Alarm clocks were some of the most annoying objects in the world. People had made them for the purpose of waking up at the time they wanted to and even though they were their creators, they hated them still, for their precious sleep was ruined. Having to put an alarm to wake up was rather off-putting, but there was something that was even worse.
Waking up before the alarm started ringing.
Bada had set an alarm early on in the first place, having thought in the late hours of the night when she finally got to bed that waking up to head to the training grounds of her department was a good idea. After all, she hadn't trained this week so far and despite the fact that she had only been called to stop a criminal from wrecking chaos once, she still needed to be in top condition in case she were to fight. So she did indeed set her alarm early.
That wasn't the reason she woke up, though.
She felt as if she couldn't breathe, as if someone had taken her pillow and had put it over her nose and her mouth. She pulled back the moment she realized it, completely awake as she turned her head to the side to breathe, eyes wide to see what the danger was, heartbeat erratic.
Until she noticed a fluffy black kitten sitting right at the place her head had been before.
"Geomeun," she croaked, disapproval evident in her tone, although she made no move to push him off of her pillow.
It was early and her call with her grandmother just the previous night had put some of her worries to rest – apparently, even though the kittens weren't vaccinated, Anne had thought to take them to a vet to ensure they were healthy before taking them home. Now she officially knew the kittens didn't have flees she felt more at ease with having them in her bed. She admitted to herself she was lucky, though – in case the kittens had flees she would have had an issue with them for sure.
Bada didn't have much strength to push herself up this early in the morning although she managed in the end, blinked in an attempt to ensure her vision wouldn't be so blurry and looked around for Geomeun's companion. Yet the little kitten with the grey and white fur was nowhere to be seen.
Bada glanced at her alarm clock to check how much time she had before she needed to leave work. The glare she sent to the little kitten on her pillow was instant the moment she registered the hour.
He had woken her up an hour early.
"This is too much work," she grumbled to herself as she left the bed, narrowing her eyes at Geomeun's figure who seemed to snuggle even closer to her pillow at her absense. It was evident he had taken over her bed.
With an hour to spare, she decided she would take a shower to start her day to ensure she wouldn't fall asleep later on. So she entered the bathroom with her work clothes at hand, all the while taking careful notice of the space around her for any sign of Jakda. He wasn't there, though, and so she closed the door of her bathroom and got in the shower. She was leaving a while later and she moved to get dressed, keeping her hair trapped in a towel for as long as she could. When she left the bathroom—her feet sliding against the floor instead of walking—there was no sign of Jakda around still.
Bada didn't worry. She knew he was around the apartment somewhere and so she headed to the kitchen to make herself some breakfast. And it was then she caught sight of Jakda's small form, sitting right beside the now empty bowl of food.
"There you are," she murmured, her tone betraying her fondness as she looked at him. "Did you go for a midnight snack?"
Bada knew she wasn't making sense. Midnight had passed hours ago and she was talking to kittens as if they would suddenly start talking back to her, but she didn't mind. After all, there was no one around to judge her.
"Do you want some milk?" she asked Jakda, already heading to the fridge. "Grannie said you love milk and you are so small, I should fatten you up a bit. I won't tell Geomeun, he seems to be eating well anyway and he woke me up."
She poured some milk into the kitten's bowl, a smile instantly forming on her lips as Jakda started drinking it. And with her thoughts put to rest now the kitten was drinking milk, she set out to make her own breakfast.
The alarm started ringing at around the time she was finishing her breakfast. Bada debated about going to get it herself and using magic to get it. With her wand within reach, she chose the easier approach.
"Accio alarm clock."
For a moment, the alarm's sound seemed to get closer and then there was a bang and a thud, the alarm never ending. The alarm clock had crashed on the wall. Bada had no choice but to stand up and silence it herself.
She groaned all the way to the bedroom, more for the sake of groaning than because she was tired, the alarm clock defeaning in the little space. She reached down to turn it off and then placed it by her nightstand. Out of curiosity, she turned to Geomeun she had left sleeping on the pillow. The kitten was still there, this time, though, his green eyes were open, watching her as she moved without making a sound. Bada almost smiled at him before she remembered she was supposed to be mad and kept herself from smiling.
She left the room, once more sliding across the floor instead of walking. Having a kitten—or kittens—was a lot of work. She had the vague idea she was failing.
