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namjoon has a little alcove.
in a dorm where he has to share with other ravenclaws, privacy is a very sacred concept; a concept his dormmates never seem to be able to grasp, especially not junmyeon. he's been rooming with junmyeon ever since first year, and if he's being brutally honest, the boy does get on his fucking nerves sometimes.
(junmyeon also tends to sleep-curse and sparks often shoot out of his wand while he's asleep. once, he'd forgotten to close his curtains, promptly falling asleep after a few minutes. in his sleep, he'd murmured an incendio and had set namjoon's curtains on fire. needless to say, namjoon feels regular bouts of fear when he's besides the boy.)
come one monday morning, second week of his first term as a hogwarts student in his second year, he'd been trying to get away from taehyung and jimin's pranks when he came across an alcove on the third-floor corridor.
the corridor was off-limits to most hogwarts students, from the first years till the third years, and the higher-ups were heavily advised to avoid breezily walking around the corridor, in the occasion they come across, say, blast-ended skrewts or possibly even manticores. (namjoon heavily suspects that the manticores had been illegally bred, but what is illegal breeding to hagrid)
the care of magical creatures teacher had specifically requested a charmed room at the end of the corridor, akin to that of the room of requirements, and mcgonagall, generous lady that she is, had provided him one.
for what reason hagrid needed a room inside the castle itself, namjoon does not know, but suspects it's because hagrid feels sad leaving the creatures outside when the winters get cold.
most of the magical creatures reside behind double doors (the unicorns had firmly rejected the idea of being confined in a room, let alone a room inside the castle), spelled tightly shut and guarded by a gargoyle. the creatures aren't very dangerous, so as to say they won't eat him alive, but namjoon has been taking the class ever since he was a third year, and he knows that even the smallest magical bug can do some form of harm to him, so he doesn't challenge the critters' ability and merely does what hagrid tells him to do during their classes.
his alcove is only a few steps away from the room, hidden behind the tapestry of barnabas the barmy and is carefully hidden from sight.
(after the battle of hogwarts, the room of requirements had promptly fallen apart and was irreparable and barnabas had requested to have his tapestry moved elsewhere.)
four years later, the alcove is still in very good condition, thanks to his protection and tender loving and care, with the added effect of anti-eroding spells.
namjoon stumbles into the corridor after back-to-back alchemy and figures he can get a little bit more of studying in before his quiz in slughorn's class. he'd opted out of staying in the divination class, trelawney was out sick and since no one else was 'adequate' enough to replace her, divination was free class and the students roamed around the castle.
he wobbles over to the tapestry and gives a tired wave to barnabas, who tips and waves his hat in greeting, sweeps the corner of the fabric aside and slips inside the alcove.
he pulls out a piece of parchment paper and transfigures it into a pillow, placing it on the floor and plopping down, sighing when his butt makes contact with the soft material.
he's dead beat.
his day didn't start out so well - junmyeon setting fire to his bed post, taehyung knocking his goblet over and spilling pumpkin juice all over his robes, running into the double doors of the great hall and getting a bruise smack-dab in the middle of his forehead. needless to say, he's not having the best time of his life and he could use a break.
a long break.
maybe he could ask hoseok to stupefy him. although he doubts hoseok would actually do it, hufflepuff peace and all.
he huffs and runs a hand through his hair, sifting through his bag and pulling out his potions book. he doesn't have much left, had covered most of it last night before he fell asleep, but he was as blank as a sheet when it came to polyjuice and the draught of living death.
namjoon's face is scrunched up into a grimace, internally musing about his bad experiences with potions class when the corner of the tapestry is pulled back and his peace is broken.
the boy blinks.
"did barny let you in?" the boy asks, furrowing his eyebrows and shifting on his feet and glancing at the front of the tapestry before locking eyes with namjoon once again. "he never lets strangers in."
barny?
"barnabas," the boy clarifies and namjoon nods. "that's odd."
namjoon cocks his head. "barnabas has been letting me in here since second year. i've never seen anyone else come here before."
the boy squints his eyes and purses his lips. "because this is my alcove," he says matter-of-factly and there is so much territorial possessiveness in his tone that namjoon is very affronted.
"your alcove?" namjoon says, incredulous. "as far as i know, this is my alcove. i've been coming here for four years- ask barnabas."
"i'm too tired for this shit," the boy sighs, stepping further into the alcove and dropping the end of the tapestry. "look, this is my napping spot, so unless you're gonna go away and look for another alcove-"
namjoon tears his gaze away from the boy and surveys the room. there's plenty of space, of course, and they would fit in together so namjoon shuffles a bit closer to the window and waves a hand in front of him. if the boy was going to stay quiet and nap like he said, namjoon doubts they'll have a lot of conflict.
"you're, um, welcome to-" namjoon says, gesturing the all the empty space and forcing a smile out on his face. "-share! with me- if you don't mind."
the boy's face scrunches up in contemplation before it smooths back out and he sighs. "i guess that'd be fine." he walks over and takes a seat opposite namjoon, opening his bag and taking out several sheets of parchment before laying them out on the space in between them. namjoon stares curiously. he thought he was going to nap?
the latter sees the confusion on namjoon's face and chuckles a bit. "i need pillows," he quips, fishing his wand out from his pocket and grasping it in his hand, waving it loosely over the sheets.
his wand waving is lazy and his wand is very loose in his palm but the spell comes out crisp and clear and the pillows are transfigured in a blink. namjoon's never seen anyone make spell-casting look lazy and slothful and he is left slightly unsettled. he glances at the tie hanging lax around the boy's neck.
green stripes.
the boy takes his transfigured pillows, propping them up next to the wall before leaning back with a pleased hum, pillowing his hands under his cheek, closing his eyes. his breaths even out slowly and in a few minutes he appears to have already entered deep slumber and namjoon is once again left affronted.
he stares.
long, curved eyelashes and a sharp nose, tilted upwards slightly, the tip a shade of pink. namjoon thinks he looks like a fae. his green hair (green for slytherin? but who'd go that far for house representation) complements his pale, almost transluscent, skin and he's suddenly curious if the boy is mixed-blood.
