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FIRST YEAR - MINHYUN

Minhyun's first impression of Jonghyun is, admittedly, not much. 

Every year, a total of around fifty students are admitted to Hogwarts. Of course, the number varies from year to year, but one simply cannot expect an eleven year old to know everyone in his cohort by the time they get to the Great Hall for the first time.

"Hwang Minhyun?" One of the Weasely twins clap him on the shoulder, hard, and he nearly bowls over. Straightening his posture, he glares at them and scowls. "Oops, sorry there. Mum told us to keep an eye out for you-"

"I'm fine." He insists, and the twins look at each other, raising their eyebrows. 

"Leave him alone." The boy next to him says strongly. Minhyun turns a look of incredulity to the smaller boy, who smiles at him wanly before getting onto one of the boats.

"If the young master says so." The other nods, then departs after thoroughly messing up his hair. Minhyun scowls even further.

"Stop that. You'll get frown lines." He turns to see Choi Minki come to a stop behind him, murmuring under his breath as the group is instructed to board the boats by what looks like a half-giant. "You're ugly enough."

Minhyun spares his old friend a scoff and a slap upside the head, settling easily into the wooden boat. 

"Shut up, you snake." He says, making sure there is no heat behind the words. Minki hisses playfully at him and narrows his eyes to slits. 

Professor McGonagall gives them the standard briefing, and Draco Malfoy royally screws over his one chance with the one and only Harry Potter. The two boys watch in amusement as the Boy Who Lived turns away from their mutual friend.

"He is so..." Minhyun struggles to place the word. 

"Stupid?" Kang Dongho asks, and Minki shuffles over to make space for him. Minhyun nods appreciatively.

"That too." He agrees. "Hey, Baekho."

"Hello." Dongho grins mischievously. "Can't wait to get started." He mutters quietly to them as they walk into the Hall. The Hat makes a funny little song that Minhyun keeps in the back of his mind for future references. Professor McGonagall begins the name roll quickly, and Minki is the first to go up amongst those he knows.

"Choi-Fawley, Minki." 

Minki strolls up to the seat and the Hat descends on his head. Within a minute, he is quickly sorted to Slytherin with a smattering of applause. Nonetheless, he holds his head high and flounces off to the end of the table.

Dongho is next, and he is sorted to Gryffindor. The House welcomes him, roaring with applause and approval. Minhyun's lip curls up as Dongho flinches when the Twins clap him on the back.

He's called up soon, and he settles uncomfortably into the hard wooden stool, jumping when the voice starts to speak in his head.

Interesting, a halfie. 

Minhyun grits his teeth at the barb. He made it here without anyone knowing about his problem, he didn't need a Hat revealing his secrets.

Relax, I cannot reveal anything of this meeting to any one. Where to put you, Grey wizard?

He notes the slip, filing it away to the back of his head. His affinity to the more neutral magic had always existed, although it was now laid out clearly in front of him. 

Slytherin or Ravenclaw would do you good. Which one is it?

Not Slytherin, he was a half blood. Judging by Millicent Bullstrode's less than welcome entrance into the Slytherin House, he would be no less eagerly welcomed. Ravenclaw would be a better option.

So mote it be.

"Ravenclaw!" The Hat roars, and he thanks the Professor quietly before making his way to the table. Catching Minki's eye, he drops a quick wink and the other shrugs back. Dongho is already making friends with his fellow lions, chatting with Finnigan and Granger. 

"I'm Terry Boot." The boy opposite offers with an easy enough smile, and Minhyun nods back. 

"Hwang Minhyun." He holds out his hand politely. He's not here to make friends, although some would be nice. He makes some small talk with Boot and Corner, and except for a odd encounter with Cho Chang (who insisted on him joining the Hogwarts Asians Club. Please.) nothing else happened. 

The sudden hush spreads throughout the Hall, and Minhyun halts his conversation to figure out why.

"What happened?" He whispers over to Clearwater, who bites her tongue in intrigue. 

"A Hatstall." She observes, and he turns his gaze onto the boy sitting on the stool quietly. It's the same boy who defended him from the Twins, and tendrils of curiosity swirl up in him.

The boy, later identified as Kim Jonghyun, keeps them in suspense for nearly twenty minutes. Minhyun catches a glimpse of him murmuring something under his breath before the Hat announces: "Hufflepuff!"

Clearwater deflates like a balloon and turns back to her plate with a sigh.

"What a shame." She tells her friend.

"Why is it a shame?" He asks, and she rolls her eyes.

"He's a Hufflepuff. Nothing spectacular comes out of Hufflepuff." She ends the conversation firmly. Minhyun looks at Jonghyun, and he sees the boy sit down with a gentle, unassuming smile.

He begs to differ. Jonghyun is interesting, a mystery, a puzzle to solve. When he turns to look at Minki, he finds his friend's gaze fixated on the boy as well.

Classes are alright, he supposes. His favourite class is Charms, and his wand sings whenever he performs one. Dongho catches him in a headlock as they head to the fields for lunch, and they pick up Minki along the way. The three of them head to an empty spot beside a large willow tree. Minki snaps his fingers and thanks the house elf for the food as they settle back onto the soft grass, tilting their heads back to enjoy the sunlight. 

"Kim Jonghyun." Minki brings up the boy first. "What did you all think of him?"

"Found out that he's an orphan, brought up by muggles." Dongho mulls over his apple, crunching into it and chewing noisily. Minhyun leans over to close his jaw for him. "Could be a pure blood, or a half blood, or anything, really."

"What did you think, Minki?" He asks.

"I had Defense with him this morning." The boy pulls back his black hair, waving the fringe off his face. Dongho seems preoccupied with his hair, leaning in close before bursting out into laughter. "We were with Quirrel, and the man is- What? What is it?"

"You have gel in your hair!" Dongho points, giggling. Minhyun struggles to keep the foolish grin off his face.

"Really, Minki-ah?" He rolls his eyes. Minki flushes to his ears.

"Draco has gel in his hair too, are you copying him?" A girl stands over them, blocking out the sunlight. Minki straightens immediately at the sight of her green scarf, tossing an unreadable look to them.

"No thanks, I have no wish for a helmet for a head." He quips. The girl smiles and offers a hand.

"Daphne Greengrass." She introduces. "Pleased to meet you."

"Likewise." Minki nods, waving a hand to them. "Kang-Sewlyn Dongho, and Hwang-Shacklebolt Minhyun."

"Sewlyn?" The girl gasps in astonishment. "What a surprise. I thought the line had died out a long time ago."

"Evidently not." Dongho beams at her and waves. "Took the blood test at Gringotts. My mother was the daughter of a Squib."

"Interesting." She notes. "Pureblood?"

"Does it matter?" Minhyun cuts in, eyes hardening. 

"It shouldn't." She looks at him, staring into his eyes. He relaxes, and she nods after a pause. "Minki, partner me in Potions. We have the period with the Gryffindors later." She concludes before moving off. Minki lets out a sigh of relief.

"Back to Jonghyun." He starts, and Dongho holds up a hand to call over to someone. The one mentioned trots over, a sandwich in his hand. "Oh, hello."

"Hi." The boy smiles at them, innocence in his eyes.

"Do you want to sit down?" Minhyun shoves Dongho lightly, and the other huffs before shifting over.

"Thanks." Jonghyun mumbles. "Minhyun, right?"

"Yes." He says, surprised. "You know me?"

"Everyone does. You're going to be good friends with Hermione." He smiles. "I think."

"I'm Minki, this is Dongho." Minki cuts in. 

"Do you play Quidditch?"  Dongho's question bursts out of him, and Jonghyun looks startled.

"I haven't tried." He mutters. Dongho gasps and clutches his heart.

"That's impossible. We need to get you a broom-"

"Why does everyone like flying on brooms that much?" Minki rolls his eyes. Minhyun hides a smile, remembering the first time Minki tried to fly. He barely rose two feet on the toy broom before the thing dumped him off like a bucking horse. 

"I'd like that." Jonghyun interrupts, looking at Dongho shyly. "I want to try."

