Chapter Text
Jongin rubbed his temples, trying to suppress the headache that was beginning to form. In vain. The seventh year Ravenclaw student couldn’t even begin to understand why this was happening to him and how and just why him and why that boy from Slytherin.
It didn’t even make sense as the brunet was absolutely confident about his Potion making skills. Just… this time something appeared to have gone wrong. And it’s driving Jongin nuts. Perhaps, he should have stopped with the potion making when he realised that the usual scent of gingerbread had a tad bit too much of cinnamon there.
Or when the usually deep purple liquid was lighter than it was supposed to be. But neither him nor his partner had deemed it as dangerous and just continued with the instructions of their book.
And then…
Boom.
The unicorn hair had dissolved in the substance, but instead of the bubbles they had anticipated the whole thing just exploded all around them and tinged them in a strange purplish light that faded after a few heartbeats.
At first, everything appeared to be normal.
Jongin had looked at the blonde boy next to him, who looked just as shocked as him but then they had both shrugged. They had failed.
Okay.
They would just try again.
But then…
When they were trying to set up the cauldron anew they realised pretty quickly that something was wrong. Terribly wrong.
/why is he not stirring counter-clockwise… that’s prolly why the whole thing exploded./
There had been a voice in his head.
A voice that was definitely not his own and that he had never heard before and definitely shouldn’t be there and comment on his potion stirring.
Stirring it clockwise was absolutely okay here, Jongin grumbled but… against better judgement started to stir it the other way around.
/Thank goodness, that boy has a brain/
Strange, right?
Jongin had thought exactly the same. And now imagine his utter surprise when it was revealed later by their Potions professor that it had actually been Sehun’s voice in his head.
Sehun’s.
His partner for Potions, from the Slytherin House they shared this class with. Tall, athletic built and a really sharp jawline that gave him an almost noble look.
Yet, everyone dreaded to work with this guy. And the Ravenclaw had easily understood why. He was cold, barely smiled and…
He couldn’t talk.
Sehun was mute and that made working as team members that much harder because no one knew any sign language here. And if they did they probably didn’t want to approach the guy who always frowned at everyone and everything.
Which brings Jongin back to his current dilemma.
According to his professor, whom he trusted very much and absolutely respected his intellect, they just got bonded.
Bonded.
By a potion gone wrong that kind of latched onto the first two persons around and connecting something between them… that shouldn’t be connected.
But now it had happened and the results were utterly terrifying, if Jongin was honest.
Not only did they now share a link in their brains… no it apparently would feel uncomfortable for them to stay apart for too long.
“Great” Jongin had groaned in annoyance and utter defeat
“Just great. So… Professor, you are saying that we are stuck with each other, hearing each other’s thoughts if we don’t protect them… until when exactly?”
Professor Wu folded his arms over his chest, a worried expression written all over his face.
“Correct. Though I would like to offer you another answer, but… you summed it up pretty well, Kim” the man nodded and let out a sigh.
He didn’t look too troubled however, which pissed Jongin of greatly.
His whole life just got turned upside down and his professor was just shrugging his shoulders??
“About that. I will need to brew an anti-potion. It’s going to be a complex thing to brew… so I guess that at least one full moon phase will be needed? Maximum three I would say now, but I will need you two to write me reports about how the bond is working. How you perceive it so I can work on the best antidote for you.”
The Ravenclaw student saw his life shattering to pieces in that very moment.
He was going to be chained to the Slytherin boy no one dared to approach – whom people knew nothing about.
And not just for a few hours.
For three months if things went wrong. And from what Jongin learned that day… things loved to go wrong for him.
/It’s because you stirred clockwise the first time/
The brunet hissed under his breath. That was utterly unfair. He didn’t even know how to reply to the Slytherin’s attempts at conversation. Did he just? Think?
A snicker suddenly echoed in the back of his mind and he whipped his head around to see the blonde smirking at him. So the other could already hear what he was thinking?
Merlin’s beard. He needed to block his mind from Sehun’s prying one! But how?
