Ayo we're back with another camping trip. I know I'm recycling ideas at this point, but idk I kinda like this one.

Also, props to me for not taking another year to update!

Felix sighed dramatically leaning against the window of the bus. The annual camping trip was once again happening. The fifth and sixth years would spend a weekend in the woods, gather some plants and learn about Magical Creatures. Unfortunately, the trip was mandatory for all fifth and sixth years, otherwise Felix would have certainly skipped it this year.

Especially, since Changbin wouldn’t be there. Felix would have much preferred to suffer through this with him but since he was a seventh year, he wouldn’t be coming along.

He would, however, as he had told Felix, spend some time with Josh, trying to cheer him up because of Yeosang. Felix felt really bad for his friend, and he hoped that Changbin would be able to get his mind off everything for a while. He was glad that after everything that had happened a few months prior the two of them had managed to become friends in the first place.

“Hey, can I sit with you?” Eric’s voice suddenly ripped Felix from his thoughts. He nodded scooted over and patted the seat next to him. “Thanks,” Eric beamed.

“I can’t believe we’re forced to do this again,” Felix complained. Eric chuckled and unpacked some snacks from his backpack. He offered Felix a Chocolate Frog which he took muttering a “thanks”.

“I have decided to have fun on this trip. Last year wasn’t so fun, so I’m going to make up for it this time,” Eric said optimistically. “I just hope I get a bearable tentmate.”

“Is there anyone you wouldn’t want to room with?” Felix questioned, looking around in the bus. Last year the answer to his own question would have been Hyunjin. At that time he had still felt pretty threatened by him when it came to Changbin. He had ended up rooming with Hyunjin and they had gotten along surprisingly well. After that they had eventually become friends so he would certainly not mind ending up with him this year as well.

His gaze fell onto Jisung and Renjun. They didn’t behave that much differently from before they had revealed their relationship but now that Felix knew about them it was hard to overlook the way they interacted. He chuckled to himself when he remembered that they had ended up rooming together last year, wondering if luck would be on their side again.

“I don’t have any problems with anyone,” Eric told him honestly. “But I keep half of these people at a distance. It could get weird rooming with anyone I’m not close with.”

“Yeah, I get that,” Felix agreed. “But you might get something out of it.” He wagged his eyebrows at Eric to underline his meaning.

“Oh no, I’m done with that for the time being,” Eric chuckled.

Felix frowned a little bit. Everyone had heard of the fallout between Eric and his long-time crush Juyeon. Felix had witnessed Eric getting drunk and breaking down because of him. He still felt a slight need to give Juyeon a piece of his mind and maybe a mild -kicking, but he had noticed how miserable Juyeon looked these days. This was like a bad breakup only that the two of them hadn’t even been together in the first place.

“Are you doing okay?” Felix questioned. Eric looked at him like he had half expected him to ask that question.

“I’m fine,” he said. To Felix it sounded like he had said it a hundred times already, whether to other people or to himself, he wasn’t sure. But it sounded like Eric believed it, so he chose to believe it too.

~

“I’m actually kind of excited about this trip this year,” Seungmin stated, resting his head on Hyunjin’s shoulder while looking out of the window.

“Me too, although it would have been pretty cool if Changbin could have come along too,” Hyunjin agreed.

Seungmin chuckled, remembering Changbin’s fondness, or lack thereof, of the woods. “I’m not sure he would share your sentiment,” he pointed out, making Hyunjin laugh. He felt Hyunjin’s hand run through his hair and closed his eyes in content.

“Do you want to go stargazing again like we did last year?”

“As long as we don’t venture further into the woods, like I did last year,” Seungmin agreed, thinking back to last year’s run-in with a boggart which Hyunjin had ended up saving him from. He shuddered at the memory.

“We won’t, my love.”

The drive eventually came to an end and Seungmin was glad to finally get out of the stuffy bus and stretch his legs out again. He took Hyunjin’s hand and gathered around the teachers to receive their roommate assignments. Fortunately, this year the teachers had refrained from setting up an extra prefect tent, so Seungmin had an actual chance of rooming with his boyfriend this time.

“Kim Seungmin, you’re with Yang Jeongin. Hwang Hyunjin with Huang Renjun...”

Seungmin pouted, looking up at Hyunjin. “No luck, I guess,” he said.

Hyunjin put an arm around his shoulders. “I think they might have done that on purpose, my love,” he pointed out. “After all they want to reduce all opportunities of funny business between students.”

Seungmin’s pout only intensified. “Well, maybe if they got laid once in a while–” he cut himself off.

Hyunjin laughed out loud and kissed him before looking around for Renjun. “I’ll see you in a bit, darling.”

Seungmin walked over to Jeongin who smiled at him. “Guess we’re gonna be roommates,” he said cheerfully. Sunwoo stood next to him, looking uneasy. Seungmin knew that he wasn’t exactly a people person, but he had noticed that Sunwoo tended to get really uncomfortable around too many people. He had done okay at the wedding, but Jeongin had mostly been with him at the time.

“Who are you rooming with, Sunwoo?” Seungmin asked him.

