Mandatory Author's Note:

 

So the reason why I've had so much trouble finishing this story is because even though I've always had the overall arching plotline thought out (somewhat), the details have always escaped me. Hence most of my updates have been on a whim and fueled by random bursts of inspiration. Therefore, some of you may have noticed some inconsistencies in the flow of the story and the end seems like a long ways away. However, I've spent much of this summer re-reading and re-organizing my thoughts for this story so I have a much clearer idea of how I want this to go. The chapters themselves however sometimes still escape by planning and take a life of its own, making it harder to keep track of where the story is going. 

 

Anyways, one thing I want to make clear is that, I don't know if you have noticed, but a chapter called 'Biggest Fears' was taken down because I posted it too early. It is an important chapter yes, but the timing was wrong. I went through this whole thing, revealed Jessica's and Yuri's biggest fears and pasts and forced them to go back to the forest...and then what? Nothing. I switched to the past story line and this was conveniently forgotten (sort of). Therefore, it was removed. No worries, I will repost the chapter later when it actually serves to move the plotline forward and not just function as a fluff chapter. 

 

All in all, I just want to thank you all for sticking through this mess of a story. I'm very good at starting stories, not so much at ending them (I'm working on it). I'm trying my best to re-organize things into a storyline that still flows and makes sense. That said, this next chapter might introduce a couple of sudden concepts. But hey, unpredictability has its charm right?

 

Love, 

Sosh

 

And now, without further ado...

 

---

 

 

There was only one thing Taeyeon was certain of. 

 

She was utterly and terribly lost. 

 

Everywhere she looked, the only thing she could see were tall trees veiled in dense fog. 

 

She craned her neck to look upwards. The trees were so tall, there was barely any sunlight on the forest floor but everything was still illuminated in a bright misty gray light.

 

Another thing Taeyeon noticed immediately about her surroundings was the temperature. Not only could she see her breath every time she exhaled, but she could also feel the cold biting at her skin despite her thick winter Hogwarts robes. 

 

The unnatural silence didn’t help settle her nerves either. Was it normal for a forest to be quiet? The only sound she could hear was her own heartbeat thundering against her chest.  

 

Her first guess was that she had somehow ended up in the middle of the Forbidden Forest. However, she somehow knew deep down that she wasn’t true. 

 

The trees in the Forbidden Forest didn’t look like this. 

 

She was somewhere else. 

 

Where? She had no idea, which brought her to another dilemma. 

 

How did she even get here and why was she here?

 

Taeyeon reached into her robe pockets and fumbled for her wand but they were empty. Hesitantly, she raised both of her hands out in front of her instead, feeling the goosebumps rise on the back of her neck as she realized just how defenseless she truly was. 

 

Something was wrong. She never went anywhere without her wand. 

 

Deciding that she wasn’t going to get anywhere just by standing there, Taeyeon began to take hesitant steps forward - quiet tiny steps so that she wouldn’t accidentally run into a tree. The forest fog seemed to follow her, wrapping around her ankles and swirling around her body with her every move.

 

Chills chased down Taeyeon’s spine as she continued to move forward. Her breath involuntarily quickened. Her eyes frantically darted around trying to take in as much information as she could. There was something that just felt...off about this forest. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but there was something extremely unsettling about this forest. 

Despite being completely alone, Taeyeon felt like she was being watched. She had the feeling that every step, every twitch of the muscle was being scrutinized and judged. And somehow, she had a feeling that whatever was watching her, wasn’t exactly human.  

 

It was almost as if the entire forest itself was alive and watching her. 

 

She continued to move forward hoping to find a way out soon. Suddenly, the fog parted in front of her, revealing a wide circular clearing. 

 

Directly in the middle of the clearing stood an erect stone structure that was around five feet high or so. To Taeyeon, it looked like an altar of some sort. There was a crack down the middle of the structure. It was placed in such a way that it looked like it would topple over with the slightest nudge. 

 

Judging by the moss covered stone path that led up to the altar, it had been a long time since someone had last been across here. 

 

That was not reassuring at all. 

 

Taeyeon swallowed as her eyes rested on the altar in the middle. Somewhat entranced by the energy in the clearing, Taeyeon took a cautious step towards the altar in curiosity. 

 

“Kim Taeyeon,” a whispery low pitched voice hissed suddenly. Taeyeon immediately froze, her entire body tenser than a rubber band stretched to its limit. Her pulse pounded loudly against her ears as fear clogged up . 

