Archive of Our Own

Final Quidditch Game this evening: Gryffindor vs Slytherin.

Who will take the crown this year?

The bustling steps of the students rush through the corridor, making their way down to the Great Hall where the whisperings continue, their eyes wide with excitement, their lips playing the same words repeatedly. The joining of Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws as they root for Gryffindor and the introduction of the arrogant Slytherins sauntering inside the Hall, not a care in the world of the rising grimace they face from the other houses after making their way to the finals. The house was in no dire need to seek attention or approval from the others, their pride and joy running at a high after beating Ravenclaw at the last second of the game, despite Ravenclaw seeker, Kim Junmyeon catching the snitch, their 200 points only concluded to a draw, followed by another goal by Baekhyun as he scored through the goal hoop which gained them another ten points more.

They didn’t cheat, although, since they are Slytherins, they have a way of working with the loopholes of the game. It’s not their fault that the inventor of quidditch created such flawed rules that they can work their way around on.

Baekhyun, despite his immense popularity within his house, chooses to sit right at the end of the Slytherin table, looking down on his phone which he had snuck in using a simple invisibility magic during their check-in, scrolls through his social media, waiting for his group of friends to arrive before anyone can approach him and start a pretentious conversation he did not have the energy to endure. Being a half-blood nowadays doesn’t seem half as bad as it used to be, so often Baekhyun gaining the best of both worlds with his family’s mixture of magic and some muggle devices which had kept him entertained during the summer.

‘Hey, Byun Baekhyun!’, he hears the loud, high-pitched screams of Ravenclaw prefect, Kim Jongdae walking in with his fellow partner in crime, Hufflepuff prefect Kim Minseok, sitting down on the Slytherin table and leaning on Baekhyun’s shoulder which smelt of an oak essence, looking down at the muggle device which still confuses them even though Baekhyun had shown it to them multiple times how it worked.

‘Are you still on that muggle device?’, Minseok looks down, seeing the way people move around on the screen. It had seemed like the muggles have imitated their newspapers and photographs and have managed to make their own versions of moving pictures which impressed him.

‘It’s pretty addictive once you get used to it’, Baekhyun whispers, hiding it inside his robe pockets, looking around to see if any teachers have seen him with it yet.

‘Anyway, this evening is the finals, are you ready for it?’, Jongdae asks the Slytherin chaser, which he didn’t need to since Baekhyun was one of the best players in the whole year. It seems rather odd that a Ravenclaw and a Hufflepuff would be friends with a Slytherin, yet here they are, in the corner where no one can judge them, conversing about the game which is supposed to be a hidden ‘I hate Slytherins’ event for everyone else.

‘I heard your house tried to make a luck potion for Gryffindor’, Baekhyun turns around, gazing at the loud and celebratory table on the other side of the Great Hall, seeing everyone garnered around the team, cheering them on as if they’ve already won, high fiving one of the best seeker’s the school has ever had the pleasure to hold – also known as – Baekhyun’s rival.

They both have different positions in the team, one being a chaser and the other being a seeker, and many people have amounted seekers to have more status since there’s only one in the team and they can easily give 200 points to their team if they catch the goddamn snitch. Yet, Baekhyun’s skills can combine all 200 points of those and then some, which is why, during practices and sometimes even real games, Chanyeol’s catches are not enough to win over Baekhyun’s hundreds of goals. Which is why the two had become rivals over the years, many people betting if Baekhyun can race his way over and score more goals by the time Chanyeol caught the snitch. Usually, it’s a 50/50 game, sometimes Chanyeol catches the snitch and wins the game before Baekhyun even had the chance to grab hold of the Quaffle, but sometimes, Baekhyun would train so hard and race his way past the keepers and score every time without a single miss, meaning he was the golden key for the Slytherin team.

‘I can’t believe we got caught though’, Jongdae murmurs, pushing his glasses up and looking down at his notes, ‘I swore they did everything by the book, so it would’ve worked’

‘Oh, gee, thanks Jongdae for being a nice friend and giving the opposing team some notes on how to cheat their way to winning’, Baekhyun whines, seeing how focused his friend was.

‘It’s not about the cheating bit’, Jongdae defends himself, placing the book in the middle of the table and pointing at his notes, cursive and neat handwriting, ‘My house made the perfect mixture and I really wanted to use it for something… But now it got confiscated’

Baekhyun can only laugh at Jongdae’s crisis, seeing how innocent he looked compared to the rest of his house. The conversation goes on, students from the first year to seventh whispering and betting over which team will win and if Baekhyun and Chanyeol will ever get into a fight like last time they had a match together.

‘Are you sure you wanna play for this game?’

‘Minseok, I’m Byun Baekhyun and this is the finals we’re talking about. I have to be present’, Baekhyun snickers at the way Minseok looks worriedly at him, his usual fragile Hufflepuff pout warning him to take care of his actions during the field. He wasn’t a sensitive bitch who would start crying at the sight of the tall idiot. He knew that he didn’t get along well with the Gryffindor seeker who he knew was going to play this evening, yet he seemed fine and focused since he’s been getting good at ignoring the idiot over the years.

Park fucking Chanyeol is the name that just rolls off the tongue well, yet it seems to leave a bitter taste along the way. Baekhyun clenches his teeth and continues to ignore the loud screeching and hitting on tables by none other than the famous seeker himself.

‘Even when he laughs, he’s an arrogant motherfucker’, Baekhyun growls to himself, catching his eyes glimpsing at the sight of the way Chanyeol beats the table, jumping up and down before hitting three of four other people in the process of laughing.

‘Don’t be too harsh. He’s actually quite a funny person once you get to know him’, Minseok turns to look at what Baekhyun had been giving the side eye at, watching everyone laugh at what Chanyeol had said and wished he had heard it from here. He’s in the same Divination class as him and he would never admit it to Baekhyun, but the boy was known as a class clown for a reason. He could make a boring class fun.

‘And why would I ever get to know him?’, Baekhyun rolls his eyes at Minseok, despite the latter’s good intentions, they all know that Baekhyun would never give Chanyeol even a second of his time. They couldn’t blame him, the last time they interacted was during their third-year final game which ended in blood, sweat and loss of hair on both sides as they continued to pull each other’s hair off in the middle of the field after Chanyeol accidentally bumps into Baekhyun whilst in search for the snitch, causing both their brooms to snap in half, the both of them landing on the floor with cuts and bruises and a fractured ankle.

Least to say, the game ended there and was announced as a draw – the first draw in a Quidditch game since 1975.

‘Byun Baekhyun!’, the trio hear a rumbling voice approaching them, seeing the Slytherin’s Quidditch team captain stomping their way over, both Jongdae and Minseok crouching in fear at the sight of the muscular senior who looked like she should be a professor in defence against the dark arts rather than a student.

‘What’s up?’, Baekhyun calls out nonchalantly, relaxed and poised compared to the other two, twisting his fork and playing around with his food.

‘I need you to get your head in the game before we start’, his captain warns him, her eyes glaring in slits and her lips stiff, ‘I don’t want Chanyeol getting under your skin. If he tries to mess with you ignore him, if he continues, then leave it to me’

‘No need to inform me twice. I’ve got this in the bag’, Baekhyun finalises his conversation with the captain, urging her to leave him alone and celebrate with the other Slytherin, giggling at the sight of Jongdae and Minseok’s relieved face when she exited, walking back to the middle of the table, joining the rest of the loud students.

‘She never fails to make me shit my pants’, Jongdae whispers, closing his notebook and putting it back in his bag before another Slytherin grabs hold of it and rips it to shreds like the last time.

‘You guys are overreacting. She’s not that bad’, Baekhyun rolls his eyes, ‘She lets you sit at our table’

‘That’s because we’re with you’

‘Why else would you sit here anyway?’, Baekhyun chuckles, gulping his juice in one go from the silver cup beside his plate.

‘That’s a fair point’, Minseok nods, his curly hair moving along with him, falling just past his forehead.

‘Byun Baekhyun!’, another voice calls his name, this time, it was across the Great Hall, past the laughing and joking students, past the levitating candles above them. Baekhyun looks up to see Chanyeol gazing at him, a pretentious smile plastered on his stupid face, his had reached out as he waves arrogantly at him, his back leaning on the table as he turns himself to face the Slytherin table instead of focusing on his meal, ‘Good luck for tonight!’, he shouts, the rest of the hall which seemed to turn quiet at the sudden interactions between the two, everyone’s eyes glued themselves to Baekhyun, curious about what he’s going to say or do next.

‘Please, whatever you do, don’t Flipendo him’, Jongdae hisses at Baekhyun, warning him not to cause a scene right before a match.

‘Thanks!’, Baekhyun ignores his best friend’s warning, his hands already sliding inside his robe pockets, feeling the smooth finish of his oak wand, ‘Good luck to you too!’, he shouts back as calmly as he could, seeing the way Chanyeol smirks back to him as if he was planning something fishy, which he probably was.

‘Spongify’, Baekhyun whispers as soon as he sees his food turn into frogs, pointing his wand under the table and aiming at the long connecting wooden bench of the Gryffindor table, softening the once solid form into nothing more but jelly, every single Gryffindor laughing at the sudden jumping frog in front of Baekhyun instantly falling to the floor without a second’s notice, including the tall idiot.

An eruption of laughter is gained from the rest of the Slytherins as they hurl at the Gryffindor table, shouting Baekhyun’s name in cheers whilst they make fun of the students on the other side of the hall. Baekhyun looks around, spotting Headmistress McGonagall glaring at the situation in front of her, clapping her hands together and pulling out her wand to quickly fix the jelly turned bench.

Baekhyun hides a smirk when he found Professor Slughorn giving him a sly thumbs up at his spell, trying not to get caught by the other professors who stood up from their chairs and started to nag at their students.

‘We should go before anything else happens’, Minseok tugs at Jongdae’s sleeves, begging the other two for them to leave and find somewhere quiet for the rest of the afternoon before the game.

‘Yeah’, Baekhyun agrees with the frightened Hufflepuff, standing up from his table and leaving the jumping frogs to pester around, leading the way out of the Grand Hall, with the two prefects walking behind him, trying not to get noticed by everyone else as they slowly slipped past everyone’s view.

Baekhyun sits on the floor of the school library, a Lumos charm emitting light from the tip of his wand as he reads a muggle novel his mother gave to him right before he started his fifth year at Hogwarts. The school library is mostly empty, probably because everyone was too busy making banners and preparing for the match in a couple of hours, which is why Baekhyun revelled the moment of peace and quiet. He hides himself from everyone, keeping to himself and making sure no one was around when he was at his most vulnerable, his eyes tearing as he continues to let himself get dragged into the world of the pages in front of him, falling in love with the character instantly and feeling himself let go at the sight of fictional pain inflicted onto them.

‘You alright, Mr Cry Baby?’, he hears a deep voice cutting the peaceful atmosphere, looking up to see the red and yellow scarf hanging around his neck along with the Gryffindor logo stitched onto his robes.

‘What do you want Chanyeol?’, Baekhyun snarls, rolling his eyes and getting up from the floor, tugging his wand away and shutting his book, pulling at his sleeves as he wipes his face.

‘Just wanted to see where my rival was. I have to prepare for the worst whenever I’m with you’

‘As if you didn’t bring that onto yourself’, Baekhyun points out, standing in front of Chanyeol, his green and silver tie juxtaposing the bright and warm colours that always seem to wrap themselves around Chanyeol, ‘Now, if you’ll excuse me, I want to spend the remaining time in peace’, he announces his departure, pushing past Chanyeol and leaving the tall Gryffindor behind only to be pulled back by Chanyeol’s spells, his body turning around without permission, Chanyeol’s hawthorn wand resting elegantly between his fingers.

‘You better let me go’, Baekhyun hisses a warning, dipping his hands inside his pockets, not afraid to cause a scene in the library.

