Kibum was still a little overwhelmed from everything that had happened. Coming here to Hogwarts… that had already been a huge change in his life.
The brown haired student was actually attending Mahoutokoro School of Magic on Minami Iwo Jima, which was a very active volcanic island.
It goes without saying that this place wasn’t the safest out there, being on top of a volcanic area had its risks but also its advantages.
The most obvious advantage was that no one really wanted to attack you there.
You were pretty safe from any extern influence.

But you were not safe from within.
And so it had happened that their school needed to be evacuated as after hundreds of years the Vulcan had decided to be active again. And although the school itself would be safe – the castle couldn’t be affected thanks to the various charms enchanting it – the surrounding area of the school was not.
And their headmistress had decided that the security of their students had to have utmost priority.
So they were evacuated.
And so Kibum landed here, on the other side of the world. In Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

And the young student had to realise that everything was different here.
Starting that they had to wear a really ugly and dirty hat… Kibum cringed at the memory.
He had been really grossed out but apparently it was some kind of tradition here to sort you into a house.
He had nearly died of a heart attack when the hat started talking to him, announcing that he should be sorted into Slytherin.
A table had cheered and he was ushered to join them.
Looking back, he wondered why he had even been surprised.
He was a student of the 7th year now, close to graduating and finishing school for good. His uniform from his original school had a light golden hue already.
Kibum always tries to score Os.

And still he had been nearly scared to death from a talking hat. Well, way to go Kim Kibum, way to go. In the end, he blamed it on his nerves and the feeling of being new, of being watched by so many people.
While the brunet was usually really confident, this had been a little too much.

At least, his fellow table mates? House mates! They were called house mates because they were all gathered under the roof of house Slytherin, right. They seemed really nice.
They took him in gladly, along with some of his other former school mates.
It seemed like every of the four houses gained an equal number in the end. Of course, not all students from Mahoutokoro were brought to Hogwarts.
That would be far too much.
They were equally distributed between the other schools of magic who agreed to take them in.
Beauxbatons, Castelobruxo, Durmstrang and well, Hogwarts.

Lee Taemin was the first of his new house who approached him. He had a smile on his face as he shifted, making the student who originally sat next to him swap places.
“Hi!”, he had introduced himself.
Kibum remembered that he felt an imminent connection to the younger boy. He was a sixth year student, but intelligent and cunning.
Which were apparently some of the prominent traits for Slytherin students. Kibum also remembered the very first advice Taemin had given him.

The blonde haired student had clicked his tongue and gazed over to the table at the other end of the Great Hall.
“See them?”, he had asked
“Red in their uniforms? Lion emblem?”
Kibum had nodded, his eyes scanning the students there. For a moment he caught someone staring. It was another guy, with brown hair, which was basically a tousled mess on his head. Yet, after the new student blinked in bemusement the other had averted his eyes quickly.
“That’s Gryffindor”, Taemin had continued
“You better stay away from them. Lions don’t like us snakes. They like to make fun of us.”
The brunet had turned his attention back to the other.
“Is there some rivalry going on?”
The younger’s lips were suddenly pulled into a thin line
“You could say that”, he had said then, shrugging
“Nevertheless… stay away. They mean trouble”
Kibum had figured that he would listen to that advice. He just wanted to survive his last year of school. And trouble was definitely not on his to-do list.

~~*~~

That had been a week ago.
The former student of Mahoutokoro still found himself amazed at all the different things taking place here in Hogwarts.
But his roommates in the dungeon were nice and even though Kibum actually hated the thought of sharing his room with anyone else… he assumed that he might survive.
It was only for one year after all.
And he could still go home during the holidays.
Besides, the first things he was taught from his new friends were the seal charm for his curtains and a silencing charm.
Just thinking about what his roommates were doing behind their curtains when they were pulled closed…
Made him want to leave this room. Immediately.
But okay.
They all had needs right?

Kibum couldn’t say that he was completely unaffected either. So this… was actually rather vital information that probably everyone in this castle used sometime in their school life.
More than once.

His first week went by smoothly. He met up with some students from Mahoutokoro and talked about their new life here and if they were settling.
They all seemed to be okay. One of them had even joined the Quidditch team of her house Ravenclaw already. Which also meant that Kibum wanted to avoid that girl at all costs. Students from Mahoutokoro could be quite… noisy about their love for Quidditch.
And according to Miyoung was their practice laughable.