/Just don’t let me in, Jongin/
Another growl left his throat. It was already bloody wicked to have a conversation with someone who was actually mute. Who wasn’t capable of speaking and voicing his thoughts.
But of course…
Sehun was full of sass and confidence.
Just. Bloody. Brilliant.
Jongin was utterly convinced that he would lose his mind and become addicted to Fire Whiskey before even the first month of this torture was over.
Professor Wu just patted their shoulders and gave them an encouraging smile, promising to get to work as soon as possible and informing the Headmaster about their peculiar situation.
Wonderful.
Jongin could just hope that it would stay between them. He didn’t want anyone to know that he was bonded to a Slytherin just because he couldn’t stir.
A small chuckle was heard in the back of his mind.
The coming months were going to be wonderful.
⚡⚡⚡
Jongin whined loudly as his dearest best friend patted his shoulders in what was clearly mock-pity. Lee Taemin was not able to experess real pity or any other emotion that wasn’t ‘devilish’. (Which was an exaggeration of course, but sometimes, sometimes Jongin really thought that Taemin was sent form the pits of hell to torment him. He loved him anyway.)
They were currently seated in the Great Hall, his best friend ignoring all the whispers coming from the Ravenclaw table as he was clearly not one of them.
The elder was from Slytherin House - just like Sehun – and maybe the brunet should have ended their long lasting friendship the moment Taemin had been sorted to join the snakes but…
Jongin obviously wouldn’t have done that.
He had always known that his best friend loved to see him suffer, and if he was honest, he was used to it by now anyway.
It would be weird if it would be any other way.
So he should have expected this to happen. The taunting that was on its way right now… but it still mortified him. Why had he even told the other of his predicament?
Right, because best friends were supposed to stick together. Emphasis on supposed to.
“So let me get this straight,” Taemin said, the corner of his lips pulled up into a mischievous smirk “you got yourself in yet another ridiculous situation Kim Jongin. You triggered a hidden bonding magic of a potion that was actually supposed to do something totally different and now you are connected to Slytherin’s Mute Prince.”
Jongin let out another whine.
His way to say that, yes, sadly the other was absolutely correct. Bloody hell. It sounded worse every time that someone repeated it.
It has only been one day since it happened but…
Jongin was still at a loss about what he was supposed to do.
/Do they really call me that? Mute Slytherin Prince?/
Jongin blinked, lifting his head from the table where he had previously placed it to hide his red cheeks.
He still wasn’t used to that. And he still hadn’t managed to keep his thoughts closed off, no matter how hard he tried. Sehun could just open up any locks he placed.
And that was plain unfair.
“Uhm.” He tilted his head, looking to the table right across theirs to find Sehun looking into his direction
Damn. It had really been him. Sometimes the brunet thought that his mind was playing tricks on him. Sadly, it didn’t seem to be the case.
“Sehun asks if you really call him that when he is not there” he turned back to his friend then, watching as Taemin’s eyes went wide.
“What?” he asked, a little annoyed.
Why was he doing this even? Well, probably because he had already discovered that Sehun was quite talkative for a mute during last night.
Jongin immediately cringed when he caught himself thinking that. That had been completely insensitive to say. Or think.
It wasn’t the blonde’s fault that he was disabled in that way and it was absolutely terrible of Jongin to judge him because of that.
“You really weren’t joking, right? Damn, you and Sehun can read each other’s minds now?”
Taemin looked utterly flabbergasted, his eyes darting from one to the other.
“That’s what I have been telling you for the whole afternoon, Tae. Yes, he can read my thoughts and we can communicate. So would you please answer the question before he starts bugging me?” the younger complained and tried yet again to find any way of blocking the blonde Slytherin out of his mind.
To no avail.
He still felt Sehun lingering there, waiting for any kind of information that would seep through.
By Rowena’s Brains, that was actually creepy and terrifying. He literally felt Sehun’s presence. In his mind.
Waiting. He could even swear that the other male ‘felt’ kind of impatient.
Bloody hell, this really was getting to his head.
