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Chapter Text

Note: The Battle of Hogwarts took place in the early hours of 2^nd May 1998, within the castle and on the grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft And Wizardry in the mountainous region of Scotland. It was a massive war that took too many lives and destroyed a good part of the magical castle. It took the professors and the wizard architects 2 years and 10 months to return it to its former glory. The castle at the top of the mountain overlooking the Great Lake was transformed back to its original perfection and the charms and barriers that were destroyed were placed back again this time with even more strength. The staff and professors were invited and administration was organized. Minerva McGonagall was elected as the Headmistress for the next terms.

At 2 years and 11 months, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry opened its gates to welcome the new batches of witches and wizard students. There was a delay of almost 3 years for the new batches and the Headmistress took it as an opportunity to introduce a mandatory course in Muggle studies as an introduction to the new school year. Kingsley has already taken over the Ministry of Magic and has abolished the pure-blood, Muggle-born discrepancy, and the wizarding world is off to a new generation with the arrival of the millennial year.

The first years who were made to leave the premises of the school on that fateful night of May 2^nd, 1998 returned to the school at 1^styear a bit older at the age of 14 instead of 11 but happy to be back again and as loyal as they were then a bit more proud than before. The survivor senior-year students who participated in the battle also returned to the course after the much-needed physical and mental healing that was required after the nightmare they faced. They needed to complete the course and graduate as proud Hogwarts students before they set on their successful lives. The people in the castle had returned home to the ancient castle a bit older a bit wiser and a lot more scarred but brave nonetheless.

 The following story is set in 2007 to the present. The new first years are a bit aged up to 14 years to cover for the gap of years and 1 year of studying at Muggle schools. The Headmistress expected that by 2017 they would be able to again take the students from the age of 11 and the year gap will be no more.

Chapter Text

1ST SEPTEMBER 2007; 10:20 AM ;London King’s Cross 9¾ platform:   

It was a perfect morning unlike the normal rainy weather, that is usual this time of the month. The sun was shining, the wind was warm and there was no speck of cloud anywhere in the sky.

Jaemin was perfectly on time.  

He held his mother’s hand tightly, though he is the extrovert type who likes making new friends, he has never lived away from home too long, away from his parents.  Sure…. he has stayed at Donghyuck’s place, but he is his neighbor so it doesn’t count.

 Again, that doesn’t mean he is not excited at the prospect of it. He had heard from his best friend and older cousins that dorms are fun. Not only that but there are also Quidditch and Hogsmeade trips. Jaemin will be lying if he says he is not excited to make some more new friends.

It has been him and Donghyuck for a long time.

“I still don’t like it… sigh…. Beauxbaton was a much better choice. Their uniform is also prettier.” 

His mother holding his hand huffed in frustration.

She had a tilt of Bulgarian accent mixed in her speech. She was a graduate of the Beauxbaton Academy Of Magic of France so it was obvious she would be in support of her own school. So her present dissatisfaction was pretty justified.

"But noooo…I don’t know why your father is so obsessed with Hogwarts. I get it that, he is an alumnus of the school.” she flails her fair hands as she tries to make a point.

“But for God’s sake!!! That school is a battleground of the Second Wizarding War! Do you know how many students died then? 50! 50 casualties and that is not it, there were even more!”

“That was almost 10 years ago Mom.”

 Jaemin smiled and shook his head trying to console his annoyed mother.

They had been having this battle of ‘ which school we should send our son to’ back in his home for the last few years. 

His dad is a loyal Hogwarts graduate and his mom is from Beauxbaton. It was an unyielding one that ended up in a flurry of feathers and a few fireballs-shaped burns on the carpet and the walls of their pretty living room. Finally, it ended when Jaemin decided on Hogwarts, but not after resisting a lot of persuasion from his mother,

At 11 years of age, he received a letter from Hogwarts sealed with red wax stamped with the logo of four houses. 

It was a simple letter with clear instructions.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Headmaster: Minerva McGonagall
(Order of Merlin, First Class)

Dear Mr. Jaemin Na,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for the upcoming school year. Due to your unique background and talents, you have been selected to complete a special one-year course in Muggle Studies. This program is designed to provide an in-depth understanding of Muggle culture and society, a subject we believe you will excel in given your Muggle-born heritage.

We understand that this invitation has come later than expected, and we sincerely apologize for the delay in your enrollment. Unforeseen circumstances beyond our control have prevented us from sending this letter sooner. However, we assure you that all necessary arrangements have been made for your immediate admission.

Enclosed with this letter, you will find a list of required books and equipment for the Muggle Studies course, along with your timetable and instructions on how to proceed to Platform 9¾ at King’s Cross Station. Please be aware that the Hogwarts Express will depart promptly on [date].

We look forward to your arrival and are confident that your time at Hogwarts will be both enriching and rewarding.

Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Jaemin saw no issues with it as he thought 14 years was a good age to start Hogwarts.

 So he leisurely completed his year of muggle studies before preparing for Hogwarts.

Now, here he is listening to his mom chirping away like an early morning bird about her school while he waits patiently for his best friend Hay Donghyuck to arrive. And his own father also.

His mother soon realized that Jaemin was not listening to her chatter so she tapped her son’s pretty head and let out the nth frustrated sigh in the last 1 hr. Jaemin looked up to see her flick a wisp of her long blonde hair past her shoulder huffing softly in annoyance. Sensing her son’s gaze on herself she put away the annoyance for a while, she gave up and smiled at him warmly and affectionately. Irrespective of his choice of school, it doesn't change the fact that Jaemin is still her adorable son.

To be truthful saying Jaemin’s mother was beautiful was an understatement. 

She was gorgeous. 

She had the characteristic moon-bright pale skin, the white gold hair that fans out behind her even in the absence of wind, bright watery blue eyes, and a tall willowy frame. If people haven’t guessed it yet then the silvery glow and the number of heads that have turned to stare at her is a dead giveaway. Jaemin’s mother is a Veela.

So that makes Jaemin who is her son with a human father, a Half-Veela.

Though he has not acquired her absolute white-gold hair, it’s an odd mixture of strawberry blonde like the color of pastel sunsets. 

But Jaemin somehow thinks it suits him well enough. The watery blue eyes are present though, along with the all-encompassing Glamour, a vital characteristic of his Veela blood.

Needless to say, the people at the 9 ¾ station had been staring at them relentlessly. Some have tripped on their suitcases, and some have collided with others while walking with their head turned. 

In a word, it’s a bit of chaos. 

But the mother and son pair was used to it, as they stood amidst the crowd nonchalantly sipping coffee, ignoring the stares and chaos they had caused.

It’s not like Jaemin dislikes the attention. It’s quite the opposite- he loves basking in it. He loves the shocked expressions, the head turns, and the utter chaos to catch a glimpse of him.

At first, Donghyuck used to scoff at him saying,

“They are just enchanted by your Glamour, nothing else. They are not looking at you.”

 Kids tend to be mean when young. Jaemin was at first offended, then got upset.

Was that really the case? They don’t think Jaemin is pretty. Is it really just the Glamour?

But then with the help of his mother, he finally was able to control it by the age of 12. It was then, that he found out that he was still very much considered beautiful by normal standards. Hence he was back to being his old cheerful self again. He also made several attempts to make his point go across to Donghyuck, but the latter had just refused to listen.

  Donghyuck is just jealous. Jaemin had concluded.  

Even without the Glamour, he is still pretty good-looking, Glamour or not doesn’t change the fact he is handsome enough to turn heads.

As he was thinking about miscellaneous things, he finally spotted Donghyuck’s caramel-brown mop of hair. He lifted his hand in a wave lazily as he beckoned his friend to walk faster. Donghyuck hobbled towards him in the packed station with his massive luggage. There was a smaller cage containing his tawny owl on one of his hands, with his parents on the toe.

He rudely pushed a middle-aged wizard aside who was gaping at Jaemin and his mom for too long a time to be comfortable, with a fleeting barely there “Excuse me” as he finally reached Jaemin.

The first thing he did on meeting his friend was sighing dramatically.

“It's far too crowded for me here. Sigh…I am allergic to this many people.”

Jaemin could only shake his head in exasperation.

Donghyuck wouldn’t be Donghyuck without his usual flair for drama and mischief.

Jaemin rolled his eyes at his childhood best friend as Donghyuck continued to complain about the crowded station. 

His chatter was cut short when a bulky guy tripped on Donghyuck’s suitcase while he was busy staring at Jaemin. Donghyuck glared at the guy who embarassedly scuttered off.

Donghyuck bumped his shoulder with Jaemin and wiggled his eyebrows with an expression that shouldn’t be on the face of a boy who was only 14 years old.

“You’re already turning heads huh? Na Jaemin?”

Jaemin didn’t reply to the taunt, he just smiled his characteristic lazy charming smile. He can hear loud gasps and swoons behind him. Pleased with the reaction he continued, “It can’t be helped since I am beautiful inside out.”

Donghyuck just scoffed. 

“You’re just full of shit, Na Jaemin,” he whispered so the adults can’t hear him. Jaemin caught Mrs. Hae, glaring at her son, presumably, she knew her son was up to something.

Donghyuck ignored his mother’s glare. He would have made retching noises and cursed out loudly if Mrs. Na wasn’t there but Jaemin was lucky this time.

Donghyuck purposefully diverted his attention to Jaemin’s mom.

“Mrs. Na you look as beautiful as always.”

Jaemin’s mom is well…. his mom also loved compliments and attention so no wonder she loves Donghyuck’s sweet-talking ass.

“Oh! You’re such a darling! Please take care of my Jaemin in school.”

Donghyuck smiled his famous sucking-up-to smile.

“Of course! We are best friends!”

 Before Jaemin can retort something funny and equally scalding to Donghyuck’s statement, suddenly the chaotic station falls quiet.

At sharp 10:45 the portal on the wall of the 9 ¾ station opened for up to 4 people to enter the station. They immediately became the center of attention of the crowd.

It was a Family of 4. A tall woman followed by three boys.

The woman had platinum blonde hair almost bordering on silver with prominent kohl-lined light-coloured eyes. Large chunky antique silver arched earrings covered the whole helix of both the ears,  fine silver chains dangling from them reaching to her shoulders. She wore a pitch-black formal ensemble inside covered by a long,  billowy, deep almost blackish-green robe outside. There is a black bowknot over the collar of her shirt and the typical Wizengamot badge pinned to her robes. She walked with confident steps, back straight as an arrow, as her sons (presumably) followed behind her.

“It’s the Lees’…”

“That’s the famous Lees’!! Isn’t it?”

"They are the latest talk of the town."

There were hushed excited whispers all around the station. The crowd parted away to give way. Jaemin saw Donghyuck’s dad Mr. Hay bow his head when she passed close by as if to avoid her sight.

Following her in a line were three boys. 

Jaemin had always considered himself the best looking but seeing them he cannot help but admit he might be wrong . (Don’t get him wrong, he is still in the top 3.)

The first boy, obviously a senior, was already in his Hogwarts uniform, tall, well-built, green silver striped tie. There was a prefect badge pinned on his black robes and the black-rimmed spectacles perched on his sharp nose. He had slightly tanned skin, perfectly combed black hair, and an aloof disposition with a diplomatic smile on his handsome face very much in line to his house of snakes.

“It’s senior Donghae Lee. I heard he got the highest grades in the O.W.L.S of his batch.”

“He helped me out with my Arithmancy paper a lot last time. He is nice for a Slytherin.”

“Well...he was elected as the Prefect for a reason. A handsome face only- can’t give you the Prefect badge.”

The next boy younger than the previous, was someone who looked like could only exist in those illogical romance novels written for teen witches. He had a shorter build than his brother with a mop of brushed-down silver hair, high cheekbones, and unusual emerald green eyes. He was dressed in Hogwarts uniform adorning the same green and silver tie, and when he looked back to search for his younger sibling, the people had a splendid display of his sharp jawline ending in a pale graceful neck.

“That’s Taeyong Lee….”

“Merlin! Look at that face, is he even a human?”

“I heard he was the most asked-out person in the Yule ball of 2006 and he was a first-year then…”

“With that face, it's no wonder.”

Taeyong even if he heard any, didn’t react to any of the comments. His gaze was zeroed on the guy who was trudging behind him, his brother, and a first-year apparently from the way he was dressed in casual clothes.

“Is that his brother? You can just tell from a glance. It's the same aura.”

“His brother is handsome too, just not to his degree. It’s in the genes.”

“Sorry, but he is not my type though. He kinda looks gloomy. Taeyong is much more my type.”

“Oh shush! What if they hear.”

Jaemin sighs to himself as he observes the horde of gossipers ahead of him.

You are already loud enough.

One of them interjected amidst their discussion, snorting in disdain.

“It doesn’t matter, even if all three of them are handsome, they are way too arrogant. They have their noses in the sky, nothing surprising though.....typical Slytherins.”

“Have you seen their mom? She is too formidable.”

“Formidable? Really?”

This one seemed to hate these guys, as her voice was laced with disdain and something akin to disgust.

Jaemin continued to listen quietly.

“Their mom?” another one asked.

“Yeah, Lee Chaerin, the woman with a Wizengamot badge. I heard she is the youngest of the fifty parliament members.”

That IS quite a formidable position to be in.

While everyone was busy conversing about the rumors regarding the infamous Lee family, Jaemin became more focused on the first-year boy in casual clothes who was walking behind his brother with a worried look on his face, the third son of the Lee’s.

A narrow face, pale blonde hair with even paler skin. His lips were pressed in a line, and the sharp bone structure of his face with a long sharp nose looked taut with tension. His bangs hung over his forehead and eyes messily hiding them from view. He was decked in a black button-down and black jeans.

The gossipers weren’t lying. The guy did have a gloomy disposition to begin with.

Jaemin wonders what he is so tense about. 

Is it the new school year? Or maybe staying away from home?

The boy was looking down on the floor the whole time. They stood in a line in front of the entrance door of the train, did a perfect 90-degree bow to their mother in sync and boarded the carriage. Lee Chaerin had a stony cold expression throughout the ordeal.

They looked like they had been trained.

“They are like trained animals.”

Jaemin who was watching the whole fiasco was startled at the familiar voice that vocalized his thoughts. He turned around to see his father behind him also watching it carefully.

“You are late! You almost missed sending me away.”

The accusing tone of the speech was evident. Jaemin had been waiting for his father for the last twenty minutes.

Jaemin’s father looked exactly like him with a bit more sharpness and masculinity in his mature face. While Jaemin still had the sharp jawline but sharpness of his father was not there, leaning more toward his mother’s soft features.

Mr. Na had the same lazy disposition and tended to talk and work slowly. They share the same lazy charismatic smile and sense of humor. That’s why Jaemin thinks they have a good bond almost like a friendship, where he is comfortable enough to express his own thoughts.

“Sorry son. Got held up at the office.” His father gently patted his head. “There’s no way I can miss sending you off on your first year at Hogwarts.” 

He then turned to his annoyed wife and gave her a kiss on the cheek wrapping his free hand around her slim waist.

Jaemin just smiled at his parents.

Jaemin was excited. He looked at Donghyuck and finally boarded the train after a lot of hugs, kisses, and assurance from his family.

As soon as the Lees’ stepped in, the rest of the student body yet to board the train also poured in. Jaemin and Donghyuck were able to secure an empty cabin for them. Only one occupant was sitting, the boy was dressed in casual jeans and a tee shirt deeply engrossed in a book. He bore the familiar features of the same Asian ethnicity—dark eyes, sharp cheekbones, and a graceful yet subtle presence. 

“Is this seat empty? Or are u saving for someone?” Donghyuck was quick to ask.

The boy didn’t remove his eyes from the book in front of him, only swayed his hand in a gesture that signified the seat was empty and free to take.

Donghyuck plopped down on the seat opposite him and pulled Jaemin along with him.

The train left the station at sharp 11 am. They’ll reach Hogwarts at 7 pm so they have lots of time to make new friends.

Before Jaemin can ask, Donghyuck beats him to it.

“So where are you from?” He puts his face in his line of vision scaring the boy.

The boy was startled. He gasped out loudly in surprise putting his hand on his chest in alarm. Donghyuck only smiled back mischief hidden behind his warm face.

The stranger looked left and right as if he was not the only person sitting opposite to them.

Donghyuck looked like he was enjoying the flustered reaction.

The boy finally realized that they were trying to talk to him. He pointed his finger at himself as if asking.

“You’re asking me?”

Donghyuck’s smile deepened. 

“There was no one beside you. I am not a psychic, I can't see ghosts.”

“There are ghosts?”

Jaemin can feel Donghyuck losing his patience. He sighs.

“I am asking YOU. Where are you from? And before you ask me, yes there are ghosts but there are none here.”

The boy looked a bit awkward. But he entertained Donghyuck anyway.

“I am from Beijing.”

“OOOOOoohhhhh…..that’s far. So why Hogwarts? Why not Mahoutokoro School of Magic? Isn’t that closer?”

Then they started talking about different schools. Donghyuck seemed to have found a good conversational partner, or so he thinks. Because the other guy was most definitely more interested in his book than Donghyuck’s question as per Jaemin’s observation.

But he doesn’t stop Donghyuck, as long as that guy is busy with something else that means he won’t be bothering Jaemin.

Should I catch up on some sleep?

 Jaemin slowly zoned out halfway through the conversation. He stared at the vast expanse of fields outside. Coffee, his owl screeched in her cage. He tickled its beak affectionately.

Coffee as her name suggests is a coffee-colored owl, with soft plumes alternating between light brown, deep brown, and white with a pair of pretty golden eyes. It’s a pearl-spotted owl, his father brought her from Africa when he went there to work. She was just a puffy owlet when she first arrived. Jaemin loves her to bits.

He thinks back about the youngest Lee sibling he saw at the station.

He’s going to his batchmate. Does he also have a pet? There was no cage in his hand. Don’t tell me it’s a toad.

It's not like Jaemin hates toads, instead, he kind of likes them. They are pocket-friendly and have very fun patterns on their skin.

In conclusion, Jaemin likes toads.

He would have a toad pet had he not received Coffee from his father. But when he tries to imagine that guy with a pet toad, somehow the imagery doesn’t fit. Then he realizes he doesn’t even know the boy’s name.

I wonder what his name is. Something in Korean maybe, like all his brothers.

Coffee screeches again. Jaemin just strokes her plumes and coos at her.

 “What variety is your owl?”

Jaemin looks back at the boy. His innocent inquisitive eyes focused on his owl.

“It’s a pearl spotted owl.”

Jaemin smiles his lazy charismatic smile, letting go of his Glamour for a well in a moment of relaxation. And just as he predicted, the boy visibly flushes turning red.

He’s cute.

‘“ I am Jaemin Na, First year. ”

He gives him another one of his smiles. The boy blushes even more if it is possible. He averts his eyes away quickly, shifting his gaze between Jaemin and the door of the cabin.

“Don’t get nervous. It’s a natural reaction. You are not crushing on him. He is Half Veela. You’ll get used to it.”

Donghyuck glares at Jaemin as if to say ‘ Keep your Glamour in check .’

Jaemin just shrugs his shoulders.

Whatever.

The boy seemed to be a bit relieved hearing this ( What? Jaemin’s disappointed, he is sure he is not that bad, Jaemin is definitely crush-worthy).

“I am Huang Renjun. Nice to meet you.”

“I am Donghyuck Hay. Jaemin and I are childhood best friends.”

“ Must have been nice.”

Jaemin doesn’t know whether he sincerely said that or as a formal gesture because Donghyuck can be annoying as heck when he wants to be.

Jaemin didn’t bother with it though. He joked around a bit.

“Nope…it was hell.” Jaemin quipped.

Donghyuck threw a glare at Jaemin.

“I am the only friend you have, you piece of shit.” Donghyuck pretended to be enraged.

Jaemin just gave a nonchalant shrug, like he was discussing the weather, not dissing his only friend.

“You were a bad choice. The only difference is the rest were worse than you, so you made it to the selection. Besides, I have Renjun now…isn't it?” Jaemin threw another smile at the boy sitting opposite them. It was again followed by another episode of blushing.

Donghyuck made a dramatically offended gesture, placing his hands on his heart like Jaemin physically hurt him.

“This is how you repay me for chasing those snot-faced bastards and those girls with pigtails who used to follow you around. I am beyond offended, Na Jaemin. You know how hard I fought, tooth and nail for your safety and peace and this is the price of that friendship. Huh?”

Jaemin just rolled his eyes. 

Donghyuck and his flair for dramatics.

“That was elementary school Donghyuck. I was homeschooled later.”

Jaemin had always been popular due to his looks. While it is the nature of Veelas to be enchanting and can easily seduce men specifically, for Jaemin who was born a boy he, unfortunately, attracted both genders.

(“ Males are visual creatures.” His mom said “It’s okay you’ll get used to it. It’s Muggles who are more affected than wizards. Once you learn to control your Glamour the situation will be better.”)

 Starting from students to teachers even the parents were taken in with elementary grade Jaemin. But the negativity that comes from it is that some became obsessed and he was an easy target for pedophiles. Fortunately, nothing serious happened except for some elementary kids following him around or one or two incidents of bullying to get his attention. Jaemin got tired of dealing with other kids and opted to get homeschooled.

“Excuse me! I don’t think you remember that incident with that fat kid who wanted to marry you and tried to beat me up because I was close to you….” Donghyuck started narrating the story to Renjun who listened to it amused.

Jaemin zoned out again. He is a bit of a self-acknowledged airhead. He gets bored often and drifts off to his world mid-conversation. So far it hasn't hampered his daily life so he just lets it be. 

“By the way did you see the Lee family?”

That brings his interest back. He looks at Donghyuck who had posed the question.

Renjun shook his head signifying he didn’t know anything. Donghyuck didn’t bother asking Jaemin. Both of them knew if anybody knew anything about them it definitely won’t be Jaemin.

“Why? Do you know them?” Renjun is ever curious. Jaemin looks equally intrigued.

“Nope. But I heard about them.” Donghyuck whispered.

King of gossipers Donghyuck is back with his tea set.

N othing gets past his ears. Jaemin has long known his hobby of actively collecting rumors.

In his neighborhood, Jaemin is the person who knows about everybody’s secret without even trying just because he is friends with Donghyuck, who can’t help spilling his collected tea to Jaemin. So Jaemin never bothered with rumors for he will get to hear them eventually anyway.

Usually, Jaemin doesn’t bother with rumors dragged in by Donghyuck but this time he couldn’t help but be genuinely interested.

Donghyuck relishes the attention on him for a minute before flicking his hands in a gesture asking them to come closer as if telling a secret. Jaemin and Renjun inched closer and were abruptly pulled in with their head almost touching as Donghyuck put an arm around each of them, holding them close.

“ What I am about to tell you is directly from the Ministry of Magic, so listen closely and remember not to tell another soul about it.”

Both of them nodded their heads in unison.

“As you already know my father works in the DMLE in the Muggle Artifacts office, there he…”

Renjun raised his hand, “What is the DMLE?”

Donghyuck gave him an exasperated look.

“Department of Magical Law Enforcement.”  Jaemin provided helpfully. “Donghyuck and my father are colleagues. My father is in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures while his father is in DMLE.”

“Oh! ok…..Okay, I got it.” Renjun nodded well naturedly finally understanding.

“So as I was saying” Donghyuck continued “Well, my father is a minor employee and the department is also different so he doesn’t know much. But it is from what I overheard from his talk with my mother. Lee Chaerin, or the Mama Lee whom you saw at the station comes from one of the ancient pureblood wizarding Lee family of East Asia. The original family lives in a mansion in Seoul, South Korea. They are strict about their pureblood and don’t allow mixing with non-magic blood, inbreeding between cousins is done to preserve the bloodline.”

“That’s another House of Gaunt in the making.” Jaemin quipped.

“Exactly.” Donghyuck’s eyes shone with excitement. 

“By the way isn’t your father also from Seoul? He should know about the Lee family.” He directed the question to Jaemin.

“My father is a Muggle-born. His family moved to London when he was 4, so in no way would he know about them unless he heard about them in his later years. Also, isn't your mother from Seoul?”

Donghyuck just looked at Jaemin like he was stupid.

“My mother is a Muggle, you idiot. Of course, she doesn’t know them.”

It was a stupid assumption as Jaemin had completely forgotten that Mrs. Hay is a Muggle, he acknowledges his mistake. Renjun on the other hand just listened attentively, gulping down information.

Donghyuck again continues with his story.

 “Lee Chaerin is the third daughter of the main branch of the Lee family. She was disgusted with the idea of marrying between families and left the Lee family for good at the age of 20. She moved to London after graduating at the top of her class from Mahoutokoro School of Magic and Wizardry of Iwo Jima. When she came here she was already with a child, though who the father is not known.”

Donghyuck glanced around to see the surroundings as if divulging some national secret, before continuing.

“After coming here at a young age she got an offer from the Ministry of Magic to work at the DMLE investigation department. I heard a rumor that she was working as a double spy in the Dark Lord’s forces. She even stayed with the Death Eaters at the Riddle Mansion and the Malfoy Mansion, supplying information to the Order via Kingsley, and later fought on the frontlines in the Second Wizarding War. She is an apprentice of Kingsley and a very favored junior of his. She had always kept a low profile due to her job. Later after the war ended, as a reward for her hard work, Kingsley appointed her as one of the fifty parliament members of Wizengamot.”

Jaemin carefully thought about the newly acquired information.

Renjun was curious about more information on the story though.

“So she was appointed because of her contribution to the war?”

Donghyuck looked at him ridiculously.

“Kingsley is a wise wizard. He wouldn’t take decisions like that on a whim. He is the Minister of Magic for a reason. From what I heard from my dad- Mommy Lee is very hardworking and intelligent, as an active judge in Wizengamot she is extremely efficient and fair in her ways. In a few years, she might even become the Chief Justice”

“But you know the most interesting bit” Donghyuck’s eyes flashed, enjoying the attention on him. 

“All the Lee siblings have different fathers and no one knows who they are. To say, Ms. Lee is still single, unmarried, and the mother of 4 kids.”

Renjun looked quite surprised, he couldn’t help it. Jaemin didn’t say anything but this time even he, who is mostly passive regarding rumors, was mildly surprised. It is not an uncommon occurrence in Wizarding Society but it’s just that a Witch working as an agent with life risks yet bringing up 4 kids all alone without a family to support....would be a difficult job.

Renjun looked genuinely curious about the whole situation.

While Jaemin is curious about something else, “4 kids you said?”

“Yep. I know what you are thinking, Lee Taeyong has a fraternal twin sister who is studying in Beauxbaton.”

“She must be insanely pretty then, I mean looking at her brother…”

They started talking about looks and popularity in the batch and Jaemin had zoned out again.

Looking out the window he imagined a little boy sitting in a corner of his room waiting for his mother to come home, not knowing whether she would be able to come back or not. 

He soon dozed off to sleep.

When Jaemin woke up the sun was halfway into the horizon. 

He looked outside through the glass windows just in time to catch the sunset on the horizon. The sky had turned a pale bluish violet with streaks of deep pink near the semi-circle of the dying magenta sun. The fields had turned blue colored with the black looming trees. The residents of the villages in the distance have started lighting up their little houses.

It showed 5:30 pm on his watch. It will be nightfall within a few minutes. In the countryside, the night falls like a curtain of darkness is being dropped abruptly after a show. 

Jaemin calculated that he had slept for 4 hrs straight. 

There was no Donghyuck or Renjun to be found anywhere in the cabin but there was a blanket on him. He discovered a post-it scribbled on with Donghyuck’s writing on Coffee’s cage.

Out with Renjun to the next coach, got invited to play cards.

Will bring you treats when we come back.  

Donghyuck is unbelievable to ditch his childhood best friend for a friend of 5 hrs. Jaemin huffed. He had an inkling that the three of them were going to stick together for the school years. He smiled at the thought.

Jaemin exited the coach to get to the washroom; he needed to empty his bladder. To his surprise, the corridor which was usually filled with hustling bustling students, hawkers, and sweet trays was completely deserted. Not only that all the doors of the cabins are tightly shut and the view of the inside is obstructed with a no visibility spell cast on the glass making them opaque.

It was odd but Jaemin was in too much of a hurry to the washroom that he didn’t pay any mind to it and went ahead.

When he returned to the coach after finishing his business the corridor was still quiet and deserted. The sun has long set and gone were the last traces of dying orange sunlight. The moon is creeping up slowly and the lanterns have been lit up illuminating the empty train corridor which had not only failed to erase but instead magnified the eerie feeling. The shadows loomed over the walls of the passing trees and moved with the oscillation of the train.

The situation was odd and Jaemin had a gut feeling that he needed to return to his cabin fast but then he remembered that he had completely forgotten to check his cabin number.

He had always been an airhead but these are times he hates being one.

So he did what he could and held the door he guessed his cabin should be. Anyway, if he is wrong he can just apologize and move on to the next one.

He tried opening it but it was futile it looked to be locked from the inside.

So not this one because he is sure he didn’t lock his door and he was the only one there.

Three doors after he wrenched open one. He used too much force and the door (which was not locked) banged against the other.

Not this one also I guess because an occupant was sitting inside and much to Jaemin’s surprise it’s the third son of the Lee family.

The boy with pale blonde hair looked up at Jaemin shocked and there it was....the thing Jaemin was curious about.

Stormy gray eyes lined by a pale blue ring around.

The boy had almond-shaped eyes framed by long dark lashes fanning out, slightly curling upwards. It’s easily on his list of top 10 pretty eyes he has seen.

“Oh!” Jaemin croaked unintelligently.

The boy who was previously sporting a shocked expression at his entrance has transformed it into a neutral one. When Jaemin didn’t say anything or didn’t try to exit the cabin, the neutral expression turned into an inquisitive one.

Belatedly Jaemin realized that, either his Glamour was not working on the boy or the boy was perfectly able to control his emotions.

“Do you need something?”

The deep voice broke his reverie as Jaemin focused on the person in front of him again.

Aasakfjkm….it’s those pretty eyes again.

“Your eyes are pretty.”

Jaemin really needs a filter. 

Because he kind of hates himself now for that.

Na Jaemin with his stupidity strikes again.

Jaemin looks down on his white sneakers as he contemplates his life choices. He kind of wants the earth to open up and swallow him whole, or maybe he can bang his head on the door and die a tragic death. He imagines his pretty tombstone decorated with flowers stating ‘death due to extreme embarrassment.’

He has to do something to salvage the situation. His first impression is gone anyway nothing can be done by crying over it.

Jaemin gets prepared to display his best charm-your-heart-out smile and apologize for his rude remark. 

“Hi! I am-”

But before he could do so, he was cut short by the abrupt change in the air.

Suddenly the air temperature drops to freezing. He can feel the hairs on his nape stand up in fear. The lanterns illuminating the train had suddenly been blown out by the wind. 

The chilly air plunged the coach into pitch-black darkness except for the pale blue early moonlight that filtered through the window of the cabin. Jaemin can barely make out the boy’s silhouette in front of him. Despite the darkness, his pair of gray eyes were unusually bright and they stared at something behind Jaemin in shock.

“Close the door.”

His raspy voice is strict like giving an order and Jaemin really wants to follow it. But his body seemed to be made of stone. It’s like an invisible rope has wrapped itself around him rendering him immobile. There is something cold flowing down his spine.

“Close the damn door!”

This time the voice was a loud gritted whisper forced through the teeth. The boy was almost glaring at him with his gray eyes, sharp with a hint of desperation.

Jaemin wants to cry now. He can hear the clinking of chains a few feet away from him. Frost and icicles are forming on the glass door he is holding onto. He can see the outline of two black shadows from the corner of his eyes, floating as they approach their cabin, chains of their steel shackles clinking in front of their neck. Suddenly all Jaemin can feel is utter despair. There is a gloom of negativity like a looming shadow of death hovering over him. His throat was closing up in fear, clogged up with despair. He could feel the tears in his eyes threatening to fall.

It’s the Dementors.

It happens within a fraction of a minute.

Jaemin sees the boy rush towards him. He grabs Jaemin by the waist with one hand and with the other slams shut the frost-covered door locking it, and putting on the latch. He murmurs something under his breath, his wand in his free hand.

There is a loud bang on the door. Jaemin flinches in the other's arms and freezes. He grips the other boy's shirt with all his might like a lifeline, crinkling the dark-colored cloth under his fingers. His knuckles turn white with pressure. Jaemin buries himself further in the stranger's embrace like he wants to disappear. Away from this gloom, this bone-biting cold. He closes his eyes and tries to block the sound of the banging door.

The boy tightens his hold on Jaemin moves to the farthest corner of the cabin and settles themselves there on the seat. He can feel the Jaemin shaking and trembling in his arms. He puts another arm around him his wand still pointing towards the door.

There are broken shards of ice on the floor and there is a steady banging on the door, the cabin is dark and cold except for the pale blue moonlight draped on them like a light blanket and Jaemin shivers sitting in this stranger’s embrace hot tears leaking from his eyes as more and more negative thoughts invade his mind.

There is a warm hand on the cold of his nape. And Jaemin flinches in the embrace on the first contact.

The hand strokes the back of his head fingers threading through his hair. Jaemin can feel the hand on his waist tighten around him, pushing him up more against his cooler own body making Jaemin almost sit on his lap. The boy encircles his legs around the trembling boy entrapping him in a circle of limbs.

“Shhhh… it's okay they can’t come in. You are safe here. Think positive thoughts. Think of good things. Okay? You are safe, I am here. They can’t harm you…..”

A warm hand pats his back occasionally smoothing over the soft baby blue sweater Jaemin is wearing. 

It’s comforting. 

Jaemin feels protected; his crying is broken down into sniffles and small hiccups but the trembling is still there. He is too deep in his nightmares to analyze his situation. There is a fog of gloom over his mind and thoughts preventing him from thinking clearly. He finds himself nuzzling in the boy’s neck and he breathes it. He smells of pine trees, wet forest soil after rain, and a hint of citrus.

The banging has stopped long ago and the frost has receded returning the warmth in the air. Jaemin didn’t know what it was, that had calmed him down, whether it was his scent of forests and his warm touch with comforting words or just the fact that the Dementors had left. He loosely lies in the latter’s embrace, boneless and tired of the whole fiasco and it is oddly comfortable.

 “They’re gone.” the boy says.

The comfortable silence was broken by the boy’s words. Jaemin almost lying on him can feel the vibration of his chest when he talks.

“They were probably here because of some Ministry’s business. Dementors are no longer employed by the ministry from 1998 due to their dodgy morals. They had shackles on them and were followed by Kingsley’s lynx Patronus. I am sure there is an Auror who is also following them. They can’t do any harm to the people on the train. It must’ve been something urgent.”

Jaemin just hums in reply he is too tired mentally to form an answer or comprehend the information. The lull of the moving train is not helping him to stay awake.

But his wish to sleep couldn’t be fulfilled; he was rudely pushed away from his warm living resting chair. The boy shook Jaemin awake from his hazy stupor.

“Hey! You can’t sleep here. Wake up. Here, open up.”

Jaemin did as he told and opened his mouth obediently. The boy popped a piece of chocolate in his mouth.

The chocolate felt really good after this fiasco. It was a big Chocó ball with bitter coffee filling. Jaemin chewed on it slowly while lying in his original position. The boy somehow gave up trying to separate Jaemin from him.

Jaemin doesn’t know how much time has passed but when he was finally awake and realized his situation it was already too late. He found himself sitting on this stranger's lap staring into those beautiful stormy gray-blue eyes.

A loud slam of the door from the cabin next door sent Jaemin toppling on the floor from the seat as he tried to get away from the said boy having broken out from his reverie.

The boy who watched clumsy Jaemin fall from his lap onto the floor didn’t laugh or comment on his ungraceful fall. He just looked amusedly at Jaemin who was lying on the floor. It’s the second time in an hour that Na Jaemin with his stupidity has struck again.

Jaemin hurriedly got up from the floor and dusted himself the best he could. He moved away to the farthest corner from the other occupant, a well-defined blush still high on his cheekbone.

“I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to enter. It’s just that when I woke up there was nobody and I had to go to the washroom urgently and then I saw the empty corridor and the doors were locked and I was spooked so I just barged in….also” Jaemin can feel his ear turning hot. He tried to look as sincere as possible; his Glamour wouldn’t be able to help him here.

“Also it was rude of me to remark like that about your eyes…I didn’t know about the Dementors. I truly didn’t know about them. I am so sorry. I really didn’t know I would react like that.”

The boy just looks at him expressionlessly. He hasn’t said a single word.

A minute seemed like a year when the boy finally spoke.

“It’s okay. Just forget about this incident. Imagine it never happened.”

Jaemin was flabbergasted. He wanted to say this first because he was embarrassed by his action but when the other boy said at first, he was shocked and honestly slightly offended.

He was about to retort when the door of the cabin opened.

In came Lee Taeyong in all his unreal handsome glory.

“I am really sorry Jeno I left you all alone. There was a problem in the 2nd year coach and Donghae Hyung just called me over…. Who is this?”

Taeyong didn’t notice Jaemin first but when he did, he glared at the younger boy like he stole his last favorite tarts or something.

Judging from his glare Jaemin takes it that his Glamour does not affect him too.

“You made a new friend?” Taeyong’s voice was inquisitive but there was an undercurrent in the cabin that made Jaemin feel uncomfortable.

Before any of them could reply, barging into the cabin came another pair of humans. Donghyuck charged toward Jaemin like an angry bull and enveloped him in a hug. He saw Renjun standing in the distance at the door with an apologetic face.

“I am so sorry Jaemin-ah I should have woken you up. I should have taken you with me, I am so sorry…. I thought you would be sleeping and we’d be back within a few minutes but…..oh God! Merlin knows how afraid I was when I saw the cabin was empty with you missing.”

Donghyuck was crying by now, sniffling as he crushed Jaemin with his overpowering hug.

“I was afraid. God! I was so damn afraid. I thought the Dementors took you away. You are so stupid…ughhhh….. I even promised your mom. I am such a bad best friend.”

It turns out there was an announcement tellingthe students to lock their door and not go out as there will be an inspection from the Ministry of Magic. Hence charms were placed on the locked doors of the cabin and since Jaemin was asleep he missed the announcement and not only didn’t he lock his door but went out.

No wonder there was nobody in the corridors.

Then why was Jeno’s door unlocked? 

He knows his name by now hearing Taeyong call him Jeno.

Maybe Jaemin was staring too much, and as if sensing Jaemin’s question Jeno stared back at the boy on the floor.

“Was waiting for Taeyong to come back so I left the door unlocked.” Jeno clarified.

Suddenly Donghyuck was aware of the other occupants of the cabin. He lifted his head from the hug, glanced first at Taeyong then at Jeno and finally resting his eyes on Jaemin.

“Are you friends or something?”

3 pairs of curious eyes looked between Jaemin and Jeno.

“No.”

Before Jaemin could say something along the lines of ‘ yes they are friends now ’ Jeno had flushed his plans down the drain with an absolute NO.

“He just entered the wrong cabin and he couldn’t go out with the Dementors outside so he stayed in. We are not friends, or even acquaintances if that is what you are asking.”

His answer was precise and definite enough to shut Taeyong and Donghyuck up, but it left Jaemin a little bit hurt and cold on the inside.

Does he hate being friends with Jaemin so much? Didn’t he hug him earlier? Why can’t they be friends? Is it asking too much?

Donghyuck must have noticed Jaemin’s bad expression and his teasing expression turned to a serious one. He hates it when someone other than him makes Jaemin sad.

“If that is so, please pardon us for intruding on you. We will be taking our leave.”

He grabbed Renjun with one hand and Jaemin with the others and walked out from there to their cabin.

When Donghyuck finally slammed shut the door of the cabin he cursed out loudly.

“What a rude arrogant bunch!! As expected of the snakes.”

“Technically Jeno isn’t sorted yet,” Jaemin added, but it was a bad move. Donghyuck glared at him like he had offended his whole family.

“Oh, we are on a first-name basis now?”

Jaemin didn’t say anything further,

He didn’t want an early death.

The Gryffindor Prefect visited their cabin at the right time asking to start putting on their school uniform.

It is when he was putting his hand through the armhole of his robe that Jaemin remembered he had completely forgotten to thank the boy for saving him.

“I forgot to thank him.”

Donghyuck made a face.

“Kinda expected. You have a goldfish memory.”

Jaemin wanted to refute. But his best friend was faster. 

“How do you forget your cabin number by the way?”

Jaemin sighed. He is never getting out of this.

Donghyuck would never let him live this one down.

Hogwarts Express reached the station at 7 pm sharp. Filch was, as usual, standing there with a lantern hissing and cursing at the students ordering them to line up with Mrs. Norris on the toe.

“Who names their cat Mrs. Norris? Does that mean there is a Mr. Norris?”

 Renjun was as always inquisitive.

“Apparently Filch does. And no there is no male counterpart to that annoying cat or the Hogwarts student body would go crazy. One stupid cat is enough to screw people up.”

The students were lined up according to the years. The first years were going by boat over the great lake and the rest by the Thestral drawn carriages.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jaemin saw Lee Taeyong give his brother a reassuring half hug leave him in the line with the first years, and walk towards the carriages.

Jaemin observed  Jeno staring at the carriages, particularly at some invisible things in front of the carriages.

“What is he staring at?” Renjun half-whispered to him. He had been keeping an eye on Jaemin for the last hour, ever since he came back from Lee’s cabin. He saw the boy glancing at Jeno frequently.

“Thestrals. I think." Jaemin squints his eyes to get a better look. "Even I can’t see them.”

“Why? Are they invisible? Wait, are they dangerous?”

“Nope. They are very gentle creatures.........it’s just that they are a bit different.”

“Different?”

Jaemin hesitated a bit before telling.

“Yeah, they can only be seen by people who have seen death.”

He can feel Renjun visibly shudder behind him.

“This is sooo creepy. Both of my parents are Muggles so this Wizarding World is.....ummmm.... a bit too shocking for me.”

“It’s okay you’ll fit right in.” Jaemin gives him an assuring smile.

“Thanks.” Renjun smiles back but with a blush.

It was indeed Thestrals. The Keeper of the Keys, Rubeus Hagrid held onto one and brought one to another one of the carriages, latching them on.

Jaemin didn’t see Jeno looking at them anymore. 

Instead, they got onto the boat. The Great Lake was calm and pitch black, the boats floated on it like little spots of light towards the looming ancient castle on the cliff.

The sky was laden with thunderclouds with a flash of lightning searing across the sky at intervals lighting up the surroundings. While people were staring at Jaemin, he on the other hand kept his eyes trained on Jeno throughout the journey who looked partly aloof and partly worried. His eyes always trained at his feet. He didn’t even glance at Jaemin for once.

When they reached the staircase before the Great Hall there were excited murmurs all over the crowd, Jaemin took this chance to approach Jeno.

“Jeno Lee.”

Jaemin can feel all the eyes trained on them. A half-Veela and an infamous Lee family member, gossip is bound to spread. Jeno looked mildly irritated.

“I just wanted to say thanks. I hate being indebted to people so if in the future, I can help you with something please don’t hesitate to ask for me.”

He flashed him his famous smile. He can hear the swoons in the background but Lee Jeno just scoffed.

“You’re welcome but you don’t owe me anything.”

“ I meant-”

“I get it.” Jeno was polite and firm the whole time refusing it. “ We are practically strangers, so you don’t have to do this.”

He bowed slightly,  flicked his robes, and walked away.

“Arrogant bastard. Let’s go Jaemin he doesn’t deserve your goodwill.”

Donghyuck cursed at the boy’s back.

Jaemin was very confused though.

Something doesn’t add up. He was so kind on the train. Was he hallucinating? Did something happen? Was he always like that and it was just Jaemin who misunderstood?

They were greeted by Aurora Sinistra, their Astronomy professor, and were led into the great hall.

The ceiling of the great hall mirrored the weather of a brewing storm outside. It was beautiful and Jaemin was fascinated. More fascinated than him was Renjun who gobbled the surrounding up like he was trying to imprint it in his memory.

 “The Enchanted Ceiling is bewitched to look like the sky outside and to mirror the weather. It is said that the mimicry of the sky outside is so exact that, at first glance, one would believe that there is no ceiling at all and that the hall simply opens upon the heavens.” Renjun added like a guide retelling from the books. “What? It’s written in the Hogwarts: a History Book”

“Ah! I didn’t get the time to read that one.” Donghyuck commented.

“You read?” Jaemin pretended to be surprised.

“You wanna die?”

Well, that was that.

Soon the Sorting Hat was brought in.

It sang the age-old Hogwarts song joined in by some of the senior students occupying the House table on the sides, as the Sorting Ceremony began.

Donghyuck was the first one to be called among them. He got sorted into Gryffindor House. He was welcomed with big warm hugs and loud cheers.

A few more students later Renjun was called. He got sorted into Ravenclaw. It would have been great if they could get into the same house but it is okay they’ll be seeing each other anyway.

“Jaemin Na.”

Jaemin went up the pedestal as he sat on the high stool overlooking the hall. The oversized hat was placed on his head; it sagged down a bit covering his whole head.

“So, a Half-Veela. Very charming, passionate about your work, brave, outgoing, friendly, kind, stubborn, you are the one for the brave heart of red and gold. GRYFFINDOR!” the hat sang in his ears.

He was engulfed in hugs (mainly from his best friend) and loud cheers.

When he finally settled down Donghyuck nudged him in the ribs.

“You got louder cheers than me.” He whined.

“Well, it can’t be helped I am …”

“Complete that sentence and I’ll wrangle your head and you’d be Just-Headless-Jaemin,” Donghyuck warned.

They burst out laughing in their little joke.

“Lee Jeno.”

They whipped their head towards the Sorting Hat.

“He’s going to be a Slytherin without a doubt.”

Jaemin didn’t say anything to Donghyuck’s comment.

The boy went up to the stool and the Hat was placed over his blonde head. Seconds within touching the Hat yelled out the result.

“SLYTHERIN.”

Donghyuck gave him a smug smile.

“Told ya. Snakes each and every one of them.”

Seems like Donghyuck had mixed into the spirit too well for someone who has been sorted into the house not even twenty minutes ago. Jaemin again refrained from voicing his opinion.

He saw the boy sit at the Slytherin table. On each side of Jeno, sat his older brothers, Taeyong on the left and Donghae on the right like they wanted to cut the boy off from the world.

Or maybe Jaemin was just overthinking. Maybe they’re just overprotective and trying to bring comfort to him in the new atmosphere. Jaemin doesn’t know the reason but something seemed odd about the Lees.

Headmistress Prof. McGonagall gave the opening speech. It was very flowery and cheery at the same time. Jaemin made a mental note sof the points.

• Forbidden Forest is off-limits.
• Mind the changing stairwell
• No loitering after 10 for first-years
• Ask professors or Prefects or House Heads or Head boy when in need.
• No running in corridors
• No duels if not under the supervision of a professor.

And few more things but Jaemin, as usual, had zoned out.

“Let the feast begin.” She had finally said.

In a blink of an eye, the tables were filled with food. As Jaemin stuffed his mouth with chicken drumstick socializing with other house members, he turned to look at Donghyuck.

His best friend looked equal parts of happy and excited.

It’s going to be a great school year. He thought to himself.

Chapter Text

After the feast, the House Prefects led the first years to the House Towers. The Gryffindor Prefects were a mix of fifth to seventh-year seniors. They kindly explained the castle's ins and outs and reminded them of the changing stairs and restricted areas.

The portrait of the Fat Lady greeted them at the end of the staircase.

“The password changes frequently so make sure you know the password if you’re going back to the dorms after classes.”

The first years nodded in response. Jaemin had counted, there were 36 of them this year from which Donghyuck and he are the only ones of Asian ethnicity in the first year lot of Gryffindor.

“The password now is …Blubber Worm.”

The portrait of the fat lady opened to reveal a round hole in the wall. They scrambled in through it and found themselves in the Gryffindor common room. It was not very different from what Jaemin had imagined it to be. It was a circular cozy room, full of squashy armchairs, and tables and he could make out a bulletin board in a corner.

“The bulletin board is where school notices, ads, lost posters, etc can be posted, so keep a lookout for it.” informed the pale-faced prefect.

The room was decorated in several shades of red and gold. There were quite a few windows looking out onto the vast green grounds of the school, with the large oak tree donning in the distance. 

A large fireplace dominated one of the gold and red accented walls. The mantle of the fireplace is adorned with the portrait of a lion rising on its two hind legs, the symbol of the house. The walls were decorated with scarlet tapestries that depicted witches and wizards that had belonged to the house and had passed on to write their names in the history books of today. Some were also portraits of various curious animals. There are also bookcases located in the room, filled with various novels, thesis, and papers for ready use.  

A few students were sitting here and there, their eyes following Jaemin as he entered the room. Jaemin recognized someone from them. Byun Baekhyun a 4th year senior. He had met him during the feast for the first time. He was sociable, funny, and kind, like the life of a party. He immediately took a liking to Jaemin and Donghyuck and the feeling was mutual.

“Baekhyun Hyung.”

“Oh Jaemin-ah, Donghyuck-ah come to sit down after the tour. I brought some chocolate frogs.” Baekhyun waved around a packet of snacks as if to temp a group of kid.

Well jokes on him, because Jaemin is easily tempted like that.

Yep, definitely his favorite Hyung.

“Look at your blatant favoritism on being bribed with chocolate frogs. Na Jaemin I never knew you were such a shallow person.”

Donghyuck nudged him.

Jaemin just smiled at him passive and silly, simultaneously gathering a few gasps from the crowd of students around him.

 Well, he is what he is. And what’s so bad about chocolate frogs anyway? They are pretty tasty.

 The Prefects led them up the spiral staircase into the dorms. Two separate staircases lead to the boys’ staircase on which the seven boys’ dormitories are located one for each year and the girls’ staircase of similar layout.

“By the way, be sure to remember that the staircase of the girls’ dormitory is enchanted. If any of the guys set foot on it and persist for a few steps, a wailing klaxon will go off and the staircase will turn into a stone slide sending them or anyone else on the stairs sailing to the bottom. So girls don’t bring your boyfriend in and guys don’t follow the girls to their dorm staircase. Keep the romantic goodbye short and sweet at the bottom of the stairs only. You don’t want to end up with a broken hip at Madam Pomfrey’s.”

Giggles arose among the crowd at the words of the male Prefect.

“So is there a similar mechanism in the boy’s one also?”

If Jaemin remembers his name is Kevin Trunks. 

“Nope, the founders believed that girls were more trustworthy than boys so that while the girls’ staircase is enchanted to prevent boys from getting in, the boys’ staircase does not carry a reciprocal enchantment.”

“That’s a bit of unfair,” Donghyuck added.

“Well, the world was never fair in the first place.” 

It was Flore Rosella. The blonde girl with pink ends. A bit of a sassy and rebellious type if you ask Jaemin but it’s too early to tell. You can never judge a book by its cover.

“Ugh! Teenagers.” Donghyuck sulked.

“Okay, guys! Here ends your tour. Tomorrow is Sunday. Though classes start from 2nd September Sundays are off so you’ll be starting from 3rd i.e. Monday. Tomorrow you’ll get your routines during breakfast. Good luck with your studies, you’ll need it!”

And the group broke up. Those who wanted to turn in for the day went ahead to sleep while those who wanted to stay remained in the common room to socialize.

It was only 9 in the clock, the night was still young.

Jaemin and Donghyuck sat across Baekhyun and another senior named Kim Jongdae on the red velvet couch as they enjoyed the chocolate frog that was offered to them.

Baekhyun told them funny stories about the students and professors of the school. Jaemin laughed so much that his stomach started hurting. He told them there were also two more guys from the third year Doyoung and Johnny.  Jaemin remembers meeting Doyoung vaguely but Johnny he can’t remember.

“Is Doyoung the senior who was talking very seriously about some Muggle band?”

“Yep, he is the one. He is in love with some Muggle band now and is trying to bring more people into the fandom. As for Johnny, I don’t think you’ve met him; he had too much Fire whiskey at the dinner today and got drunk. He is sleeping upstairs. ”

“You had an alcoholic drink today? How?”

Baekhyun winked at them and shushed.

“Stock from Three Broom Sticks, stored under the bed.”

Jaemin was surprised. Donghyuck was faster.

“What about the Prefects?”

Baekhyun just smiled at them.

“Well, we have our ways.”

Donghyuck was instantly fascinated.

“What about Hogsmeade trips?”

“Yeah, you’ll also have them from 3rd year.” Baekhyun relaxed into the chair like a wise elder and Jongdae scoffed beside him.

Donghyuck looked excitedly at Jaemin. They can’t wait for their weekend trips.

Baekhyun told them they have a circle of Asian students who hang out together.

“I am not being racist or something but sometimes having people from the same homeland, sharing the same taste in food, or speaking the same language helps in de-stressing a lot. Also, people from different years make studying a bit easier, especially in later years as the seniors can help out the juniors in difficult subjects. Suho Hyung came up with the idea. He is a Ravenclaw 5th year; he became the Ravenclaw Prefect this year.”

“How many members do you have in this so-called group?”

“Not many, including you and Jaemin it would be 17ish something.”

“Are the Lees also in the group?”

Now, this got Jaemin interesting. He stopped munching on his chocolate frog head to look at Baekhyun. He hasn’t said much throughout the conversation. It was mainly Donghyuck keeping the conversation going.

“Yeah, they are. Ravenclaws are always fair type. But if there is some beef, don’t worry you won’t be seeing them they rarely attend the group gatherings.”

Jaemin is a little bit disappointed. He shouldn’t be but he is a little bit. Just a little bit.

“That’s good news then.” Donghyuck had sighed in relief.

“Wait did you already get into strife with them? It’s bad luck getting involved with them.” Jongdae finally sat up straight.

“No Hyung….it’s nothing serious.”

 Jaemin had intervened before Donghyuck could cause some misunderstanding. He hasn’t told his best friend regarding the Dementors incident. He was embarrassed and Jeno wasn’t really interested in revealing it.

“Are you sure? We can help you out if you want.” Baekhyun had added helpfully. “I am known as the Next Peeves of Hogwarts for nothing. One word and I can make sure they’ll be embarrassed to death with the impossible number of tricks I have up my sleeve. I am the best buyer Zonko’s have.” 

Baekhyun visibly puffed his chest in pride. Jongdae just laughed at his friend’s antiques. (“That is not a thing u should be proud about, Baek,” he muttered laughing.)

“It’s okay Hyung, it's nothing serious I promise.”  Jaemin had assured again and again.

They dropped the topic and moved on to the next one. A few more minutes into the conversation Baekhyun suddenly turned to Jaemin with a mischievous look in his eyes.

“So Jaemin, how do you feel about being the most popular first year?”

Jaemin had finished with the head and there was a moving leg of a chocolate frog hanging from his lips. He slurped it in.

“What?....sorry hyung can u repeat? I did not get it.” he looked at them innocently munching on it. When Jaemin looked up what greeted him was a disgusted expression on the rest of the three faces.

“You know what never mind….. I just saw something I shouldn’t have.” 

He heard Donghyuck remark how his face just doesn’t go with chocolate frogs.

“We thought we should warn you regarding your popularity since a love letter will come pouring in once you start school, but now that I see you I don’t think you need a warning. It’s fine Jaem, be yourself.” Baekhyun patted him on the back.

They chatted for a while before calling it a night.

“Let’s call it a night kids. Breakfast starts at 8 tomorrow.” 

The seniors patted them on the head and left for the dorms.

Jaemin and Donghyuck also got up and returned to their dorms. Half of them were already asleep.  The two best friends sorted their luggage and changed into their respective night suits.  Jaemin opened Coffee’s cage and let her fly off to hunt.

He looked down the window of the dorm to see it overlooking the Great Lake, its water was placid, dark, and lifeless but he knew there was a Giant Squid that lived there. The water did not reflect the starry sky like a big pool of ink.

Sometimes things are not exactly what they seem like.

He went to sleep in the new bed, a new environment, with a smile on his face.

Morning hours have never been kind to Jaemin, who has always been a night owl.  So when he entered the Great Hall at 8:15 am,  his uniform askew hair sticking out and barely functioning mind, Donghyuck for sure was not the one amused. He settled himself between his best friend and a friendly fellow Gryffindor brunette named Olivia Woods and slammed his head on the table to complete his missed out sleep barely missing the bowl of mushroom porridge placed before him.

He could hear Baekhyun come over from the other side of the table.

“Is he okay?” he asked Donghyuck.

“Is he okay? Yes. Is he a functioning human? Unfortunately no. But he will be in a few hours. Is it a regular occurrence? Yes, ‘cause you don’t see me acting surprised. Now, everyone, the main question is-

Is his brain, all right after that hit? Yes, because he never had one, to begin with.”

Jaemin grunted showing his displeasure at Donghyuck’s questionnaire head still plastered to the table. He swang his hands towards Donghyuck’s general direction as if to swat him away managing to hit nothing.

Donghyuck annoyed at the antics, slaps the wayward hand away. Jaemin grunts in response again and Donghyuck continues his duty of dissing Jaemin.

“Now, that my friends are a classical specimen of a grunt of a caveman. Jaemin tends to go back in the evolution when he wakes up.”

The Gryffindor table laughed merrily at his best friend's joke. Gone was Jaemin’s cool suave image in front of his admirers. But Jaemin is somebody who rarely cares about his image so he paid no heed to it and continued to snooze. He has his priorities straight.

The owls brought a post in the morning and Jaemin got a post from his family asking about his dorms, food, etc. He somehow managed to get some resemblance of consciousness back as he read the letter half-awake. He busied stuffing himself with porridge and bread as Donghyuck patted down his hair to make it somewhat presentable. The timetable of classes was also delivered at the breakfast table.

When Jaemin was finally awake the breakfast was over. He got up from the table and glanced at the Slytherin table at the far end and sure enough there sitting between his older brothers was Lee Jeno. He looked as impeccable as possible with his side-swept blonde hair. Whoever did it was good because it was styled in a way where it fell over at the side of his forehead framing his sharp features. He was already in his ironed uniform, buttoned-up shirt, and stifling green and silver striped tie. 

Jeno was looking through what seemed to be the schedule, his bowl of porridge untouched in front of him. As if sensing Jaemin’s stare he looked up, his pretty grey eyes coming in contact with Jaemin’s blue ones as he held his stare. In the morning light, Jeno looked paler than last night. He gave off the impression as if he was one of the House Ghosts who was going to disappear in the blink of an eye.

Jaemin gave up eye contact; he averted his eyes and followed Donghyuck out of the Great Hall. He didn’t look back.

After breakfast, the group of Gryffindors sat in the grassy courtyard beside the Whomping Willow overlooking the Forbidden Forest at a distance. Renjun joined in with them. The weather was a bit cloudy and it made the looming castle in the background look more solemn but the grassland looked even greener if it was possible. Jaemin thought that the gray-green combination looked nice. They talked about the dorms and the subjects when suddenly Jaemin remembered something.

“By the way Hyung, I have been meaning to ask you. You don’t seem much affected by my Glamour.”

Jaemin couldn’t help but question Baekhyun.

“Is that so? I didn’t notice it much. Maybe because I already have a boyfriend you don’t have much effect on me.”

That’s a plausible reason , Jaemin thought. Glamour’s effect does weaken on a faithful lover.

Wait! Does that mean Jeno also had someone that’s why he was unaffected? 

Somehow it bothered him a bit, but he didn’t get to contemplate more as the group of three was joined by two new Gryffindors.

“This is Johnny and you’ve already met Doyoung. Guys! These are the first years I told you about.” Baekhyun cheerfully introduced them.

Jaemin smiled at them and bowed politely in a hello.

They were a rowdy bunch but Jaemin enjoyed the company. They were never quiet, like a group of excited children as they chattered on everything and anything under the sky.

There was only one problem.

A few minutes in Jaemin can feel this Johnny guy checking him out unabashedly. Doyoung was also affected by his Glamour but he just blushed whenever Jaemin even glanced at him. Donghyuck shifted a little closer to Jaemin sensing his discomfort shielding him, but the move was carried out so naturally that Jaemin could not help but praise his friend’s smooth ways.

Finally, after some time staring at him for a complete 10 minutes, Johnny suddenly went ahead and said it.

“Jaemin would you mind if I say that you’re one of the most beautiful people I saw in my short life?”

A normal person would have blushed at his declaration coupled with his sincere expression and handsome looks.

 But who is Jaemin? 

Jaemin is a half-Veela who has been through these situations throughout his life. Not only that he has spent a lot of time with his maternal cousin Jungwoo who is known to capture hearts within a minute of meeting a person. So flirting is as easy for him as breathing. He doesn’t flirt that’s his preference that doesn’t mean he can’t. He for once should not be underestimated here.

Donghyuck probably got an idea of the situation because he was inching away from Jaemin like he was stinky trash. Donghyuck knows how lethal of a flirt Jaemin is.

“Damn! It's happening again. I would need to wash my eyes after this.” being the best friend of a half Veela is a lot of hard work.

Jaemin on the other hand runs his hand through his strawberry blonde hair and tilts his head at an angle resting his head on his hand. He gives his most famous lazy charming (seductive) smile.

“I get that a lot, hyung. It’s difficult to resist my charm, after all. Why don't you up your game a bit, Hyung?". He added a wink for extra effects.

  It was a cringy line. But sometimes they work like magic combined with his glamour. It sends the group of people sitting down around him in a blushing frenzy, even Baekhyun looks flabbergasted. He can hear Donghyuck retching beside him in disgust while cringing like he is convulsing. Renjun is blushing but looking mildly horrified. Jaemin just giggles out loud.

In the afternoon they sit with their schedules in Gryffindor's common room.

            1st               2nd                 3rd              4th     

Mon:  Potions   DADA     History ofMagic  DADA

Tue: Charms    Herbology    Transfiguration  Flying

Wed: Potions   Herbology       Astronomy(midnight)

Thurs: Charms   History ofMagic Transfiguration  Flying

Friday:  Potions   Potions                                   

“We share History of Magic and Transfiguration with the Renjun and the rest of the Ravenclaw. Herbology and Charms with Hufflepuff. And finally Potions, DADA, and Astronomy with Slytheri-….what the hell is this? Are they trying to pitch us together and see whether we kill each other by hexing or poison or just push each other off the Astronomy Tower? Is it some kind of survival game?”

Donghyuck looked pissed.

“I don’t think it’s that serious….they are not that...” Jaemin tried to interject.

“I dare you to finish that sentence Na Jaemin and you’ll be Just-Headless- Jaemin. You will be making your fans cry at your funeral.”

Donghyuck makes a cutting-off neck motion with his thumb at his neck. His mood is not the best as a Slytherin senior bumped him on the way to the Great Hall during lunch and spilled a bucket of manure from Herbology on him accidentally in the hallway. The worst part is he didn’t even apologize to him instead blamed him for ruining his Herbology project. 

But if Jaemin is being a neutral witness about it— it was Donghyuck who crashed into him first as he was too excited about some hot second-year Hufflepuff senior whom he met in the library and promised to have lunch with him.

So ultimately, he didn’t get to have his lunch date as he stunk of old fermented poop, and neither did he get an apology(like heck they would apologize, they were third-year seniors. Hierarchy still exists at present) and Jaemin had to sneak some food out the Great Hall for themselves and ate them in the common room.

So he can guess his best friend is pretty pissed at the Slytherins.

He didn’t comment anything more fearing his life.

Monday started with a blur for Jaemin, he was as usual half awake as he rushed for breakfast. He thanked Donghyuck in his mind for waking him up on time to at least be decently presentable on the first day of school.

At 9 am they headed to the dungeons to have their first potions class.

“I can’t believe in the first class, on the first day of my first year in Hogwarts I have to start the class watching those snake-faced people, the first thing in the morning.” Donghyuck was whining from the morning and seeing how more and more people joined in the complaining it seemed to be a common sentiment shared by the majority of the Gryffindors.

“That’s a lot of firsts in one sentence.” Jaemin poked his grumpy best friend with a spoon.

“Shut up, Na Jaemin. I’ll break your spoon then you will have to stir with your hand..” is all he got in return.

When they entered the Dungeons the Slytherins were already at their stations. There were quite a few comments on Gryffindors’ tardiness etc. and Gryffindors also hissed back.

The potions classroom was an oval one fairly large with a large number of worktables each holding two people and provided with ingredients and a washbasin. The natural lighting was not bad considering it was in the dungeons.

Jaemin partnered up with Donghyuck as usual and his eyes automatically searched for the familiar blonde hair and grey eyes. He finally spotted Jeno at the end of the second row. He was wearing a pair of gold-rimmed round glasses perched on his straight nose. He looked very different in the glasses. But the surprising fact was– that he was standing alone.

Guess he is an outcast even in his own house. Jaemin pondered.

He saw a few of the nearby Slytherins eyeing Jeno warily like he is some interesting extinct beast, eager to approach, to befriend and tame but wary of the claws nonetheless.

When Jeno sensed his gaze and looked up Jaemin had already averted his eyes.

Professor Slughorn, head of Slytherin house is a surprisingly amicable old wizard. Jaemin kind of likes him. He explains things slowly so all of them can understand and treats all the students equally. His favoritism is based on the skill you have, not the house you are in.

Donghyuck seemed to realize this and looked a bit sullen. He was expecting a rickety old professor with anger issues who showed blatant favoritism for his house.

King Donghyuck failed to collect his tea.

 Since it was the first class, they were given an introduction to the subjects and details about the ingredients used in potions.

“Today we’ll just go through some ingredients, no potion-making on the first day.”

Professor Slughorn explained some ingredients and gave them a demonstration on how to handle them.

“Can anyone tell me the other name of Monkshood and its uses? Any volunteers waiting to answer my question?”

Nobody raised their hand.

Professor Slughorn looked disappointed.

He then spotted Jeno standing alone at the end of the 2nd row. A smile blossomed on his wrinkled face. If it was Jaemin, he didn’t want to be the one on the receiving end of that smile. It was too kind and too expectant making the one receiving it feel burdensome and responsible.

“Mr. Lee, can you give me the answer?”

Jeno who was busy taking notes like the rest raised his head to meet the professor’s expectant eyes. He didn’t look very thrilled at the aspect of answering.

Jaemin felt bad for the guy.

“If I remember correctly, the eldest Mr. Lee got an Outstanding in his O.W.L.S in potion; the second eldest Mr. Lee is also not bad at Potions. His year-end exam results were pretty good. May not be the best but better than average. How about youngest it,  Mr. Lee, how are Potions treating you?”

Yep, Jaemin would definitely hate to be at the end of that smile.

Jeno quietly closed his notebook and stood up from his stool.

“To answer your question professor, another name for Monkshood is Wolfsbane. It is a plant called Aconite, sweet to taste, a lethal poison, found in the wild, mimics a heart attack in a Muggle body. The leaves are dark green deadly in nature, violet flowers, roots are brown and used to make Wolfsbane potion and Wideye potion.”

Jeno nods at the professor and sits down.

“Showoff” Donghyuck huffs beside Jaemin. Jaemin on the other hand is a bit pleased.

Why? Well, he doesn’t know. He just is.

Professor Slughorn looks overjoyed like he has found some treasure.

“Good Job Mr. Lee. As expected of the Lee’s. Fifteen points to Slytherin for answering perfectly to my question and an extra 5 points for the modesty Mr. Lee has shown today.”

Jeno thanked the professor quietly. Then, he went back to writing notes again.

The Slytherins cheered but it didn’t reach their eyes. The Gryffindors just scoffed.

The potions ended without a hitch. Professor Slughorn smiled the entire day.

The next class was Defense against Dark Arts.

Students of both houses made their way toward classroom no. 104 in the North Tower. There was some discord involved, some pushing and pulling and after an almost catfight between Rosella and Nancy Parkinson of Slytherin, they finally reached the classroom.

They settled themselves in, Jaemin and Donghyuck in the third row and Jeno in the last at the end.

They were mildly surprised to find a handsome Asian teacher in front of them. And Jaemin doesn’t remember seeing him in the feast.

“Welcome to your first Defense Against Dark Arts class. I am your professor for this course. My name is Shim Changmin. You can call me Professor Max or Professor Shim whatever you prefer or can pronounce correctly. Don’t bother with the formalities. I am new to this whole teaching thing so until you do something which I consider to be outrageously rude I won’t be able to tell, so get comfortable.”

Jaemin liked this professor. He had a laid-back and casual personality yet was serious and practical when teaching.  He gave an outline of the subject and started with a discussion.

“We’ll be discussing Imps today as an introduction to the subject. It’ll be again taught to you later because that’s just how much of a headache they are.”

Thus the discussion began and time just flew by until the bell struck signifying lunch hours. The discussion was lighthearted and funny and he didn’t ask too many questions to the students. Those qualities are enough to qualify him as a good teacher in Jaemin’s eyes.

“I’ll see you in the 4th period in class 3C, the third floor.” Professor Shim greeted them at the end of the class as he picked up his attendance register, flashing them a friendly smile.

They exited the classroom and made their way toward the Great Hall after class. Jaemin wasn’t able to find Jeno anymore, not even in the Hall during lunch.

After the lunch hour was over, it was History of Magic taught by Ghost Professor Mr. Binns, but Jaemin and Donghyuck were more excited to meet Renjun again.

History of Magic is a subject that is as old as Mr. Binns who has died and continues teaching the same subject for the last few hundred years. In simple words, it’s boring, monotonous, ancient,  irrelevant, droning, and jam-packed with too much information that should be impossible to fit into a sentence.

 (“I teach facts, not myths and legends” he had said in his monotonous voice.)

Jaemin is out five minutes into the class face plastered on the desk snoozing peacefully. Donghyuck holds a personal record of 15 minutes before he is out too and so are the other Gryffindors. Half of the class looks like a bloodless battlefield with bodies lying around and only the Ravenclaws are awake as they scribbled notes away on the parchment, their quills running at the speed of machine guns. Renjun sitting beside Donghyuck looks focused but the Gryffindors beside him have long left reality and are well enough into dreamland.

An hour in and the nap time finally ends.

The students stretch their backs yawning as they exit classroom 72 on the third floor.  The next is DADA again and the best part is they don’t even need to change the floor, spare them the changing staircases.

The Imp discussion continues and Professor Shim shows them the living specimen trapped in a cage. It’s a yellow-eyed gray-skinned bald creature almost pixie-like in structure with an obnoxious laugh.

“I see no difference,” Jaemin says as he stares at the creature. “Donghyuck, did you lose ur twin somewhere, I think that twin is here in that cage?”

“Ahahahah….you’re so funny Na Jaemin.” Donghyuck quips, sarcasm dripping down like venom. “Cause I was gonna say the same thing about you.”

The Imp laughed at Jaemin so Jaemin laughed back at it. 

I swear they are brothers.

Donghyuck beside him looked at him like he was considering his life choices. 

Jeno didn’t seem interested; he sat at the corner and read The Essentials of Defense Against Dark Arts by Arsenius Jagger the whole period. 

“ That’s a fancy book,” Jaemin utters the words with a flair.

“That’s our textbook idiot.” Donghyuck is not having it.

Tuesday was Charms with Hufflepuff in classroom 99 at the South Tower. The Hufflepuffs are a hardworking, diligent, and kind, honest-hearted batch and the Gryffindors go pretty well with them. Professor Flitwick gave an introduction to the class regarding the subject and spent the next hour teaching them the wand lighting charm, Lumos.

Herbology was similarly spent in the humid Hogwarts greenhouse. The first two classes were allotted for recognizing and differentiating plants so not much potting and digging was done.

Transfiguration was a bit of awe-inspiring for Donghyuck. Professor McGonagall, headmistress of Hogwarts herself takes the class. When she transformed herself into a female tabby cat with a spectacles-like mark on the eyes the first years clapped and cheered, a little bit more interested in learning the subject than they were previously. The first work was to learn the Transfiguration alphabets and that’s what they did.

During the afternoon it started raining they had no flying lessons anyway so they stayed in the Library studying with Renjun.

It rained the whole night.

And just like that Wednesday came.

It was gloomy weather the following morning. The rain continued to drizzle on the green Scotland valley. The Whomping Willow tree shook its branches to get rid of the retained moisture.

It was again potions in the morning. It meant more whining from Donghyuck on the unfairness of life, hissing and cursing competition between Gryffindors and the Slytherins, Professor Horace Slughorn’s expectant stares, and Lee Jeno answering questions like 12 uses of dragon blood with ease nonchalantly.

Herbology with Madam Sprout was uneventful. Flying doesn’t start until the third week. So Jaemin, Donghyuck, and Renjun had a self-study session at the Library. They met Johnny there with Doyoung and a Ravenclaw senior Jaehyun. Jaemin found out Johnny was a pretty decent guy except he's a bit of a ‘cringy flirt’ (Doyoung’s words not him). But he also flirted with Jaehyun who was pretty good looking so Jaemin didn’t take it seriously.

“I think there won’t be any Astronomy class today, the sky is too clouded to watch stars.” Donghyuck wasn’t really looking forward to Astronomy with Slytherin in the middle of the night.

“Ours was last night and it was canceled due to the rain last night.” Renjun stacked the books one upon another as they made their way toward the dorms.

“Can’t they use weather-modifying charms?”

“There are regulations on them from W.O.M.B.A.T since they affect the environment.” Jaemin quipped balancing his books in one hand and grabbing the staircase railing with the other as the staircase began to move.

They reached the Great Hall just in time for supper.

The weather cleared up at 10 and the sky was so clear that it hadn’t been raining at all for the last 48 hrs. Donghyuck groaned beside Jaemin in frustration.

At 12 pm sharp the Gryffindor first years headed up to the Astronomy tower through the dark hallways.

The Slytherins were already sitting over there when they reached.

“Merlin! Why are they always this punctual?” Donghyuck groaned for the nth time in 20 minutes.

Jaemin and Donghyuck were lagging behind a bit due to their lack of stamina while climbing stairs so when they entered the classroom there was no seat left. Donghyuck snagged one beside Olivia Woods and tried to make some space for Jaemin. But before they can proceed with the plan the professor intervened.

Professor Aurora Sinistra is a pretty dark-skinned witch with a calm disposition and a kind smile.

“Your name, Gryffindor first year?” she asked Jaemin.

“Jaemin Na.”

She smiled at him kindly. But Jaemin can feel a bad premonition.

“Mr. Na, would you be so kind as to accompany Mr. Lee over there?”

She gestured at the table with a telescope on the diagonally opposite end of the room. There sat Lee Jeno, his blonde hair shining like spun silver thread under the starlight, his uniform impeccable without a crease looking at the Professor with his pretty gray eyes and a shocked expression on his face.

He can feel Donghyuck gripping his hand in a death grip and about 70 pairs of eyes trained on him waiting for his answer.

“I am sure Lee is a very cordial seatmate. How about you two gentlemen promote some inter-house cordial relationship between Gryffindor and Slytherin house? I am sure Mr. Lee would also appreciate that. Won’t you Mr. Lee?”

“I am really fine prof-”

“I’ll sit over there as the professor suggests.” It was Jaemin who cut Jeno off.

Jeno looked even more petrified while Professor Sinistra looked smug.

Jaemin walked over to his table and sat down. Jeno arranged all his things to make space for Jaemin’s belongings. They just nodded at each other in greeting.

It was the first time Jaemin looked around the classroom. It’s the top of the tower which opens into a large round terrace. The circular desks and benches are arranged in a  3/4th circle leaving a bit and the center of the circle free for the professor to roam around. Each desk was supplied with a telescope and a bench just enough for two people to sit comfortably.

Large circular pillars surround the space with short stone railings joining them. There is occasional wind up there carrying a chill and moisture. An effect of afterrain and the scent of freshly rained on the soil. There is no roof in the teaching area opening up to the sky and Jaemin can see the swirls of blue-green gases forming the Milky Way littered with millions and millions of glittering stars. It was a cloudless night and Jaemin felt the sky had opened up the door to the outer space for them to view and enjoy her beautiful galaxies.

He glanced beside him to find Jeno in a similar awestruck glory.

His blonde hair turned silver under the moonlight as if spun of starlight mused by the wind, and his pale skin had a sheen of light blue from the glow of the indigo night sky. But he was taken breathless by his beautiful eyes. Those pretty eyes that Jaemin would love to stare at length. Under the starlight, the blue ring on the outer edges had bled into the inner gray as they reflected the entire galaxy in them. The swirling bright azure greens, the hints of gold and fuschia, and the electric blue gases reflected into those mirror pools of grey and pale blue mixing into them to create a gorgeous mess of colors. He could hear Professor Sinistra in the background speaking about some planet but he was too mesmerized to take his eyes off the boy sitting in front of him.

“They are beautiful.” Jaemin found himself saying. He was going to apologize for his remark but Jeno beat him to it.

“They are indeed beautiful.” His gaze was still fixed on the stars above. Then he does something that leads to Jaemin almost having a mini heart attack.

He smiles.

It’s a very tiny smile. Almost imperceptible but a sincere one, barely a tilt of lips but coupled with those dreamy eyes it makes Jaemin sit up straight in his bench. It is there for only a second or so and vanishes as fast as it comes as his face returns to that blank expression again.

Like a short nice fleeting dream at dawn that one forgets when they wake up in the morning.

The class passes by in a blur, with Jaemin alternating between listening to Professor Aurora talk about Venus and stargazing with occasional glances at the Slytherin boy sitting beside him.

That night when Jaemin finally hits the bed after class he falls asleep really fast. He dreams of a boy with silver hair spun by the moon, and pale skin littered with stars as he stands half-immersed in the calm gray mirror-like waters of a large lake looking at Jaemin with eyes that contain the galaxies, lips tilted in a barely-there smile.

When Jaemin wakes up the next morning he remembers nothing.

Time passes by and soon they are three weeks into the first month. It is as uneventful as before. All Jaemin does is study and hang out with his friends. There are only three notable incidents that happened during this time.

