Drowning, Candle Burns, and a Lil Bit of Family History

The Girl From Mahoutokoro [Not an update sorry! ]

Taeyeon was running. 

 

That was the first thing she noticed. 

 

The second thing she noticed was the man in front of her. He was also running. 

 

He looked scared, as if he were running away from something rather than towards something. The way he scrambled over the stony path in desperation was akin to a prey running away with its life was at stake. He kept glancing back, looking over his shoulder to see if his pursuer was still behind them. Seeing as his panicked expression never lessened, it was safe to say that whatever they were running away from was still behind them. 

 

Not knowing what was going on, Taeyeon continued running after the man. After all, if there was something chasing them, it was safer to travel in groups than to split up. She did not want to find out what terrible thing was chasing them so she ran along. 

 

However, after increasing her pace, the man suddenly gasped and looked behind him, white with fear. It took a second for Taeyeon to gather her thoughts as his eyes met hers. 

 

It was then she realized with a jolt, that he was running away...from her. 

 

She was the pursuer. 

 

And it was then she realized the anger in her, like a pot of water, boiling angrily under the lid, threatening to spill over at any minute. 

 

She hated this man. 

 

But she was also embarrassed. Hurt. Betrayed. 

 

Before she could continue analyzing everything that was happening, she heard the sounds that gave away to a rushing river in front of them. She watched half in frustration and half in helplessness as the man got into a wooden rowboat and drifted down the river away from her. 

 

‘You are not getting away from me,’ she growled in anger before jumping into the river without even hesitating. As soon as she hit the water, a freezing pain immediately took over her entire body. The air was ripped violently from her lungs and she struggled to breathe, to resurface. 

 

Yet the entire time she was in pain, she did not forget her hatred and anger at the man. The icy currents of the river did little to quell her fiery fury. Instead, it seemed to only fuel her on even more. 

 

Unable to withstand the pain, she let out a bloodcurdling scream, muddled by the rushing of the water. 

 

Taeyeon gasped awake, sitting up violently. She clutched desperately at before realizing she could breathe. She wasn’t underwater. She wasn’t drowning. She was safe in her room at Hogwarts. Groaning, Taeyeon flopped back onto her bed, putting an arm over her eyes. 

 

She could feel the exhaustion seeping into her bones. It’d been a week since her first nightmare and unfortunately for her, they’ve persisted in tormenting her every night ever since. That meant it’d been a week since she’d gotten a good night’s worth of sleep. 

 

Taeyeon closed her eyes tiredly and thought back to the dream she just had. Her dreams often differed between two main themes. She was either in a creepy forest fighting the voices in her head or she was chasing after this man in an angry fit. She always woke up after jumping into the river though.  

 

Huffing, Taeyeon forcibly fought off the sleep in her eyes. She did not want to suffer through another nightmare. Despite it still being relatively early, she might as well get up. Sitting back up, she noticed that Tiffany and Hyoyeon were still sound asleep, undisturbed by her thrashing. It seemed that the silencing charm Jessica taught her worked after all. 

 

Speaking of the blonde Slytherin. 

 

They’d been meeting up regularly after dinner to practice Occlumency. Well, quote unquote Occlumency. 

 

The first couple of nights, they mostly spent just meditating, which was something Taeyeon scorned at, at first. But even she couldn’t deny that taking a few minutes just to reflect on the day helped a little, even if it didn’t ease the nightmares. 

 

They hadn’t done much practicing yet. Instead, Jessica was adamant that she read up about Occlumency and Legilmens before they did anything practical, which sounded reasonable. So, their “practice sessions” have mostly just been reading sessions in the library. 

 

The two would show up separately to the library. Sometimes Taeyeon would be the first to arrive, but most of the times, the blonde would be there before her. They had a table in the back corners of the library, hidden away from the rest of the study areas by dense bookshelves and hallways. Once there, they would just sit and read in silence for an hour or two. Neither would talk much. Taeyeon would pour over her books about Occlumency while Jessica read whatever interested her that day, usually some advanced book on charms or runes.  

 

Slipping into her day clothes, Taeyeon quietly made her way out of the Gryffindor common rooms into the Great Hall. There were only a few other students in the hall given the early hour. To her surprise, one of the students that was awake happened to be Jessica. It made sense, now that Taeyeon thought about it. After all, the blonde had admitted to suffering from her own series of nightmares as well. She briefly wondered if Jessica had one last night too. 

 

The Slytherin hadn’t spotted her yet, her head heavily buried in a thick tome of sorts. As Taeyeon sat down at the Gryffindor table, she made sure to choose a seat that allowed her to keep an eye on the girl. 

 

They hadn’t discussed the contents of her dreams yet and Taeyeon was grateful. After all, there were a couple of times she dreamed of killing the blonde. She couldn’t imagine revealing that information would be fruitful for their relationship at all - whatever their relationship was. 

 

‘I guess we’re considered friends of sorts.’ 

 

Taeyeon continued to watch the blonde in curiosity as she cut at her sausages absentmindedly. 

 

‘What does she do for fun besides read? How is she so skilled in magic? We’re the same age. How can there be such a big difference?’ 

 

She grunted silently as her sausages were being stubborn and would not cut smoothly. Taeyeon felt her grip on the knife tighten.

 

‘What would it feel like if I were to stab her with this-’

 

Taeyeon shook her head, viscerally alarmed at her thoughts. She stared at the knife in her hand before dropping it like it’d burned her. She immediately tried to put a lid on the anger threatening to boil over her. It would overtake her every now and then whenever she thought of the blonde - which wasn’t that often. Thankfully, she’d always been able to reel it in.

 

‘I did not just think that. Nope. I do not want to stab her. I do not want to kill her! What the bloody hell!’ 

 

No longer trusting herself with the knife, she pushed it away and resorted to just using her fork. Guess she’ll just have to be a bit barbaric and bite her sausages like a savage that never learned proper table manners today. Her father would have no doubt been horrified to see her eat like an animal but she was too tired to care at the moment. 

 

She was too deep in her thoughts to notice that the Great Hall had filled up much more by now and that Tiffany and Hyoyeon were making their way over. 

 

“Good morning,” Tiffany greeted cheerfully after taking a second to look over her friend. She’d noticed the growing dark circles under her friend’s eyes however, she could sense Taeyeon’s reluctance to talk about it so she decided to brush off the topic until later. She couldn’t however, stop the pit of worry growing in her stomach. 

 

“Good morning,” Taeyeon gulped down a choked throat after settling from the surprise. She hadn’t seen them walk in. She eyed them both for a minute before dropping her gaze to her plate. They still had no idea that her nightmares had been continuing and she felt guilty about hiding it from them. However, it was not like they could do anything to help her and she didn’t want them to worry more than they already did. 

 

‘Act normal, Kim Taeyeon. You don’t want Tiffany to worry more do you?’ 

 

“Yer up early,” Hyoyeon grunted, her voice thick with sleep as she practically plopped her head onto the table, ignoring the food around her. 

 

“I’ve always been an early riser,” Taeyeon retorted, trying to focus on the situation at hand and not what was bothering her earlier. However, her statement was a lie and from the looks that Hyoyeon and Tiffany both gave her unsubtly, they both knew that too but chose not to bring it up. Instead, Taeyeon deflected the subject.

 

“Why do you look like you got into your mum’s makeup cabinet for the first time and decided to experiment with eyeshadow?”

 

Hyoyeon snorted in laughter before re-adjusting her head’s position on the table. “You should look in the mirror, you black kettle,” she mumbled, eyes closed, desperately trying to get some sleep. 

 

Taeyeon looked to Tiffany in confusion at the insult. The redhead only rolled her eyes in exasperation before explaining.

 

“She’s referring to the saying ‘the pot calling the kettle black,’” said Tiffany. “She just called you a hypocrite.”

