Chapter Text
You walk into class late, panting from running so hard. You shut the door as quietly as humanely possible as not to disturb Professor Snape mid-lecture. He gave you a quick glance but continued teaching as if you were not even there. This was the first time you were ever late to his class; in fact, you were normally one of the first students there. Only one seat remained at the back of the class, but that was ok with you because you liked sitting in the back. You could observe people’s failures more easily that way, and it was quite an entertaining sight. You remember the one time the kid in the row in front of you blew his eyebrows clean off trying to brew a calming draught. That was funny, and definitely not supposed to happen.
You set your books down and look at your seat, moving the chair ever so quietly. A hand came into your view, reaching out to grab your book. Naturally, your eyes followed, seeing ringed fingers flip through the pages before your eyes traced them back to their owner’s face. It was Yoongi, the quiet Slytherin everyone seemed to avoid–no wonder this was the only available seat. You didn’t quite understand what it was about him that seemed to make people shiver; you’d seen him get all pouty when his potions didn’t turn out right (which was often). It was the least threatening image you’d ever seen.
“Anti-paralysis potion,” Yoongi says quietly, placing the book down in front of you. You realize he had opened it to the right page for you.
“Thank you,” you whisper back. He gives you a ghost of a smile before focusing back on the contents in front of him. You listen closely to Professor Snape and skim quickly through the directions in your book, making notes along the margins. Unlike most of the class, you make no attempts at starting your brew until the lecture is over, but when you do start you work quickly and finish before your peers. You sit back in your seat after you finish, making a few adjustments to the notes you had written in your book when you feel a pair of eyes on you. Lifting your gaze up from your book, you're met with a pair of dark brown eyes staring at you with pure confusion. Yoongi looks away quickly when he realizes he’s been caught, which makes your lip quiver with the threat of a chuckle attempting to escape. You watch him scratch the back of his neck, a nervous habit you’ve noticed, before continuing to wing his way through the potion. He follows the book exactly but does it with an unsure look on his face. You see his hands start to shake and look up to see Professor Snape hovering over his cauldron with an unamused look on his face, hands folded behind his back.
“I think you will all be pleased to know that I’ve graded your exams and will be passing them out after we are finished with today’s potion. Some of you did well and others did not so well,” he pauses to look Yoongi in the eyes. You see the boy beside you’s head drop, and he’s biting at his lips nervously. “I hope that in that case, you will find a way to correct your mistakes because I will not be so forgiving on the next one,” Snape warns with a raise of his brows, walking back to the front of the classroom.
The entire class looked dejected, and everyone was anxiously awaiting the moment where their exam would appear in front of them. You glance over at Yoongi; his hair was a mess from the copious amount of times he ran his hands through it frustratedly. It’s obvious that he’s just as anxious as everybody else is, no matter how hard he tries to mask it with a stoic expression. It didn’t take long before your exams were sitting at your desks red ink staring back at you. You had gotten a perfect mark, and you couldn’t hold back your smile. You look up at Professor Snape, who simply shoots you a wink before continuing his work. This had been a particularly difficult topic and you had been reviewing it tirelessly. You heard a faint sigh from beside you, causing you to shift your attention back on Yoongi. You didn’t mean to but your eyes fell on the big red number on his paper. It was bad, really bad. Your eyes passed over his worn-out expression and it made you want to do something about it. Your mouth opened and closed a few times before you realized he was looking at you.
“Uh, you know, I-uh I could help you study if that’s something you’re interested in. I looked at the next unit and it’s supposed to be even harder than this one. I can help you with the actual potion-making part too,” you offer awkwardly. This was probably one of the only times you’ve ever actually spoken to him. Maybe he thought it was weird of you to suggest studying together when you never even had a real conversation. It took a minute before he processed the fact that you were even talking to him, and his gaze lifted to meet yours. He looked a bit like a deer in the headlights, probably still trying to get over his shock from seeing his test score.
“Oh, that’s ok I can–” right as you could tell he was about to reject your offer, he was cut off by a book hitting him in the back of his head.
“When a brilliant young lady offers her help it is unwise to refuse it. Especially someone like you, who is in no position to do so,” Professor Snape speaks from behind the two of you, tucking his book back under his arm and walking away abruptly. Yoongi looks back at you sheepishly, rubbing at the back of his head to soothe it.
“That would be nice of you, thank you,” he smiles weakly at you. He seems unsure of his answer, looking like he was considering a million different scenarios in his head. The fact that he seemed to be thinking so hard about this made you wary about possibly making him do something he doesn’t want to.
