The worst thing about being caught red handed by Kim Junmyeon, Baekhyun thinks, is that Junmyeon is actually a really nice person. He's honestly one of the nicest people Baekhyun has ever met. There are very few people that the prefect can say he respects and admires wholeheartedly, and the Seventh Year Ravenclaw is most certainly one of them.

He had first met the older student on his very first day of school. The young Gryffindor was five minutes late to his first lesson, wandering around maze-like corridors with Jongdae and Chanyeol in tow, all close to tears with little to no idea as to where they were supposed to go, when Junmyeon had stumbled upon them on his way to the Hospital Wing with a nosebleed. Even at the age of twelve Junmyeon was more than happy to guide the three lost little Gryffindors to the correct classroom, a smile on his face and spring in his step despite the amount of blood gushing from his face, and the boys only suffered a brief telling off when they arrived at their destination. Junmyeon's fond tutting and warm hand in Baekhyun's own is something he will probably never forget, and will certainly always be grateful for.

Since that day, Junmyeon has been a constant presence in Baekhyun's life. Whether it be for help with studying, advice on whatever it is that is troubling him, or simply just for company, Junmyeon has always been there whenever Baekhyun and his friends need him. They often joke that the older student is their mother away from home, something the Ravenclaw used to protest but has learned overtime just to accept that this was his legacy, but Baekhyun honestly does not know whether he would have survived at Hogwarts if Junmyeon was not there to guide him. When Junmyeon was named the new Head Boy, it was he, Chanyeol and Jongdae that cheered the loudest. And they will always be there for Junmyeon if they are needed as well.

However, at this very moment in time, Baekhyun is really very not grateful for Junmyeon's presence in his life. Especially with the now Head Boy leading him and Jongdae back to their dorm with the promise of their demise when the sun rises.

"Hyung, this isn't fair!" Baekhyun whines loudly into the night. His voice bounces across the stone walls of the corridor and Junmyeon sends him an unimpressed look from beneath a curved eyebrow for being so loud. "We just wanted to read a few books, there's no need to take us to the Headmistress over this."

The scoff Junmyeon lets out grates at Baekhyun's temples. "You're a prefect, Baekhyun. You know the risks. Entering the Restricted Section without permission is grounds for extreme punishment, expulsion at worst. There are rules for a reason, you know."

"But hyung, how else were we supposed to find information to help Chanyeol? They would never have let us in there."

"You could have asked for special permission from the school board and they would have let you in whenever you liked." He tuts and rolls his eyes. "Seriously, Jongdae, stealing the key from another student and breaking in was not the only option."

So Junmyeon had bought the story of them stealing the key from Minseok. At least Jongdae's cousin wouldn't get into trouble. That was a positive, at least. "They would have taken one look at our school records and refused point blank," Baekhyun says, rubbing his temples.

"And whose fault is that?"

Baekhyun grumbles and closes his mouth.

They walk in silence, the sound of their footsteps on stone the only noise to guide them in their journey. The light from Junmyeon's wand wakes a few portraits as they walk by, but none of them snap or curse when they see that it is Junmyeon, instead mumbling a brief greeting that the Head Boy returns with a polite bow and pearly white smile. Baekhyun scoffs under his breath. If only they knew the truth about Junmyeon: that he's an -kissing sadist who loves sending students to their doom, even if they are his friends. Honestly, what happened to the sweet and gentle Junmyeon who guided lost first years to the correct classroom at his own expense? The Ravenclaw has always been a stickler for the rules, but ever since Junmyeon became Head Boy he's been such a stick in the mud. Baekhyun has never missed the old Junmyeon more than he does now.

They're a few corridors away from the Gryffindor Tower when Jongdae suddenly nudges Baekhyun in the ribs, making him gasp out loud in unexpected pain. Junmyeon looks over his shoulder, and Jongdae flashes the older boy an innocent smile until he turns back around. Baekhyun looks at Jongdae to see that innocent smile replaced with a smirk so mischievous that Baekhyun's fingers start almost start to tingle with excitement. Jongdae only gets that look when he has an idea.

The youngest Gryffindor clears his throat. "Really, hyung," he says, voice loud and clear in the cold night. "You would punish us for helping those in need? Chanyeol is wasting away in a hospital bed, sick and alone, probably scared out of his damn mind, and you're here trying to get the only people willing to do something about it expelled?"

Junmyeon tuts, clearly exhausted. "I don't make the rules, Jongdae."

Jongdae gives Baekhyun a look, and so he too coughs to get the Head Boy's attention. "Chanyeol is getting sicker every day," he states. "Kicking us out will only make him worse. You're basically part of the problem, hyung."

"I know what you two are doing and it's not going to work."

"You know, Baekhyun," Jongdae suddenly says, speaking as if his friend is on the other end of the corridor and not right beside him. "I swear our beloved Head Boy here has not even payed a visit to our dear and very diseased friend Chanyeol yet."

Junmyeon flinches slightly. Got him.

"Oh yeah! Jongdae, you're right. As Head Boy, surely he should be concerned as to the welfare of the student body, especially if one is taken ill with a mysterious and potentially incurable malady?"

"You would think so, wouldn't you." The boy sighs melodramatically, wiping fakes tears from his eyes. "Heartless, completely heartless."

Junmyeon looks at them over his shoulder, a blank and seemingly unaffected expression on his face, but Baekhyun can see by the vein on his forehead and twitching of his hands that Junmyeon is struggling to come up with an excuse. "I've… As Head Boy, I am awfully busy and have-"

"I wonder what the school would say if they knew that our most wonderful Head Boy cared not for the poor and pitiful?"

"I'm sure they would weep great tears, Baekhyun. Big, fat, wet, soppy tears."

Junmyeon shoves his hands into the pockets of his robes. "Really now, this is-"

"Kim Junmyeon? Hater of all those plagued with suffering? Actually the spawn of Satan? Eats babies for breakfast? The school would fall into chaos, Jongdae, chaos!"

"Alright, you two. Let's stop this-"

"And you know who would fall into despair the most at such terrible news?"

"No, Jongdae, who would?"

"The most beautiful and kind, loyal and patient, physically moulded by God himself, the sweet and innocent, Zhang Yixing."

Junmyeon stops walking so suddenly that Jongdae crashes right into his back, sending him stumbling backwards. Junmyeon spins around, and his eyes are round and wide in shock before they narrow dangerously, fixing the younger boys with a cursing glare. "You wouldn't."

Despite the strength of the Head Boy's stare, Jongdae is not moved. "Oh, I would," he says, lips curled into a mischievous smirk. "I wonder what Yixing would say if he knew Kim Junmyeon had not yet visited Chanyeol like he said he had?"

It doesn't take long for Junmyeon to crack under Jongdae's accusing gaze, his once narrowed eyes turning big and round as he flaps his arms like a distressed pigeon, shuffling on his feet. "Please don't tell him!" the Head Boy whines, "he's asked me to visit so many times and I know I promised I would but I've just been so busy and-"

"He would be so disappointed, wouldn't he?" Jongdae says, turning his head to look briefly at his friend, who nods their head slowly in feigned disappointment. "He'd do that thing with his face where he looks like an adorably upset sheep and say 'Junnie, you told me you had! Why did you lie to me?' and then probably cry or something."

Baekhyun wipes fake tears from under his eyes. "Poor, poor Yixing. Such a gentle soul," he says, clutching at his heart and swallowing his giggles. "And to think, our Head Boy would have caused such heartbreak!" Junmyeon looks like he's about to have an aneurism.

Jongdae suddenly turns to the distressed Head Boy, fixing him with a raised brow and curved smirk. "Maybe if we weren't expelled, we could keep the knowledge of such criminal deception a secret."

"That way Yixing's happiness will be protected forever!"

"And so will our lovely Head Boy's dignity."

"Or, you know, we could just tell Yixing the truth. After all, if we're expelled we will no longer have the need to keep such secrets safe, seeing as we will no longer be members of the student body-"

"Fine!" Junmyeon shouts. His sigh is long and deep and he hangs his head in defeat. He knows he is no match for the two Gryffindors. "You win. I won't tell the Headmistress about you breaking into the Restricted Section."

The boys cheer so loudly that five different portraits threaten to batter them.

"But," Junmyeon says, after they have apologised to the angry paintings, "you're still having your prefect status revoked, Baekhyun." Baekhyun starts to whine, but the look Junmyeon sends him shuts him up immediately. "And both of you will still be having a detention for staying out past curfew. Otherwise there is no deal. I'm not that much of a pushover."

Jongdae and Baekhyun glance at each other. "I think we can agree to that," Jongdae says.

"Good. I'll sort out your detention tomorrow." He points towards the portrait of the Fat Lady. "Now can you please go back to your dorm? Some of us have things to do tomorrow."

Bowing at the waist with a foppish flurry of hand movements, Baekhyun and Jongdae bid goodnight to their beloved Head Boy, skipping down the corridor and disappearing into their common room, peals of laughter ringing in the night.

Junmyeon watches them go with a sigh. Will he ever get some peace and quiet?

~

The detention, in all honesty, could be a lot worse. A lot, lot worse. If anything, Baekhyun is willing to thank the Head Boy for letting them off easy, even if his back hurts and he has splinters all over his fingers. He could be collecting bubotuber puss again, or shoeing Hippogriffs, or even spending an evening in the Forbidden Forest doing God knows what awful stuff. Picking off every single piece of chewing gum from under every single desk in the entire school with his bare hands is, in the grand scheme of things, not that bad.

It's really not that bad, he tells himself. Maybe if he repeats it enough times he might start to believe it.