namjoon entertains the idea that he may be part-ghost, since he's practically the same color as peeves and the bloody baron.
entertains another that he may be part-iara from muggle mythology, green hair and all, when the boy sniffs and namjoon startles, turns back to his potions book and faces away from the sleeping figure, shuffling closer to the wall.
namjoon belatedly realizes later when he's lying in bed, back in the ravenclaw dorms, that he never got to know the stranger's name.
okay, in namjoon's defense, he thought the boy was dead.
lying smack-dab in the middle of the alcove with no pillows to cushion himself, the mint-haired boy was lying stock-still on the floor and namjoon's heart dropped when he saw him. his arms were lying haphazardly on the floor, causing namjoon to trip over them and he falls to the floor on his knees, grimacing at the pain.
he quickly shuffles closer to the boy and raises a hand, poised and ready to poke the other boy on the cheek, when he sees his chest rise and fall, miniscule movement but movement nonetheless. he opts out of poking him in the cheek and instead places his finger under the boy's nose sighing in relief when slow puffs of air meet his skin.
his sigh is cut short when the boy's eyes shoot open and namjoon screams. he backs up and sticks to the wall, hands raised in surrender.
"what were you doing?" the boy asks, rising up to his elbows, eyebrows furrowing in deep confusion and namjoon thinks he's never seen someone look so disturbed.
"i thought you got stupefied," he rushes out, closing his eyes and swallowing, "or, like, petrified. worst case scenario- dead." he opens his eyes and the boy gazing at him with so much amusement in his eyes and namjoon feels like an idiot.
"you thought i was dead?" he laughs.
"try finding someone on the floor, star-fished and barely moving, and let's see what conclusion you'll come to."
the boy shrugs. "'dead' is an accurate description." he sits up further and leans against the wall, mirroring namjoon's pose. "try having double potions class in a dungeon for the first two lessons of the day and let's see if you don't end up wishing for someone to petrify you."
namjoon lets out a low hiss. "that's harsh. are you a sixth-year?"
"yeah," the boy replies, "by the dead look on your face, i take it you are too."
"sixth-year ravenclaw, kim namjoon," he introduces himself.
the boy reciprocates, "sixth-year slytherin, min yoongi. pureblood." namjoon finds he's slightly bummed to find that yoongi wasn't actually part-ghost before he stops himself.
"are you bunking class with me here?" he asks, yoongi.
yoongi blinks, "i guess. i have ancient runes. i'd rather stab myself in the eye with my quill than go through another class of that. plus, professor babbling despises me," a chuckle, "she thinks i look ridiculous and i'm rebelling, like some muggle teenager." he combs a hand through his hair and namjoon's hand twitches, wanting to do this same.
"why green?" he finds himself asking.
"green represents resurrection- rebirth," yoongi says, tossing his head back and leaning it against the wall. "japanese muggleborns regard it as the color of eternal life."
"do you always think about symbolism before dyeing your hair?"
yoongi smirks, "no- i dye and then i research."
namjoon hums and says, "you look good," before stopping himself. "-i mean, the hair. it looks good. you look good," he finishes lamely. he drops his head and sighs.
good going, kim namjoon. you're a real fucking champ.
he hears a little laugh and looks up. yoongi's eyes are half-moons and his heart stops.
"thanks," yoongi says in between bouts of small laughter. "you look good, too." he gestures to namjoon's unruly blond mop before adding, "it looks better when it's not on fire or doused in potions."
yoongi's smile turns mischevious and teasing.
namjoon groans, "so you are in my potions class." he'd hate to think of what states yoongi has seen him in, but he takes a good guess and thinks that it's probably not 'intellectual'.
namjoon has quite a handful of classes with sixth-year slytherins: herbology, alchemy, transfiguration and not to mention, potions. the slytherins in his year have quite a good reputation for being straight-'outstanding' students and he feels a bit jealous that they have good hands and can handle potions without fucking it up.
he's a mess when it comes to potions- sure, he's good at listing characteristics and effects but when it comes to practical implementation, he fucks up and every now and then and his potions end up butchered or promptly explode in his face.
(slughorn had said you remind me of seamus and to this day, namjoon is still confused because who the fuck is seamus?)
"potions is easy," yoongi breezes, waving a hand in the air as if that would brush away namjoon's bad grades.
"say that to my constant 'acceptable's."
"i told slughorn to give you an 'exceeds expectations'," yoongi smirks. "with the way your cauldron blew up when we were making felix felicis, i was sure it was a guaranteed 'outstanding'. honestly, you even showing up to class even after having set fire to almost all of the apparatus in slughorn's cupboard exceeds expectations."
namjoon groans. "don't mock me, i had occamy eggshells in my hair for days."
his potion was supposed to resemble 'molten gold' and namjoon knew he fucked up when his potion resembled frog shit and he had about three seconds to duck under his desk when it started bubbling vigorously, before promptly exploding, spraying undissolved eggshells and ashwinder eggs all over the place.
the slytherin raises his hands in surrender, "i'm not mocking you!" but the laughter in his voice betrays his words. namjoon waves it away- he's used to people laughing at his misfortunes with potions.
a beat of silence passes before yoongi speaks up. "i could-" he hesitates, "- i could tutor you?" and it comes out as a question rather than an actual statement.
namjoon straightens immediately. "would you really?"
"i mean, yeah." yoongi looks unsure of the situation he currently put himself in, but eventually plows through. "you always seem to always be here in the alcove so why not. i could tutor you whenever."
"thank you," namjoon breathes out, "i really hate getting 'acceptable's."
yoongi winces. "yeah, i know how that feels. i might be good at potions- great, yeah- but when it comes to everything else, i'm a flop."
