Sana trudged into the buzzing Great Hall. She probably shouldn’t have, but she went back to sleep. Now it was lunch. And not the beginning of it. 

There were some looks, but not nearly as there were in the days before. Except for one who stood up at the edge of the Gryffindor table. He strode over to her and she resisted the urge to either punch him or hex him. 

He spoke to her in a not-so-loud whisper. “What did you do to her?” 

“Back off, Luke.” She knew they would be getting more stares. More rumours would spread. Dahyun’s ex and whatever Sana was to her facing off. This was enough to go wild on speculations for days. 

“You’re not gonna deny that you’ve been going to the Hospital Wing?” 

How did he know that? 

“No, I’m not.” She walked past him, seeing how Momo rose. Sana shook her head, hoping she’d sit down, not cause a scene, as the Gryffindor tended to get defensive. She did. 

She walked past Hufflepuff, her head bowed, then Ravenclaw, ignoring Junghwa who sat near the edge. It wasn’t her fault, but Sana had lost all interest she’d had in her. It didn’t help that seeing her made think of a bloodied and bandaged individual. One who looked like that because of Sana. 

“Dahyun’s awake,” Mina said. “But you knew that already.” She reached out and straightened Sana’s shirt. “Did you stay awake?”

“I had patrol,” she replied, leaving it at that. 

“You better not be making yourself suffer for this,” she spoke in Japanese now. “It wasn’t your fault. She doesn’t think so either.” 

“You don’t know that.” She’d seen enough of the Hufflepuff to know that she’d never say so, even if she did think it was Sana’s fault. 

“That’s what the others are hearing,” a tiny smile appeared, “for a girl who hates gossip, she really knows how to use it.” 

She does, Sana thought, recalling how she handled a particular rumour last year. Way better than Sana did. 

As she tried to process Mina’s words, she looked around the hall, then at her friend. What was she talking about?

“Anyone who has asked about Dahyun has come back with the revelation that it wasn’t your fault. That it was an accident, and that she just fell.” 

“Just fell,” Sana repeated. “And they believe that?”

She shrugged. “It’s the first thing they hear from her inner circle. And you know how they are, especially Jihyo and Chaeyoung. The shock alone will make people believe it.” 

It didn’t work like that. It couldn’t. Jihyo was unlikely to excuse Sana and Chaeyoung would never.

“Does she believe it? I know those two don’t.” 

Mina frowned. “What do you mean?” 

“She’s the last person to try and turn the school against someone.” She stared at her lunch—technically breakfast—her appetite almost gone. “That doesn’t mean that she doesn’t blame me.” And ultimately, that was what mattered. Sana’s apologies weren’t going to the school population. 

“Why do I feel like you want her to?” Mina asked. 

“So she’s finally awake!” Nayeon sat down opposite them, Tzuyu sliding in beside her. “And you haven’t been mauled by badgers or lions.” 

“Eagles too? Or Ravens, whatever,” Tzuyu added. “Son is scary.”

Sana agreed. 

“She’s an honorary Gryffindor,” Nayeon replied. “A cub still, but she’s a menace. I genuinely thought my hair was gonna be gone the morning after. Or that my voice would be octaves higher.” She shuddered. “I still don’t think Hwasa’s forgiven her for that.” 

“Chaeyoung was just worried,” Mina said. “You would be too.” 

“And we were,” the eldest of them replied. “But you didn’t see me taking out my wand, or raising my fists.” 

“You were worried?” Sana asked. 

“Don’t look so surprised. I’m not that heartless.” She winked, but the seriousness in her eyes lingered. “She covered Jihyo’s patrol last year a few times,” she shrugged, “not as unbearable as the rest. Better than even the best Gryffindors.” 

“Like Momo?” Tzuyu’s eyes sparkled, yet she kept her face blank. 

Nayeon didn’t flinch. “Shush, Chou. Adults are speaking.”

Sana smiled. “Speak for yourself.” 

“You’re older than those two!” 

“That makes me the third youngest.” She huddled against Mina. After all that happened, it was extremely comforting. She hugged the other girl closer. 

“Well,” Nayeon sniffed, “this is why I’m the secret captain of our team.” 

Sana rolled her eyes, but couldn’t stop her smile. Even if nothing else was making sense, her friends were a constant, not-so-secret crushes and all. 

_____

Mina glared at her essay. It was terrible, but it was also due tomorrow. Her hand ached from writing all day. She tried to stretch the fingers, roll the hand around the wrist, and massage it. It helped some, but if she had to write any more, she was worried she might actually hurt herself. That and she’d probably tear up. 

