TW: Bullying during the flashback two years ago

---

Tiffany carefully made her way to the infirmary with a plate of food in her hands. Taeyeon had woken up just a few minutes ago much to Tiffany’s relief. So while Madam Pomfrey performed a check up on another patient, Tiffany decided to go fetch some food for her friend. When she walked into the infirmary however, she was surprised to see Taeyeon’s bed already empty and the sheets already folded neatly. 

 

Tiffany quickly whirled around towards Madam Pomfrey who was tending to another unfortunate Gryffindor hurt from Taeyeon and Jessica’s little bout in Charms. 

 

“Uh, Madam Pomfrey?” Tiffany interrupted hesitantly. “Did you let Taeyeon leave?” she asked, the plate of food still in her hand. She was unsure what to do with it at this point. 

 

Madam Pomfrey looked up from the student she was tending to and frowned at Tiffany. “No, why?” She turned around to look at the bed and sighed deeply when she saw that the occupant was indeed not lying down and resting like she had instructed her to. 

 

“Why do I even bother?” Madam Pomfrey muttered under her breath. The students never listened to her professional advice. She turned her focus back to Tiffany. “Looks like your friend snuck out.”

 

Tiffany fumed at the answer, though she did her best to hide her anger from Pomfrey.

 

‘Kim Taeyeon! What are you doing? You’re supposed to be resting! How dare you sneak out! Just wait until I have my hands on you.’

 

“Thank you!” She bid Pomfrey farewell before stomping towards the exit, the plate of food still in hand. 

 

“Oh, Ms. Hwang?” Pomfrey called out. 

 

Tiffany whirled around towards the Healer. “Yes?” she blinked innocently as if she wasn’t just thinking about murdering her best friend for not being careful. 

 

“If you find your friend, make sure she rests,” Pomfrey stated sternly. 

 

Tiffany chuckled. “Of course. Rest assured, Madam,” she promised.  She then placed the plate down on Pomfrey’s desk. “I brought some potatoes and some meat pie. You can have them if you like,” she said before slamming the doors opens and stomping into the hallways on the hunt for her best friend. 

 

 

---

 

 

With an aching body, Taeyeon gingerly made her way to the owlery tower, the one place she knew Tiffany would never think of stepping foot into. The girl was terrified of owls for reasons unknown to Taeyeon. 

 

Taeyeon didn’t want to avoid Tiffany, but after everything that happened recently, she just really needed a moment to herself. The girl’s obvious fondness for the blonde Slytherin did not help either. Taeyeon was not blind. She’d noticed how Tiffany would cling to Jessica, always craving for her attention. 

 

Taeyeon clicked her tongue. ‘What does everyone see in her?’ 

 

Rarely anyone ever visited the owlery at this time, so Taeyeon expected the owlery to be relatively empty. When she arrived, Taeyeon was relieved to see that the tower was indeed deserted. Sighing from her aching muscles - side effects from the duel with that infuriating Slytherin - Taeyeon plopped down onto the stone cold stairs and leaned her back against the wall. She closed her eyes, taking in deep breaths. This was more like it. 

 

‘Finally. Some peace and quiet’ 

 

There was no Tiffany to nag her. No Hyoyeon to annoy her. And most importantly, no infuriating blonde Slytherins to show her up in everything. 

 

Taeyeon only enjoyed about three seconds of quiet relaxation until a suspicious voice interrupted the silence she craved so much. 

 

“Who’s there?”

 

Fighting back a groan, Taeyeon forced her eyes open in annoyance. Who else was here at the owlery? And why did that voice sound familiar?

 

Taeyeon heard footsteps walking down from the stairs towards where she sat. She silently braced herself for the confrontation. 

 

‘I should move,’ Taeyeon thought as she imagined how pathetic she must look, slumped against the wall on the floor and in the dark. Despite her thoughts, Taeyeon made no move to stand up. Instead, she stayed in her position, slouched on the floor like a drunkard in Diagon Alley, too exhausted to move. Taeyeon waited as the footsteps neared her location until they finally revealed a very familiar figure and face. 

