Fantastic Friends and Where to Find Them
Title: Fantastic Friends and Where to Find Them
Pairing: chinguline OT4 (friendship only)
Rating: PG-13
Length: ~5.2K
Summary: Someone may or may not have a Time-Turner, and it's up to four seventh years to find out.
Notes: Written for epitheliyeol in chinguline. Originally posted here. Title is a play on the book Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and yes this fic is as cheesy as it sounds c: yay cheese
B
Baekhyun is the first to arrive - no surprises there. It's still early; they hadn't agreed to meet until a good fifteen minutes later, but Baekhyun likes being early. He likes having that little bit of time by himself, relaxing in the shadiest spot and silently judging the first year students, crowded by the lake and trying to catch a glimpse of the Giant Squid. He knows the creature isn't likely to make an appearance, what with the Sun baring on them with hardly any mercy, but Baekhyun would rather keep his quiet and listen to their ridiculous theories when they're done waiting.
Baekhyun himself has had his fair share of ridiculous theories when he first came to the school, but after six and a half years it'd be an understatement to say he knows the castle like the back of his hand. Of course, not every seventh year is as knowledgeable as Baekhyun is - he, as well as his dearest friends, made it a point long ago to learn as many secrets about the school, because how else would they expect to pull pranks so easily?
It's not that he doesn't have many friends; there isn't a corner Baekhyun can turn without bumping into someone he knows, but there are three particular guys Baekhyun holds dear to his heart (and he cringes slightly at the sudden sappy thought) mostly because they're the first friends he made since finding out he's a wizard.
He met Jongdae at the platform, just before the brick wall that separates that part of the muggle world from theirs, staring uncertainly at the wall with lips pressed tightly together. Baekhyun had befriended him, then, asking for his name and the whereabouts of his parents ("They couldn't make it," he said, so softly he was almost whispering. "They're not magical, see, and it's hard to ask for a day off to send their wizard son to a magic school that starts much later than normal ones. Whe-where are yours?") as they pushed their trolleys around the muggle platform.
And when Baekhyun was sure that Jongdae was too distracted by the conversation to look anywhere else but at him, Baekhyun led the muggleborn into the brick wall between platforms 9 and 10.
The boy had given a piercing laugh as he pulled Baekhyun into an embrace, and it took him three attempts to detach from Jongdae and finally breathe again. They met Kyungsoo in the train, where every compartment was either too full of students or full of piercing stares that made the duo keep on walking.
Kyungsoo had a piercing stare of his own, but he was alone, and Baekhyun wasn't going to keep searching for an empty compartment now that the train was moving, and make the name The Boy Who Fell before they even reached.
The boy with the big round eyes didn't say much (other than his name and a sharp threat to learn the Silencing Spell just so he could use it on Baekhyun) but when Baekhyun and Jongdae were going through their sixth Chocolate Frog and Baekhyun told the muggleborn the wrong information about a certain renowned Auror, Kyungsoo had spoken up.
Chanyeol stumbled in while Kyungsoo huffed at their ignorance, and he was tall and lanky even for a first year, scratching the back of his neck as he nervously mumbled something about annoying a few third years and being kicked out of their compartment.
Baekhyun could see the objection in Kyungsoo's eyes, but majority won, and after a while it seemed like he was minding the new addition less and less anyway.
Just then, a very familiar Gryffindor blocks Baekhyun's view of the still-hopeful younger students.
"Hey, Jongin!"
The lion's head turns left and right to look for the source of the voice, and Baekhyun laughs before Jongin's puffy squinted eyes can find him. Jongin walks over to him, then, settling on a patch of grass right next to Baekhyun with a yawn.
"Where were you? I didn't see you leave the garden after Sehun tried to feed those Knarls some milk."
Jongin's yawn stops short and turns into a laugh. "Sehun's an idiot. No, I stayed behind to ask Professor Zhang a few things."
"Ah, trying to get that O on your NEWTs are you?"
Jongin's eyes shut and his head falls slowly back as his mouth opens wide, a loud and almost glorious yawn gracing Baekhyun's ears as Jongin nods several times in reply. (He doesn't seem to notice the click of Baekhyun's phone snapping a photo of his grace.)
"Aish," Baekhyun hisses, "your eyebags are droopier than Merlin's balls. Just go and sleep, already."
Jongin drops on his side, courtesy of Baekhyun's playful shove, and the Gryffindor whines against the grass for a bit, only making his leave after Baekhyun threatens to Indian bap his ass if he falls asleep here.
C
Chanyeol, at first glance, doesn't look as talented as he is. His grandmother, as delicate and sweet as she may appear to be, says that he looks particularly dimwitted unless he's wearing "those ridiculous Muggle goggles". It's really just Halmi speak for the thick-framed lensless glasses Jongdae had given to him for his birthday some years ago.
"You need big glasses like these to distract people from your big ears," Jongdae had joked, which earned the fourth year badger a playful punch to the belly before he Summoned Chanyeol's real gift - the latest fastest broomstick, with PCY finely carved into the wood.
Jongdae's always had a knack for choosing the best presents, even though his judgement as to what others may or may not need is seriously lacking at times (like when he tried to put a Heating Charm on the ghosts because it was cold out, for instance). And though Chanyeol has quite a collection of gifts from Jongdae over the years, his namesake remains his favorite yet.
Chanyeol gives the broom handle an affectionate rub with his thumb and walks down the hallway to the Gryffindor commons. He knows it's only a matter of time before Junmyeon, the Head Boy, will appear and fuss about the muddy bootprints that Chanyeol continues to leave behind, but even that can't dampen the mood he's in today.
Much like every Wednesday for the last couple of years, Chanyeol has just one class to go to in the morning, and after having his breakfast he's able to spend the rest of the day at the pitch. Today's practice was particularly special, because even though it had to be cut short due to a previous engagement, Chanyeol believes he'd done an exceptional job blocking five Quaffles at once.
This very Wednesday is different from most other Wednesdays, too, because Chanyeol is less than forty minutes away from meeting his best friends. It's been a while since he's seen all three of them at the same time; someone always manages to slip out of their arrangement at the last minute due to exams or girlfriends or boyfriends (or Quidditch practice, in Chanyeol's case).
Chanyeol makes it past the Fat Lady without seeing so much as a glimpse of the Head Boy. Once he's stepped through the portrait hole, though, he still turns around just in case Junmyeon might be there, but Chanyeol finds Jongin instead, running towards the entrance and flailing his arms as he yells, "Wait! Chanyeol! The door!"
With a squeak, Jongin's shoe lands on a trail of mud and the fellow lion lurches forward, and Chanyeol almost misses when he casts the Cushioning Charm right under Jongin. The other's yelp fades into a sigh of relief when he realizes he isn't going to lose a leg after all.
The Fat Lady chuckles when Jongin gets up and trots towards them, her laugh only getting wilder when she starts to swing back and forth, asking Jongin for the password.
Chanyeol watches Jongin's eyes go wide. "I - I, shit, I forgot what the password is."