 First, he and Donghyuck are now good friends with Olivia Woods and Flore Rosella are good friends now. Donghyuck hit it off with Rosella in one of the charms classes and they bonded over pulling a prank on the Slytherin third-year who had poured manure on Donghyuck. She was classy, bitchy, and straightforward and Donghyuck was more than welcome to be friends with her. The cherry on top was that she was not attracted to Jaemin like other girls as according to her pretty boys like him are not her type, she prefers them tough and manly like a biker-bad-boy whatever that means. Olivia, on the other hand, was a lesbian so she was never interested; she is hard-working, passionate, and brave and has excellent leadership qualities.

Secondly, Jaemin has received a horde of love letters containing love poems and chocolates from Honeydukes. Donghyuck is on the road to becoming a fat well-fed pig as hoards Jaemin’s chocolate.

“I am not. I eat them with moderation.” Donghyuck fired back when Renjun pointed out that his cheeks looked puffier than usual.

Jaemin has refused the confessions by sending them kind letters stating he is too young to be in a serious relationship now and that he hasn’t thought about dating anybody yet.

“you’re just giving them more hope like ‘ I am young now try to confess to me in another two years and I’ll think about it .’ Is what you are saying.” Donghyuck said as he feasted on another piece of chocolate with cranberry filling this time.

“It’s not what I am saying at all.”

“I know. But that’s exactly what it sounds like. It will be better if you say something like you already like somebody.”

Jaemin didn’t change his excuse, because he is stubborn and stupid.

The letters stopped but the staring and stalking and gifts with notes like ‘I’ll wait for you’, and ‘Let’s be together when we are of age’ increased and it creeped the hell out of him.

Donghyuck just hoarded the extra chocolate like a dragon hoarding treasures and gave him a smug smile.

“I told you so.” He laughed out obnoxiously getting on Jaemin’s nerves.

Thirdly, he requested to have privacy during bath time, which was approved and he was able to use the disused 7th-floor bathroom separately.  It was connected to the Gryffindor common room through Valerie Myriadd’s portrait and opens only through a password. The passage directly connects the seventh-floor bathroom of Hogwarts to the common room.  It happened within the first week of his stay. The Ravenclaw Prefect Suho Hyung helped a lot. He is the next Head Boy to be so he vouched for him.

To be truthful the first three days of bath time were very uncomfortable for Jaemin. On the first day as soon as he started unbuttoning his shirt all the boys in the bathroom stared at him, so in the end, he left feeling uncomfortable.

For the next two days, he showered at midnight being able to avoid the student body but he had to cut back on sleep. So he requested Baekhyun who in turn requested Suho to help him with the issue. In the end, he solved it for Jaemin and the latter was grateful.

It was the third Wednesday since the start of Hogwarts. Jaemin was looking forward to Astronomy class partly because he likes the stargazing aspect of it and partly because of Lee Jeno.

The seating arrangement has stuck. They don’t talk much in class, and Jeno is busy taking notes while Jaemin zones out. They talk about small incidents like passing books or quills or study matters when they have to share the telescope. They don’t talk aside from Astronomy class; they don’t have any reason to. Jeno is cordial to him, almost friendly and Jaemin thinks he has a shot at his goal of becoming friends with Lee Jeno.

“Are you sure you just want to be friends with him?” Baekhyun had asked him yesterday when they were alone when he noticed Jaemin glancing at Jeno during eating hours in the Great Hall.

Jaemin nods confused. Obviously, he just wants to be friends with him.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I mean who doesn’t? He is excellent at Potions; he got Cure for broils right on the first try. He is also good at Charms and DADA. Renjun was complaining about how he got a better score than Renjun in the essay on the History of Magic. I mean that’s insane Renjun is the best Ravenclaw of his batch.

You should’ve seen him on a broom yesterday when we had our first class. Mine just rolled around in the ground but he flew a lap around like a pro. Who doesn’t want a cool friend like him?”

There is a mischievous glint in Baekhyun’s eyes like he is hiding some secret.

“If that’s what you want then that is it”. They don’t talk anymore on the topic as Donghyuck joins them for a chat.

Jaemin saw Jeno in potion class in the morning, he looked tired and worried. The class went on as usual.

Today the topic of Astronomy is the Moon the reason for it being a full moon night. The moon is the brightest one as seen by Jaemin. It's full of a total sphere with craters and shines brilliant silver. It has patches of gray but the imperfections make her even more stunning. Its brilliance covers the stars in the indigo sky. Jaemin basks in the light waiting for Jeno to arrive.

He is absent that day.

Chapter Text

He doesn’t come the next day too. He asks Renjun who has classes with Slytherin and sure enough he is absent for all his classes the next day and doesn’t even come down to eat.

Jaemin couldn’t help but worry.

On Friday Jeno is back again, in pressed uniform and all, not a thing out of place. They have a double period of potions with Professor Slughorn in the morning and the rest is off.

It is a revision class of Cure for Boils.

By some odd luck, Jaemin and Donghyuck end up in the station next to Jeno who again is standing alone.

Professor Slughorn had tried to set him up with a partner in the beginning but Jeno firmly said he didn’t need one. He did indeed didn’t need one. He single-handedly aced Cure for boils potion and Slughorn had never been happier. He never tried to set him up again.

Jaemin observes Jeno work on the potion like he had done it a hundred times before. He moves with practiced ease and grace preparing the porcupine quills and horned slugs and snake fangs etc. while Jaemin is having a war while crushing his 6 snake fangs under mortar and pestle.

He stares at his side profile sneakily and if Jaemin is being truthful he looks a bit haggard and has slight eye bags under his pretty eyes.

Was he sick? Should he ask? Would he mind? They are considered friends by now, right?

He was lost in his own musings when it happens. Donghyuck drops one of the porcupine quills, it rolls under his feet and stupid Jaemin strikes again.

Donghyuck lets out the most unmanly screech possible putting the cry of Banshees to shame. Even Professor Slughorn looked shocked. A Slytherin student nearly tips his cauldron over.

“NA JAEMIN! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?”

There is a crushed porcupine quill under the sole of Jaemin’s foot who hugs his mortar and pestle to his chest at Donghyuck’s outburst.

Donghyuck just groans like he lost his soul. He looks at Jaemin with his dead but accusing eyes.

Jaemin laughs nervously.

“I am sure we have taken extra.” He tries to make amend.

“They were used in the previous batch that we failed due to your incompetence of not grinding snake fang properly.”

“Then I am sure there are some left on the main table.”

“News flash: There aren’t”

True to his words, there is none.

Jaemin looks around in the class in the hope of some borrowing.

They look back at him like he had asked for their kidney, even people from his own house.

Traitors every one of them. Loyalty and brotherhood sold at the cost of a porcupine quill.

Donghyuck looks at him un-amused. He looks like he going to tell Jaemin to go to the Forbidden Forest to look for a porcupine.

Jaemin hears a sigh from his adjacent station. He turns to Jeno in time to see him put 2 porcupine quills on their desk.

“It’s okay I am done with mine already.”

Sure enough, the copper cauldron had a bubbling sparkling blue liquid.

Donghyuck was going to say something along the lines of ‘we don’t need your charity.’ But Jaemin beat him to it.

“Thanks” he gave him the most dazzling smile. Jeno just nodded in response going back to his work of stirring the potion clockwise not before throwing a glare to some grumbling Slytherin behind him protesting on helping out a rival house.

Yep, they are definitely friends now.

Or not.

The following week they sat together for Astronomy and Jaemin finally asked the question that has been eating him up.

“Were you sick last week?”  Jeno who was scribbling down notes suddenly stopped on hearing the question. He glared at Jaemin.

“None of your damn business.” His voice was cold and felt defensive.

 Jaemin was a bit taken back by the answer.

They didn’t talk for the rest of the class.

On the next Wednesday Astronomy class, Jeno had moved away to a different seat sitting with one of his fellow Slytherin. Donghyuck was glad to have his best friend back from the Slytherin’s slimy grip.

Jaemin was a bit upset. Suddenly he found no interest left in Astronomy class.

Time passed by like water and soon it was three weeks into October and Jeno was again absent in another of their Astronomy class. It was also a full moon night. Jaemin sat underneath the lit up moon, heart filled with an odd void.

The Halloween feast came earlier than they thought. It was a highly anticipated event by the student.

On the eve of Halloween, the Great Hall was decorated with live bats; Hagrid’s monstrous pumpkins have been carved into lanterns so large that three healthy adult male can sit in them. The tables are filled with confectionary filled pumpkins, apples, black cauldrons with huge lollipops of weird colors, and varied flavors. There were pieces of carrot cakes, goblets of colored fruit punch, pumpkin juice. There were bats flying around and orange streamers hanging down with the usual floating candles and cobweb chandeliers.

“I heard Professor Shim offered to book a troupe of the dancing skeleton but it was voted out.”

“Aww, it would have been fun.”

There is always some entertainment at the end.

 This year it was led by the Hogwarts Ghosts who pop out of the walls and do formation gliding.

It was an enjoyable feast. Jaemin ate heartily. He saw Jeno from the corner of his eye; the boy was as usual settled in between his brothers in Slytherin table. While some people have taken up the deliberation to dress up, he was still clad in his school uniform.  Jaemin is not the one to judge since he was also wearing school robes only.

Jeno left halfway through the Ghost’s performance. Lee Taeyong left a few minutes after, only the oldest Lee stayed behind being a Prefect.

After the performance, the headmistress, as well as the Professors, retired leaving the students in the Great Hall to enjoy.

Within minutes the tables disappeared leaving the large hall empty and there was music blasting down the room with the walls soundproofed with charms. It was a party and Jaemin had not danced this crazily before. He got separated from Donghyuck halfway through it, he spotted him dancing away with the ‘hot Hufflepuff senior with a nice face’ (his words not Jaemin’s). He looked like he was having the time of his life so he let it be.

Jaemin was dragged into the dance floor by hands of his fellow housemates and soon he was pressed between groups of giggling girls.

 Within minutes he had successfully become the life of the party. It was pretty easy for him if you ask.

• He had always been a good dancer. Cue the dancing sessions with Donghyuck,
• he is gorgeous
• And he has the most enchanting smiles that hook people right on.

An hour into the party he was getting tired of all the dancing and the grabby hands. He got groped once and Jaemin did not appreciate that he got creeps all over his body. He deemed that he had enough and looked around for Donghyuck.

 Looking over the heads of the people around him he saw Baekhyun with his tall boyfriend dancing in the middle of the dance floor. He saw his boyfriend leave for a bit to get drinks. Taking this opportunity he approached him.

Baekhyun seeing him wolf-whistled. He shouted over the loud music.

“Wow! Looks like someone had a crazy time.”

Jaemin had taken off his sweater and outer robe leaving him in his white shirt and his tie loosely hanging off his neck. He looks down to see chap-stick lip prints on his white shirt.

Shit! That’s going take forever to come off.

“So what’s up? Aren’t you enjoying the party too much for a 14-year-old? By the way, don’t touch the drinks unless you want to get wasted. I saw Johnny, Jongdae, and Kai pour something suspicious in the punch. So it’s better if you don’t drink or you’ll regret it in the morning.”

Jaemin made a face at Baekhyun at his teasing.

“Contrary to your expectation of me having a blast, I was thinking of turning in for today.”

“It’s only 8:30 pm. Are you sure you want to turn in for the night? The prefects gather all the first year and send them up by 10 anyway.”

“Yep, had enough dancing for today. Hyung, can you inform Donghyuck I can’t seem to find him. Tell him I left for the dorm. I really don’t wanna go inside that crowd again to get him.”

 Jaemin looked back at the crowd at his back distastefully. As much as he loves people and their showering attention, being groped is not on his list.

“Okay. I’ll do that.”

Jaemin sees the tall boy (presumably Baekhyun’s boyfriend since they were never introduced formally to each other) returning with two glasses of punch. Taking this as his cue to leave, Jaemin exits the hall.

The first thing he does when he reaches the dorm is to go for a shower. The disused-now-used bathroom of the 7^th floor gives him enough privacy and peace of mind. He immerses himself in the lukewarm water of the bathtub as he thinks things through. It’s healing and much needed.

After a shower, decked in his favorite pinstriped blue pajamas he makes his way to the Kitchen. The pumpkin pasty that was served at the feast today was something that is only prepared specially for Halloween. It was too tasty to pass up a few more, Jaemin was thinking of bringing some back and storing them to eat slowly in the future.

He has been to the kitchen accompanying Baekhyun before to smuggle food for Baekhyun’s late-night study sessions from the House-Elves of the Kitchen.

He was given an idea about the elves of the kitchen by Baekhyun.

Kreacher is the oldest and grumpy one. He served the House of Black previously before Harry Potter brought him back from there to serve in Hogwarts. He is also the one with a bad attitude and all the students avoid him.

Debbie is the preppy one. She is the one to ask if you want sweets.

There’s also Toby, Goose, and Winky who was hired by the previous Headmaster Albus Dumbledore. They are all pretty cordial with students.

Thinking about which of the House-elves to ask Jaemin reaches the main kitchen on the ground floor. It was 9:30 pm in the evening and he can still hear the chatter of the students a floor above which means the party is still going on.

The weather has gotten colder in recent days with the arrival of fall so he took a woolen robe with him, front left untied as he ventured into the hallway in front.  He was about to enter the kitchen when he stops at his feet.

He sees someone familiar sitting in a stool in front of the big fireplace.

At first, he thought his eyes are playing tricks on him but instead it is indeed Lee Jeno in all his casual glory in solid grey colored pajamas. Jaemin hides behind a pillar not wanting to be seen. He doesn’t have any reason to hide but somehow did it instinctively.

The boy didn’t seem to notice him as he is talking with one of the house-elves; Debbie if he had guessed her name correctly while holding onto a goblet, Jaemin is unable to see its contents but the way the boy has curled his fingers around it seemed like some hot drink.

Then another House-elf arrives with a large platter of pumpkin pasties and set them in front of Jeno on the table. To his surprise, Jaemin knows this House-elf well, its Kreacher. He is grumbling under his breath and then something very unusual happens.

Jeno smiles. It’s not one of those tiny smiles or smirk but a full-blown smile almost a grin. His straight white teeth are out, nose scrunched up, cheek lifted and those pretty eyes are crinkled to equally pretty crescents and Jaemin feels breathless like he has been punched in the gut.

Jeno pats down space beside him eagerly asking Kreacher to sit, who vehemently shakes his head in disagreement but finally relents in. Jeno hands out a pasty to him and Debbie as they sit together by the warm and toasty fireplace. Soon one by one House-elves join in as they sit surrounding the boy in a circle chatting together enjoying their food. It’s a heartwarming picture and Jeno is smiling the whole time, occasionally his hand coming up to cover his mouth hiding his laughter. Jaemin wants to join in but he remembers Jeno’s cold look from the last Astronomy class and refrains from acting on it.

“What are you doing here?”

Jaemin was startled but was relieved to see that it was directed at Jeno. It was from Lee Taeyong. He was still in his uniform. He strode in from the entrance on the opposite side, holding a shawl in hand.

The elves greeted him but did not leave; it was an attitude of familiarity. He went straight to Jeno and put the shawl around his shoulders. The younger one offered him pasties. Taeyong took one while munching on it he continued to scold Jeno.

“Do you know how scared I was? At least tell me before going somewhere, so that I know your whereabouts. Are you still a kid?”

Jeno just smiled at him.

Taeyong huffed. He ruffled his hair affectionately and gestured him to get up.
“Let’s go it’s almost 10. First years should be inside the dorms by 10.”

Kreacher put all the pumpkin pasties in a container for him to eat later and put it in Jeno’s hand. Jeno surprisingly hugged his little body getting down to his level and with thanks as he gratefully carried the container away running after Taeyong to catch up with him.

When Jaemin returned to his dorm empty-handed, he was more confused than ever. He couldn’t decide which one was the real Jeno, the one he sees every day or the one he just saw. Jeno Lee is an enigma and Jaemin unknowingly was getting led on by his duality.

The next day Donghyuck woke up with a headache so did the ones who stayed at the party till late and had the spiked drinks. Jaemin was in a comparatively better condition. He saw Jeno in potions in the 1^st hour perfectly dressed not a hair out of place and sporting a cold aloof neutral expression. Jaemin thought about last night, the smiley warm Jeno he saw in the kitchen. He sighed to himself and went back to his work. A nagging thought in the back of his mind.

Jeno looks best with a pretty smile on his face.

November came with the rapidly changing colors of fall. It was the month when Quidditch begins.

 Jaemin has already mastered the art of flying. His studies are going well compared to before. He got praises from Madam Sprout for having green hands in growing plants. The Bouncing Bulbs are relaxed in his hands and the Puffapods bloom easily at his touch. Herbology, Jaemin discovers is his element.

He also excels at charms, his feather flies at the first utter of Wingardium Leviosa getting praised from Professor Flitwick, and scores additional 10 points for Gryffindor.

His Astrology and DADA is manageable but what is in shambles is his Potions and History of Magic.

Renjun has promised him to tutor him in History of Magic but Jaemin is at his wits end with Potions. Jaemin knows by nature he is not a very patient person. He is passive, sure but that’s because he is a bit lazy regarding certain things. But the point remains he is not a really patient person. To add a cherry on top he is easily distracted. These two in combination is like an accident waiting to happen in Potions.

So he goes to ask his seniors for help.

Baekhyun just laughs and shrugs.

“Even I am not good at it. My boyfriend helps me out. To be truthful most people are bad in it except Slytherins. It’s almost like it’s their representative subject.”

Jaemin admits he is a bit curious about this boyfriend of Baekhyun’s. He has seen him in the Halloween feast but not close enough to recognize him again and Baekhyun is really careful about the identity of his boyfriend around first years like Jaemin and Donghyuck. Jaemin knows Baekhyun often has secret dates with his boyfriend but he hasn’t formally introduced him as of yet.

So it comes as a shock when he finally meets him.

It’s somewhere in the end of the second week of December when the Suho or Kim Jummyeon (as he is formally known as) decides to have a group meeting of the “chopsticks boy gang” as Baekhyun calls it. Doyoung thinks it’s a bit racist to call it such but Baekhyun just shut him up by saying that self racism is not racism or whatever weird logical shit it meant. Doyoung didn’t say anything again.

The meeting was scheduled was to be held after supper in the Great hall on a Monday evening.

 The main purpose is to introduce the members of the gang so that they can help each other out and spend some time bonding.

From Gryffindor there is

• Jaemin, Donghyuck (first years)
• Mark (2^nd year) [nice guy, he has seen him around, hardworking, spends all his time Quidditch practice and Muggle music club.]
• Johnny, Doyoung (3^rd years)
• Baekhyun, Jongdae (4^th)

From Ravenclaw there are

• Huang Renjun (1^st year)
• Jaehyun and Kun(3^rd year)
• Kyungsoo (4^th year)
• Jummyeon himself and Minseok (5^th year),

From Hufflepuff there is

• Sicheng (2^nd year)
• Taeil and Yuta. (3^rd year)
• Jongin (4^th year)
• Zhang Yixing (5^th year)

From Slytherin.

• Oh Sehun (3^rd year)
• Park Chanyeol. (4^th year)

And the Lee brothers, but none of them attended.

Jaemin didn’t expect any Slytherin to attend. So when he saw the two tall older males he was a bit surprised. That surprised turned to pure shock when Baekhyun rushed up to the taller one of them, Park Chanyeol if he remembers the name correctly.

Jaemin for a second thought he was going to punch him. The shorter boy is almost dwarfed by the tall Slytherin but that didn’t stop Baekhyun from wrapping his arms around him as Chanyeol lifted him off the floor, the former’s legs automatically coming to encircle his waist as hung off the taller guy like a koala.

Jaemin would have thought it to be cute had he not been shocked by his Hyung’s action. Donghyuck and he saw with wide eyes as Chanyeol peppered Baekhyun’s face with kisses as the shorter giggled loudly.

None of the members looked fazed by the blatant display of affection taking it as a regular occurrence except the first years who were a bit shocked about this inter-house relationship between two rival houses.

The meeting was held in the General common room of the school that Jaemin had no idea even existed. When he asked about it Suho told that it was initially an empty classroom but since remodeling of the school building a few general common rooms have been built so the students can bond with the friends of other houses. He, being a prefect was able to access it easily. There is one Exclusive male and Exclusive Female common room while others are just like these general ones. It is also where Prefect meetings are held.

It was a comparatively large room with a cozy atmosphere, a few sofas, and tea tables here there with a few armchairs of no particular house colors.  The floor was covered with a lavender-colored soft rug; the fireplace burned brightly warming up the place. Jaemin liked the place a lot.

At first everyone was a bit smitten with Jaemin and his Glamour, but slowly they got used to it. Well into the evening he realized how comfortable he has become with this place. People were laughing and chatting sharing interesting stories and study tips around the fireplace.

He was surprised to see the other Slytherin, Oh Sehun fast asleep beside Suho leaning against him almost plastering him with his weight as the older chatted with Yixing, face glowing with happiness, one of his arms around the sleeping boy keeping him from slipping off and hitting his head.

Yuta and Johnny were recounting some incident from one of the Charms class they share, their hands moving animatedly followed by their funny expression as they try to reenact the scene. Jaehyun, Doyoung, Jongdae, Taeil, and Sicheng were laughing their asses off at the twos’ antiques.

He spotted Kyungsoo talking with Minseok about some book he read as Jongin stared at the short Ravenclaw with stars in his eyes.

Kun was helping Renjun with some problems he was having with some Transfiguration formulae.

He looked around for his best friend cleanly avoiding a Yuta’s enthusiastic fly-swatting hand motion from striking his face. He found Donghyuck at a corner engrossed in something Mark was saying; he looked comfortable.

Everyone was in their own world. Jaemin felt warm looking at them but a bit lonely also. He was going to sit down with Jaehyun and others when a hand beckoned him to come over.

It was an unexpected person. It was the tall Slytherin Park Chanyeol. He was sitting in one of the large comfy rocking chairs with Baekhyun curled up beside him almost on him, his legs tucked in the taller boy’s lap as the former rocked them at a gentle pace as the short Gryffindor slept peacefully. He had an arm around the sleeping boy to keep him from slipping off his chest.

Jaemin thought they were couple-goals at that moment. Someday he wants to fall in love and be a content pair of a couple with his other half and spend their life leisurely in each other’s company until they are old and gray.

Chanyeol patted the cushioned armchair beside him asking Jaemin to sit down. The senior surprisingly was like a kind, bright older brother with his large doe eyes, warm and cheerful smile, loud laughs, and elf-like ears.

He asked Jaemin about his likes and dislikes, regarding studies, if he was interested in joining the Quidditch team and other knick-knacks.

It was pleasant talking to him and Jaemin felt comfortable. Then suddenly Chanyeol asked a question that puzzled Jaemin.

“Are you friends with Lee Jeno?”

“What?” Jaemin was surprised.

Chanyeol didn’t say anything; he adjusted Baekhyun against him, the shorter one snuggling deeper into his embrace in his sleep as Chanyeol waited for Jaemin to answer his question.

Jaemin thought about it.

“At some point, it felt like we were friends but then he pushed me out again. Now, by the looks of it, I’ll say we are not friends. But I do wish we were.”

Chanyeol listened to his answer thoughtfully.

“You wish to be his friend? Why?”

Jaemin had thought it over previously but even after a few sleepless nights, he had arrived at no concrete answer.

“I don’t know for sure. I mean, sometimes he looks so tired and worried and downtrodden like he expects nothing from life. Sometimes he looks like he is screaming for help but then nobody listened and he had resigned himself to fate. He always has a cold neutral face on, impenetrable, like he has built high stone walls around him”

Jaemin waits for Chanyeol to say something, when he doesn’t say something he continues.

“At first I thought I pitied him but it was not it. I genuinely want to be his friend. He is very kind, you know. He helped me a few times when he didn’t even know me. I saw him at the Halloween feast sharing his food with the House-Elves and eating with them. He smiled a lot that day and I have never seen him smile like that before. He is always alienating himself from people even from his own housemates. His brothers are overprotective of him as if guarding him against making any friends. It is unusual but I think he is a good guy.”

With prettiest eyes that hold the stars and smile that can make you feel breathless. He has the warmest hugs and carries the scent of pine and forest after rain and sweet citrus. He has the warmest hands that hold you close and makes you feel safe.

But he didn’t say them. Chanyeol doesn’t need to know. Nobody needs to know.

Chanyeol stays silent for a long time. Then he sighs.

“You’re a nice kid Jaemin. I thought you to be the elusive type half-Veela and all. You are a popular kid, probably the most popular kid of your batch. You’re good looking not bad at studies, a Gryffindor at heart. Those are some best qualities now.

So I didn’t get why you were interested in Jeno. He is not sociable, or popular and a Slytherin to boot. Sure, he is good looking and excellent at his studies. But he’s family is infamous and not looked upon too favorably by the Wizarding Society. He has a gloomy disposition and comes off as an arrogant brat.

So your intention to friend him came off as a prank or just fleeting interest or something to us. I hope you won’t blame us for that. At some point, I thought maybe you pitied him. But I am glad to see that’s not the case.

Lee Jeno as you know is a good kind kid. He is just unlucky. I want you to know Jaemin, that Jeno carries a big burden on his shoulders that is much larger than him. He has too many responsibilities and secrets more than what a young kid like him should be allowed. Closing off people is how he protects himself and people close to him. He sacrifices too much because he is too kind. I hope you continue to look at him favorably. He is just a kid who is unlucky, lost, and tired.”

Chanyeol takes a long deep breath. He looks at Jaemin directly into his watery blue eyes.  The elder’s brown eyes are sincere and full of something Jaemin couldn’t place a finger on.

“So please help him. I know it is selfish of me to say this. You might get involved in something that may hurt you. But I am saying this to you because I worry about Jeno. I sincerely hope you won’t give up on him. He needs you more than anything, and he hasn’t realized it. But he does. He is a Slytherin no matter how pitiful he seems. He has his own pride and ambitions so don’t underestimate him. Don’t pity him but help him, won’t you Jaemin-ah?”

Jaemin feels something stuck in his throat. He is tearing up a bit.

“Why me?” his voice comes out too quiet and wobbly for Jaemin’s liking.

“It’s because it’s you. Jeno probably trusts you even without knowing it himself. Maybe because you’ve already made a small dog-hole through his impenetrable wall and I am urging you to enter through it and break it down from inside. Maybe because it’s you, who is completely opposite of him all bright smiles and beautiful disposition…..will be able to heal him.”

Chanyeol smiles at him sweetly…..

“I don’t know how though.”

Jaemin hangs his head down. He doesn’t know the reason for his tears. His chest hurts like its squeezing itself.

There is a large warm hand stroking his head. Patting his strawberry strands smoothing them down lovingly like a parent to a child.

“It’s okay. You’ll know in time. Thank you Jaemin-ah for listening to my selfish request.”

Jaemin doesn’t reply.

At sharp 9:45, Suho rounds up the kids and sent them away for dorms. Chanyeol kisses a sleepy Baekhyun and pats Jaemin’s back before he turns to leave.

“Wait.” Jaemin grasps the sleeve of the elder Slytherin’s robe.

“How did you know so much about the Lee’s? And why didn’t they come today?”

Chanyeol smiles mysteriously.

“My mother and Ms. Lee are close aids. Though I have seen Jeno grow up I also don’t know much about them. I just know 1 secret out of all the others. I can’t tell you directly what that is. That would be a betrayal of trust.” He pauses before continuing.

“As for why they didn’t come today let’s say it’s a sickness. One of them is sick.”

He pats Jaemin’s head again.

“Hint:  Jaemin for you is, check the Lunar Calendar. Today is a full moon night.”

He saunters off towards the dungeon leaving Jaemin standing in the corridor to think things over.

That night Jaemin can’t sleep at all. He stays awake all night. His mind repeating Chanyeol’s words again and again. Donghyuck’s snores from the bed beside him are familiar and comforting but it did not aid him in sleeping. He finally gets up and spends his night wrapped in a blanket in the Gryffindor common room.

He gets a bit of sleep; he wakes up in the early hours of the morning. He checks his watch it’s 4:30 am.

He checks outside the windows. It is still dark. But there is some light from the early rays of sun filtering through the cloudy sky. And suddenly there are white wisps floating down from the sky.

The first snow of this winter.

Jaemin puts on his warm oversized sweater and his large dark gray wooly robe as he descends the stairs of the Gryffindor tower to reach the school grounds. He stands in his favorite place, the corridor in front of the Whomping Willow overlooking the stretched out patchy green field, the Forbidden forest in the distance, and the calm gray Great Lake. He can see wisps of smoke coming out from the chimney of Hagrid’s little stone cottage. The snow continues falling bright white crystals pilling up on any solid surfaces they find.

That’s when he sees him.

Lee Jeno.

He is coming out from the Forbidden forest. His face looks haggard, tired, and deathly pale. He is more like dragging his feet to move than walking. He is wearing a worn-out white dress shirt with rolled in sleeves and pants, his hair sticking out in all directions. Jaemin belatedly realized that it is his Hogwarts uniform but in a very sorry state. He is carrying something on his back.

Jaemin hides behind a stone pillar his dark gray robe camouflaging him from their eyes, as he observes them.

To his great surprise, it is not a thing he is carrying but his older brother Lee Donghae. The eldest Lee is unconscious as he lay on Jeno’s back his feet dragging on the piled up snow leaving parallel track marks due to his tall stature. They are closely followed by Taeyong who is pushing against Jeno to provide the extra energy needed to go up a stair.

“It’s okay. Jeno-ah, just a few more steps and we’ll be in the dorms. We can do it, okay. We have always done it.”

Taeyong’s words are labored and punctuated with panting. He is not faring well also, looking tired and sleep deprived. They finally make it to the corridor as they make way towards the Slytherin Dungeons. They don’t notice Jaemin standing few feet away too tired to see.

Jaemin goes back after a few minutes the events of the morning spinning in his head. He feels like he saw something he wasn’t supposed to.

Jeno doesn’t come to class that day.

Two days later it is Christmas Holidays. Professor McGonagall has collected all the names of people who are staying back. Jaemin and Donghyuck had packed all their bags when he sees Baekhyun coming down the stairs.

Baekhyun is not going home. He is spending his Christmas in Hogwarts with his boyfriend.

“Don’t you want to see your family?”

“Obviously I want to see my family. But I want to accompany Chanyeol too. His mum’s out on a business trip and he doesn’t want to spend his Christmas alone. So I am staying back with him. Also, I get the dorm empty so…” he wiggles his eyebrows.

“Ewwww…Hyung TMI” Donghyuck screeches. Jaemin just laughs.

Jaemin needs a break and some good thinking time from all of this. The Christmas holidays are ideal for it. He left the dorm glancing back at the common room one last time before he leaves. He sees Baekhyun sitting on the couch with a genuinely excited smile on his face. And he thinks to himself maybe just maybe in future when he falls in love he will also prioritize his lover and would compromise with a smile on his face as he will stay back with him for Christmas willingly.

Love changes people in unimaginable ways.

Christmas passes fast and soon it’s New Year. Jaemin sends everybody owls with Christmas cards and new years’ greeting. Coffee comes back with a thick stack of letters grasped in his claws.

Soon Jaemin and Donghyuck are back in school like they never left. From the minute of their arrival, they are swarmed with home works and essays. Donghyuck is whining and groaning in complains but Jaemin takes it as a boon. It keeps his head off from the Lee family issue.

Jaemin didn’t tell anybody about the morning incident. Not Donghyuck and not even Chanyeol, though he has an inkling that maybe the latter knows.

After coming back Jaemin faces a slight problem. The pipe of the warm water of the bathtub of the 7th-floor bathroom is clogged. So he went ahead to meet Hugh Fleet their Head Boy.

Hugh Fleet is a Hufflepuff. Jaemin feels bad complaining about the pipe when he sees the huge stacks of the file on his table. The Head boy didn’t get angry. He assures Jaemin it’ll be done by yesterday. He also tells Jaemin something surprising.

“This is the second complaint I got regarding the hot water pipe of the 7^th floor. The other kid came in the morning to file a complaint.”

Jaemin didn’t ask who this ‘other kid’ is. Fleet looked too busy to entertain idle questions.

He finds out soon though.

It was just before the Easter Holidays. They finally got a break to take a breather in the upcoming holidays so the student body was in a bit of a joyful mood.

Jeno was absent again. Jaemin realized there hasn’t been a month where Jeno hadn’t been absent for a day. The professor never complained and there was no rumor among the Slytherin students.

He knows in the back of his mind that if he were to stand in the corridor early in the morning where he stood 3 months back he would see the same thing again. He is sure if he follows Chanyeol’s hint he would find out something big, but what he doesn’t know is what to do with the information after finding out.

Is he ready to face the truth? What if it is something horrifying? Chanyeol said it might hurt him. Will, it put him in danger? Will, it put his loved ones in danger? Is it worth hurting people just to help Jeno? Should he trust the Slytherins?

There are a million questions in his head that can’t be answered by anyone but himself. Jaemin had temporally suppressed this issue focusing more on his studies for the last few months in an attempt to forget thinking about it.

As he thinks about it and accidentally spills the Bullbadox juice kept in the ingredients table into the cauldron.

BOOM!!!

Stupid Jaemin caused an explosion.

“NA JAEMIN!!!!!!!”

Jaemin looks at his uniform splashed with green liquid. Thankfully it was only Wiggenwald potion, a healing potion or else there’ll be broils breaking out all over his and Donghyuck’s body or something worse.

The accident that was waiting to happen has finally happened today.

He was still sticky and it was lunch soon so he decided to take a shower.

He reached the 7th-floor bathroom through the hidden passage and was about to walk in straight when he heard a noise.

It was a noise of vigorous retching.

It must be the ‘other kid’ Head boy was talking about.

He was deciding whether to head in and ask the sick kid if he needs some help or not when a familiar voice spoke out.

“Jeno…you’ve eaten nothing from the morning. Nothing is going to come out. Let’ go and have something, huh? You might feel better if you have some actual food in your stomach. You’re going to hurt yourself like this. Should I contact Madam Pomfrey? ”

The retching sounds stop.

Jaemin shifts to an angle from where he could see them.

Taeyong is sitting on the bathroom floor of the cubicle one of his hands loosely holding Jeno’s waist the other stroking his back.

Jeno looks in pain. He hugs the toilet bowl as he starts retching again, nothing coming out. His face is flushed and the veins of his neck are engorged as he tries to vomit his guts out.

Donghae is sitting at a corner, legs pulled up, his head buried in his arms.

Jaemin can hear his cries. Donghae’s sniffles echo in the empty bathroom.

“It’s my entire fault. It’s my fault that Jeno got sick. It’s all this damn blood. I SHOULD HAVE ……”

The boy who is deemed perfect by the entire student body has a breakdown sitting on the bathroom tiles of the abandoned washroom. He is screaming, crying, blaming and scratching his body like he is trying to get something out from his skin but failing to do so increasing his agony. Taeyong looks on with a painful expression on his face, rooted to his spot.

It is Jeno who takes the first step. He crawls slowly to his oldest brother. He takes his hand and wraps it around himself. He engulfs the older in a hug as he lets loose his weight on the elder’s body. Maybe it’s the weight of sick younger brother in his arms that Donghae calms down. His screams turn into sniffles and occasional groans like an injured animal. He wraps the younger’s body in his arms like he is trying to ground himself.

“I am sorry Jeno, Taeyong. I am so sorry. I don’t know what to do except say sorry to you. I thought that if I become the prefect I may be able to protect you but I failed miserably. In the end, it is me who keeps on hurting you.”

Jeno just pats his back.

“It’s not your fault, Hyung. It was never your fault. Your blood status is something you can’t control. We are grateful to have you as family Hyung, we never regretted it. I always was sick since childhood. It’s not your fault or Taeyong Hyung’s. I know you wouldn’t have abandoned me if I was in your place. We are a family. It’s what we should do.”

“But….but…you’re hurting Jeno.”

Jeno just smiles at him, the one where his eyes turn into crescents.

“I am fine Hyung. Don’t worry I won’t leave you so soon.”

But Jaemin can see an uncertainty hidden under that expression and it hurts. He feels like he is hurting from inside. He stays there the whole time even after the Lee’s leave.

“He is too kind and that’s why he sacrifices too much.” He remembers Chanyeol saying to him.

Year-end exams following the Quidditch matches pass by in a blur. There is a two week off to enjoy. Jaemin shuts himself in the library, Donghyuck tries to bring him out on the second day but he shoes him off.

On the third day, Renjun comes with Donghyuck to check upon him. They find Jaemin sitting in one corner of the library reading Astronomy books.

“Hey! Jaemin, the Ravenclaw I never knew Astronomy was your subject.”

“Stop joking Chocó ball. Renjun helps me out.”

“What is it that you need help with?”

Jaemin spreads the book on the library table.

It’s a chapter on Lunar Calendar.

Renjun looks a bit confused.

“Are you preparing early for 2^nd year? It’s in the 2nd-year syllabus.”

“Have you read through this? Can you give me a briefing?” Jaemin was a bit desperate.

“Okay.” Renjun didn’t seem to mind as he briefed him the chapter. Donghyuck fell asleep on the table halfway.

“So you’re saying each lunar cycle is 29.5 days i.e. 29.5 days between two full moons. It is almost a month. So it can also happen that a month can have two full moons. Then the second one is a blue moon.”

“Yeah, basically.”

“How often does this blue moon happen?”

“Every 2.5 years or something. In fact, you are lucky for today is a Blue moon.” Renjun provided helpfully.

Jaemin got a golden chance to investigate.

“Okay, Renjun I am going to give you some keywords and tell me the first thing you can relate it to. Okay?”

“Is this a game of some sort because…..”

Donghyuck got upon hearing the word game.

“Yeah….let’s see it as a game.” Jaemin didn’t want his friends to find out.

His best friends looked at him suspiciously.

Donghyuck was the first one who shrugged.

“Okay, game or not, I am going to win it anyway, shoot.”

“Lunar Calendar, full moon, sickness, blood, hurt.”

“Arthritis.” Donghyuck looked proud of his answer.

Jaemin shook his head.

“Anemia? Oh! Okay, I know Vampire.” Jaemin discarded all of them leading to Donghyuck pouting.

“Renjun, you got any?”

“I have one but it’s not really a sickness.”

“No problem. Tell me. What is it?”

“Lycanthropy.”

The moon was truly azure-colored. Jaemin sneaked out to the school fields through the 7th-floor washroom. He stood at the corridor overlooking the Whomping willow. Everything was bathed in the pale blue moonlight looking enchanted. The summer air carried some moisture with it as it mused up Jaemin’s gorgeous strawberry blonde strands.

He stood in there in his pajamas waiting for something to happen. The night is calm except the occasional rustling of leaves and Jaemin waits and waits. After a certain time has passed he felt like nothing was going to happen.

Maybe I thought it wrong.

Suddenly he could hear the rustle of leaves of the bush nearby. Like something was hiding there. He whipped his head towards the sound half expecting a rabbit or cat to pop out.

But what came out of the bushes made his blood run cold.

It was something humanoid. Body covered in fur looking almost silver in the blue moonlight. The face was almost human-like with a snout lined by sharp teeth. Drool dripped down from one side of its lips. Its hands were a bit longer lanky as they hang down in front of him due to the stooped posture of the creature. Jaemin could make out a stuffed tail behind it as it walked on two legs, unlike other magical creatures.

It sniffed around in the air and let out a cry of a wolf.

A werewolf.

Jaemin’s suspicion was confirmed he should run out now before the creature notices him, but his feet are rooted on the spot refusing to move the same invisible force that he felt when he met the Dementors are back. Jaemin tries to calm his nerves down.

He looks up to see the creature staring at him from the distance.

Shit!

Chapter Text

The creature snapped in the air, its snout displaying a snarl as it stared at Jaemin. It is a few feet distance from him, and Jaemin thinks he might be able to run off and prevent getting caught but it’s just that his feet are rooted at the spot, and he is losing his strength fast.

The creature takes a few steps in a half-circle, a predatory stance ready to pounce. Jaemin can feel himself sweating, fear choking him up as tears blurry his eyes.

His legs lose their strength as he falls and out of the corner of his eyes he sees the creature pounce at him.

He waits for it. He waits for the pain on his hips from the fall or the pain from sharp teeth breaking into his skin tearing up his flesh, whichever comes first.

He waits for it but none of it happens.

Instead, he hears somebody shout “HYUNG!”  And he is engulfed in the warmth of a pair of strong arms. The scent of pine and citrus engulfs his senses as he is being pulled to be embraced into a strong warm body.

“Jeno!”

He can recognize his scent anywhere. All those Astronomy classes he tried so hard to keep his urge of taking a whiff of his scent under control. Whenever the wind blew it would bring with him the scent of Pine and citrus with it. Jaemin came to like this scent, it calmed him down.

Jaemin instinctively buries his head in the crook of the boy’s neck, his nose along the other’s neckline as he took a deep breath in trying to control his tears. The scent of pine and citrus was everywhere and it calms him down. His hands clasping on the other’s back on his white shirt as he tries to ground himself.

He can hear the creature scamper away towards the Forbidden Forest. There is a flurry of footsteps that stops a distance away from them. He ignores it and buries deeper into the other’s embrace.

Jeno had brought them into a sitting position on the grey stone floor of the corridor. Just like last time Jaemin had let go of his own weight as he leaned on the boy for support, his limbs long turned to jelly.

Jeno separated him from himself. He looked back in a distance as he gestured something. Jaemin’s vision was too blurry to notice but he guessed it was Taeyong. Jeno was positioned in such a way he covered Jaemin’s frame from other’s eyes.

He settled Jaemin on the floor leaning his back on one of the cool stone pillars as he inspected him carefully. He lifted his hands turning them over and lifted his leg to look for injuries. His hands were gentle as if Jaemin would break at his touch; it made something in the latter’s chest squeeze.

He half expected Jeno to scream and shout at him for finding out his secret. But he didn’t expect him to be worried about him.

When Jeno found no injuries on him he let out a sigh of relief.

Jaemin looked up to see those pretty gray eyes staring at him. In the pale blue moonlight, he looked ethereal, enhancing the blue ring around his eyes even more. The blue color was bleeding into the gray in little swirls circling around the pitch-black pupil. Jaemin thought it was unusual but beautiful. His vision was still blurry around the edges due to the unshed tears, but he could still see the gentle expression that has filtered into the pale face of the Slytherin. There was a sense of resignation in his posture as he sighed. He rubbed the heels of his palms on his eyes to relieve some stress, as he sat on his haunches in the stone floor.

Jaemin flinched a bit when Jeno finally moved. Jeno slowed his movement but didn’t stop. He gently cupped his face, the warmth of his calloused hands seeping into the skin of Jaemin’s cheeks. With a delicate movement of his thumb, he brushed his tears away, but Jaemin felt like crying again on his gentle handling. He somehow held it in.

“It’s okay. You’re safe. He won’t hurt you.”

Jaemin suddenly remembers his words from the train.

It’s okay. You’re safe. They can’t hurt you. I am here.

Jaemin smiles a little. It was a bit watery and wobbly but sincere, his cheeks squished against Jeno’s hand. It’s far from the usual charming smile he flaunts to bring people down to their knees. There is something unsure and hesitant about it. It’s gone in a minute.

He places his own hands over Jen’s warm ones.

“Thank you.” the voice came out more wobbly and quieter than he wanted. “And I am sorry.”

For finding out something you were trying so hard to hide. For increasing your burden now that you have to be wary of one more person.

He suddenly remembers that the creature had pounced on them before and Jeno blocked it. The smile was gone from his face replaced with worry.

“Are you hurt somewhere? You just blocked his attack right now.”

Before Jaemin can go for further investigation there was a cry of a wolf that resounded in the distance. Jeno whipped his head towards the sound. His eyes worried at the thought of his brother.

He was going to get up from the sitting posture, take back his hands, but Jaemin gripped them harder.

Jeno looked back at Jaemin questioningly.

“It’s your Hyung. Lee Donghae.”

It wasn’t a question. But a statement that indicates Jaemin knows.

Lee Jeno is always calm. He looks at Jaemin, his eyes were unwavering, his posture calm and relaxed.

“I heard you call him Hyung. And Taeyong was standing over there. So I thought it must be Lee Donghae.”

Jeno doesn’t get angry nor threatens him or worse, doesn’t point his wand at him. Jaemin had considered this possibility but somehow Jeno is not someone who hurts somebody.

It was foolish but he trusted him.

Jeno just looks at him for a minute. He looks tired and aloof. Very unlike someone whose secret got found out.

“We’ll talk about this later.”

Jaemin doesn’t let go of his hand when Jeno tugs at them. Instead, he interweaves their fingers together.

“I won’t tell a soul. I promise upon my Gryffindor spirit I will take this to my grave. Nobody is going to know anything, I promise. So please trust me. ”

His voice is firm and determined. Jeno nodded resigned.

“Okay. I trust you. It can’t be helped anyway.”  Is all he says.

Jaemin didn’t expect Jeno to say that he trusts him. He really didn’t. That doesn’t mean he was not happy to hear it. In fact, he was supremely happy. But he didn’t show it.

There was another howl. It was somewhere nearby. Jeno looked restless. The moon was high up in the sky. He tugged at his hands. But Jaemin didn’t release them.

Jeno looks at the Gryffindor, his expression questioning.

Jaemin on the other hand is afraid and worried. He stares at those gray eyes like he is trying to convey his thoughts to him. Thoughts he cannot speak loudly to him about.

Can you not go? What if he harms you? I heard that werewolves cannot distinguish between strangers and loved ones but hurt anybody that comes their way. What happens if you get hurt?

A million questions flutter through those watery blue eyes of the Half Veela as Jeno looks on.

He is squeezing the other’s large calloused hands in his smooth ones. His knuckles turning white in sheer pressure.

Surprisingly Jeno just squeezes back. It’s like he understands his fears. Like he can read the questions in his mind.

“It’s okay. He won’t hurt me or Taeyong Hyung. He still has his mind. He is under the effect of Wolfsbane potion. He won’t lose his mind during this time. Don’t worry nobody will get hurt.”

He gives another squeeze at their linked hands. It’s an action that is assuring that everything is fine. And in a moment of weakness Jaemin lets go.

As he sees the moonlit back of the boy disappearing into the darkness of the Forbidden Forest Jaemin regrets letting go of his hands.

Jeno is absent from the next class. Jaemin tries to find out an excuse to visit him but in the end, he doesn’t find the courage to.

The First Year exams keep them busy and Jaemin barely has the time to think about the other boy. Now that he knows a secret of the Lee’s he doesn’t know what he should do with it. He spends his time in the library with the other first years brushing up their studies as he tries to take his brain off the whole Blue moon incident.

He meets Jeno in Potions and the other classes they share with the Slytherin. They both nod in greeting but don’t talk. Jaemin feels like words are stuck in his throat when he sees the boy, but every time he opens his mouth to call for him his voice doesn’t come out. It’s a bit awkward and Jaemin just wants to resolve the tension between them. But there is no chance of them being alone during these times, so in the end, it remains.

The First Year exam is also conducted in the Great Hall like the N.E.W.T.S and it’s a bit nerve-wracking. Donghyuck squeezes his hand in assurance and Renjun raises his fist like a gesture of ‘fighting’ and Jaemin thinks it’s gonna be fine. He sees Jeno standing beside the door of Great Hall hugging Taeyong as the elder wishes him luck. Their eyes meet when he enters the hall. They both nod, it’s a bit awkward in Jaemin’s part and Jaemin wants it gone.

For the practical exams Jaemin ace Herbology and Charms. Transfiguration was a bit wobbly as when Jaemin transfigured a rat into a snuff box a few furs were left here and there. He hopes Professor McGonagall is kind enough to overlook that.  His flying and DADA were okay and the star chart in astronomy looked more like Donghyuck’s face but Jaemin is sure he will pass in them.

His history of magic was passable but Potions, he really doesn’t know. He thinks he made the Wiggenwald potion correctly (it was a bit bluish than the usual sparkling green if you ask Jaemin to answer truthfully), and the Forgetfulness potion was matte orange instead of the metallic sheen orange it usually is.

But overall Jaemin is grateful that it is over and done with.

The First Year exam ends with the beginning of the Quidditch Final and Graduation ceremony following it.

The Quidditch Final match was held between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. Gryffindor won by 150 points when their seeker, their very own friend Mark caught the snitch. The Quidditch house cup was finally theirs!

There was a mandatory celebration party in the Gryffindor House Tower. Drinks flowed like water and snacks were brought in from the kitchen. The Gryffindor common room was jam-packed with people even friends from other houses came over, except Hufflepuff. No matter what House comes first so they really can’t blame them for not joining.

Both Mark and Johnny were on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. There was a constant string of Congratulations that was being thrown around. Mark was lifted off the ground by the teammates as he was tossed around in the air, loud cheers echoing in the air.

It was a lively atmosphere, but Jaemin was felt a bit off. Maybe it’s because when he is finally relieved of the exam-worries, the Jeno case came back was weighing heavily on his mind. He saw Donghyuck stick to Mark like glue as they laughed on some joke someone cracked. He was grateful that Donghyuck was busy with Mark to notice his unusual mood.

With a heavy mind, he retired from the common room and made it upstairs to his dorm room. Jaemin sat himself down on the window ledge of the first floor dormitory, overlooking the great lake as he contemplated on his next course of action. He was so deep in his own thoughts that he didn’t realize someone sitting beside him.

When he did he almost toppled over in shock.

It was Park Chanyeol!

“Hyung!! How did you get in?”

“Why? Is getting into Gryffindor tower that difficult? I spent all most all of my Christmas holiday here with Baekhyun.”

“No….I didn’t mean that…what I meant is….Ummm.”

Chanyeol just laughed loudly throwing his head back. Jaemin for a second thought he was going to fall off.

“I am in pajamas. So people don’t really know which house I belong to. Anyway, most seniors know me to be Baekhyun’s boyfriend so they don’t mind me. Also, I am not really in the Quidditch team or anything so no need to get all competitive.”

“Truthfully Hyung, I always thought that Gryffindors hate Slytherin. But seeing you and Baekhyun Hyung I realized it mustn’t be that serious.”

Jaemin was genuinely curious.

Chanyeol was quiet for a moment.

“It’s the juniors who believe that. As you go up in the senior years the rivalry is still there but not that serious hate. After you all have spent by 5-6 years together by then. Some hate do exists though, no doubt in that. Slytherins were always hated from the time of our ancestors as we are known to be malicious and ambitious. A dangerous combination if you ask me. Put some arrogance due to being pureblood in there and you get a perfect Hated Slytherin.”

He observes the lake down the tower through the glass windows. There is a self-deprecating smile on his face, but it is not necessarily a sad one Jaemin mused.

“But let me tell you Jaemin-ah. It’s not always that way. There are exceptions but the rest also have our own reasons, we also have our own loyalties, our responsibilities. Maybe the peer pressure of that, our upbringing, etc has made us look like that in people’s eyes.”

“Everyone has reasons you say?”

“Yes. You must remember Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin were best friends first.”

They were quiet for a while. There was white noise in the background of the party downstairs.

Jaemin was the one to break the silence.

“I found out about it.”

He felt Chanyeol looking at him.

“About what?”

“About the secret. Lee Donghae. I was almost attacked by him, Jeno saved me. He knows that I know.”

“Hmm….so, have you talked to him?”

“I promised him I would take it with me to the grave.”

“What did he say?”

“He said it can’t be helped, he trusts me so it’s okay.”

There was no answer from Chanyeol. Jaemin looked at the elder asking for any comment, anything because he was just so confused about it.

He found Chanyeol looking at him like he had grown three heads.

“Hyung, why are you staring at me like that?”

Chanyeol looked genuinely shocked.

“Jeno said to you that he trusts you.”

“Yes. It’s not that I am not happy that he trusts me but Hyung, he didn’t say anything else. And now things are awkward between us, and I really don’t know how to approach this matter. Every time I see him I feel like we need to talk about it but I get scared and it becomes even more awkward. I just want to be his friend. Like. Is that too much to ask for?”

Jaemin figures he is rambling now.

“Hyungggggg……what should I do?”

And now, he is plain whining. This Lee Jeno is making Jaemin lose his last two brain cells.

Chanyeol just looks at him mischievously. Like a cat that got his cream, his grin stretches out so wide Jaemin thinks his face will hurt.

When he finally stops grinning so wide, he pats Jaemin on his back. He still has a smile on his face.

“I think you exceeded my expectations. You did a very good job. I knew I trusted the correct person for the job. I agree with your idea. I also think you need to talk to Jeno regarding this.”

“Huh? What do you-”

Baekhyun comes barging through the door in the right moment to prevent Jaemin from questioning Chanyeol further.

“What’cha doing here?” his voice is loud and cheerful.

“Nothing much, Hyung. Chanyeol Hyung was giving me some advice.”

Chanyeol just hums, eyes full of mirth.

Baekhyun staggers in. There is a flush high on his cheek and gait is unsteady. He drapes himself over Chanyeol’s tall frame. His hands going around the other’s torso in a tight back hug.

“Yeollie, I am drunk.”

Chanyeol just chuckles to his boyfriend’s antics. His eyes still staring into the distance at the Great Lake. He wraps his hands over Baekhyun’s small ones clasped over his chest.

“I can see that, my love. What do you want to do, sweetheart? Do you want to go and sleep?”

Baekhyun makes a sound between a whine and a groan. He starts peppering kisses on Chanyeol’s nape.

“Don’t go back today. I want to cuddle with you, sleepover.huh?”

“Okay.” Chanyeol pecks his lips in answer.

He stands up the tall frame hovering over the shorter one and grabs the underside of his thighs and lifts him up with practiced ease.

 As soon as he picks Baekhyun up, the shorter Gryffindor circles his arm around his neck and legs encircle his boyfriend’s waist automatically, head tucked into the crook of his neck.

It is adorable, how Baekhyun looks like a child in front of his much taller boyfriend as Chanyeol carries him around.

The said Slytherin balances his boyfriend carefully in one hand and pats Jaemin’s head with others. He mumbles a ‘good night, kid’ to the younger as he walks away with the Gryffindor clinging to him like a Koala.

Jaemin wonders whether it will be possible for him also, to have a warm relationship like them.

The next day is a holiday as the classes post-exams remains closed. In a few days, the results of the exams as well as of the House Cup will be announced. The graduation ceremony will also be taking place for the seventh year, so they’ll be busy preparing for the farewell.

Jaemin wasn’t able to sleep much last night. The party went till dawn and it’s only an hour before people left for their dorms. He woke up early and was sitting in the common room when he saw Chanyeol climbing down the stairs from the 4th-year dorm.

“Hyung!”

Chanyeol was a bit surprised by his loud voice in the early morning. When he spotted Jaemin in one of the armchairs, he smiles back.

“Jaemin-ah, morning. Why are you up so early? Can’t sleep?”

Jaemin just nodded.

“What about you Hyung? Going back to your dorm?”

Chanyeol sighs in frustration.

“Don’t even start. This dorm of yours is so lit up I can’t even sleep peacefully. As soon as the sun is up these rooms just lit up like its midday. I need my dark dungeons devoid of sunlight to sleep.”

Jaemin was a bit surprised. He likes up the lit-up dorms of his.

“Are the dungeons dark?”

“Yep, no sunlight. Maybe a little bit but you can’t really tell time there. It’s nice.”

Jaemin scrunches up his nose in disgust.

“No wonder you people are so pale.”

Chanyeol just laughs.

“Anyway, bye Jaemin.”

Jaemin thought about his plan for a second.

“Hyung!”

Chanyeol turns around halfway.

“Do you really think I should talk to Jeno about this? He already has too much on his plate?”

“Honestly, I think you should talk it out. Better than spending sleepless nights on it. Just send an owl to him, if you want I can also pass on your message-”

“I’ll send an owl.”

He saw the elder smile and leaves the common room through the portrait exit.

In the end, Jaemin didn’t send it.

Renjun was extremely nervous when the results arrived. Jaemin was also nervous but less. He had no high expectations regarding studies or pressure from home. His parents are happy as long as Jaemin is a happy decent wizard. It was the same for Donghyuck. So they watched with great amusement as Renjun paced around in the corridor in front of the Great Hall. They were to receive their report cards by owls, and Renjun was not ready for it.

Jaemin and Donghyuck practically dragged him in.

Dramas aside, Jaemin’s results were better than average. If he is being a bit self-satisfied he would say that they were pretty good. The only problem was Potions which he passed by bare minimum marks. Otherwise, it was pretty satisfactory for him.

A glance at Donghyuck’s card and his satisfied happy face tells him his best friend fared pretty well too.

Renjun on the other hand had a deep scowling face, but knowing him his results won’t be too bad.

His expression is scary to look at and he seems like he will hex anybody who irritates him. But Fearless Donghyuck begged for his death and went to annoy Renjun. He got chased halfway around the Great Hall and got beaten up in the end, while Jaemin chilled in the background.

The notice board midair in the ceiling revealed the top ten students of each batch, and Renjun almost broke the goblet and it was made of metal. Jaemin warned himself to never get into his bad side.

He was tiny and he was scary.

The cause of this irritation was Lee Jeno whose name flashed at the top of the first year batch board followed by Huang Renjun and the rest of the other students.

In the 3^rd year batch board the 2^nd  position was occupied by Lee Taeyong on the 5th year batch in the first position it was Lee Donghae.

 Kim Jummyeon was in 3^rd following the eldest Lee.

He can see Park Chanyeol in the 4^th year list in 3^rd position with multiple O’s in his O.W.L.S.

Jaehyun was 5^th in 3rd-year batch.

And looking at them Jaemin felt that he was friends with a lot of geniuses. But he was never the ambitious type, more of a laid-back-and-enjoy-life kind, so for him as long as he passes with good enough grades and the professors like him he is satisfied.

 “Lee Jeno is like a monster. Their whole family is monstrous. How can somebody get grades like that! Even his brother Donghae was consistent with his grades. Some genes they got!”

“Don’t you know? They got different fathers. And they don’t even know who they are. You’re wrong about the genes part.”

“Oh! That’s interesting. No wonder they try so hard, a messed up family huh?”

Jaemin was getting irritated with the direction in which the gossip is going. But he didn’t stop them in fear of causing a ruckus and getting his friends involved.

“I heard his mother was Kingsley’s apprentice and now youngest of the Wizengamot.”

“Apprentice or mistress? Are you sure she didn’t sleep-”

A bang resounded from their table.

It was Renjun. He slammed the table and glared at the gossipers.

“If you have enough time to speak trash about someone utilize that time to study, you brain dead idiots. Can’t even get your name on the scoreboard and you think you have the right to criticize someone’s family. Are you that bored? Get a life then!”

He glared at them again before sitting down. There was no trash talking after that.

“Ooooohhhhh! Renjun-ah you were so cool now”

Donghyuck gave him thumbs up. As much as Donghyuck doesn’t like Jeno he is not someone who insults someone's family especially when it is an outstanding woman like Mommy Lee.

Jaemin was intrigued.

“I thought you hated Jeno for snatching the first place. You looked so angry then.”

Renjun just gave him the what-bullshit-are-you-speaking stare.

“You’re misunderstanding something.  I was angry at myself not at him. I like getting a first place but it’s by my own merits and intelligence. As much I don’t like Jeno I just can’t ignore the fact that he is a hard worker. I have had classes with him and that boy is always working hard on his lessons and is good at studying. The Professors are unbiased they saw more merit in him than in me. He was more deserving. That’s it. Next year I’ll work extra hard and beat him.”

Jaemin stares at him surprised.

Ah! He has got some really cool friends.

“Renjun-ah, you were so cool! Wanna go out with me?”

Renjun looked at Jaemin like he finally lost his mind, while Jaemin smiled stupidly at him. Donghyuck looked outright disgusted.

“HELL NO!”

“Renjun-aaaahhh…..”

“GET OFF ME NA JAEMIN! OR I’LL HEX YOU.”

Yup. Na Jaemin is really fortunate enough to get great friends. And clingy affectionate Na Jaemin was born. Donghyuck and Renjun’s misery continued…

In the end Jaemin tried to find Jeno to congratulate him at least, but he couldn’t find him anywhere in the Great Hall.

In the evening of the declaration of House result, the students gathered a little early during dinner. Jaemin had not yet been able to gather the courage to have a talk with Jeno. In fact, he rarely sees him around. It’s like he disappears from the school grounds and reappears again just at the right time. When on school grounds he is always accompanied by Taeyong or Donghae or even both.

The House glass vials are in a full display containing the precious gems in them. Rubies for Gryffindor, sapphire for Ravenclaw, emerald for Slytherin, and Topaz for Hufflepuff. The number of gems corresponding to the number of points gathered by each house.

The counting began and the result came in within a few minutes.

They sat in their own House tables all nervous legs and bitten nails as they wait for their headmistress to announce the winner of the House Cup.

Professor McGonagall gave a speech on how all the houses had done well and announced the winner. It was unexpected, but it was….

Slytherin.

Though Gryffindor won the Quidditch final, the academics was aced by Slytherin. The Ravenclaws were a bit angry on being beaten in academics, the Gryffindors were plain sad and the Hufflepuffs didn’t care, they are going to work hard anyway. The only cheering table as the decoration of the Great Hall turned green and silver were the Slytherins.

Professor Horace Slughorn being the Head of the House was as pleased as punch. He gave some congratulatory words his eyes shifting towards where the Lee’s sat and hence the End of Term feast commenced.

Tomorrow is the Graduation Ceremony of the seventh year and day after they are leaving for home to spend the End of Term vacation.

There was a Gob stone championship in the afternoon at the Viaduct Courtyard. When it ended the sun had already begun to set. Jaemin sat there on the stone edge of the dry fountain of the centerpiece of the courtyard as he thought about miscellaneous things.

Donghyuck won the last Gob stone match and he was very pleased with himself. He grabbed Mark as he narrated the glorified version of his victory in detail as they made their way through the Viaduct to the main building.

Jaemin was feeling a bit melancholic. He walked a bit slowly enjoying the sunset and soon was left behind by his gang.  

He was fine in the morning when he joked around with his friends loudly during the breakfast as they discussed Jaemin’s birthday presents. It’s already the last week of July and Jaemin’s birthday is on 13^th August. He will be spending it with his family and Donghyuck back at home so his friends unable to join at least wanted to send presents. Jaemin said he didn’t want any but it fell in deaf ears. It was fun and made Jaemin feel loved.

He didn’t know when he got separated from his friends and ended up at the bottom of the clock tower. This area is usually deserted during dusk. The Clock Tower Courtyard is a cloister on the base of the Clock Tower at Hogwarts Castle. This cloister seems to be one of the older parts of the castle and the ceiling and walls are dilapidated. In the centre of the courtyard is an antique fountain surrounded by statues of eagles. A pear tree also grows in this courtyard. Since this part of the castle is old and not as attractive as others, people tend to ignore it. Since it is on a hill, he is probably now on the third floor of the main building.

If Jaemin remembers correctly it also leads to the Wooden Covered Bridge ahead.

Sure enough, there was a covered bridge ahead, its entrance covered by thick conifer foliage of the mountain.

The floorboards squeaked under his feet as he entered the bridge taking in the breathtaking scenery of the mountains on both sides.

Jaemin can hear the sound of rippling water and the calls of unknown birds occasionally as they return home.  He bends over to see a babbling brook flowing down the ravine under the bridge. It was a peaceful atmosphere. He turned around and a familiar back caught his eye.

It was indeed Jeno Lee. He sat on the floor, his bare feet dangling from the gaps under the rails midair, the needle-like leaves of the age-old conifers that had risen several feet off the ground on the mountain slope brushing at his soles. . He had discarded his robes, cardigan, shoes, socks to the side and he sat there in his rolled-up white shirt, loosened tie, wind-mused hair: his arms folded on the wooden railing as he rests his head over it staring at a distance. The whole scene was bathed in the last rays of setting sun dousing the whole scene in a brilliant orange-gold.

And Jaemin thought it looked like a beautiful picture.

He was afraid to make a noise like it will destroy that moment. But his feet betrayed him. He shifted his foot and the wooden floor squeaked loudly under his weight.

The moment was broken.

Jeno whipped his head to look at the source of the sound and found Jaemin there standing looking back at him like a deer caught in headlights.

“Hi ?”

His voice came out a little croaky and Jaemin does not do ‘croaky’. He is confident, charming all lazy grace and cheerful elegance. And now in crucial time all he does is croak like a toad. Jaemin does not like this at all.

Jeno didn’t seem to mind and returned his embarrassing ‘hi’ with a nod and went back to gazing at the sunset. The last orange glow bathing up the whole bridge forming long shadows over the mountains.

Jaemin stands there for a while not knowing what to do.

When finally Jeno breaks the silence.

“Are you gonna stand there? Do you have something to say to me?”

Jaemin thinks. The time he has been waiting for has finally come. Today is the day he will confront it heads on. Like a true Gryffindor. And so he musters up the most intelligent answer possible and throws it at Jeno.

“Yes.”

Did he tell he isn’t that brave or outgoing because now they know.

“Yes to what? Standing there or talking to me?”

“Talking to you.”

“Sit down then. I’ll listen to whatever you have to say.”

Jeno pats a place beside him and Jaemin follows like an eager puppy. He takes off his shoes and robe and dangles his legs out through the gaps just like his seatmate.

“What do you wanna talk about?”

Jaemin scoffs.

This guy is always to the point. All business and no play. Has this boy even heard about small talk?

“I am sorry.” Jaemin starts with a sigh.

“For what?”

“I tried finding out the secret you are hiding and I found out in the worst way possible. I am really sorry. If you are angry with me or want to hex me I’ll be fine with it. I deserved it for going snooping around in people’s business.”

Jaemin was embarrassed he lifted up his head from playing with his fingers to look at Jeno who looked pretty amused at his apology.

“It’s good that you are repenting. But I am not angry at you. Maybe I was irritated when I found out that you know. But it can’t be helped. I can’t alter your memory: that’s against Magical Laws. Anyways I trust that Gryffindors like you who is all gung-ho about loyalty, justice, and keeping promises won’t go back in your words.”

Jaemin was a bit touched hearing him say he trusts him for a second time. But he was still so confused.

How can he be so passive about it? It’s almost like they are talking about somebody else’s business.

“What? But you looked so angry when I asked about it in Astronomy class.”

Jeno crinkles his nose like he is trying to remember about it. Jaemin finds it cute.

Focus, Na Jaemin.

“Maybe I was in a bad mood and you questioned something personal and I got all defensive. If it bothered you I am sorry. I didn’t know my words were hurtful but I hope you understand that was just how my situation was.”

Jaemin stared at him for a while surprised.

“You’re not very Slytherin, are you? Are you sure you were not sorted to a wrong house?”

This question had been plaguing his mind from the very start. Jeno seemed too kind, too humble, and too fair to belong there.

Jeno smiled at him. It was a sad smile, even a bit self-deprecating.  Those gray eyes were sad as looked at Jaemin for a bit before staring at the last bit of the setting sun in the distance.

“Trust me when I say this. If I am not fit to be in Slytherin, no one else in this world is. I was born to be in this house. No one suits this House better than me.”

“I don’t think-”

“It doesn’t matter. I love this House and what it comes with. I am happy and comfortable if that’s what you are going for. I am able to stay with my brothers and I cannot be happier.”

Whatever Jaemin wanted to say was lost in Jeno’s tone which contained a sense of finality.

So Jaemin dropped the topic.

“Can I ask you a question?”

Jeno nodded.  But there was a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“You can ask, but whether I answer or not is up to me.”

Jaemin can’t help but sulk. His lips formed a pout unconsciously.

“Are you and your second brother also….”

“No. We are not Lycans. It’s only Hyung.”

Jaemin can’t deny the fact that he was indeed relieved to hear that.

“Is it hard to take care of him?”

You looked sick that day in the bathroom. Sick enough for your brother to get worried about you.

“No. it’s not difficult to take care of him. We’ve done it since he awakened. Compared to him they have to take care of me more.”

Jaemin wanted to ask why. But Jeno had that distant look in his face. And Jaemin had a hunch it wouldn’t be a good idea to ask that.

Lee Jeno was someone that made Jaemin afraid. The boy has a disposition that one day he is going to disappear. Just like that. And maybe no one would remember him except Jaemin. Jaemin would try to find him only to return empty-handed as he would disappear like one of those good dreams that are too long and too real but you won’t remember it in the morning when you wake up.

He keeps the conversation going.

“Congratulations by the way. For the House Cup and coming First in our batch.”

Jeno just hummed in response.

Now that Jaemin thinks about it, he has never seen Jeno express very strong emotions like anger or regret or cry. Sure, he has seen him laugh but that was a rare occurrence.  Jaemin wanted to keep talking.

“I didn’t bring anything to congratulate you though.”

On the topic of gifts suddenly Jeno sat up straight.

“I almost forgot” he rummaged through his robe and brings out a small bouquet of flowers. “Here, for you. I heard it’s your birthday soon.”

Saying Jaemin was shocked was an understatement. Lee Jeno was giving him flowers. That also a birthday present. He accepted it, though.

The flowers were a bit ugly if he was being truthful. They were a dirty white color with irregular odd-shaped petals arranged in a haphazard manner. Some petals were curled inwards and other outwards drooping a bit. There were only 3 stalks tied together with a bunch of flowers on the top, and large dark green heart-shaped leaves with prominent veins. There was a bit of mud in the ends that made it clear that it was freshly picked up from the soil.

Jaemin thought Jeno had some questionable taste for gifts. But since it was a gift meant for him he took it gratefully anyway.

Jeno must have seen Jaemin’s expression even in the dim light of the falling evening. He just chuckled. Jaemin on the hand couldn’t figure out the other’s expression in the dark, he just heard his husky laughter.

“Wait a bit before you question my choices.”

 It was a half-moon today. Maybe a bit more than half. It rose to the violet sky as soon as the sunset. The moonlight bathing the mountains and illuminating the rickety wooden bridge.

The flowers that Jaemin condemned as ugly before opened up slowly in his hands. The curled up petal straightened out as they glowed in the dark. Their petals glittered bright blue and purple like a constellation of stars, its core glowing bright blue. Even the veins of the leaves glowed bright blue.

Jaemin was shocked beyond words. In a span of fifteen minutes, he has been surprised way too many times.

Jaemin sees Jeno looking back at him. He looks happy at Jaemin’s reaction. He smiles his favorite smile where his eyes turn into crescents. And Jaemin feels the punch in the gut for real.

“They are called Night blooms.”

“They are so pretty……They are beautiful, Jeno. Thank you.”

Jeno smiles even bright in the pale blue lights of the flowers. He stares at Jaemin with happiness, a smile on his face, his head resting on his folded arms

“Happy advance Birthday Jaemin.”

 And Jaemin feels like he has a chance.

“Can I be your friend?”

Jeno looks a bit taken aback.

“I mean you already saved me twice. You even helped me in Potions. Now, you gave me such a beautiful birthday gift. I thought it would be great if we could be friends. No pressure you know, just casually hanging around together and stuff. I know a good place we can go-”

“No”

It was a firm answer that cut off Jaemin’s rambling.

“What?”

“I am sorry, Jaemin.” This is the first time Jeno has called him by his name. But Jaemin hates the situation as much as he likes hearing Jeno call his name.

Jaemin can feel his face freezing up.

“Why? Because I am a Gryffindor? Or do you hate me?”

“No, it’s not you Jaemin. I promise. You are a wonderful person. It’s just that I can’t be friends with you or anyone if that makes you feel a bit better. It has nothing to do with you being a Gryffindor or any other house. I don’t hate you also.”

Jeno’s eyes look sad. Unlike the indifference, it is gentle and sad. And Jaemin cannot tell the reason for his sadness when he is the one getting rejected from friendship.

“Then what is it?”

Jaemin whined a bit. It was so frustrating. Lee Jeno is frustrating.

Jeno just gave a little smile.

“I thought you are repenting.”

Then his face grew serious.

“It’s better if you don’t probe around too much. Have you heard the proverb ‘curiosity kills the cat’?”

“Haven’t you heard the rest of it, ‘and satisfaction brought it back’?”

Jaemin had started pouting by then.

Jeno just laughed lightly. The sound was pretty in that dark moonlit night. He gathered up his things and put on his shoes.

“Give up on me Jaemin. It’s better that way. You’ll get much better friends in your course of life. The ones who will stick with you throughout your life. The ones who will help you carry your burden rather than adding up to it.”

Jaemin saw the boy get up. His belongings in his hand as he turned to leave.

What if I only want you?

Jeno looked a bit shocked. Jaemin realized he said it out loud. He had unconsciously reached out to grab his wrist as he said those ambiguous words.

“I am sorry I didn’t mean it that way….”

Jeno just smiled at him. It’s an understanding one, where his lips tilt a bit to reveal a hint of a smile.

He squeezed his hand back. An action Jaemin has started associating with assurance.

“Goodbye Jaemin.”

He lets him go.

As Jaemin sees his back disappear behind the conifer foliages, Jaemin regrets letting him go for a second time.

When Jaemin comes back to his dorm he is in a foul mood, Donghyuck questions him but he avoids them. His mood remains that like the whole time until they reach home.

To his dismay, the flowers he brought back with him have not wilted away. They stayed ugly in daylight and magical at night. He wanted to throw them away but he couldn’t.

His mom was surprised when she first saw the flower in daylight.

“Huh? These are night blooms. Where did you get them from Jaemin?”

Jaemin was surprised.

“You know these flowers mom?”

“Of course, they are rare to find. And extremely expensive to buy. These looks plucked, the stems are not properly trimmed. Did someone give it to you?”

“Birthday present.”

His mom’s eyes shined with mirth.

“Who gave it to you? A lover? The girl who likes you? Wait, is it a boy?”

“No…stop mom! I don’t have anybody like that.”

“Then a friend?”

Now that’s a touché` topic for Jaemin. He remembers their discussion and groans into the pillow.

“Nope. Definitely not a friend.”

Jaemin’s birthday came in two weeks. They had a small gathering at Jaemin’s place. Donghyuck’s family also came over. There were a lot of gifts and cards send from his gang. The most prominent one being a fine silver bracelet with little ‘phases of moon’ charms hanging all over it. It was sent from Baekhyun and Chanyeol jointly. It was a pretty thing and Jaemin loved it.

The flowers stayed in a flower vase on the top of their dining table. It was a different kind of torture for Jaemin for the flowers stayed the same to the day Jaemin went back to Hogwarts. He was grateful Donghyuck didn’t ask about them when he came over. He was used to weird things lying around in Jaemin’s house curtsy of his father so he ignored it altogether.

The new Hogwarts session as 2^nd year was less unnerving after going through it for the first time.

They were again on time at the Kings Cross station as they boarded the Hogwarts Express train. This time there were no Dementors, instead, Jaemin’s and Donghyuck’s cabin was filled with friends. Jaemin looked out for a blonde head but didn’t see him in the crowd.

The only thing different was instead of boats they were to take the Thestral drawn carriages. Renjun was shit scared and so was Donghyuck while Jaemin eyed the certain blonde boy who was busy petting what seems to be invisible Thestrals after spotting him finally in after his vigorous shifty eye search.

The ride was not wonky and they reached the castle ground in one piece. Renjun realized he preferred walking much more than flying.

The feast was the same grand, delicious, glittery. The first years were awed as they entered through the doors of Great Hall. Jaemin couldn’t help but coo at them.

The sorting ceremony began and that’s how Jaemin met his ‘son’ Park Jisung.

…... And Chenle the devil incarnate.

Jisung was all cute face and innocent attitude that didn’t match his long-limbed body, and Jaemin fell for his charms within a span of a week. He always blushed when Jaemin was around. His face turning into a tomato and it was so cute Jaemin almost got a mini heart attack. Donghyuck looked at him disgusted when Jaemin makes all kinds of baby noise to coo at Jisung, who blushed even more.

But the problem was he came with a +1.aka. Zhong Chenle.

Zhong Chenle was a boy with very cute visuals Jaemin have to admit. He looked all innocent and cute when he was not talking. Once he opens his mouth he is merciless. He has zero brains to mouth filter.

When he first met Jaemin he blushed like crazy under the Glamour so went ahead and asked Donghyuck.

“What is wrong with this Hyung? Why am I blushing just by looking at him? I don’t even wanna date him.”

Before Jaemin can reply something along the lines like ‘you are blushing because I am pretty.’

Donghyuck reveals the truth.

“He’s a Half-Veela. You’ll get used to it.”

Both Jisung and Chenle looked surprised then suddenly Chenle remarked.

“What a scam!”

What?????? Did you just call me a scam? He didn’t even look remorseful or sorry of his remark,

Donghyuck died laughing obnoxiously beside him.

It didn’t help the fact he got used to Jaemin’s Glamour pretty fast, even faster than Renjun.

“Chenle, you are not blushing anymore when Jaemin is around? You got over it really fast.”

Donghyuck couldn’t help but wonder.

“That’s because I am way cuter.”

Chenle said nonchalantly. That imp even added a wink.

Jaemin almost killed him there. But he had a laughing Donghyuck to kill first.

Jisung and Chenle were neighbors and childhood friends. Inseparable and joined at the hip. Wherever Chenle goes Jisung follows like a puppy. While one was the devil the other was an angel and Jaemin kind of ‘jealous’ (Donghyuck’s word not his) of Chenle for being Jisung’s number one even after all the love and care Jaemin had shown for Jisung.

“Obviously moron, they are childhood friends.”Donghyuck threw a chocolate wrapper at him. It was Jaemin’s chocolate that he still got from the love letters back at him.

“Even we are childhood friends, but I don’t follow you around. I am telling you, Jisung is getting bewitched. He definitely is evil.” Jaemin had insisted as he discarded another batch of love letters into the fire.

“You’re just salty. Because Jisung likes him more than you and he is indeed cuter than you.” Donghyuck finished off with a killer blow.

Jaemin needs new friends.

No, wait, scratch that. He didn’t need friends. He’ll be like that the-one-that-cannot-be-named-with-blonde-hair-and-pretty-eyes ‘friendless’.

The only comforting part is Chenle is Slytherin and can’t spend too much time with them so Jaemin can bribe Jisung as much as possible.

