Dahyun hoped Sana would fall asleep soon. She knew the girl was concerned and she did appreciate it, but it also meant that her typical schedule would be seen as almost alarming, especially at this time. 

But she had to get what she could done. Her deadlines were here, and she still had a Potions essay, two for History of Magic, and one for Charms and Transfiguration. If she got those done as fast as possible, then she’d not only get back to patrol soon, but she’d also be able to look into the accident. Where she’d start, she had no idea, but there had to be some starting point. 

Ministries and mysteries. How she wished it was a terrible coincidence and that Yuri was just being paranoid, but she had to be realistic.

Only a handful of people knew for certain that she’d been in the Ministry, but not where she’d been. One of them was someone she didn’t trust. She’d start there, even if Luke had no idea what she’d done in the Ministry. He didn’t even know in which Department she’d been in. That was clear enough, because no one else knew, except for the people she’d worked with and maybe her attacker. 

“Goodnight, Dahyun.” The light at Sana’s bed shut off. 

“Night Sana,” she said. “Sleep well.” In the back of her mind, she wondered when the girl had switched from Kim to Dahyun. It was nice to hear, but she didn’t really know what that meant. 

Potions was finished. Now she just had to figure out Transfiguration, or at least write a somewhat philosophical introduction about animals and their state of consciousness. 

And that she did, until Sana’s even breathing became even more so. No longer trying, or pretending, to fall asleep. 

Dahyun looked at the box from Yuri, then back to Sana. She was surprised by how peaceful she looked. There was no furrow in her brow, which the girl seemed to wear a lot recently, or at least that was what Dahyun saw every time she visited. It was also very different to the constant smile she wore, one that was so slight you barely noticed it. Until of course, you met her eyes, which were both questioning and teasing. She was sure that was what drew most people in, even though they knew what her reputation meant. For Dahyun, however, that look was almost infuriating. It screamed that she had an agenda. 

She shook her head, lifting the box onto her lap. Beneath the biscuits, she drew out the metal box. It was sealed by a charm and it responded to her touch, glowing. 

“TDTK9,” she whispered. It warmed to her touch. 

She opened it. On top lay a small stack of notes. At the very top were the words: Destroy after reading. 

We know how they found you. Someone found this. Optimise it, find a counter, send in this box. To this address.

Dahyun pulled out the sheet underneath. Her fingers were trembling. 

The parchment was blank. She ran her thumb over it, tracing the runes for white and purple. Ink crawled across the paper, the symbol of the Ministry at the top. 

Potions Chamber: unconventional applications. Sleeping Draught Case Four

The ingredients and their amounts were displayed. It was similar to the Draught of Living Death, but the proportions had been changed dramatically. There were also more ingredients, like melatonin. 

Underneath the papers was a vial of black liquid. She didn’t dare open it. Its status was grey: unstable. One couldn’t know if a drop would cause sleep for an hour, or a year. If it evaporated, not only might Dahyun fall under its effects, but as would Sana, Madame Selen, and any other who might come to the Hospital Wing. 

But if it had been used to make her fall, how had no one else gotten tired? How had they known it would work? Did they know she would not have slept for a year?

She grabbed her notebook. It too was bewitched to respond only to her. That had been one of the many regulations imposed at the start. There had been many hoops to get through to even step foot into the Department of Mysteries, even more to stay in there. She had gotten through them all. Yet sometimes she wondered if it had been worth it. 

The first thing she’d have to do was see how her wakefulness draught responded to this potion. Whatever happened would tell her something about the person responsible: if her potion was neutralised, or if the sleeping draught would be weakened. She’d know what they knew or didn’t know about her, as well as their capabilities in potions. As she wrote down her initial ideas, another thought came to her. She cursed. How was she supposed to do any of this if she wasn’t allowed to be in the potions room? 

There was the option of sneaking in, but hadn’t she just said she would stay out of it? Maybe if she summoned the things she needed from there. Or ordered them? 

She rifled through the notes. 

Delivery service. Whatever you need. Below was a company, Signal, one of the few to fuse sales of muggle and wizarding goods. Dahyun knew now that it had a sub-department for weapons and chemicals otherwise only used in laboratories. 

That they would offer her this service meant her superiors were more than serious she solve this. Signal could get just about anything she’d want: Pipettes, enzymes, all the ingredients she’d need for a counter, but also the ones to make this potion again. Their deliveries sometimes took long, because they needed to get their hands on specific things, but if she ordered them now, this would be done before the end of the year. If necessary, she’d stay here over Christmas. 

That meant she needed to make a list. Enough to have a good start. Where would she do the work? The abandoned girl’s bathroom was no longer so abandoned. Myrtle was seen as more of a prominent figure, and was happy to share her knowledge of all those who had come and gone, especially Harry Potter. If Dahyun went there, everyone would know she'd been brewing potions there.