"i could tutor you, then," namjoon smiles. "tit for tat."
in between hectic classes and due spellwork, they meet almost every day for tutoring, and namjoon's life is suddenly overloaded with yoongiyoongiyoongi and he finds his head spinning.
yoongi's a good tutor, calm and slow when it comes to teaching, patient and waits for namjoon to understand the major notes and points.
namjoon's a good tutor, too; teaches yoongi's arithmancy and coaxes him to study for his ancient runes classes. yoongi's quite bad at numerology, namjoon discovers, easily frustrated when he can't get the right answer or when he doesn't understand concepts, and namjoon is there to cool him down, pushing the books away and letting him breathe.
they occasionally visit their old routine: namjoon studying in one corner, surrounded by books, while yoongi naps in the opposite one, surrounded by transfigured pillows and curled up in a blanket.
it's during times like this that has namjoon's mind reeling.
admittedly, he never really gets much studying done, instead opting to stare at yoongi from his corner of the alcove and watching the boy sleep. namjoon knows it's a bit creepy- a lot creepy, actually- but he can't help it.
yoongi shifts quite a lot in his sleep, turns his body this way and that, often ends up facing namjoon and pillowing his hands under his cheeks, smushing them tightly and making his lips pucker out. namjoon thinks he looks ridiculous but god if he doesn't find it absolutely endearing.
with the way the light comes in from the open window and falls around yoongi, namjoon thinks he looks like an absolute saint and his heart feels tight.
he often finds himself only snapping out of it abruptly, breath caught in his chest, when yoongi shuffles awake. yoongi is like a cat; small and soft, and the resemblance gets stronger when he stretches himself awake and blinks to get rid of the sleep in his eyes.
"your hair's a mess," namjoon says, watching yoongi sit up and rub at his eyes. he grabs his wand and casts a time spell. "yoongi, our alchemy class starts in thirteen minutes."
it's a slow thursday, the kind that namjoon hates and always hastens to avoid. he had come by the alcove after his transfiguration, skipping twycross' apparition class, and opting to rest and hoping the other boy would be there . he'd found yoongi lying in his usual spot, slow breaths even and deep.
"what's after alchemy?" namjoon asks him, and he somehow manages to make out the words "care" and "magical creatures" wedged in between yoongi's groans.
yoongi whines. "can we not go to alchemy?" he cocks his head to the side and looks at namjoon with a grimace.
"no, we gotta go, you skipped on monday," namjoon says, packing his books away and standing up. "come on," he coaxes, raising his eyebrows expectantly.
yoongi groans once more but nevertheless accepts namjoon's extended hands and lets him hoist him up. he scoops up his bag and lifts the tapestry, barnabas tipping his hat as per usual and yoongi nods in acknowledgment before turning and heading down the hall, namjoon in tow.
namjoon sits in alchemy minutes later, twirling his quill in between his fingers, tapping his foot out of boredom. a pricking sensation grows on the back of his head and he glances behind him. he finds yoongi, eyebrows furrowed and eyes squinted, chin resting on a palm, staring at him with so much concentration namjoon isn't even sure he's blinking.
only then does yoongi blink, finding out he's been caught. he lowers his head but it doesn't do much to hide the pink layered thick on the tip of his ears and the corners of namjoon's mouth lift upwards.
he brings his own head down, glances at the hand yoongi had held earlier when hoisting himself up, and forces himself to get rid of the warmth still present there.
he's so fucked.
yoongi doesn't even remember letting him inside his room, let alone opening the door for him, but like everything that has to do with jeongguk, yoongi just sighs and lets it happen.
"who's namjoon?" jeongguk asks, leaning against the door of yoongi's room, watching the older slytherin.
yoongi ignores his question and continues to write the finishing touches on his essay, letting the scratching of his quill be the answering noise to jeongguk's question.
"hyung," jeongguk whines. the lamp light flickers on and off and yoongi suspects the younger has his wand out. he lifts his own, casting a silencio around himself and his desk, effectively cutting off jeongguk's noise of indignance.
the silence is broken in two minutes and he sighs, knowing it was definitely too good to be true.
"jeongguk, get the fuck out- i don't know how you got in but get the fuck back out."
"i'm asking a very simple question," jeongguk replies, injecting as much innocence in his tone as he can. "why are you always avoiding my questions?" yoongi glances behind him and jeongguk has a smirk on his face, nothing short of evil and malicious. "i just want to know who namjoon is."
yoongi bristles. "who's that?"
"i don't know, which is why i'm asking you," he replies. "you were muttering his name in your sleep."
his blood runs cold. "i was?" yoongi mentally curses himself. muttering namjoon's name in your sleep, honestly yoongi, you're losing your touch, he chides himself. all for one ravenclaw.
jeongguk shrugs. "i went inside to borrow some ink and-"
"-and how many times have i told you to stop entering my room without my permisison?" yoongi admonishes but knows it falls on deaf ears when the younger boy just waves a hand in the air, dismissing it.
"maybe a couple more will do the trick," he says, "but anyway who is he?"
yoongi sighs and gives up, halting his quill, and casting a drying spell on his parchment before rolling it up and stuffing it in his bag. he heads to the bathroom to change, unsurprised to find jeongguk still in his room when he comes back out. he runs a hand through his hair and goes for his usual tone of impassiveness.
"kim namjoon. he's a ravenclaw. sixth year."
at this, jeongguk raises an eyebrow. "and this ravenclaw is someone you like enough to mutter his name in your sleep?"
he sighs, foregoing his initial pretense of indifference, "brat, let it go." he spells his tie done and shrugs his robes on, snatching his bag from the foot of his desk. "i'm leaving."
"are you actually going to arithmancy?" jeongguk laughs. "you never go to your arithmancy periods in the morning."
"no, i'm-," yoongi says before he stops himself. "-why should i tell you?" he shakes his head, cursing his loose mouth, pushing past jeongguk and descending down the spiral stairs and into the common room, making for the entrance.
"are you going to namjoon?" the boy's tone is nothing but teasing and yoongi flicks his wand over his shoulder.
"i'm gonna hex you."
jeongguk chuckles, "and i'm gonna follow you!"
yoongi swivel around, glare in place. "don't you fucking dare."
