SM Town; HP AU; Newcomers
Title: Newcomers
Fandom: SM Town
Pairing: various
Word Count: 9,306
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Taemin is set to follow in the footsteps of his brother, Heechul, at the Jae Neung Academy for Young Witches and Wizards. He just didn't know how big his shoes were.
Genre: Humor, Crack, Action
A/N: HAY GAIZ. SIX MONTHS LATER. Sorry about that. I'm not going to ramble on about what took so friggin' long, because if you've been reading my journal you've heard me harp on about that like, every week. SO INSTEAD. I'm just going to talk about how much I love writing this series. I have read this chapter for the past 5 months so it's pretty much dead to me in terms of interest, but I hope you find it new and exciting, even if it's author doesn't. Special present in there for schm0use. It's going to take forever to format this. I hope you're happy. Get ready for the holidays! Chapter three to be up for your Christmas pleasures. My gift, to you. Thank you for reading [[[[|>8}D ♥
also, because I'm a dork, I like to plan out my acronyms around really geeky things. sorry.
Previous Chapter<<
The descent to Jae Neung Academy was pleasant. The night wind had picked up, and the cabins swayed slightly in it, rocking gently. By the time they landed, it was already dark outside the misty doors, the Medias Res disappearing when they were a few feet off the ground to allow the students to depart. Taemin and the other four had their suitcases down and packed, although Onew’s cat had violently objected to being stuffed into a trunk again, and he had to carry it instead. A whistle sounded and immediately the landing station was filled with a deafening clatter as students clambered out of pods, joined friends from other cabins, chattered loudly, and dropped their suitcases on people’s feet.
Taemin craned his head around, trying to catch a glimpse of his brother. Even if he refused to admit it, having Heechul here was almost like his security blanket, and now that he was here he felt like he hadn’t been this nervous in his entire life. Someone bumped into him and he almost lost hold of his trunk. He thought he had seen a glimpse of sleek black hair, but when he straightened up again, whomever he saw was gone. He sighed.
“So er…your brother didn’t happen to tell you where we go, did he?” Minho said in a voice of forced-calm, and Taemin was a little relieved to hear the slight nervousness in his voice. He shook his head apologetically at Minho.
“No, he didn’t.”
The platform was getting steadily darker, and it was getting harder to see by the minute. Taemin had the instinctive urge to grab onto Minho’s robes to prevent being separated, but he mentally slapped himself and told his brain sternly that that would be totally uncool. He fought to get a grip. He felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked around, Minho following suit. Key was there, smiling apologetically at them both.
“Sorry to leave you like this, but we have our own way to the castle. You’ll be alright, don't worry. Someone should come for you soon.”
Onew, Jonghyun, and Key waved at them before turning and heading off in the opposite direction. Taemin stood on his tiptoes, trying to watch where they were going, but they got lost in the darkness and he scowled. If Heechul had just explained the workings of the Academy to him, he wouldn't be standing here, feeling both ridiculously awkward and like he was going to be violently ill.
“I hate my brother,” he muttered to himself.
---
Heechul let himself gracefully off the Formation and waited for Hankyung. When Siwon was trying to climb out after them, Heechul caught him in the stomach with his elbow, sending a winded Siwon back inside with a satisfying thump. Siwon emerged a few seconds later, rubbing his head and glaring at Heechul, who was clearly pretending to know nothing. They held their trunks to them as Heechul paused, looking around and squinting at some of the shorter people on the platform. He was clearly looking for Taemin.
“Taemin must be shitting a brick right now,” he said, peering intrusively into the face of a startled first-year girl. “It’s better this way, though, right?” Hankyung nodded.
“Come on,” Siwon said, starting to leave the platform, “let’s go get a seat before we end up having to walk.”
Hankyung put a hand on Heechul’s shoulder and squeezed gently. “He’ll be fine,” he said. “Don't worry.”
Heechul rolled his eyes and shrugged indifferently, though avoided Hankyung’s eyes. “I’m not.” He walked away, following Siwon.
Hankyung shook his head and followed, trying not to smile.
The way up to the Academy for everyone but first years was a little way off from the Formation, assembled in a long line. They were the same sort of spheres they had just exited, only this time they were a sleek, polished silver and the ceilings had been removed from them. A gauzy canopy was stretched overhead between two poles on each side of the circular rims. The sides were equipped with a small door through which to climb up, and they swung open with a soft click as students approached. Each pod hovered just slightly off the ground, humming pleasantly.
Hankyung, Heechul, and Siwon picked one of the Skimspheres to the front and took their seats. Heechul noticed Siwon craning his head, scanning the crowd for someone, and he shot him a rather sinister warning look. Siwon sat down immediately, looking guilty. Thankfully the Skimspheres were big enough should anyone choose to join them, but also snug enough that no one questioned the extra room. The door swung shut and their pod sped off silently towards the castle nestled in the darkness.
--
Taemin and Minho stood amongst the crowd of first years, looking around themselves nervously. They had been left on the platform of the Formation Station, the cabins of the Formation waiting idly to be put into one of the few large hangers to their right. Neither wanted to admit to the other that they had no idea what was about to happen, and as such had the unpleasant urge to wet themselves. They stood there for what felt like eternity, the night growing colder with the increasing darkness. Taemin wrapped his cloak around himself as a wind brushed through the crowd, and he could hear the exclamations of displeasure breaking out.
“It’s cold-“ a girl a few people to his left sniffled, her head buried in her companions shoulder.
It was cold. Taemin hoped whoever was supposed to come and fetch them would do so already.
“I hope whoever is supposed to come and fetch us would do so already,” Minho murmured at his side.
Whoever it was didn't. Time stretched on as the first-years remained huddled together next to the empty, deserted pods of the Formation a little ways away, now seeming much more uninviting, sans gleaming gold and warm mist. Taemin checked his watch. They had been standing at the station for just over half an hour now. The babble of chattered conversation had definitely turned more annoyed over time. Taemin shifted his weight and sighed wearily.
“-stupid...boot-“ came a voice from around a corner of the station, and it sounded like something, or someone, was clunking towards them laboriously. “SORRY,” the voice called, “SORRY I’LL JUST BE ONE SECOND-“
The first-years quieted, staring as a tall woman came hobbling around the corner of one of the station’s hangers. She had professional-looking robes of grey, her chestnut hair slightly fly-away, the latter giving her the appearance of someone extremely frazzled. She was leaning on crutches, the thumping source evidently the large, cumbersome cast around her foot and ankle. She tottered over to them, stopping in front and letting out a huge sigh.
“Hello, I’m sorry to keep you all waiting-“ she said breathlessly, smoothing a hand down her robes. “I had a bit of a run-in with a Hinkypunk this summer and it’s been quite the healing process."
The news was greeted with silence. The first-years stared at the newcomer before casting nervous looks at each other, clearly debating on whether or not to take her seriously. She beamed at them all expectantly.
“OH, right, you’re all probably very confused, so sorry to keep you waiting-“ she flourished her hands, “I’m your Guide!”
More stares. The woman remained unshaken and continued to introduce herself happily, oblivious to the strange looks she was starting to receive.
“Professor See Jae, I help out with student affairs.” She smiled encouragingly. “I’ll be taking you around the Academy Grounds before escorting you to the castle, where you’ll be sorted into you respective houses. If you’ll follow me then-“
She inclined her head and extended an arm, indicating the students to follow her. Professor See Jae bumbled off around the corner, the small army of first years scrambling to keep up with the long gait of her crutches, their trunks proving to be a hindrance. Taemin had particular trouble with his when its corner dug itself firmly into the grass around the station, and Minho had to stop and yank it out.
They had only walked along the platform and turned the corner when they spotted them. Around the back of the huge hangers for the Formation, over to the side, there was a mass of dark shapes just discernable in the night. The first years edged closer, and a nervous chatter broke out again.
Assembled in front of them were a little over twenty or so large, black rickshaws, aligned on a worn dirt path leading to the castle. Each rickshaw was individually about as tall as a horse, with the width the size of a small bus. Four to five people could fit comfortably inside, the burnt amber cushions on the seats surprisingly soft and inviting.
The outside of the rickshaws were misleadingly sinister from their welcoming interior, the outer shells being crafted from a black, wrought iron similar to that of the Terminal Tweleven gates. The black wood paneling behind the twisted metal gave the carts a classier feel to them. The strange thing was that none of the rickshaws had the customary bars protruding from them. Apparently they were not meant be pulled by a human, or really anything for that matter.
The first-years let go of their trunks, edging closer, inspecting their new mode of transportation skeptically. Taemin wasn't sure what they did, due to their lack of wheels and their heavy frames. Thankfully, it looked like flying was highly unlikely this time-
There was a sharp squeal at his side and he looked over to see a girl being thrown backwards onto the damp grass. She had edged close to one of the rickshaws, which had promptly sprouted a great pair of iron wings from absolutely nowhere, bowling her over. She looked up, stunned and disheveled from where she lay sprawled ungracefully, pieces of hair falling into her face. A good many of the first years laughed, and her face burned in the dark. Her eyes had the unmistakable sparkle of tears forming in them. Taemin felt a surge of pity for the girl.
Minho strode forward and held out a hand to help her up. A small number of students jeered suggestively, but Minho ignored them, leading the girl over with him. He stood her next to Taemin, standing on her other side. She rubbed her hip morosely.
“What’s your name?” Taemin asked her.
“N-Nicole,” she hiccupped slightly.
“Well you can get on one of these crazy things with us,” he said in what he hoped was a comforting voice. “You found the wings, anyway.” She offered him a feeble smile. His stomach lurched happily.
The first years chose their seats in the cabins, dodging the metal wings bursting from them when they were approached, some narrowly missing acquiring a concussion. Once they were seated, Professor See Jae turned to face them, hands clasped in front of her.
“You there, stop hanging over the edge-everyone seated?” She smiled warmly. “Good, good. Well, you’ll just be off for a short buzz around the castle grounds before you head to the Hall for your Sorting.
“Aren’t you coming with?” asked a wispy looking girl in the carriage to Taemin’s left. Her voice was unnaturally shrill with fear.
“Me?” Professor See Jay laughed. “No, not at all. I don’t trust these things in the least. Giant iron death traps, if you ask me. Have a good tour!”
Several of the student’s mouths dropped in horror, but it was too late - with a great creaking sound the wings pushed down and the rickshaws shot upwards at a surprising speed, wind tousling their hair and robes through the metal grating. Now that they were dipping and bobbing in the air, the cold wind even chillier against the iron shells of the carts, Taemin found them to be quite the opposite of comfortable, and from the sounds of the wings, much older than he originally thought. He dug his nails into the cushion and prayed that he didn't make it all the way here just to crash and die in the first hour of arrival. He was beginning to really dislike flying.
He didn't realize he had been squeezing his eyes shut until a hand shook him roughly, and Minho’s excited voice told him to look. He peeked out of one eye nervously and then gasped, pulling himself closer to the edge for a better look.
They were soaring over the grounds now (the wings seemed to have gotten the hang of moving again) and Taemin saw a vast expanse of smooth, flat ground, patches of grey stone winding and twisting through the deep emerald like snakes. There was a long, oval enclosure in the far distance down one of the paths, engulfed in a pearly, dewy mist. Taemin could tell by its shape that it was the Arena, where all the school’s tournaments, Quidditch games, and special events were held and celebrated. Quite a lot of money had been spent on it, or so he’d been told. From what he knew, it was quite nice.
