April’s weather keeps changing, alternating between sunny days and snowing ones; Byulyi never knows on which feet she should dance, that is why she is truly speechless when she sees Yongsun coming her way in her skirt uniform. Except she adjusted it for the skirt to fall barely at the middle of her thighs. Long, lean, muscular legs coming her way.

« You always walk so fast, I have to run to catch up. »

« This isn’t the correct length. »

« Hum? »

« Your skirt. It isn’t the correct length. »

« So this is the first thing you see about me? My beautiful legs? And yet you aren’t happy. Are you going to give me a report too? »

Yongsun is in an excellent mood, making her a real tease. Especially when she knows she can get a reaction out of it and Byulyi is the perfect candidate. Always so sure of herself, a little selfish at times, Yongsun likes that she can pick through her mask and meet a less confident Byulyi.

« You want to know some really good news? »

« I am listening. »

« Seeing my behavior and my grades as well as my participation in some activities around the school, I was confirmed to be entirely back in the Quidditch team! »

« The Quidditch team? Were you out of it? I thought you only lost your captain status… »

Yongsun lets out a long sigh, more for dramatic purpose than real annoyance. Byulyi responds with a quick sorry, truly she wasn’t aware of the length of Yongsun’s punishment until now.

« So are you also taking your captain position back? »

« No. Ian is against it. »

« Is it his decision? »

« Not really, but since Mrs. Vera doesn’t want any problem within the team until the end of this season, she said I had to have everyone's agreement to become the captain again. So… I won’t be captain for now. »

« You don’t seem bothered by the situation. »

« I have way fewer responsibilities this way and I can do other things. »

« Was it your plan all along? »

Yongsun laughs, showing a devilish face to Byulyi, but her two dimples betray her.

« I was wondering if you would like to come to try my birthday gift with me? »

« You followed me down to Slytherin’s dungeon to ask me that? »

« Well… »

Byulyi expects another one of Yongsun’s witty replies, something which would make her roll her eyes or even smile; instead, she sees a subtle blush on her cheeks. Yongsun grabs her wrist and pulls at her like she wants them to be closer. It bothers Byulyi that they aren’t making eye contact since she doesn’t have a clue what Yongsun’s true intentions are right this instant.

« I… »

Two boys walk out of the Slytherin’s dungeon, they both respectfully greet Byulyi and give a small nod to Yongsun.

Byulyi understands, she walks Yongsun to a quieter place, near the stairs of the dungeon, where there is a corridor almost secret leading up to the first floor without having to go all the way to the main entrance and taking the moving staircases.

Again, when Byulyi tries to lean on one of the walls to give Yongsun some space, the girl catches her wrist and pulls her closer to her. This weird silence coming from the Gryffindor is never a good thing, it worries Byulyi suddenly.

« I don’t know how to thank you. »

« Thank me? »

« Yes, for the other time in the forest. You followed me without hesitation, you didn’t even know where we were going. »

« Wheein is my friend too. »

« In the forest… I don’t know what happened, I am grateful you were here. I am scared to think about what could have happened if you hadn’t been here. »

« You don’t need to think about it. You were overwhelmed by your feelings. It is okay now. »

Yongsun nods, she has her hand in Byulyi’s now and she squeezes it strongly. Deep down other words are threatening to slip past her lips but Yongsun holds them back. It has never been her favorite thing to show people this side of her, this side where she is scared, tired, and powerless. Byulyi feels easy to trust, and so caring with everyone and Yongsun always wanted to claim so of it for herself. But how terrible it is to show her fragile self.

The one time it happened is already one too many times.

« Your magic was red this time. I don’t know if you noticed? »

Yongsun seems surprised, she immediately takes her wand out from her boots, which aren’t the uniform shoes at all, but Byulyi believes the girl managed her way with Mrs. Vera to be able to wear them anyway.

From thin air, Yongsun makes a pot appear before casting another spell and making the pot explode. Each time, her magic is a bright blue, which confuses Byulyi even more. It doesn’t even come close to a purple, just a bright blue, the most common color of magic.

