Thursday, December 1st. 01:21AM. Hogwarts, Library. Kang Yeosang.
Yeosang hurried through the long and dark corridor on the second floor, careful not to wake any of the portraits with the light coming from his wand. His steps were fast but quiet and he soon rounded the corner at the end of the corridor.
The air felt cold against his skin and he pulled his long cardigan tighter around his body as he entered the dark library.
He'd woken up after only about an hour of restless sleep and felt the need to do something, anything, that would help with Wooyoung's rescue. He'd figured that if he wasn't going to catch any sleep, he might as well do something useful. He'd grabbed his wand, thrown on a jacket and snuck out of the Ravenclaw Common Room, not even completely sure what he was going to be looking for. The library was just the first place his feet had carried him to.
He soon found out that the library was a lot scarier at night. It was of course completely empty and silent, the only sound coming from Yeosang's shoes as he strolled through the seemingly endless narrow rows. His hand tightened its grip around his wand, the only source of light he had.
He was just about to head to the potions section to see if he had missed any sort of advanced potions book yesterday when he suddenly heard a noise.
Yeosang stopped in his tracks. His heart skipped a beat and his body tensed up instinctively.
It had sounded like a couple of books falling to the ground a couple aisles behind him, but there was nothing to be seen or heard when Yeosang looked behind himself.
Yeosang hadn't even come close to touching any of the books yet, so obviously it couldn't have been his own fault either.
Was there someone else in the library? A teacher maybe? Yeosang had never been here at night before. He should've expected some teacher to be making sure that students didn't try to break into the restricted section or something. Had they seen him when he'd walked right past those shelves?
Slowly starting to panic at the thought that he might've gotten himself into huge trouble, Yeosang decided to hide in between two bookshelves that seemed to be a part of the Arithmancy section, judging by the amount of books on the basics of numerology and mathematical approaches to divination. He then whispered, "Nox," to his wand, causing the light that had come from the very tip of it to die out. He even held his breath as he stared into the complete darkness surrounding him.
He held his breath and anxiously stood there for a few seconds until he heard a pair of footsteps coming in his direction.
Damnit, he thought. What was he going to say if he got caught? The footsteps were only a few meters away now. Should he just surrender? Yeosang bit his lip. Should he just play dumb and pretend he had a habit of sleepwalking?
In a moment of indecisiveness and panic, Yeosang raised his wand and was about to fire a spell at the source of those footsteps, but stopped himself last second when he saw who they were coming from.
"J-Jongho?" Yeosang asked in a whisper.
The Gryffindor put up his hands as if to surrender. He held his lit wand in one of them and an old-looking book in the other. "It's just me," he said, grinning at Yeosang's shocked expression.
Yeosang sighed in relief and clutched his heart. "For Merlin's sake, Jongho! I almost cursed you! I thought you were a teacher or something!"
Jongho raised his eyebrows. "You would curse a teacher?" he asked, pointing at Yeosang's wand that was now spouting out a couple of tiny blue sparks. Yeosang quickly put it away.
"I panicked alright! What are you doing here in the middle of the night anyway?"
"I could ask you the same thing," Jongho chuckled. "I couldn't stop thinking about what Wooyoung's crazy uncle said. You know, all that stuff about Legilimency. I wanted to find out more about it."
He handed Yeosang the shabby book. The Art of Legilimency: How to Invade and Interpret the Layers of the Mind, the cover read in golden letters.
"What's your excuse?" Jongho asked.
Yeosang looked away and shrugged, suddenly feeling embarrassed about how he had come here without any good plan of what to look for. "I don't know, I couldn't sleep..." he mumbled. "I guess I kind of just came here automatically."
Jongho gave a sympathetic smile and put an arm around his shoulder, already leading him to one of the study corners. "Then why don't we just check this one out together?"
Yeosang didn't have a better idea, so the two of them soon found themselves skimming through the introductory pages of The Art of Legilimency together.
"Legilimency is the act of magically navigating through the many layers of a person's mind and correctly interpreting his findings. A person who practices this art is known as a Legilimens. The opposite of Legilimency is Occlumency, which is used to shield one's mind from the invasion and influence of a Legilimens. It is safe to assume that the art of Legilimency has been around for a fairly long time, as Salazar Slytherin, a very skilled Legilimens, lived in the 11th century, and, along with the other Hogwarts founders, enchanted the Sorting Hat to have the skill," Jongho read in a whisper.
"That's pretty much what Stephan already told Wooyoung. Let's see if this says anything about people who are like Wooyoung," Yeosang suggested.
He skipped a few pages ahead. His eyes flew over many lengthy explanations about the history of Legilimency, until he found something that piqued his interest.
"Oh, listen to this," he told Jongho and read out the passage, "Queenie Goldstein was a talented Legilimens who would frequently read those around her and verbally respond to those thoughts. She did so without malicious intent but was often scolded for looking into others' minds without their permission. Whereas most had to learn Legilimency, Goldstein was born with a great aptitude for the skill. Voldemort also, used Legilimency extensively, both wandlessly and nonverbally, to enter the minds of those he wished to interrogate. It was even said that it was "the dark lord's pleasure to invade the mind". He created visions that would drive them to madness. While he could perform Legilimency nonverbally and wandlessly, less talented practitioners must use the incantation 'Legilimens' to enter their victim's mind. If a target is not skilled in Occlumency, a Legilimens will be able to detect if the person is lying, as well as delve into their thoughts, emotions, and memories. Highly skilled Legilimens can also influence a mind that they invade. Like Occlumency, Legilimency is not regularly taught at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Because it invades peoples' privacy, Legilimency is a legally restricted magical practice, just as the use of Veritaserum is strictly regulated by the Ministry of Magic. Goldstein, who would use Legilimency on those around her and respond to their thoughts verbally, was constantly scolded for this invasion of privacy, but was never prosecuted."
"Wow," Jongho commented, "I get why Wooyoung's crazy uncle was so excited over his power. If Wooyoung really has the power to do all of that wordlessly and wandlessly... that's very impressive." He had an excited look on his face as though he wanted to try to learn Legilimency himself.
"You sound like get all of that," Yeosang chuckled. Personally, he had dropped Divination after his third year because he sucked at it, but Jongho seemed pretty enthusiastic about it.
"Well, some of it. I've always been interested in Divination-related things. Predicting the future and the idea of destiny and all that stuff. That's why I read so much about it," Jongho admitted.
"You believe in destiny?"
"I like to believe that everything happens for a reason," Jongho shrugged. "Because if it does, doesn't that give life so much more meaning?"
Yeosang didn't respond at first as he considered those words, but Jongho seemed to take that as doubt.
"It's okay, you can laugh at me now."
Yeosang laughed and slapped his arm. "No, I think I get what you mean. I just never thought you were the kind of guy who'd think that way."
"Really?" Jongho chuckled. "What kind of guy am I, then?"
"Um, you're, well..." Yeosang felt his face heat up as he fumbled around with his own fingers, "you're always so... casual and carefree. I didn't think you'd be thinking about deep stuff in your free time."
Jongho smiled. "I guess there's more to me than you think."
"In that case I want to know more about you."
Yeosang had no idea why he said that.
Jongho widened in surprise for a split second before the smile returned to his lips.
Jesus Christ, how had Yeosang gotten himself into this mess? Staring at Jongho's face in the library in the middle of the night was definitely not what he'd come here for. But it was so easy to get distracted by the warm gaze Jongho always regarded him with. It was so easy to look at his cute small nose and his full cheeks and his soft lips...
Before Yeosang realized what he was doing, he'd already leaned in and kissed him. Jongho immediately returned his kiss as if he'd been waiting for it. He gently removed a strand of Yeosang's hair from his face before cupping his cheek with that same hand.
