Sungyeol is convinced it must be a love potion. 

His Advanced Potions class was working on brewing a few different types in class last week. Ones that are mixed into drinks, others that are baked and cooked into foods. Someone must have accidentally made one that’s especially long lasting and became airborne. (It was probably that Gryffindor that sits at the back of the room and never pays attention.) Sungyeol must have taken a few too many deep breaths. He must have. There’s no other explanation. Why else would he be sitting in the library, despite knowing that he works best in front of the Ravenclaw common room fireplace, only a quarter of the way through his History of Magic essay and attempting (and failing) to casually peer around a shelf of books?

“You’re staring again.”

Sungyeol blinks and turns towards the Slytherin sitting across from him. “What?”

Woohyun shakes his head, smirking. “I said, you’re staring again.”

“I am not.” The Ravenclaw scoffs.

Woohyun’s smirk widens. “Yes, you are.”

“I. Am. Not.”

“Yes. You. Are.” 

“I am not!” 

Sungyeol ducks his face into his essay when heads turn towards him and a few shushes echo through the bookstacks. 

“I am not,” he repeats, much more softly this time. 

Woohyun sends his Ravenclaw friend a look that is half exhausted, half amused. “You know you’re not fooling anyone right?” He glances over at the topic of their conversation. “But, hey, I don’t blame you. He’s cute.”

Sungyeol gapes at Woohyun with abhorrence, a drop of ink dripping from his quill onto his roll of parchment. The Slytherin boy simply wiggles his eyebrows at him and Sungyeol’s lips twist with distaste. 

Sitting a few tables down from the fifth year duo is fourth year Hufflepuff Kim Myungsoo. He is known around the castle for his obvious good looks, alluring eyes and nearly perfect proportions. He appears cold when he’s staring off into space or concentrating on his work. But behind the chiseled face is really a shy and awkward boy. One smile or overly enthusiastic laugh is enough to break the facade Myungsoo probably doesn’t even know he has. And, well Sungyeol may not have a lot of common sense, but he has enough to figure out why so many have taken a liking to the Hufflepuff. 

But if Sungyeol was to be attracted to anything about the boy (not saying that he is attracted, that would just be ridiculous. He’s only having these thoughts because he’s obviously under the influence of a love potion), it would be Myungsoo's brain. Myungsoo is smart. Incredibly smart. Sungyeol has already found that he is brighter than most Ravenclaws just from the one Advanced Potions class they share. He even has a vast knowledge of the Muggle world, being born from two Muggle parents, and excels in Muggle Studies -- or so Sungyeol has heard from other students in the halls.

“He’s not cute,” Sungyeol mumbles. 

Woohyun snorts. “That was the saddest attempt at a lie I have ever seen.”

“But I’m not lying!” Sungyeol insists. “Okay, I acknowledge the fact that the general public would find the physical features of his face to be attractive. But I don’t find him cute, at all. Well, except for when he bites his lip when he’s measuring ingredients in Potions, that’s kind of cute. And maybe the way that he looks so proud of himself when Slughorn compliments him on his brewing technique, sure. Oh, and also --”

Woohyun raises an eyebrow at his friend, a sarcastic remark just threatening to leave his lips. 

Sungyeol presses his lips together, his eyes darting around the room. “I-It’s the love potion talking!” 

Woohyun’s eyebrows disappear even further behind his bangs. “Love potion, huh?” 

Sungyeol nods, resolute. 

“So when you were staring at him with moon eyes during breakfast a few weeks ago, that was the love potion too?” 

The Ravenclaw sputters and quickly turns his head away from the smug Slytherin with a frown. 

As Sungyeol tries to concentrate on not letting his ears turn bright red, he glances at the Hufflepuff who’s hovered over a textbook, wand drawn. A small bird sits on the table in front of Myungsoo and Sungyeol watches in awe as the fourth year waves his wand and taps the bird lightly on its head. It immediately transforms into a guinea pig. But instead of being intrigued by the younger’s skill and intellect in yet another subject (Seriously though, why isn’t this kid in Ravenclaw?), Sungyeol finds himself entranced by the boy himself as he carefully takes the guinea pig into his palms and its head gently with his thumb. The smile on Myungsoo’s face and the faint dip of a dimple on his right cheek has bells going off in Sungyeol’s head and his heart doing weird things in his chest. Stupid love potion. 

“You’re staring again.” 

Stupid, stupid love potion. 

“Shut up,” Sungyeol mutters and shoves his friend’s shoulder. “I’m telling you. It’s a love potion. I’m sure it is.” 

“Whatever you say. You’re the smart one out of the two of us.”

“Exactly. There’s no other explanation. Now how do I just get the effects to wear off?” Sungyeol narrows his eyes and taps his quill against his chin as he stares off into space. 

Woohyun shakes his head and stands up from his chair, tucking his Divinations textbook under his arm. “You know, you’re so dumb sometimes, I just want to whack a bludger at you.” 

Sungyeol jerks back to reality and stares after Woohyun’s retreating figure, confused.

