Black vs White

“You know,” starts Brian as he leans to Sungjin to whisper. Sungjin leans back to him. “Dowoon was so cute when he got his letter. He was so reserved and quiet, I never expected him to be that excited.”

Sungjin smiled, “He’s just shy, that’s why he’s quiet. But he observes too. I’m guessing he’d be in Ravenclaw.”

Brian nods in agreement, “Yeah. Mark was quiet too. I really don’t know how Jaehyung hyung got in there.”

Sungjin giggles to him, “Jaehyung knows quite some things. His intelligence is random. He’s sometimes more of a street smart than book smart. Dowoon is kind of both. He excelled in his school and, as I said, he’s observant and that’s why he’s quiet most of the time — that’s where he gets his street knowledge.”

Brian grinned and looked at the older, “You know your thing, huh? Aren’t you observant too?”

Sungjin shrugged with a confident smirk.

“Yah, we appreciate you two whispering to each other about… things. But we can leave if you want,” Jaehyung suddenly spoke up.

Brian rolled his eyes, “What? You don’t even know what we’re talking about.”

“That’s the point,” Jaehyung says.

“I think they’re talking about Dowoonie,” Wonpil points to the boy. “They were looking at him earlier. And you too, Jaehyung hyung.”

“Bri?” Jaehyung calls warningly. Dowoon ignores as he leans to the window, watching the scenery, but he was still listening.

“We’re just talking about how you’re both smart in different levels,” Brian truthfully says.

Jaehyung stares suspiciously at him. Brian rolled his eyes again, “Should have grabbed Jaebeom with us.”

And suddenly, the train stops. Brian’s hand instinctively shoots out to grab hold onto something, and it held back onto him. Sungjin stood up, telling the rest of them to stay still as he peeked out of the cabin. It was dark, still turning darker. The temperature dramatically drops and Dowoon, putting a hand on the window, snaps his head to Sungjin. Something cloaked with black hovers to the door and with its thin, wood-like fingers, and pulled the door open.

Brian grabs Sungjin’s robe and pulls him back. The Hufflepuff tumbles and falls to his back. Brian shields him from the dark creature and then their face connected. It seemed like it was the life out of the Gryffindor. It stops for a second and Brian weakly holds himself up with a hand back on Sungjin’s chest. And the creature again.

“Kang Bra!” shouts Sungjin.

And then a white light shone from somewhere on the train. A light in the form of a Phoenix flies past their cabin, attacking the black creature. And Brian faints beside Sungjin. The lights come back and Sungjin stands up to pick up Brian from the ground. Dowoon transfers to the other seat to let Sungjin lie Brian down. The temperature rises to normal but Sungjin was long sweating, worried since Brian was still cold and pale.

“Kang Bra, yah,” Sungjin shakes the younger. “Kang Bra — “

Sungjin stops when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked back and sees an adult.

“Was he attacked?” he nods at Brian. Sungjin nods wordlessly. The man smiled softly, “Let him rest. He’ll come back a little while later.”

“Is-Is he gonna be okay?” Wonpil stutters.

The man looks at him, stops for a while, and smiles again, “Yes.”

“What was that?” Dowoon questions.

Sungjin lifts Brian’s head and takes a seat, putting the younger’s head on his lap.

“A Dementor,” the man answered. “It , literally and figuratively. It takes one’s happy memories. So that boy might be a bit depressed when he wakes up.”

“But… he’ll remember us, right?” Sungjin looked up at him, teary as his hand gently runs through Brian’s hair.

“Yes, yes, he will. He’ll be okay,” the man assures again before leaving and walking ahead past their cabin.

Sungjin bows his head to hide his face but Jaehyung, Wonpil, and Dowoon caught him pouting. He looks down at Brian who was still cold and pale. His pale lips were parted and his eyes a bit sunken.

“You didn’t need to protect me,” Sungjin mutters and the other three’s hearts broke.

On another cabin, the man who had been wandering the train also visits. He looks at each of them and stares at one, “Did the white light come from you?”

Seokjin nods.

 

~~

Thirty minutes after the train starts to move again, Brian stirs and groans a bit. All four heads snap over to him and watched him squirm before opening his eyes and carefully sitting up. Sungjin assists him. He looks around and blinks a couple of times.

“What happened?” he asked, voice deep and scratchy.

“Are you okay?” Wonpil asks softly.

“Yeah, but…,” Brian frowns deeply. “I feel… sad.”

“That’s what the man earlier said,” Jaehyung says. “A Dementor attacked you and said it the happy memories from a person. That’s why you feel sad.”

