(for gurizuri) Unlikely Friends part i
For: gurizuri
Title: Unlikely Friends
Genre: Harry Potter!au, romance, slight!angst
Rating: PG-15
Side-Pairings: XiuHan, BFFs TaoHun, slight!SuChen
Warnings: hurt animals, extreme fluff and cheese
Length: 14,000 words
Summary: Jongin and Kyungsoo are enemies, but their pets keep bringing them together again and again.
Notes: I so couldn’t pass up the opportunity to write Hogwarts!AU KaiSoo with pets. I hope you like! To my dear beta, your support and input are as always invaluable <3
++Great Hall++
The Great Hall changed overnight to its winter holiday best, so when morning arrives, eleven proud pine trees line up the hall, golden stars, glittering trinkets, and magic candles hanging from their branches. A twelfth tree, so tall that its top star brushes the high ceilings, graces the back wall behind the professors table. Hanging fire braziers, garlands and crowns, cheer up the rest of the room. It’s all very warm and inviting, unlike the ceiling which presents rolling clouds full of snow, reflecting the cold weather outside.
Jongin notices none of this when he enters the Great Hall at full speed. He stops at the entrance and searches the Gryffindor table. Once he locates his target, he stomps his way towards the guy. “Do Kyungsoo!”
The raven-haired fifth year turns in his seat and inches his glasses higher on his nose. “How can I help you today, Jongin?”
“Where is Magnus?”
“How should I know? I don’t read those silly, romance novels for teen girls,” Kyungsoo says completely straight-faced. His friends-the half-giant Chanyeol, and half-veela cousins Baekhyun and Jongdae-chuckle and titter at the stupid joke.
“I meant Magnus my pet, not Magnus Bane!” Jongin snaps, making the group erupt in more laughter. Yeah, fine, they caught him. He reads those teen novels girls love so much. “Stop being an ass and hand him over.”
“You should’ve gotten a majestic owl like mine,” Kyungsoo says, grabbing a piece of corn bread and popping it into his mouth. “Not a squeaky little rat since you seem incapable of keeping track of where it is.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t feel the need to overcompensate for my shortcomings by buying an enormous and vicious animal.” Jongin mentally high-fives himself at the angry blush that blankets Kyungsoo’s cheeks.
Kyungsoo’s friends ‘oohh’ and ‘ahhh’ until he snaps at them to go away. They obey like the true minions that they are, and then it’s only Kyungsoo and Jongin glaring at each other.
It’s not the first time in the year that Jongin has found himself doing exactly this.
Ever since he attended Hagrid’s Proper Pet Care seminar last month Kyungsoo and him have been clashing. In the seminar, they ended up paired together for one of the exercises. But it all went wrong. Kyungsoo took an immediate dislike to Magnus for no good reason, and refused to participate. In the end, they both failed the seminar.
Hellfire’s sudden habit of stealing Magnus is probably just a game orchestrated by Kyungsoo to get back at him. Jongin has become paranoid enough to keep Magnus in his robe pockets most of the time, but somehow his pet always disappears.
“I don’t know where your stupid rat is,” Kyungsoo says.
Jongin crosses his arms. Why does the guy have to make things so difficult? “You always say that and where do I always find Magnus? In your owl’s claws!”
“You say it like she’s out to murder your rat,” the Gryffindor says. “She’s just playing.”
“Magnus was all scratched up last time!” Just thinking about his poor pet all wounded makes him furious. Magnus has been with him since forever.
Kyungsoo rolls his eyes, brings two fingers to his mouth, and whistles really loud. It takes a moment for his massive owl to fly in. She deposits something on the table before landing nearby. The beast’s ear tufts stand proud as always, much like her owner’s thick brows. Her hellish orange eyes look over at Jongin with contempt.
Kyungsoo points at the table. “Oh, look! She found your rat again. You’re welcome.”
“Magnus!” Jongin grabs his pet rat from the table. Magnus’ ruby eyes blink at him as Jongin runs his hands over his pet’s cinnamon and chocolate coat, checking him all over for injuries.
“By Merlin’s saggy man-tits, he’s fine,” Kyungsoo says exasperated. “Hellfire would never hurt another pet. She’s well trained, unlike yours.” He pets his demon owl and then feeds her the rest of his corn bread.
“Magnus is blind, you insensitive piece of-” Jongin breathes deep. “He didn’t know he was chewing your homework. I’ve apologized a hundred times.” Jongin had been in the library studying when suddenly shrieks drew his attention to a nearby table. Kyungsoo flailed around, screaming incoherently in very girl-pitched tones and pointing at his table. His owl had come to his rescue, snatching up the monster lurking over Kyungsoo’s papers. It was only then Jongin realized Magnus was missing from his table.
“It was my Potions homework,” Kyungsoo says, gathering up his things. “For the first time in five years, I didn’t have my homework ready. No apology will ever be sufficient to erase the pain of becoming Professor Draco’s errand boy for the rest of the term.”
“I volunteered to do it for you, remember? You refused.” Jongin thinks the whole thing is less about the destroyed homework and more about the embarrassment Kyungsoo suffered from screaming like a girl in front of everyone.
“I can do my own work,” Kyungsoo snaps. The anger in his eyes seems to run deeper than the simple animosity Kyungsoo showed during the Pet Care seminar and after the Library incident.
Jongin doesn’t understand what he’s done to warrant such hate. He growls. “You’re a complete and utter idiot, Do Kyungs-”
“Is there a problem here, Mr. Kim?” Headmistress McGonagall’s tone is as unforgiving as ever. She looks at them over the rim of her glasses, mouth set in a thin line.
“No, headmistress,” Jongin says, putting Magnus in his pocket.
“Mr. Do?” she asks the smiling Kyungsoo.
“I helped Mr. Kim here to find his rat and he was just thanking me,” Kyungsoo says. “Right, Jongin?”
Jongin wants to punch him or zap him with a bat-bogey hex, but McGonagall is staring at him. “Yes. Thank you, Kyungsoo.”
“You’re welcome,” Kyungsoo repeats.
Headmistress McGonagall’s eyes narrow and she is totally not buying their story, but she simply shakes her head and orders them to get to class. Then she strides away, head held high, to terrorize other students.
Once she leaves, Jongin narrows his eyes and addresses Kyungsoo. “Stay away from Magnus and me.”
“I’m not following you. I’m not doing anything,” Kyungsoo says. “In fact, nothing would make me happier than to have a day where you didn’t bother me.” He stands up from the bench and leaves, his demonic owl flying behind him.
Jongin tries not to be too hurt by the venom in Kyungsoo’s words.
++Moving Staircases++
Another end to an exhausting day. Kyungsoo’s eager to reach the Gryffindor Tower, dive into his bed, and sleep. He yawns wide, jaw clacking and eyes tearing up behind his glasses. He removes them and rubs his eyes. So, very tired.
Being a fifth year isn’t easy, especially with the impending O.W.L.s in the spring. As a muggle born, Kyungsoo always strives to do his best not wanting others to think less of him. He’s been diligently studying his ass off for all his classes, but unlike some of his friends-mainly Junmyeon and Jongdae who barely leave the library-he also knows the importance of rest. Not resting leads to being cranky and snapping at everyone, which contrary to popular belief it is not what Kyungsoo likes to do. He’s more of the silent, whispering curses under his breath type. Until provoked.
Thankfully, everyone has steered clear of his way this week, so his temper has been favorable. He’s back in Professor Draco’s good graces, he’s been doing well even in Astronomy, and he’s gotten more studying done without things eating away at his brain. Things like the annoying Hufflepuff with the rat, the one whom he’d seen around but never had a problem with. Until this year.
Fortunately, his words seem to have finally got through to Jongin, because he hasn’t even seen the kid around. Nothing but blissful quiet.
Ever since the Proper Pet Care seminar he attended at the insistence of Chanyeol-curse him-his owl took an abnormal liking to Jongin’s pet rat. Personally, Kyungsoo hates rats, but his beloved owl seems less temperamental ever since she found a friend. So other than chastising Hellfire for leaving claw marks on Magnus that one time and begging her to find a less squishy play mate, Kyungsoo doesn’t do much to prevent her from stealing away with the rat.
Jongin, however, acts like the world is ending whenever his rat disappears.
Kyungsoo shakes his head. Why did Jongin have to be so attached to his pet? Hellfire would sometimes go away for days, and Kyungsoo never worried. She always came back. Did Jongin not have any friends other than Magnus and Luhan? That was just sad, to be honest.
“Do Kyungsoo!”
Kyungsoo stops at the third landing and cringes. His stress free week has officially ended. “By Merlin’s sweaty balls, not this again.”
“Where is Magnus?” Jongin yells from the bottom of the tower. His robe is falling off one shoulder and it looks like he didn’t bother fixing his hair that morning.
“Is that your first reaction to losing your pet? To come to me?” Kyungsoo leans on the railing. He’s so tired that if he had the exact coordinates of Jongin’s rat, he would give them to the Hufflepuff. But for once, he really doesn’t know. “I am not a pet whisperer like Chanyeol, nor do I run a pet daycare. How the hell am I supposed to know where your rat is?”
“Because your beastly owl took him again!” Jongin starts to climb the first set of stairs when it decides to move. The Hufflepuff holds onto the railing, but continues to climb towards Kyungsoo, fully determined to reach him.
The first thing a student learns about using moving staircases is that they have to move swiftly. No stopping mid-step, not slowing down to chat. One has to move with purpose so that the stairs don’t get cheeky and start to move.
Jongin is a fourth year.
Jongin has apparently not learned this.
“No she didn’t,” Kyungsoo says, holding back a laugh.
The Hufflepuff is holding on for dear life as the stairs finally connect to another and settle down. Only now he’s on the opposite side of Kyungsoo. He starts to climb again. “Yes, she did!”
Kyungsoo frowns. “I know for a fact that she didn’t because I left her locked in her cage last night.”
After climbing and then going down more stairs to the other side, Jongin finally reaches him. “I don’t”-pant-“believe you.”