Anyway.
Kibum didn’t want to think of that.

He was glad that he could stay away from trouble. No one bothered him until now, the professors seemed nice enough and even the poltergeists seemed to take pity on the newcomers.
No Gryffindor student had approached him to pull his leg or do anything from the list Taemin had given him over breakfast that one time.
That was until this particular Tuesday of his second week at Hogwarts.
They had just finished a double lesson of Charms, a class that Kibum would list as one of his least favourite ones along with Arithmancy. While his other classes were kind of about the same topics as back on Minami Iwo Jima, Charms was completely different.
Different spells, different ways of doing them. That left him with quite a huge load of stuff he needed to study before the N.E.W.T.s would break his neck at the end of the year.

“Hey!”
The brunet blinked in confusion. He had only just stepped out of the classroom when someone called out to him.
And judging from the robe he was wearing this wasn’t a fellow Slytherin student.
No.
This guy… was a lion. And if Kibum thought hard enough he recognised that student. It was the brunet who had stared at him back at the entrance ceremony.
Why was this guy approaching him now?

Kibum held his book close to his chest, eyebrows drawn up. He was not afraid, but he was simply surprised.
And also a little curious
“My name is not hey”, he told the Gryffindor who had come to a halt in front of him. Yet, said lion only grinned.
“I know”, he chuckled and ruffled his already messy locks. How did this guy even pull off that look? Maybe it was magic.

“You are Kim Kibum. And I wanted to know if you are alright?”
The Slytherin student scrunched up his nose at that. Okay. What was this all about suddenly? Taemin’s words came back ringing in his ears.
Stay away from Lions.
They mean trouble.
“Why shouldn’t I be alright?”
“Well”, the slightly smaller Gryffindor chuckled again, grinning brightly
“I was wondering if you’d need any help? I saw you struggling and I am quite good at Charms so I figured-“
“No”, Kibum interrupted him.
The taller brunet could already see where this was going. This could be a scheme to humiliate him or something.
 

And he really wasn’t interested in that. He could do without any trouble caused by grinning, noisy lions.

“No, I’m fine. Besides”, he grumbled before he continued “It’s really none of your business. Don’t worry about others, worry about yourself”
The Gryffindor looked a little taken aback, stunned by the taller’s answer.
Kibum couldn’t care less.
That guy had been staring at him on his first day, so maybe he had sought him out as his target from the very beginning.
He his heels and left the lion back, looking like a gaping fish. That guy should really just mind his own business and let Kibum be.

If only he knew that this particular Gryffindor had something else in mind entirely.

--

It happened on the next day.
Kibum had prepared his sheets of paper, had rolled up some more additional parchment and had picked up his quill to be ready for his first class of the day.

He and his roommates had had an early breakfast, before they returned to their dorms to get their stuff for Arithmancy.
Well… Kibum was the only one of the batch that had chosen Arithmancy. The other four had Herbology as their elective class and had left five minutes prior already to make it in time to the greenhouse.
It was only a heartbeat after he stepped through the portrait, that kept the dormitories of the Slytherin students hidden, that a very familiar voice popped up.

“Hey”
Kibum grunted. His hazel eyes caught sight of the very same Gryffindor student that had bothered him yesterday.
“What do you want this time?”
And why was this guy so desperate?

This time the lion waved his hands in the air in a dismissive manner.
“Nothing in particular?”, he started and Kibum wasn’t sure if he should really believe him.
“I figured… we had a bad start yesterday? So I am here to apologise for my behaviour. Hi! I am Kim Jonghyun, prefect from Gryffindor”
What the hell was a prefect?
The brunet guessed that this was the next question he would throw at Taemin when he saw him at lunch.
“Hello Jonghyun”, the taller opted for being polite. Maybe it would cause the other to lose interest and leave him alone.
“Hello”, he repeated and grinned even more now.
Something was definitely off with this guy… The Slytherin student decided to stay wary around him.

“So… I wondered… has anyone given you a tour yet? I’m really good at that. The staircases can be a to get used to”
That was something Kibum could agree on.
He had spent the whole first week trying not to yelp out when one of the staircases suddenly moved with him still ascending.
But he was getting better.

