Nefarious
SF9: Words
Nefarious
Ni・fair・ee・uhs
Wicked, villainous, despicable
Quidditch season at Hogwarts meant that tensions between the Houses were at an all-time high. And that meant that Youngbin, a Gryffindor fourth year student, was training harder and faster.
Standing in the middle of the pitch, he spectated the onslaught of house pride. The match was against Gryffindor and Slytherin, the Houses with the fiercest rivalry. He heard the Gryffindor roars, but he found that his opponent’s ferocious chants were just as loud.
Youngbin observed as the Slytherin captain make her way to the middle. She was—for the lack of a better word—a twig. She was of slightly above average height, most likely standing at around 5'5 to 5'6, and she was lean. Youngbin couldn’t guess her position, as she looked familiar, but he couldn’t place his thumb on where.
The Slytherin captain was a Chaser, and a bloody fast one at that, passing the Quaffle from teammate to teammate with ease. They were trained well, too. “Baek Jinyi scores another point for Slytherin! You know, I would take her out on a date if she wasn’t so godda—” commented Hufflepuff Lee Sanghyuk, before he was interrupted by Professor McGonagall.
“Sanghyuk,” she warned.
“Sorry, Professor. Just a thought. And once again, Baek Jinyi scores another ten points for Slytherin! They lead Gryffindor 80-0. Jesus, girl, please go out with me!” Sanghyuk stated, causing laughter at the last part. Even Professor Snape had to admit that it was quite humorous.
As the Slytherin Chasers—Jinyi, Junhong, and Juho—continued racking up points for their team, and the Gryffindor team struggled to catch up. Eventually, the game had ended in a Slytherin victory of 350-150. The Gryffindor team were disappointed in their loss, providing a foil to the ecstatic Slytherins.
Youngbin was cleaning the equipment when Inseong made his way down to the pitch. “Hey, you did your best,” Inseong reassured. Youngbin shook his head in defiance.
“We got creamed, Inseong. If I did my best, at least one of them had to have been in the hospital wing by now,” he sighed. “Come on, let’s head to the kitchen. I want some cookies,” Youngbin said, dragging his best friend with him to the Hogwarts kitchens.
If there was one thing that Jinyi was good at, it was getting people to go to sleep. The entire Slytherin partied hard until midnight before Professor Snape ushered them all to bed. Jinyi, on the other hand, was rather hungry. Her intense Quidditch match and partying had rendered her tired and starving. So, she made her way to the kitchens, inhaling the smell of cinnamon and other spices.
“Miss Baek! What are you doing here?” asked one of the house elves, Winky. Jinyi smiled sheepishly.
“Can I have some cookies? White chocolate macadamia nut, if you could,” she said.
“You’re lucky! Some boys asked for a batch.” Winky handed Jinyi a mug of hot chocolate, and she made her way to the fireplace. There, she saw Youngbin, Gryffindor beater. “What, you stuffing your face because you lost?” she said sarcastically, taking a seat on the chair.
“What about you? Party too hard and now you’re hungry?” Youngbin snapped back, earning a punch from the girl.
“Yeah. Snape told us all to sleep, and I was starving,” Jinyi rebutted, snatching a cookie off the plate when they came. “Could I have some to take back to the dorms?” she requested.
“Of course!” Winky said.
“So, you’re a Quidditch captain?” Inseong asked. Shockingly, she didn’t say a biting remark at him.
“Since my third year, actually,” she said proudly. “What about you, prat? Don’t play because you’d rather study?” Jinyi questioned. Inseong shook his head.
“I can play!” he objected, but he had to stop and judge his words. “I just don’t play on a competitively like you and Youngbin.” She raised her eyebrow as if to question his statement.
“Come on, Jinyi. I’ve seen him play. He’s not that bad,” Youngbin defended. She shrugged.
“Whatever floats your boat, fireball,” Jinyi responded, grabbing another cookie off the tray.
Youngbin was heading to class when he saw a commotion happening the Great Hall. Usually, he was the first one there and the first one to leave, but today prevented that.