Brian looks at Sungjin and suddenly, he became teary-eyed. And he apologizes. Sungjin takes him to him, arm around him and hand rubbing his back.

“Why? Are you okay?” Sungjin inquires.

Brian nods against his shoulder, “Yes, but — we have a lot of — happy memories — together.”

Sungjin sighed, “It’s fine, we can make more. That man earlier gave me a bar of chocolate, do you want it?”

“But it’s yours,” Brian muttered, pulling back from him and sniffing with tears still sliding down his cheeks.

Sungjin chuckled at him and wiped his left cheek, “No, he said I should give it to you when you wake up. So, it’s yours.”

Brian takes the bar and pulls the top apart, opening it. He pulls the bar up a little and bites down on it, chewing it slowly as he still sniffs. He looked like a kid who was scolded and now given a snack after his tantrum. Sungjin smiles and wipes his other cheek from tears. Jaehyung, who was watching Brian from the side quietly, transfers his gaze to Sungjin. And he witnessed something change in Sungjin’s eyes.

His orbs turned darker and harder as he stares at Brian. The smile on his lips slowly disappeared as he looked away to the hallway. He leaned back, eyes lidding a bit as he does. And suddenly, he was nothing like a Hufflepuff. He glanced a bit at Brian who was staring at the floor while munching on the chocolate bar, and his eyes hardened and darkened even more if possible. Brian sniffs and tugs at Sungjin’s robe.

Sungjin’s eyes softens dramatically when he looked at him. Brian scoots to him and leans against his side. Sungjin smiled down at him when he looked up. And grins a bit with a nod when Brian said he’ll sleep until they get to Hogwarts and asks him a favor to wake him up when they’d arrive. He again mentions Jaehyung leaving him when they were second-years but Jaehyung ignores that and instead felt intense goosebumps travel down his spine.

Sungjin had looked nothing like him earlier and the way he had transitioned from worried, to relieved, to suddenly incredibly pissed, and to extremely gentle scared the hell out of Jaehyung. He didn’t know what had happened and what was going on in Sungjin’s mind but he unanimously decides to not mess with Brian. Somehow, his brain tells him it was all about Brian, probably what had happened to him. And unbeknownst to everyone, Dowoon had witnessed everything as well.

---

 

Fear

“Seokjin-ah?” Jaehyung calls, looking back at the younger when he realized he wasn’t walking with him.

Seokjin was walking behind him sluggishly, head down and the frown deepening even more since Jaehyung saw him that morning. Jaehyung stopped walking. Seokjin looked up at him with a questioning hum.

“You okay?” Jaehyung tilted his head.

Seokjin nods quietly and walks to stand beside him.

“Come on, we’re gonna be late for Defense Against the Dark Arts,” Jaehyung throws his arm around his shoulders and resumes on walking.

Seokjin remained quiet. They pass by other students walking to their first class of the day. They crossed paths with Younghyun, Mark, and Yoongi. Jaehyung had greeted them but Seokjin stayed with his head down. He heard Yoongi ask Jaehyung what the problem with him was and Jaehyung answered that he didn’t know. Seokjin just knows Yoongi will talk to him later. They walked again.

This time, they met Namjoon and Hoseok. Namjoon had bent down to peek at him but Seokjin avoided his eyes, turning his head away to the side. Namjoon stands back up and bids goodbye to them, Hoseok following him. And Seokjin knows that’s another talk later. They get to a classroom already filled with other students. They were all standing and they mixed in.

Seokjin slightly tunes out the professor’s voice but gets a glance at him. He remembered him as the man from the train. The man that had stared him down for a few seconds before smiling and walking away to check on the other cabins. He shivers at the memory. And then they were in a line. Some other student from the Hufflepuff house went before him and now, he was walking to the side.

Blinking confusedly, Seokjin looks up at a jack-in-a-box. And as soon as he looked at it, it began shuffling. For a few seconds, it kept shuffling and then the creature he saw at the train yesterday took form. Seokjin stares, feet rooted to the ground as it hovers to him. And then a figure blocked his view.

“Riddikulus!” he hears after a second and a white balloon flew around, releasing air.

The man in front of him directed the balloon into the closet and the door closed securely. The professor dismissed the class and Jaehyung stayed behind, putting a hand on his shoulder and asking him if he was okay. Lupin reassured Jaehyung he’d take care of him and Jaehyung tells him he’d wait for him outside of the classroom. Seokjin was still at a loss for words.

