Archive of Our Own

– ⚯͛.*⭒⠁- ଘ▕⃝⃤

jeno’s hands started to tremble the moment the professor stood up and  started to walk around the class, handing everyone their now graded exams and seeing how, one by one, everyone’s faces started to drop. fucking hell, that was literally the worst torture ever, not even the unforgivable curses were as painful as that. 

potions class wasn’t his best subject, in fact, he completely sucked at it. he really couldn’t understand how a class that was basically opening a book and following the instructions, one step at a time, could give him so much trouble. like, how was that even possible? knowing that, he was also clueless about how he managed to pass that class the five previous years, but sixth year… he  just had the feeling that the odds weren’t going to be in his favor.

‘lee jeno.’ his whole body froze. 

please, don’t be an F, please, don’t be an F… please, don’t be an-

‘meet me when classes are over, jeno, we have something to discuss.’ he said, not too loud so only he could hear it, before leaving his exam on top of the desk. guess what? a freaking F . he sighed out loud and smashed his head against the table once, ignoring the sudden pain and just letting himself rest there for a while. he was so screwed.

‘dude, stand up. we gotta go.’ that was mark, his best friend, who also had to physically drag him outside that class to go to their next one because he just wouldn’t do it by himself.

‘another F?’ he asked when they were halfway to divination class and jeno finally took his own bag to put it over his shoulder.

‘yeah, man. and he also told me to meet him when classes are done, and that obviously means no good.’ mark shrugged.

‘who knows, dude? maybe he just wants to tell you something about taking some extra potions classes? like having a tutor or something?’ they both knew that mark was really just trying to cheer him up, because there was no way  professor kim was kind enough to do something like that for his students. plus, if he had to assign a tutor for every person that failed his classes, the tutors would have to teach three people each.

‘I wish it’s something like that, dude, I really do.’ without even noticing it they have already reached their divination class, and it was obvious that jeno didn’t pay attention to it, not even a little bit. he also didn’t to the defense against the dark arts class he had right after that one… in fact, his mind was so busy with professor kim and his new F that it was the only thing in his mind until he was standing right in front of the door, right when his teacher asked him to be. 

‘okay… I can do this. I just have to knock and- go inside. it will be fin-’

‘mr lee, you can come inside now.’ fuck . of course professor kim doyoung being the genius he was would know that he was standing outside his class. he very slowly opened the door and peaked his head inside, frowning when he noticed the presence of another teacher inside.

‘jaehyun hyung? what are you doing here?’ jung jaehyun had been jeno’s quidditch trainer since he first joined in his first year of being there. it was quite unusual for first years to join the quidditch team, especially because most of them didn’t even know how to fly on a broom, but that wasn’t jeno’s case.

he was raised by a family of quidditch lovers, his mum being the coach of a professional team herself, it was only natural and obvious that jeno was practically born on top of a broom. they would watch games together, on television or on the same field where it was played, play together, train together… and along the way jeno just decided that was what he wanted to do, he wanted to play quidditch, so his mum trained him to be the best , and he was. in hogwarts, at least, he was the best seeker.

‘that’s a good question, little man. our beloved doyoung didn’t tell me what I’m doing here yet, he just said it was urgent.’ he said, making a quote sign with his fingers to downplay an issue he didn’t even know about, and doyoung sighed.

‘you surely won’t joke about it anymore when I tell you that your best player won’t be able to play on the team anymore.’

‘what?!’ jeno and jaehyun screamed in unison and jeno felt his heart immediately dropping to the ground. it just couldn’t be true. they both were standing in front of doyoung’s desk, the latter calmly sitting down on his chair, and he took a paper out of one of his folders just to hand it to jaehyun. the fucking exam.

‘another F? dude!’ 

‘I’m sorry, sir! I promise I’ve tried my best with this one, I really did. I just- I really suck at potions.’

‘mr lee, rules are clear. you can’t continue being part of the quidditch team if you’re failing a class.’ professor doyoung’s face was as serious as always, and jeno was terrified. that just couldn’t be happening to him, it wasn’t possible. it was truly a nightmare.

‘this is a set up! you’re seeing how gryffindor’s house is probably going to win the quidditch cup and you’re trying to sabotage us by taking away our best player, aren’t you?’ that was… a little silly, actually. doyoung didn’t even budge, he just looked at jaehyun with the same cold expression he was looking at jeno before.

‘you must be out of your mind if you think I care about that stupid game of yours more than the grades of one of my students, jaehyun.’ the younger rolled his eyes and sat down in front of doyoung’s desk, rubbing his temple with his fingers and closing his eyes to think. 

‘sir- sir, please, there must be something I can do to pass your class. maybe some extra work? or more lessons?’ 

‘jeno-’

‘no! please, sir, this is not just a game for me, that’s my whole future! that’s what I want to do, who I want to be. no offense to you or your class but once I’m out of here, I won’t touch a single potion in my entire life. I’m just taking this class because I have to in order to graduate. I won’t work with potions, I won’t have to brew them myself.’ he had to admit that maybe his words were a little… harsh? he would feel weird if someone said those things about quidditch directly to him, but was he supposed to lie? he sighed, sat back down and passed his hand through his hair.

‘I’m begging you, sir, please. just give me one more chance to pass your class so I can keep playing. I promise I won’t let you down, please.’ he didn’t know if it was because he felt desperate or because he looked desperate, maybe both, but it seemed that his potions’ teacher was… thinking about it. he looked at him, then at jaehyun, and back at him once again before sighing, shaking his head and looking down at the notebook he had in front of him.

‘in a month I will do a test especially for you, which will probably be brewing a quite difficult potion that you should know how to brew. if you pass that test, you can keep playing, but if you don’t, then that’s it. it’s your last chance, jeno, don’t make me regret giving it to you.’ the biggest smile showed once again on jeno’s face: it wasn’t over, it really wasn’t. he had to fight the urge to stand up, jump on top of his teacher’s desk and hug him tightly to celebrate his little win.

‘thank you! thank you so much, sir. I will study hard and I will pass that exam.’

‘I really hope you do, jeno. I don’t really enjoy quidditch, but seeing you on your broom… you are really talented, kid.’ 

‘ha! I knew you enjoyed quidditch!’ jaehyun randomly said as he started to tease the older, who responded with his brutal indifference, but jeno kind of knew that deep down he enjoyed jaehyun’s presence around him.

his last chance… man, he really had to pass that exam.

– ⚯͛.*⭒⠁- ଘ▕⃝⃤

‘what the hell is he doing?’ jeno heard jisung asking out loud as the younger sat down on their usual seat in the great hall’s table, taking some of the food that was served there and starting to eat. jeno just pretended that he didn’t hear it and covered his ears with his hands, trying to focus a little more.

‘he’s studying for the potions’ test he has in a couple weeks.’

‘in a couple weeks? why is he studying now? he has plenty of time.’ he said, chuckling and drinking some juice out of his glass.

‘because if he fails then he won’t be able to play quidditch anymore.’ jisung almost choked with his drink.

‘what? but- but doyoung hyung can’t do that, can he? how is that possible?’ jeno sighed and closed the book, passing his hands through his face and hair.

‘he told me that I can’t be part of the team if I’m failing one class… he’s already doing me a favor by letting me do another test. I need to have a good grade in this one but I don’t think I can do it.’ 

‘well, it’s quite obvious what you have to do.’ now renjun, their ravenclaw friend, talked as he sat down next to jisung, right in front of jeno. 

‘what?’

‘you have to ask someone for help, jen, someone that’s good with potions. it doesn’t matter how many times you read the book if you don’t actually understand what you’re reading, you need a tutor.’ jeno had already tried that once… with mark. which was a terrible idea because mark never got a score higher than a C+ on potions, he needed someone smarter than him. the other obvious choice was renjun, who’s lowest grade was an A that he once got in flying class because he wasn’t really interested in “sporty things”, but it was literally impossible. renjun had all the classes someone could possibly have, all the extracurriculars that didn’t involve sporty things (like quidditch), and he also helped lots of teachers with things they had to do. sometimes jeno was surprised that he had time to just breathe, but yeah, he couldn’t help him.

‘and who am I supposed to ask? I don’t know who’s good at potions and who sucks, I’m always too focused on quidditch to pay attention to that.’

‘maybe that’s why you’re failing potions class.’ jisung joked, earning a deathly glare from jeno.

‘you could ask minnie, I think she has good grades overall.’ renjun shook his head.

‘she’s already helping his friends, yuqi and shuhua are really terrible at potions too. sometimes she brings them to the ravenclaw common room and let me tell you, if yuqi passes it’s because minnie does miracles with her, you wouldn’t believe the amount of barbarities I heard coming out that girl’s mouth.’ renjun stole jisung’s glass and emptied it in one go before leaving it on the table once again. naturally, the glass filled itself again after a couple seconds.

‘what about kevin and sunwoo?’ mark suggested, and jisung chuckled.

‘hyung, but kevin and sunwoo can barely pass potions class. which is good for them! but like- jeno hyung needs more help than that.’ 

‘what are you guys talking about?’ the only person that wasn’t there yet, the hufflepuff chenle, said as he arrived, practically throwing himself on top of the table and having a seat there… like a normal person, of course.

‘jeno has a potions exam in a month and he really needs a tutor, we’re just brainstorming about who he should ask.’ chenle took an apple from a big fruit bowl that was near and took one big bite, chewing it happily.

‘isn’t it obvious? he should totally ask jaemin hyung.’ jeno as expecting something sarcastic, like that guy being as dumb as a rock, but he was just greeted with a quite uncomfortable silence and some shared looks between his friends.

‘who’s jaemin hyung?’ yes, jeno was one of those people everyone knew, but he didn’t know anyone. in fact, he only knew the names of his friends and the people on his team, if you ask him about anyone else… well, he was screwed.