Kyungsoo rolls his eyes. He has no time for this today. He wants to sleep, dammit. “This game was cute the first week, but now it’s just annoying.” He takes out his wand. “Accio Hellfire’s cage!”
In the time that it takes the cage to get there, Kyungsoo keeps an eye on Jongin. Even though the Hufflepuff is only a year younger, Kyungsoo hadn’t noticed or known Jongin until this whole pet war started. The kid is tall and tanned, with full lips and sleepy eyes that become animated the angrier he gets, which in their encounters is always. Jongin is carefully avoiding Kyungsoo’s gaze now, apparently turning shy after the crazy display he just ran through. It’s sort of…cute.
When the cage flies in and settles at Kyungsoo’s feet he wants to scream. He opens the door, takes the rat out, and hands it to Jongin. “You’re welcome.”
Jongin places his rat in his robe’s pocket. “Stop taking my pet,” he says. “This is the last warning. I’m telling Headmistress McGonagall next time.”
“I didn’t take him,” Kyungsoo says through gritted teeth. “Hellfire was in her cage, which means your rat went to her.”
“You expect me to believe that Magnus and Hellfire are some sort of…of friends?” Jongin asks, his face scrunched up in disbelief.
Kyungsoo throws his hands up. “Yes! Is it that hard to believe?”
“Of course it is,” Jongin snaps. “You’re just doing this to get back at me for the seminar. Don’t tell me you don’t love making me miserable by having me worry about Magnus.”
Kyungsoo gapes. He isn’t a bully. He isn’t! Sure, he gets a bit grouchy when others interrupt his peace, but it isn’t like he snaps at people for his own pleasure. His friends understand this, which is why they never take his cutting remarks seriously. But it’s not like he purposefully goes after people to make them miserable. “Look, I’m not doing this. I don’t even like rats-”
Jongin snorts. “Yeah, I remember the library.”
Kyungsoo sucks in a breath. “I’d prefer if you’d forget it.” His carefully constructed ‘dark and badass’ persona crumbled away that day, all because of Jongin and his stupid rat. And now Jongin was making him feel like a monster who fed on the misery of others.
“Then leave Magnus and me alone!” Jongin yells.
“Gladly!” Kyungsoo roars back. He grabs the cage and stomps upstairs.
++Owlery ++
“Jonginnie!” Luhan waves at him.
Jongin has been friends with Luhan ever since they were kids. Lu used to visit him at the orphanage and bring him candy from his family’s store. It was a tough two years when Luhan got his letter to Hogwarts and Jongin had to stay behind. When Jongin got his own letter, he’d worried Luhan would be too busy with his own school friends. But even though they were in different houses, it was like nothing had changed.
“Hey, Lu,” Jongin says running up to him. “What’s up?”
Luhan blows into his gloveless hands. A steady cold breeze is coming from the open windows. “I have a problem.”
Jongin smiles. Lu’s curiosity, more often than not, gets him into trouble. “What did you do?”
“Nothing!”
Jongin raises an eyebrow.
“Fine!” Luhan grins. “Nothing yet. But I’m going to. I have to.”
“Lu, you’re doing that thing where you’re running around the main issue, saying random statements for dramatic effect and hoping I understand you,” Jongin says. “We both know that’s not going to happen. So, spit it out.”
“I think my roommate is hiding something from me,” Luhan says. “Something dangerous and I want to know what it is so I can bring him down and ask for a new roommate.”
Jongin tilts his head. “You don’t like Minseok?”
Luhan grabs his cheeks and squeezes. “Don’t tell me you do!”
Jongin pulls away. “He’s okay. A bit scary, but he’s nice.”
“He’s mean to me,” Luhan grumbles. “He’s mean, secretive, and-and he thinks he’s so much better than everyone just because his family has money. Ugh.”
“That doesn’t sound like him,” Jongin says, carefully. He doesn’t know Minseok well, but he’s seen the Gryffindor being kind to others-helping Sehun with his Transfiguration homework, offering to pay for Tao’s candy at Honeydukes. Maybe Minseok had taken a sudden dislike to Luhan just as Kyungsoo had taken a dislike for him?
Luhan pouts and frowns. He looks like a little kid about to throw a tantrum. He might be older, but he continually acts like the youngest, which is how he gets away with almost anything. “So now I’m lying?”
“No, um….” Jongin settles an arm around Luhan’s shoulders. “I just mean that maybe you should get to know him a bit more before judging him.”
“The only thing I want to know is his big, fat secret so I can blackmail him with it,” Luhan declares, a determined look on his face.
Jongin laughs. He shoves Luhan playfully, but follows him anyway. “So what are you going to do?”
As an answer, Luhan takes him to the Owlery. Then promptly pushes him into a hiding spot without explaining anything. The floor is covered in feathers, hay, and bird poop. Jongin is crouching and trying not to get much of it on his robes and pants, but it’s a lost cause. He glances at his hiding companion. “What are we doing here again?”
“Waiting for Minseok to come in and send his secret message. I’ve been stalking him,” Luhan says, as if it’s the most natural thing in the world. “Every week he sends a letter to someone outside of the castle. Once he does it, I’m going to send Brock after his owl to retrieve said message so I can read it. I want to know who he’s communicating with and why.”
“Do you really think that’s a good idea? Brock is like a midget beside Ironclaw,” Jongin says, thinking of Minseok’s beastly owl against Luhan’s petite one.
“Exactly!” Luhan grabs Jongin’s hands. “Brock is tiny and fast. He’ll tackle that hulking beast mid-air and snatch the letter. Easy.”
Jongin isn’t sure about the plan, but when Luhan sets his mind on something there’s no steering him away, even if the path leads straight to destruction. He just hopes they don’t get into too much trouble.
Magnus peeks out of his coat pocket and nibbles at his sleeve. He’s been acting a bit down this week, choosing to stay hidden in the darkness of the pocket, so it’s nice to see him out and about. But it’s not the time or place. “I know you want to come out buddy.” Jongin pets the little furry head. “But for now you have to stay hidden. You wouldn’t want to become food for the owls in here.”
With one last nibble, Magnus returns to his hiding place. Just in time too, because they hear footsteps outside. “I think someone is-”
Luhan slaps a hand over Jongin’s mouth and forces him lower behind the cluster of empty cages.
Once Luhan releases him, he takes a peek and sees that it is in fact Kim Minseok who just entered the Owlery. The gives Ironclaw a treat when the big owl comes down, and then spends some time petting him. Minseok takes out a letter from his pocket and gives it to his pet. Ironclaw’s strong wings lift him up and away.
They wait until they hear Minseok’s retreating steps disappear.
Luhan jumps out of their hiding corner. “Brock!” The pigmy owl jets down from his perch and onto his owner’s hand. “Remember what I taught you?” The tiny owl tilts his head. “Go fetch me that letter. Go!”
Brock beats his tiny wings, and flies up and outside.
Jongin watches him go. “Now what?”
“We wait,” Luhan says and rubs his hands together like a movie villain. Oh boy. He really was taking this thing about unmasking his roommate way too seriously. Perhaps it was time to intervene.
Brock returns a few minutes later, his feathers ruffled. The letter is almost as big as his head and it definitely weighs too much for him to handle alone. Luhan coos at him, telling him what a good boy he’s been. Then sets him down in a nearby cage so Brock can drink water and rest.
Luhan cracks open the wax seal. His triumphant grin falls when he sees the scroll is blank.
Jongin taps the paper with his wand. “Aparecium.”
Nothing happens.
“Maybe something stronger?” Jongin asks.
Luhan narrows his eyes and taps the scroll with his wand. “Specialis Revelio!”
The sixth year spell works and letters appear, but they don’t make any sense whatsoever. They’re all scrabbled.
“It’s a code!” Luhan grins, eyes almost sparkling. “He’s definitely hiding something!”
Jongin bites his thumb. “How are you going to figure out what it says?”
Luhan twirls the scroll. “Oh, that’s the easy part. I’ll just give it to Jongdae. He loves codes.”
A loud angry screech echoes in the Owlery. Jongin’s heads snap up just in time to see Ironclaw descending on them, looking to recover the stolen letter.
“Confrigo!” Luhan shouts and the scroll in his hands catches fire, destroying the evidence. He throws it away and it lands in one of the owl cages. But sparks fall into the hay stacks below and flames come alive in seconds.
The Owlery erupts into chaos, with the owls all trying to get away from the danger, but knocking into each other at the same time. There must be hundreds and not all of them fit through the narrow windows, so they start flying down and out the door.
Jongin screams and tackles Luhan to the floor. Ironclaw’s deadly talons scratch the air where they’d been standing a second before. They scramble up and outside, ready to run back to the castle. A mousy squeak of distress makes Jongin look back.
Magnus is on the Owlery floor, alone and defenseless.
++Owlery++
Kyungsoo is on his bed finishing up reading for Ancient Runes. His eyes keep drooping, but if he stops now, he won’t want to return to it later. The class is interesting, but the readings can be quite a bit of a snore.
His roommate barges inside in a blur of robes. Sehun’s hair is parted at the middle and sweeps to the sides like an open book with water-damaged pages. “Hyung,” he says as greeting, then opens his trunk and starts throwing things out all over. Sehun is always making a mess.
Kyungsoo marks his place in the book and sits up. “What are you doing?”
“Looking for my secret stash,” Sehun says.
Kyungsoo sucks in a breath.
Sehun glances at him, eyes bored. “Of galleons.”
“Sorry.”
Sehun continues searching. “I made you a promise, didn’t I?”
“Yes. Yes, you did.” Kyungsoo and Sehun have been roommates for four years now. Sehun has been clear-headed for two, and he’s learned to control his visions. Kyungsoo still worries about him though.
“You didn’t sleep in your bed two nights ago,” Kyungsoo says.
“I was playing with Zitao and forgot the time,” he says. “We stayed the night in the Room of Requirement.”