Yeosang eased into the kiss, enjoying the feeling of Jongho's soft lips against his and his warm hands on his cheek and his lower back. He wasn't sure what to do with his own hands and eventually just let them find their way around Jongho's neck.
The kiss lasted longer than Yeosang had planned – even if he technically hadn't planned to kiss Jongho at all – but eventually he pulled away, unable to open his eyes for a moment afterwards.
Words couldn't quite describe how Yeosang felt when he kissed Jongho. It was a heat-of-the-moment thing, but it felt good and it felt right.
At the same time, there was always this feeling of guilt in the back of his mind somewhere. His best friend was trapped in the Ministry of Magic. Kidnapped. In lethal danger. This wasn't the right time to develop a crush on anyone. It was too complicated, too... inappropriate. And yet, Yeosang couldn't help it. His higher reasoning crumbled whenever he and Jongho were alone and Yeosang was powerless against it.
"What were we talking about?" Jongho asked after a few moments of silence. His calm smile had returned. He had no idea what was going on in Yeosang's mind or what kind of mess he'd caused in it.
"Destiny."
"Right."
Another moment of silence.
"I always thought that maybe Wooyoung and I were always destined to be best friends," Yeosang chuckled, "I mean, we've literally been through everything together. We learned how to walk together."
Jongho gave him a surprised look. "You two met before Hogwarts? I didn't know that."
"Yeah. We've known each other since birth. Our dads went to Hogwarts together and have been friends and neighbors ever since."
"That really does sound like destiny."
Yeosang nodded. "Wooyoung always protected me as a kid. He was always ready to throw fists at whoever threatened to steal my cookies or harm me in any way," Yeosang had to chuckle at the memory, "At first I thought he was just another annoying and overly talkative boy next door, but eventually I realized that he just wanted to be friends with me. We've been inseparable ever since."
Jongho remained silent as he listened to Yeosang reminisce about his childhood with Wooyoung and only interrupted him to ask for details every once in a while.
"And then one day... he even saved my life. I promised myself that I would always protect him, just like he protected me when we were kids..." Yeosang said, his smile faltering as the feeling of guilt rose in his chest once more. What a great job he was doing at protecting Wooyoung.
He looked down to his hands, his eyes burning with tears forming in them. He felt pathetic just sitting there, fighting back his tears like a little boy.
Jongho took his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze, causing Yeosang to look at him. "I'll make sure that you'll be able to keep that promise."
Yeosang managed a small smile when Jongho ran a hand through his hair.
They stayed there in silence for a while longer, but soon decided to return to their respective common rooms after Jongho almost fell asleep on Yeosang's shoulder.
"Thanks for walking me back," Yeosang said as they came to a halt in front of the entrance to the Ravenclaw Common Room.
Jongho smiled cheekily. "Anytime. You think you can solve the riddle by yourself this time?" he teased.
"I think I can handle it, Sherlock," Yeosang replied, suppressing a yawn. He looked down at his hand that Jongho was still holding.
Jongho grinned and Yeosang would be a liar if he said his smile didn't make his heart melt at least a little bit.
He pressed a short kiss to the corner of Jongho's mouth, just barely missing his lips before letting go of his hand and sending him away to his own common room. Luckily, Yeosang was finally tired enough to fall asleep as soon as he'd changed into his sleepwear and gotten into bed. He fell into such a deep sleep that he didn't even dream.
The next day, after morning classes, Yeosang met Hongjoong in the empty potions classroom down in the dungeons. Hongjoong smirked at him when he entered the room, but Yeosang only rolled his eyes and focused on setting up his cauldron and all the necessary ingredients.
Yeosang was anything but happy about being Hongjoong's potions partner for their mission. He still didn't trust him one bit and his naturally cocky attitude didn't really help his case.
On one hand, Yeosang had been looking forward to getting started on the list of complicated healing potions and throwables, but Hongjoong somehow infuriated him even if he remained silent for the most part. Yeosang couldn't stop wondering about that favor from Wooyoung that Hongjoong had mentioned, and something told him that Hongjoong knew how much it bothered him. He probably even found it amusing.
Unfortunately, Yeosang couldn't deny that Hongjoong had skills. Having him on their team was a necessity if they wanted to get Wooyoung back and he acknowledged that fact. But it didn't keep him from throwing suspicious glances at Hongjoong who was sitting across from him, measuring some Castor Oil for one of his own potion recipes. Yeosang wasn't sure whether he ignored his glares or if he was simply oblivious.
He got his answer when Hongjoong eventually broke the silence that had lingered over them ever since they had gotten started on their tasks. "Something to say to me, sugar?" he grinned.
Yeosang averted his gaze and let his freshly chopped snake fangs roll out of his hand and into the cauldron in front of him.
Hongjoong chuckled and persisted. "Come on. Just say it. We're supposed to be a team."
"We can be a team without talking. I don't trust you."
"Is it because Wooyoung and I are close and you didn't know about it?"
Yeosang shot him a glare. "Woo would never keep something like that from me..." he could hear his uncertainty in his own voice, despite his attempt to sound vigorous.
Hongjoong smirked. "You've never kept anything from him?"
"No!" Yeosang said defensively, "not even that time I had a crush on his ex-boyfriend or when that bastard Corbin tried to force me to - !" he interrupted himself and closed his eyes in embarrassment.
Hongjoong raised his eyebrows and Yeosang mentally slapped himself. The plan was to not talk to Hongjoong at all and instead he'd almost told him about the most private thing that had ever happened to him. He already expected Hongjoong to make fun of him, but the Hufflepuff only regarded him knowingly.
"You're so protective over him. Something important must have happened between the two of you that makes you feel indebted to him," he observed.
"I-I just care about him is all!" Yeosang said defensively. He didn't ask for a therapy session and Hongjoong's know-it-all grin was starting to get on his nerves.
Hongjoong chuckled and began stirring around in his steaming cauldron. "What does your boyfriend think about that?"
"My what? I don't have a – "
"Jongho, I mean. Doesn't he get jealous when you spend all of your emotions on your best friend?"
"What? He knows Wooyoung and I are just best friends and Jongho's not my boyfriend!"
"But you like him."
"T-That's none of your business!"
"Whatever you say, sugar. Just don't burn yourself while you play with fire."
Yeosang felt like an open book and he really didn't like it. Who was this Hongjoong guy to just analyze his social life like that? And why did Yeosang always end up telling him things that he didn't actually want him to know? He suddenly understood why some people believed that Hongjoong could read minds.
"Alright, listen. You don't even know me! You may have popularity and top grades but that doesn't give you the right to be intrusive like that!" Yeosang snapped at him.
Hongjoong's smirk dropped. "But I know people just like you. Everyone's the same after all. People don't change."
"What are you even – " Yeosang started, but stopped himself mid-sentence. "Actually, whatever. I'm continuing my work over there. If you need anything, don't ask me."
And with that, Yeosang grabbed his cauldron and the ingredients to finish his potion on the other side of the room. Hongjoong looked like he wanted to say something but a glare from Yeosang's side shut him up for the rest of their working session.
Thursday, December 1st. 02:38PM. Hogwarts, Quidditch Pitch. Song Mingi.
Mingi wished he could have been paired with anyone else on this mission to steal some of the school broomsticks that would take them to the ministry. It didn't take a genius to realize that Yunho was keeping his distance from him.
Mingi knew that San was only trying to be a wingman by sending Yunho on the same missions as him, but it just didn't work out the way Mingi wanted it to.
Jongho was with them as well but he mostly just tried to awkwardly converse with the two of them to ease the tension. It didn't work. Yunho was deliberately keeping his eyes off Mingi, only talking to Jongho and only when he was spoken to first.
Mingi was walking behind them, his shoulders slumped. He already had so many things to regret about his past with Yunho already and yesterday's events just added to the pile of things he had fucked up. Why did he have to go into panic mode back when Yunho had confessed to him? They could be happy and in love right now if it hadn't been for Past-Mingi's idiocy. Instead, Yunho hated him now and he was with Hongjoong.
