The first time Jongdae enters the Platform 9 ¾ , he is in pain. His little hands are clutching his right knee, straight eyebrows pulled together and there are tears threatening to fall. Jongdae sniffs embarrassed - he stumbled while running through the barrier. Then he lost the grip of his luggage cart and fell, hearing the rattling sound of wheels on cobblestone and followed by a crash. With blurry eyes he searches for the cart and finds it a bit to his left -  rolling back to him after bouncing off the wall behind it. Great.

“Oh my god!” Jongdae hears steps behind him. “Are you okay? Here, let me help you.”

A blonde boy stretches his hand out to him and looks at him with big eyes. Jongdae takes the hand and stands up, knee stinging at the movement.

“Thank-” He has to clear his throat and his cheeks redden embarrassed. “Thank you …”

“No problem! Is that luggage cart yours?” A finger points at said cart trundling in their direction, Jongdae nods and follows the boy to it. They heave two suitcases which tumbled down back onto the cart and Jongdae mumbles another thank you.

The boy sends him a big smile, but then his eyebrows shoot up and he gasps.

“Oh my, I didn’t introduce myself! I’m Junmyeon, pleased to meet you!”

“I’m Jongdae.” Too shy to shake hands after embarrassing himself, he starts to push the cart - but stops the second he realizes where he actually is.

Platform 9 ¾ !

There is a huge train, coloured in black and red, emitting big white puffs of smoke in front of him. It looks old but in good condition and the air is surprisingly hot and humid. 

With a sudden realization, he registers how noisy it is. People walk around, children whine to their parents because they don’t want to leave. Older ones chat with their friends while dragging luggage into the train, seemingly eager to enter a compartment.

“Are your parents waiting somewhere or who are you trying to find?” Junmyeon’s voice distracts him from the flood of overwhelming impressions. He has to swallow before speaking.

“No, I’m here on my own.”

“Oh, wow! You’re so brave.” The boy’s eyes grow wide. “My parents won’t let me go alone, even if Hyung is with me!”

Not knowing what to say since Jongdae is the older sibling, he shrugs with a small smile.

“Anyways, come! You can sit with me and my brother if you want.”

Junmyeon walks ahead and he follows him with timid steps. His knee is still stinging and Jongdae has problems to push his luggage cart through the mass of people, past bird cages and suitcases. The blonde boy is fast, wriggling himself through the crowd and an almost collision with another cart causes Jongdae to lose him out of sight.

He stops and looks around, but he can’t see with his petite height. Bodies move around him and it appears like one big, ever-changing entity. Now without someone to follow and surrounded by unfamiliar people, he feels alone.

Biting his bottom lip, Jongdae tries to be strong and thinks about what to do next. He got onto the platform through this weird barrier, now he has to get onto the train - to go to Hogwarts. Hogwarts! The school for wizards and witches - with magic! He still feels stunned, amazed that he’ll learn about spells and potions. With magical animals and-

The ringing of a bell interrupts his thoughts and it seems that everyone hurries to the train. After a deep inhale, he pushes his cart in the direction of the next entrance, but there’s a shout of his name. He turns around, in hope to see the only familiar face in this crowd.

“Jongdae!”

There, to his left! 

Two boys jog in his direction, one of them is pushing a cart and he can recognize the right one as Junmyeon, who waves with a big grin. They have both short, blonde hair and a similar height.

“Hey, Jongdae! There you are.” Junmyeon keeps smiling. “Sorry that you got lost, but I noticed too late.”

Jongdae mumbles an “It’s okay.”, already comforted by the thought that he isn’t alone anymore.

“Hello, Jongdae.” The second boy smiles at him. “I’m Minseok, Jun’s older brother. Junmyeon didn’t stop talking about a boy he lost to the crowd, I’m glad we found you. He said you are here on your own?” Jongdae nods and blushes, when Minseok’s smile shows his gums. “Then sit with us! The drive will take a while. Mum packed some sweets we can share, so you don’t have to buy any.”

Jongdae smiles at the mention of sweets.

“Thank you!”

He gets two broad grins as an answer and together they drag their luggage onto the train. Moments later, Jongdae’s sitting in a compartment with the two brothers and eats the candy they’re sharing with him. His curled lips form a smile throughout the whole train ride - grateful to be in such a friendly company.

When Jongdae exits the train, he’s dragging his two suitcases to a place where they won’t be in the way of others. Out of instinct, he searches for his little brother in the crowd but doesn’t see him. Hopefully Jongin finds him soon, so that they don’t let their mother wait too long. Baekhyun followed him outside and is now chuckling to himself about a potion pun.

“That reminds me - how often did our cauldron explode?”

“I don’t know, Baek.” Jongdae laughs while putting his luggage onto a cart. “I stopped counting after the tenth.”

“It was fifty-eight times. Fifty-eight.” A grumpy voice comments. “And you’ve got enough detention to last into next year.”

“Minseok-hyung!” Baekhyun’s voice is strained because he’s hauling his suitcase onto another luggage cart. “Stop being so stuffy!”

“Only when you stop being such pranksters.”

“Never! What would Hogwarts be without us two - right, DaeDae?”

Jongdae finishes securing his suitcases and smiles at his friends.

“It certainly would be quieter.”

“Ah, that does sound love-” Minseok gets interrupted by a woman calling Baekhyun’s name. She’s waiting at a distance and waves at them with a forced smile.

Baekhyun sighs.

“I’m sorry, guys.” He turns away from his cart and hugs Minseok. “Time to get back to my own personal prison cell.”