She sighed. Even the Room of Requirement wasn’t secretive enough anymore. Also a consequence of Harry Potter's time After being used for Dumbledore’s Army, then nearly destroyed in the war, it had become a place for parties and other getaways. Just the thought made her face warm. 

She glanced at Sana. The girl was still sleeping. Her eyes were rimmed with red. Had the rumours led to this? If they had, she’d need to work harder to get people to realise that this wasn’t her fault. 

What if it was because of something else? Dahyun hoped desperately that this had not been the case. She didn’t know what she could do to stop that, except for somehow figuring out who had done it. Not that that would be an easy task. 

What had happened last year hadn’t exactly been a secret, but everyone knew that no dating had followed. Everyone believed Dahyun hadn’t been interested in her. If anything, that should have been the main reason not to target Sana, especially since no one knew that ‘everyone’ was wrong. 

_______

End of Fifth Year

O.W.Ls were over. Weeks and months of preparation and stress. Now they were done. 

The party was in the Room of Requirement, hosted this time by Slytherin. They’d made it dark, so that those who were good at charms could suspend as many decorative lights around the room as possible. People had gotten their hands on firewhiskey, but also plenty of other drinks. The muggleborns and halfbloods were introducing all of them to their mixed drinks. Sana was a big fan of gin tonics. Maybe a little too much. 

She sank down on to one of the low loveseats, all the way in the corner of the room. Strangely, she hadn’t set her eyes on anyone yet. She’d been too busy playing a muggle game. Was it called beer pong? Tzuyu had wished the green table into the room. Either way, she was great at it. Thankfully. 

“Forget I asked,” she heard someone say, “just go enjoy the party.” A girl sat down on the opposite sofa. Dahyun. Her hair was part light, part dark purple. Her tie hung around her neck, untied and her sleeves had been rolled up. Sana found herself staring. 

“Dubu, please,” Luke stood in front of her, “talk to me.” This area had some type of enchantment that made it easy to talk to people. In the quiet moments, talking could be key. Others not so much. 

She couldn’t stop herself from rolling her eyes. This boy was insufferable, even from a distance. Momo hated him and Mina felt uncomfortable whenever he was in the room. 

The Hufflepuff looked shockingly angry in that moment. “And everyone will know what I said to you?” She took a long sip of her drink. It was also a gin tonic. “Leave me alone.” 

“Hey,” he knelt down in front of her, “I’m sorry.” He sounded sincere, but Sana doubted every word. “All of it slipped out.”

“Slipped out?” she repeated. Leaning her head back on the sofa, she stared up at the ceiling, scowling. “Can we drop this? I’m tired. Maybe you can say it all again another time,” then she closed her eyes, “and again and again and again.” 

At that moment, Sana remembered what had ‘slipped out’—all of it right before O.W.Ls started. Dahyun drank potions to boost her academic abilities. Dahyun had cheated on Luke. Dahyun was into girls. Of the different rumours, Sana only thought the last one was likely.

“You’re being unfair.” Luke sat down beside her. “You know how it all works. You tell one wrong person and then everyone knows.”

Her voice lowered, but Sana could still hear it. “And you told exactly the wrong person. So did I.” She sounded tired. “Go,” her voice bordered on a whine now, “I’m too tired for this.” 

He scoffed. “You expect me to believe that?”

“Believe it,” she said. Now she sounded harsher. 

The tone was unexpected, but that just intrigued her more. Most just thought she was a pushover, Sana included. One that smiled too much. Was it all a front?

Then she caught Sana watching. Her cheeks warmed. She looked away. Should she step in? She decided against it. The Gryffindor would probably get more insufferable.  

“Just go, Luke. Please.” Her voice was full of fatigue. More questions ran through her mind on why exactly this breakup had happened. She wasn't sure if the rumours had started before or after the split. 

The silence was filled by music and chatter, also cheers. Not many had come to this part of the room, only if they wanted to “talk” or talk like Dahyun was with her ex. Sana was just here because she didn’t really feel like making a fool of herself in public. Not at the end of the year. 

“Fine.” There were footsteps. Or rather stomps. 

More silence. She risked a glance at Dahyun. She was looking at the ceiling again, no concrete expression on her face. Sana found herself wanting to know what she was thinking. 

She didn’t know how things would progress at the time, but she went over, sitting down next to her. The seats were made to sink in just the right places. Their knees touched. The Hufflepuff didn’t move away. 

“Beer pong’s your new sport, huh?” A broad smile broke out on Dahyun’s face. Was it genuine? She felt like it was. 

“Not yours?” Sana returned the smile.

“I’m good at catching, not throwing.” She glanced at her. “But if it involved that, I’d win.” 

Sana laughed. “Sure thing.” 

“I see you like our muggle drinks.” Dahyun raised her glass. 

“They’re not bad.” She clinked hers to the other girls. Her gaze caught her off guard. “You’re not actually tired, are you?”

