Joohyun sat next to Seulgi, their backs to their table as they watched the dancefloor. As always, it was mostly empty, most students too embarrassed to actually go out and dance, gathering instead in small groups by the edges of the room. Later on, when embarrassment melted away, or somebody remembered to bribe the hired band into playing songs that young people actually knew, it would slowly fill up, as it usually did.

The enchanted snow was already falling from the high ceiling, vanishing into nothing as it touched the ground, the decorations, or the heads of the elaborately dressed students. It formed a light curtain that made it hard to see anything too clearly, like the beginnings of a mist that threatened to take over the room. Through it, Joohyun observed the dancers, their charmed outfits producing beautiful, lingering patterns as they twisted and turned across the floor.

Hyuna was there with Hyojong, hair dyed a fiery Gryffindor red just for the occasion. This time, she'd actually managed it, and she matched wonderfully with her boyfriend’s dirty-blond hair which presumably represented Gryffindor gold. The couple had no worries about embarrassment and they made their way happily around the room in their own made-up dance that was hard enough to describe, let alone follow along.

Sunmi sat with the Gryffindor Keeper, a sixth-year called Chungha, probably exchanging Quidditch tips. Joohyun wasn't sure whether she'd brought a date, or if maybe Chungha was the date. It was hard to tell with Sunmi and her chronic friendliness.

Searching the room for the rest of her friends, Joohyun finally found Soojung at a corner table with Sunyoung and Amber, the girls accompanied as usual by Kibum, Minho and Taemin.

Her view was then blocked by a pair of stumbling students, around Yerim's age. Dragging them by their collars was Hyojin, looking mildly bored.

“Tried to spike the punch with a Fire-Breathing potion,” the Slytherin Head Girl said as she passed by Joohyun. The two young girls paused momentarily, although Hyojin had given them no indication to do so, and gazed at Joohyun and Seulgi, studying their upperclassmen with awe-struck eyes.

“Isn't this your first Ball?” Joohyun asked after a nod from Hyojin, who would clearly rather let this conversation take place than be the one to forcefully end it. The Hufflepuff with big eyes nodded enthusiastically, smiling like the experience wasn’t about to end quite prematurely. “So why would you risk getting kicked out not one hour into it?”

The Gryffindor shrugged carelessly, looking more proud than remorseful. In fact, Joohyun could barely find a trace of regret in the girl’s features. “We didn't expect to get caught,” she pointed out in a low voice.

“I think people would notice something was wrong once they started breathing fire,” Hyojin cut in, sounding unimpressed. The Gryffindor shrugged again. “Okay, geniuses, let's go. And I'm taking 10 points from each of your Houses.”

The young Hufflepuff turned to Seulgi, who was carelessly watching the dancing couples. “Sorry,” she mumbled shyly, drawing Seulgi's attention back to the situation with a start. For a moment, she seemed confused, before she realized the girl was referring to the loss of points. She flashed her a quick grin to reassure her that it was fine, then the two students were once again being dragged towards the exit.

A swift glance towards the punch table confirmed Joohyun's suspicions, as she saw her favourite young Slytherin watching Hyojin’s retreating back with interest. Ah, the good old days of caring about House rivalry.

A few more couples got up to dance and Hyojin returned from dealing with the troublemakers, taking a seat next to the other Prefects. Regardless of any personal differences, year after year, all Prefects seemed to magically become friends, even giving rise to a few unexpected relationships. The fifth-year Ravenclaw Prefect seemed attached at the hip to the sixth-year Slytherin - Jimin, Joohyun thought his name was, though the Ravenclaw’s was entirely beyond her - and the sixth-year Gryffindor Prefect - Sojung, if Joohyun wasn’t mistaken - had taken it upon herself to mother the fifth-year Ravenclaw, an admittedly adorable girl.

Among the seventh-years, the Head Girls and Boys were an equally close group. Heeyeon and Hyojin were practically best friends, Namjoon was never at the library without Hoseok, and Seungwan was, at that very moment, engaged in an apparently riveting conversation with Kyungsoo and Junmyeon. Yes, House rivalry definitely became a thing of the past once the students were old enough.

“I miss fifth year,” Joohyun mused out loud, letting her eyes drift from the unofficial Prefect table, back to the now slightly more populated dancefloor.