He always thought Woohyun was a Chaser. 
 

Sungyeol decides that avoidance is his best bet to ridding himself of the effects of this incessant love curse. And he thinks he does a pretty good job at it too. He takes different routes to his classes, avoiding the kitchen and subsequently the staircase that leads down to the Hufflepuff dormitory. He studies in his room or in the Ravenclaw common room instead of the library and eats early or late meals to avoid any sort of contact with the fourth year. 

His efforts pay off and the effects of the potion must have worn off because he finds himself not thinking about Myungsoo at all for a few days. And he’s pretty sure he’s ridden his system of any artificial infatuation for good by the time their next Potions lesson rolls around. He’s golden. He’s home free, back to his simple life of studying for the upcoming O.W.Ls and getting into mild mischief with Woohyun. 

But whether it’s cruel fate, a horrible prophecy, or that Muggle concept of Murphy's Law, Myungsoo stumbles into the Potions dungeon five minutes late. His usual seat towards the back of the class is taken and one of the only few vacant, of course, just has to be right next to Sungyeol. He feels a familiar swooping feeling in his stomach and he curses the high heavens because what kind of cruel love potion is this that the effects wear off for a few days and then return like a tidal wave? 

(But in all honesty, Sungyeol has known for a while that even the strongest love potion only lasts for a couple of days and that what he’s feeling isn’t magically induced. He just refuses to accept it.)

The fifth year stares intently at the tassel that’s hanging from Slughorn’s ridiculous hat, contentrating on every word the professor says instead of the boy walking in his direction. 

There’s an open seat next to Chanhee. Sit next to Chanhee. Please don’t sit here, sit next to Chanhee. Please sit next to Chanhee. Please sit next to - 

“Um, is this seat taken?” 

Damn it. 

Sungyeol stiffly turns his head towards Myungsoo. His heart picks up speed and his hands start to get clammy when he looks up at the boy standing awkwardly across the table. 

“Go right ahead,” he says as evenly as he possibly can. 

Myungsoo visibly relaxes as he plops down on the wooden stool. He gives Sungyeol a sheepish smile. “Thanks.” 

Sungyeol gives him a curt nod and turns back towards their professor.

“The Draught of Peace is often used to relieve one of anxiety and agitation.”

Just what I need, Sungyeol snorts to himself. 

“But be careful,” Slughorn warns, “Should you make a mistake, the recipient of the potion could potentially be sent into a deep, sometimes irreversible sleep. Granted, he wouldn’t die, but he will basically be a useless vegetable for the rest of his life.”

The students look at each other, horrified, as the Potions Master chuckles to himself. 

“Alright then, open your books to page 50 and get to work! You have until the end of the period.” 

A quiet buzz of murmurs and grumbles fill the dungeon as the class is set free. 

Sungyeol slowly opens his textbook and flips to the assigned page as he chants One hour, just one hour, you can do this over and over and in his head. His eyes flicker towards Myungsoo who is already adding powdered moonstone into his cauldron. Sungyeol sighs and looks around at the jars of ingredients laid in front of him. Maybe making this potion will be therapeutic, calm his nerves a bit and take his mind off the cute (no, not cute) fourth year sitting across the workbench. It’s the Draught of Peace. It shouldn’t be that difficult to make, right? 
 

Sungyeol quickly learns that the Draught of Peace is, ironically, quite difficult to make. It actually has caused him more stress than anything. And when Slughorn calls that they have ten minutes left and a few shrieks of panic are heard in response, he’s pretty sure he’s not the only one feeling this way. 

He peers into his cauldron, grimacing at the dingy grey liquid. Compared to the pretty pale blue in Myungsoo’s that just seems to get more and more vibrant with every passing second, his is just quite sad. He’s supposed to be the fifth year, the elder, the Ravenclaw, the one that supposed to be helping others instead of trying to catch up. 

But, alas, there they are. Myungsoo, calmly tidying up his workspace while his perfectly brewed potion simmers, and Sungyeol, desperately trying to adjust the fire and stir in different directions and basically doing anything to get the potion to at least resemble the indicated blue color in his textbook so he can feel a little less of a failure at life.

Sungyeol is just about ready to throw his glass stir onto the ground in frustration when Slughorn walks up to him and peers into his cauldron. He clicks his tongue and shakes his head a little. 

“Needs a little more work, Mr. Lee.” 

“Yes, Professor.” Sungyeol sighs. 

Slughorn moves to the other side of the table and with a delighted smile. 

“Ahhh, Mr. Kim!” He beams with pride and dips a small ladle into the Hufflepuff’s calderon, observing the liquid carefully. “Silvery vapor, perfect consistency, just the right shade of turquoise. Wonderful as always.” 

Myungsoo scratches the back of his head, embarrassed. “Thank you, Professor.” 

“Here, Mr. Lee.” Slughorn suddenly turns towards Sungyeol and holds out the ladle. “Take a sip.” 

