Dahyun woke from a dreamless sleep. She relaxed further into the mattress. She stayed there for a few seconds, enjoying the silence. 

Then she sat up, many of her muscles protesting against the movements. It was very quiet in the Hospital Wing. She looked at her watch. It was the middle of the night. Breakfast would be in a few hours. She didn’t plan on going back to sleep any time soon. 

She reached for her glasses, her hand brushing a paper. 

Her breath caught. Not another note. 

Dahyun grabbed it. Then she sighed. It was from Yuri. 

When you read this, come to Selen’s office. 

She got to her feet. A wave of dizziness came over her. The ache surged. It wasn’t like the last time she’d been unconscious. The simple movements didn’t drain her completely. 

Pushing past the curtains, she tugged at those of the bed beside her. Sana slept soundly. Her arm still had a bandage around it. 

Now she saw that a few of the beds were occupied. On one lay Mina, on another Nayeon. Then she saw Jeongyeon, Jihyo, Momo, Tzuyu, and Chaeyoung. 

Certain things became quite clear at the sight of the eight. Thy’d been trying to work out the situation among themselves. It was because Dahyun hadn’t been telling them anything. And what she had told Chaeyoung or Sana had also been passed on. She wasn’t angry about it, more unsettled. Had Raven been watching her friends as well? Did he know they’d been trying to figure out what had happened? Had he passed the information on to the rest? Did the rest know who Dahyun’s friends were?

Dahyun sighed. What else did the girls know? What more did they want to know? And what would Dahyun tell them if they asked? She couldn’t keep everything a secret anymore. 

Maybe those questions would be answered now. 

Dahyun knocked on Selen’s door. 

Yuri opened the door. Dahyun hadn’t heard footsteps. The room was soundproof. 

“Hey,” Yuri smiled, “how’re you feeling?” 

“Better,” Dahyun admitted. “That potion helped.” Would they let her have it for a week? Or was there too much risk of her growing dependent? She didn’t want to start relying on potions to get through the day. Not again. She could handle drinking only coffee. Even if she sometimes got sick of the taste. 

“Good,” she nodded, “I’m so sorry we didn’t realise what was happening sooner. I thought I was being smart meeting you in the Forbidden Forest.” Her eyes gave away the guilt. Dahyun had seen enough of that directed at her. 

“I thought it’d be safe too,” Dahyun said. “Who in their right mind stays in the Forbidden Forest overnight?” 

“I did it for a dare once,” Yuri chuckled, “me and a few friends. Nine of us actually.” She shuddered. “Don’t ever do it.” 

“Not planning on it,” she replied. She meant it too. Dogs at home were frightening if they were beyond a certain size. Magical creatures that could definitely kill you were even worse. It was why she'd not even considered taking Care of Magical Creatures in third year. 

Yuri nodded. “Still, we should’ve never left you two alone.”

Dahyun shook her head. “He would’ve come at another time. He knew we were alone. If you’d have left us in the Hospital Wing, he probably would’ve found a way to us anyway.” Just as he’d known that I was alone on the stairs and that Sana had been alone after Quidditch. 

“Maybe,” she sighed, “still doesn’t change the fact that I was an idiot.” Then she sat down. “Hot chocolate?” With a wave of her wand, two cups began to steam. 

Dahyun sat down opposite her. Gratefully, she took a sip. It burned, but it was still sweet. Exactly what she needed. 

“Look,” Yuri began, “I get if you’ll want to stop. You can, if you think the risk’s not worth it.”

“But you’ll wipe my memory once I refuse.” Dahyun had come too far for it to all go to waste. 

“Maybe we can make an exception,” she said. “I can talk to them, explain the situation.” She looked at her mug. “I know we can trust you.” 

The words meant a lot to hear. “Thank you.” Dahyun meant it too. “But I can’t,” she caught herself, “all of this has already happened. I didn’t expect or want any of it to happen, but it did.” 

“You want to keep going.” There was a small smile growing on Yuri’s face. 

She nodded. “What I’ve learned, been doing. I can’t forget it,” she said. “But I also can’t stop. I don’t want to.” All that she’d done at the Ministry had been everything she’d wanted and more. She couldn’t turn away from it. “But you won’t do anything to Sana, right? All that she knows, all that my friends know, is that I worked in the Ministry.” Which had started as a rumour, because she’d told the wrong person. “But my friends and Sana, they,” she trailed off. She didn’t want to say the words.

Memory charms were mostly without consequences, but the same applied to sleeping draughts (and look at how that had ended). If she brought any of that on the others, maybe even more than she already had. She couldn’t do that to them. 

“Nothing happened to the people I told,” Yuri said. 

“But I didn’t tell Sana anything they’d have wanted to know,” Dahyun stared at her cup, “and something still happened.” She'd still gotten hurt. 

Yuri was silent. 

Then there was a soft chime. The door had opened. A knock on the door followed shortly after. 

Yuri went to open it. In walked McGonagall. The fatigue barely showed, but Dahyun recognised the traces of it in the headmistress’ eyes. She wondered how long the professor had been awake. Maybe she hadn’t slept at all. 

“I’m so sorry,” McGonagall said. Her eyes were gentle. “Leaving you in that forest was foolish. I was certain he’d be waiting in the school, waiting for the Hospital Wing to be unattended, and then to come when we were searching the school.” The guilt appeared. 

