“Hey Donghyuk, why are you looking so glum?” Hufflepuff sixth year Song Yunhyeong plopped down onto the squashy couch next to fifth year Kim Donghyuk, who was staring at the fire with an uncharacteristically morose look on his face.

“Oh hey, Yunhyeong,” Donghyuk greeted, “I’m just thinking about home.”

“Feeling homesick?” Yunhyeong asked. It wasn’t uncommon to feel that way, even as older students.

“Kind of, but I just talked to my mom,” Donghyuk paused, intending to say more, but he was still feeling sad and didn’t want to burden Yunhyeong.

“Why would you feel sad after talking to your mom?” Yunhyeong asked, sliding an arm around Donghyuk’s shoulders. Donghyuk only shrugged in response, but Yunhyeong wasn’t willing to let it go. “Come on, you can tell me!”

“Well, usually I go home for Christmas,” Donghyuk replied, deciding to tell him the real problem, “but I can’t this year, I have to stay here.”

“Oh no!” Yunhyeong sympathized, feeling terrible for him. “I’m so sorry, Donghyuk. Is it your first time staying during the holidays?”

“Yeah. I know it’s not the end of the world, and there are so many people who don’t have any family, who don’t have a place to live—”

“You don’t have to justify being upset,” Yunhyeong cut him off, “just because someone has it worse than you, that doesn’t mean you have to feel guilty for feeling sad. You’re allowed to be upset about missing your family at Christmas.”

Donghyuk sniffled and leaned against Yunhyeong, grateful to hear him say it. “Thanks, Yunhyeong.”

“I know you don’t like to complain, but sometimes it’s better to tell someone when you’re upset. So I’m happy you confided in me.” Yunhyeong ruffled Donghyuk’s hair, feeling a surge of protectiveness hit him.

“Thanks for understanding, I appreciate it.” Donghyuk couldn’t help but smile at the gesture. He’d always liked Yunhyeong from the first moment they’d met back when he’d been sorted into Hufflepuff. Yunhyeong had been his buddy, the one responsible for showing him around. They’d remained close ever since.

A sudden idea came to Yunhyeong then. “So, does your mom cook you anything special for Christmas?”

“She does!” Donghyuk brightened up at the mention of food. “I’m going to miss her cookies the most. She makes really cute gingerbread men. I know the house elves at Hogwarts make them too, but my mom’s are different. They’re way softer.”

Yunhyeong took a mental note of that—soft gingerbread men. “Anything else?”

“She makes these really delicious cream scones, but they’re not like usual scones that are dry, you know? Hers are soft and moist. I remember one day she had a few members of her knitting circle come over to our house, and mom served her scones. One of the ladies criticized them, told her they were supposed to be dry and flaky.”

“That’s so rude!” Yunhyeong couldn’t help but cut in. “You don’t criticize someone’s baking like that, not unless they ask you to.”

“Oh mom didn’t mind,” Donghyuk replied, “she told her that’s how I make them, and if you don’t like them, my kitchen is just down the hall, feel free to make your own.”

Yunhyeong grinned. “Ah, that’s good! I like your mom already.”

“You actually would like my mom,” Donghyuk said, “she’d laugh at your jokes and tell you how handsome you are.”

Yunhyeong couldn’t help but blush. Had Donghyuk just called him handsome?!

“Anyway, thanks for listening to me, I actually feel a lot better now. I’m going to go work on my astronomy homework, I have a star chart to finish!” Donghyuk got up from the couch and made his way to the round door to his dorm room, leaving Yunhyeong to watch him walk away.

Just as well. He had work to do.
 

“Master Yunhyeong has come to visit Dobby!”

Yunhyeong smiled at the greeting, and seconds later he was swarmed by house elves, all fighting to give him a hug. He greeted them all before they got back to their work, leaving him to talk alone with Dobby.

“Dobby, I’d like your help with something, if you don’t mind.”

The little house elf looked up at him with excited eyes. “Any task that Song Yunhyeong asks of Dobby, he can be certain that Dobby will see it through to the end!”

“Ah, perfect! But this is secret, okay Dobby? And it requires you leaving Hogwarts, if that’s possible?” That much Yunhyeong wasn’t sure about, but house elves had their own way of getting things done.

“Of course it is, sir! Dumbledore, oh great wizard that he is, has given Dobby permission to leave the grounds when tasks require him to!”