“You’ll survive, Baek.” Minseok’s voice sounds amused. “You always do.” Baekhyun lets go with a laugh.

“But at what cost!” He looks up and wipes an invisible tear away. Jongdae walks closer with a huff and hugs his dramatic friend. With his lips close to his right ear, he whispers,

“Please think about it … Don’t decide too fast.”

Baekhyun hums and hugs him back. “Don’t worry, DaeDae. I’ll tell you first.”

Jongdae nods, releases his grip on Baekhyun’s shoulders and steps back next to Minseok.

“We’ll see each other in - what? Only two months! That’ll be our fourth year, Baek. Let’s plan some mischief until then.” Jongdae grins.

Baekhyun nods with a laugh and starts pushing his luggage cart to his mother.

“Goodbye, guys!”

Jongdae and Minseok wave, Baekhyun sends them a last sad look and then he’s gone through the barrier.

Jongdae sighs.

“Why does every time we say goodbye feels like we’ll never see each other again?”

Minseok chuckles, a grin on his lips.

“Maybe, because you’d actually want that.”

“Hyung, don’t say that!”Jongdae shoves his shoulder lightly with an affronted look. “I feel the same with you!”

At this, Minseok’s eyes get a strange warmth to them, but a second later his smile weakens and his expression turns insecure. Jongdae notices the change with worry and hugs his Hyung, trying to comfort him about their separation.

“Like you said, we’ll survive.” He nuzzles his nose into Minseok’s hair and adds with a grin, “Ah, and it’s not like we’ll see each other in three weeks at yours~” 

There’s a chuckle against his cheek, but it sounds strained and Jongdae frowns. Distancing himself, he looks at Minseok and sees him avoiding eye-contact with flushed ears. He knows this behaviour.

“Hyung, why are you nervous?”

“I’m not nervous.” His red ears betray him though.

“Please, don’t lie to me, Hyung.” Jongdae sends him a pleading look. “You can talk to me, you know that.”

“Dae, I-” Minseok swallows and doesn’t talk further. Jongdae gets an idea of why he’d be acting strange.

“Do you have doubts about our holiday plans? You know, we don’t have to go camping if you’re uncomfortable. Or I don’t have to visit at all, if you want more time for yourself. We talked ab-”

His words get interrupted by Minseok kissing him.

Stunned, Jongdae stares at his Hyung’s face - his lashes seem so much longer from this proximity. There are some new pimples at his left temple and his cheeks are crimson and so are his ears. Oh, and Minseok’s ing lips are on his own!

It’s only a light pressure and the second he starts to appreciate the softness and warmth of it, Minseok pulls back and hugs him.

With his face hiding in Jongdae’s neck, he starts to mumble.

“I’m sorry, Dae. I-I thought a lot about this and … you never showed any sign of attraction to someone. So I hoped ... You-You care so much about me …” Minseok hugs him tighter. “I thought that-that maybe you’d also want more? Everybody already says we’re like a couple … so I-I thought ... why not put a label on it?”

Jongdae’s mind is still all jumbled and dazed, so he only answers: “It’s put a name on it, Hyung.”

Minseok chuckles and withdraws, looking at his feet with still blushed cheeks and ears.

“You’re not running away, so I take that as a good sign.” His words are still mumbled and he takes a deep breath before he continues. “What do you think … about us being boyfriends?”

Jongdae’s mouth opens, but there are no words.

Now that it’s his turn to talk, all he can do is stare at Minseok. At his vulnerable eyes and blushed cheeks. Jongdae bites his lips and averts his gaze. With the view of broad shoulders in a grey shirt, his overwhelmed mind starts to form coherent thoughts.

The short kiss felt nice … but this would change a lot, right? Even if people think they’re already acting like boyfriends - Jongdae didn’t. 

But would he like to think that? He just wants to care for his Hyung, to make sure he’s healthy and happy. If they’d be a couple - would Minseok want other things from him? Jongdae’s only thirteen - he’s not sure about what he’s comfortable with in a romantic relationship. He can’t really assess what’s to come if their friendship changes and the uncertainty scares him. 

Maybe asking someone for their opinion on it would help him? Perhaps Baekhyun? Or should he ask his mother? Even if it’ll be awkward …

His silence causes Minseok to look at him with scared eyes, trying to get assuring eye-contact and it hurts him to see that. Jongdae has to swallow before he speaks, his mouth is dry.

“I-I don’t know, Hyung. This is so sudden … and I like being a friend to you.” The scared look turns sad and Jongdae sends him a small smile, trying to cover up the confusion in his own heart. “This is not a rejection, Min. I just … I need to think about it. Can I tell you when we’ll see each other next month?”

Minseok bites his lips and nods, eyes set on the ground. Jongdae’s heart throbs at the heartbroken expression. He doesn’t know how to proceed - how do you say goodbye after such a confession?

“Hyung!”

Both their heads snap up, but it’s Jongdae who gets enclosed in arms. He shifts to get more comfortable because he recognizes the brown mop of hair at his shoulder. It belongs to Jongin, but before he can return the hug properly, he already gets dragged away. 

“Mum is waiting, Hyung. We have to go!”

Jongin lets go of his arm and pushes the luggage cart into the direction of the barrier, but Jongdae doesn’t follow him. He turns around to look back at Minseok, who is watching him with a now grim expression - eyes watery. He wants to comfort his Hyung, but doesn’t know how. 

All Jongdae does is wave one last time with a tense smile, then he joins his brother at the barrier - pushing the cart through it with a stinging heart.