Chapter Text
The corridors of Hogwarts were quiet at this hour, most students tucked away in their common rooms or dormitories. Sunoo quite liked prefect rounds for this reason—the peace, the solitude, the way his footsteps echoed softly against ancient stone. It gave him time to think, to decompress from the constant chatter of classes and common room life.
He turned the corner near the entrance to the Astronomy Tower, his wand lit with a soft *Lumos*, when he heard it. The unmistakable creak of the heavy door at the tower's base, followed by careful footsteps trying—and failing—to be stealthy.
Sunoo's eyes narrowed. He extinguished his wand light and pressed himself against the wall, waiting. The footsteps grew closer, and then a figure emerged from the shadows—tall, broad-shouldered, with dark hair slightly mussed and still wearing a Gryffindor Quidditch jumper over his casual clothes.
"Out a bit late, aren't we?" Sunoo said coolly, relighting his wand and pointing it directly at the intruder.
The boy jumped, spinning around with wide eyes that quickly transformed into an easy, charming smile. Even in the dim wandlight, Sunoo could see he was handsome—annoyingly so. Sharp features, warm eyes, and that confident posture that screamed someone used to getting their way.
"Ah," the boy said, his smile widening as he took in Sunoo's blue and bronze prefect badge. "Ravenclaw prefect. Of course."
"That's right," Sunoo replied, keeping his voice level despite the way his heart had inexplicably picked up speed. He told himself it was just the surprise of catching someone out of bounds. Nothing to do with the way this student was looking at him like he was the most interesting thing in the castle. "And you are breaking curfew. Name and house."
"Lee Heeseung," the boy said, placing a hand over his heart with mock solemnity. "Seventh year Gryffindor. Quidditch Captain, at your service."
Of course he was. Sunoo had heard the name—who hadn't? Gryffindor's golden boy, the captain who'd led his team to victory for the past three years. Popular, talented, and clearly aware of both facts.
"I don't care if you're Captain of the entire school, Heeseung-ssi," Sunoo said, noting with some satisfaction how the older boy's eyes flickered with interest at the honorific. "You're out after curfew. That's ten points from Gryffindor."
Heeseung's eyebrows shot up. "Ten points? Come on, that's a bit harsh, isn't it?"
"Would you prefer fifteen?"
"I'd prefer you let me off with a warning," Heeseung said, his smile turning almost playful as he took a step closer. "I was just getting in some extra practice. The season starts soon, and as captain, I have responsibilities—"
"Your responsibilities," Sunoo interrupted, "include following school rules. The Quidditch pitch has designated practice hours. This isn't one of them."
Heeseung studied him for a long moment, and Sunoo refused to look away, even as something warm and unsettling stirred in his chest under that intense gaze. Up close, Heeseung was even more striking—there was a slight flush to his cheeks from exertion, and his hair fell across his forehead in a way that was decidedly unfair.
"You're not going to make this easy for me, are you?" Heeseung finally said, but he didn't sound annoyed. If anything, he sounded... intrigued.
"Why should I?" Sunoo countered. "Rules apply to everyone, even Quidditch captains who think their status means they can do whatever they want."
A surprised laugh escaped Heeseung, genuine and bright. "Wow. Okay. Most people don't—" He stopped himself, shaking his head with an amused smile. "Never mind. You're right. I broke curfew. Ten points is fair."
Sunoo blinked. He'd expected more arguing, more of that charming persuasion that probably worked on half the castle. The easy acceptance threw him off balance.
"Well. Good," he said, trying to regain his composure. "See that it doesn't happen again."
"Of course," Heeseung said, but there was something in his tone that suggested he was making no such promise. "I don't think I've seen you around before. What's your name?"
"That's not relevant to your curfew violation."
"Humor me?" Heeseung's smile was softer now, less performative. "I'd like to know the name of the only prefect brave enough to actually dock points from me."
Sunoo hesitated. There was no real reason not to tell him—they'd likely cross paths again in the castle. And despite his best efforts to remain unmoved, there was something almost... endearing about the way Heeseung was looking at him. Like Sunoo was a puzzle he wanted to solve.
