Changmin’s summer started smoothly, with Kyuhyun texting him about visiting. He had hoped that his friend had a phone when he gave him his number, but according to Kyuhyun, ‘it was a pain trying to set it up.’

He chuckled a bit at that; he found it funny how wizards were just as baffled about muggle appliances as muggles were about magic. But Kyuhyun adapted quickly, as expected, and texted him an address in Wales.

‘tf, do you live in wales?’ Changmin texted back. ‘i’m not going all the way to wales for you.’

The reply came instantaneously. ‘No, of course not. We’re going on a trip, and you’re coming with us. Your whole family.’

Unfortunately, Changmin didn’t have the heart to tell his friend that he didn’t want to trouble the Cho family. His family wasn’t the type to feel comfortable in other people’s debt, and Changmin thought it would be better not to tell his parents about this at all.

And then Kyuhyun sent a letter, by owl, and his parents decided it was a good idea for him to hang out with magical folk, so they happily replied to Kyuhyun and sent Changmin off on a great adventure.

‘Stop feeling bad,’ Kyuhyun told him, as they disappeared from Changmin’s fireplace in a flurry of emerald green. ‘We can always take them on a Christmas trip.’

‘It’s not that,’ Changmin muttered, furiously rubbing the back of his neck. He swore he could feel flames at his hair. ‘I’m not used to having rich friends.’

Kyuhyun laughed. ‘Ah, yes, the age-old I-won’t-be-able-to-pay-him-back. It’s fine, we have too much money anyway.’ He paused, an evil glint in his eye. ‘And you can pay me back by getting together with that crush of yours. Mister Jung Yunho.’

‘Don’t.’ Changmin dropped his head in his hands with a groan. Kyuhyun cackled, and Kyuhyun’s parents in the front seat of the carriage - it was bumping along a small country road - turned around with bemused smiles. ‘We’re barely friends.’

He would have said more, but the carriage stopped, and the rolling green Welsh hills swept into his heart and chased away all negative thoughts. The sun shone softly, and a cool breeze swept by; Kyuhyun grabbed his wrist and they dove into the grass, rolled down the hill and lied there, chests heaving, heads spinning, watching the sun glide slowly across the impossibly blue sky.

And when night finally fell, they pushed themselves to their feet, reluctantly, and headed back towards the small cottage that the Cho family had rented. Soft yellow light spilled into the velvet darkness of the night, and Kyuhyun suddenly gasped, pointing up.

A bright slash of white cut across his vision, and Changmin realized it was the Milky Way. Stars dotted his vision, millions and millions of them, twinkling in and out of focus. He felt small, tiny, insignificant, just a speck of dust in the face of the endless void of the universe. Tightness swelled in his chest, and tears filled his eyes; Changmin bit his lip to stop them from falling, and when he glanced at Kyuhyun, he saw that his friend’s eyes were also wet.

A low fire burned inside, and Changmin was surprised to realize that Wales was definitely not as hot as inner London was. They’d been outside for only a few hours, and yet coming into the cottage felt like coming in from a crisp autumn day. A sense of peace washed over Changmin, and he stretched out in front of the fire with Kyuhyun, losing himself in the shadows flickering on the walls.

---

‘Look, Mom, there’s Kyu.’ Changmin jumped to get his friend’s attention, and the two families hurried to meet in the middle before the crowds could push them apart.

While their parents chatted, Changmin and Kyuhyun slipped away to buy their books, as well as make a detour to the ice cream shop. Diagon Alley was, as expected, crowded beyond reason, and Changmin soon found himself alone. He had half a mind to head to Fortescue’s alone, but a voice from behind and the connected warm hand on his shoulder stopped him in his tracks.

‘Changmin, is that you?’ He spun around, a denial on his lips, only to drown in Jung Yunho’s golden-brown eyes. The words died in his throat. Yunho’s eyes lit up and he grabbed his hand. ‘It is you! I knew it!’

