Author's notes: daesung is busy, seunghyun is an awkward duck and jiyong is keeping something to himself.

Some of the sentences in this chapter are way too long so lemme know if they get too confusing. If they do, I'll try to rewrite them.

Nothing says October like a bunch of people flooding the Alley.

Daesung hurries, trying to replenish the shelves as quickly as possible while keeping an eye on what wands need replacing but the store isn’t cooperating a lot. Or maybe it’s just screwing with him. During the first few months of his study he honestly thought he was going insane, things were never where he remembered seeing them and not where he left them either. His master had made a casual remark about that happening frequently so he should probably just get used to searching for everything.  The place positively brims with ancient, ritualistic magic and with how many wands must have been stored here throughout the centuries he wouldn’t be surprised if the building has a will of its own.

Another frazzled and frantic customer comes in, talking quickly almost in a panic. Nothing says holiday or event quite like the amount of people walking inside utterly distressed either. You won’t believe the amount of wands that need to be replaced every year, ruined by accidents or spellwork gone wrong or stupid pranks. And it’s not like they’re cheap so Daesung would have thought people were more careful with them – plus, he’s starting to feel genuine anguish whenever he sees a broken wand, like seeing a masterpiece painting torn to shreds.

It’s not as bad as the August rush to be sure but there had still been too many people for Daesung to actually be of much use at the front. Now, however, his master gives him a pointed look so he quickly goes to snatch the measuring tape off the counter before instructing the customer on how to stand. There’s a spell for this, for taking measurements, and it’s much quicker than doing it manually but the entire point of him being in the shop is to learn so he does the task to the best of his ability, discussing the numbers with his master and making a few guesses before being shooed into the back room again.

His eyelids drop all the way down as soon as he sits, elbow on the workbench, face propped on his palm. It’s cold and sort of dark and he’s tired, can almost feel the dust in the room settle down over his bones. During the busiest time of the year Daesung’s studies are put on pause to help out but this is one of those periods where he’s expected to help out and study rigorously, keeping up with both, and the strain gets to him after only a few days. He smiles a little, thinking that his face may look as tired and pale as Youngbae’s right now. In a few seconds he’ll get up to take check of the inventory. In a few-

There’s a tapping at the back window. His eyes remain closed as he waves his wand to open it, only cracking slightly open once the owl flies in and settles down. It’s a big specimen, dark feathered and bright eyed, seemingly holding itself with a regal sort of posture. The curious questions running through his mind don’t have a change to be voiced before he sees the name written down and a slight electrifying shock runs through him. All his previous thoughts of rest are thrown out the window with the parting bird as he quickly gets to the parchment and reads it, once, twice over.

It’s… a weird letter, possibly the weirdest he’s ever gotten. There’s nothing wrong with its content but it sounds overly formal, awkward, rehearsed, like it’s been written and rewritten over and over again. It doesn’t look like something the smiling, pleasant Seunhyun would write and the thought brings a sharp sting of disappointment to his chest. Even the handwriting seems a bit contrived, like when his grade school teachers made him rewrite the text until it looked pretty and presentable enough.

Daesung pushes his feelings down, focusing on the actual contents of the letter instead. Seunhyun hadn’t wanted to seem too upfront about it so he’d waited a couple of days to write, now courteously asking how he’s going, if the shop is doing well and when his next free day is. It takes him a moment to think about it and then he’s cursing internally, remembering how he promised Seungri he’d go to the press party-thing-whatever it was with him. Then there’s hanging out with him and Youngbae the next week but Daesung resolves right there and then to find some free time before that.

His fingers brush over the letter as he wonders how to answer it and how to apologize for having to turn him down again. It’s the finest parchment he’s ever touched and even the ink seems fancy, some parts glowing as they catch the light, making him feel self-conscious about his own writing supplies before he shakes his head, telling himself he’s being completely silly about this. He doesn’t get a chance to wonder aloud where the shop hid the parchment this time before catching the sound of the front door’s bell chiming and standing up to go help again.

