A flying broomstick and a wicked sweet

It was official: Kyungsoo loved flying on a broom.

It had been surprisingly easy: he just shouted “Up!” and the broom had immediately obeyed, making him hover ten feet from the ground and going even higher. Everything looked so tiny from up there: the school, the students going from one class to another, the house elves in the kitchens…

From above Hogwarts’s turrets, he could see the Forbidden forest stretching beyond the horizon, dark and mysterious, and the Great Lake, water reflecting the sunlight coming from behind the clouds and drenching the landscape in its warmth. It felt so serene, so calm, Kyungsoo almost forgot he was floating mid-air over the Quidditch field.

Nina was somewhere between the edge of that vision, stretching her wings and delivering his letter to his mother. He missed her, more than he wanted to admit, but he did. It had always been only him and her, alone against the world and now she was by herself, so he had decided to write her letters, as many as he possibly could.

One last look and he had to get down, joining Chanyeol who had finished his flight before him. Apparently, the redhead had a real talent for flying on a broom, twirling and spinning in perfect balance like it was nothing.

“Soo, did you see me? I was awesome” he beamed.

“You were. At this rate you could get into the Quidditch team in your first year”

“Oh my God, it would be amazing!”

Kyungsoo offered to go put both their brooms in the equipment room and later join him for lunch. He felt like he needed some time alone, to think and unwind. Being with Chanyeol was great but he was a real talker and Kyungsoo had always loved working in silence so he walked to the room and carefully placed the brooms in their places.

Deciding he could make his friend wait two more minutes, he stopped in the main courtyard and remained still for a moment, breathing in the chilly autumn air and exhaling white puffs of condensate. If he closed his eyes hard enough, he could almost imagine being back home, ready to bring the potted plants inside for the winter season.

But even after all that melancholia, he was so incredibly glad to be there at Hogwarts.

With a sprint, he made his way to the dining hall and joined Chanyeol and Baekhyun in their deep conversation about the various Quidditch teams around England.

“Our last captain even made it into the Irish national team, he’s a legend. Now Kris had gotten his position but we still have to see him in action.” Said Baekhyun, sipping on grape juice and sliding the redhead a couple of sandwiches “I was thinking about going to the tryouts for a chaser role; last year almost half of the team graduated and there are a lot of holes in the formation, are you two interested?”

Kyungsoo politely declined; he loved flying but he had heard from fellow Gryffindors of how many times the previous athletes had broken their bones and had to be brought to the infirmary and he certainly wasn’t up for that his first year in the school. Chanyeol, on the contrary, looked at the older wizard with stars leaping form his eyes and smiled.

“Do you really think I could do it?”

Baekhyun exploded in a firework of reassurances and beams of Quidditch talking Kyungsoo knew nothing about, so he just tuned out and concentrated on his food. He was happy Chanyeol made friends so easily, but those two were starting to creep him out. Was it normal to be that energetic all day?

Definitely not.

***

Tao knew one never ended learning about the world, but dealing with Kris Wu opened an entirely new dimension of possibilities.

First time they met, Kris was no taller than him, long dark hair and a cold atmosphere that followed him everywhere, one that had gained him the respect of the whole Gryffindor house. First impression of him had been of total awe as the young Gryffindor had aced all his flying tests and made it into the team relatively earlier than his classmates.

Now, after several years of getting stuck in the same class brewing potions or getting to know Hagrid’s feral children (Namely, Aragog’s offspring) Tao had gotten used to the hilariously weird attitude the now tall and blonde wizard had towards him.

“We are going first”

Tao cocked an eyebrow, biting his lip in a mute question. Kris had just recently been appointed captain of Gryffindor Quidditch team and was signing for the tryouts’ time slot, but they both knew he had never learnt to say no to him.

“I think Slytherin deserves the first slot more. After all, we’ve let you win the Quidditch Cup last year, so it’s only fair”

“You let us win?” cried Kris in disbelief “How about we beat your last year and we are going to do it a second time?”

Getting cheeky, the new captain. But Tao hadn’t been put in Slytherin for nothing, so he stood up and tip toed to reach Kris’ height, making sure to give him one of his most lethal glares.

“You remember what happened the last time you said no to me, right? I think a piece of your underwear is still on the Whomping Willow. Are you sure your up for round two?”

Kris’s face changed from rosy to bright red, avoiding the Slytherin gaze. He still had a scar on his left cheek from that incident and he surely didn’t want to repeat the experience, but he was the new captain damnit! So he engulfed his survival instinct and signed his name anyway on top of the board.

