Summer in London was hot. Blisteringly, swelteringly hot. Even the wind that blew by was suffocatingly warm. Changmin found himself missing Hogwarts, the naturally cool climate of Scotland. He missed sitting by the lake watching the squid splash around, missed listening to Kyuhyun and Sooyeon bicker as they walked through the non-taboo parts of the Forbidden Forest.

He also missed Yunho.

If Changmin thought that his feelings would diminish over the summer, he was dead wrong because in fact, the opposite happened. He found himself thinking about Yunho all the time, while eating, while reading, while showering. It was a disaster, imagining living a domestic life with Jung Yunho, even if it did make him blush and giggle.

He had an urge to text Jihye, because he did have her number, for some reason, but there was literally no reason for him to do that. He’d be embarrassing himself, and worse, people might think that he liked her.

Instead, he texted Kyuhyun. ‘what are you doing.’

He didn’t respond. Changmin had expected this and put his phone away with a sigh. There was nothing to do at home; he couldn’t use magic, his parents worked all day, and his sisters were no longer interested in playing with him. They had more important stuff to do, like going shopping with their friends or gossiping about their classmates.

Changmin loved his family, but he missed Hogwarts. It seemed a miracle that he made it through the summer without dying, and the moment he stepped back into Diagon Alley, Changmin physically felt himself change. He took a deep breath and relaxed, a smile appearing on his face.

‘Hey,’ Kyuhyun greeted absently, flipping through a book called ‘Curses: How to Best Jinx Your Friends’. Changmin subtly moved a few steps away. ‘Don’t worry, I won’t use these on you.’ But his evil smile said different.

‘Sure. Where’s Sooyeon?’ Changmin asked. Despite living close to each other, Changmin hadn’t actually seen her over the summer. Kyuhyun pointed somewhere to the left, and Changmin could see her hair falling over her face as she picked out her schoolbooks. ‘Ah. You’re still together?’

His friend snorted, closing the book. ‘Of course,’ he said as she walked over. Their hands immediately intertwined. ‘I’m no boy.’

‘Hi, Changmin.’ Sooyeon smiled at him. ‘Why don’t we get some ice cream after this?’

Over his bowl of strawberry swirl ice cream, Changmin listened patiently to Kyuhyun and Sooyeon talk about their vacation trips, respectively to China and Korea. He hadn’t known that Kyuhyun spoke fluent Chinese, but then again, there were a lot of things that he didn’t know about his best friend.

It made him feel sort of bad. Inferior to Kyuhyun, yes, but just bad in general. He didn’t think he was a bad friend, but best friends were supposed to know everything about each other, weren’t they? It didn’t help that Kyuhyun was a bit of a secretive person, but that made him feel better; Kyuhyun probably liked being mysterious.

‘Oh, that reminds me.’ Kyuhyun dug into his backpack. ‘I got something for you, Chwang.’

‘You didn’t have to,’ Changmin said on reflex, but Kyuhyun had already stuffed something into his hand. ‘It’s a… cage?’

‘No.’ Kyuhyun pointed between the metal bars. ‘It’s a miniature dragon. A Chinese Fireball.’

Now that he’s realized what it was, Changmin couldn’t hold back a gasp. He threw his arms around Kyuhyun, squeezing all the air out of him. Sooyeon giggled as Kyuhyun squeaked.

‘Thanks, Kyu!’

Despite being slightly ruffled, Kyuhyun looked proud of himself. ‘Take him out. Apparently they imprint on whoever touches them first, so I’ve been careful not to. And then you don’t have to worry about feeding him because they can find food on their own.’

Changmin didn’t need another reminder; he opened the cage and let the tiny dragon climb onto his hand. It really was small, its entire body easily fitting in his palm, curled up. ‘You’re sure it won’t grow into a whole dragon?’ he asked, carefully the warm scales.

‘Yeah, the biggest it’ll get is like, the length of your entire hand, plus some.’

Sooyeon giggled at the way Changmin looked at his dragon with wonder. Kyuhyun leaned back in his chair, regarding his friend with pride and warmth. Changmin said, ‘I think I’ll call him Strawberry Swirl.’

‘That’s such a stupid name.’ In a flash, the old Kyuhyun was back. Sooyeon laughed, and Kyuhyun put an arm around her. ‘Literally any other name would have been fine, but Strawberry Swirl? Really?’