"then tell me," jeongguk whines, "what harm is there? if you tell me, i promise i won't follow you! swear on merlin."
he sighs and lowers his wand. "i give up," he groans. "don't follow me." he turns around again, heads to the portrait entrance, mutters the password and slipping through when it swings open.
a resonating shout of "i'll take that as a yes!" reaches him before the portait closes and yoongi shakes his head.
yoongi doesn't go to arithmancy, of course.
he heads to the third-floor corridor instead, entirely surprised to find namjoon there.
the ravenclaw is pacing, a hand in his hair, tugging firmly and yoongi grimaces. that cannot be good for his scalp. namjoon startles when yoongi raps his wand against the wall.
"namjoon? you alright?" he asks, eyebrows coming together. he places a hand on the taller boy's shoulder.
namjoon rubs a hand down his face as if that would rid him of his stress. "i forgot what goes into that elixir- the one that induces euphoria." his hand goes back up to grip at his hair and yoongi stops it. "i lost my notes and i can't find my books and- is it shrivelfig or wormwood? i don't remember-"
"namjoon, calm down," he shushes, letting go of namjoon's wrist to shuffle around in his book bag. "take my book- it has my little notes in it, too, so that'll help you while you're brewing it."
the ravenclaw gratefully takes the book from yoongi's hand, stuffing it into his own bag.
"and both shrivelfig and wormwood go into the elixir- shrivelfig first then wormwood after you've added the porcupine quills, peppermint, and the sopophorous beans."
and maybe it was yoongi's still sleep-muddled state or merely his own will that makes him lift his hands to cup namjoon's face, smoothing his hair back as well. namjoon's skin is warm, soft and smooth underneath his own and he inwardly screams when namjoon nuzzles the palm of his hand.
"have you slept these past few days?" he asks, prodding at the dark bags under namjoon's eyes.
a resounding sigh is the only reply he gets and yoongi tsks in admonishment. "namjoon, you look like the bloody baron."
"says you," namjoon chuckles weakly. "i thought you were part-ghost when i first met you." yoongi rolls his eyes.
"i'm serious."
namjoon sighs, "no, i haven't slept in, i'd say, two days tops?"
yoongi thumps the side of his head, glaring at him, "do you need me to take you back to your dorm and take care of you?" again, maybe it was his sleep-muddled mind talking or maybe it was his current lack of coherence due to namjoon still nuzzling his palm, eyelashes brushing against his skin.
namjoon's quick reply of 'yes' makes him redden. "i was joking," yoongi says. "you have to go to potions."
the boy groans.
yoongi casts a time spell. "class is in twenty minutes but in your current state, i'd say it'll take you an hour to get to the dungeons."
namjoon groans and gives up, grabbing his book bag and making for the entrance, hand poised in the air to wave to yoongi. his body is wobbling and yoongi sighs.
"hold on," he calls out, digging into his pockets and searching for a pepperup potion. his hands come across a vial and he lets out a triumphant sound when he sees the yellow potion swishing inside. "drink this."
namjoon swivels around and readily accepts the vial, downing all the contents in one go.
yoongi chuckles, "i could have easily poisoned you right there."
"at this point, there isn't anything that you could do to make things worse- everything just goes downhill from this point," namjoon replies, handing the empty vial back to yoongi, who stashes it inside his bag.
"i'll see you in charms."
namjoon's smile is tired but it still manages to stretch across his face.
"and with that, everything goes back uphill."
namjoon stands outside the slytherin dungeons.
earlier in the day, he'd agreed to come down to the slytherin common room to work on the potions essay he'd been appointed. namjoon had groaned when slughorn had passed the assignment along and hearing his pained cries, yoongi had offered help, told him to come down to his room after dinner.
so here he is, lost down in the dungeons, with no idea how to enter.
he stands there, contemplating his life decisions when someone comes along. the green scarf wrapped around the boy's neck makes namjoon sigh in relief. the stranger notices him and raises an eyebrow.
"are you looking for someone?" the boy asks.
namjoon nods. "i need to go inside but the person i'm supposed to be seeing didn't tell me the password." he grimaces. "nigellus has been glaring and hurling insults at me for the past ten minutes."
the boy laughs and points at his tie. "you're a ravenclaw standing in front of slytherin territory. of course he's going to glare at you." he walks closer to the entrance and mutters "machiavellian" and nigellus' portrait swings open.
the slytherin beckons for him to follow and namjoon hastily walks over, stepping through the portrait and following the boy further down into the dungeons.
they breach the common room and namjoon is very much startled. it's so dark and so green, which namjoon should have expected, but the startling amount of green ornaments and green furniture takes him a couple of minutes to adjust to. there are paintings hung up on every possible surface and namjoon grimaces at one portrait depicting a slain unicorn. slytherins always did love their portraits macabre and slightly traumatizing. (thank merlin he was in ravenclaw.)
"so, who are you looking for?" the boy asks, ushering namjoon towards the couches milling at one corner of the room.
"min yoongi."
the boy's eyebrows furrow. "yoongi-hyung?" namjoon nods. "that's odd. this is the first time yoongi hyung is bringing someone back to the dungeon, let alone a ravenclaw-" he stops and suddenly narrows his eyes at namjoon, "-hang on. are you namjoon?"
"how do you know-"
the slytherin's expression brightens and namjoon is startled by the sudden contrast. "so, you're what yoongi-hyung has been doing lately!"
namjoon is affronted.
what yoongi has been doing lately?
"yoongi's told you about me?"
"well," the boy smiles, but it's nothing short of mischevious, "'told' would be the wrong term. i pulled it out of him." the boy's face turns contemplative for a few seconds. "you know i always did wonder where he snuck off to every time we had free classes- tried following him, too, but that only got me hexed- but now-" he waves his hands all over namjoon, gesturing with a smirk namjoon's sure is borderline evil, "-now i see what he's on about."
namjoon doesn't know how to feel about the current situation he's suddenly been thrust into.
"how'd you manage to get yoongi-hyung so attached to you that he practically skips most of his wednesday classes and sneaks off to merlin-knows-where?" the boy asks, a finger stroking his chin.
on wednesdays, namjoon rarely goes to his classes, attends only magical theory and potions, maybe ancient runes if he was in a good mood. he instead opts to stay at the alcove, where yoongi always seemed to be whenever he arrived. he'd never really thought about it- just assumed yoongi had a lot of free time- and just enjoyed yoongi's company.
but now this slytherin right here is telling namjoon that yoongi skips most, if not all, his classes just to sneak off to their alcove and namjoon doesn't know how to coordinate himself.