‘Don’t get too defensive, I’m only here to speak to you’, Chanyeol smirks, seeing the way Baekhyun’s hand grip on his wand, ready to fight him as always. Chanyeol can never be too careful with his moody rival, so often, during fun play, the quiet Slytherin would always be one step ahead of him, as can be seen by his move in the Great Hall.

‘What do you want?’

‘Just to make a deal’, Chanyeol points out, resting the tip of his wand on his cheeks as he slides Baekhyun closer to him.

‘What deal?

‘If the Gryffindors win, you give me the password for the Slytherin room’

‘Why the fuck would I do that?’, Baekhyun spits out at him, getting tired of the magic restrain which stops him from punching Chanyeol in the face.

‘Because, if you win, you’ll get this’, Chanyeol pulls out something from his trouser pocket, a petite glass bottle with liquid inside.

‘Is that Felix Felicis?’

‘Yepp. Liquid Luck’, Chanyeol addresses the potion by its simpler name, looking at it, shaking the bottle and seeing the glittering liquid shine at the action, ‘Everyone was wetting their pants for it, but Professor McGonagall took it from us before we can use it… Too bad I have slippery hands’

‘Why don’t you just drink it and win the game then?’

‘It wouldn’t be fun then’, Chanyeol tilts his head, as if making fun out of Baekhyun’s suggestions, ‘If we’re really rivals, we should play fair and square… With an additional reward at the end’

‘You’re so fucking extra, you know, that right?’, Baekhyun rolls his eyes, whispering an unlocking charm so Chanyeol’s spells loosen, ‘I’m not making a deal with you. Do whatever you want with that, I don’t care’

‘You don’t want this?’, Chanyeol points at the potion, seeing Baekhyun glare at him before turning around to leave him behind, ‘Should I have offered you amortentia instead?’, Chanyeol playfully pokes fun at Baekhyun earning a proper reaction which he feeds well on, seeing the way Baekhyun stomps back towards him, his hand reaching out to grip tightly on his scarf, pulling him down to his level.

‘You fucking prick’, Baekhyun growls, but it seems like his words didn’t faze the outspoken Gryffindor who revels on words.

‘Sweetie, do you have a crush on someone? If you truly want it, we can make that deal again?’

‘Fuck off, I don’t like anyone and even if I do, I wouldn’t approach you for help’, Baekhyun shuts down Chanyeol, pushing Chanyeol away from him, ‘And don’t call me sweetie’

‘Shall I call you shortie instead? Honestly, bending down to your level makes my back hurt, are you sure you haven’t finished growing yet?’

Right, that’s it.

Baekhyun pulls out one of the electric shock shakes he bought from Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes and he was going to try it on Minseok, but he felt the need to reach out his hand and grab hold of Chanyeol instead, emitting an electric shock on the boy’s hand.

 ‘Ow! Fuck!’, Chanyeol screeches, looking down at his hand then to Baekhyun, seeing the small device resting on the palm of his hands, ‘Merlin’s beard…’, he whispers, shaking his hand from the shock and glaring slits at Baekhyun.

‘That’s for making fun out of me’, Baekhyun sticks his tongue out, not wasting any more time and turning around to walk off before Chanyeol can use one of his spells again, leaving the boy behind.

‘Who do you think will get the kiss cam this time?’, Chanyeol hears his whole house whispering amongst each other when he gets back into the dorms, looking defeated and deflated having failed to push Baekhyun’s buttons before the game. He listens to everyone talking about that stupid kiss cam Hogwarts introduced during every game ever since they saw the Americans playing. Headmistress McGonagall thought it was a good idea to add more excitement to what usually amounts to a long and tiring game.

It had become a bit of a cult gathering, everyone betting on who the kiss cam was going to detect since Professor Slughorn added a detecting charm so that the camera will always point at the pair with the most chemistry during the match. It had become a nest for gossip and the birth of couples over the past year, yet Chanyeol was having none of it.

‘Chanyeol, who do you think will get it?’, he hears Jongin’s voice whining over him, listing names of people he thinks will hook up after the match.

‘You know I don’t care about that stuff’, Chanyeol rolls his eyes, ignoring his best friend as he sits down on the sofa, closing his eyes and taking a rest, but he still hears first-year students whispering about it.

‘I think it’s going to be either Jongdae and Minseok since they’re always with each other’, Jongin converses with the rest of their year, sitting down on the floor, a felt tip on his hands but he showed no signs that he was going to finish off his banner, Chanyeol’s name half written on the burgundy banner.

‘Or maybe that cute Hufflepuff, the one with the big eyes’

‘Kyungsoo? Who do you think would match with him?’

‘’Haven’t you seen Baekhyun hanging around with him lately? I swear, he might as well be a Hufflepuff by the looks of it’

Chanyeol snicker at the statement. No, Baekhyun was not a Hufflepuff. He was a sly Slytherin through and through and it pisses him off every day that he can’t get under the boy’s skin, but the latter seems to easily do it to him. Baekhyun couldn’t even be swayed by his offer for the Liquid Luck.

He was going to make sure that Baekhyun learns Chanyeol’s presence during the game. He’s going to feel so intimidated, he’ll beg for an apology after the match. He’ll bet.

Baekhyun has no idea what’s coming.

Junmyeon and Jongin.

No, Joy and Wendy.

Really? I’m seeing more of a Sehun and Junmyeon.

‘First people are betting on the game, now they’re betting on the kiss cam couple? You might as well change this school into a casino’, Baekhyun whines, hearing everyone’s voices murmur and list different types of names, Jongdae and Minseok laughing at him as they walk him over to the end of the Quidditch field, Baekhyun’s old retro nimbus 2000 standing out from the Starsweeper XXI which the whole Slytherin team were gifted after winning the Finals last year.

Baekhyun was gifted the old yet classic broom by Professor Slughorn after helping clean out his office all night after a spell experiment gone wrong and Baekhyun hadn’t used anything else ever since. Of course, he gets made fun out of by everyone including his team, his Captain urging him to use the newer model, but the Nimbus 2000 has never let him down before, so he continues to use it.

Of course, Chanyeol, on the other hand, grazes his presence with the latest model of the Varapidos, curtsy of his rich ass parents giving it to him for his birthday.

‘Pretentious prick’, Baekhyun mutters to himself, quickly hugging Jongdae and Minseok before joining the rest of his team who waits for him.

‘Dude look at Baekhyun. He’s using his old broom again’, Jongin points out, standing by Chanyeol’s side with his Turbo XXX, not new, yet also not as old as Baekhyun’s.

‘Don’t judge him. He’s a fast one even with that old wooden thing’, Chanyeol pats Jongin on the back, trying to get the Keeper to focus, ‘Your job is to swerve all of his attempts until I get that snitch, got it?’, Chanyeol whispers to Jongin, trying to devise a plan to try and break Baekhyun’s streaks of goals he always tends to have at every game he plays.

‘Chanyeol, don’t worry. I’ve got this’, Jongin pushes Chanyeol’s grip off him, chuckling and looking like he’s not taking it seriously, skipping along the field to join the other members who were joking and laughing, relaxed and not at all intimidated by the Slytherins who looks stern and focused.

‘I need everyone to pay attention. I need Baekhyun on the front line along with Taeyong and Mark by his side. If he doesn’t score, grab the Quaffle before the other team does okay? You’re his back up’, their captain points to the two third-year students, nervous at the sight of the senior’s roaring voice, ‘Always follow Baekhyun’s lead, you got it?’

‘Stop making them nervous and just do your job as a Beater’, Baekhyun pats his captain’s shoulder, trying to calm her down, ‘We won last year, we can do it again’

‘I bloody hope we do’, his captain gives them all a stern look before getting on her broomstick and being the first to fly. Baekhyun looks up to the field above them, seeing the three hoops, each on the end of the stadium. He also spots the small levitating camera which spies around the crowd, already pinpointing the way it moves and analyse everyone sitting down. Baekhyun can only shake his head in disapproval at the stupid device. Anyone could easily have mistaken that thing as a Quaffle and in some cases they have. Thank god for him, he’s always been alerted to know the difference, yet he looks at the two other chasers on his team and worries for them instead. They looked so nervous and frightened after their captain’s lecture.

‘Hey’, Baekhyun tries to gain their attention, a pair of heads turning to glance at him, ‘Who do you think the kiss cam will catch this time?’, he’s not much of a gossiper, but he couldn’t just let the third-year chasers fly up on the field looking like nervous cats.

‘Um… I don’t know’, Mark stutters, looking up to see the camera hovering above them.

‘I think it’ll be one of the teachers’, Baekhyun points out, playfully elbowing Taeyong as he points his chin towards the seats where the Professors are, ‘I think Professor Park has a thing with Professor Jung’

‘Oh shit, really?’, the two whispers in unison, their eyes landing on the two professors chatting away and giggling at something.

‘Yeah, the rumours are already going around, I wouldn’t be surprised if we stop the game, so they can kiss’, Baekhyun chuckles with them, sensing the pair finally relaxing, sighing in relief as his other chasers gain back their confidence.

‘Don’t be stupid’, Seulgi butts in, leaning on her broom as he casts a quick spell to tie her hair, ‘My guesses are on me and Irene’

‘Are those your guesses or your wish?’, Baekhyun laughs, looking at the way the Keeper pines over the soft-spoken Slytherin prefect she’d been eyeing since third-year, Baekhyun getting hit on the shoulder for laughing at her failed conquest, ‘If the camera points at the two of you, I’m calling that you rigged it’, Baekhyun chuckles, earning himself another hit from their Keeper.

‘Just you watch Baekhyun, Irene and I will become official before you can even punch Chanyeol in the face’

‘I’m not going to do that’

‘Ha, that’s what you said last time’, Seulgi laughs, patting his hair and messing it up, not giving Baekhyun any time to hit her back as she gets on her broom and flies next to the Captain on the field above them.

‘I don’t see why you hate each other so much. Chanyeol is quite nice’, Mark points out, which he shouldn’t have since Baekhyun directed a glare at him, one which made him frozen, ‘I mean… He’s not that– He’s not that nice’, he stutters to Baekhyun, trying not to anger their best player.

‘Don’t let Chanyeol fool you’, is the only thing he tells them before he perches upon his Nimbus 2000, flying on the field and aligning himself to his planned position, watching how all the Gryffindors are still on the ground, high fiving and talking to the other students.

‘You’d think they’d start in their position by now’, Seulgi rolls her eyes, adjusting her gloves and tying her hair in preparation for the game, already getting slightly pissed at the Gryffindor’s actions.

‘They like showing off. That’s part of their trait’, Baekhyun points out, resting his hands on his broom and swinging his legs back and forth out of boredom, Madam Hooch telling the Gryffindor off and commanding them to start at their positions already.

Slytherin’s seeker, Sunyoung, flies past Seulgi and Baekhyun, resting between them as she grimaces at the loud laughter of the opposing team, rolling her eyes and looking down at her freshly done nails before putting on her gloves.

‘How I can wipe the grin off Chanyeol’s face right now’, she mutters, the winds blowing against their hair violently, the evening turning chilly despite the summer sun still bright out against the blue skies, the stadium full to the brim with every single Hogwarts students sitting, waving their banners which where usually painted in burgundy and yellow with the Gryffindor lion drawn on it, roaring loudly for the opposing team with only a small section of the stadium holding onto the silver and green banner of the Slytherins, Baekhyun spotting Jongdae and Minseok in the mixture of the red and gold lion with their small and humble green and silver poster with a badly drawn snake on it curtsy of Jongdae. He smiles at them, acknowledging their support.

‘You’ve got to wait in line. I already bet on Baekhyun to be the first to hit Chanyeol off his broom’, Seulgi converses with Sunyoung, laughing when Baekhyun once again glares at her.

‘I told you, Captain told me she’s going to kill me if I lay a hand on him again’, Baekhyun informs his team who’s adamant that he’s going to go batshit crazy over the boy.

‘Hey, Byun Baekhyun!’

