The first thing Sooyoung did when she opened her eyes was scream.

 

The whole forest seemed to rustle in response.

 

 

---

 

 

McGonagall rubbed her forehead in exhaustion. She was getting too old for this.

 

It'd been five hours since the student had been reported missing.

 

Five hours later and McGonagall noticed that an additional eight students were also nowhere to be found. That made a total of nine students completely unaccounted for.

 

On top of all that, there was also that letter.

 

McGonagall stared at the rolled up parchment that was delivered to her this morning via not an owl, no, but a giant origami bird. The royal seal of the Wizarding School of Mahoukotoro stared back at her.

 

She knew deep within her heart that the letter would not bring any good news, but she still hoped. Either way, she knew it probably had something to do with a certain transfer student. And her hunches were rarely wrong. 

 

Mahoutokoro was notorious for keeping to itself, seldomly engaging in contact with any of the other ten official wizarding schools. Asian wizarding schools were all like that. The fact that McGonagall suddenly received a letter out of the blue...she didn't know what to think.

 

‘We’re only a few months in and you’re already causing so much trouble.’

 

Bracing herself, McGonagall tapped the blood red wax seal with her wand and unrolled the letter. She was not expecting only one sentence; one very ominous sentence.

 

Beware the Japanese Ministry of Magic.

 

McGonagall stared hard at the parchment, rereading the one sentence over and over in her head before scanning the rest of the letter.

 

‘That's it?’

 

What did the Japanese Ministry of Magic want? Normally, the Ministry of Magic were the only people one could trust in times of turmoil. The schools usually worked in alliance with their respective Ministries of Magic. If Mahoukotoro was deviating from the Ministry, McGonagall didn't know what to think. Which side was she supposed to listen to?

 

“Albus,” Minerva called, talking to the smiling figure of the late Headmaster of Hogwarts in his portrait on the wall behind her. “I'm getting too old for this.” She didn’t know what to make of this warning, but she could already feel a headache coming in.

 

Albus’ eyes twinkled at her. “Oh, but this is the fun part of being Headmaster, Minerva.”

 

McGonagall could only sigh.

 

 

---

 

 

There was a deep feral roar that shook the trees followed by an ear splitting scream.

 

“Sooyoung!” Seohyun cried in worry, recognizing the sound of her friend’s painful wails.

 

“She sounds like she's in trouble. We have to hurry!” Yoona urged, forcing herself to go faster. The white tracker canine seemed to understand as it picked up the speed, causing the rest of the group to increase their pace.

 

“I can't run any faster,” Sunny groaned to herself. Her legs felt like lead from all the running. It kinda felt like she was burning alive. Her heart was beating so hard she wouldn't have been surprised if it jumped out of her chest.

 

“Shortie,” Hyoyeon mocked as she took the lead, right behind the white ninja dog, determined to be the first to reach the missing Ravenclaw girl.

 

“You're short too!” Taeyeon retaliated from the very back of the group. She cursed Hyoyeon in her head for bringing up that extremely sensitive subject.

 

Suddenly, the dog came to a stop, sniffed the ground and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

 

“Sooyoung!” Seohyun exclaimed once more as she finally spotted the tall girl surrounded by six mountain trolls. Her heart nearly stopped at the blood covered robes and the angry looking gashes across Sooyoung’s body. The girl was barely standing.

 

Sooyoung looked half-dead.

 

“Seo...hyun?” Sooyoung dim eyes lit up in hope and recognition as her body relaxed in relief. She collapsed to the ground, immediately closing her eyes on impact.

 

“Sooyoung!!!” Ignoring the six trolls, Seohyun dashed straight for her friend.

 

“Expelliarmus!”

 

“Confringo!”

 

Yuri and Hyoyeon quickly distracted the first two trolls, letting Seohyun slip past easily to Sooyoung.

 

Yoona and Sunny followed Seohyun who, upon reaching Sooyoung,  immediately put up a shield charm around the girl. Jessica joined Yuri while Taeyeon and Tiffany joined Hyoyeon in fending off the first two trolls.

