hi! it’s been almost a year since i wrote this fic, and looking back at it i feel like it’s probably the best fic i’ve written to this date. i’ve also received a lot of nice response to this, which i am very happy about! so i decided to upload this chapter with extras, which consist of some old notes i found on my phone and an extra drabble! (i’ve put them in that order so you can just skip to the drabble if you wanna)

actually, the main reason to why i’m posting this extra chapter is because liquid love was nominated for the 2016 exo fic awards!!! i hadn’t heard of them before, but i’m extremely flattered that someone thought my fic was good enough to be considered one of the best of 2016... it was nominated in the category ‘best chen fic’, which is obviously the most important category (if you haven’t noticed it already i’m huge jongdae stan lol). i just want to thank the one(s?) who nominated the fic and everyone else for reading and liking it ;v; therefore, i’m posting this little extra thing!

you can find out more about the 2016 exo fic awards here on aff or on livejournal

1 - notes: this consists of two things; some not-too-serious character profiles i wrote for myself when planning the fic, and a few notes concerning things i didn’t add in the actual fic because they were unimportant (but might still be a bit interesting idk?)

Jongdae Kim
the first of the two main characters is a cunning boy who in spite of being a good student often finds himself in detention
house: Slytherin
year: 6
likes: sweets and pranking Chanyeol
uality: not you
fun fact: his friends call him Dae or JD

Chanyeol Park
the second main character had just moved to the UK when he started Hogwarts, but the language was no problem for him as he quickly made friends with the help of his spontaneous attitude
house: Gryffindor
year: 6
likes: Quidditch and everything muggle-related
uality: believes himself to be straight since the thought of anything else hasn’t ever crossed his mind
fun fact: enjoys the subject of transfiguration despite being completely useless at it

Hyuna Kim
one of Jongdae’s two closest friends and known as one of the most attractive girls in school
house: Slytherin
year: 6
likes: dancing and cute girls
uality: yes
fun fact: immediately decided she and Jongdae should be friends when finding out that both of them were placed in the same house and had the same family name

Amber Liu
Chanyeol’s best friend who is 200 times cooler than him and knows everyone in the entire school
house: Gryffindor
year: 6
likes: strange animals and good jokes
uality: bi
fun fact: she is muggleborn and still manages to find new things about the world of magic to be amazed by every day

Kris Wu
Jongdae’s other close friend and ever-popular captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team
house: Slytherin
year: 7
likes: Quidditch
uality: Quidditch
fun fact: Quidditch

Kyungsoo Do
a rather quiet and lonesome housemate of Jongdae’s, who happens to be the best potions student in the entire school
house: Slytherin
year: 5
likes: potions and drama
uality: BYE-ual (get it?? get it??? hahahha hilarious. comedy)
fun fact: pretends not to care but actually finds the conflict between Jongdae and Chanyeol quite interesting

extra stuff i never got to write in the actual fic:

- as mentioned in the first chapter, chanyeol is hugely fascinated with all things from the muggle world. amber, his best friend, happens to be muggleborn. you can guess what a lot of their conversations must be like

- both chanyeol and amber have care of magical creatures as an elective and amber loves strange creatures, the stranger they are the better. chanyeol thinks they’re all adorable, no matter how malicious they might be

- jongdae and hyuna became friends on the first day of school just after the sorting hat ceremony. after “kim, hyuna!” came “kim, jongdae!” and they both ended up in slytherin. therefore a lot of people thought they were siblings, even though they had never met before. hyuna saw it as a sign for them to become friends and instantly approached jongdae.

- kris started school a year later than his peers because his magical abilities didn’t start showing until he was 12

- as a result of chanyeol and jongdae hanging out more as bfs, their friends start interacting with each other too. especially amber and hyuna are pretty fond of each other ;-)

- they mostly leave jongdae and chanyeol on their own though, since they don’t want to put up with watching them being all affectionate with each other

- jongdae introduces kyungsoo to chanyeol. kyungsoo, as expected, finds him somewhat annoying

2 - drabble (i apologise for the teeth-rotting fluff in advance)

Maybe time actually did fly when you’re having fun.

