What does one do when one’s best friend has been drugged with a love potion?

{KaiHye}

-0-

She doesn’t notice anything strange until much later. It probably makes her a horrible best friend, but she had been rushing her Charms essay. Jongin's weird tendencies were the last thing on her mind.

“Ji Hye,” Jongin whispers as they reach the Great Hall. His hand finds hers, fingers interlacing.

She shoots him a suspicious look, but Jongin being touchy isn’t overly strange. “What’s up?” she inquires.

He hasn’t been acting like himself, Ji Hye knows. All through breakfast and their morning classes, Jongin has been surprisingly clingy. He doesn’t talk much, but the amount of compliments from his mouth is unnerving. Maybe he hit his head this morning and was a little woozy.

His eyes are bright as he leans in close. “I love you.”

What.

Somewhere behind her, someone falls off the bench, which accurately represents her state of mind right now.

“You… huh?” she utters, extremely confused. It sounds like a joke, but he isn’t doing that thing with his ear when he lies (it’s why she can’t rely on him for pranks). He’s completely serious, but Ji Hye feels like someone is playing a joke on her anyways. Probably the universe.

Nope. She refuses to deal with this right now.

“I’m going to – see Sehun,” she chokes out, snatching her hand away and hurriedly heading towards the Slytherin table. She ignores the stares and the horrible heat in her cheeks, looking for her best friend.

She spots him with arse extraordinaire, Huang Zitao. Part of her doesn’t want to see the toerag, but this is important.

“Help,” she squeaks, shoving a first-year Slytherin out of their seat. She should probably care that she had just interrupted an ickle first year’s lunch, but she can’t think past the panic clouding her mind. She can hear Jongin saying I love you on repeat in her mind. It has the effect of terrifying and worrying her at the same time.

Sehun frowns lightly. “What did you do this time?” he asks flatly, biting into his kidney pie.

“Okay, firstly, I didn’t do anything,” she replies heatedly. She’s offended he always thinks she’s the one who did something. “Secondly, I think Jongin just told me he loved me!”

The Slytherin pauses, forehead creasing. “He told you he… loved you?” he repeats uncertainly. He glances at Tao, who hides a smirk in his cup. Something akin to ice slides down her spine. He wouldn’t. “You didn’t.”

Tao blinks slowly, but there is no innocence in his gaze. There’s something very smug in his expression and if it weren’t for Professor Minho’s warning last week, she would hex him. She might hex him anyway.

“What did you do?” she hisses. If he messed with Jongin, she swears on Merlin’s baggy knickers –

Tao's eyes twinkle and you know what? Screw magic. She’s going to punch his stupid pretty boy face in. Professor had said nothing about punching. “Theoretically, if you slipped a love potion in someone’s drink…” he trails off, but the smile on his lips is enough to tell her what happened.

Sehun lets out a heavy sigh, squeezing his eyes shut. “You did,” he sighs. “Why in Merlin’s name would you do that?”

Tao actually has the gall to shrug and the only reason he’s not in the hospital wing is because Ji Hye is still trying to wrap her mind around the fact that Jongin was slipped a love potion and she had barely noticed.

“Huang, I’m going to kill you,” she announces angrily before lunging for him.

Her shirt chokes her as someone holds her back. The back of her head is promptly whacked and Ji Hye turns with a pout. Luhan is standing over her, a look of disapproval drawn over his features.

“No,” he chides, whacking her once more. “Save it for the pitch! I am not having one of my chasers in detention when the Gryffindor-Slytherin match is next week.”

She lets out a whine. Normally, she’d agree, but not this time. Nobody messes with Jongin and gets away with it.

“But – ”

“No buts!” The captain then proceeds to drag her away from their rivals’ table.

 

 

“What are you doing?”

Ji Hye jumps, whirling around and slapping her hand against Chanyeol's mouth. “Shut it,” she whispers harshly, eyes wide. “He might hear!”

“Who?” Jongdae asks, head tilting in curiosity. “The librarian?”

“No.” She removes her hand from Chanyeol's mouth with a wince. “Jongin.”

“Jongin?” the two of them exclaim, only for Ji Hye to whack them both repeatedly to quiet them down. The Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff share a concerned look as Ji Hye peers around a bookshelf.

“Are you two… fighting or something?” Chanyeol asks unsurely. Jongin and Ji Hye have never fought – unless Quidditch is involved, but that goes without saying. They’ve been close since first year and the thought of the two of them not being on good terms is odd.

“We – no,” she reassures her two friends. They deflate, heaving sighs of relief. She feels bad that she wishes they were fighting. “I – bloody Huang Zitao slipped him a love potion.”

“He what?” Chanyeol exclaims, earning him a glare from the librarian and a book to the head courtesy of Ji Hye. He whimpers, but Ji Hye couldn’t care less. She does briefly inspect the book, hoping Chanyeol's hard head hadn’t damaged it.

“That doesn’t make sense,” Jongdae interjects. “So, what, he’s in love with Tao now?”

That idea makes her sick to the stomach, but it’s hardly better than now. “I wish,” she actually mutters and wow, she really is horrible. “He’s in love with me.”

“Oh.”

“Oh?” she repeats incredulously. “What is oh supposed to mean?”

Jongdae blinks, then looks away. He looks faintly guilty as he crosses his arms. “I just – ” He cuts himself off when Chanyeol elbows him. The Gryffindor looks between them, utterly baffled by their exchange. Nothing makes sense, but everything had stopped making sense when she had found out Tao had slipped Jongin a love potion some time during breakfast.

She doesn’t know why, but rage just floods through her at the thought that Tao had messed with Jongin. She’d rather be hexed than have Jongin brought into whatever rivalry they have. She draws the line at that.

“Nothing,” Chanyeol says hastily, averting his gaze when Ji Hye frowns at him. “So where’s Jongin?”

Ji Hye clears awkwardly. “I, uh, don’t know,” she answers awkwardly. “I’ve sort of been… avoiding him?”

She winces. She’s such a coward. Some Gryffindor she is, she thinks bitterly.

But it’s so strange. He’s so – so bloody considerate of her now and she can’t stand it. And the way he smiles. He looks at her like she hung the sun, moon and stars and she just. No. It has her stomach feeling all funny. Like there are a thousand hippogriffs flying around in there.

Jongdae facepalms and even Chanyeol – sweet, kind, oblivious Chanyeol – grimaces.

“Go talk to the boy,” Jongdae huffs. “All you’re doing is hurting him.”

Ji Hye pales. Merlin, she hadn’t thought of that. That was the last thing she had wanted to do.

“But, I don’t – ” She flails, unable to explain what she’s thinking or feeling. “What do I do?” she asks helplessly.

Jongdae exhales noisily, blowing his fringe away from his eyes. “I don’t know. Talk to him?” he suggests. “He’s your mate, isn’t he?”