“Jisung,” Sunwoo replied, looking around uneasily.

“It’s going to be fine. This is going to be such a great opportunity to get closer to Jisung,” Jeongin encouraged him. He lowered his voice so others couldn’t listen in. Seungmin tried not to, but he heard Jeongin anyway. “And if it gets too much for you, I’m sure we can switch. Don’t worry too much,” he said reassuringly.

Jeongin faced Seungmin again, smiling. “I’m really excited for this. Since I couldn’t go last year and you guys had all the fun without me,” he pouted playfully, looping his arm through Sunwoo’s.

“Well, this year it’s going to be even more fun. I’m just looking forward to a drama-free weekend. Although I am bummed that I didn’t get to room with Hyunjin,” Seungmin said, looking over to where Hyunjin, Jisung and Renjun were talking and laughing.

“I’m sure the teachers knew what they were doing there,” Jeongin , causing Seungmin to gasp dramatically and Sunwoo to chuckle quietly.

“Come on, you demon! Let’s get inside that tent,” Seungmin said playfully.

Jeongin looked at Sunwoo. “Are you going to be okay?” he asked him, a sliver of worry crossing his features. Sunwoo hesitated for a second before nodding and unhooking his arm from his boyfriend’s.

“I’ll be over there,” he said and quickly pecked Jeongin’s cheek – Seungmin almost cooed when he blushed – before joining Hyunjin, Jisung and Renjun.

“He gets really anxious in new places...” Jeongin said to Seungmin as they made their way into the magically enlarged tent. Much like last year the walls were littered with doors that led to double rooms for all participants.

“I could tell. You seem to have a calming effect on him, though,” Seungmin pointed out.

Jeongin’s cheeks were still a little rosy from earlier but the color deepened a little at Seungmin’s words. “I just try to be there for him. I’m just glad he got Jisung as a roommate and not some douchebag who’s scared of him. This way it might be a little easier for him...”

Seungmin patted Jeongin’s shoulder in a reassuring manner as they made their way into their room. He let Jeongin pick his bed, easily settling for the other. Seungmin had often wondered what exactly had caused the entire school to be so wary of Sunwoo. Hyunjin had never given him many details, not wanting to gossip about his friend. He had heard a few rumors but none of them seemed very plausible.

Since Sunwoo had started going out with Jeongin, Seungmin had gotten to know him a little better and he couldn’t find anything scary about the guy. He was a little clumsy and quick to apologize for anything, whether it was his fault or not, but other than that he just seemed shy and quiet and very fond of Jeongin.

~

“I cannot believe this. I got Sangyeol as a roommate,” Felix complained to Eric, lounging on his bed before group activities started.

“Well, I got Jeno... I can’t say I know him all that well. We never talk to each other outside of class. And even that rarely happens,” Eric pointed out.

Felix sat up on Eric’s bed, cross-legged. “Jeno’s okay. He can be a little overbearing sometimes but all in all he’s a pretty chill roommate,” he said.

“Didn’t he date Jisung?”

“Yeah? But that was ages ago.”

“And Renjun?”

Felix laughed. “What, do you think he’s working his way through our friend group? Are you afraid you might be next?”

Eric swatted at him before sinking down on his bed next to Felix. “Of course not. I just fear it might be awkward, you know? I’m close with them, so... how can I be close with their ex?”

“Aren’t you kinda Jisung’s ex too?” Felix .

“Felix, it wasn’t even like that,” Eric whined. “Am I ever going to live that down?”

Felix grinned widely, throwing an arm around Eric’s shoulders. “Never. I just can’t picture you and Jisung together at all,” he said, thinking out loud.

Eric huffed in fake exasperation. “I hate you,” he said, although there was no bite behind his words.

Jeno entered the room, his eyes falling onto the two of them as he placed his bag onto the other bed. “Am I interrupting something?” he questioned, chuckling.

“Of course not!” Eric protested.

“I heard you like making out in tents. I guess, I was just assuming,” Jeno said, looking at Eric with a raised eyebrow.

Felix rose to his feet, glaring at his fellow Gryffindor. “What the hell, Jeno? Why are you being such an to him?” he demanded but only got an unimpressed grin from him. Felix rolled his eyes and looked back at Eric.

“I guess I should face the music and move in with Sangyeol...” he told the Hufflepuff who nodded, still looking at Jeno.

Felix glared at the other Gryffindor one more time before taking off. He didn’t know why Jeno had acted like that just now. He had sounded almost mean. Felix wasn’t used to him being like that. Maybe it was because he had spent six years as his roommate, but it had surprised him to hear that tone of voice from him.

He just hoped Eric would be okay this weekend.

Felix tried not to groan in annoyance when he entered the room, he would be sharing with Sangyeol and found the Ravenclaw lounging on one bed with a schoolbook in hand while all of his stuff was parked on the other.

“Excuse me, could you maybe pick a side?” Felix asked. Sangyeol looked at him for a second, before re-focusing on his book. Felix huffed. “Hey, did you not hear me?”

When Sangyeol continued to ignore him, Felix took it upon himself to magically lift the Ravenclaw’s bags off his bed and dumped them on top of him.

