| IV. self reflections |

Chanyeol, Yixing, and Luhan arrive at the hospital wing in record time; as soon as Pomfrey sees them come in and Luhan and Yixing quickly explain what had happened, the two seventh years rush to get the younger Gryffindor immediately situated on one of the hospital beds in the room. Pomfrey also casts a spell to dry their wet robes, which Chanyeol is thankful for.

"Will he be okay?" Yixing asks. He's peering over at Chanyeol now, a frantic expression plastered across his usual peaceful face. Besides him, Luhan looked equally as worried, if not even more worried than the Hufflepuff appeared to be.

"He'll be fine," Pomfrey reassures him with a frown. "I can mend bones in seconds. Are you forgetting who you're talking to, boy?"

An awkward cough.

"...Sorry, Madam Pomfrey."

"Episkey," The nurse then says, pointing her wand at Chanyeol's nose.

Chanyeol blinks his eyes open once he feels heat spreading throughout the area. Moments later, it grew cold; as the Gryffindor lifts a hand to touch his nose, he finds that the broken bones in his nose seemed to have mended immediately. The immense pain he was feeling on his face prior to have entered the infirmary was completely gone, but it is soon replaced by exhaustion spreading throughout his entire body.

He lets his hand flop back down to his side and turns his head slightly, where he's now able to slowly focus on Luhan and Yixing's expressions.

"Thanks for bringing me here," Chanyeol gratefully says, and the seventh years' shoulders slouch with relief. Yixing smiles at him, his dimples appearing.

"No problem at all."

"How are you feeling?" Luhan then asks (more like demands).

"I'm doing okay," Chanyeol answers truthfully, eyes widening when Luhan raises a disbelieving eyebrow. "Really!" 

Yixing then purses his lips, guilt laced in his eyes and in his tone.

"I'm really, really sorry about all of this..."

There was no doubt that Yixing was blaming himself for what had happened, even though it really wasn't his fault; if anything, Chanyeol believes it was his own, for he was not being more careful considering the weather conditions.

Chanyeol looks down at Yixing's handkerchief in his hands, which was once again stained red. "Tergeo," he whispers, and the liquid is siphoned off. The Gryffindor gives him a reassuring smile as he hands Yixing his now clean handkerchief back.

"Don't worry about it." When the Hufflepuff captain takes the cloth, still looking unconvinced, Chanyeol nods. "The weather was incredibly bad this morning, too. Accidents like this happen; I knew the risks when joining Quidditch, after all. I'm sure that I'll still be able to play after this."

Luhan opens his mouth to say something, but at that moment Madam Pomfrey comes back with a soft towel in order to start wiping the dry blood off of Chanyeol's face. After a while, Luhan clears his throat to get her attention.

She looks at him with her eyebrows raised.

"Erm, Madam Pomfrey, will Chanyeol be able to keep playing?" Luhan bites his bottom lip nervously. "Quidditch season's around the corner, and... well, it'd be a pity if our Keeper wouldn't be able to participate."

She sighs, pausing in the middle of cleaning.

"Yes, it was a minor injury and his bones are already mended after all. But, Mr. Lu, you have to make sure to look at the weather conditions before you are playing to avoid accidents like these happening again." She gives Chanyeol and Luhan an unamused look. "Cast spells to block rain out of your face and be more alert. Some of you Quidditch players are more concerned about winning than your actual health, sometimes."

"I promise we'll be more careful from now on." Luhan's cheeks redden in embarrassment at that last statement, and Chanyeol covers his snicker with a cough.

The doors to the hospital wing burst open just then, and everyone in the room watches as Jongdae, Jongin, and Kyungsoo enter—all of them wearing matching expressions of concern on their faces.

"CHANYEOL, ARE YOU OKAY?" Jongdae shrieks as he rushes over to his best friend's side immediately.

"ONLY ONE VISITOR IN AT A TIME!" Pomfrey shouts. 

"Yixing and I were in here the whole time, though..." Luhan blinks.

"That was already pushing it!"

Jongdae scratches the back of his head nervously, "Can we just have a few minutes to check on him?"

"Isn't Chanyeol free to leave, too?" Luhan tilts his head in confusion. "I thought his bones were already mended."

"He still needs to get some rest, Mr. Lu." Pomfrey looks like she's about to blow a fuse, but she lets out another deep sigh. She places the towel on Chanyeol's chest before leaving their small group, giving them all a pointed glare before she too uses a spell to dry Jongdae and Jongin's wet Quidditch robes. "Five minutes."

Once she storms off to her office, Chanyeol grins up at them.

