The Metamorphmagus

By Eiryia

               "So what are you going to do, serenade him while flying past him on your broom?“  

Seunghoon laughed and poked Seungyoon’s owl who was resting on top of his guitar. Seungyoon was busy switching between looking out the train window and looking out into the hallway. 

               "Actually, that’s not a bad idea" 

Seungyoon replied without looking back at Seunghoon. What he was looking for was the brightest color in the crowd. Seungyoon couldn’t be sure which color to look for, because every year had it been a new one.

               "I’m going to bet it’s going to be purple this year" Seunghoon said and took a bite of his home brought snacks. Seungyoon only sighed at this and leaned back in his seat.  

               "Nah, it was purple during my first year" Seungyoon said matter-of-factly. It was just then as the train started leaving the station that he spotted it, a bright shade of pink passing them in the corridor just outside of their compartment.  

               "I should ask him if he wants to sit with us!"  He exclaimed and burst out the door. Seunghoon only laughed and shook his head before catching Seungyoon’s owl which had taken to its wings from all the commotion.  

Squeezing past people in the crowded corridor Seungyoon kept his eyes fixed on the bright pink hair slowly making its way away from him. This year had to be it, the year he finally managed to befriend Kim Jinwoo.  

Walking out of the train he shuddered as he felt the cool autumn drizzle hit his face. Pulling his robes closer around him he looked around. The area outside the train was crowded with students making their way to the carriages.

A group of girls had caught Jinwoo before him on the train, leaving him to a studious Seunghoon for the entire trip. Now he hoped for some better luck.

The pain of the cold however was intense enough to take his mind of Jinwoo for a little while and he couldn’t wait to get to the banquet and then his warm bed. Seunghoon seemed to be equally eager to get to the castle quickly as he grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled Seungyoon towards the dark carriages up ahead. 

Tripping over his own feet he stumbled into the carriage and excused himself before looking up. He had heard Seunghoon say something about this one being full and him catching the next one before disappearing again.  

Staring straight ahead he realized he had been tricked. Seunghoon had smacked the door behind him shut, leaving him alone with just the person he wanted to see, but whom he suddenly felt terribly intimidated by. There was a several years between them and they had never actually spoken in private before. Now he was sitting there in the seat in front of him and he was.. Knitting? 

The sound of the rain turning from a light drizzle to a heavy down pour was the only sound to be heard at first. That and the tiny clinking sound from Jinwoo’s knitting. Seungyoon noticed that he had this pleased look on his face while knitting, an almost mischievous smile played on his lips and the tiny lamp on the wall made his eyes sparkle. 

Deciding to speak up before things got even more awkward he adjusted his sitting position a little and asked casually 

               "What are you knitting?"  

Jinwoo looked up, his pink hair swayed a little from the motion and Seungyoon wondered if it actually sparkled or if it was another trick of the light.  

               "Oh the girls on the train taught me to knit, I have to finish this before I forget how to do it"  

Jinwoo held up a strange many colored creation with 3 holes at the top.  

               "Exactly what is it?"  Seungyoon asked as he couldn’t see how this creation could ever fit a human. A gift for a house elf at the castle maybe? Or something for a younger sibling?  

               "It’s for my cat, I brought my two sphinxes with me this year and since they are furless does the castle get a bit too cold and humid for their taste” Seungyoon nodded to acknowledge that he heard Jinwoo’s reply, but he had no idea what this kind of furless cat looked like. A bit like a hairless rat the presumed. The carriage had yet to begin moving and Seungyoon found himself hoping they would be the only two in it, but luck didn’t seem to be on his side that day. Just as this thought had hit him did the doors to the carriage burst open and a tall, slightly dark-skinned guy with black hair climbed in to join them.

Seungyoon knew him well, they were opponents on the quidditch field and had been since Seungyoon joined the Ravenclaw team in his second year. Mino took of his outer robe and shook it violently spraying both him and Jinwoo with water. Mino was a beater on the Hufflepuff team and the reason Seungyoon had spent a good week having the shattered pieces of bones in his leg healed the previous year. 

               "Dude, I know I said sorry last year right, but man that was nasty so I’m going to say sorry again" Mino said before taking a seat beside Jinwoo. Him being a seeker on the Ravenclaw team meant that he was the favorite target of any opponent beater, but Mino was the first and only one to have caused that much damage. 

               "Don’t mention it, accidents happen" Seungyoon smiled an honest smile, he didn’t blame Mino, and his damages were all healed the same week. It had to happen eventually he thought. Mino pay attention enough to see this smile however, he had turned in his seat to look at Jinwoo. 

               "So it’s pink this year then?“ 

He said and reached out a damp hand towards Jinwoo’s hair. 

               "Won’t it clash horribly with your house colors? I mean, red and pink? I’m sure the girls love it though" 

Seungyoon had seen the reactions from the huge crowd of girls on the train and could confirm this, yet he didn’t comment on it. 

               "I like it" 

Jinwoo simply replied and pushed back one of his bangs with one hand from his face before Mino’s hand reached his hair to touch it. Mino just shrugged and turned his attention back to Seungyoon. 

The world cup in quidditch had been that summer and Mino wouldn’t shut up about it until the carriage came to a halt in front of the grand castle and he cheered loudly 

               "Banquet time!" Before hopping out of the cart leaving them behind staring at the spot where he had been just moments before. 

               "I get him"   

Jinwoo said and stuffed his knitting into his robes. 

               "I’m starving too, I should have eaten on the train" 

He then got up from his seat and followed after Mino into the castle without saying another word. Seungyoon was just as hungry as the others, but he couldn’t help but to feel that he had just missed out on a great opportunity. 

               "You coming or are you going to eat with the thestrals tonight?" Seunghoon peeked into the carriage before motioning towards the castle. Seungyoon shook of the slight daze and got out of the carriage walking next to Seunghoon into the castle. 

After the sorting was done and the feast had begun couldn’t Seungyoon help but to search the benches of the Gryffindor table as he stuffed his mouth with mashed potatoes. 

               "So how did it go? Did you get to talk with him?" 

Seunghoon asked while pouring pumpkin juice into both their glasses. 

               "Mino joined us" 

He mumbled trying not to spill any food. 

               "The guy who broke your leg in four places last year?" 

Seungyoon replied to Seunghoon’s question with a grumpy frown and continued eating in silence. Seunghoon knew perfectly well who Mino was.

               "The pink hair clashes horribly with the red robes" Seunghoon said having spotted Jinwoo amongst the Gryffindors. 

               "He likes it" Seungyoon replied and thought to himself that he liked it too. Who cared if it clashed with the red. 

It was the end of their first week and he was meeting up with Seunghoon in the library after dinner like they always did. Trailing the bookshelves filled with old books he soon arrived at their favorite corner of the library.

Seunghoon had brought extra food and had already gathered and piled up books that would help him finish the homework for the coming week. 

Even though they were two years apart had Seunghoon always been his best friend at Hogwarts, just like he had been before arriving at school. They were from the same town and both had parents with magical education although his own dad was muggleborn.  

               "Did you say hi to my friend for me?"  

Seunghoon asked cheekily as Seungyoon took his seat on the opposite side of the table. Seunghoon’s "friend” was a guy from Slytherin in his year named Taehyun. 

               "Actually, I did. We got potions and transfiguration together this year" 

Hearing this Seunghoon smiled. 

               "What did he say?“ 

Seungyoon just shook his head at Seunghoon’s question. 

               "What he always say, that he can tell that you are weird even if he never met you" Picking up his school books from his bag he looked over at Seunghoon who was half hidden behind the pile of books between them. He was still smiling that smug smile of his. 

               "What is that you like about him anyway? And why do you keep making me greet him for you?" Seunghoon put down his book and leaned closer as if to tell him a really big secret. 

               "I’m building up the suspense, he gotta be wondering about me by now. So when we actually meet and talk.." He smacked his book closed hard making a high noise which again made the librarian peek around the nearest aisle. She then pointed at them and at gave them both a stern look for being the source of the ruckus.  