“Hey, watch it!” Sangyeol complained.

“Oh, would you look at that, he speaks!” Felix snapped. “Maybe don’t ignore me next time. I’m about as thrilled to be stuck here with you as you are with me. Don’t make this any harder than it has to be!”

Sangyeol huffed and dropped his bags on the floor in annoyance. “Whatever. As long as you never interrupt my studies again.”

Felix actually did groan in annoyance this time.

~

Group activities started about an hour after everybody had settled into their rooms. Their first task was to try spotting magical birds by the lake. They were allowed to work in pairs and Eric sought out Felix once again, eager to get away from Jeno.

Jeno hadn’t said much more to Eric after Felix had left but he had felt his eyes on him several times, paired with a scoff here and there. Eric didn’t know what he had ever done to Jeno but he sure as hell wasn’t too anxious to get back to him.

“Everything okay?” Felix asked him, looking at the sky for “magical birds”. They didn’t even know what kind of birds they meant by that.

Eric sighed. “Yeah, I just feel like I’m always on the move, you know? First the wedding now this trip. It seems to me like I haven’t really had all that much time to myself.”

“To think?”

“Oh, I’ve done lots of thinking, believe me. I’m kind of sick of it. But... I don’t know. I kind of want to get started on the whole self-care part of getting over someone. And I haven’t really had the opportunity to do that yet,” Eric explained. “I’m just glad that Juyeon isn’t here this year –”

Eric cut himself off when he heard loud voices. It seemed like Professor Longbottom was trying to talk over a student.

“Mr. Lee, you can’t be here! How did you–”

“I have something important to do here!”

Eric froze when he got a good look at the student who had apparently just waltzed right into their camp.

Juyeon was marching over to the lake, past Professor Longbottom. He wore a determined expression on his face as he came right towards Eric.

“Oh my god, this can’t be happening...” Eric mumbled.

A few students had gathered around at the commotion, now curiously watching the scene unfold. Juyeon came to a halt, out of breath and beet-red in the face.

Eric hadn’t really seen much of Juyeon since their little... fallout two months ago. It was mainly because he had been avoiding him and partly because of the trips he had just mentioned to Felix. Eric couldn’t deny that it hurt to see him, properly see him, after so long.

Juyeon took a deep breath, staring right into Eric’s eyes in a way he used to only ever do with nobody else around. Usually, with this many people around, Juyeon would barely even look at Eric at all, too scared that someone might figure him out. The thought caused a twinge of bitterness to bubble up in his chest.

“What are you doing here, Juyeon? You’re a seventh-year...” Eric finally said, his voice sounding weird, kind of distant even to himself.

Juyeon took another deep breath, opening his mouth to speak. “I came here because...” he cut himself off, seemingly taking in the fact that they had an audience by now. He wavered for a second before snapping out of it. “I was an idiot, Eric. I love you and I should have been able to admit that to myself and to you a long time ago.”

Eric’s mouth fell open, stunned.

“It was at this very camp we had our first kiss. I knew you liked me, and I liked you too, but I was scared, so I kept shutting you out. But I’m ready now, Eric. I’m ready to step up and be the kind of man you’re looking for. I love you.”

Hearing the words, a second time did nothing to dim Eric’s surprise. He heard some people coo and giggle at the great romantic gesture.

“Can we talk about this privately?” Eric finally answered after what felt like several minutes of silence between them. He marched along the lake until he was out of earshot before turning to face Juyeon who had followed him.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Juyeon seemed surprised at his reaction. “I-I wanted to apologize to you. You were right about what you said to me back then. I didn’t treat you the way you deserved, and I shouldn’t have acted like such a jerk to you. It was hard for me to come to terms with... you know, liking guys. But you didn’t deserve to be dragged into my mess...”

Eric touched his own forehead in disbelief. He could not believe this was happening right now. “Look, Juyeon. I understand that; I really do. I’ve been there. I may seem like this confident gay kid now, but I struggled with coming to terms with who I was too,” he explained. Juyeon gave him a hopeful look which just made this all so much harder.

“The thing is, Juyeon... I never expected you to profess your love for me publicly. I never would have asked that of you. And I told you that before, several times even. I only needed you to show me that you love me. Not to everyone else, but just to me. I just wanted you.”

Juyeon took a step towards him. He took both of Eric’s hands into his own. Eric resisted the urge to pull them back. “But I want you too.”

Eric looked down at his feet. “Well, it’s too late now. I can’t do this anymore, Juyeon.”

“But... Eric, I love you...”

The words hit Eric once again like a ton of bricks. But he didn’t feel what he would have felt a year ago. He didn’t feel what he used to feel whenever he had fantasized about this very moment.

“I have had a lot of time to think about everything. After what you called me that day, I felt like I could finally see without the rose-tinted glasses.” Eric was, of course, referring to the part of their argument where Juyeon had told him that he was “ himself out” after finding out that Jisung and Eric had had a thing going on last summer. “I realized that chasing after you has made me miserable. I felt it before, but I kept pushing it back and ignoring it because I thought that maybe you would come around!”