"Hey, guys."

"'Hey guys'?" Jongdae makes a noise of disbelief, but he looks unmistakably relieved to see that Chanyeol was doing fine after all. "Bloody hell, Chanyeol, you just took a Quaffle straight to the face!"

"I'm fine, Jongdae, Pomfrey's skills are no joke."

"Still. Who threw that anyways?"

Yixing raises his hand, looking sheepish.

They all turn to face the Hufflepuff. Jongdae's eyes widen.

"It was an accident, so it's whatever." Chanyeol waves him off. "It was a perfect shot too. If it didn't hit my face, then it would've definitely scored into the middle goalpost."

Luhan looks at him in awe. "You still managed to block that, even though you knew you were going to get injured?"

"Well... the block was actually completely unintentional. I didn't have time to react when I saw it coming."

"We brought you food, by the way." Jongin then says, and Chanyeol turns his attention to the younger male, only now realizing that he was holding a plate in his hands. It was filled with a piece of buttered toast, two sausages, two fried eggs, and two strips of bacon. Jongin sets it on the table besides the hospital bed while Kyungsoo also silently places a mug of tea next to the plate. "You didn't have breakfast since you came straight from the pitch, so we figured that you might get hungry if you're going to be stuck here the entire morning."

Incredibly touched by the gesture and actually feeling that he might cry because of it, Chanyeol looks at them with his mouth hanging open.

"Holy crap. Seriously, thank you guys so much... you're the best."

"Of course!" Jongin replies, smiling kindly at him. "Sorry, I got a little bit of everything... I'm not really sure what you like. It was pretty difficult getting it up here though, I almost spilled a couple of times."

Chanyeol chuckles at that, adjusting his position on the hospital bed so that he was now sitting up; he moves his pillow so that it was resting comfortably against his back. Afterwards, Madam Pomfrey comes back into the room, eyes piercing and another deep frown prominent on her features. 

"That was five minutes—" She crosses her arms. "—now shoo."

"But—"

"No buts, Mr. Kim." Madam Pomfrey glares at Jongdae. "My patient needs rest."

Jongdae looks like he's about to protest, but Chanyeol lightly grips his friend's wrist before he could. Jongdae glances at him, and Chanyeol tilts his head to the side as if to say 'go on'. "I'll be fine. I do feel a bit of a headache coming on, so I'm probably just going to eat, take a nap, and then head back to the common room after I wake up."

"I'll stay behind to look after him for a bit," Kyungsoo adds, noticing how Jongdae still looks worried. "You guys haven't eaten yet, either."

Once again, Chanyeol feels incredibly touched when he realizes that his friends prioritized his condition over theirs.

"Go eat!" Chanyeol says, gently pushing Jongdae away.

"Okay, fine." Jongdae scoffs as he wrinkles his nose.

He turns to Luhan and Yixing expectantly, and both seventh years appear a little startled when they realize that the younger Gryffindor's also waiting for them. Yixing stands up afterwards and pats Chanyeol's shoulder comfortingly before pushing his stool to the side and walking over to Jongin. Luhan gets up too, but he doesn't move right away; Chanyeol peers up at him in slight confusion.

The Gryffindor Captain reaches forward and ruffles Chanyeol's hair a little too aggressively, smiling a little. 

"Don't stress out too much, mate. Take care of yourself. You'll be back on the pitch in no time." Luhan says, voice and expression softer than usual; everyone does a double take at the sight.

Luhan was undoubtedly an encouraging person to his teammates on the pitch, but the times where he shows that he actually cares were very rare. Chanyeol knew that Luhan was pretty awkward at conveying his emotions towards others due to his hot-headed personality (he also thinks that Luhan doesn't like showing himself being vulnerable), so the seventh year's appreciation usually came in the form of either a hard slap on the back, a short compliment, or a light punch to the shoulder. Seeing him look so caring meant a lot to Chanyeol, especially after knowing him for two years; he had a feeling that Luhan was trying his best to get better at showing it.

"Thanks, Luhan," Chanyeol beams back at him.

Luhan coughs awkwardly before straightening up and turning to follow Yixing and Jongdae out of the hospital wing. Jongin sends Chanyeol a small wave accompanied with a smile, which the other Gryffindor returns.

The door closes after them, and Pomfrey clicks her tongue in disapproval as she moves closer to him. She places a silver tray in front of him so that it would be easier for him to eat.

"Mr. Park, you need to be more careful. The last thing I want is for you to have another streak of hospital visits."

Chanyeol gulps and nods, feeling his ears warm up in embarrassment. She returns to her office after that.