That was what Jongdae thought as he boarded the Hogwarts Express that sunny day in June, the very last day of his sixth year as a student at Hogwarts. It had really been as if the second term flew by faster than usual. Then again, they said time goes by more quickly as one grows older, but that couldn’t solely be the reason. He had after all had a lot of fun.

Or, well, everything hadn’t been a walk in the park; after his change in relationship with a certain Gryffindor there had been a lot of strange stares, and he had even heard the occasional words of prejudice directed at him. It was silly, really, the amount of attention the news gathered. Why people were interested in other’s private lives Jongdae didn’t and couldn’t understand, however, with the company and support from his friends it had all been alright. Especially the company of one particular person. Chanyeol had always been there to hold his hand, just like he was holding it at the moment as they were making their way through the train. And Jongdae had been there to hold his.

They found an empty compartment after a while and sat down. Kris had accompanied some of his fellow seventh years to spend their last time riding the Hogwarts Express together, and most of Chanyeol’s friends usually didn’t hang out with them when Jongdae was there, probably feeling slightly awkward and in their way. Or maybe they just didn’t want to see them being more or less affectionate. Jongdae didn’t know, and he could not bring himself to care. He was not familiar with them and they did not know him that well either. The only one out of Chanyeol’s friends that would spend time with them was Amber, and that was mainly because she got along well with Hyuna and Kris. Therefore, there were four of them sharing a compartment, he and Chanyeol, and Amber and Hyuna.

The first hours of the journey were pleasant; they all discussed memories of the past term and how exciting it was going to be to enter their seventh year. Chanyeol sat next to Jongdae and kept an arm around his shoulders the entire time, leaning the shorter against his side. Amber and Hyuna did not seem to mind, they were used to the smaller displays of affection between the two. It all calmed Jongdae a bit, and managed to keep his brain from focusing on the negative things. Such as the fact that having summer vacation meant that he would be away from school, his friends, and (most importantly) Chanyeol.

Sure, it would be nice to be able to relax at home for a while, but staying at home also meant staying away from those who really brightened his days. Jongdae supposed they could send each other letters as per usual, and maybe meet up a few times. He and Hyuna had hung out a little the previous summers, but not too much as Jongdae hated the way his family would bother him about her being his girlfriend (and most of all his brother teasingly wondering how someone like Jongdae managed to end up with a girl as pretty as her). The fact that they couldn’t seem to comprehend that Jongdae’s best friend (with emphasis on friend) happened to be a girl was annoying enough, but he knew things would get worse if they got to know who he really was in a relationship with. Therefore the thought of inviting Chanyeol over scared him a bit, as there was always a risk that his family would notice a thing or two.

Besides, the real problem was that even if he managed to meet up with Chanyeol a few times, it would still not be enough. Jongdae was used to Chanyeol’s company by now, since they would always find a way to spend some time together every day. Now, the only way Chanyeol would be able to accompany him for such a long time was in his own thoughts, which was somewhat embarrassing to admit as it made him sound like some kind of lovesick tool (but was that really far from the truth?). What did he even do the summers before Chanyeol? When Jongdae thought about it, he could remember Chanyeol being in his head from time to time the previous summers too, though for what he thought to be a different reason. He had always wondered things like how Chanyeol spent his summers, where did he live, what did he do? It might just be more proof that Jongdae’d had feelings for him longer than he had originally thought.

“I’m going to miss you”, he whispered to Chanyeol out of the blue, feeling his face heat up; he couldn’t help it, things like that were still really embarrassing to admit. Chanyeol seemed to be of the same sentiments though, since he pulled Jongdae even closer. As Hyuna and Amber appeared to be lost in a conversation concerning if thestrals were real or not (Amber was trying to convince a sceptical Hyuna), Chanyeol barely even bothered to whisper in reply.

“Jongdae”, he instead said in a normal conversational tone, and Jongdae could not stop his face from feeling even hotter. He was perhaps a bit too fond of the moments Chanyeol said his name, even though it happened fairly often and he should have grown used to it by now. The fact that he was almost the only person who called him by his actual given name and not a nickname was probably to blame. It made their relationship feel even more special, somehow. Not to mention Chanyeol’s perfect pronunciation, and the way his name sounded when articulated by the deep, somewhat husky voice.