 

“Taeyeon?” the girl asked squinting at her through puffy eyes, clearly surprised to see the star Gryffindor sulking alone in the dark. 

 

Taeyeon rolled her eyes at the sight of the girl. She didn’t expect to run into someone she knew, let alone someone who looked like she was feeling more miserable than she was. Nevertheless, Taeyeon still made no move to make herself look more presentable. 

 

It was probably because of that fact that Taeyeon didn’t feel as embarrassed as she normally would have been had she been caught in a similar situation. Then again, she’d been learning a lot about humility and embarrassment lately, hadn’t she?

 

“Yuri,” Taeyeon acknowledged, her eyes looking up at the girl briefly before settling lifelessly on the stonewall in front of her.  Yuri was taken aback at how drained the Gryffindor sounded. 

 

“So this is where you’ve been hiding,” Taeyeon commented absentmindedly as Yuri winced darkly. 

 

“What are you doing here?” Yuri hissed instead of answering, still in disbelief of what she was seeing. Yuri never would’ve imagined that the almighty Kim Taeyeon could ever look so...helpless. The girl had always held herself on a high standard, which was one of the reasons Yuri couldn’t stand the Gryffindor in the beginning. If it weren’t for Jessica’s appearance in their lives, Yuri doubted the two would’ve ever become civil. 

 

“Waiting for a letter from my dad,” Taeyeon responded without any conviction or sincerity making Yuri raise her eyebrows skeptically. 

 

“Right, and I didn’t just cry for two hours straight,” Yuri scoffed, not believing her words for even a second. Her honest admittance however caused Taeyeon to look back up at her, no doubt taking in her puffy and red eyes. 

 

“What are you doing here?” Taeyeon shot back hotly. “Still hiding from your friend?”

 

“I’m not hiding!” Yuri objected defensively.

 

Taeyeon gave a low disbelieving hum. “Sure.” At this point, everyone in school had noticed Yuri’s absence. Any idiot could have guessed that the girl was avoiding Jessica. After all, it wasn’t like Yuri really hung out with anyone else until recently.

 

Taeyeon scoffed silently to herself. Clearly the blonde was a sore subject for both of them. 

 

Yuri sighed and went to sit against the wall opposite of Taeyeon, slumping to the ground a few steps higher than the other girl. The two sat in silence for a while until Taeyeon slowly lost her patience. She could feel Yuri staring at her and it was making it very hard to relax. 

 

“What?” she asked irritated. She just wanted to be left alone. Was that too much to ask? Apparently, it was. 

 

Yuri scoffed again. “There’s really no need to keep up with that tough girl image of yours. We are both literally sulking and hiding in the owlery tower in the dark.”

 

Taeyeon glared at Yuri but the girl gave as good as she got. Taeyeon eventually gave up first and looked away again, causing Yuri to roll her eyes. She was once again surprised at how easily Taeyeon had relented. If Taeyeon was still not going to spill, then it was time for her to switch tactics. 

 

“I heard you got your kicked bloody in Charms.”

 

Taeyeon’s eyes flashed dangerously as her head whirled around suddenly, pinning Yuri to the ground. Yuri could almost hear the unspoken threat of promised pain if Yuri were to continue teasing her. But Yuri was too stubborn and never one to back down despite how much she actually feared the girl across from her. 

 

“And you’ve been hiding here all week, running from your problems and from reality like a pathetic injured animal,” Taeyeon retorted, fed up with Yuri’s antics. 

 

It was Yuri’s turn to be offended. She looked away to the floor in frustration as she brought her legs to her chest and hugged them. She knew she lost because she didn’t have a good excuse as to why she was constantly hiding like an escaped prisoner. 

 

“What are you hiding from?” Taeyeon asked, sounding equal parts condescending and curious. 

 

“I’m not hiding!” Yuri objected hotly. 

 

“Are you actually avoiding Jessica?” Taeyeon asked undeterred. The feeling of bitterness lingered in her tongue as the name slipped out of . She fought back a shiver. Great, now even just saying the blonde’s name was starting to affect her. 

 

“Why do you care?” Yuri riled up defensively as she squinted at Taeyeon in suspicion. 