Kyungsoo, who was silently watching their exchange, now walks slowly over to Chanyeol before pulling out the stool that Yixing was previously sitting on. The Slytherin takes a seat before handing Chanyeol the piece of toast, smiling at him slightly in amusement. 

"She's right."

"I know," Chanyeol sighs despondently.

He takes the toast Kyungsoo offers him and stuffs it in his mouth, thinking about Pomfrey's comment.

It was in the middle of fifth year when Potions started getting more difficult for him and Jongdae. Their failed concoctions usually resulted in the two having to visit the hospital wing due to carelessly putting in the wrong ingredients or reading instructions incorrectly; Chanyeol must've visited Pomfrey each day of the week during that time (which is why she knew him at this point). Of course, Kyungsoo didn't join them because he was the only one out of the three who actually knew what he was doing. He did visit them each time they ended up back here, and that was when he started trying to help them with the subject. The things that happened to them were small back then, and despite playing Quidditch for two years, this was his first actual injury.

As he finishes the toast, he watches Kyungsoo pick up the towel on his lap and resume Pomfrey's task of wiping off the remainder of the dried blood on Chanyeol's face.

"How did you know I was in here?" Chanyeol asks after a while. 

"Jongin and Jongdae came into the Great Hall, completely soaked... I didn't find that weird since I knew you guys had practice today, but then Jongin sped towards the Gryffindor table while Jongdae ran to me, and that was when he told me what happened. Of course I was going to come check on you to see how you're doing. Jongdae seemed pretty stressed out already."

"I see... well, thank you for coming to see me."

"You really need to be more careful out there." The Slytherin shakes his head after a few moments of silence. "This is why I don't like Quidditch. You can get injured so easily."

"I dunno, I really like the thrill of it." Chanyeol shrugs. He snickers when Kyungsoo stops wiping his face to spare him an exasperated glance. "I'm just saying! The fact that it's dangerous aside, I enjoy the adrenaline as soon as we step on the field. The feeling of everyone watching is enough to get me super riled up and determined to win."

"Can't say that I can relate."

"Maybe you should try out, so that you can understand what I mean," The Gryffindor jokes.

"No thanks," Kyungsoo snorts. His eyes roam around Chanyeol's face for a while before he sets the cloth down, and the Gryffindor figures that there isn't any blood left anymore. "I haven't touched a broom since first year, and I'd like to keep it that way."

"Who knows, there might be a competitive side to you that Quidditch can let out."

"...Just eat your food, Park."

Chanyeol laughs softly at that. He turns to take the plate resting on the bedside table and places it on the tray in front of him before scarfing down the rest of his food—he didn't realize how much he was starving until he took the first bite. He offers Kyungsoo some of it, but the Slytherin politely declines (he had already finished eating earlier). Kyungsoo opts for staring out the window next to Chanyeol's bed instead, the heavy rain pouring outside filling the silence between them.

As Chanyeol spears a piece of fried egg with his fork, he starts to feel as if he didn't appreciate Kyungsoo and Jongdae enough.

Ever since they've been best friends—for as long as he could remember—they have always been there for him. He had no idea how they were able to keep his patience around him, as Chanyeol acted a lot more irrationally in the past. Jongdae and Kyungsoo both knocked sense into Chanyeol's head; Kyungsoo was willing to talk him through the consequences of making risky decisions while Jongdae offered comforting words to lift his spirits when he was down. 

Furthermore, Kyungsoo also did play a big role in helping him a lot with his academics; he'd willingly spend his free time teaching him and Jongdae so that they could understand the subjects better. More importantly, he and Jongdae were both there for him during the whole fiasco with Baekhyun, which had to be one of the most emotionally exhausting things that Chanyeol had to go through; yet, he knew that he still wasn't completely over him despite how long it's been.

Chanyeol tries to shake off the heartbreak he felt just at the mere thought of Baekhyun. Why was he still hung over someone who moved on from him so quickly? He doesn't even begin to know how to answer that question, but he knows that he tends to listen more to his heart rather than his brain. While his brain kept nagging at him to move on, his heart refused to listen.

And honestly, being with Baekhyun was different. Thinking about it seemed ridiculous, but it was true. They had something that he's never experienced with any of his past relationships. It was also why he considered confronting Baekhyun about the break up, but Kyungsoo and Jongdae told him that Baekhyun should be the one to explain what had happened between them. Chanyeol really thought that they would be together for a long time, but, well, things change when you least expect it.

Chanyeol lets out a sigh he doesn't realize he's been holding.