“S-still, I came earlier than you here and I’ll get the better slot”

Tao simply looked at him in amusement, a terrifying smile on his face.

“You are going to regret it” he said, signing his name two rows after his and running off to the Slytherin dormitory.

When he was sure he was completely alone, Kris banged his head on the wall. In that moment, two things were clear in his mind: first, he was so totally ed. Second…

“In Merlin’s pants’ name, Slytherins aren’t supposed to look that handsome while threatening someone!”

***

Jongin was right: the view from the owlery was breathtaking. He could see everything, from the Muggle boats in the distance, sailing the lake like tiny dots on a mirror, to the rooftops of the nearest town. The air smelled like muck and seaweed, a fragrance Sehun had never inhaled in his life, coming from one of the most industrialized cities of the world and his family’s manor being in the heart of it all.

It smelled like freedom.

It would have been a perfect moment if it hadn’t been for the black owl waiting for him with a letter tightly secured in his claws. With a sigh, the young Slytherin took the envelope and opened it, already knowing who that was from. Better to just rip the Band-Aid off.

The letter began floating mid-air, the voice of his father booming between the owlery walls:

“Oh Sehun,

I expect you are already set in your new house and that said house is Slytherin. I would not accept a Gryffindor or a Hufflepuff back in my manor, you already know that, but I have high hopes for you. As this is your first year, you must give the best of the first impressions, not leaving even a subject aside and making as many powerful connection as you can.

I’ve also sent you the list of families you should associate yourself with and the ones you shouldn’t. Stick to that and make your father proud.

I’ll be waiting for your monthly report on your studies,

Sincerely,

Your father.

PS: Useless activities such as Quidditch and Hogsmead trips won’t be tolerated. You have to focus on being the best.”

As soon as the voice stopped, the letter began ripping itself into pieces, leaving a sad paper pile on the floor. The black family owl nipped at his hands until he got the list, later spreading his wings and flying of faster than a lightning into the horizon, back to the family mansion.

One second, two, three… a scream ripped the silence and shook the entire school, making all the owls fidget uncomfortably in their cages. Sehun was fed up to his limits.

He had come to Hogwarts with the hope of escaping his father’s manipulative behavior but he was keeping tabs on him even when there was a whole country between them. He shredded the list and threw it from the tower without a single regret.

He wouldn’t be the Oh’s puppet anymore, he was Sehun and he was going to be the best ing seeker Slytherin had ever seen.

***

“And then he did a pirouette to get off the Chasers and took the golden Snitch with his pinky. Can you believe that? It was the best match I’ve ever seen in my life”

Baekhyun, as Chanyeol had quickly discovered, was a source of endless gossip and Quidditch’s information, all sprinkled with a good dose of “Hey I have food, do you want some?” and frankly speaking, he loved that. He was currently chewing at some kind of licorice wand the older wizard had given him while listening to all sorts of brooms’ stuff he understood nothing about and he felt like the happiest man in the world.

“Say Baek” he mumbled, munching his words between bites “Is it really that hard for first years to get on the team?”

“Well, after Harry Potter there had been a lot more that tried, but being their first time on a broom and all, they almost never get the role. This is why I’ve waited a year to try; last year I almost beheaded Madama Bumb while trying a trick I had seen our captain do and it wasn’t pretty.”

Chanyeol grimaced, looking at his feet. He had thought he could have a real shot at becoming a chaser, but maybe Baekhyun was right, it was a little early for him to try.

“But I’m sure you’ll do great”

Or maybe it was the best idea ever.

The redhead beamed at Baekhyun, yelling an enthusiastic “Thanks, hyung” and picking up the pace to walk by his side.

When he was still in a normal muggle school, making friends had never been a problem thanks to his outgoing personality, but when strange things had started happening near him, magic finally manifesting out of his body, the other kids had begun to avoid him, some even calling him names and picking on him.

Being with someone who finally understood him made him feel like walking on air again, especially when Baekhyun was smiling at him, making him feel normal while not being so even one bit. It was wonderful.

They were still talking about the tryouts, walking leisurely down the hallway when they almost tripped on someone sitting on the floor, cross-legged and talking to a mouse on his hands. There was only one person that could fit this description and Baekhyun knew him all too well.

“Yixing, what are you doing here?”

The tall Hufflepuff looked at Baekhyun with a confused expression, like it should have been obvious he was totally lost and was asking T-Rex for directions. Some people were just as ignorant about mice as he was about any kind of sense of north and south.