Minhyun sits out of the flight with Minki, and Dongho brings Jonghyun on a series of loops and twirls. Dongho's a Quidditch prodigy, a natural. Minhyun thinks he might become a Beater at some point.

"Dongho, don't kill him, please." He warns before the flight, just for the look of terror that crosses Jonghyun's face. Dongho smiles rougishly.

"I make no promises." He intones, kicking off with Jonghyun's skinny arms tight around him.

Jonghyun loves flying.

Minhyun doesn't.

"I'm not an orphan." Jonghyun shares with them later, after three months of lessons and lunches together.

"You're-"

"Muggleborn." Jonghyun nods, biting his lip in worry. 

"Have you done an Inheritance Test?" Minki checks, and Jonghyun nods. He shrugs and goes back to flipping through his letters from home. "Okay then. What time is Astronomy tonight?"

"Ten." Dongho says absently, scribbling the last line of his overdue Potions essay. "Jesus, I think Snape is crazy."

Minhyun looks up from his poetry book to see Jonghyun blinking tearfully into his book. He catches his arm and tilts his face up.

"What's wrong?" He asks softly. Jonghyun grins, bright and wide.

"I thought you wouldn't want to associate with me anymore." He's starting to mumble again, and Minki frowns. He leans forward and forces him to sit up straight, pushing between his shoulder blades.

"Don't be ridiculous." He professes, letting go when Jonghyun yelps. "I'm too clingy, you can't get rid of me that easily."

The fiasco with Harry Potter and the House points makes Minki fume with the loss of the House Cup.

"It's alright, Minki." Minhyun says as they take the train back to King Cross Station. "It's just a Cup."

"Shut up, if Harry Potter wants to go on adventures, it's his problem! Why does he get points?" Minki grumbles. "Could have been our House Cup. Stop smirking, Dongho."

SECOND YEAR - DONGHO

Dongho collects his things from the crowded bookstore, spotting a familiar side profile and ordering another set immediately.

"Jonghyun!" He calls, and the other turns. The immaculately dressed girl next to him pauses immediately, turning to face him as he walks towards them. Jonghyun has a chocolate ice cream in one hand, and he smiles at him before offering the remainder. Dongho takes the cone and shifts his bag. "Hey, how have you been?"

"Good." Jonghyun beams. "Where's Minhyun?"

"What, are Minki and I not good enough for you?" He teases, and Jonghyun's face drops. He begins to wave his hands around in defence. 

"No! I just thought he was always with you-"

"Chill, it's a joke." Dongho tosses the last of the cone into his mouth and brushes off his hands. "Is this your sister?"

"Yes." Jonghyun reaches behind to take their hands. "Sister, this is Dongho."

"Hello there, thanks for taking care of our brother." The girl chirps. Dongho feels slightly out of his element because she's so pretty. He's only shaken out of his thoughts when Jonghyun stamps on his foot, hard.

"That's my older sister." He reminds, and Dongho remembers his manners.

"Of course, nice to meet you, miss." He bows and kisses the air above her hand like in the normal Pureblood tradition. "Pleased to meet you. I am Kang Dongho, descendant of the Sewlyn line."

"That must be nice." She says blandly, and Jonghyun's lip twist.

"She's a Muggle." He says quietly, and Dongho nods in understanding.

"Have you collected your books yet?" He asks, and Jonghyun shakes his head.

"There's so many people-" Dongho dumps the second order of books into his cauldron. 

"Got us second hand books to save money, this guy's just a pretty fraud." He complains, taking Jonghyun's hand and dragging them to the Quidditch store. "Come on, let's look at brooms. I want a Firebolt."

"Don't be ridiculous, wherever are you going to get the Galleons to buy one?" Minki says haughtily, smacking Dongho's forehead with his fingers. "Hi Jonghyun, is this your sister?"

Jonghyun stares in amusement as Minki kisses the back of his sister's palm, and Dongho nudges his side.

"It's common practice." He whispers, and Jonghyun's sister looks charmed by Minki. 

"Are you wearing eyeliner?" She asks in disbelief. 

"Yes." Minki says firmly. "Now let's go, peasants. I might buy a broom for my sister."

Dongho covers his smile with his right hand and takes up Jonghyun's hand again. It feels warm.

They meet Minhyun at the familiars store, and he's fawning over a brown owl.

"Look, he's beautiful." He tugs at their hands once they enter, making them look at the owl as well. "Minki, buy him for me."

Dongho sighs as Minhyun nicks Minki's pouch, counting out the ten Galleons before paying for it. He catches Jonghyun staring at the comfortable exchange for a little too long.

"You really have to stop using Minki as a human wallet." He remarks, and Minhyun refuses to spare him a glance, already starting to feed the owl treats. Jonghyun is tucked somewhere at the back of the shop, looking at a grey ball of fur tucked behind a glass window. He walks over, steering Minhyun with him. Minki darts to look at one of the Kneazles.

"What's that, Jonghyun-ah?" He asks, and Jonghyun turns, bringing a finger to his lips to ask them to be quiet. He calls for the shopkeeper.

"Can I hold her?" He asks. The shopkeeper shrugs.

"'he's been abused, she has. Might scratch 'ya." 

"I want to hold her." Jonghyun repeats, and the shopkeeper waves his wand to dissolve the glass window. Jonghyun steps closer, carefully, and strokes the back of the kitten's ears. The kitten unfurls, looking at Jonghyun with wary blue eyes. Jonghyun strokes down her back and she purrs, scampering onto his hand and rubbing her whiskers against his palm.

"Well, I'll be damned." The shopkeeper observes. "Take 'er, kid. 'he's hard to sell, so I'll give 'er to 'ya for free."

"Really?" Jonghyun brightens like a flower in bloom and the shopkeeper waves his hand. "Thank you!"

The kitten climbs his hoodie and settles in the back of the hood, purring. Dongho thinks he sees it's eyes glint with intelligence before it goes back to sleep.

"I heard they flew a car to Hogwarts. It got destroyed by the Whomping Willow." Lavender hisses, buttering her bun. Hermione rolls her eyes.

"Cars don't fly, Brown." She says in exasperation.

"I wouldn't know." Lavender shrugs. "With all that Mr Weasley has been  doing with the Muggle artifacts..."

"A car is not an artifact." Hermione throws her hands up in disbelief. "Dongho, back me up."

"A car is not an artifact." He repeats after her, and he makes eye contact with Jonghyun at the next table. The boy looks like he's trying not to laugh. Dongho's lips twist threateningly.

"If you say so." Lavender muses, biting into her bun. "Where are they?"

"Ron broke his wand."  Hermione bangs her head down on the table the next morning.

"Maybe a Reparo will fix it." Dongho says optimistically.  Minhyun snorts at the idea of it, standing over and behind him, elbows on his shoulders as they read the latest letter from the Kangs. 

"Don't be ridiculous, I already tried." She moans. "Why do I hang about such idiots?"

"Did they really fly the car to school?" He asks, cheeks flushed with laughing too hard. Minki is nowhere to be seen, as part of some Slytherin ritual on the first day of classes. "I thought you said cars don't fly."

"Shut up." Hermione says crossly, and Jonghyun high fives him as she storms out.

Dumbledore calls him to the Headmaster's Office, introducing him to a boy called Aaron. Dongho struggles to pronounce his American name repeatedly until the boy sighs.

"It's okay, you can call me Aron." He nods. Dongho blushes and hopes he doesn't look stupid. Dumbledore informs him that Aron is a transfer student from the Horned Serpent House at Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He's been supported into Hufflepuff, instead of the Ravenclaw Dongho was expecting.

"I have a good friend in Hufflepuff. How old are you?" Dongho asks as they go down the stairs. "Careful, that step is slippery."

"Thanks." Aron holds on to the banister as he jumps. "I'm fourteen, but I'll be in the Third Year. One year above you, right?"

"Yeah, I'm a second year." Dongho tugs his elbow in the direction of the Great Hall for dinner. "But why third year? You should be in fourth."

"Something about the levels of study in America and Britain being different." Aron sighs. "I don't know, man. It kind of sucks."

"Here we are at the Great Hall." Dongho glances over and pats his arm. "Don't worry, if you do well, I think Professor Sprout can recommend you for a few Advanced Classes."