Really, they weren’t that bad. The other was definitely exaggerating.

“No thanks”, the Slytherin student shrugged his shoulders dismissingly
“I will be fine. You don’t need to bother”
Kibum had no idea what the other could have in mind. Why was he doing this?
What was this about?
Why him out of all people?
What kind of trouble did he want to cause… play a prank on him? Like take him on a tour only to suddenly vanish and leave the taller alone in some deserted place of the castle where he wouldn’t find back from?
All kinds of ideas raced through his mind… and the only logical solution was to stay away from that guy.

“Oh… okay then…”
The Gryffindor seemed a little lost, unsure about what to say next. Had Kibum thwarted his plans?
He sure hoped so.
“Well… then I walk you to your next class? You have Arithmancy too, right?”
The smile was back on Jonghyun’s face, wider than ever.
That guy obviously was a little bipolar if you asked Kibum.
“You really don’t need-“
“Nonsense!”, the Gryffindor student interrupted him mid-sentence
“It’s no trouble! And we are heading the same way anyway. It would be strange to part ways now”
That grin grew broader.
Kibum blinked in bewilderment but heard himself emit a long sigh.
“Fine”
It would be useless anyway, they were indeed going the same way.

“This once”, he whispered, but Jonghyun seemed far too happy with leading the way than to listen to him.

--

Once turned into twice.
Twice turned into every day for the next three weeks.
Kibum had long given up telling the other to stay away from him. That lion came back every time.
Jonghyun was persistent, and although the Slytherin student barely offered any replies to his stories the Gryffindor seemed to be more than happy with the hums and nods.

By the end of the second week, Kibum felt like he knew him better than he knew any of his roommates or Taemin.
The Gryffindor prefect had a sister, and they both lived with their mother and their grandfather. Jonghyun never mentioned his father though.
The brunet was rather curious about that.
He really wanted to ask, wanted to immerse a little more into the world of prefect Kim Jonghyun, but always held back.
It had been Kibum himself who had told the other to mind his business.
So the slightly taller figured that this was out of line. Not his business, not his place. They weren’t even friends after all.
It would probably upset the other.

That was the only thing he had gathered. That the father issue seemed to be a delicate and sensitive topic.

By the end of the third week, was Kibum still confused about Jonghyun’s ulterior motives.
He had walked him to class every morning since that day three weeks ago. Even when his own class started late.
Not once was he unpunctual.
Always showed up with a broad smile that soon infected Kibum as well.
Not that he would ever admit that though.

That guy was just too happy for his own good. And okay, some jokes were really funny.
Kibum just didn’t want to give in.
Not as long as he didn’t know what this was all about.
It’s confusing, maddeningly so.

But it also drew him in, piqued his interest.

Jonghyun was noisy, pretty pushy and intrusive. But until now he hadn’t tried any funny stuff. And that confused the Slytherin student more and more.
It was Friday morning, Kibum heading to Potions, while Jonghyun was actually supposed to be going to Transfiguration. But he never complained.
The guy always wore a smile on his face when they met up and even while they walked to the classroom, which Kibum needed to enter, to start his day of wonderful academic knowledge.

“So”
They had nearly arrived at the Potions classroom, just one corner away.
The Gryffindor had stopped and Kibum pulled up his eyebrows at that.
What now?, he asked himself.
“I was wondering…”
Jonghyun trailed off. The brunet was fumbling with his fingers and Kibum guessed that the smaller was nervous.
Nervous about what?
“Yeah?”, he tried to help the other for once
“Spit it out”
Patience was really not a Virtue of Kim Kibum. If you had something to say, either swallow it whole or bring it forth.
He was definitely the one who would speak his mind.

“Yeah… uhm”
Kibum wanted to roll his eyes, but he didn’t want to cause the other more distress.
“How about we go watch the Quidditch match on Saturday? Together?”

That caused the Slytherin student to raise his brows.
Quidditch?
Really?
The former student of Mahoutokoro huffed. Of course.
Why should Hogwarts be any different? Everything was about that stupid sport.