 

Taeyeon scoffed, only slightly amused by Hyoyeon’s antics. Still, she was grateful because it made things feel normal once again. It was a wonder anyone could ever understand the girl and was glad her best friend was there to translate. 

 

“But that doesn’t answer the question, Hyo,” Tiffany pointed out, looking over Taeyeon to Hyoyeon who grunted. She mumbled something under her breath but neither witch caught it. 

 

“What?” Taeyeon asked, prompting Hyoyeon to repeat her answer. 

 

“I was up late playing exploding snaps with Sunny,” Hyoyeon lifted her head to grumble out before dropping it back onto the table in exhaustion. The other two only grinned at their friend in amusement.  

 

Tiffany patted the girl’s shoulder. “Yeah, I would find a way to wake up. Don’t want you falling asleep during Transfigurations, do we? At least you did your essay on animagi, right?”

 

Hyoyeon shot up in her seat. “That was due today?” she asked in alarm, eyes wide like an owl’s. 

 

Tiffany raised an amused eyebrow. “Um yes? I remember reminding you about it two days ago too.”

 

“Bloody bullocks!” Hyoyeon exclaimed, slapping both hands onto the table forcefully as she recalled the instance. She was utterly screwed! This would be her third offense and they were only three months into the school year. She looked to her friends pitifully. “Do you think I could-” 

 

Tiffany sighed as Hyoyeon pulled out her puppy eyes. “No, you cannot copy our essays,” Tiffany stated firmly. When Hyoyeon switched the target of her puppy eyes to Taeyeon, the girl only offered a half-hearted shrug. 

 

“Sorry, but you heard the boss,” Taeyeon replied patting the girl on the shoulder pitifully. 

 

Groaning, Hyoyeon buried her face into her arms. “I should just skip today’s class altogether then.”

 

“I don’t see how that’s really going to help,” Tiffany pointed out uneasily. 

 

“Yeah, unless you have a valid excuse, you’re only going to get double the punishment,” agreed Taeyeon. 

 

Hyoyeon perked up. “Wait, that’s it!” she exclaimed, looking excitedly at her friends. 

 

Tiffany noticed the mischief shining in the girl’s eyes and immediately had a bad feeling about all of this. “What is?” she asked, unsure if she actually wanted an answer. 

 

“A valid excuse!” she blurted out. “I just need a valid excuse.”

 

The two Gyrffindors stared at each other helplessly before turning back to their seemingly crazy friend.
 

“I’m lost,” Tiffany stated. 

 

“Same,” Taeyeon agreed. 

 

“I just need to hex myself. Or jinx myself. Anything really, just to get me into the infirmary and away from classes for the day!” Hyoyeon explained in an animated rush of words. 

 

“Yeah no,” Tiffany shut down the idea immediately. “Only you would come up with the idea of hexing yourself to get yourself out of class. No one else is nearly as stupid. Or as reckless.”

 

“And I for one, agree with Tiffany,” Taeyeon chimed in, always the voice of reason among the three. 

 

“Oh come on!” Hyoyeon protested. “You always agree with Tiffany. That doesn’t count,” the girl dismissed, ignoring the scandalous look Taeyeon shot her way. “It’s genius! Why have I never thought about it before?” Hyoyeon questioned as she pulled out her wand. 

 

Tiffany’s eyes widened as Hyoyeon pointed it at herself. Her hands lunged to grab at it. 

 

“No!” 

 

Hyoyeon was halfway through uttering the Bat Bogey Hex on herself, when Taeyeon intervened. 

 

“Expelliarmus!” 

 

Hyoyeon’s wand flew out of her grasp and was quickly nabbed out of the air by Tiffany who sent Taeyeon an appreciative nod. 

 

“Nice reflexes, Tae.”

 

Taeyeon merely beamed back before realizing with a quick scan around the room that they had caught the attention of practically every student and professor in the Great Hall. She gulped before stowing away her wand quickly. 

 

She couldn’t help but flicker her gaze towards the Slytherin table and fought back the weird feeling of seeing Jessica still completely immersed in her book, unaware of the rest of the world. 

 

‘What can she be reading that she is so immersed? It can’t be that interesting, surely.’ 

 

Taeyeon’s thoughts were interrupted by a familiar disapproving Scottish drawl. 

 

“While I am sure Professor Flitwick would be delighted at seeing such a perfect execution of the disarming spell, I am unfortunately going to have to take away ten points from Gryffindor, each. Do make sure that the next time you practice such spells, it is within a sufficiently safe environment. Am I clear?” Professor McGonagall asked, stressing the “s” sounds as she came up from behind them. 

 

The three Gryffindors froze and turned around to see their headmistress. They all nodded acquiescently, knowing better than to go against the battle hardened witch. 

 

“Good,” McGonagall stated satisfied before pulling out a letter and offering it to Taeyeon. “I believe this is yours Ms. Kim.” When Taeyeon gave her a confused look, she clarified, “From your father.”

 

“Thank you, Professor,” Taeyeon nodded before taking the scroll.

 

Before taking her leave, McGonagall made sure to linger her gaze slightly on Hyoyeon. “And be sure to make it to your classes today, hm? I better hope nothing should happen,” she said insinuatingly. The message, though unspoken, was clear as day. 

 

Hyoyeon gulped. She’d obviously been caught. There was no way she would be getting out of classes today scott free.  “Of course, Professor,” she mumbled demurely, bowing her head, ashamed at being caught. 

 

McGonagall nodded once more in satisfaction. “Good day then,” she bid them farewell in that same curt, no nonsense tone of hers before leaving the Great Hall, her robes swishing elegantly behind her. 

 

Hyoyeon turned to her friends in horror as McGonagall left. 

 

“How did she know?” she half whispered. 

 

Tiffany and Taeyeon merely laughed at their friend’s predicament. They had long ago accepted the fact that McGonagall simply knew everything and they didn’t question it. 

 

“So, what’s the letter about?” Tiffany asked, sliding in impossibly close to Taeyeon so that her breath hitched. The sudden proximity nearly sent Taeyeon into a heart attack. 

 

“Not sure,” Taeyeon forced her voice to remain steady as she ignored the warmth Tiffany emitted. She unfolded the parchment with shaky but quick hands and read it.

 

“We’ve got the meeting,” she breathed out in realization. “With Elias Clarke,” she clarified, before looking up at Hyoyeon and Tiffany. “We’re meeting him at the Kim manor. We’ll have to travel via floo powder from McGonagall’s office since that’s the only way out of this castle. My father’s been in contact with McGonagall so everything’s all set up already.”

 

“Oooh, sounds exciting,” Tiffany hummed, shifting even closer causing Taeyeon’s poor heart to beat into overdrive. She tried her hardest to ignore the weight of the girl pressed against her side and the girl’s breath hitting her neck. 

 

‘Bloody hell, she’s breathing down my neck!’ Taeyeon panicked, lamenting, not for the first time since she became friends with Tiffany, her sensitive neck. 'Calm Taeyeon. Calm.'

Her inner mediations were not working. Perhaps she should consult the blonde once more about the effectiveness of her teachings. However, just thinking about the blonde rared up emotions she did not want to feel so she immediately put a stop to all thoughts about Jessica and concentrated on the present. 

 

'Right, still brushed up against Tiffany. Perfect. Right back to the reason I was panicking in the first place.' 

 

“When is the meeting?” Tiffany asked curiously, not minding the closeness between her and Taeyeon. 

 

“You have a manor!?” Hyoyeon interjected rather rambunctiously instead because priorities. “How rich are you?” she asked loudly causing many heads to turn their way. 

 

“Tonight after dinner,” Taeyeon responded gently to Tiffany first, ignoring Hyoyeon’s impatient look. “But father wants me to bring all of you to dinner.” She paused awkwardly. “He wants to meet my friends,” she responded rather nervously.

 

Her father had never met any of her friends before and though she knew he wasn’t like many of the other pure-bloods in the sense that he wasn’t as narrow-minded and prejudiced against...lesser blood wizards and witches, he could be quite...intense. 