Before he could even formulate another thought, Yunho was dragging him through the crowd, and all Changmin could focus on was the warmth of his hand, and how snugly they fit together. Stores flashed by in a blur of color, and then Yunho was waving to someone. ‘Boa, Donghae, look! It’s Changmin!’

Boa? Changmin’s heart turned ice-cold and plummeted. He tried to tug his hand out of Yunho’s, but the older boy’s grip was too tight, and Changmin found himself standing in Flourish and Blotts, Yunho by his side and Boa and Donghae around him.

Donghae nodded with a smile. ‘Nice to meet you,’ he said, throwing a glance at Yunho. ‘We’ve heard a lot about you.’

‘You have?’ Changmin couldn’t help looking at Boa, who nodded, also with a smile. She seemed so nice, and Changmin didn’t have it in him to dislike her. ‘O-oh. I hope it’s been nice things.’

Laughter, and then Boa ruffles his hair. ‘Of course, Yunrobbongie can’t talk about people to save his life. Especially when it’s a cute little first-year like you,’ she added, leaning in with a wink. ‘Oh, well, I guess you’re a second-year now.’

At some point, Yunho had let go of his hand, and Changmin discreetly stuffed it into his pocket, still feeling the phantom body heat, and nodded absentmindedly along to whatever conversation was going on.

‘Oh, Changmin,’ Boa said suddenly, tapping his arm. ‘Is that your friend there? I remember seeing you two together last year.’

Changmin looked and, with glee, saw Kyuhyun looking around frantically. Perfect timing. ‘Yeah,’ he said, jogging away. ‘See you at school.’

He let his eyes linger a while on Yunho, who smiled and shooed him away. Kyuhyun rushed forward, yelling, ‘Chwang, where have you been? I thought I lost you! Your parents would have murdered me!’

‘Uh, yeah.’ Changmin suddenly wanted to laugh, and he leaned against Kyuhyun, giggling. Kyuhyun must have thought that he’d finally lost it. ‘I bumped into Yunho, Kyu, he seemed happy to see me and brought me over to his friends.’

Like the drama king he was, Kyuhyun staggered backwards. ‘What, no way!’ He tugged Changmin away from the crowds. ‘You must tell me every single detail.’

There wasn’t much to say, but Changmin made sure to note that he didn’t think he could dislike Boa. ‘I mean, she’s really nice and sort of acts like an older sister.’

‘Don’t you already have an older sister?’

‘That’s not the point.’ Changmin buried his head in his arms, pushing the last of his ice cream away. ‘I thought I got over him, but apparently not.’

‘Clearly not,’ Kyuhyun corrected with a snicker, his spoon. Before he had a chance to continue, however, an ever-familiar voice interrupted.

‘Oh, Changmin, we meet again!’ Yunho dropped into the seat next to him, leaving Boa and Donghae to drag over chairs of their own. ‘And you must be Kyuhyun, right?’

Kyuhyun sent Changmin an evil smirk and put on a dazzling grin. ‘Yes, you must be Yunho. I’ve heard lots about you.’

Stuck between Kyuhyun and Yunho, Changmin thought that he might go blind soon. It was hard to tell whose teeth were whiter; it was almost like a contest to outshine the other, literally. Boa and Donghae clearly found it funny too, hiding grins behind their drinks.

‘Yunrobbong’s always been competitive as hell,’ Boa whispered as Yunho and Kyuhyun eyed each other up. They seemed to be talking about Quidditch, which was something that Changmin had absolutely zero interest in. ‘It’s like they’re fighting to be your best friend.’

Changmin nearly choked on air. ‘I don’t-- I mean-- what?’ he stammered out. Donghae laughed, slapping the table, and Boa leaned back in her chair as well. ‘Why would they?’

‘You think too lowly of yourself, Changmin.’ Donghae sipped at his sparkling lemonade. ‘Also, it’s in their nature. Neither of them can help it.’ He jabbed a thumb at Yunho, who was currently gesturing wildly, hair falling into his eyes. ‘Especially this dude. He’d fight anyone he deemed worthy of it.’