“You know I’m gonna miss you too”, Chanyeol followed up after he was sure he had caught Jongdae’s attention, “a lot.”

Jongdae sighed and snuggled closer to Chanyeol, the latter’s warmth and familiar scent comforting him. It was slightly embarrassing to be so affectionate right in front of their two friends, but this were their last hours together before going to their separate homes so Jongdae wanted to make the best of it.

“Don’t be so gloomy, it’s not like we won’t be able to meet each other for the whole summer”, Chanyeol spoke up again, trying to remain as optimistic as ever, “we’ll visit each other, okay? I’m sure you can even stay at my house for a couple of days if you want to! And if that doesn’t work, we can still send each other letters! You promise to write?”

“I promise”, Jongdae confirmed, but Chanyeol made a sound of dissatisfaction.

“You have to do the pinky promise thing”, he said and raised a hand with his little finger sticking out. Jongdae snorted at his boyfriend’s antics but still hooked his finger with Chanyeol’s. Chanyeol took the chance to grab onto Jongdae’s entire hand, holding it tightly while drawing soothing circles with his thumb on the back of it. Jongdae recognised the action, it was something Chanyeol did from time to time. It would be a lie to say he didn’t like it.

“It’s going to be alright”, Chanyeol then said, and Jongdae wasn’t sure who he was talking to anymore. It made him even more doubtful when Chanyeol repeated the phrase quietly, this time in Korean. Maybe he was also a bit worried about not being able to meet as often as they’d like. Jongdae made a humming sound of agreement nonetheless.

What happened next was that Chanyeol leaned closer, resting his head against Jongdae’s.

“Jongdae”, he then repeated in a whisper, and now his voice was so close Jongdae could not help but shiver slightly. It was an established fact: Chanyeol’s voice was hot. Especially when he was whispering Jongdae’s name a few centimetres from the mentioned’s ear.

“…I like you so much”, he continued and Jongdae thought that if anyone else was saying the same sort of cheesy thing he would most likely have scrunched his nose in disgust, but this was Chanyeol telling him this and it just made him feel warm all over, “… so much.”

Chanyeol said all of this in Korean, which was something he did at times when he didn’t want anyone else to understand. What he said was not really a secret, but it was pretty affectionate and the fact that it was only the two of them who could understand made it feel more intimate. Those were things shared only between them, that nobody else would be able to know. Kyungsoo had never been taught the language as his parents weren’t Korean, and while Hyuna’s family was part Korean she hadn’t ever learnt it either. Jongdae could admit his own Korean skills were far from perfect, but the things Chanyeol would say were more or less basic, some of them things he had heard before and others simple enough for him to understand without needing the aid of a severe linguistic calculation.

“I like you too”, Jongdae replied in his best Korean, and Chanyeol’s grip on his hand tightened for a second.

“You’re so cute”, the latter said affectionately, and even though Jongdae couldn’t see his expression from the way he was leaning against him he was able to hear the smile in Chanyeol’s voice. Unfortunately, he couldn’t enjoy it for long since he heard a whisper of “What are they even saying?”, and when he looked up Jongdae saw that both Hyuna and Amber had their gazes directed towards them. Feeling severely embarrassed, Jongdae quickly looked down at his hands again.

“Uh, if you want to, we can leave you guys alone”, Amber said somewhat awkwardly, which was understandable given the situation. Neither Jongdae or Chanyeol managed to answer though, as Hyuna immediately rose to her feet.

“Yeah, come on”, she said to Amber, “let’s find some other place to sit.”

She grabbed Amber’s hand, which the latter looked a little surprised by, and uttered a “Have fun!” before leaving the compartment. Jongdae felt his face grow hotter because of the comment and the ways it could be interpreted, but he appreciated the action nonetheless.

“That was unexpected”, Chanyeol uttered after a few seconds of silence, “but I’m not complaining.”

Jongdae backed away slightly to be able to see Chanyeol’s face. The latter turned towards him with somewhat rosy cheeks and that dumb but adorable smile that Jongdae had too big a soft spot for.