Across the room, Jongdae flicks a bit of gum that is stuck to his finger into the bucket they were given to store all the removed pieces. "This ," he groans, wincing when his back cracks in several places as he reaches far under the desk for another blob of gum. "This really ."

"It does," Baekhyun agrees. He grimaces when his finger pokes at a particularly fresh ball in the centre of the table. "But at least we know what's happened to Chanyeol."

They had discussed it last night, tucked away in their beds, whispering to each other across the room so as not to wake their other roommates. If they really have found what is effecting Chanyeol, if this Schneewitten Elixir really is the real deal, then they are one step closer to bring Chanyeol back. The thought alone makes the tightness in Baekhyun's chest lessen considerably, and he feels that for the first time in weeks that he can breathe again. Chanyeol is getting worse every day, and they need to act fast before it's too late.

Jongdae manages to get the gum he was after and drops it into his bucket. "I don't know, Baekhyun. It all seems a little far-fetched." He grunts as he wipes his hands on his trousers. "True love's kiss? That's ridiculous."

"It is," Baekhyun says, wiping his finger on the rim of the bucket to get the gum off of his finger, "but it's all we have going for us at the moment." What else can they do? "I'd rather work with what we've got than do nothing at all."

The sigh Jongdae lets out is hollow and strained. Baekhyun knows how he feels. "I guess," he says after a moment of quiet. "It's going to be difficult though."

Checking under the desk to see that he's cleaned everything away, Baekhyun shuffles on his bottom over to the next one, pulling his bucket along with him. "We just need to find his true love," he grunts as he bends to feel under the desk. "Really, how hard could it be?"

On the other side of the room, Jongdae snorts. "Chanyeol knows an awful lot of people, and he's friends with most of them." There's a thud as he hits his elbow on one of the table legs. "It could be anyone."

Chanyeol is friends with an awful lot of people. He has a habit of getting along well with every person he meets. Baekhyun stops picking at some gum near his head to think. "He may get on with everyone but he's only really close with a few people. It's probably one of them."

There's a tap as Jongdae drops some gum in his bucket. "Well then it's obvious who it would be, isn't it."

"Is it?" Baekhyun pulls his head from under the table and peers over the top to see Jongdae staring to him over the top of his. "What?"

Jongdae does nothing but raise an eyebrow.

"What?" Baekhyun says incredulously. "I don't know who you're on about." Baekhyun sits up straighter to frown at his friend. "Who is it?"

Jongdae flicks a piece of gum so hard across the room it hits Baekhyun in the forehead, bouncing off and rolling under the table. Baekhyun starts to splutter and squawk, ready to throw one back in revenge, but then Jongdae says something that throws him so much he bumps his head on the edge of the table in shock.

"It's you, you !" Jongdae shouts. "You must be Chanyeol's true love."

What? No, that's ridiculous. Rubbing the sore spot on his head, Baekhyun looks back over the table and meets Jongdae's unimpressed stare with one of his own. "Why the hell would it be me? Chanyeol doesn't love me." It makes no sense. Chanyeol is his friend.

Jongdae snorts as he rolls his eyes. "Could have fooled me." He goes back under his desk to pick at some gum. "You two did have that thing going on a while back."

Oh . Not this again. "What thing?" he says, hiding his heated cheeks behind the table.

Jongdae is not fooled. "You know, your thing."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

A roll of the eyes, and Jongdae's raising his brow at him again. "Don't play dumb, Baekhyun. I walked in on you guys making out more times than I can count. You really weren't subtle."

Baekhyun curses Jongdae under his breath.

"We did not have a thing-"

"You did but whatever."

"-and even if we did, which we didn't, what makes you think Chanyeol would still be in love with me?" All they did was make out every now and then. Everything ended when they got caught up with exams, too stressed and too busy to meet in private, and they haven't done those sorts of things since. There was nothing to suggest there was love involved, at least on Baekhyun's side. "It was ages ago!"

Snorting, Jongdae peers over the top of the table again. "Chanyeol still cries over that mouse his mum wouldn’t let him keep when he was like six."

"Your point being?"

"Come on, Baekhyun. It's worth a try at least."

"No. It's not going to work, there's no point."

"How do you know? Just because you don't love him doesn't mean he still doesn't love you." He sighs, lifting a hand to brush his hair from his face. Baekhyun looks down at his lap, and there is some shuffling as Jongdae stands up and walks across the room to crouch down beside him. Baekhyun doesn't look at him.

"Look," Jongdae says softly, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder. "I know it's a big thing to ask of you. And that it brings back a lot that you wanted to forget." A pause. "But Chanyeol's life is a risk here. If there is anything we can do, even if it makes us upset or uncomfortable, shouldn't we do it anyway? For Chanyeol's sake?"

Baekhyun knows Jongdae is right, of course he is right. But…

"But what if it works?"

It was so awkward after they stopped seeing each other, stopped stealing kisses in dark corners and empty rooms. Even though they ended on good terms, Chanyeol could barely look Baekhyun in the eye for months, too embarrassed to even talk to him, let alone be close to him as a friend. Baekhyun had been so afraid that he had lost his best friend. If Chanyeol really is in love with him, and Baekhyun cannot return his feelings, would he be able to go through that all over again?

Jongdae's palm is warm as he rubs his hand on the back of Baekhyun's neck. "Then we get our friend back," he says, so quiet it is almost a whisper.

It takes a minute or so for Baekhyun to think. "Okay, fine. I'll do it," he says, finally. Jongdae gives him a firm thump on the back and moves to rise, but Baekhyun suddenly throws out his hand and grabs him on the upper arm. "But only if you kiss him first." If he's going down, Jongdae is coming with him.

Jongdae blinks at him for a moment before grimacing. "That's gross," he cringes, dodging Baekhyun's hand as it goes to thump him in the stomach. "But if that's what it takes to get you to kiss him, hell, I'll strip off and give Chanyeol a ."

Baekhyun laughs, but his mind is elsewhere.

~

It takes the boys three days to complete their detention. By the time it is over, neither can fully move their fingers, stiff and blistered from constantly picking and prodding at aged wood and hardened lumps of gum. Baekhyun doesn't think he's had as many splinters in his fingers in his entire life. Just the thought of seeing another piece of chewing gum makes him want to cry.

There are only two patients in the Hospital Wing when Baekhyun and Jongdae finally find the time to pay their friend a visit, Chanyeol being one of them. They are thankful - the least amount of people to witness this the better - and Miss Luna greets them with a sweet smile and a friendly wave as they make their way over to Chanyeol's bed. Baekhyun had been doing a good job at keeping himself calm, but all that flies out the window when he pulls back the curtain around Chanyeol's bed and moves to stand beside him.

He's seen Chanyeol in this state many times, but this time is different.

Jongdae pulls the curtains closed and walks over to stand a little behind his friend, nudging him in the ribs. "Go on then," he prompts, pointing at Chanyeol's face. "Pucker up."

Baekhyun elbows him back. "You first, remember?" He steps back and pushes Jongdae forward. "Don't tell me you're going back on your word now?"

Swatting him away, Jongdae sighs from the bottom of his lungs and claps his hands together. Baekhyun walks around to stand on the other side of the bed. Taking a deep breath, Jongdae leans down and presses his lips against Chanyeol's own.

It's a firm kiss, strong and resilient, and it lasts for longer than Baekhyun expected. After a few moments, Jongdae pulls back, opening his eyes slowly and taking a quick glance at the sleeping boy's face before drawing back completely. Baekhyun can see a hint of uncertainty in the boy's eyes, and both trail their gazes over to stare at the unconscious boy, searching for any kind of movement to suggest that Chanyeol was waking up.

Nothing happens.

The laugh that Jongdae lets out is short and strained. "Is it bad that I'm glad that didn't work?" he asks, awkwardly crooked yet somehow relieved smile on his face. "I have no idea what I would do if that actually worked."

Baekhyun snorts, and it sounds ugly in the quiet of the Hospital Wing. "Like he would ever be in love with your ugly ."

"I'll have you know I'm goddamn irresistible."

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Baekhyun walks over to stand beside Chanyeol's bed. Chanyeol's skin is grey and he seems to blend into the monotone colours of the bedsheets and walls.

"I guess it's my turn now," he says, and Jongdae only nods.

He feels like he is going to vomit as he steps forward to sit on the hospital bed. Honestly, this shouldn't be so hard, Baekhyun tells himself. He has kissed Chanyeol many times before. All he needs to do is a simple peck on the lips, nothing big or fancy, and everything will be back to normal. It doesn't matter how awkward or uncomfortable it will make things. Chanyeol is the only thing that matters.

Chanyeol is the only thing that matters.

Pushing all his other thoughts from his mind, Baekhyun leans down, closes his eyes, and gently, ever so gently, kisses Chanyeol on the lips.

~

Chanyeol is the only person in the dorm room when Baekhyun slams open the door and marches inside, hands clenched tightly into fists. He's lying on his bed, long legs dangling a little off the bottom of the bed, with arms outstretched above him and a magazine in hand. When Baekhyun storms in he almost drops it on his face, but after realising it was only his friend he shuffles up to sit against the headboard. Baekhyun drops his bag and coat onto the floor, purposefully creating as much noise and mess as he possibly can. Hopefully Jongdae will trip over something when he comes back, and then Baekhyun can laugh in his face.

"You're back early," Chanyeol mumbles from beneath his magazine. "Where's Jongdae?" When he receives no answer, he peers over the top of the pages to see Baekhyun tearing off his clothes and flopping face first onto his bed in nothing but his boxers, mushing his face into his pillows. Baekhyun doesn't care that he's basically , and the autumn chill is prickling his skin and making it break out in little bumps. He's too exhausted and angry to deal with that right now. "What's up?"