‘dude, he’s literally in our potions class. he’s like a freaking genius, I have never seen anyone get so many A+ in a row besides renjun.’ jeno’s eyes light up.

‘he’s perfect, then!’

‘yeah, but- the problem with him is that he’ll probably say no if you ask him to help you. let’s just say that he’s not… too friendly.’

‘not gonna lie, I’ve only seen him talking to that haechan guy. I don’t think he has many friends besides him.’ 

‘so what? I’ll convince him. I need his help! I need a genius to teach me or I won’t be able to pass that exam. my quidditch career is at stake right now.’ renjun, mark and jisung just quietly looked at each other, as if they were having a mental conversation about how to approach the situation.

‘just go ask him. if you don’t, then you already have the “no”, the situation can only improve.’ chenle encouraged, being the free and extroverted soul he had always been, and it was truly the only thing jeno needed to hear to do something about it.

‘okay! I will ask him! in fact, I will ask him right now.’ he immediately stood up, gathered his stuff and started to walk away, ready to find that “jaemin hyung” guy.

‘do you even know who he is?’ mark screamed, and jeno shrugged, his wide smile still on his face.

‘I will find out!’ and somehow, he did.

na jaemin: same height, quite buff, pale skin, silver hair that was normally perfectly styled and only showing ⅓ part of his forehead, big, siren eyes, slytherin robe, most likely alone or with haechan somewhere, probably carrying books… that was quite a description, wasn’t it? how could jeno not notice such an individual before? he sounded… noticeable, very noticeable. 

since he got that description he kept walking around the school, looking around to see if he managed to catch a glimpse of that silver hair somewhere, but his mission was quite unsuccessful. maybe it was because he was looking in the wrong places, though. the quidditch field, the place where they had flying classes sometimes, the lake that was nearby… as if someone like na jaemin was going to be in places like those.

‘man, where could he be?’ he asked himself, pouting and kicking a small rock as he went back inside the castle. maybe he should try looking in the library? or slytherin’s common room? technically he wasn’t allowed to be there if he wasn’t with someone that belonged to that house, though… bloody hell, why did the castle have to be so big? 

he was literally about to give up, probably head back to his common room and talk to mark and jisung for a bit before heading to the great hall to have dinner, until he finally saw it . a head with platinum blonde hair that was heading towards the dungeons of the castle, the area in which the slytherin dorms were located. 

‘bingo.’ his big smile came back to life as his feet started to work by themselves, in less than a second he was already running towards the boy’s direction. 

‘sorry!’ ‘excuse me!’ ‘I’m sorry!’ were some of the sentences that escaped his lips as he tried to not bump into anyone, failing most of the times, but people there already knew that lee jeno could be a little… clumsy, and really carefree. the best way to describe him was like a little tornado, always running and wandering around, a tornado that became faster than the wind itself when he was on a broom.

‘jaemin! na jaemin!’ he screamed when they were both on the same corridor, practically alone since the other students were either in their dorms, outside, some even at hogsmeade drinking some butterbeer or at honeydukes, buying some candy. the silver-haired boy turned around, looking unbothered while he carried his books and- wow.

he was only a couple feet away from the boy when he froze, completely paralyzed and equally mesmerized by the boy’s beautiful face. no. beautiful was just an understatement. he was gorgeous . he didn’t know how to describe him, his mind was too blank to even think, but bloody hell, that boy had to be an angel that fell from heaven. 

‘can I help you with something?’ pretty and with a voice that sounded like music to his ears? how come he had never noticed that man before when he  had been right in front of his eyes? jeno blinked multiple times, waking up from his daydream and being immediately hit by pure embarrassment. 

‘uh- I’m- I’m-’ 

‘lee jeno. I know who you are.’ dude. dude. he had never been that nervous before, not ever when he had an important quidditch game, but how could he not be when jaemin was looking at him like that with his perfect eyes? his hands were even shaking, fuck.

‘do you- know me?’ jaemin frowned slightly.

‘you’re in my potions class.’ okay, dumb move, really dumb move, jeno literally wanted to punch himself in the face.

‘yeah! yeah… I am.’ and again, he let a quite uncomfortable silence fall between both of them. well, uncomfortable for jaemin, maybe, jeno got lost in his eyes once again.

‘umh… if you excuse me, I have to go. nice seeing you, lee jeno.’ and just like that, jaemin turned around and walked away from him, yet he still couldn’t move. he thought that if he tried to walk, tried to give even the smallest step, he would collapse and make a fool out of himself in front of the walls, which were the only witnesses of his embarrassing first talk with na jaemin. oh, na jaemin .

– ⚯͛.*⭒⠁- ଘ▕⃝⃤

‘so you just- stood there while he walked away?’ chenle said, quite shocked knowing that jeno’s romantic record was practically non-existent. not because people didn’t like him, just… no one managed to catch his attention, at least not like na jaemin did.

‘yeah! but like- I didn’t know what to do, okay? he’s so breath-taking. how come I never noticed someone as pretty as him before?’ 

‘I don’t know… maybe because you’re always too busy focusing on quidditch to care about anything else?’ mark said as he playfully pushed jeno’s head with his hand, making them both giggle at that.

‘so… jeno hyung is going to have a boyfriend soon?’ jisung talked with the straw of his juice in his mouth, a wide smile on his face.

‘not gonna lie, but the idea of na jaemin dating or being minimally interested in someone sounds quite impossible… sorry jen.’ jeno shrugged. 

‘it’s okay! I will get him to like me. first I’m going to convince him to help me pass my potions exam, then, while he tutors me, I’m going to make him fall for my charms, and boom! date!’ chenle chuckled.

‘and how are you going to do that, genius? you couldn’t even talk to him the first time.’ jeno pouted.

‘because I was surprised! like, he’s the prettiest boy I’ve ever seen. but I will make it, you’ll see. we will be dating soon, I know it.’ his heart melted with just the thought of him getting to do something as small as holding jaemin’s hand or stuff like that. 

okay, maybe it was too soon to be daydreaming about being in a relationship with the silver-haired boy, especially since him and jaemin didn’t even have a proper conversation yet, but it was the first time in his life that he felt like that with someone, the first time he was thinking about something that wasn’t his first match, or training, or quidditch in general. it had to mean something, right?

‘yo, let’s go now or we’ll be late to quidditch.’ mark said as he quickly stood up from his seat, rushing towards the great hall’s door without waiting for jeno, and the boy just laughed as he followed his same steps. 

‘our captain and seeker being almost late? I can’t believe it.’ sunwoo said the moment they stepped inside the quidditch field, all dressed up with the uniforms and with their broomsticks on their right hand.

‘you’re saying it as if they’re not always almost late.’ yuqi joked, making yeonjun, who was braiding her hair, chuckle. sunwoo turned around, lifting his arms a little bit.

‘dude, do you not know what sarcasm is?’ and they, as always, started to bicker.

‘where’s ningning, by the-’

‘yo! I told you to catch it! what kind of trashy catcher are you?’ 

‘you threw an impossible ball, woman! how is it my fault?’ other two people from above them screamed. of course ningning and sungchan were already on her broom, flying around.

their quidditch team was composed by; three chasers: sunwoo, ningning and sungchan; two beaters: mark and yuqi; the keeper, yeonjun; and obviously our favorite seeker, jeno. mark, jeno and yuqi had been there since jeno’s first year (which was mark’s and yuqi’s second one), and the rest had joined them in the following years.

‘everyone, stop messing around! let’s just start training, okay?’ jaehyun said as he stepped inside the quidditch field.

‘aye aye, coach!’ but jeno wasn’t even listening to them anymore. in fact he was already on top of his broom, happily flying around to warm up a little bit. bloody hell, he truly and absolutely loved how the wind hit his face, how free he felt when he was flying around, how awesome the sensation of playing and having some fun with friends felt. quidditch meant everything to him, it was the thing he loved the most.

he flew between the tall towers where the teachers and even the principal normally sat, he flew so low that if he went a little lower, his feet would probably touch the ground, he even dared to fly further for a moment to see the lake from the sky. he would never tire of seeing such beautiful landscapes. his whole world crumbled a little bit when he came back and saw that distinctive silver hair sitting down on the bleachers with a book in his hands.

‘mark, he’s here!’ he said after flying towards mark, immediately catching the boy’s attention.

‘who’s here?’

‘jaemin! he’s right there.’ jeno lifted his hand to shamelessly point towards the place where jaemin was sitting (luckily to him, he wasn’t paying attention to them), and mark’s eyes widened a little bit when he saw him.

‘he truly is here.’

‘who? na jaemin? he’s always here.’ ningning pointed out as she flew by, clearly eavesdropping their conversation. or maybe they were just talking too loud, as always.

‘what? always here? since when?’ 

‘since our first year, jen. he always sits right there, even in the matches. he must find it peaceful enough to study or something since he’s always carrying a book with him.’ really? had he always been there, even when they were training? while the others started to fly around, also warming up, jeno just kept staring at jaemin for a couple seconds. he was just there, his eyes focused on whatever he was reading and his hair beautifully placed to one side, just like it was the day before. beautiful.

‘yo! loverboy! training is starting!’ mark joked, which made jeno blush slightly. he truly felt like a teenager. everything started as it usually did: at first jaehyun talked a little bit about their next match (against the ravenclaw house) and about the strategy they were going to follow, which jeno didn’t really care about because his goal was always the same one: catch the snitch as fast as he can. and that was it.

he had to admit he wasn’t paying all the attention he should be paying to the rest of the training either. like, how could he when jaemin was right there ? and looking so beautiful? lee jeno not focusing on quidditch because of a pretty boy… that was unbelievable, even for jaehyun, who was quite surprised for having to nag jeno for the first time in, how many? six years? he didn’t even acre that jaemin seemed to find his book way  more interesting than him, he was finding jaemin interesting enough for the both of them, until-

‘jeno! watch out!’ and then, after just one second, everything went black, and the voices that used to be as clear as the sky were now very, very far away.

he didn’t know how much time he spent just seeing black. was he asleep? had he fainted or something? that was probably it, because falling asleep while flying thirty meters above the ground wasn’t something that usually happened. what he did know was that when he started to wake up he was on a quite comfortable surface, like a bed, and that his head hurt like hell.