Kyungsoo frowns. He’s not very fond of the Slytherin kid, especially since Tao is best friends with Kris, Slytherin’s ex-Quidditch-star player. Kyungsoo has warned Sehun before, but the kid assures him Tao is alright.
Sehun brings out a leather coin bag and shakes it. It clinks heavy with galleons. “Yasss.”
“What are you going to buy?”
“A snake.”
“What!”
“Tao has one. She’s really cool. I want one.” Sehun looks at Kyungsoo, eyes worried. “Unless you’re afraid of snakes? I won’t get one if you are.”
It’s touching that Sehun is asking. His roommate might act detached at times, but it was with the little things like this that Sehun showed he cared. Kyungsoo smiles. “No, I’m not scared.”
Sehun eyes turning into crescents. “Thanks, hyung. I’ll see you later!”
“Come back before curfew,” Kyungsoo shouts after him.
Sehun makes a peace sign without looking back and walks out the door.
Kyungsoo glances down at his book and groans. He leaves it open on the bed and walks to the window. It’s a nice sunny day, the snow sparkling white all over the castle.
The weather is good and he still needs to send a letter home telling them he wants to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas break. His parents won’t like it at all, but the break is the perfect time to get in more study hours for the O.W.L.s. If he goes home, his mother will insist he help in the kitchen, his father will have him sit down and ask for stories about the going-ons at school, and his brother will bother him about being the special kid. No. Kyungsoo is better off staying in the empty castle.
He closes the book, and writes a quick letter. Hellfire isn’t in her cage, which means he’ll have to go to the Owlery and hope she’s there or borrow one of the castle’s owls. It’s fine. Walking will wake him right up and he can get back to finish studying afterward.
Kyungsoo heads down and outside. The cool air bites at his nose and cheeks. He pulls the crimson beanie lower so that it covers his ears, and adjust his glasses once they’ve unfogged.
He’s nearing the Owlery when a cacophony of bird screeches reaches his ears. Owls fly out in flocks from the top windows of the tower, spooked by something inside. Kyungsoo runs.
Inside, he finds Luhan trying to protect a figure lying in the middle of the floor and a roaring fire in a corner.
“Soo!” Luhan yells. “Oh, thank goodness you’re here. A little help, please?”
Kyungsoo sighs exasperated. “Aqua Eructo!” he shouts and a spout of water shoots out of his wand. He sprays it about until the fire is gone. However, the owls are still panicking above and attacking Luhan and his friend. By Merlin’s jiggly armpits. Just what did they do?
Luhan points his wand to the air. “Avis!”
A flock of colorful birds fly into existence. They follow the pattern Luhan weaves in the air with his wand, directing them and the owls outside. After all the screeching and hooting, a hush falls over the Owlery. Feathers drift lazily in the air moved by the winter breeze filtering through the door.
Luhan kneels by his friend. “Are you okay?”
The kid groans. There are spots of blood all over his back where the owls no doubt dug in their claws.
Kyungsoo’s eyes widen when he realizes who it is. “Jongin?”
There’s a deep gash over Jongin’s brows, and scratch marks on his cheeks and hands. When he sits up, Kyungsoo sees what was hidden underneath the Hufflepuff.
“Hellfire!”
++Hospital Wing++
“It’s not me that needs to be healed!” Jongin yells, shoving against the hands trying to push him down. He doesn’t want to lie down.
Luhan holds onto him, and tries to get him to remain still in one of the Hospital Wing beds. “Your face and hands are all scratched and you’re bleeding all over the place! Now stop being so stubborn and let them heal you.”
“Not until Magnus gets help!”
Madam Pomfrey and her apprentice hover nearby. She’s not a woman to suffer misbehaving patients. “I see no major injuries here, so I believe you can manage this on your own, Mr. Zhang.” She gives him a disapproving glance and leaves for her office.
Jongin doesn’t care. The only thing that matters is getting Magnus the help he needs. He struggles against Luhan once more, but his best friend doesn’t budge.
“I already sent word to Chanyeol,” Luhan says. “So, calm down. You’re acting like an idiot.”
Jongin stands again. “It would be faster if I go to him.”
Yixing moves forward and places a tray on the bedside table. Magnus lies on it, a cloth tight around his middle, already soaked with blood. “Your pet will be fine, Jongin. Now stop making a fuzz and let me look at you.”
Jongin lets Luhan help him back onto the bed, but his eyes never leave the still form of Magnus. He couldn’t die. He couldn’t leave him. Magnus was the only thing his parents had left him before abandoning him at the orphanage. He was the only connection to Jongin’s past and his first best friend. He couldn’t just die.
Yixing turns his head away, to check the cuts on his face. “Superficial scratches, most of them,” he says. “We need to clean you up and disinfect the cuts. What were you guys doing?”
“It’s my fault,” Luhan says. “We were in the Owlery and I sort of made some owls angry. Magnus fell out of Jongin’s pocket when we ran, then Hellfire tried to snatch Magnus up, and then Jongin jumped in to save him. Those birds are vicious.”
Yixing raps his knuckles on Luhan’s head. “They are if you give them reason to be.”
Luhan hisses and rubs his head, but doesn’t say anything back. He kind of deserved it for setting the place on fire and causing a mess. “I’m sorry, Jongin,” Luhan says again. “I shouldn’t have dragged you into this.”
Jongin slaps Luhan’s shoulder, letting him know it’s fine.
Chanyeol lumbers inside, his heavy footsteps making the bed tremble a bit. “Baekhyun told me you needed me?”
“Please, help him.” Jongin points him to Magnus. “He got attacked at the Owlery.”
Even with his big hands and big fingers, Chanyeol gently checks Magnus. A deep frown settles on his hairy brows when he lifts the makeshift bandage. “He’ll survive. But I can treat him better back in my room.” He grabs the tray and glances up. “Is that okay?”
He looks over at Luhan who nods. “Okay,” Jongin says.
Chanyeol gives him a genuine smile, and walks away. A small someone knocks into him as the half-giant is leaving. Jongin recognizes the raven-haired figure that stumbles back. Kyungsoo’s face is a mask of rage, and Jongin braces for the incoming fight.
“What the hell did you do to Hellfire?” Kyungsoo demands.
“I stunned her,” Jongin says. “She was trying to get at Magnus.”
Kyungsoo steps closer. “To protect him, no doubt, since you seem incapable of doing it yourself!”
The bed sheets crumple in Jongin’s fists. “She was making it worse! She got into a fight with Ironclaw and Magnus was right in the middle of it!”
“Guys,” Yixing says. “Lower your voices, please. This is the Healing Wing, not the Great Hall.”
“Sorry, hyung,” Jongin says to his roommate. He’s embarrassed to have lost his temper like this. But when Magnus’ life is on the line, all rational thoughts are out the window.
Kyungsoo simply nods to Yixing, before glaring back at Jongin. “Hellfire better wake up soon.”
Jongin crosses his arms, an obvious dare. “I did the right thing in stunning Hellfire. It was the only way to protect them both, so I won’t apologize for it.”
Kyungsoo turns on his heel and stomps out.
Luhan sighs and leans on the bed. “If Kyungsoo is this pissed, I can’t wait to see how Minseok will react. I think I saw a couple of burned feathers on Ironclaw.”
“You burned Minseok’s owl?” Yixing asks.
“It wasn’t on purpose!”
Yixing whacks Luhan again.
Jongin sighs. “At least Minseok doesn’t hate your guts for no good reason.”
“Jonginnie…I know Soo is rough around the edges, all gruff and mean, but he isn’t out to get you or Magnus,” Luhan says. “He’s not like that. If you give him a chance-”
Jongin crosses his arms. “Are you throwing my own advice about Minseok back at me?”
Luhan grins. “Yes. Yes, I am.”
“You suck, hyung.”
++Gryffindor Tower++
Kyungsoo looks up from the Charms book he’s reading to see Luhan walk in with a tall shadow in tow. The frown is immediate and he hates that Jongin can elicit such a fast reaction from him. But after the disaster at the Owlery and Hellfire getting hurt, Kyungsoo has had enough of the Hufflepuff.
Luhan waves at him, cheerful as always. “Hey, guys! What are you doing?”
“Sleeping, until your chirpy voice kicked me out of dreamland,” Baek says from the plush seat by the window. He’s wrapped himself in a cocoon of blankets so that only his honey brown hair is visible above.
“Good! Now you can help me study for Charms,” Luhan tells him, but Baek rolls over and gives the back to the room.
Luhan shakes his head. “What about you two?”
“Ignoring you,” Sehun pipes up from the rug. He’s has his Tarot cards spread in front of him, and a scroll by his side with notes.
“Yah! Do not sass me, fetus!”
Sehun completely ignores Luhan. “Hey, Jongin. Want me to read your future?”
Jongin shakes his head, but takes a seat on the rug across from Sehun anyways.
Kyungsoo lets his feet down from the nearby table and glares at Luhan. “You know it’s not allowed to bring in outsiders.”
“Outsiders?” Luhan laughs and glances at Jongin. “It’s not like he’s a spy invading our territory. Jongin just came to visit Magnus. Have you seen Chanyeol, by the way?”
“He kind of is invading,” Kyungsoo bites out. He’s invading Kyungsoo’s zen space anyways.
“Aw, come on.” Luhan sits on the couch next to him and drapes an arm around his narrow shoulders. “You still mad about yesterday?”
“No,” Kyungsoo says, at the same time Sehun provides a, “Yes.”
Luhan looks from one to the other. “We already said sorry.”
Kyungsoo arches a brow. “Actually, you didn’t.”
“Well then, we are sorry,” Luhan says, putting on his best smile. “Truly. We are. Right, Jongin?”
Kyungsoo looks at Jongin.
Jongin isn’t glaring at him for once, but he’s not meeting Kyungsoo’s eyes either. His uniform is in disarray, with the shirtsleeves pushed up and some buttons undone, showing a black shirt underneath. Jongin’s tanned fingers play with a loose string on his school bag. The moving muscles in his forearm entrance Kyungsoo, and he wants to snap at Jongin for no reason at all.