A short while later, she was ready to head to work. She put some food and water in the kittens' bowls, petted Jakda's head as she passed, put on her shoes by the door, put on her coat and finally, she left the apartment. She locked the door behind her and with a hand in her pocket to feel her wand, she got down the staircase to the ground floor.
There was some light rain as she got out in the street, a drizzle she didn't let herself be bothered by as she walked down the pavement. She chose to head to another alley this morning instead of her usual one, fearing that after all these days of her apparating and disapparating from one specific place, people would get suspicious. Thankfully, there were a lot of alleys in the area and soon, she found one she could use. A while later, Bada was appearing in the atrium of the ministry.
There weren't people around at this time of day and Bada's footsteps were light as she moved to the lift. She pressed the button to the second floor and waited until she had reached her destination. Once she had reached her floor she got out and headed for the door leading to the Auror Department. She passed by offices that were usually occupied by an Auror but at this time of day were left bare and moved to the back of the floor, where the training room was. She slipped through the door. There was only one person inside.
Anthia was shooting spells at the magical barrier in front of her, and even though she seemed occupied and focused her attention still strayed when Bada entered the room and she offered her a nod and a small smile before she turned back to her task at hand. Bada headed deeper in the training grounds, wishing to let Anthia have her space to train as she wished. She took off her coat, left it at her feet as she turned to face the magic barrier in front of her. And she started her one-sided duel.
Bada didn't know for how long she kept on duelling, paying no heed to the watch strapped around her wrist. All she focused on doing was to cast as many spells as she could, as quickly as possible, offensive and defensive ones alike, the way she had been taught to do when she was just a trainee back home. Once that was done and she had finished her training, she let her arm fall by her side, although she didn't leave just yet.
Her gaze was glued on the other side of the room. She had noticed the boxes the first time she had been in the room but hadn't paid them much mind. Bada hardly paid much mind to something when she first saw it. She would gloss over it and then, a moment later or maybe hours and even days after she would think of it again and question her memory. This time it was no different. She had seen the boxes, taking notice of them without wondering about them, and then, a few hours later her thoughts had returned to that particular memory and she had made a couple of assumptions she now wished to prove, questioning her memory all the while – she was certain Draco had let her know what was inside but she didn't remember at all.
Bada moved closer, paying no heed to the quiet training grounds, having not noticed Anthia's sudden silence as she headed closer to the boxes. After a second of hesitation, Bada waved her wand, opened the first box. Something like smoke seemed to slip out of the box and started to rise, and Bada knew, her assumption was correct.
Inside the boxes were boggards.
She steeled herself, jaw tightening as she watched the indiscernible smoke take shape a few ways away from her feet. The boggart rose and a short while later, Bada found herself staring at a tombstone.
The name Kim Yugeom stared right back at her and Bada couldn't help but take a step back, her mother's name on the tombstone rendering her speechless. Her gaze never left the name, even as her hand rose, her wand trembling in her grasp.
"Ri-Riddikulous," she casted, the spell sounding feeble even to her own ears. The boggard changed form and a moment later Bada was faced with the same tombstone, a different name staring at her.
Park Jeonghui's name was read on the tombstone, the young man whose death she was partly responsible for. And even though he was the one she had damaged and her mother was still safe, still alive, she found more courage to get over his death, having seen this picture before.
"Riddikulous!"
And this time it worked. The boggart was defeated and it shrank back. Before it could move away, Bada trapped it back in the box it previously was in. She was breathing heavy and it was only then she noticed.
She blinked quickly in an effort to delete the picture of her mother's tombstone from her memory as she took a few steps back, heading to her coat. From the corner of her eyes, she caught sight of movement and she barely glanced that way to see Anthia turning around. For a moment, she wondered whether she was watching her fight the boggart but she cast away her suspicions at once, turning instead to her coat. She dusted it off even though the floors were clean, wore it once more and headed to the exit, her eyes briefly jumping to her watch to ensure she still had some time before she were to head to work.
Anthia joined her as she passed by her and out of kindness Bada slowed down so she could catch up properly, even though the other woman was about a head taller than her anyway. She sent her an amicable smile Anthia returned before she spoke up.
"I noticed you fought with the boggart. I haven't done that in years, I am always surprised to see people do that to themselves."
