The beginning of a new term always felt exciting to Baekhyun. Even if he had spent the night before patrolling the hallways and catching lost First Years and pretending-to-be-lost Third Years and then sending them back to their common rooms after taking away some house points. Deducting house points was a good feeling, except when Baekhyun found some Ravenclaws lurking in a dark corner testing some basic Charms’ spell and he couldn’t turn a blind eye to it. He might or might not had have told those students to get the points back during class.

 

“How was your patrol duties?” Chanyeol asked as soon as he sat down next to Baekhyun at Ravenclaw’s table, grabbing a piece of pastry of the prefect’s plate. “Missed me?”

 

“Barely,” Baekhyun answered drily, snatching the now half-eaten pastry back from Chanyeol’s hand and stuffing the whole thing into his mouth. “Imithedyouaouright.”

 

Staring at Baekhyun blankly, Chanyeol leaned towards his boyfriend, moving a hand to his ear, indicating that Baekhyun should be speaking more coherently. Usually, he only did that to annoy Baekhyun because he had good hearing (“It’s because of your large ears,” Jongdae had once commented and to that, Baekhyun had defended, “there’s no correlation”) and could catch most of what the Ravenclaw said. He couldn’t really hear what Baekhyun had said then though, and judging by the unwilling look on Baekhyun’s face, he wasn’t going to find out what Baekhyun had said.

 

“He missed you,” a new voice entered the conversation. “He said ‘I missed you, alright’.” Picking up his fork, Kyungsoo stabbed it into one of the cream puffs on the communal plate in front of him and brought it to his mouth. Sensing that there were two pairs of eyes on him, he sighed and placed his breakfast down. “Yes?”

 

“Thank you?” Chanyeol sounded unsure about what he was supposed to say. Eventually, he decided that he should dig for more information. “He told you that he missed me?”

 

Merely rolling his eyes, Kyungsoo resumed eating. “He spent the morning getting dressed telling me way too many things I didn’t want to know.”

 

“Like?” Chanyeol pried, eyes briefly moving to Baekhyun before he turned his full attention to Kyungsoo. “What things?”

 

By then, Baekhyun was resolutely not facing Chanyeol as he stuffed his face with an assortment of bread and muffins and scones, and then downing half a goblet of pumpkin juice. Times like these told Chanyeol that – one, Baekhyun either said something really stupid or two, Baekhyun said something really cheesy. Either ways, Chanyeol wanted to know. Especially if it was the latter case.

 

“Like,” Kyungsoo began, making Chanyeol subconsciously inch closer to the Ravenclaw in anticipation. “I won’t tell you.”

 

Putting his goblet down onto the table a little too loudly, Baekhyun choked upon hearing Kyungsoo’s words. Patting Kyungsoo’s shoulder a few times, Baekhyun smiled at his friend with squinted eyes as tears formed at the corner. “You’re a good friend,” he said in between coughing and hitting his chest. “A very good friend.”

 

“And I won’t be one much longer if you continue telling me unnecessary things about how you feel about Chanyeol,” came Kyungsoo’s instant response. But Baekhyun knew that Kyungsoo didn’t mean a single word and would continue listening to whatever he had to say, regardless of whether his words had any relation to Chanyeol or not.

 

“You can tell me how much you miss me now.” Moving closer to Baekhyun, Chanyeol only stopped when he was mere centimeters away from the prefect’s face, eagerly waiting for the other to turn to face him. Except he got pushed away instead. Laughing, Chanyeol started piling waffles onto Baekhyun’s plate. “We could have spent the whole night catching up,” he noted sadly, bringing a hand to Baekhyun’s knee.

 

“I know,” Baekhyun half-whined, mimicking Chanyeol’s action, doing the same thing back to the Slytherin before sliding his hand up the other’s thigh and resting it there. He used his other hand to play with the end of Chanyeol’s green tie.

 

“Why are you a prefect?” Chanyeol bemoaned.