“I was going to the Quidditch field to see Jun fly, but the stairs decided to change my floor of landing, so I don’t know where I am”

Mind you, Chanyeol had only known the good side of Baekhyun, the one which could actually be considered cool, so when he saw the Gryffindor student crouch next to Yixing and begin patting his head, cooing “My little Xingxing, are you lost?” it was only natural for him to drop on his knees and start rolling on the floor with laughter.

“Hyung, what the hell are you doing?” he said, still howling.

Baekhyun looked at him, a tiny pout on his face while still holding a very confused Yixing.

“Can’t you see my Xing is in trouble? Don’t worry sweety, we’ll accompany you there”

Here’s what it was: Baekhyun and Yixing had been friends since the Gryffindor’s first year in Hogwarts, being Yixing his tutor in Transfiguration and just an overall great friend whenever he was in trouble. What had started with mild adoration, a notice-me-senpai relationship, had degenerated in Baekhyun obsessing over the cute Hufflepuff and his whole lack of down to earth being.

Some people found it weird. Chanyeol, however, being the over positive and gentle giant he was, found it adorable, so he just helped the Hufflepuff onto his feet and the three started walking towards the field.

Fortunately for Yixing, this time in the right direction.

***

“So Minseok is a…?”

Jongdae grinned and looked at him amused, hands shoved in the pockets of his robe. They were walking through the courtyard, heading to the fields to see Minseok test the newcomers in the team.

“A beater”

Kyungsoo pursued his lips.

“And a beater does what, exactly?”

“They try to protect the others from bludgers, this really crazy ball whose only goal is to break your face, and they try to aim it towards the other team”

“Sounds brutal”

Jongdae snickered, a cunning smile on his face.

“That’s because it is. But don’t worry, it has been a long time since someone was seriously injured.” Dramatic pause “Or, at least, that’s what they told us”

“Jongdae!”

“Sorry, sorry”

The two boys looked at each other for a long, silent moment, then Kyungsoo bit his lip to hold the laugher in, only to make the most hilarious sound with his mouth that had them both rolling on the floor.

It was nice, laughing like this without a care in the world. It had been a long time since Kyungsoo’d had one of those moments with a friend; it was usually only his mother who could make him smile, that happiness than no money can buy, because his list of friends had drastically decreased in an attempt of not letting them know his hair changed length and color with his mood or that his sandwiches could sing when he was feeling blue.

The wizarding world was a new one for him, he still didn’t know its implicit and non-spoken rules, but he wanted to enjoy it in its every shapes and forms, including a very teasing and smile-inducing Jongdae.

“And you are?” he asked.

“I’m the official speaker. It used to be Heechul but he swears too much when Gryffindor scores so he was suspended” he snickered, offering a sly smile “Not that I don’t do that”

Kyungsoo thought about muggle soccer speakers, always professional with the fastest gab, so much sometimes they forgot what grammar was for the sake of the game. Jongdae looked perfectly cut for the part.

They climbed up the wooden stairs and Kyungsoo finally took a peek at the Quidditch field: a row of students stood boots on the freshly cut grass with a broom in their hands, dressed in red and gold while Kris was already giving them his encouragement speech with a Sonorus spell to overtop the screams of the other players that were warming up in the air. They were swinging their bats, twirling and stretching against the chilly wind like they had no weight, all around the rings.

Kyungsoo could see Chanyeol and Baekhyun, rigid in their uniforms and reddened from nervous sweat. He waved cheerfully, hoping they could feel the positive thoughts he was sending.

The first of the two to be called was Baekhyun, faking confidence on his used Nimbus 2002, but everybody could see his hands were shaking. When he flew up to the first ring, suddenly a voice boomed in the arena, almost deafening Kyungsoo.

“Ladies and gentlemen, here we have second year Gryffindor Baekhyun, prank master and bacon extraordinaire, trying for a chaser role. Give him a round of applause”

Kyungsoo looked appalled at Jongdae, who had a satisfied look on his face, his wand still raised up to his throat.

“Was that really necessary?” he asked, not even hearing the sound of his own voice.

“Absolutely. Look” he replied, pointing at the rings.

In the distance, a very angry voice shouted back:

“Son of a troll, who did you dare to call bacon? I’ll show you, you piece of rat intestines!”

Needless to say, the Gryffindor scored seventy points in ten minutes, almost sending Kris to the infirmary with a particularly powerful and angry throw. He was in the team.

Chanyeol was looking at him with widened eyes, almost too afraid to ride his broom, but when his name was called by a bloody-nose Kris, Baekhyun walked up to him and whispered some words in his ear, so faint nobody could hear but him and waved him off with a smile.