 

‘What. In. Bloody. Merlins. Was. That?” Taeyeon freaked out to herself as her eyes darted around the clearing for any signs of another person. However, she was all alone. 

 

“Kim Taeyeon,” the voice hissed again making Taeyeon’s skin crawl. The voice had a deep, hollow quality to it, as if whoever was calling her was talking from the bottom of a large abyss. 

 

Gulping down the knot in , Taeyeon searched for the source of the voice. She took a deep breath to calm down the tendrils of fear whirling in her stomach. Her eyes darted around once more until they landed back on the altar. 

 

‘Don’t tell me…’ Taeyeon thought as she took another step towards the altar. The ground seemed to vibrate under her foot. It was as if the entire forest was alive and buzzing with energy. 

 

“Come to me, Kim Taeyeon,” the voice hissed again, louder and more urgent. This time, Taeyeon was sure that it was coming from the altar.  Fear clenched around Taeyeon’s chest as her stomach knotted in fear. Every cell in her body screamed at her to get away, to run and never look back, yet to her own horror, her left foot took another step forward. 

 

‘Traitor!’ Taeyeon yelled at her foot as she started to panic, feeling short of breath. 

 

“That’s it, come here Taeyeon. I have what you see,” The voice suddenly laughed, and Taeyeon could only describe the laughter as sinister. 

 

“No!” Taeyeon screamed as her body began to move on her own. “NOOOOOOO!”

 

“TAEYEON!” 

 

Taeyeon shot up in bed, her heart pounding and chest heaving in deep breaths. She frantically surveyed her surroundings and almost choked in relief at seeing the familiar Gryffindor decoration. She was okay. She was in her dorm room at Hogwarts. She was safe. 

 

“Tae...you okay?”

 

Taeyeon snapped her head to her right, taking in Tiffany’s troubled face with wide, shaky eyes. Several feet behind Tiffany, she spotted Hyoyeon still in bed also shooting her a worried look. 

 

Taeyeon continued to breathe heavily as she looked around some more just to double check that she was fine. 

 

“I-I’m fine,” she managed to force out shakily. “I’m fine,” she repeated more steadily this time. 

 

“Are you sure?” Tiffany asked, her voice dripping with concern as she placed a gentle hand on Taeyeon’s shoulder. 

 

However, the action only had the opposite effect as Taeyeon suddenly tensed, nearly jumping in surprise. 

 

“Of course!” Taeyeon squeaked, feeling like her heart nearly jumped out of . Tiffany quickly retracted her touch, staring at Taeyeon with perturbed eyes. 

 

“I’m fine,” Taeyeon repeated as she struggled to get her breathing under control. She glanced down at her hands which were tightly clenching her bed sheets in a death grip. Forcing herself to relax, she immediately unclenched her fists, dropping the sheets.  

 

Taeyeon looked up at Tiffany when she felt herself stabilize a little. “Just a bad dream,” she told the girl. She exhaled slowly as she recalled her dream. 

 

‘A really weird dream.’ 

 

“You sure?” Tiffany asked once more, eyeing Taeyeon attentively. “I can get some tea to calm you down or-”

 

Taeyeon forced a chuckle as she shook her head. “No need. Sorry, I’m just a bit jumpy. I’ll be fine in a few minutes,” she bit out. Really, she was fine. She was already feeling better. Sure, she was still a little shaken up but she was just reeling from the adrenaline loss. 

 

‘It felt so real.’ 

 

“Do you want to talk about it?” Tiffany offered caringly. 

 

Taeyeon shook her head. “It’s just a silly dream. There’s really no need to worry,” she forced a laugh. 

 

Tiffany however seemed unconvinced. Still, she wasn’t going to push her friend. She scanned Taeyeon once more before settling with a small nod and a quiet, “Okay.” 

 

Tiffany then stood up, shooting Taeyeon one more concerned glance before heading to her dresser to get ready for the day. She grabbed her robes and headed towards the door to go to the bathroom but paused as she gave Taeyeon another look over shoulder. Taeyeon tried her best to give her usual smile. It must’ve been passable because Tiffany left without saying anything. 

 

Once Tiffany was gone, Taeyeon then turned to Hyoyeon who met her glance and gave her an inscrutable raise of her eyebrows before laying back down and pulling the covers over her. 

 

Taeyeon let out a deep sigh once she was no longer being scrutinized. She sat there for a few minutes collecting her thoughts. 

 

‘What kind of dream was that?’ Taeyeon wondered, feeling troubled for some reason. It didn’t feel like any of the other dreams she had ever had before. Could it have been a message? A vision of the future?