“But I did,” Juyeon argued. “I’m here now, doesn’t that count?” His voice had slightly raised in pitch, sounding desperate.

Eric shook his head miserably. “You know, I’ve had my fair share of flings but with them I always knew what I was getting myself into from the beginning. With you it’s a gamble. Will you ignore me today? Will you kiss me tomorrow? Chasing after you was so tiresome, Juyeon, you have no idea,” Eric said, feeling a twinge of desperation himself.

He didn’t want to have this conversation. He wanted to keep looking for weird magical birds with Felix.

“We had our moments, I admit that. Especially here at this camp. And while I felt amazing during, I... I hated myself afterwards. I was simply taking what I could get. I bent over backwards for you to make you like me. I shamelessly threw myself at you no matter how many times you hurt me and... that just isn’t me. It’s not healthy.”

Juyeon looked like he was about to tear up. Eric hoped to Merlin he wouldn’t. It took all the strength he had for him not to fall apart right here by the shore of this lake.

“What are you saying?” Juyeon finally asked, looking skyward to will away the oncoming tears.

Eric squeezed his hands, his throat dry. “I’m saying that I loved you at some point and I still cherish you as a person. I’m really happy that you’re finally coming to terms with who you are... but I can’t be with you. I think... I think I’m really getting over you...”

“Oh...” was Juyeon’s ingenious response. “Well, I guess I’ve made a fool of myself then...” He retracted his hands.

“Juyeon...”

“No, please don’t say anything. I just... I guess I really did take you for granted. I can’t blame you for not wanting to be with me after I have wasted so much time and made you feel like . I’m really sorry, Eric.”

Eric’s insides squeezed together, and he stepped closer timidly. Despite everything, he had never wanted to hurt Juyeon. But this was the right thing to do.

It felt right.

“Is it okay if I hug you?” he asked. Juyeon smiled faintly and gently reached out to pull Eric into a hug. “I’m sorry too...”

Juyeon pressed a light kiss to the crown of his head but remained silent. Eric figured it was probably better that way.

~

“Do you think Eric is going to be okay?” Jisung asked, watching him and Juyeon from his spot on the rocks right next to the shore several feet away from the scene.

“I sure hope so... I can’t believe Juyeon really came all the way here,” Renjun said, looking over with a worried expression. “I fear that Eric might fall back into that rabbit hole again...”

“No babe, he’s strong. It’s been two months and he’s been doing well...” Jisung said, trying to convince not only Renjun but also himself. He watched as Juyeon hugged Eric and kissed his head. But it didn’t seem very romantic. It looked a lot like a breakup. Jisung knew that from experience.

“They’re coming back,” Renjun pointed out. It was safe to say that they weren’t really fulfilling their assignment right now, but the worry for their friend was a lot bigger than the need for birdwatching. Juyeon went back in the direction of the tent while Eric came over and joined them on the rocks. He looked sad, but not in the same way he had back when Jisung had found him practically crying into his chocolate pudding.

“It’s over...” Eric said.

Jisung was torn between relief that Eric proved to be strong and sympathy for him not getting his well-deserved Happy Ending.

“Are you going to be okay?” Renjun asked Eric who nodded, even attempting a smile.

“Yeah, I really think I will be,” Eric said. He looked back in the direction of the camp where Juyeon was currently getting an earful from the teachers. He sighed and dipped his feet into the water, staring at the way it rippled.

Renjun and Jisung exchanged a look but chose to be silent for now. Eric needed some time to process what had just happened.

~

After a rather fruitless birdwatching session, the students had a quick lunch. The teachers told them that they were free to do what they wanted until dinner time. Afterwards they would split up in teams to collect plants that only grew at night.

Seungmin looked over at Juyeon who was currently getting yelled at by the professors for breaking the rules and coming all the way here. He hadn’t witnessed what had happened between him and Eric but if rumors spread fast in Hogwarts they spread even faster in this little camp. Eric had turned him down.

“Do you want to do something before dinner?” Hyunjin currently asked, him, snapping him out of his thoughts.

“Gladly. I was looking forward to no drama, so I’d be happy to get away from it,” Seungmin told him, taking his hand.

They strolled along the lake for a while. Since options were limited around here, there wasn’t really all that much to do. They even had to postpone their stargazing session to tomorrow night, since they would be required to collect plants all evening.

“I’ve been thinking…” Seungmin trailed off.

“Oh?”

“You know how I always considered a career in magical law?” Hyunjin nodded. “Well, recently I’ve been thinking that I kind of maybe don’t want to do that anymore? I mean, it’s still really fascinating to me but I’m just not sure if that’s what I want to devote my life to…” Seungmin told him.

He had been giving his career aspirations a lot of thought lately, especially after the debacle with Hyunjin’s mother.

“So what would you want to do instead?” Hyunjin questioned.

“I’m not sure… I considered maybe working with kids?”

“Like as a teacher?”

Seungmin shrugged. “Either that or maybe at some sort of youth shelter. You know, to give kids a place to escape.”