"He ditched me."

Baekhyun's voice is muffled by the pillow, his words sounding like complete gibberish even to his own ears, but Chanyeol must have heard him loud and clear because he puts down his magazine and swings his legs to dangle them over the edge of the bed. "What, why?"

"Cause he's an , that's why!" Baekhyun snaps, rolling over onto his back before growling deep in his throat. "I swear to Merlin I'm going to throttle him and feed his body to the giant squid."

Chanyeol laughs and it does not make him feel any better. "Come on, Baek, it can't have been that bad." If only he had been there, Baekhyun thinks. He had been so excited for this Hogsmeade trip, wanting to buy all the Halloween tricks and treats he could get his hands on, but Jongdae had to go and ruin it. It was bad enough that Chanyeol wasn't able to go with them, having had a detention for not completing his homework on time, but he thought it would be fine if Jongdae was there. Apparently not.

"No. It was awful. I want to die."

"Don't be dumb. Tell me what happened."

Baekhyun rubs his eyes and groans again before sitting up and pulling himself around to face his friend. "I was waiting for him for ages, because of course he was almost fifteen minutes late," he says, and Chanyeol nods for him to continue, "and when he finally turned up he was with this random girl and asked if she could hang around with us for the day, and because I didn't want to look like a I said yes."

Chanyeol's brow furrows. "Was she not very nice or something?"

It is not the reaction Baekhyun wanted, and he scoffs as he flops down backwards onto the bed again, head and shoulders hanging off the edge of the bed. "I assume she's a wonderful person," he sighs, emphasising his words with a wave of his arms as Chanyeol probably can't see the upper half of his body well.

"Assume?"

"She didn't take her tongue out of Jongdae's mouth for more than five minutes for me to find out."

Chanyeol's brows disappear somewhere near his hairline. "Ah," he says. "I can see why you'd want to leave."

"Yeah." He pulls himself back up again, rolling his eyes as he does so. "I wouldn't have minded if he wasn't completely ignoring me. Seriously, every time I turned to look at them they were eating each other's faces like their lives depended on it. I couldn't get a word in edgeways, I swear I only said about ten words the entire time I was with them." He shudders. "I've seen more of the inside of Jongdae's mouth than I've ever wanted to in my entire life."

Chanyeol grimaces and throws a hand out to swat in Baekhyun's direction. "That's really gross," he cringes, but his words are decorated with hints of laughter and a smile is starting to pull at his lips, and Baekhyun starts to feel a little better. He throws his arms up into the air as he continues.

"And the noise! You know when you stir pasta? It was like that but wetter and a million times as loud. Just in my ear every second of the day."

More laughter. "Stop, that's disgusting!"

"And they kept feeling each other up! In public! They did things that would make my grandma spit feathers."

Still laughing, now deep and loud giggles that never fail to bring a smile to Baekhyun's face, Chanyeol grabs a pillow and throws it in Baekhyun's direction. Baekhyun raises his arms to block the attack but it still hits him in the chin. "You are vile," Chanyeol says, "I don't even want to think about that."

Baekhyun grabs his own pillow and launches it at his friend, cackling when it hits him in the stomach. "Honestly it was the worst few hours of my life. I just gave up and left." Chanyeol wraps his arms around Baekhyun's pillow and doesn't throw it back, but Baekhyun doesn't mind. He shuffles around on the bed and lays down on his back, sighing as his bones creak and crack. "I wouldn't be surprised if they were still there, playing tonsil tennis until the sun goes down."

"Oh well, at least you've escaped."

"I'm never going anywhere with Jongdae ever again."

"Understandable." Chanyeol picks up his magazine where he had thrown it carelessly onto his bedside table and starts to read it again, leaning back against the headboard. "He should have at least given you some warning."

"What, 'By the way, friend, I may ignore you completely for several hours straight because I'll be tongue deep in some random girl's face, but feel free to come along with us anyway, you may learn a thing or two'?"

Chanyeol peers over the top of his page and shrugs. "Sure, why not."

Baekhyun laughs but says nothing else. Honestly, he's just glad he has Chanyeol here to keep him company. Just talking to his friend has made him feel so much better about his ty day. Maybe he won't feed Jongdae to the squid after all.

The October wind bellows beyond the castle walls, and Baekhyun feels the chill on his bare skin as if he is outside again. Shivering slightly, he digs around in his bed covers for the jumper he wore yesterday to fight the cold and slips it on, sighing as heat starts to radiate back into his limbs. The collar hangs off his shoulders and exposes his collarbones to the elements, and he is almost certain this is actually one of Chanyeol's sweaters that has found its way into his possession, but he doubts Chanyeol minds. It's not like he's going to be giving it back anytime soon, what with him feeling warmer than he has all day wrapped in the soft fabric.

He leans down to rummage under his bed for something to put on his lower half, tugging on a random pair of discarded joggers that may or may not be Jongdae's when he finds something suitable, and when he is fully dressed he buries himself under his duvet for extra warmth, wrapping himself up into as tight a cocoon he can make. Since when was October this cold? He's really never going out with Jongdae ever again. This was clearly his fault.

He's just starting to feel his toes again when Chanyeol asks him a question.

"So did you?"

Baekhyun turns his head to find the other boy staring at him. "Did I what?"

"Learn a thing or two. About kissing."

Oh. What a strange question. "I don't know," he says after thinking for a few moments. He hadn't really thought about it, if he was being honest, too busy being angry and irritated at his friend to focus on… that kind of stuff. He turns to look back at the ceiling. "That it's wet and gross and a great way to irritate every living thing in a ten metre radius?"

"I'm sure not all kissing is like that."

Baekhyun sighs. "I wouldn't know." It's not something he's very knowledgeable about.

There is movement beside him and Baekhyun doesn't need to look to see that Chanyeol is still staring at him. "You've never kissed anyone before?" the other boy asks.

"Not really. Have you?"

"A few times."

Baekhyun snorts and leans out of his cocoon to flick Chanyeol on the forehead. "Your mother doesn't count, Chanyeol."

"Shut up! I have kissed people."

"Like who?"

Chanyeol looks off to the side as he thinks for a moment. He fiddles with his fingers. A nervous habit. "There was this girl at my church. She was kind of cute." A pause. "And this boy in my village."

"Oh." Baekhyun has always known Chanyeol liked boys in that way, even if it was never brought up, but hearing it out loud feels strange, like Chanyeol is baring a part of himself that Baekhyun doesn't feel worthy enough to see. He rolls over to face his friend and smiles at him, reassuring. "That's cool," he says. "Was it nice?"

"Yeah, I guess."

The room goes quiet. Baekhyun doesn't know if the conversation has ended or not, so he just stays put, spread out across his bed, listening to the October wind rattling the windows and the sound of Chanyeol's breathing. It's a few minutes before anyone speaks again.

"Are you curious?"

Baekhyun turns his head to look at the other boy. Chanyeol isn't looking at him anymore, choosing to look down at his hands and pick at his nails "About what?" Baekhyun asks.

"About what kissing is like."

Baekhyun doesn't know why his cheeks and neck feel so warm. "I don't know," he mumbles as he turns to look away and hide his face. "It's bound to happen sooner or later, right?" At least he hopes so.

"Yeah. Probably."

More silence. And then, "do you want to try?"

What? Did Baekhyun hear him right? He rolls over to the side. Chanyeol still isn't looking at him. "What?"

"Do you want to try kissing?"

Since when did his throat get so dry? Baekhyun coughs, and shifts a little on the bed. "With who?"

Chanyeol shrugs his shoulders. "You know… with me."

The heat in Baekhyun's face reaches unbearable levels, so much so that he feels sweat dripping down his temples. He wipes at the sides of his head and sits up completely, kicking the duvet off of his body and shivering when cold air hits him. Chanyeol wants to kiss him? His heart seems to skip a few beats and he doesn't really know why. Seriously, why is it so hot in here? "You want to kiss me."

Chanyeol copies Baekhyun and sits up as well. Like this, Baekhyun can see his ears are an aggressive shade of red, blush trailing all the way down to his neck. "If you want to. You seem curious."

Baekhyun is curious, if he's being honest with himself. Especially now that he knows he's the only person in his friendship group to have never been kissed before. But first kisses are supposed to be big and important, something special between two people that like each other, right? Baekhyun doesn't like Chanyeol that way. What if things get weird? "I don't know, Chanyeol. We're friends."

"You don't have to be in love with someone to kiss them," Chanyeol mumbles at his lap. He still won't look at Baekhyun. "And it wouldn't mean anything. Just us seeing what all the fuss is about."

You already know what the fuss is about, Baekhyun wants to say. "I don't know," he says instead.

There is silence, broken a few seconds later when Chanyeol sighs, hollow. "It's cool," he says. "It was just a suggestion." The boy then smiles, a small twitch at the corners of his lips that Baekhyun assumes is supposed to be casual but looks a lot more like awkward than is comfortable, before lying back down and rolling over so his back is facing Baekhyun. "Dinner is soon, anyway." The wind rattles against the windows. "I wonder if Jongdae will be there."

The dorm room is silent for a while. Baekhyun barely moves, choosing to look down at his lap and poke at his bare feet. Would it… would it be so bad to kiss Chanyeol? Sure they're friends, but as Chanyeol said, it wouldn't mean anything. It's just a kiss, and if Baekhyun wasn't curious before, he certainly is now. One kiss won't hurt. No one has to know.

