Chapter Text
Seungyoon holds his books tightly to his chest.
He mutters underneath his breath as he walks, quickly weaving his way through endless crowds of students. He's flustered - he keeps sighing heavily, elbowing lazy first years as he pushes past them.
It's not his best look, really. His red tie is loose, his cloak is flying behind him, and his glasses are skewed. His roots have started to grow through, so his once flawlessly white hair is fading away. There are tired circles around his eyes from late nights of studying, and his cheeks have gone an angry red.
He would very much like to crawl into bed and never leave it. He would also like to jinx whoever decided that potions class should be right after bloody care of magical creatures, as in, on the other side of the bloody castle. But, Seungyoon thinks miserably, you can't always get what you want.
If it was up to Seungyoon, he would gladly ditch potions. But he wanted to be a magical healer, and that meant doing well in potions. Which he was struggling with. He almost throws his potions textbook at the second year who is walking slowly in front of him.
It's when he's walking quickly past the dining hall that it happens.
Seungyoon's never been clumsy, really. His parents always said he ought to be a ravenclaw - he's meticulous, he's careful, he's a good leader. But today, he somehow slips, his legs giving out beneath him. Seungyoon has an image of himself falling flat on his face, his books sprawling around him and students trampling over him.
That doesn't happen, though.
Warm, strong arms catch him. Seungyoon looks up, and the familiar face of seventh year Song Mino is looking down at him. Mino's arms tighten around his back.
"Careful." Mino murmurs, and his mouth quirks up into a half smile.
Seungyoon has to catch his breath. Mino has always had these dark, alluring eyes - they draw Seungyoon in. His dark hair falls around his face, and his eyelashes are long and delicate, and his features are sharp despite the amusement in his eyes.
Seungyoon's face softens. He smiles back.
He has this lovely way of smiling, Seungyoon thinks, glancing at Mino's mouth. He doesn't know if he's seen Mino smile before. He's always thought Mino was pretty, but it's his smile that's now Seungyoon's favourite.
"Okay?" Mino asks.
"Yeah," Seungyoon says, the smile warm in his voice. "You're Mino, right?"
Mino sets Seungyoon gently on his feet. He rubs the back of his neck sheepishly, and nods, and Seungyoon's smile widens.
"I'm Seungyoon. Sixth year?"
"Yeah." Mino says softly, "Yeah, I know."
"Oh, you do?"
"Yeah."
Mino's smile makes his eyes crinkle.
Seungyoon is opening his mouth to speak, perhaps to say something playful, when a fourth year jostles past them and shoves their elbow into Mino's side.
"Scum." The student hisses into Mino's ear.
Mino's lovely smile fades. Seungyoon reaches out his hand, but Mino steps backwards, his eyes unreadable.
"Thanks." Seungyoon says softly, as Mino turns away.
Mino stops for a moment. He looks over his shoulder.
"Anytime." Mino says quietly.
Seungyoon watches him leave until he reaches the end of the corridor and turns the corner. Seungyoon clutches his textbooks tighter to his chest, and smiles slightly to himself,
"Right," He murmurs, "Time for potions."
The walk to the dungeons doesn't seem so bad anymore.
*
"You fell?" Jinwoo asks, through a mouthful of jam and toast, "That's not like you."
Seungyoon pops a sweet into his mouth.
"I know!"
Jinwoo sits on the edge of the kitchen table, swinging his legs and smiling at the elves. He's wearing a long, oversized hufflepuff sweater that covers his hands and makes him look small and cozy. He sends an amused smile to Seungyoon, who's sitting on a chair at the table.
"And he caught you? Song Mino? The Song Mino you always said was, and I quote, the most gorgeous guy in the world?" There are crumbs around Jinwoo's mouth, but it's adorable enough that Seungyoon doesn't tell him. "That's kind of cute."
Seungyoon remembers Mino's slight smile, and his strong hands. It really kind of is cute, Seungyoon thinks, smiling around the candy on his tongue.
"I said that once! After three firewhiskies!"
"But you don't seem too grumpy." Jinwoo teases, "You know, for someone who nearly fell on their face."
An elf by the ovens giggles. Seungyoon shoots it a glare.
"He shouldn't have caught me," Seungyoon sighs wistfully, "I would've had an excuse to miss potions."
Jinwoo laughs, throwing a piece of toast at him.
"Potions isn't that bad, Yoon."
"You're just saying that because Lee Seunghoon is in your class." Seungyoon says darkly.
"True." Jinwoo smiles. Seungyoon's heart melts at the slight pink flush in Jinwoo's cheeks.
"Softie." He grumbles.
Spending time in the kitchen together in the evenings had become a sort of ritual for them. The hufflepuff common room is close to the kitchens, which Jinwoo had taken advantage of since his first year. Now that he's in his seventh year, the elves are impossibly fond of him, and would lay down their lives for him. For now, they just give Jinwoo free food.
The courtesy doesn't extend to Seungyoon, though. They love to tease him. Seungyoon catches an elf eyeing him with amusement, and sticks out his tongue at it.
"How is potions going anyway?"
Seungyoon pulls a face.
"I would rather kiss a frog than go to one more potions class."
"It's going well then." Jinwoo laughs. The elves chuckle with him.
"I hate you guys." Seungyoon stuffs candy miserably into his mouth.
Though he complains, Seungyoon knows Jinwoo is his best friend. He really is a nice guy. There's a soft quality to his voice, and a gentleness to his smile, that puts Seungyoon at ease. He has great advice, and Seungyoon would do anything for him (even if Jinwoo does tease the life out of him).
There's a sound from the doorway. The elves start chattering excitedly amongst themselves, and when Seungyoon looks up, Mino is standing there in a Gryffindor hoodie, smiling fondly at the elves.
