Chapter 1

  On the 1^st of September, Platform 9 ¾ was always noisy and cramped with people. Parents fretting over their children who half-heartedly listened to them. Yet, the smoke and the loud engine of the Hogwarts Express could not stop the excitement of starting a new term at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

  Kim Jinhwan pushed his heavy trolley through the crowd with the help of his mother. They finally reached the entrance of the train. He glanced around the place to look for his friends while trying his best to avoid listening to his mother’s lectures.

  “Study hard. I do not want you to fail your OWLs.”

  “Don’t get into any troubles. Otherwise, I will be sending another howler.”

  “Remember to send us letters. That’s what Nani is for.”

  “I always send you letters,” grumbled Jinhwan as he looked at his snowy owl flapping her wings inside the cage. She must be feeling very restricted as she was used to flying around aimlessly, he thought. “And, please don’t send any howlers. It’s embarrassing.”

  Mrs. Kim rolled her eyes as she helped Jinhwan haul his suitcases. “The only time I receive news about you is through your headmistress’s letters. As much as I love and respect Professor McGonagall, I am sick of reading her letters about your misdeeds.”

  Jinhwan let out a heavy sigh. It was not like he asked for them. Ever since he started studying in Hogwarts, he had become a magnet for problems. He would always be late for his class because he had the worst sense of direction (after Kim Jinwoo). He would forget to bring or even lose his finished homework and receive detention.

  However, the main one came in the form of a sly, haughty brat called Kim Hanbin, also known as B.I. Just thinking about him caused Jinhwan’s blood pressure to rise. Kim Hanbin had always made him the of his jokes and the recipient of his stupid pranks. Every time he walked down the stairs, the devil’s spawn would push him hard with his wide shoulder and make sure all his books fall down. He had never failed to make fun of his lack of height. He had even set his homework on fire. Twice.

  The Hogwarts Express let out a deafening honk. It was almost time for the train to leave. Jinhwan shook his head. Nothing good would happen by thinking of him. He promised himself that he would not let that good-for-nothing ruin his fifth year. He had more important things to pay attention to this year, like his OWLs, not getting into detentions and other things that did not concern Kim Hanbin.

  Mrs. Kim cleared . She looked at her son expectedly. “Don’t you think you are forgetting something, my dear son?”

  Jinhwan grinned and pulled his mother into a tight hug. He felt a bit dejected to leave his parents for a few months. Although he disliked listening to his mother nagging, he would miss getting into small, petty arguments with her. “I will miss you guys a lot.”

  “I love you too and we will miss our Jinani.” Mrs. Kim kissed his cheek and let go of the hug first. Jinhwan stepped inside the train. “Remember to write letters to your lonely parents.”

  The Hogwarts Express finally started to move. He waved at his mother from the entrance until he could not see her silhouette. Until the scenery changed from orange, red bricks to green grass mountains. Then, he went inside to find his friends.

********************

  “I think our school is planning something big this year!”

  Jinhwan quickly shoved the chocolate frog inside his mouth and flipped the card beneath it. He groaned. It was Albus Dumbledore again. Although he had immense respect for the previous headmaster, this was the tenth time he received the same card.

  “Are you guys even listening to me?” whined Jung Chanwoo. He was a fourth-year Ravenclaw. He was the youngest among Jinhwan’s friend group. Right before the summer, Chanwoo had a growth spurt. So now, he was also the tallest among all of them. And, he had been using that fact to his advantage, causing Jinhwan the shortest of the group great annoyance. Sometimes, he wondered why the kid was not in Slytherin.

  “Oh my god, you are so short! Let me help you put that suitcase.”

  “Hyung, are you sure you can reach it?”

  “Nobody cares,” Nam Taehyun responded bluntly as he watched the changing view outside the window. Taehyun was a fifth-year Slytherin. He might be the quietest member of the group but his savagery was well-known throughout the whole school. Taehyun was the last one to join their group since he transferred from Durmstrang during his third year. Although the time they spent together might be short, Jinhwan considered Taehyun as one of his closest friends.

  “Don’t be rude,” chastised Kim Jinwoo as he lightly slapped Taehyun’s arm and turned to Chanwoo excitedly, “Of course I am listening! Why do you think so?”