Now all she needed was a book for Charms. Or two. She knew one of the ones she wanted. 

Walking through the library, especially at this time, was something she loved. There were people, but no one she needed to talk to. It was a place where she could be quiet and no one looked at her as if she’d missed her cue to speak. It meant that most people just thought she was shy, which she was, but not as much as people thought. She preferred to sit back and watch. You learned a lot about people that way. 

Then again, there were moments when she wanted to talk to someone. That was exactly the case when she got to the shelf she wanted. Chaeyoung stood among them, a small stack already in her arms. She looked to where Mina had arrived, nodded once. The tiredness hadn’t left her, but she was standing a little straighter. 

She nodded back, before walking past towards the window. It was raining. Her book was there: On the Art of Illusion. Grabbing it, she started looking for something else that might help. She was writing about how to put a school in the middle of a city and not in a remote area like Hogwarts was. The Japanese wizarding school was also in a remote location. She wasn’t sure about the American one, but figured it was as well.

She was sure a school like she was imagining could work. The Ministry and St. Mungo’s were in London. The American government was in New York of all places. Those buildings couldn’t have been less exposed, and yet no one could argue that they were more secure than the schools. 

“Looking for anything specific?” someone whispered. 

“Large scale illusions,” she replied, pulling at one: Spies in the Wizarding World. Interesting, but not what she wanted. She still took it for when she’d have time. It probably would never be read, but she was an optimist. 

She kept looking, finding a lot about spies, a little about the Department of Mysteries, but not much else. 

“This?” A book was dangled in front of her: Government and Integration across North America. 

It was perfect. How did she know it fit her project?

“What made you think this was right?” She couldn’t help but ask. Would the other girl think she was being paranoid? Maybe she was. Chaeyoung was right on the limit of being a friend of hers, but there was always some kind of distance there. Especially now that the girl was accusing her best friend of basically pushing someone down the stairs. 

The Ravenclaw raised an eyebrow. “We all said our projects in class, didn’t we?” 

Right, they were in the same class. She looked away, glancing at the books in her hands. The stack had grown. 

“Is that all for your project?” she asked. She felt guilty for not remembering what hers was. Her attention in class wasn’t always the best. 

“These two are,” she tapped the top books, “Dahyun wanted to do some light reading until both her hands are healed.” She rolled her eyes. 

“You don’t believe her?” They began walking to the exit. The books had a charm on them that automatically put them on the register if you took them out.

“Have you seen what she wants?” She held them up. “Dubu’s just prepping for next month.” 

Mina looked. DADA stuff about dreams and curses affecting those, Alchemy with Tranation of Ingredients, Transfiguration and plants, and Potions with Attention Studies. 

“Light reading,” she said. 

Chaeyoung chuckled. Mina felt relieved that could still happen. They were walking down the hall to the Hospital Wing. 

“How is she?”

“About as pale as a vampire and wrapped up like a mummy.” A pause. “That’s a body wrapped in bandages. Comes alive in the movies.” 

“I know what mummies are,” she replied. “But movies,” she trailed off. They were moving pictures, but not sentient. Also on electrical devices. Tele something. 

“You purebloods are really missing out.” 

“I know.” 

Chaeyoung turned to look at her fully then. “Really?” 

“I may not have chosen it at N.E.W.T, but I did take muggle studies. Even took a proper walk around London. The real one.”

“And how was that?” The door was coming into view.

“Overwhelming,” she admitted. “And expensive.” All of her converted muggle money had been gone after two hours. 

“Depends on where you go. I know great places with reasonable prices.” If you go again, let me know and I’ll tell you where they are.”

Did she mean that or was it just one of those polite promises you sometimes give in conversations, only to forget about them the next day?

She didn’t have time to figure it out. They were at the doors. Mina had sometimes wondered if they had used the actual amount of wood, or just enlarged a small model of the door. Both would work. Some of the things in her house had been built that way.

“Coming?” She pushed the door open. 

“Can I?” 

Something flickered in her expression. Was it guilt? Mina couldn’t tell. It was gone before she could properly process it. Again. 

She didn’t say anything, but went in. Mina followed. 

______

“Girls, you cannot be in here!” Madame Selen called. 

“Let us see her.” She recognised Yuqi’s low voice immediately. “Please.”

