technical faults

[exolliarmus]

►Recipient: Chocolaytemilk

►Title: Technical Faults

►Pairings: Chanyeol / Baekhyun

►Rating: pg13

►Word count: 11,805

►Warning: Romance, slight!angst, attempted comedy, Slight Broken!Chanbaek

►Summary: Blood purity made all the difference, Baekhyun picked a path, and Chanyeol was a little too late.

►Author's notes: I only meant to make it slight angst, but I think I went 5/10 overboard when it was only supposed to be 2/10 angst, and I don’t know if I feel like I used the prompt correctly or satisfyingly enough, so I’m sorry if I disappointed you with this ;; I feel like I should’ve done pure light hearted comedy, bc now I don’t know why I went this route. I blame “Title” by Meghan Trainor, honestly lol. Anyways! Couldn’t resist chaser!Yeol. I hope it’s not too poop.

The contrast between the first day of school as first years versus the first day of school as second years was apparent. As it was every year, a grand banquet was held in the great dining hall, which gave an opportunity to those who starved themselves for the event to finally jump right on to the chance to stuff their faces. And as every year, Baekhyun smiled and laughed in amusement at those few despite holding little appetite for himself.

In his seven years at the school, the traditional banquet usually went off without a hitch—with exception to the usual jests. Turning his head from Headmaster Yunho and his yearly speech, Baekhyun’s eyes caught the floating loaves of bread just inches away from his face. Naturally, he reacted, jerking his head back to avoid the stationary floating food, but after a second, he realized the loaves were never really going to hit him. Those around him laughed, and he, in pressure, chuckled as well as he grabbed the bread from the air and looked about, wondering who had done the spell; however, no one claimed credit. After a while, Baekhyun’s smile wavered when no one met his eyes or answered his question, and just as he was about to question them again, he felt a slight hit of air hitting his right cheek and flicking his hair slightly upwards.

It was then that he knew it wasn’t from any one of his housemates. Focusing his eyes on the table near the Gryffindor’s, Baekhyun fixed his misplaced hair strands as he threw an annoyed look at his ex-boyfriend, the favorite of all Slytherin Quidditch chasers, Park Chanyeol.





Much to Baekhyun’s annoyance, he was pulled aside on his way up to the house dorms, which was surprising to him since no one seemed to care how the tall, Slytherin male seemed to burst through the flood of students only to take the brunette by the arm and pull him into an isolated hall way. Baekhyun half expected his friends to notice that he was suddenly missing from their group, but when they failed to notice his lack of presence, Baekhyun made a face before reluctantly following Chanyeol in silence.

There were a lot of things going through his mind. One of those things was that they weren’t even supposed to be in that hall. Frankly, it was dark beside the fact that it was only lit by a few lamps. Baekhyun was also slightly paranoid by the paintings they passed in grouchy annoyance that the figures might speak rumors and cause trouble for later on.

Chanyeol, in his stupid little adventure, took one right turn and a left before he stopped and placed Baekhyun against the old walls. They stared at one another for a second with their faces only dimly lit by a distant light. Unsatisfied with the luminosity of the area, Chanyeol sighed, pulling out his wand, whispering, “Lumos.”

Tired and irked from being dragged without a choice into a dirty, cold, and unlit space, Baekhyun bit his lips and frowned displeasingly. “What’s so secretive that we have to talk in this place?”

“We needed to talk about us,” Chanyeol replied, glancing to the left of him where they had come from. “I think there was some sort of misunderstanding with us over the summer.”

“You think there was a misunderstanding?” Baekhyun incredulously said, drawing his brows inward.

The Slytherin made the awful mistake of rolling his eyes. “Obviously,” he replied with a sarcastic undertone before speaking normally once again. “You wouldn’t answer your phone, you stopped replying to my text messages—Hell, I even called your house and sent you an owl, but all of those things were ignored. Did you move and change all of your contact information?”

Baekhyun stared back at him. “No,” he said slowly, crossing his arms. “I didn’t.”

