“Come on, Youngjae. You can’t get help if you don’t come out,” Jackson knocks on the thick oak door that the younger boy has barricaded himself behind.

“Go away!” Youngjae yowls, “This is all your fault!”

“Mistakes were made, yes, but now we need to focus on fixing them,” Jackson leans against the door, “And that means you have to leave your dorm.” Jackson puts his ear to the door, but no reply comes from inside. He jumps back when a dull thump reverberates through the door. “Throwing things, that’s cute,” Jackson scowls.

“Any luck with Youngjae?” Jaebum’s voice comes from behind. Jackson jumps, his hand over his heart as his back hits the door.

“How did you get in here?” Jackson’s voice cracks slightly. Jaebum’s eyebrow rises. Jackson coughs slightly before he continues, “I mean, no, he’s still holed up inside the dorm,” he runs a hand through his hair.

“To answer your question, Mark told me about the malfunction with the enchantment and he gave me the password before he headed off to Herbology so I could come and see how the situation was going,” Jaebum shrugs.

“He wasn’t supposed to tell anyone else what our password is,” Jackson frowns. He doesn’t have a problem with Mark letting Jaebum into their circle of friends–far from it actually–Jackson simply wishes he had some warning so he wouldn’t make an of himself.

“You weren’t supposed to tell him either,” Jaebum’s eyes disappear in a grin and Jackson’s heart skips a beat. He clenches the hand still clutched to his chest. “I at least have the excuse of being a Slytherin, aren’t Hufflepuffs supposed to be better at following the rules?” Jaebum crosses his arms and leans his body on the door right next to Jackson.

“What can I say, I’m one of a kind,” Jackson chuckles, feeling more than a little breathless. He’s never been this close to the other boy before, never been able to see the two moles above his eyelid so clearly before. Jaebum’s grin widens.

“Jaebum, is that you?” Youngjae’s muffled voice comes from behind the door, effectively breaking the moment.

“Yeah, it’s me. Are you ready to come out and get the enchantment fixed?”

“I look so ridiculous though,” Youngjae whines, his voice sounding slightly less distant.

“Don’t worry about that, I’ve got a hat to help cover you up until we make it to the Hospital Wing,” Jaebum pulls a large, black hat with a wide brim from inside his robes. There’s a pause.

“Do you promise not to laugh at me?” Jackson pouts. He’s been trying to get Youngjae to come out for the better part of an hour, why is he being so amenable to Jaebum?

“I promise,” Jaebum says warmly with a brilliant smile. Jackson looks away for a second as he mentally wills his heart to stop racing. Right, that’s why.

“Okay…” Youngjae mumbles and then the doorknob is turning.

Jackson bites his lip, holding back the squeal that builds in his throat. Youngjae had covered up his face and locked himself away before Jackson could get a good look at it, but now that he has, he can’t see why the younger boy was so embarrassed. Between the pair of furry, pointed ears that sit on top of his head, the whiskers and the pink nose, Youngjae looks adorable. Jackson is reaching a hand up to the younger boy’s ears before he can stop himself.

“Don’t!’ Youngjae ducks his hand, and jumps back into the room. Jaebum steps forward and slips his foot in the doorjamb before Youngjae can close the door on them again.

“Hey, it’s okay. Jackson will keep his hands to himself,” Jaebum says with a pointed look that makes Jackson shrink a bit, “And we’ll go and get you changed back,” Jaebum holds out the hat. Youngjae accepts it hesitantly. “Alright, let’s go before the halls fill up with students changing classrooms.” Jaebum wraps an arm around Youngjae and pulls the younger boy’s head down onto his shoulder. “You coming?” he asks Jackson.

“Yeah,” Jackson nods, stepping beside Jaebum.

The three of them head down the stairs, making their way to the portrait and then start off for the Hospital Wing. Jackson sneaks glances at Jaebum from the corner of his eyes as they walk. While he probably wouldn’t volunteer to have his face transfigured into that of an animal just to be able to cuddle up with the other boy, Jackson he must admit that the idea of it is kind of tempting.

At the Hospital Wing, Madam Jongok turns Youngjae’s face this way and that way, mumbling under her breath as she inspects his face. She’s seen more of Jackson than she has of pretty much any other student, but usually she’s mending broken bones and healing cuts that he gets from Quidditch practice. Occasionally she’s taken a look at the result of a spell gone wrong, but this is the first time someone else has had to bear the consequences.

“Gotten bored with simply mutilating your own body and decided to branch out to the other students, Mr. Wang?” Madam Jongok shoots Jackson a pointed glance from over her glasses.

“It was an accident,” Jackson mumbles out the side of his mouth. Jaebum’s shoulders shake slightly as he stares at Jackson in amusement. Jackson shrugs sheepishly, his cheeks warming under both their gazes.

“You will be able to fix me right?” Youngjae’s brows are furrowed as he chews on the inside of his lip.

“Of course, Human Transfiguration happens to have been my best subject when I was in school,” Madam Jongok clicks her tongue, “I’m just trying to get an idea of the extent of the spell. Are there any patches of fur anywhere on your body?” she asks as she inspects his hands.

“No, it’s just my face that changed,” Youngjae shakes his head.

“Then this will be even simpler than I first thought,” she says lightly as she riffles through her large medicine cupboard and pulls out two small vials with brightly coloured liquids. “The red one is to be taken now and the green one is to be taken after dinner. You might experience some moodiness and have the urge to knead your blankets when you go to bed, but that should wear off by tomorrow.”

“Thank you,” Youngjae says gratefully before he downs the vial with the red liquid. His face screws up–first at the taste of the potion and then at the discomfort of the re-transfiguration. By the time the cat ears and whiskers have receded and his human ears and nose have grown back, Youngjae is doubled over with his hands on his knees.

“There we go, another happy landing,” Jackson pats the younger boy on the back. He removes his hand when he gets a baleful glare for his trouble.

“Alright, it’s time for you to get back to class, Mr. Choi. Here’s a note for your professor,” Madam Jongok says as she hands him a piece of sealed parchment. “And don’t forget to take the second vial after you’ve eaten dinner. Wait an hour or so to give the food time to settle.”

“Right, thanks again,” Youngjae nods and he scuttles out of the room to try and make it to his next class. Jackson blinks in surprise as the younger boy takes the wide brimmed hat with him.

“That goes for you two as well. Even if you have a free period, you can’t spend it here; this isn’t a playground,” Madam Jongok shoos them outside.

“I’ve got a Quidditch game next week, so I guess I’ll be seeing you then,” Jackson winks as he leaves the Wing. Madam Jongok rolls her eyes, but Jackson spies a slight smile on her face.

“So, I’ve got another hour free before my next class, what about you?” Jaebum asks as he starts strolling down the corridor. Jackson checks his watch and sees that he has about four minutes left before he has to get to Muggle Studies.

“I’m free too actually,” he says.

“Great,” Jaebum smiles. “You feel like heading off to the Quidditch pitch and flying around for a bit?”

“Definitely,” Jackson nods.

“Let’s go, then,” Jaebum reaches out and grabs Jackson’s hand, pulling him along back in the direction of the Hufflepuff basement. “Do you mind if I ride with you on your broom?” Jaebum asks over his shoulder.

“Definitely not,” Jackson grins, his pulse quickening. Jaebum’s hand squeezes his.

“Great,” Jaebum beams.