The stretch of ground was broken up by an endless line of towering mountains to the left, all of them engulfed by deep green foliage. Most of Korea’s countryside was like this, but Taemin had never seen it so gorgeous, trees stretching out of the sides and to the sky, ropes of ivy and vines draped over branches and holes in the sides of the rock. The fog swirling around the corners and crags made it all seem that much more magical and mysterious - it was clearly the right location for a school of sorcery.
The slight chill of loneliness of the grounds was appeased by the small smattering of what looked like shallow villages that sprang into life every so often around the edges of the grounds. Taemin was sure he would have a chance to visit them sometime, and one of the villages had an entire collection of different colored roofs that he felt must mean something, but then again maybe not - much of the things of his world weren’t logical or done for a particular reason, other than the doers decided to do whatever action they wished to be doing, and that’s that.
Just as Taemin was catching his breath (and apparently Nicole as well, who had her fingers pressed to her mouth, her pigtails windswept and half across her face going ignored as she gasped and sighed and bounced around in her seat) the carriages dipped and wheeled to the right, making all three of their stomachs bottom out.
Taemin was promptly blown away as they soared directly over a line of the sharp, sinister looking cliffs and towards a black shape in the distance. Minho peered over the side, and Taemin craned to have a look. The cliffs were grey and broken, carving a jagged line from the green slopes to the black sea raging below them. If from where they were up high it looked like a long fall into the water below, Taemin could only imagine just how far it really was. He was secretly glad when Minho pulled back into the carriage - his heart was starting to beat nervously as they neared the ground and therefore the cliffs.
They dipped lower as they neared the castle and the show started, the carriages splitting off into two streams and soaring around the turrets surprisingly gracefully. Students ooh-ed and ahh-ed appreciatively, the carriages swerving and curving around corners of black stone and golden windows, whipping flags and pointed turrets, above sharp grilles and under curving, wrought iron bridges the likes of which Taemin had never seen before, even at his house - classy enough to be timelessly admired, old enough to be priceless.
The carriages finally spiraled to the ground and lowered themselves, great wings creaking with the effort of gentleness. When they were finally back on the ground, Taemin honestly hoped to himself they could stay on it for a while.
The first years unloaded into the shadow of the massive castle of JaeNeung Academy. A woman stood in the glowing doorway throwing a massive arch of light over them, and a few of them raised their hands to shade their eyes against the light. She cocked her head, waiting for all of them to depart from the carriages, before finally crooking her arm and beckoning them inside. Taemin shot a glance at Minho, who returned it with an equally unsure eyebrow raise. They followed.
Once inside the Main Alcove they found most everything was tiled in grey limestone, with gilded accents softening it. There were five staircases, two going down, on either side of one massive one, three going up, the larger in the middle and the thinner off to the sides. There was a large door to their left; Taemin assumed this must be the Parlor where meals and banquets were held, as well as gatherings less grandiose than those meant for the Arena.
The woman stood on the third step of the main staircase and looked around at them all nonchalantly. They stared back.
“Good evening students,” she began, her voice low and mellow. Her navy blue-black hair was pinned up into a French twist at the back of her head. “My name is Professor In, born in France, raised in Pusan, and finally coming to live and teach Conjuration and Invocation here at Jae Neung Academy. I am your High Chamberlain and primary advisor for your first 4 years at the Academy. I am very pleased to see all of your fresh, smiling faces tonight.”
Taemin looked around at all the looks of terror and general illness on the majority of his peer’s pale faces and came to the conclusion that everyone here was quite blind, or just chose to ignore the very obvious panic surrounding their pitiful little group.
Professor In continued, undeterred. “In a few minutes I will lead you into the Parlor for the Presenting and Sorting Ceremony. Here you will be sorted into your Sectors - Validus, Decori, Setentia, and Acer. All of these Sectors are extremely well versed and have their own special talents. I’m sure you will find your place to feel at home.
I fully expect all of you to work your hardest to growing and learning in this Academy. Attending this school is a privilege not extended to all, and therefore you would take care to cherish this opportunity and not waste it by any foolishness. Do not think your acceptance is irrevocable.”
Until now, Professor In had been speaking seriously but lightly, but now her voice dropped into a steely warning that sent a chill down Taemin’s spine.
“I caution you to watch your step, to choose wisely the path you follow, the people you associate with. You will learn that life has hard lessons to teach you, which it undoubtedly will. I would deeply regret seeing any of you fall into the snare of the dangerous world that lies beneath our rare gift and way of life. You will be children for only so long until your eyes are opened by this Academy, as we so exist to do. I hope you will look in the right direction when that time comes.”
Professor In straightened up, the edge leaving her voice and being replaced by one of warmth in her tone. She swept her arm towards the great mahogany doors of the Parlor. “Welcome,” she said, “to Jae Neung.”
The huge doors swung open, revealing a massive hall filled with people. There was a loud din from inside as people chattered at their seats with one another, catching up on each other’s business, discussing future class choices, plans for the coming weeks. Heads turned to stare at the first-years as the doors opened, some faces friendly and inviting, some clearly unimpressed with the selection, others waving at siblings, people from their town, and more.
From what Taemin could see, there were seven long, thin tables stretching the length of the hall. People were broken up along them, mostly in clusters of the same age, give or take a year or two, although some were quite diverse. The students at the tables were, as far as he could see, all wearing the same colored embroidery on the chest of their robes, which led Taemin to conclude that the seating tables were ordered by Sector. Along the front of the Parlor’s back wall was a great table made out of dark wood, the crest of the Jae Neung Academy carved into it and lined with liquid Mercury that swilled along the lines lazily but never once spilling out of it’s grooves. Those seated at this table were clearly the teachers. There was a long line of them, all focused respectfully on the small group of students in the doorway. The man in the middle, seated at an intricate chair, stood up. He wasn’t a man of impressive stature or appearance, but he commanded attention easily.
He held out his arms, and the Parlor went silent.
“Let the Presenting and Sorting Ceremonies begin.”
A yet pleasant yet regal sound filled the room and the first years were shuffled over the threshold and into the Parlor. They walked up the center, nervously looking around as students turned their heads to watch them pass. Taemin craned his neck all around, taking in the Parlor and his surroundings, as Minho made appreciating sounds next to him.
The Parlor was massive, a giant arching ceiling overhead laced with intricate winding black iron. The metal extended along the entire ridge of the ceiling and down the sides, creating a skeleton effect. It was rather eerie, giving the ceiling the look of a sharp, bony ribcage, and Taemin felt like he was in the stomach of some great beast. He shivered, his eyes chosing to follow the iron downwards instead. It arced across the sides of the hall, and where the walls no longer curved, long roped of iron came together to twist into thick, elegant pillars of an inky black.
Taemins eyes roamed down the columns and onto the floor, a checkerboard of crisp white and cool grey limestone tiles, every now and again coming across a silver crest on one of the slabs of stone. The lights ahead were warm and welcoming, long strings of what seemed to be piano wire stretching and draping from one wall to the other. Beads of light of all different sizes roamed lazily around the room on them, a gentle thrum issuing from one of the drop-lights next to Taemin’s head as he walked. The lights pulsed ever so slightly, as if they were alive. Considering where he was, Taemin wouldn’t have been surprised if they really were.
Taemin finally looked down at all the faces moving past the procession towards the front. Quite a few of them were turned towards him, and it gave him an unnatural feeling of being watched. Sure, his brother was here before him, but surely not everyone could tell he was a first Kim right off? Perhaps he had something on his robes - the thought occurred to him quickly and he clapped his hands to his front, running them over his chest, checking wildly for some sort of embarrassing stain. Knowing him, he would have magically gotten owl droppings on him somehow, some time in the short flight around the castle. Which would, of course, make everything perfect.
He breathed a sigh of relief. Nothing.
So why was everyone staring at him then?
The group of first years reached the front of the hall and turned, filing into a line on the left. The music stopped and there was a great shuffling as everyone in the Parlor adjusted themselves, shifting to get a better view of the Sorting. Taemin looked around, waiting for something, anything. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary.
Professor In walked up the length of the hall, smiling brightly and removing a long, thin wand from her robes. It was nearly white, and looked very fragile, although Taemin was sure it was quite strong.
Charms.
Taemin learned from his mother early on that the color of a wizard or witches wand, the length and thickness of it as well, all gave hints to that person’s best area of magic. Fascinated, he had spent much of his time as a nine year old learning the quirks about wands and the variations that they produced. Of course not always did the outside of the wand match the magic inside - the core had much to do with the magical inclination of a person, but Taemin had gotten good enough to be able to guess fairly accurately. The little spot of intimidation softened in him for Professor In. His own wand was a bright, honey color: almost an even balance between Charms and Conjugation.
Professor In reached the front of the hall and turned, facing the sea of students staring at her. She flourished her wand and the floor beneath her corroded, with a soft sizzling sound, around her feet. She didn’t seem to be bothered by this at all - that was because a large metal grate was materializing in the floor almost instantly after the stone was melting away. Within seconds, she was standing over a giant vent, about the size of a well-to-do family’s dining room table.
A chill ran through the first years. Taemin thought that whatever was lying beneath, waiting to tear him into terrified, pitiful shards of human streamers, wasn’t quite worth going to a school of magic. He didn’t even like school that much. He’d much prefer to live. He grabbed onto the sleeve of Minho’s robe, staring at the floor and swallowing. Minho looked at him, face white and nervous. Oh good, thought his now rather squeaky head voice, I’m not the only one who needs a change of trousers.
A thin white smoke was rising from the vent, swirling playfully inbetween Professor In‘s ankles. A couple of times, a few sparks shot up happily from whatever was under the floor. She beamed.
“Let the Sorting…begin.”
She walked over to the High Table and slipped a piece of parchment off the tabletop. It was a list of all the first year’s names in random order, and the collection of them pressed backwards - no one wanted to be the unlucky person to find out just exactly what the Sorting entailed.
“Choi Minho!”
Taemin’s heart jumped into his throat and he felt Minho stiffen next to him. He looked at him out of the corner of his eyes, and saw him blink a few times before nodding just slightly to himself and taking a stride forward.
Minho walked to the front center of the hall, stopping at the edge of the grate, and stared at it. He looked around at Professor In, who waited for him and nodded, gesturing him to continue. Minho nodded a little to himself again and took a breath, stepping onto the platform; the whole of the first years cringed, waiting for him to immediately explode. Thankfully he didn't, and he made his way to the middle of the vent. He faced the rest of the students, shoulders squared and jaw set remarkably bravely.
They waited for a few seconds, breath bated, before a thin white smoke began rising from the grate. Minho looked down at his feet, alarmed, as it quickly thickened, billowing up and swirling around him, threatening to engulf him. Taemin could see him start to panic; he was lifting one of his feet, staring around himself wildly, trying to predict where the smoke was coming from, what exactly it was, and what exactly it was going to do to him.
Without warning, the smoke suddenly came alive, rearing back in long ropes like snakes about to strike, and then it plunged straight into Minho’s chest.
The rest of the first years promptly freaked out.
Nicole was squealing by Taemin’s side, hands pressed to her mouth tightly, and a few of the first years were clearly looking for means of escape. Something must have gone wrong, Taemin thought, panicking, it attacked him, something is clearly wrong, it attacked him-They all watched as Minho’s arms clamped around his midsection, looking as if he might be violently sick. His eyes widened, mouth open in what seemed to be pain, and he lurched forward, nearly doubled over, before he stilled.
