Chapter 3: A Liminal State

    “Unnie, we just arrived in Hogwarts and you’re already the talk of the town!” Lisa joked as students stared at Seulgi as she passed them by. She gave Lisa a cold glare which immediately shut her up.
    It hasn't been long since they had arrived at the station, and yet Seulgi was already bone tired. Students left and right were whispering as she passed them by, and she could almost hear the mention of her name every time the wind brushed the tips of her hair.
    Kyungsoo was standing beside her and pressed his hand on her shoulder in comfort. She could only sigh in response.  I should probably tell him to not touch me so casually in public, she tiredly thought, but does it matter, really, in the grand scheme of things? This is all much too exhausting. She shook her head, ridding of her unnecessary thoughts.
    She spotted her juniors causing light traffic on the road. “Move along now, Lisa,” Seulgi ordered. “We’ll see you in the hall after all the Ravenclaws have gone inside, alright?”
    Lisa waved them goodbye and bounced off. Jimin bowed at them before dragging an unwilling Chaeyeon away from Seulgi. “Seulgi unnie, you’ll sit beside me in the Great Hall later, won’t you?” Only when she nodded briskly did Chaeyeon finally allow herself to be pulled away by Jimin.
    “Hey,” Seulgi called out to Namjoon, who was still left with the two prefects. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll see you in the hall.”
    Namjoon gave her a meaningful look. She knew she wouldn’t be able to escape his interrogation in their common room later. It frustrated her to no end, how much of a catastrophe this day has already become.
    “Who said I was worried, idiot?” Namjoon hit her head before running away to catch up with the others.
    Kyungsoo patted her head again as she glared at Namjoon’s direction. “Ah, seriously, that guy…” Soon enough, they lost him among the rushing crowd of students. Most were in a hurry to line up for the boat to that they would be able to witness the famed lake monster.
    “He’s just worried for you, Seul,” Kyungsoo commented as he ushered the students. “I mean, I don’t even know half of what goes on in your pureblood circle, and I can already tell it’s not very good. He’s just looking out for you.”
    “You’re lucky, oppa,” she exhaled. “You get to live your life the way you want to. I envy that.”
    He cocked an eyebrow as he chuckled. “I think I should be the envious one. Living with all this magic all your life… and such old magic too,” he shook his head. “The knowledge being passed down from one generation to another must be boundless.” A Ravenclaw through and through, she amusingly thought.
    Many students from Slytherin, most of whom were 5th years and below, bowed at the two prefects. Seulgi and Kyungsoo only nodded in acknowledgement. It was clear that these two were not as friendly as the prefects from other houses, and they preferred it that way, more so for Seulgi than Kyungsoo, truthfully. Kyungsoo just doesn’t talk very much, whereas Seulgi simply isn’t interested to talk to the other students at all.
    “Oh, it’s Kyungsoo and Seulgi hoobae!” Junmyeon, Mark, Jinyoung, and Seulgi’s brother, Minhyuk, approached the two prefects.
    “Good afternoon, Junmyeon sunbae,” Seulgi bowed at them all. “Please head on over to the boats to reach Hogwarts.” She gestured towards the lake.
    “There’s no rush,” Junmyeon waved her off. “Right, Jinyoung?”
    Jinyoung’s ears tinged red as Junmyeon chuckled. “Sunbae, can we just go?”
    “Yah, yah,” Minhyuk interrupted the two, an annoyed look clear on his face. “I’m right here, Junmyeon—at least wait until I leave.” He gave Seulgi his brotherly glare, which she returned to him.
    Junmyeon laughed. “I’m just teasing our Jinyoung hoobae,” he ruffled the heads of the two prefects. “We’ll see you guys in the hall!”
    Minhyuk continued to glare at Seulgi. “I’ll need to have a word with you later, Kang Seulgi.”
    Through gritted teeth, she replied. “Yes, Minhyuk oppa.” He must have heard about the ruckus she had made earlier—and, judging from the look on his face, he was not amused by it at all.
    Even her brother was strict on her—this was to be the fate of a pureblood, after all. Seulgi is constantly forewarned that her future was always at stake. Every single thing she does reflects on her family — but, she shouldn’t stay idle either and must remain in everyone’s thoughts as much as possible. It was all very tedious and superficial and outrageous, and she was secretly sick of everything.
    Ignoring her then, he smiled at Kyungsoo. “Good job with the prefect work, Kyungsoo hoobae.” He clapped him on the back before he and the other guys left to go line up for the boats.
    Seulgi sighed as Kyungsoo laughed. “You’re doing a great job too, Seul.” He patted her head once more before resuming their work as prefects again.
    Kyungsoo had a habit of patting her head, she noticed. She would point it out, but doing so may make him stop doing it, so she refrained herself from commenting. And she didn’t particularly mind the patting, anyway — it’s a typical action done by sunbaes to their hoobaes, after all. It was just, well, strange, that Kyungsoo would do such an action to her, because of all the gender nonsense within her pureblood circle.
    She spotted the Slytherins she had reprimanded earlier. Noticing her attention, the two scurried away in fear.
    Seulgi let out a delicate sigh. “It’s hard to believe we just arrived.” It was ominous to start off her sixth year in Hogwarts colliding with her fellow purebloods, but there was little to be done about it at the moment.
    “I’m sure things will go on smoothly.” Kyungsoo reassured her when they saw Taeyong and their other friends leave the train. Jongin had his arms around Krystal as she looked at him affectionately; Sehun and Ten were playing around with each other.
    Jaehyun was talking to Taeyong with his eyebrows furrowed, when he caught her eye. He gave her a warm smile which she wished to return, but had to stop midway when the other person turned his head towards her.
    Taeyong must have known her exact spot, because, immediately as he turned, they made eye contact. His stark black eyes looked at her with a depth she’s all too familiar with. It seemed as if the events that had occurred in the train earlier were wiped from his memory. 
    Be still, my traitorous heart. His black hair gleamed in the late morning sunlight, also highlighting his sculpted cheekbones. He made for an impossibly heart-stopping sight. Several girls stole glances at him as he passed them by, completely enamored by his beauty. 
    Seulgi took a deep breath before breaking eye contact with him. Don’t get distracted, Kang Seulgi, she reprimanded herself. She found that irresistably attractive part to be his most dangerous charm. It seemed that he could get anyone under the palm of his hand with just a simple look. Couple that with having the most prominent pureblood of Wizarding England, she thought he was unstoppable.
    She would never admit it to anyone, but she knew, as she was currently, she was powerless to stop him.
    Thankfully, the other purebloods left, leaving no ruckus, giving the two quiet Ravenclaw prefects the brief reprieve they needed for the afternoon.
    “Shall we head in now?” An hour later, Kyungsoo gently held her elbow to get her attention. It was the two of them left at the station now, with the sun rapidly setting behind them.
    Ignoring the sunset, Seulgi looked beyond the lake and towards the castle. One by one, numerous floating candles around the castle lit up, giving the place an ethereal glow. 
    Unable to appreciate the sight at all, she could only sigh for what’s in store for her inside its hallowed halls. “I suppose we must.” 

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    “You’ll do best in… HUFFLEPUFF!” A smattering applause arose from Hufflepuff, as its members welcomed the newly sorted first year. Howev