Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It wouldn’t be the first time Changbin had been kicked out of the dining room at one of his family’s dinner parties. The process was nearly routine at this point: get dressed in the annoying, stuffy clothes his parents insisted on him wearing, sit through a painfully dry dinner where he had to answer the same questions as every year before ( yes, I’m planning on joining the family business once I graduate; yes, I’m working hard to remain top of my year; no, I am not friends with anyone muggle-born ), then be removed from the dining room so the adults could ‘discuss things that the children need not yet worry about’. It hadn’t been so frustrating in previous years-- his sister had always been there alongside them, and the two of them would spend the dinner nudging each other under the table and trying not to laugh. She’d always spend time with Changbin afterwards, too, the pair of them retreating outside to spend the remainder of the evening playing around their parents’ vast estate. This year wasn’t like that, however-- his sister had gone back to Korea, fresh out of graduation and now helping with international relations between the British Ministry of Magic and the Korean Ministry. He was happy for her, sure, proud that she’d found a way to appease their controlling parents while maintaining a distance from them, but it still was lonely without her there.

It wasn’t as if Changbin was alone, though. There had always been someone else his age around the dinner parties, but Changbin had never really spent time with him. Minho had always been on the quiet side, the Ravenclaw boy tending to keep to himself, a fact that was surely exacerbated by his mother’s rigid and overbearing demeanour. Sure, Changbin knew the rules of these sorts of families-- be polished, be polite, only speak when spoken to-- but Minho seemed to be under an even more exhaustive set, forbidding him from making eye contact most times. And his mother was never shy about discipline for these rules, either; it wasn’t an infrequent occurrence to witness Minho’s mother pinching him at the dinner table, or, when Minho did something she deemed particularly unacceptable, to watch her pull Minho out of the room to scold, his father sitting stoically all the while.

Needless to say, Minho had always been a bit hard to get to know because of this. So when Changbin had been asked not to simply leave the dining room, but to entertain Minho while the adults spoke-- well. Changbin had been less than thrilled, to say the least.

He’d tried to make conversation at first, moving about his bedroom to have something to occupy himself as Minho sat quietly on the couch, but Changbin had quickly found that Minho seemed completely uninterested in conversation. It had only taken a few minutes for Changbin’s patience to wane, and after sitting in uncomfortable, awkward silence for a few minutes more, Changbin had stood up. With a huff and an excuse of going to get a glass of water, he’d left the room.

Eavesdropping on the adults’ conversation hadn’t been his intention when he’d began to make his way down the stairs, but the sound of arguing stole his attention. In most circumstances, he would have brushed it off with his usual disinterest in his parent’s dealings, but the mention of Hogwarts made him pause.

“We need someone inside Hogwarts to do it,” someone was saying-- a voice Changbin couldn’t quite place, likely an older friend of his parents that hadn’t spoken much to Changbin before. “There is no way for us to retrieve what we need without someone on the inside helping us. We need someone there to act as our eyes and ears.”

“What about your son?” a voice asked, and Changbin places it as belonging to an older, willowy woman who was a longtime friend of his mother. Her daughter, several years older than Changbin, had been head girl of Slytherin when he was in second year, and had graduated several years back. Changbin hadn’t seen her since then. “He’s still studying there, right? He seems like a good son.”

“Oh, no, I would never trust him with something like this,” a voice belonging to Minho’s mother responded, and Changbin felt himself tense. “He isn’t a strong enough wizard. He lacks talent in spells, always tends to be a bit cowardly… And I doubt he would agree in the first place. They’ve brainwashed him there at the school, made him stubborn and unreasonable. I’d pull him out if I had anywhere else to send him, but at this point, there isn’t much of a point.”

Changbin heard a creak from above him on the stairs and his gut instantly twisted. When he looked up, he found Minho at the top of the staircase, staring at where the dining room door was slightly ajar. His gaze moved to Changbin slowly, and Changbin’s heart sank when he realized that Minho had heard. Sure, he had known Minho’s mother was a mean woman, but he’d never expected her to be this resentful to her own son.

Then, he heard a voice say, “What about Changbin?” and felt like his body had been coated in ice. “He seems like a strong wizard, a good son. He might be able to help our cause.”

“He tends to sympathize with mudbloods, which is a shame,” Changbin heard his father say, and Changbin stiffened. A ‘cause’ where sympathizing with mudbloods was considered a weakness could only mean something bad was going on. “Although I’m sure that, with sufficient motivation, we can get him to see our reasons.”

Changbin’s heart rate quickened at his father’s ominous words and he felt his legs lock. So this was what his parents thought of him, then? A pawn in whatever dark plan they were brewing, someone to be ployed into doing their bidding with ‘sufficient motivation’? He had known his parents weren’t necessarily good people-- a typical, old wizarding family, with traditionalist ideas about blood purity and non-magical folk-- but he hadn’t expected them to be plotting to do anything, and especially not for him to be roped into it.

He was almost too deep in his thoughts to catch his mother’s next words-- “Here, let me fetch him from upstairs”-- but the meaning of them sunk in just too late. Changbin moved to run back upstairs, but before he could do more than turn his head away from the door, it was already open, his mother standing in the doorway and peering up at him curiously. 

“Oh, Changbin,” she said, moving slowly to the bottom of the stairs. She was wary, that much Changbin could tell-- her hand had already moved to her hip, where Changbin knew she kept her wand tucked into her skirt. It wasn’t a threat she had used on Changbin often while he was growing up, only in the most severe of situations, and the fact that the thought had even crossed her mind in this situation was enough to let Changbin know this was serious. “What are you doing, dear?”

Changbin floundered for half a second, looking back to the top of the stairs where he had seen Minho standing before. The other boy was gone, assumedly hidden back in Changbin’s room. He looked back at his mother, and her eyebrow was raised now, her suspicion rising.

“Nothing,” Changbin replied, fighting to keep his voice and expression neutral. “I was just getting some water for me and Minho. It’s a bit dry upstairs.”

It was a weak excuse, Changbin knew that much, but his mother thankfully didn’t argue with him on it. “Oh, sweetheart, you could always just ask the house elves to get it for you,” she replied, taking a step up the stairs towards him. Changbin had to resist the urge to take a step back. “They’re meant to serve us. That is what they’re here for, after all.”

Changbin bristled at her words, fighting the urge to argue. He had always hated his parents’ treatment of their house elf, their passiveness at using a living creature as a slave. “Sorry,” he forced out, and if his tone was a bit sharper, he prayed his mother wouldn’t notice, “must have forgotten.”

He could tell now that his mother didn’t believe him, her expression guarded, but was thankful that she didn’t seem to have any desire to press the subject further. “Well, no matter,” she responded, taking another step forward and holding out a hand. “Let’s go together to grab some water for you boys. I have something I wanted to discuss with you, anyways.”

Changbin took it.

⟷⟷⟷

“I will not ,” Changbin snarled, staring daggers across the room at his parents. Sitting on the couch in the parlor, the pinnacle of calm and reserve, Changbin could hardly believe the words that they had just spoken to him. “I will not have anything to do with this plan. It’s wrong and evil and I will not have any part in it!”

His mother sighed as if Changbin’s reaction was nothing but a small child having a tantrum. “Son, please,” she said tiredly, placing a hand against her forehead as if this discussion was giving her a small headache. Changbin couldn’t understand how she could possibly be so blase about this. “It isn’t as terrible as you are making it sound. Take a moment to calm down before you speak.”

“Oh, it’s not?” Changbin snapped, throwing his arms up. “Trying to eliminate all muggle-born and mixed-blood wizards isn’t anything to bat an eye at? Just some casual genocide to start off the school year?”

“Changbin,” his father snapped, removing his glasses as he stared at his son. “We would never do something so heinous as murder. That is beneath us. You know that is not what we are asking of you. Be reasonable.”