This causes Kyungsoo's gaze to shift back to his, and the Gryffindor could see the concern in the other male's eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Chanyeol replies as casually as he can, and he even smiles to make it seem more convincing. Kyungsoo doesn't look like he believes him, though; his eyes narrow in suspicion. Sighing, Chanyeol gives in after a couple moments of silence. "Just thinking about what Pomfrey said. Took me back."

Kyungsoo's lips stretch into a thin smile.

"It seems like that was such a long time ago."

"Yeah... it does. It just made me start thinking about the other things that happened that year."

Chanyeol doesn't explicity say it, but he knows that Kyungsoo understands what he means.

"I don't blame you for still thinking about what had happened between you and Baekhyun, Chanyeol." Kyungsoo then says quietly. "I'm not exactly experienced with these types of things, but I do believe that it'll get better with time."

"It has already been months since it happened, and I still feel bad about it." Chanyeol smiles a little sadly at that. "I think the part that makes me the most upset about all of this is that he moved on so fast... we're not even on speaking terms anymore. It just makes me wonder if I did anything wrong?"

"You didn't. It's not only you who he cut off." Kyungsoo bites his lip. "It's just such an move for him to pull, you know? I don't understand why he did what he did."

"Who knows if we'll ever find out?" Chanyeol shrugs helplessly and shakes his head. He gulps down the rest of the fried egg before deciding to change the subject. "Anyways, have I ever told you how much I appreciate your friendship?"

"Where did that come from?"

"It's just that we've known each other for, what, three years now? I don't think I've ever expressed how thankful I've been for you always sticking with me." Chanyeol continues as he twirls the fork in his hands. "You and Jongdae always keep me grounded. I... honestly, thank you. For everything. I would be regretting a lot more things if you guys didn't keep talking some sense into me."

Kyungsoo blinks at him, obviously taken aback. 

"Idiot," The Slytherin then says after a while, but there's a small smile on his lips. "It's only fair. You've been here for me whenever I needed anything too." He pauses, looking incredibly nervous all of a sudden. "A-Actually... I—"

At that moment, the door to the hospital wing creaks open slightly. Momentarily distracted, Chanyeol looks over. He thinks he sees a shadow present near the entrance, but as soon as he blinks, it's gone almost as fast as it came. Kyungsoo follows his gaze, peering over his own shoulder in confusion.

"What was that?"

"I guess they didn't completely close the door behind them when they left earlier." Chanyeol mumbles, eyebrows furrowed. He definitely must've been imagining things. The Gryffindor turns back to his food and finishes the rest of his bacon before continuing. "Sorry about that... you know how short my attention span is. What were you saying?"

He looks at Kyungsoo expectantly when the other male doesn't reply right away. There's an odd sort of look on Kyungsoo's face for a moment, but then he exhales and shakes his head.

"It's nothing important."

Chanyeol tilts his head questioningly, and Kyungsoo purses his lips. The Slytherin doesn't meet his gaze. That's when Chanyeol knows that the other male was lying, but he decides not to press the issue. Concerned, he frowns as he watches the Slytherin continue to stare at the floor.

"Kyungsoo..." Chanyeol starts, hesitant. "You know you can tell me anything, right?"

The Slytherin nods slowly and smiles, but it doesn't quite reach his eyes.

"I know." He stands up and dusts himself off before adding, "I should go, though. You really need to get some rest."

Chanyeol nods in understanding.

"Cheers, Kyungsoo. How can I ever repay you for your kindness?"

"Just focus on getting better." His best friend's expression softens. He looks like he wants to say something else, but he doesn't.

As soon he leaves the hospital wing, door closing behind him, Chanyeol silently finishes the rest of his breakfast. He stares into space for a while afterwards, pondering about what Kyungsoo was going to tell him. In the end, he figures that the Slytherin would bring it up when he wants to. Chanyeol removes the tray in front of him and places it on the bedside table before shifting his pillow to the back of his head.

He lies down and closes his eyes, falling asleep within moments.

---

Later that same morning, Baekhyun curses under his breath as he sprints down to the Great Lake. 

"Sorry!" He turns and yells behind him when he slips and almost runs into a fourth year male in Ravenclaw; the younger student stares at him, eyes widened in alarm. The Slytherin continues to run past him, silver hair bouncing as he turns a corner. 

, Taeyeon's probably going to kill him. They were originally supposed to spend time together right after breakfast as Taeyeon actually decided to take a break from studying for the day; on top of that, this was the first time in a while where they were able to be in each other's company.