Changmin stuck his tongue out at his friend. He didn’t tell him that Jihye had texted him over the summer, attaching a picture of Yunho reading a book, a bowl of strawberries balanced in his lap.

‘Just thought you might want to know,’ she’d said with a wink emoji.

---

Unsurprisingly, Changmin, Kyuhyun, Sooyeon, and Jihye sat together again on the Hogwarts Express. Surprisingly, Donghae also joined them.

‘Yunho and Boa are both prefects this year,’ he explained, dropping into the seat opposite Changmin. ‘Hojun’s gone, and my other friends’ compartments are full.’

Changmin could feel Jihye’s eyes on him. He knew what she wanted him to say, and he was determined not to let her feel the satisfaction. ‘You transferred over from Mahoutokoro, right?’ he said instead. ‘What was it like?’

Donghae’s eyes lit up, and he switched to Korean, probably assuming that everyone could understand. ‘There were cherry blossoms everywhere, dude! It was the most beautiful thing ever, when spring came. Oh, and we weren’t sorted into houses, but more what type of magic we specialized in. My family does mostly water, so I was in the elemental group.’

‘Wouldn’t there be a lot of people who don’t know what they’re good at?’ Sooyeon asked. ‘What would they do then? Change houses?’

‘Yep. Our group systems aren’t as strict as Hogwarts’s is.’

Changmin learned a lot about Mahoutokoro that day; he also learned that Donghae was likely going back after this year and couldn’t help feeling a bit sad. The older boy was easy to get along with, and he seemed eager to become friends with them too.

He’d just gathered up the courage to ask about Yunho - what was the harm? Everyone else in the compartment was well-aware of his crush - when the subject himself slid open the door and peeked in with a large grin. A gold-and-yellow badge emblazoned with a large P glittered on his chest.

‘Changdol!’ he said happily. ‘Donghae! Jihye?’ Yunho seemed surprised to see his sister hanging out with Changmin and company. She rolled her eyes and threw a balled-up piece of paper at him.

‘Where’s Boa?’ Donghae asked, peering behind him. Yunho waved his hand dismissively. ‘Oh, right, not a prefect.’

Yunho hummed, casting a glance around the room, gaze landing on Changmin’s arm. ‘Oh, nice dragon, Changmin. What’s his name?’

‘Strawberry Swirl.’ Changmin spied another badge on Yunho’s robes. ‘Wait, are you the Hufflepuff Captain now?’

‘Strawberry Swirl.’ Yunho repeated the words with a small smile. ‘Ah, yep! I’m Quidditch Captain too.’ He seemed to be avoiding Changmin’s eyes and stepped back out into the hallway. ‘Well, I have to get back to patrolling. See you all at school.’

As soon as he closed the door, Donghae turned to Changmin and said, excitedly, ‘Did you know he and Boa are dating now?’

The air in the compartment froze. Changmin couldn’t breathe; Strawberry Swirl’s claws dug into his arm, but he barely felt the pain.

‘Oh,’ he said, voice sounding distant and unnaturally casual. ‘Are they happy?’

He thought Donghae’s eyes held some thoughtfulness as they looked at him. It was a while before he replied, ‘I think so.’

Changmin nodded hard, trying not to let the sudden emptiness in his heart affect him. Kyuhyun put his hand on his arm, and Sooyeon silently handed him a Chocolate Frog. He looked at Jihye; she looked just as shell-shocked as he felt.

‘How come he didn’t tell me?’ she asked, more to herself than anyone else. Donghae shrugged sympathetically.

‘I don’t know. They didn’t tell me either, until we went to Diagon Alley together.’ He pulled a face. ‘I felt so left out. She was dragging him everywhere and they basically ignored me.’

Kyuhyun grimaced, hand tightening on Changmin’s forearm. ‘That’s terrible, Donghae,’ he said with pain in his voice. ‘How long do you think…?’

It was a rude thing to even imply, but Donghae only smiled a little. It didn’t reach his eyes, Changmin noticed. ‘I can’t wish my friends ill-luck,’ he sighed, crossing his arms, ‘but I don’t think they’re a good fit. They’re both too stubborn.’

‘She’s so fake,’ Jihye bursts out loudly, her words rushed and angry. ‘Yunho’s so naive and thinks no one in the world would do him harm and here she is, got him twirled around her finger like she wanted. Great. Great! So what’s he supposed to do now, tell her he hates being controlled?’