“E-Excuse me?” Sungyeol stares at the professor as if he’s finally lost it.

“Professor, I don’t think --” Myungsoo starts but is cut off by a wave of the teacher’s hand. 

“Oh don’t worry, it won’t kill him! Come on, Mr. Lee, open up.” 

At this point, almost all eyes are on the three males and the room is so quiet that crows from outside can be heard. And they’re in a cement dungeon, underground. 

Sungyeol hesitates, meeting Myungsoo’s wary eyes and Slughorn’s deranged ones, before leaning forward and taking a small sip of the potion. The warm liquid slides down his throat and he hopes with all of his being that Myungsoo really is the best Potions student in their class. 

“So, how do you feel?” Slughorn asks with anticipation. 

“I feel,” Sungyeol pauses and tips his head to the side. A dreamy smile stretches across his face. “like I’m a cloud. Floating in the spring sky.”

Myungsoo sighs in relief, the tension bleeding out of his shoulder as Sungyeol giggles a little to himself. 

“See, no harm done!” Slughorn laughs. “Well that’s it for today! Class dismissed!” 

As the students clean their workspaces and pack up their bags, Myungsoo catches Slughorn’s sleeve before the older man has a chance to turn away. 

“Um, Professor, how long is he going to be … like that?” The fourth year points to the Ravenclaw teetering slightly on his feet and humming to himself as he collects his books. 

“Oh, don’t worry about him. With the amount he took, it should only last for about ten minutes, half an hour at most since he's a bit twiggy. Great work today, Mr. Kim.” 

Slughorn pats Myungsoo on his shoulder as he mumbles a thanks. He quickly slings his bag over his shoulder and follows after the Ravenclaw strolling out of the classroom. 
 

Sungyeol feels as if he’s floating. No sinking feeling in his stomach, no erratic heartbeat, no thoughts bouncing around around his brain, no worries on his mind. He hasn’t felt this relaxed in weeks, months even. He doesn’t care that he just failed to make one of the potions that will be on his Potions O.W.L or the fact that he still hasn’t finished his History of Magic essay or even that there’s a good looking Hufflepuff calling him. 

“Sungyeol!”

Said boy slowly turns on his heels and watches Myungsoo jog up to him with a languid smile. “Oh, hey, Myungsoo.” 

They fall into step as they walk up the stairs out of the dungeons. Well, Myungsoo walks, Sungyeol is basically skipping. 

“Sorry about that back there. You know, Slughorn making you drink the Draught and all.” Myungsoo rubs the back of his neck with a laugh. 

A nervous habit, Sungyeol notes. Cute. 

“Nah, it’s all good.” Sungyeol swats the air and stumbles a bit. Myungsoo reaches out to steady him but Sungyeol regains his footing before the younger gets a chance. 

“Are you, uh, sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah, I feel great! Kind of like I’m flying on a unicorn, you know?”

“But, unicorns don’t fly.” Myungsoo says slowly. 

Sungyeol stops short for a second before chuckling. “Right.” 

“You know if you’re not feeling well, I can take you to the Hospital Wing if you want. I mean, it’s kind of my fault you’re like this so --”

Sungyeol cuts off his words by placing a hand on each of the Hufflepuff’s shoulders and looking straight into his eyes. 

“Whoa, calm down, little bumblebee. It’s okay. I feel great. Better than I have in a while. And it’s all thanks to you.” He taps Myungsoo on the tip of his nose and laughs when the younger flinches back slightly. 

“You’re welcome?” Myungsoo says but it comes out more as a question as he stares up at Sungyeol in confusion. 

“Haha you’re funny.” Sungyeol laughs and shoves Myungsoo away playfully, albeit a bit forcefully. The younger stumbles a bit. “We should hang out more.”

Myungsoo stares at Sungyeol like he just grew two heads out of his neck and quickly takes Sungyeol’s arm, pulling him down the corridor. “I think I should take you to the Hospital Wing. The Draught must be messing with your brain now.” 

“No, I’m serious!” Sungyeol yanks Myungsoo to his side and drapes an arm over his shoulders. “I’ve always thought you were a pretty cool guy. How about this weekend?” 

Myungsoo glances at the elder boy, hesitant, before meekly offering, “Uh well, Hufflepuff is playing Slytherin on Saturday.” 

“Perfect.” He gives a thumbs up. “My best friend plays for Slytherin. He kind of resembles a tree, you know. But he’s much shorter.” 

“Uh…” Myungsoo looks around, not knowing how to respond. 

Sungyeol sighs. “Well, I’m going to take a nap now. I’ll see you this weekend.” 

He pats Myungsoo on the cheek and twirls around to head towards the Ravenclaw dormitory, leaving the fourth year to stare after him in complete confusion. 
 

Sungyeol tosses his textbooks into the corner of his dormitory and collapses onto his bed with a content sigh. He tucks his hands behind his head and closes his eyes, imagining himself as a one of those feathers he had to levitate in Charms class all the way back in first year. He smiles to himself. 

