Sooyoung was just minding her own business in the Ravenclaw common room, blowing bubbles from her wand as Seohyun worked away on some potion behind her. It was one of those slow lazy days (At least for Sooyoung. Lazy days were rare for the hardworking Ravenclaws.) Sooyoung considered using the time to do her Charms homework which was technically due last week, or maybe her Herbology reading which was due tomorrow.

‘Nah. I'll rather do nothing.’ She was content to just stay on this comfortable couch not doing anything. 

Suddenly, the cauldron behind her started to boil uncontrollably.

‘What potion is Seohyun trying to brew? Sounds like she's making soup. Great, now I'm hungry. And the kitchen is so far away. Lucky Hufflepuffs,' Sooyoung thought to herself in boredom. 

However, contrary to Sooyoung's expectations, the boiling never stopped.

“Seohyun?” she called out, not even bothering to turn around to look at the commotion. Seohyun always had things under control anyways. The girl had never messed up on a potion. So it worried her when the boiling continued and she started hearing liquid sloshing out of the cauldron. “Uh Seohyun?”

Alarmed, she turned around, and was greeted by a sight she thought she would’ve never lived to see.

Seohyun was desperately stirring the cauldron. Potion juice was everywhere - streaming down the sides of the cauldron, pooling up on the carpet, and soaking Seohyun’s robes. Seohyun was never this messy.

“Bloody hell,” Sooyoung breathed out in awe.

“Don’t curse!” Seohyun admonished her. Sooyoung rolled her eyes at how Seohyun managed to nag even in a situation like this.

“What in Merlin’s beard are you doing?” Sooyoung continued to gape. She would offer help, but if Seohyun incapable of controling the situation herself, then Sooyoung would not have been able to help much anyway.

“Just, give me a second. I have this under control,” Seohyun grunted, desperately trying to stop the potion from spilling over. Desperately trying and desperately failing.  

“Sure you do,” Sooyoung drawled out in amusement, deciding to just relax and watch this disaster unfold. Since it was such a rare occurrence, she decided she should just enjoy this while she could. Oh boy, Seohyun was never going to live this down. If she had a pensieve she would watch this memory over and over again. 

“You know, Seohyun. Never thought I'd live to see the day. Ju Seohyun, prodigy potions master, having trouble brewing-”

Looking back, Sooyoung really should've ran away as soon as possible, because if Seohyun was having trouble, then something was really wrong.

Next thing she knew, there was an explosion. Boiling hot liquid was all over her face and she was screaming her head off.

“OH MY! BLOODY HELL!”

“Don’t touch your eyes!” Seohyun scolded, quickly reacting to the situation as she pulled out her wand. "And don't curse!" The cauldron at her feet continued to spew and overflow with liquid that was a thick orange-brown color. 

“My face is on fire!!!” Sooyoung roared in pain. "I think I should be allowed to curse! Bloody hell!" 

“Evanesco!”

"Oh my goodness." Sooyoung growled as the fire on her face slowly cooled to a throbbing pain.

“My face,” she screamed as she gingerly poked her raw face. “You burned my beautiful face.”

“You'll be fine,” Seohyun stated though she peered worriedly at Sooyoung. “I have something that can heal the burn. Just, give me a second.”

“Wait!” Sooyoung screamed but Seohyun had already disappeared. “Don't just leave me alone here! I'm dying!”

Seohyun appeared a minute later with a tiny vial of blue liquid in hand

“Here,” Seohyun offered a groaning Sooyoung the vial. “Drink this.”

“What is it?” Sooyoung stared suspiciously at the vial as best as she could through swollen eyes.

“Burn treatment,” Seohyun answered. “I brewed it.”

“Then clearly, I'm not drinking it,” Sooyoung huffed, turning away as she gingerly poked at her sore face. "I have lost all faith in your brewing capabilties after you BURNED MY FACE OFF!"

