« Ggomo! Ggomo! Show yourself! »

Wheein continues to walk around the Kim’s house in the search of her cat. She has bought a new collar in town for him but the evil animal is nowhere to be found. Actually, she hasn’t found him ever since she has opened his carrier at the Kim’s house. It seems Ggomo has found a great hiding spot and refuses to show his face.

« Ggomo! »

« Wheeinie! Come see who is here! »

Wheein lets go of the collar on the bed and makes her way downstairs as Yongsun just called for her.

The Kim’s house is situated in the Chiltern Hills in the British countryside in England, the location has been chosen for the massive presence of nature and calmness of the region. It is to be known that the Kim has been a family of wizards for generations, originally from Korea, but Yongsun’s parents decided to leave their home country to open new horizons for their children. After securing a job at the Ministry of Magic in London, they started their own family with Yonghee their eldest and Yongsun their youngest.

Speaking of Yonghee, she also attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry seven years before Yongsun did. She was also a Gryffindor and even part of the Quidditch team as a Chaser. Unlike Yongsun she shined more in class than on the Quidditch field, but still managed to make her House win one of the Inter-House Quidditch Cup. Yonghee is now a Curse-Breaker, a highly dangerous job that her parents weren’t big fan of when they first heard it, but eventually accepted when they saw how happy it made their daughter.

« Yonghee! »

Wheein jumps the last stairs and runs into Yonghee’s arms. Yonghee catches her in a hug, just as happy to see her than Wheein is. Yonghee lets Wheein hold her hand as they walk into the living room and to the kitchen. Yonghee greats her mother and father without letting go of Wheein’s hand before joining Yongsun in the living room.

Yongsun rolls her eyes as Wheein is almost sitting on Yonghee’s lap at this point, not that she is jealous of how much Wheein adores her sister, but because Wheein is her friend before being Yonghee’s. Still, she doesn’t say anything about it despite the strong urge to pull Wheein at her.

« Wow! Can you tell me about the cursed hand you had to take care of in California? You didn’t write much about it in your last letter. »

« Well, I was expecting to see you for the holidays since Yongsun told me she would ask you to come over. »

Yongsun nods. She had forgotten how much Wheein likes Yonghee. She doesn’t know if it is because of her job that Wheein finds her so interesting or if it is something else, but she prefers when her sister isn’t here. Not that she doesn’t like her, she loves her sister with everything she has, but it bothers her that Yonghee is always the most interesting person in the room when she is here. Sometimes, it feels as if she doesn’t exist.

« We should help mom set up the table. Come on, Wheein. I will tell you everything you want to know after dinner. »

Wheein follows Yonghee to the kitchen and they help setting up the table in the living room by bringing the different dish. Yongsun chooses to go see her dad in the garden, he is smoking some mackerel for them to it, and she prefers the quietness of her father. He doesn’t say much but his eyes are often enough to make Yongsun feel better. She sits down next to him and takes his hand in hers in silence.

« Come on. Let’s join the others. »

They come back to the living room with the smoked mackerel. Wheein, Yonghee and her mother are already sitting around the table, waiting for them to join them. Wheein smiles at Yongsun when she comes in and looks at the spot left next to her for Yongsun to sit. Yonghee is sitting next to her mother and her father is at the end of the table.

Eating at the Kim’s is one of Wheein’s favorite things. It all happens in true Korean fashion, with homemade dinner, and dish she can only dream of when she is at Hogwarts. Despite having immigrated in Great Britain, the Kim never lost their culture and raised their daughters between the two cultures. Wheein’s parents were not as strict about it, fortunately they spoke both English and Korean to her, giving her an access to her culture through the language – if not by the food or the habits.

Even the Kim’s house is a statement of who they are as it has been built like a tradition Korean house, a Hanok. Since Great Britain is a rather cold country, they chose a square shape with a courtyard in the middle to manage the heat. Wheein remembers the time she came here, it was summer, and still the temperature inside the house was cool and comfortable without the need of an Elemental. She is now surprised by how warm the house is during winter.