As the lake finally comes into view, he sees Taeyeon standing a few feet away from the water. Her back's facing him, brown hair flowing gently with the chilly breeze. It had been raining incredibly hard this morning, but it had fortunately stopped about thirty minutes ago. The sky was still painted a particularly sad gray color, however, and Baekhyun couldn't help but feel like it might start to rain again later. 

Baekhyun draws in a deep breath and exhales before jogging down to meet her.

"Hey, you." He says as soon as he gets closer, and she turns to face him at the sound of his voice.

"Hey," She smiles prettily back at him, and Baekhyun inwardly breathes a sigh of relief because thank God at the fact that she didn't seem to be noticeably upset about his tardiness. However, Baekhyun's luck soon runs out because her expression changes almost immediately. Her lips curve downwards into a small frown. "What happened?"

"Er... I'm sorry."

She finally drops the frown and chuckles this time, which makes Baekhyun smile nervously back at her. "I was just getting worried about you; you were gone for a while."

"I figured," He cringes.

"It's fine." Taeyeon pats his cheek lightly. "I'm just glad that I'm able to spend time with you today. I'm really sorry that we haven't been seeing each other lately because I've been so busy."

"It's okay," Baekhyun reassures her, because it really was. "I understand how important the N.E.W.Ts are for you."

She nods, a small smile gracing her features. She brings her hand down and gently laces her fingers with Baekhyun's. Baekhyun shudders a little at the touch; her hands are kind of cold.

"It's just been a really stressful time, you know?" Taeyeon then sighs. "The school year's barely started, but the exams are all I can think about. I know you don't really care for studying, but you'll understand the importance of it as soon as you're in seventh year."

"What?" Baekhyun lets out a confused laugh. "I already know how important they are, everyone I know is already stressing about it. I don't know anyone who hasn't mentioned the N.E.W.Ts at least once."

"Yeah, but you have the tendency to not take things seriously."

"I do know when to take things seriously, thank you very much." Baekhyun huffs lightly as Taeyeon raises a teasing eyebrow at him, but he frowns when he looks away from her. Sure, what she said might've been a joke; though, he couldn't help but wonder if she really saw him as being irresponsible at times.

The thought makes him feel a bit irritated. It isn't the first time that Taeyeon subtly hinted at him needing to get a grip.

After a few moments of silence, Taeyeon speaks up once more.

"So, were you able to find the pouch that you were looking for earlier?" She asks, peering at him curiously.

Baekhyun pauses for a second before nodding: "I did. It was under my pillow, for some reason... I really don't remember when I put it there."

"Oh, thank goodness!"

"Yeah." Baekhyun purses his lips.

That was only half true. As the couple continue to walk along the shore, Baekhyun starts thinking back to what actually happened.

About an hour ago, he had been sitting next to Kris in the Great Hall during breakfast. Baekhyun was stuffing his face with the food on his plate while half-listening to whatever the hell Kris was droning on about. Taeyeon was sitting on Baekhyun's other side, but she was currently engaged in a lively conversation with a friend who was sitting across from her.

In that moment, Baekhyun was absentmindedly patting down his pockets when he realized that his leather pouch filled with coins wasn't on him. It was something that he always carried around since he was pretty paranoid of leaving something so valuable back in the dorms (even though he knew that his dormmates wouldn't take his stuff). When he discovered that it really wasn't with him, he felt his heart drop to his stomach. A wave of panic hit him as he began to wonder where he could've last left it. 

"," Baekhyun said aloud, which made Kris stop talking to give him an odd look.

"You okay, mate?"

He was so ed. That pouch was something that his parents gifted him for Christmas, too, and it was made of an incredibly rare material. He'd be flat out broke if it was lost, as it also contained most of his savings.

Baekhyun paled at the thought before turning to his girlfriend. "Taeyeon."

She turned to him expectantly, temporarily halting her conversation with her friend.

"You can head to the Great Lake without me as soon as you're done with breakfast." Baekhyun started, and stopped. He took a deep breath before continuing. "I'll be right back. I think I left my coin pouch out somewhere... I'm going to go look where it is."

"All of a sudden?" Taeyeon asked, surprised. When she noticed the distress on his features, she added: "Is it the one your parents got you?"

Baekhyun nodded, feeling more worried by the second.

She gave his arm a gentle squeeze. "Baek, it's fine. I just hope you find it soon."

"Thanks, babe." He smiled and planted a quick kiss to her forehead before getting out of his seat. "You won't even notice that I'm gone."

"Okay, okay," She laughed. "See you in a bit, then."

He then turned to Kris and saluted him before finally taking off, while the seventh year looked back at him in confusion.