“Then what—”

“I thought you’d get the hint,” the brunette interrupted, irritation present in his voice as he side glanced the way out of the hall. “What goes through your mind when the person you’re ‘dating’ stops talking to you or receiving any of your mail?”

The Slytherin’s reaction was delayed, but he gave an expression as though Baekhyun had just said the most absurd thing in the world. “Are you mad at me?”

“No, Chanyeol. I’ve gone past that.”

“So—”

“We’re done and you should’ve known that by now,” Baekhyun sighed, letting his hands fall to his side. “Anyways, I have to go. They’re probably wondering where the hell I went off to thanks to youu—”

Just as Baekhyun was about to side step his ex-boyfriend, Chanyeol came out of his frozen state and reached out to hold him back by the arm. “What the hell? I never got the notice that we broke up. I was under the impression that you were upset over something, but you never sent anything back to me.”

Baekhyun cocked his head. “I sent you an owl, but I’ll take the guess that you never got it.”

“If you sent it, honey, I would’ve gotten it.”

“Well, I did, so it must’ve gotten lost on your part.” Pulling his arm free from Chanyeol’s grasp, Baekhyun let out a breath, aware that intense eyes were watching him. “But really, all I wrote was that it wasn’t working out and that we should accept it. Hopefully, I said, we could continue on with our last year without—”

“Are you kidding me? That’s what you wrote?” Chanyeol scoffed disbelievingly, placing his hands on his waist. “Ever heard of breaking up in person?”

“You were busy—”

“No, I was not!”

Clenching his hands, Baekhyun let out an exasperated breath. “I called your house! Your damn elf kept telling me you were busy. If you weren’t busy, you were ‘entertaining’ someone! I went over there once and the little thing told me you were out!”

“So you caught me at inconvenient times and sent me a vague letter that never got to me,” Chanyeol recapped, “and this is all supposed to be how we’ve officially broken up?”

“Y—”

“That’s bull crap! You didn’t even tell me what I did wrong!” Chanyeol appeared upset, but Baekhyun tried to not let that get to him. “You can’t just half-assly try and get in touch with me, then send me an owl with crap written all over it without telling me why!”

Slumping his shoulders, Baekhyun felt cornered with that statement. True, he never truly stated his reason for wanting to separate, but he figured that the vaguer, the better. Chanyeol had a different idea apparently, but he was asking for more than Baekhyun was willing to open up to at the moment.

Putting a hand to his forehead, Baekhyun’s lips thinned. “I just… wasn’t comfortable, okay? Not with you, at least.” It was a bit of an exaggeration, but he needed an excuse to give. “It wasn’t working out for me.”

Taken aback, Chanyeol felt an aching in his chest. Was he hurt? It felt like it. In truth, he didn’t feel the same way Baekhyun did. In fact, he was in an absolute loop as to what it was that was ailing their relationship. It hadn’t occurred to him that anything was wrong at all.

They started dating in the spring—after a very long chase on Chanyeol’s part—and ever since then, up until Baekhyun’s random change of mind midway through summer, they’d been great. More than great, in Chanyeol’s opinion. Baekhyun even met his parents and friends, which, from Chanyeol’s point of view, went off without a hitch. So for him, it was hard to wrap his head around the words that came out of Baekhyun’s mouth about the latter feeling uncomfortable—and with him of all the things!

“You’re being evasive,” Chanyeol finally said. “That’s not a good enough reason. There’s more to it, isn’t there?”

“I don’t know. Maybe.” Baekhyun didn’t feel like talking about it anymore. If Chanyeol pushed him any further, he would’ve felt even shallower than he already did at the moment. Without waiting for a response, he began walking out the way Chanyeol had taken him from. When he reached the main hall with the moving stairs, he waited for a few minutes for Chanyeol to emerge behind him, perhaps up for another round of arguing, which Baekhyun wasn’t entirely against because it excited him the way Chanyeol took such an interest to him, but nothing came but disappointment when his ex failed to appear. Let down, Baekhyun shook off his hopes and began walking to the Gryffindor dormitory to join the rest of his house.