“You don’t have to feel forced into it. I only meant it to say that I wouldn’t mind if that was something you actually wanted,” you assure him.
“No, Snape was right. I need your help. If it’s not a bother, I would be interested,” he counters.
“It’s not,” you send him a reassuring smile, “If you have time we can start after classes end today. The next unit is a big one so the sooner we start the better.”
“I have time,” he states simply.
“Great, Moaning Myrtle's bathroom then?”
“We can go to my room. It’ll probably be better,” he suggests, scratching the back of his neck. You tilt your head at him, slightly confused.
“Oh, won’t your roommates be annoyed if we’re brewing potions in the middle of the room? Plus, we should probably be somewhere quieter.”
“It will be ok, trust me,” he says, sparing you a small smile. He looked sure enough for you not to disagree with him.
“Should I meet you at dungeons then?” You ask. He nods, packing his thing and heading out. He gives you one last smile before disappearing out of the room.
****
“You’re doing what with who after class?” Taehyung inquires confoundedly.
“I’m just going to help Yoongi with potions. Why is that such a big deal?” You huff, stabbing at your salad.
“You said he wanted to study in his room. Is that not weird to you? What if he has some sort of bottomless box or something in his room and he wants to trap you in there?” Taehyung asks, leaning in over the table to get your attention. You give him a stern glare before looking away.
“And why would he want to do that?” You question.
“I don’t know. He’s probably dangerous. Don’t you think there’s a reason everyone always keeps their distance from him?”
“No, I don’t. He’s never done anything to make me think he’s a bad person. Don’t you think it’s a little unfair to be judging him based on some gossip you heard somewhere?” You raise your brow at him.
“Come on. I know you developed a little crush on him after he saved you from those bullies, but you can’t just trust that he’s a good person because of that!”
“Ok, first of all, he did not save me. You know I am very capable of saving myself if I need to. He just helped me avoid having to get violent because all the Slytherins think he’s scary and ran away from him.”
“Exactly!” Taehyung interrupts you.
“Second of all,” you ignore his outburst, “I don’t have a crush on Yoongi, I literally just talked to him for the first time in my life today.”
“Yeah, but you’re always looking at him.”
“I don’t look at him,” you protest.
“Oh yeah? Then why have you been staring at the Slytherin table the whole time I’ve been talking to you instead of looking at me?” Your cheeks flush when you realize you have, indeed, been staring in that direction.
“Maybe because you're ugly and the Slytherin table happens to be in my direct line of sight?” You reasoned, making Taehyung frown. “Ok, I’m sorry that was mean and a lie. You’re not ugly, but I don’t stare at Yoongi.”
“You do. You know you can’t lie to me. I know what it looks like when you start taking an interest in things. . . or people. You start to observe, and judging from the way you’re able to read people you probably know him better than he knows himself.”
“Ok well if you believe that then you should trust that my intuition is good enough to know that he’s not some psycho who wants to lock me up in a bottomless box, right?”
“You do have a good intuition, yeah,” he admits.
“So you trust I can make good decisions for myself?”
“Yes,” he sighs in defeat.
“And I do not stare at Yoongi,” you state one last time.
“Yes, you do. You’ve done it ever since we were 12. It’s ok though I’m not judging you. He’s cute,” he says looking over his shoulder at where you were looking. “And I guess some people are into the whole dangerous Slytherin thing.” He shrugged.
“Taehyung, I am not–ah whatever, I’m going to be late. I’ll see you later,” you say, rushing to gather your things.
“Have fun on your date,” he calls out to you, making you scowl at him.
“You’re just upset that I’m going to spend time with someone other than you for once.”
“Yeah, maybe a little,” he confesses. You shake your head with a light chuckle, saying one last goodbye before leaving him to his own devices.
****
You stood outside of the Slytherin dungeons, fiddling with the zipper on your bag. You’d never seen the inside of any of the other dormitories besides Ravenclaw. You never had a reason to; you only had one friend and he was in the same house as you. The sound of a few quiet footsteps coming from behind you reach your ears. You turn back to see Yoongi approaching, looking slightly bothered by the light from the candles.
“Hi,” you greet when he gets to you.
“Hi,” he responds with a groggy voice that could be mistaken as grumpy.
“Were you sleeping?” you ask, a little amused.
“My last class is the study of ancient runes,” he says as if it explained everything. It kinda did.