 

Asian households and their sense of elitism, you know how it is. The fact that the Kims were magical didn’t matter, if not even boosted the sentiment. 

 

“And no, I’m not rich,” Taeyeon answered, finally addressing the pouting blonde. She sniffed sensitively. “We’re just comfortable,” she responded, shifting slightly like she always did whenever her family status became the topic of discussion. 

 

Her family background had always been a touchy subject. It was the cause of much envy and adolescent jealousy when she first came to Hogwarts and the sentiment had only continued though it had subsided noticeably since her first term. 

 

“OMG!” Tiffany squealed, causing both Taeyeon and Hyoyeon to wince involuntarily at the frequency. “We get to see your house? And your bedroom and where you grew up! Are there any baby pics? I’m sure you looked absolutely adorable when you were a baby,” Tiffany cooed, now noticeably excited, and grabbed Taeyeon’s cheeks before squishing them. 

 

Hyoyeon laughed as Tiffany continued to manhandle the older girl. 

 

“Stoooop,” Taeyeon protested weakly, pretending to be grumpy when in reality she relished in the way Tiffany showed her so much affection. 

 

In the distance, the clock tower chimed, signaling the start of classes soon. 

 

“Well,” Tiffany straightened, finally releasing Taeyeon’s cheeks as she gathered her things. “We should tell the others after class.”

 

“Field Trip!” Hyoyeon whooped as she followed the two girls to class. 

 

“Let’s just hope you don’t get detention for tonight,” Tiffany commented, smiling wickedly at Hyoyeon. “You would miss all the fun.”

 

“What do you mean?” Hyoyeon asked, not having a clue what Tiffany was referring to. 

 

Tiffany raised a knowing eyebrow. “Your essay?” she reminded. “Did you forget?” 

 

“Oh bloody hell!” Hyoyeon cried out, completely having forgotten her previous dilemma.

 

“You need a remembrall,” Tiffany laughed. “We literally talked about this like five minutes ago.”

 

“Those are bloody useless,” Taeyeon inputted her opinion, feeling much better thanks to her friends’ antics than she did when she first woke up. “They don’t actually tell you what you’ve forgotten, only that you’ve forgotten something, so it’s absolutely pointless. If she actually got one, it would just be red all the time.”

 

“Hey!” Hyoyeon protested indignantly, puffing her chest out as Tiffany laughed into the back of her hand at her friend’s expense. 

 

“Come on,” Tiffany goaded, dragging Hyoyeon by the arm to class, not unlike a mother dragging an unwilling child to the doctor’s office. 

 

As Taeyeon followed them out of the Great Hall, she did one last sweep of the people inside and was not surprised though a saddened - no, not exactly saddened either, right? - when she noticed that the blonde Slytherin was already gone. 


 

 


 

 

“Today, we will be learning the Freezing Spell,” Professor Potter stated as he began his class. “It is a very important and useful spell especially in dueling situations. It can freeze your opponent in place, trapping them. It can also freeze water, extinguish fires, and cool off Fire Dwelling Salamanders.”

 

He looked around the room with a knowing grin. “You may also expect to go over this spell in Charms this year as it is indeed classified as a charm. Therefore, you should expect this spell to definitely be on your exams this year, so do pay attention now,” Professor Potter explained to the Slytherins and Hufflepuffs. 

 

He then pulled up his right sleeve and brandished his wand in a pose not so different from a conductor’s. He faced a small burning fire set up in the middle of his desk. 

 

“Watch closely,” he advised as he went through the spell motion and chanted the incantation. 

 

‘Glacius.’ Freezing cold air blasted from the end of his wand towards the fire, immediately extinguishing it, leaving a frozen pile of ice in the middle of the table. 

 

A murmur went through the room as students clambered over their desks to see the results. Professor Potter than turned towards his class.

 

“Now you try.” He flicked his left arm and a candle with a small flame appeared in front of very student. “First, we will practice extinguishing the candle. Then, if time permits, we will practice using the spell in a duel. Off you go now.” As soon as he was done giving instructions, the students eagerly pulled out their wands and went to work. 

 

“This shouldn’t be too hard,” Yuri grinned at the sleepy Jessica next to her before trying out the charm. ‘Glacius.’

 

There was a small burst of air that blew out the candle for only a second before it re-ignited. Jessica let a wry smile from where she was resting her head on the table. Last night she had a particularly bad nightmare and was now suffering the after effects of little sleep. Still, she tried her best to stay awake. 

 

“Do you have a scarf I can borrow? It feels colder in here already,” she joked lazily, not bothering to lift her head or make any attempt to even reach for her wand. 

 

“Oh shove off,” Yuri nudged the girl playfully with her elbow. She relit her candle and pointed her wand at it. 

 

‘Glacius,’ she tried again. The result was very much the same this time except the candle remained unlit. 

 

“That’s progress!” Yuri grinned contently.

 

“How is it that you can duel like a fifth year yet you can’t perform a single freezing charm?” Jessica wondered out loud, making sure to put in the right amount of sarcasm lest she offended her friend. “Isn’t charms your favorite class too?”

 

Yuri scoffed, rolling her eyes in good humor. “We can’t all be child prodigies,” she joked before trying the charm again. This time, there was a little bit of ice formation on the candle before it melted in the hot wax. 

 

“See?” Yuri raised her eyebrow proudly. “Improvement. At least I’m not like Macorey over there.” 

 

They turned to see their fellow third year Slytherin attempting the charm, only to fail and secretly blow out the candle when he thought no one else was looking. The two girls shared a quick laugh under their breath at the sight,. 

 

“He’s lucky we take this class with the Hufflepuffs. The Gryffindors and Ravenclaws would definitely tease the bloody hell out of him,” Yuri commented. 

 

“I think our own house gives him enough crap already,” Jessica hummed in agreement as they both refocused on their own candles. 

 

“So let’s see you try then,” Yuri nudged the blonde Slytherin. 

 

Sighing lethargically, Jessica sat up in her seat and leaned forward toward the candle, not even bothering to take out her wand. She then blew at the candle. 

 

“What? How is that any better than Macor-” Yuri began to protest before she realized that unlike what she’d expected, the entire candle became encased in ice. 

 

Yuri gaped at her friend. “What? How did-You didn’t even-There was no-” she fumbled for words before giving up with a sigh. “You know what? I’m not even that surprised anymore,” she remarked as Jessica let a smirk play on her lips.

 

She did not bother telling Yuri that this was something she could do by the time she was nine years old. If she wanted to challenge herself, she could even freeze the rest of the candle while keeping the flame still alive inside. That was more third year Mahoutokoro magic. 

 

“How are you two doing?” Yuri asked the two Hufflepuffs in front of them. 

 

Sunny turned around and beamed at the two Slytherins, revealing her candle. The top half was entirely encased in ice. “Got it on my second try,” Sunny grinned with a wink. 

 

Yuri pouted at being bested before turning to the other Hufflepuff girl. If her heart skipped a beat at the sight of the girl, she refused to acknowledge it. 

 

“And you?” she asked. However, it did not seem that Yoona heard her. The girl was busy staring at the candle with an unreadable expression. 

 

“Uh, are you okay?” Yuri tapped the girl’s shoulder when Yoona was responseless. Yoona flinched immediately upon the touch before whirling around in her seat towards Yuri. 

 

“What? I’m okay. Just thinking,” Yoona grinned uneasily. It was obvious she was hiding something. 

 

“Okay,” Yuri frowned, having picked up on the unusual behaviour but she decided not to comment about it. Yoona gave them both one more forced smile before turning back around and staring at the candle. 

 

Yuri turned to look at Jessica for help who only shrugged in response. Not knowing what else to do, Yuri went back to practicing her own charm. 

 

Jessica watched the whole interaction with a small frown. She glanced at Sunny and noticed that the girl was looking at Yoona with concern. Whatever was up with Yoona, it seemed that her childhood friend had some sort of idea. 