‘fuck…’ he complained in a low whisper, it truly felt like someone hit his whole head with a hammer repeatedly. he tried to slowly stand up, reaching out to put one of his hand on his head, but he was quickly stopped by someone’s hand on his chest and a bag of really cold ice on one side of his head.

‘ouch!’

‘I didn’t know that lee jeno was a crybaby.’ that voice . but it couldn’t be, right? everything was part of his imagination… it had to be. he slowly started to open his eyes, which took him a while because the light was- fuck, it was really bright. but what was brighter was the silver hair that he saw when he could finally see something.

‘jaemin? what happened?’ he said in a whisper, worried that if he raised his voice a little bit his head would explode.

‘you were distracted and got hit by yuqi’s bludger. that girl really knows how to use her strength and has a really, really good aim.’ jeno just chuckled, which was quickly followed by a small ‘ouch’. jaemin leaned a little closer to take a look at the wound he had on his face, making jeno’s breath stop. for the second time, na jaemin managed to leave him completely speechless.

‘yo, jaemin! how is my boy doing? is he awake?’ the loud and thunderous voice of mark lee accompanied by the sound of his steps echoed inside the hospital wing, making jeno’s head ache a little bit more.

‘quiet down, mark lee. your friend here still has to take the medicine.’ 

‘sorry! guys, you can come in, but you have to be quiet.’ he said, literally screaming. terrible, horrible, the worst idea someone could have. a whole quidditch team, all of them except for himself known for being extremely loud and noisy, having to be quiet ? no way.

‘yo, jen! are you okay?’

‘how are you, man?’

‘dude has a pretty bad cut over there…’

‘yuqi’s fault for being so barbaric.’

‘it’s literally my job?’ his teammates obviously started to scream, which made jeno want to stand up and kick their asses until they voluntarily decided to leave the room.

‘if you guys don’t shut up right now I’m going to personally kick you out of here, one by one.’ jaemin said, as if he knew everything that was going through jeno’s mind, without even sparing a glance at the others, and his voice was so intimidating that the whole team (including sunwoo) decided to stop talking.

‘sorry for hitting you with that bludger, jen.’ yuqi said in a whisper, putting his hand on jeno’s leg and giving it a small squeeze, and jeno just showed her a reassuring smile.

‘don’t worry, it was my fault, I should’ve been more focused while practicing.’ 

‘I don’t want to nag you but, yeah jen, don’t be too distracted next time. maybe jaemin won’t be there to save you and quidditch can be quite dangerous, you know it.’ those words made him frown.

‘what do you mean by that?’ 

‘dude, he literally saved you. the bludger hit you in the face and you were falling, but suddenly you were just levitating in the air and jaemin had his wand out and he was slowly putting you on the ground. he’s also the one the checked if you were alright and brought you here. it was pretty damn cool.’ jeno’s face turned red from embarrassment. two times he saw na jaemin, two times he completely made a fool out of himself in front of him, and he  literally almost died in the second one. great. he shyly turned his head to face the silver-haired boy, who was still checking his wound as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.

‘did you really do that?’ 

‘it was nothing, really. even if I wasn’t there, mark and sunwoo were already on their way to you with their broom and your coach was also taking out his wand. I was just faster.’ he finally pulled away from him, also taking out the ice from his forehead, and jeno didn’t take his eyes off him as he poured a liquid he couldn’t distinguish in one glass and handed it to him.

‘drink this, it’ll make you feel a lot better and it’ll also close the wound.’ with a little bit of jaemin’s help he managed to straighten his head a little bit and drink that weird potion, which… was kind of good, actually. it tasted like honey. 

‘good. you should be able to leave in an hour or two once your headaches are gone. until then, just rest and try to relax.’ then he proceeded to stand up, ready to walk away.

‘wait, jaemin.’ he reached out to hold the boy’s wrist, making him stop. it was like one of those moments in the movies where the whole world stopped for just a second, him and jaemin were the only people that matter on the planet, and his heart skipped a couple beats when jaemin stopped so easily and looked at him.

‘uh- thank you, really.’ 

‘again, it was nothing. but, do me a favor. try to not almost die again, okay?’ jeno let out the most foolish smile that had ever existed.

‘I won’t.’ jaemin nodded only once before finally walking away, leaving jeno there. he didn’t even smile, his lips didn’t move, not even a little bit, yet there was something in his eyes that made it seem like he was smiling. it was more than enough to jeno, really.

‘so… that just happened.’ right, his teammates.

‘oh my god, man, you like na jaemin.’

‘shh! shut up, dumbass, don’t be loud. guys really don’t know how to be discreet, jeez.’ 

‘yo… that really felt like we were interrupting a moment.’ 

‘right?’ jeno let his head fall on the soft pillow, once again, and he closed his eyes, the smile not fading away. his teammates kept talking and talking, but he kept thinking about his own stuff, about na jaemin… bloody hell, he was so going to talk to him next time he sees him.

– ⚯͛.*⭒⠁- ଘ▕⃝⃤

‘jeno, it’s been a week! what do you mean you haven’t talked to him yet, dude?’ jeno groaned as he hid his face on his pillow.

‘I promise I tried! it’s just- every time I see him I just stare at his pretty face. it’s like a spell, mark! you don’t understand. I see him and I suddenly forget how to talk. puf! no thoughts, head empty, only jaemin living there.’ jeno just heard mark’s characteristic laugh as he threw a pillow that hit directly on his chest on his way. 

‘no, but seriously.’ yeah, jeno just knew that he was about to get nagged.

‘by trying to talk to him you already lost a week of not studying, your exam is in three! I’m truly happy that you like him jen, I really am, that’s literally another reason why you should go talk to him right now. I really don’t want you to be kicked out of the team, jen, you’re our best seeker. and-’ mark kept talking and talking, and even though jeno loved his best friend and knew that he was right, he decided to just… ignore him. he really didn’t need a lecture about what to do, he was already feeling quite bad.

he stood up and started to walk around the bedroom, heading to his “safe space”. when he looked through the window he could perfectly see the moon and the stars shining in the big sky, the night adorning the forest that was strictly forbidden to them but looked like it wouldn’t hurt a fly at the same time, how the treetops danced to the rhythm of the wind, how someone with silver hair walked inside the forest as if nothing happened- wait.

‘hey! were are you going?’ mark stopped his nagging to ask the moment jeno picked up his robe and put it over his shoulders, not even caring about changing his pjs too. 

‘to take some fresh air!’ 

‘take some- dude! you know we’re not allowed to walk around the school late at night, right?’ but it was too late, jeno was already bolting outside of their room. yeah, of course he knew that if he got caught, he would be punished, but at that moment he really didn’t care. he only cared about one thing: being fast enough to not lose jaemin. 

trying to be fast and quiet at the same time wasn’t an easy task, especially since the people you were trying to hide from were the professors and, of course, the ghost that apparently had eyes and ears everywhere. but jaemin managed to get out without a problem, right? so he should be able to do the same thing. 

he could only breathe properly when he was outside the castle, cold air hitting his face as a slight steam came out of his mouth. he turned around for a minute, admiring the view of the place under the dim moonlight. it was so… magical, in every possible way. the only lights that were on were the ones that jeno assumed were from the teachers’ rooms since, well, students should all be sleeping by now.

‘jaemin.’ he whispered to himself when he remembered why he was outside and awake in the first place, and his feet started to walk by themselves towards the forbidden forest, the same place he saw jaemin go in just a couple minutes before. he was going to be so screwed if someone found him going in there. the amount of times the caretaker and the principal himself warned them about all the dangers and unknown creatures that were inside that forest were uncountable, but for some reason… he wasn’t scared. jaemin was there, right? so it shouldn’t be dangerous.

the air there already felt different, it was more like a light fog than the natural air that he breathed in the castle, heavier. and the trees… the trees were way more dark in there. maybe it was because the thickness of the tree crowns didn’t let enough light get through them, or maybe they just were other kinds of trees- anyway, he wasn’t an herbology guy either. 

jeno kept walking, trying to be careful with the steps he took in order to not fall or something, and he walked for about five minutes when he started to think about heading back. it was really late and apparently, jaemin was nowhere to be seen. maybe he was just imagining things, right? the silver-haired boy was probably in the slytherin’s dorms, peacefully sleeping in his bed, and he was outside, looking for him just because he thought he saw him going there.

suddenly, jeno found himself not being surrounded by trees anymore, he was on a small esplanade. he looked up just to clearly see the moon and the stars in the sky, the treetops made a circular shape that made everything look even prettier, like someone made it that way on purpose. maybe someone actually did, who knows? then, the loud crack of a branch of a tree that made jeno yelp was heard. 

‘jaemin? are you here?’ he said out loud, trying not to sound too scared, but come on. middle of the night, forbidden and dangerous forest, a loud noise… even the bravest soldier would piss his pants a little bit. he squinted his eyes, trying to see through the darkness between the trees where the noise came from, but what came out of there wasn’t the silver-haired boy he was expecting.

he couldn’t properly see it at first, but every time that creature took a step forward in his direction, the moonlight illuminated his figure a little more. he got goosebumps. it was black horse- no, it was bigger than a horse. it was a big, black skeleton horse with big, bony figures and a dragon-like face with bore white, glittering eyes that lacked both expression and pupils. it was… beautiful. the creature just started to walk around as if he wasn’t even there, as if his whole existence meant nothing to it, and he really couldn’t stop looking. it kind of reminded him of jaemin, but maybe that would be creepy to say since, well, those black horses looked like they were dead. he kind of recognized it, it was the exact same creature he had seen before, but… what was that? what’s its name? and what was it doing there?