“In a way though, we did find him sooner,” Dahyun replied. “Maybe he found us, but he didn’t expect that Sana could fight back.” Raven had been a far better duelist than Dahyun. She wasn’t good at curses, so she’d used jinxes, charms, and hexes that he wouldn’t expect. That had worked until he’d used a spell that couldn’t be countered. Sana had known how to act then. While she hadn’t been aware of most of what had happened, Dahyun knew that Sana had saved them both. 

The headmistress pursed her lips. “We’ve done a full search of the school. Professor Bae is conducting another, but those the Ministry sent have deemed the school clear.” 

“They should’ve let us come sooner,” Yuri said, her eyes hard. “The bastards didn’t think it was pressing.” 

Dahyun wasn’t surprised to hear the critical edge to her words. Yuri hated how the Ministry conducted just about anything, citing the way they handled the Second Wizarding War and the events building up to it. She still didn’t think they’d gotten much better. 

“But the official story will still be that the fall was an accident, right?” Dahyun asked. The moral answer would’ve been to tell the entire school that it hadn’t been an accident. The one that was most likely going to be chosen was to keep that part a secret. They’d found the one responsible, so it didn't matter to those in charge anymore. And the thought that Raven had been in the school for so long would cause a panic about the school’s security. 

McGonagall scowled. “They say it has to be.” 

Yuri nodded. “Need to know basis. And it all resolved itself how they wanted it to, except for the fact that two students were put in severe danger.” 

Resolved itself. As in, Dahyun was supposed to find out how to make the Case Four potion useless, while those outside of school find the people responsible. 

And now, since another student got attacked, the Ministry was sending in people. 

“It wasn’t something they could ignore,” Dahyun said. 

Yuri shook her head. “But you’re all safe now. We’re gonna work on finding the rest.”

The rest. “And my family?” They didn’t know anything, but that didn’t mean much to the ones who’d sent Raven. 

“Have protective charms around the perimeter,” Yuri replied. “And traces on them, so we’d know if they’d go after them:” She took Dahyun’s hand then. “Which I don’t think they would.” 

Dahyun relaxed. Slightly. The truth was that she wouldn’t be able to do anything. She wasn’t even old enough to do magic outside of school. Out there she was useless. 

“And as for your friends,” Yuri said. “Nothing’ll happen. We’re not gonna go all Men in Black if they guess where you work,” a pause, “you can’t tell them what you’re doing, but it’s not like they won’t figure out that this wasn’t an accident or that you know a lot more than you’re letting on.” Then she shrugged. “But it’s your choice, Dahyun. They’re your friends and you never made any type of vows.” 

Dahyun only nodded. Her choice. 

“Do you wanna take a break from school?” Yuri glanced at McGonagall. “We can approve that.” 

“No,” Dahyun said immediately. “I need to be here.” 

McGonagall looked like she wanted to say something else. Dahyun knew it went along the lines of, you should take this break from school, probably also something relating to the students who had been there when Voldermort’s Death Eaters had stormed the school. Dahyun’s situation was nothing like that. She didn’t need time to recover. She needed her life to be normal (sort of). 

Yuri cleared . “Well, there’s a couple of things we still have to discuss.” She glanced between McGonagall and Dahyun. The look in her eyes was clear. It’s confidential. 

To her credit, the headmistress only nodded. “Today I will tell the school about what happened this past week,” she said. “It hasn’t escaped anyone's notice that the two of you weren’t in school yesterday.” Her lips pursed as she said the words. “But I won’t mention your names today, unless you’d want me to.” A pause. “But both Slytherin and Hufflepuff will receive fifty points for how you both handled this situation.” 

“Sana decides.” Dahyun didn’t want her name to be broadcasted in that way, but maybe it would quell the leftover rumours that Sana had pushed Dahyun down the stairs. Even though the cause of the fall would still be a secret, connections would probably be drawn. They'd just hang around without any confirmation. If Sana wanted to stop being at the centre of that, Dahyun was more than okay with it. 

McGonagall smiled. “I’ll ask her soon.” Then she left. 

Only when the door closed did Yuri speak. 

“Okay,” her eyes went to the chest in the corner, “wanna talk me through what you found out? McGonagall told me the gist of it, but, well, you know.”

Dahyun put her cup down and got out the potions. She explained and demonstrated each of the mixtures again. She told Yuri about what the counter was most likely to be: stronger than her wakefulness draught with similar ingredients, but similar in proportions of chemical and magical properties to the Case Four draught itself. 

Yuri looked at them each. “A little too finicky for a school lab.” She hummed. “I’ll get to it by us.”

“You didn’t already?”

She winked. “Atkins was up my about Case Sixteen. We only got a few looks in, but this was all yours.”

“Will this stuff help?” Dahyun asked, pointing at the many vials and beakers. 

“Definitely not much use for you here,” Yuri said. “And I think it'll help my case.” 

To show they were making progress. That Case Four was pretty important. 

If there was another thing she’d had learned while at the Ministry, it was that bureaucracy was everywhere. Even the magical and top secret required paperwork. Granted, said paperwork had to be top secret as well, but it was still required. 

