Umji should not be giggling in the middle of Charms class, but here she was. She couldn’t help it. Umji had already read the chapter Professor Im was discussing, and on top of that, she’d also convinced Yuju to read it too. This meant they were both ahead and not paying attention much to the lecture. This led to Yuju drawing derpy doodles on the edges of Umji’s parchment as she tried to act like she was taking notes.

Umji was sure they were going to get yelled at, but thankfully by the time Professor Im dismissed class, she’d only given Umji and Yuju a stern look once. While the rest of the class bustled around them, Umji waited as Yuju packed up her things.

“Stop staring at me,” Yuju told her with an embarrassed grin.

“Why?”

Yuju just laughed and reached out to hold Umji’s hand. Yuju’s hand was warm in hers as it tugged her closer. Umji blushed but let Yuju keep her close as they walked out of Charms. Meeting Yuju was the last thing Umji expected to happen this year, but Umji was glad she’d been wrong about her predictions. Yuju was so kind and bright. She made Umji want to talk and smile more. It was a great feeling, especially when Yuju smiled at her.

“What are you thinking about?” Yuju asked, squeezing her hand to get her attention.

“You,” Umji replied without thinking. When she realized what she said, she blushed and stammered, “I mean, why wouldn’t I? We are walking together, right?”

“It’s okay,” Yuju told her. “I was thinking about you too.”

This time it was Umji who just laughed, ducking her head to bury it into Yuju’s shoulder to hide her blush.

“Hey,” Yuju said as she nudged her. “Are you doing anything tonight?”

“Besides homework? No.”

Yuju lit up like it was Christmas morning and asked, “Will you meet me in the kitchens tonight after dinner then? We could have hot cocoa and talk. I’m bet we could even beg the elves for some pastries.”

“Like a date?” Umji smiled teasingly.

It was rare for Yuju to be the flustered one, but now she was red-faced and saying hurriedly, “Only if you want it to be.”

“I’ll see you tonight,” Umji said instead of saying if it’d be a date. She went onto her toes and kissed Yuju’s cheek. The other girl was frozen, and Umji giggled as she said good-bye and went on to her other classes.

After her classes, Umji was on her way to the Slytherin dorms to see SinB and Eunha when she bumped into someone. Umji immediately apologized but froze when she saw who it was. Sowon grumbled under her breath and rubbed at her arm. She looked up sharply, a glare on her face that abruptly left when she saw it was Umji.

“Hi,” Sowon said awkwardly. “Umji, right?”

Unsure of what to say, Umji merely nodded. She had no doubts that Sowon wouldn’t pick a fight with her. She had no reason to. Umji was just a Ravenclaw to Sowon. This didn’t mean that Umji wouldn’t pick a fight with her though. Sowon might’ve been good to some people, allowing for her to gain her status as prefect and quidditch captain, but she wasn’t good to the people Umji cared about most. It was frustrating for Umji to see Sowon be friends with Yuju and ignore Umji, but scorn SinB and Eunha.

“Sorry about bumping into you,” Sowon tacked on when Umji said nothing and simply stared at her. Sowon scratched her head and hesitantly asked, “Are you going to the Slytherin dorms?”

Ignoring the warning sirens going off in her head, Umji nodded again.

“To see Eunha?”

A pause then another nod.

Sowon sighed, exhaling deeply. She scratched at her head again, but this time she avoided eye contact. “Just…” Sowon mumbled. “Just make sure she’s alright for me?”

Umji just nodded again, but internally she was running around in circles. She always wondered if it’d be possible to get through the Gryffindors’ thick heads that SinB and Eunha were more than they let on to be. Could this possibly be it? Judging by Sowon’s utter discomfort at having to ask, it looked like she cared about Eunha but didn’t particularly enjoy the fact that she cared. Umji sighed subtly. Baby steps, she supposed.

“Right,” Sowon said, drawing at the word when she wasn’t sure what to say next. She smiled tightly and said, “I’ll see you around then.” With that, Sowon scurried away like if she ran fast enough, she could pretend she hadn’t just asked about Eunha.

Umji watched her go and shook her head. What a mess.

