Chapter Text
Monday, November 22nd. 10:30 AM.
The incident that recently occurred by the Hufflepuff common room had Hongjoong investigated through the entire week. It was meant to be his break day — along with his job as the Hufflepuff Prefect, Hongjoong did earn loads of responsibilities on his plate.
His best friend, Mingi Song, waited for the perfect opportunity for a request. Which he didn’t mind at first. Hongjoong believed he himself was a good friend. So, Mingi dragged San Choi along, one of their Slytherin friends, to the Room of Requirement for the tall Gryfindor to work with his experiment.
Mingi asked him to try one of his potions. In one exact week, the new instructor from their Potion class, Professor Young, would have a test on each student’s potion-crafting ability.
On normal days, Hongjoong would be confident of his friend’s work. Mingi was a genius in many ways, and always participated in the classroom. But the downside of being anticipated, Mingi had to be a hard worker. It took many tries for the competitive man to manifest a decent potion. And Mingi didn’t always succeed on the first three tries until his hands were sore from stirring the cauldron. Hence, Hongjoong was a bit doubtful when he was asked to be the test subject. Especially when Mingi only made his potion twice today.
Oh, the poor white rat he was. Hongjoong was a fallen victim of the day’s incident.
“Shit, shit. Shit. What are we supposed to do?” Mingi flusteredly flipped through the potion book — where his grip was intense enough to ingrain folded marks on the poor papers. It wasn’t surprising that his friend did indeed fail his potion. Hongjoong did expect a certain outcome. Although he was not furious that his dear friend somewhat panicked and frantically searched up the final solution with his smartphone, the Hufflepuff, however, was displeased to know his only daybreak would be ruined in this way.
Maybe he should have pretended that he accidentally drank Yunho’s (their other Gryffindor friend) caxambus style borborygmus after mixing it up with Cranberry juice. And he wouldn’t be feeling well leaving his room when Hongjoong's stomach would be growling every two seconds. He should have known better, really.
San didn’t heed much attention at first, a little distracted from doodling on the wall with a new invisible quill that he just bought at Flourish and Blotts, which was a bit surprising to know they opened more business with school supplies rather than just a library of books. They usually preferred to purchase at Scribbulus Writing Instruments.
Yeosang loved to visit the bookstore. And most of the time, Hongjoong did, too. In fact, he was about to head there to search for the topic that recently perked his interest after a lesson in Mystic Creatures: Sirens.
Until Mingi came along with the misfortune.
Hongjoong wasn’t much of someone dramatic, but the incident outside of the Hufflepuff common room not so long ago got him stressfully busy, and even if today was his free day, he still had some work to handle this afternoon. Some sort of meeting when all Prefects, Head Boy, and Head Girl would be available to discuss the fallen branches on the floor outside of the yellow house’s gates. It left every Hufflepuff on edge, and Hongjoong, too, would love to get to the bottom of this.
It was about time the sun shone at its highest peak, and San was profoundly wheezing at the way Hongjoong huffed in irritation. Mingi’s task was to create a sort of potion that could aid someone with the trouble of making a formal speech. Since Professor Young had asked to create a type of potion that could be helpful with onstage communication. And with the eagerness that their Gryffindor friend had always been, the tall kid picked the hardest potion to make with hopes of impressing their new professor. Hongjoong wasn’t sure if it was ideal, but sometimes, Mingi just thought with his ass rather than with his brain.
San’s laugh still mingled in the room of requirement.
As it shouldn’t.
“I sure could tell that you would love me not to join you on that Quidditch practice, San. Seems like you having way too much satisfaction, man.” Hongjoong said. Ridicule. Despite the urge to laugh, San managed to zip his mouth with a meek apology.
The potion didn’t harm him in any way, thanks, Merlin. Hongjoong had expected it to be worse, but maybe he should have given more credits to Mingi, even if he messed his potion up anyways. Rather than give the buff of speaking fluently like a professional, it made Hongjoong rhyming every sentence that ever left his mouth. Quite embarrassing if one said, he wasn’t that fond of such a speaking method.
And being honest, nobody talked this way. Unless you drank Mingi’s potion. Or you were a sociopath. There was no in-between.
