Chapter Text
“Hey. Hey Ten.”
Ten tried to ignore the insistent whispering of his deskmate. He was at a very crucial juncture of his mental clarity potion, slowly adding motherwort powder in small incremental amounts until the bright blue viscous liquid in front of him turned just the right shade of turquoise and-
“Hey!”
Ten’s hand jerked. The jar in his hand tipped, dunking an entire 5 grams of powder into his potion, which instantaneously turned clear as water.
An absolute fucking disaster.
Ten turned sharply to face his deskmate with the most menacing glare he could muster.
“What?"
Kun at least had the decency to shrink into himself for a moment, guiltily eyeing Ten’s spoilt potion. Whatever he wanted to ask must’ve been more important than his immediate safety though (Ten was one bad decision away from dunking his remaining motherwort powder over Kun’s head) because the Hufflepuff took a deep breath and asked, “Have you seen my playing cards?”
“Your what?”
“My playing cards. The ones I use for my magic tricks.”
Oh, Ten knew what Kun was referring to. He just couldn’t believe his labour for the past half hour was ruined on account of it. Ten was about to tell Kun as much when he heard familiar muffled giggling from behind them. Ten’s gaze flicked over to the source of the giggling and made eye contact with fellow Slytherin Lee Taeyong. Who winked at him conspiratorially before attempting to straighten his expression. Kun followed Ten’s gaze and looked at Taeyong, who was currently pretending (very badly) to focus on potion-making.
Kun was plainly clueless.
The bubbling frustration in Ten’s chest simmered down.
“I haven’t seen them,” Ten replied.
“Oh.” Kun deflated a little. “Well if you do see them, let me know. I lost them. I could’ve sworn they were in my bag a few days ago but they’re not anymore and I’m trying to retrace my steps and think where I could’ve misplaced them but so far..” Kun trailed off.
“Why do they matter so much?” Ten asked, keeping his face carefully straight. Ten knew Taeyong and one of his sidekicks (Erika?) seated behind them were watching the exchange.
“What?”
“Why do they matter so much? They’re just Muggle cards. You can get a new deck from any random 7th Heaven-“
“7-11,” Kun corrected.
“Whatever,” Ten scoffed. “What I’m saying is. They’re a dime a dozen in those Muggle stores. Just ask your family to send you a new deck.”
“Oh. Well. You see.” Kun was beginning to twist his hands. "They are Muggle cards but they’re special. You can’t get them at any 7-11 store. I got them at this Muggle magic shop-“
Taeyong snorted with laughter and Ten tensed. Thankfully, Kun paid no mind.
“-and they’re specifically made for this magic trick that I’ve been practicing on. I’d go into the details of the trick but I’d bore you.” He smiled at Ten, almost apologetically, and Ten could feel his heart soften against his will. Ten almost told him to stop looking so guilty for loving Muggle magic.
Almost.
“I’ll let you know if I see them,” Ten said, brushing some imaginary dirt off his sleeve. He’s stressing himself out over this brown-haired boy when he really shouldn’t.
“Will you? I’d be really grateful.” And then he beamed. He straight out beamed at Ten and his annoying dimples were showing and Ten couldn’t help grinning back.
With a sigh, Ten turned back to his potion. He was either going to have to start from scratch or figure out the counteracting agent for excess motherwort powder which he was pretty sure was taught last week and he took it down in his notebook somewhere but-
“Here.” Kun squeezed some activated Wiggentree berry into Ten's potion, gave it a counter-clockwise stir and-
“Wow,” Ten breathed. His potion turned the gorgeous shade of turquoise he was aiming for. Ten would never admit it, but the corrected potion was probably better than what he would’ve achieved on his own.
Qian Kun didn’t earn the name “Future Head Boy” for nothing.
“Thanks!” Ten smiled at Kun. “Though maybe next time try not to distract me so you don’t have to go through the trouble of fixing my potion.” His voice took on a teasing quality and maybe he was imagining it but a bit of colour rose in Kun’s cheeks.
“Sorry about that.” Kun let out a nervous laugh. Ten patted him on the elbow to tell him all was forgiven.
They worked in comfortable silence till the end of class.
Qian Kun was an odd wizard.
Ten had been acquainted with him since childhood, in the same way that all children from pureblood families were acquainted. He had seen him around in the pretentious, stuffy gatherings held for the wizarding elite. They had been introduced once, having both been born in the same year and thus expected to eventually enrol at the same time. Qian Kun had never made much of impression on Ten. He was the only son of the wealthy Qian family, descended from a long line of Ravenclaws. Perfect manners, perfect posture, perfectly sweet demeanour, already receiving tutelage on a diverse range of magical arts since childhood and reportedly doing well in all of them.
In Ten’s opinion, Qian Kun was completely boring.
But he stopped being boring on their first evening at Hogwarts.
Defying all expectations, Kun was sorted into Hufflepuff. The Sorting Hat’s verdict rang throughout the dining hall. Every pureblood student in attendance was absolutely shocked.