 

Shaking her head to get rid of her thoughts, Taeyeon slipped out bed. She’d just have to worry about it later. She still had to get ready for class. Besides, prophetic dreams were extremely rare. 

 

‘Like I have the ability to see the future,’ Taeyeon laughed at herself for getting so scared by a dream. Shaking her head, Taeyeon forced herself to forget the dream and focus on getting dressed. 

 

 

---

 

 

Only, she could not forget the dream. 

 

Professor Longbottom droned on about all the important properties mandrakes offered, however Taeyeon found herself unable to pay attention. Though on the surface she looked as she normally did, the perfect picture of a studious student, her thoughts couldn’t be further from the green human like root. Her mind was too preoccupied with trying to dissect her dream from earlier. 

 

She rarely ever had dreams. Even as a kid, she spent her nights blissfully unaware of visions and fantastical scenes. It was even rarer for her to have such visceral dreams and especially those of a nightmarish disposition. 

 

After all, the only dreams she could remember were those involving her and a certain bubbly brunette best friend of hers. 

Taeyeon fought back a blush. Just thinking such thoughts in broad daylight made her feel embarrassed. It was only once the sun was down and she was in the safety of her bed did Taeyeon entertain these thoughts. She kept her eyes straight forward, hoping that the very girl next to her wouldn’t notice her weird behavior. 

 

She started having those dreams in the middle of her second year when Taeyeon first realized that her feelings toward Tiffany were not exactly platonic. Since then, they'd been somewhat of a constant in her life. For her affections to be returned, that was all Taeyeon could ever want. 

 

However, she was not blind. She could see that her affections were not, in fact, mutual. That fact became glaringly obvious when that blonde girl suddenly transferred to Hogwarts. Suddenly, Taeyeon was no longer the number one person in Tiffany’s life. 

 

Even when they would sit together during class or lunch, the brunette’s eyes would not stay solely on her. Instead, they would scan the room, searching for that head of golden hair. 

 

The image of the blonde flashed through her consciousness and Taeyeon suddenly felt a rush of uncharacteristic anger towards the girl. Though she tried to force it down, it settled uncomfortably in her gut. It bubbled up to her chest, threatening to spill over if she were not careful. Anger. Jealousy. Hatred. 

 

‘Who does she think she is?’ Taeyeon seethed to herself, unaware of how tightly she was clenching her quill. All the times Jessica showed her up flashed through her mind, with each instance fueling her anger more and more. 

 

The first night in the Forest. The first Charms class. The two on two Quidditch match. The duel in front of BoA. The Gryffindor versus Slytherin Quidditch match. The disarming match in Charms. The girl always managed to best her. 

 

And just like that she was replaced. 

 

‘How dare she try to take Tiffany away from me? What does Tiffany see in her anyway? She’s arrogant, cold, rude, and just plain insufferable.’

 

Taeyeon saw red. She was never one to lose her cool like this but at the moment she didn’t care. Not when it felt so good. She let the anger overwhelm her and for a moment she felt her hatred towards the blonde spike. 

 

‘Kill her.’  

 

Images of the dream from this morning came rushing back. Suddenly, she was standing once more in the dense forest, except this time, Jessica was also there with her. She seemed to be yelling at her, trying to tell her something, however Taeyeon couldn’t make out anything the blonde was saying. She merely stared at Jessica, feeling an urge to do something terrible. 

 

‘Kill her.’ The female voice hissed again inside Taeyeon’s mind. 

 

Taeyeon’s finger twitched involuntarily against her wand. 

 

‘Kill her,’ the voice urged, 

 

To her surprise, Taeyeon felt herself raise her wand. 

 

‘NO!’ her own mind screamed at her. 

 

‘KILL HER!’ 

 

Just as she was about to unleash a fatal spell, the forest around her suddenly warped back into the Herbology classroom. 

 

Taeyeon blinked, crashing back to herself all at once as her surroundings shifted back. 

 

‘What was that?’ Taeyeon glanced around frantically as she fought to keep her breathing even from the panic. She was fine. She was safe. She’s currently at Hogwarts sitting in a boring Herbology lecture like normal. Everything was fine. 

 

“You okay?” 

 

Taeyeon whipped her head around still slightly on edge to see Tiffany staring at her in concern. 

 

Eyes darting once more anxiously, Taeyeon let herself settle into the protective warm gaze of her best friend. She swallowed and tried her best to put on a reassuring smile even as her heart pounded thunderously against her chest. 