“Oh, yes, murder is so beneath you, but you still want to find a way to eliminate all the wizarding folks that you deem lesser than,” Changbin growled. His hands moved down to lean against one of the tables, his fingers curled around the edges. “My apologies, I should just go along as an obedient pawn for your blood purist plan and abandon my own morals like a good son.”

His mother placed a hand on her chest, seeming shocked and hurt by her son’s words. “How can you think so terribly of us?” she asked, and the pain in her voice just served to stoke Changbin’s anger. “We are trying to do something that will help you and the rest of our family. Why can’t you see that we’re doing this because we care about you?”

Changbin couldn’t stop the angry scoff that tore out of his throat. The thought was so ridiculous that he would have laughed had he been any less angry. “Care about me?” he echoed. “You’re doing this because you care about me ? That’s absolutely rich. Hyunjin, my best friend, is not a pure blood, so you’re eliminating him and his family because you care about me ?!”

His father stood up then, red in the face. Although his father wasn’t much taller than him (he had clearly gotten his short stature from somewhere), it was still enough to startle Changbin. His father had always been more passive with him, letting his mother do most of the work in parenting him and his sister, so to see him react so visibly was a bit of a shock. “You insolent child,” he growled, his voice just as deep as Changbin’s own. “How dare you speak to your mother like that. We are simply taking back what is rightfully ours from creatures that shouldn’t have existed in the first place.”

At his father’s words, Changbin nearly saw red. Under any other circumstances, Changbin would have pulled out his wand and fired a spell off at the target of his anger-- or if all else failed, he knew how to throw a mean punch. But despite everything, these were his parents, the people who had raised him and provided for him, and he couldn’t bring himself to do anything to harm them.

Instead, he pushed off the table he was leaning on, heading out the parlor doors and up the stairs. “I’m not doing it,” he spat, not even sparing his parents another glance. “Nothing you say will convince me otherwise. Find another person to do your bidding for you. I’m your son, not a puppet.”

The last thing he heard before he slammed the door to the upstairs study was the sound of his mother letting out a muffled sob.

⟷⟷⟷

Changbin fiddled with the piece of parchment in his hands, folding and unfolding it before folding it up again. He had his family’s wax seal out, an envelope with Hyunjin’s address in London scratched out on the front. His screech owl, Gyu, was already out of his cage, perched on the windowsill in wait. All Changbin needed to do was put the letter in the envelope, seal it, when Gyu would be on his way to London.

But despite having everything prepared already, the letter written and addressed to his best friend, there was something stopping him from sending it. He wanted to tell Hyunjin about this, truly. They’d grown up together, Hyunjin’s family always trying to appeal to Changbin’s own in hopes of joining their ranks, despite their lack of pureblood heritage. They’d both gone to Hogwarts together, Hyunjin one year below Changbin but in the same house. They spent most of their time together, told each other everything, two people that some of their classmates described as joined at the hip. If there was anyone he could talk to about this, it would be Hyunjin.

And yet, this was the one thing that Changbin could not bring himself to tell. It may not end up being a surprise to Hyunjin; neither of them were naive enough to think Changbin’s parents were upstanding citizens in the wizarding community, but this seemed too far, even for them. And Changbin, in his pride and his protectiveness for his best friend, wanted to shield Hyunjin from this. It was not his family, it was not his fight. This was something Changbin should deal with alone. He wanted to hide Hyunjin from this, cross his fingers and pray that his best friend would remain happy and safe.

The flame of the candle burning on the desk licked up the parchment eagerly, turning the yellowed paper black. Changbin tossed it and the envelope in the unlit fireplace as he returned to his room.

⟷⟷⟷

Hyunjin,

I know it’s just the beginning of summer and I don’t want to ruin your vacation for you, but something terrible is happening. My parents told me they’re planning something today and I can’t even believe it. They said they want to control the source of all magic. As in, make them and their circle of other messed-up pureblood families the only people with magic in the world. They said they wanted to prevent muggle-born witches and wizards from existing, even if there was only one muggle-born wizard way up in a family tree, generations ago. That means people like you, Hyunjin. They’re trying to get rid of people like you.

They think that the secret for this is in Hogwarts, somewhere. Since the castle somehow got its own magic, they think that they can use whatever gave Hogwarts its magic to control who does or doesn’t get magic. It doesn’t even make sense, honestly, but they asked me to help them. They wanted me to be a spy inside Hogwarts to look for things that might help them. I said no, of course, since I’m not crazy like them, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they find someone else who might help them.

Hyunjin, I don’t know what to do. They haven’t done anything yet, so it’s not like I can report them to the Ministry or the aurors or whatever. They would probably stop me before I did, anyways. And besides, they’re my parents. What if they get arrested and sent to Azkaban and then I’m alone? Will I have to move back to Korea with my sister? Sure, what they’re doing is wrong, but I don’t want to lose my parents over this. I’m so confused. I don’t know.

I need your help. Write me back as soon as you can. Make sure no one intercepts your owl, though. You’re the only person I can trust with this.

From, your best friend,

Changbin

P.S. Don’t send your own owl. My parents will know something is wrong. Just keep Gyu with you until you’ve finished writing back and send him back with your letter to me. Be careful and stay safe.

Chapter Text

“Excuse me!” Hyunjin called, hurrying through a crowd of people, his luggage clattering along the walkway behind him. He was late, again, and it was raining, again , as it always seemed to be whenever Hyunjin needed to be somewhere. So here he was, sprinting through King’s Cross Station, his white uniform shirt nearly transparent from how wet it was and his hair dripping cold rivulets down the back of his neck. He swerved around another group of people, his luggage nearly toppling over, but he righted it just in time to throw himself at the wall leading to Platform 9 ¾.

The train was already huffing out smoke, clearly about to depart, and the only people left on the platform were parents seeing their kids off. His were notably absent-- his house was only a small distance from the station, and his family always said their goodbyes to him there, content to let him journey to the station on his own. Goodbyes had taken a bit longer today, which led to Hyunjin’s current situation-- bounding onto the train and heaving his luggage up with him just before the conductor shut the doors. 

Hyunjin let out a groan, dropping his luggage onto the ground and sitting down on top of it. He pushed his wet hair out of his eyes, trying to catch his breath, then heard the conductor clear his throat. He looked up to find the conductor staring down at him disapprovingly, one eyebrow raised.

“Sorry,” Hyunjin said breathlessly, standing up quickly and lifting his luggage again. “Sorry. I’m going.” He felt the conductor’s eyes on him as he walked down the train, following the sound of bright, high pitched laughter until he found the compartment he was looking for.

“Well, look who finally decided to show up!” Jisung shouted as soon as Hyunjin appeared in the doorway. His Gryffindor friend was spread out along one of the benches with Felix, the freckled Hufflepuff pressed up against the window to accommodate for Jisung’s sprawl. “Fashionably late as always, right, Hwang?”

“Fashionable is one word for it,” Seungmin said, eyeing Hyunjin judgementaly as Hyunjin shoved his luggage into the overhead compartment. He shifted over on his bench, clutching his hands over his Ravenclaw sweater to keep it from getting dirty. “You’re unsightly. Are you not wearing an undershirt?”

“Oh come on, Seungmin, everyone knows you’ve been wanting to see this again since first year,” Jisung remarked smarmily. “I’ll never forget that, when Hyunjin came in soaking wet from the rain and asked to sit with us, and you--” He cut off with a yelp as Seungmin glared and kicked him in the shin.

“You guys are true friends, really,” Hyunjin drawled sarcastically as he sat down next to Seungmin, who shifted further away from Hyunjin’s dripping wet clothes. Felix just rolled his eyes, pulling out his wand and casting a Hot-Air Charm. He aimed his wand at Hyunjin, who let out a content sigh as his clothes began to dry off.

“I don’t know why you have even an ounce of faith in me or Seungmin,” Jisung said, laughing even as he rubbed his shin, “when Felix is clearly the only good person in this group.”

