving her alcohol. Agitation was growing in the Weasley girl though she had long since given up on trying to snag her drink back. The woman had it far enough out of her reach that lunging for it again would really cause a scene and probably only further whatever misunderstanding she had about Harper. “I convinced the bartender to give me a drink because I went to school with him,” she began with a hiss, trying to catch Ares attention with her eyes. She was unsure if he had seen it though, so continued on, “I graduated two years ago, so I find it impossible to be in any of your classes…professor?” There hadn’t been a professor this young when she was in school, so she wasn’t sure if that was an appropriate title for the woman. Maybe Hogwarts had junior professors now with all of the American kids there too.

“I’ll show you my ID if you’re that interested in seeing it. I don’t think you’ll want a lecture from McGonagall when you try to drag me up to the castle.” Rifling through her jacket pocket for her wallet and ID, Harper was sent into a panic when she couldn’t locate it. She patted her jean pockets as well, but it wasn’t in either of them, her fingers only feeling the singular galleon she had brought with her for the drink. That was on purpose because she had planned on going home immediately after and crashing. “It’s not how it looks…”

[Deleted]

wrong choices.

JI-YU WAS SURE SHE HAD never been more furious in her life. Her day had started off steady, welcoming the students to a new Hogsmeade following the dragon attacks, getting better once she entered the pub…Only for her to return and tap back into her Professor consciousness. At the start of the woman’s words, Ji-Yu’s eyes flickered to the bartender, who was slowly backing away from the bar, his hands held in defeat. It only led to the Choi squinting in his direction before returning her attention back to the suspect at hand. ”You went…To school with him.” She parroted, tongue twisting at the girl’s lies. ”By Merlin, is this some sort of cover story you create every time you get caught?” She questioned the girl, before turning her back on her slightly. ”Bartender?! How many times has she been caught? Why hasn’t she been listed up for no entry yet?” The male who retreated earlier shrugged, before returning back to his duties, pushing his attention to the other patrons.

”Oh I’m interested.” The Choi voiced, her brow raising in suspicion as the woman patted herself down. Professor McGonagall would surely help her out in this kind of situation and Ji-Yu’s gut was sure about this. This girl was clearly underage. The brunette watched as the girl patted herself down, only to come up with nothing to prove, only raising her suspicion a little more. ”It’s exactly how it looks…” Ji-Yu countered, letting the beer the girl was drinking settle on the counter. ”Give me one good reason why I should believe you?”

@harper

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[Deleted]

@jiyu

01.25.2025

The professor didn’t believe anything Harper said. She was at a loss for what to do next, because trying to be rational with the lady obviously wasn’t working. The last hope lay with Ares, though from the way he responded to the woman’s question, it looked like Harper’s luck was starting to run out. “Really Ares?” she shot off at him as she watched him shrug and turn back to the other people at the bar. What had she done to him to deserve that? Just because she was only getting one drink? The Hog’s Head was going to have one less patron if he left her hanging like this. He probably thought it was funny; entertainment for the rest of the bar goers. “And yes, I went to school with him,” she retorted as the agitation started to build in her voice. “I graduated in 2023. From Gryffindor.” Except there wasn’t any proof of that. Her ID was at home and there wasn’t exactly anything in Hogsmeade that would verify her age at all. It was starting to look like she was going to have an evening trip to Hogwarts to testify in front of McGonagall herself.

“You’re not going to believe me no matter what I tell you,” Harper relented, sliding off of her barstool and slapping her lone galleon on the counter. “Keep the change, Ares. Since you got a show out of it.” It was a waste of a hard earned galleon, but she was beyond frustrated at the situation. Slipping her leather jacket on over her shoulders, she headed for the door, “Well what are you waiting for, Professor. Let’s go back to the school so you can give me detention or whatever. I’ve been skipping classes for the last two years after all.” Slamming the door to the Hog’s Head open, she stepped out into the cold night, waiting in the street for the professor to waltz her back up to the castle so they could have their little chat with McGonagall.

[Deleted]

wrong choices.

JI-YU’S INITAL RESPONSE TO A situation presented like this one would be to act calm, rationally and request that the young lady moved if she were to pick at straws and stir up a defending fight. Luckily for the Choi, she seemed to comply easily. Ji-Yu’s eyes travelled in the direction the girl’s did, noticing the bartender with a wicked smile on his face before he sent a shrug her way and continued to serve others by the bar. Were they friends or people that knew each other after all? The Charms Professor simply couldn’t trust it. At the girl’s words, the Choi nodded along. ”2023 Huh…” She repeated, trying to make it seem she believed the girl. But by all means, she didn’t believe one word the girl was saying.

As the girl slid off her stool to stand, Ji-Yu was glad she hit the jackpot. Literally nothing could change her mind about it, even though Ji-Yu had only arrived at the Wizarding School in Mid-2024. The Choi quickly followed behind the girl, who’s outburst only seemed to grow with anger. It was always interesting catching out the odd student who was clearly in the wrong. Maybe Ji-Yu would get some pat on the back for it. She pushed open the door to find the blonde actually waiting for her and smiled. It was genuinely for her own good. In all the Charms and spells Ji-Yu had learned from such a young age, the one to next whisper out of her mouth was one she had rarely used. Perhaps only once or twice to subdue her brother whenever he would be angered and challenged their father to a fight.