Aron stares at the ceiling, too preoccupied by the lights to answer.

"It's beautiful." He whispers. "What an extraordinary bout of spellwork. Is there a way I can learn this?"

"How the hell did you end up in Hufflepuff?" Dongho shakes his head in disbelief. "I'll bring you to the library after dinner. Now come here, you have to meet your housemates."

"Ah, right." Aron gives the ceiling a last glance and follows him to the Hufflepuff table. Dongho finds Jonghyun in the middle of the table, giggling at something a Fourth Year is saying. The senior looks enraptured by Jonghyun's smile, and Dongho shoves him from behind. Jonghyun whips his head around to look for the attacker, growling when he sees Dongho.

"Jerk." He complains, rubbing his back. "Oh, hello! Who are you?"

"I'm Aron." Aron uses the name Dongho came up with, and he smiles inwardly. The entire table stops talking and looks at them, and he shifts uncomfortably. "I'm a transfer student from Ilvermorny, third year."

"Are you a Hufflepuff?" Cedric asks, and Aron scratches the back of his head. 

"Yes." He says uneasily. "Why?"

"Where's your scarf?" Cedric questions, eyebrows furrowed.

"I didn't realise... I had to get one." Aron's sentence ends in a mumble. Susan shifts in her seat, and Dongho shifts his stance, eyeing Jonghyun nervously. Jonghyun just looks amused.

"Of course you have to get one, you're one of us." She insists, pulling her own from her neck. "Here, take mine. So we know you're one of our own."

"I, what?" Aron takes the scarf and mutters a quick Gemino under his breath, wrapping the duplicate around his neck and handing the original one back. "Did you guys just try to haze me?"

"I have no idea what that means, but now you're properly attired, you can sit down." Cedric waves a hand, and everyone shifts one seat to their left to clear a space next to Jonghyun. "That spell was an advanced one, and a Dark one at that. How old are you?"

"Fourteen." Aron repeats, and the table goes back to whatever they were doing. Jonghyun smiles at Dongho reassuringly, like he didn't just watch some sort of Hufflepuff ferocity. "I'm a third year because the Headmaster said something about a difference between American and British teaching."

Dongho stands in place awkwardly as a wave of dissent spreads among the Hufflepuffs. This garners nearly the entire Hall's attention, broken only when Fred Weasely flings a goblet of pumpkin juice at his twin.

"I'll, um, see you after dinner." Dongho breaks the growing conversation. "Jonghyun, can you bring him to the library?"

"Yeah, sure." Jonghyun nods. "Can I bring Minhyun? We were going to meet to practice Charms."

"Sure, bring your boyfriend." Dongho quips, and Jonghyun rolls his eyes, flinging an apple at him. 

"Stop it!" He protests, and Dongho smirks, catching the apple and waving goodbye to Aron. "Get out of here!"

Minki and Minhyun like Aron, which is a surprise. He thought Minki wouldn't like him because of how different (in personality) they were, but Minki just smiles and takes Aron in his stride. Minhyun starts dragging Aron through the bookshelves once he starts talking about the ceiling in the Great Hall, and Jonghyun looks visibly put out, left alone with his Charms homework. 

That's how Aron joins their little group, although Minki lights up when he hears Dongho mention the Gemino curse. 

"Another Dark wizard." He comments, and Dongho stops in his tracks. "Just like you, Baekho."

The Heir of Slytherin strikes fear into everyone's hearts, especially Aron's and Jonghyun's. Minki goes a few nights without sleep to interrogate who the Heir is, but comes to the conclusion that the Heir is not in his house. Dongho writes home for more information, but except for a dusty tome that speaks of the Chamber for only one line, he gets nothing.

Jonghyun and Minhyun walk together in pairs after classes, and if Jonghyun has classes with the other Houses, they take turns to walk with him. With Aron, it is more difficult, although Dongho suspects Minki of bribing Third Years to walk with him.

Hufflepuffs take care of their own, he remembers. He hopes it's enough.

Oddly enough, Jonghyun gets the Chaser position on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team. The little bugger grins with triumph for the next two weeks, and Dongho sours at it.

He was the one to show him, and he hadn't even made it on the team yet.

By the end of the year, Aron is promoted to Year Five instead of Year Four because of his exceptional marks.

"Oppression builds ambition." Aron preaches, lying against the grass with his head in Jonghyun's lap. "Everyone should stop assuming Hufflepuff is weak."

Jonghyun exchanges an unreadable look with Minki.

"Thank God you're not in the same year as us." Minki comments off-handedly. "We have enough fighting over the top marks between Draco, Granger and Minhyun already."

"Oi!" Minhyun protests, and Aron pats his forehead. 

"Don't worry, you're my favourite." He coos, and Minki's smile slides off his face. Aron gets to his feet at the new expression on his face.

"What about me?" Minki demands, scrambling to his feet after Aron who begins to retreat slowly. "Hey, I'm talking to you! Where are you going?"

Later, if anyone talks about Aron, the top scorer of all time in History of Magic, cowering away from the mysterious, beautiful Choi Minki, Dongho will burst into giggles.

Really, the both of them are softies.

 THIRD YEAR - MINKI

There are Dementors on the train.

Minki knows this, from the cold feeling in his chest, strikingly reminiscent to the time he visited his grandfather (or what was left of him) in Azkaban.

"Dementors." He warns them, sitting forward in his seat and pushing Aron and Dongho to sit further away from the corridor. Minhyun sets his jaw, drawing the curtains across the windows, and Jonghyun holds on to Minki's hand. "Hyun, you know the charm?"

"Yes." Jonghyun and Minhyun say in unison.

"Good, it'll help even if it's not corporal." Frost spreads across the window, and he tightens his grip on his wand. His chest seizes up, and fear bleeds into his veins. He thinks he hears a scream in the distance, and Jonghyun kicks his shin hard to make him snap out of it. He raises his wand and tries to recall the last time his mother hugged him, right before he left home.

"Expecto Patronum!" A grey wisp emerges from the tip of his wand and condenses on the floor, seeping below the door. Jonghyun's mist follows, and the dark form right outside the door flees. "Ugh."

"Minhyun?" Dongho asks fearfully, and he turns to see Minhyun faint in his seat, his wand falling to the floor. Minki grabs onto the back of his robes to keep him from following. "Did he just faint?"

"Chocolate frog, quick!" Aron shoves Dongho to the pile of sweets on the seats. Dongho hands one over, and Aron stops the thing from jumping with a quick Arresto Momentum. Aron feeds the boy, progressively turning white, with a piece and hands the remainder around. Minhyun comes to about a minute later, jumping away from their grasp.

"Minhyun." Jonghyun holds his hands out. "It's me. Jonghyun."

Minhyun looks lost, fingers scrambling for a hold on the window. Minki thinks he sees flames dancing on his fingers, but Minhyun looks at Jonghyun and relaxes.

"Jonghyun." He says under his breath.

"Yeah. You're okay, Min. They've left." Jonghyun comes closer, and Minhyun sits down heavily. "Breathe."

The door slams open and Minki curses himself for forgetting to lock it.

"Is everything alright?" The man asks, face covered in his hood. Minki gets to his feet, covering the way Minhyun and Jonghyun are sitting curled up against each other.

"Who are you?" He demands. 

"I'm Professor Lupin-"

"Lupin?" Dongho interrupts, looking around Minki at the man with interest. "They let a werewolf teach?"

"How do you-" The man stutters, and Dongho steps around Minki.

"Sirius Black was my mother's first cousin removed, he always talks about you in his diary he left behind." Dongho shrugs. "It was how I knew I had magic, because it didn't set me on fire."

"You went through Padfoot's things?" Professor Lupin asks faintly, and Dongho shrugs.

"Finder's keepers." He says. "We're fine, Professor. You can go now."

The professor backs out of their compartment uneasily, and Minki locks the door after him.

"A werewolf?" He asks Dongho, but ignores it in favour of tending to Minhyun. "Min, you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good." Minhyun says, hand tucked into Jonghyun's. "I'm fine."

