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Donghyuck is, to say the least, a little bit smug.
He knows that kindness is important, and humility equally as essential, but there's something incredibly satisfying at slapping down his potions report, marked with a gloriously inked "100" over a sad, pitiful copy with "99" at the top.
He smirks at Jeno, keeping his report on the other's desk just long enough for him to see the triple digits, and rising up taller when steam looks about ready to burst out of his ears.
"How the fuck- " Jeno hisses, reaching forward to try and snatch Donghyuck's copy just a second too slow.
"Manners, Jeno baby. Wouldn't want to get called into the headmaster's office and get some points deducted from Ravenclaw now, would you?" Donghyuck croons, feeling more than a little satisfied when Jeno grits his teeth, glaring with an intensity that would make a lesser wizard shiver. But Donghyuck just grins, teeth on full display as he circles around Jeno's desk.
"Donghyuck, get back to your seat," Professor Lee calls, and Donghyuck skips back to his chair, winking at Jeno before sitting down.
He can hear Jeno's Hufflepuff friend whispering something - probably an insult directed at Donghyuck, which Donghyuck himself finds amusing to no end - and smiles down at his report, only a few comments here and there, all of them positive.
He knows Jeno's is probably in a similar condition, only having a single mistake that cost him a point against Donghyuck.
84-80, Donghyuck. Donghyuck thinks to himself. He's only got a 4 assignment lead over the Ravenclaw, but it's far from bad. His lips quirk up at the idea of Jeno practically frothing at the mouth when he realizes the gap between them is widening.
The scoring system is a simple one, something initiated when they were in year two, the two brightest students in their year finally meeting and trying to decide who was the smartest. It was impossible to tell, especially as the grading system hadn't been nearly as detailed or specific as it was now, and they decided to compare their grades for each assignment both of them had. Every assignment, whether it be homework, lab, or report, would be worth one point, whereas exams and projects would be worth three.
It's a system that's served them well, even if it's also caused plenty of arguments and more than a few hexes. Donghyuck supposes that it's a good thing both of them have such shitty aim.
--------
Donghyuck's woken up by something blocking his nose and mouth, and by now he's familiar enough with it to reach up and scoop up the cat from his face without having to open his eyes.
"Hey, Seolie," he rasps out after hacking away the fur that had fallen off of said cat. "Thanks for waking me up, but you could just sit on my chest or something instead."
"Seolie's pretty heavy, so I wouldn't say that if I were you," a familiar voice drawls, and Donghyuck turns to see Jeno leaning against his doorframe, looking way more attractive that anyone - especially him, especially this early in the morning - has the right to be. "Actually on second thought, that'd be awesome. It'll be the closest you can get to feeling how utterly massive your ego is."
Donghyuck rolls his eyes at the other's words, watching as Jeno pulls out a bit of food and the cat jumps off his bed to chase after it. "Fuck off. And get your cat to stop sneaking into my room."
Jeno glares at him before leaning down to scoop his cat into his arms. "If I had a say it never would have happened. It's not exactly easy for me either, you know! None of you Hufflepuffs are nice enough to let me in, so I have to bribe the portrait every fucking time!"
Donghyuck smirks, running a hand through his hair in an attempt to fix it, Jeno staring at him with an odd look in his eyes. (He's seen it before, countless times throughout their years of knowing each other, and he knows exactly what it means, but even still he refuses to acknowledge it.) "Yeah, Hufflepuffs only give a shit about their friends. And since your only Hufflepuff friend acts more like a Ravenclaw than you, guess it sucks to suck!"
Jeno scowls at him and Donghyuck returns the gaze for several moments before Jeno cracks a smile, Donghyuck responding with a small quirk of his lips. "Whatever. Catch you in Potions, then."
--------
Donghyuck blinks. He rubs his eyes, squeezing them shut and shaking his head frantically before opening them again. He squints, blinks some more, but the number in front of him refuse to change.
A disastrous, taunting, humiliating "26" stares back at him, a small frowny face next to the digits, accompanied by a curious "what happened?" in the professor's barely legible scrawl.
He groans, rubbing his forehead as he waits for Jeno to prance over to his desk and show off his 98+ grade, but several moments pass with nothing happening. Donghyuck pauses, waiting a minute or so in trepidation, but when there's still no smug Ravenclaw bragging in front of him he turns around, zeroing in on where Jeno is staring at his own mark in what can only be described as horror.
Slowly, Donghyuck makes his way over to the other, craning his neck to get a peek at the other's score.
26 is written messily, a sad emoji drawn fairly well beside it. A sad little Is everything okay? is below the numbers, and Donghyuck winces. Having the professor ask about your personal life? Yikes. He supposes the comments he received certainly weren't as bad as they could've been.
Donghyuck blinks, takes a look at his own score, then back at Jeno's.
"If you're going to brag, just do it already," Jeno mutters. "The test was bullshit, anyways."
Donghyuck squints at the other for a few moments, contemplating his next move, before eventually deciding fuck it , and slapping his paper down onto Jeno's desk.
He watches as the other stares blankly at the two tests before turning to face Donghyuck with a disbelieving expression.
"It was bullshit, but I don't get why I got such a low grade! It deserves an 85 at the least ." Donghyuck complains, sitting on Jeno's desk and ignoring the dirty look Jeno's friend gives him.
Jeno nods solemnly. "It's not my greatest, but I didn't think it was my worst either." he agrees.
"I don't even get why I got points off! Like, everything I said made sense!" Donghyuck whines. "And we only had so much information to write about! Literally what the fuck?"
They continue to complain about their scores even as class is dismissed, bickering over their lost points without a sign of stopping.
Jaemin walks behind them along with Jeno's friend, the two of them talking peacefully between themselves and ultimately being ignored as Jeno and Donghyuck both get more and more riled up.
"I don't get it! How are we supposed to know about the history of mermaids? Their entire species is practically erased from history!" Donghyuck groans, glaring furiously at his marked up paper, holding it so tightly it's beginning to crease beyond repair. "And we can't even talk to them, either!"
"Right? There's no way we could figure out anything about it - fucking past wizards and their irrational xenophobia. The entire species is wiped out of basically every history book." Jeno adds on, and Donghyuck nods angrily.
They separate eventually to attend their respective classes, Donghyuck pointing a finger at Jeno before they depart, "We're talking about this during dinner!"