Why hasn’t he ever thought of taking the Draught of Peace before? He’s pretty sure he could convince Pomfrey to give him a vial or two, claiming examination stress or something. He feels as if the weight of the world has been lifted off of his shoulders. He’s able to let go of his mistakes without mulling over them for days. He was finally able to have a conversation with someone who wasn’t Woohyun without overthinking his words and stumbling over his sentences. He asked Myungsoo out -- wait.

Sungyeol’s eyes snap open and jolts upright onto his bed. Realization dawns on the Ravenclaw as the potion starts to leave his system. He no longer feels as light as a feather, but more like a sinking stone drowning in the Great Lake of horror and embarrassment. 

He asked Myungsoo out. He asked Myungsoo out. And even worse, Myungsoo said yes. 

Sungyeol stumbles out of his bed and down the stairs, running out of the Ravenclaw dormitory, his mind only yelling --
 

“I’m screwed!” Sungyeol announces as he bursts into the Slytherin common room, “So royally screwed.” 

Woohyun pays no attention to the intruding Ravenclaw who’s throwing himself onto a couch in front of the fire. He simply continues to read his issue of the Daily Prophet from the armchair he’s sitting in. He doesn't even bother to question how Sungyeol managed to get past the stone wall and into the dungeon. 

Sungyeol groans into the leather upholstery. “I’m so screwed.”

“What happened?” Woohyun drawls.

“I asked him out.” 

Woohyun lowers the newspaper to look at his friend. “What?”

“I asked him out,” Sungyeol repeats, his voice muffled by the material of the couch cushion.

“Who?” Woohyun asks, throwing the Daily Prophet issue to the side. 

“Who else?!” Sungyeol almost shrieks, “Myungsoo, of course!” 

“Myungsoo? How did that happen?” 

“It’s all Slughorn and that stupid Draught of Peace’s fault!” the Ravenclaw cries as he tries to bury himself in the silk throw pillows. 

Woohyun’s eyebrows knit together as he picks up the newspaper from the ground and rolls it into a long tube, waving it around like the Sword of Gryffindor. “Slughorn made you ask Myungsoo out? That's kind of disturbing."

“No, Slughorn made me drink the Draught of Peace that Myungsoo brewed and that made me ask him out!” 

“So you’re saying that you asked Myungsoo out because he brewed the potion that you drank?”

“No! The Draught of Peace alleviates anxiety and stress. I was stressed. When I drank the potion that Myungsoo brewed, I no longer felt stressed. And then something came over me and I thought, ‘Hey, why not just ask him out? He’s cute. No harm can be done, right?’. So I did. And now, I’m screwed!” 

Sungyeol grunts and he faceplants back into the couch, hoping that if he stays there long enough he’ll keel over and die. He’d much rather pass due to suffocation than embarrassment any day, but that’s probably just the proud Ravenclaw in him talking. 

As Woohyun attempts to console his anguished friend by patting his shoulder with his newspaper sword, Sunggyu enters the common room, straightening out his green and silver tie, with Dongwoo following a few steps behind him. 

“What’s wrong with him?” Sunggyu points at the lanky Ravenclaw laying prone on their common room couch. 

“He asked out Kim Myungsoo and got rejected while he was doped out on hippie potion and now is currently trying to commit suicide via expensive leather.” Woohyun swings his paper sword at Sunggyu and pretends to slice at the sixth year’s knees. He promptly earns an annoyed kick in the leg. 

“Aw, it’s okay Yeollie.” Dongwoo flits over to Sungyeol’s side and sits down on the floor next to his head. He comfortingly the fifth year’s hair. “It couldn’t have been that bad, right?” 

Sungyeol lifts his head and looks at the three older boys in confusion. “Who said I got rejected?” 

“Wait, he said yes?!” Woohyun stares at his best friend with wide eyes. “This changes everything! Why didn’t you say so before?”

“Because I made a bloody idiot out of myself!” the Ravenclaw wails, kicking his legs and pounding the sofa.

“What did you do?” Sunggyu asks with little interest. 

Sungyeol sits up with a heavy sigh and mumbles something under his breath. 

“What?” Woohyun barks as Dongwoo leans his ear closer to the fifth year to hear him better. 

“I said,” Sungyeol grits his teeth. “I booped him on his nose.” 

There’s a beat of silence before --

“Damn! That is pretty embarrassing!” Woohyun laughs and earns another kick in the leg from Sunggyu. 

Sungyeol flops onto his back and stares blankly at the dungeon ceiling. “Next thing you know, I’m going to be running down the corridors yelling ‘Oppa, sit on my face!’ like that third year who was in love with Sunggyu last semester.”

“I thought we said we’d wouldn’t speak of that again,” Sunggyu mutters. 

“My life is over,” Sungyeol mumbles. 

“That’s never going to happen, Yeol,” Woohyun says earnestly. 

Sungyeol sighs and gives his best friend an appreciative smile. 