Minki doesn't believe him, but he lets it pass.

They have DADA with the Hufflepuffs on the first day, and Professor Lupin brings out a boggart. Minki pales when Hannah Abbott identifies the creature in the cupboard, and keeps an eye out for Jonghyun. Professor Lupin instructs them to line up, a Slytherin followed by a Hufflepuff. Jonghyun ends up behind him, and Minki tries to smile reassuringly. Draco's boggart is his father, frowning down at him with anger in his eyes. Susan's is a werewolf, and Professor Lupin flinches at the sight of it. Minki winces in sympathy at the endless list of horrors, and then suddenly it's his turn.

The boggart turns away from him and shimmers in the air before splitting into five. Blood coats the faces and bodies of the five people, dressed in grey, on the floor. It's-

Minki screams, and his voice comes out reedy and thin. Jonghyun is shoving him away in the next moment, and he falls to the floor in shock. Even so, his eyes remain fixed on the terrifying sight before him, and even as Jonghyun begins to shriek: "Change! It's me! It's not him anymore!", his lungs refuse to work properly. Professor Lupin steps out of his stunned stupor once it becomes clear that Jonghyun cannot say the charm.

"I don't understand. Why didn't it change?" Jonghyun whispers, but Minki's ears pick it up as his breathing becomes more shallow. 

"It would seem, Mr Kim, that your fear and Mr Choi's is the same." Professor Lupin banishes the boggart and kneels next to his head. His eyes are a warm brown. "Minki? Are you alright?"

He faints promptly.

"What happened?" 

Minki opens his eyes to the sound of Aron's enraged growl, and Madam Pomphrey bustles over immediately. 

"Excuse me, Madam." Aron blocks her with a hand and stares down at Minki's face. "Ren, are you okay?"

"I'm okay." Minki is holding on to someone, and he turns his head to look. Dongho is asleep in the chair, cheek resting against the mattress. "Jong-"

"I'm here." Jonghyun pats his foot. "Aron-hyung, let Madam Pomphrey do her work."

"Indeed." The mediwitch insists, and Aron apologizes before stepping aside. She gives him a Pepper Up potion for the shock and some other replenishing potions before allowing him to hobble out of the Hospital Wing with his friends.

They don't talk about it.

Jonghyun does, but Minki shuts down whenever someone brings it up.

When Sirius Black invades Hogwarts, they push their mattresses together in the Great Hall. Minki refuses to sleep the entire night, lying awake with his eyes wide open and flat on his back.

"You need to sleep, Ren." Dongho insists quietly as the footsteps of the Prefects fade. 

"I can't." He mumbles back, unsure in the darkness if his eyes are already shut with exhaustion. "I have to protect you."

"Who's going to protect you?" Dongho asks, fingers touching his shoulder. "I'll stay awake with you."

In the morning, his bedraggled attire and eye bags are met with a raised eye brow. He glares back, hard. It's worth it when he sees Jonghyun laughing with Minhyun as they practice a Tickling Charm on Aron, the three of them unmarked and clean.

It eases him, somewhat.

They shouldn't have snuck out to the pitch for a midnight flight.

"Expect Patronum!" Jonghyun is trying, face beaded with sweat. Minki's hands are shaking. Think of a happy memory. Quick. Before they are all dead.

The memory sneaks into his mind suddenly, and he draws a breath.

Dongho is giggling against the snow, half buried by the onslaught of snow balls from Aron and Jonghyun. The both of them are performing some charms, goaded by Minhyun who lies incapacitated in the grass. Minki reads his book calmly, their bags hovering around him to prevent them from getting wet. That's until the snowball hits him square in the face, and the noise fades. 

"I said no touching me." Minki says dangerously, tossing the book to the snow. "You're all going to get it."

Minki holds on tight to the memory, and he exhales.

"Expecto Patronum!" He chants, and the rabbit bursts from the tip of his wand. Jonghyun finally gets it, and a turtle follows the rabbit, streaking across the sky.

A white tiger emerges from Dongho's, a dog from Aron's and Minki turns to Minhyun, who meet his eyes in utter fear. 

"You can do it!" He encourages, heady from his first Patronus. Minhyun sets his jaw and closes his eyes. A fox runs to join the four animals, frolicking against the moon. The Dementors scatter, and Minki's rabbit returns to him, nudging against his hand. A burst of warmth in his chest brings a smile to his face.

It feels like home.

Slytherin does not win the Quidditch Cup. 

Minki watches sourly as Dongho stands to his feet to cheer as Harry Potter brings the snitch to the pitch, nearly launching himself off the side in excitement.

"It's not proper." He rolls his eyes, and Dongho smacks him on the back, hard. Minki grits his teeth and steps away from the cheering bunch of red that floods the arena.

"Trelawney said that the Dark Lord is returning." Dongho tells them at their usual lunch spot. Aron straightens immediately.

"Divination isn't the most reliable source, is it?" He asks, uncertain.

"There is truth in magic." Dongho says grimly. "All kinds."

FOURTH YEAR -  ARON

"I am not coming home." Aron writes the letters onto paper with a good old muggle blue pen. Jonghyun has his arms around him, tears soaking into his shoulder.

"You shouldn't have to do this." He protests.

"I will. They're safer without me." Aron says grimly, sealing a Obliviate charm into the envelope. "Where's Box?"

"Here." Minhyun snaps his fingers, and the brown owl lands on his shoulder. "Are you sure, hyung?"

"It's a long haul flight. Can he handle it?" Aron deflects and the owl hoots in his face, ruffling his feathers. "Just checking, Box. Please take this to my parents."

"Good owl." Mr Fawley comments as the owl takes the letter and flies out of the window. "A difficult choice, kid. You're very brave."

Aron looks at the ground. There are tears building at the back of his eyeballs.

"Thank you sir."

The Choi-Fawleys have brought them to watch the Quidditch Cup. Mr Fawley tells them about the Triwizard Tournament. Minki's cousin, Kwon Hyunbin from Beauxbatons Academy, is set to enter Hogwarts. 

"My cousin Daniel is coming too, from Drumstrang. His boyfriend Seongwoo is coming as part of the Drumstrang entourage as well." Dongho says over dinner. "Minhyun, anything from your magical side?"

Aron sees Minhyun's lips curl at one corner bitterly.

"I know someone coming from Beauxbatons. Park Jihoon." He mentions. "And someone from Drumstrang, Park Woojin. Might meet them."

"Ilvermorny isn't participating?" Jonghyun asks Aron.

"They don't condone the idea of sending children to battle." Aron says softly. Mr Fawley exchanges a look with Mrs Choi.

"Sweetheart, there will be war." She breaks it to him gently.

"I know." He glances up, at the group of brothers around him. "But you don't need to fight to death."

Minki's mother smiles slowly.

"I think I understand." 

"You are against Voldemort, but you don't want to join Dumbledore." Jonghyun realises in the middle of a movie. Aron sits up against Minki's chest. 

"Are you with me?" He asks.

"Of course I am, what kind of question is that?" Jonghyun goes back to watching the television, curled up in Minhyun's lap. Aron has always suspected the both of them to be in a thing but Minki always rolls his eyes at him when he brings it up.

"They're not ready." He always says.

"What about you guys?" He asks the room at large, and they glance over.

"Sure." Minki says languidly. "Are you the leader, though?"

"Hell no." Aron snaps. "I'm so Dark it'll probably get to my head. That's why I need you guys."

"Jonghyun then." Minki nudges the boy. "He's a Light Wizard."

"I don't think magical affinities mean anything." Jonghyun says quietly. Dongho laughs.

"Of course it does." He rebuts. "Especially when one of us becomes more powerful. People follow the Light wizards, Jong."

"That shouldn't be." Jonghyun says quietly. Everyone looks around at each other, the movie forgotten.

"I think Jonghyun would be good." He says, heart in his mouth. Jonghyun sits up, and Minhyun opens his mouth.

"I trust Jonghyun." He murmurs, and it's decided.

The Dark Mark hovers over the entire campsite, and as the five of them stand still in the chaos, Minki takes his hand.

"You see?" He tells them. "This is why we have to help."

