"Jungwoo! Long time no see." Chenle greeted the blond man, wrapping an arm around his shoulders as if they were close friends.
They were, of course. After spending time together on almost every weekend, Chenle tailed behind him like a lost puppy, or a younger brother who wanted his older brother's attention.
"Chenle, hey." The Ravenclaw smiled, clutching his heavy books in his hands, rushing towards his next class. "Talk to you later? Professor Flitwick wants me early today."
"Why?"
"About tutoring some students." Jungwoo simply answered before practically running towards the classroom. "See you!"
Chenle sighed. He had a free period and Jisung wasn't around to keep him company. It was pretty early in the morning and almost every student was in their assigned classrooms, starting their new semester.
The Hufflepuff leaned against the wooden railing of the Hogwarts' bridge, placing his head on his arms lazily as he peered out over the the edge, his eyes studying the cloud kissed sky. It was definitely cold. There were white snow covering almost every piece of land.
The frost kissed his pale skin but he was focusing on the newly clothed trees, wondering why they looked like giant vanilla ice cream sticks.
The long summer days he had spent with his sister lingered in his memories for a long time. Those memories alone were enough to spark warmth to his cheeks. He could see himself next to Ivy with his phone in his hands, playing pubg under the large oak tree next to his grandmother's cottage while she was reading a book to kill her boredom. It was as if he went back in time, but in reality, he was recalling his future. As confusing as it may sound, it felt good to remember something nice.
"Lele." Chenle didn't notice his best friend standing next to him for only he knew how long. "Snape made me clean his smelly potions cupboard all by myself, do you believe that?"
"Yes, Jisung." Chenle bit back a smile. "You deserved it-" smack "OUCH!"
"Okay, what if I broke a couple‐" The male noticed the dead look in Chenle's eyes and immediately changed his words. "-more than a couple of glasses but that doesn't mean he can just punish me and take fifty points off."
"We're far behind from winning the House Cup, Jisung." Chenle sighed. "Who won last time?"
"Slytherin." Jisung mumbled, pressing his lips together cutely and rolling his eyes to show how mad he was. "Well, of course, they always win. Snape never takes points off from Slytherins."
"Or they're just staying out of trouble."
Na Jaemin joined, startling the two.
"What are you doing outside? Did you finish your work early?" Jisung asked, surprised to see Jaemin hanging out alone in the cold instead of in class.
"Ditching Herbology." The blond answered
"Say what?" Chenle blinked twice to make sure he was hearing the right thing. "You? Ditching a class?"
Jaemin rolled his eyes and focused them on Chenle, chuckling heartlessly. An icy cold glare carved into his dark brown eyes, no softness visible in them. Just as their eyes locked, the younger one groaned out a 'what', annoyed at the way Jaemin was staring at him.
"May I..." the prefect spoke, breaking the awkward silence.
"Yes, Jaemin?"
"May I pinch your cheeks?"
"No! Hell no, Yeji." Ivy groaned into her book, throwing her dirty yellow gloves at the said girl, trying to avoid the slime covered plants.
"You're such a coward, darling." Hwang Yeji giggled, placing the disgusting plant on her desk to study it a bit more for her upcoming exam. She examined its roots and gasped, realising something. "They don't have real roots! They're just slime?" (A/N: at this point I'm making shiz up😭)
Pomona Sprout, the Herbology professor heard Yeji's comment and walked towards her with a smile. She pointed out that the roots were indeed made out of transparent, glue like substance but they also had the ability to move whenever they please.
That fact alone was enough to give Ivy a reason to pack her bag.
"Class dismissed." The Professor announced after ten minutes. "Zhong Ivy, have you seen Na Jaemin?"
She shook her head. None of her friends nor classmates caught the sight of their Prefect. He never missed his classes, not even when he was ill.
"Lover boy must be frustrated and embarrassed." Yeji teased, walking next to Ivy in the hallways. "You did leave him when he, um, well, needed you."
"It wasn't like that!" Ivy threw her hands in the air, claiming that Yeji was trying to take every chance to twist her words and create an even more dramatic scene.
"Oh, puh-lease. He asked you to sit on his lap to kiss you. THE Na Jaemin demanded you." Yeji's cheeks turned pink from speaking those words out loud. "Didn't know he can be so dashing and overly spicy at the same time."
"I have to admit. He did turn me on." Ivy gave in, earning a dirty smirk from her friend. "But what's the fun in just doing whatever he wants? If he wants me that badly, he should try harder."
"Girl." Yeji's eyes twinkled. "Maybe one day he will pin you against these walls and devour-"
"Disgusting." Pang walked past, making sure she had bumped into Ivy's shoulder with hers.
"She's still mad at me." Ivy mumbled, dropping her head low from shame. "She still hates me."
"Ivy, don't bother-"
"It's okay, Yeji. Being hated by one person is nothing compared to being loved by many. I have you, Chenle and the rest of our friends and that's an enough reason for me to stay happy."
"Awh, look at you growing up so fast." Yeji pouted, pulling Ivy into her arms and leading her outside to get some fresh winter air in their systems.
They looked up and saw Chenle, Jaemin and Jisung on the bridge, watching something from afar with horrified expressions written on their faces. Yeji locked eyes with Ivy and questioned what the matter was but she had no clue.
Within the next few seconds they heard Chenle's voice, shouting out the same word repeatedly.
Fire.
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From this chapter onwards, real shit is bout to happen :) buckle up.