“Don’t act so childish,” Seohyun hounded the older girl. “Unless you want your face to scar forever.”

Sooyoung turned around in panic. “Gimme!” She immediately lunged for the vial and drank it all in one gulp, coughing as she did. “THIS IS DISGUSTING! WHAT IS THIS? DID YOU JUST POISON ME? I'M DYING!”

Seohyun breathed heavily through her nose. This girl was too much sometimes. She left Sooyoung groveling on the ground to return to her now cracked cauldron. Just how did she fail so badly? Theoretically, everything should’ve been fine. Her mind replayed every step she took, trying to calculate exactly where things went wrong. 

Blame her curiosity for trying a new way to brew a potion she knew perfectly. Blame Jessica Jung for being better than her at potions. Blame Sooyoung for her big mouth.

Seohyun turned around to glance at Sooyoung who was pretending to weep softly into her hands.

‘Payback for that time you tried a new spell on me and burned off my eyebrows.’

Suddenly, the door to the Ravenclaw common rooms opened and in popped a familiar face.

“Yoona? What are you doing here?” Seohyun asked as Sooyoung stopped groveling and also faced the newcomer.

“Hi Seohyun!” The Hufflepuff smiled and Seohyun almost expected a cry of high pitched cheering and shouting to follow, only to realize that Yoona’s usual crowd of fangirls weren’t behind her. She had come alone.

“Is now a bad time?” Yoona inquired as she glanced at the cracked cauldron, the spilled potion ingredients spread across the floor, and a groaning Sooyoung cradled on the floor.

“How’d you get in?” Sooyoung asked dubiously from the ground both hands covering her face. Sooyoung felt extra self-conscious around the pretty Hufflepuff with her face all pink from being burned.  

Yoona chuckled. “Hello Sooyoung. It’s not breaking in if I do it in broad daylight right? Besides, the eagle let me in,” Yoona smiled good naturedly, making Sooyoung to groan inwardly. How could someone be so friendly and cheerful all the time?

“So you’re good at riddles…” muttered Sooyoung under her breath, causing one side of Seohyun’s lips to curve up in a smile.

Yoona always had a knack for riddles and came and went through the Ravenclaw common room as she pleased after Seohyun and her became friends. The other Ravenclaws didn’t mind either. After all, Yoona was such an angel and a delight to have around. Sooyoung on the other hand, never noticed because she herself couldn’t even get into the common room.

“Did you need anything?” Seohyun inquired as she cleaned up the mess she made.

“Yeah. I was hoping to ask for a favor,” Yoona fiddled with her hands by the door. 

The uncharacteristic behaviour caught Seohyun's eye.  Seohyun raised an eyebrow. Yoona didn’t ask for favors often. Whatever it was must’ve been important.

“I’ll try my best to help if I can. What do you need?” Seohyun asked worriedly.

“I need...” Yoona trailed off as her composure momentarily cracked.

Sooyoung stared suspiciously at the two. While Sooyoung was considered an “outcast” type of student, she still knew who Im Yoona was. Im Yoona was the definition of beauty, kindness, and grace. Yet, Yoona seemed almost nervous in front of Seohyun. Something had to be up. This was not what the natural order of student hierarchy dictated. 

‘Since when were they friends anyways? I thought I was only Seohyun's friend.'

Another voice nagged in the back of Sooyoung's consciousness. '...And Seohyun was my only friend.'

Luckily, Seohyun seemed to understand Yoona's request immediately. “Ah. I have it up in my room. Follow me.”

Yoona beamed a grateful smile. The tension in her shoulders from earlier was gone. “Thank you.”

Sooyoung watched the two leave the room with an dumbstruck expression. “Don’t tell me…” she whispered to herself. “Is Seohyun selling drugs?!”

"And Im Yoona is a drug user?!" 