“It was you, wasn’t it?” Lupin asked.

Seokjin looked at him, nervous and scared. He feels like the professor was dangerous, but not the kind that would hurt you intentionally.

“The one who conjured the Patronus,” Lupin added.

Seokjin gulped, “I-I don’t know how it happened. It just — “

“Shot out?” Lupin finished for him and smiled when Seokjin nodded. “Do you know how a Patronus can be conjured, Seokjin-ssi?”

Seokjin shook his head.

“By thinking of your happiest, vivid memory, and saying the incantation ’Expecto Patronum’,” Lupin informs. “Did you think about a particular memory that could have prompted your wand to conjure the Patronus charm by itself?”

Seokjin blinked, “Well, Namjoon was nearly attacked that time and then it just shot out.”

“Hm. Tell me about your wand,” Lupin says.

“Hawthorn wood, Phoenix Feather core,” Seokjin mumbled.

“Ah, no wonder your wand acted out on its own. Wands with Phoenix Feather cores tend to do that,” nods Lupin. “Anyway, if you want, I can teach you to properly conjure the Patronus charm to help you protect yourself — “

“Can I bring my friends? We’re not always together and I want them to be able to protect themselves when a Dementor comes,” Seokjin cuts him off.

Lupin smiled, “Sure. Tonight, after dinner. Same place.”

Seokjin nods with, finally, a small smile on him. Lupin lets him go and he leaves the classroom. He spots Jaehyung right across the classroom, leaning onto the wall. He pushed himself off when he steps out.

“Yah. You okay?” Jaehyung questions.

Seokjin pulls a bigger smile, “Yeah. Let’s eat, I’m starving from that.”

“Already? It’s been less than two hours since breakfast!” Jaehyung points out.

“I know.”

---

 

Dive Deeper

“Why do we need to attend one more class?” Brian whines.

Sungjin giggles as he drags him by his hand, “Come on, it’s with good intentions. Seokjin’s just worried about us.”

“I know, I appreciate that, believe me. But why can’t it be tomorrow?” Brian retorts, his robe cleaning the floor Sungjin had walked on.

But he couldn’t care less. He was too tired and Sungjin was holding his hand tightly.

“Fine, we’ll swing by the kitchens — “

“Yes, hyung, I love —!”

“And I am the only one going in. You stay outside,” Sungjin immediately adds.

He grins when Brian scoffed, “I was going to say I love you, but I’m going to say I hate you now.”

Sungjin giggles again and looks back at him, “We have a stop-over, Kang Bra. I’ll be back in a minute.”

Brian hums loudly as Sungjin gently lets his hand go before entering the kitchens. Sungjin asks the elves for a couple of snacks. They knew him since his first year, as he would always stop by the kitchens between classes to grab something to eat. The elves sometimes predict when he’s coming, just like now. After collecting Sungjin’s favorites and requests, they put it in a small sack, enchanted to fit more than three bars of chocolate, and hands it to Sungjin. Sungjin thanks them with a bow and then leave with a smile.

He stopped when he heard a small yelp. He looked down with a frown and grinned fondly, “What are you doing?”

Brian was lying down on the floor where Sungjin had left him, “Me? You’re the one who kicked the side of my head and you dare ask what I am doing?”

Sungjin giggles again and Brian knows he’ll never get tired of hearing that. He grabs his hand and pulls him again, “And we are back on track. Next stop — Professor Lupin’s classroom.”

“Yay,” Brian unenthusiastically cheers.

Sungjin smiles widely and lets a box of chocolate frog fall from the sack. It fell on the floor and Brian grabs it, opening it with a spell. He opens his mouth and the frog jumps right in. Sungjin laughed. They arrived at the classroom with the sound of soft laughter. All heads turned to them when they entered.

“Ah, the lovebirds, here they — Brian, what are you doing?” Jaehyung questions.

Sungjin lets his hand go and distributes the snacks he got, giving the bars of chocolate to their professor, and leaving one for Brian. Brian stays laying on the ground.

He took a dramatic sigh, “Letting my brain think I am on a locomotive bed.”

Sungjin mutters an apology to Lupin, to which the man just dismissed. He took his wand and points at Brian, muttering a spell under his breath. And then white smoke ejects from the tip of his wand. It forms into an animal, a wolf, and pounces towards Brian. It leans its snout to his head and Brian turned his head.

“Wah,” his eyes widened a bit and he sat up, watching it jumped around him before running through the wall. “What was that?”