Ever since the potion entered his body, Hongjoong had the wish to rewind time and ran away before Mingi could pull him back by the collar. What the potion did was beyond dubious.
The potion tasted like lemonade at the first sip, then it soothed into some sort of citric sweetness, and completely vanished with the bitter taste. It wasn’t so bad, Hongjoong thought. He was even surprised, thinking that the potion did really work.
“How do you feel?” was the first thing Mingi asked, after them staring at each other for five minutes awkwardly. In possession of the potion taken over his tongue, like a naïve sheep he was, Hongjoong started talking.
“I feel alright. Such a delightful taste that might provide me a well slumber by the night.”
He frowned at the words. Biting his tongue, Hongjoong asked what was wrong with him. He didn’t know, truly. But the consequences were there, and Hongjoong opened his mouth again, wanting to test his thesis.
“Speech-wise, I don’t feel any changes. I don’t feel nice, nor the knowledge of improvement of speaking in ranges.”
It happened almost instantly, Hongjoong realised. Like a set-out script every TV show provided in the early morning before the news was announced, Hongjoong’s brain ran through a list of rhymed endings before he got to finish his sentence.
And he hissed.
The Hufflepuff Prefect wasn’t that artistic. Maybe besides his hobbies of reforming clothes and doing commissions for model paintings, Hongjoong wasn’t much of a literature guy. He could be one. He just didn’t want to. Thus, it was quite lame with how he finished his sentences — under the influence of Mingi’s potion. True, Hongjoong took great interest in writing songs whenever a class was plain boring, but crazy it would be if you assumed he was a poem guy. He wasn’t that much of a madman to put rhymed words in one sentence.
He wasn’t that much of a sociopath. Hongjoong could assure of that.
Mingi and San stared at each other sceptically, a tad hesitant. They wanted to ask questions, many of them. But Hongjoong beat them to it.
“Mingi,” said Hongjoong, “I demand for a reverse potion.” Then he held his words for a second. “before I feed you to the lions.”
Smart Mingi knew where his fault was, as his face turned paler than candle wax, and his hands hastily flipped for the potion book pages like every second of his life depended on it. And little San, as the heartthrob of Hogwarts, was way much more confused than a newborn.
“What is going on? Hongjoong-hyung. Why would you be talking like… you know… fucking Korean Shakespeare of the twenty-first century?”
“How thoughtful of you to realise.” Hongjoong was dumbfounded. “How about you ask our bestie, Mingi. He’s a great man. He is wise.” They would all be fools to not notice the sarcasm Hongjoong had soaked in his bitter tone.
Hongjoong was a moody person. At least the information came from many other students from his years being a Prefect, and he didn’t take it to heart. He knew where his flaws were, and he aimed to fix his temper from time to time. He always wanted to speak in a friendlier way, but today might have been an exception. If his friends knew he was sorry for being rude, they didn’t pressure him. Because after all, Mingi was the one who messed up his ingredients. Hongjoong was just having a bad day.
“I might or might not have mixed up valerian roots instead of mandrakes inside this potion.” Mingi mumbled softly, seeing the spot of his mistake inside the book this time.
“How did that happen?” San peeked at the page, reading over the line of grinding three inches of mandrake skin by hands until they form into powder before pouring hot water over—
“Oh no,” was all San could say, and they grimly looked up to Hongjoong, who would have exploded by now if he didn’t know Mingi had never meant to harm him in any way.
“Shit, shit. Shit. What are we supposed to do?”
“What do you mean, Mr. Lean?” Hongjoong bored out his eyes, looking at Mingi’s anxious form questioningly.
And judgingly.
The cure would have been easy to find if it was any other type of potion. Mingi had no chances with this one, however. Because he was confident that he would succeed. The Gryffindor had chosen the one without any reversed potion included.
“Mr. Lean?” San repeated.
“Shut up, stinky cup. I can’t stop talking like this, so don’t get me pissed.” After a moment of hesitation, Hongjoong sighed again. “Now, what am I going to do? How long will it take for the effect to loose?”
Mingi gulped.
“Nine hours.”
