Hyukjae walked past a maroon jacket while pretending to read, then lazily flicked a hand, flipping over a page. Mere seconds after doing so, a poor neophyte ten meters in front of him fell flat on his face, another Airehawke for that matter, as a rogue wind came suddenly swirling from the direction of the maroon jacket. Hyukjae finally turned to the seemingly unaffected maroon jacket, who continued eating his lunch after deflecting the silent attack Hyukjae sent his way.

"How the hell did you do that?!" he half-screamed the question, stomping over to where the pony-tailed brown blonde ate lunch alone. He didn't care anymore about who was watching. They've both been rivals since their first neophyte day and it had been eating his Airehawke craw how the Dragonican beat him to first place at the close of their neophyte year.

Technically, they were both granted first honors in Auror studies, but Hyukjae found himself being about the point-zero-one difference in the rival's favor. It's the start of sophomore year for them, and Hyukjae wasn't about to let the Dragonican beat him again.

Donghae sipped on the strawberry milk, distracting Hyukjae enough to note that his rival drank his favorite drink. Donghae finally looked up at him, merely saying, "You should have tried something stronger - that didn't even itch."

Hyukjae would have uttered a witty retort, if not for the tired look in Donghae's eyes. Now that he thought of it, the usually puppy-dog happy guy was curiously sober and bland when coursework started this year. So unlike the happy, innocent neophyte that used to tail after then-Senior Leeteuk.

"Uh, something wrong?" he asked, blurting out the question before he could wonder why he even asked.

Apparently, Donghae thought so, too, because he looked back at the platinum-blonde, surprised. It was no secret that the Airehawke considered him a rival, never mind that Auror Studies weren't considered an Airehawke specialty. Being the intellectuals they are, Airehawkes (especially former Ravenclaws) are just competitive, no matter what they get into.

"Uh, nothing?" Donghae sarcastically answered, not really in the mood to play nice. "Other than your usual penchant to challenge my Auror capabilities, nothing's wrong."

If it were anybody but Hyukjae, they would have been turned off by Donghae's prickly mood. But Hyukjae being Hyukjae, he just laughed, finally getting a reaction from Donghae, even if it was just a creasing brow. Before he could capitalize on this, he noticed a group of maroon jackets making their way to Donghae's table. He sighed, realizing it was time for him to leave. Now that Leeteuk-hyung is in his apprenticeship, Donghae would be with a new circle of friends.

And he saw Donghae's pissed off expression before he heard the jeering voices from the maroon trio, all the way across the grounds.

"Hey, pretty boy! Already have a new boyfriend? You sure work pretty fast." They all hooted.

Donghae only remained silent, leaving Hyukjae to wonder if there was a truth to the jeers. Now that he thought about it, Donghae was considered a campus heartthrob but nobody really ever saw him hanging out with a girl, other than for coursework, or with the girls Leeteuk-hyung also hang around with. Whether it was true or not, was beside the point. It irked Hyukjae that those of the same house would still need to find reason to pick on someone just for being different, instead of being the first people to protect what is theirs. For an Airehawke, disloyalty is out of the question, because it was tantamount to endangering another person's life.

So it was Hyukjae who turned around, pivoting on his feet and hollering back. "Oi, Rusky!" He didn't even bother with the polite form, never mind if he was addressing a Junior. He'd known the guys back in Hogwarts, and they were already notorious for being cocky, just because they were Gryffindors. "Are you sure you wanna mess with last year's number one Auror neophyte? He's Dragonican sure, but he sure isn't Gryffindor - yet he beat everyone who is. If I were you, I'd like, kiss the ground he walks on because he can take ten of you without even trying." He refrained from laughing outright at the bully's incredulous expression, but he didn't hesitate unleashing the full gummy smile he was known, and sometimes hated for. "Yes, believe me, I've tried. By my recent count, I've yet to recover about six losses."

Rusky was enough of a hothead to come charging on Hyukjae, wand out at a ready. "Why you meddling bird! Who said you can meddle in a house matter?"

"What house matter?" He really laughed this time. "You air dirty laundry in public and expect it to stay a house matter? You lost your brains somewhere, too?"

Donghae watched Rusky's trembling hand gripping the wand. If it were just him, he'd ignore the bully, but what the heck was Hyukjae doing provoking the guy? Then he noticed the other blue jackets who were surreptitiously orienting themselves their way and Donghae wanted to groan. He kept thinking he'd go down in Meister history as the raison d'etre for house wars.

So he spoke to Hyukjae. "Thanks, Mr. Lee. But Mr. Dowan is right - this is a house matter."

Then his eyes widened as Rusky swung his wand at him, and in the most venomous voice said, "Shut up, you ! I don't need to be defended by the likes of you!"