 

The class went by as Yuri continued to goof off, ignoring the task at hand. Jessica however, noticed that Yoona did not touch her wand or attempt the freezing spell even once the entire time. Instead, she just sat there and stared into the tiny flame like it held all the answers to the world. 

 

“Alright class, wands down. We have around ten minutes left,” Professor Potter interrupted. “Why don’t we try using the Freezing Charm in a duel-like setting then? I think you’ve all managed to grasp it pretty well, except you Mr. Macorey. Yours could use a bit of work,” Potter grinned only teasingly, causing the class to laugh as the boy shrunk into himself. 

 

“Why don’t we have…” Potter scanned the classroom. His eyes landed for a moment on Jessica but moved on after a quick deliberation. 

 

Jessica snorted to herself. ‘He must’ve heard about what happened during Charms. I doubt any of my teachers would be calling me up to demonstrate anytime soon.’ 

 

“Ms. Lee and Mr. Goyle, please come up to the front,” Potter called out. Jessica turned to look at Ulther Goyle, who although was only thirteen, had the body of a small wall and often talked like one too. 

 

“Be careful of him,” Yuri muttered to Sunny, gazing darkly at Goyle. “He’s a nasty little git.” Having been in the same house with him for three years now, Yuri knew just how...questionable his actions were. Though to be fair, she didn’t have a very bright past either. 

 

“I know,” Sunny replied under her breath as her face darkened. Her hair changed to a dark black to match her seriousness. “I heard he bullied a couple of first year Puffs a few days ago. You can bet he’ll get what he deserves,” she swore with a small growl before moving up to the front. 

 

“Alright I want a fair game,” Potter said as the two students faced each other. He gave Goyle a meaningful glance but the boy was too busy glaring at the shorter Hufflepuff. “First to freeze their opponent in place for more than three seconds wins. Ready, set, go!” Potter jumped back as the practice duel began. 

 

Sunny jumped back also, increasing the distance between her and Goyle as Goyle launched into a Full Body-Bind Curse. Sunny conjured up a shield just in time, deflecting the spell, before countering. 

 

‘Aqua Eructo!’ Sunny cast a water making spell. The spell hit Goyle head on, dousing him in cold water, but not doing much else. 

 

“Pffft, thanks for the shower,” Goyle taunted, highly amused that his opponent would use such a harmless spell in a duel. "Or were you just thirsty?" 

 

Sunny smirked, not at all scared despite the boy being much bigger than her tiny frame. “I thought you could use a shower. I could smell you from all the way across the classroom,” she sneered back. 

 

Angered, Goyle growled before launching forward in an attack. However, Sunny was prepared. 

 

‘Glacius!’ she quickly casted the freezing spell and thanks to him already being wet, the spell caught on perfectly, freezing his entire lower half to the floor expertly. 

 

“What the-” he flailed about trying to regain his balance. He pointed his wand at the ice, hoping to get himself out of the ice, but Sunny was one step ahead. 

 

‘Expelliarmus!’ In a perfect execution of the disarming charm they learned just a few weeks ago, she disarmed Goyle leaving him wandless and frozen to the ground.

 

“Sorry, but I don’t trust you not accidentally burning yourself when you cast incendio trying to get out,” Sunny snarked victoriously. 

 

Goyle’s nose flared in anger, though it was undermined by the fact that he was turning pale from the cold. “Why you filthy-”

 

“Alright,” Professor Potter chose that moment to step in. He grinned at Sunny. “Excellent strategy Ms. Lee. Dousing your opponent with water makes it easier for the freezing spell to take effect. Ten points to Gryffindor for excellent use of tactics,” Potter beamed. “And don’t think I didn’t see that perfect disarming charm at the end. I’ve found that I’ve taken quite a liking to that spell myself.” His eyes twinkled in delight as he subtly referenced the days where all he could do was a disarming charm. 

 

Having heard stories about his time at Hogwarts, Jessica couldn’t help but briefly wonder if Professor Potter purposefully chose Goyle to face Sunny knowing that Sunny would come out victorious. From what she’d heard, Goyle’s father was a to Professor Potter in his school year. But surely Professor Potter wasn’t that petty, right? Jessica hid an amused smile underneath her robe sleeve. Either way, it provided entertainment. 

 

Professor Potter than turned and quickly freed Goyle from where he was encased in an ice prison. He paid little mind as the boy fell down ungracefully and instead turned towards the rest of class, already scanning for his next volunteers. 

 

His eyes landed on a particular Slytherin. 

 

“Ms. Kwon, if you would please come up.” He tilted her head slightly in her direction before continuing to scan the classroom for her opponent. 

 

As Yuri stood up, Jessica couldn’t help but comment. “But you haven’t actually gotten the charm to work yet,” Jessica stated glancing at the unfrozen candle. Instead of practicing in the past thirty minutes, the girl had instead goofed off, alternating between playing with the hot wax and staring forlornly at Yoona’s back. 

 

(Oh Jessica knew what was up. She had to be blind to not be privy to Yuri’s not-so-secret crush on the Hufflepuff girl. She was just too nice of a friend to say anything. Yet.)

 

“Don’t worry,” Yuri grinned, shooting her friend a confident look. “I got this.” She walked up the front of the classroom and waited for Professor Potter to choose her opponent. 

 

The girl scanned her classmates in a similar fashion. 

 

‘As long as it’s not Jessica, I’ll be-’

 

“Ms. Im, why don’t you join Ms. Kwon up here,” Potter finally decided. 

 

Yuri’s, Yoona’s, Jessica’s, and Sunny’s eyes all widened, half in surprise and half in worry. 

 

They all turned to look at the Hufflepuff with concern. The poor girl seemed to have gone completely pale at the sound of her name. 

 

‘This was quite cruel of Professor Potter,’ Jessica thought to herself as Yoona shakily stood up. It was obvious the girl hadn’t even attempted to practice the spell and yet he was sending her up there to face Yuri. 

 

‘There was no way he hadn’t caught onto Yoona’s weird behavior either. The girl is usually always studious in class.’ Jessica frowned as Yoona made her way up to the front. Whatever was about to happen, she had a bad feeling about it. And judging from how hard Sunny was biting her lower lip, she was not the only one worried. 

 

Yuri tried to meet Yoona’s gaze as the girl walked up, however the Hufflepuff seemed determined to keep her gaze on the ground. Instead, Yuri turned to look at Professor Potter, hoping he could read the plead in her eyes to call it off or choose someone else. However, the man seemed to be completely oblivious. 

 

He patted both girls on the back. “I want a fair duel, yeah?”he said before he stepped back to give them some more space. 

 

“Uh,” Yuri opened , feeling like she had to say something. Yoona did not look well. “Are you...okay?” she asked hesitantly. 

 

Yoona responded with a weak nod. “It’s fine.” Her reply was barely audible. 

 

“Okay then, on your marks,” Professor Potter prompted. 

 

Yuri stared at Yoona with furrowed eyebrows, not making a move to prepare herself. She didn’t want to duel Yoona, not when she was looking like that. However, she couldn’t just not duel either. She was absolutely conflicted. Before she could decide however, Potter announced the beginning of the match. 

 

“Go!”

 

Yuri raised her wand hesitantly and was relieved to see Yoona mirror her movement. At least now the girl was looking at her and not at the ground, though she could see from Yoona's eyes that she was still worried about something. 

 

Wanting to get this over with quickly, Yuri decided to act first. 

 

‘Stupefy!’ Red sparks flew from her wand but Yoona dodged it easily. 

 

‘Okay, good. She doesn’t seem as terrified as she was at the beginning,’ Yuri thought, though the girl had yet to counter. Instead of waiting too long, Yuri cast a Jelly Legs Jinx at the girl. 

 

‘Locomotor Wibbly!’

 

‘Protego!’