“That,” Lupin pushes himself off the desk he was leaning on since Seokjin had stepped in with Namjoon, Jaebeom, and Jackson. “Is a Patronus. It takes the form of a certain animal when you conjure it. It varies, but for some people, they take after the Patronus of their loved ones.”

Brian stood up and walked to his friends, “Are we learning that?”

“Oh? I thought you didn’t want to take the class?” Sungjin smirked.

“No, haven’t you been listening? I said I wanted it to occur tomorrow. But since you have used me as a mop to clean the floor on the way here, might as well do it to make the trip worthwhile,” Brian crossed his arms.

“Hey, you didn’t want to come and Seokjin said everyone should come. Jackson was the one who lead you out of your dorm, I was left to deal with you and I decided to just drag you around and you let me,” Sungjin argues.

Brian scoffed. Jaehyung sighed, “Sorry for them, Professor, they’re always like that.”

“Oh, no worries. I’m used to it; my friends were noisier. So you’re the pair who was flirting in Snape’s detention last year?” Lupin grins when both Sungjin and Brian avoided his eyes.

“Even you, Professor? We were twelve! And even now, we’re just thirteen,” Brian says.

“You’re not. I am thirteen. You are twelve,” Sungjin points out and runs with a giggle to the other side of the group when Brian pulled his wand out.

Lupin laughed a bit, “So, let’s start?”

 

~~

Thirty minutes into the session, the room was filled with shouts of “Expecto Patronum!”, yet not a single light was coming out of a single wand. Lupin only watches. Seokjin still wasn’t trying since they had started. He had focused on helping his friends conjure their Patronus first before he tries and Lupin understands that. So he just watches. What he was watching now was Brian, who was openly staring at Sungjin across the room.

Jaebeom and Sungjin were helping each other, with Dowoon who seemed kinda lost. Lupin reads the longingness in Brian’s eyes and he wonders how long he and Sungjin have known each other. So he walks across the room and leans on the desk that Brian’s been leaning on since they started to try conjuring their Patronus. Brian didn’t bat an eye and kept them on the Hufflepuff.

“Sungjin hyung, your eyes look like the night sky,” Brian suddenly blurts out.

They stopped and all heads turns to look at him. Lupin smirked amusedly as Brian cleared his throat, crossing his arms. Sungjin was grinning, both in amusement and fondness.

“You didn’t hear that.”

And they went back to their business as if nothing happened.

“Brian-ssi,” calls Lupin.

“Younghyun,” Brian automatically corrects.

Lupin smirked again, “Younghyun-ssi. How long have you been friends with Sungjin-ssi?”

“Not too long, met him on my first year. On the Hogwarts Express,” Brian muttered. “He kept on smiling, he was so bright and cheerful. I want him to keep that look on him always. Whatever the cause is, even if it isn’t me, I want to see that look on him.”

Lupin’s smirk disappears and returns as a soft smile when Brian’s head snapped over to look at him. And then he panics.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t know it was you, Professor!” Brian apologizes.

“It’s fine,” Lupin reassures. “Why don’t you try conjuring your Patronus?”

Brian looks up and raises his wand, “Expecto Patronum.”

And from his wand emerges a light that formed into a tabby cat. Everyone follows the animal with their eyes and watches as it walks across the room and stops by Sungjin’s group. It stares at the Hufflepuff and Sungjin tries to pet it. But the cat moves to his shoulder and stays there until it disappeared. Brian felt his ears burn when Sungjin looked at him with a big grin.

“That was cool!” Hoseok cheers.

“I wonder what mine would be…,” Mark wonders out loud.

“Probably a snake,” Jinyoung sneers under his breath.

Mark grins at him and says the incantation. And a dog comes out pouncing around the room until it passes through the wall.

“Well, how about that?” Mark smirked at Jinyoung.

“Well now he won’t be able to conjure his Patronus since you piss him off,” Wonpil says.

Jinyoung only rolled his eyes when the others laughed. Meanwhile, Lupin watches Sungjin stare at the Gryffindor beside him. Brian was laughing along with the others. Lupin witnessed Sungjin’s smile slowly widen into a grin as he stares and then he was raising his wand. He says the incantation, earning everyone’s attention on him, and then light easily shoots out from his wand. It takes the form of a bear and —

“Wah, hyung, it’s really you! I’ve always thought you’re a bear of some kind!” Brian beams as they watch the bear sit on the floor and eat something that had formed with it.