“It’s fine!” Dahyun called. Taking out her wand, she cast a quick concealing spell on the worst of her bruises. The spell on her hair had worn off, so it was brown now. With the bruises hidden, her hair washed, and her nails successfully regrown, she really hoped she didn’t look like a nightmare. 

The two girls appeared immediately at her bedside. Their eyes were wide as they took her in. There was another girl who lingered a bit further back. A Gryffindor. 

“They said your face was ruined,” Shuhua said. She stepped closer, reaching out to Dahyun’s right hand. 

“Take this one.” She raised the left one. “The other one’s pretty sore.” The fingers had straightened, but she wasn’t allowed to move them yet.

Shuhua took that hand. 

“Why’d they say that?” All this commentary on how terrible she looked. She hoped this meant that everyone would be pleasantly surprised at how she looked when she was back to normal. 

“They said your face smashed against the stairs several times.” Yuqi frowned. “Is that true?”

“I’m not sure,” Dahyun admitted. “But don’t believe everything they say about this. I fell.” 

They nodded. Yuqi leant from one foot to the other. “A friend of ours wanted to see you again.” She looked to the girl at the door. 

“Again?” She thought of the different first years of Gryffindor, ones she’d shown the way to the next class, the library, or their common room when they accidentally went to the Astronomy Tower. She didn’t recognise her. 

Shuhua’s face fell. “She found you on the stairs,” she said quietly. 

No one had told her who had found her. That should have been her first thought. Who had seen her bleeding on the stairs, unconscious? She couldn’t imagine finding someone in that state, as well as knowing what to do. Especially in your first year here. 

“I look better now,” Dahyun called. “I think.” 

Yuqi gave her a look. “You’re still pretty.” 

She smiled. “Thank you.” 

The Gryffindor girl came forward. Yuqi took her hand. Her expression seemed very much like Shuhua’s: closed off. Yet there was a vulnerability in her eyes. 

“How are you feeling?” 

Not by much, but she didn’t need to say such a thing now. “Better. How are you?” She waved her good hand. “Come on, I’ve got sweets.” 

The girl hesitate, but Dahyun saw that, despite having a surprising aura of maturity, she was tempted. 

“Don’t want to take candy from strangers?”
She smiled slightly. Then she walked over. “Which one’s your least favourite?” 

Dahyun smiled, knowing she’d be wanting to choose that. “These.” She raised the box of chocopies. 

Her brow rose. “I don’t believe you.”

The doors opened, revealing Chaeyoung and, to Dahyun’s pleasant surprise, Mina. Both were laden with books. 

“We can go,” Soyeon said. “Come back later.” She was already shutting off. As was Shuhua. 

“No no,” Chaeyoung smiled, “we’re all friends of Dahyun’s.”
Mina beside her did a double take. 

“Exactly.” Dahyun smiled at both. “Thank you for the chocopies, Mina. They were the perfect comfort food.” 

“Already eaten?” She smiled back. 

“I had help.” She thought of Momo first, then she looked at Soyeon. “Or at least I need some help there.” She put the box in her hands. 

The girl gave her a look, but drew one out. The other girls began to inspect the table, their eyes full of interest. 

“Couldn’t wait to get back to work?” Mina nodded at her bedside table. The one with her books and papers.  

“I really couldn’t,” she admitted. “You’d think the teachers would go easy when the year starts.”

“Going easy wouldn’t be any fun.” 

“For them,” she laughed, but winced in the same moment. 

Then she saw Shuhua freeze. Her eyes were wide. 

“What’s wrong?” She leant forward, immediately regretting it. She couldn’t even tell where all that pain came from. 

“Another note,” she whispered. Then she held it out, her hand trembling as she did. 

“Another?” Dahyun repeated.

The note read: Sweets are all well and good, but the true mysteries still await, don’t they?

She stared at it, unsure what to think. 

Soyeon came forward then, a wary glance at Mina and Chaeyoung, then back to Dahyun. She looked scared. 

Even though it was hard, she smiled at the girl. Then she gave her a thumbs up. “They’re okay.” She was glad, for once, that the Hospital Wing was more or less empty. It made nights scarier than they should have been, but at least now not everything could be heard. 

“I’m sorry, you,” her voice faltered. She dug into her pockets and started again. “When I saw you on the stairs, there was a note next to you.” She passed it to her. “I didn’t know what to do, so I took it, but I was always going to give it to you.” 

“You did the right thing.” There was blood on the corner of the parchment. Dahyun’s blood. 

Ministries and mysteries. Seen once. Twice?