“It’s nice that we at least get to spend this time together before we part ways”, Chanyeol said.

“'Part ways’, is this a nineteenth century romance novel?” Jongdae commented and Chanyeol elbowed him lightly.

“You know what I mean”, he responded, “anyway, my mum’s picking me up, so if you’d like you can meet her. We can ask if it’s okay for you to stay at our place sometime.”

“Oh, okay, sure”, Jongdae replied, the suggestion taking him by surprise. “I’ll probably have to ask my parents too”, he added with a grimace.

“It’ll be fine. I think. Also, I’m sure mum’s going to like you. I’ve mentioned you… a few times.”

Chanyeol blushed slightly and looked down. He had probably mentioned him more than a few times, Jongdae thought delightedly.

“You have?”

“Yeah, I mean, for instance, back in December I had to since I asked her for advice on what to give you for Christmas”, Chanyeol explained and Jongdae recalled him having mentioned that his mother had recommended that book. “But I haven’t said anything about… y'know. That we’re, um, going out. Or whatever.”

Chanyeol looked a bit embarrassed, and Jongdae smiled at him. He knew how Chanyeol felt, he hadn’t told his parents about that either. The mere thought of it was terrifying.

“That’s okay, I haven’t either. I don’t know how my parents would feel about that”, he said and Chanyeol smiled back empathetically.

“Yeah, I just thought I should tell you so you don’t, like, mention anything about that when you meet my mum.”

Jongdae rolled his eyes.

“What do you think I would say - 'Hello, my name is Jongdae Kim and I’m in love with your son’?”

“No, not at all, but I was just-” Chanyeol started but suddenly stopped himself from speaking further, his wide eyes fixated on Jongdae.

“What?” Jongdae asked and bit his lip nervously, what did he do now?

“Ah, sorry, b-but you…” Chanyeol lowered his gaze, looking down at his hands with a small smile on his lips. “You said… you were in l-love…”

It was then, with a hammering heart, that Jongdae understood. He was suddenly torn between feeling extremely embarrassed for what he had let slip and gushing over how cute Chanyeol’s reaction had been. The L word, L for Love that is (and not the word Hyuna would use the letter to refer to), was not something he had used before while talking to Chanyeol. Only in his head, or he might have mentioned it to Kyungsoo once. But that was it. Jongdae was well aware of his feelings, and he was sure Chanyeol knew too, but actually admitting them out loud was different from just referring to them in his thoughts. To his defence, Jongdae had tried. Several times. Ever since that day a few months ago when he confessed he had tried to actually say the word, but with no success. Except for now, that is. It was a shame it was because of a mere slip of the tongue.

“I… Yeah. Thought you knew that. Why else would I be in this sort of relationship with you?” Jongdae attempted to explain, perhaps coming off a bit too defensive. Chanyeol didn’t seem to mind, though. At least he didn’t comment on it.

“I guess, but it’s just, you haven’t said it…? Not in that way, anyway”, he said instead, speaking softly.

Jongdae swallowed nervously.

“Sorry if I made this weird.”

“No, no, you didn’t do anything bad!” Chanyeol hurried to exclaim, “I liked it. Loved it, actually. I, um, I’m in love with you too.”

It was not the first time Chanyeol said that but it still made Jongdae ridiculously excited. He had to admit, though, that he was a tiny bit envious of Chanyeol’s ability to be so open with his feelings.

“I know”, Jongdae replied with a smile, sneakily placing his right hand on Chanyeol’s thigh. Chanyeol smiled back, leaning a bit closer, and it was as if Jongdae finally realised how close the two of them actually were. A quick glance at Chanyeol’s lips was all it took for Jongdae to feel sweaty, and he tried not to give in to his impulses; perhaps Chanyeol wanted to continue their conversation. It was difficult, though, as the taller’s pretty mouth looked almost more inviting than ever. Jongdae instead settled for his own lips, suddenly feeling a bit awkward.

However, Chanyeol noticed him and seemed to understand, since he did what Jongdae had tried to keep himself from doing: leaning in to kiss the other on the lips. It was very brief, a blink of the eyes and Chanyeol was back in his original position, the only difference being that his cheeks were now faintly red.