"Wouldn't miss it." Jeno mock-salutes the other before turning and disappearing from view.
Donghyuck zones out for a moment before Jaemin tugs him towards their classroom, effectively bringing him back to reality.
"Stop acting like the world stops turning when Jeno doesn't pay attention to you," he says harshly, but even still there's an underlying fondness in his tone.
"That's ridiculous, I don't- you know what, let's just get to class," Donghyuck responds, straightening his back and pretending as though his cheeks aren't flushed with just the slightest bit of pink. Ridiculous , he thinks to himself, even as he can't get the image of Jeno's impassioned gaze out of his head. Completely, utterly ridiculous.
--------
True to his word, Jeno plops down with his books beside Donghyuck when dinner time finally rolls around, and it's a regular enough occurrence that no one questions it.
And besides- eating isn't nearly as strict and divided as it used to be, and Hufflepuffs are the ones who sit with people from other houses the most, so it's not a big deal. (At least, that's what Donghyuck tells himself.)
"Hey," Jeno greets, yawning and giving a small half-wave to him and Jaemin, "how was class?"
"Same old, same old," Donghyuck answers easily, and Jaemin nods vaguely, too preoccupied with stuffing the face of a young Slytherin he had taken under his wing. "How about you?"
Jeno smiles at him, something light and soft, gentle in all the ways that make Donghyuck's heart melt, "Same old, same old," he repeats.
Donghyuck laughs, knocking their shoulders together and waving him off, "Put your books away, loser. It's dinner time, not another one of your unnecessary study sessions."
"They're necessary if I want to beat you," Jeno says honestly, but he complies and sets them aside so he has room for his plate. He's looking at Donghyuck with that same unreadable expression he always has, and Donghyuck ignores it as best as he can (which is, to say the least, horribly).
They get through their meals boisterously, chattering aimlessly between bites and unaware of how quickly time slips past them.
"Oh, and before I forget!" Jeno exclaims, sorting through his books before he settles on a piece of paper which he pulls out carefully, "I went back to Professor Lee to ask about the test and how it was graded and whatnot."
Donghyuck leans forward immediately, eyes narrowed in concentration. "And?"
Jeno squints right back at him, "And apparently there's a student who got over 100 percent, which is why everyone else was graded so harshly. And our grades are after the curve."
Donghyuck blinks once, twice. Then, he screeches, whipping around to stare at the rest of the students in the Great Hall, all oblivious to their situation and eating peacefully. " Who ." It's not even a question, just a short word gritted out through clenched teeth as Jeno slides over the paper he had pulled out from before.
It's a filled-out student information sheet - one of the ones used by the staff to keep records for all of the students.
Donghyuck stares at the words for several long moments, before looking up at Jeno. "Who the fuck is Mark Lee?"
--------
Jaehyun knocks on Donghyuck's door frame, leaning against it with a bright smile. He looks as friendly and kind as he always does, beautiful and charming in a way that Donghyuck knows countless students weep over on the daily. He's nice, sure, but for whatever reason Donghyuck's heart would much rather see a shorter figure with a present-way-too-often-to-be-appropriate eye smile in his place.
"Hey, kid. I heard you were asking about Mark earlier?" He asks, and Donghyuck nods.
Jaehyun knows nearly everyone - perks of being such a social Hufflepuff. He's welcomed nearly every student that's walked through the school doors with open arms (literally) and is never one to shy away from a conversation with a stranger. If there's anyone who can help find this mysterious student, it's him.
Donghyuck cuts straight to the point. "Do you know them?"
Jaehyun quirks a brow at his bluntness, but otherwise leaves it be. "Yeah. Mark's like, my little sibling. Love 'em to bits."
"Um." Donghyuck blinks. Jaehyun, while being friendly and familiar with nearly the entire student body, wasn't one to really play favorites. He had a small, close knit friend group with whom he would always look after, but even Donghyuck was on the outskirts of it. To think that this Mark Lee got not only a better grade in Magical Creatures, but was also one of Jaehyun's closest friends was unimaginable. His brain felt like it was about to explode. "What?"
"If you're planning on doing something mean to Mark, I've gotta say I don't recommend it." Something serious flashes in Jaehyun's eyes, firm and grim and not at all like what Donghyuck's used to seeing in the older. "They don't deserve it."
Donghyuck scrambles to explain before he gets the wrong idea, "No, not at all, but uh- Jeno and I both failed something that apparently Mark aced? Like, more than aced? And I had never heard of Mark before, so I was caught off guard."
Jaehyun blinks at him, expression already hundreds of times lighter than it had been just a few seconds ago. "Oh! Was it the test about mermaids? Oh, Mark had so much fun with that."
"Yeah, that's the one."
Jaehyun's grin is bright, and Donghyuck relaxes at the familiar sight. "Want me to introduce you two?" He pauses to think for a moment, glancing at an oblivious Donghyuck with a knowing expression. "Or rather, to you and Jeno?"
Pointedly ignoring the look in Jaehyun's eyes, the younger nods quickly. "That'd be awesome!" He says, and before Jaehyun can take it as his cue to leave, asks, "What are they like? Is there anything I should know before meeting them?" It's a question he tries to always ask before meeting anyone new, trying to avoid seemingly-harmless comments that dig just a little too deep. He's only gotten into the habit of it within the past few years, but Donghyuck likes to think it's a good start.
Jaehyun smiles at him, the small one he has when he's proud of someone but doesn't want to overwhelm them with his feelings, and nods. "Mark's a pretty chill kid, and while they're far from reserved, they're not really a huge conversationalist either." He gives Donghyuck a pointed look. "Don't be too pushy. Mark's a bit hesitant to talk to new people, and I don't want you to scare them away."
Donghyuck gives him a mock-salute, "Yes, sir."
Jaehyun laughs, walking closer to ruffle his hair before giving him a small hug. "Anything else you want to say or ask before I go?"
Donghyuck shakes his head, holding onto Jaehyun tightly for as long as he can. Besides his incredible social skills, Jaehyun's also famous in the school for his insanely comfortable hugs.
It's like hugging a teddy bear and a giant dog, but also an old family member, Taeyong had once said, Just a bundle of everything soft and warm and everything that reminds you of home but isn't.
Eventually, Jaehyun lets go, patting Donghyuck's shoulder before shooting him a smile. "Alright, well, see you around, kid. Don't get into too much trouble, alright?"
