Joohyun hunched over her scrawled notes, a pile of books balanced precariously by her side. Her free hand gently massaging her temple, she was halfway through debating the merits of burying the hatchet with the school’s potion smuggler and buying a Wideye Potion, when she felt a shiver run down her spine as she registered a presence near her seat.

At first, she thought it must be a ghost, but she immediately discarded the possibility. Ghosts very rarely went into the library, since the unexpected appearance of non-corporeal figures tended to startle the younger students. More often than not, it led to yelping, if not full-blown screaming, and even the dead feared the displeasure of the librarian.

She turned around, a bit more reassured now that she was fairly certain she wasn’t being studied by the Slytherin ghost, with all its chains and suspicious bloody stains. What she saw made her wish she was actually being haunted.

“Seungwan,” she dragged out. She wasn’t trying to sound unwelcoming, but she wasn’t sure how else anyone could react to finding a fellow student breathing down their neck for no reason. After all, there was no shortage of empty tables at the library, not to mention how a quick glance around the room showed Joohyun at least two groups of students where Seungwan would be happily welcomed.

Which meant, of course, that there were at least two groups of students witnessing their interaction and possibly feeding the rumours about them even further. Next week, she’d walk down the corridor to whispers about how she’d cast a curse on Seungwan at the library, or something of the sort.

She made a pained attempt at a smile, willing Seungwan to stop opening her eyes quite so widely and just spit out whatever she wanted already. As the silence stretched, she nodded slightly.

“Can I help you?” she finally uttered blankly.

Seungwan’s mouth popped open, though no words escaped it for a moment. Then it was as though they all came pouring out at once. “So, funny story. I need to look at Wizarding Clashes and Conflicts in the 17th Century and you have the only copy that isn’t checked out and I guess that’s not really a funny story, is it?”

She paused for a quick breath, then carried on valiantly.

“Sorry. I was just, I guess I was wondering if maybe I could sit here and give it a quick look whenever you’re not using it, if that’s okay.” Unlike a normal person, who would choose this moment to pause and give Joohyun a chance to respond, she continued to speak, sounding more and more like she might never stop. “Feel free to say no, of course, it’s not like... I can just, uh... You know what, never mind, I can track down one of those checked-out copies, it’s fine, I'll-”

“Stop,” Joohyun finally cut in when it became evident that Seungwan was about to have this conversation entirely by herself. It didn’t work as she’d expected, because the girl only froze in the middle of her rambling sentence, blinking nervously, then suddenly slumped and pulled her bag up on her shoulder, heels already turning.

“Sit,” Joohyun added with an eyeroll that hopefully the other tables wouldn’t catch. The effect was immediate, an impossibly wide smile lighting up Seungwan’s features as she lowered herself carefully onto the nearest chair.

“Right, okay. Thank you. Sorry,” the girl tacked on, disappearing behind the table for a moment before returning from rummaging in her bag, triumphantly brandishing a quill and some parchment. She smiled again, this time a bit less effusive, for which Joohyun could only be thankful.

For a few moments, Seungwan only tapped her fingers lightly on the thick wood of the table, eyes following Joohyun’s rapidly moving hand as she scribbled line after line of notes. It quickly became a bit strange for Joohyun, so she coughed lightly to catch the girl’s attention.

“I’ll be done with the book in a moment.”

“Oh, it’s totally fine, take your time,” Seungwan replied at once, and Joohyun quirked a brow, watching her wordlessly until she finally seemed to catch on and bent down under the table once more. She popped up with a Herbology manual. “I’ll just… Catch up on some studying in the meantime.”

The silence that followed, broken only by the typical sounds of school-work, was nice enough that Joohyun knew it couldn’t last. Still, she savoured every moment, almost managing to convince herself that she was alone.

“I’m doing an essay for History of Magic. That’s why I need the book,” Seungwan commented after barely a few minutes had passed. Joohyun suppressed a groan. How was she supposed to be nice to the girl if she kept making it this hard? It seemed obvious enough to her that she had not come to the library for a nice chat. She’d much rather do that in her common room, or over some tea at the Great Hall, or even outside, at the cost of some of her precious body heat.

The library, on the other hand, was for sitting in silence and reading long, boring books that she wouldn’t want to carry up and down too many flights of stairs. And for that, she needed silence.

“I gathered,” she said simply, her quill never stopping its rapid scribbling, making small scraping sounds across the parchment.