Hongjoong froze.
“I…” He halted. Overly speechless. Mayhaps, completely unspeakable. “I have a meeting with other Prefects in the next four hours, Mingi. They will think I’m fucking crazy when they hear me!”
“I’m sorry.”
Sorry had never been an option here. He inwardly screamed. Hongjoong would choke the man with a pillow and throw him down a trench. Instantly, at best.
“Merlin’s potty! Mingi, you puddle of pee!”
The Hufflepuff left out a pathetic groan after, saving him from even more angry outbursts.
It seemed like Hongjoong would have to wait until tonight for the effect to run out.
Oh, sweet Merlin.
Monday, November 22nd. 1:18 PM.
The Hufflepuff common room was as bright as ever. It was somewhere in the afternoon. By the time Hongjoong got back, his hair was messy, and his badge was dislocated. Felix carried three bento boxes of brownies after his trip back from the muggle world, visiting his family. His presence was something that every kid inside the house always anticipated. Felix was a master of making brownies (or what the magical kids nowadays would call, ‘the dark guilty pleasures’). And Hongjoong would have every will to join and have a bite, but right now, he didn’t want to bother with the way the younger members in the Hufflepuff house were cheering and stealing each other's desserts. Bloody hell, he didn’t want to talk with anyone. Huening Kai limped by and greeted him, which Hongjoong let out a slight grin before he headed straight to his dormitory. He was absolutely fucked.
And even if he wasn’t now. He would be later.
To be frank, Hongjoong had stopped being mad at Mingi. His anger dissipated as quickly as when it arrived. And Hongjoong wasn’t someone easy to hold grudges (Unless it was that Chris guy who stole his laptop in his fifth year at Hogwarts). And as much as he wanted to be petty, he still had a title to uphold. And Mingi was his best friend. Hongjoong didn’t have the heart to be so mean towards Mingi.
The meeting with other Prefects would take place right outside of the Hufflepuff common room. Everyone thought it would be best to check the crime scene for more evidence, and Hongjoong thought it was convenient this way, knowing that he didn’t need to walk so far to see the rest of everybody. But now, all Hongjoong could wish was to have a Zoom meeting with everyone else.
Social distancing was essential, right?
Well, not so much in Hogwarts.
The muggle world might have been in pure chaos with the ongoing disease hitting full force; the wizard community, however, had been luckily immunised to the sickness. Even at the range of various mutations, nobody in Hogwarts had ever got sickened with such viruses. As a result, Hogwarts operated like usual. Every known wizard began to pour back to the familiar train station to isolate themselves from the rumbling of madness from the outsiders.
Being a muggle-born, Hongjoong didn’t have much of a choice. He still had his education in Hogwarts to complete, and it would be troublesome for Hongjoong to leave this world and return to his parents. So every night, he prayed earnestly to every higher-up who existed to protect his parents from the harmful virus. Besides San, Hongjoong, and Mingi, everyone else in their little group of friends wasn’t that much of being a muggle. Hence, they would invite the three of them to visit their families for a meal on special occasions. And it cheered him greatly to see that their friends’ parents treated him and his other muggle friends as if they were also their sons. On any other days, Hongjoong still constantly texting and called his parents through his phone (Wooyoung had called it a ‘shining parrot’ in his second year in Hogwarts) and told them how much he loved and missed them before bed.
His parents weren’t so freaked out when he first received a letter from Hogwarts, especially when his father’s uncle had been the same as Hongjoong. So they expected it beforehand. Now, whenever the Kims were ever mentioned in the wizarding world, it always contained proud and marvellous achievements. Because Hongjoong had worked hard, and had made sure that he could be where he was now, the proudest muggle-born Hufflepuff anyone could ask for. And despite the oblivion in knowing their child’s efforts, Hongjoong’s parents were proud of him. Either way, the Prefect was happy to be where he was.
But, dear Merlin. Today was the shittiest day he ever had in his life.
If the meeting is cancelled, he wouldn’t even be this stressed out, to begin with. And truth to be told, Hongjoong was excited about it yesterday.
Thursday, November 18th. 12:58 PM.
