Yuri’s jaw dropped and eyes bulged, on the verge of popping out. “You said what to her?”

“Aren’t you being a little too dramatic?”

“Slytherins don’t do equality and fairness.”

“But those are my terms.”

“I can’t believe you actually talked terms with a Slytherin prefect.”

“She’s not that scary.”

Yuri laughed and snorted. “She’s not that scary? Says the Puff who was convinced she was going to die for nothing?”

“That’s because I was doing something she said not to do.”

“And you aren’t now?”

“I’m not.”

Yuri shook her head. “You’re becoming weirder and weirder, Tae. Slowly but surely.”

x

At their next potions class, Taeyeon was poised for some action. Was Tiffany going to make life a living hell for her? Or was she going to be nice for once? Her nerves were slightly shot throughout the class. Each time Tiffany spoke up, she would flinch. It must have been obvious because Yuri gave her a nudge in the middle of mixing the potion and whispered, “Are you alright?”

By the end of the class, Taeyeon was perplexed. Tiffany had not even looked at her once the entire time. Neither was there any indication of recognition. It was almost as though she was invisible to Tiffany. Was that it? Was that how Tiffany was going to treat her from now on? Like a complete stranger?

That seemed to be the case as the next two weeks went by. Tiffany did not bother her. Did not talk to her. Did not even look at her. It was as though their dispute had never happened. Things were back to the time before she stopped the trunk from dropping on Tiffany, and it wasn’t the worst outcome, Taeyeon decided.

x

“Tae.”

Taeyeon turned to Yuri and her friend waved a little white envelope between her fingers.

“You dropped this.”

“Me?” Taeyeon didn’t recognise the envelope. “It’s not mine.”

“It fell out from your potions textbook.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really.”

Taeyeon took it from Yuri, puzzled. Written in small capital letters were the intials, T.Y., sitting neatly at the bottom right corner of the envelope. T.Y. for Tae Yeon? T.Y. for Thank You? What else could it be? Could it be a prank? She opened the envelope and pulled out the parchment paper carefully.

At sunset today.

Where we last talked.

What was this supposed to mean? Was it meant for her? If it was meant for her, who was it from? This was starting to look like a prank. But what if it was not? What if this letter was meant for her?

Wait. What’s her last name? Young? T.Y. for Tiffany Young?

Taeyeon’s heartbeat doubled up. If this really was sent by Tiffany, it would mean she wanted them to meet at the Quidditch changing room again. To talk? Or . . .? Should she go?

x

There was no one in the changing room when Taeyeon entered. So she sat on the bench, swung her legs and waited. It wasn’t a long wait. The door opened before the bench was warm and Taeyeon got back on her feet in a jump.

A sight of golden hair struck her from behind the door and she knew who it was most definitely. Next, a flash of green—the prefect badge above the House crest. Both feet stepped in and the door closed behind. Tiffany, in her full glory.

Right at that moment, Taeyeon’s throat decided to clamp up and squeeze itself dry of moisture.

“T-Tiffany, hg-hi.” Yes, that sounded completely natural.

“You managed to figure it out. Not bad.”

“Was it meant to be a riddle? I didn’t realize.”

With a brow raised, Tiffany took a step back. “Still angry with me, huh.”

Taeyeon shook her head. “I’m not.”

“Are you angry because I ignored you for ten days?”

Taeyeon shook her head again. “That’s not the worst thing, actually.”

Arms folding as she frowned, Tiffany advanced a few steps and stopped right in front of Taeyeon. “Is that what you want?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

Tiffany leaned in and stared. “Then what did you mean?”

“Being ignored is better than being the target.”

“What’s better than being ignored?”

Taeyeon stared back, taken aback by Tiffany’s question. She took a moment to think before answering, “Being cared for.”

“Okay. Let’s say I’m interested in doing that. What would you say?”

“You’re interested in . . . caring . . .?”

Tiffany flashed a lazy kind of smile and shook her head. “No, no, no. Not caring. It’s caring for you.”

“C-Caring for me? What d-do you mean?”

“You’re a fifth year student. There’s no way you don’t know what that means.”

“I know what it implies. I just want to make sure it really is what you mean.”

“Sometimes I don’t know if you’re really just acting like a Hufflepuff or pretending to be a Slytherin.”

“What do you mean?”

Tiffany nudged Taeyeon’s shoulders down to make her sit before sitting beside her. “My crush on you had been dormant for years until you stopped that trunk on the train. Now it’s back and in full force, and I don’t want to push it aside again.”

Taeyeon listened, gaping at the way Tiffany casually admitted her feelings without any hint of embarrassment.

“I thought about what you said the last time we were here. You wanted us to be on equal ground. I can do that. You said I can’t treat you like crap. I’ve already proven that I can stop treating you like crap for ten days.”

“But you were ignoring me completely.”

Tiffany grinned. “You noticed? I had to ignore you because I didn’t know if you were still angry with me. Do you wish I hadn’t ignored you?”

“Er . . . I—”

“I won’t ignore you. I won’t treat you like crap. I might have given you a hard time before but I’ll make it up. I’ll take you out to The Three Broomsticks and buy you all the Butterbeer you can drink.”

Taeyeon remained mute. This advance by Tiffany was completely unexpected and a little touching. Okay, more than a little touching. In fact, it was beginning to feel a little warm in here.

Tiffany was still staring into her eyes. “So, do you accept?”

“Accept?”

“Will you let me take you out to The Three Broomsticks this weekend?”

A strange buzz had taken over Taeyeon’s mind. It was getting really warm in here.

“Will you?” Tiffany asked again.

The question finally registered. Tiffany, the Slytherin prefect was asking her out on a date. Was it possible? Could a Hufflepuff really date Slytherin? Was this going to turn out to be a prank too?

“I’m serious, you know,” said Tiffany, almost as though she had heard Taeyeon’s thoughts.

“I know.”

“So, will you?”

Oh, what the heck. “Yes, I will.”

x