They really did look ordinary, even with their different shades of brown hair (Jessica's hair now becoming a dirty blonde) they could be mistaken as relatives, cousins at least but Jonghyun with his tan skin, white hair and mismatched eyes, he would stick out like a sore thumb; never really fitting in, not with muggles nor the wizarding world. His family and Taemin were the only ones that made him feel welcomed, he decided not to dwell on his own insignificance and try to focus on the greater task at hand; it was too selfish to feel sorry for himself while Taemin was most likely being tortured.

 

Jessica had referred to him as the brains of the group but that was hard to believe when he was actually so pathetic and stupid. The brains was obviously Jinki, who was sitting across from Jonghyun, his reading glasses resting crooked on his nose. His disheveled hair and the sleep in his eye made it obvious why he didn't go with the others, it seemed the Lee brothers had very similar morning routines in which they had trouble waking up. Taemin was always grumpy in the mornings from what he remembered in the short time Taemin stayed with him, even with his groaning and whining it was such a fond memory and the clearest way Jonghyun remembered his face, every angle, his long eyelashes, golden hair and plush lips parted in a silent snore. 

 

Jinki was handsome in his own way but his morning appearance was not as charming as his younger brother's. "You shouldn't look so sad, none of this would of happened if I had actually done my job" Jinki dropped his head in shame "I don't know what you mean?" Jonghyun didn't realise that the mer thought of Taemin made his heart and face drop into a crestfallen expression. 

 

"I know that you blame yourself but I'm the one you should be blaming, Taemin is my responsibility but I was too caught up in my new found freedom that his safety wasn't my main concern, which was wrong of me. You're both too young to really take care of yourself. I'm sorry, I shouldn't of let it happen, it was me they wanted anyway" Jonghyun didn't listen to anything other than the comment about his age "why does everyone say that?" "Say what?" Jinki raised his head again and saw Jonghyun had folded his arms over his chest and had a scowl painted on his face. "Everyone uses the excuse that we're young but that doesn't matter to me. I messed up, it wasn't because I'm young it's because I'm stupid and that's unacceptable! Why is it always about age?!"

 

At first the older Lee was in shock from his outcry but then smiled "when I first found out about you two spending time together I was a little surprised, even more so when I heard the rumors about you becoming a couple; you just seemed so different from each other but now I see you're so similar. So self critical, always so protective of the other, I can see why he's crazy about you when you're just as crazy about him. I know that we were playing the blame game just now and you're probably ticked off but i just had to make the observation. I'm so happy he found happiness in you, that's all I ever wanted for him; to be happy" Jonghyun pouted "that's not fair. You still didn't answer my question" Jinki stood and ruffled Jonghyun's hair "you'll understand when you're older" he then began to pull fresh clothes from his bottomless bag "we should join the others outside, the sooner we leave the sooner we find them" Jonghyun nodded and soon enough the pair found the group within the village.

 

Lyndhurst was the largest village in the area however by Jonghyun's standards it was still tiny, he was used large cities and the crowded Hogwarts castle so the small Tudor houses and the population of three thousand made him feel even more out of place; however he knew they needed to be there. 'The capital of the New forest' didn't have its name for no reason as it was surrounded by the large forest itself and a simple stroll to the outskirts could get you lost in the deep wood. They joined the others as they were edging towards the outskirts only to see Jessica being stopped by an elderly woman. 

 

"Oh no darling you don't want to wander in there! I can tell you're all city children but there's been several disappearances in the past few weeks! All of them being young backpackers. It's such a shame really, the police haven't found anything yet. I would hate to see another report in the newspaper, you see back in my day there were a few incidents of animal attacks and I'm afraid history may be repeating itself" the Wizards all looked at each other with grim expressions for they knew the real reasons behind the muggle disappearances, there's no doubt a few adventurous people stumbled across what must be Jaejoong's 'base' and would of been disposed of by his cronies.