The incident outside of the Hufflepuff common room wasn’t something trivia to notice in the beginning. Nobody bothered to inspect the floor with a habit of wanting it squeaky clean. And Hongjoong wasn’t into cleaning ever since birth. So having the entire house missed out on a few plant branches on the ground wasn’t unpredictable. But the next morning, when Hongjoong headed back from his Alchemy class, the Hufflepuff Prefect entered the common room with whispers travelling across the place. In the middle of the room where the big sofa was, poor Huening Kai with a big piece of bandage around his left knee was lying there, sipping on his chocolate milk pitifully.
“How did this happen?” asked Hongjoong, looking at the boy with curiosity.
“Ah, Hongjoong-hyung. Here you are.” a familiar Hufflepuff walking from out of one of the rooms, waving at Hongjoong. He nodded in acknowledgement before shifting his eyes back to the injured kid.
“What happened to Kai? Why is he wearing gauze?”
Soobin sat by the younger one, snatching the milk out of his grip. Then he gulped on it like it was his in the first place. “Venomous tentacula, apparently. Some assholes thought it would be funny to litter some branches in front of our room for kicks and giggles. Nobody noticed it at first, I doubt you did, too. But Hyuka accidentally stepped on one and the vines lashed towards his knee this morning.”
“Good Lord,” Hongjoong gasped, “So nobody knew anything about the culprit?”
“Not that I’ve heard of,” Soobin continued, “After the sudden attack, the Head Boy luckily walked by and took him to the nurse. For now, all we could do was to wait for your return and maybe you can report this to Professor McGonagall.”
Hongjoong inspected Huening Kai, who seemed to be still sulking at his wound. The boy would sometimes look down on the giant piece of bandage wrapped around his leg, then he lamented silently.
Hongjoong felt bad. While he was in his Alchemy class doodling to kill time, one of the members in his House was being attacked by some unknown offender. It made him guilty. Because in the end, Hongjoong was their Prefect. He could have done better.
“I will.” He concluded, “I will talk about this with other Prefects to see if something similar happened to them.”
“Aye aye.” Soobin agreed, then pulled Huening Kai for a hug. The Hufflepuff didn’t seem that much brightened up, so Hongjoong decided to be kind, first thing in the morning. He raised his smartphone, wiggling it around like a reward. “I can text Felix to return with his fresh batch of brownies, how about that, Hyuka?” The kid whipped his head back almost instantly. And if Hongjoong didn’t laugh, he would have done so secretly. Huening Kai looked like a puppy just received his best treat.
“Oh, how wonderful would that be!” He applauded. His discomfort soon escalated at the thought of having Felix’s brownies.
Felix Lee, the fifth-year Hufflepuff with pretty freckles across his T-zone, was everyone’s favourite. Quite literally, if one said. He was a nice kid. Hongjoong mentally reminded himself to get the boy something nice by the time he got back.
The boy must have had a rough time, he thought. It was the beginning of Hongjoong’s very last year in Hogwarts. And while everyone had returned to Hogwarts months after the end of August, Felix was permitted to stay home during October to pay respect to his muggle uncle, who had passed away due to the Coronavirus. And it pained Hongjoong, as he wished for every second his family would remain healthy.
Aside from that, nothing much had been going on; Hongjoong was still one of the Hufflepuff Prefects, with Jiwoo Kim — their sixth-year Hufflepuff being their female one.
They liked to call her Chuu mainly because of her bubbled smile. In fact, on the first day of school, Chuu was famous for being the one who gifted every single Hogwarts student a piece of rainbow lollipop with a bottle of Felix Felicis attached — all made from her dearest mother. It was quite memorable.
And Hongjoong’s last year at Hogwarts went well. Very well, even.
Until it didn’t.
At least when the case of Venomous Tentacula happened.
Hongjoong soon contacted the Headmaster, explaining the situation formally as he deciphered the circumstances in his own understanding. Professor McGonagall wasn’t doubtful, but she beckoned Huening Kai in the office to describe his own encounter with the event for further confirmation.
And here they were, after hours of talking and walking around the halls as he took care of the work on his shoulders, they ended the discussion with a promise for a future meeting.
