on opposite ends | vsoo

GROWING TENSIONS

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

War had been officially declared, according to the latest issue of that morning's Daily Prophet. Of course, such an intense announcement brought about waves of unease and anxiety among the public. The Ministry had tried to played it down, reassured everyone that they were going to finish him off before any major damage has been done but Jisoo knows better.

Bona had told her that everyone in the Ministry was terrified, especially the Aurors. This is what they've spent their whole life training for, but there is still fear lingering behind their tough armor at the notion of impending doom.

Both the girls didn't much about You-Know-Who because they had just been born during his first rise to power, and the remnants of him were very little during their days in Hogwarts. The professors were still touchy about the subject, as they were once gallant warriors who fought alongside their comrades during the first wizarding war, so not much of it had been discussed during formal class lectures.

Perhaps, because everyone wanted to forget.

But the students still talked, and apparently, the war had been a huge massacre that nearly wiped out half of the population. But his defeat eventually came eighteen months later, when a secret group of elite Aurors had cornered him and presumably killed him. It had been long thought that he was dead, but that hadn't been the case at all.

Because now, he's back and he's more powerful than ever.

"Oh, Jisoo! It's so sad you have to cancel your wedding because of this damn war." Jisoo had told Bona about Taehyung's proposal right away after she told her parents during their visit yesterday. Her parents still believed that she and Bona are bunking together, but perhaps when Taehyung and Jisoo finally tie the knot, they'll allow her to live with him (as if she hadn't been doing that these past several months already).

Jisoo shoves Bona playfully. "There's a whole war going on and you're more concerned about my wedding?" They had to postpone it of course, given everything that was happening right now. "These are dark times, even the goblins at Gringotts are scared. They say Death Eaters live among us still."

The goblins had been neutral last war, siding neither with the Dark Lord nor the Ministry. They didn't intervene because it hadn't been their fight. She wishes they'd do the same this time, even when they were afraid of the Death Eaters and their master.

Bona sighs loudly. They were in her room in the shared apartment the Ministry housed their Aurors in. She lived with two other Aurors as well, the three of them a team and were on-call anytime. Right now, the two other female Aurors were in their respective rooms and Bona had enchanter her room to be soundproof.

"It's a bad time to be a wizard, especially a muggle born, Jisoo." She said solemnly. "He's targeting folks like us, I would advise you to quit your job."

Jisoo frowned at that. Although she wasn't quite enjoying her job these days, and it's not like she needed the money that much because... well, Bon had been right as much as Jisoo was ashamed to say it out loud: Taehyung was rich. He was loaded with galleons, sickles, and knuts that seemed to flow out endlessly from his pockets. She always gave him a portion of her salary so she could contribute to the bills and to the groceries, but Taehyung almost always shook his head and pushed the handful of money back to her.