She fell back against her seat in a huff, eyes rimmed red. Everyone seemed shocked by her outburst, but to Changmin’s guilty relief, no one seemed too disappointed or angry. In fact, they all seemed like they agreed.

‘I don’t think she means it in a bad way,’ Donghae said quietly, examining his hands. ‘They’ve been friends for a long time, haven’t they? I think she’s used to having him to herself.’

Kyuhyun snorted. Sooyeon slipped her hand into his, the one that wasn’t holding Changmin’s arm. ‘That’s ridiculous,’ he snarled, and Changmin felt a surge of affection for his friend. ‘She needs to back off so--’

He caught himself before he could expose Changmin. Donghae didn’t question it, only smiled a bit and nodded. ‘Yes,’ he said thoughtfully. ‘I do agree.’

---

Quidditch tryouts were held the week after class started. Kyuhyun insisted on Changmin trying out, despite Changmin’s complete and utter lack of knowledge or interest in the sport.

‘I’ll go to support you,’ he said tiredly, flipping through his charms textbook. ‘But I’m not going to try out.’

He won, in the end, and watched his friend beat all the other candidates for Seeker. It seemed like Siwon, the Captain, liked him a lot, because when Changmin stepped onto the pitch, they were still talking.

‘Yeah, definitely!’ Kyuhyun waved and jogged over to Changmin, clutching his broom in his hand. It was a Nimbus 2000, Changmin noticed. ‘Hey, guess what I just found out?’

‘What?’

‘Apparently Boa is the Gryffindor Captain this year.’ He made a face and pulled off his gloves. ‘Oh well, all the more motivation to beat them.’

Changmin hoped with all his heart that Slytherin would win the Cup this year. Previously, they’d won the House Cup, in his first year, but their Quidditch team could never beat Hufflepuff’s. Probably because Yunho was their Keeper, he thought bitterly.

‘Smash them into the ground,’ he said viciously, fingers tightening into a fist. Kyuhyun let out a cold laugh and patted his shoulder, nodding.

Unfortunately, as they walked into the Great Hall for dinner, they ran into three upperclassmen - one Ravenclaw, one Hufflepuff, one Slytherin - discussing Yunho and Boa. Kyuhyun pulled him behind a pillar to eavesdrop.

‘I thought for sure he hated her,’ the Ravenclaw said, eyes wide. ‘He told me during charms last year that he was tired of her hanging around him all the time.’

‘Aw, Jae, you know how Yun is.’ The Hufflepuff pushed him. ‘He was too nice to turn her down.’

Changmin recognized the Slytherin; his name was Yoochun. He said spitefully, ‘I don’t know what she sees in him. What does he have that I don’t?’

The Hufflepuff chuckled. ‘They’re apparently childhood friends. Don’t dwell on it too much, we should support him no matter his decision. That’s what friends do.’

‘That’s what friends do.’ Jae, the Ravenclaw, shook his head. ‘You’re such a Hufflepuff, Junsu.’

‘Well, that’s why I’m here.’

They walked off, and Kyuhyun cackled, loudly. The sound echoed in the marble hall, and Changmin slapped a hand over his mouth to shut him up. ‘See, no one likes them together, not even him! You’ve got a chance, Chwang, a big one.’

Changmin was ashamed of how happy the news made him. ‘Still,’ he insisted half-heartedly. ‘They’re together and I don’t want to intrude.’

Kyuhyun only laughed, and when they told Jihye, she laughed too.

‘Of course it was like that.’ She clenched a fist, face darkening. ‘Taking advantage of my stupid, innocent brother, huh?’

Before she could rant more, Sooyeon cut in smoothly. ‘The first Quidditch match is in a week, and it’ll be between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw.’ She looked at Changmin. ‘Boa would be playing, and Yunho would undoubtedly be supporting Gryffindor. Given how we’re all friends with Jihye, we can use her as an excuse to sit in the Gryffindor stands.’

‘Using me too, huh?’ Jihye said, but she didn’t sound mad. In fact, she sounded excited and high-fived Sooyeon. ‘I like your way of thinking.’

So that was how Changmin found himself standing in the front row of the Gryffindor stand, squished between Jihye and Kyuhyun, watching the first Quidditch match of the season. He had a clear view of the pitch, which normally would have been great, but since he could also clearly see Boa, he was less excited.

She had put her hair up in a high ponytail, and it swished whenever she moved. She was very pretty, and a feeling of despair took over him. How could he compare to her, Kwon Boa, star Quidditch player, the prettiest girl in all of Gryffindor? It was no wonder Yunho agreed to date her.