“Because that’s when you went to the Ball with Junmyeon?” Seulgi immediately shot back, supposedly distracted gaze belied by the hint of a smirk pulling at her lips.

“Wow, okay, way to remind me of my dark past with absolutely no provocation.”

Seulgi laughed openly at her suffering, no longer pretending to be focused elsewhere. “His Prefect badge was so shiny, I thought someone might go blind every time it caught the light.”

Junmyeon really had been insufferable as a newly-appointed Prefect, always finding pretexts to point it out, including wearing his badge over his formal wear. It had clashed horribly, of course.

“It was… a bad experience. First and last time I gave a Ravenclaw a chance.” Seulgi quirked a brow at the judgmental statement, but Joohyun didn’t back down. “He tried so hard to look smart, it was embarrassing. We get it, you read books,” she added with some sarcasm.

“He was obviously trying to impress you,” Seulgi countered amusedly.

“Well, it was a dumb move. Everybody knows that’s not how you impress a Slytherin.”

“So how do you do it?”

Joohyun leaned back in her chair and shot Seulgi a significant look. “If you have to ask…” She let the conclusion go unsaid, smirking smugly at Seulgi’s eyeroll.

“How do you impress a Hufflepuff, then?” Seulgi shot back, mostly defiant but at least partly curious.

“Easy. Be nice to them and honest about your intentions.” Seulgi’s mouth opened, but Joohyun beat her to it. “For Ravenclaws, show interest in their interests. For Gryffindors, make a grand gesture.”

She grinned victoriously once she’d finished. Seulgi’s mouth remained unclosed for a few moments as she considered contesting it, but eventually, she shut it in defeat.

“Fine. I don’t plan on impressing a Slytherin anytime soon, anyway.”

Joohyun snorted at Seulgi’s words and returned her attention to the rest of the room, studying it vaguely. She felt a little like dancing, but who should she bring to the dancefloor with her? Not any boy, the whole point of coming with Seulgi had been to avoid their advances. Hyuna was still glued to Hyojong, but maybe Sunmi would agree to drop her Quidditch talk for a moment to indulge Joohyun. There was always Seulgi herself, but the girl’s dancing had a tendency to draw everyone’s eye, and Joohyun was hoping for a quick spin on the dancefloor, not the single-minded attention of about a dozen of Seulgi’s admirers.

“Why do you miss fifth year, then? If not for your lovely date,” Seulgi added teasingly.

Joohyun ignored the slight provocation and tried to remember why she’d even made the remark in the first place. Something about House rivalry, about intermingling between the older students… Oh, right, that was it.

“It was the last year we didn’t all take classes together,” she began, struggling for a moment to find the right phrasing for her complaint. “Now I have to tolerate the constant presence of certain… undesirable individuals.”

“Seungwan, you mean,” Seulgi replied unhappily, her playful mood cooling quickly. Joohyun looked away from her accusing eyes, feigning indifference as her gaze swept the room, landing on the Prefect table just as Heeyeon choked on her drink and Seungwan leaned forward to clap her back while Hyojin laughed.

“You said it, not me,” she pointed out petulantly. Seungwan smiled encouragingly at a teary-eyed Heeyeon, returning to her previous conversation after a final concerned glance at the Gryffindor. Hyojin immediately began to mimic Heeyeon’s choking fit, to the amusement of quite a few of the younger Prefects.

“Listen,” Seulgi began with a small sigh. This was a bad sign. Seulgi was getting serious, which meant that she was about to embark on one of her speeches about the power of friendship and reaching out a helping hand and all the other nonsense that was probably part of some weekly Hufflepuff workshop. “I know that you don’t like her, but-”

“A baseless accusation,” Joohyun cut in, denying it for no other reason than to delay the lecture. She watched Seungwan smile widely at something Junmyeon had said. Clearly, she had a much greater tolerance for pompous Ravenclaws. She probably even liked them. She certainly seemed to like everything and everyone.

“Joohyun, come on. We both know you hate her and we both know why.”

Seulgi’s words, spoken in a tone that allowed no challenging, had Joohyun twisting in her chair to make sure there was nobody close enough to hear them. She hated that Seulgi could see through her like this, that they knew each other too well for any secrets to remain hidden. If only the Hufflepuff could be like everyone else, not entirely fooled but still in the dark.