 

Taeyeon only clicked her tongue, looking away. “You were the one who started this whole thing,” she grumbled referring to the awkward conversation they found themselves entangled in. “I just wanted some peace and quiet before you came.”

 

The two found themselves back in silence, however this time, the tension was even thicker than before. 

 

“You deserve it, you know,” Yuri stated quietly, causing Taeyeon to look at the girl in confusion. 

 

Yuri kept her head down and was talking more to her knees than to the girl across from her. Suddenly, she looked up. The haunted look in her eyes unsettled Taeyeon slightly. “Now you know what it feels like to be beaten up so easily, tossed aside like trash, humiliated, made fun of.”

 

Taeyeon’s eyes widened at such a bold accusation before they narrowed back on the Slytherin when she realized what the girl was referring to. Taeyeon mentally scoffed. So Yuri wanted to bring up the past, huh?

 

“If I remember correctly,” Taeyeon’s voice  was low and dangerous, almost a growl. “You deserved what you got.” 

 

 

---

 

Two years ago... TW

 

“What did you say about me, you ugly prit?” Yuri yelled at the older boy. 

 

“N-nothing!” the skinny Ravenclaw boy stammered, clearly terrified of the girl. “I didn’t say anything!”

 

“Lies!” Yuri screamed back stubbornly. “I heard you talking to your friend. You were calling me names!”

 

“We were just discussing the Charms class just now. Honest!” the boy swore, however Yuri would not relent. 

 

In a fit of anger, she drew her wand and shot an unidentifiable spark of red magic at the boy who grunted in pain upon impact and flew several feet back into the air. 

 

The students around them gasped and backed up, eyeing the spectacle with wide eyes. 

 

The boy sat up, gingerly probing his nose which was clearly broken from the weird angle and the blood gushing out of it. 

 

“M-my nose!” he whimpered like a beaten dog. “I-I can’t believe you!” the boy shouted. “You’re a monster!’

 

Yuri’s eyes narrowed on the boy. “I’m the monster?” she growled lowly as she slowly walked towards the boy. With each step forward she took, the rest of the students took one step backwards. “I’m the monster?!” she screamed again, raising her wand once more, shooting another spell at the boy.

“ENOUGH!” 

 

Taeyeon walked strode into the courtyard with steps full of purpose. The students quickly parted way for her. 

 

“Kwon, I challenge you to a duel!” Taeyeon declared as she stood protectively in front of the injured boy.

 

The challenged girl merely looked at Taeyeon with a raised eyebrow. She observed the tiny girl in front of her and laughed at the absurdity of the situation. Taeyeon however remained as serious as usual. Intense eyes stared back into Yuri’s. 

 

Yuri smirked at the sudden declaration for a duel. “Do you even know what you’re getting into, Kim?” she grinned wickedly. “You’re in for a lot of pain.”

 

Taeyeon remained steady as she stared Yuri down. “You are the one who’s not ready. It’s time you finally learned a lesson and put a stop to your terrible deeds. And if a professor won’t do it, I will.” She drew her wand. 

 

“Prepare to learn a lesson you will never forget for the rest of your life,” Taeyeon declared. With those fighting words, both girls fired away with their wands. 

 

Not even a minute later, Yuri was writhing on the ground in pain feeling like she was fighting for her life. 

 

Taeyeon stepped over the girl’s body. “Had enough yet?” 

 

Yuri struggled to move her head to look Taeyeon head on. “Y-you’re a m-m-monster!” Yuri spat in horror. 

 

Taeyeon merely raised an eyebrow at the accusation. “Look around,” she gestured to the courtyard full of second and first years. They all stared at Yuri unsympathetically. Some even with hatred. Worse, they all looked like they were enjoying what they were seeing. Hot tears sprung to Yuri’s eyes but she forced them back. She would not cry here, not in front of them. 

 

“Who is the monster here?” Taeyeon asked, her voice light. “You bullied these kids for a whole year and a half. How many of them have you sent to the infirmary with terrible injuries? Injuries worse than the ones on you now. How many students did you torment? You arrived at Hogwarts all angry with feelings of unjust. You didn’t want to suffer alone so you made everyone else suffer along with you. Tell me, Yuri, who is the real monster here, huh?” 