“Because Myungsoo is younger than you,” Woohyun continues, “You wouldn’t call him ‘oppa’ in the first place. You would yell ‘Dongsaeng, sit on my face!’ instead.”

The smile instantly drops off of Sungyeol’s face and he chucks a pillow at the snickering Slytherin’s head. “Shut up! This isn’t some joke!”

“Why are you making such a big deal out of this?” Sunggyu raises a questioning eyebrow at the distraught Ravenclaw. “It’s just a date, right? Do you not like him or something?” 

“I --”

“Oh, he definitely likes him,” Woohyun interjects, “Like, to the point where he’s a blushing second year when he sees him. Almost complete obsession even. Like, this guy has a such super mega huge fat --”

“Okay, I get it.” Sunggyu snatches Woohyun’s newspaper sword and hits him on the head with it before turning back to Sungyeol. “But I still don’t get why you’re making such a big deal out of this? Aren’t you supposed to be happy that he said yes?” 

“Yes? No? I don’t know.” Sungyeol makes a whining sound as he leans his head on Dongwoo’s shoulder. “Part of me is still holding on to the hope that this is all a love potion’s doing.” 

“Love potion?” Dongwoo his head to the side. 

“Ignore him,” Woohyun says as he frowns up at Sunggyu who’s taunting him by holding his sword just out of his reach. “Denial is not just a river in Egypt, Yeol.” 

“Myungsoo’s a nice guy, sweet as a Pygmy Puff. So don’t worry too much about it, okay?” Dongwoo says calmly, “Let’s just talk about something else that’ll take your mind off of him. Guess what we learned about today in Care of Magical Creatures!” 

Sungyeol’s eyes widen in horror. “Please don’t say unicorns.” 

“Oh, how did you know?” 

Sungyeol launches himself off of the couch and runs out the Slytherin dungeon, shrieking something along the lines of “I know they don’t fly, I promise!”. 

Dongwoo turns towards the two Slytherins with a lost expression. “Did I say something wrong?” 
 

Saturday comes much quicker than Sungyeol would have liked it to. 

After forty-five minutes of fiddling with his hair and scrutinizing his wardrobe, he walks into the Great Hall in a simple black sweater and jeans, a beanie pulled over his head because he couldn’t decide if his bangs looked best gelled up or left down or which Myungsoo would prefer out of the two. 

Sungyeol sits down next to Woohyun at their usual breakfast spot with a heavy sigh. Sunggyu pays no attention to him, eyes continuing to skim an editorial piece in the morning’s issue of the Daily Prophet, while Dongwoo munches on a piece of pumpkin bread, trying to read over his fellow sixth year’s shoulder. 

“What are you wearing?” Woohyun eyes him judgmentally. 

Panic floods Sungyeol’s eyes. “Do I look weird? Trying to too hard? Not trying hard enough?” He looks down at his attire and begins to pull at the clothing and the strings hanging from the sides of his beanie. “Does the hat look stupid? Should I take it off? What’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong is that!” Woohyun points to Sungyeol’s chest as if it offended him in some way. 

“My chest?” 

“Your sweater! Last time I checked, black was not a Slytherin house color.” Woohyun motions to his silver and green Quidditch uniform.

“But it’s one of Hufflepuff’s.” Sunggyu smirks and Dongwoo nods in agreement, waving one end of his black and yellow striped scarf. 

“You -- You’re --” Woohyun huffs and pointedly looks away from the Ravenclaw. “You know, I expected this from Sunggyu, but not from you.”

Sunggyu rolls his eyes. “Oh, quit exaggerating.”

Sungyeol sighs and reaches out to place a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Woohyun --”

“No, don’t touch me.” Woohyun slaps his hand away and tries to send both Sungyeol and Sunggyu an intimidating glare but ends up just looking like a disgruntled puppy. “Both of you are traitors.” 

“But I’m not even a Slytherin!” 

“But you’re still my best friend,” Woohyun says lowly and Sungyeol is pretty sure he just quoted that out of one of those Muggle TV dramas he secretly watches. 

“I’m still going to cheer for you.” Sungyeol says earnestly before adding, “Just … much more quietly. And from the opposing team’s section.” 

“Yeah, if you even watch the game,” the Slytherin Chaser sneers, “You’re probably just going to bat your eyelashes and hang all over your new Hufflepuff boy toy the whole time.” 

“He’s not my boy toy. He’s just --”

“Walking towards us right now.” Dongwoo finishes and sends a wave towards the entrance of the Hall. 

Sungyeol whips his head around and spots Myungsoo walking towards their table with Gryffindors Lee Howon and Lee Sungjong a step behind him, chatting with each other. He’s wearing a simple black jacket and jeans, a Hufflepuff scarf wrapped around his neck. Even though they’re basically wearing the same thing, Sungyeol can’t help but feel horribly plain and underdressed. 

Sungyeol moves to jump out of his seat, hoping to make a break for it before he can make eye contact with the fourth year, but Woohyun immediately slings an arm over his shoulder and holds him in place. 