"I make no promises," Donghyuck teases, and Jaehyun laughs as he leaves, the sound carrying through the halls gently.
He flops down onto his bed, staring at the magazine clip outs and photographs taped onto the ceiling.
He doesn't know much about whatever mess is going on in his heart, just that there's a lot more to his relationship with Jeno than a simple competitive desire to win. But he doesn't know what to do about it, so he stares above him and pretends that he doesn't already know what it is.
--------
He and Jeno banter like usual, this time Jeno receiving three points higher on an in-class assignment from the week before.
"Suck on that , smartass." Jeno tells him once class is over.
Donghyuck glares at him and grabs his paper, seething at the lack of errors and mistakes. He twists his lips into a smirk and tilts his head up after a moment. "And even still, I'm in the lead. Kind of sad, don't you think?"
"Oh, fuck you," Jeno hisses. He snatches his paper back and sets it away carefully with the rest of his things, neatly stacked and impeccably organized.
"Hey, watch your language, mister. Didn't your parents teach you any manners?" Donghyuck teases, but something shatters in Jeno's eyes, and the light, teasing atmosphere is lost.
Jeno gathers his things up quickly, murmuring a short, "'m leaving," before darting out of the classroom, robes moving silently as though trying to not upset the Ravenclaw any further.
Donghyuck is unable to do anything except call out his name once before Jeno disappears into the throng of students swarming the hallways, and any trace of him is gone within seconds.
Jaemin isn't in his class, so there's no one to snap him out of his daze, and he's left staring after the path Jeno had taken for several minutes, wondering where he went wrong and why he couldn't have just said something else instead.
Weighed down with worry for Jeno and frustration for himself, he drags himself to his next class, barely acknowledging the professor's scathing comments for being late. The Transfigurations professor hates him enough as is, but even the threat of having points taken away from Hufflepuff gets no bigger reaction than a small nod.
He can't even focus properly in the class, his mind a mess of blurred out thoughts and images, and he doesn't register the fact that he's supposed to be transforming the quill in front of him into a squirrel until he sees the professor heading down each row to check everyone's progress, students clambering to hold their rampant squirrels down in place.
Shit , he thinks frantically, wracking his brain for information he knows it doesn't have, because he hadn't been paying attention at all since class started, shit shit shit.
The professor is only a few rows in front of Donghyuck's own and he's about to stage some sort of illness when the quill resting in front of him morphs, growing and shifting until it forms a squirrel that glances at Donghyuck curiously for a moment before attempting to run away.
He barely manages to grab the creature in time, and he stares at it for several, painstaking long seconds before whirling around and trying to find whoever cast the spell. Was it intentional? Or did they have really bad aim? Either way, Donghyuck was grateful.
But no one is looking back at him, and the only person who looks even remotely out of place is a Slytherin Donghyuck can't recall the name of, head ducked down and ears burning a bright red.
Donghyuck squints, imprinting the student's ridiculously average mop of black hair into his mind before turning back around, smiling sweetly at the professor when they come to his row.
They narrow their eyes at him, but Donghyuck's grin never wavers and they're forced to move on.
He lets himself get lost in his thoughts again once the professor leaves, and he's stuck wondering what exactly happened to make Jeno so upset when his phone vibrates in his robe's pocket.
He pulls it out discreetly, having to check twice when he sees who the notification is from. By the time he unlocks his phone, he's received several more messages in quick succession.
from: jeno's pissy hufflepuff friend
Hey
This is Jeno
Sorry about earlier I was overreacting
It's not your fault
It's a relatively frequent occurrence - Jeno using Renjun's phone to text Donghyuck, as he can't manage to use muggle technology in literally any way besides texting (which had taken days of teaching and far, far too many embarrassing phone calls and texts to unsuspecting individuals).
Donghyuck texts back quickly after glancing to make sure the professor's attention was elsewhere.
im still sorry though
is everything ok
Uh
This probably isn't the best way to talk about this
But you should probably know sooner rather than later
My parents kind of…
Were bad people I guess
So they didn't really raise me well?
So your comment kind of rubbed me the wrong way
Which isn't your fault because you didn't know
oh
oh my god i'm so sorry
if i had known i wouldn't have said that
I know
It's okay
it's really not :((
I know you didn't mean anything by it
Sometimes thinking about it gets to me though
yeah no i get you
i really am sorry though
is there anything i can do..?
No you're fine
Thank you though
See you later?
yeah see you
Donghyuck pockets his phone quietly, releasing a deep breath. He slumps down over his desk, careful to not let go of the squirrel in his hand as he does so.
He has some answers now, which is good, but he still feels like a complete jerk for being so insensitive. He knows Jeno's never mentioned his parents, has only referenced his family vaguely a handful of times over the years, but even still he said something so brazenly. He feels so fucking stupid he wants nothing more than to beat himself up or something to get rid of the ache in his chest.
He groans, a wave of disappointment in himself rising up and threatening to choke him, and it takes all he can to not cry in front of the entire class.
Donghyuck's a second away from darting off to the bathrooms when the wriggling squirrel in his hands turns into a bouquet of beautiful flowers, impeccably organized and just in bloom.
It smells like heaven, and Donghyuck whirls around a bit faster than he had before, now that he's not completely caught off guard.
He makes eye contact with the Slytherin from earlier, and he stares as they blink at him as though they can't believe what's happening before their large eyes widen even further and they immediately duck their head, forehead making a solid thunk against the wood of their desk.
It's cute, not quite in the same way that Jeno's antics make him feel, but something endearing all the same, and he turns back around to examine the flowers.
He takes a small whiff of them again, breathing in the floral scent slowly and doing his best to commit it to memory. He doesn't know how long transfigured flowers last for, but he doesn't want to risk wasting most of its lifespan.
Keeping his head up seems a bit easier after that.
--------
He heads to the garden between his classes, showing the bouquet to the professor and asking what each flower was.
They take one look at it and grin, raising a brow at Donghyuck knowingly, "This is from a secret admirer? Not bad."
"What? No, I-" Donghyuck sputters, but he doesn't really know what to say so he clamps his mouth shut until his cheeks return back to their normal color. "Can you just tell me what the flowers mean? I'm assuming they do mean something, right?"
"Mhmm. These flowers right here," they point to the yellow flowers with long petals, reminiscent of a sun, "are black-eyed susans. They're meant to show encouragement. These ones, too, actually!" They point at the smaller, white flowers. "They're white heathers, and their message is basically 'your wishes will come true'. These flowers are called cosmos , and they represent peace and tranquility.