Minki has tears in his eyes at the sight of the Mark, his Light magic recoiling away from the sign. Even though Aron is a Dark wizard, he can't help but turn away from the awful sight, a freak of nature. Dark Magic isn't supposed to be unnatural, it's supposed to be moon compared to sun, night compared to day, water compared to fire. Not this, not a childish sign hanging in the sky for all to gawk and gag at. 

If this Voldemort is as Dark as they say, he certainly isn't helping with the prejudice against Dark wizards. 

Mr Fawley and Mrs Choi hurry out of the tent, the Portkey in their hands. Minki darts forward towards them, safe under the Disillusionment Charm. 

"We need to go." Mrs Choi snaps, hair in an odd disarray. She looks over Minki, and Aron sees something in her expression that reminds him of the last time he saw his mother. She flings herself in front of Minki, shielding her son from the Slicing Hex that comes their way. Mr Fawley is shot with what looks like a Stupefy  in the exact same moment, and Aron sees red.

He whips around to look for the attacker, spotting the smiling man jumping on his two feet.

"Dolohov." He snarls, and with a surge of anger, he reaches out his hand and tosses the man against a tree. Hard. It shouldn't be possible, and the magic takes the breath out of him as he watches Dolohov slump to the mud.

"Hyung!" Jonghyun shouts sharply, and Aron turns to meet his eyes. "We are leaving, hold on!"

Aron clutches the Portkey in the nick of time, and the seven of them land on the heavy carpeting of the Fawley Mansion. A house elf springs forward from the shadows, letting out a shriek when she sees Mrs Choi bleeding out onto the carpets.

"Mistress!" The house elf garbles, beginning to weave her elf magic to stop the bleeding. Aron can't see where she's injured, but he knows that she is losing blood, and quickly. Minki looks terrified, shaking his father awake on the floor. 

"Knobby! Hilt! Gill!" Jonghyun calls, and the house elves appear. "Help your mistress!"

The elves work together in silence, and Dongho cleans away the blood so they can see better with a quick Evanesco. Aron sucks in a breath when he sees the damage: a long gash across Minki's mother's chest. Minki makes a soft gagging sound, and Minhyun looks away. 

Mr Fawley regains his sense, sitting up and making a low keening sound in his throat when he sees his wife. A little girl appears at the top of the stairs, and Aron remembers that Minki has a little sister, Minkyung. Minkyung looks stunned, then she begins to run down the stairs, howling. 

"Mummy!" She screams, a look of complete horror across her face. Minhyun catches her as she lunges towards her mother, trying to calm the kicking child down. Mr Fawley does a Floo Call for a Mediwitch, and Minki...

Minki looks like he has lost everything.

They return to school with grave spirits. Minki's mother survived, but not without a cost. She was in a coma, and Minki had to leave for Hogwarts without his usual goodbye kiss. Aron just holds on to his hand tight and prays that it's the last damage they'll suffer. When they hear Draco Malfoy talking about what happened at the Quidditch Cup, Minki drives himself into a rage, reaching forward to snatch his old friend from the corridor and locking their cabin. 

Minki throws the first punch, all of them too stunned to react. Draco tries to scrabble away from him, scratching red stripes along his arms and drawing blood.

"How dare you talk about it like your father- My mother-" Minki clenches his fists and grabs the collar of Draco's expensive shirt. "My mother nearly died because of your father."

Draco pales dramatically and Minki snarls. Dongho pulls Minki off Draco and sits the both of them down in opposite sides of the cabin.

"It's disgusting." Jonghyun says quietly, the six of them silent and fuming in their own injustice. "When people like your father claim to want to keep the bloodlines pure, but then they try to kill purebloods."

Draco is staring at his hands, bloodied and battered from trying to keep Minki off him, and Aron removes a knife from his belt and presses the blade into his skin.

"We all bleed the same, Draco." He continues from his leader intensely. "It'll do you well to remember that."

They meet Hyunbin, who's two years younger and yet taller than all of them. He's handsome and a mass of limbs, and Susan makes a small choking noise when she spots him for the first time.

"He's sitting down next to Minki." She whispers to him over mashed potatoes. "He's so handsome, God."

Minki points to Aron, and Hyunbin looks at him. He nods once in acknowledgement and goes back to his potatoes. The Daniel boy Dongho was talking about is similar to his cousin. They both have the muscular, stocky build and a roughish charm. Seongwoo is different, lean and chiselled with a mischievous smile.

Woojin and Jihoon are cute, he supposes. They're first years, eager to begin learning. He thinks that bringing such small children to a battle to the death should be illegal, but Minhyun shrugs.

"They aren't very smart." He agrees.

"Someone should be." Aron complains. "They're so small, Min. What if something happens to them?"

Malfoy crosses their path, and Aron moves aside to let him pass.

"Keep it down." Minhyun reminds, but it sounds half-hearted even to him.

Minki's mother makes a full recovery and marches her way to Hogwarts. The five of them are called to the Headmaster's Office at her insistence, and she gathers them up, although her smile is a little weak.

"Didn't get to give you your goodbye kiss." She harrumphs over them, pressing her lips to their foreheads in quick succession. "There, all good now. You five better do well in your studies. I want to see a Head Boy next year."

She winks at Aron, and he looks down, something catching in his chest. She holds him and Minki back, then presses something into his hand.

"Something for you, an agreement of sorts." She murmurs quietly, careful of Dumbledore's eyes on her. Aron opens the letter in the comforts of his own bed, gasping when he sees the Fawley will.

In the morning, Box is sent back to the Fawley Manor. Mr Fawley will open a piece of parchment containing two words: Thank you.

 "Minhyun's spending a lot of time with Fluer." Jonghyun complains, and Aron looks over at him in amusement. The both of them are sitting opposite each other, books laid out on the communal studying space in the Hufflepuff common room. 

"Jealous?" Aron teases lightly. Jonghyun flings an eraser at him from where he is trying to solve some Arithmetic questions. "Hey, I'm your hyung."

"It's just strange." Jonghyun catches the eraser as Aron throws it back. "I think he has a secret. All he's saying is that they are related or something."

"He'll tell you about it if it's important." He comments offhandedly. A pleased flush spreads across his leader's cheeks, and Aron hides a smile.

They're sitting together to watch the first match of the Triwizard Tournament. Minhyun rushes up to them just as the commentator begins, sitting down hurriedly next to Jonghyun.

"Where did you go?" Minki questions impatiently, handing him his hotdog. Minhyun bites into it and grins back, teeth smeared with ketchup.

"Fleur was worried." He confides, and Aron watches as Jonghyun's face darkens.

In between the first match and the second, the Yule Ball happens. They're all supposed to find dates to the Ball, and Aron asks Minki to go with him. As friends. Minki agrees, and Dongho looks slightly put out.

"You think I can ask Jonghyun?" He asks him as they move along to the library to study. "Minhyun should be going with the Veela girl, right?"

Aron hums, discontent at the thought. Jonghyun would be devastated. 

"I think they might be going together." Aron finds them a quiet table near the back. They study together in silence, Aron leaning over to check Dongho's Potions essay in the last hour of their curfew. A shadow falls over them, and a scent like peaches and strawberries drift over their heads. Dongho looks up first, and Aron senses his jaw go slack.

"Um, hi." Dongho says dazedly, and Aron looks up to see who has robbed his best friend of his sharp tongue.

It's Fleur, and she asks Dongho directly to the Yule Ball while ignoring Aron. The snub hurts, but Aron holds his tongue and watches with amusement as Dongho accepts.

"Good." Fleur nods. "I'll contact you about what to wear."

"Yes ma'am." Dongho smiles obediently. Fleur blushes a bit.

"You're cute. Minhyun was right." She murmurs under her breath and comes to pat his head. "I'm not looking for a boyfriend. Friends?"

"Okay." Dongho says happily, and Fleur gives Aron a nod before moving off. Dongho spends the next hour looking absurdly happy, and when he drops him off at the Fat Lady, he's still grinning like a fool.

Minhyun does ask Jonghyun to the ball, and Aron has to deal with a lot of nervous hopping and jumping about: Hyung, what am I going to wear?