 

“Why aren’t you a prefect?” Baekhyun retorted.

 

“I’m glad he isn’t,” Kyungsoo admitted truthfully. “Otherwise, the – ” the remainder of the sentence didn’t get completed as a piece of parchment falling in front of him made him lose his train of thought. “Our schedules are here.”

 

Eyes widening, Baekhyun immediately grabbed the parchment that appeared in front of him, excited to see what his class timings were like for that year.

 

“Do we have any classes together this term?” Chanyeol asked, looking over Baekhyun’s shoulder easily to see his timetable. Not that knowing Baekhyun’s schedule would answer his question seeing that he hadn’t even gotten his parchment yet.

 

Hearing a familiar screech, Baekhyun looked up and spotted a brown barn owl with scattered black dots on its body. “Oh, Sirius is here. I didn’t see him at the Owlery last night.” Squinting a little, Baekhyun noticed a piece of paper in Sirius’ mouth. “It’s the second day of school and your parents already have a letter for you?”

 

The letter dropped in front of Chanyeol as he waved a hand at the Ravenclaw prefect, telling him not to worry.

 

“What time were you at the Owlery?” Kyungsoo asked suddenly. “I didn’t see you at the Owlery.”

 

Smacking his lips together once, Baekhyun avoided eye contact with Kyungsoo. “Late?”

 

“I was there till late.”

 

“Later.”

 

“You mean past curfew?” Shrugging, Kyungsoo didn’t bother asking for a clarification, knowing that he was right, especially with the way Baekhyun was looking at him then, all guilty.

 

Quickly turning away from Kyungsoo, Baekhyun rested his chin on Chanyeol’s shoulder. “What does your parents want?”

 

Slowly folding the piece of parchment and shoving it into his bag, Chanyeol sighed. “They want to know which subjects I’m taking for O.W.L.s’.”

 

Raising his brows in disbelief, Baekhyun stared at Chanyeol. “You mean your parents don’t know?”

 

“I never really discussed it with them,” Chanyeol admitted quietly.

 

“Where is your schedule anyway?” Looking around, Baekhyun saw how almost everyone was excitedly discussing their new schedules with their friends. Then there was Chanyeol, who was still without a schedule.

 

“Maybe you should sit at your house table if you want it on time,” someone said from behind, causing Baekhyun and Chanyeol to turn their heads.

 

 

 

Oh Sehun. He was in a year below and from the same house as Chanyeol. Not only that but he was also Slytherin’s Seeker, making him and Chanyeol rather close in fact. Grinning like the brat he was, he handed his captain his schedule without asking for anything in return.

 

“Did you Charm it?” Baekhyun looked at the folded parchment suspiciously.

 

“I’m sure the best Charms student in school could tell,” Sehun said.

 

“Stop flirting with my boyfriend,” Chanyeol scolded half-heartedly.

 

Ignoring the older Slytherin, Sehun winked at Baekhyun. “See you on the field.”

 

“He’s incorrigible,” Chanyeol grumbled.

 

“He’s cute,” Baekhyun laughed. Before Chanyeol had a chance to protest, Baekhyun pointed at the parchment in Chanyeol’s hand. “Well, open it! What are your O.W.L.s’ subjects?” Without waiting for a reply, Baekhyun took the schedule from Chanyeol’s hands – not that the Slytherin Quidditch captain minded. Though there wasn’t a need for Baekhyun to even look at the paper since he already knew what subjects Chanyeol was going to take. They had written to each other over the summer about it (among other things). What he needed to know was the timings they were at and if Ravenclaw had any classes then.

 

While he was looking through Chanyeol’s schedule, the other took his. “You’re serious about doing eleven O.W.L.s’? Why do you need so many for?” Quickly scanning through the list, Chanyeol read out Baekhyun’s electives. “Divination, Ancient Runes, Care of Magical Creatures, and Muggle Studies? Why Muggle Studies? There’s still Arithmancy, isn’t there?”

