| ch III. new beginnings |

The following day after lunch, Kyungsoo doesn't sit in his usual spot in the library.

Instead, he decides to sit at a table located more towards the entrance of the building and next to a tall, curved window; it was definitely a place where Kai would be able to find him easily. Kyungsoo places his textbook on the surface and opens it. The afternoon sun's rays shone through the glass and directly on the pages in front of him.

After failing to retain any of the information for a while, Kyungsoo gives up and closes it with a sigh. He pushes it aside before pulling a roll of parchment out of his bag and reaches for his quill, thinking he could probably get a few sentences in before the Gryffindor arrived.

But as soon as he presses the tip of his quill to the paper, he sees that his hand's slightly trembling.

Kyungsoo closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and tries to relax.

Maybe this nervousness was due the fact that he was sitting in a different spot of the library than usual; sometimes things like these can throw someone off balance.

The Slytherin checks his watch—he's been here about twenty-five minutes since lunch ended. 

Merlin, what was taking Kai so long?

He leans back in his chair and starts thinking. 

What if he was just messing with him and actually wasting his time? Though, Kai did seem pretty serious about needing a Potions tutor... so why would he go through all the trouble to ask Kyungsoo in the first place to end up admitting that he was just joking about the whole thing? Unless he was that horrible of a person to do something like that—

No, stop thinking this is some kind of prank, Kyungsoo chides himself. Seriously, he was spending way too much time with Jongdae.

Suddenly, a low voice whispers in his ear, "Hey, Do."

"BLIMEY—!" Kyungsoo jolts forward violently in surprise, and sure enough, Kim Kai appears out of ing nowhere from behind him.

"SHHHHH!" Madam Pince says, glaring at the two of them.

Kyungsoo quickly mouths an embarrassed 'sorry' to the librarian before turning to frown deeply at Kai.

"ing hell," He grimaces. "You scared the mothering  out of me."

Kai looks at him in amusement after hearing the trail of curses leave the elder's mouth. "That was... very colorful."

"I just can't help it if someone just creeps up to me like that."

"Sorry about that, and for being late too." Kai smiles sheepishly. He genuinely looks apologetic, which throws Kyungsoo a little off guard. "I got caught up in a conversation."

He slides in the seat next to Kyungsoo's and gently sets his bag on the table.

"It's fine," Kyungsoo replies quietly.

An awkward silence falls between them afterwards, neither of them knowing what to say. The Slytherin straightens up in his seat before clearing his throat, briefly wondering why he always ends up in these types of situations.   

"So... erm... what do you want to start with, Kai?"

Funnily enough, Kai flinches a little at the sound of his nickname.

"Jongin."

"Hmm?" Kyungsoo asks, distracted, in the middle of putting away his parchment.

"Call me Jongin." The Gryffindor clarifies, as he removes his textbook from his bookbag and turns it to the proper page; as Kyungsoo turns to look at him, he sees that his expression was uncharacteristically serious. Some sunlight was shining on the younger male, highlighting his features. "It's weird, coming from you. It's like we're strangers."

Kyungsoo purses his lips, confused.

"We are strangers."

"That'll change, won't it?" The Gryffindor  an eyebrow. "We'll be seeing more of each other in the future, so I'd prefer it if you just called me by my actual name."

"Don't your friends call you that?" The Slytherin can't help but ask, curious.

"Not the ones I'm close to. The Quidditch team—Jongdae and Chanyeol especially—do it to mess with me." He shrugs half-heartedly. "I prefer being called by my real name by the people that I actually talk to. I definitely think it's more intimate that way."

With that, he glances back at Kyungsoo expectantly.

Kyungsoo looks away after a while, not realizing how intense the Gryffindor's stares could get. He opts to staring at the open textbook in front of him instead, well aware of the fact that Jongin was still looking at him.

"Well," He then says, after another beat of silence. "Okay, Jongin. What exactly do you need help on?"

Jongin smiles a little at that before continuing. 

"Okay, first things first: I know Potions shouldn't be that hard, but I just feel so rushed since there are some people who work so quickly."

Kyungsoo's mouth twitches in the beginning of a small smile, but he keeps a neutral expression.

"Be sure to read the instructions carefully, trust your judgement, and focus on your own cauldron. It's important to keep track of how many times you're doing something. In the end, it's your grade that you're worried about the most after all, not anyone else's."

Time seemed to fly by after that. Kyungsoo felt the nerves disappear entirely by the first question Jongin asked. There were already a lot of things to address, and it was only their first day of meeting—yet again, the Gryffindor's also been waiting for a response for over a month now. The Slytherin was sure that the questions would continue to accumulate as the year went on. 