"Kim Sunoo," he finally said. "Sixth year Ravenclaw."
"Sunoo," Heeseung repeated, and the way he said it—soft, like he was testing how it felt—made something flutter in Sunoo's stomach. "Pretty name."
"Flattery won't get you those points back."
"Wasn't trying to," Heeseung said, still smiling. "Just stating a fact."
Sunoo felt heat creep up his neck. This was ridiculous. He was a prefect, currently in the middle of enforcing rules, and here he was getting flustered by a rule-breaker's compliments.
"You should get back to your common room," Sunoo said firmly, gesturing with his wand toward the main corridor. "Before I decide that ten points wasn't enough after all."
"Alright, alright," Heeseung said, holding up his hands in surrender. But as he passed Sunoo, he paused, close enough that Sunoo could smell the crisp night air still clinging to him, mixed with something warm and cedar-like. "It was nice meeting you, Sunoo-ya."
The casual use of the informal honorific should have annoyed him. They'd just met, and Heeseung was a year older besides. But instead, it sent a shiver down his spine that had nothing to do with the cool castle air.
"Goodnight, Lee Heeseung-ssi," Sunoo replied pointedly, emphasizing the formal address.
Heeseung's laugh echoed down the corridor as he walked away, and Sunoo stood there for a long moment after he'd disappeared, trying to understand why his heart was still racing.
It was just the surprise of the encounter, he told himself. Nothing more.
But as he continued his rounds, he found his thoughts drifting back to warm eyes and an easy smile, and the way Heeseung had looked at him like he was something worth remembering.
---
Three days later
Sunoo was beginning to think Lee Heeseung had a death wish.
Or perhaps the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain simply had the worst sense of time management in Hogwarts history, because this was the third time this week Sunoo had caught him sneaking back into the castle after curfew.
"You have got to be kidding me," Sunoo said as he rounded the corner near the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom and found Heeseung attempting to look casual while very obviously trying to avoid detection.
Heeseung had the audacity to grin when he saw him. "Sunoo-ya. We really should stop meeting like this."
"We would if you'd stop breaking curfew," Sunoo shot back, crossing his arms. "What is it this time? More 'essential' Quidditch practice?"
"Actually, yes," Heeseung said, falling into step beside him as if they were old friends taking a stroll rather than prefect and rule-breaker. "We have a match against Slytherin next week. Our Keeper is still shaky on his left side, and—"
"I don't need your entire practice strategy," Sunoo interrupted. "What I need is for you to follow the rules. That's another ten points from Gryffindor."
"You're killing me here," Heeseung said, but he didn't sound particularly upset. "My house is going to riot if I keep losing us points."
"Then perhaps you should consider following the rules."
"Where's the fun in that?"
Sunoo stopped walking and turned to face him fully. In the wandlight, Heeseung's expression was playful, teasing, but there was something else there too—a warmth in his eyes that made Sunoo's carefully constructed irritation waver.
"Is this a game to you?" Sunoo asked. "Because I'm not interested in being entertainment for a bored seventh year."
Something shifted in Heeseung's expression, the playfulness dimming into something more serious. "It's not a game," he said quietly. "And you're not entertainment."
"Then what is this?" Sunoo gestured between them. "Because you can't possibly need to practice this much. You're already the best Seeker in the school."
"You think I'm the best?" Heeseung's smile returned, smaller but somehow more genuine.
"That's—that's not the point," Sunoo said, cursing himself for the compliment. "The point is—"
"The point is," Heeseung interrupted gently, "that maybe I like talking to you. And maybe the only time I get to do that is during your prefect rounds."
Sunoo's breath caught. The corridor suddenly felt too small, too warm, despite the autumn chill that permeated the castle. Heeseung was looking at him with such open honesty that it made Sunoo's heart do something complicated and unwelcome in his chest.
"That's—" Sunoo started, then had to clear his throat. "That's a terrible reason to break school rules."
"Probably," Heeseung agreed. "But I've never been great at making good decisions when it comes to things I want."
