#116: A Little Bit of Love
►username: anonymous
►prompt #: 116
►title: A Little Bit of Love
►pairings: D.O./Kai
►rating: R
►word count: ~7700
►warnings: Sexual themes, angst
►summary: Kyungsoo needs to take a crash course in Care of Magical Creatures (and relationships, according to Chanyeol), and Jongin is there to help him through it. For which, Kyungsoo isn’t sure.
►author's notes: Dear OP, I hope you like my interpretation of your prompt and the HP world. This prompt was a challenge for me, but I learned a lot while writing it. Please enjoy! And to the mods, thank you for accommodating me and holding another round of this awesome fic exchange *sends Chocolate Frogs*
[How is he supposed to start his footlong essay on merpeople if one of his books is growling at him?]
Kyungsoo seems to be at the Park Manor at least once a year. He usually stays with his Muggle grandmother during the month of July, then spends the rest of the summer with Chanyeol’s family until the beginning of the next term. Sometimes, he would even go there for Christmas. Their fathers had been close when they went to Hogwarts, so naturally, Kyungsoo was always welcome. He could stay with halmeoni the whole summer, but she insisted that she spend more time outside of school with his friends. (Kyungsoo always wonders why his grandmother is so accepting of magic, but she only gives him a small smile every time he asks.) Chanyeol has stuck to him like glue ever since they had Charms together in first year: the tall, always-happy Gryffindor with the shorter, much quieter Slytherin.
It’s Kyungsoo’s sixth year at Hogwarts this coming September. He expects it to be one of his most challenging, since he’s taking N.E.W.T. level classes this year and taking N.E.W.T.s next year. He found out in July that he had achieved an O in all his O.W.L.s, so he was proud of himself for keeping distractions to a minimum. In addition, he’s glad that he is finally taking the classes he deems are important, having dodged classes like Astronomy and Care of Magical Creatures since his third year when they were offered as electives, taking Arithmancy instead. The Slytherin hopes to become an Auror, like his father was. At first, his friends teased him about his choice of profession - quiet, bookish Kyungsoo as a brave Auror? But at the same time, they knew their friend was intelligent and could disarm them all in a duel if he had to.
“Kyungsoo-yah!” He hears two voices calling him. They were faint, but he heard them. Kyungsoo considers ignoring them in favor of the tome in front of him, the latest edition of Hogwarts, A History, but he figures he should see what they’re up to since he had been holed up in the manor’s library all morning. It was nearing lunch time, and he was famished, even after a large breakfast prepared by the Park kitchen staff.
A smile almost slips onto his face as he runs his hands through his dark red hair and looks up at the high vaulted ceiling of the library. The Slytherin will never forget the endless hours he was able to peruse through it since Chanyeol couldn’t find him during hide-and-seek when they were younger, before they even started at Hogwarts. It was, and still is, Chanyeol’s least favorite game to play. (“I should’ve sent you an owl,” Chanyeol sniffed after Kyungsoo found him instead. “Snowball would have been able to find you.”)
With the tome in both arms, he goes to the main entrance of the library, knowing Chanyeol doesn’t dare venture past it without supervision. He was right, seeing the silver-haired Gryffindor and Chanyeol’s something, Baekhyun, a fellow Slytherin, with cotton candy pink hair.
“Oh, Yoora noona caught you, too?” Kyungsoo asks, in greeting.
Baekhyun shrugs. “I could always charm it back to my previous color, but I’m warming up to it.” Chanyeol’s noona had an obsession with Muggle beauty, so her little brother and her friends ended up being practice subjects in the summer.
With the greetings done, Chanyeol couldn’t hold back his excitement. He takes Kyungsoo’s arm, after he had taken Hogwarts, A History from him to pull him in what seemed like the direction of the front gardens of the manor.
“Chanyeol, slow down! My legs aren’t as long as yours!” Kyungsoo exclaims. “What’s going on?!”
Baekhyun speedwalks next to them. “He has a surprise!”
“What--” And they reach the beautiful gardens tended to personally by Chanyeol’s mother, and his words almost die in his throat. “Surprise..”
In front of him is the person he thought he wouldn’t see again until they moved back to the Hogwarts dorms. He’s tall, almost as tall as Chanyeol, but with sun-kissed skin and shining eyes. Right now, he’s playing with the six kneazles the taller Gryffindor has raised since they were brought to the manor. He’s holding up a treat, and the six creatures, catlike with outsize ears and a tail like a lion’s, attempt to take it from his hand. One of them, black with gold speckles in its fur, jumps onto the table next to where Jongin is standing, then onto his shoulder, stretching its body to finally claim its prize.
“Aw, Leo! You’re so smart!” Jongin nuzzles the kneazle’s side as it lazily drapes itself along the wizard’s broad shoulders, as if done for the day. The other five start mewing loudly, and the young Gryffindor appeases them by giving them treats of their own.
“Jongin, you’re going to make my babies fat!” Chanyeol teases, and with that, the five kneazles go to greet their owner.
“Hyung, you know very well how fast their metabolisms are,” the raven-haired Gryffindor answers, turning to him while playing with Leo’s tail. He pauses when he sees the familiar figure at the doorway.
“Kyungsoo hyung?”
Kyungsoo had, in fact, been watching the whole thing instead of melting into the grass like he thought he would. Just seeing Jongin’s smile reminds him of how much he missed him since the end of last term.
“Hi, Jongin-ah,” he answers. Before the words fully leave his lips, he’s enveloped in strong arms, Jongin’s head atop his own.
“Surprise,” his dongsaeng whispers in his ear. It sends a shiver down his spine, and he returns the hug.
All too soon, Jongin lets go, looking down at their feet where Leo has made himself comfortable by Kyungsoo’s leg. The Slytherin had noticed how Leo had taken a liking to him after all these years.
Jongin chuckles, muttering how out of all the kneazles Chanyeol owns, Leo likes Kyungsoo more than him. With his cheeks burning, Kyungsoo gently picks up the kneazle like how Chanyeol taught him so he could sit down at the table in the garden. Chanyeol and Baekhyun were tossing treats in the air for the others to eat, in their own little world as well.
Petting Leo for comfort, Kyungsoo pulls himself together. “What about Quidditch camp?”
“You don’t want me here, hyung?” Jongin pouts while saying this, crossing his arms in front of him for effect.
“No! J-jongin, I--”
“I’m just kidding!” His dongsaeng leans forward to lightly squeeze his arm. “I aged out of the Quidditch camp system, so here I am.”
Kyungsoo turns that fact over in his mind. Jongin is eighteen this year, a 5th year. He also thinks about how odd those facts sound together. About a decade ago, the Ministry of Magic released an Educational Decree claiming that the new age of admittance to Hogwarts was increased to fourteen by the beginning of the fall term. This was in conjunction with the Muggle Department of Education and the Department of Magical Education, stating that it would help the Muggle-born children transition from Muggle school to wizarding school and also to easily explain why so many of their students go to “boarding school” during high school and college. The Slytherin and his friends were lucky they were admitted into the school after the rocky transition period. He had read that it was odd having fourteen-year-old 1st years as well as fourteen-year-old 4th years those couple of years, but the Department of Magical Education has seen a massive improvement in O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. scores as well as in the camaraderie between the students.
And with Jongin already eighteen, Kyungsoo can’t help but stare that much longer when he is around. He used to be this lanky, skinny kid about his height when they first met, but now, wow.
“Kyungsoo-yah, you’re staring.” A whisper brings him back to his sense, and it’s Baekhyun, laughing loudly at his side.
Kyungsoo lets out a breath. As for surprises, he much liked this one. It’s good that Chanyeol’s parents most likely said no to--
“Oh, I almost forgot!” The blood drains out of Kyungsoo’s face. There was Chanyeol with that grin again, the one that takes up almost half of his face. “We’re going to see dragons this summer!”
Kyungsoo groans. Leo had noticed that he wasn’t being petted anymore, so he jumped straight onto Jongin’s lap. The Slytherin already knew they were going to Romania for part of the summer (Chanyeol had relatives there), but he didn’t think the Parks would allow them to visit a dragon breeding ground.
Everyone knew that Kyungsoo and creatures did not mix (with the exception of Leo; he really seems to like Kyungsoo), but these were dragons. It looks like he had some research to do in the Park library before the trip.
“Don’t worry, hyung. I’ll be there with you,” Jongin offers. Kyungsoo gives what he hopes was a smile before internally drowning in misery. He almost had a heart attack realizing that Jongin was going to be with them for the rest of the summer, and now he’s positive he’s going to die of embarrassment before his sixth year at Hogwarts.
***
One of Kyungsoo’s favorite days of the year is the Welcoming Feast and the Sorting. Classes don’t start until the next Monday, so he can spend some time catching up with the friends he didn’t get to see over the summer. Junmyeon, a 7th year Ravenclaw, achieved his goal of Head Boy, and Yixing, a 7th year Hufflepuff, was appointed the assistant for Care of Magical Creatures. Sehun, a Slytherin in Jongin’s year, hopes to pass his O.W.L.s with at least an A. Jongdae, a Ravenclaw in his own year, was appointed a prefect by his head of house and mentions that Minseok, who had graduated the year before, is now a Chaser for one of the top Quidditch teams in the world. The Slytherin spent a whole month with Chanyeol, Baekhyun, and Jongin, so he couldn’t forget Chanyeol and Jongin’s arguments about the best way to clean a broom (they were both on the Gryffindor Quidditch team) and how enthusiastic Baekhyun was about the Frog Choir.
The dark red-haired boy doesn’t admit that he really misses the food the house elves meticulously prepare for them every meal, but the highlight of the night is definitely the Sorting. He’s sure that this is the same Sorting Hat that sorted the legends he has learned about, so he feels like he’s a part of history whenever he’s in its presence.
And so he watches the Sorting Hat do its job, placing the curious first-years in the houses they’ll call home for the next seven years. He can’t help but think about the Sorting the year after his own, the year Jongin became part of his life again.