Dahyun glanced at her watch. An hour until breakfast actually started. She’d go to class today too. 

“Hey,” Yuri pulled her in for a tight hug, “do me and yourself a favour. Take it easy, be a real student, skip class maybe.” She pulled away. “Kill it on the field when you’re ready. On my end of things, you’re off the hook. Act like it.” She gave her a wink. 

Dahyun smiled. “I’ll try my best, boss.” She gave her a salute. 

The older girl rolled her eyes. “Don’t start with that.” She gave her another hug. “But I’m serious. Let yourself recover. Send me an owl if you need someone to talk to or a full on break. We can make that happen.” 

“I know,” she said. “Thanks, Yuri. Really.”

Then she was out of Selen’s office. At this time of the year, morning was getting darker. She wished there’d be a sunrise now. 

Someone was brushing her teeth at one of the sinks.

As soon as she saw her, Nayeon was rinsing and rushing over. 

“You’re awake?” she asked with a toothy smile. Even so, there was concern in her eyes. 

“Yep.” Dahyun gave her her best smile. 

Then the girl hugged her. “And how’re you feeling?” 

“Better.” She wondered if Sana had told them everything about the forest. Probably. “I’m serious. Got to sleep and heal properly too.” She pulled away. “What about you? All of you?”

Nayeon smiled. “Diagnosed with even cases of worry.”

“And how’s Sana?” Dahyun's stomach twisted. If only she’d gone alone to the forest, then Sana wouldn’t have been in such danger. 

Then again, she probably wouldn’t have been here right now. Or if she was, she’d be much worse off. 

A hand squeezed her shoulder. “Got some sleep and healing too, plus a bit of food. So it’s about time you catch up.”

“I will.”

Nayeon looked at her for one moment longer before going back to her bed. Dahyun did the same. Her uniform was in one piece and clean, maybe a bit wrinkled, but that was fine. The perks of magic. 

She brushed her teeth, her hair, and put concealer underneath her eyes. There were marks all across her face, but they were pale. Even the ones from before were on their way to becoming less noticeable. She hoped they’d fade away completely. 

There was more movement outside. Dahyun got to her feet, picked up her bag, slipped past through her curtains, and went through those of another. 

Sana lay awake, staring up at the ceiling. She looked tired, but seemed to brighten when Dahyun came in. 

“Hey,” Sana sat up, “how’d you sleep?” She reached out a hand, but only halfway. She was hesitating.

Dahyun took it. “Really well.” She sat down at the foot of the bed. “You?”

“Same here.” She held Dahyun’s hand in both her own. “Why are you dressed?” A frown. “You’re not going to class, are you?”

“I am,” Dahyun replied. 

“Shouldn’t you be taking it easy?”

“I am,” she repeated. “Getting back to normal is what I want.” It had helped at the start of the year. It would now too.

Sana didn’t look convinced. “That’s not exactly how you take it easy.”

Dahyun smiled. “Which is why I’ll bring you what notes I can from today. You’ll relax here.” 

“You don’t have to,” she muttered. One of her thumbs circled the back of Dahyun’s hand. 

“Funny,” Dahyun poked her side, “I said that too. You didn’t listen.” 

A light laugh. “But I’ll be really bored on my own.” Her bottom lip jutted out. 

She got her bag on her lap. “I’ve got books for you to pass the time.” She pulled two out. “Runes, history and everything nice.” 

Sana wrinkled her nose. “No thanks.”

Dahyun chuckled. “How about this.” She dug her hand deeper into the bag. 

“You still have it?” She looked at what Dahyun held. 

Dahyun ped it, pointed out where the ‘on’ button was, and then showed her the games. “Play any one you want.” 

“I just recognise this one.” Sana pointed at the one Pokémon game. “But it only has one memory, right?” A small frown. “Maybe I’ll figure out the other ones?”
How she still knew that, Dahyun didn’t know. She made another split-second decision. It’d be a save she’d grieve for, but she hadn’t beaten it yet, so that was fine (maybe). She could live with it. 

Dahyun put the card in, turned it on, and started a brand new game. 

“Here you go.” She handed it to her. “I’ll wanna know your progress at the end of the day.”

Sana looked at the console and then back to her. “Thank you.”

Dahyun shook her head. “I should be saying that to you.” She pulled Sana in for a hug. “Thank you,” she murmured. “And don’t you ever doubt your dueling skills again.” 

There was no reply. Sana just wrapped her arms around her. It was a bit looser than yesterday, but Dahyun didn’t feel any less at ease. 

“I told McGonagall not to say our names,” Sana muttered. “I hope that’s okay with you?”

Dahyun smiled. “If it’s fine with you.” 

“Yep. They’ll put the pieces together anyway, but we don’t need the whole school knowing it right now.” 

Dahyun pulled away. 

The Slytherin scanned her eyes. Dahyun felt the urge to look away. 

“But you’re coming back later?” Sana asked. 

“Definitely," she replied. "And take breaks while you play. It's bad for your eyes." 

Sana smiled then. It was such a bright expression that Dahyun couldn’t help but return it.

Dahyun found she didn’t want to leave, but she’d made up her mind. 

Once she passed the curtains, she was engulfed in a tight hug. The person was quite a bit taller than her. 