He crossed his arms over his chest, seizing up the other from head to toe
“I really have better things to do than watch a group of idiots fly around the pitch trying to score goals for stupid reasons like fame and the adoration from other’s”
He shook his head.
Wow.
In all the three weeks Jonghyun had never mentioned Quidditch. And that was something the other had been really happy about.
He really hated Quidditch.
Mahoutokoro was all about that type of sport. Everyone talked about it.
Every team member wanted to end up playing for the Toyohashi Tengu eventually. Get renowned, have women or men at their disposal…
It was all they talked about.
Actually, it was quite a miracle that they still asked for your grades and not for your Quidditch position.
“And I bet you should be studying for that Occlumancy test you have on Monday”, the taller brunet rolled his eyes, his arms still over his chest
“So, my answer is no. Don’t bring that up again”

The Slytherin student looked at his Gryffindor counterpart. Those dark brown orbs were half closed, averted to the floor.
Jonghyun looked dejected and really… down?

Yet, only a heartbeat later that big grin was back on his face. Only that it didn’t reach his eyes this time.
“I see!”, he chuckled
“No need to get angry, you could have just said no…”, he added, mumbling.
Kibum let his arms drop to his sides.
Why did the other look so crestfallen? Was Quidditch that important to him? Was he a big fan like almost all of his friends back home on Mahoutokoro?

The Slytherin student felt like he had overstepped a line.
He should apologise.
The brunet hadn’t meant to be that angry about it, he just… easily got peeved when Quidditch was mentioned.
And yeah… he had to admit that he had never told Jonghyun, so the latter really wasn’t at fault.

He hadn’t even realised that he had faced the ground, gnawing on his lower lip. Kibum really should apologise. He had made up his mind.
Only when he finally raised his head to face the other, the Gryffindor had vanished.
Well then…
Kibum let out a loud sigh.
There was always Monday, he figured. He could apologise first thing in the morning and explain it.

Only that on Monday morning, Jonghyun didn’t show up and for the first time in three weeks, Kibum had to walk to class alone, silence engulfing him.

He had never guessed that he had grown that accustomed to the other’s presence.
But it felt weird.

Kibum didn’t like it at all.

~~*~~

Kibum went to class without Jonghyun on that Monday.
And the Gryffindor student only bolted in when the official start of the lesson was not even one minute away.
The Slytherin wanted to catch the other’s eyes, but the brunet ignored him.

The same happened on the day after.
And the day after.
Until the week was over and Kibum had decided that this was annoying.
He had waited every morning in front of the Slytherin’s entrance to the dungeons, hoping that Jonghyun would show up so the younger could apologise.
But he didn’t.
And when he wanted to catch him after a class to have a moment alone with him… that tall, lanky Gryffindor named Choi Minho always butted in.
It was bewitched and caused Kibum to curse more than once.

When he couldn’t find Jonghyun over the weekend he had come to the conclusion that the other was avoiding him.
And that really didn’t sit well with the brunet.
He found himself sighing countless of times a day. So often, that his roommates were already annoyed by his depressed demeanour.

And though the Slytherin student really didn’t want to admit it… he missed the other.
He felt worse with every day that passes … every day where he can’t apologise to the other.
He had been over the top.
His outburst had been uncalled for.
The brunet knew that. But he needed Jonghyun to know it too, but how should he manage that if the Gryffindor wasn’t giving him a chance?

It was plain unfair and it caused Kibum to pout, his Ancient Runes homework long forgotten.
He had been doodling about everything and everyone, but had definitely not translated that old text sprawled out in front of him in his school book.
Why was he even missing that noisy lion?
Deep down, the brunet knew that he was aware of the answer. He had come to like the Gryffindor student, despite the warning of his fellow house mates.
Jonghyun was cheerful and had a kind heart.

Kibum had to admit that just after the first week he was already convinced that the other just had a weird way of making friends.
If he could call them that. He had never felt any bad vibes from the smaller… and he hadn’t looked like he was plotting Kibum’s demise.
Why should the Gryffindor offer help in Charms and later in Transfiguration if he actually wanted to harm the Slytherin student?
Right…

The latter had long realised that he might have been prejudiced and unfair to the other.
Scratch that might.