Maybe Jongin should just sleep until the three months were over. Sadly, the Ravenclaw didn’t need his wisdom to know that that wasn’t possible. But he had already survived one day, how bad could be 89 more?
Right. Very bad.
Taemin finally seemed to find his composure again and nodded.
“Yeah. Some do. Especially the underclassmen though. They don’t know that he is… you know? Mute.”
That confused Jongin. They called him mute without even knowing that the Slytherin boy really was disabled? Wicked.
“It’s kind of funny right? They all think he doesn’t talk because he is a stuck up pureblood heir, yada yada.” the male shrugged his shoulders
“So that name came up. But no one of us elders told them that he is really mute. It’s not our business. And we snakes don’t meddle with each other’s business”
Jongin pulled up his eyebrows at that
“But you meddle with mine quite a lot.” He pointed out and that got him a pat on his shoulder and a smirking Taemin
“Bro.” he started “Of course I meddle with your affairs. You’re my best friend and you’re not a snake. We only respect the privacy of fellow snakes.”
“How considerate of you” Jongin deadpanned, but the elder wasn’t fazed by that and continued to grin smugly
“I know. You love me.”
“Go to hell.”
⚡⚡⚡
It wasn’t until Jongin went back to his own dormitory that he remembered that he actually hadn’t told Sehun the answer. But the other hadn’t bothered him either about it, which was probably why he had forgotten about it in the first place.
/Hey? Are you there?/
Jongin still hadn’t gotten the hang of it, but when Sehun’s presence became more prominent in the back of his mind he knew at least that the other was listening.
/Well. This is my mind you are invading so it’s kind of weird to ask if I am ‘there’/
Jongin scrunched up his nose at that.
/Can you stop being like this? You know what I meant…/ the Ravenclaw answered and leaned against the pillar that was the closest to their portrait.
He was too busy concentrating on their conversation to solve the riddle of their dormitory now.
/Taemin said that the underclassmen call you like that and that they don’t know that you are mute. They think you’re a stuck up pureblood or something/
No answer came back for a while.
Silence was hanging over him like a dark cloud and Jongin didn’t even dare to breathe as he waited for the Slytherin to answer.
/Yeah I heard that when you thought about it/
Jongin let out a sigh of relief when the blonde finally replied, feeling a little lighter out of the blue.
/You didn’t need to ask him, by the way. Even if I… bother you, apparently./
The brunet’s eyes went wide.
Oh Merlin!
The other had heard that?
/You are not good at hiding your thoughts you know. But I won’t bother … you anymore/
And then the presence in the back of his mind grew fainter, until he could barely feel the other anymore.
“No!” Jongin let out, not realising that Sehun clearly couldn’t hear him like that. Their connection was between their minds and if he didn’t send his thoughts into the direction of the other then the Slytherin boy was clearly not able to hear or feel what was going on.
Shit, Jongin really needed to get a hang of this!!
/Sehun. No. It’s okay. I’m just overwhelmed by this shit/ the Ravenclaw tried to get this message across, focusing on the very faint presence of the other in his mind and repeating the same words again and again.
Would they reach him?
Even if the Slytherin might be blocking him right now? He had to try it. Because Jongin was a soft hearted person and he never wanted to upset the other in any way.
It had been the truth
The whole thing was just? Utterly overwhelming for the seventeen – year - old. He should actually be worrying about his N.E.W.T.s and how he should juggle his studies with his Quidditch practice, but now he was also faced with a magical problem.
That bond.
The bond that was obviously not working for him right now as he wasn’t getting any answer from the other. So Jongin could either really not get through the others blockade, or the Slytherin was just really good in ignoring him and his countless repetition.
Jongin sighed.
Damn, he was really developing a headache right now. All of this drama going on… maybe he should be drinking more water. Or Pumpkin Juice.
Did Sehun like pumpkin juice?
The brunet obviously knew next to nothing about the other seventh year student as he had to confess that almost no House tended to mingle too much outside of their doors.
