The ministry is bustling with activity as usual and Jongin has to duck to avoid the paper planes yet again, grumbling under his breath. They still haven’t upgraded their mailing system yet. He’s been trying to push for integrating some muggle technology into their system but it hasn’t really caught on; people are too sceptical to try any of that.

He skirts past the entrance to the Care of Magical Creatures Department, after seeing flames along the openings of the entrance and hears the booming roar to go with it. He’d heard word that they’d managed to trap a rather large Manticore right before it rampaged through a muggle village. Jongin would rather not be anywhere near there while they’re trying to contain it.

He slips into the elevator to head down to level two just before the doors slide closed and the elevator plummets downwards.

“Morning Jongin,” Minseok is already inside, offering him a cheerful grin and Jongin smiles back in greeting.

“You got the memo too?” Jongin asks, holding up the paper urgently summoning him to the Auror conference room.

“Must be pretty important, I heard nearly half the department got it too,” Minseok says, stepping back to make space when the elevator gates slide open on another floor. The first person in the crowd to walk in is Taemin, grinning when he sees them and takes up the spot right next to Jongin. It’s a tight squeeze to fit the rest of the six people filing in, and Taemin presses up closer to Jongin, deliberately sandwiching him against the elevator wall. Jongin rolls his eyes and reaches down to pinch Taemin’s thigh, bearing the grin this time when Taemin fails to muffle his yelp, earning himself some dirty looks.

“10 Galleons says Junmyeon lets me head this mission,” Taemin whispers to him, a devilish look in his eyes. Jongin scoffs at that, pointedly raising an eyebrow.

“You’d need to apparate properly first before trying to lead a Hit Wizard team,”Jongin retorts, chuckling at the aggravated grunt Taemin huffs out, muttering ‘half a goddamn eyelash’ under his breath.

It’s been a long running joke between them, at Taemin’s expense, part of their back and forth banter since they were still in school. Failing the Apparition test the first time around has been a sore spot that Jongin teases him endlessly for since he passed with flying colours, holding it over his head, though Taemin never lets him forget about his broomstick incident either anyway, so they’re balanced. In any case, they’re both the top best Aurors in the department and have led their fair share of missions each already.

“Get a room,” Minseok mutters, rolling his eyes albeit good naturedly.

The doors finally slide open on their floor and they squeeze their way out through the huddle of people squashing to fit inside the elevator. The briefing room is right up ahead and the other Aurors are already filing inside for the meeting.

Junmyeon, the head of department, is already there on the elevated stand, waiting for them all to gather inside before beginning.

“There’s been word of dark magic interference clustering in certain areas, and it’s causing several disturbances too close to the muggle community for comfort,” Junmyeon says, waving his wand to conjure up an outline of a map suspended in the air, marking the spots where the disturbances have been reported. There’s at least five dots marked in red, with one shining a little more brightly than the rest.

“We’re not sure about the threat yet. It could just some misguided teens messing around but we need it checked out and neutralized before it grows and becomes a real problem,” Junmyeon lets the map expand and suspend itself in the middle of the room where everyone can study it properly.

“You’ll be going in twos. The rest of the team will be on standby for backup if necessary; you know the drill.”

He turns to Jongin and Taemin then.

“You two will scout the hotspot area. It seems to be the epicenter of the dark magic from what we can tell. It could be a fluke, but be alert for anything.”

The meeting is adjourned and Taemin swivels around in his chair, grinning at Jongin.

“Guess we’re in this one together then,” he says, wiggling his eyebrows playfully.

“You owe me ten Galleons,” Jongin says, kicking Taemin to make him swivel backwards. He’s so glad the Ministry approved the revamped furniture plan.

“Bull, the bet is moot now that we’re both leading,” Taemin says matter of factly.

“But…” he adds, looking back at Jongin. “I know where we could spend them.”

There’s a twinkle in his eyes and Jongin grins knowingly.

It’s happy hour down at the pub, with Firewhisky pouring freely and they both get a pint each. They clink their oversized mugs together and drink up.

Jongin pokes Taemin’s cheek to nudge his mouth open so he can feed him a pumpkin pasty. He’s always too hasty to remember to get some food in his stomach before drinking. Taemin’s lips close around the food, just barely brushing the tips of Jongin’s fingers and Jongin stares at his lips thoughtfully, mesmerised by the soft fullness of them. He realizes his hand is lingering and drags his fingers away, just catching the curve of Taemin’s lower lip before dropping away. His face feels hots. Maybe he drank too much Or maybe he should go for a few more. Taemin slings an arm around his neck, cradling the side of his face from the other side, turning him to face him and just smiles at him, all teeth and crinkled eyes like Jongin is his favourite person in the world. Jongin definitely needs another drink.

They’re been friends for a long time but Jongin doesn’t even remember when he started losing sight of the line that separates friendship from something else. At least for him. It’s taken him a long time to realize what it is, the pull reeling him in towards Taemin the longer they spend together, one that makes his chest ache heavily every now and then, then soar just like now when Taemin saves this smile just for him like there’s no one else in the room. Then it plummets back down to the stinging ache when he realizes he isn't bold enough to do anything about it. He can barely figure out the mess of his own thoughts and feelings, let alone figure out what Taemin’s are. Grabbing the mug again, he downs the rest of the Firewhisky in one go.

Junmyeon had instructed them to scout the area early the next morning when it’s light out, so they have the evening free before then. When they leave the bar, Jongin tosses Taemin a vial filled with a green potion to erase the alcohol from their system. He takes one for himself, wrinkling his nose at the vile taste but the lightheadedness and the queasiness in his unsettled stomach immediately disappear.

Taemin had suggested a round of spar dueling to warm up for the next day before they head home for the day. He hooks his elbow around Jongin’s neck suddenly without warning, grinning right before he spins on his heel and disapparates them both.

Jongin’s shoes sink a little in the soft, soily earth they reappear on, out in a grassy clearing Jongin is unfamiliar with. Taemin is already shrugging off his jacket, charming it to hook itself tidily on a low branch nearby.

Jongin grins, rolling up his sleeves and pulling out his wand in preparation. Taemin throws the first spell and Jongin just barely dodges it, sending a jinx right back, trying to catch him in the legs. The spell ricochets off course and smashes into a branch when Taemin deflects it in time, grinning as he bounces on the balls of his feet.

They go back and forth, summoning barriers to shield themselves when they get a little more creative with the spells that charm the soil and rocks around them. Exhilarated, Jongin laughs freely, even when they occasionally actually hit their mark with the jinxes; harmless ones of course.

At one point, Taemin raises a wall of soil in defense to block Jongin’s disarming spell and Jongin waits for it to drop, anticipation another attack, but instead a puppy dashes out from behind it, ears flopping as it lopes towards him.

“What the-” Jongin gasps, too surprised to move out of the way before the puppy leaps right on top of him and he topples over, struggling and laughing with the wiggling puppy vigorously his face.

He’s too distracted to see the next spell coming, getting him smack in the chest by the Petrificus Totalus that paralyzes his limbs and he falls still. The puppy rolls over and Jongin watches it turn back into the log Taemin must have transfigured.