There was one thing that Kyungsoo knew for sure though; Jongin was actually pretty serious about this whole thing. Two hours later, after they've finished going over enough material for the day, Jongin smiles in satisfaction. 

"I thought Baekhyun was exaggerating when he said you were good." Jongin says as he stretches, leaning against the chair. "But, you are pretty damn good. I feel a lot more confident now."

Kyungsoo smiles faintly, a little cautious at the mention of Baekhyun.

"Thanks."

"You know, he gave you a lot of praise when he suggested you in the first place."

The Slytherin can't help but scoff: "Did he now."

"Yeah." Jongin replies, gently closing his textbook. "It just makes me wonder why you guys aren't on speaking terms anymore. I mean, I know that there were other things going on which made it end like this, but when he recommended you, he made it seem like you guys were still good friends."

Kyungsoo shrugs half-heartedly in response, not really wanting to talk about it. 

Surprisingly, Jongin seems to understand that Kyungsoo was clearly uncomfortable about the subject and doesn't say anything else. It's silent between them once more, and Kyungsoo can't help but wonder why the Gryffindor is still here.

"Oh, I almost forgot to pay you," Jongin then says suddenly, reaching into his bookbag.

Kyungsoo's eyes widen.

"You don't need to pay me." The Slytherin quickly says, grabbing Jongin's arm instinctively. The Gryffindor looks back at him, eyebrows raised. Kyungsoo lets go at once, embarrassed by the sudden action.

"What? But you took a significant amount of your day—"

"—It was just two hours."

"I should at least give you something, though." Jongin frowns. After a brief moment of contemplation, he breaks into a wide grin.

Kyungsoo warily glances back at him. 

"Er... what?"

"Do you have a spare journal or something?"

Kyungsoo wordlessly looks into his bookbag and takes out a black journal, which was a gift from his mother last Christmas. There was nothing in it yet, but it was mostly because Kyungsoo wasn't the journaling type. He did feel guilty for not using it right away, so he just kept it in his bag just in case he had something to write down. Nonetheless, he hands it to Jongin, wondering what the hell he was going to do with it.

Jongin opens the journal to the first page and takes out his quill, scribbling something hastily.

"There," The Gryffindor says after a short while. Kyungsoo leans in to look at what he wrote.

"To Do Kyungsoo, from Kim Jongin: Thanks a bunch," The Slytherin reads aloud. He scowls; there was even a smiley face after the sentence. "Seriously? That was something that you could've just told me in person."

"Yeah, but now it's here forever."

"What are you, five?"

He giggles at that—actually giggles—eyes folding into twin crescents. 

With much difficulty, Kyungsoo strongly represses the urge to sock him in the arm. Afterwards, Jongin stands up and pushes his chair in. He waves casually at the Slytherin, who was still looking up at him in disapproval.

"Bye, Do. We can meet every Saturday if that works out for the both of us."

"You can call me Kyungsoo," Kyungsoo says as casually as he can. He stuffs his journal back into his bookbag to avoid eye contact, not noticing the way Jongin's grin grows wider. "And yeah, sure. Saturdays after lunch work with me."

He finally looks back up at the Gryffindor. Jongin, smirking, gives him a final thumbs up before he leaves the library in somewhat of a hurry. Kyungsoo sighs. Jongin could be pretty draining, just like Jongdae and Chanyeol. Damn these Gryffindors.

Admittedly, it wasn't so bad after all. Jongin was easier to teach in comparison to the other two morons.

He glances diagonal from him, where Junmyeon was sitting at their usual spot. As soon as they make eye contact, the seventh year Ravenclaw nods and also gives him a thumbs up.

The Slytherin snickers at that—sure enough, Junmyeon and Jongin did share the same blood.

Another hour later, Kyungsoo exits the library feeling much more relaxed than usual. After his tutoring session with Jongin, he found it much easier to focus and ended up getting a lot more done than he expected.

Honestly... he could really go for a nap right now.

"Oi, Kyungsoo!" A familiar voice shouts at him.

The Slytherin jumps—seriously, what was up with everyone scaring him today—and stops dead in his tracks when he sees Chanyeol approaching him. Immediately, Kyungsoo felt himself stiffen involuntarily. His eyes widen as the Gryffindor continued to walk over to him, a big and blinding smile on his face as always.

"Hi," The Slytherin replies a little too quickly, yelling at himself inwardly to calm down. "What are you up to?"

"I'm heading to the Quidditch field, training's in twenty minutes."

"That's cool," Kyungsoo replies lamely.

"Yeah," Chanyeol smiles again, the corners of his eyes crinkling. Kyungsoo hears his heart make a loud ba-dump sound. "Oh! How was tutoring Kim Jongin, by the way? Was he as bad as Jongdae and I were when you had to help us with Charms?"