« My magic is blue. Maybe you saw it wrong? »

« Maybe… »

Byulyi doesn’t try to fight Yongsun on it, but she is sure of what she saw. Violent red magic comes from Yongsun’s wand and hits the hippogriff at full force. She couldn’t explain it right now, but something was different this day, something about Yongsun, the way she used her magic, there was something.

Yongsun tells her she remembers an important thing she has to do and vanishes, almost running away from Byulyi. The relationship between the two gives Byulyi migraines. One second Yongsun is teasing her, all over her, like she wants something out of her, the other second she is cold, elusive, not even looking at her.

It is like every time Byulyi feels she got closer to Yongsun, she suddenly takes three steps back and the girl acts coldly. Like there is a limit to how much she is allowed to know Yongsun. This feeling hurts her and adds to the mysterious aura around Yongsun’s personality. Is she hiding something?

Another one who hasn’t completely healed from the Forbidden Forest is Wheein. On top of some hideous scar on her face, she has lost most of her vision in her left eye and now enjoys horrible nights full of nightmares. The first weeks after the event, she was so tired physically, that she slept like a lamb until morning. Now that she feels better physically, she realizes it isn’t the case mentally.

Worries keep growing inside her thoughts and when she finally manages to find sleep, she ends up having horrible nightmares. She sees herself in front of the hippogriff again, defenseless, powerless, she can’t protect Hyejin, she can’t protect anyone, not even herself.

« I knew I could find you here. »

Wheein doesn’t even turn around, she only hums to acknowledge Remy’s presence, he sits next to her, with Ggomo between his arms. The white cat with golden eyes is asleep, purring from time to time as he feels the gentle scratches on his fur.

In front of them is the never-ending starry sky, maybe it is because they are at Hogwarts, but the sky always shines the brightest around here. The Ravenclaw tower offers one of the best views around the castle and for Wheein it is comforting to contemplate this vast infinity. The stars shine whether you look at them or not.

« A little voice told me, the stars had some company those last nights. »

« Who told you? »

Remy only shakes his head, and a grumpy Wheein appears, she wants to know but Remy’s smile indicates he won’t spill the truth to her.

A silence spreads between them, Wheein continues her contemplation of the night sky; but now that Remy is here, she realizes she can’t focus on her sad thoughts alone. It makes her want to share some of them. Or maybe Remy will open the Pandora’s box for her. Can Remy know everything she thinks without her having to tell him? There should be a spell for that, life would be easier; because quite often, grumpy Wheein doesn’t want to talk.

« You aren’t wearing your patch. »

« It is nighttime. I won’t miss much. »

Remy nods, he knows the Gremlins next to him, but he wants to take his time. Wheein is like a diamond, he has to be careful or he will break her, making her close herself even more. There is a way with Wheein, he learned it the first year she joined the Quidditch team. As their captain wasn’t good with his words, he took care of Wheein.

« Do you want to see it? »

« Yes. I am curious about it. »

« Everyone is. »

Indeed, everyone wants to know what is hidden under Wheein’s patch. The girl turns toward Remy, as she looks him right in the eyes, she opens her left eye. There is no need for more light, in the penumbra her whole eye glow faintly. A strange mix of blue and white, there is no pupil anymore, only a pool of white and blue mixing and glowing in Wheein’s eye.

Remy doesn’t even bulge, he only puts his hand on Wheein’s shoulder and pats it gently. Wheein drops her head, a big sigh leaves her lips. She hates it, she hates the weight of her condition.

« I can’t even see properly… I thought it would get better, I thought it would heal, but it doesn’t. The nurse said it will improve over time, but this last week, it only worsened. I can’t see anything from this eye anymore. »

Wheein starts to sob and her words are strangled in . Yet, she isn’t done talking.