“Morning,” Dongwoo greets the younger boy with his usual sunshine filled smile. 

“Morning.” Myungsoo smiles, equally as bright, and Sungyeol just wants to drown himself in his cup of pumpkin juice. 

“Good luck today, Nam.” Howon smirks. “Try not to fall off your broom again, yeah? I won’t be there to catch you this time.” 

Sungjong snorts and turns his head away to hide his smile. 

“That happened once,” Woohyun snaps back at the Gryffindor Chaser, “and you were the one who shoved me off.” 

“All’s fair in war and Quidditch.” Hoya merely shrugs before he and Sungjong walk over to another part of the Hall. 

“That’s not even how the saying goes!” Woohyun yells at his retreating figure before turning back to Sungyeol and quickly muttering, “I hate him. I hate him so much.”

“Shut up, he’s one of Myungsoo’s best friends.” 

They glance over at the younger Hufflepuff. He’s not paying attention to their conversation at all and is, instead, cutely laughing into his hand as Dongwoo shows off his small badger hand puppet, making it do little dances in the air. 

“I can’t believe that little ball of fluff is friends with the actual personification of evil.” Woohyun shakes his head. “I would never approve of this relationship if he wasn’t so cute.” 

Sungyeol ignores his comment and focuses on his cup of juice. “You’re just bitter that they beat you guys.” 

The Slytherin looks at his friend in outrage. “I am not! And we totally would have kicked their sorry asses if that demon didn’t push me off my broom and mess up our formation and --” Woohyun huffs. “You know what, I don’t need this kind of negative energy before a match.” 

Woohyun stands and looks at his friends and Myungsoo. “See you at the pitch, traitor, boytoy, other traitor.” 

Sungyeol chokes and almost knocks over his goblet as Woohyun throws one last smirk over his shoulder. 

Myungsoo watches Woohyun join a few of his teammates and glances at Sungyeol with a troubled frown. “Did he just call me a traitor…?” 

The Ravenclaw slams his forehead against the mahogany table with a groan. 

“He didn’t even say bye to me.” Dongwoo pouts and Sunggyu rolls his eyes but nevertheless gently pats his head. 
 

Sungyeol is actually glad he decided to wear a beanie. The morning March air is still a bit crisp and the breeze cuts through his sweater every once in a while. He finds it pretty crazy how the players in the pitch don’t even bat an eyelash at the weather as they fly around on their brooms and warm up. Shouldn’t they be freezing? 

But even though the air temperature is chilly, his body feels abnormally warm, hypersensitive to the heat radiating from his side that’s pressed against Myungsoo’s. He shudders a little, but not from the weather. 

“Cold?” 

Sungyeol flinches a little at the voice and turns to find Myungsoo looking at him, eyes peeking over the brim of his scarf. He looks so cute Sungyeol just wants to snuggle his face but the Ravenclaw opts to just shaking his head instead. Much less room for embarrassment that way. 

“Do you think you guys are going to win?” Sungyeol asks instead as he absentmindedly twirls the small Hufflepuff flag that Dongwoo shoved into his hand when they sat down.

“I don’t know, Slytherin’s pretty tough. But I think they can do it.” Myungsoo nods once with assurance. 

Sungyeol hums. “I think so too.” 

When Myungsoo smiles brightly, Sungyeol’s lips quirk into a half smile in return. He swears he hears a whisper of the word “traitor” as the Slytherin Chasers fly past their section but he ignores it. 

He’s got to calm down. They’re just watching a house Quidditch game. It’s not like he’s asking the boy to marry him or anything. He’s just got to stop thinking so much. Maybe he should have taken a bit more of that Draught of Pea -- wait. No. Bad idea. 

Luckily, a distraction comes in the form of the referee stepping onto the field. 

Anticipation bounces off the stands as Madam Hooch stands over a leather chest and lays out the rules for the players. When the starting whistle is blown and the Quaffle is tossed into the air, the stadium erupts as the players zip back and forth on their brooms. 

Myungsoo sits up on the edge of his seat and aggressively waves his flag, cheering with his fellow housemates. Dongwoo is jumping up and down a little further down the bench and tries to get Sunggyu to start a crowd wave with him. And Sungyeol actually finds that he’s smiling to himself. 

Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all. 

At one point in the game, Myungsoo pulls Sungyeol up to his feet and forces him to chant along to the Hufflepuff house cheers. (Dongwoo even jumps down to the front of the stands to lead one with his badger puppet.) Sungyeol tries (and fails) to follow their perfectly choreographed arm movements and Myungsoo just laughs and claps his hands like an overly excited seal. 

The game is a close one. Slytherin is obviously the stronger team out of the two, their tactics a little more devious than the those of the Hufflepuff team. But the latter is holding their own, working in perfect harmony to keep up with the green and silver team. It was a bit admirable in Sungyeol’s eyes. 