"It helps to be better prepared," Bada explained, her gaze slightly narrowing, and as if Anthia knew what she was thinking about, she rushed to keep on talking.
"I didn't see what form it took of course, that was personal. And I know what you mean about practice but I just don't do it. I don't think I can do it. There hasn't been a single instance of me fighting against a boggard and winning, which is rather funny considering I was a Gryffindor in my school years and we are supposed to be brave."
Bada didn't know anything about what Anthia was telling her, although she imagined it had something to do with the house she had been in when she had been a student of Hogwarts. She didn't have an experience like her own.
Bada had been in a magic school in Busan, the only magic school in her country. It was located on a beach, right atop a cliff, muggle repelling spells cast all around the area so they wouldn't come too close. The school was built on and inside the rock, the grand hall or the place they ate at located at the highest part of the castle while the classes were held below the surface, rooms built into the stone, huge windows overlooking the sea, their dormitories even lower, reaching the surface of the sea. There was always fog around the school so that muggles couldn't see, the beach by the school not accessible even by boat as a small reef kept the ships at bay.
The small school was called Busan Academy of Magic and it accepted all witches and wizards born in her country. It wasn't known, small as it was, her classes having five or six people at most. They hadn't had houses, hadn't been separated by traits or beliefs. Bada thought it was better this way.
"Just because someone told you you are brave it doesn't mean you are, and even if you are brave that doesn't mean you won't yield at some point," she told Anthia after a while of thinking over her words, moments after they had left the training grounds side by side. She didn't look at her companion even though she could feel her eyes on her. "Sometimes you need to lose some battles or give them up."
"I know. It doesn't make it any less difficult to know you succumbed to a weakness, though," Anthia retorted, and shortly after, she shrugged, as if to take some weight off of her words. Bada thought she did it more to take the attention off of her than to signify she was at peace with that fact. "That's life. And that's where I leave you before anyone notices me near."
"I will see you around," Bada told her as she watched her go. Then she turned to her right and continued on to reach her office.
She was on her own when she got to her desk, her eyes immediately falling on the reports that had been left on her desk earlier on. Bada let out a small sigh as she sat down. This wasn't why she had become an Auror. She supposed it was part of the job, though, and so she would have to complete it to the best of her abilities.
It wasn't long later when Draco and Theodore arrived at the office, walking side by side, talking among themselves. At the sight of Bada at her desk, both of them stopped talking although their lips curled into a smile.
"Well, look who returned to her usual early appearance," Theodore spoke as Draco walked forward to sit down at the chair behind his desk, sending a nod at Bada to wish her good morning, a sentiment she returned.
"I went to the training grounds first, that's why," Bada explained as Theodore took his seat. Both men turned their chairs to face her. "Also, Geomeun woke me up an hour before my alarm clock were to go into effect."
Both of them winced. Draco was the first to recover. "Geomeun, you say? I take it you gave them names."
"I did. Turns out both of them are male and I named one Geomeun and the other Jakda. You should come by some time, see them for yourselves."
"Look at you, already showing your children off," Theodore teased her just as Harry arrived at the scene. He left his bag on his desk, a smile on his lips as he took in the position of his colleagues – Bada looking straight ahead, Draco and Theodore having turned to face her. He couldn't blame them for showing her their complete attention. He knew, if he were them, he would have done the same.
"I see you are catching up," he said in lieu of good morning, and Bada instantly smiled his way.
"I was just telling them they should come by one day and see the kittens. The invitation includes you, of course."
"Thank you, I will probably take you up on it," Harry told her with a small smile that briefly reached his eyes. "Perhaps you should come visit one of our houses as well, though, since we've been to your apartment once already."
Theodore scoffed as he turned to Harry, "It's been years and you haven't invited Draco and I in your home yet."
Harry raised an eyebrow over at him. "I wasn't under the impression you wanted an invitation. We never hang out on our own."
"Yeah," Theodore shrugged, "it's the thought that matters, though."
"You haven't invited me to your house either," Harry pointed out. "Besides, you and Bada aren't the same person."
"Sorry Theodore," Bada spoke up when she noticed he was about to retort once more. "It seems like I've already won Harry over. You should have been quicker."
Draco's lips curled into a small smirk as Harry flushed. Theodore, though, only shook his head as he looked away. "Sure, I'll keep that in mind. And you may call me Theo, if you wish."