A month into their term they were, as usual, having their breakfast in the Great hall at a certain weekend when Johnny jokingly brought the question up.

“So Jisung. Who is your favorite among us?”

Jaemin was busy making Jisung eat vegetables on his plate when the question popped. Jaemin counted in his mind. He had brought the younger his favorite treats from the kitchen and even let him sleep in his bed when he was homesick. He helped with the younger’s homework and essays the best he could.

So he felt supremely betrayed when Jisung without any hesitation answered,

“Chenle.”

Donghyuck sniggered at Jaemin. While the latter just groaned.

“This is why they say it’s useless to raise kids. They’re the first one to betray you.”

Chenle on the other hand was pretty nonchalant even after the answer. He usually dines at the Slytherin table with the others but today Jisung dragged him in the Gryffindor table. And here he was enjoying his green pea porridge ignoring Jaemin’s inner chaos.

Donghyuck’s gossip loving ass must have smelled something so he questioned Chenle back.

“So, Chenle who is your favorite?”

Chenle looked up at them innocently and then looked at Jisung who had an expectant expression on his face.

But Chenle cruelly flushed all the hope down when he replied.

“It’s not you Jisung Park. Stop making that face.”

Jaemin was secretly overjoyed at Jisung’s crestfallen face.

Aha! Look at that Jisung-ah. Chenle is not at all loyal to you. Hyung loves you much more-

“It’s Jeno-Hyung.”

Wait- WHAT?

All the members of the group were a bit shocked. Nobody noticed Baekhyun chomping away on his bread nonchalantly.

Here’s the thing, Jaemin had decided to move on from his initial plan when he arrived at Hogwarts for the new term of 2^nd year. He was going to forget Jeno, the boy was right anyway. Jaemin was popular and friendly and good looking to top it off. He can easily make some good friends. He doesn’t need that blonde-haired, pale-skinned boy with gorgeous gray eyes.

He was halfway there also when Jisung came. He purposely devoted his energy to the younger and made a point to forget the other boy.

It was easier said than done as his eyes still followed the Slytherin when he was in the vicinity and he glanced a few times at him during classes.

There has been a change in the routine. Though the core subjects remain the same, the Gryffindors shared Transfiguration, DADA and Potions with the Slytherin.

So had to see his face in those classes and if he is being truthful he did glance at him a few times.

But he promises, he was already halfway there towards forgetting him, and then Chenle had to drop this Jeno-Hyung bomb.

Even Renjun who was eating at their table was surprised, since Chenle talked to him the most, as both of their mother-tongue was Mandarin. Sometimes Kun and Sicheng join in. but that’s beside the point.

“Wait Chenle are you talking about Jeno Lee, from 2^nd year?” Donghyuck looked he just ate something weird.

Chenle just nods his head.

“Didn’t you say you were afraid of him?  You said he is too intimidating for you last week. So what happened in a week that he became your favorite?” Renjun butted in from the side.

Chenle just shook his head vigorously.

“Nope. That was a week before. I was just intimidated because he was too handsome and serious. But he is not intimidating at all. In fact, he is pretty cute.”

It was a bad decision for Jaemin to sip on his fruit juice at that time. He choked on ‘cute’ and sprayed all over Doyoung.

Donghyuck patted his back with a disgusted look on his face and Jisung passed him a tissue. Doyoung just looked like he was done with life.

“Sorry…. I am so sorry Hyung. Wait! Chenle did you say Lee Jeno is cute?”

Of course, Jaemin knows he is cute but he thought he was the only one who knew that well, except his brothers’ maybe.

The little devil- uh…Chenle kept on speaking.

“Yeah, Jeno Hyung is really nice. Last mid-week there was a thunderstorm and I was unable to sleep. I was in the common room when Jeno Hyung returned. He looked at me for a while. I thought he was going to scold me and I got scared. But instead, he treated me to hot chocolate and stayed with me throughout the night until the storm stopped. He was really kind. He even held my hand as I slept while he studied.

Also, yesterday I wasn’t feeling too well so he brought some treats for me from the kitchen. He helped me out with homework and he even let me play with his cat, Bongshik…..”

“Wait, Jeno has a pet cat?”

“Yeah, well it’s technically Donghae Hyung’s, more like their house pet. But Jeno Hyung has fur allergy so he can’t stay near him for long. Taeyong Hyung has Ruby and Jeno Hyung mostly hangs out with Ruby.”

Before Chenle can reveal some more shocking information…he suddenly quiets down.

Speak of the devil.

The Lee brothers enter the Hall halfway through breakfast. Chenle lets out an obnoxious squeal like a dolphin.

“Jeno Hyung!”

Jeno looks a bit bewildered at the sudden call of his name; he looks around and finally spots Chenle. His face breaks out into a small smile.

Chenle almost rushes to him leaving a sad-faced Jisung.

Jaemin thought if he had a tail it would be wagging. He scoffs.

All he gets is a nod while Chenle gets a smile in greeting.

Surprisingly Taeyong who always has an arrogant face on looks a bit soft on Chenle.

The Gryffindor looks at the group of Slytherins make way to their table.

“Tell me I just didn’t saw Jeno Lee smile.” Donghyuck makes a dramatic act of fainting, like somebody told him the world is going to end today.

“He is cute when he smiles.” Doyoung indeed thought Jeno was cute.

Baekhyun just smiled secretly.

Another week in their 2^nd year and Jaemin sees Chenle practically hanging off Jeno and Taeyong. Both the brothers though are not particularly smiling or laughing with Chenle but more like letting him do whatever he wants as they look on, like a parent looking over their young child.

 Donghyuck is amused by Chenle’s rambling on how cool Taeyong Hyung is and how sweet Jeno Hyung is to him.

“And Taeyong Hyung gives the best hugs. You won’t believe how sweet he is. He even bought me and Jeno Hyung Sugar quills from his Hogsmeade trip.”

Jaemin feels a bit bitter about this.  He looks at Jisung who also has an expression of bitterness on his face as he stares at happily chirping Chenle. Jaemin feels that he kind of understands.

There was always a thought at the back of his mind that maybe just maybe he is special to Jeno, maybe he actually considers him as a friend unknowingly that is why he is exclusively kind to him and cold to others. Jeno is still cold and indifferent to the rest of the student body but Jaemin is not the one he is exclusively kind and caring too.

There is also Taeyong. That boy is always glaring at Jaemin as if giving him a warning, but sweet to Chenle that he kind of feels betrayed.

So when Chenle for the third time of the morning said that ‘Taeyong and Jeno are really his idol” he couldn’t help but snap.

“You’re telling me that Taeyong that guy with those fierce eyes that glare at every living creature is sweet? Are you sure you’re not lying Chenle?”

It came out harsher and more sarcastic than he expected. It was a low blow.

Even he knows that. Taeyong no matter how he arrogant he looks is actually a caring older brother to Jeno. He knows that. He has seen that. But he wanted something to hit on. And for some reason insulting Jeno didn’t sit well with him so he went for the next nearest target.

Chenle stops for a while. His smile froze on his face. Then his face turned a bit sad. After all, he is just a kid.

“I am not lying.”

Jisung glared at Jaemin, who on the spur of the moment also glared back.

Even Doyoung who doesn’t like Taeyong didn’t remark anything. He is usually the one who scoffs and makes slanted remarks when somebody praises Taeyong. He didn’t support Jaemin in this.

Jaemin felt guilty and regretful but his ego didn’t allow him to show it.

In fact, it was Baekhyun who intervened.

“Taeyong is a cute and caring child. Chenle is not lying. I can vouch for that.”

They altogether whipped their heads to stare at Baekhyun who was busy feasting on his pudding.

“Hyung, exactly how do you know that?”

“He is my son. I obviously know.”

This time it is Doyoung who choked on his bread. Johnny slapped his back to bring out the wayward piece of bread. Doyoung looks at Baekhyun like he has committed treason of betraying all three generations of his family.

“When did that happen?”

King Donghyuck is back with his utensils to collect his tea.

“Since I started dating Chanyeol, obviously. His family is close to the Lees so we met. We talked a lot. Taeyong even laughs at my jokes, which you meanies ignore most of the time. He takes care of his brothers. He even cooks for them. He is a good kid. We hang out a lot. And since he likes me so much we ‘adopted’ him.”

He spots Chanyeol getting up from his table. He dusts his hands off as he gets up.

“So kids, be good to them. Both Jeno and Taeyong.”

He bops Jaemin’s nose particularly with his finger as he leaves.

Great! Now even Baekhyun Hyung is in their group. What wrong has he done that only he is being rejected?

Jaemin clenches his jaws. He has decided. He is going to ignore Jeno throughout the year.

His doesn’t become successful though.

A month in, Jaemin is still adamant about ignoring Jeno. It’s a one-man mission though because the other boy doesn’t know about the internal strife that Jaemin is going through.

It was a Thursday afternoon; Jaemin was walking down the Charms corridor of the third floor towards classroom 2E for their Charms class with Professor Flitwick. Donghyuck was talking about some Quidditch match that Mark was in. He was excited for the next matches a skip in his steps. Not even back to back double periods of Charms can calm his sunny best friend down.

Jaemin’s arms were sore carrying around a Book of Standard Spells 2 by Miranda Goshawk. His mood wasn’t too good. His Engorgio charm is not working well. He can’t control the size of the object. In the second period the tomato grew so big it almost crushed him. It was embarrassing. He was glad he didn’t share the class with Slytherins or he would’ve become a joke. The Hufflepuffs are kind so they politely didn’t talk about it.

“By the way what did Kevin want with you yesterday? I saw him talking to you last night in front of the Gryffindor tower. Did he ‘sort of confessing’ again? How many times that has happened this year?”

Donghyuck’s remark broke Jaemin out of his self misery.

Ugghh! Kevin Trunks. He almost forgot about him. Another cause of his misery.

“Did you reject him properly?”

“Yes. Cleanly. Just like last time.”

“He is like some leech. Doesn’t get off even when shaken.”

“I always knew he was a bit thick-skulled but this is just admirable how ignorant and oblivious he is. I was polite last time and this time I just asked him to fudge off”

Donghyuck laughed at Jaemin’s replacement of curse words.

Kevin Trunks and his lackeys have been after Jaemin from the end of the first year and still have the perseverance to continue even after getting rejected twice. This was the third time and Jaemin was just not on his best moods.

The problem with Kevin Trunks is that he is a local tyrant. His family is supposedly in-laws with the Kingsleys’. So he thinks he has the free right to tyrannize people. The only exception being Jaemin’s friend circle for he harbors a massive crush on the said boy.

“What did he say?”

“Who?”

“Trunks.”

“The same. He doesn’t think he is gay, but he likes me so he is giving me the honor of dating him. I can be assured as he knows from his previous experience that he is an excellent lover and hence I don’t have to worry about being taken care of. He also asked me out for the upcoming Halloween party.”

Donghyuck makes a disgusted face.

“He can shove that honor up his arse and see if anybody cares.”

“Exactly. So I told him to fudge off. Him and his lackeys.”

They were about to open the door. When something comes rushing in. it hits Donghyuck straight in his stomach.

“Uffff!”

That thing turns out to be an excited and distressed Chenle.

“Hyung! Hyung! Help me.”

Jaemin was a bit concerned. Chenle looked disheveled. His hair sticking out, his uniform in disarray, tie crooked and out of his sweater where it is usually tucked in. He is panting after running like a mad man.

Donghyuck also looks concerned.

“What happened Chenle? Why were you running in the corridors? It is prohibited.”

“Not here. Please come with me.”

There was still 10 minutes before the class starts. So they followed Chenle to a deserted corner. Chenle looked around to see if there was anybody nearby. When he found nobody he sighed.

He looked troubled. He whispered urgently.

“Jeno-Hyung is in trouble.”

“WHAT?”

Chenle shushed them.

“Not so loud.”

Jaemin was impatient.

“What happened to Jeno?”

Chenle looks a bit guilty.

“He got into a fight with some 2^nd year Gryffindors.”

bridge of Hogwarts

Chapter Text

“Chenle, why don’t you calm down a little before explaining?”

Donghyuck gave him his water bottle that he always carries with him. Chenle gulped down water like a starved individual before continuing.

Jaemin wasn’t very calm about it though.

“Tell us, what happened?”

“Well, I had to collect some papers from Professor Binn’s office. So I went there after lunch with Jeno-Hyung. He said he had some doubts about his essay of History of Magic. My job was done earlier so I got out and was waiting outside.”

Chenle looked a bit guilty.

 “Then I heard some of the Gryffindors 2^nd years making some gross and rude comments. I am sorry but I couldn’t help but interject. I swear I didn’t say anything rude to them; they just suddenly got all angry on me. They cornered me up in the 4th-floor hallway, the one beside the storage room. They asked for my purse and tried to push me around. But then Jeno Hyung came and he saw it.”

Knowing Chenle he probably said something really offensive without knowing. Jaemin always knew one-day Chenle is going to spell trouble for himself for that shitty no-filter mouth of his.

“Jeno Hyung sent me aside as he tried to talk some sense but that guy just grabbed his collar. He said something bad to him probably, I didn’t hear it clearly. But then Hyung got….”

Chenle shuddered at the thought.

“…… h-he got really a-angry. Not this or that angry but like seriously angry, like the rip people’s head off the kind of angry. His jaw was all clenched and his body was shaking. Sweet Merlin! I had never been this scared. Rather than the bullies, Jeno Hyung was scarier….”

“So did he hex them?”

Donghyuck was amused. He almost ordered a bucket of popcorn. Jaemin on the other hand was worried to death. Jeno is not the type to fight. Something serious must have happened. He remembers the gossipers during the first years result out.

Chenle stopped on the interruption as if considering something.

“No, that is what I found odd. He was carrying his wand but he didn’t hex him or challenge him to duel.”

Donghyuck was also puzzled.

“No duels and no hexes thrown. Are you sure they had a fight? So what did Jeno do? Throw a punch?”

It was a sarcastic comment but Chenle looked shocked at the Gryffindor.

“Hyung! Are you good at divination? How did you know?”

“Wait! What?”

“Yep, Jeno Hyung sucker-punched him right at the jaw. Even the bullies were shocked and let him go. He covered me with his robe so nobody sees me. He wrapped his hand in his tie and beat their asses up. They didn’t even get to take their wand out. It was awesome! He was so cool. He also flipped the tall one over his shoulders.”

“Chenle you look more excited than troubled. Your inner fanboy is showing.”

“But Hyung you should have seen him! Gosh, he was damn cool.”

“So you came running to us report how cool your senior is? Is that it?”

Suddenly Chenle’s face turned grave. The shinning eyes got dulled.

“The problem came after this. Those bullies went to Professor Shim to complain about Jeno-Hyung. Hyung told me to stay out of this matter and not present as a witness. But then he will be in trouble. Professor won’t know that the bullies were the ones who started it. I am confused Hyung. What should I do? Help me out, please. Professor Shim is your House Head, you would know him.”

Jaemin was also a bit concerned about it. He looked at his best friend. Usually, Donghyuck is best at sliming out of critical situations. He has a variety of plans in his head.

Donghyuck does not particularly like Jeno. But he stood up for Chenle so he can give it a thought or two. But the fact remains helping Chenle would mean going against his own house.

The said guy seemed to be in deep thoughts. When he finally spoke, he only said

“Let’s go after this class and find Professor Shim. I have a way with which we can listen to their interrogation with Professor.”

So after their class, they head straight to Professor Shim’s office and reached there before their designated time of the meeting.

“Jaemin you go in and ask some questions from the recent chapter taught uhhh…..what was it again?”

“Disarming spell,” Jaemin remembers Donghyuck was busy eating chocolates and doodling unlike him who was religiously taking notes.

“Yeah, that. Go ask him questions. And drop this conveniently on the floor.”

His best friend hands him a small marble-like thing. It’s about an inch and a half of diameter and looks like a normal glass marble but bigger.

“What is this?” Chenle was curious as to what is happening.

“It is a peek-o-oculars.”

Jaemin hasn’t seen it before. He guesses this is how Donghyuck gathers his rumors.

“Where did you get this from?”

“From my dad’s office.”

 Jaemin almost dropped it in shock.

“Did you steal it from the banned products section of…?”

The reaction was instantaneous. Donghyuck clamped his hand over Jaemin’s mouth with great force.

“Chirp chirp birdie. Talk less walk more.”

And Jaemin was pushed into the Defense against Dark Arts office.

Professor Shim was moving a huge rattled cupboard. Jaemin like a good student went ahead and helped him. There seems to be something inside. The creature inside banged hard on the old locked wooden roads.

Probably a Boggart.

When they finished Professor Shim smiled him a bright smile.

“Thanks. I wasn’t able to do it by myself.”

“Is there a Boggart inside?”

“Yep, material to be taught to 3^rd years. Five points to Gryffindor for identifying it.”

Professor winked at him in mischief.

Jaemin smiled.

Professor Shim is really laid back and a bright character.

He settled himself on the chair and offered Jaemin a seat.

“Please sit. You are….uhhh….let me see, Jaemin Na!”

“Yes sir.”

“Your essay on Lycans last week was pretty good. In fact, it was too good, almost like you know one.”

Laugh and chill, Jaemin. Don’t fudge up. He doesn’t possibly know of it. Does he?

Jaemin laughs. He hopes it doesn’t come out awkward. He excludes his Glamour in full force in an attempt to distract.

It works for a bit. Professor Shim gets distracted but he is back within a minute. There was no blush or a sign of embarrassment.

As expected of an ex Auror.

Even if Professor noticed something odd he doesn’t dwell on it.

He flashes him a bright smile.

“So what bring you here?”

“Umm…so there is this problem I am facing….”

Jaemin in midst of the discussion drops his pen and while going to pick it up slides the marble-like peek-o-ocular under the side table adjacent to the floor well out sight. But a position where it can observe.

The job is done, so he says a thank you and high tails out of the room.

On the way just outside, in the corridor, he meets Jeno. He looks unruffled like it is not him who has been called in. His shirt and tie are in optimum condition buttoned up to the neck, so tight it looks stifling. His blonde hair is brushed aside like usual and gold-rimmed round glasses perched upon his high nose. With his indifferent expression, he looks like a model student. If Chenle hadn’t told Jaemin that Jeno had punched the bullies he would’ve not believed it.

“Jeno.”

“Jaemin Na”

“Come with me.”

Before Jeno can respond Jaemin drags him away hands clasped on his wrist. They go for the opposite end of the corridor away from prying eyes of Donghyuck and Chenle.

 Once out of sight inside the blind end, he does a rough thorough over of the other boy.

“Are you hurt somewhere?”

“No. Who told you?”

“Your favorite Chenle.”

It was laden with sarcasm but Jeno didn’t refute it. It irritated Jaemin to no end.

“Who was it?”

“Who was who?”

“Don’t act smart with me Lee Jeno. Who was the one who tried to bully you?”

“Why? Are you gonna hex him? He is your Housemate though.”

“It doesn’t matter. Bullies won’t be tolerated. Housemate or not. Justice doesn’t have eyes.”

Jaemin said the words with sincerity. But Jeno looked at him like he is looking at some weird creature. Then he started chuckling.

He has a really nice laugh.

“As expected of a Gryffindor. But, you are wrong. I was not bullied. Maybe they got roughened up instead.”

“I heard you sucker-punched him in the jaw.”

“I don’t know where you heard that, but it is not true. I don’t punch people.”

But there was a mischievous glint in his gray eyes that gave away the truth.  Jaemin automatically smiled.

“What are you playing at Mr. Lee?”

“I don’t know what you are saying, Mr. Na. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go to Professor Shim’s office. He called for me for some unknown reason.”

Now Jeno was practically smiling. It was a mischievous and evil smirk. His eyes almost hidden behind the large lashes were glinting in the dim light and there was a smirk in his lips.

“He is still a Slytherin. Don’t underestimate him.” Chanyeol had said time and again. And Jaemin had underestimated Jeno. He probably already has a plan.

Donghyuck and Chenle are waiting outside just across the first bend of the corridor.  When he reached them, Donghyuck didn’t say anything regarding the lateness. He was too engrossed peering into some Crystal ball he was holding in his hand as he squatted on the stone floor with Chenle.

When he saw Jaemin he gave him a high five.

“Well done. Come here they just started. You won’t believe who the other party is.”

It was Kevin Trunks. And his lackeys, three of them so a total of 4 people. And they looked in bad shape in the hazy glass of the crystal ball. Jaemin figures they would look terrible in real life.

 And there was Jeno. He sat upright in his chair, unlike his usual slouched lazy posture. Professor Shim was asking them regarding what happened.

“He beat them up good. I was thinking of beating them up myself but Jeno did the job.”

Donghyuck was in Jeno team this time. He hated Kevin more than Jeno apparently.

True to his words, Kevin had a big blue-purple visible bruise at his jaw, on the lackeys has a broken nose and the other has a black eye.

“Trunks? Like the one that is in-law with Kingsleys’? Oh no! What do we do?”

Donghyuck looked at the worried Chenle and made a face.

“Don’t you know who Mommy Lee is? She is an apprentice of Kingsley and works at Wizengamot. What in-laws? She can wipe floors with them.”

Jaemin thinks Donghyuck kind of idolizes Mommy Lee though he hates her sons. It’s a bit quizzical but very Donghyuck. He zones out Chenle’s leveled up fanboying and concentrates on what they are saying.

Kevin Trunks and his lackeys are narrating the whole story in a much-exaggerated fashion. He skips the part where he bullies Chenle and grabs Jeno’s collar.

“He just attacked us from nowhere, Professor. I guess his hate for Gryffindors is too much….” And he goes on how badly Jeno beat them up even when he asked for forgiveness and shit like that.

Jeno on the other hand looks very bored. He is glancing at his nails and he was quiet throughout the whole narration. He didn’t utter a word but laughed quietly in some instances like he is amused.

Professor Shim looked a bit confused. He looked at Jeno observing him throughout the narration.

When Kevin is done he asks for the Slytherin to explain his part.

Jeno with a very polite and mild voice says something that leads to Donghyuck and Chenle being shook. Jaemin was kind of expecting it though.

“I don’t know what they are talking about. I am sorry Professor but I don’t have a single idea about this matter and hence have nothing to say.”

Hi face was calm as if he is not lying between his teeth in obvious daylight.

“Whoa!!!.... A true snake. He is lying so comfortably that even I would believe it.”

Donghyuck giving respect is no joke.

Professor Shim looks even more confused. He asks for their wands which the boys hand over.

He puts some potion in it. The wands of the Gryffindors let out sparkles while Jeno’s remain silent.

“He’s using tracer potion to see if they had been used to hex or curse during the fighting. As expected of an ex-Auror.”

Donghyuck had become the official commenter.

“But Jeno Hyung used some silencing charm in there also a shield charm in the end when they threw hexes at him.......Oh, wait! It was my wand he used.” Chenle was surprised at his discovery.

“Wait! Don’t tell me Jeno thought he might use tracer potion and hence didn’t go for magic but fistfight. Is that also why he used your wand, Chenle? No way…. right?”

Professor Shim glared at the Gryffindors with a sense of distaste.

“You have used freezing curse, tickling curse, stoning curse, disarming charm and few others through this wand in the last few hours, and as far as I know Gryffindor doesn’t have any charms class or DADA today. May I know the reason Mr. Trunks?”

Kevin was stuck in a bad position he didn’t expect the professor to bring out tracer potion. But he is not the one to give up.

“It was a fistfight professor. He literally punched us. Do you see this bruise, Sir? He did it.”

Kevin desperately jabbed his fingers at Jeno almost knocking Jeno’s glasses off his face. Jeno looked pretty irritated. He finally opened his mouth. His face is still cold and different but mildly annoyed.

“What gibberish are you spouting Mr. Trunks? Do I know you? Did I have a debt towards you?  I barely know you. Why would a pureblood academically well-established wizard such as myself would take up the trouble to mess with a muscle headed nobody like you just for fun? That also not in a duel of curses and hexes but a fistfight like a commoner Muggle. Do I look the type that has lost his head? Please think before accusing.”

He took a breath as if calming himself and then he smirked.

“But I guess it’s expecting too much from you, your grades are probably enough to confirm it.”

“Oooooohhhhhh! Burn. I was wrong, he is not a snake. But a Basilisk. A Slytherin to the core.”

Donghyuck rubbed his hands in glee. He was too invested in the drama.

“He wrapped his knuckles with his tie. He would not have injury them. They can’t also bring me up as witness or I might expose them.” Chenle was in detective mode. “Jeno Hyung really played it well.”

Jaemin was a bit shocked. He has always seen the kind Jeno, the smiling Jeno, the happy Jeno, the indifferent Jeno, the irritated Jeno but never this scheming Slytherin Jeno. He was taken aback.

“No one is more suited to this house than I am” he had said.

Maybe Jaemin was yet to see all the sides of Jeno yet.

A Slytherin to the core. Jaemin kind of agrees (but still under review).

The final sentence was the ending blow. There was no witness presented hence facts cannot be checked.

Professor Shim looked curious and confused but Jeno had explained his part and taking the fact he is a Slytherin truly fist fight is something impossible. It would be considered beneath their dignity as a wizard. He knows how these pureblood snobs are. Jeno is also as he said academically doing great. All the professors like him. So it was a bit unlikely for him to call for trouble on his own and damage his own reputation.

On the other hand, Kevin Trunks as everybody knows is a bully. He relies on his family to clear up after him when he causes trouble.

In the end he dismissed them on account of no evidence. But he said he will make sure to relay the incident to headmistress. He specifically said it to Trunks and co. He also added a sentence for him.

“Mr. Trunks, you should know this your second strike. A third strike and you out of Hogwarts. I am warning you as your Professor. As for Mr. Lee Blood status has long been abolished by Ministry please don’t bring it in conversations. You may go back. Mr. Trunks and others will apologize to you personally. Won’t you Mr. Trunks?”

Trunks just grumbled angry teeth clenched “sorry.”

“I can’t hear you Mr. Trunks”

“I said I am sorry.” If looks could kill Jeno would be a dead man. But looks can’t kill and Jeno very much lived. He even smirked at him.

“Your apology is duly noted.” It was a polite answer and he smiled. The boys visibly shivered from it.

Outside the three of them were relieved.

Chenle was especially happy.

But Jaemin poured cold water on his happiness.

“Jeno was lucky this time. Chenle you should really know how to control that mouth of yours. One time is enough trouble. Do you really not understand the consequences of your careless action? What if this again happens? There are not always people around to take care of your mess. You are not a child anymore. It is high time you grow up Chenle.”

It was a bit excessive maybe but it’s a necessary evil. He can again get in trouble for this kind of bratty attitude and that time he may not be that lucky.

Chenle looked like a kicked puppy. It was a sad sight to see. Even Donghyuck felt pity for him and glared a little bit at Jaemin. He was going to say some comforting words but they saw with wide eyes Chenle’s bottom lips tremble as big fat tears ran down his cheek.

“I-I am s-s-sorry.”

And he ran down the corridor.

Jaemin and Donghyuck ran after him also. They saw Chenle collide with Jeno who was coming out of the Professor's room. Chenle automatically hugged him as he cried, his arms going around Jeno’s waist as his form which barely touched Jeno’s chest trembled. The elder Slytherin was taken aback by the crying boy in his arms. He tried to ask what happened and the boy cried harder.

So Jeno like a responsible older brother got down to his knees and carried Chenle over his back in a piggyback ride as he made his way towards the staircase. The younger hid his wet face on the elder’s back and tightened his limbs around his neck and waist like a baby monkey as they made their way downstairs.

He passed by Jaemin and Donghyuck signaling them to follow him.

And that’s how they found themselves pacing around in front of the Slytherin Dungeons. Jeno had gone inside with Chenle keeping them waiting outside.

A few Slytherin glances at them with weird and hostile looks but they ignored it. Jeno came back within a few minutes.

“How is Chenle?”

“Crying and hiccupping. He is with ‘his favorite Taeyong Hyung who loves him very much’ so its gonna be okay.”

Jaemin probably looks a bit guilty so Jeno goes for Donghyuck.

“So what happened?”

“Jaemin scolded him for causing trouble.”

Some best friend you are mister. One chance and you sell your best friend out.

Jeno nods his understanding.

“Okay, Good job. I was going to anyway. It’s good that you already did”

Bewilderment is an understatement. Jeno continues on.

“This time he was lucky that I was there. But I won’t be by his side forever nor others will be there to clean up after him. He should learn how to keep his bratty attitude in check.”

Jaemin feels like they both share the same brain cells. He even glanced at Donghyuck with a told-you-so look.

“So is Chenle gonna come out?”

“Maybe. If you lure him out with some cupcakes from the kitchen.”

Before Jaemin can volunteer to go Donghyuck had left. He was complaining about too much Slytherins around him giving the stink eye and he was finally glad to be able to escape.

That left Jeno and Jaemin.

“That was fast.” Jaemin was feeling a bit awkward now.

“Just so you know Jaemin. As much as it is true he needs to be more aware. But I think this time what he did was alright. This time I support Chenle for standing up.”

“Why?”

Jeno looked a bit amused. Like Jaemin is asking the obvious. When Jaemin still looks bewildered Jeno asks him something weird.

“Could it be you didn’t ask Chenle the reason why he stood up to them?”

To be truthful Jaemin never thought it like that. He assumed Chenle and his without filter mouth was being nosy and hence ended up angering some people.

Jeno let out a sigh.

“He stood up for you. They called you bad names and Chenle protested against it. That is why they ganged upon him. I reached him just in time to see it. I don’t know what happened between them before I went there so for more information ask Chenle.”

There was an awkward silence.

Ugghh… Jaemin did Chenle wrong. He felt sorry for saying those things. Chenle got in trouble because he stood up for Jaemin and he scolded him for it. Shit! Chenle must hate him now.

What should he do now? Should he ask Chenle to forgive him? What if he hates him and refuses to be associated with him?

“Hey! It’s ok. You did the right thing. He does need to correct his habit for it will cause him trouble but then again being courageous does help doesn’t it Mr. Gryffindor? You are not wrong. Stop blaming yourself. Chenle won’t hate you. He likes you and that is why he stood up for you. Stop beating yourself over it. If you feel like it buy him some sugar quills as an apology. Okay?”

Jaemin calmed down a bit.

“Okay.”

Suddenly a thought hit him.

“So did you beat Trunks up because he spoke trash about me or because he ganged up on Chenle?”

Jeno smiled that amused smile. He bends the upper half of his body to get closer to Jaemin as he whispered in a hushed voice.

“What do you think?”

Jaemin’s heart almost stopped at the close proximity. He feels himself flush a bit. But he controls it like a pro. Jeno continues.

“Both of the reasons, actually. 50% because he talked shit about you and hit Chenle on the back of his head and 50% because an asshole like him deserves one good beating in his life.”

“So you’re saying you took revenge for a person who was not even your friend?” Jaemin made sure to emphasize the last part to get his point across. He leaned forward too narrowing his eyes as their noses barely touched.

Jeno straightened up in return made a face.

“You are a good person, Jaemin, friend or not. Also, he said some really shitty things. Don’t ask me what he said because I am not gonna tell you. In conclusion, he deserved a good beating for it. He got it. Just not from me. I am thankful to whoever did it.”

And that mischievous secret smile was back again. It made Jaemin giggle in mirth.

“So should I go in or Chenle is gonna come out of the cave?”

“As much as I would like to take you inside and offer you a cup of tea, I can assure you it would be a thoroughly unpleasant experience. So let’s wait for the cupcake baits to arrive so we can catch a Chenle.”

“Did you just compare Chenle with an animal?”

“A very cute one though that has a high pitch voice.”

Donghyuck returned with a box of cupcakes. Jeno was able to bring the boy out but he came grabbing a bigger fish, Lee Taeyong.

Taeyong was cold and defensive as he gave Donghyuck and Jaemin an once-over. Jaemin thought he would freeze under that icy glare until Jeno slid in and held his elder brother’s hand. The gaze immediately softened.

“They’re just gonna talk. It’s okay they are good friends of Chenle.” Jeno assured and Taeyong nodded revealing Chenle behind him.

Chenle, Donghyuck, and Jaemin sat in one of the empty general common rooms. They gave Chenle all the cupcakes not before Donghyuck stealing two. Jaemin glared at him but Chenle didn’t mind.

“Chenle-ah, Hyung is sorry for being harsh to you. I just want the very best for you that includes keeping you away from trouble. You understand my heart right?”

Chenle just nods. He has tear tracks on his face with snot running down his face.

Jaemin sighs and takes a tissue from the automatically refilled jeweled tissue box placed on the table and wipes his face with it.

“I heard you stood up for Hyung, that’s why they ganged up on you. Is that true?”

Chenle just nods already on his second cupcake.

“Why didn’t you tell me that?”

Donghyuck was puzzled. “Wait, What?”

“They said some very mean things about you. I didn’t want you to be sad. Anyways I would have stood up for the other Hyung too, not just you.”

Ah! Jaemin has wronged this boy.

Even Donghyuck was touched but the conversation was far from over.

“What did they say Chenle? Tell ME. I WILL BEAT THOSE BASTARDS UP!!!!” an excited Donghyuck spells trouble.

Chenle laughed. “I think Jeno Hyung already did a good job at It.” then he turned serious. “They said Jaemin Hyung is playing hard to get because he has a pretty face but he is a ‘slut’ anyway. I am sorry I don’t know what the word meant but it sounded mean.”

Chenle stopped to search Jaemin’s face for any trace of hurt when he didn’t find any he continued.

“They said just because Hyung has better scores he may be seducing the professor with his pretty face. It was a mean and vulgar comment so, I said that you are not like that and you are a hard-working student and they should mind their own business.”

Slut.

Jaemin knows the word so does Donghyuck who unlike Chenle who moved here not even 2 years ago has a better vocabulary. Chenle picked up spoken English from his parents and Jisung and later reading books. It is not unusual that there are a few words he is not sure about.

Jaemin was offended but Donghyuck was fuming. Chenle looked hurt and guilty. Jaemin held on to his best friend to keep him from storming away to find trouble with them.

“It’s okay Chenle. I am okay. But remember your safety comes first so if you’re in a bad position ignore such comments. Since Jeno was there with you it was fine. So in conclusion always have a strong backup before proceeding, bravery against injustice is always welcome but not at the cost of your safety. In later years when you become strong it is fine.”

Chenle nodded again. Jaemin hugged him.

This boy is also pretty cute.

“Chenle, I’ll give you the honor of becoming my son.”

Chenle scoffed.

“Who wants to be your son? I already have Jeno-Hyung as Dad. If you want me to be your son marry Jeno Hyung and you can become my mom.”

Jaemin kind of wants to push this brat away instead he hugs him tighter until he is breathless.

He takes it back. He is not cute at all. He is really the Devil-incarnate.

Halloween this year was exactly like last year. All huge pumpkin lanterns and live bats and delicious pumpkin pasties with goblets filled with bright orange Pumpkin juice. The only difference is Professor Shim finally got through with his idea of dancing skeleton troop.

After dinner at around 7:3o Jeno left the Great Hall. Taeyong wanted to follow him out but he said something to his older brother and the latter nodded and let him go.

Jaemin was feeling bored. Donghyuck was with Mark. Jisung was away with Chenle who was circling around Taeyong. Baekhyun was obviously with Chanyeol.

He was not even in the feeling of dancing in the after-party. The dancing skeleton troop was nice but not good enough to keep him entertained. So he left.

 He followed Jeno out. No one saw him going out except Baekhyun who eyed them as they left, with a smile on his face.

When Jeno took the way towards the old clock tower courtyard on the third floor, Jaemin already knew where he was going.

His thoughts were confirmed when he saw the boy turn towards the old wooden bridge. He sat there as usual with his shoes by his side but due to the chilly weather didn’t take off his robe.

The bridge was decorated with a few pumpkin lanterns at the entrance. But inside there was no decoration just the crescent moon hanging low on the sky and the array of stars.

Jaemin went ahead took off his shoes and sat by him. Just like he did once before. Jeno saw him but didn’t say anything. Jaemin enjoyed the peace and quiet for some time before speaking out.

“Why did you leave the party?”

“As you can already presume I don’t like social gatherings.”

“Why? Is it the people or the stares?”

“Kind of both. Unlike you who enjoy talking to people and bask in their attention, I like to stand in a corner and enjoy the peace of not getting noticed. Why did you leave the party? Didn’t you like parties?”

“I like them. But this time I am not in the mood.”

Because I like your company more. He didn’t say it loud though.

Jaemin and Jeno are very different individuals. They like different things. Their outlook on life is also very different. Maybe that is why he was so drawn towards him. He wanted to understand Jeno’s perspective of things and show him his.

But the boy is stubborn as a mule and like a snail on the slightest disturbance coils himself inside that hard shell of his. But he has also seen him in the face of danger. It’s like the calm before the storm, he strikes hard and fast like a viper before recoiling and vanishing like he was never there.

Jaemin liked the light, the people, the attention, social interaction. He is the prime definition of a beautiful social butterfly in limelight gracefully going around charming people of all ages with his lovely elegance. He is brave, upfront, admired, and open about his ideals, like a strong wind of fresh air.

Jeno likes the shadows, he loves the night and the darkness it brings with it that allows him to hide in it. He is many things. A being of contradictions. He is scheming, responsible; kind yet hates people and social interaction but devoted to his family. The mystery surrounding him makes him interesting but unapproachable.

And with passing time Jaemin is more and more intrigued.

“I can hear you thinking”

Jaemin whips his head towards Jeno.

“Say, do you refuse to be friends with me because we are too different?”

Jeno places his chin on the railing closing his eyes as the strong chilly wind muses up his light-colored locks of hair.

He doesn’t answer though. He just stays still like he is falling asleep.

Jaemin sulks. He is always rejected by him. Just when he thought he should just get up and leave him alone Jeno opens his mouth.

“Say, shouldn’t I get a return gift back from you?”

“Huh?”

Jaemin is speechless for a moment. Then he remembers his birthday gift.

“When is your Birthday?”

“23^rd of April.”

“That’s 5 months to go. Isn’t it still early?”

“Nothing is early for me.”

“What do you want?”

“Do you know the Dance of the Veela?”

“Obviously. I learned it from my mom. But we don’t do it usually it enchants people and cause us unnecessary trouble.”

“Can I see it? I heard it is very beautiful.”

“What?”

Jaemin was speechless for a second time that evening.

“It’s the return gift I want from you.”

For some reason, Jaemin reluctantly agrees. It is not a secret recipe or something that can’t be shown to people. They don’t show it because it’s a hassle. Alternatively, it is a good way to judge just how much Jeno is immune to their charms, for he is already immune to his Glamour.

“Okay….”

Jeno gives him one of his brightest smiles. And Jaemin thinks it just might be worth it.

“But in return, you have to dance with me next.”

Jeno thinks about it. Jaemin thought for a second he is going to say no. but he doesn’t.

“Okay. I’ll accompany you next.”

“So where do you want to dance? Back at the hall?”

Jeno smiles again. He seems to be in a good mood today smiling often.

He gets up and wears his shoes. Jaemin does the same. Jeno grabs the other boy’s wrist and half drags him to the end of the bridge.

Jaemin had never been to the other side.

It’s a garden. A medium-sized one compared to the other courtyards. The characteristic structure is a large round stone circle in the middle with the old runic markings like the base of a clock. The ground is leveled and surrounding the circle are tall and large stone slabs planted on the soil, looming as they cast shadows chipped off and worn out by the weather.

It is a large ancient Sundial.

There are bushes planted all around with blooming white spider lilies. They glowed in the dark due to their spotless white color. The leaves are not there, it is fall now and the flowers would die in winter.

A swarm of fireflies floated around in the bush lighting up the dark corners. The silver crescent in the sky looked like it is hanging off a stone pillar and the Milky Way is visible forming the roof of their ballroom the ceiling like sky dotted with innumerable stars lighting the area up.

“How do you like this open Ballroom Mr. Na? Is it to your taste?”

Those grey-blue eyes are twinkling like the stars above and Jaemin likes it.

“I like it very much, Mr. Lee. But I am sorry to ruin your show, there is no music.”

Jeno brings out a box. It is the size of a palm and opens to a small gramophone like structure with a key on the side like a music box.

Jeno turns the key and puts on charm over the music box and one on the area. It is an amplifying charm and muffling charm respectively.

“To keep privacy while the show goes on.” He adds chuckling.

“What music do you have? It is a recording music box, right? How many songs are there in it?”

Jaemin has a recording box back at home. It’s actually his mother’s hence he can’t bring it with him.

“I don’t know actually. Donghae Hyung gifted it to me when I was 7. Then last to last year I went to Vienna with my mother. So we went to the opera house, there was a Veela musician there who played the piano. She played a song which she said was originally from her tribe but usually played in the harp. I loved it so I recorded it. I think you’ll know the song.”

Jeno rotates the key and it makes a clicking sound.

The music fills up space.

Jaemin knows this song. It was one of his favorites. He shrugs off his robe. He specially wore an oversized chiffon shirt with wide sleeves today because he felt like dressing up. Now, it has unexpectedly suited the occasion.

Jaemin moves with the music, just like he has seen his mother and his aunts’ move. Like he has danced for all those Enyovden he spent back at his Mother’s hometown. Jaemin closes his eyes and feels the music.

Suddenly he is back in the rose garden in front the two stored house in that small Balkan village. The white roses are blooming everywhere. The moon is low on the sky. He sees his Grandma sitting at the bench humming to the song as he along with his cousins, his aunts and his pretty mom dressed in white flown dresses with flower crowns on their head dance around in a circle with the music.

His second aunt is on the harp playing notes after notes as the music flows like water, her moon-white skin and platinum blonde hair strewn across in the wind. His mother grabs his hand and twirls him around like an excited child.

He sees his father standing at a distance looking mesmerized and every bit of in love as his eyes carefully follows his mother’s steps. His grandma pats her son-in-laws hand thanking him for taking good care of her daughter and her grandson.

There is happiness blooming everywhere and Jaemin feels life is good to him.

They have a feast after this. The food was delicious. Jaemin’s grandma is an excellent cook and she cooks all the dishes by herself for her daughters and their children. She is one strong woman who raised her five daughters by herself.

Jaemin moves his hand in a big arc, his white sleeve flutters in the air slipping down his arms like the wings of a butterfly. He jumps gracefully twirling midair and lands on his toes, body angled at a posture of elegance.

He remembers when he first saw his mother dance. He was mesmerized. He held onto his dad as he excitedly ranted how beautiful his mother is. His mother had smiled at him. It was his first Enyovden. He asked his mother to teach him how to dance after it and his mother taught it to him gladly.

Jaemin’s arm cuts through the air in a large circle and he spreads them like he wants to fly away. The chilly autumn breeze and the moonlight make him look like an enchanting swan in flight.

With the last tune he makes a last arc and the music stops and he opens his eyes.

The first thing he saw is Jeno. He looks surprised and happy. He claps loudly, his eyes crinkling into crescents.

Jaemin again is reminded of the fact his charm doesn’t work on him. It’s a bit disappointing but seeing him smile so wide kind of makes up for it.

“I know why you don’t perform it publicly. It was very beautiful Jaemin. You are a wonderful dancer. I would remember it forever. It was the best gift ever. Thank you for listening to my selfish request.” Jeno’s eyes like sentimental and melancholic. Like he is reliving a memory, a wish finally fulfilled.

Jaemin huffs embarrassed. His ears feel a bit hot.

“I hope you haven’t forgotten the condition. Chop chop Mr. Lee you can’t escape from this.”

Jeno turns to the music box and rotates the key again.

This time an orchestra plays out.

“Will you be fine dancing with me? You just danced now; you don’t have to exert yourself. I am not a very good dancer either so it is not like it would be great.”

“I am fine. It wasn’t even enough to make me sweat. Let’s go, the music is starting. I am not missing out dancing with Lee Jeno.”

Jeno looks nervous, he hesitantly offers his hand.

“Are we going for a waltz? Because I am not good at it.” Jaemin is a bit unsure about this ballroom dance thing.

“It’s okay I will lead.”  Jeno seemed confident enough about it. So he grabs his hand.

“What if I step on you?”

“I’ll step back on you’”

“Revengeful, aren’t we.”

“I try.”

They laughed together at it.

Jeno interlaced their fingers in one hand and wrapped the other around Jaemin’s waist. Jaemin put his hand on his shoulder and he was pulled close.

Jeno took the first step and Jaemin followed bending a little.

The Slytherin turned out to be a pretty good dancer. He led Jaemin pretty well. They turned and swayed in the music at their own pace.

The steps are simple and Jaemin is a fast learner when it comes to dancing. He picked them up quickly and soon he was able to match his steps with Jeno. The other boy was mildly surprised but looked happy nonetheless.

He made Jaemin twirl on his toes with the slope of the music, and Jaemin giggled out loud. The mirth excluding from them was infectious. They trailed around the circular stone floor dancing to the music in the middle of the sundial, surrounded by white lilies and playful fireflies that trailed after like leaving sparkles of magic,

They laughed at their own miss-stepping.  Jeno didn’t keep his word he didn’t step back on Jaemin when the boy stepped on him. In fact he grabbed Jaemin by the waist with one hand slightly lifting him off when he was about to step on him the 4^th time of the evening.

As the music reached its crescendo and in a spur of moment Jeno lifts him up off his feet with the hand supporting his waist, just enough to twirl him around, the other’s feet swishing in air before placing him back again on the ground in a stable position.

Jaemin was surprised at the surprising display of strength but it felt nice, he laughed throwing his head back in his hold.

“Do it again.”

“Do what?”

“The lifting thing. Do it again.”

Jeno grinned and lifted him off just to twirl him and place him down again. Jaemin let out a cute squeal of delight at it.

“Again.”

“I’ll get tired.” But there was a smile on his face.

“But I like it. So again.”

“As your Highness wish.”

And again he did. And Jaemin rewarded him with peals of laughter and squeals of delight.

They danced and danced. For how long they don’t remember. They were just two boys then, not Gryffindor and Slytherin, not the Lee and the Na, not the different people they are. They were just Jaemin and Jeno.

The autumn wind felt chilly on their skin as they sat on the floor trying to catch their breath. They were sweating a bit from dancing around. Jaemin was feeling a little sleepy. He was leaning on Jeno dozing off a bit, enveloped in his pine and citrus scent. Their robes draped on them to keep them from the cold of the night.

Jaemin tells Jeno about the Veela rituals on Midsummer Day.

“While Enyovden in Muggle custom is to celebrate the power of sun on the midsummer day of solar solstice, Veelas being the pagan worshipper of moon celebrates the shortening of day and lengthening of the night from that day. They make circlets of flowers that bloom in the night and wear them on their head as they dance and celebrate the power of the soothing moon in silvery-white garments.

I remember going out with my cousins to collect flowers like Jasmine, night rose, queen of the night at twilight when they are about to bloom. We put them in our basket. We also pick stalks of lavender and white daisies from the field and weave flower crowns. The Veelas have a ritual of dedicating them to their loved ones and wear them as they dance.”

Jeno nods in interest at Jaemin’s sleepy monologue. He is much more awake than Jaemin.

“What about you? Have you been to your mother’s homeland?”

Jaemin forgot in his drowsy state about how the Lees’ aren’t in good relation with their original family.

Jeno didn’t seem to mind.

“Once during Chuseok, we stayed for until Doldaem and then came back home. I don’t like it there much. So does my brothers and my mother. We kind of hate that place.”

Jaemin feels a bit sad. He hums in reply leaning on Jeno a bit more as if to provide some comfort.

Jaemin was almost asleep when he hears it.

“It is because you make it so easy.”

 Jeno spoke in a low voice and Jaemin almost didn’t catch it. His sleep drugged mind slow to process his words.

“You asked why we can’t be friends. It is because you make it easy for me to agree to let you in, to enjoy life with you, you make everything fun and enjoyable vibrating with positive energy.

I am afraid.  I am afraid of getting used to this, when I don’t have the capability to hold on to it, to destroy it. I am not what I seem like to you. I have too many of baggage to carry and too many skeletons to hide unlike you who is free and full of life. But sometimes I wish- I really wish I can be a part of your picture and just take your hand.”

Jaemin is barely bordering on the edge of sleep. He wishes he was not though. He willed himself to not fall asleep but he was too tired and his body was not co-operating well with him, Jeno’s warmth and scent was too comforting.

“So just take it. I am offering it to you *yawn* anyway”

Jeno smiles, it’s a sad one. He alters his position so Jaemin can nuzzle comfortably to him.

“I am sorry. One day if I am to disappear I don’t want you to miss me and feel sad. So…”

Jaemin falls asleep listening to his last words.

“So just for today let me allow myself to be happy.”

Jaemin dreams of a long dream that day.

In his dream, he sees a boy who looks exactly like himself but the dream Jaemin has chocolate-colored hair and hazel brown eyes. He is dancing to a crude tune excitedly in a forest glade by some water body. Bare feet brushing against the grass, under the shades of the trees illuminated by the lace-like sunlight seeping through the canopy.

“You remember the half-Veela madam of the rich businessman of the town; well, she danced today in the Harvest ceremony. She was so beautiful. Her moves were so elegant and lovely. I wish I could dance like that. Then I could show you.”

Jaemin can’t see who he is talking to. He just faces the water body when he is talking.  So he assumes there is somebody over there.

Dream- Jaemin speaks again.

“One day I am going to learn it. And then I’ll show it to you. Wait for me till then.”

There is a sound almost like a musical note in response. And the boy laughs happily as he starts dancing again.

After some time he gradually stops. He looks sad. He turns his glazed eyes at the water body again. The tears threatening to spill. But he wills them in.

“I wish I could stay with you like this all the time. But the crops….the crops aren’t doing that well and father is in a bad mood. My job at the inn isn’t paying me enough. I need to find another one before my father beats me or sister up again.”

There is another musical note like sound in response.

“I hope it will get better too.”

He looks at the sun high in the sky.

“I need to go…..it is almost noon. I’ll come again tomorrow.”

He smiles a bright smile as if his troubles are nothing and runs away. His thin malnourished back disappearing into the green forest.

When Jaemin wakes up he is back in his Gryffindor dorm. It’s like last night didn’t happen.

The only proof was when Donghyuck in the breakfast table that morning asked Jaemin where he was last night.

“Why are you asking? Feeling guilty about deserting your best friend for Mark?”

“No idiot.” The guilt in his voice was obvious though. “It’s just that Baekhyun Hyung and his boyfriend apparently brought you in late at night. That’s what I heard from Hyung though. Everyone was asleep when you returned.”

“Oh.”

“So where were you last night?”

“Out dancing with the Hyungs. Maybe you got too drunk to notice me.”

Donghyuck looked unsure. He did have too much to drink last night. That blasted spiked fruit punch is the reason he is suffering from this awful headache.

He usually doesn’t keep anything from Donghyuck. But Jeno is not the usual. His matters Jaemin would keep it private as long as possible. Until he figures it all out.

He searches for the said boy in the dining room. But Jeno is nowhere to be seen.

He does ask Baekhyun though.

“It was Jeno who dropped you off. I just collected you from in front of the Gryffindor dorm. Don’t worry I didn’t carry you. I just levitated you off.”

Jaemin was too embarrassed to ask whether Jeno carried him on his back or princess carried him or just levitated him like Baekhyun. He left with his questions as Baekhyun looked at him strangely.

November flew by with Quidditch matches. Jaemin went to see Mark play with Donghyuck as they cheered for their team.

December is here with Professor Shim collecting all the names of people who are going to stay back for the Christmas holidays.

Baekhyun this time is going home along with Chanyeol. They are gonna meet-up and go for dates in the holiday, maybe even have a family dinner.

Jaemin sees Jeno in classes. He is usually absent one day per month during full moons. Otherwise he has a perfect track record. Jaemin doesn’t remember the whole conversation he had that day as he was half asleep and wants to ask about it, but he gets no chance.

Jaemin enjoys the Christmas holidays as much as he can because he knows once he goes back to school he will be swarmed with work. New Year their family decided to go for a trip. Jaemin is reminded of his mother’s place so they take a trip to Bulgaria.

His mom finally has break time from her successful modeling career so does his dad after his recent official trip to Mongolia. So they go to the small Balkan village his mother’s side of family lives in.

The two weeks are well spent with his family and beloved grandmother who are so happy to see them. They come back just in time for Jaemin to return to Hogwarts.

And just as he predicted he is indeed swarmed with home works and essays to write. So he Donghyuck and Renjun spend most of their time in library studying and writing essays and term papers.

“I don’t understand this. How come my rat turns into a water goblet but with a tail? Is this VeraVerto not working for me or something?”

Donghyuck groans in frustration for the umpteenth time that afternoon. He has been trying to convert a rat into water goblet but it always end with an incomplete transfiguration with an attached furry tail.

“It’s okay. I didn’t do it at first chance also. Mine had feathers floating on water. But if you wanna ask, ask Jaemin he did it with one flick.” Renjun was going through some potions papers on uses of Flobberworm mucus. Jaemin just smiles a victorious smile at the pitiful existence of his best friend.

Renjun taps his pen on the table impatiently like he is unable to match up some missing information before sighing out. His table is filled with papers on Potions with a thick Advanced Book on Potions Making kept open on the side.

“I don’t know how he does it. But Jeno is a monster in potions.”

Jaemin perks up hearing the other’s name from Renjun’s mouth.

“What about him?”

“He is simply too good in potions. He does everything with such an ease like he has been doing it for last few hundred years.”

Jaemin agrees. Jeno is indeed insanely good in potions.

Renjun remembers something and laughs.

“But he sucks at Herbology. So it balances that I guess. Last week the mandrake screamed at his face because it was scared of him.”

“Jeno sucks at Herbology?”

“Yep. He is really bad with living plants.”

Jaemin can almost imagine the boy’s troubled face as he pulls out a screaming mandrake out of the soil, it was a bit funny and Jaemin kind of wants to see it.

Donghyuck had left his assignment for gossip material. He asks Renjun seriously.

“But he got the first place last year.”

“I heard that’s because of his brother. Lee Taeyong is a master at Herbology but sucks in potions. So they tutor each other. There is also Donghae senior. I heard they all study together.”

“That’s a very convenient arrangement.”

“I wish I had a senior brothers like him.” It was Jisung. He flopped down on the seat opposite to Jaemin and he pulls out his Herbology papers.

“Yah! Park Jisung. You have us! Appreciate your Hyungs more.” Jaemin was offended.

Jisung just makes a face, but he gets hit by Renjun.

Only Jaemin knows the difficulties Jeno faces due to his sibling. But he isn’t the one tell on people. He stays quiet.

It was somewhere early February a few weeks after their return from vacation when Donghyuck pose a question to Jaemin.

“Has Kevin Trunks talked to you again?”

“No. Why?”

“I heard he got bashed by his family. Kingsley got to know about the incident and the fact that he goes around throwing his weight on people utilizing the in law relationship between their family. He publicly insulted Mr. Trunks for it.”

Donghyuck giggled in glee.

“Don’t underestimate the power of Mama Lee.”

But Jaemin is a bit concerned. Muscle-head egoists like Trunks would definitely look for revenge. It means all the more trouble for Jeno.

And he was proved right.

Somewhere along mid-March, Renjun and Jaemin were as usual sitting in the library doing there astronomy homework on lunar calendar when Donghyuck comes running in. Madam Pince glared at their table for the ruckus he caused. Donghyuck hurriedly apologized to the strict librarian before sitting down.

“Guys! You won’t believe what I heard.”

King Donghyuck is back in action.

“What did you hear?”

Renjun was not interested. He drew his perfect crescent phase of moon with a compass.

Jaemin did not ask he is going to tell anyway.

“You are not giving this news the attention it deserves! I am offended.”

They both stopped doing their work.

“Please tell Your Highness. What news you have brought to us?”

The sarcasm was deep in Renjun’s voice. But the attention pleased Donghyuck.

“Last night a Hufflepuff 1^st year was out loitering in the corridor. Their dorm is on the ground floor. She went to get some food from the kitchen. But then guess what she saw?”

Jaemin felt a horror seeping in.

“What?” his voice came out nervous.

Jaemin’s nervousness was mistaken as anticipation by Donghyuck. He proudly declared.

“A werewolf.”

A million things ran in Jaemin’s mind. He kind of dreaded the answer.

“Where did you get this information from?”

“The Quidditch locker room of Hufflepuff. Apparently the girl fainted after she ran into the dorm.”

Renjun let out a snort of disbelief.

“How does a first-year know how Lycans look like? She might be bluffing.”

Donghyuck got more eager.

“She didn’t. She just described the creature. The seniors are speculating it to be one.”

Renjun was a bit serious.

“If this is true that means…”

“There is a werewolf living among us.”

Donghyuck clapped his hand in glee earning another glare from Madam Pince.

“What happened to the girl? Didn’t she get punished for loitering in the dark?”
Jaemin wanted to get rid of the topic.

“I heard she got called to the headmistress’s office.”

Renjun huffed. He shuffled his papers and grumbled under his breath something about wasting time.

They eventually went back to studying and Jaemin was relieved to get rid of the topic.

He missed out the weird thoughtful look on his friend, Renjun.

It was halfway in the evening after supper, when they are back in the library to collect their things that Renjun says something that almost stops Jaemin’s heart for a full second.

“I think I know who it is.”

Donghyuck drops his books and Jaemin almost broke his inkpot unless the last save he did due to his good reflex, but not without staining the table with ink splatters.

Donghyuck is almost climbing over the ink-stained library table in his eagerness to ask.

“Who is it?” he loudly whispered.

“Lee Jeno.”

Jaemin’s heart drops.

“W-why a-are you saying that?”

Renjun looks deep in thought. He bends down and whispers.

“I have noticed it but he is absent one day every month. When he comes back he is all pale, looks a bit sick. Then while we are studying lunar calendar today I saw that he is always absent on day after full moons. Then I remembered Jaemin asking about being sick in full moon, so I thought maybe…..I am saying maybe he might be a Lycan.”

Donghyuck was in deep thoughts. And Jaemin. Well, Jaemin wanted to shut Renjun up. But he had no excuses to.

“It’s just my speculation though. Let’s not indulge ourselves in rumors. ; Lycans are respected beings. Remus Lupin who fought in the Second Wizarding war against dark forces was a Lycan. We have no reason to discriminate against them. Even if somebody among us is a Lycan let’s respect his/her privacy. ”

Renjun was very particular about his words, and diplomatic to fault. He squared Donghyuck up with a glare so as to there is no spread of his words. Donghyuck nodded in agreement. He likes collecting rumors, not spreading them.

Jaemin did not sleep well that night.

Somehow within two weeks it spread around the school as an underlying gossip that Lee Jeno is a Lycan in hiding. It spread like wildfire. The stares were already a lot on Lee Jeno but now it has increased tenfold and Jaemin is concerned.

The boy suffers too much. Jaemin desperately needs to talk to Jeno. But he is getting no chance to capture the boy. During breakfast he is with his brothers, for lunch he doesn’t come, he is in the library with Donghae or Taeyong or both, for supper he is again with his brothers. Jaemin has visited the bridge during afternoons and it is always empty. He even tried the seventh-floor disused bathroom but Jeno apparently uses it at a different times than him and that also occasionally, as he also gets the pass for the Prefect’s bathroom for his academic performance and his prefect of a brother.

On the 11^th day he gives up. He thinks about going to Chanyeol but then again to get to him he needs to get Baekhyun who is god knows where.

If Jaemin has calculated correctly. There is only 3 days left before the next full moon. He just hopes things go smoothly on the Lee’s end.

It doesn’t.

Another two days and Jaemin is sitting in his common room leafing through his copy of Charm your Cheese when Donghyuck rushes in a flurry of movements.

This usually means he has some news.

“Yah! Na Jaemin. You need to hear this!”

Jaemin looks up from his book and stares at Donghyuck waiting for the boy to spill whatever tea he brought.

“Kevin Trunks is going to get revenge.”

Jaemin sits up straight at his remark.

“What? How?”

“I don’t know how he is going to do it but he was flaunting to some of the students earlier that he is gonna prove Jeno is a Lycan, tomorrow at full moon. I think he is going to invite you to go and watch.”

Jaemin felt sick. Out of the corner of his eyes he sees Kevin enter the common room with his lackeys laughing loudly.

“Tomorrow I am going to rip off that human mask of that bastards face. Then I am gonna sue him for assault. Let’s see if his momma can save him this time…”

He stops laughing midway when he spots Jaemin.

“Jaemin, I hope you will come tomorrow. I have arranged a surprise event for you. I’ll inform you the time and place.”

 He gave a greasy wink and disappeared onto the stairs.

Jaemin clenched his trembling hands.

“H-how can s-someone be like….”

Donghyuck held his hand.

“What are you going to do?”

“I am gonna go to his ‘event’”

Donghyuck didn’t say anything. One look at his friend’s determined angered expression and he knows not to question it.

Jaemin decided to go for the event but before he needs to do a more important job.

He sends Jeno an owl.

In the letter, he says that he needs to meet him urgently. If he receives the letter send him a reply by giving the venue and time.

Jaemin is usually a deep sleeper. But today he was unable to sleep well. At dawn he is woken by feeling a heavyweight on top of him. It was so heavy almost restricting his abdominal movements causing respiratory distress.

In a fit he woke up panting just to freeze in fear at the sight in front of him.

It was a snake.

A large one at that. It’s bright green in color in the early dawn light with cherry-red eyes. It’s almost thick as one and half of his arm as it sat there on top of his blankets pressing his weight down on Jaemin’s abdomen. Its head raised and those ruby eyes looking down at Jaemin like he is observing his move.

Jaemin was shit-scared; he almost reached for his wand kept at his side. But then he spotted the letter in its mouth.

The snake simply dropped the letter and moved away. It slithered down onto the floor but didn’t go away. It sat there as if waiting for Jaemin to finish reading the letter.

He picked up the letter.

‘To Jaemin’ it said.

What did you want to talk about so urgently? How about now? It’s early morning but there are less people. Put on a robe and follow Ruby, she will lead you. Don’t be afraid she won’t bite you if you don’t irk her.

                                                                                Jeno

“Who is Ruby?”

But then he remembered the ruby eyes of the occupant sitting under his bed. Apparently she also bites.

Jaemin hurriedly put on his woolen robe. The snake or Ruby seemed to understand he is ready, she hissed lowly as if asking him to follow her.

Ruby, Jaemin discovers is an intelligent snake with camouflaging abilities where she can change her skin color rapidly. They go out unnoticed and she brings him to another secluded part of the dungeons. An empty circular classroom that used to be an old potions classroom.

Jeno is already waiting there in his pinstriped black pajamas; a grey shawl on his shoulders much muted to Jaemin’s lavender broomstick printed one. He already looks a bit pale and tired.

Ruby on reaching Jeno climbs on him curling around him in a chokehold. Her large snout rubbing under his chin. From a stranger’s perspective, it would look like Ruby is trying to strangle Jeno but that is far from the truth.

Before Jeno asks about it Jaemin blurts it out.

“Kevin knows about it.”

Jeno visibly freezes and pales even more if that is possible.

“What I mean is he is suspecting you to be the Lycan. He will probably try something tomorrow. You have to be careful. He is going to try his best to put you into his trap.”

Jeno relaxes on hearing it is he who Kevin suspects. He looks like he is thinking something.

“What are going to do Jeno?”

“I am gonna do nothing.”

“What?”

“I said I am not going to do anything. I will fall in his trap whatever it is. Anyway, I am not Lycan so he won’t have the pleasure of seeing me turning. I can also clear away the Lycan rumors and I can protect Hyung also.”

“But….if he catches you who knows what he is going to do. What if he tries to harm you? Or torture you?”

“All the better. It can be gathered as evidence. I don’t need to look for methods to get him out of this school.”

Jaemin clenches his hand in a fist.

“Lee Jeno are you hearing yourself? You’ll protect your brother’s secret at the cost of harming yourself? Are you sane enough to speak?”

Jeno was unperturbed. He looked at Jaemin with determined eyes.

“They are my family Jaemin. This is the least I can do for them.”

Jaemin knew it was useless but he still put up a last fight.

“Do your brothers know about your fight with Kevin?”

“No. They think I was falsely accused.”

“You think your brother will be very happy if you just walk into your enemy’s trap just to protect them?”

“No. they won’t be. So I won’t be telling them. I’ll just tell I won’t be able to go with them this time because I feel sick.”

“What makes you think I won’t tell them or the professors?”

Jeno just smiles at him. It’s a sweet smile. But the situation is too acrid for Jaemin to enjoy it.

“It’s because you are Na Jaemin and I trust you.”

Damn, this trust. Lee Jeno is one sly bastard.

Jaemin had lost this round.

The whole day was spent in nervousness. He didn’t have classes with Slytherin and Jaemin was dying in frustration.

A million thoughts a mile was racing in that small head of his.

In no way does he approve this idea. No way in hell, is he going to let them harm Jeno.

Why are you worrying over him? He is not even your friend.

Jaemin remembers all the time Jeno has protected him. Maybe this time he has an opportunity to repay by protecting him.

It doesn’t happen until after supper. The weather is cloudy and hence the moon is not visible. It was also raining a bit. The forecast told the weather would clear off at 11, it was a convenient time.

The professors retire by 10 after giving around to the school building, so as to see if anybody is out of bed.

At 10:30 Jaemin and Donghyuck follow Kevin and his gang out with two other Gryffindors. Jaemin identifies one of them as Jisung’s batchmate and another a fourth year, Rick Hose. Their family is at odds with the Lee’s so it’s no wonder he joined in.

They met a few Hufflepuffs at the third floor. Jaemin didn’t expect them.

“That’s the girl who saw the creature.”

“Who is the other two seniors?”

“The girl is Rita Fiore a third year. She is the top beauty of their batch. She publicly confessed to Lee Taeyong early this year but got brutally rejected. I heard her family wanted her to make some connections but the hard work ended up naught. I don’t think she ended up digesting the rejection well.”

Hufflepuffs usually are very neutral. But that doesn’t mean that they don’t have their own pride.

“The other one is sixth year, Dan Taylor. His family is odds with the Lee’s. They got caught up in something in court and because of Mama Lee they almost went bankrupt.”

There few others. The common thing was they were at odds with Lee’s and now since they got the chance they want to take revenge together.

Making sure to keep their lights off they made their way towards the familiar clock tower courtyard.

“All of you hide. Don’t come out until I tell you to.”

Kevin gave them the instructions and as per that, they hid against the pillars and the darkness of the corridor.

In a few minutes, he saw the familiar pale blonde head.

Jaemin was praying for Jeno to not show up. But as expected the boy doesn’t listen. He clasped Donghyuck’s hand in a vice-like grip.

Kevin clapped his hand in greeting.

“Welcome, Jeno Lee. I have prepared a special party for you.”

He spits the words out like poison.

Jeno looked back at him unmoving and indifferent like looking at a bug at his feet. The stare irked the bully.

“Where is Chenle? I thought he was the one who sent me the note.”

“Why? Are you upset it was not your pet but me who sent this?”

“Yes. Who wouldn’t be? Your face isn’t exactly appealing to me.”

Rita scoffed beside him.

“Bastards, all of them they think everybody is shit just because they are good looking.”

Jaemin was suddenly worried over Chenle. Donghyuck seemed to know his mind. He squeezed back his hand.

“Chenle is fine. He is at the Ravenclaw Dorm with Renjun and Jisung. He said Jeno sent him there.”

Donghyuck thinks of something. He whispers to Jaemin in a low voice.

“Maybe he came along knowingly. He planned this thing out. Doesn’t it look like that?

Jaemin was in no position to listen to Donghyuck’s banter. His eyes were trained on the Slytherin boy like a hawk. Kevin was getting angrier the more he talked until he couldn’t take it. Jeno just displayed his infuriating smirk.

The rain had stopped outside, and the clouds were clearing out.

Kevin smiled like a hooligan he is.

Without warning, he threw an immobilization hex at Jeno. The other groaned in pain as he was brought down to his knees.

Jaemin almost came out of his hiding wand in his hand for good measure, but his eyes met with the familiar gray ones and they issued a warning at him. A warning to back down, with an assurance that Jeno has it under his control.

And Jaemin saw it unfold in front of him in horror. The lackeys brought in a cage, big enough to house a large dog but definitely not big enough for a human. They had seen them in Hagrid’s house. They are usually used to catch wild animals.

 He saw them throw an unmoving Jeno inside it and lock it with a charm resistant lock. Jeno had a calm look in his face as if he was indifferent to whatever they are doing to him.

Jaemin felt his heart squeeze painfully inside his chest.

Kevin knelt down in front of the cage like he is observing an interesting animal.

“How does it feel Lee Jeno? Being caged like the rabid wild animal you are.”

“I don’t know Kevin. This is my first time. But I am sure you know how it should feel, you must’ve had more experience than me in this aspect. How about you tell me how it should feel and I might try.”

Jaemin wanted to beg the boy to stop talking. He didn’t want a riled up Kevin hurting Jeno. Kevin looked like he was fuming. He brought a dried branch and poked inside the cage at Jeno’s side.

“Should I mute you? I never knew animals could talk?”

“But you are talking.”

That was it.

Kevin rammed the branch on the charmed iron rods of the cage. The splinters flew one ending up making a scratch on Jeno's cheek.

“Bring the muzzle in.”

They put a muzzle on his face preventing him from talking. Jeno unable to move was rendered useless and was unable to protest.

Jaemin felt tears pooling in his eyes. Everything felt painful. He was angry and hurt. He wanted to rush in there and wrench that head off those people’s shoulders. But he held himself back because he has promised Jeno.

“Should I watch when they hurt you? Is that what you expect me to do? Sorry but I am not that kind of a person.”

Jeno looked at him. His eyes filled with an emotion Jaemin can’t pinpoint.

“No, Jaemin. What I want from you is to trust me. Do you trust me?”

 “Yes, I trust you.”

“Then promise me you won’t rush out or attack them or try to protect me if they were ever to harm me.”

“Jeno…that is…this is unfair…I ca-”

“Promise me Jaemin.”

“Okay….okay I promise. But you can’t hurt yourself intentionally.”

Jeno just smiled.

Jaemin lets go of Donghyuck’s hand. He clenches his fist nails digging deeper causing bloody crescents in his palms. His front teeth had long worn out his dry lips drawing blood. The pain keeps him from lashing out.

Donghyuck is clearly uncomfortable.

“Isn’t this too excessive? He is a human for Merlin’s sake.”

“He is a Lycan. A being, a creature and is barely a human. It should be muzzled. What if it bites? It is wild and rabid after transformation, hardly controllable. Kevin is wise to put it in an enchanted cage.”

Jaemin has always considered himself a peaceful person but now he wants to hit Rita in spite of her being a woman. Her referring to Jeno as ‘it’ is getting on his nerves.

Just then the moon came out from inside the cloud lighting up the corridor and its occupants.

“Everyone,” Kevin announces his voice full of anticipation. “Come out and see. “

He pokes Jeno with the sharp end of the broken branch at his side. Jeno makes a low groan.

“Look at the crowd that has gathered to see you change. C’mon, won’t you show them? Transform like a well-tamed beast for the people at the zoo to show or I might bring out the whip.” And he pokes him again on the face turning it to face him leaving a few scratches under his chin.

The crowd becomes restless.

The moon shines directly on the cage illuminating the boy inside. Pale hair turned silver in the moonlight, body clad in a white shirt and black trousers bunched up thrumming with power inside the cage, pale skin contrasting against the black muzzle with silver chains and those defiant gray eyes. Jeno looked like a terrifying caged beast to everyone.

Everyone, except for Jaemin.  Because he knows the boy. He has seen him close enough to contradict the idea.

Nothing happens. 15 minutes in and proper exposure to the moonlight and nothing happens.

Kevin is going restless.

Jaemin is the first one to speak up.

“I am going back first. Goodnight.” He manages between his grit teeth.

Kevin is trying to say something to stop him and Jaemin doesn’t turn back. Because he knows that if he sees his face now he will punch him in the face. He will beat him up so bad he won’t be able to walk for days. But he doesn’t he just goes. All because of that darn promise he made.

Donghyuck follows him after.

“You go up first. I need to see Chenle.”

Donghyuck being the best friend he is doesn’t question him.

He pats Jaemin on the back.

I am sorry. Be safe. Come back quickly. Don’t get caught. I’ll wait for you.

He conveys all those messages in one pat. He sees Donghyuck disappearing into the darkness.

Jaemin remains. He hides beside a pillar at the blind end covering himself in the darkness

There is a commotion. He can hear Kevin shouting and there is a bang. He closes his eyes and covers his ears as he sits there and waits for them to leave.

A total of a half an hour, but it feels like an eternity to Jaemin. That is the time they take to finally leave not after cursing Kevin out but also getting a kick out of Jeno’s pathetic condition.

He hears them leave.

“Are you gonna leave him like that?”

“Why? You wanna free him? Suddenly had a change of heart or something?”

“N-no…n-nothing like that. I was thinking what if he complains to the teacher?”

“He won’t. Even if he does. Nobody will believe him. It’s eleven people’s word against one. He won’t win in a fight. Anyway, I’ll come and free him tomorrow morning. Let him rot here for tonight.”

Kevin grumbles away frustrated at his failure. He would have loved to see him transform and see him groan and moan in pain inside that enchanted cage like a captured exotic beast. Kevin stomps on the floor earning a few disapproving words from the portraits on the corridors.

When Jaemin can’t hear them anymore, he comes out from his hiding place. He runs like his life is dependent on it to the trapped Slytherin.

He sees him, trapped inside that small cage, a little scratched and bruised, but alive nonetheless. The muzzle is still on. The black leather covering his entire mouth extending to the cheeks enforced by silver chains around it, so when he sees Jaemin and smiles a little, the Gryffindor can’t see his lips forming it as his eyes crinkle to crescents. He trips on his way to reach him. It’s cliché but he feels a little out of balance.

When he finally reaches the cage, his hands going in through space in between the bars to hold his scratched tired pale face Jaemin tears up.

“Y-you promised me you won’t get h-hurt. So why are you like this now?”

His eyes are gentle as he looks at Jaemin.

Jaemin on the other hand tries to reach as back as he can to his head to unlatch the muzzle. Jeno bends his neck to allow him access.

When it comes off, he throws away the offending piece of leather and metal. It clanks as it strikes the nearby pillar.

Jaemin can finally see his smile.

“Thank you” is all Jeno says.

“For what? I couldn’t even protect you. They trapped you here like a beast. I can’t even open the lock. They humiliated you but all I could do is staring at it. Do you know how hard it was to not rush in and wrench his head off? You don’t know anything. And all you say is Thank you. FOR WHAT Jeno? WHEN ALL I COULD DO WAS TO STAND THERE LIKE A DUMMY AND WATCH THEM HUMILIATE YOU, HURT YOU.”

Jeno just held onto his hand and gave it a squeeze.

I am fine. It conveyed.

“Thank you for holding on, Jaemin, and for coming back. For never leaving even if it was painful for you to watch.”

The dam finally broke. Hot tears spilled out from his reddened eyes. Jaemin cried ugly like a kid and Jeno held onto his hands tightly.

He cried because he was angry at his inability, his uselessness. He failed to protect one person who has always shielded him on his troubles.

“You were not useless Jaemin. You helped me a lot. Please believe it. You protected my family. Thank you, Jaemin. I will be forever grateful.”

Jaemin finally calmed down a bit. He looked at the boy in front of him separated by the iron bars, battered and bruised and smiling gently at him, assuring him and he felt a fresh batch of tears incoming.

There was a loud bell from the old Clock tower above. It rang twelve times to signify the arrival of a new day.

Jaemin willed his tears down.

He smiles at Jeno as brightly as possible. It is watery and Jaemin probably looks ugly from all the tears and snot, but he needs to do this. Jeno deserves this much atleast.

He looks at those pretty gentle expressive eyes of the boy and he finally utters the word he was waiting a few months for.

“Happy Birthday Jeno Lee"

Chapter Text

Jeno smiled brightly. The smiles that Jaemin loves to see. Jaemin tries to smile back, but it’s futile.

“Thank you” Jeno’s voice came out soft and gentle.

They hold hands through the gaps of the cold iron bars of the cage as they sat in silence. They had nothing to say that can improve the mood. Jaemin usually the jolly one out of the two didn’t even try to lift the gloom.

Though it was almost the beginning of summer, the chill of spring can still be felt in the nights in the mountains of Scotland.

A sharp breeze of cold air made Jaemin shiver. Jeno held his hand tightly and looked sad. The stun hex hasn’t worn off yet so Jeno can’t make large movements, not that he can in that small cage. He can make small ones though like interlacing their fingers together.

“I’ll be fine. Why don’t you go up and get some sleep? It’s a bit cold here, you are shivering.”

Jaemin glared at the boy.

“Don’t you dare Lee Jeno! One more word about leaving you and I’ll go to the forest myself to look for your Hyungs.”

“NO. N-no….I-I won’t ask you to go away. So don’t go to the forest. You might get hurt.”

The worry was sincere and it warmed Jaemin’s heart a bit. He huffed in annoyance.

“You think you are in a position to judge my safety when you trapped in this cage?”

Jeno looked like a kicked puppy, not that Jaemin has kicked any. He is not a criminal. Another gust of wind and Jaemin shivers a bit. He was in his pajamas with a thin shawl.

Jeno looks sadly at Jaemin. Then he remembers something.

“My robe is kept over there. Wear it. It’s made of wool it’ll keep you warm.”

Sure enough, there was a robe lying there.

Jaemin picked it up then draped it around himself. The warmth seeped into his bones and he was engulfed in his scent of pine and citrus.

Jaemin can’t help but take a sniff.

Jeno looks at him inquisitively.

“Does it stink? I just washed it today morning though.”

Jaemin blushes a bit caught in the act.

“N-no…it’s just I have a sensitive nose. By the way, do you use cologne?”

Jeno looks a bit bewildered.

“No. I don’t use anything of that sort.”

“But there is always a scent of pine and citrus….”