‘Changmin! And Kyuhyun, Sooyeon, and Jihye!’ Donghae’s voice suddenly appeared behind them, and Changmin turned his head - with difficulty - to look at him. ‘Here to witness Boa at her finest?’

Changmin flushed; was he really that easy to read? But he saw that Donghae was grinning and groaned. ‘Why do all my friends make fun of me?’

‘Because you’re easy to rile up,’ Sooyeon yelled, and Kyuhyun snickered, throwing an arm around his shoulders. ‘Oh, it’s starting!’

Boa was an excellent Quidditch player. Even Kyuhyun had to admit that, grudgingly, as he pointed out a difficult maneuver she had pulled off with ease. She made Quidditch look easy, and that wasn’t an esay thing to do.

Needless to say, Gryffindor won the match.

---

From then on, Changmin found another friend in Donghae, and since Donghae was friends with Yunho, he ended up seeing a lot of Yunho’s face. The older boy always seemed happy to see him, casually touching his arm and asking about his day. Unfortunately, where there was Yunho, there also happened to be Boa.

She was still nice to him, but Changmin caught her sharp eyes watching Yunho’s fingers linger on his arm, and he had the feeling that she very much did not like him. It did not, however, show in her voice, and Changmin had to admire her self-control.

One rare day when she wasn’t around, Donghae threw a glance at Changmin and asked, ‘Yunho, are you happy with Boa?’

Yunho choked on his water, and Changmin pounded his back. ‘I-I mean,’ he stammered, once he could talk, face turning as red as the Gryffindor robes. ‘Yeah, yeah, I am. Why?’

He refused to look either of them in the eyes and pretended to do his arithmancy homework, though anyone could see that he wasn’t focusing. Donghae looked at Changmin and shrugged, mouthing, ‘I tried.’

Things continued in this fashion for a few months. Thankfully, classes took up most of Changmin’s time, and nothing drastic happened, except for the occasional fight between Kyuhyun and Sooyeon, where he would have to act as the middle-man between them.

It was another one of these days when, walking between the two in frosty silence, Changmin saw Hagrid placing pumpkins near the Great Hall and realized that it was Halloween.

‘Guys, come on,’ he begged, fairly dragging them into the Hall. ‘It’s Halloween! Let’s talk it out, okay?’

They did not, in fact, talk it out, and when Changmin sat down to do his homework, he was still surrounded on both sides by cold silence. He heaved a large sigh. Well, at least he would be able to get some homework done.

He did not, in fact, get any homework done, because Donghae dropped into seat across from him, Jihye in tow. They both seemed excited, and even Kyuhyun and Sooyeon spared them a glance.

‘Yunho and Boa had a fight today!’ Jihye whispered gleefully. Kyuhyun coughed in surprise, and even Changmin started. Donghae nodded, eyes bright, and leaned in.

‘According to Jaejoong and Junsu - they’re his friends too - they said that Boa had shown up to Quidditch practice and basically ruined it.’

‘So he snapped.’ Changmin didn’t know Jihye could look so happy. ‘He used a Silencing Charm so no one knew what exactly went on, but everyone could tell how mad he was.’

Hot-and-bothered Yunho. Changmin felt ashamed to want to have seen that. Sooyeon let out a giggle. ‘Changmin, your chance has come.’

‘No, don’t.’ He felt nauseous and abruptly stood up. ‘I’m not.’

The cold water on his face helped to clear his head. Changmin pushed his hair back and sighed. His image in the mirror looked pathetic, dripping wet and miserable. He felt pretty miserable too.

How could he have possibly been happy about Yunho being sad? Was that something a friend did? No! A friend was supposed to support him, be behind his every decision, and more than anything, be happy for him. Changmin was a terrible friend.

The door opened behind him, and Changmin met Yunho’s eyes in the mirror. He looked unhappy, though he smiled at Changmin. ‘Hey, Changdol.’

‘Hyung.’ Changmin hesitated. ‘I heard you had a fight with Boa.’

His voice lingered in the air, and Yunho smiled bitterly, running a hand through his hair. He seemed frustrated, though he still answered the unspoken question.

‘Yes, she was disturbing Quidditch practice.’ He hesitated, and then blew out a long breath, as if trying to calm himself down. ‘Changmin, how would you tell your girlfriend that she’s being too clingy?’