"You can wear a trashbag and he'll look at you like you hung up the stars." He pats his head. They're so cute. 

"It's not like that, it's just that it's our first Ball-"

Fleur looks beautiful, of course. She's dressed in molten silver, her hair done up in a skillful chignon and a grey, glittering headpiece to match. Dongho looks clean in his simple black suit, and Aron whistles under his breath as he sees him. Minki's dressed in finery, a deep plum shade that brings out the dark intensity of his eyes and the hollow of his cheeks. Jonghyun and Minhyun look so cute  together Aron cannot help but coo at the both of them, taking his Muggle Poloroid to take pictures. The both of them are dressed in dark red, and Jonghyun has a thin choker around his neck. 

"Give it to him." Aron hisses, and Jonghyun removes the box from his pocket, tossing it to Minhyun.

"Put it on!" He yelps, hands shaking, then he goes to fetch drinks from everyone. Aron touches the sleeves of his grey suit as Minhyun opens the box, confused. Jonghyun returns just in time to see Minhyun put the earring on, and he beams. 

The night goes well, and Aron brings Minki back to the Slytherin dorms at twelve. 

"Thanks, hyung." Minki catches his sleeve before he walks off. "I had fun."

"Me too, Ren." He pats his best friend's cheek, and suddenly he sees an image layered over Minki. The man he sees looks strong, beautiful, and powerful.

"Hyung?" Minki asks, and Aron smiles distractedly. It's him, he realises. His Ren, just all grown up. "What are you staring at?"

"I just thought..." Aron says softly. "That you'd make a very powerful wizard."

They are on their feet, pacing.

Harry Potter has not returned from the maze, along with Cedric. Jonghyun is white in his worry, and Minhyun is holding on to his hand tightly.

"He'll be fine, right?" Jonghyun asks, and Minki looks down at his feet. There is a reason why they haven't returned, and it's probably not good with how purple Dumbledore's face is getting. Mr Diggory is with Jonghyun, the both of them waiting at the mouth of the maze. 

The air shimmers, and suddenly Harry is there, a body at his feet. Jonghyun lets out a cry and kneels by the body, peering to see if he recognizes him.

"No."  Jonghyun mourns, and Aron sits down in his seat.

"Voldemort has returned!" He hears Harry yell, Dumbledore clutching his arm in a vice like grip and hauling the boy back to the castle. Minhyun is by Jonghyun's side, the both of them kneeling next to Cedric's body. Aron feels a hot rush of anger, of injustice. Cedric was the nicest person, the nicest Quidditch captain, the nicest friend. And he was dead, because a stupid Goblet sent him to his death.

It wasn't right.

"Another year gone." Dongho mutters, body rocking along to the clattering of the train home. They are all slightly dazed with how quickly the year has passed. Aron locks the compartment for good measure, leaning against the leather seats and breathing out.

Cedric's funeral was a solemn affair, and Jonghyun cried buckets. Aron tried not to tear up, but it was impossible when even Peeves was silent for the entire ceremony.

Minhyun said goodbye to Fleur, and when asked, he would only say that she helped him a lot with handling himself. Aron knew better than to ask when the other had that glint in his eye. 

They were going home, all five of them. Aron would be staying with the Choi-Fawleys from now on, something that he was very grateful for. Since he sent the letter home to America, he hadn't gotten one back. He supposed it was a good thing, although it seemed a little bittersweet.

FIFTH YEAR - JONGHYUN

Aron is Head Boy. 

The announcement over lunch brings joy to the entire family, and Minhyun shakes out his Prefect badge to much applause. Jonghyun's letter is strangely delayed, making a metallic clunk when it lands on the mantle. He feeds the school owl a treat and waves goodbye before eyeing the letter with trepidation.

"You could be one." Minhyun says, feet tucked up on the footstool and lying against the flowery arm chair.

"There are better people." He says, holding the letter. They are alone, with everyone outside having a picnic.

"You could." Minhyun insists. "You're the best Hufflepuff student in your year, and you're nice to everyone. Everybody knows how much you tutored that Guanlin boy."

"I'm not that good of a wizard." He tells the letter. "I'm not worth it."

Minhyun moves so fast Jonghyun doesn't see him. His back slams against the wall as Minhyun cages him in, pressing their foreheads together.

"You are worth everything." Minhyun promises, voice low and intense. "You deserve everything and better."

Jonghyun looks away from Minhyun's dark gaze, the easy toffee brown of his eyes turned black. His heart is thundering away in his chest, and Minhyun kisses his forehead before stepping away.

He opens the letter and tilts the object in his palm.

It's a Perfect's Badge after all.

"Good job, Dongho!" He beams, and the boy hops off his broom, having become the new Keeper of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team.

"Hey Dongho! No fraternizing with the enemy!" Angelina Johnson hollers from the sky, and Jonghyun rolls his eyes good-naturedly. 

"You did well, Baekho." He praises, and Dongho grins. "See you on the battle field!"

"Bloody hell, Draco just had to get the three of them off the team!" Dongho complains, shooting Professor Umbridge a venomous look behind her back. "Ginny's fine, but Andrew and Jack? Ugh."

"Cheer up, Dongho." Jonghyun tries to say as optimistically as he can without laughing. "They might pull through."

"Shut up, we're against Hufflepuff next week." Dongho grumbles, and Aron shoots them an amused look as Jonghyun begins to cackle away.

When Minki announces Aron's position as Lord Fawley, everything falls into place much easier. Jonghyun watches as Aron spins a nice trap for Professor Umbridge, making sure that she'll never touch them.

"Who're you going to be, hyung?" Jonghyun asks, lounging on their picnic blanket. "Minister?"

"I want to be Headmaster here." Aron says absently, stroking the blades of grass of the sides of the mat. "You can be Minister, Jonghyun-ah. I'll leave that one to you."

"Sure, hyung." 

"Why does Umbridge leave you guys alone?" Hermione moans, and Jonghyun listens quietly. "She picks on us all the time!"

"Blood, mostly." He reveals. "Dongho's a Sewlyn, Minki and Aron are on the Sacred 28, Minhyun is related to a very strong political candidate for Minister. The five of us hang around so much, she knows better than to touch me."

"That doesn't make any sense!" Hermione continues her tirade. "Why should blood-"

"Not just blood." He notes. "Alliances."

"You know, for the strongest Hufflepuff in our year, you sure don't act like one.' Hermione observes as they trot to Defense. 

"I was a Hatstall." Jonghyun remembers, giving her a little grin. "I'm a jack of all trades."

"Jonghyun." Minhyun calls, and he turns back to find him. "Hyung wants to see us for a moment."

He turns to Hermione apologetically, but she just waves him off.

"What does he need?" Jonghyun asks, and Minhyun shrugs.

"Just wanted to see you." He dodges the punch Jonghyun throws at him just on time. "What? Can't I see my best friend?"

Jonghyun purses his lips. The word 'best friend' has been dangerous territory between him and Minhyun lately.

"What's wrong?" Minhyun questions obviously, and he sighs.

"Nothing."

"Hyung." Jonghyun sets his things down next to the scholar at their usual spot in the library, since Aron is staying in the Heads' dorms now. "How did you even study for your OWLs with Sirius Black around?"

"I took Muggle Studies, for one thing." Aron doesn't look up from his Transfiguration notes. "So much easier to score at than Care of Magical Creatures. You just had take that and Arithmancy."

"Hyung." Jonghyun tries to sound as pitiful as he can. "I'm dying."

"I'm studying for my NEWTs, do you know how hard it is? OWLs are a piece of cake compared to it." Aron tells his Transfiguration textbook. 

"But-"

"Suck it up, that's the way of life." Aron pats his head. "Get to work."

Dongho bangs into the Hufflepuff dormitories one night later, yelling the entire House down for Jonghyun. Ernie goes up the steps to the boy's dorm to fetch him from the middle of his shower, dragging him out half dressed with pants on but no shirt.

"What?" He groans in exasperation, but Dongho looks around furtively. Jonghyun follows his gaze to see the crowd of girls that have gathered to inspect his body. "Oh, fuck."