 

“Because I want to do Muggle Studies.” Snatching his schedule away from Chanyeol’s hands, he scowled at the Quidditch captain. “Don’t be such a Pureblood Slytherin, Chanyeol,” he reprimanded.

 

“I am a Pureblood Slytherin.”

 

“Doesn’t mean you have to act like one,” Baekhyun pointed out calmly, pausing for a moment before subtly jerking his head in Kyungsoo’s direction.

 

Rolling his shoulders, Chanyeol mouthed sorry and Baekhyun just sighed.

 

Tracing a finger over the subjects written on Chanyeol’s parchment, Baekhyun decided to return to their previous topic. “Ten O.W.L.s’ is pretty a lot too, considering we only need nine. Or seven or eight if an elective becomes too much to handle.”

 

“Gives me more N.E.W.T choices, you know?” Chanyeol grinned. “And you’re one to speak, Byun Baekhyun. Eleven O.W.L.s’?”

 

“Gives me more N.E.W.T choices,” Baekhyun happily repeated Chanyeol’s words.

 

“Why do you even need so many O.W.L.s’? You’re not planning on joining the Ministry, are you?” Kyungsoo looked doubtful.

 

“No,” Baekhyun clarified with a chuckle. “It’s just nice to feel intellectual, I guess?”

 

“You’re in Ravenclaw. You are intellectual,” Kyungsoo pointed out. “You’re just being a show-off.”

 

“Maybe.” Baekhyun laughed. “You’re doing eleven O.W.L.s’ too though.”

 

“That’s because I want to join the Ministry,” Kyungsoo said drily. “Do you want to join the Ministry?” Kyungsoo directed his attention to Chanyeol, surprising the Slytherin a little.

 

“I can’t imagine you working in the Ministry,” Baekhyun admitted, resting his head on the table as he looked at Chanyeol from that angle.

 

Looking down at his boyfriend with a tender smile, Chanyeol moved a strand of stray hair away from Baekhyun’s eyes. “What if I do get into the ministry?”

 

“Then I won’t have to try imagining you working in the Ministry,” Baekhyun teased, a lilt in his voice. “Your first match’s coming up soon anyway so you should see if you can cope with the electives while having practices at the same time.”

 

“It’s only the start of September for Merlin’s sake,” Kyungsoo said exasperatedly, not looking up from his own schedule.

 

“For someone who claims to hate Quidditch, you sure know the schedule pretty well,” Chanyeol quipped.

 

“I’ve been in this school for five years, Chanyeol. Any idiot would have known that the first Quidditch match is at the start of November by then. The whole bloody school watches it anyway. It’s really hard to miss.”

 

“Why are you always arguing with my friends?” Baekhyun sighed, looking at Chanyeol fondly while shaking his head.

 

“Is Jongdae your friend now?”

 

Frowning, Baekhyun glanced at the Gryffindor table and immediately spotted his loud and obnoxious friend trying to sell a vial of something to some Second Years. “Except Jongdae.”

 

“What happened over the summer? Why are you guys at odds again?”

 

“I know what happened,” Chanyeol chirped. “Baekhyun wrote to me about it.”

 

Narrowing his eyes at Chanyeol, Kyungsoo then shrugged. “I wasn’t asking you.” Turning to look at Baekhyun, Kyungsoo pointed at his fellow housemate accusatively. “You don’t ever write me letters.”

 

Waving a hand half-heartedly, Baekhyun laughed. “It wasn’t much. Jongdae got me drunk.” Baekhyun wasn’t even near the halfway mark of his story but he could already feel Kyungsoo narrowing his eyes at him in judgement. “So, Jongdae got me drunk even though we aren’t supposed to drink. He got me so drunk. At a Quidditch match.”

 

“In public,” Kyungsoo said to himself but Baekhyun nodded in agreement.