They knew each other when they were both growing up in London. Their fathers and Chanyeol’s father were all close during Hogwarts, but it was only the Park family that stayed in the wizarding world year round, since they were one of the oldest wizarding families. Jongin’s mother was a witch, but Kyungsoo’s was a schoolteacher; however, she was very accepting of the wizarding lifestyle. They decided that they wanted their children to attend the same school and spend holidays together. Their parents would even bring them to spend time at the Park manor. This is how they met Chanyeol and Baekhyun, who lived in that world all their lives. When Kyungsoo’s parents were permanently placed in St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries when a rogue wizard attacked London, it was Jongin’s parents who took him in. Jongin was friendly and very polite, although a bit shy, but Kyungsoo remembered how his dongsaeng cried when he told him he was going to Hogwarts when he turned fourteen. He was only appeased when Kyungsoo assured him that he would be back for the holidays and that Jongin would soon be going to the same school as him again.
Jongin was still his shy, polite self when he first stepped into the Great Hall, but the years have been good to him. He dabbled in Quidditch the year Kyungsoo left for Hogwarts, so Choi Minho, the Gryffindor Quidditch team captain kept an eye on him his first year, impatiently waiting for this season to pass so he could have the younger one try out his second year. He remembers how popular Jongin became that year. He was coming out of his shell, a bit more confident now that he went to Quidditch training camp in the summer and all the summers thereafter until he wasn’t within the age range anymore. Even though Jongin made all these new friends, it warmed Kyungsoo’s heart to know that his dongsaeng never forgot about him.
The young Gryffindor knew where to find Kyungsoo in the library, committing to memory his favorite spots. He invited Kyungsoo to Hogsmeade when he was finally a third year but still smiled at him when his hyung declined time and again, citing preparation for his demanding classes. Most of all, Jongin never forgets to hug him when they meet and when they part ways. He must remember how sad Kyungsoo was when his parents couldn’t live with him anymore and how he only let his tears out when Jongin held him tight.
The Slytherin is brought out of his reverie when Headmaster Kwon announces the beginning of dinner. And with a snap of a finger, a variety of luscious foods appear in front of them, and chatter fills the Great Hall.
“What were you thinking about so deeply?” Baekhyun asks next to him, between bites of his turkey leg. Kyungsoo thinks he’s having an eating contest with Chanyeol, who is at the table across from them. Unfortunately, in addition to being in the same House, they are roommates, and he’s Chanyeol’s something, so he sees him all the time.
“How old we’re getting,” he answers smoothly. He’s not sure how much his friend knows about his affection for the young Gryffindor.
“Sure. And I’m passing Potions without your help this year.” He grins, ready to tease his fellow Slytherin more.
“And you’re definitely getting into Gryffindor Tower after hours to snuggle with Chanyeol without my help this year.” Kyungsoo lifts an eyebrow up at him. Jongin would thank him if he was able to keep Baekhyun out of his shared room with Chanyeol.
“What-- no--” Baekhyun pleads. “My dear friend Kyungsoo..”
He just punches him in the shoulder (“Ow,” he hears his friend mutter) before turning his attention to the half of a ham sandwich on his plate. He hears Minho announcing the first Gryffindor team practice, and his eyes lock with Jongin’s. His dongsaeng smiles at him, holding his cup of pumpkin juice up in greeting. Kyungsoo manages to do the same, though he feels his cheeks burning.
“It looks like I’m not the only one who needs to get into Gryffindor Tower after hours.”
This time, Kyungsoo just stuffs what’s left of his sandwich in Baekhyun’s mouth and watches as another one appears before him. Satisfied, he bites down into it and plans how to hide the Muggle stuffed bear Chanyeol gifted Baekhyun this summer, the one Baekhyun snuggles with at night when he’s not at Gryffindor Tower.
***
When he thinks that potential distractions (read: Jongin) will be to a minimum this year, he only needed to read the announcement board in the Slytherin common room to prove himself wrong.
Proclamation
Educational Decree No. 408
All students are required to take the Care of Magical Creatures O.W.L. before they graduate from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Below it, he sees the days, times, and class composition according to year, and 5th and 6th year Gryffindors and Slytherins have the same slot. This means I have class with Jongin! Kyungsoo thinks to himself. And Chanyeol and Baekhyun. He’s sure that those two never took the class as an elective. Honestly, it was nice that Jongin and he were going to the same school, but Kyungsoo made sure to concentrate on his studies, however much he thrived when Jongin was in his presence. So it was a great thing that they were in different years, that they never would have a class together. Until now.
Reading the note right next to the decree, he finds out that there had been an increased number of beast-related accidents, both in and out of the wizarding world, in the past three years. Rather than leaving Care of Magical Creatures as an elective, the Department of Magical Education reformed the wizarding curriculum to include it as a core class. The Ministry of Magic realized the small percentage of wizards who were qualified to handle beasts in any given situation and decided that this qualification begins with education. It would take another few years for this change to be fully implemented, so as of now, the fourth-years up to the seventh-years who haven’t taken the class are enrolled in an accelerated course in it, according to their year. Sixth-years are expected to finish it in one year, so they would be taking the O.W.L. with the fifth-years this year. There goes Kyungsoo’s extra study time. It would be really awful to be a seventh-year right now, he thinks.
Still, it doesn’t help that this extra class is about creatures. He suddenly remembers the trip to the dragon breeding ground in Romania just this past summer, and he could feel the embarrassment that awaits him in class.
Kyungsoo was so afraid to come near the young Antipodean Opaleye, one of the breeds of dragons that Jongin’s younger noona was raising in Romania (and the Slytherin was appalled at the fact that Jongin was the reason why they were allowed at the breeding grounds in the first place), that Jongin had to literally hold his hand to pet it. He remembers the feeling: Jongin’s larger, warmer hand atop his, the smooth, iridescent pearly scales under his fingertips, and Jongin himself behind him, his other hand on Kyungsoo’s hip, whispering assurances that No, Opie will not bite his hand off. She doesn’t like the taste of humans name Kyungsoo. And at that time, Kyungsoo wondered if Jongin liked the taste of humans named Kyungsoo instead.
“This is great!” Chanyeol exclaims when they’re sitting under a tree near the lake. “I’ve always wanted to take this class! Remember when my schedule got messed up in third year?”
Chanyeol had been lecturing him about his love life (read: relationship with Jongin), how he needs to be more proactive in it, and that this would be a great opportunity to get closer to the young Gryffindor. Even in this serious conversation, Kyungsoo could see how excited his friend was to take this class.
Kyungsoo remembers their third year clearly, as he was the one who had to remind Chanyeol about his classes that had the same time slot. For some reason, the official school registry, an enchanted book from the time of the Sorting Hat, would not allow the professors to change his doubly scheduled classes, so Headmaster Kwon allowed him to take the classes with the help of the newly reinvented Time Turner. As she knew of Chanyeol’s pranking habits, it had to be returned to his head of house immediately after his second class in the same slot and only picked up on days where he had doubly scheduled classes. Fortunately, Chanyeol was an E student, and it didn’t bother him one bit that he was taking two more classes than the rest of his peers.
“Hello, you two,” a voice says. Yixing stands in front of them, a bedimpled smile on his face.
“Hyung!” Chanyeol reaches out to him, and Yixing leans down to hug him. As he lets go of the tall Gryffindor, the Hufflepuff turns his head and pecks Kyungsoo on the cheek.
“Hyung!” Kyungsoo exclaims this time. “I told you that you shouldn’t do that!”
“But I want to,” Yixing answers. “I like you, and you’re my friend.”
“How come I only get hugs?!” Chanyeol pouts. Yixing chuckles, patting his head.
“You’re a hugger, plus someone already gives you lots of kisses.”
“What-- Hyung~” And this time it’s Chanyeol turning red. He doesn’t forget to add, “But doesn’t that mean you shouldn’t be kissing Kyungsoo? I mean he has Jo-”
Their senior shushes him and looks at Kyungsoo thoughtfully. The Slytherin is already covering his face, trying to hide his cheeks. “No, no one ever gives Kyungsoo kisses like you get on a regular basis.”
Kyungsoo is laughing this time. It’s very rare to see Chanyeol embarrassed, but it happens a lot when Yixing is around. He’s the most blunt out of all their friends, and there have been many times where he had to be removed so that he wouldn’t make a situation any more awkward.
The Hufflepuff plops down next to Kyungsoo in the grass, an arm curling around his waist, pulling him closer, and pecking his other cheek. Kyungsoo doesn’t mind the warmth and affection - it’s a bit colder next to the lake. Plus, it’s true that he doesn’t get kisses on a regular basis. Maybe from Yixing now that they’re back in school, but he doesn’t admit out loud that he wishes it was from someone else.
“Come on. Tell Hyung what’s wrong.” Yixing is just so earnest that Kyungsoo is so lucky to have a sunbae like him around.
He forgets about the extra class that has been added to his schedule and tells them (mostly Yixing; Baekhyun had arrived so he and Chanyeol were cuddling further away from them) what else has been bothering him. Yixing seems to feel Kyungsoo’s anxiety and nuzzles his neck.
“I saw Jongin with Soojung today.”
“Oh,” Yixing says. “They’ve gotten closer recently.”
Kyungsoo wants to be happy for Jongin. Kyungsoo wants Jongin to be happy. So he was excited when he returned after his first year at Hogwarts to be introduced to Jongin’s new friend. Soojung had transferred to Jongin’s school the year Kyungsoo first went to wizarding school, and it seems that she was good company for Jongin. She was - and still is - a pretty girl, with long, straight black hair and an affinity for Quidditch. Now, she was a Chaser for the Gryffindor Quidditch team while Jongin was its Keeper.
When they see each other in the halls, Jongin never hesitates to give Kyungsoo a big hug, even when he was laughing with Soojung just a moment before. Soojung bows to him with a pretty smile. How can I compete with that? Kyungsoo thinks, every single time.
“Hey.” Kyungsoo turns to his hyung but leans back as soon as he realizes that Yixing was leaning into him. He just chuckles and settles to give him another peck on the cheek. “You’re so cute, being jealous, when you have me right here.”
“No-- Hyung--” the Slytherin stutters. “I really like the kisses!” His eyes go wide when he realizes what he just said.