Hyunjin halted and looked at him. “This wouldn’t have anything to do with my mother kicking me out, would it?” he asked suspiciously.

Seungmin gave him a sheepish look. “I mean… would that be so bad?”

“No, of course not. But I don’t want my sob story to be the reason you’re not following your dream.”

“Magical law is not my dream per se. It’s just something that interests me. Something I know I’d be good at. But, darling, I’m thinking about how many kids may still grow up in the aftermath of pureblood-mania or how many get kicked out by their parents because they were knocked up,” Seungmin ranted.

“Okay, I don’t think it’s that many-”

“That’s not my point. I just want to help people in a more direct way than magical law.”

Hyunjin looked at him for a moment and Seungmin feared that he might have sounded silly. Then, Hyunjin smiled and pulled him into a hug. “You have the kindest heart, my love. Okay, I’m with you.”

“You are?”

“Of course! I support your dreams like you support mine. And if this is what you want to do with your future, who am I to stand in your way? These kids are lucky.”

Seungmin smiled and stood on his tip toes to kiss Hyunjin’s cheek. “Thanks, darling. I love you.”

~

“So you sent lover boy home? Pretty cruel…” Jeno commented the next morning when Eric was about to grab his stuff to get ready for the day.

“What’s it to you, Jeno?” he asked, resigned.

Jeno huffed, like he usually did in Eric’s presence. “I just figured, since you were so into the guy-”

“Look, I don’t know what I did to piss you off so much, but I really don’t want to discuss my failed attempt of a relationship with you, if that’s alright.” With that Eric left the tent and proceeded to get ready somewhere else.

Outside, he ran into Sunwoo and Jeongin who were about to head to breakfast from the looks of it.

“Oh, hey Eric. Everything alright?” Jeongin asked him.

Eric grinned widely to keep from alarming them. “Peachy. Hey, I figured we could have a quiet little party later. Nothing wild, just a few games and stuff. You in?”

Sunwoo and Jeongin exchanged a glance. Eric noticed that Sunwoo seemed a little reluctant. He and Jeongin seemed to communicate with just their eyes.

“If it’s really nothing too wild, then we’re in,” Sunwoo finally said. Jeongin smiled widely and nodded in agreement.

“Perfect!”

Eric made his way around the camp to invite the rest of his inner circle to the party as well. They would meet at the lake later, make a little bonfire – well, Felix would since he was the only one who could be trusted not to accidentally burn everything to the ground - and play some games.

A get-together with his friends was just what Eric needed right now. He hadn’t lied to Renjun and Jisung when he had told them that he would be okay. It was just that he did feel bad for rejecting Juyeon like that.

He knew it was the right thing to do but the thought of hurting Juyeon pained him.

~

That evening, as all their friends gathered around the bonfire. Jisung suggested a game of dare or dare. He knew he would most likely end up being the one who would have to carry out the most embarrassing dare, but he was among friends, so he didn’t really mind.

The first few dares were all rather harmless; embarrassing dances, sitting on laps, a kiss here and there. Nothing they hadn’t done before. Even Sunwoo seemed to be having fun.

“Alright guys, let’s spice it up a little, shall we?” Eric said conspiratorially. Jisung almost made a face. Eric’s idea of “spicing things up” might end up getting them into huge trouble.

“What did you have in mind?” Hyunjin asked carefully.

Eric grinned widely which did absolutely nothing to calm Jisung.

“I overheard Longbottom talking to someone about a haunted shack on the other side of this lake. Not unlike our very own Shrieking Shack but this one is said to be even creepier!”

“Nope, I’m out!” Jisung announced. “I hate the Shrieking Shack, I’m not going to cross the lake to look at another version of it!”

Eric laughed. “Come on, don’t be a baby! It’ll be fun!”

“Your definition of fun is slightly different from mine,” Jisung pointed out.

“How about this, we spin this stupid bottle four times and determine who is going to accompany Eric across the lake?” Seungmin suggested, holding up one of the empty butterbeer bottles they had consumed over the course of the evening.

“And if it lands only on me?” Eric asked.

Now it was Seungmin’s turn to grin. “Then you go alone,” he said. “The area isn’t that scary unless, of course, you run into a boggart.”

Eric gulped but he nodded anyway. “Alright then, spin the bottle!”

Seungmin complied. The bottle spun wildly for a few seconds before slowing down and eventually coming to a halt on Sunwoo whose shoulders slumped.

“I knew it,” he said.

“I’m going too, then,” Jeongin announced. “I’m taking up the second slot.”

“You don’t have-”

“I know but I want to,” Jeongin said with determination and reached out to spin the bottle again.

Jisung watched in anticipation as it came to a halt again and landed on none other than himself. He pulled a face. Renjun patted his shoulder in consolation. Jisung almost wished that he would offer to come along too.

“Alright, last one,” Eric announced. Jisung spun the bottle with great reluctance. This time it landed on Seungmin whose eyes widened for a split second before he schooled his expression back to nonchalance.

“Then it’s settled,” Seungmin said. “How are we getting across the lake though?”