“Well, yes – ”

“And I bet it’s just one of those store-bought love potions,” he adds. “Probably won’t last longer than a week. I give it five days tops.”

She looks at him doubtfully. Honestly, what kind of idiot sells love potions? Those things are dangerous.

“Ji Hye!”

And she just freezes. Jongin's there, looking so happy and relieved and she just wants to shoot herself in the foot with a Killing Curse. Or Tao. Yeah, that sounds like a better idea.

“Jongin,” she chokes out. Jongdae's eyebrows attempt to escape into his hair and Chanyeol might actually be laughing. She hates her friends. She needs better ones.

“Where did you go?” Jongin inquires, looking so confused. “I turned around and you just left.”

“I, uh…” She glances at Jongdae, who makes a vague motion that seems to say talk to him, you idiot. “Jongin,” she says gently. “We need to talk.”

“Talk?” He tilts his head and a lock of hair falls into his eyes. She’s been telling him to get a haircut for half a year now, but he never listens. “Okay… here?”

Chanyeol snorts and she accidentally on purpose stomps on his foot.

“Not here,” she says firmly. “Let’s go to the Lake.” Maybe if it all goes wrong, she can jump into the Black Lake and convince the Giant Squid to eat her.

He beams, grabbing her hand. “Okay,” he replies almost shyly.

She leads him out of the library, wishing she knew how to silencio her friends when she hears laughter.

 

 

They sit down at the base of their tree. Well, it’s not really their tree, but they’ve been claiming this spot since first year. It’s a twisted old tree that gives them a view of the castle grounds, as well as the Whomping Willow and the Black Lake. She and Jongin have been frequenting this spot for as long as they’ve been at Hogwarts, with Sehun (and by default, Tao, sadly enough) and the others visiting occasionally.

“Jongin-ah,” she says and he just perks up when she says his name. Her heart clenches and she rubs at her chest absently.

He hums in acknowledgement, resting his head in her lap. It’s – well, it’s not like he never does it, but the knowledge of him having ingested a love potion makes the gesture seem so strange. Suddenly, she has no idea what to with her hands, so she lets them rest awkwardly on the ground by her hips. Jongin doesn’t act like he notices anything is wrong.

“Jongin,” she says firmly and he opens his eyes to meet hers. In the weak autumn sunlight, his eyes look brown. “You – you’re not yourself.”

He purses his lips. “I’m fine,” he replies.

“No – I mean yes, you’re fine, but you’re not you.” She runs a hand through her hair, looking anywhere but at him. She takes a deep breath, looking back down. He has that dumb lovesick smile on his face. It’s annoying that it’s cute. “Tao slipped you a love potion.”

He blinks. “Tao?” he repeats. “Love potion?”

Ji Hye swallows. “Yes.”

He tilts his head. “But I always feel this way around you,” he states. His tone is so matter-of-fact that she actually has to do a double take.

“You always – no, no you don’t.” It’s the love potion talking, she tells herself.

“But I do,” he insists and Ji Hye just wants to cry.

“Jonginnie…”

He sits up, cupping her cheek so she can’t look away. “Please believe me,” he whispers, looking so forlorn and wistful.

“I…”

Then she’s quiet, because Jongin leans forward and captures her lips with his own. She freezes, her breath caught in her lungs. She can’t really see his face, but she can make out his eyelashes against his cheek, his always too expressive eyes closed. He presses his lips against hers harder and Ji Hye’s eyes flutter shut too as she melts against him.

 

 

There’s a horde of crazy people chasing after her.

Ji Hye curses, rounding the corner and skidding a little from how fast she’s gone. She wishes she had some kind of invisibility cloak right now, because it would be ing useful right about now.

“Bloody fangirls,” she pants, diving into an alcove and watching as the crowd of irate girls stomp past. Ji Hye could probably hex all of them into next week, but she’d rather not chance it. She glances at her watch, groaning when she realises she’s late for Quidditch practice. Either way, she’s a dead witch walking.

She pokes her head out carefully, making sure Jongin's rabid fangirls aren’t anywhere nearby. They’ll probably pounce again when they realise she needs to be at practice, but that’s where her team comes into play. If anything, Luhan yelling at them might deter them from going after her while they have a game soon.

Any time after that is fair game, though.

She runs a hand through her hair as she makes her way to the Quidditch pitch, trying to catch her breath. It’s only been a day, but word of Jongin kissing her at the Black Lake spread fast. Her cheeks redden at the memory.

She hadn’t meant to kiss him – or be kissed by him, for that matter. It just – it turned out that way and whenever she told him his feelings were because of the love potion, he’d just shake his head and tell her that wasn’t true. After the first seventeen times, she just gave up.

Now… she has no idea what they are. She’s trying to keep things normal, but it’s hard. There’s Jongin, who’s just so bloody nice. He’s – he’d be a great boyfriend, she thinks with a sigh. When he’s not being stupid, he’s great. Even when he’s stupid, he’s still great. In a completely different way, of course.

But she’s not used to that. This isn’t the same Jongin who snarks with her, who sneers at Sehun and laughs at her lame jokes. This Jongin is a stranger; he isn’t her Jongin. It’s only been two days, but she misses him already. It’s funny and a little awful – her best friend is right next to her, but she misses him.

When she walks onto the Quidditch pitch, Luhan doesn’t yell at her immediately and that is what scares her. He just stands by the entrance of the locker room, arms crossed and lips drawn into a bewildered frown.

“Is there a problem?” she asks, smirking half-heartedly.

Luhan immediately grabs her arm and drags her into the locker room, where the rest of the team is more or less ready. “Why,” he demands, “are there girls threatening to murder my Chaser?”

She smiles nervously. “I don’t know, I didn’t know people were threatening Sunyoung.” He smacks the back of her head and yeah, she probably deserved that.

“Explain.”

“Um…”

“It’s my fault,” Jongin pipes up. He notices her looking at him and sends her a smile. It’s not much – just a quirk of the lips – but it has something warm blossoming in her chest. “Sorry.”

Luhan is suspicious, but mostly exasperated. “Of course it’s you two,” he mutters with a shake of his head. “It’s always you two.”

“I resent that,” she sputters, only to have her Quidditch robe thrown in her face courtesy of Sunyoung.

“Just get dressed,” she orders playfully, grabbing her broom and following the team captain out of the room. The rest of the team files out after them until only Ji Hye and Jongin are left.

“Are you okay?” he asks, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear. She flushes, clearing so she doesn’t sound weird.

“Yeah, definitely,” she answers airily. She sounds weird anyway. “Just, you know, ran through half the school avoiding fangirls.”

Jongin winces, grinning apologetically. A small part of her melts. “Sorry,” he murmurs, leaning his forehead against hers.

“N-no problem,” she stammers, heart beating uncomfortably fast. Must be from all the running. “I should get – get changed. Yeah.”

Ji Hye is a Gryffindor. She refuses to say she’s running away (even though that’s exactly what she’s doing).