“Kyungsoo-yah.” Yixing pulls away to look him in the face. “Be honest with yourself. And with Jongin, too.”
He takes the younger’s face in his hands and leans up to kiss him on the forehead. “You have such a pure heart, Kyungsoo-yah. You just don’t know what to do with all the affection given to you.”
The Slytherin admits he melted a little. His hyung really is a good guy, and he hugs him tight for a while before Yixing goes off with Jongdae.
His hyung walks over to the Ravenclaw, leaning over to kiss him on a defined cheekbone, and Kyungsoo notices it’s a bit longer than the ones Yixing gives him. He decides he wants Jongin to do the same for him, only him.
***
It’s growling at me, Kyungsoo thinks. He believes that books are the best companions, but this one is an exception. How is he supposed to start his footlong essay on merpeople if one of his books is growling at him? It’s only been two weeks since term started, and that means he has survived two weeks of Care of Magical Creatures. Just barely though. (Just yesterday, Jongin had to save him when the bowtruckle, the tree guardian creature, they were feeding decided it didn’t like Kyungsoo and went to gouge his eyes out.) But now, he’s not so sure. The Slytherin pokes at the growling book with the feather end of his quill, but that wasn’t such a good idea. He glances at his copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. At least that one doesn’t try to attack me, he thinks. When The Monster Book of Monsters jumps up at him, Kyungsoo scrambles out of its way. He has crouched behind his chair with his hands over his head and expects to hear a thump on the ground, but instead, he hears.. purring?
“You scared him, poor little guy,” a voice says.
Kyungsoo opens his eyes, still behind his chair and peers over it to see Jongin, cuddling with his beast of a book.
“You think I scared the book?” Kyungsoo whispers.
Jongin puts the book down on the table in front of Kyungsoo’s vacant seat and runs his long fingers along the spine. The book’s pages open, right on the entry about merpeople.
“How..”
“Just give it a little bit of love, and it’ll open up for you,” the young Gryffindor answers.
Kyungsoo found a new spot to study in the library this term, and he’s surprised that Jongin found it so easily. He thinks it’s odd that he’s even here right now. Usually, his team is practicing in the two hours between the end of the school day and dinner. Jongin is wearing a pair of sweats in Gryffindor scarlet and a black long-sleeved shirt that accentuates his broad shoulders and lean torso. The Slytherin really doesn’t mean to stare, but Jongin looks like he’s sizing Kyungsoo up, too.
“Jongin-ah.” This came from behind him so he turns around.
The dark red-haired boy looks around Jongin to see Soojung, dressed similarly to Jongin, except with an additional scarlet hoodie. She’s quite tall for a girl, the perfect height for Jongin, Kyungsoo thinks.
“Oh, Kyungsoo-sunbae!” She bows. “I’m sorry for disturbing your study time. I lost Jongin in the library, but I guess I found him now.” Kyungsoo nods in understanding.
Soojung lightly shoves Jongin. “Let’s go, Jongin. We’re going to be late for practice. We’ll leave you to study now, sunbae!”
She looks to Jongin, her eyes questioning why he wasn’t moving yet. He asks her to tell Minho that he’ll be a little late, saying he needs to talk to Kyungsoo about class. She nods to him and bows again before leaving.
Jongin turns back to him to speak, but Kyungsoo beats him to it. “You should go to practice now. It would be rude to make her and the rest of your team wait for you.” The Slytherin has since then stood up from his crouching position.
“But I really do need to talk to you, hyung.” Jongin’s eyes seem to plead for him to listen.
Kyungsoo doesn’t realize it until this very moment, but he has spent very little time with Jongin outside of Care of Magical Creatures. He strictly talks about class when they’re near the gamekeeper’s hut and opts to do their written assignments solo. At mealtime, he’s occupied by Baekhyun’s worries (“But I can’t tell Chanyeol I lost his gift! He’ll be so upset!” Kyungsoo tries to keep the smirk off his face. He knew not to mess with Kyungsoo, but he did it anyway. Kyungsoo only transported it to Chanyeol’s room, but Baekhyun has to figure that out first.).
Otherwise, he’s with Yixing. His presence is a comfort to him. Sometimes, they walk hand in hand but mostly because he’s still afraid of walking into the Forbidden Forest in broad daylight. Yixing had been given the task of caring for the small unicorn population found there and asks Kyungsoo to accompany him. There, he is surrounded by the calm feeling the magnificent creatures bring to their surroundings. They still hold hands when they leave, all the way to the Slytherin dungeons where Yixing leaves him with a kiss to his cheek. Kyungsoo swears he has the power to heal, in those hands, in those kisses.
The dark red-haired boy slowly opens his arms to Jongin, and the younger gladly enters them. He has to be on the toes of his feet to hook his chin onto Jongin’s shoulder, and he is lifted up a bit, along with a little squeeze. Jongin lets go a bit but doesn’t move away. He breathes near Kyungsoo’s neck and rubs his hands lightly up and down his back. Kyungsoo realizes that Jongin was breathing a bit rapidly a few minutes ago, but he has calmed down. He’s not sure if the hug was for Jongin or for himself.
“Spend more time with me, hyung,” Jongin whispers in his ear. “Please.”
After a few seconds, the young Gryffindor does pull away, waiting for an answer.
“I’ll try.” And Jongin smiles that small smile, that shy smile that Kyungsoo thinks makes him look like the child he is inside.
“That’s all I ask for right now.” Kyungsoo sees that Jongin isn’t looking into his eyes anymore but somewhere lower on his face. He contemplates leaning up to him but controls himself.
“Go on,” he says. “Soojung is waiting for you.” Jongin looks confused now, but Kyungsoo thinks nothing of it.
“Hyung. She’s not--”
“It’s okay. I’ll see you in the morning, alright?” Kyungsoo had been skipping breakfast to maximize his study time (or so he says), so this has Jongin nodding happily.
Jongin leaves, almost skipping, and Kyungsoo wonders why he’s doing this to himself.
***
October welcomes colder weather and cuddles under thick blankets. Yixing offers to give him more than just cuddles and kisses on the cheek, seeing how Kyungsoo is caving into himself as time passes by, but he refuses the offer - Yixing has Jongdae, and Kyungsoo was intimately involved with Hyunshik from the Frog Choir for a while last year. Needless to say, he ended it before it ruined their friendship, but Kyungsoo does miss the warmth and the release from frustration.
Jongin, all 182 cm of him, is making it quite difficult to resist every time Yixing offers. Even before he was that tall, Kyungsoo was attracted to him. They connected on a personal level, and now, it’s gotten physical. The hugs leave the Slytherin wanting more, and it’s as though the young Gryffindor feels the same, holding him for that much longer and his lips almost making contact with his neck.
But that all goes out the window of the highest tower in the castle when he sees Jongin with Soojung. Now, she holds onto the crook of Jongin’s arm when they’re walking around the school grounds. She always lets go when she sees Kyungsoo, knowing Jongin’s habit whenever he sees his hyung, but nowadays, he just waves to him before walking off with the rest of their 5th year group. They’ve gotten a little bit closer, Kyungsoo thinks.
He doesn’t even go to the Halloween Feast this year, after overhearing Soojung ask Jongin if he would accompany her there. His stomach grumbles at its denial of the fine food from the Hogwarts kitchen. Instead, he takes care of himself in the comfort of his dorm room. Baekhyun is at the feast with Chanyeol, so his roommate probably wouldn’t be returning tonight. He cries out loudly after his first release of the night and cries even more when his copy of The Monster Book of Monster snuggles up to him, attracted to his tears. At least a book is willing to cuddle with me, he thinks, and he lets its purring put him to sleep.
***
It’s November, and Kyungsoo thinks he’s changed up his schedule enough so that Jongin won’t find him. After a short dinner, he is in the library, at his new chosen alcove of the week, but he didn’t expect for it to be occupied. His heart pauses for a beat when he realizes who it is that was napping there.
“Jongin-ah,” he whispers, loud enough for the Keeper to hear but soft enough so that he isn’t kicked out of the library. “Go back to your dorm if you’re sleepy.”
This was odd. If Jongin was this deep in sleep, it means that he skipped dinner. Now that he thought about it, Jongin wasn’t at dinner. Not that Kyungsoo looked for him or anything.
“Five more minutes,” the young Gryffindor mumbles, grabbing onto Kyungsoo’s arm. “Warm..”
Kyungsoo was startled by the sudden skinship. He hadn’t had a hug from him in a few weeks. “J-J-Jongin!”
Well, that woke him. He stares at his hands on Kyungsoo’s arm to his hyung’s wide eyes to his hands again. Kyungsoo tries to loosen his hold, but Jongin holds on firmly.
“Hyung..”
Kyungsoo gulps. “What is it, Jongin?”
“Chanyeol hyung said that you needed to talk to me?”
Oh, Kyungsoo thinks to himself. I shouldn’t have let Chanyeol find the bear he gave to Baekhyun last summer so soon. Come to think of it, they always hush up whenever I’m within hearing range.
“Jongin..” The Slytherin tries to release himself from Jongin’s grip again but to no avail. “Chanyeol was lying. Now go eat dinner, okay?” The older almost smacks himself when he realizes what he just said.
“You noticed I wasn’t at dinner?” Jongin had a grin forming on his face.
“Uh..”
“I thought you were mad at me!” He pouted. Kyungsoo had to try very hard not to stare at his lips. “You don’t ask me for help in Care of Magical Creatures anymore.” It was then that Jongin let him go.
“I.. thought you’d be annoyed with this 6th year always calling for you. And you’d be too tired out of class, with being Keeper on the team and Soojung and all..”
“I can always help you!” Jongin loudly whispers. “But why did Chanyeol hyung say you needed to tell me something when you say you don’t?” Kyungsoo wonders why the young Gryffindor never talks to him about Soojung. He seems to hear about the two of them from everyone else.
He feels a headache coming on. “Chanyeol can’t keep his nose out of other people’s business.” He flashed what he hoped was a grin and not a random twitch.
“Well, if you don’t want to tell me now, I hope you’ll tell me in the future.” Jongin made to stand up, and Kyungsoo looks away. “I really thought I did something wrong.”