They lowered their voices after this before continuing their conversation.  

               "I do have sort of a plan though, I’ve been plotting all summer" Seungyoon begun, leaning closer to Seunghoon as the librarian was still watching them from afar.  

               "You know the muggle music club.."  

Seunghoon interrupted him with a loud sigh before saying "Not this again, no one wants to join that except you. Do you really want to be in a tuba wielding brass band?"  

This time it was his turn to sigh. The word band was his cue word however and as soon as Seunghoon’s scowl had softened a bit did he continue as if never interrupted in the first place.  

               "I spoke with the teacher there yesterday and asked him about starting a different kind of band. A rock band!"  

Seunghoon’s expression had changed from annoyed and doubting to lightly humored and it seemed Seungyoon still had his full attention.  

               "Now, this is where things should be getting really interesting for you"  

He made an attempt at a dramatical pause before continuing  

               "I spoke to Taehyun on our way to dinner after transfiguration about muggle music, he seemed interested! So I asked if he played and he told me his family got a grand piano he knows how to play"  

Seunghoon interrupted him again, now looking more than a little excited  

               "You got him to join your band?"  

Seungyoon smiled now, he knew he got Seunghoon in on this if Taehyun joined.  

               "He didn’t give me definite yes, but he said he would look into fitting it into his schedule when I got more of the details down"  

Some students passed by their spot and they were suddenly reminded they had tons of schoolwork to do. It took less than an hour however before Seunghoon started asking questions. 

               "This is all well and good for me, but I’m sure you fit Mr.Pink into this plan of yours so tell me"  He said waving his wand before putting it under his nose as a fake mustache. Of course Seungyoon had a plan for this, the worst part would be gathering up courage to ask, but if he had all the other pieces in place.. 

Seungyoon’s line of thought was interrupted by a puff of pink smoke erupting from Seunghoon’s mustache wand hitting him in the face. Deciding it was best to explain before more powerful spells came his way he put down his book.  

               "I know he likes music, or singing at least"  

Seunghoon took his wand down from under his nose and arched an eyebrow. He was probably questioning his methods of finding out these facts. Seungyoon just ignored it and continued.  

               "Remember last year before Christmas? When all the Hogwarts ghosts went on strike?"  

They both nodded, remembering the whole event starting with Peeves and ending with the whole ghost population in uproar.  

               "Where they ended up asking for students to volunteer to do the caroling in the halls the last days before the holiday?"  

Seunghoon took a sip of his well hidden pumpkin juice before saying 

               "I remember because you volunteered us"  

He had indeed, they had gotten in trouble with their head of house for sneaking out earlier the same week and he had decided it was the best way to pay back for the trouble.  

               "I remember how you suddenly got severe diarrhea and kept in bed those days" Seungyoon said still offended that Seunghoon managed to get out of it leaving him to go alone.  

                   "Anyway, Jinwoo was there! He had volunteered too! And he is a great singer!"  

The librarian poked out from one of the closest rows of books then and hushed them sternly making them lower their heads as if ashamed in response. 

Deciding it was best to do what they came there for they attacked their homework with renewed determination. Seungyoon loved this homework ordeal he and Seunghoon got going on, especially since Seunghoon was two years ahead in the curriculum so he could always ask him for help if he struggled. What Seunghoon got out of it he weren’t sure, but he was a social guy so he might just enjoy the company.  

It was Saturday morning and he was heading down the frozen lawn towards the quidditch field for the first practice of the season. He had overslept again and it was only thanks to his owl pecking him hard on his head that he had woken in time to get dressed and jog down there before it started.  

It was clear skies and perfect for practicing hunting a snitch. He had gotten the job as seeker for the Ravenclaw team by chance after their previous one had taken a bludger to the head during practice. Having no one to step in he had been suggested for the role by Seunghoon who had watched him play lots of quidditch back home during the holidays. Having caught the snitch when it mattered the most during the match didn’t his chances look too bad. So when the old seeker claimed to have become scared of heights a week later had the spot on the team become his.  

The practice went well and he felt he had improved over the summer which his team mates also pointed out in the wardrobes after practice. Heading back up to the castle for a well earned late breakfast he ran into Mino on his way down. Seungyoon figured the Hufflepuff team must have the practice slot after them this year.  

Mino was talking to a couple of girls of his house who he assumed was going to watch the practice like usual. Mino halted when he saw him however and greeted him, ignoring the girls comments completely.  

               "Morning, perfect weather for a day of practice isn’t it?"  

Mino said casually and Seungyoon nodded and was about to start walking again as Mino didn’t say anything more. He was surprised then when Mino grabbed his arm and asked if he could have a word. Leaving the giggling girls behind them they stepped away out of sigh around the corner of the nearest greenhouse.  

               "What?" He asked, giving Mino a doubtful look. He had been told by the Ravenclaw captain to look out for sabotage by the other teams, but he didn’t think Mino had it in him. He still had his hand ready to grab his wand should anything happen however.  

               "You being a Ravenclaw and all I wondered if I could ask a favor" Mino began. Seungyoon had no idea what came next, but he could hardly see how he could give any favors to his opponent.  

               "You are supposed to be all clever right, well I got this huge transfiguration test coming up and it’s my worst subject.."  

He seemed a little embarrassed to be asking for help and Seungyoon wondered why him, since after all he was two years younger and not at the same level. That’s when an idea hit him, like lighting out of clear skies.  

                "Actually, that’s my worst subject too"  

(this was a lie, he was pretty good at it like he was at all his subjects) 

               "But I know about someone who is supposedly one of the best at our school and he is really friendly too. We could both ask him for help?"  

Mino smiled at this. It was perfect, this way he could get Mino to do the hard part for him and if he was lucky he could potentially get both to join his band during their practicing. 

                "Who is this guy?" Mino asked still smiling. 

               "Remember the guy from the carriage, with the pink hair? He is a metamorphmagus and apparently one of the best at our school at transfiguration"  

Nodding silently as Seungyoon’s words Mino’s smile widened. He then said  

              "It’s in their blood probably, changing stuff, I like your idea, I’ll ask him and you find us somewhere we can practice?"  

They had agreed quickly on this plan before hurrying each to their own direction. Mino was so outgoing he had no trouble speaking to anyone. If this worked out he would be a huge step closer to reaching his goal and practicing some transfiguration couldn’t hurt either.  

He was literarily bouncing the rest of his way up to the castle even if he still got a lot of homework waiting for him after breakfast. There was no Seunghoon at the Ravenclaw table and so he ate with the rest of the quidditch team, they, like Mino wanted to discuss the world cup that had taken place that summer leading to him spending way too long eating.  

When he arrived at the Ravenclaw common room was he surprised to find Seunghoon plucking away at his guitar. He didn’t mind that he was borrowing it, but it was the last thing he had expected to find him doing. Seunghoon looked up when he approached him.  

               "If this band of yours is happening then I gotta practice"  

Seungyoon laughed a little and took the seat next to Seunghoon 

             "You were the one making fun of me for planning on flying by on my broom serenading a certain someone, now look at you"  

He laughed again and corrected Seunghoon’s grip slightly.  

               "You got this"  

He encouraged and shuffled away to take in the whole picture. He then told Seunghoon about his talk with Mino and their plan.  

               "You are good at transfiguration though"  

Seunghoon pointed out teasingly, he knew perfectly well why Seungyoon was so excited about this plan.  

It was only a couple of days since his talk with Mino when Seungyoon was approached by him on his way to herbology.  

               "He said yes and I suggested this Thursday which he was fine with, did you find us a room?"  

He told Mino about an unused classroom on the 5th floor which he had used on several occasions to practice charms. They agreed to meet there after dinner this coming Thursday.  

Time seemed to have slowed down drastically after that. He weren’t sure what his next move should be, finding a good time for bringing up the subject of his band was crucial, but impossible to predict.  