The room was silent. Dahyun knew all of them were watching out for her reaction. If this was talking about what she thought it was, then these notes were terrifying. But they were at Hogwarts. This sort of thing was next to impossible, especially since Harry Potter’s time. All of those breaches had led to huge improvements in security. This was just a horrible coincidence. It had to have been. 

“It’s a joke,” she forced a chuckle, “a terrible one, but nothing to be scared of.”

“But it’s the same handwriting,” Yuqi said. “What if this is the person who pushed you?”

So that was still rumoured to be a possibility. 

“No one pushed me, Yuqi. I fell. It was that dumb step I showed you two,” she paused, “just means we always have to hop that past that step.” Then she folded the two papers and put them on her nightstand. “I know you don’t believe me,” she knew Chaeyoung wouldn’t, Mina probably not either, “but if I’m not worried, then you don’t need to be either.” The concern on their faces was surprising. They were beyond their years in terms of compassion. “If I know there’s something wrong, I’ll tell you.” 

It wasn’t a lie. She thought something was wrong—very wrong, but she wasn’t sure. 

The three girls looked at her. All looked uncertain. The downside to being so mature: they were also very perceptive for their age. 

“She’s right,” Chaeyoung said. “Everything’s fine.” She glanced at Dahyun. Her smile was strained. “Mina and I would be a lot more worried if we thought this was serious.” 

Mina nodded, her signature soft smile was on. Her eyes matched it perfectly, though she knew the girl was unsettled. Despite her amazing ability to hide her worries and Chaeyoung’s less great cover, Dahyun was grateful that they had stepped in, despite knowing exactly that they had their own questions and doubts. 

The girls looked at each of them. 

“And you promise,” Shuhua began, “if you get worried, you’ll tell us.” She levelled a hard gaze at Dahyun. She could already see this girl becoming a force to be reckoned with when she was older. 

Dahyun reached out and squeezed her hand. “Promise.” She hoped she’d never have to tell them. “Now, it’s really time for you three to head to bed.” She lowered her voice. “Has Soyeon seen our common room yet?” she asked Yuqi. 

“Can she?” Her eyes widened. “I thought only Shuhua was allowed.”

“The people we trust are allowed in.”

The younger Hufflepuff sent a wide grin at the Gryffindor. Soyeon blushed. 

“Thank you Dahyun-ah,” she said. “Should I call you unnie?”

She couldn’t help but be surprised. 

“If you want. They don’t use any of that here.” 

Chaeyoung might call her that in the most desperate of occasions, like when she didn’t want to go to Hogsmeade or the Great Lake alone. Yet since leaving Korea, Dahyun had all but dropped the honorifics. 

“Goodnight then, unnie.” 

She wished them each goodnight. Then they left, leaving her with two girls whose eyes were full of questions. She’d kept a light expression on her face, and now she left it on. 

“I meant what I said.” She nodded at the notes. “Those are probably just a twisted way to mess with me.” As she said the words, she could see the doubt in their eyes strengthening. They wouldn’t accept her excuses, but she couldn’t tell them the truth. 

“Can I see them?” Chaeyoung asked. 

Dahyun nodded, knowing exactly that she wouldn’t be able to stop her. 

As the Ravenclaw read them, Mina sent a questioning gaze at Dahyun. 

“Go ahead,” she said. She may not have known her well, but she trusted Mina. It wasn’t blind optimism talking. She knew she could. Still, she hoped Chaeyoung would leave her speculations out of this. 

Mina peered over Chaeyoung’s shoulder, no hard feat. “Ministries,” she said. “Is this talking about the rumours that you got a job there?”

Chaeyoung started to respond, but closed quickly. Not fast enough, as the Slytherin had noticed. 

A tiny truth wouldn’t hurt. “I worked there in the summer,” Dahyun said. She tried not to remember exactly what that had entailed. “But you’re probably right.” She tried to read what they were thinking, guess what they were feeling. No such luck. “So I bet it’s—“

“These sound like threats,” Chaeyoung said. 

“Don’t you mean these read like them?” Dahyun grinned. At least that didn’t hurt anymore. 

She rolled her eyes. “That girl found this between all those sweets. It wasn’t connected to anything. Madame Selen would’ve seen it. I would have seen this come in.”
Dahyun shrugged. That hurt. “Maybe we just overlooked it.” What if it had been sent through the window? Or, and a shiver ran down her spine at the thought, the person had been in this room.

“I don’t recognise the handwriting, do you?” 

Mina gave the smaller girl a look. “No.”