Kyungsoo can't help but smile at that, remembering the long hours that they spent in the library near the end of their fifth year.

"Surprisingly, no. He had a lot to ask me already, so I'll do as much as I can to help with his grade." He pauses before hesitantly adding, "He also did ask me to call him 'Jongin' from now on."

"Already!" Overjoyed, Chanyeol wipes a fake tear. "Look at you, making friends. You're all grown up now, Kyungsoo."

"Shut up, will you."

"Heading back to the creepy Slytherin dorms now?"

"They're not creepy, idiot." Kyungsoo sighs, exasperated. "But yeah, I was thinking of napping before dinner."

"Oh yeah, I forget you sleep sometimes." Chanyeol teases, and the Slytherin rolls his eyes. That seems to be the end of their conversation, but the Gryffindor continues, "Actually, why don't you come and watch us practice!"

Kyungsoo adjusts the grip on his bookbag before replying. 

"Chanyeol, you know that I don't give a single about Quidditch. PIus, I can't see on the field anyways because of my ty eyesight."

"That's a lot of s," Chanyeol observes, amused, and he reaches into his pockets to hand Kyungsoo a pair of omnioculars. "Just watch us today, please? I know you at least understand what's going on, so it wouldn't hurt to see how our team is getting along. You can borrow these to see us on the pitch."

Kyungsoo meets his gaze, which was a mistake, because Chanyeol was pouting—giving him the full on puppy-eyed look.

Damn it all.

"Fine," Kyungsoo grumbles; he could never say no to that, no matter how hard he tried. He takes the omnioculars and puts them inside his pocket, saying, "You're putting in so much effort just for me to come watch practice... you guys have dragged me to several before, remember? Also, I may just end up telling Kris about your plays so our House ends up winning."

"You wouldn't do that." Chanyeol laughs, but he suddenly looks doubtful. "Right?"

"I don't know, would I?" Kyungsoo raises his eyebrows, and Chanyeol's smile wavers. The Slytherin then smirks, "Of course not, I was just messing with you."

"I just really want you to come, I feel pretty good about this season."

"There's still one more year left—"

"—Now come on, we're going to be late!"

Kyungsoo purses his lips; it was downright impossible to say no to Chanyeol once he was set on something. Grinning, Chanyeol pats the shorter's back before the two walk to the field together. 

Ten minutes later, Kyungsoo sits in the stands, slightly disgruntled.

There were a few people scattered throughout the stands, all Gryffindors, probably wanting to support their fellow classmates; he did feel pretty awkward, being the only Slytherin. Some people probably thought that he was spying, or something.

It was a bit chilly at this hour, so he takes his scarf out of his bookbag and wraps it around his neck, mouth buried into the fabric. He squints at the tiny red blobs on the bottom of the field, unable to recognize anybody he knew. Eventually, he digs into his pocket and takes out Chanyeol's omnioculars, peering into them and trying to make out who else was on the field.

Sure enough, he is able to clearly see the Gryffindor team with the omnioculars. They all seemed to be waiting for someone. Kyungsoo shifts his gaze to the left more and sees Chanyeol talking to Jongdae and Jongin; the three of them all had big smiles on their faces.

A doe-eyed brunet then comes into view, levitating a large trunk with his wand. A fierce expression was on his face despite his gentle features. Kyungsoo's seen him before; he thinks that he's a seventh year. As soon as he appears, the rest of the members on the team immediately stop their small talk and turn around to face him as he opens the trunk, revealing the various balls inside before he begins to speak. He must be their captain.

As Kyungsoo continues to watch the players on the field, he sees Chanyeol walk over to Jongin and tap his shoulder; the younger male turns around expectantly. Kyungsoo can't tell what they're talking about, but suddenly, Chanyeol points in his direction. Jongin's gaze follows where he's pointing and his eyes widen when he sees Kyungsoo in the stands. A smile spreads on Jongin's face, and he waves at Kyungsoo while Chanyeol salutes him.

"What the ," Kyungsoo whispers, perfectly aware of the fact that the Gryffindors sitting in the stands were now eyeing him weirdly. He waves back timidly.

On the pitch, the brunet releases the balls one by one. Kyungsoo watches as the players eventually get on their brooms and kick off into the air, circling around the field. Chanyeol was hovering in front of the goal posts, holding the Quaffle under his arm. Although Kyungsoo repeatedly said that he didn't understand crap about Quidditch, he did know enough about the general rules and the positions (this was all thanks to Jongdae and Chanyeol spending hours talking to him about the sport).