“You’re my oldest friend, even more than that, and I love you, but Seungwan has done nothing wrong and this is really weighing on her, so can’t you just try to work it out? Have an actual conversation with her, give her a chance?”

“I did try!” Joohyun replied defensively. Seulgi wasn’t being entirely fair, either. It wasn’t just that she didn’t like Seungwan. “But I was nice for a second and she was already going overboard. She tried to give me brownies!”

“How dare she!” Seulgi exclaimed with feigned affront, and Joohyun hoped for a moment that she could play along and get out of the situation with humour, but a glance at Seulgi’s face was enough to reveal the determination that lined it. They would really have to carry out this pointless conversation.

“Oh, you know what I mean,” she shot back, annoyance seeping into her tone. Seungwan wasn’t blameless in all this either, no matter how much everyone liked to pretend otherwise. “It was a whole thing. ‘We had one semi-pleasant interaction, time to break out the baked goods and make a new friend!’ I don’t want to be her friend.”

She paused, focusing on her breathing to keep her voice from raising and exposing her personal business to the nosier students in the Hall.

“I can be nice. I can be civil. But I won’t pretend to be all buddy-buddy with Seungwan just so she doesn’t have to deal with the reality of some people not liking her. I’m not her safety blanket.”

She’d almost crossed her arms in front of her chest before she caught herself and let them rest by her sides once more, leaning over slightly to brush an invisible wrinkle out of her dress.

“That’s not what I’m saying, I just-”

“Yes, it is,” Joohyun interrupted the next set of excuses. “I’m willing to make the effort to have a respectful, neutral relationship, but that’s not good enough for her. So, if she’s going for all or nothing, she’s getting nothing. How come I’m the only one being unreasonable in this scenario?”

“Because there is no real reason for you to dislike her. And deep down, I think you know that,” Seulgi shot back with an edge to her voice that rarely appeared. This time, it was the Hufflepuff who paused to take a breath, hands clenched together in her lap.

“I don’t need a reason,” Joohyun muttered sullenly.

“And if I ask you to try? As your friend?”

Seulgi looked at her and her eyes were wide and pleading, communicating what Joohyun knew all too well. That Seungwan was her friend too, and she didn't like being stuck in the middle.

But that still didn't make it Joohyun's fault.

"I suppose if you request it, with the full weight of all our history behind it, of all that I owe you... Then I'll have to do it," she declared slowly and carefully, returning Seulgi’s gaze steadily. The Hufflepuff deflated at once.

“I already told you, you don’t owe me anything. You’re my friend, there are no debts between us.” Seulgi’s tone was earnest for an entirely different reason now, intense with the effort to communicate across the unflinching difference of values between a gentle half-blood and a pureblood from a family of Slytherins, raised under the strictest wizard tradition.

Like her family, Joohyun was proud. Like them, her spirit would not be broken. And like them, she stood her ground to a fault, against overwhelming odds, against the entire world, as long as she knew that she was right.

“Then it's just up to me and my free will, and I say no.”

Seulgi wavered between concern and insistence, her kindness nipping any accusations in the bud. Maybe it was wrong of Joohyun to be so overbearing, to use Seulgi's accommodating personality to her own benefit. But she knew she was right about this.

“Joohyun…” Seulgi attempted softly, appealing to her conscience, or her compassion, or whatever it was that Hufflepuffs dug at to guilt-trip others into conceding.

“She’s the one who pushes too far. Just tell her to stop pushing.”

She brushed the front of her dress one last time, then forced her thoughts away from the conversation, pushing them to follow her line of sight, to focus on pretty patterns and the slowly disappearing snow instead of the biting sense of injustice that grew inside of her like a weed. She wasn’t a Gryffindor; she knew better than to let herself be ruled by something as ridiculous as what was fair and what wasn’t. That was simply not how the world worked.

“Do that, and I’ll be nice. That’s my final offer,” she added before Seulgi could argue her terms.

She spotted Yerim and a fellow Slytherin coming closer to their table and quickly reached out to pull her young friend towards her seat, as perfect a distraction as she could hope for. With a polite nod towards the other girl, who smiled nervously at her before walking off, she looped her arm around Yerim’s and dropped her head on her shoulder. Seulgi watched in silence, chewing at the corner of her lips unhappily.