“Are you studying for the Charms test tomorrow?” Luhan asks, catching Kyungsoo’s attention again. “I really need help, and Baek is useless right now.”
Kyungsoo shuts the book closed unnecessarily hard and stands. “Just finished. And I think I need a nap, too.”
“Aw. Come on! Don’t be like that. Why are you punishing me? It’s Jongin you are pissed at!”
Ignoring Luhan’s yells, he takes the stairs up to his room.
Hellfire croons softly from her cage. Hagrid looked her over the night before, and aside from a few scratches and missing feathers, Hellfire didn’t suffer major wounds. He knew it was mostly thanks to Jongin who had thrown himself on top of Hellfire and Magnus. The kid received the worse of the damage. Kyungsoo had not only seen the scratches on his skin, but also the gouges on the back of Hufflepuff’s robes, where the owls had dug their talons in.
Kyungsoo didn’t know what to think of the whole situation. On the one hand, Jongin had hurt Hellfire, but he’d also protected her. But she wouldn’t have needed protection if Jongin had taken better care of Magnus, whom Hellfire was really attached to. By Merlin’s bushy nostrils, who would’ve thought that pet friendships could complicate his life so much.
Hellfire calls him in a muted shrill. He opens the cage and runs his fingers over her feathery body. She’s still woozy, not fully recovered from Jongin’s stun spell. She tilts her head and begs for a scratch and he obliges. “You’ll feel better soon. The effects of the spell should be gone by tomorrow.”
After puffing up her feathers, she bites his fingers. Not hard enough to break skin, but enough to serve as a warning.
“I know, I know,” Kyungsoo says. “I’ll bring you corn bread tomorrow.”
Kyungsoo lies down in bed. He needs to finish studying, but as soon as he gets comfortable and his head touches the fluffy pillow
he
is
asleep.
The candles in the room have dimmed out, but come back to life as soon as he sits up sometime later. He rubs his eyes and checks the other bed in the room. Empty. Did he stay out playing with Tao again?
“What time is it?”
The stone raven perched by the door comes to life. “One in the morning. Craaaw.”
Kyungsoo gets out of bed and heads down to the common room. The fireplace is still lit up, which means there’s someone there. After a quick look, he approaches the sleeping figure on the couch. “Sehun?”
It’s not his roommate.
Jongin’s black-and-yellow striped tie is clutched in his hands along with one of the old throw blankets that lie around the Gryffindor common room at all times. The blanket is too small for him, and his sockless feet peek out from the bottom of it.
For once, Kyungsoo feels something different than annoyance around Jongin. It’s too confusing to name, so he reverts to his usual mode. “What are you doing here?” he says out loud.
Jongin jerks up, getting tangled in the blanket and almost falling. He squints up at Kyungsoo and takes his time answering. “I missed curfew and the Fat Lady wouldn’t let me out,” he mumbles around a yawn.
“Great,” Kyungsoo says. “Where’s Sehun?”
“Went to play with Tao.”
“And Luhan? Why did he leave you here alone?”
“He thinks Minseok is hiding something,” Jongin says, yawning again, “So he left to follow him.”
“And neither of them returned?”
Jongin shrugs. “I feel asleep after that.”
Ugh. Why are his friends so troublesome? Kyungsoo turns his back on Jongin and starts to leave to check Luhan’s room and make sure he’s alright. If Minseok discovered Luhan was following him, Kyungsoo might have to unfreeze him again.
Jongin groans.
Kyungsoo glances down at him from the staircase. Jongin has curled up once more in the small couch. It must be very uncomfortable, but the guy starts snoring in less than a minute. Kyungsoo climbs two more steps before sighing.
Damn. No matter how angry he is with Jongin, his conscience isn’t going to let him get away with leaving the kid to sleep on that couch. He had gotten hurt protecting both pets.
“Hey, sleeping beauty,” he yells.
A loud thump comes from below. Jongin’s head peeks over the edge of the sofa, hair all wild and askew.
Something flutters in Kyungsoo’s chest, but he ignores it. “There’s a free bed upstairs.”
When Jongin doesn’t move right away, Kyungsoo growls. “I’m retracting my offer in five seconds,” he says, and starts counting down.
Jongin is by his side in an instant, clutching his shoes, tie, and bag against his chest like a small kid.
It’s…cute.
Kyungsoo frowns at that thought and stomps upstairs without saying a word. Jongin follows him quietly and then stands in the middle of the room, eyes half-closed. Kyungsoo points him to Sehun’s empty bed before jumping into his own.
Jongin leaves his things on Sehun’s trunk at the foot of the bed and then approaches Hellfire’s cage.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Kyungsoo warns. “She’s not very happy at the moment, what with being stunned yesterday.”
The Hufflepuff pays no attention. He slides one finger through the bars and leaves it there.
Kyungsoo raises up on his elbows. “I really don’t think-”
Hellfire wastes no time and bites.
Jongin yelps and retrieves his finger.
Kyungsoo can see the trail of blood running down from it. “You’re an idiot. Why did you do that?”
“Apologizing,” Jongin says.
Hellfire fives a muted screech and then turns her back on him.
“By Merlin’s fungus ridden toes, you could’ve just apologized to me,” Kyungsoo mutters. He points his wand at Jongin and casts Episkey, the only healing spell he knows. “You’re welcome,” he says, before he turns his back on Jongin.
The bed creaks when Jongin climbs in the other bed. His voice breaks the silence a minute later. “I’m sorry about Hellfire. And…thank you…for this.”
Kyungsoo grunts, closes his eyes, and tries to forget the way Jongin’s brown hair looked so soft falling over his sleepy eyes. Jongin’s soft snores still keep him awake for most of the night, not because of the sound, but because of the awareness that Jongin is there.
++Library++
The library is usually a quiet place of study and research. However, it always stops being this whenever Luhan steps through its doors. Still, Jongin always tries his best to keep his friend from disrupting the peace too much. This becomes much harder to achieve when a certain half-veela Ravenclaw is there at the same time.
Jongdae is currently seated on the big table amid the pyramids of books Junmyeon and Luhan had taken out for their Transfiguration homework. “So, he asked you to sleep over, and then this morning he sent your stuff flying to Myrtle’s bathroom?”
“Yes! I spent the entire morning trying to shake her off. She kept following me everywhere,” Jongin says, slouching ever more on his seat. For some reason, Kyungsoo had woken up in a horrible mood, which had turned into them arguing, and then Kyungsoo casting a spell on his stuff. Shoes, school bag, and robe had all flown out of the Gryffindor Tower.
Luhan stops writing on his scroll. “That’s impressive. The bathroom is pretty far away from Gryffindor’s tower. And he did it just on a whim.”
“He’s a badass,” Jongdae says.
Jongin groans. “Stop admiring his spell casting proficiency.”
“Should we admire his wand skill then?” Jongdae wags his eyebrows.
“Why would we-Oh, you’re gross.”
Jongdae cackles, his half-veela heritage turning the laugh melodic and hypnotic.
Junmyeon, Ravenclaw’s Headboy and Jongdae’s weakness, looks up from his pile of books. “Need I remind you this is the library and not the courtyard? I need to concentrate here and I can’t do that with your voice trying to manipulate my brain. It’s distracting.”
“Aw, Jun, lighten up,” Jongdae says, and slaps Junmyeon’s back. “Stop reading for a second and chat with us. Jongin is in need of help.”
“I don’t do relationship talk,” Junmyeon says, going back to his homework.
Luhan laughs. “They’re not in a relationship, Jun!”
Junmyeon glances up from his papers, perfectly styled brows furrowed. “No? Are you sure?”
Jongin sputters. “It’s not…I’m not…We hate each other! There’s no relationship to speak of.”
“Really? Let’s see.” Junmyeon holds out his hand and starts to count on his fingers. “You blushed and stuttered when I brought the issue up.”
“B-Because it’s ridiculous!”
Junmyeon raises another finger. “From what you’ve told us, you get irrationally angry at him.”
“It’s not irrational!”
A third finger goes up. “And Yixing told me, you once called out Kyungsoo’s name in your sleep.”
Jongin’s mouth drops open. “That’s not true.”
Junmyeon shrugs. “Okay, so I made that last one up.”
He growls.
Jongdae leans closer to him. “But you blushed harder.”
Jongin has no words. His friends are insane, that’s the only explanation for this conversation. “Oh my stars. You guys really think I like him?”
Junmyeon nods. “On some deep and twisted level, yeah.”
Jongin starts banging his head against the table, but Luhan stops him. “Stop that. It is not the end of the world to find out you like your nemesis. Sometimes fighting can be a sort of unconscious foreplay until one day you realize that you don’t hate him. You actually like him, but now he thinks that you really do hate him, and-”
There’s an awkward silence.
Jongin raises his head and frowns at his best friend.
“Did you hear that? I think someone called out my name.” Luhan makes a hasty retreat and disappears between the shelves. Jongin definitely needs to sit down with his friend to talk.
“I win,” Jongdae says to his fellow Ravenclaw. He throws his hands up and does a little wiggle dance.
“You are the most spazzy person I know,” Junmyeon says, shaking his head. “How can you be so observant?”
“You remember our deal, right?”
“Yes, yes,” Junmyeon says. “Next Hogsmeade visit.”
Jongin glances between the two. “I am so lost right now.”
“Aww. It’s okay, Jonginnie,” Jongdae says. “Not everyone can be me and know everything.”
Junmyeon points his quill at Jongdae. “I need peace and quiet to finish this. Do I need to cast a mute spell on you again?”
Jongdae mimics locking his lips and throwing away the key. Junmyeon rolls his eyes and goes back to his books.
Jongin settles his head on his arms and sighs. There’s no way he likes Kyungsoo. The guy hates him and the feeling is mutual. Last night, when the Gryffindor had been nice enough to offer Sehun’s bed, Jongin had been…confused. He hadn’t expected the kindness. But then morning had come, Kyungsoo had been his usual nasty self, and everything had been right in the world.
Right?