“Oh good, I was hoping that was the case!” Yunhyeong hoped Dumbledore wouldn’t be upset with his idea, but he had a feeling the old headmaster would think it was a sweet gesture. “Okay Dobby, here’s what I need you to do. I need you to go and visit the house of one of my friends, Kim Donghyuk.”

“Sir is sending me to a muggle’s home?” Dobby asked, eyes shining bright, “oh that is most exciting, sir!”

“I’m glad you feel that way, Dobby! I need you to find a recipe for me, if you could? My friend has to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas this year for the first time, so he’s sad about missing his mom’s cooking.”

Dobby sniffled and wiped his eyes on his pillowcase toga. “Oh that is most sad, sir!”

“I know, but I wanted to surprise him, Dobby. I need you to find two recipes for me, actually. One is a recipe for gingerbread men. Donghyuk said his mom makes very soft cookies, they’re different from the harder ones you elves make here.”

“Ah yes, wizards often ask for the harder cookies, so I understand that he wants his mother’s version! What else do you need, sir?”

“The other recipe is for a cream scone,” Yunhyeong replied, “he said she makes them so they’re not as dry and flaky as usual scones, but more moist.”

“Oh that is most bizarre, sir, but we each of us have our own tastes, so I will go and find the recipes for you!”

“Thank you, Dobby!”

“Would you like us to make them for him, sir?”

Yunhyeong shook his head. “Ah no, that’s the other part of my request. I was hoping to make them myself, if you don’t mind sharing your kitchen with me?”

At that the other elves turned their attention back to him, crying out in support.

“We would gladly welcome Master Yunhyeong into our kitchen!”

“Did you hear? Master Yunhyeong wishes to cook along side us elves!”

And some outright wept in joy, inconsolable at the thought of a wizard cooking next to them.

“As you can see, sir, the other elves would be delighted to have you in our kitchen to make cookies and scones for your friend!”

“Thanks, Dobby! I appreciate your help. I think this will make Donghyuk feel a lot better.” Yunhyeong spent a few minutes tasting things the elves were busy cooking before being ushered out of the kitchen with a basket full of goodies to take back to his common room.
 

CRACK!

“Master Yunhyeong!”

Yunhyeong jumped with surprise with the unexpected arrival of Dobby behind him. “Ah, Dobby! You gave me a bit of a fright.”

“My sincere apologies, sir! Dobby has done as you asked, sir! He has found the recipes for your friend!”

“Brilliant!” Yunhyeong took the offered papers from the house elf, scanning them over quickly. “Do you have everything we need in the kitchen?”

“I believe so, sir! The other elves are so excited to have you, sir!”

“Wonderful. I think I’ll come tonight and try them for the first time. I want to make them the muggle way, without magic.”

“Ah, sir is most adventurous! We will expect you later tonight, then, sir!”

“Thank you, Dobby!” Yunhyeong bowed in gratitude to the elf, who wept at the display of respect before disappearing again.
 

“Hey Yunhyeong, we’re going out to pick some moonseed with Professor Sprout, you coming?”

Yunhyeong looked up from his parchment, a nearly-finished essay on poison solutions, to see a few of his friends heading for the common room door. Usually he joined them to harvest the more dangerous plants with their head of house, but he’d completely forgotten about it in the face of his plans with the house elves.

“Oh, sorry, I actually can’t do it tonight.” He knew it was going to seem suspicious and hoped no one was going to ask any questions.

“Why not? We were expecting you.”

“Uh, I have a lot of studying to do,” he replied, which was a lie, and he was a terrible liar.

“Oh, I get it. He must have plans with someone.” The teasing was started by his fellow sixth year Im Nayeon, nudging the others until they were all snickering along.

He blushed and shook his head. “I do have plans, but they’re not plans like that.”

“It’s okay, we won’t tell anyone.” 

“Who are your plans with? Are they with Donghyuk?” Nayeon teased again, grinning when Yunhyeong blushed even harder.

“They are not, and I’d thank you to not go spreading rumours!” Okay, so his plans were indirectly about Donghyuk, but still.

“Oh they’re totally with Donghyuk. About time, really! You’ve been talking about him in your sleep.” Choi Seungcheol, one of Yunhyeong’s roommates, casually joined in on the teasing.

“What?!” Yunhyeong looked up at Seungcheol, panicked expression on his face. “I have not, have I?”