‘Then I guess Kyu should feel honored?’ Changmin asked, amused. He wanted to say more, ask about Yunho and his childhood, but felt like it would be intrusive. Instead, he glanced at Boa. She wore a plain black t-shirt and jeans that hugged her hips. Long black hair framed her face, and Changmin understood why so many people liked her, why they said she and Yunho would go well together.

Their features matched well; Yunho was soft where she was sharp, and vice versa, and they both exuded confidence, charisma, and humor. Yunho seemed like a playful older brother and Boa seemed like a gentle older sister; it was no wonder people shipped them. If Changmin hadn’t had a crush on Yunho, he would have shipped them too.

The thought made him jealous, and he ducked his head, willing the hot coals in the pit of his stomach to cool. He didn’t want to hate Boa, and on second thought, he also didn’t want to embarrass himself in front of Yunho. Who said Yunho even likes him? Who was he to dictate the other boy’s life? Daydreams were just daydreams, and Changmin had let them take over his mind, consume his entire existence, and that was dangerous.

‘Oh, we have to go.’ The upper-years pushed back their chairs with a screech. ‘It was nice talking to you, Changmin.’

‘And Kyuhyun,’ Yunho added, sending a sharp smile his way. Kyuhyun responded in kind, the corner of his mouth tilting up. ‘See you two at school, then?’

After they left, Kyuhyun turned to Changmin, grinned widely, and said with conviction, ‘Chwang, I like him.’

‘What?’

‘Not in that way, you dolt!’ Kyuhyun leaned back in his seat with a satisfied sigh, looking into the distance. ‘He’s worthy of your love and admiration. You better get together.’

---

Witnessing the Sorting Ceremony was somewhat of a magical moment for Changmin. Seeing the looks on the kids’ faces as they were sorted reminded him of his own nervousness. He didn’t know anything about anything, and only hoped to land somewhere accepting. He wouldn’t necessarily call Slytherin accepting, but he’d melded into them well enough.

‘Jung, Sooyeon.’

Changmin’s head jerked up. Kyuhyun glanced at him. ‘I knew her!’ Changmin hissed, pointing out the pale, regal girl. ‘She went to my school!’

‘Huh.’ The Great Hall quieted as Sooyeon sat down on the stool. After a few seconds, the Hat yelled, ‘Slytherin!’ and Changmin clapped hard, watching the girl take her seat at the end of the table. ‘She’s cute.’

‘Ice princess, though. Fits us.’

The rest of the sorting went by quickly, and after everyone had thoroughly stuffed their stomachs full of food and began to head off to their beds, Kyuhyun pulled Changmin forward, ahead of the crowd, setting a fast pace to the dorms.

‘But the password--’ Changmin protested, and Kyuhyun snorted. ‘Oh, of course you did. One step ahead of everyone, aren’t you?’

‘As always.’ Pride tinged Kyuhyun’s voice, even though it was clear that he was distracted by something. ‘Listen, Chwang, could you, uh...’

Beyond confused, Changmin could only stare at his friend as he pushed open the door to the boys’ dormitory. ‘...could I…?’

Kyuhyun scratched his head and rubbed his neck, dawdling for the longest time before saying, in a rush, ‘Could you introduce me to that girl you knew? The new girl, Sooyeon or something?’

Changmin burst out laughing and shook his head, pulling off his robes. ‘Dude, she’s in our house. You can talk to her yourself.’

‘But Changmin!’ Kyuhyun whined. Changmin refused to acknowledge him, burying himself in his bedsheets. ‘Changmin, please?’

‘Fine, fine.’ Changmin knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep until he agreed. Kyuhyun let out a cheer, and the door opened to admit the other second-year boys. ‘Now go to sleep, please.’

At breakfast the next day, Changmin introduced Kyuhyun and Sooyeon as quickly as possible, hoping to be rid of his friend’s love problem before class starts. Of course, things didn’t turn out that way, but Changmin didn’t really mind listening to his friend gush about how pretty Sooyeon’s hair was, or how the way she smiled sent his soul flying across the ocean. After all, Kyuhyun listened to Changmin’s own rants about Yunho, so he supposed this was just the same.