“Hiya,” Jeongyeon said. “Please don’t tell me you’re actually going to the Great Hall. We can bring you breakfast.”

Dahyun hugged her back. The Gryffindor wasn’t always in favour of physical affection. “I’m going.”

“Move it, Jeong.” She heard Chaeyoung say. “Our turn.”

The tall Gryffindor pulled away and two sets of arms enveloped her. 

Dahyun found herself laughing. “Why do I get the feeling I’ll be under house arrest?”

“Well,” Jihyo said. “If you’re allowed on the Hogsmeade trip, I’m never leaving your side.” She tightened her grip. 

“Same here,” Chaeyoung added. 

Dahyun laughed again. “Good, because you still owe me.” Even so, she didn’t think she was ready to go to Hogsmeade. Not yet. 

Another body came into the hug. Then another. She knew it was the two Gryffindors.

“I’m coming too,” Momo said. 

“I’m being crushed,” Dahyun called. 

None of them let go. Not that she’d expected them to. 

“I can’t even see her anymore.” Nayeon’s voice was light and teasing. 

The pressure around Dahyun started to ease. She purposefully took a very deep breath. 

A few chuckled. 

“Now breakfast,” Dahyun got out, “I’m starving.”

____

It seemed like everyone had been waiting for the doors to open. 

Although they weren’t looking directly at her, Mina felt completely exposed. She snuck a glance at Dahyun to see her smiling brightly as she chatted with Momo about the match tomorrow. She barely looked fazed by the attention. 

“Wanna sit with us?” Chaeyoung asked softly. “We’ll be at Hufflepuff.”

Mina wondered what kind of attention that would bring. 

“Sure thing,” Nayeon said. She grabbed Mina’s hand, as well as Tzuyu’s. 

Eyes were glued to them as they took a large space of the Hufflepuff table. 

Mina found herself grabbing anything for breakfast, wanting to melt away. People were still looking at them. 

“You okay?” Dahyun whispered. She had a softer smile on. How she kept that up, Mina didn’t know. 

Mina just nodded. “Just not used to this.” 

“I know,” she took a bite of toast, “but they’ll get over it. Always do.”

Right. Dahyun was used to this. Luke was never one to be subtle, not even when the two had first started dating. Then all the other rumours came. Most were outrageous, others just terrible. 

The room fell silent. Mina looked up. McGonagall had stood up. 

“Good morning, everyone,” she said. “You can go back to all your conversations soon.” 

Mina glanced at Dahyun to see that she looked relaxed. She wondered how much that actually meant. 

“The evening before last, a student was attacked. Yesterday, the same student was, but they were with another. The culprit has been detained. They weren’t a student.”

While she wasn’t saying any names, Mina knew everyone was aware of who was being referred to. 

“The Ministry has deemed the issue resolved. Hogwarts is safe again. The students involved will remain anonymous, but I would still like you to value what these two students have done in the last few days.” 

There was a short round of applause. People were starting to crane their necks towards their table. Chaeyoung and Jeongyeon were already glaring right back at the students who were staring. 

“Professor?” someone called. They were from the Ravenclaw table. “What was the reason for those attacks?”

Beside her, she felt Dahyun tense. 

“It was a matter of blood,” McGonagall said. “A person who is stuck in the past, thinking that blood determines one’s value.” She straightened. “A foolish mentality.” Then she sat down. 

Across the table, Chaeyoung was scowling. Mina felt the same. It wasn’t resolved. People had sent Raven. Just because he’d been caught didn’t mean that Dahyun was safe. She didn’t even refer to the fall, but it was so easy for the rest of them to know that Raven had been responsible for that.

There were a few long moments of silence. Then everyone started talking. Mina heard Sana’s name. She also heard Dahyun’s. 

“It’ll pass?” Mina glanced at the Hufflepuff. 

Dahyun nodded. “Yep.” A sigh. “Even if the fall wasn’t addressed, hopefully this’ll be enough to show that Sana’d never hurt anyone.” 

“It better,” Nayeon muttered. 

“But why isn’t the fall addressed?” Mina asked quietly. 

Dahyun’s eyes were focused on the food. “Ask me about this later,” she said. 

Mina kept eating. She was reminded of when it had all started. Dahyun had never blamed Sana, not even for being left by herself on that day. She’d known it wasn’t an accident. She hadn’t even been surprised by what McGonagall had said. There were still secrets behind that, ones Mina doubted would be told. She didn’t know if that was a good thing or not. 

“So you going to Hogsmeade?” Dahyun asked. “Zonko’s and Honeydukes both have a new collection kind of thing.”

“Do they?” Tzuyu looked up from her food. She loved Zonko’s Joke Shop. 

“Yep. Honeydukes joined with an ice cream dealer. Zonko’s with the Weasley’s.” 

“Finally!” Chaeyoung pumped her fist. “I need their Snackboxes.” 

“But they’re not allowed,” Mina said. 

The Ravenclaw winked. “One, I’m smuggling them in. Two, we’re slipping a couple to,” she trailed off, “certain people.”

“You’re kidding,” Nayeon gasped, “Jennie fainting before the match. That was you?” 

Chaeyoung looked sheepish. “Maybe.”

“Sana nearly had a heart attack.” Mina lightly kicked her under the table. “You do that this year, she’ll freak out and someone else might retaliate.” She winked at her. 