“Ah I see, I don’t blame you,” you chuckle. “The only thing I learned in that class is how to nap with my eyes open.” This earns a smile from him, clearing a bit of the harshness out of his features.
“Let’s go in?” He asks. You nod and step aside to let him open the entrance, following behind him hesitantly. You take in your surroundings as you walk in. It’s neat and slightly dimmer than the Ravenclaw commons. You see a few people do a double-take when they see you come in with Yoongi, but he just walks through casually as if they aren't all staring at him. You hear a few whispers but decide it’s better just to focus on making sure you don’t lose Yoongi. He looks back to check if you’re following before heading up the stairs.
“I’m guessing from all the fuss downstairs you don’t have many people over,” you comment.
“No. You’re the first,” he answers, no trace of sarcasm in his voice. You’re glad he doesn’t look back at you again to see your face because for some reason that makes you feel a bit nervous, not in a bad way though. He opens the door at the end of the hallway and lets you in first. His fingers play with his ear nervously, watching you take in the appearance of his room. It’s nearly empty; there’s only one bed and his things barely take up a corner of the room. It makes sense to you now why he told you not to worry about his roommates: he doesn’t have any. You turn around to face him, brows furrowing at him.
“You don’t room with anybody?”
“Uh, yeah. It’s just me.” A shy, uncertain smile washes over his face. He seems to be just as nervous as you and that calms you down a bit.
“How did you manage that?” His eyes shifted to the floor at your question. He hesitates, not really knowing where to start.
“Do you remember the rumors about the kid who started a fire in his roommate’s bed while he was sleeping?”
“In our first year?” You ask titling your head at him. He nods, keeping his head down. “Do people think that was you?” You chuckle.
“Yes.”
“Well, obviously it wasn’t or Snape would have had you expelled by now,” you stated.
“Ah well, the kid whose bed lit on fire swore it was me and people, and their parents, seem to believe him, so now everyone's too scared to room with me,” he says, wearing a mischievous smirk.
“And let me guess, you never publicly denied it because you like having the room all to yourself?”
“Mmh, that and it’s kinda useful when people are scared of you,” he hums.
“Don’t you get lonely?” You grimace as soon as you ask, worried you were overstepping.
“A little, but I do well when I have my own space.” He didn’t seem upset at your question, so you take it as a sign to go on.
“What really happened then, if you didn’t set the fire?”
“He lit his own bed on fire,” he said as if it was self-explanatory. You tilted your head at him once more, signaling for him to explain further. “It was an accident. He was practicing spells under the covers and he messed one up really badly. I guess he was too embarrassed to admit it so he blamed it on me,” he added, speaking through a chuckle at the end.
“Is it funny?” You ask, raising a playful brow at him.
“A little. You didn’t see his face when his sheets caught on fire.” He shrugs, settling down on his bed. You’re distracted by his expression, not sure if you’ve seen him smile so genuinely before. You snap yourself out of it, remembering the reason you were there in the first place.
“Right. I brought everything we need. I was thinking we should brew the potion from today’s class again. I saw you do a few things that I think could be changed, so maybe you can do it again and I can stop you when I think you can do something. . .more effective. Can you get your own book out?” He gets up from his seat to grab the book from his desk, eyes widening when he turns around to see the array of supplies you’ve already got lined up on his floor.
“How did you. . .?” He asked dumbfounded.
“Undetectable extension charm. I’m always prepared,” you say, sending him a wink.
“For what exactly?” He raises a brow at you, but he can’t help being entirely amused.
“Everything and anything. Like helping a classmate in need, now come sit.” You pat the spot next to you on the floor. He obliges, getting on his knees beside you.
“Uh, so what do you want me to do?”
“Open your book and start brewing the potion. The same way you did in class.”
“Ok,” he agrees, grabbing the ingredients he needs for the brew and skimming the first couple steps in the book. You let him work uninterrupted for a bit, watching the way he carefully works at slicing at the root of the herb. He’s so gentle with his movements, you can't help but want to just sit there and watch his hands labor away. The light caught his ring, nearly blinding you–snapping you right out of your trance. You took that as a sign to stop staring and start teaching.
“I’m going to stop you right here. I’ve noticed that you follow the direction really well, like exactly. Don’t do that,” you say.
“What? Don’t follow the directions? That’s a bit contradictory, don’t you think?” He says, placing down the knife. You smile excitedly at his question, only confusing him more.