An evil grin met him. “No, but that’s probably only because you don’t talk in your sleep.”

“Speak of the devil,” Nayeon called out, “hey Donghyuk!”

“Going out somewhere, are you?” Seungcheol teased a bewildered Donghyuk.

“I am; going to meet a friend.” He was going out to meet Hanbin, who wanted to go for a run around the grounds in dog form, and Donghyuk had thought it would cheer himself up if he went along.

“Ooooooh!” The others teasingly responded, before leaving the common room.

“Enjoy your night, boys!” Nayeon looked back at them with a wink before joining the others.

Yunhyeong turned back to his paper, too embarrassed to say anything to Donghyuk.

“What was that about?” Donghyuk asked, turning to Yunhyeong with a laugh. “What are you up to?”

“Um, just finishing an essay.” Yunhyeong answered, looking at Donghyuk and smiling, trying to be nonchalant.

Donghyuk must have picked up on something though. “Are you okay? Your face is all flushed, you’re not coming down with something, are you? Do you want me to stop by the kitchen and get you some soup?”

“No! I’m fine!” Yunhyeong replied, flustered. “Probably just from sitting by the fire and working on my paper.” He tried to play it off all cool, but Donghyuk still looked concerned.

“Are you sure? It’s not a problem.” He was actually running the risk of being late to his meeting with Hanbin, but some things took priority over others.

“I’m absolutely certain I’m fine,” Yunhyeong replied, not wanting Donghyuk anywhere near the kitchen. “Aren’t you meeting someone?”

Donghyuk smiled back at him before heading to the door. “I am, I just wanted to make sure you were okay! But since you’re sure, I’ll be on my way. Have a good night, Yunhyeong!”

Yunhyeong waited until he left before letting out a deeply held breath. He’d almost busted himself! He hurriedly finished up his essay, too rattled to write a good finishing paragraph. He returned his homework to his room before leaving the common room and heading for the kitchen. He had work to do.
 

“I don’t understand why this isn’t working!”

“Master Yunhyeong, I am so sorry! Dottie will punish herself right away!”

Yunhyeong lunged to grab the little house elf who’d been reaching for the oven door (likely to shut her fingers in it). “No! Why would you do that?”

“Your cookies keep burning, master! Dottie cannot help you!” The little house elf looked at him with tear-filled eyes before letting out a wailing sob.

“Oh no, don’t cry!” Yunhyeong looked around. “Dobby!”

“Dobby is here, sir!” Dobby appeared before them with a glass of milk that he into Dottie’s hands. “Be a good elf Dottie and drink this!” With the wailing elf now quiet, Dobby turned to Yunhyeong. “I am so sorry sir, you see us house elves are not used to burning food, sir! It is very distressing.”

“Ah, right, I hadn’t thought about that.”

“Dottie is trying very hard, sir, but I can see that if you ask her to help you again, she might use magic to make sure the cookies don’t burn, and then she would want to punish herself for that.” Dobby patted the other elf’s back.

“Yes, I can see. I just don’t know what to do, Dobby. I didn’t realize that muggles had different ways of cooking things than wizards. I don’t know how to translate the cooking portion to our ovens here.”

“It is very difficult, sir. Perhaps if you were to ask another muggle, sir?”

“Oh I don’t know if they’d know how to help, Dobby. They’d be used to their own ovens too. I can figure this out myself, I have to! For Donghyuk.”

“Of course, sir! But perhaps we should try again another night, sir.”

“Yes, I think you’re right, Dobby. It’s very late and everyone here is worried about the burnt cookies. I understand.” Yunhyeong couldn’t help but feel glum as he said his goodbyes to the elves and left.

He made his way into the common room, long face doing nothing to hide how bad he felt. He’d never had so much trouble trying to cook something before! Usually he perfected them on his first try. But muggle cooking was proving to be a bigger problem than he’d expected.
 

Christmas was a week away, and Yunhyeong was on his third attempt at the cookies. He’d tried the scones, but those had been a disaster as well. It turned out that there was something more to muggle cooking that exceeded what he’d thought were his own exceptional culinary skills.

He was tempted to ask a muggleborn for help, but at the same time he was determined to solve this on his own. Asking another muggle would be like cheating. The answer came to him during lunch, when he was sitting in the great hall finishing a meal of curry chicken. There were a pair of fourth years sitting by him, and his ears perked up when he heard them talking.

“I can’t believe Professor Burbage flunked my paper!”

