𝐨𝐜𝐭 𝟏𝟐 𝟏𝟗𝟗𝟔
yunhee wanted to tell her friends about why she woke up in a cold sweat. she didn't know how she was expected to get a decent nights sleep when all she saw when she shut her eyes were horrifying dreams that she couldn't escape. and on top of that, she wasn't allowed to share her burden with anyone else. it was too dangerous.
this time, she had a vision of katie bell, a gryffindor, leaving the three broomsticks with a package in her hand. the package was a strange necklace. another vision was when she touched the necklace: a sudden force started throwing her around.
"so who exactly is the half-blood prince?" jeno asked, breaking her train of thought, as they walked through the snow on their way towards hogsmeade.
for once yunhee didn't have to get there using the invisibility cloak. since chenle's parents had taken her in, they were now her guardians, which meant they signed off that she could go to hogsmeade. it felt good to finally be allowed to do something without all the restrictions and breaking rules.
"i have no idea actually." mark replied, wrapping his scarf tighter around his neck.
"i did some research in the library, but i found nothing about a half-blood prince." chenle told them.
"and renjun says all the answers to the world are in the library." jeno mumbled and the ravenclaw nudged him.
"most answers."
"yunhee, is your hand cold?" mark asked, noticing that she was missing a glove for her left hand and was trying to warm it up with her scarf, but it wasn't quite working.
"yeah." she replied, exhaling so that fog appeared around her.
"here. give me your hand." he said, taking hold of it with his gloved one. he put their hands in his pocket, tugging her a little closer to him so that they could walk side by side, hand in hand.
"thanks, mark." she whispered, sinking her face into her scarf as shyness took over her.
"no problem." he replied, glad that he had found the confidence to do that and make her flustered.
he could've sworn that his back was suddenly on fire, so he glanced behind them to see chenle intensely glaring. he turned back around, shrugging and tightening his hold on yunhee's hand in his pocket.
"filius!" they heard professor slughorn call from in front of them. "i was hoping to find you in the three broomsticks!"
"no, emergency choir practice, i'm afraid, horace." professor flitwick replied, passing by them.
"anyone fancy a butterbeer?" mark asked.
"obviously." chenle replied. he walked ahead, grabbing yunhee's arm on the way. she was forced to let go of mark's hand as chenle dragged her with him.
"wait. my hand." she complained as it was greeted with the freezing weather again.
"we're at the three broomsticks now. it's warm in here." he said, pushing open the door for her to enter first. he followed after, closing the door on mark who tried to keep up with them.
"seriously." mark muttered, rolling his eyes as he opened the door and went over to order everyone butterbeer.
when he sat down at the table they had picked, he pulled off his coat, his eyes glued to jisung who was talking, frantically, to malfoy. yunhee also noticed her slytherin friend and tried waving at him, but he dismissed it, entering the bathroom.
"oh, you have to be joking." jeno groaned.
"what?" renjun asked and jeno gestured to the corner of the room. "is that aerin and a guy? snogging?"
"what now?" yunhee spun around in her seat and gasped at the sight. she raised her hands and yelled at them. "that's my girl aerin! you go!"
"do not encourage this." jeno hissed, pushing her arms down. "that is my sister."
"so? she's with her boyfriend and for your information, he's an awesome dude and perfect for aerin, so don't ruin anything for her." she warned, tapping her glass of butterbeer.
"mark, my boy!" professor slughorn exclaimed, walking over to their table and interrupting the conversation.
"hello, sir. wonderful to see you." mark greeted, standing up to shake his hand.
"suck up." chenle coughed and yunhee turned to look at him with a displeased look.
"so what brings you here?" mark asked.
"the three broomsticks and i go way back, further than i care to admit. i can remember when it was one broomstick." slughorn laughed, tilting his glass so that half the contents fell all over yunhee's clothes.
"here." renjun passed her some tissues and then his hoodie for her to cover her stained clothes with.
"thanks."
"listen, my boy, in the old days i used to throw together the occasional supper party for the select student or two. would you be game?"
"i'd consider it an honour, sir."
"you would be welcome too, renjun."
"i'd love that." renjun replied, placing his glass down as yunhee frowned at the fact that she hadn't been invited too.
"splendid. look for my owl." slughorn laughed before leaving.
"i want to go to the party." yunhee said. renjun stared at her as he thought back to the fact that he got invited. he made a mental note to ask professor slughorn if they were allowed to bring dates.
"alright. should we get going now?" jeno asked, stretching his arms behind his back.
"please." chenle said, pulling his coat back on then linking his arm with yunhee's, pulling her out the three broomsticks before anyone had the chance to say anything else.
the others could definitely tell something was up with the way he was acting and treating them, but they didn't say anything as they trudged through the snow behind two gryffindor girls.