The omnioculars could replay what happened in slow motion. It also had great magnification, so he was able to see what was going on during their practice. Jongdae was one of the Chasers, so he was throwing the balls in the goalposts from different angles while being surrounded by the other people on his team. It appeared as if the doe-eyed brunet was also a Chaser, as he also scored the Quaffle inside the goalposts several times.

Although Jongdae was pretty good at aiming, Chanyeol was guarding the goalposts pretty well. Kyungsoo couldn't help but snicker to himself every time Chanyeol blocked the Quaffle, causing Jongdae to start whining loudly at him. This didn't fail to make the other members of the team erupt in laughter.

The doe-eyed brunet is the only one who looks completely serious. He shouts, "Jongdae, you can't be doing the same things when scoring, you're going to become predictable that way!"

Jongdae grimaces.

"I'm trying, but Chanyeol's blocking everything!"

As Kyungsoo continues to watch them practice, he notices that Jongin was concentrating really hard; he seemed to be looking for something. He moves on his broom with extremely fast reflexes as one of the Bludgers heads his way, and one of the Beaters on their team barely gets there in time to whack it in the opposite direction. 

"Sorry, my timing was off!" The Beater yells, but Jongin's grinning.

He tilts his broom and immediately shoots downwards, weaving through the other players. Kyungsoo watches as Jongin reaches forward, fingers eventually closing around a gold ball which was fluttering frantically—the Snitch.

Ah, so Jongin must be the Seeker.

"Got it!" Jongin exclaims, and his team members applaud him.

"That was bloody brilliant," The doe-eyed Gryffindor looks pleased, and Kyungsoo sees him smile for the first time ever since he's entered the pitch. "Let's practice some more!"

Jongin releases the Snitch, and everyone continues playing for more rounds. Surprisingly, Kyungsoo finds himself pretty invested in how things were going—it seemed like they had a solid formation going on. Forty-five minutes or so later, the Captain looks down to check his watch.

"I think that's enough for today, it's almost time for dinner. Can you guys help me put the balls back?"

They all fly down and get off their brooms once they land. Jongin, who had the Snitch in his hands already, places it inside the trunk first. Another Chaser, who was a girl in fifth year, straps the Quaffle back. All that was left were the two Bludgers, but it seemed like the team was having a difficult time trying to get them inside the trunk. Someone was able to get one in, and the others were attempting to get the last one. 

Kyungsoo stuffs Chanyeol's omnioculars inside his pocket and goes down to meet them at the field.

"Kyungsoo!" Jongdae says dramatically, making his way over to his friend as soon as he comes closer. His forehead was glistening with sweat, but he still appeared to be full with energy. "You didn't tell me that you were coming today."

"I wasn't supposed to... Chanyeol made me."

The Gryffindor snorts, "I thought so, I didn't think you came here on your own will."

The Slytherin responds by punching Jongdae lightly in the arm, and the Gryffindor sticks his tongue out at him in retaliation.

"DUCK!" A voice then yells in their general direction, and Kyungsoo and Jongdae both instinctively crouch down in time for a Bludger to shoot right over where Kyungsoo's head would've been moments before. 

Heart pounding, Kyungsoo looks behind him, seeing the two Beaters pounce on the last Bludger; they were now wrestling to get it inside the trunk. When they finally strap it back inside, both of them collapse to the ground, panting heavily.

"Whew, that was close." Jongin's voice said.

", Kyungsoo, you nearly got your head blown off!" Jongdae says, shocked.

The Slytherin turns to meet Jongin's gaze.

"Thanks," He finally says after a slight pause.

"No worries." Jongin smiles at him warmly. "How'd you like practice, Kyungsoo?"

Kyungsoo can't help but be startled at Jongin's attempt to engage him in conversation, but he guesses that it makes sense; it would be beneficial for them to be able to talk more comfortably to each other. Though, Kyungsoo could not begin to understand why there were so many rumors surrounding Jongin—the Gryffindor seemed normal enough. Perhaps it was really his social standing which was what made him super popular among other students.

"Not bad," Kyungsoo admits, shrugging. "I can sort of see what all the hype is about."

Jongin opens his mouth to reply, but he is interrupted by another loud voice.

"By the way, I was able to secure the pitch for tomorrow, so don't forget about practice." It was the doe-eyed brunet speaking. "It's going to be earlier than usual, before breakfast, but we have to prep as much as we can before the first game of the season. Hufflepuff's going to be joining us too, so we're going to hold a practice match."

A chorus of groans answer him, and he frowns.

"Oh, come on guys. I know it's early, but when we end up winning the Cup we will not regret it in the slightest!"