When Thursday finally got there and dinner was well passed had he said his goodbyes to Seunghoon before rushing off to the 5th floor. Mino was already there when he got there.  

                 "This place is great"  

He said and began scribbling something on the blackboard.  

           "This is what I need to know for the practical test next week"  Mino explained and pointed to the blackboard. Seungyoon felt his heart sink, he had not expected the test to be this close. This put pressure on him to get his answers quickly. They then heard a knock on the door and Jinwoo peeked around the edge.  

             "Ah, I’m at the right place after all. This is the second room I tried and the first one was a broom cupboard with someone inside it"  

Seungyoon’s faze met Mino’s for a moment and they made a silent agreement not to ask any further about what Jinwoo had seen.  

          "This is our second meeting this year, I think I predicted something like it in Divination the other day" Jinwoo continued and Seungyoon who had no faith in that stuff scratched his nose trying to not show his convictions. He noticed Mino’s doubtful expression as well and now he had to laugh. Jinwoo laughed too, but no one could tell what he was laughing about. 

              "This is what we are practicing?"  

Moving over to the blackboard Jinwoo smiled one of his sweet smiles. He then turned to Seungyoon and asked  

               "What about you?"  

Having worried about everything else than the transfiguration part he needed a moment to think before remembering what they were practicing these days. Because he already knew how to do his spells did he make sure to emphasis that Mino was the one who needed the most attention that day because he was the one with an upcoming test looming on the horizon.  

Jinwoo wasted no time and it turned out that they really needed the time if Mino were to pass his test. They were turning dinner plates into mushrooms and their failed attempts resulted in some pretty interesting crossings between the two. 

By the end of the evening had Seungyoon managed to turn his dinner plate into a mushroom, but it still had the blue flower pattern of his dinner plate. For Mino it was the opposite, the dinner plate had changed color to a mud colored brown and gave a puff of smoke when he touched it. 

               "I think we might need the weekend as well" Jinwoo noted as he packed up his belongings. Seungyoon heard a sigh of relief come from Mino who was standing with his back to them prodding his puffing plate with his wand.  

               "You are of course welcome to join us too, even if I don’t think you need it"  

Seungyoon turned his attention to Jinwoo now. I can help, if anything also there was something I wanted to ask. Just as he said the words had someone knocked on the door. All three turning towards it they waited expectantly for someone to enter, but no one came.  

"We better get going" Jinwoo said then and gave Seungyoon a small pat on the back. He could feel the hairs on his neck rise from the simple touch and his mouth went dry. He found himself nodding while waiting for his voice to return to him.  

               "You can ask whatever it was you wanted to ask after lunch on Saturday"  

And with that had Jinwoo left the room leaving him behind with Mino. He was sitting on the floor, staring at his mushy plate.  

               "You made progress" Seungyoon began, but Mino shook his head. He wouldn’t have been happy with the results either, but he didn’t find it in him to tell Mino that.  

               "Thanks anyway” Mino said and got to his feet.  

               “I’ll keep practicing on my own tomorrow and I’ll see you both on Saturday"  

Grabbing his puffing plate he started walking towards the door, but stopped before opening it.  

               "What was it that you wanted to ask by the way?"  

Seungyoon shook his head at Mino, it could wait and this weren’t the right time for it anyway. He then shrugged as if to say it was just something silly before he followed Mino through the door.  

Friday brought about his usual meet up with Seunghoon at the library where they worked on their homework and discussed everything that had been happening lately. Seunghoon had laughed rather cruelly hearing about the puffing plates.  

Seungyoon only gave him an unamused look before he told him about their next meet up the following day and so they moved on to discussing ways for him to bring up the music club.  

               "You could just say you know how well he is at hitting stuff and suggest he join as a drummer"  

Seunghoon obviously thinking about his broken bones accident where Mino had been the cult print.  

               "I spoke with Taehyun again today, he said he should be able to join if we have meetings on Fridays" Seungyoon replied, pretending to not have heard Seunghoon’s comment about the broken bones. They looked at each other then, the music club meeting on Fridays meant they would have to sacrifice their study meetings. They both just shrugged at this however, they could always find a different time surely.  

               "How about we just schedule the first one next Friday then? That way you have some more facts ready for when you ask the other two tomorrow"  

It was typical Seunghoon to always push forward, forever ambitious and unafraid. He himself liked more careful planning, but this of course weren’t actually such a big deal. Or it was to him, but maybe just this once would following Seunghoon’s pace for things do him good. 

They weren’t as lucky with the weather for their quidditch practice this Saturday and he had to fight through the storming winds and rain during the entire practice. When he finally got to go back to the wardrobes was it with a sigh of relief. He didn’t run into Mino afterwards, but Seungyoon figured he might have arrived early to warm up a bit before practice. 

Seunghoon was at the Ravenclaw table when he got there and cheered him on for his transfiguration practice which earned him wondering stares from the other Ravenclaws. Smacking him over the head he gave him a grumpy stare before dropping down on the bench. 

               "I don’t envy you practicing out in that weather" Seunghoon said just as the howling wind hit the castle side hard. The weather had become even worse than when he had been out there and he wondered if Mino and the other Hufflepuffs would even manage to finish their practice. He went with Seunghoon to pick up his books at the Ravenclaw dormitories before heading to meet the other two. 

There was no one there when he got there and so he sat down to work on his homework while he waited. A hour passed and there was still no one, he was just starting to wonder if he should go look for them when Jinwoo walked into the room. 

               "He fell of his broom, or more got knocked off by the wind" 

Jinwoo said and walked over to where Seungyoon was sitting. 

               "They brought him to get checked out, I don’t think he will make it today" 

Seungyoon nodded and wondered for a moment if he should suggest that they go check on him. Thinking better of it he swallowed hard and looked up into Jinwoo’s face. He looked tired today, his skin slightly grayish and his pink hair hanging lifeless around his face. A bit like a plant that had not been watered for a while Seungyoon thought. He then felt an urge to reach out a hand towards Jinwoo but instead he asked  

               "Anything wrong? You look tired"  

Jinwoo shook his head at first, but seemed to change his mind and said  

               "One of my cats escaped from the Gryffindor Tower last night, I’ve been looking for it all night"  

Cats wandering of was nothing unusual, but since Jinwoo seemed so worried could he only assume it was unusual for this specific cat.  

               "Do you want help looking for it?"  

He offered and shut his book as if to say it weren’t something they even needed to discuss, he was coming.  

               "We can stop by Mino at the infirmary on our way"  

He continued before Jinwoo could refuse his offer. As if that sealed it did Jinwoo get to his feet and Seungyoon followed. The cat hunt was on.  

After walking down a couple of corridors with Jinwoo at his side, peeking into any nook or cranny that could possibly fit a cat he halted.  

               "I actually have no idea what your cat look like"  

Jinwoo stopped and poked his dimple with his index finger in deep thought at what would best describe hit beloved cat. Then he said  

               "It’s wearing that knitted sweater I made on the train"  

Seungyoon couldn’t help but to laugh hearing this because a simple fact like that certainly shouldn’t require that much deep thought from anyone. Jinwoo only gave him a curious look and Seungyoon couldn’t ignore the blissful feeling bubbling up inside him simply from having Jinwoo’s full attention if only for a moment.  

They kept looking for the cat, but there was no sign of the hairless creature in a terrible sweater anywhere. He somehow imagined it to look like a house elf, just that it was walking around on all four.  

It was while they was walking through a particularly gloomy corridor that Jinwoo asked him about his question from the other day. Seungyoon had never been able to find a good time to bring it up so he was glad Jinwoo asked. Deciding to get straight to the point he explained about his plans for the music club.  

               "I remembered how well you sang last Christmas and I was sort of hoping you would join us" He finished and felt slightly frustrated because he couldn’t quite read Jinwoo’s expression. 

               "I’m not really any good you know and I’m clueless about music really" Jinwoo finally replied.