“You mean I’m the only one you’re able to take advantage of?” Felix asked, turning his head to look at Jisung, then kicked him in the shin again when the Gryffindor responded with an unapologetic, “Absolutely.”

“Anyways,” Felix continued, tucking his wand back into his pocket once Hyunjin’s clothes were adequately dry, “how was your summer, Hyunjin?”

Hyunjin pouted at just the mention of the summer, sulking in his seat. “Boring,” he responded instantly, “All my family did was host boring dinner parties or go to other people’s boring dinner parties. I didn’t get to visit anyone!” He turned to pout at Seungmin, poking him in the arm. “Seungminnie, didn’t you say you’d visit?”

“Don’t call me that,” Seungmin grumbled, swatting Hyunjin’s hand away. “And no, I didn’t. I told you, my family always goes to America for the summer.”

Hyunjin let out a noise of understanding at that. “Right, I forgot your dad always is researching in America,” he responded, sitting back up straight and turning to Felix. “How about you, Felix? Anything interesting?”

Felix shrugged, leaning back in his seat. He pulled his wand back out of his pocket, turning it over in his hands to have something to do. “Just relaxed at home,” he said simply. “Visited some family in Australia for a couple weeks, caught up with some of my old school friends… Nothing too exciting.”

“Do they still think you’re at some private boarding school in Denmark?” Seungmin asked, then laughed when Felix nodded. “I can’t believe they don’t find that weird at all.”

“Well I , for one,” Jisung interjected, loud and abrupt as he put a hand on his chest, “had an incredibly exciting summer.”

“Good for you,” Hyunjin said flatly, then let out a high-pitched laugh when Jisung took a swing at him, flailing backwards to try and avoid being hit. Seungmin tried his best to smother a laugh.

Jisung sat back with a huff, holding a hand out to block Hyunjin’s face from his view. “So, Seungmin and Felix, my only real friends,” he continued, “would you like to hear about my summertime adventure?”

“You’d tell us anyways, even if we said no,” Seungmin reminded helpfully, and Felix laughed as Jisung turned to face directly to him.

“ Anyways , Felix, my best and only friend,” Jisung enunciated, giving a glare to Seungmin and Hyunjin, “I went to Paris this summer.”

“Oh, did you now?” Felix asked, holding back a smile.

“I did,” Jisung said eagerly, nodding. “And I met a girl .”

“Yes, because girls only exist in Paris, right?” Seungmin supplied, and Hyunjin masked his laugh with a cough.

“I’m not talking to you two,” Jisung snapped, holding a hand out to silence Seungmin and Hyunjin, which just made Hyunjin laugh louder. “Anyways, Felix and only Felix , I met a girl in Paris.”

Felix pursed his lips together, trying not to laugh. “Sounds very romantic,” he struggled to say after a moment.

“It was!” Jisung insisted, placing a hand on his chest and looking away dramatically. “We met at a bistro along the Seine, just before sundown. She had long, blonde hair, and big brown eyes, and…”

He stalled as he caught sight of a familiar figure in a Ravenclaw robe passing by outside their compartment. Even though it was just a glimpse, he would recognize Minho anywhere-- the sharp features, catlike eyes, always looking like the perfect mix of unamused yet focused. Minho paused for a moment as well, looking at Jisung’s dramatic pose through the doorway, before snickering and disappearing down the corridor.

“... could not compare to Minho in Jisung’s mind,” Hyunjin finished helpfully, causing Felix to burst out laughing.

Jisung groaned and melted into the seat, covering his face with his hands. “Shut up, oh my god,” he complained, his voice muffled behind his hands. “I do not have a crush on Minho!”

“Who said anything about a crush?” Seungmin pointed out, causing Jisung to blush. Felix just laughed harder, clutching his stomach. 

“Oh, like you’re one to talk!” Jisung shouted, throwing his hands away from his face and gesturing wildly at Felix. “You’ve been looking at Chan with hearts in your eyes since the day you set foot in Hogwarts!”

“ Chan ?!” Felix shouted, his laughter stopping as he stared at Jisung with wide-eyes. Hyunjin cackled at his expression, collapsing into Seungmin, who covered his mouth with his hand to hide his grin. “Are you blind? Chan’s like my older brother!”

As if summoned, the door to their compartment rattled, and Chan poked his head around the corner with a grin. Jisung and Hyunjin, the ones closest to the door, startled at the sudden appearance, Hyunjin throwing his hands into the air and falling into Seungmin. “Did I hear my name?” Chan asked, wiggling his eyebrows. Behind him, Woojin, his fellow Hufflepuff seventh-year and best friend, watched on fondly. “You lads were talking about me?”

“Mate, you’ve got to stop doing that,” Felix reprimanded, trying not to laugh at the combination of Chan’s expression and Hyunjin’s reaction. “You’re gonna weird out everyone in this school by the time you graduate.”

“It’s like you’re everywhere at once,” Seungmin added, trying to get Hyunjin upright. Chan just winked at him.

“I’ve gotta check on everyone, you know?” Chan said proudly, coming to lean in the doorway. The badge on his Hufflepuff uniform glinted in the light. “I’m Head Boy now.”

“Of course you are,” Jisung replied, leaning back. “No surprises there, you were always a shoe-in for it.”

Chan had the decency to look bashful at that, waving a hand. “Oh, no, not really,” he chuckled, his cheeks a bit pink. He reached behind himself to grab Woojin, dragging the other boy closer beside him. “Woojin would have made a great Head Boy as well. He could have beaten me, to be honest.”

Woojin laughed at that, shaking his head. “He’s trying to be humble, but we both knew it would be him,” he said, nudging Chan fondly. He paused then, peeking his head further into the compartment to get a look at Seungmin. “By the way, Seungmin, don’t forget that choir practice starts during the second week of classes,” he added, and Seungmin flashed him a thumbs up.

“Oh! Yeah!” Chan blurted out suddenly, then turned to Felix. The younger Hufflepuff’s eyes widened and he pointed at himself in confusion. “We’re having Quidditch tryouts at the end of the month! You’ve got to join!”

Hyunjin let out a laugh at that as Felix’s face fell into an expression of exasperation. “Chan, really?” he asked, snickering when Felix covered his face. He evidently knew what was coming. “I know you’re desperate for support to win against our team this year, but Felix can hardly fly.”

Felix sighed, rubbing his face with his hands. “You fall off a broom one time in first year and he never lets you hear the end of it,” he mumbled to himself tiredly. 

Chan let out a guffaw at that, tipping his head back as he laughed dramatically. “Oh, the Slytherin Keeper wins one time and he thinks he’s the best Quidditch player at Hogwarts,” he said, leaning heavily into the doorway. “Listen, we may not have won last year, but as the captain--”

“Okay!” Woojin said loudly, smacking a hand on Chan’s shoulder. He was smiling widely, but his grip on Chan’s shoulder was tight, signalling that the conversation was clearly over. Chan looked as if he was going to say something more, but Woojin beat him to it. “We’re going to finish our rounds! Have a good trip! See you at school!”

As quickly as they had appeared in the doorway, Chan and Woojin disappeared, the rattling door to the compartment closing loudly after them. As their shadows moved past the door and their voices trailed down the hall, Chan could be heard defending himself, but he was quickly silenced by Woojin’s smooth voice.

Seungmin turned to look at Felix, who was still covering his face with his hands. “Not your type?” he asked teasingly, then laughed as Felix shook his head hurriedly.

“Well,” Jisung announced loudly, clapping his hands together to get everyone’s attention. “We may not know what Felix’s type is, but we all know what Hyunjin’s type is, right?” He leaned towards Hyunjin, imitating the Slytherin’s pouty face. “Well, Changbin--”

“Oh, stop ,” Hyunjin whined, throwing a hand out to smack Jisung. The Gryffindor recoiled back, laughing along with Felix. “It’s not like that, Changbin and I are just friends.”