He shuffles around on his bed, gathering the courage to speak, before he takes a deep breath and takes the leap.

"Chanyeol?" The other boy hums, but doesn't turn to face him. "I don't mind. Kissing, I mean." Baekhyun rubs the back of his neck. He can't believe he's actually considering this. "We can try it, if you want."

It is only then that Chanyeol rolls over. He fixes his friend with a wide eyed stare. "Really?"

"Yeah. As long as you don't tell anyone. Not even Jongdae."

Sitting up, Chanyeol moves so that he is sat cross legged on his bed. There is a brilliantly wide smile on his face. "I won't. And you too."

That's reassuring at least. "Okay," Baekhyun says, swallowing a lump in his throat. "How do you want to do this?"

Chanyeol looks around, scanning the room for places they can go. He eventually pats the space in from of him. "Sit here," he says, and Baekhyun moves across the room to sit cross legged on Chanyeol's bed, a little uncertain. Chanyeol shuffles forwards a little, pressing their knees together.

Neither boy moves for about a minute. Baekhyun's foot is starting to go numb and he looks down, opening his mouth to say that maybe this isn't such a good idea, when he feels fingers on his chin, tipping his head up. Baekhyun closes his eyes as Chanyeol leans forward, and then something soft and a little bit wet is pressing gently against his lips.

It's a little messy at first. Neither boy quite knows what they're doing, Chanyeol having not kissed someone in a while and Baekhyun a complete stranger to this new and unfamiliar feeling, but after a few tries, a few tilts of the head and more confident advances, they settle into a slow but steady rhythm, knees and teeth no longer bumping together, and oh, is this what it felt like when Jongdae was with that girl? It is unlike anything Baekhyun has ever experienced. He finds himself leaning forward, hands moving from his lap to graze Chanyeol's thighs and he silently presses against Chanyeol's lips. Chanyeol's other hand, the one not rubbing soothingly under Baekhyun's chin, comes up to gently caress the other boy's cheek and Baekhyun has to stop for a second because his heart feels like it's going to hammer out of his chest if he doesn't breathe.

"Oh," he gasps, and then he leans back in.

Chanyeol tastes like the dark cherry and chocolate pie they must have served at lunch that day. Baekhyun sighs into his mouth and slowly unravels, reaching forward to grab onto the other boy's arms. Chanyeol's lips are a little chapped, roughened by the sudden change in weather and the constant nibbling of his teeth, but oh so soft as they move against Baekhyun's, slow and sweet. A hand moves from Baekhyun's face to the back of his neck, deepening the kiss.

"I can see why Jongdae enjoys it so much," he whispers against Chanyeol's mouth. The other boy smiles and takes him deeper.

"Yes."

How long they were sat there on Chanyeol's bed, kissing and stealing touches as the wind shook the walls around them, Baekhyun does not know. Perhaps it was minutes, perhaps even an hour. However long it was, Baekhyun feels exhausted by the time Chanyeol pulls away from him, resting his forehead against Baekhyun's own as they pant for breath. "Why did you stop?" he asks.

"We're going to be late for dinner."

Oh. Peering around the boy in front of him, Baekhyun takes a peak at the clock on the wall. Dinner does indeed start in a few minutes. Trust Chanyeol to know that without even seeing the time himself.

Pulling away, Baekhyun climbs off the bed and stretches, back facing the other boy. The realisation of what they just did hits him and he almost stubs his toe as he shuffles over to his bed. Did they actually just do that? Did he really just make out with Chanyeol, his best friend? His mouth feels wet and coated in spit, damning proof of his actions only moments ago, and he brings a hand up to wipe away the moisture as he bends down to pick up a pair of shoes by his bed, slipping them on. He hears movement behind him, most likely Chanyeol putting on his own shoes, but he doesn't turn around, instead walking over to the door. He doesn't think he can face Chanyeol right now, as embarrassed as he is. He can't believe he just did that! What if someone had walked in on them? He would never live it down!

He is just opening the door when Chanyeol calls out his name. He turns around, hand still on the handle, and startles a little when he sees how close Chanyeol is to him.

Chanyeol places one more peck on his lips, light and soft, and leaves first. Baekhyun ignores the tightness in his stomach (and somewhere a little lower) and follows after him.

~

After a few moments, Baekhyun pulls away. Feeling Jongdae shuffle forward behind him, Baekhyun steps back, and the two friends stare at the boy in the bed, looking for any signs of movement, anything that would tell them Chanyeol was back to how he should be.

Nothing happens.

Chanyeol does not wake up.

~

It's a mild weekend day, cloudy and a little windy, and Baekhyun tugs his jacket a little tighter around him as he sits in the quidditch pitch stands, watching with vague interest as the Gryffindor team warm up for practise. Each member takes it in turns to fly from one end of the pitch to the other in laps of ten, Luhan hovering near the hoops with a stopwatch in hand. The Captain will bark out praise or criticism every now and then, urging his team to be as fast as possible and improve their flight time by the next game. Gryffindor have been unbeatable so far this year, and Luhan will stop at nothing to make sure they succeed in winning the cup, having been brutally beaten by Ravenclaw the year before. If Minseok is a harsh Captain, Luhan is positively ruthless.

Jongdae touches down from having finished his laps, lifting his shirt to wipe the sweat from his brow. As the last member of the team to be timed, Luhan lands next to him and tells him his time, and although Baekhyun is too far away to hear what they are saying, Jongdae's face lights up and Luhan pats him on the back. He must have beaten his previous record. The two teammates spare a few words before Luhan gives the younger student a final thump on the back and walks over to another teammate.

The smile that was on Jongdae's face fades soon after Luhan's back is turned. He looks tired, Baekhyun thinks, and not because he had just been flying around in circles.

Ever since their failed attempt to wake Chanyeol the week before, Baekhyun and Jongdae have not been the same. Well, they haven't quite been themselves anyway, what with Chanyeol being so sick, but it is more noticeable now than ever. Mainly because the once inseparable duo have not spoken more than three sentences to each other in the days that have passed. Baekhyun has taken to searching the library again, scouring the shelves for anything they may have missed the first time, while Jongdae has thrown himself into quidditch, the shadow of his body pressed firmly against his broom as he flies around the quidditch pitch at top speed becoming a common sight to those who reside in the castle. It was days before Baekhyun was sick of keeping his thoughts to himself and wandered over to the quidditch stands to catch a glimpse of the boy he didn't realise he missed so much until he saw him, high up in the sky and drenched in sweat.

Sat alone in the stands as he watches Jongdae practise with his teammates, Baekhyun sighs, chest tight. Will anything be the same as it was before?

He's staring at nothing, lost in his thoughts, when suddenly he hears some humming coming from a few metres away. Baekhyun turns his head to see someone crouched on all fours, peering under the seats, in the air. Their hips wiggle from side to side as they crawl along the floor, reaching out with long arms to feel around under the seats, and Baekhyun watches with amusement as the person bumps their head on one of the wooden beams, letting out a squeaky "ouch," and rubbing the sore spot as they continue to shuffle about on their knees.

"Here, kitty," the Gryffindor makes out through the noise on the pitch and bumping of limbs on wood. "Who's a good little kitty cat?"

Baekhyun would know that voice anywhere. He feels his lips tug from a frown into a smile when the student stands up and Baekhyun can finally see his face, confirming his guess. "Yixing!" he calls out, and the older student spins around in a circle in an attempt to locate whoever said his name, looking a little bit like a stumbling lamb, until his gaze settles on the Gryffindor.

"Hello, Baekhyun!" Yixing smiles cheerfully. He lifts a hand in a small wave, which Baekhyun returns with equal fervour, before wandering over. "How are you today?"

"I'm good," Baekhyun lies. He pats the space next to him. "Would you like to sit down? You looked puffed out."

Yixing's cheeks are the kind of red you only get from exertion and there is sweat beading from his brow, and he looks beyond relieved at being able to sit down and take a break from whatever it was he was doing. He mumbles out a sweet "thank you," before plopping himself down besides Baekhyun and leaning his head on the younger's shoulder. "I'm very tired."

Despite not being on the quidditch team himself, Baekhyun knows all the houses' practise routines off by heart. At first it was to help his friends spy on the other teams so they could gain the upper hand in matches, but it had its practical uses when Chanyeol kept forgetting when practise sessions were, resulting in Luhan threatening to kick him off the team for being late all the time, no matter how good of a beater he is. As such he knows that the next Hufflepuff practise session is in two days' time. Yixing is too good of a person to spy on his fellow students (Jongdae says that Baekhyun's rather high opinion of Yixing is a little optimistic) so what is the Hufflepuff chaser doing crawling around the stands? He asks him, and Yixing lets out a cute embarrassed laugh, dimples appearing on his cheeks as he rubs the back of his neck.

"Luhan's cat is missing. I'm helping him find her." He looks around the stands for a moment, eyes squinting. "You haven't seen her, have you?"

Luhan's cat, a pampered Scottish fold called Baozi, seems to despise Baekhyun with all its furry being and stays away from him as much as physically possible, so no, he has not seen her. He tells Yixing exactly that and the older student lets out a melancholic sigh, puffing out his cheeks and pouting. "Oh well, she must be somewhere else." He turns to Baekhyun with a dimpled smile. "What are you doing out here?"

"Just watching. I have nothing better to do."

Baekhyun can think of about seven different things he could be doing that are leagues better than watching one of his best friends hit a psychotic ball around a field for a couple of hours, but he doesn't feel like doing any of those things at the moment. These days, he doesn't feel like doing anything besides staying in bed and sleeping. If he could sleep at all. The bruising under his eyes grows darker as the days pass.