“Yerim, my dearest child, did you trick your more gullible classmates into spiking the punch so they’d get caught and their Houses would lose points?” Joohyun inquired in a sickly-sweet tone, far too proud of her chaotic little angel to think of chastising her.

Yerim smirked at both of them and Seulgi immediately took the cue to walk off towards Sunmi and her Keeper friend, to avoid becoming the unwitting accomplice to any illegalities. The two Slytherins fondly watched her walk off.

“I actually did it for many reasons,” Yerim said slyly once Seulgi was no longer within earshot. “First, to cost them points. Second, to drum up business for Sooyoung. Where do you think they got that potion?” she pointed out with a quirked brow, and Joohyun swept the Hall yet again to find the sixth-year Ravenclaw lounging by a corner, a self-satisfied smirk on her face as she returned her gaze.

Park Sooyoung was, Joohyun had to admit, her least disliked Ravenclaw. The achievement, not that impressive on its own, surely gained importance when considering that they hadn’t exchanged a word since their falling out the previous year. It hadn’t been personal, of course, purely a matter of business, but still.

She supposed her relatively favorable opinion of Sooyoung said more about Ravenclaws in general than about her in particular. Then again, she had to admit she appreciated the girl’s enterprising spirit, not to mention her recent decision to stop stocking a few of the more morally questionable potions.

Of course, that didn’t mean that Joohyun wanted Yerim to spend quite so much time with the Ravenclaw. Regardless of personality, someone with an underground potion-selling business was probably a bad influence, right?

“And third, to cause a distraction so I could sneak up and spike the punch with Essence of Ether. Which I got at a discount, on account of the business I drummed up.”

Definitely a bad influence. But Joohyun wouldn’t lie, it was actually kind of funny.

“Slytherin is lucky to have you,” she said lovingly, ruffling Yerim’s hair despite the girl’s protests. “Now come dance with me or I’ll rat you out,” she added with a grin, although she meant every word. She got up and Yerim followed along grudgingly, like dancing with Joohyun was the worst thing she could imagine. “Quick, before everyone starts floating around the room because of your little potion and we have to evacuate.”

As they spun across the room, Yerim being guided along by Joohyun's effortless steps that had long ago become second nature, the older girl saw that Seungwan had left the Prefect table to take a seat by Seulgi's side. Sunmi and Chungha were back to their animated discussion and the two Hufflepuff friends watched the dancefloor with easy smiles.

Seulgi caught Joohyun’s eye and offered a reconciliatory grin, silent communication easy between the old friends. Joohyun accepted it without question, then spun Yerim in a wide arc that had the younger girl protesting at the sudden movement. “At least give me a heads-up,” she grumbled unhappily.

“You have to learn to read your partner. Their body language is all the heads-up you need,” Joohyun replied in the tone of a strict teacher, laughing off her friend's unimpressed glare.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Seungwan watching with a small smile. Then the girl's eyes widened at something behind them and Joohyun knew it was the first victim of Yerim's little prank, taking off towards the ceiling. She quickly bit her lip to keep her poker face.

“Okay, Yerim, here's your heads-up,” she declared cheerfully, then took the girl on twirl after twirl all across the dancefloor. Around them, the room spun, the snow fell and the elegantly-dressed students ascended like kites on a windy day.

(…)

One by one, the students floated their bags out of their rooms and walked off towards the Entrance Hall. While Joohyun sat on Seulgi’s bed, Sunmi finished packing her own things and left with a final goodbye. Sunyoung and Seungwan had already been gone by the time Joohyun had arrived to keep Seulgi company, so that just left the two best friends in the Hufflepuff dorm room.

“Are you sure you won’t come?” Seulgi tried one last time, like they weren’t only a few hours away from the Hogwarts Express’s departure and arrangements hadn’t long been made for Joohyun to remain at the school.

In the absence of any response, Seulgi shrugged and returned her attention to rearranging her sweaters in an attempt to make everything fit in her Muggle suitcase, which, not enchanted by a single charm, only allowed for a pitiful amount of storage space. Joohyun resisted the urge to remind her that she’d have better luck if she folded her clothes.

With a final grunt, the Hufflepuff managed to slam the suitcase shut. She got up, slightly out of breath, and pulled her wand out of the pocket of her jeans to levitate the heavy object. Joohyun stood up without a word and led the way out of the dorm.

