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It happens on a Tuesday.
No one expected it.
The castle feels… off.
Taeui walks into the Great Hall alone.
Ilay arrives five minutes later.
They sit at opposite tables.
No glances. No smiles. No contact.
Everyone freezes.
A second-year student drops her toast.
A third-year screams: “MOM AND DAD ARE FIGHTING!”
Classes are quiet.
The castle’s magic is jittery; floating candles flicker more than usual.
Divination is a disaster.
Trelawney screams, “I SEE DOOM! I SEE LOVE GONE ASTRAY!” and falls dramatically off her cushion.
Even Peeves is whispering.
Jaeui, sipping pumpkin juice:
“It’s just a lover’s spat.”
Student: “Are we going to die?”
Jaeui: “Only emotionally.”
Kyle sits in his office, reviewing a report about a first-year summoning a raincloud over her head “because Ilay and Taeui won’t talk.”
Kyle: “Do I prefer the kissing? Or this hellish cold war?”
He sips his tea. It turns sour.
Kyle: “I’m too old for this. I’m thirty-seven.”
That night, the house elves organize an “accidental” seating change at dinner.
Taeui is magically placed beside Ilay.
Ilay says nothing.
Taeui casually stabs his roast beef.
Ilay pours pumpkin juice without offering any to Taeui.
Kyle sees it and shouts across the table, “FOR MERLIN’S SAKE, JUST KISS ALREADY!”
Ilay finally stands. Walks away.
Taeui watches him leave.
The PDA board fizzles. The numbers fall into a static.
Even the magic can’t process it.
Petty Arguments Escalate to All-Out War
The magic is starting to crack under the pressure.
Ilay and Taeui are now in the same Defense Against the Dark Arts class, much to the horror of everyone involved.
It isn’t good. It’s so bad.
They were the perfect couple. Now?
They're the perfect storm.
The Duel That Shook Hogwarts
Professor Mulciber, the DADA professor, could sense it before they even began.
"Alright, class," he says, rubbing his temples.
"You will now face off in a duel. Keep it light... but if you absolutely must, take your anger out in the form of spells.”
He pauses.
Ilay is cold.
His usual calculating, composed demeanor is back in full force, this time, darker.
Taeui, however, keeps trying to stay warm to everyone... except for Ilay.
The tension is palpable as they stand facing each other. Ilay's eyes are hard, the cold, calculating version of himself, the “Crazy Rick” persona that everyone fears. Taeui is standing there, still the goofy, warm-hearted sunshine to the world... except when he looks at Ilay.
He’s frigid. Dead silent.
Mulciber tries to intervene.
“Ready... Fight!”
But it’s too late.
First round: Spells fly.
Ilay shoots a piercing curse, aiming low. Taeui dodges with a twist of his body, his movements graceful but sharp, his face never betraying the same warmth he had last year.
They exchange a series of quick, powerful spells—expelliarmus, confringo, serpensortia.
Each spell is more intense, more personal.
Each move is more deliberate and spiteful.
The air crackles with tension, raw power between them, but none of the warmth they once shared.
The rest of the class watches in frozen silence, the sound of their duels vibrating the air. This isn’t just a class; this feels like a battle—a battlefield where the line between love and hate is a thin razor’s edge.
The School Feels It
After the duel ends in a draw, barely any air left to breathe, the rest of the class disperses, though no one speaks.
Everyone is on edge. The students feel it in the halls, in the very magic of the castle.
They don’t just fear Ilay’s coldness anymore; they fear the fact that Taeui is shutting him out.
Whispers fill the hallways:
“Did you see that duel?”
“They’re not just fighting in DADA. It’s everywhere.”
“The power couple’s broken, isn’t it?”
“This is worse than Voldemort. No joke. I feel like I’m about to die just walking past them.”
The Professors Discuss Their Options
In a secluded corner of the staffroom, the professors hold an emergency meeting. The atmosphere is heavy.
They’re concerned, deeply concerned.
This is no longer just a couple’s spat. This is a ticking time bomb.
Chang-in sits forward, furrowing his brows.