Baekhyun made it back to the dorms in record time, catching his breath before telling the password to the stone wall leading to the Slytherin common room. He entered quickly once the passage is revealed and bolted towards his own dorm. Heart pounding, Baekhyun's eyes frantically searched the room before he started to search his drawers first.

After not seeing the pouch there, panic began to start to rise inside of him once more. Honestly, this must be ing karma for all the that he pulled the past year; he just knew it.

He pat down his pockets once more and felt his wand sticking out. God, he was such an idiot, he was a wizard for crying out loud.

"Accio Pouch," Baekhyun muttered as he waved his wand in the air.

A moment later, said pouch appeared from underneath his pillow and lurched into his open palm. Upon seeing it in his hands, Baekhyun felt his shoulders slump in relief. He put his other hand over his chest when he saw that it was still closed, doing his best to still his racing heartbeat. Thank ing God... he had no idea how it got there in the first place, but if he had lost it, he would not know what to do with himself. 

Baekhyun wiped the sweat forming on his forehead with the back of his hand before taking the pouch and securing it safely within the pockets of his robes. He then turned to clean up the small mess he had made in his frantic search to find the damned thing; he closed the drawers with a sigh and straightened up before leaving the room.

On his way back to the Great Hall, completely relaxed now, he's greeted with a scene that he did not expect.

Jongdae, Kyungsoo, and Jongin were currently heading out of the Great Hall. Baekhyun immediately stiffened and hid behind a pillar so that they wouldn't see him coming—that would not be good.

Jongdae and Jongin were completely soaked, shoes making squelching noises against the floor. Baekhyun figured that they had just come from practice because they were still in their red Quidditch robes. If the situation was different, Baekhyun might've laughed at the sight of them due to how much they resembled wet dogs.

The expressions on their faces had nothing but concern, however, which made Baekhyun's curiosity peak.

"Do you think Pomfrey'll mind it too much if we came to see Chanyeol?" Jongin was asking. The Gryffindor was holding a plate full of food in his hands, and he sounded a bit nervous.

The Slytherin raised his eyebrows at the mention of his ex. Chanyeol was in the hospital wing?

"Let's just hope she'll make an exception, here," Jongdae replied with a shrug.

With that, the three of them hurried off, not noticing Baekhyun standing there. The silver-haired Slytherin breathed a sigh of relief as soon as they passed by, but he started frowning deeply at what he had just overheard.

He stood there for a while, having an intense inner conflict.

Then, before he could regret it, Baekhyun spun on his heels and briskly walked off in the same direction the other three students were headed.

He was able to see the three of them enter the hospital wing, doors closing after them. Baekhyun stalled outside for a while, feeling a bit like a creep, because there were a couple students who gave him strange looks at him loitering. The Slytherin tried to seem as casual as he could, but he felt like that was completely impossible. He really had no reason to be here, anyways. He had no idea what compelled him to go here in the first place.

One thing he knew for sure, though—he would be in some pretty deep if any of them found him here.

After a couple of minutes of pacing around, Baekhyun began to hear several voices on the other side of the door growing closer and closer to the entrance of the hospital wing. He immediately bolted towards the nearest pillar, taking refuge behind it as he heard the sound of the doors opening. 

"—. I should've made everyone cast Impervius before the match started." A voice that Baekhyun didn't recognize was saying. "This wouldn't have happened otherwise."

"Luhan, it's not your fault." This was unmistakenably Jongdae. "We didn't know it was going to rain today."

"If anything, it's mine." Another voice that Baekhyun didn't recognize; it was more quiet.

"Zhang, mate, stop blaming yourself too." Jongdae let out a tired sigh. "Chanyeol said it was fine, okay? He's practically better now, and he's still in condition to play. It was an accident."

Silence.

"Jongdae's right. Chanyeol's not the type to hold grudges, anyways." Jongin then said, and Baekhyun couldn't help but agree with him. "Come on. Let's go get breakfast."

They passed the pillar that Baekhyun was hiding behind, so he was able to see the four of them heading back to the Great Hall. The Slytherin placed a hand over his own mouth to keep himself as quiet as he could; his heart was pounding so heavily against his chest, he felt like it was going to explode.

"Well," Luhan said after a while, aiming a punch at Jongdae's shoulder. Jongdae winced and rubbed the area he hit. "At least we know now to be careful of Yixing's insane throws."

Yixing—Baekhyun finally recognized him as the Hufflepuff Captain—laughed at that, and the other three shared friendly smiles with each other. They left, talking amidst themselves as their voices and footsteps sounded farther and farther away, until they were completely gone.