His clothes smoked slightly around his chest and back where the smoke had entered him, and his body gave one small, final shudder.
Then, the smoke exploded from him in a giant cloud of swirling red, along with long, thick crimson ribbons that fluttered to the floor, dissolving into crackling sparks. The hall erupted in applause, one table on the far right standing and cheering particularly loudly, and Minho gasped, straightening up, his eyes open and his arms coming down to rest normally at his sides. He looked around himself, one hand coming up to swirl the thick red fog still lingering around him and starting to fade, and he smiled the brightest Taemin had ever seen.
The first years all stared, paralyzed in shock.
“Validius, then, if you please,” said Professor, smiling and motioning a hand in the direction of the cheering table.
Minho looked at him and smiled wide.
Taemin stared back, eyes as big as saucers.
Minho shrugged. It tickles, he mouthed simply, winking at him, before striding off to join his new Sector, who all welcomed him warmly, clapping him on the back and pulling him to a seat in the midst of them.
The Sorting continued much the same after that, different students exploding into a regal, navy blue smoke, some a buttery gold. One student blew emerald smoke rings along with his burst of smoke, and Taemin heard him saying “it tastes like spearmint!” as he ran past to hug his twin brother before going and taking a seat at the Acer table. Quite a few of them were less composed than Minho when it was their turn. Despite five students having already come out unscathed from the process, one tough-looking boy let out a terrified shout when the smoke lunged at him, diminishing his intimidation factor by quite a lot after that. Quite a few girls twittered daintily, two or three of them shrieking and nearly falling backwards. He watched Nicole burst into yellow smoke and sunny little butterflies, giggling, and she trotted off to the Decorus table, tossing a sort of sad look over her shoulder back at him as she went.
Then, finally, it was Taemin’s turn.
He didn't fully process his name when it was called, a numb awareness seeping over him, and one of the first years behind him prodded him in the back and he stuttered forward. He walked up to the giant, gaping vent, and couldn't help but feel a chill nervousness settle sickly in his stomach. He still hadn’t decided what Sector he wanted to be in, and he’d heard that it has as much to do with as where you want to be as it did with where it wanted to put you. He walked into the middle of the vent, trembling slightly, and looked at his feet. He could feel hundreds of pairs of eyes on him, all watching him expectedly, and he didn't know if he could bring himself to meet them.
Once again pale smoke started lifting from the vents, slowly, twining itself around his ankles. He watched it, his breathing shallow, and suddenly he couldn't take looking at it, waiting, and he looked up, frantic, searching for a familiar pair of eyes. Immediately he found them, dark, staring into his own, a pair of identically shaped, equally scared eyes. He stared at Heechul, a strange peace washing over him, and then the smoke entered his chest.
Immediately he gasped as he was sucked backwards, spinning, through what felt like time and space. The hall with his brother’s face had disappeared, to be replaced by a great dark vortex in which he stood. He was clearly still physically in the hall, his feet staying on solid ground, but now everything was gone, and it was merely black, empty space around him. He stared around himself, waiting. And then it was like he was seeing flashbacks of himself and his thoughts were manifesting themselves in front of his eyes.
“I don’t want to disappoint my parents.”
He saw himself, small, grinning, his hair mushrooming around his forehead, as his father held him on his shoulder, his mother holding his hand. They beamed at him, loving, as he played with a toy he had just gotten earlier that week. He could only be around three or four, and he watched as his mother pulled him off of his father to hug him in her arms and kiss him on the cheek. He tried to wriggle away and she laughed, catching him tighter to her and successfully managing to press her lips to his face. He smiled and put a hand on her nose.
“I don’t want to disappoint my family.”
He was sitting in front of the fireplace, his grandfather fingering the material of his old Setentius robes, running cracked fingers over the thick embroidered crest on the front. “The best house there is; won the Regalia three times in my years, top marks in all of my classes, we were like a family, there was no bitterness in us, just friendly, healthy competition as we all encouraged each other to be our best-“ Taemin tried the robes on, them falling over his hands and pooling slightly on the foor; he was only nine. “Your whole family’s been in this house, save for your brother. When you get your letter, Taemin, because it’s coming, I know it is, when you get your letter, you’ll be sure to fit into Setentia.”
“I don’t want to abandon my brother.”
Heechul was there, hands waving erratically, sending things zooming around the room and smashing into walls. Heebum soared past, his hair ruffled as a lamp flew over him, and he giggled and clapped. Hankyung was somewhere in the background, diving at various objects to save them. “Oh Taemin,” said Heechul, picking him up and holding him to him, carefully. “You’ll show promise soon, won’t you?” And there was something in his voice, something desperate, something scared.
Heechul was there again, riding on his toy broomstick with Hankyung, chasing each other around the garden. Taemin was running on the ground a few feet below them, six. Without warning, Heechul accidentally clipped him in the shoulder with the tail of his broom. Taemin pitched forward, falling hard, and Heechul looked back at his wail of pain. He leaped off his broomstick in abandon, hurtling himself over to where Taemin kneel on the ground, his hand bleeding, face scratched where he had fallen. He held him away, looking him over, his face pale and his eyes wide, before pulling him to him in a crushing hug, his voice breaking, “Taemin…Taemin I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to, Taemin I’m sorry I’m sorry-“
Heechul’s face was bright, smiling, laughing in the summer sun…
Heechul’s face was pale as he lay in bed, sick, coughing, and Taemin remembers playing Exploding Snap with him until his mother shooed him out in the wee hours of the morning…
Heechul’s face was angry…
Heechul’s face was nervous…
Heechul’s face was smirking…
Heechul’s face was shocked, blank, and then it was contorted as he sobbed into Taemin’s shoulder, his arms tight around his neck, pulling him to him, their family pressing in around them on all sides, Taemin’s knees giving out as the weight of them brought them to the floor; the sun was warm, copper, they were laughing, they were crying, they were screaming, everyone was talking at once - Heechul looked at him, face tear-stained, with all the pride in the world.
The day he got his letter.
Taemin took a deep breath.
“I want to be in Setentia,” he thought, with all the power he had. Something squirmed in his stomach.
The images flashed forward quickly, like someone going through a flip-book too quickly, and the pressing blackness wavered, twisted, swirled and then Taemin was sucking in a deep breath of air, straightening up, looking around him for the navy blue smoke he was expecting.
There were crimson starbursts all around him.
Apparently, the Sorting also doesn’t listen to you when you’re lying.
---
The Sorting Ceremony seemed to finish rather quickly after that, but Taemin couldn’t watch much of it, due to his brother smothering him from the seat next to him where he insisted he sit. Minho had come over from where he was talking to some jovial-looking fourth year boys to sit with them, and he and Heechul had been introduced. Taemin was just telling Heechul about the ride over and the strange Professor Seejay when the Headmaster, Lee Sooman stood up, and the hall fell silent immediately. He beamed.
“Welcome,” he spoke, his voice carrying calmly across the hall, “to a fresh year at Jae Neung Academy. I extend this to the returning students from last year,” he said, pausing and looking around, “and especially to the new faces among us tonight. I’m neither creative enough, like Professor Park,” he said, motioning to a woman to his left who beamed, “nor am I patient enough like a centaur to make a speech and prolong dinner for very long. However I do wish to make a rather special and exciting announcement.
“The Embassy has been concerned quite some time over the divide in our nation by having two schools of sorcery. I am of course talking about Keom Jeong Institute, our sister and, as such, our rival school. The Embassy feels that the competition between the schools, the students accepted to them, and the families that our loyal to them is past the point of healthy, and is causing such trivial rivalries to be past down after graduation from the schools.” He paused, looking around at them all, before continuing cautiously. “As such, it is the Embassy’s wish that the two schools merge, and unite us as one across the country.”
There was an immediate uproar to this news, and it sounded as if the entire hall exploded.
“Merging? NO way. My parents would never allow it-“
“Are they crazy? KJ is a Dark School! Everyone with common sense knows that-“
“Cool!”
Heechul looked across the table at Siwon and Hankyung, both looking as shocked as he was at this news.
“Are they serious?” Hankyung asked incredulously.
“They must be-it’d be a really rotten joke to announce something like that and have it be false-“ replied Siwon grimly, but stopped when the Headmaster raised his hands for silence once more.
“To determine which school shall be joining its students at the home location of the other, there is to be a selection of Games held. They will be mostly arbritrary-one is, of course, the academic performance of students on a whole in each school, another is the talent of the Quidditch teams in a match to be held later this academic year in the spring. However a team of Ambassadors from each school will assemble, and will spend the majority of the year at the sister institution, to participate in various challenges to be revealed in the time to come.”
Many students looked around at this-some shook their heads fervently, clearly unwilling to spend a year at Keom Jeong Institute, while others craned their necks, catching the eyes of their friends in other houses and flashing enthusiastic thumbs-ups.
Professor Lee Soo Man continued, and the chatter in the hall gradually died out again. “As some of the tasks may prove strenuous, no doubt trying on the young, growing minds of students, and because we wish to present the best, brightest, most learned faces of Jae Neung Academy, the invitation to apply for an Ambassador position extends, with all due respect, to seventh years only.”
Once again the hall erupted into mixed shouts. Students directing angry comments about being smart enough or talented enough were looking mutinously towards the front, others who had no intention of applying were murmuring in agreement and nodding sagely. The Headmaster once again held up his hands.
“Please, please. We are taking all precautions necessary with the Evalation of Arete Games, as they are formally called, and your safety is our first and foremost priority. I understand some of you may be disappointed, but your opportunity to prove yourself in life will come to you in due time. For now, please support your fellow students on their endeavors to represent our fine school.
“And now, there is a rumbling in my tummy. Something should be done about this.” He waved his hands a final time and every sort of food imaginable appeared on the table, hot and steaming. “Ah, yes, perfect.” He smiled. “Let’s eat!”
Taemin’s eyes lit up and he grinned at Minho, who smiled back. Immediately they reached for the nearest things to them, Taemin tugging an enormous bowl of kimchi towards him, Minho getting a platter of grilled beef. Taemin loaded his plate, and then stopped, a prickly feeling creeping up the back of his neck. He whipped his head around to look behind him, feeling as if there were multitudes of eyes on him. When he didn’t see anything, he reluctantly turned back to his food, rubbing the back of his neck. That was weird…
Taemin and Minho spent most of the meal discussing the events of the Sorting, the results, and what classes they were most excited to take. Minho was especially looking forward to Defense Against the Dark Arts, whereas Taemin was anticipating their first Charms lesson. He was a little less impatient to start Conjugation and Invocation; while he was quite good at it, Professor In seemed to be very strict.
The two of them engaged in conversation with Heechul, Hankyung, and Siwon for a few minutes at the start of the meal, giving opinions on the merging of the schools, but opted out when the three older students lapsed into complicated details and theories. Halfway through their meal, Jonghyun and Kibum came over to sit with them and congratulate them on a spectacular Sorting, accompanied by Onew from Decorus.
Taemin looked up as a hand plucked a piece of spicy rice cake from his plate and popped it into its owner’s mouth.
“So, I guess you and your brother are pretty alike, huh?” said Jonghyun around the rice cake. “Both rebels to the family tradition.”
Taemin chuckled and shrugged as Jonghyun sat down on the bench next to him. “It looks that way.”