‘majestic creatures, aren’t they?’ jeno yelped once again with the sudden sound of that familiar voice right behind him. he instinctively turned around, seeing how jaemin’s body appeared from between the shadows. he was still wearing the complete uniform and his hair was still styled, as if he didn’t even change his clothes or even laid down on his bed that day. 

‘you can see them too?’ he asked, now his eyes not leaving jaemin. he remembered vividly the time where he thought he saw one, but his friends treated him like he was out of his mind or something. the slytherin just walked towards one of the winged horses as he took what seemed to be a large piece of meat out of a bag he was carrying.

‘they’re called thestrals, and yes, I can see them too. not everyone can, though. they’re very special.’ he was talking slowly, cautiously, as if the thestral was going to run away from him if he spoke louder, and jeno thought he was really cute for that. jaemin held the piece of meat with his hand, letting the creature eat while he caressed it slowly with his other hand.

‘why?'

‘it’s their nature. only people who had witnessed and understood the true meaning of death can see them. for most of the people it’s not good, they’re considered beasts and an omen of misfortune. if you ask me, I'd tell you that they’re the most beautiful and pure creatures I’ve ever laid my eyes on.’ jeno thought that he was right. yeah, they were clearly different from the others, and their dead-like appearance didn’t help much, but how could he not think that they were beautiful when that thestral was serenely eating from jaemin’s hand?

‘only people who saw someone dying can see them, right?’ the slytherin boy only nodded, his eyes still on the thestral.

‘umh… is it okay if I ask who did you see?’ jeno saw clearly how jaemin’s whole body tensed, his breathing stopping, and he immediately regretted asking that question. him and jaemin weren’t even friends, it was obvious that the boy wasn’t going to trust him with something so personal, so privat-

‘my grandma died when I was six, I’ve been seeing thestrals ever since.’ he turned his head to the side, his eyes meeting jeno’s.

‘what about you? it must be something recent if you’re this surprised to see them now. it’s okay if you don’t want to answer.’ man, jaemin was incredibly smart and quick when it came to deducing things like that. if it was for jeno he would’ve already messed up three times. 

‘umh- my cat died this summer. the oldest one- I have three cats, actually- well, two now. but it’s okay, she was kind of old already… I got her when I was just a little kid, she was my best friend.’ he had to admit he felt kind of dumb for comparing the death of a grandmother with the death of a cat, it was like he was comparing the smallest inconvenience with the end of the world. thankfully jaemin didn’t see it like that.

‘sometimes losing a pet is way more painful than losing a human being. I’m so sorry for your loss, jeno, no one should go through something like that.’ he understood. he just understood. a smile from ear to ear appeared on jeno's face after learning something new about jaemin… behind that cold and emotionless façade he always had was someone with a pure heart, someone that would never judge you with stuff like that, unlike lots of people. that was so sweet.

‘do you think he’ll let me touch him?’ 

‘if you’re gentle and respectful enough, they’ll even let you feed them.’ jeno’s eyes sparkled a little bit.

‘can I really?’ jaemin put his hand inside the bag once again, taking another piece of meat from it and jeno decided to not question how he managed to get a bag filled with meat when they didn’t have access to food outside hogsmeade and the great hall.

‘extend your hand.’ he demanded and jeno immediately obeyed. the silver-haired left the raw meat on top of his hand, which was a little disgusting because it even had blood on it, but jeno was too excited to feed the creatures that he let it slide.

‘now approach him slowly, but with confidence. they’ll know if you’re afraid.’ jeno swallowed hard at first, but he was also excited about it. in normal circumstances he would be scared as fuck, but after seeing jaemin so peacefully feeding the thestrals, he just knew that there was no reason to freak out.

he walked towards the creature with a soft smile on his face and stopped just a meter away from it, extending his arm to give him food. the thestral seemed a little confused at first, his soulless eyes fixed on him as if he was trying to figure out what he was doing, but he ended up giving in. it approached him and slowly leaned closer to his hand, eating the meat, which made jeno feel like a little kid.

‘you can pet it now, if you want.’ jaemin instructed and approached both of them. he carefully put his hand on top of jeno’s, slowly guiding it to the thestral’s- cheek? could that be named his cheek? dude, who cares? jaemin was literally holding his hand. it wasn’t a proper hold, but their hands were touching, and he didn’t make the first move. he thanked the moon for not shining so brightly because he would be so embarrassed if jaemin saw how red his face was.

‘how did you find them?’ 

‘I’m the one that takes care of them, I have special permission from the headmaster. you, on the other hand, shouldn’t be here.’ oops. 

‘oh- yeah, umh…’ what was he supposed to say? maybe he should just lie and tell him that he was taking a walk- inside the forbidden forest- yeah, no, terrible idea. but was that better than him thinking that he was stalking him or something creepy?

‘you’ve been following me and looking at me a lot for the past couple days. may I know why?’ okay, he already thought that he was stalking him, great. world 3, lee jeno 0. jeno just sighed and felt brave enough to finally turn and look at jaemin, who was still looking at the thestral.

‘because I really, really need your help.’ the moment jaemin turned his head, making their eyes finally meet, jeno melted.

‘my help?’ he swallowed, nodding.

‘y-yeah… uh, look. I’m failing potions class, and if I fail potions class, they’re going to kick me out of the quidditch team. quidditch is literally my whole future, it’s what I want to do, what I want to be, I can’t let that happen. and you’re the best with potions, you’re brilliant!’ jaemin continued with that serious, emotionless face he always had, and that only made jeno feel even more nervous. he stopped talking and only continued after taking a deep breath.

‘I know that it’s too much to ask since, well, we’re not even friends, but I wouldn’t be bothering you like this if it wasn’t urgent. I have the exam in three weeks and I need you to help me, jaemin, please.’ the following seconds felt like an eternity to him, those seconds were jaemin just kept staring at him without giving him a proper answer, and, well, the answer never came. jaemin sighed and pulled away from him.

‘we should go back now, it’s getting late and we have potions first thing in the morning. you need to rest or you won’t pay attention tomorrow.’

‘jaemin-’

‘let’s go, jeno.’ well… that was practically his answer, right? it- well, it hurt, and it was quite humiliating. and quite rude. but that was it. the two boys went back to the castle together and parted ways when it was time to go to their dorms without even saying goodbye. 

he didn’t get much sleep that night, obviously. he kept reliving that embarrassing moment inside his head over and over again, asking himself how he could be so stupid. 

‘you look like shit.’ mark remarked as they walked together to potions class, and jeno just rolled his eyes.

‘I know, I know… it’s fine, I have a free class later so I’ll take a nap then.’ the older decided to just let it slide, they were almost there so it’s not like they could talk about something else.

‘uh- dude, na jaemin is in my seat.’ 

‘what?’ mark and him shared practically all of their classes, which meant that they always, always, sat down next to each other, in every single class they had since always.

‘yo… good luck there, mate, you’re going to sit down next to your crush!’ mark sounded really excited, but of course he would, he had no idea about what happened the previous day.

‘wait! no, mark, I can’t sit next to him.’

‘oh, come on, jen, don’t be shy! he’s not going to bite you… unless you want him to, of course.’ he smirked, sending a wink his way before walking away and sitting down next to kevin, another gryffindor guy that was friends with mark. okay, fine, he was definitely screwed. 

‘okay… I can do it. I can! he’s just a guy. that rejected me yesterday…’ he whispered to himself as he took a couple deep breaths and started to walk towards his seat. the one that was next to the one where jaemin was sitting on. he was screwed. 

‘good morning, class.’ shit . he rushed to his seat, left his books on top of the table and sat down without even looking at the blonde… the weird thing was that jaemin didn’t even seem to care about him, he didn’t even feel his eyes on him, it was like he wasn’t there.

‘today we’re going to continue talking about amortentia, the love potion, and how to brew it. now, amortentia-’ the teacher turned around and started to explain some things related to the potion while jeno just opened his book, trying to find the page where amortentia. god, how was he supposed to pass that exam if he couldn’t even find the right page of the book?

‘here.’ was that jaemin’s voice? with one smooth move the boy put his book in the middle for both of them to see, and it was the only time jeno dared to look. jaemin had already opened it on the right page and there were… wow, there were lots of notes there. was that jaemin’s handwriting? it was really good, jeno’s was barely understandable.

‘what?’ he asked out loud, his eyes landing on jaemin, who frowned.

‘you said you needed my help.’ oh. oh. all the dark clouds that were around jeno’s heart and brain suddenly disappeared, leaving room for the usual happiness that immediately showed up.

‘so you’re going to help me?’ he whispered-screamed, he was as excited as before an important match. he wanted to scream, jump, laugh out loud… but they were in class, so he couldn’t do any of that stuff. jaemin sighed and went back to his book, taking some notes that jeno could also read there.

‘pay attention to class, jeno.’ jaemin really had a strange way of communicating his feelings, huh? jeno was dying to understand how his brain and thoughts worked, na jaemin was literally a complete mystery to him, and now that he was going to help him with potions he would have lots of time to do so. for now he got a little closer to him, sharing his book and actually listening to what the teacher was saying. 

– ⚯͛.*⭒⠁- ଘ▕⃝⃤

‘what’s your favourite color?’ 

‘jeno, for the love of god, focus on studying.’ 

‘but jaemin, we’ve been studying for three hours now! aren’t you tired?’ 

‘no. study.’