 

“Let me see her,” Yoona gestured urgently. “I can try and heal her.”

 

Seohyun, knowing of Yoona’s remarkable affinity for healing spells moved away from Sooyoung immediately, letting the doe eyed girl gain access.

 

She stood to one side, taking in Sooyoung’s lifeless figure with tears in her eyes. Sooyoung’s blood was still warm on Seohyun’s hands and arms. Seohyun clenched her fists, trying hard not to cry not even caring that her robes were drenched in blood. 

 

“She's fine. A few gashes and bruises. Nothing too major, though she's lost a lot of blood and is extremely exhausted,” Yoona diagnosed, her hand and wand working quickly to seal the cuts and clean the wounds. Within seconds, Sooyoung was already looking a lot better. “She's also malnourished.”

 

Having said that, Yoona pulled out a piece of bread from within her robes and waved it under Sooyoung’s nose.

 

“Um, can I get some help here?” Sunny struggled as she held off four trolls all by herself, barely managing to fend off all the attacks. It didn't help that the trolls were nearly three times her short height. 

 

Taeyeon, sensing the girl was in trouble, turned to make eye contact with Tiffany and Hyoyeon who nodded, letting her know they would be fine. Without wasting any more time she left her two friends and jumped in next to Sunny just in time to push her away from the troll’s swinging club and sent a stunning spell aimed at the troll’s nose. The troll shook its head but was otherwise unfazed.

 

Taeyeon cursed. She had forgotten that stunning spells were ineffective against trolls. Taeyeon backed up until she and Sunny stood back to back. They were still outnumbered two to four.

 

“Aim for the head,” Sunny instructed.

 

“Wasn't it the feet?” Taeyeon tilted her head as she eyed the four trolls in front of them. Goodness they were ugly. And tall. Taeyeon despised them.

 

“Trust me, it's the head,” Sunny insisted. She kept her wand steady, aiming right between the eyes of the trolls. 

 

“Sunny’s an expert on magical creatures!” Yoona yelled from the side while cradling Sooyoung’s head. “Just listen to her!”

 

Taeyeon relented easily. “If you say so.”

 

Without any further words, the two sprang into action.

 

In Yoona’s arms, Sooyoung groaned as she stirred awake, causing Seohyun to finally release her tears in immense relief. She immediately kneeled down and pulled her friend into a bone crushing hug (unknowingly pushing Yoona out of the way who went and joined Sunny and Taeyeon).

 

“You idiot! You bloody idiot!” Seohyun cried into Sooyoung’s shoulder.

 

Sooyoung wasn’t sure she heard correctly. Her head was still pounding and her ears were still ringing in pain. “Er, did you just cuss? ” Granted, ‘bloody’ wasn’t exactly a cuss by any means, but for pure and innocent Seohyun it was.

 

Seohyun pulled away with an indignant huff. “You wander alone into the forest at night, go missing for hours, almost get killed by mountain trolls and that’s the first thing you say!?”

 

Sooyoung felt herself grinning despite the situation. She had never seen Seohyun so worried for her before. Heck, she had never seen anyone so worried for her before. She chuckled and ruffled Seohyun’s hair for good measure, before pulling her goody-two-shoes friend into a warm hug. “You can just say you missed me.”

 

“Not to break a heartwarming reunion or anything,” Hyoyeon suddenly called from a few meters away. “But we’re kinda surrounded by trolls here,” she deadpanned, ignoring Tiffany’s ‘you’re the biggest troll here, Hyo’  remark.

 

Breaking apart, Sooyoung struggled to her feet with Seohyun helping her.

 

“Just lean on me for now,” Seohyun told Sooyoung as she hooked Sooyoung’s arm around her shoulder and placed her own arm around the taller girl’s waist. “We’ll fight together.”

 

“Actually,” Sooyoung bit her lip sheepishly. “I don't have a wand. It broke.”