“Well, it’s good to have you.” He cupped a hand around his mouth and lowered his voice. “Honestly though, Decorus sucks, smells like cheese-“
“I will levitate this fork at you.” said Onew threateningly.
Jonghyun rolled his eyes. “Oh God, I’m terrified.”
“Play nice,” Key shot lazily.
“Yes, Dear,” retorted Jonghyun sweetly. Key smiled to himself.
“It’s a terrible idea and they know it, they’ll only admit it when someone gets killed-“
“You think so too?” suddenly asked Onew seriously, abruptly catching a snippet of the conversation going on across the table.
Heechul looked over at him coolly. “Of course. Sending students to Keom Jeong is sending them straight to the enemy.” It was clear that the three of them hadn’t broken their thread of conversation, and now Onew and Heechul were looking at each other with a sort of intensity. Onew wanted to hear Heechul’s no doubt harsh opinion, and Heechul was appraising the new addition to the conversation.
“Calling them the enemy only heightens the problem,” argued Siwon, frowning.
“No, it makes it real,” insisted Heechul heatedly. “This is a real rivalry, and it goes beyond school. The Embassy and our Headmaster have met with those people countless times to discuss their agenda; they all but gave them evidence they’re breeding those students to be dark wizards. They haven’t changed, they don’t want to change, they’ll never change.”
“Onew,” said the boy, extending his hand solemnly. “Third year, and I agree completely with you.”
Heechul looked over his robes, sizing him up. “Decori, huh?” With the reputation of Decori being nice and non-confrontational, it was obvious Heechul wasn’t expecting such an intense view from Onew. He looked at Taemin, then at Onew, finally taking his hand and shaking it. “I approve. I’m Taemin’s older brother, Kim-“
“Heechul,” Onew said, nodding. “He spoke about you on the flight over.”
“You’re adorable, really,” said Heechul, reaching over and patting Taemin’s cheek. Taemin scowled and brushed him away.
“Key,” piped Key.
“And Jonghyun,” said Jonhyun, holding up a hand.
“Second and third,” they chorused. Heechul, Hankyung and Siwon nodded at them too.
“Seriously, though, Siwon has a point-“ said Hankyung.
“An irrelevant one. I’m sick of acting blind to what Keom Jeong is doing over there, everyone else keeps pretending like they’re just a little rogue. We know it’s more serious than that. The fact is, sending our students there is like sending them into a death trap. Keom Jeong isn’t just going to roll over and play nice, they’re going to try something to sabotage this whole thing. I just…have a feeling.”
“Do you think they’ve actually agreed to the whole merger?” asked Onew skeptically. “If we win out, their curriculum will be in complete jeopardy, I don’t think they’d be exactly thrilled with that…”
“No, I don't think they like the idea any more that we do-“
“And that’s why their willing participation is so suspicious,” joined Hankyung. “Something has to be going on that we don’t know of-“
“Headmaster Lee has got to know, he’s not stupid-“ Siwon said.
“Then he’s naïve,” said Heechul shortly. “And if he does know, then it’s real shit of him to not be a little more cautious, or to tell anyone-“
He cut off quickly and everyone looked up as a girl appeared over Taemin’s shoulder. She looked like a second year, and the green emblem on her chest marked her as an Acer.
“Can I borrow your tea? My table’s all out,” she said, smiling sweetly and batting her eyelashes, pointing a dainty finger to a large pitcher of cold tea in front of Taemin. Heechul quirked an eyebrow at her.
“No problem,” Taemin smiled back at her. He picked up the heavy pitcher and handed it to her gingerly, but when he let go, the handle slipped through her fingers, dousing tea straight into Taemin’s lap. The pitcher crashed to the floor, shattering, and Taemin leapt up, caught the back of his knees on the bench and toppled over, landing on the hard stone floor.
Immediately the hall went quiet and Taemin felt a thousand pairs of eyes on him, his face blazing red in embarrassment. The girl had her fingers over her mouth and stared at him before flouncing off back to her table. Shouts of laughter and chatter broke out and the Parlor filled with noise once again, people returning to their seats from where they had stood to look at the mess surrounding Taemin. As glad as he was that people were returning to their meals and conversations, he could now clearly hear they were morphing into ones about him. Someone’s quip of “God, such a first year-“ followed by a snide laugh made him wish the floor would open up and swallow him and the spilt tea whole.
He got to his feet gingerly, Minho and Heechul’s hands hoisting him up by his elbows. Heechul dried his robes with a wave of his wand, and they took their places at the table again. Onew Jonghyun and Key were watching the girl where she sat at her table with mixed looks on their faces, apparently not needing any tea anymore. Onew’s scowl darkened as he noticed a portion of his Decorus Sector laughing.
“Forget it, you guys,” mumbled Taemin, “it was just an accident.”
Onew cast one last look back at the hall before turning around with Jonghyun and Key. Key and Jonghyun quickly brought up the date of the first Quidditch match to restart the conversation, and Taemin started to forget all about the catastrophe in the Parlor. (mostly). Heechul, on the other hand, was still staring at the girl at her table, a look of thought on his face. Siwon leaned in to whisper to him.
“Heechul?”
“It wasn’t an accident,” said Heechul lowly, his brow creasing. Siwon raised his eyebrows and he and Hankyung leaned in to listen to him. He motioned to where the girl sat at her table. “Look, look who she’s sitting by.” Hankyung and Siwon looked to where Heechul pointed. A few seats down at another portion of the table, Imae was talking animatedly to a few of her friends. Siwon looked uncomfortable.
“You think?” Hankyung asked.
“I hope not,” said Heechul darkly. “Hey, Taemin.”
Taemin looked up from watching Jonghyun and Onew get into another argument over last year’s Quidditch World Cup finals, while Key looked on exasperatedly and Minho listened, amused. “Yeah?”
“If something like that happens again…tell me, okay?” Heechul said, his voice filled with concern.
Taemin laughed uncomfortably. “Yeah, okay Mom.”
Heechul didn’t smile back. “I’m serious. If things like that keep happening, tell me. Understand?”
Taemin tried an unsure sort of smile, avoiding Heechul’s eyes. “Er…yeah, of course.” He turned back to his conversation. Heechul watched him for a few more minutes, Hankyung and Siwon exchanging glances of concern across him, and resumed their meal.
--
The rest of the banquet carried off without another hitch, and after a long, hot, delicious, and only slightly dramatic meal, the group was well fed and significantly sleepy. Heechul smiled lazily to himself, fingers playing lightly at his stomach like a cat full of milk. He eased himself gracefully up from the bench, stepping over it lightly. He hooked his arm with Hankyung’s as the rest of the group got up, Taemin a little more carefully after his spill earlier in the evening. Heechul specifically turned away from Siwon, who by now had cotton used to the retaliation by now, and simply rolled his eyes to himself before loyally following behind the two in front.
Heechul tipped his head back and looked at the lights humming at the top of the ceiling, blinking and twinkling sleepily like the constellation counterparts they were arranged after. He was just thinking about pleasant things, like his insanely comfortable bed waiting for him, the new and interesting classes to come, the teachers to mess with, did he already think of his bed? Aaah, his bed. He sighed, looking down, and came face-to-face with a smiling Eeteuk.
“Oh, fuck me,” he groaned.
“I’d rather not, but thanks for the offer,” Eeteuk replied good-naturedly. It seemed the banquet had done wonders on his nerves, washing away the stress of the flight over. He was looking much happier, warmer, and much, much more prepared to assign duties. “Heechul, Siwon,” he said, smiling and giving each of them a nod, “I have your Avanti duties for you.”
“Goodie,” said Heechul flatly.
Hankyung looked between Siwon and Heechul with a slight air of annoyance and pulled a face. “It’s going to be like this all year, isn’t it?”
As if on cue, Heechul reached his arms around Hankyung’s neck and pulled him close, fitting into his side like a puzzle piece. “Kyungie comes with me,” he told Eeteuk matter-of-factly.
Eeteuk tapped his fingers together. “Well, normally, he won’t be allowed, you know,” he tossed an apologetic smile Hankyung’s way, “but tonight, I don’t see why not, you’ll be going the same way anyway. Heechul, you’re to take the upper Validi to the dorms to distribute the password to the tower.”
“Oh,” said Heechul, pleasantly surprised with the relative level of ease. Then something occurred to him. “What about Tae-er, the first-years? Don’t Avanti’s do that tour thingy?” He waved a hand airily for emphasis.
“Er, well, yes,” said Eeteuk a little awkwardly, “but I’ve given that to Siwon. You see, I wasn't quite…I didn’t think…I wasn't, I didn't-“
“You didn’t trust me with them?” Heechul smirked.
Eeteuk looked uncomfortable. “Er…well…no,” he finished lamely.
Heechul laughed and hooked his arm with Hankyung’s. “Oh, please, Eeteuk, I’m not going to lose them or anything.”
There was a short, pregnant pause.
“…Besides, even if I did, it’s not like there aren’t thirty more of them for you to mother. Lighten up.” Heechul smiled, giving Eeteuk a light-hearted jab with his elbow. Considering it was Heechul, it was probably more painful than intended. Heechul and Hankyung turned and walked off, stopping only at the front doors to wave and shout a very loud “Bye, Tae-Tae!” back at them, blowing a kiss, on top of it all, before disappearing with the rest of the Validus upper-level students.
Taemin stared in horror at the spot where his brother had stood, before giving Eeteuk a suffering look. “Somehow, I feel worse for you,” he said.
Eeteuk smiled wearily. “I know.” He turned to Siwon. “Well, Siwon, you get the job of showing the first-years the path to the tower.”
Siwon smiled brilliantly then, so happily Taemin imagined rays of sunshine could burst out of his face. He rocked a little on his heels. “Anything I need to know?”
“Yes,” said Eeteuk, pulling out a small, crimson index card from his pocket. There was a thin, silver V engraved lightly on the back. “These are the prompts for the things you’ll need to point out on the way. Things about hidden passages, what wings belong to what subject, those tricky trap doors and Slip Spells along the Auror wing corridors, and that one really violent window by Charms that keeps trying to decapitate people. They tried to remove it this summer, but apparently it’s impossible.” He tossed his hand nonchalantly. “Comes with the castle. It’s going through lessons in manners and behaviors every other Sunday-you don’t need to tell the tour that last bit. Other than that, it’s just the basics you need to point out. Shouldn’t be too hard, right?”
Siwon shook his head, looking like he was trying to hold back a salute. “Nope, I can do that, I can do that,” he said enthusiastically.
Eeteuk beamed. “Excellent. I’m quite relieved to have you as an Avanti, Siwon.” Siwon’s face practically split in two. He gave a slight bow of his head in acknowledgement. Eeteuk bid them one final farewell before disappearing into the small crowd that still lingered around, muttering something about dealing with “that Bong CheolYong, second year back and still a kleptomaniac, I see, and still into the silverware…”
“So!” Siwon said, turning to smile at the two left with him. “Shall we, er, fetch the others?”
Taemin looked over to the giant Parlor doors at the group of Validi first years, looking just about dead on their feet from the rollercoaster of various terrors and reliefs of the day. All of them looked rather tuckered out and very much wanting to sleep.
“Yeah, sure,” Taemin said, and he, Minho, and Siwon trooped off, all looking forward to the coming weeks and the prospect of leaving the trepidation of the EA Games behind as they dreamt of the possibilities to come.
AND DANCING SUGARPLUMS AND SAPPY SHIT. It’s the holidays, what do you want from me.