“… A goodbye kiss?” Chanyeol explained, but it sounded more like a question. His poorly hidden embarrassment was quite adorable, but it didn’t keep Jongdae from feeling a bit disappointed. He had expected more.

“You call that a goodbye kiss? That was barely a peck”, he therefore stated, challenging Chanyeol to try again. The latter only seemed to blush harder at the response.

“Um, I- I wasn’t sure you-” Chanyeol awkwardly began, but did not finish as Jongdae rolled his eyes, raised his hand from Chanyeol’s thigh to reach around him and place it on the back of his neck. He then leaned closer, once again connecting their lips to Chanyeol’s slight surprise.

It would not be a lie if Jongdae stated that kissing Chanyeol was one of his favourite things to do. Though, he probably wouldn’t actually say it out loud, as it was a pretty embarrassing fact. But it was a fact nonetheless. And it was something he wished he was able to do more often.

Even though they had been a couple for a few months, Jongdae and Chanyeol were still a bit awkward at times. They cuddled, and kissed every now and then, but nothing more (even though Jongdae desperately wanted to). That very first kiss had been a little (or more than a little) racy and they hadn’t yet dared to go as far as that. Jongdae wasn’t sure how Chanyeol felt about that, if it was something he wanted to do, and perhaps he was too nervous to make the move himself. But he knew kissing, in a more innocent manner, was fine with the both of them and because of that the sensation of Chanyeol’s lips against his was in a way familiar to Jongdae. It felt so right, almost in a strange sense, like it was there that they belonged. He knew Chanyeol felt something similar, because when he glanced up he saw Chanyeol’s eyes smiling at him. With that sight etched in his mind, Jongdae closed his own eyes in satisfaction and breathed out through his nostrils.

Chanyeol’s lips were warm, and they were softly brushing up against Jongdae’s own, it was almost more like a series of quick pecks than a long, consistent kiss. Although, said pecks were less brief than before, as they soon developed into something more reminiscent of soft nibbles. Jongdae physically felt his heartbeat speed up with excitement; Chanyeol was really teasing him now. He tried to match the rhythm of the kisses, while sliding his hand up Chanyeol’s neck to gently grab a handful of hair on the back of the latter’s head. In response, Chanyeol released a small groan, pulling his arms around Jongdae to hold him even closer. It was like Jongdae was completely surrounded by Chanyeol’s warm body, and it made him relax.

And with that, the kisses decreased in frequency but instead became longer, also making the blood in Jongdae’s veins feel hotter. Chanyeol breathed out a warm puff of air that tickled Jongdae’s lips, before capturing the latter’s upper lip between his own, lightly on it. Because of that Jongdae felt a tinge of adventurousness and in return opened his mouth to let his teeth graze gently over Chanyeol’s lower lip, unintentionally making Chanyeol’s breath hitch. As they parted to inhale some much needed air, Jongdae opened his eyes to see Chanyeol smiling embarrassedly, both his cheeks and ears a pretty shade of pink.

“Damn”, commented Jongdae, his head feeling oddly light.

“Yeah”, Chanyeol agreed.

“You know, if you were a Dementor, I’d become a criminal just to make you kiss me”, Jongdae then, stupidly enough, voiced out loud. It was a terrible pickup line, and he immediately felt ashamed after saying it, but Chanyeol still giggled softly.

“You’re too cute”, he replied appreciatively, then giggled some more. Jongdae smiled, his heart still beating at an increasingly higher rate. This made him tilt his head and lean in again, Chanyeol responding instantly and letting their lips glide smoothly against each other.

This time, Chanyeol wasn’t even hiding his eagerness and stuck out his tongue slightly to run it over Jongdae’s lip, immediately triggering Jongdae’s fingers to grab tight onto the closest thing they could in surprise. This happened to be Chanyeol’s hair, however since it was done a tiny bit more roughly than before it resulted in Chanyeol’s head being pulled back to some degree.