 

Seohyun stared at her friend. “Are you kidding me!?”

 

“Catch,” Sooyoung suddenly heard a voice call and looked up just in time to see a wand being thrown at her. She caught it easily with her right hand and looked at the owner in surprise.

 

“But don't you need it?” Sooyoung stammered, flustered by the kind act. Trusting someone else with your wand was like trusting someone with your life.

 

Jessica shrugged nonchalantly as she jumped away from a blow, letting Yuri send a gash up the troll’s arm. “You need it more than me.”

 

Sooyoung opened ready to protest because there was no way Jessica’s statement was true. Every witch needs a wand. But her protest died in as she watched the Slytherin witch perform magic without her wand.

 

‘Wandless magic.’ Sooyoung stared in awe. She didn't even know it was possible.

 

“Sooyoung, we all get that Jessica is an amazing witch and all but would you please close your mouth and help out poor Seohyun next to you who’s not only dragging half your weight but also taking on a full grown mountain troll all by herself,” Yuri complained causing Sooyoung to snap out of her trance just in time to cast a shield charm, blocking a dangerous swing aimed at Seohyun’s leg.

 

“Sorry,” she muttered though her thoughts were still on the wand. She was reminded of the first time she met Jessica in the library and the first time she laid eyes on this exact wand. ‘This is a really nice wand.’

 

Out of the corner of her eye, Sooyoung saw something that made her heart skip a beat. “Hufflepuff midget! Watch out!” she cried in desperation, feeling helpless at the fact that she didn't even know the tiny girl’s name.

 

“Sunny!” Yoona screamed as well, seeing the troll swing at Sunny from behind and ran forward to intercept the attack.

 

Luckily, Yuri reacted quickly and was able to send a stunning spell right into the troll’s eye, causing it to stumble back. Sunny scrambled out of harm’s way and immediately sent her own stunning spell at the troll. This time, the stunning spell was actually effective and froze the troll for a few seconds instead of just pushing it back.

 

Yuri rushed to run in front of Sunny in case of any more sneak attacks.

 

“Nice shot,” Yuri panted, surprised that Sunny’s spell actually had an effect on the thick skinned trolls. ‘The midget has a nasty stunning spell. Noted.’

 

“Thanks,” Sunny gasped as she tried to catch her breath. “And thanks for saving me too.”

 

Yuri gave the girl a small grin. “It's the least I could do,” her voice was apologetic of things past and Sunny caught on to the lingering guilt. She smiled at Yuri as if to say, ‘Don’t worry about it.’

 

Yuri smiled back gratefully.

 

Her eyes then caught Yoona watching them interact with interest. Yoona sent her a small smile at the eye contact and Yuri felt relief flooding through her. She nodded back. Both Hufflepuffs had long forgiven her and Yuri finally felt herself able to accept the forgiveness they were giving her. With renewed vigor, Yuri began firing spells left and right with Yoona and Sunny backing her up. The adrenaline rushing through her veins reminded of her past duels. ‘Only this time, I have nothing to be sorry for.’

 

Somehow among the chaos, Jessica found herself next to Taeyeon. They made eye contact.

 

“You still haven't recovered yet, have you?” Taeyeon asked under her breath as she refocused on the trolls in front of them.

 

Jessica’s eyes widened at the question but otherwise didn't show any signs of responding. Silence meant yes. Jessica was just surprised that Taeyeon noticed. She doubted anyone else had.

 

Taeyeon nodded the slightest bit at the brunette’s silence. She'd thought as much. The girl hadn't been as headstrong with her attacks today. Whatever happened to Jessica last night must've taken some toll on her, even if barely noticeable.

 

With her suspicions confirmed, Taeyeon pushed a little harder, putting more grit into her curses and hexes than normal knowing somehow they had to make up for the brunette’s normally explosive firepower.

 

The two fell in step as if they had spent years fighting alongside each other. When Jessica ducked, Taeyeon would fire a curse, and when Taeyeon sidestepped, Jessica would bring up the offensive. Taeyeon herself was surprised at the easy synchronization, but didn’t think too much about it. Yet, she couldn’t deny that fighting beside Jessica...it was comforting.