 

“Yeah, of course,” Taeyeon choked out before looking down to stare at her notes, determined to ignore Tiffany’s inquisitive and worried stare. Once she felt Tiffany shift next to her and return her attention back to Professor Longbottom, Taeyeon let out a deep breath. 

 

What was that?

 

 

---

 

 

“So what happened this morning?” Hyoyeon asked as soon as the three Gryffindors met up for lunch. 

 

“Nothing,” Taeyeon mumbled as she quickly stuffed a few chips into . Even without looking, she knew Tiffany was looking at her with those adorable concerned puppy eyes of hers. However, she was not in the mood to indulge. Both the dream and the vision in class shook her up more than she expected. 

 

‘Do not look. Do not give in.’

 

“It seemed pretty serious,” Tiffany’s voice was so soft and gentle, Taeyeon felt her resolve weaken immediately at the concern in her bestfriend’s voice.

 

“You were screaming in your sleep,” Tiffany revealed, furrowing her eyebrows. “I mean you’ve sleeptalked before but this seemed different. You sounded terrified. I was so worried.” Tiffany reached up and laid a hand on Taeyeon’s left arm. “You also seemed pretty shaken up in class too. You usually never zone out.” Taeyeon could practically hear the frown in Tiffany’s voice. 

 

Trying to ignore the warmth on her arm, Taeyeon looked up at Tiffany in surprise. “I screamed?” She swallowed forcefully as flashes of the dream came rushing back and her heart pounded furiously in residual fear. “What did I say?”

 

Before Tiffany could answer, Hyoyeon suddenly clutched her heart and dramatically reached for the ceiling. “NOOOOOOOOOOOO!” she screamed garnering the attention from every single person in the Great Hall. 

 

Taeyeon and Tiffany merely stared at Hyoyeon in shock as the girl finished her antics. They’d both unconsciously leaned away from the girl, not wanting to be associated with such an irrational person. 

 

There was a collective pause as everyone in the room blinked at the weird outburst before normal activity resumed. 

 

“That…,” Taeyoen blinked coming out of her surprised stupor. “Was completely unnecessary,” she deadpanned. 

 

“I don’t know you,” said Tiffany giving Hyoyeon her dryest glare as she scooted further away from the seemingly crazy girl. 

The girl in question merely flipped her hair over her shoulders in an indifferent manner, a sly unaffected smirk on her lips. 

 

“Yes, well that was you this morning,” Hyoyeon grinned unabashedly. She had no qualms about people staring at her.

 

“Yes, well your demonstration was unappreciated, Hyo,” Tiffany mumbled in annoyance before suddenly switching back to worry as she returned her attention to her best friend. 

 

“Hyo’s dramatic antics aside, you were screaming ‘No” quite loudly,” said Tiffany as she eyed Taeyeon for any visceral reactions. “You sounded very afraid.” She hesitated as if she were scared of triggering Taeyeon. “What was the dream about?”

 

“Nothing,” Taeyeon brushed off, averting her eyes. She knew it was a poor attempt at a lie but she hoped Tiffany would be considerate enough to drop it. She herself had no idea what the dream was about and dissecting it in class had only made it worse. Besides, she did not want to even begin to think about the possible connection between her dreams and that infuriating blonde. 

 

Thankfully, Tiffany seemed to understand. With one last worried huff through her nose, Tiffany stopped pestering Taeyeon about the dream and went to poking at her eggs instead. 

 

Hyoyeon however, was not as tactful.

 

“Oh come on. You’re no fun,” Hyoyeon goaded childishly. 

 

Taeyeon didn’t respond. She was in no mood to humor Hyoyeon this time. Tiffany, sensing her best friend’s mood, sent Hyoyeon a disapproving look causing the girl to roll her eyes but drop the topic. They ate the rest of lunch in silence. 

 

 

---

 

 

After lunch, Taeyeon followed Tiffany and Hyoyeon begrudgingly to the library. The whole group had agreed to meet there earlier this week to work on the investigation of the names. Taeyeon however, was dreading the meeting. 

 

Despite the fact that her last interaction with Jessica didn’t end on a bad note, and dare she say it, it was even quite amicable if Taeyeon were being honest, today’s visions gave her enough reason to be wary of the blonde once more. 

 

If the mere thought of the blonde was enough to create this violent, murderous urge inside of her, Taeyeon was scared what would happen if she were to come face to face with the blonde. Would she whip out her wand and just curse her then and there? Would she attack her?

 

With each step closer to the library, Taeyeon’s heart pounded louder and louder and her breathing increased. 

 

‘I have to keep calm. I have to keep calm. I have to keep calm.’