« Because of my eye, I keep thinking about what happened in the forest. I couldn’t protect Hyejin, if Yongsun and Byulyi hadn’t come, I don’t even know what would have happened. It is like all I learned, it didn’t have any purpose! Like my schooling here doesn’t make any sense. When I needed magic the most, it failed me! I failed Hyejin. »

« Let it all out. »

« How can Hyejin ever forgive me? It is because of me she was there in the first place. If I had listened to her, this would have never happened. Hyejinie, Yongsun and Byulyi would be okay. I would be okay too, I wouldn’t have a blind eye and an ugly scar and...and...and I… Remy… »

Remy catches the tired hand which grips his shoulder, he has to let go of Ggomo before wrapping the crying girl in his arms. This is a part of Wheein he often sees; struggling, doubting, and even disliking herself. He keeps her in his arms, in those moments there isn’t much he can do except be here.

Ever since the very first day he saw Wheein, he felt like there was something about this little girl. He was excited when he saw her get chosen in his house, and when he saw her flying through the window of the classroom one day he immediately went to see the captain of the Quidditch team and told him about her, when he saw her participate at the duel tournament and win every single time when she chose to sacrifice her victory for someone in the audience when they won the Quidditch cup together.

There are so many memories, happy one, sad one, but he knows he always felt alive along Wheein’s side. She made him grow, pushed him to become captain, pushed him to do the right things at the time, pushed him to be better; Wheein doesn’t know any of that. It is his secret, a girl two years his junior inspired him to become a better person, a better man, a better wizard.

« Do you think I ? »

« No. »

« Do you think I am ugly? »

« Let me see. »

Remy is very serious when he looks at Wheein’s face; with her tears rolling down her face, her scar, and her glowing eye, she makes you want to hug her. Remy inspects her for a long moment, he stops when Wheein hits his arm in annoyance.

« After close inspection, I do not think you are ugly. »

His serious face breaks into a sincere smile, he doesn’t say anything when Wheein pushes him away because she finds the situation awkward. The girl whines before letting herself fall on her back, Remy joins her, silent next to her.

« I dislike the scar. Even if it fades away slowly, it will still be visible for a long time. »

« Your second year on the team, we lost all our matches. In our last match against Gryffindor, you hurt yourself so badly, you were bleeding everywhere by the end of the match, and your uniform was ruined. Despite the pain, you refused to be treated magically because you wanted to experience the pain and have a scar to I quote “remember the pain” so you could “train better and never lose ever again”. »

Wheein can’t help a light chuckle, but as she remembers more and more vividly she can’t stop laughing. She still has the scars on her right hand; she had collided with one of the towers and her hand took most of the damage but nothing was broken. The pain was rather bearable, it just hurt the time for the wound to heal.

« I still have the scars. »

« I know. You feel very proud of them. They aren’t a bad thing. »

Wheein touches the scars on her right hand, and then she touches the one on her face. From her forehead to her cheek, while passing by her left eye, it is a straight line that is still healing. The price to pay for her curiosity, maybe?

Remy is right, the scar isn’t a bad thing in itself, it is only that it reminds her of a painful event and a hard reality.

« Now that I am half-blind. I was wondering if I could still play Quidditch? »

« Have you tried? »

« No… »

« Well then, you will have your answer once you have tried. »

« I thought you were waiting for the good moment to fire me from the team. »

Remy laughs, truly, the thought never occurred to him. Wheein wants to pout but she finds herself joining Remy instead. Their belly ends up hurting and they try hard to stop laughing.

« Wheein… »

« Hum. »

« You are a wonderful friend. I hope you know that. I am not the only one who thinks like this of you. If you dare to ask yourself the right question, you will know. Hyejin went with you to the forest, why? Yongsun and Byulyi came for you, why? The answer is quite obvious to me. »

« Yes… »

« You know it, right? »

Around the corridors, after the last class of the morning, Hyejin sees a familiar figure who instead of taking the staircases down the ground floor to the Great Hall, borrows a discrete door and disappears. The Forbidden Forest had a strange effect on Hyejin, it made her more aware of her surroundings, more curious, more willing, and less afraid, like a good wake-up call. The Slytherin believes there wasn’t only bad stuff to take from it.

Hyejin follows the figure, opening the hidden door and entering a dark corridor only lightens up by the creaks of the walls. She follows the only way and catches up with the figure who opens another door and exits the secret corridor, she follows again and ends up in a classroom she has never been in before.