She heaves a loud sigh and stops cackling. "No password, no entry."
"But you know who I - "
"No exceptions," she tuts, and Chanyeol can just imagine her with folded arms and head held high you could see up her nose.
"Mimbulus mimbletonia," Chanyeol grunts behind the portrait, and the Fat Lady swings around to face him, hand on one ample hip, frowning. "I'm sorry, I feel bad because it's my mud he slipped on."
Jongin has a foot in when he hears. "That's yours?"
Chanyeol sighs. "Yeah." Guilty, he points his wand once more to where Jongin had been, and makes an S as he recites, "Scourgify." In mere seconds, the floors are free of his mess.
"Thanks, anyway," Jongin says with a shrug once the entrance is once again closed. "For the Cushioning Charm."
Chanyeol swallows. "Yeah, well, if I remember correctly you're a dancer, aren't you?"
Jongin nods. "Yeah. I was gonna practise, actually, but I forgot my - something."
"Wouldn't wanna injure your leg, you know, and be the reason why you have to stop doing what you love." Chanyeol tugs at his collar, uniform suddenly too tight.
"Don't worry about it," Jongin says with an easy pat on his shoulder, and Chanyeol feels himself relax. "Well, I'm just going to get my stuff and head back out. See you at dinner?"
"Yeah, see you," Chanyeol says and watches Jongin disappear up the spiral staircase that leads to the boys' dormitory. He should make his way up, too, to shower or simply Scourgify his entire body, because there's nothing Kyungsoo dislikes more than a filthy, muddy Chanyeol. (Except, perhaps, a filthy and muddy Baekhyun.)
Chanyeol doesn't need to look at the Clock Tower to know he's early. Baekhyun's sitting at their favored spot, face crinkled slightly as he laughs at something in front of him. Chanyeol shifts his gaze to where Baekhyun is looking, and almost has a heart attack.
"Oh, you're here," Baekhyun greets him, and Chanyeol responds with a weak wave, eyes still trained on the figure walking further and further away from them. "I'd say you look like you've just seen a ghost, but we see ghosts every damn day in this school.
"Ah, you look like Tao did on Sorting day. Yah. Hello? Yeol?"
Chanyeol's head snaps to look at the eagle. "Baekhyun, tell me that wasn't Jongin I saw walking by the lake."
"It was Jongin you saw walking by the lake. I even took a photo of him, wanna see?"
"Tell me I'm dreaming."
"You're not."
He flops next to Baekhyun, plants his face onto the other's thigh and groans. "This is not happening... I'm too young to go crazy... I'm too good-looking... I've never even been with anyone; I don't even know if I like witches or wizards, or what if I like mugg- "
Chanyeol's babbling, and he would have continued babbling if it weren't for the sugar quill that Baekhyun stuffed in his mouth. (Kyungsoo had gotten him a bunch of those just last week. "So you'll be quiet in class for once." Chanyeol supposes it's a lot better than being Silenced.)
"Breathe," the eagle instructs. "And tell me what happened."
So Chanyeol does. He tells Baekhyun about Quidditch practice, and how he blocked five Quaffles at once (okay, perhaps it's irrelevant to the current situation, but it's worth mentioning). He tells Baekhyun about muddy tracks all the way from the pitch to the seventh floor, and not bothering to clean them. More importantly, he tells Baekhyun about Jongin, slipping on mud and entering and leaving the Gryffindor Tower in his dancing attire, and most definitely not his school uniform.
Baekhyun presses his lips and frowns. "But I was just with him, Yeol. And we had Care of Magical Creatures class before I came here. He even stayed back to talk to our teacher."
"I'm going mad," Chanyeol groans.
"No, you're not," Baekhyun says and Chanyeol shifts, looking up at his friend, hopeful. "Think about it. What can make a wizard be at two places at once?"
Chanyeol goes back to pressing his face into Baekhyun's thigh. At least Chanyeol isn't the only crazy one.
K
There was a time when Slytherins used to be feared and loathed by students and professors of other Houses, and despite his death glares and violent threats, Kyungsoo's glad he hadn't been born into a time like that.
When Kyungsoo had been a mere boy of eleven, he swore to never show how vulnerable he can truly be, and adopted the best cold demeanor he could pull off as a young wizard. Needless to say, on the very first trip to school, three other young wizards had, almost effortlessly, broken his icy front.
He still doesn't wear his heart on his sleeve, much less on his head like his housemate Oh Sehun - the metamorphmagus's hair changes as often as his mood does, and quite literally too. ("He's like a walking mood ring," Jongdae had said with a giggle, and Baekhyun laughed with him. Kyungsoo and Chanyeol only stared at them, unable to get the muggle reference.) Kyungsoo makes sure not to, anyway, because it's more fun to pretend he's as likeable as dragon pox.
Now, though, as he walks down the dungeon corridor and heads to the Black Lake, Kyungsoo can't help the little smile that plays on his lips. Better to do it now than when he reaches, he muses, and be teased by his friends.
It's hard to get a day like this, where the four of them can meet up somewhere that isn't the Great Hall where they'd spend more time eating than actually holding a proper conversation. Being in different Houses and taking different electives have made sure of that. Kyungsoo has Alchemy with Jongdae and Charms with Baekhyun and Chanyeol, sure, but even after lessons someone has to rush off to another class or activity.
He'll never admit it, but Kyungsoo misses the times when they'd all meet late into the night to prepare for some ingenious prank Baekhyun or Chanyeol had come up with.
He can see them now, Chanyeol half sitting on the grass and half lying on Baekhyun, too deep in conversation to even notice him.
"I'm serious, Chanyeol. I mean, what else could it be?"
"Maybe he has a twin! Or maybe I really have gone crazy."
"It's probably why he's sleeping in class most of the time."
"What are you talking about?" Kyungsoo asks, and they both turn to beam at him.
"Soo, you're here!"
"That dark kid Jong- "
"Ah, stop saying that. He's not dark."
"You called him that just a few days ago," Baekhyun reminds him.
Chanyeol gives a nervous laugh, hand coming up to scratch the back of his neck. "Yeah, and earned myself a smack on the arm. Guy hits harder than Kyungsoo Beats."
Kyungsoo frowns at Chanyeol, slightly annoyed by his comment. He's pretty certain no one hits harder than he does, especially not some boy who yawns more than he speaks. Kyungsoo considers smacking Chanyeol's spared arm, just so the lion can compare between the two and rethink his earlier opinion.
Instead, he shifts his attention back to Baekhyun. "You were saying?"
"Right. We think - well, I think that that not dark kid, Jongin," he says, and Chanyeol scoffs, "is using a Time-Turner."
"Weren't those destroyed not too long ago?"
"It was never proven," Baekhyun waves it off. "Besides, I'm convinced Jongin owns one."
"What makes you so sure?"
"Chanyeol, if you please," Baekhyun says theatrically, and the lanky lion sits up.