« So, Wheein told me Ravenclaw is currently leading the Quidditch Cup. »

« Not at all! »

Yongsun gets a look from both her parents from how loud she is. She quickly apologizes before starting to defend herself. Yonghee looks at her rather amused as she knows Quidditch is a very sensitive subject, especially when Yongsun’s team isn’t the one winning.

« It was only the first match. Nothing has been decided yet. Plus, Ravenclaw was against Hufflepuff! Hufflepuff! »

« Still, they scored more than Gryffindor did. »

« Because they had more opportunities! »

« Are you saying you were in difficulty against Slytherin? »

« I am not! I was not! »

« Yongsun. Please. »

« It is fine, unnie. I will think of you when I win the Cup. »

« What! »

« Yongsun. Please, calm down. »

« But, mom- »

« You don’t need to scream to prove your point. »

Wheein chuckles behind her glass while Yonghee pokes her tongue at her sister.

« How are your classes going, girls? »

« Fine. »

« What about you, Wheein? I believe this year is important since you are passing your O.W.L.s. »

« Yes. I have been studying a lot for the winter exams. I know the O.W.L.s aren’t before another five months, but I am already preparing. »

« That is really good. Do you know what subjects you will choose? »

« I haven’t decided yet. I am not really sure of what to do after Hogwarts. »

Wheein shyly looks at Yonghee sitting next to her mother, the woman gives her a warm smile, and Wheein looks back at Yonghee’s and Yongsun’s mother.

« I will think about it more before taking the O.W.L.s. »

« It is all fine, Wheein. You know, Yonghee didn’t know what she wanted to do even once she had graduated from Hogwarts. You have the time to find your path. »

« You could be a Quidditch player. I heard you are terrific on a broom. »

Wheein chuckles at Yonghee’s compliments. She glances at Yongsun next to her, noticing how her friend has left the conversation to focus on her noodles. It makes her feel uncomfortable to be on the spotlight of the conversation when she believes Yongsun’s parents should be more interested in their own daughter.

« I think I am only this good because I have even better opponents. Knowing that each match will be different from the previous one, not knowing what to expect from the opposite team, and seeing them getting better. It makes me want to do better as well. »

Wheein looks at Yongsun with a sincere smile. It makes her friend smile in return and they hold hands under the table.

The dinner finishes with Yonghee, Yongsun and Wheein sharing a tea together. She is sitting between the two sisters with her head on Yongsun’s shoulder as she listens to Yonghee telling her about her last trip in the US. She has been commissioned by a really wealthy family of wizards that has been dealing with an artifact cursed by Dark Magic for years without ever managing to break the curse. It resulted in their son falling gravely ill.

Yongsun listens to the story of her sister distracted her thoughts and instead of focusing on what her sister is saying, she is thinking about Hyejin. She is replaying again and again the scene at the greenhouse and she wonders what does Hyejin think about it all. The girl left the greenhouse after their kiss without saying anything and spent the remaining week at Hogwarts before the Winter break avoiding Yongsun even more than before.

It made Yongsun feel gloomy. Even if she was happy to ride back home with Wheein, it left a gloomy feeling in her heart. After all, she must have been right all this time, she wasn’t one for relationships. Unlike Yonghee, she isn’t interesting enough to make people fall for her. People only desires her for her looks, it is what everyone always tells her. That she is pretty, or that she is hot, or that she is gorgeous.

Yonghee is that and so much more, and this is why even Wheein isn’t interested in her right now. She is now sitting properly to listen more intensely to what Yonghee is telling her. None of them realize that Yongsun is leaving the room and she reaches her room without anyone calling for her name.

Yongsun’s room feels very different from the traditional Korean decoration of the house. It is spacious enough for her to stock her collection of brooms, and her collection of famous Quidditch players to be displayed on the walls, there is also what seems to be a mini-gym with weights and stretching material. But the best thing in her room is her bed, hidden behind her large library of books and plants, it has a beautiful view on the outside with a great sunlight all day long.

« You had enough too. I get you. »

It also happens to be Ggomo’s favorite spot when no one is around. Yongsun cuddles against the cat without him saying anything and she closes her eyes, trying to not think about anything anymore.