‘jaemin!’ jeno whined as he let his back fall on the blanket he had spread out on the grass, looking at the sky just to find himself staring at the clouds and thinking about the different things they could be. a unicorn, a rabbit… oh! was that a phoenix too?

they had been studying together for almost a week and jeno had learned so many things about jaemin int aht short period of time, for example: he didn’t like to study at the library or in the slytherin common room, just like everyone else, he said that he enjoyed silent outdoors places so he could enjoy some fresh air. he was also awfully quiet, which jeno didn’t really mind because he still enjoyed his company, and that also meant that he was a hell of a listener. it didn’t look like it but, well, jaemin cared about him in his own special way.

‘are you really not going to tell me your favorite color?’ the blonde sighed.

‘lee jeno.’ 

‘come on, I really want to get to know you better! what’s your favorite color? do you have a middle name? do you prefer summer or winter? day or night? if you could read the book or watch the movie, which one would you choose?’ jaemin, who was resting his back on the trunk of a nearby tree, looked at him for just a second before shaking his hand and going back to whatever he was writing.

‘my favorite color is silver, I do not have a middle name, I actually prefer late spring because it’s warm outside, but the wind is nice and chill so I can still wear long sleeves, night, and I would 100% read the book first, movies usually have poor adaptations and don’t reflect the beauty of the details.’ jeno smiled brightly with every single piece of information jaemin was giving him about himself. they were just basic things, some of them even obvious, like the book thing, and that just made him want to get to know jaemin better.

‘is it okay if I ask more questions?’ 

‘not until you give me your answers first.’ those simple words made jeno’s heart skip a little bit… jaemin wanted to know more things about him .

‘okay! so, umh… maybe it’s too obvious because I’m a gryffindor but my favorite colors are red and gold! I don’t have a middle name either, I love summer because it’s warm, I can hang out with my friends all I want because there’s no school, no homework, lots of quidditch… I prefer night too and I normally see the movies first just to see if I like it, and if I do, I try to read the books! I almost never finish them but, well, I try. some of them are too long to even try.’ he heard a really small chuckle coming from someone’s mouth, not his mouth, and if jaemin and him were alone- wait. he lifted his eyes from his own hands, them landing on the ghost of a smile jaemin had on his face. he was so-

‘pretty.’ did he just say that out loud? by the way jaemin’s eyes widened right after that “thought”, he probably did. the slytherin shifted a little on his seat, looking away from jeno with… wait, was he blushing ? 

‘so, umh… what’s your favorite class?’ that was a very, very bad way of trying to ignore what just happened, and jeno just let it slide because he had the image of a slightly blushy jaemin trying to avoid his eyes.

‘probably transfiguration. people just assume it’s flying class but, well, it’s a little boring since I’ve been flying my whole life. yours?’

‘care of magical creatures.’ jeno frowned.

‘but you’re really good with potions.’ 

‘yeah, they’re fun too… but it’s not my favorite just because I’m good at it, just like flying class wasn’t your favorite class either.’

‘okay… what about your less favourite class? you must have-’

‘divination. I’m so glad I didn’t choose that class.’ jeno was speechless.

‘wha- divination? but divination is fun!’

‘divination is a fraud. there’s no way the stars are going to tell you how your week is going to be and the remains of tea in a cup are simply remains, they have no function, which is why many people don't see anything there. I don’t even want to know which type of herbs the teacher consumes to see a tree in the bottom of a cup.’ 

‘so you’d rather have, I don’t know, arithmancy over divination?’

‘arithmancy wasn’t even that bad, you just had to study. it’s like what muggles call “math”.’ 

‘but that’s the great thing about divination! that you don’t have to! the teacher didn’t even give us a book this year.’

‘because it’s so fake it doesn’t even deserve one.’ to say that jeno was absolutely loving that conversation with jaemin was an understatement. they kept talking and talking, the fact that they were meant to be on a study date was long forgotten, and they discovered lots of stuff about each other… they were really different. jaemin was an only child, jeno had three siblings; jaemin liked coffee, jeno was more of a hot chocolate guy; jaemin preferred sour things, jeno liked sweets; jaemin was brains, jeno was strength; yet somehow, they didn’t feel that different from each other.

‘I think we should get going.’ jaemin stated when he looked at the sky, seeing how the bright blue was starting to turn into multiple shades of orange and pink, making jeno pout.

‘can I ask you one last thing before you tell me again that we should go back, start to walk away without even waiting for me and make me run after you so we can go back together?’ it did sound bad, but jeno found it quite funny that their dynamics worked that way. plus, he was always ready to chase jaemin anywhere. the blonde closed his book and started to put all his stuff inside his bag and, well, jeno didn’t hear a no.

‘what’s your patronus?’ jaemin stopped his moves for a second, getting visibly tense before relaxing. thank god, because jeno got scared for a moment thinking that he just asked something he shouldn’t have asked.

‘my patronus?’ 

‘yeah! they teached us how to conjure our own last year, remember?’ 

‘yeah, of course I remember.’ the gryffindor bit his lower lip.

‘so… can I see it? it’s okay if you don’t want to show me! I understand that maybe it’s personal.’ the blonde seemed hesitant at first, making jeno wonder what the bloody hell was going inside his brain at that moment, but after what felt like a minute or so, he took out his wand. he closed his eyes and took a deep breath before saying, loud and clear:

‘ expecto patronum .’ there was nothing, nothing , that jeno liked more than seeing someone conjuring their patronus at night. there was something about the bright light coming out a wand, illuminating everything it could encompass, that ended up shapeshifting until it became an animal, someone’s especial animal. he didn’t take his eyes of jaemin’s wand, which was shining brighter than any other patronus he had ever seen, and he saw how the light started to run around them, turning into a-

‘a samoyed!’ god, that was really the best day of his life. the dog started to run around both of them, its tail leaving some kind of trail of light as it wagged, and jeno could only laugh as he stood up and started to play with it. what were the odds of jaemin’s patronus being one of his favorite dog breeds ever? jeno didn’t stop giggling, not even when the dog went back inside jaemin’s wand.

‘it seems that you really like dogs.’ jeno sighed, a wide smile on his face as he slowly sat back down, trying to catch his breath.

‘I do. in fact, my friends are always telling me that sometimes I act like a puppy! they even associate me with samoyeds. it’s such a coincidence that your patronus is one.’ 

‘yeah, it’s such a coincidence.’ the gryffindor didn’t think much of it, obviously. 

‘yours is really powerful, it was like having a personal little moon around… that memory of yours must be super strong.’ he felt curious once again. what was jaemin thinking while conjuring it? what made him 

‘what about your patronus? people last year said it was a really cool lion, they kept talking about it for a week.’ jeno’s whole body froze for a second as his eyes were fixed on the ground in front of him. 

‘yeah, it was…’ 

‘was?’ jeno just shrugged, hugging his legs and resting his chin on one of his knees. he had never told anyone about that, not even his best friends, not even mark, so he didn’t know why he was talking to the silver-haired boy about something so important to him, but jaemin… there was something different about him, something that made jeno want to tell him everything about him, something that made him feel safe.

‘I think it… changed. I don’t know how it happened, I just felt it last summer after my cat died, I guess. to be honest I don’t even know if it’s just my imagination or if it’s actually different, I never had the guts to conjure it to see.’ he wouldn’t even know what to do if it was something other than a lion. the previous year, just like jaemin said, everyone was euphoric to see his patronus because of how cool it was, they even started a joke about him the “gryffindorest” among all gryffindors just because his patronus was, well, a gryffindor’s animal. 

‘are you afraid that it changed or that you won’t be able to conjure it again?’ he didn’t answer, mostly because now that he was saying that out loud, he didn’t know. he hid his whole face between his legs, too embarrassed of himself to even look at the slytherin, he was probably thinking that he was just being stupid, or a crybaby. that was until he felt someone sitting down next to him.

‘do it.’ 

‘what? but, jaemin-’ 

‘I showed you mine, it’s only fair that you show me yours too.’ 

‘I don’t know.’ he was expecting jaemin to just give up, drop that subject and leave him there, he probably didn’t care enough to push him a bit more or try to cheer him up after that, but he stayed. 

‘you can do it, jeno, you know you can. I’ve read somewhere that patronus can change because of big events in someone’s life, like a big personality change or- umh, falling in love. I just think that it changed doesn’t mean what you think it means. In fact, I think that you’ll be gladly surprised.’ gladly surprised? big personality change? love ? he lifted his head, turning to face jaemin, and he wasn’t just looking back at him, he was looking at him. his gaze wasn’t as serious as it usually was, his eyes were soft and sweet, almost loving, and that only encouraged jeno to at least try. it’s not like jaemin was going to laugh at him for failing.

‘okay, I’ll do it.’ he very slowly and with shaky hands took out his wand out of his pocket. what was he supposed to think about? he used to think about the first time he got bongshik, literally the happiest moment of his life, but he couldn’t think so much about it since… well, that. would it still work? was it still his happiest memory? he moved his hand and said the words out loud, but he didn’t feel a thing: no adrenaline rush, no happiness, no light… anything. 

‘jeno, look.’ his eyes were closed, probably since before he chanted that spell, and he wasn’t brave enough to open them up… until jaemin talked to him. look? was there something there? he very slowly opened his eyes.

there was a dim light coming out of his wand, it wasn’t strong like jaemin’s, but it was visible. and at the end of the light? a cat, and not just any cat, an american wirehair. the animal was sitting down and staring directly at him, tilting her head when jeno did, as if it was copying his moves… just like she used to do.

‘bongshik.’ he said in a whisper, and it was technically impossible that his dead cat had become his patronus, yet the patronus reacted to that. she ran towards him, jumped on his lap and made herself comfortable on top of jeno’s legs. again, it was impossible, but jeno swore that for a second he could physically feel her there.