 

She crouched down so she could get a closer view of Yuri’s face. 

 

“They got tired of you bullying them so they asked me to step in,” said Taeyeon as she swept her eyes over Yuri’s broken figure. “To stop you once and for all.”

 

“It doesn’t feel nice being on the other end, does it?” Taeyeon spat in contempt. “Next time you raise your wand against an innocent student I hope you remember this moment.” Taeyeon closed her eyes briefly as if gathering her inner turmoil. “I didn’t want to do this, but I couldn’t just sit by and watch you torment them every single day. Grow up Kwon. You’re not the only one who’s suffering.”

 

With those final words, Taeyeon stood up and walked away. 

 

“Bring her to Madam Pomfrey,” Taeyeon called over her shoulder as she left. 

 

Yuri stayed on the ground, fighting back the pain as desperately as she could. When no one came to help her, she panicked.
 

“D-don’t leave! D-don’t just leave me here!” she screamed desperately. However they all ignored her. Instead, they left the room one by one not even sparing her a glance. 

 

“Please!” Yuri cried desperately, too weak to stop the tears. “Please,” she whimpered. 

 

‘Anyone, please. It hurts so much. Help me. I’ve learned my lesson.’

 

However still no one came. 

 

‘It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. What did I do to deserve this? Why does my life always so much?’ 

 

Right before Yuri out from the pain however, she swore she felt warm hands press against her cheek and caught a glimpse of warm brown eyes staring down at her with concern. 

 

‘Please. Help me.’ 

 

 

---

 

 

“I was young and full of anger,” Yuri murmured nostalgically into the air. “The whole world seemed to be against me back then.”

 

“Who wasn’t angry when they were eleven?” Taeyeon snorted. “That’s no excuse to bully people. You were a terrible person, you know.”

 

Yuri hummed in acknowledgement. She looked down, a small smile gracing her lips. Though they were painful memories to look back on, Yuri still cherished them. Without her experiences in the past, there was no way she could’ve gotten to where she was today. “Yeah. I was...not the funnest person to be around. I’m glad I finally snapped out of it.”

 

“You’re welcome,” Taeyeon offered mock arrogantly causing Yuri to scoff in disbelief at the girl’s audacity. 

 

“I hated you, you know,” Yuri admitted out loud, her tone somber as she recalled her most painful memories. 

 

Taeyeon shrugged, bending a knee to rest her arm atop of as she leaned back against the wall. “I neither liked nor disliked you. I didn’t really care about you.”

 

Yuri clicked her tongue in annoyance as she sent Taeyeon another glare. “I take that back. I still hate you.”

 

Taeyeon only shrugged again. “How childish. Would you rather I’d hated you?”

 

Yuri growled, “Yah Kim Taeyeon!” she yelled out loud before Taeyeon burst into low chuckles. 

 

“What’s so funny?” Yuri eyed Taeyeon suspiciously. Was the Gryffindor finally going mad?

 

“Nothing,” Taeyeon chuckled one last time before calming down. “I just can’t believe we’re talking like normal people now.” Taeyeon gave Yuri an inscrutable look. “No offense, but I honestly thought you would’ve been expelled by now.”

 

Yuri scoffed indignantly. She stared at Taeyeon in disbelief before releasing a breath and letting loose all the tension in her body. She let a small chuckle escape her lips as she wiped her eyes. 

 

“Yeah, me neither,” Yuri admitted quietly. ‘I didn’t think this was possible, me here at Hogwarts with friends.’ Yuri thought to herself nostalgically. It was amazing that everything had changed because of one girl.

 

‘It was all because Jessica decided to sit with me in my train compartment on the first day of our third year.’ 

 

“So are you going to tell me why you’re avoiding her now?” Taeyeon asked, breaking Yuri out of her thoughts. 

 

Yuri spared a glance in Taeyeon’s direction before drawing her knees closer to her chest. “I’m not avo-”

 

“Yuri.” Taeyeon’s voice interrupted dryly.  With another pointed stare from the other girl, Yuri sighed. 