Kibum decided that it was time to take action.
He closed his book, ready to take measures into his own two hands than wait it out. If Jonghyun didn’t want to come to him, he needed to be more persistent.
He would be the one approaching the Gryffindor boy this time.

~~*~~

Said plan sounded easy, however, it turned out to be more complicated in the end. It took Kibum three days to finally get sight of the lion when he was alone.
All the other days, especially when they were in class or during breaks, someone had been around the other.
Either that Minho guy or a pretty Badger girl with the name Jieun.
Yeah, Kibum had been very thorough with his task. If he wanted to do something, he did it meticulously. No exceptions.
Besides, Jonghyun had mentioned Jieun before.
But back then, it had been something like ‘my friend, she is really funny’ or ‘my friend, she can sing really well. She is popular among the boys’.
He hadn’t known back then that this was about this girl from Hufflepuff but thanks to his investigation, he knew now.

It was Thursday evening when a chance finally presented itself.
Kibum had been glancing over to the Gryffindor table for a while already, nearly missing his mouth every time he wanted to drink from his pumpkin juice.
Jonghyun had finally finished it seemed and excused himself from his friends. The lion walked towards the door and no one was following him.
The Slytherin student dropped everything, ignoring his half-finished plate and began to track the other down.

He didn’t want to corner him right after exiting the Great Hall. No, first he wanted to get some distance between them and the other students.
Kibum could only hope that the lion was not heading straight for his dorms.

As it turned out, Fortuna was on his side that day.

The Slytherin student followed the other over various staircases, up and up, but that wasn’t the direction of the Gryffindor dorms.
At least as far as he knew.
He had never been to the Gryffindor Tower of course.
Kibum bit his lower lip. He had no idea where they were heading to but he decided that after the next turn he would finally catch the other’s attention.
Then this whole chasing game would finally be over.

The Slytherin student was growing frustrated. He just wanted it off his chest and for Jonghyun to forgive him and then maybe, perhaps they could really start as friends.
If the other would let him.
He already knew Taemin would scold him for ignoring his advices, but…
Kibum decided that they should go to hell. He wanted Jonghyun back.

The brunet watched as the other rounded a corner into yet another hallway. That was his sign to speed up.
His steps quickened and when he turned around the very same corner, Jonghyun’s name already on his lips-
Kibum stared into an empty corridor.

The words died in his throat.
How?
He had seen him walking-

But the Gryffindor wasn’t there anymore. He was gone.
Like swallowed by the ground underneath.

The Slytherin let out a frustrated whimper. Maybe it was a whine, but he really didn’t care about that now.
He felt his knees buckle, the frustration of defeat sinking in. He was at a loss.
The brunet didn’t even know in which part of the huge castle he had ended up in. Kibum had just blindly followed the Gryffindor student without really paying attention to his surroundings.
His legs finally gave in and he found himself sliding down the wall behind him until he was sitting on the floor.

The browned haired student pulled his knees up to his chest.
He just wanted to bloody apologise!
Why was this so hard? Why was that Gryffindork (by Lee Taemin) avoiding him at all costs? And how the had he just vanished into thin air?
Apparition wasn’t allowed if you didn’t have a licence for it. Besides… who would have taught him how to apparate?
His thoughts were all over the place, tumbling as if they were put inside a washing machine. No train of thought seemed coherent anymore.
Kibum growled and punched the wall with the side of his fist.
“I hate you Kim Jonghyun! I hate you!”

This was all that lions fault! Taemin had been right from the very beginning and he should have chosen to stay away.
They only brought trouble. Even troubles of the heart.

“Oh. If you hate me that much, maybe I should go again.”
Kibum’s eyes snapped open.
He knew that voice!

The Slytherin student scrambled to his feet and came face to face with the very cause of his misery.
“Kim Jonghyun!”, he yelled and immediately attacked.
Kibum practically jumped at him, leaning his head against the other’s shoulder, sighing as the other’s scent invaded his nostrils.
His hands were balled to fists again, punching the other’s chest repeatedly.
“You ! Bloody Lion, you-“

He exhaled deeply.
That was really not what he had planned to do.
Inhale, exhale again. He pulled away, a small blush creeping onto his cheeks now. He hadn’t realised he had practically hugged the Gryffindor out of a sudden.

