A letter and a lost mouse

It was a Sunday afternoon when Do Kyungsoo received his letter. He was gingerly trying to water his garden’s plants with a watering can bigger than him, not that it would take much, but the damn thing was just too heavy, so he set it aside.

It was one of the hottest summer his tiny village had ever experienced and in the heat of August they were still waiting for a summer shower to heal their poor plants grown weak and weary. Kyungsoo let out a sigh and glared at the purple asters.

Why was that simple of a task so tiring? Why couldn’t they water themselves?

And suddenly, just like he had casted a spell on it, the watering can began floating and pouring a fresh amount of liquid on the soil next to their stems.

Another sigh.

“Seriously?” he turned to the house, waving at his mother through the kitchen’s window “Mom, it’s happening again!”

The poor woman nearly had a heart attack, the fifth that week after his son had enchanted his pants to walk for him (they were now somewhere in Wales, traveling in first class). She got out of the house and took a seat on the grass next to Kyungsoo, observing the floating watering can and thanking God they hadn’t got any neighbors.

First had come the cough medicine turning into honey, then his son’s penguin plushy jumping up and start dancing for a whole night and now this. It was with a shiver Kyungsoo’s mother realized how accustomed they were already to the weird phenomenon.

And right when she thought the day couldn’t get any weirder, that’s when it happened: a high pitch scream made them both turn their heads to the sky as the white owl dropped its letter right in front of them. Kyungsoo suspiciously picked it up and peeled the envelop away.

Dear Mr. Do,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You wikll find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment…

And so there he was: standing in front of the pillar between platform nine and ten with a huge leather luggage, an applewood wand with a horned serpent’s horn core and a beautiful Snow Owl in a cage at the side. Her name was now Nina, because it was the cutest choice he could think about.

“So I just have to… run into the wall?” he thought, terrified of breaking all of his bones on the apparently sturdy bricks. However, he had never been a coward and he didn’t want to start then, so he breathed in, puffed out his chest and started running. Twenty minutes later he was on the most magical train he had ever seen, squished between his luggage and an excessive amount of candies with names he had never heard about.

Everybody else on the other compartments seemed to already know each other from before, laughing and talking like heading to a magical school was the most normal thing ever. Actually, for them it really was, but Kyungsoo was too busy trying to guess which flavor were those weird and colorful beans to pay attention to them.

Ugh, that was definitely snot.

He was so concentrated on getting the taste out of his mouth he didn’t notice the giant figure approaching his compartment with a luggage the size of a whale.

“Ehm, do you mind if I sit here? There’s no other free space left”

Kyungsoo finally raised his head and smiled, mouth full of toffee.

“Swoafe” (Sure)

The kid was really tall, with bright red hair and two funny jug ears that made him look like a puppier version of Dumbo, but his smile was so deep Kyungsoo could not help but smile back. He made space for him to bring his luggage in and signed to sit in front of him.

“Thank you. I’m Chanyeol, from the unknown muggle world where things don’t blow up in your face if you point a wood stick at them”

Kyungsoo burst in a laugh and shook his hand.

“I’m Kyungsoo, also from the muggle world where pants don’t start walking by themselves”

“Wait, you made them walk? My aunt always made her clothes dry themselves, she was so cool. I inflated my ferret”

The aforementioned ferret sneaked out of the kid’s pocket and started sniffing at Kyungsoo candies, taking a piece of a surprisingly normal chocolate frog. Or so they thought: two seconds later and the chocolate was gone, jumping from the train’s window like an Olympic diver.

“His name’s Dori. We’ve been together since I was five.” Chanyeol poked its little nose, making it shiver in delight “I freaked out when I couldn’t get him down from the ceiling”

Kyungsoo immediately decided Chanyeol was going to be a great friend, he was giving Eskimo kisses to his ferret for goodness sake, and offered him a piece of liquor ice wand.

“I can imagine, if I were him….”

“HEY GUYS HAVE YOU SEEN MY MOUSE?”

The two kids almost fell from their seats, startled by the newcomer’s scream. He was not as tall as Chanyeol, with a dreamy look on his face and his black hair completely knotted and fired in every direction. There was something caught in it…

“Have you seen him? I swear I fell asleep only for two minutes…” the preoccupied teen shot them a hopeful look “He’s really small, white and fluffy”

“I’m sorry” said Kyungsoo, muffling a laugh “We haven’t. If we see him, we’ll let you know”

“Thank you guys, you’re nice. Not like those Slytherins… well, anyway, see you around”

Chanyeol glanced at him.

“Wasn’t the mouse tangled in his hair?”

“Yes, yes it was”

***

The Great Hall was enormous, with the most wicked ceiling he had ever seen, literally: there were candles and clouds floating in midair, like an endless starry sky. It reminded Kyungsoo of all those nights spent with his mother observing the stars from his garden, laying on the grass with their bare feet and thinking about the future.

Back then, he had wanted to become a chef in a Michelins starred restaurant, but seeing the magical world opening in front of his eyes made him realize what dreams were really made off: enchantment and wonder. He hoped his mother wasn’t going to miss him much, because he surely was; she would have loved every single thing of Hogwarts, the antique structure, the magical lighting, even the ghosts hanging around the hallways that had scared him and Chanyeol to the point of tears just two minutes ago.