Sungjin only glanced at his Patronus, choosing to stare at Brian who watched his Patronus happily. And then it was gone. Lupin thinks it would be too bad, so bad if these two didn’t end up together. He felt the raw connection between them. Then he remembers Snape telling them the story of how these two had flirted through detention, and how they smelt each other from a bottle. And Lupin smiled again, it was going to be fine.

“Do these animals mean something?” Dowoon asked.

“Yes, in fact, they do. It’s kind of the animal you relate with, spiritually,” Lupin briefly explained. “Brown Bears have one of the largest brains and doesn’t have many enemies because of its size.”

“How is that Sungjin hyung? He’s small. Dowoon’s even taller than him,” says Jaebeom and flinches when Sungjin had turned to him. He apologizes then.

Lupin chuckled, “That’s why.”

“And they’re also cute-looking,” Brian suddenly says. “I mean, Brown Bears are.”

Jaehyung snorts and receives a glare from Brian.

“Mark’s Patronus was a Borzoi,” Lupin speaks again. “They’re quiet and independent, also athletic dogs. They’re gentle, respectful, and extremely sensitive. They aren’t normally aggressive but will be if they’re treated wrong.”

Jinyoung scoffs, “That is the opposite of him.”

Mark laughs it off, “What about Younghyun?”

“Younghyun’s was a Ginger Cat. They love lazing under the sun and roaming their territory,” Lupin pauses and looks straight at Sungjin. “Quite a big softie since they always seek affection from their owner.”

Sungjin brightens up again and laughs, pointing at Brian, “That is so you.”

Brian stuck his tongue out at him. Lupin calls Seokjin to the side and lets him lean back on the desk. He looks at him and senses the protective aura around him as he watches his friends resume on trying to conjure their Patronus.

“Do you want to know what your Patronus means?” Lupin gently asked.

Seokjin gulped before looking at him and nodding silently.

“Phoenix depicts that you are loyal,” he starts. “But very much a loner.”

He paused when Seokjin looked away from him, flicking his eyes to the ground and blinking. Then he looks back at him. Lupin continues.

“You’re likely stronger spiritually than anyone else but they admire you for your strength and wisdom. You have the immense power to love even your enemies. Most importantly, your love heals those around you, like how the Phoenix’s tears can heal wounds,” Lupin added.

Seokjin takes a silent deep breath as he processed what his professor had said.

“I hope you don’t focus on the loner part,” Lupin speaks again. “Patronuses can change, Seokjin-ssi. They may change if you are attracted enough to a person.”

Both snapped their heads towards the group when they exclaimed in surprise and amusement as Namjoon produces his Patronus. A cat comes out and stares at them before disappearing like smoke.

“The creature of the mists,” says Lupin. “Nebelung Cats observe human commotion and chaos from afar and calculates before making a choice. They’re usually quiet and reserved.”

Lupin lets his eyes flick to one of the students, and the other who had been staring at him. Yoongi had been staring at Hoseok, who was watching everything with a happy grin on his face. Lupin finds the bond of this group of friends stronger than anything. They came from different houses and yet they come together as one, maybe in pairs. He most finds it amusing that they have participants from the Slytherin house, since they don’t usually mingle with other houses aside from their own.

Yet these Slytherins, Yoongi, Wonpil, and Jinyoung, bond easily with them. Lupin guesses Jinyoung would eventually ease up on the Ravenclaw who seemed to piss him on so many levels. Wonpil goes easily with his Ravenclaw partner. If his ambition was a little lower than it is, he’d be sorted into Hufflepuff so it wasn’t surprising to see him bond with others. Yoongi was more reserved, his mind set on a goal after another. Lupin guesses it was probably him who had stuck with the Hufflepuff rather than the other way around.

And suddenly, Yoongi conjures his Patronus. From his wand ejects a white fluid that formed into an owl that majestically flew around the room before out of the window. The students then looked at him, expecting an explanation.

Lupin chuckled, “Snowy Owls simply represent wisdom and transition. Changes may likely come more often around Yoongi-ssi.”

“I knew you have hidden knowledge,” Hoseok beams at him, and Yoongi squints, thinking he saw the sun up close.

Lupin mutters to Seokjin, “They also have insights into the future.”

Seokjin snaps his head to him, surprised.

Lupin smirks, “I don’t want everyone to know since they might expect him to see into the future. It’s not that simple so it might burden him and it can break off the group. I’m trusting you with the information and use it accordingly.”

Seokjin nods silently and keeps it in mind. Lupin smiled and nodded towards the group, ushering him to join them. Seokjin does, and Lupin pulls the cover off the cabinet that Jaehyung and Seokjin recognized was from their class earlier. Lupin ushers Seokjin to step to the front of the group.

