Dahyun’s first day had gone by slowly. Potions meant a free period and Transfiguration meant stress. The only good part about it was that she sat far away from any Slytherins.

Now it was Defence Against the Dark Arts. It was on the third floor, so she’d left lunch early to get there. She sat down at her spot, trying to catch her breath. 

“Dahyun, good to see you again,” Professor Bae smiled, “and thank you for working so diligently. The moment you feel like it’s too much, just tell one of the students and I’ll consider you excused.” 

She bowed her head. “Thank you, Professor.” 

Then she proceeded to get out her things. She devoted her brainpower to skim through her notes about all that she’d missed. Many books had been scanned for the information she had now. They’d talked about sleep and dark magic affecting it, something that struck an unusual chord with her, cursed objects, and wordless spells. She had the best of luck casting charms wordlessly, and she hadn’t been about to jinx any of her friends, even if they asked. She wondered if they’d practice these throughout the year, or revisit them in the next one. She hoped so. 

“Dubu,” Chaeyoung grinned at her, “glad you’re back.”

“Were you sitting alone the whole time?” She hoped not. 

A shrug. “Jihyo sometimes switched. So did Momo.” 

Dahyun smiled. “And now you’re stuck with me.” She poked her cheek. 

She rolled her eyes. “I better be.” 

The words were said as a joke, but her eyes told a different story.

Dahyun felt her smile widen. She was so happy to be back. Normalcy would be making its much awaited comeback. 

At that moment, someone sat on the table next to her. They had hair of varying shades of gold. 

Dahyun’s face warmed immediately. She looked down at her notes. 

She’d done a very good job at avoiding all mention of the party, save for hearing the updates from her friends. Nayeon and Momo were well on their way to going to Honeydukes together. Or at least she was really hoping for it. Mina and Chaeyoung were still up in the air, though she had seen them be in better spirits around each other than they had in the past years. Everything else that had happened was either not mentioned or she’d evaded it. 

Now ‘everything else’ was beside her. ‘Everything else’ also hadn’t changed her hair back to what it was. 

“Hi, Dahyun,” Nayeon said. “Good to see you here again.”

Sana looked up then. “Yeah,” she nodded, “hey.” Then she looked away. 

“Great to be back,” Dahyun replied, hoping that her face hadn’t turned pink. 

As Nayeon sat down, she couldn’t help but glance at her friend. Sana was looking at the space above her book, not even at it. 

Dahyun felt a pang of regret then. She wasn’t sure if it was justified or not. On the one hand, she’d been unfair—and not just this year—towards Sana and not let her talk. On the other, she was pretty sure she’d heard enough. 

Then it was time to start class. Professor Bae waved her wand and Dahyun’s stomach twisted when she saw what appeared on the board. 

“Unforgivable curses,” Professor Bae stood, “are called as such due to their nature. One causes a full loss of control, the other immense pain, and the last death.” 

Dahyun felt her chest constrict. She focused on writing the notes. She knew all of this already, but she had to focus on writing. That’s what she had to do. 

“One of them can be resisted through willpower,” Bae said. “For obvious reasons, you’re not going to be trained to withstand this and I will not ever cast it, but the Imperious curse can be an easy spell to fall victim to.” 

Dahyun remembered the willingness to cooperate. How many times had she told someone what she did at the Ministry until she resisted? Perhaps six times. At least. 

“They say you feel enormously cooperative. What compares to it is the feeling of being under the influence of alcohol. You are far more willing to do what is asked of you, but under this curse, there is no consideration. You just do what the other wants you to do.” She frowned. “When there was a Death Eater impersonating a professor here, he demonstrated the spells themselves, putting the students under the Imperius curse. All cooperated. Even Harry Potter himself, until he realised he could resist. They say he resisted the curse of the Dark Lord himself.”

It was a difficult process. Dahyun knew that. How Potter had been able to do it almost at first cast, she did not know. It only cemented her belief that he was a most exceptional wizard. She noted that down, if only to reassure herself that she had withstood this very process as well.

“As for the Cruciatus curse,” Bae frowned, “a most terrible one. It is not deserved to be experienced by anyone.” 