Kyungsoo looks up to the tall, handsome Gryffindor and sees an indiscernible look in his eyes. He almost takes Jongin’s cheek in his hand. “Go eat dinner now, okay? You need energy for the upcoming match.”
Jongin gives him a small smile. “You’re going to come see me play, right?” It was the first match of the season, Gryffindor vs. Slytherin. Baekhyun hasn’t stopped talking about it, excited to see Chanyeol play, as he is one of the Gryffindor beaters.
He pauses before answering, “Of course.” With that, Jongin goes off to the Great Hall to consume what’s left of dinner.
When Kyungsoo sits down, he sees a roll of parchment he didn’t notice earlier. He rolls it open after making sure it wasn’t anyone else’s and sees notes on the kelpie, known as the Loch Ness Monster to Muggles. Kyungsoo had been waiting days for the books on kelpies to be returned so that he could write his next essay, but now it looks like he doesn’t have to wait any longer.
***
On the day of the first Quidditch match of the season, Kyungsoo leaves Baekhyun’s side unnoticed as everyone pours into the Quidditch pitch. He makes his way to the fifth floor, fourth door to the left of the statue of Boa the Brave. He reminds himself to give Yixing a kiss on the cheek as thanks for asking Jongdae for the password to the prefects’ bathroom, but he isn’t sure if Jongdae would like that very much.
“Candy cane,” Kyungsoo says when he reaches the door. It opens up after a second, and he slips in quickly. He checks the portrait on the wall and sees that the flirtatious mermaid isn’t there.
All Kyungsoo has on him is his boots, black jeans, a t-shirt, and a Slytherin green pullover, as well as his robes, his scarf with the house colors, and his wand. He strips himself of them and ties a towel around his waist, then turns on the faucets he wants for his bath. He’s only been here once before, a warm night with Hyunshik, but he shakes his head of that memory. He’s here to get away and relax.
He takes the towel off and enters the tub when the bubbles are to his liking. He blows some of the bubbles away, laughs to himself, and wonders how it would feel to have someone with him right now. The water is warm, and he feels like dozing off. He doesn’t though, scrubbing himself extra clean now that he has the time, avoiding any excess attention to his nether regions. He would deal with it later.
When he’s done, he puts on his clothes, which he has cleaned while in the bath with a quick Scourgify! but rolls up his jeans so that he can still dip his feet into the tub, now filled with clear warm water. He kicks some of it up and charms the droplets so it would freeze midair, then flicks them back into the tub with his fingers. Kyungsoo can’t help but practice some of the skills he has learned in Charms, since a practical is coming up.
He is so into his practice, that he doesn’t hear that someone has entered the bathroom.
“You weren’t there.”
He is startled, finding Jongin at the door. Kyungsoo had forgot to lock it from the inside.
“Jongin, I can explain..” he pleads, standing up from the tub. Jongin looks more sad than angry, and he’s taking his gear off. He must have come straight from the game. He’s in that black longsleeve and scarlet sweatpants combination again.
“No, hyung. I don’t need it right now,” the young Gryffindor says.
Jongin, in all his grace, walks over to Kyungsoo. With each step forward, Kyungsoo steps back, until he is trapped between Jongin’s body and the wall. He hears him take a long, deep breath in.
“I just wanted you there.” He is whispering in his ear, lips almost touching it. “But you weren’t there. I wanted to see you because I couldn’t touch you. But you weren’t there.”
Jongin slowly drops his arms to Kyungsoo’s waist, squeezing lightly. “But I can touch you now. You’re here.” He kisses his neck a bit, and Kyungsoo can’t believe this is happening.
“What do you mean?” the Slytherin manages to force out. He wants to touch Jongin too, but he’s not sure if he’s allowed to.
“I missed you,” Jongin says at his neck, then pulls back. “I missed you so much.”
And finally, Kyungsoo knows what it feels like to kiss Jongin. He’s sure that Jongin likes how humans named Kyungsoo taste because he barely has time to breathe before the young Gryffindor is kissing him harder, licking along his lips. If Kyungsoo wasn’t hard earlier from just having Jongin trap him against the wall, he is now. Looping his arms around the other’s shoulders, he unconsciously bucks his hips forward, and Jongin is rubbing against him, too.
This goes on for a few more minutes, Jongin rolling his hips and Kyungsoo just taking it, but then Jongin pulls away.
“Hyung..” He’s kissing Kyungsoo again, softer this time, sweeter too. Kyungsoo whines, but the young Gryffindor pulls him away from the wall and holds him tight. They breathe together. Kyungsoo trails his fingers up and down Jongin’s torso and holds him tighter still. He didn’t get the release he wanted earlier, but this other release is so much more fulfilling.
Jongin is in the tub, while Kyungsoo sits at the edge, running his fingers through the young Gryffindor’s raven black, wet hair. The younger wanted him to take a bath with him, but Kyungsoo denied him that, claiming that he just took one.
“So this all happened because of some stalker from my class?” the Slytherin asks again.
“Yeah. He wouldn’t stop bothering Soojung. Even when she went back to London during breaks, he would be there.”
“And so you had to be her knight in shining armor.”
Jongin laughs awkwardly. “He never came near her whenever I was around. So Soojung asked me for help. I was in the middle of courting you, but I couldn’t just let her get stalked!”
“So you chose her--” Kyungsoo was tugging at his hair lightly. “Wait, when were you courting me?”
The young Gryffindor made to stand up, but Kyungsoo swiftly pushes him back down to sit in the tub. He only barely escaped Jongin’s strip tease earlier, with Jongin giving him those looks that make him want to get out of his own clothes. He didn’t need to see him bare naked yet, although he was really curious.
“I actively started around our birthdays this year?” So that was in January. He looks up from the tub right in front of where Kyungsoo is sitting on the edge and takes his hands in his. “I know my age bothered you, hyung.”
The Slytherin turns away, embarrassed. “But you and Soojung..”
“She’s my friend. That’s all. And I was so sure you felt the same way as me, so I helped her out. But then you started distancing yourself.”
“Actions speak louder than words, Jongin,” Kyungsoo whispers. Imagining those two together still unsettles him.
“Weren’t my hugs enough? I don’t hold anyone else like that.”
Kyungsoo was turning red again, and he was blaming the warm water from the tub. “Let’s go before you catch a cold,” he answers. “Minho will blame me if you did catch one.”
“I’d rather catch one so then you can hold me while I slept,” Jongin says, but at this point, Kyungsoo has turned around while the other dressed before he could be teased again. Although, he couldn’t help but agree to Jongin’s proposition.
***
At the beginning of December, Jongin still thinks that Kyungsoo doesn’t fully believe that he’s sincere, so Soojung looks for him in the library. Chanyeol and Baekhyun just breathed out a huge “Finally!” when the Slytherin told them of their status, and Yixing hugged him, while Jongdae looked on.
Kyungsoo didn’t expect the pretty Gryffindor Chaser to come up to him personally, without Jongin in tow.
“I apologize for the inconvenience I caused you and Jongin,” she says, bowing deep before him. She explains that the stalker had been dealt with during the Quidditch match in November and that she turned to Jongin for help because she only felt safe when he was around.
This flusters Kyungsoo, since no one is ever that formal to him. She really is perfect, he thinks.
He doesn’t want this pretty girl to be sad because of him because there is probably a group of boys waiting outside for her willing to beat him up for this. He hopes Jongin will protect him.
“No, it’s alright, Soojung,” he says. “You didn’t have to come all the way over here to say that.”
“But it’s not alright!” Her voice is a pitch higher. “Jongin was so sad when he couldn’t spend more time with you. He couldn’t even find you some days!”
It makes the Slytherin feel bad when someone says it out loud. Did he really not read Jongin’s actions correctly?
“And I asked him not to tell you about the stalker either! I was afraid you’d be mad at me for taking up his time.”
“Me, mad at you?” Kyungsoo says before thinking. “Honestly, I was jealous of you.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.. You mean the world to Jongin,” she starts. “He doesn’t look at anyone else. He only ever says good things about you. Even when he complains that you don’t show him enough affection, he turns it around to blame it on himself.”
“I.. don’t know what to say.” Did Kyungsoo really have that effect on Jongin?
“Just.. give him a little bit of love,” she answers. “And he’ll open up to you again.”
If a group of boys came to beat him up, he’s sure that Jongin would protect him.
***
“How was it?”
Kyungsoo and Jongin’s class were taking their last examination before winter break. They had to teach a jarvey, pretty much an overgrown ferret, a phrase. The hardest part for Kyungsoo was getting his to pay attention to him. He tried food and singing to him (he had to correctly identify its sex also), but nothing worked until he gently picked him up and rubbed his belly. By then, the jarvey was putty in his hands. It took another ten minutes, but he finally got him to say “My whole universe is you” (it was from a predetermined list). It was difficult, considering that the jarvey was spewing rude phrases until he deemed the cuddle satisfactory.
“I finished before time was called!” the Slytherin answers. In contrast, Jongin had finished in less than five minutes and waited for Kyungsoo in front of the portrait leading to Gryffindor Tower. “I was distracted for a bit, though. Do you know anything about the jarvey that says nothing but ‘Hold me, Kyungsoo. Hold me, Kyungsoo’?”
The young Gryffindor had the decency to look embarrassed. He had practiced for quite a while for this practical examination, and he probably forgot to close that specific jarvey’s cage while he was taking a break, using it to think about how to further care for his hyung.
“Well, will you?”
Kyungsoo didn’t expect that, so instead, he says the password to enter Gryffindor Tower and runs up the stairs. It took a few steps before Jongin could grab his hand.
“If you finish packing tonight,” he answers, and Jongin pulls him quickly to his room. All nine of them were going to the Park manor for Christmas next week. It’s the first time since they started Hogwarts that they are able to spend the holiday together - truly a miracle in December.
Jongin really didn’t enjoy packing, usually leaving it to the last minute, but Kyungsoo appreciated that he was trying for him. They may still have another term’s worth of creatures to care for, but Kyungsoo was ready to make sure he would never let go of Jongin again.