By the time Umji made it the Slytherin dorms, Eunha was waiting outside for her. It was strange, since Umji hadn’t told either SinB or Eunha she’d stop by. Her confusion must’ve been clear on her face because as Umji walked up, Eunha explained without needing to be asked, “We assumed you’d be coming by. SinB wanted to wait outside for you herself, but she fell asleep. She’s been sleeping better lately, but I figured some extra sleep wouldn’t hurt.”

“That’s good,” Umji smiled. “I’m glad it’s finally December. November’s always such a hard month for her.”

“She says Halloween is what triggers it for her, but that everything in November reminds her of him,” Eunha sighed quietly. “It’s been years, but I hope it’ll get better for her eventually.”

“I just wish she’d talk about it more.”

Eunha shrugged and smiled sadly. “You know SinB. We’re lucky she even told us what was wrong in the first place.” She held Umji’s hand and smiled a bit brighter this time. “Come on. I heard you have some news for us.”

“What news?” Umji sputtered.

“Yuju news,” Eunha replied with a devilish grin and waggling eyebrows.

Umji groaned, “How do you even know about that already?”

She let Eunha drag her to her Slytherin dorm, complaining all the way but also wondering if she should tell Eunha about running into Sowon. However, after some silent deliberation, Umji figured it’d be better not to say anything. Both Eunha and SinB had been avoiding their respective Gryffindors, especially since that night they all went snooping around the castle. Umji knew it was a bitter subject for them, to both be loved and unloved by the Gryffindors, so she didn’t mention it.

When Umji and Eunha made it to the room, SinB was awake and stretching out on her bed like a cat. She smiled sleepily at them as they walked in. Umji and Eunha plopped down on either side of SinB. It was a tight squeeze, but they just snuggled closer.

“So,” SinB hummed, voice rough with sleep. “What’s this about a date, Umji?”

“Stooooop,” Umji whined. “Both you and Eunha! You sound like my parents.”

Umji shouldn’t have said that because SinB and Eunha both immediately pounced on her. Eunha pinched her cheeks and said, “Aigoo, my beautiful girl is so popular.” Meanwhile SinB clung to her and cried, “My little girl is growing up! If Yuju says one wrong thing, I’m bringing out my wand.” Umji laughed and tried to wiggle out of their grasps.

“Nothing too scandalous!” SinB yelled dramatically. “My poor heart couldn’t take it if my little girl got deflowered!”

Umji reddened and elbowed SinB while SinB and Eunha laughed hysterically. Umji had to deal with their teasing and dramatics from then all the way to dinner. They evidently were having the time of their lives making fun of her because they made Umji sit with them at the Slytherin table, squished between the two as they waxed poetry about Umji and Yuju’s love.

“She’ll describe her eyes as dark pools she could get lost in,” Eunha told them in a hushed tone. “It’ll be so romantic.”

SinB nodded, wiping away fake tears. “The most romantic.”

“Shut up,” Umji whined.

While she hated to be the end of the jokes for the night, she knew it was all out of love. Not only that, but Umji noticed how SinB and Eunha didn’t bother to become ice queens in the presence of others during dinner. She wasn’t sure if it was because they were too busy picking on her or what, but it warmed Umji’s heart to see them be themselves in front of others.

After dinner, SinB and Eunha saw her off with warnings of needing to give her The Talk next time, to which Umji responded with a roll of her eyes and a wave good-bye. She waited for the majority of the other students to shuffle out of the Great Hall before she slipped into the kitchens.

When Umji poked her head in, Yuju was already there. She was sitting at an unused counter, two cups of steaming hot cocoa in front of her. Smiling, Umji walked over and surprised her by placing her hands over Yuju’s eyes.

Yuju placed her hands on top of Umji’s and said, “These either belong to the girl of my dreams or a very tall house elf.”

“Hey!” Umji laughed.

Yuju grinned as she pulled Umji’s hand down so that Umji’s arms were wrapped around her. She turned her head, and Umji was breathless when she realized how close their faces were. However, Yuju just smiled and said softly, “Hi.”

Blushing, Umji pulled away and took the seat next to Yuju. She cupped her mug of cocoa, looking everywhere but Yuju.