Taemin appears over him then, a huge -eating grin on his face and he flicks his wand a little to dim the spell. Jongin immediately fights the hold but Taemin acts quickly, sitting right on top of him and straddles him, pinning his arms to the ground before he can raise his wand.

“I win,” he breathes, smiling wider when Jongin rolls his eyes.

“I can’t believe you seriously went for that,” Jongin huffs, disgruntled, struggling to shake Taemin off but Taemin holds him down firmly, leaning down closer to add more weight to his grip.

“Well it worked didn’t it?” Taemin laughs. Jongin glares at him but his smile doesn’t waver, eyes crinkling into half moons and his plush lips part wider into a toothy grin. The puppy was certainly distracting, but it doesn’t come close to how disarming Taemin’s smile is, especially up close like this, with his weight pressing against Jongin, feeling the warmth where his thighs are framing his waist.

Taemin finally lets go of his wrists but doesn’t get off him, sitting there like he couldn’t be more comfortable. He’s still smiling at him and his eyes haven’t left his face for a second, like taking in every minute moment of Jongin’s expression is important. Jongin’s heart skips a beat then picks up the pace, thundering against his ribs. He wonders if Taemin can somehow feel it, praying that it doesn’t give him away.

“What’s on your mind?” Taemin says then, noticing the way Jongin falls silent. He slides back to settle on Jongin’s thighs instead so Jongin can prop himself up on his elbows. This closeness they have has always been a constant throughout their friendship, something natural they immediately fell into. It would look intimate to anyone else, but it’s always been something comfortable between them, second nature even. Except Jongin has been feeling a spike in his chest at the intimacy for a while now, his skin heating up and his stomach flipping over on itself when Taemin gets close to him like this. He doesn’t want to break the comfortable connection they’ve got by making Taemin uncomfortable with his own turmoil of emotions.

“That I’m gonna win the next round,” he says instead, subtly flicking his wand to smack him in the chest with a tickling charm.

▸

Jongin can feel the bad energy the second they apparte in the area, feeling the force of the dark energy hanging over the area like a heavy curtain and he turns to Taemin with an apprehensive look, finding the same expression on Taemin’s face. They're at the address Junmyeon had given them, which turns out to be nothing more than what looks like a completely ransacked apartment. They draw their wands and move in slowly, cautious for any trap spells they might trip but they get through the door with no problems. Someone must really be messing with something dark to create such a heavy disturbance in the air.

Still, the further they walk into the apartment, the less certain Jongin is when they don’t encounter anyone. The place looks as abandoned on the inside as it does on the outside, with no sign of anyone having been in here in a while.

“Homenum Revelio,” Taemin mutters, waiting for the spell to reveal anyone’s hidden presence in the apartment but nothing happens. Jongin blinks at the still silence that goes on, frowning.

“I guess it really was a bunch of teens who just ran off when they heard us coming?” he muses doubtfully. This doesn’t feel right.

“There’s gotta be something here still causing this surge of dark magic,” Taemin mutters, carefully opening the doors to the cabinet by the wall. He comes up empty.

“Could be any Cursed Object kids can get their hands on these days,”Jongin says. “There’s been a lot of Dark Curios going around.”

“I don’t think a Dark Curio feels like this,” Taemin says, perplexed when the next room they step into is bare and empty too. “There’s nothing here.”

“Guess Junmyeon was right not to send a whole team in,” Jongin sighs, grumpy about the extra hour of sleep he probably could have gotten instead.

He lowers his wand with a sigh, staring around the room, furnished with nothing more than a rickety old nightstand and a beaten down lampshade beside it that has definitely seen better days. Jongin taps the rim of the lampshade, immediately regretting it when a puff of dust blows into his face. He reaches underneath it to find the switch and flicks it on, wondering if there’s still any power in here. The lightbulb flickers weakly, dimming a few times before steadying and holding out, lighting up the lampshade.

Jongin sees the symbol burned on it immediately.

“, Taemin-”

He doesn't get a chance to finish because the nightstand beside him explodes into splinters when a hex hits it.

“Cruoris!” Taemin yells, skidding to get to him and block the crimson hex about to hit Jongin’s face.

At least five dark figures suddenly emerge from the shadows in the room all around them, and Jongin sees it now, the dark marks suddenly coming into focus on the walls. The dark mark of the Cruoris, a single lidless eye singed in blood into the walls. They’ve been a problem for a few years now, recruiting witches and wizards into their every growing ring to practice dark magic and wreak havoc where they can.

Jongin charms the floor board up into a shield, blocking the curse right before it hits, and darts around the exploding wood to fight back, stunning one of the Cruoris. They’re badly outnumbered, just barely dodging the flying hexes exploding all around the room. One of the burning hexes catches Jongin in the arm and he hisses as the pain of the fire spreads along his arm, shifting his wand into his other hand before he drops it.

Taemin takes out another of the Cruoris, slamming him back into the window and shatters the glass, falling right through. Jongin doesn’t wait to hear the crunch of when he lands on the street.

He turns to face the Cruori coming up behind him, firing a binding jinx but it gets easily deflected. A sudden vine shoots out of the Cruori’s wand, whipping around Jongin’s arm and wrapping itself agonizingly tightly. Jongin yells in pain when the razors sprout from the vine, cutting deep into his skin and he slashes through the vine with a slicing spell, struggling to get the wriggling vine off his bleeding arm. The Cruori tries to retaliate again but Jongin acts quickly, paralyzing his limbs and trapping his body inside the plastering of the wall.

“We need back up!” Taemin growls behind him when another three Cruoris suddenly apparate inside the room, backing them into a corner. They need to get out of here.

Taemin raises his wand, the tip glowing red to signal for help back at the Ministry but a sudden hex slams him back against the wall, smashing his head into the brick and Taemin crumples on the ground.

There’s no time to call for help. Acting quickly, Jongin casts a blasting spell, using the momentary blinding flash of blue light and the confusion from the explosion to hoist Taemin up from the ground, slinging his arm around his own neck because he’s too dizzy and unsteady to stand on his own. He manages to fend off the volley of hexes shooting his way, firing off one last jinx of his own before spinning on his heel, holding on to Taemin tightly to try and apparate them out. A sudden burst of fire catches his eye a split second before they dematerialize, a jet of cursed flames spiralling right at them with the jaws of a fiery dragon and Jongin has to jerk them out of the way midway through the turn, swinging right into the path of another flying curse before apparating them both out completely.

The reappear in a field just a mile off from the ministry, slamming into the ground haphazardly from the rocky exit. Jongin gets the wind knocked out of him and coughs up blood, choking in the liquid suddenly pooling in his throat.

He can feel the searing pain slicing across his chest and he manages a look down, watching as the front of his shirt soaks in his own blood, pouring from the gashes opening up in his chest. The Sectumsempra curse hit them right before they disapparated.

Taemin coughs beside him to his right, a line of blood dripping from the corner of his mouth but he reaches over to Jongin shakily with his wand, pressing the tip lightly to his chest. Jongin fumbles for his own wand, wincing at the pain shooting through him with every move he makes and tries to stop Taemin’s bleeding too, forced to carry out the incantation non verbally.

