The academic advisor that Mina’d met with before the start of the school year had warned her that her sixth year would be a tough one. At the time, Mina had almost shrugged off the warning— she’d never had much difficulty in her studies, so why should she start being concerned now? (Then again, if what her former classmates had said was true, she’d never earned the high marks she received... Maybe she should be concerned now that she was at a new school?)

Regardless, Mina quickly learned that the academic advisor was absolutely correct in everything she said. Even though it was only the first few weeks of classes, already Mina was being bombarded with ridiculously lengthy reading assignments and 15-page papers on subjects that even she found to be exhaustingly trivial. At Mahoutokoro, Mina had never struggled to keep up with her work— on the contrary, she often found herself with an excess of free time, free time that served as a painful reminder of how lonely she was. Hogwarts proved to be a different story, however.

It seemed to be cruel irony at its finest, that now she finally had real friends (or at least the closest she could get to the real thing), she barely had any free time to spend with them. Every day Sana and Momo would ask Mina to do something with them, and more often than not, Mina was forced to politely decline. (She didn’t let herself dwell too long on wondering if she used studying as an excuse not to spend time with them, perhaps a defense mechanism of sorts.) She knew she was pushing them away, but maybe it would be for the best— they would lose interest in her now rather than later, which would likely be better for Mina’s heart in the long run.

In an attempt to not get behind on any of her assignments and end up drowning in them, Mina practically lived in the library now. Mina noticed that her roommate, Yoohyeon, spent a lot of time there as well, consistently surrounded by her own group of friends. Although the girl assured Mina that she was free to sit with them, Mina refused to intrude. Instead, she found her own little study corner at the very back, where it was sparsely populated and she could focus on whatever work she was trying to complete.

It was another one of those days where Mina had a hefty paper to write, this one for Transfiguration. On her way to her usual nook, the gears in her brain already turning as she mentally constructed her opening paragraph, the Ravenclaw almost didn’t notice Momo sitting at a table near the entrance.

When Mina did catch sight of the girl, what was immediately striking to her was the fact that the Hufflepuff was sitting alone. She almost had to do a double-take, realizing suddenly that she had never seen Sana or Momo without the other. They were always together, more or less attached at the hip, so it was somewhat bizarre to see only one of them.

The second thing she noticed was the absolutely defeated expression on the girl’s face— Momo had a pile of open books in front of her, her head clutched in both hands. Clearly recognizing the look of complete distress, Mina instinctively found herself crossing over to where Momo sat.

“Hey, Momo,” Mina greeted softly. She lingered at the edge of the table, not wanting to invade Momo’s personal space— maybe she didn’t want to be bothered, it was silly of Mina to in, she should have just minded her own bus-

“Oh, hey Mina!” Momo’s voice interrupted Mina’s panicked train of thought. Momo didn’t appear to be at all irritated at Mina’s sudden intrusion— on the contrary, it seemed that the girl’s presence gave her a renewed burst of energy. A grin spreading across her face, Momo teased, “So this is where you’ve been sneaking off to lately, huh?”

Mina smiled apologetically, tucking some of her hair behind an ear. “Yeah. I’m sorry I haven’t been able to see you or Sana lately, I’ve just been-”

“-busy,” Momo supplied, nodding in understanding. She waved a hand, insisting, “Don’t apologize! We totally get it.” The Hufflepuff glanced back down at the work in front of her and grimaced. “I get it too well. This exam is going to kill me, I know it.”

“What is it on?” Mina leaned in a bit to observe all of the books and parchments that Momo had spread in front of her.

Momo sighed and explained, “We’re being tested on different duelling techniques, and I just don’t understand it at all.” She shook her head in frustration. “Usually Sana and I get by just fine without studying a lot, but this year is so much more difficult and the stakes are a lot higher, too. I have to get good grades in this class so I can stay in the N.E.W.T. level, plus if my grades slip I could get taken off the Quidditch team.” Momo collapsed her head on top of her book, whining, “I’m doomed!”

She looked so sad and helpless in that moment, Mina felt a rush of sympathy for the girl. Before Mina could think about what she was saying (something that was becoming more characteristic of her whenever Sana and Momo were concerned), she offered, “I could help you out, if you want.”