"Grab a shirt, let's go." Dongho insists, and Jonghyun puts a black shirt on before they leave the dorms running. 

"What happened?" He asks, huffing. They're nearing the seventh floor corridor.

"Umbridge used a Blood Quill on Harry." He reveals. "Harry's set up a paramilitary force here, trying to teach the others spells. We're going to join."

"Um, okay." Jonghyun sees Minhyun and Minki turn the corner, and Dongho starts to pace the corridor in front of nothing. The door appears, and Minki straightens his robes before putting his game face on. He opens the door, pushing it so it makes a loud bang against the other side to draw the attention of every one inside. 

Wands are drawn at him immediately, and Jonghyun steps in front of him. A hasty, wandless disarming spell makes all the wands fly towards him and land at their feet.

"What are you lot doing here?" Minki asks, his tone contemptuous. "This is our room for practice."

The bold statement raises eyebrows, and Jonghyun sees a mass of ruffled black hair move to take the alpha spot among the group.

"You had practice together?" Harry questions, white faces. "Why didn't you help us?"

"For one," Minki studies the state of the room. "Would you be truly willing to learn?"

The question strikes a chord in the group, who shifts uneasily.

"I want the room back." Minki insists. "We had it first."

"Liar!" Weasely hollers. "You filthy Death Eater."

Dongho narrows his eyes and casts out his left hand, biceps clenching impressively. Ron flies up into the air, and Minhyun does a quick Silencing Charm as Dongho brings him closer.

"Your father owes mine a blood debt." Minki hisses. "I am not a Death Eater. Your prejudice is deplorable. There are reasons why your brothers left me alone, but I see you do not match up to them in this way as well."

"Minki." Jonghyun warns, getting a hang of where's he's going. Ron turns red very quickly, and Jonghyun tells Dongho to send him back, without breaking his ankle.

"Sorry about that, ladies and gentlemen." Jonghyun opens his stance and knows what every one sees - a 'Puff, weak and a push over. "We do need a room for practice. You can ask Professor Sprout if you don't believe us." This one is a fluke, but his Head of House will protect her students without fail. No one needs to know.

"You can't ask us to leave." Hermione steps forward. "Can't we share the room? You can take that corner-"

"A corner." Minhyun cuts in now, looking decidedly unimpressed. "Of the room that was ours."

Hermione colours, and Jonghyun sighs.

"I suppose we could just join into whatever this is." He offers. "We make good teachers-"

"Harry's the teacher here." Katie points.

"I do need some help." Harry confesses. "They are way more people than I expected."

"I'll need you to sign here, then." Hermione hurries forward with a piece of parchment. Jonghyun looks over it and cringes at the title before signing it and passing it to the others. Minhyun goes last and passes his wand over it to see the punishment, raising his eyebrows.

"All done." Jonghyun says cheerfully. "Minki's good at Elemental, I'm good at Wandless, Dongho's great for sparring practice, and Minhyun's a Master in Charms."

"A Master?" Hermione squeaks again, and Jonghyun tries not to roll his eyes again.

Aron is laughing his ass off at the four of them, seated sullenly in front of him and in varying states of despair.

"Dumbledore's Army." He giggles and Jonghyun cannot stop the grin beginning at the apples of his cheeks. "Cute name, guys."

"Shut up." Minki snaps, a frown on his face. "It's bad enough Dongho dumped us in there with no warning. We actually have to teach now, and we're all trying to study for our OWLs at the same time."

"It's not that bad-" Dongho protests, and Minhyun shoots him a panicked glare.

"They are talking to me in the hallways now, and the Granger girl won't leave me alone after Jonghyun told her about my Mastership." Minhyun groans. 

"Her name is Hermione, and she's a very nice girl." Jonghyun rebukes. "She's my friend."

"Yeah well, Fleur's my friend and you were so cold to her when she was here." Minhyun mutters under his breath. Jonghyun feels himself colour impressively, and he stands from his seat, making his way out of the forgotten classroom. It's nothing but him running away, and he can hear the sudden stillness of the room and the way the walls are closing in around him.

He bolts.

The next day, buried in his blankets, Jonghyun decides to Do Something about it. He knows Minhyun isn't lying when he says that there's nothing between him and the Delacour girl, but he has to know. It's not that he doesn't trust Minhyun, it's just that he doesn't trust himself- to accept that Fleur is Minhyun's very beautiful friend and not expect questions.

He pokes his head from the heavy duvet and sees that it's still dark out. A Tempus tells him that it's five in the morning, three hours away from the first class of the day. He swings his feet over the edge of the bed and makes his way to the toilet to wash up.

He'll slip into the library to hole up with all the NEWTs students before class begins.

"What are you doing here?" Cho hisses over to him as he sneaks into the library. She's familiar with him... because of Cedric, but they are still friends. 

"Do you know if there are any yearbooks here?" He questions, and she rolls her eyes, pointing him to the stack. "Thanks."

He remembers Minhyun saying that his mother was pregnant with him while she was in school, but as he flips through the dusty times, there is no account of a Hwang in the yearbooks. He shuts the book, disappointed, and his eyes drift to another book, with Triwizard Tournament, 1975 inscribed with gold in the front.

He flips it open, and a picture falls out from the yellowing pages. Picking it up, he briefly registers that it's a magical one, with all the people inside waving energetically back at him. He glances through the photo, looking at the faces of all the people who went to Beauxbatons for that year's Triwizard Tournament. 

A familiar set of eyes stop him, and he peers even closer to the picture to take a closer look. The woman in the picture has Minhyun's slanted almond eyes and the same face shape, and Jonghyun feels a rush of excitement in his chest when he sees that she has a slight bump. Standing next to her with an arm on her shoulder is a dark skinned man with smile lines at the corners of his eyes, and he flips to the back to check the names. Hwang Inha and... Fahim Shacklebolt. Jonghyun feels his heart leap in his chest, and he makes a quick copy of the picture using the Gemino spell Aron taught him. The spell is difficult to him, and he strains a little bit before he gets the perfect copy of the picture. 

"You done already?" Cho touches his shoulder, and he spins. She holds up her hands in surrender and peers closer at him. "Are you okay? You look a little flushed."

"I'm fine." Jonghyun mutters automatically, slipping the copy into his robes and the book back into place. "Breakfast?"

He sends Box out to Hogsmeade to ask a favor from Aberforth, and Box returns a day later with a heavy book titled "Families with Magical Creature Blood". Keep the book. -A. His old friend writes on a slip of paper stained with Firewhisky. The page on Veela is marked out with a fluorescent Muggle highlighter, and he gasps when he sees the list of names. Hwang is listed as a descendant of the Delacour line, and Jonghyun blinks in disbelief before he copies the page out with the Gemino spell again. 

"Oh, Minhyun." He mumbles under his breath, breath hitching when he sees that Veelas have to claim their mate at the age of fifteen or else face a slow death. "Why didn't you tell us?"

When Minhyun wakes up the next morning, there's a lump in his bed. He peels back the covers to see Jonghyun's kitten familiar curled up against his blue sheets, a folded piece of paper tucked into its white collar. 

"You should have told us." Jonghyun says firmly around the circle of black robes. "What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that people treated Magical Creatures like dirt." Minhyun hisses back, curling into himself in self defense. The others look hopelessly confused, and Jonghyun turns to Minhyun.

"Tell them," He insists. "Or I will."

"I'm half-Veela." Minhyun looks like he's choking out the words from deep in his chest. "Happy? Are you going to throw me away now?"

"What the fuck?" Dongho blurts out, eyebrows drawn together. "You didn't tell us you were half-Veela because you thought we would ostracize you? Are you fucking dumb?'

"I can't believe you thought that of us." Minki interrupts, eyes alight with fire. Minhyun leans away from them when he reaches out to touch him. "We've been friends for ten years, Min. When we faced the Dementor in the train, I saw the flames in your hands and I suspected, but..."

Jonghyun bites his lip when he sees Minhyun flinch as Aron wraps a supporting arm around him.

"There's something else." Minhyun whispers. "My father... left us to die. My mother killed herself when I was five. That's when I met Minki."