Yunho’s eyes betrayed his pain, and Changmin felt a pang in his chest, as if he’d been shot. There were dark circles underneath Yunho’s eyes, and he looked exhausted. Changmin hoped that he would never see Yunho in so much pain again, ever.

‘I think,’ he said slowly, carefully, gauging Yunho’s reaction. ‘You should just tell her. Communication is key in a relationship.’ He couldn’t help scoffing, dropping his head. ‘Kyuhyun and Sooyeon have taught me that much.’

To his surprise, Yunho laughed softly. ‘Oh, do those two fight?’

‘Do they?’ Changmin groaned. ‘They don’t ever stop! And every time, I have to be the middle-man and try to work something out between them. It’s so tiring.’

He stopped at the look on Yunho’s face. He looked slightly sad. ‘Yeah,’ he said quietly. ‘Donghae has to be that person too. I feel sorry that we bother him too much, but he’s nice enough to not say anything.’

Changmin suspected that there was another reason why Donghae wouldn’t complain about their relationship problem, but he wasn’t going to tell Yunho that. Instead, he said, ‘He’s a good friend.’

‘Uh-huh. Just like you.’ A twinkle had returned to Yunho’s eyes. ‘The Halloween Feast is today, Changmin. You’re not going to skip it, are you?’

‘Not for anything!’ 

Yunho dipped his head with a laugh. ‘I would give you points for that, but I’m afraid that’s not a real reason to give out points. And,’ he added with a wink, ‘I wouldn’t necessarily want Slytherin to win the House Cup, you know?’

‘Oh, shut up, I know you love me.’

As soon as the words left the mouth, Changmin knew that he’d ed up. The air in the bathroom solidified, and Yunho’s gentle smile froze on his face. No way, no way, not actually? Changmin panicked, his mind blanked, and he mumbled an apology and practically ran out of the bathroom.

His friends noticed the panic on his face. Jihye sat him down and looked him right in the eyes. ‘Tell me what’s wrong,’ she said seriously, but he couldn’t look at her. She had Yunho’s eyes. ‘Changmin, we just want to help.’

‘Chwang, look at me.’ Kyuhyun turned him around and grasped his shoulders. ‘Calm down, deep breaths. You’re okay.’

Changmin let out a whimper and buried his face in Kyuhyun’s shoulder. ‘I don’t know what to do anymore.’

He proceeded to, slowly and quietly, while still organizing his thoughts, tell his friends what had happened. Donghae raised an eyebrow when he recounted how Yunho felt sorry for him, and Jihye and Sooyeon gasped when he told them about the effect that his seemingly-casual words had on Yunho.

‘Bro,’ Jihye whispered in shock. ‘Bro! He likes you!’

Changmin let out a screech, banging his head on the table. Sooyeon patted his arm. ‘It’s okay! This is progress!’

‘No!’ Changmin groaned, grabbing fistfuls of his hair. ‘You don’t understand, I don’t want them to break up! I want him to be happy, and if he’s happy with Boa, then I wish them the best.’

Donghae cut in quietly, ‘But he’s not. Changmin, you haven’t done anything wrong.’

‘I feel wrong!’ It felt like a sin, wanting Jung Yunho so badly when he was clearly already taken. ‘I just, I don’t know, I don’t want him to be unhappy.’

Jihye sighed, shoulders slumping. ‘My brother is an idiot,’ she said, and refused to elaborate.

---

Decked out in giant jack-o-lanterns and floating candles, the Great Hall was a beautiful sight to behold. Unfortunately, Changmin was in no mood to behold it. Kyuhyun and Sooyeon, having put aside their fight for the time being, had all but dragged Changmin out of his bed to attend the Feast.

‘You need a distraction,’ Sooyeon said firmly, placing a plate of treacle tart in front of him. ‘Don’t worry about anything else tonight. Just eat.’

Changmin usually loved treacle tart, but nothing tasted good tonight. Not the tart, not pumpkin pie, not even roast turkey. He shook his head, throwing back a glass of water, and said, ‘I’m going to the bathroom.’

He heard footsteps behind him as he walked out of the Great Hall. ‘Hey, wait.’ It was Donghae. ‘Changmin, you’re not okay, and that’s okay, but you have to eat.’

‘You like her, don’t you?’ Changmin spun around to confront him. To Donghae’s credit, he did not flinch and simply nodded. ‘How can you deal with it? I want to, I--’

‘Slowly.’ Donghae put a hand on his back. ‘You want to see them suffer and break up, but you also feel bad because you just want them to be happy. Well, him.’

