A few days after Jaewon is expelled, Gryffindor lose the first quidditch match of the year.

It's to be expected, really. With Jaewon having been removed from school grounds on the very day he was taken to the Headmistress, the team were a flier down with no one to fill the position. On the day of the game, they were silent and sombre as they made their way to the pitch, the reality of their situation hanging over them like a thick grey cloud. They had already accepted that the chances of them winning were slim to none, especially since Jongdae and Luhan were still shaken from the events that occurred earlier that week.

Understandably, changes were made to make it an even match. Because Gryffindor had only one beater, Kris opted to bench one of his own so the teams were of equal size. After appealing to Professor Liu, the flying teacher and quidditch referee, she agreed to only release one bludger when the game officially began. You don't have to be an ex-member of the Holyhead Harpies to realise that one beater against two bludgers would surely end in disaster. The team did their best, fought the hardest they could, but despite their best efforts they were no match for their Slytherin opponents. In the end they lost 50-200 points, with Sehun successfully catching the snitch before Jongin could even spot the brilliant gold flash of its reflection in the sunlight.

Jaewon's departure had left them fractured, uneasy, and even more so humiliated, especially after they were told the truth behind his expulsion, a mere day before the day of the match. Baekhyun and Jongdae knew they couldn't keep it a secret for much longer. Rumours had already started to echo down the stone walls of the castle. A six-person duel in the middle of breakfast isn't something most people would forget in a hurry, and soon the whole school knew that Jaewon had done something terrible enough to warrant permanent expulsion from school grounds. Luhan had asked if he could tell the team the truth, and the boys had little choice but to say yes.

They keep out the part about Chanyeol’s true love, however. Some things must be kept secret after all.

In typical Hogwarts fashion, telling a few people results in the whole school now knowing the truth behind Chanyeol's sickness. Life for Baekhyun and Jongdae is even more chaotic then it was before. It's been a long time since anything remotely interesting or life-threatening has happened at Hogwarts, and for many students the idea of a six-person duel is simply fascinating. Instead of sad smiles and pitying looks, they are now badgered with questions and queries about what happened on that fateful morning. Kids of all ages (although mostly the younger ones) pester them during meals and in the corridors, wanting to know everything they can about the mysterious events surrounding Chanyeol's unending sleep.

It doesn't happen enough to fully hinder their day, but it is very, very annoying. Especially since some students have taken it upon themselves to come forward with 'evidence' to further bolster the case against Jaewon, evidence that is almost entirely useless and similarly unwelcome.

"He was really weird, that Jaewon kid. Always alone, never had any friends. I knew there was something off with him."

"My friend's sister's boyfriend's brother said that he heard him mumble your friend's name in his sleep! He must have been completely obsessed!"

"He sat behind me in the library once. Heard him planning everything, the whole thing! Said that if I ever told anyone about what he was doing he would turn me into a blast-ended skrewt! I would have told the professors if I wasn't so scared for my life."

There's only so many times that Baekhyun can stop Jongdae from aggressively calling bull before he starts to do so himself.

They aren't the only ones to be receiving a large amount of unwanted attention, however. It becomes obvious very quickly that Jaewon's sister’s involvement in her brother's schemes, despite being unaware of his real intentions, has earned her the scorn of her fellow students, particularly so from younger Gryffindors. The boys hardly ever see her in the corridors or at meals, and Jongin had told them that she no longer hangs around with her friends near the boathouse. When they do see her she is alone, her head down and eyes fixed to the floor as she ducks around groups of students that hurl insults at her as she passes. The boys can't help but feel guilty, even though they aren't the ones responsible for dragging her into something she had no part in in the first place.

(It's not all doom and gloom, though. The last time Baekhyun and Jongdae saw Jae-eun, she was eating lunch at the Ravenclaw table, nestled between Kris and Luhan, with Minseok sitting on the bench opposite. They must have noticed her being bullied as well. No one dared say anything nasty to her the entire time they were there. Jae-eun had been smiling for the first time in almost a week.)

As for Chanyeol himself, his condition hasn't changed much since the last time his friends visited him. He's a lot skinner than before, ribs and collar bones protruding from beneath his skin like pale ink through paper, and his jaw and upper lip are prickly with adolescent stubble and hair, but he's still asleep, still breathing like death, and to Baekhyun and Jongdae that's all that matters. They've taken to spending all their free time by his side again, sorting through the many letters and presents that have been left at his bedside since the news of his sickness went public. He's received all sorts of gifts, everything from brilliantly coloured flowers that hum calming melodies to promote healing, to boxes of delicious sweets that shadow even Baekhyun's impressive stock, to even handfuls of sickles and galleons, all from students and professors alike.

There was even a present from a wizard in Peru, who had heard of Chanyeol's plight through his niece and wanted to offer his services in order to ease his suffering. The parcel contained a peculiar looking stone, carved with strange and mysterious runes that not even Miss Luna could translate, which, the man had explained in his letter, would help ease the tension in Chanyeol's mind and encourage pleasant dreams if placed under his pillow. They aren't quite sure if it's actually doing anything, but Jongdae swears that Chanyeol's cheeks look a little bit pinker than they did before, so they appreciate the gesture either way.

This is where Jongin finds them, huddled up on Chanyeol's bed at the far end of the Hospital Wing, gradually working their way through a small pile of letters. Baekhyun is reading one out to Chanyeol, putting his drama skills to excellent use; and Jongdae is folding the discarded envelopes into little paper planes, enchanting them to fly around in circles through the air, entertaining the young girl in the bed beside them.

They look up when they hear someone approaching, expecting to see Miss Luna or another student with a gift. They greet Jongin warmly, as he sidles up to meet them. Sehun follows close behind, peering over his friend's shoulder. They ask how Chanyeol is doing and then chat about the weather for a bit, and then Jongin asks very politely if they could help them with their potions essays.

"Kyungsoo usually helps us, but he's busy today," he says with a sweet smile. "It's okay if you've got other things to do."

Jongdae and Baekhyun have lots of things to do, if they're being honest with themselves. They still haven't caught up with their classes and Jongdae had promised Luhan he would help find someone to fill the empty position in the team (preferably before Luhan goes bald from stress) but it is true that they have been neglecting their friends somewhat since the duel. There's still another half an hour left before free period ends and lunch starts. Besides, it's not like they are doing anything important anyway. No offence to Chanyeol.

So they agree, perhaps a little too eagerly, and soon all four boys are huddled up in one of the school's many study rooms, scratching their heads as they try to figure out the answer to one of the potions professor's ridiculous essays.

It really is a doozy of a question, something about moonstones and love potions and other stuff the sixth year boys should probably know but apparently don't, and it becomes obvious very quickly that Baekhyun and Jongdae weren't exactly the best people to ask for help.

Since when did potions get so difficult? Sure, they've only recently started going to all the lessons on their timetable again, having skipped or unintentionally missed more than they are proud to admit, but this is fifth year stuff! They should know this already- hell, they were examined on it not five months ago! This should be easy, and yet they are slowly driving themselves insane, struggling to provide even the most simple of guidance to the poor fifth years in front of them.

Has their education really suffered this badly? They try not to think about it too much as they flick through their potions textbooks, pointing out information they think might make this experience a little easier, working into their lunch break.

As for Jongin and Sehun, they seem to be acknowledging their mistake in asking them for help. Jongin looks like he's about to burst a vessel, his hair mussed from running his hands through it too many times, locks sticking out in all directions like some kind of stressed porcupine. Sehun is faring slightly better (mostly because Jongdae has been doing the majority of the work for him) but his frustration is obvious in the amount of noise he is making, little whines and loud huffs of vexation, which, combined with the consistent tapping of his quill on the table, has been grating on the nerves of everyone in the vicinity for quite some time now.

It's only a matter of time before someone snaps.

"For the love of Merlin, could you please stop?" Baekhyun growls, making Jongin jump beside him. Sehun's grumbling is starting to earn them plenty of scornful looks from the students around them. They aren't even in the silent study room, but his constant fidgeting is too obvious to ignore. "You're going to get us kicked out."

Sehun merely whines again. "Potions is haaarrrddd." He drops his head into his hands and groans lowly in his throat, like a child being forced to eat something they don't like. In doing so he accidentally knocks Jongdae in the elbow, causing him to smudge the essay plan he had been carefully constructing for Sehun to follow for the past ten minutes, much to the older student's annoyance. He wipes his now-black stained hand on his robes, trying his hardest not to glare at the boy beside him, who is still grumbling into his hands.

"Yes, it is." Jongdae sighs defeatedly as he scrunches up the parchment, plan now useless and unreadable. "But you don't need to announce it to the room every five seconds."

"It is getting quite annoying," adds Jongin, jaw clenched and hands gripping a little too tightly around his quill.

The harshness in his voice doesn't go unnoticed. "Well what crawled up your arse and died?" Sehun says, bringing his head up from his hands to fix his friend with a look. His tone is unusually confrontational, and Baekhyun and Jongdae spare a confused glance at each other across the table.

What's going on here then?

Jongin exhales sharply through his nose. "You're not the only one writing this stupid essay," he mumbles. He doesn't stop writing, but his pace is far too fast, words coming out in messy, misaligned scrawls. "Least you could do is stop being a whiny baby about it like you're the only person having a tough time."

Sehun fixes Jongin with a scowl, and now Baekhyun and Jongdae really are confused. The air around them is starting to get more and more uncomfortable, and not because of the horrible amount of homework.

"You're already on your second paragraph," grumbles Sehun. "I've barely even started. Why are you complaining when I'm clearly struggling more than you are?"