Dahyun drowned the rest out. She knew this too. Not from training, but she knew it could not take from her the information she was forbidden to tell. She fought the urge to close her eyes. She only tried to write. Her movements had grown erratic. She watched as her writing became a scrawl, felt how her nails dug into the palm of her left hand. The pain took her out of Knockturn Alley, but she still had to stop writing. She wished the professor would stop talking. She needed a break.

Too late to ask for one now, she thought. 

Her mind was reminded of the pain. It recalled the initial moments of her fall down the stairs. She remembered opening the letter, realising it held something meant to hurt, and then feeling the excruciating pain. It was too much. 

Dahyun was about to start concentrating on her breathing when a hand closed around her own. It came from her left. Not Chaeyoung. 

She could only watch as the thumb from the person traced the back of her hand. It soothed her, grounded her. 

Glancing up, she saw that Sana was looking straight ahead. She squeezed Dahyun’s hand. 

That made her wonder. Why would Sana even touch her after Friday? She had made things far more complicated than they needed to be. Now Sana was helping her. Again. 

“There’s honestly not much more I can say about the last one.” Professor Bae turned to the board. “We only know that a powerful spell of love can redirect the killing curse, but casting that spell is wordless and wandless. When Lily Potter cast it, I do not believe she knew what she was doing. It was just an instinctive defensive spell she cast for her son.” A small smile. Then she turned to them, her expression serious. “We will look into the long-lasting effects of the first two Unforgivable Curses.” 

She proceeded to talk about how long-term bewitchment under imperious curse can lead to madness, while extended torture under the Cruciatus curse can also lead to madness. There were more nuances, which Dahyun proceeded to write. She didn’t dare write it down, but she knew that short term exposure could leave you with the echoes of that pain and fear. They could return when prompted or even when you fell asleep. It was one of the reasons why she didn’t sleep. 

Her distracted train of thought was broken when another hand reached for her left. She looked down and watched as Sana tried to pry her fingers apart. 

She didn’t know why, but she let her. 

The Slytherin’s fingers began to massage her palm. Dahyun felt a blush creep up her neck then. 

She glanced up and wished in that moment that she hadn’t. Sana’s brow was furrowed as she looked at her. There was an unspoken question in her eyes. 

“Thank you,” Dahyun mouthed. Then, gently, she pulled her hand away. 

There was a flicker of something in Sana's eyes before she nodded. Her hands lingered by Dahyun’s seat for a moment. Then they pulled back. 

There it was again. That guilt. Sana had not written down anything for class. Instead her attention had been on Dahyun. She didn’t even deserve it. As disappointed as she was after Friday, she couldn’t help but feel guilty for how she was acting towards Sana. It joined the heaps of guilt she felt for lying to her friends. None of them deserved this. She had to to better. 

Thankfully, class would be ending soon enough. 

“I know it’s not a topic like the other ones. It’s hard for me to talk about,” Professor Bae said. “But as for everything, you need to understand them and know their consequences. They are already reprehensible, but even after the spell has been cast, they can mean disaster for the individual. Write about one of them, describe the long-term effects and implications, maybe mention a specific case. Not about Harry Potter unless you have a unique take on it compared to several years of students.” 

Class was over. Dahyun stood. Chaeyoung had been sending her questioning looks the entire time after Sana had held her hand. How was she going to explain that? 

“Hey,” a soft voice said. Sana didn’t touch her, but Dahyun stopped packing. 

When she looked down, she saw that Sana was slowly getting her things in order. The Slytherin glanced up at her, that same look in her eyes from earlier. The one that made her feel the urge to look away.   

Dahyun put on her best smile instead. “You need notes, just let me know.” She hoped that conveyed what she wanted it to. 

Thank you. 

Don’t ask me about it. 

Don’t tell anyone.

Or maybe it didn’t at all. By Sana’s still question-filled gaze, she saw that it hadn’t quite done the trick.

____

“I’m telling you, it was just because I got a little freaked out,” Dahyun said. Her cheeks were pink. 

“Not because of Friday night?” Chaeyoung rested her chin on her fist. “It’s not like I approve or anything, but you can tell me the truth.” She gave her a wink. 