“Sorry”, Jongdae instinctively whispered, but all Chanyeol managed to reply was a heavy pant of breath. Taking the chance as Chanyeol’s head was still tilted back, Jongdae placed a kiss on his chin instead, which soon turned into a string of gentle kisses around Chanyeol’s mouth and chin area. As a consequence, Chanyeol’s lips left Jongdae’s as well and travelled upwards, letting them leave wet kisses on Jongdae’s cheeks. Jongdae’s entire body felt warm and dizzy, the immense bliss of the moment taking over him.

But, of course, if you’re at the top of the world something eventually has to bring you down, and it was then he was really hit by the realisation that this might be the last kiss the two shared for a while. The thought of not being able to experience such a feeling as often, or maybe not at all, during the entire summer was cold, especially in contrast to the warm feeling of happiness he’d just had. Not wanting it to take control, Jongdae moved his lips towards Chanyeol’s and kissed him in something that could only be described as desperation, sadly enough.

When the two took a break to catch some air, both breathing more heavily than Jongdae had expected, it was evident that Chanyeol had also had a similar realisation. He leaned his forehead against Jongdae’s and with a shiver Jongdae heard him whisper,

“I am really going to miss you.”

Eventually, the train reached its destination. Therefore, Hyuna and Amber entered their compartment once again to pick up their bags. Jongdae and Chanyeol, who had spent the rest of the journey cuddling silently, followed them off the train.

“Are your parents picking you up?” asked Chanyeol casually, in an obvious attempt to make them think about something else for a minute. Even though he already knew how to answer that question, Jongdae looked around at the crowded platform 9 ¾. Amber was meeting up with her sister to head home together, and Hyuna seemed to have parts of her extended family waiting for her. Kris was standing in a big group of post-seventh-years and when Jongdae glanced his way the former made a gesture which was probably meant to imitate writing, signalling that he expected them to send each other letters during the summer. Jongdae nodded in reply and continued to follow Chanyeol, who was eyeing him curiously.

“No, they’re too busy… I live a bit away, so I usually have to take the muggle train.”

Chanyeol’s eyes widened.

“The muggle train?! You’ve done it multiple times? Have you taken one of those with two levels?” he asked excitedly, making Jongdae smile. He didn’t get the chance to answer, though, as Chanyeol was spotted by someone.

“Chanyeol-ah!”

“Mum!” Chanyeol automatically responded, looking up to spot his mother awaiting him. Jongdae felt somewhat awkward following him, after all he and Chanyeol’s mother didn’t know each other, but since Chanyeol had insisted he might as well. Hopefully Chanyeol had been right in his statement that his mother would probably like him.

Jongdae recognised Chanyeol’s mother, which might be a bit strange, but he had seen her a few times at the station before. He had always been a bit curious about Chanyeol’s personal life (though he used to tell himself it was strictly for pranking purposes), and therefore Jongdae had observed him during some of the previous years, wondering what kind of family he had. He knew that Chanyeol’s mother was a respected witch thanks to her work making potions in the medical field, but that was about it. She was rather short, which had been a slight surprise the first time Jongdae saw her, since Chanyeol was so tall.

The height difference was made even clearer when Chanyeol had reached his mother and they both hugged. Jongdae stood at the side, feeling a bit like a waste of space, trying not to listen in on their conversation. That was, until Chanyeol finally introduced him.

“This is Kim Jongdae”, he said, in Korean. Jongdae swallowed.

“Hello! Nice to meet you”, Chanyeol’s mother said and bowed, and Jongdae immediately did the same, not wanting to be rude.

“Nice to meet you, too”, he replied nervously, this was reminding him of the few times he had been at family gatherings and had to greet some of his older relatives.

Chanyeol’s mother then said something Jongdae could only interpret as “Chanyeol has talked about you”, and he therefore nodded, not knowing what to say. Hopefully Chanyeol hadn’t mentioned the fact that Jongdae had claimed to hate him several of their previous years at Hogwarts.

What happened next was that Chanyeol’s mum asked him something, which Jongdae didn’t exactly understand. Automatically uttering a “Huh?” did not help much as she only repeated the same phrase, not at all making things any clearer for Jongdae. He desperately glanced at Chanyeol who was looking at him expectantly, and Jongdae noted that the taller’s lips were slightly more puffy (probably due to certain activities they had done on the train). Hopefully his mother didn’t notice it.