Every pureblood student except Kun that is.
He didn’t appear shocked at all. In fact, some said he almost looked like he had expected the Sorting Hat’s decision. He strode over to the Hufflepuff table, expression completely placid and serene, and allowed himself to receive the hugs and warm congratulations of his fellow Hufflepuffs.
Ten remembered watching the entire proceedings from the Slytherin table with his mouth agape. Having descended from a long line of Slytherins himself, he couldn’t imagine having to write back to his parents informing them that their eldest son was a Hufflepuffof all things. The parental disappointment. The gossip that would ensue among pureblood circles. He had expected Kun to be devastated.
And yet he wasn’t. At least not outwardly. Ten was often in the same classes as Kun. He observed Kun from afar and the more he observed, the more it became clear to him why Kun was sorted in Hufflepuff. He was so stereotypically Hufflepuff it was almost comical. Ten had just never seen it. Just like every one else, he had always expected Qian Kun to be a Ravenclaw.
Kun was a stickler for rules. Quality prefect material without a doubt. He was unfailingly kind and caring and almost a mother figure to his junior Hufflepuffs. He was one of the most hardworking students in their year too.
Qian Kun thrived in Hufflepuff. He looked happy in a way Ten had never seen him in those uppity feasts surrounded by his Ravenclaw family.
Ten never really knew Qian Kun but he felt happy for him. He knew that one can never truly run from family expectations but Qian Kun seemed to be coping admirably. One of those coping methods was getting a new hobby.
And well. That new hobby turned out to be Muggle magic tricks.
Qian Kun’s burning interest in Muggle magic tricks started somewhere in their third year. He would show everyone who cared to watch this coin trick or that card trick. Naturally, Kun became something of a laughing stock amongst his peers. A pureblood being fascinated by fake magic? The idea was ludicrous. His fellow Hufflepuffs, loyal as they were, never made him feel bad for his unconventional hobby. Others were less kind. Kun never seemed to mind the jokes most of the time but it made Ten mad.
Ten knew he probably shouldn’t be too invested- he wasn’t even a friend- but he couldn’t help it. Kun had went through a lot and his new hobby made him happy and it wasn’t hurting anyone. Ten usually ignored the jokes about Qian Kun’s Muggle magic but this time.
This time it wasn’t okay.
Maybe it was that confidence that came with being a seventh-year. Maybe it was the accumulation of all the times Ten had seen Qian Kun getting bullied. Heck maybe it was the strawberry yogurt that didn’t sit well with his stomach that morning. All Ten knew was that he had to confront Taeyong about Qian Kun’s missing cards.
“Did you take them?” Ten stood ramrod straight, arms crossed and glaring down at Taeyong. The boy in question was lounging on one of the carved chairs of the Slytherin common room, currently engaged in a slow game of chess with his other sidekick Phil.
Taeyong raised an eyebrow in response, though his eyes never left the chess board. “Take what?” A moment’s pause. “Aaahhh.. Right. I get it now.” He turned to face Ten, interest dancing in his eyes and a smirk pulling up the corner of his mouth. “What’s it to you?”
“It’s not funny, Lee.” Ten kept his fiercely stern expression. He could feel the eyes of the other Slytherins in the room on both of them.
“Did your favourite Muggle Magician put you up to this?” A few Slytherins were snickering. Taeyong’s eyes lit up when Ten remained silent. “Ohh.. He didn’t did he? You came yourself. You like him or something? You think getting his loser cards back will make the Captivating Mr Kun like you back?”
Phil howled with laughter and a few others in the common room joined in. Ten was seething, fingers twitching for his wand. “I asked nicely, Lee. Don’t make me-“
“What’s going on here?”
Ten and Taeyong whirled around to see Kim Chungha standing at the foot of the steps to the female dorms. Her usually sweet features were twisted in a deathly glare as lamplight reflected harshly off the prefect badge pinned to her robes. As much as Ten loved his best friend, he really didn’t appreciate her intervening.
“We’re fine, Chungha,” Ten replied through gritted teeth.
“Clearly not.” Chungha strode gracefully over to Ten, grabbed him by the elbow with more force than a 161cm-high teenage girl should have and pulled him away. Ten knew her grip wouldn’t let off until she’s dragged him all the way to their spot by the lake and sat him down so they can talk about his feelings. Ugh.
“Yeah that’s right. Can’t even stand up for your boyfriend huh?” Taeyang’s cackling made Ten’s hair stand on end.
Just before they stepped out the Slytherin common and into the dungeon, Ten turned and whispered a spell, directing his wand towards Taeyong.
“HE MELTED MY CHESS PIECES! CHITTAPHON YOU OWE ME A NEW FUCKING CHESS SET!” But Ten and Chungha could barely hear Taeyong’s yelling over the sound of their own laughter as they dashed up the stone steps, robes billowing behind them.