Mingi couldn't help but wonder just how serious the two of them actually were. Hongjoong didn't seem like the type of guy who had serious relationships. But if they weren't serious, why had Yunho freaked out on him yesterday? Did he stop Mingi from kissing him because of Hongjoong? But then what had he meant by Mingi not letting him get over him.
You don't deserve me right now, Yunho's voice repeated in Mingi's head. What was that even supposed to mean?
Mingi sighed in frustration, earning himself a questioning look from Jongho which he ignored. Yunho still didn't grace him with so much as a glance.
His feelings grew bitter when he remembered the things Yunho had said to him during their fight. Why did he have to keep making comments about Mingi being a virgin? Was that really such a bad thing? Did Yunho think he was superior only because he'd done it god knows how many times with half the school?
Mingi's eyes widened slightly when his thoughts went further. Had he done it with Hongjoong too? His jaw tightened at the thought. He mentally cursed Yunho for even confessing to him in the first place. If he hadn't, they could at least still be friends right now. Maybe Mingi could have just quietly liked him from the sidelines without complications.
"Mingi?"
He snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of Jongho's voice. He hadn't even realized that they had already arrived at the locker rooms beneath the stands. It was where Quidditch professors always locked away the brooms before and after the first year students' flying lessons.
Mingi looked up just in time to see Yunho rolling his eyes. He clenched his fists and was about to snap at him but Jongho already spoke up again. "Wait here and stand guard while Yunho and I go inside," he instructed.
"Why do I have to stay out in the cold?" Mingi complained.
"Don't be a baby," Yunho said.
"It's not going to take long. We'll be in and out in a brim," Jongho reassured, already making his way inside. Yunho followed, leaving Mingi behind by himself. He crossed his arms over his chest and grumbled angrily. He shifted from one foot to another and covered his stinging cheeks with his Slytherin scarf, trying to shake off the cold.
Jongho had lied when he said that they would be in and out in a brim.
Mingi waited and waited as the minutes passed by. After what felt like ten minutes, he was so lost in his grumpy thoughts about Yunho and Hongjoong that he almost didn't notice Professor Robinson approaching the locker rooms.
"Mr. Song?" she asked, obviously surprised to see him here. "Shouldn't you be at lunch?" She checked her wristwatch, confirming that it was indeed lunch hour.
Mingi tried not to panic. If Jongho and Yunho came back now they would get into so much trouble. He had to come up with an excuse. Quick. "Yes, um, well..." he stammered. "The reason I'm not at lunch is, um," he looked around, "I wanted to practice a little for the, uh, the game."
Mingi started to do stretching exercises and Professor Robinson furrowed her brows. "What game? The semi-finals take place in March. There's no game scheduled for now," she pointed out with an unsure chuckle.
"Right, I know... I, um, wanted to be prepared," he lied, leaning to the side to stretch his leg.
"I admire your spirit, Mr. Song, but I'm afraid you need a permit to practice out here by yourself," she told him, looking a little apologetic even.
Mingi laughed nervously. "Aha, I knew I forgot something."
"Why don't you head to lunch now? You must be hungry. I don't advise skipping your meals in favor of practice," she said, giving him a friendly smile before trying to make her way into the locker rooms.
Shit. Time to improvise.
Mingi pretended to stumble, effectively regaining Professor Robinson's attention.
"Oh my gosh, are you okay?" she asked, immediately reaching out to steady him.
He pressed a hand to his temple and stumbled sideward. "Yes... I'm just so dizzy," he lied, pretending to be unable to stand properly.
"Oh no, let's get you to the hospital wing right away."
Mingi nodded with an expression of false agony and let Professor Robinson escort him back to the castle. When they were halfway up the hill, he turned around to see Jongho and Yunho sneaking out of the locker rooms trying to keep the five broomsticks in a large sack as they ran to another entrance of the castle. He sighed in relief and stood up straight again.
"Professor, I already feel a lot better. Maybe I should just get some food into my system. I haven't eaten all day," he told Professor Robinson with a chuckle.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, thank you, professor!"
"Alright then... but please go to the hospital wing straight away if you feel dizzy again," she instructed, earning herself a nod from Mingi. She threw one last wary glance at him before taking off back to the locker rooms.
Mingi returned to the castle by himself, a proud grin on his face. He made his way into the Great Hall to actually grab something to eat before he had to meet up with the others for their first ever practice of offensive magic.
Thursday, December 1st. 03:53PM. Hogwarts, Former Defense Against the Dark Arts Classroom. Choi San.
Hongjoong made them work in pairs of two to practice some easy combat spells. He claimed that he needed to see what they were capable of in order to help them improve, but they quickly got tired of disarming each other with Expelliarmus and temporarily stunning each other with Stupefy over and over.
"Come on, can't you show us something new, Hongjoong?" whined Jongho, who seemed to have the least amount of problems casting the spells – along with San. The two of them excelled at both Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts and had teamed up to practice on each other.
Yunho smoothly flicked his wand to repel Mingi's Disarming Charm and effectively caused him to lose his own wand. "Yeah, even Mingi has almost figured it out," he sneered.
Mingi gave a dissatisfied grumble as he picked up his wand. He glared at Yunho and got back into combat position before saying, "Rictusempra!"
"Prote - " Yunho attempted to block Mingi's spell, but this time he was too slow. The silver jet of light hit him right in the chest and he immediately burst into uncontrollable laughter. He fell to his knees, wheezing and holding his stomach.
Now Mingi was the one to chuckle in satisfaction as he watched Yunho's weakened figure roll around on the wooden floor until Hongjoong cast a counter spell. San turned away from the scene, trying not to chuckle, and noticed that Jongho also had some trouble hiding his snickering. Seonghwa rolled his eyes at them and picked up the wand he had just charmed out of Yeosang's hand before handing it to him.
Hongjoong helped Yunho - whose ears had now turned red in embarrassment - get off the ground. "If you want me to teach you guys anything, I need all of you," he gestured towards Mingi, San, Jongho and Yunho, "to stop playing around and take this seriously. We're supposed to be a team." Hongjoong's tone was unusually strict and it was hard not to feel guilty for getting carried away.
"I'm sorry, Joong," Yunho said, now glaring at Mingi, "I didn't know he was going to play unfair."
Mingi scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest. "Unfair? Did you forget all about how I saved your ass from Robinson earlier?"
"I mean you didn't have to – "
"Guys!" said Yeosang finally. "Hongjoong is right. Can you not do this for once? Please?"
Mingi and Yunho exchanged glares and fell silent.
"Thanks, sugar," Hongjoong said and ignored Yeosang's complaints about the nickname. "Now, I'm glad to see that you guys can at least manage the basics. Expelliarmus, Stupefy and Protego are essential for any battle, no matter how easy and irrelevant they may seem to you right now. But our enemies know that too. We can't be too predictable when fighting," he explained. "That's why you need to know how to cast your spells nonverbally sometimes. Whoever we're fighting will have less time to prepare for what's coming and that might save one of our lives, especially if we end up being outnumbered."
San returned the nervous glance Mingi gave him. They hadn't started practicing nonverbal spells in class yet, but San had always been interested in trying it out. Hongjoong was right, being able to curse their enemies wordlessly could give them a crucial advantage once they had to face those people who had kidnapped Wooyoung.
"Isn't that hard though?" Mingi asked, an uneasy expression on his face.
"In the beginning, yes. But you'll get used to it," replied Hongjoong. When Mingi didn't seem reassured in the slightest, he added, "How about I just show you?"