The implication hung in the air between them, and Sunoo found himself unable to form a coherent response. Part of him wanted to ask what exactly Heeseung wanted, but a larger part was terrified of the answer.
Because Lee Heeseung was popular and charming and probably had half the school interested in him. And Sunoo was just... Sunoo. A sixth year Ravenclaw who kept to his small circle of friends and definitely didn't have experience with boys who looked at him like he was something precious.
"I should finish my rounds," Sunoo finally managed, stepping back to put some much-needed distance between them.
"Of course," Heeseung said softly. "Can I walk with you? I promise to head straight to my common room after."
Sunoo should say no. Should dock another ten points for good measure and send Heeseung on his way. Should not let those warm eyes and that gentle smile affect his judgment.
"Fine," he heard himself say. "But you're still losing those points."
Heeseung's answering smile was bright enough to light the entire corridor.
As they walked together through the quiet castle, trading careful conversation about classes and Quidditch and nothing particularly important, Sunoo tried very hard not to think about how natural this felt. How easy it was to talk to Heeseung once they moved past the initial antagonism.
And he definitely tried not to think about the way his heart jumped every time Heeseung laughed at something he said.
He was just doing his prefect duties, Sunoo told himself firmly. Nothing more.
But when they reached the entrance to Gryffindor Tower and Heeseung bid him goodnight with a soft "See you soon, Sunoo-ya," he couldn't quite convince himself that was true.
---
## Chapter 2: Desserts and Discoveries
By the second week of September, it had become a routine.
Heeseung would somehow end up out after curfew—always with a different excuse, each more creative than the last—and Sunoo would find him during prefect rounds. They'd talk as Sunoo escorted him back to Gryffindor Tower, conversations that started out antagonistic but gradually softened into something almost... friendly.
Sunoo told himself he was just being thorough in his prefect duties. The fact that he found himself looking forward to these encounters had nothing to do with the way Heeseung's eyes lit up when he saw him, or how his laugh made something warm bloom in Sunoo's chest.
Nothing at all.
"You know," Jungwon said one morning at breakfast, eyeing Sunoo over his pumpkin juice, "you've been spacing out a lot lately. What's going on?"
Sunoo stabbed at his eggs a bit more forcefully than necessary. "Nothing. Just tired from prefect rounds."
"Mmm." Jungwon didn't sound convinced. His best friend had always been too perceptive for Sunoo's own good. "Sunghoon says he saw you talking to Lee Heeseung the other day. Near the Gryffindor common room."
Sunoo's head snapped up to look down the table where Sunghoon sat, but his other childhood friend was pointedly focused on his breakfast, though his ears were definitely pink.
"I was doing my prefect rounds," Sunoo said defensively. "He was breaking curfew. Again."
"Again?" Jungwon's eyebrows rose. "How many times has he broken curfew?"
"That's not important—"
"Sunoo-hyung!"
Both Ravenclaws turned to see a small figure bounding toward their table—Yang Jungwon, a fifth-year Slytherin with silver-blonde hair and an energetic smile. Several students looked up in surprise; it wasn't common for students to approach other house tables during meals.
"Ni-ki," Sunoo greeted with a warm smile. Despite the boy being younger, their families had known each other for years through pureblood social circles. "Shouldn't you be at your own table?"
"Just wanted to say hi," Ni-ki said cheerfully, then leaned in conspiratorially. "Also, hyung, I heard something interesting from my Quidditch captain."
Sunoo's stomach did an uncomfortable flip. "Oh?"
"Mmhmm. Apparently Heeseung-hyung has been asking about you." Ni-ki's grin was far too knowing for a fifteen-year-old. "Wanted to know about your family, your friends, what you like—"
"That's—he's probably just curious because I keep catching him breaking curfew," Sunoo said quickly, very aware of Jungwon's interested gaze.
"Sure, hyung," Ni-ki said, his tone suggesting he believed nothing of the sort. "Anyway, I should get back. See you later!"
As Ni-ki bounced back to the Slytherin table, Sunoo refused to look at Jungwon. He could feel his friend's stare boring into the side of his head.
"So," Jungwon said slowly. "Lee Heeseung is asking about you."