“What happened? Are you okay?” Seohyun asked as soon as the two of them were in her room and out of Sooyoung’s prying ears. Yoona avoided her eyes, reluctant to answer, so Seohyun just busied herself with finding what she was looking for.

She opened a cabinet by her bedside and started searching through the vials.

“It’s not for me,” Yoona said finally. Seohyun turned around in curiosity.

“What do you mean? Did you-”

“No!” Yoona denied immediately only to falter a second later after realizing how riled up she was getting. “You know I would never.  I haven’t-”

“I believe you,” Seohyun cut her off. She did believe in Yoona. Yoona was not one to lie. Seohyun went back to rummaging through her cabinet. She pulled out a small vial, also blue like the one she gave Sooyoung, only this one was darker, more condensed. “Here. It’s my last vial. I’ll need to make more. Try not to...”

“I won’t,” Yoona quickly assured. She winced slightly as she felt the mood turn awkward. “Sorry to bother you,” she apologized as she took the vial gingerly and pocketed it.

“No worries,” Seohyun replied. “But...who is it for?” she asked hesitantly. Blame her curiosity, blame the Ravenclaw in her, but Seohyun wanted to know, had to know.

“A friend.”

The answer gave nothing away, but Seohyun could see it in Yoona’s eyes - she wasn’t going to tell.

‘Ah, the famous Hufflepuff loyalty.’

There was no way Seohyun was going to be able to egg it out of Yoona now. While Ravenclaws could dig any answer out with curiosity, Hufflepuffs could guard any secret with loyalty.

“Well, whoever it was, I’m sorry they had to go through that,” Seohyun said only to frown. “But how…?”

Yoona shook her head. “I don’t know. I just found her...”

“Do you think there’s another…” Seohyun trailed off. Yoona met her eyes squarely.

“I hope not.”

Seohyun looked away from Yoona’s eyes, knowing full well what that intensity entailed. “I hope not either. For everyone’s sake.”

Sooyoung warily watched Yoona leave the Ravenclaw common room before turning towards Seohyun.

“You’re face is healed,” Seohyun noted.

“Thank goodness,” Sooyoung sighed, her hands on her face just to double check. For a second she feared she would have to resort magical rearrangement of her face. “I didn’t know you knew Im Yoona.”

Seohyun shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. “We met last year.”

“How?” Sooyoung asked skeptically.

“I-. I helped her with something,” Seohyun answered, and turned her back to Sooyoung to clean up the mess from her screwed up potion fiasco. She hoped Sooyoung wouldn’t continue to pry.

Sooyoung didn’t ask any more questions, but as she watched Seohyun clean up her mess from earlier, suspicions couldn’t help but nag her mind. She'd noticed Seohyun’s slight hesitation when she asked her how they met. Something just didn’t add up.

And curse her curiosity, but it was the one thing that made her a Ravenclaw.

Jessica woke up in the infirmary, head pounding and throat aching from thirst. It was still the middle of the night, just barely past midnight. Rising up from a lying position, Jessica just noticed the figure sitting next to her bedside, giving her a fright.

“Headmaster?”

In the dim candlelight, with half her visage marred by the shadows of the night, McGonagall looked old; older than normal. Tired eyes but still piercing nonetheless peered down at her.

“Miss Jung,” McGonagall greeted with a curt nod and Jessica wondered how long she had sat there staring at her sleep. The mere thought of it was creepy enough that Jessica immediately shoved it to the back of her mind. 

“How do you feel?” McGonagall asked.

Jessica could tell that while McGonagall cared about her wellbeing, there were more pressing questions in the professor’s mind than her health at the moment.

“I am well,” Jessica answered and decided to address the elephant in the room. “I’m guessing you’re here to question me about what happened?”

McGonagall did not seem surprised at the bluntness, but Jessica noted the slight shift in the look in her eyes. They were sharper, more alert.

“Yes. I have heard...rumors,” McGonagall hesitated as she searched for a lack of a better word. “But I would prefer to hear the story from you, if you don’t mind, Miss Jung as we know rumors are terribly unreliable.”