“Pine and citrus you say….maybe I got it from roaming in the forest. The fir and pine trees have a strongly perfumed sap. It must’ve been from there.”

“Forest? You mean the forbidden forest?”

“Yeah. I have to collect ingredients for my brother’s potions.”

There seem to be something more but Jeno avoids his eyes. He bites on his already injured lip and blood fills in inside his mouth staining his lips crimson. He flinches a little in pain.

Jaemin tactfully avoids the topic. He doesn’t want to irk the boy when he is already in such a dreadful condition.

“Potions? Do you mean the Wolfsbane potion? You make it yourself?”

“Yes…. If you didn’t already know Yong Hyung is seriously bad at potions. Mother was rarely home and Donghae Hyung gets seriously tired and irritated before the transformation. So mostly I do it. We collect whatever we can rest we buy.”

“Wait! Since when are you doing it?”

“About the age of 8 or 9 years. He awakened as a Lycan when he was 13. Thankfully mother was home that day and helped out. She is the one who taught me potion-making first.”

Jeno looks a bit melancholic, like remembering a happy memory.

“Wolfsbane was the potion I had to master. Later I used to make them at home and parcel Hyung the vials by owls on the morning of full moon. Nowadays there is also Vitality potion, blood regeneration, Wiggenwald, and a few ointments added to the list. I usually make them at night before, fresher potions have better action. But I end up dead tired by the time the full moon ends. But Hyung can’t really take a day off like me. He is the Prefect after all. And I can’t send him to school looking sick.”

Jaemin is amazed. No wonder Jeno is good at potions. He always looks at ease in potions class and maybe this is the reason why.

“You make potions the night before and then attend classes and handle your brother during his transformation in the whole night. That’s pretty impressive but no wonder you take a day off the next day. That’s too much work.”

“Yeah. I know. I am usually dead after I hit the bed morning after.”

Jaemin doesn’t answer for some time.

“Don’t you get tired Jeno? Doing this month after month? Not to be mean or something you look sick when you come back to classes. I am worried it will harm your body.”

I have seen you retching in the toilet bowl and it looks serious every time...

He didn’t say it though.

Jaemin has indeed seen Jeno after the first incident twice in that disused bathroom vomiting his guts out. Taeyong was always sitting behind him draped on him as he rubbed his back and soothed his sweat drenched hair keeping it out of the way. It looked like a private moment and he never intruded in. Whenever he saw that he turned and went away.

Jeno is silent for a while as if organizing his thoughts in his mind formulating the answer to it.

“To be truthful, I am much of a worse case than my Hyung. I am thankful that they not even put up with me but even dared to love me as a family member. I would be long dead if it wasn’t for them keeping me alive and functioning. This is the least I can do for them.”

There is a sad self-deprecating smile on his face. And Jaemin wants to rub it off.

“What are you saying, Jeno? Don’t sell yourself short. You’re the topper of our batch. You care for your family so much that you even end up like this. And you are saying you are a worse case!”

Jeno might have sensed Jaemin’s anger on his behalf.

“I am grateful you think so highly of me Jaemin. But it is true. I am just not who you think I am. I am really sorry.”

Jaemin wanted to shout at his face in frustration.

What are you sorry for, you idiot?

But then Jeno tried to move and let out a groan. The immobilization curse has apparently worn off by now.

“What happened? Did you get injured? Ugghh…what should I do? Should I call the professors? Lee Jeno, you are an idiot. Let me see, where is it? Where does it hurt?”

Jaemin realized he was fussing like a mother hen. Maybe Jisung is having too much effect on him lately.

Jeno just laughs.

“It’s okay. It’s cramped here and I think I just sprained my ankle. Nothing happened, so stop worrying.”

Jaemin bounds to the other side of the cage where the boy’s feet are tucked in an awkward angle.

True enough the left ankle is swollen and an angry red.

Jaemin doesn’t know whether to punch the boy or comfort him. He falls silent contemplating.

“While you were making potions for your brother didn’t you pack any for you in case you get hurt? Don’t tell me you didn’t consider It.” his voice terrifying.

“I don’t want to be healed. If I heal all the effort goes to waste. I need to have the wounds for evidence.”

Jaemin can feel the gears turning in his head.

“What are you planning?”

“About what?”

“About Kevin.”

“Oh! Him, he is going to get expelled. The worse the condition I am found in the greater is his doom.”

“There were 9 people there except me and Donghyuck. Even if we testify for you they will overrule it by sheer numbers. He said he is going to come in the morning and get you out.”

“In his dreams maybe.” Jeno scoffs.

Jaemin knows Jeno has a plan.

“What have you done that I don’t know about?” Jaemin raises an eyebrow.

“Nothing much. Chenle has put sleeping draught in Kevin and lackey’s drink. They are not gonna wake up before noon. And you and Donghyuck are gonna pretend you were never here last night. I asked Chenle to pass on the message.”

“I thought Chenle was with Renjun at the Ravenclaw.”

“He was. But when you people left, he is supposed to sneak in with Jisung and put it in their water bottles.”

“What if somebody else drinks from it?”

“Usually people wouldn’t dare to drink from Kevin Trunk’s and his gangs’ bottles. And even if somebody drinks from it from sheer spite, he’ll sleep really well today that’s all. It has no adverse effects or anything. It just makes you sleep a bit more and a bit deeper than usual. It’s not potent like Draught of the Living Dead, so no need to worry. It’s just a much-diluted version of it.”

Jaemin thinks about it.

“How do you know Chenle has done the job?”

“I don’t. But it’s Chenle we are talking about, so no need to worry.”

“Then what are we going to do?”

“Now, nothing. We are going to wait until morning.”

“Then?”

“Then you are gonna go to Professor Shim and tell him what you ‘accidentally’ saw in the clock tower courtyard when you came down to collect the gob-stones you left here yesterday while playing with Donghyuck. Or you can use the excuse of a morning walk.”

“I am not a morning person though.”

Jaemin smirked.

“But your House Master doesn’t know that.”

Jeno returned the smirk.

Jaemin leans onto the stone wall and spreads his legs in the front. His left hand still interlaced with Jeno’s right. The clock strikes two in the night and Jaemin can hear the hoot of a nearby owl.

The silence slowly lulls Jaemin to a drowsy state. He thinks of Jeno’s plan and he is a bit relieved, that they have something to work with. But he is concerned if Chenle was able to do his part.

He buries himself more into the other boy’s robe enjoying the enveloping warmth, the stone is cold behind his back and under him but the robe makes it better.

He looks at Jeno. His large body tucked at awkward angles inside that small cage only in his shirt and school trousers. He is looking outside with a faraway look in his eyes. His cold hand holding Jaemin’s warm one tightly, thumb tracing over his knuckles in a rhythmic soothing motion like he is trying to comfort the other boy and Jaemin can feel it working.

“Aren’t you cold?”

 Jeno broke from his reverie and made a (cute?) inquisitive sound.

“No, I am fine. You still feel cold?”

“No, I am also fine. Your hand is really cold though.”

Jeno hesitated a bit.

“I have cold extremities. I usually put on a warming charm before going out. It seems like I forgot today. And I really can’t reach for my wand now. Too little space to move.”

Jaemin grasps his hand tighter over his in an attempt to pass on the heat. He tries to distract him from his uneasiness.

“Say, how did you know I’ll stay? I could have left you here for all you know.”

 “I didn’t know. I asked Chenle to check up on the morning if you return to the dorm.”

Jaemin was upset. He thought finally he got the boy to open up but it doesn’t look like he trusts him that much. Jaemin rolls his eyes and lets out a scoff.

This boy and his iron wall.

“I hoped you would stay though.”

Jaemin whips his neck at a breakneck speed. He sees the Jeno flashing a tiny smile. His dried-up bloody cracked lips tugging at a corner.

Jaemin feels a bit elated. Maybe as Chanyeol said, he had made a dog hole in his iron walls, and maybe all that is left for Jaemin to crawl in and breakthrough his walls like a bulldozer.

“I am a bit selfish, aren’t I? It’s okay if you think like that. A being of contradictions who says that he won’t be your friend but expects you to stay. Sorry, Na Jaemin for always confusing you with my words.”

Jaemin just laughs.

“You know yourself pretty well, don’t you?” Jaemin yawns a big one. “It’s my fault for going along with your wishes. It was my choice to stay. You are not selfish, but I want you to be.”

“I can’t be selfish. I shouldn’t be.”

Jaemin wants to dig his hair out. But he is too sleepy to do it

Jeno just smiles a sad smile and gives his hand a squeeze.

Jaemin falls asleep beside him within a few minutes cocooning him inside the robe on the stone floor, fingers still interlaced with Jeno.

There is a hand smoothening out the tangles in his strawberry hair. Blunt nails scratching the scalp sometimes behind his ears like petting a cat. Though Jaemin is a bit offended at being treated like a cat, it’s warm and Jaemin shifts a bit to get comfortable. He doesn’t want the hand to stop. The owner of the hand must’ve sensed him waking up. It travelled from his head to his nape. A cold touch on his usual warm furnace-like body was like a rude shock and he whines loudly. Jaemin wakes up with another gentle push on his back.

The first thing he sees when he wakes up is he is holding onto a hand with both of his arms, next thing is he is lying on the floor with a robe on him that is definitely not his. There is a cage beside him. Then he sees a familiar face.

Lee Jeno. And Jaemin sits up straight.

There is the soft first light of the sun breaking through the clouds falling in an orange glow over the top of the clock tower. The old clock struck a 5:30 in the morning with a single gong.

Jaemin was trying to remember what happened. Then he saw Jeno looking at him from the inside of his cage, his complexion is pretty bad even in the healthy orange glow of the sun. There are eye bags under his eyes, but he smiles a tiny one as he greets Jaemin.

“Morning, I hope you are well-rested. Not really, but it can’t be helped I need you to get me out of this. My neck has cricked due to these odd angles.” Jeno chuckles.

Jaemin feels guilty. He was sleeping so soundly while the other didn’t even get a shut-eye.

“I am so sorry I fell asleep on you, while you seem like was barely able to get any.”

“It’s okay. You have the main job anyway; I can rest after getting out of this.” He squeezes his hands in assurance.

“Let’s go have a show to run.”

Show it was indeed.

Jaemin was nervous. Even nervous is an understatement. He was downright feeling like shit. He doesn’t know how Jeno can lie with such a plain face. He hopes he won’t fudge it up.

It is 5:35 in the morning and Jaemin wouldn’t have blamed him if he had been asleep but when he knocks on Professor Shim’s cabin fortunately it is him who opens up. He is still in his pajamas and a shawl around his shoulders. He looks like he woke up a few minutes ago as he held a cup of coffee in his hand. He looks a bit annoyed initially, but when he looks at Jaemin’s panicked face his expression turns serious.

“HELP! Professor!”

He lets him in, but Jaemin doesn’t enter. He is not someone who willingly enters the lion’s den. His acting is not perfect he can’t drop his guard around Professor Shim. Entering his cabin spells danger for him, what if he sits down with him to question details. He can’t afford that now. Jeno needs to be taken out first.

“What if I mess up?”

“You won’t” Jeno looks confident.

“Just panic around there, flail your hands, and look unsettled. Don’t get to close to him or sit down when he asks you to. Insist you have to bring him here because it’s urgent.”

“Ok.”

“Professor Shim is not stupid. He could see right through your act, so before that happens don’t get close to him and bring him here.”

“Professor, I need your help. I can’t get him out.”

Jaemin tries to act. He remembers last night, and that Jeno is injured and untreated and he really starts to get into the real emotion entering his panic mode.

Professor Shim looks even more serious.

“Na Jaemin, slow down and tell me slowly. What happened for you to come knocking on my door so early in the morning?”

Jaemin doesn’t slow down though.

“I came down for a walk since I was unable to sleep. I forgot my gob stones at the clock tower courtyard yesterday, so I went there to get them. And then….then….then I saw this cage. And there was a person inside it. Professor, it is Jeno Lee of Slytherin. But I can’t get him out. I don’t know but the lock is weird. It won’t budge under spells or anything. What should I do? I didn’t know where to go so I came here for help. He is injured and I can’t get him out….”

Professor Shim looked equally panicked and shocked. He grabbed his robe and wand and ran towards the destination. Jaemin is a Gryffindor, so it is natural he would come to him first in case of any trouble and the boy looked genuinely worried and panicked.

When they reached the corridor Professor Shim can feel a headache coming. There was indeed a cage in the middle of the corridor the open in the old courtyard. And what is even more terrifying is there a boy inside it. It is indeed Jeno Lee. And Professor Shim has an inkling as to who did it.

Professor Slughorn is going to have his head.

The first priority is the trapped boy. The adult kneels down on the floor in front of Jeno. The boy just stares at him and greets him.

“Morning Professor, pardon my condition.”

Professor lets out a sigh. He doesn’t know how to comfort this icy personality of his.

“Jeno are you hurt?”

“A few injuries here and there. A left sprained ankle. Nothing serious, I am fine.”

Professor tried the lock. But it won’t budge, no amount of Alhomora worked on it. He was afraid of using the exploding charm on it, for it may end up hurting Jeno. He clicked his tongue. A charms resistant lock.

“How did you get in there?   Who did it to you?”

Jeno glanced at Jaemin behind the professor before replying.

“Mr. Trunks and his lackeys. I was sneak-attacked with an immobilization curse. They suspected me of Lycanthropy and caged me to see me transform and supposedly ‘expose’ me. Turns out I wasn’t. So they left the ‘useless’ me here to suffer the night. ”

Professor Shim wanted to bang his head on the wall. Those idiots are gonna be the death of him. He was angry at himself, sorry for the trapped boy, and frustrated at his students.

“I know you are in pain Jeno, can you wait a bit? I need to call the locksmith. I don’t wanna hurt you while getting you out.”

“It is okay Sir. I have been here all night. A few more minutes won’t hurt.”

There was pity, guilt and anger that flashed through the elder’s eyes. He sent his Patronus out. A transparent greyhound emerged from his wand and took off.

“I am sorry Jeno. I’ll get to the end of it. I promise.”

Jaemin, who was observing from behind, knelt down in front of Jeno and took his hands as discreetly as possible and clenched tight on to it. He looked determinedly to the Slytherin.

If professor saw his action he didn’t say anything.

25 minutes into waiting for the locksmith arrives with a large toolbox yawning. He stops short at the sight of Jeno in a cage before proceeding to work on the lock, pretending he saw nothing to spare the boy of some embarrassment. Jaemin holds onto Jeno throughout the process hiding their hands under Jeno’s robe he is wearing.

Another half an hour and after sweating buckets the locksmith finally opens the cage.

“That was a pricey lock there. Whoever did it has too much money to spare.” Even the locksmith looked at Jeno with pity.

Jeno finally can move. He tried standing up but his body has frozen up. He bit his lips to stop himself from groaning in pain as he moved them to get rid of the kinks of his joints which made sickening cracking sounds under the pressure.

Professor and Jaemin somehow helped Jeno step out of the cage. His left ankle had turned blue-black from clotted blood. Professor Shim made a note of the injuries. He was about to say something when Professor Slughorn came rushing in.

Jaemin thought the old potion master is gonna faint. But thankfully there was no other victim. He fussed over Jeno like a mother hen wailing at the cruelty and occasionally throwing glares at Professor Shim.

“Oh, how could they do this to you? My poor pitiful child! How could they hurt you so badly......professor Shim how could a Gryffindor student of yours do this to him?”

Professor Shim being the younger one was going to apologize but Jeno beat him to it.

“It’s okay Professor Slughorn. The one who saved me Jaemin Na is also a Gryffindor.”

Then the overprotective grandpa finally noticed Jaemin who greeted him respectfully. The elder just patted his head.

“Thank you so much youngling, more people should be like you.”

Professor Shim was saved from the impending scolding.

Jeno was taken to the Hospital Wing for Madam Pomfrey to work her magic on him, while Jaemin returned back to his dorm.

When he entered the common room, Donghyuck, Jisung, and Chenle were sitting on the sofa. Jaemin nodded in greeting too tired to frame sentences as he flopped down in one of the armchairs. Jisung was snoozing peacefully against Donghyuck, Chenle looked well-rested unlike the rest of them.

“So, what happened?”

“Professor Slughorn and Shim took him to the hospital wing.”

“Why is Hyung hurt? He said he won’t get hurt though. He said it’s just a revenge prank? Did something serious happen?”

Chenle was concerned. He sat up straight on the sofa. Donghyuck signaled at Jaemin that Chenle and Jisung don’t know about what happened to Jeno.

Jaemin just shook his head.

“No nothing happened. Jeno is not seriously hurt. They are just fussing too much.”

Chenle looked skeptical but dropped it.

“ What about them?” Jaemin pointed upstairs with his chin towards the dorm room aka. Trunks and co.

“Still asleep and would be till the whole fiasco is over.”

Chenle winked at Jaemin.

Donghyuck was curious though.

“Where were you last night? Did you stay with him?”

“I met with him last night. He told me his plan then I…ummm…I…uh…”

“He stayed with me at the common room while you were sleeping upstairs. He left to check up on Jeno in the morning because I asked him to.” 

It was Baekhyun. He entered yawning. He glanced at Jaemin in assurance. As much as Jaemin trusts Donghyuck there are still some matters he is not willing to share now. He feels guilty but Jeno is one of those matters, so he agrees with Baekhyun. His friendship with Jeno is really fragile and he doesn’t want to publicize it now.

Donghyuck didn’t ask anymore.

“So now what?”

“Now we wait. Let’s see what happens.”

Baekhyun looked like he knew something. He patted Chenle on the head smoothening his mused up bed hair.

“ As for Chenle, Chanyeol is waiting outside for you. Go back to your dorm with him and stay with your Sehun Hyung.”

Jaemin grabs Baekhyun by the arm as the elder makes his way upstairs to catch up on his missed out sleep.

“Hyung, where you really here last night?”

Baekhyun smiles. He whispers in a low voice.

“Nope. I went to the forest with Taeyong and Chanyeol. Donghae Hyung can be a handful when he transforms. I had to run around all night. My legs are killing me!”

“Did you return just now?”

“Yeah, I heard it from the janitor about it on the way. We thought Jeno was sick that’s why he begged us to go in his stead. It turns out it’s because he planned this. Taeyong is dead tired. Still, he would go with Chanyeol probably to see him later. Donghae is still unconscious; it’s going to be a scene when he wakes up. Damn, I hope nobody dies. Seriously Jeno is too kind, that’s what I don’t like about that brat.”

Jaemin fiddled with Jeno’s robe he still had on.

“Why did you help me there?”

“You’ll know why when you grow up. Thank me later.”

And he was gone.

The professors called for him in the lunch time. He reached the revolving staircase near the Headmistress’s office and saw Jeno standing there. He hasn’t seen him since morning. He still looks pale and tired but his cuts were no longer visible, and Jaemin can see a bandage wrapped around his left ankle peeking above his oxfords where usually dark grey socks are worn.

“Hey!”

“Hi.”

“You look tired.”

“I am tired.”

“You have become famous though. ‘The bullied Slytherin who was trapped in a cage’. News spread like wildfire here.’

“Tell me something I don’t know.”

“Since it spread that much I am guessing your brothers have heard it also.”

“Yep. Not only that Chenle heard it too and suddenly he was crying. That child has the highest pitch my eardrums got almost blown off. Then I got told off by my brothers. I am telling you they are out for blood. I very painfully held them back, or it would’ve ended up in a massacre.”

Jaemin laughs.

“Oh! What a hero you are!”

Jeno sniggers, eyes glinting with mischief. And Jaemin likes this Jeno a lot.

Professor Shim comes down to get them.

“Professor McGonagall just returned today a few minutes ago from the Ministry of Magic. She was supposed to return tomorrow but you are lucky the work ended earlier and she returned in a hurry when she heard about the incident.”

It’s the room of portraits of previous Headmasters. Jaemin specifically likes Albus Dumbledore’s portrait. He is always smiling and cracking jokes. His eyes fall on the desk in front of which sat Kevin Trunks and 4 other Gryffindor lackeys.

Professor McGonagall comes out from the adjacent room in his emerald green travel cloak and a file in her hand as she gestures them to sit.

Kevin and his team woke up late. And when he was finally conscious the whole incident has already happened and reported. He had been trapped.

When he notices Jaemin he is first shocked then realization dawns on him as he makes a cut-throat motion with his hand with an ugly leer in his face. Jeno notices it and moves in front of the other boy hiding him from view. He puts his hand behind him and grabs Jaemin’s hand interlacing their fingers, and Jaemin oddly feels safe with the Slytherin’s familiar back guarding him and cool hands in his warm ones.

They sit down in front of the large Oakwood desk with Jeno in between Kevin and Jaemin, hands still interlaced hidden under his robe.

The headmistress questions Jeno and Kevin regarding the happenings. Kevin denies anything, but Jeno is not someone who backs out easily.

He takes out a box. It is the same music box as before that is used to record his favorite songs. The one they played music on as they danced in Halloween. Jeno rotates the keys and a strange piece plays out.

Jeno puts an amplifying charm and Kevin’s unflattering cursing fills out space.

 “How does it feel Lee Jeno? Being caged like the rabid wild animal you are.”

“I don’t know Kevin. This is my first time. But I am sure you know how it should feel, you must’ve had more experience than me in this aspect. How about you tell me how it should feel and I might try.”

“Should I mute you? I never knew animals could talk?”

“But you are talking.’

“Bring the muzzle in.”

There are sounds of a struggle and muffled groans.

“Everyone. Come out and see. “

“Look at the crowd that has gathered to see you change. C’mon, won’t you show them? Transform like a good tamed beast for the people at the zoo to show or I might bring out the whip.”

“You’re a useless piece of shit Lee Jeno. You can’t even fight back. A poor soul isn’t it? Why don’t you go and cry to your slut of a mother? Maybe this time she’ll sleep with someone else and pillow-talk him to get you out of this mess. That’s all she can do anyway, right? Sleep with higher ups and carry their children like a bitch in heat.”

There was a snigger and a loud bang of foot colliding with iron bars.

“But wait you can’t do that. You are not able to move, are you? You are not even able to talk. NOT SO GREAT NOW AREN’T YOU FUCKER?”

“Stay here and repent. I’ll hope the cold night air can cool that dumb head of your down.”

Trunks and co. were shaking, from fear or anger Jaemin doesn’t know. Hopefully, its fear because the professors look grim with McGonagall looking furious.

Jaemin on the other handheld tightly onto Jeno’s hand. He can’t imagine how Jeno is so calm in front of those bastards who humiliated and degraded his mother and him. He sat in his chair back straight like a rod, face cold and aloof as he looked ahead awaiting the decision.

Kevin tries one last time. His lackeys looking at him to save him with a lifeline to climb on.

“It was not me alone. THERE WERE OTHER PEOPLE ALSO.”

He was straight up panicking.

“There was a total of 11 who did this with me. In fact…”He pointed at Jaemin. “This whor-boy was also there with his friends.”

Almost as if in a reflex a hand shot out slapping the pointing hand of the bully away. Jeno moved his seat guarding Jaemin in a protective manner.

“What nonsense are you speaking Mr. Trunks? Don’t put blame on someone innocent. Jaemin here saved me. And he and his friends were not there last night. I saw all of them who were there. He and Mr. Hay were not one of them. Only somebody cruel can pull off such a disgusting trick and I would’ve not allowed him to get close to me if they had been one of you people.”

One of Trunk’s lackeys gave out all the names of the ones who were involved.

They were all called forth.

Jeno on the other hand denied the half of the people being involved. Rita Fiore and Rick Hose were not so lucky. They were confirmed by Jeno to be involved in this and hence rest of them were spared.

The rest of the students who are ‘pardoned’ by Jeno as his words said looked at him with grateful eyes and ashamed expression and denied being there. They also denied Jaemin and Donghyuck being involved in it in any sort of way as a way of expressing their gratitude on being saved.

Jeno was pleased with their response and he smirked at Trunks, who fumed in rage.

They were dismissed early. The ‘criminals’ in questioning were held up as the rest of them exited. When it was only Jeno and Jaemin left the latter gripped their entwined hands and prevented him from going further.

“Why did you save them?”

“If I hadn’t, you would’ve gotten involved along with Donghyuck.”

“But they bullied you…..they humiliated you….I…”

“It’s okay. They were all onboard on Trunk’s ship. It didn’t sail and instead sunk. I gave them a way to save their lives but the deal was to keep you and your friend out of it. I didn’t promise them anything else.”

There was a dangerous glint in Jeno’s eyes. And Jaemin was intrigued by the many sides of this boy in front of him.

“It’s okay….don’t worry Jaemin. They’ll get retribution sooner or later.”

And the glint was gone replaced with a mischievous smile.

The so called verdict of the Cage Case of Jeno Lee will be out in three days. As per Donghyuck, the rumor collector. And Donghyuck is on team Jeno this time wishing nothing but doom on those people. They haven’t seen Kevin and co. for last two days. Their parents came by and they are staying with them at the Hogsmeade inn.

And in two days it did come out. The ones involved in the bullying has been rightfully expelled out of Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft And Wizardry, they have two days to get everything done and show themselves out, for the school welcomes them no more.

It was fine, they celebrated the victory, Jaemin wanted to give the boy a hug but Jeno didn’t come for dinner also apart from lunch which he rarely attends.

Donghyuck had a concerned look on his face though.

“They’ll be coming tomorrow to get their stuff. I am worried. What if they go after you? They can’t go after Jeno well he also has quite a support there. But Jaemin that might not be the case for you though.”

It’s not that Jaemin is not concerned but he is not some damsel in distress that needs saving. He can also kick balls.

Or so he thought……… But that doesn’t mean he didn’t kick balls though. Because he did. It was awesome.

Jaemin grabbed Donghyuck and made a run for the Gryffindor tower once he saw Kevin and co. enter the hallway. They are grabbing random Gryffindor students to ask about Jaemin and by extension, Donghyuck.

Gryffindor Tower during the afternoon is full of senior students which otherwise spells protection for Jaemin. Specially Baekhyun Hyung who is now a Prefect. So safest destination to be in. Though they can enter but can’t hurt him and his best friend.

Jaemin sees him later at night in the common room but he clings to Jongdae Hyung and hence except giving him a death threat in sign language Kevin and Co. don’t do much. That night he sleeps with Baekhyun at the 5^th year dorm and Donghyuck also joins in.

The next day it’s only Kevin who is able to capture him. For a change his lackeys are missing and Jaemin takes this lovely opportunity to kick him in the nuts, personal revenge for Jeno.

When he crouched in pain, he also adds a few slaps on the back of his head, a punch on his face. Then his lackey no.2 arrived he was a short one and Jaemin kneed him at crucial point. He also kicked their shins just to be sure, as he sprinted down the hallway entering the charms classroom just in time leaving groaning bullies on the floor of the corridor.

The kick to Trunks put Jaemin in a pretty good mood. It only brightens when he thinks of the fact that today is the last day he’ll be ever seeing their faces. He is walking down the Dungeon corridor a skip in his steps as he spots the familiar blonde head of Jeno. It is pretty empty now due to it being lunch time. He was going to call him to tell him about his marvelous kickback, but before he could do so a hand clamps on his mouth from behind and he is slammed down on to the wall, at the bend before, away from sight. Jaemin groans loudly in pain.

It’s a total of 4 people who are glaring at Jaemin. It is the fat one lackey no. 3 who is holding onto him. While the tall one his legs or lackey no.4.

Jaemin never bothered to remember their name marking them with numbers. It’s a rude thing to do but they aren’t exactly great people and he already has goldfish memory. Saving memory space is always welcome.

“Look who it is? Jeno Lee’s little bitch. Not gonna tell your master about it? Go on bark loudly let’s see if he hears or not. Since you can’t go to him wagging your tail and slut around its better like this.”

Kevin sniggers and put his finger under his tie. Jaemin struggles but is unable to do anything except glaring at the boy. Two of his lackeys has hold onto his hands and feet.

Damn, I didn’t know he would grow weary. I would have loved to kick him once again.

“I have been curious Jaemin did you also seduce your professor to get the marks? Are they good to you? Do you like whoring around? Pity, you are born into a boy’s body if you had been a woman it would fetch better profit, not all of us are into guys.”

Jaemin bites on the hand over his mouth when he loosens its grip on him due to cackling. The hand moves away but their grip on his hands and feet tightens.

Jaemin spits directly on his laughing ugly face. He sees Kevin fume in anger, it feels like steam is gonna come out from his ears.

He grits his teeth, voice high pitched and gritted as he swears at the trapped boy.

“Not into boys huh? Who was it asking me on a date at Halloween? It’s me who is not into disgusting guys like you. Jeno was right even comparing you to an animal is like cursing it. I feel bad for your parents for raising a kid like you. A sore loser that’s what you are! If you are that confident challenge me to a duel, you fucker!!!! Fucking batch of disgusting fucktards who only know to pry on the weak!!!!”

Jaemin never curse. Or rather he rarely curses. But special occasions call for special conditions. Kevin’s wand has been confiscated, and everyone knows it. The most he can do is beat him up. But he is already expelled due to similar reasons so he won’t have the guts to do it. Or that’s what Jaemin thought.

“Strip him and we’ll take a photo and put it on the bulletin board of the school. I’ll make sure to keep a copy for myself for future favors.”

Now, Jaemin was afraid. He hadn’t thought of this. He thought he would bravely go down if he was beaten maybe land a few punches in return too. But as expected of Kevin he has a disgusting perverted mind. Only he is able to think of such trashy ideas and it makes his skin curl in disgust.

They loosened his tie and stuffed it into his mouth and Jaemin struggled like a fish out of water. They held onto him tighter.

Darn, can’t even reach for the wand.

Jaemin closes his eyes as they try to take off his school vest. He grits his teeth and remains still.

It’s okay. It’s just a picture they can’t blackmail me with it. Right?

Fuck! I need help. Jeno! Where is that person when I need him?

“Rip it off” Kevin orders. Jaemin hears the ripping of the threads, a piece of the corner of his shirt also gets torn up.

In the middle of it things take a turn.

“What is this happening here?”

Jaemin opens his eyes to see Madam Pince the Librarian standing there at the corridor end. Behind her he sees Jeno.

And to his surprise, he looks angry. Like genuinely angry. His jaws are clenched heightening the sharpness of the bone structure of his face. His eyes look a darker shade of dark grey and sky. His lips are pressed in a thin line, as he rolls up his shirt sleeves baring his forearms, his robe discarded away in his hand.

Even with the presence of Madam Pince, they don’t let Jaemin go. Kevin glares at Jeno, who on the other hand comes forward.

“I am sorry Madam Pince.” is all Jeno says before he walks to the place where they stand.

He wrenches off the two people from Jaemin like pulling off a leech. He catches Jaemin before he falls to his knees on the hard floor. His legs give up maybe its fear but Jaemin likes to think it’s due to the blocked circulation because of their tight hold. . The skin of Jaemin’s wrist has prominent hand marks where they held on to him; Jaemin sees Jeno clench his fists hard at it. He looks terrifyingly scary, his eyes like that of an ancient beast.

Jeno places him beside Madam Pince out of their reach and gives him the robe he was holding onto. He turns around to glare at them.

The lackeys backed up leaving the path to Kevin clear.

“Apologize. Now.”

Kevin just sneered in reply.

“You tried to harass a student on school grounds for the third time.”

“Not a student of Hogwarts anymore Jeno. No rules for me.”

Kevin had an insane look in his eyes. As if he knew his doom was near anyway so he going to take down whatever/ whoever he can lay hands on with him into the pits of despair.

“So I take it you are not gonna apologize. Is it?”

“Try me Fucker.”

 “Make sure to stick to your words, Mr. Trunks.”

Kevin just scoffed in reply.

Jeno didn’t do anything. He grabbed Jaemin by the hand and gave the bullies a cold once over. Jaemin stood up despite his body uncoordinated. He followed Jeno out stumbling with the grace of a newborn fawn.

As Jaemin was dragged out from the scene, he saw Madam Pince glancing at him worriedly before dealing with the expelled students, scolding them about reporting them. Jaemin doubts it will work on them at this stage.

Jaemin found themselves in the empty potions classroom. Jeno let him go and carefully checked for injury.

“Are you okay?”

Jeno looked concerned as he searched Jaemin for any kind of hurt in his eyes.

“I am fine. Words can’t hurt me. After all, I know myself better than anyone else. I would’ve beaten them up anyway.” Jaemin jokingly laughs.

Jeno smirked. “I heard you kicked them in the nuts.”

“Uh-huh. Guilty and proud.”

The concerned look was back. Jeno stared at Jaemin what felt like an eternity. Then he moved forward, for a second Jaemin thought he was going to kiss him and he was going to protest.

Wait, I like girls….I mean I am not against—

But Jeno just gave him a warm hug. His strong arms wrapped around his waist  cold hands resting on his back as he pulled him closer to let his head settle in the crook of his shoulder.

Relief.

It was pure relief that flooded through Jaemin’s system as he hugged the boy. He was enveloped in the familiar pine and citrus and he melted into the hug as he hugged him back.

“It’s okay. It’s done. They won’t approach you again. I’ll make sure of it. Trust me and don’t be afraid.”

“Who says I am afraid?”

Jaemin nodded in agreement though. His body giving up leaning onto the other boy as the latter grabbed him by the waist and lifted him up and settled him on the wooden desk.

Jeno got rid of the torn vest that was hanging off Jaemin pitifully. He took off his own cardigan vest and helped Jaemin put it on, covering his torn shirt.

“I’ll get your robe, its left there right? Put on this for now.”

He put on his own robe that Jaemin was holding onto in his hands over his shoulders and tidied the front lapels. He carded his fingers through the messed up strawberry blonde strands and brushed them back orderly.

The strawberry color looked even brighter in the golden orange sunlight of the afternoon that seeped through the hazed out a glass of the window. It reflected off him creating a halo and Jaemin looked ethereal like a wildflower fairy from the forest. Bright colorful and extremely gorgeous even in his distressed state.  His aqua blue eyes as he stared far off letting Jeno do whatever.

Jeno stared at him for a while as he arranged his hair. Jaemin looked down, eyelashes fanning over his cheeks like a pair of butterfly wings and he didn’t catch the other’s fond gaze.

Jeno took out a handkerchief and dabbed it at the corner of his mouth to wipe of the drool that stuck there due to Jaemin struggling to get the stuffed tie off his mouth. Jaemin flinched and finally looked up. His eyes were sad as he looked at him. Jeno mirrored the expression.

“Looks like I am always the one getting into trouble and need you to save me every time.  I feel so useless like a damsel in distress that needs saving every time. I hate it. I was always the responsible one though.”

Jeno just dabs his handkerchief away at his lips and leaves to search the cupboard. He finds a box of bruise treatment ointment; he applies a freezing charm on it to get it a bit cooled down. He carefully applies them on the bruise on Jaemin’s wrist holding him like he is fragile and made of glass. It irks Jaemin even more.

He snatches his hand back.

“I don’t need help. I can do it by myself. I don’t need your saving. I am self-reliant and strong enough so no one needs to treat me like a doll.”

Jeno didn’t reply and grabbed his hands back and continued with his treatment. When he finished his wrists he sat on the floor without care of his clothes.

“Excuse me.” Is all he said.

 He took off the other’s shoes and rolled up his pant to expose the same finger-shaped bruise at his ankles. He made a grimace on seeing it.

“Jenooooo” Jaemin whines like a petulant child.

Jeno finally huffs and looks up.

“The fact that you are always getting into trouble is not your fault. Rather it’s mine. It’s because you got involved in my business that you end up like this. The fact that you might get hurt from associating with me was one of the facts that kept me away from being friends with you. But you were persistent and I became selfish and you ended up getting hurt.”

He sighs and continues.

“I know Jaemin you are a strong person both mentally and physically. I am not underestimating you in any sort of way. Me taking care of you is not trying to undermine you or anything but instead trying to make up for my mistake. It’s me trying to take responsibility for creating trouble for you.”

He puts the last finishing touch in rubbing the ointment off on the underside of his ankle. He looks so serious doing it that it makes Jaemin feel weird in his chest, like something is squeezing his lungs making it difficult to breathe.

Jeno sighs again.

“So please let me do it. I want to do it for you. I am not obligated; I want to take care of you.”

Jaemin can feel all the blood rushing to his face. His ears feel hot and he is grateful Jeno is looking down unable to see him. It spares him the embarrassment of showing his tomato red face.

Well into the evening, after supper it’s time to say goodbye to the Trunks and co. Jaemin can finally get rid of them for good.

Donghyuck comes in singing a merry tune.

“At least somebody seems happy.”

“I am always happy. I was born optimistic.”

“Cut the crap. What happened, that put you in such a good mood?”

“You’ll know when you see.”

Enter the dorm Kevin, with only lackey no.2. The important part of being his lower half of his face is bandaged.

“What happened to him?”

“He told everybody that he fell down the stairs.  Madam Pomfrey said he broke his jaw. She worked her magic on him but he still needs a week to heal. But……….. My seventh sense tells me that somebody broke his jaw.”

“And according to your tingling seventh sense, who is  this ‘somebody’?”

“Probably Lee Taeyong. He looks like somebody who would beat him up. Or maybe the eldest Lee. After all, he harassed his baby brother.”

Kevin spots Jaemin and approaches him. Donghyuck was going to shoot up from his seat but Jaemin held him tightly asking him not to react.

“What is it Trunks? What do you want?”

“Can we talk for a bit?” he glanced at Donghyuck as if asking them to leave him alone.

Donghyuck was riled up.

 Jaemin had told him about the lunch incident. His best friend almost went ahead with his wand screaming murder. Thankfully Jaemin held him back consoling him by saying he was okay. Words of an idiot shouldn’t be paid heed to.

“What makes you think you deserve to talk to him alone? Asshole

“Donghyuck it’s okay.” Jaemin turns to his best friend and glares back at the injured boy. “Let us talk over at that corner. I don’t want to be alone with you. We’ll stay where we will be visible by others, lest you try anything else.”

The boy tries to nod but instead groans in pain, due to his broken jaw.

When they reach the secluded corner of the Gryffindor common room Kevin does something that takes Jaemin by surprise.

He apologizes.

“I am sorry…. I am sorry for a saying those things and trying to well….”

Kevin looks panicked and unsettled. His voice is muffled broken and incoherent because of his broken bandaged jaw. Jaemin knows this apology is forced like somebody has threatened him to apologize.

“Who was it?”

“What?”

“Stop pretending. Was it Jeno who did it?”

“No…He didn’t….” but Jaemin sees his shifty eyes. He just knows he is lying.

“It’s okay, you can leave. I accepted your apology just no forgiveness for you.”

Kevin was leaving his back slouched when he suddenly turned back. He looked hesitant as if he wants to tell him something. Jaemin just raises an eyebrow waiting for him to say it.

“Just……err……. a bit of friendly advice, Jaemin. Stay away from that Slytherin Jeno Lee; he…..err…..he………t-that guy is an m-monster. I know, he is probably deceiving you. Beware of him.”

Jaemin made a face.

“If among you anyone is a monster it is you not him. Good bye, Kevin. Let’s not meet again.”

And thus the toxicity left the premises.

Exams were approaching. And workload was increasing in reverse proportion to the number of days left. Jaemin and his group are mostly in the library or classes or common room. Jisung studies with them so do Mark. Baekhyun usually studies with his boyfriend but sometimes comes over when the other also goes to join the Lees’ and Sehun. Johnny Doyoung and Jaehyun study together. Sometimes they also sit together with them.

 Jaemin must add this joint study is really helpful. They help each other out and his papers and essays fetch better results than he expected. His Potions is still in a bit of shambles though and he still finds History of Magic annoying and boring but at least he can bear it. He just hopes he passes in potions.

He meets Jeno is classes and sometimes sees him in the library. He smiles a tiny one in acknowledgment when he sees him and Jaemin thinks that’s an improvement. They don’t talk much though. ( much means no….they don’t talk cause Jeno won’t approach him on his own accord and Jaemin is a chicken).

One night when he falls on the familiar bed of his dorm tired and worn out from stuffing his brain with too much information, he dreams again of one of those strange dreams.

Usually, his dreams are nothing significant. The dream-Jaemin with brown hair and hazel eyes just sits or prances around in forest glade by a water body which he presumes to be a large lake. He talks to somebody all the time. He talks about his days and small bits of gossip he heard in town. He talks about the condition of the crops, the guests who visit the inn and their weird antics, his pretty sister and her lover, etc. he always looks happy despite the difficult times.

But in this dream, he doesn’t smile. Instead, he looks tired, haggard and sick. His usual bright eyes are dim and sad, and Jaemin doesn’t like it at all. The boy suddenly starts crying.

“He beat sister up last night.”

There was a sound in response. There is always a sound in response; like a musical note. Like a note played on a musical instrument, what Jaemin can’t pinpoint.

“No, I am fine. He just grabbed my hand that’s all.” There’s a mark on his wrist. The honey-colored skin marred with an ugly purple bruise. But he looks solemn.

“I think the father is going to s-sell elder sister off. There is this merchant…..h-he works at a b-brothel in t-town. He offered good p-price. He is pressurizing us to make a quick decision.”

Big fat tears roll down his eyes. He buries his head in between his pulled up knees.

“What should I do? Do I need to protect her? She loves that boy from the flower shop. They look very happy together. I don’t know what to do.”

There was another sound. Followed by a ‘thunk’ sound.

The boy picks it up. Jaemin looks at it. It looks like a shaved strip of silver metal. It doesn’t look like it is worth much to Jaemin.

But dream-Jaemin looks terrified.

“I can’t accept this. This….this is too expensive. Besides what if they get to know about you? I….can’t….no I can’t risk you being found out.”

There was no reply.

He sees dream-Jaemin panic.

“Hey! Where are you going? Y-you can’t leave this with me. What should I do with this?”

The boy trips on the grass and lands on his knees. Jaemin wants to ask if he is alright when he sees him cry. But he doesn’t exist there.

The boy sits there speechless until the sunsets. Then he gets up and leaves.

“Thank you” he says gratefully, his voice sad and sincere.

Jaemin wakes up with a heavy heart. He doesn’t remember the dream accurately but he does remember bits and pieces. Sometime he thinks what they meant. Though the boy looks slightly like him but he is completely different from himself. He doesn’t get much time to ponder on it as he Donghyuck comes barreling in and they get ready for breakfast to start a new day with.

During one of the DADA classes, he gets paired up with Lee Jeno. Jaemin doesn’t like the look Professor Shim gives them. It’s like he is hiding some secret behind that amicable smile. Jaemin might have goldfish memory but he can read people very well and he can tell he is hiding something.

They were having a revision class today on disarming charms.

Jeno smiles his usual tiny one of an acknowledgement as he greeted Jaemin. The latter on the other hand greeted him with a bright dazzling smile that made people around him swoon. There were a few squeals and gasps, somebody even lost control of their wands and hit his partner on the head. Jaemin zoned out the chaos as usual with practiced ease including Donghyuck’s exasperated dramatic sigh.

Jeno is good at DADA and it’s not a surprise to anybody. But Jaemin is also good at it. That also is a known fact. The interesting thing was what happens when you pair two popular guys together and pit them against each other.

People half expected them to fight tooth and nail and turn it into a duel. But instead, it was pretty amicable. They not even greeted each other with a smile, they were polite and did their routine practice without a hitch. So there was no show to watch and people lost their interest and went back to doing their own job.

“Expelliarmous.”
 Jeno’s wand flew to his hand and Jaemin caught it single-handedly.

Jaemin hasn’t seen his wand before this closely. It is a very old wand but well polished and maintained.  It is made of smooth Snakewood, obsidian black in color, and slightly cold to the touch, the snakeskin-like wavy grain on it is life like as expected of the wood.

But what caught his interest is the handle of the wand is twisted design as the wood is meandered to form the body of a moving snake and a head in the end. The snakehead has details drawn into it. The scales are minute and lifelike but the old age has worn off the design a bit. The eyes of the snake are embedded with two small emeralds. Jaemin was going to examine it a bit more but it was snatched out of his hand before he could do so.

“Sorry….I am not….err…. comfortable without my wand too long….sorry, Jaemin.”

A wand is almost like a body part of a wizard. They eat and sleep and protect themselves with it. So it is nothing surprising if Jeno is uncomfortable without his wand, but Jaemin noticed some weird nervousness in his eyes. He didn’t ask Jeno about it though.

The exams came like an uninvited guest. They were not prepared fully but they had to welcome it anyway. Theories went away in a blur and all Jaemin remembers is going to the great hall and coming out with a rambling Renjun and groaning and crying Jisung. Because while Jisung is passable in practical but he sucks in theory. But at least he got Jaemin and Renjun who help him mug it up.

For practical exams, Herbology for Jaemin passes smoothly as a breeze. His Puffapods bloomed as soon as he touched them, his mandrakes were well behaved, one even giggled at him. He defeated the slugs pretty well and caught the leaping toadstool with his awesome reflexes too.

Charms for the most part went well. He had finally perfected the art of engorging and shrinking the apple kept on his table.

For DADA his disarming spell and tickling charm was pretty well done.

Transfiguration started with a good transforming of pigeon in a water goblet. But his porcupine to pin cushion moved around a bit with its little legs. He hopes Professor McGonagall wouldn’t mind it.

History of Magic paper was on the Medieval Assembly of European Wizard. But Jaehyun got the same topic last year so he managed with his help. He thinks it will be at least worth an Exceeds Expectation.

Astrology star chart still looked like Donghyuck’s face i.e. shit but he will pass.

The main problem was Potions. Jaemin has no idea how his exam went. He wrongly said it was pufferfish eyes used in Hair raising potion instead of rat tails when asked. Professor Slughorn looked mildly horrified at the prospect and Jaemin had corrected himself but the damage was already  done.  His Fire protection potion looked indigo instead of cold icy blue and the swelling potion smelled a bit funny.

So after the exam ended Jaemin moped around the dorm for three days. Donghyuck dragged him to the Quidditch matches to watch Mark playing but Jaemin spent the time worrying.

A day before the Final Quidditch match Donghyuck comes running in after lunch. Jaemin was lounging in the common room reading one of the novels he picked up from the bookshelf. It was uninteresting so Donghyuck’s presence was welcome.

“You won’t believe me if I say what I heard.”

“What did you hear?” Jaemin asked placidly eyes not of the book.

“Show me some more excitement, would you?” Donghyuck huffed.

“Oh, Great King Donghyuck! Please tell this subject what you heard.” Jaemin asked in a monotone.

Donghyuck was going to hit him but he refrained from it. He was in a too good mood to be ruined by this.

 “There is Unicorn nearby!!!”

“WHAT?” Jaemin sat up straight closing his book.

“I just heard the professors talking about it. They were saying about how it came to Hagrid’s pumpkin patch to look for food and it’s still there at the edge of the Forbidden Forest.”

Jaemin gulped. Donghyuck’s expression spelled trouble.

“Wanna go and see?”

Jaemin fell for the Devil’s temptation and gave in.

“I don’t see it. Are you sure you heard it correctly?”

Donghyuck hides behind one of Hagrid’s huge pumpkin as his eyes search for something that remotely looks like a horse. He gives Jaemin a look at his question.

“Shut up, you prick! And search.”

Jaemin huffs in frustration and ducks down searching trying to remain out of sight.

Jaemin’s father works in the Magical Creatures division and not even he has seen one good pureblooded unicorn. If he is able to see this rare creature he will forever brag about it to his dad. With renewed vigor, he starts searching again.

Then he sees it.

A flick of silver hair.

“Donghyuck….there it is.”

The boys gather a few meters away from the site. They can clearly see the thick bundle of silver hair forming the tail of a creature that is swishing and flicking at the air. But they can see the rest of it. But Jaemin is sure it’s a unicorn.

The creature moves and goes inside the Forbidden Forest.

“Let’s follow it.”

“What? No. It is named Forbidden Forest for a reason.”

Donghyuck levels him with a look.

“As if you are not curious about the creatures in it. The only reason I didn’t invite Renjun was that he is a goody two shoes and he would sabotage my plan. You Na Jaemin are not allowed to do that.”

And curiosity is what made Jaemin give in. after all, Jeno goes in there frequently so it can’t be that bad.

They followed the trickling silver sparkles and hoof print into the forest wands ready in hand. The canopy of leaves and vines above blocks the light from the sun and you can’t really tell whether it’s night or day. The environment is charged with magic and it’s eerie and mysterious. The forest gives protection to the creatures and keeps the intruder away.

They finally get to see it.

And Jaemin thinks it was worth it.

The unicorn is silvery white with a glow of mauve at the end of its hair strands of his tail and mane. It grazes pacing around in the green clearing of the forest beside a babbling blue crook. The lace-like golden rays of sunlight fall on its coat glossing it up. The single twisted horn at the middle of his forehead gives a purplish hue. The scene looks picture perfect.

They hide behind a bush. Donghyuck is as amazed as him. He gives him a proud smile.

He doesn’t know how long they were there watching the unicorn in a daze seeing it moving around in that strip of grass.

Suddenly the unicorn raised its head and looks at Jaemin’s way. Its eyes look fearful. It whinnies pitifully like a creature who is submitting to something powerful than it. Jaemin recognizes the call.

It means some animals or predators stronger than the unicorn is nearby and as if on that instance he feels a cold shiver down his spine.

“Donghyuck we need to leave.”

Donghyuck on the other hand looked unaffected and unbothered.

The unicorn whinnies another time before fleeing the scene fast. And Donghyuck curses in his breath.

“Damn I thought I would get a fallen hair from it as a souvenir. Let me check Jaemin if there is something there.”

Jaemin can feel a stare at his back. But he is not strong enough to turn back and see what the creature is that is staring at him from the darkness of the forest behind him. He steels his nerves.

“Donghyuck…Donghyuck we need to leave. Like Now.”

His best friend somehow catches up finally to the urgency of his voice. Jaemin has his hand in a vice-like a grip and drags his friend very slowly through the bushes to behind a stout tree trunk.

“If something comes up climb the tree and start throwing hexes.”

“What? Why?”

“Don’t freak out. I think there is some large animal behind us and it’s eyeing us.”

Donghyuck almost freaks out but Jaemin slams a hand over his mouth muffling the sound.

Jaemin can still feel the stare. But he can make out its not a lethal gaze more like observing gaze. The sense of danger is much lessened, but he doesn’t mean Jaemin can drop his guard. He climbs the tree along with Donghyuck and they sit on one of the lower branches.

The gaze is gone after a while followed by sounds of shuffling like somebody is dragging his body part over the soil. They wait and wait until it’s time for sunset when they finally get down. Very carefully Jaemin makes his way towards the direction where he felt the gaze from.

On the mud, there are large parallel tracks and there are no footprints. It’s a characteristic pattern that Jaemin knows very well. The one he has seen and dad told him stories about.

“DONGHYUCK!”

His best friend rushes to him from where he is trying to find a strand of shed unicorn hair by scouring the ground.

“What happened?”

“I was right. It was watching us from right here.”

Donghyuck looks confused.

“What is this it?”

Jaemin shows him the prints on the mud.

“Do you see these parallel lines impression and no footsteps? “

Donghyuck nods dumbly.

“That’s because a certain species can make them.”

Jaemin pause for a breather.

“Snakes,”

 He finally says it. Because Donhyuck looks still confused.

“What it means that there was a large snake standing just half an hour before. And it was observing us from here!!”

Jaemin can see the fear settle on Donghyuck’s expression. Donghyuck grabs his hand and makes a run for it .

It was an eerie feeling and they ran towards their own school.  Until they reached the common room breathless.

Chapter Text

The incident at the Forbidden Forest was hushed up by both Jaemin and his best friend. They didn’t have the courage to even go near it again. At the same time it left Jaemin intrigued.

Jaemin was born to a father who loved Magical Creatures and worked with them all the time, so by habit or daily intake of information at the dining table Jaemin was more or less familiar with the habitats and behaviors of all most all the commonly found creatures of Europe as per the Magical Creatures Classification chart.

But he can’t remember an animal with similar features in the grade of 1 to 3 so it is possible it belonged to grade 4 or 5. But that would signify that Jaemin and his best friend just came back from the grasp of death because the rest are mostly Muggle and Wizard killers especially XXXXX ones.

Jaemin shivers at the thought. He should warn Jeno before the boy gets in danger.

While Jaemin is contemplating whether he should tell his conclusions to his best friend to freak him out a bit more or not, Renjun barrels into the Gryffindor Common room with the subtlety of an angry rhino.

Donghyuck was lounging lazily at the sofa leaning on Mark as they listened to Johnny bicker with Doyoung regarding the last Quidditch match. Renjun’s entrance made him sit up. The finals were tomorrow between Slytherin and Gryffindor, so they were a bit tense.

“Wassup nerd?”

Renjun flopped down on one of the scarlet armchairs in front of Jaemin not before hitting Donghyuck on the head for calling him a nerd.

“I just went with Kun to meet with Professor Slughorn. And do you know what I heard?”

“No, but you are gonna tell me anyway.”

“He said the second year exams were terrible this time. A lot of people apparently failed in potions.”

“WHAT?????”

Donghyuck, Renjun, and Jaemin thought they were screwed.

But there was a difference. Renjun was only acting screwed he wasn’t in reality. On the other hand, Donghyuck and Jaemin were both acting screwed because they really were. Jaemin probably a bit more than Donghyuck.

Fuck it! A lot more than Donghyuck cause unlike the former Jaemin also screwed up the theory. And he has no one to blame except for his own Goldfish memory.

After that al thoughts of the snake incident flew out of his mind. And he was in perpetual gloom. Not even Baekhyun’s chocolate frogs were able to improve his mood.

To make it worse the next day Gryffindor lost to Slytherin in the Finals. All because Oh Sehun: the new Slytherin seeker was like a hawk. He spotted the snitch fifteen minutes into the game and shot like a bullet across the field to grab it. The Gryffindor seeker, their very own Mark was not able to even figure out what happened before the match ended in their loss.

Slytherin’s win confirmed their House Cup also.

Previously it was only Jaemin that was upset now the whole of Gryffindor tower is gloomy. Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore and left.

After the morning match, nobody was in the mood for lunch so instead of going to the Great Hall he went out to the fields. He sat by the bank of the Great Lake at a secluded corner near the forest as he skipped stones on the water. The weather was cloudy with a hint of rain in the air. It made the lake look gray and bleak.

“What are you doing here?”

Jaemin turned to see Lee Jeno towering over him.

“Why? I can’t sit here?”

Jeno didn’t do anything. He was a Slytherin and Jaemin was just feeling salty about the House cup.

Jeno looked a bit amused at Jaemin’s sulking.

“No. I didn’t mean it that way. It’s far away from the school building almost at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. It’s not good to sit here alone. What if something attacks you from there? This area is pretty secluded too.”

Jaemin just scoffs. He was not in the mood to listen to people.

“Nothing will happen. Stop being such a killjoy, will you?”

Jeno sits down beside him. Jaemin glares at him a bit.

“Wow! You didn’t even ask if I want you to sit beside me. What happened to the cold Lee Jeno who hates people and doesn’t want to be friends with me?”

Jeno looked even more amused. He didn’t say anything he just extended his hand and Jaemin begrudgingly held onto it.

Jeno’s hands were ice cold. Jaemin interlaced their fingers and grip onto his hand with both hands trying to put some warmth into it. He finally looks at his seatmate.

Jeno looks like he took a dip in the water. His shirt was dry leaving upper buttons open, but the hem of his pants was dripping with water. His hair looks freshly dried probably a drying charm, droplets of water still sticking to his pale neck. His robe is lying beside him soaked like a sponge in a puddle of water. His green striped tie tucked away in his pocket.

“Did you swim in the Great Lake? Why are you this soaked?”

Jeno looks at himself then at Jaemin. He chuckles awkwardly.

“Not really, I was out and fell into the lake because I was clumsy.”

Jaemin thought there was much more to it but as usual, he didn’t ask.

“Never mind me, what about you? What got you so upset?”

Jaemin sighs for the umpteenth time that day and it was just twilight there were still hours left before the day ends.

“Your House Head has failed many 2^nd years in Potions because their performance is not satisfactory.” Jaemin hesitates a bit. “And probably I am one of them.”

Jeno just nods listening carefully.

“Also your house won the House cup. Advanced congratulation on that. I am just sad and sulky. It’s okay, I’ll be fine. I just need some time alone….probably.”

Jeno thinks for a while.

“I think I have a solution for the first one. How about I’ll meet you at the wooden bridge within 15 minutes? Is that fine with you? I need to change out of this.”

Jaemin just nodded in response and let him go.

Jeno as he said was at the meeting place within 15 minutes. He was wearing a dark-colored button-down untucked and black slacks. His hair was properly dried and fell all over his forehead messily un-styled unlike usual and it made him look much casual than his normal uptight aura.

They sat down on the bridge feet dangling down through the gaps into the air as the saw the sunset on the horizon. Dusk was approaching fast and soon darkness will fall like a curtain over them. There were some rain clouds that have gathered on the horizon.

“So you said something about a solution. What is it?”

Jeno gives him a box. It is a wooden box onyx black in color with intricate carvings on it. Mostly vines and flowers, but they look so lifelike Jaemin feels a little awed. He traces his fingers over the mounds and dips in it marveling at the craftsmanship.

“This is your solution……and your birthday gift.”

Jaemin is surprised that Jeno remembers his birthday.

“Open it.” Jeno urges.

And Jaemin opens it. The inside is lined with deep emerald green velvet.

Inside the first thing, he notices is a bouquet of five-night blooms. They are still beautiful. Jaemin traces the petals holding the purple and aqua constellation in them and light flowed into the dark-colored heart-shaped leaves through its veins.

The last time he got these flowers they stayed for 6 months before they wilted away.

But what was even more attractive was the glass vial beside it. It was a small diamond cut vial with a decorated cork to seal the mouth. There is glittery golden liquid inside it. The liquid looked like molten gold and was sprightly. The large golden drops coming up on the surface jumping up like a goldfish and melting in again. Jaemin very carefully puts it in his hand.

“Is it what I am thinking it is?”

“Yes. It is indeed Liquid Luck.”

Jaemin squeals. He can’t believe it; he is holding something so precious.

Felix Felicis or liquid luck as it is colloquially known as is an advanced potion. Hard to brew and even harder to perfect. It has to be stewed for 6 months at least to get the perfectly sparkly molten gold color. The gathering of the ingredients just adds to the difficulties. Ashwinder eggs, shells of eggs of Occamy, Murtlap’s tentacles etc. each harder than others in terms of obtaining them.

Suddenly thinking about it Jaemin feels guilty, it must be very expensive but Jeno is giving it away to him nonchalantly to him as a birthday present.

“This…..t-this is too expensive for a gift. I can’t accept this.”

Jaemin gripped the vial not wanting to let go though his conscience betrayed him.

Jeno looked even more amused and gave him an eye crinkling smile.

“It’s okay. It’s not expensive since I made it. The ingredients are also gathered so nothing to feel bad about. Though it is not very strong. The effect is up to 2-3hrs a day. Can be used only once a day not more than one drop dose or can cause toxicity. The container contains 6 drops amount hence you can use it six times but that’s all.”

Jaemin was glad to know that it was not expensive yet amazing that Jeno can actually make something advanced like this.

“I could use this to win the House Cup. Do you trust me enough with this?”

“No usage of it during examinations and sports like Quidditch according to the Ministry of Magic. They have tracking devices that screen for it. So, use at your own discretion. Also if you use it to win house cup you will be failing in Potions and I hope that it is okay with you since it is on the same day and it can only be used once a day. Keep in mind though; Luck is not everything your effort consists of 50% of your success.”

Jeno smiles a bit wider at Jaemin’s animated sigh of despair and crestfallen expression.

“It’s okay; I trust you won’t be misusing it.” Jeno smiles all gentle eyes and upturned corners of lips. And Jaemin feels warm all over. “Also no sharing. The potion as well as the information about the maker if you please. I’ll trust you with that also.”

Jaemin nodded his head violently, agreeing to each and every term.

Then suddenly he thought of something.

“You are always giving me such amazing gifts. What about you? What do you want for your birthday?”

Jeno didn’t reply. He got up to leave.

“Jenoooooo… I am not done talking. You can’t leave without answering.”

He grabbed hold of Slytherin’s wrist not letting him go.

“Tell me. What do you want for your birthday? Huh? I would try to get it. Why won’t you tell me? Is it too expensive...then I can-?”

Jeno grips Jaemin’s hand back twisting his hand out. His cool slender fingers resting on his pulse point over his wrist and he closes his eyes.

It starts raining then. Pitter-patter raindrops fell on the tiled roof of the wooden bridge spraying little specks of water on the two boys as they hit the wooden railing. Jaemin stills in his grip, there is an unusual silence around them except for the sound of raindrops hitting the surface as they fell like ice bullets from the grey clouds.

Jeno doesn’t say anything. He just feels his pulsation bopping against his fingertips and finally opens his eyes. There is a complicated look in his eyes. It was sad but with a trace of happiness. Lee Jeno is a living paradox.

“I already got my present long ago. Thank you, Jaemin.”

He smiles a gentle one and leaves. Jaemin sits there stupefied as he stares at the disappearing back of the boy.

Jaemin puts a drop of Liquid luck in his goblet and downs it one go. A warmth and confidence surges in him like electricity. He feels like he can conquer the world. But now, conquering potions come first.

And conquer he does. He passes Potions, barely though but he passes nonetheless. Donghyuck also passes. Renjun too. But the rest are not that lucky. Kun was not joking when he told Renjun that Slughorn has failed a lot.

Jeno comes first, and nobody is surprised. Renjun is angry and irritated, but he comes second….again. Jaemin unsurprisingly makes it to the list securing the 11^th position. He had studied hard and performed quite well in all subjects except Potions so it was expected. Donghyuck doesn’t he sulks a bit but nonetheless happy for his friends.

Surprisingly Chenle comes second among first years. Jaemin should have known. The younger Slytherin was always studying with the Lee’s and Chanyeol was tutoring him in potions. Jisung doesn’t make it to the charts but he passes in all of the subjects.

Lee Taeyong rises from his last third rank to first and Donghae is perpetually occupying his first position. All the Lee’s in first and hence Slytherin as an extension solidifies their claim on the House Cup.

Renjun grumbles under his breath as Jaemin looks for the familiar silhouette at the Slytherin table. He finds Jeno smiling at something Chenle said. The younger was leaning on him, arms around his waist as he acted cutely. Jeno patted his head at his antics. He didn’t meet Jaemin’s gaze and Jaemin didn’t get to say his thanks.

Jaemin felt a bit uncomfortable and irritated but was soon distracted by Baekhyun who was elated as he got the 7^th place in the exam and hugged Jaemin like an octopus.

They packed their bags the whole day.

The term-end dinner went as usual. And soon it was time to declare the House cup results. It was no surprise for anybody when Slytherin won again. They were the only house that celebrated and Horace Slughorn could never be more proud as he rubbed the achievements of his house to the other house heads.

The Great Hall was decorated in emerald green and silver with green flames lighting up the corner. And hence Jaemin’s second year in Hogwarts ended.

When Jaemin went back home a surprise waiting for him. His family from the father’s side was waiting back at home for him. There were his uncles and cousins and grandparents. There was also Na Minwoo. He was his uncle in the Na family. But he is more like his older brother as his father being the eldest brother practically raised him like a parent due to their age difference of 15 years. They were the only wizards in the family so it couldn’t be helped. Long before Jaemin was born, he even stayed with his parents, so he was more like the eldest brother to him of the family.

Jaemin hasn’t seen Minwoo much after he went to school. Minwoo got a scholarship from Ilvermory School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and then got a job at the Magical Congress of the USA so he settled over there and he rarely visits London. He came once when Jaemin was in 1^st year but then he was in Hogwarts and they missed each other out.

Seeing him was a pleasant surprise. And above all, he came boring gifts. Mainly food items like snacks.

Speaking of gifts….his mother was quite pleased to see another bouquet of night blooms.

“You can date whoever is giving this to you. You have my approval.”

“Mom!!”

“What? Such a dedicated soul. You ought to give him something back.” Jaemin thinks for a while.

Maybe he should but Jaemin has no idea what to give him. He finds that he barely knows anything about Jeno. All he knows is he likes pumpkin pasties, gazing at nature and he fights like a pro.

And that’s not enough information to find him a suitable gift.

Jaemin was enjoying some coffee with his mother in the afternoon at the counter-table top of their minimalistic modern kitchen. The afternoon sun of London bathed the living room across them in a faint orange glow. The night blooms glowed brilliant purple and aqua blue on the black marble countertop.

 “Mom, why do you like these flowers so much?”

“All Veelas like them. But they are really rare and expensive hence even if we like them we can’t always get them. And they grow at places where magic is abundant in the air and water. Usually deep in enchanted forests protected under the watch of powerful magical creatures. So no hope of getting any…..That makes me think how did this person get it?”

“I have no idea.”

“Let me tell you an interesting piece then. When you were born somebody sent me a bouquet of this. Exactly five stalks. I was elated I think it was sent by a fan. It was written ‘dedicated to the new life born. Welcome, little one.’ It was so cute. There were a lot of fun presents from the fans but that one I clearly remember. Your dad and Minwoo were there and they were crying so loudly and……”

Jaemin zoned out the rest. He was surprised to hear it, but before he can question his mom further there was a knock on the front door and Minwoo entered with shopping bags in his hands. Hence the questions were forgotten.

Jaemin spent his birthday happily. Donghyuck and his family joined in for the celebration. They had a house party and at the end of the day, Jaemin was laughing from having too much fun.

Some presents arrived from friends mostly books, pretty bookmarks, a bottle of essential oil, a box of chocolates, etc.

That night Donghyuck stayed over as they unpacked the presents on Jaemin’s bed. Minwoo joined them a bit later and soon they were chatting like old friends.

“So how is Hogwarts? It can’t be better than Ilvermory.”

“Much better than Ilvermory, I love Hogwarts very much thank you.”

They fought like children over whose school is better and then finally moved on to the topic of friends.

“Renjun is a worrywart. He just loves studying. A bit arrogant and violent but he is good at heart.”

“Seems like a typical Serpent.”

“Serpent? No, he is Ravenclaw.” Donghyuck corrected.

“No, I was talking about my school. You know the Horned Serpent house. I think it is comparable to your Ravenclaw House. They are usually scholars. We call them the Serpents. Hence Horned Serpents: the house of the wise. Represents the mind and favors the scholars. ” he finished with a sarcastic flourish to his tone.

Donghyuck was intrigued.

“What was your house?”

“Wampus: Represents the body. Favors the warriors.”

“That sounds a lot like Gryffindor.” Jaemin quipped.

“Yeah, kind of. It was founded by Webster Boot. Isolt Sayre’s adopted son. While Horned Serpent was founded by Isolt Sayre herself. She became the first headmistress.”

“Our names are way cooler. Who names their house like that?” Donghyuck jokes nudging him.

Minwoo shook his head at their pettiness.

“I think everybody knows about the story of Isolt Sayre and the Horned Serpent that she saw in the forest that helped her out.”

“Yea… well everybody knows that.”

Jaemin continued as Donghyuck nodded in affirmation.

“She met a Horned Serpent with whom she felt a kinship and then one day he came to her dreams and told her ‘Incorporate me in your family or your family will die’ and allowed her to take a little shaving off his horn. Isolt and her husband made two wands with it as core and gifted it to their adopted sons on their coming of age. Later the wand saved their family from the hands of their evil aunt Gormliath Gaunt. Isolt named the house after her benefactor.”

“Wait! Gaunt? Isolt Sayre was a Gaunt before she got married?”

Jaemin gave Donghyuck an ‘are you seriously kidding me’ look.

“You didn’t know that Isolt Sayre was a Gaunt?”

Minwoo asked surprised and Donghyuck was embarrassed.

“Hyunggggg, we haven’t gone that far in the History of Magic. I just got into the third year. How do you expect me to know?”

“Yeah….that’s true.” Jaemin agreed. “I know because my dad told me the story. He was telling how Voldemort and Isolt were from the same family but had such a different mentality. One did evil while the other only did good.”

“Now that you say it. It does is surprising. I guess not all Gaunt are bad. But I think she was good because she ran away from home at a young age. Or she would’ve ended up like her aunt. I heard her father was pretty good also.” Minwoo agreed.

And then they shifted to how History of Magic increases their stress levels as the night rolled on.

Soon it was time to return. And Jaemin can’t wait. Maybe for the last two Years, Hogwarts had become more of a home to Jaemin than his original one.

He reaches the platform on time as they board the Hogwarts express. They find Renjun in one of the cabins saving them a seat. Jisung and Chienle were already there. And so was Mark.

Mark has started to hang out with them a lot. Donghyuck seems to like him a lot also.

 As for Jaemin, he is glad his best friend made another friend. He has a good impression of him. He knows Mark is kind, sweet, and really helpful. He also plays good Quidditch and has a cute laugh (the last part that is just what Donghyuck told him). Jaemin himself hasn’t interacted much with him except for study sessions and other house affairs or group gatherings. He knows he is a good guy though. As for the Quidditch part he has seen him play but Jaemin was never interested in Quidditch in the first place so he is kind of clueless there.

Halfway through the conversation Jaemin zones out, as usual, eyes searching for a familiar figure in the crowd of people outside.

Chenle is the one who spots them first. Jaemin thinks the boy has Lee's radar.

Settled by the window Jaemin sees the Lees enter the platform through the portal. There were Lee Chaerin and her three kids. This time there was also Park Chanyeol with them and another woman. He assumed her to be Chanyeol’s mother as the lady stood on his tiptoes to kiss his son’s cheek. They had the same large brown doe eyes and doll-like face.

“That’s Ms. Park. Chanyeol Hyung’s mother. I heard their family is close with the Lee.”

Chenle supplied helpfully.

True to his words, Ms. Park also hugged the Lee brothers instead of their mother, especially smothering kisses all over Jeno’s face as the boy scrunched his nose. She cooed and patted his head like a child as the rest looked on amused and Jeno let her.

 They bow a perfect 90 degree in goodbye and board the train as the other people look on. Lee Chaerin looked exactly the same as she had when Jaemin had first seen the woman. Cold stone-faced and in her formal wear with antique silver accessories.

The train left the station at sharp 11 am.

They were discussing the shops in Hogsmeade they should be visiting and the money they should be carrying. Jisung and Chenle were sulking around for they weren’t allowed to go until the third year when Chenle said something interesting.

“You know Hyung, the Taylor family, the one that went bankrupt because of Jeno Hyung’s mom.”

Dan Taylor, the sixth year Hufflepuff that was there the night when they trapped Jeno in a cage. But Jeno denied their involvement when asked, to save Jaemin.

“Well, apparently the family had ties with the mercenaries and they bought some restricted illegal items from the smugglers. They went out of business this week. What’s more…..they got a list of the families involved in this business.”

“Whoa!! It seems like a whole racket is involved.”

They talked some more about it while Jaemin dozed off to sleep.

He was back in the forest glade. Dream Jaemin was sitting by the water bank bare feet dipped in the cool crystal clear water as he talked about miscellaneous things.

“Yesterday some wizards came from the east. They got the most expensive room in the inn. The manager was really pleased, you know.  I think they’ll be staying here for a while. Also, the rich businessman and his Half-Veela Madam came to visit them. They gave her a bouquet of sparkly flowers. They glowed in the dark like a cluster of stars. They were sooooo pretty. The Madam was really happy, she smiled all the time.”

The boy sighs.

“I heard the flowers are really expensive and really hard to get. No wonder she was so happy.”

He lays down on the grass, feet up as they splashed water around.

“Have you seen them?” his voice genuinely curious.

There was musical note like sound in reply.

“Of course you have. You have been here for so long, obviously, you have seen them. Why am I even asking?”

He then sits up straight. Curiosity sparkled in those honey eyes.

“Is there a field of such flowers? That would look beautiful. A field of them would look like the stars have come down to land.”

The boy hums content with his imagination.

“I would like to see in one day.  Maybe when I would have enough money to travel I would go on a trip to exotic places and see a field full of night blooms. It would feel like you are walking in the sky. Do you want to go with me?”

There were anticipation and mirth in his voice. Though the boy knows it will remain as one his wish which will never be fulfilled. He can never leave his sister nor can he have that much money.

There was no reply.

Jaemin woke up leaning onto Jisung who was snoozing peacefully on Renjun. It was already evening.

He looked around and saw everybody sleeping. He was thinking of waking them up when the cabin door burst open to reveal a cheerful Baekhyun. He was the Gryffindor Prefect so it was his duty to check up on the students.

“WAKE UP PEOPLE!!!!! WE ARE HERE!!!!!”

His voice was loud and cheery and practically annoying to sleeping ears.

And groans resounded all over the cabin.

Third-year of Jaemin at Hogwarts started a grand feast as usual and with choosing elective subjects.

Jaemin and Donghyuck both picked up Divination.

“It is a subject which you can bullshit your way throughout the years and nobody will question it. Because that is exactly what it is? Utter Bullshit.” Baekhyun enthusiastically informed them and Jongdae nodded his head in absolute confirmation.

As for the other, Jaemin naturally took up Care of Magical Creatures and Donghyuck picked up Muggle studies.

“I need to concentrate on my core subjects so I need an elective which I can again just brush pass through like a pro without even studying much.”

Donghyuck said as they selected their subjects.

Renjun took up three electives. Divination, Care of Magical Creatures, and also Arithmancy. Jaemin and Donghyuck stared at him in disbelief.

“I heard Jeno is also taking up three. So don’t judge me alone, if you have the guts go and show him your judging eyes.”

“Why are you dragging Lee Jeno here?”

“Why are you judging me then? I am a Ravenclaw for Merlin’s sake. Leave me alone.” Renjun swats at them like getting rid of flies.

“We didn’t even say anything!!!”

“But I can hear you judging my choices in your mind”

Jaemin and Donghyuck just grumbled.

It is an understatement if Jaemin says he just enjoys Care of Magical Creatures. He loves it. Even more than Herbology probably.

It is only the first class and Jaemin is already enjoying it immensely.

Rubius Hagrid is a sweetheart and Jaemin almost charms his heart off his body (and the rest of the students) with his charming smile and extravagant knowledge of Magical Creatures curtsy of his father and his tendency to overshare information.

To his surprise, Jeno has taken up CMC with him. The said boy was sitting at a corner, nose buried in some book on the subject. Jaemin thought he looked a bit down today. Something must’ve made him upset.

Their first day is supposed to be light hence the first animal they take on is a Niffler. It is extremely cute with its furry mole-like round body and orange bill and little pad feet. But it is extremely agile and intelligent. The class chased it around for an hour before Jaemin caught it. But in spite of his better than average reflexes, it still escaped from his clutches.

The Niffler had stolen a lot from the students. Coins, watches, spectacles, etc whatever sparkled, he got it. He then made a dash and thought it was running away, only to slam headfirst into a pair of shoes.

Jeno was silently watching them running around the creature. He finally had gotten up and reached the place of chaos when this small furry thing collided with his legs.

Jaemin was shocked as the Niffler looked up to see Jeno and instead of trying to run away it sat down cowering away from the boy’s stern gaze. It looked pitiful and afraid and Jaemin felt bad for it, almost forgetting the fact that it just stole his watch. Even Hagrid was amazed.

Jeno just watched the animal at his feet whimpering and shaking in fear.

“Return them.” He said. His voice stern.

The Niffler squeaked. It very carefully took out a penny from its furry pocket situated near its stomach.

“All of them. Now.”

The Niffler squeaked again. This time louder but refused to return them in spite of all the trembling and shaking. It was a brave Niffler, Jaemin would give it that.

But Jeno was scarier. He tugged the Niffler up, holding two of its limbs in one hand and grabbing its body by other. He settled himself on the stone bench under the cherry tree and held the struggling Niffler on his lap sideways. Then he started tickling its stomach. The Niffler squeaked and squirmed but Jeno had no intention of letting it go.

Out poured the Niffler’s treasure horde from its pocket. Jaemin saw with wide eyes as a small mountain of sparkling things gathered at the boy’s feet and he spots his watch among them.

When nothing more comes out. Jeno pats the Niffler on the head and places him back on the ground. Jaemin swears he saw the Niffler gave sad puppy eyes to Jeno, expressing how helpless it is feeling. Jeno returned the stare with a glare and the Niffler scurried away to hide behind Hagrid’s huge legs.

The rest of the class went smoothly. The Niffler stayed clear of Jeno and didn’t attempt to steal anything else under the boy’s watchful eyes.

Jaemin wanted to talk to Jeno but the boy was gone within seconds after the class ended.

Professor Shim collected all their permission slips for Hogsmeade of the third year Gryffindor students one by one.

The students gathered at the entrance of the main hall in their casual clothes as they excitedly chattered around in groups. Jaemin was decked in his comfy white hoodie and a pair of black jeans. He linked his arms with Renjun as he annoyed the elder by cooing and making kissy faces at him. Mark came along with Donghyuck and soon was joined in with Johnny, Yuta, and Jaehyun. Doyoung and Sicheng joined after and soon it was a big group.

They were ready to take off to Hogsmeade.

Jaemin searched around for the blonde. He feels a little strange of the fact that both consciously and unconsciously his eyes always tend to search for the Slytherin boy. He sees Taeyong standing at a distance like a lone wolf in an oversized shirt and ripped jeans and had an uncontrollable urge to go and ask him. But then the elder glares at Jaemin whenever he sees him and Jaemin thinks it is better not to.

Baekhyun as usual comes to rescue.

“Taeyongie! Why are you alone here? Where are Jeno and Donghae Hyung?”

Taeyong flinches at Baekhyun’s cheerful voice but then when he spots the elder he smiles warmly. The duality is shocking but that’s how the Lee’s are.

“Oh! They…err…actually Jeno is a bit…he doesn’t like going out. As for Donghae Hyung, he just went there….I think…err…prefect duties.”

A bit later Chanyeol joins in with Baekhyun followed by Donghae laughing at something the older did.

And hence they commence on their weekend trip.