« Byulyi! Please come downstairs! »

Byulyi groans in annoyance as she finishes to fix her blonde hair before going down the stairs. She immediately smells Hyejin’s perfume as she steps in and she is now sure that Hyejin and her family have arrived. She greets Hyejin’s parents, Hyejin’s oldest sister, and finally Hyejin.

As it often is the case, the two families are spending Christmas Eve together. Hyejin’s mother and Byulyi’s father are really close friends, they are the most exited about it, and they often end up in their own little world during the dinner where even their spouses don’t have access to. Fortunately, Byulyi’s mother enjoys Hyejin’s father’s company and has even played a big part in Hyejin’s sisters’ life.

Despite coming from a family of wizards herself, Byulyi’s mother hasn’t been gifted with powerful magic – unlike her husband and daughter. She decided to write children’s books as she always had a way with words her teachers at Hogwarts told her. She is calm and quiet woman with a huge heart and this quality of hers really helped Hyejin’s sisters during their childhood as they were both born without magic.

This condition when one of your parents is a wizard is hugely frown upon in the wizard community. On more than one occasion did Hyejin’s sisters ended up being looked down because of it and they suffered terribly from the shame they brought in the family. Byulyi’s mother looked out for them and took a big liking in them as she helped them find their identity in the Muggle world and took on the role of a second mother. Despite their conditions, the two sisters never despited or jealous Hyejin, but always tried to be supportive of their little sister.

« Your parents must have been so happy to find you drunk at the station. »

Byulyi did party a bit too hard on the night before the journey back to London and ended up passing out in the Hogwarts Express, arriving in London with a huge hangover situation.

« Wheein helped me. »

Indeed, Wheein gave Byulyi one of her Booster potions before the train arrived in London and Byulyi met her parents in a proper state despite the headache still being present at the back of her head.

« You are lucky that she is always here to save you. »

Byulyi pokes her tongue at Hyejin before leading her friend toward the kitchen. They start to prepare a tray with drinks and glasses. They could have used their magic to do it – as those kind of spell aren't sanctioned by the Ministry of Magic anymore since they have been classified as “utility spells” – but the use of magic is prohibited when non-Wizards are invited. Especially when Hyejin’s sisters are around.

The two friends walk back to the living room to serve everyone. On one side, there are Byulyi’s father and Hyejin’s mother in their own bubble – which isn’t very different from the usual – and on the other side, Byulyi’s mother, Hyejin’s father and Hyejin’s sister, Haewon who are happily discussing about Byulyi’s mother’s latest book.

Hyejin and Byulyi let themselves drop on the last couch left once they are down serving everyone.

Byulyi’s house is big. Way bigger than what three people need to live comfortably. It has been decorated through a mix of the hazardous art of Wizardry and the distinguished Victorian architecture. But if you look close enough, some elements of the Korean heritage of the Moon family can be spotted around the house. Hyejin knows the house like the back of her hand as she spent most of her childhood there.

« Where is Hana? Is she not coming? »

« She is spending the holidays with her boyfriend’s family. »

Hana is Hyejin’s older sister, the one in the middle, and the one Hyejin is the closest to. She is currently twenty and has been with her boyfriend since high school. It made Hyejin really sad when she learned that her sister wouldn’t be here for Christmas and she has been upset about it ever since.

« How was your birthday, by the way? »

Byulyi understands not to push further about Hana.

« Well, nothing big. I spent it with my parents and my father’s family. It was good. Thank you for the flowers, I really liked them. »

Hyejin nods. Her gift wasn’t just a bouquet of flowers, it was a bouquet of Gladiolus, symbolizing integrity, strength and victory, which in Hyejin’s opinion represent Byulyi perfectly. Her friend is someone she respects greatly and who she looks up to, even if she doesn’t tell Byulyi about it.

Byulyi also got a surprise gift by Yongsun. It was a sweatshirt at the colors of Gryffindor with a card attached to the packet. For when you support the winner of the Quidditch Cup. It felt weird to receive something from the girl, since they don’t talk nor hang out together despite Yongsun’s offer at the beginning of the year. Byulyi has been busy with other things but also has been too shy to ask Yongsun to hang out with her.

