Yuju was practically buzzing in excitement and nervousness. She was waiting by the front gates of the school, dressed warmly for the late October weather in thick robes and a scarf. It was a Hogsmeade weekend, and Yuju had gotten Umji to agree to go with her. Sure, the deal was that SinB and Eunha had to join them, but Yuju didn’t really mind. The few times she’d talked to them they’d been nothing but polite.

“Yuju!”

Recognizing Umji’s voice, Yuju turned around with an excited smile. The Ravenclaw was walking toward her, flanked on either side by SinB and Eunha. It was quite the sight: Umji rosy-cheeked and smiling, almost waddling from how thick her clothing was, SinB looking bored on one side dressed in rather thin robes considering the weather with a scarf thrown on carelessly, and Eunha smiling coyly on the other side in fashionable winter clothing. The Slytherins looked like Umji’s bodyguards, but then again, that wasn’t entirely wrong.

“Hey, guys,” Yuju greeted happily.

“I hope you weren’t waiting too long,” Umji said apologetically. “SinB took forever to get out of bed this morning.”

SinB rolled her eyes and grumbled, “I told you that I would catch up later.”

“You would have slept all day,” Umji retorted.

“I need the sleep to look this pretty,” SinB sassed.

While it was a classic quip coming from SinB, there was also something off. Yuju noticed the dark circles under SinB’s eyes and couldn’t help but wonder if Umji should’ve let her sleep. It wasn’t her place to say anything though, and she doubted SinB would’ve liked Yuju calling her out on her lack of sleep.

“I wasn’t waiting long,” Yuju reassured them. “Besides, it’ll be more fun with SinB too.”

SinB looked taken aback by Yuju’s words, just like she always did when Yuju said something nice, but she still nodded slightly to show her appreciation. It was nice to see SinB slowly warming up to her. She honestly had her worried for a little bit because when Yuju had met Eunha, they had gotten along easily. It had been SinB who stubbornly tried to keep her distance, but Yuju could see the tension leave SinB bit by bit every time they hung out.

“Let’s get going before we become human icicles,” Eunha spoke up. She fluttered her eyelashes and said teasingly, “Since Yuju invited us all out, she owes us a round of butterbeer.”

“Eunha…” Umji said warningly, but Yuju waved it off.

“She’s right. I invited you out. It’s the least I can do.”

Yuju looped arms and started walking, tugging Umji along. She smiled down at the shorter girl as she rearranged their arms into a more comfortable position. Yuju glanced over her shoulder to behind where SinB and Eunha were trailing after them, heads tucked close together as they talked. She vaguely remembered Sowon asking her if SinB and Eunha were dating. At the time, she’d shrugged because she hadn’t really seen them together and was definitely not going to ask Umji that. Now, watching them, she did wonder. She shrugged. It wasn’t any of her business.

“How did you like my dad’s latest creation?” Yuju asked, striking up a conversation.

Umji smiled and replied, “I only had one macaron. SinB and Eunha devoured the rest.”

“They have some serious sweet tooths, huh?” Yuju laughed. “Next time, I’ll ask my dad for more, so you can have more than one.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Umji shook her head, frowning.

“It’s no trouble,” Yuju promised. When Umji looked at her disbelievingly, she smiled warmly and tugged her closer. “You’re doing my mom a favor. She’s always complaining about how hard it is to lose weight when all my dad does is make sweets.”

Umji still looked unconvinced but dropped the subject. She spoke to Yuju warmly and said more than she normally did, but Yuju noticed how she kept glancing back at her friends.

“Is something really interesting happening back there?” Yuju joked after Umji looked over her shoulder for the fifth time in two minutes.

“Ah sorry,” Umji said immediately. She casted one last look behind them before giving her attention to Yuju. “I don’t mean to be rude. I’m just worried about SinB.”

“She seems tired,” Yuju remarked casually, making sure not to let on how much she’d noticed. Though, tired seemed to be putting it lightly. As they walked, SinB seemed to leaning on Eunha an awful lot and when she wasn’t, she wobbled precariously. “Is she okay?”

Umji frowned and gave a helpless shrug. “She hasn’t been sleeping well. This time of year doesn’t suit her.”

“Then we’ll making this outing short,” Yuju decided, ignoring the fact that she remembered SinB saying how much she loved snow and the winter time.

“You’ve been talking about this for weeks,” Umji protested.

Yuju shrugged. “There will be other weekends for Hogsmeade. We’ve got the rest of the year. What matters is SinB’s health.”

Umji looked at Yuju for a long moment, and Yuju wondered if she said the wrong thing when Umji suddenly leaned over and kissed her cheek. Yuju blinked dumbly and tried not to stare too incredulously at Umji.

“Thank you,” Umji whispered earnestly, “for caring about her when you don’t have to.”

“She’s important to you, Umji, and you’re important to me,” Yuju explained simply. “It’ll just be this mass circle of caring.”