"We need to figure out how to handle this. It's beyond personal. They’re killing each other with magic in the classroom. I can’t—"
“I don’t know how to deal with this either,” Professor McGonagall says with an exasperated sigh.
"This is terrifying. It’s not just competition; it’s becoming dangerous. They’ve both got too much power. We might need to intervene before someone gets seriously hurt."
“I don’t think it’s just a physical thing anymore,” Professor Snape adds, eyes dark and unblinking.
"It’s psychological warfare. If they keep this up, they'll destroy each other."
Back in the Great Hall, things are more awkward than usual.
Taeui sits at the Hufflepuff table, looking almost cheerful, his usual goofy self, but there’s a quiet coldness in his smile.
He’s still warm to everyone else, but to Ilay... the air is heavy. His gaze, fleeting and uncomfortable, avoids Ilay completely.
Ilay sits at the Slytherin table, staring at Taeui from across the hall. His lips are a thin line. The coldness in his eyes doesn’t hide the anger simmering just beneath the surface.
The tension is unbearable.
Jaeui's Growing Concern
After the incident in class, Jaeui tracks Taeui down in the library. Taeui is sitting by the window, staring out at the snow.
Jaeui slides into the seat next to him.
“You can’t keep doing this, Tae. The whole school feels it.”
Taeui looks at him, eyes wide and innocent, but there’s something… off. Something is too blank.
“I’m fine, Jae. Don’t worry. Everything’s fine.”
But it’s not. Jaeui knows it. And deep down, Taeui knows it too.
“I’m just trying to protect them,” Taeui mutters softly.
“I need to stop hurting them with my weakness.”
Ilay, back in his Slytherin dorm, tries to meditate, but it’s no use. The magic inside him is restless, furious.
This is war.
A war of wills. And he’s losing.
He sits up and clutches the edge of his bed, teeth gritted. The mental strain of the constant fight is wearing him down.
Petty Arguments to Full-Blown Hexes
It’s lunchtime in the Great Hall, and the usual buzz of students is around the tables. The air is thick with the undercurrent of unease.
Taeui sits at the Hufflepuff table, practically vibrating with energy as he talks to his friends, laughing with his usual warmth. Across the hall, Ilay glares at him from the Slytherin table, his eyes cold. He hasn’t said a word to Taeui since their DADA duel, but the tension is palpable.
Then, it happens.
The First Hex
The moment of silence before chaos strikes. Taeui’s arm accidentally brushes Ilay’s while reaching for a drink. It’s a small moment, barely noticeable to anyone else, but to them, it’s everything.
Ilay’s temper snaps.
“You think you can just touch me like that?” he growls, his hand already flicking a wand at Taeui.
“I don’t think so.”
A flash of green light bursts from Ilay’s wand, a petrificus totalus aimed directly at Taeui. But it’s a slow, deliberate shot, not the usual casual reflex.
Taeui reacts immediately, his wand out, just as fast.
“Protego!”
The spell bounces harmlessly off his shield, and with a smirk, Taeui flicks his wand again.
“You think you can freeze me, Ilay? Let’s see how you like this.”
“Confundus!”
A blast of confusion hex shoots from Taeui’s wand, hitting Ilay square in the chest. For a split second, Ilay stumbles, his expression flickering with confusion before he rights himself, eyes narrowing with fury.
“Oh, it’s on, then,” Ilay sneers, his hand moving faster than a snake’s strike.
“Stupefy!”
The students around them begin to panic, ducking out of the way, murmuring, but no one dares to step in. This is not the playful back-and-forth they once shared. This is a battle.
The magic intensifies. They’re not using regular spells anymore. It’s personal. Taeui conjures a blast of fire, but Ilay counters it with ice, the clash filling the hall with sizzling steam. Sparks fly everywhere as they raise the stakes, each spell more dangerous than the last.
“I’m tired of you always trying to control me, Ilay!” Taeui yells, throwing another spell his way.
Ilay smirks darkly. “You don’t get to control anything, Taeui. Not anymore.”