 

“Tiffany! Watch out!” Yuri suddenly called, causing both Taeyeon and Jessica to look over in alarm. They both startled, mere milliseconds from reacting and jumping in to save the distressed mushroom when Yuri beat them both to it.

 

“Thanks Yuri!” Tiffany beamed at Yuri who grinned back.

 

“No worries.”

 

Taeyeon and Jessica halted in their steps, both feeling a little flustered at getting beaten by Yuri. Taeyeon eyed Yuri who looked back with a raised eyebrow as if asking “what?”

 

Jessica grinned at the look on Taeyeon’s face that was best described as annoyed and couldn’t help but poke fun at the baby faced Gryffindor. “Wow Yul, look at you saving everyone today.”

 

Taeyeon sulked to herself, only slightly annoyed that Yuri beat her to saving Tiffany. ‘At least Fany is safe.’ Jessica chuckled and patted Taeyeon fondly on the back twice before rushing in to help Sunny fend off a particularly stubborn troll. Taeyeon stared at Jessica’s back in wonder.

 

‘Did...did she just...pat me on the back?’ Taeyeon suddenly found herself trying to fight back a blush as she ran after the brunette.

 

“We’re pushing them back!” Hyoyeon shouted ecstatically as she fended off a mountain troll all by herself.

 

“Hyoyeon unnie! Please don't be too reckless!” Seohyun shouted while fighting alongside both Yoona and Sooyoung who was surprisingly standing on her own two feet and looking somehow completely re-energized.

 

“Don't worry! I totally got this!” Hyoyeon grinned. Taeyeon recognized that grin and couldn’t fight back the ‘uh oh’. It was the grin that Hyoyeon always had right before things went terribly wrong. And lo and behold, Taeyeon’s prediction was right again.

 

‘“KEEPYOUREYESONYOURTARGETYOUIDIOT!” Taeyeon screamed as she watched Hyoyeon literally turn her back to not one but two trolls, giving the creatures the perfect opportunity to strike.

 

Hyoyeon turned around too late. She raised her wand up as a meager attempt only to get tackled to the ground. A warm vanilla scent invaded her nose as she fell.

 

“JESSI!”

 

There was a loud smack as heavy armoured fists met human flesh and a high pitched scream ripped through the air.

 

Two angry red bursts of light later, the two mountain trolls found themselves on their back with stars swimming in their vision.

 

“Jessica!”

 

“Sica!”

 

Yuri and Sunny swarmed the injured girl followed by Tiffany, Yoona and Seohyun.

 

Taeyeon and Sooyoung dropped their jaws as their friends literally left them to hold off the remaining four trolls by themselves.

 

“Hey! Don’t leave us here!” They protested, but were ignored.

 

“Are you okay?” Tiffany laid a warm and comforting hand on Jessica’s shoulder, her eyes searching for Jessica’s.  

 

“I’m fine,” Jessica brushed off the hand, pretending to not be in pain as she got off Hyoyeon. Sunny helped the girl up.

 

“You’re arm’s broken!” Yoona exclaimed as she took in the sight of the weirdly bent shape of Jessica’s right arm.

 

“Oh my goodness! Are you hurt anywhere else?” Sunny asked as she scanned Jessica’s body looking for more injuries like a mother bird, even patting Jessica’s because just in case.
 

“No, I said I’m fine Sunny-ah,” Jessica’s eyes softened at the sight of her worried childhood friend. She put a hand on Sunny’s head to stop the shorter girl from jittering. “Really.”

 

“What were you thinking?! Putting your arm up like that?” Yuri burst. “Are you crazy?! Your arm isn’t invincible!” She had seen everything happen in slow motion. Jessica, having just cast a spell mere milliseconds before unfortunately didn’t have enough time to cast a shield charm. Instead she opted to just jumping in front of Hyoyeon, using her own body as a shield. Her recklessness angered Yuri to no end.