 

Yoona actively defended against her advancements and Yuri was grateful that the girl seemed to regain her spirits as the duel went on. They continued like that, switching between offensive and defensive between the two when Yuri decided they’d wasted enough time and decided to get on with the main goal of the duel. 

 

‘Glacius!’ Yuri attempted to freeze the girl’s feet however Yoona was quick to cast a shield charm. Jessica was mostly just surprised from her seat in the back that Yuri could even cast the freezing charm to that degree despite having seen the girl’s first few attempts. 

 

The Hufflepuff retaliated by casting the freezing charm as well, except she aimed for the floor underneath Yuri’s feet causing her to slip and fall onto her back. 

 

‘Glacius!’ Yoona casted once more, this time towards the body of the girl. 

 

Yuri’s eyes widened as the spell came at her. Thinking quickly, she lifted her wand, her body still sprawled out on the ground where she fell, and casted the fire making spell. 

 

‘Incendio!’ 

 

Red hot flames shot out of her wand, meeting the freezing charm in the middle. The two spells battled it out and Yuri was sure it was going to end in a tie however, as soon as she performed the spell, Yoona seemed to lose all control. 

 

The flames quickly overtook the freezing spell and hurtled towards the white as a sheet Hufflepuff. 

 

“NO!” Yoona screamed, holding both her arms in front of her face to shield herself from the fire. 

 

Yuri watched in horror as the firestorm continued to fly towards a defenseless Yoona. She tried to counter her own spell but it was too late. She could see Professor Potter also reacting from her peripheral but she was too focused on the sight in front of her. 

 

The flames enveloped Yoona completely and Yuri had never felt more terrified in her life. 

 

‘I just BURNED MY CRUSH TO A CRISP! Sunny is going TO KILL ME! I’M going to kill ME!’

 

Yuri’s chest heaved up and down, on the brink of a panic attack when the flames died away and Yoona was…

 

She was absolutely fine. 

 

Save for a few charred edges on her clothes. 

 

The girl was unharmed. 

 

Yuri blinked, just to make sure she was seeing things correctly. So she hadn’t accidentally turned her crush into a potato crisp? That was good. 

 

She took a deep breath. 

 

However, while the girl was physically unharmed, Yoona didn’t look okay. Her face was as pale as a ghost and she seemed to be on the verge of her own panic attack. Her eyes were closed and it looked like she was trying very hard to fight back demons. The girl was trembling in fright. 

 

Yuri stood up carefully. She approached Yoona like how one would an injured and frightened critter. 

 

“Y-Yoona,” Yuri called out, cursing at the tremble in her own voice. She had to be strong, for Yoona. “Are you okay?” she asked, her voice much more even this time. 

 

The girl shook her head, though she kept her eyes desperately closed. “I’m fine. I’m fine,” she breathed, her chest heaving with each breath. 

 

Yuri heard a chair scrape against the floor as a student stood up in haste and hurrying footsteps. Sunny appeared from her peripheral and pulled Yoona towards her. She glanced at Professor Potter who watched the scene unfold with a rather lost and helpless expression. 

 

“Professor, can I-”

 

That seemed to shake him out of his stupor. “Yes, yes.” He cleared his throat. “Take her to Madam Pomfrey.”

 

Sunny quickly rushed Yoona away, keeping her friend close as she whispered soothingly into her ear.

 

Yuri watched them go with a growing guilt. She also turned towards Professor Potter. “Can I also…”

 

Professor Potter nodded quickly. “Yes of course. Um.” He looked up to address the rest of the class. “Class dismissed,” he announced. Yuri wasted no time and quickly bounded towards the exit, not even bothering to pick up her stuff. She knew Jessica would take care of it. 

 

Just as she expected, Yuri soon hear a pair of hurrying footsteps follow her towards the infirmary and a familiar blonde head appeared in her peripheral. 

 

“What happened?” Jessica gasped out. 

 

“I don’t know,” came Yuri’s helpless reply. After that, the two made their way wordlessly towards the infirmary. 

 

Yuri pushed open the doors forcefully and they ricocheted off the walls rather loudly, wincing as she knew Madam Pomfrey was going to reprimand her for that. 

 

“This is an infirmary!” came the familiar, peeved voice of the Madame Healer. “Not a circus. How am I supposed to take care of these students with you running about and making a ruckus?” 

 

“Sorry Madam Pomfrey,” Yuri muttered, looking sheepish though her feet bounced impatiently. She needed to make sure Yoona was okay. “I just want to see my friend.”

 

Madam Pomfrey tilted her chin up and shot them a displeased look but let them through anyways. “I better hear no more loud noises from you, otherwise I’m kicking you out!”

 

“Of course!” Yuri agreed already heading towards the bed where Yoona was currently sitting in. Both Sunny and Yuri turned to greet the two Slytherins as they approached, halting their conversation for the time being.

 

“Are you feeling alright?” Yuri asked immediately, as soon as they got to the bed. 

 

Yoona shot them both a small smile. Though she was still rather pale, she looked much better than she did a couple of minutes ago in class. 

 

“Yes. Sorry about that,” Yoona apologized lightly before averting her eyes to her hands where they gripped the bed sheets tightly.  

 

“What...happened?”Yuri asked slowly, not wanting to invade the girl’s privacy but also desperately needing to know what was bothering the girl. She'd never really felt this much concern for someone before, not even Jessica, and it was scaring Yuri. 

 

Yoona gave another small smile, though her gaze stayed rooted at her hands. 

 

“It’s nothing really,” she said, however the slight tremble in her voice gave away the fact that she was understating things. Yoona took a deep breath before finally admitting. 

 

“I’m just...a little afraid of fire, is all.”

 

“Oh,” Yuri rocked on to the back of her heels at the revelation. The vulnerability in Yoona’s voice gave away that it wasn’t just the typical fear of fire, but she knew better than to push it. 

 

(Especially if just a small candle fire was able to trigger the girl.)

 

“Sorry,” she muttered instead. “I didn’t know.” Though she knew technically it wasn’t her fault because she didn’t know, she still felt bad since she was the one who casted incendio. 

 

Yoona shook her head ruefully. “Don’t apologize,” she said kindly. “You didn’t know. And it was a duel.” She sighed and looked up briefly before dropping her gaze once more. “I was never really fond of fire,” she started to explain before backtracking. “No, that’s not entirely true either.” 

 

She took another deep breath before trying again. 

 

“When I was young, I was fascinated by fire. My parents often told me not to play with fire, as most good parents do,” she added in humorously and the three girls were glad to her feeling better to add in their own laughter. 

 

“However, I rarely listened.” Yoona grinned and there was a flash of mischievousness before it quickly disappeared. “Matches. Lighters. Candles. I would play with them all without a care in the world. I used to spend hours during the winter, just sitting by the fireplace, watching the embers dancing around.” Yoona smiled nostalgically as she recalled her childhood before the smile got tinted with something darker, something heavier. 

 

“However, I quickly learned that, as beautiful - and necessary - as fire was, it was also extremely dangerous.” Yoona took another deep breath. Her fingers fiddled with the bedsheets as she continued her story. 

 

“There was an accident,” Yoona said cautiously, sounding out each word slowly. “A small candle flame unattended to. That was all it took to burn half the apartment down.” 

 

The memory was obviously painful for Yoona to recount, if the how white her knuckles were turning were any indication, however the girl made sure to school her face into one that didn’t give much away. Tense shoulders and wrinkled bed sheets were the only indications of the girl’s internal struggles. 

 

Yoona closed her eyes, inhaling deeply. “When the fire happened, I was still inside the apartment. Both of my parents were shouting my name, but I couldn’t hear them. I was too mesmerized by the fire.” She let out a pained chuckle. This time, none of the other girls laughed along. 

 

“Even though I was surrounded by fire, even though I should’ve been burned alive on all accounts,” Yoona breathed out slowly, opening her eyes. “I was fine. The fire, for some reason, didn’t hurt me.” Her expression darked once more as her voice dropped to a pained, lower octave. 