Jongin sighs harder.
part ii
Title: Unlikely Friends
Genre: Harry Potter!au, romance, slight!angst
Rating: PG-15
Side-Pairings: XiuHan, BFFs TaoHun, slight!SuChen
Warnings: hurt animals, extreme fluff and cheese
Length: 14,000 words
Summary: Jongin and Kyungsoo are enemies, but their pets keep bringing them together again and again.
Notes: I so couldn’t pass up the opportunity to write Hogwarts!AU KaiSoo with pets. I hope you like! To my dear beta, your support and input are as always invaluable <3
++Great Hall++
The Great Hall changed overnight to its winter holiday best, so when morning arrives, eleven proud pine trees line up the hall, golden stars, glittering trinkets, and magic candles hanging from their branches. A twelfth tree, so tall that its top star brushes the high ceilings, graces the back wall behind the professors table. Hanging fire braziers, garlands and crowns, cheer up the rest of the room. It’s all very warm and inviting, unlike the ceiling which presents rolling clouds full of snow, reflecting the cold weather outside.
Jongin notices none of this when he enters the Great Hall at full speed. He stops at the entrance and searches the Gryffindor table. Once he locates his target, he stomps his way towards the guy. “Do Kyungsoo!”
The raven-haired fifth year turns in his seat and inches his glasses higher on his nose. “How can I help you today, Jongin?”
“Where is Magnus?”
“How should I know? I don’t read those silly, romance novels for teen girls,” Kyungsoo says completely straight-faced. His friends-the half-giant Chanyeol, and half-veela cousins Baekhyun and Jongdae-chuckle and titter at the stupid joke.
“I meant Magnus my pet, not Magnus Bane!” Jongin snaps, making the group erupt in more laughter. Yeah, fine, they caught him. He reads those teen novels girls love so much. “Stop being an ass and hand him over.”
“You should’ve gotten a majestic owl like mine,” Kyungsoo says, grabbing a piece of corn bread and popping it into his mouth. “Not a squeaky little rat since you seem incapable of keeping track of where it is.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t feel the need to overcompensate for my shortcomings by buying an enormous and vicious animal.” Jongin mentally high-fives himself at the angry blush that blankets Kyungsoo’s cheeks.
Kyungsoo’s friends ‘oohh’ and ‘ahhh’ until he snaps at them to go away. They obey like the true minions that they are, and then it’s only Kyungsoo and Jongin glaring at each other.
It’s not the first time in the year that Jongin has found himself doing exactly this.
Ever since he attended Hagrid’s Proper Pet Care seminar last month Kyungsoo and him have been clashing. In the seminar, they ended up paired together for one of the exercises. But it all went wrong. Kyungsoo took an immediate dislike to Magnus for no good reason, and refused to participate. In the end, they both failed the seminar.
Hellfire’s sudden habit of stealing Magnus is probably just a game orchestrated by Kyungsoo to get back at him. Jongin has become paranoid enough to keep Magnus in his robe pockets most of the time, but somehow his pet always disappears.
“I don’t know where your stupid rat is,” Kyungsoo says.
Jongin crosses his arms. Why does the guy have to make things so difficult? “You always say that and where do I always find Magnus? In your owl’s claws!”
“You say it like she’s out to murder your rat,” the Gryffindor says. “She’s just playing.”
“Magnus was all scratched up last time!” Just thinking about his poor pet all wounded makes him furious. Magnus has been with him since forever.
Kyungsoo rolls his eyes, brings two fingers to his mouth, and whistles really loud. It takes a moment for his massive owl to fly in. She deposits something on the table before landing nearby. The beast’s ear tufts stand proud as always, much like her owner’s thick brows. Her hellish orange eyes look over at Jongin with contempt.
Kyungsoo points at the table. “Oh, look! She found your rat again. You’re welcome.”
“Magnus!” Jongin grabs his pet rat from the table. Magnus’ ruby eyes blink at him as Jongin runs his hands over his pet’s cinnamon and chocolate coat, checking him all over for injuries.
“By Merlin’s saggy man-tits, he’s fine,” Kyungsoo says exasperated. “Hellfire would never hurt another pet. She’s well trained, unlike yours.” He pets his demon owl and then feeds her the rest of his corn bread.
“Magnus is blind, you insensitive piece of-” Jongin breathes deep. “He didn’t know he was chewing your homework. I’ve apologized a hundred times.” Jongin had been in the library studying when suddenly shrieks drew his attention to a nearby table. Kyungsoo flailed around, screaming incoherently in very girl-pitched tones and pointing at his table. His owl had come to his rescue, snatching up the monster lurking over Kyungsoo’s papers. It was only then Jongin realized Magnus was missing from his table.
“It was my Potions homework,” Kyungsoo says, gathering up his things. “For the first time in five years, I didn’t have my homework ready. No apology will ever be sufficient to erase the pain of becoming Professor Draco’s errand boy for the rest of the term.”
“I volunteered to do it for you, remember? You refused.” Jongin thinks the whole thing is less about the destroyed homework and more about the embarrassment Kyungsoo suffered from screaming like a girl in front of everyone.
“I can do my own work,” Kyungsoo snaps. The anger in his eyes seems to run deeper than the simple animosity Kyungsoo showed during the Pet Care seminar and after the Library incident.
Jongin doesn’t understand what he’s done to warrant such hate. He growls. “You’re a complete and utter idiot, Do Kyungs-”
“Is there a problem here, Mr. Kim?” Headmistress McGonagall’s tone is as unforgiving as ever. She looks at them over the rim of her glasses, mouth set in a thin line.
“No, headmistress,” Jongin says, putting Magnus in his pocket.
“Mr. Do?” she asks the smiling Kyungsoo.
“I helped Mr. Kim here to find his rat and he was just thanking me,” Kyungsoo says. “Right, Jongin?”
Jongin wants to punch him or zap him with a bat-bogey hex, but McGonagall is staring at him. “Yes. Thank you, Kyungsoo.”
“You’re welcome,” Kyungsoo repeats.
Headmistress McGonagall’s eyes narrow and she is totally not buying their story, but she simply shakes her head and orders them to get to class. Then she strides away, head held high, to terrorize other students.
Once she leaves, Jongin narrows his eyes and addresses Kyungsoo. “Stay away from Magnus and me.”
“I’m not following you. I’m not doing anything,” Kyungsoo says. “In fact, nothing would make me happier than to have a day where you didn’t bother me.” He stands up from the bench and leaves, his demonic owl flying behind him.
Jongin tries not to be too hurt by the venom in Kyungsoo’s words.
++Moving Staircases++
Another end to an exhausting day. Kyungsoo’s eager to reach the Gryffindor Tower, dive into his bed, and sleep. He yawns wide, jaw clacking and eyes tearing up behind his glasses. He removes them and rubs his eyes. So, very tired.
Being a fifth year isn’t easy, especially with the impending O.W.L.s in the spring. As a muggle born, Kyungsoo always strives to do his best not wanting others to think less of him. He’s been diligently studying his ass off for all his classes, but unlike some of his friends-mainly Junmyeon and Jongdae who barely leave the library-he also knows the importance of rest. Not resting leads to being cranky and snapping at everyone, which contrary to popular belief it is not what Kyungsoo likes to do. He’s more of the silent, whispering curses under his breath type. Until provoked.
Thankfully, everyone has steered clear of his way this week, so his temper has been favorable. He’s back in Professor Draco’s good graces, he’s been doing well even in Astronomy, and he’s gotten more studying done without things eating away at his brain. Things like the annoying Hufflepuff with the rat, the one whom he’d seen around but never had a problem with. Until this year.
Fortunately, his words seem to have finally got through to Jongin, because he hasn’t even seen the kid around. Nothing but blissful quiet.
Ever since the Proper Pet Care seminar he attended at the insistence of Chanyeol-curse him-his owl took an abnormal liking to Jongin’s pet rat. Personally, Kyungsoo hates rats, but his beloved owl seems less temperamental ever since she found a friend. So other than chastising Hellfire for leaving claw marks on Magnus that one time and begging her to find a less squishy play mate, Kyungsoo doesn’t do much to prevent her from stealing away with the rat.
Jongin, however, acts like the world is ending whenever his rat disappears.
Kyungsoo shakes his head. Why did Jongin have to be so attached to his pet? Hellfire would sometimes go away for days, and Kyungsoo never worried. She always came back. Did Jongin not have any friends other than Magnus and Luhan? That was just sad, to be honest.
“Do Kyungsoo!”
Kyungsoo stops at the third landing and cringes. His stress free week has officially ended. “By Merlin’s sweaty balls, not this again.”
“Where is Magnus?” Jongin yells from the bottom of the tower. His robe is falling off one shoulder and it looks like he didn’t bother fixing his hair that morning.
“Is that your first reaction to losing your pet? To come to me?” Kyungsoo leans on the railing. He’s so tired that if he had the exact coordinates of Jongin’s rat, he would give them to the Hufflepuff. But for once, he really doesn’t know. “I am not a pet whisperer like Chanyeol, nor do I run a pet daycare. How the hell am I supposed to know where your rat is?”
“Because your beastly owl took him again!” Jongin starts to climb the first set of stairs when it decides to move. The Hufflepuff holds onto the railing, but continues to climb towards Kyungsoo, fully determined to reach him.
The first thing a student learns about using moving staircases is that they have to move swiftly. No stopping mid-step, not slowing down to chat. One has to move with purpose so that the stairs don’t get cheeky and start to move.
Jongin is a fourth year.
Jongin has apparently not learned this.
“No she didn’t,” Kyungsoo says, holding back a laugh.
The Hufflepuff is holding on for dear life as the stairs finally connect to another and settle down. Only now he’s on the opposite side of Kyungsoo. He starts to climb again. “Yes, she did!”
Kyungsoo frowns. “I know for a fact that she didn’t because I left her locked in her cage last night.”
After climbing and then going down more stairs to the other side, Jongin finally reaches him. “I don’t”-pant-“believe you.”