“Rotten luck! What did you write it on?”

“Muggle transportation. How was I supposed to know that flying saucers aren’t what muggles use?”

“I can’t fault you there, that does seem like an advanced method of transportation. Muggles have such creative minds, though, I have trouble figuring out what’s real and what’s not.”

“Too true. How did you do with your paper?”

“Got an A!”

“Of course you did. What did you write it on?”

“Muggle culinary studies!”

“That’s such a good topic.”

“Useful, too. There was this great book at the library about converting muggle measurements into wizarding ones. So glad I gave it a read.”

Yunhyeong leaned over towards them, startling the pair. “I’m sorry, do you still have that book?”

The fourth year shook his head. “No, but it should probably still be there, I don’t know why anyone else would want it. It’s called Muggle Gastronomy.”

“Perfect! Thanks!” Yunhyeong leapt out of his seat, leaving his unfinished meal behind and dashing to the library. He was in such a rush, desperate to get that book, that he wasn’t paying much attention to his surroundings. He rounded a corner only to collide with two people—Donghyuk and fellow fifth year (and Hufflepuff’s quidditch seeker) Lisa Manoban.

“Watch where you’re going!” Lisa yelled, rubbing her elbow.

“Oh, Lisa, Donghyuk! I’m so sorry!” Yunhyeong felt terrible seeing both of them on the ground. He wasn’t sure who to help to their feet first—chivalry would say Lisa, but then she was on the quidditch team and often got told off for roughhousing in the corridors. Donghyuk, on the other hand…

Donghyuk smiled up at Yunhyeong, taking his offered hand and letting Yunhyeong pull him up to his feet. “You in a hurry to go somewhere?” Donghyuk asked him, grinning when Yunhyeong blushed.

“Uh, you could say that.” He turned to Lisa then, who’d lost the irritated look on her face and was now watching him with an amused grin.

“Making sure Donghyuk’s okay, are you?” Lisa asked teasingly, refusing Yunhyeong’s offered hand and getting to her feet on her own.

“Um, I uh, I thought he may have hit his head…” Yunhyeong muttered, embarrassed to be called out on his apparent favoritism.

“I’m okay!” Donghyuk chirped, smiling at Yunhyeong.

“Uh yes, well, I should probably be going then.” Yunhyeong sheepishly said before apologizing to Lisa one last time and then taking off down the hall.

Donghyuk waited until he rounded the corner before glancing at Lisa. He knew what was coming.

“Ooooh, I am telling you, he’s so into you Dongie!” Lisa squealed, lightly punching him in the arm.

“Ah, no! We’ve just been close since first year, you know he always looks out for me.” Donghyuk replied.

“No way! He got all blushy when I called him out. He likes you. It’s so cute, he’s got such a dreamy face.” Lisa teased.

“Don’t say that, you’re getting my hopes up.” Donghyuk had been interested in Yunhyeong for the past two years, but he’d tried to keep his crush to himself. Lisa had weasled it out of him one night though (when the fifth years had shared a few sips of a contraband bottle of firewhiskey they’d stolen from a Slytherin seventh year on a dare from the Gryffindors).

“You should just tell him how you feel,” Lisa said, before looping her arm through his and pulling him along. “Honestly, you both look at each other with the same expression, it’s so cute.” Lisa continued cooing over the potential romance all the way through lunch, but Donghyuk was resolute.

Maybe next year.
 

“Dobby!” Yunhyeong hadn’t bothered waiting until later in the evening—the second his transfiguration class ended for the day he’d rushed to the kitchen to look for his favourite elf.

“Master Yunhyeong has come early!” Dobby replied, appearing before him waving a soup spoon. “We are preparing dinner, sir!”

“That’s okay, I just couldn’t wait until later. I think I found the answer, Dobby!” Yunhyeong pulled the library book out of his bag. “I got this book from the library about muggle cooking!”

“Oh wonderful! Have a seat over here, sir, we should be finished with dinner preparations soon.” Dobby pulled him over to a couch, leaving him to begin reading the book. A few minutes later Dottie appeared, laying a bowl of lamb stew on the table for him along with a glass of pumpkin juice.

“Thank you, Dottie!” Yunhyeong greeted brightly, making Dottie blush.

“Master is very welcome! I am happy he’s back with renewed excitement to make cookies for his muggleborn!”