Eric rose to his feet. “Worry not, I have thought of everything,” he said. He pulled a miniature paper boat out of his pocket and presented it proudly. “Felix, if you please…”

Felix chuckled and rose to his feet, pointing his wand at the boat. Moments later it floated on the water, solid wood and spacious enough for five people.

“Don’t get yourselves killed please,” Felix said to Eric who only waved off.

Hyunjin looked a little uneasy, glancing at the boat and then Seungmin. “Look, I know you’re not scared of anything or whatever but that won’t stop me from worrying…”

Seungmin smiled and patted his biceps. “I’ll be fine,” he assured Hyunjin. “These losers need me,” he added playfully. He gave Hyunjin a hug before determinedly marching towards the boat.

Jisung couldn’t even take offense to Seungmin’s claim but he would feel a tad bit safer with his boyfriend who could turn into a humongous dog, if he was quite honest.

“Will you be alright?” said boyfriend asked him.

“A dare is a dare, right? Don’t worry, Eric will probably get bored and turn around halfway across the lake…” Jisung said, more to assure himself.

Renjun cupped his face and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips. “You better not get yourself into trouble, you hear me!”

Jisung grinned, albeit a little nervously. “Me? Trouble? Babe, who do you take me for?”

Renjun rolled his eyes playfully and gave Jisung a gentle push in the direction of the boat.

~

As it turned out, Eric did not get bored halfway through. He magically enhanced the boat’s speed which helped them cross the lake in what felt like no time. Jisung dreaded this haunted shack but he didn’t want to seem like a wimp.

“Eric, I think the weather is getting kinda bad,” Seungmin pointed out. It was dark, darker than before and a few drops of rain had already descended upon them.

Eric waved off. “What’s a little rain?”

Sunwoo looked pale, even in the dark. “Maybe we should turn around. I don’t think I should be here…”

“Sunwoo, it’s okay. This isn’t your doing,” Jeongin said quietly. Jisung furrowed his brows at his words. Why would it be Sunwoo’s doing if it rained?

As they neared the shore the weather got even worse. Sunwoo was grabbing tightly onto Jeongin’s hand, refusing to let go. Maybe he was simply scared of stormy weather. Seungmin and Eric remained calm which helped Jisung pretend to stay calm as well.

“We’re here,” Eric announced. The other side of the lake didn’t look much different from theirs. It was simply lacking the camp. And it looked a lot creepier in the dark. “It’s a little into the woods.”

Jisung contemplated voicing his protest once more for good measure when the wind suddenly picked up. The boat sloshed around in the water as rain came down heavy.

“Eric… the weather is really bad now. Maybe it’d be wiser to turn around before-”

Seungmin’s concerns were drowned out when their little boat was suddenly ripped from its magical restraint and sloshed out onto the lake, out of their reach.

“Can’t someone get it back?” Jisung asked.

Seungmin fumbled for his wand and pointed at the boat. “Accio boat!”

But it wouldn’t come back.

“There’s lots of negative energy here…” Sunwoo suddenly said eerily. His words made a shudder run down Jisung’s back that had nothing to do with the rain.

Eric looked frightened for the first time since they got here. “Alright, I think we should look for that shack. At this point we just need shelter more than anything else,” he pointed out.

Jisung still wasn’t too fond of the thought of seeking out that godawful shack, but it was better than staying out here, especially when the first rumbles of thunder sounded in the sky.

~

“Can you see anything?” Hyunjin asked rather frantically. Renjun shook his head and narrowed his eyes, trying to make out anything indicating the return of their friends. The weather had gone from nice evening breeze to torrential rain in the span of minutes.

Felix ran a hand through his drenched hair. “What are we going to do?”

“We should alert the teachers…” Hyunjin suggested.

Renjun wanted to find another way, but he was unable to think, his worry for Jisung too strong. “Yeah okay... let’s go.”

Needless to say, the teachers were anything but happy to be woken up with the news of students having crossed an unfamiliar lake during a storm. Renjun expected a right earful once they were brought back safely but he didn’t care about that at the moment.

“You’re going back to your respective rooms right this instant while we handle the situation!” Professor Longbottom demanded, his voice uncharacteristically stern.

“But Professor, we want to help-”

“You’ve done enough!” Longbottom interrupted Hyunjin’s protests. “Go to bed!”

Renjun, Hyunjin and Felix exchanged worried glances but they knew there was no convincing Longbottom. Downtrodden, they returned to the tent but instead of returning to their own rooms, Felix came along to Hyunjin’s and Renjun’s.

“We can’t just sit around here,” Felix stated while absent-mindedly performing a drying charm on all three of them. Renjun hadn’t even noticed how his clothes and hair had stuck to his body but now he appreciated the dryness.

“There might be a way I could get out there…” he spoke up, looking at his friends.

“What do you mean?” Hyunjin asked.

“There’s something I should tell you,” Renjun said. His human form couldn’t do much good, he couldn’t even see properly. But if he were to go back out in his dog form, he might track Jisung and the others down. “I’m an unregistered animagus?”

It came out as more of a question because he wasn’t sure how his friends would react. He recalled his nervousness the night he had told Jisung about it and promptly realized how many secrets he had been keeping from his best friend.