His feet stop right outside the door to the entrance as he blinks slowly, taking him the figure standing in the middle of the shop, already in a rapid but casual rapport with his master. The robes stand out as they usually do, a mishmash of styles and colours that shouldn’t look good on anyone but somehow he manages to pull off as usual. “Jiyong?” a smile spreads slowly across his face when the man turns to look at him but abruptly falters. “Wait, what are you doing here? Is there something wrong with your wand?”

Jiyong smiles at him, shaking his head and reaching into a hidden pocket to show him long, smooth maple in perfect condition. His gaze lingers on the carvings, motifs, the subtle grains in light wood for a second before he sighs in relief. “I just need a new holster,” his master turns to go organize some of the boxes, throwing a level gaze at Daesung who just nods since this is well within his capabilities. Their holsters are more expensive than the ones you can get in accessory shops but they’re also much safer and can be made to measure for the witch or wizard and their respective wand, so he’s not entirely surprised that his friend would prefer them.

Laughing, he waves him over to one side of the store, explaining carefully about materials, properties and enchantments, going over what is customizable in each and what they can offer. They settle on something soon enough, to be done overnight, and they’re exchanging money and small banter when Jiyong tilts his head at him and smiles. “You should get a haircut,” Daesung offers a noncommittal sound in reply,  refraining from mentioning that of course he’d say that, he changes his hair three times a month. Magic probably helps and he secretly wonders why more people don’t take advantage of it.

There’s a playful shove at his shoulder, Jiyong smiling and looking at him with glinting eyes like he knows exactly what he’s thinking. Fingers gently sneak into his hair, turning it this way and that, almost as if appraising it somewhat. “It’s getting long,” his friend says, mimicking the same reply he gets from his dad whenever Daesung sends them a picture of himself, making him have to swallow down a reflexive ‘it’s not that long’. “I can cut it for you?” He stares with blinking eyes, surprised at the fact Jiyong knows how to do that before realizing he really shouldn’t be. Still, he hesitates, not sure when he’s going to squeeze this in. Pissing off his master is a bad idea and they’re busy enough that he has less leeway than usual. Between the press thing, hanging out in The Three Broomsticks and somehow finding the time to see Seunhyun…

“I’m not sure I have the time,  Jiyong…” comes the reply, Daesung biting his bottom lip, head working a thousand miles a minute. The former Ravenclaw peers at him for a minute before smiling again, grasping his shoulder. “You don’t need to take time off, I’m coming by to pick the holster tomorrow. I’ll come late and wait for you to lock up,” his first instinct is to turn him down so that Jiyong doesn’t have to bother, but the glint in those eyes remains, telling him that he’s not backing out unless Daesung gives him a firm ‘no, I don’t want to’ so the apprentice nods instead, smiling thankfully.

They haven’t hang out in a while, anyway, and both their houses – the building, in Daesung’s case – are on the Floo Network so the commute late at night isn’t an issue. Besides, it’s probably a good idea to cut his hair before the press party. He nods again and Jiyong returns it, swinging an arm around his shoulder and pulling him closer, patting him with an almost victorious expression on his face. Daesung narrows his eyes at him slightly. It’s not like it’s unusual for the man to make nice gestures or be kind to his friends but he seems accomplished, pleased with himself… suspiciously so.

The door opens again when he’s barely two syllables into his question. His curiosity burns, a vague thought forming at the back of his mind, poking and insisting, a weird sort of feeling like when you know you’ve forgotten something and can’t remember exactly what but the new arrival looks impatient so he merely watches Jiyong smile and wave at him as he leaves, before smiling politely at the frustrated-looking customer. Soon more people start arriving and any questions or suspicions are buried under busywork, money and taking stock. They get a couple of interesting cases, people whose wands aren’t broken but just don’t work well for them. It happens more frequently than one may think, especially around middle age – people change as time goes on and sometimes they just don’t mesh together very well with their wands anymore.

He’s tired enough when he gets home to barely remember using warming spells to keep the place warm, crashing face down into the couch. A groan escapes him after a minute of just lying there, before he shifts to his side, smiling at the sight of D-Lite promptly moving from his perch to the couch, grabbing at the blanket with his break and pulling it up to his owner’s shoulders before climbing onto his arm and ruffling his feathers, getting ready for sleep. Daesung has some letters he really should answer but promptly decides everyone can wait until the morning as an embarrassingly big yawn escapes him.