It was tiring, really, for Minseok to stay all day long in the silent library to study for his final exams. He was the only one in his group of eight friends to graduate this year, and he had to take his N.E.W.T seriously if he wanted to become an Auror someday. These past few weeks, the young man had almost totally ditched his friends to study and, even if he knew that they would understand the situation he was in, he couldn’t help but feel guilty about it. The only time he could see them was at dinner, and yet he missed them. It didn’t feel the same. They didn’t have fun together outside like they used to, they didn’t go to Hogsmeade on Saturdays for their weekly meetings anymore, and Minseok wanted to bring all of this back into his life again as soon as possible.

He was scribbling little notes on his parchment paper, his eyes focused on a potion book at the same time, when a small bird made out of paper landed in front of him, its wings still moving a little bit until Minseok took it in his hands. Wondering who could possibly send him a note with that simple charm, he scanned the room to find someone familiar. That was when he saw a small man at the other side of the library, waving at him with a big smile on his lips while Madam Pince was giving him dark looks to tell him to leave the place if he wasn’t here to study. 

"Baekhyun…" 

Minseok chuckled a little bit at the young man who was giving him a wink as he left before the librarian could give him a punishment. He smiled affectionately, shaking his head a little at his friend’s behavior, and then unfolded the paper he had sent him. 

"When you’re done, join us at our regular spot by the lake. We miss you!" Minseok read those words with a small voice, whispering so that nobody in the library would notice him and his growing excitement. 

The young wizard looked at his notes, read them one more time, and finally nodded while putting away all his papers into his bag. It was enough for today, he thought, as he noticed that the sun was already setting outside and that he had been in the library all day long. He had even skipped his meal, apparently, and an apple wasn’t enough for a grown-up man to fill his stomach with. 

He then left the library, giving Madam Pince a smile. She had started growing fond of the young man, since she noticed his presence in the library more than any other student and she loved hard-working students. She even let Minseok wander in the restricted section, which was a huge thing for the woman who showed her affection in the best way she could. Minseok liked her, she wasn’t as authoritative as the other students thought, and he would sometime leave pumpkin juice on her desk as a ‘thank you’ for her help.

Hogwarts’ hallways weren’t as crowded as usual, probably because it was dinner time, so Minseok allowed himself to run a little bit so that he would not make his friends wait for him more than  they already had. He was panting, but he kept his pace steady since his endurance was good. Endurance was the least he could have if he wanted to become an Auror. When he was finally outside, he stopped in his tracks and took a deep breath in. The wind brushed his cheeks softly and made his hair dance around his face beautifully. 

Minseok could already see his friends under the weeping willow, their usual spot, so he continued to run for some time while waving at them to make them notice him. He had a huge smile on his lips and his heart was beating quickly in his chest as almost all his friends  cheered at him for being here.

"You’re late Hyung! We thought you wouldn’t come!" Chanyeol said as he went to hug him, or crush Minseok a little bit since he was much taller and bigger than him.

"Baekhyun literally told me ten minutes ago," Minseok said while tapping Chanyeol’s shoulder to ask him to let him go since he was starting to run out of breath.

"Chanyeol’s just joking, we improvised this little meeting at the last second," Junmyeon added as he sat on the ground, on what looked like a bed sheet. There were also three picnic baskets on it and the Ravenclaw head-boy was already taking out some sandwiches from one of them.

"We wanted to eat outside tonight since the weather is nice. And we also missed you, so it’s like a little party for you."

Minseok looked at Jongdae who was offering him a glass of what looked like Butterbeer. He thanked him and they sat together next to the others who were already enjoying their dinner and speaking loudly without having to fear bothering other students since there was no one around them. They were all from different houses, and when they usually all ate together at one table, the other witches and wizards’ attention would be on them. Here, under the weeping willow, nothing of that sort could happen so they could fully enjoy their dinner.

"Who went to the kitchen to gather all this food?" Minseok asked, knowing that it was almost impossible to take food outside of the Great Hall or the kitchen.

"Yixing, the house-elves love him," Baekhyun voiced out, as if he was still wondering how said man could befriend  those creatures.