He can see Taemin’s eyelids drooping weakly, his grip on his wand faltering but he pushes on to help seal up Jongin’s wounds and Jongin grits his teeth through the pain to do the same. The blood in his throat finally clears up and Jongin gasps wheezily when he can finally breathe properly. The wounds on his chest have closed up too and Taemin’s hand drops back onto the grass weakly. Jongin struggles to roll over on his side, still in pain from the lingering effects of the curse and coughs out the incantation again hoarsely, willing the slashes on Taemin’s chest to seal up quickly before he bleeds out.

The next swipe of his wand finally seals up the wounds on his chest and Jongin slumps limply on the grass, panting at the exertion. He tries to say something but his voice won't come to him just yet. Taemin is still lying on his back, not turning to look at him. He’s shaking. Jongin sees the tremors wracking his shoulder and he frowns, forcing himself up onto his knees to look at him properly and his eyes widen.

The entire right side of Taemin’s body is drenched in blood, a pool of red spreading out underneath him. Jongin stares at him horrified, taking in the giant missing chunks of skin starting from the side of Taemin’s neck right down to his waist. He’s been badly splinched, ripped apart by Jongin’s stilted disapparition.

Jongin can feel his insides going cold in shock, suddenly realizing that the wounds are somehow growing. He’d managed to heal the gashes on his chest but the curse must still be in his bloodstream, seeping into the splinched wounds instead.

Taemin’s eyes are unfocused and Jongin shakes himself out of his own petrified shock, kneeling by Taemin’s head and tries to get his eyes on him. He finally gets him to focus and Taemin somehow manages the barest hint of a smile up at him but the shivers start to wrack his body even harder, little tremors of pain.

Jongin tries every healing spell he knows, but the blood just keeps coming and there’s no stopping it. He just barely manages to get the wounds to stop growing, quenching some of the flow, but nothing he tries will heal the raw wounds. Even the dittany in the vial strapped to his belt isn’t working, no match for a cursed wound. He needs to get Taemin to the hospital, to the proper Healers.

He looks down at Taemin, taking in his shallow breathing and clammy, sweaty brow. Brushing Taemin’s hair off his head, Jongin grabs onto his hand but hesitates. Taemin is still far too weak to endure apparating again. Jongin doesn’t even trust himself to apparate again, not even sure of himself anymore after half killing his own best friend.

The best he can do for now is bind Taemin’s wounds up in bandages, letting the spell wrap the fabric around Taemin’s side and neck, He looks around, trying to find something to work with and spots a rotten slab of wood lying in the grass a short way off. The hospital isn’t too far from here either. This is the only thing he can think to do.

“I need to move you,” he says to Taemin, cradling his head in his hands gently, trying to offer what little comfort he can. Taemin blinks slowly in response, looking up at him but unable to give more than a muted choked noise from his throat.  

Riddled with guilt, Jongin swallows through the lump in his throat and gets to his feet, trying to keep his trembling hand steady as he starts a levitation spell, shifting Taemin slowly from the grass onto the piece of wood. The movement has Taemin groaning in pain, his face crumpling with every minute movement and each one is like a stab at Jongin’s heart, feeling the weight of his guilt and shame at having been the one responsible for his pain.

Jongin charms the piece of wood to lift off the grass, just a foot off the ground while bearing Taemin’s weight and holding him steady as a makeshift stretcher. He’ll have to walk all the way  like this from here.  

The distance is a lot longer on foot, especially when Jongin’s entire body still hurts and he has to keep up the levitation spell the entire way. Taemin gives him a couple of scares, fading in and out despite Jongin trying to keep him conscious, nearly losing him once or twice.

The cloaking spell Jongin haf set up earlier keeps them both hidden while he crosses them over to get to the main doors of the hospital. St Taegon appears on the curb to unsuspecting muggles, but the real name gleams differently to a wizard’s eye; Yoo Hee Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.

Jongin stumbles inside, finally releasing the spells he’s been struggling to keep up this whole time and his knees buckle underneath his weight, worn out and wracked with pain.

The Healers immediately rush over to his side but Jongin waves them off, urgently pointing at Taemin, still lying scarily still on the plank of wood, pale as death. He recognizes Kim Jongdae, the head Healer, and watches him bark out instructions and they coordinate a spell to elevate Taemin up again and guide him onto a proper cot where they can attend to him quickly. Jongin releases a long breath of relief, praying that it’s not too late. It only hits him now that he’s still bleeding from his arm where the sharp vine had latched onto his arm. In fact, his entire body is still screaming in pain, still not fully recovered from the effect of the Sectumsempra. He doesn’t have enough strength in him to push himself up to his feet.

A sudden hand on his shoulder startles him, and he looks up to find Jongdae kneeling down in front of him again, a concerned look on his face.

“You’re in pretty bad shape yourself,” he says gently, helping him up onto his feet. They’ve met a couple of times through Minseok, when Jongdae comes to visit him at work sometimes.

He helps Jongin onto another free cot despite Jongin’s insistence that he doesn’t need it, and firmly but kindly sits him down to take a look at him.

“But Taemin-” Jongin protests.

“Will be fine,” Jongdae cuts in, turning Jongin’s arm to examine the wound. “There’s plenty of healers working on him now. He’s in good hands. Let’s focus on you right now, okay?”

Jongin bites his lip and lets Jongdae work, hissing at the small burning pain from the healing spells before the ache finally fades away.

“Almost done,” Jongdae says, having noticed the way Jongin’s foot keeps jiggling anxiously. He tilts Jongin’s head to the side, getting to the bruising around his neck and Jongin closes his eyes as the pain leaves him slowly.

“There.”

“Thanks,” Jongin murmurs gratefully, giving him a thankful nod as he smooths his fingers over the newly healed skin on his arm. The scar can’t be helped. “Hyung, please-”

“I’ll go check on Taemin,” Jongdae is one step ahead of him, a kind, knowing smile on his face.

Jongin’s voice sticks in his throat again, and he reaches out to give Jongdae’s hand a grateful squeeze instead, knowing that Jongdae can feel his desperation.

He drops his head in his hands when Jongdae leaves, letting out a shuddering breath. They’ve taken Taemin to a different room so he can’t see him yet. he could have killed Taemin just because he wasn’t careful enough. The guilt grinds in his gut, bringing up flashes of Taemin’s blood and pale lips when he closes his eyes. His fingers come away wet.

Jongdae left a vial with a potion to help with the residual pain on the nightstand by the cot but Jongin doesn’t take it, not sure if it’s his limbs or his chest aching more at this point. Splinching your partner through disapparition is such a basic, rookie mistake, it shouldn’t be something a wizard of his position should be doing, especially not when that mistake half kills your partner and best friend.

He barely hears it when one of the Healers comes back to tell him Taemin is in the clear, nodding vaguely when she says he can go see him. The words hit him moments later when they finally break through his clamouring thoughts. Taemin is in the clear; he’s okay.

Jongin feels the relief bubbling up in his chest, trying to exhale, but the feeling makes his chest cave in on itself instead, offering him no reprieve. It takes him a good long while to actually bring himself to step inside the room where Taemin is, staying behind the wall by the doorway, trying to shake away the images of Taemin drowning in his own blood.

When he finally does step through the doorway, he stays by the door, not moving any closer to where Taemin’s laying on the bed, clean of blood but looking terribly pale and almost fragile. Jongin isn’t used to seeing him like this. Taemin is usually so relentless and unyielding, bouncing back from anything with his boundless energy.