Baekhyun let out the breath he was holding. He peeked out behind the pillar he was hiding and bit his bottom lip. 

Hesitantly, the Slytherin tiptoed to the doors leading to the hospital wing.

He cracked the door open slightly. It was darker than usual inside due to the heavy clouds blocking out the sun that morning; Baekhyun could hear the sound of the rain hitting the windows. His eyes searched the room before he managed to find Chanyeol lying down on one of the hospital beds. Kyungsoo was sitting on a stool besides his bed, back facing Baekhyun.

Baekhyun watched as Chanyeol spoke to Kyungsoo about something. Jongdae was right, the Gryffindor looked completely fine. Chanyeol was all smiles as per usual. He would've looked completely normal if he didn't have dried blood on his face.

All of a sudden, a feeling of longing started to rest in Baekhyun's heart—it was so familiar, yet, it wasn't at the same time. How long has it last been since he felt like this with just the mere sight of the other Gryffindor? 

He didn't have the time to feel so melancholic, however. Baekhyun accidentally pushed the door open a little more just then, resulting in a loud creak. Chanyeol's gaze then shifted towards his direction, and Baekhyun jumped out of his line of sight as fast as he could, praying that they didn't see him standing there.

Baekhyun backed away from the hospital wing slowly.

He's already stayed here for longer than he should. He should really go. 

With that, he abruptly turned around and headed towards the Great Lake.

Baekhyun sighs, bringing himself back into the present.

He honestly didn't know why he bothered in checking on Chanyeol's condition in the first place; he had no right to do any of that. As a matter of fact, whatever happened between them was entirely his fault. He knows that he should've given Chanyeol a proper explanation on why he decided to cut their relationship off, but he just... couldn't.

He couldn't even handle cutting it off in the first place. When he decided to end things with Chanyeol, he couldn't even look at him. Baekhyun didn't even want to see the look on the Gryffindor's face when it happened because he knew the other male's expression would be something that would haunt him for the rest of his life.

"Is something bothering you?" Taeyeon asks softly.

Baekhyun blinks before lifting his head.

Being with Taeyeon, it was nice, yes—she was sweet, pretty, and kind, but he couldn't help but think that something was missing. 

He pushes his thoughts to the back of his mind and smiles.

"Never been better."

---

That same afternoon, Jongdae rushes out of the Gryffindor common room with a letter in his hands.

When he had got back to the Gryffindor table after visiting Chanyeol in the hospital wing, he found that his mother sent him a letter inquiring about what he was up to. After breakfast, he had come up to his dormitory to change out of his Quidditch robes and take a shower before writing up a response. Jongdae found it funny how his mother wanted to know everything that he was doing at Hogwarts, but he understands—after all, she's a Muggle, so it's only natural for her to be so curious about his lifestyle (even though his wizard father explained to her how things worked over here countless times).

He and Kyungsoo planned to hang out later, so he decided to send the letter out prior to their meeting. Unfortunately, Jongdae is not a punctual person in general, so he's currently jogging on his way to the Owlery before Kyungsoo could ditch him.

The entrance to the Owlery comes into view after a couple of minutes. Jongdae begins to pick up speed as he draws closer, so he doesn't catch sight of another student leaving the exact moment he turns to enter the room.

Inevitably, the two collide, and both students let out shrieks of surprise. 

"Oh, —!" Stumbling, Jongdae feels himself fall backwards at the impact. He braces himself for the feeling of the cold floor against his , but it never comes, for he is almost immediately stabilized by a pair of strong arms holding onto his own.

As Jongdae manages to regain his footing and looks to see who he—quite literally—ran into, he's met with the sight of a slightly shorter, male Ravenclaw student staring wide-eyed back at him.

The Gryffindor instantly recognizes the other male as a seventh year named Kim Minseok, who is also the Ravenclaw Beater and Captain.

Kim Jongdae, you absolute ing idiot, he curses himself.

"Oh , um." Jongdae's eyes widen. "I'm really sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going."

His eyes dart from Minseok's face to the arms still holding onto his elbows. Damn, Minseok's probably a few centimeters shorter than he is, but he has an iron grip; his arms and hands are seriously strong. Jongdae scoffs inwardly at the thought. Of course he's strong, he's Ravenclaw's Beater for goodness sakes...

"No worries. In a rush?"

"Yeah, er, I'm supposed to be meeting a friend later." Jongdae laughs sheepishly. Minseok's still holding onto him, and it's getting pretty awkward now. "Um... thanks, by the way."

"Oh," Minseok looks down and lets go of him so fast, almost as if he had just touched something hot. He steps away and puts more space between them, slightly embarrassed. "My bad, uh, force of habit."