“I won’t,” Chaeyoung laughed, “someone’ll get a nosebleed this year.”

A piece of bread hit her in the chest. Lightly as well. 

“I see one drop of blood and I’ll make your robes neon green,” Tzuyu said. “For the whole match. Also your hair." 

The Ravenclaw’s eyes widened. “I surrender!”

Mina smiled at the scene. A few weeks ago it would’ve been unthinkable. Now it had happened. 

____

Today’s Hospital Wing stay hadn’t been boring. Her parents had sent her a huge care package filled with the comforts of home. The Quidditch team had all but barged in at lunch to make sure she was alright and to bring her spirits up. They’d succeeded. 

A few hours later, Selen came over to her, a smile on her face. 

“There are three first years to see you. Can they?” 

Sana could barely believe they’d come. She nodded. 

The footsteps of each girl seemed to be distinguishable. She was pretty sure one skipping was Yuqi, the quick steps were Shuhua, and the longer and heavier strides belonged to the Gryffindor. Was her name Soyeon?

They appeared at the curtain, first Shuhua, then the other two. All held each other’s hands. 

Soyeon smiled shyly, coming over with a mug. 

“Brought you something!” Yuqi’s blaring deep voice was still a shock. She bounded over and sat on the side of Sana’s bed. 

Soyeon passed it to her. It was hot chocolate. Exactly how Dahyun had made for Yuqi and Shuhua. How long ago had that been? 

Sana grinned. “Thank you.”

“You look like you recovered,” Soyeon said. 

She nodded. “I’ll be getting out tonight.”

“Why’s Dahyun outside already?” Shuhua asked. She stood close, but hadn’t sat down. Her eyes took in the mess Sana had made in the last few hours. 

“She wanted to,” Sana replied. 

She wrinkled her nose. “Why?”

Distraction, she thought. “It makes her feel better. I wanted to actually take a break.” 

“Me too,” Yuqi peered at the sweets on Sana’s bedside table, “but Dahyun-unnie already missed so much. I think she’d wouldn’t wanna miss anymore.” 

That was also true. Sana still didn’t think it was the right way to go about it. Dahyun could handle it, a lot more than Sana ever could, but she was still just a girl. Sana had a strong feeling that Dahyun could let all of this grow without ever showing what she was feeling. It would bubble up slowly until Dahyun broke down. And even then, she probably wouldn’t reach out to them, but let herself handle it. Then the cycle would repeat itself. 

Sana blinked, taking herself out of her thoughts. “Anyone want sweets?”

All three exchanged looks. Then they nodded. 

“How are you?” asked the Gryffindor. 

“Tired,” Sana passed out the chocolate wands and caramel cobwebs, “and sore.” 

“Was this the same person as before?” Shuhua asked. “McGonagall didn’t say anything about the fall on the stairs.” 

“So you can’t say anything about it to others,” she replied. That meant it was supposed to be a secret. Sana didn’t know what to make of that, but these were decisions out of their control. “But he wrote the two notes you found.” 

“So he was in the school this whole time?” Soyeon frowned, looking at her hands. “Was he following you two?”

Yes and no. She wouldn’t tell them exactly what had happened. Not only was it something she didn’t want to go through again now, but it also wasn’t anything for the girls to hear. “He found me after Quidditch. From there I think he’d run into the Forbidden Forest,” Sana said instead. “And we thought we’d be safe there, that he’d have come back here instead.”

They were fully in winter now. Who would’ve been so desperate to hide in the Forbidden Forest? There were still giant spiders, centaurs who weren’t fond of humans, and there were rumours of trolls and a sentient car. Someone like Raven, if he’d stayed there with a full-on fire to warm himself, and that wasn't even counting how a human stood out in that forest—that was a death wish just waiting to happen. 

“But he didn’t,” Shuhua finished. “And you were alone?” 

Sana nodded. “We were.” She remembered how Dahyun had somehow shut off her panic. She hadn’t been able to follow the fighting after that, only that there’d been one spell Dahyun hadn’t been able to block. For that alone, he’d be sent to Azkaban for a long time. The rest of what he’d done would also have to be taken into consideration. 

“And you protected each other?” Yuqi asked. 

Sana hadn’t been able to. Not really. She’d gotten his attention away from her, but the curse had been cast. Had she not frozen the way she had, maybe the curse wouldn’t have come. 

“She protected me,” Sana said. 

“I don’t believe that,” Shuhua said softly. “You been helped each other this whole time. She didn’t let anyone blame you. Ever. You helped her the whole time she was asleep.” 

“And after that!” Yuqi added. 

The doors opened. Sana heard footsteps and chatter. Nayeon appeared at the curtain. 

“Hey!” She grinned at them. 

Momo was beside her. “What’s up?” 

“We wanted to see how she was,” Yuqi smiled, “but we’ll go.”

“Thank you, unnie,” Soyeon said with a small smile. “Hope you feel better soon.” 

Shuhua and Yuqi proceeded to give Sana two big hugs. 

Then they were gone. Sana kept the curtains pulled back. They almost made her claustraphobic. 

“Best friends with first years too?” Momo asked. “Soyeon’s a hard not to crack. She tried out for the team. I bet she’ll be on it next year.”