 

“Taeyeon?”

 

Taeyeon blinked. She’d fallen behind Tiffany and Hyoyeon who were both looking at her weirdly. Shaking her head, she forced her legs forward rather stiffly. 

 

“Sorry, was just thinking,” Taeyeon mumbled, keeping her eyes downcast. 

 

Tiffany grabbed her arm as she walked up to them. 

 

“Are you sure you’re fine? If you’re not feeling well, you should just go back and rest. I’m sure the others would-”

 

“It’s fine,” Taeyeon grumbled, brushing Tiffany’s hand off of her and hurrying forward. 

 

Tiffany watched Taeyeon go with pursed lips. Taeyeon had been acting weird all day. Of course she was worried for her best friend. It was rare to see Taeyeon so affected by something. She only hoped that Taeyeon would confide in her before it got worse.  Sighing she followed Hyoyeon and Taeyeon to the library, keeping a careful eye on Taeyeon’s back at all times. 

 

Taeyeon took a deep breath and she walked into the library. She walked stiffly towards the corner near the restricted section where no one usually ventured. She made sure to keep her hands out of her robe pockets, away from her wand. 

 

‘I don’t hate her. I don’t hate her. I don’t hate her.’ 

 

She could see the last corner before their meeting spot and her heart sped up. 

 

‘I don’t hate her. I don’t hate her. I don’t hate her.’ 

 

She turned the corner and came face to face with Jessica Jung only a few feet away. Everyone else ceased to exist as brown clashed with brown wildly. Taeyeon held her breath as their gazes connected. She waited a beat and saw Jessica eyes shift slightly into barely noticeable worry and confusion. 

 

Taeyeon let out a deep breath in relief. 

 

There was no surge of anger. No sudden need to hurt the blonde. 

 

Relieved of tension, Taeyeon let her eyes rake in the blonde’s form more comfortably. She could tell the blonde was weirded out by her staring but she couldn’t help herself. She had to make sure. As she continued scrutinizing Jessica, she found no sudden surges of anger or hate. 

 

‘Good.’ 

 

Now more relaxed, she finally allowed herself to meet the blonde’s eyes again. Jessica was staring at her with a raised eyebrow, but Taeyeon didn’t feel like explaining. She didn’t even know how to explain what she was going through. 

 

‘I had a weird dream in a forest this morning. Then, during class today, I was extremely jealous of you because I like Tiffany but Tiffany might like you so I wanted to murder you. Then we both showed up in the forest from my dream and I literally tried to kill you. Weird right? How’s your day been?’ 

 

Taeyeon shook her head. No, it was best to keep her thoughts to herself for now. She glanced one more time at the blonde who was staring suspiciously at her before averting her gaze to Sooyoung who was talking. 

 

“So it took us a couple of weeks, but Yoona, Sunny and I cross-checked all of the names on this list all the public records available. I’m talking news articles, hospital records, financial transactions-”

 

“Is that legal?” Seohyun questioned skeptically. 

 

“Depends on who’s asking,” Sooyoung responded cheekily. Seohyun huffed and crossed her arms but made no additional comment. 

 

“You’re thirteen,” Yuri pointed out. “How in hog’s wash did you get your hands on all of these?”

 

Sooyoung sent the girl a wink. “I have my ways. And here you thought I was a useless Ravenclaw. Lucky for you losers, my specialty happens to be in intel gathering, believe it or not.”

 

“Yeah, I don’t believe it,” Hyoyeon remarked dryly. 

 

“Anyways, as I was saying,” Sooyoung continued, ignoring the Gryffindor. “We managed to find some clues, but let me be the first to tell you,” she breathed in deeply. “It’s not exactly good news,” she revealed darkly. Her face took on a somber look.

 

“What do you mean?” Yuri asked with a frown. 

 

“This,” Sooyoung stated, throwing down a couple of papers onto the table for everyone to see. They all immediately leaned in to get a closer look. 

 

“Ow,” Tiffany winced as she and Yoona bumped heads. 

 

“Sorry,” Yoona apologized chuckling. They both laughed it off before refocusing. 

 

“These are medical records,” Yoona explained. “From St. Mungo’s.”

 

“Again, is this legal?” Seohyun huffed, shooting her roommate a look. 

 

“Again, don’t worry about it,” Sooyoung quipped back.

 

“Okay, but what does this tell us?” Hyoyeon asked as she flipped through the patient profiles.