 

 

Ji Hye yawns, nearly falling asleep on her Herbology essay. The only thing keeping her awake is Jongin, who prods her every time her head nods. It’s eleven in the morning on a Saturday and they’re hidden in a corner of the library, working on homework.

Ji Hye would rather go to Quidditch practice. Oh, wait; they have that too, in the afternoon. Ugh. The trials of being part of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Luhan really, really wants to win the Cup this year and he’ll stop at nothing. The menace.

“I don’t want to do this anymore,” she whines, head thunking onto the table as she pushes away her Herbology textbook. She’s read enough of mandrakes to want to hear its cry.

Jongin lets out a soft laugh, glancing towards the librarian’s desk to make sure he’s not heard. “You’re almost done,” he coaxes. “Then we can get lunch.”

She glances at the clock, groaning when she realises they have Quidditch practice almost directly afterwards.

“I can’t go on,” she moans.

“Not even for me?” There’s gentle teasing in his voice as he places his face directly in front of hers. He’s so close, she can count his eyelashes.

Ji Hye immediately colours. The potion must be wearing off, because this is the closest to her Jongin he’s been in three days.

“Not even for you,” she replies petulantly, turning her head away so he can’t see her face. When he gets back to normal, he’s going to take the mickey out of her for that. Kim Jongin does not make her blush. He’s her stupid best friend, now until forever.

The prat takes that chance to drive his fingers into her sides, causing a squeal to escape her lips. The librarian appears instantly (Ji Hye swears she can apparate, even if apparating isn’t possible on Hogwarts grounds) with a severe frown and a finger on her lips.

“Shh!”

“Sorry,” Ji Hye whispers to compensate for her loudness earlier. Next to her, she can feel Jongin's shoulders shaking from suppressed laughter. When the librarian slinks away, her hand whips out and whacks the back of his head.

“What was that for?” she demands. When he just rewards her with a chuckle, she hits him again, just because.

“Stop,” he laughs, grabbing her hand before she can hit him again. He takes that opportunity to interlace their fingers together so she can’t move. “You’re cute when you’re flustered.”

“Well, I never,” she sputters indignantly. She knows her cheeks are crimson, but it’s all Jongin's fault. She’s gone red so much in the past three days alone she’s surprised she hasn’t burst a blood vessel.

His eyes twinkle as he brushes her cheek with his thumb, probably feeling the heat. He looks so happy and there’s a thousand hippogriffs – no, dragons in her stomach now. His face is getting closer; oh, is he going to kiss her again? She doesn’t know what to do. Should she pull away? Or should she pull him closer, because he’s taking too bloody long –

“Ji Hye-yah,” he breathes and she looks up from where she had been staring at his lips, the heat in her cheeks increasing exponentially. “Go to Hogsmeade with me?”

And she wants to ask “like on a date?” but of course it’s supposed to be a date. Jongin's still high on some stupid love potion Tao had given him and –

And by Hogsmeade, it’ll have long worn off. That’s – that’s a good thing. Things will be back to normal and they’ll go to the same places they always go on Hogsmeade weekend and it’ll be normal.

She leans back a little. She has to remember that all of this – the hand holding, the smiles, the caring – is the result of a love potion. It’s not real – and she doesn’t want it to be. This is not her Jongin, she reminds herself firmly.

“Of course,” she replies, smiling faintly at how happy he looks. She had very nearly added, “We always go together,” but stops herself. She doesn’t know why.

 

 

Ji Hye taps her foot, glancing at the clock. Jongin's fifteen minutes late and it’s not like him; even pre-love potion, he’s never one to be late for food.

Minseok makes his way down the stairs and Ji Hye waves him over. “Have you seen Jongin?” she asks, a hint of exasperation in her voice.

Minseok raises his eyebrows, shaking his head. “Can’t say I have,” he replies ruefully. “Maybe you should check in on him?”

She lets out a sigh, remembering to smile at Minseok as she climbs the stairs of the boys’ rooms. She passes a few of her friends, even Luhan at one point.

“Where the hell is Jongin?” the sixth-year demands.

“Probably still in bed,” she replies drily.

“If he’s sick – ”

Priorities, she thinks. He needs to sort out his priorities. “He won’t be,” she assures him with a pat on the shoulder. She leaves him before he can yell more, knocking on the door leading to Jongin's dorm.

She creaks the door open when no one answers, squinting in the darkness. All the beds are empty, except one.

“Kim Jongin,” she calls out, mildly irritated. “Get your arse out of bed.”

There’s a groan from the lump that is Jongin. The lump moves, but doesn’t get out of bed. She lets out another sigh, making her way through the mess that is a boy’s dorm.

She pokes him with her wand, earning her another groan.

“Merlin, my head,” Jongin moans, his face reluctantly poking out from his comforters. “What happened?” He opens his eyes blearily and there’s only confusion. There’s no love, no giddy feeling in his eyes and even if her chest feels hollow, it’s the best thing she’s seen all week.

“Jongin,” she shrieks, tackling him onto his bed as he attempts to sit up. He ends up on his back, breath rushing out of him as her knee collides with his gut. She should care, probably. “Thank Merlin, you’re back!”

“Ow, what the – back?” he asks, hands on her hips so she’ll stop bouncing on his bed. He squints up at her. “Where the hell did I go?”

“Nowhere – sort of,” she replies breathlessly, squishing his cheeks between her hands. It’s her Jongin again, the Jongin she doesn’t have to worry about. “First things first, breakfast. I’ll explain everything over toast and eggs.”

“Well, okay – Ji, are you crying?”

Jongin is a little blurry, so she must be. She hides her face in his collarbone; she can’t let him see her like this. She doesn’t know why she’s crying – maybe it’s from the relief of having her best friend back after four days (of course she had been counting down the days she hadn’t had Jongin with her, the way she does during the holidays they don’t spend together). Either way, there are tears leaking out of her eyes and her hands are shaking where they’re balled into Jongin's sleep shirt.

He the top of her head and it’s so like the other Jongin, but it’s her Jongin and Merlin, she’s such a wimp. “Hey, it’s okay,” Jongin says softly, rubbing her back. “It’s okay. I’m okay.”

“It’s so stupid,” she chokes out. “So stupid.”

“Are we talking about you or me?”

She lets out a watery laugh. “Both.” She sits up, scrubbing her face free of tears. “You should get dressed. But hurry up. I’m hungry.”

She hurries out of the room before he can realise she’s crying again.

 

 

“Love potion?!” Jongin exclaims, nearly missing a step and plummeting to his death. Ji Hye rolls her eyes, grabbing the back of his shirt before he meets his untimely demise. He’s really lucky he has a friend like her, or he’d probably be dead by now.

“What a prat,” Ji Hye huffs. “I can’t believe Tao actually did that.”

Jongin scratches the back of his head. “And who was I stupid over?”