« Why do you follow me, Hyejin? »

Yongsun turns toward her, she smiles wanting for it to feel lighthearted but Hyejin frowns in shock. Yongsun’s eyes are lifeless, she holds herself shakily on one of the tables, her usually short hair is longer than ever, but the most shocking is her always so well put on uniform is badly put on.

« Yong… »

« Come on, Hyejin. It is Yongsun unnie for you. »

With this lifeless smile again, the Gryffindor leans most of her body on the table, dropping her books on the floor to keep herself steady with both her hands. Hyejin shakes her head, she walks up to Yongsun, and then she doesn’t know what to do.

« That isn’t you. »

Yongsun chuckles, she raises her hand to touch Hyejin but the girl catches her wrist. It is bony, Hyejin doesn’t remember Yongsun feeling this thin between her fingers. Her skin is strangely cold, and this lifeless stare, where is the fire? Where is the burning flame? Where is the life that animates the girl?

« Yongsun, you are so cold. What is going on? »

« Hyejin, you worry about me. »

Hyejin hates this vision of Yongsun, she suddenly feels the urge to arrange her uniform, at least that. She tucks the shirt properly inside her pants, ties up her tie, adjusts her blazer, and even lets herself run her hand in Yongsun’s hair. Yongsun doesn’t protest, she lets Hyejin do as she pleases with her.

« You used to think I looked better with my uniform badly put on. »

« I only liked it when I was the one messing it up. Not when you are doing it because you aren’t doing well. »

Yongsun holds Hyejin’s hands in hers, she brings them to her chest, and even kisses them. Hyejin doesn’t understand because just last week the four of them were enjoying the sun near the Great Lake, Yongsun was joking, laughing, and smiling with them. It doesn’t make sense to her why she finds the girl in this state right now.

« Hyejinnie. I liked calling you that. You have such a pretty name. »

« Yongsun. Unnie, please. I am worried about you. »

Yongsun puts her arms around Hyejin’s neck and embraces her, she pulls the girls close to her, and even hides her face in her neck. Hyejin responds by wrapping her arms around her waist, she closes her eyes, and breathes the familiar smell, the mature perfume mixed with her natural clean scent.

« I was scared in the forest, when I saw you and Wheein at the mercy of a huge beast, I was scared to death. I could only think of making the danger go away so I could check on both of you. Seeing you two like this was scary. I can’t stop thinking about it. I love you so much, Hyejinnie. I was so worried and so scared for you both.

I know you want me to be strong, but just for once, I am going to tell you this. I have never been this afraid, but I know if it happens again, I won’t hesitate to risk it all. Hyejinnie… You understand me, right? »

Yongsun, eyes closed, holding Hyejin in her arms like her life depends on it, has a heavy heart. She too needs a shoulder to rest herself on, her beloved Hyejin. Has she ever needed someone to help her with her heart before?

« Unnie, I am here. Like you were here for me, I am here for you. »

Yongsun even crosses her legs behind Hyejin’s back, entirely holding onto the girl. The shoulder she needed, Hyejin has always made her feel differently, calm, and safe.

« Can we stay like this for a while? I miss your arms, you make me feel so peaceful. I love you so much, Hyejinnie. That’s why I can’t forget how much it hurt me when I realized you didn’t trust me. »

Hyejin freezes in Yongsun’s hold, she wants to free herself, but the girl refuses, holding into Hyejin’s body. With her eyes closed, it seems like Yongsun is finally free to admit the big feelings bothering her heart and mind. After all, she is only a teenager, uncertain, scared, in loved, and living.

« Right now, I need us to stay like this for a while. Please. Let me just enjoy it for a moment. »

Hyejin eventually tightens her hold around Yongsun’s waist.

It seems that each of them lived the situation in the forest very differently, and while it may have brought the four of them closer, it affected very deeply their perception of themselves. Leaving a deep scar on Yongsun’s emotionally. The girl realized she isn’t unbreakable, and she too needs to open her heart to others.

Byulyi saw from her own two eyes the great power of emotions, and while she always knew Yongsun to be a powerful wizard, she never expected this kind of power from the girl. The demonstration gave her a little idea on how to help Wheein and her eye.