 

“All of three of these girls were in Japan less than a month before school started,” Sooyoung explained. “They were all on the list as well. In fact, they were the only three girls on the list except for, well, Taeyeon,” Sooyoung pointed out. Everyone suddenly turned to Taeyeon who immediately felt self-conscious.

 

“What?” she mumbled, for once not knowing what to do with all the attention. Her eyes darted from one concerned face to another. 

 

“And all three are currently in a coma.”

 

Silence.

 

Taeyeon could feel all eight girls staring at her in concern and slight fear. They all stepped closer, surrounding her. Taeyeon suddenly felt claustrophobic. A bubble of annoyance rippled to her chest. 

 

“Look, I’m fine, alright?” she nearly growled, pushing everyone away. “Why are you all looking at me like I’m about to just drop into a coma? That’s just ridiculous,” she declared. “As you can see, I’m perfectly fine.”

 

Though her outburst convinced most of her friends, Tiffany and Hyoyeon maintained their troubled expression.

 

“What about that nightmare you had this morning?” Tiffany asked quietly. However, everyone heard.

 

“And what does that have to do with anything? It’s nothing!” Taeyeon insisted frustratedly. Seriously she has one nightmare and everyone freaks out! “It’s just some stupid dream about a forest. It’s honestly not a big deal. Stop asking me if I’m okay!” she burst out and immediately regretted it. The look of pain that flashed across Tiffany’s face sent a sharp stab through her own chest. She knew Tiffany was just looking out for her. She didn’t mean to hurt her. She didn’t. 

 

“What forest?” A voice cut through her frustration. 

 

For the third time since entering the room, Taeyeon found herself staring into the eyes of the blonde Slytherin. There was a pulling sensation in her gut but she ignored it, pushing it down. 

 

“What does it matter?” Taeyeon bit back roughly. “Like I said, it’s just a stupid dream. It was barely a nightmare. Tiffany is exaggerating.” 

 

Brown eyes narrowed at her and Taeyeon did her best not to back down. She would not be the first one to avert her eyes. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, brown eyes blinked and looked away, releasing whatever hold the blonde had on her. It was easy to breathe again. 

 

“So...what exactly does this tell us?” Yuri asked, breaking the tension that was created because of the two of them. Her eyes flickered to Taeyeon. 

 

“Is, uh,” She was clearly struggling to find the right words in order not to offend Taeyeon any more. She cleared . “Should we be worried?” was what she eventually settled with, eyes flicking to Taeyeon. Everyone heard the unasked question though.

 

‘Do we need to be worried for Taeyeon?’

 

“Hard to say,” Sooyoung hummed, not fully addressing the unspoken question. “There’s only so much we can learn from public records,” she stated with a slight frown. 

 

“Do you think this is a morbid coincidence or…” Tiffany asked with a small wince.

 

“Seems too unlikely to be a coincidence, unfortunately,” Seohyun chimed in analytically. “Even with a small sample size like three, or four,” her eyes darted towards Taeyeon before settling back onto the table. “Their circumstances are too unlikely to be a mere coincidence.”

 

“Is Japan the key?” Sunny questioned out loud. “Is that causation or mere correlation?”

 

This time everyone turned towards the blonde Slytherin. There was a beat of silence as the girl regarded all the looks thrown her way.

 

“I-” her words died in . She closed her eyes forcefully, as if fighting against herself before opening them again. “I have something I need to tell you all.”

 

Hyoyeon snorted. “About time.”

 

Yuri shot the girl a look before turning to look at Jessica, nodding encouragingly. 

 

Jessica took a deep breath as she took in all the expectant looks on her friends faces. Her tongue darted out to wetten dry lips. 

 

“These symptoms…” she paused, taking another deep breath. Her chest rose and fell heavily. “I’ve seen them before.” 

 

Everyone waited for her to elaborate.

 

“During my second year at Mahoutokoro,” Jessica sighed, eyes darting around the room nervously. Clearly this was a difficult subject for her. “Students started just falling into comas.”

 

Hyoyeon snorted. “Your school sounds fun.”

 

There was a beat of silence.

 

“Well?” Hyoyeon demanded impatiently when the blonde didn’t elaborate.

 

“The school never found the cause. Well, not officially,” said Jessica. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, a nervous habit, Tiffany observed. It was obvious to her that this subject brought back unpleasant memories to the blonde. Her heart ached at the thought of the blonde suffering.

 

“You said officially,” Seohyun pointed out, narrowing her eyes. “That implies there was an unofficial explanation.”

 

“There were many unofficial explanations,” Jessica breathed out helplessly. 