He didn't even have time to draw his wand as the attack came. So he deflected it as best he could with hand gestures - and belatedly saw Hyukjae doing the same. Which made the deflection more powerful than the attack. Suffice to say, Rusky was hurled back on his buddies, then he and his buddies were hurled back, head over heels, and back again. It looked more funny than painful, much to the merriment of the crowd.

He and Hyukjae exchanged startled glances. Then by silent, tacit agreement, they both scampered out of the area, seeing the way Rusky and his boys flailed around, trying to right themselves. They loped to a run toward the Meister's Garden, laughing uncontrollably at the end of it, collapsing onto the marble benches.

It was the first time Hyukjae saw Donghae laughing up close, and he seemed more childish, the way he just let it all out with that open-mouthed laugh, his eyes shut close in mirth, hands gripping his tummy. Hyukjae hadn't seen anything more beautiful.

=====

Donghae was running late for class. As expected, all the good seats were taken so he had to look for a space at the back. But there was a disadvantage to large classes like these so he was hard-pressed to look for just any empty seat. There was a space beside Hyukjae, but from his vantage, he couldn't see if it was actually empty or not. And where the rival was concerned, he didn't want to press his luck.

He had to raise an eyebrow though, as Hyukjae lazily turned his head and unerringly spotted him at the back, their eyes colliding. If there was anything that unnerved Donghae where the Airehawke was concerned, it was his piercing eyes. Donghae is not entirely sure if it is because of the Airehawke's training but Donghae had long known about Hyukjae's keen powers of observation. He didn't have time to think about it further though, as Hyukjae was beckoning him over, pointing at the seat beside him.

Deciding he didn't want to draw more attention to the way the class looked back at him because of Hyukjae's waving, he hurried down the steps and made a beeline to the other blue jackets Hyukjae was with. Hyukjae only had time to introduce him to the others before the professor strode into class and they both ignored each other as the professor started her lecture.

Though he didn't show it, Hyukjae was rather distracted by the way Donghae acted in class - the guy wouldn't stay still. While Hyukjae always had a tunnel view on the professor during lecture, Donghae looked everywhere. Hyukjae found himself starting to fidget, half-regretful about offering the seat beside him. He nearly heaved a sigh of relief when Donghae finally stopped - only to realize the class had gone silent. He looked up to find the professor's amused eyes on them.

"My, my, this is a first," Professor Haazgul chuckled. "The rivals are sitting together. You used to sit at both ends of the classroom." The rest of the class tittered. Hyukjae merely grinned.

"Why don't you both come down here and demonstrate to the rest of the class the technique we just discussed," Professor Haazgul told them, as she had done so countless of times since neophyte year. "Pick who will do offense and defense."

"I'll take offense," Hyukjae drawled, his answer calculated to get a reaction from the rest of the class. Some laughed, but most of them groaned at the lame joke.

Donghae shook his head, with the way Hyukjae put him on the spot picking offense - they were discussing Vaangren's Defense, of course. Hyukjae positioned himself at the other end of the podium, wand at ready.

"Should I call out the attack?" Hyukjae asked.

"No," Donghae replied. "Just do something you think would warrant a Vaangren's."

Hyukjae half-snarled at him, his lips curling and showing teeth, knowing Donghae passed the burden of tactics to him. The reason why he volunteered to do offense was that while he knew the mechanics of the Vaangren, he hadn't had opportunity to practice it. Which of course, would make it harder on him as the attacker to think about an attack where a Vaangren could be used. But Hyukjae being Hyukjae, it was easy enough to pick one from his arsenal of moves. "All right, ready?" he asked.

While Donghae didn't look like he was paying attention in class, his mind had been sorting through the various ways the discussed technique could be used, on top of visualizing how it's supposed to be done. He was also looking around to determine where he could deflect an attack in case he'd be asked to demonstrate it in class. Not that he was anticipating being asked, but it pays to be prepared, considering he is studying to become an Auror. And considering Hyukjae didn't pass up an opportunity to challenge him in class.

Donghae paid careful attention. Hyukjae is the best he'd seen so far from the other Auror students, senior or otherwise. His trademark was his speed, and ability to cast spells in silence. So what others would see as a Hyukjae who stood stock-still was actually already a fighting Hyukjae. And if you see him actually move, you can count on him being deadly. So Donghae was hard-pressed to detect when the blonde actually started the attack, distracted as he was with the formidable form Hyukjae presented just standing there and looking so cool... or so hot, depending on one's perspective.

But he caught the attack in time, his hands and wand already weaving the defense partly by instinct. Even so, everything happened too quickly as the next thing everybody heard was the loud sonic boom of a working Vaangrens. Professor Haazgul smiled approvingly.

"A solid defense, Donghae. Good work! And a rather interesting choice for an attack, Hyukjae," she commented, and a happy Hyukjae flashed his trademark gummy smile. The same smile he flashed Donghae's way for figuring out the attack in time. This time last year, that smile would have irritated Donghae. Today, it made him feel shy. And ridiculously happy.

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