Hongjoong chose Seonghwa to be his partner for this exercise and told him to cast any spell at him. Since Seonghwa was a seventh year as well, he already knew how to cast nonverbal spells, but Hongjoong told him to use the incantation for now. He seemed to think about which spell to use for a moment before giving Hongjoong a nod and raising his wand at him.
The Hufflepuff followed his example and smirked, ready to counter whatever Seonghwa was going to curse him with. "It works just like casting a spell usually does. Except you don't say the incantation out loud. You think it."
Seonghwa stared at him for a few more seconds before saying, "Stupefy!"
Red light shot toward Hongjoong, but he smoothly blocked it with a flick of his wrist and without a word.
"Impressive," Yunho commented, flashing Hongjoong a smile and putting an arm around him.
Hongjoong smirked and leaned into his side. "Thanks, handsome. Who wants to try next?"
He looked around. San and Jongho had raised their hands to volunteer and grinned at each other.
"Love the enthusiasm," Hongjoong said with a chuckle, "From what I've seen earlier you two seem to be pretty good at Defense Against the Dark Arts. So, how about you try to disarm each other? Without saying the incantation out loud, of course."
"Easy," San said confidently, already raising his wand at Jongho who smirked challengingly in return.
"Wanna bet? Loser has to buy the winner a butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks."
"Deal."
Jongho raised his wand and waited for Hongjoong to give them a signal. The others formed a circle around them to watch.
Hongjoong grinned and told San and Jongho to get ready before counting to three. "One."
San's hand closed tighter around his wand as his eyes focused on the wand in Jongho's hand. He just had to disarm him like earlier. No big deal.
"Two."
Just think the incantation and it will work just like casting a spell usually does. Just think it.
"Three."
Expelliarmus, San thought and silently flicked his wand. Nothing happened. It was a lot more difficult than San had anticipated.
Jongho seemed to face the same struggle. His eyebrows were furrowed and repeatedly flung his wand. San wondered how ridiculous they looked as he heard Yeosang chuckle at them.
Eventually, as San repeated the incantation in his head, Jongho's wand began to shake in his hand. He was about to celebrate his victory when he felt his own wand start to slip out of his grip. He hastily tried to catch it with his other hand, but it was too late. Jongho had disarmed him first.
The others started clapping and Jongho grinned victoriously as San accepted his defeat.
"Very good for your first try," Hongjoong said to Jongho. "Seems like you won yourself a butterbeer."
San and Jongho exchanged grins as they returned to their positions. Though San was a little sulky that he hadn't won, it only motivated him to get better at nonverbal spells.
Hongjoong told everyone to practice on each other and San and Jongho did fairly well compared to some of the others. Yunho managed to disarm Mingi a bunch of times, but only because he mouthed the incantation; Yeosang got a few laughs out of Seonghwa for trying so hard to disarm him that he held his breath until his face turned red, and Mingi only managed to produce a bunch of sparks in the color of the spell he attempted to cast, which frustrated him greatly. It didn't help that Yunho kept chuckling at his misery.
"Do everything the way you usually would. Clear your head and focus on his wand," Hongjoong advised. "Forget about who it is you're trying to disarm. Only focus on the fact that you want to see that wand flying."
"I'm trying," Mingi said through gritted teeth. His jealousy grudge against Hongjoong only seemed to make things worse. It took him another thirty minutes to disarm Yunho, which ended up lifting his spirits at least a little.
San felt bad for him but appreciated his determination to pull through with it despite everything. Mingi was a strong wizard. It just took him a while to learn new spells, maybe because he'd grown up in a non-wizard family and was thrown into the magic world without a warning. But once he got the hang of whatever spell he was learning, his spells were more powerful than even San's, and he couldn't help but admire his best friend for that.
When they started to get a tired from shocking and knocking each other backwards over and over, they decided to take a little break and sat down in a circle on the floor. Seonghwa had brought a bunch of sandwiches for them to recharge their energy with, which was honestly kind of sweet of him.
San sat between Yunho and Yeosang, absent-mindedly eating his sandwich as he stared off into space. His mind had been occupied with Wooyoung all morning after what had happened last night. No matter how much San tried to focus on Yeosang's story about how Teddie Lupin's girlfriend had been spotted cheating on him with his best friend Kyle, he couldn't stop thinking about that voice he had heard yesterday evening.
There was no doubt about it. He was one hundred percent sure that the voice had belonged to Wooyoung.
He was overwhelmed by feelings of worry for him. The fact that Wooyoung had been able to call for help meant that he was at least still alive, but if they didn't take action soon, San didn't know for how much longer that was going to be the case.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
San perked up, ripped out of his thoughts by Mingi's voice. "O-oh, nothing, I just..."
He hesitated, contemplating whether he should tell the others or not. All of the others had stopped talking, looking at him with concerned expressions. Unable to resist his friends' worried faces, he decided to give in.
"I... think Wooyoung reached out to me again last night."
"What?" Yeosang exclaimed, sitting up properly with widened. "Really?"
"Yeah. I was in my dorms, trying in vain to fall asleep, and suddenly I started to feel sleepy again," San explained.
"What did he show you this time? Any new clues?" asked Hongjoong.
San shook his head. "No... but I heard his voice this time," he said and gulped. "He said to please help him."
His stomach turned as soon as the words left his mouth.
"He sounded so desperate, so... scared..."
A heavy pause followed as the others digested those words, unsure what to say. Yeosang looked a bit teary eyed, and Yunho gave San a side hug.
"It's okay," Yunho told him after a while. "We'll save him before it's too late."
"Yeah," Seonghwa chimed in, showing a reassuring smile. "At least we know that he's still alive."
San averted his eyes. He didn't want to hear that.
They didn't understand. They hadn't heard Wooyoung. They hadn't heard the despair in his voice.
"Help me. Please..."
San closed his eyes and clenched his fists.
"Come on, guys. Let's keep practicing..." Jongho spoke up eventually, standing up.
"You're right," Yeosang agreed and let Jongho pull him to his feet as well.
The others followed their example.
They practiced for another hour before Hongjoong said that he had to attend to some prefect duties and disappeared first. As a result, Yunho claimed that he wanted to use his free period to write his essay for History of Magic, Mingi decided to head back to the common room to practice some more, and Jongho left for Quidditch practice, closely followed by Yeosang who'd decided to watch him play. San and Seonghwa stayed behind and continued to work on their floor plan of the Department of Mysteries.
They still weren't completely sure how to get from the Rotating Room to Office B where Wooyoung was held captive, but they had figured out where most of those doors led. There was only one door left to explore and San felt anticipation well up inside of him.
"Last door. This must be it," he said and gave Seonghwa one last smile before pushing the knobless door open. The room was so bright, San could barely see anything at first. Once his eyes had adjusted to the brightness however, he recognized the beautifully sparkling light that illuminated the entire long, corridor-like room. There were hundreds of different types of clocks to be seen on every surface, hanging in spaces between the bookcases or standing on desks ranging the length of the room. A busy, relentless ticking filled the room like thousands of minuscule, marching footsteps.
"It's looks exactly the way it did in my vision! Let's go find Office B," San said excitedly. He had already walked past a bunch of grandfather's clocks when he realized that Seonghwa wasn't following him. He stopped in his tracks and turned around to him. "Seonghwa?"
Seonghwa hadn't set a foot into the room. He was still standing in the door frame, his eyes wide and his complexion paler than ever.
"What are you doing? We need to hurry. Our time will probably be up soon!" San reminded him, but Seonghwa didn't move an inch.
San was already on his way to drag him inside when the ticking sounds slowed down and came to a halt. Next thing San knew, they were back in the former Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom and Seonghwa stumbled backwards, almost falling over a chair before sitting down on it.
He still looked completely and utterly shocked, and the fact that travelling through time took a way bigger toll on him than on San probably didn't make things better. He had his hands pressed to his temples and was shaking all over.
