"Let's stay as we are."

     The evening flew quickly.

The two boys talked for hours together as if they needed to make up for the lost time. They didn’t see the late-night hour make an appearance. They could have known it. The whole school was now quiet. Everyone was in their dorm house, ready to sleep. It was already past-curfew time for the students to be in the corridors. Yet, Baekhyun was still seating on the chair near Chanyeol’s bed. For him, it was a warmful night. If one day someone had told him he will spend a whole evening with the other boy, he would laugh. The brunet always thought they were different, but they had a lot on common, more than they thought.

“I should go back to the dorm now. It’s pretty late, I’m not even supposed to be here.”

“Right, and I’m kind of tired now. I think it’s the philtre.”

“Hm, maybe.”

They stared at each other for a long time, as they didn’t want to end this moment. Baekhyun wasn’t sure, but he could almost see a hint of sadness in Chanyeol’s eyes. It was weird, maybe he was wrong. Usually, they would be awkward around each other, but for the time of one evening, they acted as they were friends. The taller even told him to keep his grandpa’s journal for the night, and gets it back to him the next day. Baekhyun cleared his throat, breaking the silence.

“Well, I’m leaving”, says Baekhyun, leaving his chair.

“Sleep tight.”

“Thanks.”

Baekhyun broke the eye contact and leaves the infirmary. The school was empty from any human presence., but the corridors were still lit with the lights hung on the walls. The atmosphere was peaceful, yet a bit scary. Therefore, the smaller didn’t want to stay outside his dorm for too long. He walked quite fast. He tried to not make noise with his shoes. What if someone sees him? His steps echoed in the hallway, but as he reached an exterior corridor, the sound disappeared in the courtyard. His stare travelled on the benches, the bushes, before looking up to the sky. The firmament was cloudy, despite everything, the moon was shining brightly. Baekhyun always likes to watch at the night sky, he really likes astronomy. The moon was his favourite star.

The smaller gazed at it. The view from the castle was more beautiful than at home. His mansion was somewhere in the forest. Branches and leaves would always block his contemplation of the sky. He stood in the middle of the corridor to examine the star. But as soon as his steps stopped, clouds started to hide the colossal moon. In a swift second, everything became darker. Baekhyun frowned. His head turned toward the hall he was coming from. The lights started to flicker, and everything went black.

The Slytherin’s senses shook him instantly, but he couldn’t move. His legs didn’t obey his brain. His heart started to beat hard in his body. Baekhyun was holding his breath, and when he saw them, he began to panic. Why would they be here? As he saw them crawl toward his direction, he didn’t think twice and ran to escape them. He was still confused about the situation, but now, he had to regain his dorm to be safe. His heart hurt, all his chest was in pain, but he couldn’t stop in his race.

His mind was a mess, he couldn’t think correctly. Baekhyun didn’t know where he was going, his orientation was disrupted. The obscurity didn’t help him either. And he bumped against someone, hardly. He fell on his . Since then, his eyes were closed, and he opened them quickly, checking behind him if they weren’t there. But everything came back to normal. The corridors were lit again. Had he dreamed awake? That’s impossible, he was out-of-breath.

“Mr. Byun, why are you still outside your dorm?”

The deep voice startled him. He looked up and met Professor Snape’s stare. Great, he was over. Slowly, he stood up, and dusted off his uniform, searching for an argument. Baekhyun wasn’t supposed to be here.

“I was checking on Park Chanyeol in the infirmary because the nurse- ”

“You saw it, right?”

At his question, the smaller became tense. He frowned, not really sure about his professor’s words. Was he talking about the Shadows? It was absurd, they were only Baekhyun’s imagination. His monsters. They couldn’t be real, right?

“I will accompany you back to the dorm.”

Baekhyun didn’t say anything. He could go back to the Dungeons alone, but after this, he was afraid. He really hates them. They could weaken him so easily. The Slytherin came back to his common room with Professor Snape. The walk was awkward, but Baekhyun was thankful. Professor Snape was his Headmaster, but he didn’t know about his Second Sight ability. The only one who was aware of his capacity was the Divination Professor, Mr. Orson. The old man couldn’t stay without a word when his student excels in his field. “Excel” was a bit weak to describe Baekhyun’s ease in Divination, whereas it was a complex discipline. He discovered the Slytherin’s power when he had asked him, but as Baekhyun’s wish, Mr. Orson kept it secret.

What’s the deal with Professor Snape now? Baekhyun wondered all the night in his bed. He couldn’t find his sleep.

The next day, Chanyeol woke up, because of the first rays of light going through the window. He wasn’t a light sleeper, but some things could bother him during his sleep, like the luminosity. He growled as he tried to sit on his bed. His body was very numb; his arm hurt a bit.

Not long after his wake up, Madam Pomfrey came to give him his breakfast – it was composed of fruits, whereas the giant was used to eat a more consistent meal. She gave him his philtres too. Its tastes were as bad as yesterday, it left Chanyeol with an uneasy feeling on his tongue. As Baekhyun did the precedent night, the nurse applied some ointment on his wounds. Then, she left him to rest. Chanyeol didn’t know when he will get off the infirmary, neither how many time he will have this plaster. He hoped to get it to remove as quickly as possible. How can he practice with this? If he couldn’t play Quidditch for too long, he will go insane. It was a way for him to stress out.