Sana smiled. “Looking forward to it.” 

Her friends had brought dinner with them. The plates were filled with exactly what Sana liked: Yorkshire pudding, plenty of gravy, and potatoes. For dessert, a slice of banana bread. 

“You wouldn’t believe how many questions Dahyun got,” Tzuyu said. “I thought she’d flip out at Lisa and Joshua.” 

“And in Charms, Luke insisted on discussing illusion magic and how to oppose it.” Nayeon rolled her eyes. “I was gonna flip out.” 

“And how is she?” Maybe Sana should’ve gone to class as well. She fought a sigh. 

“Like always,” Nayeon said. “Doesn’t really bat an eye, even when she’s dealing with Luke.” She frowned. “It’s mad how good she is at that.” 

“Patience made perfect?” Mina suggested. “She was doing that before too.” 

“And last year,” Sana added. If Luke wasn’t the least subtle person on the planet, she wasn’t sure if anyone would’ve noticed that the two broke up. Only in tiny moments of the day did Dahyun let something other than a smile show. Before, Sana had never seen them, but she’d known long enough that about half of Dahyun’s smiles were fake. She’d been taken aback by that. Joined with the way the Hufflepuff had distanced herself from Sana ever since first year, Sana’d lumped Dahyun in with all the rest. The ones who’d be nice to your face, but exactly the opposite once you turned around. 

Nayeon nodded. “This might be exactly the wrong time to ask this, but is anything happening on that front?” 

Sana cringed. “You’re right,” she said. “Exactly the wrong time.” Yet her face had warmed. 

“Is that a Nintendo?” Tzuyu nodded at it. “You have one?”

Her blush strengthened. “Dahyun lent it to me for the day.”

“Interesting,” Momo smirked at her, “did you tell her about yours?”

Nayeon looked between them. “What?” She was looking at the device as if it was some sort of alien.

Momo explained what a Nintendo and Pokémon was. Mina smiled the entire time, very likely remembering the few times they’d seen the device make its appearance. 

“When things do calm down, would you still want to?” Mina asked. 

Would Sana want to? The answer was clear. 

“I don’t think she would.” If Sana had learned anything about Dahyun, it was that her kindness was genuine. That also meant that everything she’d done was a kindness to Sana. It wouldn’t matter then that she’d fallen further for Dahyun if said girl didn’t feel the same. ‘Not exactly a breakfast in bed’ may just have been because she’d felt guilty for Sana getting hurt. The same probably applied to the gaming device too. 

“I know that look,” Nayeon scowled, “a nice person’s not gonna fly you across school. Especially not when they’re technically banned from doing it.” 

“You don’t know that,” Sana said. “She’ll let off first years she doesn’t know, not caring what house they’re from. She’ll defend you from the whole school if she can, just because she knows it’s wrong. And she’ll give you something like this if you’re bored.” She held up the device. “Just because she knows what it’s like to be in here alone. So yeah, she’s that nice.” 

She didn’t miss the way her friends glanced at Momo who’d helped herself to the jelly slugs. 

“She is that nice,” Momo said. “But she wouldn’t restart her game for just anyone. Her and Chaeyoung once had a mini meltdown when their progress was wiped.” She shrugged. “There was something about a league and four people, nearly making it to the final.” 

“The Elite Four,” Sana and Tzuyu said. 

Tzuyu smirked. “You really know that game well.” 

Sana whacked her arm. “Shut up.”

She winked at her. “But really, deleting her progress is a big thing.” Then she laughed. “The rest is big too though, but,” another chuckle, “bonding over Pokémon.” Tzuyu kept laughing.  

Sana just shook her head. This—whatever it was—would be figured out later. She couldn’t add that to everything else. And yet, it was definitely something Sana had to think about. 

Throughout the years, she’d seen that the line between one side of Dahyun and the real one was blurred. It was confusing. And then they’d been paired for patrol last year. She hadn’t liked it at all that entire year. Pretty much nothing had happened and any conversation with Dahyun was completely superficial. None of it had seemed fake, but Sana became more aware of how far away Dahyun held people. It was all done through humour and kindness, both genuine, but they gave people the feeling they knew Dahyun when they really didn’t. 

It should’ve made Sana add Dahyun to the list of people she wanted nothing to do with. And it had succeeded in doing exactly the opposite. And then the party had happened. 

“Well, you lovesick puppy,” Nayeon cackled, “eat your food.”

Thankfully, they didn’t talk about Dahyun anymore. They went through what she’d missed and about the upcoming match. 

“I’m guessing you’ll be for Ravenclaw?” Nayeon waggled her eyebrows at Mina. 

She blushed. “I’m not betting any money on it.” 

“I will,” Momo said. “Ten sickles for Ravenclaw. Allison’s a good sub, but Wheein will get past her easy.”

“I’m for Hufflepuff,” Nayeon shot back. “Lisa’ll get the snitch before things get bad.”

“You two have fun with that,” Sana smirked, “and whoever wins pays for your Hogsmeade date.”

Both looked liked she’d stunned them. It was her revenge. 

She turned to Mina. “Two sickles? My bet’s on Hufflepuff.”

The other girl rolled her eyes. “Sure.”

They stayed for a bit longer before heading off to dinner themselves. They were already late.