"katie, you don't know what it could be." yunhee heard one of the girls, but she didn't think much of it at first. it was only when renjun asked her if she was sleeping well that it had clicked that the girls in front of them were katie bell and her friend.
"katie, don't touch that!" yunhee yelled, letting go of chenle and running ahead to stop her, but it was too late.
katie's friend let out a terrified scream as katie had collapsed to the floor and was thrown around the snow and air just like in yunhee's dream.
"don't get any closer. get back, all of you." hagrid said, hurrying to katie and picking her up. yunhee went over to the necklace, to check if it was indeed the one in her dream. "do not touch that, except by the wrappings. do you understand?"
she felt faint at the sight of the necklace and moved back to let mark pick it up in its wrapping.
"let's take this to professor mcgonagall."
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"it's like i said. she left to go to the loo, and when she came back she had the package. she said it was important that she delivered it." katie bell's friend, leanne, repeated and yunhee almost choked. katie got the package from the bathroom after jisung left it. was it possible that...?
"did she say to whom?" professor mcgonagall asked.
"to professor dumbledore."
"very well. thank you, leanne. you may go." professor mcgonagall turned to the group as leanne left. "why is it when something happens it is always you lot?"
"believe me, professor, i've been asking myself the same question for six years." renjun sighed.
"oh, severus." she called and snape walked past them to examine the necklace. he lifted it with his wand. "what do you think?"
"i think miss bell is lucky to be alive."
"she was cursed, wasn't she? i know katie. off the pitch, she wouldn't hurt a fly." mark said. "if she was delivering that to dumbledore, she wasn't doing it knowingly."
"yes, she was cursed." professor mcgonagall confirmed.
"it was malfoy." mark suddenly blurted out and everyone turned to him, shocked. yunhee was more shocked at the fact that he didn't say jisung. did he really think it was malfoy or was he protecting jisung? she wouldn't be surprised if it was malfoy though.
"that is a very serious accusation."
"indeed." snape said. "your evidence?"
"i just know."
"you just... know?" snape repeated. "once again, you astonish me with your gifts. gifts mere mortals can only dream of possessing. how grand it must be to be the chosen one."
"i suggest you go back to your dormitories. all of you." professor mcgonagall interrupted the stare-off between mark and snape.
jeno had to drag mark away and when they were a safe distance away from the two professors, mark stopped them all.
"i know who did it." he said and yunhee knew immediately what he was getting at.
"no." she said, shaking her head as the others looked between them, confused.
"it was him."
"it wasn't. stop."
"it only makes sense, yunhee! it was jisung and you know it." he insisted and yunhee took a deep breath in to calm herself.
"you're wrong. i know him. he wouldn't do that."
"he did!"
"he did not!" yunhee yelled, her eyes wide in frustration. she looked like she was about to attack him, so chenle jumped forwards, hoping to defuse the tension. "stop saying unreasonable things!"
she turned on her heel and stomped down the corridor, immediately regretting yelling at him. the outburst was fueled by her exhaustion from not sleeping properly in weeks, but she shouldn't have done that. if anything, she was being unreasonable and mark had a point. deep down, she knew jisung was involved, but she was blinded by her friendship and love for him to accept that he could do such a thing.
⚯͛
𝐧𝐨𝐯 𝟐 𝟏𝟗𝟗𝟔
"how was the dinner party last night?" yunhee asked, sliding into the seat next to renjun. mark who was a few seats away glanced up then averted his eyes back to his breakfast. they hadn't spoken since her outburst, but he was itching to say something and hug it out.
"boring really." renjun admitted, moving around the eggs on his plate. he had lost his appetite the moment he sat at the table.
"what's wrong?"
renjun sighed loudly and turned to face her. "can you make up with mark already? it's driving me insane!"
"weren't you the one who refused to fix things with mark when you fought during the triwizard tournament?"
"that was like two years ago. i was immature back then, but i wouldn't do that now. it's not worth losing friendships over." he said and she knew he was right.
"i'm not trying to lose him as a friend. i just think we both need a timeout to sort out our feelings and thoughts before speaking again." she explained, pushing away her plate of food.
"i know, but it's been a few days already. nows the right time. he has his quidditch match today and he's been so nervous on top of everything with you, so i think he really needs some encouragement." he told her and she nodded, getting up to go over to mark.
he watched her sit next to mark and smiled when she leaned in for a hug and he quickly responded, wrapping his arms around her.
"you're a great friend to her." jeno said, patting renjun on the back. the ravenclaw smiled bitterly in response, nodding his head.
"yes. a friend..."