Monday, November 22nd. 2:30 PM.
By the time he had returned to his dormitory from the room of requirement, Hongjoong had changed his clothes, taken a fresh shower, and prepared to have a small meeting discussing the culprit who pulled this prank in front of his house’s common room.
He didn’t know what he should do. Ever since his chaotic morning with Mingi, Hongjoong hadn’t uttered a word. It wasn’t that he couldn’t, but because he didn’t want to. It was embarrassing. And discouraging to know the potion only went off after at least six-and-a-half more hours.
Hongjoong bewailed the ill-luck that he was receiving. Quite hilarious, in a sense, but he shouldn’t be the one to laugh. Whatever, he thought. It shouldn’t be that bad.
He didn’t need to talk if he didn’t want to. It wasn’t like anyone could force him. When he first discovered his house from the Sorting Hat, Hongjoong had expected himself to be a Gryffindor. But much to his surprised, the thick holler of “HUFFLEPUFF!” was the main cause of where he was now. He was known to be quite bold, and rougher than what every Hufflepuff would mostly be stereotyped. Which made him much more special than his peers. And even if he could never dare to put his place near Cedric Diggory, his Hufflepuff senior, Hongjoong knew he was nowhere worse than others. He was a prideful man.
His friend, Mingi Song, however, was quite more of a scaredy-cat than what his Gryffindor’s title would make him out to be. Just as opposed to how most Gryffindors would behave, Mingi was much softer. But wasn’t that the fun in being in Hogwarts? Being a part of a house shouldn’t determine every characteristic a person owns. Hongjoong knew everyone was different.
Anyways, Hongjoong could pretend he didn’t feel so well. He could make up an excuse, telling the other Prefects that he ate too much Chocolate Frogs this morning and now he couldn’t speak for Merlin’s sake.
Anything, really. Anything could be an excuse.
But Hongjoong was the worst person when it came to lying. And he would rather be a wet rat than having to pretend in front of other Prefects. Again, he was too proud of that.
And he admitted that he was a bad liar.
When the time came, Hongjoong timidly joined the kitchen corridor outside of the common room. The door was sealed securely against all odds. Hufflepuff common room wasn’t that well known among non-Hufflepuff students, Hongjoong knew. It wasn’t much difficult to enter as long as he could tap the door to the right beats, but it wasn’t that visible for strangers to come.
But apparently, the Ravenclaw Head Boy had found out where the room was, which was…Well, impressive. He had never expected the man to show up and had taken Huening Kai to Madam Pomfrey. Though, he doubted that the Ravenclaw Prefect would have the gall to test the entrance (unless he closed his eyes before a bucket of vinegar would pour down his head for tapping in the wrong password). Hongjoong didn’t intend to invite any of the Prefects inside their house, so Chuu and he crawled out from the entrance hole, waiting for rest to come by the kitchen door as they began their meeting.
Soon after, everyone began to show up.
Hongjoong didn’t have that many interactions with the other Prefects — most likely because they would end up competing with each other in some ways. Other reasons revolved around a few students from different houses who gave him trouble whenever he was on his job. And students were supposed to be the faces of the Houses. Well, frankly, he hated some of them. Hongjoong wasn’t patient, and the younger ones seemed to never understand his grim expression whenever he walked by. So, as immature as the inexperienced classes would act, they sought trouble whenever it came to Hongjoong. But there was one common thing the youngsters would love to irk him for, and he could never understand — his height.
Hongjoong swore to every God that existed that by the time his patience truly ran out like an overheated hourglass, he would beat these rascals with those long-size wooden chopsticks they sold at the Korean supermarkets.
But aside from their teasing demeanour with his presence, there was some sort of bias that revolved around the campus. Once in a while, Hogwarts would have those random club activities before a big exam started. It was one of the newest traditions added in these recent years. One of them included the Vote for your favourite Prefect!!! banner every four months, and Hongjoong always huffed whenever he saw it. He knew that nobody liked him. So Hongjoong didn’t expect much.
Except for one time, though.
At the end of last year, when they were about to have their finals week, the banner occasion happened again.