Ji-Yu raised her wand at the girl, whose back was to her, reminding herself it was for the girl’s own good. ”Incarcerous” She murmured, conjuring up thin cords to bound the girl’s hands together. It was surely enough to keep the girl away from her wand or casting any form of wandless magic — guaranteed she didn’t know any. ”We’ll head to the castle where you’ll confess what you did and how you did it to Professor McGonagall and undergo detention for at least thre—no. Let’s say a month.” Not to add there would be daily things for the young Gryffindor to attend to, duties to fulfil such as stuff to clean and what not.

@harper

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[Deleted]

@jiyu

01.25.2025

So this was it. Ares was really going to hang her out to dry and not do anything about it. His stupid smug grin at her said it all. Harper was contemplating never going back to the Hog’s Head if she really wasn’t going to get any backup from him. Technically she didn’t need an ID here since she was well over the legal age to drink, but that wasn’t good enough for Miss Professor, who really had it out for her for some reason. Thankfully McGonagall was a forgiving Headmaster because this wasn’t going to pan well for the professor once they got up to the castle. Harper was going to be the last one laughing at that point. It would be even better if some of her former professors saw her first, or even a cousin. Anything to see this Professor get told off for assuming she was both underage and a student still.

She barely had time to register that it was chilly out before wires conjured around her wrists, bringing them together taut. Spinning around, a shocked look on her face, she found herself at a loss of words for what had just been done to her. First there was the misconception of her age and now she was being treated like a criminal? Even when she had been in school the professors had never done this to her when she was caught out after curfew. What the hell kind of things were they letting them get away with these days?

“Listen, lady,” Harper growled at the professor, “I can get that you think I’m a student and all, but this is wrongful imprisonment at this point. McGonagall is really going to let you have it now.” She knew the threat wasn’t going to change anything but she felt it was necessary to at least make it. Everything she had said so far had fallen on deaf ears anyways. The worst part about being bound like this was that she knew the counter-charm to it, except she had no ability to access her wand and didn’t know how to do it wandless. It was sort of a dirty move for the professor to pull that on her. “If I’m in detention for a month, and I won’t be, I’d get fired from my job. Then I won’t be able to charm people’s spoons. You don’t want people to be without their spoons, do you Professor whatever your name is, do you?” Harper was grasping at straws now, but the only way to prove her innocence was to go along with it and head up to the castle. Shaking her head furiously, she started the ascent towards the school.

[Deleted]

wrong choices.

SOMETHING DIDN’T FEEL RIGHT THE further Ji-Yu had gotten outside. The smug look on the bartender’s face as she walked in passing turned into concern and even a few patrons were watching. But Ji-Yu was doing something right…Right? The person at hand was a child after all, it was only best and fitting that she would be returned to Hogwarts with many just a crumb or two of a punishment. Detention for a month or so seemed fitting! Though, the Choi could instantly tell she wasn’t happy about the thin-binding charm. It was for precautions after all. The woman turned, face soured and Ji-Yu’s consciousness felt more guilt. The child wasn’t a criminal sure, but she had done…something illegal. ”My name is Professor Choi young lady.” She corrected, brows joining together as she listened to the girl.

”Charm people’s spoons…” She snorted, hand reaching up for the girl’s bound wrists so she could lead her away. ”You sure do have an alibi and a whole back story, don’t you Miss?” For a clever teenager anyway.

@harper

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[ares edward lestrange]

spread out like ashes.

WATCHING EVENTS UNRAVEL IN HOGS Head was always the fire that fuelled Ares’ entertainment in the evenings. There were some days in the week where the Pub would be almost empty, a few patrons drinking their sorrows away or celebrating something. For Ares, the only thing he was celebrating was more success for the Purifiers. But of course, he kept that success quiet. Tonight was different though, business was moderate and even Harper had decided to drink in Hogs Head this particular evening! It was always nice to see a younger familiar face.

Though, in the midst of it all, Ares was twirling his wand, wet, clean glasses amongst him being polished with small cloths, when a woman ordered from him, thanking him the moment it was finished and then…approached Harper. Quietly, Ares sat back, taking in the drama…Was that lady confusing Harper for a child? Sure, some members of the security sucked, but Ares knew a child when he saw one. Fake IDs had nothing on the Lestrange. Ares couldn’t help it though, keeping quiet as the two bickered and even other people inside picked up on the conversation. It was amusing! But when Harper tried to gain his attention, the Lestrange ignored it, driving up a conversation with his other patrons. The lady even went as far as asking him how many times Harper had been caught, Ares simply played in with a shrug. This was the best thing to happen tonight.

Harper seemed to catch on easily though, at how he would be…no help at all. And her hard working single galleon was enough to prove that she had given up, wanting the accusing woman to win. Merlin, why couldn’t things like this happen often? Soon enough, the two women were out of the door, in the open air and when things quieted down…That’s when Ares began to panic. Harper wasn’t actually going to let the woman take her back to Hogwarts was she? Calling for a fellow bartender to mend the bar as he fled off, Ares ran for the door, catching them just in time the minute the lady rose her hands to hold onto Harper’s tied wrists. ”Ma’am!” He called. ”Please let her go. She is who she says she is…She’s legal.”

