The whistle of the Hogwarts Express rings familiarly in Byulyi’s ears. Standing before the platform, she takes in the jet-black coat of paint chipping away along the curves of the train, the worried reminders of families parting with their magical children, and the clatter of trolley wheels pushing through the invisible barrier between Platforms 9 and 10. Everything was the way Byulyi remembered. 

Her legs move with the ready rhythm of muscle memory, taking her onto the train and down the aisles, past carriages of students dressed in their school robes. She smoothes down her own shirt self-consciously, rumpled from the sprint she’d made to board the train on time. The train carriages starts to fill, but Byulyi keeps walking, making her way to Carriage 18 the way she did every year she had been a student.

The first thing Byulyi hears as she slides open the carriage door and steps into the booth is Wheein’s unmistakable, raucous laughter.

“A sight for sore eyes,” Hyejin grins from across a pouting Yongsun, who takes out her purse to fish out five silver Sickles. She grips them tightly in her hand to give them to Hyejin.

“Hyejin said you were coming,” Wheein explains. “Yongsun bet you weren’t.”

“You’d think- that she’d know- I’m the best- at Divination- by now,” Hyejin grunts, trying to pry the Sickles out of Yongsun’s clenched fist. Eventually, Yongsun lets go, turning to Byulyi as Hyejin sweeps her winnings into her purse with a grin.

“Well? Why’re you still standing there?” Yongsun asks, snapping her fingers as Byulyi blinks herself back into reality. Shaking her head, Byulyi slides into the seat next to Yongsun.

“I wasn’t expecting to see you three here.”

Byulyi takes a deep breath, breathes in the sight before her.

Wheein sits opposite her, peering into Byulyi’s eyes with a curious amusement so uniquely Wheein. Yongsun slings her right arm over Byulyi’s narrow shoulders, the corners of her lips wrinkling into little dimples as she laughs. Hyejin rests her head in her palms, red lips twisting into the smirk she’s perfected with years of diligent practice.

The four of them are back together, sitting in Carriage 18 aboard the Hogwarts Express, the way they did more than seven years ago.

Seven years. It’s been so long.

Byulyi exhales. Nostalgia hits her like a train.

* 

The Great Hall roars with the sound of a thousand children laughing and cheering, having finally returned to school after a long summer break. Hundreds of candles float precariously over the students heads, glimmering faintly as individuals but fully illuminating the grand hall with the amalgamation of their light.

Byulyi scans the hall from her seat, searching for a familiar face, before her gaze lands squarely on one Kim Yongsun standing at the very entrance. Yongsun’s Prefect badge gleams brightly against her robes as she shuffles first years into the hall for their Sorting. Behind her is Wheein, eyes wide and full of wonder, but at the same time her weight shifts nervously from foot to foot, fingers clenching tightly on the hem of her grey robes. Just beside her stands Hyejin, bewildered at the enchanted decor and gliding ghosts. She leans over conspicuously and whispers into Wheein’s ear, and Wheein bursts into laughter, shoulders dipping into gentler slopes at once.

Byulyi and Yongsun had met the two first years in a carriage aboard the Express that very morning.

Byulyi had hopped onto the train just before its departure, dragging her trunk through the narrow hallways in search of an available seat. It was only when she’d arrived at Carriage 18, a good five minutes after the train had set off, that Byulyi had peeked in through the glass panel of the booth door to find empty seats. Carefully eyeing the names scrawled on the labels of the suitcases inside, Byulyi deduced that the girl with the trunk below her feet was Wheein Jung, and the girl resting her head on Wheein’s shoulder, seemingly asleep, was Ahn Hyejin. 

Smoothing down her button-up shirt, Byulyi awkwardly angled herself outside the booth, just enough for Wheein to notice her out of the corner of her eye. The dimpled girl turned around, raising her brows in question, watching as Byulyi slid the door open.

“Uh, is it okay if my friend and I sit here? The other carriages are full.”

Wheein nodded discreetly, careful not to disturb her sleeping friend. Byulyi smiled, bowing her head and pulling her leather trunk into the booth. She lifted the case to place it in the compartment above, door sliding shut on its own behind her. The bulky brown luggage landed on the brass railings with a loud clatter, and Byulyi whipped around to give a wincing Wheein an apologetic glance. The two stared apprehensively as Hyejin blinked her eyes open at the commotion, the weight of sleep on her eyelids having faded away. She looked Byulyi up and down, head still tilted against her friend’s shoulder, before asking, “so is this friend of yours imaginary?”

“You were awake?” Wheein laughed, a bright and curious sound that lingered in the air, a sound Byulyi noted, that was much like magic. Hyejin smiled good-naturedly in response.

“My friend’s a Prefect, so she’s doing her rounds now,” Byulyi flushed, rubbing the back of her neck. “But she’ll be here soon, I expect.” 

“A Prefect? What year are you in?” Wheein asked.

Byulyi told them she was a fourth year Hufflepuff, puffing her chest out a little as she casually mentioned being the Seeker on the House Quidditch team as well.

“Ah, I’m Byulyi by the way,” she said, just as the door of the booth slid open again. A girl with long brown hair and a bold red necktie stood in the doorway. “And this is Yongsun.”

Yongsun introduced herself as a fifth year Gryffindor, and a newly elected Prefect who’s just finished her rounds. 

“How’d you guys meet?” Hyejin asked.

“Seulgi introduced us and we hit it off immediately,” Yongsun grinned, at the same time Byulyi said, “I helped her get a book from a shelf.”

Yongsun’s face fell.