"And these last flowers are yellow chrysanthemums." They gently touch the petals of the flower, giving Donghyuck a grin as they do so. "The traditional flower of a secret admirer."
--------
Donghyuck meets up with Jeno later, after dinner's long past, in front of the Ravenclaw common room.
He doesn't bother asking for the riddle to open the door, instead playing a mindless game on his phone as he waits for the Ravenclaw to come out so they could meet the mysterious Mark Lee.
He doesn't have to wait long before Jeno emerges, hair mussed and glasses hanging low on his nose. He pulls a cap over his hair quickly, cheeks flushing when he catches sight of Donghyuck.
"Hey," he greets in feigned nonchalance, "I didn't think you'd be early."
"Well here I am." Donghyuck gives Jeno a once-over, brow raised as he catches sight of the slippers on Jeno's feet rather than his typical sneakers.
"I fell asleep, okay?" Jeno huffs out, and he avoids Donghyuck's eyes with an adorable pout.
Donghyuck just hums, walking slowly and glancing at the other out of the corner of his eye. "I didn't know you wore glasses."
"Shit-" Jeno curses, and he moves to take them off when Donghyuck catches his wrist. He stares at Donghyuck blankly, like he doesn't know what Donghyuck's doing.
(Donghyuck doesn't know what the hell he's doing either.)
"You look cute. Keep them on." He settles for, and it's his turn to avoid the other's gaze.
The walk towards the Slytherin common room is awkward, to say the least, and they're quiet right up until they have to take the stairs to beneath the lake.
"Why is their common room underneath the lake again?" Donghyuck hisses out, giving up all pride and clutching onto Jeno's arm, who's practically vibrating with fear. "And why are there no lights?"
"Because it's cool? And they like feeling like they're in a horror movie?" Jeno stutters out, and the pair hobbles down the stairs as best as they can when they're holding onto each other so tightly. They nearly trip several times, but thankfully at least one of them is balanced at any given time so they're saved from any unfortunate tumbles down the rest of the stairs.
They get closer to the bottom, squinting their eyes to see in the practically non-existent lighting, bodies a comfortable presence beside each other.
Both of them shriek when they see a figure encased in shadows at the bottom of the staircase.
The figure shifts, and they're nearly about to run out of air when a wand lights up the darkness and they see Jaehyun's face looking at them with an amused expression.
They both clamp their mouths shut immediately, heat rising to their faces when Jaehyun tries and fails to hide his laughter.
"Don't do that!" Donghyuck whines, detaching himself from Jeno and pretending that he doesn't immediately miss the other's warmth. He bounds towards the older Hufflepuff and hits his shoulder lightly, wearing an expression of mock hurt as Jaehyun chuckles and apologizes.
"Sorry. They still haven't repaired the lights after a few students tried to cast a spell down here and messed up miserably, and I figured it was too good of a possibility to pass up." He gives Jeno a small smile, "Hope you two weren't too scared."
"We weren't scared at all," Donghyuck insists, as though the two of them hadn't been screaming bloody murder just a few seconds ago, "Now bring us to meet Mark already."
Jaehyun rolls his eyes fondly at the other, slinging an arm around both his and Jeno's shoulders and leading them down the hallway. "So, to not scare you guys any more, I'll give you a little heads up."
The younger students immediately turn to stare at Jaehyun, eyes wide with fear and listening attentively as though mishearing a single word would cost them their lives.
"Don't worry, it's nothing harmful. A little unnerving, though, at least for the first few times." Jaehyun gives them both a few comforting pats on the back. "You know how the Slytherin common room is under the lake? Well, the path from the staircase to the dorms has a, um… Unique architectural design."
Jeno opens his mouth like he's about to ask what he means by that, but he's stopped by Jaehyun pointing up ahead.
Donghyuck and Jeno follow his finger with their eyes, and they're able to make out a figure sitting criss-cross on the ground a little ways ahead, wand laying on their lap with the tip glowing dimly.
When they get closer, though, they see what Jaehyun meant.
The path to the common room is just like any other tunnel or enclosed path, except this one is made of glass .
Donghyuck's eyes feel like they're going to fall out of his head as he looks at his surroundings more carefully - it reminds him of those shark tunnels he's seen on blogs, murky water barely visible with the poor lighting beyond the glass.
It's when they're several meters away from the sitting student that Donghyuck jolts, crowding against Jaehyun and Jeno immediately. Jeno reacts similarly when he notices what Donghyuck did, and Jaehyun wraps his arms around the two of them until they calm down.
"Told you," he murmurs, although not unkindly.
In front of the student is a mermaid - an actual, live mermaid, mouth drawn in a relaxed line as they watch the person in front of them.
The only things Donghyuck has heard about mermaids that hasn't been an outright lie is that they're far from hospitable towards humans, and there's no way they'd ever watch attentively as some teenager stares right back at them from behind several inches of charmed glass.
Once they're even closer, Donghyuck can see the student's front, and it's difficult to see their face clearly but it's vaguely familiar even still.
What's more noticeable, however, is the fact that their hands are waving around in the air, fingers bending and curling, dancing around as they mouth along silently. Sign language , Donghyuck realizes. They're communicating using fucking sign language . Holy shit.
The mermaid waits until the person is done speaking before raising their hands up and signing back, hands moving just as comfortably as the human's, even with the webbing between their fingers.
They converse animatedly for several long moments before the mermaid catches sight of them and stills, not quite hostile but far from welcoming. They make a few jerky signs at the student, who straightens up and turns to them, lifting their hand up to their ear for a few seconds before letting it rest by their side.
Their expression lightens up when they spot Jaehyun between Donghyuck and Jeno, relaxing just the slightest bit and regarding the younger two curiously.
"Hey, kiddo." Jaehyun greets, and Donghyuck turns to look at him incredulously. In all his years of knowing the older, he never heard him call anyone 'kiddo', claiming that it was a nickname reserved for those closest to him and who deserved it. His attention shifts when the student speaks, voice calm and steady.
"Hey, Jaehyun. You two are Donghyuck and Jeno, then?" they ask, glancing at the two of them and smiling when they nod.
"I'm Donghyuck, that's Jeno," Donghyuck introduces, pointing to himself and the Ravenclaw to his right respectively.