 

Yoona pulled on Yuri’s shirt to hold the girl back and calm her down from the outburst. Yuri huffed but calmed down slightly. 

 

Jessica probed her injured arm with her left hand, flinching at the sore flesh. “Sorry. But it would’ve been worse if I didn’t push Hyoyeon out of the way. A broken arm is nothing.”

 

Yuri opened , ready to protest, but quieted as she realized that Jessica was probably right. Taking a closer look Yuri also noticed that Jessica definitely looked more tired and worn out than usual. “Are you...you haven’t recovered from last night, have you?” she asked suddenly.

 

“Probably,” Jessica brushed the topic aside easily. “I’m fine guys, really. Taeyeon and Sooyoung  look like they’re having a hard time though.”

 

“We are!” Sooyoung screamed back. “Back off you overgrown tree root!” she provoked the trolls causing Taeyeon to raise a disapproving eyebrow at the unfunny attempt at a taunt.

 

Yuri frowned at the sudden change in topic but nonetheless took the hint and went to help the struggling duo. Sunny followed slightly after as did Tiffany.

 

“Sorry,” Hyoyeon fidgeted as she made a move to leave. “I should’ve been more careful.” Her eyes was cast aside, refusing to meet Jessica’s, and her head was bent downwards in that guilty way that Jessica had to bite back a fond smile. She had never thought she’d see the normally headstrong Gryffindor look so sorry.

 

“No worries. Just be careful,” Jessica said straightforwardly. She didn’t like overly emotional stuff and would rather just quickly forgive and forget so they could move on. It seemed like Hyoyeon was the same way, because the girl beamed a quick grateful smile before rushing back into combat.

 

Yoona approached the brunette this time. “Sorry, Unnie,” she frowned at Jessica’s limp limb. “I don’t know how to heal broken bones.”

 

Jessica playfully poked the girl’s big forehead lightly with her left hand. “I already said it’s okay. It’s just a broken bone, nothing major.” She was touched by the younger girl’s concern though. This was after all only their second time meeting.

 

Yoona pouted. “If you say so.” Reluctantly, she rejoined the others. 

 

Jessica raised her eyebrow at the last person still standing in front of her.

 

Seohyun stepped forward and pulled out a half empty vial from her robe. Jessica’s eyes lit up, recognizing the liquid sloshing inside the vial immediately.

 

“I figured this would’ve come in handy,” Seohyun commented as she handed it to Jessica.

 

“Is this the girding potion that we made in our second week of potions together?” Jessica smiled amusedly. The memory seemed like years ago. It was back when Seohyun and Jessica first became potions partners. They did so well that Slughorn had let each of them keep a vial. Jessica knew hers was still kept away in her cabinet by her bed.  “Why do you have this on you?”

 

“I grabbed it when you asked me to retrieve one of Sooyoung’s possessions earlier. I thought it might come in handy,” Seohyun revealed. “I actually grabbed a bunch of different vials,” she said, opening her robe to reveal tens of vials all strapped to the inside. “Just to be safe.”

 

Jessica let out a sharp laugh, the kind that’s half voice half air. Seohyun reminded her of a drug dealer, and in a way, she was, just not that type of drug dealer.

 

“I’m guessing this is why Sooyoung looks like she can take on an entire army of trolls by herself? Jessica grinned despite feeling exhaustion in the deepest part of her bones, referring to the half full vial. Someone had clearly already taken half of the potion.

 

Seohyun nodded. “She needed it. It didn't hurt that Yoona had some spare bread with her.”

 

“Thanks,” Jessica said as she downed the shot. Immediately, she felt her insides warm and adrenaline pump through her veins as she regained her energy. “This was much needed.”

 

“No worries, Unnie,” Seohyun grinned, relieved and happy at a sight of an energetic Jessica. ‘Scary Unnie looks better already. She must have been really tired before.’

 

“YOU ARE NOT GETTING AWAY FROM ME!”