‘Speak of the devil’, Sunyoung whispers to Baekhyun, ‘Have fun with him’, she pats Baekhyun before flying above him and on her position, Seulgi watching as Chanyeol slowly approached their side of the field until he’s in front of the Slytherin Chaser.

‘What do you want?’, Baekhyun gives Chanyeol a second before he flies away from Chanyeol, not giving the Gryffindor seeker to respond to him, flying around before going back to his position once Chanyeol gives up and goes back to his side of the field.

‘If I didn’t know any better, I’d think Chanyeol is just poking for your attention for you to notice him’, Seulgi watches as Chanyeol glares at him, his bottom lip pouting when he spins around to go back to his Gryffindor team.

‘I’ve given him my attention and my fist plenty of times. What has he exactly done with that’, Baekhyun looks down to see Chanyeol playing around with his other team members, Hooch blowing the whistle for a final warning for the Gryffindors to get into position to get the game started.

‘Haha, just give him a kiss, maybe that’ll be more effective than another fist on the jaw’, Seulgi stands in front of their hoops, already on guard once the two teams begin to stand in proper position, ‘Then you wouldn’t have to spend the night in the Hospital wing too’

Their banter is interrupted with Madam Hooch’s hands raised in the air, ordering attention as she prepares to start the game, the whistle resting between her lips as she eyes both teams, giving them warning looks since she knew full well the battle between Slytherin and Gryffindor ran deeper than just a game.

The whistle was loud and high-pitched, screeching for everyone to hear, the flying Quaffle thrown up in the air, Baekhyun automatically leaving Seulgi’s side at once, racing his way over to the middle, his robes flying through the wind, his hand already reaches out to touch the grasp of the leather ball around his gloved hands, the loud voice of Hufflepuff Yixing shouting over the speaker and commentating over their every movement, Baekhyun’s name being shouted as he grabs the Quaffle. Baekhyun instantly spots a bludger spinning around in his direction, reverting his broom back to avoid the iron ball which instantly hit a Gryffindor chaser.

‘And Slytherin Chaser, Byun Baekhyun, grabs the Quaffle and quickly avoids the oncoming Bludger’

He doesn’t pay attention to anything else but the hooped goals in front of him being guarded by not only Jongin but Chanyeol who stays in front of the hoops, his eyes focused on Baekhyun and hands reached out. He hears the whooshing of brooms going past him, the Gryffindor chasers surrounding him in all sides, but they forgot to trap him from below, so he quickly shoots down and past their blocking, kicking his broom to emit more speed until he’s right in front of the goal, throwing the Quaffle to the left after flying over to the right hoop, throwing both Jongin and Chanyeol who flies to the right hoop in defence.

‘And the Slytherins score ten points within the first minute of the game! Ten points for Slytherins!’

A crowd of angry boos goes over the stadium as they see Taeyong flying from below, grabbing the Quaffle once it passes through the hoop and fall to the ground, throwing it back to Baekhyun who instantly flies over, pushing Chanyeol out of the way and throwing it again at the goal, not even a minute after he previously scored.

‘And another ten points for Slytherin!’

‘That’s it. Chanyeol, go get him’, Chanyeol hears his captain growling at him, giving him an order as the Quaffle continues to find it’s way to Baekhyun somehow, despite the intense training they put on their chasers to try and beat him.

‘I’ve got it’, Chanyeol nods his head, looking around the field to check if the snitch has been revealed yet before leaving the Jongin’s side and flying over to Baekhyun in the middle of the field who was trying to get the Quaffle out of the Gryffindor’s hands.

‘Hey shortie’, he calls out to him as he flies beside the other, reaching his arm out to lean on Baekhyun’s shoulder, being nonchalant despite the intense game.

‘Don’t make me punch you again like last time’, Baekhyun warns the tall Gryffindor, glaring at the arm leaning on him, ‘Now, get off me, I’m busy’, Baekhyun tries to push away, gaining up speed, but there’s no point trying to outspeed a seeker continues to stick by his side like glue.

‘I just wanna talk. The snitch is nowhere to be found and I’m getting bored’, Chanyeol leans back, this time leaning his head on Baekhyun’s shoulders, getting braver since they both were racing around the field. Baekhyun was confused on how the idiot can keep his balance. Baekhyun spots Taeyong and Mark having a hard time getting past Gryffindor’s chasers, looking up for his help.

‘Move, I’m busy’, Baekhyun warns the latter once more before leaving him behind, racing to the other end with his arms reached out, signalling for Taeyong to throw. Before he can get a good grip of the Quaffle, he spots another Bludger running around, his broom swerving to the side to avoid it but missing the Quaffle which was thrown at him, speeding past him and landing straight to Chanyeol who was behind him, the ball resting on his hand.

‘Give me that!’, Baekhyun screams at him, racing his way back towards the Seeker, ‘You’re not allowed to touch the Quaffle’

‘But it landed to me’

‘Give it!’, Baekhyun reaches his hands out in an attempt to rip the ball out of Chanyeol’s hands only for the Seeker to move sideways, the Quaffle still attached to him.

Looks like Slytherin is finding trouble with the Quaffle being in Gryffindor Seeker, Park Chanyeol’s hands.

Yixing announces through the microphone as Baekhyun and Chanyeol begin a dance of snatch and avoid, both their hands outstretched, Baekhyun trying to snatch the ball and Chanyeol trying to avoid the pissy Chaser. Baekhyun can hear the laughter from Chanyeol which fueled him even more, kicking at his broom to edge closer to him.

‘Can you please give it to me, you can’t even throw it to your team! That’s against the rules!’, Baekhyun is starting to get annoyed at the way Chanyeol was holding up the game, both their teams looking at them as they continue to dance around the field like a bunch of five-year-olds.

‘Like I said. I’m bored’, Chanyeol points out, drawing back and getting nearer to the Slytherin’s side of the field, raising an eyebrow to one of the Gryffindor chaser’s.

‘I said give it!’, Baekhyun flails his arm around, just about to hit the Quaffle right out of Chanyeol’s arms, but the pair and everyone in the stadium gets distracted by the loud roaring of the screens emitted by the top of the towers which surrounds the field, the kiss cam dinging in alarm, confetti flying in the air as it spots its first couple.

‘And the game is paused for the Kiss Cam!’

Yixing interjects, everyone’s cheering stops when they spot the small circular camera flying around like a Bludger, in a frantic to zoom into the couple which had triggered its Chemistry spell.

‘Oh, it looks like the Kiss Cam has spotted its target and…’

Yixing stops his sentence, looking rather shocked as he squints his eyes, trying to see if he saw wrong.

But no, apparently the whole stadium thought they saw wrong since everyone stood there quiet, their eyes just staring at the screen as they spot two players on their brooms being filmed, Baekhyun’s arms still flailed out in midmotion, looking directly at the Kiss Cam in shock and confusion, Chanyeol almost dropping the Quaffle at the sight of his face on the Big Screen.

‘It looks like our beloved Park Chanyeol and Slytherin’s best Chaser has garnered the lucky Kiss Cam to them’

Yixing confirms the sight before them, looking back to the field where the whole team is frozen, the game is paused as the two opposing team stares at their two best players in confusion, Seulgi flying over to give Baekhyun a ‘what the fuck’ look.

‘What the hell is going on?’, Minseok whispers to Jongdae, slowly bringing down his poster and looking around his section, seeing everyone whispering.

Suddenly, a crescendo of chanting begins to fill the stadium, Jongin clapping his hands from the other side of the field as he chants out ‘kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss’ which is followed by the rest of the students in the stadium, a repetition of rhythmic beats as the initial shock waves past the arena, followed by an excitement of the actual action that follows when the Kiss Cam is pointed at the two people.

‘The whole crowd is excited! I’ve never seen a loud cheer like this before! It looks like Baekhyun and Chanyeol needs to put their differences to the side for five seconds. Do you think they could do that?’

Kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss.

Chanyeol and Baekhyun! What have you been hiding from us?

Baekhyun is going to kill Yixing after the game, hearing his loud and excited voice booming over the field. He looks towards Chanyeol who awkwardly lays his hand back down, the Quaffle resting on his lap, his eyes awkwardly looking up to make contact with his.

‘Did you rig the Kiss Cam?’, Baekhyun hisses, trying not to let the chanting get to him.

‘Why the fuck would I rig it?’, Chanyeol points out, lucky that their conversation cannot be heard, ‘And if I’m going to rig it, I’m not going to rig it to kiss you of all people’

‘Then what in Merlin’s beard is going on?!’, Baekhyun gives an accusing glare at Chanyeol, looking back to the audience and hearing their chants turn louder.

‘C’mon guys! You know the rules! You gotta kiss for the game to proceed!’

‘Dude, just fucking kiss him!’, Baekhyun hears his captain shouting orders from behind him, turning around to see his whole team staring daggers towards their direction.

‘Fuck it’, Baekhyun is the first to act between the two, reaching his hand out to grab at Chanyeol’s collar, dragging the clueless boy towards him, crashing his lips with the latter, an uproar of cheers. It was awkward and force, super uncomfortable since Baekhyun had to lean in, his broom not being the most stable thing to lean on, his legs shaking as he tries to keep balance.

It should’ve just been a small peck. A quick kiss that lasts less than a second, but goddamn, Chanyeol’s tight grip on his wrist didn’t let him that much option but to stay still eyes wide open as he makes eye contact with Chanyeol, their lips still resting on each other, Baekhyun’s soft lips against Chanyeol’s chapped ones. It was when Chanyeol’s lips start to move against his did Baekhyun snap back into reality, feeling his stomach being punched continuously at the feeling of Chanyeol actually kissing him.

He lets it happen though, leaning in which earned another uproar from the crowd at the sight of the two rivals – well – not being rivals after all.

‘Put some lip balm on’, Baekhyun whispers the moment they finally part their lips, Baekhyun smirking when he sees Chanyeol’s dazed expression, kissing his cheek and lifting his hand up where Chanyeol sees the Quaffle ball resting on his hand.

‘You son of a-’

‘See you later, Chanyeol’, Baekhyun playfully flies past Chanyeol, the game restarting immediately with the screams of his team cheering him on as he zooms past the shocked Gryffindor team, Jongin trying to find his movements as he flies over to try and block the Quaffle, but it was no use, Baekhyun had gotten under all of them once again.

‘Park Chanyeol! Just get the snitch and get back next to Jongin!’, he hears his captain ordering him with such loud voice he almost flinched in fear had it not been coming from the tiniest person he’d ever seen.

‘Dude, you’ve got a lot of explaining to do’, Jongin breathes out, looking shocked and fucking over the moon at his friend’s sudden advancement over Baekhyun, ‘I didn’t even know you liked him’

‘Neither did I’, Chanyeol breathes out, leaving Baekhyun to be entertained with the other chasers and beaters, the bludgers trying hard to get at least one person down. Chanyeol’s mind is still fazed, his eyes glued on the way Baekhyun’s light brown hair flowed across the wind, contrasting his black curls, the Slytherin robes flowing past him, his broom speeding up and flying circles around the Gryffindor chasers.

He almost got distracted by the way Baekhyun balled his fists in the air whenever their team scored or whenever Mark managed to tackle the Quaffle out of their opposing team. He almost got lost into Baekhyun’s movement, but his senses quickly picked up something golden, a small speck flying right above them.

‘See you later’, Chanyeol quickly whispers to Jongin, taking his chance since the Slytherin seeker hadn’t sensed the snitch yet, his Varapidos zooming past all the other players, his robes flowing with the fierce winds, his eyes on the prize.

He was going to get that little sucker.

‘Quickly! Catch up to him!’, he hears the orders from the opposing team, meaning he’s got company. He turns around for a second, seeing Slytherin’s seeker, Sunyoung, following right behind him. He steps up his pace, dipping under the stadium seats, flying inside the anatomy of the stadium, the snitch flying right in front of him, frantic and random but quick and hard to catch.

And Park Chanyeol dips inside the stadium to catch the snitch! Will the Gryffindor or Slytherin Seeker come out holding the snitch?!