San had no idea why he was so shaken up all of a sudden or how to calm him down, so he sat down on the table next to him and put a hand on his shoulder. Seonghwa flinched at his touch. "What's wrong? Did I miss something back there?"
Seonghwa didn't answer. He was staring right ahead, perturbed and vulnerable, as he wrapped his arms around himself protectively.
San couldn't believe his eyes as he observed the usually calm and collected prefect in front of him clench his trembling hands and turning away from him.
"Talk to me, Seonghwa. Are you okay? Should I take you to the hospital wing?" he asked.
Seonghwa shook his head no. It took him a few seconds to speak. "That was... the Time Room," he said slowly and swallowed hard. His voice sounded weak and shaky.
"You mean you've been there before?"
"I- yeah..."
San only watched him in confusion as Seonghwa swallowed. Once again, it took him a couple of seconds to elaborate.
"My dad worked there until the accident. I... don't know all the details," Seonghwa stammered, still shaking a little, "All I know is that he was supposed to do some research work with super time turners or something. You know, the ones that let you go back decades, if not centuries. And one day... something went wrong with him while he was traveling, and... he didn't make it back."
San was speechless for a solid minute. "I... I'm so sorry..."
Seonghwa just shook his head and looked down at his hands. "I was twelve when it happened. He used to take me to that Time Room to show me things. Of course it wasn't allowed, and my mother was always against it, but he did it anyway. Especially during the summers he took me there a lot because mother was busy taking care of her headmistress business anyway."
His eyes widened when he realized what he'd said, and San gave him a surprised look. "Headmistress Park is your mom?!"
How had he not realized that sooner? Not only did they share a last name, Seonghwa had the same intelligent brown eyes and tall lean figure. He had the same annoying way of strictly following rules. He'd shown so much trust in her when they'd first told him about Wooyoung. He'd really believed that she would do the right thing, that she would protect her students. Now that San knew, it made a lot of sense.
"...Yes," Seonghwa admitted, "but please don't tell the others! Not yet, at least... They still don't entirely trust me, and I don't want them to think I'm a spy or something."
"It's okay, I won't tell them," San promised, and he could practically see the relief on Seonghwa's face. "But... why is it a secret in the first place?"
"I didn't want anyone to treat me differently just because I'm the headmistress' son," he admitted. "I've always been closer to my father than my mother, but after father died, I only had her left to lean on. She wants me to work in the ministry one day and I used to share that goal but lately... I'm not so sure anymore. All this time I did whatever she wanted me to do. I was so proud of being able to follow rules, a model student... but I don't think any of that was ever enough for her."
San wasn't sure what to reply, so he remained silent and just listened. It seemed like it was Seonghwa's first time telling anyone this and San felt bad for him in a way. He'd poked a lot of fun of him with Mingi, Changbin, Yeonjun and the others. He'd labeled him as an arrogant prefect guy – which he still was in a sense – but San hadn't just how much Seonghwa kept to himself all the time.
"I mean, what's the point of being able to follow rules properly if it only causes other people to suffer?" Seonghwa continued, absent-mindedly staring at his own hands. "I wasted so much time following my mother's every word without question. I left every decision up to her and it makes me feel like such an idiot."
"You're not an idiot. No, you're actually smarter than you think for realizing all of that and still choosing to do the right thing in the end," San replied.
Seonghwa smiled weakly. "Thanks for seeing it that way."
"It's never too late to stand up to your mom, you know," San said, nudging Seonghwa's shoulder, "And I think I might actually have an idea about that."
San didn't want to make Seonghwa return to the Time Room again today, so they ended their research session and parted ways.
San made his way down the Great Stairs and pushed through the large entrance door to step out into the cold air. It had become remarkably colder over the past few days and San was glad that he'd remembered to bring his scarf.
Thick snowflakes flew through the air, covering the fields and the magical village ahead in an even thicker layer of snow. San hugged his robes tighter around his body as he got further and further away from the castle.
It didn't take him long to reach Hogsmeade and he hurried past all the sweets shops and souvenir stores until he finally reached the Three Broomsticks.
Jongho was already there when he entered the warm and welcoming inn. San acknowledged him with a grin before heading to the counter to order their drinks.
"Thanks, man," said Jongho, still beaming about his victory as San handed him his tall glass of butterbeer before taking a seat across from him with his own.
The Three Broomsticks was full of people – most of them students – happily chatting and laughing. It was like this most of the time – crowded and warm, the faint smell of smoke and old wood lingering in the air, but always clean and cozy.
San's pride was still a little hurt from losing against him in their nonverbal duel, but he wasn't sulky about it anymore. He'd gotten the hang of it during the rest of the lesson after all and he was confident that he'd be able to drop incantations completely in a few weeks. Right now, he was glad to be catching a short break from everything. His thoughts weren't consumed by endless worry for once and he actually enjoyed himself just chatting and joking around with Jongho.
"I don't think I ever thanked you for helping me find him," San realized after a while, Jongho just waved it off as he downed half of his butterbeer in one go. "You're an amazing wizard. Our team definitely wouldn't be as strong as it is without your skills."
"Of course I'm helping you find him. I need my roommate back. And I want to protect him better in the future," Jongho replied. "If only I had been in my room when those guys came to get him, maybe I would've been able to prevent it, you know?"
San nodded. He did know. "I feel the same way. I should've just stayed with him that night when he asked me to."
Jongho gave him a sympathetic smile and they fell into a short silence. Deep down, San knew that probably neither he nor Jongho would have been able to do anything against those hooded wizards. Even if they'd decided to not attack Wooyoung while anyone was with him, they would've just come back another time. And deep down he knew that it wasn't his fault, but that didn't stop the guilt from stabbing at him every once in a while.
Luckily, Jongho decided to change the subject. "I don't think Wooyoung has ever liked anyone as much as he likes you," he said with a chuckle, "I witnessed his two past relationships a little bit, but they were nothing more than little flings compared to what you two have now. He literally never shuts up about you."
"Really now?" San smirked, his chest swelling with pride. He wasn't completely oblivious, of course. He knew that Wooyoung shared his attraction, but he still loved hearing about the effects he had on him.
"Obviously dude," Jongho replied with a chuckle, "He talks about you so much that I feel like I'm watching a rom-com on Netflix."
San furrowed his brows. "What's a Netflix?"
Jongho laughed and waved off. "It's a muggle thing."
San nodded slowly and took another sip of his butterbeer. "Anyway, yes, Wooyoung is... special. I've met a lot of guys, but not one of them can even begin to compare to him. I don't even remember what I was thinking about all day before I started talking to him. He was so lively and easy to talk to right from the beginning. We just... clicked. It's one of the things I love most about him, other than his smile of course. He's comfortable, warm, lovely, and cute..." San absent-mindedly played with the glass in front of him. "Like I said. He's special."
Jongho only gave him a knowing look and smiled.
"But enough about Wooyoung and I. What about you and Yeosang?" San asked, wiggling his brows at him.
"What about him?" Jongho said evasively and looked away as his cheeks grew slightly pink. He took a long sip of his butterbeer.
San rolled his eyes playfully. "Oh, come on. Don't pretend you guys aren't constantly undressing each other with your eyes. I can tell you like each other."
Jongho hesitated before speaking. "I do like him... a lot actually. I was so surprised when he suddenly kissed me that night of the party. I only thought of him as a friend before that, you know? I didn't realize..." a smile spread across his lips as he looked for the right words, "how cute he is. How beautiful he is. But after I'd returned to my dorm, half-drunk, I couldn't stop thinking about him."
"How did that even happen? I mean, why were you two even together that night? Yeosang was really vague about it."
"He talked to you about me?" Jongho asked with wide eyes.
"Yup."
"What... what did he say about me?"
"Business secret," San smirked.