She immediately knew she shouldn’t have said that— yes, of course she wanted to help, but she had heaps of her own work to do. She barely had enough free time in her schedule as is, she’d certainly fall behind if she abandoned her studies to help Momo with hers. All of this being said, Mina’s mind was already made up— her only priority in that moment was assisting her friend.

Momo lifted her head and peeked up at Mina. “Are you sure?” she said cautiously. “I know you’ve been so busy, I don’t want to distract you… Besides, I don’t think anyone could make me understand this stuff.” She poked at one of the offending books with a frown.

The Ravenclaw shook her head and offered Momo a smile. “I don’t mind at all, and besides, it might help to have the material described a different way. I learned about duelling in my fifth year, so I think I know enough to help you out.”

Momo rolled her eyes playfully, joking, “Always so modest.”

Mina turned pink at that and, not knowing how to respond, just shrugged. She moved to sit at the chair across from Momo, but before she could do so, she noticed the Hufflepuff pulling out the chair directly to her left. When Mina made uncertain eye contact with the other girl, Momo’s head was tilted a bit, smiling expectantly.

“I don’t bite,” she said, a cute lilt in her voice.

That was how Mina found herself sitting right next to Momo, helping her go over all of her notes and the information in the textbooks. The time passed by faster than Mina had expected it to— she was right about what she said about Momo just needing to hear the material in a different way. Momo was smart, unlike what that idiot boy said when they first met. In fact, Mina couldn’t help but be quite impressed with how her mind worked, how she managed to find connections between different concepts in ways Mina had never even considered.

Mina didn’t realize how close they had become in a physical sense until she felt Momo’s leg brushing against hers. Whereas their shoulders had barely been touching when Mina first sat down, the two girls had somehow managed to gravitate closer together to the point where they were now all but pressed against each other. The realization of their close proximity made Mina intensely embarrassed, and she knew it would probably be wise for her to pull away and put a respectable amount of space in between them. But Momo’s body emanated so much warmth, and Mina had to admit she’d been touch starved for so long that being close to someone… It was almost overwhelming.

Mustering her courage, she allowed herself to lean just a little bit closer, her leg bumping back into Momo’s. When she peeked at Momo from the corner of her eyes, she noticed that the Hufflepuff was clearly aware of what she was doing— though she wasn’t looking at Mina directly, there was the slightest hint of a smirk on her lips. The older student’s fingers brushed deliberately against Mina’s as she reached over to turn the page of one of her books, leaning Mina somewhat bewildered. Was Momo— if Mina didn’t know any better, she’d almost think the girl was flirting with her.

But that was ridiculous, wasn’t it? Completely ridiculous. Mina knew that she was just overthinking what was likely a totally normal interaction— this had to be what friends did with each other. After all, anyone who spent even a minimal amount of time with Sana and Momo could observe how physically affectionate they were with each other— they were always touching in some way, and they were best friends. Mina shouldn’t allow herself to jump to such silly, baseless conclusions.

After a few hours, Mina felt that Momo had a more than sufficient grasp of the topic. “You’re going to ace this,” she said confidently, helping the Hufflepuff gather all of the materials spread haphazardly across the table.

Momo smiled and bumped her shoulder against Mina’s. “Only because of you! Seems like you’ve proven to be my knight in shining armor twice now.” Her eyebrows arched, and maybe there was a suggestive undertone to the way she quipped, “I guess I’ll have to make it up to you somehow.”

At that bold statement, Mina’s face rapidly reddened without her permission. “D-Don’t be silly, it was my pleasure,” she forced out awkwardly, avoiding eye contact. Once again looking for an escape route, Mina jumped up from her chair and took a few steps back. She shot the Hufflepuff a nervous smile. “I guess I’ll see you later… Or whenever I have any free time, anyway.”

The smile faded from Momo’s lips, to be replaced by a disappointed pout. “Come sit with Sana and I at dinner,” she insisted. “She was busy today with Frog Choir, but she’ll be there tonight! I know she’d love to see you.”