 

“That’s helpful,” Hyoyeon remarked sarcastically. 

 

“We need to find out more about these girls, before I can make a more solid conclusion,” said Jessica, a perpetual frown adorning her lips. “There are many causes of comas. Hopefully, whatever happened to them is different. I hope I’m wrong, because if my guess is correct, than things are really, really bad,” she said quietly. 

 

“Cheers,” Sooyoung grinned dryly. “Our best bet then would be to talk with the girls’ parents. See if they know any more of their symptoms before they just slipped into a coma.” 

 

“How do we do that?” Tiffany asked. 

 

Taeyeon peered down at the papers, grateful for a distraction from her own situation. 

 

“I know him,” she stated suddenly, pointing to a name on one of the patient’s profiles. It was the name of the father of girl number three, Elias Clarke. “He’s friends with my father. Works for the ministry. He’s been to our house a couple of times,” Taeyeon revealed before frowning even more. “I’ve never met his daughter before but I know she’s our age and goes to Beauxbaton.”

 

“I think his name is familiar to me too,” Seohyun spoke up, her sharp eyes eyeing the name as if her mind was running through all the scenarios she could’ve come across such a name. She looked at Taeyeon. “I can ask my father. He works for the Ministry too.”

 

Taeyeon nodded. “That settles things. We’ll somehow get in contact with them. Until then...”

 

“Until then, stay safe,” Jessica supplied. There was another beat of silence as the group considered the gravity of what they might be facing. 

 

“Great!” Yuri clapped her hands, breaking the tension. “I have to go to class now. Let’s meet up later?” 

 

After a few nods and assents, the group dispersed. Jessica stayed rooted in her spot, watching the others leave. And as Taeyeon made her way out of the library, she felt a pair of brown eyes drilling into her back. She however, didn’t look back,

 

 

---

 

 

“Does Taeyeon seem different to you?” Tiffany asked Hyoyeon hushedly one day at lunch while Taeyeon stayed behind during Potions class to gain some extra credit. It’d been about three days since their meeting in the library and Tiffany couldn’t help but notice that her friend had been acting weirder than normal.

 

Hyoyeon shrugged her shoulders, too busy stuffing bread into to care about the words coming out of Tiffany’s mouth. “Beats me.”

 

“I’m serious Hyo,” Tiffany huffed, grabbing Hyoyeon’s shoulders and forcing the girl to look at her and not at her plate of food. “Taeyeon’s been quiet, and broody, and distant lately. It doesn’t seem like she’s getting much sleep either.”

 

Hyoyeon rolled her eyes at the girl. Tiffany could really be overprotective at times. “Sounds like regular teenage girl puberty stuff to me,” she brushed off Tiffany’s hand before returning back to her food. “Trust me, Taeyeon’s fine!” she insisted, stuffing a croissant into . 

 

Tiffany frowned, still not reassured. “But what about her nightmares? She had one last night too. She thrashed around all of last night. I only pretend not to notice because it’s clear she’s not ready to talk, but do you think we should do something? I think they’re getting worse. And with what Sooyoung found out, I’m worried for Taeyeon, Hyo.”

 

Hyoyeon sighed, putting down her fork. She sensed that the brunette was seriously worried for their friend.
 

“Look,” she exhaled, putting a hand on Tiffany’s shoulder. “Taeyeon is strong. She’s not about to just drop dead into a coma.”

Tiffany winced at the harsh words.

 

“Have a little faith in her, hm?” Hyoyeon asked. “If something were truly wrong, Taeyeon would tell us. Besides, they’re just nightmares. We all have them. I had one last night too,” Hyoyeon shuddered before muttering something about giant bleeding chocolate frogs. 

 

Tiffany sighed to herself. Maybe Hyoyeon was right. Maybe she was overreacting. After all, they were just nightmares, right? Hyoyeon was right. Everybody dreamed, right?

 

Right?

 

That night, Tiffany dreamt of the bright burning sun and of fire. She woke up in a pool of her sweat, but completely calm as if she’d just took a nap in one of the beloved beaches of her hometown in California. 

 

 

---

 

 

“Your nightmares have been persisting.”

 

Taeyeon whirled around, surprised at another presence in the otherwise empty Potions room. She caught brown inquisitive eyes, as her half finished Wideye potion bubbled in her cauldron. 

 

Jessica stepped into the classroom, not bothering to wait for an invite. Her eyes swept over the ingredients laid out on the table in front of the Taeyeon and the liquid in the cauldron. She must recognize the potion Taeyeon was brewing because her eyes suddenly fly to Taeyeon’s face with a small frown, specifically to the growing dark circles under her eyes .