Hyunjin’s and Felix’ jaws dropped at the revelation. “What? Since when?”

“Since last year. I could sneak out and try to find them,” Renjun suggested impatiently. He turned into his dog form and registered his friends’ surprised gasps.

“Wicked,” Felix muttered.

“True, but as cool as this is, it’s also dangerous. You’re unregistered and if the teachers find out they’re obligated to turn you over to the Ministry.”

Renjun turned back and sat down on his bed. Hyunjin was right. It was risky but it didn’t sit right with him to leave his friends out in that storm when he could very well do something about it.

“I hate that you’re right…”

“I’m sure they’re going to be fine. If they made it across the lake, they might have made it to the shack,” Felix reasoned.

~

“This is all my fault…” Sunwoo agonized.

Their little group of five had managed to find the shack and climb in through a window. It was creepy but it seemed void of any ghosts or worse, wild animals. Seungmin was glad that they had managed to find shelter from the storm.

“Sunwoo, why would any of this be your fault?” Jisung asked.

Jeongin had sat down next to Sunwoo and was holding his hand again. Sunwoo’s head was lowered and he looked genuinely ashamed. “It never would have come this far if I weren’t with you…”

“Sunwoo…” Jeongin protested.

“If anything this is my fault,” Eric spoke up. “I’m sorry you guys.”

“But the weather-” Sunwoo began.

“Is not your doing,” Jeongin insisted.

Seungmin looked at them questioningly. Sunwoo always seemed so quick to blame himself whenever things went wrong, Seungmin had observed that several times before. He just wanted to know why.

Sunwoo caught his gaze and promptly lowered his head again. “You’ll hate me if I tell you…”

“Sunwoo, that’s ridiculous. Nobody hates you. We’re your friends,” Seungmin assured him. Jeongin squeezed Sunwoo’s hand as if to emphasize his words.

Sunwoo hesitated. He gazed at each of them before taking a big breath. “I’m cursed.”

A pause.

“Wait what?” Eric finally spoke up.

“It’s some kind of ancient family curse. I don’t quite understand everything myself but it’s basically why I’m so unlucky. I attract dark magic and misfortune, healing doesn’t work well on me… all of that.”

“But Sunwoo… cursed or not, we don’t blame you for what happened today. And look, we’re all fine,” Jisung assured him. “Same goes for you, Eric. Don’t beat yourself up!”

“I just hope the weather lets up soon so we can try getting the boat back again,” Seungmin mumbled. “Otherwise we’ll have to wait for the others to send help…”

Seungmin noticed Jeongin and Sunwoo mumbling amongst themselves. Jeongin really did seem to have a calming effect on Sunwoo. Seungmin hadn’t expected Sunwoo’s timidness to stir from a curse but it all made much more sense now. The rumors and Sunwoo’s proneness to apologize for every little misfortune.

Seungmin felt bad for him.

“What are we going to do until we can get out of here?” Eric now asked. “I certainly lost the will to explore this shack. If there’s something creepy in here I want it to stay hidden.”

“That’s the first good idea you had all night,” Jisung agreed. “I’m definitely not going to sleep a wink.”

“Then we should just talk, I guess. Pretend we’re still around that bonfire…” Seungmin suggested. He thought about Hyunjin who was probably worried sick about him. He wished he knew how to send him a message with his patronus. That would make things easier.

“Alright then, Jisung; how are things with Renjun?” Jeongin asked.

Jisung spluttered. “They’re good. Wow, I’m not used to people directly addressing me about that yet.”

Seungmin chuckled fondly at his blushing friend. “You have yet to give us any details.”

“I’ve heard the details,” Eric threw in, grinning from ear to ear, “they involve lots of shed clothing!”

Jisung swatted at him. “It was not like that!” Eric only cackled. “Anyway, Renjun and I are great. Let’s not talk about me!”

“Aw, come on. We’ve discussed all of our relationships at length! It’s your turn! You’ve been holding out on us for months,” Jeongin pleaded.

Jisung chuckled. “That was the plan.”

“I cannot believe you two had a secret romance going on right under my nose,” Seungmin threw in. Of course, he had taken notice of Jisung’s crush in the beginning of the school year and the increased amount of time he spent with Renjun over the course of the last few months. But he never would have expected them to be dating all this time.

“It was fun most of the time. Except for the time Jeno hit on me a while ago. We had this huge fight about it. I did want to tell you guys sometimes but most of the time I just loved having him to myself,” Jisung explained, an almost dreamy smile plastered on his face.

“Right, what’s Jeno’s deal anyway? He’s been an absolute to me since we got here,” Eric pointed out.

Jisung raised an eyebrow. “How do you mean?”

Eric pouted and crossed his arms over his chest. “I mean in the form of snarky remarks as well as a lot of huffing and a lot of staring.”

Surprisingly, Jisung laughed at Eric’s explanation. Seungmin shot him a confused look. Jeongin and Sunwoo also seemed a little confused.

