soeun’s perspective

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I’ve never been this excited for a Hogwarts year as I’m racing through Platform 9¾ very eagerly. I walked through the brick pillar, “Mom, Dad, I love you! Bye!”

I was greeted with a crowd of people waving and telling their children goodbye, followed by a trail of I love you’s from their parents. In search of my friends, I go through the crowd of people to find Jaehee, Jiyoon and Hyewon chatting with one another.

Now at Hogwarts Express, I sigh in relief. As I walk towards them, my eyes still wander around Hogwarts Express, trying to find any of our other friends. My eyes landed on Soojin talking with her brother, Junseo. I could feel happiness bubbling inside my chest after seeing her.

Boarding the train, Jaehee, Jiyoon and Soojin have already claimed a compartment. Their compartment door was open as they discussed their summer vacations.

Hyewon, Jimin and Jihyo were in a different compartment as they talked together. Jimin sat alone across from the other two, her eyes scanning the card from the box of chocolate frogs. I walked into the compartment and shut the door abruptly, scaring Jimin and making her jump in her seat. Jimin pouts as she loses her chocolate frog as it hops away.

I sat down beside Jimin, while the other two remained unbothered, talking to each other happily.

After a while, I coughed a bit to catch their attention. Jimin looks up from her empty box of chocolate frogs as Jihyo and Hyewon look over to their side, facing me. “What is it?” The two girls said at the same time.

“I— uh… I like someone.”

Jimin looks back down, shaking her head. Jimin already knows that I like Soojin, but not the other two. Hyewon and Jihyo looked at me with either a raised or furrowed eyebrow. “Let me guess— it’s Soojin, right?” Hyewon says. I looked at her with a baffled expression. How did she know? Am I that obvious?

“How—” I was dumbfounded as Hyewon and Jihyo smiled. “We’re not dumb,” Hyewon mumbled. “Don’t you remember being under a love potion? You were so whipped for Soojin, and the way you look at her now is exactly the same,” Jihyo chuckled.

“Wait… I was under a love potion?”

The tension in the room built up quickly, Jihyo covered as everyone in the room was in shock. Jimin continued to stare at her card, mumbling a “yikes” as Hyewon looked away. “Y-You didn’t know?” I shook my head furiously.

“I was under a love potion? When?!” I demanded an answer. “I— uh… it was a few weeks before your O.W.L.s and Quidditch game last year,” Jimin nonchalantly says.

“Who made the potion?!” The three of them had blank stares and were zoning out. “We don’t know…” Jimin muttered under her breath. They don’t know?

“When I found out who made the potion, I will kill them,” I murmured.

『••✎••』

The Great Hall was crowded as it was full of conversation and laughter. Headmaster Kwon had all of us quiet down, welcoming the first year students into the school. He commenced the sorting ceremony for the first year’s Hogwarts houses, then the feast began.

My gaze wandered around the Great Hall, I could see Jihyo and Jiyoon lingering around the Gryffindor table, mingling around with their fellow housemates and talking with them playfully.

I looked over at the Hufflepuff table, and Jaehee’s arm was looped around Soojin and another student’s shoulders. My eyes were glued on Soojin, and I couldn’t stop looking at her. I felt my heart unexpectedly stop and flutter when Soojin made eye contact with me at that moment. She smiles my way as I return a smile back.

『••✎••』

During my free period, I sat in class beside Soojin. The sixth years were gathered as we needed to pick our elective subjects to fill in our free periods.

The classroom door opens, and Mrs. Jeong enters with a huge smile plastered on her face. She put down her belongings onto the desk, quickly turning around to face her students.

“Good morning class, it’s nice to meet all of you as I will be your temporary teacher for now. In this class, we’ll be doing a non-academic activity as we wait for your elective classes to be submitted to us. You’re all in your sixth year and not everyone has their greatest relationships with other students. So, I’m going to choose a partner for all of you for two weeks, and you will have to ‘date’ them. You’re to spend time with each other, show your affection and become closer. Hopefully, this will be beneficial because I’ve heard that many students in this class don’t get along.” Mrs. Jeong finishes.

We’re supposed to become a couple with our assigned partner? Who in their right minds came up with this idea? The Professor isn’t wrong about many students not getting along in this class, their teamwork is worse than a giraffe and dolphin together, and they don’t mix.

“I have decided that your partners will be your seatmates,” she began. This shocked a few