Jongin rubbed his temples, trying to suppress the headache that was beginning to form. In vain. The seventh year Ravenclaw student couldn’t even begin to understand why this was happening to him and how and just why him and why that boy from Slytherin.

It didn’t even make sense as the brunet was absolutely confident about his Potion making skills. Just… this time something appeared to have gone wrong. And it’s driving Jongin nuts. Perhaps, he should have stopped with the potion making when he realised that the usual scent of gingerbread had a tad bit too much of cinnamon there.
Or when the usually deep purple liquid was lighter than it was supposed to be. But neither him nor his partner had deemed it as dangerous and just continued with the instructions of their book.
And then…

Boom.

The unicorn hair had dissolved in the substance, but instead of the bubbles they had anticipated the whole thing just exploded all around them and tinged them in a strange purplish light that faded after a few heartbeats.
At first, everything appeared to be normal.
Jongin had looked at the blonde boy next to him, who looked just as shocked as him but then they had both shrugged. They had failed.
Okay.
They would just try again.
But then…
When they were trying to set up the cauldron anew they realised pretty quickly that something was wrong. Terribly wrong.

/why is he not stirring counter-clockwise… that’s prolly why the whole thing exploded./

There had been a voice in his head.
A voice that was definitely not his own and that he had never heard before and definitely shouldn’t be there and comment on his potion stirring.
Stirring it clockwise was absolutely okay here, Jongin grumbled but… against better judgement started to stir it the other way around.

/Thank goodness, that boy has a brain/

Strange, right?

Jongin had thought exactly the same. And now imagine his utter surprise when it was revealed later by their Potions professor that it had actually been Sehun’s voice in his head.
Sehun’s.
His partner for Potions, from the Slytherin House they shared this class with. Tall, athletic built and a really sharp jawline that gave him an almost noble look.
Yet, everyone dreaded to work with this guy. And the Ravenclaw had easily understood why. He was cold, barely smiled and…
He couldn’t talk.
Sehun was mute and that made working as team members that much harder because no one knew any sign language here. And if they did they probably didn’t want to approach the guy who always frowned at everyone and everything.

Which brings Jongin back to his current dilemma.

According to his professor, whom he trusted very much and absolutely respected his intellect, they just got bonded.
Bonded.
By a potion gone wrong that kind of latched onto the first two persons around and connecting something between them… that shouldn’t be connected.
But now it had happened and the results were utterly terrifying, if Jongin was honest.
Not only did they now share a link in their brains… no it apparently would feel uncomfortable for them to stay apart for too long.

“Great” Jongin had groaned in annoyance and utter defeat
“Just great. So… Professor, you are saying that we are stuck with each other, hearing each other’s thoughts if we don’t protect them… until when exactly?”
Professor Wu folded his arms over his chest, a worried expression written all over his face.
“Correct. Though I would like to offer you another answer, but… you summed it up pretty well, Kim” the man nodded and let out a sigh.
He didn’t look too troubled however, which pissed Jongin of greatly.
His whole life just got turned upside down and his professor was just shrugging his shoulders??
“About that. I will need to brew an anti-potion. It’s going to be a complex thing to brew… so I guess that at least one full moon phase will be needed? Maximum three I would say now, but I will need you two to write me reports about how the bond is working. How you perceive it so I can work on the best antidote for you.”

The Ravenclaw student saw his life shattering to pieces in that very moment.
He was going to be chained to the Slytherin boy no one dared to approach – whom people knew nothing about.
And not just for a few hours.
For three months if things went wrong. And from what Jongin learned that day… things loved to go wrong for him.

/It’s because you stirred clockwise the first time/
The brunet hissed under his breath. That was utterly unfair. He didn’t even know how to reply to the Slytherin’s attempts at conversation. Did he just? Think?
A snicker suddenly echoed in the back of his mind and he whipped his head around to see the blonde smirking at him. So the other could already hear what he was thinking?
Merlin’s beard. He needed to block his mind from Sehun’s prying one! But how?
/Just don’t let me in, Jongin/

Another growl left his throat. It was already bloody wicked to have a conversation with someone who was actually mute. Who wasn’t capable of speaking and voicing his thoughts.
But of course…
Sehun was full of sass and confidence.

Just. Bloody. Brilliant.

Jongin was utterly convinced that he would lose his mind and become addicted to Fire Whiskey before even the first month of this torture was over.
Professor Wu just patted their shoulders and gave them an encouraging smile, promising to get to work as soon as possible and informing the Headmaster about their peculiar situation.

Wonderful.
Jongin could just hope that it would stay between them. He didn’t want anyone to know that he was bonded to a Slytherin just because he couldn’t stir.

A small chuckle was heard in the back of his mind.
The coming months were going to be wonderful.

⚡⚡⚡

Jongin whined loudly as his dearest best friend patted his shoulders in what was clearly mock-pity. Lee Taemin was not able to experess real pity or any other emotion that wasn’t ‘devilish’. (Which was an exaggeration of course, but sometimes, sometimes Jongin really thought that Taemin was sent form the pits of hell to torment him. He loved him anyway.)
They were currently seated in the Great Hall, his best friend ignoring all the whispers coming from the Ravenclaw table as he was clearly not one of them.
The elder was from Slytherin House - just like Sehun – and maybe the brunet should have ended their long lasting friendship the moment Taemin had been sorted to join the snakes but…
Jongin obviously wouldn’t have done that.
He had always known that his best friend loved to see him suffer, and if he was honest, he was used to it by now anyway.
It would be weird if it would be any other way.

So he should have expected this to happen. The taunting that was on its way right now… but it still mortified him. Why had he even told the other of his predicament?
Right, because best friends were supposed to stick together. Emphasis on supposed to.

“So let me get this straight,” Taemin said, the corner of his lips pulled up into a mischievous smirk “you got yourself in yet another ridiculous situation Kim Jongin. You triggered a hidden bonding magic of a potion that was actually supposed to do something totally different and now you are connected to Slytherin’s Mute Prince.”
Jongin let out another whine.
His way to say that, yes, sadly the other was absolutely correct. Bloody hell. It sounded worse every time that someone repeated it.
It has only been one day since it happened but…
Jongin was still at a loss about what he was supposed to do.

/Do they really call me that? Mute Slytherin Prince?/<