Even though Ravenclaw was precise and organized, Slytherin sly and tactful, Gryffindor headstrong and passionate, nothing could ever touch the seamless unity that flowed between the members of the Hufflepuff house, whether they were playing in the pitch or cheering in the stands. Granted Sungyeol could never see himself as a Hufflepuff, but he can understand why Myungsoo and Dongwoo were proud to be one. 

When a Hufflepuff chaser throws the Quaffle cleanly through one the three rings, everyone in the stands is absolutely screaming. Even Sunggyu watches the players with intense focus. 

Myungsoo suddenly grabs Sungyeol’s hand and jumps up and down, eyes twinkling. “We’re only down by twenty points! If we catch the Snitch, we win!” 

When the younger boy turns his attention back to the game, Sungyeol just continues to stare at their interlocked hands. Maybe it’s just a rush of excitement and adrenaline from the match, one of those spur of the moment kind of things, or maybe it’s something else. All Sungyeol knows is that he likes the way Myungsoo’s warm hand is wrapped around his chilly fingers, the way his grip tightens every time either team tries to score and loosen when the Hufflepuff Keeper makes a save. 

Myungsoo probably doesn’t even realize that he’s still holding onto the Ravenclaw’s hand, but Sungyeol can’t bring himself to mention it (and he doesn’t really want to, honestly). He’s too busy watching Myungsoo’s expression change rapidly as the game progresses that he barely hears someone yell something at him. 

He only catches “Sungyeol -- something, something”. And when he tears his eyes off Myungsoo and turns around, he registers that “something, something” was “watch out”. 

And then everything goes black. 
 

“Are you sure he’s going to be okay?”

“I don’t know, he got nailed pretty hard. I think I even heard it hit his head from the other side of the pitch. I wouldn’t be surprised if he can’t even remember his own name.”

“Do you think it was hexed? Like someone intentionally wanted to hurt him?”

“Why would someone hex it to hit him of all people? He doesn't even play for Ravenclaw.” 

“And even if someone did want to hurt him, they could have just pushed him down some stairs or, like, insult his intelligence or something equally as petty.”

“He was just being an idiot again and not paying attention. Too busy giving moon eyes to --” 

“Oh, he’s waking up!” 

Sungyeol blinks his eyes open and squints as he looks around. He tries to sit up but immediately clutches the side of his head and falls back down on his back with a groan. 

Myungsoo’s hovering over him, worry painted across his face as he places a hand lightly on Sungyeol’s head. “Are you okay?” 

“Do you remember who I am?” Dongwoo shoves Myungsoo aside. “Do you remember who you are? What about him? How many fingers am I holding up?” The sixth year shoves a peace sign towards the Ravenclaw. 

“Where am I?” Sungyeol mumbles, pushing Dongwoo’s hand out of his face. 
“The Hospital Wing.” Sunggyu answers from the end of his bed. 

“What happened?” he asks as he looks at the four boys standing over him. 

“You took a bludger to the head, you idiot.” Woohyun, still dressed in his Quidditch uniform, shakes his head. 

Sungyeol stares at the Slytherin with complete confusion. “What?”

“I told you to watch out.” Dongwoo says. 

“What?” Sungyeol repeats, still confused. 

“Oh, great! He can’t even understand what we’re saying anymore!” Dongwoo cries frantically.

“Hey, calm down, Jigglypuff, he’s fine.” Woohyun rolls his eyes. “Just a bit disoriented. Madam Pomfrey put a healing spell on his head so he should be okay.”

Myungsoo stands silently next to a hysteric Dongwoo, frowning a little and looking at Sungyeol with guilt and concern. It might be the spell’s doing, but Sungyeol reflexively reaches out and gives Myungsoo’s hand a small squeeze. The younger glances down at their hands and smiles shyly. 

Sunggyu clears his throat and glances around. “I think we should let Sungyeol rest. Come on guys.”

“What? But I want to see this,” Woohyun mutters as Sunggyu grabs his arm in one hand and Dongwoo’s in the other. “You got to watch them during the match, I had to play!”

“Yeah, we just got here!” the older Hufflepuff whines. 

“Get well soon, Sungyeol.” Sunggyu says and nods to the two boys as he pushes Dongwoo and Woohyun towards the exit. 

“Be safe!” Woohyun yells over Sunggyu’s shoulder. “Don’t do anything dumb. It’s still daylight out. You’re in public --”

The door to the infirmary shuts with a thud and Sungyeol lays back into this pillow with a sigh. He closes his eyes, the dull throbbing on the side of his head distracting him for his internal desire to wrap his hands around his best friend’s neck.

Myungsoo sits on the edge of the bed. “Are you sure you’re okay?” he asks quietly. 

“Are you worried?” Sungyeol gives the Hufflepuff a playful smirk. Damn, this spell is making him bold. 

Myungsoo clears his throat and breaks their gaze. Sungyeol thinks he sees his cheeks tint pink, but he’s probably just imagining it. “Well, of course. Most people would be if the person they like was knocked out cold by an enchanted flying barbell.” 

Sungyeol’s eyes snap wide open. “What did you say?” 