“Uh…”

He’s looking at her expectantly, and why shouldn’t he? It’s a simple question. The answer is pretty easy (me). Nonetheless, the words stick in . Jongin's impromptu confession the First Day (and although there are many first days, there is only one that deserves capitalisation) rings through her mind and she can’t look at him.

“It wasn’t…” The absolute horror in his voice has her whipping her head towards him. He’s pale beneath the tanned skin, looking half a step away from a heart attack. “Merlin’s baggy knickers, it wasn’t Tao, was it?”

The idea is actually hilarious and Ji Hye has to stifle a laugh. He glares at her when he notices, shoving her into the banister.

“No,” she wheezes out.

“Then who was it?”

She stops laughing. Suddenly, it’s not funny anymore.

“Just, you know,” she mumbles, fidgeting with the hem of her sweater. She twirls a lock of hair around her finger. “Me.”

“Who?” he asks, eyebrows furrowing. He leans in a little closer and if Ji Hye were more skittish, she might have stepped back.

In a louder voice, she repeats, “Me.”

She bites her lip, trying to gauge his reaction. A strange emotion flickers in his eyes before it’s gone. He sends her a teasing smirk.

“No way,” he chortles. “You’re kidding, right?”

Ji Hye laughs weakly, looking down at the stairs. When did the trip down to the Great Hall take so long? “Yeah… no.”

“You’re… not kidding.”

She sends him a half-hearted smile. “Kind of wish I was, mate,” she teases, trying not to wince at how forced calling him mate had sounded. “Don’t – don’t ever fall in love with me. It’s creepy.”

Jongin's grin falters when he realises she’s not joking. He winces. “Bloody hell, what did I do?”

She doesn’t know where to start. Does she start with him blurting out I love you or all the times he had worried over her too much? Or should she talk about her avoiding him and the kiss they shared by the Black Lake (as well as further kissing attempts that she had, in her opinion, rather skilfully avoided)? Or does she skip past all that and tell him about the weird feelings seeing him like that had caused in her – the worry, the strange feeling in her stomach, even the warmth in her chest that made it feel too full sometimes?

They reach the Great Hall then and it takes everything in Ji Hye to hold back her sigh of relief. “Well, I don’t know where to begin,” she finally says, not knowing what else to say.

Their conversation is cut short when Chanyeol suddenly barrels into Jongin, sweeping the Gryffindor off his feet. “You’re back,” the Hufflepuff exclaims happily. “Look at you, all normal and stuff!”

“I think you’re killing him,” Jongdae comments lazily. He glances over at Ji Hye, something wicked in his smile. He really should have been placed in Slytherin. “Then again, you’ve been giving Jiji bear a lot of grief.”

“Shut up.”

Jongin extricates himself from Chanyeol's clutches, eyes wide. “What the hell did I do?” he demands.

Jongdae raises an eyebrow slowly. Ji Hye does a very good job at avoiding everyone’s gaze.

“What can you remember?” the Ravenclaw inquires, gazing at Jongin curiously.

Jongin frowns, glancing at Ji Hye. He shrugs helplessly. “I don’t know… breakfast?” He pauses, looking faintly panicked. “What day is it?!”

The three friends share a look. Jongdae gives her a look that says you didn’t tell him? She shakes her head slightly. Of course she didn’t tell him; they were in the middle of an awkward conversation where Ji Hye admits Jongin had been in stupid puppy love with her for four days.

“Er, Sunday,” Ji Hye says slowly.

“Sunday!” Jongin exclaims.

He looks faint, so Ji Hye immediately leads him to the nearest bench. She can’t help but hover, the worry that’s been coiled deep in her belly the past four days taking its own sweet time to disappear.

Jongdae meanders over, tugged by Chanyeol, but she can see he’s not really there with them. His head is in a separate room, thinking of the conundrum that is Jongin's temporary memory loss. It’s very… Ravenclaw.

“Is that normal?” Chanyeol wonders aloud, peering at Jongin worriedly.

A bunch of Gryffindor first and second years are staring warily at the odd collection of fifth years, but the four of them are used to that, Jongin and Ji Hye more so. After all, it’s a sight to see Ji Hye, Jongin, Sehun and Tao sit together and try not to kill each other.

“Don’t know. Don’t really have anyone to corroborate the facts. Maybe the memories will come back in trickles,” he muses with a shrug. “We’ll see. Now, I want food.”

He turns away without much fanfare and Chanyeol blinks after him. “Well, that’s my cue,” the Hufflepuff says cheerfully. He gives Jongin one last pat then trounces away to his own table.

“We have weird friends,” Jongin states as Ji Hye slips in next to him.

She smirks, knocking into his shoulder. “You’re telling me you just realised? Where have you been the past five years?”

Jongin snorts and his amusement eases the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.

“By your side. Now and forever,” he teases, fluttering his eyelashes playfully.

Ji Hye’s laughter dies in . It’s the kind of jokes she and Jongin are constantly throwing around, but it feels… different, in light of recent events.

Because just yesterday, Jongin would have said that same cheesy line and meant it.

She doesn’t know why, but that bothers her somehow. She forces a grin, hoping he doesn’t notice her reaction, but he does. His smile drops, concern overtaking his handsome features.

Wait, what?

“Are you okay?” he asks, placing a hand on her forearm. The gesture isn’t odd – it’s not even out of place – but Ji Hye finds herself shaking off his touch.

“Uh, you know what? I’m not so hungry after all,” she says, forcing her tone to remain light. “And I just remembered – I need to send a letter back home. So.”

Jongin glances at her empty plate. “Really? But you haven’t – ”

“I’ll see you later.”

 

 

She doesn’t know why the sorting hat put her in Gryffindor. If anything, the past week has shown her she has no bravery whatsoever. Ji Hye sighs into her scarf, letter clutched to her chest. She hadn’t been lying when she said she needed to send a letter, but it was an excuse nonetheless.

“Stupid,” she mutters to herself, pushing open the door to the Owlery. And stops.

Tao turns from where he had been feeding his owl, a Hawk Owl that looks as deadly as its owner. Ji Hye hides a scowl, determined to ignore him. He’s not worth it, she tells herself. Not worth it at all.

She brushes past him, heading to the hole she knows her owl, Yoora, likes to huddle in.

“Not going to hex at me?”

She whirls around, glaring at Tao. The Slytherin smirks, leaning against the wall. She’s not above hoping he’ll find owl poop on his shirt later.

“I should,” she says heatedly, “but I won’t.”

He raises an eyebrow. “And why is that?”

She lets a smirk form, an almost cocky air materialising around her. “Beating you in Quidditch is more than enough for me.”

Tao narrows his eyes. “I’d like to see you try, Gryffindork.”

“I won’t have to try,” she retorts. “I already know we’ll win. Now, buzz off. I don’t want to see your face more than I already do.” She turns her back to him, dismissive. However, she doesn’t hear footsteps. She tries not to let it unnerve her as she hands Yoora her letter with a quiet order.