“Why haven’t we met this friend, then?” Felix asked, sounding partially teasing but mostly genuinely curious. “You mention him all the time, but I hardly know anything about him.”

Hyunjin’s face brightened at that, and he sat up a bit straighter. “Well,” he said eagerly, “he’s a Slytherin, he’s a year older than me, I’ve known him since before we went to Hogwarts, he’s kinda short but--”

Seungmin cleared his throat, eyebrows raised, and Hyunjin paused. “Oh, sure,” he said sarcastically. “You definitely don’t have a crush.”

Hyunjin huffed as Jisung and Felix burst into laughter, the two of them holding onto each other to stay upright. “You guys are so-- ugh !” he shouted, standing up and throwing his hands in the air. “I’m going to see Changbin, at least he won’t make fun of me like this.”

Jisung snickered at Hyunjin’s outburst, holding his stomach. “Right, you must be missing your boyfriend after not seeing him all summer, huh?” he teased, then laughed harder at Hyunjin’s frustrated, “Goodbye, Jisung!”

Hyunjin huffed as he shut the door harshly, the wood and glass rattling with the force. He smoothed out his shirt and fluffed his hair, wanting to make sure he looked presentable. It wasn’t as if he was trying to show off much-- Changbin and him had been friends for ages, had seen each other through some of their most embarrassing phases, there was no use trying to make a good impression now. Still, Hyunjin wasn’t so naive about his appearance, especially since he’d grown considerably over the summer, his shoulders starting to fill out as well. He knew that Changbin would probably always see him as the kid he had met all those years ago, but Hyunjin hoped that, at the very least, Changbin would start seeing him as a bit more of an adult. 

He started to make his way down the hall of the train, peeking through the compartment windows for Changbin, but soon ran into a familiar face. “Oh, hey, Jeongin,” he said casually, waving to the younger boy, who beamed at him with a mouth full of metal. Jeongin’s parents were muggles, his mother a dentist, so it came as no surprise to Hyunjin that they had used muggle techniques to fix their son’s teeth. “Do you need something?” 

“Yeah, have you seen Woojin?” Jeongin asked, moving off to one side with Hyunjin as a taller girl squeezed past them-- Hyunjin recognized her as Minkyung, Ravenclaw’s head girl this year. Jeongin paused until she had passed, then looked back at Hyunjin. “I have a couple questions for him about choir this year, but he wasn’t in the prefect’s carriage,” he elaborated.

Hyunjin let out a thoughtful hum. “He was doing rounds with Chan not too long ago, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they got sidetracked talking to some other students and was sitting down with them somewhere,” he answered. He patted the young Gryffindor on the shoulder, smiling. “Besides, isn’t it a bit early to ask about choir? Woojin told Seungmin that choir wouldn’t be starting until the second week of classes,” he added.

Jeongin shrugged a bit, letting out a flustered laugh. “Would rather think about that than my classes,” he admitted, and Hyunjin couldn’t help but laugh as well. He couldn’t fault the boy for that-- classes were the last thing on Hyunjin’s own mind right now. “By the way, aren’t you usually with Seungmin and your other friends right now?” Jeongin asked suddenly, and Hyunjin blinked. When he paid attention, though, he noticed that Jeongin was smiling a mischievous smile. “Or is Jisung bothering you? Because if he’s being too annoying, I learned a spell that could probably make him be quiet.”

Hyunjin tried to hold back a cackle at the idea of sweet, young, brace-faced Jeongin casting a charm on Jisung to shut him up-- although, the more he thought about it, the less it surprised him. Jeongin probably had to deal with his fair share of annoyances from Jisung, with the two of them being in the same house and all. “He’s always annoying,” Hyunjin replied, and laughed when Jeongin nodded sagely in agreement, “but no, everything’s fine. I’m just trying to find Changbin.”

Jeongin let out a small ‘oh’ then shook his head. “Sorry, can’t help you with that one,” he said, then moved past Hyunjin and further down the train. “Hope you find him, though! I’m gonna look for Woojin!”

Hyunjin gave the Gryffindor boy a wave as he passed, watching him go for a moment before heading further down the train. It didn’t take much longer for him to find Changbin, but he nearly missed him-- he was sitting quietly in a compartment with just one other boy, the two of them not talking. When Hyunjin looked closer, he realized it was Minho.

Hyunjin opened the door slowly, not wanting to disturb, but Changbin still startled nonetheless. Hyunjin startled as well at Changbin’s sudden movement-- usually his friend wasn’t the jumpy type, himself having always been the more easily startled between the two of them. Minho, to his credit, remained perfectly still-- he seemed to be sleeping, his eyes closed and his head resting against the window.

“Sorry,” Hyunjin said hurriedly, stepping into the compartment and sliding the door shut softly behind him. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you, I just wanted to come say hi.”

Changbin shook his head quickly, shifting over to make room for Hyunjin on the bench next to him. He looked tired, surprisingly, something uncharacteristic for Changbin. Usually Changbin came back looking rested, still riding the high of his birthday just a couple weeks before the school year. This time, though, he looked harrowed, as if the summer had been a trying and stressful experience rather than a time of rest. It was worrying, for Hyunjin, seeing his best friend so tense.

“I haven’t heard from you all summer,” Hyunjin said after a few moments of Changbin not saying anything. The other Slytherin was looking between Minho and Hyunjin every few seconds, seeming on edge. Hyunjin had to lean around him to get in Changbin’s field of vision when his eyes lingered on Minho too long. “Is everything okay? Usually you write, at least, but…”

Changbin seemed to pause at that, his eyes landing on Hyunjin then shifting away again. Usually, if there was something wrong, Changbin had no problems complaining to Hyunjin about it. Whether it was things to do with his family, classmates, his grades, Hyunjin was always the first person to hear about it. For Changbin to hesitate telling him about what was going on at all-- let alone not write him about it at any point in the summer-- Hyunjin knew it must have been serious.

Changbin leaned in closer for a moment, seeming to contemplate what he was about to say, and Hyunjin’s heart skipped a beat. It’d been a while since he’d looked at Changbin up close, seen how he was starting to fill out, his jaw more defined. Hyunjin felt his face heat up.

Before long though, Changbin leaned back, crossing his arms. “My parents surprised me with a trip to visit my sister in Korea,” he said, looking over at Minho. “They sent me there for nearly the whole summer, I think they wanted to go on their own vacation. I didn’t have a chance to write you before I left, sorry.”

It was a lie, clearly, even Hyunjin could tell that. If it wasn’t the way Changbin refused to look at him, or the closed off posture, it was the fact that Changbin’s parents would never miss the opportunity to have their son to themselves for a whole summer, to show him off at the dinner parties Hyunjin always knew they had but his family was rarely invited to. They weren’t old, pure-bloods like Changbin’s family, as much wizarding history as they had behind them, and Hyunjin knew that Changbin’s family would never regard him on the same tier as them.

It was never something he minded, though, as Changbin never thought that. Or, Hyunjin never thought he thought that, until now, with Changbin keeping something clearly troublesome a secret from Hyunjin. But as much as Hyunjin’s pride was bruised, and as much as he wanted to know what was going on in his friend’s life, the last thing he wanted to do was push too hard and end up pushing Changbin away in the process.

So Hyunjin sat back as well, fiddling with his hands in his lap before deciding to wrap his arms around himself. “Oh, that’s fine, then,” he lied, hoping his emotions weren’t bleeding into his voice but doubting his ability to hide them. He shifted a bit, uncomfortable. “Was it fun?” he pressed. “Being in Korea?”

Changbin shrugged at that, letting out a bit of a scoff. “Boring as hell, my sister worked every day so we didn’t do anything interesting,” he said, and okay, this was a bit smoother. Maybe Hyunjin was overreacting, and Changbin hadn’t been lying. He looked back at Hyunjin again, and this time, there was a small smile on his face. “How about your summer?” he asked, seeming a bit more relaxed. “I’m sure you have a lot more to say than I do.”