Seungyoon then tried several strategies to convince Jinwoo to join him. First he said it would just be for fun, but Jinwoo weren’t convinced and he said he admired his passion for music, but that he didn’t quite feel the same way. Then he talked about how it would be a nice distraction from the school work, but Jinwoo said he didn’t struggle with school work. He felt as if he was running out of arguments when it hit him, Jinwoo seemed like a helpful guy, appealing to that side of him might do the trick. 

               "I have another reason for this as well" He began and proceeded to tell Jinwoo about Seunghoon and his crush or whatever he was supposed to call it on Taehyun. This seemed to grab Jinwoo’s attention right away and he said after Seungyoon was done explaining 

               "Oh! I love a good love story! So you think this will help bring them together?" 

There was really no telling how this would go, but he made sure to tell Jinwoo all about how Seunghoon had been practicing the guitar ever since he asked him about joining. 

               "This is exciting! And romantic!" 

Jinwoo exclaimed, excitement prominent and they both smiled at each other in silence for a moment. 

              "Of course I’ll help! Just promise me this whole band thing is nothing serious, because like I told you, I’m no good"  

He assured Jinwoo again that he was really great and thanked him again for agreeing to help out. He had a feeling Seunghoon would be angry at him if he found out that he had portrayed him as this hopeless romantic, but he could live with that.  

They finally arrived at the infirmary and found Mino on one of the beds with his head in a bandage and with a blue eye. He was fast asleep and snoring loudly. At the foot of his bed was a colorful lump curled up and Jinwoo rushed over to have a closer look at the lump.  

It turned out to be his cat and Seungyoon concluded then that his house elf prediction weren’t too far off. They left a note on Mino’s bedside table letting know they stopped by before leaving with the cat.  

The castle had gone dark by now and they walked silently along the long corridors. Seungyoon was so happy he could have both sung and danced, but instead he walked with a steady bounce in his step while doing his best to contain his excitement.  

They arrived at where their ways parted and Jinwoo thanked him again for coming along to find his cat. He then gave him a one armed hug, pressing the snarling cat between them. Seungyoon hugged him back, even if he felt the sharp claws of Jinwoo’s cat prick through his robes and into his skin.  

               "I’ll see you in the music room on Friday then, good luck finding the last member!" Jinwoo said and began climbing the stairs while Seungyoon turned to walk towards the Ravenclaw common room.  

It was already Wednesday when he caught up with Mino. He wanted to check how he was doing and also ask if he needed someone to practice with for his test.  Mino thanked him for the offer but his schedule was filled up every day until Friday.  Having still not asked Mino about the band he hesitated for a moment. 

               "You know, if you have time on Friday after your test, why don’t you meet me and a couple of friends in the muggle music room after dinner? You can let us know how the test went and join the fun"  

Mino accepted gladly without questions and Seungyoon couldn’t help but to think that it had just been a little too easy. He had no idea if Mino actually had any musical talent so it might just create trouble for him, but he figured it was worth a shot anyway.  

               "It’s not as if I have someone else"  

Seungyoon mumbled to himself as he made his way to his next class.  

When Friday got there he confirmed everything with Taehyun, it was hard to tell if he was excited about it, but he seemed cheerful enough for him and as long as he would come was Seungyoon happy. He met up with Seunghoon for dinner before dropping of their things at the dormitory. He made sure to pick up his guitar while at the dormitory before they headed for the music room.  

They were the first ones there and Seunghoon began taking out instruments. He found a bass guitar in a corner and handed it to Seungyoon. He then snatched Seungyoon’s guitar which he had been practicing on at every opportunity given during the past couple of weeks. Seungyoon didn’t mind, he was decent on the bass guitar as well. 

               "You got better" Seungyoon praised and he recognized the melody Seunghoon was playing. He was strangely worried about the arrival of Taehyun, but Seunghoon was good at swooning the ladies so why would this be any different. He snorted at the though, Taehyun was nothing like a lady, but Seunghoon didn’t know that. Inspecting the bass guitar he decided it would do before he began tuning it.

The door slammed open in that moment and Taehyun came striding in. He walked in a very dramatic way which was very unlike him. He struggled to hold back a laugh as he watched Taehyun stop, robes swaying around him, while inspecting the room. Seunghoon kept it his posture as if nothing had happened and kept playing the guitar.  

               "Now where is this key filled board that works like a piano?” Taehyun asked and scouted the room for what Seungyoon could only assume was something similar to a grand piano. He knew chances were high that Taehyun would be disappointed. He pointed to a table behind him and Taehyun walked over to it, even if he couldn’t see Taehyun’s expression could Seungyoon easily tell that he weren’t impressed just by the tone of his voice. 

               "This dusty thing is it?“ 

Taehyun said and moments later could Seungyoon hear the sounds of the slightly buzzing keyboard start emerging from behind him. Deciding to give Taehyun a hand he walked over and pushed a couple of buttons on the keyboard until found the classical piano setting.  

               "This is better"  

He heard Taehyun mumble from his slightly hunched over position behind the keyboard. It didn’t take long until one classical piece after another came out of the dusty old keyboard and in the end had Seunghoon given up his cool guitarist act and came over to listen too.  

Taehyun had just begun on a piece Seungyoon thought he recognized as the muggle composer Mozart when he heard someone enter the room behind him. Turning he found it to be Jinwoo, he looked different today, his features sharpened slightly and his hair longer. He had a rainbow colored braid dangling on one side of his neck and he was wearing a pair of thick black framed glasses. Seungyoon could only assume that this was Jinwoo’s idea of rock band cool and he found it to be the cutest thing, even if it was way too much. Jinwoo had made an effort and that meant the world.  

They had just settled down around one of the tables to talk a bit and get to know each other when the door burst open again. Mino came jogging in holding a huge ugly mushroom while smiling triumphantly. Seungyoon heard Taehyun mumble something that sounded like ‘what’s wrong with that guy?’ but he ignored it.  

               "Guys, I did it!" Mino exclaimed while holding the mushroom up in the air with both hands. Jinwoo clapped excitedly and Seunghoon who knew about his struggles joined in on the clapping before congratulating him.  

After putting down the mushroom did Mino begin looking around the room. It must have looked like a rather random gathering to him. Seungyoon watched Mino’s slightly blank expression and suddenly feeling bold he shoot in before Mino could ask  

               "Welcome to the founding of Hogwarts new band! We are now complete"  

He then invited a slightly puzzled looking Mino to join them around the table before encouraging everyone to introduce themselves. The round ended at Mino who although looking slightly puzzled still said 

               "Song Mino, Beater on the Hufflepuff quidditch team and since I’m good at beating stuff can I only assume I’m the drummer unless someone wants to teach me how to play the flute"  

They all laughed at this and Seungyoon was smiling from ear to ear at his newly gathered band. It was when everyone started spreading out to do a little showcase of their talents that Mino approached him. 

               "I had no idea this was what the gathering was for, I’ve only played drums a few times while sneaking out to a muggle culture club back in my home city. I’m not very good" 

He patted Mino on the shoulder and smiled before replying 

               "We are all amateurs here, it’s just for fun, thanks for being such a good sport!" 

Mino grinned and gave him a thumbs up, he then went over to the dusty drum set in the corner of the room and started to check if everything was intact.   

Staring up into the canopy of his bed that night could he still feel the smile from earlier still lingering on his lips and he was more excited than ever. Their first meeting had gone decently, but then Seunghoon and Taehyun had gotten into a squabble about what kind of music the band should play. 

This lead to Jinwoo whispering to him that they might have to come up with a plan to bring the two closer together, before the arguing ruined everything. He was terribly amused by Jinwoo’s dedication to help hopeless romantic Seunghoon. He didn’t object to this suggestion and when Mino asked for help with his transfiguration homework did they agreed. Jinwoo had added when Mino left that they also could come up with a plan for the lovebirds then.  

He fell asleep wondering when he should confess his true intentions, but amidst everything weren’t he so sure what those were anymore. He definitely got feelings, strong feelings too, but he felt miles away from saying anything about those. He kept telling himself that these were friendly feelings of admiration, but deep down did he have to admit that he weren’t so sure.  