Instead of taking the hint and returning to her Herbology work, which seemed to consist of drawing very elaborate and intricately detailed diagrams of various plants, Seungwan chuckled somewhat awkwardly, complementing the action with a strange, sideways nod.

“So, how about you?”

Right. Joohyun had forgotten that, as much as Seungwan’s dramatically manifested fear annoyed her, it was the only thing protecting her from the girl’s seemingly endless chatter. Now that she’d made the mistake of being civil, she’d have to endure the painful attempts at conversation for who knew how long.

“Charms,” she said after a drawn-out pause, not looking up from her notes.

“Oh, padding out an essay with some historical context?” Seungwan prodded at once, plant sketches abandoned as she clasped her hands together and tilted forward slightly, like she was hoping to catch a glimpse of Joohyun's writing.

“No,” Joohyun replied testily. She knew Seungwan meant nothing by it, that the girl was beyond the malice needed for such a dig, but she still resented the attempt at complicity.

“It's an extra credit thing,” she added a bit more gently, displeased with the regret that had instantly flashed through Seungwan's eyes. She’d be falling over herself apologizing again if Joohyun wasn’t careful. “I’m tracking the use of different healing spells throughout history and trying to match their rise and fall in popularity with external events, like the invention of new spells and potions or the adoption of new schools of magic."

Seungwan nodded along eagerly, as attentive as if she'd been following a lecture. “Right, of course. That explains the interest in 17th century conflicts,” she added with a small smile, raising her hand to point at the dusty tome in Joohyun’s hands.

That seemed like a reasonable enough end to the conversation. Maybe now she could finally get to the end of this book and on to the next one. Maybe Seungwan would keep quiet once Joohyun handed the book over. How nice would that be?

“Sorry about that comment,” Seungwan suddenly blurted out, and it was all Joohyun could do not to pinch the bridge of her nose. “About the padding. We all do it, or at least I do. I didn’t mean to imply that-”

“No, I got it,” Joohyun enunciated carefully, trying her best not to sound either annoyed, which would invite further apologies, or too pleasant, which would encourage more talking.

To her honest surprise, it actually worked. Either that, or Seungwan had run out of conversation topics. Joohyun didn’t really care which, as long as this was the result.

For a while, she worked in peace, recording every scrap of relevant information she could find among mostly tactical details of one of many Goblin Rebellions, battle formations and strategies of wizard generals. Her work was relatively slow, as it required a lot of careful skimming to make sure the rare and terse mentions of healing magic weren’t overlooked.

Soon, she was back to her previous state, the letters on the page beginning to blur as boredom mingled with fatigue, and she blinked insistently in an attempt to power through the last few pages, almost hoping there’d be nothing useful, just so she wouldn’t have to stop and write it down.

She paused to rub her eyes and stretch out her arms, hoping to shake off the lethargy that became harder to fight the closer it came to her usual bedtime. Then she noticed Seungwan, whom she’d nearly forgotten.

There she still was. Tapping her quill absently against the corner of her page, which showed - Joohyun bent slightly to read the caption - a Snargaluff, in all aspects identical to the illustration in her manual. She looked up at that moment, apparently satisfied with her work, and seemed surprised to find Joohyun’s gaze on her. Still, she didn’t comment, looking back down for a moment longer then dropping her quill and shuffling some papers around, each containing its own drawing.

“So, do you like history stuff?” Seungwan asked in a timid voice. Joohyun nodded when she’d looked back up and was rewarded with a slightly more confident smile.

Maybe it was just that she didn’t really feel like working. Maybe it was the way Seungwan seemed to have finally found the right balance between fear and warmth and spoke with a respectful distance that managed not to instantly annoy Joohyun. Either way, talking to Seungwan didn’t feel like the worst thing in the world, at least for the time being.

“Why aren’t you taking History of Magic, then?”

Joohyun shrugged at the question, fingers picking at the corner of the yellowed page. It sat there, offering up nothing but names and dates and lists of casualties.

“It’s not my kind of history. All you talk about are wizarding wars.”

“Not really, we also talk about wars between magical creatures, and important proclamations and restructurings of the Ministry of Magic.” Seungwan slowed down in her thorough defense of the subject, scratching her cheek in embarrassment. “Usually as a consequence of a magical conflict,” she continued reluctantly.

It was a funny sight, in a way. She looked like a child trying to remember the composition she’d been taught to recite, a lost little thing with reddening cheeks.