"I saw Jongin in the common room before I made my way here," Chanyeol starts, face uncertain. "He was just there to grab something and then left for dance practice. But when I got here, I saw him saying goodbye to Baek and walking towards the Tower."
"And," Baekhyun adds, still in that dramatic tone, "I was sitting here with Jongin after our class ended."
"I don't believe you."
Baekhyun puts his face in his hands for a brief moment, letting out something between a sigh and a grunt. He looks up at Kyungsoo after that, and Kyungsoo keeps his face muscles lax, save for the ones needed to raise his left eyebrow.
"I took a photo." Baekhyun fishes out a muggle gadget, then, one that Jongdae had pestered him to buy just so he had someone within the group to text and send tiny little faces to. Kyungsoo had been relieved that Jongdae hadn't even bothered to consider asking him, partly because it was exhausting to try and figure out muggle technology, and mostly because he'd probably end up smashing the gadget to bits like it was a rogue Bludger.
Right now, though, he feels a little lost as he stares at the device in Baekhyun's hand, held up just inches away from his nose. He can't see shit.
Baekhyun seems to have read the confusion on his face. "Oh, sorry," he says when he retracts his phone and gives it a light tap before holding it up again. "Do you see it now?"
Kyungsoo does see it - a still photo of Jongin sitting on the grass and yawning luxuriously - but doesn't know what he's looking for. The screen fades to black again and Baekhyun puts it aside, then looks Kyungsoo dead in the eyes.
"He's wearing his uniform, isn't he? Because he was in class, Soo, he was there the whole time. Try and explain to me how he can have a three-hour lesson and have time to have a little chat with our Chanyeol here in his dancing attire."
And honestly, Kyungsoo can't. So Jongin's using a Time-Turner to rehearse as much as he can, even while he's having his classes.
Kyungsoo finds that he, unsurprisingly, doesn't care.
J
Jongdae tickles the pear on the painting and watches it squirm and laugh at his touch before transforming into a green doorknob. A doorway then reveals itself, and he enters the kitchen, taking in its familiar mounds of glittering brass pots and pans as well as the great brick fireplace at the other end.
Jongdae feels immediately warmed by the air in the kitchen, where dinner is currently being prepared, and there are already a few house elves crowded around him, joyfully announcing his presence.
"Master Dae will be eating here, yes?" one of the elves asks.
"Ooh, will Master Yeol be cooking for we again?" another questions excitedly.
Before Jongdae can answer, another house-elf, a tad smaller than the rest, tugs two of his fingers lightly. She looks at him with big green eyes, ears pointed and cheeks flushed a deep red under his gentle stare.
"Hey, Daisy. What have you got over there?"
"Socks," the elf answers sheepishly. "Daisy knits them, in the color Master Dae likes."
Jongdae gets on one knee and holds his hands out, and Daisy drops the soft pink socks onto his palms. "You knit this for me, Daisy?"
"Yes," she squeaks. "Does Master Dae likes them?"
"I love them, Daisy. Thank you," he assures, and lets the house-elf keep her hold on his fingers as they make their way through the long tables. They stop just before the first set of stoves, where the twin elves Hokey and Pokey are lathering a couple of chickens in batter.
Jongdae politely tells them that he had hoped to bring a few snacks for the little gathering with his best friends and in just fifteen minutes, Jongdae's once-empty bag is almost filled to the brim with food: bulgogi and tuna kimbap, some guljeon, three servings of ddeokbokki, as well as two flasks of butterbeer and cool barley tea. The wizard struggles with his bag for a second before realizing what he is and how useful a magic wand can be.
It isn't a long way from the kitchen - or more specifically the Hufflepuff common room, where Jongdae had spent most of the afternoon lounging in - to the Black Lake, and Jongdae should've been one of the first to arrive at their spot. But it appears he's the last one to get there, and he hopes that bringing food to their little get-together would make up for that fact.
"Hey, sorry I'm late, but I -" Before Jongdae can finish his sentence, the flap of his bag flies open and the contents make their way out, floating one after another and coming to a halt just two inches above the grass.
"- brought food?" Baekhyun offers with a grin, wand still pointed at the food. "We can see that."
They talk about their concerns about NEWTs, and what could happen after. They reminisce about the past years in school, too, and Jongdae almost chokes on kimbap when Baekhyun retells The Day Zitao Met Professor Lu (the one ghost teacher in the school), mocking Zitao's whiny voice perfectly.
It's only after Chanyeol sends the near-empty containers and flasks, along with a small thank-you note from the four of them to the elves, to the kitchen that Baekhyun tells Jongdae about Jongin and his suspected Time-Turner.
"So what if he has one?" Kyungsoo sighs. "It really has nothing to do with us."
Chanyeol makes an odd groan of disapproval. "Nothing to do with us? I thought I had gone crazy."
The serpent shoots him a look. Jongdae can sense how much he wants to retort, but Kyungsoo only swallows his words down and raises an eyebrow Jongdae's way. He can hear Kyungsoo's voice in his head, crisp words biting harmlessly at the space in his mind. Jongdae smiles back in reply.
It seems to appease Kyungsoo. "Fine. It has something to do with Chanyeol, at least."
"You know, we could do something about it," Chanyeol says. "We could split up; two of us find Past Jongin while the other two get Present Jongin. And then we could -"
"No," Baekhyun interrupts, "that would never work. The past and present should never collide like that. We'd be causing some serious damage, Yeol."
"We could just let him know that we know," Jongdae speaks up. "This can't be the first year he's had the Time-Turner; maybe he's making mistakes now because he's struggling, doing this alone."
Chanyeol nervously bites his lip. "Yeah, forget what I said. He almost broke a leg because of me today.. before I almost turned him into a cushion, that is."
Baekhyun gives the lion a pat on his shoulder. "It's nothing a bottle of Skele-Gro can't fix."
Kyungsoo noticeably winces at the mention of the potion, and Jongdae remembers how, in their third year, the Slytherin Beater had hit a Bludger a tad too hard and had to finish up a whole bottle and half of Skele-Gro.
(The first evening of Kyungsoo's stay at the Hospital Wing remained the only time they ever saw tears in his eyes. And when he had finally recovered, Kyungsoo stuffed his mended fingers into Baekhyun's nostrils, calmly telling the eagle to stop bringing it up or risk having something prickly up his nose instead.)
"So where can we find Jongin?" Baekhyun asks.
Jongdae glances at his watch. It's half past 5; just an hour away from dinner. He's sure that, no matter how determined and passionate Jongin is, the dancer wouldn't want to be late for Wednesday's special: seasoned fried chicken.
"He should be just about done with practice."
"Yeah," Chanyeol agrees. "He's usually back at the common room around 6."
"Are you his stalker? Do you know what he does every Saturday night, too?" Baekhyun teases.
Jongdae catches the slight twitch of Chanyeol's lips. "Yah, he does know!" he shouts.
Chanyeol's cheeks immediately redden, and Jongdae laughs along with the other two. "It-it's not like that," the lion stammers. "We're in the same House, oh, come on."