"The only reason I've written anything is because Baekhyun is helping me. You've done all since we got here." Jongin points at the crumpled ball of parchment in the middle of the table. "Jongdae's spent the last ten minutes writing an essay plan for you and you literally just ruined it because you were being a bellend. Maybe you should actually do some work for once instead of getting other people to do it for you, lazy ."

Oh dear. This isn't what the boys expected to happen when they ventured away from the Hospital Wing. Baekhyun looks to Jongdae for a solution but the latter doesn't know what to do besides shrug his shoulders. Jongin and Sehun never fight. What the hell happened to make them so tense with each other?

"What the hell, Jongin? I swear to Merlin, you've been acting like such a prick since the match. You just hate it that someone else did better than you for once. Just because you don't like losing doesn't mean you need to get on my about it all the time." Sehun leans back in his chair and crosses his arms, his expression uncharacteristically bitter.

Jongin isn't having any of it. He slams his quill down and leans forward, lips curled into a heavy frown. "Oh, that's rich, Sehun. You only got the snitch before me cause I helped you do your goddamn job. Your captain may have improved your posture but who taught you all those moves? Who taught you that dive you used to beat me? You literally only won because you stole my hard work and claimed it as your own, just like you've been doing here with Jongdae, and just like you've done since the day we started school."

Well . The boys know that Jongin hasn't been smiling as much as he used to since the results of the match, but they didn't know it had affected him this much. It must have drawn quite a line between them, explaining why they were so quick to turn on each other. Jongdae opens his mouth to calm the younger students down but he barely moves before he's cut off by the loud scrape of Sehun pushing himself out of his chair.

"Fine," Sehun snaps. He grabs his bag and drops it onto the table with a loud thud, startling those around him. His hands shake as he scoops up his belongings and shoves them into his bag. Throwing the bag over his shoulder, he turns to Jongdae to mumble a quick and gloomy, "Thank you for your help," before wheeling around and marching away from the table. He storms out of the study room, shoulders hunched, hands clenched tightly into fists.

Not seconds after he has left does the dark expression on Jongin's face melt away, replaced with an overwhelming amount of guilt and regret. ", Sehun!" he gasps, scrambling up from his chair and bounding after his friend like a panicked puppy. "Sehun, come back, I didn't mean it!"

"Let's follow them," Baekhyun says, and Jongdae nods his head before they gather their things and hurry out after the younger Gryffindor, whispering an apology to the supervising professor, who glares at them disapprovingly as they pass. Once in the corridor, they take a second to look around for their friends, spotting the tail-end of Jongin's robes disappearing around the far end of the corridor.

"Sehun, I'm sorry!"

Baekhyun and Jongdae run after him, and they turn the corner just in time to see Jongin wrap a hand around Sehun's bag strap, tugging it to get his attention. With a yelp from Sehun, followed by a terribly loud rip, Sehun's bag tears open at the seams, splitting into two pieces of fabric in Jongin's hand. Books and rolls of parchment, empty ink pots and open packets of sweets, go tumbling to the ground, scattering across the stone floor and around Jongin and Sehun's feet like rubber balls down a long flight of stairs.

Jongin immediately lets go of Sehun's bag strap, but by that point it's too late. "!" he gasps, bringing his hands up to his mouth in horror. ", I'm so sorry!"

Sehun turns to face him, but his foot catches on a stray piece of parchment and he is sent hurtling to the floor, landing on his bottom with a crash. Shocked, Jongin goes to help him up but he too slips over - this time on a puddle of ink - and ends up flat on his back. To anyone watching the whole situation must look incredibly comical, but after witnessing the fight before, Baekhyun and Jongdae know it is anything but.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! I didn't know it would do that, I'm really sorry, Sehun."

"It's fine," Sehun says, but it really isn't. The poor boy looks like he's about to cry, bottom lip quivering. Jongin immediately stands up and starts picking up as many items from Sehun's bag as he can, gathering them into his arms. Jongdae and Baekhyun rush over to help, the latter sprinting past them to catch an ink pot that is still making its way down the corridor.

With everyone focussing on collecting the contents of Sehun's bag, there's a moment of quiet before someone speaks again. "I didn't mean what I said back there," says Jongin gently. Jongdae turns his back to them, focussing on a messy pile of chocolate frog cards nearby. They probably need some space. "You won the match fair and square. I'm just stressed about quidditch and all the homework. I shouldn't have taken it out on you. I'm really sorry."

"It's okay," Sehun sniffles. "You're right, I was being a brat for no reason. You have every right to be upset."

Jongin shakes his head, but he doesn't push it any further. "We're still friends, right?"

"Yeah." Sehun's smile is small but brilliant, his eyes crinkling in the corners. "Of course."

Well that was quick, Jongdae thinks to himself. Not that he's surprised. The young seekers are almost as inseparable as Jongdae and Baekhyun are themselves. They were never going to be at odds with each other for long.

Hiding his smirk, Jongdae stands up and walks over to Sehun's tattered bag, abandoned in the middle of the mess. He puts the chocolate frog cards to one side briefly to pull out his wand, casting a quick reparo to patch up the rips in the fabric before sliding the cards into one of the little pockets on the inside of the bag. Satisfied, he walks over to where a textbook sits a little way away from the rest of Sehun's belongings, soaking in a puddle of spilled ink.

Picking it up at the spine, Jongdae gives the book a shake to remove any stray droplets from the sopping paper. Something small, square and white comes flying out from between the pages and drifts down onto the floor, narrowly missing the puddle at Jongdae's feet. Jongdae stops shaking and looks at what seems to be a postcard before bending down and picking it up, doing his best not to get ink on his mostly-clean robes.

It's not a postcard, but a photo. An old photo. Jongdae looks at curiously, taking in the image of two young boys stood in front of a half-completed treehouse, both covered from head to toe in dirt. It's sweet, but somewhat out of place. Neither of the boys look anything like Sehun, so why does he have a photo like this on him anyway? Stranger yet, something is telling Jongdae that he's seen this picture before, but he can't for the life of him think where.

Turning around, Jongdae walks over to where the other boys are still squatting on the floor, talking to each other in low voices. "Hey, what's this?" he asks, holding out the photo where Sehun can see it clearly.

"Hm?" Sehun blinks in confusion before spying the little slip of paper in his hand. "Oh, I forgot I had that."

"What is it?"

"A photo of Kyungsoo." Sehun stands up and brushes down his robes before taking the photo from Jongdae's hands. "We were studying in his room and I found it in one of his drawers."

Standing up beside him, Jongin fixes Sehun with an amused yet suspicious look. "So you stole it?"

Sehun instantly splutters, hands flapping at his sides. "I was going to put it back!" he insists, and the look on his face makes Jongdae laugh. "But I panicked and put it in my bag instead. I just haven't had time to return it yet, I promise."

"Sure," Jongin chuckles, and he sounds only a little bit sceptical. He peers over Sehun's shoulder, lifting a hand to point at the smallest of the boys, the one with a plaster on his knee. "Is that really Kyungsoo?" he asks, beaming down at the child curiously.

"Yep," grins Sehun. Jongin coos in response. "He's so cute, isn't he?"

He is cute, Jongdae thinks. Well, he was cute. The current Kyungsoo doesn't really fit that description anymore, at least in Jongdae's opinion. "Who's the other kid?" Jongin asks, drawing Jongdae's attention to the boy holding Kyungsoo's hand. He's short and round and has silly ears that flop under his hat. Why does he feel like he knows this kid?

Sehun shrugs his shoulders. "Don't know. Probably an old friend of his."

"That's Chanyeol."

At the sound of the voice behind them, Sehun and Jongin jump, startling so much that the former almost lets the photo slip from his fingers. Jongdae peers around them to see Baekhyun staring at the photo over Sehun's shoulder, his hand out-stretched as he points at the small printed figure of the young boys. His eyes are round and wide, brow creased in a mixture of shock and bewilderment.

The other boy is Chanyeol?

"Is it?" Sehun asks, turning away from Baekhyun to look at the photo again. "But he looks nothing like him?"

Baekhyun shakes his head. "No, that's definitely Chanyeol," he says definitely. He walks over to stand beside Jongdae and gently takes the photo from Sehun, squinting at it suspiciously. "He has the exact same photo above his bed."

It suddenly occurs to Jongdae where he's seen the picture before. "You're right, he does!" he gasps, earning a look of surprise from Sehun and Jongin and a roll of the eyes from Baekhyun. How did he not realise? Chanyeol's bed is right next to his own! But why would Kyungsoo have the same photo?

His thoughts shift to his Slytherin classmate. "I didn't know he and Kyungsoo knew each other before Hogwarts," he mumbles. From the photo alone, they must have lived in the same village. Do they still, after all these years? Jongdae has stayed over at Chanyeol's house many times, once for the whole of the Christmas holidays, and he has never seen the Slytherin wandering the little country lanes and markets. Maybe they always missed him, or perhaps Kyungsoo moved away entirely. It would explain why Chanyeol never spoken of any wizarding families that lived nearby, besides his own grandparents.

"Are they friends?" asks Jongin.

Jongdae is a little hesitant as he racks his brain for any occasion where Chanyeol may have mentioned knowing Kyungsoo outside of school. "No?" he says as he comes up short, and he frowns at the little white photograph, confused. Chanyeol has never spoken of Kyungsoo before, at least not in relation to their potions classes, and even then they barely talk to each other. Baekhyun says so to the others, confirming Jongdae's thoughts. The idea of them being friends is frankly baffling, and neither Jongdae nor Baekhyun can quite believe their eyes as they take in the sight of little Chanyeol and Kyungsoo hand in hand, smiling as brilliantly as the flowers that surround them.

Despite their befuddlement, Sehun doesn't seem convinced. He his hip and raises a brow at them, apparently suspicious of his friends' confusion. "Are you sure they aren't friends?" he asks incredulously. He addresses Jongin over his shoulder. "Didn't Kyungsoo tutor Chanyeol one year?"

