When she woke, the first thing Sunhwa felt was pain. It felt as if people had suddenly decided to stab multiple forks into her skin. STOP, she wanted to yell, YOU CAN'T EAT ME.

The first thing Sunhwa heard, however, was people whispering. They weren't really whispering, though—more like quietly screaming.

"Look, I understand why this guy is here, but why you?" Jonghyun's voice was saying.

"Yeah, you didn't even save anyone." Sunhwa could practically see Myungsoo's judgmental look.

Then Sunhwa heard Zelo's—whom she had not expected—voice: "I may not have saved her, but I tried! Why are you two blokes hanging around her bed?"

"We're her best friends. The point is, Sunhwa really doesn't need all these boys hanging around her. Other girls will think she's a flirt or something."

"I'm sorry, Myungsoo," Jonghyun cut in, "but with her hanging out with us every day, other girls probably already do."

"If only we weren't so handsome."

"Not to be rude, but I was the one who saved her, you guys," said another boy. He sounded familiar, but Sunhwa couldn't quite place it. "If anyone should be here, it's me."

Jonghyun snapped his fingers. "I have an idea! Choi, feel free to leave. Other kid, you can leave too. She doesn't have to know who saved her."

The conversation then shifted to the four really screaming at each other, and Madam Austen had to cut in. "Please, boys, let the poor girl rest."

Sunhwa groaned from the bed. Her eyes opened a crack. "Shh," she mumbled.

"OH MY GOD. SUNHWA, SPEAK TO ME."

She was fully awake now, rubbing her eyes. "Shut up, Jonghyun."

Myungsoo shook his head. "Seriously, when you fell from that broom... I thought you were going to die."

Sunhwa ignored Myungsoo's remark and looked at the four boys clearly. Jonghyun, Myungsoo, and Zelo were standing. Zelo opened his mouth, as if to say something, then closed it. Instead of speaking he gave her a small smile, then sighed. Jonghyun raised an eyebrow.

It turned out the mystery voice belonged to a Ravenclaw boy in her year, sitting in the chair next to the bed. Sehun, she remembered. He's cute.

Sunhwa had no idea where that thought had come from.

She coughed. "So, what happened? I don't remember, 'cause I was knocked out."

"Well, you fell, obviously," Jonghyun began. "A lot of people were screaming. This guy tried to catch you. He was screaming really loudly." He wrapped an arm around Zelo's shoulders, smirking.

"Until this guy swooped in and saved you from certain death." Myungsoo patted Sehun's back.

Sunhwa smiled. "Thank you, Sehun."

"Oh, thank you, Sehun! You're my hero!" Jonghyun teased, while Sunhwa shot him a glare. Myungsoo chortled.

Sehun looked sheepish. "It's not that heroic, actually. I just happened to be there when it happened."

"Really, I'm grateful."

"And indebted to him equal to your life," Myungsoo added.

Sunhwa exhaled through her nose, glaring at her two best friends. "Look," she said, "I'm really glad that you came here to visit, Myungsoo and Jonghyun, but please leave. You're not contributing to the conversation."

The two shared a look. "Well, someone's not very nice after she rose from the dead."

"Just leave!"

Myungsoo blinked at Sunhwa's outburst, and, gesturing to Jonghyun, left the infirmary. She sighed.

Sehun stood. "I should get going too. I wasn't planning to come, actually, but my friend convinced me." He held out his hand for Sunhwa to shake. "Get well soon, Sunhwa."

Soon it was just Zelo and her in the room. Zelo shifted from foot to foot, staring at the ground. "So, Choi, what brings you here?"

Zelo looked up. "Oh. Um, I actually just came to tell you that you made the team."

There was a sharp intake of breath. "Really?" Sunhwa asked tentatively. "I made the team?"

Zelo nodded. "Congrats, Sunhwa. Practice starts this Saturday, but only if you're feeling okay."

Sunhwa stood up straighter in bed, grinning. "I feel fine. Great, actually!" she said, sliding out from under the duvet cover and sitting on the edge of the bed. "I think I'm ready to leave the hospital wing." She took a shaky step forward and wobbled on her feet. Zelo caught her from falling to the ground, her hands in his. "Careful." Sunhwa, with Zelo's help, made her way to the double doors.