They continue to tease Chanyeol even as they walk up the moving staircases and down the third floor corridor, and Chanyeol has to place a hand over Baekhyun's mouth before they finally stop in front of Classroom 3D.
"Will you promise to shut the fuck up when I take my hand off?" Chanyeol asks as he stares right at Baekhyun, who blinks hard and nods in reply.
"You even know where he likes to practise, Yeol," Baekhyun says the moment Chanyeol's hand slips away and ducks when Chanyeol attempts to reach for his face again. Jongdae feels Baekhyun's forehead against his back when the Ravenclaw quietly adds, "You must like following him into an abandoned classroom."
Chanyeol looks like he wants to retaliate, but Kyungsoo simply pushes him aside and points his wand at the doorknob. "Alohomora," Kyungsoo mutters under his breath, wand hand moving in a sort of backward 'S' as he Unlocks the door.
The door opens before them, revealing the damp and slightly dusty room, washed in gray hues and the musky scent of Jongin's sweat. All the chairs and tables are still in their perfect rows and colums, but instead of being on the floor where they should be, Jongin had Charmed them to be on the ceiling instead.
Jongdae recalls a prank they had pulled off in fifth year, just a few weeks before their OWLs. Kyungsoo had gone with Baekhyun to the Ravenclaw Tower, while Jongdae stayed with Chanyeol in the room he shared with the other fifth year lions, feigning innocence when the other boys asked why their beds and trunks weren't on the floor like Chanyeol's were.
When Jongin had stepped into the dormitory, he had given his belongings one look before he gaped at Jongdae and Chanyeol. And then, much unlike the other boys, Jongin had asked for the spell and left the room in a hurry.
"Impressive." Kyungsoo clicks his tongue. "He learned the spell used to prank him so he'd have space to dance."
"Yeah, he learned how to turn a stone wall into a large reflective surface, too," Baekhyun says, fingers delicately caressing the makeshift mirror.
"Professor Kim taught us that in Alchemy for our third or so lesson," Jongdae tells him, and Kyungsoo mumbles a quick hated that lesson as Jongdae approaches Jongin, slumped against the wall at the other side, eyeballs moving wildly behind closed eyelids. "He looks pretty knocked out. Hears us but still isn't waking up."
"Should we wake him up nicely?" Chanyeol wonders.
"You do that," Kyungsoo says with a smirk. "Give him a good morning kiss."
And for the first time in six and a half years, Chanyeol's hand lands on Kyungsoo in playful retaliation. Everyone is quiet for a second, and Jongdae looks from Kyungsoo to Chanyeol to Kyungsoo, mouth opening a little bigger every passing millisecond.
Jongdae watches as the corner of Kyungsoo's lips curve slowly upward, and Chanyeol relaxes at the lopsided smile. He doesn't even anticipate the snake's attack, and Kyungsoo easily has Chanyeol in a headlock.
"Rictusempra," Chanyeol grumbles from under Kyungsoo's arm, the tip of his wand struggling to make the required leaf-like pattern. But Chanyeol misses, and they watch as silver light shoots out of his wand and onto Jongin.
Jongin laughs before his eyes open, looking a little shocked and a lot confused as he clutches his stomach, buckling with laughter.
"Oh shit, sorry!" Chanyeol hisses under Kyungsoo, who loosens his hold and lets Chanyeol run over to Jongin's side. "Sorry, I was aiming for Soo. It'll pass real quick, I promise."
"You're really bad at flirting today, Yeol," Baekhyun tuts.
"What does he -" Jongin giggles "- mean by flirting?"
Chanyeol shakes his head. "Nothing. Ignore him."
"But what are you -" he chuckles weakly, the Tickling Charm already starting to wear off "- guys even doing here?"
"Well, that... We, uh..."
"We were just passing by, see, and thought this room would be empty," Jongdae lies, finger picking at the hem of his sleeve out of habit.
"Which is why we wondered why an empty room would be locked," Baekhyun continues.
"And why you have a Time-Turner around your neck," Kyungsoo adds, not helpful at all, and Jongin thumbs his collar.
"You really shouldn't do that," Baekhyun says. "Lets us know that you really do have a Time-Turner."
"H-how'd you know to even guess?"
"I saw you in the common room, remember?"
"And we had Care of Magical Creatures class together."
Jongin groans. "I must've been on autopilot or something."
"Autopilot?" Chanyeol and Kyungsoo chorus.
"Nevermind that. What time is it?"
"A little over 5:30," Jongdae answers.
Jongin looks fully awake now, struggling to get on his feet. He rushes them out of the room, then, going on about how he's going to be late; so, so late. Baekhyun is offering sugar quills when Jongin puts the chairs and tables back on the floor.
"You must be really excited to have fried chicken again."
"No, it's not that," Jongin huffs, gripping the doorknob and pulling it towards himself. "'The longest period that can be travelled back in time without serious chance of harm to the traveller or time itself is around five hours.'
"I gave myself until 5:40 to get back into the common room. That's in a few minutes. If I don't reach there in time, something bad's going to happen - and - and -"
"Don't get your wand in a knot, there, Jongin. You're forgetting something: we're wizards."
"Baek, we can't Apparate within the school."
"I wasn't talking about Apparating." Baekhyun opens the door Jongin's just closed and three dingy broomsticks float out of Classroom 3D. "Saw them by the corner, had a feeling they could be useful."
Jongdae's never liked flying, be it on a broomstick or in an airplane, so he spends the entire ride clinging to Baekhyun. His eyes stay shut even as Junmyeon yells somewhere under them about some old rule none of them actually care about at this point.
Chanyeol is helping Jongin down when the two of them reach, Baekhyun whistling teasingly and earning himself a soft knock on the head by the broomstick that Chanyeol then bewitched. Kyungsoo appears soon, hovering above for just a bit before descending next to them.
"Mimbulus mimbletonia," Chanyeol says.
"You're a Mimbulus mimbletonia," the Fat Lady scowls as she swings open and lets them all through the opening.
"Don't ask."
They pause right in front of a short door in the wall, and Jongin takes a deep breath before he opens it. It's a tiny broom cupboard, with one broken broomstick and what looks like a translucent doppelgänger of Jongin. It's hard to tell what something is when it fades too quickly.
"Thanks, guys," Jongin says quietly when he turns to face them, "for helping me out. You pretty much saved the entire wizarding world."
"Finally," Baekhyun sighs, "it's our last year in this school and we'll finally be recognized as heroes."
"Baek, you'd be a hero if you stopped talking."
"You love me, Soo," Baekhyun says cutely and bravely wraps an arm around the serpent.
Kyungsoo, surprisingly, doesn't push the eagle off of him, so Chanyeol and Jongdae take advantage of the rare occurrence and go in for a hug as well. Perhaps it really is because it's their last year in this school, Jongdae muses, and Kyungsoo knows just how precious these get-togethers are. It'd be hard, after all, to meet up once they've got different jobs.
Not ten seconds later, though, Kyungsoo serenely says he'll Incendio their asses if they don't let go soon.