Jonghyun collapses into his seat and reaches across the circle to grab Minhyun's hand. 

"Min." He croons as the boy turns his face away from all of them, ashamed. "Min, we're not leaving you."

Minki gets up from his seat and deposits himself into Minhyun's lap, curling his lanky arms around the boy and holding on tight. Dongho shuffles one seat over and hooks a leg over the both of them, pressing his forehead into Minhyun's cheek. Aron strokes the back of Minhyun's head, patting down the tufts of hair that are standing on end from tension. Jonghyun shifts in his seat uneasily, shaking his head when Minki turns around to jerk his head at him.

Come here. Minki mouths threateningly, but there's something in Jonghyun that holds back, unsure.

"Min." His best friend's name comes out as a garble, and he swallows down the worry in his throat. "What about the mating thing?"

Minhyun looks around Minki's shoulder at him, and Jonghyun feels a rush of emotions, of knowing inside him. He knows, somehow, that this moment will change his life. He knows, somehow, that this moment will shift the balance he has struggled to keep for the past three years. 

He knows, somehow, that this will change everything.

"That's the easiest part, I suppose." Minhyun smiles emptily. "It's you."

Jonghyun shuffles his way through classes, keeping quiet in DADA and thinking about his relationship with Minhyun.

On one hand, he knows that if he does not accept Minhyun's kiss, his best friend (really? Were they still friends at this point?) would die. On the other, he knows his own feelings. He knows that he fell for Minhyun the first time they met, five years back. It's why he deflected the Twins' attention from him, why he had scattered after that like a lovesick fool. He knows, deep inside, that he's already Minhyun's.

The problem lies in Minhyun himself, the boy prone to overthinking and over analysis. Jonghyun scoffs under his breath at the thought, and Professor Umbridge glances up sharply at him from the professor's desk.

You're the one to talk. He thinks dully, not bothering to smile apologetically. Minhyun... Minhyun had clammed up after the announcement, ignoring Jonghyun when he approached him, standing him up for their weekly Charms and Arithmancy study sessions, and just pretending that they didn't spend the past five years of their life together. Aron gave him an upset, passing glance when he waited for another hour in the Library, with no Minhyun in sight.

"Go back to the dorms, Jong." Aron coaxed, and he had been too exhausted to protest. As Aron dropped him off at the Hufflepuff Portrait Hole, he thought he saw a glimpse of his mate before the figure disappeared around the corner.

He's tired of pretending that nothing happened. Minki had tried to help by locking the both of them in a closet together, but Minhyun had murmured a escape spell under his breath and fled. Dongho punched Minhyun in the face after Jonghyun cried on the third day, and now the both of them weren't talking either.

Jolting up from his seat when he hears the bangs, he ducks down low in his seat as two dragons sail into the classroom, thoroughly disturbing the lesson. The pair of flying fireworks seem to be targeted at Professor Umbridge himself, and at the next table, Ron turns to Harry with a proud smile.

"The Twins." Hannah says in amazement, and Professor Umbridge lets out a screech and runs into the hallways. The entire class follows, Jonghyun packing his things into his satchel and walking into the main door. The dragons are joined by a spectacular bout of fireworks, and he gapes at the sight. Aron and Minhyun would go crazy for the secret behind the spell work.

"Fred and George Weasely!" Professor McGonagall wrenches herself from the stunned crowd, although she looks very amused. "Stop it!"

"Stop it at once!" Professor Umbridge echoes in terror, clutching at her chest. "I will have you expelled!"

"See, we've got a special announcement to make-" The Twins are sailing above them all on their brooms, and one calls out to the line of shocked professors at the corridor.

"We're dropping out of Hogwarts!" The other continues, and beside him he can hear someone whisper in an equally astonished and horrified tone: "What?" He suspects it to be the youngest female Weasely.

"As a praying gift, we'd like to inform all of you of our new establishment at Diagon Alley, Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes!" The other one waves his wand, and a pinata explodes, raining golden invitations down on all of them. Jonghyun snatches one from the air.

Get your way in school with Weasely's Skiving Snackboxes! The card reads. 10% off for Hogwarts students!

"Jesus Christ." Terry murmurs from behind him, and the Twins do a final cartwheel before flying towards Hogsmeade, straight out of the Great Hall. "Hey, um, Jonghyun, right?"

"Yes." He turns, tucking the invitation into his satchel. "Why?"

"Um." Terry says again, looking very nervous. He scratches the back of his head, and Jonghyun realises that there's no Minhyun in sight among the blue scarved group of fellow Fifth Years. "It's Minhyun."

"What about him?" He sharpens his voice, and his classmates looks down at his feet.

"Minhyun's going to kill me." He whispers under his breath, then looks at him straight faced.

"Tell me." Jonghyun insists, hands curving around his wand, aware of the looks around them.

"He collapsed in Charms." Terry says apologetically. "He's in the Hospital Wing."

As he runs, he briefly registers that he's never run so fast in his life.

Jonghyun scrambles up the staircases, leaping over the mischievous skipping one and the slippery, teasing one. He runs along the corridors, surprising Professor Sprout when she rounds the corner.

"Oh!" She gasps as Jonghyun jogs past her and up the set of stairs to the Hospital Wing. He barely nods at her before wrenching the door open and slipping inside. 

Minhyun's awake on one of the cots, head lolling to the side to see his visitor. Jonghyun feels a rush of fury at the sight of his pale face, at how the brown of his eyes are going red, at how his hands are shaking as he sets the potion down.  He strides towards him quickly, and wrenches him by the robes. Madam Pomphrey is very wisely out of sight, and Jonghyun waves a hand impatiently to close the curtain. 

"You're a goddamn coward, Hwang Minhyun." He huffs, the righteous anger making his words short and to the point.

"Well." Minhyun says tiredly. "I was never a Gryffindor."

"You-" Jonghyun laughs suddenly. A sense of relief swells inside him, that Minhyun still looks alive and kicking, that Minhyun is laughing with him. "You idiot."

"Hm." Minhyun hums, and he looks better already. Jonghyun lets go of him and settles into the cot, shoving him over shamelessly. "Stop it, you're sweaty."

Jonghyun rolls him with the blanket and props his chin on his shoulder, humming under his breath. Eventually, his mate stops squirming and relaxes in his arms. 

"Do you love me?" Minhyun whispers in the dark silence, and Jonghyun opens his eyes, breathing in the scent of vanilla, honey and antiseptic.

"I've loved you for five years, and been in love with you for two." He snaps, and Minhyun twists to face him. Jonghyun rolls him over again, his mate too weak to protest. The silence between them is charged and electric, and Minhyun rubs circles into the back of Jonghyun's palm.

"Why are you the big spoon?" Minhyun complains again, and Jonghyun slaps his forehead. 

"Shut up and sleep."

Later, Jonghyun slips from the cot and stands over Minhyun to make his choice. Very slowly, he leans down and presses his lips to his mate's. It's chaste and quick, but Jonghyun feels the click in his brain, the warm feeling in his chest, and when he steps away he yearns to get it back. 

"Sorry, Min." He tells his sleeping mate, waving his wand to open up the curtains. "I can't have you weak like this because of me."

"You want to go to Hogsmeade?" Minhyun nudges him in the middle of Charms practice, and the vase he's been trying drops to the ground with the break in focus. Minhyun saves it with a Cushioning Charm and looks at him expectantly, tilting his head.

"Sure." He flips the wand in his hand. "We should celebrate Minki's birthday too-"

"No, just us." Minhyun interrupts, and their eyes connect. Jonghyun feels a jump in his heartbeat and grins.

"A date, huh?" He hooks his arms around his mate's waist and cages him into a nearby wall.

"If you want to call it that." Minhyun gasps, breathless but grinning down at him. Jonghyun bumps their foreheads together and lets him go. "You can decide."

"A date it is." Jonghyun beams back, and Minhyun lights up, his smile warming him up from the inside. "I'll bring you on a ride with my broom, if you trust me."

Minhyun wriggles his eyebrows at him and he rolls his eyes, slapping his chest.

"I trust you." Minhyun's eyes dart to his lips, but he pecks him on the forehead instead. "I always have."