Among all of the gifts she got, Wheein’s one really took the cake. Her gift was a spell. It came in the form of an empty box with instructions to follow. First, she needed to place her wand in the box and to close. Second, she should wait at least a whole minute before opening the box and taking her wand out. That was it. The note explained that the spell was meant for the owner of the wand to always be able to call for it even when out of sight. Byulyi tried it from different rooms around her house and marveled at the sight. Wheein was really a genius. How does someone put a spell in a gift box?

« By the way, Wheein told me she was spending the holidays at Yongsun’s. »

« Oh. She didn’t tell me about it. »

« Guess you aren’t close friends. »

« Stop saying that. Plus… Wheein and I are more rivals than friends. It has always been the case. »

« Clearly. »

Byulyi groans at Hyejin’s comment. It is true that Wheein and her aren’t close friends like she is with Hyejin, but still she believes that they share a special bound. One that she cherishes in its own special way. Something Hyejin wouldn’t understand.

« Girls. Let’s go eat dinner. »

Hyejin follows Byulyi into the dinning room and sits next to her. It promises to be a very boring night as the adults as always ignore her and Byulyi. Fortunately, Byulyi has always managed to make anything interesting enough for Hyejin to spent a good time with her.

« Yongsun-ah! Wheein-ah! It is Christmas! »

Yonghee smiles when she sees the two friends still in bed despite today behind Christmas. They should be racing to the Christmas tree to discover their presents, but instead they are snuggled in bed. Wheein lets out a loud yawn at the sound of Yonghee’s voice but Yongsun dives deeper under the covers.

« Come on, unnie. It is Christmas. »

Yongsun shakes her head and grunts. Wheein shrugs and jumps out of bed to join Yonghee downstairs. Yongsun groans even louder before finally stepping out of bed and making her way downstairs with everyone else. It is difficult to admit but she doesn’t like the duo formed by Yonghee and Wheein and she would love for her sister to be gone already.

« Yong! Come, come. »

Yonghee drags her sister into the leaving room while putting a cup of coffee in her hands. Wheein is already swimming on the floor of gifts, marveling at the amount of presents under the Christmas tree. The Kim loves to celebrate Christmas and they got a gift for everyone, even Ggomo.

Wheein finds herself with a new Quidditch practice uniform – while the official uniform is given by the school the protections and other accessories are personal expenses –, a book named “Creatures of Magic”, a necklace, a bouquet of flowers and a mysterious box engraved with strange armories. Yonghee winks at her as she observes the box and tells her to open it later.

Yongsun also finds herself with a new Quidditch practice uniform and a helmet, a dozen of Galleons, a signed picture of her favorite Quidditch player, a pack of Dragon Breath potions for energy, and a dress from her sister. She looks at it longly as the pattern doesn’t seem so foreign to her for some reasons, but mainly because it is a summer dress and it is the middle of winter but Yonghee gives her two thumbs up when she looks at her.

Yonghee is surprised to receive a letter from Wheein and a mysterious parchment from Yongsun. Wheein doesn’t get to know what this parchment is all about but the sparkles in Yonghee’s eyes tell her it is something valuable.

Once they have opened all of their gifts, Wheein thanks the Kim for welcoming her for Christmas and for the gifts as she feels almost awkward having been given so much but they tell her it is their pleasure to have her over. Wheein hands them a letter that she has received from her parents where they thank the Kim for taking great care of their daughter. Her parents have even sign it with their personal stamp.

Just before breakfast, Wheein isolates herself in Yongsun’s bedroom to read the letters her parents sent her on top of the one for the Kim’s. One is from her father and the other from her mother. She reads them carefully. Her mother apologizes for not being able to offer her daughter a Christmas celebration and her father tells her how proud he is of her and how happy he is to have a daughter like her. Wheein reads it a second time and finds herself crying.

She has never been upset at her parents for not being able to be here for the Christmas break as they always make sure to have their entire summer free to spend time with Wheein. Wheein loves it as they come to get her at King’s Cross Station in person and they are immediately off for vacations, only the three of them. Then at the end of August, they go shopping for Wheein’s year all together and they stay with her until the train leave the station. It is always difficult to let go of her parents but knowing she will see them next summer helps her making it through the year.