He hears another broom zooming past him, the flowing hair of his opposing seeker flying past him. It had become a battle between the two, Sunyoung kicking a piece of wood which comes off and hits Chanyeol on the leg, causing the Seeker to whine in pain, but he carries on, relying on his broom to whizz past her, dipping down before racing up in an attempt to overtake her, his eyes forever glued on the snitch.

The flowing banner of blue and bronze flies through the air as the two seekers escape under the stadium, reuniting back into the field with the snitch just as far gone as before.

And the two seekers are still at each other’s throat for the snitch!

Chanyeol slits his eyes in concentration, feeling the air turn colder the higher they get up, the misty clouds touching his cheeks, his hands reached out.

Oh, what’s this? A Bludger?! The two seekers better watch out!

At Yixing’s announcement, Chanyeol turns around to see another frantic looking ball flying their way, turning to the left and away from its direction, seeing it hit the other seeker on the back, his opposing seeker falling to the ground with her broom in her hand.

Chanyeol didn’t have time to look at the outcome, his hands outstretched to grab the snitch which was right at the tip of his fingers, so close, so very, very….

Baekhyun has scored yet another ten points to Slytherins! That’s another ten points to Slytherin! Will be making another score before Chanyeol can retrieve the snitch! Oh, it looks like Slytherin’s seeker has gone back up and recovered from their previous fall!

Chanyeol swerves to the left and stoops back down when the snitch makes a hysterical turn, his hair flying with the wind.

‘C’mon’, he mumbles to himself, the wind blocking himself from hearing his voice, ‘C’mon!’, he yells, this time edging even closer to the snitch, seeing Sunyoung racing forward right towards his direction, their arms reached out for the golden snitch that will finish the game.

Chanyeol blames his senses as a Seeker. He blames his eyes reverting to the field, a Bludger in full motion, racing its way to hit a chaser too busy trying to score as many points as he can before Chanyeol grabs the snitch. He sees the ball about to fly across the field and hit Baekhyun in the head.

What the…

Chanyeol retracts his hand and places them both on his broom and zooms past the snitch, leaving it behind for the Slytherins to catch, his eyes darting to his new target, both his arms reached out as he grabs Baekhyun’s waist and drags him downwards to the ground, the two of them just missing the Bludger from hitting them.

Chanyeol’s broom had gone too fast to stop all of a sudden, the both of them falling onto the grass field with Chanyeol cradling Baekhyun around his arm as he takes the hit of the fall, feeling the solid ground practically punch his back, a whining groan of pain escaping his lips.

And the winner of the game is Slytherins! 450 point for Slytherin! 450 against 290!

Chanyeol hears the final scores of the game, already feeling the wrath of his team drilling on him.

‘My captain’s going to kill me’, he whispers to himself, stretching his arm on the grass, laying on his back and accepting his fate.

‘What the fuck is wrong with you?’, Baekhyun whines, massaging his wrist as he gets up from Chanyeol’s chest.

‘I just saved your life and game. Treat me gently please’, is the last thing Chanyeol says before he feels himself let go, his vision going dark and his consciousness slowly fading.

Chanyeol wakes up in the infirmary, basically his second home by this point – feeling his whole body turn numb before a rush of ache replaces it. His vision finally returns, his eyes staring at Madam Pomfrey, her hands on her hips as she shakes her head disapprovingly and tuts at Chanyeol.

‘You should move your stuff here Mr Park Chanyeol’, she complains, pouring liquid painkillers into a cup and handing it over to him, ‘You might as well live here with me! You could be my intern!’

‘Nice to see you too Madam Pomfrey’, Chanyeol whines, not even complaining as he struggles to get up, downing the ugly substance in one go, the disgusting taste seemingly familiar after downing it a couple of times already during the year.

‘You really need to slow down Chanyeol. Thank god you didn’t fracture your spine! That would’ve taken a whole lot of fixing to do’, she continues to lecture the boy, running around his area, replacing old medicines with new ones, placing food by the bedside table.

‘How long have I been out’

‘Two days’

‘Two? Fuck… That’s not enough time’, he whispers to himself, the memories of the game flooding back to him. His team is probably still pissy at him for fucking up.

‘I wouldn’t worry about your team members committing your murder’, Madam Pomfrey read Chanyeol’s worried expression, ‘I should be more worried about that boy of yours’

‘Boy of mine?’, Chanyeol tilts his head to the side, ruffling the back of his hair as he still feels a headache coming on.

‘That Byun Baekhyun. You should probably go and visit him after you’re able to stand’

‘Why would I do that?’, Chanyeol snorts, laying back down on his bed and closing his eyes, trying to get the banging pain out of his head and back.

‘He’s been followed around by everybody right after the match ended. He’s been hiding in the nooks and crooks of this building just so he can get away from them’

‘Well, it sucks to be him’, Chanyeol snorts, trying to get back to sleep and let the painkillers take effect.

‘Yes, it absolutely does suck to be Chanyeol’s boyfriend’

‘Chanyeol’s what?!’, Chanyeol gets back up from his bed, sitting on the mattress with his eyes wide, staring at Madam Pomfrey.

‘Well, after the whole fiasco with the Kiss Cam and your choice to save Baekhyun over the snitch confirmed to the whole school that the both of you are dating’

‘But we’re not’

‘Then why did you save Baekhyun from the Bludger? It isn’t like Baekhyun hadn’t been hit before, I out of all the people here know that’, Madam Pomfrey announces, recalling the time Baekhyun was under her care more than a handful of times due to those beastly Bludgers.

‘I– I don’t-’

‘Stop stuttering boy’, Madam Pomfrey laughs at him, finally clearing up his side and retiring for the day, ‘I suspect you’ve got a lot of explaining to do, so rest up! I don’t want you back here for another month’

Chanyeol didn’t like the idea of sleeping anymore. Which is why he finds himself tiptoeing around the school halls in the middle of the night, the empty and dark corridors lit by only the small light from the tip of his wand followed by the paintings telling Chanyeol to turn off the bright light.

‘Shhh, I’m going to get caught because of you’, Chanyeol places a finger on his lips, trying to get them all to shut up, but there’s arrogance in art and Chanyeol can definitely see it.

‘Boy, if you don’t turn that light off I’m going to sing until the whole school is awake!’, one of the ladies threatens Chanyeol, the Gryffindor only rolling his eyes in annoyance before turning another corner and pissing off another set of paintings.

‘Boy, can you just get into one room and leave us to sleep?’

‘You’re paintings. You can sleep all day if you want’, Chanyeol argues back, not having the patience to deal with even more annoying people, not if he’s got an annoying one stuck in his head at the moment.

‘Chanyeol, please, get inside a room now. I can sense footsteps behind you’, Chanyeol hears a soft voice of a little girl inside a portrait, seeing her gesture to a door he doesn’t recognise – or maybe he did but it was too dark – yet the footsteps had become apparent since Chanyeol had started to hear it too, his hand quickly reaching out to twist open the doorknob of the unrecognisable door, rushing in to hide from whoever was walking behind him, closing the door and leaning on it.

Chanyeol is still in his hospital gown, his legs and arms getting goosebumps over the chills of the room, his wand directing him further inside a big hall-like room which he doesn’t remember ever existing.

He sees more light surrounding the big room the further he got into the centre, letting his wand light fade out as he walks over, seeing an interior close to what seems like a common room. A warm fireplace perched by the side, sofas surrounding it with a green rug laid on the centre, everything was in silver and green yet in the flash of a moment, the mixture of burgundy and gold starts to seep their way through the furniture, one sofa turning completely into the colours of his house whilst the rug on the floor was split in half of the two opposing colours.

He noticed another being inside the room, a lump in the form of Baekhyun sitting on the floor with his legs up and arms wrapped around it, his chin resting on his knees.

‘Baekhyun?’, he calls out, making the boy flinch in his direction, his eyes squinting to see a better look at Chanyeol.

‘What the hell? How did you find this place?

‘What place? Where is this?’

‘God, you just found the Room of Requirement and you don’t even know it’, Baekhyun rolls his eyes, kissing his teeth as he turns back to focus his gaze on the crackling fire.

‘Shit, this room still exists?’, Chanyeol looks around, admiring the art on the walls and sculptures hanged around. Baekhyun didn’t answer him, just continue to stare at the warm fire.

Chanyeol suddenly remembers what Madam Pomfrey had told him, a shift of awkward silence wrapping around the two which didn’t sit well with Chanyeol. They may be rivals and they may not like each other, but one thing they weren’t to each other were awkward strangers and Chanyeol was beginning to feel that.

‘So… My boyfriend huh?’

‘Please don’t’, Baekhyun whines, ‘I’ve been burying myself here to hide from that stupid word’

‘Why didn’t you just deny it. I know I would’, Chanyeol speaks out, sitting on the sofa beside Baekhyun’s, leaning his arm on his leg and playing with his hands.

‘How could I? You put on quite a show during the game’, Baekhyun sarcastically recalls the moment, ‘I couldn’t even celebrate the win since everyone was up to my ass about you’

‘Just say the usual. I’m a dumb idiot who does things by impulse’

‘And why exactly is your impulse to save me at that moment?’, Baekhyun turns, curiosity burning in his eyes, ‘Huh?’, Chanyeol senses the latter waiting for an answer, his eyes glaring at him.

‘I just didn’t like the idea of seeing you hurt, that’s all’, Chanyeol shrugs, yet it added so many questions that Baekhyun had been dying to know.

‘But why? You’ve seen me hurt before, hell we usually finish the game hurting each other’, Baekhyun points out, ‘What’s so different about now? Huh? What was so different about this game?’

‘I don’t fucking know’, Chanyeol yells out in confusion, being just as frustrated with himself as Baekhyun was, ‘Maybe because we kissed?’

‘What’s that got to do with anything?’

‘Why are you so mad at me for?’, Chanyeol defends himself, not really sure why he’s starting to get riled up but isn’t it always like this whenever Baekhyun is around him? ‘It’s the Kiss Cam’s fault, blame that stupid camera!’

‘It was rigged. I know it was’, Baekhyun mutters to himself, not bothering to argue back with the tall Gryffindor, leaning his chin back on his knees and avoiding Chanyeol, looking ahead at the fire crackling in front of him with an orange glow which reflected on his skin.

Chanyeol would agree with that statement. It would make more sense than to admit that they actually had some form of tension between them that might trigger the spell Professor Slughorn had specifically added. Chanyeol has never found his relationship any more than just two rivals annoying each other. In all his years that he’s been in Hogwarts, not once did he look at Baekhyun and see a cute boy with fluttering eyelashes, thin lips which pouted when he leans on his knees, his cheeks slightly chubby but still cute, sharp jaws and fair skin.

Stupid Kiss Cam is putting things in my head.

Chanyeol closes his eyes, trying to dismiss his thoughts over the boy sitting in front of him.

‘Just… Tell them it’s rigged and say we’re not dating, okay?’, Chanyeol’s final statement and final conversation with Baekhyun ended with just that before he retired for the night, walking back to the door he came from, whispering the simple Lumos spell and making his way back to the hospital wing.

‘D’you want to go somewhere else for lunch?’, Minseok whispers once he spots Baekhyun looking glum, playing with his food at the corner of the Slytherin table, his robe hood over his head, his face can barely be seen. The Hufflepuff prefect noticed instantly Baekhyun’s sudden change of expression, despite the boy not being talkative, he’s not usually this glum either.

‘I’m fine’

‘You don’t look fine’, Minseok pushes on, reaching a handout and holding on Baekhyun’s wrist, forcing him to stop twisting his pasta around his fork, ‘Tell me, is it the whole Chanyeol thing’

Baekhyun didn’t answer, but his expressionless face was enough for Minseok to understand. It wasn’t an everyday thing to be linked with the Park Chanyeol, added onto the fact that Baekhyun was not on everyone’s first thought in ever being associated with Chanyeol romantically.