‘it looks that your best friend never truly left.’ he was overwhelmed by emotions. he was happy, he wanted to cry, he wanted to scream, he wanted to hug jaemin until he turned blue from how grateful he was to him… but he didn’t. he just didn’t move, too scared that of he did his pet would disappear, and with a huge smile on his face. jaemin didn’t move either and that “I think we should get going” turned into them staying there for a couple more hours.

– ⚯͛.*⭒⠁- ଘ▕⃝⃤

‘are you guys ready?’

‘oh, hell yeah!’

‘we’re going to kick some asses today.’

‘dude, we’re playing against hufflepuff… they’re nice people.’ 

‘tell that to that blond girl that almost crushed me against one of the rings last time… I’m so going to get my sweet revenge.’ everyone laughed at yuqi’s… well, inspiring statement before their game, and they kept chatting while they were getting ready. that was the last match before jeno’s potions exam and the only thing he wanted to do, even if it was just for one match, was to forget everything about potions and enjoy the game. 

‘are you good?’ jeno lifted his head from his laces, the ones he was tying, and saw how his best friend sat down next to him, patting his back on the process. he was the person that worried about him and the exam the most, even more than jeno himself.

‘yeah… I’m good, and I’ll be even better when we win today’s game.’ 

‘oh, hell yeah! that’s the attitude, bro! let’s go.’ it was showtime. the team members put on their playing robes, grabbed their brooms and quickly went out to warm up for the game. usually not many people were there, everyone started to arrive about fifteen minutes before everything started and that’s the time when they went back to the changing rooms to talk about strategies and, well, do the whole show where they come out flying on their brooms and stuff.

‘hey, jeno! it seems that your boyfriend’s here already.’ 

‘sungchan!’

‘what?’ sungchan and ninging kept bickering for a while, but jeno was too busy looking for his said “boyfriend” to pay attention to them anymore. he didn’t have to look much for him, jaemin was in his usual spot, the exact same one where he sat down during all their practices, and too busy reading a book to even notice that jeno was heading his way.

‘hey! you’re here already!’ jeno smoothly jumped off his broomstick, holding it with one hand so it wouldn’t fly away and standing right in front of the slytherin boy. as usual, jaemin didn’t even lift his eyes to look at him.

‘I’ve been here all day.’ the gryffindor smiled widely and sat down next to him.

‘and are you going to stay for the match? today is an important one! we’re going against the hufflepuff house and their keeper is really, really good.’ 

‘do I look like the type of guy that’s interested in a quidditch match?’ 

‘yeah!’ jeno said excitedly and jaemin turned to look at him, his sarcastic eyes staring right at him.

‘please, jaem, please! do it for me! I’d really like it if you’re here to see me play.’ jeno put on his best act: puppy, sad eyes, a small but cute pout on his lips, and he even dared to reach out to hold jaemin’s arm with his hands. it was the first time he was using that trick with jaemin so he didn’t know if it was going to work, but it made miracles with mark. jaemin looked at jeno’s hands with slightly wide eyes, then at jeno’s face, and then back at his hands. the gryffindor didn’t miss the fact that jaemin’s eyes softened a little bit and that he stood a couple extra seconds staring at his pout.

‘I-I was going to stay anyway, it’s impossible to get out when people are trying to come up here.’ jeno’s face had never lit up faster.

‘great! then- then I’ll make sure my team wins for you! take it as a “thank you” gift for helping me for the past couple weeks.’ he stood up as fast as he could and just one second later he was already flying back to the field, his confidence and desire to win that game stronger than ever. 

‘someone’s happy… did you get a good luck kiss?’ sunwoo said the moment he saw jeno coming back and even made a kiss face with kiss sounds included, but he was quickly stopped when ningning pushed him and almost fell off the broom.

‘don’t tease him, dude! we don’t need a nervous seeker before the game.’ 

‘it’s okay! talking to him only made me want to win even more. we’re so going to win.’ the match was rough, the hufflepuff house was a team consisting mostly of girls and, god, they were fast and efficient. their seeker was also really fast, someone worthy of competing against jeno. the scoreboard was 120-180, hufflepuff winning, the yellow team could already feel the victory coming, but…

‘oh? what’s that? could it be… it is! lee jeno has caught the golden snitch, providing 150 points to his team! gryffindor wins!’ one of the things jeno liked the most about quidditch was the whole crowd going wild when the seeker caught the snitch, it was a different scream than when the chasers scored 10 points and he absolutely loved the sensation of everyone staring at him, cheering as he lifted the snitch with one of his hands. best feeling ever.

his eyes ended up landing on certain silver-haired boy, one that was in his usual spot, the exact same one where he sat down during all their practices, that was looking back at him. he had a small proud smile on his face, shiny eyes and he was clapping, yet he still attracted jeno’s attention as he was the only one still sitting down… not for other reason, like for example how handsome he looked, of course. 

his whole body worked way faster than his brain did so, when he realized, he was already flying on jaemin’s way. it was like one of those moments in the movies were just him and jaemin were there, where not an entire quidditch stadium was looking at them (they were, of course), and jeno just handed the snitch to jaemin. the slytherin was quite confused at first, his eyes going from his hand, to him, then back to his hand, until he just let out a small smile and shook his head. 

‘you’re insane.’ jaemin mumbled as he took the snitch from jeno’s hand, a small action that made jeno’s heart explode out of pure happiness. oh, his teammates and probably his friends and classmates were so going to tease him after doing that, but it was worth it, jaemin’s smile was worth it.

– ⚯͛.*⭒⠁- ଘ▕⃝⃤

‘so? how did it go? was it good? did it go well? please tell me it went well.’ mark said the moment jeno stepped a foot outside the dungeons where the potions class was, making him yelp. 

‘bloody hell, mark! you just scared the shit out of me.’ the older chuckled, putting one of his arms around jeno’s shoulders.

‘sorry! I’m just nervous.’ jeno sighed, smiling.

‘I think… I think that for now it’s okay! the potion still needs like a month to be ready and I still need to go from time to time to check how it’s doing, but I’m having a great feeling about this.’ 

‘that’s so good! oh my god, I was so worried that they would kick you out of the team- I mean, for your own sake, of course. I know that quidditch is your dream so I didn’t want you to go through that.’ jeno chuckled at mark’s clumsiness. man, that boy really didn’t know how to express himself, did he? 

‘it’s fine! everything will be fine. the team won’t be able to get rid of me that easily.’ jeno had to admit he was… a little disappointed. he was grateful that mark was there, but he was really, really expecting jaemin to be there too even though he was the one that dropped him there just a couple hours before.

‘stop shaking.’

‘sorry.’

‘and stop mumbling all the potions’ recipes.’

‘sorry.’

‘stop apologizing.’

‘I’m sor-’ jaemin looked at him with his serious eyes, which made jeno immediately shut up. the younger sighed and stopped walking, turning to look at jeno in the eye.

‘jeno, you have nothing to worry about, I’m serious. you’ve been studying for three weeks in a row, you know by heart every single potion professor kim could ask you to brew… you’re ready for this. so stop doubting yourself or I will get mad.’ 

those really were such encouraging and loving words.

mark and jeno walked together towards the great hall to have something to eat with their friends, who should be there already, but before going inside jeno could see jaemin’s silver hair from the distance. he was heading outside, book in one hand and bag in another.

‘I will be right back. just- wait for me, okay? it won’t take long!’ mark didn’t believe him for a second, yet he still decided to wait while jeno excitedly ran away towards his beloved slytherin.

‘jaemin! jaemin, wait for me!’ he screamed, catching the attention of literally everyone that was around, including jaemin’s. the boy turned his head around, stopping his tracks so jeno could get to him and ignoring all the looks they were getting. that was kind of their thing too: jeno was loud and charming, always getting everyone’s attention, and even though jaemin was quiet and preferred to stay on the side, he didn’t really care about people looking at him or what they had to say about him.

‘I see that you’re out of the exam already.’ jeno finally got to where jaemin was, his breath a little heavy for the sudden sprint and giggles escaping his mouth.

‘yeah… but you weren’t there, I thought you were going to be waiting for me.’ okay, that sounded a little- selfish? of course jaemin wasn’t going to be waiting for him, he probably had other things to do, maybe he just didn’t want to, at the end of the day his life didn’t revolve around him.

‘I just thought that you wanted to spend some time with your friends, you haven’t been hanging out a lot with them lately because of studying.’ 

‘what? no! I mean- yeah, I haven’t… but I wanted to tell you about the exam. it’s going well, by the way! I think I have a great chance of having a good grade.’ jaemin smiled softly, making jeno feel warm inside. he was really starting to get used to spending time with jaemin, trying to joke a little to see if he managed to make him smile, feeling his heart trying to escape from his chest every single time he actually did… he just didn’t know what was he going to do if suddenly jaemin decided that he didn’t want to be friends anymore.

‘I knew you would, I wasn’t even worried about you failing. you know that.’ jeno could feel his cheeks turning red. jaemin was sincere, he always said things as they were, but those sudden compliments really managed to get him in a special way.

‘umh- are you coming to hogsmeade this afternoon? we could- we could go on a walk! and have some butterbeer at three broomsticks to celebrate that I did good! my treat.’ jaemin quirked one of his eyebrows.

‘I don’t think going with you and your friends is a good idea, jeno. I’m-’

‘I kind of meant- just us. if that’s okay. is it okay? I mean, you don’t have to come if you don’t want to. of course.’ jaemin didn’t answer his question, he just looked at him for a while, making him feel absolutely nervous. what if he said no? it wasn’t a big deal, was it? he wasn’t asking him out on a date or something… oh my- did he just ask him out? what if jaemin thought he was asking him out? bloody hell, he was so stupid. he-

‘I’d love to. I mean- yeah, sure.’ holy shit.

‘oh- okay! yeah, fine! perfect! the train leaves at 5pm… I’ll go pick you up! I’ll be in front of the door of the slytherin common room at like 4:45pm! so we can go together! is that alright?’ damn, jeno, calm the fuck down… why was he so nervous?