 

In a attempt to shake off the woman's worry so they could sneak away Jinki flashed his signature smile "don't worry about us madam, I'm sure we can handle whatever is in there"

 

As soon they stepped onto the forest path Jonghyun felt a twist in his stomach. A familiar twist that made his heart flutter. As Jessica was leading the group he could only see her back but her clenched fists let Jonghyun know that she felt the same way. It could only mean one thing, there were getting closer and their bond was far stronger than any magic that tried to keep them apart. He could only imagine what Taemin must be feeling, the twist must be lost among the pain he was put in, his dream of Jonghyun lost among all the others; he wouldn't expect Jonghyun's arrival and that made their soon to be reunion all the more special but Jonghyun pushed the happy thoughts to one side. He need to be focused on the plan. 

 

Jonghyun wasn't one to stray from the group or challenge leadership but Jessica's plan-less attack seem too much like a crime of passion rather than an actual rescue mission. He spent the night revising defensive charms and spells and memorised every possible counter attack they could throw at him. He was prepared to fight, it didn't matter if he was young because mentally he was on par with the others; he couldn't fight for himself but he was going to for Taemin. He was itching for his wand and to run ahead of the others but he resisted.

 

They trekked for hours searching for anything suspicious even going as far to ask other backpacker where people were last seen before they went missing. From Jonghyun's dream Jessica assumed Jaejoong would be in between Lyndhurst and Sway so they followed a path south. 

 

Only in the late afternoon did the others realise seven people, all going in one direction was not the best way to find something that was practically invisible. They decided to separate into three groups consisting of Jinki and Jessica, Jonghyun and Yuri, and the remaining trio of Luna, Donghae and Boa. Jessica wasn't too pleased about letting Jonghyun out of her sight but it wouldn't make sense for the two bonded ones to go together; they figured the twists in their stomachs was an indication of how close they were, so she held her tongue as they wandered away. It was agreed to all stay within shouting distance of each other incase they stumbled across something or if there were any issues. 

 

Yuri seemed irritated that she was basically left babysitting Jonghyun, if they ran into any trouble Yuri would be the only one capable of duelling because Jonghyun was a minor. They were civil however and she kept a close eye on him knowing the grief her friend would give her if the young Gryfinndor was harmed in any way. That was unless it was out of her control. 

 

Just when they decided to turn back in attempt to regroup with the others Jonghyun felt an intense pain when he turned to his left, it was almost unbearable and Jonghyun crouched on the ground and wrapped his arms around his stomach. Yuri patted his back and tried to make him stand "come on, now isn't the time for your menstrual cramps. It'll be dark soon and we should head back" Jonghyun wasn't even offended as he completely blocked out the sound of her voice. 

With great effort Jonghyun rose and began to sprint in that direction, Yuri angrily followed him and pulled her wand from her coat. "If Sica gives me for this I'm putting all the blame on you!" She cursed as she dodged trees in order to keep up. 

 

"Seriously Jonghyun! What the are you doi-" Jonghyun turned back just to frantically wag his index finger in front of his sealed lips. Yuri stopped running and shouting as she continued to follow him cautiously. She raised an eyebrow when she saw Jonghyun staring up at a single tree, it seemed out of place amongst the white bark of all the quaking aspen. Yuri stood by his side and nudged him, trying to get his attention but he didn't budge. "For a second I thought you saw someone. Not a random tree" Jonghyun shook his head "it's not a random tree, it's a hornbeam" "I quit herbology in fifth year. I don't get the significance" 

 

They both turned and saw a large, empty area that could be mistaken for a campsite but as Yuri looked closer she noticed her vision was slightly blurred as she looked straight ahead. She squinted and held her hand in front of her to make sure her eyes weren't impaired. "Oh I think we found something. Jonghyun?" She then focused her attention on him "I need you to wait her while I get the others. Get your invisibility cloak incase a snatcher passes by, okay?" Jonghyun followed the instructions and it didn't take long for the rest of the group to come running in silence. 

 

They all spread on the edge of cleared area held their wands out. Jessica made Jonghyun stand behind her, they all took a minute to prepare for the worst and what would most likely be the duel of their lives, years of defence against the dark arts would be put into action to fight a wizard trained to protect. Yunho would be the largest obstacle, taking down Jaejoong jr. Without any protection would be easy. 