"jeon jeongguk, which first-year are you harrassing now- namjoon?"
yoongi is descending from a spiral staircase, arms halfway inside a dark robe, looking startled at the realization of namjoon's presence in their common room.
"how did you get in?" yoongi steps closer to them and glances at jeongguk. "and why are you harrassing an elder? have i not taught you anything?" he ignores jeongguk's indignant sputters and turns to namjoon.
"he found me loitering outside the entrance," namjoon explains, pointing a finger at jeongguk. "you forgot to give me the password."
yoongi has the sense to look a bit sheepish, the expression a little unnatural on his face. "yeah, i realized that and i was gonna go down to great hall to get you but-"
"nigellus almost ate me."
yoongi rolls his eyes. "nigellus can't eat you- he's a portrait. the most he can do is swear at you and call you the medeival equivalent of a pissbaby." he beckons for namjoon to follow him. "come on, let's go to my room."
"ooh, your room?" the other slytherin teases, and wiggles his fingers in their direction. "my, my."
"jeongguk, if you don't shut up, i will not hesitate to body-bind you and throw you into the black lake. i will feed you to the merpeople- if you're lucky maybe the grindylows won't eat you alive," yoongi bites, and namjoon flinches when the smaller boy flicks his wand out and points it in jeongguk's direction. "one more fucking word."
jeongguk doesn't even look perturbed at the wand pointed at him. he rolls his eyes, merely says a remark about yoongi being a kill-joy, before turning around with a loose wave and heading towards the opposite direction, and disappearing up another spiral staircase.
"insubordinate youth," yoongi mutters out, to which namjoon lets out a little chuckle. "come on."
yoongi leads them up the staircase he'd previously descended from, down a hallway and towards a door. he mutters a password- zenith, namjoon rolls his eyes, of course- and door clicks open, yoongi pushing through. namjoon follows, stepping inside and closing the door behind him.
the first thing namjoon notices is a flash of blue.
familiar blue and silver stripes loosely laced around one of the four bedposts of yoongi's bed. he walks closer to it, and in his peripheral view, he can see yoongi's body turn rigid.
"this is-"
a couple of days ago, namjoon had caught up to yoongi heading to the forest for their care of magical creatures class. hands stuffed deep inside the extra coat he'd been wearing, shivering in the cold november air, yoongi looked like he was two minutes away from succumbing to hypothermia, and namjoon had hastened to remove his scarf from his neck.
"yoongi, turn around," he said, raising the scarf and looping it around yoongi's neck and pulling it up so it covered his mouth and nose, eyes being the only thing visible. "you're an idiot for forgetting your scarf. you're gonna get sick."
"i forgot mine at the alcove," yoongi muttered, voice muffled, and said his thanks to namjoon. "now, you're gonna get sick."
he shrugged. "i'm okay, it's not that cold."
okay, maybe namjoon was lying, but he'd rather it was him shivering than yoongi shivering in the cold. he simply pulled his wand out, casting warming spells on his and yoongi's coats, and yoongi sighed at the sudden warmth.
namjoon pushed him forwards, a hand on the small of his back. "we're late, hagrid's waiting."
namjoon walked slow, let yoongi walk ahead and he grinned to himself at the sight of yoongi's green mop of hair buried in his blue scarf.
yoongi stutters and his ears burn, "yeah, i-i was supposed to return it to you, but i always kept forgetting to grab it on my way out the door and-"
"it's- it's okay," namjoon says, voice low and careful. he turns to yoongi, "you can keep it."
he locks gazes with yoongi and once again, he finds his insides clenching and his heart feeling tight.
once again, he feels himself slowly drowning in yoongiyoongiyoongi and he rushes to resurface.
"potions. essay," namjoon breathes, turning away from yoongi and reaching into his bag. "my potions essay- you said you'd help me."
yoongi goes and walks over to his study desk, sitting on one of the chairs and patting the other, motioning for namjoon to sit. namjoon does, putting distance between, enough that yoongi hopefully doesn't notice but enough that namjoon doesn't feel like combusting from the body heat yoongi emits.
"so what do you need?" yoongi asks, sifting through the potions book and casting a lumos, illuminating the room better. the light falls across yoongi's face, his eyes glowing.
i need to get my shit together, namjoon thinks, burning the image of yoongi in soft light behind his eyelids.
yoongi ushers namjoon down the staircase, acts like he doesn't see jeongguk perched on an armchair and feigning interest in a book, a smirk on his lips. he shakes his head, pushing namjoon towards the entrance.
he opens his mouth to say the password but namjoon beats him to it. "machiavellian," the ravenclaw mutters for him, and yoongi laughs.
"look, you're practically a slytherin," he teases, laughing at namjoon's full-body shudder.
"i don't think i can handle any more green- also, i'm positive i'm gonna have nightmares because of your paintings."
yoongi waves a hand. "sehun painted the unicorn ones. they're not all that macabre, though. we mostly just paint snakes or dark lords." they slip out the entrance, namjoon having to adjust his eyes back to the bright light of the corridor.
"thanks for doing my work for me," namjoon thanks him. "i was in a real rut."
he smiles, "it's alright. you help me with arithmancy and i'm the worst at that- even worse than you and potions."
namjoon laughs and waves a hand behind him, "well, i'm gonna go, it's pretty late."
it was almost midnight and he was sure filch was going to be after namjoon for a long time if he got caught out this late but having namjoon in his room was too good, too warm, that he found it very hard to let him go.
namjoon retreats away from yoongi, giving him a soft wave and a soft smile, "good night, yoongi."
he reciprocates the wave, leaning against nigellus' portrait and watching namjoon walk off into the corridor, before disappearing around the corner. nigellus opens back up, letting yoongi inside and he heads for his room but a remark from forgotten jeongguk has him stopping.
"you like him, don't you?" jeongguk's voice is light, unusual to yoongi's ears, and the somewhat awe in his tone serves to unsettle him further.
yoongi stops in his tracks, hand poised on the banister of the stairs and sighs.