The tension between them feels like it could tear the castle apart. No one is sure whether they should intervene or just let them fight it out.
As expected, Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall rush in, their wands raised.
“Enough!” Snape shouts, the force of his voice cutting through the chaos.
For a moment, everything stops, and the room suddenly becomes still.
McGonagall’s eyes are wild with disbelief.
“What in Merlin’s name is going on with you two? We told you to work through this, not fight each other!”
“I’m not fighting him!” Taeui snaps back, his breath coming out in quick gasps.
“I’m defending myself! He’s lost it, Professor!”
Ilay’s teeth grind together, his hands twitching toward his wand again.
“It’s not my fault he can’t keep his distance.”
What Happened to the Power Couple?
The hall is silent, students looking at each other, unsure of how to respond. The relationship that once made them the power couple of Hogwarts now feels strained. What happened to the affectionate glances, the sweet gestures? The world had once adored them as an ideal, but now… now they’ve become arch-nemeses.
In the staffroom, the professors are now gathered, discussing the couple's rapid descent. Chang-in, his face pale, rubs his temples.
“Can anyone fix this? They’re killing each other, and it’s affecting the whole school. They’re not just fighting over spells anymore. They’re fighting over… everything.”
“I’ve never seen them like this,” Kyle adds quietly, his face grim.
“I thought maybe it was a phase, but this… this is beyond anything I expected. I don’t know if I can take this anymore.”
Snape, unusually concerned, shakes his head.
Ilay and Taeui: A Fight for Control
The next day, in the empty corridors, Taeui and Ilay once again find themselves face-to-face, though this time, there are no students around to witness the scene.
“You don’t get to control me, Ilay,” Taeui says, his voice low and threatening.
Ilay’s eyes narrow.
"You’ve never understood that this isn’t about control, Taeui.”
“No? You’ve never cared about me. You care about having your perfect picture of control, and that’s it!” Taeui snaps.
“And I won’t be your puppet anymore.”
The magic crackles around them once more as they raise their wands in sync, ready for round two.
Before any more spells can fly, Jaeui bursts onto the scene, eyes wide with panic.
“Enough! Enough, both of you! This isn’t you. Look at yourselves!”
Taeui and Ilay both freeze, wands still raised, but neither of them lowers it.
Jaeui stands there, breathing heavily.
“What happened to the two of you? You were inseparable... now you can barely look at each other without wanting to hex each other to oblivion.”
The hallway falls silent once more. The once inseparable couple of Hogwarts, whose bond everyone envied, now stands at a crossroads.
What happens next?
Will they fight until there’s nothing left? Or will they break, and heal, and rebuild what they once had?
The tension between Ilay and Taeui had reached a breaking point. The halls of Hogwarts, once warmed by their magnetic presence, now froze whenever they crossed paths. They no longer walked together, sat apart in classes, and refused even to make eye contact during meals.
The whispers grew louder. Rumors spiraled, from betrayal to curses gone wrong. But no one really knew.
What everyone did know was that the former “lovers of the century” were now public enemies number one and two. And Hogwarts? Hogwarts was suffering.
It started small. A minor jinx here, a tripping spell there. But by the end of the week, spells were flying like fireworks.
In Charms class, Ilay had hexed Taeui’s wand to scream every time he used a spell. Taeui retaliated by slipping a subtle, sticky jinx into Ilay’s seat, making him stand all class with a grimace on his face.
During Transfiguration, Taeui’s inkwell exploded mid-essay, and everyone knew Ilay was behind it. Taeui answered with a hex that turned Ilay’s hair bubblegum pink and made it float like he was underwater.
Professors lost their minds trying to keep them apart. Students were torn between watching their every move and ducking for cover. It got to a point where someone always had to intervene before it escalated to actual dueling.
Then came the moment.
In the Great Hall, during breakfast, a whisper from Taeui, “Your eyeliner’s uneven,” sparked a full wand-out standoff.
Ilay: “Fix your taste first before criticizing mine.”
Taeui: “At least I have taste!”
Spells shot across the hall. Cutlery exploded. Kyle stormed in but got hit with a stray jelly-legs jinx. Even Peeves, notorious for loving chaos, floated out muttering, “Too intense for me.”