Kyungsoo rolls his eyes. He has no time for this today. He wants to sleep, dammit. “This game was cute the first week, but now it’s just annoying.” He takes out his wand. “Accio Hellfire’s cage!”
In the time that it takes the cage to get there, Kyungsoo keeps an eye on Jongin. Even though the Hufflepuff is only a year younger, Kyungsoo hadn’t noticed or known Jongin until this whole pet war started. The kid is tall and tanned, with full lips and sleepy eyes that become animated the angrier he gets, which in their encounters is always. Jongin is carefully avoiding Kyungsoo’s gaze now, apparently turning shy after the crazy display he just ran through. It’s sort of…cute.
When the cage flies in and settles at Kyungsoo’s feet he wants to scream. He opens the door, takes the rat out, and hands it to Jongin. “You’re welcome.”
Jongin places his rat in his robe’s pocket. “Stop taking my pet,” he says. “This is the last warning. I’m telling Headmistress McGonagall next time.”
“I didn’t take him,” Kyungsoo says through gritted teeth. “Hellfire was in her cage, which means your rat went to her.”
“You expect me to believe that Magnus and Hellfire are some sort of…of friends?” Jongin asks, his face scrunched up in disbelief.
Kyungsoo throws his hands up. “Yes! Is it that hard to believe?”
“Of course it is,” Jongin snaps. “You’re just doing this to get back at me for the seminar. Don’t tell me you don’t love making me miserable by having me worry about Magnus.”
Kyungsoo gapes. He isn’t a bully. He isn’t! Sure, he gets a bit grouchy when others interrupt his peace, but it isn’t like he snaps at people for his own pleasure. His friends understand this, which is why they never take his cutting remarks seriously. But it’s not like he purposefully goes after people to make them miserable. “Look, I’m not doing this. I don’t even like rats-”
Jongin snorts. “Yeah, I remember the library.”
Kyungsoo sucks in a breath. “I’d prefer if you’d forget it.” His carefully constructed ‘dark and badass’ persona crumbled away that day, all because of Jongin and his stupid rat. And now Jongin was making him feel like a monster who fed on the misery of others.
“Then leave Magnus and me alone!” Jongin yells.
“Gladly!” Kyungsoo roars back. He grabs the cage and stomps upstairs.
++Owlery ++
“Jonginnie!” Luhan waves at him.
Jongin has been friends with Luhan ever since they were kids. Lu used to visit him at the orphanage and bring him candy from his family’s store. It was a tough two years when Luhan got his letter to Hogwarts and Jongin had to stay behind. When Jongin got his own letter, he’d worried Luhan would be too busy with his own school friends. But even though they were in different houses, it was like nothing had changed.
“Hey, Lu,” Jongin says running up to him. “What’s up?”
Luhan blows into his gloveless hands. A steady cold breeze is coming from the open windows. “I have a problem.”
Jongin smiles. Lu’s curiosity, more often than not, gets him into trouble. “What did you do?”
“Nothing!”
Jongin raises an eyebrow.
“Fine!” Luhan grins. “Nothing yet. But I’m going to. I have to.”
“Lu, you’re doing that thing where you’re running around the main issue, saying random statements for dramatic effect and hoping I understand you,” Jongin says. “We both know that’s not going to happen. So, spit it out.”
“I think my roommate is hiding something from me,” Luhan says. “Something dangerous and I want to know what it is so I can bring him down and ask for a new roommate.”
Jongin tilts his head. “You don’t like Minseok?”
Luhan grabs his cheeks and squeezes. “Don’t tell me you do!”
Jongin pulls away. “He’s okay. A bit scary, but he’s nice.”
“He’s mean to me,” Luhan grumbles. “He’s mean, secretive, and-and he thinks he’s so much better than everyone just because his family has money. Ugh.”
“That doesn’t sound like him,” Jongin says, carefully. He doesn’t know Minseok well, but he’s seen the Gryffindor being kind to others-helping Sehun with his Transfiguration homework, offering to pay for Tao’s candy at Honeydukes. Maybe Minseok had taken a sudden dislike to Luhan just as Kyungsoo had taken a dislike for him?
Luhan pouts and frowns. He looks like a little kid about to throw a tantrum. He might be older, but he continually acts like the youngest, which is how he gets away with almost anything. “So now I’m lying?”
“No, um….” Jongin settles an arm around Luhan’s shoulders. “I just mean that maybe you should get to know him a bit more before judging him.”
“The only thing I want to know is his big, fat secret so I can blackmail him with it,” Luhan declares, a determined look on his face.
Jongin laughs. He shoves Luhan playfully, but follows him anyway. “So what are you going to do?”
As an answer, Luhan takes him to the Owlery. Then promptly pushes him into a hiding spot without explaining anything. The floor is covered in feathers, hay, and bird poop. Jongin is crouching and trying not to get much of it on his robes and pants, but it’s a lost cause. He glances at his hiding companion. “What are we doing here again?”
“Waiting for Minseok to come in and send his secret message. I’ve been stalking him,” Luhan says, as if it’s the most natural thing in the world. “Every week he sends a letter to someone outside of the castle. Once he does it, I’m going to send Brock after his owl to retrieve said message so I can read it. I want to know who he’s communicating with and why.”
“Do you really think that’s a good idea? Brock is like a midget beside Ironclaw,” Jongin says, thinking of Minseok’s beastly owl against Luhan’s petite one.
“Exactly!” Luhan grabs Jongin’s hands. “Brock is tiny and fast. He’ll tackle that hulking beast mid-air and snatch the letter. Easy.”
Jongin isn’t sure about the plan, but when Luhan sets his mind on something there’s no steering him away, even if the path leads straight to destruction. He just hopes they don’t get into too much trouble.
Magnus peeks out of his coat pocket and nibbles at his sleeve. He’s been acting a bit down this week, choosing to stay hidden in the darkness of the pocket, so it’s nice to see him out and about. But it’s not the time or place. “I know you want to come out buddy.” Jongin pets the little furry head. “But for now you have to stay hidden. You wouldn’t want to become food for the owls in here.”
With one last nibble, Magnus returns to his hiding place. Just in time too, because they hear footsteps outside. “I think someone is-”
Luhan slaps a hand over Jongin’s mouth and forces him lower behind the cluster of empty cages.
Once Luhan releases him, he takes a peek and sees that it is in fact Kim Minseok who just entered the Owlery. The gives Ironclaw a treat when the big owl comes down, and then spends some time petting him. Minseok takes out a letter from his pocket and gives it to his pet. Ironclaw’s strong wings lift him up and away.
They wait until they hear Minseok’s retreating steps disappear.
Luhan jumps out of their hiding corner. “Brock!” The pigmy owl jets down from his perch and onto his owner’s hand. “Remember what I taught you?” The tiny owl tilts his head. “Go fetch me that letter. Go!”
Brock beats his tiny wings, and flies up and outside.
Jongin watches him go. “Now what?”
“We wait,” Luhan says and rubs his hands together like a movie villain. Oh boy. He really was taking this thing about unmasking his roommate way too seriously. Perhaps it was time to intervene.
Brock returns a few minutes later, his feathers ruffled. The letter is almost as big as his head and it definitely weighs too much for him to handle alone. Luhan coos at him, telling him what a good boy he’s been. Then sets him down in a nearby cage so Brock can drink water and rest.
Luhan cracks open the wax seal. His triumphant grin falls when he sees the scroll is blank.
Jongin taps the paper with his wand. “Aparecium.”
Nothing happens.
“Maybe something stronger?” Jongin asks.
Luhan narrows his eyes and taps the scroll with his wand. “Specialis Revelio!”
The sixth year spell works and letters appear, but they don’t make any sense whatsoever. They’re all scrabbled.
“It’s a code!” Luhan grins, eyes almost sparkling. “He’s definitely hiding something!”
Jongin bites his thumb. “How are you going to figure out what it says?”
Luhan twirls the scroll. “Oh, that’s the easy part. I’ll just give it to Jongdae. He loves codes.”
A loud angry screech echoes in the Owlery. Jongin’s heads snap up just in time to see Ironclaw descending on them, looking to recover the stolen letter.
“Confrigo!” Luhan shouts and the scroll in his hands catches fire, destroying the evidence. He throws it away and it lands in one of the owl cages. But sparks fall into the hay stacks below and flames come alive in seconds.
The Owlery erupts into chaos, with the owls all trying to get away from the danger, but knocking into each other at the same time. There must be hundreds and not all of them fit through the narrow windows, so they start flying down and out the door.
Jongin screams and tackles Luhan to the floor. Ironclaw’s deadly talons scratch the air where they’d been standing a second before. They scramble up and outside, ready to run back to the castle. A mousy squeak of distress makes Jongin look back.
Magnus is on the Owlery floor, alone and defenseless.
++Owlery++
Kyungsoo is on his bed finishing up reading for Ancient Runes. His eyes keep drooping, but if he stops now, he won’t want to return to it later. The class is interesting, but the readings can be quite a bit of a snore.
His roommate barges inside in a blur of robes. Sehun’s hair is parted at the middle and sweeps to the sides like an open book with water-damaged pages. “Hyung,” he says as greeting, then opens his trunk and starts throwing things out all over. Sehun is always making a mess.
Kyungsoo marks his place in the book and sits up. “What are you doing?”
“Looking for my secret stash,” Sehun says.
Kyungsoo sucks in a breath.
Sehun glances at him, eyes bored. “Of galleons.”
“Sorry.”
Sehun continues searching. “I made you a promise, didn’t I?”
“Yes. Yes, you did.” Kyungsoo and Sehun have been roommates for four years now. Sehun has been clear-headed for two, and he’s learned to control his visions. Kyungsoo still worries about him though.
“You didn’t sleep in your bed two nights ago,” Kyungsoo says.
“I was playing with Zitao and forgot the time,” he says. “We stayed the night in the Room of Requirement.”