“So much for flying colours huh?”

Taemin’s voice is weaker than Jongin has ever heard it, coughing over the small laugh he gives in spite of it.

“, Taemin, I'm so sorry,” Jongin whispers, slumping back against the door.

“Stop,” Taemin says firmly, looking him in the eye. “You saved my life, idiot. What’s there to be sorry for?”

Jongin opens his mouth to talk but Taemin cuts in again, clearly anticipating what he’s about to say, as usual.

“It was a tight situation, there was no other way,” he says stoutly. “Besides, I’m fine now. I’d rather lose a few pieces than not be here at all.”

He rolls his eyes at Jongin’s stubborn silence, gesturing him to come closer instead of lingering by the exit.

“See, look, we match,” he beams brightly, his fingers tracing over the marred skin still healing on Jongin’s arm. The healing scars on Taemin’s own skin do nothing for the guilt bubbling up in his throat again, and Taemin notices.

“You are way too chipper about this,” Jongin grumbles before Taemin says anything else. He needs to pull himself together. Moping isn’t going to help anyone.

“I need to make up for your broodiness,” he grins and Jongin nearly punches him in the arm before stopping himself short.

He pulls up a chair next to Taemin’s bed, trying to get comfortable on the rickety wood.

“Well you’re stuck with this broody for a while because I’m staying the night,” Jongin says defiantly.

“You’re damn right you’re keeping me company,” Taemin throws back, grinning widely when Jongin finally manages to crack a smile. He’s always been good at this, making Jongin smile when he really needs it.

He catches the way Taemin shifts his hand to the edge of the bed, turning his palm up, and Jongin reaches up to squeeze his fingers lightly, finally letting himself find relief in the reassurance of Taemin’s eyes. Taemin keeps playing with his fingers, his eyes focused on the way their fingers fit together, a strange smile on his face. It’s times like this that frustrate Jongin, when he can’t read Taemin’s face or understand what his smile means when it looks like this. Still, he doesn’t probe.

Jongin lets him rest when Taemin’s eyes start to get droopy, all his energy spent. Sitting back in the chair, he folds his arms to trap some warmth and watches the slow, steady rise and drop of Taemin’s chest, letting the soothing rhythm of his breathing lull him into dozing off too.

▸

Jongin is jerked awake by the sudden fire searing through his veins. His eyes fly open but he can’t see anything, doesn’t see anything there when he looks down even when his chest heaves in agony, feeling like something is trying to yank him inside out. He wheezes, gasping for air, trying to shout but it feels like there’s a noose around his neck. Jongin struggles on the chair, kicking himself backwards enough to make a screeching noise against the floor that wakes Taemin up with a jolt, and Jongin just catches his alarmed expression, struggling against the sheets to reach out for him right before everything disappears before his eyes.

Instead of Taemin, Jongin sees a ring of fire and a blood spattered carving on the wooden floor inside it. A single lidless eye.

Jongin recognizes the spell the Cruoris cast, a rare branch of dark magic that has been illegal for decades; a Blood Summoning. He realizes with a jolt that they must have gotten his blood from the vine that had cut him earlier. The whole thing was a trap; this had been their plan all along.

He drops to his knees, unable to hold himself up from the strain of the forced disapparition. The pain finally stops but there’s no time to gather himself because one of the hooded Cruoris steps forward and immediately hits him with an Imperius curse.

Jongin grits his teeth as the spell sweeps through him, latching onto every muscle and limb to take control but he fights it off, clearing his mind the way all Aurors are taught during their training. He clenches his fists, struggling to regain control and growls when he manages to fight it off entirely, breaking himself free from the spell’s hold.

Moving quickly, Jongin rolls out of the way when another spell shoots his way, missing him by an inch and pulls out his own wand, firing accurately enough to knock the caster out cold with his own jinx.

He’s immediately punished for his effort, his back turned for far too long to defend himself against so many opponents and they hit him with a Cruciatus curse. The agony spreads through his body like wildfire and he drops to the ground again, writhing in pain.

They’re trying to weaken him, enough for the Imperius to take, he realizes when he fights off the curse again, regaining control of himself. This time, he doesn’t get time to reach for his wand again, buckling over under the excruciating pain of the Cruciatus from two casters in one go. They stand over him, watching him thrash through the torment, smirking down at him. Jongin has no strength left to fight off the next wave of the Imperius Curse sweeping over his body again, too beaten down to resist.

His limbs move by themselves, almost like his body is in a trance, floating numbly against gravity, against his will. On command by the Cruoris. Everything except his mind and consciousness, which Jongin has somehow managed to maintain control over despite the curse consuming the rest of his body. He waits for the blackout to come, the blankness of mind that comes with an Imperius curse, but it doesn’t happen and he remains conscious of everything, unable to do anything to stop it.

“As expected from an Auror,” a voice emerges from the other side of the ring and the Cruoris step aside for the cloaked figure to cross into the circle and the fire goes out. Jongin finally sees his face clearly, suddenly recognizing him from the few sparse photographs there are of him in existence. Kihwan, the original Cruori, the very one who began the recruitment of dark witches and wizards into his circle. There hasn’t been any mention of him or his whereabouts in months; the Ministry has no idea he’s even here, in the city.  

Jongin tries to fight the curse off again but the iron grip it has over his entire body is relentless. Kihwan steps closer to his immobilized body where he’s standing, paralyzed, on the spot.

“I know you can hear me,” Kihwan breathes in his ear, laughing derisively. “The Imperius curse won’t last very long, not on someone like you.”

He circles around him and Jongin tries to fight the curse again, trying to find a modicum of control anywhere in his extremities.

“It doesn’t matter. I don’t need an Imperius curse to force my way into the Ministry,” Kihwan shrugs, stepping back into the circle, facing Jongin. “You’re going to make sure I walk right in.”

Jongin’s insides go cold, feeling the starting shiver of panic creeping up his throat but he still can't move. Kihwan draws back his sleeve, exposing his arm and Jongin’s legs force him forward, closer until he actually links hands with Kihwan. It's the most unsettling and terrifying sensation, to be able to feel everything and absolutely nothing at the same time.

Another Cruori steps up beside them, raising his wand and it suddenly hits Jongin like a freight train.

“Leverage,” Kihwan smiles coldly, gripping Jongin's fingers more tightly and holding their linked hands up. The Unbreakable Vow.

“Do you vow to protect Kihwan from any harm from others?” The Cruori starts and Jongin is screaming inside, thrashing against the spell chaining him down but nothing will obey him.

“I do,” he hears himself say, frantic at his body's betrayal signing his own death sentence like this.

“Do you vow to make certain Kihwan is not attacked in any way or form?”

It feels like he's already dying, drowning in his horror as he says again; “I do.”

His finger twitches as he says it. He's breaking through. Jongin screams in his head at the  strain against his frozen limbs, desperate to get out of here before it gets any worse.

He doesn't break free in time.

“Do you vow to make sure that Kihwan does not die?”

Jongin’s teeth grind together as though trying to fight his own tongue from rolling around the words.

“I do.”

Kihwan smiles triumphantly, dropping Jongin's hand once the vow is sealed and complete.