Hyunjin’s nerves were eased as Changbin seemed to relax, the tense, uncomfortable atmosphere fading. “You know I do,” he replied goodnaturedly, and smiled back when Changbin grinned.

They spent the rest of the train ride like that, the two of them falling into their usual banter easily, Minho sleeping peacefully across from them.

Chapter Text

It wasn’t as if the welcoming dinner was something that Changbin especially enjoyed or hated each year. The food was delicious, the atmosphere was lively, and Changbin was able to catch up with most people he knew around the school-- whether he liked them or not. This particular year, though, the Slytherin simply lacked the patience for it. The welcoming of the first years seemed to drag, and the conversation around him grew dry much faster than he remembered it doing in previous years. Even the food didn’t seem to taste as good, though clearly that was no fault of the house elves, simply a product of Changbin’s own mood.

Hyunjin seemed to have noticed-- next to him, the fifth year was quieter than usual, shooting glances at Changbin out of the corner of his eye as he talked to a boy in Hyunjin's year named Donghyuck on the opposite side of him. Changbin wanted to be his usual self, chattering with Hyunjin and other students their year about the summer, but he just couldn’t muster up the energy; talking with Hyunjin on the train ride had drained him, each lie he had to make convincing wearing him down. After listening to the first years be sorted one by one, Changbin was nearly surly-- and his expression did not improve in the slightest when Jungwoo, a boy in his year, approached him.

“Long time no see, Changbin!” Jungwoo said enthusiastically, giving Changbin a pretty grin. Changbin felt his jaw clench on instinct as he turned his head to look up at handsome Jungwoo’s boastful height. “Good summer, I hope?”

It almost ticked him off, how picture perfect Jungwoo could be— and yet, simultaneously, how fake Changbin thought it all was. The boy acted friendly with everyone in their house, but Changbin had seen how competitive Jungwoo could be first hand from years of classes together. Jungwoo was after the title of head boy, and acting friendly to Changbin when the boy knew full well that Jungwoo had no interest in talking to him was just part of the plan to advance himself.

“Not long enough,” Changbin replied, tone biting. From beside him, he saw Hyunjin’s conversation pause, his friend turning to look over at him with some concern. He let out a huff, turning his head away from Jungwoo, who was still smiling at him despite his obvious disdain.

“Look, I know you’re only talking to me to try and make a good impression so you become head boy next year," Changbin explained, frustration bleeding into his voice. "So you can cut the crap, okay? You've hardly talked to me before, so don't try and act like we're buddy-buddy just to get ahead."

Changbin flinched when he felt a hand on his shoulder, but when he looked over, it was only Hyunjin, looking at him with a mix of concern and disapproval. "Hey," he murmured, quiet and soothing. "What's up with you today? You don't need to get so upset."

"No, it's fine!" Jungwoo said cheerily, and Changbin scoffed when he saw that the other boy's expression hadn't cracked in the slightest from Changbin's outburst. "He's right, so I can't fault him for it. I'll leave you alone for now." He waved at Changbin, a pleasant smile on his face, which Changbin tried his hardest to avoid looking at. Stupid perfect Jungwoo. "Enjoy your dinner!" he chirped, then made his way down the table, stopping to talk to some other students a bit further down.

Changbin could feel Hyunjin's eyes on him, the concern pouring off of his friend in waves, but he refused to meet his gaze, his own eyes fixed on the table in front of him. "It's fine, Hyunjin," he said eventually, when he realized that Hyunjin wasn't going to give up so easily. He let out a sigh as Hyunjin finally turned away, resting his arms on the table and burying his face in them in hopes of regaining some sense of calm and composure.

His reprieve didn't last very long, though— within a few minutes, the headmaster cleared their throat, beginning the long speech detailing the announcements and changes that were coming this year. Changbin had the decency to lift his head, but hardly paid attention— if there was something really important, he would hear about it from others later. But a staffing change grabbed his interest, his head shooting up when the headmaster announced that a new teacher would be taking over the History of Magic class.

"Please welcome our new instructor, a Hogwarts graduate and former head boy of Slytherin," the headmaster bellowed, "Professor Jinyoung Park."

Changbin's eyes grew so wide he thought they might fall out of his head. He watched with something akin to horror as Jinyoung stood up to raucous applause, smiling and waving to greet the students and staff. The Slytherin table around him was particularly filled with noise, some older students who had known Jinyoung personally in his time at Hogwarts even standing up to cheer, but Changbin felt rooted to his seat. Because he knew that face; not just from his time as a Slytherin student with Jinyoung, the now professor having graduated when Changbin was in his third year, but from countless dinner parties at the estates of his family and their friends, the handsome older boy constantly lauded as the perfect son.

Changbin could feel his hands balling into fists, his jaw tense. So this was who his parents and their friends had found to do their dirty work for them.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when Hyunjin grabbed his arm, his best friend now seated after the cheering had stopped but still seeming to vibrate with excitement. "It's Jinyoung!" he said dramatically, nearly shouting had he not been actively trying to keep his voice at a respectful volume. " The Jinyoung! He's here !"

Changbin glanced back at Jinyoung, trying not to look too sour as he pulled his gaze back to his best friend. "Yes, it's Jinyoung," he replied, feeling offput by how excited Hyunjin was. "What's the big deal?"

" What's the big deal ?" Hyunjin echoed disbelievingly. "You studied at the same time as him, do you forget who he is?" His friend let go of his arm to clasp his hands together, looking back at Jinyoung with stars in his eyes.

"Jinyoung is a legend ," he enthused, almost seeming to swoon. "Him and the other 7th year Slytherin, the one who was a prefect, he was on the Quidditch team with Jinyoung— you gotta remember Jaebeom, right? They were the coolest guys ever! They were good at every subject, popular even outside of Slytherin, handsome— they had everything! And now one of them is here as a professor ?" Hyunjin let out a disbelieving noise, shaking his head as if trying to wake himself up from a dream. "I guess I'm not slacking off in History of Magic anymore," he added cheekily.

Changbin felt like his throat had closed up. So Hyunjin was a fan of Jinyoung's, then? It just made this whole situation more impossible for him. At first, he couldn't tell Hyunjin what his parents were planning for fear of putting him in danger— but now, if he told him that Jinyoung was involved, Changbin had no guarantee that Hyunjin would believe what he was saying about his idol. When he didn't respond after a few moments though, Hyunjin looked at him with a pout, and Changbin shook his head, trying to keep his cool.

"Just thinking about how the quality has dropped since then," he commented, nodding his head over to the current Slytherin 7th years, sitting a few seats down from him. He smirked as Hyunjin let out a snort. Two of the upper year boys for this year, Yugyeom and Bambam, were currently loudly bickering and laughing with each other, roughhousing even at the table. Changbin winced as Yugyeom yanked on Bambam's robe, the other's knee hitting the table and nearly toppling a glass of pumpkin juice over.

"At least there's some good ones," Hyunjin remarked, nodding his head across the hall to where another Slytherin 7th year, Eunki, was chatting away with someone at the Hufflepuff table. "Pros and cons," he added, and Changbin snorted, nodding.

The dinner, despite how painful it seemed for Changbin in the beginning, was over sooner than he thought after that, students and professors alike dispersing to their common rooms, offices, or dormitories. Changbin waited until Hyunjin had finished chatting with his other Slytherin friends to leave together, Changbin himself lacking in friends in their house compared to someone as well-liked as Hyunjin, who had no shortage of friends all across the school. When Hyunjin was ready to leave, the two of them meandered out into the hall with a couple of other students, headed towards the doors before a voice boomed, "HEY HYUNJIN!"