►prompt #: 116
►title: A Little Bit of Love
►pairings: D.O./Kai
►rating: R
►word count: ~7700
►warnings: Sexual themes, angst
►summary: Kyungsoo needs to take a crash course in Care of Magical Creatures (and relationships, according to Chanyeol), and Jongin is there to help him through it. For which, Kyungsoo isn’t sure.
►author's notes: Dear OP, I hope you like my interpretation of your prompt and the HP world. This prompt was a challenge for me, but I learned a lot while writing it. Please enjoy! And to the mods, thank you for accommodating me and holding another round of this awesome fic exchange *sends Chocolate Frogs*
[How is he supposed to start his footlong essay on merpeople if one of his books is growling at him?]
Kyungsoo seems to be at the Park Manor at least once a year. He usually stays with his Muggle grandmother during the month of July, then spends the rest of the summer with Chanyeol’s family until the beginning of the next term. Sometimes, he would even go there for Christmas. Their fathers had been close when they went to Hogwarts, so naturally, Kyungsoo was always welcome. He could stay with halmeoni the whole summer, but she insisted that she spend more time outside of school with his friends. (Kyungsoo always wonders why his grandmother is so accepting of magic, but she only gives him a small smile every time he asks.) Chanyeol has stuck to him like glue ever since they had Charms together in first year: the tall, always-happy Gryffindor with the shorter, much quieter Slytherin.
It’s Kyungsoo’s sixth year at Hogwarts this coming September. He expects it to be one of his most challenging, since he’s taking N.E.W.T. level classes this year and taking N.E.W.T.s next year. He found out in July that he had achieved an O in all his O.W.L.s, so he was proud of himself for keeping distractions to a minimum. In addition, he’s glad that he is finally taking the classes he deems are important, having dodged classes like Astronomy and Care of Magical Creatures since his third year when they were offered as electives, taking Arithmancy instead. The Slytherin hopes to become an Auror, like his father was. At first, his friends teased him about his choice of profession - quiet, bookish Kyungsoo as a brave Auror? But at the same time, they knew their friend was intelligent and could disarm them all in a duel if he had to.
“Kyungsoo-yah!” He hears two voices calling him. They were faint, but he heard them. Kyungsoo considers ignoring them in favor of the tome in front of him, the latest edition of Hogwarts, A History, but he figures he should see what they’re up to since he had been holed up in the manor’s library all morning. It was nearing lunch time, and he was famished, even after a large breakfast prepared by the Park kitchen staff.
A smile almost slips onto his face as he runs his hands through his dark red hair and looks up at the high vaulted ceiling of the library. The Slytherin will never forget the endless hours he was able to peruse through it since Chanyeol couldn’t find him during hide-and-seek when they were younger, before they even started at Hogwarts. It was, and still is, Chanyeol’s least favorite game to play. (“I should’ve sent you an owl,” Chanyeol sniffed after Kyungsoo found him instead. “Snowball would have been able to find you.”)
With the tome in both arms, he goes to the main entrance of the library, knowing Chanyeol doesn’t dare venture past it without supervision. He was right, seeing the silver-haired Gryffindor and Chanyeol’s something, Baekhyun, a fellow Slytherin, with cotton candy pink hair.
“Oh, Yoora noona caught you, too?” Kyungsoo asks, in greeting.
Baekhyun shrugs. “I could always charm it back to my previous color, but I’m warming up to it.” Chanyeol’s noona had an obsession with Muggle beauty, so her little brother and her friends ended up being practice subjects in the summer.
With the greetings done, Chanyeol couldn’t hold back his excitement. He takes Kyungsoo’s arm, after he had taken Hogwarts, A History from him to pull him in what seemed like the direction of the front gardens of the manor.
“Chanyeol, slow down! My legs aren’t as long as yours!” Kyungsoo exclaims. “What’s going on?!”
Baekhyun speedwalks next to them. “He has a surprise!”
“What--” And they reach the beautiful gardens tended to personally by Chanyeol’s mother, and his words almost die in his throat. “Surprise..”
In front of him is the person he thought he wouldn’t see again until they moved back to the Hogwarts dorms. He’s tall, almost as tall as Chanyeol, but with sun-kissed skin and shining eyes. Right now, he’s playing with the six kneazles the taller Gryffindor has raised since they were brought to the manor. He’s holding up a treat, and the six creatures, catlike with outsize ears and a tail like a lion’s, attempt to take it from his hand. One of them, black with gold speckles in its fur, jumps onto the table next to where Jongin is standing, then onto his shoulder, stretching its body to finally claim its prize.
“Aw, Leo! You’re so smart!” Jongin nuzzles the kneazle’s side as it lazily drapes itself along the wizard’s broad shoulders, as if done for the day. The other five start mewing loudly, and the young Gryffindor appeases them by giving them treats of their own.
“Jongin, you’re going to make my babies fat!” Chanyeol teases, and with that, the five kneazles go to greet their owner.
“Hyung, you know very well how fast their metabolisms are,” the raven-haired Gryffindor answers, turning to him while playing with Leo’s tail. He pauses when he sees the familiar figure at the doorway.
“Kyungsoo hyung?”
Kyungsoo had, in fact, been watching the whole thing instead of melting into the grass like he thought he would. Just seeing Jongin’s smile reminds him of how much he missed him since the end of last term.
“Hi, Jongin-ah,” he answers. Before the words fully leave his lips, he’s enveloped in strong arms, Jongin’s head atop his own.
“Surprise,” his dongsaeng whispers in his ear. It sends a shiver down his spine, and he returns the hug.
All too soon, Jongin lets go, looking down at their feet where Leo has made himself comfortable by Kyungsoo’s leg. The Slytherin had noticed how Leo had taken a liking to him after all these years.
Jongin chuckles, muttering how out of all the kneazles Chanyeol owns, Leo likes Kyungsoo more than him. With his cheeks burning, Kyungsoo gently picks up the kneazle like how Chanyeol taught him so he could sit down at the table in the garden. Chanyeol and Baekhyun were tossing treats in the air for the others to eat, in their own little world as well.
Petting Leo for comfort, Kyungsoo pulls himself together. “What about Quidditch camp?”
“You don’t want me here, hyung?” Jongin pouts while saying this, crossing his arms in front of him for effect.
“No! J-jongin, I--”
“I’m just kidding!” His dongsaeng leans forward to lightly squeeze his arm. “I aged out of the Quidditch camp system, so here I am.”
Kyungsoo turns that fact over in his mind. Jongin is eighteen this year, a 5th year. He also thinks about how odd those facts sound together. About a decade ago, the Ministry of Magic released an Educational Decree claiming that the new age of admittance to Hogwarts was increased to fourteen by the beginning of the fall term. This was in conjunction with the Muggle Department of Education and the Department of Magical Education, stating that it would help the Muggle-born children transition from Muggle school to wizarding school and also to easily explain why so many of their students go to “boarding school” during high school and college. The Slytherin and his friends were lucky they were admitted into the school after the rocky transition period. He had read that it was odd having fourteen-year-old 1st years as well as fourteen-year-old 4th years those couple of years, but the Department of Magical Education has seen a massive improvement in O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. scores as well as in the camaraderie between the students.
And with Jongin already eighteen, Kyungsoo can’t help but stare that much longer when he is around. He used to be this lanky, skinny kid about his height when they first met, but now, wow.
“Kyungsoo-yah, you’re staring.” A whisper brings him back to his sense, and it’s Baekhyun, laughing loudly at his side.
Kyungsoo lets out a breath. As for surprises, he much liked this one. It’s good that Chanyeol’s parents most likely said no to--
“Oh, I almost forgot!” The blood drains out of Kyungsoo’s face. There was Chanyeol with that grin again, the one that takes up almost half of his face. “We’re going to see dragons this summer!”
Kyungsoo groans. Leo had noticed that he wasn’t being petted anymore, so he jumped straight onto Jongin’s lap. The Slytherin already knew they were going to Romania for part of the summer (Chanyeol had relatives there), but he didn’t think the Parks would allow them to visit a dragon breeding ground.
Everyone knew that Kyungsoo and creatures did not mix (with the exception of Leo; he really seems to like Kyungsoo), but these were dragons. It looks like he had some research to do in the Park library before the trip.
“Don’t worry, hyung. I’ll be there with you,” Jongin offers. Kyungsoo gives what he hopes was a smile before internally drowning in misery. He almost had a heart attack realizing that Jongin was going to be with them for the rest of the summer, and now he’s positive he’s going to die of embarrassment before his sixth year at Hogwarts.
***
One of Kyungsoo’s favorite days of the year is the Welcoming Feast and the Sorting. Classes don’t start until the next Monday, so he can spend some time catching up with the friends he didn’t get to see over the summer. Junmyeon, a 7th year Ravenclaw, achieved his goal of Head Boy, and Yixing, a 7th year Hufflepuff, was appointed the assistant for Care of Magical Creatures. Sehun, a Slytherin in Jongin’s year, hopes to pass his O.W.L.s with at least an A. Jongdae, a Ravenclaw in his own year, was appointed a prefect by his head of house and mentions that Minseok, who had graduated the year before, is now a Chaser for one of the top Quidditch teams in the world. The Slytherin spent a whole month with Chanyeol, Baekhyun, and Jongin, so he couldn’t forget Chanyeol and Jongin’s arguments about the best way to clean a broom (they were both on the Gryffindor Quidditch team) and how enthusiastic Baekhyun was about the Frog Choir.
The dark red-haired boy doesn’t admit that he really misses the food the house elves meticulously prepare for them every meal, but the highlight of the night is definitely the Sorting. He’s sure that this is the same Sorting Hat that sorted the legends he has learned about, so he feels like he’s a part of history whenever he’s in its presence.
And so he watches the Sorting Hat do its job, placing the curious first-years in the houses they’ll call home for the next seven years. He can’t help but think about the Sorting the year after his own, the year Jongin became part of his life again.