Jongho scowled, but answered the question nonetheless. "Well, we were dancing together after the drinking game at the party and suddenly Yeosang said that he was starting to feel dizzy. I asked him if he wanted to get some fresh air, so we went outside together. We were sitting on one of those benches in the hallway, just drunk chatting and stuff, and eventually he fell asleep."
"Just like that?"
"Just like that. I tried to wake him, but he just clung onto me. What was I gonna do? I couldn't just leave him there. So, I decided to carry him to his common room, he's really light after all. I answered the knocker's question, entered his common room, and asked one of the Ravenclaw students downstairs to point me to his dorm. And then, when I put him down on his bed was about to leave, he wrapped his arms around my neck and kissed me without a warning," he explained as the blush returned to his cheeks. "Obviously I didn't wanna take advantage of him and left. I figured that he only did it because he was pretty drunk but... then he kissed me again in the library last night."
San almost knocked over his butterbeer in surprise when he heard that last part. "You and Yeosang had a late-night date at the library?"
Jongho chuckled and sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "It wasn't like that. We met there by chance."
San grinned and leaned back in his chair. "Oh, man. I can't wait for you two to hit it off. I never considered this pairing but now that it's happening, I totally see it."
Jongho just smiled to himself, finished his butterbeer and didn't reply. San felt himself smile as well. He was always happy to see his friends fall in love with each other.
"Get him, tiger," San teased and the two of them continued to chat for a while longer before heading back to the castle.
When San entered the Slytherin dorms, he was greeted by Changbin, who was the only one there. He snickered and told San something about a prank he and Yeonjun were planning to play on some second years later as San took off his coat and scarf. Changbin asked him to join, but he waved off.
Now that he was no longer distracted by Jongho, the need to see Wooyoung had resurfaced.
"I'm too tired," he lied, "I still have to finish that essay about Sleeping Solutions that Slughorn told us to write."
Changbin shrugged. "Bummer. I already finished mine yesterday, wanna copy? Lee Chan said it was a masterpiece," he grinned deviously.
"Thanks, man. But not now," San replied with a chuckle and let himself fall backwards on his bed. "Where's Mingi?"
"Not sure. He mumbled something about having to practice before he left. No idea what he needs to practice."
San nodded and continued to chat with Changbin until he excused himself to meet up with Yeonjun, leaving San alone in the room.
After only a moment of hesitation, he drew the curtains around his bed and got the time turner out of the chest pocket of his robes. He regarded it for a while, wondering which memory he should travel back to.
There were so many moments he'd shared with Wooyoung that he wanted to relive. He wanted to see him happy again, hear his voice and his laugh. He wanted to escape this reality again, even if it was only for a short period of time. Who knew when he'd be able to make new memories with him? How else was he going to see him smile? How else was he supposed to deal with the sword of guilt pointing at his throat?
And besides, what harm would it do? He couldn't just sit there and wait for his own imagination to drive him insane. He just couldn't.
San took a deep breath and whispered, "Take me to the Owlery. September 2nd, 2016, 6:20 PM."
Thursday, December 1st. 08:11PM. Hogwarts, Dungeons, Potions Classroom. Choi Jongho.
No matter what Yeosang did, he seemed unable to sit still today. He kept saying that he could practically feel time slipping through his fingers and every time he sat down to take a break from worrying about Wooyoung for a minute, he got right back up and started to look for something else to do to help with Wooyoung's rescue.
That's how Jongho had ended up in the Potions classroom with Yeosang, who'd already been here with Hongjoong earlier that day, trying to work down his list of difficult potions he hadn't been able to finish yet. Jongho had figured that it was best to accompany Yeosang. You know, just in case he needed help with anything. Not because Jongho enjoyed spend time with him a lot more than with anyone else these days.
Jongho offered to help him with the actual potion-making but Yeosang only claimed that he needed to focus, his hair slightly messy from running his hands through it so often and his brows furrowed in concentration. He resembled some kind of mad scientist and Jongho found it incredibly cute.
He smirked as he passed Yeosang the stack of wormwood. "Am I too distracting?"
Yeosang tried to slap his arm but missed, as his eyes were glued to his notes. "Be quiet," he said, unable to hide his flustered smile. Jongho would be a damn liar if he said he didn't love flustering him and watching him try to hide it.
They fell into a routine of Yeosang working on various potions in silence and Jongho searching for some Charms that might give them an advantage in battle, occasionally assisting Yeosang whenever he asked him to.
The hours passed by as Yeosang created multiple flasks worth of Star Grass Salve, Wiggenweld Potion, Invisibility Potion, Vitamix Potion, Wound-Cleaning Potion, along with some various other healing potions and throwables Hongjoong had invented. Jongho didn't know too much about their effects and he chose not to question it either.
Yeosang was in his element, and the fact that he saw the results of his work towards Wooyoung's rescue seemed to ease his mind.
Or so it did at least until he started to work on the Essence of Dittany.
He tried to get it right for an hour, going back and forth between throwing away his failed attempts and starting over. His expression turned more and more frustrated by the minute.
"This isn't working!" Yeosang exclaimed after messing it up for the fifth time. He sighed in irritation and let the frog brain drop back into its glass and took off his gloves before burying his face in his hands. He hadn't taken a break since they had snuck into the classroom.
Jongho abandoned his limited edition of Advanced Charms VII: Mastering the Science of Nonverbal and Wandless Charmwork and sat down next to him on the bench. He quietly observed him for a moment until he realized that Yeosang was letting out soft sobs. Jongho scooted closer and gently took Yeosang's wrists to remove his hands from his face. Yeosang didn't resist but turned away, too embarrassed to look at him directly.
"Look at me," Jongho said in a calm and soft voice.
Yeosang hesitated before slowly turning to him. A few tears were traveling down his cheeks and Jongho could tell he was trying to fight them back. He only glanced at Jongho for a moment before looking away again, new tears forming in his eyes and another quiet sob escaping his lips.
Jongho's heart broke as he watched him. Tired, worried, frustrated and exhausted. He knew this wasn't just because he couldn't get the potion right.
Yeosang didn't need to say anything for him to know.
Jongho was still holding onto Yeosang's wrists when he wordlessly pulled him into a hug. Yeosang let him.
He finally stopped trying to hold back the tears rolling down his face and let out more sobs as he leaned into Jongho's embrace. Yeosang had slung his arms around Jongho's torso, his hands holding gripping into his robes as he let his chin rest on his shoulder. One of Jongho's hands was buried in Yeosang's hair while the other held his waist. They stayed like this for minutes.
"I just miss him so much..." Yeosang admitted without letting go. His voice sounded weak. "I wish we could just storm in and get Wooyoung out of there right now."
Jongho felt the same way, though it didn't hit him as hard as it hit Yeosang. The Ravenclaw had a unique connection with Wooyoung that only few people really understood. He had always given his best to protect Wooyoung from any sort of harm and the fact that he couldn't do anything for him at the moment must've made him feel helpless. Jongho didn't know the details of what kind of backstory the two of them had, but he knew that Wooyoung was pretty much the most important person in Yeosang's life.
"Why him? Merlin only knows who those people are, what they're capable of and what they want from him... I'm just so scared. Scared that he's hurt, scared that they're going to..."
"No. Wooyoung is smart, strong and he's resourceful. He can get through this and we're going to save him," Jongho interrupted him, trying to believe in his own words and sounding reassuring.
It seemed to work. Yeosang relaxed a little bit and pulled away to look up at him. He even managed to show a small smile. "How are you so sure?"
Jongho smiled back. "What can I say, I'm a confident guy. As soon as we find those guys who took him, I'm gonna beat them up myself. Especially if I have Half-Blood Prince 2.0 as my sidekick."
He got Yeosang to chuckle. "Despite the fact that I'm a pureblood, I'm flattered. I am by no means a sidekick though."