Kyungsoo frowns. He’s not very fond of the Slytherin kid, especially since Tao is best friends with Kris, Slytherin’s ex-Quidditch-star player. Kyungsoo has warned Sehun before, but the kid assures him Tao is alright.
Sehun brings out a leather coin bag and shakes it. It clinks heavy with galleons. “Yasss.”
“What are you going to buy?”
“A snake.”
“What!”
“Tao has one. She’s really cool. I want one.” Sehun looks at Kyungsoo, eyes worried. “Unless you’re afraid of snakes? I won’t get one if you are.”
It’s touching that Sehun is asking. His roommate might act detached at times, but it was with the little things like this that Sehun showed he cared. Kyungsoo smiles. “No, I’m not scared.”
Sehun eyes turning into crescents. “Thanks, hyung. I’ll see you later!”
“Come back before curfew,” Kyungsoo shouts after him.
Sehun makes a peace sign without looking back and walks out the door.
Kyungsoo glances down at his book and groans. He leaves it open on the bed and walks to the window. It’s a nice sunny day, the snow sparkling white all over the castle.
The weather is good and he still needs to send a letter home telling them he wants to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas break. His parents won’t like it at all, but the break is the perfect time to get in more study hours for the O.W.L.s. If he goes home, his mother will insist he help in the kitchen, his father will have him sit down and ask for stories about the going-ons at school, and his brother will bother him about being the special kid. No. Kyungsoo is better off staying in the empty castle.
He closes the book, and writes a quick letter. Hellfire isn’t in her cage, which means he’ll have to go to the Owlery and hope she’s there or borrow one of the castle’s owls. It’s fine. Walking will wake him right up and he can get back to finish studying afterward.
Kyungsoo heads down and outside. The cool air bites at his nose and cheeks. He pulls the crimson beanie lower so that it covers his ears, and adjust his glasses once they’ve unfogged.
He’s nearing the Owlery when a cacophony of bird screeches reaches his ears. Owls fly out in flocks from the top windows of the tower, spooked by something inside. Kyungsoo runs.
Inside, he finds Luhan trying to protect a figure lying in the middle of the floor and a roaring fire in a corner.
“Soo!” Luhan yells. “Oh, thank goodness you’re here. A little help, please?”
Kyungsoo sighs exasperated. “Aqua Eructo!” he shouts and a spout of water shoots out of his wand. He sprays it about until the fire is gone. However, the owls are still panicking above and attacking Luhan and his friend. By Merlin’s jiggly armpits. Just what did they do?
Luhan points his wand to the air. “Avis!”
A flock of colorful birds fly into existence. They follow the pattern Luhan weaves in the air with his wand, directing them and the owls outside. After all the screeching and hooting, a hush falls over the Owlery. Feathers drift lazily in the air moved by the winter breeze filtering through the door.
Luhan kneels by his friend. “Are you okay?”
The kid groans. There are spots of blood all over his back where the owls no doubt dug in their claws.
Kyungsoo’s eyes widen when he realizes who it is. “Jongin?”
There’s a deep gash over Jongin’s brows, and scratch marks on his cheeks and hands. When he sits up, Kyungsoo sees what was hidden underneath the Hufflepuff.
“Hellfire!”
++Hospital Wing++
“It’s not me that needs to be healed!” Jongin yells, shoving against the hands trying to push him down. He doesn’t want to lie down.
Luhan holds onto him, and tries to get him to remain still in one of the Hospital Wing beds. “Your face and hands are all scratched and you’re bleeding all over the place! Now stop being so stubborn and let them heal you.”
“Not until Magnus gets help!”
Madam Pomfrey and her apprentice hover nearby. She’s not a woman to suffer misbehaving patients. “I see no major injuries here, so I believe you can manage this on your own, Mr. Zhang.” She gives him a disapproving glance and leaves for her office.
Jongin doesn’t care. The only thing that matters is getting Magnus the help he needs. He struggles against Luhan once more, but his best friend doesn’t budge.
“I already sent word to Chanyeol,” Luhan says. “So, calm down. You’re acting like an idiot.”
Jongin stands again. “It would be faster if I go to him.”
Yixing moves forward and places a tray on the bedside table. Magnus lies on it, a cloth tight around his middle, already soaked with blood. “Your pet will be fine, Jongin. Now stop making a fuzz and let me look at you.”
Jongin lets Luhan help him back onto the bed, but his eyes never leave the still form of Magnus. He couldn’t die. He couldn’t leave him. Magnus was the only thing his parents had left him before abandoning him at the orphanage. He was the only connection to Jongin’s past and his first best friend. He couldn’t just die.
Yixing turns his head away, to check the cuts on his face. “Superficial scratches, most of them,” he says. “We need to clean you up and disinfect the cuts. What were you guys doing?”
“It’s my fault,” Luhan says. “We were in the Owlery and I sort of made some owls angry. Magnus fell out of Jongin’s pocket when we ran, then Hellfire tried to snatch Magnus up, and then Jongin jumped in to save him. Those birds are vicious.”
Yixing raps his knuckles on Luhan’s head. “They are if you give them reason to be.”
Luhan hisses and rubs his head, but doesn’t say anything back. He kind of deserved it for setting the place on fire and causing a mess. “I’m sorry, Jongin,” Luhan says again. “I shouldn’t have dragged you into this.”
Jongin slaps Luhan’s shoulder, letting him know it’s fine.
Chanyeol lumbers inside, his heavy footsteps making the bed tremble a bit. “Baekhyun told me you needed me?”
“Please, help him.” Jongin points him to Magnus. “He got attacked at the Owlery.”
Even with his big hands and big fingers, Chanyeol gently checks Magnus. A deep frown settles on his hairy brows when he lifts the makeshift bandage. “He’ll survive. But I can treat him better back in my room.” He grabs the tray and glances up. “Is that okay?”
He looks over at Luhan who nods. “Okay,” Jongin says.
Chanyeol gives him a genuine smile, and walks away. A small someone knocks into him as the half-giant is leaving. Jongin recognizes the raven-haired figure that stumbles back. Kyungsoo’s face is a mask of rage, and Jongin braces for the incoming fight.
“What the hell did you do to Hellfire?” Kyungsoo demands.
“I stunned her,” Jongin says. “She was trying to get at Magnus.”
Kyungsoo steps closer. “To protect him, no doubt, since you seem incapable of doing it yourself!”
The bed sheets crumple in Jongin’s fists. “She was making it worse! She got into a fight with Ironclaw and Magnus was right in the middle of it!”
“Guys,” Yixing says. “Lower your voices, please. This is the Healing Wing, not the Great Hall.”
“Sorry, hyung,” Jongin says to his roommate. He’s embarrassed to have lost his temper like this. But when Magnus’ life is on the line, all rational thoughts are out the window.
Kyungsoo simply nods to Yixing, before glaring back at Jongin. “Hellfire better wake up soon.”
Jongin crosses his arms, an obvious dare. “I did the right thing in stunning Hellfire. It was the only way to protect them both, so I won’t apologize for it.”
Kyungsoo turns on his heel and stomps out.
Luhan sighs and leans on the bed. “If Kyungsoo is this pissed, I can’t wait to see how Minseok will react. I think I saw a couple of burned feathers on Ironclaw.”
“You burned Minseok’s owl?” Yixing asks.
“It wasn’t on purpose!”
Yixing whacks Luhan again.
Jongin sighs. “At least Minseok doesn’t hate your guts for no good reason.”
“Jonginnie…I know Soo is rough around the edges, all gruff and mean, but he isn’t out to get you or Magnus,” Luhan says. “He’s not like that. If you give him a chance-”
Jongin crosses his arms. “Are you throwing my own advice about Minseok back at me?”
Luhan grins. “Yes. Yes, I am.”
“You suck, hyung.”
++Gryffindor Tower++
Kyungsoo looks up from the Charms book he’s reading to see Luhan walk in with a tall shadow in tow. The frown is immediate and he hates that Jongin can elicit such a fast reaction from him. But after the disaster at the Owlery and Hellfire getting hurt, Kyungsoo has had enough of the Hufflepuff.
Luhan waves at him, cheerful as always. “Hey, guys! What are you doing?”
“Sleeping, until your chirpy voice kicked me out of dreamland,” Baek says from the plush seat by the window. He’s wrapped himself in a cocoon of blankets so that only his honey brown hair is visible above.
“Good! Now you can help me study for Charms,” Luhan tells him, but Baek rolls over and gives the back to the room.
Luhan shakes his head. “What about you two?”
“Ignoring you,” Sehun pipes up from the rug. He’s has his Tarot cards spread in front of him, and a scroll by his side with notes.
“Yah! Do not sass me, fetus!”
Sehun completely ignores Luhan. “Hey, Jongin. Want me to read your future?”
Jongin shakes his head, but takes a seat on the rug across from Sehun anyways.
Kyungsoo lets his feet down from the nearby table and glares at Luhan. “You know it’s not allowed to bring in outsiders.”
“Outsiders?” Luhan laughs and glances at Jongin. “It’s not like he’s a spy invading our territory. Jongin just came to visit Magnus. Have you seen Chanyeol, by the way?”
“He kind of is invading,” Kyungsoo bites out. He’s invading Kyungsoo’s zen space anyways.
“Aw, come on.” Luhan sits on the couch next to him and drapes an arm around his narrow shoulders. “You still mad about yesterday?”
“No,” Kyungsoo says, at the same time Sehun provides a, “Yes.”
Luhan looks from one to the other. “We already said sorry.”
Kyungsoo arches a brow. “Actually, you didn’t.”
“Well then, we are sorry,” Luhan says, putting on his best smile. “Truly. We are. Right, Jongin?”
Kyungsoo looks at Jongin.
Jongin isn’t glaring at him for once, but he’s not meeting Kyungsoo’s eyes either. His uniform is in disarray, with the shirtsleeves pushed up and some buttons undone, showing a black shirt underneath. Jongin’s tanned fingers play with a loose string on his school bag. The moving muscles in his forearm entrance Kyungsoo, and he wants to snap at Jongin for no reason at all.