"Oh no you don't!"

The two turned their heads to see Madam Austen, holding a tray of lunch and clacking her tongue. "You're not completely well yet, Miss Han. Just rest for another day, and you can go."

To Sunhwa's chagrin, Zelo guided her back to the bed. "See you around, Sunhwa. I hope you feel better," he called, leaving the room.

Sunhwa fell asleep with a warm feeling in her belly. She wasn't sure if it was because of the food or not.

/

Dasom was there when Sunhwa fell from her broom, and when that Ravenclaw boy caught her. Dasom had to admit, she was worried whether or not Sunhwa would survive. That didn't mean Dasom would actually go visit Sunhwa. They had been enemies for years, anyway.

As a result, Dasom was rather distracted in potions the following Monday. Jieun looked at her worriedly from across the room, wondering what could be on Dasom's mind. She stirred the concoction absentmindedly, staring out the window at the first years in Flying class. Beside Dasom, her partner Changjo sighed and pulled the spoon away from her, wiping it on the edge of the cauldron and setting it down.

"Please, Dasom, I don't want my grade to drop suddenly because of you," he remarked. "This is supposed to be a partner project."

Her nose wrinkled in annoyance. "Fine." Dasom read the next steps in the textbooks and, following the instructions, chopped up the gillyweed with the knife at the table, careful not to cut her fingers. Dasom scooped it up to drop it in the cauldron. Changjo suddenly held her wrists and stopped her.

She glared at him, while he stared hard back. "What are you doing?" she snapped, struggling to free her arms. "Get off me!" Dasom loosened her grip on the gillyweed, threatening to dump them.

Changjo gasped. "Don't drop those," he warned. "It'll ruin the potion."

"And how do you know? I'm the one following instructions." Dasom glanced pointedly at the textbook, wiggling her arms once again.

Changjo flared his nostrils. "Normally I don't like to play this card, but I know more about potions than you."

Dasom began to protest. "How arrogant—"

He glared at her. "Don't deny it. I'm the best at Potions in our year. Put the Thestral hair in first."

Dasom wrenched her wrists away from Changjo's grip. The cauldron on the table wobbled and nearly plummeted to the ground if not for Changjo's quick reflexes.

He glared at Dasom, straightening the pot. With a last scathing look, Dasom dropped the gillyweed back onto the table. She picked the Thestral hair up and reluctantly placed it in the cauldron, following her partner's instructions. Changjo then plopped the dragonscale into the pot, just as their professor passed by.

Professor Connery inspected their potion, smelling it and stirring it. He even went so far as to the spoon with the tip of his tongue. "Nice job, both of you," smiled their professor. "An outstanding, as always, Mr. Choi. For you as well, Miss Bang." He drew a little smiley face on his clipboard next to their names.

Changjo couldn't resist a smirk when Connery left their table. "I told you so."

"Shut up," Dasom muttered, rubbing her neck. "You're so annoying."

/

The Hogwarts corridors that night were empty, save the lonely wandering ghosts and the two heads in the dark.

Lucia pursed her lips at her fellow head's loud footsteps. "Must you be so loud?"

"It's not like we'll find anything to disturb," Kris retorted.

"And if we do? Then what?"

He shrugged in return.

They patrolled, and for the next hour, there was indeed nothing of any unusual activity. Lucia was becoming sleepier and sleepier. Her eyes threatened to close with every step. Kris yawned loudly.

On the fifth floor, near the Headmaster's office, Lucia could see the bright light of a torch and hear the flickering of a flame. "What is that?" she whispered, nudging Kris. Lucia stepped forward towards the light. Dread filled her chest. She bit her lip, turning the corner.

Lucia stared in shock at the scene before her. Bile rose in , and she had to avert her eyes. The image, however, was burned in her mind. On the ground, below a blazing torch, were two house-elves. The first was small and dirty, blood still seeping out of his torso. Dark red blood splattered his face and stained his clothes. His right arm was be diseased—crackled, grey and dead—and on his finger was a dark gold ring. The second appeared to be frozen in time, arms outstretched and blue eyes wide in fear. She had a look of complete and utter horror on her face. On her chest was an empty journal, pages flipping back and forth by themselves.