“I don't think i need to remind you what happens if anyone so much as touches me,” he sneers. “Who knows; you might just end up joining my circle altogether.”

The Imperius curse finally breaks and Jongin immediately spins on his heel, disapparating.

When he reappears at the hospital, back by Taemin’s side, he staggers and crashes into the nightstand, off balance and still unsteady from the loss of control. The pain of the Cruciatus catches up to him all in one go, having been blissfully numbed out during the Imperius curse. It hurts like a thousand knives in his bloodstream but he's too disoriented and shellshocked to even react to it.

“Jongin!” Taemin's voice breaks through the stunned, aching whistling in his ear and Jongin's eyes focus on Taemin's face appearing before his own, brows tugged together with worry. He watches him call for the healers, immediately recognizing the signs of the curses but Jongin grapples at Taemin's wrist desperately to get his focus back on him.

His head is still spinning and inside it still feels like he's being tortured over and over again, the severity of the ordeal crushing a hole in his chest. He finds his voice and tells Taemin what happened before he loses his nerve completely and collapses.

The blood drains out of Taemin's face when he’s done, looking as shocked as Jongin feels.

“I don’t know what to do,” Jongin whispers, feeling lost and overwhelmingly helpless. Taemin wordlessly draws him in closer, wrapping his arms around him tightly and the real full pressure he can feel of Taemin’s fingers pressing into his skin is the only thing that keeps Jongin from losing his mind right now.

▸

They have to brief Junmyeon and the rest of the Auror department the minute Jongin is done getting treated for the after effects from the curses. The Healers insist that neither him nor Taemin are cleared for discharge, still needing more treatment, but there’s no time to just lay around and do nothing.

This is the first time Jongin has ever seen Junmyeon look this stumped for a moment before he composes himself. It certainly feels like a dead end situation to Jongin. He’s just told everyone that they are to expect an attack on the Ministry any day now, from one of the most notorious dark wizards in the country, and they can’t do anything to stop him without killing Jongin in the process.

“We’ll find a way,” Junmyeon reassures him. “We’re not giving up on you.”

Jongin isn’t very convinced. He has a lot of respect for Junmyeon and is well aware that he is respected back as one of the top Aurors in the department, but if it comes down to him and the entire Ministry, he doesn’t think anyone would pick Jongin as the priority.

He wonders if it’s selfish of him, not wanting to die even when there’s so much at stake. There’s no way to reverse or undo an Unbreakable Vow, that’s the nature of the bond itself. There just doesn’t seem to be a way out of this and Jongin can’t help but think of how long he’s got left before the inevitable. It seems almost unbelievable that they haven't already just discarded him as inevitable but necessary collateral damage.

Taemin clearly notices him spiralling because he slips a hand onto Jongin's knee under the table they're sitting around, squeezing lightly to get his attention and snap him out of it just for a moment. Jongin heaves out a silent, grateful exhale, looking down at Taemin's hand, feeling as though it's the only thing keeping him grounded enough to not lose his mind.

Junmyeon calls the meeting to a start once everyone is present, briefing everyone on the situation again and acknowledging that an attack on the ministry is probably imminent, far sooner than later now that Kihwan has his failsafe. Jongin swallows guiltily at that as he listens to the others throwing out ideas on how to raise their defences during the attack. Each suggestion just keeps getting shot down when all of them would still get Jongin killed. There's nothing that they come up with that isn't a direct threat to Kihwan 's mortality or safety, ironically the one thing that Jongin's life depends on. It's no use when they suggest bringing in magical creatures to at least safeguard the entrance, be it bicorns or dragons; even vicious plants like venomous tentacula or devil's snare still use offensive attacks in their defence. Jongin has been given a death sentence that no one can stop. The only near acceptable suggestion they’ve managed to come up with so far is the Border spell, a non offensive enclosement charm meant to protect the person inside from outside attacks but also prevent them from leaving the borders while the caster is still maintaining the spell. They’ll need at least four people to combine the spell together to keep a wizard like Kihwan in. It’s not the best strategy but it’s the only one they’ve got so far.

They go back and forth a little longer and Jongin is just about to dismiss it all, to urge them to just go ahead with the attacks on Kihwan anyway, despite the consequences, Junmyeon calls for a short recess and they break up to reconvene later on.

“C’mon,” Taemin murmurs in his ear, coaxing him up with a hand around his elbow. “Let’s get out of here for a bit.”

Jongin follows him outside the Ministry’s limits, and before Jongin realizes what’s happening, Taemin disapparates them both out.

They reappear at a familiar grassy bank by the lake, a quiet place Taemin often likes to wind down at with Jongin when they’ve got some time to spare. Sometimes they can hear the merpeople sing faintly from here.

Jongin takes a moment to glare at Taemin, reprimanding for apparating so soon after just having had his body put back together from the last incident. Taemin shrugs, waving him off with a carefree grin and strolls closer to the edge of the water, looking out across the slight ripples breaking the surface here and there. The giant squid is somewhere just below the surface, drifting.

“What are we doing here?” Jongin asks, stepping down beside him. He’s too preoccupied by his own possible imminent death to be able to appreciate the serenity and just lay back and hope for the best.

“Remember that time I pushed you in?” Taemin says instead, a reminiscent smile of his face but Jongin sees right through to the mischief behind. It was right after they graduated, when they had come here together to celebrate and get drunk on Firewhisky. Taemin had thought it would be hilarious to push Jongin into the lake while he was tottering tipsily right by the edge. That was before he’d realized Jongin had already befriended the giant squid and got yanked right in too with a tentacle around his ankle, defending Jongin’s honour.

“I’m not ready for you to not be here anymore,” Taemin confesses then, more quietly; grimly. The troubled expression on his face cracks through the smile and the uneasiness takes over. He’s worried; scared.

“So quit acting like it’s a dead end. We’re gonna figure something out. I’m not done with you yet.”

Jongin keeps his eyes fixed on his face, catching every shift in his expression and the way his throat moves when he swallows.

“What do you mean not done with me?” he asks, heart in his throat when he sees how the question catches Taemin off guard, perhaps not having expected him to latch onto that.  

“Well. I haven't made your life hell for splinching me yet,” he says, a beat too late and Jongin can see that he’s avoiding the question.

He steps closer meaningfully, furrowing his eyebrows. He doesn’t have time to play this game, to tease and probe until he gets it out of him like they usually do. Something about this time feels different too, like there’s something bigger Taemin is trying to hide behind his words and it only makes Jongin anxious to think that his clock is ticking on finding that out, literally.

Taemin reads his face, of course, his smile slipping back into seriousness again. It’s rare that he’s ever like this, which only makes the dire situation Jongin is in resonate that much louder.

“Tell me,” Jongin whispers desperately and Taemin closes his eyes, locked in some internal battle.

“Take it then,” Taemin says finally, opening his eyes to fix his gaze on Jongin with new resolve. He gestures towards his temple. “I want you to see it.”

There’s something about the way he says it, the slight tremble in his voice, the way his eyes are boring into Jongin’s, willing him to understand something that Jongin can’t see just yet.

Taemin draws his wand, casting a silent summoning spell and what looks like a silver penny flies out from his pocket, growing larger as it drifts in midair until it’s the size of a plate. His Pensieve.