They knew each other when they were both growing up in London. Their fathers and Chanyeol’s father were all close during Hogwarts, but it was only the Park family that stayed in the wizarding world year round, since they were one of the oldest wizarding families. Jongin’s mother was a witch, but Kyungsoo’s was a schoolteacher; however, she was very accepting of the wizarding lifestyle. They decided that they wanted their children to attend the same school and spend holidays together. Their parents would even bring them to spend time at the Park manor. This is how they met Chanyeol and Baekhyun, who lived in that world all their lives. When Kyungsoo’s parents were permanently placed in St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries when a rogue wizard attacked London, it was Jongin’s parents who took him in. Jongin was friendly and very polite, although a bit shy, but Kyungsoo remembered how his dongsaeng cried when he told him he was going to Hogwarts when he turned fourteen. He was only appeased when Kyungsoo assured him that he would be back for the holidays and that Jongin would soon be going to the same school as him again.
Jongin was still his shy, polite self when he first stepped into the Great Hall, but the years have been good to him. He dabbled in Quidditch the year Kyungsoo left for Hogwarts, so Choi Minho, the Gryffindor Quidditch team captain kept an eye on him his first year, impatiently waiting for this season to pass so he could have the younger one try out his second year. He remembers how popular Jongin became that year. He was coming out of his shell, a bit more confident now that he went to Quidditch training camp in the summer and all the summers thereafter until he wasn’t within the age range anymore. Even though Jongin made all these new friends, it warmed Kyungsoo’s heart to know that his dongsaeng never forgot about him.
The young Gryffindor knew where to find Kyungsoo in the library, committing to memory his favorite spots. He invited Kyungsoo to Hogsmeade when he was finally a third year but still smiled at him when his hyung declined time and again, citing preparation for his demanding classes. Most of all, Jongin never forgets to hug him when they meet and when they part ways. He must remember how sad Kyungsoo was when his parents couldn’t live with him anymore and how he only let his tears out when Jongin held him tight.
The Slytherin is brought out of his reverie when Headmaster Kwon announces the beginning of dinner. And with a snap of a finger, a variety of luscious foods appear in front of them, and chatter fills the Great Hall.
“What were you thinking about so deeply?” Baekhyun asks next to him, between bites of his turkey leg. Kyungsoo thinks he’s having an eating contest with Chanyeol, who is at the table across from them. Unfortunately, in addition to being in the same House, they are roommates, and he’s Chanyeol’s something, so he sees him all the time.
“How old we’re getting,” he answers smoothly. He’s not sure how much his friend knows about his affection for the young Gryffindor.
“Sure. And I’m passing Potions without your help this year.” He grins, ready to tease his fellow Slytherin more.
“And you’re definitely getting into Gryffindor Tower after hours to snuggle with Chanyeol without my help this year.” Kyungsoo lifts an eyebrow up at him. Jongin would thank him if he was able to keep Baekhyun out of his shared room with Chanyeol.
“What-- no--” Baekhyun pleads. “My dear friend Kyungsoo..”
He just punches him in the shoulder (“Ow,” he hears his friend mutter) before turning his attention to the half of a ham sandwich on his plate. He hears Minho announcing the first Gryffindor team practice, and his eyes lock with Jongin’s. His dongsaeng smiles at him, holding his cup of pumpkin juice up in greeting. Kyungsoo manages to do the same, though he feels his cheeks burning.
“It looks like I’m not the only one who needs to get into Gryffindor Tower after hours.”
This time, Kyungsoo just stuffs what’s left of his sandwich in Baekhyun’s mouth and watches as another one appears before him. Satisfied, he bites down into it and plans how to hide the Muggle stuffed bear Chanyeol gifted Baekhyun this summer, the one Baekhyun snuggles with at night when he’s not at Gryffindor Tower.
***
When he thinks that potential distractions (read: Jongin) will be to a minimum this year, he only needed to read the announcement board in the Slytherin common room to prove himself wrong.
Proclamation
Educational Decree No. 408
All students are required to take the Care of Magical Creatures O.W.L. before they graduate from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Below it, he sees the days, times, and class composition according to year, and 5th and 6th year Gryffindors and Slytherins have the same slot. This means I have class with Jongin! Kyungsoo thinks to himself. And Chanyeol and Baekhyun. He’s sure that those two never took the class as an elective. Honestly, it was nice that Jongin and he were going to the same school, but Kyungsoo made sure to concentrate on his studies, however much he thrived when Jongin was in his presence. So it was a great thing that they were in different years, that they never would have a class together. Until now.
Reading the note right next to the decree, he finds out that there had been an increased number of beast-related accidents, both in and out of the wizarding world, in the past three years. Rather than leaving Care of Magical Creatures as an elective, the Department of Magical Education reformed the wizarding curriculum to include it as a core class. The Ministry of Magic realized the small percentage of wizards who were qualified to handle beasts in any given situation and decided that this qualification begins with education. It would take another few years for this change to be fully implemented, so as of now, the fourth-years up to the seventh-years who haven’t taken the class are enrolled in an accelerated course in it, according to their year. Sixth-years are expected to finish it in one year, so they would be taking the O.W.L. with the fifth-years this year. There goes Kyungsoo’s extra study time. It would be really awful to be a seventh-year right now, he thinks.
Still, it doesn’t help that this extra class is about creatures. He suddenly remembers the trip to the dragon breeding ground in Romania just this past summer, and he could feel the embarrassment that awaits him in class.
Kyungsoo was so afraid to come near the young Antipodean Opaleye, one of the breeds of dragons that Jongin’s younger noona was raising in Romania (and the Slytherin was appalled at the fact that Jongin was the reason why they were allowed at the breeding grounds in the first place), that Jongin had to literally hold his hand to pet it. He remembers the feeling: Jongin’s larger, warmer hand atop his, the smooth, iridescent pearly scales under his fingertips, and Jongin himself behind him, his other hand on Kyungsoo’s hip, whispering assurances that No, Opie will not bite his hand off. She doesn’t like the taste of humans name Kyungsoo. And at that time, Kyungsoo wondered if Jongin liked the taste of humans named Kyungsoo instead.
“This is great!” Chanyeol exclaims when they’re sitting under a tree near the lake. “I’ve always wanted to take this class! Remember when my schedule got messed up in third year?”
Chanyeol had been lecturing him about his love life (read: relationship with Jongin), how he needs to be more proactive in it, and that this would be a great opportunity to get closer to the young Gryffindor. Even in this serious conversation, Kyungsoo could see how excited his friend was to take this class.
Kyungsoo remembers their third year clearly, as he was the one who had to remind Chanyeol about his classes that had the same time slot. For some reason, the official school registry, an enchanted book from the time of the Sorting Hat, would not allow the professors to change his doubly scheduled classes, so Headmaster Kwon allowed him to take the classes with the help of the newly reinvented Time Turner. As she knew of Chanyeol’s pranking habits, it had to be returned to his head of house immediately after his second class in the same slot and only picked up on days where he had doubly scheduled classes. Fortunately, Chanyeol was an E student, and it didn’t bother him one bit that he was taking two more classes than the rest of his peers.
“Hello, you two,” a voice says. Yixing stands in front of them, a bedimpled smile on his face.
“Hyung!” Chanyeol reaches out to him, and Yixing leans down to hug him. As he lets go of the tall Gryffindor, the Hufflepuff turns his head and pecks Kyungsoo on the cheek.
“Hyung!” Kyungsoo exclaims this time. “I told you that you shouldn’t do that!”
“But I want to,” Yixing answers. “I like you, and you’re my friend.”
“How come I only get hugs?!” Chanyeol pouts. Yixing chuckles, patting his head.
“You’re a hugger, plus someone already gives you lots of kisses.”
“What-- Hyung~” And this time it’s Chanyeol turning red. He doesn’t forget to add, “But doesn’t that mean you shouldn’t be kissing Kyungsoo? I mean he has Jo-”
Their senior shushes him and looks at Kyungsoo thoughtfully. The Slytherin is already covering his face, trying to hide his cheeks. “No, no one ever gives Kyungsoo kisses like you get on a regular basis.”
Kyungsoo is laughing this time. It’s very rare to see Chanyeol embarrassed, but it happens a lot when Yixing is around. He’s the most blunt out of all their friends, and there have been many times where he had to be removed so that he wouldn’t make a situation any more awkward.
The Hufflepuff plops down next to Kyungsoo in the grass, an arm curling around his waist, pulling him closer, and pecking his other cheek. Kyungsoo doesn’t mind the warmth and affection - it’s a bit colder next to the lake. Plus, it’s true that he doesn’t get kisses on a regular basis. Maybe from Yixing now that they’re back in school, but he doesn’t admit out loud that he wishes it was from someone else.
“Come on. Tell Hyung what’s wrong.” Yixing is just so earnest that Kyungsoo is so lucky to have a sunbae like him around.
He forgets about the extra class that has been added to his schedule and tells them (mostly Yixing; Baekhyun had arrived so he and Chanyeol were cuddling further away from them) what else has been bothering him. Yixing seems to feel Kyungsoo’s anxiety and nuzzles his neck.
“I saw Jongin with Soojung today.”
“Oh,” Yixing says. “They’ve gotten closer recently.”
Kyungsoo wants to be happy for Jongin. Kyungsoo wants Jongin to be happy. So he was excited when he returned after his first year at Hogwarts to be introduced to Jongin’s new friend. Soojung had transferred to Jongin’s school the year Kyungsoo first went to wizarding school, and it seems that she was good company for Jongin. She was - and still is - a pretty girl, with long, straight black hair and an affinity for Quidditch. Now, she was a Chaser for the Gryffindor Quidditch team while Jongin was its Keeper.
When they see each other in the halls, Jongin never hesitates to give Kyungsoo a big hug, even when he was laughing with Soojung just a moment before. Soojung bows to him with a pretty smile. How can I compete with that? Kyungsoo thinks, every single time.
“Hey.” Kyungsoo turns to his hyung but leans back as soon as he realizes that Yixing was leaning into him. He just chuckles and settles to give him another peck on the cheek. “You’re so cute, being jealous, when you have me right here.”
“No-- Hyung--” the Slytherin stutters. “I really like the kisses!” His eyes go wide when he realizes what he just said.