 

“You haven’t been sleeping.” It wasn’t a question.

 

Silently letting out a huff, Taeyeon turned her back to the blonde and continued brewing her potion. “

 

What’s it to you?” she grumbled. Okay, not exactly language befitting her pureblood upbringing but Taeyeon could care less about decorum at the moment. The blonde always somehow brought out the worst in her without even trying.

 

Though she tried to focus on crushing her ingredients, she distinctly heard light footsteps walk up next to her. She was very aware of the presence beside her. 

 

When the blonde didn’t say anything, Taeyeon felt her patience run out. She turned to the girl in slight annoyance.

 

“What do you want?” she demanded. All Taeyeon wanted to do was to brew her Wideye potion, drink it, and hopefully it through her afternoon classes without falling asleep in any of them. Was that too much to ask?

 

“Your dreams,” Jessica started. “What are they about?”

 

Taeyeon eyed the girl, wondering if she was serious or not. When unwavered brown eyes stared back at her, Taeyeon couldn’t help but roll her eyes in exasperation. 

 

“Why do you care?” she asked, this time more curious about the girl’s persistence than annoyed at the girl’s stubbornness.

 

“I can help.”

 

Taeyeon turned to look at the girl, surprise coloring her face. She raised an eyebrow. 

 

“What do you mean you can help?” Her eyes flickered to her potion. “With what? Making a stronger Wideye potion? I’m fine, thanks.” Before she can turn around and reject the blonde completely, the girl spoke up again. 

 

“The nightmares. I can help you make them stop.”

 

This piqued Taeyeon’s interest. She turned around, fully facing Jessica this time. She narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms in suspicion. “How?”

 

“I’ve found Occlumency to be extremely helpful in blocking nightmares,” Jessica admitted, her voice unwavering, 

 

Taeyeon raised an eyebrow. Surprisingly, it wasn’t the fact that the blonde knew Occlumency that surprised her. “What, you have nightmares?”

 

The brown eyes seemed to harden. Where they were open before, there was now a sharp edge to them. A dark look crossed the girl’s face.

 

“Nearly every night.”

 

Oh. 

 

Well, what was Taeyeon supposed to say to that?

 

“What about?” she couldn’t help but blurt out. ‘I doubt she dreams of stupid forests like me. I wonder what plagues the great Jessica Jung’s mind at night.’

 

“Every night, I stand in a forest. There is always a girl with me.” 

 

Sharp brown eyes pierce into Taeyeon and for a second the girl wondered if Jessca was actually reading her mind. After all, that was exactly what her dreams were like. She already knew the girl was skilled at Legilimency, so it wasn’t a far stretch.

 

“And every time without fail, the girl dies.”

 

“Oh.” The sound escaped Taeyeon, quiet and surprised. This was perhaps the most open she’d ever seen the blonde. Yet, she wasn’t sure what to do with the information. Especially since her dreams were very similar. Only instead of a random girl, it was Jessica. And the one who killed her was always Taeyeon. Except, Taeyeon never managed to go through with it. All three nights, Taeyeon would wake before she could actually kill the blonde.

 

‘That’s probably a good sign, right?’

 

Brown eyes flickered up hesitantly. “Will it help?”

 

A shrug. “Can’t hurt to try,” Jessica responded. She nodded towards the half-brewed potion cooking in Taeyeon’s cauldron. “Better than not sleeping and then relying on Wideye potions to keep you awake the whole day.”

 

“Fair,” Taeyeon let out a lazy chuckle. She appraised the girl in front of her once more. “Why are you helping me?” she asked. The question had been burning on the tip of her tongue ever since Jessica offered her help. 

 

Jessica finally averted her eyes. To Taeyeon, she almost looked shy. 

 

“As I said, I know what it’s like to live with nightmares. Besides, is it so hard to believe I want to help a friend?”

 

Taeyeon blinked. 

 

‘A friend.’

 

She her lips in nervousness. “So, when do we start?” 

 

A small grin crossed Jessica’s lips. “Tonight.”

 

Taeyeon swallowed. This time it was her who looked away. “Great. See you then.” 

 

After a quick nod, Taeyeon turned back to her potion, her hands itching for a distraction. As she hurriedly stirred the potion, her ears picked up light footsteps hurrying away. 

 

‘That was weird.’ 

 

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An: What could be going on??? Next chapter: a glimpse into Taeyeon's life outside of Hogwarts as OT9 crash Taeyeon's house. :O