It was Yunhyeong’s turn to blush at Dottie’s words. He’d never thought of Donghyuk as his muggleborn before, but it was kind of cute. He stood the book up on the table, using magic to balance it, before picking up the bowl of stew and eating while he read.

He read the chapter on understanding muggle cooking methods three times before he felt confident enough to try the cookies again. The recipe was the same, but his cooking method was different now! He used a different pan, asked for Dobby to find him some parchment paper used for baking (that was entirely different than the parchment paper he used to write essays on) and then he set about testing the temperature of the wood oven the elves used for their baking. Dottie took a few pieces of wood out and he had to wait a bit for the temperature to go down, but then it did, and he’d never anticipated something so much as he found himself anticipating these cookies.

The wait was torture, but Dottie asked him to read to her out loud, and he couldn’t refuse her after all her help. They both jumped up in excitement when the alarm went off, and Yunhyeong carefully removed the pan from the oven.

The cookies weren’t burnt on top, not even close! They looked soft, and that was already a vast improvement!

He didn’t even use magic to take them off the pan, instead using a muggle spatula to pick each cookie up and transfer it to a cooling rack. He glanced at the bottom of each cookie, and not a single one was burnt!

Every elf in the kitchen gathered around in a half circle when they were cool enough to try.

Yunhyeong held the cookie in his hands, pressing it in the middle, and it was soft and springy to the touch. He couldn’t hold back his smile when he broke it in half, tears in his eyes when he bit into it.

It was delicious, and it was soft, and Donghyuk was going to be so happy to wake up to his favourite cookies on Christmas morning! The elves erupted into a loud cheer when he pronounced that the cookies were perfect, and he let all of them try a cookie each. Dottie could barely contain her emotions, blubbering until Dobby brought her another glass of milk.

“Well, sir, I do believe the cookies are a success!” Dobby toasted Yunhyeong with his own glass of milk, and Yunhyeong laid a hand on the elf’s head, patting him fondly.

“All thanks to your help, Dobby! You and Dottie both have played such an important role in these cookies. This is a victory for all of us, and we did it without magic!” Yunhyeong couldn’t believe how accomplished he felt. It was the first time he’d ever done something without magic, and it felt wonderful to know it was possible.

He had enough time that night to try making the scones again, and while they weren’t quite perfect, he knew the problem was with the ingredients and not the oven, at least. He could tweak the ingredients, no problem!
 

“Hey Yunhyeong, are you heading to the astronomy tower early?” Nayeon asked from one of the couches, a textbook open in her lap.

“Huh?’ He paused at the door to the common room.

“We have a late class tonight, don’t you remember?”

Oh no! He’d forgotten, intent on trying to scones again. “Oh, I forgot about that, actually.” He glanced at his pocket watch. There was half an hour before the class. That was enough time to mix the batter for the scones, at least! “I have something to do before the class, so I’ll meet you there. But thanks for reminding me!”

Nayeon gave him an amused smile. “Right. Meeting someone again?”

“No, not that kind of something!” Would his housemates ever stop teasing him?!

“Right, whatever you say. Tell Donghyuk I say hi.”

Yunhyeong didn’t bother replying. He didn’t have time for distractions!
 

It just wasn’t fair! He’d been feeling fine all day, had been in a great mood, really. Maybe if he’d stayed at the library with Lisa he’d still be in a good mood… But instead he’d left after finishing his paper (he’d really been doing Lisa a favour anyway, because her crush, Slytherin Jennie Kim, had just shown up and he’d wanted to give Lisa a chance to talk to her) but then on his way back to the dormitory he’d overheard a few Gryffindors talking about their upcoming trips home for Christmas, and that had gotten him upset again.

He’d have gone to find Hanbin to go on another night run around the school in their dog forms, but Hanbin had quidditch practice tonight, and it wasn’t as much fun going by himself. So he kept on heading to the dormitory, but got a sudden idea to go and visit the elves in the kitchen. They were always happy to see him.

But as soon as he entered the kitchen he was stopped by Dobby.

“Master Donghyuk!” Dobby greeted, “I am sorry, sir, but I must ask you to leave.”

Donghyuk looked at him curiously. He’d never been asked to leave the kitchen before! “Why?”

“You see, sir, we elves are making something special for Christmas, sir, but it’s a secret! So I’m afraid you can’t see it.”

“Oh, that’s too bad. I’ll go then, I don’t want to put anything at risk.”