“Kyungsoo-yah.” Yixing pulls away to look him in the face. “Be honest with yourself. And with Jongin, too.”
He takes the younger’s face in his hands and leans up to kiss him on the forehead. “You have such a pure heart, Kyungsoo-yah. You just don’t know what to do with all the affection given to you.”
The Slytherin admits he melted a little. His hyung really is a good guy, and he hugs him tight for a while before Yixing goes off with Jongdae.
His hyung walks over to the Ravenclaw, leaning over to kiss him on a defined cheekbone, and Kyungsoo notices it’s a bit longer than the ones Yixing gives him. He decides he wants Jongin to do the same for him, only him.
***
It’s growling at me, Kyungsoo thinks. He believes that books are the best companions, but this one is an exception. How is he supposed to start his footlong essay on merpeople if one of his books is growling at him? It’s only been two weeks since term started, and that means he has survived two weeks of Care of Magical Creatures. Just barely though. (Just yesterday, Jongin had to save him when the bowtruckle, the tree guardian creature, they were feeding decided it didn’t like Kyungsoo and went to gouge his eyes out.) But now, he’s not so sure. The Slytherin pokes at the growling book with the feather end of his quill, but that wasn’t such a good idea. He glances at his copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. At least that one doesn’t try to attack me, he thinks. When The Monster Book of Monsters jumps up at him, Kyungsoo scrambles out of its way. He has crouched behind his chair with his hands over his head and expects to hear a thump on the ground, but instead, he hears.. purring?
“You scared him, poor little guy,” a voice says.
Kyungsoo opens his eyes, still behind his chair and peers over it to see Jongin, cuddling with his beast of a book.
“You think I scared the book?” Kyungsoo whispers.
Jongin puts the book down on the table in front of Kyungsoo’s vacant seat and runs his long fingers along the spine. The book’s pages open, right on the entry about merpeople.
“How..”
“Just give it a little bit of love, and it’ll open up for you,” the young Gryffindor answers.
Kyungsoo found a new spot to study in the library this term, and he’s surprised that Jongin found it so easily. He thinks it’s odd that he’s even here right now. Usually, his team is practicing in the two hours between the end of the school day and dinner. Jongin is wearing a pair of sweats in Gryffindor scarlet and a black long-sleeved shirt that accentuates his broad shoulders and lean torso. The Slytherin really doesn’t mean to stare, but Jongin looks like he’s sizing Kyungsoo up, too.
“Jongin-ah.” This came from behind him so he turns around.
The dark red-haired boy looks around Jongin to see Soojung, dressed similarly to Jongin, except with an additional scarlet hoodie. She’s quite tall for a girl, the perfect height for Jongin, Kyungsoo thinks.
“Oh, Kyungsoo-sunbae!” She bows. “I’m sorry for disturbing your study time. I lost Jongin in the library, but I guess I found him now.” Kyungsoo nods in understanding.
Soojung lightly shoves Jongin. “Let’s go, Jongin. We’re going to be late for practice. We’ll leave you to study now, sunbae!”
She looks to Jongin, her eyes questioning why he wasn’t moving yet. He asks her to tell Minho that he’ll be a little late, saying he needs to talk to Kyungsoo about class. She nods to him and bows again before leaving.
Jongin turns back to him to speak, but Kyungsoo beats him to it. “You should go to practice now. It would be rude to make her and the rest of your team wait for you.” The Slytherin has since then stood up from his crouching position.
“But I really do need to talk to you, hyung.” Jongin’s eyes seem to plead for him to listen.
Kyungsoo doesn’t realize it until this very moment, but he has spent very little time with Jongin outside of Care of Magical Creatures. He strictly talks about class when they’re near the gamekeeper’s hut and opts to do their written assignments solo. At mealtime, he’s occupied by Baekhyun’s worries (“But I can’t tell Chanyeol I lost his gift! He’ll be so upset!” Kyungsoo tries to keep the smirk off his face. He knew not to mess with Kyungsoo, but he did it anyway. Kyungsoo only transported it to Chanyeol’s room, but Baekhyun has to figure that out first.).
Otherwise, he’s with Yixing. His presence is a comfort to him. Sometimes, they walk hand in hand but mostly because he’s still afraid of walking into the Forbidden Forest in broad daylight. Yixing had been given the task of caring for the small unicorn population found there and asks Kyungsoo to accompany him. There, he is surrounded by the calm feeling the magnificent creatures bring to their surroundings. They still hold hands when they leave, all the way to the Slytherin dungeons where Yixing leaves him with a kiss to his cheek. Kyungsoo swears he has the power to heal, in those hands, in those kisses.
The dark red-haired boy slowly opens his arms to Jongin, and the younger gladly enters them. He has to be on the toes of his feet to hook his chin onto Jongin’s shoulder, and he is lifted up a bit, along with a little squeeze. Jongin lets go a bit but doesn’t move away. He breathes near Kyungsoo’s neck and rubs his hands lightly up and down his back. Kyungsoo realizes that Jongin was breathing a bit rapidly a few minutes ago, but he has calmed down. He’s not sure if the hug was for Jongin or for himself.
“Spend more time with me, hyung,” Jongin whispers in his ear. “Please.”
After a few seconds, the young Gryffindor does pull away, waiting for an answer.
“I’ll try.” And Jongin smiles that small smile, that shy smile that Kyungsoo thinks makes him look like the child he is inside.
“That’s all I ask for right now.” Kyungsoo sees that Jongin isn’t looking into his eyes anymore but somewhere lower on his face. He contemplates leaning up to him but controls himself.
“Go on,” he says. “Soojung is waiting for you.” Jongin looks confused now, but Kyungsoo thinks nothing of it.
“Hyung. She’s not--”
“It’s okay. I’ll see you in the morning, alright?” Kyungsoo had been skipping breakfast to maximize his study time (or so he says), so this has Jongin nodding happily.
Jongin leaves, almost skipping, and Kyungsoo wonders why he’s doing this to himself.
***
October welcomes colder weather and cuddles under thick blankets. Yixing offers to give him more than just cuddles and kisses on the cheek, seeing how Kyungsoo is caving into himself as time passes by, but he refuses the offer - Yixing has Jongdae, and Kyungsoo was intimately involved with Hyunshik from the Frog Choir for a while last year. Needless to say, he ended it before it ruined their friendship, but Kyungsoo does miss the warmth and the release from frustration.
Jongin, all 182 cm of him, is making it quite difficult to resist every time Yixing offers. Even before he was that tall, Kyungsoo was attracted to him. They connected on a personal level, and now, it’s gotten physical. The hugs leave the Slytherin wanting more, and it’s as though the young Gryffindor feels the same, holding him for that much longer and his lips almost making contact with his neck.
But that all goes out the window of the highest tower in the castle when he sees Jongin with Soojung. Now, she holds onto the crook of Jongin’s arm when they’re walking around the school grounds. She always lets go when she sees Kyungsoo, knowing Jongin’s habit whenever he sees his hyung, but nowadays, he just waves to him before walking off with the rest of their 5th year group. They’ve gotten a little bit closer, Kyungsoo thinks.
He doesn’t even go to the Halloween Feast this year, after overhearing Soojung ask Jongin if he would accompany her there. His stomach grumbles at its denial of the fine food from the Hogwarts kitchen. Instead, he takes care of himself in the comfort of his dorm room. Baekhyun is at the feast with Chanyeol, so his roommate probably wouldn’t be returning tonight. He cries out loudly after his first release of the night and cries even more when his copy of The Monster Book of Monster snuggles up to him, attracted to his tears. At least a book is willing to cuddle with me, he thinks, and he lets its purring put him to sleep.
***
It’s November, and Kyungsoo thinks he’s changed up his schedule enough so that Jongin won’t find him. After a short dinner, he is in the library, at his new chosen alcove of the week, but he didn’t expect for it to be occupied. His heart pauses for a beat when he realizes who it is that was napping there.
“Jongin-ah,” he whispers, loud enough for the Keeper to hear but soft enough so that he isn’t kicked out of the library. “Go back to your dorm if you’re sleepy.”
This was odd. If Jongin was this deep in sleep, it means that he skipped dinner. Now that he thought about it, Jongin wasn’t at dinner. Not that Kyungsoo looked for him or anything.
“Five more minutes,” the young Gryffindor mumbles, grabbing onto Kyungsoo’s arm. “Warm..”
Kyungsoo was startled by the sudden skinship. He hadn’t had a hug from him in a few weeks. “J-J-Jongin!”
Well, that woke him. He stares at his hands on Kyungsoo’s arm to his hyung’s wide eyes to his hands again. Kyungsoo tries to loosen his hold, but Jongin holds on firmly.
“Hyung..”
Kyungsoo gulps. “What is it, Jongin?”
“Chanyeol hyung said that you needed to talk to me?”
Oh, Kyungsoo thinks to himself. I shouldn’t have let Chanyeol find the bear he gave to Baekhyun last summer so soon. Come to think of it, they always hush up whenever I’m within hearing range.
“Jongin..” The Slytherin tries to release himself from Jongin’s grip again but to no avail. “Chanyeol was lying. Now go eat dinner, okay?” The older almost smacks himself when he realizes what he just said.
“You noticed I wasn’t at dinner?” Jongin had a grin forming on his face.
“Uh..”
“I thought you were mad at me!” He pouted. Kyungsoo had to try very hard not to stare at his lips. “You don’t ask me for help in Care of Magical Creatures anymore.” It was then that Jongin let him go.
“I.. thought you’d be annoyed with this 6th year always calling for you. And you’d be too tired out of class, with being Keeper on the team and Soojung and all..”
“I can always help you!” Jongin loudly whispers. “But why did Chanyeol hyung say you needed to tell me something when you say you don’t?” Kyungsoo wonders why the young Gryffindor never talks to him about Soojung. He seems to hear about the two of them from everyone else.
He feels a headache coming on. “Chanyeol can’t keep his nose out of other people’s business.” He flashed what he hoped was a grin and not a random twitch.
“Well, if you don’t want to tell me now, I hope you’ll tell me in the future.” Jongin made to stand up, and Kyungsoo looks away. “I really thought I did something wrong.”