“Yeah, okay, I guess it’s not the best curriculum,” she admitted sheepishly. “My essay is actually on the Goblin Rebellion of 1612,” she added with a self-conscious chuckle.

“Chapters 3 to 6, and there’s a general summary on 15 that has some extra details,” Joohyun provided absently. She tapped her fingers against the page again. “So why are you taking it?”

Surely the girl was already taking enough NEWTs, and it wasn’t like anything but the most obscure and specific occupations required History of Magic at such a high level. Decent OWLs would suffice for most places and Joohyun had it on good authority that Seungwan had managed Os across the board. Why waste her time and energy, then? If she really wanted to pad out her resume, there were easier classes to take.

“Oh, you know, general knowledge?” Seungwan shrugged slightly, picking her quill back up to fiddle with its stem, slowly brushing the barbs the wrong way. “And my parents really value history, our heritage and stuff. You know how it is with pureblood families.”

And suddenly it was back, like it had never left, that instinctive displeasure with everything Seungwan did. Her jittery motions became imbued with that mysterious essence that dug against Joohyun’s patience like fingernails on a chalkboard, impossible to bear. She gripped the page a little tighter and gritted her teeth against the sensation, willing the conversation to end.

Her lack of response was enough for Seungwan’s nerves to return and Joohyun focused more intently on her book, trying to tune out the slow, disconnected words that Seungwan cautiously strung into sentences in a clear effort to continue their suddenly-broken rapport.

“Or, uh, maybe you don’t. Since you’re not taking the class.”

Joohyun gave a small nod of confirmation, clenching her fingers around her quill until her grip was more similar to a closed fist than anything. Still, she wrote on. Almost done, now.

“Maybe it’s just my family,” Seungwan concluded with a mirthless little laugh.

She finished scanning the very last page and shut the thick volume with a muffled thump and a small cloud of dust.

“You can use the book now,” she declared emotionlessly, then reached for the next tome in her pile.

Seungwan sat frozen for only a moment before she was gingerly reaching forward to pull the book closer. She gazed at its cover and Joohyun realized that she was wondering whether she should stay and read or pick it up and leave.

Joohyun would have just left. Fear aside, why would she remain next to someone who clearly didn’t want her there? Especially in Seungwan’s case, since the girl seemed to be on friendly terms with every student in the school, present company excluded.

It didn’t matter, either way. Stay or leave, all that Joohyun truly wanted was some silence so she could get her work done before dawn. With a small sigh, she resumed her studying, dropping the quill to pick up her wand and quickly flick it through the air as she whispered the words to the now-familiar charm.

She hadn’t lied to Seulgi, there really weren’t any Search Charms, or none that she knew of, anyway. For books that didn’t bother with anything beyond the table of contents, there was no choice but to flip through the whole thing as quickly as possible. Luckily, there were still a few Speed-Reading Charms that she could resort to. Joohyun honestly didn’t think she could have gotten through sixth year without them. It was the only way she could possibly scan the enormous pile of books at her side, most of them likely useless, in a single evening.

She made short work of Little-Known Military Leaders of the Millennium, skipping through the entire thing without pause. It had been a long shot anyway, but the thought of an entire millennium of military history in a single volume had been too tempting to pass up. If it had contained even a hint of healing techniques, it would have been an invaluable addition to her essay. As it was, the only thing she scribbled down in her notes was a small dash in front of the title - a waste of time.

A glance at the library clock left her a bit discouraged. She still had 5 books to go through, and either they would all be useless, which was less than ideal, or she’d be stuck here well past when she’d like, and spend the next day dragging herself from class to class on barely any sleep.

She groaned, getting ready to drag another tome from the pile by her side, and finally noticed that Seungwan had stayed at her table. At the sound, the girl looked up from her reading and offered Joohyun a sympathetic smile, apparently too distracted to remember who she was with. As soon as the realization hit her, she abruptly returned to her notes, like she could pretend the interaction had never happened.

That girl was a mess.

Joohyun shrugged and cast another Speed-Reading Charm before burying her nose in The Giant Wars in Ghastly Detail, which certainly seemed to perform as advertised, given its impressive size. She’d had to hover it down to the table, a bit afraid of ruining her back if she tried to carry it normally.