  Kim Jinwoo was a sixth-year Hufflepuff. He was one of the nicest students to ever grace Hogwarts. Actually, he was the one who brought all of them together. He was also one of the most good-looking students in the school. However, his biggest flaw was his sense of direction. Even though he had been studying in Hogwarts for six years, he still could not find his way to the commons or the Great Hall sometimes. In fact, Jinhwan and Jinwoo met each other for the first time when they were both lost, trying to find their way back to the Hufflepuff common room.

  “Well,” Chanwoo leaned forward as if he was telling some top-secret information. “I think other wizarding schools will be involved as well because my cousin from Mahoutokoro said she will be seeing me soon in Hogwarts.”

  “Maybe it’s just the Potions Championship.”

  “I hope not,” Jinhwan made a disgusted face when he heard the word Potions. He hated Potions because no matter how hard he tried to follow the instructions carefully, his cauldron would always end up exploding. On top of that, the potion master, Professor Fabio, hated him for always creating a mess. However, he really needed to pass the subject so he could join the Auror training.  

“That’s impossible,” replied the last member of their group, Kim Donghyuk as he put down the large book he was reading. “The Championship happened two years ago. It only happens in every four years so there are two more years left before the next one.”

  Kim Donghyuk was a fourth-year Hufflepuff. If Harry Potter had Hermione Granger, then Kim Jinhwan (never mind the fact he was not an important figure) had Kim Donghyuk. He was the brightest wizard of their generation. Just like Jinwoo, he was known to be very kind and soft but his submissive personality made him a target for bullying. Fortunately, that might not be a problem now. Before the summer, Donghyuk was an awkward, scrawny, nerdy-looking boy with braces and glasses too big for his baby face. Now, he was an awkward, muscular, gorgeous boy with no braces and glasses too big for his chiseled face. If it weren’t for his obnoxious laugh, Jinhwan would not have recognized him when he entered the compartment.

To be honest, Jinhwan envied his friend’s glow up. Oh, how he dreamt of having a sharp jawline but instead, he was stuck with his baby fat. His height was another depressing matter.

  Before Donghyuk could say anything, the door of their compartment slammed open. They all were startled by the sudden intrusion.

  “Well, look who I have found.”

  The moment the intruder opened his mouth, Jinhwan took in a deep breath. He needed to control himself before he confronted that taunting voice. He counted till 5 and let out the breath. Jinhwan finally glared looked at the guy. He spoke as calmly as he could, “What do you want, B.I.?”

  “I just wanted to remind my fellow schoolmates that it is time for them to change into their school robes.” Jinhwan scoffed at his “caring” schoolmate.

  “Because,” B.I. smirked, showing a green badge with a large letter P attached to his Slytherin robes. “I am a prefect.”

  Jinhwan could not believe that someone like Kim Hanbin became a prefect. This must be some kind of sick joke. “Who did you pay to get that badge?”

  “No one,” replied B.I. as he adjusted the said badge, “I just worked hard to gain it.”

  It didn’t seem like the Slytherin was lying. However, now the pressing issue was he had the authority to deduct house points and hand out detentions. Just thinking about it gave Jinhwan chills.

  “Scared that I would give you horrible detentions, Jinny?” challenged B.I., leaning against the doorframe of the compartment.

  Jinhwan didn’t know why but he hated when B.I. called him Jinny. Before he could say something, he was interrupted by someone.

  “That would be abusing your authority as a prefect, which could strip away your title if the headmistress finds out.”

  Everyone in the compartment looked at the person who just spoke. That person looked down immediately. It was Donghyuk. They were all shocked to see their soft-spoken friend stood up to one of his tormentors. Chanwoo’s jaw dropped. Jinhwan grinned. Taehyun looked so proud. Jinwoo was about to cry.

  “Oh my god! Dongdong, I am so proud of you!”

  They all started to hug the poor boy, completely ignoring B.I.

  Nobody saw Hanbin’s reaction but his heart started to beat faster. That person was the most beautiful human being he had ever seen and he looked very familiar, thought Hanbin. Those mesmerizing eyes, long, tall nose, those high cheekbones, that cute mouth…

  His eyes widened and he gulped audibly because he realized who that breath-taking person was. He shut the door of the compartment and ran back to his.

  Jinhwan looked up when he heard a loud bang from the door. B.I. had left. That was unusual. That boy always needed to have the last word.