"yeah," he mumbles, leaning against the wall and placing his forehead against cool the paint.
"his scarf is in your room," jeongguk notes and yoongi weakly laughs, flimsy and pathetic even to his ears, even shakier when it echoes around the hollow air of the staircase.
"yeah," he repeats, squeezing his eyes shut.
"you really care about him."
"yeah."
jeongguk is silent and yoongi thinks that he's gone back to his reading but is stopped when his voice comes back around. "does he like you back?"
yoongi sighs.
"for his sake, i really hope he doesn't."
"hey, pass me a goblet."
yoongi finishes the food in his mouth before extending a hand to grab a goblet. he hears a ravenclaw in his first year let out a noise of annoyance as yoongi accidentally hits him in the process, but as it is too early in the morning, yoongi merely sends him a cold glare and the ravenclaw backs off.
namjoon notices the affronted look on the first-year's face and chuckles into his goblet of pumpkin juice.
after the battle of hogwarts, house discrimination was mostly abolished. 'mostly' because there were still a few students who decide to hurl insults at the slytherins but due to the actual lack of slytherin students they can hurl insults at, they've mostly stopped and given up.
yoongi is one of the few dozen slytherin students still present at hogwarts, and namjoon had remarked that their table looked lonely and empty, inviting him to the ravenclaw table. an invite which yoongi accepts way too quickly for his liking.
yoongi's sitting next to him at the ravenclaw table. at dinner last night, namjoon had sat with yoongi at the slytherin table but seeing as yoongi couldn't eat his meal properly and spent more time trying to curse jeongguk under his breath, they'd taken to the ravenclaw table.
(jeongguk had spent the entire dinner hurling suggestive question after suggestive question and yoongi had lunged across the table several times, namjoon having to pull him back every time.)
they're sitting at the edge and namjoon subconciously scoots closer so their shoulders are brushing. "what's your first class?" he asks around his mouthful of waffles.
"vector's class," yoongi groans. "arithmancy shouldn't be taught this early in the morning." his chewing is harsh and annoyed and namjoon finds it all endearing.
"i have trelawney, don't be too sad," namjoon quips, spooning another bite of waffle into his mouth.
yoongi glances at him. "i like divination and i like trelawney. i don't, however, like any part of arithmancy nor any part of professor vector." he groans again before muttering "arithmancy witch" as an afterthought.
"come on," namjoon says, finishing up his food and standing up, downing his pumpkin juice before gathering his bag. "we're gonna be late- hey, i'll take you to class. mine is on the same corridor anyway."
so they head out the great hall, yoongi munching on a scone he had grabbed at the last minute, curving the corner and heading to the grand staircase. their classes are on the seventh-floor- arithmancy in classroom 7a and divination in the seventh-floor tower- and by the time they get to the seventh-floor corridor, yoongi is huffing and panting and namjoon's thighs ache, all due to the many staircases they had to climb.
"namjoon, the tower is in the other direction," yoongi says, glancing at the taller boy and pointing to the other end of the corridor.
namjoon rolls his eyes, "i know", before pushing yoongi towards his classroom. "your class is closer. let me drop you off."
yoongi's expression remains perturbed but he relents, allowing namjoon to push him towards the entrance of classroom 7a, bumping into jeongguk who was on his way out.
"i came extra early and even skipped half of breakfast to ask her about my paper, but she's being difficult," jeongguk grumbles to yoongi. "have fun with her- she's in a really great mood."
yoongi groans, "when is she not in a mood to tear my head off?", before turning to namjoon. "go- you can't be late."
"namjoon-hyung!" the other slytherin only now notices namjoon's presence and jeongguk's expression brightens and he smirks. "always very nice to see you."
namjoon offers a loose wave alongside a grimace, before turning to yoongi. "i'll see you in herbology." he heads off to class, ascending the divination staircase and entering the classroom, finding hoseok in their usual seat.
"you're late," hoseok notes, with a slight frown. "you're never late. you either don't come or you're early."
"i-i was caught up with something," namjoon excuses and he feels himself squirm under hoseok's calculating gaze. "stop staring at me."
"something or someone?" hoseok teases. "yoongi's not a something, namjoon." he chastises namjoon mockingly and the ravenclaw can feel his ears burn. "you guys should sit at the hufflepuff table sometime-" at this, namjoon snorts. a slytherin at the hufflepuff table. "-i'd love to meet your new boyfriend."
namjoon chokes and splutters, "he's not- yoongi's not my boyfriend." he hides his face in his hands and wishes the ground would swallow him whole. namjoon wishes a good, strong evanesco spell could work on him, but alas.
"he's not?" the gryffindor looks absolutely puzzled. "you're not together?"
at namjoon's dejected 'no', hoseok has the grace to look apologetic. "i'm sorry, joon, i thought you guys were together. i mean, i assumed- you guys are suddenly always attached at the hip, it wasn't hard to start assumptions."
"no," namjoon supplies, hands playing with the cloth covering the table, fingering the frayed edges of the fabric. "no, we're not-we're not together."
god, does he wish they were, though.
namjoon grabs at yoongi before he heads off to the dungeons after dinner, leaning down so he can whisper quietly in yoongi's ears.
"meet me at the astronomy tower at midnight," namjoon murmurs, smiling excitedly at yoongi, who looks perplexed.
"astronomy tower?" yoongi says, loud and clear. a passing hufflepuff gives them a stare and at the shush that namjoon gives him, yoongi quiets down to a whisper. "at midnight? namjoon, are you absolutely out of your fucking mind?"
namjoon grins once more before leaning closer to yoongi. "trust me on this." he leans back and while there is michief in his eyes, there's also an underlying seriousness that he hopes yoongi will see.
"namjoon, we're gonna get caught," yoongi says later when they're climbing the astronomy tower, hidden under taehyung's invisibility cloak.
namjoon had gone to gryffindor to borrow it and taehyung, always the great advocate for mischief, especially if it was one of his best friends, had lent it quite easily. yoongi's jaw had dropped when he saw the cloak and had slipped under it in seconds.