The hours trickled by, each minute dragging endlessly, yet somehow speeding by so that Joohyun looked up from her last book to find that she’d be lucky to catch 4 hours of sleep. And she still had to condense the information into an essay, which she’d have to somehow fit into the next day’s packed schedule unless she wanted to skip sleep entirely. At least the writing was the fun part, or as fun as a school essay could ever be.

The library was nearly empty at this late hour, but Seungwan still sat across the table, blinking stubbornly against heavy eyelids that insisted on drooping. The parchment in front of her was filled with line after line of tightly packed information, a few words and sentences scratched out and rewritten and a jumble of arrows in the margin guiding the structure of the final version.

Seulgi was right, everything would be so much easier with computers. Then again, Joohyun definitely didn’t want to be the one to explain the Internet to the wizarding community. Not to mention printers.

Seungwan’s quill hovered above the page as she reread the essay once more. Joohyun gently shut her book and levitated the whole pile over to the nearest cart, for the librarian to put away the next day. It had been nice of her to let them stay after closing hours, but Joohyun supposed that after seven years, she knew them well enough to know they wouldn’t cause any trouble. She idly wondered if the librarian had also heard the rumours about her and Seungwan.

Turning back to her bag, Joohyun found Seungwan carefully rolling up her scroll, quill and inkwell already gone. Was she done as well, or was she packing up early to leave with Joohyun? Or, Joohyun wondered as she reconsidered the multitude of arrows in the margin of her essay, had Seungwan been waiting for her to be done?

How very Hufflepuff of her, Joohyun thought impatiently. She packed away her own things then headed to the exit without pause, smirking to herself at the sound of Seungwan hurriedly turning to follow her, feet scraping against the floor unsteadily. They made it down the main stairs, only one more flight of stairs and a few corridors away from sleep.

The school seemed to be completely empty, the flickering flames of the sparse night-time illumination casting dancing shadows on the walls. It always felt like a little world of Joohyun’s own, a treasured bubble of loneliness. She glanced towards the gates ahead of her and imagined the grounds outside, the earth cold and hard beneath her feet, the stars glittering above. It was like a dream-world, not quite real. Like she could push those gates open, slip through the entrance and step foot in a new kingdom.

Seungwan sneezed, breaking the illusion, and then Joohyun was just standing on the ground floor of a draughty castle, next to a girl she didn’t even like, a few hours away from a long, sleep-deprived day. She her heel and headed to the underground without a word, ignoring the way Seungwan had come to a stop behind her and studied her with a look halfway between apologetic and curious.

“This is me,” Seungwan said as she came to a stuttering halt by the Hufflepuff entrance, like they’d just come back from a planned outing or something. Joohyun paused by her side, mostly out of fear that the girl would start talking too loudly if she put too much distance between them.

She waited for Seungwan to pull out her wand and tap out the password to the Hufflepuff common room, but instead she dug around in her bag until she came up with a box of brownies.

“So, it’s kind of late. I don’t know if you’re hungry, but I made some brownies the other day.”

She held up her bag with one knee, striking a precarious balance as she pulled the cover off the container.

The whole thing was ridiculous. Seungwan was taking who knew how many NEWTs, plus taking on all the added responsibilities of a Head Girl, and now she baked in her spare time? Joohyun didn’t even remember what spare time felt like.

She studied the baked goods blankly. She was too tired for this.

“Listen, Seungwan,” she began carefully. The girl looked into her eyes earnestly, probably guessing her intention from her tone. “Let’s not, okay?”

She sighed at Seungwan’s look of concern, thinking fondly of the bed that would soon be welcoming her.

“Sometimes people just don’t get along, and that’s fine. No need to force it or… fix it or whatever. So keep the brownies and let’s just not.”

She shrugged the strap of her bag into place and took a few steps towards the turn that would take her to the dungeons, and finally to her own room.

Seungwan spoke up, raising her voice to be heard across the increasing distance between them, like Joohyun had expected. “Wait, Joohyun, what does that mean?”

She didn’t want to turn around because she could imagine the anguish on Seungwan’s face at being unable to befriend any single individual, and the thought was enough for annoyance to bubble up inside her.

Poor little Seungwan. Everybody’s favourite overachiever, the pride of the Son family. Bubbly and smiley and sociable and just so gosh darn nice. Poor little Seungwan and mean old Joohyun.

“It means we’re not friends,” she threw over her shoulder, then turned the corner and disappeared in the maze of cold stone that hid the Slytherin rooms.