 

“Fine. Okay, I’ve been avoiding her,” Yuri admitted. 

“Yeah, the whole school can tell,” said Taeyeon, leaning back against the stonewall as she looked up. “Did she do something?” Taeyeon asked, purposely avoiding eye contact with Yuri to make the other girl feel more comfortable in sharing. 

 

“Yeah well,” Yuri grumbled. “No, she didn’t. That’s the frustrating part,” Yuri clicked her tongue in annoyance. She sighed as she struggled to find the words to phrase her frustration. 

 

“It’s just-”  A sigh. 

 

“She can be really-” Another sigh. 

 

“Just spit it out already,” Taeyeon urged, feeling her patience level being tested as Yuri kept on sighing. 

 

“She can be annoyingly perfect at times, okay!?” Yuri burst out finally. There was a moment of silence as the two girls let the confession hang over their heads before Yuri sighed once more and slumped even lower. 

 

“I’m getting kicked out of the team,” Yuri revealed quietly as if ashamed.

 

Taeyeon tried her best not to react viscerally, but even then her eyes widened slightly in surprise. “You mean from your Quidditch team?”

 

Yuri nodded sadly. “After that match against the Gryffindors on Saturday -” Taeyeon clenched her jaw at the reminder of that shameful game. “You can imagine how estatic everyone in Slytherin was,” Yuri murmured as she picked at the dirt stuck between the stones. 

 

“It was our first time beating Gryffindor in years,” Yuri stated, sounding sad despite the fact that all she ever wanted in the past was for Slytherin to beat Gryffindor in Quidditch. “I’m sure everyone will want me off the team after seeing how good Jessica was. I mean, she practically single handedly beat the Gryffindors!” 

 

Taeyeon shot the girl a sharp glare. “You don’t have to remind me, you know,” Taeyeon grumbled back irritatedly. Of course she was aware that that was the first time Gryffindor had lost a match, especially so badly, in a long time. 

 

Their broken winning record was all Taeyeon could think about for the past couple of days. Taeyeon was constantly beating herself over that match. If only she didn’t get psyched out by Jessica. If only she didn’t so caught up in her head. 

 

Their recent duel in Charms did not help things either. 

 

“Right,” Yuri muttered in realization, having forgotten that she was currently with the only one other person in the entire school that was just as affected as she was because of the Quidditch match. Taeyeon’s title as Hogwarts’ greatest Seeker was stolen from right under her in less than three hours. 

 

“So you know how I feel,” Yuri inisted warily. 

 

Taeyeon gave a short sarcastic laugh. “Trust me, I know,” she murmured. “In fact, right now I still have physical reminders of just how perfect your friend can be.” She held up her arm and pulled back her right robe sleeve, revealing a large ugly purple bruise on her forearm where she jammed it into a desk corner right before she was knocked out. 

 

Yuri winced in sympathy. 

 

Taeyeon merely shrugged nonchalantly as she dropped her sleeve. Truth be told, she’s definitely had worse bruises. Her father was a rather harsh duelling teacher. 

 

Closing her eyes, Taeyeon staggered to her feet and brushed off the dirt. She’d had enough of sulking in the dark for now. If she didn’t leave soon, she was sure Tiffany was going to go absolutely livid and turn every corner in Hogwarts upside down until she found her. 

 

Yuri watched as the girl make her exit. 

 

Before Taeyeon left however, she turned back towards Yuri. In the dark, two pairs of eyes made contact with each other and there was a deep sense of understanding that passed through both girls. 

 

“Talk to her,” Taeyeon offered wisely. 

 

“I will,” Yuri exhaled, knowing that she couldn’t just avoid Jessica. After all, it wasn’t even the blonde’s fault. If anything, she owed Jessica an apology for acting like such an immature brat these past few days. It wasn’t like Jessica purposely kicked Yuri out of the Quidditch team. She was only doing Yuri a favor. After all, Yuri had asked her to kick the Gryffindor’s arses in her place, and the girl did just that - just a little too well. 

