A few hours later, full of joking around and eating everything in sight, the students in the Great Hall are released to the dormitories. Changkyun stands with the others, and follows them out of the Hall and down a flight of stairs.

“Slytherin dorms are in the dungeons of the school,” Minhyuk explains as they walk. He throws an arm around Jooheon’s shoulder, pulling the shorter boy close as he fiddles with his wand. “Most people think it's awful, but it's actually pretty great. We get to talk with the mer-people in the lake, and we've got the best fireplaces in the entire castle.” Hoseok shoves his hair out of his face, strutting down the hall in front of the group.

“I didn't see Hyungwon earlier,” he murmurs, seemingly upset at his own words. Minhyuk hums thoughtfully, shooting a knowing glance towards Kihyun, who merely smirks in response. Changkyun watches the silent exchange in confusion, unsure of what he was missing.

“Him and Hyunwoo-hyung will probably come by the table tomorrow during lunch,” Kihyun tells Hoseok. He glances over to Changkyun as he explains, “Hyunwoo-hyung and Hyungwon-ah are Ravenclaws, and it's sort of an unspoken rule that Houses stick to their own tables during the first night, since there's the Sorting Ceremony. You'll meet them sometime tomorrow.” Changkyun nods silently, wondering what kind of people these other two are. If they're anything like this lively bunch Changkyun as already met, he honestly didn't know how well he could keep up with them.

The group stops after many winding staircases, and the Head Boy, a position explained by Kihyun as a sort of liaison between the students and the faculty personnel in charge of the House, announces the password to get passed the talking portrait that apparently acts as a guard for the House. They shuffle along, and step through the tall portrait-sized hole in the wall.

“Come with us,” Kihyun tells Changkyun, moving passed the other hesitant first years. Hoseok leads the group up a narrow set of winding stairs and through a wooden door. A circle of four-poster beds covered in silk green emerald blankets stands in the room, five beds in total. Changkyun spots his luggage at the foot of the bed furthest from the door, and moves to sit on it. The others disperse, going towards their own assigned beds, and immediately start setting up small, personalizing touches around their beds.

“Changkyun-ah,” Minhyuk says, startling Changkyun slightly at the sudden break of the silence. “Since you’re a first year, you won’t have many classes with us, don’t worry! You’ll see us during meals. If there’s ever anything you want to know, don’t hesitate to ask any of us. We’re more than happy to help!” He flashes the first year a bright grin, which feels like it lightens the invisible weight Changkyun felt dragging him down.  Changkyun returns the expression with a small smile of his own and a nod. He’s already incredibly thankful for how friendly they all have been to him throughout the night, and he hopes desperately he doesn’t do anything to mess it up.

Everyone changes out of their robes and into pajamas, Hoseok taking a bit longer so he could appreciate his abdomen in the mirror for a bit.

“Guys,” he begins, causing everyone around Changkyun to roll their eyes, “I just don’t know… I didn’t have much time to work out over the summer, but I mean, I dieted…” He then turns towards the others, a pleading expression on his face.

“Hyung,” Minhyuk begins, walking towards him and draping an arm around Hoseok’s shoulders, “you know you look great. I hate how you doubt yourself like this…” Minhyuk gives the shirtless fifth year a puffed-out pouty face, and Hoseok sighs slightly, squeezing the younger closer to him in a half-hearted hug.

Despite his self-doubt, he doesn’t put on a shirt the rest of the night…or pants. He merely walks around the dorm in a pair of Calvin Klein underwear, his slender yet muscular body baffling Changkyun as to what exactly Hoseok had been complaining about.

The boys stay up late into the night, joking around and playing games Changkyun had—surprise, surprise—never heard of. One, though, he finds out he’s actually really good at, Exploding Snaps. However, they can’t play the game for long, due to Jooheon’s terror at the loud bangs and, well, exploding cards. As the hours move along, Changkyun finds it easier to drop his guard around the boys. Kihyun, especially, he finds easy to get along with due to his almost maternal nature.

At Kihyun’s nagging, they all turn in for the night around 1 am. Changkyun tucks into bed, smiling silently to himself. He could never have expected such a great first night at this new school… Maybe this Hogwarts place wasn’t going to be so bad after all.

The next morning, Changkyun awakens at Kihyun’s soft prodding. His almost lyrical tone echoes in Changkyun’s ears, causing him to murmur softly as he opens his eyes. Kihyun smiles down at him.

“Oh good, you’re easy to wake up,” he observes, moving towards the bed beside Changkyun’s. Jooheon is hugging a pillow of an anime character in his sleep, his eyes covered by a sleeping mask. “Jooheon-ah,” Kihyun coos, pulling the covers back to grab an arm. He pulls Jooheon up into a sitting position, the third year making a whining noise, and begins to pull at Jooheon’s cherub cheeks.

“Changkyun-ah,” Hoseok’s voice calls, pulling Changkyun’s eyes away from the scene, “you should get dressed. Breakfast’ll start soon.” Changkyun nods once and leaves his warm covers. He goes through his trunk, trying to find one of his uniforms, and becomes incredibly embarrassed upon finding a plush dog he hadn’t realized was there last night. He pulls it out, realizing his mother must’ve tossed it in there while he wasn’t looking, and he sighs before placing it on the bed.

“Changkyunnie,” Minhyuk’s soft voice says, calling the youngest’s attention to him, “is that a puppy plush?”

