Author's note: according to word, it only took a little over 33000 words to get here. Finally.

Oh and to clarify, no this fic isn't done, there's a lot of stuff I want to explore and touch on. This is just an important chapter!

Their walk is mostly silent.

It’s not tense, exactly, Seunghyun’s answers are gentle, soft, but he seems to be busy thinking about something and Daesung doesn’t feel like interrupting his thoughts. Getting through The Leaky Cauldron is difficult, packed as it is with people talking and laughing and drinking at the late hour, but they manage, arriving at the wizarding village soon enough and spelling the ash away from their clothes.

The cold is harsh, making him shiver and burrow further inside his jacket, hands shoved deeply into his pockets. His breaths come out pure white, swirling gently as he follows them, looking up at the dark sky. Soon enough it’ll all be covered with snow and he takes a moment to wonder about how weird enchantments and wards in magical places are, because the rain never reaches down to the street but snow seems to have no problem falling down. A brief memory of the enchanted ceiling in the Great Hall flickers across his mind.

They keep walking, steps taking them further and further away from all the little shops and pubs, stopping only when the Shrieking Shack comes into view. He’s relieved when Seunghyun doesn’t attempt to walk any closer; Daesung’s nerves aren’t so much steel as frayed thread. It had been difficult enough for him to get used to the Hogwarts ghosts, he refuses to step any closer to the desolated, rickety old house, regardless of whether it’s truly haunted or not.

“Daesung,” the firm voice startles him, bringing his gaze to the man next to him. Daesung smiles reassuringly and waits for him to continue, noting his furrowed brows and narrowed eyes. There are a lot of things the Hufflepuff still wants to ask him that range from casual to serious but it doesn’t feel like the appropriate time. He’s happy to let him voice whatever seems to be bothering him right now. “Have I been… unclear about my intentions?”

Wait. What? He blinks, confusion shining clear on his face. Intentions? Is there something the Slytherin asked him to do? He can’t for the life of him remember anything like that. Or maybe it’s pureblood speak for something else, something he’s not quite getting at the moment. A sigh brings his attention back to the conversation as Seunghyun looks down, shuffling a bit of dirt around with a foot in an almost painfully timid gesture. “I thought of writing a letter of intent about our courtship but… Jiyong convinced me otherwise.”

A startled, awkward silence falls between them, broken only by their soft breaths. Seunghyun looks paler like this, underneath the moon, skin smooth, jaw and cheekbones sharp and defined, gaze clear when he turns to finally look at him again – and immediately sighs, a dry smile crossing his lips as he catches sight of Daesung’s face, reddening with the effort not to laugh, bottom lip white from the pressure of biting down on it but still unable to keep a giggle or two from escaping. “I see he was right.”

Daesung doesn’t mean to make fun of him or anything, he doesn’t even mean to laugh, but it just sounds utterly ridiculous to his ears. Letter of intent? Courtship? What is he, a nineteenth century damsel? His mirth abruptly ceases as he suddenly recalls the book he borrowed and how some wizarding tradition, particularly those of pureblood families, are really, really old.  As in ridiculously old, a rare few from the time of Merlin still persisting to this day. Guilt creeps up on him, making his gaze lower down to the ground beneath them. “Is that… is that necessary? The letter and all.”

“… no, not really. Perhaps later,” the last bit sounds a bit hesitant but Daesung only nods and doesn’t ask about it. He doesn’t really see so much as feels Seunghyun shift uncomfortable in front of him. The silence can’t be easy to bear but the Slytherin does it, waiting for him to say something in response. “So there’s…” his voice is low, shy, as he breathes and tries to gather a bit of courage. “So there’s nothing stopping us from just… seeing each other?”

His ears pick up on the sharp intake of breath a foot away from him, but don’t hear an exhale. “No. If you’re willing,” the answer is just as low as his question had been, wavering noticeably beneath the seemingly firm tone. Daesung focuses on his own breathing and thinks about every little thing that can go wrong. They might be too different, they might turn out to not be compatible, he doesn’t know anything about Seunghyun’s parents and they may not like him, other purebloods may not approve.

He thinks on all of these things, considers them all and then firmly pushes them aside. Youngbae had berated him before plenty of times for letting his insecurities and anxiety keep him from getting what he wants and he really, really wants this. His smile is as shaky as his curling hands but he does look up, finally meeting Seunghyun’s earnest yet embarrassed gaze. “I would really like that, Seunghyun. If you’re willing, too.”

The moment of utter disbelief at his words lasts only for a couple of seconds and then gloved hands are cradling both his cheeks. They’re shaking, too, the right thumb running soothingly back and forth. Daesung feels his face redden, biting at his lip. His eyes are looking down again and he promptly brings them up once he notices it. Seunghyun is staring at him with so much affection swimming in his eyes, smile so large it’s almost goofy, nose and tip of his ears a bright pink. They gaze at each other, giggles suddenly escaping the both of them.

The pureblood leans closer, brushing his lips against Daesung’s forehead, the gesture both intimate and reverent before just letting their heads rest together, closing his eyes. They’re standing so near and the Hufflepuff can’t seem to make his own eye flutter shut, too busy being mesmerized by that giddy smile, the long eyelashes, the way fingers move to clutch at the back of his head momentarily before relaxing and the back of his neck. It hits him, suddenly, that Seunghyun wants this, wants him, and the realization makes him smile so wide his face starts hurting.