‘that sounds good.’ jaemin even felt… different. he didn’t feel as cold as distant as he used to feel, he wasn’t wearing that serious façade he used to wear, now he was just… jaemin. softly blushed cheeks, small smile, softened eyes jaemin.

‘perfect! uh- I have to go now but I’ll see you later, okay?’ 

‘okay.’

‘okay! bye! see you!’ jeno started to clumsily walk backwards, which lead to him tripping and almost falling on his butt, but thankfully his reflexes were fast enough to prevent that from happening. he was going to hogsmeade with jaemin. he was going to spend the whole afternoon with jaemin without studying. jaemin was willingly going to hang out with him. that just felt too good to be true, was he dreaming or something?

he tried to stop thinking about it while he was eating with his friends, but he just couldn’t do it, his mind was flooded with jaemin, jaemin, jaemin, and- guess what? more jaemin. he even put the fork inside his mouth with no food a couple times, making his friends laugh at him… but he didn’t really care.

4:40pm and he had been waiting for jaemin outside the door for like- ten minutes? fifteen? he was so nervous that he left his own dorm earlier than expected. he made sure that he was wearing his cleanest and best clothes, he styled his hair four times in four different ways before choosing the one that fit him the best, he even cleaned his shoes before leaving his bedroom… yeah, he was nervous .

‘you’re early.’ jeno let out a squeak after hearing jaemin’s voice coming from behind him. he turned around to face him and- oh. it was the first time he was seeing jaemin without his uniform, or without his hair styled in that way he liked, yet he still looked absolutely breathtaking. he could even hear his own heart skipping a couple beats.

‘y-yeah- uh, you too! you’re early too.’ 

‘yeah, I am. shall we go now?’ 

‘of course! let’s go.’ it was a little awkward at first, he had to admit. he tried to come up with topics to talk about with jaemin, he had millions of things he wanted to know, but every time he looked his way he just froze and wasn’t able to utter a word, it was pathetic. they walked together, sat down together on the train and jeno literally felt like a highschooler with his first crush. if he wasn’t sure about his feelings for jaemin before, he was now. he liked him way too much.

‘do you want to go to honeydukes before three broomsticks? I heard they brought new candy flavors, trying them together would be cool.’ jaemin said when they left the train, leaving jeno speechless for a second. he could count with the fingers of one of his hands the amount of times jaemin was the one starting the conversations, and even though he liked it, he also felt a little bad with himself. god, what was he doing? he was acting like a kid.

‘yeah! and we could buy chocolate frogs and bertie bott’s every flavour beans too!’ 

‘sure.’ things only went uphill from there. jeno lost all the shyness and nerves he had and he and jaemin started to talk about everything they came up with. they went to honeydukes and bought lots of different candies, also went inside jonko’s joke shop just to take a look at all the cool stuff they had, and then headed directly to three broomsticks to have that promised butterbeer together. 

two hours went by and, well, the two boys were quite a mess already. they ate many candies (mostly jeno), fooled around a little bit, joked, and above all, drank. a lot. 

‘it’s your turn! come on, eat another one.’ jeno encouraged as he showed him the bag with colorful beans, and jaemin just rolled his eyes as he picked one and took it to his mouth. he chewed it for a couple seconds, making a confused face, and jeno laughed.

‘what is it? is it bad?’

‘mmmh… I think it’s grass? but it doesn’t taste that bad.’ jeno found it hilarious. well, he had been finding everything hilarious for the past half an hour, but that wasn’t important. what was more important was that tipsy jaemin was so handsome, jeno felt like he couldn’t breathe. his hair was slightly messy from passing his hand through it so much, his cheeks were red and he was smiling a lot more than usual. why didn’t he smile like that when he was sober? he did feel lucky for being the only one who was seeing something so… perfect, but it was something the entire world should see.

‘it’s dark outside already… I think it’s better if we stop drinking or we won’t be able to walk back to the train later.’ jaemin said, leaning his body back and leaning completely on the chair where he was sitting. the gryffindor looked at their glasses, which were already empty, and his sixth feeling was also telling him that one more sip and he would pass out.

‘yeah… maybe we should just go for a walk?’ 

‘I know a place where we can watch the stars for a while. do you want to go?’

‘yes! yes, please.’ jaemin chuckled.

‘let’s go, then.’ they headed to the counter to pay for all the butterbeers they had drunk, put on their warm jackets since it was winter and headed outside the establishment. the streets were illuminated by the soft lights of the streetlights, other students were laughing around as they came outside jonko’s joke shop, old ladies were sitting on benches and whispering to each other… everything was beautiful, and jeno loved it. he breathed out, mist coming out of his mouth instantly, and he chuckled.

‘it’s cold here.’ he said, matter-of-factly, and jaemin looked at him.

‘yeah? are your hands cold?’ 

‘I don’t-’ he didn’t even have time to answer, jaemin was already reaching out to hold his hand, making his heart turn upside down in just a second. he looked down to their hands intertwined, the slytherin even made sure to lock his fingers with him, and then back up to jaemin. thanks to one of the streetlights he could see that his cheeks were even more red than before, and he also noticed that he was trying his best to avoid his eyes. cute . he made his grip on jaemin’s hand a little stronger and caressed it with his thumb. that felt great.

‘so… where are we heading?’

‘you’ll see.’ 

‘alright.’ none of them talked anymore, they just walked, held hands and enjoyed each other’s presence, until-

‘the shrieking shack?’ jeno remembered all the legends about that house. it was supposed to be the most severely haunted building in britain, lots of ghosts and monsters going in and out, even screams could be heard from outside if you went close enough. even the ghosts in hogwarts were scared of going inside.

‘what? are you scared of a house?’ 

‘no…’ he said before letting out a nervous giggle and turned to see the building. god, it was really, really scary. he swallowed hard and he squeezed jaemin's hand a little more than necessary. 

‘should we come in, then?’

‘are you going nuts? no! oh my- it’s haunted, jaem! and we’re not even supposed to go inside the perimeter, right?’ jaemin just laughed at his reaction, which must’ve been funny to someone that wasn’t as terrified as he was.

‘do you not trust me?’ jeno lifted one of his eyebrows, what did trust have to do with anything? he turned to face the slytherin, only to find out those soft, loving eyes focused on just him. wait- loving ? he must’ve really been out of his mind, huh?

‘fine, let’s go. but you’re going first!’ jaemin smiled and opened the half broken fence gate, that one they weren’t supposed to open because they weren’t supposed to go inside at all. the slytherin was confident with his steps, as if it wasn’t the first time he was doing that crazy thing, and jeno was shitting his pants while walking behind him. he couldn’t even look at that building without getting literal chills.

‘you’re shaking.’

‘of course I’m shaking! I’m terrified.’ he whispered, his body coming closer to jaemin’s to look for some comfort or at least be able to use it as a human shield if something went wrong.

‘we’re here. look.’ here? they weren’t even inside the house! in fact, they had left the house behind them without him noticing and when jeno dared to open his eyes, he saw what jaemin was talking about. they were standing on the top of a pretty big hill that ended in a lake, and what did that mean? that the sky filled with bright stars and a beautiful full moon was completely at their disposal.

‘wow.’ he involuntarily let out as he stopped hiding behind jaemin, enjoying the view. he had seen the sky on a broom, from his bedroom’s window, even from the beach once, but that… that was one of the prettiest night skies he had ever seen. 

‘I knew you’d like it. it’s beautiful, isn’t it?’ 

‘yeah, it’s…’ jeno was able to stop looking at the sky to look at jaemin for a moment. the moonlight made his features stand up even more than usual and his eyes were shining brighter, jeno could even swear he was seeing stars in them.

‘beautiful. it’s beautiful.’ he wasn’t talking about the sky anymore.

– ⚯͛.*⭒⠁- ଘ▕⃝⃤

‘you had a fucking date with na jaemin?’ mark jumped from his bed onto the floor, took his hands to his hair and looked at him with a really shocked face expression, and jeno’s eyes widened.

‘oh my god! it wasn’t a date. we just- hang out? just the two of us. like friends do! you and I hang out a lot!’ 

‘yeah but we don’t hold hands and look at each other with heart-shaped eyes, dude!’

‘you weren’t even there to see how we were looking at each other! stupid.’ mark was beyond surprised for either his best friend having a date and his unbelievable state of pure denial.

‘okay- this was literally two weeks ago, how did you not tell me about this earlier?’ 

‘cause it’s not a big deal! I mean, it’s not like he likes me back or something.’ likes me back . jeno just smiled to himself. mark, on the other hand, was looking at him as if he just said the stupidest thing he had ever said.

‘what do you even mean? you two went out on a date together! he likes you back, dumbass!’

‘he does not, mark!’

‘okay! he doesn’t like you back. so, since that day, have you two been… closer than before? because, let me remind you, you hang out every. single. day.’ jeno blushed a little bit.

‘umh- well. he started to sit next to me when we’re together… and sometimes he even lets me hold his hand. and he like- allows me to put my leg over his leg while he’s reading. he always makes space for me to do it freely! and two days ago he even moved my leg himself and kept his hand there. and-’ he looked at mark, who was standing in front of his bed with his arms crossed and a really big and quite ugly frown.

‘what?’ 

‘what? what? dude, you two have cute little dates every single day. he holds your hand and lets you touch him! that’s like a big deal for people like jaemin, you know? he likes you! and you gave him your snitch after that game a couple weeks ago. you like him back!’

‘well, of course I like him! he’s so- perfect. he’s handsome, caring in his own way, he’s always there when I need him, he lets me hold his hand, he’s so fucking smart, he looks so cute when he reads… he’s just all I want.’ the atmosphere changed into a sadder one, a sudden wave of insecurities hitting him, and mark let out a small sigh before he approached his bed, sat down right next to him and put one of his hands on his leg.