When he came down his broom, he had the reddest ears Kyungsoo had ever seen but also the widest grin, shouting from the field in his direction jubilant words. The tiny Gryffindor couldn’t help but to wave back, giving him two thumbs up.

One by one, the Gryffindor players were scrutinized and then came the Ravenclaw ones, all wrapped up in their blue and bronze scarves, robes dancing in the wind. It was getting colder and Kyungsoo shoved his hands in his pockets, leaning forward alongside Jongdae to spot Minseok with his bat, shouting at the newcomers to line up in order of age.

He sneaked a glance at his Ravenclaw friend: his eyes were glued on Minseok and a faint trace of his feline smile was showing on his lips, something glinting in his irises he had never seen before. He wanted to ask, but he thought it was better to wait and just let Jongdae enjoy the moment.

“Oh, Kyungsoo look! Here he goes!” he shouted, pointing at the colorful dot that was Minseok, trying to aim the bludger on one very bulky Ravenclaw trying for the chaser role.

Kyungsoo turned his head towards the scene, but oh, fate is cruel sometimes: Minseok lost balance at the last second and lost grip on the bat while shooting the bludger, missing the right trajectory and aiming instead at the Gryffindor’s face. The last things Kyungsoo felt was the little bones in his nose breaking into pieces.

***

Tao came down, dismounting from the broom at the speed of lightning and crashed into him, hugging him tightly, cheers loud in the air.

“You made it!”

Luhan smiled, his new bought bat spinning over their heads. He had just nailed his beater tryout, so much even Kris, the Gryffindor captain with a ridiculous tissue in his nose, had to congratulate him, much to Tao’s hilarity. That was indeed a good day.

“Were you doubting my perfect Quidditch skills?” he mockingly asked.

Tao laughed, an arm swinging over the other’s shoulder.

“Not even for a second. We should celebrate tonight. I’ll take some food out of my secret stash”

Luhan suddenly lighted up.

“Your secret stash?”

Tao nodded: “Just for today though”

“I don’t care; this is the best day ever!”

But while he was joyously jumping, already anticipating all that chocolate and toffee waiting for him in the dorm, his friend’s expression abruptly darkened, looking at something behind his shoulders.

“I wouldn’t say it so soon if I were you” he said, grimacing “Lulu, turn around”

The Slytherin did as he was told, looking at the corner were the Head chaser was testing the ones trying out for a seeker role. He squinted to see what was happening and gasped in horror: someone was shaking hands with the head chaser, beaming at him and thanking him with a polite bow.

A low growl escaped Luhan’s lips: that someone was Oh Sehun and the git was smirking at him.

The Slither took Tao by the sleeve and stormed off the field. That had suddenly turned into the worst day of the year.

***

Junmyeon was exhausted. He took his uniform off and put on back his robes, vaguely thinking he should have taken a shower before that, but he was too tired. He was going to go the prefects’ bathroom, but first he needed a nap in his room and something to eat.

Broom and gloves in hand, he walked off the dressing room and turned to leave, but he bumped –more like crashed- into someone and made him fell down. With a faint “Excuse me” he made a move to help the stranger when he realized:

“Yixing, what are doing here?” he felt like it was always the first thing he asked him.

The Hufflepuff looked at him, confused.

“To watch you fly, obviously” he said candidly, a cute dimple appearing right next to his smile.

Junmyeon swallowed hard, lost for a moment in Yixing eyes so full of nothing but joy and sweetness. He remembered the first time he had seen him in his Herbology class their first year, back when they had been assigned partners for the day; they had to out dittany’s essence to make healing potions later, but Yixing had been staring at the plant for over five minutes, not sure how to take it.

“Are you okay?” Junmyeon had asked.

“Yeah, just… don’t you think in this way we’ll hurt the plant? out essence doesn’t sound all that pleasant”

The Ravenclaw had looked at him, puzzled.

“Well yes, we’ll have to kill some of the leaves, but they’ll grow again after a few days”

At that, the little Hufflepuff had turned to him, eyes big and mouth in a timid smile.

“Really? That’s nicer”

That had been the moment. Junmyeon would always remember the way his heart made a triple jump in his chest, his hands fumbling over the hem of his robe despite the big gloves and his mouth stumbling over words he perfectly knew how to say. That was the moment he crushed head-on Yixing and it was like reviving it every damn time.

“Do you…” he started saying.

“Do I want to go eat something? Yes, I’m starving” Yixing finished for him, smiling and tugging his arm along to the dining hall, T-Rex peeking from his pocket, already smelling food.