Pairing: chinguline OT4 (friendship only)
Rating: PG-13
Length: ~5.2K
Summary: Someone may or may not have a Time-Turner, and it's up to four seventh years to find out.
Notes: Written for epitheliyeol in chinguline. Originally posted here. Title is a play on the book Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and yes this fic is as cheesy as it sounds c: yay cheese
B
Baekhyun is the first to arrive - no surprises there. It's still early; they hadn't agreed to meet until a good fifteen minutes later, but Baekhyun likes being early. He likes having that little bit of time by himself, relaxing in the shadiest spot and silently judging the first year students, crowded by the lake and trying to catch a glimpse of the Giant Squid. He knows the creature isn't likely to make an appearance, what with the Sun baring on them with hardly any mercy, but Baekhyun would rather keep his quiet and listen to their ridiculous theories when they're done waiting.
Baekhyun himself has had his fair share of ridiculous theories when he first came to the school, but after six and a half years it'd be an understatement to say he knows the castle like the back of his hand. Of course, not every seventh year is as knowledgeable as Baekhyun is - he, as well as his dearest friends, made it a point long ago to learn as many secrets about the school, because how else would they expect to pull pranks so easily?
It's not that he doesn't have many friends; there isn't a corner Baekhyun can turn without bumping into someone he knows, but there are three particular guys Baekhyun holds dear to his heart (and he cringes slightly at the sudden sappy thought) mostly because they're the first friends he made since finding out he's a wizard.
He met Jongdae at the platform, just before the brick wall that separates that part of the muggle world from theirs, staring uncertainly at the wall with lips pressed tightly together. Baekhyun had befriended him, then, asking for his name and the whereabouts of his parents ("They couldn't make it," he said, so softly he was almost whispering. "They're not magical, see, and it's hard to ask for a day off to send their wizard son to a magic school that starts much later than normal ones. Whe-where are yours?") as they pushed their trolleys around the muggle platform.
And when Baekhyun was sure that Jongdae was too distracted by the conversation to look anywhere else but at him, Baekhyun led the muggleborn into the brick wall between platforms 9 and 10.
The boy had given a piercing laugh as he pulled Baekhyun into an embrace, and it took him three attempts to detach from Jongdae and finally breathe again. They met Kyungsoo in the train, where every compartment was either too full of students or full of piercing stares that made the duo keep on walking.
Kyungsoo had a piercing stare of his own, but he was alone, and Baekhyun wasn't going to keep searching for an empty compartment now that the train was moving, and make the name The Boy Who Fell before they even reached.
The boy with the big round eyes didn't say much (other than his name and a sharp threat to learn the Silencing Spell just so he could use it on Baekhyun) but when Baekhyun and Jongdae were going through their sixth Chocolate Frog and Baekhyun told the muggleborn the wrong information about a certain renowned Auror, Kyungsoo had spoken up.
Chanyeol stumbled in while Kyungsoo huffed at their ignorance, and he was tall and lanky even for a first year, scratching the back of his neck as he nervously mumbled something about annoying a few third years and being kicked out of their compartment.
Baekhyun could see the objection in Kyungsoo's eyes, but majority won, and after a while it seemed like he was minding the new addition less and less anyway.
Just then, a very familiar Gryffindor blocks Baekhyun's view of the still-hopeful younger students.
"Hey, Jongin!"
The lion's head turns left and right to look for the source of the voice, and Baekhyun laughs before Jongin's puffy squinted eyes can find him. Jongin walks over to him, then, settling on a patch of grass right next to Baekhyun with a yawn.
"Where were you? I didn't see you leave the garden after Sehun tried to feed those Knarls some milk."
Jongin's yawn stops short and turns into a laugh. "Sehun's an idiot. No, I stayed behind to ask Professor Zhang a few things."
"Ah, trying to get that O on your NEWTs are you?"
Jongin's eyes shut and his head falls slowly back as his mouth opens wide, a loud and almost glorious yawn gracing Baekhyun's ears as Jongin nods several times in reply. (He doesn't seem to notice the click of Baekhyun's phone snapping a photo of his grace.)
"Aish," Baekhyun hisses, "your eyebags are droopier than Merlin's balls. Just go and sleep, already."
Jongin drops on his side, courtesy of Baekhyun's playful shove, and the Gryffindor whines against the grass for a bit, only making his leave after Baekhyun threatens to Indian bap his ass if he falls asleep here.
C
Chanyeol, at first glance, doesn't look as talented as he is. His grandmother, as delicate and sweet as she may appear to be, says that he looks particularly dimwitted unless he's wearing "those ridiculous Muggle goggles". It's really just Halmi speak for the thick-framed lensless glasses Jongdae had given to him for his birthday some years ago.
"You need big glasses like these to distract people from your big ears," Jongdae had joked, which earned the fourth year badger a playful punch to the belly before he Summoned Chanyeol's real gift - the latest fastest broomstick, with PCY finely carved into the wood.
Jongdae's always had a knack for choosing the best presents, even though his judgement as to what others may or may not need is seriously lacking at times (like when he tried to put a Heating Charm on the ghosts because it was cold out, for instance). And though Chanyeol has quite a collection of gifts from Jongdae over the years, his namesake remains his favorite yet.
Chanyeol gives the broom handle an affectionate rub with his thumb and walks down the hallway to the Gryffindor commons. He knows it's only a matter of time before Junmyeon, the Head Boy, will appear and fuss about the muddy bootprints that Chanyeol continues to leave behind, but even that can't dampen the mood he's in today.
Much like every Wednesday for the last couple of years, Chanyeol has just one class to go to in the morning, and after having his breakfast he's able to spend the rest of the day at the pitch. Today's practice was particularly special, because even though it had to be cut short due to a previous engagement, Chanyeol believes he'd done an exceptional job blocking five Quaffles at once.
This very Wednesday is different from most other Wednesdays, too, because Chanyeol is less than forty minutes away from meeting his best friends. It's been a while since he's seen all three of them at the same time; someone always manages to slip out of their arrangement at the last minute due to exams or girlfriends or boyfriends (or Quidditch practice, in Chanyeol's case).
Chanyeol makes it past the Fat Lady without seeing so much as a glimpse of the Head Boy. Once he's stepped through the portrait hole, though, he still turns around just in case Junmyeon might be there, but Chanyeol finds Jongin instead, running towards the entrance and flailing his arms as he yells, "Wait! Chanyeol! The door!"
With a squeak, Jongin's shoe lands on a trail of mud and the fellow lion lurches forward, and Chanyeol almost misses when he casts the Cushioning Charm right under Jongin. The other's yelp fades into a sigh of relief when he realizes he isn't going to lose a leg after all.
The Fat Lady chuckles when Jongin gets up and trots towards them, her laugh only getting wilder when she starts to swing back and forth, asking Jongin for the password.
Chanyeol watches Jongin's eyes go wide. "I - I, shit, I forgot what the password is."