Changbin startled at the loud noise, but not as badly as Hyunjin, who skidded on the floor and flung his arms up into the air, before falling ungracefully onto his butt. Immediately, the same voice could be heard bursting into hysterical laughter, and Changbin was able to pinpoint it to a blond boy in the red robes of Gryffindor standing near the main doors of the castle with a few other young boys. Changbin couldn't tell if the boy had cast a charm to make his voice louder or if he really was that loud naturally, but as Hyunjin picked himself off the ground, he didn't seem like this volume was quite so unusual.

"Sorry," Hyunjin said to the other Slytherins, "Sorry, I— that's my friend, I gotta go. I'll meet up with the rest of you later, okay?" He waved to them all hurriedly, looking a bit sheepish as he jogged over to the other boys. Changbin watched fondly as Hyunjin gestured dramatically when he reached them, threatening to hit the Gryffindor who had yelled at him, the boy letting out a loud laugh again.

By the time Changbin had looked away from Hyunjin, most of the other Slytherin students they had been walking with had gone on ahead to the dorms. Changbin could have ran to catch up to them, but he decided just to walk on his own— he had a lot of things to think about, what with Jinyoung arriving at the school, and most of the students him and Hyunjin had been walking with were Hyunjin's friends rather than his, anyways. Some time alone with his thoughts would be good for him, he figured, so he took his time heading back to the dorms, shoes scuffing against the stone floor of the castle.

His parents were serious about their plan, then. That's the only thing that could explain why Jinyoung was here, rather than someone else, someone more qualified for the job. It wasn't as if there were an abundance of teaching positions at Hogwarts— surely there was someone with more expertise in magical history than a recent Hogwarts graduate. And hadn't Jinyoung had a job at the Ministry of Magic after graduation? That wasn't something someone would give up easily, either. With the timing of it all, too, Changbin was convinced— Jinyoung was here to do what Changbin himself wouldn't.

The sound of footsteps behind him roused Changbin from his thoughts, glancing back over his shoulder automatically. Instantly, he felt his blood turn to ice; because there, walking up from behind him, was none other than Jinyoung, the pleasant smile already resting on his face getting wider when he saw Changbin.

"Oh, Changbin," Jinyoung said jovially, jogging a few paces to catch up with him— the Slytherin student had stopped walking when he realized just who was behind him. "It's been a while, hasn't it? I didn't even recognize you from behind— you've grown since I last saw you!"

Changbin had to bite his tongue to stop himself from lashing out at Jinyoung; his height was a perpetually sore subject no matter the person, let alone someone who was now public enemy number one in Changbin's mind. "Yes, it's been a few years since I saw you at one of our family's dinners," he replied, trying to be curt without being openly disdainful— despite Changbin's feelings towards him, Jinyoung was a professor now, and Changbin couldn't risk too much. He started walking again, setting a brisk pace for the dormitories, and clenched his jaw when Jinyoung followed along, keeping pace with him.

"It has been! It's unfortunate, really. My old job at the ministry kept me too busy— Jaebeom would always scold me and say that I was going to work myself to death there, even though he was usually worse off than me." Jinyoung spoke as if there was no distance between the two of them whatsoever, laughing at his own comments. Whether he was talking to Changbin because he was genuinely interested in forming some sort of bond between the two of them, or because he thought Changbin was on the same side as their parents and assumedly him, Changbin wasn't sure. Either way, it left a sour taste in his mouth.

Changbin cleared his throat to get Jinyoung's attention, the young professor looking at Changbin while making an inquisitive noise. "This is the way to the Slytherin dormitories," Changbin pointed out, giving Jinyoung an appraising look out of the corner of his eye. "Do you have some business there, Professor ?"

He didn't mean to bite out the last word so resentfully, barely able to keep himself from wincing at his own tone of voice. Thankfully, Jinyoung either didn't notice or chose not to react, letting out a chuckle. "Oh, I'm quite aware of where this hall leads," he replied. "Just thought I would visit my old stomping grounds. I doubt much has changed in the last five years or so, but it's always nice to reacquaint yourself with some fond memories, don't you think?"

Changbin let out a noncommittal hum, having almost negative levels of interest in pursuing further conversation with Jinyoung. Thankfully, the older man seemed to get the hint, allowing the two of them to walk in a relatively peaceful silence the rest of the way to the dormitories, besides the turmoil brewing in Changbin's mind. When they walked through the door, Jinyoung was immediately bombarded by every Slytherin in the immediate vicinity— most notably Yugyeom and Bambam, who nearly launched themselves off the couches to reach Jinyoung, chattering away excitedly as if they were best friends. Changbin couldn't complain about Jinyoung's popularity this time, though, the ruckus allowing him to sneak away to his bedroom in private.

Like in previous years, Changbin's trunk had already been deposited near his bed, a four-poster with deep green bedding that brought a sense of comfort to Changbin despite the other turbulent aspects of his life. He unpacked his things as if on autopilot, arranging his small area of the room to his liking before climbing into bed quickly. It was still early; none of his other roommates were in the dorm yet, and a bit of light was still filtering in through the water outside the window in his room, the dormitory extending into the lake. But the stress of the day had worn him down more than he realized, and the comfort and familiarity of being back in the dormitories rested on him as heavily as the warm, green blanket on his bed— within minutes, the swishing of the water outside his window had lulled Changbin to sleep.

Chapter Text

"I would like to introduce a new recruit," Jisung announced grandly, his hands slamming down onto Jeongin's shoulders, who winced. Seungmin let out a tired sigh, watching as Hyunjin mirrored the action across from him. Jisung had refused to explain why Jeongin was tagging along with him until they all met up after dinner, even going so far as to cast a silencing spell on the younger boy so he wouldn't be able to explain himself. Only after the Gryffindor had scared the life out of Hyunjin— and proceeded to nearly receive a beating from the Slytherin in return— did Jisung remove the silencing charm.

"A new recruit?" Felix asked curiously, looking between Jeongin and Jisung. "What are we, some sort of official organization?"

Jisung straightened up, letting out an indignant sniff. "Excuse you, we are a student-run extracurricular club," he corrected haughtily, chin tipped back. "Seungmin is our treasurer."

Seungmin blinked at that. "I'm not the treasurer," he remarked. "I'm not even good at math."

"Your arithmancy mark says otherwise," Jisung replied, then continued to barrel forward even as Seungmin tried to protest. "Anyways," he said loudly to be heard over Seungmin's voice, and the Ravenclaw regretfully quieted, though he continued to glare at the other boy, "please welcome our new recruit, Jeongin."

The younger Gryffindor gave a wave that tinged on sheepish, though Seungmin knew better than to think Jeongin was shy. He'd known Jeongin for years, the two of them in choir together, and the Gryffindor boy was anything but an introvert. Even outside of that, Jisung had been carting the other boy around since he was a first year, always making sure that Jeongin was included in conversations with their friends despite being in different years. Seungmin would even consider Jeongin one of his close friends.

"We all know him already, stop making a big deal out of it," Hyunjin complained, seeming to be on the same page as Seungmin himself as he moved forward to ruffle Jeongin's hair. The younger boy laughed, ducking away from Hyunjin's hand, and Seungmin felt himself smiling when he saw Jeongin's braces. How cute.

Jisung flailed his hands as Hyunjin began to lead Jeongin away to the hidden door leading out of the castle that they had used for the past few years. "I'm trying to follow the proper procedures!" he squawked indignantly. "I won't stand for this disrespect, Hwang!"

"The only procedure is getting out of the castle and into the water," Felix said eagerly, slinging an arm each around Seungmin and Jisung's shoulders and pulling them after Hyunjin and Jeongin. "Let's just go!"