Changmin leaned against one of the large stone pillars. The cold surface calmed the churning of his stomach. ‘Yeah.’ He placed his hand on the shiny marble, feeling the heat leave his hand. ‘I want him to be happy, but I can’t help myself from liking him and wanting - selfishly - to take him away from whatever is making him miserable. Which, right now, would be Boa.’

Donghae laughed softly and leaned against the pillar too, letting out a tired sigh. ‘I feel you. Sometimes, I just want to…’ He gestured vaguely in the air. ‘Ask her what’s so good about him. What he has that I don’t. Why can’t she see me?’

His words reminded Changmin of what Yoochun had said, months ago, and he laughs bitterly. ‘I don’t want to be the reason they break up,’ he admitted, rubbing a hand across his face. ‘And, I feel so stupid. I’m thirteen years old, how could he like him? So stupid.’

‘What, you don’t think he could like you because you’re… a third-year?’ Donghae shook his head, amused. ‘Yunho’s not a pedo, Chwang. He’s a pretty reliable guy.’

Changmin laughed out loud, a short bark. ‘No, no. It just still feels wrong. He’s fifteen, a prefect, Quidditch captain. Everyone knows him, everyone wants him, and I feel so selfish. So arrogant, self-centered, to even imagine that he could like me back.’

Donghae made a soft sound of understanding. Then he sighed, sagged against the marble column, and said, ‘We’re ed, aren’t we?’

‘Real ed.’

---

By the time winter break came around, Yunho and Boa were happy and lovey again. Changmin did notice that Boa had stopped clinging to him every second of the day, and there was an easy grin on Yunho’s face again. He could barely keep himself together whenever they talked, the pain in his heart was so great.

‘It feels like he’s taunting me,’ he divulged to Kyuhyun, while his friend was packing. ‘He’s happy and of course I want him to be, but…’ He trailed off with a sigh. ‘I wish you were staying.’

Wordlessly, Kyuhyun pulled him into a hug. ‘Hey, it’s okay,’ he said encouragingly. ‘Donghae will be here. You can be sad together.’

Changmin punched him on the shoulder, and though it wasn’t a hard hit, Kyuhyun still staggered back dramatically, clutching his chest as if he’d been severely wounded. Changmin laughed for what seemed like the first time in years.

He was grateful for Kyuhyun, he thought, walking through the snowy courtyard alone. His friend always managed to make him laugh, and their banter distracted him from whatever troubles he might have had at the time.

But the dorm was pretty much empty, now that everyone had gone home for the holidays. Changmin could have gone home too; he hadn’t yet gone home for Christmas. But the Christmas Feast was, he shamefully admitted in his head, much better than his mother’s holiday food.

Besides, his sisters would beg him to show them magic, and he didn’t feel like dealing with them this year. Not with his internal conflict tearing him apart.

He spent most of his time with Donghae and a Gryffindor fourth-year called Victoria. She was a typical Gryffindor, loud and unapologetically brash. She was also quite pretty, with short black hair done to her shoulders and a charming laugh.

For a few weeks, he could almost forget about Yunho.

Unfortunately, Jihye sent him letters every few days, adding a few pictures each time. Yunho reading a book, Yunho eating strawberries, Yunho caught off-guard. Hating himself, Changmin saved all of them carefully and wrote back, saying something along the lines of, ‘Please, I have a life to live.’

Jihye confronted him after break ended. ‘Changmin, you can’t run away from your feelings forever.’ They were working on homework together in the library. ‘It’s clear that you need to talk.’

‘I talk to Donghae,’ Changmin muttered, writing something for charms. ‘Anyway, it’s fine, I’m happy for them.’

‘Even an idiot would be able to tell that you’re not happy.’ But she didn’t press the subject, and a few moments later, Victoria joined them at their table.

‘Hi, Changmin!’ she said cheerily. ‘Is this your girlfriend?’

Changmin turned bright red and Jihye burst out laughing. ‘I’m just a friend,’ she explained. ‘You’re Victoria, right? I’ve seen you around.’

Victoria smiled. Two seconds later, Donghae dropped into the seat next to Victoria. ‘Hey, are we having a party?’

Jihye cackled, which earned her a dirty look from Madam Pince. Changmin couldn’t help laughing too. ‘Why are we doing this in a library?’