"we're invisible, yoongi."
"that doesn't stop filch," yoongi whispers.
"filch doesn't patrol the astronomy tower- he doesn't need to. sinistra has wards on the entrance to the rooftop," namjoon says.
yoongi's expression turns panicked. "wards?" he hisses, grabbing at namjoon's arm and stopping him from going further up the staircase. "there are wards? namjoon, how the fuck are we supposed to-"
"-taehyung's cloak passes through wards," he announces, watching in amusement as yoongi's panic sobers down. "i told you to trust me."
"i-i do."
"trust me more," he hums, restarting his ascent up to the rooftop.
sinistra is a smart woman, incredibly smart, but she never took invisibility cloaks into account when building up the wards to keep the rooftop out-of-bounds. taehyung had discovered this in his third year at hogwarts, sneaking up frequently on nights where there wasn't a class and stayed there until early morning.
namjoon reaches the door, mutters an alohomora and the lock clicks. they move forwards, past the line of wards and through the door, out into the open november air. the ravenclaw turns and casts a colloportus on the door, locking it to be safe, before tugging the cloak off their heads.
yoongi walks around the rooftop, tugging his coat tighter around his body, and glances at namjoon. "what now?"
"all of jupiter's moons are on full show tonight- at 12:36am exactly."
"you dragged me here, hidden under an invisibility cloak, risking detention and sinistra's- possibly even mcgonagall's- wrath, just so you could show me jupiter's moons?" yoongi asks, narrowing his eyes.
namjoon grins and nods. he reaches into his bag, takes out the telescope he'd shrunk earlier before he came to get yoongi, casting an augeo to enlarge it again and placing it on the ground.
yoongi regards him in silence before his face smooths out into a little smile and he heads over to namjoon, stopping only when there's a breaths-width of distance in between then. "you're really something, kim namjoon," is all he says before he turns to the telescope, leaving namjoon heavily unsettled.
he breathes heavily, yoongi's scent still lingering under his nose and figures it's a good enough time- figures it's now or never.
he grabs yoongi's hand, lacing their fingers, not missing the way the slytherin jumps, pulling yoongi towards him so they're facing each other.
"actually, i didn't only bring you here so we could look at jupiter together," namjoon confesses, voice barely above a whisper.
yoongi's eyes are wide, confused, and namjoon can see the way his mouth opens and closes but a word never leaves.
"yoongi, i-" namjoon whispers, "-i can't even begin to tell you how i feel about you-"
he startles when yoongi lets go of his hand to cup namjoon's cheeks. he leans forward, placing his head on namjoon's chest and shakes his head vigorously. "don't-" yoongi chokes. "-please don't say it- please don't say anything." his breaths are coming out quick and light and namjoon can feel yoongi's hands trembling on his cheeks.
"yoongi, what-"
"please," yoongi whispers and namjoon's heart falls. "i can't- i can't let you do this to yourself."
"yoongi, i don't understand."
he swallows hard and squeezes his eyes shut and namjoon can see the harsh trembling of his lips. "namjoon, you're too... good... for someone like me, for someone with a reputation like mine-"
namjoon bristles. yoongi thought he cared about his reputation?
in the time he has known yoongi, namjoon has seen him amongst fellow slytherins and amongst other houses. sure, yoongi's parents- leftover ex-death eaters from the battle of hogwarts- do have a reputation. but even after the wreckage and trials of the battle, the house of min still held a very high status, one of high nobility and dignity.
yoongi, the only heir of his name, was, still is, held in very high regard. if yoongi thought namjoon cared about his reputation, then he was making a big mistake.
"yoongi, i couldn't care less if you were part-grindylow," namjoon chuckles, light and in hopes of cracking the soft glass that was the ice they were walking on.
"no, namjoon, you have to understand- my family is really hideous and- and i don't want- namjoon," yoongi's words are all rushed and quiet and namjoon can barely hear him over the breeze. "-the last thing i want is for your reputation to be dirtied because of mine."
namjoon reaches up, tilts yoongi's head upwards and stares right into his eyes. "yoongi, people talk, of course, they do. but i don't care because it's not their yoongi i fell in love with."
"you don't love me-"
"why are so opposed to me loving you?" he doesn't mean to sound heated, but his voice is coming out tensed and hard, and he calms himself, breathing out slowly through his nose. yoongi sees the hard line of his shoulders and places a hand on his chest.
"i'm not opposed- i just," yoongi chokes out a sob. "it's really fucking ugly inside, namjoon, and i don't want you to get that far."
namjoon sighs, cupping yoongi's cheeks and pulling his face closer to his. "everyone has ugly points," he says, leaning in close, close, closer until there's barely any space between their lips. "but somehow you still managed to make all of yours look beautiful."
it's a soft brush at first and yoongi's still trembling against his lips, but then he sighs and it sounds defeated to namjoon's ears and he makes to pull away. a light grip on the nape of his neck stops him and yoongi makes a sound in the back of his throat when namjoon surges forward and presses in deeper.
namjoon has dreamed about this- always wondered what yoongi's lips would taste and feel like. and now that he actually knows, can taste the hints of coffee and mint on yoongi's tongue, he doesn't think he can actually do without.
yoongi pulls away first. he pants against namjoon's lips and they bump noses. "how'd we get here?" he asks, breathless.
namjoon chuckles, "barged into my alcove, didn't you?"
namjoon runs his left hand through yoongi's hair, smiling contently at the sound of the smaller boy's soft snores.
he agrees that it was cruel of him to make yoongi go through double classes of arithmancy in one day, but he really didn't want vector to get yoongi in trouble. so he had sent him off to arithmancy while he himself stayed at the alcove, awaiting yoongi's breaks and studying for his end-of-term assessments
yoongi came back the picture of a broken man, eyes drooping and mouth in an upside-down arc. namjoon had immediately transfigured pillows for him, his usual load of five, but yoongi had denied the pillows and instead opted to lie in namjoon's lap, head wedged in the crook of namjoon's neck and his arms around his waist, falling asleep in a matter of seconds.
he'd been careful for the past hour, not wanting to jostle yoongi, but then it occured to namjoon that it seemed like even if there was a sudden loud bang, yoongi would not wake.
namjoon's book is levitating, hands too busy playing with yoongi's hair and tracing small circles on his back, and he sighs before giving up on studying altogether. he lays his book down on the floor and pulls out a piece of paper, transfiguring it into a blanket, before covering both of their bodies.
yoongi only awakens minutes later when namjoon shifts further to grab his wand. he watches with a smile as namjoon casts a colloportus, and the window swings shut, cutting off the cold december air.