Dahyun took the notes back. The writing was in block format, not curly or messy. It was a simple message, one that only needed to be deciphered in terms fo the words written upon it. 

“I don’t either.” That was true. She leant back into the cushions. A bed could be so comfortable. That was something she hadn’t been appreciating lately. It helped when you didn’t dream. All the potions were doing something against that. If long-term use of healing potions wasn’t really bad for the body, Dahyun would have to replicate its effects. She settled for enjoying this as much as she could. Her wakefulness draught would come into play once she was out again. Strangely, she wasn’t craving them as she had in the past. 

“I should get going,” Mina said. “Hope you feel better soon,” her gaze turned serious, “don’t push yourself.”

“Before you go,” she started. “Can you tell Sana thank you from me? Somehow I’m always sleeping when she stops by to drop it all off.” That was oddly funny to her.

“Definitely.” She nodded. 

“Is she still sorry about,” Dahyun looked down at herself, “this?” No matter what had caused it, she knew Sana had no part in it. 

Mina glanced at Chaeyoung, whose lips were set in a hard line. “Yes.” 

“And I guess you’ve already told her it wasn’t her fault?” The Slytherin was pretty stubborn. 

She nodded. 

“Well,” Dahyun sighed, “maybe I just have to say it enough times for it to sink in?” 

“You usually do with Sana.”

"Also," she started, "don't tell her about this. It might just make the guilt worse, and I think there's enough on her plate." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Chaeyoung's expression sour. 

"I won't." Mina's gaze was focused. She leant from one foot to the other. Then she smiled, revealing her gums. It was genuine this time. “Goodnight, Dahyun.”

“Goodnight,” Dahyun nodded at her. 

The door closed behind her. 

“If you tell me I shouldn’t worry, I will take every book here to the tower,” Chaeyoung said. 

“It would be a better threat if you said you’d throw them in the lake.”

“The books would try and tear me apart first.” There was a hint of a smile. “But seriously,” she grabbed a note, “this isn’t a prank.” 

“Chaeng,” Dahyun said. “drop it.”

She shook her head. “Those girls knew something was up, each of them, Mina did too, and so do I. You almost died, Dahyun.” 

“Accidents have led to worse,” she said. “I was lucky.” That she really had been. Except for the fact that she’d fallen in the first place.

“Don’t give me that,” Chaeyoung said. “You know something’s up. You just won’t admit it,” she shook her head, “I have no idea why.”

“I don’t know anything,” Dahyun replied. “We don’t know anything and we can’t act like we do. It won’t help anyone.” For some reason, her mind went to Sana, someone who was suffering because people thought they knew what had happened. “Yes, something might have happened, or nothing happened, and I just fell,” she shrugged, “we have no way of knowing.”

“Do you hear yourself?” Her voice was sharp, but her eyes were soft. “You’re gonna act like nothing happened when the person who pushed you is in this school? What if it happens again?”

“It won’t. They won’t be that stupid to do the same thing again.” Other thoughts, other possibilities crossed her mind. She would just have to be more careful. That was all. “We’ll talk about this another time, Chaeng. I promise.” Of all the things she’d say, of all the lies she’d tell, if she promised, she always fulfilled that promise. Maybe not as someone expected, but she would. 

She didn’t look content with the answer, but she nodded. “Goodnight, Dubu.” Then she gave her a light hug. “Don’t you dare work tonight. You’ve been yawning. Listen to your damn body.” 

Dahyun grinned at her. “I’ll sleep.” And she would. Sleeping in the Hospital Wing, drugged up and out of her mind, she didn’t dream. If she did, they were confusing and messy, but nothing like her other dreams. 

______

Author's Note

A longer chapter this time and we're exploring the mystery some more. What do you think is the reason for those notes? How do you think the girls will handle this new knowledge? 

Also, I think I'm staying with three (G)-Idle members in the story. I recently found their stuff and am loving it! I'm also liking having these characters here. They've got a different perspective of things and have caught on to a great deal more than most of the student body. They won't be featured a lot right now, but they will pop in now and again. 

I really wanted a calm Michaeng exchange coming around, even though Mina is still on the fence regarding Chaeyoung's attitude towards Sana. Chaeyoung's position definitely hasn't changed there, but there is a little change from the previous chapters. There's not much Saida at the moment, at least not explicitly so. I can you tell you right now there's a slow-burn in mind, but they're not starting from square one here. Even so, expect more between them soon. 

Let me know your thoughts! I already can't wait for the next chapter :D