Seunghoon joined him for breakfast the next morning where Seunghoon commented on how well things had gone the day before.  

               "Did you know about Mino’s drumming skills?" He had asked as they walked into the great hall.  

               "No, not at all, I didn’t even tell him what the meeting was about when I invited him"  

Seunghoon shook his head at this before sitting down by the table.  

               "You and your luck, sometimes I think you are on a constant felix felicis high" 

Things did have a tendency to work out for him, even more so lately, but it was rare for him for things to go this well. Something was probably about to go terribly wrong. He was sure of it. 

              "Let’s hope it lasts until next week’s quidditch match against Hufflepuff" He replied before munching down on his breakfast. Jinwoo walked into the hall the moment he looked up from his food. Jinwoo waved at him from across the tables making his stomach do a cartwheel in response. Waving back he felt Seunghoon’s gaze on him immediately. 

               "You two are moving quickly, I can’t be any worse now can I"  

Seunghoon then turned to look for Taehyun along the benches of the Slytherin table.  

               "Aha! He exclaimed when he spotted him and waved his hand furiously"  

Seungyoon turned too because he had a feeling Taehyun’s reaction would be priceless. He was right about that, but not in the way he first had expected. What he expected was for Taehyun to frown or glare annoyed back, but instead did he lift his glass to make a tiny toast in their direction and Seungyoon thought there was a slight reddening of his cheeks as well.  

               "Don’t tell me he was blushing" He said to Seunghoon as he turned back to his food. Seunghoon kept silent as he turned too, but Seungyoon could smell that there was something Seunghoon weren’t telling him.  

                "Did something happen when I left the muggle music room last night. Don’t tell me you confessed your undying love to him the same day as your first meeting"  

Seunghoon kept a stern look before smiling widely and wiggled his eyebrows, but he didn’t say a word.  

               "I’m suddenly terribly embarrassed on your behalf, you are too smooth for your own good" He said but decided not to push the matter now. Seunghoon would tell him eventually. They both ate in silence for a while. He couldn’t help but to wonder what Seunghoon could have done to bring out such a reaction. In all his years at Hogwarts had he never seen Taehyun blush. 

He didn’t have much time to spare for questioning Seunghoons methods that morning because he got a ton of homework to do before his meeting with Jinwoo and Mino later that day.  

               "You are going to meet them again aren’t you?" Seunghoon said just as he was about to finish his breakfast.  

               "Yeah, practicing transfiguration. It’s great fun and I’m learning stuff above my level so it’s actually challenging"  

He took one last sip of his orange juice and was about to get up when Seunghoon asked  

               "Can I come too?"  

Even if he and Jinwoo was supposed to come up with a match making plan couldn’t he see how bringing Seunghoon would hurt.  

               "You need help with transfiguration too?" He teased and nudged Seunghoon on the shoulder. 

               "As if you do" Seunghoon replied and finished his last bit of toast.  

Jinwoo was already there when they arrived at the unused classroom. He was talking to something tiny in one of the old oak wardrobes at the back of the room and Seunghoon gave him a questioning look as they approached the wardrobe.  

               "It’s a bowtruckle"  

Jinwoo exclaimed enthusiastically and help up the tiny wood creature into his hand.  

               "Don’t those usually live out in the woods?"  

Seunghoon asked and gave the creature a closer look. Seungyoon hunched down next to Jinwoo and inspected the bowtruckle closely. It was missing and arm and seemed to be swaying.  

               "It’s hurt?" He asked Jinwoo who nodded in response.  

            "A cat must have caught it and brought it here or something” Seunghoon mused and looked around the room for clues.  

           “They live in trees right? So the old wood of this wardrobe must have been the best option" Seunghoon continued. The bowtruckle seemed to have taken a liking to Jinwoo and sat peacefully in the palm of his hand. If any of the other two tried to touch it did it only make a low gurgling noise which they interpreted as a sign that they were not accepted by it yet.  

Mino arrived then and he too was curious about this creature that Jinwoo had found. It seemed to like him even less and so Jinwoo nestled it in his palms and brought it with him to the table.  

               "I got these tiny meat treats I usually give my cats" He said and rummaged around his bag until he found them. The bow truckle didn’t eat them enthusiastically, but it ate them all the less.  

             "So what’s on today’s agenda?" Jinwoo asked turning his attention from the eating wood creature to Mino.  

             "Vanishing Charms" Mino replied and sat down looking defeated before they had even started.  

             "Those are easy! I can teach you that" Seunghoon said confidently.

Mino gave Jinwoo a questioning look, he probably expected the same kind of help as last time and didn’t wish to switch out his teacher. Jinwoo however seemed to approve of this and got to his feet.  

               "Great, you start and I’ll go see if I can find some proper food for our new friend. Seungyoon can you watch it while I’m gone?"  

He felt himself nodding yes to this and sat down to watch the bowtruckle. He would much rather have liked to tag along with Jinwoo, but he expected him to be back soon and he was curious to see Seunghoon’s teaching methods.  

Jinwoo was away for a really long time and in the meantime had Mino and Seunghoon moved on to a much more action filled approach to teaching. After hardly making any progress due to what Seunghoon blamed on Mino’s lack of self-esteem did Seunghoon decided to try something different.  

               "Okay, again!" Seunghoon said and threw the pillow he had fetched from one of the benches out in the hall. It hit Mino’s face with a muffled thumping sound.  

               "If you can’t make it vanish in time you are going to get hit"  

Seunghoon laughed and used Accio to retrieve the pillow. Just as the pillow flew into his arms did the door behind them open. In came Jinwoo, but he weren’t alone.  

               "Look who I ran into"  

He said and made room for Taehyun to walk into the room.   

               "What are you up to?"  

Taehyun asked in a light bored tone of voice while giving Mino and Seunghoon a doubtful look. Mino’s robes where dust covered from the impact with the pillow and his eyes watery from the dust.  

               "I’m helping Mino practice his vanishing spell for transfiguration"  

Seunghoon explained before he made the pillow fly at Mino again. It hit him straight in the chest this time and he made a grunting sound as it hit him before he started complaining. 

               "Sounds like fun"  

Taehyun sniggered and walked over to Seunghoon who had already retrieved the pillow.  

               "Let me try"  

He said and sent the pillow flying at a much higher speed than Seunghoon’s previous attacks. To everyone’s surprise was Mino ready this time and inches before it hit his face yet again had the pillow disappeared.  

They were all a little shocked at his sudden progress, but they all clapped for him and he did a small victory dance on the spot looking more than a little stupid. His dance was cut short when but Taehyun said  

               "Let’s step up the game then"  

And picked up a book from a pile on the floor. Deciding Mino could be a big boy and tell them to stop bullying him himself Seungyoon turned to Jinwoo. 

               "I did well didn’t I?" Jinwoo whispered and motioned towards Seunghoon and Taehyun who were now laughing hysterically at an enraged Mino. Seungyoon smiled and gave Jinwoo a thumbs up. They then proceeded to feed the bowtruckle wood lice that Jinwoo had picked up from the herbology greenhouses. 

It was dinner time when they broke up the gathering by going down to the great hall and divided along their house tables. Mino had convinced everyone to come cheer for him during the upcoming quidditch match the next weekend which Seungyoon was really pleased about. Pleased because the match was against his house which meant essentially that Jinwoo would be coming to cheer him on too.  

Their second band meeting was canceled for the same reason as both he and Mino had tactical meetings and an extra practice before the match that weekend. Seungyoon had actually managed confirmed with Jinwoo that he would be coming to the match because Jinwoo had approached him after a charm class to update him on the bowtruckle. Pleased at the development of their relationship he felt the excitement for the upcoming match increase even more.   

On the day of the match did both Jinwoo and Taehyun stop by the Ravenclaw table. Apparently had Seunghoon, Taehyun and Jinwoo agreed to watch it together and they came by to wish Seungyoon good luck and to confirm the plan. 