"Nice to meet you two," they stand up, placing their wand in their pocket and dusting off their robes, extending his hand casually, "I'm Mark. Jaehyun said you wanted to meet me?"
Donghyuck blinks, somehow still surprised that the student in front of them was Mark - he had been suspecting someone who looked more intense and obtrusive, the human embodiment of a wildcard. The student in front of them is the opposite - with wide, almost-kitten like eyes, gently mussed hair, and an adorable nose. Donghyuck doesn't really know what to say, besides the fact that Mark's actually really fucking cute.
Jeno brings his hand forward first, nudging Donghyuck's leg with his foot for him to do the same. "Nice to meet you, Mark."
The smile doesn't slip off their face as they glance back towards the mermaid, signing something quickly and waving goodbye after a little bit, the mermaid doing the same before swimming off into the dark waters, leaving no sign that they were ever there.
Mark turns back to the three of them with a small tilt to their head. "Would you like to go sit down and talk?"
Jaehyun speaks for all of them, giving a small 'yes' and lets Mark lead the way down the hall, using their wand to help light their path.
It's not too long before they reach the door at the end, and Mark casually gives the password without batting an eye at the thought of students they barely know learning it. The subtle sign of trust and openness is unsettling, especially in light of how "delicate" they had seemed when Jaehyun was talking about them.
They move quietly, eventually settling down on a small collection of couches and bean bags lying around a fireplace, which crackles peacefully in the background.
Jaehyun busies himself with his phone, probably texting either his boyfriend or girlfriend ( Probably both, though , Donghyuck thinks to himself. What a lucky guy. )
"So," Mark begins glancing between Donghyuck and Jeno, "what's up?"
They seem far too casual for this situation, but Donghyuck can only guess by their nonchalant conversation with the mermaid and presumed easy going personality that that's just how Mark is.
"We, uh, were just curious how you aced the test about mermaids? But a lot of it makes sense now…" Jeno supplies, cheeks pink as he avoids eye contact with the Slytherin.
Donghyuck jolts when he realizes Jeno's acting shy , stuttering and squirming around like a little elementary schooler with a crush. What the fuck, he thinks. He glances between Jeno and Mark, the former steadily turning more red and the latter smiling obliviously in response.
"So what exactly did you write about?" Donghyuck cuts in. He can't explain why it bothers him so much that they get along so well, but there's a slimy, gross feeling in his throat when he thinks about the two of them smiling and laughing with each other. He needs the attention shifted, towards him, so that he doesn't feel like such a bystander to this whole situation.
Mark turns to regard him curiously. "What did I write about? Um, well the prompt was about mermaids' history and whatever so I just… Wrote about it?"
Donghyuck blinks. "Right," he says slowly, "because you're friends with them so you already knew all that stuff."
Mark's expression pinches just the slightest bit, and Donghyuck feels an unhealthy amount of satisfaction from knowing he can draw that kind of reaction from the other. "I mean. They don't talk about it too much, but I think I get what you mean." Their expression relaxes back to a more neutral state after a moment, and they give Donghyuck an easy smile, "I definitely had an advantage for it, but the professor said it was fine."
"Wait, Professor Lee knows? That you- you talk to mermaids?" Jeno asks, leaning forward in his seat in an obvious sign of interest that has Donghyuck bristling.
"Uh, well-" Mark blinks, mulling words over before settling on a shrug. "Yeah."
There's a story there, that Donghyuck does his best to pretend like he doesn't want to know, especially when Jeno looks like he's about to fall out of his seat from curiosity.
"Minhyung!" A familiar voice calls, and Donghyuck turns to see the baby-faced Slytherin Jaemin's been coddling sprinting towards them at full speed, slamming against Mark and making them let out a little oof! in response.
Mark laughs even as the tips of their ears burn a bright crimson shade, ducking their head to give the younger a tight squeeze. They mumble something about being polite and respectful when they're talking to other people, and Donghyuck freezes as the final piece locks into place.
The messy black hair and wide eyes come back to him, and he shoots up in his seat and points a finger at the other. "You!" he exclaims, and Jeno's expression has to be the most comical thing he'd ever seen. Normally Donghyuck would laugh, but he's too caught up on the idea that Mark is the unknown student from before in his Transfigurations class to do anything but continue to stare at Mark in shock.
"I'm sorry?" Mark asks, only half of their face visible from behind the other student, who had realized they had interrupted a conversation with older students and refused to move away from the comfort of Mark and face even more embarrassment.
"From Transfigurations! With the flowers!" Donghyuck says, and Mark's eyes widen immediately, cheeks flush in a way that Donghyuck wishes he didn't find as adorable as he actually did.
"Oh! Um, yeah, that's me," Mark smiles sheepishly.
Jeno looks between the two of them with a furrow in his brow, lips drawn into a thin line before he asks, "What?"
Donghyuck's torn. He hates leaving Jeno in the dark, but he doesn't want to give him another reason to be swooning over the other either. He glances at Mark, who looks at him curiously, lips sealed shut and leaving Donghyuck to describe the events however he wanted.
It's strange, how trusting they are, and something about it makes his stomach feel weird so Donghyuck just flips his hair and says, "They were staring at me in Transfigurations. Nothing big."
Jeno doesn't look completely convinced, but he nods and settles back into his chair when Mark makes no move to correct Donghyuck's words.
"Right. Well, I did a lot of research about mermaids before which Professor Lee knew about, so he gave me a more specific topic to write about to make the assignment a little more fair." Mark continues, redirecting the conversation quickly.
Donghyuck's pretty sure Jeno senses that he's about to make a comment antagonizing Mark, because he quickly asks the other a question, "So how long have you been, uh, friends with mermaids?"
Mark pauses to think, tapping their chin for a few moments before speaking. "I think maybe a few years? Well, it took them a while to warm up to me, but I'd say I've been talking pretty comfortably with them for at least a couple years."
As much as Donghyuck hates to encourage Jeno's weird immediate fascination with the Slytherin, he's curious too, and he can't help but ask a few questions himself. "Why'd you start talking to them? And how'd you come up with the idea of using sign language?"
"I didn't have many - or any, really - friends for a while," Mark answers honestly, "and there were a lot of reasons." They look like they're about to stop, but Donghyuck guesses they see the interest in Donghyuck's expression because they take one look at him and then continue speaking. "I mean, the most obvious one is because you can only get kinda close to them in the hallway outside, and sounds are pretty much completely muffled by all the glass. And also I'm deaf, so. It seemed like a simple solution."