“Truly sorry, sir! It has been a while since you have visited us, sir!”

“Yes master, we miss you! Please come again soon, but after Christmas, please!” Dottie appeared then too, looking at him with pleading eyes.

“I will, I promise. I’m staying here for the holidays this year, so I’ll need something to do.” Just as he was about to go another elf approached him.

“Master Donghyuk, would you like a mug of hot cocoa? As a small gift since you cannot visit us tonight?”

Donghyuk smiled at the gesture and took the steaming mug. The heavy scent of chocolate made him feel a little better already. “Thank you, Poppy!”

“Master is so sweet, we don’t want to spoil his Christmas surprise!” The moment the words were spoken the little elf clapped her hands over . “Oh! Poppy cannot say anything more!”

“Yes Poppy, keep your lips sealed please!” Dottie appeared again, pushing her away from Donghyuk. “Please have a nice night, Master Donghyuk!”

Donghyuk smiled at them before leaving, sipping the cocoa in the hall. It was delicious, and even though he still felt sad about Christmas, he couldn’t help but feel happy while he had his drink. He also found the elves’ behaviour a little strange. He’d gone to visit them around Christmas before. Why was there only a surprise this year?

Well, at least he had something to look forward to.
 

“Hey, Yunhy—”

“SHH!” Yunhyeong shushed Seungcheol quickly, pulling him around the corner.

“Hey, what’s going? I thought you were going home for Christmas?” Seungcheol asked, and Yunhyeong smiled at him.

“I know that’s what I said, but it’s part of a surprise. I’ll be here for Christmas morning, and then Dumbledore has arranged for me to take a portkey home to my family.”

“Wow, I’d ask what the surprise is, but I know it has to be for Donghyuk.”

“Why would you assume that? I didn’t say anything!” Was it really that obvious to everyone?

“Listen, the only people in denial about you and Donghyuk are you and Donghyuk. Hopefully not after this special Christmas morning surprise, though.”

Yunhyeong sighed. He hadn’t really been doing this whole Christmas thing with any ulterior motive, he just wanted to make Donghyuk happy. Then again, he always wanted to do things to make Donghyuk happy.

“Listen I want to get into the Great Hall for dinner, are you coming or do you have to hide?”

“I’m hiding, I was just outside visiting Hagrid. Could you let me know if Donghyuk’s in the hall already? I obviously need to avoid him.” Seungcheol looked into the hall and came back to report.

“Yeah he’s there already with Lisa. So you’re safe!”

“Thanks! Remember—not a word to anyone!”

“I promise. Hey, you want me to bring you some dinner?”

“No it’s okay, I’m going to go and eat with the house elves, I already promised them.”

“That’s sweet of you. See you later, then!” Yunhyeong watched as Seungcheol made his way back to the Christmas eve feast in the great hall, then proceeded to head towards the kitchen. After hearing how they’d narrowly escaped having Donghyuk walk in on the scone baking a few days ago, he’d wanted to do something nice for the elves. When Dobby had said that the only thing they wanted would be to host him for a special dinner, he’d been so touched that he’d agreed straightaway.

Maybe he was taking the surprise a little bit further than necessary by pretending to have gone home earlier. He’d said his goodbyes to Donghyuk this morning, and then had spent the majority of his day visiting Hagrid. Now all that was left was to sneak into his room without Donghyuk finding out he was still here. He was waking up early tomorrow morning to bake a fresh batch of Christmas treats, so he wanted to get to bed early, and he was hoping he’d beat Donghyuk back to the dormitory.
 

Donghyuk woke up to a very particular scent, one he knew well. For a moment he forgot where he was, letting the scent trick him into thinking he was back home, waking up to his mother’s baking. Just as he was about to open his eyes he suddenly remembered that he wasn’t home—he was still at Hogwarts, alone in his dormitory for the first time ever, since the other 5th year boys had all gone home for Christmas.

He rolled onto his stomach without opening his eyes, feeling sad all over again. It wasn’t really the worst thing, being here for the holidays. He had friends that were also staying at the school. But it was still the first year he was staying, and even though he had a few friends here, he was also missing some of his closest friends. Like Hanbin. And Yunhyeong.

He sighed out loud, wondering what time it was and if it would be too early to go wake people up.

But then he realized that he could still smell his mother’s baking. Almost like it was here, in his room…

He sat up and opened his eyes and his breath caught in his throat.