‘You know, just give it another week and I’m sure everyone will be over it’, Jongdae jumps in, chewing on his sausage roll, not really caring about Baekhyun’s dilemma, continuing to chew on his food whilst Minseok glares at him for his lack of support.

‘You’re the worst friend in the world’, Minseok mumbles to himself, pushing Jongdae when he tries to lean on him.

‘Guys, just leave it’, Baekhyun ends the conversation right there, giving up when he feels his fellow Slytherins looking at him with odd glares, probably because they felt betrayed that someone from their house would even be in the same room with a Gryffindor.

‘And to think wizards actually thought segregation and division would cease to exists after the Battle of Hogwarts’, Minseok tuts, looking around to find that everything seemed to stay the same, different tables for different houses which splits people from each other due to their difference in character and forcing them to pit against each other. Anyone would have thought that the first law to be passed after the war would be the removal of the systematic segregation in schools, yet here they are now, pressuring two people into feeling guilty that they might have feelings for each other due to the fact of the different colour of their robes,

‘I’m gonna go to my common room’, Baekhyun announces, standing up and leaving his untouched pasta, Jongdae and Minseok looking up worriedly at their friend’s sullen face, yet they knew they couldn’t do anything since Baekhyun, in Slytherin fashion, would never listen to them and acted on his own feelings, walking away from the Great Hall, leaving behind his two friends in the Slytherin table who slowly rises once they acknowledge that they’re no longer welcomed to the table anymore.

‘Dudes, what are you doing?’, they hear a voice call out to them, Jongdae holding his tray in one hand whilst reaching out and stealing a garlic bread from Minseok’s tray. They both turn around to find Seulgi, Slytherin’s Keeper, waving her hand at them.

‘Uh… What can we do for you?’, Minseok shyly speaks out, sliding his glasses up and nervously looking around.

‘Do for me?’, she chuckles at his formality, ‘Just sit back down, it’ll be a hassle to try and find a seat again’, Seulgi informs them, eating her food and speaking with her mouth full.

‘But Baekhyun’s not here anymore’

‘So? Doesn’t mean you can’t stay here’, Seulgi announces, making the pair look at each other with odd confusion. This is the first time they haven’t been kicked out in the Slytherin table whenever Baekhyun wasn’t around.

‘You sure?’, Jongdae asks, just to make sure she wasn’t just playing around, but with the look of her playful and calm expression, they trusted her well enough to sit back down to where they were before, Seulgi sliding down the bench to sit next to them.

‘I wonder how Baekhyun got to be friends with two prefects’, Seulgi looks over, seeing the smartly and proper dressed prefects, both wearing round glasses, their tie proper and shirt pressed.

‘Baekhyun was actually the one who suggested I go for prefect’, Minseok informs the friendly Slytherin, ‘He says it’ll help overcome my shyness’

‘Well, has it?’

‘That’s still pending’, the trio laugh together, Jongdae also joining in the fun by being the bearer of exposure, listing all the embarrassing things Minseok and Baekhyun had ever done starting the first year where they all met at the station.

Maybe segregation was slowly being broken down after all.

‘Uitutis honos’

‘Excuse me?’, Baekhyun looks around at the voice which had suddenly whispered to him in the halls of the school building, ‘Who was that?’

‘Uitulis honos’, the voice whispers again, getting closer towards Baekhyun despite the student not seeing a single person walking in the same corridor as him, ‘Over here’, the voice once again announces itself, Baekhyun’s eyes falling on a little girl inside a painting, her hands dainty and small, waving and smiling at him, her hair in pigtails, her dress seemingly from the 19^th century.

‘Oh, hey’, Baekhyun breathes a sigh of relief at the source of the voice, ‘God, I thought you were a ghost or something’

‘I could be… The real me is technically dead’

‘Gee, thanks for that. I’m never going to sleep again’

‘Haha, Chanyeol never told me you were funny’

‘Chanyeol?’, the name which Baekhyun has been hearing over the past week alarms him yet again, his skin itching to know why Chanyeol has been uttering his name in front of a painting, ‘What has Chanyeol said about me’

‘Nothing much… Mainly that you’ve been annoying’, she shrugs, sitting down on the hay behind her, the landscape of what seems to be a rural area in the fields of Scotland contrasting to her well designed and royal dress, which goes to show that she didn’t belong in the landscape. She must have been roaming around.

‘Well, you can tell Chanyeol that he’s been annoying too’

‘You can tell him that yourself’

‘Huh?’

‘Uitulis honos’, she repeats the first words she whispered to Baekhyun, ‘That’s the Gryffindor common room password’

‘Wait… Seriously?’

‘Yeah, Chanyeol’s been cooped up inside the whole day. He missed his morning class and now he’s missing lunch and I got worried. I thought it was perfect running into you’, she grins at him, ‘You can tell him to eat something’

‘Why would I do that?’

‘Aren’t you his boyfriend?’

‘For the love of…’, Baekhyun didn’t feel the need to finish off his sentence, being too frustrated at being addressed once again as Chanyeol’s boyfriend, ‘I’m not his boyfriend’

‘Huh? But the whole school is talking about it’

‘It’s just a rumour’

‘A rumour you don’t bother to deny?’

Baekhyun didn’t feel the need to argue with a little girl, so he just rolled his eyes and walked away, seemingly giving up with trying to find a quiet place to keep everyone out of his way.

‘The Gryffindor common room is just to the right!’, she screams at him to which he just ignored and continued to walk straight.

‘I’m not going!’

What a fucking lie.

‘Uitulus honos’, Baekhyun hisses out to the fat lady looking strangely at him as she spots a student with silver and green robes walking towards the Gryffindor common room after walking in circles before turning left to the Gryffindor towers, muttering nonsense to himself, murdering his conscience for not being there to talk some sense into him once he arrived at the front of the entrance.

‘How do you know the password?’, she raises an eyebrow, not letting him in yet due to her suspicious feeling.

‘I just do… Can you let me in now?’, he pleads, turning around and feeling paranoid over being seen around this area.

‘I must warn you. The students are still sour about the win so, you should leave quick’, she warns him before opening the door, allowing the first Slytherin to ever walk in the warm common room which looked exactly like the one he always found in the Room of Requirements, sofas wrapped around the warm red fireplace, along with their banners hung proudly by the walls, the windows showing a clear blue sky instead of the glassed windows of the Slytherin room which presents them the clear view of the lake.

Déjà vu, but in reverse is what Baekhyun walks into, his eyes falling on Chanyeol sitting on the floor, facing the fireplace as he leans his chin on his knees, his arms wrapped around his legs.

‘You haven’t had lunch yet’

‘Baekhyun?’, Chanyeol turns immediately, ‘What the hell? How did you get in here?’

‘Some girl inside a painting told me the password and asked me to check on you’, Baekhyun shrugs, Chanyeol whining since he knew exactly who the little girl is.

‘She’s so nosy sometimes’, he continues to whine, ruffling his hair and burying his face on his knees.

‘Care to explain how you got a painting to worry for you?’, Baekhyun points out, feeling out of place in the warm colours of red and gold surrounding him, leaning on the wall with his arms folded across his chest.

‘Too much attention is overrated’, Chanyeol whispers, but Baekhyun hears it, laughing at the usual attention seeking seeker whining about getting too much attention.

‘Well, that’s a change’

‘Shut up, you’re not helping’, Chanyeol pouts, Baekhyun noticing despite his lean figure, Chanyeol had chubby cheeks, squished whenever he leans on his knees.

‘You’re fault for saving me’

‘Are you fucking kidding me?’

‘I’m just saying’

‘Be grateful’, Chanyeol glares at the smirking Slytherin, actually loving the fact that Chanyeol was going through the same bullshit as he was, ‘At least say thanks if you’re going to be like this’

‘Hey, d’you wanna ditch the rest of the day?’, Baekhyun ignores Chanyeol’s whines, offering something he never thought he would give to Chanyeol, ‘I only have potions after class and I know Professor Slughorn doesn’t mind me ditching’

‘You’re abusing your teacher’s adoration for you’

‘I could be’, Baekhyun nods his head at Chanyeol’s accusation, ‘But the question still stands… Wanna ditch with me?’

‘So, is the room of requirements, like, your home?’, Chanyeol mutters as soon as they walk in the familiar cosy room, a mixture of Gryffindor’s common room’s interior and Slytherin’s colours, something which meshed rather well, Baekhyun had noticed.

‘I chill here from time to time… It’s not like we need to use this room to train for a secret war anyway’, Baekhyun points out, jumping onto the bed with his robes still on, laying on his back and looking up at the black ceilings, seeing the cracks and dust piling up from the nearly untouched room.

‘Is this the reason why it takes hours to find you?’, Chanyeol says aloud whilst making his way to sit down on the canopy bed by the side.

‘Oh, so you follow me? You really are obsessed’, Baekhyun raises an accusing brow, Chanyeol throwing a pillow at him.

‘I just wanted to get under your skin for once’, Chanyeol explains, ‘You’re always so successful at annoying me yet I can never seem to annoy you back… And that annoys me more’

‘Wow. What a great excuse to make my life a living misery for the past four years’

‘Four? Don’t you mean fifth?’, Chanyeol points out, finding it comfortable enough between them so he can lay down on his back on the same bed, beside Baekhyun and look up at the same ceiling.

‘No, I actually didn’t mind you during first year’, Baekhyun confesses, making Chanyeol turn his head to the side to look at him, ‘You were annoying, don’t get me wrong, but I mean, we were all new and nervous and I thought you were a great icebreaker when you made everyone laugh during Herbology. It turned out being one of the classes I enjoyed thanks to you’

‘Oh?’

‘Well… Not that much… It was still boring’

‘Can you imagine if we had spoken to each other in the first year? Who knows, we could’ve been friends’, Chanyeol points out, making Baekhyun squirm at the thought.

‘No thanks’

‘Hey’

‘Look, just because we’re both in a bit of an inconvenient pickle doesn’t mean we’re suddenly going to jump into being the best of friends’, Baekhyun turns his head so he’s making eye contact with the Gryffindor boy, ‘You’re still annoying and I hate you’

‘Well, I hate you too’, Chanyeol moans out, ‘Because of you, we lost the game. Everyone in my team has been giving me the cold shoulder because of you’

‘Technically it was still your fault since you saved me’

If your lips hadn’t been so soft maybe I-’, it was too late before Chanyeol realised what he was saying, stopping in mid-sentence, turning his head to face the ceiling, breaking his eye contact with the Slytherin. He’s suddenly become too focused on the differently curved cracks along the wall, counting them one by one.

There’s silence between them, awkward and heavy.

‘Well, maybe if you had put on lip balm I wouldn’t have hated the kiss that much’, Baekhyun is the first to break their silence, making Chanyeol stiffen at his response, his eyes wide as he turns his head back, ‘It was so chapped during the game, it felt like I was kissing sandpaper’

‘Sandpaper?’

‘It’s a muggle thing’

‘Oh’, the pair goes back to awkward silence, Chanyeol staring at Baekhyun’s side profile, looking at his sleek jawline that he keeps on noticing ever since the game where Baekhyun’s hands drag him forward, bashing their lips together. Baekhyun didn’t turn back to stare at him, the boy’s eyes fluttering slowly to a close, his breathing turning slow and rhythmic as the silence goes on, yet the awkwardness slowly fades, the both of them laying on the bed, side by side, only an inch separating them.

They make a routine of this, Chanyeol walking inside the room of requirements every night, sneaking out from his friend’s hold, waiting until he hears Jongin’s snoring until he tiptoes out in his pyjamas.

‘You look cute’, Baekhyun calls out, watching Chanyeol with bed hair walking in with his blanket still wrapped around him, laughing at the way his ends flew up.

Sometimes it was Baekhyun walking in late in the room after having to speak to Jongdae and Minseok during their midnight hang around the school corridor before retiring the night and going their separate ways, Baekhyun’s eyes falling to find Chanyeol already sleeping in bed, his cheeks puffed and squished against the pillow.