Lucia panicked. her hands in her hair, Lucia stumbled out of the corridor and collided into Kris. He frowned, seeing Lucia's distraught expression. "What happened?" Tears threatened to spill from her eyes. Lucia opened to speak, but no sound could force its way out of . She began to hyperventilate, falling to her knees.

Kris rushed past her, taking a look into the corridor. Kris turned back to look at her, pale. "Stay here, Lucia," he told her, pulling to her feet and squeezing the hand which held her wand. With that Kris dashed off in the other direction and ran towards the Headmaster's office.

Staring into the darkness before her, fear gripped Lucia's heart once again. A lumos spell could only shed so much light. She refused to look over her shoulder back at the grotesque scene. Though it would render her virtually defenseless, Lucia shut her eyes and counted the passing seconds, willing Kris to fetch Professor Granger faster.

Two hundred sixteen, Lucia counted, and a hand wrapped around Lucia's forearm. She shrieked, sending a jelly-legs jinx in a random direction.

"Miss Kwon!" Professor Granger's voice yelled, and Lucia opened her eyes, expecting either an angry Headmistress or the Headmistress held ransom by several murderers. She was met instead with Professor Granger's—and Kris's—worried faces. Fortunately, Lucia's jinx failed to meet a target and landed on the wall behind them.

"Are you alright?" Professor Granger asked, and Lucia managed a feeble nod. Kris gave Lucia a meaningful glance, then gestured to the Headmistress.

"Here, Professor," Kris said, showing their teacher the corridor.

There was a lengthy pause as the Headmistress assessed the scene. Her eyes widened once or twice and her hands tightened into fists. Then, stepping close to the deceased house-elves, she cast a preservation spell on their bodies, as well as the bloodstains and items next to them. Professor Granger set up several concealing spells to hide the corridor from passing eyes.

"Follow me, please," she said curtly to Kris and Lucia. Professor Granger, with a sweep of her robes, headed back in the direction of her office.

Strained and rigid was the atmosphere once the trio reached their destination. Professor Granger allowed the two Heads into her office and swiftly locked the door behind them. "Sit, the two of you," the Headmistress said, pointing to a brown loveseat beside a coffee table. Kris and Lucia glanced at each other as they took their places on the sofa.

Professor Granger scrambled around the room, hands finally landing on some teacups and a teapot. Waving her wand, she set the tea to brew. Then she approached a bookcase, choosing a thick hardbound book and flipping through it.

Minutes passed before the tea was finally done. Professor Granger brought the tray and set it down on the table, choosing to rest in a light blue armchair. Kris and Lucia were each given a cup of tea after their Professor poured it.

The Headmistress's hands shook as she sipped her tea, sighing. "I'm so sorry," Professor Granger whispered. She stared at the two of them sorrowfully before casting her eyes downwards.

"You have nothing to apologize for, Professor," Lucia comforted. "It was not your fault." She bit her lip. "What did happen back there?"

Professor Granger shook her head. "The thing is, I don't know. I'm going to consult Draco, Luna, Ginny, and Neville, and maybe the Order. What you saw tonight… speak to no one of it." She set her cup of tea down with a clink and stared at the two Heads in turn. "Tonight, go to straight to your dorms. Sleep—sleep and forget until morning. We can discuss this later, when I'm less emotionally aggravated." Kris and Lucia thanked their Professor, nodding, left the room, and went straight to the Head dorms.

Upon arriving at the dorms, Lucia proceeded to switch on all of the lights in all of the rooms. She poured herself a tall glass of water and drank it all within a minute. Grabbing a chocolate bar from the stash on top of the bookcase, Lucia ripped apart the wrapper viciously and plopped several pieces into . Kris simply stared.

"You know, I don't think it's a good idea to be emotionally eating right now," he said, squinting. "And could you turn off some of the lights? It's too bright in here."

"Never," Lucia said immediately, biting her chocolate.

"To which question?"

Lucia shrugged. "To both. And I'm not emotionally eating right now. I'm just trying to get my mind off what happened." She grabbed a sugar quill from the candy stash and ran upstairs into her room.