It was a tradition they had made the first year that they were at Hogwarts. After the welcome dinner, Jisung would round them all up— even Seungmin, as unwilling as he was the first couple years— and the four of them would sneak out of the castle to head to the lake for a swim. They'd gotten caught every year, and it pricked something in Seungmin even after five years to know that he was going to get in trouble once they got back inside, but nothing ever held them back. When they'd been stopped from leaving through the main doors, they'd found alternate routes; when upper year students to had tried to keep watch on them, they'd found a way to sneak away. It wasn't as difficult to get out this year compared to last, and Seungmin thought that maybe they had given up on stopping their little group. (In reality, though, it was probably due to the change in the head students this year. Last year's head boy of Slytherin, Doyoung, had been a notorious hardass with students from every house, while Gryffindor's head girl Jeongyeon and Ravenclaw's head boy Jihoon didn't make getting out of trouble easy.)

Before the five of them knew it, they were out of the castle, and Hyunjin was already stripping his shirt off as he sprinted towards the lake, Felix following close behind. Seungmin trailed along slowly, watching as the rest of the boys stripped down to their underwear and clambered loudly into the water, Hyunjin hollering about how cold it was. Seungmin himself had never been too keen on getting into the water, tending just to linger along the water's edge. But as much as he griped about it, this was a quintessential part of his friendship with this foolish group of boys, and he wouldn't trade it for the world.

Except for this time, because one young Gryffindor had decided it was a wonderful idea to yank Seungmin into the water by his ankles from where he had been wading in the shallower part of the lake. Seungmin had taken off his slacks earlier to get deeper into the water, the waves lapping gently above his knees, but his shirt, sweater, and boxers were now soaked as he heaved himself out of the water, gasping. Jeongin didn't seem very remorseful, laughing as he swam out of reach, and Seungmin had half a mind to storm over to where his wand was resting on top of his neatly folded pants and turn the younger boy into a fish.

Thankfully for Jeongin, Hyunjin's laughter grabbed Seungmin's attention, and he looked over to see the Slytherin standing up out of the water, hair soaked and dripping down his back. The moonlight seemed to shimmer on his skin, and Seungmin looked away hurriedly, face red. "Come on, Seungmin!" he heard the other boy call, and it took everything for Seungmin not to look back over at him. "You might as well join us at this point!"

Seungmin took a few seconds to cool his head, before walking out of the water, hearing Felix and Jisung booing him as he went. Their boos changed to cheers, however, when Seungmin stripped out of his soaking shirts until he was only in his undershirt and boxers, then hurried back into the water. He sunk down to his neck to hide himself and cool his heated face, watching from a distance as Jisung suddenly shrieked and launched himself into Felix's arms.

"The squid!" he shouted, nearly crawling up a suspiciously unalarmed Felix. "The squid tried to grab me, it—"

He cut off as Jeongin burst out of the water, the younger boy doubling over with laughter along with Felix. Jisung looked between the two of them, betrayed, as Jeongin brandished a long strand of sea grass menacingly, and Seungmin let out a small laugh of his own. Maybe the little Gryffindor was alright after all.

It didn't take much longer in the water for the cold night air to seep into the boys' bones and make them shiver, and sooner rather than later found them hauling themselves out of the water, nailbeds and lips tinged blue. Seungmin hurriedly snatched up his pants and still wet shirts on his way out, moving further away from the other boys. He'd never changed around them before, having never gone far enough into the water to warrant fully changing, and part of him was nervous at having the other boys see his body. Not that he was particularly self-conscious about any part of himself— he was on the softer side, not lean and muscled like the others, and had a few beauty marks and freckles adorning his skin, but it never bothered him. Seungmin simply liked to keep some parts of himself private.

He couldn't say the same about the others, though, startling when he heard the smack of wet cloth against skin, followed by Felix's yelp and Hyunjin's cackling laugh. He sighed as he hurried to shuck off his wet boxers and step into his trousers, fumbling with the buckle on his belt a bit as he heard another smack. He was just picking up his wet shirt and sweater, trying to figure out what to do with them when a wet piece of fabric connected with his back and made him shout.

When he turned around, Hyunjin was there, holding a twisted up pair of wet boxers and clad only in his own trousers. Seungmin prayed that he wasn't blushing too hard. "Can you not," he snapped, swinging his own wet clothes at Hyunjin, but the Slytherin just moved out of his reach, laughing loudly at Seungmin's ire. Seungmin swung again, but this time Hyunjin caught his shirts and pulled, the Ravenclaw boy stumbling forward before his shirts were pulled out of his grip. "Wh— Hyunjin, give them back!"

"Hey, I'm doing you a favour!" Hyunjin called as he jumped away, dropping his wet boxers in favour of pulling his wand out of his pants pocket. Seungmin had a moment of fear that Hyunjin was going to cast some ridiculous curse on his clothes to shrink them or something equally as annoying; instead, a gust of hot air poured from the tip of his wand, drying his clothes similarly to how Felix had dried Hyunjin's clothes earlier that day. Seungmin let a small "oh" fall from his lips as he watched Hyunjin, the other boy's lips pursed in concentration as he focused on making sure Seungmin's clothes were dry.

Seungmin startled when he heard a wolf-whistle, followed by raucous laughter from Felix and Jeongin. "Damn, where can I get a boyfriend who'll dry my clothes for me?" Jisung called, and Seungmin turned to him angrily, shouting out, "I don't know, go ask Minho!"

Jisung let out an embarrassed shout as Felix and Jeongin continued to laugh, and when Seungmin turned back to Hyunjin, red-faced, he found the Slytherin watching him with a raised brow and an amused expression. "Didn't know I was your boyfriend," he remarked smarmily, holding out Seungmin's now dry shirts for him, and Seungmin felt his eyes go wide. He snatched the clothes from Hyunjin hurriedly, muttering "You're not, shut up," as Hyunjin laughed.

By the time Seungmin had tugged his shirt and sweater back on, tucking his button-down into his pants neatly, the other boys were dressed as well, the five of them ready to head back to the castle. Seungmin trailed a bit behind the others as they walked back, the four other boys chattering away happily as they made the trek back to the castle. As he looked back out onto the water one last time before the end of the night, the moon rippling over its surface, he paused and took a breath. This moment— despite his cold hands and damp clothes— was something to be cherished, and he let it bleed into his memory for a few moments before chasing down the others.

⟷⟷⟷

"How are we doin'?" Jisung whispered, trying to peer over Felix's shoulder and down the hall. "Are we good? Coast clear?"

"I could tell you if you stopped shoving me and breathing down my neck," Felix whispered harshly in return, trying to shake Jisung off. Jisung was unfortunately persistent, clinging onto Felix like a barnacle— luckily, Jeongin came to his rescue, yanking Jisung back without hesitation. The older Gryffindor yelped at the pull, then glared at Jeongin, who pursed his lips to hold back a smile as he looked away innocently.

"Lix, come on, it's not rocket science," Hyunjin whined softly, shifting from one foot to another and brushing up against Seungmin's side each time he did so. The five of them were crammed into a narrow hallway, trying to peek through the hidden door that let them into the castle to see if they would be caught or not. Unfortunately for them, Felix seemed to be taking his sweet time doing so. "If there's no one there, then we're fine. I'm cold, come on..."

"You can huddle with Seungmin for warmth," Jisung whispered with a smirk, and in their close proximity, Seungmin was able to reach over and hit him on the head, the Gryffindor letting out another yelp. From the door, Felix sighed, turning to look at them and rolling his eyes so hard it seemed as if they would roll right back into his head.

"Well, if there was anyone out there, they definitely would have heard us by now, thanks to someone," he explained, sending Jisung a pointed glare. Jisung opened his mouth as if to protest, but Felix was already opening the door, looking around one last time before creeping quietly out into the hallway.

The five of them trailed along in single-file, keeping their footsteps light as to not have their footsteps echoing against the cobblestone. It was quiet around them— quiet enough that Seungmin thought, for a moment, that they would finally get away with it. That is, until a booming voice shocked the five of them, a thick accent coating the words, "Oi Felix!"