 

“But it hurt my parents,” she stated grimly. “My mother had run back inside to grab me. In doing so, she was burned. Badly.” Yoona seemed to be glaring into space now. “And for what? To save me, who couldn’t even get hurt by fire.” The anger radiated from the Hufflepuff now. “If only I wasn’t so stupid! If only I had listened to my parents. If only I weren't so obsessed with fire, my mother might not be scarred for the rest of her life.”

 

Finally, that seemed to be the breaking point, and Yoona broke into tears. She curled up, sobbing into her arms and knees. 

 

Sunny immediately stepped forward and rubbed the girl’s back in soothing motions. “Shhh, let it all out,” Sunny cooed in a comforting voice. “Cry it all out, you’ll feel better afterwards. But do understand that this wasn’t your fault.”

 

“It is!” Yoona wailed into her knees, hot tears falling down her cheeks. “It is my fault! If only I’d-Then she wouldn’t be-And father wouldn’t have-” The girl hiccupped through her sentences, unable to finish a single one. 

 

“It isn’t your fault,” Yuri asserted, placing a reassuring hand on Yoona’s shin. “You didn’t know any better. You can’t blame yourself for this.”

 

“I should’ve known better,” Yoona growled, looking up for the first time since her outburst, though it was to send Yuri a reproachful glare. “Because of me, she left! She hated me!” Yoona screamed in self-agony and deprication. “She couldn’t bear the sight of herself nor me so she left! I was a horrible reminder of a mistake. She left me and my father alone! Do you have any idea what it’s like to grow up with only one parent? To drive a parent away? To hurt,” Yoona growled. “Your parent?!” she seethed.  

 

Yuri’s face darkened. It was as if all the light had been into the shadows. And when she responded, the gravity of her voice sent chills down three girls backs. 

 

“I do.” 

 

The implication of the two words was enough to send the rest of the girls into a tense silence. The only sound that could be heard was Yoona’s panting from her outburst along with the occasional sniffle and hiccup. 

 

Yuri and Yoona were locked in an intense glaring contest. It was clear that neither would back down anytime soon, since they were both equally stubborn, leaving Jessica and Sunny to wait awkwardly on the sidelines for their friends to stop glaring - cough eyeing cough - each other. Finally, after what seemed like a whole minute, Yoona huffed and relaxed, curling back into herself as she wrapped her arms around her knees, hugging them close to her chest. 

 

“I’m honestly fine guys,” she tried to brush off her condition. “This little phobia never really bothered me.” She winced. “And I'm over what happened with my mom. Really," she said, though it was unclear if she was trying to convince herself or them. "It's been years. Six I think I've come to terms with it. But I guess our recent encounters with the stuff in the forest must’ve somehow worsened my fear.”

 

At the reminder of their little run in with a fiery grave a month ago, all of the girls flinched as well. 

 

“I’m so sorry,” Yuri breathed out. She placed her hand back on Yoona’s shin reassuringly. “Trust me when I say, I know what it’s like to have a troublesome past,” Yuri mumbled grimly. “And it never really stops hurting, and that's okay. But you have us now. We’ve got your back.” She offered a small smile. 

 

Yoona smiled as the other two girls nodded along. They gave her such serious looks, she wanted to laugh. Chuckling lightly, she shook her head slowly, discreetly brushing away her tears. 

 

“Thanks,” she replied warmly, in lieu of a better response. Besides, she meant it. It was comforting to see them show support. She’d spent so long trying to do everything herself and stay independent, she’d forgotten what it was like to depend on people. 

 

‘And it’s been ages since I’ve mentioned my mom. Wow.’ And, they didn’t even bring up the fact that she was impervious to fire. 

 

She was actually amazed at how understanding her friends were being and now that she was a little more clear headed after that explosion of emotions, she even felt a little guilty for snapping them, especially Yuri. She might not know exactly what the girl had gone through, but judging from the edge in her tone when she answered Yoona’s childish inquiries, she knew the girl had suffered her share of past regrets. 

 

“Take it easy,” Sunny came up to her, pulling her into a light hug. “Rest up for now. I’ll tell your professors you can’t make it.”

 

“Thank you Sunny,” Yoona smiled warmly, relaxing into her friend’s embrace. Despite her huge fangroup at school, she actually had very little friends. Sunny was one of her first and few true friends at this school and she was grateful for the girl’s steady companionship all these years. 

 

“Of course. If you listen to Madam Pomfrey, I’ll even let you copy off my notes,” Sunny winked, glad to see her friend feeling better. “Maybe.”

 

“Hah!” Yoona let out a large laugh at that, knowing full well that Sunny was anything but stingy with her notes. “I’ll be a good girl,” she murmured, lying down in bed, fully intending on getting some well-deserved rest after running high on emotions. 

 

“Good. I’ll see you after lunch then.”

 

The three girls left the infirmary and were about to part ways when they ran into Seohyun in the hallways who waved them down. 

 

“What’s up?” Jessica asked since the other two seemed more drained from their previous situation. 

 

“Taeyeon’s father responded. We’re meeting outside McGonagall’s office at seventeen hundred sharp. If you have more questions, I’m sure Sooyoung or one of the Gryffindors can fill you in during lunch,” Seohyun said in a rush. 

 

“Are you not going to be at lunch?” Sunny asked confused as Seohyun just walked off after delivering her news, seemingly in a hurry. 

 

“I’ll be in the library!” Seohyun called out over her shoulder. “There’s still so much research to be done.”

 

The trio watched her storm through the crowds.

 

“When is she not in the library, that one?” Yuri muttered under breath, causing the other girls to smile at her gripe. 

 

 


 

 

At five o’clock sharp, all nine had gathered outside of McGonagall’s office.They were eager to learn more about Taeyeon’s childhood as well as nervous about finding out more about what had happened to Mr. Clarke’s daughter. 

 

Even Yoona showed up, looking much better after an afternoon of rest.  Yuri spotted the girl and wanted to say something, however, was interrupted by the entrance to the headmistress’s office opening. She ushered them inside. 

 

As they walked towards a lit fireplace however, Yuri glanced at Yoona out of instinctual worry and noticed Sunny and Jessica doing the same thing. However, much to their relief, the girl seemed relatively stable. Still deciding to keep an eye on her just in case, Yuri stayed close by her side. 

 

“The fireplace is only big enough for three of you at a time, so split off into groups. Then grab a handful of floo powder, say your destination, and throw the powder,” McGonagall explained. She grabbed a handful of the green powder and threw it into the orange flames, turning them into a harmless green color.

 

“I thought you weren’t allowed to travel to other places using floo powder in Hogwarts,” Seohyun pointed out in confusion. 

 

McGonagall gave the smart girl a look. She reminded her so much of another know it all that used to roam these halls. Shame that Seohyun was a Ravenclaw rather than a Gryffindor. McGonagall would’ve been glad to have her in her house. 

 

“That is correct, but because of Mr. Kim’s special request, the wards have been temporarily displaced,” said McGoangall as she swept her gaze across the room. “Any other questions?” 

 

Yuri took this moment to lean in towards Yoona. “Are you going to be okay?” she asked. 

 

Yoona glanced at Yuri out of the corner of her eyes and smiled at the obvious concern etched in the girl’s face. “I’ll be fine. This outburst this morning actually helped quite a bit.”

 

Yuri leaned back once she got her answer and hummed satisfactorily before returning her attention to the headmistress.
 

When no one else said anything, McGonagall continued speaking. “I expect you all to be back by curfew. If you are not back by then, you will face severe consequences, am I clear?” 

 

The nine girls nodded, especially Seohyun who happened to take expulsion and a clean academic record very seriously. 

 

“Good. Now, who wants to go first?” McGonagall offered. 

 

“I’ll go first, since this is my home after all,” Taeyeon stepped forward, grabbing a fistful of floo powder before turning to Tiffany and Hyoyeon who nodded and joined her, each with their own fistful of powder. They stood side by side in the fireplace, the green embers at their skin harmlessly. 