Scratching his head, Jongin nods slowly. "Oh yeah. Last year, wasn't it?"

Hold on, what? Did Jongdae hear that right? "What are you on about?" he says dismissively. "Chanyeol was tutored by the Professor." He said so himself, not soon after the incident in potions class that resulted in his week-long giraffe neck. Sure, Baekhyun and Jongdae never actually went with him to his sessions, but who else would tutor such a disaster of a student if not for the Potions Master himself? It makes no sense for him to be tutored by a student, even one as talented in potions as Kyungsoo.

Right?

"No, it was definitely Kyungsoo," counters Sehun certainly, receiving an affirming nod from Jongin. "We helped him set up equipment a couple of times and Chanyeol was always there, wasn't he?"

"Yep. We never hung about too long though. They always looked like they wanted to be alone." Jongin turns to Baekhyun and Jongdae, blinking innocently, and Jongdae feels incredibly stupid. "Did you guys not know?"

"No!" they both yell in unison. Jongdae feels like tearing his hair out and Baekhyun is frowning off into the distance, face wrinkled, like he is still struggling to figure out the answer to that horrible potions essay. Kyungsoo tutored Chanyeol, for a whole year, and kept it a secret from his best friends the entire time?! "This is ridiculous. I don't understand." Chanyeol tells them everything. "They're just classmates." What does he have to hide?

"They look so close here though," mumbles Jongin. He looks a little sad. "I wonder what happened."

"Jongdae."

A hand claps down on his shoulder. Turning around, Jongdae sees that Baekhyun's face is lit up like a Christmas tree, cheeks rosy and eyes glistening and wide. He looks like he's just figured out the answers to all the questions in the universe, and before Jongdae can ask him why he's shining like the sun in winter for apparently no reason he is cut off with a yelp as the other boy yanks him by the arm and drags him down the corridor, leaving a very stunned and confused Jongin and Sehun behind, still ankle deep in the contents of Sehun's bag.

"Hey, what're you doing?" he snaps as he attempts to wriggle out of his friend's grip. It proves futile, and he stumbles over the stone floor as Baekhyun continues to haul him around like a sack of potatoes. "Where are we going?"

Baekhyun doesn't answer. He looks a little deranged, a little manic with his fist curled in Jongdae's robes, so Jongdae just goes with it, ceasing his struggling in favour of being dragged limply. When they get to the end of the corridor, Baekhyun swings him around the corridor and pushes him in the wall, crowding up against Jongdae so much that the latter can feel the individual buttons of Baekhyun's school shirt through his jumper.

"Baek, what the hell are you-"

"It's Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo is his true love."

Shoving the taller away, Jongdae brushes himself down, rearranging his crumpled robes on his shoulders. "Kyungsoo?" he grumbles, fixing his friend with a doubtful stare through furrowed eyebrows. "What, because they played together as kids?”

Baekhyun hits him on the arm. "I'm serious," he presses, eyes burning with an intensity Jongdae hasn't seen since the duel. "It all adds up, it's been right in front of us this entire time!"

"Has it?"

Unimpressed, Baekhyun rolls his eyes. "Look," he says firmly, gripping Jongdae by the upper arms. "Chanyeol has that photo above his bed, the exact same one! And he once told me that one of his first kisses was with a boy in his village." He shakes his arms, rocking Jongdae's head into the wall. "That must have been Kyungsoo, there's no one else it could have been."

Jongdae shoves him off. "We can't assume that," he says through the stinging of his skull. Kyungsoo can't be the only young boy that lives in Chanyeol's village. Who's to say it wasn't one of them? Jongdae knows how desperate Baekhyun is for answers - he is too - but that seems like a bit of a stretch, even for a mind as enthusiastic as Baekhyun's.

If the other boy had heard what Jongdae had said, he doesn't acknowledge it. "And you know how I bumped into Kyungsoo once when I went to visit Chanyeol?" he raves. "And he said that Jongin bought Chanyeol flowers? Well Jongin had no idea what I was on about when I thanked him for getting them! The flowers must have been from Kyungsoo himself, and he only said they were from Jongin so I wouldn't know they were from him."

"I guess, but-"

"What if," Baekhyun says conspiratorially, wheeling around as he starts to pace around in circles, "what if they stopped being friends when they started school? And then suddenly Kyungsoo becomes Chanyeol's tutor and all those old feelings from before come surging back and they fall in love! But something is stopping them from being together, something really secret, which is why we-," he gestures between Jongdae and himself, "-don't know about it."

"But Chanyeol tells us everything. Why would this be any different?"

Baekhyun shrugs. "I don't know. You have to admit that it sounds pretty plausible though. The photos, the flowers." His pacing slows, and he comes to a stop in the middle of the corridor. A strange sort of melancholy fades onto his face, bleeding into the folds of his wrinkled forehead and the downward corners of his mouth. "When I saw him in the hospital wing… Kyungsoo looked so sad. Like Chanyeol being sick was tearing him apart."

He looks up, eyes b with something Jongdae can't place. "Would he look like that if they were only classmates? Would Chanyeol really keep a photo of someone he never talks to, for all these years, if they meant nothing to him?"

Sighing, Jongdae runs a hand through his hair and down the back of his neck. It makes sense, of course it does. Baekhyun is right, Jongdae knows that he's right. He's always right. But he can't help but feel uneasy, like he's walking on a tightrope in the middle of a storm. This would be their fourth attempt at waking Chanyeol, at bringing him home. After everything that has happened, could he stand the possibility of being let down for the fourth time in a row?

"Are you sure about this?" he asks, perhaps at little desperately. "Are you really sure? Because I don't know if I can take being disappointed again."

Baekhyun walks towards Jongdae and takes his hand, squeezing it gently. "I'm certain," he says. He looks so hopeful. "Please, Dae. Let's try. We have to at least try."

Baekhyun's hand is warm. Jongdae takes a moment to think. "Okay," he says finally. They have to at least try. "If you're certain, then I'm certain." He ignores the voice in his head that speaks of nothing but futility and focusses on the way Baekhyun's face blooms into a brilliant smile, relief evident in the gentle slope of his shoulders.

"Thank you," Baekhyun says, and Jongdae squeezes his hand in reply. With new-found determination, Baekhyun lets go of his hand and heads around the corner, Jongdae following suit. Jongin and Sehun are exactly where they left them, the space around their feet now empty of ink puddles and stray pieces of parchment, and Baekhyun and Jongdae sprint towards them hurriedly, catching them by surprise. They need to talk to Kyungsoo as soon as possible, and who better to ask than two of the select few people Kyungsoo is ever actually seen with.

"Jongin, Sehun? Do you know where Kyungsoo is right now?"

Sehun blinks at them. "The potions classroom, why? He's doing something for the professor though, I wouldn't-"

They are gone before Sehun can even finish his sentence.

~

Baekhyun has never really liked the potions classroom very much. It's always so dark and damp (a given really, seeing as it's entirely underground) and the walls seem to ooze with strange and bitter smells that stick to your clothes for hours afterwards. The desks are always sticky and the chairs are too hard. Too many of his detentions have been served here, scraping the charred remains of faulty potions from the inside of cauldrons, or scrubbing soot from the wooden desks until his fingers ache. There is very little about this room that he likes, except, of course, when classes end and he gets to leave for the rest of the day.

His miserable experiences have caused potions to be his least favourite subject, and he would have dropped the subject immediately after completing his O.W.L's if not for the fact that it's a required N.E.W.T when pursuing a career as a healer. To make matters worse, neither Chanyeol nor Jongdae took up the subject for their last two years at school, so Baekhyun has to suffer through the painfully long lessons alone. He was hoping he wouldn't find himself between the dripping walls at least until his next lesson the day after tomorrow. But needs must, and he does his best to ignore the scents of pickled beetle wings and bezoars as he and Jongdae stumble through the dungeons towards the potions classroom, cautious of the watchful eyes of the Slytherin prefects that loiter near the entrance to their common room.

Baekhyun and Jongdae gently push open the door and tiptoe in quietly. They expect to see their classmate hunkered over a bubbling cauldron, stirring rhythmically or slicing up something rancid and unpleasant to tip into his latest concoction. To their surprise, they find that the room is empty. Kyungsoo is nowhere to be found.

For a moment Baekhyun wonders if Jongin and Sehun had been mistaken about Kyungsoo's whereabouts. Both had insisted that Kyungsoo was doing some extra credit work for the professor and would thus be in the potions room, alone. They take a second to scan the room, and the sight of Kyungsoo's familiar brown satchel and wire framed glasses, still slightly steamed up around the edges, sat on the table in the frontmost corner of the room, tell them that the younger students were indeed correct. An empty cauldron, left upside down on the drying rack next to the sink, and a tub full of water with utensils soaking inside, act as further proof that Kyungsoo is nearby.

Whatever it was their classmate was cooking now sits in rows of little glass phials on the professor's desk. The liquid is a deep purple colour and glowing slightly, and the room smells surprisingly sweet, like honey and sugar cookies. It would be pleasant if not for the fact it is horrendously overpowering, filling up their nostrils and windpipes like syrup, and the boys sniff away the urge to sneeze as they shuffle over to where Kyungsoo's belongings sit without their owner.

“Kyungsoo?" Jongdae calls out.

From behind them comes a noise, followed by the tapping of footsteps. They turn around to see Kyungsoo's round head appear from inside the professor's private store cupboard. His short hair is a little frazzled and his cheeks are slightly pink, typical symptoms of spending too much time hunkered over gallons of steaming liquid, and his round eyes squint at them from the other side of the room.

"Who is it?"

It takes a moment for them to remember that Kyungsoo isn't wearing his glasses. "It's Jongdae," Jongdae says. "Baekhyun's here too."