Force of habit? Jongdae wonders as he bites back a laugh. So he's rescued people in this exact manner before?

The elder student then frowns as he continues to look at him, which makes Jongdae begin to feel pretty self conscious. The Gryffindor scratches the back of his neck nervously. It's not like he could go inside the Owlery anyways... the Ravenclaw is standing right in the middle of the entrance, and it would be pretty rude to push past him.

"Sorry... you look pretty familiar." Minseok continues. "You're a friend of Luhan's, right?"

Jongdae raises an eyebrow, surprised. Luhan had briefly introduced Jongdae and Minseok to each other before, but this was the very first time they acknowledged each other's presences. He didn't even think that Minseok actually recognized him.

"That I am," Jongdae replies with a casual smile. "We've met."

"Oh, good, I was worried I had the wrong guy." Minseok returns the smile, relieved. "You're Kim... er..."

"Jongdae," The Gryffindor supplies kindly.

"Ah, yes, that's right. I'm really sorry, I'm not good with names."

Jongdae shakes his head. "Don't worry about it, mate."

Just then, Minseok seems to realize that he's blocking the way inside the Owlery. He immediately steps to the side, looking slightly awkward.

"Well, see you around, I guess."

Jongdae nods, waving at him with letter in his hands. The seventh year leaves after that, and Jongdae stays in the middle of the entrance for a bit before shuddering and shaking the awkwardness off of him. He steps inside the room and does his best to avoid all of the bird droppings on the floor until he finally locates his barn owl, who's currently fast asleep.

"Hey, Pearl." Jongdae whispers softly. He pets her head gently before beginning to tie the message to her leg. Disturbed from her slumber, the owl opens her eyes slowly before turning her head to nibble onto his finger, irritated. "Ouch, geez, I'm sorry! I won't bother you next time. Can you bring this to Mum?"

Pearl hoots gently in response, and Jongdae smiles as he her wings once more. "Thank you."

She leaves after that, and the Gryffindor sighs before looking down at his watch. Surprisingly, he's doing well on time for once.

He walks out of the Owlery with his hands in his pockets, thoughts going back to the brief encounter with Kim Minseok. He didn't really know much about the guy, to be honest; the only things he knew were the stuff Luhan bothered to tell him, which wasn't a lot to begin with. Jongdae knew the two seventh years were very close, and they were friends even before Minseok was appointed captain in his sixth year. It makes Jongdae wonder how Luhan was able to befriend the Ravenclaw in the first place, since a lot of other people said that they were super different from each other.

He spots Kyungsoo standing in the courtyard moments later; the black haired Slytherin's currently squinting up at the still gloomy afternoon sky. 

Grinning, Jongdae slows his pace and steadily creeps up behind Kyungsoo before throwing an arm around the other male's shoulders.

"Boo!" Jongdae shouts in his best friend's ear excitedly. Kyungsoo winces at the noise and turns to glare at him while the Gryffindor frowns deeply at the lack of the other male's reaction. "Wha— you didn't get scared?"

"You're not exactly quiet," The Slytherin rolls his eyes, "What scares me is the fact that you are actually on time for once... it must be the end of the world."

"First time for everything," The Gryffindor pouts as he removes his arm from the other male's shoulders. He sighs. "But damn, that really . I was so, so certain that I could catch you off guard..."

"Better luck next time," Kyungsoo smirks.

The two of them start walking, a comfortable silence settling between them, and Jongdae smiles a little to himself.

He honestly shouldn't be surprised that Minseok and Luhan were so close despite them being so different from each other. After all, he himself was somehow able to become best friends with Do Kyungsoo even with their contrasting personalities; perhaps their differences were what made their friendship much more interesting.

---

A/N: hey guys! i'm surprised i was able to come up with an update so quickly, normally it takes me quite longer than a month to get another chapter out :,0 i'm trying to be more consistent in my updating schedules esp considering that school is right around the corner... sigh. not really looking forward to that, so i'm trying to be as productive as i can with writing. 

the hard thing about having a story containing multiple pairings is that it is difficult to have them all fit in one chapter :,) i know someone in the comments asked if there were going to be others, esp with lay/suho/kris/tao, but rn i'm not planning anything for them since they're mostly going to be side characters in the story. we'll see though!

this chap was more plot-ish and less romance, but it'll come ofc! thank you for everyone who commented, subscribed, upvoted, etc, you all make my day <3 i'm just glad that there are ppl who are reading and enjoying this story :,) it rly means a lot!

stay safe everyone!

-seokminz x