 

“Remember to pronounce your destination clearly,” McGonagall reminded. “Keep your eyes closed, elbows tucked in, and refrain from panicking. It will all be over soon enough.” 

 

The three Gryffindors looked at each other before nodding. Taeyeon’s eyebrows almost formed a straight line. It seemed the girl was rather worried about going back home. Worried about what however, the group did not know. 

 

Together, the three Gryffindors called out the name of their destination. 

 

“Kim Manor!”

 

With a brilliant flash of green light, the three girls disappeared. 

 

“Bloody hell,” Yuri muttered, having never seen floo powder in action before. She glanced briefly at Yoona wondering if the sudden burst of green flames surprised her and was pleased to see no obvious reaction. Perhaps the girl really had reeled in her fear quite a bit due to this morning. “How does that work?”

 

“Floo powder was invented by Ignatia Wildsmith in the thirteenth century. It is unknown what floo powder is actually made of and many people have tried to replicate it on their own only to fail. The only people who do know what floo powder is are the people who make it and even then no one knows who makes it,” Seohyun explained immediately. 

 

When an awkward silence ensued, Seohyun cleared . “Right,” she said stepping forward and grabbing the floo powder. As a pureblood, she’d traveled via floo powder many times before and was well experienced in this form of transportation. 

 

She stepped into the fireplace with Sooyoung silently on her heels. Knowing that Sunny was going to travel with Yoona and that her best friend did not seem like she was about to leave Yoona out of her sight for a while, Jessica stepped up. She ignored Seohyun’s look of surprise and grabbed a fistful of floo powder before stepping in next to the young heir of the Seo family. 

 

Before leaving, she looked towards Yuri who nodded once in reassurance. She would make sure nothing happened to Yoona. The trio then disappeared quickly after declaring their destination, leaving Yoona, Yuri and Sunny to follow. 

 

“I’ve got you,” Yuri whispered as she placed a supporting hand on Yoona’s lower back. The gesture seemed to be appreciated as Yoona sent her a small smile. 

 

“Don’t worry,” Sunny said encouragingly as they stepped inside. There was a bit of hesitance from Yoona, though she braved herself through it. “It’ll be over before you know it.” 

 

“I’m truly fine guys” Yoona sang, touched but also a little exasperated at how they gently they were treating her. The three held their fistfuls of powder in front of them. 

 

“Kim Manor!”

 

There was a sudden rushing motion, and Yuri felt like she was falling through a chute before landing rather harshly on her feet, stumbling a little. She opened her eyes and immediately coughed. 

 

“Come on,” Sunny mumbled to her, patting her on the back as Yuri tried to empty out whatever was in her respiratory system. 

 

‘At least Yoona seems fine,’ Yuri thought as she practically hacked up her lung on the spot. Warm hands patted her gently on the back as she recollected her bearings. 

 

The three of them stepped out into a grand room. The domed ceiling itself had to be at least ten meters tall, maybe even twelve at the highest. The walls were a dark maroon color and gold decor adorned just about every inch of the room. The room seemed to be enveloped in a golden light as chandeliers spanned across the ceiling. Overall, it was very reminiscent of the Gryffindor house colors. 

 

“I can see why she was sorted into Gryffindor,” Hyoyeon snorted as the eight girls continued to ogle at the decor. 

 

“Bugger off,” Taeyeon muttered quietly under her breath as she lead them into the manor. 

 

“Oh!” A honeyed and slightly nasally and older sounding voice suddenly sounded in the room causing eight girls to jump in surprise and look around the room in wonder. “Taeyeon, welcome back! Aren’t you supposed to be at school? Did anything happen? Who are these people? Taeyeon dear, do introduce them.”

 

“They look like they were picked off the streets!” a thick, accented, low voice pitched in. 

 

“Oh hush, that’s rather impolite of you,” the first voice responded. It added in a quieter tone. “Though, I’ll have to agree with you on that point. They don’t look...like our regular crowd.”

 

The eight girls continued to look around, trying to find the sources of the voices before Seohyun finally pointed it out having known what it was as soon as she heard the voice. After all, she grew up in a pureblooded household as well.  

 

“There,” she said, pointing to a photo frame on the wall of an old Asian lady. It was then the group realized that they were entering a hall full of frames, all members of the prestigious and esteemed Kim family. 

 

“Meet my great grand-aunt, Hayoon Kim,” Taeyeon stated dryly as she pointed to the first portrait that spoke. “And this is my-” she paused, breathing in deeply, seemingly vexed by her family members. “Great, great, great, great, great,” she took another breath before continuing, making sure to mentally keep track of the number of ‘greats’. “Great, great, great,” she paused again, eyes glued to the ceiling as she double checked her count before finally finishing with “Great grand-uncle. Jinwoo Kim.”

 

“Oh my god that was difficult to stand through,” Hyoyeon exhaled, having been wound up by the number of ‘greats’. “I feel ten years older.”

 

“But oh so entertaining,” Sooyoung smirked. 

 

Taeyeon rolled her eyes. “Pay them no attention. They like to talk and we rarely have guests,” she said as she continued down the hall. Taeyeon’s ancestors continued to call out to them and a few of them were too polite to downright ignore them. 

 

“Taeyeon honey! Welcome back!” Many of them called out. 

 

“Have you been eating child? Or slept? You look like you’ve lost some weight!”

 

“Are those dark circles under your eyes? Us, Kims, do not do dark circles!”

 

“Take care of yourself sweetie. School is important but health comes first! Otherwise you’ll die early like your estranged uncle over there.”

 

Taeyeon ignored them all, only shooting a polite smile or nod when she felt the need to respond. 

 

“This one is quite pretty,” an older voice claimed with a feeble voice. 

 

“Thank you,” Yoona grinned, curtseying slightly at the portrait of a very old wizard. 

 

“But she doesn’t know how to curtsey,” the man continued critically. “That’s a shame.” 

 

The smile dropped off of Yoona’s face, deciding it wise to just continue down the hall. 

 

“Oh my!” a younger sounding witch exclaimed. “Why this one must be a Seo! I sense it in her blood!” the portrait declared, pointing towards Seohyun who blushed. 

 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Seo Juhyun and my father is Seo In Guk,” Seohyun bowed slightly in greeting. 

 

“Now this one knows how to greet people!” the same old wizard that critiqued Yoona called out. 

 

“A very respectable family indeed,” another chimed in. 

 

“I see you’ve been keeping acceptable company, Taeyeon,” one of Taeyeon’s great (who knew how many ‘greats’ there were) grand aunts stated approvingly. Taeyeon tried to brush off the comment knowing that many of her ancestors came from a time where purity of blood mattered. 

 

(It mattered a lot. Otherwise there was no way they would’ve been able to keep their purity in their family line for as long as they had.)

 

Still, they were old beliefs and while Taeyeon refused to share in their values, it was the most difficult task to change them. She would rather drain the ocean one spoonful at a time then attempt to argue with her ancestors. They were incredibly stubborn. 

 

As they continued filing through this hallway (Goodness was it always this long? And just how many members were there in the Kim family?), Taeyeon’s past family members continued to harass her friends. 

 

“This one has crumbs on its robes!” 

 

Sooyoung patted her robes down self-consciously. 

 

“What monstrosity is the color of your hair? It’s like a cat ate cotton candy and then threw up on your head!” another cried. 

 

Sunny lowered her head but didn’t change her outstandingly pink hair. 

 

“And this one!” Another gasped. “This one is American!” he exclaimed in horror. There was a collective gasp. 

 

Tiffany smiled sheepishly. “Wow, never would’ve thought I’d see the day my Californian blood get me such a reaction. I guess we deserve it though,” she took it in stride knowing very well just how much Europeans hated Americans. 