“Isn’t that what a bludger is? A flying --”

Sungyeol shakes his head a little too hard and feels the whiplash from his injury. He blinks the pain away. “No, before that. Did you say … you like me?” 

Myungsoo does that ‘statement coming out as a question’ thing again. “Um, yeah?” 

“Seriously?” 

“I thought I was being kind of obvious, you know, when I asked to sit next to you in class. And when I agreed to go out with you. And held your hand during the match …” 

Now Sungyeol knows the fourth year is blushing as Myungsoo stares intently at the blanket draped over his legs. It’s kind of cute, just like everything else Myungsoo does. 

“Are you under the influence of a love potion?” Sungyeol asks dumbly. 

Myungsoo gives him a weird look. “What?” 

“Do you feel fidgety and jumpy and nervous? Did anyone ever give you any sort of chocolates bonbons in the past couple of days?” 

The Hufflepuff blinks down at him but answers nonetheless. “No -- I mean, yes -- sometimes I feel like that when I’m around you. But no, no one gave me any chocolates. Why?” 

“Because you just said you liked me.” Sungyeol blinks, completely serious. 

“Are you saying that the only way that I would like you is if … I was drugged with a love potion?” A laughter bubbles from the younger’s chest and he quickly covers his mouth with his hand. 

“Well, it would only make sense!” Sungyeol says in an outcry. “I mean why else would you say agree to go out with me when I was acting like a complete idiot?”

“Sungyeol --”

“I said unicorns fly. Everyone knows that pegasuses fly, not unicorns.” The Ravenclaw drops his head into his hands. 

“It’s okay, it was an honest mistake.” 

“Unicorns don’t even have wings. They’re just white horses with a horn.”

“Sungyeol, it really doesn’t --”

“I booped your nose!” The Ravenclaw screeches, flailing his arms in the air.

“Sungyeol, calm down. You’re going to pass out again if you move around too much.” Myungsoo gently pushes the elder to lay down but Sungyeol resists. He ends up propping up a pillow for the injured boy to lean back against. “You still might have a concussion.” 

“Why?” Sungyeol asks as he looks up helplessly at the Hufflepuff. 

“Because you took a bludger to the head and the spell isn’t going to heal you that quickly,” Myungsoo immediately explains. 

“No, why do you like me? You’re like the senpai and I’m the school girl chasing after you, hoping you’ll notice my love and sit on my face.” 

“What?” Myungsoo knits his eyebrows together.

“Forget it.” Sungyeol sighs, completely giving up on his hopeless love life. “So much for not embarrassing myself.” 

“Sungyeol. I like you.” Myungsoo says, truth and sincerity in his voice. “And you didn’t embarrass yourself, honestly.” 

Sungyeol narrows his eyes and stares at Myungsoo suspiciously. “Woohyun didn’t put some sort of hex on me, did he? Because I think I might be hallucinating and hearing what I want you to say to me.”

“No.” The younger boy shakes his head. “And I’m not under the influence of a love potion or any other draught and I really hope you’re not either or else I’m the one who’s going to be embarrassed.” 

“I’m not!” the fifth year answers quickly with another (regrettable) shake of the head, “But if you are, don’t be surprised because I’m a Ravenclaw and I’m more often right than wrong.” 

Myungsoo snorts and jokingly rolls his eyes, giving Sungyeol a light shove and earning a “Hey don’t push me, I’m injured. I thought you cared about me” from the elder. 

As Myungsoo tries to conceal his usual untamable laugh into a soft grin to himself, Sungyeol catches a glimpse of his reflection in a mirror on the opposite wall of the room and tilts his head to the side. 

“Why is my hair blue?” He asks, pulling at the strands.

“Oh, about that. I, uh,” The younger rubs the back of his neck with an embarrassed chuckle. “I tried to help you earlier at the pitch, when you first got hit. But I could never really get healing charms right. Sorry. It shouldn’t be permanent though, or at least that’s what Pomfrey said. So yeah. Sorry about that. I should just stick to Potions, huh?” Myungsoo bites his lip with a sheepish smile. 

“I could teach you some time,” Sungyeol says offhandedly, “Charms is my best subject.”

A glint appears in Myungsoo’s eyes. “Are you asking me out again?” 
 

Extended ending:

“Hey, so who won?” Sungyeol asks. 

“Slytherin.” Myungsoo pouts a little. “They caught the snitch before us.”

“Oh, that too bad.” Sungyeol mumbles. 

The Hufflepuff shrugs lightly. “It’s whatever.” 

And then they make out. 

The end. 


















A/N: Everything in this AU is for Tina, my crack muse and flawless beta. I credit her to all the hilarious lines (i.e. "Oppa sit on my face!" and "He kinda resembles a tree, you know. But he's much shorter." just to name a couple). You can click HERE to read the profiles and a bit of background information about the characters in this AU. I know HoJong didn't really make a significant appearance in this arc, but they just might be relevant in another so please check it out! Thank you so much for reading!!! ❤❤❤