"It doesn't mean anything."
"The most popular boy in school, who could have anyone he wants, is specifically asking about you."
"Won-ah—"
"And you've been catching him breaking curfew repeatedly, which means he's deliberately getting caught—"
"I'm going to be late for Ancient Runes," Sunoo announced, standing abruptly even though they had another fifteen minutes before classes started.
Jungwon's knowing smile followed him out of the Great Hall.
---
Heeseung was having what Jay diplomatically called "a crisis" and what Jake more accurately described as "being completely obvious."
"You've lost us forty points in two weeks," Jay said, sprawled across Heeseung's bed in their shared dormitory. "The team is starting to ask questions."
"I'll win them back during the match," Heeseung muttered, not looking up from where he was supposedly reading his Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook. In reality, he'd been staring at the same page for twenty minutes, his thoughts entirely occupied by a certain Ravenclaw prefect.
"This is about that prefect, isn't it?" Jake asked, grinning from where he sat by the window. "The one Ni-ki says you've been asking about?"
Heeseung's silence was answer enough.
"Merlin's beard, you've got it bad," Jay laughed. "What's so special about this Kim Sunoo anyway?"
What wasn't special about him? Heeseung wanted to ask. The way Sunoo's eyes sparked with indignation when Heeseung tested his patience? The rare, genuine smile that transformed his entire face? The sharp wit that kept Heeseung on his toes during their late-night conversations?
"He's different," Heeseung finally said. "He doesn't care that I'm Quidditch Captain or that I'm popular. He just... treats me like a normal person."
"A normal person who breaks curfew constantly," Jake pointed out.
"He's also really pretty," Heeseung added, then immediately wished he hadn't when both his friends erupted into knowing laughter.
"You should just ask him out," Jay said. "Instead of this ridiculous 'getting caught on purpose' strategy."
"I'm working up to it," Heeseung defended. "I need him to actually like me first, not just tolerate me as a rule-breaking nuisance."
"Pretty sure he already likes you, mate," Jake said. "Ni-ki says Sunoo's friends have noticed he's been distracted lately."
Hope flared in Heeseung's chest, bright and warm. "Really?"
"Really. So maybe stop losing us house points and actually make a move?"
Heeseung considered this. They were right—he couldn't keep using curfew violations as an excuse to see Sunoo. He needed a different approach.
His eyes fell on the breakfast pastries he'd saved from this morning, wrapped in a napkin on his bedside table. He remembered how Sunoo's eyes had lingered on the treacle tart at the Ravenclaw table yesterday, only to find it had run out by the time the dishes reached him.
An idea began to form.
---
Sunoo was thoroughly confused.
It had been three days since Heeseung's last curfew violation, and he absolutely was not disappointed about it. He was relieved. Glad, even. It meant the Gryffindor had finally learned his lesson.
The fact that his prefect rounds felt oddly empty without their encounters was irrelevant.
What was relevant—and confusing—was the piece of chocolate cake that had appeared at his spot during dinner.
"Did you order this?" he asked Jungwon, eyeing the dessert suspiciously.
Jungwon shook his head, looking equally puzzled. "It just appeared there when you sat down."
Sunoo looked around the Great Hall, searching for any clue as to who might have sent it. His gaze inadvertently landed on the Gryffindor table, where Lee Heeseung was already looking at him. When their eyes met, Heeseung smiled—soft and a little shy—before turning back to his conversation with Jay.
Sunoo's heart did a complicated little flip.
"Oh my god," Jungwon breathed beside him. "Did Lee Heeseung just send you cake?"
"We don't know that—"
But the next day, there was a slice of treacle tart. The day after, pumpkin pasties. Each time, Sunoo would look up to find Heeseung watching him with that same gentle smile.
"He's courting you," Sunghoon declared on the fourth day, appearing at the Ravenclaw table with a thunderous expression. As a Slytherin, he rarely joined them during meals, which meant he'd made a special trip just to glower about this. "With desserts."
"He's just being nice," Sunoo protested weakly, even as another slice of cake materialized at his place setting.