Then, finally, Chang-in entered.
He didn’t shout. He didn’t cast. He simply said, “Sit.”
And by some miracle, they did. Fuming. Panting. Soot-stained and wild-eyed.
Chang-in asked, “What. Is. This. About?”
Ilay: “He started it.”
Taeui: “Liar! You—”
“No.” Chang-in’s voice dropped an octave.
“Tell me the truth.”
A silence stretched long and heavy.
Then Taeui, messy-haired, robes torn, eyes fierce, spoke.
“We argued about wallpaper.”
Everyone leaned in.
“…Wallpaper?” Chang-in repeated.
Taeui, still glaring at Ilay, muttered, “We were talking about our future house. I said I wanted something cozy—colorful walls, yellows and pinks… You know, warm. He said it should be modern, minimalist, and grey and white. I said he had no soul. He said I had the taste of a candy shop.”
Ilay crossed his arms.
“And then he said our house would look like a hospital if I got my way.”
“You said I’d turn our home into a toy store!”
“Because you would!”
Silence.
A loud, stunned silence.
Then the school broke.
Students collapsed on tables, wheezing. Someone cried from laughing. Even the Bloody Baron looked like he wanted to smile.
Because bloody hell?
The fight that shattered classes, scorched robes, and nearly triggered a magical catastrophe… was about wallpaper.
And Ilay and Taeui?
Still scowling. Still furious. And dead serious.
Not a trace of irony in sight.
The entire school was in shambles, not from the damage, but from the sheer absurdity.
That night, Hufflepuff dorms hosted an emergency gossip session. Ravenclaws created a detailed chart with possible compromise palettes. Slytherins made bets on who would cave first. Gryffindors? They were just here for the drama and fireproofed their dorm in case of round two.
Jaeui, who had been uncannily calm during the chaos, simply took out a quill and wrote in his diary: “Ilay and Taeui have finally lost the plot. But I’m not even surprised. P.S. Team Candy Shop.”
Chang-in, who had dealt with warlocks and cursed scrolls in his life, just rubbed his temples and asked the Headmaster for a month-long sabbatical.
Meanwhile…
The school responded in full force.
"Team Candy Shop" vs. "Team Monochrome" badges began appearing overnight.
Team Candy Shop badges were bright pink, glittery, and charmed to smell like strawberries.
Team Monochrome badges were sleek silver, glowed faintly, and whispered “minimalism is power” every hour.
A 5th-year Hufflepuff started selling wallpaper swatches at Hogsmeade weekends.
“Build Your Dream Home: Support Your Favorite Lover!”
Proceeds went to a “Repaint Hogwarts” fund, which, ironically, didn’t need repainting yet.
A group of enthusiastic 3rd-years published a satirical paper titled “Interior Design: The Ultimate Relationship Test.”
Meanwhile, Ilay and Taeui weren’t speaking.
Taeui charmed the DADA classroom so Ilay’s wand would draw sparkly hearts whenever he tried to cast. Ilay retaliated by flipping Taeui’s bed upside down every morning.
The professors held a secret meeting in the staff room. The agenda?
“How to Keep Hogwarts Intact Until Ilay and Taeui Apologize to Each Other.”
Snape Clone #3 (Ilay’s favorite brooding professor): “We must separate them. Permanently.”
McGonagall Stand-In (Chang-in whispering through gritted teeth): “They’re soulmates! They argued about WALLPAPER. They’ll be back together once someone admits defeat.”
Kyle, having suffered the most, just sighed deeply and stared into space.
“I’ve fought dragons. This is worse.”
To add insult to injury, someone nominated Ilay and Taeui AGAIN for the yearbook superlatives:
Most Likely to Destroy the School Over Domestic Design
Biggest Drama Queens in Love
Most Likely to Still Make Out in the Middle of a Fight
And yes, the betting pool was back.
This time: How long until they make up and kiss in front of everyone again?
Jaeui bet 3 days. He had that look again.
Day Three. The Bet is On.