“Are you studying for the Charms test tomorrow?” Luhan asks, catching Kyungsoo’s attention again. “I really need help, and Baek is useless right now.”
Kyungsoo shuts the book closed unnecessarily hard and stands. “Just finished. And I think I need a nap, too.”
“Aw. Come on! Don’t be like that. Why are you punishing me? It’s Jongin you are pissed at!”
Ignoring Luhan’s yells, he takes the stairs up to his room.
Hellfire croons softly from her cage. Hagrid looked her over the night before, and aside from a few scratches and missing feathers, Hellfire didn’t suffer major wounds. He knew it was mostly thanks to Jongin who had thrown himself on top of Hellfire and Magnus. The kid received the worse of the damage. Kyungsoo had not only seen the scratches on his skin, but also the gouges on the back of Hufflepuff’s robes, where the owls had dug their talons in.
Kyungsoo didn’t know what to think of the whole situation. On the one hand, Jongin had hurt Hellfire, but he’d also protected her. But she wouldn’t have needed protection if Jongin had taken better care of Magnus, whom Hellfire was really attached to. By Merlin’s bushy nostrils, who would’ve thought that pet friendships could complicate his life so much.
Hellfire calls him in a muted shrill. He opens the cage and runs his fingers over her feathery body. She’s still woozy, not fully recovered from Jongin’s stun spell. She tilts her head and begs for a scratch and he obliges. “You’ll feel better soon. The effects of the spell should be gone by tomorrow.”
After puffing up her feathers, she bites his fingers. Not hard enough to break skin, but enough to serve as a warning.
“I know, I know,” Kyungsoo says. “I’ll bring you corn bread tomorrow.”
Kyungsoo lies down in bed. He needs to finish studying, but as soon as he gets comfortable and his head touches the fluffy pillow
he
is
asleep.
The candles in the room have dimmed out, but come back to life as soon as he sits up sometime later. He rubs his eyes and checks the other bed in the room. Empty. Did he stay out playing with Tao again?
“What time is it?”
The stone raven perched by the door comes to life. “One in the morning. Craaaw.”
Kyungsoo gets out of bed and heads down to the common room. The fireplace is still lit up, which means there’s someone there. After a quick look, he approaches the sleeping figure on the couch. “Sehun?”
It’s not his roommate.
Jongin’s black-and-yellow striped tie is clutched in his hands along with one of the old throw blankets that lie around the Gryffindor common room at all times. The blanket is too small for him, and his sockless feet peek out from the bottom of it.
For once, Kyungsoo feels something different than annoyance around Jongin. It’s too confusing to name, so he reverts to his usual mode. “What are you doing here?” he says out loud.
Jongin jerks up, getting tangled in the blanket and almost falling. He squints up at Kyungsoo and takes his time answering. “I missed curfew and the Fat Lady wouldn’t let me out,” he mumbles around a yawn.
“Great,” Kyungsoo says. “Where’s Sehun?”
“Went to play with Tao.”
“And Luhan? Why did he leave you here alone?”
“He thinks Minseok is hiding something,” Jongin says, yawning again, “So he left to follow him.”
“And neither of them returned?”
Jongin shrugs. “I feel asleep after that.”
Ugh. Why are his friends so troublesome? Kyungsoo turns his back on Jongin and starts to leave to check Luhan’s room and make sure he’s alright. If Minseok discovered Luhan was following him, Kyungsoo might have to unfreeze him again.
Jongin groans.
Kyungsoo glances down at him from the staircase. Jongin has curled up once more in the small couch. It must be very uncomfortable, but the guy starts snoring in less than a minute. Kyungsoo climbs two more steps before sighing.
Damn. No matter how angry he is with Jongin, his conscience isn’t going to let him get away with leaving the kid to sleep on that couch. He had gotten hurt protecting both pets.
“Hey, sleeping beauty,” he yells.
A loud thump comes from below. Jongin’s head peeks over the edge of the sofa, hair all wild and askew.
Something flutters in Kyungsoo’s chest, but he ignores it. “There’s a free bed upstairs.”
When Jongin doesn’t move right away, Kyungsoo growls. “I’m retracting my offer in five seconds,” he says, and starts counting down.
Jongin is by his side in an instant, clutching his shoes, tie, and bag against his chest like a small kid.
It’s…cute.
Kyungsoo frowns at that thought and stomps upstairs without saying a word. Jongin follows him quietly and then stands in the middle of the room, eyes half-closed. Kyungsoo points him to Sehun’s empty bed before jumping into his own.
Jongin leaves his things on Sehun’s trunk at the foot of the bed and then approaches Hellfire’s cage.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Kyungsoo warns. “She’s not very happy at the moment, what with being stunned yesterday.”
The Hufflepuff pays no attention. He slides one finger through the bars and leaves it there.
Kyungsoo raises up on his elbows. “I really don’t think-”
Hellfire wastes no time and bites.
Jongin yelps and retrieves his finger.
Kyungsoo can see the trail of blood running down from it. “You’re an idiot. Why did you do that?”
“Apologizing,” Jongin says.
Hellfire fives a muted screech and then turns her back on him.
“By Merlin’s fungus ridden toes, you could’ve just apologized to me,” Kyungsoo mutters. He points his wand at Jongin and casts Episkey, the only healing spell he knows. “You’re welcome,” he says, before he turns his back on Jongin.
The bed creaks when Jongin climbs in the other bed. His voice breaks the silence a minute later. “I’m sorry about Hellfire. And…thank you…for this.”
Kyungsoo grunts, closes his eyes, and tries to forget the way Jongin’s brown hair looked so soft falling over his sleepy eyes. Jongin’s soft snores still keep him awake for most of the night, not because of the sound, but because of the awareness that Jongin is there.
++Library++
The library is usually a quiet place of study and research. However, it always stops being this whenever Luhan steps through its doors. Still, Jongin always tries his best to keep his friend from disrupting the peace too much. This becomes much harder to achieve when a certain half-veela Ravenclaw is there at the same time.
Jongdae is currently seated on the big table amid the pyramids of books Junmyeon and Luhan had taken out for their Transfiguration homework. “So, he asked you to sleep over, and then this morning he sent your stuff flying to Myrtle’s bathroom?”
“Yes! I spent the entire morning trying to shake her off. She kept following me everywhere,” Jongin says, slouching ever more on his seat. For some reason, Kyungsoo had woken up in a horrible mood, which had turned into them arguing, and then Kyungsoo casting a spell on his stuff. Shoes, school bag, and robe had all flown out of the Gryffindor Tower.
Luhan stops writing on his scroll. “That’s impressive. The bathroom is pretty far away from Gryffindor’s tower. And he did it just on a whim.”
“He’s a badass,” Jongdae says.
Jongin groans. “Stop admiring his spell casting proficiency.”
“Should we admire his wand skill then?” Jongdae wags his eyebrows.
“Why would we-Oh, you’re gross.”
Jongdae cackles, his half-veela heritage turning the laugh melodic and hypnotic.
Junmyeon, Ravenclaw’s Headboy and Jongdae’s weakness, looks up from his pile of books. “Need I remind you this is the library and not the courtyard? I need to concentrate here and I can’t do that with your voice trying to manipulate my brain. It’s distracting.”
“Aw, Jun, lighten up,” Jongdae says, and slaps Junmyeon’s back. “Stop reading for a second and chat with us. Jongin is in need of help.”
“I don’t do relationship talk,” Junmyeon says, going back to his homework.
Luhan laughs. “They’re not in a relationship, Jun!”
Junmyeon glances up from his papers, perfectly styled brows furrowed. “No? Are you sure?”
Jongin sputters. “It’s not…I’m not…We hate each other! There’s no relationship to speak of.”
“Really? Let’s see.” Junmyeon holds out his hand and starts to count on his fingers. “You blushed and stuttered when I brought the issue up.”
“B-Because it’s ridiculous!”
Junmyeon raises another finger. “From what you’ve told us, you get irrationally angry at him.”
“It’s not irrational!”
A third finger goes up. “And Yixing told me, you once called out Kyungsoo’s name in your sleep.”
Jongin’s mouth drops open. “That’s not true.”
Junmyeon shrugs. “Okay, so I made that last one up.”
He growls.
Jongdae leans closer to him. “But you blushed harder.”
Jongin has no words. His friends are insane, that’s the only explanation for this conversation. “Oh my stars. You guys really think I like him?”
Junmyeon nods. “On some deep and twisted level, yeah.”
Jongin starts banging his head against the table, but Luhan stops him. “Stop that. It is not the end of the world to find out you like your nemesis. Sometimes fighting can be a sort of unconscious foreplay until one day you realize that you don’t hate him. You actually like him, but now he thinks that you really do hate him, and-”
There’s an awkward silence.
Jongin raises his head and frowns at his best friend.
“Did you hear that? I think someone called out my name.” Luhan makes a hasty retreat and disappears between the shelves. Jongin definitely needs to sit down with his friend to talk.
“I win,” Jongdae says to his fellow Ravenclaw. He throws his hands up and does a little wiggle dance.
“You are the most spazzy person I know,” Junmyeon says, shaking his head. “How can you be so observant?”
“You remember our deal, right?”
“Yes, yes,” Junmyeon says. “Next Hogsmeade visit.”
Jongin glances between the two. “I am so lost right now.”
“Aww. It’s okay, Jonginnie,” Jongdae says. “Not everyone can be me and know everything.”
Junmyeon points his quill at Jongdae. “I need peace and quiet to finish this. Do I need to cast a mute spell on you again?”
Jongdae mimics locking his lips and throwing away the key. Junmyeon rolls his eyes and goes back to his books.
Jongin settles his head on his arms and sighs. There’s no way he likes Kyungsoo. The guy hates him and the feeling is mutual. Last night, when the Gryffindor had been nice enough to offer Sehun’s bed, Jongin had been…confused. He hadn’t expected the kindness. But then morning had come, Kyungsoo had been his usual nasty self, and everything had been right in the world.
Right?
Jongin sighs harder.
part ii