there's always been a hidden spark of ruthlessness in joshua- you would've noticed it, if you bothered to look at it. therefore, it should have been no surprise that such a kindhearted boy like him was sorted into slytherin. but it was, and so it became.

he collapsed onto the velvet couch with a soft plunk, swaying back and forth as the train sped down the tracks to hogwarts. 

rounding up all the unruly first years and onwards was a mess- yes, but that wasn't why he was exhausted despite the clock reading 12 pm only.

a patch of unusual scottish sunlight reflected off of his head boy badge, right next to his slytherin coat of arms. joshua circa two hours ago would've told you that he was ecstatic at being chosen as head boy by mcgonagall; present time joshua would really like to throw his pin into a bubbling vat.

wasn't this supposed to be a form of distinction? joshua hong was easily one of the brightest magic users since hermione granger-weasly or harry potter. he had already mastered the patronus spell in his first year. since then, he was on a metaphorical rise.

the sound of a door slamming broke through his conscious- the prefects were already done with their first round of patrolling the compartments, and were returning for a break before doing their assigned jobs. one by one, prefects started arriving, gradually increasing the noise level (and subsequently, his headache).

if there was one thing (just one thing) joshua would admit he failed at- it would be keeping is emotions. so much for one of the most promising wizard, and slytherin since draco ing malfoy.  

"jisoo." and alas, the head girl steps in- also known as the current cause of his headache and longing to throw the pin into the black lake and move to australia. 

she spits his name with as much discontent as joshua has for her- which is a lot, because korean names are sacred to him and she doesn't seem to realize that he'd rather slit his throat or get beaten by a gryffindor than be seen with her.

im nayeon could fall of a cliff, and joshua would feel nothing but complete happiness.

"nayeon, i'm glad to see you. how was your aunt cho chang?" he cires back with a faux grin, inviting her to argue with him. pounding headache be damned, if it was one thing slytherins were good at (everything, actually) it would especially be both physical and verbal arguments. 

her eyes turn sharper at the mention of cho chang. "it's great, actually! she send her regards to you and your parents."

it was amazing how the tension increased tenfold, a palpable atmosphere that was thick with secrets other prefects didn't know. they were locked in a staring battle right now, swaying from the occasional bump in the track. joshua held his breath, tempted to strike her with a nonverbal hex he'd learned two years ago. 

"you know, i'd appreciate it if you guys could stop fighting here and go and resolve your somewhere else." a smooth new york accent breaks the tension, and suddenly the compartment immediately quieted to a standstill. all intently watching the gryffindor boy who had a hard time keeping in his smirk. 

"vernon, i hope you realize we're not in hogwarts yet- technically, i'm not the head boy yet and no house points can be taken from me." 

vernon's face turns a pale white, and immediately the compartment descends into all chaos, no order. joshua transfigures vernon to look exactly like a young leonardo dicaprio. in return, he leaps out and onto joshua, where he is promptly knocked into nayeon, who is called the 8th circle of hell for very obvious reasons.

maybe next time, mcgonagall shouldn't have chosen a pair from houses whose rivalry ascended all lengths and had a childhood grudge that obviously needed to be worked out before they could send hogwarts and it's 500 year history into flames.