The entire school was tense.
Jaeui sat in the library with his arms folded, sipping tea like an old prophet watching the world unfold.
“Any minute now,” he said, as a chorus of eavesdroppers around him held their breath.
Ilay, still the personification of Crazy Rick™, the Ice Prince of Durmstrang, was standing in the courtyard talking to a girl about their joint Charms project.
His expression was blank, cold, and distant. The courtyard was packed, but no one dared interrupt.
And then…
Taeui appeared.
His robes a little ruffled, hair slightly wind-blown, a bit of glitter on his cheek (how? no one knows), and a determined glint in his eye.
Whispers began to rise like a wave.
“It’s happening.”
“It’s the puppy face, isn’t it?”
“HE’S USING THE LOOK.”
Taeui approached Ilay slowly, dramatically, and summoned the Saddest Puppy Look™ ever seen at Hogwarts.
Bottom lip trembling.
Eyes big and glassy.
Head tilted slightly like a lost lamb in a snowstorm.
A single sparkling tear, maybe? No one could tell if it was drama or magic.
Ilay turned his head. His icy stare landed on Taeui.
Silence.
And then—
His eyes widened.
His pupils dilated.
His posture stiffened like a statue cracked down the middle.
Taeui, voice soft and devastating:
“You… don’t love me anymore?”
The entire courtyard gasped.
The girl next to Ilay? Slowly backed away in fear of becoming collateral damage.
Ilay blinked.
Once.
Twice.
Then—
He dropped everything (literally, the girl’s parchment fluttered into the fountain) and swept Taeui into the most devastating, intense, gut-wrenchingly dramatic hug Hogwarts had ever witnessed.
Ilay, his voice low and broken:
“Of course I do. I’m sorry.”
Taeui melted into him.
“I missed you, you broody lunatic.”
The school. Broke.
Again.
Screams echoed.
Pigeons scattered.
A 2nd year fainted.
A banner unfurled itself from Gryffindor Tower, reading: “True Love Wins”
Kyle, watching from a window, muttered, “I don’t know if I should cry or start drinking firewhisky.”
Chang-in, calmly sipping tea beside him: “Bet’s off. Jaeui wins again.”
Jaeui, from his perch in the library, simply stood and said, “Thank you. I’ll take that magical first edition of ‘Advanced Alchemy for the Doomed and in Love’ now.”
The Courtyard of Redemption
The courtyard where the Epic Hug™ took place was never the same again.
A Hufflepuff 2nd year taped a sign that read:
“The Scene of Redemption: True Love Was Witnessed Here”
…and no one took it down.
Couples started going there to argue so that they could dramatically reconcile and “absorb the energy.”
Some even started reenacting Ilay and Taeui’s moment line by line.
The courtyard’s magical energy got so saturated with romantic drama that the grass sparkles when people kiss.
Taeui thinks it’s hilarious.
Ilay refuses to enter the courtyard now.
Jaeui rolled his eyes and muttered, “Idiots. All of you.”
Fluff Time: Cursed with Affection
Once they were officially, publicly, no-longer-feuding, Taeui and Ilay… overcorrected.
Now they’re not just a power couple.
They are a hazard to public peace.
Ilay’s hand is always on Taeui’s waist.
Taeui kisses him before and after every class.
They make out behind floating bookcases.
Ilay, mid-duel in DADA, got distracted because Taeui winked at him.
He lost for the first time in five years.
Slytherin wept.
Kyle walked into the staff room, dropped his briefcase on the floor, and said, “I take back everything. The Cold War was better. This is… insufferable.”
Chang-in: “You say that every year.”
Bonus Chaos: The Courtyard Pilgrimage
A small club has formed:
“Ilay x Taeui Truthers Society”
Their goals include:
- Documenting every PDA instance
- Holding court in the courtyard once a week for storytelling
- Creating hand-drawn zines featuring Taeui’s puppy face at different intensities
- Selling “You Don’t Love Me Anymore…” badges
Ilay once found a drawing of him blushing in one of those zines.
He silently handed it to Taeui.
Taeui framed it.