Hogsmeade is a picturesque village in Scotland valley and Jaemin loves the ambiance. It is like straight out of a postcard. Three trips in he fall in love with Honeydukes and Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop.

Jeno doesn’t come out of the castle. He never goes for any of the weekend outings. Jaemin rarely sees him around anymore with the number of elective classes the boy is taking.

The boy is out of the class in a blink of an eye after the class ends and comes in late. He is there is breakfast and supper guarded by his brothers as usual and never at lunch/dinner. He is not even in the library studying neither in the common room as per Chenle. He always seems in a hurry and rarely seen in corridors. To be truthful, Jaemin is kind of upset about it. He shouldn’t be because he has no right to but he kind of is.

There is something strange about him as Jaemin notices in the CMC classes. Jeno usually stands at a corner during class and not participate actively like Jaemin. He rarely interacts with the animals until and unless he is forced by Hagrid.

 But when he gets close to the creatures, they tend to freeze up in his proximity, then glances at Jeno warily like he is a predator waiting to attack them. Small animals like the Porlocks and Fairies usually are shy so it is not a big deal to be intimidated by Jeno, but the large one like the Winged Horse which is used to human around them also acts the same.

The Niffler though warms up to Jeno with time occasionally be as brave as to curl up in his lap as the human reads.

But today was the day when the strangeness of it broke the record. In the fifth class something happened that made even Jaemin question things.

It was a Hippogriff today. A tawny brown colored one with large woody plumes and strong hooves that brush on the ground as dust flies with its every step. A stubborn and arrogant temperament and towering height. It was a majestic creature though a bit spoiled by Hagrid’s biased affection after his last Hippogriff. It stood amongst the student proud and tall with an arrogant stance daring the people to get closer.

Renjun had already warned him about this one. The Ravenclaw had a class yesterday with Hufflepuff and this massive bird-like creature threw a tantrum in the middle of the class almost injuring a Hufflepuff third year. Jaemin was warned by his best friend not to act rashly with it.

Hagrid showed them how to approach a Hippogriff. First, bow, and if the creature bows back then you may touch him, and if luck is good he might even let you ride him and take you on a stroll.

So far a number of them have bowed but that proud half-bird didn’t bow back. Things weren’t looking too positive. Its golden eyes judged the student body like they are peasants not worthy of him.

Jaemin was being indecisive as to volunteer or not when Hagrid called for Jeno who was standing in the far back of the class holding a content Niffler in his arms.

“Jeno Lee. Why dontch’ ya try once eh?”

Jeno looked particularly hesitant. But Hagrid was persistent about it. So ultimately he gave in.

He dropped the Niffler and made it to the front. Surprisingly the Niffler followed behind him and in front of the Hippogriff.

Now, here is the fun part, Hippogriffs eat Nifflers so technically the small creature would’ve run away for its life by now. But it stood behind Jeno’s leg peeking at the larger creature in front of it, totally unbothered as if he knows Jeno would protect him if anything happens. It was a bit of a weirdly funny sight that made a few people laugh at the Niffler’s cute behavior.

But then it happened. When Jeno first arrived in front of the large creature, it moved away a bit as if to create a distance. The Slytherin looked troubled for a minute but then he stood straight in front of it, arms crossed over his chest, Niffler at his feet, as he stared at the Hippogriff.

Even Hagrid thought it was strange. Woody, the Hippogriff looked like he was scared of something as it froze up, his golden eyes widening at the sight of Jeno. Hagrid was about to ask Jeno to bow to the creature when there was a loud thump.

The large proud Hippogriff fell to his knees in front of the humans he had considered measly. Both of its front and hind legs were folded, its large brown neck covered in plumes extended and bowed, the sharp beak almost digging into the soil.

A posture of complete submission: the creature shook and trembled.

Jeno just patted its head a bit before picking up the happy Niffler which was stomping around doing a celebratory dance. He excused himself and left the premises leaving a gaping crowd and a shocked Hagrid behind.

During the next weekend trip, they are at Three Broomsticks feasting on some sandwiches, snacks, and butterbeer when Donghyuck asked about it.

“I heard Lee Jeno made a Hippogriff kneel in front of him!”

Before Jaemin can say anything, Rosella beat him to it. She animatedly told them about what happened at the class as the others listened with rapt attention. It was a table of more than 20 people that had their group and Olivia and Rosella joined in after Donghyuck asked them. It is also Yoojung from Hufflepuff who joined in with Sicheng and Yuta.

“Yoojung has a crush on you.” Yuta had whispered when they had settled down to the table and finished ordering.

“Huh?”

“I said Yoojung-” 

   “I heard you the first time Hyung.”

“So have you thought about it? She is pretty cute.”

Jaemin just shrugs. True, she is cute. But he remembers a cute smile he has seen and then the Yoojung seems much less cute now.

 So in conclusion, she cannot even beat Mr. Grumpy in cuteness. But Jaemin as usual doesn’t say it.

“Even Donghyuck is cute. But I don’t wanna date him.”

“Reject her gently then.”

Jaemin thinks about it for a second. Rejecting people is Jaemin not very comfortable with especially face to face.

“If she confesses, then we’ll see. I don’t want to make a fool of myself before anything happens.”

Yuta just rolled his eyes.

“Whatever Mr. Popular.”

Jaemin just gives his lazy smile.

They separated at the door of Three Broomsticks. He had promised Donghyuck to go with him to check out Zonko’s, so they separated from the group and started walking towards their destination.

When suddenly he is grabbed by his arm and turned around forcefully. Jaemin had his arms linked with Donghyuck: the force of it makes the latter stumble backward.

“Tell me we’re Jeno Lee is?”

“Huh?”

“Jeno Lee. He is yer’ batchmate ain’t it? Ye’r talkin’ aboutch’a him in the pub right?”

 Jaemin quickly does a once-over of the man keeping his head down as possible. Sheepskin ragged boots, dirty fur clothing, a patched-up rough cape, and the hood stretched low over his head. His speech was heavily accented. But most noticeable is a large scar like a beast claw mark running over his right cheek. A dagger stowed away in his belt, along with a hanging badge. And suddenly Jaemin knew who he was talking to.

A mercenary wizard.

Jaemin tries to shake off his hand but the man has his hand in an iron grip.

“Let me go! I don’t know where Jeno Lee is.”

The man glares at Jaemin unbeknownst to him and the latter sees him going for his wand. Jaemin squeezes Donghyuck’s hand in fright.

“Scarface! Let the boy go.”

Scarface, as the guy is known as lets him go. He almost pushes him away and Donghyuck, fortunately, catches him.

There was another guy. Slicked back black hair and beady eyes and an unsettling smile which grows even bigger when he sees Jaemin. He hits Scarface with a parchment he is holding whispering a ‘what are you doing? Creating a ruckus in the middle of the street.’  And then turn at the two boys.

“My dear students, we are so sorry we bothered you. Please go on your way.”

“Why are you looking for Jeno Lee?”

Jaemin asked plainly.

“We are acquaintances.”

The main replied and Jaemin doesn’t need truth potion to say that the man is lying.

Jaemin didn’t say anything and dragged Donghyuck away.

He clearly heard them while he was leaving.

“A Half Veela would fetch a good price.”

It sent shivers of disgust and fear down his spine. Something about these two didn’t settle with him at all. Donghyuck glanced at him warily. His friend was smart enough to catch onto their identity.

On reaching the school premises Jaemin left to find Jeno.

He searched high and low and didn’t find him. He searched at the bridge, at the sundial garden, at the 7th-floor bathroom, and even asked Chanyeol to see if he was inside his dorms at the dungeons. But there was no one.

He sat down beside the great lake exhausted. The moon has just risen to the sky and there are a few rainclouds hovering here and there. The lake looked pitch back and the surface was calm without any disturbance. The moon reflected on, the moonlight was caught onto the treetops painting the needle-like evergreen leaves in silver.

There was a sound. Jaemin turned his head round to see an undulation in water, large circular waves coming from somewhere not far off. He cranes his neck for a better look and he can see a shadow behind the large trunk of the pine tree a few feet away from his seat that had grown beside the bank of the lake, its branches bending towards the water as if wanting to touch it. And for a fraction of a second Jaemin though he saw a glimpse of an end of a reptilian tail slithering away behind the bush into the darkness.

The fact that there may be a non-human creature beside him in this area is terrifying. The silence of the night suddenly seems eerie and Jaemin hurriedly gets up gathering his things and tries to put on his discarded shoes ready to make a run for it.

Something grabs onto his elbow.

Jaemin lets out the most embarrassing shriek possible as he turns around to find himself face to face with the person he has been searching for the whole afternoon.

“Jeno!!! What…t-the….h- hell?”

Jaemin is panting, his heart beating a mile an hour. He had been scared out of his wits. His body was still in shock.

“Sorry…I just saw you sitting here. I told you before don’t sit here alone what if something comes in?”

Jeno strokes his back soothingly trying to calm the boy down and it was working. The stress was slowly getting flushed out of the younger’s system.

“I was….uh……. looking for you. Then I came here…..and t-then I saw…..this tail….some reptile…”

Jeno grabbed his hand giving it a squeeze.

“How about we sit over there and talk?”

“Okay.”

They walked towards the place where it is nearer to the castle and sat down at the bank of the lake.

Jaemin finally had a good look of the boy. Jeno looked freshly showered. His clothes are dry but there is water splotched dampness here and there. His white shirts stuck at his shoulders at some wet spots. It looked like he had used a drying charm.

“So why were you looking for me?”

“Do you know somebody called Scarface? He has this large claw-like scar on his face.”

Jeno looked bewildered.

“Sorry. I don’t know anybody of that name or anything similar. Why are you asking me this?”

Jaemin narrated the incident at Hogsmeade to him. He saw the latter’s jaw harden and fist clench as the narration progressed. Jaemin ended his part and looked at him as if expecting answers.

Jeno looked apologetic.

“I am sorry that you had to go through something like that.”

“They were Mercenaries Jeno. And they don’t exactly spell good news.”

Jaemin stated blankly. Jeno visibly flinched.

“I am sorry.”

Jaemin was frustrated. The Slytherin was stubborn he knows that. And Jaemin also knows that questioning him as this would lead to nowhere. He let out a sigh and gently took one of the other’s clenched fist.

As if an instant reaction Jeno loosened his grip. Jaemin slowly carefully opened up the fingers, tips tracing the crescent-like bloody indent on his palm. He interlaced their fingers together and brought it to his own lap. Jeno melted into the touch as he hung his head down looking the grass beside their folded knees.

“Do you have any dealings with them?”

Jeno shook his head.

“So I take it they are after you for a reason. And you know it.”

The boy nodded. His eyes still trained down. Jaemin felt like coaxing a child.

“Can you tell me the reason?”

He shook his head.

“I am sorry.” Is all he said to him.

Jaemin knows he can’t force him Jeno is like a tightly shut clamp. If you force him too much he would rather break than open up.

So the Gryffindor sits beside him holding onto the latter’s cold hands, slightly leaning onto him in the silence of the night.

“I just want you to be safe and happy, Jaemin. And sometimes just knowing things can lead you into danger. I want to tell you but I can’t. I hope you’ll forgive me.”

Jaemin doesn’t answer.

What about me? I want the same for you too, though. Who will keep my wishes then?

The next few weeks go without any hitch. And Jaemin believes everything is fine. He believes the Hogsmeade incident is just a scary prank. But it turns out it was the calm before the storm….

It was few days before Halloween. Jaemin wasn’t feeling very well. He had some extra spicy chilly balls that Rosella had brought from home the day before yesterday. It didn’t settle with his stomach very well and yesterday he had a stomach upset. Madam Pomfrey gave him some medicines so he is feeling better today but there is no appetite.

Everybody has gone for lunch. Everybody except Jaemin, who sat at his favorite spot at the school grounds beside the Whomping Willow overlooking Hagrid’s stone cottage at the distance and the large expanse of the dark Forbidden forest.

Then he sees him. Jeno was making his way towards the forbidden forest. His gait was steady and fast as he passes by Hagrid’s cottage.

Maybe he is going again to collect ingredients.

But then his eyes fall on something that makes his blood run cold.

It was two cloaked figures. One tall and one short silhouette was following the boy while maintaining a distance. Before he can think his body has started moving. He ran out from his spot following after the figures into the forest.

He loses them halfway. Inside the forest is like a maze, every turn feels the same and the sunlight peeking in through the canopy is not enough to get rid of the darkness. Last time he had followed Donghyuck blindly as they came out from the forest but now it the absence of his best friend he feels lost. What’s more, he has lost sight of both Jeno and those two cloaked figures and he can feel the worry eating him up from inside.

Calm…..Jaemin, stay calm.

He can definitely figure it out. He needs to reach Jeno any way possible. He has to tell them about those figures before something bad happens. Jaemin is too scared to imagine something happening to the Slytherin. He is a Gryffindor for Merlin’s sake, courage runs in his veins. He can definitely do it. Jeno’s fate, his well being lies in his hand. This time he has to protect him.

With newfound enthusiasm, he approaches deep into the forest.

A few more turns and Jaemin can hear some rustling in the bush. He promptly hides behind the nearest thick tree trunk. He can hear some people talking.

“Fuck! He definitely went this way. How can we lose the brat?”

Jaemin mentally sighs in relief. Thank god they haven’t found Jeno.

“I m tellin’ ya boss, there’s somethin’ fishy aboutch’a guy.”

Jaemin recognizes this voice heavy with an accent.

Scarface.

“No point in fussing about it. We haven’t lost him yet. Search every corner. He is only human he must be near somewhere around here.”

Jaemin plasters himself to the tree trunk like a gecko and minimizes his breathing to a minimum so that they won’t hear him.

He prays for them to leave the area so Jaemin can find his way back or find Jeno (whichever happens first). But luck is not in his side today as those two starts searching around not leaving the area.

Jaemin keeps an eye trained on them from his hiding place.

“Oh! Why, hello there!”

Jaemin doesn’t need to turn his head to know the owner of the voice. It’s the slimy guy with beady eyes from Hogsmeade.

He has made a gross miscalculation. It’s not two but three men.

Jaemin already had his wand in his hand. He turns around abruptly and shouts an Expelliarmous.

The man flew back a few feet in distance wand lost from his hand due to the sheer force of the disarming spell.

Jaemin makes a run for it. He has already alarmed the other two anyway. He dodges two curses each followed by others. To his horror, he realizes one of them was a corrosive curse. It hits the tree beside him and it starts eating it away.

Jaemin runs for his life. He doesn’t look back but he can hear their heavy footsteps following after him. He makes a bend and trips over a projected root and is immediately hit by immobilization curse at his legs.  His wand flies off at a distance.

His legs feel like lead and Jaemin can’t move anymore.

The two guy approaches him first then the third comes limping a bit.

“Fuck! It’s just a rat. I thought it was the boy. Kill it off.”

“Boss he is a Half Veela. They fetch a good price.”

 There is also a third guy. Jaemin thinks he was already waiting for them here, he doesn’t know that one. But judging by their speech the third one is the leader as to how the rest refers to him as Boss.

Bossman thinks for a while.

“Do whatever you want with this one. What I want is the boy. The client has already made the down payment. We cannot go back empty-handed. Teleporting here once has been hazardous enough. Fuck these protection barriers of Hogwarts.”

Surprisingly Jaemin doesn’t feel like crying. He stares resolutely at the men.

Scarface gets irked by his stare.

“What’cha lookin’ at ya’ bitch?”

Jaemin doesn’t remove his stare. Scarface gets irked up and he approaches him with a raised fist ready to hit.

Jaemin waits for the blow to land in his cheek and creates a bruise right on his perfect face……..but it never comes.

Instead, all he sees is a glimpse of something black and large and Jaemin is inside a protective coil of black scales.

It is a reptile. More like a snake. There are no limbs.

Its body is long and as thick as an old tree trunk. Two coils of his tail end Jaemin is a protective space covered up to his head and all he can see is the flexible trunk curled around him keeping him safe inside the space created.

There is a sound of musical note coming from somewhere and Jaemin can feel is traveling all over the body of the snake. He finally looks up to see the creature that has him wrapped around.

And it’s like he is struck by lightning. Jaemin has never seen anything like this. It is large terrifying but so beautiful.

It is a snake. A large one at that. About 40 to 50 ft as Jaemin can approximately assume. Its body is covered with obsidian crystalline black scales. They glowed an iridescent purple-green in the faint glow of the little light present. A silvery-white strip of similar scales went down its ventral side. But the most astonishing part is the two pairs of horns that adorned its head.

Silver horns large and elegant rose from its head like that resembled that of a stag, like a branched out leafless bare tree. There was another pair that rose from behind the first pair. They were also silver but instead of branched out appearance they were a single curled inwards with tapering ends to form a large graceful coiled arc behind the head.

“A Horned Serpent.”

 The serpent made a musical sound in the back of its throat.

The mercenaries outside were shocked. The last thing they expected here was a Horned Serpent. They were the rarest of all the magical creatures that roamed the earth. Their scales and horns are treasures people would kill for.

The greed in their eyes shone with brilliance.

“What luck to meet one. If we can kill it we would never have to work again.”

But they had forgotten something too immersed in their greed and fantasy. Horned serpents might be rare and precious but they are also known for their viciousness and agility. A score of XXXXX signifying a powerful wizard killer that was practically invincible even it is pitted against 12 better than average wizards.

The serpent made another sound and opened its jaws snapping at the air. It revealed a row of needle-like sharp teeth and two pairs of foldable fangs. It huffed and a purple smoke of poison enshrouded its mouth.

Before the mercenaries can attack the serpent had already grabbed one of them between its strong jaws and with a loud crunch the body was snapped into two.

Jaemin closed his eyes at the sickening sound. The curses and hexes bounced off its scaly armor protecting Jaemin inside.

 The fight ended quickly with three of the wizards ending up dead snapped into two or corroded away by poison.

The snake finally unfurled its coil letting Jaemin free. 

Surprisingly the serpent twisted his head to observe Jaemin. It’s snout still had lingering blood stains from the previous carnage, dripping down its powerful jaw.

Jaemin should’ve been afraid. Anyone would be if they were to come face to face with such a majestic and terrifying creature. A creature that easily killed off three trained mercenaries. But strangely enough, Jaemin feels at peace. Like this was supposed to happen. He is surprised at his own absurd behavior. He stares back at the creature and then he feels like he has been punched in the gut that leaves him breathless.

It’s the eyes.

Pretty sky blue eyes. Those expressive pale blue eyes voiced concern, the slit like reptilian pupil at the middle encircled by a gray ring. And Jaemin says something which leaves himself in shock. He doesn’t know why he says those words. They were nothing alike. One is a human other a powerful creature. But when the name tumbled out he can barely control himself.

“Jeno?”

Chapter Text

The serpent just looked on.

It stared at Jaemin for a while after Jaemin called it Jeno.

The difference in size was striking. A barely six feet human and a fifty feet obsidian serpent, with a part of his body raised in position to strike as it bore into the human’s eyes, flicking its bloody red tongue.  People would have fainted by now, but Jaemin’s back remained ramrod straight, his eyes gentle.

Something in his mind screamed that it was absurd that he was so comfortable in that domineering presence, but the Gryffindor had always followed their hearts. And his heart felt at peace. Like he finally found something he has lost. Unbeknownst to his mind, his body has already extended an arm towards the creature.

The angle of the sun changed and the afternoon sunlight fell bright and golden down onto the body of the large serpent in a lace-like pattern through the leaves. The crystalline obsidian black scales gleamed with its iridescent purple-turquoise glow and the silver horns sparkled and gleamed as if spun of starlight.

“You’re beautiful.” He murmured softly.

 Blood smeared over Jaemin’s hand as he touched the bloodied jaw of the creature carefully like he is afraid of scaring it away, which is ironic because he should be the one afraid in front of the monstrosity.

The snout of the serpent leaned into his touch like a docile animal. A musical sound like the notes of a harp or piano resounded from it and Jaemin thought it sounded so pretty and yet so familiar. He just can’t pinpoint where he heard it.

The pale blue eyes bore into his bright aqua ones and Jaemin was lost in them for a while. The serpent flicked its tongue and it hit Jaemin’s hand and it tasted the blood there.

And suddenly the moment was broken. The creature shifted its gaze to his outstretched hand and saw the blood smeared on Jaemin’s palm. Then as if afraid it flinched back making another sound like it was hurt. The movement was too fast and it surprised Jaemin and he lost his balance and fell on the forest floor on his butt. He looked up at the serpent to see him looking at him guilty and hurt. It took its gaze back and made its way towards the darkness of the forest.

“Wait! Don’t go! Wait!”

He tried to get up and run after it but was obstructed by a tall spear stomped a few feet in front of him thrown from a distance.

“This is as far as you can go human.”

Jaemin retracted his gaze from the disappearing form of the serpent to stare at the tall centaur standing beside him. Soon another two centaurs arrived from the forest following him. They carefully avoided the dead bodies to protect their hooves from the dirty blood.

“I just want to talk. Okay…..Just once, huh? Let me see it just once?”

The centaurs stared down at him sternly.

“Uktena is a divine creature. A measly half-grown human wizard cannot approach such a deity.”

“Uktena?”

“The one you met. Uktena: the wise. He is a Great Serpent Deity. It has been our greatest fortune to meet him and for him to take up this forest as his residence. He is the protector of the forest that shields and heals the forest.”

The other centaurs agreed in response and blocking Jaemin’s path. The youngest of them spoke out.

“It is your blessing that he decided to save you. Be grateful human!”

Jaemin was a bit speechless about their culture. They regarded the horned serpent as some deity.

Centaurs are creatures that abhor human wizard. Though they have grown tolerant after the second Wizarding War they still prefer to stay away from them. They are creatures that excel in Divination and Astrology. They have their own beliefs and consider Nature to be the supreme. They have their own revered deities. Jaemin has heard about it from his dad but it was his first time experiencing it.

“So you are saying I can’t meet him? I just want to thank him for earlier. I don’t mean any harm.”

I want to see him once again. So that I can figure out why I called him Jeno...

Jaemin tried to look as sincere as possible but the centaurs were immune to his charms. They lead him out of the forest lest he runs off or gets attacked by any other beasts.

The first thing Jaemin did on reaching school was to go to his dorm and write a letter to his father. Then he went straight to the dungeons.

“Is Jeno here?”

Chanyeol was in casual sweat pants and hoodie as he looked at Jaemin with curiosity.

“No. he went out during lunch and hasn’t returned. There aren’t classes after 12 on Fridays anyway.”

Jaemin didn’t wait for him to finish answering as he set off. He checked the bathroom, the bridge, and lakeside just to be sure. No sight of Jeno anywhere.

Then he went off to the library.

Monster Book of Monsters, Short book of Magical creatures, etc none of them has it. None of them have the information that Jaemin is searching for. Horned serpents are termed as extinct or almost extinct species, thus only have a paragraph dedicated to them. Nothing in detail. No man lives to tell the tale apparently.

An hour of search yielded no result. It was almost evening.

Jaemin visited the dungeons again. Chanyeol amusedly told him that there was still no sign of Jeno.

He returned back to the library. He went for Madam Pince who was arranging the books at the Muggle Studies section.

Jaemin had a good rapport with her. In simple words she adored him. Well, who doesn’t? He greeted Madam Pince cheerfully and the strict librarian glanced at Jaemin over her stacks of books and acknowledged his greeting with a nod.

“I need to find a book about Horned Serpents. Is there any such books?”

Madam Pince was a bit surprised. Horned serpents are extinct creatures and are not a much-discussed topic. At this point, it is almost like a Myth like a Lethifold. They did exist maybe 500 or 700 years back but they were cleared out in a few centuries.

Madam Pince pushed her glasses over her nose with her fingers with sharp painted long nails.

“What do you need them for?”

“Ummm….actually I was thinking of writing a paper on them for the sake of my Care of Magical Creatures Class. And I would like to have some information on them. Like nature, food, habits or how they became extinct, etc.”

Madam Pince seemed to believe him.

“Wait here.”

She went off through the maze-like shelves of the books with a flourish of her burgundy robes. Crystal beads on the string of her spectacles making a tinkling sound as she went from shelf to shelf to find the book she has in mind.

She returned a few moments later.

“Here, be careful with the pages. It’s an old book.”

Truly it was an old book. The binding has the dust settled over it and the title is barely legible with the yellowed pages. The writing in it is a bit of an old language with loops and curves and accompanied by black and white pictures of the creatures described.

Jaemin sat down at the corner of the library with the book.

Creatures of divination that control the weather at will, the book said.

 Horned Serpents once though in small numbers but existed all over the world but they had rapidly decreased. Some killed while others died out. In Europe, they were killed for their scales, their horns, and the jewel on their head. But it was never easy for a group of well established 20-30 wizards had to do the job. Then also they sometimes would fail. The rate of causality was high.

Horned Serpents had an excellent sight of Divination and strong scaled armor rendering curses useless against them. They are presumed to be able to see the future though that part is not clear for it is something believed by the locals. They were poisonous to boot, a smoke of that poison can render instant death. The only way to kill is to attack them while they are distracted and hit the seventh segment from upwards, just above where their heart lies.

A sleeping serpent also spelled bad news, so it was better not to approach them at all.

Though they are dangerous they have never willingly harmed humans, Muggles, and wizards the same. In fact, if they stayed in an area the forest prospered. A protector species the book called them. They protected the inhabitants of the area they live in, animals and humans. They bring rain; restore the fertility of the soil so the agriculture and flora and fauna flourish there. They exude magic that restores the magic in the soil and water. That is why the native beings and tribes consider them as a deity sometimes.

Characteristics are large horns on the head, shapes depend on the species, some have short ones, some large branched out ones. The number also varies. Adults can grow large in size. As to how much is not known. The length depends on their age. Can live for hundreds of years. Crystalline scales are used to make powerful potions.

They are wise creatures very similar to how a human mind works according to Parselmouth wizards. That’s why they have fierce yet very expressive eyes that can draw beings in both prey and foe, hypnotize them so they approach the serpent willingly and hand over their lives.

A score of XXXXX is well deserved.

When Jaemin finally finished digesting the information it was already time for supper.

He thought he will visit the dungeon again after supper to see if Jeno is back. He borrowed the book not without a word of caution from Madam Pince to keep it carefully.

He was walking to the Great Hall when he caught sight of the familiar blonde. He was standing at a bend at the deserted corner surrounded by three elder students. Taeyong looked angry, Donghae looked worried and Chanyeol had a hand splayed over the back of Jeno as if supporting him to keep him standing.

Jaemin hid beside a pillar as he overheard their conversation.

“How can you disappear like that on us? Do you know how worried we were? I almost called Mother.” Taeyong rattled mildly panicked.

Jaemin had heard him scolding Jeno for leaving his sight quite a number of times. He always thought he was overprotective, but now that he thinks about it, indeed it is quite justified.

“I am fine, Hyung. It’s okay to see ……, I am not injured.”

“Jeno, you need to tell us before you go somewhere. You know that right? Your second brother and I worry for you. You have known the dangers since you were a child at least pay it some heed.”

A few more words of scolding and worry followed.

“Hyung, you go along. I already had some food. I am not hungry. How about you go and have your supper and I’ll go to the dorm. I’ll rest a bit and when you come back we’ll have this discussion again. Okay?”

“But….”

“Hyung…go. Have your supper. Stop being a worrywart.”

“Are you-?”

“Let’s go Taeyong. We’ll talk about it again when we come back.”

Jaemin sees Chanyeol and Donghae drag Taeyong away towards Great Hall.

This is the opportunity; Jaemin comes out of his hiding spot to approach Jeno. But what he stops at the sight of him.

As soon as the elders are out of sight, Jeno heaves out a sigh stumbling back to hit the wall behind him. He looks pale and sick. Jaemin was going to walk towards him but Jeno walks away.

Jaemin is worried as he follows the boy climbing up the stairs. He stumbles a bit here and there. As more and more time passes Jaemin is sure of two things. One Jeno is seriously sick as the boy's gait becomes more and more unsteady and two this is definitely not the way to the Dungeons.

They stop in front of the 7th-floor bathroom and Jeno stumbles in tripping on his own foot. He looks like he is drunk. He falls in his knee on the floor and almost crawls towards the stall on his fours too weak to stand up.

Jaemin wants to help but he doesn’t know how Jeno will react. What if he starts to avoid him, he got this far not for it go down the drain. But he couldn’t keep up to his resolution.

Because the boy almost falls face-first onto the floor near the toilet bowl. His hands seemed to have lost their strength and he can barely keep himself up in sitting position.

Jaemin is kneeling beside him in a second holding the other boy up before he crashes down. The Slytherin is heavy and looks like he has lost all strength of his body. He somehow still manages to retch into the toilet bowl. Jaemin holds his waist in a tight hold so as to not let him slump forwards and his other hand holds the fringes of the Slytherin’s blonde hair away from his face.

“Hyung…..w-what are you doing here?”

The words are slurred unlike Jeno’s usual deep cut out manner of speech. Out of suspicion Jaemin bends forward to see him.

Jeno’s eyes are unfocused and hazy. The sharpness of his eyes is lost and it is like a gray fog has settled over them. He belatedly realized that apparently Jeno has lost his sight to a great extent. Not completely but enough to not even get a hold of his surroundings, as he grapples around himself trying to find purchase. He doesn’t recognize Jaemin, rather cannot see him. He mistakes him as Taeyong.

This Jeno is weak and vulnerable and it pulls at Jaemin’s heartstrings. He feels like it is him who is hurting. The strong boy who is always shielding Jaemin is now crawling on the floor on his knees, unable to see as he slumps over dry retching.

“It’s okay…..Hyung, it’s okay. I just took some pain medication. I am just a bit woozy because of it…..” he isn’t able to complete speaking as he retches again. “You know how it gets.”

Jaemin can feel his own vision blurring due to the tears that have gathered. H shouldn’t be this affected but he is. Jaemin clutches onto the other’s frame tighter pulling Jeno closer so the former can drape himself over his slouched form, chest resting on his broad back. Jeno goes lax in his hold when he feels a familiar weight on his back. The Slytherin lolls his head on his shoulder. Jaemin wipes his sweat from his forehead, pushing his blonde bangs sticking to his skin aside with his fingers. Jeno gives in to his touch and chuckles light-headedly.

“Hyung…I told you to go for supper. You are such a worrywart.”

He laughs again like a child. Jaemin can smell the morphine used in pain-relieving potions on him, and he is worried about the possibility that the boy might have overdosed himself on it. He thinks of calling for help to get him to the hospital wing but then Jeno starts talking.

“Hyung, I killed three people today. That makes 19 this year. A grand total of 57.”

Jeno looks blank-faced. His eyes are unfocused. He sounds so nonchalant as if he is talking about the weather.

“I just killed them with a snap of my jaw.” Jeno sighs loudly and continues.

“I didn’t even feel anything. No remorse no regret. They were going to attack Jaemin and…..I-I just snapped.  Jaemin wasn’t hurt. But he saw me. I think he might have figured it out. A monster in human skin….. A cold-blooded monster that kills with a bat of an eyelash with no regrets. He found out exactly what I am.”

Jeno's expressions turned pained.

“I didn’t even know if they had any family. Maybe a son like me waiting for their father at home. And I just made them fatherless, a woman like Mother who probably loved them and she was widowed. Maybe I am no better than them.”

The Slytherin lets out a humorless laugh that turns into a coughing fit as he again slumps over the toilet bowl. But he doesn’t hit his head due to Jaemin’s secure hold. Jaemin can feel the vibrations of his body against his chest as Jeno coughs and breathes like he is deprived of air.

“Hyung….Hyung……. I think that man may have been accurate in his prediction. I am bound to turn into a monster before I reach the age. An offspring that has cursed blood and a useless blessing, a living contradiction that is bound to defect.”

He goes into another coughing fit. He continues rambling like he is drunk, his thoughts pouring out. The strict self-control he always has on himself in a drug-induced haze has become like a broken barrage letting his thoughts out freely like a waterfall. There are small sobs leaking from him shaking through his worn-out frame sending small earthquakes through Jaemin.

“Just promise me something Hyung…… If I…..If I were to disappear someday…d- don’t go looking for me. Live a happy life for me. You and Donghae Hyung both. Take care of mother for me.”

Jaemin realizes that the tears that have gathered in his eyes had spilled over. He couldn’t control himself. He had said about leaving last Halloween too but Jaemin was too sleepy to ask then.

“Where are you going to go?”

Jeno freezes in his hold.

“Y-you are not Hyung….” The Slytherin turns in his hold. His vision gone and he can’t see Jaemin. He extends his hand towards the general direction of the Gryffindor’s face. The latter grasps the hand and brings it to his face. There is a cool touch on Jaemin’s cheek.

“Jaemin?”

Jaemin doesn’t reply but he leans into his touch, his tears gathering in the creases of the palm of the pale hand that was holding his face so gently.

The reaction is immediate. Jeno backs away like he got burned.

“W-what are you doing here?”

“That is not import-”

“Go away. Get out. Right now.”

Jaemin kind of expected this.

“Jeno don’t be like this….you are-”

“NO” his voice echoes in the empty bathroom. “I said, GO AWAY. I don’t want you to see me like this. Go away Jaemin please….please.” in the end his voice weakened to a whisper as he starts coughing.

Jeno curls himself in, knees drawn up to his chest, head buried in his hand. He looks pitiful like a helpless injured beast.

Jaemin is a Gryffindor and if he is anything like that, he is stubborn. He crawls to the boy, gently taking off his hands from his face. Jeno usually strong but he is in a weakened state right now so Jaemin can easily pry his hands away. He pulls him in his embrace nuzzling his nose at the crook of the Slytherin’s neck taking his pine and citrus scent, now mixed with the acetic scent of morphine. His tear tracks creating a wet patch over the elder’s shoulder.

“Jaemin don’t do this….”

He sounds so broken and Jaemin just holds onto him tighter.

“Are you going to leave?” Jaemin was going to say ‘me’ but he doesn’t in the end.

“Yes.” There was no hesitancy in the answer and it hurts much more than Jaemin originally thought it would.

“Why? Just because your animagus form is a horned serpent? It means nothing. You are overthinking. Whatever happened today it was not your fault. You only did it to protect me. ”

“No.”

Jeno gives a chuckle. It’s hollow and sad and Jaemin hates it.

“I could have knocked them out or something but I went straight for the kill. I had no thoughts of sparing them whatsoever. I had no remorse for killing them. No regrets for my action, even now. If I had been given a second chance I would still do the same, I know it. Believe it or not Jaemin Na but I am indeed a cold-blooded killer….”

Jaemin wanted to refute. But what Jeno said was bitter but it was partly true. He could’ve knocked them out but instead, he did go for the kill.

“What I regret is you had to see this ugly side, which I never wanted to show you….. What I am sad about is I made no effort to correct my ways even though I know I am in the wrong.”

Jaemin shakes his head in denial. He knows Jeno can’t see it. The Slytherin pats his back soothingly.

“It’s not that I want to leave but rather I have to irrespective of my wishes or else people close to me would get hurt…..or else I would get hurt.”

He comes out from his embrace and faces Jaemin. He fumbles a bit before cupping Jaemin’s face. He closes his unfocused hazy eyes in an attempt to hide them from the other boy’s gaze as he places their foreheads together.

“So do me a favor and forget this ever happened”

“But…”

He strokes Jaemin’s cheek like caressing a fragile porcelain doll.

“I want you to remember me as an odd Hogwarts student you come across one day, who took you dancing, gave you weird flowers for birthday, and at first refused to be friends with you but in the end fell for your charm. Not something ugly and complicated as this.”

Jaemin gives a watery smile but Jeno can’t see him.

“Do this for me, please. I want to spend the rest of the time I have left at Hogwarts a bit peacefully like I am a normal student…….and all this mess doesn’t exist.”

Jaemin nods shakily. He places his own hands over Jeno’s in a way of finding comfort.

“Okay…..okay…I-I’ll do that. But tell me one thing?”

“Hmmm…”

“When are you leaving? Where are you going? Do you have any plans?”

 “In a year or so….For the rest, I don’t know. Preferably somewhere far away. Where they don’t know me and cannot bother me or people close to me anymore.”

Jaemin can feel something choking him. The tears blurring the edges of his vision.

“You’re not gonna complete school?”

“I want to. But I don’t know whether I’ll be fortunate enough for that.”

“You’re being too much, quitting school just because of your…..” Jaemin doesn’t complete it.

Jeno sighs resigned.

“It’s much more complicated than you think. Maybe one day I will tell you. One day when you will be happily settled in your life and I will be free of my burden. That day we can go for a meal and I will tell you about myself.”

Jaemin knows it’s a lie. And the fact scares him. He knows Jeno is hiding something from him, but somehow he knows the truth may be something even worse than him leaving. So he doesn’t ask more.

“You promised.” is all he says. He knows it is a false one.

Jeno’s nausea lasts for a few more minutes and by the time it ends, his sight comes back gradually but he becomes worn out from the onslaught of it. Jaemin slips out just before a frantic Taeyong and Donghae arrive searching for their baby brother.

Jaemin is in a gloomy mood for the rest of the days. No chocolate frogs or Donghyuck’s jokes can bring him back to his joyful countenance. The more he thinks the more he realizes that he needs to know. The curiosity is killing him and he can’t let Jeno leave just like that without even knowing why.

He meets up with Chanyeol in the middle of the week. He is in the library studying when Jaemin flops down in front of him.

“You knew about it. Didn’t you Hyung?”

“Know about what?”

“About Jeno. The fact that he is leaving.”

Chanyeol looked surprised but sad at the same time.

“Did he tell you?”

“Not exactly. I kind of found out.”

Chanyeol lets out a breath he was holding.

“Look. Here’s the thing, I know he plans on disappearing before he comes of age. But I don’t know the reason behind this drastic decision of his. As I have already said, their family is a bit more complicated than you think. So even though we are close I don’t exactly know everything about them.”

This means he doesn’t know about Jeno’s animagus form or the fact that there are people after him.

Chanyeol closes his book. He stares at Jaemin sincerely.

“I know it’s too much but for some reason when I saw his and your dynamics I thought you just might be the solution we have been looking for. Maybe you, Na Jaemin can help Jeno. Maybe you can convince him before he does something stupid.”

“How are you so confident about this? Jeno doesn’t look like he will be budging from his decisions. He is as stubborn as a mule.”

“I know. That’s why I asked you.”

“Hyung, what-”

“Help me convince him Jaemin-ah. He is doing himself no good. It might end up life-threatening this way. He always thinks of himself as a burden, someone who knows only to hurt. Please don’t misunderstand; I am not using you to stop him from leaving.”

Chanyeol runs a hand through his raven locks.

“I just want the best for both of you. But then again I don’t mean to sound like a condescending jerk deciding things for people. So you can ignore my request. Feel free to act on your wishes.” His voice was soft and his eyes were gentle as he ruffled the younger’s hair.

Jaemin decides he will just do that.

Jaemin is not good at rejecting people but he is worse at saying goodbyes. So he will not deal with this.

Chanyeol made it clear that whatever Jaemin wants to do he can do it.

Jeno is nice, kind, and comfortable for Jaemin. As much as he wants to be his friend and stay with him, it is not enough for inviting such complicities in his life. Since he met Jeno, Jaemin has become a trouble magnet. And for a happy person who rarely cries he has cried way too many times in front of him.

Jaemin has decided it is not worth it.

He can handle Werewolves and mercenaries even a secret of a horned serpent animagus but saying goodbye to Jeno after getting close with him is something he can’t do. He just knows it.

Heck, Jaemin was upset for a week when the pigeon that he and Donghyuck used to feed was killed by the neighbor’s cat. He knows he gets attached pretty quickly and he knows how it will end with Jeno.

It’s better to nip it off as a sapling lest it grows into a tree.

So he ignores the boy resolutely.

Jeno seems to have gotten the message.

So both he and Jeno avoid each other and it makes Jaemin feel even more irritated. Though avoiding doesn’t mean he can stop thinking about it. He is often lying on his bed thinking.

What is such a big secret that can make topper Jeno Lee quit school?

Jaemin can’t think of any. No financial situation in their family, in fact the Lee’s are quite well off. Jaemin doesn’t think it is something as simple as his animagus form or the fact some mercenaries are after him for some unknown reason. Then again why are the mercenaries after him? Who paid them, the client they were talking about, who exactly is after him? Is he/she the reason Jeno has decided to disappear? Just to get away from the clutches of that person?

Jaemin had already spent too many sleepless nights thinking about it and his eye bags have even worried Donghyuck. He thinks it is the workload that is getting to him. Jaemin is glad he left him out of this mess yet sad that he can’t get the comfort from his best friend regarding this matter.

“You are too stressed. Chill out a bit. These dark circles will reach the floor this way.”

Jaemin promises to sleep well before his best friend gets even more worried.

Halloween feast comes fast.

Jeno as usual leaves after the feast only this time Jaemin wills himself not to follow him out. He misses spending time with him. He remembers last Halloween and he wants it to happen again. But he listens to his mind rather than his heart. He berates his heart to even think on that line.

Your job is to pump blood not to make stupid and questionable decisions which I will definitely regret later. So just shove it and leave my thoughts alone.

Donghyuck offers him a glass of fruit punch in the midst of his inner monologue.

“Should I be suspicious?”

Donghyuck makes an exaggerated act of looking shocked.

“We have been friends since we were born and this is how you treat me? Don’t tell me Jaemin, but by any chance…..I am asking just to be sure, by any minuscule chance are you suspicious of me? Your best friend? Your ride or die? Your buddy for life?”

“Yes, and I have enough reasons to be, I think.”

“It’s over. We are over. I am highly offended. Go away you are not my friend.”

Donghyuck wipes his nonexistent fake tears. Jaemin just laughs and hugs him acting cute.

“I can’t do that. I can’t live without my cute choc ball.”

Donghyuck makes a sound of puking.

“Gross Na Jaemin. This is torture. Get off me. You have successfully captured me back with your disgusting emotional blackmail. Now, go ahead and drink it.”

Jaemin takes a sip. It’s pretty okay and sweet enough. And by Jaemin’s standard, it means there is a shit ton of sugar in it.

His fifth cup in Jaemin realizes this Donghyuck bastard has really tricked him. He is feeling all lightheaded and he finds himself giggling at nothing.

With his last bit of sanity, he grabs hold of his best friend.

“What the fuck did they put in this? Rather what is this?”

“Purple Sugar plum wine.” The caramel haired replies mischievously.

“Fuck! Wine! Does that mean I am drunk?”

Donghyuck thrusts another cup at him. Jaemin finishes it one go. This drink is addicting, okay! He just can’t help it.

“You are not yet. But you will be soon.”

“Why are you trying to get me drunk?”

“Because you need to let go for one night. Chill a bit. Say bye-bye to stress and enjoying this. We’ll watch over you.”

And he was given the seventh cup.

“Watch over you…my foot.”

Jaemin grumbles. He feels hot like he is trapped in some enclosed sauna and there are too many people in it. There are bodies grinding on him and he feels sick. Normally Jaemin would be polite and excuse himself but drunk him now neither have the calm nor the patience so he just randomly shoves people off him in an attempt to escape the gathered up dancing crowd. He spots Yoojung coming towards him from the corner of his eyes and he increases his speed. He is not in the mood for this shit.

He finally escapes the hall into the corridor and he lets his feet take him wherever they want.

Apparently Drunk-Jaemin is all about his heart and soon finds himself in the clock tower courtyard. The cool breeze hits his heated body and he feels a lot better. He walks and walks until he halts in front of the old covered wooden bridge.

He sees the Slytherin he has been avoiding sitting right there back facing him in his favorite posture, uniform discarded at a corner only in his shirt and trousers. His sleeves are rolled up exposing his pale arms and bare ankles.

He is humming to something while talking softly. It’s a bit of hissing whispering sound he is making. Jaemin approaches him as silently as possible. He sees the infamous Ruby- the snake curled in his discarded robe enjoying the remnant warmth.

Jaemin stumbles on a piece of loosened upturned wood plank on the floor and crashes hard on the ground creating a grand ruckus. Drunk-Jaemin has the subtlety and grace of an angry tusker.

“Ah, Fuck! That hurt like a bitch.”

Apparently Drunk-Jaemin also swears a lot.

Jeno almost fell back in shock but then he sees Jaemin and lets out a sigh, Ruby puts his head up hissing and flicking her tongue at the victim. Jaemin swears if that snake was a human she would be rolling eyes at him.

Jeno stands up and moves in front of Jaemin and picks him up one hand grabbing his elbow other secured around his waist.

Jaemin lets loose his weight over the other boy leading to the latter almost losing balance but he somehow manages not to fall. He looks at Jaemin like he is observing him and Jaemin who already had a blush high on his cheeks due to the alcohol turns into a tomato under the intense scrutinizing gaze. The blonde leans down his nose level with the other’s lips as he sniffs. And Jaemin had this uncontrollable desire to kiss his nose. But before he can act upon his thoughts Jeno moves away.

“Did you drink?”

“Yes and no. I don’t know.” Jaemin giggles like a three-year-old at his rhyming skills.

Jeno just shakes his head from frustration.

“Purple sugar plum wine. Somebody spiked your drink.”

“I know. Donghyuck did it.” Jaemin flashes him a brilliant smile.

“Some best friend you have.”

Jaemin suddenly turned sad.

“Yep, that is exactly I wanted you. You are responsible, mature, and loyal. So you won’t spike my drink to get me drunk and then leave me alone. Won’t you?”

Jaemin pouted and poked Jeno on the chest.

“But you are a meanieeee…. So I am not going to be your friend.”

Jeno looked like he didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. He sighed again tightening his hold on Jaemin’s waist.

“C’mon, sit over here. I’ll bring you some water.”

“NO.”

Jaemin refused to let go of Jeno. He wrapped his arms around his torso and took his legs off the floor wrapping them around his waist as he hung off him like an octopus.

“You are not allowed to leave. You can’t leave me.”

Jaemin isn’t sure which leaving he is talking about but Jeno seems to have gotten the message. The elder grabs his thighs to secure his grip on him and sits down on the edge of the bridge Jaemin stuck to him.

“I am not going anywhere. Not at least next year. No need to be so worried okay?” Jeno rubs his head in a comforting manner.

Jaemin nods in answer burrowing more into the warmth, his head tucked under the other boy’s chin, nose nuzzling into the crook of his neck as he inhaled the familiar scent calming him down.

“You always smell so good.”

He sniffs loudly and Jeno chuckles above him sending pretty vibrations through his head where he rests his chin.

“I thought you have decided to avoid me. I don’t blame you though. I would do the same if I had been in your place too. Rather I thought of doing it too.”

He stroked the rose gold hair cool fingers carding through the stands messaging his scalp.

“I pushed you away, but you just broke in like a Hurricane.”

“Like a hurricane? That’s cool. It means I am cool.” His speech was slurred as he breathed down on the other’s neck.

Jaemin tightens his arms around the boy wriggling around to get comfortable in the Slytherin’s lap. Jeno loosens his hold on him a bit allowing him some wriggle space. When he deems himself comfortable Jaemin sits up, his face inches away from the other. He has never been this close to Jeno. He admires the high cheek bones and sharp bones. The thick lashes lines the stormy gray eyes lines by an outer pale blue ring and Jaemin is mesmerized.

“You have really pretty eyes.”

Jeno scoffs. His eyes still trained on Jaemin’s face.

“Wow, you must be really drunk.”

 “I am telling the truth though.” Jaemin pouts.

“You are much more beautiful than I ever will be.” Jeno just holds him and his voice is dripping with sincerity and Jaemin suddenly feels breathless.  His Glamour doesn’t affect Jeno so however, the boy perceives Jaemin, his opinions will be raw and undiluted. Jaemin feels his ears grow hot.

He stares at the Slytherin carefully. It was a delicate silence, not comfortable yet not uncomfortable also, but it was pleasant. And Jaemin felt like he was holding onto something very fragile.

The wind is dry and chilly, it takes the moisture right up from the air and Jaemin sees Jeno swipes his tongue over his lips to keep them from drying and Jaemin’s eyes follow the movement.

He kind of wants to kiss him.

Jaemin hasn’t kissed anyone like that. Sure he has kissed his parents and Donghyuck and Renjun and a few others like Jisung. but they are mostly pecks on the skin like cheek hand etc. not on the lips. He is somebody who thrives on affection and skinship so this is nothing new to himself. But this time he wants to kiss his lips.

They look plump and pink. Jeno doesn’t really have too plump or puffy lips, unlike Jaemin who has pretty pouty ones. Jeno’s lips are perfect for his face, pressed up when he smiles or stretches over to one side when he smirks. When he laughs it borders over his straight white row of teeth and stretches thin when he appears grim. And Jaemin wants to kiss them now.

Drunk-Jaemin has even lesser inhibitions than sober Jaemin has. So he swoops in, shocking the boy holding onto him.

The first one is misplaced. A flurry of uncoordinated movements and he hence ends up kissing the corner of his mouth.

“Ooops. I missed.”  Jaemin giggles happily.

Jeno looks shell shocked before he can retort Jaemin dives in for another.

A simple peck, a press of lips, and it is gone a minute later.

And Jaemin doesn’t like it. So he claims them again. A real kiss this time he wants.

It is sweet. Like a mild taste of chocolate. He swipes his tongue over the lips he has been eyeing for the last few minutes and then presses his own over them. There are no fireworks or foot lifting for Jaemin in his first kiss. But there is a numb feeling in his lips yet feels like repressed tingles spreading out from where his lips are pressed into Jeno’s to spread along his spine all over his body. His heart is beating like it will leap out of his ribcage like a leaping toadstool.

The moment is broken.

Jeno turns his head away from the Gryffindor’s eager lips. Jaemin whines loudly at the growing distance.

Jeno has finally regained his mind from the initial shock. He looks at Jaemin seriously, his solemn eyes boring into the other’s mischievous drunk ones.

“We shouldn’t be d-doing this Jaemin…. You will regret it in the morning. You’ll be-mmpff”

Jaemin just puts his arms around Jeno’s neck trapping his head and shuts him with another kiss. He knows Jeno won’t let his arms around his waist go lest the drunken boy falls off hence leaving him no free hand to shield himself. Jaemin utilizes this fact presses himself more into the kiss.

He nips and licks at the other’s lips like candy. He just can’t get enough of it and it is driving him crazy.

Jeno goes lax in his hold like he has given up letting out a warm sigh at the junction of their mouths. It tickles at Jaemin’s nose while he is busy tugging at the boy’s lower lip between his teeth trying to get him to surrender and respond much like a puppy begging for attention.

When he doesn’t get the reaction he wants he breaks the contact and pouts at the boy whining like a petulant child.

“Jenoooooo…”

Jeno looks at him with an exasperated expression that says “really?”

Jaemin cups his face, his thumb tracing the mole just under the elder’s eye, a beauty spot he thinks. Jeno opens his mouth as if to talk but Jaemin beats him to it.

“Out of all the things I would regret in the morning. This won’t be one. Believe me.”

For a moment he almost looks serious but there is still a blush high on his cheek and then he lets out an airy drunken giggle breaking the notion of him being sober. His fingers fiddle with Jeno’s heated earlobe.

“Oh my! You are so cute…your ears have turned red. Like strawberries. Are you embarrassed Je-”

Slam!

He didn’t get to finish as he finds himself pinned down onto the rickety wooden flooring of the bridge, head cushioned by Jeno’s cool palm and other pinning both of his arms above his head.  The Slytherin hovers over him pressing him down with his body weight careful of not crushing him underneath yet enough to render him immobile. It makes Jaemin’s heart beat a mile an hour; his cheeks flush even more resembling a ripe tomato.

Jeno kisses him. Finally.

He kisses Jaemin like he is starved. He moves his lips on him like he can’t get enough of Jaemin, runs his tongue over the seams of the younger’s lips like he is lapping up all of the sweetness. Jaemin feels a little heady.

Jeno tugs on his bottom lip sucking and nibbling as if asking for something and Jaemin parts his mouth.

It is a mistake.

Because there is tongue invading his mouth entangling with his own coaxing it into his own mouth and it tastes like chocolate and coffee. It reminds Jaemin of the chocolate ball with coffee filling Jeno gave him on the train after the Dementors incident.

It must be his favorite chocolate.

Jaemin responds back to his coaxing as fervently as he can. Tongue intertwining and fighting playfully. Jeno licks into his mouth tasting the remnants of the purple sugar plum wine in the crevices and corners. The kiss is equally melting, playful, hot and so them. Jaemin smiles at the kiss as he tries to free his hand. As much as he likes being kissed he needs to hug this person in front of him. Jeno lets them go and they immediately wrap around him holding him close. One hand wraps around Jeno’s neck other cards through his platinum blonde hair as he tugs at them giggling, retracting back from the kiss to take a lung full of air.

Jeno looks at him like he is the answer as he peppers kiss over his face while Jaemin giggles uncontrollably feeling ticklish. He looks at Jaemin like he is holding the world, the pretty galaxies of astronomy tower, a field of night blooms, the pastel sunsets, the grey mirror-like lake in rainy days, the pitter-patter raindrops on the tiled roof, glittering fireflies in the bush of white spider lilies in moonlight, music that hits against the rocks of the sundial, he holds all of them in him. But there is also despair in them that flicks through every time their eyes meet. Like he is sand that slips through his fingers, bubbles that burst as soon as they reach the fingertips.

And Jaemin is overwhelmed by all of it

So he closes his eyes enjoying the gentle gaze of the boy on him, a cool hand delicately cradling his face like he would break at a simple touch, like he is afraid of hurting. There is a kiss that lands on his forehead. Soft fleeting like a butterfly and then it is gone.

The warmth of the body pressed against him, the breaths on his nose, the hair slips from his fingers, the grip on his waist, and behind his head is gone.

Jaemin opens his eyes to see Jeno sitting at a distance away from him and it is like the kisses never happened.

“Jeno?”

Jeno just smiles back. It is a broken smile. Broken, fragile, hurt, and sad smile. And Jaemin wants to wipe it off his face.

“Let’s go Jaemin Na. You are drunk. I’ll walk you to your friends.”

He doesn’t offer Jaemin his hand like usual.

Jaemin stands up unsteady like a newborn fawn. He follows Jeno out.

The Slytherin doesn’t walk with him he walks in front of him hands clenched tightly head bowed like he is guilty of something, and Jaemin wants to go and hold his hand and smile at him assuring. He is reminded of the first time when he saw the boy in the first year; he always had his head down hands clenched. And he realized he has always wanted to comfort this boy. But he doesn’t have the strength now. His head is woozy like it is stuffed with cotton and his limbs are feeling heavy. Jaemin belatedly realizes it is the alcohol that is messing with him. He can already few hazy spots in his vision.

They reach the Grand Hall faster than Jaemin liked. He spots Yoojung standing in front of the doors searching for someone. When she sees Jaemin she speeds walks to him but halts at a distance when he sees Jeno.

Jeno pays her no heed.

“He is drunk. Call for his friends and take him back to the dorm.”

Jaemin sees Yoojung flinch and eye Jeno like he is some monster. She urgently tucks herself beside Jaemin.

Jeno doesn’t mind the stare, he glances at Jaemin once and he starts walking.

Jeno’s hair is still mused up from Jaemin tugging at them too much, his lips slightly swollen from the kiss but not noticeably so. Jaemin wonders if he is in a similar condition. His vision has a few black spots, limbs feel like made of lead losing strength fast. He feels Yoojung grabbing his hand, interlacing their fingers but he trying to catch a glimpse of the retreating back of Jeno that is disappearing into the crowd of people that is coming out of the Hall after the party has ended. His rascal of a best friend is probably in them. He sees the blonde like a flash before it is hidden from view by Renjun’s black mop of hair.

He wants to call Jeno back, ask him to stay.

I want to be with you. Stand with you. Let me.

And Jaemin faints.

When Jaemin wakes up the next morning feeling like somebody split his head open with a hammer, the dorm is in chaos. He is barely functioning when Donghyuck comes barreling onto his bed landing on it earning a groan from the half-asleep male.

“Wake up sleeping beauty. You have a lot on your plate that you need to do.”

Jaemin just groans in reply.

Damn, he is never gonna drink again.

“Yah! I am angry at you.”

“I should be the one angry at you for making me drunk, you fucker.”

Donghyuck looks at him judgingly.

“How can you even say this? Me…the great Donghyuck is the one that got you a girlfriend because I got you drunk!!! I should deserve the best wingman award.”

Jaemin sits up straight at the word ‘girlfriend’ and his head ends up hurting more.

“I got a what?”

“A girlfriend.”

“A WHAT?”

Donghyuck looks at him like he is stupid.

“A GIRLFRIEND. G-I-R-L-F-R-I-E-N-D. I swear to Merlin you are not this stupid usually but now even I doubt it.”

Donghyuck shifts in his position. Eyes containing a glint of mischief.

“I heard you also like her a lot. Apparently you like her so much that you fainted right after confessing. Is it true? Why didn’t you tell me? I would’ve asked Yuta Hyung to set you up a long time ago.”

Jaemin can feel another wave of a headache coming.

“Who is it?”

“What? Yoojung from Hufflepuff obviously. It can’t be that dumb to net even remember the name of the girl you confessed to unless……..Wait! Is it what I am thinking it is?”

Jaemin wasn’t in a mood to play the guessing game. He needs some headache medicine fast, so he answers truthfully.

“Donghyuck, I don’t remember anything of last night.” Jaemin sighs. “The last thing I remember is downing the 6^th drink you gave me to get me drunk while smiling at my face like the asshole you are”

Donghyuck was shook.

“Fuck…it’s gonna be a long day.”

Chapter Text

“So let me make it clear. You remember nothing after I handed you the drink at the food station.”

Jaemin sat in one of the scarlet comfy armchairs nursing a cup of green tea that Jisung handed him as his head lolled at the headrest. He groaned in reply.

“Okay…..this just got messier.”

Donghyuck stared at Jaemin like he is questioning why he has such a stupid, lightweight and outrageous when a drunk boy as his best friend.

“I know that Hyuck. You are supposed to tell me the solution, not the problem.”

“First of all it is your problem so why would I be solving it?”

“Because I have nobody to rely on but you, Renjun is way too blunt and Jisung is still a baby and I don’t for the love of God trust Chenle.” he made somewhat puppy eyes at his best friend because his headache is killing him and he might as well die annoying his best friend. Jisung protested at the corner and Chenle just didn’t bother.

“Haha…. Cute but gross. So what is in it for me?”

“Nothing…… I am sorry but I am just not in a mood for this.”

Jaemin turns sour. His best friend just doesn’t want to help him. He is evil for watching him suffer. Donghyuck must’ve realized that Jaemin is in no mood to joke about it so he changed the topic.

“I am sorry. I promised I would keep watch for you but I slipped up, okay…. You just vanished for a few hours and when you returned you were with Yoojung. You were holding hands and then you said something and fainted. Thankfully Renjun caught you. There were a few other students and also Yoojung’s friends there who said that you confessed to her before this fainting episode. Unfortunately, all the students heard it and it spread.”

“Wait! So you didn’t hear it? And I had disappeared and returned with Yoojung?”

“Yeah. I don’t know what you did though at that time.”

“So there is a possibility that I may have spent that time with Yoojung? Oh no! This is the worse. I don’t even remember what I did?”

“Probably kissed. Your lips were a bit swollen when you came or you were probably chewing on them so it got injured.”

Donghyuck said nonchalantly. Jaemin put his fingers over his own lips.

“Don’t worry, it isn’t severe. Chenle put some ointment on it. Almost puked on your perfect face though.”

Jaemin didn’t know what to do. Chenle puking on his face is the last of his concern. He did throw a grateful glance at the said boy though.

“Did you ask her about this? Like where we were and what we did?”

“Obviously. I love gos-…..umm information. So I asked but her but she was blushing so much I thought she would faint from blood loss. She was spluttering and was a minute from crying, plus her sister that Soojung is really scary so I dropped it. It looked like you did make out with her.”

There was an ‘Ewwww’ from Chenle and Jisung that Jaemin ignored. What were the boys doing here anyway?

“Fuck.”

Jaemin was done. He is done for good. He wants to go back in time with a time turner and kill off the drunken Jaemin.

As much as Donghyuck enjoyed seeing his friend in agony he knows it is indeed a serious problem and he is partly responsible for it.

“The easiest solution would be to go to her and confess that you don’t remember anything and reject her cleanly unless you want her to be your girlfriend. Then don’t do anything and just enjoy the show. You were always whining about getting a love life anyway. Be grateful it just dropped in front of you from the sky, just like that.”

He held Jaemin’s free hand.

“Look it is your decision to make I can’t help you out in that.”

Jaemin felt like a déjà vu again.

There were no classes today due to it being a weekend. So Jaemin had a much needed day off. So he spent the first half of the morning chatting with his best friends regarding his decision making. Renjun dropped by within that and dropped a ‘congratulation on scoring a girlfriend’ on his head and Jaemin groaned in response. It was his 23^rd congratulation today. The negative side of popularity.

Baekhyun entered after a while. He was missing since last night and came back from Merlin-knows-where. He plopped down on the sofa in front and stared at Jaemin in a disappointed gaze.

“What is it Hyung? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I am trying to assess whether you are truly happy after you confessed to the girl you liked in front of the whole school. They said you were so nervous about how much you liked her that you fainted after it.”

Jaemin facepalmed, he was neck-deep in misunderstandings.

“I don’t really remember the whole incident, Hyung. I was drunk. I probably fainted due to that reason. Because even while I am sober I can assure you of the fact I don’t like Yoojung as much as that people are speculating.”

Baekhyun thought about something for a moment.

“Do you like her?”

“No…no Hyung. I mean she is cute and sweet but that’s it. I haven’t thought about it.”

“That means you will be thinking about it.”

Jaemin sighed.

“Yes…no…maybe. Truthfully I don’t know. This thing has gotten too big.”

Baekhyun got up from his seat. He has a blank expression.

“I hope you decide soon. The news has spread throughout the school like wildfire. There are too many people who have no job to do except nose into people’s business. And it doesn’t help with the fact that you are a popular boy.”

He patted Jaemin on the back.

“Good luck kid, you’ll need it.”

Jaemin feels another headache coming.

Jaemin goes out to cool his head. The constant pondering has made him go insane. Donghyuck shoves him his woolen robes before he goes out for which he is thankful. It had been a bit chilly last few days.

He finds himself beside the lake.

The sky is overladen with deep gray clouds a stark contrast to the brilliant green mountains under it. The lake looks like a mirror, gray and calm without a single ripple like it is lifeless. The scenery of the Scotland highlands is reflected in it.

Jaemin remembers the Slytherin boy. He last saw him at DADA after their little incident at the bathroom. He had talked to Chanyeol deciding to avoid him; at least he has one thing less to worry about.

That makes him remember when he saw him here in his half drenched uniform coming out of the forest and he belatedly thinks if he was in the lake in his animagus form. Horned serpents tend to live around lakes and rivers mostly as they love to dwell in the water.

He doesn’t know how much time he has to spend sitting blankly in front of the lake when it starts to drizzle. But Jaemin doesn’t bother. If he gets sick he has a reason to avoid the pressing issues.

Nowadays whenever it rains he thinks of Jeno, if it is him making it rain. Horned serpents are known for bringing rainfall just like thunderbirds known for thunderstorms.

As if speaking of the devil he finds himself shielded from the light rain by a bright blue umbrella being held over his head. The bone-chilling wind blew past Jaemin carrying the strong scent of pine and citrus and Jaemin doesn’t need to turn to know who it is.

“Jeno.”

He looks up and sure enough, it is the boy looking down at him, hair all mussed up, half-dried rumpled uniform, a soaking robe and gray eyes filled with concern.

There goes his plan to ignore and avoid him.

“Don’t sit in the rain. You’ll get sick.”

Jaemin felt pettiness and irritation flare up inside him seeing the concern that exuded from him. All these for what? He is going to leave him anyway.

“What is it to you?”

It came off much ruder than he expected. He regretted it right after he said it. A flash of hurt passed through those pretty gray eyes.

“I am sorry. I was just conce-….. I am sorry.”

Jaemin felt even worse now. Jeno has enough shitty things to handle; he doesn’t need Jaemin’s moodiness and asshole like comments in his life.

“Don’t apologize. You did nothing wrong. It was me. I am sorry.”

“It’s okay. Let’s go inside. You’ll get sick like this.”

Jaemin made no movement to get up.

“Jeno.”

“Hmm.”

“Can I talk to you?”

He felt the boy freeze up. His eyes shifty as the bright blue umbrella in his hand swayed a bit.

“O-ok.” His reply came out a bit broken and high pitched like he is nervous. He kind of looked guilty. Jaemin is suspicious but he didn’t prod at it. He has a much more pressing issue to handle.

“What do you think I should do?”

“About what?”

Jeno settled down beside him on the wet grass, the umbrella hiked up on his arms settled in between them guarding a shoulder of each of them while other getting drenched in the light rain. But the warmth that seeped through their skin where their hands were placed adjoining, warmed them up so they forgot about their other cold shoulder.

“About the confession thing. You’ve heard about it right?”

Jeno just nodded his head in agreement, his eyes wandering off in the distance of the Great Lake.

“Why are you asking me?”

Jaemin shrugs.

“You always seem to have a solution to my problems.”

Jeno makes that ‘huh?’ sound when he is amused. Jaemin smiles at the exclamation. He finds it cute every time he hears it. He continues with his own talk.

“Truthfully I don’t remember anything about yesterday. Exactly nothing.”

Jeno looked a bit relieved. His stiff posture eased up as he relaxed on the grass his hands supporting his bad leaning posture.

“It’s okay. Some people when they get drunk they don’t remember what happened when they were drunk. It is normal. Just make sure not to drink so much next time.”

Jaemin just stared at the boy. He felt like he is missing out on something. There is something important that Jeno is hiding from him. But that is the usual Jeno. The Jeno who always hides and has a trail of skeletons following him from where they are buried in his cupboard. He wants to ask him a lot of things but he didn’t ask in the end because he knows the boy won’t tell him.

So he asks the question that has been pressing on him.

“So what should I do with Yoojung?”

“You confessed to her. Must mean you like her a lot.”

Jaemin sighed in frustration. Somehow Jeno saying it so nonchalantly felt wrong. He can’t put his finger on the reason for it though.

“Look, she is cute and pretty. But that’s all. I don’t even know her properly. Seriously, I have met her like once or twice at a gathering or something. We don’t even have common friends. But this matter has grown huge. I received a total of about 5o congratulations while walking through the corridors and its’ a day off. Imagine the scale. This is nuts. And I am confused as to what should I do.”

“You can know her slowly when you start dating her.”

Jaemin clicked his tongue in annoyance.

“Why are you so hells bent on making me date her?”

“I am not saying that. I am just giving you a reason. You can date her. No one will be opposed to it, is what I am saying.”

“What if I don’t like her?”

“You can’t say that unless you have tried, do you?”

Jaemin sighed in frustration throwing his hands in the air and kicking his legs in the wet grass like a petulant child.

“Why are you being like this? You must want me to date her, don’t you? Can’t wait to get me off your back?”

Jeno looks unimpressed.

“You know that is not it.”

“Then what is it? It is like you are pushing me to agree to date her.”

“I am not.”

“You are.”

“Look, it is your decision whatever you want to do. So take it comfortably. You can be selfish once in a while, nobody will blame you.”

“Being selfish is wanting to date Yoojung? That is your conclusion about my problem?” Jaemin scoffs. He can feel the building irritation under his skin.

Jeno looks equally frustrated and irritated.

“I never said that.”

“You just did.”

“I just want you to be happy. Okay? You confessed to the girl it must mean something right?”

“Nononono….not you too. I can’t believe this! I told you I have no recollection of it.”

“Doesn’t change the fact you indeed did it. Just not remembering it doesn’t mean it can be ignored.”

Jaemin looks speechless.

“Are you getting mad at me?”

“What? No.” Jeno looked irritated though. He must’ve realized it so he breathes in and calms down a bit.

Jeno places the handle of the umbrella in Jaemin’s palm and gets up.

“Whatever you choose will be a good decision. Have some confidence.”

And before Jaemin can retort something back Jeno gets up and he sees him run towards the castle in the rain.

He always sees the boy’s back running away from him after each and every encounter and it is like he regrets letting go of him every time. Jaemin wishes he could’ve spent some more time with him.

Jeno’s presence calms him down usually. But this time he was feeling unsettled like he was yet to resolve some issues between them. There was also some irritation mixed in his own emotions that he couldn’t find the reason to.

He goes to the Hufflepuff dormitory in the afternoon. He needs to resolve this issue as fast as possible.

It is Yuta who greets him with a knowing smirk and don't get Jaemin wrong he really likes his smile but this one makes him wanna sock him in the face.

“G’Afternoon, lover boy. Here to collect your beloved?”

Jaemin forces a smile.

“More like to talk.”

“Whatever you say, lover boy.”

“Stop calling me that please.”

Yoojung seemed to be waiting for him when he sees her.

The Hufflepuff common room is much comfier than any other common room of the school. The actual basement itself is round, earthy, low-ceilinged, welcoming, and warm. There are lots of yellow hangings, burnished copper, and overstuffed sofas and armchairs upholstered in yellow and black, and small circular windows that provide a vista of rippling grass and dandelions. There is also a large, honey-colored, wooden mantelpiece with carvings of badgers on it. This is located underneath a portrait of the house's founder, Helga Hufflepuff.

When he enters the common room he can clearly see the giggly bunch of 3^rd years and 2^nd years staring at him blatantly gathered around a sofa. Usually, he would not mind the stares but today he hates it.

“Hey.” It came out a bit tired, Jaemin thinks.

“Hi.”

Yoojung looked cheerful yet shy. There was a blush high on her cheeks. Her brown orbs flickered around here and there so as to not make her staring at him obvious.

“Umm…can we talk?”

“Y-yeah….I mean o-of-course. I am totally free.”

Jaemin tried to signal her to move to somewhere more private but Yoojung was oblivious, busy staring at him like she is spellbound.

“Ummm…” he coughed awkwardly. “Somewhere else maybe?”

“Uh…okay.”

She blushed like mad when she realized she was staring.

They were going to leave but another girl popped out.

Soojung, he presumed glared at him like a strict mother.

“I would be accompanying you. I don’t particularly trust you with my sister.”

“Sis!” Yoojung nudged her elder sister on her side blushing furiously. Her face resembling a ripe tomato.

Jaemin on the other hand felt a bit sick in his stomach. Looks like last night something did happen. Maybe Donghyuck was telling the truth, maybe they did kiss. That’s why her sister doesn’t trust him. He drunkenly kissed an innocent girl whom he had no previous connection to and now he is here to clear up the possible misunderstanding.

Let’s hope Jaemin can get out of this unscathed.

Shit! Jaemin is fucked.

They stood in the corner of the hallway within the eyesight of her protective older sister as Jaemin opened his mouth to talk but Yoojung beat him to it.

“I like you. I mean I really really like you. More than I should, truthfully. So I was very happy when you confessed. It is like a dream come true. So…..”

She twiddled her thumbs looking shy yet desperate.

“Jaemin Na, stay by my side. I would love to be with you. Please don’t break my heart.”

Her eyes were a bit red and tears had gathered in the corner them and Jaemin was feeling more helpless. He is already shit at rejecting people and worse at rejecting crying people.

“I umm...”

“Please go out with me?”

The effect of the crying puffy puppy eyes was in full force and Jaemin felt trapped. He can already hear the excited giggles and chirping of the eavesdroppers in the back and feel Soojung’s glare at his form.

“I uh…”

“I know you like me, you told me last night. I mean you can’t exactly say you dislike me after what happened.” She blushed again. And Jaemin felt dread twisting in his gut.

Just what the fuck did he do? Should he ask? Would that be a rude move to make? Maybe she would think he is an asshole asking what happened after he kissed her like it was nothing. Oh god, everyone would think I am a jerk.

 “……M-maybe not as much as I like you. But we can get there slowly. I’ll make sure of it.”

 Yoojung is rambling and Jaemin is feeling like an asshole for stringing this girl along.

“So…you are gonna say yes, aren’t you? Since you also like me….”

Jaemin looked resigned.

What is the worst that can happen? They will break up a few days later that’s all. On the bright side of things, he might even fall in love with her and bring home a girlfriend.

‘You won’t know until you have tried, do you?

“Okay.”

“Huh?”

Jaemin thinks Jeno’s ‘huh’ is much cuter.

“Let’s go out. Me and you.”

His own internal screaming was drowned in the screaming of the people around him.

When he returned to the Gryffindor tower mentally exhausted Donghyuck just looked at him questioningly.

“So, what happened?”

Renjun was reading a book when he looked up from there. Jisung and Chenle stopped their bickering to listen in.

“I have a girlfriend now. I couldn’t reject her.”

There was an awkward silence.

It was Chenle who spoke out.

“I don’t know Hyung. We should be congratulating you but you look like you need some condolences.”

Jaemin really hates this boy.

The news spread like wildfire, doesn’t help the fact that Yoojung is sticking to Jaemin like a leech and that also means her sister is always monitoring their moves like a hawk on attention. One wrong move and he is done for.

Donghyuck has named them Sticky gum for Yoojung and Icky gum for Soojung. Though he doesn’t like them much he doesn’t comment on them also. Donghyuck is the blunt type who says things to face if he doesn’t like but since it is Jaemin’s girlfriend he just stays clear whenever Yoojung and her sister and her giggly gang arrive. The same behavior is also exhibited by Renjun and Jisung. But not Chenle, he openly calls them out. When has Chenle ever cared though?

The first week is hell for Jaemin.

The first day he wakes up groggy in the morning to go for breakfast and he sees his ‘girlfriend’ right in front of the Gryffindor entrance of the Fat Lady all dolled up and waiting for him.

“Morning Bub. Did you get enough sleep?”

Jaemin winces at the nickname while Donghyuck makes gagging sound at the back which earns him a death glare from her sister who is closely following by. Soojung extends it to Jaemin as if warning him to keep his friends in check. And Jaemin is slightly offended.

“Morning, Yoojung. Breakfast?”

Yoojung seemed extra happy she tries to kiss Jaemin’s cheek but he dodges it at the right moment bending down to tie his shoelaces. Donghyuck sniggers at the back. Not even Soojung’s glare can stop him this time.

Breakfast is a tedious job as the girls sit with them and they eat quietly except for Yoojung who keeps chattering like a happy bird. The usual boisterous group at the Gryffindor table is quiet creating an awkward atmosphere. Even Jisung shifts away a bit when they settle down for breakfast.

“Jisungie…why are you going away from me? Come to mommy.”

Jaemin tries to grab the younger to give him a hug but the boy slinks away like an eel. The table bursts into chuckles at their antics and Jaemin is glad for this bit of normalcy.

“Hyung, stop.” The younger boy grabs Jaemin’s head by his long gangly limbs as he tries to keep him at bay.

“Why are you his mommy? Shouldn’t you be his Dad or something?”

And the table falls silent again at Yoojung’s question. Because truthfully they have never considered it much. If Jaemin and Jisung say he is the mother then he is. What is there to question anyway? Gender roles were something they have not thought of while joking around.

Jaemin smiled a bit awkwardly.

“It’s just a running joke. I nag him a lot that’s why it came to be.”

“Still shouldn’t it be a dad?” Yoojung blushed as she spoke again. “I can be the mom though.”

Jaemin didn’t answer, Jisung looked constipated, everyone looked awkward and Donghyuck just snorted. Baekhyun who came in yawning and heard the conversation just settled down on his usual seat. He threw a nonchalant reply.

“It’s just your first day of dating. Aren’t you going a bit too fast?”

Yoojung blushed in embarrassment Soojung reflexively glared but Baekhyun was her senior so when he stared back at her, she had to back down, albeit grudgingly.

The rest of the breakfast went quietly.

Before going out of the hall, Jaemin goes for his usual glance in search of the familiar blonde hair of Jeno but doesn’t find him anywhere.

People stare at them wherever they go whispering to each other mostly commenting on how Yoojung got such a big catch. Yoojung has a vice-like grip on his hand like anybody is going to come and snatch Jaemin from her and she flaunts their joined hands with a smile whenever she can, to whomever she can and it takes a toll on Jaemin. His own palm feels sweaty and gross and he just wants to free it off.

They go to classes together, sit together and Jaemin feels the stare on him like he is a trapped animal, and for once in his life, he doesn’t enjoy the attention given to him.

 And a week is gone within a blink of an eye.

 One positive side of all these is the number of love letters decreases a lot. But everything feels foreign to Jaemin. Like it is not him. Something just doesn’t fit and Jaemin doesn’t know what it is.

The only relief is when he has no classes with Hufflepuff and his dorm because he hasn’t given her the password to the Gryffindor tower. ‘House issues’ he has said and he knows Donghyuck is ever grateful to him for that though that was left unsaid.

He has seen Jeno a few times the past week but since he is back on his resolve to not get involved with him so he pointedly avoids him and so does Jeno which does irk him a bit if he is being truthful.

One day he caught him staring at him and Yoojung when they are sitting together in Great Hall with a strange look. It was something Jaemin hasn’t seen before. But because he has slowly become familiar with the show of emotions from the Slytherin, he knows what it is.

A look of relief mixed with despair. A contradiction just like the person himself.

Jeno looks away as soon as their eyes meet.

And Jaemin is pulled away by Yoojung who tries to feed him his breakfast for the umpteenth time like he is a four-year-old. A display of affection she says but Jaemin just finds it bothersome, still, he tries. Because he won’t know unless he tries. Donghyuck and Renjun just groan in the background for the rest of the breakfast.

It’s their first date at Hogsmeade.

Jaemin is in his hoodie and jeans when he spots Yoojung skipping towards him a smile on her face in a yellow dress and a long pink cardigan. It suits her a lot. Slowly like in a snail’s pace Jaemin was getting used to her, used to the fact that he indeed does have a girlfriend. A thought resurfaces and Jaemin thinks since he has come this far he might as well try to like the girl. It also helps him takes his mind of a certain boy at times.