‘Oh, Kyu,’ he interrupted. ‘She goes by Jessica. But she sure didn’t seem to mind you calling her Sooyeon,’ he added with a smirk. Kyuhyun’s entire face turned red, and he let out a noise much like a kettle going off.

Their classes were a bit harder than last year’s, but that was to be expected. Changmin found soon into the year that he didn’t have much free time to think about much, other than classwork. Kyuhyun and Sooyeon actually seemed to hit it off well, and he was pleasantly surprised that he could have made such a pair possible.

Of course, things didn’t quite stay peaceful as he would have wanted, and the inciting incident came one beautifully clear day in mid-October.

‘Jess,’ someone called from behind, as he and Kyuhyun walked to herbology. They both turned around, but so did a girl in front of them. She looked at them weirdly and stepped out of their way, waiting for her friend. Kyuhyun glanced back.

‘What, another Jessica? And in our year?’ he asked. A jolt of electricity shot down Changmin’s spine, and he gripped Kyuhyun’s arm tightly. ‘ing ow.’

‘That was Yunho’s sister,’ Changmin whispered fervently. ‘She was a Gryffindor, right? Yeah, Yunho told me he had a sister in our year, in Gryffindor!’

‘And her name was Jessica?’ Kyuhyun grumbled, rubbing his arm. ‘That can’t be her real name, unless Yunho’s got a different name too.’

Changmin cast a furtive glance around. ‘Nah, I think her name was Jihye.’ And that’s all he managed to convey before Professor Sprout started talking.

Halfway through the class, when Changmin and Kyuhyun struggled to avoid the stingers of the Venomous Tentacula, Jihye sidled up next to them.

She wasted no time at all. ‘I heard you know my brother.’ She reached in to help them plant the Tentacula. ‘Unless I eavesdropped wrong.’

Kyuhyun let out a surprised scoff. Even Changmin was flabbergasted. Jihye was nothing like her brother; where Yunho was kind and smiley, she was brash and sarcastic, funny in a more cynical way. Changmin genuinely wondered who was the older sibling in their family.

‘Uh, yeah,’ he managed to get out, ducking to avoid a Tentacula tentacle. ‘Your brother, uh, I know him.’

Jihye smiled; she was pretty, shared Yunho’s eyes and the crinkles beside them. ‘What’s so fun about that loser?’ she said, but anyone could tell she wasn’t being serious. ‘If you know him, then you must know Boa too.’

It wasn’t a question, though Changmin sensed one. He glanced at Kyuhyun, who shrugged. ‘Yeah, she’s really nice.’

‘Is she?’ Jihye’s eyebrows disappeared into her bangs. ‘Hm, that’s interesting.’

Kyuhyun tilted his head, a crooked grin on his lips. ‘Why? Is she not?’ He leaned in and lowered his voice. ‘Come on, you can tell us. We’re not that close with her.’

She looked at him, and then Changmin, eyes narrowing for a split second, and then said, ‘Well, I’m sure you’ve noticed how she hangs all over my brother.’

Oh, had Changmin noticed. He couldn’t help grimacing. Jihye seemed amused by this, and continued, ‘The dolt doesn’t even realize she likes him, and worse, he doesn’t believe me when I tell him.’

This was news. The last time Changmin checked, Yunho definitely knew Boa had a crush on him. He told Jihye, and her eyes widened. ‘What? My idiot brother? Finally grew a brain?’

‘If you ask me, it’s obvious enough that even an idiot would be able to tell,’ Kyuhyun remarked drily. ‘And do pray tell, what else is wrong with Boa? My friend here would love to-- ouch!”

Jihye’s gaze snapped to Changmin, assessing him. Finally, understanding seemed to dawn in her eyes, and a slow smile spread across her face. It was so similar to Yunho’s Cheshire Cat grin that Changmin’s heart hurt.

‘Aha,’ she whispered gleefully, ‘you like him, don’t you? Yunho Jung, Quidditch star, who doesn’t like him, right?’