As she leans against the window to watch her owl fly away, she lets out a sigh.

“What is it?” she asks tersely. She doesn’t have to turn to know Tao is still there.

“Don’t have anything to say,” he replies. She can feel his gaze boring into her back, but she refuses to meet his eyes. “But – ” Ji Hye suppresses a sigh, “you wonder why the potion lasted so long?”

She frowns, turning back to him at the sudden question. “What are you talking about?”

His smirk is still in place, but there’s something serious in his eyes. “The potion was weak,” he clarifies. “It should have lasted a day, but it lasted four. Why’s that?”

For once, she’s speechless. What is that even supposed to mean? And what does it have to do with her? He could have just miscalculated the dosage. Yeah, that was probably it. Potions was never one of his strongest subjects.

He smiles thinly, no warmth in the gesture. Not for the first time, Ji Hye wonders how Sehun can be friends with such a cold-blooded snake. “Knut for thought,” he says cheerfully before sauntering off.

She glares at his retreating back. Ji Hye’s not one to hate another person, but Huang Zitao makes it tempting. She scowls at him, letting out a huff. Tao was always very good at annoying the magic out of her.

“Should have lasted a day,” she murmurs to herself. “What is he going on about?”

The door swings open once more and she’s ready to yell at whoever it is, but the sight of the figure at the door causes the words to die in .

“Jongin,” she croaks out with an awkward smile. “What’s up?”

There’s something dark in his features as he gazes at her. His chest rises and falls, as if he had run to the Owlery.

“Was – was that Huang Zitao?” he pants.

“Yes.” She musters a grin. “I didn’t hex him, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“I could see that.” He shoots her a strange look. It’s one she can’t decipher, which is an odd occurrence. She could always understand him so well. “Was he – you know what, never mind.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “Merlin, Ji, why didn’t you tell me?”

Wait. Now she’s confused.

“Tell you what?” she asks, forehead creasing.

“I – ” He cuts himself off, exhaling sharply. “I remember. Some of it. Not all, but enough.”

Heat invades her cheeks as she swiftly looks away, her fingers digging into the hem of her sweater. “Oh,” she breathes. “Wh-which part?”

“You – I kissed you.”

It’s like her insides turned cold. She doesn’t want to have this conversation now – or ever. She’s pretty sure she’s not mentally capable of having a conversation like that.

“Oh,” she replies weakly. “That.”

“That?” Jongin looks distraught; if wasn’t so tight, Ji Hye might laugh. “It’s not nothing, Ji Hye.”

“It doesn’t have to be something,” she says hastily, hands fluttering nervously in front of her before she clasps them. “I mean, we can just – just forget it.”

She blanches. Merlin, if only it were that easy. The problem is that she can’t just forget it. Short of an obliviate, there’s nothing that’ll make her forget the feeling of his lips on hers. And she shouldn’t be thinking that. They’re friends – best friends. They’ve been close since first year and she’s not sure what these… feelings are going to do.

Ugh. Feelings. She’s turning into Soojung.

“Forget it,” he repeats flatly. “Right.” He gestures vaguely at her, leaning against the door frame. “Just – just forget it.” He inhales deeply, a resolved look coming over his face. “Yeah, alright.”

“Al-alright?”

“Alright,” he says firmly. The serious look fades into a smile. “Come on, we’ve got a Charms essay to do, right?”

Ji Hye doesn’t know why, but something in her despairs.

 

 

It’s really too cold to be out by the Black Lake, but there they are. Sehun is being a horrible best friend as usual, doing absolutely nothing while she agonises over the strain in her relationship with Jongin.

“What do I do?” she whines, planting her face between her pages of The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 5. “Sehun!”

The Slytherin lets out a long-suffering sigh, flicking his gaze towards Ji Hye with a bored look. “What do you want me to say?” he retorts. “You know how I feel about it.”

She scowls. Yes, she knows how he feels about it, which is absolutely nothing. “Useless,” she mutters, pulling her scarf to cover her nose.

“Where is he?” Sehun inquires, injecting the proper amount of curiosity into his voice. Ji Hye glances at her watch and shrugs.

Jongin and her share most classes – with the exception of Care of Magical Creatures – and it’s rare to see them without each other. Even with the memory of The Kiss clearly not banished from either of their minds, they still spend almost every waking moment together. However, after Divination, Jongin had made some hodgepodge excuse about needing to get something from the library and that he’d meet her at their tree as usual. Ji Hye had been unconvinced because his ear had done the thing it does when he’s lying. Yet, she hadn’t called him out on it.

“How am I supposed to know? I’m not his keeper,” she replies almost petulantly, flipping through her textbook before shutting it decisively. “What did he mean?”

Sehun twirls his wand lazily, sparks trailing from the tip. He turns his head towards her. “Who?”

“Tao.” She straightens. “When he said the potion was supposed to last a day.”

Sehun’s lips does that thing – the smile that’s not really a smile when he wants to irritate people. She hadn’t realised she was on his list of people he could annoy; it needs to be rectified quickly. “It means what it means, Ji,” he replies casually.

“Sehun…”

“I’m serious.” Sehun straightens from where he had been lounging against the tree. “I saw the bottle. It wasn’t supposed to last so long.” The corner of his lips twitch; Ji Hye knows it’s a sign of concern. “You know, only one thing can amplify the effects of a love potion.”

And Ji Hye knows it too. She’s not brilliant at potions, but she’s better than Jongin and that goes a long way. She knows… but she can’t believe it.

“You’re wrong,” she denies quietly. “He must have messed up.”

He flicks his hair out of his eyes with a sigh. “Would he really?” He pats Ji Hye’s knee. “Or are you just in denial? And I’m not just talking about Jongin.”

She looks away. She can see the Giant Squid lurking under the surface, a dark shadow.

“I can’t. He can’t,” she croaks, her voice hardly above a whisper. “He’s my best friend.”

“But that can always change, yeah?”

The conversation grinds to a halt when Jongin appears, panting like he’s run halfway through the school. Ji Hye banishes all thoughts of feelings, shooting him a playfully irritated look.

“What kept you?” she demands. “It’s not like you have responsibilities.”

Jongin scowls, batting the side of her head as he plops down next to her, as far away from Sehun as physically possible. “Doesn’t mean I can’t stop for a conversation,” he huffs before his eyes slide past Ji Hye to Sehun. “Oh,” he says curtly.

The Slytherin sends the tanned boy a lazy smirk. “Kim, how nice of you to join us,” he replies, only to stand, stretching lazily. “Well, it was nice seeing you panic and all, Ji, but I have to get to Ancient Runes. Ta.”

“How dare – I do not panic,” she calls to his retreating back. He merely raises a hand; it’s a neutral gesture, but it seems mocking somehow. “Git.”

Jongin snorts, pulling out his own textbook. “Pleasant, he is,” he says sarcastically with a roll of his eyes. “Slytherins.”