“Oh my sweet, sweet Eric,” Jisung said, clutching his chest dramatically. “It seems Jeno has developed a crush on you. Should I be offended that he is working his way through my friend group?” Eric’s confused expression made Jisung laugh even harder.

“Why would he act like that if he had a crush on Eric?” Jeongin asked, still looking confused. “If I like someone I don’t treat them like that.” He shot a quick look at Sunwoo and blushed.

“Jeno is a sweet guy but when it comes to feelings he can be a little… I don’t want to say dense… but let’s say he doesn’t really handle them well,” Jisung said knowingly. “He gets a bit passive-aggressive sometimes which might make him seem like an .”

“He’s acting like an ,” Eric mumbled. “He was being kind of mean about me dumping Juyeon…” His face shifted for a moment at the mention of Juyeon’s name but he recovered quickly.

“Oh god, I can’t believe this…” Jisung said, still laughing. “Although, I can’t say I’m opposed to this.”

Eric guffawed. “Are you kidding? Aside from the fact that I’m over guys in general, I’m not even interested in him.”

“He’s kind of cute, though,” Seungmin spoke up, earning himself a few confused looks from the others. “What? Only because Hyunjin and I are…”

“Practically married,” Jisung threw in.

Seungmin gestured in his direction as a form of confirmation, “…doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate anyone’s looks!”

“Cute or not, I’m not starting anything with Jeno! That would be weird. What would we even talk about? How Jisung is in bed?”

Now it was Jisung’s time to splutter. “Hey! Jeno and I never-” he cut himself off and mildly punched Eric in the shoulder, “I hate you!”

Seungmin laughed at his friends’ banter. It almost did feel like a bonfire night and not like they were seeking shelter from a storm in a supposedly haunted shack.

“You guys are weird,” Sunwoo suddenly pointed out. Eric and Jisung halted their bickering for a moment to look back at him before all five of them burst out laughing.

~

Eric hadn’t meant to fall asleep.

He was awoken by a loud clatter and the voice of Professor Longbottom. “Boys, is everyone alright?”

“Professor?” Jeongin’s sleepy voice asked.

“Come on out of here, the storm has passed. Let’s get you back to the camp!” Longbottom said, clearly relieved to have found them. “You’re in for a big earful, I hope you know that! How could you cross the lake in the middle of the night in that kind of weather?”

“We’re sorry, Professor,” Seungmin said. “The weather got bad really quickly and it was wiser for us to just stay here instead of turning back.”

Eric rubbed the sleep from his eyes and got to his feet. “I take full responsibility. It was my idea to come here, Professor. I’m really sorry.”

Professor Longbottom shot him a disappointed look similar to the one he had received for throwing a secret Halloween party. “That’s 30 points from Hufflepuff then. 20 each from Slytherin and Ravenclaw.”

Eric and Jeongin exchanged a surprised look. They would have expected a bigger punishment than just a few points deducted from their houses.

“Don’t give me that look. You’re lucky I was put in charge of your punishment. Otherwise it would have been detention until the end of the year!” Longbottom told them, as though he had read their minds. “Come on now, let’s get you back.”

~

“Thank Merlin, you’re okay!”

“Honestly, I was this close to swimming to the other side!”

Eric chuckled fondly as he watched Hyunjin and Renjun fawn over their respective boyfriends. He wondered what it would have been like if he had someone waiting for him on this side of the lake.

He made his way to the tent to change out of last night’s clothes and was surprised to find Jeno jumping to his feet when he entered. He thought back to Jisung’s assumption and heat rose to his cheeks.

“Hey…”

“Hi…” Jeno said awkwardly. “I’m… uh, I’m glad you’re okay.”

Eric looked at him, surprised. Jeno stood there, fidgeting with his hands while giving him a sheepish look.

“Thanks, I guess.”

Jeno scratched the back of his head. “At first I thought you didn’t come back because of how I acted towards you… I’m really sorry for that, by the way. I shouldn’t have mocked your, um, thing? With Juyeon…”

Eric hadn’t not expected an apology. He didn’t even know what to say to that. Eventually, however, he settled for: “It’s alright, Jeno. Don’t worry about it.”

Jeno seemed relieved to hear that and smiled at him. It was such a stark contrast from his demeanor the past few days that Eric almost got a little dizzy.

“So, how long’s your detention?”

Eric grinned. “Didn’t get any. Longbottom was too relieved about not finding us dead, so he just deducted a few points from our houses.”

Jeno laughed incredulously. “You really are a lucky one, aren’t you. How do you always get away with everything?”

Eric just shrugged. “You just need to know how to do it.”

~

“So much for drama free, huh?” Hyunjin asked when they boarded the bus back to Hogwarts. Seungmin was kind of glad that it was over. Although this year’s trip had not scared him half as much as last year.

“Well, I did have my fun. Learned some new things too,” he said secretively.

“Believe it or not, so did I,” Hyunjin agreed and threw a short glance over to where Jisung and Renjun had gotten comfortable in their seats.

“Were we really only apart for one night?” Seungmin asked, laughing. “Merlin, I hope this was the last camping trip. I think two are enough for a lifetime!”

“I couldn’t agree more, my love.”