Eventually, several 'okays', and 'got its' answered the Captain, and he smiles at that, a fierce glint in his eyes. Kyungsoo shudders at the sight; he didn't think that he would ever meet anyone that would be as competitive (maybe even more competitive...) than Chanyeol. 

"See you guys tomorrow, then." He says. Kyungsoo watches as the rest of the Gryffindor team wave tiredly at their Captain before walking towards the Great Hall.

However, the brunet's smile fades into another deep frown as soon as he sees Kyungsoo standing there. 

"Uh-oh," Jongdae suddenly says, as the brunet marches towards them.

"You there," The Captain points directly at Kyungsoo, his eyes narrowed. Kyungsoo stares back at him, slightly alarmed. "What are you doing here? Are you a new recruit for the Slytherin team? Spying on us, by any chance? I'll have you know that I'll have a word with Kris—"

"—Luhan, calm down, will you?" Jongdae attempts to force the brunet's arm down, smiling nervously at him. "He's not a spy, he doesn't even play. For the record, he doesn't really care about Quidditch."

Luhan, still looking doubtful, crosses his arms. "Hmm."

"I really don't," Kyungsoo quickly adds, trying to sound as convincing as he can.

"All right, then." Luhan finally relaxes a little, putting his hand out for Kyungsoo to shake. Although Luhan did look gentle, his personality was something entirely different—that glint was still in his eyes. "I'm Luhan. You may be friends with some of our teammates, but we will not hold back when we face your House."

That awfully sounded like a threat.

"Er... okay." Either way, Kyungsoo shakes his hand and winces; Luhan's grip is pretty firm. "Do Kyungsoo."

Luhan nods and lets go of his hand after that. He then turns to the closed trunk, locking it and levitating it in the air before walking off.

"Luhan's a bit intense when it comes to Quidditch, but I swear he's not always like this," Jongin says, sighing. "He just really wants to win this year... it's his last season, so."

A bit? Kyungsoo thinks, and makes a mental note to remember that there were people out there who were Quidditch maniacs.

"Hey guys," Out of Kyungsoo's peripheral vision, he sees Chanyeol approaching their small group. Like Jongdae, he was also sweating buckets. When he takes off his helmet, some strands of his hair were plastered to his forehead. Chanyeol tucks it under his arm and offers him a tired smile, which doesn't fail to make Kyungsoo's stomach flip.

"You did well," The Slytherin says quietly when he gets closer, and Chanyeol looks at him in surprise. "It was pretty impressive watching you all play."

Jongin's eyes widen at that: "Whoa, and that's coming from a Slytherin."

"Jongin, Kyungsoo's support doesn't even count. He's never watched any matches."

"I watched... um... three," Kyungsoo protests weakly.

"Only one official match and two practice matches," Jongdae snorts. "You didn't even get to see Jongin actually play as Seeker yet."

"I heard from Sehun that the Slytherin team is pretty strong this year, though." Jongin muses. He turns to face Kyungsoo, smiling hesitantly at him. "Will you cheer for us anyways?" 

Kyungsoo looks at him and doesn't reply. Jongin's smile falters a little at that.

"Don't be discouraged if he doesn't. Our dear little Soo here is still a Slytherin through and through." Jongdae cackles. He wraps an arm around Kyungsoo's neck, grinning as the Slytherin exclaims in protest and immediately tries to pry him off. "We are definitely going to win the Quidditch Cup and House Cup this year, so you better watch out."

"Agreed," Jongin says, sounding more cheerful now; he and Jongdae fist-bump each other. Luhan comes back to the field afterwards, and Jongin then waves a goodbye to the trio. "Well, we'll go on ahead."

They leave, and Kyungsoo watches as their figures retreat farther and farther away.

Jongdae finally removes his grip on Kyungsoo after that.

"How was tutoring, by the way?" The Gryffindor then asks, readjusting the Slytherin's scarf before stuffing his hands back inside his pockets. 

"Not as bad as tutoring us, apparently," Chanyeol answers before Kyungsoo has the chance to reply, smirking slightly.

"Wooooow." Jongdae makes a noise of disbelief and crosses his arms, looking at him in awe. "He even refers to you as Kyungsoo, now. How did you both manage to get so close after just one tutoring session?"

"It's not that we're close," Kyungsoo hides his embarrassment by sinking further into his scarf. He continues, voice slightly muffled, "He asked me to call him Jongin earlier, so I figured that it's only fair if he called me by my first name too.... it'd be awkward otherwise."

At that moment, he suddenly remembers that he still had Chanyeol's omnioculars in his pocket. He takes them out and hands it to him before he could forget. 

"Oh, Chanyeol, thank you for letting me use these."