 

“I doubt this one has ever opened a book in her life,” one wizard judged Hyoyeon correctly. 

 

The girl merely stuck her tongue out at the man who gasped and clutched his heart at such an unrefined act. 

 

“Don’t take this the wrong way,” Hyoyeon muttered under her breath towards Taeyeon hoping the portraits couldn’t hear them. “But your family is crazy.”

 

Taeyeon rolled her eyes. “Trust me, I know,” she muttered back. 

 

They were just about to reach the end of the hallway and Taeyeon could sense the freedom from her crazy family members when suddenly, there was another loud scandalized gasp. 

 

“I don’t believe my eyes,” another aunt probably, exclaimed rather dramatically. 

 

Jessica quirked an eyebrow in question. It looked like it was her turn to be scrutinized. 

 

“Why, I sense the blood of a Jung in you!” the witch exclaimed. 

 

“No, no!” Another suddenly interrupted before Jessica could say anything. “She’s a Kang. I’m one hundred percent sure I’m right,” a wizard stated. 

 

“No, I believe I am,” the first witch persisted. 

 

“Like hell you are,” the wizard responded. 

 

“Actually,” Jessica cleared , cutting in before the two portraits started fighting. “I’m both,” she revealed. There was another collective gasp and all eyes turned towards the blonde. 

 

“My father is Jung Jaesun from the Juny family and my mother is Kang Soobin from the Kang family,” Jessica explained rather shyly. She hadn’t known her family bloodlines would’ve been that interesting. 

 

“I was right!” the witch exclaimed happily. 

 

“So was I!” The wizard insisted stubbornly. 

 

“You knew my family?” Jessica asked, not wanting them to go into another argument. 

 

The witch took the bait. “Why yes of course! I knew one of your aunts on your father’s side. Jung Hyorin!”

 

“I played Quidditch with Jung Jinsoo!”

 

“I once dueled with Kang Dong In. Unfortunately, I lost that duel. That old git. I wonder what he’s up to nowadays.”

 

“I went to school with Kang Sora!” Another witch chimed in and Jessica was whipping her head around so fast trying to keep up with the conversation. She finally managed to pinpoint the portrait that was talking. 

 

“We went to Haneul Academy of Magic in Korea together!” the witch exclaimed happily, reminiscing on times from long, long ago. “This was back before the war when both of our families were in Korea.”

 

“Oh yes, terrible what happened,” another portrait chimed in. 

 

“You’re referring to the First Asian Wizarding War,” Jessica questioned. That had to be over hundreds of years ago. 

 

“Why of course. That stupid war is the only reason we ran to Britain,” a bitter sounding wizard stated. 

 

“It’s a shame our families have lost touch,” another witch stated sadly. “Our three families, along with the Seo family actually, used to be the most powerful and influential wizarding families in Korea and Asia!”

 

“It’s curious that you’re here now,” another stated. “Have the Jungs and Kangs moved to Europe as well?”

 

“Uh no,” Jessica responded awkwardly. 

 

“No? Well where are they?”

 

“They’re still in Japan,” Jessica responded, coughing lightly into her fist. 

 

There was a moment of silence. Then, everyone seemed to start talking all at once. 

 

“JAPAN?”

 

“Those bloody traitors!”

 

“After everything we fought for-”

 

“How dare they? With how the Japanese wizards treated-”

 

“They should be ashamed!”

 

Jessica gulped as all the portraits shouted angrily at her. 

 

“Okay!” Taeyeon tried to scream over all the noise though it was proving to be difficult. “Move, move, move! Let’s go!” She tried to hurry them along, out of the hallway and away from her ancestors. 

 

Once they were safely away from the portraits, they stopped to catch their breath. 

 

“If that’s how your family is like, I don’t know if I wanna stay for dinner,” Hyoyeon mumbled. 

 

“Ahem.”

 

All nine girls instantly straightened up at the strict sounding sound. They looked up to see a relatively young man, probably in his late thirties standing in front of them. He donned a form fitting suit that was perfectly pressed and tailored, leaving no wrinkles. His shoes shined brighter than Hyoyeon’s future at the moment. And one look at the hard set in his jaw, the resolute look in his eyes, and the harsh lines of his angular face was enough to tell you that this man, probably did not appreciate joking around. 

 

It was also clear that this man was Taeyeon’s father. 

 

He nodded at his daughter, greeting her with a simple, “Taeyeon,” before scanning her friends with a discerning eye. The girls tried their best not to cower under his burdensome stare and did their best to look presentable. His gaze lingered a couple times, most of them disapproving, once in recognition on Seohyun, and once with an unreadable look on Jessica. 

 

He lingered on the blonde Slytherin the longest and his seemingly permanently set frown, lowered a little before he resettled his gaze on Taeyeon. The girl stared back at her father. 

 

After what seemed like a tense moment, Kim Dongwon, Head Auror at the Ministry of Magic, tilted his head slightly, beckoning them into the room. 

 

“Come, dinner awaits.”

 

 


 

AN: Wow, that was a long update, wasn't it? My second longest one to date. And a long author note too wow. (Why do I have so much to say?) 

So I realized that I’ve been neglecting some of my other characters (namely everyone except Taeyeon, Yuri, and Jessica) and am now trying to fix that, hence the amount of character development lately, as well as backstories and Yoonyul. It is also why this chapter suddenly ended up being twice as long yet accomplishing only half of what I originally planned to write. Hopefully it was equally as entertaining even though it didn’t really further the plot much.  - I know just how much you guys are dying to get to the end ;) 

I also realized, much later, that water-making spells (aguamenti and aqua eructo)  are sixth and seventh year level charms which confuses me because students learn the fire making spell (incendio) in the second year in Charms. So we are just going to ignore this little mishap and pretend that they learn both in their second year (especially since Yuri also uses aguamenti in an earlier chapter). 

Lastly, for Jeti shippers, I promise there will be Jeti moments in the future! Please be patient with me! Though keep in mind they are like only 13 so the prospects of a real relationship between any of them is low, hence the focuse on friendship. That said, there will be feelings. Lots of them. 

Next time: Dinner with the Kims. Some revelations (hopefully) from Elias Clarke. And honestly who knows what other fluff I might throw in there because cHArActEr dEveLOPeMeNT. 

 

 

Irrelevant: 

Happy belated birthday to me! As tradition permits, I tried my best to update my stories in order to give back to my readers during my birthday week.

Also, fun fact, Haneul in korean means 'sky' and Korea has three very prestigious universities whose names are often referred to as SKY (Seoul National, Korea, and Yonsei universities.)

Lastly, I copied the description of "floo powder" word for word from the Harry Potter Fandom Wikia page. All credits of Seohyun's little speech in McGonagall's office goes to them. 

Remember to comment and upvote as always! Comments are much appreciated and I'll try my best to reply. It also seems like I won't be able to update for a while due to school starting again so just heads up!

Sosh 

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Sosh_022
Sorry! There was no update! I was re-reading and noticed I'd accidentally had a chapter on draft.

Comments

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yadanarr #1
Its 2024... still waiting pls comeback!
Champ1234 #2
pls comeback 😢
TAENGSIC2007 #3
Chapter 10: Hey authornim! When will you come back and update this story? ╥﹏╥ I really want an update pleasee. Its christmas already and soon it will be 2024. I hope you can update us about the story as a gift? Anyways take your time. Advance merry christmas and Happy new year authornim! ๑ᴖ◡ᴖ๑
ryujinned
#4
Chapter 33: i love this story sm i hope the author comes back 🥹
bfewuibd #5
Chapter 33: hope you’ll comeback
yadanarr #6
Pls...comeback...pls...
sygeet
#7
Chapter 33: Please come back Author Nim 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 September 13, 2023. I'll wait
yadanarr #8
Still waiting...😭😭😭
TAENGSIC2007 #9
Authornim when will you update? T^T I miss you alreadyy 😭
Eris78
#10
Chapter 15: I am re-reading this fic again…