 

Taeyeon nodded, satisfied. She turned to leave but then stopped once more and looked over her shoulder like she’d forgotten something. 

 

“See you Kwon,” Taeyeon bid the girl farewell before quietly making her way down the stairs. 

 

Yuri watched as the back of the Gryffindor disappeared around the corner of the stairs. 

 

“See you, Kim” Yuri breathed out quietly as she began rehearsing her apology in her mind. 

 

 

---

 

 

Jessica clenched her fists in frustration. She was trying to concentrate on looking through these news articles for any clues but there was a group of really annoying Slytherins giggling under their breath nearby and they were being terribly disruptive. It didn’t help that she had been in a bad mood these days because her so called friend had been ignoring her for some Merlins known reason. So her patience was really wearing thin. 

 

“I got more here!”

 

“Oooh nice one, Potkins!”

 

“I got twenty more signatures today too!” 

 

“At this rate, this is going to end up being the entire House!” 

 

As they erupted into giggles again, Jessica stood up. She quickly shoved her things into her bag and slung it over her shoulder. There was no way she could stay here any longer. 

 

As she walked towards the library exit, she passed by the group of Slytherins. Curiously, Jessica peeked at what they were talking about so excitedly. However, what she saw only made her blood boil. 

 

“What is that?” Jessica demanded rather sharply and unconsciously, not even realizing she’d spoken until they all turned to look at them. 

Instead of shrinking back from Jessica’s cold tone however, they only seemed to become more excited at her presence. 

 

“Oh! This?” One of them asked, presenting Jessica with the parchments of paper they were looking at. “It’s a petition to get you to replace that annoying Kwon as our Slytherin Seeker!” the boy declared happily. 

 

“A petition?” Jessica enunciated in disbelief. She could feel herself growing annoyed and forced herself to not to explode. She raised an eyebrow at the group of eager Slytherins. “And who says I want to be Seeker?” she asked icily. 

 

They all flinched at the question, finally realizing that the girl wasn’t as excited as they were about the idea of a petition. 

 

“U-uh, w-we t-thought that-”

 

“Well, you thought wrong,” Jessica stated firmly as she sized up these underclassmen. “The position is Yuri’s. Who by the way happens to be my friend. And I would never take her position from her,” she declared.  

 

“R-right, of course!” they all squeaked in agreement, nodding their heads eagerly. At this point, they would do anything in order not to anger girl in front of them. They had heard the rumors after all, of how she’d single handedly dueled her entire class during Charms and beat them all into submission. 

 

Jessica narrowed her eyes at the several lists of names. Just how many people had signed the petition? She shoved the paper back into their hands. 

 

“Go,” she ordered as she leaned in dangerously. There was an audible nervous gulp as she swept her eyes across the group. “Tell every single person on that list that I will not and would never be Seeker for Slytherin,” she spoke slowly and clearly, leaving no room up for interpretation. Once she was done, she straightened back up and crossing her arms defiantly. 

 

“Y-yes, of course. Heh, we’ll go do that right now,” they smiled nervously at her before grabbing their stuff and scrambling out of the library in a hurry. 

 

Jessica watched them leave with an amused expression before realizing how serious the situation had become.

 

‘I need to talk to Jaejoong.’ 

 

 

---

 

 

“You wanted to talk?” Jaejong asked as he cautiously walked into the empty classroom. His eyes darted around the room nervously as if he was scared of an ambush. In his hand was the origami bunny messenger that Jessica had sent him. 

 

Jessica stood up from the table where she was waiting. “I did,” Jessica confirmed. 

 

Jaejoong came to a stop a couple of steps in front of the blonde Slytherin. He raised his eyebrows in a questioning look. “Well?”

 

“I just want to be clear. I don’t have any intention of becoming Slytherin’s Seeker,” Jessica declared, short and sweet. 

 

Jaejoong recoiled his neck slightly in shock at the sudden and unexpected statement. “Um, okay?” he ran a hand through his hair as he regained his composure. 

 

“You have to promise me that no matter what happens, you will make sure Yuri stays as Seeker,” Jessica inisted firmly. Her eyes showed no signs of wavering. 

