Six days, eighteen hours, ten minutes, and counting… Chen stared at the wall clock before switching to look at Xiumin’s peaceful sleeping face. He let out a sigh and grabbed onto the other’s hand, Chen had stayed vigil beside Xiumin’s bed for the entire time since the other was admitted in Saint Mungo’s, the only exceptions were when he left his seat when he needed to relieve himself or when the other boys came and dragged him to the showers for he was starting to stink.

After he admitted his feelings for Xiumin after that talk with Kyungsoo and Kai, Chen couldn’t stop staring at Xiumin. I’m so stupid. Why didn’t I make us happen sooner? According to Kyungsoo, it was pretty evident to everyone else that they both had feelings for each other. “I’m sorry for taking so long, Minnie… Why won’t you wake up?” Chen squeezed the other’s hand. He knew that the rest of the guys who were injured previously had all recovered fully, everyone bar the boy lying before him.

Dark magic… Chen shook his head desperately. Though the healers said they’ve done their best in getting rid of traces of it in Xiumin’s body, Chen knew that dark magic couldn’t be eliminated entirely. Will there be repercussions… Just then, a slight flicker of movement to his right caught his attention. Startled, he peered closely at Xiumin’s face before letting out a loud gasp. There it was again; it looked like the other was going to open his eyes any moment. Chen stood up and hovered above Xiumin’s face.

“Wake up, Minnie… It’s me.” Chen muttered and waited for the other to open his eyes. His eyelids twitched a little before Xiumin’s eyes flew open. Chen had barely registered the vibrant red eyes before Xiumin had clamped both his hands around Chen’s neck, strangling him. “X-Xiumin…” Chen gasped, “I-It’s m-me…” He started to gulp for air; Chen tapped on Xiumin’s arms to get him to release his hold, but the other was unrelenting. What is happening? Chen stared down at the red eyes glaring back at him. For the first time, Chen feared for his life.

He could feel himself falling victim to the lack of oxygen. A single tear fell from his eyes at the realization that this wasn’t Xiumin. Suddenly, Xiumin’s arms went slack and he fell back onto the bed. Chen bent over and coughed, desperately breathing in precious air. “C-Chen?” He looked up and was relieved to find Xiumin’s normal brown eyes staring back at him. Chen wrapped his arms around Xiumin then, silently mouthing prayers behind Xiumin’s back.

“Thank you… God I thought I lost you.” Chen squeezed Xiumin tightly. “What’s going on?” Xiumin stared at Chen confusedly. The latter shook his head, deciding to file the image of Xiumin with red eyes and strangling him, in the back of his mind for future reference. “Don’t you ever sacrifice yourself to protect me again!” Chen scolded Xiumin. He was referring to when Xiumin jumped in front of him back at Do Mansion to save him. When no response was rendered from Xiumin, Chen peered down worriedly at the red-faced boy’s head cradled in his tight hug.

“Minnie… are you okay? You’re scaring me.” Chen cupped Xiumin’s cheeks and stared deep into his eyes. That action caused the other to squeal, and Xiumin slapped both of his hands over his face. “What’s wrong, Minnie?” Chen was borderline freaking out by now. “Shumhshsm.” The other mumbled. Chen chuckled and asked for him to repeat himself. “I said your face was too near mine. I could feel your breath on my face you stinky fart…” Xiumin flailed and dove under the covers.

Chen recalled the other’s red face and flustered expression before it hit him. Oh… Chen smirked and lifted the covers slightly to see Xiumin trying his best not to look at him. “No need to be shy babe, I’m your boyfriend now so you should get used to my face being near yours when we… you know kiss-” Chen winked whilst Xiumin squawked. “S-Since when am I your boyfriend?” Xiumin stared at him with an incredulous look.