"No worries." Chanyeol takes them, but his expression changes to a frown, which only really happens when he was thinking deeply about something. Confused, Kyungsoo stares at him. The Gryffindor suddenly straightens up and continues, "You know what? You can have them. I'll just buy another one the next time we go to Hogsmeade."

The Slytherin's mouth falls open at that, and something inside his brain shouts a triumphant YES! while another voice shouts WHAT?

Kyungsoo sputters, not knowing what to say at all. 

"T-These are expensive!"

"Mate, don't even worry about it. Just take it as a thank you for everything that you've done for me. Although, I don't think that even these can make up for how much you've done for me." Chanyeol says matter-of-factly, taking Kyungsoo's hand and putting the omnioculars in his palm in a somewhat fierce manner. Although the contact was brief, Kyungsoo could feel how warm his hand was. "This essentially means that you have no excuse but to watch all of our games now. Do I have your word?"

The Slytherin gapes at the taller Gryffindor, speechless.

Chanyeol chortles, "Kyungsoo, you look like a fish."

"Shut up—fine—you have my word." Kyungsoo looks away, feeling his face getting hotter and hotter by the second. He places the omnioculars back inside his pocket, hands shaking. Upon noticing this, Jongdae covers his mouth and coughs in attempt to hide his laughter.

On the other hand, Chanyeol looks at him in amusement.

"Let's get going, I wonder what's for dinner tonight."

With that, Jongdae and Kyungsoo follow Chanyeol on the way back to the castle. As soon as Chanyeol's back is turned, Jongdae elbows Kyungsoo violently, whose face turns a deeper shade of red.

---

(tw: small mention of blood)

The next morning, the Gryffindor team is greeted with the sight of a beaming Luhan as soon as they meet him out on the field—arms spread wide and a familiar, fierce glint in his eyes. Chanyeol doesn't think he's ever seen the Gryffindor look this excited in a while. 

"Good morning, team! Who's ready to PRACTICE!"

As Chanyeol rubs his eyes tiredly, he definitely thinks that it is way too early for Luhan to be shouting at six thirty in the morning. 

The Gryffindor team responds with half-hearted yells and more tired grumbles.

A blanket of fog draped over the Quidditch field, which was heavier and thicker than usual; thus, it was already pretty difficult to see the goalposts. The stands were empty, as no one was also willing to wake up this early just to watch a practice match. Chanyeol lets out a sigh.

Luhan would still get on his if he failed to block, even in this terrible weather.

"Is it just me, or is Luhan more hyped up than ever?" Besides him, Jongin voices Chanyeol's thoughts. Chanyeol turns to look at his friend, who's currently trying to fight back a yawn.

"I think he's just very determined to win this year."

"Right, but," On Chanyeol's other side, Jongdae scoffs as he pulls on his gloves. "Luhan's always been very determined to win ever since he's been appointed Captain."

"That's because the previous one left, though, remember?" Chanyeol replies.

He joined the team in his fourth year, but he's heard from the other team members that their previous captain was seriously good; he used to be a Keeper. The previous captain suddenly changed schools before what would've been his last year at Hogwarts due to something that happened with his family. After he left, it took a blow to the team—it affected Luhan the most since they were pretty close.

With his departure, Luhan was given the title when he was just entering his fifth year. That was when Chanyeol and Jongdae decided to try out together, since they've always been big fans of the sport (they both practiced a lot at home and actively kept up with Quidditch news).

Chanyeol was kind of scared of Luhan at first. He remembered the elder watching him like a hawk during tryouts; he felt the intense pressure when trying out for Keeper since it was the previous captain's position. In the end, Luhan ended up being impressed with both his and Jongdae's performances. Since Luhan was inexperienced as a Captain, however, they didn't play so well at first. They were eliminated so early into the season that year, which was pretty embarrassing, especially since it broke their streak for having the Cup for five consecutive years.

During their fifth year and Luhan's sixth, Chanyeol and Jongdae were there to watch Jongin try out for Seeker—Luhan nearly cried in happiness when Jongin tried out, as he was apparently the best they had in a while.

They gradually started improving as a team since then, but they had not won the Quidditch Cup since. They were always awfully close, but it was a pity that so many good players kept graduating and leaving the team as a result. It was already hard enough to find people willing to play since the sport was pretty dangerous.

Chanyeol did think that giving Luhan the Captain position was a good choice. He was naturally an amazing Chaser, but he still worked on improving so that he could be fitting of the role. Even though Luhan was extremely competitive, he respected his teammates and encouraged them constantly. He was even better at balancing other priorities, such as academics, which was something that Chanyeol found impressive.

Jongdae hums thoughtfully, bringing Chanyeol back to reality.