Dahyun just rolled her eyes. “We talked, yeah, but it was pretty much a confirmation that I was just someone fun to flirt with.” She didn’t show it on her face, but Chaeyoung saw a hint of her disappointment. That meant she was really disheartened. 

She didn’t ask about it. “You? Fun?”

Dahyun nodded. “Very.” She opened her book then. It was the same page from the DADA class. “It was weird being back, I guess. I got overwhelmed.” Her face fell. “Had that feeling in Alchemy too. We were going through how the Philosopher’s stone worked and all. It's so complicated.”

“Like the one Harry Potter had?”

She laughed. “He didn’t have it. Just stopped Voldemort from taking it.” A shrug. “Not sure if it would have actually helped him come back sooner, looking at it.” 

Chaeyoung sighed. “Don’t start bringing cold hard logic and science into Harry Potter’s legacy.” And just like that, they’d evaded the topic. At least this was one they could easily bring back. Later

Dahyun held up her hands. “I’m not.” 

“Anyway,” she stood up, “next time you’re freaking out, I’ll let the snake know.” For some reason, the word lacked the bite it used to have for her. She didn’t like Sana, definitely not, but she didn’t hate her either. 

Chaeyoung went further into the shelves. The newest Herbology assignment was to take one ingredient and write about a few of its applications. It had to be one used in at least five different potions. She'd tried her best to avoid Potions, but it always came back to her. If she didn’t find one by herself, she was gonna ask Dahyun. 

She was going back with a small stack of books when she saw her. Mina sat at a table a way’s away from some other Slytherins. She was stretching out her arms. Even that movement was graceful. Her eyes were closed. 

As she walked over, there was a small series of cracks. 

“Bad back?” Chaeyoung asked. “At your age?” 

Mina peeked up at her. “I’m a little older than you, aren’t I?” 

“Can I?” She nodded at the chair. “I’ll only be a little while.” 

A smile. “Sure.” 

There was a small knot in her stomach. She’d known Mina was smart and really nice, but she hadn’t known that she could be pretty funny. Only now with the party had she seen that side of her. 

“So,” Mina started, “what’s up?” 

Had she been silent for too long? “Uh,” she said. Great start. “Our best friends were holding hands in class today. You know what that’s about?” 

She looked taken aback by the question, but another small smile appeared. There was also a playful glint in her eyes. “Sana said she was calming her down?” Then her bottom lip jutted out a touch. “But things were supposed to be awkward. I don’t even know where they stand at this point.” 

Chaeyoung’s ears perked up then. “You know what they talked about? After the party.” All she’d really gotten was that it was beyond awkward. Not really as terrible as last year’s train wreck had been, but still not great. 

“Sana asked about last year.” Mina sighed. “Badly.” 

“You mean she was drunk.” Slytherin’s captain could take a lot, but the last game had been a disaster for both her and Nayeon. She was probably pretty out of it. 

A shrug. “And she’s just not good with this kind of stuff.” 

“Not being a shameless flirt?” 

The Slytherin gave her a look. “She’s not,” she started. “Well,” she rolled her eyes, “fine.” Another look. “But she tried.” 

She better have. The only reason Chaeyoung wasn’t adamantly against Sana in this case was because she’d seen how hard the Slytherin had tried. She’d also gotten wind of the broken broom. The curse to her face on the stairs had also left an impression. Chaeyoung, Jihyo and Jeongyeon had all decided it was time to give the girl a chance, or at least a break. 

“And what did Dahyun say?” 

“Nothing?” Mina shrugged. “I think Sana poured most of her heart out.” 

“And still made it sound like Dahyun was just a challenge for her?” If this was trying, they were all in for a ride when the girl was actually sober. 

Mina cringed. “Is that what she got from it?” 

“That’s what we all got from it,” Chaeyoung replied. “Before and after.” 

“Why?” Her brow furrowed. “They might not have been close, but Sana never made a move. For that reason.” 

For that reason. It still didn’t compute that Sana Minatozaki might have developed a crush on Chaeyoung’s best friend. 

“Nayeon has a grand plan to set them up, but I don’t think that’s a good idea," Mina said. 