The giant heard a sound from the window. The first thing he saw, was a beak. It was his owl, Toben. It seemed like the animal wanted to go outside as he hit the glass a second time with his beak. Chanyeol extended his left arm to grip his wand, and opened the window for his owl. He went inside, and flew on his owner’s bed. Toben was a snowy owl. He was now a middle-aged night bird. These two had been together since Chanyeol first year in Hogwarts. It was a gift from his grandpa. He bought it from Eeyelops Owl Emporium.

“Hey buddy”, says the human as he caresses Toben’s head. “What are you doing here?”

The owl stared at him, with his big blue eyes. Chanyeol examined him as he didn’t move and saw a letter hung around his foot. Very curious, he took it. He opened it. It was a letter from his grandpa. A big smile appeared on his face. He would always be happy to have some news from his grandpa, always with his elegant and beautiful handwriting.

Hello grandson,

I heard about your misadventure. If anybody should be doing this, it’s you. I know you well, I suppose it wasn’t that serious. Your mother and grandma are worrying about you, but I told them you’re a robust boy.

The reason I wrote to you is about IT. I’m afraid IT might come back any time soon. Someone told me how you fall. Bludgers are not made to work like this. I want you to be careful. I have to leave now, grandma is waiting for me.

Bye big boy, see you soon. Grandpa.

When Chanyeol finished reading the letter, it disappeared in small flames. Even if the content was implicit, nobody besides the giant had to know his granda’s word. If he follows his grandfather logic, someone was responsible for his fall.

The taller couldn’t think about it any longer when he heard footsteps coming his way. A small brunet came to his vision. He smiled at his appearance. How he couldn’t? It seemed as Baekhyun was a little bit tired. Maye he couldn’t sleep a lot last night. He came to the dorm very late.

“Hey”, starts Chanyeol.

“Hey. How are you?”

“Fine. And you?”

“Fine. I wanted to give you back the journal”, so the boy tends the book to Chanyeol. He had read it all night since he couldn’t find his sleep. “Well, I will let out rest.”

“No, stay. I mean, I’m kind of bored, and I already slept a lot.”

Baekhyun frowned at the taller. He didn’t know if he wanted to stay or not. Then, he remembered the evening they spent together. It was quite fun. Still standing beside Chanyeol’s bed, this one brings the chair closer. The smaller couldn’t decline his invitation. He sat there and saw the other boy’s owl starring at him. Baekhyun didn’t see the animal when he came; he was quite surprised.

“His name is Toben. He doesn’t bite.”

The smaller looked at the taller, he hesitated. Unlike the majority of the students, he didn’t have a pet. Baekhyun would always think he didn’t need one, but sometimes, he felt a little bit lonely. Chanyeol’s owl was majestic. Baekhyun liked his white feathers. He came closer to Toben, tending his hand toward the bird. The owl came to catch the smaller’s fingers between his beak, and he played with it. But, it didn’t hurt Baekhyun, at his surprise.

“I think he loves you.”

The brunet blushed a bit. It had been a long time since he didn’t play with a pet. He didn’t have one at home. His parents didn’t like it. But, when he went to Chanyeol’s place, this one would always be filled by pets. He remembered; he had three cats, two owls, and even a mouse. Baekhyun didn’t know if he loved animals or not, but he could remember he liked to pet them. As he wanted to pat Toben’s head, the Slytherin tilted toward the owl. But something else caught the animal’s attention. Toben had now Baekhyun’s pendant in his beak.

“Hey, hey, Toben. Let him go”, orders Chanyeol as he leans to help Baekhyun.

Toben released the pendant, and the brunet felt relieved it was intact, as he checked.

“I’m sorry, Toben is quite playful.”

“It’s okay, really. It’s not his fault.”

“It’s a beautiful ring by the way.”

Baekhyun looked at Chanyeol, then at his hands. It was full of rings, and for someone who seemed like a ring lover, the fact that he complimented his made him happy.

“Thanks. I got it from my grandma as a kid.”

“Oh. I remember when your grandma took care of my wounds when I fell over a rock near the lake beside your house”, the taller laughs at the memory.

“Oh, at that time? Well, I remember he was very alarmed when I saw a glimpse of blood. I ran to her. But you fell so ridiculously, and laughed so loud, I thought you were joking…”

“Don’t worry, I think I wasn’t that hurt.”

Baekhyun smiled at him. What was that? It felt so natural for them to talk about their memories together, but yet so weird. For seven years, they didn’t have a normal talk since yesterday. They would be cursing at each other, or throwing glances at the other. Neither Baekhyun nor Chanyeol could tell when they came to hate each other. Maybe they should start from a new beginning and become friends again? The smaller thought that speaks with the giant is fun. Chanyeol had always been fun, even more when they were kids. Baehkyun was so fond of the other when he was younger. He would always follow him in the forest around his mansion, even if his parents forbid him to go there. He would jump into the lake even if he didn’t know how to swim – besides, it was thanked Chanyeol he knows how to swim.

They talked about the past for hours. Remembering childhood adventures. It brings Baekhyun a certain nostalgia. The one to not have Chanyeol by his sides anymore. It was kind of sad, but now the other boy had his friend, and Baekhyun was fine just by himself.

Their moment was cut off by the Quidditch team’s arrival. All the players were there, and Madam Pomfrey wasn’t pleased about this. She told them to not be too noisy. But they failed, and as there were no other patients in the infirmary, the nurse let it go for this time. With all these people, Baekhyun wasn’t feeling at ease. Alone with Chanyeol was great, but now, he thought as he shouldn’t be here.

“I’m leaving, I have some homework to do. Bye guys.”

And all the boys waved at him as he left the place. But he didn’t see Chanyeol’s sad eyes.

❃