“Wand at the ready,” Lupin reminds and then he opens the cabinet.

Seokjin shakes a bit but stays his ground, glaring at the dark creature, and says, together with the Hufflepuff from his right, “Expecto Patronum!”

They hear the noise of the Phoenix which flew towards the Dementor, hitting it. And then the bear tackles it back to the cabinet, easily defeating the dark creature. Lupin smiles as he watches Seokjin whose eyes were still wide from witnessing what had just happened.

“I didn’t know we have to fight that off!” Brian complains. “That was scary!”

Lupin only grins when Sungjin walks to Brian to make him stop.

“You survived from its attack, you know?” Sungjin giggles.

“I was attacked?!” Brian screams. “That attacked me?!”

Sungjin’s giggles turn into a full-on laugh.

“Younghyun was attacked?” Yoongi questions.

“Professor Lupin said it the happy memories from him,” says Wonpil.

“That’s called the Dementor’s Kiss,” Lupin informs. “It’s the punishment for the people in Azkaban. Usually, people attacked with that get drained for a whole day. But in Younghyun’s case, he had already recovered by the time the train arrived at Hogwarts.”

“What does that mean?” asks Jackson.

“It might mean he’s happy enough to acquire more happy memories and easily replenish the one that the Dementor took,” Lupin answered.

“Wah, you’re so strong!” beams Sungjin, and Brian looks away from him.

Lupin knows Sungjin was the prominent reason why Brian easily gains happy memories. Easily explained, Brian considers every memory as happy if Sungjin was there.

---

 

Animals

It was midnight when Seokjin was roaming around the castle. It was dark, he didn’t have a light with him. He has his wand, but he kept it in his pocket. He figured it would wake up the paintings. Plus, it’s risky since someone like the patrolling professors and the prefects or the head pupils can catch him easily, whereas he can still hide behind a statue or a column when he senses that someone is coming.

He leaves the castle and to the fields, towards the Dark Forest. He was nearing Hagrid’s Hut when he sees something swoosh pass by on his peripherals. He’d come to visit Hagrid at these times. The half-giant doesn’t report him, for some reason. Unbeknownst to him, Hagrid knows Seokjin comes to him because he needs someone to talk to or just accompany him. Seokjin had been the friendliest first-year when he was admitted to Hogwarts.

His batchmates were scared of Hagrid and Seokjin was the only one who visited him quite frequently since his first day in the castle. Hagrid returned his friendly gestures by welcoming him always in his Hut. Seokjin likes his house. Neither of them knows why but he’s fond of it. Maybe as someone who doesn’t have much, he learned to appreciate the little things in life. Although size-based, it wasn’t little, it was home for Hagrid. And Seokjin liked it that way.

Seokjin stopped and took a detour to the Dark Forest. He was still at the entrance of the Forest when he sees a pair of black eyes, glimmering under the moonlight. He pauses in his steps before continuing cautiously. The creature lures him deeper into the Forest and he follows it. He always finds his way out of the Forest whenever he goes there, anyway. The creature stops and turns to him, kind of trying to intimidate him. Its black fur shines upon the moonlight and with its size, it looks majestic and strong.

“It’s a Borzoi,” Seokjin mutters under his breath in amusement.

Seokjin steps closer and the borzoi hides behind a tree. Seokjin blinks and then half of its body, which was once peeking behind the tree, disappeared. Seokjin’s eyes widened in realization. Mark emerges behind the tree and frowns in confusion when Seokjin was nowhere to be found. Mark walks to where the older had once stood and looks around. And suddenly, something lands on top of his head. He shook his head and flings a hand above it in an attempt to get rid of whatever it was.

He hears something flapping and he looks up to see a bird — a hawk. It flies near him for a second before flying away a bit and transforming into a human. Mark stepped back in surprise as Seokjin now smiled a bit at him, softly.

“You’re… an Animagus, too?” Mark blinks.

Seokjin shrugs, “Yeah. What are you doing here?”

“I just…” Mark frowns. “You’re not gonna report me, hyung, are you?”

Seokjin chuckles, “No. I’m breaking the rules too.”

Mark hums a bit, “What are you doing?”

“I was on my way to Hagrid’s but I caught you going into the Forest,” Seokjin answers. “It’s dangerous here, you shouldn’t be here.”

“So are you,” Mark nods at him as he follows him deeper into the Forest.

“Yeah, but I can just fly away when I’m lost or in danger. How are you going to get out if you get lost or get in trouble?” questions Seokjin.