 

Jaejoong regarded the girl curiously. “Of course,” he stated easily, slipping his hands into his robe pockets. “That’s a given. She’s the official Slytherin Seeker after all.”

 

Jessica breathed out a sigh of relief at his words. “Good.”

 

Jaejoong tilted his head in confusion. “What brought this on?” he asked. “Was it the petition?” 

 

Jessica shot him a questioning look. “You knew about it?”

 

Jaejoong shrugged nonchalantly. “I’ve heard of it. I didn’t think it was real.”

 

“Well, it is real. And apparently the majority of the Slytherin house has already signed it,” Jessica rolled her eyes.

 

“Well you have my word that a simple list of names isn’t enough to remove Yuri from the team,” Jaejoong promised sincerely. The two locked in an intense eye contact as Jessica searched his eyes for any signs of deception. Seemingly satisfied with what she saw, Jessica nodded. 

 

“Glad we’re on the same page then,” Jessica nodded once before motioning to leave the room. As she swung open the door, Jaejoong called out to her. 

 

“I heard you and Yuri were fighting.” 

 

Jessica paused at his words. She considered them carefully before finally responding. “Mind your own business.”

 

Seeing no point in staying, Jessica stalked out into the hallway. 

 

‘Fighting,’ Jessica scoffed to herself, finding the idea ridiculous. ‘How can we be fighting when I can’t even see her?’

 

Lost in her thoughts, Jessica nearly ran into someone as she turned the corner sharply. 

 

Quickly taking a step back to avoid a full on collision, Jessica looked up at the figure and was, at this point, unsurprised to see a pair of familiar brown eyes staring back at her. 

 

“Taeyeon,” she whispered under her breath. She quietly scanned the girl’s appearance in concern. Last she heard, the girl was still in the infirmary. 

 

Taeyeon didn’t say anything in response. The girl seemed preoccupied. Instead of any signs of anger about the duel which Jessica was expecting, she only saw impassive eyes. It seemed as if Taeyeon was too busy regarding her as if assessing her character somehow to acknowledge the blonde. 

 

“I see you’ve recovered,” Jessica commented slightly awkwardly as Taeyeon continued to stare at her. Jessica couldn’t read her intention at all which was a bit unnerving. This was not the usual behaviour she expected from Taeyeon. Expecting a response or a gibe of sorts, Jessica was stunned when Taeyeon just walked past her without a word. 

 

Jessica rolled her eyes at the childish action. She was done being ignored. She was about to leave and continue on her way when the girl’s voice broke the silence between them. 

 

“Yuri’s sulking in the owlery.”

 

Jessica looked over her shoulder at the Gryffindor only to see the girl also looking over her shoulder at her. The two found themselves locking eyes once again. 

 

Though slightly confused as to why Taeyeon was helping her, Jessica knew not to question a peace offering when she was given one. Nodding slightly, Jessica murmured out a quiet “Thanks.” Raising her eyebrow, she observed Taeyeon curiously. When the girl didn’t do anything except stare back, Jessica turned back around. 

 

She was ready to leave when she suddenly paused midstep. She quickly turned her head back around and was shocked to see Taeyeon still looking at her in the same position as if she’d never moved. 

 

“Uh, sorry about what happened in Charms,” Jessica blurted out, eyes widening in surprise at herself as the words escaped her lips. 

 

Taeyeon stared back blankly at her and for a second Jessica thought she’d messed up but then the Gryffindor smirked. Though Taeyeon didn’t say anything, Jessica had received the message loud and clear. 

 

‘No hard feelings.’

 

“Next time, I’ll just have to send you the infirmary,” Taeyeon spoke up for the first time as she shrugged with a joking smirk.  

 

Jessica let out a small chuckle at the taunt.“You can try,” she bantered back. 

 

She turned around, satisfied with the interaction, and took a step. She was already a couple of steps away when Taeyeon spoke up again. This time however, there was clear hesitation in her voice. 

 

“Who…”

 

Jessica stopped and waited patiently for the rest of the question. She didn’t bother to turn around. Instead, she looked down at the ground while keeping her ears peeled. 