Fandom: SM Town
Pairing: various
Word Count: 9,306
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Taemin is set to follow in the footsteps of his brother, Heechul, at the Jae Neung Academy for Young Witches and Wizards. He just didn't know how big his shoes were.
Genre: Humor, Crack, Action
A/N: HAY GAIZ. SIX MONTHS LATER. Sorry about that. I'm not going to ramble on about what took so friggin' long, because if you've been reading my journal you've heard me harp on about that like, every week. SO INSTEAD. I'm just going to talk about how much I love writing this series. I have read this chapter for the past 5 months so it's pretty much dead to me in terms of interest, but I hope you find it new and exciting, even if it's author doesn't. Special present in there for schm0use. It's going to take forever to format this. I hope you're happy. Get ready for the holidays! Chapter three to be up for your Christmas pleasures. My gift, to you. Thank you for reading [[[[|>8}D ♥
also, because I'm a dork, I like to plan out my acronyms around really geeky things. sorry.
Previous Chapter<<
The descent to Jae Neung Academy was pleasant. The night wind had picked up, and the cabins swayed slightly in it, rocking gently. By the time they landed, it was already dark outside the misty doors, the Medias Res disappearing when they were a few feet off the ground to allow the students to depart. Taemin and the other four had their suitcases down and packed, although Onew’s cat had violently objected to being stuffed into a trunk again, and he had to carry it instead. A whistle sounded and immediately the landing station was filled with a deafening clatter as students clambered out of pods, joined friends from other cabins, chattered loudly, and dropped their suitcases on people’s feet.
Taemin craned his head around, trying to catch a glimpse of his brother. Even if he refused to admit it, having Heechul here was almost like his security blanket, and now that he was here he felt like he hadn’t been this nervous in his entire life. Someone bumped into him and he almost lost hold of his trunk. He thought he had seen a glimpse of sleek black hair, but when he straightened up again, whomever he saw was gone. He sighed.
“So er…your brother didn’t happen to tell you where we go, did he?” Minho said in a voice of forced-calm, and Taemin was a little relieved to hear the slight nervousness in his voice. He shook his head apologetically at Minho.
“No, he didn’t.”
The platform was getting steadily darker, and it was getting harder to see by the minute. Taemin had the instinctive urge to grab onto Minho’s robes to prevent being separated, but he mentally slapped himself and told his brain sternly that that would be totally uncool. He fought to get a grip. He felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked around, Minho following suit. Key was there, smiling apologetically at them both.
“Sorry to leave you like this, but we have our own way to the castle. You’ll be alright, don't worry. Someone should come for you soon.”
Onew, Jonghyun, and Key waved at them before turning and heading off in the opposite direction. Taemin stood on his tiptoes, trying to watch where they were going, but they got lost in the darkness and he scowled. If Heechul had just explained the workings of the Academy to him, he wouldn't be standing here, feeling both ridiculously awkward and like he was going to be violently ill.
“I hate my brother,” he muttered to himself.
---
Heechul let himself gracefully off the Formation and waited for Hankyung. When Siwon was trying to climb out after them, Heechul caught him in the stomach with his elbow, sending a winded Siwon back inside with a satisfying thump. Siwon emerged a few seconds later, rubbing his head and glaring at Heechul, who was clearly pretending to know nothing. They held their trunks to them as Heechul paused, looking around and squinting at some of the shorter people on the platform. He was clearly looking for Taemin.
“Taemin must be shitting a brick right now,” he said, peering intrusively into the face of a startled first-year girl. “It’s better this way, though, right?” Hankyung nodded.
“Come on,” Siwon said, starting to leave the platform, “let’s go get a seat before we end up having to walk.”
Hankyung put a hand on Heechul’s shoulder and squeezed gently. “He’ll be fine,” he said. “Don't worry.”
Heechul rolled his eyes and shrugged indifferently, though avoided Hankyung’s eyes. “I’m not.” He walked away, following Siwon.
Hankyung shook his head and followed, trying not to smile.
The way up to the Academy for everyone but first years was a little way off from the Formation, assembled in a long line. They were the same sort of spheres they had just exited, only this time they were a sleek, polished silver and the ceilings had been removed from them. A gauzy canopy was stretched overhead between two poles on each side of the circular rims. The sides were equipped with a small door through which to climb up, and they swung open with a soft click as students approached. Each pod hovered just slightly off the ground, humming pleasantly.
Hankyung, Heechul, and Siwon picked one of the Skimspheres to the front and took their seats. Heechul noticed Siwon craning his head, scanning the crowd for someone, and he shot him a rather sinister warning look. Siwon sat down immediately, looking guilty. Thankfully the Skimspheres were big enough should anyone choose to join them, but also snug enough that no one questioned the extra room. The door swung shut and their pod sped off silently towards the castle nestled in the darkness.
--
Taemin and Minho stood amongst the crowd of first years, looking around themselves nervously. They had been left on the platform of the Formation Station, the cabins of the Formation waiting idly to be put into one of the few large hangers to their right. Neither wanted to admit to the other that they had no idea what was about to happen, and as such had the unpleasant urge to wet themselves. They stood there for what felt like eternity, the night growing colder with the increasing darkness. Taemin wrapped his cloak around himself as a wind brushed through the crowd, and he could hear the exclamations of displeasure breaking out.
“It’s cold-“ a girl a few people to his left sniffled, her head buried in her companions shoulder.
It was cold. Taemin hoped whoever was supposed to come and fetch them would do so already.
“I hope whoever is supposed to come and fetch us would do so already,” Minho murmured at his side.
Whoever it was didn't. Time stretched on as the first-years remained huddled together next to the empty, deserted pods of the Formation a little ways away, now seeming much more uninviting, sans gleaming gold and warm mist. Taemin checked his watch. They had been standing at the station for just over half an hour now. The babble of chattered conversation had definitely turned more annoyed over time. Taemin shifted his weight and sighed wearily.
“-stupid...boot-“ came a voice from around a corner of the station, and it sounded like something, or someone, was clunking towards them laboriously. “SORRY,” the voice called, “SORRY I’LL JUST BE ONE SECOND-“
The first-years quieted, staring as a tall woman came hobbling around the corner of one of the station’s hangers. She had professional-looking robes of grey, her chestnut hair slightly fly-away, the latter giving her the appearance of someone extremely frazzled. She was leaning on crutches, the thumping source evidently the large, cumbersome cast around her foot and ankle. She tottered over to them, stopping in front and letting out a huge sigh.
“Hello, I’m sorry to keep you all waiting-“ she said breathlessly, smoothing a hand down her robes. “I had a bit of a run-in with a Hinkypunk this summer and it’s been quite the healing process."
The news was greeted with silence. The first-years stared at the newcomer before casting nervous looks at each other, clearly debating on whether or not to take her seriously. She beamed at them all expectantly.
“OH, right, you’re all probably very confused, so sorry to keep you waiting-“ she flourished her hands, “I’m your Guide!”
More stares. The woman remained unshaken and continued to introduce herself happily, oblivious to the strange looks she was starting to receive.
“Professor See Jae, I help out with student affairs.” She smiled encouragingly. “I’ll be taking you around the Academy Grounds before escorting you to the castle, where you’ll be sorted into you respective houses. If you’ll follow me then-“
She inclined her head and extended an arm, indicating the students to follow her. Professor See Jae bumbled off around the corner, the small army of first years scrambling to keep up with the long gait of her crutches, their trunks proving to be a hindrance. Taemin had particular trouble with his when its corner dug itself firmly into the grass around the station, and Minho had to stop and yank it out.
They had only walked along the platform and turned the corner when they spotted them. Around the back of the huge hangers for the Formation, over to the side, there was a mass of dark shapes just discernable in the night. The first years edged closer, and a nervous chatter broke out again.
Assembled in front of them were a little over twenty or so large, black rickshaws, aligned on a worn dirt path leading to the castle. Each rickshaw was individually about as tall as a horse, with the width the size of a small bus. Four to five people could fit comfortably inside, the burnt amber cushions on the seats surprisingly soft and inviting.
The outside of the rickshaws were misleadingly sinister from their welcoming interior, the outer shells being crafted from a black, wrought iron similar to that of the Terminal Tweleven gates. The black wood paneling behind the twisted metal gave the carts a classier feel to them. The strange thing was that none of the rickshaws had the customary bars protruding from them. Apparently they were not meant be pulled by a human, or really anything for that matter.
The first-years let go of their trunks, edging closer, inspecting their new mode of transportation skeptically. Taemin wasn't sure what they did, due to their lack of wheels and their heavy frames. Thankfully, it looked like flying was highly unlikely this time-
There was a sharp squeal at his side and he looked over to see a girl being thrown backwards onto the damp grass. She had edged close to one of the rickshaws, which had promptly sprouted a great pair of iron wings from absolutely nowhere, bowling her over. She looked up, stunned and disheveled from where she lay sprawled ungracefully, pieces of hair falling into her face. A good many of the first years laughed, and her face burned in the dark. Her eyes had the unmistakable sparkle of tears forming in them. Taemin felt a surge of pity for the girl.
Minho strode forward and held out a hand to help her up. A small number of students jeered suggestively, but Minho ignored them, leading the girl over with him. He stood her next to Taemin, standing on her other side. She rubbed her hip morosely.
“What’s your name?” Taemin asked her.
“N-Nicole,” she hiccupped slightly.
“Well you can get on one of these crazy things with us,” he said in what he hoped was a comforting voice. “You found the wings, anyway.” She offered him a feeble smile. His stomach lurched happily.
The first years chose their seats in the cabins, dodging the metal wings bursting from them when they were approached, some narrowly missing acquiring a concussion. Once they were seated, Professor See Jae turned to face them, hands clasped in front of her.
“You there, stop hanging over the edge-everyone seated?” She smiled warmly. “Good, good. Well, you’ll just be off for a short buzz around the castle grounds before you head to the Hall for your Sorting.
“Aren’t you coming with?” asked a wispy looking girl in the carriage to Taemin’s left. Her voice was unnaturally shrill with fear.
“Me?” Professor See Jay laughed. “No, not at all. I don’t trust these things in the least. Giant iron death traps, if you ask me. Have a good tour!”
Several of the student’s mouths dropped in horror, but it was too late - with a great creaking sound the wings pushed down and the rickshaws shot upwards at a surprising speed, wind tousling their hair and robes through the metal grating. Now that they were dipping and bobbing in the air, the cold wind even chillier against the iron shells of the carts, Taemin found them to be quite the opposite of comfortable, and from the sounds of the wings, much older than he originally thought. He dug his nails into the cushion and prayed that he didn't make it all the way here just to crash and die in the first hour of arrival. He was beginning to really dislike flying.
He didn't realize he had been squeezing his eyes shut until a hand shook him roughly, and Minho’s excited voice told him to look. He peeked out of one eye nervously and then gasped, pulling himself closer to the edge for a better look.
They were soaring over the grounds now (the wings seemed to have gotten the hang of moving again) and Taemin saw a vast expanse of smooth, flat ground, patches of grey stone winding and twisting through the deep emerald like snakes. There was a long, oval enclosure in the far distance down one of the paths, engulfed in a pearly, dewy mist. Taemin could tell by its shape that it was the Arena, where all the school’s tournaments, Quidditch games, and special events were held and celebrated. Quite a lot of money had been spent on it, or so he’d been told. From what he knew, it was quite nice.
