The voice was unfamiliar to his ears but it sounded beautiful and manly for eleven-year-old boy or was it his senior? He was scared to look up and see the boy because he didn’t want anyone to see him in this state—with puffy red eyes, bawling on the floor alone without anyone by his side, wearing pathetic look, how he wished that he was invisible at that time so nobody would see his ugly face.

He didn’t want others to see his fragile sight because it seemed pathetic and weak. He’d rather run away than facing the boy but the boy would still see his face if he got up from the floor. Everything was too late as he felt a pair of arms wrapped around his shoulders and he didn’t flinch yet he let himself drown in the other’s warm embrace—the person that he didn’t even know then cried harder, not wanting to care about his pride.

The stranger boy rubbed his back softly to subside his sadness and it did work out—feeling a bit relieved, he wrapped his arms around the latter’s waist. He wanted to stay that way for a brief moment because nobody had ever hugged him like that but his mother.

Burying his face in the other chest, he breathed in the stranger boy’s scent. It was sweet like vanilla mixed with chocolate scent; to some extent it calmed him and soothed him—how he wished that it was his father.

“Who are you?” He managed to voice out the thing that bugging him inside with a muffle voice—still in the other’s tight embrace.

Instead of answering him, the boy let out a light chuckle, causing him to frown and feeling a bit scared. It wasn’t a ghost, was it? Was it Dementors—the dark creatures like what has been told by his father, no? Dementors didn’t hug people, right?

“Don’t you feel weird, hugging a stranger?” The boy asked and his voice was melodious, beautiful to his ears.

“I don’t know. I just need someone to be leaned on because I have nobody that I can trust and nobody ever care about me. I’m so pathetic, aren’t I?” He didn’t have a slightest idea why he was being honest to that boy when actually he didn’t even know him nor knowing his existence.

“You can count on me then, I don’t bite plus you don’t have to be scared and act like you’re strong in front of me, just let it out, I’ll always be here for you.”

Listening to those genuine words, Sehun curved his lips up, finally he had someone he could trust and he didn’t feel that the boy was lying to him because it sounded so honest, so sincere to his ears. He wanted to see his face, so he slowly pulled away from the stranger boy’s hug and with his heart beating rather faster under his chest, he looked up to see the stranger’s face only to be greeted with a small smile that carved on a handsome boy’s lips. He has a pair of honey brown eyes with plump lips, sharp nose with V-shaped face and white skin—sitting in front of him.  

“Kris the-person-you-can-count-on Mclaggen, Gryffindor’s—uh, I’m the sophomore here, nice to meet you, Sehun Hyperion Malfoy.”

The Mclaggen’s offered his hand for Sehun to take but he widened his eyes and quite surprised the latter knew him not to mention he just pronounced his name right, also a Gryffindor’s. He had never wanted to be friend with the Gryffindor’s but maybe he could consider Kris as an exception.

“Y-you know me?” He stuttered earning a light chuckle from Kris.

“Of course, at the Great Hall—sorting event, remember? I think the Sorting Hat never call someone’s name with a whisper.”

This time, Sehun was the one who chuckled and took the other’s hand that the latter was offering for God knows how long—for a handshake. Being around the Mclaggen’s made him feel comfortable, like they had known each other for years though the reality was instead but he indeed wanted to know him better or maybe he could consider him as his best friend, later.

He was feeling grateful that Kris was there for him and offering something like you-can-always-lean-on-me things, he didn’t answer it with a yes but smiled—enough for the latter to notice that he was actually agreeing. He told the Mclaggen to keep this as a secret and the tall boy—yes he was taller than him—made a promise without hesitation. Seemed like, he finally had someone who he could trust and someone that would be there when he was sad, that even if he was truly good.

“You want me to walk you to the dorm?”

The awkwardness was still there but Sehun shrugged it off of his mind because he didn’t want to think about Kris Mclaggen as Gryffindor anymore but his friend. The walk to his dormitory took fifteen minutes because the Slytherin dormitory or as known as Slytherin Common Room was found in the dungeons of Hogwarts Castle, and was located underneath the Black Lake—he found himself standing in front of the Slytherin dormitory with the taller boy next to him, feeling slightly awkward.

“So, uh—see you later, maybe?” Sehun hesitated—eyes looking at everywhere but the Mclaggen’s; causing Kris to giggle and ruffled his soft blonde locks enough to make him blush. The Mclaggen seriously had thrown him a spell because yeah, the Malfoy’s just blushed for God’s sake!

“Rest well, I’m going now.” Kris said, flashing a smile that caused the latter to bit his lip and before he turned around, beginning to take his leave, Sehun held him by his wrist—he was surprised to see the Malfoy’s was hanging his head low because everybody knew that the Malfoy’s didn’t feel shy and they were so full of themselves.

“T-thanks for today.” Came a whisper from Sehun but loud enough for Kris to hear to those words of gratitude.

“It’s my pleasure and thanks for the thanks.”

With that, Kris gave him one last hug and took his leave. Though Sehun didn’t reply to his hug and didn’t even glance at him but he knew that the blonde was still feeling awkward of being around him—a complete stranger that suddenly being close to the Malfoy’s not to mention when he came from Slytherin’s rival house.

Sehun could hear the Mclaggen’s footsteps was going farther away from him and it made him let out a sigh because he wanted him to stay but the said boy was a Gryffindor’s, people might see him as a snake in the grass of Slytherin and he didn’t want people to judge him.  

He was standing in front of a stretch of damp stone wall, speaking aloud the password with ‘pureblood’ then a concealed stone slid aside leaving a rectangular hole in the wall leading to the Slytherin common room.

The common room was a dungeon-like room with greenish lamps and chairs. This dungeon extended partway under the lake, giving the light in the room a green tinge. The common room has lots of low backed black and dark green button-tufted, leather sofas; skulls; and dark wood cupboards. It has quite a grand atmosphere, but also quite a cold one.

Sehun walked toward his bed and quickly jump onto it—lying down with the only hope that Kris would keep the secret of seeing him crying. He sighed, staring into the emptiness and he felt his chest tightened as the tears once again ran down—wetting his skin. Wiping away the tears with the back of his hand, he closed his eyes and in a blink of an eyes; he drifted of