 

“Who was the girl?” Taeyeon asked quietly. 

 

There was a beat of silence as Jessica’s eyes widened at the question before she quickly controlled her features. Her mind wrestled to find an answer but found none that were suitable. 

 

“Good night, Taeyeon” Jessica whispered in lieu of a response and took her leave. 

 

Taeyeon whirled around at the sound of her name. She watched Jessica disappear down the hallway, unsure why hearing her from the girl’s mouth had affected her so much. 

 

---

 

 

“Yuri?” Jessica called out into the dark owlery tower. She heard some soft shuffling coming from higher up the tower. 

 

Determined, Jessica made way up the stairs until she found the source of the noise. Fighting back a small gasp, she quietly took in the sight of her friend slumped on the cold hard ground.  Noticing the puffy eyes and eyebags, Jessica couldn’t help but feel her heart break slightly at how miserable the girl looked. 

 

“Hey,” Yuri looked up finally after a few awkward moments. She saw Jessica standing at the bottom of the steps staring up at her with concerned eyes and she couldn’t help but chuckle lightly to herself. 

 

‘Look at her. She was clearly worried. How could have I ever thought that she would betray me?’

 

“Yuri,” Jessica whispered as she slowly made her way over as if going any faster would frighten the girl. Steadily, Jessica decreased the distance between them until the blonde was crouched in front of the girl. 

 

“Hey idiot,” Jessica called out fondly. “Why have you been avoiding me?”

 

Though there was a smile on Jessica’s face, Yuri could easily detect the hurt and confusion from her eyes. 

 

‘That’s my fault. I caused that,’ Yuri thought, feeling full of regret as tears sprang to her eyes. 

 

Jessica’s eyes widened as Yuri’s eyes suddenly became watery. She did not do well with tears. 

 

“I’m so sorry,” Yuri burst out into tears, grabbing onto the unsuspecting blonde and pulling her into a bone crushing hug. 

 

“Yuri!” Jessica squeaked. 

 

“I’m sorry, Sica-ah. I didn’t mean to avoid you. I was just jealous. I’m so sorry I avoided you. I’ve been a bad friend. Will you please forgive me?” Yuri bawled, feeling overwhelmed with all the emotions she’d been bottling up inside. 

 

“Yuri!” Jessica laughed as she struggled to escape from Yuri’s unrelenting hold. “I forgive you! Just let go off me! You’re crushing my arm!”

 

Yuri quickly let go of the blonde and sniffed. She glanced up at Jessica with such sad teary puppy eyes that Jessica burst out in laughter again. 

 

“Oh my goodness you look so ugly, Kwon!” Jessica teased giggling behind her hands.

 

“Yah!” Yuri half laughed half sobbed. “Are we good?”

 

“We’re good, you idiot,” Jessica reassured. “Just don’t do it again,” she huffed. “Do you know how difficult it was dealing with people without you?” she whined. 

 

“Bloody hell!” Yuri gasped, suddenly reaching for Jessica’s cheeks. “Are you acting cute right now? What was that just now? Are you really Jessica?” 

 

“Stop it,” said Jessica in an annoyed tone as she slapped Yuri’s hand away from her face. She suddenly fixed a serious glare on the raven haired girl. “But seriously, don’t ever do that again.”

 

“Never!” Yuri nodded exaggeratedly and both girls burst out in laughter again. 

 

“Come on,” Jessica cooed as she offered a hand and helped Yuri to her feet. “Let’s go back to the dorms and then you can explain everything,” Jessica stated sternly, grabbing Yuri by the ear so the girl couldn't escape. 

 

Yuri gulped as she was dragged along. “Yes, ‘mam.”

 

As they walked down the stairs of the owlery tower, Yuri couldn’t help but ask, “How’d you find me anyways?”

 

Jessica merely hummed as she kept her gaze on the path in front of them. 

 

“A friend told me.”

 

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AN: Mostly an emotionally heavy update as these kids navigate their new found friendships and feelings. We will return to action in the next chapter!

Please upvote and leave your comments! I love reading them!

Love, 

Sosh <3