“Ok, I’m about to give your first pro-tip. This is probably the most important thing I’ll ever tell you.” You place your hands on his shoulders to make sure you have his attention. You feel him stiffen under your touch, and a light shade of pink brushes his cheeks. You take his change in demeanor as a sign of discomfort, dropping your hands as quickly as you put them there. Your temperature rises a bit from embarrassment; your years of only socializing with Taehyung, who was very handsy, made you forget at times that some people weren’t fans of others invading their space. You clear your throat and continue, “The book isn’t always right. Sometimes it’s better to improvise. Of course, it’s not really improvising cause Snape is telling us what to do, but my point is don’t listen to the book. Listen to Snape.”
“What do you mean Snape is telling us what to do?” He questions.
“If you listen, really listen, you’d notice that he’s dropping major hints on where to follow and where not to follow the book. And if you squint you’ll be able to see that he’s actually telling you exactly what to change.”
“Well, why is he teaching us in riddles? Is this some form of sadism?” He complains, making you shake your head at him and laugh.
“He’s the professor he’s supposed to teach by the book. He can’t just outright say the book sucks so he has to get crafty.”
“Can I ask you something a little off-topic?”
“You can ask me anything.”
“How in the world did you get Snape to like you so much? He didn’t even bat an eye when you walked in late today.” You smile at his question.
“Maybe it’s because I listen to his riddles,” you quip, pointing back at his book. “I know it says to slice the roots into small pieces, but if you do that you're losing a lot of the juice. You should just cut off the leafy bit and leave the root whole. It’s also faster this way.” You place the knife back into his hands, guiding his movements. He doesn’t make any efforts to take over control of the knife, causing you to turn to look at him. You didn't realize how close you’d gotten until you were face to face with him, his eyes staring into yours. You let go of his hand, scooting slightly away from him. “Sorry. Taehyung doesn’t know what personal space is, and I think it’s rubbed off on me.”
“Ah, your friend that looks like the statue of David.”
“My only friend, but that’s funny I haven’t heard that comparison before.” You let the corners of your mouth lift subconsciously as you lean forward to look for what you need. You grab the next ingredient and place it in front of him, urging him to continue. He takes the hint and picks up the bottle.
“You two are really close, right?” He says, eyes glued to the book.
“I guess you can say that,” you laugh.
“How did you meet?”
“At Olivander’s actually. I was behind him in line, and he just started talking to me. If you think he’s social now, you should have seen 11-year old Taehyung. When I came out of the shop I thought he was already gone, but he was waiting for me outside the shop the whole time. He made me promise to sit with him on the train because he didn’t want to be alone. Then we got sorted into the same house, and he hasn’t been able to get rid of me since.”
“I thought you were gonna say you haven’t been able to get rid of him,” he laughed.
“I don’t want to get rid of him.” You shrug. “By the way when you're adding small amounts of a liquid you should add a drop stir then add more. That way you can tell if you have enough based on the color and you can avoid putting too much in.”
“Smart,” he says, following your instruction.
“During the lecture, you should start listening and taking notes. I’ll transfer the notes I have from the previous lessons to your book,” you say, waving your wand to do just that.
“What if I can’t decipher Snape’s riddles?”
“You can, Yoongi, you’re more capable than you think. If you really want you can sit next to me again, and I can help you decipher his clues,” you assure him.
“Ok,” he whispers.
“Add the cinnamon now.” He grabs a cinnamon stick and the grater. “It’ll work better if you use a spoon to grate the cinnamon.” He gives you a skeptical look before taking the spoon from your hand and rubbing the edge against the cinnamon stick. It was amusing, but the pained look on his face made you feel guilty. You couldn’t let it go on any longer. “Ok, ok, I’m sorry,” you laugh, waving a hand in the air. “I’m just messing with you. Use the grater. I just wanted to see how much you trust my instruction.”
“Enough to make myself look like an idiot,” he says, a red shade coloring his face. You shoot him a guilty smile.
“On the bright side, you’re done. Congratulations you have successfully brewed a batch of anti-paralysis potion.”
“Thanks, that was a very educational experience.” He sets down the grater, looking slightly worn out from all the information he was just bombarded with. You couldn’t blame him–you did just kinda throw him for a loop with all the talk of secret riddles.
“Mmm that’s the point, isn’t it? I can’t meet you tomorrow because I promised Taehyung I’d help him with something, but how about the next day?” You ask, packing your things back in your bag with the wave of your wand.
“Works for me.” He nods easily.
“See you in class?” You get up, ready to go.