The saying “boys will always be boys” was relatively true in the way when Baekhyun stepped into his dorm as he did every year since he was 11 and he was met by miniature firecracker explosions near his feet when he entered. He jumped, loudly screaming in surprise as a burst of laughter from his dorm mates. After catching his composure, he kicked aside tricks and jabbed the guy next to him which happened to be Jongdae.

“I told you guys this one right here would react the best!” Jongdae howled, throwing his arm around Baekhyun and pulling him towards the rest of the boys in the room where they all jostled the brunette, messing with his hair and playfully jabbing his arm. “Should’ve seen your face, Byun Baekhyun. You reminded me of one of those small little first years, you know? Making yourself an easy target and all.”

Baekhyun snorted as he pulled away from all the horseplay and sat on the only bed left open for his taking, the same usual place every year. “Grow up!” he teasingly scolded as the others made faces at him, and Sehun, who was sitting with his legs dangling from his upper bunk, threw a candy wrapper at him.

“You make it too easy,” he said, waving the lollipop in his hand around. “Jongin wanted to play that prank on Kyungsoo, but then Kyungsoo nominated you and Jongdae seconded the notion, so it had to be you.”

“You couldn’t have said anything to nominate someone else?” Baekhyun said, picking up the thrown wrapper off the floor and obliterating it with a simple, muttered spell.

“We all wanted to see it,” Sehun shrugged, nodding in Jongdae’s direction. “The mastermind over there brainwashed us into thinking that it’d be pretty great.”

“And great it was,” Jongin added, cleaning up the pieces of their prank. “By the way, why’d you take half a century to get here?”

Moving to his own bed and lying down with his hands behind his head, Jongdae yawned. “Yeah, we almost went to sleep just waiting for you. What held you up? Were you having a serious talk with Yunho or something? Are you the Head Boy this year and forgot to tell your dear friends that you’re moving out? Because, then, shame, Baekhyun—”

Shaking his head, Baekhyun scoffed. “No. I just got held up by a few things.”

“Important things?”

“Juvenile things.”





Baekhyun saw that Chanyeol was often in a bitter mood since their encounter, but no matter how many blank and angry looks he received from afar, Baekhyun was spared any more confrontation. Chanyeol, as it was made obvious, had no desire to talk to him. At least, not at the moment.

Word had spread that they had broken up. Even Jongdae pieced it all together without confirmation from his dorm mate, and when that happened, he realized what those “juvenile” things were that kept Baekhyun delayed in returning to the dormitory on the night of the annual feast. The news, overall, had mixed reactions to it.

The ones who thought they were cute together were disappointed; the ones who hated Baekhyun for snagging the Slytherin offensive player off the field in the game of love were silently joyous; and those who were indifferent shrugged, muttering about how relationships between a Slytherin and a Gryffindor never worked out anyhow.

The brunette wasn’t ignorant to the whispering, but he shoved it out. He figured that he was being an ass about it, but it was because no one else understood the situation. Not even Chanyeol, but Baekhyun refused to admit that part. To him, it was just better off how it was.





Quidditch season was beginning and, as every year, try outs preluded the games. First years were eager to test their skills, but the older ones, especially the seventh year students who were dedicated to the game, were confident that they’d place on the team.

The day was booked for the Gryffindors’ use, but when they reached the field, they saw that it was already in use. Sighing, Junmyeon walked over to the Slytherin captain, Yong Guk, and managed to split the field, avoiding conflict between the opposing houses.

Baekhyun caught Chanyeol look over his way, but didn’t have the chance to do anything else as the latter took off on his broom and flew to the sky for his trials. Although he was confident, he felt the need to keep his head in the game if he wanted to be placed that year. Without another thought, he slowly rose off the ground, fixing his gloves and pad along the way until he reached his position.