They flock to him immediately.
"Chill, chill." He chuckles. "There's one for everyone."
Mino has small woolly hats in his hands - he gives one to each elf, and they pull them on their heads immediately, silly smiles on their faces. Seungyoon's heart melts. There's an ease to Mino's face that Seungyoon is seeing for the first time, a fond affection pulling at his cheeks that Seungyoon wishes would be there more.
Mino meets Seungyoon's gaze, and Seungyoon smiles at him.
"Sorry." Mino mumbles, and smiles down at one of the elves. It's hugging his leg, and he pats his head. "I didn't mean to intrude."
The elves are bustling around the kitchen, turning on the kettle and admiring each other's hats.
"Hey. Mino, right? I'm Jinwoo. We're in the same year." Jinwoo says, and nudges Seungyoon's side. "You're not intruding, promise."
"Hi." Seungyoon says gently.
Mino tugs at the sleeve of his hoodie awkwardly. He looks cute, his hair ruffled and his eyes sleepy, a ghost of a smile on his face.
"I'll just get my coffee, and I'll be gone before you know it."
A shame, Seungyoon thinks, unable to keep the smile off his face. He notices one of the elves is looking at him pointedly with an eyebrow raised, and Seungyoon flushes and coughs.
"Alright?" Mino asks, and Seungyoon wants to crawl under the table and die.
"Fine." Seungyoon looks down at the table. He wishes he could stop smiling.
"Are you going to hogsmeade at the weekend?" Jinwoo asks, while the kettle rumbles.
"Yeah." Mino runs a hand through his hair.
"Nice, us too." Jinwoo smiles.
"For Honeydukes," Seungyoon adds.
"Obviously." Mino teases, glancing at the candy in front of Seungyoon at the table. Finally, his mouth quirks into that sweet half smile from earlier in the day, and Seungyoon's heartbeat flickers.
"Yoon has a sweet tooth." Jinwoo drawls, ruffling Seungyoon's hair.
"I hate you people." Seungyoon whines, and pops another candy into his mouth.
The kettle stops rumbling - Mino makes his way across the kitchen and finds a mug. The kettle is right behind Seungyoon's chair. He gets flustered when Mino is standing so close behind him, putting sugar into his coffee and stirring.
Jinwoo winks at him. Seungyoon tries his best to scowl.
It's lucky for Seungyoon that Mino is standing there, though. A kitchen knife from beside Mino levitates into the air, and starts flying towards the back of Seungyoon's head. Mino catches it easily.
"Um." Mino says, eloquently.
Seungyoon stares at the knife in Mino's hand.
"Um." Seungyoon says.
"Dude," Jinwoo says, "I think you're cursed."
There's a shocked silence in the kitchen for a moment before Seungyoon grins.
"I'm not surprised. Any day with potions is cursed." Seungyoon says, unphased by the fact he was almost killed by a flying knife, and then meets Mino's shocked eyes. "Thank you, again. You keep saving me."
Seungyoon wonders why Mino has suddenly gone red. The flush looks lovely in his cheeks, though. Mino's ears turn an adorable pink. He looks between the knife and Seungyoon several times, and then his eyes widen in realisation.
"I-It's fine." Mino steps backwards, and spills a little coffee on his hoodie. "I just remembered, I, um, I have- Yeah. Bye."
He stumbles over his own feet on the way out of the kitchen, spilling more coffee onto the floor. Seungyoon smiles after him, his eyes curious and fond.
"You nearly died. " Jinwoo says, poking him in the side.
"Yeah," Seungyoon sighs, and pops a candy into his mouth, "But that guys a little cute, right?"
It's so strange, how Mino made a day that should've been bad this warm.
"My god," Jinwoo shakes his head, "He should've let the knife hit you."
*
"Why aren't you wearing your coat over your cloak?"
Seungyoon looks away from Jinwoo's irritated eyes and out into the cold morning. The snow crunches under his boots, sinking into his socks and making his cheeks red. The bitter wind is lovely, he thinks, it's refreshing. The students walk to Hogsmeade together, and Seungyoon feels less irritated today. Even the thought of a potions class on Monday can't make him frustrated. The week of books and sleepless nights and weary eyes is far, far away when he's out in the snow.
"The cold is nice." Seungyoon says, and Jinwoo sighs at him.
"Idiot. You could get sick."
Jinwoo unravels his yellow hufflepuff scarf from around his neck. He reaches around Seungyoon's shoulders and ties it around his neck, smiling at Seungyoon despite his complaints. Jinwoo's scarf is warm and soft on his skin, and Seungyoon sighs happily. Jinwoo always takes care of him. He's a good friend, Seungyoon thinks.
"Come on," Jinwoo ruffles his hair. "Honeydukes awaits."
Seungyoon senses a gaze burning into his back. He looks over his shoulder, and Mino is walking behind them, his Slytherin friend Lee Seunghoon bouncing happily at his side. Mino had been smiling, his eyes warm in the cold day. When he realises Seungyoon has caught him staring, he quickly looks away and buries his face in his red scarf.
Seungyoon tilts his head, and raises an eyebrow, and Mino's eyes crinkle.
There's something charming about Mino, wrapped in his coat and scarf, a hat pulled low over his head. The cold makes the tip of his nose red. Kissable, Seungyoon thinks, and then turns away from Mino's gaze at the thought.
"Hurry up." Jinwoo calls to him. Seungyoon runs to catch up, his heart beating unsteadily in his chest.
"Hyung," He sighs dramatically, leaning against Jinwoo's side, "I think I'm in love."
"Right," Jinwoo drawls, shaking his head in amusement. "Just keep walking, stupid."
It's going to be a good day, Seungyoon thinks.