"You're deaf?" Jeno asks, but his tone is neutral with just a bit of inquisitiveness, so Donghyuck doesn't worry about him accidentally aggravating the other.
Mark nods, humming as they card their fingers through the younger Slytherin's hair. "Yeah. I was born hearing, though, and I've got muggle implants so most people can't tell when they first meet me."
"Is there a reason why you have muggle implants and not some sort of spell or wizard tool?" Donghyuck asks. He isn't sure what kind of things people have made, but there's gotta be something out there that Mark could use. As cool and helpful as muggle things could be, there's no beating plain old magic.
"Um. I mean, magic is what made me lose my hearing in the first place, so," Mark chuckles, looking awkward and lost for the first time during their conversation. "And the wizarding community is pretty fucking ableist, to be honest." They give an apologetic look to Donghyuck and Jeno. "No offense."
"None taken," the two chorus, sharing a small smile before diverting their attention back to Mark.
"Cool. Well, there aren't really many things out there that actually work and aren't ridiculously expensive. And besides, my implants work fine, so I'm not going to complain."
"You weren't using KSL out there, though?" Jeno comments curiously, and both Mark and Donghyuck turn to stare at the former incredulously.
Donghyuck speaks first, asking a simple, "KSL?", to which Mark answers easily.
"Just like how there are different spoken languages, like Korean, English, and so on, sign language is different across the world too. KSL would be Korean Sign Language, ASL refers to American Sign Language, and there's a bunch more. Europe uses a different kind of sign language than the U.S., too, so it can get really complicated." They turn to Jeno, cocking their head to the side and so unbelievably cute that Donghyuck has trouble breathing for a second. (Based on Jeno's face, he had a similar reaction.) "Do you know sign language?"
Jeno glances at Donghyuck before he speaks, "Only a little bit. When I was a kid, one of my neighbors was hard of hearing so I picked up a bit from her."
"I didn't know that." Donghyuck doesn't know why he feels almost betrayed by it - he and Jeno have known each other for a long time, but they've never been each other's closest friends, and it makes no sense for Jeno to open up to him about every little detail of his life. Even still, Donghyuck wishes he did.
"It never came up," Jeno responds simply, "but I wasn't hiding it from you, or anything like that." He assures Donghyuck quickly but subtly, and Donghyuck hates what such a simple action does to his heart.
Mark looks between the two of them quietly for a moment, expression carefully blank before putting on a small smile that looks a bit too practiced to seem genuine. They look like they've realized something - or figured something out, and they're pretending like they didn't. It makes them look sad, worn out and hopeless and Donghyuck wishes nothing more than for them to smile as brightly as they did before. "Well, that's cool! And yeah, I use ASL because it's what I learned." They pause for a bit too long for Donghyuck to overlook, and Jaehyun seems to notice it too because he looks up from his phone and clears his throat.
"Well! It's getting late, so we should head back." He stands up, giving a pointed look towards Donghyuck and Jeno until they do the same.
Donghyuck is the first to speak, "It was nice meeting you, Mark."
"Yeah, we should hang out again sometime." Jeno's smile isn't quite as bright as normal, probably due to the subtle drop in the atmosphere, but Donghyuck doesn't know what he can do to help so he stays quiet.
"Sure. It was nice meeting both of you, too," Mark smiles at them but there's a look in their eyes, something muted and defeated like they've given up on something precious but unattainable. Donghyuck wonders what they're thinking of.
--------
Donghyuck doesn't actually see Mark until a couple weeks later during the school's bi-annual Hogsmeade visit.
He spots the familiar face as he's wandering through the different stores, taking some alone time for just a short while. "Oh- Mark?"
Like he expected they turn towards him immediately, brightening up when they spot him. "Donghyuck!" They head over to where Donghyuck is, smiling and cheeks rosy with the winter cold. "Didn't expect to bump into you here."
The younger grins back. "Neither did I." He glances around to look for whoever Mark had gone with, but there aren't any students nearby so he gives the older a curious glance. "Who'd you come with?"
"Ah, I came by myself." They look a bit embarrassed, rubbing the back of their neck and avoiding Donghyuck's gaze. The expression is gone soon enough, quickly replaced by an easy smile and an adorable head tilt. "What about you? Did you come with Jeno?"
"What? No, I came with Jaemin." He guesses Mark hasn't seen him around that much - he and Jeno interact a fair amount but he thinks it's pretty obvious that Jaemin is his best friend, not Jeno.
"Oh, I just figured- never mind." Mark laughs, carefully looking around them instead of at Donghyuck.
Donghyuck frowns. He knows he probably came off as a bit abrasive and cold, but Mark seemed nice and sweet and he'd hate for them to feel uncomfortable around him. "No, what were you going to say? I won't laugh, I promise."
"I, uh," the older smiles sheepishly, "thought that you two would come together as like a date? Since you two are dating."
"What?"
Mark gives him a worried look, "Isn't that a thing? Hogsmeade dates? Jaehyun's been on them with Taeyong and Johnny all the time, so I just-"
"No, they are, but-" Donghyuck's face is probably a brighter shade of red than is healthy but he doesn't care, can't focus on how he looks when Mark looks so confused and soft and fucking kissable and they're talking about Jeno, who he knows means more to him than he wants to admit. "We're not dating," he says eventually, chancing a glance at the Slytherin and giggling at their dumbstruck expression.
"I- what? You're not?"
"Nah." It makes Donghyuck think about what it would be like to date Jeno. Do they act like a couple? Is that why Mark thought they were dating? "Do we… Seem like we're dating?"
"In all honesty, yeah," Mark replies, grinning slightly. "You two banter a lot but are pretty affectionate, so I just assumed…"
Now that Mark mentions it, he guesses that he and Jeno do act fairly close even though a majority of their interactions are poorly-veiled insults and attempts to rile the other up. Jeno even got him his favorite cake on his birthday last year, along with a small dog plushie. Huh.
"I hope this doesn't make things awkward between you two." Mark looks worried, and Donghyuck immediately shakes his head to prevent Mark from fretting any more.
"No, don't worry about it! I actually… Think I needed to hear it. It helped me realize some things."
Mark's face pinches together in a way that's a weird in-between of ugly and cute, and Donghyuck has to bit the inside of his cheeks to stop himself from laughing. "That's… Great."