 

Both Jessica and Seohyun whipped their heads in shock at the outburst. A very angry Tiffany  was hurling spells left and right, single handedly pushing back the six mountain trolls. The other six girls could only stand idly aside and stare in wonder behind the animated redhead.

 

“Remind me never to get on Tiffany Unnie’s bad side,” Yoona whispered to Sunny who nodded in shock. They had no idea the eye smiling queen could hold quite a tough streak inside her. 

 

“Aigoo, HellFany has been released,” Taeyeon muttered. She ceased her attacks. After all, she wasn’t needed anymore. HellFany would take care of everything by herself.

 

Within as few minutes, the trolls were gone.

 

Exhausted, the girls slumped to the ground.

“Seriously, we have the worst luck,” Yuri groaned. “First wolves, then spiders, and now trolls. What else does this forest have?! We’ve fought literally everything!”

 

“Just how many times have you guys been in this Forest?” Seohyun frowned, trying to calculate the exact number of times her Unnies had broken school rules.

 

“Too many times,” Taeyeon groaned. “I never want to come back here again.”

 

“I can’t believe I’m agreeing with you Taeyeon,” Hyoyeon paused. “But I’m agreeing with you.”

 

“Still, it was kinda fun?” Tiffany grinned, back to her normal bubbly self. 

 

Hyoyeon snorted as she laid down. “That’s true. We did make some unforgettable memories here.”

 

It was Yuri’s turn to laugh. “Like the time you tree blood?”
 

Hyoyeon shot up. “You weren’t even there for that!”

 

“Still, it was funny,” Yuri giggled before suddenly yawning. “I’m tired. I want to sleep,” Yuri muttered, laying flat against the ground as she closed her eyes.

 

“We can’t,” Sooyoung suddenly cut in. Her serious tone made everyone look at her. They suddenly remembered the reason why they were in the Forest.

 

“Where were you anyways?” Yoona asked. “The whole school is looking for you.”

 

Sooyoung shut her eyes and shook her head fiercely as if trying to fight away unseen images. When she opened her eyes, everyone could see the trouble brewing within her pupils. “We need to get out of here,” she trembled. “We need to leave.” The urgency in her voice sent chills down everyone’s backs.

 

“Sooyoung, what happened?” Yuri asked worriedly.  

 

“There’s something in here,” Sooyoung mumbled, her face pale as she recalled her night in the Forest. “There’s something in here. It’s not safe. We need to leave.” Sooyoung looked like she saw a ghost. Her face was completely aghast; her eyes were lifeless. She trembled with every second and looked like she was about to fall ill any moment now. 

 

Jessica feared the girl was going to have a fit. 

 

“We need to leave NOW!” Sooyoung suddenly screamed, scrambling onto her feet and dashing away.

 

“Hey wait!”

 

The girls didn’t have time to react as they all scrambled after their friend.

 

Suddenly, Sooyoung stopped. Her face was a ghostly white and her eyes were chillingly blank.

 

“It’s here.”

 

 

---

 

 

Jessica’s mind was hazy. There was too much chaos, too much pain to process what was going on around her.

 

Fire.

 

White flames at the trees surrounding them, burning everything in its wrath.

 

Fire.

 

Fire was everywhere.

 

Everything was burning.

 

She heard screams. They could’ve been her own, or they could’ve been the other girls. She didn’t know.

 

‘Hot.’ That was the only thought Jessica could register.

 

There was so much red.

 

‘This,’ Jessica thought, ‘is what the end of the world looks like.’

 

 

---

AN: Three updates in a week! Do you all feel spoiled yet?

Lmao i just want to get over this drama stuff quickly and move into some fluff

OT9 is together! What do y'all think about their very first interaction together?

Leave me thoughts, comments, and reviews please! 

 

Till next time,

~Sosh

 

P.S. also, thank you my dear readers so much! We've reached 75+ upvotes, 300+ comments, and 500+ subscribers. TT I'm so touched.