Chaeyoung nodded. “Nope. Not if you want this thing to work.” She looked away from Mina’s expectant gaze. “I’m in favour of being organic about it.” 

“Isn’t that a food type?” 

She smiled. “Yes, but it also just means natural.”

“But natural development has not worked that well.” 

Chaeyoung stood. “Not after what I saw today.” She reached out and squeezed Mina’s hand. “They just need time.” 

In that moment, she wondered if she was just talking about their friends. She blushed at the possibility that this wasn't the case.. 

“I’ll, um, see you tomorrow.” 

Mina nodded. Quickly. “See you. Goodnight.” Another smile. 

Then she walked off.

“Chaeyoung?” Mina was standing. She had books in her hands. Chaeyoung’s books. 

She fought the urge to sigh. “Oh, thanks.” She took them. She couldn’t look Mina in the eyes. “Bye.” 

She rushed off to go back to Dahyun. 

“You okay?” The Hufflepuff pulled out her earbuds. “Did you ask her out?” Her eyes lit up. 

“No!” She probably said that a bit loudly. She saw Madame Kang peer over at her, a raised brow. She was talking to Professor Bae. “I did not. Had questions.” 

“About potions?” Dahyun winked. “I’m not your potions buddy anymore?” 

“Shut up,” Chaeyoung groaned. “I’m still gonna ask you about what the hell else wolfsbane or hellebore are used in.” 

“You should ask her.” A shrug. “But I’m not sure if she takes that or not. Not that you would know.” She dodged Chaeyoung’s smack, laughing softly. “Hellebore’s in the Draught of Peace and Volubilis potion. There’s also another calming draught I know of.” 

“Thanks, nerd.” Chaeyoung grinned. Her face was still burning. 

____

Fifth Year

Sana had excused herself from class a few times this year, so had Nayeon and Mina. During O.W.Ls, the occasional freak-out was never out of place. Even Momo had had to be calmed down between classes. Sana had taken her to the quidditch pitch. 

What she’d never expected to see was Dahyun break down in Charms. She was hiding it, but Sana was right behind her. She saw a tear fall onto the wood that was gripped by white knuckles. 

Jihyo wasn’t there to do it and no one else seemed to be concerned. Even her boyfriend was already out of the room. This close to O.W.Ls, anyone could run out. But she wouldn’t have expected it to be this specific someone. 

She went all the way to the Prefect’s Bathroom. 

Sana stopped in front of the door. She was probably one of the last people Dahyun would want to see now. Yet to be alone like this. She shouldn’t be.

She said the password, opened the door, and went in. 

It was quiet. Sana didn’t take that to be a good sign. 

“Dahyun?” she called. “I know you came here to be alone and I probably should leave you to it,” a pause, “but you can talk to me if you want. No one’s gonna know.”

“I’m a little,” her voice was thick, “not great right now.” 

“Same here. Potions is a mess.” 

The door peeked open. She knew that would get her out.

“Hi there.” Dahyun chuckled. Her face was streaked with tears. “I’m an ugly crier, so it’s never good if I’m around people.” 

Sana was tempted to say that Dahyun really wasn’t an ugly crier, but she was pretty sure that wouldn’t help her case here. It had been months since they last actually talked. A few years since they were actually friends. She wasn’t even sure what they were now. On the pitch, they had a healthy rivalry. Sometimes Sana would always get the upper hand, other times she never got the quaffle past Dahyun. 

Right. Maybe they could do that. But first, they had to talk. If not about the reason Dahyun was crying, then at least about a subject she was good at. 

“So.” Dahyun smiled slightly. It was forced. Maybe that was one of the reasons Sana had rarely talked to her lately. She sometimes got the feeling that Dahyun was hiding something. Nothing bad, but she still wasn’t being honest. “Potions?”

“Yeah,” Sana said. “My Strengthening Solution , apparently.” 

“Did Destin test it?” 

“Don’t act so surprised. He probably has a huge collection of all your perfect potions.” 

She grinned. “Strengthening Solution , perfect potions. Your alliteration is great.” 

“Alliteration?” Yet another term she did not know. 

“Literature thing. Same letters,” Dahyun replied. “The house founders are perfect examples.” 