There were others before him, so Baekhyun took to moving aside for a while, watching the newer players show off their skill. However, after a time, Baekhyun’s attention drifted to the other side of the field where Chanyeol was up. Not to his surprise, the offensive player played aggressively despite the fact that it was only a try out. Nonetheless, Chanyeol shoved those who neared him and scored the quaffle through the middle ring with ease despite the defense.

Of course, it was no wonder why he was considered the best out of all the offensive players. That was undeniable, even to Baekhyun.

The brunette came out of his thoughts when he heard Junmyeon call his name. Slowly detaching himself from all previous thoughts on the game and Chanyeol, Baekhyun moved to the center of the three rings and focused on the quaffle rocketing toward him.







He was rusty. The aching in his arm was enough to prove that, but Baekhyun figured that it had been a long summer of doing nothing anyhow. Groaning, he leaned back and sank in the large, heated tub. It was really a blessing that the school had such a thing on the fifth floor of the hospital tower corridor that was rarely used, especially at that time of the night. He made a reminder to himself to be extra quiet when getting out and returning back to the dormitory or else someone would catch him, which would lead to some sort of juvenile punishment that Baekhyun had no care for to do. It was the Prefect’s bathroom, after all, therefore, he had no permission to use the space anyhow.

His eyes were closed, but they snapped open when he heard the sound of footsteps behind him. Before he could turn and react, another individual was joining him in the water. Baekhyun blinked a few times before looking away when the male dropped his towel.

“Ahhh... God, the water feels so good.”

Baekhyun scoffed as he submerged his body even more underneath the water. He moved over a few spaces to give distance between them. “Couldn’t you have found a different place to go, Chanyeol?”

The dark haired male hummed in response, finding no shame in bearing himself naked for a moment before covering himself in the cloak of the water.

“I’m the one who got you to start using this place, wasn’t I?” Chanyeol shrugged, cupping water into his hands and splashing his face. Then he dragged his hands through his hair, damping it. “Maybe show a little courtesy?”

Baekhyun eased. It was true that it had been Chanyeol who introduced him to begin the habit of bathing in the tub when no one was around to use it in the night. His shoulders slanted as he relaxed, unaware of the way Chanyeol was peeking under his lashes to catch a glimpse of him.

Falling back to acting as seemingly casual as possible, Baekhyun sighed. “Well, fine, I guess,” he resigned. “Anyways, did you make the team this year?”

Chanyeol gave him a look. The question was too obvious that it surely didn’t even need an answer… but Chanyeol gave it anyhow.

“Yes,” the Slytherin responded, wetting his face again until his bangs stuck together and dripped of water. “Not like I was going to let some younger year take my place.”

“I suppose.” Baekhyun kept neutral. “It’d be a shame to your team if you didn’t make it.”

Chanyeol shrugged, leaving the conversation discontinued. Baekhyun wanted to get out, but figured that it’d be awkward to do so. Besides, hadn’t it been him who wanted to continue on with no traction between them? Biting his pride down, Baekhyun submerged his head in the water completely and came back up with the decision to stay.

“Are you hurt?”

The question came out of nowhere and Baekhyun was taken off guard for a slight second. “Hm?”

“I saw you get hit during your trials,” Chanyeol explained, though he made sure to keep his eyes away for the most part. “You didn’t say anything to Junmyeon after.”

Drawing his brows together, Baekhyun contemplated on what to say. True, he had been hit, though it was merely just a brush, but a slight hit on the shoulder nonetheless in his effort to stop one of the quaffles. No one had noticed, not even Junmyeon, but he couldn’t blame them. It was such a miniscule event that not even the team’s seeker saw the mistake. Chanyeol’s remark had him in silent awe.

Laughing it off, Baekhyun shook his head as he wiped his face with his hands. “It’s alright. It’s not broken or anything. I’m expecting it to be a little sore tomorrow, but I’ll be fine after a few days.”

