“Really? Why would you think of doing that during Professor’s class?”

“I felt like it. She was staring at me and I didn’t enjoy that gaze.”

The sunrays peeking in through the giant window in the middle of the hall reflect off the only green and silver covered robes among the yellow and black ones; the Slytherin head prefect is happy to be a lone ranger. Bae Joohyun sits upright with her nose in the air, glasses sitting on the bridge of her sharp nose. She doesn’t even need to look around her to know that everyone’s probably throwing curious, sceptical gazes in their direction. After the sorting ceremony and the first Quidditch match, she began to hang out around the Hufflepuffs... mainly because someone keeps luring her here.

“Not everything needs to be fought for. If people want to be childish, you don’t have to stoop to that level.”

Joohyun rolls her eyes, intentionally holding her book higher so she can’t see the other girl’s expression. “Seungwan, I’d have casted an Unforgiveable Curse if anyone ever stared at you like that so I think transforming her hat into a toad is considered mild.”

The Hufflepuff student almost feels a coming along with that excuse; Son Seungwan is no stranger to these antics. Being a Head Prefect herself, she knows very well the importance of being a good influence to the other students in her house but Joohyun astounds her sometimes.

“An Unforgiveable Curse is not to be taken lightly and while I am very flattered by that statement, you shouldn’t do that because you’ll get punished.” Seungwan mumbles, her cheeks dusted with pink at the bold confession.

It’s not like students across all houses aren’t constantly reminded of the consequences of their actions – Unforgiveable Curses between each other will never be understood or looked over no matter the circumstance. Professors, regardless of whichever house they’re in, rarely encourage them even during duels because of the severity of such spells.

“Lighten up, Seungwan.” Joohyun pouts, almost sulking to herself. She knows the latter hates conflict with a passion, always choosing to be understanding and warm to the people around her. “I won’t do something you hate. I don’t like it when you’re upset with me.”

Although the last line is mumbled under Joohyun’s breath, Seungwan still overhears it and her heart skips a beat immediately. It’s as good as making it clear that Seungwan is indeed the exception for Joohyun – a notable claim.

In fact, their two houses do not get along because of how it’s always been in the history of Hogwarts. Slytherin students are unfortunately not very pleasant to be around, possibly due to either stereotype or their personality when they first enter school. Ambitious, cunning, leadership are a few traits that set them aside and sometimes, they will stop at nothing to get what they want. Hufflepuff students are known to be hardworking, hospitable and are extremely loyal to their friends. Though they’re not as competitive as other houses – obvious during Quidditch most of the time – they’re not to be undermined. Their humility and willingness to accept everyone are mere reasons why Hufflepuff students are respectable in their own way.

Yet... it seems to be an open secret, Joohyun and Seungwan’s friendship.

Seungwan still remembers their first meeting at the back of her mind; it’s the first time she saw a Slytherin in a different light.

 

“I don’t need to be babysat.

Are you kidding me, Professor?”

“You clearly do, Joohyun. I’ve gotten so many complaints about your behaviour in Potions and Transfiguration classes. Let’s not even bring up the fact that you blew up the classroom once with that stupid concoction, but turning that Gryffindor student into a ferret?”

Stubborn defiance in a Slytherin student is so normal that Seungwan doesn’t feel the need to pay attention to the conversation. She originally planned to head straight to the common room after her Quidditch practice but was stopped short by Professor Hwang – the look on the professor’s face was enough for Seungwan to halt. It’s also common knowledge that Head Prefect Bae Joohyun rarely ever lives up to that position; the latter is more likely to be an agent of pure chaos. It sounds like an exaggeration but the entire Slytherin (and every other house) knows of Joohyun’s antics.

Why on earth would Son Seungwan, a Hufflepuff Head Prefect with a perfect record, want to get involved with her?

“Kim Yongsun was giving me the stink-eye for nothing so yes; I turned her into a ferret.” Joohyun says loudly, ignoring the gasp from the other prefect.

Seungwan immediately diverts her gaze when Joohyun turns to look at her, embarrassed at how loud that gasp was. She doesn’t mean to express her shock so openly but Joohyun’s unchanging attitude is truly... startling.

“Do you see, Seungwan? This is the kind of behaviour I have to deal with every week because of her.” Professor Hwang sighs, rubbing her temples. “I really need your help to keep her in line.”

That entire afternoon was unnerving to say the least, with Seungwan walking on eggshells because of Joohyun’s constant glares whenever she opens . Whilst Seungwan was busy studying and catching on to her weaker subjects, Joohyun wasted her entire afternoon casting spells on inanimate objects. Although passing judgement isn’t a trait known to Hufflepuffs, fear is certainly still possible. Seungwan didn’t dare to say anything because Joohyun might turn her into a ferret like she did to that Gryffindor student.

Joohyun’s expression doesn’t show that she’s impressed but deep down, she refuses to speak because her words keep getting jumbled up when Seungwan’s eyes are on her.

Something about that Hufflepuff girl... that makes her fumble.