“What are you even talking about? We met through Seulgi!” She knuckled Byulyi in the arm, whining.

“Yeah, but we first met in the library! You asked me to help you get a book! You were on tip-toes and everything!” Byulyi protested.

“Who would even remember that! And what do you mean tip-toes!”

“Hey, Yongsun, newsflash: you’re pretty short y’know.”

“You’re only 1.8 cm taller than me!”

It was at this point when Wheein and Hyejin pointedly shared a glance.

“Please don’t talk about height in front of me,” Hyejin said, making an offended expression. Wheein rolled her eyes in response.

“You shut up too, Hyejin.”

And just like that, there was a spark, a bubbling of newfound chemistry and friendship.

The rest of the train ride was spent with a passionate Byulyi and Yongsun explaining Quidditch to Wheein and Hyejin stopping the sweets cart every time it came around, ignoring the conversation happening around her.

“Come to think of it, the two of you haven’t been sorted yet, right?” Yongsun said, eyes already gleaming. “Come to Gryffindor then, I don’t play but I can guarantee we have the best Quidditch team in school. Our captain’s Eunji and she-”

“Sorry to interrupt, Yongsun,” Byulyi said, very unapologetically, “but Hufflepuff’s the best. Number one, I’m their Seeker. Number two, we’ve got the best Chasers since the beginning of ti-”

“Who won last year?” Wheein cut in.

Byulyi and Yongsun paused, and turned to look at each other for a moment, both smiling sheepishly.

“Slytherin.”

“Then that’s where I’m going.”

Byulyi was the first to protest. “You can’t just go, Wheein. The Sorting Hat does the sorting for you.”

“It all depends on your personality, your disposition.” Yongsun added, pushing imaginary glasses up the bridge of her nose. “The Sorting Hat will tell you where you’re supposed to be.”

“Well, I’m gonna be a Slytherin, and you can bet on it.” Wheein huffed, jabbing a thumb at her eleven year-old self.

“There’s really no point in arguing with her once she’s made up her mind,” Hyejin quipped, out of the blue, emptying a box of jelly-beans into her palm.

“Okay, then. I bet two Sickles at least one of you two will end up in Gryffindor,” Yongsun grinned, wiggling her brows at a bewildered Byulyi. “Well?”

Byulyi narrowed her eyes at the older girl.

“They’ll end up in Hufflepuff.” 

Or at least, that’s what she’s hoping now, as her gaze meets Yongsun’s across the Great Hall. She’d found her seat at the Gryffindor’s table now, next to Luna, and glares defiantly back at Byulyi. The first years were queueing up between the very front of the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables, nervously waiting to be Sorted.

Hyejin’s turn comes quickly, being in the front of the alphabetical list. She steps up to the chair, smiling back at Wheein who’s just flashed her a quick thumbs up. From the raised platform, Hyejin could see Yongsun crossing her fingers and Byulyi puffing her cheeks, holding their breath. The teacher lifts the huge Sorting Hat off its perch, and places it on Hyejin’s head. The weight was strange, slightly shifted to the left, and Hyejin tilts her head to accommodate it.

“Hmmm, you’ve got plenty of talent, plenty of individuality, and plenty of curiosity,” the Hat announces, “so Ravenclaw it is!”

The Ravenclaws burst into applause, just as Yongsun’s shoulders droop and Byulyi plants her face into the palms of her hands. Hyejin laughs, stepping down from the podium. She makes her way through where the Unsorted first years were standing to give Wheein a high-five before running down the hall to find her seat beneath the blue and bronze banners.

It takes two whole years for the first years to be sorted. Or at least, it feels like two years to Wheein. She really only had to wait twenty minutes as Han Sanghyuk is Sorted into Slytherin, Kim Taehyung is placed in Gryffindor, Park Jimin takes a seat at the Hufflepuff’s table, and Park Junghwa cheers when the Hat cries Ravenclaw. The list went on. Wheein taps her foot until they reach the W’s, and her name is finally called.

She takes two wobbly steps up to the front, and another two onto the podium to take a seat on the chair. Her feet don’t quite touch the ground. She wipes her sweaty palms on her robes, as her gaze falls on Hyejin, who raises a thumbs up high above her head. Wheein grins, nodding, and searches the room for Byulyi and Yongsun.

At the Hufflepuff table, Byulyi leans backwards to nudge Yongsun sitting right behind her at the Gryffindors’.

“Get ready to pay up, Yong. There’s no way this kid’s not a Hufflepuff,” she grins, and Yongsun waves a hand at her dismissively, her fingers still loosely crossed.

“Not in a million years, Byul. She’s way too cool to be a Hufflepuff,” Yongsun says, eyes still fixed on the Hat as it’s poised delicately over Wheein’s head.

“If by cool you mean obnoxious, then hey, don’t say that about someone you’ve just met.” Byulyi quips, nose wrinkling in good humour.

Their bickering pauses for the brief moment as the Hat is lowered. Yongsun crosses her fingers tighter, and Byulyi puffs her cheeks, holding her breath. The air between them hangs heavy with anticipation.

Wheein squeezes her eyes shut. 

The Hat touches the top of her head.

“SLYTHERIN!”

Wheein opens her eyes with a gasp, as the Slytherin table greets her with astounding applause, emerald and silver banners billowing gently above.

She makes her way through the crowd, still a little giddy with triumph. Wheein flashes Byulyi and Yongsun a bright look when she passes by them, coupled with a dignified peace sign.

Baffled, Yongsun casts an awkward expression at Byulyi, who in turn glances across the room to look at the newest member of Slytherin.

Wheein smiles back.