Kyungsoo woke with a start; panic overwhelmed him as he looked around the foreign room he was held captive in. He was bounded in thick ropes. Getting out of those restraints would have been so easy with his wand. Unfortunately, D.O. had the sense to take away Kyungsoo’s wand after knocking him out. Spitting out the wad of cloth in his mouth, Kyungsoo struggled to lift his body up into a sitting position. Once he managed to, the boy slumped against the wall, exhausted from his previous efforts.

He was trapped in a small square room with minimal light floating in from behind the closed curtains. Kyungsoo didn’t even know whether he was still in Hogwarts, at the Shrieking Shack, or if D.O. had somehow moved him to another location. Besides a throbbing headache to keep him company, Kyungsoo was very much alone. “K-Kai…” Kyungsoo whimpered and curled into himself. It was the first time for him, feeling so lost and helpless. I wonder where D.O. is right now? He looks exactly like me… Maybe he replaced me in front of the guys? Tears sprung to Kyungsoo’s eyes as he imagined D.O. with Kai. Would Kai notice that it isn’t me? Who am I kidding? I’ve lost… He sobbed.

With nothing else to do in this confined area, Kyungsoo’s head was swamped with plenty of questions. He recalled what D.O. had divulged in the letter to him – “You don’t know yet, but once you know what I’m trying to prevent from happening… You will be giving yourself up readily.” What are you trying to prevent? “The Kyungsoo in me died along with him.” Who died in the future? He wrecked his brain but he still failed to come up with a definite answer, though he had an inkling as to whom it may be. Please… not him please. I hope I’m wrong.

Kyungsoo closed his eyes and prayed for the rest to help him. Wait, they might get hurt if they come to my rescue. The blood moon is near… would me sacrificing myself keep Kai, Baekie and the rest safe? Please D.O. don’t hurt them, they were once your friends too. Have me instead, I’ll let you have your way with me if it means Kai and the rest are safe. Kyungsoo had practically given up. He rather himself get hurt, then for his loved ones to pain.

Kai frowned down at his bowl of cereal. Something’s not right… Kyungsoo had been extra clingy since yesterday afternoon. Not that Kai disliked it of course, what more could he ask for, for the love of his life to shower him with affection? But, something was off. At times, when he stared into Kyungsoo’s eyes… it’s as if he was looking at another person. He couldn’t forget the suspicious gold object he saw beneath the other’s cloak either, the one thing that Kyungsoo had tried to hide from him. A nudge at his side brought him back from his thoughts. “Kai?” Kyungsoo peered at the other’s face, “You okay?” Besides Kyungsoo, the rest of the gang was also staring at him worriedly. Apparently, he had been staring at his cereal for close to ten minutes now.

Kai shook his head and forced a smile on his face, “I’m fine…” His eyes didn’t meet Kyungsoo’s though. The latter frowned at that. “Guys! So what’s the plan? Let’s go rescue Soojung tomorrow, before the blood moon on the subsequent day. Future Kyungsoo might very well be using her, to contribute the blood of a sibling…” Baekhyun voiced out anxiously. Kai’s head snapped up at that. “Yeah, let’s! Soo… we’ll get her out safely.” Kai grabbed onto Kyungsoo’s hand. It was the slight hesitation on Kyungsoo’s part and the cold feeling of Kyungsoo’s hand under his now, a far cry from the warmth he had grown accustomed to, that confirmed it for Kai.

Because today was finally the holiday season, the boys didn’t have to resort to sneaking out of Hogwarts to get to the DO mansion. They woke up early to meet up and prepare for their trip to Central London. Very soon, the Hogwarts Express would be pulling up at King’s Cross Station. “Are you guys ready?” Baekhyun asked. He squeezed Kyungsoo’s hand comfortingly. Since Kyungsoo was also one of the targets of his future self, the boys had delegated bodyguard duty to some. That’s how you find the four tallest in the group revolving around Kyungsoo and Kai; the latter couldn’t leave the other’s side. Everyone thought that he was merely worried for his boyfriend. They couldn’t be more wrong.

“We’re the four horsemen! RAWR!” Chanyeol planted an attempted fiery expression on his face to scare off potential dangers; he was walking in front of Kyungsoo. The second bodyguard aka Sehun was walking to Kyungsoo’s right. He had his ‘I’ll Avada Kedavra you if you so much as look at my best friend’ look on. Once, while they were on the way to the subway station, a pigeon had the unfortunate fate of flying towards the group of boys. Thankfully, Kris, who was the guard stationed behind Kyungsoo and Kai, had the good sense to pull Sehun’s arm away just in time… Let’s just say the Muggles enjoyed the random fireworks show. They didn’t know that those sparks were actually stunning spells and whatnot aimed at the ‘unidentified flying creature’ as Sehun would call the pigeon.

“You can’t just go about shooting random things!” Kris chastised Sehun, “You almost killed an innocent pigeon!” Kai looked around warily, “Let’s not attract too much unwanted attention, Sehun.” As if a group of twelve handsome boys huddled close together whilst clutching onto suspicious tree branches at the narrow walkway was not a major distraction. Tao, the fourth guard beside Kai screeched whenever a car honked and passed too close to his other side. Kyungsoo facepalmed. What useless bodyguards… I can disarm them all by myself.

Baekhyun led them down a long stretch of road before they were approaching a slightly classy neighborhood of landed property. “Wands out…” Kai warned. The big house at the end of the road was unusually dark. By the looks of it, there wasn’t anyone at home… but the boys knew better. “Should we split up? In case something happens…” Chen suggested. Suho nodded in agreement, “Kyungsoo and Baekhyun should stay outside first.” Kai surprised everyone by volunteering to go inside the house with the first group.

“Kai!” Kyungsoo grabbed onto the other’s arm. “It’s okay… I’ll grab Soojung and come back fast.” He assured Kyungsoo. Kai entered the house without so much as a backward glance, Sehun, Luhan, Chen, Xiumin, Lay and Tao followed after him. Kyungsoo and Baekhyun were left outside, with Chanyeol, Kris and Suho guarding them. Baekhyun patted Kyungsoo’s back comfortingly, “Don’t worry… They’ll be fine.” Kyungsoo shrugged off his brother’s hand and looked away. Of course Kai will be fine… I’m just afraid of what he’ll find.

Kai separated from the other six boys once they were in the huge mansion. The others sped about trying to locate Kyungsoo and Baekhyun’s sister; Kai had only one objective in mind. He had a gut feeling about something and he was hell bent on confirming it. Kai found himself at the very back of the mansion. He didn’t know where he was going; he was really relying on his instincts here. Kai ran up the stairs two at a time where he arrived at a dark corridor. The first room to his right was empty, and it looked like it had been untouched for years. The second room was locked, but something told him not to walk away.

“Alohomora.” With a flick of his wand, Kai pushed open the now unlocked door and entered the room. The second room was exactly like the first one; it took quite a while for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. But once his eyes landed on a slumped body across the room, he felt as if his life just got out of him. He staggered forward and fell to his knees beside the unconscious boy.

“K-Kyungsoo…” Kai pulled the other delicately into his lap; he was sobbing into the other boy’s hair. Truth was, Kai knew that it wasn’t the real Kyungsoo with him for the past day… he had the hunch that it was future Kyungsoo. D.O. was the one waiting with Baekhyun, Chanyeol, Kris, and Suho outside the mansion now. Though they