Jongho grinned in return. At least he had managed to calm him down a little. He was also very aware of the fact that they were still pressed against one another, arms wrapped around each other and their faces only inches apart. He felt his heartbeat pick up in excitement and a hint of nervousness.
Yeosang's eyes were a little red from crying and he was sniffling from time to time, which was beyond cute to Jongho. He reached out to move a strand of Yeosang's bangs out of his face before letting his hand rest on his cheek. He liked doing that. He liked looking at him. Being so close to him that he could feel his warmth. Touching him. Feeling him. It was a mystery to Jongho how he had known him since their first year at Hogwarts without ever realizing how breathtaking he was.
Jongho wiped away what was left of Yeosang's tears and looked into his eyes. Internally, he decided that he wanted to make sure that Yeosang never needed to cry again. He then realized the cheesiness of his own thoughts and felt his cheeks heat up.
Yeosang simply held his eye contact and smiled before he pulled Jongho closer and kissed him. It was slow, gentle and sweet at first. Jongho felt himself ease into it as he kept a firm grip on Yeosang's hips. It lasted a lot longer than the one they had shared the night of the party or the one in the library, and it also became that much more heated.
Jongho had forgotten all about why they were even here, how things had come to this and how much he'd wanted this. It was like his mind was dazed and everything around them became irrelevant as they kissed for what must've been minutes by now. All he could focus on was Yeosang. His lips, his smooth skin and soft hair, his arms holding on to Jongho's shoulders and his legs – one of which was now moving over Jongho's lap so that Yeosang faced him, one leg on each side of him.
Jongho's heart was racing at this compromising position and he instinctively pulled Yeosang closer by the hips. Yeosang put his arms around Jongho's neck and let his fingers play with Jongho's dark locks, all the while deepening their kiss.
Jongho was about to let his lips trail to Yeosang's neck when the smell of something burning caused them to break apart.
Yeosang had forgotten to get rid of the ruined potion after getting frustrated with it and it had now started to boil over and spill onto the table. He scooted off of Jongho, who rushed to take the cauldron off the fire and used his wand to empty it before awkwardly sitting back down on the bench. They exchanged glances but Yeosang quickly looked away in embarrassment.
Jongho could still feel Yeosang's lips against his and tried not to think about what would've happened if that potion hadn't interrupted them. His nervousness and excitement returned. He tried to come up with something to say but Yeosang was faster.
"That was nice... thank you. I think I needed that," Yeosang mumbled, causing Jongho to turn to him.
"The comforting... or the kiss?"
"Both." There was a pause as Yeosang looked at him. Then he chuckled. "I can't believe this. My best friend goes missing and here I am, making out with his roommate."
Jongho grinned. "I don't think that's all that bad. I'd call it a coping mechanism."
Yeosang tried to slap his shoulder but Jongho evaded his attack once again. He smiled and kissed Jongho's cheek before starting over once again with the Essence of Dittany. Jongho smirked and returned to his book about Advanced Charms though he wasn't really reading it anymore.
It took a great deal of self-control to not go over there and just kiss Yeosang again. He didn't know what it was that was happening between them. If you'd asked him a week ago, he would've laughed about the idea of a making out session with Yeosang in his lap in one of the Potions classrooms. But now? He liked that idea far more than he should have and he couldn't wait for whatever came next.
Thursday, December 1st. 09:15PM. Hogwarts, Slytherin Dorms. Choi San.
Past-San spun around when the Owlery door was opened with a loud creak. He'd just tied his mail to his owl's leg when the loud noise startled him. He relaxed again when he recognized the figure entering the room. "Oh, it's you," Past-San said with a grin.
"San," Wooyoung smiled brightly and approached him. "I didn't expect you here. What are you doing?"
"Sending a letter to my parents. They always want me to tell them that I arrived safely as soon as I get here," Past-San explained as Wooyoung took a seat on the stairs next to him.
"Is that your owl?" he asked, regarding the little creature on Past-San's arm fondly.
"Yeah, his name's Spooky," Past-San responded. "Spooky, that's Wooyoung, the cutest guy in the entire castle."
Wooyoung blushed a little and gave San a shy smile before reaching forward to pet Spooky. He gasped quietly. "Wow, he's so soft!"
Spooky nibbled on Wooyoung's finger, making him chuckle. Past-San grinned, "He likes you."
Wooyoung smiled and pet him for a little longer until Past-San got up and carried him to the window. Spooky spread his wings and set off to deliver his letter. Past-San watched him disappear in the distance and dusted off his robes before stretching his arm out to Wooyoung, who then took his hand and let him pull him to his feet. He didn't let go of it afterwards.
They smiled at each other for a few seconds and were about to leave the Owlery when Past-San broke the silence.
"Wait, did you wanna send anything?" he asked with a chuckle.
"Oh, right! Yeah, that was the whole reason I came here actually," Wooyoung laughed and got a small letter out of the pocket of his robes. "It's a letter for my uncle Stephan, give me a second."
He rushed back to the windows and tied his letter to one of the big owls provided by the school before sending it off through the window. He then returned to Past-San's side and took his hand again as they left the Owlery.
They didn't really have a specific destination and strolled over the fields and past the Stone Circle almost automatically. When they arrived at the Clocktower Courtyard, they decided to take a seat on one of the many stone benches before going in. Wooyoung leaned against Past-San's shoulder as soon as they sat down, causing Past-San to put an arm around him.
It was beautiful. The view of the sun heading toward the horizon and coloring the sky in beautiful shades of orange, yellow, and pink, the trees starting to change colors and the cobbled ground covered in fallen autumn leaves. San observed the happiness and relaxation on his past self's face as the warm September breeze ruffled through his blac and Wooyoung's brown hair.
He'd been so carefree back then, so happy, so safe. San felt the wish to simply go back to those days when Wooyoung was by his side and he didn't have to about anything but classes and homework. He wished he could just stay in those memories of his and Wooyoung's forever.
Wooyoung was the one to break the silence, ripping San out of his thoughts. "How was your summer?"
"It was nice. My parents and I spent most of the time in a fancy hotel near a beach in Spain and then travelled around some other places in Europe, just like every year," Past-San explained. "What about yours?"
Wooyoung shrugged. "Oh, mine was rather boring. I obviously wasn't allowed to use magic, so I spent most of my time inside, playing video games with Yeosang and eating way too much ice cream. And..." Wooyoung hesitated. "I really missed you... a lot."
Past-San grinned confidently. "I missed you too."
Wooyoung shifted his position to lie down on the bench, letting his head rest in San's lap. San instinctively reached out to graze his cheeks until Wooyoung took his hand and interlaced their fingers.
Wooyoung looked up at him with that beautiful smile of his. When he spoke up again, his voice was soft and just loud enough for Past-San to hear. "Hanging out with Yeosang was nice but... I couldn't get you out of my head. I really wanted to see your face."
Past-San's grin widened. "It really is a shame we couldn't meet up. I would've loved to take you skinny dipping with me."
Wooyoung bit his lip when Past-San leaned down to kiss his cheek. That's when a droplet of water landed on Wooyoung's forehead, startling him. Past-San looked up at the sky and had the same thing happen to him before the few gentle raindrops turned into a whole rain shower, causing them to jump to their feet.
Giggling, Wooyoung once again took Past-San's hand as they ran toward the entrance, but the door to the clocktower wouldn't budge, trapping them outside in the rain. They tried to push it open a few more times but it was no use.
So instead, they ended up embracing the situation and let the rain soak their hair and clothes. San watched Wooyoung and his past self run around, laugh and dance in the pouring rain until he felt that his time was up, and he was dragged back to the present.
He found himself breathing heavily as he laid on his back in the safety of the curtains he had drawn around his bed before traveling back. He stared at the golden time turner in his hand.