Sometimes being a Junmyeon in a world full of screaming Jongdaes was difficult for his heart, but having Yixing made it ten times worse.

***

Jongin had tried, he really had. He had gone all the way to the field to see his brother fly and maybe to try out the stands seats as a new nap spot and he had successfully done so for the entire Ravenclaw tryout, but when the Slytherins had started flying he had been interrupted by a swarm of young Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw girls, all asking to sit next to him and trying to start up a conversation when all he wanted to do was to sleep. He had tried to be nice and politely asked them to go away but they had simply laughed it off and stayed there, increasing even more the volume of their voice. Half into the practice he had decided he’d had enough and strode off to the courtyard.

It was starting to get really cold, but fortunately he had a warm scarf made by his grandmother back at home, enchanted to warm up his skin when it was chilly outside. He pulled it up to cover his mouth and stood under the willow, observing the grass dancing in the gentle wind. He suddenly felt the need to run, a jolt of energy running through his veins like a caffeine shot.

He bit his lip and sighed: winter was coming. He would have to pay a visit to the room of requirement that night too.

“Jongin, what are you doing here, you’ll freeze to death!”

A familiar voice snapped him out of his thoughts and made him turn, his white hair hiding his eyes.

“Hey Sehun, weren’t you at the Quidditch field?”

“Yeah and I already got the role. I’m the official Slytherin seeker now” the proud smile made way to a more concerned one “How long have you been standing here?”

“I have no idea. I was lost in some thoughts and didn’t look at the time… I guess it would be an hour or so”

Sehun looked at his old childhood friend and pouted, crossing his arms in front of his chest with a light snort. It was not every day one could see that sweet side of Sehun, not that anyone was really paying attention, but it was something that came up only with Jongin and the Hufflepuff was always happy to see it. It meant Sehun was in a good mood for once.

“For Merlin’s beard Jongin, you’ll get frost bites. Do you want to come into my room? The elves in the kitchen gave me some sweets they got from Hogsmead”

The Hufflepuff nodded, still buried in his scarf and followed his friend to the Slytherin’s dormitory under the lake. The room was empty, the other students already at the dining hall, but when Sehun launched himself on the bed, taking a wooden box from under the mattress full of golden candies, Jongin forgot everything about dinner and joined his friend in the feast.

It looked like a scene from their childhood, Jongin sitting on Sehun’s bed with his face full of smeared chocolate and sugar, the two kids giggling at the parents’ perplexed expression.

“Here you go”

Sehun handed him some Fizzing Whizzbees while stuffing a handful into his mouth, managing to get a laugh out of Jongin. The Hufflepuff had spent those first days sleeping most of his time away, retrieving the hours of sleep he lost being awake at night, so he couldn’t really say he had been focusing on making friends, but he knew Sehun would always be there for him.

“Oh, I haven’t said it, but congratulations” murmured Jongin, leaning over the pillow, head limping over his hand.

“It was worth all of the practice at my house this summer. I broke two tiles while trying out my mother’s Comet”

Jongin would have laughed, really, but he was too tired, his eyes already beginning to close and his hand buckling under the weight of his body. Sehun looked at him, concern already engraved in his brows after years of worrying over his nightowl friend.

“You shouldn’t do it every night. If they catch you, you’ll get a detention worth a lifetime”

The Hufflepuff groaned, face buried in Sehun’s pillow. The Slytherin was sure he would have to share his bed that night, so he simply handed him another pastry and laid beside him.

“It’s not that I get any choice, it’s stronger than me” Jongin’s voice was muffles by the dessert being stuffed in his mouth with a content sigh “I can’t sleep, there’s like a voice in my head that screams…”

Sehun waited for the rest of the sentence, but it never came. He nudged at Jongin with his elbow and all he got was a jittery chirp.

“Jongin…?”

The Hufflepuff was wordlessly looking at his hands, now covered in soft yellow feathers, his nails grown into sharp claws. Sehun looked at him, then at the sweet in his hands and bolted to get the packaging, but Jongin had already understood.

“Sehun” he chirped, his voice an octave higher than it should have been “I think you gave me a Canary cream”

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Here it is. There are now all the twelve dorks in the story, hope I'll be able to lead them into a coherent story without making a mess :') I may or may not have paired up everybody but hey, the hearts wants what it wants and apparently mine is full of ships.

Next chapter we might see some cute interactions... coughs*kaisoo*coughs and some pretty dumb decisions, so stay tuned for that. (next update might come a little later because I'll be two weeks in Japan woops)

Also, let me know how you like it so far in the comments, I love reading those ^__^