Gloved fingers caress the back of his neck gently as they just stand there, breaths mingling in the cold night air and foreheads pressed together. “I…” Seunghyun still has his eyes closed and he watches with fascination as the pink on his nose spreads slowly to his cheeks for the first time that he’s seen. “I may have purposefully ran into you on our first encounter,” it takes a couple of seconds for the words to click, making him surprised for the third time that day.  He had bumped into him on purpose? What for?

“I had seen you around the Alley a few times but didn’t manage to figure out which days you seemed to walk by. Jiyong helpfully informed me that you worked there,” pressing his lips together but still smiling, Daesung doesn’t interrupt. His Ravenclaw friend’s seemingly random actions make a lot more sense now. “I couldn’t possibly have guessed my feelings for you would develop so quickly. I was curious, however, and wished to approach you but… I had thought suddenly greeting you would be seen as… odd,” this time he opens his mouth to correct him but promptly closes it and thinks.

They had never spoken during Hogwarts, didn’t so much as look at each other at the same time if he recalled correctly, and Seunghyun just greeting and talking with him out of the blue would seem very weird.  Which isn’t to say Daesung would have shunned him or have been rude, the Hufflepuff house did its best to make sure its members were courteous and polite to everyone, but it would have been incredibly awkward and a little tense. Not that the bumping had been a very smooth introduction but it was better than just overly polite, stilled conversation that most likely wouldn’t have gone anywhere.

“… why did you want to speak with me?” that’s the one part he can’t really figure out. Because they hadn’t been anything to each other while in school and surely just seeing him around the Alley wasn’t enough to make him that curious? It has a lot of regulars, after all, especially those that lived and worked there like him. There are even other apprentices from other shops he’s on a casual speaking basis with. Singling him out seems a bit odd, more so from someone who always seems so busy.

Seunghyun’s smile turns soft, slightly embarrassed, but it’s still wide enough to show dimples. “Do you remember career week?” after a second, Daesung nods. Every year Hogwarts has a week during which former students go give speeches about various careers in the wizarding world. It’s open to fifth years and above, since N.E.W.T level classes are particularly important in deciding a profession. He doesn’t remember all of the guests but a few had been quite memorable.

“In my final year, one of the speakers was the team captain for Puddlemere United,” Daesung nods again. She had been an energetic woman and her speech had everyone cheering and clapping loudly, but that isn’t why he remembers it so well. At the end of it she had thrown a quaffle and… “Your friend, Youngbae, he caught the ball,” that’s why. Youngbae was always enthusiastic when the guest speakers came because he loved to see people talking about their passions but catching the quaffle thrown by the captain of his favourite Quidditch team had left him so excited he didn’t know what to do with himself afterwards, other than smiling nonstop.

“You sat next to him, clasping his shoulder and laughing,” Seunghyun finally open his eyes, gaze full of fond remembrance, hands moving to cradle his face again. “I had never seen a smile as bright as yours,” his cheeks flare red hot at the admission but he can’t stop himself from smiling a little bit gentler. The Slytherin had said earlier that he talked with him out of curiosity so it’s unlikely there were any developing feelings back then, but Daesung would never have guessed that he had left an impression.

“I saw glimpses of you throughout the year but a good opportunity never presented itself,” the final year at Hogwarts is actually terribly busy, so that isn’t very surprising. He vaguely remembers the gossip mill saying that Seunghyun would have been placed as Head Boy if he hadn’t give up his prefect position the previous year. No one had known why exactly and the rumours ranged from being busy with family obligations to already secretly working for the Ministry and having to keep a low profile. Daesung hadn’t paid it any attention at the time, not being fond of gossip and being too busy with classes. “When I saw you again at the Alley, I recalled your smile with astonishing clarity.”

His entire face feels like it’s burning up but he can’t bring himself to care, not when Seunghyun’s smiling at him like that and not when it lead to them meeting properly – it still feels a bit silly that the Slytherin would have noticed him at all but maybe that’s his modesty talking again. Daesung can practically feel Youngbae shoving at his shoulder playfully and telling him to enjoy this, so he does, his smile not giving any signs of stopping anytime soon.

Soft lips brush against his forehead again but stay there this time, causing his own heartbeat to drum inside his ears, chasing away the dark and the cold and the freezing breeze until it’s all he can feel and focus on. “Will you be mine, Daesung?” his breath hitches, a knot forming in his throat and he doesn’t trust himself to answer so he just nods instead. The words are as formal as they usually are and always leave him unsure of how to answer but he’s slowly coming to learn it doesn’t matter as long as he does answer. “Will you?”

“Be yours? Yes,” he feels Seunghyun’s mouth smiling against his skin, causing his hands curl around the man’s heavy robes, his eyes finally shutting close, something between giddiness and relief shuddering through him. There will be room for concerns and anxiety later but, for now, Daesung wants nothing more than to just enjoy the moment, feeling both thumbs brushing back and forth gently on his cheeks.  And to think a few weeks ago he didn’t even believe this was possible. Each breath he takes seems to give him a little more courage and after a few he opens his eyes to stare at Seunghyun’s straight on.

“Can I take you out first then, Seunghyun?”