“Take them,” he breathes again, and Jongin pulls out his own wand, suddenly finding it hard to breathe through the pounding in his chest as he draws out the fine silvery strand of memories from Taemin’s temple. Taemin doesn’t take his eyes off him the entire time, nodding at him to dip the strand into the Pensieve’s liquid.

Jongin holds onto his gaze a little longer before reaching out for his wrist and leaning forward to dip his face into the Pensieve. It feels like he’s falling as he dives into Taemin’s memories, his stomach in his throat and heart by his feet just before he finally lands on solid ground and then he’s somewhere else. Taemin is right there beside him, standing by silently. There’s an unfamiliar expression on his face, a hint of nervousness as he waits for Jongin to look around and take in the memory they’ve dropped into.

Jongin sees it then, the familiar cloak billowing past him. It’s himself in Taemin’s memory from years ago, in their final year right before graduation. He watches fleeting moments sweep by before his eyes, like a movie reel sweeping all around him, watching from Taemin’s perspective. Memory Taemin is there too by memory Jongin’s side. He remembers all of this, the ringing playful laughter, the moments of triumph in the changing room after winning a quidditch game, their attempts to study for finals in the library, that one time they snuck up into the Astronomy tower in the middle of night to see the stars better. Jongin remembers all of it except when he’s watching them like this, it all feels completely different, like he’s been missing a piece to the whole puzzle each time. All the things he’d missed by a fraction of a second because he’d turned away a moment too soon, or never thought to look back.

It’s all in Taemin’s eyes. After each memory of them together, memory Taemin lingers a little longer than Jongin remembers, throwing him looks so subtle he just barely catches them now when he’s rewatching the memory. They look almost wistful. Jongin had never realized that Taemin was looking at him instead of the sky up in the Astronomy tower.

The memories shift again then, moving forward and the colours in the memory dampen, turning dark and grey. Pain.

Jongin remembers this one like it was yesterday. Every batch of new Aurors goes through a simulated field assignment in their first year, a tradition within the department. They’re put into teams of two, and the team with the best performance gets the privilege of picking their own real assignment first, which is enough to get them all motivated. Jongin has paired up with Taemin, of course, having already devised a plan together on how to win this. Not getting that privileged choice could mean being left with boring house disturbances and muggle concealment control instead when all the more interesting assignments are taken.

Jongin winces as he watches the memory, remembering how it had gone sideways despite their confidence and how synced they usually are together. He turns to look at Taemin standing quietly beside him, wondering why he’s showing him this memory in particular but Taemin’s eyes betray nothing.

Their simulation had thrown a slew of things at them, conjuring up illusions of opposing wizards with very real dueling spells shooting their way, all of which they’d managed to deflect with no issue. Even the inferi didn't throw them off. It’s when the Dememtors swooped in from the shadows that suddenly rocked the stability they’d managed to maintain.

“Taemin!” Jongin watches himself calling Taemin for help, struggling to deal with the incoming spells and the army of dead bodies crawling his way by himself when the three dementors crowded around him alone.

He watches the scene like it’s his own memory again, the way Taemin dashed back by his side, wand raised but then faltered when he faced the dementors himself. His hesitation cost him too much time and they ducked down all around him, swooping in for the dementor’s kiss.

Junmyeon had called the simulation to a stop then when Taemin collapsed, weakened despite it being a simulation. He’d pulled Jongin off him when the Healers came in to carry him out into the medic’s tent and that’s as far as Jongin’s memory of the event goes. He remembers feeling worried, concerned about Taemin and confused about what the hell happened.

Taemin’s memory, however, goes on. The memory shifts to him in the medic’s tent and Junmyeon standing by the side of the bed where he’s lying. They’ve known each other since before Taemin joined the Auror department, having been childhood friends after being neighbours for so long.

“I know you’re better than this,” Junmyeon says quietly, frowning for a moment. “I’ve seen your capabilities, I certified you into the department myself. You’re not the kind of wizard who suddenly can’t produce a simple Patronus.”

Taemin’s face betrays the barest hint of guilt behind a slight frown and Junmyeon’s sharp eye catches it.

“What happened out there?”

Jongin steps in closer to listen, curious, his heartbeat quickening in his chest for some reason.

“Panicked,” Taemin says shortly, avoiding Junmyeon’s eyes.

“Why?”

Taemin sighs, a small humourless smile curling at his lips. He looks almost vulnerable. Raising his wand, he whispers the incantation for the Patronus and the tip of his wand immediately flows silver as the spell begins to emerge and Jongin waits with bated breath, heart in his throat, not sure what he’s expecting.

A flash of red sparks suddenly disrupts the image and the memory distorts in on itself, crumpling with a screeching sound and the world collapses around them. They’re both yanked out roughly from the memory by force and land on the grass in the opening with a hard thump. The pensieve shrinks back to penny size, slipping back into Taemin’s pocket.

The sparks are still shooting from the tips of their wands; there’s an emergency back at the Ministry. Both of them get to their feet immediately and Jongin’s heart hasn’t settled yet, feeling flustered and he can see that Taemin is just as ruffled as he is, clearly having come close to showing him what he really wanted Jongin to see just before the interruption.

Jongin catches his eye again a split second before he disapparates, seeing the echoes of too many unsaid words weighing heavily in his expression.

The attack on the ministry begins with a giant explosion from the main atrium hall. They’ve been breached. The floor channels suddenly begin to flood with black smoke, thick and suffocating as it spreads through the room.

The Aurors spread out across the floor, urging the rest of the ministry workers to get to safety as they take their stance, preparing themselves for whatever emerges from the curtain of smoke. Jongin grips his wand tightly, casting a quick glance at Taemin beside him, his face drawn tightly in grim anticipation. They’re already at a disadvantage after Junmyeon had made the executive decision to lower the barrier blocking out dark wizards with a sharp blasting effect. It makes them a whole lot more vulnerable to the attack but manually dueling the Cruoris one by one themselves would at least lower the chance of Jongin dying automatically just by preventing Kihwan from getting in.

Jongin grits his teeth, feeling the guilt eating him up inside but there’s no time to do anything about it now and they’ve run out of time to think of something else.

A whipping sound cracks through the air right before a swarm of vines shoot out of the smoke, latching onto at least five of the Aurors standing the closest and hurls them aside, clearing a path for when the Cruoris suddenly charge out of the smoke.

Their spells collide into the ones the Aurors shoot back, throwing explosions of sounds and light throughout the atrium. There’s absolute chaos as the vines shoot out again, grabbing more of them, diminishing their numbers even as the captured ones try to break free of the hold, struggling as it coils more tightly around them.

Jongin ducks just in time to avoid it, slicing through it with a wave of his wand and Taemin flies in behind him to cover his back, hexing two of the Cruoris in one go. Jongin deflects another hex hurtling his way, managing to land a jinx of his own to bring another Cruori down.

Through the struggle, Jongin just catches sight of Kihwan walking calmly through the chaos, headed straight towards the main entrance leading into the deeper areas of the Ministry.

Junmyeon spots him too, hollering at the Aurors closest at him to follow him. Jongin sprints after them, blowing aside the Cruori in his way with a silent spell and raises his wand to prepare for the Border spell.