She looked taken aback. She didn’t respond either. 

“I’m exhausted.” Sana propped herself up on her elbow, letting herself actually look at the Hufflepuff. Dahyun had a nice side profile. There was a bit of fat on the chin. It put her on the cute side of gorgeous. 

“It was an intense few weeks.” She nodded. Then she caught her eye. “Something on my face?” 

Sana shook her head. “I like your hair like that.” 

“Thank you.” A small smile. True. “Ever tried the spell? Or do you not trust it?” As a ‘fun’ project, Dahyun, Chaeyoung, and Jihyo had developed a charm that could change your hair colour to anything you wanted. They’d based it on the colour change spell, but changed it so that there would be fewer mishaps, like wanting red hair, but ending up with white. They could have made some real money among the students, but no, they’d spread the information about the spell on every house’s bulletin board. That is, after it had been approved by the Ministry. Of the three friends, Dahyun used it the most. 

“Don’t know what colour I’d take.” 

She straightened, giving her a once-over. It almost made her feel self-conscious. This thoughtful edge in the girl’s eyes was new. Sana wanted to see more of it. 

“Blonde would suit you,” she raised a hand, but lowered it in the same moment, “or pink. If you’re adventurous.” 

“So you’re saying that’s what you are?” 

Her gaze fell. “Not exactly. I just like purple.” 

“It looks good,” she said. 

“Is that a compliment or are you just flirting?” She raised a brow. 

“What makes you think I’m flirting?” Sana let herself lean forward a bit. If there was the slightest chance that she wasn’t imagining things, maybe the rumour was true. “You think you’re my type?”

“No idea.” 

“Am I your type?”

Dahyun laughed slightly. “I don’t think I know much about my type.” She sighed. “Well, this is a party, I won’t talk to you about personal problems.”

“You can,” she said. Where that had come from, she didn’t know. “We can actually think about the personal stuff now. Exams are over.” 

She shrugged, tilting her head back again. “I actually wish they weren’t.” Her voice was soft. 

“Because you had a distraction?” Sana saw a stray lock of hair. She smiled slightly before brushing it away. 

Dahyun peered at her. “Smooth.” It was that look again. 

Sana felt herself blush. “But did it work?” She winked. 

Her lips twitched. “Now you’re flirting.” She closed her eyes again. 

“Are you okay with that?”

Silence. Sana was about to pull away when she spoke. 

“I guess you’ve heard the rumours?” Her brow twitched. “Dumb question. Everyone has, even the third years.”

“Just because I’ve heard them, doesn’t mean they’re true.”

One eye opened. “Then why’d you come over here?”

“It looked like you’d be better off with some uncomplicated company.”

“Not better off alone?”

Sana shook her head. “You’re at this party, aren’t you?”

“You were alone.” Both eyes were open now. Sana couldn't even guess at what she was thinking. Who would have thought the Hufflepuff would be a challenge to read? 

“Now I’m not,” she said. “We’re not.”

“Right,” she murmured. 

All she was doing was looking at her, but Sana felt self-conscious. Again. That was when she saw the Hufflepuff’s gaze go somewhere else on her face. It stayed there.

Sana wasn’t sure where it came from, but her confidence soared.

“Tell me if this isn’t okay.” She leant forward. 

Dahyun met her eyes. “It’s not not okay.” 

Sana laughed slightly. Then she closed the distance. What struck her first was how soft the girl’s lips were. What got her next was that said girl returned the kiss, gently cupping her face. It made her stomach flip and her chest flutter. In the back of her mind, she realised that was a terrible thing. But in that moment, she didn’t care. She deepened the kiss. 

______

Author’s Note

I have not ended a chapter with a flashback before. It feels both wrong and right here. The chapter lengths are pretty much all over the place right now, but life is getting busier at the moment, so I wanted to get out what I have at the moment. 

For those of you unfamiliar with the Harry Potter universe, the Department of Mysteries is part of the Ministry of Magic, but is very secretive (not exactly spies, but kind of?). It’s a bit of an untapped part of the lore, which is why I wanted to bring it in. From what I understand, they study magic there. In the series, we saw a lot about Time (the prophecy room + time turners) and Death (the Veil), but only snippets of other things. I decided to make a new sector, even though I’m pretty sure it would exist, dedicated to potions. People who are in the Department of Mysteries are known as Unspeakables—they are not allowed to talk about anything they do for the Ministry. Dahyun’s work at the Ministry has made her an Unspeakable (and I’ll leave the explanation at this). 

Also, sometimes I might be getting carried away with details on potions, so I apologise if that gets confusing. I just really love getting technical about magic from time to time. 

As for the kiss, that was a fun scene to write. Both lighthearted and more serious, given the whole thing with Luke and the rumours. 

Regardless, I would love to know what you thought. See you in the next one!