They could be mistaken, but at the sound of their names Kyungsoo seems to frown. "Hi," he says, stepping out into the classroom. "What are you guys doing here?" He looks at Baekhyun. "We don't have potions today."

"We were wondering if we could talk to you?"

A momentary, yet somewhat uncomfortable pause. "Okay." Kyungsoo walks over to the far table and picks up his glasses, putting them on for a second before taking them off again and polishing them with his robes. "What can I help you with?"

Right. Here goes. Baekhyun and Jongdae share a look, unexpectedly nervous. Jongdae gives Baekhyun a supportive nudge to the ribs with his elbow, and Baekhyun swats his friend's hand away before reluctantly stepping forwards to address the boy in front of them.

"You've probably heard what happened to Chanyeol. About the sleeping potion and stuff?"

Kyungsoo nods his head. He looks a little awkward, stiff and uncomfortable, like he has a stomach ache. "Yes. Are you asking if I know the antidote?" He stops polishing and puts his glasses on, blinking as his eyes adjust to the gloomy light of the classroom. "I've never heard of a potion like that before, so I don't know how to cure its effects. I could do some research but I don't know if I'll be able to find anything substantial to help you.

Baekhyun can't help but notice how shifty Kyungsoo looks right now. The Slytherin isn't known to display his emotions as openly as most other people would, but even an idiot could tell that there's something off about him. He looks uncomfortable, his eyes continuously flicking from Baekhyun to Jongdae to the door and back again, like he wants them to leave but is too polite to say so. It makes him think of the time he bumped into him in the Hospital Wing and how awkward Kyungsoo seemed then as well.

A thought occurs to him. Did they do something to upset him? Baekhyun can't think of what it might be. He hopes that Kyungsoo's discomfort is down to unwanted social interactions and not because Baekhyun and Jongdae had accidentally antagonised him in the past without knowing. An unhappy Kyungsoo is less likely to agree to help them, and Baekhyun doesn't know what he'll do if they can't convince him otherwise.

"We already know the cure," Jongdae says. "Which is why we need your help."

Kyungsoo's eyes narrow, whether in suspicion or curiosity, Baekhyun isn't sure. "Okay," he says. "What is it then?"

. Baekhyun's throat feels impossibly dry. Chanyeol's life rests on the success of this conversation and if they mess up, if they've got it all wrong or can't convince Kyungsoo to help them, then… well, he doesn't really want to think about it. The photo of Chanyeol and Kyungsoo as children sits in the pocket of his robes, and it feels like it's burning his skin through his uniform. Baekhyun's hand finds its way to the edge of Jongdae's robes, and he squeezes the fabric between his fingers for reassurance before letting go.

"True love's kiss."

Kyungsoo doesn't react immediately. Unlike Jongin, whose eyes widened and mouth went limp before he was cut off by his reckless friends - or even Baekhyun and Jongdae themselves, who went through about twelve different emotions in the space of a minute, shrouded in the darkness of the Restricted Section - Kyungsoo's face barely changes, expression still as guarded as the moment he saw who was calling him name. The only sign that he even heard what Baekhyun said is the subtle widening of his eyes and the rise of his shoulders, like the bristling of a hedgehog. He stares at the boys for an uncomfortable amount of time, almost like he is searching for cracks in their expressions, hints that a joke is being played at his expense.

Baekhyun wishes it was a joke, and he hopes his face is sincere enough to convince Kyungsoo that they are in fact telling the truth.

After a while, Kyungsoo sighs. "I see," he says. Pushing his glasses up his nose, he suddenly turns around and walks over to the professor's desk. He picks up a box that Baekhyun didn't notice before and starts placing the vials of purple potion inside, organising them roughly. At first Baekhyun is confused, but then he sees that Kyungsoo's hands are starting to quiver slightly, rattling the phials in the box. He’s nervous, and he's avoiding them.

"Kyungsoo, we-"

"I don't know how you came to the conclusion you did, but you've made a mistake." Kyungsoo snaps, cutting him off. His back is turned to them and Baekhyun can't see his face but voice is tight, like a rope is steadily knotting its way around his throat. "I can't help you. Chanyeol and I barely know each other. To say that someone who I rarely talk to is my true love is ridiculous."

To the right of Baekhyun, Jongdae frowns incredulously. "Rarely talk to? You tutored him for half of fifth year."

"Telling someone how to mash flies properly barely constitutes a relationship, Jongdae."

His defensiveness does not go unnoticed. What is he trying to keep from them? "True, but being friends does." Jongdae crosses his arms, tilting his head as he looks at Kyungsoo with searching eyes. "You live in the same village, you played together as kids." He pauses for a moment, as if unsure of what his next words should be. "He was your first kiss."

Kyungsoo suddenly stills. The phial in his hand slips between his fingers and shatters as it hits the floor, sending shards of glass and fat droplets of shimmering purple all over his feet. Baekhyun, who is stood the closest of the two Gryffindors, yelps and leaps back to avoid the glass but Kyungsoo doesn't move, ignoring everything in favour of staring at the ground with dark eyes.

"How do you know that?"

The rawness in Kyungsoo's voice tells them all they needs to know. Baekhyun is confident that his theory about Kyungsoo is getting more and more accurate by the second. Jongdae is wilting slightly under the strength of Kyungsoo's stare but there is determination etched into the corners of his mouth and eyes. They have something to work with, and they won't leave this room without Kyungsoo at their side.

"He told me," Baekhyun says. Kyungsoo slowly wheels around, fixing Baekhyun with a strange look. His face is as blank as usual but his eyes are shimmering with something that Baekhyun can't quite place. Disbelief? Anger? Betrayal? All three, perhaps. "He never said it was you specifically, but has a photo of you two together pinned above his bed. I figured the rest out for myself. Although I didn't realise the boy in it was you until today."

He pulls out the photo from inside his robes. "I believe this belongs to you. Sehun said he found it in your room."

Like a magnet, Kyungsoo's eyes are drawn to the photo immediately. He blinks at it several times before stepping forwards hesitantly and taking it from Baekhyun's hand. He half expects the Slytherin to throw it back in his face, but he doesn't, instead choosing to hold it between his fingers delicately. The sight stirs something in Baekhyun's gut.

With a sigh, Kyungsoo lowers his hands. "That was a long time ago." He walks over to his bag and puts the photo inside, buckling it up closed. "Things are different now."

"How come?" asks Jongdae. "Why are they different?"

"They just are. You wouldn't understand."

"Then help us understand. You can't keep things bottled up forever, Kyungsoo."

With his bag fully closed, Kyungsoo stands motionless beside the table. He looks tired, dark circles heavy. After a few seconds of silence, he moves to lean against the table with his hands, taking a shallow breath.

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed," he starts, voice quiet but tight, "but I don’t exactly have that many friends. I’m not that great at talking to people, and even if I was, no one wants to hang out with the supposed grandson of a Death Eater anyway." Baekhyun and Jongdae share an uncomfortable look, and if Kyungsoo notices their reaction, he doesn’t mention it. "Growing up, the only kid who wasn’t afraid to go anywhere near me was Chanyeol. We did everything together. For a very long time he was my only friend."

He lets go of the table and turns around, facing the other two boys but keeping his eyes on his shoes. "When we started Hogwarts, I hoped that friendship would carry through." He coughs a bitter laugh. "Apparently not.”

“What happened?” Jongdae asks softly.

“I don't know. When we started school our differences became more obvious. We didn’t see eye to eye anymore. Eventually, we just drifted apart." He looks up at Baekhyun and Jongdae for the first time in minutes, exhausted eyes dark. "He found better people to be with."

Guilt, thick and sickly like cough syrup, courses through Baekhyun's veins. He was right, they had done something to make Kyungsoo dislike them; they had taken his only friend from him. No wonder he seems so reluctant to talk to them, or even be in the same room as them. They had stolen the only person Kyungsoo found comfort in, albeit unintentionally, and Kyungsoo has had to face the fact that his only friend abandoned him for other people every single day for six years.

But why is that their fault? Why are Jongdae and Baekhyun to blame? If anything, it is Chanyeol's fault for Kyungsoo's loneliness. Chanyeol had never, ever mentioned a relationship with the young Slytherin, and had they known that Chanyeol and Kyungsoo were friends the boys would have immediately pulled him into their group, accepted him with open arms. Why did Chanyeol deny him that? Why would he abandon someone he clearly cares so much about?

Baekhyun can't help but wonder what would school have been like if Kyungsoo had remained a part of Chanyeol's life. Would the trio be as mischievous as they are, or would Kyungsoo reel them in, keep them grounded and out of trouble with blank stares and arched brows. Or maybe he would he join in, be playful and cunning, keep the others on their toes as they made their way through the school years in a flurry of food fights and fireworks.

Maybe, after years of searching looks and innocent touches, he and Chanyeol would have found happiness in each other.

If that idiot ever wakes up, Baekhyun is going to have some words.

Pushing himself up, Kyungsoo walks over to the professor's desk again. "But that was then and this is now," he says, and the finality in his tone glaringly obvious. "I haven't spoken to Chanyeol in months, not since before our exams. What you want me to do is futile. The sooner you realise that the better."

Pulling out his wand, Kyungsoo vanishes the spilt potion on the floor and levitates the pieces of glass into the bin behind the professor's desk. He puts the rest of the purple potion phials with the other in the box and goes to close it, folding the lid down gently to avoid any more damage to the contents inside. With his bag buckled up and his task for the professor completed, Baekhyun knows that Kyungsoo is going to try to leave. Panicking, Baekhyun rushes forwards.

"You love him, don't you?" It makes so much sense to him now. "You're in love with Chanyeol."