« Wheein? Is everything okay? Everyone has been looking for you. »

Yonghee enters Yongsun’s room and squats down next to Wheein. As soon as she realizes that Wheein has been crying she takes her in her arms and cradles her. Wheein hides her face in her neck, letting herself enjoy the comfort offered by Yonghee.

« Are you okay? »

« Yes. I was just missing my parents a bit more than usual. Don’t worry. I am fine. »

« Hey. It is okay to feel like this. »

Yonghee continues to pet Wheein’s hair while looking at her face for sign of sadness. Wheein offers her a smile to reassure her.

« If you ever need to talk about it with someone, I am here, okay? I will come if you need me. »

« You can’t do that when I am at Hogwarts. »

« If you need it, we can meet at Hogsmeade. Even if I am far away, you can call me, and I will come for you. Okay? »

« Yongsun wouldn’t be very happy about it. I know that she doesn’t like that I like you so much. »

« Yongsun has nothing to be jealous about. Every time she called for me, I came. »

Wheein opens her eyes in surprise. Yonghee nods to confirm what she just said.

« I know how it can be difficult at time at Hogwarts. And you may know or not that Yongsun had a difficult time at the beginning. She would call for me almost every two weeks and I came every single time. »

« How did you do it? »

« Well, I am a Curse-Breaker, Wheein. I am used to getting into places I shouldn’t go in. So it isn’t that much of a trouble to enter Hogwarts, especially when I studied there myself. »

Yonghee winks at Wheein before standing up and taking Wheein with her downstairs. They find Yongsun and her parents around the table, already eating their breakfast. Wheein and Yonghee joins them quietly.

« Wheein unnie! »

Wheein flinches at the words. She knows for a fact that no one at Hogwarts is in position to call her like this. Byulyi appears at her side with a malicious smile – which isn’t much out of the ordinary. As she catches her breath she can’t help herself from patting Wheein’s head which immediately annoys the small girl and pushes her hand away.

« You wrote to me in Korean for Christmas. That was… interesting. »

« Did you need your mom’s help? »

« Obviously. Thanks to you I got myself Korean lesson for the summer vacations. »

« You are welcome. »

Byulyi shakes her head. It isn’t a good thing at all. It isn’t her fault if her parents only taught her English, unlike Yongsun, Wheein and Hyejin. It was Byulyi’s father who was scared his daughter wouldn’t speak English well enough and only taught her Korean when she was nine. She now has years to catch up to understand her own language. It is one of the main reason that neither Wheein or Hyejin refers to her as unnie, whereas Wheein often refers to Yongsun this way.

« How was Christmas? Got anything interesting? »

« Ggomo got new toys from Yongsun’s parents. He has been playing with it non-stop – for once. I don’t know if Hyejin taught you but I have been inviting over for Christmas this year. And I got new Quidditch gear, what about you? »

Byulyi suddenly remembers that Wheein spent the break at Yongsun’s and for a second she envies her friend. It is so easy for her to be close to Yongsun and she doesn’t even have any feelings for her.

« I received your gift well. I… Thank you. I still can’t believe it to be honest. »

« You are welcome, Byulyi. »

Wheein smiles at her friend sincerely. It is in those moments that Byulyi appreciates her special relationship with Wheein.

« I spent Christmas with Hyejin and her family. It was nice. »

« Hyejin wrote me about it. It didn’t sound very amusing from her point of view. »

« Well, you know how Hyejin is. »

« … No, I don’t know. »

« Well, her favorite sister wasn’t there so she was bumped about it. They are really close. »

« Oh. She mentioned it. I didn’t realize it was so important to her. Maybe I should have bought her some Jelly Slugs. »

« Hyejin doesn’t like those as much as you do, you know. »

Wheein pouts. On her way to the Great Hall with Byulyi at her side, she continue to think on a way to cheer up Hyejin even if Byulyi keeps telling her that Hyejin will get over it once she sees her sister during the Spring Break.

The two friends split way in front of the moving stairs, Wheein taking the stairs up to the Ravenclaw’s Tower while Byulyi continues toward the Dungeons.