A pause stalled their conversation again as Baekhyun felt the vibe that Chanyeol had nothing else to say on the matter. Taking in a deep breath, he decided to take the bull by its horns. “So, how’re you?”

Glancing over to the brunette sitting just an arm’s length away, Chanyeol frowned. His gaze almost made Baekhyun want to break out in sweats. “Alright,” the giant answered curtly. Just before Baekhyun could drag on to a more boring and generic question meant to fill in the blanks to their silence, Chanyeol turned his body toward him. “It’s been two weeks.”

Knowing what the Slytherin was referring to, Baekhyun nodded. “And?”

“And I don’t like this,” Chanyeol put as a matter-of-factly. Gesturing back and forth between him and the brunette, his jaw locked. “What the hell is this?”

“I’m not following, Chanyeol…”

“See, I’ve been trying to figure out why you were so ‘uncomfortable’ with me—as you put it—that you, one, called it off and, two, won’t even tell me why.” Rising from the water, Chanyeol revealed more than Baekhyun wanted to see as the latter wadded through the water to approach him.

Looking off to the side, Baekhyun tried to keep a straight face. However, the effort was put in vain when Chanyeol took a hand and gently forced him to look up and meet his eyes. It was a blessing to a certain degree. It gave Baekhyun an excuse to keep his eyes from wandering down south on Chanyeol’s toned body.

“It just… It just wasn’t working out. I told you,” Baekhyun said evenly.

“I don’t believe you.” The words came out softly and Baekhyun felt his pulse rise. “Tell me what I did wrong, Baekhyun.”

“I can’t just—You didn’t. I—”

“Whatever it is, I’m sorry. You know I’m a brute sometimes. Things slip past my mind, so if I did anything to hurt you then I’m—”

Baekhyun frowned. “Chanyeol, this isn’t how it works. That’s not what you did wrong, and you can’t just give me a generic apology hoping that it’ll cover anything. You’re shooting apologies in the dark hoping that it’ll—”

“So, I did do something.” It sounded like the man got the confirmation he needed. “And you won’t tell me, will you?”

“You must think I’m being unfair by not telling you.”

Chanyeol brushed the tip of his thumb just below Baekhyun’s bottom lip with his eyes drawn on the soft mouth. “It really is unfair when you know how much I love you,” he said in a quiet voice. “A little reason telling me why all of a sudden this became a one sided relationship would be nice.”

At that remark, Baekhyun pulled back from Chanyeol’s gentle hold. Suddenly, he began to feel the same irrational aggravation that led him to pull away from their relationship that summer. The event that brought him to that decision came flooding back in vivid images and he became entangled in reliving the humiliating moment when Chanyeol had invited him as a guest at his manor and yet he—

“Well?”

Baekhyun’s body tensed and he pulled out of his previous decision to stay. Touching Chanyeol by the shoulders, he shoved him away. An interlude of silence, saturated in tension, followed and Baekhyun began to crave solitude. Rising from the water, he quickly turned his back to cover himself from view and made the hasty reach for his towel, wrapping himself as fast as he could.

As he picked up his belongings, it wasn’t in his ignorance to dismiss the eyes watching him and the questions that were left unanswered. He hadn’t planned to say anything, opting to leave in silence, but with his clothes gripped in one arm, Baekhyun pursed his lips as he gave Chanyeol an expression that attempted to appear blank and uncaring, but failed as the emotions flashed through his glassy eyes.

“Who knows? Maybe our relationship was just stupid to begin with...”







Every student had an animal of their choosing, and though many chose owls, Baekhyun had decided long ago to bring along a cat. His parents had been persistent about the owl, but Baekhyun—then a first year—thought it was too impractical seeing as how the school had owls for student use anyhow. Eventually, Baekhyun got his way, receiving a white tabby as a gift, which he later named Lady.

Usually, Lady had a calm and tranquil demeanor, but one animal always bothered her, and that was Chanyeol’s snow white, brown speckled owl Charlie.