Kyungsoo stops moving. "We're sixteen, Baekhyun," he snaps, annoyed.

"So?" Jongdae says. Baekhyun hadn't noticed that Jongdae had moved to stand closer, blocking the nearest path to the door. "You don't have to be an adult to be in love."

"This 'true love' crap is nonsense." Kyungsoo glares at them over his shoulder. "Your plan is not going to work."

Across the room, Jongdae scowls. "No," he scoffs, "you just don't want it to-."

Before Jongdae can even finish his sentence, Kyungsoo cuts him off by slamming the box of potions down onto the desk. The noise of the phials against the wood sends a blast into the air, which echoes off the slimy, damp walls.

"And what if I don't?" Kyungsoo wheels around, fists clenched. "What if I don't want to be confronted with the fact that the person who forced me out of his life for no apparent reason has apparently been secretly in love with me the entire time and what, just ignored me for the fun of it? Abandoned me at every opportunity just because he could?" He shakes his head. "That's not love, okay? You know it isn't."

"Kyungsoo," Baekhyun starts, but he doesn't know what else to say. Kyungsoo is tearing himself apart right in front of them and Baekhyun hates that they have to do this to him, have to open all these wounds and let them bleed all over the floor. "Please."

"What do you want from me?"

"One kiss," Jongdae pleads. "Just one kiss, that's all."

"I can't do that."

"Yes you can." Baekhyun is desperate, so, so desperate, and he doesn't realise he's moving until he's already crowding into Kyungsoo's space, grabbing him by the arm. Kyungsoo startles and stumbles backwards to get away, but Baekhyun is stronger than he looks and he holds on tight, tugging the other around to face him. Jongdae calls out his name but Baekhyun doesn't hear him. He needs Kyungsoo to help them, and he'll do whatever it takes.

"Look, Kyungsoo, Chanyeol is dying," he says, voice cracking pitifully. Kyungsoo stops struggling but he avoids Baekhyun's eyes, staring down past the other boy's shoulder at something Baekhyun can't see. "He is dying. And pretty soon, he won't be here anymore. This is our last chance to help him, okay? Our last chance to bring our friend back. All it'll take is just one kiss."

He lets go of Kyungsoo's arm. Kyungsoo shrugs him off but doesn't push him away. Even if he still won't look Baekhyun in the eye, it's enough to show that he's listening. Somewhat satisfied, yet still hesitant, Baekhyun takes a small step back.

"You don't even need to stay," he says softly. "You can just do it and leave, and if it works we will lie to him and say we found a cure, or the effects wore off, or hell, the power of friendship saved the day! I don't care. All we are asking is that you do this for him. And if you are right and it doesn't work, at least we can say we did everything we could, that we tried every option available to us until the very end. I don't want him to die because we did nothing despite having something. He deserves that at least."

In the distance, the sound of students milling about in the corridors starts to fade. Lunch must almost be over. They don't have much time, and Baekhyun searches Kyungsoo's face for any reaction, anything to say that he will put his anger aside to help bring their friend back. He doesn't know how long he stands there, mere inches away, just staring, urging Kyungsoo to listen, but it feels like hours before he gets an answer.

"If I do this for you," Kyungsoo says, voice low like a whisper, so quiet that Baekhyun almost can't hear him at all, "can you promise that he'll never find out the truth? If he wakes up… can you promise he will never find out it was me?"

Light, white hot and brilliant, courses through Baekhyun's veins. Behind him, Jongdae heaves a sigh of relief. He can almost see the smile that spreads across his friend's cheeks. "Yes," Baekhyun breathes. He's so happy he can barely speak. "We promise. Thank you."

With a sigh, Kyungsoo slips away from him. No one says anything as he gathers his belongings, throwing his bag over his shoulder and rearranging his robes where Baekhyun tugged them loose. When he has everything he needs, Kyungsoo turns, heading towards the door.

Just as he is about to exit the room, he pauses. "I'll meet you at the Hospital Wing at lunch tomorrow," he says over his shoulder. "I want this to be over as soon as possible." He still won't look at them, like he is ashamed, but Baekhyun doesn't care. Kyungsoo has agreed to help them, and that is all that matters.

They say yes, and with one last nod, Kyungsoo leaves.

Baekhyun lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding. The knots in his shoulders unravel, leaving him feeling floppy and unsteady. A hand slips into his own and he looks to his right to see Jongdae smiling at him, lips curled and crow's feet decorating the corners of his eyes. He looks happy, but Baekhyun knows that the light that usually accompanies his smiles isn't there. All he can see is exhaustion, and it makes Baekhyun realise how tired he actually is.

"Lunch time tomorrow," he mumbles. To his ears, his voice sounds like he's underwater. "This will all be over by lunch time tomorrow."

"Hopefully," says Jongdae. He lets go of Baekhyun's hand and moves to wrap his arm around his shoulders, squeezing gently. "Let's go. Class is about to start."

Baekhyun rocks his head into Jongdae's shoulder, and lets the latter lead him from the potions room.

He tries not to think about the wetness on his shoes, or the empty space in the pocket of his robes.

~

Baekhyun doesn't sleep that night. Jongdae knows this because he, too, doesn't sleep. How could they, when the thought of seeing their best friend for the first time in a month sits so heavy in the air it's almost suffocating? Jongdae lies awake, staring at the chocolate frog cards he has glued to the ceiling above his bed, listening to the sounds of Baekhyun huffing and sighing and wriggling around in his duvet for what seems like hours. It probably is hours. The fact that all the noise doesn't wake their other two dormmates is a wonder in itself.

Eventually, Baekhyun gives up his quest for sleep, growing quiet for the first time that night. Jongdae strains his ears in the dark, and when he hears the sound of blankets rustling and the quiet pad of bare feet on the cold floor, he shuffles over in his bed to make extra room before Baekhyun lifts the covers and slips inside.

It's only then, with the weight of Baekhyun's head on his chest and the feeling of his hair tickling his chin, arms wrapped tightly around Jongdae's waist as he does the same around his back, that Jongdae manages to close his eyes and drift into some semblance of sleep. He can still hear the snores of his dormmates from the other side of the room, still feel Baekhyun's breath on his arms and neck, but when the sun rises the next morning and his alarm alerts him that he needs to get ready for school, he feels somewhat well rested, perhaps more so than he has been for a very long time.

He climbs out of bed gently, careful not to nudge the boy beside him. Baekhyun is drooling into Jongdae's pillow, snoring softly, and Jongdae leaves him to sleep in favour of having a long hot shower. The memories of the day before trickle through his mind as he scrubs at his skin and rubs shampoo into his hair, and the image of their small Slytherin classmate hand in hand with Chanyeol won't leave his mind. He prays that Kyungsoo is wrong, that the kiss will work, and by lunchtime today they will have their friend back to normal, and everything will be as it was, as it should be.

If Kyungsoo is right? Well. He doesn't want to think about that anymore.

The rest of the day follows as normal. Baekhyun wakes himself up by rolling out of bed and landing on his face, and they spend the morning chatting with their dormmates as they get dressed and make their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast. After finishing off whatever food they can stomach (Jongdae has a bowl of fruit salad whilst Baekhyun shoves as many bread rolls into his face as possible) they dash off to their classes, separating in the Entrance Hall with a hug as Baekhyun runs down to the dungeons for Potions and Jongdae sprints up the Grand Staircase for Arithmancy.

Defence Against the Dark Arts follows next, and then Jongdae leaves Baekhyun behind in the corridor as he makes his way to Muggle Studies. Despite being Muggleborn himself, Jongdae took the class wholeheartedly when it came to selecting his N.E.W.T subjects at the start of the year. An extra N.E.W.T wouldn't hurt, and he always found it fascinating how peculiarly the magical world views muggles and their non-magic way of life. Today, however, his interest is non-existent, and he spends the entire lesson staring out of the window, dreading the moment the Professor lets them leave for lunch.

The sound of chairs scraping against the floor jolts him out of his head. The class is over, and Jongdae gathers his books and parchment into his bag and slugs it over his shoulder, waving goodbye to the Professor as he shuffles out of the room and into the bustling corridor.

The Hospital Wing and Muggle Studies classroom are on the same floor - the first floor - but with all the students milling about it takes him a lot longer than usual to get to where he needs to go. Baekhyun is already there waiting for him. Jongdae calls out his name, and the former stops gnawing nervously on his nails to wave at Jongdae over, flashing him a relieved smile. "How was class?" he asks, and Jongdae doesn't miss the tightness in his voice.

"Boring," Jongdae replies. "Is Kyungsoo here yet?"

Baekhyun shakes his head. "I saw him in Potions, but he left as soon as the class ended." He brings his hand up to chew on his nails again. "I haven't seen him since."

Taking his hand, Jongdae gently coaxes it away from his mouth. "He'll be here soon," he reassures. Kyungsoo doesn't seem the type to back out of a deal without notice. It's not like he could hide from them anyway, if he did stand them up. Jongdae wouldn't exactly chase him around with an axe or anything, but he would make his disappointment very well known. Squeezing his hand, Jongdae leans against the wall, scanning his eyes up and down the corridor as he and Baekhyun wait in silence.

They don't have to wait very long. Not two minutes later, Jongdae spots Kyungsoo's round head bobbing towards them through the crowd.

Pushing himself off the wall, Jongdae lets go of Baekhyun's hand and waves, drawing Kyungsoo's attention. Kyungsoo's eyes widen behind his glasses and he replies with an awkward wave of his own, and Jongdae returns his hand to Baekhyun's to prevent his friend from biting his own fingers off in anxiety.

"Hi," Jongdae says when Kyungsoo sidles up to them, ignoring the way Kyungsoo briefly eyes his and Baekhyun's curled hands. "How's your day been?"