Sana was torn between staying in bed and actually getting ready to leave. She chose the latter. 

Taking in her reflection in the mirror, she didn’t look completely terrible. Her leg didn’t hurt at all, only the skin of her arm twinged when she moved, while the back of her head felt off. Her muscles all ached, especially her back. That was something she’d have to deal with. 

Had Dahyun forgotten to stop by? Sana wouldn’t blame her at all for that. 

But as Sana got to her feet, the doors opened. In came Dahyun, more than slightly off breath. 

“Went to the Owlery,” she clutched her side, “wanted to let my parents know I’m fine.”

“And you ran back?” Sana asked. She went over to her and tugged on her arm. “Sit down first. Breathe.” 

“Actually didn’t run.” Dahyun followed her back to bed. "I'm just unfit." She sat down with a contented sigh. Then she frowned. “Were you leaving?”

“Getting ready to.” She sat down beside her. 

The Hufflepuff dug around in her bag. “Here you go. All the things you missed. Plus the book you need to read for Care of Magical Creatures.” She handed her a neat pile of notes and said book. 

Sana should’ve known it wasn’t just a trip to the Owlery. “I have friends in those classes who can keep me caught up,” she said. “And I just missed two days.”

Dahyun smiled. It was a genuine one. “Maybe, but I also had friends in my classes. You still went around, even to Binns.”

Just returning the favour, Sana finished in her head. “But you still overdid it.” She grinned at her. “Overachiever.”

She laughed. Sana loved the sound. “Had to make the best out of my two days.” Then Dahyun sighed. “Maybe I overdid it.” 

Then she did something Sana really didn’t expect. She leaned her head on Sana’s shoulder. 

For a brief second, Sana debated asking Dahyun about yesterday. She immediately pushed down those thoughts. Dahyun wouldn't want to face yesterday. Sana didn't want to either. And Dahyun had been reminded of it all day. Sana couldn't add to that. 

“What’s your progress?” Dahyun pointed at the Nintendo. 

Sana lifted it with her magic, brought it over to them. She was very careful not to let it fall. 

Dahyun opened it and began tapping away a lot faster than Sana had. Her head still rested on Sana’s shoulder. “Ooh, you’re doing great!" A pause. “Be honest. Did you choose Oschawott because he was a water Pokémon or because he’s cute?” 

“Because he’s cute,” Sana replied. “I don’t know all the rules for the types and all that.” It had been years ago, but Dahyun had explained to her why things like electricity were weak against ground and all that. Sana had forgotten most of it. She just knew it existed. 

“Yet.” Dahyun saved the game. “Want to keep it for a bit?” She held it up. 

“Your precious game?” she looked down at her, “you’d let me borrow it?” 

Dahyun smiled up at her. “I’d be sly and not offer it to you if I didn’t want to.”

“What if we shared it?” Sana asked. “That way you won’t have to delete it again, even if you would’ve taken a different starter.” 

They were very close. She knew she could’ve closed that distance so easily, but again, all of that would be thought about later. 

Sana looked away. “The fire one, right?” 

“Yes!” Dahyun straightened. Sana’s shoulder felt cold. “You’re good.” She got to her feet. “So, I bet you can’t wait to get out of here.”

“You’re right.” Sana stood with her. “Did you eat?”

“Yep,” she ran a hand through her hair, “technically, it’s patrol time.” 

“You’re not gonna,” she started. What if Dahyun started staying up as long as she did and continued the cycle that drained her? 

“Seohyun put in substitutes for the rest of the week,” Dahyun replied. “Don’t worry.” 

“But you’re gonna go to the library.”

Dahyun’s lip was pulled between her teeth. “You know me well.” 

They went out of the door together, both wishing Madame Selen a good night. In the past weeks and months, Sana had seen more of the healer than she had in the last five years. She’d been at St. Mungo’s before Hogwarts, seeing her fair share of magical injuries and plights. It made sense, especially with how well she could deal with the recent situations, especially yesterday. 

Dahyun walked with her to the stairs. Her hand immediately went to the banister. 

“What happened to the library?” Sana hoped that wouldn’t make her walk away. 

She just smiled. Again, it was sincere. “I’m walking you down.” 

“What a gentlewoman.”

Their arms brushed together. Sana wasn’t sure who was staying closer to who. It was probably not Dahyun. 

“Excited for tomorrow’s match?” Sana asked. 

Dahyun nodded. “Allison’s a little terrified, but I watched her and Jihyo practice. She should do pretty well.” She tapped her fist to her head three times. 

“What is that?” She mimicked the movement. 

“Knock on wood,” Dahyun replied. “Superstition at its finest. It’s so you don’t jinx something you say. As in, if you tempted fate or something.” She tensed now and then, as if she was dizzy. “I don’t wanna sound like I’m threatening you, but I better see you in our colours tomorrow.”

Sana smiled. “I don’t own a lot of yellow.” 

“The counter-illusion spells on the school have been lifted.” Dahyun waved her wand and her hair turned a pale blonde with black at the roots. “I’ll gladly turn your head—I mean, hair yellow. 

“My head?” Sana repeated. “Is that what happened with Eric?” 

She laughed. “My best work.” 

Sana elbowed her. “Don’t touch my face, but you can do what you want with my hair.” 