The stretch of ground was broken up by an endless line of towering mountains to the left, all of them engulfed by deep green foliage. Most of Korea’s countryside was like this, but Taemin had never seen it so gorgeous, trees stretching out of the sides and to the sky, ropes of ivy and vines draped over branches and holes in the sides of the rock. The fog swirling around the corners and crags made it all seem that much more magical and mysterious - it was clearly the right location for a school of sorcery.
The slight chill of loneliness of the grounds was appeased by the small smattering of what looked like shallow villages that sprang into life every so often around the edges of the grounds. Taemin was sure he would have a chance to visit them sometime, and one of the villages had an entire collection of different colored roofs that he felt must mean something, but then again maybe not - much of the things of his world weren’t logical or done for a particular reason, other than the doers decided to do whatever action they wished to be doing, and that’s that.
Just as Taemin was catching his breath (and apparently Nicole as well, who had her fingers pressed to her mouth, her pigtails windswept and half across her face going ignored as she gasped and sighed and bounced around in her seat) the carriages dipped and wheeled to the right, making all three of their stomachs bottom out.
Taemin was promptly blown away as they soared directly over a line of the sharp, sinister looking cliffs and towards a black shape in the distance. Minho peered over the side, and Taemin craned to have a look. The cliffs were grey and broken, carving a jagged line from the green slopes to the black sea raging below them. If from where they were up high it looked like a long fall into the water below, Taemin could only imagine just how far it really was. He was secretly glad when Minho pulled back into the carriage - his heart was starting to beat nervously as they neared the ground and therefore the cliffs.
They dipped lower as they neared the castle and the show started, the carriages splitting off into two streams and soaring around the turrets surprisingly gracefully. Students ooh-ed and ahh-ed appreciatively, the carriages swerving and curving around corners of black stone and golden windows, whipping flags and pointed turrets, above sharp grilles and under curving, wrought iron bridges the likes of which Taemin had never seen before, even at his house - classy enough to be timelessly admired, old enough to be priceless.
The carriages finally spiraled to the ground and lowered themselves, great wings creaking with the effort of gentleness. When they were finally back on the ground, Taemin honestly hoped to himself they could stay on it for a while.
The first years unloaded into the shadow of the massive castle of JaeNeung Academy. A woman stood in the glowing doorway throwing a massive arch of light over them, and a few of them raised their hands to shade their eyes against the light. She cocked her head, waiting for all of them to depart from the carriages, before finally crooking her arm and beckoning them inside. Taemin shot a glance at Minho, who returned it with an equally unsure eyebrow raise. They followed.
Once inside the Main Alcove they found most everything was tiled in grey limestone, with gilded accents softening it. There were five staircases, two going down, on either side of one massive one, three going up, the larger in the middle and the thinner off to the sides. There was a large door to their left; Taemin assumed this must be the Parlor where meals and banquets were held, as well as gatherings less grandiose than those meant for the Arena.
The woman stood on the third step of the main staircase and looked around at them all nonchalantly. They stared back.
“Good evening students,” she began, her voice low and mellow. Her navy blue-black hair was pinned up into a French twist at the back of her head. “My name is Professor In, born in France, raised in Pusan, and finally coming to live and teach Conjuration and Invocation here at Jae Neung Academy. I am your High Chamberlain and primary advisor for your first 4 years at the Academy. I am very pleased to see all of your fresh, smiling faces tonight.”
Taemin looked around at all the looks of terror and general illness on the majority of his peer’s pale faces and came to the conclusion that everyone here was quite blind, or just chose to ignore the very obvious panic surrounding their pitiful little group.
Professor In continued, undeterred. “In a few minutes I will lead you into the Parlor for the Presenting and Sorting Ceremony. Here you will be sorted into your Sectors - Validus, Decori, Setentia, and Acer. All of these Sectors are extremely well versed and have their own special talents. I’m sure you will find your place to feel at home.
I fully expect all of you to work your hardest to growing and learning in this Academy. Attending this school is a privilege not extended to all, and therefore you would take care to cherish this opportunity and not waste it by any foolishness. Do not think your acceptance is irrevocable.”
Until now, Professor In had been speaking seriously but lightly, but now her voice dropped into a steely warning that sent a chill down Taemin’s spine.
“I caution you to watch your step, to choose wisely the path you follow, the people you associate with. You will learn that life has hard lessons to teach you, which it undoubtedly will. I would deeply regret seeing any of you fall into the snare of the dangerous world that lies beneath our rare gift and way of life. You will be children for only so long until your eyes are opened by this Academy, as we so exist to do. I hope you will look in the right direction when that time comes.”
Professor In straightened up, the edge leaving her voice and being replaced by one of warmth in her tone. She swept her arm towards the great mahogany doors of the Parlor. “Welcome,” she said, “to Jae Neung.”
The huge doors swung open, revealing a massive hall filled with people. There was a loud din from inside as people chattered at their seats with one another, catching up on each other’s business, discussing future class choices, plans for the coming weeks. Heads turned to stare at the first-years as the doors opened, some faces friendly and inviting, some clearly unimpressed with the selection, others waving at siblings, people from their town, and more.
From what Taemin could see, there were seven long, thin tables stretching the length of the hall. People were broken up along them, mostly in clusters of the same age, give or take a year or two, although some were quite diverse. The students at the tables were, as far as he could see, all wearing the same colored embroidery on the chest of their robes, which led Taemin to conclude that the seating tables were ordered by Sector. Along the front of the Parlor’s back wall was a great table made out of dark wood, the crest of the Jae Neung Academy carved into it and lined with liquid Mercury that swilled along the lines lazily but never once spilling out of it’s grooves. Those seated at this table were clearly the teachers. There was a long line of them, all focused respectfully on the small group of students in the doorway. The man in the middle, seated at an intricate chair, stood up. He wasn’t a man of impressive stature or appearance, but he commanded attention easily.
He held out his arms, and the Parlor went silent.
“Let the Presenting and Sorting Ceremonies begin.”
A yet pleasant yet regal sound filled the room and the first years were shuffled over the threshold and into the Parlor. They walked up the center, nervously looking around as students turned their heads to watch them pass. Taemin craned his neck all around, taking in the Parlor and his surroundings, as Minho made appreciating sounds next to him.
The Parlor was massive, a giant arching ceiling overhead laced with intricate winding black iron. The metal extended along the entire ridge of the ceiling and down the sides, creating a skeleton effect. It was rather eerie, giving the ceiling the look of a sharp, bony ribcage, and Taemin felt like he was in the stomach of some great beast. He shivered, his eyes chosing to follow the iron downwards instead. It arced across the sides of the hall, and where the walls no longer curved, long roped of iron came together to twist into thick, elegant pillars of an inky black.
Taemins eyes roamed down the columns and onto the floor, a checkerboard of crisp white and cool grey limestone tiles, every now and again coming across a silver crest on one of the slabs of stone. The lights ahead were warm and welcoming, long strings of what seemed to be piano wire stretching and draping from one wall to the other. Beads of light of all different sizes roamed lazily around the room on them, a gentle thrum issuing from one of the drop-lights next to Taemin’s head as he walked. The lights pulsed ever so slightly, as if they were alive. Considering where he was, Taemin wouldn’t have been surprised if they really were.
Taemin finally looked down at all the faces moving past the procession towards the front. Quite a few of them were turned towards him, and it gave him an unnatural feeling of being watched. Sure, his brother was here before him, but surely not everyone could tell he was a first Kim right off? Perhaps he had something on his robes - the thought occurred to him quickly and he clapped his hands to his front, running them over his chest, checking wildly for some sort of embarrassing stain. Knowing him, he would have magically gotten owl droppings on him somehow, some time in the short flight around the castle. Which would, of course, make everything perfect.
He breathed a sigh of relief. Nothing.
So why was everyone staring at him then?
The group of first years reached the front of the hall and turned, filing into a line on the left. The music stopped and there was a great shuffling as everyone in the Parlor adjusted themselves, shifting to get a better view of the Sorting. Taemin looked around, waiting for something, anything. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary.
Professor In walked up the length of the hall, smiling brightly and removing a long, thin wand from her robes. It was nearly white, and looked very fragile, although Taemin was sure it was quite strong.
Charms.
Taemin learned from his mother early on that the color of a wizard or witches wand, the length and thickness of it as well, all gave hints to that person’s best area of magic. Fascinated, he had spent much of his time as a nine year old learning the quirks about wands and the variations that they produced. Of course not always did the outside of the wand match the magic inside - the core had much to do with the magical inclination of a person, but Taemin had gotten good enough to be able to guess fairly accurately. The little spot of intimidation softened in him for Professor In. His own wand was a bright, honey color: almost an even balance between Charms and Conjugation.
Professor In reached the front of the hall and turned, facing the sea of students staring at her. She flourished her wand and the floor beneath her corroded, with a soft sizzling sound, around her feet. She didn’t seem to be bothered by this at all - that was because a large metal grate was materializing in the floor almost instantly after the stone was melting away. Within seconds, she was standing over a giant vent, about the size of a well-to-do family’s dining room table.
A chill ran through the first years. Taemin thought that whatever was lying beneath, waiting to tear him into terrified, pitiful shards of human streamers, wasn’t quite worth going to a school of magic. He didn’t even like school that much. He’d much prefer to live. He grabbed onto the sleeve of Minho’s robe, staring at the floor and swallowing. Minho looked at him, face white and nervous. Oh good, thought his now rather squeaky head voice, I’m not the only one who needs a change of trousers.
A thin white smoke was rising from the vent, swirling playfully inbetween Professor In‘s ankles. A couple of times, a few sparks shot up happily from whatever was under the floor. She beamed.
“Let the Sorting…begin.”
She walked over to the High Table and slipped a piece of parchment off the tabletop. It was a list of all the first year’s names in random order, and the collection of them pressed backwards - no one wanted to be the unlucky person to find out just exactly what the Sorting entailed.
“Choi Minho!”
Taemin’s heart jumped into his throat and he felt Minho stiffen next to him. He looked at him out of the corner of his eyes, and saw him blink a few times before nodding just slightly to himself and taking a stride forward.
Minho walked to the front center of the hall, stopping at the edge of the grate, and stared at it. He looked around at Professor In, who waited for him and nodded, gesturing him to continue. Minho nodded a little to himself again and took a breath, stepping onto the platform; the whole of the first years cringed, waiting for him to immediately explode. Thankfully he didn't, and he made his way to the middle of the vent. He faced the rest of the students, shoulders squared and jaw set remarkably bravely.
They waited for a few seconds, breath bated, before a thin white smoke began rising from the grate. Minho looked down at his feet, alarmed, as it quickly thickened, billowing up and swirling around him, threatening to engulf him. Taemin could see him start to panic; he was lifting one of his feet, staring around himself wildly, trying to predict where the smoke was coming from, what exactly it was, and what exactly it was going to do to him.
Without warning, the smoke suddenly came alive, rearing back in long ropes like snakes about to strike, and then it plunged straight into Minho’s chest.
The rest of the first years promptly freaked out.
Nicole was squealing by Taemin’s side, hands pressed to her mouth tightly, and a few of the first years were clearly looking for means of escape. Something must have gone wrong, Taemin thought, panicking, it attacked him, something is clearly wrong, it attacked him-They all watched as Minho’s arms clamped around his midsection, looking as if he might be violently sick. His eyes widened, mouth open in what seemed to be pain, and he lurched forward, nearly doubled over, before he stilled.