“I think my mother packed it,” Changkyun begins to explain, hoping he won’t get too terribly teased, but Minhyuk’s tired expression soon brightens into a grin Changkyun already finds typical of him.

“I’m so jealous!” he admits easily. “It looks so cute, I want one!” Changkyun finds himself grinning relievedly at the older, and goes back to finding a uniform.

Walking into the Great Hall, Changkyun is welcomed by the sight of students of every house noisily eating and talking, catching up with friends they hadn’t spoke with since before summer. Changkyun follows his new friends towards their table, and takes a seat between Jooheon and Kihyun like the night before. The boys begin to fill their plates with all the foods set before them, and they eat in silence, focused on eating their food. That is, until two new boys came to sit with them wearing blue plaid ties.

A tall, skinny, model-esque boy slides onto the bench next to Hoseok. He wraps a delicate-looking arm around the older’s shoulders, causing him to glance over confusedly. Upon seeing the stranger’s face, Hoseok’s face breaks out into a wide grin.

“Hyungwon-ah,” he greets with a sweet voice, reaching up to wrap both his bulging arms around the slight form beside him and give him a kiss on the cheek. “I didn’t see you at all last night, not even while we were coming in, and you suddenly stopped writing back to me last month. I thought maybe…”

“Hoseok-hyung,” the dark brunette says with a smile, his plump lips turning up just at the sight of the boy beside him, “it’s good to see you. I’m sorry I didn’t write much towards the end of the summer, I got busy with some family things.” A dark look skips across his eyes, one so quick that Changkyun almost thinks he imagined it. Hoseok nods understandingly and presses his head against Hyungwon’s shoulder. Hyungwon’s gaze moves over to Changkyun, and extends a long, slender hand with a smile.

“I’m Chae Hyungwon, a third year.” Changkyun bows his head, saying his name and what year he’s in. The wooden bench Changkyun is sitting on shifts slightly, and Changkyun glances over to his right to find a broad-shouldered, baby-faced boy sitting on the other side of Kihyun. The stranger bows his head politely.

“I’m Son Hyunwoo, a fifth year,” he greets in a soft, mumbling tone. “Nice to meet you.”

“Dad,” Jooheon says excitedly, surprising Changkyun slightly at how well he could speak despite all the food still in his mouth, “this is the rapper I told you about while we were getting our stuff off the train last night.” Hyunwoo nods while blinking, his face expressionless aside from his slightly agape mouth. Kihyun makes a tsk-ing noise, and squeezes Hyunwoo’s muscular yet soft-looking arm.

“Hyung,” Kihyun murmurs, “what classes have you got?” Hyunwoo makes a small ‘mm’ noise in his throat and leans to the side to take his schedule from his back pocket. Kihyun’s eyes dart over the paper, and in a breath through his teeth as he returns it to the older boy beside him. “You have a class in twenty minutes,” he comments, “so you should probably go. We’ll see you at lunch.” Hyunwoo nods, sighing heavily as he gets up to leave. Hoseok regretfully removes himself from Hyungwon’s arm.

“We’ll see you guys later,” Hyunwoo says, nodding at everyone with a small smile. The two oldest then walk away, murmuring to each other so low no one but them could hear their conversation.

“Um, Kihyun-hyung?” Changkyun asks after they leave, breaking Kihyun’s unwavering gaze on the retreating back of Hyunwoo. Kihyun looks over at Changkyun, a polite smile on his face. Changkyun pulls a paper from his pocket, handing it to the boy. “I was wondering if you could point me in the direction of my first class?” Kihyun takes the schedule with a knowing grin and scans it with his eyes, nodding.

“Transfiguration is just off the Quad,” he begins to explain. He then grabs a napkin from the table and a pen from his pocket, sketching a quick map of the school. Changkyun stares at the pen surprisedly, it being the first time he’s seen such a writing implement since getting on the train. “When you leave the Great Hall, turn left towards the Entrance Hall. Go through the double doors, and you’ll be in the Grand Staircase Tower. Pass that, go through the next set of doors, and you’re in the Quad.” Kihyun hands the makeshift map to the first year, quickly slipping the pen back into his pocket.

“Thank you, hyung,” Changkyun says with a respectful nod. “Um, I was wondering, where’d you get the pen? Are they allowed here? You’re the first person here I’ve seen with one.” Kihyun chuckles lightly, reaching up and ruffling Changkyun’s soft hair.

“I’m a muggle-born, like you,” he says proudly. “I always bring a few pens with me from home, because they’re easier to use than the quills. But, I wouldn’t suggest using them in class. It’d make other kids stare at you, and you don’t seem like you’d like that too much. I only use mine for homework, and when I need to scribble something down quickly.” Changkyun nods, bowing his head in thanks again whilst clutching the map tightly.

They spend the rest of breakfast joking around, everyone slowly dropping like flies as it came time for them to leave. Changkyun is the last to leave, since his class is the nearest to the Great Hall. He follows Kihyun’s instructions exactly, easily finding his class.

He silently thanks Kihyun once more, hovering anxiously in the doorway. His schoolbag seems to grow impossibly heavy as he stands there, peering into the classroom. He can’t believe he’s about to go to his first magic lesson… This all still seems so impossible. He breathes deeply, steadying his nervous heart, and enters the room. He takes a window seat at a large wooden desk meant for two, and he pulls out some parchment and a quill, trying to ignore his shaking hand. It would be alright, he could do this. He knew he could do this.