The moment he stepped back inside, he saw that the fight was between a Gryffindor and a Slytherin. “Why can’t you guys just admit that you guys stole my charms book?” called out Lee Taeyong, a Gryffindor third year known for his fiery temper.
“We didn’t take the ing book for sh*t’s sake! Stop accusing us of stealing something that we obviously don’t ing need!” Jaehyun fired back, being held back by Junhong and Juho, the stronger boys amongst the Slytherin Quidditch team. Like Taeyong, Jaehyun had a heated temper, but he was better at controlling it compared to the younger Gryffindor.
“Then why did I receive a Knee-Reversal Hex and a Pus-Squirting hex the moment I opened the book?” Taeyong started. Jaehyun was about to throw a punch as Junhong and Juho’s grip on him slackened a little. Jinyi made her way to the scene, wedging herself between the two boys. Her eyes narrowed into a glare that caused even Youngbin wince from his corner.
“Just let it go, guys,” she said, turning her head to stare at Taeyong, “Arrogant Gryffindors like them aren’t worth wasting our time on. They’re all talk, no proof.” The Slytherin Quidditch team laughed at the remark before making their way to class, playfully shoving one another. Sighing, he retreated from his little spectating corner and headed off to class.
Youngbin and Inseong made their way to Potions when they heard a comment from Taeyong that caused the Slytherin girl in front of them to snap. “You should watch your words, Oddment,” they saw Jinyi hiss. “Or else I just might take your textbook and throw more than just a hex in it. So unless you want to be in the hospital wing for a week because of a curse, I suggest you keep your mouth. Shut.”
The mere words made the younger Gryffindor shiver as he ran away in fear, an odd irony that made Jinyi laugh to herself. Juho approached her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder as they made their way to the dungeons.
“How exactly are she and Juho related?” Youngbin wondered aloud. “I mean, Juho is that Prince Charming that every girl wants, while Jinyi’s Hogwart’s resident Ice Princess.”
Inseong shrugged. “Somehow, I feel like that she’s a lot nicer than she would like us to think,” he said. The two made their way to class, thoughts of the Slytherin siblings occupying their brain.
Juho was quiet and polite. He didn’t instigate fights but if he needed to, then he would. Despite his cold exterior, he was a cinnamon roll (as Jinyi likes to state). Affectionate with his sister, he made it clear that his family would always be his priority. Juho had been more on the soft-spoken side, so he had to say something a few times to get the message across.
Jinyi, however, had a gravity that made people listen to her, no matter what volume she spoke in (it was usually on the lower end); every time she spoke, everyone in the room would want to know what she had to say. She had a much darker aura than her brother, who was considered more approachable. The fact that she was the Quidditch captain proved that Jinyi was a capable leader. She epitomized what a Slytherin was: ambitious, resourceful, cunning, and misunderstood.
Before any of them realized it, they were seventh years, each with a reputation of their own.
Youngbin was—after years of waiting—made Quidditch captain, finally being able to show that he was a skilled leader and player. He had been made a prefect in his fifth and sixth year, and recently, Head Boy. He was popular among the female students, but he rebuffed their advances.
Inseong, too, was made a prefect, and eventually, Head Boy. A favorite amongst the Hogwarts staff and students alike, he was often questioned due to his infatuation for the “bad girls” in Hogwarts—not that they were in the first place.
Jinyi had been made the Slytherin Head Girl, instilling fear into the younger students with so much ease that it scared her fellow Slytherins. It was common that the Slytherin seventh year would be threatening an arrogant fifth year with a volley of hexes or whatnot. Though the professors disapproved of it, they admitted that it worked in Jinyi’s favor.
Jinyi stood on the Astronomy Tower, staring that sky wistfully. She wore performance level in—ear monitors—custom made just for her—to mute out the noise. Her hair flew all over the place. She heard someone’s footsteps get louder and louder until Jinyi managed to see who it was.
Standing there in all his glory was Kim Youngbin, his hair disheveled, eyes glossed over in tears. Approaching him, she pulled in into an embrace, pulling him to a place by the wall. “What happened?” Jinyi murmured.
