Summary: heejin has a fear of birds and hyunjin has quidditch trials. good thing they have each other!

~

Spending a summer with almost to no practicing of magic has left Heejin feeling restless. As the last week of summer vacation rolls around, the girl already has her suitcase packed and she struggles to sleep at night due to her racing thoughts about returning back to Hogwarts and her friends.

When her parents send her off at Platform 9 ¾, they can barely fit in a kiss goodbye before Heejin runs off with her cart and through the brick pillar.

Heejin’s mother almost cries at the way her daughter’s eyes shines. It reminds her of when she was a young witch, innocent and eager to learn and grow. Her mother can only hope that Heejin would send letters back to them consistently the way she did the year prior. Heejin’s mother recalls how most of the birds at Eeylops Owl Emporium terrified her daughter, except for one that sat calmly and silently. Its eyes followed the pair around as they perused (with Heejin tucked under her mother’s arm) and when Heejin had lifted her head at the slightest bit and met its eyes, her heart didn’t feel frantic with fear or terror. Slowly approaching the white snowy owl and not feeling at all scared, Heejin knew that this one would be the one for her.

Now at Hogwarts Express, Heejin feels like a part of her could breathe a sigh of relief. Chaewon had mailed her earlier on in the week that she would be waiting at the platform for her with Hyejoo and Yerim in tow. Heejin only barely finds the trio, or rather, the trio finds her. Chaewon’s high voice rises above the low clamor of students and there besides the girl, two taller ones stand beside her. The tallest one wears her face at a blank while the shorter one smiles and brings Jiwoo to Heejin’s mind. Their smiles are so similar: bright and warm, as if the world could never touch them with its cruelty. Approaching them, Heejin doesn’t feel the mess of nerves she felt last year the first time she approached Chaewon. Giving the girl a hug and waving an introduction towards Hyejoo and Yerim, Heejin feels her heart float at the sight of her friend.

Boarding the train, Jungeun and Jiwoo have already claimed a compartment. With them, Jinsol and Yves are talking animatedly about their summer vacations. Heejin briefly hears about dragons and flying through forests and she couldn’t help but to think that muggle vacations soaking the sun up at beaches paled in comparison. As well, Haseul and Vivi talk amongst each other and Heejin is quick to notice the drastically short length of Haseul’s hair and the red dye in Vivi’s. (Heejin makes a note to herself to compliment them generously once she gets the opportunity to talk to them for longer than just a greeting.)

In the compartment next to them, Hyunjin sits alone with her eyes scanning the card that comes with chocolate frogs. Blurred in her excitement, the rapid beating of her heart gets taken for adrenaline. Heejin just barely slams the compartment door open and the way Hyunjin jumps in her seat (and loses her chocolate frog) brings a bubble of laughter to the Gryffindor. With her arms wide open and her smile blooming on her lips like peonies do in the spring, Hyunjin too, can’t stop the smile that mirrors her friend’s. Hugging her, Heejin thinks the chiming of Hyunjin’s laugh might be one of the greatest sounds on earth. When Chaewon jokingly nudges Heejin’s back to enter the compartment, the two almost topple over from their lack of balance.

When the pair sit down, Hyunjin finally notices the two additions trailing Chaewon.

“So, is this the famous Hyejoo and Yerim I’ve been hearing about?”

The taller one raises her eyebrows and the slightest quirk of her lips brings a pink blush on Chaewon’s cheeks, “You talk about us often, Chaewon?”

The older girl sputters a bit before she mutters, “So what if I do? You’re my friends, of course I’m going to talk about you.”

Yerim, ever the sunshine she is, beams even more and hugs the girl from behind and slips a kiss on her cheek before laughing. When Chaewon’s cheeks turn a shade more scarlet, Heejin is keen to notice the endeared smile on Hyejoo’s lips. As the trio sit in front of Heejin and Hyunjin, the five launch into conversations about the summer and their stories.

As expected, Hyunjin spent a hefty amount of time of her vacation flying and practicing for quidditch trials. Hyunjin is nothing but determined and driven to get on the Slytherin team. Heejin knows confidently, despite only knowing the girl for a year, that a determined Hyunjin could get whatever she wanted. Heejin has no doubt that she will make the team. When Hyunjin fiddles with her fingers and casts her eyes downward when talking about tryouts, Heejin makes a promise to herself to be Hyunjin’s cheerleader, no matter what, even if she would be the only one. (Heejin thinks ten other girls would have no hesitancy to join. Even Yeojin, despite never meeting Hyunjin, has learned enough about them thanks to Haseul.)

(Before leaving to school, Yeojin complained Haseul’s ear off about not being old enough to attend Hogwarts. Haseul could only sit and listen while her sister pouted and whined. Haseul figures that if she were her, she would do the same.)

It isn’t long until Jiwoo (and Jungeun) slide open their compartment doors and greets them. Jiwoo is just as bright as ever, and Jungeun, as calm. (That is until Chaewon notices the addition of Jungeun’s bottom braces, comments on them, and Jiwoo starts to coo at how the girl lisps.)

Jinsol, Yves, and Vivi are the next to greet them and they are just as pleasant as Heejin remembers. (This is when Heejin starts playing with Vivi’s hair and tells her that it looks wonderful on her. Vivi’s smile grows and it only makes her hair look even better. Heejin also makes a promise to get her to smile more often.)

Like the year before, Haseul is the last to greet them and welcome them with open arms. Seamlessly throughout her first year, Haseul became someone Heejin found a home in--perhaps it was her comforting embrace and her warm smile.

(It definitely was.)

~

The Great Hall is buzzed, full with conversation and laughter. Headmaster Kim had welcomed students, commenced the sorting ceremony (Hyejoo was placed in Slytherin, Yerim in Hufflepuff), and the feast then began.

Heejin catches Hyejoo lingering around with Hyunjin and when the latter meets her eyes, the smile on her lips is genuine and charming. (The flipping of Heejin’s heart doesn’t alert her. Her heart has always gone a bit haywire whenever Hyunjin was involved.)

With Haseul’s arms looped in between Heejin and Chaewon’s, who are now second-years, Heejin sees Jiwoo dragging Vivi and Yerim through The Great Hall towards the direction of their house. The Gryffindor thinks the three will get along perfectly. With Jiwoo’s general disposition, Vivi’s unconditional kindness, and Yerim’s already apparent brightness, Hufflepuff and its members are already a house to consider befriending. Behind her, Jungeun, Jinsol, and Sooyoung linger behind at The Great Hall with their house and she barely catches the sight of Jinsol telling a funny story and Heejin can tell it’s humorous because Jungeun’s face scrunches up into a laugh and Sooyoung bumps into Jinsol’s shoulder with her contagious smile bracing her lips and Heejin is so incredibly grateful that she could look in a room and be graced with the image of her friends’ happiness.

(Also at this time, Heejin takes to playing with Haseul’s hair and placing it on top of her lips like a mustache and speaks with the countryside dialect that her father talks with that Haseul loves so much. She then tells the girl that she looks beautiful with her new hair. Haseul laughs, but, Heejin can see how