There was a silence. Not weird and not comfortable. Sana figured it best not to break it. 

Dahyun wiped at her eyes with her robes. She wasn’t wearing any makeup. Sana saw large shadows around her eyes. She didn’t want to say it, but a lack of sleep was probably also the reason for the frayed nerves. 

“Failed doing the pack charm. The clothes just about ripped themselves apart getting in there.” Dahyun snorted. “Grent said you need inner peace.” 

“Well,” Sana nudged her with her shoulder, “Nayeon can do it, so the inner peace stuff is kinda bull.”

“Maybe.” She laughed then. “As for the potions. Maybe you’re putting in too much salamander blood? And you might have to crush the griffin claw a little better.” A pause. “You know, use strength for strength and all that.”

Sana smiled. “Ha ha.” She wished she could suggest something about charms. Most of what she actually knew, Dahyun already knew how to excel in. Sana’s own packing charm failed to fold or organise just about anything. 

“At least you thought it was a little funny.” Dahyun winked. “So bad it was good?”

“Sure thing.” Then she spotted a small tear on the girl's cheek. She lifted her sleeve and wiped it off. “You know what helps?”

Dahyun’s eyes were focused on the floor. “What?”

Was she nervous? Couldn’t be. “More quidditch.” 

A small smile. “I’ve got practice tomorrow.”

“I mean when there’s no practice.” 

Dahyun’s brow rose. “Night time flying?”

Sana remembered the nights they’d spent flying in first year. It hadn’t lasted long. She didn’t remember why they’d stopped, only that she’d been disappointed. 

“Yeah,” she nodded, “we finish practice at ten. Meet me on the pitch?” In the back of her mind, Sana imagined it might have been a date. Except for the fact that she definitely wasn’t Dahyun’s type, and she had a boyfriend. None of them knew what she saw in him, but there had to be something. 

She pushed Luke out of her head and looked at Dahyun, almost nervous for her reaction. 

It was a smile. A real one. “I’d love to.” 

____

Sana’s walk to patrol was a long one. She was on edge the entire way. Since Friday, they’d probably spoken a grand total of ten words? 

It wasn’t just that. She’d freaked out in class. Something about the Unforgivable Curses had served as a trigger. Or the stress? And she’d done the first thing that had come to mind. Hold her hand. With any luck, Dahyun probably thought it was something baseless and disingenuous. Sana had no idea. That was why she was nervous. 

Dahyun was leaning against the wall when she got there. She looked exhausted. With the amount of concealing charms she was using, there was no sign of it on her face. It was something that showed through in her eyes and posture. A part of Sana wondered why she wasn’t putting on the fake preppy posture and bright smile. The other part remembered the day she’d seen Dahyun in the Hospital Wing. After the accident. Not only had there been so many bruises, but her eyes had been overpowered by bags and shadows. She wondered if the Hufflepuff was getting more sleep now that she wasn’t allowed to drink any of her energy draughts. She hoped she was able to. If not for the health benefits Madame Selen was always talking about, then for the stress factor. 

“Hey.” Sana smiled at her. 

Dahyun looked up from her notebook, snapped it shut, and returned the smile. It appeared slowly, but it was a real one. “Hi.” 

“How’d the first day back go?” Except for DADA, she added silently. 

“Great, actually.” Dahyun pulled away from the wall and started walking. Her pace was slow. “I’m just glad I can sit in a classroom and not the library for once.” A smile. “Bet you’re surprised.” 

“No,” Sana said. “I remember you hated being stuck in bed.” Her mind went back to when Dahyun had snuck out of the Hospital Wing and gone to the library before she was ready. All because she needed some variation. “So that isn’t too different.” 

“Right.” She nodded. 

Silence fell. It lasted too long. It was like the patrols before. Last year it had been because they just weren’t that close. Over the months it had gotten better. Until Sana messed it up at the O.W.L party.

Åfter that, it had been getting better as sixth year continued—better as in ten awkward silences instead of twenty. They’d only had one patrol since the accident. That had been relaxed, almost fun. Was it going to be back to ‘normal’? 