“So I can make you bald?” 

Sana felt a small giggle start. “Except that.” 

Dahyun pouted. “Damn.” She stopped them at the base of the stairs. “Did you like your hair last time?” 

Last time. At a party where she’d asked a great deal of questions and eventually gotten some of the answers she’d wanted. Even if it hadn't been right after she'd asked those questions. 

I don’t regret the kiss. 

Sana nodded. 

Dahyun’s brow furrowed as her eyes scanned her hairline. 

Sana noticed how she hadn’t covered her scars. They weren’t as thick as the day after the letter had arrived. The one that had been sent by people not in the school. By the people who were still out there. 

“You alright?” Dahyun’s eyes peered into her own. “Worried I’m making your hair blue instead?” The smile was halfway there, but her eyes gave her away. There was too muchconcern and not enough humour. 

“I trust you to share your house pride,” Sana replied. “But maybe you’re writing ‘go Hufflepuff’ on the top.” 

“Good idea.” The smile was gentle. Genuine again. Then Dahyun was working on her hair again with an adorable level of concentration. 

Sana watched her work. Her favourite part was how the Hufflepuff’s eyes lit up now and then. She never got distracted. Had Sana been in her position, she would’ve been too on edge because of how close they were. She was on edge now. And she wanted to be closer to her. 

But Dahyun wasn’t Sana. She clearly wasn’t dwelling on any of that. She was blissfully unaware of how Sana fiddled with the strap of her bag and the edge of her top. Completely oblivious to how badly Sana wanted to kiss her. 

“Okay,” Dahyun’s lips parted in a grin, “sorry that took so long. My hope's that I did better than last time. It’s a little neater and more golden.” 

“Thank you,” Sana said. “Now I’m ready to support your team.” 

“An honorary Hufflepuff.” She pocketed her wand. She looked up at her, eyes flitting between Sana’s. 

Her chest felt completely uncomfortable. It tickled. It almost ached. 

Sana wanted to lean forward, but she knew she shouldn’t. 

“Wanna go to the match together?” Dahyun asked. 

That took her aback, but she had an answer. “Yes.” Then she remembered how Dahyun had sat with Mina, Chaeyoung, and Jihyo. “We’ll all go from the Great Hall?”

Dahyun nodded, her gaze finding the ceiling and then the floor. “Keep going?” 

They kept walking down together. Sana’s chest had normalised more or less. 

“Are you going to Hogsmeade?” Sana asked. 

There was a flicker of something in her expression. “I’m going to try. Not sure yet.”

She was lying. Dahyun didn’t plan on going. Sana couldn’t think of why. 

“You?” 

“Not sure either,” Sana said. 

“There’s always next time.” 

Now they were in the Dungeons. 

“So,” Dahyun leaned from one foot to the other, “see you tomorrow.”

“Is going to the library really a good idea? Before tomorrow?” Sana asked. “You Puffs always invite all houses.” No matter who lost and who won. Would Dahyun go to the party? Sana wasn’t sure she could manage another dramatic house party. 

She smiled. “You’re right” She pursed her lips. “I call it a day?” 

“Yes,” Sana grinned, “take tonight off.”

“And tomorrow,” Dahyun added, “I’m not working tomorrow either.”

She gasped. “Who are you?” 

A laugh. “I know. I’ll probably have to stay here on Sunday anyway. Just to catch up.” 

Me too, Sana thought. “So go sleep.” She wrapped an arm around Dahyun’s shoulders, turning her in the direction of the kitchens. “Off you go.” she whispered. 

Dahyun patted her hand. “Okay, you’ve convinced me.” She turned her head, a sparkle in her eyes. They were close again. So close. 

Sana could almost forget that yesterday had happened. She could almost forget that they were coming from the Hospital Wing. She could almost forget how Dahyun had broken down yesterday. If she forgot that, she could let herself lean forward. But she didn’t. 

And they hadn't talked about it. Dahyun wouldn't want to, but that didn't mean for a second that she hadn't forgotten it. Sana had no idea what was going on in her head when she was alone. She wanted to. She wanted to show Dahyun that she could confide in Sana. But that needed time. And trust. She had one of those. She could wait.

“Good,” Sana said. “Sleep well.” Was she going to take the sleeping draught from Selen? 

“Same to you,” Dahyun said softly, an unreadable edge to her expression. “Goodnight, Sana.” 

Sana pulled her arm away and turned to the entrance wall. She looked back after saying the password. 

Dahyun was walking towards the hall leading to the kitchen, not the main staircase. Then she turned back, saw Sana watching her. She waved. 

Sana waved back, feeling her heart finally ease. 

_____

Author's Note 

Finally, a small break for these characters! Perhaps not all their (or your) questions are answered yet, but they're safe for the moment (plus a quidditch match is coming up). I don't mean for these chapters to get longer as things progress. It might be something about having more time to write them? 

Thank you for the support on this story! Harry Potter aus are some of my favourite things ever and I'm glad to be sharing one of my own on here. 

MiChaeng has been on the backburner for a bit, though I intend to bring them back a bit more. Saida, naturally, is still at the forefront and will continue to be! Would love to know your thoughts on their development. I don't often intend for a story to be a slow-burn, but they almost always end up being like that. 

See you in the next chapter.