"True, but that doesn't change the fact that this is the earliest I've woken up this year. I could be back at the dorms, sleeping without a single care in the world right now..."

"I'd rather be at breakfast," Jongin mumbles. "I'm starving."

In the middle of putting on his helmet, Chanyeol laughs. At the corner of his eye, he notices that there were a small group of people clad in yellow Quidditch robes gradually approaching them.

"Oh, the Hufflepuffs are here."

"Yixing!" Luhan says excitedly and rushes over, losing his footing due to the muddy ground; fortunately, Yixing catches him in one swift motion and sends him a dimpled smile.

"Hey, you." The Hufflepuff helps Luhan stabilize himself before sending a small wave at Jongin, who also brightens up at the sight of him. "How are you, Jongin?"

"Good, thanks," Jongin smiles, choking a little when Yixing slaps his back cheerfully.

Chanyeol smiles as he watches them; the reason why they were close was because they were family friends. The Hufflepuff captain also looked lively in comparison to the other members on his team, who were exuding the same tired energy as the rest of the Gryffindors. 

It was their first practice match against Hufflepuff this year, but they've played each other in actual games in the past. The two captains contrasted each other greatly. While Luhan was impulsive and more reckless, Yixing was more calm and collected. Both of them looked gentle appearance-wise, but Yixing was for sure the one that was actually gentle out of the two.

The Quidditch captains were also all friends, too, which was pretty interesting in itself. They sure did bring the competitiveness out of each other. Chanyeol adjusts his helmet as the captains address both teams.

"The weather's a bit hard to deal with right now, but let's not mind it too much. If you miss or can't block, shake it off and keep going." Luhan crosses his arms. "Let's both do our best today in preparation of the season."

The Gryffindors nod, and the Hufflepuffs all turn to look at Yixing.

"You heard him," Yixing nods, still smiling serenely. He checks his watch and then pulls a coin out of his pocket. "Heads or tails, Luhan?"

"Heads," The Gryffindor says confidently.

The Hufflepuff captain flips the coin silently, which lands on tails. Luhan scowls while Yixing chuckles and pulls out his wand.

"Alohomora," Yixing says, opening the trunk in one swift motion. He unstraps the Quaffle and tucks it under his arm. The rest of the Hufflepuffs save for Yixing mount their brooms and started to fly off in the direction of the opposite field. The Snitch was released next, and it flew off immediately, already out of sight.

Chanyeol could see Jongin already staring in the direction it went.

"All right guys, let's win quickly so that we could eat." Luhan sends his team an encouraging smile, and that finally manages to get everyone motivated. "Go all out even though it's a practice match." 

The rest of the Gryffindors mount their brooms and fly up to the side of the field where they were now facing the Hufflepuff players.

Chanyeol takes his position in front of the goalposts, panicking momentarily; he literally cannot see in this fog.

"3...2...1... okay!" He hears Yixing shout, throwing the Quaffle into play.

As both Hufflepuff and Gryffindor Chasers dive in to retrieve the red ball, he manages to see Yixing quickly mount his broom and fly off in the other direction with incredible speed, pointing his wand down at the trunk to release the two Bludgers.

One of the Hufflepuff chasers—his surname was Atkinson, Chanyeol remembers—catches the Quaffle and zooms off in Chanyeol's direction. Chanyeol prepares himself as he gets closer, but Atkinson dives as soon as he notices that one of the Bludgers was currently on his tail. One of the Hufflepuff beaters, Amelia Brown, manages to smack the ball in the opposite direction with incredible force, thus clearing the path for Atkinson to head closer to the goalposts.

Atkinson launches the Quaffle at the hoop on Chanyeol's right. The Gryffindor, who was hovering over the middle goalpost, curses the damn fog for messing up his reflexes and flies over as fast as he can. His fingertips graze the ball, but he is too slow to block it entirely; the Hufflepuffs score.

"Yes!" Atkinson exclaims, pumping his fist. Irritated, Chanyeol swoops down to grab the Quaffle before throwing it back into play.

"Don't sweat it," Luhan shouts. "Get the next one!"

Another girl Chaser on the Hufflepuff team moves to catch the Quaffle, but it is successfully intercepted by Jongdae. The Gryffindor Chaser dodges a Bludger that was aimed towards him and quickly flies over to the Hufflepuffs' goalposts. Before he gets there, he swiftly passes it to Luhan, who catches the ball and keeps it steady under his arm.

Luhan speeds towards the goals and aims the Quaffle towards the center hoop with extraordinary accuracy. The Hufflepuff Keeper reaches for the ball but ultimately fails to block it—as a result, Luhan scores.

"HELL YEAH!" The captain grins, high-fiving Jongdae.