"You okay?" Donghyuck squints at Mark as though it would allow him to see the older's worries.
"Yeah, 'm fine. Uh. Good luck with Jeno, I guess." Mark waves at him awkwardly, motions jerky and completely uncharacteristic of someone more than capable of communicating with their body alone, but they're gone before Donghyuck can say anything.
Donghyuck is left staring at their retreating figure, eerily familiar to how he had watched Jeno disappear into the crowded hallway not too long ago, and the similarity makes something finally click into place.
Oh , Donghyuck thinks. I couldn't just settle for one, could I?
--------
Donghyuck sits in his room quietly, staring at the plushie he got from Jeno and the bouquet of flowers from Mark on his desk.
He honestly has no idea what to do in a situation like this - he still doesn't know that much about Mark or Jeno, especially not compared to someone like Jaemin. He groans, letting his head fall down onto his desk with a thunk.
"Fuck," he says, with great feeling. He lifts his head up after a moment only to see Jaehyun peering into his room with a grin, and he shrieks in surprise.
After he gets over his initial shock, he invites the older to sit down.
"Can you stop scaring me, though? I've lost like fifty years off my life," he complains, Jaehyun sitting down on his bed with a chuckle.
"Sorry, Donghyuck. I just wanted to stop by because I heard you've been sitting at your desk and staring at the wall for like, five hours. Everything okay?"
He's about to say no, everything's fine, when he pauses. If anyone can help him with his current predicament, it's Jaehyun. "Um. Could you give me some advice?"
Jaehyun looks surprised, but he recovers quickly and gives Donghyuck a warm smile. "Of course! What about?"
"So you're dating Taeyong and Johnny, right? How'd that-" he gestures vaguely, "how'd it happen?"
Jaehyun laughs, his big, booming laugh that everyone is a little bit in love with. "It's not very romantic, sorry. We all had transfigurations together, and we just kept casting spells on each other's things into little gifts and presents. Anyhow, the professor put us in detention for not paying attention and disrupting the class, we bonded when we snuck out of said detention, and here we are!"
"How did- who confessed first?" Donghyuck asks. He can't help but feel a little jipped somehow, that arguably the most romantic student in their whole school didn't have a suitably romantic confession scene with their two partners.
"Taeyongie!" Jaehyun brightens up just by mentioning the older, and the sight makes Donghyuck long for the same. "It was kind of awkward but really cute and Johnny and I like to bring it up whenever we can." He pauses for a moment. "Wait a second…"
"I, uh, have to go? I've got class." Donghyuck tries to escape from Jaehyun's knowing gaze, standing up from his desk and darting to the door, but Jaehyun's got much longer limbs and he actually works out (damn him), so he catches Donghyuck's wrist and clings onto him like some sort of weird octopus.
" Donghyuck ," he whines, "don't go! If you don't want to tell me that's okay, but don't leave your room to avoid me."
Donghyuck fake pouts but nods, collapsing onto the bed so Jaehyun can let go of him. "I don't mind it's just kind of. Weird? Since you're, uh, really close with someone I like."
Jaehyun stares at him for several long seconds before his eyes light up with realization. "Mark? Holy shit ."
"Please don't make it weird." Donghyuck hides his face under a pillow, determined not to see Jaehyun's face. He knows the older is far too kind to use that kind of information against Donghyuck, but it doesn't make it any less awkward to talk about.
"I'll try my best!" He chirps cheerily. He's quiet for a few moments, and Donghyuck slowly moves his pillow away from his face to see Jaehyun's expression simmer down into something more serious and earnest. "But Donghyuck, if you have to listen to any of the advice I've ever given you, it's this: don't be afraid to put yourself first and to go after what you want. Live a life you can be proud of, okay?"
"Okay," Donghyuck murmurs. He giggles when Jaehyun pats him on the head in response.
"Good luck, Donghyuck. You can do it!" He waves a little fist in the air as encouragement, grinning when Donghyuck laughs.
"I can do it!" Donghyuck agrees cheerfully. He stops to think for a second before jumping off the bed with a flourish. "I will do it! Right now!"
"Oh! Uh- okay! Good luck!" Jaehyun smiles, albeit a bit more off-guard this time as Donghyuck slides his phone into his back pocket before heading to the door.
He waves goodbye to the other before sliding on his shoes and stepping into the hallway. "Thanks, Jaehyun! See you around!"
Donghyuck speed-walks over to the Ravenclaw common room, chuckling when he spots Bongshik in the hallways along the way.
"Bongshik! Did you miss me that much?" he croons, picking up the cat with just a little bit of effort. "Sorry, we're heading right back to where you came from."
The walk towards Jeno is peaceful, especially with the cat purring contentedly in his arms, and it's easy to come up with the answer to the riddle the portrait gives him.
"Have fun with your boyfriend, sweetie!" The portrait giggles at him, and he smiles back at her.
"Not my boyfriend yet, but soon!" He stage-whispers, and she hoots quietly before urging him to go inside quickly.
Jeno's studying in his room as usual, but Donghyuck's visited enough times for him to know exactly where to go. He knocks on the other's door frame quietly, just loud enough for the Ravenclaw to notice.
He looks adorable, hear messy and glasses askew with ink staining his fingers in a worryingly charming fashion. "Donghyuck? What are you doing here? And Bongshik! Were you out in the halls again?"
Said cat jumps down from Donghyuck's arms and easily joins Seol and Nal on Jeno's bed, completely disregarding Jeno. Donghyuck laughs a little at the heartbroken expression on the older's face once he realizes he was brutally ignored.
"Are you busy right now? Sorry, I can come back later." Jeno looks like he's working intently on some school paper, and Donghyuck would hate to interrupt him over a spur-of-the-moment confession.
"No, you're fine! What'd you need?" Thinking of how kind Jeno is towards him makes Donghyuck realize just how intricate their relationship was from the start, with far more depth than just two kids messing around and trying to beat the other.
"Uh." Now that Donghyuck's actually in Jeno's room, trying to confess, the words seem so much harder to say. He wets his lips, clears his throat, does everything he can think of to help subtly stall for time, but all it gets him is twenty seconds and a reminder to get some chapstick.
"Donghyuck? What is it?" Jeno nods patiently, gently encouraging him to go on.
"I- I like you? And Mark? And I'd like to date both of you?" He finally blurts out, face burning hotter than it ever has before.