So they left, laughing in a large group. As life would have it, they ran straight into Yunho, still windswept from Quidditch practice. He looked dashing, and Changmin’s heart skipped a beat when he smiled at him. ‘Wow, what an ensemble,’ he joked, running a hand through his hair. ‘Mind if I join?’

Jihye stuck her tongue out at him. ‘No, get ed.’ He pouted, and Changmin’s knees almost gave out from under him.

Donghae, uncharacteristically, did not say anything, and instead looked to everyone else. Victoria looked Yunho up and down once with a vaguely distasteful expression on her face. She opened , but Changmin beat her to it.

‘Sure, if you don’t mind there being so many of us.’

Yunho flashed a blinding grin, and he bounced over to Changmin, throwing an arm around his shoulders. ‘Hell yeah, I knew you’d stick up for me, Changmin.’

Changmin grinned, but before he could reply, a voice from behind caused everyone to freeze.

‘Yunho.’ It was Boa. Her voice contained a hint of danger, and almost instinctively, Changmin stepped away. ‘What are you doing? You’re late.’

Yunho had fallen silent, face a mask of conflict. He bit his lip. ‘I’m hanging out with my friends,’ he said quietly. It was the first time Changmin had heard him speak in such a low tone, and it was sort of scary. ‘I said I’d study with you at 7. It’s barely 6:30.’

Boa shot Changmin such a vicious glance that he almost physically felt it. Immediately, Yunho stepped in front of him. ‘Boa, don’t. It’s not their fault.’

He was slightly shorter than Yunho, but even over the older boy’s shoulder, Changmin could tell that Boa was mad. Not even just angry; she was furious, and it wasn’t subtle. Yunho seemed to realize this, because he turned around with an apologetic smile and said, ‘I’ll see you around.’

And then, taking Boa’s arm, they quickly walked off.

Jihye threw her bag to the ground in anger. ‘!’ she yelled. Thankfully, the hallways were empty, or that would have cost her a House point. ‘! Who does she think she is?’

Victoria raised an eyebrow. ‘Kwon Boa?’ she said. ‘I never imagined she would hate you, Changmin.’

‘It’s not my fault,’ he whined, helping Jihye pick up her books. ‘She hates me for no reason.’

‘It’s because you’re close to Yunho.’ Donghae also dropped down to help. ‘Boa has a possessive streak.’

‘Hm.’ Victoria thought for a while. ‘Maybe you could get back at her? You know, get even closer with Yunho.’

Despite her anger, Jihye snickered. ‘It’d be easier just dating someone else,’ she said, and faint color appeared on Victoria’s cheeks. Donghae, ever the perceptive, seemed to understand something.

But he never told Changmin what, and for the rest of the year, he would only smile at him, albeit a bit sadly.

---

Nothing had changed much at the end of the year, except Slytherin won the House Cup, and Victoria had become a close friend. She was funny, Changmin found, and always knew how to cheer him up. For a brief moment, he even wondered what it would be like to date her.

After the mishap with Boa, the most Changmin had seen of Yunho was brief glances in the hallways. Yunho still smiled at him, but the smiles seemed much more muted, like he was sad all the time.  Honestly, it made Changmin’s heart hurt.

He finally told Victoria of the situation when she demanded, for the millionth time, what was going on between them. She’d seemed oddly disappointed to hear that, and Changmin wondered if it was because she pitied him.

‘I don’t want your pity,’ he said, and she shook her head quickly.

‘No, no, you misunderstand.’ But she never did elaborate. 

After Victoria joined their friend group, Jihye seemed to talk less. Changmin wasn’t sure if it was because Victoria kept talking over her, or if it was because Jihye suddenly started focusing on class more. He thought it might have been both.

On the way back home, Donghae stood up and announced that he would, in fact, be leaving for Mahoutokoro in July. A chorus of disappointed groans started, and he bade them all visit during the summer. Changmin wrote down his address and made a mental note to ask his parents about it.

When he got off the train, Changmin had a sudden urge to look back. As he did, he made direct eye contact with Yunho, who was tugging at his trunk in the prefects’ compartment. They both froze, and then, Yunho smiled. It seemed like a more genuine smile, and relieved, Changmin smiled back.

Then Yunho’s eyes moved beyond Changmin, and Changmin turned to see Victoria looking his way, clearly dissatisfied about something.

When he tried to look for Yunho again, the older boy had already gone.

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have yall picked up on the color scheme yet? (those who follow the series lmao) look at the titles of each story