Chanyeol ends up being able to block a lot more after that since he was starting to rely on his hearing more, trying to listen to the whoosh of the wind. He also does end up missing more than usual due to the incredibly ty weather, which only seemed to be getting worse. As the game goes on, he sometimes sees Jongin weaving in between players, searching for the Snitch with the Hufflepuff Seeker on his tail.

Forty minutes or so later, the score is 80-90: Hufflepuff in the lead.

As Chanyeol continues to guard the goalposts, he realizes that it was starting to rain.

He wipes away the first few couple of raindrops that land on him, but soon enough the rain gets heavier and heavier. Chanyeol curses as he moves some strands of wet hair out of his face. If he already couldn't see when it was already foggy, at this point, it was literally impossible for him to see anything anymore. The sound of the raindrops was too overpowering, so he couldn't even rely on his hearing to know what was going on.

You could imagine the shock he felt when he sees the Quaffle suddenly burst out of the clouds, hurtling towards his direction.

The ball hits him square in the face before he could react, and Chanyeol feels something break from the impact. 

"," Chanyeol yells. 

He spits some rainwater out, hand clutching his nose. He winces when he feels pain shoot throughout the area at his touch. Somehow, he manages to catch the ball with his other hand before it could fall to the ground. The blood starts to trickle down his face, mixing with the rainwater—gross.

"Are you okay?!" He hears a voice exclaim, and Chanyeol sees a startled Yixing appear in front of him. 

"I'm fine," Chanyeol answers, dazed, although he really wasn't; he was struggling to breathe.

When Yixing comes closer to him, his eyes widen at the sight of the Gryffindor's condition. The Hufflepuff captain pulls out his wand. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry! Your nose... Impervius!"

An invisible shield comes over Chanyeol's face, blocking the rain from falling on it.

"Thanks," he smiles weakly at Yixing, who looks at him with worry.

The Hufflepuff moves closer and gently removes Chanyeol's helmet, which does help with the breathing. Yixing then quickly digs into his pocket and pulls out a handkerchief. He gives it to Chanyeol, who takes it gratefully and presses it to his nose in an attempt to slow down the bleeding.

"Yixing! The match's over. Gryffindor's Seeker found the Snitch somehow." Another Hufflepuff comes into view. It's another one of their Beaters. "Damn impressive, really. I couldn't even hit properly because of this weat—holy , are you okay?!" He then shrieks, gawking when he sees Chanyeol.

Chanyeol nods slowly and tries for a thumbs up, but the pain is overwhelming. He squeezes his eyes shut.

They all fly down to the pitch immediately, where both teams were currently gathering.

Jongdae runs up to them as soon as they get off their brooms. Like everyone else, he's completely soaked from head to toe; his wet hair was sticking to his face and the bottom half of his robes were muddy, but he was beaming regardless.

"Did that last Quaffle get in? None of us could see anything since it started pouring, and then Jongin caught the Snitch out of nowh—HOLY !" Jongdae gasps at the sight of Chanyeol, cutting himself off.

Luhan immediately rushes over upon hearing the commotion. His hair was also plastered to his face, making him look ten times younger. He draws in a sharp breath once he sees Chanyeol helplessly clutching Yixing's handkerchief to his broken nose; the cloth was already stained red.

"Oh my , what on Earth happened to my Keeper?!" Luhan's eyes widen before taking the handkerchief and pointing his wand at it. "Tergeo!" 

The blood on the cloth disappears immediately. The Gryffindor captain moves closer to him and gently removes Chanyeol's hand from his face to silently observe the damage. The other members of both teams peer at Chanyeol curiously.

"He blocked the Quaffle with his nose..." Yixing explains for both Jongdae and Luhan, guilt laced in his tone. 

Jongdae's mouth falls open.

"Guys, clean up for me will you? Cast the Impervius charm so that you can see better!" Luhan turns around and shouts at both teams, who immediately start moving to collect the balls. Afterwards, he faces Chanyeol again, frowning deeply. He pats Chanyeol's cheek and hands him the hankerchief again before saying, "Come on, Chanyeol. Let's get you to Pomfrey."

Chanyeol sighs deeply, feeling a headache come on—what a great start to his Sunday.

---

A/N: ch 3 is done & it's a long one!! thank you guys for those who expressed interest in this story :,) it really means a lot to me bc i rly enjoy writing this one so far! i also hope you all are doing okay during these tough times. i've been on summer break since last month but only found motivation to write recently... fun fact, it's 2 am here rn LOL, so my apologies if there are typos. i got back into reading fics since school ended so i got inspired to write again. thank you for those who subscribed and commented, y'all make my day, seriously. 

stay safe and take care of yourself, everyone <3

-seokminz