Work Text:
Haruto slumps his head down on the desk, shutting his eyes in agony.
There are two things that he couldn't stand at every History of Magic class. First, there's Professor Binn's monotonous voice lulling him to dreamland every time. Haruto would have regarded this as a good thing should they be allowed to sleep in class. (They're not.) So it's somewhat an agony for him to try to stay awake for the entire period.
Second, the class is shared with the Gyrffindors. By history and default, Haruto is destined to despise them with their nobility and honesty and all that. But that’s not exactly what irks him. To be specific, it’s Park Jeongwoo. To be even more specific, Jeongwoo's coconut perfume wafting through the entire room as if it's freshly sprayed air freshener. The headache it's giving Haruto is completely unbearable.
He tilts his head so that his left cheek is now rested on the desk, facing towards the aisle.
There, on the table adjacent to theirs, is the one responsible for half of his current suffering.
Haruto quietly observes the way Jeongwoo gapes to the front of the room. It surprises him to realize that he's actually paying attention to the lesson. At some points during the discussion, Jeongwoo would bend down to take notes on his parchment, giving Haruto a clear view of the slope of his nose line and eyelashes.
In that moment, Haruto unknowingly falls into a different world, one in which he forgets about the suffocating coconut scent, and Professor Binn's droning voice and the sound of quills scratching on paper become background noises. In this world, he's still Haruto, a fifth year Hogwarts student and a notable beater for the Slytherin house, cheek still pressed on the desk, still bored out of his wits except all he sees right now is Jeongwoo.
He had later realized that he’s the only one who’s bothered by the coconut perfume. He’s so bothered he gathered the guts to ask around, from his house no less.
“I actually like it.” Junghwan tells him casually, leaving him shocked and speechless. From that day on, Haruto never spoke about the bloody coconut scent again.
-
Haruto is still in his quidditch robes as he sits next to one of the beds in the hospital wing.
He has never been known for his patience, so when he had offered to stay for a little while, the look that the other visitors had given him had been a tremendous mix of shock and judgment.
Haruto sinks lower in his seat, leans his head against the old chair's top rail - which lets out a startling creak - and looks up at the ceiling.
Then he thinks, this is stupid.
Even after everyone else has left, Haruto is still in the hospital wing.
Haruto is still in the bloody hospital wing. Period.
The game had concluded Slytherin's victory, but Haruto wasn't there to celebrate with his house when the final whistle had flitted through the pitch, and the bleachers with the green and silver streams had roared in triumph.
His heart wasn't in a celebratory mood, especially knowing that he had swung his bat recklessly sometime in the game, making the bludger head towards a particular scarlet and gold area in the cheering crowd.
Gryffindor had managed to create a highly appealing chant for their quidditch team, and it's so good - so bloody good that Haruto even admits it could compete with Slytherin's mocking jingles - but it's so… cheerful , with all of the motivational chants and none of the jests directed towards the opposing team that it irked Haruto off.
But the collective gasp of the crowd followed by the blow of a whistle breaks him out of his thoughts. He hears his house sneer and snicker in laughter, and Haruto had joined them for a few seconds until he had overheard who he had hit.
Haruto had no following thoughts after that. He tries to drop back to the ground, but one of his teammates must have seen his motive, and he feels a hard yank on his robe, stopping him.
"Ruto." Jihoon tightens his grips on his collar, a feeble attempt to stop him from squirming, from fighting off his hold on him.
" Ruto. " He says sternly, and Haruto finally strips his gaze away from the gathering crowd and up towards the older's intent glare.
" He'll be fine. " He says under his breath, "A lot of people had gotten hit by a bludger before and most of them survived."
Most of them.
He has never known himself capable of feeling remorse , but whenever Park Jeongwoo’s concerned, he’s always in for a surprise.
He hears rustling from his side, and the sound instantly wakes him from his thoughts, making him sit upright and glance towards the bed.
Jeongwoo tosses and turns and rolls to his side. Then tosses some more before letting out a pained groan, hand clutching at his stomach.
With a roll of his eyes, Haruto pins him down with a hand to the other’s forehead, looming over him close enough to catch a whiff of Jeongwoo’s homemade coconut perfume that he has always hated.
Jeongwoo lets out a gasp, then his eyes flutter open, slowly, gently , and Haruto takes another hit of that hypothetical bludger once again as the air gets knocked out of his chest.
"Good.” Haruto says, staring down at him in what he hopes is a stable and nonchalant look. “You're awake." You're okay , he wanted to say but thought better of it.
"What-” Jeongwoo tries to rise, but Haruto keeps his hand firm on his forehead, still pinning him down. He lets out another groan as he clutches at his stomach, memories of the events dawning on his features. “How long have I been out?"
"A couple of hours."
The other’s eyes widened in surprise. “A couple of hours? Have you been here this whole time?”
“No.” Haruto lies. “Doesn’t matter. I’m leaving now. Be more careful next time."
Before getting on his feet, Haruto catches sight of his flabbergasted expression. And when he heads out the door, he hears him sputter, " Be more careful- ?" Then a little louder, " You hit me! "
It’s simple, really.
Why Haruto had stayed in the hospital wing until Jeongwoo woke up to make sure he's okay. How his heart had clenched upon seeing him unconscious and all wrapped up in bandages.
He didn't need an entire cauldron of amortentia for him to know because he already had Jaehyuk's little stolen vial to tell him prior.
Haruto had coughed when the Hufflepuff slid into the bench and shoved the tip of the vial just a shy away from his nose.
"What the hell is that?" Haruto wheezed, glaring at Jaehyuk who had appeared to be oblivious of his discomfort.
He asked, "What do you smell?"
" What?"
"The potion! What does it smell to you?" When Haruto had only continued to stare at him like he was crazy, Jaehyuk shook his head.
"Okay. Want another hit? Here."
It was gentler this time, and the fragrance hit him clearer , almost more seductively.
"Well?" Jaehyuk prodded. "What do you smell?"
"Broomstick." Haruto scrunched his nose. "My mom's apple pie and- coconut."
He saw it coming.
Jeongwoo's coconut perfume has always filled every History of Magic class and it has always annoyed the hell out of Haruto.