She heaves a loud sigh and stops cackling. "No password, no entry."
"But you know who I - "
"No exceptions," she tuts, and Chanyeol can just imagine her with folded arms and head held high you could see up her nose.
"Mimbulus mimbletonia," Chanyeol grunts behind the portrait, and the Fat Lady swings around to face him, hand on one ample hip, frowning. "I'm sorry, I feel bad because it's my mud he slipped on."
Jongin has a foot in when he hears. "That's yours?"
Chanyeol sighs. "Yeah." Guilty, he points his wand once more to where Jongin had been, and makes an S as he recites, "Scourgify." In mere seconds, the floors are free of his mess.
"Thanks, anyway," Jongin says with a shrug once the entrance is once again closed. "For the Cushioning Charm."
Chanyeol swallows. "Yeah, well, if I remember correctly you're a dancer, aren't you?"
Jongin nods. "Yeah. I was gonna practise, actually, but I forgot my - something."
"Wouldn't wanna injure your leg, you know, and be the reason why you have to stop doing what you love." Chanyeol tugs at his collar, uniform suddenly too tight.
"Don't worry about it," Jongin says with an easy pat on his shoulder, and Chanyeol feels himself relax. "Well, I'm just going to get my stuff and head back out. See you at dinner?"
"Yeah, see you," Chanyeol says and watches Jongin disappear up the spiral staircase that leads to the boys' dormitory. He should make his way up, too, to shower or simply Scourgify his entire body, because there's nothing Kyungsoo dislikes more than a filthy, muddy Chanyeol. (Except, perhaps, a filthy and muddy Baekhyun.)
Chanyeol doesn't need to look at the Clock Tower to know he's early. Baekhyun's sitting at their favored spot, face crinkled slightly as he laughs at something in front of him. Chanyeol shifts his gaze to where Baekhyun is looking, and almost has a heart attack.
"Oh, you're here," Baekhyun greets him, and Chanyeol responds with a weak wave, eyes still trained on the figure walking further and further away from them. "I'd say you look like you've just seen a ghost, but we see ghosts every damn day in this school.
"Ah, you look like Tao did on Sorting day. Yah. Hello? Yeol?"
Chanyeol's head snaps to look at the eagle. "Baekhyun, tell me that wasn't Jongin I saw walking by the lake."
"It was Jongin you saw walking by the lake. I even took a photo of him, wanna see?"
"Tell me I'm dreaming."
"You're not."
He flops next to Baekhyun, plants his face onto the other's thigh and groans. "This is not happening... I'm too young to go crazy... I'm too good-looking... I've never even been with anyone; I don't even know if I like witches or wizards, or what if I like mugg- "
Chanyeol's babbling, and he would have continued babbling if it weren't for the sugar quill that Baekhyun stuffed in his mouth. (Kyungsoo had gotten him a bunch of those just last week. "So you'll be quiet in class for once." Chanyeol supposes it's a lot better than being Silenced.)
"Breathe," the eagle instructs. "And tell me what happened."
So Chanyeol does. He tells Baekhyun about Quidditch practice, and how he blocked five Quaffles at once (okay, perhaps it's irrelevant to the current situation, but it's worth mentioning). He tells Baekhyun about muddy tracks all the way from the pitch to the seventh floor, and not bothering to clean them. More importantly, he tells Baekhyun about Jongin, slipping on mud and entering and leaving the Gryffindor Tower in his dancing attire, and most definitely not his school uniform.
Baekhyun presses his lips and frowns. "But I was just with him, Yeol. And we had Care of Magical Creatures class before I came here. He even stayed back to talk to our teacher."
"I'm going mad," Chanyeol groans.
"No, you're not," Baekhyun says and Chanyeol shifts, looking up at his friend, hopeful. "Think about it. What can make a wizard be at two places at once?"
Chanyeol goes back to pressing his face into Baekhyun's thigh. At least Chanyeol isn't the only crazy one.
K
There was a time when Slytherins used to be feared and loathed by students and professors of other Houses, and despite his death glares and violent threats, Kyungsoo's glad he hadn't been born into a time like that.
When Kyungsoo had been a mere boy of eleven, he swore to never show how vulnerable he can truly be, and adopted the best cold demeanor he could pull off as a young wizard. Needless to say, on the very first trip to school, three other young wizards had, almost effortlessly, broken his icy front.
He still doesn't wear his heart on his sleeve, much less on his head like his housemate Oh Sehun - the metamorphmagus's hair changes as often as his mood does, and quite literally too. ("He's like a walking mood ring," Jongdae had said with a giggle, and Baekhyun laughed with him. Kyungsoo and Chanyeol only stared at them, unable to get the muggle reference.) Kyungsoo makes sure not to, anyway, because it's more fun to pretend he's as likeable as dragon pox.
Now, though, as he walks down the dungeon corridor and heads to the Black Lake, Kyungsoo can't help the little smile that plays on his lips. Better to do it now than when he reaches, he muses, and be teased by his friends.
It's hard to get a day like this, where the four of them can meet up somewhere that isn't the Great Hall where they'd spend more time eating than actually holding a proper conversation. Being in different Houses and taking different electives have made sure of that. Kyungsoo has Alchemy with Jongdae and Charms with Baekhyun and Chanyeol, sure, but even after lessons someone has to rush off to another class or activity.
He'll never admit it, but Kyungsoo misses the times when they'd all meet late into the night to prepare for some ingenious prank Baekhyun or Chanyeol had come up with.
He can see them now, Chanyeol half sitting on the grass and half lying on Baekhyun, too deep in conversation to even notice him.
"I'm serious, Chanyeol. I mean, what else could it be?"
"Maybe he has a twin! Or maybe I really have gone crazy."
"It's probably why he's sleeping in class most of the time."
"What are you talking about?" Kyungsoo asks, and they both turn to beam at him.
"Soo, you're here!"
"That dark kid Jong- "
"Ah, stop saying that. He's not dark."
"You called him that just a few days ago," Baekhyun reminds him.
Chanyeol gives a nervous laugh, hand coming up to scratch the back of his neck. "Yeah, and earned myself a smack on the arm. Guy hits harder than Kyungsoo Beats."
Kyungsoo frowns at Chanyeol, slightly annoyed by his comment. He's pretty certain no one hits harder than he does, especially not some boy who yawns more than he speaks. Kyungsoo considers smacking Chanyeol's spared arm, just so the lion can compare between the two and rethink his earlier opinion.
Instead, he shifts his attention back to Baekhyun. "You were saying?"
"Right. We think - well, I think that that not dark kid, Jongin," he says, and Chanyeol scoffs, "is using a Time-Turner."
"Weren't those destroyed not too long ago?"
"It was never proven," Baekhyun waves it off. "Besides, I'm convinced Jongin owns one."
"What makes you so sure?"
"Chanyeol, if you please," Baekhyun says theatrically, and the lanky lion sits up.
"I saw Jongin in the common room before I made my way here," Chanyeol starts, face uncertain. "He was just there to grab something and then left for dance practice. But when I got here, I saw him saying goodbye to Baek and walking towards the Tower."