Sana didn’t want it to. She also had questions about today. She hadn’t told Mina about what it had been. Now her, Nayeon, and Tzuyu were teasing Sana about holding hands with Dahyun. She’d told them about the disaster that was Friday night. Tzuyu had said she should talk to her about it. Mina suggested she be natural. Nayeon told her she should admit she liked her.

Sana agreed with one of them. 

“I really like the hair,” she said. She immediately proceeded to regret saying it. 

Dahyun glanced at her. “Yeah?” 

“Yes. When you do it, are you imagining the product?” Sana hated how formal she sounded. 

A nod. “Half and half. Like macroscopic and microscopic stuff,” she said. “If I’d have done one colour, it would have been the general imagining of the colour. For specifics,” she pointed at her hair and Sana’s hair, “it’s visualising the hair on the person and the varying shades.” 

“Sounds complicated.” 

Dahyun grinned. “Because I made it up.” A shrug. “You actually just do whatever. Sometimes it goes really wrong and you end up with bright purple hair when you wanted blue.” 

“Is that how this happened?” Sana pointed at her head. 

She nodded again. “Yep! It was a happy accident last year. So I just kept it. No regrets.” 

“No regrets,” Sana repeated softly. The words struck a chord with her.  

“Huh?” Dahyun turned her head as they rounded a corner. “You regret it?” Her hand slipped into her robes. Again, Sana was reminded about the fact that if another person did this, she would have disarmed them in a heartbeat. 

“No,” Sana said quickly. “I said no regrets.” 

“Oh.” The Hufflepuff nodded. Yet again. “Good.” 

Another silence. Dahyun’s steps were a bit quicker now. Did she think walking faster would make patrol end sooner?

Sana was already blushing. It was too awkward. She hated it. 

“I don’t just mean the hair.” She didn’t wait to be misunderstood. “I mean what I said on Friday and I mean the kiss.” 

Dahyun had stopped walking. She looked at her. Sana didn’t take the time to read that expression. 

“I know I said I wouldn’t ask you about this on patrol, but technically I said I wouldn’t ask why you walked away last year.”

Was this when disaster would strike again? Was sober her any better than Friday’s Sana? She allowed herself one breath. Dahyun didn’t look like she was going to say anything. Sana wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or an absolutely terrible one.

“So I’m just going to tell you that I regret not explaining what I meant. You were never a target and you weren’t someone I just wanted to flirt with.” 

To her surprise, Dahyun responded. “Not even at first?”

“I mean I flirted with you, but that doesn’t mean I wanted to stop there.” She nearly held her tongue after that. Then again, it seemed that holding her tongue had messed up more things than before. 

Sana still started walking then, further away from the opening to the stairs. Dahyun was scarily quiet, but she still walked with her. For a moment, Sana wondered if this was the curse of safety. Dahyun wasn’t going to leave, not even if leaving would be much better for Sana’s sanity. Sana wouldn’t leave, even if she could save herself from humiliation. She wasn’t going to leave Dahyun alone on the stairs. Not again. 

“Earlier,” Dahyun started, “I mouthed it, but it doesn’t count.” A few moments passed. “Thanks for today.” 

The pause that came next is one that she felt promised an elaboration. 

So Sana waited. She thought back to today. Dahyun had tensed up the moment class started. Her left hand had been flat against her leg. Whatever was going through her mind had worsened when they’d gotten to the Cruciatus curse. She’d watched as Dahyun kept writing notes, while her other hand contracted into a fist. She’d watched as Dahyun's knuckles turned even whiter and her hand had almost shook. 

“It’d be easy to tell you I was stressed out,” Dahyun said. “But I know you,” a look was sent her way, “and you wouldn’t believe me.” 

Sana almost smiled. “You’d be right.” 

There was a tiny huff. “Stress was a part of it, but in the summer,” a small pause, “I saw the curse in action. Today reminded me of it, the letter too, and the fall.” twitched. “I worked on the essay today, and didn’t get the same panic.” She tilted her head from side to side. “I guess it was the shock that we were covering it so soon.” 