Mark kept quiet. That was a good point. Well, he can escape easily from the creatures that might attack him because of his athleticism. Other than that, he was vulnerable, though his Animagus form is strong. It’s not as handy as Seokjin’s where he can fly away from creatures. They walk further into the forest. Mark doesn’t know where Seokjin was planning to go from there but he’s following him, anyway. He’ll be lost if he loses the older. Seokjin also doesn’t know where he’s taking the both of them but he likes the serenity.

However, it was broken when a loud howl pierced through the air. Seokjin stops dead on his tracks, so does Mark. The Ravenclaw stood close to the Gryffindor. They looked for any wolves but found none. Instead, they see a werewolf on the field near the Forest. Mark remembered it was where the Whomping Willow stood. Its yellow eyes stared at them, sharp teeth bared as it breathed heavily.

Seokjin mutters to him, “Are you going to run?”

Mark blinks, “I-I think… I feel like I know it. I feel like — werewolves are forced to transform, right?”

“Yeah, where are you going with this?” Seokjin says.

“The scars… The boggart that Jaehyung hyung told me about… The Patronus… The monthly disappearances that coincidentally coincide with a full moon… The fatigue the following day…” Mark mutters.

"And the Wolfsbane…" Seokjin whispers. “You think that’s Professor Lupin?”

The werewolf takes a step closer to them and they fought the urge to flinch as a leaf crumbles under its feet.

“I’m a bit sure it’s him,” Mark replies.

“Wolfsbane should keep him sane when he transforms. He probably failed to take his potion, or he was out of it. So… what’s the plan? What do you want to do?” Seokjin questions.

“Depends. A or B?” Mark asks back.

“A,” Seokjin chooses.

“Then we fight. With our Animagus form,” Mark says.

“That’s crazy,” Seokjin hisses, the werewolf steps closer. “But I like it. On three? Wait.”

Mark glances at him, the werewolf steps closer, growling a bit.

“We’re not going to fight him. He’s going to be all wounded the next day,” Seokjin says. “We shouldn’t inflict more injury than what he’s already received from the transformation.”

“Affirmative. So what, then?” Mark his lips.

The werewolf growls louder, more aggressively, as he steps closer.

“I say… we keep him occupied. Just until the sun hits him,” Seokjin suggests.

“That’s so tiring,” Mark spits out. “But I like it, I can get used to my Animagus form.”

“Alright. On three, we change to our Animagus form,” Seokjin says, Mark nods.

The werewolf goes on fours, now preying on them.

“One — “

“Are you going to say go?” Mark cuts him off.

“I said on three, not on — three!”

The werewolf suddenly pounces on them and Seokjin flies up. Mark changes into his Animagus as well, stilling himself to block the werewolf’s attack and push him back. Seokjin flies around the werewolf, near him but still out of his reach, just to distract him and give Mark some time to get ready for the werewolf’s next attack. They continue like that for five hours, until the sun rose.

At some points, they would change back to their human form just to rest for a while before entertaining the werewolf again. Seokjin blames Mark for suggesting they stay, Mark blames Seokjin for choosing choice A, Seokjin again blames him for not giving its definition. The werewolf eventually returned to Lupin, exhausted and barely able to keep his eyes open and stay on his feet. He’d let himself fall after giving himself clothes. Mark had run to him to catch him with his body and slowly lie him on the grass.

Seokjin lands near then and transforms back. Mark also transforms back and sits beside him. Seokjin looks over at him, scanning him to make sure he didn’t have any bruises from the skirmish. Mark just stares at Lupin. Seokjin then looks at the skyline as he lightly hovers his hand on the grass to feel it. And the scent of morning dew fills his nostrils.

“How are you — How did you learn to be an Animagus?” Seokjin suddenly asks.

Mark looks at him and then at the horizon as well, “I’m a muggle-born. Once I received my letter, I wanted to learn more about magic before I go, before my parents send me off to Hogwarts. I picked up a book at Diagon Alley, at Flourish and Blotts. When I turned the pages, it landed on the topic Animagus. I read the spell and I memorized it.

“I only memorized it because it’s like a tongue twister and I was expecting the spells to be hard to pronounce and enunciate. I kept muttering that enchantment and then I suddenly changed into a borzoi. I didn’t know how, I didn’t even know how I was able to change back into my human form. But I’m glad I did. I was scared I’d remain as a borzoi forever.”

