double, double, toil and trouble

Chapter 31

Donghyuck watched the contents of his cauldron bubble and stir as he hunched himself over it, his arms cradling his body as the cool evening air wrapped itself around him like an icy blanket. His windows were still smashed from his mother's outburst yesterday, and he simply did not have the time nor energy to distract himself from his potion to fix it.

Every so often, he would tap his foot or pace back and forth, his eyes fixed on the cauldron.

He's not going to Durmstrang. He's not leaving his friends- he will find his way back to them even if it's the last thing he does.

Which it very well might be.

If his parents found him trying to escape... he shudders. If he brews this potion wrong, again, he shudders.

An Erumpent Potion can cause an explosion if brewed properly... it can also cause an explosion if brewed incorrectly.

Donghyuck felt a little faint once he started the process, but he had a fighting spirit and was incredibly stubborn and sure that this would work. It had to work. Professor Suh must've had faith in his abilities, as Donghyuck is convinced that this is why he was given the Erumpent horn in his last potions session.

Johnny had told him to be ready for anything, to only use this potion or one like it to protect himself- and that was what he was doing.

The lock on his door was charmed- whatever spell he tried just bounced right off. Nothing he did seemed to work... and so, this potion was his last resort. Blowing the door off of its hinges, that was what he had to do. And he prayed that there wasn't a separate security charm on his room- he prayed that this would work.

He longed to go back to Hogwarts. Sure, at times, it wasn't perfect, but it was a hell of a lot better than this. Anything was better than this.

When his parents had taken his things from his dorm- everything belonging to him had been transported back to the Lee mansion- his robes, his books, his Quidditch broom, and even his equipment, such as his cauldron.

Once his mother had smashed his windows, the first thought he had was to take his broom, pack as much as he can carry, and fly away. However, that simply couldn't be done.

Physically the window was broken, it was gone, but an enchantment still lingered. Inanimate objects could pass through the window- Donghyuck had thrown one of his textbooks out of it in frustration. Still, he himself couldn't cross the boundary.

And so, he had turned to his potion book and cauldron, but progress was slow.

After his latest confrontation with his parents, they had sworn not to set eyes on him- at least, not till he would be on his way to Durmstrang. He was still locked in his room; however, rather than being escorted every evening to the dinner table to eat, his food was instead left outside his door.

Despite this, he was still anxious that they may end up walking in and spotting his potion, and if that happened... Donghyuck didn't dare think of what the implications would be.

Focusing back on his cauldron, Donghyuck rolled his bottom lip between his teeth before biting down harshly. He was getting impatient.

Just as he was about to read through the potion steps in his textbook once again, something made him freeze. It was faint, nothing tangible to grasp onto, but something was there.

There was a slight tang in the air, a buzzing that lasted for a moment- but it lasted long enough to alert Donghyuck that something had changed.

Apparition.

Someone else was here.

Without wasting a second, Donghyuck flung himself onto his bed, reaching to the side furthest away to access his Hogwarts trunk that was lying open on his floor.