“Don’t you start,” she warns, jabbing his side. He lets out a squeal, glaring at her. It softens, though, when he notices the grin on her face. “So… who stopped you?”

“Hmm?” he hums distractedly, pulling out his pathetically short Transfiguration essay. “What’s that?”

Ji Hye shifts so she’s facing him. From this angle, she can see his profile thrown into sharp relief in the autumn sunlight. It filters through his hair, making the shades of red in his hair stand out. She shakes her head minutely, as if she could attempt to shake away the thoughts. Unsurprisingly, it doesn’t work.

“You said you were held up by someone,” she prompts, hoping she doesn’t sound too eager. “Luhan hound you about Quidditch practice again?”

“Uh, no. It was – you know Eun Jung?”

“Park Eun Jung?”

“Yeah, her.”

She holds back a frown. Yeah, Ji Hye knows Eun Jung. She’s a Hufflepuff in their year, but they don’t get along. As leader of Jongin's fan club (yes, that is a thing), she’s gotten into a lot of rows with Ji Hye. It’s usually just incessant screaming – nothing that can’t be solved with a simple Levicorpus spell – but she does get on Ji Hye’s nerves.

“What about her?” Ji Hye asks, going for casual and somehow sounding mildly hostile. Damn it.

Jongin scratches the back of his head. Her eyes narrow as a tell-tale blush creeps into his ears. “Oh, she just, you know…” The rest of his sentence degenerates into a mumble, but a few words catch her attention.

“She what?”

He coughs. “Um, asked me to Hogsmeade with her this weekend?” he repeats unsurely.

Her first response is no. Her second is to find that witch (pun intended) and hex her into next week.

 It takes Ji Hye a moment to think and calm the roiling in her stomach. She leans back onto her arm, smiling slightly. “Aw, Jongin got a date,” she teases. She hopes he doesn’t hear how hollow her voice sounds. “Finally grown up, eh?”

He swats at her. “Shut it. I don’t have a date.” He turns away, nose upturned. “I told her I couldn’t.”

“You… told her you couldn’t,” she repeats hesitantly.

“Yeah.” His voice drops as he looks at her. “Yeah. I’m going with you, remember?”

She remembers. How can she forget? But she’s not thinking of the unspoken agreement they’ve had since third year; no, she’s thinking of not-Jongin, gazing at her with shining eyes in a tucked-away corner of the library, his face close as he asks her go to Hogsmeade with me?

“Of course,” she answers belatedly, tucking that thought away for a time other than now. Preferably never. “I couldn’t get rid of you even if I tried.”

He laughs softly. “Not that you would. Right?”

“Right.” And she wonders if he knows just how much she never wants to be rid of him.

 

 

Jongin groans, looking horribly green. “I’m going to be sick,” he moans into the table.

Ji Hye, more than used to his antics pre-game, rolls her eyes. “Don’t be stupid,” she chides. “You’ll be fine.”

“My stomach is churning.”

“Stop being melodramatic.” She pokes his side. He lets out a whimper.

He’s like this every game. He’ll work himself into a tizzy, only to be completely fine once he gets on his broom. It’s exhausting to deal with, but it’s what she signed up for when she decided to be Jongin's best friend and stay his best friend. No one to blame but herself, really.

Chanyeol and Jongdae meander over to their table. They’re decked in their house colours, although Jongdae is holding a banner drenched in red and gold. Ji Hye narrows her eyes when she notices the small flag in Chanyeol's hands.

“Traitor,” she accuses as the Hufflepuff flushes a deep red. He attempts to hide the evidence, but Jongdae grabs the green and silver flag out of his hands with a cackle.

“Aw, ickle Yeollie has a crush,” Jongdae coos, waving the flag in the taller’s face.

“Shut it,” Chanyeol squeaks, swiping for the flag and missing. A faint smile touches Ji Hye’s lips. Jongin, with his face smashed into the table top, doesn’t see the bantering, but as she places her hand on his back to rub, she can feel the tension leave. Her friends are useless, but they have their moments, she supposes.

Chanyeol lets out a small frustrated sigh before knocking his fist onto the top of Jongdae's head, hard. With the height advantage, it’s easy enough and Jongdae lets out a grunt.

“Idiots,” she says fondly.

Chanyeol grins down at her as Jongdae complains about his head.

“Team,” Luhan barks, looking irate. Then again, that’s his default expression when it comes to Quidditch. “Assemble!”

Before Jongdae can make a sarcastic comment, Ji Hye interrupts.

“Well, that’s our cue,” she says, grabbing Jongin by the elbow and hauling him up. “See you later.”

“Good luck!” Jongdae calls to their retreating backs.

“Won’t need it,” she calls back, holding Jongin firmly by the elbow so he won’t get swept away by the crowd. It’s true; they won’t need luck. They’re a highly skilled team who have practiced their arses off.

That doesn’t mean she doesn’t appreciate the sentiment.

Ji Hye’s been on the team since third year, so she’s almost gotten used to the roaring of the crowds and the adrenaline in her veins. Jongin, having only joined this year, isn’t. He’s still pale beneath his tan as they walk onto the pitch.

The weather isn’t that bad. It’s cloudy – which will make finding the Snitch a little harder – but not raining. It doesn’t look like it’ll rain any time soon either, which is a blessing. She’s not sure she’d be able to handle that.

She glances at Sehun as the two Quidditch teams face each other off on the pitch. He sneers at her and she returns it with a snarl. There are no hard feelings, which goes unsaid between the two long-time friends. The two captains shake hands and frankly, Ji Hye is a little impressed the Slytherin team captain doesn’t wince. Luhan has a killer grip.

Madam Jieun looks between the two groups, then blows the whistle, signalling the start of the game. The Quaffle is released and the Bludgers are sent flying.

It’s a blur of movement as Ji Hye kicks off, the wind whistling in her ears. Her hair, tied into a short braid, beats against her back as she receives the Quaffle from Sunyoung, executing a sloth grip roll to avoid the Bludger aimed her way. She speeds across the pitch, only to let out a grunt as Kyungsoo slams into her. There’s an outcry, but no foul has been called, despite the obvious blatching. Perhaps Madam Jieun hadn’t seen it. The Slytherin chaser makes a swipe for the Quaffle, but Ji Hye drops it, grinning at Kyungsoo as Luhan grabs it.

He scowls, knocking against her a little bit more before flying off. There’s a cheer as the Quaffle sails through the hoop, earning Gryffindor ten points.

The rest of the match is a blur of Quaffles and injuries. It’s not the final, but it might as well have been. There’s a scratch on her ankle from where someone had clawed at her as she raced for the goalposts. Her shoulder aches from Kyungsoo's multiple hits. Such a vindictive tiny Chaser, she thinks as Kyungsoo growls at her when she heads for him.