“Let me walk you out.” He fumbles to get off the floor awkwardly, giving you a warm smile tinged with a bit of embarrassment. You let a barely audible thank you slip out, following behind him. He goes down a few steps before coming to an abrupt stop, causing you to stumble and crash into his back, holding onto his shoulders for dear life. You let go and straighten out your posture when he turns around to face you. You clear your throat anxiously, eyes fluttering away from his.
“Sorry,” you croak out.
“No, don’t be. That was my fault. I just, uh, I want to apologize for all the stares you’re getting because you came in with me. I know once we get down there everyone will probably be looking at us again, but they’ll get used to it after a couple of times. I hope,” he grimaces, bringing a hand up to scratch at his neck.
“It’s fine. I know you never asked for it, other people are just nosey.” You wave him off. He gives you a weak smile before shifting his attention away from you and leading you back down. As predicted all eyes are on the two of you the moment you step into the common room. Yoongi steps slightly in front of you to keep you hidden behind his figure, but it does little to deter the intrusive glances that are sent your way. Once the two of you make it out of the commons he turns around to look at you with the same trepidatious expression as before.
“You know if this makes you uncomfortable we could just make the potions in the bathroom like you suggested earlier and study in the library,” he says.
“It’s ok. Really,” you tell him in the most reassuring way you could. Your reaction to the situation puts him a bit at ease, his shoulders visibly relaxing.
“Ok. I guess I’ll see you in class then,” he says with an easy smile gracing his face. You nodded, turning around to head back to the Ravenclaw dormitory. You look back one more time to see him still standing there watching you leave. You send him a wave and a smile that, even from a distance, you can see makes his cheeks turn red before turning back around. He’s even shyer than you thought.
****
You open the door to the Ravenclaw commons and step in. It’s empty and dimly lit, aside from one shadow figure sitting on the couch. When the figure reaches over to turn on the lamp beside him, you know exactly what’s going on.
“You’re late,” It spoke with a stern tone.
“Taehyung, did you really kick everyone out just so you could interrogate me again?” You ask, placing your hands on your hips.
“I didn’t kick anyone out. I asked very nicely,” he states very matter-of-factly.
“You are the most dramatic person I’ve ever met,” you say, taking a seat next to him on the couch.
“So, what were you doing until this time at night in the Slytherin dormitories?” He questions, pulling down a pair of spectacles you hadn’t noticed he was wearing until now.
“It’s 8 o’clock, and you don’t even wear glasses,” you point out.
“8 o’clock is late and don’t try to avoid the question,” he counters.
“It’s not, and I was just teaching Yoongi how to brew the anti-paralysis potion.”
“And that took 4 hours?”
“Yes, why are you so curious?” You chuckle.
“All you did was brew potions?” He raises a brow at you, eyes peering over the leans at you skeptically.
“Well, we talked too,” you smirk at him, anticipating his next question.
“About?”
“You,” you say nonchalantly.
“Me?” He looks at you with pure confusion in his eyes.
“Mmm. He said you look like the statue of David. Might have to add another admirer to that long long list of yours,” you tease, making him instantly flush.
“U-uh, it’s probably the perm,” he stutters, making random excuses.
“Definitely. The similarity is in the hair nothing else,” you say in a tone full of sarcasm.
“Did he have a bottomless pit in his room?” You know he’s trying to shift the attention of himself but let it happen anyway.
“No, but I did,” you say, shaking your bag in front of him.
“Oh! Do you have any–”
“Jelly slugs? I didn’t tell you, but I actually bought 6 bags instead of 5 the last time we went to Honeydukes. Figured you’d crave them later and regret eating them all at once,” you cut him off, reaching into the bag to retrieve the candies.
“I love you,” he coos sweetly, taking them from you and pulling you into a tight hug.
“Love you too, but please I need air,” you wheeze under his death hold.
“Sorry.” He loosens his grip on you but doesn’t let go. You let out a breathy chuckle and wrapped your arms around him, reciprocating his hug.
“Your hugs are the best on winter nights,” you whisper against his chest.
“Would you say they’re irreplaceable?”
“Mmm, you’re warm,” you mumble, almost ready just to sleep like that.
“So I don’t have to worry about you replacing me with Yoongi?” You let go of him and frown, punching him lightly (not so lightly) in the chest. “Ow!” he lets out a yelp, mirroring your frown. “My tiddy,” he whines, rubbing the right side of his chest. You get up off the couch and head for the staircase, turning around at the entryway.
“Don’t eat those right before bed,” you say, pointing at the jelly slugs. “It’s bad to brush your teeth right after eating sugar anyway.”