‘Yeah,’ Changmin mumbled, heat creeping up his face. ‘Who doesn’t like him?’

She scrunched up her nose in a laugh and patted his arm. ‘Hey, don’t worry, Shim. I like you a lot better than Boa. If you need any help with my stupid brother, just let me know. I’m rooting for you!’

Kyuhyun sniggered as she walked away. ‘Charming, isn’t she? Especially after she offered to help you flirt with him.’

‘Shut up.’

‘I will not. Jung Yunho, Quidditch extraordinaire--’

‘Shut up!’

---

Unfortunately, fate did not seem to be on Changmin’s side this year. Not only had he not bumped into Yunho once in, what was it, three months, but he’d also been doing terrible in transfiguration. It was a miracle McGonagall didn’t slaughter him during class.

‘It’s not that bad,’ Sooyeon said, but what did she know? First-year transfiguration was easy. Kyuhyun agreed, but what did he know? He aced every single class he took. Jihye seemed to be the only person who shared his opinion, but then again, she wasn’t failing miserably like he was.

Over the past month, Changmin had grown close to Jihye. Not in a romantic way, but she was a good friend to have, even if she was a bit of a troublemaker. They had a few classes together, and he could always count on her to help him with transfiguration, at least a little. Kyuhyun said it was meant to be, that Changmin would become part of the Jung family. That earned him a kick to the shin.

As it was, Kyuhyun had an ally. Jihye agreed that Changmin fit in with her and Yunho, like a brother if not a lover. Changmin had blushed and groaned, hitting his head on the table.

‘I haven’t even seen him, much less talked to him,’ he confessed, and Jihye let out an ‘aww’. ‘I mean, he’s probably busy with Quidditch and everything and I really shouldn’t be thinking like this because what right do I have, but still…’

He rambled in an attempt to make himself sound less obsessed, but Jihye only nodded. ‘I could always talk to him,’ she offered. ‘He’s not my brother for nothing, though sometimes I wish he wasn’t.’

That made Changmin laugh. ‘Thanks,’ he sighed, ‘but that’s so obvious. And embarrassing.’

‘Hm.’ Jihye shrugged. ‘Sometimes he’s just dense. Don’t worry, he’ll seek you out. Dude might be an idiot, but he genuinely cares about his friends. Never forgets about them.’

Her words proved prophetic when, the next morning, Changmin received a letter from one of the owls swooping above. It landed, unfortunately, right in his porridge, and he had to fish it out with his fingers.

‘Changmin,’ it read. ‘I haven’t seen you recently! Are you busy with school? You probably are, haha, but we should really talk more! You shouldn’t be studying all the time. If you want, we could meet up on Saturday after Quidditch practice to hang out. Peace! Yunho.’

The grin on his face was, according to Kyuhyun, dazzling, and Changmin could barely contain his excitement over the week. Quidditch practice ran from 4-5pm on Saturdays, and Changmin headed down to the pitch at precisely 4:55.

By the time he made his way over, practice had already ended, and there was one lone figure sitting on the bleachers, silhouetted against the setting sun. The light that washed over him was amber, and he looked regal, sorrowful, like a fallen angel reminiscent of a lifetime of regrets.

He turned right as Changmin walked onto the pitch, and a huge grin came over his face. Before Changmin could even wave, he’d already mounted his broom and zoomed down to him.

‘Hey, Changdol!’ he said, tumbling off the broom. ‘How’ve you been?’

‘It’s been stressful,’ Changmin admitted, kicking the dirt. ‘I think I’m failing transfiguration.’

Yunho’s mouth fell open. ‘What? No, there’s no way you’re actually failing. She’s harsh but she understands that you tried.’

‘No, I’m actually failing.’ Changmin was sure of it, but he didn’t need to be reminded of that right now. ‘Is that your broomstick?’

‘Yeah!’ Yunho’s eyes lit up, and he showed Changmin the handle. The words ‘Comet 360’ was emblazoned across it in silver. ‘It’s a bit old, but she flies like a sparrow.’ He cocked his head. ‘Come to think of it, don’t they teach you how to fly in your first year?’