Mina bit her lip, considering her options. She should get back to her essay, and although her experience with Momo today was more than a little confusing (read: vaguely mortifying), she did miss spending time with both of them. They were the closest thing she’d ever had to real friends, after all.

“Okay,” she eventually agreed.

The Quidditch player beamed and wrapped Mina in a brief hug. “Awesome!” Before Mina could even think about hugging the other girl back, Momo was pulling away, her books and parchment piled in her arms. “I’ll see you later!”

Mina was left standing there alone, somewhat lost as she was left to process the events of their meeting. Stop overthinking, she chided herself again. It was one thing for someone to be interested in her in a friendly way, much less in… that way. Mina would have to be delusional to even begin to think she had a chance with someone like Momo. It was just unrealistic. She’d only cause herself a whole other world of pain if she let herself be caught up on this, so therefore, she reached the natural solution: she would act like none of this ever happened.

——

Within the next week, Mina found more time in her schedule to spend with the two Hufflepuffs again, much to their pleasure. They still rarely saw her outside of meals, but at least that was an improvement from before. Sana couldn’t help but be worried about the girl, hoping she wasn’t driving herself into the ground with all that studying she was doing. At least she and Momo could now ensure that the Ravenclaw ate well and didn’t completely isolate herself.

Like she did at every mealtime, Sana closely watched the entrance to the Great Hall, waiting for the moment that Mina would step through. As soon as she caught sight of the younger girl emerging through the doors, Sana perked up, waving frantically to get Mina’s attention. The action was completely unnecessary considering the fact that they sat at the same location every day, but the shy smile and wave Mina returned to her was worth it in Sana’s eyes.

The Ravenclaw made her way over with her books in hand, settling onto the bench across from Sana with a quiet, breathless greeting. A flicker of confusion passed over her face as she glanced next to Sana, obviously realizing that Momo was nowhere to be seen.

“Her exam was graded, so she went to pick it up from the professor,” Sana explained, guessing that Mina likely wouldn’t ask even if she was curious.

Mina hummed in understanding, nodding her head as she began to select what she wanted to eat from the endless buffet stretched out on the table in front of them.

There were a few beats of silence before Sana ventured, “Momo told me that you helped her study for it.”

Peeking up from her plate briefly, Mina just shrugged a shoulder. “She did most of the work herself, I just helped where I could.” A little quieter, she added, “I barely did anything, really.”

Sana’s head tilted in a subtle disagreement. “Well, she really appreciated it, you know? I appreciate it too.” Another beat. “You’ve been so kind to us, helping us out when you don’t have to.”

A little cough of surprise escaped Mina’s lips, and she immediately began to shake her head in denial. “Thank you, but really, it’s nothing.”

The girl’s denial broke Sana’s heart a little. No matter how many times Sana or Momo tried to compliment Mina, she would never accept it— in fact, their compliments almost seemed to make her uncomfortable, as if she didn’t know how to respond. Was she truly not accustomed to kindness? Did she not think she deserved it? It made Sana frustrated at whoever in Mina’s past made her think she was so undeserving, but it also made her want to smother the girl with compliments until she began to truly believe the nice things they said about her.

“It’s not nothing,” Sana replied, lightly enough, although there was a serious undertone to her voice. She reached a hand across the table to gently touch the Ravenclaw’s hand. You’re not nothing.

Mina barely glanced at her with another helpless little shrug. After a somewhat tense moment, the girl cleared and asked brightly, “How have your Frog Choir meetings been going lately?”

Sana was sure that Mina was just trying to change the subject, to direct the conversation away from herself. Knowing she had to choose her battles, though, Sana didn’t comment on it. Instead, she enthusiastically told Mina what Frog Choir was working on at the moment, as well as anything interesting that had been happening in the group.

In fact, Sana was in the middle of recounting to Mina the latest drama with the upperclassmen when arms were suddenly thrown around her shoulders, a familiar screeching sound piercing her ears.

“I PASSED!” Momo slammed her graded exam down onto the table, and when Sana twisted her head around, Momo was beaming. “I actually passed this stupid exam, can you believe it!”