Jonghyun chuckled a little, but he seemed really confused.
“Yeah I know which house I belong to, thank you”, he joked and Kibum swore that he had never felt this content before.
The brunet had missed those silly jokes.
“What are you doing here anyway? I thought I have finally found a bathroom that no one else uses”
Kibum blinked.
“You came all this way up here… I lost count of how many stairs I climbed because of you… only to… pee??”

Jonghyun laughter reverberated from the castle walls as he nearly doubled over from the fit.
“What? No”, the Gryffindor was still laughing and that made Kibum even more frustrated
“Oh shut up!”, Kibum growled
“And don’t laugh at me!”
Jonghyun his lips and calmed down a little before he started to explain about his adventure.
“For a bath. I like to- wait. You followed me?”
The Slytherin student froze up.
“Uhm…”
This was his chance!
Kim Jonghyun was right in front of him. And for once he didn’t seem like he would run away and avoid him again.
He took a deep breath, mustering up all the courage he could find within him.

“Yeah”, he breathed out
“I… wanted to talk to you” he finally started and met the other’s eyes. The smaller blinked, but didn’t say anything. Jonghyun waited for him to continue on his own accord.
“I wanted to apologise”
That finally tickled out a reaction from the other.
“For what?”
Kibum sighed and crossed his arms over his chest in a defensive manner. The former student of Mahoutokoro averted his eyes, not able to really look at the other, a small blush on his cheeks.
He was so bloody bad at this.
Kibum hated to admit when he had been wrong.
“For lashing out. You… couldn’t know that I don’t like Quidditch. I never told you”, he muttered
Jonghyun furrowed his brows at that.

Okay?
Had Kibum said something wrong? Was… the other avoiding him because of something else?

“This was… about Quidditch?”
“Uhm… yeah? I really dislike it… Mahoutokoro is all about which position you play, how many goals you scored or prevented… I just can’t hear it anymore”

Finally.
He had it finally off his chest.
Kibum could exhale and inhale deeply, feeling as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He uncrossed his arms now as he felt way more relaxed in the other’s presence.

The loud chuckle that followed his explanation sounded like music in his ears.
It seemed like Jonghyun accepted his apology after all.
“Bloody Merlin”, he heard the other whisper before the Gryffindor ruffled through his locks.
“And… I thought you just didn’t want to go on a date with me”

Wait.
“What?”

Kibum looked at the slightly smaller with big eyes. He what?
“Date?” What?
He was sounding especially eloquent right now. But he just couldn’t wrap his head around that statement the other had uttered.
“Yeah?”, Jonghyun smiled and shrugged his shoulders
“I… kind of thought it was clear that I liked you..?”

How about – no?

Kibum could still not believe his ears.
“And as you didn’t push me away anymore… I thought I could finally risk it… and ask you out”
Okay.
The Slytherin student was slowly coming to terms with this.
So Jonghyun actually liked him. Had stared at him because he… found him interesting? And had started to follow him around because he wanted his attention. Not even as a friend.
Got it.
Kibum exhaled yet again.
“To… Quidditch?”
Jonghyun showed an embarrassed grin.
“Might have not been my brightest idea?”
“Definitely not”, Kibum retorted, arms crossed over his chest
“To my defence, Minho said it would work!”

The brunet shook his head. However, there was a smile playing on his features.
“Next time, don’t listen to him”
Jonghyun blinked.
“N-next time?”, he asked, eyes looking at him quizzically
“Yeah. I heard that Hogsmead is nice?”

Jonghyun grinned and Kibum listened to his heartbeat that had just picked up his pace. He was feeling bold, the courage he had gathered back on track.
The Slytherin stood close to the Gryffindor student, could feel the other’s body heat radiating off of him. This was kind of nice.
He could live with that.

“So… how about we go to Hogsmead this Saturday. As a date”
Jonghyun whispered, his arms now wrapped around the Slytherin’s waist to pull him in.

Kibum smiled.
“I’d like that.”

>FIN<

A/N: 
So finally I could repost this here!
I had so much fun writing this! Thanks again to my prompter from the fest ;) Can't wait to do more fics for the next round as well ;))
Hope you enjoyed this little piece guys! ^^
I'll do Inferna soon.
I promise ;A;