Yixing hums and says nothing.

There's something about the Hufflepuff that makes Baekhyun feel relaxed whenever he is around, a naturally calming presence that reminds Baekhyun of home. He feels the throbbing in his temples start to fade as Yixing starts to hum a tune under his breath, and his eyes start to droop in time with the steady beat Yixing starts to tap on the back of the bench in from of them, rhythm matching his vocal melody. Yixing smells earthy and a little sweet, like honeysuckle perhaps, and Baekhyun doesn't know when he finally falls asleep, falling deep into warmth and darkness, but when he wakes with his head nestled in Yixing's lap the quidditch pitch is empty and the sky is a little darker than before.

"," he mumbles, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. "Sorry about that." How could he just fall asleep on Yixing's lap? The Hufflepuff probably had loads of things to do today and Baekhyun just wasted his time. What an idiot.

"Not at all," Yixing says. He's smiling at Baekhyun with so much warmth, dimples in his cheeks, that Baekhyun feels a little less guilty for using him as a pillow and most likely giving him a dead leg. "Do you feel better?"

Baekhyun doesn't think he's ever felt as good as he does now, and he tells the Hufflepuff so. His tummy bubbles at Yixing's laugh. "That's good," Yixing says. He lifts a hand to smooth out Baekhyun's hair where it is no doubt sticking up in random places like a porcupine. "You slept for a long time. Have you not been sleeping well?"

The pulse in Baekhyun's temples starts to beat again. "No," he admits after a few seconds. "Not really. Not since…"

Yixing's smile falters a little, and he touches his hand on Baekhyun's arm. "How is he?"

Baekhyun huffs out a lungful of air. "He's alright, I guess," he says. If he was being honest he would say he has no idea. He hasn't been to see his friend at all since his attempt to wake him. Yixing nods slowly, like he knows, and draws his hand away to brush a few strands of hair away from his face where they have been ruffled by the wind.

"I haven't visited in a while. Would you like to come with me?"

Chewing his lip, Baekhyun sighs. "Yes please." He has to face his issues at some point. Might as well be with company.

They take the longest way to the Hospital Wing, so Yixing can walk off his dead legs. The relatively drab weather means many students are inside, filing up the corridors in groups and making it a little difficult to squeeze past as they spill into all areas of the corridor. Yixing's hand finds its way into Baekhyun's when they almost separate after a large group of boys barrel past them and knock the elder in the shoulder, and neither one lets go as they make their way towards their destination, even as the amount of people in the corridors thin and grow quieter the closer they get. Yixing's hand is warm and inviting, and Baekhyun only lets go to push open the door. He ignores how cold his hand feels.

As they enter the Hospital Wing, Baekhyun's stomach starts to churn. It's been over a week since he was last here. Even though Chanyeol is still asleep he doesn't know if he can face him. Why is he so nervous? And why does his chest hurt so much? The only thing keeping him there is the feeling of Yixing stood beside him, heat sinking into his skin as they make their way over to the bed on the far side of the room.

But it seems they are not the only people to have decided to visit that day.

There's someone stood beside Chanyeol's bed. The boy's hand is touching Chanyeol's lower arm, just above his wrist, and his face is almost painfully tender as they trail their eyes over the plains of Chanyeol's face. It's an awfully honest sight, and for a moment Baekhyun feels like he's witnessing something private. He almost turns around to head out of the Hospital Wing, not wanting to interrupt before remembering that Chanyeol is his friend and he has every right to be there.

But then the boy lifts his head, and Baekhyun stutters in his steps. He recognises him as the quiet kid at the back of his potions class, the one that has made every single potion they are tasked with successfully with little to no mistakes at all.

"Kyungsoo?"

The Slytherin boy snaps his head in the direction of his name and stills. He pulls his hand back and clears his throat, stepping away from the bed, face now blank. "Hi, Baekhyun," he says while adjusting his glasses to fit better on his nose.

"Hi," Baekhyun says, walking over to stand on the other side of Chanyeol. "What are you doing here?" Kyungsoo and Chanyeol aren't that close. They aren't enemies or anything, just classmates, acquaintances at most. Baekhyun has only ever seen them speak to each other in class, when Kyungsoo occasionally asks the taller to get something for him from the top shelves in because the Slytherin boy can't reach. Of all people to want to visit Chanyeol, he didn't expect Kyungsoo to be one of them.

"I came to deliver these."

It's then that Baekhyun notices the bouquet of flowers in Kyungsoo's hand. Tulips, red, yellow, pink, intertwined with pure white hyacinth. They are bright and sunny against the drab backdrop of the Hospital Wing's cream and grey walls, and Baekhyun is thankful for the change in atmosphere, even if Kyungsoo looks like he has been caught with his hand in a cookie jar. "Who are they from?" he asks.

Kyungsoo blinks at him for a moment before replying. "Kim Jongin."

Kim Jongin is Gryffindor's seeker, and thus on the same team as Chanyeol and Jongdae. Baekhyun has met him a few times, and even if he hadn't he would still know exactly who the young Gryffindor is. As a seeker he is naturally popular (it comes with the job) but Jongin is probably the single most loved being in the entire school. And it's understandable, considering that Jongin is not only incredibly handsome for a fifteen year old but also wonderfully kind and considerate. Baekhyun isn't all too surprised that Jongin would send Chanyeol flowers (the boy is just too darn nice) but he is a little curious as to why the seeker hasn't come to visit Chanyeol himself. After all, they are on the same quidditch team and are good friends, as far as Baekhyun is aware. He asks Kyungsoo, and the Slytherin blinks at him.

"He's at quidditch practise."

"That ended ages ago."

Kyungsoo shrugs. "Maybe he's busy."

There's something awfully peculiar about Kyungsoo, Baekhyun thinks. He's not quite sure what it is. Maybe it's the boy's stance, arms by his side and chest out slightly, defensive, or the way his eyes keep flicking over to the door. Or maybe it's because his face is unreadable, an aggressive contrast to the soft roundness of his features. Whatever it is, Baekhyun finds himself staring with eyes narrowed slightly, scrutinising, head tipped to the side. Kyungsoo ignores him and turns to place the bouquet on Chanyeol's nightstand beside the vase already filled with wilting flowers.

"I'll see you in class," he says, sending a polite nod to Yixing before walking out of the room.

Yixing breaks the tense silence left behind with a pleasant smile. "He seems nice." Baekhyun, who had been watching the Slytherin boy as he made his way down the Hospital Wing and out of the door, turns to see the Hufflepuff moving over to the colourful flowers and picking them up delicately, inspecting them before putting them down again.

"I guess," Baekhyun says.

Removing the wilted flowers from the vase, Yixing takes his wand and waves it, muttering something under his breath. "Is he a friend?" he asks between words. Baekhyun suspects he's removing the dirty water from within the vase and refilling it, and his guess is confirmed when fresh, clean water starts to pour from the tip of Yixing's wand. Yixing is known for his expertise in Herbology, so Baekhyun isn't surprised he knows what to do to. "We share some classes," he says in reply, taking a seat at the edge of Chanyeol's bed as he watches Yixing work.

When the vase is filled, Yixing picks up the tulips again. "These are beautiful flowers," he sighs wistfully. "It's nice for Jongin to send them."

"I didn't know they were that close, Jongin and Chanyeol." They say hi to each other in the corridors if they happen to pass by and Chanyeol sometimes talks about something cool Jongin did during practise, but other than that they don't interact much beyond the quidditch pitch, in Baekhyun's knowledge. "I know they're good friends, but they don't strike me as 'flowers' close."

Yixing laughs, light and warm, melodic. "This is Jongin," he says, moving to stand beside Chanyeol's head. "He and Chanyeol are quite close, from what I can tell." He tilts his head in thought. "You know, he even protested Chanyeol being replaced on the team."

Baekhyun remembers that day well, when Luhan had announced he was planning to run try-outs to fill Chanyeol's position. It was going to be difficult to win a match without a full team, and Jongdae couldn't defend the entire team as beater on his own. It was in his favour, but Jongdae had been so mad he almost snapped his broom, furious at even the thought of Chanyeol being removed from the team. Baekhyun had to deal with him ranting and raving all day about how Luhan "doesn't care! Chanyeol isn't dead, he's not some tool to be replaced! I can't work with a complete stranger, I'd rather do everything on my own. Luhan is Chanyeol's friend, he should understand!" It took hours of hushing and several portions of treacle tart for him to eventually calm down.

They did manage to replace Chanyeol in the end, even if a quarter of the team refused to talk to Luhan when it happened. "It's not like they could leave the position open," Baekhyun reasons, ignoring the voice in his head that questions how Yixing knew such a thing anyway. "Especially with the next match coming soon."

"I know. But Jongin wasn't very happy." Yixing starts to play with Chanyeol's hair, running the unwashed strands through his hair before plaiting it into tiny braids. Chanyeol's hair has grown a lot in the past month. "He's been looking pretty rough ever since Chanyeol stopped turning up for practise."

Something seems to click into place in Baekhyun's head. A spark, small and yet somehow so bright, flickers in his mind. Baekhyun blinks up at Yixing, the corner of his mouth twitching. "Has he?" he asks, slowly, inquisitive.

Yixing doesn't notice the change in Baekhyun's tone. He hums in affirmation. "Always moping around and sulking. Luhan is worried that he won't play well at the next match because Chanyeol might not be there." He sighs as his face moulds into a small pitying frown. "Jongin misses Chanyeol a lot."