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[Deleted]

▲

This confirmed it. Professor…Choi, was it? She was definitely a new professor because the name didn’t sound familiar to Harper at all. Probably taught some unknown class that was brought over with the American students. Harper knew she didn’t have to be as worked up as she was right now, but it was annoying that the professor wouldn’t listen to her at all. They had already gone back and forth over this though and the only person to absolve her of her supposed sins was going to be Professor McGonagall. For the first time in two years, she was sort of excited to go back to the castle, just to prove this rookie professor wrong.

She let out a snort as the professor called her a young lady, finding it funny that someone who looked barely older could do that and still stay completely serious. If Harper had to guess, the professor barely scrapped late-twenties, maybe early thirties. And she definitely didn’t go into bars without getting ID’d too. They were both members of the baby-faced club so there should have been some leniency here. They were supposed to understand the struggles of one another, not jump to conclusions and escalate it as high as possible. “I have a backstory because that’s literally my job,” Harper barked at the professor as her bound wrists were collected. “I’m a metal charmer.” She didn’t know why she was still entertaining the professor when it was all going to be over once they got to the castle. Harper certainly expected an apology from the woman though. This whole situation was ridiculous.

And it could have gotten worse, but the flash of light emitting from behind them as the door to the Hog’s Head swung open again signaled Ares’ entrance into the ordeal. “Took you long enough, you prick.” She hollered back at the bartender, still upset that he hadn’t stepped in earlier when the professor took her drink from her. Turning back to the professor, Harper glared at her. “So could you please release the ropes?”

@jiyu ● 343 ● Dirge Of The Void by Shadow Of Intent

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[ares edward lestrange]

spread out like ashes.

EVEN THOUGH THE EVENT WAS done and over with, Ares was never far from more entertainment coming his way. Even the thought of the Professor dragging poor little graduate Harper back to Hogwarts was a hilarious thought…Until the woman was crazy enough to take her away, but there Ares was, in tip-top shape and had perfect timing moments before he was sure the young Professor would’ve apparated the two of them to the castle, and boy what a yelling the Professor would’ve had if she had decided to make herself look like a clown.

When Ares finally found the time to run out and be the man of the day, he found Harper’s lips moving, stating something that was probably entirely true to the Professor who was nothing but suspicious. His reveal only made the woman turn shy, embarrassed by her antics, releasing Harper and soon enough an apology was on the rise for the Weasley, a sight Ares didn’t expect to see. ”She doesn’t need it, she has enough sympathy already.” She called out to the Professor, grinning as Ares had pretty much saved her.

The older woman took it upon herself to disapparate shortly after, flustered enough from her own actions tonight. If Ares had done something similar, he knew he would never hear the end of it so…He didn’t expect to see the woman again within the Hogs Head, probably fearful that the same clients would be there if she ever returned. A fair choice if they were honest. He turned to Harper though, his hand raising too pat at her shoulder. ”Next beers on me kiddo. Even if you did just insult me.” He grinned, ready to turn and hold open the door for the Weasley.

@harper & end with your response?

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[Deleted]

▲

Being rescued by Ares Lestrange was not Harper’s idea of a knight in shining armor, but it was better than being dragged by an overzealous professor all the up to McGonagall’s office in the dead of night. Had that happened, she was sure that the Headmistress would find a way to chastise her for being forgetful and not remembering to bring her ID with her to the bar, which would have prevented the entire situation from happening in the first place. Maybe. With the way this professor was acting, it probably wouldn’t have mattered what Harper produced as proof of her age. Muggles all had fake IDs, why couldn’t wizarding kids have them too? Merlin, she would be terrible to younger adults too if she had been in the professor’s shoes instead. The longer she thought about it, the more she sort of understood from where the older woman was coming from. But only sort of. There had to be a degree of reasonable doubt that Harper was correct in her defense, and the professor hadn’t given her the chance from the start. Which was what it sounded like Ares was getting at as the restraints were finally released from her wrists.

Harper kept her mouth shut as she listened to the professor sputter some sort of apology for the mistake, before she ultimately disapparated, probably back to the castle, out of embarrassment. “Next one? I didn’t even get to have my first one yet,” she huffed angrily, her fingers running gently over the small creases that had appeared on her wrists from the restraints. “Make it two and I won’t be pissed at you anymore, Ares Lestrange. You had ample time to stop that and you let the charade go on far too long. Probably to the amusement of the whole bar,” Harper added, getting as close as she could to him as he opened the door for her. Hearing herself bark at Ares like that made her shudder, knowing full well that she could yell and scream to the same magnitude as Ondina if she so desired. Normally it was bottled up and buried too deep to access, but the professor had really tapped into her primal, redheaded rage that she so detested. “Thank you, though,” she finally relented as she passed Ares and headed back to the bar, looking forward to finally getting her beer.

[THE END]

ares edward lestrange ● 398 ● Chalk by Blanco White

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