Sana instinctively released an excited squeal as well. “That’s amazing, Momoring!” She tightly hugged her best friend as she sat down next to her, smiling into the girl’s neck as Momo squeezed her back. “I knew you could do it!”

Grinning, Momo shrugged and turned her head to nod in Mina’s direction. “It’s all thanks to Mina, she was the one who basically taught me all of this material.” Her gaze warmed as she addressed the Ravenclaw, “Thank you, seriously.”

Mina parted , obviously to begin her series of usual denials. However, she made the mistake of glancing over at Sana first, who initiated pointed eye contact. The Hufflepuff tilted her head again and raised her eyebrows— Go on, take the compliment, she coaxed silently.

There was a brief pause, then Mina glanced away, turning her attention down to her lap. ”You’re welcome,” she eventually murmured, adding in a quieter tone, “I suppose…” Her shoulders rose up a few inches, as if trying to make herself look small, and her hands fiddled with her silverware.

Regardless, Sana was proud— it was just two words, but she had a gut feeling that actually acknowledging a compliment was a big step for the girl. When Mina shyly made eye contact again, Sana nodded her head to assure her it was alright. She may not know the source or extent of Mina’s insecurities, but she would do her best to encourage the girl whenever possible. Sana told Mina that she and Momo would look after her, too, and she was a woman of her word.

When Sana glanced back over at Momo, the older Hufflepuff’s gaze was intently fixed on her. Momo tended to not be as “emotionally observant” as Sana when it came to other people, but as far as Sana was concerned, Momo knew how to read her better than anyone else. Obviously she had picked up from Sana’s end that there had been some small exchange that just occurred. Sana offered a simple smile and, her arm still curled around Momo’s body, rubbed her thumb into the girl’s hip. We’ll talk about it later.

Before the silence could become awkward or uncomfortable, Sana said cheerfully, “I think this is a definite cause for celebration!”

“You’re absolutely right,” Momo agreed, eagerly reaching across the table to cut herself a massive chunk of cake. She held up her plate with a solemn nod, voice almost comically serious as she said, “Congratulations to me.”

Momo carefully set it down, picking up her utensils to take the first bite. Unfortunately for Momo, however, Sana was a bit faster— in one fluid movement, she was diving into the slice fork-first, managing to scoop a piece into before Momo elbowed her away.

“Excuse me!” Momo whined, “This is my victory cake, you jerk!” She glared at the side of Sana’s head, though her gaze lacked any real anger.

“Sorry, Momoring,” Sana cooed, hugging her best friend a little tighter. The other girl simply grumbled to herself, dragging the plate further from Sana to properly protect it. Sana winked playfully in Mina’s direction, smiling at the way it succeeded in making her release a muted giggle. “Anyway, when I said this was cause for celebration, cake was not what I meant, you know.”

This seemed to pique both of the other two girls’ interest. Even Momo paused eating, looking at her curiously— clearly intrigued about where she was going with this. Sana wore her biggest, most animated smile as she said, “Mina, you should come to Momo and I’s room and sleep over this Friday night!”

Momo immediately jumped onto the idea, nodding in agreement as she said to Mina excitedly, “Yeah, you should! That’d be so much fun!”

There was a certain expression on Mina’s face— one that, over the weeks she’d known her, Sana had learned to recognize as meaning she was engaging in an internal war with herself. It was clear to anyone who interacted with the Ravenclaw that she had a propensity for introversion, and Sana respected that, of course. She understood that not everyone was as social as herself— even Momo was more introverted than she was. Still, Sana would make sure to offer Mina the chance, anyway, if only to make sure she felt included.

A pause— Sana waited for the rejection, but instead, she was pleasantly surprised when Mina nodded. “Yeah, okay,” the girl agreed softly, offering a cautious smile.

“Awesome.” Sana returned her smile warmly. “Momoring has Quidditch practice and I have Frog Choir until 7, so, come around at about 8? The entrance to the Hufflepuff common room is near the kitchens, do you know where that is?” Mina nodded in confirmation. “Perfect! We’ll meet you outside there at 8, then. Sound like a plan?”

“Sounds like a plan,” Mina repeated, seemingly trying to make herself sound more confident than she felt. Well... it was a good start at least, wasn’t it?