There it is again, that spark. Baekhyun is sure he is grinning now. "Oh. That's something."

"I don't think I've ever seen Jongin so down. Chanyeol must mean a lot to him."

It hits Baekhyun so hard that he almost falls off the bed. " a duck," he gasps so loudly that Yixing lets out a started yelp and pulls a few of Chanyeol's hairs out by accident. Baekhyun launches himself up from the bed and takes his face in his hands, squishing his cheeks as he hops about in excitement. "I've done it!"

"Baekhyun?" Yixing asks weakly, and he opens his mouth to speak again but is cut off with a slightly pained grunt as Baekhyun launches himself at the older and tackles him into a hug. Baekhyun is buzzing, a complete turnaround from his melancholic mood that morning, and Yixing doesn't know why but he pats Baekhyun's back as the Gryffindor squeezes him tighter.

"Yixing hyung," Baekhyun beams, drawing back a little and taking the elder's face in his hands before placing two fat, wet kisses on his cheeks, right on his dimples. "You are amazing!"

"Thank you?" Yixing wipes the wetness from his face when Baekhyun finally lets him go, smiling at the sudden affection but overall confused. "What did I say?" Baekhyun plants one more kiss on Yixing's forehead before grabbing his bag and taking off in a run down the Hospital Wing. "Where are you going?" Yixing calls to him, and Baekhyun looks over his shoulder, a musical laugh billowing from a wide rectangular grin.

"I have to get Jongdae!" he shouts. "I think Jongin is Chanyeol's true love!"

~

It is honestly not that difficult to find Jongin. It's probably the easiest thing Baekhyun and Jongdae have done all month. The boy is constantly surrounded by swarms of students, usually star struck teenage girls, all desperate to get a glimpse of the handsome Gryffindor seeker and his friends. All they had to do was ask a group of students if they knew where they could find him and they were heading in the direction in which Jongin had last been seen in five minutes flat.

They find him hidden in the far end of the school, huddled on the first few steps that lead to the boathouse with three other boys, all Slytherins besides himself. Baekhyun doesn't know two of them, a skinny blonde boy with sharp angled brows and another, more muscular boy with dark eyes, but he does recognise the familiar thick black glasses that belong to Kyungsoo, which is unexpected because he didn't even know they were aware of each other's existence, let alone that they were friends. The four boys have their books and quills out, most likely studying (or trying to), and Baekhyun isn't surprised they chose to hang out here rather than in the library or an empty classroom, what with them being stalked all the time. Even now there is a pack of Second Year girls failing to make themselves invisible behind a nearby tree. They stop giggling as Baekhyun and Jongdae pass, watching them with suspicious eyes.

"I really hope he's up for it," Baekhyun mumbles, keeping his voice low so that the girls can't hear him. "It's not really something people usually ask for."

"If you are right about him then it shouldn't be a problem." Jongdae takes a moment to observe the students in the trees. "To be honest, I think it's them we have to worry about, not Jongin."

When they are stood beside the fifteen year old, Jongdae clears his throat. "Jongin?" he says, and the younger Gryffindor stops speaking to the blonde boy next to him to turn his head and look up at the sound of his name. His face blooms into a handsome smile that makes Jongdae want to smile back. Jongin just seems to have that effect on people.

"Oh, hey, Jongdae!" he says, but his smile falters when a chorus of giggles and lovesick sighs break out behind them. One of his friends, the boy with the dark eyes, glares at the girls while the blonde boy rolls his eyes, but Jongin just smiles. He's probably used to it by now, poor boy. "How are you today?"

"I'm good," Jongdae says. He rubs the back of his head. "We were, um, we were wondering if we could speak to you in private? For a minute or so. If that's okay."

Jongin is clearly surprised. He blinks up at his teammate and takes a second to look at his friends before turning back to face the older student. "Yeah, sure." He closes the book on his lap and puts it in his bag. "I'll be back in a moment," he says to his friends with a smile (the blonde boy nods slowly and the other crosses his arms. Kyungsoo looks down and says nothing) before standing up and hopping up the few remaining steps to come up besides Jongdae and Baekhyun. "Where do you want to go?"

The two Sixth Years take Jongin to the closest empty classroom they can find. It's small and unused, if the dust settling on the old tables is anything to go by, which means they are unlikely to be disturbed. Jongdae ushers Jongin inside and Baekhyun closes the door behind them, muttering a spell to lock the door just in case, and Jongin looks a little nervous when Baekhyun is finished and both boys turn to face him. Jongin shuffles his bag further up his shoulders. "What's up?" he asks, voice a little croaky. Baekhyun resists the urge to coo.

"We need your help," Jongdae says. He crosses his arms and leans against one of the tables, which creaks under his weight. "It's a bit urgent."

"It's about Chanyeol," Baekhyun adds.

Jongin's eyes widen and his grip tightens on his bag. "Okay." He shuffles on his feet. "He's sick, isn't he?" Baekhyun thinks he looks a little sad, almost uncomfortable at the mention of Chanyeol's situation.

Jongdae nods. "Yes, sort of." He glances at Baekhyun for a moment, who stares back at him, encouraging, and then clears his throat. "We haven't really been very truthful about the whole thing."

Baekhyun hums and nods, turning to Jongin. "It's a bit more than just 'sick'," he confirms.

"In what sense?"

And so they tell him. They tell him about how Baekhyun found Chanyeol almost a month ago, about the healers from St Mungo's, Jongdae's idea in the library. They tell him about the book they found in the Restricted Section, how the symptoms of the potion they found match Chanyeol's appearance, about what needs to be done in order to cure him.

Baekhyun leaves out the part about him kissing Chanyeol. Jongdae doesn't bring it up either.

By the time they have finished, Jongin has removed his bag from his back and is sat down in one of the dusty chairs, puppy eyes impossibly wide and plump lips apart in a soundless gasp. He leans back in his chair and runs his hands through his hair. "Oh wow," he says. "That's... That's something." He looks like he's having a tough time dealing with all the information that has just been thrown at him. Baekhyun doesn't blame him. He's still coming to terms with it himself.

"Yeah…" Jongdae sighs. He hops off from the table and dusts off his bottom before addressing the younger student again. "This is why we need your help," he says, making Jongin blink out of his thoughts and look up at him, eyebrows a little furrowed.

"How can I help? I don't know anything about this potion, if that's what you're asking about." He rubs his chin. "You're better asking Kyungsoo, he knows more about potions than I do."

Jongdae he wanders over to take a seat besides the seeker, and tries to put on his most convincing smile. "It's not that," he says. It takes him a second to figure out what to say, praying Jongin doesn't freak out. "We think you might be Chanyeol's true love."

Jongin doesn't have an opportunity to react at all when there is a sudden crash behind the door. The three boys turn around just in time to see two of Jongin's friends crash through the aging wood and fall in a messy tangle of limbs on the floor, spitting curses as they fumble about on the dirty stone.

"Sehun! Zitao!" Jongin cries out, standing up from his seat. "What are you doing?" He takes a few steps forward to help his friends untangle themselves but the blonde boy is already on his feet and pointing an accusing finger at Jongdae and Baekhyun, hair and robes such a frazzled mess that he looks more like a grumpy kitten than anything threatening.

"What do you mean Jongin is Chanyeol's true love?" the boy shouts. "And what's this about a Snow White potion?" In the background, still on the floor, the boy with the dark eyes rolls over and brandishes his wand at his friend, mumbling something that sounds a bit like "you almost snapped my wand, ," from under his robes. It would be an amusing sight if Baekhyun wasn't so furious at being spied on.

Jongin goes over to the blonde boy and swats his accusing arm away. "Sehun stop it." He huffs at both intruders, the second having finally righted himself, standing on both legs rearranging his robes. "Guys! This was a private conversation!"

"Were you two spying on us-"

"Can it, hyung," the dark eyed boy - Zitao, Baekhyun figures - snaps, making Jongdae splutter indignantly at being cut off by a stranger. Zitao then addresses Jongin with a raised brow. "It was awfully suspicious sneaking away without telling us what was up, Jongin. Of course we were going to listen in."

"Yeah, it's not like you to keep secrets from us," Sehun says, shifting his weight to one hip. "We were bound to find out sooner or later, you might as well have kept us in the know."

"This has nothing to do with either of you!"

"Shush." Zitao waves his hands in dismissal and Jongdae is once again glaring at the younger for being interrupted. Who do these kids think they are? Zitao marches over to a nearby table and hops up onto it before turning to the two Sixth Year Gryffindors. "It doesn't matter now, we heard everything anyway. What is this about Jongin being Chanyeol's true love? How do you even know it's Jongin?"

Steam could have been coming out of Jongdae's ears if it could. "Because he's the only other logical person besides Baekhyun and myself!"

It seems that that was the wrong thing to say. "Oh my God, you guys have kissed him, haven't you?" Sehun snorts, hanging off of a wide eyed Jongin, who is staring at the older boys with pink cheeks. Zitao starts to giggle as well, sniggering into his hand. Is it really that amusing?

Jongin does his best to calm his friend's chortles, but it is ultimately Jongdae clearing his throat loudly that gathers everyone's attention. "Yes, and neither of us worked." He sends another glare at the two Slytherins when they start sniggering behind their hands. "And Chanyeol seems awfully fond of Jongin so we thought we might as well give it a go and ask for his help."

"Without anyone else butting in."

