Swarms of students spilled out of opening doors and into the hallway as soon as the bell sounded, but Minato lingered in the doorway. He watched the ground intently for a glimpse of red. Considering he wasnât tall enough to see over the majority of heads passing in front of him, trying to find a swishing ponytail or red bow in the crowd was close to pointless. It didnât take him long to find his target and quickly slip into the crowd next to her.
He always though his sister looked like the embodiment of a Christmas thrift store in her somewhat clashing red and green wardrobe, but she refused to give up the red even after being sorted into Slytherin.
âWow, looks like you stopped at Santaâs Workshop again this morning.â
He spoke up after falling into stride next to her. Hamuko Arisato was a few inches taller than her twin brother, somewhat to his dismay, so he had to tilt his head up a bit to meet her eyes through his own thick curtain of bangs. âPlayfulâ teasing was an essential ingredient in almost any of their conversations, though it probably appeared to be anything but light hearted to others. They werenât together all that often, and probably didnât appear close to outsiders, maybe even seemed more like enemies, but they knew where their relationship stood and thatâs what mattered. Minato had never been one for small talk though, not even with his own flesh and blood and just wanted to cut straight to the point. He had been running low on some potion supplies lately and wanted to make a run to the supply room in the dungeon which everyone knew the Slytherinâs had easy access to.
âSo I heard the Slytherin dorm password changed again.â
He mused about some pranks he had planned, and what he might find in the supply closet that could take them a step further.
âWhich makes the Potions closet hard to get to, and Iâm running low on some of my stock lately.â
He couldnât guarantee his sister would help him out here, she was a bit more of a rule follower than he was, but not by much.
âNo one has to know you gave it to me. Wonât even know I was there.â
She knew Minato would end up in the Potions closet regardless of her assistance or not; he was only asking for the Slytherin password first since it was, by all means, the easiest way to get in, and Minato Arisato was, by all means, a lazy punk. She couldnât quite understand how he ended up this way (well, she could, but) while she turned out his exact opposite. They were twins, right? And yet their faces looked nothing alikeânot even their eyes were the same colorâand their personalities seemed to be completely different as well.Â
Normally it doesnât bother her in the slightest because who cares? She knows their twins and she knows he knows and their bond is still unbreakable even to this day. But when she doesnât see him for a week and he only hunted her down for a password, well, she canât help but to wonder and feel a little hurt.
Hamuko lets out a sigh.
He says he wouldnât get caught, but she has her doubts. True, he had never been caught before, even when they were first years and lacked a good grip on Hogwartsâs inner workings, yet she knew that something could always go wrong because thatâs just how life works. And itâs true she had helped him a few times before, but âbeforeâ isnât ânowâ when sheâs established herself at school and has more to lose if heâs caught and tells on her in a âif i go down, you go down tooâ panicked frenzy. She knows deep down he wouldnât do that to her, but the thought already entered her mind and she canât just shake out her worries as easily as she wants others to believe.
âI wonât give you the password this time Minato,â she says and can see his eyes narrow as he starts to think of other ways into the Potions closet.
âBut,â she goes on, drawing his attention back to her, âIâll go with you.â
Minato couldnât help but roll his eyes and sigh at his sisterâs own stubbornness. Of course he wasnât going to get out of this easily, if she wanted to come she was going to regardless of whether he agreed or tried to blow her off and sneak in later on.
âFine. But, youâre only gonna increase our chances of getting caught.â
He wasnât entirely sure that was true, he hadnât done any sneaking around with Hamuko, or almost anyone, in quite some time. Just the idea of it seemed like a nuisance and something heâd rather not bother with, but if she was going to insist, itâd be an interesting experiment.
He gave her a little smirk.
âAnd I know you wouldnât want to ruin your reputation for the sake of all your potential boyfriends, right?â
Typical sibling low-blows. Sheâd get over it.
They were approaching the steps to the dungeon, where Hamuko was heading for potions now anyway.
âIf you really are interested, Iâll meet you by these stairs at 11 tonight. Donât wear any shoes, gets too loud in the halls.â
She scoffs.
âI can figure that much out for myself Minato,â she says. She wishes heâd give her a little more credit; after all, they were partners in crime back in the day.Â
But then they were separated into different houses, and slowly they had drifted apart. She remembers running up to him and crying when the godforsaken hat had declared she was a Slytherin and he wasnât and blubbering that that meant they wouldnât be together like she had childishly made him promise.
Hamuko bites the inside of her cheek.
Maybe she really isnât tagging along to keep him from raising too much hell.
Maybe she just misses him.
Or something like that.
She lets out a puff of air and turns her attention back to him. Hamuko puts on her usual, sugary and not at all real smile before continuing. âAnyways, I have to get going, but Iâll be here I promise.â
And she scampers away before he can get out another discouraging statement.