Whenever Baekhyun took to taking walks with Lady in the yards, Charlie, in his time to kill boredom, would spot them during a leisurely flight, swooping down as if to claw the cat. The two frequently engaged in fights, and it was frustrating on Baekhyun’s part.

Once, Charlie grasped the cat one afternoon, lifting her off the ground as she screeched and thrashed in the owl’s hold. Baekhyun had to jinx the owl and face Chanyeol’s anger. It was the first time he’d met the owl’s owner, and though he had a good mind to knock the man out for his aggressive bird, Baekhyun merely apologized for hurting the owl to an extent despite how he knew it was absolutely necessary.

A few weeks after that encounter, the owl recovered and Baekhyun thought it’d be the last he’d ever see of the stupid animal’s owner, but it wasn’t. Obviously.

Baekhyun was always on guard when it came to his cat. Even when he dated Chanyeol, he was always careful that the owl never saw Lady for fear that the bloody creature would attack the feline once again (or vice versa).

Lady comforted him during the nights of turbulent emotions, especially when Baekhyun arrived to the decision to break things off. The night he arrived back home after being rejected from Chanyeol’s manor by the house elf, it was Lady who kept him company as if to say, “Screw that boy. He has a mean pet, anyways.”

Needless to say that Lady was as close to Baekhyun’s heart as Chanyeol once was, so when the Gryffindor began to notice that his cat hadn’t made an appearance in the dormitory for three consecutive days, which was more out of the norm than anything else, he began to panic.





School was a priority, but Baekhyun couldn’t get his cat out of his mind. It shoved out all other issues concerning Chanyeol, their break up, Quidditch, and work. He tried to go on about as if nothing was wrong even when Jongdae commented on Lady’s absence, but it was inevitable the way it’d somehow affect his mood.

Baekhyun was already in a foul mood despite how cheery he tried to seem. It didn’t help him that the very girl he spent all summer loathing had transferred over at Hogwarts.

Beauxbatons Academy of Magic. If the pretentious reputation of the school didn’t rub him the wrong way enough, it was the devil that came out of it that really blew his grid.





Mermaid tears.

Baekhyun stared at the small, palm-sized vial as Jongdae worked beside him, busying away at his own cauldron. Having put all the other ingredients in his pot, the only thing missing were three precious mermaid tears in order to complete the Temporalis Amnesia sample.

The liquid in the glass vial glistened despite the lack of sunlight within the Potions classroom, but beyond their glistening sparkle, Baekhyun felt sadness. They were tears after all, mermaid or not. Sighing, he took the tiny cork from the tip and slowly tipped the vial until three drops fell perfectly into his cauldron.

Previously, the liquid in his cauldron was clear as the purest of water, but the minute the tears submerged, the liquid became slightly clouded, murky, and opaque. An invisible gas emitted from the product, causing Baekhyun’s eyes to sting slightly, but not enough to cripple him to tears.

He stepped back for a minute, closing his eyes and rubbing them as if to rid of the stinging feeling. Jongdae turned his head back and laughed at the latter’s misery. “Don’t cry, now. That’s embarrassing.”

“I’m not,” Baekhyun scoffed, stepping back to his station. “Who knew mermaid tears hurt…”

Jongdae shrugged. “They’re supposed to hurt. Like, always. Don’t you read anything?”

“I must’ve skipped that part, then.”

They heard some sniffing from behind and both turned their attention to a Hufflepuff whose eyes were red and puffy with tears. Snickering, Jongdae shook his head as he returned back to his own task. “Poor Jackson.”

“He put too much…” Baekhyun muttered under his breath as he stared at the pit of his cauldron. “What do mermaid tears have anything to do with memory anyways?”

“Did you read the chapter before you came to class today, Byun?”

“I did,” the latter replied, lazily stirring his pot. “It must’ve been in the footnotes.”