Sana felt the urge to wrap her arms around Dahyun. She didn’t, but she wanted to reach out. Do something. Her thoughts had been so caught up in other things, but they paled in comparison to what else was happening. Dahyun’s fall was still a mystery. So was the letter. Maybe the curse that had been sent to Sana was also some mystery, but she didn’t want to think like that. And as much as Dahyun pretended that things were okay and hid all signs of her problems, she was definitely thinking over the events herself. 

“Anyway,” she faced Sana more as she walked, “thank you.” 

Sana was torn between wanting to turn the conversation to something happier right there and asking about how a Ministry job would ever involve a fifteen-year old girl seeing the Cruciatus curse happen. It had been a little too much for her, so she was more interested in the latter. For today. At least. 

Dahyun solved the dilemma for her. She started asking her about the library book Sana had written in, saying she was still in shock that a fourth year Sana would do such a thing. Sana defended herself, but to no avail. 

And just like that, the conversation was back to normal. They stopped now and then for Dahyun to rest. The patrol continued with light conversation and comfortable pauses. 

Even thought there were unaddressed topics, like Dahyun’s summer, the party itself, and everything that had happened after Dahyun’s fall, Sana felt the tension in her stomach ease. 

Then it was time to go to sleep. Sana deliberately jumped over the faulty step this time. They walked on in a comfortable silence. Once again, Dahyun didn’t go to the library. 

Now they were in the hall. Dahyun insisted they go to the dungeons first. 

“You and I can both defend ourselves,” she announced. “We’ll alternate.”

Sana could only nod. 

Now they were in front of the stone wall. Dahyun was leaning from one foot to another. 

Muttering the password, Sana watched as the entrance slid open. 

“Are you actually going to make sure I walk in?” Sana asked. 

Dahyun smiled. “More or less.” There was a flash of uncertainty in her eyes. It wasn’t nervousness. Was she worried? “Goodnight, Sana.”

“Night,” Sana said. “Sleep well.” 

She was about to turn away when Dahyun spoke. Her words stopped her. 

“Hang on,” the Hufflepuff said. “I just wanted to say one thing. Another thank you,” she chuckled. “I’m saying that a lot, huh?” The girl didn’t wait for Sana to respond. “Thank you for talking about,” she bit her lip, “the party and all, uh, that.” Her fingers twitched at her sides. Then she brushed some of her hair to one side. “For one thing, I actually, changed my, er, mind.” A nod. “Yeah, I’m not—I don’t.” She grimaced. “I’m not good at words.” 

Recalling one of their rare conversations, Sana said, “use your alliteration knowledge.” She gave her a smile. “Am I even using that right?”

“Not quite.” Dahyun returned the smile. Then it faded. “Okay, well, I don’t regret the kiss.” She was already stepping away. “Not—not anymore.” With that, she turned away. 

Sana stayed where she was. She stood there until the entrance closed again. 

____

Author's Note

And I'd thought the last chapter had been difficult to write! The beginning was easy to write, because I knew that things would get complicated once the subject material turned to things more close to home. 

So, to confirm, Dahyun has encountered two Unforgivable curses, both in the summer. The way I see those curses is that even if you're 'just' briefly exposed to them, there are still going to be consequences. Like with Neville's parents who were driven insane through the Cruciatus (pain-inducing) curse. Even if the curse isn't cast as prolonged/repeatedly as it was in their case, I'd think that sort of a spell would definitely stick with you. The Imperius (mind-control) curse would also have its effects, because you're being momentarily taken over by the person who cast the spell. 

As for the chapter as a whole, I wanted to balance lightheartedness and seriousness. I want to do my best to keep this whole story in that balance, because you do have Dahyun's fall and her summer affecting the lives of her and her friends. On the other hand, this is still a school with people trying to get through daily life and other relationships. 

This was a very Saida-heavy chapter and I'm really happy that we're getting to that stage here. The second party was a catalyst, so we'll see how the rest turns out here. For this story specifically, they're both sweet and awkward with each other. It's a difficult dynamic to write, but I'm hoping it pays off. If you'll forgive me, we leave off with a bit of a bombshell from Dahyun. Does it mean the feelings behind the kiss are still there? Or just that she, generally speaking, doesn't regret kissing Sana? 

Would love to know what you thought! I hope everyone can read this chapter (if you made it here, I'll know you did ;) ). See you in the next one.