Kyungsoo looks up to the tall, handsome Gryffindor and sees an indiscernible look in his eyes. He almost takes Jongin’s cheek in his hand. “Go eat dinner now, okay? You need energy for the upcoming match.”
Jongin gives him a small smile. “You’re going to come see me play, right?” It was the first match of the season, Gryffindor vs. Slytherin. Baekhyun hasn’t stopped talking about it, excited to see Chanyeol play, as he is one of the Gryffindor beaters.
He pauses before answering, “Of course.” With that, Jongin goes off to the Great Hall to consume what’s left of dinner.
When Kyungsoo sits down, he sees a roll of parchment he didn’t notice earlier. He rolls it open after making sure it wasn’t anyone else’s and sees notes on the kelpie, known as the Loch Ness Monster to Muggles. Kyungsoo had been waiting days for the books on kelpies to be returned so that he could write his next essay, but now it looks like he doesn’t have to wait any longer.
***
On the day of the first Quidditch match of the season, Kyungsoo leaves Baekhyun’s side unnoticed as everyone pours into the Quidditch pitch. He makes his way to the fifth floor, fourth door to the left of the statue of Boa the Brave. He reminds himself to give Yixing a kiss on the cheek as thanks for asking Jongdae for the password to the prefects’ bathroom, but he isn’t sure if Jongdae would like that very much.
“Candy cane,” Kyungsoo says when he reaches the door. It opens up after a second, and he slips in quickly. He checks the portrait on the wall and sees that the flirtatious mermaid isn’t there.
All Kyungsoo has on him is his boots, black jeans, a t-shirt, and a Slytherin green pullover, as well as his robes, his scarf with the house colors, and his wand. He strips himself of them and ties a towel around his waist, then turns on the faucets he wants for his bath. He’s only been here once before, a warm night with Hyunshik, but he shakes his head of that memory. He’s here to get away and relax.
He takes the towel off and enters the tub when the bubbles are to his liking. He blows some of the bubbles away, laughs to himself, and wonders how it would feel to have someone with him right now. The water is warm, and he feels like dozing off. He doesn’t though, scrubbing himself extra clean now that he has the time, avoiding any excess attention to his nether regions. He would deal with it later.
When he’s done, he puts on his clothes, which he has cleaned while in the bath with a quick Scourgify! but rolls up his jeans so that he can still dip his feet into the tub, now filled with clear warm water. He kicks some of it up and charms the droplets so it would freeze midair, then flicks them back into the tub with his fingers. Kyungsoo can’t help but practice some of the skills he has learned in Charms, since a practical is coming up.
He is so into his practice, that he doesn’t hear that someone has entered the bathroom.
“You weren’t there.”
He is startled, finding Jongin at the door. Kyungsoo had forgot to lock it from the inside.
“Jongin, I can explain..” he pleads, standing up from the tub. Jongin looks more sad than angry, and he’s taking his gear off. He must have come straight from the game. He’s in that black longsleeve and scarlet sweatpants combination again.
“No, hyung. I don’t need it right now,” the young Gryffindor says.
Jongin, in all his grace, walks over to Kyungsoo. With each step forward, Kyungsoo steps back, until he is trapped between Jongin’s body and the wall. He hears him take a long, deep breath in.
“I just wanted you there.” He is whispering in his ear, lips almost touching it. “But you weren’t there. I wanted to see you because I couldn’t touch you. But you weren’t there.”
Jongin slowly drops his arms to Kyungsoo’s waist, squeezing lightly. “But I can touch you now. You’re here.” He kisses his neck a bit, and Kyungsoo can’t believe this is happening.
“What do you mean?” the Slytherin manages to force out. He wants to touch Jongin too, but he’s not sure if he’s allowed to.
“I missed you,” Jongin says at his neck, then pulls back. “I missed you so much.”
And finally, Kyungsoo knows what it feels like to kiss Jongin. He’s sure that Jongin likes how humans named Kyungsoo taste because he barely has time to breathe before the young Gryffindor is kissing him harder, licking along his lips. If Kyungsoo wasn’t hard earlier from just having Jongin trap him against the wall, he is now. Looping his arms around the other’s shoulders, he unconsciously bucks his hips forward, and Jongin is rubbing against him, too.
This goes on for a few more minutes, Jongin rolling his hips and Kyungsoo just taking it, but then Jongin pulls away.
“Hyung..” He’s kissing Kyungsoo again, softer this time, sweeter too. Kyungsoo whines, but the young Gryffindor pulls him away from the wall and holds him tight. They breathe together. Kyungsoo trails his fingers up and down Jongin’s torso and holds him tighter still. He didn’t get the release he wanted earlier, but this other release is so much more fulfilling.
Jongin is in the tub, while Kyungsoo sits at the edge, running his fingers through the young Gryffindor’s raven black, wet hair. The younger wanted him to take a bath with him, but Kyungsoo denied him that, claiming that he just took one.
“So this all happened because of some stalker from my class?” the Slytherin asks again.
“Yeah. He wouldn’t stop bothering Soojung. Even when she went back to London during breaks, he would be there.”
“And so you had to be her knight in shining armor.”
Jongin laughs awkwardly. “He never came near her whenever I was around. So Soojung asked me for help. I was in the middle of courting you, but I couldn’t just let her get stalked!”
“So you chose her--” Kyungsoo was tugging at his hair lightly. “Wait, when were you courting me?”
The young Gryffindor made to stand up, but Kyungsoo swiftly pushes him back down to sit in the tub. He only barely escaped Jongin’s strip tease earlier, with Jongin giving him those looks that make him want to get out of his own clothes. He didn’t need to see him bare naked yet, although he was really curious.
“I actively started around our birthdays this year?” So that was in January. He looks up from the tub right in front of where Kyungsoo is sitting on the edge and takes his hands in his. “I know my age bothered you, hyung.”
The Slytherin turns away, embarrassed. “But you and Soojung..”
“She’s my friend. That’s all. And I was so sure you felt the same way as me, so I helped her out. But then you started distancing yourself.”
“Actions speak louder than words, Jongin,” Kyungsoo whispers. Imagining those two together still unsettles him.
“Weren’t my hugs enough? I don’t hold anyone else like that.”
Kyungsoo was turning red again, and he was blaming the warm water from the tub. “Let’s go before you catch a cold,” he answers. “Minho will blame me if you did catch one.”
“I’d rather catch one so then you can hold me while I slept,” Jongin says, but at this point, Kyungsoo has turned around while the other dressed before he could be teased again. Although, he couldn’t help but agree to Jongin’s proposition.
***
At the beginning of December, Jongin still thinks that Kyungsoo doesn’t fully believe that he’s sincere, so Soojung looks for him in the library. Chanyeol and Baekhyun just breathed out a huge “Finally!” when the Slytherin told them of their status, and Yixing hugged him, while Jongdae looked on.
Kyungsoo didn’t expect the pretty Gryffindor Chaser to come up to him personally, without Jongin in tow.
“I apologize for the inconvenience I caused you and Jongin,” she says, bowing deep before him. She explains that the stalker had been dealt with during the Quidditch match in November and that she turned to Jongin for help because she only felt safe when he was around.
This flusters Kyungsoo, since no one is ever that formal to him. She really is perfect, he thinks.
He doesn’t want this pretty girl to be sad because of him because there is probably a group of boys waiting outside for her willing to beat him up for this. He hopes Jongin will protect him.
“No, it’s alright, Soojung,” he says. “You didn’t have to come all the way over here to say that.”
“But it’s not alright!” Her voice is a pitch higher. “Jongin was so sad when he couldn’t spend more time with you. He couldn’t even find you some days!”
It makes the Slytherin feel bad when someone says it out loud. Did he really not read Jongin’s actions correctly?
“And I asked him not to tell you about the stalker either! I was afraid you’d be mad at me for taking up his time.”
“Me, mad at you?” Kyungsoo says before thinking. “Honestly, I was jealous of you.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.. You mean the world to Jongin,” she starts. “He doesn’t look at anyone else. He only ever says good things about you. Even when he complains that you don’t show him enough affection, he turns it around to blame it on himself.”
“I.. don’t know what to say.” Did Kyungsoo really have that effect on Jongin?
“Just.. give him a little bit of love,” she answers. “And he’ll open up to you again.”
If a group of boys came to beat him up, he’s sure that Jongin would protect him.
***
“How was it?”
Kyungsoo and Jongin’s class were taking their last examination before winter break. They had to teach a jarvey, pretty much an overgrown ferret, a phrase. The hardest part for Kyungsoo was getting his to pay attention to him. He tried food and singing to him (he had to correctly identify its sex also), but nothing worked until he gently picked him up and rubbed his belly. By then, the jarvey was putty in his hands. It took another ten minutes, but he finally got him to say “My whole universe is you” (it was from a predetermined list). It was difficult, considering that the jarvey was spewing rude phrases until he deemed the cuddle satisfactory.
“I finished before time was called!” the Slytherin answers. In contrast, Jongin had finished in less than five minutes and waited for Kyungsoo in front of the portrait leading to Gryffindor Tower. “I was distracted for a bit, though. Do you know anything about the jarvey that says nothing but ‘Hold me, Kyungsoo. Hold me, Kyungsoo’?”
The young Gryffindor had the decency to look embarrassed. He had practiced for quite a while for this practical examination, and he probably forgot to close that specific jarvey’s cage while he was taking a break, using it to think about how to further care for his hyung.
“Well, will you?”
Kyungsoo didn’t expect that, so instead, he says the password to enter Gryffindor Tower and runs up the stairs. It took a few steps before Jongin could grab his hand.
“If you finish packing tonight,” he answers, and Jongin pulls him quickly to his room. All nine of them were going to the Park manor for Christmas next week. It’s the first time since they started Hogwarts that they are able to spend the holiday together - truly a miracle in December.
Jongin really didn’t enjoy packing, usually leaving it to the last minute, but Kyungsoo appreciated that he was trying for him. They may still have another term’s worth of creatures to care for, but Kyungsoo was ready to make sure he would never let go of Jongin again.