"Sunoo," Jungwon said gently. "He's definitely not just being nice. The whole school is starting to notice."
And they were. Sunoo had caught more than a few curious stares, heard whispers following him in the corridors. Lee Heeseung, golden boy of Gryffindor, was apparently interested in the quiet Ravenclaw prefect, and everyone had opinions about it.
"I don't like this," Sunghoon said firmly. "He's too popular. Too... smooth. What does he really want?"
"Maybe he just likes Sunoo?" Jungwon suggested.
"Boys like that don't 'just like' anyone," Sunghoon countered. "They collect admirers. I don't want Sunoo to get hurt."
Sunoo's chest warmed at his friend's protectiveness, even as frustration prickled under his skin. "I can take care of myself, Hoon-ah."
"I know you can," Sunghoon said, his expression softening slightly. "But you're my little brother in everything but blood. I'm allowed to worry."
After dinner, as Sunoo made his way to the library, he found himself taking a detour past the Quidditch pitch. He didn't know what possessed him to do it—maybe curiosity, maybe something more dangerous—but when he reached the stands, he climbed up to get a better view.
The Gryffindor team was practicing, and even from a distance, Heeseung was impossible to miss. He moved through the air like he was born for it, graceful and confident in a way that made Sunoo's breath catch. When Heeseung spotted the Snitch and went into a sharp dive, Sunoo's hands gripped the railing, heart in his throat until Heeseung pulled up at the last second, golden wings glinting between his fingers.
The team erupted in cheers, and Heeseung's laugh carried across the pitch, bright and joyful.
Beautiful, Sunoo thought traitorously. He's absolutely beautiful.
"Enjoying the view?"
Sunoo jumped, spinning to find Ni-ki standing behind him with a knowing grin.
"I was just—the library is—"
"On the complete opposite side of the castle?" Ni-ki supplied helpfully. "Sure, hyung."
Sunoo's ears burned. "Shouldn't you be at practice too?"
"Water break." Ni-ki plopped down on the bench beside where Sunoo stood. "You know, Heeseung-hyung is really serious about you."
"He doesn't even know me."
"He's trying to," Ni-ki pointed out. "The desserts, the asking about you, the way he looks at you in the Great Hall like you're the only person there..." He shrugged. "Seems pretty clear to me."
"But why?" The question escaped before Sunoo could stop it. "He could have anyone. Why me?"
Ni-ki gave him a look that was far too mature for his age. "Maybe that's exactly why, hyung. Because you're not 'anyone.' You're you."
Before Sunoo could respond, a shout from the pitch drew their attention. Heeseung had apparently spotted them and was waving, his smile visible even from this distance.
"You should wave back," Ni-ki said. "He's going to strain something if he keeps twisting around like that on his broom."
Hesitantly, Sunoo raised his hand in a small wave. The smile that broke across Heeseung's face was blinding.
"I need to go," Sunoo muttered, suddenly feeling too warm despite the autumn chill.
Ni-ki's laugh followed him all the way back to the castle.
That night, during his prefect rounds, Sunoo found himself disappointed when he didn't encounter any rule-breakers. The corridors felt too quiet, too empty.
He was about to head back to Ravenclaw Tower when he spotted something on the windowsill near the Astronomy Tower—the same place he'd first caught Heeseung. A small package wrapped in brown paper, with his name written in unfamiliar handwriting.
Sunoo's hands trembled slightly as he opened it. Inside was a sugar quill—his favorite sweet, though he'd never mentioned it to anyone outside his close friends—and a note.
Thanks for not giving me detention yet. Though I have to admit, I kind of miss our late-night conversations. Any chance a rule-following prefect might want to have a proper chat sometime? Maybe over butterbeer in Hogsmeade?
- H
Sunoo stared at the note for a long moment, his heart doing acrobatics in his chest. This was a date request. An actual, explicit date request.
He should say no. Should maintain proper boundaries between prefect and student, should protect himself from getting involved with someone so far out of his league.
But as he clutched the sugar quill and read the note again, all he could think about was Heeseung's smile, his laugh, the way he looked at Sunoo like he was something precious.
He was in so much trouble.