Speaking of her, Wheein saw the reality of the magic world, leaving a deep scar as a proof of her encounter with the real world. It shaken way more than her relationship with her three friends and broke her confidence as a wizard.

Hyejin on the other hand, found strength in the event. Knowing she is loved enough to have people risking their life to save her made her find a new breath in herself. Like a refreshing confidence in her strength and in who she is.

It is late, way past curfew, but it is also Friday night and there is no class tomorrow. Byulyi and Hyejin both escape their dungeon discretely before making their way to the fourth floor, one of the classrooms is hidden in an angle, making it is a safe spot to hang out at night. As they arrive in front of the door, they see the silhouette of one Ravenclaw, waiting for them in front one of the windows sitting down on a large cover.

« Wheein! »

Byulyi scream-whispers when she is close enough from her friend. The girl responds with a sign of her hand, in the rather dark classroom, her left eye shine its blue and white color, making her easily visible. Immediately it is a happy conversation which starts between the three of them; Wheein shows the snack she got from the house-elves which she easily bribes into making what she wants, Byulyi lights up a few candles around them putting them at a safe distance from the covers and Hyejin puts on music through her portable cassette player.

The old Muggle object which works with batteries plays despite the magical environment of Hogwarts. Hyejin has put on a rather spring like compilation, with some ballad and light pop music, it makes Byulyi and Wheein dance already. The duo doesn’t see Yongsun entering the classroom. Hyejin immediately sees her, she smiles, a candle illuminating her face. Yongsun comes with drinks, as expected from her.

The night is full. The stars shine as bright as ever, and the moon plays hide and seek with the clouds. But the night the four students lives is full. A month after the Forbidden Forest, like a celebration to put an end to this chapter, they fully live until they run out of breath.

When the morning shows, the four of them found sleep in the empty classroom, asleep together on a blanket and among pillows. Yongsun is cuddled against Wheein, Hyejin sleeps with half her body on Yongsun’s and Byulyi has her legs tangled with Wheein’s.

« I will be going now, I have to help Mr. Greysom with the preparation of tomorrow’s class. »

Hyejin stands up from the couch she has been laying on, Ggomo quickly runs away from her lap as she starts to move. Obviously, she takes Layon with her since she doesn’t trust anyone else with her pet. Wheein pats her bum as she passes by her, Byulyi throws her a sign from the other couch, Yongsun is the only one who stands up to walk her to the door.

Actually, she even walks Hyejin to the corridor, her eyes sparkle differently than usual, a calm but warm fire burns in them. Yongsun takes the time to hug Hyejin longly before letting the girl go to Mr. Greysom. It has been like this for a moment, their relationship evolving into a heart warming friendship.

Yongsun returns to the classroom with Byulyi and Wheein. It has come to the four girl attention that there isn’t a single place in Hogwarts for them to meet. Their respective common room are out of discussion; while it isn’t uncommon for student from different houses to sometime hang out in another common room, it was still rather weirdly lucked upon.

This is how, because of the circumstances, the four girls slowly made the empty classroom Yongsun found into their hang out place. With three couches snuck here and there around the castle, candles, books and diverse furnitures no one uses, they slowly made the place comfortable. Wheein is the one most likely to be found here, either asleep, or with a book on her lap.

Hyejin only comes at dawn, because here she can enjoy the sunset better than in the Slytherin common room. She always leaves all the windows opened, she so much need the fresh breath of hair running through her clothes.

« I can’t believe it is May already. »

« I know right… The year went by so fast. »

« Thinking about the end of the year, it also means it is time for us to win the Cup. »

Somehow the subject awakens everyone’s interest. Yongsun takes her place next to Wheein, letting the girl rest her legs on her lap. Byulyi wears her usual confident smirk, only Wheein shows less enthusiasm than her two friends.

« I don’t know if I can play with my condition. »

« Speaking of it! I think I have found the solution. »

Yongsun and Wheein both turn toward Byulyi, raising expectant eyebrows at the sudden revelation. The Slytherin holds her index finger risen in front of her, like a detective who jus eluded a mystery. Then she points it in Yongsun’s direction.