“Now!” Junmyeon bellows, shooting the spell up over their heads and Jongin pitches in, watching as the reddish sheen of the spell connects with the other three Aurors’ spell to drop around Kihwan, stopping him in his tracks.

Kihwan looks completely unfazed, turning to look over his shoulder and locks eyes with Jongin. He smirks coldly, confidence written all over his face.

A howl pierces through the cacophony of the fighting and Jongin feels the blood drain out of his face. Werewolves.

One of them charges straight for their ring around Kihwan and one of the Aurors, Kyungsoo, has to break the spell to defend himself, struggling to block the werewolves from getting at the others too.

The spell wobbles shakily but Jongin forces it back into stability, feeling the sweat beading on his forehead.

“Hold it!” Junmyeon roars, when another Auror gets swept away by another vine shooting around his ankle.

Kihwan smiles, raising his own wand now and Jongin grunts at the strain when he shoots spell after spell at the walls of the shield from the inside, trying to overpower them and blast his way through. There’s too much going on around for all of them to keep the shield stable for too long, forced to break and defend themselves when the Cruori advance far enough to get to them.

It’s only Jongin and Junmyeon left, but Kihwan can already see that it’s not enough. The last blast he sends breaks right through the shield and the force of the explosion hurls both of them backwards in the air, sending them crashing to the ground. Jongin just catches Kihwan disappearing through the doorway, knowing exactly where he’s headed. The Department of Mysteries.  

“Get ahead of him!” Junmyeon yells at him, already busy fighting off the werewolf trying to claw his face off.

Jongin scrambles to his feet, casting a quick glance around and immediately finds Taemin, fighting off the Cruoris by the stairway. He blasts through the ring of wizards closing in around Taemin, grabbing him and a handful of others to follow him through a different passageway, trying to head for the secret shortcuts in the walls that will get them to the Department of Mysteries faster.

The burst out into the dark hallway just before Kihwan rounds the corner from the other end. Jongin immediately starts a chant with the others, raising a curtain of protection spells in the space between them, as many as they can manage to defend the door behind them without directly attacking.

It slows him down, but it’s not enough to stop him and Kihwan slashes right through the spells one by one with each step.

“Don’t forget your vows,” he calls out tauntingly, his voice muffled behind the wall of spells. He cracks through the next wave with a slash of his wand and they tense up, gearing up for when he makes it through.

Jongin manages to cast a look alongside at Taemin, spotting the bruised lip he’s sporting. Taemin still grins at him despite the deep cut cracking open, though Jongin can still see the apprehension clearly in his eyes.

“Get ready,” he mutters, and the other two with them, Moonkyu and Wonshik raise their wands at the ready.

Kihwan breaks through the last barrier between them and they immediately cast the Border spell, trying to trap him inside again. The spell doesn’t take fast enough and Kihwan immediately slashes his wand through it, rebounding with a combustive spell that blasts right through them, slamming them all back against the walls.

“That little party trick only works once,” Kihwan snarls.

Jongin groans at the explosive pain in his skill and he sees Taemin struggling to get up too, bleeding down along the back of his neck. He tries for another spell but Kihwan immediately disarms him and fires back with the Cruciatus curse, hitting all the others except Jongin.

He’s forced to listen to listen to their screams of pain echoing along the hallway, eyes wide in shock and despair as he watches Taemin writhe on the ground, clenching his teeth together to try and keep the cries of pain inside.

“Does it sting?” Kihwan hisses tantalizingly. “They’ll die because you’ve sworn to protect me.”

He laughs again, jerking his wand to intensify the curse and they all howl in pain again. Jongin can't look away from Taemin’s contorted face, distraught by his pain.

Taemin forces his eyes open, catching Jongin’s eye and just barely manages to shake his head, urging him not to listen to Kihwan’s words.

Jongin can't do this. He’s let this go on too far; he should have just done something from the start instead of letting everyone take the hit for him. He can’t let himself be the reason for Taemin’s pain again. His lips part but he can't speak, drowning in the look in Taemin’s eyes.

‘I’m sorry.,’ he half prays Taemin can hear his thoughts through the look in his own eyes. ‘I love you’. He can’t bring himself to say it outloud, not like this.

“Enough,” he says, turning back to Kihwan and raises his wand.

“Jongin,” he hears Taemin croak out, catching his movement through the corner of his eye, desperately trying to reach him through the cursed pain. Jongin forces himself not to look back at him or he won't be able to go through with this if he catches Taemin’s eye again. He won't be able to leave him.

Kihwan looks surprised this time, taken aback by Jongin’s sudden stance and releases the curse to raise his wand warily at Jongin.

“Did you forget what happens if you break your vow?” he breathes, narrowing his eyes at him.

“I’ll die,” Jongin says simply, gripping his hand tighter in his hand to try and shake off the numbness spreading all over his body threatening to paralyze him. He’s never used a killing curse before but he’s only got one shot at this. “But you’re dying with me.”

He fires the curse out, whipping his wand through the incantation just as Kihwan fires one back and all he hears through the sudden fire searing through his veins all throughout his entire body is Taemin’s voice screaming his name. It’s the only thing he latches onto, feeling the wave of pain suddenly paralyze his body, holding on to the sound as he prays for the quick blackness of death to end his agony.

The blackness does come. Briefly, just for a few moments, and then there’s an explosion of red filtering through his closed eyelids and Jongin gasps feeling like he’s being wrung inside out.

He cracks his eyes open; he’s not in the Ministry anymore. His entire body hurts but the twinge of pain wracking through his chest hurts the worst. He’s dead.

He’s dead but at least Taemin will live and so will the rest of the wizards back at the Ministry now that they don't need to worry about him anymore. The rest of the Curori are bound to feel Kihwan’s death, connected to his presence that should now have severed; without their leader, they’ll retreat back into the shadows.

He looks around trying to figure out where he is but all he can see is this thick redness, overhead, below his feet, all around him. It’s almost too dim to even see clearly, like the lights have been doused in red flares and hues. Is this what the afterlife is meant to look like?

Jongin realizes then that he’s still holding his wand in his hand, surprised that it even made it through with him in death. It’s still reverberating through him, resounding through his brain hollowly; death. He’s not sure how to process the fact that he died, that his life really has suddenly come to a screeching halt here. The pain is the only thing that registers, hurt and agony, that he’ll never see another day. That he’ll never see Taemin again and that he never took the chance to just tell him everything. The regret starts to seep in, burning alongside the excruciating ache inside.

His thoughts are suddenly scattered when a sudden hex volleys over his head, just missing him by inches. Startled, he whirls around and sees Kihwan standing there a short way off, pointing his own wand at Jongin already starting to fire another hex.

Jongin ducks the next one too. This must be hell then. Kihwan roars and fires another series of curses, all of which Jongin manages to deflect or dodge, though just barely by the skin of his teeth. He fires back his own, forced to go through every hex he knows to try and weaken Kihwan before he attempts the curse again. His energy is far too depleted as it is.

There’s nowhere here for him to take cover, there’s nothing around anywhere and Jongin has to pray that his hand doesn't give out though he’s not too sure what happens if he dies again when he’s already dead.