It is a bit chilly weather with a gray sky and windy streets carrying along a tinge of moisture of the impending rainfall so they went straight for Madam Puddifoot’s Tea shop. It is one of the to-go places for any Hogwarts couples…err except a few maybe.

Baekhyun and Chanyeol are the exceptions.

When Jaemin asked Baekhyun where to go for a date, Baekhyun just pointedly replied to this place.

“But I heard that you hate that tea shop Hyung!”

Baekhyun just sighs. He has been a bit distant with Jaemin lately. Exams and study and Chanyeol taking up his spare time.

Baekhyun explains plainly.

“We are a same-sex couple, Jaemin-ah. And both of us are guys and as much as I love pink that place is too burdensome for me and Chanyeol. Also, people stare a lot when we kiss or share skinship, which I hate. So we just go wherever just not there.”

It’s not that same-sex couples are something looked down on. It is not. But rather is a bit rare to find one. Some pureblood families don’t support it sometimes but that’s because they think their lineage would be lost. So in other words they are not very common and they are not pointed out negatively, but people get curious. And Jaemin knows how burdensome and irking probing gazes can be.

“But you just suggested it to me as a dating place even though you don’t like it.”

“That’s because you are dating a girl and most of the girls here have it in their bucket list to go to Madam Puddifoot’s and have their dream date surrounded in pink and laces and cupids and god forbid what else as they smooch their partner off to another dimension. So you will be having your date there anyway whether you want it or not.”

Jaemin belatedly realizes that first; going on a date may or may not involve a kiss. And second, he doesn’t want to kiss her.

Baekhyun seemed to have read his mind. He ruffles his hair and pats his back.

“It’s okay kid. There is still time left.”

Jaemin has no idea what he is talking about.

He returns to the present when Yoojung tugs at his sleeve. He is sitting in front of the girl at a window table and finally, Jaemin observes his surroundings.

 He cringes because Baekhyun was not exaggerating when he said it was too pink for him because it was. It was bright pink satin everywhere coupled with laces and ribbons of bright colors and gold and copper cupids hung around the ceiling. It’s like someone puked rainbows throughout the room.

“You always zone out when I am talking. Am I that boring?”

“N-no. I was just thinking.”

“Thinking what? If you don’t mind me asking.” She was fiddling with the menu.

“Just this. How I got into this relation.”

“That means you were thinking about us. I think I can allow that.” Yoojung smiles brightly.

She is pretty and cheerful. She is equally cute and laughs a lot. Happiness comes to Soojung easily, just like her smiles. She is probably what Jaemin thought his ideal type was even three years ago. (Heck, they even have same favorite subject Herbology.) But somehow he is not moved by the crinkling eyes and pretty flower-like blooming smile.

If Jaemin were to compare Soojung to a flower. She is like the daisies that Jaemin bought her. Smiling, cheerful with the ability to lighten up the atmosphere. A bit ignorant and prejudiced but everybody has their backlogs. Even Jaemin has them so he has no right to judge. ]

From since he was young his parents have taught him to see the good in everything and that is how he ended up as a bright and positive person. He sees the good in anything and everything, equipped with unlimited kindness and fairness he thrives on affection. Just like a big yellow sunflower that feeds off the bright energy of the sun lighting up his surroundings.

Yoojung is a white daisy. Naïve, cheerful, honest, and hardworking with a bright core. A true Hufflepuff.

But Jeno is not.

Jeno is like a night bloom.

If one sees it first would ignore it because of its dirty white color and ugly asymmetrical petals. Jeno is hated and avoided in school. Because of his powerful family and undetermined heritage. Again a contradiction. They are afraid to offend him due to his mother, yet don’t want to bend their backs also in front of an illegitimate child whose mother has had questionable acquaintances from the time she worked with the Death Eaters.

The result is they avoid him, and Jeno avoids them back. He is tightly shut clam, a night bloom that people wouldn’t recognize in plain sight.

But when it is dark, it shines. The night bloom hold a constellation of blues and purples, of bright glowing heart-shaped leaves that pull you in its magic. It is attractive, gorgeous, and very mysterious. Growing deep in mystical forests out of human reach. Jeno is exactly like it. Mysterious, powerful, and undeniably attractive to those who know his truth, yet extremely out of reach and closed off in nature.

It starts raining outside. The light drizzle turns to a chilly downpour turning everything gray and Jaemin’s thoughts wander back to Jeno just as their Chamomile tea and cheesecake arrive.

He looks at the girl in front of him smiling prettily at her portion of cake and he remembers Jeno also likes sweets. Just like that he imagines the Slytherin sitting in front of him in this gaudy café smiling at Jaemin in happiness as he cuts into his cake eagerly.

But it is not him. It’s Yoojung, his girlfriend who urges him to eat.

There is a disappointment in his chest at the reality of it and Jaemin doesn’t know what to do with it.

It happens again when they are in the quill shop, because Yoojung needs to buy some sugar quills. Jaemin sees an emerald green quill with a obsidian grip and silver nib and he thinks it would suit Jeno very well. He thinks about buying it as a gift but then again he has no reason to give him a gift much less have a conversation.  But he takes it anyway as a repayment of all the birthday presents he has received. Someday, he thinks.

Yoojung sees it while billing their purchases.

“You bought a gift?”

“Yes.” Jaemin watches as the clerk gift wraps the quill box with embroidered paper.

“You didn’t have to though. I already have pretty ones.”

“Umm…It’s -”

“Also green is a bit… it’s not that I don’t like it or something but how about that yellow and pink one?”

“It’s a gift for a Hyung.” He lies.

Yoojung blushes mid rambling about how she would accept anything if it is from her boyfriend and then looks embarrassed.

Jaemin buys her chocolate from Honeydukes as a replacement.

When Donghyuck asks how his date went. He replies with an okay. The wrapped box of quill burns in his pocket.

It happens again on the next date.

This time Jaemin cracked a joke. It was a poor joke though, not much fun, and Yoojung laughed throwing her head back, eyes crinkling and pretty sound of laughter ringing in the café attracting the attention of the occupants.

Jaemin always wanted someone who would laugh at his jokes no matter how poor of a punch line it has and Yoojung is exactly that. But this time he feels weird. Yoojung laughs easily.

Jeno doesn’t.

Maybe that’s why when Jeno smiles at him or with him or maybe at a joke he cracked, Jaemin feels rewarded. Like he has achieved something impossible. That sense of accomplishment is not there when Yoojung laughs.

It is a very rude thing to say maybe.

Jaemin knows Jeno’s smiles. A tight-lipped one when he is in a pinch but don’ want others to worry, a slight one when he is amused, a cocky smirk when he knows he is right, a mischievous one where there is a twinkle in his eyes and lips stretch to form a Cheshire cat like grin and Jaemin’s favorite happy smile. This one is when Jeno is smiling happily without a worry, eyes crinkling into pretty crescents; lips stretched thin over pearly whites showing and mouth slightly agape as he lets out an adorable snort.

Jaemin thought Jeno looked nice then.

“You are spacing out again.”

Jaemin coughs a bit.

He should stop having these thoughts while he is out with Yoojung. Jaemin doesn’t know what is wrong with him these days. It’s like all he thinks of is how different Jeno and Yoojung is. While he shouldn’t be doing it because Yoojung is his girlfriend and Jeno is a friend (?).

It starts raining again. It has been raining quite a lot these days and Jaemin unwillingly thinks of the boy again.

The weather has turned cold and the rain transforms to a hailstorm. Large round crystalline chunks of ice falling from the sky threatening to break the glass window pane beside Jaemin.  Jaemin worries if Jeno is out in the forest stuck in the storm.

“What violent weather! Guess we’ll be stuck here for a while.”

Yoojung looks happy being stuck with Jaemin in the tea shop surrounded in the exaggerated colors.  As for Jaemin, he is not quite sure if he can reciprocate that feeling.

He just smiles a practiced one and Yoojung believes it to be a happy one as she goes back to sipping her hot tea.

Jaemin’s tea goes cold and untouched in front of him.

Jaemin sees Jeno in classes and other tutorials. Sometimes in libraries and sometimes during breaks. But he doesn’t greet him and neither does the other. It has started as avoiding, ending up in a competition of who can ignore the other. And Jaemin misses their interactions.

There is a combined class taken by Hagrid on Care of Magical Creatures somewhere in the middle of November. He was out on school’s business so to make up for the lost classes he calls for an all batches one.

It has snowed last night; the soft crumbly pile of white crystals covers each and every surface of the valley painting the scenery in pure white. There is a thin sheet of ice forming over the gray Great Lake and conifers are touched up by the frost turning them into white bushes of foliage.

The students gathered at the field in front.

Jaemin sticks to Renjun like a faithful friend but then Yoojung arrives and he is dragged away to the Hufflepuff side surrounded by her giggly gang again.

He subconsciously keeps an eye open for Jeno.

Jaemin realizes he has been doing it quite often lately. Before he would just glance a few times and done, but these days he just keeps on staring, observing his every move. He feels like a stalker and it is not a good feeling.

But he can’t help it. So he searches for the boy.

He sees him in his own sitting in the corner of the stone bench with a book. His usual routine. The Niffler is here again. It sits on his lap like an obedient child leaning against his abdomen melting into the warmth of the human enjoying the belly rub Jeno was giving him unmindfully.

“Cute.”

He realized he has said it out loud. Yoojung beside him blushes and the girls break out in excited shy giggles.

“Wow! He is totally in love with you.” a girl nudges Yoojung as the other blushes.

“Ugghh… I want a boyfriend too.”

“Gosh! I feel so single.”

Jaemin can’t even correct them. So he just smiles and everybody including his girlfriend just swoons. Jaemin goes back to staring.

It was a big Streeler.

A gigantic snail with a blue shell that turned orange in an hour. There was a large glass plate like flooring placed in the middle and the snail is placed over it bounded by a barricade like a wooden fence. Steelers leave toxic trails on the soil that burn up vegetation of the area so to protect the flora such measures were taken.  The snail twitched it’s antennae-like eyes and opens its mouth to let out a poisonous glob.

It earned a combined “Ewwww.” from the students and Jaemin agrees with it irrespective of his love of animals. He can feel Yoojung clutching on to him like a lifeline. She is scared of bugs, lizards, anything slimy and practically anything nonhuman that moves.

But her luck runs out when Hagrid calls for her. He hands her a spinach leaf as big as her face and asks her to feed it to the creature. Yoojung looks like she is about to cry, she glances at Jaemin who somehow manages to give her a somewhat assuring smile.

Yoojung holds out the leaf with a trembling hand and the creature almost glides to her with an abnormal pace and truthfully it was a terrifying sight. The girl on the other hand is genuinely scared and in a fit not only she drops the leaf screaming but smacks the nearest person to her with an equivalent force of an angry rhino sending the person tumbling over the barricade into the glass flooring.

This nearest person happens to be Jaemin.

Jaemin nicks his knees over the wooden fencing landing on his butt. He sees the animal feel the movement as it turns to him. The Steelers are usually harmless but its mucous secretion is poisonous. The secretions from under his pseudopodia flow out as he moves towards Jaemin sensing the vibrations he has created.

It happens under a minute, in a hurry, he tries getting up, and the animal throws a glob of poison to where he was sitting minutes ago. It lands near his ankle and he can feel a stinging pain shoot up his right leg. Jaemin closes his eyes hissing in pain as he tries to limp out of the area.

He feels a pair of hands, cool to the touch and he knows who it is. They slip under his arms easily and lift him up as Jaemin relaxes in his hold reflexively. He opens his eyes somehow managing with the burning pain as Jeno carries him out of the area. He is grateful Jeno is not princess carrying him or else he would be too embarrassed to face his friends.

He is dropped on the stone bench where Jeno was sitting a few minutes ago. The other boy bends down in front of him ignoring the gasps of the classmates and takes off Jaemin’s socks and shoes. There is an ugly red blister forming over his right ankle and Jaemin groans flinching in pain when Jeno touches it. Jaemin’s heart feels like it would burst out of his chest as to how fast it is beating but he chalks it to be the pain.

He hears the Slytherin grumble under his breath.

“It’s like trouble is your middle name. I took eyes off you once and you go ahead and jump in poison pit. Are you a kid? Getting hurt left and right….”

His voice is high enough for Jaemin to listen in but not the spectators. The Gryffindors bows his blushing head down so as to avoid displaying the smile that is threatening to break out at the sight of the worried Slytherin in spite of the pain. Jeno takes out a vial containing a sparkling bluish green liquid and placed his bare foot on his thigh.

Renjun pushes himself amongst the crowd to reach Jaemin.

“Yah! Are you all alright? Did you get blistered or something?”

“I am fine. You worry too much.”

Renjun was going to say something to Jeno but Yoojung beat him to it.

“I am so sorry, Bub. This happened because I pushed you. Oh my god! I am so clumsy. I am such a bad girlfriend!!! What should I do? You got hurt because of me?”

Tears flowed freely down her cheeks. And in a minute she was sobbing loudly.

Rosella standing beside Renjun clicked her tongue in annoyance. Even Renjun who usually refrains from interacting with her seemed particularly irritated.

“Let me do it. I am his girlfriend it is only right for me to do it.”

She went ahead towards where Jeno was sitting on the ground to make a grab for the vial.

Jaemin was about to protest but he suddenly had no reason to. What Yoojung said was reasonable, she is indeed his girlfriend. As for Jeno, he is a friend.  He suddenly felt like he had the short end of the stick.

Jeno however didn’t hand it over. He frowned at the approaching half sobbing half eager girl and scrunched his nose in distaste which Jaemin found very cute even if he was openly showing his distaste towards his girlfriend. Realizing it he erased his fond expression immediately.

Jeno stretched his hand pulling the vial away from her hands, no intention of giving it.

“Sorry, call me petty but my potion, my policy.”

Yoojung was a bit surprised for she never expected him to act this way.  She became a little flustered.

“But you are a man.”

Jeno raised an eyebrow in question as if asking ‘so?’. When the girl looked confused he just sighed.

“So you’re gonna allow me to treat your boyfriend or just add up to your crime more by leaving him untreated?”

“No it’s okay...y-you can treat him.”

Jeno went back to his job at hand. He lathered d a bit of the ointment on his blister and a soothing cool sensation evaded his senses as Jaemin sighed in relief.

This is the second time Jeno had treated his foot and Jaemin felt his loud heartbeat in his ears.

Hagrid, who had been concerned, looked over the process along with Renjun who had an inquisitive stare at Jaemin. The latter ignored it mostly.

Renjun supported Jaemin back to the dorm along with Rosella as he asked about Jeno.

“What is your relation with him?”

“Acquaintances…?”

“Sure.” Was the sarcastic reply.

“No truly. I helped him in the cage case with Trunks. It was repayment. He hates being in debt.”

I can’t tell you the truth. Forgive me for this even though you are a good friend of mine.

That seemed believable to Renjun and he didn’t question it further. Rosella did want to interrogate though but was cut off by Donghyuck who let out a dramatic gasp or squeal of concern when he saw Jaemin injured.

And the topic of discussion ended there.

Soojung came by next day with a box of chocolates from her sister to ask for (threaten for) his forgiveness which Jaemin had no choice but to give. Because Soojung had a tight grip on his wrist and Jaemin thought it would break off until Jaemin said he forgives her sister. He still had a red mark over the porcelain skin of his wrist from the grip.

He received a bottle of the same potion from Jeno. It came with a white chit of parchment that said to apply it twice a day. Ruby delivered it to his dorm; it was a mystery how the snake moved in and out of their dorm with such ease.

As he applied the ointment over the blister, a cool sensation spread over it bringing relief and in return warmed up his heart. Jaemin smiled at the notion of the boy worried for him.

In the first week of December, he received a letter from his father. Apparently he was on a business trip to Amazonia and brought his mother along with him. There was no mode of communication so he couldn’t get the letter but the trip has ended and they will be home by a week before Christmas. Jaemin thought he will talk to his father when he gets home for the holidays.

Yoojung still stuck by Jaemin, the only difference is she is even clingier to him.

“She’s like a gum that won’t come off.”

Donghyuck remarked as he chewed on the hazelnut chocolate.

“Yah! She is my girlfriend.”

Donghyuck makes a face.

“She might be. But doesn’t change the fact that she indeed is one.”

Jaemin kind of agrees but he doesn’t say it. Donghyuck gets the message anyway.

“So are you gonna invite her over for Christmas?”

Jaemin stills, the chess piece in his hand falls in the wrong place and the magic auto playable chessboard checkmates his king. He clicks his tongue in annoyance when he find out. But it is too late. He has already lost the game.

“No, I don’t think so. I am dating her for the last 2 months or so. I have to tell my parents before I invite her out.”

“You want me there….you know when you tell your parents or something?”

Donghyuck said it very nonchalantly. After all Jaemin was there when he came out when he was thirteen that he liked boys. His mother being a Muggle grown up in a conservative country was a bit disappointed but she later came to be seeing her husband’s supportive attitude.

Jaemin remembers the memory of how Donghyuck bawled his eyes out in his shirt when it turned out okay.

“No…it’s not like I am coming out or something.” He smiles. “I think it’ll be fine.”

Before long they were back in Hogwarts express going back to their home to enjoy a nice Christmas. Yoojung clung to him even in his cabin as she slept by his side almost leaving her entire weight on Jaemin. She came with her plus one the ‘icky gum’ sister and as a result, the whole of the cabin was quiet and awkward much different than how rowdy it was when they started the year. Jaemin felt like he was suffocating.

Chenle was nowhere in sight, Jisung was at a corner asleep Renjun was reading and Donghyuck and Mark were in their own world talking to each other in whispers. While Jaemin was stuck looking out of the window Yoojung’s heavy head on his shoulder and Soojung’s glare burning the side of his skull.

Jaemin’s mother Mrs. Na was waiting at the station for which he is grateful because unlike other times Donghyuck has ditched him for some work he has and he took off with Mark.

 When she saw her son she went ahead and hugged him in a bone-crushing hug letting out an excited squeal.

“Guess what? Grandma is here to stay during Christmas. She is waiting for you back home.”

“Mom…Can’t b-breathe.” She apologetically loosened her hold on him.

“Hello, Mrs. Na! I am Yoojung, Jaemin’s girlfriend.”

His mother looked at him then at the girl in front of her as if asking for confirmation.

Jaemin nodded hesitantly.

“Oh! I never expected this. Pleased to meet you, dear. You are batch mates I presume.”

“Ah yes!”

Jaemin nudged her mother.

“We need to go; you said grandma is waiting for me at home. We shouldn’t keep her waiting.”

“Oh yes! Sorry dear, my mom has been waiting eagerly to see his grandson. It's better we leave early. How about I’ll treat you to some dinner someday okay? I’ll relay the plan to Jaemin. Okay?”

“Yes, Mrs. Na.”

Jaemin dragged his mom out. His mom just looked on amusedly.

“Do I want to know?”

“No. Just….just ignore please.”

“Three questions, okay?”

Jaemin sighed at his mom’s pretty blue puppy eyes.

“How long?”

“2 months nearly.”

“Did you drunkenly sleep with her or something?”
“WHAT? NO!”

His mom looked relieved.

“I can’t believe you trust me so little.”

“Oh no! I trust you, honey. I just don’t trust other people. I had to go through some torturous times as school because of our blood status; I am just making sure you are not in some kind of trouble due to it.”

Jaemin softens up at his mother’s words. He knows the hazards of being too beautiful. The Veela blood is a blessing as much as it is a curse.

“No…nothing serious happened, mom. Don’t worry.”

Jaemin had somebody to help him out.

“Okay, last question. Do you like her?”

“I don’t know. Probably no.”

“Thought so.”

“What?”

“I am your mother, honey. I can tell your likes and dislikes with a snap of my finger. You don’t like that girl. You probably like the person who gave you the flowers. And I am sure as hell they are not the same person. Aren’t I right?”

“What! NOOooo… I don’t like Jeno. We are or rather were friends that is all. I d-don’t l-like him l-like that.”

His mom looked at him like he is joking before giving a resigned stare.

“Whatever floats your boat, Hun.”

Jaemin tripped over the pebble and slipped on the dry flooring twice on the way home because he was distracted.

He doesn’t like lee Jeno like that. He does not. He just doesn’t like boys anyway.

“I think I am in love with him.”

Jaemin choked on his cup noodles.

“What?”

“I think I am in love with Mark.”

“I heard you the first time, idiot.” Jaemin wipes his mouth with a tissue before dumping it in his now-empty bowl. “What I am asking is how do you know?”

Donghyuck looked at Jaemin like he is stupid.

“What do you mean ‘how do you know’? There is no definition or criterion for it. You just know, okay. One day you’ll get up and you’ll know that you are in love with this person.”

“I am pretty sure it doesn’t work that way.”

“How do you know lover boy? You’ve never been in love before. Even though you have a girlfriend.”

“Well, neither have you.”

Donghyuck thinks about it seriously.

“What you are saying is valid. I think we need an expert opinion.”

“And who is this person in your mind?”

Donghyuck just grins like a Cheshire cat and Jaemin has an ominous feeling about it.

And that’s how he finds himself sitting in front of his maternal grandmother who is here for Christmas along with Donghyuck to accomplish their task of gathering expert opinions.

Donghyuck has managed to be in Jaemin’s grandma’s favorite book and now he plans to utilize it.

“So Baba, have you been in love before?”

Baba or as she is called by her grandsons looked at the two young boys in front of her with curious eyes. Here is the thing, Jaemin’s maternal grandma is a Veela and hence she ages slowly, her beauty never really lost. She does a few crow’s feet at her eyes and a dimple by her lips but other than that she has the same grace and charm with platinum blonde hair, blue eyes, moon white skin, and her Glamour.

 “Of course, your aunts and uncle didn’t fall off from heaven nor was carried in by storks.”

“Babaaaa…. That was gross.”

The elderly woman just laughed mischievously

“What do you want to know?”

“How did you know that you were in love?”

“Hmmm…” she thinks before she answers. “ I think it is different for everybody. It is a different feeling for each and every one, unique to them only.”

They looked unimpressed with the answer.

She only chuckled and elaborated.

“Personally, me and your Dyado, we were childhood friends. So for me, he was comfort, home, and completeness. I have known him my whole life and I couldn’t think of living separated away from him and he thought the same. He was with me till his last breath and I am happy I got to spend a good life with him.”

She looked sad. Jaemin grabs her hands to comfort her. She just gave a melancholic smile.

“For your mom, it was love at first sight. I don’t know how it feels to fall in love with someone you meet but she told me it felt like fireworks in her belly like she has found the right one, the one who suddenly colored up her dull life. I trusted her choice and hence we end up here….as for your aunt, well she was in an arranged marriage, she ended up falling in love slowly while getting to know the person, for her it was warming up process. She isn’t very open about her feeling so I can’t tell you much, but she is happy and that is all I pray for.”

Jaemin sighs, looks like everyone in his family is happy with their life, and here is him stuck in complications.

“ It’s not very easy to describe it though. You will think of that person all the time, his/her wellbeing, whether they are eating properly, wanting to see them all the time, wanting to spend some more time with them. Your eyes will follow them around, you can spot them easily in a large crowd because you are familiar with them, and last but not the least a feeling of happiness and contentment. There are also others but as I said it will be different for everyone. Not everybody has it the same.”

The more she spoke the more Jaemin fell deeper in his thoughts. He tried to block the obvious thoughts filtering in his minds piling up like a house of cards. An ominous feeling blocked him from reaching a conclusion as all he can think of is a certain Slytherin boy.

No, let’s stop thinking altogether. This is unchartered territory. Let’s not go there. I don’t need further complications in my life.

He forcefully shut down his thoughts before he accepted the truth.

He already has a girlfriend anyway.

Over the holidays he pondered over it. He felt like he is standing on the edge of a cliff a step away from stumbling off. He didn’t like the feeling, but accepting the truth was scarier. No, he will eventually have to accept it one day but just not today. Maybe tomorrow when he thinks about it he might come to a different conclusion.

Just not today.

The tomorrow he hoped for never came.

No matter how much he thought about it he always came to the same conclusion. It was impossible to deviate from it.

It was one day while he was sitting with Donghyuck in their terrace looking at the sunset that it hits him like a freight train.

They were looking at the pretty sunset in the distance coloring the sky in shades of pink and orange that he remembers Jeno. He remembers that Jeno also likes sunsets, he likes watching them sitting in a wooden bridge informally dressed, bare feet brushing the green conifer tops, bathed in the soft afterglow of the setting sun, blonde hair mused in the gentle breeze. He remembers the way he smiled at Jaemin, fussed over him, worried for him, cared for him, protected him, and trusted him. Above all Jaemin misses him. He missed talking to him, his warmth, his cool touches, and small rewarding smiles.

Suddenly he can’t ignore the elephant in the room anymore.

And it comes down tumbling like the precariously balanced house of cards. He is afraid to voice it but his mind chants it repeatedly in his head like it is making Jaemin used to the truth.

He liked Jeno.

Na Jaemin was in love with Lee Jeno.

Chapter Text

The realization was like an earthquake spreading out from his epicenter of a heart. It was mind-numbing and scary yet all Jaemin felt was calm. There was something repressed which refused to come out under these circumstances. When Donghyuck asked him what’s wrong while offering him a bowl of his shelled out peanuts all Jaemin could do was refuse it. The lump stuck in his throat would not allow him to eat anything anyway. He had to get it out and tell someone but he didn’t know who. Donghyuck was an option but he was feeling unsure about telling him not because he doesn’t trust him but the fact Donghyuck doesn’t know the whole thing and his innate curiosity is something Jaemin not willing to handle now that he knows a lot Jeno’s secrets.

So he thought of the next best person.

Jaemin’s father was away that day. It was three days after Christmas and New Year was still a few days away. His father, Na Yi Je was a vet and a researcher. He usually treated magical creatures after they had been rescued from different tricky situations. He goes around the globe with his team rescuing creatures, studying them, and giving lectures under the Ministry Of Magic. He was here for Christmas only to leave the day after for Germany and would be again back in two days just in time to celebrate New Year with them. His mother Ileana has usually had Christmas promotional photoshoots but since Jaemin’s grandmother came over she took a holiday, hence was at home during the whole vacation.

And for this Jaemin was grateful. Because if there is somebody whom he needs now the most, that person would be his mother.

So he finds himself sitting with his mother on the same terrace overlooking their little garden after dinner. She had made two steaming cups of coffee as they sipped on their drinks enjoying the falling feathery snowflakes from the cloudy sky.

It was a relaxing moment. And Jaemin thought he would say it. Now or never.

His mother had already sensed his discomfort as she looked at him curiously.

“What is it? What is bothering you?”

Jaemin flinches a bit.

“How do you know that something is bothering me?”

“Because I am a mind reader. This little fool, I am your mother, obviously, I would know. So what is it?”

Jaemin sighs and takes a deep breath.

“I think you were right.”

“I am always right. There are so many things I am right about that you have to point which one you are talking about.”

“The o-one about me l-liking….”

“Ah! Finally, you know that you like that boy!”

“N-No-”

“It is a boy, right? Did I mess up the gender? You said his name was Jeno. That sounds like a boy’s name.”

Jaemin can’t hide anything from his mother anyway. It is a futile attempt.

“Yeah.” He sighs resigned. “It is a boy.”

“So what is the problem? He also likes you back doesn’t he?”

“No. He doesn’t. Rather I don’t know. He….well…he has a complicated family situation and he is really closed off and we never talked about anything like this.”

“But he gave you flowers, didn’t he? That also night blooms on your birthday.”

She gazes at the flowers that are still kept over the dining table in a crystal vase glowing beautifully.

“That he did…….I-I don’t know, mom. He even refused to be friends with me the first time but yet he was so kind to me and even helped me out a lot. He….h-he just confuses me a lot. I mean he has his reasons, I know that but Merlin...it’s just messy and he is like the definition of contradictions. I have n-no idea what to do…”

His mother just listens to him, taking in what Jaemin has been rambling about.

So Jaemin tells her.

He tells her about the Dementors incident at the train, how he saw Jeno in the kitchen with the elves, their Halloween dance, their astrology classes and potions lessons, how he topped the scoreboard for two consecutive years, his birthday presents. Jaemin purposely left out the werewolf and animagus part, some other day. It was not his secret to tell in the first place. He told her that he is sick, probably. He also told her how Jeno pushed him away whenever he feels like Jaemin is getting close to him.

“There is something about his smile, mom. When he smiles it like everything just lit up, his eyes make this adorable crescents and he looks so cute, like a puppy.”

His mother looks at her son and sighs.

“It is not just a ‘like’. Is it?”

Jaemin stills. And it is like being punched in the gut. He splutters and sighs because even if he has said it in his mind so many times he is not sure whether it will be okay to say it or not. There is this choking sensation again. Like the words are stuck in there in his throat threatening to spill while Jaemin tries to violently swallow them. It is because he is afraid. He is afraid of tipping off this edge of the cliff he is standing on and saying it would be free-falling down into unchartered territory.  

His chest has squeezed itself in pain. The word comes out with great difficulty.

“N-no…-no.”

His mother sees through his lies. She looks at him sympathetically, wrapping her thin arms around Jaemin’s frame in a warm hug.

“Oh Honey….”

Jaemin doesn’t what is the event that triggers it but the dam breaks open.

Jaemin cries like a baby in his mother’s embrace.

Because he is afraid. He is confused. He's scared out of his wits because he has never felt like this before. This feeling he has no control over is scary and all-encompassing and earth-shattering for him. He is so….so confused yet finally comfortable with it. A very paradoxical feeling that leaves him breathless and frustrated yet at the same time excited. A contradiction.

Oh! The irony…..

The next day Donghyuck comes over in the afternoon and surprisingly they both sport the matching swollen red and sleep-deprived eyes and they don’t ask each other about it as they wait for the other to tell when the time is ripe. Jaemin’s grandma just secretly smiles as she feeds them the tarts she baked. Desserts are after all perfect for these kinds of things.

New Year is a happy occasion for them. The families gathered down to celebrate and in midst of the bursting fireworks in the sky Donghyuck holds Jaemin’s hands tightly, fingers interlaced. He looks at his best friend waiting for him to say it and Donghyuck relents.

 “I think I am in love with Mark.”

This confession is much more serious than the previous one he has said. Because Donghyuck has grown to understand the complications of feelings that come with love. He has grown a bit older in the last three days on the sunsets he has watched with Jaemin and the sleepless nights he has spent on this matter. 

There are a few stray tears hanging of his curved eyelashes and Jaemin wants to confess his part too.

I am in love with Jeno.

But he doesn’t.

Instead, he hugs Donghyuck warmly just like how his mom hugged him back. Warmly and assuring because even if Donghyuck’s mother is upset it is okay. It is okay to fall in love with somebody a boy or girl. As long as you are sincere to yourself.

And Donghyuck hugs him back tightly.

Vacation passes by in a blink of an eye.

And he is back in platform 9 ¾ waiting for the train to arrive. His mom is, as usual, holding on to his hands and normally Jaemin would think he is not a kid so it is unnecessary but this time he just clings on to it. Because the person who has been on his mind for the past few weeks is just in front of them and Jaemin equal parts want to run away and smother him with hugs and kisses.

None of which is desirable so he just stands there stiffly holding onto his mother.

Somehow after his revelation, his eyes are constantly on the boy. If he was feeling like he was stalking the boy before now it is worse. All he can see is him.

Jeno’s platinum blonde hair is a bit longer styled to the side like usual, perfectly ironed school uniform and robe, stifling tie, and gold-rimmed glasses tucked in front of his grey sweater.

He must’ve been staring hard because Jeno senses it and looks back at him. Those pretty stormy gray eyes which were staring at the floor now bore into Jaemin’s aqua ones. He gives him a gentle smile and Jaemin does something he regrets.

He blushes.

The type in which you can feel your ears getting hot just from the sheer amount of blood being pumped in your face.

Jeno irks an eyebrow at him and Jaemin thought he couldn’t blush any more but apparently he can and he does. So much that his mother and Jeno, both end up looking concerned.

“He is handsome. I’ll give you that.”

“MOm!”

“What? He is cute.”

Jeno notices his mother standing beside him and bows in greeting.

Though his mother is not Asian but she has been in the household for enough years to know it to be a respectful greeting to an elder.

“……and polite. He’ll be a great addition to the family.”

“Mom!!! That’s it! I am going.”

His mother laughs at his embarrassment. Her pretty sound of laughter makes head turn at the station as they gape at her stumbling over their own foot and luggage.

She ruffles his hair and kisses the top of his head.

Soon Donghyuck comes trudging in ‘fashionably late’ as he calls it and they find Renjun in the crowd and settles down at one of the cabins. Jaemin crosses his fingers praying to whatever superpowers up there to spare him today.  Thankfully Yoojung is late and doesn’t search for him in the first half of the day when she gets on the train.

That leaves only him, Donghyuck, Renjun, and Jisung. Mark is with Johnny in another cabin with other Gryffindor players strategizing for the upcoming Quidditch game.

“Where is Chenle?”

“With the Lees’” Jisung replied sulking.

Jaemin felt his heart skip a beat on the mentioning of the boy.

Gosh! He is royally fucked. Now he is even reacting to his name.

Jaemin ponders on whether to tell his friends as he observes them talking about miscellaneous things. Mainly Donghyuck and Jisung chattering and Renjun just comment occasionally. He snaps out of his daze when Donghyuck pinches his side.

“Ow….What?”

“Spill.”

“Spill what?”                  

Jaemin rubs his side. Donghyuck has pincers instead of fingers.

“Whatever you have been meaning to tell us. Say it.”

Jaemin sighs.

“I am gonna break up with Yoojung.”

He breaks it to his friends cautiously gauging their reactions. He told the truth just not the whole of it.

“Freaking finally!”

Renjun just fist bumps into the air.

“I never thought this day would come. I almost imagined sitting down in your pink and gold themed wedding delivering a speech of fakeness as your best man while stuffing my face with fancy vanilla cake and strawberry champagne.”

“Wow! That’s way too detailed.”

Renjun just rolled his eyes at them.

“Anyway, what we meant is that we are glad you finally got your head out of your arse.”

“Exactly. In simple words.” Donghyuck agrees with Renjun.

“Yah!”

Jisung looked at him sympathetically.

“Look Hyung, we can see clearly that you were not very happy with her. I mean she is a great girl but just not the one for you.”

Jisung patted his back like a brother and Jaemin felt like he raised him right.

 “True. I would say the same. But…..”

Renjun looked at Jaemin suspiciously.

“There is one thing I am curious about. What changed your mind? You were almost ready to try and fall in love with her.”

Jaemin gulps nervously thinking of an answer.

“It’s not that. I thought it was not good that I was stringing a girl along with me while I am confused with her. It felt wrong.”

It’s because she is not the one I love.

They didn’t get to ask any more questions, because Yoojung burst in through the sliding doors followed by her sister.

“Oh god! Not again.”

Donghyuck half whispered half screamed while Renjun just rolled his eyes in frustration both of them earning a glare from Soojung as Yoojung stuck herself beside Jaemin chattering about her holiday spent at home.

Jaemin sighed mentally while maintaining a diplomatic smile as he listened to her chatter about her 4 pigmy puffs; she keeps at home as pet and their cute antics. Jaemin found it to be a hard feat but his smile remained unwavering throughout the journey.

When they got down at the station it had started to snow. Wisps of white floating down from the indigo sky illuminated into a golden color in the light of the lantern as they gently piled up soundlessly over the surfaces.

 Jaemin’s eyes automatically searched for the blonde head and he found him looking back right at him. In the orange glow of the lantern he can barely make out his expression, but the piercing gray eyes looked directly at him as if staring at his soul. And Jaemin felt like Jeno was staring into his heart as if he knows his feelings for the boy. Nervously he breaks the eye contact looking somewhere else mind surging with guilt. A flash of hurt passes through those eyes but Jaemin doesn’t see it as he is dragged away by Yoojung and his friends towards the Thestral carriages.

While they were parting for their dorms at the entrance hall Jaemin stopped her for a chat.

“Yoojung I needed to talk to you for a bit.”

“Oh Great! I also needed to talk to you for a bit.”

Jaemin was a bit confused. Talk to him about what?

“Okay, so wanna talk now?”

“I would’ve loved to but not today, bub. I am a bit tired. How about this Saturday? We were supposed to go to the café. Let’s talk there.”

Dumping somebody in a public place didn’t seem like a good idea.

“Uh…how about tomorrow? This is something important.”

Yoojung looked shy. She blushed like a tomato. She bit her lip looking at Jaemin expectantly.

“O-okay.”

Jaemin is sure he is not going to say or do anything of what Yoojung is expecting him to do. He just prays she won’t be too hurt and he can escape this unscathed.

Donghyuck flopped on his bed smelling his freshly washed bed sheets at their dorm room.

“So did you tell her?”

“No.”

Jaemin rotated his head to ease out the cricks of his neck.

“I’ll tell her tomorrow. I asked her to meet me tomorrow, after classes probably.”

Jaemin buried his face in his hands.

“What are you so concerned about? Hurting her? Breaking her heart?”

Jaemin just nodded.

He is indeed afraid of hurting Yoojung. Even if they were not meant to be he can’t hurt her without feeling guilty, after all the girl really liked her with the totality of her heart, sincerely and honestly. While here he is stuck with feelings for someone who doesn’t even spend more than a few hours with him in a month. His possibility of having a fulfilling happy love life with Jeno is close to nonexistent.

Jaemin sighs for the umpteenth time.

Donghyuck just stares at his friend worried.

“Don’t worry too much. You are sparing her from future hurt or even worse things by breaking it off early. It is beneficial for both you and her. So even if she cries or throws a tantrum be patient and stick with your decision. Don’t waver; it is best for both of you to break it off before it develops into something serious and toxic.”

Jaemin nods again. He should’ve rejected her that day after Halloween. But he was angry with Jeno and she looked pitiful so he thought he would try it out. It was a foolish decision, he totally regrets it. But then again if he hadn’t dated her he wouldn’t have realized his feeling for Jeno and would remain ignorant and dense for Merlin knows how long.

Jaemin lies down in his bed trying to sleep but he doesn’t think it will come.

Sleep does come.

But it brings along a nightmare with it.

He is back in the forest and this time he is not in himself but in the body of someone else. He is running through the forest, the branches scratch against his cheek and exposed skin of his arms. The forest floor which is usually green is painted with colors of fall as the leaves littered on the ground crunches under his bare injured feet. It usually looks quite lovely: a forest in fall but now it carries an ominous feeling. The glaring red of the leaves and trees look like a scene bathed in spots of blood under the faint purple-blue glow of the twilight.

Faster. Need to run faster. Faster. Faster.

Jaemin speeds up even more. His lungs are burning with the lack of air and body aching from exertion but he keeps running. The cuts on his face and body are painful and stinging from where the sweat beads rolled over them.

Just a bit more.

As if like magic the thick foliage opened up into a clearing with a wide view of a large water body.

A lake. Or is it a river?

The original host turns his body around eyes searching for somebody. But there is no one. Not a single living soul and the surrounding are eerily quiet except for the harsh breathing of the boy and he bends over his knees in exhaustion.

Jaemin feels weird. It is like it is his body but it is not under his control. There is someone else. It is like two souls in a body. It is him but not him at the same time. Jaemin is like a spectator who is seeing it unfold from this boy’s perspective.

The boy whistles. The sharp sound cuts into the heavy silence like a knife. No one answers back so he whistles the tune again. There is a distant rumble of the dark thunderclouds that has started gathering up at the horizon giving the premonition of an autumn thundershower.

The boy is desperate as he runs to the water body like a mad man until the water reaches up to his chest. He whistles the tune again and again ending in a dry cough.

 There is finally some movement.

The water bubbles a few feet away from him and a pair of reptilian eyes emerge followed by a pair of stag like silver horns from the calm gray water surface. A large snout with another pair of curved horns in the back of its head and a hissing bloody red tongue flicks out as if to taste the air around it. The creature pulls itself up, its upper body rises up to a massive height of 10 feet off the surface of the water the rest submerged, as a pair of enchanting pale blue eyes look at the boy.

Jeno!!

Jaemin can feel the hot tear streaks flowing cascading down his cheeks. He couldn’t differentiate which of their emotion is causing it.

Is this Jeno? Is it him? But it looks the same as his animagus form.

“Y-you have to leave. They are after you. The guests….t-they were magic people. They found out.”

The boy waddles into the water hugging the body of the serpent. The obsidian crystalline scales smooth and cool under his touch, they gleamed purple and turquoise even in the dim light. His arms reached to round the body trying to get himself as close to the serpent as possible.

“The piece of your horn you gave me. I kept it.”

The boy tentatively looked up to observe the expression of the creature. The blue eyes only displayed curiosity so he continued.

“I-I couldn’t sell it. It was a piece of you. So I kept it with me. B-but then….”

The boy choked up as he felt another wave of fresh tears burning behind his lids.

“T-then father saw it. I promise I had hidden it well enough, he went through my things. He thought it was silver and sold it off in the gambling den of the inn. Those guests that came in the inn….they were the magic ones and they took it away. They said it came from a horned serpent and it was priceless. They are after my dad. It is only a matter of time before they discover your whereabouts from the village people….and….then…..”

They’ll try to kill you.

Fear of the creature in front of him being killed seeped into his skin and it made Jaemin shudder involuntarily. This boy, Jaemin thought was not only attached to this snake but also emotionally dependent on him. The thought of him getting hurt was so painful lest getting killed. It was like his heart is being squeezed out of his chest. An emotion Jaemin recognized s despair surged inside him. The boy was in great pain. He was afraid of parting with the beast.

But the boy knows he has to let him go for him to survive. But then what about himself? How will he survive in this world without his only friend, his only companion who keeps him sane in his misery?

“Run away.”

The serpent just made an indignant sound at the back of its throat at the remark.

“Run away from here. G-go far away. Where they can’t catch you.”

The words tumbled out of his lips unwillingly. While in reality, he was a liar, he didn’t want him to go. He wanted to stay together with him. Jaemin can feel it clearly.

“It’s okay. I will be fine. They don’t harm no-magic normal people. But it is different for you. They’ll be after you once they find out.”

The serpent showed no intention of going away. Instead, it put its body around the small frail figure of the human putting him inside a protective coil of his trunk and licked the blood and tears off his face. His large snout nuzzling against him like a domesticated cat.

“No…no don’t do this. Stop…. You must go. It is no longer safe here. You don’t understand they are after you.” the boy caressed his jaw gently.

The serpent just made another sound no intention of moving away.

Suddenly there was a loud sound from the midst of the forest. A flock of birds flew away from the source of it disturbed by the loud bang.

The boy gripped on to the creature hard like holding onto a lifeline.

“They are here…..leave now. Leave while you still can.”

Then again the creature didn’t move an inch.

It was a group of 20 or so people. They were wearing robes and carried wands in their hand pointed at them, ready to attack even at the slightest movement.

The man in the black silk robes who stood in the front of them looked like the leader. He smiled at them, his gold teeth catching the light, the menace seeping out of him.

“Oh-ho! Look what we got here. Aren’t you the errand boy of the inn? Thanks for leading us here. By the way, it was your sister who told us about this unique ‘friendship’ of yours. So don’t blame us. Your family did you in.”

Jaemin saw the man sneer at them. The men that gathered all looked buff and rough and Jaemin had been this scared in his life.

Within minutes they had him surrounded yet maintaining a considerable distance not steeping into the water. They know better than to underestimate a horned serpent.

The boy had paled as he clung onto the body of the serpent no intention of letting go even if he were to die with him.

“Get away from it boy. We don’t want to hurt a Muggle.”

Surprisingly the snake uncoiled himself letting the boy free.

“No….no. Why are you doing this? Let me be here. I can protect you. They won’t hurt me I can be your shield.”

The serpent just pushed his snout against the human nudging him to go along, to go away from him so that he won’t get hurt. But the boy didn’t let him go. He grabbed onto his scaly trunk no intention of moving away.

One of the wizards became impatient. He ran forward and blasted off a spell towards the boy.

“STOP! WHAT ARE YOU DOING, YOU FOOL?”

The leader shouted after his subordinate but the hex was already thrown.

The reaction was instant. The serpent pushed Jaemin away by a swing of his tail and received the brunt of it, the hex reflecting of its hard scales. It released a violent hissing-screeching sound, angered at the action, and let out a fog of venomous purple vapor towards the party.

The wizards coughed and screamed falling to the floor, angry red blisters appearing on their skin as they fumbled about.

“Don’t let it get away! Drink the potions now! It’ll be effective against the poison.”

Jaemin was shielded away from it as he was pushed towards the other side. He was confused as to what to do. He was desperate to help but unsure if he would be of any use at all and not add up to the burden.

The wizards recovered pretty quickly due to the potion and soon it turned into a war. Hexes and curses were thrown and globs of poison were delivered in retaliation. The powerful jaws snapped one of them into two and the swipe of the barbed tail took down another. Screams rang in the air but it was muffled by the rain that started falling. The heavy downpour washed away the blood and gore and Jaemin shivered, whether from cold of being drenched from the rain or the violence he doesn’t know.

Jaemin saw with a fearful heart as a number of them somehow subdued the creature not before getting another three killed. They held onto the serpent with magical shackles and another approached from behind, a large machete in hand.

Save him. Must save him.

Jaemin didn’t realize that he was running. When he did he was already near the serpent.

“Watch out”

The boy cried with tears in his eyes as he ran to the shackled serpent with all his might. A glint of silver and then a look of surprise flashed across the approaching wizard’s face.

Jaemin woke up with a start.

He was sweating buckets and panting like he ran a mile. The sheets were soaked in his sweat and locks of his strawberry blonde hair were plastered on his forehead. The memory of the dream is still fresh in his mind.

What was that? Premonition? Past? Was that Jeno? Was it me? Why am I seeing this? Had it always been that serpent that dream-Jaemin was talking to?

There were too many questions he doesn’t have the answer to.

He looked around and found the dorm empty: it showed 9 am in his clock. That means no breakfast and skipping the first class. He got out of his bed sluggishly and started getting ready for the day. His mind was still left in his dreams as the questions and peculiar situations piled up one after another just like the soft flaky white snow piled up in his window.

Jaemin was in a visibly bad mood. Donghyuck thought it was because he didn’t wake him up and instead went off to class alone. But it was meant to be a prank and Jaemin is usually too chill to mind a prank. But somehow he was in a sour mood the whole morning. He had created this depressing gloomy aura around himself that even Donghyuck failed to cheer him up.

Jaemin hadn’t seen Jeno in classes today. Particularly none of the classes. Jeno takes a day off usually in most months but yesterday was not a full moon night yet Jeno was not in class when Jaemin ran his eyes through it combing to find the familiar blonde head. Today he felt an uncanny urgency. A strong desire to see him, to feel his heartbeat under his fingertips, to feel his cool yet unexplainably warm hands slotted between his.  There was an ominous feeling brewing inside of him that was telling him he needs to see Jeno with his own eyes. To verify that he is indeed real and breathing.

Jaemin doesn’t remember how long it has been since he had come here.

He stood in front of the wooden bridge where the Slytherin boy used to sit and he looks out to the sunset. Today the sunset was a bit different. It was not the usual pastel ones Jaemin is used to seeing. Rather it is a violent shade of vermillion and bright scarlet with streaks of gold. The slope of the hills on both sides of it is covered by snow which had turned a pink color in the light. It looked like strawberry ice cream, which should have been tempting had Jaemin not been lactose intolerant and hated strawberry flavoring in food.

The bad day seems to be continuing because as he walks towards their usual spot, he trips on a piece of the wayward corner of the plank of the wooden flooring right in the middle. He lands hard on his butt and involuntarily curses.

“Fuck! That hurts.”

Jaemin feels like a déjà vu.

“Did you drink?”

“Yes and no. I don’t know.” he giggles

Jeno just shakes his head from frustration.

“Purple sugar plum wine. Somebody spiked your drink.”

“I know. Donghyuck did it.”  He flashes the Slytherin a brilliant smile.

“Some best friend you have.”

He suddenly felt sad.

“Yep, that is exactly I wanted you. You are responsible, mature, and loyal. So you won’t spike my drink to get me drunk and then leave me alone. Won’t you?”

Jaemin pouted and poked Jeno on the chest.

“But you are a meanieeee…. So I am not going to be your friend.”

Jeno looked like he didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. He sighed again tightening his hold on Jaemin’s waist.

“C’mon, sit over here. I’ll bring you some water.”

“NO.”

Jaemin refused to let go of Jeno. He wrapped his arms around his torso and took his legs off the floor wrapping them around his waist as he hung off him like an octopus.

“You are not allowed to leave. You can’t leave me.”

“What the hell was that?”

A memory surfaced in his mind. He can’t really pinpoint where it is from. It is like he just unlocked the Pandora’s Box.

“What is what?”

Jaemin whips his head back to look at the person behind him at breakneck speed, his pain was long forgotten.

It was Yoojung stares back at him with curious eyes. Jaemin can’t ignore the disappointment in his heart.

“You said to meet after class.”

“Ah yes!”

Jaemin did tell her. He scoots towards the edge of the bridge and settles down in his favorite spot. Truthfully he always saw this place as something his and Jeno’s. Their secret spot. From when he started thinking like that he is unsure but one thing that he is sure about is that Yoojung’s presence here unsettles him.

“Can I go first?”

Jaemin just nods. She is going to be heartbroken and hurt this is the least he can do for her. She sits down beside him. Yoojung takes a deep breath before blurting out.

“I think it’s time we can go for a kiss.”

“Huh?”

Jaemin was stupefied. Well, the thing is Jaemin hasn’t kissed Yoojung while they were dating. Yoojung did kiss him on the cheek as a thank you or token of affection but that was it. Jaemin never initiated it. He always felt guilty about Halloween night and above all, he never wanted it with her.

Yoojung was patient with him, a born Hufflepuff but two months is a lot of time and so she thought it was best to bring it up. She always thought Jaemin was being considerate towards her and being a gentleman but she is ready. She always has been. Yoojung thinks they are ready to take it up a notch in their intimacy and starting with kissing then moving up would be a better idea.

“Look, I get it you were being considerate towards me by keeping a comfortable distance but I think we are ready. It has been two months and I want you to be my first kiss…”

Jaemin thought the day was full of surprises.

“Wait! What? Did you just say the first kiss?”

“Yeah….. I mean. I haven’t dated or kissed anyone before. You are my first boyfriend and-”

“What about Halloween night?”

“What about it?”

She looked purely confused.

Jaemin caught the cue. He should tread carefully now if he wants to know what exactly happened that day.

“Do you remember how I confessed to you?”

“Oh yes! The best day of my life, how can I forget” her eyes sparkled in excitement at the mention of it. “I mean you were a bit drunk and they say a person says the truth when they are intoxicated.  You just came into the corridor in front of the hall and I was searching for you. And then I held your hand because that Lee Jeno was really scary when he glares and you not only protected me but also confessed. Like, imagine the surprise. I was like over the moon…”

“Wait! Lee Jeno?”

Yoojung shudders at the name.

“Yea. He is scary. He brought you in while you were loitering around drunk. Well, I should give him some brownie points for that but he is Ugghh….I don’t know how to explain it. He is just scary! I don't like him.”

 Suddenly Jaemin felt something click.

“That means I was with him before you found me.”

“I am not going anywhere. Not at least next year. No need to be so worried okay?” Jeno rubs his head in a comforting manner.

Jaemin nods in answer burrowing more into the warmth, his head tucked under the other boy’s chin, nose nuzzling into the crook of his neck as he inhaled the familiar scent calming him down.

“You always smell so good.”

He sniffs loudly and Jeno chuckles above him sending pretty vibrations through his head where he rests his chin.

“I thought you have decided to avoid me. I don’t blame you though. I would do the same if I had been in your place too. Rather I thought of doing it too.”

He stroked the rose gold hair cool fingers carding through the stands messaging his scalp.

“I pushed you away, but you just broke in like a Hurricane.”

“Like a hurricane? That’s cool. It means I am cool.” His speech was slurred as he breathed down on the other’s neck.

And suddenly Jaemin remembers it. He remembers being with him, sitting on his lap as he admired Jeno openly.

“You have really pretty eyes.”

Jeno scoffs. His eyes still trained on Jaemin’s face.

“Wow, you must be really drunk.”

 “I am telling the truth though.” Jaemin pouts.

“You are much more beautiful than I ever will be.” Jeno just holds him and his voice is dripping with sincerity

He remembers wanting to kiss him and when he actually did it was everything he never knew he wanted but now that he knows he hates to let it go.

He remembers how it was sweet. Like a mild taste of chocolate with a hint of coffee. How there was a numb feeling in his lips yet feels like repressed tingles spreading out from where his lips are pressed into Jeno’s to spread along his spine all over his body. His heart is beating like it will leap out of his ribcage like a leaping toadstool.

  “We shouldn’t be d-doing this Jaemin…. You will regret it in the morning. You’ll be-mmpff”

Jaemin just puts his arms around Jeno’s neck trapping his head and shuts him with another kiss. He knows Jeno won’t let his arms around his waist go lest the drunken boy falls off hence leaving him no free hand to shield himself. Jaemin utilizes this fact presses himself more into the kiss.

 “Out of all the things I would regret in the morning. This won’t be one. Believe me.”

Then Jeno had kissed him.

He kissed Jaemin like he was starved. He moved his lips on him like he couldn't get enough of Jaemin. He remembers it to be hot and playful and so them. The way Jeno peppered kisses all over his like he was everything he wanted yet so careful as if Jaemin is fragile and something so so precious to him.

And then he went ahead and forgot it.

“Yeah, now that you say it. It seems like that. Wait! Are you friends or something?” Yoojung seemed to have thought of something but then dismisses it. “I hope you are not though nothing good comes from mingling with them.”

And suddenly Jaemin couldn’t take it anymore. He felt betrayed, angry, lost, and confused, but there is one thing he was sure of.

He needs to find Jeno.

He needs to ask him why he didn’t remind him. Does he like him back? Is that why he kissed him back? If so they why did he distance himself from him?

“Jaemin? What happened? Did you zone out again? You don’t look so good? Are you sick?”

Jaemin looks at the girl in front of him. She was worried for him but he was sorry because she wasn't the one for him.

“Let’s break up Yoojung. I like someone else.”

“What?”

“I’ll tell you details later. I am sorry. Like really sorry for it. Just say that you dumped me I don’t mind.”

“Jaemin?”

Jaemin had already got up.

He needs to find Jeno.

“I am sorry Yoojung, but I need to go.”

And he takes off.

He searches high and low for him but Jeno is nowhere to be found.

Instead, he bumps into Taeyong in the corridor of the 7^th floor.

There was something greatly unsettling about Taeyong today. The boy’s emerald green eyes were flickering here and there like he is searching for something important and he looked half-crazed as he paced around in front of the seventh-floor bathroom. When he spotted Jaemin he rushed to him like an angry bull and Jaemin had a half a mind to run away but he was grabbed by his arm.

“Have you seen Jeno?”

And suddenly all Jaemin could feel was fear coursing through him in large waves washing away his rationality. He stills in his grip.

He just shakes his head.

“Do you have any idea where he can be?”

Jaemin braved himself. He knows it is serious.

“No, why? Where is Jeno?”

Taeyong didn’t glare at him for once and instead looked even more worried if that is possible.

“He is missing. Since morning. I can’t find him.”

His fears came true.

“A-any idea where he could be? I mean he disappears and comes back after a while. Maybe he will be back.”

Taeyong looked at him and Jaemin saw the fear mirror his own in those forest green eyes. Taeyong looks visibly shaken. His hands were clammy and his form trembled as he spoke it out quietly. He seemed so much into his worries that he forgot Jaemin to be an outsider.

“He is sick. He shouldn’t be out. He has never been gone for so long. He always makes sure to inform me or Hyung. But then he is gone from the morning and I-I searched everywhere. I can’t find him. I just couldn’t find him. What if he is hurt? He is sick and weak, what if-”

“NO”

Taeyong visibly finches at Jaemin’s reply as it bounces off the ancient walls of the castle.

“Nothing will happen to him…..”

Taeyong laughs humorlessly.

“I don’t think you get it. He is sick. And it is not some stomach flu or broken limbs. He is ill, so much that it is eating him away.”

Jaemin is afraid of the words to come. But Taeyong says it anyway. His eyes sad and filled with despair as he looked at Jaemin.

“If this keeps on. He might actually end up losing his life.”

No. Anything but that.

Jaemin runs and runs until his lungs burn and legs can’t take it anymore. He scours the area like a hawk searching for the blonde mop of hair. He bumps in strangers, apologies ready on his lips, disappointment when he doesn’t find him. But there is something even more obvious.

Fear.

Fear of losing Jeno. Of never being able to see him again makes Jaemin die a little from inside. He is desperate. He wants to see him one more time. One more time he wants to hold his hand, kiss him one more time, tell him its okay, he is here for him.

He wants to tell him he is in love with him.

He prays he can find him fast.

He does find him. And when he does he his heart stops beating for a second.

The moon is high up in the sky.

The moonlight has painted everything in silver, the snow accumulated over the surfaces gleamed in the dim light but it only added up into the cold eerie feeling.

He found Jeno unconscious lying on the cold hard ground behind Hagrid’s cottage at the near end of Forbidden forest. Hagrid was out so his cottage was empty and there was no familiar smoke from the chimney. When Jaemin found him Jeno was cold like ice, his breathing barely there a faint wisp of warm air. The moonlight only added to it lighting up his pale skin giving it a bluish deathly glow.

He looked lifeless.

"Jeno!"

And Jaemin before he could even comprehend the situation, he was bent over him casting spells after spells to keep him warms as he poured the healing potion he got from Taeyong into his mouth trying to get it inside his system.

“If you find him, give it to him. He needs it.”

“Why are you giving it to me?”

“It’s because you are Na Jaemin"

Taeyong pauses a bit before continuing. And Jaemin is taken aback at what he says.

"I trust you." He says to him. His eyes sincere as he looks at him. And Jaemin feels overwhelmed by it. He gives the younger a vial.

"We will be going to the forest to look for him. If you find him feed him this."

He sighs. " You were right I was overthinking, nothing will happen to him.”

He looked tired and worried. He held onto Jaemin’s hand.

“Help us, please.”

Jaemin’s body worked on autopilot as he gathered Jeno in his arms wrapping his scarf and robes tightly around him, holding him close to keep him as warm as possible.

"Jeno......Jeno......it's okay you will be fine. I am here I will protect you. It's gonna be fine. You will be back. I'll make sure of it."

Jaemin felt his voice break. He brushes the blonde hair off his face and hugs his head closer on his lap.

Jaemin prayed and prayed to whatever superpowers up there. He dared not to leave and call for help. Too afraid to leave the boy and lose him again.

It is okay, he will be fine. Jeno is strong, he can pull through.

Hot tears ran through his cheeks but he held the sob in that was trying to escape. He can’t cry, he needs to be strong.

A few minutes later the body in his arms stirred.

Jeno opened his eyes as he proceeded to sit up. Jaemin held onto him like he is going to disappear.

“Jeno!”

Jeno was the one who was most surprised.

“Jaemin? What are you doing here?”

All of a sudden all Jaemin could feel then was blinding anger.

“How could you do this? How could you disappear like that? Is it a joke to you? You know that you are sick. You should’ve taken more precautions. Do you even know how worried we were? How hard it was for your brothers? Did you even think about it?.”

Jeno was weak but he was frowning.

“I asked you first. What are you doing here?”

“I was worried. Why? You don’t want me here? Do you hate me that much just because I saved your life? Do you want to die that badly?”

“I never said that” he snapped at Jaemin.

“But you were acting like that. Going around in this wintry day in light clothes without a care in the world, not telling anybody where you went, while you are sick is practically a suicide mission.”

Jeno just got up. He stumbled a bit before standing up straight, snatched away his hand where Jaemin was holding onto him.

“Leave. I am fine.”

Jaemin was frustrated. Jeno seemed all cold and guarded. He was ignoring Jaemin and it drove him crazy.

“NO. I am NOT gonna leave you like that.”

Jeno glared at him.

“I don’t need your pity or your worries. I am perfectly fine so please leave. I still have work to do.”

He didn’t look back as he made his way towards the forest. His gait unsteady.

Jaemin saw him staggering as he made his way towards the Forbidden forest.

Jaemin saying he was frustrated is an understatement. He rubbed his tears raw by the back of his hands ashe huffed. All these tears spilled for a person who would rather die than be with him.

That’s it I am off.

And Jaemin turned his back on him seething in anger.

Go die, see if I care.

Jeno was already at the edge of the forest when he felt a grasp on his arm and he was pulled back with a huge force. He was thrown on the ground a hand tightly around his wrist like a shackle. A figure sat on  practically straddling him, pinning him  to the ground so he couldn't move at all. His view was blocked and all he could see was a pair of aqua blue eyes staring right back onto him.

“Jaemin?”

“It was not pity.” Jaemin looks at Jeno straight into his eyes.  He looked positively livid, cheeks flushed, red swollen eyes from crying and tear tracks on his face.

 Fuck it.

“I love you, you fool.”

There was a silence that prevailed.

Jeno looked at Jaemin like he has grown three heads.

“NO”

It was a firm answer.

Jaemin had expected many answers and no was one of them but he never thought hearing it personally would hurt so much though.

“Why? Why did you kiss me then? Did that mean noth- ......Jeno?”

“No….no absolutely not. Anyone but me. No no.....no….”

Jaemin realized Jeno was not listening to him at all but instead he was trembling and his hands were shaking as he grabbed onto his head covering his ears. He was already weak and pale and now he looked like he would pass out at any moment.

“Why me? Why is this happening again? Why? Why? Why is it always so cruel to me? I even accepted it when it came as it is, so why now. What should I do? Its gonna happen again….”

Jeno was rambling like a mad man shaking like a leaf. Jaemin held onto his shoulders firmly as if trying to ground him. He then slid his hands over his face cupping it as gently as possible.

“Jeno…..Jeno, baby listen to me. Nothing is gonna happen. You need to calm down for a bit, how about-”

And Jeno stills cutting him off. He stares back at Jaemin with a blank look on his face. And Jaemin feels something coming. Jeno opens his mouth to speak.

“I will tell you.....I will tell you all about it. then you can decide whether you can still love me or not"

Chapter Text

It was a sunny day. And Chaerin hated sunny days. She liked them windy and cloudy sometimes rainy. The sunlight felt like it was burning on her skin as she retracted her hand from where it was spread on a sun dipped spot on the ornate rosewood table. The sheer white curtains floated in the wind bringing in the chill from the outside. She had asked the maid to keep the windows open in the morning even though the maid was complaining about her catching a cold in winter.

Chaerin never got sick nowadays. It was different before. She was a sick infant when she was born but then her mother dowsed her in medicines until her taste buds numbed with the bitter taste of the Chinese herb concoctions. She had to exercise and eat healthy food until her mother was sure she was not getting sick anymore. The habits stuck with her and her maids though the woman who initiated it isn’t here anymore.

She left her all alone in this dog-eat-dog place to die.

But she survived, much to the dismay of the other inhabitants of the house. And she plans to continue it, sticking out like a sore thumb among them. She plans to continue to remind them of their inability and inefficiency, their failure at controlling or killing her.

The thing is if you ask people they would say Lee Chaerin was born with a golden spoon in her mouth. She was a modern-day princess born in one of the most influential families. Or so they thought.

But it was all bullshit.

She was indeed the eldest daughter of the main family but she was just a disposable pawn in the eyes of the other. After all, she was a girl and hence the only use she has is to bear children and at the most govern the house. She can never be the head of the house. That title is for her prodigal half brother to inherit. Because only sons are entitled to that role, daughters are useless even if they are much more able and powerful than the former. That has been how they had existed for years and continued forward.

Chaerin’s fate is exactly like her mother.

Chaerin’s mother was the legitimate daughter of another old family, maybe not as much influential as the Lees' but they were rich. That is precisely the reason why his father entered in an arranged marriage with her. Though it is a custom in the family that they should marry within the family but Chaerin’s mother was a pureblood and the Lee family was in a financial crisis, hence they ended up so.

 While other people congratulated her mother for being able to marry higher up on the social ladder, her mother clearly knew she was being sold to a life of a trophy wife to the Lees’. Money exchanged of social standing.

And she was right. She loathed the fact she was right.

Though Chaerin’s father, the Lee Patriarch looked all strict and upright, he had a horde of mistresses.  Specifically five of them, three from the branch family of the Lee’s and two from the brothel he used to visit frequently.

 Chaerin is disgusted with the prospect of having a relationship within the family, marrying cousins or god forbids half brothers but she knows her fate all too well.

But she is not somebody who will go down easily.

Her mother wasn’t also. She was a strong person. She had her own ideas and beliefs and soon she created a foundation of her in the family. She had a noble unapproachable aura that kept people even as snobby at the Lees’ at bay. Within two years of their marriage, Chaerin was born.

A girl child and that also sick, she received little celebration for her birth. A fortune teller predicted that she won’t live past 3 years of age. But her mother was adamant about saving her and here she is at the age of 11. The woman indeed proved everybody wrong but while she was caring for her daughter, her fickle husband was stolen by his rumored childhood sweetheart of a cousin, apparently with whom he grew up with. He even had two children with her, the eldest of whom was born before Chaerin. But they were illegitimate children and hence not given a legal position.

Her mother’s foundation in the family which was built on her on her own capabilities got shaken up badly.

When Chaerin was 8 summers old, her mother had been diagnosed with some unknown illness. She had grown weak and weary with passing days, her graceful front was no more. She can barely climb down from the bed hence confined to her room.

One day during the autumn months when the leaves have gone caramel-colored, red sweet berries hang in bushes, as the cranes build their nest in, it is than her mother called for her.

 Chaerin remembers it clearly as yesterday. Her mother sat on a mahogany arhat bed, sipping medicine from the jade bowl, her face hollowed out, body reduced to a skeleton, lips dry, and buried under layers of blanket. But her eyes were as adamant and fierce as she remembers them to be.

“No matter what happens, Lee Chaerin you must remember to remain strong. Never show your weakness.”

“Ye Omma.”

Chaerin is used to hearing such words from her mother like she is drilling them into her.

It wasn’t until later she realized the importance of such an action.

“There are eyes and ears everywhere, remember to be cautious. Bite the soil and hold your ground so even if they knock you over they can’t remove you from your standing. Remember always hold your head high; don’t bow down no matter how bad the condition is. Once you bow down they will get over your head and make sure you are never able to raise it up again. Concede where needed but never too much.  Ask for help only when you are sure of the other person. Be strong Chaerin-ah, your Omma won’t be able to protect you any longer.”

“Why? Are you going somewhere?”  Chaerin had asked, fear in her voice.

“Yes, even if I am sick and useless, I would not do as they want. I have lived my whole life according to my parents then according to this family; never had I had the opportunity to live by my wishes. The least I can do for myself is to live according to myself now, not directed by them.”

She coughs after talking for long. Chaerin passes her a glass of water. She gulps it down and looks at her solemnly before continuing. She grasps her little hand in her bony palm in a strong assured grip.

“So yes, I am leaving. And I am sorry for leaving you here alone. Just know whatever happens it is not your fault. Omma……loves……l-loves you very much.”

She had hugged the little girl. Her sickly bony arms went around her, pulling the smaller body closer to her savoring whatever she can of the moment. Chaerin buries her nose in her mother’s crook taking in her scent of magnolia flowers. A scent she has come to associated with warmth and comfort yet of utmost strength, powerfully overwhelming for a frail person like her mother. But it suited her temperament so much.

I also love you so much.

The next time she saw her mother she was hanging from the ceiling, her feet dangling in the air, pretty face distorted in pain and blood dripping out of her orifices.

She didn’t get to scream and cry because she was shielded away from the scene. There were people crying and screaming and she just stared at those suspended bony white ankles of her dear mother.

Whom she would never see again.

Her father remained passive about it, no grief in his eyes like it is not his wife of 13 years has died but a stranger. In fact, he looked a bit happy. That was until an investigation for the death was carried out.

There was some note found in his desk at the office dedicated to his mistress of a childhood sweetheart, Sunyeong.

To Sunyeong,

If you are reading this then that means I am already dead. I hope your wish came true. I did what you wanted. You wanted me removed and let you become the Lee matriarch. So here it is your advanced birthday gift. I hope you like it. I know you wanted me to die of the poison you were feeding me and then tell people I died of sickness naturally. Ah! What a pity! That would not be possible now, unfortunately.

Anyway, I hope you keep the end of our bargain and keep my daughter Chaerin safe. Her life for mine you said.

                                                                             From the First Lady Lee

P.S. I wanted to write my name but I felt like that would be anticlimactic so I signed my name like this because no matter what my name is I will remain as a First lady Lee. Keep my discarded shitty title if that makes you happy, but you will always be just a replacement.

I didn’t write this letter to my husband because more than you he is worse so I thought it would not be worth it.

The letter was shocking and dripping with loathing per se and was witnessed by a large number of people hence no matter how much the Lee’s bribed people they couldn’t keep the rumor that ‘the mistress of the Lee patriarch drove the Madam Lee to death’ under the covers.

I want to die on my own terms at least. I am sorry but this is the only way I can protect you Chaerin-ah. Omma is sorry for leaving you alone. Leave this house when you are able. Don’t make the same decision as I made when you have children. I am sorry. I am sorry, my baby. I love you so much; I really wanted to see you grow up. I am sorry. I am sorry Chaerin-ah. Your mother is sorry.

Amidst the chaos, Chaerin sat by her nanny in her room. The piece of paper with her name written on it clutched in her hand.

“Did she really die because that woman told her?”

“No. She did because she was indeed poisoned and the woman did it. She wanted Madam to die naturally but Madam wanted to expose her yet keep you safe and there was no other way. She knew they wouldn’t investigate her death if she were to die of poisoning and take it as a natural death. There would be nothing preventing Sunyeong from getting the matriarch position and then as her daughter, you would be the target of the vile woman’s torment.”

Telling this to an 8-year-old was cruel but her Madam has instructed her to tell her the truth so Chaerin knows what kind of life she will have to live from now on. There is nobody in the house who will be on her side. She would be all alone in a house full of people who are looking for an opportunity to harass her.

Exactly like how her mother was tormented and targeted. She was so helpless, so driven to the edge by the inhabitants of the house that she can only come up with this plan.

Nanny’s heart ached for the little girl. Surprisingly those gray-green eyes remained cold and calm. But the seething anger was obvious the way her little hands were clenched in tight fists leaving bright red nail marks on her palms.

Chaerin didn’t say anything for a long while. She stayed quiet thinking and pondering. Then she finally opened her mouth after coming to a decision.  Her nanny patiently waited for her to speak.

“It’s okay. I will survive. I promised my mother after all. I will demolish these people to dust and make them bow down to her grave one day. For that day I will stay alive at all cost.”

The older woman was surprised at the words that spilled from her mouth. Tears gathered in her wrinkled eyes. But those eyes were resolute very unlike a young girl and something in them made her believe.

“Yes, I will wait for that day young miss.”

2 and a half years passed by then.

Chaerin’s father wasn’t able to promote his mistress to the head wife due to the scandal. He somehow saved her from getting legally punished by bribery and bringing in somebody to blame namely an innocent maid who was accused of poisoning her mother.

Hence, Sunyeong survived the scandal. She is the unofficial head of the house though she would never receive the social or legal acknowledgment because of that incident. And Chaerin makes sure of reminding it to her as often as possible.

Not that there are no repercussions.

There are, obviously.

Sunyeong hates Chaerin and rightfully so. Though she can’t attack her upfront, she does try to harass her quite often.

Just like presently.

Chaerin was in her room studying when her nanny who stuck by her calls her for some matter. Turns out the main kitchen sent a bowl of bird nest porridge for her. The maid who seemed to be carrying it was someone she hasn’t seen before.

Chaerin felt sorry for the new maid.

“Take it away. You don’t need to bring food.”

“But Madam said…..”

“Whatever your madam said I am not interested in hearing.”

The maid didn’t go away. She stood there stubbornly staring at the young girl in front of her. Chaerin stared back at her taking in the other’s appearance.

“What is your name?”

“It is Minji, Young Miss.”

Chaerin gives a look over of the maid, practically a child. She is probably around 10 yrs old, around her age maybe younger.

“Go back. I don’t want you to be in trouble.”

The girl suddenly sat down on her knees with a thump and bowed down head touching the ground.

“I beg of you Young Miss. Please have some or else this servant would be beaten by Madam and starved to death. Please have mercy.”

Chaerin just smiled. How very apt a ploy for that vile woman.

“Bring a silver needle.”

Minji saw with wide eyes as the needle turned black of the poison that was mixed in the porridge. The Young Miss Lee, who was a young girl dressed in a black hanbok and mourning pin looked on impassively at the dish and the blackened needle. She turned to her and those grey-green eyes seemed to pierce to her soul. Minji shivered involuntarily in fear.

“Do you get it now? I am sparing you. Isn’t it better to be beaten than ending up dead framed for trying to kill me?”

Minji sat there stupefied and when she regained her senses from the initial shock, she knocked her head on the floor in a desperate gesture. The tears spilled over forming a wet patch on the carpet.

“I will die either way.”

Chaerin looked at her amused. The girl seems to have realized that she has spoken out of place.

“I am so sorry! Please forgive me, Young Miss! This servant knows her wrong, I’ll do anything please spare me…”

She knocked her head on the grey stone floor until it bled as she shouted for forgiveness until it bled.

“Stop! Get up.”

Minji stilled at the voice. She tentatively looked up to see the Young Miss Lee sitting back in her chair as the nanny poured her a cup of tea.

“Minji is it?”

“Yes, Young Miss.”

“How did you end up here?”

Minji remembered something and held back a sob.

“This servant (referring to self) was sold here.”

“By a slave trader? Are you an orphan?”

“No…no. I was sold here by my f-father.”

The cup in Chaerin’s hand stilled.

“Oh...”

“It’s not like that, young miss, it was just that the situation in the family was not good, the loans had increased and our shop was closed down….”

“Do you know how to read or write or calculate?”

Minji was a bit surprised. Normally girls in her neighborhood only learned housework maybe some primary education before they were married off.

“I d-do.”

But she was different, she used to help out in the shop with her father and elder brother, thus she learned how to read and write and calculate, though at a very basic sphere.

In the Lee household, human servants are used, mostly Muggles rather than house-elves.

“Inferior beings like house-elves are not fit to serve us”, an elder had said to Chaerin.

The house is charmed with a memory charm so that once you leave your job at the house or get ousted neither will you be able to find your way back nor remember the events that took place in that house. Such a system is pretty convenient to handle Muggles workers with.

Chaerin observed the girl closely. She was frail and sickly with a bony frame covered in oversized clothes that shouted she was not being fed properly. There were a few bruises on her wrist and nape of her neck where the cloth has ridden up to expose the pale flesh. Hungry and beaten, Chaerin mused no wonder she was as desperate as to even deliver her food.

The thing is, everybody in the manor knows Chaerin to be a gloomy, cruel, and emotionless individual who spells bad luck. The effect is even more severe as Chaerin after her mother’s death, only wears black clothes or dark colors with no accessories but a single mourning pin. The servants revered and feared her. Most people in the manor avoid her like plague including her own father.

She gestured for the old nanny.

“Get her some food and clothes. She can be my personal maid. And you, Minji, from now on you can work under me if you want. It will be hard but the rewards would be good if you persevere. There are three things I want from you can you obey that?”

Minji was elated. In the kitchen, she was mostly a sit-in and where you are paid according to your work she is neither paid nor fed and she is helpless because she has no place to go to. Beating is overkill.

So when the opportunity presented her she caught it without a thought. She nodded in response eagerly.

Chaerin hummed.

“Three conditions.

Number one, no matter what I ask you to do you do it without any questions.

Number two, you cannot chat or talk to people about us in any way among the other maids or servants even your Madam, in return, I will protect you from them if things turn against you.

What I want from you is unconditional loyalty. It won’t come instantly but I hope I will not regret taking you in or it will be your last day here……or anywhere in fact.”

There was a dangerous glint in those eyes and Minji dare not look up.

“Third, cut off with your family. From now on this is your home and I am the only family you can have at present. I hope you can get that message across. I will be giving you two days to think it through. Come to me when you have decided, don’t bother if it is a negative answer.”

Two days later Minji stood in front of the porch of Chaerin’s courtyard.

After all, survival is finding the right one to side with. Hunger and fear can make people cut off relations, much less a family that has abandoned her.

Minji, Chaerin found out was a loyal girl who was not the only street smart but also a quick learner. After she came under the elder girl’s care Minji was well fed and soon she regained her health.

The Madam tried to snitch her and bribe her even went as far as threatening her with her family but she calmly replied that she had none. The moment they sold her off they were no longer family, the only family she has is Young Miss Chaerin whom she will never betray.

Madam was disappointed while Minji got pork belly and a bonus as a reward. No matter what happens in the house Chaerin although rarely leaves her room gets to know about it.

“How did you know?”

Chaerin just smiled at the girl.

“Let’s say….. magic” Chaerin chuckles. “You forget I am a witch. It is what I do.”

Minji looked enlightened, while her nanny laughed.

At 12 summers old Chaerin met her maternal grandparents for the first time. She always thought them to be strangers because they cruelly abandoned their daughter in the midst of this jungle and didn’t even try to pursue the cause of her death and took everything for face value.

And then suddenly they barged in on her birthday and gifted her some precious presents like jewelry and silk. They also gave her some money.

“When the old man died he left a 40% of his asset for his granddaughter. He really loved your mother, when she died the assets went under your name.” her grandfather talked about Chaerin’s maternal great grandfather and how much he loved her mother and left his fortune to Chaerin. He rubbed his hands in an attempt.

“You are just a young girl. And you don’t have much of a need for that much money now. How about letting your grandfather and grandmother handle it for you? When you grow up I will hand it over to you.”

Chaerin looked at them amused. Even pigs have better common sense than these people.

“No.”

“What?”

Chaerin called for Minji to serve some pastries.

“I need that money. I can’t hand it over.”

