“Hey,” Nayeon smirked, her hands locked together and dangling in front of her. Nayeon’s eyes never left Momo’s and Mom felt it, her gaze was heavy and full of some unknown expectation she couldn’t put her finer on. It made Momo a little nervous and she could tell that Jisoo felt overwhelmed next to her, the trembling of her hands making the table quiver underneath them. It was amazing what the mere presence of Nayeon could have on the entire Hogwarts student body. 

“Hi. This is uh, my friend Jisoo.” Mom gestured back to her shaking best friend who Nayeon disregarded completely with a wicked smile.

“Get up I want to walk you to your class,” she demanded, not waiting for any response before she grabbed Momo by the arm and pulled her to her feet. Her grip was ice cold but surprisingly strong for someone who presumably doesn’t work out one bit. Momo looked back at Jisoo as Nayeon pulled her away forcefully, unable to say no or physically refuse for Nayeon’s combination of her tight grip and bullet train like speed, it was impossible. 

“Um okay—“ Momo said waving back to Jason as she was whisked out of the  Great Hall and into the corridor.

Many students bustled past, some glancing their way as the Slytherin Queen’s hand slid down Momo’s forearm and intertwined their fingers. To the onlookers it must have looked like something it wasn’t. 

“What- Why are you doing that?” she asked Nayeon as she led her through the courtyard and into another hallway. They were going the right way but Momo had never actually told her what class she needed to attend, it was like Nayeon already  knew. Nayeon shrugged, squeeing Momo’s hand tightly. 

“Because we’re friends,” she told her.

Now Momo had one or two friends and they never really held hands— they usually held the edges of each other’s cloaks or sweaters, linked arms and even gave each other piggyback rides— never anything this seemingly intimate.

Momo nodded. 

“Oh.. Okay.”

Nayeon turned to her, walking backwards so she could look Momo in the eyes again. Her earlier smirk shockingly had turned into a softer smile. 

“I had a great time talking with you last night,” Nayeon admitted and Momo could swear she noticed her cheeks turn a light shade of pink under the morning sunlight. Momo raised her eyebrows in disbelief. One of the most popular witches in school had a great time with her? HER?

“Me too,” Momo replied slowly, trying to choose the best words “I was surprised about how understanding you were— no offense.”

Momo bit her lip at Nayeon’s hesitation. Even though she barely knew Nayeon, Momo could tell she always ALWAYS had something to say at the edge of her tongue. If Momo could guess, she would say Nayeon seemed slightly disappointed, as if she was saddened by the tales of her reputation reaching all the way to the Quidditch player. Momo quickly tried to fix her mistake. 

“I just mean you didn’t seem to mind about my… situation. My blood.”

Momo felt Nayeon’s icy fingers hold onto her hand even tighter at this. It was a simple gesture but Momo was unsure of what it meant. How could someone so seemingly judgmental not care at all about her being a Mudblood? Mom felt a tinge of hope. 

Nayeon now had looked away ahead of her, her head held high in contentment and confidence as they walked further down the corridor. She really looked as if she owned the place. 

“Yeah well, blood discrimination is of the past,” Nayeon  stated after a moment, her voice level but sharp. Nayeon suddenly halted the pair in front of Momo’s first morning class: Potions. A bittersweet taste formed in Momo’s mouth— she remembered Sana would probably be in there talking boisterously and giggling with her clique like nothing had happened last night. 

Hanging out with Momo to Sana was probably a dare or a joke, a tactic used to show power within the popular group most likely to teach Mom that Muggle Borns didn’t matter. There’s always a game being played within a superior group Momo figured. 

“It doesn’t matter. Not to me,” Nayeon continued, snapping Momo out of her haunting thoughts. 

“Why not?” she asked, her tone unwavering but her insides as unsteady as jelly. This time Momo was the one to initiate the eye contact, Nayeon responding by untangling their hands and fixing the lopsided collar of Momo’s uniform that Momo had intended but forgotten to fix earlier. Momo noticed Nayeon’s eyes lingering around the knot of her tie, her hands taking a tad too long to move away from her lapel. Momo held her breath. 

“I… have my reasons,” she said simply, the tight line of her lips relaxing into an almost cheerful smile as if there was more for her to say than she was letting on. Nonetheless Nayeon was happy to have shared her time between breakfast and her first class with Momo. She found herself wanting to do more she didn’t know exactly how. All she knew as she waved goodbye from the hallway door was that the feeling that she had inside was different than anything she had felt before.

~~~

Momo had entered the classroom just as the lesson began, sitting in her usual seat next to Jisoo on the left side of the room. She could feel Jisoo staring at her expectantly, wanting to know probably just what Nayeon was up to. But Momo didn’t even know that herself. 

“Blink once in a while will you?” Momo whispered to her friend, who rolled her eyes and bent over to take out both a quill and a piece of parchment. 

“What aren’t you telling me Mo?” she asked, her voice full of concern. “That girl is dangerous.” 

Momo pursed her lips as her eyes found themselves glancing across the room at Sana who seemed perfectly normal. If only Momo could have seen the darker side of her earlier. She took a deep breath trying to calm her rising bitterness. As much as she tried to forget about what Sana had called her, she just couldn’t. It didn’t matter how many times she had heard her name being mentioned in the same sentence as that foul slur, for some reason hearing it from Sana hurt the worst. She thought they were friends. Even though they only knew each other for a short time, Momo thought she had meant something to her. It’s as if they both needed each other. 

“At least she’s upfront about what she means,” she snapped under her breath “I’ve met worse Slytherins.”