Chen chuckled, “I know you like me, Minnie. It took the rest of the guys to point out to me that I’ve always liked you all along… I confessed my feelings when you were still in your coma. It was all really romantic you know… You can ask Kyungie and Kai. They saw how I bawled and begged for you to be mine. I was holding onto your hand and your fingers kind of twitched so I thought that was you giving us the go ahead to be boyfriends…” Chen rubbed at the back of his neck awkwardly. “Unless, you don’t want to be my boyfriend?” Chen gave Xiumin his best kicked puppy look.

“NO!” Xiumin yelled out. Chen flinched and sighed, “Okay… I’m so sorry then. I thought you liked me too.” Xiumin blinked twice before he scrambled out from under the duvets. “N-No! I mean, I was saying no to not wanting to be your boyfriend because I really want to be your boyfriend, Chen! I really like you too.” Xiumin rushed out in one breath. Chen’s entire face lit up and he pulled Xiumin in for a long overdue hug. “Oh my goodness! Thank you, Minnie…” Xiumin patted Chen’s back softly. It wasn’t long before their lips were meeting softly.

Just then, the door to the room swung open. “Hey Chen, you should really catch up on some sleep… OH MY GOD!” After hearing Baekhyun’s loud squeal, the two Ravenclaws sprung apart from each other’s lips, though they remained in their hugging stance. Chen and Xiumin looked up to see Baekhyun, Chanyeol, Kai, Kyungsoo, Sehun and Luhan near the doorway. Some of the boys were sniggering and throwing blatant winks at the pair, whilst some others were turning red in the face for witnessing such an intimate moment.

Chen smirked and kissed Xiumin deeply this time; he was eager to show off his new boyfriend. This over the top display of affection was his way of saying ‘Back off es… this Baozi is mine!” Kai gasped and hurriedly slapped a palm over Kyungsoo’s eyes, shaking his head. “Stop that, Chen! You guys are tainting my BabySoo’s innocence.” Kyungsoo squeaked in response. Chen broke away from those tantalizing lips and sneered at Kai, “Please Kai… we all know you taint Kyungie’s innocence every single day.” Everyone gave Kai a pointed look because it was true. The Gryffindor flushed red and buried his head into Kyungsoo’s neck. “They’re making fun of me, Soo!” Kai whined as Kyungsoo cooed at the big baby wrapped around him.

Chanyeol was laughing out loud in his deep bass voice throughout, clapping those two arms like a seal gone retarded. It seemed like he was laughing too hard at the bickering between the two couples, that he forgot to breathe for a moment. Pretty soon, he was heaving and Baekhyun was pounding on his back, wondering how the hell had he ended up with a fool of a boyfriend.  

It was Xiumin that put an end to all the drama in the room. “What happened that day?” He scratched at his head; Chen was now hugging him from behind. “You swooped in and saved Chen from that dark curse.” Luhan informed him. “Some of us got hit too, after you fell unconscious… I mean, Suho, Lay, and I did. I only recovered in the past two days…” Baekhyun spoke. Xiumin nodded, “Then what happened to the Minister?” He blinked at both Kyungsoo and Baekhyun, afraid that he was touching on a sensitive topic to the siblings.

It was Kyungsoo that replied him. “The bad guys didn’t get Soojung, thankfully… But D.O. died saving all of us.” There was now a somber mood in the room. “At least, I hope he’s happily reunited with his Kai now…” Kyungsoo smiled softly before he himself was pulled into Kai’s embrace. The boys nodded before moving on to change the topic.  

Xiumin learned that Kyungsoo and Baekhyun’s sister, Soojung, was going to stay with Chanyeol’s muggle parents. It was a precautionary measure courtesy of Professor McGonagall. Until they figure out why Keto and Minister Do wanted Soojung, the girl was to remain hidden amongst muggles and under the watchful eyes of an Auror at all times.

There they were, five days on. In a rural suburb at the edge of London, twelve suspicious-looking guys were accompanying a single girl as they strode along the sidewalk towards their destination. “There she is! Home sweet home…” Chanyeol clapped with glee and pointed at a dec