Umji smiled brightly and giggled. “Come on, we’re almost there.”

When they arrived to the Three Broomsticks, SinB and Umji went to claim a booth while Yuju and Eunha went to buy the drinks. It was Yuju’s first time being alone with either of Umji’s friends, and she wasn’t above admitting that they made her nervous. They didn’t make her nervous from all the rumors, but it was that they were practically Umji’s family. Their approval was a necessity.

“You and Umji seemed awfully cozy on the walk here,” Eunha commented curiously as they waited for their turn to be served.

Yuju blushed and rubbed at the back of her neck shyly. “Umji was just touched that I was okay with making this a short Hogsmeades trip, so SinB can get some rest.”

Similar to SinB and Umji, Eunha reacted in surprise to Yuju’s thoughtfulness. It was depressing to think why they always reacted like that.

“You’re a good person,” Eunha told her seriously. “It takes a big heart to care about Slytherins.”

“You’re people too,” Yuju replied, refraining from making a joke to show how she didn’t care about the stereotypes. “You could even be good people for all I know. People are just… They’re afraid of change, especially the ones who made those rumors. One day, they won’t even matter.”

Eunha smiled sadly at her words and repeated, “You’re a good person.” She turned away as the barkeeper walked up to take their order. Before Yuju could stop her, Eunha paid for their drinks. Seeing Yuju’s pout, Eunha laughed lightly and said, “You can get the tab next time, Puff.”

Yuju sighed in acquiescence and grabbed two mugs while Eunha grabbed the other two. She followed her to the table and slid in next to Umji while Eunha sat next to SinB.

While Umji and Eunha started talking about how their families were doing, Yuju tried not to flinch when she looked at SinB. Upon closer inspection, it was a miracle that SinB had made it to Hogsmeade. The bags under her eyes seemed to have somehow worsened during the ten minute walk, and even though she was only sitting, SinB swayed like she didn’t have the energy to stay upright.

Noticing her stare, SinB glared weakly at Yuju. Instead of cowering away, Yuju said, “Why don’t you go back to the castle to sleep, SinB?”

“I’m fine,” SinB snapped.

Eunha rolled her eyes and said, “You’re about to faceplant into your butterbeer.”

“I said I’m fine,” SinB repeated irritably. She looked from Eunha to Yuju. “Puff, tell us about yourself.”

Yuju was startled by the demand, but she answered anyways. “Well, you know I’m a seventh year in Hufflepuff. I’m sure SinB knows I play chaser for my quidditch team. I come from a witch mother and a muggle father. I have an older sister, but she travels a lot so we aren’t as close anymore. Um, and I’m glad to have met you all.”

“Well, she did what you told her to,” Umji said, amused.

“Yeah, in the most boring way,” Eunha complained.

Even SinB looked both amused and disappointed. She tapped her fingers against her mug thoughtfully, looking at Yuju like she was an interesting specimen. Finally SinB said, “That was a nice introduction, but you aren’t being interviewed. We, uh, well we want to get to know you, since you’re Umji’s friend. I meant, tell us what food or music you like. If you think the Chudley Cannons deserved that win last year. That kind of thing.” When Yuju could only stare in surprise, SinB glared petulantly at her and added, “Don’t give me that look, Yuju. I can be interested in people.”

“That’s not it,” Yuju said quickly. “It’s just… you and Eunha aren’t like what people say.”

“Maybe we are,” Eunha said, locking eyes with Yuju. She was trying to read her again. “What makes you think we aren’t?”

“The fact that you aren’t spitting in my face for being a half-blood?” Yuju offered.

SinB smirked. “You aren’t as dumb as you look, Yuju.”

“Thanks,” Yuju replied wryly. She sat back in her seat and wasn’t sure where to start. She felt a hand slip into hers and glanced at Umji who gave her an encouraging smile. So, she just started rambling about herself. She talked about how much she liked muggle plants but was no good at herbology. She described her father’s latest cooking exploit that had been so bad he hadn’t sent any to her. Yuju just talked, and they listened and asked questions. It felt like hanging out with friends. It was as easy as hanging out with Sowon and Yerin.

Speaking of her other friends, she watched as they walked through the doors and noticed her. Yuju prayed they wouldn’t walk over, but the odds were against her because they started moving toward her.

SinB, Eunha, and Umji wondered why Yuju had trailed off and turned to follow her stare. Umji sighed and sank into her seat while both SinB and Eunha tensed. It was always hard to tell what was going to happen. These days Yuju knew that SinB and Yerin flirted more than they fought, and Sowon and Eunha could be somewhat civil. However, Yuju knew better than to hope for the best.

“Mind if we join you?” Sowon asked as she and Yerin walked up.

Before Yuju could say no, SinB spoke up, eyes dead but lips curled into a cocky grin. “Go ahead, Gryffs. The more the merrier.”

Yuju suddenly felt like she was very out of the loop. She looked to Umji and shared a look of distress with her. Maybe next time, they could hang out without their friends.