Jinwoo had given him a pat on the shoulder before leaving and he couldn’t help but to notice a few blue stripes in his pink hair as he walked away. Pleased to see that Jinwoo really was cheering for him after all he left the Ravenclaw table and headed for the quidditch field.  

The weather was nice, but slightly windy. He knew Mino was completely healed now and he wondered if their new friendship would affect the game. It sure wouldn’t affect him, but he could always hope a few less bludgers would come flying his way.  

When the match began was his first move to fly up high, he immediately spotted the bright pink on the benches far below and he felt the pressure to win now more than ever before. Showing of weren’t usually his thing, but he made a few loops all the same before he began circling the arena on the hunt for the snitch.  

Whenever he was at the side of the field where Jinwoo was sitting couldn’t he help but to slow down a little. He was sure Jinwoo noticed him looking his way, because he cheered and waved in his direction. He couldn’t help but to give a small wave back one of the times and when Jinwoo smiled and mouthed something that looked like "go get it!” did his urge to win strengthen even more. 

The Hufflepuff team soon had the upper hand scoring 5 times against Ravenclaw while they only got in two goals in the same time. He didn’t worry too much about this however. It would only make him look better when he caught the snitch. Just as he saw something twinkle to his far left could he hear Mino behind him saying:  

               "No vanishing spells allowed here"  

Before he felt a bludger fly by so close to his head that all he could hear for a moment was the whistling sound of the wind.  

Turning he saw Mino behind him smiling pleased. 

               "Now where did that sparkling ball go?“ He teased and Seungyoon only grimaced at him before going in for a pretend dive as if the whole incident never happened. To his surprise did Mino follow him and he seemed determined to be in his way. It was only when Ravenclaw scored three times in a row that he flew off to see what he could do to turn the game in favor of his team.  

That was all Seungyoon needed, another round of the arena and he spotted it. Darting around by one of the Ravenclaw viewing towers. Speeding up he hoped he would get there in time and feared he wouldn’t be able to stop when he caught it. 

He did catch it, but it also caused him to crash rather violently with blue tapestry of his own house that cladded that part of the arena. He managed to hang on to his broom with one hand, holding the snitch in the other and found himself descending quickly downwards towards the ground. He somehow managed to land on his feet although the impact of the landing made his entire body tremble. 

Holding up the snitch the game finally got called as over and his team mates circled around him cheering. The entire arena followed with their cheers and he couldn’t have been happier. They won, thanks to him and Jinwoo had been there to see it. 

               "Well done landing on your feet there" Mino praised as they walked towards the wardrobes.  

              "Better watch out though, I’ll get you next time" He continued and waved his bat playfully before stepping into the Hufflepuff wardrobes. Seungyoon hoped the others were waiting for him and hurried the best he could out to meet them after the celebration within the team itself was over.  

Walking out into the crisp autumn air he was not disappointed. All three of them was cheering and Taehyun was the first to compliment his way of catching the snitch. Mino came following out behind him only a minute after and they all walked up to the castle together.  

               "You didn’t need to aim for the head" Jinwoo said pointing an accusing finger at Mino as if scolding a misbehaving child.  

               "His aim probably isn’t that good to begin with" Seunghoon teased and gave Mino a bump on the shoulder with his fist.  

"They have will of their own those bludgers" Mino said defensively while rubbing the spot where Seunghoon hit him. Seungyoon couldn’t deny Mino’s statement about the bludger, he had seen how they zigzagged around the field many times and he knew they often went for the players on their own accord.  

               "How about we grab food from the great hall and all go check on the bowtruckle?" Jinwoo suggested happily as they approached the castle. Mino was the first to excuse himself saying he would be eating with his team while talking about the match.  

               "We actually have stuff to do” Seunghoon said matter-of-factly. Seungyoon had no idea what he was talking about they had no plans. He then noticed Taehyun’s slightly awkward nod and realized Seunghoon weren’t talking about him.  

                  "Turns out this Slytherin at potions"  

Seunghoon laughed and ruffled Taehyuns hair slightly making it stand out in every direction. Glaring Taehyun tried to flatten his hair while looking down and Seungyoon thought he could see a hint of pink spreading across Taehyun’s face again.   

               "It’s just that one potion I said!“ Taehyun grumbled before stomping of towards the tables.  

              "Better follow him now don’t I?" Seunghoon said and bounced off after Taehyun. Seungyoon turned to look at Jinwoo who looked to be over the moon about just getting turned down. 

               "They are doing well" He said still watching the scene playing out by the end of the Slytherin table. 

               "I don’t have anything planned" Seungyoon told Jinwoo truthfully and watched Jinwoo’s pleased smile for a couple of more moments before Jinwoo said: 

               "Let’s go together then!" 

They grabbed some toast from the great hall and were now heading for their usual practice room with the bowtruckle filled wardrobe. 

               "Won’t he be better off in the wild though?" Seungyoon asked as they opened the wardrobe revealing the sleeping creature. It was cutely nestled up in leftover yarn from Jinwoo’s cat knitting project but jumped to its feet when it noticed them.  

               "Yeah, I spoke with Hagrid about it. I figured the care of magical creatures teacher would be our best shot"  

Jinwoo told him while gently patting the tiny creature. Seungyoon ate a bit of his toast trying to ignore the wood lice Jinwoo now took out and began offering the bowtruckle. Instead he did his best to sneak sideway glances at Jinwoo. The blue stripes were still there and he had noticed while walking up there together that Jinwoo’s eyes looked different too. His thoughts were interrupted by Jinwoo saying 

               "Hagrid told me they prefer wood of wand quality because they guard them while making their home there. He said there was a huge oak by the edge of the forest that might do. We won’t know until we take him there"  

He nodded and watch the wooden creature. It weren’t exactly pretty to look at with its long claw like hands, but he guessed it had its charm.  

               "Should we go there then? After we finish eating? I’m sure it will like the woods much better than this wardrobe even if I will miss it" Jinwoo suggested. Seungyoon agreed, a wardrobe was hardly a good place for any wild creature. They finished their food while talking about all the things they had been up to from the band to how Mino had seem to finally be getting some confidence with transfiguration.  

               "I was really impressed today. I don’t watch the quidditch matches that often, but knowing someone on the field makes all the difference"  

Hearing Jinwoo say this made his insides dance a little and it took him a moment to reply.  

               "It was nice to have my friends cheering in the audience"  

He said honestly while also hoping to get it confirmed that they were indeed friends now. Jinwoo smiled and it was one of those smiles he sometimes did that was impossible to interpret.   

                "I’ll be there for the next one too, but I’ll be cheering for my own house" Jinwoo then said and Seungyoon couldn’t blame him for that, if their roles had been reversed wouldn’t he have cheered for Gryffindor playing against Ravenclaw either.  

               "It was a couple of close calls today, does that happen a lot?"  

Jinwoo asked and Seungyoon proceeded to retell the match that lead to Mino crushing several bones in his leg. It was during his retelling of his different endeavors on the quidditch pitch he noticed what was new with Jinwoo’s eyes. They were purple and it bothered him how he couldn’t recall exactly what color they had been before. 

               "You changed your eyes" He said without thinking. Jinwoo seemed surprised at this. 

               "I did?" Jinwoo replied while searching for something to look into to check his reflection. 

               "I didn’t do it on purpose" he said while inspecting himself in a tin lid he had found after looking around in his bag for a while.

Deciding to let the subject go for now after seeing Jinwoo’s reaction Seungyoon began mulling it over in his head instead. Was it symbolic? Red from Gryffindor and blue from Ravenclaw.. Mixed together? If it wasn’t intentional, was it based on Jinwoo’s feelings? Or did this kind of thing happen a lot? He never noticed it changing before. Deciding to pay closer attention from now on he got to his feet and started packing up their stuff. It was time to set the bowtruckle free, if it approved of the oak tree they found for it. 