“What do you need that much money for?” the anger has turned the old man’s face red, his neck veins popping. He is a step away from shouting or hitting Chaerin whichever comes first.

“I need to pay for my schooling since my father isn’t gonna pay for me neither are you.”

Her grandfather spluttered.

“I know that for a fact; please don’t try to deny it. You can have the land if you promise to bear my expenses, but I can guarantee it would be your loss there.”

Chaerin smiled innocently at them.

Her maternal grandparents left cursing; they made no offer to carry out her expenses even knowing her father isn’t on her side. Chaerin never expected them to but it didn’t hurt less. At least her hurt didn’t show in front of them that is the only consolation she has.

The assets were delivered to her the next day after she drove them out which had a quiet large plot of land, a few buildings, and three shops under her name. Her maternal grandparents had left in fury and didn’t look for her again. She was silently glad.

At the age of twelve with somewhat of a consent from her father Chaerin left for Iwo Jima to study in Mahoutokoro.

It’s not that her father was concerned anyways; she paid her own tuition with her money from an inheritance. Her father was more concerned with their eldest Lee son born of that woman. Chaerin has one older brother who was born just a few days before she was, to Sunyeong, and a younger sister who was also born to her.. Apparently her father was very upfront about his sleeping around with his sweetheart before Chaerin’s mother while they were married. He impregnated Sunyeong in a hurry even before taking her as a mistress and had Chaerin with her mother a few days later.

Chaerin was disgusted.

It’s okay, I’ll leave this place soon. Hang on a bit more Chaerin-ah. You are almost there.

She also had other siblings, all illegitimate children of her father but they were rarely of any importance

It would be a lie if she said that she has a very good relation with elder half-brother Sunwang and younger half-sister Sowoo. Both the siblings hate her curtsy of their mother and they try to ridicule her or irritate her as much as possible while Chaerin maintains a pretty neutral stance and ignores everything. Not giving them the satisfaction of seeing her angry face.

So she was kind of glad she got away from all that when she joined the school.

She took Minji with her and her old nanny, both of whom she kept at the nearest town by renting a place and would visit them on weekends.

Minji took classes at the nearby Muggle School, while nanny managed the rent house.

Chaerin’s situation didn’t improve much in school. She was an outcast there in spite of holding the highest rank in her studies. She made a single friend, another outcast named Park Bom. Bom was a bit weird, even for Chaerin.

Chaerin was reading one day when this girl with flaming red hair popped out from nowhere.

“You are an outcast and I am the same, so let’s be friends.”

Chaerin thought this girl is strange but accepted anyway.

They went for shaved ice with mango topping together and hence stuck together since then. That’s how her friendship with Bom began.

One day they were in the library basking in the glow of the afternoon sun peeping through the shoji doors when Bom thought it would be fun to annoy Chaerin who was busy studying.

“I am gonna be a biologist, you know the scientist researcher kind of job?” she told Chaerin as she munched on melon seeds loudly.

Chaerin who was used to Bom’s weird antics just stared at her.

“I thought you were going to be a doctor.”

“I thought so too. So I will be a doctor then go into the research field. You know how that works right?”

“Truthfully no.” Chaerin closes her book Indigenous Youkai. She can’t read with a distraction especially as big as Bom.

“All you care about politics and laws and complicated things like that. Obviously you won’t know.”

Chaerin just sighed at her friend’s pout. She started packing up her things and poked her friend in the rib.

“Let’s go and get some shaved ice in the kitchen. I am craving sweet food.”

Bom brightened up in a second all grievances forgotten.

“Let’s go.”

Every year she returned home at the end of term spends two weeks in silence getting ignored by the rest of the house and then goes back to school again. Chaerin looks forward to this vacation getting over. As the day passes the environment at the house gets more and more stifling.

Sunwing and Sowoo grow with each passing day under the tutelage of that woman and now there is nothing salvageable left in their relationship with Chaerin who tends to ignore them to avoid the usually unavoidable conflicts.

One such day during her break when she is back at home and her afternoon nap is broken by a loud commotion outside.

She calls for Minji reflexively.

“Minji! Minji-ah!”

 Minji comes running in; she was also sleeping Chaerin guesses judging from her disgruntled appearance.

“Go out and take a look. Who is it that dares to make a ruckus outside? Bring them to the courtyard.”

“Yes, Miss.”

Minji left in a sluggish manner but came running in like bullet minutes after.

“Miss! Young Miss! Something has happened?”

Chaerin raises her eyebrow.

“It is the Second Young, Master Lee.”

Minji looks disgusted. She practically hates that man, it is common knowledge that prodigal Lee son from the second house of Lee, (i.e. a cousin of Chaerin) is a womanizer, has tried to snatch Minji and make her his bed servant, but each time he tried Minji managed to slither away.

Except for the last time when it happened, he tried to drug Minji and grab her but Chaerin was faster. She tumbled the cup out of Minji’s hand and in turn, grabbed her eldest cousin by his collar. That 18-year-old boy in front of a 14-year-old girl had shirked away in fear.

“Try to grab her once again with those filthy hands of yours and I’ll make sure to cut them off, nice and clean, peel the flesh of the bone and even second uncle won’t be able to save you. You know me, I am the crazy witch of the town, I might die trying but then I’ll take you down with me to that hell.”

The boy had sputtered and cursed but Chaerin just stared at him menacingly until he fell down while running away. He later complained to it to his father and that old fart tried to cane her but he ended up taking it back with just one glare from her.

Chaerin is revered in the house and rarely people cross her. It is not only because of her unapproachable cold aura but also for the fact she has the strongest magic affinity in the house. Her magic was so powerful that it was almost on par with the Lee patriarch. In this house kindness is not the way power is.

Hearing about that waste of a human now, Chaerin feels another headache coming. She put on her black silk skirt and robe and marched outside to see the commotion.

It was a girl.

Roughly 16-17 years in age Chaerin presumes. There was something feral about her. Her hands tied up by chains and somebody was pulling her head back by her matted up dirty black hair. There are wounds over her body and a bleeding untreated one on her forehead. She was dressed in dirty worn out and torn rags leaving little to the imagination. But there was something unsettling about her.

It was those eyes.

It was those amber eyes that held the wilderness and ferocity of a beast as she glared at her people surrounding her.

“What is happening here?”

Chaerin’s cold voice caught the attention of the group of people that has gathered there, including the captive girl.

She saw them shiver and tremble in fear as they fell on their knees.

“Nothing, Young Miss.”

Chaerin chuckled humorlessly, the sound sending shivers to the spine of the servants.

“It doesn’t seem to be ‘nothing’ if you were being loud enough to wake me up in the middle of the day"

Fear can make people react.

A male servant popped up from the kneeling group and made a gesture at the captive girl on the ground.

“It is all this girl’s fault. She ran away from…” the man pauses suddenly realizing his mistake.

“From?”

Instead of replying the man hit the girl on her shoulder in irritation. Minji saw her miss’s eyes flare in anger.

This man is as good as dead.

“You dare to behave impudently under my nose?” Chaerin’s voice was freezing.

The man shivered visibly.

“No…no spare me Young Miss.”

“Tell. Where did she escape from?”

“F-from Second Young Master’s chamber.”

As if on the note the man of the moment arrives running in. He spots the girl in the middle all chained up and rushes to her in a hurry.

“You bitch! I paid so much for you and you dare to run. It is your family’s good luck that this young master decides to even grace you. How dare this-”

“Cousin, you are here.”

The voice stopped him in action, his hand raised midway in a position to strike. It sent a chill in his spine; it spelled a nightmare for him, hours of caning from his father for irking this girl.

Sure enough, he turned around to see the girl staring at him with a scary smile.

“May I know what happened here?”

“Uhmmm…..uhhhh….” her cousin stutters fumbling with words.

The slave on the ground must’ve realized Chaerin holds the most power in them, in a fling of shoulders she gets off the people on her powerfully like a wild beast taking in the opportunity of their distraction and she runs towards the girl in black standing tall in front of her.

“Help me…”

Second Young Master Lee almost shrieks.

“This Bitch, Chaerin-ah let me take her away, she is polluting your eyes…”

Chaerin glared at her cousin which made the man shut up.

“Tell me what happened, and I’ll see if I can help you out.”

She grabs the dirty bony hand held out to her, as Chaerin comforts the girl at her feet.

Sandra was a Lycan. A pureblood one.

One day her village was attacked. Her house was burnt down; she had no family to begin with so she ran. She was escaping from the hunters that have attacked her village at the border and while she was running away she got caught by slave traders. When she woke up she was in some auction and was being sold off to this Young Master of the Lee Family as a pleasure slave.

The second Young Master Lee brought her in and kept her in the barn and today while she was being taken out for giving her a bath before serving him in bed, she ran away.

They took her down in front of Chaerin’s courtyard.

By the time she finished her story second young master was already sweating buckets.

“Ah, I see” is all the girl in black says.

The silence was deafening, the servants dare not look above to see the reaction of the masters. The captive slave girl at the ground held onto the corner of the black hanbok like a lifeline.

It is not until Chaerin spoke again that the crowd started moving.

“Minji get her some clothes and food, from now on she is under my care.”

Second Young Master Lee almost went insane.

“Do you know how much I spent on her? I even had to give extra because she is a virgin yet to go on heat. How can-”

“Cousin, I am a 15-year-old unmarried girl who is not inclined to hear about your sexual preferences or endeavors. I advise that you keep your complaints to yourself in return of the fact that I would not be exposing you to the public about you spending money on illegal auctions selling illegal pleasure slaves.”

She didn’t wait for the others to react. Chaerin grabbed Sandra’s bony wrist and pulled her up.

“As for you, you are coming with me.”

Minji drew Sandra a bath. She gave her clothes and warm food. Sandra finally cried. She broke down and continued to cry the whole time she was eating, heart beyond grateful. She had seen her end with her own two eyes before miraculously getting saved by a stranger.

It was after she had finished eating, she was called into the main chamber. There in her usual armchair sat the young girl who just saved her life.

Sandra bowed her head in gratitude.

“How can I repay you?”

Chaerin didn’t answer the question.

“Sandra is it? I’ll call you Dara. You may call me Young Miss.”

“Yes, Young Miss.”

“You will be working here, for now, save some money up, and then you can leave. But there are rules to follow while working under me.” Chaerin gestures at Minji. “Minji here will explain it to you.”

The Lycan nodded.

“You may leave.” Chaerin picked up her book, but the other girl didn’t leave.

Dara just stood there.

“Thank you for saving me, young Miss.”

“No need to thank me, remember this gratefulness and be loyal. Your loyalty is all I want.”

And she was dismissed. This time Dara left with gratefulness brimming in her eyes.

Dara was the latest addition to their clique. She was a pretty girl, while Minji had a childish charm Dara was the more mature kind. Chaerin left with her for Iwo Jima two days later.

The only problem with Dara was every full moon night she would turn. Minji and her nanny would stay away and Chaerin would take her away into the deep forest and stay there with her the whole night when she can. For the times she can’t she makes sure that Dara is in a protected place when she turns. Maybe because female Lycans are less aggressive Dara never really created any problem nor did she try to attack anyone. She just laid there whining like an overgrown puppy. As for Chaerin, she had pestered one of her professors to teach her the art of Animagi and hence it is easier for her to accompany her. The three of the girls along with Bom became something close to friends/ family for Chaerin. She swore to protect them her best.

Another three years passed by a blink of an eye. Chaerin rarely spends time at home when she gets a vacation. Last year she stayed at Bom’s grandmother’s place at Kyoto. Some changes did happen back at home while she was away.

The Lee’s tend to home school their own heirs and other kids of the family. Chaerin was the only exception who managed to get out of there. It was not very well accepted by the so-called elders of the house but Chaerin had enrolled and left at short notice hence they weren’t able to interfere. Hence, when she turned seventeen they went for the Lee Patriarch to complain about it.

“Young Miss Chaerin is already seventeen. What are you doing Lord Lee? You need to find a match for her. It is already abnormal enough that a girl of our family went off to study alone. God forbid what that wild child is doing out there! She needs to get settled. It is already late and the next thing you know, she will try to cut off from the house or say something crazy like doing a job.”

“Of course, of course, I completely agree with Third Elder. My Lord, the fact that she wants to leave the house and do whatever she wants is absurd enough and everybody knows how she is. Such a great affinity of magic it will be a waste if she leaves the Lee. You need to put more restrictions on her.”

“Absolutely, she is a woman. A woman should behave like one. What is with this studying abroad and staying alone? I even heard from a maid that she plans to get a job and live away from the country. How preposterous! What a wild girl! I say we put her under watch immediately. Just because she has better magic than rest doesn’t change what she is.”

A woman. Fit for breeding and managing the house, looking after the kids.

“Exactly, she is a Lee and a woman. She must remember that.”

In Sunyeong’s courtyard, the maids relayed the discussion word to word as the madam dressed in red robes displayed a pretty smile. Her smile grew bigger with each word uttered by the servant.

Ah! Finally. Finally, I can get that bitch to bow down.

She thought as she laughed merrily.

Back in Iwo Jima, Chaerin sat under the Cherry blossom tree sipping her cup of tea when Bom came running in.

“So any plans for future Miss Lee?”

Chaerin just smiled at her, it was not that easy. It was never easy.

Bom seemed to have got the message from her melancholic smile.

“Oh, my baby! Don’t smile like that. I am your best friend and I am telling you Chaerin, you are allowed to dream. So dream big. Dream bigger than anyone, because you can. I know you can do it.”

Chaerin continued to smile.

“Who said I am not dreaming?”

I am just afraid that it will remain as a dream.

Bom smiled back but then she turned a bit grim after a while. Chaerin waits for her to tell her thoughts.

“I am going back to London with my parents after graduation tomorrow.”

“Oh!” Chaerin’s smile dropped. Right! Tomorrow is the last day of her at school. They will be apart after that.

“I will miss you.” Bom is crying now, her voice croaky.

“I will miss you too.” Dearly so. Chaerin hugs her best friend.

At eighteen Chaerin graduated from Mahoutokoro at the top of her class. Professors congratulated her giving her ideas of streams to pursue after this, Chaerin just smiled.

They didn’t know her situation, only she does.

Minji cried so did her old nanny, Dara brought her flowers she got from the florist in town.

Bom hugged her, eyes red and filled with tears as they said goodbye.

“Visit me in London whenever things get hard. No matter what happens I will always be there for you. Please remember this. Even if you are penniless, ousted, homeless, remember me and come to me I will always be there for you. I promise.”

Chaerin held on to it till the last.

Let’s go back to hell.

And hell it was when Chaerin returned to the Lee Manor.

Suddenly all eyes were on her. Each and every movement of her was being recorded. The Lees' gave her four guards to accompany her everywhere.

“All the daughters and wives of the Lee’s have guards; you were the only one without one. So we assigned you some.” The Lee patriarch had said when Chaerin questioned him about it.

It was true, what he said. Chaerin didn’t have them because she didn’t want them and her father never bothered.

“Maybe Lord is finally showing some affection to miss.” Minji had said. Dara on the other hand looked suspicious. Chaerin shared the same thought as the elder. Minji was being naïve. Chaerin had been planning on leaving; now she can’t do that.

They are planning something, she thought.

She was right about her guess.

Two weeks into her return from school, she woke up one day to the commotion in the house. Everything was decked in red banners and lanterns and flowers. It was like a festive decoration.

The only odd thing was both Dara and Minji looked deathly pale as they stared at Chaerin. Her nanny looked like she was about to pass out.

The contrast of it terrified Chaerin.

“What is happening?”

“Young Miss, it-t….is….that is…”

Chaerin had an ominous feeling. It was Dara who finally grabbed a fumbling Minji and looked straight at Chaerin, her eyes full of sympathy.

“Young Miss apparently………you are getting married to the Gong family today,.”

Everything was a blur after that. Chaerin by the time she got over her initial shock she was already at the altar taking vows for the kunbere. Dressed in traditional hanbok and heavy layered red skirt Chaerin felt stifled. There was a heavy ornate some kind of jewelry on her head that was making her neck ache. She felt like the life was being squeezed out of her. For the first time in her life after her mother’s death, she felt helpless and pathetic. They had got her good, they didn’t even give her time to flee or even protest.

Seeing her grim paternal cousin in front of her in traditional wear of a groom Chaerin didn’t know whether to punch him or sympathize with him because none of them wants this. But then one look at her pleased as a punch aunt from her father’s side or should she say mother-in-law made her drop the idea. Chaerin looks at the positive side at least they haven’t hooked her up with that second young master. That would be a nightmare, not like this is any less.

There were too many important guests in the house, her father smiled and welcomed them while Sunyeong looked like she was in ninth heaven with how much she grinned. Chaerin felt sick.

Sowoo and Sunwang, her half-siblings didn’t make it any better as they passed snide comments about her, poisoning the ears of her mother-in-law of an aunt.

It started raining in the middle of the wedding, and Chaerin thought that at least nature was on her side. They didn’t get to leave for their in-laws due to storm and instead of moving into the Gong manor, they decided to spend the night at the Lee’s and move out in the morning.

Due to the so-called happy occasion, drinks flowed freely that night. People were drunk by midnight, her ‘husband’ was far from sober and Chaerin had never been this grateful as the servants took him away to spend his night separately.

People laughed at the ridiculous situation, humiliating Chaerin of how she has to spend her wedding night alone. Chaerin on the other hand felt saved. She was sure if she were to spend the night with this cousin/husband of her she would probably throw up midway.

She retired early, a half-drunk crying Minji followed her to her quarters. People thought she was embarrassed about the situation and ran away. Sunyeong especially liked it. Chaerin didn’t give a shit to what they thought, happy to finally get some sleep.

There is a saying, that when it rains it pours.

Literally it was raining the next morning when more misfortunes came pouring in.

When Chaerin woke up to the commotion in the morning she was beyond shocked at the happenings. With how things are going Chaerin thinks she would end up not sleeping at all if she is going to wake up to trouble.

Apparently, one of Chaerin’s maids climbed onto Sunwang’s bed last night and seduced him taking advantage of him being drunk.

“Who is it?” Chaerin’s voice trembled at the bad premonition.

Minji stuttered.

“I asked who is it?”

Chaerin already knows the answer. She has only three-person and a few other servants at disposal, and she didn’t saw one of them when she woke up. She knows the answer but she didn’t want to believe it.

“WHO IS IT?”

Minji flinched at the loud voice trembling as tears streamed down her face.

“Young M-miss….it is Dara.”

Chaerin was livid. She should’ve known they would pull one on her. She had let her guard down too shocked and engrossed in her sudden turn in life. She had been too busy planning the escape she forgot about safeguarding her people. She had made a mistake; she should’ve predicted this move.

These people in the house of Lee knew about how Chaerin would try to escape and so they needed something to hold Chaerin down. A hostage. It came in the form of Dara. They know how much she cares about her people so they would use her to tie her down to the soil by trapping Dara. It has been her lack of insight and Chaerin does not forgive herself for that. For her, an innocent life got tangled up in this cruel hell.

Minji continued crying.

“It was my fault; it was that maid from the kitchen. She helped me out once when I was young so when she gave me the drink I didn’t think much of it…..but then I was upset and followed Young Miss in and absent-mindedly handed Dara unnie the drink. She must’ve drunk it thinking it was from me. What should I do? It was my fault! It was supposed to be me but Dara unnie got in trouble in my stead. What should I do Young miss? Can you get her out? Please I beg f you….”

Chaerin belatedly realized that for these people it didn’t matter it was Minji or Dara; they just wanted to have an upper hand over her.

“It was not you Minji. It was me. They were after me. I should’ve kept an eye open for them.”

“W-what should we do now?”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

So Chaerin tried.

She tried her best to convince her shit piece of a father. Sunyeong sat there enjoying the show.

“She slept with Sunwang. She betrayed you. It is good news enough that Sunwang is mature enough to take her as his mistress. You should be grateful to your brother. That girl is a Lycan under normal circumstances she would’ve been already killed. But your brother is a responsible gentleman who takes his duties seriously. It is her good luck that she was able to climb into his bed.” Sunyeong smiles prettily.

Chaerin knows exactly how much of a responsible and mature adult her eldest brother Sunwang is. She has seen him chasing the skirts of girls and maid in the manor and outside enough number of times. A man whore that is all he is. Like father like son.

“I don’t need him taking responsibility for Dara. Just let her go.”

“You are a married woman. You shouldn’t have a say in this household. A married daughter is like thrown water. Stay in your household and do your job there, this is no place for you to interfere.”

Chaerin gritted her teeth in anger.

Sunyeong continued.

“Besides that girl agreed to stay here and be your brother’s mistress. It is not like I am pressuring her or something. She is a sly wolf. You should’ve chosen people around you carefully.”

Chaerin was not surprised, no wonder what lies this woman has fed Dara and agreed her to stay.

“I need to see her one last time. Father, I hope you will agree to this last wish of mine.”

Her father remained unfazed. He had left the whole matter in his mistress’s hand. That bastard!

Sunyeong just smirked.

“Bow down and say sorry to your father and me for all the grievances you caused….. And I might consider that.”

Her eyes stared at Chaerin challengingly. Submission in return for protection of her loved one. A ploy Chaerin is familiar with.

Remember, always hold your head high; don’t bow down no matter how bad the condition is. Once you bow down they will get over your head and make sure you are never able to raise it up again.

Chaerin heard her mother’s word go on in a cycle in her mind.

In the end, Chaerin didn’t bow that day. Call her a bad master, egoist, selfish but she didn’t bow down.

I won’t bow down to a killer who killed my mother. Not now not ever.

She left. She took Minji and nanny and left Lee’s with her in-laws towards the Gong manor.

The Gong manor was exactly like Lee’s just more desolate, uncaring, and cold. Chaerin was feared and respected since she was the eldest legitimate daughter of the Lees’ but that was all. She was never treated as a family member but rather like an honored guest. She remained an outsider no matter how much respect she got.

She lived separate from the family, both husband and wife lived in separate courtyards, never meeting, never intersecting in the three months she lived there. The guards didn’t change though. They kept an eye on her whenever she went out. Chaerin had a feeling she was being monitored by people 24X7 lest she escapes.

In spite of being a new bride, she stuck to her dark hanbok. Her gloomy cold aura made her even more unapproachable. She had a few maids for hard jobs and Minji did the governing. Chaerin spent her days thinking and planning. She had to play her pieces well. she needs to get out of this hell hole. she needs to prove herself. she needs to make them bow in front of her mother's grave. she can't sit idly and wait for her death. She will escape. She has to get out of these dark waters.

Chaerin’s husband Gong Kyungsun was the eldest legitimate son of the Gong family. She knew him from childhood. No major impression except for the fact that she found him a bit odd. Kyungsun on the other hand was looked up to in the society for being a model son

This person Chaerin always thought is fishy.

There was something very unsettling about Gong Kyungsun and it irked Chaerin’s senses. She couldn’t pinpoint but it was there.

Chaerin never saw him again after their wedding.  Any way they lived separately, he respected her and never demanded anything from her leaving her to her own devices and Chaerin was grateful for that. So she didn’t pry any further.

Instead, she focused her entire energy to find a way to talk or communicate with Dara. There was surging guilt burning inside her that she was unable to protect one of her persons. She knows the mother daughter-son trio wouldn’t treat Dara like a human being taking in the fact that she is a Lycan and above all she used to work for Chaerin. They wouldn’t kill her….no….she was the card they have over Chaerin, but they would surely torture her. She had always known but then again she wasn’t able to bow her head in front of her. She only prayed to whatever superpowers up there to protect Dara. She rarely slept after leaving her there at the Lee’s, mind filled with worries.

One afternoon when Chaerin was checking the account books of her shop that a man knocked on their courtyard announcing his presence.

Minji as usual was the one to open the door.

It was a male servant. Chaerin knows this man; he was her husband’s aide.

There was something about this man which was intriguing. A very non-human like beauty he had. He has a very pretty face, high cheekbones, sharp jawline, and pale skin with exotic emerald green eyes lined by long lashes. His beauty can even beat the top courtesan in the city’s famous brothel. Gorgeous, and very otherwordly. The proverb "Beauty that can bring down cities' was something that can be used to describe him.

She had overheard the maids talking about him quite a couple of times about how he gorgeous he was or how all the maids are crushing on him. But all Chaerin saw in that man was an empty beautiful shell that was hollow. His eyes had no trace of any emotion that was blank and dull; his words clipped and posture stiff. He was always dressed in dark robes that made his skin look even paler.

Minji greeted him in proper etiquette.

The man bowed his head in greeting when he saw Chaerin sitting at the table.

“A letter has arrived from the House of Lee for Young Mistress Lee. Young Master Gong wanted it to be delivered it to you.”

The first person Chaerin thought of on hearing about the letter was of Dara.

Minji took the letter from the man and delivered it to Chaerin. She waited by her young miss side patiently as she opened the letter in hope that would contain some news about Dara.

It did contain news.

Dara was pregnant.

They both didn’t know what emotion they should be feeling happy or sad.

Minji finally broke down into tears and Chaerin just looked distressed. The old nanny silently wiped her eyes with the corner of her sleeve,

The male aide observed the master-servant pair for a bit before going off.

Another letter came in two weeks later.

This time it was written by Dara. She told them that she was faring well so was her baby. They have given her proper room and food and she is not in any kind of distress. She asked them not to worry about her as it is not their fault.

I am fine. She had written. Don’t skip meals or worry too much. Live happily as much as possible. I will manage on my own.

I miss you.

Chaerin felt choked with emotions she never knew existed in her.

The male aide with a pretty face who brought it saw the servant and master look at the letter with a distressed face. It made him wonder who was the one who sent it.

He was pulled out of his reverie when a cold voice called up.

“You, over there.”

He flinched but replied nonetheless dreading awful things to come because of his superior’s bad mood.

“Yes, Madam.”

“What is your name?”

“It is Hana, Young Madam.”

“Hana?”

“Yes. The servants under Young Master are called by numbers.” (Hana=1)

Chaerin nodded. It is like raising pigs, numbering them up like that. Heck! Even domesticated animals have names.

“If you have no further order I would-”

“Come here.”

Six sighs in his head. He fears what is to come. A lonely young wife and a pretty male servant whom she can order around. His insides lurched with disgust. This was not the first time he has been called like that in this house. A Chancellor’s wife once, a rich madam, etc there had been quite a few who have come to the house as a guest and asked for him. By now he is quite well acquainted with what is to come. Hana sometimes feels more like a prostitute than an aide.

You were made for this. Just accept it and enjoy it.

Hana shudders at the voice inside his head, fear coursing through him in waves. Not this again. Please not again. This situation is problematic enough for she is the Young Madam.

With stiff steps, he approached the corner of the door a few feet away from where Chaerin was sitting on the cushion by the low lying table.

Surprisingly he was proven wrong and he felt embarrassed of all his imagination when it was the maid sitting by her master approached him and gave him a few banknotes and a small bamboo leaf packet.

“There are sweets. I hope they are to your liking. It is a token of my gratitude for delivering me these letters. I should have given it previously but I was a bit busy. Thank you for your hard work”

Chaerin’s voice was no nonsense-business kind.

Hana tried to refuse.

“But these notes. It’s too much.”

Chaerin hadn’t looked at him once before this, for the first time he saw the young woman lift her head up from the letter to look directly at him.

A pair of striking gray eyes lined with a very pretty shade of moss green.

Hana suddenly felt his heart beating a mile an hour.

Chaerin pushed a wayward lock of her platinum blonde hair behind her unadorned ear and apprehended the servant carefully. Hana felt like prey in front of a falcon, it was a hair-rising feeling, like she can see through him.

She sighs when she sees him stiff up his posture in a defensive stance.

“I am not bribing you. If you are uncomfortable next time just stay for lunch. I don’t have the power to reward you for your work in this house. Food is all I can offer you.”

She smiled a very self-deprecating mild smile.

“I’ll have lunch then.” Hana had blurted out the words before he can stop himself. “If young Madam doesn’t mind.”

Chaerin smiled. “Good. I’ll tell them.”

He almost ran out of the courtyard.

In his twenty-two years of life, this is the first time he felt this unsettled. This has never happened before, his face was flushed and heart beating a mile an hour.

It took a full five minutes to calm down.

Hana doesn’t like this Young Madam at all. Her smile is too guard dropping.

Chapter Text

The letters come in every alternative week. They are always short ones; words are clipped to keep the letter as short as possible. It was evident that somebody was monitoring their content.

Chaerin gripped the letter in her hand until the parchment crumpled under her fingers. These letters are intentioned to be blackmail letters to her. Dara is her collar that keeps her from running berserk.

“We are keeping her safe as long as you behave.”

Chaerin was about to smash her teacup in anger when there was a knock on the door outside. It was Minji.

“Young Miss, it is time for lunch.”

She was surprised to see 4 servings when Chaerin reaches the dining table. Usually, it is three servings, Minji, old nanny, and her.

Chaerin was a bit surprised when she saw Hana at the table. Then she remembered it was her who invited him to have lunch with them as a thank you.

Minji seemed excited, in spite of her red nose and swollen eyes. She had cried a lot. Chaerin doesn’t mention it.

“Well, he is good looking. You can’t blame me, young miss. It is not every day you come across a face like him.” Minji whispers to Chaerin secretively. Chaerin just hums in reply acknowledging nothing. Looks was never a point for her.

Nanny serves Hana three more pieces of beef and Minji gives him more rice. The boy eats happily and of weeks of knowing him, it was the first time Chaerin has seen the said male express emotions such as happiness and satisfaction.

So she invites him again. He reminds her of Dara, maybe that is why. What both of them have in common is not their hunger for food but for love they receive.

“You can come over whenever you want, and have lunch with us, Hana. We will be waiting for you.” she finds herself saying.

So Hana holds to her words and comes again.

Because the food that the chef cooks at the Young Madam’s courtyard is really good, the people are warm and kindhearted and somehow homely. Maybe more of the latter reason than the former, but he would never say it loudly.

For the first time in his life, this Gong manor feels more like a home than a prison.

Every week he looks forward to the letters eagerly because then he gets to visit the courtyard and eat the food there. The letters continue arriving once in two weeks but Hana’s frequency of visit to Chaerin’s courtyard increases with passing days.

As days bled into months his visits become a regular thing. Sometime he would bring sweets from the main kitchen, or from Minji’s favorite shop in the city. Sometimes he would bring little trinkets for the younger girl to play with. He can’t bring anything for Chaerin, so he opts for Minji because when that younger girl looks happy to see those things, Chaerin smiles.

It is one of the most beautiful things he has seen.

She would look fondly at her maid and reprimand Hana softly,

“You are spoiling her too much.”

Hana melts right into that soft tone; it intrudes in his heart and causes mayhem.

“It’s okay, she reminds me of my little sister.” He would say and Chaerin would just shake her head in turn chuckling.

One day when he was feeling particularly brave he asked Minji.

“What does Young Madam like?”

Minji nibbled on the candied apple and thought for a long time.

“Us.  I mean me, nanny and Dara. She loves us. Other than that she has no interest in anything.”

She said it so confidently Hana suddenly felt an aching pain in his chest.

Can I also join in this ‘us’?

He thought, but he didn’t say anything instead he asked again.

“What about food? Any food she likes or anything else like jewelry or something?”

Minji looked at him suspiciously.

“Why are you asking?”

Hana was startled for a second. So he lies plainly.

“The Young Master was asking. I am his aide so it’s my job. It’s already been 3 months since she got married he was probably thinking of giving her something.”

Minji still looked like she doesn’t believe a single word but answered anyway.

“I have never seen her wearing accessories; she isn’t picky with food also. The only preference she has is she likes wearing dark-colored clothes. She doesn’t have much of a preference about anything; she doesn’t particularly enjoy any type of food also.”

The more Minji talked the more she realized her master had no hobby, no favorites, all she does is either work or study and practice magic.

So later in the night she couldn’t help herself but ask Chaerin.

“Young Miss, what do you like?”

Chaerin who was reading looked up from her book.

“What like?”

“I mean I have been with you for a long while, I don’t really know what you like. I mean what color you like, or food you like, or anything else like hobbies, etc.”

Chaerin seems to be thinking for a moment then she answers a bit oddly.

“There is nothing particularly I like doing, I am fine with dark clothes and I am not picky about food.”

Minji was a bit hesitant when she asked the next question.

“What about people?”

Chaerin smiles.

“I like you and nanny and Dara. I don’t need anymore.”

Minji prayed for her master to fall in love with somebody nice one day. Once they escape this place. They definitely will run away from this hell. The young miss has promised her.

“Still there must be something you like?”

Suddenly a thought came into Chaerin’s mind. A dusty memory she has buried deep inside her heart.

“Perfume made from Magnolia flowers.”

“Huh?”

“I like the perfume with the smell of magnolia flowers. The little red glass bottle with crystal stopper.”

She remembers seeing it over her mother’s vanity table. Her mother used to spray that after taking a bath. Chaerin as a child used to love the scent.

Two weeks later there was a red glass bottle with a crystal stopper sitting on her table along with Dara’s letter. When she called for Minji to ask about it Minji only scratched her head looking confused.

“It’s a gift. Just keep it Young Miss. These kinds of perfumes are usually handcrafted and specially customized. They are very pricey. Whoever gave it to you must have really wanted to give you something. Just keep it and use it.”

Chaerin can feel that Minji is hiding something but she doesn’t probe taking the bottle in hand, putting her whole concentration on examining it.

The perfume underwent a mandatory poison check and soon Chaerin fell in love with the smell of it. She kind of understands why her mother liked it so much. She wore it whenever she could.

Hana smiles secretly whenever he came in front of her as soon as he catches a waft of her perfume. He buys Minji honeyed hawthorn as a gift for helping him out.

Happiness doesn’t last long.

One day six months into the wedding, Hana was busy tidying up Young Master Gong’s table, when the person himself strides in.

“Oh, Hana! Here you were!”

The voice sends chills down the boy’s spine till now. While society views Young Master Gong to be an upright filial child, Hana knows the monster that resides behind that façade. He is a nightmare on legs for Hana.

The boy straightens his back in an attention posture eyes on the ground as he faces his master.

Young Master Gong runs a finger from the boy’s throat to his chest, as he eyes the servant cautiously.

“Eyes up.”

Hana unwillingly looks up. And there it is the face. The face is the cause of his repeated nightmares and sleepless nights.

Young master Gong holds Hana’s chin in one hand and pulls his face close humming to himself.

“You have grown quite pretty for these last few years.”

Hana feels the breakfast from the morning, acidic, and burning to rise up his throat.

“Too bad you grew up. Ahhhhh! I should’ve done something on you. an age preserving potion, wait those are not available anymore.” He sighs like a kid whose toy has been taken away from him. “You were one of my best collections. Now, no matter how pretty you are you can’t be with me anymore. 16 years is the limit, for you, I could’ve gone for 17 but this…” he gestures at Hana’s body “This 21-year-old body is too much.”

Hana doesn’t know whether he should be relieved. The trauma never goes away anyway. Young master gong flicks his sleeve and goes off.

Hana runs for the restroom to empty his stomach.

Chaerin is tired.

It has been eight months in the Gong Manor. She has tried everything. The defense is like an impenetrable iron wall. She is in a house arrest almost. She isn’t allowed to go outside, nor is anyone apart from the inhabitants of the house allowed to visit her. The only means of communication she has with the outside world is through letters. That also gets scrutinized before sending them. It is like a high-security prison.

Minji and nanny are allowed to meet vendors at the main gate, the tailors visit her for fitting, and whatever she needs she has to ask either one of the servants of the house to get them or Hana does it for her.

Her husband came to visit her for a totality of six times. Once each month and one extra visit for the New Year Greeting after their marriage.

She had left home once, that was also to go to Lee's house under the watchful eyes of her in-laws and then also she hadn’t been able to meet Dara. A normal person in her circumstances should have gone crazy by now. But she was not one of them. If there is something Chaerin has learned from living in this hell hole is- patience.

Having patience and striking at the right timing are both important.

So she waits. Like a crouching tiger in the midst of hunting into the bushes. She waits for the right opportunity to pounce.

The letter arrives as usual. Hana places the letter on Chaerin’s hand. Fingers touching in the close proximity. He immediately retracts his hand blushing like a teenage girl while Chaerin, even if she found it weird doesn’t mention it and remains nonchalant.

She receives the letter and immediately rips it open.

Hana by now is already aware of the incidents behind the letters and has heard stories about the recipient of them. Minji told him all about it and he only feels sorry for that poor girl. He can feel her pain for he also has been in her shoes for quite a long time.

 The letter crumples under her hand, long nails digging holes into the expensive paper and Chaerin screams for Minji.

“Minji! Minji-ah!”

Minji comes running in.

“What happened? Did the letter arrive?”

“Dara has gone into labor…..”

Chaerin doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Minji straight up sobs into her hand sinking down on the floor. Nanny who comes running in due to the noise looks concerned. She comforts Minji and asks in a very serious note.

“It is an early birth then! Are the mother and child all right?”

Chaerin doesn’t wait for speculations; she grabs her outer robes and makes a beeline for the main gate. Hana running after her.

“Minji stays here, I am going to the Lee manor.”

The doubled numbers of guards from the Gong Manor are there like hawks and so are the other inhabitants of the Lee house when Chaerin enters the courtyard of Dara.

Chaerin knows she has only a few minutes. A few minutes before one of the maids rush to Sunyeong and Lee patriarch and announce her arrival and she would be reprimanded for leaving her in-laws unnoticed and arriving here unannounced. They would not let her see Dara.

So she runs.

She bangs open the door and she finally sees her.

Dara looks worn out and tired. She was leaning on the headboard, a bundle of soft towels in her lap as she watches it with wonder-filled eyes. She reflexively protects it when Chaerin comes barging in thinking her to be an intruder.

“Young Miss?”

It takes Dara a minute to register that it is truly her Young Miss Lee, standing in front of her panting from the loss of air as she gives the girl on the bed a worried once over.

“You are safe.” She sighs in relief and Dara smiles nodding eagerly.

“I never thought I would see you again.” Dara finally can’t hold back her tears anymore. She cries tears of happiness. “I am so glad to see you again.”

Chaerin steps closer to the bed. Dara proudly shows her bundle of joy.

“It is a boy.” She smiles like it means the world to her. And Chaerin is glad. She is glad to see her smile even after what she had gone through. The baby was not born out of love but he is loved nonetheless.

“Thank God, he looks like you.” Chaerin cleans her hand on the towel and strokes the little wisp of hair out of the baby’s face.

The boy has amber eyes like his mother and Chaerin thinks they look beautiful. And as the baby grasps her finger in his little grip, Chaerin feels the electricity that rushes through her, like an instant connection.

Dara smiles at the scene before her.

“Name him.”

“He is your child though.”

“He is yours as much as he is mine.” Dara looks like she is about to cry again.  Chaerin sobers up in an instant.

“What is it? What is wrong? Tell me. Why are you crying?”

“I’ll tell you if you give him a name.” she smiles through her tears.

Chaerin thinks for a second. A name has been going on in her head ever since she saw the infant.

“Donghae.”

“The East Sea?” Dara is curious.

“Yes. Do you remember how we went to the beach at Iwo Jima to watch the sunset? You told me you loved it so much it’s almost like you never wanted to leave.”

Dara blushed as she remembers her childishness; nevertheless, it was a moment she would never forget.

“Yes, I remember. It was so beautiful; it was like everything was sparkling. The sand, the trees were all lit up and the water was like molten gold. Everyone was happy. It was like paradise on earth.”

“His eyes remind me of that time.”

Dara looked emotional, she gazes at her child and mutters a soft “yes, it does.”

Then she turns serious.

“Young Miss, regarding what happened on your wedd-”

“I know, it was not your fault. It was mine; I should have been more vigilant. The drinks…… I should have warned you. But I failed. I am sorry. I never wanted you to suffer. I failed at protecting you, I am sorry for being such a bad master.”

Dara shivers at what happened to her that night, the shame the humiliation she received because of their carelessness. It was the worse of a nightmare that can happen to a woman. Her virtue was forcibly stolen; her self-worth demolished, her life was turned upside down. But surprisingly she never blamed Chaerin for that. She had stewed herself over it for day’s end; they have treated her like a beast never an equal human. She knows that Chaerin has it as bad as her if not worse, Dara is her collar and the Lycan knows that very well. But now as she holds this little life in her hands all she can think about is how to protect this piece of her from this cruel world.

“I have never blamed you Young Miss, but promise me this. I-if anything were to happen to me, you will take Donghae with you.”

Chaerin didn’t even hesitate when she said yes.

“I will try my best to get you out. I promise you Donghae is my son as much as he is yours. Stay safe Dara, I am sorry for I am of not much use now.”

They didn’t get to talk any further as Sunyeong arrive in a flurry of pink silk sleeves and ushered Chaerin away from the room, accompanied by some guards.

The last thing Chaerin saw before the door closed was Dara smiling at her and mouthing a “Thank you.”

She received an earful for her escapade which Chaerin just zoned out the majority of. They didn’t throw a tantrum mainly because she left her leash (Minji) back at the mansion. Anything that can hold her down is useful to them Chaerin knows that well. Instead, she glared at Sunwang, her half brother .i.e. Dara’s forceful husband, little Donghae’s irresponsible father.

“She should be safe the next time I come home.”

She threatened as she grabs his collar when nobody was looking.

“Who? That bitch? If not what will happen? You gonna kill me? Gosh! Your jokes are cute, Noona.”

He pushes her back.

“Try me.”

Chaerin twists his wrist as the man whelps out in pain. But the grip is gone a minute later.

 Without any delay, she was sent back to the Gong Manor. Hana looked concerned throughout the ride but Chaerin assured him with a smile. Hana finally relaxed his shoulder; he is amazed at how a simple action from Chaerin can change his mood.

It is not a good thing. Especially if she is your master’s wife, your superior.

Hana knows that very well but he can’t help himself.

The in-laws of Chaerin, the Gong family didn’t take her escapade very well. They doubled the security around her, going as far as strengthening her magic restricting bracelet they had put on her previously. Her shackles in place they left her all alone again in the corner of the manor to reflect.

Hana could only watch his masters treat Chaerin like a caged beast. He was helpless and angry at himself for being so pathetic.

A year passed by since Chaerin got married.

Her aunt/mother-in-law was getting restless. She finally couldn’t have any more patience and visited her one day.

“It has been a year since you got married. Why is there no news?”

She pointedly looks at Chaerin’s flat belly.

Chaerin was truthfully a bit surprised. Her husband is practically a stranger to her. They have met a total of 8 times throughout last year according to Minji because she for sure hadn’t placed much importance on it as to keep count. They only chatted for a bit and had tea then he had left. That was all.

After all, everybody knew this marriage is a sham to keep her in the Lee family. Apparently, her mother in law had different plans.

Chaerin didn’t respond to it and concentrated on trimming the rose bushes she has been tending for the past month, ignoring the looks the elderly woman was giving her.

Gong Matriarch was offended and she left the premises with a huff. This niece/daughter-in-law of her was hard to deal with.

But every problem has a solution. And for this, she happens to have one.

Gong matriarch calls for her personal maid once she exits the garden.  A young girl comes running in and kneels in front of her.

“Did you find it?”

“Yes, Madam. Apparently, a seller still sells it at the Geomjeong Market. ”

The Gong Matriarch smiles.

“Get on with what I told you then, I will go and visit my son for a while.”

The maid bowed and left.

Hana was organizing the budget for the kitchen with the head steward when a servant of lower hierarchy came forward and told him that Young Master Gong was looking for him.

Hana waited a while taking a deep breath to stabilize himself before he knocked on the heir’s study.

“Come in.”

The first thing he saw was the boy that sat on the ground in front of the study table. He is around 13-14 years old, wide eyes staring at him in surprise, dressed in a loose robe, bare legs and disheveled bearing, neck littered with love bites. The boy blushed when he saw Hana, embarrassed about his condition. He hurriedly arranges his clothes, rubs his lips clean that had a white stain at the corner, and rushes out of the room like a bullet.

Hana feels the acidic bile clogging up his throat at the event.

Heir Gong seemed like he enjoyed the scene, he relishes the awkward and uncomfortable demeanor of Hana. He pulls up his pants and rearranges his clothes slowly taking his time.

“Pretty, isn’t he?”

Hana doesn’t respond. He fears he might puke if he opens his mouth.

Young master Gong just laughs.

“Well, he is not as pretty as you were, but then again you were much more expensive than he is. The auction house manager came down to see me in a hurry when I bought you.”

He looks like he is relieving a sweet memory but for Hana, it was nothing but a nightmare, a festering wound that his superior loved poking until it bleeds and widens even more.

“How is Lee Chaerin?”

Hana shivers at the question. It is something he was really afraid of.

“Huh?”

“I asked what kind of woman is Lee Chaerin.”

“I don’t kno-”

Young Master Gong continues by cutting him off, sitting down on his desk chair.

“Cut the crap! I heard you always go to that woman’s courtyard. Aren’t you fucking?”

Hana drops to the floor on his knees at the accusation, light-headed from fear. Sweat beads drop down his forehead sliding past his pretty emerald green eyes.

“Nothing happened, young master, I assure you. I just deliver the letters. Please don’t accuse me. It is a misunderstanding. I would never do such a thing. Please reconsider. I am just a servant, I could never-”

Gong Kyungsun observes Hana for a minute; the latter kept kneeling, bowing his back, forehead touching the ground. He sounded earnest.

Heir Gong let out a sigh.

“I am disappointed in you. I thought she would be fucking around with you by now.  Ughhhh…. This just means more work for me.”

The heir throws the glass paperweight he has been fiddling with onto the ground as it crashed beside where Hana was kneeling, breaking into millions of granular pieces. He sees Hana flinch at the action; it brings another smile to his face.

“Apparently my mother wants grandchildren. Ah! What a joke! She pretends she doesn’t know how I can’t get it up if it is not male and young. Anyways…. I thought since you were fucking maybe you could do the job for me. Can’t you?”

Hana has gone pale with fear.

“NO! PLEASE! Please no. I beg of you young master not her, please.”

Not her.

Chaerin was different. She was different from any other ladies Hana has come in contact with. She was strong-minded, able smart and she makes Hana want to believe that there is still good left in this world.

Young master Gong gives a maniacal smile.

“Not her you say. Why not her? This is interesting. I thought you told me you were not boning her.”

Hana keeps mum; he can’t feel his fingers anymore, the nails dug into the wooden board cracked and bleeding.

“Oh!” the man exclaims, he stops in front of the bowing servant and grabs a handful of those jet black locks on his head. He bends his head backward so he faces him. Hana scrunches up his face in pain that sears through his scalp.

“Could it be that you….”

And then he is laughing. Hana thinks he might faint of the fear coursing through him.

“Oh my god! You like her! Seriously? Do you like that woman? A woman? That also you actually like my wife?”

Hana goes cold. Everything feels numb.

He knows. What should he do? He knows. How can he protect Young Madam now?

Suddenly Young Master Gong kicks him in the stomach.

“The audacity! You actually try to covet my wife!”

He looked more amused than angry.

“Then fuck her.”

“NO….no, please….please spare me…please young master. I beg you.”

Suddenly an idea popped in the heir’s mind.

“Then I will have to find someone else to do it.”

He watches Hana’s face carefully as it forms a pained horrified expression.

He had got Hana in his palms now. Not that he ever left.

“I’ll do it. Just...”

“Okay.”

Chaerin was sitting on the porch looking over documents when there was a rustling in the bush.

“Hana?”

Hana didn’t reply. He just stood there like a statue looking at her with eyes filled with pain.

Chaerin has never been good at comforting. So she just simply asked.

“What is it? Something wrong?”

What seemed like an eternity of standing there staring blankly he finally opened his mouth.

“Young Madam, can you run away?”

“Run away? Why?”

“This place is rotten to the core. I will help you escape. So please run away, far away from here.”

Chaerin smiles, she looks away and goes back to writing. Hana grows desperate.

“Madam, please you have to get away! I am being serious! Or they’ll harm you…..and…”

Chaerin doesn’t reply anything as Hana pleads and pleads. Finally, she just sighs.

“It was never about me,” she says. “I have people under my protection. I need to think about them too. There is Minji, my nanny…She is old and she can’t pull stunts like that. There is also Dara and her child. I have to take care of them too. I can’t run away from my responsibilities.”

“But...”

“There is also this.” Chaerin shows him a gold bracelet she is wearing.

“What is this?”

“A magic resistant charmed bracelet. It limits my power, not only that it is a tracker, if I leave the premises without permission they would know. I can’t take it off, the person who put it can only take it off, and that is my father. Other than that it cannot be removed.”

She looks melancholic.

“I am like a terrifying beast for them Hana, that is why they dolled me up. Attached a collar and leash, shackled me up, and put me in a pretty luxurious prison to show off and produce from in future. Like a domesticated rare breed animal.”

Hana suddenly feels an overwhelming urge to cry. Tears drop down his bright emerald eyes flooding his pale cheeks.

“What should I do? What can I do for you then?”

He cries like a child sitting down on the ground. Chaerin looks a bit troubled at the sudden outburst. She carefully pats his back.

“It’s okay. Do whatever they ask you to do. I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me. If I escape someday I’ll bring you out also, so don’t worry too much, just survive. That is the only thing we can do for now.”

The letters suddenly stop one day.

Chaerin sends people to find out about it and they return empty-handed. The lee manor has tight security so she is not surprised.

The ominous feeling inside her only grows with time. She doesn’t stop trying though.

Her husband comes to visit her one evening. As usual, Minji brings out the tea set but surprisingly her husband refuses.

“I got some good wine from the west today. A friend of mother apparently gifted it to her and she said we could enjoy it together.”

He smiles as he pours the crystal clear wine in green jade cups.

“Why wine today?”  Chaerin habitually dips her silver needle in it, nothing happens, so it’s safe.

“Bad day at work. I didn’t really have people to drink within the house. So I thought why not enjoy it with you.”

He gulps down the wine in a single turn, Chaerin seeing the other drink pours her cup down too.

A bitter-sweet burning feeling spreads out from her throat.

“Good wine,” her husband says and Chaerin just nods. She is not an avid fan of alcohol.

They drink and talk mostly Kyungsun talking and Chaerin listening.

She doesn’t know how long has passed but she hears it distinctively.

There was a scream. In her slight inebriated mind, Chaerin knows who that voice belongs to.

“Minji?”

She is unable to take a single step outside the room. There is something blunt that strikes her in the back of her neck as soon as she gets up. Her vision darkens as pain shoots out behind her nape of neck going up like a tingling sensation in her scalp. There is tinnitus in her ears as she feels her consciousness slip away.

No. Don’t faint. She wills herself but the world goes dark.

The last thing she sees is her husband smiling and Hana crying as he runs to her.

Chaerin filters in and out of consciousness. Vague silhouette of a man hovering over her, bright green eyes filled with tears looking at her with despair and gentleness. And suddenly it hurts. Everything hurts; she tries to scratch the person on top of her to get him off and pushes against his warm bare chest. He doesn’t budge, she is unable to use magic and tries to bite his arm near her face and he lets her. Chaerin had trained in martial arts but there is no strength in her limbs, she for the first time feels pathetic and helpless.

There was something in the wine after all.

“No…Do....don't. …..please Stop…..”

The man doesn’t stop. His touch gentle, contradictory to the burning pain she feels in her nether regions.

“I am sorry……I am so…so sorry. I am sorry.” Is all he says and Chaerin loses consciousness again.

When Chaerin wakes up, she is still in her room and the only thing she feels is pain. It is like everything hurts her back, her legs, and her head. She finds herself in her inner robes and it looked like somebody changed her clothes after washing her up. Even the bedsheets looked new. Someone got rid of all the evidence that happened last night.

Chaerin has an idea of what her body might have gone through last night and it is a nightmarish thought but she has seen it happen in these households so many times that it is not uncommon. It had happened with Dara and she might be different social standing than her but when it ultimately boils down she is a woman and in this patriarchal society she had no right from the very first time.

She tries not to panic but it is hard, she steels her resolve and opens the door to go out and search for Minji.

But instead, she sees Hana sitting by her door outside.

His eyes are swollen and red from crying. He sniffles and coughs throat scratchy and dry.

“Hana?”

The boy visibly flinches at his own name. When he sees Chaerin he starts crying again. Big fat tears rolling down his cheeks as he sits by her feet grabbing a corner of her skirt as he cries like he has nothing left in this world.

“I am sorry…..I am so sorry. I won’t ask for forgiveness….I am so sorry young madam. I failed you. I didn’t mean to do it but Young Master was going to get somebody else…..I am sorry I had to. I am sorry.”

Chaerin stares at the trembling figure dumbly. She stood there stupefied in front of the door as she processes the situation.

Vague fragments of what seem like memories of last night filters into her mind and suddenly everything falls into place like puzzle pieces.

Hana continues to cry but Chaerin snatches her skirt away from his grip and runs towards the servants quarters.

She limps her way to the servant quarters where she sees Minji who gets up from her bed as soon as she sees her. There is bandage on the younger girls' head. Nanny is also there sitting by her.

“What happened?” they say simultaneously.

“I don’t know. Got hit last night. They were planning to drag me off but nanny came at the right time and the perpetrators escaped. I was saved. Nanny saved me.” Minji fills Chaerin in about the events.

Minji holds her mistress’s shivering hand.

“What about you Young Miss. I didn’t see you last night?”

Chaerin kept mum she didn’t tell what happen instead she left the place. Minji is safe, nanny is safe. Nobody got hurt.

Except her. But she can deal with that. She has to.

When she returned she didn’t see Hana in front of her room anymore. Presumably, he has left after Chaerin ran away.

Chaerin closed the door of her room and leaned against it.

The sorrowful despair look from her eyes slipped away replaced by something menacing and wicked. Her lips pulled in a grim smile.

There is nothing in this house that can be hidden from her. These people tend to forget she is a pureblood witch.

The stage has been set it was finally time to roll up her web. She’ll make sure none can escape unscathed. She has waited too long for this. Everything is perfectly arranged, she just needs the right timing.

Vomiting was the first symptom to appear.

She couldn’t take the fishy smell or the smell of roasted meat. She started loving pickles.

“Its morning sickness. Congratulation! Young Madam, Matriarch Gong! Young Madam is indeed pregnant. It has been 6 weeks.”

The doctor congratulates Chaerin and her mother in law.

Madam Gong looks elated. Chaerin smiles weakly, she just got up from puking her guts out. She still hasn’t had her breakfast when this mother-in-law of hers barged into the room with a doctor in tow.

Minji looked like she was about to have a heart attack. Nanny sat down on the stool afraid of fainting. They thought she was having a rare stomach upset. Chaerin signaled them to keep quiet.

When the party finally left Minji straight out shrieked.

“How can be this possible? How can Miss be pregnant?”

Chaerin just stared outside the window. A silhouette of a man can be seen, casting a long shadow on the corridor.

This fool, she thought.

16 weeks in and the baby bump was clearly visible even from under her dark loose robes. Her husband came to visit her once a while. Chaerin didn’t meet with him, Young Master Gong didn’t bother that, he stayed in the living room sipping tea then left after an hour.

Hana never left. He would come and check often, Minji didn’t know about the situation so she kept him updated. The same goes for nanny. They have tried to make Chaerin talk about what happened that night but Chaerin had kept her mouth tightly shut refusing to even say a word. Eventually, they gave up thinking about maybe she didn’t want to bring up the unpleasant memories again.

Sometimes Hana would bring sour tangerines from the market other times he would bring nausea relieving potions from the potion master downtown.

Just like that Hana this time brought some digestive medicines from the pharmacy, for Chaerin has been having difficulty in eating. He always leaves them with Minji; he hasn’t seen Chaerin face to face since that morning, only glancing at her from far. It was selfish and twisted of him but when he saw her carrying his child, their child in her as she sat in the afternoon glow peeling the tangerines he bought, he fell more and more in love. Greed knows no bounds he thought.

He wanted to rush there, hold her hand, and if he would imagine himself to be bold enough press a kiss to her swollen belly and one on her forehead thanking her for being so caring and loving towards their children. But those are only his dreams. The reality is far from that.

So as per plan, he was going to leave the packet with Minji and sneak a glance at his love and leave. But he sees the young servant in the midst of cleaning up the old swing in the backyard.

“What are you doing?”

“Oppa!”

“What are you doing with this old swing set?”

“Oh, this! I am polishing the wood. Young Miss has been a bit moody lately, nanny told me it is because the pregnancy brings a bit of mood change. I remembered we had a swing set back in the Lee manor that Young Miss loved, and then I saw this one and thought why not?” Minji rubbed the turpentine oil over the scaffolding. “It might cheer Miss up.”

“Here, let me help.” Hana dropped the packet and started working.

They worked for a few hours before Chaerin came down.

“Young Miss! Are you feeling good now?”

 “Y-Yo-oung M-mad-am”

Minji looked at Hana weirdly at his stuttering. Chaerin narrowed her eyes.

“Minji leave us for a while. I need to talk with Hana privately.”

Minji left like an obedient child.

Hana eyed the figure as Chaerin sat down on the smoothened old swing bench and swayed lightly.

“Hana.”

“Y-yes.”

“Do you feel guilty?”

“….”

“Yes or no?”

“Yes. I am sorry.”

“Then help me out.”

Hana readily nodded his head.

“Tell me more about the Gongs’.”

Hana gulped. Chaerin didn’t look at him; she stared up at the tree with a blank gaze waiting for him and he broke down under the pressure.

So Hana told her.

He told her about Gong patriarch who was born impotent due to the constant inbreeding. About how Gong matriarch who had an affair with an opera actor and had Gong Kyungsun, the present Gong heir. About Gong Kyungsun who is a sick pervert, a pedophile who loves molesting young boys under his filial eldest son mask. He told her about how he went to an auction and bought Hana from there when he was sixteen. How he treated Hana like a pleasure slave, how hellish it was to stay in the house until a year later when he stopped because Hana had grown up too much for his sick tastes.

He bought one after another boy from there and still does now.

“I pity them, but I can’t look at him or the boys without having a nightmare. I feel sick. I feel so sorry for them. I wish I could do something for them, but it is impossible for me.”

Chaerin just listened with a neutral expression, without a trace of shock or surprise in her eyes.

“What would you do if I say you are freed?”

“Huh?”

Free. Independence. Hana has never thought of his life out of this slavery. Getting out of this hell is a dream when the reality is that his master who bought him for huge money holds his life contracts.

“I’ve never dared to imagine it.”

“Then imagine it.”

“I can’t. I can never escape. Master Gong has my life contract.”

“Do you have a family?”

You. Something closer like a family. And our kids.

“No. I had a mother; she was sold off after I was born. I was raised in foster care under the auction housemaster. I had special circumstances, I had a mixed ancestry thus I had an unusual look, different from normal. They preserved me for that and sold me at a high price to the Heir Gong”

“Mixed Blood?”

“Yes.”

“1/16^th vampire blood.”

“Vampire blood?”

Hana rubbed his neck feeling conscious about it. The people at the manor don’t know, they take it as he has good looks and is handsome face structure but the Young master when he bought him knew about it. The auction master made sure to specifically highlight it for them.

You are the most prized rare item in my whole collection.

Hana shudders at the thought. He has been treated as an object throughout his life and for the first time he was treated as a human he messed it up by doing something unforgivable.

“I am just 1/16^th of it. I age slowly after reaching adulthood that is all. It is not very different.”

Chaerin hums.

“I’ll free you from this but in return, you have to do something for me.”

The words crash into Hana like a tsunami wave.

“W-what? What are you saying, madam? Why would you want to free me? I am the last person you should be concerned about. I know that you know what happened that night? And I am sorry that was the only way I knew….”

“It’s okay. You forget I am a witch there is very little things that I don’t know. “

Hana was shocked, but Chaerin was calm. Her eyes thought confirmed Hana’s fear. This was a loyalty test for him. Lee Chaerin was someone who was extremely difficult to figure out. She lived in the deep dark waters and rarely lets people breach its surface no matter how close they are.

When Hana doesn’t say anything Chaerin continues.

“I don’t forgive you completely. But then again nobody deserves this kind of life. Not you, not me, and definitely not my child who is going to be born. So help me, if not for your sake or mine but for the sake of your unborn child.”

And Chaerin leaves Hana in tears again.

Your child she said.

At 20 weeks of her pregnancy, Chaerin leaves for the Lee manor after taking permission from her in-laws. They were happy to give it for the first time because Chaerin has finally settled down.

She is calm and collected and heavily pregnant hence there is no chance of escaping the Lee family. After all the only reliance she has as a mother with an unborn child is an unmarried young girl of a maid and an old nanny. She has zero contact with the outside world hence no outsider will intervene s well.

Sunyeong smiles to herself; she has finally trapped the elusive Lee Chaerin.

The guards have been decreased to only one, because keeping males with a pregnant woman may invite rumors. Both her in-laws and the Lee family agreed on that.

Chaerin on arriving at Lee manor first went to see the elders. Seeing the wild girl being docile they scratched their beard and thought with joy that indeed being a mother puts some sense in a woman’s mind. This is how it should have been.

She tried to visit Dara but was stopped.

“She is sick with the flu. I am afraid you might catch it. You are pregnant you should take care of your body more.” Sunyeong patted her hand. Sowoo just smiled secretly.

Chaerin didn’t ask any further.

The next day Chaerin made sure to visit her father.

The Lee patriarch was in his study when he saw his daughter waddle in with her swollen belly. He felt good by himself.

This how you discipline children. Look at how docile and obedient that wild manner less girl has become.

Chaerin smiled faintly greeting his father which in return made the latter smile bigger.

“Father I actually wanted to talk to you about something.”

“Oh! What is it? Is everything okay at the in-laws?”

“Yes, yes….everything is fine there. Aunt treats me really well, the servants are also good…… I have found a home.” she looked content and happy.

The Lee patriarch is pleased to hear that.

“Then what is it?”

Chaerin hesitates a bit before speaking.

“It’s just that. A doctor came last week for check-up; well…..he said that because of this” Chaerin points at the magic restraining bracelet on her wrist. “The child in my belly might not inherit my magical gene properly. It might interfere with his growth. So I was thinking if you can…”

Oh! So it is a boy! Inheriting her magic!

Patriarch Lee was overjoyed.

“Yes, yes….Of course, of course, oh how forgetful of me! I will immediately remove it.”

Chaerin remained faintly smiling as patriarch Lee removed the bracelet.

“I am so proud of you, my daughter.”

“Thank you, father.”

They looked like a pair of harmonious father-daughter from an outsider perspective.

The smile on Chaerin’s face only got bigger.

She didn’t return to her room instead went to Dara’s courtyard again.

“Young Madam, I am sorry Dara is still sick-”

“Take me to her son.”

“What?”

“I said take me to her son. I want to see him.”

“I can’t do that.”

“Why?”

“He is also sick.”

The maid stood stiffly in front of the door blocking her way, her eyes shifty and nervous as she glanced at the wooden door of the barn nearby.

“I understand” and Chaerin left.

The next morning was peaceful. Last evening Chaerin had a bout of vomiting hence didn’t take any dinner. So when morning came the maids prepared a light breakfast and knocked on her door.

They knocked once and twice, nobody answered.

After the tenth time, a bulky servant broke down the door.

The courtyard was empty.

Chaerin sat on her assigned seat. The air hostess gave her a bit of extra attention as she is pregnant. Minji was trembling a bit beside her, a pinch away from crying. She was dressed in man’s clothes. Nanny sat by them as she carried a one and a half-year-old Donghae in her arms as the boy slept peacefully unaware of the world.

“How could they do this to Dara? How could they do this to such a sweet young child?” Minji finally couldn’t help anymore as tears rolled down her cheeks.

Chaerin held her hand. At least they had saved Donghae, she kept her promise.

“It’s okay. It is gonna be fine. We’ll be fine.” She needs to stay strong, grief is for later.

The plane takes off.

Yesterday night:

Chaerin had previously instructed Minji to be ready with the bags. The girl had been meticulous in packing up. The Gong maids that kept an eye on them though they were packing for their long stay at the Lee manor, hence didn’t report back anything unusual to their masters.

They reached the Lee manor and while Chaerin greeted the elders and father managing to take off her bracelet. Minji found out the whereabouts of Donghae under Chaerin’s guidance.

“They kept him in a barn! I can’t believe it. These monsters! But I couldn’t find Dara unnie! What should we do about her?”

Chaerin’s throat clogged up. She knew the truth long before, she just kept it inside like the million things she keeps to herself.

Dara is no more. She died. It has been a month.

“Pick up Donghae. We’re leaving tonight.”

Donghae was in a bad condition when Minji picked him up. He was hungry, dirty and bruises bloomed all over him. A boy born of a monster they said. It is best to leave it alone until it dies off.

Minji was on the verge of tears. Chaerin only assured.

“It’s okay he’ll survive. He is the son of a fighter.” 

One look at those gold orbs of the baby and Chaerin knew it.

Donghae was a forgotten existence hence no one really checked upon him. They took him away cleaned him up in Chaerin’s place, fed him, and with a sleeping draught put him to sleep.

“What about Dara unnie?” Minji tried again.

Chaerin just looked at her. Minji stifled her mouth as she doubled over in pain of loss. The girl already had feared that Chaerin juts confirmed it.

They sneaked out with the help of Chaerin’s magic now that the restraint was gone. The skills she had honed out for the last year made it even smoother for her to cast charms after charms.

Hana was waiting for them in a car at the market. He handed Chaerin the tickets. He was dressed in a western shirt and pants unlike his usual robes; a potion from the potion master has changed his appearance. His original appearance was too eye-catching.

Chaerin in turn handed him his contract.

“How did-”

“I am a witch Hana, let’s not forget that….” she pats his back. “From today onwards you are free. Go live your life.”

They board the car; Hana’s voice trembled as he said.

“To the airport.”

Floo network is something that the Lee’s can track. And flying on a broom with Muggles and being heavily pregnant is not an option. Muggle airlines seem to be very apt because even if the Lee’s try this is something that is not under their jurisdiction. Chaerin let nanny and Minji carry Donghae away while she has a talk with Hana.

They are parting ways. Chaerin and the rest are going to England while Hana can go wherever he wants. Chaerin was adamant about this and Hana didn’t have the guts to refuse.

“Am I gonna see you again?” Hana can feel his voice tremble.

“Maybe…but for now no.”

He knows she is someone whom he can never have. He still tries.

“I like you….in fact….I-I love you. And I am sorry.”

Chaerin smiles. “I know.”

She knows!

“Then…”

“No, you can’t go with me. Just because you love me doesn’t mean we can be together. You took me without my consent, I felt humiliated and pathetic because of you. You love me don’t change that. You might defend saying it would have been someone else if not you but then again, if you had loved me enough you wouldn’t have to hide behind that excuse. I trust you here. I am sorry Hana, it might sound hypocritical while I am carrying your children but I adore you as a brother nothing less nothing more.”

Hana gulped. This is it.

“What about the children?”

“Don’t worry about them. They will be fine. They may not be born out of love but I’ll make sure they grow with love. I’ll tell them about you, if they wish to meet you I’ll let them. You can come over also someday.”

“Can you manage?”

“I have my ways there. We will survive.”

“I have one last request. Can I say it?”

Chaerin nodded.

“I want you to know my name. My real name that my mother gave me.”

Hana was a name that stuck with him when Gong Kyungsun named him.

“It is Jaejoong. Kim Jaejoong. Please remember me by my name.”

Chaerin smiled at him. The smile he loved so much.

“Goodbye Jaejoong…..This is where we part ways. I wish you happiness in life no matter wherever you are.”

Chaerin smiles at him one last time and he sees her back disappearing into the crowd.

Jaejoong laughed dryly for throughout the conversation she never said “I forgive you.” but she did call his name. The real name that nobody calls him with any more. He is grateful as he got to hear her say it at least once.

He booked a ticket for Kyoto.

“Goodbye, Madam Lee.”

It was midnight when the doorbell at the doorstep of the Park family rang obnoxiously too loud for that quiet neighborhood.

Chanyeol has been a little fussy lately and Bom had been having a hard time making him swallow that mashed up baby food she has prepared for him.

“Whoooshhhhhhh….here it comes.” She swung the last spoon full of baby food straight into the baby’s mouth as soon as he opened it to giggle. “And voila, that’s it for today.”

Chanyeol seemed pleased too but then the bell rang loudly and Bom could see the toddler’s bottom lip trembling scared of the loud sound.

“Nononono…..nothing happened. It’s okay baby…mommy is here.” She scooped the baby into her arms as she made her way towards the foyer.

The sight that greeted her was astonishing. She almost dropped Chanyeol but thankfully the toddler has a vice-like grip so he didn’t slip off.

“Chaerin!”

“…Hi?”

 Surprised would be an understatement.

She had lost contact with this friend of hers since the last one year. But fate has something else in store for her, for here she is in flesh and blood in front of her little house with a swelled up pregnant belly and a toddler in arm with Minji and nanny with their luggage in the toe.

So Bom just did what she thinks is ideal.

She smiled her warmest brightest smile and welcomed them in with a cheerful laugh-filled greeting.

After everybody fell asleep Bom and Chaerin were still up.

“Wanna talk about what happened? Or why don’t you just sleep for today we’ll talk tomorrow. It must’ve been a long journey.”

Chaerin didn’t budge.

“No it's okay. I am jet-lagged. The time difference and my biological clock would not let me sleep anyway. So let’s talk.”

“Okay.” Bom lifted up the other girl’s feet on her lap. They were swollen, perks of pregnancy. Bom had been through it all she knows it very well. Chaerin melted into her touch.

They talked throughout the night. Chaerin told her about her family, her mother, the Lee manor, the Gongs about Hana, and finally about Dara.

“She is dead, Bommie….. I couldn’t save her. They killed her…….” Chaerin buried her face in her hands in grief. She was strong throughout time never letting her grief show in front of others. But Bom is different; with her, she doesn’t need to be strong.

Bom hugged her.

“It’s okay. It was not your fault. You tried to save her, didn’t you? Sometimes life doesn’t work as we plan.”

“If only I was a bit early….”

“No….stop blaming yourself. It was not your fault. It’s those monsters back at your home. They did this. It is they who should be repenting, not you. Chaerin-ah….you……there are something that we cannot control, this was such a case. Dara was sick after giving birth, they didn’t even call a doctor for her and let her die, what could you have done? For god’s sake, they didn’t even inform you about her death until the moment you left, you only got to know after she was dead for a month, that also by trying your best to contact her on your own.”

Chaerin sniffled; the sadness of loss was finally setting in after that adrenaline rush.

“They thought of her as a hostage! My collar that binds me to the family. Nothing more, less a living person. When she died they thought if they let me know I would create a ruckus. My collar was gone after all. There was nothing binding me to the Lee family anymore. They didn’t even dare to inform me. How dare they? How dare…..” Chaerin clenched her fists tightly, nails digging in her palm. “They used a dead person, a mother of an infant as a pawn. I can never forget this; I will never forgive them for all the cruelties they have put me and Dara through.”

Bom sighed.

“I know you have a plan for that but for now think about it. At least you were able to save Donghae and not only that because of you Minji, nanny, and Hana were able to escape that hell hole. Do not belittle yourself; I can assure you if Dara had been here she would’ve praised you too.”

“You think so?”

“I know so. Don’t worry. There are far more complicated obstacles in front of you that includes raising Donghae and the child in your stomach. Stay strong Chaerin-ah. I am with you.”

Chaerin gave her best friend a broken smile.

They talked more, about their lives, their plans, and school memories.

Dara told her about her toddler son, Chanyeol.

“Embarrassingly it was a one night stand. I don’t even remember the face much lest informing him of being a father.”

“I never thought you were the type to go for one.”

“I never thought too, but things happen. I slept with one or two people and I thought it’s gonna be fine but as usual, I was stupid. It's okay I love having Chanyeol around, he brightens up my life. I can’t imagine life without him anymore.”

Chaerin strokes his belly.

“I am due in 3 months or so, I was thinking if it would be a bother if we-”

“It’s okay stay here.As.Long.As.You.Need. And I mean it. Also, did I tell you I am working for my Medical License? I can be your doctor for free as a bonus. Aren’t you grateful to have me as a friend?”

Chaerin laughs.

“Yes. So grateful.”

2months later:

Bom works as an assistant to one of the head researchers of the Research Committee of the Ministry of Magic, Professor Penelope Penrose as a side job from her Medical Educational Institute.

“I tell you I am her favorite disciple. She can’t survive without my assistance! I will get a recommendation letter to the Ministry as soon as I finish my training.”

Bom boasts her skills she feast on some snacks nanny has made for them; while Chaerin plays with Chanyeol with the new toys she bought him and Donghae. Minji has taken up a part-time job at a café and Chaerin had been nothing but encouraging.

Bom boasts some more until he spots the expensive toys on the floor.

“What the Fu….frisk? Who bought those?”

Chaerin just continues playing with the toddler as she replied.

“Me. I bought them.”

“Why? You should be saving-”

Chaerin just laughs. She is now bigger and heavier than normal pregnant women. She will end up pretty large by the end of the term.

(“It’s a pair of twins! Yay!”

Bom made a shimmy dance on seeing the reports.

“Really?” Chaerin was happy.

Chaerin herself is happy obviously, but moving her body seems so much of a chore sometimes.)

“Don’t think about it. Even if I don’t work I’ll still have a steady income no matter how little it is…it is enough to feed myself.”

“What? How?”

Chaerin secretly smiled but said nothing.

When they were born Minji was crying and nanny got teary but then something surprising happened.

Minji almost had a heart attack when she held the babies.

“This baby has green eyes!”

Bom made a face.

“Yes. So? They are pretty.”

“I think I have seen those eyes before…..wait…..WAIT A MINUTE…WHAT?”

Minji stared at Chaerin with an unreadable scandalized gaze.

“Young Miss, if you……correct me you may…..but….I am asking just out of curiosity, no offense okay?”

Chaerin was dead tired after the labor. She just nodded.

".....so……like…… is…..Ummm….. Hana the dad?”

Chaerin pulled her children closer lying on the hospital bed smiling at the flustered Minji.

“Doesn’t matter. They are my kids. That is what is most important.”

Taeyong the baby boy of the twins was born with light hair like his mother and his father’s emerald green eyes, while Joohyun the girl was born with black hair and gray green eyes like her mother. Donghae sat beside his mother as he observed the newborns with wide eyes.

Chaerin finally knows how Dara felt when Donghae was born.

Looking at all of them huddled close to her makes Chaerin want to work hard and raise them with love.

Three and a half months after they were born Bom got her recommendation letter.

“I GOT A JOB AT THE MINISTRY!!!!!!!!”

Chaerin laughed at her antics as Bom hugged and lifted up an annoyed Chanyeol and cuddled the life out of the poor boy.

“Celebrate! We need a celebration.”

So they did celebrate.

 They had steaks at a good restaurant the whole family together and Chaerin paid in spite of Bom’s persistence. As she eyed the group enjoying themselves with the Donghae chugging down food, Chanyeol waddling around, nanny looking after the twins, and Minji and Bom bickering about something insignificant, she thought to herself….

It is gonna be fine. I am happy. 

Chaerin had been job hunting for the last few weeks. It has been almost a year since she left Korea to come to England and started staying with Bom. But she knows it that this arrangement is not permanent.

This little house is too small for all of them and while she has been receiving her small income but it is still not enough to sustain her large family. She is an ambitious woman and she can never settle on this. She needs a house, and the other things required to raise a family and she needs to work for that.

Chaerin was born power-hungry no matter how she represses this side of hers it is what drives her. These few months she was needed to take a break from her previous life and to nurture her kids but now she wants to work. She wants to go after her dream. She needs to fulfill her revenge for her mother, and for Dara. While she is halfway there she wants them to bow down and trample over them. For that, she needs power and position.

It was like the opportunity fell from the sky.

It appeared in the form of a man of darker skin by the name of Kingsley who visited Bom at her residence asking for some help in a case.

Chaerin had been home that day, unlike other days where she is out hunting for jobs. She had been preparing her resume before she applies.

Kingsley didn’t expect another woman in the house. Nor the many kids running/crawling around.

“Lee Chaerin. A friend of mine. She is staying with me.” Bom had introduced her. Chaerin had said an unmindful hi and went back to work.

Kingsley and Bom seemed to be discussing some cases. Kingsley though he was wary of Chaerin still continued his discussion, asking Bom’s help in tracking down a criminal group.

Her ears perked up at the words “Illegal sales of exotic pleasure slaves.”

“I heard you are working on the genetics program. Penelope asked me to find you regarding the information…”

Chaerin couldn’t keep her silence anymore.

“I can help you with that.”

Kingsley looked surprised then irritated.

“Miss, while it is true that you are a friend of my colleague but then again it is really against Ministry’s policy…”

“Yes or no?”

“That would be a no.”

“Okay then suit yourself. Sorry for the interruption.”

“I apologize for my friend. She is a bit….”

After an hour or so Kingsley left with the documents in hand. As soon as he left Bom barged in.

“What happened? Why were you acting so weird there?”

“I dropped the bait.” Chaerin smiled as she kept scribbling on.

True to her prediction Kingsley came back. And this time not for Bom but for Chaerin.

“Just go and be a fortune teller why don’t you?”

Bom nudged her in the side as she eyed the gentleman on their couch.

“Where’s the fun in that?” Chaerin winked back at her.

Kingsley was at his wit’s end. The case had been going on for quite a while, possibly quite a few years. They have been drawing slots only to come out with nothing, the clues lead to blind ends, and informants are useless. He is an inch away from pulling out his imaginary hair in frustration. Thank god he is already bald!

Then there is this woman who just casually said she can help.

Since he has nothing to lose he came along.

Chaerin sat down with Bom and told Kingsley what she knew.

“They have a center in Seoul. Exotic slaves, pleasure slaves are mainly sold. They either kidnap them or breed interracially and raise the kids in foster care before selling them. There is a membership system, higher social status gives better seats, and the more you spend the more it gets upgraded. They have quite an intricate network and you can only access them if you receive an invitation…...”