« You need to use your magic like Yongsun did. »

« What? »

« I kept thinking about it, Yongsun didn’t use her magic like we have always been taught at Hogwarts. Right? Do you even remember which spell you used? »

« … »

After a few second of thinking, Yongsun shakes her head. Byulyi’s smirk intensifies. There is almost arrogance coming out of it, but it is only excitement from having her theory confirmed.

« I think I get it. »

« I knew you would. »

It is a little bit frustrating for Yongsun to be in the room with the two when they act like this. Byulyi and Wheein’s intelligence comes from different sources, but quite often it does collide to create new answers.

« I am going to try it. »

Wheein gets up, squeezing Yongsun’s hand in the process, she stands in the middle and closes her eyes. She takes long breathes in and out, slowly until she is entirely focus on her eye, she tries to concentrate all her magic toward this part of her body.

Byulyi watches with a proud smile but Yongsun is left full of question to what exactly the two are trying to do. She gasps when Wheein suddenly drops on her knees but Byulyi tells her not to move. The girl in the middle of the room suddenly starts to glow, a mix of blue and white is covering up her whole body, just like the strange mix present in her left eye it is now all over her.

For a few seconds the glow shines intensely, blinding the two watching, before slowly fainting down, until there is only Wheein in the middle of the room.

« Can I open my eyes? »

« I think we should wait a few minutes. Relax now, I think it should be okay. »

« Can someone explain? »

« First of all, contrary to most belief, it has been proven that wizard produces magic and that magic is part of them. The wand is just a safer way to handle magic, it helps to restrict the uses you can do of it and also control the levels of magic.

That being said, each wizard produces magic continually, and this magic is used as a skin like barrier. Which explains why we age so slowly, and why we are way more resistant than Muggles to some extant. This barrier protect us, heal us, and is a part of us.

In the forest, the hippogriff scratched Wheein so deeply it touched her natural magical barrier. Her eye has been trying to heal itself the whole time but I think our little Wheeinie was having some trouble trusting her magic, this is why her eye stayed in this state.

The powerfulness of our magic can vary greatly according to different factor. The first one is the amount of magic we naturally produce, some wizard produce less magic and are so less powerful. The confidence we have in our magic, and so in our own self. Talent doesn’t make everything,, you have to practice and understand your magic to be able to use it well.

But you see there is a last criteria I think very few people know about. Emotions. Since we are told to use our wand and to cast spell to control our magic, it forces us to focus, to control ourself. Emotions influence our magic, but it is way less visible through the use of the wand.

This night in the forest, I was so sure your magic was red. And when you showed me again it was blue. I thought I had seen things. But in the forest, you thought you used your wand, yet you weren’t. The magic was directly coming from you, Yongsun. From your hand, your arms, your whole body. You were so eaten by the situation, you didn’t even realize. That’s why I had not idea what spell your were casting, you weren’t casting any, you were throwing raw magic to the hippogriff. »

Byulyi takes a break, she tells Wheein to try and open her eyes. The girl obeys, revealing first her right one, as brown as it has always been. And then, slowly, the left one. Her pupil in the middle of her eye and her black iris are visible. Unfortunately, the pupil is not brown like her other eye but blue.

« I wasn’t sure it would entirely work. But tell us how it is. »

« … I can see… »

Byulyi drops her smirk, instead breaking in a sincere smile, she almost lets out a tear when she sees Wheein tearing up. The big baby tries to look from only and left eye and cries even harder when she realizes her whole vision is back. Yongsun immediately comes to her side to hug her, she finds it difficult to see the girl cry.

« I guess you can play Quidditch now. »

Wheein’s response is pure gibberish mixed with her sobbing. Yongsun calms her down, Wheein is a mess of tears but she smiles happily; Byulyi isn’t sure if she is saying “thank you” or threatening to kick Slytherin’s at the Quidditch Cup.