The strict looking woman that had introduced herself as Professor McGonagall explained that all first years were about to be sorted into their houses by the Sorting Hat and Kyungsoo looked in marvel as the rugged looking cap suddenly burst to life and started singing alongside all the other students, chants about powerful wizards fighting to regain peace and life afterwards. When they finished, the sorting ceremony began.

Chanyeol was called before him, sitting on the stool with a huge grin on his face, fidgeting from side to side.

“Ha! Another Park.” Yelled the Sorting Hat “I know just what to do with you… Gryffindor”

Claps and cheers could be heard from the House’s tables as the redhead giant sprinted to his seat, barely able to talk to the other’s students without combusting.

Next was a really lanky kid with his hair dyed blonde, almost too expressionless to be a first year. It wasn’t without surprise that he was sorted into Slytherin, because apparently Oh Sehun came from one of the most influential wizarding families in the country, or, at least, that was what Kyungsoo overheard from the three lovestruck girls to his left.

“Next… Kim Jongin”

Nobody moved. Kyungsoo began looking around, wondering why this Kim Jongin wasn’t going up to the Sorting Hat, just like everybody else.

“Kim Jongin? Kim Jongin! Have we lost a student?”

At that point someone from the Ravenclaw’s table got up and walked up to the first year’s crowd.

“He’s here, Professor McGonagall. My brother was asleep”

The professor looked at the sleepy kid that was Kim Jongin walking up to her with a concerned expression, but said nothing.

“Thank you Junmyeon. You may go back to your seat”

Kyungsoo looked at Jongin and fought back a smile: he was slim, with a ruffled cloud of white hair and sun-kissed skin, eyes puffy from sleep and mouth curled into a pout. He clearly wasn’t enjoying the being-awake thing, but when the Sorting Hat screamed “Hufflepuff”, he glowed up in a tiny smile.

Kyungsoo didn't even realized he was smiling when he accidentally met Jongin’s eyes as he was descending the stand, instantly dropping his gaze down. He had never been a very sociable person, being surrounded with that many people had thorn him a little bit off and Kim Jongin smiling back to him was making it even worse.

And then it was his turn. With tentative steps, he made his way to the stool and let the Sorting hat fall onto his head.

“Uhmm… I can see talent, and will to make the best out of everything but also too much shyness, always in control. Difficult, but I’ll say… Gryffindor!”

And that was how he found himself stuffing his face with pumpkin soup and butterscotch pudding with Chanyeol at his eels, sporting a huge sauce stain on both his cheeks and a huge red and gold scarf some upperclassman had wrapped around their shoulder.

In that moment, all his tension and worries melted into fresh happiness, spreading across his face from his lips to his eyes. Everybody seemed ad cheerful as he was, being nice and already treating the newbies like friends. He felt accepted, a big red and gold family.

He took a steamed cob and bit it with passion.

“Wow, these kids are starving. Care for an encore?” said the second year next to them, following then with adding his voice to the thousands of others in the room with the history of his “brilliant and utterly amazing life”, all while passing them even more food.

His name was Baekhyun, shiny eyes and mischievous smile, and, as Kyungsoo learned half-listening to him while eating, he was one of the best second year wizard the school had ever seen and the girl’s top eye candy. (Source material for those news unknown, but Kyungsoo had a hunch it was Baek himself). The newly sorted Gryffindor already wanted to shut his mouth with his spoon. Chanyeol on the other hand, looked starstruck.

“Soo?” he whispered behind a chicken thigh.

“Yeah?”

“I think I’m in love”

Kyungsoo laughed, covering his mouth with his hands.

“Please don’t tell me it’s only because he’s offering you food”

“Food is the key happiness, my little Soo, the key to happiness”

***

They had already unpacked all their belongings and Kyungsoo had decided to let Nina fly a little bit in the cool air before bed, just to let her stretch after the long journey to the school. He was now relaxing on one the common room’s armchair, Chanyeol’s head on his lap.

Kyungsoo had discovered two things: one, Chanyeol had no boundaries whatsoever and liked touching people just as much as being touched, namely on his nape; two, he snored. Like a lot. But so did his mother, cursed with pollen allergy in the most flower blessed town of England, so it was bearable.

There was a pleasant silence, filled with only the tired chitchats of the other Gryffindors and the crackling flames in the fireplace.

He was trying not to spill the ink on his friend’s forehead as he wrote his first letter to his mother, letting her know everything that had happened from the train’s departure till now, but his arms were growing tired and his eyes started closing on their own.

“Chanyeol?” he said, shaking his friend’s shoulder “We have to go to bed”

“Five more minutes, mom”

Kyungsoo chuckled, too tired to properly reply, and got up, leaving a sleepy Chanyeol to wobble behind him. Once under the soft covers, Kyungsoo let his mind drift to all the fantastic things that were awaiting him.

“Soo” came a whisper from the bed above him.

“Yeah?”

“This is going to be an awesome year”

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Hello there. Hope you've enjoyed the first chapter of my attempt of humor. This is something very different from what I usually write (see emotional angst in all my other fic) so if you want to express your thoughts, please leave a comment. It would make my day.

I promise there will be some sort of plot, but mostly ot12 fun, because I love to hurt myself :)

See you next chapter ^__^