His next opportunity to see the change in Jinwoo’s appearance came with the next quidditch match against Gryffindor. He had kept the purple up until then and since they had been meeting regularly both for their music club and the ‘help Mino with Transfiguration’ group each week.  

It was only a couple of weeks left until the Christmas holidays and snow had already covered the grounds of the castle. He had meet up with what had become his usual group of friends before the match anticipating a change in Jinwoo’s appearance. There was none, at least not that he could pinpoint in their short time together before the match. The purple eyes were still there and if anything were the blue stripes a hint stronger than before.  

He noticed how Jinwoo was lagging behind and when they reached the entrance to the wardrobes did he halt completely.  

               "Be careful today okay?"  

Jinwoo said and put a hand on his arm. Seungyoon wondered if he had scared him with all his retellings of the injuries he procured during his time as a Ravenclaw seeker.  

               "It’s cold as well, don’t catch a cold" Jinwoo continued.

Assuring him he would do his best, but that he often did catch seasonal colds he took a step towards the entrance of the Ravenclaw wardrobes. 

               "I knitted you this just in case and I magically enhanced it to make it even warmer" 

It looked like woolen long underwear and it weren’t the prettiest set he had seen either, but his heart was swelling with affection even so. 

               "Thank you, this should help me lots" 

He said and looked at the pattern. It was in the colors of Ravenclaw, but with specs of purple in-between the grey. Turning it he saw that there was what he assumed an attempt of the Ravenclaw emblem on the front, but it looked like a blob with purple blotches around it. Not sure what came over him then he reached out for Jinwoo and gave him a one armed hug by pulling Jinwoo closer. Their icy cheeks touched for a moment and he could feel his own reddening more and more by the second. 

               "I better get going, thank you again and don’t you catch a cold either" 

He said and took another step away before turning to walk into the arena. Blushing furiously he rushed into the wardrobes hoping no one would notice. 

When he stepped out on to the quidditch field less than 30 minutes later did he feel this warm fuzzy feeling spread throughout his body. Unsure if it was his own warm feelings for Jinwoo, actually not freezing in the cold winter weather or the spell on the wool. He did one last cheer with the team before shooting into the air already scouting for the snitch as he went. 

The weather really was freezing that day and even if he was wearing gloves could he feels his fingers stiffen and his nose running. He wanted to catch the snitch fast, but the Gryffindor beaters seemed to have other plans. It took all his efforts not to get hit by what seemed to be an eternal wave of bludgers coming his way. 

Only once did his eyes meet with Jinwoo during the match and it was quickly interrupted by Seunghoon’s screaming 

               "Behind you!" 

Deciding to dive down without checking what it was he felt the air from the bludger passing directly above his head. 

The Gryffindor team was playing a highly defensive game yet the Ravenclaws managed to score several goals within the first half an hour. It took over an hour before he even spotted the snitch and when he did was it because the Gryffindor chaser was after it.   

Speeding up he soon caught up with her and they were shoulder to shoulder as they dived down for the golden ball at the same time. He was going so fast the world was blurring around him and he struggled to keep his eyes on the snitch. It was zigzagging just above the frozen grass and he knew that at the speed they were going couldn’t he possibly manage to avoid a crash if he was to catch it.  

They reached out a hand in the same moment and then they both crashed with the ground. He felt something crack at the impact, but he weren’t sure if it was his arm or the broom. Then everything went black. 

The next thing he knew he was being carried out from the arena on a floating stretcher. He still couldn’t see properly, but he managed to ask the closest team mate if they had won. They had not he had said, the Gryffindor seeker had caught the snitch and they had lost with 50 points. Disappointment hit him then and it felt a lot worse than his physical injuries. Closing his eyes needing a moment to deal with the overwhelming feeling he heard his friends approach as they entered the halls of the stadium.  

               "It’s completely smashed"  

He heard Mino say and he assumed it was his broom Mino was talking about.  

               "He looks okay though, no limbs in weird angles"  

Taehyun followed up with.  

               "I’ve seen him much worse"  

Seunghoon stated and he felt a cold hand brush his hair away from his forehead. Jinwoo was the only one who hadn’t said anything yet, but when he did was he sure that it was Jinwoo’s hand that was his face.  

"He still hit the ground at such a high speed, it gotta hurt"  

Jinwoo then seemed to be talking directly to him when he said 

               "I’ll come see you at the hospital wing, please be okay"  

It felt as if his skin was pulsing under Jinwoo’s touch and he couldn’t really focus on what the others was saying after that. He still found it in his mind to appreciate that Jinwoo was with him and not celebrating with the others of his house. This thought, along with his knitted outfit and pulsing skin was more than enough to keep him warm as he was taken to the castle still on the floating stretcher.  

The first person to visit him had been Seunghoon, he had sat by his bed and talked about how impressed he had been by his almost catch. Pretending to be asleep at first he opened his eyes when he felt a cool finger poke his cheek hard.  

               "You gotta be more careful out there, it’s just sport, they can’t patch you together if you break your neck" Seunghoon said and gave him another rough poke on the cheek.  

"I know" He mumbled, in the moment it had felt like a calculated risk worth taking, but now he weren’t so sure.  

"Jinwoo was really worried you know" Seunghoon said and waved his finger scolding in front on his face.  

               "We all were really" Seunghoon said and then he sighed and patted him on the shoulder making him wince from the pain.  

               "How bad is it this time?" He asked as he felt the pain of his shoulder shoot through his body with a frightening strength.  

               "Concussion, broken arm and lots of overall bruising. Nice woolen underwear by the way" Seunghoon gave him a wink at the last part.  

               "Thanks" He mumbled, feeling a little embarrassed.  

"This might be a bad time to tell you this, but we have officially become a couple"  

Still in his own world Seungyoon replied  

               "No we haven’t!"  

Seunghoon laughed at this and gave him a moment to realize what he was saying.  

"With a Slytherin and everything"  

He teased when he finally had collected his thoughts.  

               "We are going on our first date as a couple next weekend” Seunghoon said looking mighty pleased with himself. Seungyoon could only imagine how much less pleased Taehyun would look doing couple things with that for everyone to see. This made him laugh, but he still congratulated Seunghoon heartily.  

               "I take it you are staying here for the night, I’ll stop by you again tomorrow okay?“ Seunghoon said and got to his feet.  

               "Get well and be more careful from now on!" 

After Seunghoon left had the nurse stopped by his bed and given him a potion to help the healing and then some tea. Five minutes later and he was sinking back into dreamland. 

When he woke up the next time was it from the pressure of someone sitting down at the edge of the bed. The room was dark now, but the reflections from Jinwoo’s pink hair made it easy to tell who was there. 

He tried to sit up then, but felt his head spinning and so when Jinwoo gently pushed at his chest he let himself fall down into the cushions again.  

               "I see Mino was here"  

Jinwoo said and held up a quidditch magazine, it was a special number focusing on the newest broomsticks. He knew he would need one of those so he thanked Mino in his thoughts before shifting his focus to Jinwoo. 

               "How are you feeling?” Jinwoo asked and put away the magazine. 

               "Better" He lied, his mind felt hazy and every limb of his body felt heavy and painful. Jinwoo just gave him a look indicating that he weren’t buying into it. 

“I’m sorry you lost, you must be disappointed” Jinwoo continued after his expression had softened a bit. 

“Don’t be, your house won after all" 

They both smiled now remembering their conversation from before about how Jinwoo would be cheering for his own house. Turns out he weren’t so much after all. 

               "I can’t win every time now can I?" He continued attempting to keep the mood light. They then talked about the match and the different houses odds at winning. He then remembered what Seunghoon had told him and he knew Jinwoo loved hearing news about that. 

                  "Seunghoon told me they are a pair now, going on dates and everything" 

He said and Jinwoo clapped his hands together while grinning like gossiping school girl. 

