apples and scented candles • h.potter ✓

• two •

When Corben came to stand in front of the mirror in his bedroom, he had a towel wrapped around his torso and his short hair was dripping wet. Droplets of water dripped down to his shoulders and back, but he paid no mind as his eyes flicked down to his body.

His ribs were visible through his skin, and he felt that if he looked hard enough, he could distinguish and count all of them. Standing at six feet four tall, he looked even taller due to his skinniness – something which he had been proud of in his earlier years, but that now came as nothing but a curse. He hadn't met the requirement for weight when he had applied for Auror training, which was why he had to work hard in other areas in order to make them consider him as a suitable candidate.

Corben had tried eating everything, but it seemed like his body just shed off the excess fat, for he just couldn't gain more weight. It frustrated him greatly, and even though he had crossed the first step on his way to become an Auror, the plaguing fear still remained that his lack of strength in his body would result in failure in the tests that would follow soon after the training was over.

Letting out a slow, tired breath, he yanked his shirt from his bed and put it on roughly, attempting to calm his mind by showering his emotions on the poor garment. After he had put on his pants, he swung his robes over his shoulders and left the apartment hastily, hoping that the hours of training wouldn't go to waste.

But it wasn't the time that he was worried about, but rather, disappointing his mentor, Audra Fenwick, who has been an Auror since thirty years and who has fought in the First Wizarding War. Despite having met only twice before, Corben has grown a deep sense of respect for the woman, and this was one of the reasons for which he was pushing himself harder to become an Auror.

He reached the Ministry early and went to the café to have his breakfast. Since he wasn't an employee, he wasn't allowed access to a lot of the places, but fortunately the café wasn't one of them. He was given an ID card which he had to carry around with him to prove that he wasn't an intruder, and the card was currently hung around his neck as he took a large bite of his sandwich.

After receiving two rejection letters from the Auror Department, Corben had willed himself to eat more and healthier foods in an effort to gain more weight. He wasn't sure if it would work – for it has been months and yet he was the skinny person that he always has been.

There were times when he woke up in the middle of the night with a terrible pain in his stomach, perhaps due to having eaten something that his system couldn't hold, or simply because of having eaten too much. And yet, he hadn't stopped. Everyday, he brought home oily or fatty foods, hoping that the fats would eventually deposit on his body, but more often than not, he ended up sick.

When he was done eating his sandwich, he considered buying another one, before he realised that he had to be at Audra's office in five minutes. Thus, he leapt out of his seat, paid for his breakfast and jogged out of the café, taking the stairs two at a time, until he reached the office of his mentor.

The room was large and well furnished, with two tall shelves dominating half the area. A large window on one of the walls let streams of sunlight to filter into the room, although Corben has learnt on his very first day of training, that it was fake, for the Ministry was deep under the ground, and admittedly, the revelation had disappointed him a little. A cupboard was placed, rather haphazardly, in one corner and out of its drawers were spilling out several parchment scrolls and pieces. Amidst all the huge pieces of furniture and the mess, was, hardly visible, a table, on the opposite side of which sat a woman in her late sixties, with a shock of white hair on her head and glasses that magnified her eyes to an unbelievable size. She was bent over her desk in deep concentration, perusing a thick dogeared book with pages faded into a crisp yellow.