"They just appreciate the fact that I clean my room on my own and that I’m polite to them," Yixing replied before drinking some of the pumpkin juice he had in his glass.

"I’m also polite to them! I always say ‘thank you’ and ‘hello’ when I ask them for midnight snacks," Baekhyun scoffed, folding his arms against his chest while pouting a little.

"I’m not sure asking things in the middle of the night is the best way to make them like you," Kyungsoo frowned while looking at Baekhyun with a reprimanding look as if he was trying to lecture him for his lack of common sense.

Minseok started laughing at their behavior, watching Baekhyun turn red at the realization of how wrong his behavior was. They continued arguing for a few minutes under the others’ amused gaze.  They  were all eating peacefully, only entertained by Baekhyun and his loud voice that was soon joined by Chanyeol’s who was taking the defense of his friend. 

"Minseok Hyung, are you okay ? You’re not saying anything."

The young student looked at Jongdae with surprise in his eyes and simply shook his head a little as a sign that yes, he was okay. Perfectly fine, even. He felt good being with his friends. It had been such a long time since he had been able to laugh this way without having to think about his exams, and it felt so good.

"I’m fine, don’t worry. I’m having a lot of fun," Minseok hummed with a smile.  

"It’s because you’re here. We wanted to do something for you, to show that we care and that we miss you." 

Jongdae’s voice sounded like a soft whisper and Minseok really had to lean closer to him to catch his words. It moved the older more than he thought it could and he let escape a long sigh as he laced his fingers with Jongdae’s. He looked at their hands, the picture of an everlasting friendship that wasn’t enough to Minseok, especially with this young man he was holding the hand of.

"I miss you all too, but it’s you that I really wanted to see the most," he mumbled softly as his cheeks suddenly turned pink. Since when was Minseok that bold? It was probably because of the butterbeer, there was no other logical explanation.

Silence settled over the two men even if the others were very loud around them. Jongdae and Minseok were in their own bubble and sparkles lit Jongdae’s eyes as their faces were slowly nearing closer, as if they were attracted like magnets. Minseok felt his breath slow down whereas his heart started beating crazily in his chest. It was weird, he had been waiting for this moment for two long years during which he had never dared confessing his love to Jongdae, fearing that it would ruin their friendship. So why now? Alcohol was clearly helping him, and maybe it was also because it was Minseok’s last year in Hogwarts, he didn’t know.

But what he knew for sure was how exquisite the taste he met was when his lips brushed Jongdae’s. Everything seemed to slow down around them, Minseok couldn’t hear anything but his beating heart, couldn’t feel anything but the sweet aroma of Jongdae’s lips. It felt like Heaven, and Minseok wanted more, a simple brush wasn’t enough. So he leaned a little bit more toward Jongdae as one of his hands cupped his cheek softly, and he deepened a little the kiss that Jongdae seemed to like as much as Minseok did.

"Wow, lovebirds! Not in public!" someone exclaimed in the background, and maybe it was Sehun, or maybe it was Jongin, but Minseok didn’t care about them as Heaven was just under his lips. 

Heaven tasted like Jongdae.

"I think you drank too much," Jongdae murmured after their lips parted, but their faces were still pretty close, so close that they could feel their breaths melting together.

"And I think I’m in love with you," Minseok smiled, his eyes shining with joy and excitement. 

"You guys are so slow," Jongin chuckled next to Sehun who was vividly nodding his head to agree. The others were looking at them with adoration, and also a little bit of fondness, and Minseok looked away as he felt his cheeks turn a bright red. 

"Alright! Let’s celebrate Minseok and Jongdae’s new relationship! We’ve been waiting for this since a long time!" Baekhyun added as he poured butterbeer into everyone’s glass once again. 

Everything was a reason to celebrate in Baekhyun’s eyes, but it made Minseok chuckled a little bit as Jongdae put an arm around his shoulder as if he wanted to show the world that he was now his boyfriend.Minseok found him really cute. He was really glad to be here, with his friends, and also because he now knew what Heaven looked like.

And Heaven was a place on Earth with Kim Jongdae.