Jeno blinks at him. "That's- are those questions?"
"They're facts," Donghyuck manages to say. "They're all facts."
"Oh," Jeno says quietly.
"Oh," Donghyuck repeats. His heart is pounding in his chest, waiting for Jeno's response. He doesn't know what he'll do if Jeno responds negatively; he hadn't really been thinking about the outcomes of his sudden confession, too desperate to get these feelings off his chest and let them be known.
But then Jeno gives him the warmest smile he's ever seen, eyes crinkling at the corners and face glowing like the sun itself, and Donghyuck's heart is soothed. "I like you too, Donghyuck. And Mark, but I think you already knew that."
Donghyuck chuckles, face flushed at the memories of him being jealous over how fascinated Jeno was with the Slytherin. "Maybe just a bit."
Jeno stares at him for several long seconds before groaning, scrubbing a hand over his eyes.
Donghyuck immediately moves forward, gently tugging the other's wrist away from their face and looking at him worriedly. "What's wrong?"
"I really, really want to kiss you right now, but I don't want to without Mark," Jeno whines, and oh my god Donghyuck adores him so much.
"I'm- my heart can't take this, holy shit," Donghyuck mutters. He takes a moment to collect himself before standing up straight and holding a hand out to Jeno. "Wanna go get Mark, then?"
Jeno takes his hand as though it's the easiest thing he's ever done, "With you? Of course."
--------
They arrive at the top of the staircase holding onto each other tightly, just like last time, except they can hold each other's hand a bit more brazenly this time. They both light their wands up, moving as fast as they can down the stairs and through the tunnel, chanting whatever they can think of to discourage any ghosts or creepy beings from attacking them.
Eventually they make their way to the entrance, relaying the same password that Mark had used when they first met, and they step inside with a sigh of relief.
Donghyuck spots Jisung nearby, nodding along as a young Gryffindor talks animatedly about something too fast for Donghyuck to understand.
"Jisung! Do you know where Mark's room is?" Donghyuck asks when the Gryffindor finally (jesus christ does the kid have some lungs) takes a pause to breathe.
Jisung looks at him curiously before the Gryffindor cuts in.
"Ah, Mark? First door on the right along that hallway!" They chirp.
"First door?" Donghyuck and Jeno exchange glances.
"Yeah!" The Gryffindor jumps in to clarify, "It's the room that gets the most sound, so Mark offered to take it since they can't hear anything."
"Uh. Makes sense, I guess?" Jeno shrugs.
"Huh. Well, thanks!" Donghyuck waves goodbye to the two younger students before tangling his fingers with Jeno's and heading towards where they were instructed to go, beaming when he notices how flushed Jeno looks as a result.
It's a good thing Mark's room is so close to the entrance, because it makes it a lot more difficult for the two of them to get lost, and they locate the door easily with the little picture of a lion saying "Mark's Room!!!" taped to the front of it.
Below the photograph is a post-it note reading, "Please press this button instead of knocking!", except the button is very obviously broken so Donghyuck and Jeno look helplessly at each other.
"Just… Knock? I guess?" Donghyuck suggests, and Jeno shrugs.
"There's not really anything else we can do," he agrees, and knocks on the door.
Several seconds later there's no response, so Donghyuck leans forward to knock again. No response.
Eventually they give up, trying the door and hesitating when it opens easily, but eventually push forward.
The room is weirdly clean even with all the knick-knacks lying around, a sort of organized chaos. Mark is sitting at their desk, books abandoned in front of them as doze off, neck bent at an uncomfortable angle as they nap.
"Mark!" Donghyuck whisper-shouts. He'd hate to interrupt the other's sleep, but he kind of really wants to kiss Jeno, and he doubts the older is particularly comfortable in that position, so he doesn't feel too guilty. "Mark!"
The Slytherin continues to slumber on in piece, and Donghyuck and Jeno stare at each other in silence.
"Rock paper scissors for who has to wake them?" Jeno suggests, and Donghyuck grins.
"You're on."
Donghyuck wins, and he cheers quietly as Jeno huffs and shuffles forward, gently shaking Mark's shoulder.
"Hm?" Mark stirs quickly enough, turning to face the two of them with a bleary expression before everything registers, eyes widening comically in shock and scrambling for something on their desk. They find it after a few seconds, placing the objects against their head and to their ear before looking at the younger two students with an adorably sheepish smile.
"Sorry for waking you," Jeno says, and Donghyuck nods his agreement.
Mark waves their apology off easily, "It's fine. I wasn't expecting either of you, though. Is something going on?"
Donghyuck nods, looking at Jeno for assurance before turning back to Mark, "Yeah, uh, we like you?"
Mark stills. "What do you mean by that?" they ask slowly.
"Like- like you're really cute and we want to hold your hand? And kiss you if you're okay with it." Jeno supplies.
Mark chokes a little bit. "Worm."
"Did you just- did you just worm at our confession?" Donghyuck asks incredulously. If he had any doubts about Mark being a muggle millennial bitch before, they're all gone now. "Mark Lee, I swear-"
"Sorry! I just, uh." They pause, waving their hands through their air like the exact words they need are somewhere in front of them. "That was very unexpected. I thought you two like each other?"
"We do!" Donghyuck agrees. "And we also like you. Because you're really nice and smart and make me want to be better."
"What do you think of us?" Jeno's gripping Donghyuck's hand a bit too tightly to be comfortable, but the Hufflepuff can't say anything about it when he looks so tense waiting for what Mark has to say.
"You're both-" Mark takes a deep breath to steady themself. "You're both incredible. You're genuine, passionate, talented, and so unbelievably lovable my heart can't really take it," they admit. "I really, really like you both as well."
"Well!" Donghyuck is the first to speak afterwards, grinning as he glances between the other two. "That went a lot better than I expected!"
Jeno laughs, squeezing Donghyuck's hand before reaching forward to take Mark's hand in his other one. His eyes are the brightest Donghyuck has ever seen, a brilliant collection of stars and lights shining for him and Mark. "So are we a thing now? Mutually exclusive and whatnot?"
"I'd like us to be," Mark says honestly, and, well, who is Donghyuck to deny them?
"Good," Donghyuck says with a beaming smile, "now who wants a kiss?"
"Me!" Mark and Jeno chorus, and Donghyuck is, to say the least, a little bit fond.