Bada smiled but before she could say another word, her attention was stolen by Ron as he arrived at the scene, loudly leaving his bag on his desk as he greeted them—mainly Bada and Harry—with a wide smile. "Good morning!"
"You are happier than usual today," Bada noticed, her smile teasing although not unkind.
"Yeah," Ron easily agreed, "it's my anniversary today."
Bada smiled, although the other three men didn't seem that enthusiastic. Harry smiled at his friend briefly before he shook his head. "Do you know what that means? I'll be having my lunch break on my own so I won't have to watch you and Hermione acting like a couple."
"But we always act like a couple," Ron protested as Bada sent Harry a fond smile.
"You don't have to have lunch on your own. You can join us."
At that, Theodore shook his head. "I don't think so. Blaise doesn't see with Harry eye to eye, usually."
"Draco, Theodore and I barely manage to be civil towards each other after years of working in the same team," Harry pointed out with a small smile at Bada. "I don't think having lunch with Blaise will work out."
"I can join you, in that case," Bada shrugged, unbothered. "I am sure Blaise won't mind missing my company for a day."
Draco smirked, "I will tell him you said that."
Ron cleared his throat, "Quick question, mate. How did my anniversary turn out to be about you?"
Harry sent Ron a sassy look, "I'm the Chosen One."
Draco and Theodore rolled their eyes as Ron sent Harry a scowl, and that was how their shift started. For the next couple of hours, they kept on looking through reports, looking at evidence to determine whether a case was closed or not. By the time lunch break rolled around, Bada was in a much needed break.
She left first with Harry following right after her, their other three colleagues having yet to finish their workload before they were to leave. She hadn't spent much time with Harry before, even though he was the first person she had seen in the ministry and he seemed to like her enough. Some part of her was still guilty for compelling him to show her to Sabrina Vance's office although she knew that wasn't the reason they hadn't bonded. Their relationship was purely professional because she was talking with Theodore and Draco more and he had chosen to give her some space, the way she had done. It was almost like an instance when you meet somebody, talk to them, see they chose a different company and leave them be. Bada wouldn't let their relationship end that way, though.
"How often do you go the training grounds?" she asked him as they moved through the auror offices to head to the lift. "Perhaps we should schedule a time to train together, it could help us."
"It could help us, you are right," Harry admitted, "I don't have a special schedule for that, though. I go whenever I feel like it and have time."
Bada hummed, "Something tells me that doesn't happen often."
Harry's lips curled into a smile. "I don't have to answer to that question for as long as I'm there three times a week, do I?"
"Yeah, you kind of do," she laughed as she looked up at him. "We need to base our relationship on trust, after all."
"Well, I can still keep some things-"
"Potter, Kim, there you are." Their festive mood was extinguished at once as Vance walked over to them and came to a stop right in front of them. "Go back, call for your colleagues. We received a patronus for help."
"Where are we expected to go?" Bada asked, her tone having left its former playful character behind as she looked at her boss. "What should we expect?"
"A robbery at the Clearwater residence," she replied, her gaze on Harry. He nodded at once, and Bada thought he knew where they needed to go.
"Yes, madam."
He turned around without another word and Bada rushed after him, having to almost run to keep up with him. "Do you know where we need to go?"
"I do," he told her at once, "I'll show you."
She didn't say another word, putting her trust in Harry. They reached their offices not too long later.
"We need to go, now," Harry told their colleagues as he reached for his coat and wand while Bada did the same. "There's a robbery in the Clearwater residence."
They stood up at once and together they rushed to the elevator, as one team, one person. Not for the first time, Bada caught herself thinking it would have been beneficial to enable the Aurors to apparate from their offices to the place they needed to be at, but for now, she was forced to ride the lift to the atrium and leave from there.
When they reached the atrium, she barely had a moment to spare before Harry was reaching for her hand. The only warning she had before they disappeared was a look and then she was turning, apparating with him right at the scene of the crime.
She found herself in the backyard of a house, the windows illuminated by spells. Bada rushed to the backdoor moments after Harry did. The moment she was inside, she started to fight.
"Protego!"
It was the first spell she allowed herself to cast, the enchantment she considered the most important, and her suspicions were confirmed only moments later when a curse fell against her shield cast a few ways ahead of Harry, protecting every person in her team, and reverbated to another part of the room to hit the wall.