For some reason the wave of emotions that always overcame him after going back in time to see Wooyoung hit him harder than ever this time. It engulfed him, knocked the breath out of his lungs and filled his head with too many thoughts, too many feelings. His heart was racing in his chest and the silence of the dorm room suddenly seemed so loud to his ears.
He startled when he saw the curtains shift a little as Mingi peeked inside. He hadn't even heard him come in.
"Hey...," he started, "are you okay?"
San wasn't okay. Everything was getting too much, and he was slowly going insane, but he didn't want to show it. He didn't want to talk about it, didn't want to be seen right now. But Mingi was waiting for an answer, so he shrugged in an attempt to seem nonchalant.
Mingi climbed into San's bed and closed the curtains behind him. San avoided his best friend's eyes.
"I think it's better if you don't go back in time to see Wooyoung anymore..."
"What?"
"It's not good for you, bro."
San stared at him in disbelief and felt anger boil up inside him. He couldn't believe him. Did Mingi really not understand why he was doing this? Did he really not see that San had no choice but to take desperate measures? That he had a good reason for acting like this?
Something about the sympathetic look on Mingi's face only fueled San's anger. He really didn't need to be treated like a pre-teen with some stupid addiction to Chocolate Frogs, especially not by his best friend.
"Are you joking? What else am I supposed to do? If you haven't noticed, Wooyoung is fucking kidnapped!"
Mingi raised his hands in defense. "Look, I understand how you feel, but – "
"Understand how I feel?" San interrupted him, now shouting. "You don't understand anything!"
"Dwelling on the past won't do anything to help the real Wooyoung right now!"
"You don't know what you're talking about!"
And before San could say anything else, Mingi snatched the time turner out of his hand in a swift motion, successfully catching San off guard, and slipped back through the curtains.
"H-hey!" San blinked in shock and confusion but followed him immediately. "What do you think you're doing? Give it back!"
Mingi held the time turner high up over his head, making use of his height so that San couldn't reach it. He was almost a head taller than San, which was extremely frustrating in situations like this.
"No," Mingi replied stubbornly.
San jumped, trying in vain to knock the device out of Mingi's hand. "I'm so going to curse you!"
"I'm doing this for you! Don't you wanna save Wooyoung?"
"Is that even a fucking question?"
"Then stop playing with this and do something useful instead!"
San was boiling with anger, but no matter how hard he glared, Mingi wasn't going to change his mind. He could be a stubborn motherfucker sometimes.
San didn't say anything else. He turned on his heel and returned to his bed. He drew the curtains with so much fierce, they sounded like they were threatening to rip. He didn't go to sleep right away, of course. He was far too angry to sleep. His heart was beating angrily in his chest and his thoughts were racing. So instead, he just lay there, listening to Mingi climb into his own bed.
Thursday, December 1st. 09:40PM. Ministry of Magic, Department of Mysteries, Office B. Jung Wooyoung.
Wooyoung had made up his mind. He was tired of sitting around and letting those people do whatever they want to him. He needed to go into the offensive.
What had the New Lord said yesterday? It would take them until the weekend to 'fix' whatever problem they had? He just had to get out of here until then.
Wooyoung's eyes scanned the room, looking for anything useful that could help his desperate escape plans. He then looked at the guard and considered him for a moment before clearing his throat.
"Um, excuse me..." he started, unsure how to go about this. He decided to put on his most friendly and charming smile. "Could you tell me what day of the week it is?" he asked carefully.
The guard turned to him and eyed him somewhat hesitantly, his eyes slightly squinted in suspicion.
"It's hard to keep track of time in here," Wooyoung added, trying to seem as innocent and harmless as possible.
The guard shot a glance at the door before he answered, as if to make sure that nobody was within earshot. "It is Thursday."
Thursday...? Had he really been here since Saturday night? He tried not to let the newly gathered piece of information throw him off too much as he came up to the bars and leaned against them.
"I'd seriously kill for a snack right now," Wooyoung said, trying to sound conversational. The guard only looked at him for a brief second before trying to get his stoic expression back in order.
An awkward silence passed as Wooyoung tried to think of a way to get any kind of small talk out of that guy. Questions, ask him some question.
"So, um, have you worked for these people long?" he tried again.
"You could say that," the guard answered stiffly, although still not looking at Wooyoung directly. Despite that, he was glad he had even bothered to answer at all.
"Really? You can't be that much older than me," Wooyoung replied.
It wasn't a lie. The guard didn't look a day older than twenty-three. He, too, had a Russian accent even though his was much more subtle than the New Lord's. His eyes had the same hint of pale gray and his brown hair reached down to his chin. He only glanced at Wooyoung and didn't reply.
"Did you... go to Hogwarts?"
"No."
"You don't talk very much, huh?"
"I am supposed to watch you, not entertain you."
Wooyoung pouted and made a frustrated noise. "You can't imagine how boring these last few days have been. I just want to talk for a while. I won't tell on you, I promise," he said. The guard sighed before turning a little to look at Wooyoung properly.
"Listen, I understand that you are lonely, but I cannot be your friend. I am not even supposed to talk to you at all."
"But you are," Wooyoung pointed out, unable to hide a real grin.
"I suppose so."
"Then you might as well keep talking to me as long as nobody's around."
Another sigh. "Fine..."
"So, what do you do for fun?" The guard gave him a look and Wooyoung chuckled. "What? I mean, I like to party and spend time with my friends. As you probably know I celebrated my seventeenth birthday the day I was brought here... I just didn't expect it to end this way..."
"Well," the guard replied, "I did not expect to spend my pre-Christmas time down in the Department of Mysteries either but here I am..."
"Wait, the Department of Mysteries? In the Ministry of Magic?"
The guard's eyes widened. He looked like he wanted to smack himself but Wooyoung just kept staring back at him, hoping he would elaborate. Which of course, he didn't.
So, he was at the Ministry of Magic. In the most secretive and well-protected department of them all. The thought of being rescued suddenly seemed a lot more hopeless. It looked like he had to find a way to get out of here by himself.
"Um, so... how about that snack?" Wooyoung asked, trying to lighten up the mood. Again, he did not succeed but the guard also didn't completely shut down.
"I cannot leave my post. You will get dinner soon." So it was evening. Maybe he could still come across some ministry workers if he made it out of the Department of Mysteries somehow? Maybe one of them would be able to help him if he was fast enough.
"But I'm so hungry," Wooyoung whined. "Won't you please get me a sandwich?" he gave the guard his most pleading look, hoping that he could somehow convince him.
The guard hesitated, his eyes flickering back and forth between Wooyoung and the door. Eventually, his shoulders sacked in defeat. "Fine, I will – "
But before he could finish his sentence the door opened, and another guard walked in with a tray. He put it on the ground before pushing it through the small gap between the floor and the bars. Wooyoung tried not to show how frustrated he was about his plan not working as he accepted his food. It was a delicious-smelling pile of pork chops. Wooyoung hadn't been lying when he said he was hungry.
The new guard glowered at Wooyoung. Had he overheard part of their conversation?
"Just in time. He would not stop whining about how hungry he is," the guard who'd been staying with Wooyoung commented. Something about the uneasiness in his voice made Wooyoung wonder whether he had succeeded in softening him up a little bit with his small talk skills.
The other guard turned to him, his expression hard as stone. "Is that what you were talking about with him? You better follow your orders next time. You know what happens if you act up, Ilya." His voice was just as cold as his eyes, very different from the guard Wooyoung had been talking to – Ilya. "Vas wants to see you," he added.
Ilya gave Wooyoung an unsure look.
"I'll stay here with him. Go."
Wooyoung's shoulders slumped. He already knew that there was no way for him to sway this new guard. He looked like he wouldn't even move from his post if they told him his mom was on fire.
Ilya left without looking back, leaving Wooyoung with the other man as he tried to come up with a new escape plan. His best bet was still Ilya. Maybe he'd manage to butter him up some more the next time he was on watch.