The Entrance Hall was crowded with students in heavy coats and snug scarves, narrowly avoiding the suitcases that swarmed all around them. Seulgi nearly bumped hers into the back of a third-year Ravenclaw’s head as she spotted Yerim in the crowd, and she was still apologizing by the time her sister navigated her way to them.

“Hey, Joohyun. I guess Seulgi didn’t manage to convince you,” the girl said lightly, although she couldn’t quite conceal her disappointment behind a playful grin. “You won’t even come for cousin Jihye’s wedding?” she added with a hint of hope.

“Sorry, Yerim, I really have to catch up on my studying. Even if it means missing my first Muggle wedding.” Joohyun offered her a crooked grin, hoping that it helped communicate the sincerity of her apology.

Seulgi finally turned away from the Ravenclaw, joining the conversation with a light frown. “You’re free to come, you know? I mean, of course you’re invited.”

“I know.” Seulgi’s brow creased further at Joohyun’s words and the latter was quick to let her hand rest on Seulgi’s arm, squeezing slightly for emphasis. “I really do have to study. I’ll be fine. Have fun on your cousin’s wedding.”

With a small sigh, some of the tension on Seulgi’s face melted away, although she still didn’t look entirely happy. “I’m sorry,” she finally breathed out. “I’d stay and keep you company, if it wasn’t for Jihye. But you know how my dad is about neglecting the Muggle side of the family.”

“It’s okay, you should go,” Joohyun quickly cut in. “And besides, I’ve never let you miss a break just to stay here with me. There’s no reason why I’d change my mind now,” she added with a grin.

Yerim made the strangest coughing noise, which sounded a lot like she was covering up a sudden burst of laughter. Joohyun turned to her in confusion, but she had turned around, ostensibly to scan the crowd.

“Oh, I see Sooyoung over there! I should go talk to her, we have some business stuff to discuss. Bye, Joohyun, see you after the break.”

She wrapped Joohyun in a hug so quickly that she didn’t even allow a glance at her face, then she was off. Joohyun was about to comment on the strange reaction, but she turned back to Seulgi to find the Hufflepuff shrugging into her overcoat.

“I, uh, I have go talk to Sunmi about my practice schedule over the break, so I should go too.” She pulled Joohyun in for her own hug, saying a quick goodbye. She was acting even weirder than Yerim. “I know it’s just a couple of weeks, but keep in touch, okay? I’ll send you a letter when I get home.”

She began to speak a little faster, like she was nervous and eager to be off. Joohyun’s eyes narrowed as she studied her best friend, a notoriously bad liar. What could she possibly be hiding?

“So, please answer it, even if you’re busy or distracted or...” Seulgi’s voice lowered as she spoke, approaching an unintelligible murmur. “Or, uh, mad at me.”

“Mad at you? Why would I be-” Joohyun began, but that was all she managed before Seulgi abruptly cleared .

“Oh, I see Sunmi!” She waved into the crowd of students, acting far from convincing. “Okay, I’ll be off! Have a nice break, Joohyun. Write me back.”

And then she was gone, lost in the pack of students getting ready to go home. Joohyun watched her retreating back with confusion, still gazing blankly ahead once she’d disappeared entirely.

A few hours later, the Entrance Hall was nearly empty, aside a few frazzled students hurrying to catch the train, their steps echoing on the stone walls. Joohyun sat at the bottom of the stairway, watching the sprinting students with distant eyes. Then the last stragglers were gone and it was just her.

She got up slowly, in no rush to return to the empty dorm room and the studying that would keep her busy until dinner. She took a single step forward and promptly lost her balance as something barrelled into her back.

An arm reached out to keep her upright, its owner already spouting apologies at record speed. “I am so sorry, I was looking at my notes and I didn’t see you there, I know I should watch where I’m going but I thought everyone was gone. I mean, not everyone, there are still some people around, but not in the Hall, so-”

Joohyun turned around and the stream of apologies stopped at once.

“Joohyun,” the Hufflepuff in front of her said simply, eyes wide and frightened.

Oh. Suddenly, a lot of things made sense. Suddenly, Joohyun was very mad at Seulgi. Very mad indeed.

“Seungwan.”