“I’m sorry,” Yuju said. She tugged Umji to face her, eyes wide and pleading. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“It’s okay,” Umji reassured. “I just… Don’t have a lot of experience with dating and all this stuff. No one really wanted to date that weird prodigy from Ravenclaw who’s best friends with Slytherin’s most feared, you know?”

Umji was surprised when Yuju placed her hands over Umji’s and told her sincerely, “Then they missed out.” Part of Umji wanted to laugh it off, but then she realized how serious Yuju looked.

As if sensing Umji’s shock, Yuju swiftly changed subjects and asked, “How was your day?”

From there, Umji sipped at her hot cocoa every now and then, but she was mostly preoccupied talking to Yuju. It’d been months, but Umji was still surprised everytime by how easy it was to talk to Yuju. There was this comfortability and openness to the Hufflepuff that reassured Umji of their relationship– whatever their relationship was. Sure, they kissed each other’s cheeks sometimes, and Yuju certainly flirted a lot. They never discussed it though. Umji figured it was partially her fault for never asking, but she just sort of hoped Yuju would bring it up. Yuju was the initiator in the relationship. The talking, Hogsmeade, tonight…

Suddenly, Umji realized Yuju had stopped talking, her words trailing off moments before. Instead of speaking, Yuju was staring at her.

“What is it?” Umji asked quietly, nervously.

Yuju blinked a few times before smiling, a flush going from her face and down her body. “Sorry,” Yuju said. “I, uh, got distracted.”

“By what?”

“Your eyes,” Yuju admitted sheepishly. “They’re very pretty. I feel like I could get lost in them.”

Unwittingly, Umji thought of Eunha and SinB’s teasing earlier and couldn’t quite hold back a snort.

“That cheesy?” Yuju whined.

Umji laughed and held her hand. “It was sweet. It’s just… Eunha and SinB were teasing me earlier, and they predicted you would say you’d get lost in my eyes.”

“I’m so unoriginal!” Yuju lamented, but she was playful about it. She smiled still and winked at Umji. “We should get going. It’s getting late.” To Umji’s surprise, hours had already passed, and they had broken curfew by over an hour. “Sorry,” Yuju apologized, “but hopefully none of the prefects will catch us sneaking around.”

They departed right outside the kitchens, but as Umji turned to leave, Yuju pulled her back. Umji blushed as she was enveloped in a warm hug. She tentatively wrapped her arms around Yuju and sighed quietly in contentment. All too soon, Yuju pulled away, but she stopped so that their faces were just inches apart.

“Goodnight,” Yuju murmured, and Umji replied likewise but neither moved.

Slowly, most likely so she wouldn’t startle Umji, Yuju leaned in. For a brief second, Umji panicked and thought about pulling away, but when she felt Yuju’s lips soft and warm against her own, all thoughts flew out of her mind. It was a chaste kiss, so just as Umji kissed back, Yuju pulled away.

Umji was sure both of their faces were bright red, but they were also both grinning like idiots.

“Goodnight,” Yuju repeated. She kissed Umji once more, barely a brushing of the lips before she was walking away with an extra skip to her step.

Umji watched her go in a daze, fingers lingering on her lips. After a minute or so, Umji realized she was just standing in the hall where any prefect could find her. She shook her head with a small laugh and started heading toward the Ravenclaw tower.

As far as first kisses went, Umji was pretty sure that one was pretty amazing. She knew for a fact that Eunha’s first kiss had been because of a dumb game while SinB’s had been awkward in a way all preteen kisses are. Speaking of Eunha and SinB, Umji couldn’t wait to tell them about her night. She’d probably never hear the end of their teasing, but she was too giddy not to tell someone, and if she was going to be telling anyone it’d be them.

Umji smiled to herself and rounded a corner. As she walked, she heard footsteps behind her. Panicking at the thought of being caught by a prefect, Umji hurried into a shadowed alcove. She waited a tense minute or two, but no one came by. Confused, Umji stepped out, but just as she did, a gloved hand clamped over and another grabbed arm.

Umji screamed against the hand, thrashing against the hold on her, but just as Umji managed to rip the hand away from , she was met with darkness.

A/N: This is quite possibly the worst chapter to give you then say I'm not sure when I'll be able to update again, but I figured you'd want something rather than nothing. Now that I'm back at school, I'm not sure when I'll be able to post, but I will try to as frequently as I can :)