They didn’t know why they made a routine out of it since they barely spoke to each other during school hours and the rumours of their relationship had started to wither once people started to notice that they never glance at each other let alone interact like a couple. Everyone had believed for the longest of time that they had started dating or that they were secretly dating before so, yet Chanyeol and Baekhyun gave no indication of it and over time, it had stopped.

Since Baekhyun is in his fifth year, the rise of worry amongst his year group about their O.W.L exams has also helped wither away the rumours, everyone burying themselves inside the library, memorising the whole textbook and practising for their potions practical that will begin in a couple of weeks when the O.W.L week begins.

Baekhyun knew that the library, despite being big in stature, will be filled with students and the noise will slowly rise as the day breaks, so he uses his advantage of sneaking in the Room of Requirements with a backpack full of books and notes he had taken over the course of the year and in between his Quidditch practice.

‘Chanyeol?’, he looks over inside the room, seeing another person sitting by the chairs with his own piles of books and his hair ruffles, ‘What are you doing here?’, Chanyeol looks up at the sound of Baekhyun’s voice, seeing the Slytherin walking towards the table with his bulky backpack, a loud thud emitting when he drops it on the table, knowing fully well that he probably has textbooks inside.

‘Jongin was distracting me’, Chanyeol explains, feeling slightly awkward since they never usually meet up in the middle of the day, their long hour conversations happening during the event of the night when they’re both drowsy and tired.

‘Oh, right’, Baekhyun unzips his backpack awkwardly, piling his textbooks to the side whilst he scrolls through his notebook. Chanyeol noticed something dropping on the floor whilst Baekhyun was busy pulling out his pen and paper.

‘What is this?’, Chanyeol voiced out the moment he picked up the rectangular device, looking at the screen which had a picture of Baekhyun with Jongdae and Minseok in their robes and it seems like they were sitting inside the train on the way to Hogwarts.

‘Oh, that’s my phone’, Baekhyun answers, watching Chanyeol curiously observing the device. He starts to laugh when the latter starts shaking the device, trying to see the function of whatever a phone is.

‘Here’, Baekhyun reaches out, ‘It’s a muggle device and I have to unlock it with my fingerprint’

‘Fingerprint?’

‘That’s how muggle secure their most prized possession’

‘This thing is their prized possession?’, Chanyeol raises a questioning brow, looking back down to see if it had any special powers that it can do. Maybe it had special abilities, ‘What does it do?’

‘Well… It sends and receives messages’

‘Like a howler?’

‘Yeah… But without the… Howling?’, Baekhyun giggles, whilst leaning over Chanyeol, his hands reached out as he guides the latter through his home screen and around his apps, showing him his social media which Chanyeol didn’t understand.

‘Why would anyone be interested in seeing what you this morning?’, Chanyeol raises another questioning eyebrow, Baekhyun quickly leaving his Instagram account and showing Chanyeol his games instead, something the Gryffindor might enjoy more.

‘What’s this?’

‘Just a simple game I play whenever I’m bored’, Baekhyun can hear the loud song which comes along with the game, looking at the way Chanyeol tried to get his way around using an iPhone X, his fingers gliding across the screen and his eyes fixated on the game. Baekhyun looks down for a moment, his hands still hovering beside Chanyeol, just looking and observing.

‘Aren’t you supposed to be studying?’, Baekhyun whispers once he finds himself being dragged to reality, finding himself staring at Chanyeol for too long.

‘Isn’t this a muggle device? I’m studying by observing’, Chanyeol points out, his tongue sticking out as he immerses himself into the game, Baekhyun chuckling at his concentration.

‘When do you have your Muggle Studies exam?’

‘Beginning of next week’

‘Oh, same… Do you wanna study together?’

‘Right now?’

‘Well, duh’, Baekhyun hits Chanyeol’s head before walking back to his chair, opening up his Muggle Studies textbook which he perfectly didn’t need since his mother is a muggle and has been adamant in raising her son in a mixture of a wizard and muggle setting, even taking short trips to the muggle city of London.

‘Alright, in a minute, once I find out how to win this game and beat your high score’, Chanyeol announces, forcing Baekhyun to roll his eyes at Chanyeol’s usual competitive behaviour.

‘You wish’

‘I hate this’

‘You hate Divination’

‘No one needs to see the future’, Minseok complains as soon as they walk out of the exam hall, his eyes sunken and fingers numb after writing properly a thousand words of his future predictions to those born in the year 2005 using horoscopes and his little to no skills in interpreting a crystal ball.

‘No one has ever passed this class anyway’, Jongdae mumbles to himself, probably not having too much confidence for this class either, but it has been quite a known factor that Divination is the one class everyone has and probably will fail.

‘It was better than yesterday’s potion practical’, Baekhyun whines, leaning his elbow on Minseok’s shoulder, recalling the mess of a practice they had, ‘I can’t believe they made us make Amortentia. We don’t even learn about that until the seventh year’

‘You should have seen everyone’s face when they all failed their potions, everyone was smelling the things they hated instead and the whole corridor had to be evacuated’, Minseok chuckles, the only student to do so since he was the only one who had successfully created his potion without any hiccup.

‘I smelt fish scales on mine’, Baekhyun pouts, the trio walking towards the Grand Hall where they can have a quick lunch before resuming studying for the rest of their exams.

‘I smelled parchment, toothpaste and hornbeam, leaves’, Minseok points out, the other two beside him looking at him with curiosity’

‘Why do you smell parchment?’, Jongdae and Baekhyun ask simultaneously, wondering why the Hufflepuff prefect could be attracted to something like the smell of parchment.

‘I have no idea’, Minseok shrugs, not feeling too anxious over it since he himself has no idea if he had any particular person he likes or if he just smelt the things he usually found nice. They hear other students running around, most of them coming out of their normal classes, whispering to each other as they walk into the Grand Hall.

The noise usually comes from the Gryffindor table and today wasn’t a surprise, most Gryffindor hailing and rooting around.

‘What’s going on?’, Jongdae asks around, reaching out at one of the first-years skipping over to the Gryffindor table.

‘Haven’t you heard? Chanyeol passed his potions exam yesterday and now everyone’s curious what he smelt’

‘Chanyeol passed?’, Minseok’s eyes widen, not knowing that someone else has also passed yesterday’s disaster of a potions exam. Everyone had told him that he had been the only person who had successfully passed it.

‘It looks like it…’, Jongdae tiptoes to get a better look at the growing crowd around him, seeing Jongin and Junmyeon shoving and pulling at Chanyeol, shouting over each other, demanding Chanyeol to just spill it.

‘I wonder what he smelt’

‘Probably better than parchment’, Baekhyun snickers, gaining himself a hit from the latter.

‘C’mon Chanyeol, just tell us’, Jongin nags on, laughing out loud with his obnoxiously loud laugh, but Chanyeol ignores him, continuing to gulp down his food whilst pestering his best friend.

‘I’ll tell you later’, Chanyeol whispers, looking around to see his whole House’s attention on him, even the seven-year student staring at him in curiosity. He did not need this much attention and despite the usually loving attention, this kind isn’t the kind that he wanted or needed.

He spots Baekhyun and his friends instantly, seeing them whispering amongst each other, their eyes glancing over at him probably since they’ve heard of the news which accidentally slipped Kyungsoo’s mouth earlier that day that Chanyeol had also passed the potions exams and created his own amortentia. He had smelled the aroma as soon as he dipped the last ingredient, the quiet Hufflepuff also smelling something amongst the disgusting aroma from the other cauldron’s, his eyes staring wide at Chanyeol. The taller of the two ordered the Hufflepuff to keep quiet about it once they handed in their potion bottle to the teachers to assess over the coming weeks, getting rid of the remaining liquid down the drain.

But it seems like Kyungsoo had let it slip.

‘Dude, come with me’, Jongin pulls at Chanyeol’s robes once he finds out his best friend wasn’t eating his food, finding this the perfect time to drag him out of the Grand Hall, in the direction of their common room, everyone giving up in trying to get Chanyeol to talk, most of them sitting back down and eating their lunch.

‘Dude, why are you not telling us? Do you seriously not have a crush on someone?’, Jongin finally asks the question again once they walk side by side through the corridors, looking at Chanyeol once they make another turn, walking up the stairs towards their common room.

‘It’s just weird’, Chanyeol mutters to himself, but he knew that Jongin heard it. He didn’t really know what to think about his latest discovery. Was it a surprise? Or did he see it coming? Was it his fault for making the amortentia? He should’ve failed like the rest of them.

‘What’s weird? Did you smell my aftershave or what?’

‘Why would I smell your aftershave? Does it look like I like you?’, Chanyeol crosses his brow, judging his friend as they enter the common room with the mutter of their password, thanking Merlin’s beard that the fat woman wasn’t feeling a long conversation before letting them enter.

‘So, what is it?’, Jongin jumps on the sofa, the common room empty since it was lunch and everyone was probably at the Grand Hall, ‘What did you smell’

‘Nothing much…’, Chanyeol shrugs, not sitting down but leaning his back on the wall, his arms folded across his chest as he looks out of the window, seeing the clear blue skies ahead, ‘Just the smell of leather from the Quaffle, Ferula and…’

‘And?’

‘Mahogany’

‘Mahogany?’, Jongin repeat, stressing the last one which seems to bother Chanyeol the most, ‘What’s wrong with that?’, he asks, tilting his head in confusion over Chanyeol’s crisis, ‘You just like the smell of wood, that’s all’

‘It’s not that, you idiot’, Chanyeol points out, rolling his eyes at Jongin’s idiocy, ‘It wasn’t just mahogany… It smelt old… Used-’

‘Ew…’

‘But it smelt fresh at the same time… As if someone has been caring for it over the years… Then I realised…’, Chanyeol closes his eyes, hitting the back of his head on the wall repeatedly, not wanting to say aloud since it will just confirm everything.

‘What did you realise?’

‘It was the fucking Nimbus 2000’

‘What?’

‘It was the Nimbus 2000 that I smelt’

‘Nimbus… Wait…’, Jongin looks down on the floor, still trying to piece the two together, being rather slow at seeing the obvious, ‘Isn’t that Baekhyun’s broom?!’, he shouts the moment he realises, his eyes wide and mouth wider, his head spinning to stare at Chanyeol, ‘You actually like Baekhyun?! What the fuck? I thought you said you two weren’t going out’

‘I did! Which is why I’m so fucking confused’, Chanyeol whines, closing his eyes again, his hand reached out to grip his hair, pulling at it in frustration, ‘And now I can’t stop thinking about it and I feel like I’m going to explode’, he starts to rip his tie around his neck which had started to suffocate him, throwing it on the sofa where Jongin is.

‘Dude, you are so screwed’, Jongin looks at Chanyeol in the middle of a breakdown, not knowing what to do but just stare at him.

Baekhyun has been spending his nights alone in the Room of Requirement by himself during the past week, revising for his O.W.Ls, his glances turning back to the door once in a while, waiting for some kind of movement, the swaying or twist of the doorknob.

He didn’t know why he was waiting for it. Maybe due to the growing habit of having someone else here with him, sitting on the floor or cross-legged on the bed, reading a book or playing around with his phone and draining its battery.

He looks down on his notes, seeing the ink blotched on the parchment after daydreaming for too long, leaving his pen to leak.

They never speak to each other during the day, so Baekhyun had no chances in just randomly approaching Chanyeol and asking him why he hasn’t been visiting for a while. He might stir rumours again.

But he’s still curious.

He looks around the room, seeing the flares of green and silver, looking intimidating now that it’s no longer mixed with the warm red and gold whenever Chanyeol walked in. He can’t wait till O.W.Ls are over, maybe it’s because Chanyeol has been losing sleep due to studies that he hasn’t visited and maybe once exams are over, he’ll find Chanyeol sleeping on the bed with his own blanket, waiting for him to give him his phone.