"I'll search for the Clearwaters," Ron said from a few ways behind her. Bada couldn't follow him with her gaze as he left and she was forced to turn her attention to the robbers that were fighting back with everything they got, the spells preventing someone from apparating inside the house ridding them of an ideal, quick escape.
Bada found herself hiding behind the kitchen counter beside Harry, Draco and Theodore having braced themselves against walls. The four of them shot back spells at the thieves and soon, they were overwhelmed, their numbers less than their own, their skills not as good. The fight ended not too long later, as one by one, the robbers were stupefied or their wands were sent away from them.
"You have the right to remain silent," Harry told the robbers as he tied one of them up a while later, when the fight was over. Theodore and Draco didn't show any recognition of the line but Bada looked up, her lips quirking up in a small smile at the term muggle police officers used. Harry didn't notice.
"I found them," Ron called out from some part of the house.
Harry, Draco and Theodore all had a thief to take care of and so Bada moved forward, followed the sound of Ron's voice until he met her halfway. She stopped the moment she saw him, concern and curiosity evident in her expression as she looked over him. Ron seemed to take notice of her attention at once.
"I'm fine," he assured her, his lips curling into a brief smile before he turned to beckon the Clearwaters forward and his smile disappeared. Bada looked behind his back, her brows furrowing as she noticed the three children that came out first, a woman that couldn't have been older than twenty-five following after them.
"Thank you," she breathed as she looked at Bada, her relief evident in her tone and expression. Her gaze turned from Ron to Harry, Draco and Theodore who were pushing the robbers out. "I couldn't have held them back myself no matter how hard I tried."
"It's our job, madam," Ron told her as Bada bowed her head.
"I need to tell their parents, they need to know," the woman kept on saying, and Bada guessed she was a nanny. "How about we go out to have ice-cream, children?"
Despite the earlier shock, all three of them smiled and nodded, and so she ushered them away. The nanny turned back to Bada and Ron.
"The parents don't let me take them out but this was quite a shock, they need to get their mind off of things, they will understand." As if now realizing they didn't need to know any of those things, she cleared her throat, flustered, and got back on track. "Thank you for your assistance. They came in through the back door, unlocked it."
"I see," Ron said, straightening up. A brief glance at Bada had her turning away as he asked the woman to tell him what she remembered, turning to the rest of her colleagues who were keeping the robbers still. She caught up with them when they reached the backyard.
"Bada, come over here," Theodore called her over, briefly glancing at the one he was supposed to be guarding. She came over at once. "We need to leave. You will be in charge of this one but first, you should grab onto someone."
"We aren't going to apparate some place you've been to before," Harry explained as she headed to Theodore who was closer and reached for his arm. She only nodded at him in understanding as she prepared herself and the next moment Theodore was turning, his hold on the robber unwavering, Bada holding on to his arm tightly. The moment she felt the ground beneath her feet, she pulled away.
She was in a place that had cells left and right, an office right at the start of the long corridor, where a guard was. He looked up the moment he heard them arrive but she didn't pay any attention to him as Theodore pulled back and came to a stop beside her.
"Take care of him. I need to report to Vance."
Bada nodded, took her wand out, turned to the thief as Theodore left. The moment he was gone, he started struggling. Unfazed, she tightened the bonds around him. With a hiss, the robber stopped moving.
With the guard's approval, they led the robbers into one of the cells and put them inside, taking their wands and handing them over to the guard. Harry and Draco didn't spare them another look and after a moment, Bada followed after them.
"Is this their permanent residence now?"
"A trial will follow where the report of the victims is going to be taken into account," Harry spoke up, slowing down slightly so Bada could catch up to him. Draco did the same, and soon enough, she was walking in between the two of them. "Ron is taking those reports now. After their trial, if they are found guilty, they are moved to Azkaban prison, where they stay for as long as their penalty suggests."
"Unless they are good, then they get less time in," Draco piped in, adding his piece. Harry nodded.
"Our job stops here. We need not interrogate them."
Bada's eyes lit up. "We get to interrogate some people, though?"
Harry raised an eyebrow and at once, her excitement dulled. "I'm not looking all that forward to this, of course."
Draco and Harry chuckled.