*****************

  Jinhwan always loved the Great Hall. Thousands of candles in midair lit the hall and made the tall walls look golden. The ceiling was enchanted to look like the sky outside, which tonight was clear with many bright stars. The Great Hall was truly a sight to behold. Jinhwan glanced at the high table, where the staff was seated. Professor Longbottom, the Herbology professor and head of Hufflepuff, was about to start the Sorting Ceremony.

  Jinhwan beamed at the first year who glimpsed at the Hufflepuff table. He remembered how anxious he was during his first day at Hogwarts. He was scared that he would not end up in Gryffindor and disappoint his parents because both of them were in the house of the lion. He felt like crying when the sorting hat put him in Hufflepuff. Although all his housemates were so nice to him, he was afraid of his parents’ reaction. However, his parents did not mind which house he was in and told him his house did not define his credibility or ability as a wizard. Instead, his diligence would.

  Jinhwan was brought back to reality when loud cheers and applause broke out through the Hufflepuff table to welcome their first first-year Hufflepuff.

  The sorting ceremony soon ended. The headmistress, Professor McGonagall, stood up and started to give the usual welcome speech with few new remainders. “Now, I would like to have all your attention as I am about to make a very important announcement.”

  Everybody in the Great Hall looked at the headmistress. Jinhwan glanced at Chanwoo who had a smug smile on his face.

  “For the first time in the history of wizarding schools, we will be having an Inter-School Quidditch tournament. And, our school has been chosen to host the tournament.”

  Excited murmurs ran through the Great Hall. Quidditch was loved by almost everyone in the wizarding community. It was a thrilling sport after all. It didn’t matter whether you were a good flyer or not. To witness such an exhilarating competition, everybody in Hogwarts felt blessed except for one Kim Jinhwan. He did not understand the appeal of Quidditch. On top of that, he had acrophobia.

  “YES!” shouted the Gryffindor Quidditch captain, Luhan. He was a sixth-year Chinese student, who was very passionate about the sport. He was one of the most good-looking guys in the school. He claimed to be the manliest man in the whole school but was actually one of the weakest guys in the whole school. However, he was one of the best Gryffindor seekers in the history of Hogwarts.

  “Silence,” ordered Professor McGonagall, “I understand your enthusiasm but let me finish first. Students from other magic schools will attend this event. They will share classes with you. So, I do not want each and every one of you to behave like babbling bumbling bands of baboons.”

  She looked at the whole student body pointedly. She sighed heavily. “Now, I do not want to hold you guys back from dinner. Let the feast begin.”

  Delicious dishes began to appear in the table. There were drumsticks, potatoes, pumpkin juice and fruits. Jinhwan, who was already full from eating all the chocolate frogs in the train, ate a little bit and decided to go back to his dorm.

  He said good night to all his housemates and walked out of the Great Hall. While making his way to the Hufflepuff common room, he was suddenly yanked by his arm and thrown into a small broom closet. He was panicking so much that he didn’t realize he hit the kidnapper in the head.

  “Lumos- What the hell, Kim Jinhwan?”

  There was a bright light coming from a wand. And his kidnapper was none other than-

  “What the hell B.I.?” screamed Jinhwan. He took out his wand, ready to hex that senseless prick.

  “Do you honestly think you can beat me in hexing?” asked B.I. smugly. It was true that he was better than Jinhwan but that did not mean Jinhwan was backing down. His glare only intensified.

  B.I. sighed heavily. The tension in the room was so thick you could have heard a pin drop. Then, he whispered something so softly that Jinhwan would not have heard if the broom closet was not so silent.

  “Are you freaking serious?”

  Jinhwan stared hard at Kim Call-me-BI Hanbin. He could not believe the words that were coming out of his mouth. Since the day Jinhwan stepped into Platform 9 ¾, Kim Hanbin had only given him trouble. With his smug face and crazy pranks, he became the bane of Jinhwan’s existence. Yet, here he was standing in front of him, and asking for the most ridiculous thing in the world.

  “Yes,” replied the idiot, “I am serious. I want you to help me date Kim Donghyuk.”

A/N: I am so sorry for updating so late but thank you all for subscribing to this story!! I hope you all enjoy this chapter!! Please feel free to leave any comments so that I can learn from my mistakes!! 

Lumos - A spell to light up a drak place