                "I know! Taehyun told me and asked me if it was weird. Of course I told him, no and that they had my full support. Love is love after all. You can’t help who you love" 

Seungyoon couldn’t agree more with the last part. He almost asked if Jinwoo loved someone there and then, but thought better of it at the last minute. He didn’t think he could handle a broken heart along with all his bruised limbs and a shattered ego. 

They talked for a bit about their schedules before Christmas and how they would have to cancel the music club because of school work. Then Jinwoo got to his feet and looked about to leave when he said 

               "I really wanted to cheer you up after today, but I couldn’t think of anything. Warm sweet beverages always cheer me up thought so I figured I’d ask if you wanted to come along to Hogsmeade to drink some butterbeer and buy some Christmas presents next weekend?"  

Jinwoo had spoken so fast he could barely catch what he was saying, but he had managed to catch ‘Hogsmeadw with me’ and that was enough for him. Playing it cool he nodded and accepted before he couldn’t hold back his smile anymore and he said 

               "Really, I’d love to, I’m excited already"  

His reply had turned Jinwoo’s slightly anxious face into a ray of sunshine and he was beaming in joy and what looked like relief from what Seungyoon could tell.  

               "I’ll see you soon then, get lots of rest until then!"  

Jinwoo said and his heel before walking out. It was then it occurred to him, Jinwoo’s eyes had changed color again. To bright blue.  

It had been another day before he could leave the hospital wing. Everyone had greeted him and they had gone straight to their usual empty classroom to practice for their final tests before the holidays.  

When he got there had the room been cleaned up and neatly decorated with Christmas ornaments. There others had even gathered food and set up a small table calling it a ‘Celebrate Seungyoon with all limbs intact’ party. They ate and talked about their plans for the holidays. Everyone was cheerful until they got to Mino. His family had moved back to Asia during the year and so he would not be going home until the summer.  

               "Are any of you Hufflepuff friends staying behind?" Seunghoon asked and Mino admitted that they weren’t. Taehyun was the first at the most unexpected of the crowd to offer to stay behind and then Seunghoon quickly followed. By the end of it had they all agreed to stay. 

Seungyoon knew his mother would be with his family and that it probably would be a one year thing because he was just as much staying behind to be with Jinwoo and Seunghoon as Mino. Musing over this fact he concluded that might just not have completely forgiven Mino for the quidditch incidents that had happened between them over the years.  

After eating had they returned to their books and the week flew by in the same manner. Any free time where more than one of them got free time was spent in the others company practicing and revising. 

When the weekend of the Hogsmeade trip finally got there couldn’t he be more excited. It turned out that Seunghoon and Taehyun was going too and that this was their much bragged about first date. It was obvious that Taehyun was a little bothered about the entire ordeal, but Seunghoon found that amusing. Adding to it was the fact that Seunghoon had forgotten his scarf. Jinwoo had solved this by making Taehyun’s scarf twice as long and the two was now sharing the huge scarf, walking closely together as they walked through the snow drift.  

Jinwoo had been a little quiet on their walk there, but seemed in good spirits as they began their Christmas shopping. They had all agreed to get each other presents as they would be spending their holidays together. So after finishing with the others did he and Jinwoo split up agreeing to meet at The Three Broomsticks in half an hour.  

He had struggled terribly with Jinwoo’s gift, but he decided up in the end to buy two very different books. One was about advanced Transfiguration ranging from ancient history to uncommon spells. The other he had been unsure of but decided on it after thinking about Jinwoo’s enthusiasm for the subject; a book about the greatest love stories of the wizarding world. On top of that did he pick up some treats for Jinwoo’s cats and some "peace offerings” for the bowtruckle for them to go visit.  

The snow drift turned into a blizzard by the time he finally arrived at the Three Broomsticks. Jinwoo was already there when he arrived and well settled down in one of the corners close to both the fireplace and the snow covered windows.  

While removing his snow drenched outer wear could he excitedly explain how he had spotted Seunghoon and Taehyun walking into Maddame Puddifoot’s Tea Shop moments before. It was known for its very pink and frilly decor along with how it was a usual date spot.  

               "I can’t see Taehyun enjoying himself in such a place" Jinwoo mused with a smile and they both laughed.  

               "He continues to surprise me so who knows, I think he enjoys Seunghoon’s company enough to go along to most places happily" Seungyoon said, something told him it might even have been Taehyun’s suggestion, but he knew Taehyun would never admit to that. 

He ordered his butterbeer and tried not to be too obvious about how frozen he felt from walking so long in the snow. He should have worn his woolen gift from Jinwoo, but after the quidditch match had he been a bit hesitant about it.  

It became apparent to him after a while that Jinwoo could see through his stiff posture and was glad when he offered him to move over to the same bench as his. It was closer to the fire and he sure didn’t mind being closer to Jinwoo either.  

               "You know" Jinwoo suddenly said while looking out through the window at the snow.  

               "I’m a little jealous of the two down at Maddame Puddifot’s"  

Seungyoon weren’t sure if it was the frills and pink of the place or the lack of a loved one so he asked what Jinwoo meant with that. 

               "I got someone I like too, and I would love to go on dates with this person"  

Seungyoon’s heart sank. What he and Jinwoo was doing weren’t so far off from what the two down at the tea shop was which only lead to him thinking that this meant it couldn’t be him Jinwoo was talking about.  

               "Maybe if you told this person that you like them it would work out?“ He encouraged. It came out a bit half-heartedly and he was sorry about that, but he was sorry for himself as well so he couldn’t help it. Seungyoon watched Jinwoo bite his lips and clutch at his mug of butterbeer with both hands for a moment.  

               "you are right, the friendship I have with this person is really precious to me so that’s why I’m hesitant I guess" Jinwoo said, not taking his eyes of the mug in his hands. 

Seungyoon understood this too well. He was after all in the exact same position, too scared to make a move in case he would lose everything. 

               "You know, I really like you" Jinwoo began and if possible did Seungyoon’s heart sink even more at hearing this. He expected to hear ‘but I like this other person in a different way’ next and held his breath in anticipation and to stop himself from sinking together in his seat. Jinwoo blinked at him and the bright blue eyes twinkled in the light from the fire and the lamps around him.  

               "No wait that came out wrong. Let me re-phrase it" Jinwoo then said and he was blushing rather violently by now. 

               "I like you, the one I like is you"  

Half-dazed and half not trusting his own ears Seungyoon only stared at Jinwoo. When he finally got his voice back he said: 

               "I like you too"  

It must have sound very unconvincing or his expression spoke for him because what came next made things a lot clearer.  

Jinwoo leaned in, although hesitant and placed the smallest of kisses on his lips. When Jinwoo pulled back was it with the brightest of smiles on his lips and Seungyoon smiled too, like he had never smiled before.  

               "I like you a lot"  

He admitted and felt all the emotions from the past years flow up to the surface. He grabbed Jinwoo’s hand under the table before he asked: 

               "Can we do that again?"  

Jinwoo nodded and this time was it his time to lean in for the kiss. Feeling a bold confidence hit him just as their lips met he really went for it thinking this kiss would be a kiss he was sure to remember for the rest of his life. When he pulled away was it not just their lips that had turned red from the light bruising; Jinwoo’s hair too had turned into the darkest shade of deep red.  

               "It suits you" Seungyoon said and stretched out a hand to touch the newly changed hair. It felt amazingly soft to the touch, but as his hand let go did it trail Jinwoo’s cheek until it gripped lightly at his chin pulling Jinwoo in for one last kiss. He was sure the entirety of The Three Broomsticks was watching them by now, but he couldn’t care less. 

The only one he got eyes for was Jinwoo.  

Authors note: This was first posted on mine and Kwuintessence's shared tumblr but since it's a somewhat of a well kept secret did I decide to put it here too. It's a long one so thank you for reading all the way to the end! Did you enjoy it? I never get tired of HP au's! This was actually intended as a series, but I'm bad at completing my chaptered stories so I decided to finish it and post it as one long one. 

Kind words are always appreciated and thanks again for reading!