Jessica nodded. Taking a deep breath, she proceeded to tell McGonagall everything. McGonagall, as per usual, stayed stoic the entire time, with only changes so subtle flashing through her eyes for a fragment of a second before being replaced with the usual cold, hardened stare.

Once Jessica was finished, the two sit in silence so quiet Jessica was tempted to hold her breath. Finally McGonagall opened ever so slightly.

“At least you are safe.”

Jessica offered a quick nod. The silence in the room wasn’t helping her uneasiness. She felt as if she was going to burst if the silence pursued any longer, so instead she started telling McGonagall about the Kodama.

“Why did you send me to the forest that night? Did you know about them?” Jessica asked quietly, hungry for any information that would clarify what had been happening recently.

McGonagall peered curiously at Jessica. “I had an inkling of suspicion that something was going on.” She paused. “Hagrid had informed of certain...sightings. But even he was unable to identify what they were. What do you know about these creatures, Miss Jung?”

“They are tree spirits,” Jessica replied, spewing her thoughts as they came to her without a filter. “They live in the trees and are common in Japan.” Jessica frowned. “Though they rarely leave their tree. The only reason they would leave their tree and materialize is... if the tree is dead or the forest is in danger.” She paused. “But, to my knowledge, they don’t exist outside of Japan, not even in the rest of Asia.”

McGonagall’s wrinkles seemed to deepen. Jessica realized the older woman was apprehensive. And it made Jessica uneasy too.

“Do you know what is going on, professor?” she asked, hoping for the best.

Unfortunately, the answer McGonagall gave her, confirmed one of Jessica’s worst fears.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know.”

For the first time, Jessica saw McGonagall’s mask slip.

“But, it is not any of your business. Do not go chasing after...silly things and sticking your noses where they do not belong. Do I make myself clear?”

“Noses?” Jessica inquired, noticing the plurality of the word.

McGonagall peered at her through the darkness and Jessica suddenly felt bare under her stare, as if McGonagall could see everything - her past, present, and future.

“You and your friends. Your delinquent friend, and the three troublemakers from Gryffindor,” McGonagall clarified pointedly.

‘Ah,’ Jessica realized. ‘So she knows I wasn’t alone that night.’

“Now,” McGonagall stood up. “Do I make myself clear? Stay out of trouble.”

“Of course, professor,” Jessica nodded, but her mind was already thinking otherwise.

‘If it wasn’t any of my business, why did you send me to the forest that night, professor?’

“You know that’s not going to stop the girl, right Minerva?”

Minerva McGonagall, headmaster of Hogwarts school of wizardry, slumped tiredly into her seat, feeling the weight of several eyes on her.

“I know, Albus, I know.”

Albus Dumbledore smiled knowingly from his portrait. “Whatever is stirring right now in the wizarding world, in Hogwarts, is beyond your time, and you will not be able to stop those destined to rise to oppose it.”

McGonagall stared at those familiar twinkling eyes behind spectacles.

“At least she’s not as big of a headache as Potter was,” Severus Snape remarked from his portrait next to Dumbledore.

“Don’t tell me you still hold a grudge, Severus,” McGonagall inquired with a slight amused smile. “It’s been ten years.”

Severus side glanced at Dumbledore before turning towards McGonagall.

“Always.”

AN:

Oh no I didn't! But I did! "Always." >,< that quote! ahhhh the feels

So yes! Seohyun is that friend Yoona mentioned but...whats up with YoonHyun? Also, poor Sooyoung lol but she's all good

McGonagall is so badass. She's one of my favorite characters from HP. 

And Jessica ofc <3

Did you like how I incorporated Dumbledore and Snape in there? Hehe

Till next time (with the Gryffindor trio)

~Sosh

P.S. oh yeah, I'm a Hufflepuff. BADGER PRIDE! <3