Obviously, Jongdae’s hint that he needed assistance was not making its way to Chanyeol, and therefore he moved his gaze towards Chanyeol’s mum again.

“S-sorry, I didn’t understand that”, he admitted in English, “I’m not that good at speaking Korean.”

Nervously awaiting the response, Jongdae did not expect it to come from both of the others.

“You’re not?!” Chanyeol exclaimed while his mother smiled pleasantly and said, “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t know.” Jongdae noticed her smile was somewhat similar to Chanyeol’s.

“N-no, it’s okay! I can speak a little, and understand some, but that’s it. I should’ve told you immediately.”

Chanyeol’s mother looked like she was about to say something, however, Chanyeol managed to speak up before her.

“I never noticed any flaws in your speech”, he said, his eyes comically wide. “B-but… does that mean you didn’t understand all the, um, you know, things I’ve said to you…?”

Chanyeol was blushing slightly while looking almost bewildered. Jongdae could understand him if he felt embarrassed, some of the things he had said were pretty private so it was obvious he wasn’t going to repeat them in front of his mother.

“No, I’m not completely hopeless… Uh, just so you know, I’ve understood every single thing you’ve said. Otherwise I would’ve told you”, Jongdae admitted, face also feeling a bit warm, and Chanyeol visibly relaxed. He chose not to tell Chanyeol that most of the things he had said were basic enough for him to be able to understand them.

When Jongdae turned back he noticed that Chanyeol’s mum was eyeing them curiously, but thankfully she did not ask anything. Instead she said,

“I asked you if you’re interested in Potions, since Chanyeol mentioned something about that before.”

She had a slight accent, but her English was grammatically flawless and it was obvious she spoke the language with ease. Jongdae supposed that pronunciation of a language was easier to internalise when you’re still young, as Chanyeol had gotten rid of his Korean accent years ago. He wondered if he himself had an accent when he was speaking Korean, which seemed likely, but at the same time Chanyeol had said that he hadn’t at all noticed anything off about it.

Then, Jongdae realised he had yet to answer the question and nodded hastily.

“Yes, I am, it’s my favourite subject”, he added, and could spot Chanyeol smiling goofily at him in the corner of his eye.

“You should come visit us sometime, then. I have an entire room dedicated to potion making. It’s not all too big, but you might still find it interesting”, Chanyeol’s mother said, and Jongdae instinctively glanced at Chanyeol who gave him a look.

“Actually, we were going to ask if he could come visit us a couple of times during the summer”, Chanyeol explained, and his mother smiled.

“Of course he can!” she said, then turned towards Jongdae and added, “If you want to, that is.”

“Y-yeah, I do, I’ll just have to ask my parents first”, Jongdae replied. The fact that he had to ask his parents for permission felt a little childish, but he knew they would worry if he just disappeared off to somewhere without telling them.

“Well, just write and tell me whenever you wanna come over”, Chanyeol said and patted Jongdae awkwardly on the back, “See you then.”

Jongdae was almost automatically hit with the urge to kiss Chanyeol goodbye, but he supposed they already did that on the train. After all, they couldn’t do it in front of his mother. Though, it felt a bit underwhelming to just be patted on the back and nothing more. Especially since they might not meet for a while.

“It was nice to meet you, Jongdae”, Chanyeol’s mum said, then directed her arm at Chanyeol. “Shall we?”

Chanyeol nodded and grabbed his trunk with his left hand, and his mother’s hand with his right. He just managed to utter a “Bye, Jongdae” before his mother Apparated the two of them and they disappeared from Jongdae’s view.

Jongdae had to admit he was a bit envious. Neither of them had turned seventeen yet, so they weren’t allowed to use Apparition, but at least Chanyeol had his mother picking him up. Jongdae had to take the stupid muggle train to reach his hometown.

However, the prospect of perhaps getting to meet with Chanyeol and even visit his house during their vacation made it easier for Jongdae to ignore those small things that temporarily bothered him. Actually, he already felt a whole lot better. Maybe this summer wasn’t going to be so bad after all.