Youngbin stared at her as if she grew two heads. He didn’t answer her for a while, but she sat there, staring at him intently. After an hour of silence, the Gryffindor gave into the Slytherin’s gaze.
“You wouldn’t understand,” he murmured. Jinyi raised an eyebrow at him.
“Try me,” she said, her voice uncharacteristically soft compared to her usual hissing and growling. Youngbin took a deep breath, and he began his story.
“My father passed away during the summer. I take over his position as chairman next month.” Jinyi nodded, understanding his struggle. “I can’t do it, you know? Not when I’m trying to do everything here. Plus, I can’t be a chairman, Quidditch Captain, and Head Boy all at once.” Jinyi smiled.
“Then, let someone help. Let me help. You can’t just bottle all of this to yourself. It’ll make life worse,” Jinyi suggested, holding his hand with a gentle vigor that made him smile back.
“Thank you,” he said. A smile peeped its way onto his face.
"If you tell anyone that I’m helping you, then I’m personally going to deliver you a present that will keep you in the Hospital Wing for the rest of the month,“ Jinyi warned, accepting Youngbin’s hand as he pulled her up.
Since the Astronomy Tower incident, Jinyi had stuck to her word, assisting Youngbin with whatever she could, whenever she could. They studied in the library, let off steam together, and Inseong and Juho had caught them sleeping on top of one another by the Black Lake on more than one occasion.
One day, Jinyi was about to make her way to the Astronomy Tower, when someone slipped their hands into hers. “What was it that you were going to ask me, Youngbin?” she asked, not even needing to look at the boy. He smiled, stopping when they arrived at the tower.
“Will you, Baek Jinyi, be my date to the Christmas Ball?” he asked. Looking up at him, she immediately gave him a hug, providing him the answer that he needed.
“Thank you,” he whispered, kissing her forehead with a tender, loving vigor.
On the day of the Christmas Ball, everyone spent the day in their rooms, trying to get ready. As Jinyi took the least amount of time to get ready—which was an hour, give or take—she had the largest amount of free time amongst the girls in her dorm.
She had spent the morning doing her makeup skillfully, applying ice blue eyeshadow to offset the darker shade of blue that she had already added. Jinyi painted a coat of light blue lipstick onto her lips, before smiling. Leaving her hair be, Jinyi spent the day listening to music, dancing, and writing.
A few hours later, Jinyi stared at herself in the mirror, watching as the dress flowed its way to the floor. Smiling to herself, she made her way down the stairs after the pushing of her dorm mates, who were curiously eager to see Youngbin’s reaction.
Making her way down the staircase, she saw Youngbin, Inseong, Juho and the rest of their friends chatting. Making tentative steps down her staircase, everyone averted their gazes to her. Youngbin approached her when she completed her journey from the stairs to him.
“Too much?” she questioned softly, playing with her fingers. Youngbin shook his head.
“Just enough,” he responded, taking her fingers and kissing them. Fiddling through his suit pocket, Youngbin took out a bracelet, clamping it onto her wrist. “You dropped it,” he whispered into her ear. Taking her arm, Youngbin escorted her out to the lavishly decorated Great Hall.
The first song was a waltz, and Youngbin watched as Jinyi’s dress would twirl elegantly every time he spun her or lifted her. A smile was on her face—it was gentle and genuine, which was different than the cruel smile that she typically wore.
The night had eventually winded down, as the only people remaining was Youngbin, Jinyi, and their group of friends. They had all tried to avoid being drunk, as someone had decided to spike the punch bowl with some fire-whiskey.
Youngbin and Jinyi continued to dance when she pressed her lips onto his with a gentle touch. It took his by surprise for a moment, but he reciprocated the action, keeping his hands on her waist.
Reluctantly, they pulled away, resting their foreheads against one another’s, a soft smile on their lips.
“You’re so cruel,” Youngbin whispered, looking at the scar mark on his cheek.
“You love me, anyways,” Jinyi responded, reeling him in for another kiss.
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