Seokjin chuckles softly, “In my case, I just wondered what kind of animal I’d be if I was an Animagus so I said the spell over and over. I didn’t expect myself to transform into a hawk.”

“Hawk symbolizes intelligence, independence, adaptability, and spiritual awareness,” Mark looks at him.

Seokjin nods in understanding, “And what about yours? A borzoi.”

“A borzoi is athletic, right? Like Professor Lupin said. I used to do martial arts back in the Muggle World," Mark smiles at the impressed expression on Seokjin.

Seokjin nods in understanding.

“Hyung,” Mark calls at him and he looks over. “On our first year, that mirror…”

Seokjin raises his brows a bit.

“You said you saw more people with us, right? They were all smiling?”

Seokjin looks down at the ground and nodded silently. He knows Mark had noticed it already.

“Were you lonely? When you first arrived here?” Mark carefully inquires.

Seokjin sighs and leans back with his hands, “Pretty much. I didn’t know anyone. I didn’t want to mingle with them, either. I didn’t have a very good feeling around anyone. Jaehyung, on the other hand, was all around. I see him everywhere, with anyone, batchmates or seniors.”

Mark blinks, “And what about now? Do you like being with us? With Jaebeom and the other Gryffindors. Do you like being with them?”

Seokjin chuckled, “Yeah. I mean, I wouldn’t have stayed back that night with the rest of you if I didn’t like you. Yoongi was the one who told me to stay. At that time, I decided to stay and see how it would go.”

Mark smiles a bit.

“Yah, has Jaehyung told you something about Younghyun?” asks Seokjin.

Mark looks at him, “Like what?”

The wind blows lightly and they watch the grass move, Lupin shivering a bit. Seokjin summons a blanket to cover him.

“Like — “ Seokjin shrugs. “I don’t know, he’s touchy with Sungjin. I was just wondering if that’s just how he is.”

Mark grins, “You know, interestingly enough, Wonpil told Jaehyung hyung that Sungjin hyung doesn’t like being touched.”

Seokjin chuckles again, looking at him with a raised brow, amused, “Really?”

“Sungjin hyung hates it,” Mark nods. “Wonpil said he threatens to hit him and their other friend if they touch him. Like, if he feels his personal bubble getting invaded, he retaliates.”

“Ah,” Seokjin laughs lightly. “Then why is Younghyun all over him?”

“Right?” Mark giggles. “There’s something between those two. It’s obvious. There’s tension. It permeates the air.”

Seokjin laughs a little louder, agreeing.

---

 

Prequel

Brian sighs again when silence ensues after Jaehyung told everyone how he had met new people. He had met another good-natured Slytherin and two more Hufflepuffs which neither Sungjin nor Hoseok knew about. Yoongi had told them that he had seen the Slytherin hanging around in their common room and they asked him and Jinyoung to bring him along with them the next time. Hoseok said he’d find the two Hufflepuffs and bring them as well.

“What’s the matter, Kang Bra?” Sungjin chuckles.

“You’re sighing a lot, I am just thankful it’s not downwind to us,” Dowoon remarks and earns laughs from the rest of the group.

“Why does Professor Lupin need to leave?” Brian whines. “He was a good one. The last one was a good-for-nothing famewhore — “

Sungjin slaps his shoulder, “Stop it. Professor Lupin wanted to leave for the students’ safety.”

Brian only groans. Seokjin and Mark look at each other.

“He’s right. Professor Lockhart is a fame-,” Jaehyung agrees and receives a slap on the shoulder too from the Slytherin beside him. “Hey, you don’t know how he was.”

“But still,” Wonpil says.

“Cheer up,” chuckles Jaebeom. “Let’s not expect much for the next professor who will take up the Defense Against the Dark Arts post.”

“Too bad it’s a core subject,” Brian huffs before leaning against Sungjin. “I would have dropped out of it if it wasn’t.”

“But you're excellent in Defense Against the Dark Arts,” Sungjin grins at Brian when he gave him a look.

“Flirt,” Wonpil mutters and ignores Sungjin's glare.

Sungjin raises his arm and puts it on the backrest of Brian’s chair, hand on his shoulder. Brian whines, taking his arm off around him.

“What?” Sungjin frowns at him.

“I wanna lean on your shoulder. Just sit still,” Brian mutters and slots his head on Sungjin’s shoulder, hand on his arm from where he held it when he took it from around him.

Sungjin leans against the table, putting his arm on the surface and propping his head with his hand. Wonpil scoffs, rolling his eyes at them. Once again, Seokjin and Mark looked at each other knowingly.

 

--