In unison they cast a wordless penetration charm that Jonghyun wasn't familiar with. Translucent blue cracks began to appear and form a dome shape. Clear glass-like flakes fell to reveal a dark And haunting manor. The purebloods (Jessica, Jinki and Donghae) looked at the building in disgust "the bastard tried to recreate his childhood home"

 

As they quietly approached the house Jessica handed Jonghyun another wand, he now had three in his possession, this one belonged to Kris. "They gave it to me in the ransom letter snapped in half, took me weeks to finally repair it" she then took his invisibility cloak and covered his shoulders with it. "When we blow the doors off this place our cover is blown so we need you to stay hidden and try to find Kris and Taemin while we are fighting. So stay back" Jonghyun understood completely and kept his distance as the six casted different spells, completely destroying the door and the brick surrounding the entrance. "Confringo!" "Bombarda!" "Deprimo!" "Fiendfyre!" "Expulso!" "Incendio!" 

 

 

 

 

In that moment Taemin's expression softened and time stopped for them. He could see nothing else apart from Jonghyun standing before him. He was so sure that it wasn't a dream this time and if it was a cruel trick of his subconscious, he never wanted to wake up. 

They were both in a state. Jonghyun was extremely sleep deprived, more so than usual but Taemin was absolutely ghastly. His hair was matted and greasy, dried blood dying the side of his head red. His skin was pale and his eyes were bloodshot. He was wearing the same clothes Jonghyun last saw him in but they were covered in mud and ripped to the point where they were unrecognisable. Despite all this, he made Jonghyun breathless. He was too beautiful for comparison. 

 

Although they had only been standing for a second or two, it felt like an eternity and Jonghyun couldn't take it any more. He ran straight into Taemin's arms and with sudden strength he held held Jonghyun up so he could wrap his tiny body around him, he wound his legs around Taemin's waist. Jonghyun sobbed into his neck and Taemin pressed kisses wherever he could. They were gripping each other so tight they could actually leave handprint bruises but neither of them cared. 

Taemin missed the way Jonghyun would nuzzle under him, he missed the smell of Jonghyun's hair, he missed his soft skin, his voice, his eyes, everything about it him. The thought of reuniting with Jonghyun was the only thing that kept him sane. With one hand he held Jonghyun's chin and he stared into his big, watery, odd eyes while Jonghyun was completely mesmerised by Taemin's dark almond shaped eyes. Naturally their lips came together. 

 

They jumped slightly from the spark when their lips touched as it had been a while since they felt it. Taemin began to shed tears as he felt Jonghyun's identical relief collide with his; they were whole again, a single body. Their connection had been reestablished and the two made no move to separate again if not for the other man in the room's interrupting cough. "I don't mean to be rude and break this up but is there any chance that my bae is up there right now?" Jonghyun suddenly remembered what Jessica had entrusted him with and handed Yifan his mended wand with both hands. He didn't know what to say to the ex-Hogwarts student so he simply bowed while Taemin placed his hand protectively on his hip. Yifan smirked and grabbed the wand, sprinting up the stairs towards the sounds of battle "I'm coming baby!"

 

Jonghyun then took Taemin's wand handed it to him with the utmost care and respect but Taemin quite literally pushed it to one side. The wand rolling onto the floor as Taemin pulled Jonghyun into another searing kiss. Their hands intertwined as they reluctantly pulled apart. Jonghyun blinked away the last of his tears when he finally spoke "don't leave me again" and Taemin slumped down to rest his head on Jonghyun's shoulder "I wouldn't dream of it" 

 

After they finally composed themselves they decided to completely disregard the law and fight with the others, drawing their wands and preparing for battle. The best part being they didn't even have to discuss it out loud. Taemin was curious as to who Jonghyun came along with and Jonghyun duly answered "your brother" 

 

There was no time to explain in detail the truth about his family so instead he let the memories play through his mind allowing Jonghyun to soak all the information he needed, statements such as 'your brother' becoming redundant since the reveal that Taemin in fact had two half brothers. 