But… this pounding in his head was really becoming a hassle.
And just when he was about to reach out and knock on the portrait to receive his riddle that would let him access their common room did a shiver run down his spine as Sehun’s presence returned in his mind.
/I… don’t. …?Like Pumpkin Juice./ he started and Jongin wondered for a moment if everything was alright with the other or if he was maybe suffering form that ridiculous headache as well.
Maybe it was another bad side effect of the potion gone wrong.
/Can… we meet up…?/ Sehun’s voice definitely sounded strained and that got Jongin slightly worried
/right now?/
/Yes./
/Astronomy Tower?/ Jongin suggested as they would probably have some space for themselves there
/Yeah./
The brunet turned on his heels, ignoring the upset frown of their portrait and made his way to the other side of the castle, his black robe fluttering as he hurried down the steps of the Ravenclaw tower to meet up with Sehun.
There was a weird feeling in his stomach. It was a kind of queasy feeling, although Jongin guessed that there was nothing he needed to be afraid of.
Sehun was a Slytherin student yes, but the days where Slytherin automatically meant Death Eater were long gone.
Which was a good thing of course. The brunet didn’t even want to imagine how their world would look like in case Voldemort was still alive or had won.
A shiver ran down his spine at that thought – would he even be alive then? Jongin was a half - blood after all and the dark lord’s preference for Purebloods was widely known, even now.
The Ravenclaw shook his head. He should stop having such thoughts. He was gone anyway – so there was no use in worrying about possible ifs.
Something he hadn’t expected though, was the overwhelming feeling of relief that washed over him when his eyes caught sight of the tall Slytherin student, waiting patiently for him. The taller was leaning against one of the many pillars of the hallway, his eyes going wide a little when their gazes locked, before he got into motion and stopped only a step away from Jongin.
They both let out little sighs.
What was even happening to them?
Sehun didn’t say anything through their link, just raised his hand. He was trembling, Jongin noted.
Why?
But everything just fell into place once Sehun took his hand in his own.
Suddenly, everything was better. Warm.
And the headache he hadn’t really given thought to before all but dissipated.
“What happened?” Jongin let out, eyes wide in wonder
/I don’t know/ came Sehun’s reply in his mind as the Ravencalw realised again that this was the taller male’s only way to communicate with him.
Jongin felt inconsiderate.
/But I think it’s the stupid Bonding thing. Don’t you remember Professor Wu saying that we can’t stay too far apart for too long? I…/
The blonde seemed to grumble as he folded his arms over his chest, a pout on his lips. The brunet thought that the way his lips pursed was absolutely adorable.
/The headache was annoying. I couldn’t even concentrate on my Transfiguration assignment./
Jongin found himself smiling.
He didn’t even really know why, but he just did. He realised that he was probably the first person to whom Sehun could talk like that.
The first person who was actually able to listen to the blonde Slytherin student.
“That’s okay.” He hummed and let out a whine right after when he noticed that he had yet again forgotten to use the link between them.
/Sorry. If you want to we can pick up our stuff and do some work here? I need to do Ancient Runes./
At that Sehun raised an eyebrow in suspicion.
/You attend Ancient Runes. Voluntarily?/ the disbelief was clearly evident in the taller’s voice as he said that, his eyes fixed on the brunet.
Jongin shrugged his shoulders.
/What can I say. I like it?/
/Ancient Runes?/
/Y-yeah?/ Was that a weird thing? Yeah, okay, Taemin had kind of thrown the party of the century the moment they entered sixth year where they could choose their courses freely and he could dismiss Ancient Runes from his life forever.
So perhaps, Jongin was a little on the weird side.
The brunet blinked when a brilliant laugh suddenly echoed through his mind.
/Maybe you aren’t so bad./ Sehun snickered through their connection and Jongin found himself blushing.
/Maybe…/
Maybe being connected to the Slytherin wasn’t the worst thing that had ever happened to him. Maybe they could make this work and somehow survive the three months they were stuck together.
Perhaps.
Jongin would definitely try.
End of Part One