Changmin laughed sheepishly. ‘I at it.’ But Yunho wasn’t having it. He grabbed Changmin’s wrist and led him into the locker room, to a broom closet.

‘Take your pick,’ he said, ‘and then we’ll go fly.’

‘I’m telling you, I’ll fall off,’ Changmin insisted, but picked out an old Cleansweep 5. ‘Unless you teach me better than Hooch did.’

Yunho scoffed, shaking his head. ‘Of course I will! Come on, it’s getting dark.’

The wind swept past, and Changmin shivered, clutching the handle tightly. Yunho’s voice echoed in his ears, and he took in the advice, kicking off and navigating gently. It was exhilarating, feeling the air rush through his hair, and he let out a loud whoop. Yunho laughed and joined him, cheeks red with the cold.

When they finally landed after what seemed like hours, Yunho said, ‘If you don’t mind, I could always tutor you in transfiguration. I’m not too bad at it.’

‘Really?’ Changmin was desperate for an excuse to talk to him more. ‘That’s great! When are you free?’

---

Jung Yunho was a liar. He was not ‘not bad’ at transfiguration. He was ing excellent at it. Changmin felt smarter just by watching him, but thankfully, Yunho did more than show off. He turned out to be an excellent teacher, and by the time Hogwarts let out for winter break, Changmin felt more confident in the subject than ever before.

‘Why didn’t you tell me he was this good?’ Changmin hissed to Jihye. They were currently situated in the potions classroom, as Jihye wanted to do extra-credit work over break. ‘God, I swear he’s a genius at everything he does.’

‘I beg to differ.’ Jihye added some powder to her cauldron, and its contents flashed bright green. ‘He’s hopeless at potions.’

Changmin knew that, but he scowled and crossed his arms. ‘Hasn’t he gone back home? Why didn’t you?’

She barked out a laugh, crushing some beans. ‘I had to look after you, didn’t I? Nah, kidding. I just didn’t want to. Besides, this potion is my excuse.’

It was true that brewing Potion for Dreamless Sleep wasn’t very easy, but Changmin doubted that she couldn’t have done it at home. Still, he didn’t press the subject and instead changed it.

‘Now that Boa’s gone home, you can tell me why you don’t like her, right?’

Jihye sighed loudly, wiping her hands on her apron. ‘You misunderstand,’ she said in a pained voice. ‘It’s not that I don’t like her, but…’ She glanced towards the door. ‘I don’t know, something about her just throws me off. Like, she’s fake, but I don’t have proof. It’s just a feeling.’

Changmin nodded. He agreed; something about the sweetness of Boa’s voice didn’t seem quite genuine, but since she always had a nice word for everyone, it was hard to pin her down as a bad person.

‘I don’t like how she has to be so touchy-touchy with Yunho,’ he grumbled, tracing his finger along the edge of the table. ‘Like come on, he’s not even your man.’

Jihye cackled, almost slamming the knife into her hand. ‘Are you jealous?’ she teased, though Changmin could hear no malevolence in her voice. ‘You really like him, don’t you?’

She sounded curious, not protective or angry, and Changmin took that to be a good sign. ‘Yeah,’ he said quietly. ‘I really do.’

And that was that, and when Kyuhyun came back from break, the first thing out of his mouth was, ‘I went to visit Sooyeon’s parents, and they liked me a lot.’

Changmin’s jaw all but dropped to the floor. ‘You what?’ he screeched, and made Kyuhyun tell him everything about the visit. ‘You’re telling me that your families just happened to have a long-standing history of intermarriage, and then they lost it sometime during the last century?’

‘Yeah!’ It was rare to see Kyuhyun to genuinely happy, cheeks flushed and eyes bright with excitement. ‘I mean, it was common for pureblood families to intermarry, but still, you know what this means!’

He couldn’t think of anything else to say. ‘Well, congrats! I call being best man.’