The strange thing was that besides all other Prefects, who had received a handful of votes — Hongjoong noticed the Ravenclaw Head Boy always got the highest number — Hongjoong had received one extra vote that day.
Of course, he didn’t just get one vote. His Hufflepuff members knew Hongjoong better than everyone else, so everyone split out a fair distribution between him and Chaeyoung, the previous Hufflepuff Female Prefect, until she graduated and Chuu took over the spot after. But then, by the time he counted the voting number again, there was always that one extra vote in the chart. It bugged him up until this point, but Hongjoong shrugged otherwise. He presumed that he wasn’t that much of an asshole. At least to that one voter.
But with that aside, Hongjoong had never been the one to talk with other Prefects. So even if he was bold, Hongjoong was more of an outsider.
It was Wooyoung that constantly dragged him around, so he didn’t have to live like a rock for the rest of his life.
The other Prefects were perfectly fine with his personality. They knew he wasn’t grumpy or rude. Hongjoong was just a tad more uptight than expected. Sometimes, they came and talked to him. Sometimes, they didn’t. And vice versa.
And then there was Seonghwa Park. The Ravenclaw Head Boy and Prefect.
During their first year in Hogwarts, Hongjoong didn’t have a strong impression of the man. Hongjoong remembered that he was a wimpy kid at the time, who was afraid to touch anything but was still well-known to almost everyone in the school. The Parks were one of the families who have fought in the Battle of Hogwarts and were widely recognised for their contribution. Seonghwa’s fame began from that point, and as he adapted to the wizarding world, he bloomed even brighter.
Hongjoong wasn’t one to take down. He always pushed himself to reach certain goals. And Hongjoong believed that regardless of the ups and downs, he still managed to pass every obstacle on the way. Hongjoong knew rewards would only come through hard work. So seeing the number of achievements Seonghwa had ever earned, he never felt distrust. Instead, it encouraged Hongjoong to become better.
Although they were no longer talked (along with the clash of houses, Seonghwa seemed to be a bit more close-off to himself), the Ravenclaw was the first person Hongjoong had talked with.
In fact, on that faithful first day, it was Hongjoong who sat by the Ravenclaw inside that train leading to Hogwarts. Hongjoong just thought he seemed lonely at the time, so he accompanied him until the Sorting Hat event began.
After that, they never talked to each other again.
Okay, that was a bit exaggerated. Neither of them were morons. They still have decent interacting skills. And Hongjoong did talk to Seonghwa, and Seonghwa did respond to him. But their boundaries could be reached for only so far. Seonghwa grew up to be much calmer. And he spoke respectfully; sometimes, it was hard to even approach the man. Hence, it was the reason for Seonghwa to be famous. He was quite an image in Hogwarts. Of course, that wasn’t what he was at the time, but as they grew together, Hongjoong realised he became more outstanding and confident.
Moreover, far away.
Monday, November 15th. 7:45 PM.
It soon became a little TMI, but during one of the lessons in their potion class at the beginning of this semester, where Hongjoong was in the same class with Seonghwa, they were learning how to make some sort of Truth Serum. It was a bit stronger and more effective. Regardless if it was warned not to be used by anybody, nobody in Hogwarts would care about rules. Veritaserum was the name.
Wooyoung thought it’d be a great idea for them to play Truth or Dare one night, a muggle game that he learned after being with San. Again, the rules were simple, they got to pick the options, but this time, everyone must share the potion in order to reveal the honest truths.
It was a silly game among his group of friends behind the room of requirement’s walls, with Jongho, their youngest, who managed to sneak in some booze without Filch’s notice.
It took a few bottle spins until it was Hongjoong’s turn, and Yunho had looked at him daringly, wiggling his eyebrows in challenge.
“So!” He smiled, mysterious and misleading. “Truth or Dare?”
With the influences of the alcohol kicks, Hongjoong let out a weak hiccup, mumbled “Truth.”
“Sweet. Lemme think. Has anyone ever fallen into your little apple eyes?”
It took a swift turn for Hongjoong to consider. The potion did put some truth to his lips. His vision was out of focus, but he didn’t want to spoil the secret.
“Yes.” He said, shrugging.