"Good," Kyungsoo says bluntly. "Sorry I'm late."

Merlin, could this get any more awkward. "It's fine," he replies. "Are you sure you're still okay to help us?"

Kyungsoo nods. Realising that that's all he's going to get out of him, Jongdae lets go of Baekhyun's hand and walks over to the Hospital Wing door, holding it open for the other two before heading in himself, closing the it gently behind him.

The Hospital Wing is a little busy today. With the early chills of winter settling in, several students have already come down with the sniffles, coughing and sneezing all over the place as Miss Luna calmly hands out steaming mugs of pepperup potion to all those waiting to be treated. She greets them cheerfully as they walk past, and Jongdae does his best to reply in kind.

The curtain around Chanyeol's bed has been drawn today, leaving him hidden from view. As they approach, Jongdae's stomach starts to wrangle itself into knots. Sweat beads on his temples despite the cold, and he bites his lip nervously, tapping his fingers on his thigh as they make their way past rows and rows of beds, some occupied, some empty.

An elbow connects with his arm, and Jongdae looks up to find Baekhyun looking at him. He smiles, weak but warm, and it calms the anxious feelings in his gut for a little while. It reminds him how lucky he is to have a friend like Baekhyun in his life, and he thanks him wholeheartedly with a jab to the ribs of his own.

Kyungsoo looks at them like they're barmy. Jongdae doesn't have the energy to care.

They come to a stop a metre or so away from Chanyeol's bed. On the floor outside the curtain sits a small pile of presents and letters. Baekhyun nudges them out of the way with his foot before taking the curtain in hand, sharing a nervous look with Jongdae before turning to address their quiet companion.

"You okay?"

Nodding, Kyungsoo clears his throat. "Sure. Let's get this over and done with."

With one last look, Baekhyun opens the curtain.

The gasp that Kyungsoo lets out is so quiet it's almost impossible to hear. Almost. Jongdae forgot that Kyungsoo probably hasn't seen Chanyeol since the day he visited him all those weeks ago. Chanyeol has changed a lot since then, grown frail and skeletal in all the time that has passed, and to anyone who doesn't see him on a regular basis, like Baekhyun and Jongdae and Miss Luna, the sight of him spread out like a corpse must be horrifying. Kyungsoo's blank façade melts away almost instantly, replaced by an expression that Jongdae can only describe as heartbreak. He steps forwards gingerly, hands shaking as he brings them up to hold them near his chest, a broken prayer.

"I didn't know it was this bad."

Jongdae stays by the gap in the curtain as Baekhyun moves to stand near the head of the bed. "He's been asleep for over a month," Baekhyun says lowly, sadly. "It's a miracle he's even like this, to be fair. From what we read, it could be a lot worse."

"If I had known, I would have…"

He doesn't finish his sentence, but he doesn't need to. "It's okay," says Jongdae. "You're here now."

Slowly, Kyungsoo makes his way around the bed to sit down on the edge of the mattress in the curve of Chanyeol's waist. He hasn't taken his eyes off Chanyeol since the moment he stepped behind the curtain. Baekhyun and Jongdae watch silently as Kyungsoo trails his eyes across the length of Chanyeol's body, from the tips of his toes to his hips, along his stomach and up to his chest, hands clenching momentarily at the sight of his protruding ribs and collarbones. They only unfurl when he reaches Chanyeol's face. His eyes settle on the curve of Chanyeol's cupid's bow, a shadow on the greyness of his skin.

"The flowers are still here?"

It takes them a second to figure what Kyungsoo is referring to. "What?" Baekhyun says, blinking in confusion until his eyes finally settle on the tulips, still as vibrant as they were the day Kyungsoo brought them. "Oh, yes. Our friend, Yixing, enchanted them so they would never wilt."

"The Hufflepuff?" Kyungsoo asks. He hums softly when Baekhyun says yes. "That's kind of him."

It's clear that Kyungsoo is hesitant. The Hospital Wing grows quiet as the once-sniffling students head back out into the school. Jongdae doesn't want to rush - there is no doubt Kyungsoo is struggling to take it all in, and he wants to give him time to gather his thoughts before they progress any further - but they've wasted so much time already. "Are you ready?" Jongdae asks, perhaps a little too urgently. Baekhyun frowns at him from the other side of Chanyeol's bed.

Kyungsoo smiles, but it isn't happy. "No," he says. "The last time we spoke to each other I told him I hated him."

Merlin. Jongdae's stomach starts to churn horribly.

"Remember, you don't have to be here when he wakes up," reminds Baekhyun.

"If he wakes up." Kyungsoo lets out a heavy sigh, closing his eyes for a moment before opening them slowly. "I know. Thank you."

This is it. This is the moment they have been waiting for. There's no going back. Either this works, or it doesn't. Fear, white hot and suffocating, wraps itself around Jongdae's throat. He takes a few steps back, leaving Kyungsoo with some room to think, to breathe. Quietly, Baekhyun shuffles over to join him, holding Jongdae's hand like it's the only thing in the world that will stop him from floating away.

No one moves for a long time. When Kyungsoo does move, it is to place a hand gently over Chanyeol's own, hesitant and cautious, like he is afraid. He sits there, feeling the chill of Chanyeol's skin soak into his own. They look beautiful together, Jongdae thinks, and it breaks his heart.

Kyungsoo leans down, and the world stops spinning.

~

"Kyungsoo! Kyungsoo!"

Kyungsoo looks up from his book at the sound of his name. The voice is coming from a little way away, just at the end of the garden. He recognises it instantly, and with a little less care than his mother would like he slams his book shut and places it on the floor beside him. A feeling starts to bubble in his stomach, curling around his lungs and ribs, and he wishes that it were excitement, hot and brilliant like the shining sun and freshly made chocolate pudding, instead of worry. He can feel his palms begin to sweat so he rubs them on his trousers, conscious of how his skin feels against the itchy wool of his sweater. He wore it because it's snowing outside, and it's his favourite colour, but now he just feels ridiculous. He eventually settles with his hands in his lap, listening out for the voice that gets closer and closer with each cry of his name.

The letter sits heavy in his pocket.

Soon, the stomp stomp stomp of running footsteps draws to a close just below the entrance of the treehouse. Moments later, a short, plump boy climbs through the door, sweat beading at his brow and an impossibly wide grin on his face that only gets bigger when his eyes meet Kyungsoo's own.

"Kyungsoo, did you get your letter?" Chanyeol asks, pushing his glasses back up his nose. He's panting heavily, so Kyungsoo assumes he must have ran all the way here from where he lives on the opposite side of the village. Kyungsoo reaches into his pocket and pulls out his letter. It's a little crumpled, and he smooths it out on his lap as Chanyeol settles himself more comfortably on the wooden floor.

"Yes," he says. "It arrived this morning."

"Did you open it?"

Kyungsoo shakes his head. "No. I wanted to wait for you."

Another grin, somehow more brilliant than the last. Chanyeol is almost vibrating with excitement, crossed knees bouncing off the floor and fingers already pulling at the corners of the parchment envelope. If Kyungsoo wasn't excited before, he certainly is now, Chanyeol's anticipation growing more infectious as the seconds pass. He finds himself sporting a matching smile, and when Chanyeol shuffles a little closer on his bottom, Kyungsoo moves forward too. Their knees bump together and it's a little bit uncomfortable, but Kyungsoo doesn't mind.

"Let's open them together!"

Slowly, Kyungsoo carefully opens his letter, smoothing apart the wax seal and gently slipping the letter out, taking time to fold out the creases of the parchment and straighten out the wrinkles before reading the contents quietly. Meanwhile, Chanyeol wastes no seconds in tearing the envelope in several pieces and throwing them over his shoulder, hurryingly unfolding the parchment and reading the contents allowed in as dramatic voice he can muster. His deep bellows echo around the small wooden walls. Kyungsoo jabs him in the knee for being so loud but he's smiling too, and the tiny treehouse seems to shake as the larger boy collapses into a fit of excited giggles.

"Dear Mr. Park - and Mr. Do - we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"

Kyungsoo can't help but giggle too. He really likes Chanyeol's laugh, how it's so big and loud and full, like a belly after a good, hearty meal. He throws his arms out like an octopus and scrunches his face up really tight, one eye more closed than the other, and he looks so incredibly silly that it never fails to make Kyungsoo feel happy and warm. In Kyungsoo's opinion, his friend's laugh is the best in the whole wide world, and nothing will ever come close.

(Chanyeol thinks Kyungsoo's laugh is good too. Kyungsoo disagrees.)

Chanyeol had gotten his letter months ago, a week or so after his birthday in November. Instead of opening it on the day it arrived, he asked his mum if he could wait until Kyungsoo got his so they could open them together. Kyungsoo had turned eleven a few days ago, and when the large brown envelope showed up amongst the usual post that morning at breakfast, Kyungsoo immediately begged his mother to send the Park's an owl to tell his friend the exciting news.

Kyungsoo has been thinking about this day for a very long time, waiting and worrying every night for weeks, but nothing could have prepared him for the feeling of having Chanyeol's knobbly knees bash against his own as they chortle their way through a long list of spell books and uniform requirements. It's nothing like he could have ever imagined, and he's so elated that he almost forgets about the snakes and eels in his stomach that have been filling him with dread since he saw the family owl fly off into the distance that morning.

When the contents of the letter come to an end, Chanyeol finishes his performance with a flourish and takes one of Kyungsoo's hands in his own, squeezing tightly it as he hops up and down on his bottom.

"This is amazing!" he beams brilliantly. "I can't believe we're actually going to Hogwarts!"

"We were always going to go," Kyungsoo smiles softly. "It's not really a surprise."