"And," Baekhyun adds, still in that dramatic tone, "I was sitting here with Jongin after our class ended."
"I don't believe you."
Baekhyun puts his face in his hands for a brief moment, letting out something between a sigh and a grunt. He looks up at Kyungsoo after that, and Kyungsoo keeps his face muscles lax, save for the ones needed to raise his left eyebrow.
"I took a photo." Baekhyun fishes out a muggle gadget, then, one that Jongdae had pestered him to buy just so he had someone within the group to text and send tiny little faces to. Kyungsoo had been relieved that Jongdae hadn't even bothered to consider asking him, partly because it was exhausting to try and figure out muggle technology, and mostly because he'd probably end up smashing the gadget to bits like it was a rogue Bludger.
Right now, though, he feels a little lost as he stares at the device in Baekhyun's hand, held up just inches away from his nose. He can't see shit.
Baekhyun seems to have read the confusion on his face. "Oh, sorry," he says when he retracts his phone and gives it a light tap before holding it up again. "Do you see it now?"
Kyungsoo does see it - a still photo of Jongin sitting on the grass and yawning luxuriously - but doesn't know what he's looking for. The screen fades to black again and Baekhyun puts it aside, then looks Kyungsoo dead in the eyes.
"He's wearing his uniform, isn't he? Because he was in class, Soo, he was there the whole time. Try and explain to me how he can have a three-hour lesson and have time to have a little chat with our Chanyeol here in his dancing attire."
And honestly, Kyungsoo can't. So Jongin's using a Time-Turner to rehearse as much as he can, even while he's having his classes.
Kyungsoo finds that he, unsurprisingly, doesn't care.
J
Jongdae tickles the pear on the painting and watches it squirm and laugh at his touch before transforming into a green doorknob. A doorway then reveals itself, and he enters the kitchen, taking in its familiar mounds of glittering brass pots and pans as well as the great brick fireplace at the other end.
Jongdae feels immediately warmed by the air in the kitchen, where dinner is currently being prepared, and there are already a few house elves crowded around him, joyfully announcing his presence.
"Master Dae will be eating here, yes?" one of the elves asks.
"Ooh, will Master Yeol be cooking for we again?" another questions excitedly.
Before Jongdae can answer, another house-elf, a tad smaller than the rest, tugs two of his fingers lightly. She looks at him with big green eyes, ears pointed and cheeks flushed a deep red under his gentle stare.
"Hey, Daisy. What have you got over there?"
"Socks," the elf answers sheepishly. "Daisy knits them, in the color Master Dae likes."
Jongdae gets on one knee and holds his hands out, and Daisy drops the soft pink socks onto his palms. "You knit this for me, Daisy?"
"Yes," she squeaks. "Does Master Dae likes them?"
"I love them, Daisy. Thank you," he assures, and lets the house-elf keep her hold on his fingers as they make their way through the long tables. They stop just before the first set of stoves, where the twin elves Hokey and Pokey are lathering a couple of chickens in batter.
Jongdae politely tells them that he had hoped to bring a few snacks for the little gathering with his best friends and in just fifteen minutes, Jongdae's once-empty bag is almost filled to the brim with food: bulgogi and tuna kimbap, some guljeon, three servings of ddeokbokki, as well as two flasks of butterbeer and cool barley tea. The wizard struggles with his bag for a second before realizing what he is and how useful a magic wand can be.
It isn't a long way from the kitchen - or more specifically the Hufflepuff common room, where Jongdae had spent most of the afternoon lounging in - to the Black Lake, and Jongdae should've been one of the first to arrive at their spot. But it appears he's the last one to get there, and he hopes that bringing food to their little get-together would make up for that fact.
"Hey, sorry I'm late, but I -" Before Jongdae can finish his sentence, the flap of his bag flies open and the contents make their way out, floating one after another and coming to a halt just two inches above the grass.
"- brought food?" Baekhyun offers with a grin, wand still pointed at the food. "We can see that."
They talk about their concerns about NEWTs, and what could happen after. They reminisce about the past years in school, too, and Jongdae almost chokes on kimbap when Baekhyun retells The Day Zitao Met Professor Lu (the one ghost teacher in the school), mocking Zitao's whiny voice perfectly.
It's only after Chanyeol sends the near-empty containers and flasks, along with a small thank-you note from the four of them to the elves, to the kitchen that Baekhyun tells Jongdae about Jongin and his suspected Time-Turner.
"So what if he has one?" Kyungsoo sighs. "It really has nothing to do with us."
Chanyeol makes an odd groan of disapproval. "Nothing to do with us? I thought I had gone crazy."
The serpent shoots him a look. Jongdae can sense how much he wants to retort, but Kyungsoo only swallows his words down and raises an eyebrow Jongdae's way. He can hear Kyungsoo's voice in his head, crisp words biting harmlessly at the space in his mind. Jongdae smiles back in reply.
It seems to appease Kyungsoo. "Fine. It has something to do with Chanyeol, at least."
"You know, we could do something about it," Chanyeol says. "We could split up; two of us find Past Jongin while the other two get Present Jongin. And then we could -"
"No," Baekhyun interrupts, "that would never work. The past and present should never collide like that. We'd be causing some serious damage, Yeol."
"We could just let him know that we know," Jongdae speaks up. "This can't be the first year he's had the Time-Turner; maybe he's making mistakes now because he's struggling, doing this alone."
Chanyeol nervously bites his lip. "Yeah, forget what I said. He almost broke a leg because of me today.. before I almost turned him into a cushion, that is."
Baekhyun gives the lion a pat on his shoulder. "It's nothing a bottle of Skele-Gro can't fix."
Kyungsoo noticeably winces at the mention of the potion, and Jongdae remembers how, in their third year, the Slytherin Beater had hit a Bludger a tad too hard and had to finish up a whole bottle and half of Skele-Gro.
(The first evening of Kyungsoo's stay at the Hospital Wing remained the only time they ever saw tears in his eyes. And when he had finally recovered, Kyungsoo stuffed his mended fingers into Baekhyun's nostrils, calmly telling the eagle to stop bringing it up or risk having something prickly up his nose instead.)
"So where can we find Jongin?" Baekhyun asks.
Jongdae glances at his watch. It's half past 5; just an hour away from dinner. He's sure that, no matter how determined and passionate Jongin is, the dancer wouldn't want to be late for Wednesday's special: seasoned fried chicken.
"He should be just about done with practice."
"Yeah," Chanyeol agrees. "He's usually back at the common room around 6."
"Are you his stalker? Do you know what he does every Saturday night, too?" Baekhyun teases.
Jongdae catches the slight twitch of Chanyeol's lips. "Yah, he does know!" he shouts.
Chanyeol's cheeks immediately redden, and Jongdae laughs along with the other two. "It-it's not like that," the lion stammers. "We're in the same House, oh, come on."