"it's cold," yoongi says, chuckling when namjoon startles at the sound of his voice. he makes grabbing motions towards his wand and namjoon grabs it for him. casting a couple of quick warming spells, he sighs, "god, i feel like a dead icicle."
namjoon chuckles. "you look like one."
"vector was coming for me the entire day," yoongi grumbles. "that witch."
namjoon curls his arms tighter around yoongi, pulling the smaller boy closer to his body and sighing. "you're heavy," he teases. "and a real tough cuddler- your grip probably equals that of the giant squid's."
"shut up," yoongi mutters, and namjoon loves the way his ears turn a shade of dark pink, leaning his head down and placing a kiss on yoongi's forehead.
"you still haven't given me my scarf back."
"you don't need it," the slytherin deadpans. "it's mine."
"what is with you and the need to mark your territory?" namjoon muses, a smirk on his face. "first the tie, now it's my scarf."
about a two weeks ago, namjoon had walked out of herbology only to be bombarded with questions. namjoon, what's wrong with your tie?, they'd asked, and he'd done nothing but stare, confused and absolutely puzzled, until the person backed away.
it had completely slipped his mind until he walked into potions class. until he passed by the glass case of slughorn's cupboard did he notice a green streak on his chest, and when he looked down, sure enough, a green slytherin tie was sitting neatly in between the collar of his shirt, tucked underneath his robes.
namjoon had barged out of potions when he was dismissed, heading straight to yoongi's transfigurations class, demanding answers to his questions.
yoongi had merely grinned when namjoon caught him and dragged him to a deserted hallway, arms immediately locking around his neck and pulling him forwards for a kiss.
"you look-" yoongi's eyes had locked back onto the tie and he stroked a hand down namjoon's chest. "-really good in my green." his hand followed the line of the slytherin tie from namjoon's throat to his navel and back up.
"you really like this," namjoon breathed, nipping on yoongi's bottom lip.
"green suits you," yoongi had shrugged. he had carded a hand through namjoon's hair, tipped his head backwards and placed kisses where the collar of his shirt met skin.
"yoongi, not now," namjoon chided, weak and useless, as he gripped yoongi's hips harder. "we have classes."
"i'll see you at the alcove later."
namjoon groaned. the prospect of later made him ache but he really needed to get to class. a bite to his neck pulled him out of his whining.
"keep it on," yoongi said, smoothing the front of his robes and arranging the green tie. "keep it."
namjoon had nodded dazedly, pressing a last kiss to yoongi's lips before letting him go.
since then, he'd discovered that yoongi really enjoyed the idea of switching house colors. he'd wear namjoon's scarf out during hogsmeade weekends, during quidditch games, during walks out by the black lake. he'd charm namjoon's ties green on days he felt like it- which was probably about three days out of the five.
namjoon glances at the two slytherin ties hanging by the widow ledge and smiles to himself before getting back to the pressing matter.
"yoongi. my scarf."
"no."
"but, yoongi," namjoon whines, "i'm cold."
"i'm here," yoongi teases, pressing a kiss to the underside of namjoon's jaw, smirking against his skin when namjoon barely supresses a shudder. "you can use me as your personal heater."
"yoongi, a literal ice cube has more heat than you," he counters. "unless you're swathed in so much clothing you look like a puffball, you are a dead icicle."
yoongi huffs. "i was trying to say something nice but you go and ruin it- you absolute dingbat."
namjoon chuckles and continues to trace circles on yoongi's skin, making goosebumps arise on yoongi's arms.
"are we going to hogsmeade later?" yoongi asks.
"i think hoseok wants to go get some butterbeer- is jeongguk coming?"
yoongi snorts. "are you kidding me? taehyung's gonna be there. of course, jeongguk's gonna come." he shakes his head.
"trust him to fall for a gryffindor- feed the cliché, jeongguk, feed the cliché," he mumbles, more to himself than to namjoon.
namjoon barely stops himself from chuckling at yoongi's weird antics.
"i bumped into taehyung this morning, by the way," yoongi mumbles. "he wants his cloak back."
"he can do without it for a couple more weeks," namjoon chuckles against yoongi's hair. "besides we haven't completed our star chart yet."
"namjoon, we're never going to be able to complete that star chart."
"then i guess taehyung's never getting his cloak back."
yoongi flicks him on the forehead, muttering what an idiot, before resting his head back in the crook of namjoon's neck.
after yoongi's initial fear of getting caught by filch or sinistra had subsided, they'd taken to going to the rooftop of the astronomy tower as often as they could. they'd erect a tent and yoongi would smother it with invisibility spells. they lie there till early morning, yoongi tucked into namjoon's side, namjoon's hand combing through his hair while he mumbles on and on about the stars and their constellations.
yoongi would grab his hand, trace the shapes in the sky until a crick formed in his wrist. he'd then take to using his wand to create floating stars right in their tent, washing his hands through the galaxies suspended right before their eyes.
namjoon would forego looking at the galaxies to look at yoongi, illuminated in soft light of the stars and eyes flickering.
his eyes were always so bright.
glowed bright whenever namjoon would tuck him in his arms and sway them side to side. glowed bright whenever namjoon would grab him in passing amidst all the students in the hallways and sneak a kiss. glowed bright even under the dark green lights of his dorm, namjoon hovering above him and kissing him until his lungs felt like imploding.
yoongi's eyes were his own galaxy and yoongi's warmth was his orbit, always finding himself surrounded and drawn to it. he'd always be drawn to him.
namjoon's dreams are in shades of green- slytherin and mint- and yoongi is an enigma he'll never be able to shake off.
and he's not sure he'll ever want to.