Of all the ways for this conversation to go, Baekhyun wishes more than anything that it had not gone like this. Jongdae looks seconds away from jumping someone, and Jongin is blushing up to his ears in embarrassment, no doubt struggling to find a way to apologise for his friend's actions but coming up short. Baekhyun is just tired. He's about to call it a day, ready to bury himself in his bed and forget the world exists when Zitao pipes up from where he is sat on a dusty table, picking at his painted nails.

"I say go for it."

Sehun spins around and sends a pointed look at his fellow Slytherin. "Zitao!" he splutters. "You can't be serious?" Even Jongin seems shocked that his friend would be supportive, surprise shown in the roundness of his eyes and mouth.

Zitao only shrugs. "What? All he has to do is kiss him, right? It's no big deal."

"But what about Soojung?"

Soojung? Isn't she that quiet girl in Jongin's year? Baekhyun only knows her as a chaser on the Slytherin quidditch team. "What about Soojung?" he asks.

"Her and Jongin started dating like a week ago," Sehun says.

Ah. Well that certainly puts a few holes in Baekhyun and Jongdae's plan. Baekhyun meets Jongdae's eyes across the room and the latter shrugs his shoulders, clearly at a loss for what they should do. If Jongin is in a relationship than getting him to kiss Chanyeol might be completely out of the question, especially if it was to find Chanyeol's true love. They were back to step one all over again.

But Jongin suddenly sighs, turning to face the people in the room and smile shyly. "I'm sure if I explained it to her she wouldn't mind," he says, "it's not like this is a normal situation."

"Does that mean you'll do it?" Jongdae asks hopefully, walking over to put his hand on Jongin's shoulder. He grins when Jongin nods his head.

"I guess so. If it's to help Chanyeol I'll do anything."

Baekhyun could kiss Jongin himself, honestly.

"Hold up, how do we know Chanyeol even likes Jongin like that?" Sehun pipes up. He's staring down the older Gryffindors, angled brow raised in speculation. Why is he so against Jongin helping them out? "I mean sure, they're good friends, but there's no actual proof Chanyeol is into him."

It's a fine point, but seemingly unappreciated. Jongdae already has his mouth open to snap back at Sehun's comment, but Jongin beats him to the chase. "Actually," he says with a hand running through his hair, cheeks red, "Chanyeol has kissed me before."

Baekhyun chokes. He really wasn't expecting that, an apparently neither was Sehun, who stumbles over his own feet and stares at Jongin with an almost betrayed expression, hands gripping his friend by the arm. "What?" he asks, voice stilted. "You're joking, right?"

Jongin looks apologetic as he smiles a wonky, embarrassed smile. "I'm not. He kissed me after we lost the House Cup last year."

"You never told me that!"

"I promised him I wouldn't tell anyone!"

Baekhyun slips in before the bickering escalates any further. The things Fifth Years find important, honestly. "Are you sure you're willing to help us, Jongin?" he says, voice loud to cut through the noise. Jongin looks away from Sehun, shaking his arm from his friend's grip and responding with a firm nod in both Baekhyun and Jongdae's directions.

"Of course. If Chanyeol is in trouble, I'll help any way I can."

Sending the younger a relieved smile, Jongdae lets go of his shoulder. "When are you next free? We kind of want to do this as soon as possible."

With O.W.Ls on the horizon, Baekhyun and Jongdae expect Jongin to schedule a meeting later that week, or later in the day at the earliest. But instead, he says "I can now, if you want," taking the older Gryffindor's by surprise. Jongin lets out a small laugh at their faces, shrugging. "We weren't really studying anyway."

Baekhyun and Jongdae had made sure they weren't doing anything for the whole day in case convincing Jongin to help them took longer than they hoped. Now was as good as time as any. "Okay," Jongdae nods, grinning.

"Let's go."

~

"Wow. He looks like e."

Jongdae slaps Zitao up the back of his head, causing the younger to splutter and trip over his feet, almost knocking the vase of tulips over onto Chanyeol's head. No matter how much he and Baekhyun protested, nothing could stop the Fifth Year Slytherins from trailing behind them on their way to the Hospital Wing, claiming that Jongin's business was their business too, even though they barely know Chanyeol beyond his friendship with Jongin. Baekhyun had to stop Jongdae from throttling the boys several times with a brief glance or calming hand on the arm, and even now he has to remind his friend not to commit murder when the pair poke and prod at Chanyeol's unconscious face, as if checking he is actually as sick as they made him out to be.

"Come on guys," Jongin says from where he is sat at the edge of Chanyeol's bed, a hand on the unconscious boy's leg. His voice is strained, tight in his throat, and the Slytherin boys stop fussing with Chanyeol's body and spare a worried glance at him before moving back, choosing to natter between them instead. Baekhyun thinks Jongin looks a little sick. His skin has gone a little green in places, a harsh contrast to the normally golden tan the young Gryffindor is admired for. He can't stop staring at Chanyeol's face. Baekhyun's heart breaks a little.

Jongin had stopped in his tracks when they first entered the Hospital Wing and finally saw Chanyeol's sleeping form. His face twisted into something so confused and upset that Baekhyun had to swallow the urge to take his hand. Now at Chanyeol's feet, Jongin looks even worse, almost like he might burst into tears at any second. Baekhyun walks over to Jongin and crouches down in front of him. "Hey," he says, getting the Gryffindor seeker's attention. "I know this might be really awkward for you, especially since you're already with someone."

I've been here, he wants to say. I know how it feels.

Jongin's lips stretch into a weak smile. "It's fine. I want to help."

The sound of clinking makes the boys turn to see Zitao playing with the tulips, the stems hitting against the rim of the vase making the noise. "These are really nice flowers," the Slytherin says when he notices everyone looking at him. "I really like tulips. They're so pretty."

"They are." Baekhyun replies. He turns back to Jongin, nudging him softly with his elbow. "Thank you for sending them, by the way."

To his surprise, Jongin's face scrunches in confusion. "What do you mean? I didn't send any flowers."

"What? But-"

"Can we stop talking about flowers please?"

"Sorry," Jongin says, nodding in reply at Jongdae's words. The older Gryffindor is stood to the side, watching Zitao fiddle with the vase through narrowed eyes, arms crossed. Baekhyun stands up and moves away so Jongin too can rise and turn to face the boy in the bed. He takes in a deep breath and steps forward, coming to stand beside Chanyeol's shoulders.

There are a few moments of silence, in which Jongin scans his eyes over Chanyeol's features, his closed eyes and pale cheeks. Chanyeol has changed quite a bit in the days that have passed. His ribs are more visible under his shirt and the stubble on his chin is getting darker across his jaw. Jongin lowers a hand to brush a few strands of Chanyeol's hair from his forehead, his fingers lingering on the boy's skin, before he takes another deep breath and closes his eyes.

When he opens them, there is so much determination in his eyes that Baekhyun feels a little stunned.

"Okay. Let's do this."

Everyone holds their breaths as Jongin places his hands on Chanyeol's shoulders and leans down, pressing his lips to Chanyeol's own.

~

Defeat is not something the Gryffindor quidditch team experiences often. They are a team of legends, of heroes, a team with such a rich and vibrant history of victories and successes that even the thought of failure is a foreign feeling, the very idea of losing the Cup removed from their brains as soon as they are accepted to join such an esteemed group. Ever since he became seeker in his Fourth Year at Hogwarts, Jongin has never known defeat with his team, catching snitch after snitch in record time and making a name for himself as the greatest Gryffindor seeker since the Boy Who Lived himself was a member all those years ago.

Which is why it hurts so much that for the first time since he dedicated his life to the sport, Jongin has to watch the House Cup being handed to the Captain of the Ravenclaw team instead of his own Captain. Failure tastes bitter on his tongue and acidic in his stomach and he feels like he has let the entire team down. He knows everyone will tell him differently, but he cannot help but feel like a waste of space as Luhan leads everyone back into the changing rooms, each member silent as they drink from water bottles and stretch out the tension in their muscles.

Jongin walks over to where his clothing and bag is hung up on the hooks that line the room and takes his water bottle, downing half of it in seconds. He wipes stray droplets from his lips and goes to drink again when he feels a weight on his shoulder, and looks to the side to see Chanyeol stood beside him. He looks concerned.

"Are you alright?"

No, Jongin wants to say. I could have done better, I should have tried harder, my head got too big and I cost us the game, I'm such an idiot, why am I here. I'm sorry, hyung, I'm sorry for being a waste of teammate. I'm sorry for letting you down.

But he says none of those things. "I'm fine," he mumbles, taking a few gulps from his bottle. Chanyeol clearly doesn't believe him, doesn't move his hand from Jongin's shoulder, but then Luhan is calling for a team talk, so Chanyeol drops his hand and the pair turn around and take a seat, looking at their Captain as he surveys the faces of those around him.

"You know what," Luhan says after a few moments of silence. "I know we lost today. I know this is the first loss we've experienced in a long time, and a pretty bad one at that."

A few of the older members start to raise their voices, a chorus of disappointment and anger rippling through the room. Jongin feels Chanyeol shuffle on the bench besides him, and he looks down to find the older Gryffindor squeezing his water bottle so tightly it would have burst if Jongin hadn't placed his hand gently over Chanyeol's own, making him lessen his grip and turn to Jongin with wide eyes. Jongin smiles at him and looks back at Luhan. He can feel Chanyeol's eyes still on him. Sweat trickles down his back.

Luhan shushes the rising grumbles with a warning glance. "I know you're angry, trust me I am as well." He stands up from his seat and climbs onto the bench, turning to address his team with the most strong and proud look in his eyes that Jongin has ever seen. "But that was some of the best damn flying I've seen in my entire time as Captain of this team. The way you guys fought today was incredible. To go up against a monster like Kim Minseok and survive with numbers like that, no matter how you think they were, is something to be ing proud of."