O.W.Ls have ended, yet Chanyeol is still ignoring Baekhyun. It’s not his fault. He knows his awkward behaviour was only going to be spotted by Baekhyun the moment they’re alone together and before you know it, Baekhyun will be using this against him in the future, maybe even during sixth-year during the game.

‘Look who it is’, Jongin elbows his stomach, raising a playful brow at him before pointing at the Slytherin who walks in with his usual two best friends, walking the other way towards the Slytherin table.

‘Don’t’, Chanyeol warns him, trying to look calm and trying to fight not to look over at the other side of the hall.

‘School’s almost over’, Jongin whispers to him, looking around to find that everyone else was busy with their own conversation, ‘You better ask him out now before summer starts again’

‘Don’t stress me out’, Chanyeol elbows Jongin on the stomach, ‘I don’t need this in my life’

Now that their exams are over, most of their classes resulted in them lounging around, their professors allowing them to do whatever they want since the stress from the exams have now subsided. Everyone else was back to their playful behaviours, shouting across the hall, messing around with the first years and planning pranks for the end of the year with the last years.

‘Hey! Slytherins!’, Jongin shouts all of a sudden, shocking Chanyeol sitting next to him who spat out his food from the loud roar. He looks up at his idiot of a friend who is now standing on his chair, clasping his hands together and gaining the attention of everyone, not just Slytherins, ‘Slytherins!’, he shouts again, Chanyeol notice Baekhyun looking over at his way, trying to avoid eye contact and closing his eyes in second hand embarrassment from Jongin.

‘What do you want?’, they hear Sunyoung shouting at their direction, rolling her eyes as she sees Jongin’s long legs from way over the other end.

‘A quidditch rematch!’, everyone’s voices murmur over each other, even the Gryffindor team looking around for each other, questioning why their Keeper is suddenly proposing such random request.

‘Why would we ever rematch?!’, Sunyoung shouts back, Suelgi shaking her head beside her, twisting her fork around her pasta.

‘Because Gryffindor’s propose a deal’, Jongin is now triggering the team to stand up and group together, racing their way to where Jongin is, trying to get the boy to sit down before he starts anything.

‘What the fuck are you doing?’, Chanyeol hisses, trying to pull Jongin’s goes down, but the boy just shrugs him off.

‘What is it?’, Sunyoung continues to entertain the Gryffindor Keeper, not taking any of it serious, but she revels in stirring trouble for the Gryffindors.

‘If you win, we’ll give you the Gryffindor password before the summer ends!’

‘Are you out of your goddamn mind?’, their captain hits Jongin’s legs, everyone now adamant in trying to shut Jongin up.

The Slytherins look at each other with smug faces, changing their expression into something serious.

‘And what if you win?’, Seulgi asks out of curiosity, not knowing why the Gryffindors were suddenly asking for a rematch.

‘Well, you give us your password’, Jongin points out, ‘It’s an easy deal, right?’, he points out.

Sunyoung and Seulgi look across the table to where their captain is, not really sure if they should take this deal, but her expression is straight and confident.

‘Fine, so be it’, their captain booms across the hall, making the room tense as the rest of the students look over to the Gryffindor table, ‘Tomorrow evening, you’re on’

‘Tomorrow evening?’, their captain mutters, glaring at Jongin and Chanyeol, ‘What the hell have you done?’

Baekhyun rolls his eyes, finally escaping his captain’s grips after being lectured to focus on their stupid game against Gryffindor, treating it like a real game. His teammate was booming in excitement at the idea that they can defeat Gryffindor twice in a row, the rest of the school murmuring whispers, new waves of rumours beginning as to why Gryffindor would propose a rematch.

‘Maybe it’s for a senior prank. They might need the Slytherin’s new password for it’, Jongdae points out, the three of them walking side by side, Baekhyun joining the two prefects round of check-up around the school halls during the evening where students should be in bed.

‘I don’t know, they could’ve used another method’, Minseok points out, looking around, his wand by his side, a simple Lumos spell which lit up their way around the building.

‘They’re just being Gryffindors. They won’t stop until they win’, Baekhyun sighs, shrugging the talk of the game since he’s had to hear it the whole day.

‘I doubt Gryffindors would waste another minute trying to deal with Slytherins’, Jongdae turns to Baekhyun who glares at him, ‘No offence. You guys are hard to fuck with’

‘Thanks’

‘Hey! Look who we have!’, the trio hears a noise from behind them, simultaneously turning around to see a group of Gryffindors, their robes flowing behind them, still in their school uniform despite it being the night.

Baekhyun instantly spots Chanyeol amongst the crowd, seeing the way he tries to look down on the floor, not even looking at him.

‘You should all be in dorms right now. That’s five points off Gryffindor’, Jongdae calls out, Minseok bowing to the elders first, letting Jongdae do all the telling off.

‘Yeah, whatever. We’re on our way anyway, just doing a little bit of practising for tomorrow’s game’, they call stare at Baekhyun, seeing if the boy was going to react, but like always, he never does, just shrugging his shoulders and letting them talk over each other.

‘Good luck for tomorrow by the way’, Jongin pats Baekhyun on the back, walking past them, laughing his usually loud obnoxious laugh.

Baekhyun tries to make eye contact with Chanyeol, yet the boy continues to ignore him like the plague, which pisses him off even more and he couldn’t help but grip tightly on his wand, trying hard not to be triggered by the boy.

‘Flipendo’, he whispers, pointing his wand at the tall boy, seeing Chanyeol fall to his feet and on the ground in less than a second, the rest of the Gryffindors looking down in shock, trying to get him up.

Before they can realise that it was him, he grabs Jongdae and Minseok by the hands and ran as fast as he could, turning around another corner and away from the loud roars of the Gryffindors.

‘You know I have to take away fifteen points for that?’

‘I don’t give a shit’, Baekhyun whispers, breathing heavily after having to run away from them, Jongdae looking at him with judgement.

‘You didn’t have to piss them off, now they’re going to kill you tomorrow’

‘Let them. I don’t care if I lose anyway. We won the real game’

‘Just remember, they might fuck up your common room if they win’

‘They can try’

Chanyeol looks around the field, the chilly breeze of the summer’s day blowing past them. Most of the Slytherins are here, preparing for the small game they have, both teams begging the Headmistress for them to use the Quidditch field for tonight.

He didn’t know how they got her to cave in, but here they were now, their brooms at the ready, but his eyes continue to glare at the other side, not seeing the sight of a short Slytherin Chaser.

‘Looking for him already?’, Jongin laughs, patting his back and standing beside him.

‘Shut up, I don’t even know why you’re making us do this’, Chanyeol shrug Jongin’s resting arm off him, ‘You’ve dug us a big hole if we don’t win’

‘Don’t worry’, Jongin confidently defends himself, ‘I’ve got a plan’

‘You better’

‘Hey! Baekhyun! Hurry up! Game’s about to start’, Chanyeol subconsciously turns to the voice which shouts his name, looking at Sunyoung who urges the chaser along, his hair messy and short, his Slytherin tie kept straight and proper, unlike his messy ones.

He knew Baekhyun flipendo him last night and he had many reasons why the boy did it and he hoped that it was because he was upset for ditching their usual meetups, then at least he’d have a chance to be friends with the boy since their sudden enjoyment of each other’s company was reciprocated.

‘Baekhyun!’, he shouts, waving at the boy to gain his attention, which he did, and so did everybody, their eyes staring at the way Chanyeol waves at his opponent.

Baekhyun rolls his eyes and ignores Chanyeol, walking over to grab his own broom. Chanyeol can hear Jongin laughing at him, patting him on the back again.

‘Good luck’

The game begins quickly, both captains giving each other a quick rundown of the rules just like a usual game, Baekhyun resting on top of his broom next to Seulgi, wishing the game could end quickly.

‘Sunyoung, can you just catch the snitch so we can all go home?’, Baekhyun whines, swinging his legs back and forth as he waits for the whistle to blow.

‘I wish I could do that now’, Sunyoung rolls his eyes, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll try and end this quick’

‘You better’, Baekhyun points out, hearing the whistle blow, indicating the start of the game. Baekhyun can immediately see the two Bludgers from his view, flying around and already hitting a chaser. He dives down and tries to avoid them, his arms reaching out for a Quaffle. He swerves again and misses his chance to grab it, one of the Gryffindor chasers reaching out for it instead.

He goes over to the Slytherin beaters, gaining protection from them just as another Bludger swings by his side, his head hung low as he dodges yet another hit. He tries to fly across to the goal posts, tackling one of the chaser’s to gain the Quaffle, but to be honest, he really didn’t care for the game, so he lets them push past him and score a goal.

Chanyeol rests above the game, looking at Baekhyun and tiredly waiting for the snitch to show up somewhere, flailing his legs around in boredom.

‘You okay up there?’, Jongin asks, keeping an eye on his posts whilst looking up to wink at Chanyeol.

‘Just chilling’, Chanyeol replies, looking around to see Sunyoung observing the field, trying to look for the snitch as well.

‘Well, hope you like my surprise for you!’, Jongin laughs, making Chanyeol face him with a tilted head.

‘What are you talking about?’

‘Just wait!’, Jongin shouts, abandoning Chanyeol once he finds Baekhyun racing his way over with the Quaffle in his hands, about to score from the post, but Jongin reaches his hands out and grabs his wand.

‘Flipendo’, Chanyeol sees Baekhyun being pushed from his broom from Jongin’s spell, flying back and falling.

‘Are you fucking insane?’, Chanyeol shouts at him before zooming past them, aligning his broom to go faster, racing his way over to where Baekhyun is, still falling on with his arms flailing. He reaches his hand out, his fingertips just touching Baekhyun’s, the both of them getting nearer and nearer to the ground.

‘Chanyeol!’, Baekhyun cries out for help as he feels the gush of cold wind around him, closing his eyes for the impact that’s about to hit him, his hands reached out to grab at the air.

‘I’ve got you!’, Chanyeol yells, finally flying close enough to grip hold of Baekhyun’s wrist, flying back up right before the Slytherin chaser can hit the ground, Baekhyun awkwardly hanging from in the air, Chanyeol’s hands still wrapped around him, ‘C’mon here’, Chanyeol tugs at him, using his strength to get Baekhyun to sit on his broom, making space for him by sliding back.

‘Fucking hell! What was that for?’, Baekhyun screams the moment he heaves a sigh and calms down, really bringing him back down to glare at Chanyeol, ‘Why did you do that?!’, Baekhyun yells, sitting so that he’s facing Chanyeol, his arms reached out and hitting on his chest.

‘I didn’t do anything!’

‘You did! This was your plan all along, wasn’t it?! To injure me! Well, fuck you!’, the whole game is paused, the Slytherins getting ready to beat the shit out of Jongin who still looks rather smug for someone who used a spell which is against the rules of the game.

‘What the fuck was that for?’, Seulgi shouts from across the field, ready to fly across and start a war.

‘Kiss Cam! Kiss Cam! Kiss Cam!’, Jongin shouts to everyone, just before a fight is about to break, everyone’s eyes looking up to see the small device flying across the field, being released by a first year on the ground, everyone looking at each other in confusion.

This isn’t a proper game, so why is the Kiss Cam released?

‘For fuck’s sake’, both captain murmurs to themselves as they fly to the middle of the field, side by side, looking at the blaring big screen which had turned on as soon as the Kiss Cam spots the two which triggered his chemistry charm, zooming in to the two wizards sharing one broom.

‘What kind of déjà vu bullshit is this’, Sunyoung mutters, looking at the screen to see Baekhyun still hitting Chanyeol, the seeker trying to make him stop, pointing at the screen.

‘What?! What?!’, Baekhyun yells at Chanyeol, looking in the direction of where the wizard was pointing, his eyes falling on a bigger version of himself pasted on the big screens by the middle of the stadium.

He’s staring at him and Chanyeol again, in the same situation like last time.