“Merry Christmas, Donghyuk!” There, sitting at the end of his bed and holding a tray of cookies, was Yunhyeong.

“Um, didn’t you go home?” Donghyuk couldn’t process everything at the moment—Yunhyeong here, when he wasn’t supposed to be, and he was holding a tray of cookies that smelled suspiciously like the ones his mom made…

“Nope! Well, not yet. I asked Dumbledore if I could stay for the morning and he arranged for me to take a portkey home later to see my family. But I wanted to be here for the morning so I could surprise you.” He held the tray out, and Donghyuk could see that there were also delicious looking scones, just like his mother made…

“You wanted to surprise me?” He replied, still not seeing the whole picture.

Yunhyeong smiled back at him. “I baked these myself! No magic, just the way your mom would have. I know you were upset about having to stay, so I wanted to do something extra nice for you.”

Donghyuk wasn’t sure what to say, it was such an unexpectedly sweet surprise. And the fact that Yunhyeong had gone out of his way to surprise him… The fact that he’d stayed to surprise him… Donghyuk couldn’t help but get caught up in the emotions of the moment, his eyes tearing up. It was so sweet, he was so touched!

“I burned like, three batches of cookies trying to figure out how to bake the muggle way,” Yunhyeong admitted sheepishly, “but I figured it out, me and Dottie. Dobby helped too!”

“Wait a second,” Donghyuk said through a sniffle, “is that why they kicked me out of the kitchen the other night?”

Yunhyeong grinned. “Yeah, I’m sorry about that!”

“Yunhyeong, I, really, god I’m sorry I just don’t know what to say,” Donghyuk rambled, too touched to put the right words together. He was on the verge of tears, not sure if he wanted to break down crying in front of Yunhyeong.

“Have a cookie then?” Yunhyeong offered. He didn’t need to hear Donghyuk speak words of gratitude, because he could see it on his face, and the rush of emotions made his cheeks feel all flushed.

Donghyuk smiled and reached out, taking a cookie from the tray. It was still warm. “Did you get up early to make these?”

“Sure did!” Yunhyeong replied, “I wanted them to be fresh for you.”

“Well, the smell woke me up,” Donghyuk admitted, “so you did it right.” He took a bite of the cookie—it tasted exactly the same as his mom’s. “Yunhyeong, these are perfect!”

Yunhyeong breathed a sigh of relief. He knew they’d turned out well, but the true test had been Donghyuk’s reaction. “Ah, I’m so happy to hear that!”

Donghyuk finished the cookie and felt a rush of gratitude that had him hopping out of bed, crushing Yunhyeong in a hug before he could think better of it. Yunhyeong hugged him back just as hard.

This is it, Yunhyeong thought to himself, everyone keeps saying we’re both into each other, should I make a move?

Donghyuk was having a similar conversation in his own head. Okay, he sacrificed Christmas morning with his family for me, this must mean he really does like me, right? Should I ask him?

They pulled back at the same time, arms still around each other and eyes locked, but the words they’d both been thinking weren’t able to come out. What happened instead was that they both leaned in again for a kiss, lips brushing softly before jumping back in surprise. Their eyes met again and for a brief moment they shared a panicked look, but came to their senses quickly and their lips turned up into smiles.

“Thanks for the surprise,” Donghyuk said, “this totally saved my Christmas.”

“The cookies, or the other thing?” Yunhyeong teasingly replied.

“The cookies and the other thing,” Donghyuk replied before hugging him again, “I’ve had a crush on you for like two years.”

“What?!” Yunhyeong replied, feeling a little stupid. “Seriously? I liked you too, I just didn’t think you liked me back that way. Everyone kept teasing me about liking you.”

Donghyuk couldn’t believe they’d both been having the same feelings for so long! “So we’re both idiots, then?”

“I guess so. Wanna go be idiots together in the great hall for breakfast?” Yunhyeong asked, because he was quite hungry now after having been up for two hours. Also, he kind of wanted to let everyone else know about this newest development between he and Donghyuk.

“Okay, let’s go!” But he stuffed another cookie in his mouth and grabbed a scone before pulling on a hoodie. He was going to stay in his pyjama pants, though. No one would mind on Christmas. They weren’t the only members of their house awake, and when they appeared together in the common room they were greeted by loud cheers from some of their friends.

Neither of them really minded the teasing, though, and at everyone’s prompting they held hands on the way to breakfast.