"Still. I'm super happy anyway!" He drops Kyungsoo's hand and uses to brush his long hair out of his face. "We'll finally get to be real wizards! Just think of all the cool spells we'll get to do, and all the quidditch we can play." He sighs wistfully, like he is recounting his school years before they've even happened. "It's going to be amazing, Soo. We're going to have the best time of our lives!"

He grins, eyes shining brilliantly like fireworks. "What house do you think you'll be in?"

There it is, the thing Kyungsoo has been dreading. The monsters in Kyungsoo's stomach rear their ugly heads, swirling around in his stomach like slimy worms. He does his best to force the nasty feelings down and looks down, twiddling his fingers in his lap as he shrugs his shoulders half-heartedly.

"I don't know. Everyone in my family are Slytherins. I'll probably be the same."

At this, Chanyeol hums. He brings his hand up to rub at his chin, apparently deep in thought. "You're super smart and like reading and stuff," he says cheerfully. "You could be a Ravenclaw."

Kyungsoo sincerely doubts that. If he had a pound for every rubbish report card he's gotten since he started primary school he would have enough money to buy Chanyeol that remote control plane he's been longing for in the village toy shop window." I'm really bad at school work though," he mutters glumly. "Everyone says so."

"You don't need to be good at school work to be smart!" Chanyeol reassuringly nudges Kyungsoo in the thigh with his foot. "You're really clever in other ways."

Shrugging, Kyungsoo sags his shoulders. He looks down at his hands for a moment before he feels Chanyeol poking him in the knee, making him lift his head to see Chanyeol smiling warmly at him. "You're also really nice, and you tell the truth. And you help out a lot at the church, even though you don’t have to. You could be a Hufflepuff."

Kyungsoo doubts that too. "I don't know," he says. "I'm probably a Slytherin."

Chanyeol smile momentarily turns into a frown, but it's only for a second. Sighing wistfully, he leans back against the wooden wall and rests his hands on his stomach, like a wise old man settling in an armchair. "Mum says that I'm a Gryffindor through and through," he states confidently. "She says she'll eat her slippers if I'm in any other house."

The monsters roar, and Kyungsoo slams his eyes shut to drown them out. He hates that he feels this way, all because of something as silly as houses. He's being such an idiot and he knows it.

A large hand rests on his knee. "What's wrong?" Chanyeol asks softly. He sounds concerned. Kyungsoo really is stupid.

"Nothing."

Chanyeol shakes him gently, urging Kyungsoo to open his eyes and look up at him. Chanyeol's eyes are soft behind his glasses, and he's smiling that one smile, the one Kyungsoo really likes.

"Tell me?"

Kyungsoo knows he can't say no. Embarrassed, he brings his knees up and hugs them to his chest, resting his chin on them as he looks down at the floor and away from Chanyeol's worried expression. "What if you are a Gryffindor and I am a Slytherin?"

"What do you mean?" Chanyeol asks. He sounds confused, and Kyungsoo buries his face into his crossed arms.

"Seungsoo said that Gryffindor and Slytherin don't like each other. What if we can't be friends anymore?"

Chanyeol's reaction is instant. He bursts into movement, throwing his hands up into the air (or at least as far as they will go without whacking them against the ceiling), glasses crooked on his nose as his face twists into humorous outrage. It would make Kyungsoo laugh if he wasn't feeling so bad.

"Kyungsoo, that's ridiculous! Only dumb old people believe in that kind of stuff. Nothing will ever stop us from being friends. Nothing! You're my best friend in the whole wide world!"

Warmth blooms in Kyungsoo's chest, scaring some of the monsters away. "You're my best friend too," he says pitifully, face still buried in his legs.

"Even if we are in different houses, it would never matter." Chanyeol's hand moves from Kyungsoo's knee to his hand, unfolding it from around Kyungsoo's legs so he can hold it tightly in between them. "We'll always be best friends."

"You might find someone better than me. You might not want me to be your friend anymore."

"Soo." Chanyeol says his name so softly it makes the hairs on Kyungsoo's arm prickle. There's quiet for a moment before Kyungsoo hears Chanyeol shuffle around on the wooden floor. "Here, let me give you something."

Looking up, Kyungsoo sees that Chanyeol is now on his knees. His hands are clenched, and Kyungsoo eyes them wearily. "What is it?" he sniffles, the memory of when Chanyeol told him he had a present for him, only to drop a big fat wriggly earwig into his open palm, fresh in his mind. "It's not dirty is it?"

Chanyeol shakes his head. "I don't think so. It's really special." He smiles, and it makes Kyungsoo want to smile too. "Close your eyes."

Unfolding his legs, Kyungsoo copies the other boy by moving onto his knees. He rubs his nose on the sleeve of his jumper before placing his hands in his lap and closing his eyes. He doesn't know why he trusts Chanyeol not to do something gross to him again, but the way Chanyeol was looking at him makes him feel warm and safe, even with nervousness still churning around inside him.

He's expecting a gift, like a toy car or a nice pebble from the beach, or maybe something strange but meaningful, like the thimble from that muggle book Chanyeol let him borrow a few years ago. He doesn't expect to feel Chanyeol edging towards him, bringing his face closer and closer, until Chanyeol's lips press gently against Kyungsoo's own. It's an odd sort of feeling, soft and sort of wet, but it's nice, he thinks, to be with Chanyeol like this. All the bad feelings inside him disappear, and for the first time that day he feels happy and content, shining sun and freshly made chocolate pudding and all.

It lasts for only a second. Chanyeol pulls away and Kyungsoo slowly opens his eyes, taking in the blush that has crept its way across Chanyeol's cheeks, all the way up to the tips of his floppy ears. "What did you do that for?" he stutters out, wiping his mouth with his sleeve.

"It's a promise," Chanyeol says, voice so low it might as well be a whisper. "A promise that we'll always be friends. No matter what."

Kyungsoo can't help but smile. "Okay," he laughs, past unhappiness forgotten. "Friends no matter what."

Outside the treehouse, robins sing as they hop about on the snow covered bushes and trees. Inside, Kyungsoo feels warm, and not just because of the enchantments his father placed on the treehouse to keep out the cold. Like this, huddled away in his private place with his best friend at his side, Kyungsoo is happy. Chanyeol is Kyungsoo's special person, as his grandma says, and he hopes that never changes.

Slapping his cheeks, Chanyeol sends Kyungsoo a brilliant, cheeky grin. "Mum was baking some cookies when I left. Do you want some?"

Kyungsoo nods, and with one last glance at that magnificent smile, he lets Chanyeol take him by the hand and drag him out of the treehouse.

~

The way Kyungsoo kisses Chanyeol is almost painfully tender. As delicately as a petal meets the ground, Kyungsoo takes Chanyeol's face into his hand, brushing his thumb along his cheek before kissing him softly, their lips slotting together almost perfectly. Kyungsoo's eyelashes flutter against his cheeks, and although it lasts a second, the whole scene seems frozen in time, suspended as the world around them disappears into smoke and mist. The air is electric, almost vibrating around them. Kyungsoo pulls back, eyes opening slowly like he's waking from a deep trance. Baekhyun and Jongdae move forwards, surrounding Chanyeol on either side of the bed as they search his face for any sign that their friend is okay, that the effects of the potion are finally, after all this time, broken.

Minutes pass, and nothing happens.

Chanyeol does not wake up.

The realisation hits Baekhyun like a slap to the face. "No," he cries, rushing to Chanyeol's bedside. "No, no! This is supposed to work, he's supposed to be okay!"

"Baek-" Jongdae chokes out, but he's cut short by the rawness of his own throat. Baekhyun barely hears him as he grabs Chanyeol by the shoulders and starts to shake, urging him to do something, anything.

"Wake up, you bastard!" he shouts desperately. "You can't do this to us! You can't, it isn't fair!" Chanyeol is limp in his hands, limp and floppy and dead, he is as good as dead and Baekhyun isn't having it. He refuses to let his best friend go without a fight. Kyungsoo looks horrified at what he's doing, still holding onto Chanyeol's hand, but Baekhyun doesn't care. He shakes even harder, rocking the bed back and forth with every push. "For Merlin's sake, wake up, please!!"

A pair of arms wraps around his waist and chest, tugging him backwards. Baekhyun struggles tooth and nail as Jongdae drags him away from the bed, away from Chanyeol, who now lies there crooked at Kyungsoo's side. "Let me go," he spits savagely, clawing at Jongdae's arms, "ing let me go!" Spinning him around, Jongdae pulls Baekhyun into his arms, holding him so impossibly close that he can feel every single sob that forces its way through Baekhyun's body, can feel how he shatters into pieces with every scream that rips from his throat.

How could this happen? How could they have failed for the fourth time in a row? They were so sure, so confident that Kyungsoo was the one who could break the potion's curse. How could they be wrong? They've ran out of time, and now there is nothing else they can do besides watch as their best friend wastes away into nothingness. Too drained to fight, Baekhyun slumps against Jongdae's chest, burying his neck into the other's shoulder as he struggles to breathe through his anger and heartbreak.

Metres away, Kyungsoo lets go of Chanyeol's hand. "I'm sorry," he whispers. "I'm so sorry." From this angle, Baekhyun can't see his face, but he doesn't need to. The way Kyungsoo struggles through his words, like there is a noose around his neck, is enough.

They stand there for what seems like hours, but is probably only a few minutes. Wetness drips down the back of Baekhyun's neck, soaking through his shirt. Jongdae never cries, and it hurts Baekhyun's heart even more. Exhaustion bleeds into his bones and he closes his eyes, praying to whatever being there is out there that this is all just some horrible dream.

Suddenly, like a shift in the tide, there is a sound. A quiet, breathy sound, like distant wind or air seeping from an open window, so subtle that Baekhyun almost misses it. At first he thinks he's imagining things, but then it happens again, and again, each time a little louder and a little harsher, coming in waves that are too repetitive to ignore.