‘What just happened?’, Baekhyun looks up then back down to where Chanyeol is facing him, the seeker looking at him shyly, ruffling the back of his hair.

‘I fucking hate Jongin’, he mumbles, Baekhyun not catching the last bit.

‘Well, I fucking hate this too!’, Baekhyun misheard, feeling a bubbling feeling of anger rises up when Chanyeol spoke, ‘This one has to be rigged! You always try and stir things up for me and just when I thought we…’, Baekhyun huffs out in anger, not being able to finish his sentence, instead, going off and pushing Chanyeol back again.

‘Baek– Baekhyun, calm down, I didn’t say that– I didn’t-’

‘Are Y'all ganna kiss or not?’, Sunyoung screams at the two, rolling her eyes as she flies down with the rest of them, giving up in trying to catch the snitch once the game is paused.

‘Just fucking do it!’, Seulgi and the rest of the Slytherin team eggs on, Baekyun looks around to see that every one of them was waiting for them to kiss since it’s part of the rules to wait until they kissed for the game to carry on.

‘I don’t want to…’, Baekhyun whispers, finally remembering the first time they kissed. It was awkward and random, something Baekhyun vowed he didn’t want again.

‘Let’s just get this over and done with’, Chanyeol sighs, looking at Baekhyun’s revulsive expression, turning back to glare at Jongin, preparing to give him the beating of his life.

Baekhyun didn’t say anything, looking down and playing with his hands when Chanyeol leans forward, his hand reached out to rest on Baekhyun’s chin. Baekhyun didn’t flinch at the movement, didn’t protest either, looking back to let Chanyeol lean in and kiss him this time, the feeling of the familiar chapped lips around his soft ones. He’d persuaded himself that he never wants to feel Chanyeol’s lips around him again, but the confidence that the Gryffindor seeker had was different from before. Chanyeol wasn't surprised by the situation anymore, kissing Baekhyun like it's his last time – and in his mind – it probably is.

‘Right! Now, let’s get back to the game before the Kiss Cam spots anyone else with hidden feelings for one of my team member!’, the Slytherin captain claps her hands together, commanding everyone to get back in position and get back in the game, ‘And that’s a strike and a minus point for Gryffindor for using a spell during the game!’, she announces before going back to her post.

Baekhyun stays seated in front of Chanyeol, his Nimbus 2000 laid on the floor of the grass field, Chanyeol awkwardly staring at anywhere but Baekhyun. The two share an awkward moment, Baekhyun biting his lip and trying to get rid of the sensation that still lingers even after Chanyeol had pulled away.

‘You should probably bring me down to get my broom’, Baekhyun speaks out first, looking at Chanyeol and holding on his broom. Chanyeol nods, about to bring his broom down when they hear a scream from behind, Jongin telling them to duck down.

That was the last thing Chanyeol, a dominant seeker, good at his observant skills, got hit in the head by a Bludger which had been flying around in their direction, causing him to lose control over his broom and blackout.

‘Park Chanyeol. Park Chanyeol?’

His vision is blurry and his left ear is a bit fuzzy, but he hears a soft voice along with a pair of hands tugging him to wake up. He couldn’t though. It felt like he just couldn’t open his eyes.

He was probably inside the hospital wing again and that was probably Madam Pomfrey’s voice stirring him awake.

‘When is he going to wake up?’

‘In due time, in due time’

Chanyeol, probably after a couple of hours of sleep, finally gains the energy to wake up, his eyelids fluttering open, his vision welcoming him to the usual hospital wing with vacant beds string along the edges, curtains separating each one from the other. He can feel the gnawing pain of a headache as he reaches out his hand to touch the bandage wrapped around his head, probably from the bleeding due to the stupid Bludger.

‘Park Chanyeol’, he is greeted by the usual stern voice of Madam Pomfrey, tapping her feet and resting her hand on her hips as she observes the injured wizard, ‘Didn’t I say I don’t you in here for the rest of the school year?’

‘Sorry Madam Pomfrey’, Chanyeol mutters, feeling dizzy after getting up to sit on the bed, his hand massaging his temples to try and calm the pain down.

‘You really are a pain’, she sighs, shaking her head and clearing up his bedside table, ‘Eat something and talk to that boy of yours’

‘Boy of mine?’, Chanyeol turns around once Madam Pomfrey points behind him, looking to see the Slytherin Chaser sleeping on the spare bed next to him, clapping his hands together and resting it on his cheek like a pillow.

‘He was discharged yesterday after having a mild concussion from the fall, but he urged to stay. Probably to wait for you’, she informs him, ‘I suggest you two talk it out for real this time’, she orders Chanyeol, giving him a look before exiting the wing with bandages and healing potions.

Chanyeol didn’t know what to do, deciding to stay still and observe Baekhyun, the way he sleeps so soundlessly, his cheek squished against the pillow and his hands, his hair covering his eyes and his lips looking slightly swollen and pink. Chanyeol ignores his banging headache, choosing to get up from his bed, walking over and bending down to face Baekhyun, his hand stroking the hair off his forehead, so he can look at his face clearer.

He can hear the latter mumbling, talking in his sleep like he usually does. He had already noticed his small sleeping habits since they’ve been sleeping over the Room of Requirements for the past few weeks prior to their O.W.L exams, he noticed that Baekhyun doesn’t change when he’s asleep, still quiet with the occasional muttering or mumbling of words Chanyeol can’t quite make out, his cheeks all puffy.

‘Baekhyun?’, he whispers, shaking the boy awake and hearing him whine like a five-year-old, ‘Baekhyun, wake up’, he tries again, Baekhyun stirring awake, his arms stretching out as he opens his eyes, mouth open as he yawns. Chanyeol couldn’t deny and say the boy didn’t look cute right now.

‘Chanyeol?’, Baekhyun turns the moment he wakes, seeing Chanyeol beside him, ‘You’re awake?’

‘Yeah, I just woke up a few minutes ago’

‘Oh, okay… Are you okay? Does your head hurt?’

‘Yeah, I’m fine… Nothing like the usual Bludger in the head’, Chanyeol chuckles, touching his head and feeling a sting when he applied pressure.

‘Don’t touch it, it’s still healing’, Baekhyun reaches his hand out to rive Chanyeol’s away from his bandaged head, ‘You should rest some more. Pomfrey said she might discharge you tomorrow if the pain fades’

‘Yeah, she told me that she discharged you yesterday’, Chanyeol points out, seeing Baekhyun slowly get up, sitting cross-legged on the bed, ‘Why didn’t you leave when she discharged you?’, he asks, curiosity getting the better of him. He didn’t think Baekhyun was the type to wait for him to heal after a match – hell – he knows Baekhyun wasn’t one to even look at him whenever they were forced to spend time with each other in the hospital wing after a gruelling fight during the match which will usually both lead them in the hospital wing.

‘Yeah… She did…’, Baekhyun didn’t answer the question, his eyes looking down as he plays with his fingers, avoiding Chanyeol’s eye contact which is beginning to pierce his skin.

‘Why didn’t you just leave’

‘What? Is it illegal to make sure that you’re okay?’, Baekhyun spits out, getting slightly defensive after Chanyeol presses on, ‘If you don’t like the idea of me staying then I’ll just leave’, Baekhyun starts to move, about to get out of the bed when he feels a hand holding him still and eyes begging him to stay.

‘I don’t want you to leave’, Chanyeol’s voice is serious, no hint of a joke in his expression, which makes Baekhyun turn back, ‘I’m glad you stayed’

‘I’m sure you are’

‘No, really. I am, I just-’

‘Then why you been a dick to me recently?’, Baekhyun points out, taking Chanyeol by shock since he didn’t expect this kind of question from Baekhyun.

‘I haven’t been a dic-’

‘Oh really? You’ve been avoiding me for the past week and you haven’t been visiting the Room of Requirements lately… Seems to me you’re probably sick of me or something’

‘What the fuck are you talking-’, Chanyeol couldn’t finish his sentence after realising that Baekhyun had every rights to think that way since he didn’t even so much explain why he had started to avoid Baekhyun ever since their potions practical. He knew that he needed to explain himself now.

‘It’s not like that… It’s just…’, Chanyeol tries to piece the words together without sounding like an idiot. Who knew what Baekhyun was going to think after he confesses to him, ‘It’s because of the potions practical’

‘The potion practical?’

‘Yeah… I didn’t want you to know that I-’

‘That you passed and I didn’t?’, Baekhyun drops a conclusion before Chanyeol can finish his sentence, ‘Chanyeol, pretty much the whole year failed that practical… I couldn’t care less if you passed it with flying colours, you think I’d be jealous of you? Is that it? Because if it is I-’

‘No! It’s not because of that! It’s because it’s you!’, Chanyeol interrupts Baekhyun before he goes any further and pisses him off, ‘It’s you’

Baekhyun still for a moment, not knowing what Chanyeol means.

‘I didn’t know that my amortentia worked until I smelled you… Everything that’s associated with you… The smell of the Nimbus 2000… An oak essence which always lingers on your robes and even the stupid smell of the Quaffle… They all pointed to you and I just got… I just freaked out, okay?’, Chanyeol sighs, his head hung low, resting his forehead on his hands.

He sounded like a lovesick twelve-year-old boy and he hated it. Especially when he was lovesick over someone like Byun Baekhyun.

‘May I remind you that you once threw a beater bat at me after a game in the third year’, Baekhyun points out, ending the awkward silence which had began to grow after Chanyeol’s sudden confession.

‘Don’t make me remind you of the time you rigged the snitch during our practice game’

‘You looked like an idiot chasing it inside the school buildings’

‘I got detention for that’

Baekhyun starts laughing at the memory, remembering all the fights and arguments they’ve had, leading up to this moment.

‘I know you probably don’t like me like that, but I guess being friends is enough of a change for us already…’, Chanyeol gets up, Baekhyun having to bend his head up to look at Chanyeol’s face, ‘I’m okay with being just friends now’

‘You know, if you had just asked me on a date in Hogsmeade, I would’ve at least thought about it…’, Baekhyun points out just as Chanyeol was about to turn away, relieved that he’s finally confessed but internally killing himself for being rejected.

‘What?’

‘You’re still annoying… And you beat my high score on the game but…’, Baekhyun leans on his knees, straightening up on the same level as Chanyeol whilst still kneeling on the bed, ‘I really don’t think I’d mind a date’

‘Are you serious?’

‘Does it look like I’m joking around?’, Baekhyun tilts his head. Chanyeol notices the way Baekhyun grasps his hand out to hold onto his, dragging him back to him, his knees hitting the mattress, ‘Go on then’

‘What?’

‘Ask me out on a date’, Baekhyun can sure be blunt when he wants to be, getting straight to the point and making the usually confident Chanyeol flustered.

‘You sure you’re not going to reject me?’, Chanyeol asks, making Baekhyun chuckles, Baekhyun playing with Chanyeol’s long fingers.

‘Depends how long you’re going to take to ask me’

‘Fine, will you go out on a date with me’

‘No’

Chanyeol looks back at Baekhyun in shock.

‘I’m kidding’, Baekhyun laughs the moment he sees Chanyeol’s wide expression, chuckling as he leans his forehead on Chanyeol’s chest, ‘I’m kidding’, he says again, just in case Chanyeol gets offended, looking up at him, his chin leaning on Chanyeol’s sweater.

‘I’m going to kill you’, Chanyeol hisses, trying to push Baekhyun away but it seems like he’s seeing a new side of Baekhyun, one that clings his arms around his waist and holds him in place, not being able to move from his grip.

‘I’ll go on a date with you’, Baekhyun promises, straightening up again and pecking his lips against Chanyeol’s chapped one, ‘And maybe I’ll let you visit my home in London over the summer’

‘That’s if you can make it out alive until the school finally ends’, Chanyeol threatens him, snaking his arms around the Slytherin’s waist, lifting him up and spinning him out of the bed, reconnecting their lips one more time, this time, their kiss not a surprise or a force, but a much wanted and needed action from the both of them.