Kris, after waiting a few minutes and grabbing a piece of chocolate for himself, began turning the lights off. Once it was dark on the main floor, Kris sighed and trudged upstairs. Once he reached the top of the staircase, the doorknob to Lucia's room rattled. The door swiveled open to Lucia, standing in her pajamas. She swallowed. "Good night, Kris."

"You too, Lucia. Sweet dreams," Kris said quietly. Lucia looked away, closed the door, and the light in her bedroom flicked off.

Kris couldn't fall asleep that night. He tossed and turned, staring up at the ceiling. Around four AM, Kris began to hear the muffled sound of Lucia's sobs.

I meant it, Kris thought to himself. I wanted her to have sweet dreams.

/

She was leaning on the edge of the roof, eyes gazing upwards to the starry sky. Luhan cocked his head and, adjusting the supplies in his hands, approached her quietly.

"Don't fall," he told her, and Yeonhee shrieked, flailing backwards and landing painfully on her backside.

Yeonhee scoffed and brushed the dirt off her pants, standing. She smacked Luhan repeatedly as he raised his arms in attempt to shield himself.

"What! Is! Wrong! With! You!" Yeonhee yelled in between strikes. Breathless, she pulled away. "What are you even doing up here, anyway?"

Luhan rubbed his sore body before nodding to his notebook and pencil. "Astronomy homework," he said.

Yeonhee narrowed her eyes at him before turning to look at the sky once again. She sighed. "Why are you always there? Are you stalking me?"

Luhan almost let the words 'I was tempted to' slip out, but he held his tongue. "Of course not. It's either a coincidence that we met here, or it's fate." He paused to his chin. "Did I ever tell you that I don't believe in coincidences?"

"Real smooth," Yeonhee replied, rolling here eyes. "Just finish your homework and leave, please."

Luhan got to work. He set up his telescope, looked into the lens, and labeled the corresponding stars onto the parchment. "Pisces, Andromeda, Aquarius," he muttered to himself, making the correct marks and labeling the constellations.

Yeonhee, glancing at his paper, made sure to correct him. "Almach is in the wrong spot. So is Sadalbari."

"What?" Luhan blinked.

She pointed to a spot just shy of the latter. "Sadalbari is supposed to be here. Almach is completely off."

Luhan shrugged. "If you say so. How you know this, anyway?"

"I spend a lot of time up here. When I'm bored and whatnot."

Luhan said nothing. He continued to work in silence, while Yeonhee continued to stare at the sky.

"Why do you dislike me so much?" he asked after several minutes. By that time they moved to a sitting position on the ground. Yeonhee sighed and laid back, propping her arms behind her head into a pillow.

"When I was just a primary school kid," she began, "there was this major douchebag in my class. He was basically the bane of my existence.

"After I turned ten and started to show my magical abilities, he turned everyone against me. They called me a freak, made me feel more like an outsider than I did before. They said I was useless and that I should just die. That person even hit me—that coward hit a girl. So I made a water bottle explode, it knocked him out while dousing him with spitty water."

Luhan's voice was quiet. "What was his name?"

There was a smile on Yeonhee's face when she gave him the answer—it was somewhere between mischievous and serene. She may or may not have giggled. "Oh, the irony."

He turned crimson red. "Just tell me his name, please."

"Yuhan," Yeonhee answered. Luhan looked away. "That's why I don't like you much."

"Do you think I'm anything like that jerk?"

Yeonhee's eyes widened. "No… No, of course not." She sighed. "I suppose it's just horrible childhood memories that distorted my impression of you."

"Sorry, Yeonhee," Luhan apologized. He was already finished with his homework, so he began to fold up the telescope and roll up his parchment.

"For what?"

"For those horrible things that happened to you. And for making you uncomfortable all these years." Luhan stood and began to walk to the exit.

"There's nothing to apologize for," Yeonhee called. "But I forgive you anyway."

Luhan turned around and smiled. It knocked the wind out of her. "Thanks, Yeonhee. Good night."

Yeonhee nodded. "Night, Luhan." The door creaked behind him as he swung it closed, leaving Yeonhee to gaze at the stars.

They twinkled brighter than usual, that night.