‘then tell him that, jen. I’m really not joking when I say that he likes you back.’ and back to the seriousness.

‘he does not like me back!’

‘oh for god’s sake-’

‘what are you guys doing here? don’t you have potions class right now or something?’ jisung said as he walked inside the bedroom and threw himself on top of his bed. 

‘potions class!’ mark and jeno said at the same time, one complaining because they were probably going to be late and the other with excitement to see a certain silver haired boy again. they immediately stood up from jeno’s bed and gathered all the stuff they needed before running towards the dungeons, trying their best to take all the right moving stairs and to not bump into anyone. they managed to get inside the class just when they were about to close the door, lucky them because professor kim would’ve given him the worst side eye if they were a little late.

‘now that we’re all here, everyone gather around.’ the teacher said as he signed for everyone to do a circle around a table that had a steaming cauldron on it. jeno lifted his head to look for jaemin and smoothly placed himself by his side, his fingers pulling the long sleeves of his robe to catch his attention.

‘hi.’ he said with a soft voice when jaemin’s eyes landed on him, his eyes becoming two little crescent moons, and the slytherin smiled too.

‘you’re almost late.’

‘I know.’ then the class began. 

‘can anyone tell me what’s inside this cauldron?’ jeno had to know that now that he knew about lots of potions, so he focused on it. the liquid was pink-ish, the steam was pink-ish too and… why did the room smell so much like jaemin? click .

‘it’s amortentia!’ he said a little too excitedly, so much that he even had to cover his mouth with one of his hands from the embarrassment he felt when he noticed the whole class staring at him.

‘yes, mr lee. it’s indeed amortentia.’ getting it right for once felt so, so good. jaemin playfully bumped his arm with his, teasing him.

‘good one.’ now that felt even better. 

‘since you know what this is, would you mind telling us what you smell, lee?’ his eyes widened almost immediately. now, how the hell was he supposed to get out of that one? he couldn’t just shamelessly describe jaemin’s smell in front of him, he would notice. and what if he did it and then decided to stop talking to him? what if-

‘I can do it if he’s not comfortable with it, professor.’ na jaemin, his true knight with shining armor. 

‘go on, then.’ the teacher said as he stepped away from the table, leaving some room for jaemin to walk there. everyone’s eyes were fixed on him as he leaned a little closer, smelling the potion from up close even though jeno knew from experience (he was meters away and smelling jaemin everywhere) that the potion worked from a distance too. to say he was nervous was an understatement, it was a turning point in his life. what if jaemin smelled nothing? or even worse, what if he smelled someone else? that would be heartbreaking for him.

‘I smell cats. and… wood.’ bloody hell.

‘I told you he liked you.’ mark whispered on his ear as he playfully pat his back. he couldn’t believe mark was right and, well, he couldn’t believe that jaemin truly liked him back and was saying it out loud, just like that. he spent the whole class in a kind of a trance, his mind had stopped working the moment jaemin talking about what he smelled, and he didn’t realize the class was over until mark dragged him outside.

‘so? what are you going to do?’

‘what?’ the older chuckled.

‘dude, are you going to confess or something?’ realization finally hit him. jaemin liked him. jaemin liked him. and suddenly, out of nowhere, a small light bulb turned on inside his head.

‘I will! in exactly- three days and a half!’ mark frowned.

‘why are you going to wait four days and a half?’ 

‘shhhh…’ jeno put a finger on top of mark’s lips, shutting him up, and smiling widely.

‘you’ll see.’

– ⚯͛.*⭒⠁- ଘ▕⃝⃤

four and a half days later jeno’s plan was finally ready. he had everything he needed with him: his water bottle in one hand, his feelings for jaemin that were only growing bigger inside his heart, and the courage to finally confess to the boy he had been liking for weeks now. the good thing about jaemin was that he was really predictable, so jeno knew exactly where to find him.

‘jaemin!’ jeno said as he headed towards their usual spot: the small place near the crop area that was always empty, so the two of them could be completely alone. the silver-haired boy lifted his head from the book he was reading and smiled at him.

‘you’re here already. how did the potion go? do you have your grade?’ the slytherin moved to the side a little bit, leaving some room for jeno as he closed the book and put it to the side. the black-haired boy quickly sat down and smoothly put his leg over jaemin’s, smiling when he felt the boy’s hand on his thigh.

‘it went well! it wasn’t completely perfect, of course, but I get to stay on the team and I learned more about potions, which is always good.’ jaemin let out a small chuckle.

‘I know you could do it.’ the silence fell on them for the first time that day and, as usual, jaemin got back to reading his book and he got back to just enjoying being with him, which he absolutely loved. now, all he had to do was start his plan. it was one simple thing, easy peasy, it shouldn’t be a problem… so he did it.

‘I brought you some water.’ he took the bottle of water and handed it to the slytherin boy, who looked at him with a soft smile as he grabbed it.

‘thank you.’ jeno didn’t take his eyes off him as he opened the bottle, took it to his lips and gave a small sip from it. perfect . that comfortable silence showed up again. he didn’t know how much time it would take to have an effect on jaemin… so he waited for a couple minutes before talking again.

‘jaem.’

‘mmh?’ 

‘can I ask you something?’ 

‘sure.’ he started to play with his fingers out of pure nervousness.

‘do you like me?’ 

‘of course I like you, jeno. we’re friends.’ ugh.

‘no… I mean romantically. do you- do you like me?’ jaemin frowned slightly, his eyes still on the book.

‘I’ve been in love with you since the first time I saw you during the sorting ceremony six years ago.’ jeno’s eyes widened after hearing those words coming from jaemin’s mouth, and jaemin’s face completely dropped. he even lifted his head from the book, but not to look at jeno, just to look at the distance.

‘jeno, what potion did professor kim ask you to brew?’ well, shit.

‘veritaserum.’

‘right.’ he really wasn’t expecting it to go that way, holy fuck. he was expecting the confession, maybe even something like having a crush before, but being in love with him for six whole years? and since the sorting ceremony? jaemin passed his hands through his face and his hair, visibly stressed.

‘well, now-’

‘can I kiss you?’ jeno blurted without even thinking about what he was saying, and jaemin finally looked at him.

‘what?’ he was perplexed, and jeno was panicking.

‘look- I-I know that this wasn’t the ideal confession you probably wanted, or the one you actually deserved, but- I didn’t know how to do it, okay? I just- I like you so much, jaemin, so, so much, and I really wanted to know how you feel about me. I’m so sorry for using the veritaserum and I’m sorry for acting like this but I just needed to know. you have all the right to be mad at me, but I want you to know that I like you so much, and that I’m sorry for being a mess, and I really, really want to be with you-’ suddenly he couldn’t speak anymore. jaemin had put one of his hands on jeno’s nape, brought him closer to him and smashed their lips together in a long-awaited kiss. 

jeno felt his whole body relaxing as he started to kiss back. god, jaemin was such a good kisser, and his lips tasted like coffee and peach… if only he knew that kissing jaemin would feel like that, he would’ve kissed him way earlier than he actually did. he felt butterflies filling up his stomach, his head starting to feel dizzy, as if he was touching the clouds, and jaemin’s firm hands holding him a little closer.

‘you’re cute, and this was cute, but never do something like this again. do you hear me?’ jaemin whispered on his lips, making him chuckle.

‘I won’t, I promise.’ 

‘good.’ and jeno smiled widely as he leaned closer again, kissing jaemin. bloody hell, that felt good. they kept kissing until the adrenaline of the moment calmed down, then they just sat down together, jeno between jaemin’s legs and resting his head on his shoulder, and jaemin holding jeno’s waist with one hand and playing with his hand with the other.

‘my patronus.’ jaemin whispered as he kissed jeno’s forehead out of nowhere, making the gryffindor chuckle.

‘your patro- oh my god!’ jaemin’s patronus being a samoyed and him being compared to samoyeds wasn’t a coincidence after all, was it? the slytherin just chuckled at jeno’s surprised face.

‘I also think about you when I conjure it.’ so jaemin had truly been in love with him for years.

‘we were in our third year and you were playing the final of the quidditch cup against the ravenclaw house. it was a difficult match because, well, the ravenclaws were really good, and it was a long game. I remember you having the chance to catch the snitch a couple times, but you didn’t because even when you added those 150 points, ravenclaw would still win… so you waited for the right time, and when you did catch it and your house won for ten points, you were so, so happy. you were far away from me, but I could still see you smiling brightly, like it was the happiest moment of your life.’ jeno’s eyes softened as he listened to jaemin telling him that story. he also remembered that day vividly, it was one of the best days ever, but it wasn’t that important to him.

‘but the memory isn’t related to you, is it?’ jaemin giggled.

‘when I saw you smiling like that… that’s when I realized that I was in love with you. well, I kind of already knew, but it was when I finally came to terms with the fact that I was in love with someone that didn’t even know me and that I was kind of crazy for that. but, yeah… that’s the day when I just let myself love you from the distance.’ jeno held jaemin’s hand with his two hands and started to play with it, a small pout on his lips.

‘how come you never tried to approach me? it must’ve been so… lonely.’

‘there was no point, really. if destiny wanted us together, then we would end up together… and, well, here we are.’ the slytherin slowly brushed his nose against jeno’s, making him smile.

‘I really like this cuddly side of yours… you’re so cute.’ 

‘you’ll end up tired of the cuddly side, I’ve been waiting for this for six years.’

‘I can assure you that I won’t get tired of this.’ he cupped jaemin’s face with his hands and pulled him close, kissing him softly, just like jaemin had been waiting for six whole years. jeno was well aware that he couldn’t go back in time to change the past and be with jaemin since day one, but he would make it up to him by loving him every single day for many, many days to come.