 

One of them was currently sitting comfortably behind a shield Yunho had conjured while the other was hurling curses at the ex-Auror. Jaejoong looked completely bored behind his protection and even had the gall to look at his nails while a few of his men were screaming in pain. The rescue squad were easily holding their own despite being outnumbered, each one them having a specific technique that they used to their advantage. Jessica and Kris became an unstoppable duo, they stood back to back and took out the most snatchers and so a pile of unconscious bodies was created thanks to them. Yuri was a textbook example of a perfect dueller, her form was extremely precise and she was even kind enough to allow her opponent a chance to retaliate before she threw them across the room. 

 

The oldest pair, Donghae and Boa were most definitely the most experienced and were throwing the harshest hexes, they didn't have the restraint of school children and they faced a more intimidating threat from the dummies they used for their defence against the dark arts NEWTs exam. Luna was a skilled healer and quickly aided those who were hit while they were still duelling mid fight as well constantly conjuring shields for everyone as well as herself, she obviously paid more attention to Jinki however as he was fighting one on one with with Yunho.  

 

Jonghyun and Taemin were eager to join and make themselves useful but once Jaejoong caught a glimpse of Taemin from his shelter he commanded everyone to stop "we shouldn't be fighting when my baby brother is around, what kind of influence would that make me?" The remaining snatchers retreated and the other all stared at him in confusion. Jaejoong made Yunho take down the shield so he could offer Taemin a place at his side, it seemed he forgot the last time he tried to connect with his half brother in this way. Taemin was fuming, for him to have the audacity to call him that in front of Jinki was so insulting and disrespectful.

 

"I've said it before and I'll say it again. I don't care what out blood relation is" he left Jonghyun's side to join Jinki's and face Yunho and Jaejoong head on "You. Are. Not. My. Brother! I only have one!" He shot a curse towards Jaejoong and sent him flying backwards towards the stone wall knocking him unconscious "stupify!" 

 

That stupid little fit of anger from Taemin caused all hell to break loose. Yunho stared back at Jaejoong's body in shock, it was the most emotion Taemin had ever seen him show and once it became clear that Jaejoong was indeed knocked out everyone assumed the Imperius curse Yunho was placed under would become void and he would return to his usual state. The opposite happened, his shock evolved into rage as he aimed the most horrendous, unforgivable curse at Taemin.

 

 

 

 

 

"Avada Kedavra!" 

 

 

 

 

 

Taemin saw the green shoot towards him but never felt the emptiness he would expect from death. Instead he felt a limp body slump against his and heard a distant scream as they both fell to the floor.

 

 

 

 

 

He ignored the battle cry from the others as they pelted his attacker with curses that put him in the same state as Jaejoong and focused on the blank face beside him. The face that sacrificed themselves just to protect him. The one that always protected him even when he didn't want it. 

 

It was Jinki. 

 

His older brother had seen the attack coming and shielded Taemin from the killing curse; using his body to block the spell. The ultimate act of brotherly love. 

Taemin wanted to squeeze his eyes shut, refuse to accept what had just happened but he couldn't. His eyes were wide open and staring into Jinki's lifeless ones, he saw the light leave his eyes and the colour drain from his face. His lips were slightly parted and he didn't look as if he was in any pain; some would say he was at peace, fulfilling his duty to Taemin. 

They were all too slow to stop it from happening and Jinki knew that, he knew Jonghyun was too far away and he would do the same however if Jonghyun were to die Taemin would never be able to live knowing his soulmate is gone and most likely follow Jonghyun into a similar fate just so they could be together. He knew that Luna's reflexes weren't as quick and she wouldn't manage to create a defence fast enough. He knew Taemin wouldn't be fast enough to dodge it himself. All he knew was in that moment his younger brother was in danger and if he died trying to protect him then so be it. 

 

He had failed Taemin so many times before this was probably the first time he'd done something right. He failed protecting Taemin from their abusive parents, failed keeping him from his insane half brother and failed mentoring him. Now he succeeded and he couldn't even brag about it. Taemin always hated it when his perfect brother bragged about everything, being right, being smarter, being better at everything, it infuriated him to no end but now he wanted Jinki to brag, to laugh in his face, call him foolish, give him the 'I told you so' stare from their childhood, anything. But Jinki laid there, cold.  