He looks up from Jongdae's shoulder, searching for the noise. Kyungsoo has moved away from the bed, now sitting in the nearby visitors chair with his head in his hands, but the sound isn't coming from him. Baekhyun's heart stops when his eyes finally land on Chanyeol's face. The boy's eyes are still closed and his chest is barely moving, but something about him is so different from moments ago that Baekhyun has to blink a few times to check he's not imagining things.

Chanyeol's cheeks are pink.

Baekhyun blinks again, pushing out of Jongdae's embrace and bringing up his hands to rub at his tired eyes. He could have sworn that Chanyeol looked dead just moments ago. There's… there's no way, right? His despair must have caused him to see things that aren't really there. He's questioning his own sanity when flickers of movement draw him higher up Chanyeol's face to his eyes, which, whilst at once harrowingly still, are now twitching behind closed eyelids, flicking to and fro so fast his eyelashes are ever so slightly fluttering against his cheeks.

"Baek," Jongdae asks, staring at Baekhyun in concern, "what are you doing?"

The noise from before suddenly spikes, the barely audible sound transforming into almost a snore, an exhalation of air so much stronger than before that it takes Baekhyun mere seconds to realise its coming from Chanyeol himself, echoing from deep within his chest, puffs of air forced out by weakened lungs. Baekhyun rushes forwards, swatting away Jongdae's attempts to stop him touching Chanyeol again, and he takes Chanyeol's hand, squeezing like his life depends on it. This can't be happening. He must be going insane.

Chanyeol's fingers start to curl around his hand.

"," he curses, so loudly that it makes Kyungsoo jump. ", he's waking up."

"Baekhyun, please-"

"No, look!" He can't believe himself as he says it. Chanyeol's grip is terribly weak but he's squeezing Baekhyun's fingers between his own, enclosing the smaller hand in his much larger palm in such a familiar way it leaves Baekhyun breathless. "He's holding my hand, goddamn it, Dae, he's waking up!!"

Jongdae immediately freezes. "What?" he asks, wasting no time in barrelling round to the other side of the bed. His eyes are immediately drawn to the redness that is bleeding all across Chanyeol's skin, and then to Baekhyun's hand. Long, broad fingers flex in Baekhyun's grip and Jongdae looks like he's about to keel over and faint on the spot.

"!" Jongdae shakes himself back to reality and drops down to perch on the edge of the bed. "Chanyeol? Chanyeol, it's Jongdae, can you hear me?"

A groan, low and dry, rumbles out of Chanyeol's throat. His other hand, which rests on his chest, starts to clench, as do his toes, which twitch beneath his socks. Tears spring to Baekhyun's eyes once again, and he reaches up to stray strands of Chanyeol's hair from his eyes. Chanyeol's skin is so, so warm, and when Baekhyun's fingers touch his face his nose wrinkles and eyes wince, a sight so wonderful that Baekhyun would laugh if he didn't feel like all the air has been from his lungs through a straw.

"Come on," he pleads, watching in euphoria as Chanyeol's chest rises and falls heavily, grinning widely at the colours that bloom across his body like the tulips that sit not two metres away; reds, yellows, and pinks, blending beautifully with the blue of his veins and the tan of his sun-kissed skin. Even his hair looks different, soft and inviting, rather than coarse. Freckles litter their way across his nose. His eyes dance wildly underneath his eyelids. "You're so close. Come on, Chanyeol!"

Suddenly, as if someone had set off a whole box of fireworks underneath their feet, Chanyeol opens his mouth and in a huge breath of air. It's all too much for his poor lungs to handle and ends up choking, upper body surging forwards as he coughs and splutters through his first proper breaths in over a month. His friends start to panic, hands shaking and voices raised in fear, but after a while his stifled breaths die down. Baekhyun and Jongdae are left on edge, terrified that something is going wrong. They hold onto him like they will die if they don't, watching him closely, waiting with bated breaths.

Finally, just as it becomes unbearable, Chanyeol stirs and opens his eyes.

Everything stops. The lunchtime bustle outside, the sound of Miss Luna's shoes on the cold stone floor, the tweeting of birds through an open window, everything. The world is silent, non-existent, as Chanyeol squints into the light, blinking rapidly until his eyes adjust. Baekhyun had forgotten how brown Chanyeol's eyes are - deep brown, sweet like caramel, dark like the bottom of the Black Lake - and across the bed from him Jongdae's mouth drops open, bottom lip quivering. Chanyeol brings a hand up to shield his eyes from the light and uses the other one to push himself up, letting out a little yelp of surprise when his arm buckles, too weak to hold him up.

Baekhyun and Jongdae immediately dive forwards, wrapping themselves around him and helping him up by his back as gently as they can. Chanyeol slumps in their hands, coughing slightly as he stretches his back and arms, wincing as his bones creak and crack from underuse. Yawning, he brushes his hair up from his forehead. His eyes widen when he spots his friends staring at him strangely, a mixture of disbelief, trepidation, and euphoria, etched into every inch of their faces.

"Ah ," he croaks. "Did I oversleep again?"

As if someone had let off a whole box of fireworks under their feet, Baekhyun and Jongdae explode. They throw themselves onto Chanyeol as soon as the words leave his mouth, laughing and sobbing hysterically as they take him into their arms. Chanyeol is awake, he's awake, he's alive and there are no words in any language in the history of the world that can explain how they feel, how goddamn happy they are to have their best friend back. Wrapping his arms around his shoulders, Baekhyun cries into Chanyeol's neck so hard it hurts. Jongdae is a little more gentle, holding Chanyeol around the middle with his head against his chest, doing his best to not jostle him too much whilst simultaneously squeezing the hell out of him, attempting to press his entire upper body to as much of Chanyeol's own as possible. They can't believe he's here, he's holding them against him and it feels so right. The boys would rather die than leave him alone for even a second, not when they've spent so many weeks wondering breath will be his last.

Chanyeol, on the other hand, is understandably confused. "Err, are you guys alright?" he says, chuckling awkwardly as his friends fall to pieces around him. "Did I miss something? Did someone die?"

"You bastard!" Baekhyun sobs. Merlin, he can't stop laughing. "You great, big, unbelievable bastard!"

The sound of approaching footsteps pierce their cries, and the curtain surrounding Chanyeol's bed is pulled open completely. Miss Luna squeals in delight the moment she lays eyes on the boy in the middle of the huddle, her face beaming as she rushes forwards to grasp Chanyeol's hand, shaking it enthusiastically.

"Oh goodness, Chanyeol, you're finally awake!" she titters, earning her a confused look in reply, which she apparently doesn't notice. "How do you feel? Are you nauseous? Dizzy? Do you still feel the urge to sleep? Hold on, I'll get my charts!" She sprints away before Chanyeol can even answer, the clacking of her heels fading into the distance.

Turning back to his friends, Chanyeol scratches his head. "Seriously guys, what's going on?" He fixes them with a suspicious look. "Is this some kind of joke? Miss Luna was acting like I almost died or something." He frowns suddenly. "I didn't almost die, did I?"

Merlin, they have so much to tell him, so much to say to make up for all the weeks they've spent without him by their side. They'll need to get him looked at by Miss Luna first, make sure he really is alright. And what of their other friends? Minseok and Luhan, Junmyeon and Yixing, Jongin and Sehun? They'll be so ecstatic to discover that Chanyeol is finally awake. The thought makes Baekhyun giddy with excitement, and after the celebrations have died down, Baekhyun and Jongdae will tell him everything. Every little thing. Chanyeol's sickness flipped their entire lives upside down, for better or for worse, and they'll be damned if they don't tell him every single detail they can remember.

Well, every single detail, besides one.

Remembering his promise, Baekhyun's sobs quieten down. He looks up from Chanyeol's shoulder, brow furrowing as he glances at the empty space around them. Sensing his sudden quiet, Jongdae looks up too.

"What's wrong?" he asks worriedly.

"He's gone."

It takes a second for Jongdae to realise what Baekhyun means.

Kyungsoo is nowhere to be seen.

Fun Fact: despite being known as 'the guy in their potions class', Kyungsoo actually shares several other classes with boys in a variety of other subjects. With the number of students per year being so small (approximately 10, judging from the books alone) it's impossible for them to only share one class. As of their sixth year, Kyungsoo shares Potions with Baekhyun, and Herbology and Charms with Baekhyun, Jongdae and Chanyeol. The beagles all take Transfiguration and DADA classes together as well. All their other classes are individual; Chanyeol takes Care for Magical Creatures, and Jongdae takes Muggle Studies and Arithmancy. Kyungsoo takes Divination, and his skills at Potions allow him to get private tutoring to study Alchemy, which is usually only taught in high demand.

The reason Kyungsoo is known as 'the guy in their potions class' is because Gryffindors and Slytherins more often than not shared their potions classes during their early years at school. It's only when they started sixth year that their classes began to overlap. I don't know if y'all will find any of this interesting, I just thought I would mention it lmao. World building is stressful kids, don't do it.

anyway, chanyeol is awake now !!! yay!!! and more chansoo !!!! finally you guys get what you came for fghjfgjk i hope it's alright ^^

this took an awfully long time to write, but i finally managed to hammer it out and get it all done in time for the new school year. this story isn't over yet, however!!!!!!!! there is still an epilogue, which i am writing as we speak!!! i'm not sure when i will be able to get it done as i am moving house in five days (yikes) but it will most likely be posted in the first couple weeks of september. i want my boys to have a happy ending, and i'll be damned if i dont give them one !!!

as always, thank you for reading! please tell me what you think! feel free to come yell at me on tumblr or in the comments if you have any questions or simply just want to scream about stuff, i always reply and i'm always up for a chat!