 

 

Fast forward to a year later

and Joohyun is still getting into trouble every now and then, albeit lesser than before though. She’s also a lot calmer when Seungwan is with her, often curbing her tongue and keeping her wand deep in her robes. There’s some strange power the younger student has over her and Joohyun doesn’t know if she’s ready to figure out what it is. She just knows two things for sure; one, Seungwan getting upset with her is enough for Joohyun to have her whole day ruined and two; there’s nothing worse than not seeing Seungwan all day.

“Earth to Joohyun. Hello?”

Joohyun blinks at the hand waving in front of her, backing away when she notices how close Seungwan’s face is to hers. “Sorry. Did you say something?”

“I said that if you get into trouble again, you might not be able to participate in your next Quidditch game. I know you don’t really care for Quidditch either but think about your teammates, okay?”

Seungwan continues to ramble on about how important teamwork and loyalty are in a team, how friendship makes the world go round but all Joohyun hears is white noise. Her gaze just follows Seungwan’s animated gestures and her rapid change in expressions – everything about the Hufflepuff is cute.

“I know your position in your Quidditch team is also being coveted by someone else from your house but it doesn’t mean you just give it up, Joohyun. There’s a reason why you were chosen to be Seeker in the first place.”

An obnoxious snort almost makes its way out of Joohyun; she had absolutely no plans to join the Quidditch team at first, much less one of the most important positions on top of that. One of the only reasons – well, the only reason, actually – she even bothered to go for try-outs in the first place was because Seungwan was also chosen to be Seeker for her own house. Seekers usually go head-to-head at the of most games and it’s actually really simple; Joohyun wanted to get close to Seungwan without looking too much like a creep.

Joohyun came to enjoy playing Quidditch though, being competitive by nature and all but not to the extent of fighting over a position. Whenever they played against Hufflepuff, however, Joohyun didn’t care about anything – she wanted to win regardless of who the Seeker is... till Seungwan got injured.

 

“The Golden Snitch has appeared. Hufflepuff Seeker Son Seungwan is following very closely behind Slytherin Seeker Bae Joohyun!”

Seungwan grips tightly onto her broom, hoping she doesn’t fly off or lose her balance like the Gryffindor Seeker last week. One of her closest friends, Kwon Eunbi, was forced to stay in the hospital wing with Madame Choi and her rather nasty concoctions. Eunbi suffered a broken arm and a sprained ankle because of that so she warned Seungwan about playing roughly against Slytherin; it’s just a sport and some house points after all. At least it isn’t too big of a shock when Joohyun appears on the opposing line-up, no sir; the shock comes when Joohyun winked at her before the match.

Joohyun restrains herself from turning back to see how Seungwan is doing, till she gets a fright when Seungwan flies past her with ease. “What the...”

In an attempt to get ahead, Joohyun fails to notice the front of her broomstick hit Seungwan’s in a right swerve... and that’s when she screams.

That night, Madame Choi was running around like a headless chicken trying to get different kinds of medicines for all the injured students; Seungwan was the latest addition to Eunbi, Momo, Yerim and Jihyo. She had entered the ward almost sobbing at the pain in her leg, having landed on her right knee when the broom flipped and tossed her into the air. The only distraction there was present were her fellow Hufflepuff couple being adorable; Minatozaki Sana, sneaking in to bring Hirai Momo her favourite food despite being warned against it.

It’s not that surprising when you think about it, considering they’re Hufflepuffs and lovers too. No, the honour goes to Bae Joohyun, striding into the hospital wing with a cup of bubble tea in hand.

“Seungwan... are you okay?” Joohyun whispers, sitting down beside the bed. She can barely look at the girl without wanting to cry.

“If I said yes, I’d be lying but I’ll be okay with time. I just need to rest.” Seungwan smiles, hoping it’s enough to conceal the actual pain. She can tell Joohyun is overwhelmed with guilt and that’s already bad. “What are you doing here though? Aren’t you supposed to be making sure the first-years are in the common room?”

Joohyun doesn’t respond, her gaze still directed anywhere but Seungwan. She sits in silence for a couple of minutes before Seungwan notices the periodic shaking of her shoulders.

“Joohyun?”

“Don’t look at me.”

Those words are probably supposed to sound authoritative and sharp but all Seungwan sees is the personification of an angry kitten shielding her face; Joohyun tries too hard to be intimidating.

stretches her hand out and rests it on Joohyun’s head, affectionately rubbing her hair – Joohyun’s sobs get louder by one notch at the comforting touch. She was injured because of a competitive sport but it’s not the end of the world and it’s certainly not as bad as Joohyun seems to see it. “I’m just in a tiny bit of pain but I’m not dead. Madame Choi is going to do a great job of fixing my knee tomorrow, I promise.” She actually doesn’t know if that’s the plan yet but she does want Joohyun to stop crying and she’s not beyond lying to make it happen.

“Sorry...”

That night, Seungwan secretly throws out the concoction Madame Choi made to help her sleep so she can talk to Joohyun. It only takes an hour before Joohyun decides to just lie underneath Seungwan’s bed so no one knows if she’s still here. She must have gotten confused when she came out because the things she says… she’d never say to Seungwan’s face.

“I shouldn’t have been so aggressive when I was chasing the Snitch… I promise from today onwards, I won’t allow you to get hurt like this ever again. I didn’t know Seekers were