The only time he would ever see Jonghyun was in his dreams but they played out more like memories however slightly different; he would dream of being injured by Jessica but being nursed in Jonghyun's bed at his home in London, he dreamt of swinging at Minho in the great hall or the reveal of Jonghyun's odd eye taking place in the prefects bathroom.

 

In some dreams he thought he saw a mirage of Jonghyun sitting across from him in this putrid dungeon, completely untouched but he would always wake up alone and empty, the shadow of Yifan wandering around trying to walk the pain off was casted across the floor. Today was no exception. He turned his head to the side and found Yifan staring directly at him, before he could even ask why Yifan chucked a stone against Taemin's chest.

 

"Yifan, what the actual !" They couldn't help getting frustrated with each other at times. Yifan shrugged "you had a bug on you" Taemin scoffed and with great effort he lifted his head and saw a squashed cockroach resting on his chest. With a sudden burst of energy Taemin jumped and frantically patted himself down, ridding himself of any other possible insects. 

Their morning ritual was cut off by loud footsteps. Yifan held his breath, there seemed to be only one pair and that put him at peace. Yunho obviously to begin another torture session. 

 

Yunho grabbed Taemin by the collar of his clothes and dragged him across the floor, he carelessly threw him against the staircase; the exit of the dungeon. Taemin cushioned the fall against the stone steps silently, he didn't talk back to them anymore, there was no point in cussing and spitting at someone who was under the imperious curse and it would only result in more pain for him. Yunho then ordered the boy to climb the steps and pushed him if he wasn't fast enough. This was peculiar as Yifan and the other captives were never taken to see Jaejoong outside the hell hole they were confined in, usually the squib would visit them and add to their torture however it seemed Jaejoong Jr. Had plans for the youngest Lee.

 

Taemin had to squint as his eyes weren't adjusted to daylight. He assumed that if he was brought to the surface he'd have a vague idea of his surroundings but he honestly didn't know where he was. He saw high walls with dusty tapestries and was reminded of his own manor but not as dirty. He could tell it was day from the light spilling though the windows but he wasn't allowed close enough to see anything else. Yunho became frustrated with his slow and curious pace and started dragging Taemin to what he recognized as a throne room. 

 

This room was colder than the rest of the house; even the dungeon was warmer than this. Taemin barely noticed the cold as he saw what he thought was a reflection of himself standing at the end of the room. Same messy blond hair that fell into his eyes, same pouty lips and an eye shape scarily similar to his own. The closer he got the more Taemin could see that he wasn't looking into a mirror, the man's shoulders were too broad for his lanky frame and the his jaw too sharp for a teenager. He knew it was Jaejoong but he couldn't shake the thought of how similar they looked. 

 

He only saw Jaejoong from newspaper clippings from when he was a child and the more he looked he could see the same features reflected on the minister of magic, Jaejoong senior. Jaejoong's lips spread into a happy grin and he quite literally jumped for joy "Taemin! I'm so glad you could join us" he snapped his fingers and Yunho dutifully returned to his right side.

Taemin was still in awe of how some with little to no magical ability could control such a powerful wizard. Jaejoong noticed his surprise and draped his arms over Yunho who remained stoic. "He's a sweetheart really. Now come! Speak to me, how do you like my home?" 

 

If Taemin wasn't in this situation he would've told the truth "it's a hole" he thought to himself but he was too afraid to let the words escape from his dry throat; he only managed a small shrug of his shoulders. Jaejoong smirked "I had to admit I was disappointed when they told me they got the wrong one but then they said the wrong Lee and I was elated! I've always wanted to meet you and now here you are! It must be fate" then fate was a cruel mistress for them to meet in such a way. Taemin found his courage and with a low and cautious voice, his curiosity took over "why did you want to see me?" Jaejoong then circled around Taemin, eyeing his skinny form. "You and I are far more similar than you'd expect"

 

It was the perfect opportunity to plant the seeds of doubt in an impressionable teenager. 