 

“And I kind of vomited on one of the players.” Unable to help himself, Baekhyun started laughing aloud at the memory, only quieting down when he felt Kyungsoo’s coldly staring at him. Clearing his throat to resume his story, Baekhyun shifted closer to Chanyeol’s side as if that would protect him from his housemate’s annoyance. “And then we had to run away because well, we weren’t supposed to be drinking at all and I clearly had too much to drink.”

 

A pure look of judgement graced Kyungsoo’s face before his expression turned sour. “Why do you hang out with Gryffindors again?” It wasn’t that Kyungsoo didn’t like Gryffindor, but they were just too rowdy and loud for him sometimes. Baekhyun would fit right in though, of course. Kyungsoo had never mentioned it before but he had always thought that Baekhyun was a hatstall.

 

“They’re good company.” A chuckle escaped Baekhyun’s lips. Perhaps because he realised that he could have been referring to himself as well seeing how well his personality matched those in Gryffindor. “And because you don’t want to watch Quidditch with me. Or even talk about Quidditch with me.”

 

“Fair enough,” Kyungsoo gave in, seeing no point in arguing any further, especially since it was coming to Quidditch. Looking at the two Quidditch players sitting on the other side of the table, a thought occurred to him. “Can you guys even do so many subjects and Quidditch at the same time?”

 

“I guess we’ll have to try,” Baekhyun commented, tone light-hearted. They didn't have a choice but to try.

 

Compared to Baekhyun, Chanyeol appeared more worn out at the idea of studying for so many O.W.L.s’ subjects and doing Quidditch. Rubbing his face, he let out a low groan. “Quidditch trials are next week too so we’re going to have to prepare for that.” Curling his fingers, he pressed them against his closed eyelids, regretting the moment he moved his hands away because he was starting to see black spots.

 

Smiling wryly at the thought of tryouts, Baekhyun quickly got over it and bumped Chanyeol’s shoulder to get the Slytherin’s attention. “How many players are you missing?”

 

Bringing a hand up, Chanyeol began to count off his fingers. “A Beater, and two Chasers.” Going through the names of all the current players in his mind one more time, Chanyeol nodded in affirmation. “What about Ravenclaw?”

 

“A Seeker,” Baekhyun cried. “We’re missing a bloody Seeker of all things.”

 

“Aww,” Chanyeol cooed sarcastically as he started to pet Baekhyun’s head and the Ravenclaw prefect narrowed his eyes, not amused. “Ravenclaw can say bye-bye to the Quidditch Cup this year.”

 

“You know that some teams have lost before despite catching the Snitch, don’t you?”

 

“You’re not that good a Chaser.” A punch flying to Chanyeol’s stomach made him instantly regret his choice of words and he wished that he could take them back, or better, stop them from even leaving his mouth.

 

Feeling a tap on his shoulder, Baekhyun looked up and saw Kyungsoo already standing.

 

“Good luck,” was all Kyungsoo said before walking away.

 

Quidditch was always his cue to leave any conversation.

 

As soon as Kyungsoo walked out the double doors of the Great Hall, Chanyeol quickly turned to Baekhyun and grabbed both of his hands, dramatic and all. The pain in his stomach long forgotten (Baekhyun didn’t even hit him that hard.) “We could have done so many things together last night.”

 

“I know,” Baekhyun moaned pitifully.

 

“So many things.”

 

"I know.” Squeezing Chanyeol’s hands hard, the Slytherin yelped and pulled his hands away, cradling them to his chest and giving the perfect hurt puppy eyes to the Ravenclaw prefect. “Alright.” Clapping his hands together, Baekhyun flashed Chanyeol a sweet smile and took the remainder of his tart before standing up. “I have Astronomy now. With the Gryffindors.”

 

“When do you have classes with Slytherin?” Chanyeol asked, sulking a little. “We should have most classes together considering how many O.W.L.s’ we’re both taking.”

 

 “Muggle Studies.” With that, Baekhyun left the Great Hall.