 

No one could believe it. After the excitement died down Luna dropped to her knees and put Jinki's head in her lap, cradling him as she let her tears fall into his hair. Jessica couldn't bare to see the sight as she buried her face in Yifan's chest who lowered his head to hide the tears welling in his eyes. Yuri and Boa both sobbed behind their hands and Donghae was shaking. Jonghyun couldn't breathe, he was overwhelmed by Taemin's feelings of loss, the grief was practically choking him. 

Taemin was probably the worst. This entire fiasco was his fault, if he had kept to himself and let the others deal with it maybe Jinki would be alive, with him, maybe Jinki would graduate from Hogwarts with outstanding marks and an impeccable reputation, maybe he would marry Luna and in a few years Taemin could've been an uncle. Maybe Jinki's life would've much more fulfilling and longer if he didn't have to worry about Taemin. If Taemin didn't exist then maybe Jinki still would. 

 

Jonghyun was disgusted by Taemin's thoughts and rushed to his side, mimicking Luna's actions except with Taemin he was much harsher, he held Taemin's face between his hands and he tried his best not to shake but was failing miserably "Lee Taemin! Don't you dare blame yourself for this! Don't you dare!" The others stared at them in disbelief. They seemed conflicted whether they should comfort Taemin or address their own grief. Taemin shook off the stares and instead focused on Jonghyun, he tried to find happiness in Jonghyun's eyes, he really did but all he thought of was all the times he insulted, disrespected and denounced Jinki as a brother. He remembered the beginning of the year, before he met Jonghyun; Jinki showed the concern his parents never would and all Taemin would do is show his discontent with the attention Jinki gave him. 

 

All the fights they had overloaded Taemin's mind and Jonghyun took matters into his own hands, he brought their foreheads together and Jonghyun focused solely on the conversation he had with Jinki that very morning "I'm so happy he found happiness in you, that's all I ever wanted for him; to be happy" it was now up to Taemin and Jonghyun to kept Jinki's wish alive, for Taemin to be happy without his older brother seemed near impossible and as the shock seemed to finally leave his system, Taemin let out the most heartbreaking scream. 

 

The scream stirred something in Jaejoong and he began to wake up from his forced sleep, Jonghyun grabbed his wand and slammed Jaejoong's body back into the wall, much harder this time as there was a very loud crack from his skull. No one even paid attention to him however as Jaejoong's gargles were drowned out by Taemin's cries of agony. 

 

Taemin's weak and feeble body couldn't take it anymore and collapsed onto Jonghyun. Jonghyun cradled Taemin to his chest and squeezed his eyes shut, he wanted to move them away from Jinki but thought it wouldn't be right to separate the brothers now. 

 

Jessica and Yifan then showed a fiery hot anger that he'd never seen before, Jessica tucked her wand away as she began to lay many blows to Yunho's body with her fists, while Yifan restrained him. It was revealed that Yunho was never under the Imperius curse and was just infatuated and manipulated by Jaejoong jr. He had given up his honourable position as head of the Auror office and his dignity to serve Jaejoong for the promise that he would return his feelings. Jaejoong would only be capable of loving Yunho if he murdered anyone he wanted. "You pathetic! Spineless! Worm!" She took her anger out on the real person to blame, not Taemin. 

 

Yunho was still able to immediately contact the Auror office and through Jessica's 'persuasion' she managed to make him notify them of their whereabouts, within a minute more than a hundred Aurors apparated in and around the replica manor, taking the reigns of the rescue mission. Yunho was arrested immediately and Jaejoong was confirmed to be breathing before he was taken to intensive medical care. 

 

They tried to do the same with Jinki but had trouble separating him from a hysterical Luna, only with Donghae's help was he lifted to makeshift healers tent where they did all they could but everyone knew they was no point in even trying. 

 

 

No magic could bring someone back from the dead.