His clothes smoked slightly around his chest and back where the smoke had entered him, and his body gave one small, final shudder.
Then, the smoke exploded from him in a giant cloud of swirling red, along with long, thick crimson ribbons that fluttered to the floor, dissolving into crackling sparks. The hall erupted in applause, one table on the far right standing and cheering particularly loudly, and Minho gasped, straightening up, his eyes open and his arms coming down to rest normally at his sides. He looked around himself, one hand coming up to swirl the thick red fog still lingering around him and starting to fade, and he smiled the brightest Taemin had ever seen.
The first years all stared, paralyzed in shock.
“Validius, then, if you please,” said Professor, smiling and motioning a hand in the direction of the cheering table.
Minho looked at him and smiled wide.
Taemin stared back, eyes as big as saucers.
Minho shrugged. It tickles, he mouthed simply, winking at him, before striding off to join his new Sector, who all welcomed him warmly, clapping him on the back and pulling him to a seat in the midst of them.
The Sorting continued much the same after that, different students exploding into a regal, navy blue smoke, some a buttery gold. One student blew emerald smoke rings along with his burst of smoke, and Taemin heard him saying “it tastes like spearmint!” as he ran past to hug his twin brother before going and taking a seat at the Acer table. Quite a few of them were less composed than Minho when it was their turn. Despite five students having already come out unscathed from the process, one tough-looking boy let out a terrified shout when the smoke lunged at him, diminishing his intimidation factor by quite a lot after that. Quite a few girls twittered daintily, two or three of them shrieking and nearly falling backwards. He watched Nicole burst into yellow smoke and sunny little butterflies, giggling, and she trotted off to the Decorus table, tossing a sort of sad look over her shoulder back at him as she went.
Then, finally, it was Taemin’s turn.
He didn't fully process his name when it was called, a numb awareness seeping over him, and one of the first years behind him prodded him in the back and he stuttered forward. He walked up to the giant, gaping vent, and couldn't help but feel a chill nervousness settle sickly in his stomach. He still hadn’t decided what Sector he wanted to be in, and he’d heard that it has as much to do with as where you want to be as it did with where it wanted to put you. He walked into the middle of the vent, trembling slightly, and looked at his feet. He could feel hundreds of pairs of eyes on him, all watching him expectedly, and he didn't know if he could bring himself to meet them.
Once again pale smoke started lifting from the vents, slowly, twining itself around his ankles. He watched it, his breathing shallow, and suddenly he couldn't take looking at it, waiting, and he looked up, frantic, searching for a familiar pair of eyes. Immediately he found them, dark, staring into his own, a pair of identically shaped, equally scared eyes. He stared at Heechul, a strange peace washing over him, and then the smoke entered his chest.
Immediately he gasped as he was sucked backwards, spinning, through what felt like time and space. The hall with his brother’s face had disappeared, to be replaced by a great dark vortex in which he stood. He was clearly still physically in the hall, his feet staying on solid ground, but now everything was gone, and it was merely black, empty space around him. He stared around himself, waiting. And then it was like he was seeing flashbacks of himself and his thoughts were manifesting themselves in front of his eyes.
“I don’t want to disappoint my parents.”
He saw himself, small, grinning, his hair mushrooming around his forehead, as his father held him on his shoulder, his mother holding his hand. They beamed at him, loving, as he played with a toy he had just gotten earlier that week. He could only be around three or four, and he watched as his mother pulled him off of his father to hug him in her arms and kiss him on the cheek. He tried to wriggle away and she laughed, catching him tighter to her and successfully managing to press her lips to his face. He smiled and put a hand on her nose.
“I don’t want to disappoint my family.”
He was sitting in front of the fireplace, his grandfather fingering the material of his old Setentius robes, running cracked fingers over the thick embroidered crest on the front. “The best house there is; won the Regalia three times in my years, top marks in all of my classes, we were like a family, there was no bitterness in us, just friendly, healthy competition as we all encouraged each other to be our best-“ Taemin tried the robes on, them falling over his hands and pooling slightly on the foor; he was only nine. “Your whole family’s been in this house, save for your brother. When you get your letter, Taemin, because it’s coming, I know it is, when you get your letter, you’ll be sure to fit into Setentia.”
“I don’t want to abandon my brother.”
Heechul was there, hands waving erratically, sending things zooming around the room and smashing into walls. Heebum soared past, his hair ruffled as a lamp flew over him, and he giggled and clapped. Hankyung was somewhere in the background, diving at various objects to save them. “Oh Taemin,” said Heechul, picking him up and holding him to him, carefully. “You’ll show promise soon, won’t you?” And there was something in his voice, something desperate, something scared.
Heechul was there again, riding on his toy broomstick with Hankyung, chasing each other around the garden. Taemin was running on the ground a few feet below them, six. Without warning, Heechul accidentally clipped him in the shoulder with the tail of his broom. Taemin pitched forward, falling hard, and Heechul looked back at his wail of pain. He leaped off his broomstick in abandon, hurtling himself over to where Taemin kneel on the ground, his hand bleeding, face scratched where he had fallen. He held him away, looking him over, his face pale and his eyes wide, before pulling him to him in a crushing hug, his voice breaking, “Taemin…Taemin I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to, Taemin I’m sorry I’m sorry-“
Heechul’s face was bright, smiling, laughing in the summer sun…
Heechul’s face was pale as he lay in bed, sick, coughing, and Taemin remembers playing Exploding Snap with him until his mother shooed him out in the wee hours of the morning…
Heechul’s face was angry…
Heechul’s face was nervous…
Heechul’s face was smirking…
Heechul’s face was shocked, blank, and then it was contorted as he sobbed into Taemin’s shoulder, his arms tight around his neck, pulling him to him, their family pressing in around them on all sides, Taemin’s knees giving out as the weight of them brought them to the floor; the sun was warm, copper, they were laughing, they were crying, they were screaming, everyone was talking at once - Heechul looked at him, face tear-stained, with all the pride in the world.
The day he got his letter.
Taemin took a deep breath.
“I want to be in Setentia,” he thought, with all the power he had. Something squirmed in his stomach.
The images flashed forward quickly, like someone going through a flip-book too quickly, and the pressing blackness wavered, twisted, swirled and then Taemin was sucking in a deep breath of air, straightening up, looking around him for the navy blue smoke he was expecting.
There were crimson starbursts all around him.
Apparently, the Sorting also doesn’t listen to you when you’re lying.
---
The Sorting Ceremony seemed to finish rather quickly after that, but Taemin couldn’t watch much of it, due to his brother smothering him from the seat next to him where he insisted he sit. Minho had come over from where he was talking to some jovial-looking fourth year boys to sit with them, and he and Heechul had been introduced. Taemin was just telling Heechul about the ride over and the strange Professor Seejay when the Headmaster, Lee Sooman stood up, and the hall fell silent immediately. He beamed.
“Welcome,” he spoke, his voice carrying calmly across the hall, “to a fresh year at Jae Neung Academy. I extend this to the returning students from last year,” he said, pausing and looking around, “and especially to the new faces among us tonight. I’m neither creative enough, like Professor Park,” he said, motioning to a woman to his left who beamed, “nor am I patient enough like a centaur to make a speech and prolong dinner for very long. However I do wish to make a rather special and exciting announcement.
“The Embassy has been concerned quite some time over the divide in our nation by having two schools of sorcery. I am of course talking about Keom Jeong Institute, our sister and, as such, our rival school. The Embassy feels that the competition between the schools, the students accepted to them, and the families that our loyal to them is past the point of healthy, and is causing such trivial rivalries to be past down after graduation from the schools.” He paused, looking around at them all, before continuing cautiously. “As such, it is the Embassy’s wish that the two schools merge, and unite us as one across the country.”
There was an immediate uproar to this news, and it sounded as if the entire hall exploded.
“Merging? NO way. My parents would never allow it-“
“Are they crazy? KJ is a Dark School! Everyone with common sense knows that-“
“Cool!”
Heechul looked across the table at Siwon and Hankyung, both looking as shocked as he was at this news.
“Are they serious?” Hankyung asked incredulously.
“They must be-it’d be a really rotten joke to announce something like that and have it be false-“ replied Siwon grimly, but stopped when the Headmaster raised his hands for silence once more.
“To determine which school shall be joining its students at the home location of the other, there is to be a selection of Games held. They will be mostly arbritrary-one is, of course, the academic performance of students on a whole in each school, another is the talent of the Quidditch teams in a match to be held later this academic year in the spring. However a team of Ambassadors from each school will assemble, and will spend the majority of the year at the sister institution, to participate in various challenges to be revealed in the time to come.”
Many students looked around at this-some shook their heads fervently, clearly unwilling to spend a year at Keom Jeong Institute, while others craned their necks, catching the eyes of their friends in other houses and flashing enthusiastic thumbs-ups.
Professor Lee Soo Man continued, and the chatter in the hall gradually died out again. “As some of the tasks may prove strenuous, no doubt trying on the young, growing minds of students, and because we wish to present the best, brightest, most learned faces of Jae Neung Academy, the invitation to apply for an Ambassador position extends, with all due respect, to seventh years only.”
Once again the hall erupted into mixed shouts. Students directing angry comments about being smart enough or talented enough were looking mutinously towards the front, others who had no intention of applying were murmuring in agreement and nodding sagely. The Headmaster once again held up his hands.
“Please, please. We are taking all precautions necessary with the Evalation of Arete Games, as they are formally called, and your safety is our first and foremost priority. I understand some of you may be disappointed, but your opportunity to prove yourself in life will come to you in due time. For now, please support your fellow students on their endeavors to represent our fine school.
“And now, there is a rumbling in my tummy. Something should be done about this.” He waved his hands a final time and every sort of food imaginable appeared on the table, hot and steaming. “Ah, yes, perfect.” He smiled. “Let’s eat!”
Taemin’s eyes lit up and he grinned at Minho, who smiled back. Immediately they reached for the nearest things to them, Taemin tugging an enormous bowl of kimchi towards him, Minho getting a platter of grilled beef. Taemin loaded his plate, and then stopped, a prickly feeling creeping up the back of his neck. He whipped his head around to look behind him, feeling as if there were multitudes of eyes on him. When he didn’t see anything, he reluctantly turned back to his food, rubbing the back of his neck. That was weird…
Taemin and Minho spent most of the meal discussing the events of the Sorting, the results, and what classes they were most excited to take. Minho was especially looking forward to Defense Against the Dark Arts, whereas Taemin was anticipating their first Charms lesson. He was a little less impatient to start Conjugation and Invocation; while he was quite good at it, Professor In seemed to be very strict.
The two of them engaged in conversation with Heechul, Hankyung, and Siwon for a few minutes at the start of the meal, giving opinions on the merging of the schools, but opted out when the three older students lapsed into complicated details and theories. Halfway through their meal, Jonghyun and Kibum came over to sit with them and congratulate them on a spectacular Sorting, accompanied by Onew from Decorus.
Taemin looked up as a hand plucked a piece of spicy rice cake from his plate and popped it into its owner’s mouth.
“So, I guess you and your brother are pretty alike, huh?” said Jonghyun around the rice cake. “Both rebels to the family tradition.”
Taemin chuckled and shrugged as Jonghyun sat down on the bench next to him. “It looks that way.”