"You don't look much like your brother do you?" Jaejoong stopped in front of Taemin's face and dropped his smirk. Taemin scoffed "well obviously, he looks like our father" 

"You don't look like your father at all" it was true, Taemin didn't inherit a single feature from his father. He never thought much of it as a child but now it was frightening how little resemblance there was. If it wasn't for his mother he'd look so foreign in family portraits, his shocking blond only seemed normal next to her. 

 

It was obvious what Jaejoong was trying to say but he refused to acknowledge it. That was until Yunho pushed him towards the very edge of the room where a floating disk of water hid, a pensieve. He tried to struggle but was far too weak to even make much of an effort. He saw a vial in Jaejoong's hands and watched the white whips turned black as ink when they touched the water. Yunho then dunked his head and Taemin felt as if he was drowning, only when his lungs were painfully filled with liquid was Taemin transported him to Jaejoong's memory and the image was too clear for Taemin to bear.

 

*

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*

 

Taemin was yanked backwards and found himself spluttering on the floor, he turned to Jaejoong and stared at him in shock before jumping to his feet and stumbled away, trying to run as fast he could. Yunho looked at the squib but Jaejoong held up his hand. "No. let him. I want him to understand what needs to be done" Jaejoong slowly walked in the same direction and made his mind slave stay put. 

 

Taemin managed to make his way outside and saw he was surrounded by wood, it was a paradise for someone like Taemin but he couldn't appreciate it as he was trying to escape but was suddenly jolted back. He was thrown against the grass. It was a glass like barrier, similar to the ones from his nightmares; no matter how hard he tried to break it, he only bruised his hand. Even after he knew it was indestructible he continued to punch and wail. His entire life had been a carefully constructed lie. Jinki wasn't his brother, only his half brother; he wondered if he knew of the affair. Jinki was always smarter, he must've pieced it together while Taemin needed someone to spell it out for him. 

 

Everything made sense. Why they treated him like he wasn't their son, it was because he wasn't his fathers son. He was mistreated by a stranger that no doubt despised him. Perhaps that was why his father barely ever looked at him, he was constant reminder of his mothers betrayal. He was a burden, a mistake and conceived from adultery. 

 

Jaejoong was suddenly behind him with a genuine smile, he placed his hand on his shoulder "I've always wanted a little brother" Taemin saw something dangerously close to insanity in his eyes. 

"Don't you see, Taemin? You and I; we're the same, neglected by the same man, together we can overthrow those pigs. Create a new world with no system so no child like us will slip past it again" it was a righteous dream but he was confused as to how kidnapping children and teenagers could ever achieve anything like that "with my brain and your magic we can build an army, punish those who aren't like us. The orphans and the mistreated can rule the world, all the others who value something as mundane as family will perish. We will guild the new generation" he painfully squeezed his shoulder and his smile looked less kind and more manic "although I admit this nonsense with the purebloods was simply for my entertainment"

 

Taemin felt sick. All the killing was fun for Jaejoong, it was all just a game for him. None of it should've of happened. Taemin finally found himself again when he realized amongst all the innocent deaths Jaejoong wanted to cause, Jonghyun would be one of them. He spat in his half brother's face "you're insane" 

Jaejoong lost his smile but the crazy look in his eyes remained, he snapped his fingers and Yunho came running to his side. 

 

"You don't want to be brothers?" His voice wavered and he looked extremely hurt. "I don't care what our blood relation is. You. Are. Not. My. Brother" he hissed and Jaejoong frowned, the hurt melting from his face. "But our revenge?" "I don't need your ing revenge! I have people who love me" Jaejoong's eye began to twitch from anger "Fine. If you don't want to rule beside me then you will be under me!" He didn't even have to command Yunho to torture Taemin as within one second he was on the ground flailing in pain "crucio!" 

 

As Taemin tumbled on the grass in agony he managed to crack open his eyes and saw the clear blue sky above him. It reminded him of the icy blue that was Jonghyun's right eye and found himself at peace in that moment despite the pain.