They continue to tease Chanyeol even as they walk up the moving staircases and down the third floor corridor, and Chanyeol has to place a hand over Baekhyun's mouth before they finally stop in front of Classroom 3D.
"Will you promise to shut the fuck up when I take my hand off?" Chanyeol asks as he stares right at Baekhyun, who blinks hard and nods in reply.
"You even know where he likes to practise, Yeol," Baekhyun says the moment Chanyeol's hand slips away and ducks when Chanyeol attempts to reach for his face again. Jongdae feels Baekhyun's forehead against his back when the Ravenclaw quietly adds, "You must like following him into an abandoned classroom."
Chanyeol looks like he wants to retaliate, but Kyungsoo simply pushes him aside and points his wand at the doorknob. "Alohomora," Kyungsoo mutters under his breath, wand hand moving in a sort of backward 'S' as he Unlocks the door.
The door opens before them, revealing the damp and slightly dusty room, washed in gray hues and the musky scent of Jongin's sweat. All the chairs and tables are still in their perfect rows and colums, but instead of being on the floor where they should be, Jongin had Charmed them to be on the ceiling instead.
Jongdae recalls a prank they had pulled off in fifth year, just a few weeks before their OWLs. Kyungsoo had gone with Baekhyun to the Ravenclaw Tower, while Jongdae stayed with Chanyeol in the room he shared with the other fifth year lions, feigning innocence when the other boys asked why their beds and trunks weren't on the floor like Chanyeol's were.
When Jongin had stepped into the dormitory, he had given his belongings one look before he gaped at Jongdae and Chanyeol. And then, much unlike the other boys, Jongin had asked for the spell and left the room in a hurry.
"Impressive." Kyungsoo clicks his tongue. "He learned the spell used to prank him so he'd have space to dance."
"Yeah, he learned how to turn a stone wall into a large reflective surface, too," Baekhyun says, fingers delicately caressing the makeshift mirror.
"Professor Kim taught us that in Alchemy for our third or so lesson," Jongdae tells him, and Kyungsoo mumbles a quick hated that lesson as Jongdae approaches Jongin, slumped against the wall at the other side, eyeballs moving wildly behind closed eyelids. "He looks pretty knocked out. Hears us but still isn't waking up."
"Should we wake him up nicely?" Chanyeol wonders.
"You do that," Kyungsoo says with a smirk. "Give him a good morning kiss."
And for the first time in six and a half years, Chanyeol's hand lands on Kyungsoo in playful retaliation. Everyone is quiet for a second, and Jongdae looks from Kyungsoo to Chanyeol to Kyungsoo, mouth opening a little bigger every passing millisecond.
Jongdae watches as the corner of Kyungsoo's lips curve slowly upward, and Chanyeol relaxes at the lopsided smile. He doesn't even anticipate the snake's attack, and Kyungsoo easily has Chanyeol in a headlock.
"Rictusempra," Chanyeol grumbles from under Kyungsoo's arm, the tip of his wand struggling to make the required leaf-like pattern. But Chanyeol misses, and they watch as silver light shoots out of his wand and onto Jongin.
Jongin laughs before his eyes open, looking a little shocked and a lot confused as he clutches his stomach, buckling with laughter.
"Oh shit, sorry!" Chanyeol hisses under Kyungsoo, who loosens his hold and lets Chanyeol run over to Jongin's side. "Sorry, I was aiming for Soo. It'll pass real quick, I promise."
"You're really bad at flirting today, Yeol," Baekhyun tuts.
"What does he -" Jongin giggles "- mean by flirting?"
Chanyeol shakes his head. "Nothing. Ignore him."
"But what are you -" he chuckles weakly, the Tickling Charm already starting to wear off "- guys even doing here?"
"Well, that... We, uh..."
"We were just passing by, see, and thought this room would be empty," Jongdae lies, finger picking at the hem of his sleeve out of habit.
"Which is why we wondered why an empty room would be locked," Baekhyun continues.
"And why you have a Time-Turner around your neck," Kyungsoo adds, not helpful at all, and Jongin thumbs his collar.
"You really shouldn't do that," Baekhyun says. "Lets us know that you really do have a Time-Turner."
"H-how'd you know to even guess?"
"I saw you in the common room, remember?"
"And we had Care of Magical Creatures class together."
Jongin groans. "I must've been on autopilot or something."
"Autopilot?" Chanyeol and Kyungsoo chorus.
"Nevermind that. What time is it?"
"A little over 5:30," Jongdae answers.
Jongin looks fully awake now, struggling to get on his feet. He rushes them out of the room, then, going on about how he's going to be late; so, so late. Baekhyun is offering sugar quills when Jongin puts the chairs and tables back on the floor.
"You must be really excited to have fried chicken again."
"No, it's not that," Jongin huffs, gripping the doorknob and pulling it towards himself. "'The longest period that can be travelled back in time without serious chance of harm to the traveller or time itself is around five hours.'
"I gave myself until 5:40 to get back into the common room. That's in a few minutes. If I don't reach there in time, something bad's going to happen - and - and -"
"Don't get your wand in a knot, there, Jongin. You're forgetting something: we're wizards."
"Baek, we can't Apparate within the school."
"I wasn't talking about Apparating." Baekhyun opens the door Jongin's just closed and three dingy broomsticks float out of Classroom 3D. "Saw them by the corner, had a feeling they could be useful."
Jongdae's never liked flying, be it on a broomstick or in an airplane, so he spends the entire ride clinging to Baekhyun. His eyes stay shut even as Junmyeon yells somewhere under them about some old rule none of them actually care about at this point.
Chanyeol is helping Jongin down when the two of them reach, Baekhyun whistling teasingly and earning himself a soft knock on the head by the broomstick that Chanyeol then bewitched. Kyungsoo appears soon, hovering above for just a bit before descending next to them.
"Mimbulus mimbletonia," Chanyeol says.
"You're a Mimbulus mimbletonia," the Fat Lady scowls as she swings open and lets them all through the opening.
"Don't ask."
They pause right in front of a short door in the wall, and Jongin takes a deep breath before he opens it. It's a tiny broom cupboard, with one broken broomstick and what looks like a translucent doppelgänger of Jongin. It's hard to tell what something is when it fades too quickly.
"Thanks, guys," Jongin says quietly when he turns to face them, "for helping me out. You pretty much saved the entire wizarding world."
"Finally," Baekhyun sighs, "it's our last year in this school and we'll finally be recognized as heroes."
"Baek, you'd be a hero if you stopped talking."
"You love me, Soo," Baekhyun says cutely and bravely wraps an arm around the serpent.
Kyungsoo, surprisingly, doesn't push the eagle off of him, so Chanyeol and Jongdae take advantage of the rare occurrence and go in for a hug as well. Perhaps it really is because it's their last year in this school, Jongdae muses, and Kyungsoo knows just how precious these get-togethers are. It'd be hard, after all, to meet up once they've got different jobs.
Not ten seconds later, though, Kyungsoo serenely says he'll Incendio their asses if they don't let go soon.