Ji Hye smacks the Quaffle with the of her broom as Kyungsoo makes a toss, letting out a sigh of relief as Sunyoung barely manages to catch it with the tips of her fingers. Kyungsoo's glare brings the expression if looks could kill to her mind.

They’re currently one hundred and twenty to one hundred, with Gryffindor in the lead. Catching the Snitch now could change the tide of the game. With the focus off her, Ji Hye glances at Jongin, flying in the edges of her vision. She’s getting tired; she really hopes he’ll catch the Snitch soon. Frankly, she’ll settle with anyone catching the Snitch right now (although she’ll be in a foul mood if Sehun does, best friend or not).

Sehun dives suddenly and Ji Hye nearly misses the Quaffle Luhan tosses her. She fumbles the catch, darting out of the way before Niel, Slytherin’s other Chaser, snatches it from her. She whizzes through the pitch, Luhan and Sunyoung by her side in a Hawkshead Attacking Formation.

There’s a groan from the crowd, even as Ji Hye tosses the Quaffle to Sunyoung and swerves to avoid the Bludger aimed her way, courtesy of Tao.

“Bloody hell,” she curses as the commentator screams about the Wronski Feint Sehun had executed, very nearly driving Jongin into the pitch.

She turns and there’s a ray of sunlight peeking from behind the crowds as Jongin zooms forward for something. The flash of gold has Ji Hye holding her breath.

She nearly doesn’t see the Bludger aimed straight for her Seeker. It’s a black streak and Jongin's hand curls around the Snitch before the Bludger makes contact with his leg.

Her scream lodges itself in as Jongin is spun, rolling on his broom before falling. Her heart stops and she feels cold. He’s not too high up – not high up at all – so she’s not worried about the fall, but she worries anyway. She’s close enough to hear his groan as he lies on his back, immobile.

“Are you okay?” she shouts, stumbling over her feet as she dismounts before her broom loses momentum.

She falls to her knees next to him, hands fluttering hesitantly. She has no idea what to do, but his face is scrunched up in pain and although she hurts all over, this hurts more.

“Did I catch it?” he asks, clearly dazed. Ji Hye doesn’t know if she wants to laugh or hit someone – probably both. He’s obviously injured and he’s asking about the stupid Snitch.

“Just look in your hand, idiot,” she scolds, cursing the wobble in her voice. Her eyes are tearing up, but she masks it by gently sitting him up. The rest of their team descends on him and there’s a roar as Jongin unclenches his fingers, revealing the fluttering ball in his hands.

Hands grab at him – to lift him up – but Ji Hye is quick to slap them away.

“He’s hurt, idiots,” she yells, hovering protectively over the Seeker. “Honestly!”

“I’m fine,” Jongin pipes up weakly. The only reason she hasn’t whacked him is due to his leg, which is obviously broken.

Before she can say anything – she has no idea what she could possibly say, but none of it sounds good – Madam Jieun has made her way through the crowd. She takes on look at Jongin and immediately calls for the school nurse.

 

 

“Now we’re missing the party,” Ji Hye complains as she sits next to Jongin's bedside. He scowls at her; he probably wants to hit her, but Madam Boa has a stern eye on both of them. On the bright side, Ji Hye won’t can’t do any damage to Jongin.

“Nobody asked you to stay,” Jongin huffs with a pout.

Jongin loves the victory parties more than he likes the matches – probably because there’s no  gut-twisting nervousness that comes with celebrating. Then again, he’s never been averse to grabbing a butterbeer and stealing their favourite seats by the fireplace, even before joining the team.

“Of course I had to,” she retorts. They’re best friends – have been since first year and always will be. Sitting by their bedsides when they’re injured comes with the territory. “Besides, no one asked you to get hurt, idiot.”

“I didn’t ask to get hurt.”

“Could have fooled me.” She sniffs, crossing her arms and leaning back in her chair. “Idiot.”

Jongin's hand snaps out and hits her shoulder. “Stop calling me an idiot.”

“No, I will not. Merlin, do you know how – ” Ji Hye looks away when her voice cracks embarrassingly.

In terms of Quidditch injuries, it hadn’t been that bad. He hadn’t fallen from too high, hadn’t gotten a Bludger to the chest or head and he’d be fine by tomorrow. But knowing all that hadn’t alleviated the tightness in her chest when she’d seen him fall – when she’d seen him get hurt and knew she couldn’t stop it. She’s starting to wonder of all this tightly-coiled worry in her goes much further than friendship.

(And although she won’t admit, it sort of scares her.)

His gaze softens as he reaches out to her. Jongin's hand rests over hers lightly, causing Ji Hye to bite her lip so she won’t do something stupid like cry again.

“I’m sorry,” he says softly. “I hadn’t meant to.”

“I know you hadn’t meant to,” she snaps, her voice too thick to have the effect she intended.

His lips turn up in a half-smile as he nudges her chin. “Wouldn’t kill you to admit you care.”

“It won’t. I do care. Idiot,” she adds, almost as an afterthought. It’s veering into dangerously sappy territory – feelings territory – and she can’t do that.

“Didn’t think I’d hear those words from your lips, Song,” he teases.

“You’re going to be hearing less pleasant words from these lips if you don’t shut your trap.”

He pouts. “Are those the only things I’m going to get from those pretty lips?”

“Well,” she begins indignantly, “if you keep that up – wait, what?”

The conversation grinds to a shuddering halt as Jongin's words register in both their minds. Jongin's eyes widen to impossible sizes; a blush creeps across Ji Hye’s cheeks.

Had he – had he just flirted with her?

It’s not like they don’t flirt. They do (although they haven’t done it much since The Incident, as they’ve taken to calling it), but not like that. It had come out so sincere and Ji Hye’s pretty sure he hadn’t been teasing her (much).

“I, uh – that was – it wasn’t,” Jongin stammers, a crimson blush drawing over his cheeks as well. Ji Hye finds it very difficult to meet his gaze, slipping her hand from underneath his.

“No!” she replies hastily, wincing at the excessive volume. “I mean, I get it. Um, sort of. I just – I think I hear Luhan calling! I’ll – I’ll be back in a mo.”

Ji Hye does not call it a retreat; it’s a tactical removal from the situation.

(She tries not to remind herself that she had walked into the door of the Hospital Wing on the way out.)

 

 

There’s only one word to describe the air between them: Awkward.

They’re so very obviously avoiding the Acromantula in the room. Even Sehun and Tao – who more or less invited themselves – are shooting the two Gryffindors strange looks.

It wasn’t even anything much, Ji Hye sighs to herself as she fiddles with her scarf. It was just a comment that had been spoken a little too soon, in light of recent events. She just wanted everything to be back to normal, although she doesn’t think that’s going to happen any time soon.

It’s all on her end. She’s the one acting awkward. She’s the one who can’t seem to act like herself. She’s also the one who sometimes remembers what Jongin's lips felt like on hers and wonders if it’d feel the same, were she to do it again…

Bloody hell, there goes those strange thoughts again. She doesn’t know why she has them.