The atmosphere in the room starts to lighten. Jongin's fellow teammates start to sit up straighter, and Jongin's heart beats wildly with a new surge of adrenaline that wasn't there before. Chanyeol mumbles "goddamn Luhan and his speeches," under his breath, but he's grinning in time with everyone else in the room as the energy around them builds.

"There's no point thinking about what should have been done, what could have been," Luhan shouts. "You are all brilliant quidditch players, loss or win be damned, and you should never doubt yourselves, especially in the face of defeat. I will not have such behaviour in my team, is that understood?"

"Yes, Captain!"

"Who cares if we lost? All that matters is that we are the best team Gryffindor could ask for, and we don't need a cup to tell us that." His words are followed by deep bellows of cheers and ripples of laughter, and Luhan hops down from the bench before pointing in Jongin's direction. "Jongin, Chanyeol," he says, "head down to the kitchens. Get whatever you can get your hands on. Tonight we're going to party so hard, Ravenclaw will forget they were even in the final!"

Jongin cheers with the rest of his team, but his mind is still elsewhere as he peels off his sweat-soaked uniform.

Luhan sends them off to the kitchens as the rest of the team head up to the common room, the prospect of celebration urging them forward. Jongin is quiet as he walks alongside the taller boy, lost in his thoughts and only slightly listening to what Chanyeol is saying. The corridors are mostly empty, save for a few straggling students, and the rustling of the wind outside and the sound of his footsteps do nothing to distract him from replaying all the mistakes he made in the game over and over in his head. The feeling of a hand on his lower arms pulls him out of his trance and he looks up to find Chanyeol looks at him with concern again. "Are you okay? You look a bit down."

The smile Jongin sends him is weak, and he knows it. "I'm just disappointed, that's all. I really thought we had it."

Chanyeol hums in affirmation. "Losing is never easy." He shrugs his shoulders. "You get used to it though."

"I know. It still ." He lets out a hollow sigh. "I feel like I've let everyone down by not getting the snitch in time. Maybe I shouldn't even be on the team."

Chanyeol says nothing.

The walk to the kitchens is quiet after that. When they finally reach the portrait of the fruit bowl by the Hufflepuff common room, Chanyeol tickles the pear and the portrait opens. Chanyeol steps aside to let Jongin enter first, and Jongin is immediately surrounded by a pack of House Elves, all asking in shy voices how he is and how he's been. "I'm fine," Jongin smiles, listening for Chanyeol's footsteps behind him and the click of the portrait closing before leaning down to ask for some food and drinks. "If you guys aren't busy."

The House Elves bow and scurry away. Jongin turns to see Chanyeol curled into a ball on his feet as he asks a passing elf to get him some more food. Chanyeol is not a short boy and his height is probably very intimidating to the tiny elves. It's sweet that he thought to accommodate himself to their height instead of making them look up at him. No wonder he seems popular, a young elf blushing as she runs off to get whatever it is Chanyeol asked for because of the charming smile the boy sent her way.

The House Elves return minutes later, arms overflowing with treats and snacks that are easily dumped in Jongin's arms. There are several large bars of chocolate, cauldron cakes, paper bags full of freshly made pastries, even the odd bag of crisps in flavours Jongin wasn't even aware existed. He says thank you to each and every elf, and is rearranging the pile of food in his arms when he hears Chanyeol speak on the other side of the room.

"Hey, Jongin?"

Jongin looks up to find Chanyeol stood just a few metres away, back in Jongin's direction. His arms are firm at his sides, hands clenched tightly into fists, and he is shaking slightly. He looks like he's struggling to keep himself together, and Jongin is about to ask if he is okay when Chanyeol starts to speak, cutting him off.

"You belong on the team." He says. Jongin's chest tightens. "No matter what anyone says, or what you tell yourself. The team needs you." He turns around, and the expression on his face, full of strength and certainty, is something Jongin has never seen before on the older boy.

"I need you, Jongin."

"What?" Jongin says, and then Chanyeol is crossing the distance between them and kissing him, wet and open mouthed, and Jongin doesn't know when he starts kissing back but he can't find it in himself to care when Chanyeol feels so warm. He drops everything in his arms when Chanyeol raises a hand to gently caress his face, pushing them both backwards until the edge of the counter digs into Jongin's back. Chanyeol still smells like sweat and effort, and Jongin is certain he is equally as gross, but the feeling of Chanyeol's lips on his own is so soft and comforting that he doesn't care. The kiss lasts for seconds or a lifetime, Jongin isn't sure, but then Chanyeol suddenly rips away from him and stumbles backwards, tripping over his feet.

"Oh my God. I'm so sorry, Jongin."

It takes a few moments for Jongin to register what he said, mind elsewhere. "It's fine," he says, throat a little dry. It's totally fine. His lips are wet in the corners, and he wipes his mouth on his sleeves. "It's fine."

Chanyeol shakes his head aggressively. "No, it's not fine. I'm so sorry, I just-" He runs his hands through his hair as he groans. "I didn't even ask, I just jumped you."

That is true, Jongin thinks. "I guess you did," he says. Why does his stomach feel so uneasy?

"I'm so sorry. I should have asked, you probably don't even like guys and yet…" Chanyeol huffs out a hollow and stilted sigh. He takes a few steps backwards, purposefully putting distance between them. "I understand if you hate me now."

Jongin doesn't hate Chanyeol. He plays with the edge of his sleeve as he thinks. "You should have asked."

Another hopeless sigh. "I know."

"And you're right. I don't like guys."

He doesn't, he reminds himself. Jongin doesn't like guys that way. He doesn't.

Chanyeol leans against the counter opposite Jongin and runs his hands over his face, ears now a violent shade of crimson. ", I'm sorry." He tips his head down to stare at the ground, as if hiding his

"And even if I did, I don't like you like that, Chanyeol."

"I'm sorry."

"But I don't hate you."

The older Gryffindor shoots his head up so fast his neck cracks. "You don't?"

How could Jongin hate Chanyeol? "No," he says. "It took me by surprise, yes, but I don't hate you for it."

Chanyeol looks a little bit relieved, if anything. "Okay." He steps forward to gather up the food that Jongin dropped during the kiss (Chanyeol kissed him) and Jongin stutters out of his daze to bend down and help him. "I still feel awful."

Arms now once again overflowing with snacks, Jongin laughs, deep and light. "If it's any consolation, you're a really good kisser," he says with a bashful grin that only gets wider when Chanyeol blushes all the way up to the tips of his ears.

"Am I?"

"Yes. If I was gay I would definitely fall for you." Jongin isn't gay.

The smile Chanyeol sends him is a little weak, but it warms Jongin nonetheless. "Thanks, I guess." Jongin hopes he doesn't feel bad anymore.

Chanyeol's House Elves return with even more food than what Jongin asked for, but Chanyeol shows no signs of struggle as he gathers it all into his large arms. When they are sure they have everything they need and want, Chanyeol suggests they head back to the common room. The team are waiting for them after all. They bid goodbye to the elves and Chanyeol shoulder's the portrait open, closing it behind them with the same method when both boys are back in the school corridors.

Jongin starts to walk down the corridor, but when he notices Chanyeol is not beside him, he turns around to find Chanyeol stood in place, nibbling his lip. He looks at Jongin with eyes glowing with uncertainty.

"About that. About me… You won't tell anyone, will you?"

Ah. Jongin can see why he would be concerned. Putting on as reassuring smile as he can muster, Jongin walks towards him and lifts a foot to nudge the other boy in the shin. "Don't worry," he says. "I won't tell anyone."

The sigh Chanyeol breathes is deep and full of weight but he looks relieved, and that is enough for Jongin. "Thank you." He starts down the corridor and Jongin jogs after him, shorter legs already struggling to keep up with Chanyeol's longer strides. "And sorry, again."

Jongin laughs and nudges him in the leg again.

When they are just outside the Fat Lady, Jongin asks Chanyeol to stop for a second. Chanyeol does, and Jongin takes a moment to look at his features, his strong nose and almond eyes, the curve of his jaw, before leaning up and kissing him on the cheek. "Just ask next time, okay?" he says.

Jongin doesn't like guys, he tells himself, but when Chanyeol laughs, loud and deep, deeper than anything Jongin has heard before, a small part of him says that maybe, in the future perhaps, he could learn to. It might be easier than he thinks.

~

Nothing happens.

Chanyeol does not wake up.

Fun Fact: Yixing is not as innocent as everyone thinks he is. He's actually quite sneaky and mischievous, which means he is perfect for spying on the other quidditch teams as no one suspects him of anything. He's been very useful for the Hufflepuff team for a while. That, and the fact he is close friends with Luhan, is why he knows so much about what happens in the Gryffindor team. Baekhyun's opinion of Yixing really is rather unrealistic lol

I feel like I made Chanbaek's relationship a bit too deep?? They were only supposed to be friends that made out every now and then but I ended up giving them a whole dramatic backstory that I feel takes a lot of attention away from everything else. I'm not sure, please tell me what you think! Also, I hope I portrayed all the other EXO members accurately, feel free to tell me your thoughts about what I can do to improve!

There is only one chapter left of this story. I'm not sure when I'll be able to get it out, seeing as it's exam season at uni and im drowning in assignments and essays and stress, but I will do my best to get it out as soon as possible. Thank you for being so patient with me, I love you all very much <3

As always, thank you for reading! If you have any questions or simply just want to scream about exo, feel free to come yell at me on tumblr or in the comments~