“One more question-”
“Nah-ah. That’s enough. I might be drunk, but I’m not stupid. Let’s spin the bottle again.”
Funny enough, every time the bottle reached him, Hongjoong always said “Truth.”
It seemed like his friends had planned this beforehand. Because every time it was his turn to be asked, they all focused on the same topic. As if they were secretly betting behind his back, and would be desperate to know the answer for the sake of some free butterbeer. Hongjoong sometimes hit his head against the pillow for his oblivion.
The sequences followed like this:
“Is it a guy or a girl?”
- “Wooyoung, I am gay.”
“Do we know him?”
- “I don’t know. Do you?”
“Hyung! You were supposed to give out an answer. Anyways, is he the same age as you?”
- “…Maybe?”
A collective oohs and aahs followed before Jongho flicked his fingers for everyone to stop. Then he spun the bottle again. A few turns after, they ended his interrogation with a final question.
“Is he one of the Prefects?”
This time, Hongjoong’s cheeks did turn beet red. He folded his knees to his chest, whispered out a shy “Yes.” And everyone in the room shrieked in excitement. Thankfully Yeosang had covered the walls with a sound-proof spell. If not, the whole school would have heard their screaming.
Hongjoong was somehow glad they didn’t push after, partly probably because they could guess who his crush was. But Hongjoong was too embarrassed to continue.
Now they knew that he liked someone, and had been so recent, Hongjoong just hoped they’d not press him about it anytime soon. But after years of being together, Hongjoong knew them much better than the back of his palms.
After another hour of bottle-spinning, it ended up stopping by his shoes.
It was Wooyoung’s turn to ask this time. And with the shit-eating grin that the boy flashed, Hongjoong knew the Slytherin was up to no good.
“Truth or Dare?”
He realised he had been saying Truth way too many times that night, so he switched his answer.
“Dare.”
“Perfect.” Wooyoung cackled. He almost sounded like the witch from Snow White.
“What now?” Hongjoong asked in annoyance.
But the younger heeded him no thoughts, “I dare you,” said Wooyoung, almost in a maniac way, “To kiss the Head Boy on the lips at the end of the Quidditch match next Saturday.”
Shit.
Shitshitshitshitshit—
They already figured it out.
Hongjoong wondered if he was even that obvious. But the grins that they exchanged to each other couldn’t give him the answer he wanted. The day that they were hanging out and playing that stupid game was Monday…And he had precisely twelve more days to do his dare.
The Quidditch match didn’t start until November. And this year was special. There was a competition that Hogwarts opened with other schools worldwide in wanting more interaction among student wizards. So, not to crash with any other school's schedule, Hogwarts decided to hold the event late.
It wasn’t ideal if he had a say. Many seniors of the previous school year had already graduated, and new team members were still too fresh to join the field. There weren’t that many talented ones, and Hongjoong didn’t want to risk having any of them competing with other schools if they weren’t that ready. Hell, he would be scared shitless himself if it wasn’t because he was experienced.
They allowed all houses to combine this time, selecting the best members per team to go against the other schools with their best ability.
That assured him quite a bit. As he only saw familiar names and faces — whom he had encountered during the three years of Quidditch — on the list, the Hufflepuff knew that they’d be alright.
But then the Head Boy…
Hongjoong remembered Seonghwa would be their Chaser, and moreover, on the same team as him.
Hongjoong thought they were distant. But it was more that Seonghwa was quiet and polite. While Hongjoong was more open with his friends. So even if he had the chance to chat with Seonghwa, he couldn’t due to the man’s secretive tendency. But, ugh. Fine. That didn’t stop Hongjoong from having a crush on the Head Boy, either. There were reasons for everyone to love him. And Hongjoong was one of the fallen victims under the man’s charisma.
He just didn’t say it.
Or showed it, even.
One of the reasons Hongjoong tried so hard was also because of Seonghwa. Because he wanted to be on the man’s level, rather than silently sitting from afar and admiring him. Besides that, he could also make up small talks with the Ravenclaw as one of the Prefects.
His small talk plan might have been failing profoundly, but hey. Shh. Nobody shalt utter a word.
It was his own secret to keep.