Or, she does, but she doesn’t want to.

Merlin’s beard, why did Tao have to slip Jongin the bloody love potion? It’s all his fault they’re like this. Maybe then, Ji Hye wouldn’t have to deal with her stupid feelings –

Except that’s not entirely true. She hides a grimace. She’s been having these feelings for a while now – since the Yule Ball last year, possibly – and this is just making it worse.

Ugh.

“So, where to first?” Jongin asks nervously. He’s not looking at any of them, but his gaze skitters towards Ji Hye only to dart away again.

“Honeydukes,” Sehun announces, stomping towards the candy store. Jongin immediately scowls.

“But it’s crowded,” he argues. His eyes light up. “How about we go to the Shrieking Shack?”

Tao scoffs. “What are you, a third year?” he comments scathingly. “That’s so immature.”

“And going to Honeydukes isn’t?” Jongin retaliates.

Uh oh. She should probably intervene before spells start to fly.

“Why don’t you two go to Honeydukes and Jongin and I go to the Shrieking Shack,” she suggests and, because she can’t resist, “I mean, we don’t want widdle Tao to get scared, do we?”

Tao's nostril flares as he takes a threatening step towards her. “Why you little half-blood – ”

A lesser being would be scared, but Ji Hye’s been dealing with Tao since first year. In fact, she tries to rile him up. It’s fun.

Sehun grasps Tao's arm before any damage can be done. “Fine by me,” the pale Slytherin sighs. “Come on Tao, before they’re out of liquorice wands.”

“Meet at The Three Broomsticks later,” she calls out to them. She tugs on Jongin's sleeve, jerking her head towards the Shrieking Shack. “Let’s go.”

Jongin's scowl doesn’t fade, even when they’re standing in front of the dilapidated shack. “I don’t understand how you can stand them,” he mutters. He sounds like a sulking child.

“I live with Slytherins, remember?” she reminds him, knocking into his shoulder. He makes a vague noise in the back of his throat.

They stare at the supposedly haunted house, the air growing stale between them. At the time, separating the Slytherins from the Gryffindors had been a brilliant idea, but now Ji Hye is left alone with Jongin with nothing to say. It’s an odd feeling – she hates it.

“So – ”

“Are you – ?”

Both of them start at the same time, only to stop short. Ji Hye reddens, playing with the loose threads in her scarf. I hate this, she thinks ruefully as Jongin's hand rises to the back of his neck in an embarrassed gesture.

“You go first,” Ji Hye whispers. Merlin, she sounds like a mouse.

He clears his throat, pink dusting across his cheekbones. “Right,” he mutters. “Are you – you’re not… avoiding me, are you?”

Her eyes widen. “No,” she lies. “Not at all.”

Unsurprisingly, Jongin narrows his eyes at her. “Liar,” he accuses. “You are.”

“I – sorry.” She grimaces. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me these days.”

“Don’t you?”

“What – ” she’s baffled, “what’s that supposed to mean?”

He stares at her, eyes intense. It’s not a glare, but it might as well be with how uncomfortable and guilty it makes her feel. He opens his mouth and she thinks he’s going to say something, but he shakes his head and starts to walk away.

“Wait!” she shouts, running after him. She curses his long legs as she pants slightly to reach him, then puts on a burst of speed to stand in his path.

“What?” Jongin snaps, crossing his arms in a defensive gesture.

“I…  I have no excuses,” she blurts. She should probably think things through before she, you know, does things. “It’s just – I’ve been thinking a lot and – ”

“Good for you. Congratulations on the thinking!”

He brushes past her, completely uncharacteristic. Ji Hye’s so shocked she almost let him walk, but a simple immobulus deals with that. Jongin glowers, hand reaching for his wand even as she Summons it to herself.

“What did he mean?” she demands, as if Jongin has all the answers. And he does.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Tao's stupid love potion,” she elaborates, eyes narrowing as he immediately avoids her gaze. “When you were… under, he – you said some things. You said ‘I always feel this way around you’. What did he – you mean?”

That… had not been what she was going to say. She was going to tell him about the amplified effects of the love potion, but that little snippet had suddenly made itself known. She had conveniently forgotten about it, but with Jongin in front of her – made to listen to her – she can remember it clearly.

Jongin is silent. He’s not looking at her, so she steps in close, until he has to look at her; for once, she’s glad she’s so much shorter than him because this way, he can’t escape. She holds his head steady so he meets her gaze (so she can read every flicker, every emotion in his chocolate eyes).

“Jongin,” she says gently. He rips his face out of her grasp and she lets him.

“Let it go, Ji Hye,” he says sharply, jaw clenching. “Just – don’t.” There’s something hollow in his voice as he adds, “You already know.”

“I don’t,” she denies. “I don’t.”

Jongin laughs, but there’s nothing funny. Her lips press into a line. “You’re not an idiot. You do. You just don’t want to.”

“Then maybe I want to hear it from you.”

He stares at her, jaw working. She sees the muscle flex. He can’t walk away and she won’t let him – stalemate.

“I like you,” he says lowly, like it’s a secret that others can’t know. “Not just – like you. I – I fancy you, Ji. I want to hold your hand and kiss you and – I don’t know. Seeing you makes my heart beat fast and – ” He shrugs. “I just want to take care of you.”

Well.

He’s given her exactly what she asked for, that’s for sure. It’s not what she expected, but it’s what she asked for – the truth.

There are so many questions running through her mind – how long, how, why – but the most important one, she thinks, is do I fancy him back?

The answer comes surprisingly easy. Almost stupidly so.

Ji Hye throws herself at him, arms going around his neck to tug him down. Her lips find his. Yes, she sighs to herself, this is right.

Jongin is frozen under her lips. Maybe… maybe it’s too sudden. Or maybe he doesn’t really feel the way she thinks he does.

She starts to pull back, but Jongin's hands bury themselves in her hair, pulling her closer.

They pull back seconds later, breathing heavily. It’s nothing but the slide of lips, but the intensity makes Ji Hye’s knees weak.

“So you – I mean – does this mean – ”

She rolls her eyes. “I like you too, idiot,” she says fondly, squeezing him a little closer. “Dumb and all.”

He grins when he previously might have scowled. “I can’t even be offended by that.” He pointedly looks down at his feet. “So… you’re going to let me go, right?”

She laughs in response.

“Seriously, Ji Hye. Release the charm. Ji – Ji Hye? Don’t go! You have my wand – Song Ji Hye!”

-0-

I'm pretty sure part of the reason this AU is even finished is because my friend kept pestering me to recently. So, there you go. I hope you're happy (you'd better be happy).

But I did have a lot of fun with this AU. KaiHye was never in the books for Hogwarts!AU, but I'll admit this was fun. And... I got so much second-hand embarrassment from Jongin smh.

Well, I'm going to go cringe rn. Forever. Ugh, fluff.