Felix's head whipped around as the rest of them jumped out of their skin, eyes wide before he realized where the voice was coming from. When he did, the Hufflepuff seemed to deflate, his shoulders sagging as he called out, "Fine, Chris, you got us."

Seungmin's head was still whipping around, trying to find the source of the noise when he saw Hufflepuff's head boy, Chan, stepping out from behind a statue. The senior had a bit of a smug grin on his face, walking over to them without a shred of remorse despite scaring the hell out of the five of them just a moment ago. Hyunjin and Jisung were still recovering from the shock when Chan patted heavy hands on their shoulders.

"Oh, you boys," he drawled, voice more fond than anything. "Every year you sneak out, and every year you get caught. When are you gonna learn?"

"We won't," Jeongin said confidently, grinning as Chan looked over at him with raised eyebrows.

"Oh, you're a troublemaker," Chan replied with a chuckle, moving to pat Jeongin on the shoulder as well. "We'll keep an eye out for you, then."

Jisung let out a groan, scrubbing a hand over his face. "How," he lamented dramatically, giving Chan a despairing look. "Every year, one of the Head Boys or Head Girls finds us. How the hell do you do it?"

Chan let out a laugh, mostly amused with a hint of surprise. "We have our ways," he said ominously, giving Jisung a wink before adding, "and Youngjae told me last year before he graduated. All the old Head Boys and Head Girls warned us new ones about you lot."

Hyunjin huffed, crossing his arms. "Of course, Doyoung would never let anyone get out of trouble, even when he's not a student here anymore," he remarked bitterly, and Seungmin rolled his eyes. Doyoung had taken points from Slytherin last year for Hyunjin's repeatedly improper uniform, despite being from the same house, and Hyunjin had never forgiven the former Head Boy for it.

Chan just laughed at Hyunjin's frustration, stepping back to look at the five of them. "We're just looking out for your safety," he explained good-naturedly, "not trying to ruin your fun. You understand, right?"

With varying levels of begrudgingness, the five of them murmured their agreement, though none of them were particularly eager to accept their wrongdoing. Chan looked at them for a few moments, before letting out a sigh, smiling softly at the five of them.

"Tell you what," Chan said eventually, and the younger boys looked up at him hopefully. Chan was grinning, arms crossed across his chest. "I won't take off any points from your houses tonight. It's the first day, I don't wanna be a hardass," he explained, and the boys brightened up, Jisung beginning to cheer.

"But," Chan continued, and Jisung paused, one of his fists already in the air. Chan looked like he was trying very hard to seem serious now, his eyebrows furrowed even though his eyes were sparkling with mirth. "If I catch you boys again, it's double points off. How about that?"

"Sounds like a challenge," Jeongin chirped, and Seungmin looked at him despairingly.

"It's really not," Chan replied with a bit of a nervous chuckle. "It means don't do stuff like this again, okay?"

"Or do it well enough that you can't catch us," Jisung taunted, and Chan threw his hands up in the air. Felix and Seungmin leaned around the other boys to exchange a look, Felix rolling his eyes as Seungmin mouthed, "Gryffindors," with a disgusted expression.

"Okay, sure," Chan eventually acquiesced, and the boys cheered. "Just don't let me catch you doing it again, alright? Now go back to your dorms, it's late and you've got things to do tomorrow."

"Got it!" Jisung chirped eagerly, giving Chan a mock salute, which Jeongin quickly mirrored. "Going now! Come on, Yang, I'll race you!"

With that, the two Gryffindors were hauling off, clambering loudly up the stairs to their dorm, shouting and laughing all the way. Chan sighed as he watched them go, teeth gritted at the noise.

"I should have taken points off from Gryffindor only," he mused to himself, and Hyunjin let out a cackle. Chan turned to look at Hyunjin, raising an eyebrow, and Hyunjin shut himself up quickly, standing up straight.

"Don't push it," he warned, faux-angry. "I haven't forgotten what happened on the train, you know." Something seemed to occur to him then, and he turned to Felix quickly, slinging an arm around his shoulders.

"Speaking of what happened on the train," Chan said loudly, pulling Felix in the direction of the Hufflepuff dorms. "I never got to finish telling you about the Quidditch team..." Felix's groan echoed down the hallway after them, and Seungmin let out a small laugh, trying to smother it with his hand.

The hall quieted as the two Hufflepuffs moved out of earshot, and Seungmin was suddenly aware that he was alone in the hallway with Hyunjin. He looked up at the now-taller boy— he had certainly grown over the summer, now noticeably taller than Seungmin— and found Hyunjin looking back down at him. It seemed as if Hyunjin hadn't realized he was staring, though, his eyes going wide before he looked away with a cough.

"Well," Hyunjin said, a bit too loudly, fiddling with the collar of his uniform. Seungmin couldn't bear to look at him, Hyunjin's fidgeting agitating Seungmin's pre-existing nerves. "Guess we should go, huh?"

"I would assume so," Seungmin responded, glancing back up at Hyunjin before looking away again. Hyunjin was still standing there, not looking at Seungmin and messing with his collar, and Seungmin swallowed nervously. He pointed in the direction of the stairs leading up to Ravenclaw tower, announcing quietly, "I'm this way."

Hyunjin looked in the direction Seungmin was pointing for a moment, before letting out a noise. He stepped away and around Seungmin, pointing over his shoulder in the direction of the dungeons. "Ah, I'm heading this way," he explained, even though Seungmin knew very well which way it was back to the Slytherin dorms. "I'll— uh. I'll see you tomorrow, I guess?"

Seungmin nodded, giving Hyunjin a small smile that he hoped didn't look as nervous as he felt. "Yeah," he said, relaxing a bit more as Hyunjin seemed to brighten up. "Yeah, I'll... I'll see you then."

Hyunjin gave Seungmin a nod, before seeming to hesitate awkwardly in the hallway, foot behind him as if he was about to walk away but not quite turned around yet. But before Seungmin could ask about it, he was gone, walking quickly down the hall towards the dungeons and out of Seungmin's sight.

Seungmin looked in the direction Hyunjin had left in for a few moments, before hurrying to duck into the nearest bathroom, the large, stone room empty and silent except for the occasional dripping of water. He rushed into a stall, closing and locking the door behind him, then pulled out his wand and a worn, tattered piece of blank parchment from his pockets.

As he closed the toilet lid and sat down on it, he spread the parchment over his knees, carefully unfolding the creases. Carefully, he pressed the tip of his wand to the centre of the sheet, then murmured, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

The parchment seemed to come to life before him, ink blooming across the page from the centre towards the edges. As it spread, Seungmin saw names appearing on the parchment— Jisung Han and Jeongin Yang outside the entrance to the Gryffindor dorms, seemingly locked out; Minghao Xu and Jeongguk Jeon, Ravenclaw prefect and Head Boy respectively, on a night patrol about the castle; a cluster of names including Woojin Kim, Mingyu Kim, Jaehyun Jung, and Hyunbin Kwon showing all of the seventh year Hufflepuff boys together in their dorm. And there, moving along the hallway where Seungmin had seen him leave, was Hyunjin Hwang, his pace now leisurely as he made his way to the Slytherin dorms.

Seungmin watched for a while, tracking the names moving about the castle. Vaguely, he recognized the name Chan Bang reaching the rest of the Hufflepuff boys, as well as Minghao and Jeongguk finding Jisung and Jeongin stranded in the hallway. But it took until Hyunjin's name crossed the threshold of the Slytherin dorms for Seungmin to feel comfortable putting the map away, standing up and folding the parchment carefully.

"Mischief managed," he whispered as he tapped it with his wand, watching as the ink faded, the map turning back into a simple piece of blank parchment again. Despite appearances, though, the worth of the map was immeasurable— and Seungmin made sure it was safely tucked into his pocket alongside his wand before heading back to the Ravenclaw dorm.