“Well, it’s good to have you.” He cupped a hand around his mouth and lowered his voice. “Honestly though, Decorus sucks, smells like cheese-“
“I will levitate this fork at you.” said Onew threateningly.
Jonghyun rolled his eyes. “Oh God, I’m terrified.”
“Play nice,” Key shot lazily.
“Yes, Dear,” retorted Jonghyun sweetly. Key smiled to himself.
“It’s a terrible idea and they know it, they’ll only admit it when someone gets killed-“
“You think so too?” suddenly asked Onew seriously, abruptly catching a snippet of the conversation going on across the table.
Heechul looked over at him coolly. “Of course. Sending students to Keom Jeong is sending them straight to the enemy.” It was clear that the three of them hadn’t broken their thread of conversation, and now Onew and Heechul were looking at each other with a sort of intensity. Onew wanted to hear Heechul’s no doubt harsh opinion, and Heechul was appraising the new addition to the conversation.
“Calling them the enemy only heightens the problem,” argued Siwon, frowning.
“No, it makes it real,” insisted Heechul heatedly. “This is a real rivalry, and it goes beyond school. The Embassy and our Headmaster have met with those people countless times to discuss their agenda; they all but gave them evidence they’re breeding those students to be dark wizards. They haven’t changed, they don’t want to change, they’ll never change.”
“Onew,” said the boy, extending his hand solemnly. “Third year, and I agree completely with you.”
Heechul looked over his robes, sizing him up. “Decori, huh?” With the reputation of Decori being nice and non-confrontational, it was obvious Heechul wasn’t expecting such an intense view from Onew. He looked at Taemin, then at Onew, finally taking his hand and shaking it. “I approve. I’m Taemin’s older brother, Kim-“
“Heechul,” Onew said, nodding. “He spoke about you on the flight over.”
“You’re adorable, really,” said Heechul, reaching over and patting Taemin’s cheek. Taemin scowled and brushed him away.
“Key,” piped Key.
“And Jonghyun,” said Jonhyun, holding up a hand.
“Second and third,” they chorused. Heechul, Hankyung and Siwon nodded at them too.
“Seriously, though, Siwon has a point-“ said Hankyung.
“An irrelevant one. I’m sick of acting blind to what Keom Jeong is doing over there, everyone else keeps pretending like they’re just a little rogue. We know it’s more serious than that. The fact is, sending our students there is like sending them into a death trap. Keom Jeong isn’t just going to roll over and play nice, they’re going to try something to sabotage this whole thing. I just…have a feeling.”
“Do you think they’ve actually agreed to the whole merger?” asked Onew skeptically. “If we win out, their curriculum will be in complete jeopardy, I don’t think they’d be exactly thrilled with that…”
“No, I don't think they like the idea any more that we do-“
“And that’s why their willing participation is so suspicious,” joined Hankyung. “Something has to be going on that we don’t know of-“
“Headmaster Lee has got to know, he’s not stupid-“ Siwon said.
“Then he’s naïve,” said Heechul shortly. “And if he does know, then it’s real shit of him to not be a little more cautious, or to tell anyone-“
He cut off quickly and everyone looked up as a girl appeared over Taemin’s shoulder. She looked like a second year, and the green emblem on her chest marked her as an Acer.
“Can I borrow your tea? My table’s all out,” she said, smiling sweetly and batting her eyelashes, pointing a dainty finger to a large pitcher of cold tea in front of Taemin. Heechul quirked an eyebrow at her.
“No problem,” Taemin smiled back at her. He picked up the heavy pitcher and handed it to her gingerly, but when he let go, the handle slipped through her fingers, dousing tea straight into Taemin’s lap. The pitcher crashed to the floor, shattering, and Taemin leapt up, caught the back of his knees on the bench and toppled over, landing on the hard stone floor.
Immediately the hall went quiet and Taemin felt a thousand pairs of eyes on him, his face blazing red in embarrassment. The girl had her fingers over her mouth and stared at him before flouncing off back to her table. Shouts of laughter and chatter broke out and the Parlor filled with noise once again, people returning to their seats from where they had stood to look at the mess surrounding Taemin. As glad as he was that people were returning to their meals and conversations, he could now clearly hear they were morphing into ones about him. Someone’s quip of “God, such a first year-“ followed by a snide laugh made him wish the floor would open up and swallow him and the spilt tea whole.
He got to his feet gingerly, Minho and Heechul’s hands hoisting him up by his elbows. Heechul dried his robes with a wave of his wand, and they took their places at the table again. Onew Jonghyun and Key were watching the girl where she sat at her table with mixed looks on their faces, apparently not needing any tea anymore. Onew’s scowl darkened as he noticed a portion of his Decorus Sector laughing.
“Forget it, you guys,” mumbled Taemin, “it was just an accident.”
Onew cast one last look back at the hall before turning around with Jonghyun and Key. Key and Jonghyun quickly brought up the date of the first Quidditch match to restart the conversation, and Taemin started to forget all about the catastrophe in the Parlor. (mostly). Heechul, on the other hand, was still staring at the girl at her table, a look of thought on his face. Siwon leaned in to whisper to him.
“Heechul?”
“It wasn’t an accident,” said Heechul lowly, his brow creasing. Siwon raised his eyebrows and he and Hankyung leaned in to listen to him. He motioned to where the girl sat at her table. “Look, look who she’s sitting by.” Hankyung and Siwon looked to where Heechul pointed. A few seats down at another portion of the table, Imae was talking animatedly to a few of her friends. Siwon looked uncomfortable.
“You think?” Hankyung asked.
“I hope not,” said Heechul darkly. “Hey, Taemin.”
Taemin looked up from watching Jonghyun and Onew get into another argument over last year’s Quidditch World Cup finals, while Key looked on exasperatedly and Minho listened, amused. “Yeah?”
“If something like that happens again…tell me, okay?” Heechul said, his voice filled with concern.
Taemin laughed uncomfortably. “Yeah, okay Mom.”
Heechul didn’t smile back. “I’m serious. If things like that keep happening, tell me. Understand?”
Taemin tried an unsure sort of smile, avoiding Heechul’s eyes. “Er…yeah, of course.” He turned back to his conversation. Heechul watched him for a few more minutes, Hankyung and Siwon exchanging glances of concern across him, and resumed their meal.
--
The rest of the banquet carried off without another hitch, and after a long, hot, delicious, and only slightly dramatic meal, the group was well fed and significantly sleepy. Heechul smiled lazily to himself, fingers playing lightly at his stomach like a cat full of milk. He eased himself gracefully up from the bench, stepping over it lightly. He hooked his arm with Hankyung’s as the rest of the group got up, Taemin a little more carefully after his spill earlier in the evening. Heechul specifically turned away from Siwon, who by now had cotton used to the retaliation by now, and simply rolled his eyes to himself before loyally following behind the two in front.
Heechul tipped his head back and looked at the lights humming at the top of the ceiling, blinking and twinkling sleepily like the constellation counterparts they were arranged after. He was just thinking about pleasant things, like his insanely comfortable bed waiting for him, the new and interesting classes to come, the teachers to mess with, did he already think of his bed? Aaah, his bed. He sighed, looking down, and came face-to-face with a smiling Eeteuk.
“Oh, fuck me,” he groaned.
“I’d rather not, but thanks for the offer,” Eeteuk replied good-naturedly. It seemed the banquet had done wonders on his nerves, washing away the stress of the flight over. He was looking much happier, warmer, and much, much more prepared to assign duties. “Heechul, Siwon,” he said, smiling and giving each of them a nod, “I have your Avanti duties for you.”
“Goodie,” said Heechul flatly.
Hankyung looked between Siwon and Heechul with a slight air of annoyance and pulled a face. “It’s going to be like this all year, isn’t it?”
As if on cue, Heechul reached his arms around Hankyung’s neck and pulled him close, fitting into his side like a puzzle piece. “Kyungie comes with me,” he told Eeteuk matter-of-factly.
Eeteuk tapped his fingers together. “Well, normally, he won’t be allowed, you know,” he tossed an apologetic smile Hankyung’s way, “but tonight, I don’t see why not, you’ll be going the same way anyway. Heechul, you’re to take the upper Validi to the dorms to distribute the password to the tower.”
“Oh,” said Heechul, pleasantly surprised with the relative level of ease. Then something occurred to him. “What about Tae-er, the first-years? Don’t Avanti’s do that tour thingy?” He waved a hand airily for emphasis.
“Er, well, yes,” said Eeteuk a little awkwardly, “but I’ve given that to Siwon. You see, I wasn't quite…I didn’t think…I wasn't, I didn't-“
“You didn’t trust me with them?” Heechul smirked.
Eeteuk looked uncomfortable. “Er…well…no,” he finished lamely.
Heechul laughed and hooked his arm with Hankyung’s. “Oh, please, Eeteuk, I’m not going to lose them or anything.”
There was a short, pregnant pause.
“…Besides, even if I did, it’s not like there aren’t thirty more of them for you to mother. Lighten up.” Heechul smiled, giving Eeteuk a light-hearted jab with his elbow. Considering it was Heechul, it was probably more painful than intended. Heechul and Hankyung turned and walked off, stopping only at the front doors to wave and shout a very loud “Bye, Tae-Tae!” back at them, blowing a kiss, on top of it all, before disappearing with the rest of the Validus upper-level students.
Taemin stared in horror at the spot where his brother had stood, before giving Eeteuk a suffering look. “Somehow, I feel worse for you,” he said.
Eeteuk smiled wearily. “I know.” He turned to Siwon. “Well, Siwon, you get the job of showing the first-years the path to the tower.”
Siwon smiled brilliantly then, so happily Taemin imagined rays of sunshine could burst out of his face. He rocked a little on his heels. “Anything I need to know?”
“Yes,” said Eeteuk, pulling out a small, crimson index card from his pocket. There was a thin, silver V engraved lightly on the back. “These are the prompts for the things you’ll need to point out on the way. Things about hidden passages, what wings belong to what subject, those tricky trap doors and Slip Spells along the Auror wing corridors, and that one really violent window by Charms that keeps trying to decapitate people. They tried to remove it this summer, but apparently it’s impossible.” He tossed his hand nonchalantly. “Comes with the castle. It’s going through lessons in manners and behaviors every other Sunday-you don’t need to tell the tour that last bit. Other than that, it’s just the basics you need to point out. Shouldn’t be too hard, right?”
Siwon shook his head, looking like he was trying to hold back a salute. “Nope, I can do that, I can do that,” he said enthusiastically.
Eeteuk beamed. “Excellent. I’m quite relieved to have you as an Avanti, Siwon.” Siwon’s face practically split in two. He gave a slight bow of his head in acknowledgement. Eeteuk bid them one final farewell before disappearing into the small crowd that still lingered around, muttering something about dealing with “that Bong CheolYong, second year back and still a kleptomaniac, I see, and still into the silverware…”
“So!” Siwon said, turning to smile at the two left with him. “Shall we, er, fetch the others?”
Taemin looked over to the giant Parlor doors at the group of Validi first years, looking just about dead on their feet from the rollercoaster of various terrors and reliefs of the day. All of them looked rather tuckered out and very much wanting to sleep.
“Yeah, sure,” Taemin said, and he, Minho, and Siwon trooped off, all looking forward to the coming weeks and the prospect of leaving the trepidation of the EA Games behind as they dreamt of the possibilities to come.
AND DANCING SUGARPLUMS AND SAPPY SHIT. It’s the holidays, what do you want from me.