There were a few other details and Kingsley listened carefully. He was surprised for it was the most information they got out of the whole investigation. He didn’t want to show his surprise so he coughed and told,

“First of all, I would like to inform you that you would have to tell me how you came across the information to avoid being-”

 “A suspect and validity of it. Yes, I know. But I also have a request. I want to work alongside you.”

Kingsley looked taken aback.

“No. that is not possible unless and until you are a part of the team. And if you haven’t noticed you are not a part of the ministry or anything in fact hence you won’t be able to.”

“What do I need to do to join?”

Kingsley was amused. “Why, given an exam, of course, submit scores, resume, give an interview….the usual.”

“When is the exam?”
“Surprisingly it is the day after tomorrow. Don’t tell me you are planning to give it! Because it is not possible like that. The exam takes place once a year and people study a year or so before giving it….not like this. What you are talking about is absurd.”

“Let’s see shall we.”

Kingsley left with no hard answers to half his questions.

Bom was worried.

She sat down with Chaerin at her bedroom, Donghae and Chanyeol were napping with the twins at Chaerin’s bedroom as nanny watched over them.

“What are you planning Chae?”

Chaerin didn’t reply at first but Bom was persistent.

Finally she huffed and sat down on the bed beside her best friend.

“Do you remember Hana?”

“Yes…the one who is the dad-”

“Yep him. Well, we parted ways at the airport and he went to Japan. He contacted me a few months later I arrived here. He went back to Korea. The thing is….. I told you I get a monthly sum right?”

Bom nodded. She was getting confused by the second, what does Hana have to do with Chaerin’s money?

 Chaerin just sighs again.

“It is like this. When my mother died she left her dowry, it is quite a lot…. I took the jewelry etc. with me when I left. They were given to me during my marriage so I had them with me. But rather than jewelry the original part of the dowry was actually some lands at prime locations and a few shops at the heart of the city. The business is pretty good and it has an antique shop also where there a lot of artifacts etc. which are pretty priceless. So overall it is almost 70% of the Lee family's financial assets. They have been practically leeching off my mother’s assets for the last few years.

The ledger of the house expenses and other wages was monitored by the head butler. My father is completely incapable of such things so he never bothered, so was Sunyeong who was satisfied as long as she gets to buy whatever she wants. So nobody checked up on the butler and thus getting the golden chance he embezzled money from it at every opportunity forging my father’s signature. It was done so much that the shops were reduced to poor conditions. The Lee’s are ignorant of it. Thankfully I caught on to it while examining the ledgers secretly. So I blackmailed him and made him sign papers using the forged signature. I renamed all the shops and lands under my name while I was staying at the Gong’s after my marriage. The deal was he can’t tell my father of it in fear of exposing his own crimes while I took back everything from them. I invested whatever raw cash I had into the shops and fortunately, they are doing well.”

Bom looked happy. She clapped her hands in glee.

“So what you are saying is you are the owner of the 70% of the Lee’s assets and they don’t even know it?”

Chaerin looked at her friend amused.

“Yes. In simple words.”

“So what brings Hana into it?”

“Hmmm…here comes the interesting part. Hana after he left for Kyoto couldn’t forget about the boys who are still being kept in the Gong manor and going through the same fate. Previously I tried to help them but Hana refused for the fear we might end up in trouble. He was being realistic I was pregnant and was on the run. But then again he couldn’t help it and come back to the country. He needed a job, so I offered him my managerial position in the shops. Hana has been pretty good while he was working at the Gong’s and used to help out in maintaining the accounts. So he took an anonymous identity under his real name Jaejoong and has been running the shops under my name for the last few months. He manages the wages and renovation expenses and investments, and the little money saved is sent to me.”

“That’s good then I assume.” Bom knew Chaerin never had feelings for this man but she was a bit skeptical. “But what about the Lee’s if you cut off their expenses won't they come looking for you?”

“They did but Hana was able to hide himself behind the borrowed identity and they have been trying to reach me for the last year but we know how that ended up as. They never had any interest in me, so they don’t know about you. They thought it was a momentary decision and I will return once I will not be able to fend off by myself. A pregnant woman or a single mother surviving all alone in a foreign country is something absurd and impossible for them to even imagine. When I didn’t return they started searching but by then my traces were gone. They have a high ego hence can’t inform legally about my disappearance for it will hurt their family name.”

Bom was suddenly curious.

“For how long had you been planning this?”

“Ever since my mother died. My marriage made it difficult but in the end, I was successful in escaping.”

This girl who is smiling through it has had a hard life.

Bom hugged her friend. “I am sorry I wasn’t there for you.”

Chaerin just chuckled. “You were there. You may not know it but you were. You are still now.”

Bom sniffled. She was getting all teary and sappy.

“So what happened next?”

“Next, Hana tried to free the kids in the Gong Manor. But when you have been in captivity your whole life freedom scares you. The kids were the same and the plan fell through.

On the other hand, the Lee’s went to the shops and demanded the pays but the shops refused. My father and the elders went to the civil office and they found out all the assets were under my name, and until and unless I sign the documents and present them myself acting as a witness the assets can’t be handled by the Lee’s.

They were furious and tried to find me but till now there has been no success.”

Bom was thinking this for a while.

“Is this your revenge Chaerin?”

Chaerin shook her head,

“No, this is just the beginning. I just crippled them financially but there is a lot more to do, I want to make it such that those who dared kill innocent people like my mother and Dara, they would live a life worse than death, even if it is my father.”

“And how are you planning to do that?”

There was a glint in Chaerin’s eyes when she looked at Bom at her question.

“The auction house. This human trafficking case would be the first step. But for that, I need to be on that team. I have to join the Ministry at all costs.”

It was too quiet, Kingsley thought to himself. She didn’t entertain any of Kingsley’s calling for the next few days. The exam and interviews were conducted as per schedule. He was busy with his case thus he got no time to check up on it.

Two weeks later, Kingsley saw her at the Ministry of Magic building.

“We meet again.” Chaerin greeted him.

Kingsley was shocked.

“Why are you-?”

 “Pleased to meet you, sir, I am the new Auror intern in training for the investigative dept. Lee Chaerin. I hope to be of service.” she smiled cheekily.

Chaerin, Kingsley found out was exceptionally good at what she does.

Not only was that she is extremely helpful in this case. She was quick-witted with immense control over her magic. She was efficient and yet detailed. An ideal worker and assistant.

One day they were having a meeting at Bom’s place when Kingsley finally asked the question he has been meaning to ask her.

“Why do you know so much about this case?”

“The answer will depend on who you are posing this question, as a superior of the office or as a friend?”

Kingsley is repeatedly taken aback by this girl’s straightforwardness. But unusually while most people would be offended, he doesn’t dislike it. He prefers straightforward than somebody withholding information or giving vague answers.

“How about you answer for both the cases?” Two can play the game.

“Let’s say I have my sources.” But Kingsley doesn’t back down at this answer. He says nothing waiting for the other to continue again.

Chaerin looks at Bom who holds her hands as if to assure that it is fine to tell.

So Chaerin slowly tells him. She tells him about the Lee’s though not in detail.

“…….then I asked about it and Hana told me that he was bought from the auction house at the Geomjeong market. I had heard a similar story from Dara it was just that she was kidnapped while Hana was born and brought up there. They look for exotic breeds. That doesn’t mean that they don’t sell regular slaves. The two people I met one was a pure-blood female werewolf another was a diluted bloodline of a vampire. The more unique features they have higher is the price. I still have Hana stationed back at home he can help us with the investigation.”

Kingsley’s expression hardened as more and more of the story unveiled. His respect for Chaerin only grew after this in spite of her not telling him the entirety of her personal life. Chaerin kept the conversation as to the point and professional as possible, not giving details about herself.

Time passed like a snap of a finger and it is when Taeyong started crying that Chaerin excused herself and went to feed him.

Kingsley silently watched the two strong women filter through their motherhood yet managing their career like a pro. His respect reached a new bound that he didn’t know was possible.

The case progressed smoothly after that. Jaejoong or Hana as they still call him was a good informant. Since he knew the ins and outs of the auctions he proved to be a very good help. They informed the South Korean Ministry of magic and they got into the case. At their side, they were finally able to locate the auction houses, multiple in number for their ever-changing sites of gathering.

Bom was worried when Chaerin told her she is going to actively take part in missions and fieldwork but she didn’t stop her.

It was the fourth one.

So far the three before them have gone well. The Aurors were a bit relaxed this time. This one is the final one. If they can infiltrate the base and get the list of the buyers from the officetel the job is almost 80% done.

So when Chaerin heard the thump of a heavy object falling on the ground at the turn of the corridor behind her she knew things have gone awry. Len was the officer in charge of her. They had gone in pairs. A quick-thinking and she plastered herself to the wall and cautiously entered the open closet beside her. It was filled with junks, theatre props. From the sound behind her, she can guess it must’ve been Len who was knocked out but it was too dark to see. She clutched the document in her hand and signaled for the communicator. She wanted to help her colleague but outing herself would be a bad decision.

“No. 23 is down I think. Try to communicate, please. No light here.”

Actually, it was not Chaerin’s job to go with Len. She was just a rookie. But it so happened that she was the only woman in her group of five under Kingsley. So they had no choice but to send her in as the plus one to accompany Len to the auction.

Chaerin had been particularly cautious. It was like the calm before the storm. But then the hunch was right, there had been an ambush.

She needs to save Len and also escape.

She picks up her wand in a defending position; she needs to divert the attention from Len who is injured.

It is not her best decision but she makes a run for it. They must’ve heard her because she can hear the shuffling of heavy boots on the ground behind her.

“Catch the mole!”

Chaerin had made sure to cover herself up with her black robe hence making it a bit difficult to identify her gender.

She climbs down the stairs at record speed the sound footfalls still on her tail. Chaerin runs out of the building. Documents containing the list of the names tucked under her shirt, she needs them to be unscathed no matter what.  She threw open the old rattled back door and runs into the alley.

A little bit more. She knows the rest of their teammates are just across the gates. Her communicator beeps.

“We have saved Len. Where are you?”

“Just out from the back door. The alley next to the building.”

“The documents?”

“With me.”

“Are you safe?”

“Yes. I have two or three tails after me. Meet me at the back gate. I am almost there.”

Chaerin increased her speed. A meter just. She can see the back of the embroidered robe of Kingsley’s.

Suddenly, the view changed. It swirled into a blur of colors and the ground shifted from under her feet.

Chaerin unable to keep her balance fell forward into the rocky rough ground.

Unusually the original cobblestone alley floor had transformed into hard soil with patches of grass.  Chaerin grapples around and manages to stand somehow. She is not standing in the middle of the alley but rather an open ground by the side of the forest. The new moon does little to light up the surroundings but she can make out a few willows of the wisp floating around. The blue light illuminating up what looks like stone slabs erected to the ground. The sky is starless and the trees that swayed in the cold wind are barrenly contributing to the eerie feeling of the whole area.

Chaerin realized she was standing in a graveyard.

The ones following her must-have apparated, taking her with them. Her communicator is dead. She is all alone here and she doesn’t even know where it is.

Fuck!

The darkness covers her like a blanket of velvet. It feels like if she extends her pale bony fingers into it will come off scooped up in her fingertips like dipping her hand in a bucket of midnight black paint. But it doesn’t instead when she tries to splay her fingers her arms hurt so does her wrists. It has swollen and giving off heat and Chaerin thinks it might be broken. There is a gash on her side bleeding into the wooden floor of the coffin beneath her.  One of her ribs is probably broken from where she collided with the stone slab of the grave knocked off her feet while hit by the wayward hex. It is painful but she tries to remain calm. Making a sound is equivalent to courting death; she tones down her breathing as much as possible.

They had found Chaerin a few minutes of their apparition. Chaerin somehow survived a few attacks and had continued to run. But she had taken her injuries too lightly and as the adrenaline finally gave out after a few minutes and she toppled over a wayward stone slab and fell straight into an open grave. Thankfully she worked it out quickly managed to pull the stone cover of the grave with great difficulty before hiding inside the semi-empty wooden coffin. Semi empty because there is still a skull and a few old bones inside but enough space for Chaerin to fit in.

He murmurs a sorry to the original owner of the grave.

She could hear the whispering outside.

“We have to catch that rat. It has taken the customer and item lists with it.”

“You think it’s only that. There was also the memberships and employee list.”

“You idiots! How can you leave the lists in a single file?”

The ones being reprimanded didn’t answer. Chaerin mentally high fives herself for getting the document. The only thing left now is to leave this situation alive with it. Now, that….. is a challenge.

They talked about it a few more minutes before presumably, the leader gives a thorough search order. And Chaerin desperately hoped they would be stupid enough not to search the graves.

The injuries were serious but the exhaustion was much more severe. Chaerin felt her vision darkening with every passing minute.

She wills herself to remain conscious, she can still hear the whisperings outside, she needs to stay awake even if it is not for herself but for Taeyong, Joohyun and Donghae. But in spite of her best efforts there are some things she can’t win against. She hears footsteps nearing her hiding spot. She pleads whatever deity up there to save her this time. She can’t die like this. She needs to be back at her home and do her duty as a mother. She can’t leave her kids alone in this world. She cannot repeat the mistake her mother did. She promised……

It finally turns pitch-black.

Chaerin wakes up with a start heaving like she is unable to breathe.

She just had a nightmare where she was buried alive in a grave.

She looks around and she realizes that this is definitely not her room, not even the house she shares with Bom. It is a makeshift house with a temporary asbestos roof, wooden walls, and floor. It is almost like a log cabin. Judging by the sunlight streaming into the room through the window beside the bed she assumes that it must be midday. She is lying on a bed with clean sheets and comforter dragged up to her chin neatly tucked inside from the cold. Chaerin peers a bit further and sees the room extends up into a narrow area lined by a closet on onside a washroom on the other. There is also an area transformed into a kitchen with a small stove and utensils. No matter how much she tries she fails to recall how she ended up here.

There is a sound and by instinct, Chaerin grabs her wand which has been kept at the bedside table and gets into a defensive stance. The sudden movements hurt her chest, her broken ribs and injured hands make her groan loudly in pain.

It is a man.

It is a man she has never seen before. Tall frame, raven locks, cheek full of beard, and untidy appearance. He trudges in opening the door. A gust of chilly cold wind enters unwelcomed through the open door and Chaerin shivers.

The man must’ve seen her react; he promptly closes the door and shuffles towards the small kitchenette.

“You’re up. Do you want some tea?” he asks. His voice is deep yet warm as it slides over the silence like honey, very contradictory to his rough appearance.

Chaerin doesn’t reply. She stares at the man burning holes in his back trying to gauge the situation.

“Who are you?”

The man doesn’t reply. Instead, he brings a cup of steaming tea and places it on the bedside table. Chaerin flinches at the action. The man purposefully slows down his movements as if trying to make her relax.

“I asked who you are. Where am I?” she asks again.

The man takes a seat beside her bed on one of the ratty old armchairs.

“Before asking me my name isn’t it a courtesy to introduce yourself?”

Chaerin looks at him suspiciously, her eyes slanting into slits.

“Depends on who you are, how I am here and why am I here?”

“That is a lot of question.”

Chaerin doesn’t retaliate. She just sits there eyeing the figure on the chair. His clothes are dirtied with soil and mud. There are soil particles clinging under his nail beds.

Gardener….Gravedigger…robber?  Chaerin tries to guess.

“My name is Marvin Walters. And I found you in my mother’s grave last night.”

Marvin is the caretaker of the Little Hangleton Graveyard.

 Little Hangleton is a small village six miles from the Great Hangleton in the northern part of Europe. Marvin Walters has served as the caretaker of the graves of this old abandoned graveyard since his teenage years. He was out on patrol last night. These days some teenagers from neighboring villages keep wandering around here in order to rob some graves, and this being an old graveyard has a lot of old mausoleums and hidden vaults and catacombs. Hence to avoid further trouble he has been keeping an eye on the graveyard. Yesterday night he was on his usual patrol and then he heard some noises. The people were gone when he reached there. It was near his mother’s grave which he visited frequently but he saw the lid was not properly placed and that is how he found Chaerin lying in his mother’s coffin. She was injured and unconscious so he took her home.

Chaerin sipped her tea as he listened to the man….Errr….Marvin.

“The doctor asked me to call for him as soon as you wake up. He is just an old man who was an army doctor once. But he is the best we can get in this little village.” He says as he gets up from his chair.

Sure enough, he returns with the village doctor. An ancient old man with a long white beard, his back arched due to age. On his crooked nose hung a pair of hazed out yellowed spectacles adorned in old ratty wizard robes.

He examines her pulse and other tidbits with her consent. Chaerin sees the older man drift away in his thoughts before he looks at Chaerin seriously.

“Lass, I don’t know what enmity the attackers had with you but this is a serious curse.”He rummages through his bag and continues talking.”You are hit with a non-healing curse. That means I cannot heal you with potions. You will have to heal yourself.”

Chaerin was a bit surprised.

“I am sorry I am not getting-”

“What I am saying is now you will heal like a Muggle. No potions will help you. 21-28 days of bed rest if possible, little moving around is allowed.”

“But-”

I need to go. I need to see my kids. They are waiting for me back at home.

“I am sorry this is the only way for you now.”

Marvin sees the elder out. When he gets back he sighs.

“You take the bed. I’ll take the sofa.” Is all he says.

Moving is not only painful it is impossible. Chaerin gets up at night and tries to climb down from the bed to get water but, she realizes one of the legs is broken and now wrapped in a cast, the other ankle is sprained, though mildly but it is swollen.

“What are you doing?”

Chaerin feels bad for waking the man up.

“I needed some water.” She says embarrassed of her incapability.

Marvin doesn’t complain. He gets up from the sofa and brings her the glass, then goes back to lie down again.

A comfortable routine sets in for the next three days.

Chaerin has resigned to the fact that she is indeed incapable of moving around and has to burden Marvin with her stay here. She did send an owl back at home and one at Kingsley as discretely as possible. There is a nagging thought in the back of her mind that the perpetrators are hiding here only. If she stays here she might find out more.

Marvin stays in the morning at home doing housework. They don’t talk much only what is necessary. Chaerin tells him her name that is all. No personal conversation. Call her paranoid but she has trust issues. She knows the man is doing it out of the kindness of his heart but she finds it hard to believe it in her heart for the first few days.

He leaves at noon to the town to do some work leaving Chaerin to her devices. He returns in the evening to nap for some time and then goes out in the night for patrol.

There are some things she found out about him.

Like unlike his rough appearance he is very gentle. He can do delicate works like cooking and wood carving with ease. He is also a great cook, completely opposite of Chaerin who can’t cook to save her life.

“You are a really good cook.” She says it to him one day in her first week of stay.

The man doesn’t say anything nodding once as he keeps on eating. Chaerin doesn’t miss his ears turning red and she thinks it is cute. She doesn’t say it though, she just smiles lightly.

The second thing she realizes is that the man is a wizard. Everything in this little shack works on magic, from washing dishes to sweeping floors. This is something she has already guessed when he had brought the potion master\doctor.

The third thing she learns about him is he is medically knowledgeable. Because he is very nimble in changing her bandages and treating the ugly purple bruises and lacerations that have bloomed inconspicuously over her pale skin. He always asks her consent before starting which Chaerin had seen as a very polite trait which she admires. Her impression of men back at her home had not been very favorable so she can’t be blamed if she is prejudiced.

The only drawback is he doesn’t talk much. It borders between not much to complete silence at times. But to Chaerin sometimes this silence is very welcome and comforting. Because she also doesn’t always feel like talking.

Kingsley replies back to her owl within a day.

He stated clearly that it is better if she comes back. Recuperating at home is better but Chaerin stubbornly denies that. Nursing a sick person back at home along with five kids can be extremely burdensome. She decides she’ll return when she is healed a bit. Roughly a week or two. Kingsley also sent some money for food and lodging which Chaerin hands over Marvin.

“It’s not much, but please accept this. Feeding an extra mouth needs finance. I hope you don’t mind….this is just a token of gratitude not paying or ordering like that...” she tries to explain herself.

Marvin had a stony expression when he first sees the money but when he hears her words it slowly loosens up.

“Okay.” He says and accepts it.

Chaerin feels a weight lifting off her shoulder.

Marvin had also bought her some common rough clothes to wear from the market. The aunty that manages the shop also helped out by selecting essentialities and Marvin saved from the embarrassment of choosing himself had to just pay. He was grateful.

A week and a half pass by like this.

Chaerin can’t really leave the bed except for food and restroom. Sometimes walking around a bit to loosen her muscles but that is all Marvin remains passive like the first day, he lends Chaerin some of his books to read in leisure. In the afternoon when the sun is high in the western sky slowly spreading colors Chaerin would look up from the book she has been reading to stare at the man in the same posture reading by the window.

There is something strange with Chaerin. Usually, she is all guard up but something in this man makes her want to believe in his innocence. Believe that whatever he is doing it is purely out of the goodness of his heart. Believe that she is lucky to meet a kind man.

She would avert her eyes after a while just to miss the man looking at her the same way.

The feeling only solidifies and burrows down in her heart as the days pass by.

“I want to go out for a bit? Is that possible?”

Marvin was reading a book when he looks up. It was still morning they had just had their breakfast and Chaerin requested him for a stroll outside.

Marvin thinks for a minute.

“Okay,” he says.

It takes him an hour. After an hour he comes back with a ratty old wheelchair.

“Do I have to?” she asks like a petulant child. Usual Chaerin would be surprised but somehow today she was feeling a bit playful.

“Then do you want me to carry you?”

“No.” Chaerin made a face. She was greeted by a pleasant sight. Marvin laughed. It wasn’t a very obvious one but a suppressed one. But when she saw the twinkling pale blue eyes she thought they were really pretty. She didn’t tell him though.

 The graveyard had become overgrown. Many of the graves had become covered by ivy and moss. Many of the names written on them had become faded. Several gravestones had become tilted and sunken into the ground. A number of stone steps had also recessed into the ground and partly hidden. Only a large house can be seen in the distance. As well as having normal graves, the graveyard also had above-ground mausoleums and a series of below-ground vaults and catacombs. While most of those buried had simple headstones to mark their graves, there were several other monuments that were grander. Several were marked by stone obelisks and angels.

Because it was night time when she came she couldn’t see the area well before nor she was in any condition to do so.

The graveyard was placed in an uneven area which resulted in it having high and low burial ranges ranged from wide open to narrow and cramped. There was also a small wooden area filled with yew and other bare trees

Marvin pushes her wheelchair to the grave where she was found.

Chaerin suddenly chuckles at a thought.

Marvin looks puzzled.

“It feels like your mom protected me from those men. Thank you.” Chaerin makes a bow.

Marvin understood the context. He smiled again. And Chaerin liked it. She has accepted the fact that she indeed likes his smile.

“I thought so too when I saved you.”

Chaerin smiled brightly. She saw the tips of his ear go red.

Cute.

Chaerin continues to receive owls from home. They mostly tell how the kids are doing etc. how much they miss her and Chaerin is grateful because sometimes she feels like she is going crazy from missing her children.  But she has discovered something important and she doesn’t think she is ready to leave yet. The information came to her unexpectedly.

On one of the outings, they were late to return and evening had already fallen. She saw the house at the corner lit up.

“What is that house?”

“The Riddle House.”

Chaerin was surprised. This…. she didn’t expect. Most people know the story of the Riddle house. The house of the Dark Lord. The whole family was murdered one night, the gardener accused but let go in the absence of evidence. It has been a few years since the Dark Lord also has died by the hands of the ‘child that lived’. 

But her gut was telling her there was something wrong here, in this place. There is a link but she is unable to find it. This house is important.

Why did they apparate here out of all places? Is there a connection or is she thinking too much into it?

She has been thinking about this question for the last few days. That is why she stayed. To find the answers to all these questions in her head.

She looked at Marvin.

Under the unkempt hair and beard, he had a strange look as he stared at the manor.

“They were killed by a lunatic.”

Chaerin flinches in shock at the new voice. It was another man. Chaerin has seen him before. He is the one who delivers the vegetables.

“Right, lunatic.” Marvin’s voice was strange; Chaerin couldn’t help but turn around at the off tone of voice.

“Are you fine? Marvin?” she asks concerned.

“Yes, yes Of course.” He nods his head breaking out from his stupor. They converse with the shop owner a bit before Marvin wheels Chaerin out. Chaerin is a bit concerned because he looks shaken up, his hands trembling and white from the pressure as he holds on to the wheelchair.

Chaerin suddenly wants to hug him. Tell him he is fine, comfort him. It is strange and very foreign to her. It is different about how she feels for Dara, Minji, or Bom, even Hana. But she does nothing.

The dinner is quiet that day. Marvin mistakenly put sugar in the soup instead of salt and Chaerin knows his head in not in this chore.

She doesn’t ask though. She is just a guest imposing on him almost forcefully. She has no right to ask.

But when he whimpers in pain while sleeping that night suffering from an obvious nightmare, she holds his hand until the frown on his forehead smoothens out and he is sleeping peacefully again. Chaerin then goes back to the bed.

Two weeks have passed by.

Chaerin puts forward a request to Marvin.

“These documents need to be delivered. Not by owl but my hands. Can you help me post this into the nearest postbox?”

Chaerin lifts up to show the sealed documents. They are nothing but the list that Chaerin oh-so-carefully has taken from the auction. They are indeed important; she risked her life to get them. An owl flying with an envelope would be suspicious, so it is safest to go by Muggle way. So she decided she would mail it to Kingsley.

Marvin just nodded, sling his bag, and went off again, envelope in hand.

Trust him….I trust him. Chaerin thought.

Just like that another week passed by, Chaerin as well, only her broken leg and the torn shoulder remain. They are also healing well according to the doctor.

She should be leaving, as much as she wants to go over to her own place she kind of doesn’t want to leave Marvin alone.

Has she grown attached to this place? Or is it just Marvin?

In the meanwhile, she has investigated the Riddle House. According to the neighbor, no one lives there, just the caretaker Frank Bryce. The house is initially owned by the Riddle family then owned by a wealthy man. He doesn’t live there or use it but he still pays Frank to look after the house. When she asked around they said he keeps it for tax reasons but no one really knows the exact reason.

The house is regarded as a haunted mansion and nobody really goes there even during or after daylight. Chaerin had seen some of the windows light up in a faint glow at night but the locals say when told about it being the delinquents of the nearby area using the place to smoke and drink and hangout. A very viable reason, Chaerin thinks but somehow she finds the patterns odd.

She observes Frank Bryce for this.

Frank Bryce has no family and has continued to live a solitary disconnected life in his small cottage on the Riddle House grounds. He continued to be paid as the gardener by the house's succession of owners. As he aged, he was plagued by the pain in his leg, and by the vandalism of local boys, which he suspects was motivated by the belief that he was a murderer. He has a terrible temper; Chaerin has seen him chasing after boys with his walking stick a number of times. She doesn’t blame him though.

After all the boys would usually throw rocks into the Riddle House, trample or ride their bicycles on the flowerbeds that Frank worked hard to keep smooth or even break in the House for a dare, then flee when Frank tried to pursue them, unsuccessfully due to his injured leg.

He also drinks a lot. He is usually an inebriated the whole day.

“Frank drinks to forget the pain in his legs.” The aunty at the clothing shop told her when she came to visit her sister’s grave at the graveyard. “He was a soldier in the second world war. Hurt his legs, stiff from the injury hurts quite a lot I guess. It can’t be helped if money is not enough…also who will treat a murderer?”

Chaerin on her free time goes and sits in the graveyard. It is quiet and peaceful and the eerie, gloomy atmosphere doesn’t bother her. Marvin sometimes brings her a shawl due to the cold reprimanding her for sitting outside in the chilly wind of early autumn. Chaerin just smiles and thanks him feeling oddly domestic.

The visitors are usually the inhabitants of the town coming to visit the graves of their close ones. Marvin had introduced Chaerin as his cousin; some people look at them oddly while others greet her warmly.

She was leaving tomorrow.

It was the day before she left that she wakes up to see Marvin getting ready. At first, Chaerin is shocked because unlike the usual rough Marvin it seemed like he had cleaned up. His shaggy beard was gone, hair was combed back falling slightly at the side, nails trimmed and instead of his usual muddy patched clothes he is wearing a suit. The clean white shirt blended with his pale skin while the black jacket was a stark contrast. It was like a complete stranger was standing in front of her.

He looked handsome. Chaerin has seen many handsome men in her life. Her brother, her husband, Hana, etc. but there was this charm to Marvin that appealed to her like none other had.

 When he caught Chaerin staring he blushed brightly and Chaerin was relieved. It is still the same Marvin he knows.

“Are you going somewhere?”

Marvin hesitates then opens his mouth to tumble the words out.

“It is my mother’s death anniversary.”

Chaerin nods awkwardly. She is really bad at comforting people.

Marvin fiddles with the tie in hand. he tries it on in front of the mirror a number of times before giving up and stashing it away.

“Do you want me to help with it?” Chaerin gestures at the tie.

Marvin looks a bit shocked.

“No…..it’s fine. I am just going to buy some flowers anyway.”

Clearly, he looks too sad for that tie and he isn’t the best liar that Chaerin has already discovered while staying with him.

She gets up from the bed and hops towards him grabbing onto objects for support.

Marvin holds onto her arm when she reaches her.

Truthfully they haven’t had much physical contact before. The skin where he touches seems to burn and Chaerin feels a little heady.

She grabs the tie and makes a quick knot, Marvin bending his head to give her access to loop it at his nape. She makes a perfect double Windsor knot and lays it plain over his chest.

“There you go.” Then she makes the mistake of looking up.

All she sees is a pair of pale blue eyes. It was dramatic and so very unlike her yet somehow she can’t look away. It’s like it pulls her into them, the pair of blues conveying a thousand emotions to her but none at the same time. Like colors of vibgyor that come together to make nothingness, a pure blank white.

Marvin is the first one to look away, he blushes furiously and Chaerin can’t help but feel fond. Affections surging in her chest.

Marvin Walters is a kind, polite, agreeable, wise, introverted, dependable gentleman.

Chaerin picks out a black blouse from her limited clothes and accompanies Marvin to the graveyard. She is almost healed, and now instead of the wheelchair she prefers the crutch.

Marvin had bought some white lilies with him which he lays down on the ground. Chaerin stands a few feet away to give him privacy.

That night Marvin brings a bottle of wine from the cellar. He pours two small glasses and offers one to Chaerin. She would’ve refused but then again she hasn’t drunk in a long while. She was pregnant with the twins then she became busy with looking after them practically leaving her no free time and well…..responsible. So she takes the cup.

“I always drink on this day,” Marvin says.

He seems to have loosened up a bit after a few glasses. He looks at Chaerin with pretty glassy eyes like limpid calm waters.

“Can I tell you a story?” he asks.

“Okay.”

“Long ago there lived a girl. A girl who was pretty and a little slow, but she was born in a poor family and wasn’t very loved. She had too many siblings and her parents weren’t able to give her the proper attention and love. So she searched for the lacking emotions in other people.

Her family moved from their country to a new place and the girl followed along.

There while she was young she met a boy. The boy lived in her neighborhood. That boy was not human, he was a monster child. Everybody was afraid of his family and him. A family of monsters, they called them behind their backs. But when the girl saw the boy, he neither had horns, tails, or sharp teeth. He was just a lonely young unloved boy angry at the world.

They became friends, or at least the girl thought so. Then slowly she fell in love. One spring day when the daffodils have bloomed in full in the fields of the valley, she confessed. The boy didn’t reply just kissed her back. The girl was happy.

‘Finally’ she thought. ‘My love is not unrequited.’

Little did she know that the boy was indeed a monster.

The boy now turned into a man would come to her whenever he was in need of relief. The girl gladly gave her all while the man only took it until there was nothing left. One day the girl found out she was pregnant. She ran to him and delivered the news with a nervous bright heart only to get hurt badly. The boy never loved her, not even when he grew into a man.

He said to her haughtily their pedigree was different they can never be together not even in her dreams. Her heart broke into a million pieces and then her family found out tried to force her to leave the baby. The girl was adamant on keeping it for it was his and her child. A child she bore out of love, a proof of their ‘nonexistent’ love.  The family finally couldn’t take anymore and evicted her. Because an unmarried pregnant young girl would only bring disgrace and trouble.

There was a kind old man in the village, he took her under her wing and they moved out of the village. They went to the town where she gave birth to that child of the monster and grew him up with love. She died young contacting an incurable illness so did the old man leaving the boy all alone.

He had grown up listening to his mother’s stories about her childhood so he returned to the town and took up a menial job and stayed there asking around for his father. He found out the truth soon. He was but a child of a monster. Shocked he could only hold on and hide.

A monster after all remains a monster.”

When he finished his story he laughed bitterly taking a sip of his drink, there were tears in his eyes, and Chaerin couldn’t help but hug him. At first, the body in her arms was stiff but it gradually loosened up until Marvin reciprocated the hug hugging her back.

It was comfortable for Chaerin. The warmth was addicting so was the gentle strength by which he held on to her.

When she woke up they were already on the bed, though fully clothed, arms around her waist, feet tangled down below. As she looked at Marvin lying beside him she took in his image imprinting it into her memory, his high cheekbones, sharp jawline, high nose as the sun hit his face illuminating different parts in a soft warm glow.

He slowly opened his eyes and looked at Chaerin. At first, they looked surprised but then was filled with unadulterated fondness and affection.

So Chaerin kissed him. Her first kiss, even though she has three kids back at home.

And a few seconds later Marvin kissed back equally fervently.

That day was the day she left.

The whole morning all they did was talk.

And maybe kiss a little.

Chaerin was feeling giddy like a teenager in love, and maybe she was a little. She told him about herself slowly opening up. She carefully told him about her kids and Marvin only looked at her with respect and admiration. No ounce of disgust or repulsion or anything remotely closer to these feeling was absent in his demeanor.

Chaerin only wondered why they didn’t do it sooner.

He kissed her goodbye and Chaerin promised to visit as much as possible.

Marvin stood there looking at her longingly even after she had gone.

True to her words Chaerin visited once a month.

Marvin waited patiently for her, eager to see her.

She dropped by staying there two to three days. She had informed about the information she collected about Riddle house to Kingsley and under his order, she would keep an eye on it while she was there.

Chaerin seemed happier.

“Someone seems excited. Do you like him or just his dick?” Bom teased her.

Chaerin remained calm.

“Both” she replied good-naturedly.

The case had been progressing smoothly. They had managed to shut down a few small centers of the network and arrested a few accused.

“Don’t worry. It is a big case with a large network. It’s gonna be a long and difficult ride at an incredible slow pace. Don’t get impatient that is the key.” Kingsley had assured Chaerin.

It started abruptly one day.

Morning sickness.

Chaerin had been through this once before so she had no problem in identifying the symptoms. That was absurd since they always used protection.

Bom examined her and looked worried.

“You are pregnant.” She had said. “ I am sorry. I failed you. You had been given a fertility potion, a very strong one at that. Maybe they gave it to you three years ago. A potency of five years it has, nobody makes them. They probably got it from the black market. I didn’t detect it previously, it was overlooked. It was my incompetence.”

Chaerin bit her lips. No wonder back then she got pregnant at one lay. She always thought it was weird maybe just luck. But now she knows its not that. The past with the Lee’s continues to follow her.

“It’s okay. We’ll work it through.”

That month, when she visits Marvin she decides to speak to him about it.

When they were sitting down at the bench in the rusty rays of the sunset that Chaerin truly feels like opening up. The graveyard and the surrounding is covered in snow and it feels like a scene straight out of a pretty dream. Marvin sat by her, he continues to be well-groomed and he just looks so handsome with his windswept hair and red nose and flushed cheeks. He smiles at Chaerin handing her a hot cup of tea and Chaerin blurts it out.

“I am pregnant. I am pregnant with your child Marvin.”

The cup falls shattering on the stone ground and the expression on his face shatters Chaerin’s heart into a million smithereens.

It was pure horror on his face.

“NO…nO…that is not possible. We used protection. Nononono….how is that…..it is absurd. What are you saying?”

“Protection is not 100% guarantee Marvin. Why? Why are you so frightened?”

“yOU don’t understand! IT IS NOT SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN!” Marvin stands up like he is burned and started walking. Chaerin follows him, anger burning under skin.

“WHY? Tell me why it is not supposed to happen? Why are you so upset?”

Suddenly the man turns around there is a manic look in his eyes.

“Abort it.” He says.

Chaerin is horrified.

“NO. Under no circumstances am I going to do that to him/her.”

They fight loudly, thankfully the graveyard is empty and they reach Marvin’s house.

Marvin keeps on insisting abortion while Chaerin just goes angrier by the second. Finally, she can’t keep her cool anymore and shouts out loudly.

“JUST TELL ME ONE REASON WHY I SHOULD LISTEN TO YOU? I AM NOT ASKING YOU TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY,  IS JUST GIVING SUPPORT TOO MUCH? Am I ASKING-”

Marvin goes unusually quiet at the outburst. He looks hurt and sad.

“Chaerin.” He calls meekly.

And Chaerin realizes she is crying. Because it hurts. She hurts for herself who fell in love with this man. She hurts for her child who is unwanted. Darn! These pregnancy hormones! Seeing her cry must have calmed him down.

“What?” She answers grudgingly.

“Do you remember the story I told you?”

Chaerin just nods. Unable to make a  head or tail out of it.

“That girl was my mother.”

Chaerin had already guessed that.

“And that boy was my biological bastard of a father.”

Chaerin stills. She feels something ominous.

“Do you know his name?”

Chaerin shakes her head hesitantly.

“Morfin Gaunt. I am his illegitimate child Marvin Gaunt. Walters was my mother’s surname.”

Chapter Text

Chaerin just stood there stupefied.

She had a million reasons in her mind as to why Marvin wouldn’t want this child but this was not one of them.

“Tell me you are lying.”

Marvin flinched but looked straight back at her. He didn’t say anything. It only confirmed the truth.

Chaerin left that day, her mind overladen with ominous thoughts.

Bom was surprised to see Chaerin appear at the doorstep of their house at midnight.

“Weren’t you supposed to stay over at your boyfriend’s place?”

Chaerin didn’t reply. Her expression remained stoic and blank as she ventured into her room and shut the door behind her.

The next few days Chaerin behaved strangely. Bom usually is a busy person and Chaerin is someone who doesn’t require much looking after, so she never really bothered. Nanny and Minji have their hands full with the kids in their free time.

It was one morning a week or so after that odd incident that Donghae came to Bom running and crying. He is already around five years old and Bom admits he is quite a sensible child. So when he sees the kid who rarely throws a tantrum cry his head off, she was indeed concerned.

“What is it Donghae? Why are you crying, baby?”

Chanyeol seeing his Hyung cry also started tearing up, and Bom was left in the room with an unfinished research paper and two crying children.

Nanny had gone to the groceries and Minji was out on her part-time job at the café. Bom was having a breakdown trying to calm them down lest they make the twins also join in the chaos.

But Donghae was inconsolable. He had been hyperventilating unable to talk and when Bom had finally managed to regulate his breathing by the maneuver he said something terrifying to Bom.

“Mommy….hic….Mommy won’t wake up.”

Chaerin was taken to the ER at St. Mungo’s.

Bom had quite a few colleagues who helped her out to make the process faster.

When Chaerin woke up she was faced with two pairs of eyes glaring at her.

“Were you out of your mind? FASTING LONG HOURS WHILE BEING PREGNANT! ARE YOU TRYING TO COMMIT DOUBLE SUICIDE?”

Chaerin was having a horrible headache. She just turned to Bom impassively. Minji stood by quietly sniffling shocked at the news of her mistress being pregnant again.

“Lower the volume would you?”

“NO! I won’t. How can you do this to yourself? To your child? The baby could’ve died if your blood sugar had fallen lower? What is wrong with you?”

Bom lectured her for about an hour until she was satisfied. Minji stayed by Chaerin’s side and comforted her.

Chaerin when returned home from the hospital the next day was greeted by a worried Donghae and Chanyeol and a happy pair of twins who were excited to see her.

Chaerin made a mental apology to all her kids. She had been in the wrong. She had been negligent. While Bom may be exaggerating some parts about hypoglycemia being severe etc. but Chaerin knows it is just to make her understand the severity of the situation.

That night Bom cornered her in the drawing-room after everybody has fallen asleep.

“So, mind telling me what happened?”

Chaerin contemplated a while before giving in. She can’t really hide from Bom anyway.

“I met him, and he wants me to abort the baby.”

Bom was livid.

“WHAT THE FUCK! Bring me that asshole I’ll-”

“Listen to me first.”

Bom quiets down.

“It’s not like that. He has a complicated situation. His family background is a bit complicated; just think of it as some hereditary disease or something… he doesn’t want the bloodline to propagate.”

“Is it serious? It’s not like he is from some cursed family like the Gaunt? Is he?”

Bom had said it jokingly but Chaerin doesn’t know how to answer that. The situation is kind of bad. But she doesn’t tell her the entirety of it keeping half of the truth to herself. The last thing she needs is somebody to freak out on her.

Bom sighs for the umpteenth time that night when Chaerin shakes her head in reply but from the expression, she knows it is a serious issue. Bom sits closer and holds her hands.

“Look, when you first told me about the pregnancy truthfully I was taken aback. I mean people have difficulty in caring for one child while you are responsible for feeding three while being a single mother. It is going to be difficult and then you have added another one. I thought I would advise you to abort it but you looked happy so I didn’t in the end. But now when you are in trouble I think I can say this safely. Abort the conception, Chaerin-ah. That was it is better for everyone. I won’t push you it’s just advice, because I don’t know the baby but I know you and I love you more than someone who isn’t born yet. And if it is burdensome to you I don’t want it.”

Chaerin sat alone on the terrace until the early hours of the next morning. She stroked her tummy as she thought about the repercussions of whatever decision she is going to take.

“Why is everybody so against you?” she asked the baby in her stomach. Nobody answered her question.

She remembered her mother always used to tell her.

“Take your own decisions, Chaerin. They should be yours alone. If you take a wrong one and make a mistake do it proudly and own up to it. Then only you can learn and truly be independent.”

Chaerin herself was also a sick child and while the world didn’t celebrate her birth her mother did. Not only that but she is also the one that never gave up on Chaerin no matter what people told her.

“My child will live.” She had told the fortune teller when he had told her that Chaerin won’t live till the age of five.

Chaerin sighed she had already made her decision.

The next morning Chaerin was gone.

Marvin was on his way home when he spotted the figure clad in dark robes in front of his house.

“Chaerin?”

“I am gonna keep the baby.”

“What?”

“I said…..I am gonna keep it. He/she born won’t be a Gaunt, or Walters, but a Lee. It will be my child, whether you support me or not. I am gonna raise him as best as I can. It won’t be perfect but I will be happy no matter how he/she turns up as. I got here to let you know my decision. You are free to make your own.”

“Chaerin…I…”

“If you ever change your mind about it.” Chaerin hands him a piece of paper. “This is my address.”

And she leaves.

1994:

The day when the baby was born on 23^rd April 1994, it rained heavily. There was a storm with heavy downpour all over London, so much that the streets were flooded and the traffic was really bad. Chaerin had gone into labor while she was at the office working and the ambulance had a really hard time maneuvering through the traffic into the hospital due to the bad weather. They couldn’t take the airway in the storm and apparition was dangerous while pregnant.

Bom was sweating by the time Chaerin was taken to the labor room. Nanny and Minji arrived a bit later. They sat huddled together outside in the waiting area.

It was a baby boy.

As Chaerin held the hand of the little one in her arms and she thought everything was worth it. All the dilemmas were resolved, all the decisions were right and every part of it was worth this tiny life with pale blue-gray eyes that she held in her arms.

When she returned home from the hospital, Kingsley had already called her quite a few times.

“I am sorry to disturb you. You had a tough day yesterday I know. But there has been a situation.”

Chaerin who had been feeding the young one transferred the communicator on to the other hand as she settled the baby suckling on her properly on her chest.

“A situation?”

Kingsley is silent for a while before he sighs and the voice filters in from the other side.

“A body has turned up, a John Doe. He has a chit of paper in his jacket that contains your address written in your handwriting. The area is at the alleyway beside the bakery near your house.”

Chaerin’s blood runs cold.

A squashed small bouquet of roses, a velvet box containing a moderately expensive silver ring, a chit with her address in her handwriting, and a glossy card in a baby blue envelope. It has a baby picture on it says the words.

I am thankful that you came to us,

To Jeno Lee

From Papa and Mum.

 Jeno was born a sick and weak child. It had only been a few days since he was born but he got sick quite a number of times.

His magic was unstable from the moment he was born. For a little body, he had too much of magic inside him causing him to fall sick frequently.

Bom was particularly very concerned and sad.

“Maybe it is the inbreeding in your genes that is wreaking havoc inside him. But it’s too much…”

He might not survive for long.

Was what she meant, the doctor colleague of hers standing beside her also nodded his head sadly. But she didn’t say it. Chaerin can take only one grief at a time.

Chaerin didn’t budge though. She had been through this regimen so she followed what she did herself or was done to her by her mother.

Don’t give up on him. I can’t lose him too.

So she kept on. Tireless nights spent nursing the sick infant, money on potions and pure commitment and love, and the baby was slowly growing stable.

Bom could only commend her friend on how she juggled her work and her children being a fellow single mother. But there was something about Chaerin that had changed since the day Jeno was born and the card turned up. A repressed rage and despair that flows through Chaerin that Bom can sometimes catch a glimpse of before Chaerin suppresses it again. Other times she is always blank….expressionless. It is like she lost her heart, and Bom couldn’t do anything for her as Chaerin wouldn’t let anyone in after that. She kept herself locked away.

Bom can’t blame her. But she knows that Chaerin is hiding something from her.

One day, six months into Jeno’s birth, Bom finally sits down to talk to her best friend about how she is able to nurse Jeno back to health. Chaerin had smiled. Her smile is soft but it has lost the brightness that she used to have while they were still in their school and Bom misses it dearly. It reappeared for a bit while Chaerin was dating Marvin but it has disappeared again.

“I couldn’t have done this without you.” Chaerin had hugged her friend in reply. Bom closed her eyes relishing the familiar warmth of her best friend as she made a silent prayer.

Whatever power there is up there protect my friend, stop tormenting her anymore, I am afraid she will break one day this way. Protect her please, keep her from harm, she has been hurt enough, help her.

1995:  July.

Chaerin received an important project right after Jeno turned a year of age. She had been already working on it previously but now she seemed more involved in the fieldwork.

 Donghae had turned seven and the twins were already three years eight months. Jeno was a bit more stable than he was previously. His diet was strict and he was practically doused in medicated potions.

When Bom asked about the job Chaerin kept shut. She didn’t even utter a word. Bom pestered her some more but Chaerin didn’t budge.

She only said one thing.

“I won’t be home much. I am sorry.”

1995  October:

The whole thing was fishy to Bom. She had never seen her best friend with that look. There was something unusual and disturbing about Chaerin’s whole demeanor and it was messing with her mind. But her best friend won’t even say a single word.

Somehow the new project was beneficial financially for Chaerin.

One day Chaerin returned from her three months of ‘business trip’ and Bom sat on her bed as she saw her pack.

“You just returned! And you are leaving again?”

Chaerin looked at her apologetically.

“Work.” Is all she said.

“Don’t be sorry for me. Be sorry to your kids. They were so happy to see you. Now, you are leaving again.  They would be throwing a tantrum tomorrow. I can feel the headache coming to me. You are their mother Chaerin…… they need you here.”

Bom can see that her words have made an impact on Chaerin. She froze for a moment before resuming packing.

“I know. But I am sorry the task at my hand is important I cannot abandon it no matter what the consequences.”

“What about your children? Don’t they matter?” Bom was irritated a but she tried to calm herself down as best as possible.

“I will. I promise I will be back. But before that I need to finish this case. And I can’t do it if I stay at home. I have to be out there.”

Chaerin continues packing.

“At least tell me where you are going?”

“I can’t.”

Bom stood up angrily and made her way out of the room.

“Bom!”

She is going to apologize. Bom thought. It’s okay she will apologize and everything will be resolved.

“I am moving out tomorrow.”

Bom wanted to punch her friend straight at her perfect nose.

The new house was nothing but a shabby apartment with barely there ventilation due to being below ground level and a single window in that small one room studio area. It was situated at the grungy area of London, inside one of the dark dirty alleys of the city. The roof was a bit leaky and the bathroom had a broken faucet.

Bom was livid.

“You cannot stay here. The kids cannot stay here, neither can Minji nor nanny. What are you thinking? Are you being stingy, I know you have enough money to spare to buy a decent house. Don’t even try to deny it.”

“This is only a temporary living space.” Chaerin had replied as she carried the boxes inside the room with Jeno strapped on her back. The baby comfortable drooling on his mother’s back soaking up the warmth.

Bom sighed for the umpteenth time, “Good to know it is temporary but how long?”
“I don’t know.” Chaerin’s voice filtered out through the room inside.

Bom gave a frightened squeal at the large centipede that scuttled by as she struggled to close her umbrella trying to get inside the dingy room.

The London weather is gloomy and rainy and that has made the living space look even more dark and wet.

Bom decides it is impossible. She just cannot go with Chaerin’s decision.

“I cannot let you stay here.”

“Bom please! It is….”

“NO…No Chaerin I had heard enough of your nonsense. If you wanna live here do so but the kids are coming with me. Under no circumstances I am letting them live in such an unsanitary environment.”

Chaerin argued back. Her family her rules, but Bom was always persistent.

It was a long fight, curses flew and death glares were accompanying them. Bom being the more emotional one among them resorted to screaming while Chaerin calmly replied the anger burning behind her speech. They fought a battle of words neither of them backing down finally Bom gave an ultimatum.

“THAT’S IT! YOU KNOW WHAT? I GIVE UP. OF ALL THE THINGS I HAVE DONE FOR YOU AND THIS IS HOW YOU RPEAY ME. IF YOU DON’T AGREE TODAY. WE ARE D.O.N.E.”

Chaerin stood there stupefied for a second, all her anger draining away as her posture slowly slouched. Jeno had woken up from his nap at the shouting but remains unbothered as he plays with his mother’s hair. It is very unusual at how the child rarely cries.

“Okay….okay.” Chaerin finally concedes. “Donghae, Taeyong, Joohyun and Minji can stay with you.”

“But….”

“Nanny and Jeno stay here. That’s it. That’s the best compromise I can reach for.”

Her voice was strict unlike all the times she has fought with Bom and Bom knows that tone very well. Chaerin had reached her bottom line, she won’t concede any further than that.

And so the arrangement began.

Minji had got herself a boyfriend at the café she works at. He is the café owner and a Muggle like her. Thankfully Bom works a lot from home so it was convenient and when she had to go to the office Minji and her boyfriend and sometimes the old witch neighbor, babysits the children.

Donghae is a much more mature kid than average children. He takes care of the rest of them pretty well even being a 9 year old himself. Taeyong and Joohyun are not fussy and Chanyeol who is the only hyperactive among them listens to the rest well, so it was not very problematic for them to be managed.

Once in two weeks they would visit Chaerin at their place.

Nanny and Jeno stayed at the apartment with Chaerin. Though Chaerin herself never really stayed there for more than a few days each month. She’ll be away for work and would not return until a few weeks later.

Kingsley drops by sometimes bringing in small presents or necessities with him for the two inhabitants of the apartment. He looks at Jeno as if pitying the child. He always says ‘sorry’ to the child as he lifts him up on his lap.

“I took your mother away from you. I am so sorry little one. But she is the best card we have for now. I promise I will try my best to return her to you unharmed as soon as possible.”

1996 January:

Jeno was an unusual child.

He was like a sapling whose resources are restricted. A child that grew off the limited love he received. He was like a succulent in a barren land that saves up whatever water it receives yet manages to bloom colorful flowers in spring by utilizing his reserve. Jeno thrived on small bits of affection and the little amount of love he received from his ever absent mother and nanny.

He was frequently sick and perpetually weak but he lived. Bending at the edge but never tipping over. Nanny made sure of his diet and medication as meticulously as possible.

The thing is even though Jeno met his siblings once or twice a month his siblings don’t really like him much.

There was another problem. It has been more than a year and Jeno still hasn’t talked much. Nanny who takes care of him is a bit concerned. Usually by this time babies tend to say one or two mono or disyllabic words but Jeno doesn’t utter much, he smiles at things and does everything else in order except speaking. He doesn’t also cry much.

The concern deepened more after more time passed by because Jeno understood whatever nanny or Chaerin was saying but he never said anything back.

As he grew up Jeno realized whenever he talks the people in front of him doesn’t understand what he is talking about.

1996 February:

Chaerin notices it first.

She came back recently from a three week stay and she was trifling through the news papers as Jeno sat on the small dining table playing with a plushy leaning on her up righted elbow where she rests her head.  The baby finding the comfort in his mother’s warmth in the chilly day.

The Daily Prophet was still going on about the break out from the Azkaban by the remaining imprisoned Death Eaters. The incident happened in January and the flame hasn’t died since then.

The Death Eaters including Bellatrix Lestrange hasn’t been found yet. What is the Ministry doing? Is it a premonition of...?

Chaerin scoffed at the headline.

Only if they knew.

She has been eating dinner with these infamous Death Eaters for the last few weeks. And word ‘terrifying’ is understatement for the situation Chaerin is in. Acting as a mole for the Order and Kingsley is not the easiest job especially when the Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge is against the whole the thing and hence is being carried out without informing him.

But with high stakes comes high reward but what Chaerin is after is not the reward but the revenge, she is almost bloodthirsty now with the patience she has been showing outside. The reward is just a bonus.

Her thinking is broken by murmuring.

Jeno was muttering something under his breath, Chaerin had dismissed it as baby garbling. But the more Jeno murmured Chaerin realized it is something hauntingly familiar.

She stopped her task midway and carefully listened to the babbling baby. He was making some whispering sound, hissing and gasping occasionally. Suddenly Chaerin was afraid of her conclusion.

It couldn’t be could it?

Chaerin slapped herself mentally. No…not her child. Jeno is nothing like the demon of a man Chaerin is presently in contact with. A familiar bony barely humanoid face with deathly gray skin and sunken eyes and featureless face, a long skeleton like body covered with black robe and a large snake wrapped around him, the image haunts Chaerin even in her dreams. She has seen the Dark Lord first time a few days before.

The Dark Lord had the mood to visit the members and he came down to greet them when they were having dinner at the Riddle House.

Chaerin’s heart almost leaped out of her chest when he stopped in front of her and asked.

“Which family?”

“Lee from Seoul.” Chaerin had said.

“Ah! A pureblood….I see...”

His voice scratchy like it was unused for a long time. It sent chills down her spine.

“She was raped and had a child. Ran away from her family to protect their honor and has nowhere to go now. She and her son live in backstreet of London. Her magic is pretty good though.”

The woman known as Mrs. Snyde has supplied helpfully.

“How old is your son?”

“One year and nine months, My Lord.”

There was something undetectable flashed in those deep bottomless pit like orbs before disappearing again.

“There is no good or evil in this world.” He had said. “There is only power and those who are too weak to seek it. You child! Have made the correct decision.”

Chaerin had kept her head bowed down and saw the end of the black robe slowly move out of her view.

She shivers at the memory.

Jeno continues whispering and muttering. Chaerin tries pushing the thought to the back of her mind. But being a mother she can’t help but think of her children and it remains there in her thoughts like a blaring siren. She pulls the child with one arm around his soft tummy towards herself, dragging his sweater covered little butt over the smooth surface of the dining table.  Jeno looks surprised first, turning around with wide eyes but then seeing his mother, gives a wide half toothed half gummy smile at her, his eyes crinkling into pretty sparkly crescents.

She still misses her children but she is glad at least Jeno is with her. Chaerin snuggles into the soft tiny body in her arms. Jeno smells of milk and baby powder and medicine, she finds comfort in the scent. She peppers kisses over his tummy softly as the baby giggles in joy.

No…Jeno is nothing like Voldemort. Jeno is Jeno. He is her sweet child who couldn’t even hurt a fly.

April 1996:

But her fear confirmed to be true.

After her little realization she had been keeping an eye on Jeno religiously whenever she had time, trying to spend time with the child as much as possible.

Jeno usually likes playing by himself, and communicates only when hungry or needs something. Unlike children of his age who enjoy the attention on them Jeno is particularly shy, more so in front of strangers. An introvert from the time born, Chaerin muses when she spots her son playing with his favorite plushy at a corner peacefully, unaware of the world.

He opens up to Chaerin though bit by bit, slowly getting use to her presence and getting more and more attached to her with more time they spend together. Before she was almost a stranger due to her prolonged absence but now Jeno registers her as mother. But with communication Jeno realizes the fact that nobody understands whatever he is saying or trying to convey. Chaerin tries to teach him speech and letters but whenever Jeno opens his mouth what come out are lisped hisses and awkward sounding whispers.

Frustrated the boy ends up crying.

Chaerin sighs. She is on a break now but she knows she will have to return soon. Call it a hunch or something else but Chaerin knows, something big is gonna happen. The Death Eaters are restless, but Chaerin who belongs to the lowest rung of them don’t get informed about important events until the last moment. She doesn’t have to be good at divination to know something is up so she remains on her tippy toes as much as possible.

The whisper and hissing like sound is now familiar to Chaerin. She knows what it is, heard it quite a number of times just not in ideal situations. It is indeed the language of the snakes.

Parseltongue.

Jeno is a born Parselmouth. A language inherited from his father’s side. She has seen and heard the Dark Lord converse with Nagini quite a few times to recognize the language.

Usually to speak Parseltongue, the Parselmouth has to stand in front of any snake or snake like object according to the scholars. But the Gaunts were conversationalist Parselmouth. Their day to day conversation used to be in Parseltongue and it was a hereditary skill. And Chaerin doesn’t know whether it is fortunate or unfortunate that Jeno had indeed inherited it.

Jeno says something in Parseltongue again and Chaerin again fails to understand it. She sees the bottom lip of the toddler wobble and eyes tear up, and before the tears spill over she scoops him up in her arms burying his tiny body against herself and pats his small back.

“It’s okay sweet heart. We’ll be fine….. Don’t cry, baby. It’s okay….it’s gonna be okay…”

The tiny life in her arms sniffle at her shoulder wetting her thin gray sweater with drool and tears and all Chaerin can think of is how to protect this precious piece of hers’.

We’ll be fine. We’ll get through this. Just like how we do every time.

June 1996:

18^th June:

Rubeus Hagrid has escaped. He was the Keeper of the Keys of the Hogwarts school of Wizardry. Kingsley meets up with Chaerin at their usual hideout and tells her about the incidents that took place in Hogwarts, while Chaerin gives out her share of information.

“But the most baffling thing is….”

He is cut off by the shrill sound of his communicator.

“Yes Kingsley here.”  

A woman’s voice filtered in through the device.

“It is Tonks, sir. There has been something going on at the Department of Mysteries. We need you here immediately sir…..”

Kingsley didn’t wait for her to explain the rest to him.

“I am coming over as fast as I can. Don’t go alone.”

Chaerin took it as her cue to leave.

When Chaerin reached home, Jeno was at sitting on the dining table cross legged as trying his best to write down the letters he was taught but ended up doodling on the piece of paper. He perks up when he sees his mother. Chaerin suddenly imagines the boy with a pair of perked up cat ears and a tail waving behind him. The image is adorable as she stares at her child.

Chaerin picks him up from above the dining table where he had stationed himself, patting his cute little butt and the toddler giggles in her arms snuggling into her warmth.

Chaerin was tensed. Call it a hunch but some shit was going down today and the repercussions scared her. Having Jeno back in her arms made her a bit more relieved. Her body slowly bled away the tension that had kept her high strung.

But it was too soon to be relieved.

The Death Mark branded under her long sleeves burned in pain. She had been summoned. Chaerin went back at the Malfoy Manor that evening.

A number of the Death Eaters have been captured, a few had been injured and Chaerin was in charge of healing them. She had been good at potions back in school so she rapidly began working. She jotted down the ingredients required and when it arrived got to work.

It was ironical how she was treating her enemies. Times like this make her think that these people are not invincible but in fact humans too. They are vulnerable and susceptible to wounds and injuries. But don’t be mistaken she knows the fact while their physical body is a mortal human their minds are polluted by the corrupt and are far from being human. The humanity here exists only in their physical shell not in their being. That is why they are bound to fall.

Chaerin works quietly through the night, her hands skillfully taking care of wounds inflicted by curses and hexes.

“You are quite good at this.” An aloof cold voice from behind her sent chills down her spine.

The Dark Lord had come down from his lair to visit his followers. The woman in dark colored lace garbs following behind him.

Bellatrix Lestrange.

Chaerin had heard the news, that woman had killed her own cousin, with whom she grew up, today…. without any remorse. She is reminded again how the humanity here is long dead in here.

Chaerin only bowed her head.

“I remember hearing you have a son?”

Chaerin felt her body temperature drop like she is under a freezing curse.

Jeno. Not Jeno.

The words were strangled out of her leaving a bleeding heart.

“Yes, My Lord.”

“A two year old I presume.”

“Yes.”

“Bring him over sometimes.”

When they left Chaerin slid down the wall supporting her unable to take the weight of the sentence.

Looks like being a mother made her weak to threats.

June 19, 1996:

When Chaerin returned home it was already midday. The first thing she did is take a bath. Getting rid of the grime and the dark thoughts is how the shower helps. She changed into fresh clothes and made her way to where Jeno was curled into her bed taking an afternoon nap. She pulled the small body close to her; the toddler unconsciously snuggled into her mother’s warmth.

Chaerin only prayed that she would be able to keep him safe.

Later in the evening she received the news that Cornelius Fudge has accepted the fact that Voldemort is back. As a repercussion of ignoring the fact and withholding information for so long he is going to resign as the Minister of Magic.

Chaerin fears the events that are going to come next would be problematic.

18^th July 1996:

Chaerin was woken up by nanny’s voice.

She returned late last night after two weeks of staying away. Chaerin extended her hand to grab Jeno who should be next to him but instead of the little leg she pulls him towards herself with, she found an empty bed.

“JENO!”

Hurriedly she wraps the dressing gown around herself as she stumbles out from the bed.

“Jeno! Where is Jeno?”

Nanny makes a troubled face.

“There is a guest who has arrived. He is been waiting in the parlor for you, Young Miss.”

Chaerin is suddenly afraid. She has been on the edge for the last few days. The Dark Lord has grown more sinister and last night when she returned finally worn and weary she had found Jeno running a fever and nanny catering to it. She had dismissed nanny and took it upon herself to nurse her son. Towards the morning hours his fever finally reduced and then only Chaerin fell asleep. But he is not there in the morning!

The first thing she sees in the parlor is a man.

A tall thin man with a silver beard so long that it could be tucked inside the belt of his teal colored robes, and kind blue eyes hidden behind a pair of half moon spectacles.

He teal colored robes flowed freely catching the barely there light in the room as he moved to examine the books on the shelf.  His long fuzzy silver hair shone in the dark room, topped by a matching silk teal hat.

“Soul Summoning?.....Hmmmm…interesting. I guess Mahoutokoro had different aspect of syllabus than our Hogwarts.”

Those inquisitive blue eyes had a touch of mischief in them.

Chaerin stood there stupefied.

Albus Percival Wolfric Brian Dumbledore.

Everybody knows him, including Chaerin. She just didn’t expect him here in her shabby apartment.

Dumbledore smiled, peering at her over her half moon glasses.

“I believe we had a prior appointment Ms. Lee.”

“Ah yes!”

Chaerin straightened out her robe and hair feeling embarrassed. It is not everyday Chief Warlock of Wizengamot comes to see you at early morning.

“I am sorry. I’ll get ready immediately.”

“I get it.” Dumbledore’s kind smile is back again. “Being a single mother while in this kind of job can be difficult. I am sorry for the inconvenience it has caused you.”

“No…no…it was my decision. Please don’t apologize.”

Chaerin turned her back, eyes still searching for Jeno at the table or sofa.

“Maybe you are searching for him.”

Dumbledore smiled shifting his jacket a bit to reveal a small Jeno clinging to his robe in his pajamas smiling at Chaerin eyes folded into pretty crescents, giggling at his distressed mother.

“Boo!”

 Chaerin heaved a sigh of relief. She picked the giggling child up in a hurry. But then she stiffened up.

What if Jeno spoke in front of the man? What if he asks how the child knows….

“A very sweet child you have Ms Lee. Not very talkative though.”

“Y-yes.”

He didn’t ask more as he took the book he has been eyeing and settled himself down on the creaking sofa. Chaerin hurried into the room to change.

Chaerin eyed the dead snake carcass nailed on the wooden door.

Dumbledore seemed pretty unbothered.

The Gaunt Shack was the ancestral home of the Gaunt family, located in the woods just outside the village of Little Hangleton. It was shabby little shack that once housed Marvolo Gaunt, his wife, their son Morfin, and daughter Merope. As the Gaunt family steady fell into poverty they moved into this shack into the woods.

It was a few seconds before Dumbledore’s eyes discerned the building half-hidden amongst the tangle of trunks. It was a very strange location to choose for a house, an odd decision to leave the trees growing nearby, blocking all light and the view of the valley below. Its walls were mossy and so many tiles had fallen off the roof that the rafters were visible in places. Nettles grew all around it, their tips reaching the windows, which were tiny and thick with grime.

It was a house unfit to live in by a human. But Chaerin knows the inhabitants of this house were anything but human. She had heard stories of this house from Marvin who told her about his mother’s childhood memories of when she was lost in the woods wondering and a young Morfin pulled her up from a ditch, she had fallen in.

Then one day Marvin took her here. They stood at a distance away observing the house, and Marvin had held onto her hand in a vice like grip. Chaerin had leaned on him patting his back and pulling him in a hug.

Dumbledore notices her getting lost in her thoughts.

“An interesting place don’t you think?”

Chaerin broke away from her painful thoughts. She is here for revenge and she will get it.

“No.” she replied bluntly. “There are many enchantments in place” she continued. “Please wait a bit. I’ll make a leeway in the enchantment so you can slip in.”

Her magic was a bit different than what is taught in the west having studied in the east, the Death Mark served as an added protection. A hole opened up in the translucent magic shield in no time. Dumbledore could have done the job but it may alert the Dark Lord.

“I’ll wait outside and keep a lookout.” She confirmed and stood outside.

Dumbledore nodded and slipped in.

It was almost a few hours later that he came out.

“Let’s go.” He said smiling.

Chaerin nodded and started walking leading them out.

“Kingsley was right. You are an odd one aren’t you?”

Chaerin pretended not to hear. Conversing with Dumbledore is not gonna be beneficial to her in any way. She is just a pawn in this game, both knowing too much and telling too much is as detrimental as death.

Dumbledore continued.

“I didn’t know Kingsley had someone like Ms. Lee in the team. I am glad to be of your acquaintance. Aren’t you gonna ask me what I did in there?”

“No, Sir.”

What is this man thinking?

“You are a smart woman Ms Lee. Let me tell you then…. It was an important job. Severus could have done that but Voldemort is already suspicious about him, I can’t ask him to get it. I heard you know the area curtsy of a case and the conditions were favorable since you were working as a mole already.”

He paused judging Chaerin’s expression which remained neutral. So he continued.

“I am telling you this because you would need this information later…..I took an artifact from there.”

“An artifact?” Chaerin turned to him questioning.

“Yes. An artifact….The ring of Marvolo Gaunt.”

She didn’t see the man again.

He disappeared into the night, humming a song to himself at the crossroad where they parted ways.

Chaerin was left wondering why Dumbledore told her such an important piece of information.

31^st July 1996:

Igor Karkaroff’s body was found dead. He was the Headmaster of Drumstrang School of Wizardry. He defected from being a death eater and fled when the Dark Lord called for him.

Chaerin had informed Kingsley that they are after him, but they weren’t able to save him.

Chaerin shivers at the thought of being discovered. But she persisted.

Just a bit more. Almost there.

November 1996:

Jeno is now able to speak brokenly.

The Parseltongue still slips out, so Chaerin makes sure to keep him closer when Bom and the other kids arrive, afraid he would slip. She doesn’t want them to know. The last thing Chaerin wants is to involve her kids in this mess.

But the plan backfires.

Jeno always had inkling that his siblings don’t like him much. But he underestimated their dislike for him.

“What is so special about him? Mom only spends time with him.”

“He is younger than us and also sick.”

Donghae tried to reason Taeyong and Joohyun. Jeno clenched his plushy close to himself, and stared at them cautiously, wary of their presence. Jeno is afraid of them. Being a shy and timid kid he was never good with people to begin with, be it his own siblings with whom he haven’t spend much time with.

He also thinks he has enough reasons to be.

Last time they came over to stay, his older sister Joohyun had torn up his drawing book as the rest just watched. Only Chanyeol Hyung protested for him. The time before they tripped him over the carpet, but to his pride he didn’t cry.

Jeno shifts closer to his mother on the sofa grabbing on to the fabric of her dark green blouse at her side with his tiny fingers.

This action seemed to enrage them even further as they glared at him and Jeno huddled even closer. He felt like merging himself with his mom.

All the kids except for Jeno have started school. A Muggle school at first then finally when they turn 11 they would be sent to a Wizardry school.

But Jeno has his mom, so he doesn’t mind.

1997:

As time went on, a new year came and Chaerin became busier and busier. Sometimes she would leave for weeks rolling into months until she returns.

Jeno grew up alone with Nanny.  When Chaerin was away the kids didn’t bother to come and that was a comfort point for him. Bom still came occasionally and checked up on Jeno and Nanny.

Minji was getting married to her boyfriend this spring. The lived nearby so they made sure to check on the kids whenever needed to.

Jeno had made progress with his language. He has successfully picked up bits of English and Korean. It is still not at level with the other kids but at least he is trying his best. His social interaction is still zero. He doesn’t like mingling with people at all. Mom, nanny and sometimes aunty Bom that’s all the people he talks to.

April 1997:

Jeno got up early today. Chaerin dressed him in formal robes and she wore the only colored maroon robe she had and made their way along with nanny to the eastside church.

Minji looked really pretty in an embellished and embroidered white wedding gown.  Jeno was curious.

“Did mom also get marriage?”

“It is not ‘get marriage’. It is ‘got married’. Yes, I got married once too.”

Jeno didn’t know much about this marriage thingy so he didn’t ask any further.

The main problem though was Jeno was an outcast. The children didn’t like him much because he is too shy and timid and ‘spoke funnily’. Taeyong and Joohyun mixed well in the crowd so did Donghae and Chanyeol, but Jeno was left all alone at a corner.

It was a Sunday so some people came at the chapel to attend the prayer. Jeno sat at the bench of the church while the rest of the family had moved to the backyard for the festivities. The kind old priest kept an eye on the toddler though Jeno did nothing but sit around with his plushy.

There was another boy of his age. He came with his family too.

The boy had strawberry blonde hair and bright blue eyes as he talked animatedly about something to his parents in simple but broken speech. Jeno thought the boy was very pretty. Probably even prettier than his mom or Aunty Minji or Aunty Bom. But he won’t say it.

Maybe Jeno was staring too hard so the boy found his eyes.  He ran over to him smiling brightly. And Jeno felt himself unable to take his eyes off the boy. He was so pretty.

“Hi!”

“H-hello.”

The boy smiled again and sat down beside Jeno, their thighs touching at the close proximity and surprisingly Jeno didn’t find himself moving away from the touch.

“Why are yew sitting hwere?”

Jeno thought for a moment.

“I c-can’t play with them so I sit-t here.” Jeno was new to this. Speaking this language is hard. Instead Jeno pointed at the group of children who were playing happily at the garden.

“Ywe can plawy with me then.” The boy grinned so brightly Jeno was dazzled for a second. He reminded Jeno of the large sunlit windows of the nearby bakery he goes to with Nanny. Bright sunny, sparkling and so pretty.

“O-oK”

They played together. Jeno told him about his plushy and the boy told him about his own collection too. His parents called a few moments later and the boy left with a smiley goodbye and a promise to meet again.

It wasn’t until he left that Jeno realized he has forgotten to ask his name.

31^st June 1997:

Chaerin couldn’t believe it when she heard it first. The Death Eaters gathered at the dinner table as they cut the meat up in the joyous occasion to celebrate the death of Albus Dumbledore.

Chaerin tried her best to keep her expressions neutral. She glanced at Severus Snape sitting at the far end of the table with a stony disposition. Chaerin for the first time pitied the man.

The Second Wizarding War has officially begun.

3^rd July 1997:

A parcel arrived at the morning.

Chaerin was surprised to see it was from Dumbledore.

There was a small box attached with a tag.

(Open when Jeno Lee turns 15)

And there was another book. Inside it was written

To Ms Lee. I hope it helps.

The book was more like a bound copy of old notes and handwritten pages. It was probably one of the very few copies found all over the world and he had given it to her.

A guide to Parseltongue by Paracelsus was written in elegant scribble in the first page.

Chaerin sat down on the chair in shock.

That man knew all along.

27^th July 1997:

A day prior Chaerin had tried to relay the information of the attack on Grimmauld palace along with Snape. Moody relocated the Order tactfully so they can get away but was killed in the fight. Thankfully Harry Potter lived.

The Dark Lord was in a bad mood the whole time, his suspicion on Snape increased.

2^nd August 1997:

Chaerin met up with Kingsley. With Moody gone Kingsley had taken up the role of leader. Chaerin doesn’t whether she should be happy or not.

“Rufus was murdered and Pius is the new Minister.” Kinsley folded his hands thinking, as he told Chaerin

“I know. Pius is under the Imperious Curse of Yaxley. It is a puppet regime. Voldemort is the one in original control of it.”

Kingsley sighed for the umpteenth time. The times are dark and Chaerin hopes it will end soon.

26^th December 1997:

The Death Eaters brought a girl with them. Luna Lovegood.

Chaerin was ordered to deliver her food.

“It’s okay. You’ll be safe.” Chaerin patted the back of the girl when she finally broke down crying after keeping her brave façade for long.

31^st December 1997:

Aunt Bom and the rest of the kids had decided to spend the day together with them. Jeno thinks Aunty Bom’s place is pretty. Unlike Jeno’s home which is dark and gloomy Aunty Bom’s house has lots of windows and lots of fresh air and sunlight. It is a new feeling.

Today Jeno and the rest are gonna stay over and celebrate new year together and as much as Jeno is looking forward to spending time here like a vacation he is terribly afraid of his older siblings.

Taeyong and Joohyun had been glaring at him nonstop and Donghae and Chanyeol had been trying to pacify them.

Jeno wants to tell his mom that he really wants to sleep with her today. Not with his siblings, but Joohyun and Taeyong had steered him away from his mother occupying her attention all by themselves.

Chaerin feels guilty. She had not been able to give her other children enough time. So for today she prioritizes them over Jeno.

In the end Jeno didn’t get to sleep.

He was scared and as a rational 4 (native age, org 3 years and 8 months) year old he went to look for his mother.

But he was surprised to find not only his mother but also Aunty Bom and they were fighting.

Their voice reverberated in the empty hallway.

“No matter what you say…Nothing, NOTHING can explain this Chaerin. I thought you were wiser than that. How could you?”

“They killed Marvin. THEY were the ones behind the whole Trafficking case. The Death Eaters were the ones who orchestrated the whole thing. They killed Marvin because they thought he had discover them digging Tom Riddle Senior’s grave for bones to resurrect Voldemort. He was an innocent man killed because they thought.  He had been a mere Keeper of the Graveyard for them. But he meant everything to me. He even bought a ring because he wished to get married, wanted to have a family with me. He wanted Jeno despite his obstacles. He loved us.”

Bom loosened her hold where she as gripping onto Chaerin’s arm, the pale skin exposed containing a terrifying tattoo of skull with a snake entwined in it.

“So you went ahead and this is what you do?”

“Joining the Death Eaters as a mole is job I chose. The risks are high and so are the stakes. I can do this Bom, believe me.”

“YOU HAVE GONE NUTS. Do you want to die that badly? If you get caught none of us would be spared…..”

“They don’t know about you or the kids. Just me and Jeno. Nothing will befall on you for I would keep it that way.”

“What about Jeno?”

Chaerin stilled for a moment.

“Jeno would be fine.” She finally said and Bom was livid.

“And how can you say that?” she biting asked.

“Because he is my child. I know he will be.”

29^th April 1998:

“He is hunting for something. He looks madder every day.” Chaerin wraps the shawl tighter around her as the chilly wind blew by.“He is searching for the Hocruxes, checking up on them and coming back empty handed. If I would be him, I would be mad too.”

Chaerin knows about it. Read about them when Kingsley told her about them as per instruction of Dumbledore.

Kingsley only nodded.

“Something is about to go down they are at their limit. I bet in four to five days the war will break out. They are gathering ammunitions, rations etc.”

“What are you going to do?” Kingsley asks her.

“I am going to fight against them, going to join the war. I need to get rid of the Dark Mark first to do that. I need to relocate Jeno too.”

“Bring your son and the lady to my place. The Shacklebolt family has better security than your shabby excuse of an apartment.”

Chaerin is surprised but agrees.

“I’ll do that.”

30^th April.

It is the warehouse where extra rations and other necessities are stored.  She grabs the papers that contain the names of all the death eaters and their misgivings close to her chest with one hand. There are other papers as well, she collects them all and put them in her space pouch. These will help them to convict them easily in future

“Incendio.”

The flames lick the roof with their tongues of heat as they lap against the surface scorching them into ash.

Chaerin holds a flaming ember in hand and breathes deeply; she exposes her death mark and sighs.

“Here goes nothing!”

The scream is buried under the crackling of fire on wood of the burning warehouse.

1st May 1998:

Chaerin wakes up at dawn and takes a sleeping Jeno in her uninjured arm and nanny tags behind with some important stuff. Chaerin hadn’t brought anything to this apartment and hence have next to nothing to pack.

She drops them off at the Shacklebolt Manor and kisses Jeno’s forehead.