« Wheeinie… »

« Anyway, to finish my explanation. Wheein’s eye could only be healed by herself. That is what she did. »

« I thought you said she couldn’t heal it because she didn’t trust her magic. »

« Just like you used your fear to save us, I used my annoyance and my anger to heal it. »

« I don’t… »

Wheein and Byulyi smile at each other. And Yongsun still feels clueless despite the explanations.

« Look my way, Miss Jung. »

Wheein looks at Mrs. Vera, her blue and her brown eye meeting the grey of the Head of House. The woman nods slowly, admiring the end result of the healing. It feels a bit strange to look at Wheein now, the heterochromia makes her feel uneasy especially since she has always known the student with two brown eyes.

« How is your vision? »

« Like it was before. I see the same, just my eye color which changed. »

« I think her magic changed the color. See how it isn’t the usual kind of blue eye? If you look closely, it reminds you of Wheein’s magic. It is the same. »

« Now that you mention it… »

Mrs. Vera looks at her two students, Byulyi who is more excited than usual and Wheein who fails to hide her happiness ever since she has found her vision back, an eternal smile is on her lips. It would be against her status to admit how truly bothered this whole situation made her, she still feels a great relief seeing how her students managed to overcome everything on their own.

Pearley is right, they are perfect, exactly what Hogwarts needs. The four girl all passed the test, and they can now join the list of candidates.

« I spoke with Miss Kim earlier in the month. She told me her impression and feelings concerning the events in the forest. What about you two? How are you feeling about it? »

« … While I was really afraid when it happened, I can feel myself looking at the situation with a clear mind now. It was a difficult situation, but it is something we should put in the past and so focus on the future. »

Byulyi has always been rather clever, she tends to keep a cold head even in the hardest situations and Mrs. Vera isn’t expecting anything else from her, but still she prefers to be sure.

« My eye was my biggest concern. I think… I feel grateful to Byulyi unnie for finding the solution. I think… Now I can move on from the events. I want to focus on the Quidditch Cup and my O.W.L. exams. »

Byulyi twitches on the sofa of Mrs. Vera’s office, Wheein rarely uses honorific with her, even less in a setting with someone alien to their culture. She feels deeply touched; she often wonders if she is being good enough to the people around her, and it is so rare to get such solid confirmation, even rarer from Wheein.

Wheein feels like running toward the end of the year, but at the same time she can’t help herself from wanting to slow down, to enjoy the last months with her friends. While classes last an eternity, all the time she spends out of them run before her and she begs for it to slow down.

There will never be enough time to appreciate her last moment with Remy, or to run through the corridors at night while avoiding the Prefects, the Head Girls and Boys, until she reaches the empty classroom only to find Hyejin already here in front of the windows admiring the sky. If she goes there in the middle of the day, it is likely to find Yongsun and Byulyi debating at a high sound level, often they ask Wheein’s input to decide on a winner.

It is the best when she finds Byulyi and Hyejin because the duo is so peaceful. Surely it is Hyejin's energy which always spread positively to the people around her. It is rare to find Yongsun alone there, but it happens sometimes, especially early in the morning. The girl is known to be an early bird.

When she finishes her swimming in the Great Lake, she always rushes here to admire the first powerful ray of sunshine and hear the birds singing. Wheein wonders why they keep meeting like this? The Forbidden Forest brought them closer, but it is the four of them who choose again and again to meet each days and to share more memories.

Wheein finds it hard to believe it is faith. There is something else, behind all of this. And inside her, two thoughts keep on meeting. “I want to enjoy this time with my whole heart”… “something big is going on”…

Author's Note

Hello! Glad to be back again!

I think everyone might have realized we are growing toward the end of the year. And, as much as I have many ideas for the continuation of the story, I keep feeling unsatisfied with this chapter. Things feel rushed or maybe I explain too much? I keep reading other fanfictions, as well as books and I am always amazed at how well they manage the pace of the story.

On another note, I am wondering if I should update a long chapter, put an end to this school year, or divide them into different chapters. I still have one last Hogwarts year up my sleeve. Maybe some of you have guessed from the hints what it will all be about? So far I haven't had anyone guessing it. Hehe.

Bref. I am not here to be grumpy. Thank you for reading, commenting, upvoting, and keeping up with the story. I really appreciate it!