For once, Kyuhyun had no snarky reply, only smiled a little bigger.

---

Despite only being twelve years old, it seemed obvious to Changmin (and everyone else in the school) that Kyuhyun and Sooyeon were a thing. A Thing, with a capital T. They held hands, ate together, walked to classes together, and for some reason, it made Changmin feel terrible.

It was one of these days, when Kyuhyun sat with Sooyeon and helped her with her homework, and when Changmin sat alone and seethed at them from across the library, that Jung Yunho approached him again.

‘Jealousy is not a good look on you,’ he said casually, sitting down beside him. ‘They’re happy, you should wish them well.’

‘I did,’ Changmin sighed. ‘I still do, but man, now I have no friends.’

‘Don’t say that.’ Yunho looked at him with puppy eyes. ‘You still have me. And what about the rest of the Slytherin second-years?’

Changmin shrugged; he wasn’t close with Minjun or Jiyong, though he knew Kyuhyun knew both of them. He’d talked with Taecyeon before, but they were only acquaintances, at most. His only real friend was Kyuhyun.

And Yunho, he supposed.

The older boy nodded thoughtfully and tapped his fingers against the table. ‘There’s always time,’ he said wisely. Then, with a glance at the couple, he sighed. ‘I want a girlfriend too. Or boyfriend, doesn’t matter. Just someone to love me.’

Changmin’s sinking heart immediately shot into his throat, pounding loudly. Or a boyfriend, Yunho had said, that it didn’t matter to him. Did that mean he… had a chance? A slim one, but a chance, nonetheless.

‘Same,’ he said, after he’d unstuck his voice. Yunho smiled, and Changmin felt himself falling into the mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

‘You’re still young.’

‘So are you.’ Changmin didn’t understand how being fourteen was much different from being twelve. ‘Dating sounds like an old person thing, like a sixth-year thing.’

‘Maybe it is.’ Yunho sounded tired, and he stood up, ruffling Changmin’s hair. ‘See you later, Changdol.’

Changmin did not see Yunho again, though he did watch him play in the Quidditch Cup again. Unfortunately, it went to Ravenclaw this year, and after that, exams took up most of his time. He felt good about them, though transfiguration still sort of worried him.

‘I’m sure I at least passed,’ he told Kyuhyun, who’d finally stopped sticking to Sooyeon all the time. ‘I mean, the chair was still furry, but you could tell it was a chair.’

Kyuhyun snorted. ‘Yeah, you’ll be fine.’

But would he? On the train, Changmin sat with Kyuhyun, Sooyeon, and Jihye, who’d squeezed herself in at the last minute. Though she spent the entire ride drawing in her sketchbook, Changmin knew she looked at him sometimes.

He spent the ride looking out the window, at the Scottish moors that were purple with heather. The rolling flowers reminded him of the emerald green hills in Wales, and he found himself wanting to be there, and stay there, in the gently waving grass beside the ocean.

He would be okay, he knew, but would he? Was it too childish to like Yunho, to hope that he liked him back too, just a little? Jihye didn’t seem to think so, because when they disembarked, she stuffed a piece of paper into his hand before disappearing into the crowd.

‘Oh, what’s that, a love note?’ Kyuhyun stuck his head over Changmin’s shoulder. ‘Oh, wow.’

His tone had changed from mocking to appreciative, and Changmin couldn’t help but agree. Jihye was a marvelous artist, having drawn a realistic rendition of him looking out the train window. In the corner, she had sketched a small bust of Yunho, with a note saying, ‘I know you can do it. Fighting!’

‘At least you have his family’s blessing.’ Kyuhyun spied their parents standing together and moved towards them. ‘That’s a good start.’

It was. Changmin folded the drawing carefully and placed it in his pocket. Jihye clearly supported him, and he trusted her instincts. Who knew if Yunho liked him back? Maybe he did. Changmin smiled; he even began to feel hopeful for next year.

---

let's see if i can't finish the next one earlier lol but i feel burnt out. maybe i'll have more inspo for the next one though because plot stuff ehehe