He summons up a wall from the ground and the next killing curse hurtling in his direction smashes up the wall into shards of rock. One of them catches Jongin sharply on his cheek and he winces, reaching up to touch his face. His fingers come away red and Jongin gapes at the blood. So, he can bleed too in the afterlife then.

Kihwan grows more livid as he fires out curse after curse ricocheting all around Jongin, anything that will work apparently and Jongin can feel his luck running out. He’s only got one idea left; it’s risky but he’s feeling pretty bold now that he’s dead.

He waves his wand in a quick wide circle, mustering all the energy he’s got left in his body and blasts the Fiendfyre spell, gritting his teeth at the strain as a giant ball of fire explodes from the tip of his wand. The flames twist and contort into the distinct shape of a dragon, and it charges straight at Kihwan, burning through the spell he tries to deflect with. Jongin can barely see through the inferno but he can hear Kihwan’s screams clearly, the sounds of a man burning alive in the flames that no water can put out.

The dragon of fire fights against Jongin’s wand, burning with a life of its own and Jongin crumples on the ground, crying out in pain when the flames begin to at his skin, too uncontrollable to rein in.

There is stone silence from the other side of the flames and Jongin breathes out a sigh of relief even as he collapses weakly, not trying to fight it any longer. He can go in peace now, letting his eyes close and lets himself sink into the excruciating agony.

A shockwave suddenly zings right through him and Jongin’s eyes fly open again. He’s on the ground at the Ministry again, recognizing the dark patterned ceiling he’s staring up at. There’s a ring of people crowding around him but the first face he sees is Taemin, trying to reach up for him but the pain registers then, pulsing across every limb and he groans.

Taemin laughs at him, even as his entire face crumples with relief and he reaches down for him instead, holding onto his hand and palming the side of his face gently. Jongin smiles up at him, barely processing the fact that he’s alive right now, or how it even happened. He’ll deal with that later. Right now, Taemin is squeezing his hand gently and Jongin needs to tell him. He tries to talk but he only manages a rasp, wincing at the burning ache in his throat.

“Don’t,” Taemin murmurs softly, shifting to the side when the Healers come in to help with Jongin. He notices the pressure when Jongin musters enough strength to squeeze his hand back. “I’ll be right here.”

The Healers wave their wands over him and Jongin feels his limbs going numb slowly, blissfully blocking out the pain and he keeps his eyes fixed on Taemin’s face for as long as he can before he blacks out.

▸

When he comes to and cracks his eyes open, everything is blurry but he registers a shape moving from side to side in his field of vision. Blinking the blurriness away, he sees Taemin pacing from side to side, recognizing the curtains of the hospital. Taemin’s face looks drowning, frowning a little with his eyebrows tugged together, hands shoved in his pockets as he paces again impatiently. He never was one for sitting quietly for too long.

Jongin tries to sit up, to call out to him but his entire body aches and he can only groan loudly, falling back against the pillows. Taemin is at his side immediately, his hands hovering over him like he’s not sure if touching him will help or not.

“What the hell were you thinking?” Taemin settles for instead. Now that Jongin’s got a better look, Taemin looks furious.

“Sorry?” Jongin tries, but Taemin’s face only darkens more.

“You nearly got yourself killed. ,, you did get yourself killed,Jongin,”

“I’m sor-“

“God, you could have actually stayed dead, you idiot.”

Jongin is about to try and squeeze in another apology but Taemin sweeps right in and hugs him so tightly Jongin can barely breathe. It feels so good to have Taemin’s strong warmth against him though, something he thought he’d lost forever up in the red space. He clings back just as tightly, burying his face in the crook of Taemin’s neck and lets it sink in once again. He’s alive. Still, he’d do it again if he had to, not regretting what he did at all despite the apologies. Not that he tells Taemin any of that right now.

“Such a freaking idiot,” Taemin whispers, his breath fanning against the side of Jongin’s face. He pulls back after another long moment, settling back on the chair by Jongin’s bed side.

“Any idea how I pulled it off?” Jongin asks then, still completely clueless on the matter.  

Taemin slides a finger gently along Jongin’s exposed forearm and it’s then that he notices the scars, recognizing the faint thin lines singed into his skin from the binding spell cast for the Unbreakable Bond. They’re brighter than he remembers.

“Junmyeon thinks it might be because the vow was taken against your will,” Taemin hums, staring at the marks curiously. “What happened after...you know.”

It seems like he can’t bring himself to say it, frowning at himself when his voice falters and Jongin reaches out to grab his hand before it slips away, sliding their fingers together. The memory of the duel in the red openness is clear as day in his mind and Taemin listens quietly as he tries to describe it, looking just as clueless as Jongin feels.

“Maybe it’s some kind of limbo,” Taemin says. “Like a gateway between going forward and coming back.”

It makes sense. It would explain why Kihwan was there too since they were bound together. Jongin stares down at his arms, noticing the lack of burns on his skin. His eyes drift onto Taemin’s fingers intertwined with his then and a sudden thought crosses his mind. He never got to finish watching Taemin’s memory.

“Hey,” he murmurs, catching Taemin’s eye and holding it. “What’s your Patronus?”

Taemin startles at the sudden question, looking completely caught off guard before he composes his expression. He pulls out his wand then, looking down with a small smile and Jongin waits, watches him take in a deep breath. His own heart is lodged in his throat.

“Expecto Patronum,” Taemin breathes and the spell bursts from the tip of his wand. Jongin inhales sharply when he sees the silvery animal circling around them.

The last time Jongin saw Taemin’s Patronus it was a hawk. The animal leaping in the air now is a dog. Just like Jongin’s.

Jongin tears his eyes away from the Patronus to look at Taemin, a shaky breath escaping through his parted lips at the look in his eyes. Taemin doesn’t say anything, letting the Patronus fade but he doesn’t turn away, searching Jongin’s eyes too. He knows Jongin understands exactly what it means.

It doesn’t matter that he’s still weak and sore, Jongin leans right over the edge of the bed and kisses Taemin, reeling him in with a hand around the back of his neck. Taemin responds to it immediately, pitching forward to push Jongin back against his pillow and kisses back, cupping his face to hold him steady. He kisses Jongin’s lower lip, teasing with the tip of his tongue till Jongin shudders and he right into his mouth, deepening the kiss. The touch is electrifying and Jongin feels like his heart might punch through his ribs with the way it’s pounding. His head spins when Taemin presses their tongues together and he curls his fingers in Taemin’s hair, tugging lightly to get a better grip. He catches the low groan in Taemin’s throat and it spurs him on, tracing the roof of his mouth with his tongue to hear it again.

Jongin pulls away slightly, just enough to press their lips together again chastely, their noses still brushing. He wonders what would have happened if he’d just told Taemin everything years ago. He could have spent so much more time being in love with Taemin and have him love him right back without hiding it. Jongin can tell the same thought is running through Taemin’s mind and he leans in to kiss him again, letting himself drown in the heat of Taemin’s mouth and the softness of his lips.

“I don’t need to say it, right?” Taemin breathes against his lips, pressing a kiss to the corner of his mouth. I love you.

Jongin shakes his head, reeling him back in for a kiss in reply. The feeling in his chest, warming up his insides, is something even magic can’t do better.