Rolling his eyes, Jongdae sprinkled the chopped roots for the remedy in his cauldron and took hold of his stirring stick, poking the brunette on the side. “Think about it. The drink’s called Temporalis Amnesia, and if it’s not clear enough for you already, it’s for temporary memory loss. Now, this?” He held up his own vial of tears. “Mermaid tears are one of the more precious things in our world. Haven’t you ever read that muggle book about the little mermaid?”

“I really doubt its purpose relates to that story,” Baekhyun commented.

“Not really,” Jongdae admitted, shrugging his shoulders as he settled the vial down, “but the point’s still there. Mermaids rarely cry, as you know, which makes you wonder how the school can afford to let us waste these for potions practice, but here we are.”

“They must cry on demand, then.”

Jongdae shook his head. “When mermaids experience heartbreak, they come to the surface, but like I said, it’s very rare. For all you know, your tears might be the tears resulting from heartbreak and mine could’ve been the product of death or loss. How they actually got these tears, I have no idea. It’s probably top secret, something the Ministry likes to keep under lock and key.”

Leaning down on his cauldron, Baekhyun frowned, fighting against the stinging in his eyes, almost becoming immune to the pain. “So, how does that pertain to this potion?”

“Easy. Mermaids are tough, but when they cry, they cry to rid themselves of the pain, and what we’re making is Temporalis Amnesia.”

“And?”

“The purpose of the drink is to temporarily forget about your pain, to shed it and to rid of it for a time. It doesn’t go away, of course. Just as how mermaids will cry about their pain, it doesn’t just eliminate it entirely, but it makes it easier to move on. Same with this. You allow a moment for yourself to forget so that in the next, it’ll be easier to cope. Simple as that, really. Now, are you done with yours because you should call over Professor Changmin before that thing goes bad. It is temporary after all.”







At the first chance that he got, Baekhyun ran his way to the owlry on the school’s west tower. He swore to everything that if he found Lady dead in Charlie’s nest, he was executing the bird if he didn’t feel merciful enough to settle for the cruciatus curse.

By the time he ran up the tower, his legs were burning as well as his lungs. He wasted no time in arriving at the place. Desperation had already engulfed him. When he stepped foot into the owlry, he was greeted by a handful of round eyes watching him with the turning of all their heads. All the owls look almost identical, but Charlie had a distinct look about it. That or Baekhyun became accustomed to the bird’s appearance through all the unpleasant encounters.

He turned a corner, heading to Charlie’s nest, but found neither the bird nor his cat. Instead, he found Chanyeol who turned his head at the sound of footsteps from behind. They stood in silence until Baekhyun spoke.

“Where’s Charlie?”

Raising his brows, Chanyeol tilted his head in curiosity. “What do want with my bird?”

“Lady’s gone,” Baekhyun said, cutting straight to the point.

“What does that have to do with my bird, though?”

Baekhyun had no patience of Chanyeol’s questions. Reasonable as they may be, he needed to find his cat and his inquiries were hindering the search. “Your bird. Did you send him out?”

Crossing his arms, Chanyeol was slightly amused by the brunette’s assumption that his bird might’ve been the culprit to his little Gryffindor’s problem. “I just sent a letter back home. He’ll be back in a week, but I don’t think it’s very efficient to interrogate an animal.”

“Oh, I’m not going to interrogate the damn thing. I’m going to kill it if I find Lady dead somewhere.” Baekhyun didn’t mean to sound so harsh, but he couldn’t help it. He was upset.

Rid of the playful demeanor he had moments before, Chanyeol’s face contorted to something angrier. He looked pissed off and Baekhyun felt his own irritation backing down, but he kept still.

“I would not let you kill my bird, Baekhyun.”

“I didn’t ask for permission,” Baekhyun threw. “Anyways, if he’s not here, then I’m going to go back to the castle—”

“Chanyeol?”

Freezing in place, the Gryffindor felt his sanity crack. God, how he hated that voice. Turning around, he faced what Chanyeol was looking at, but without any pleasure.

“Minah.”

The name slipped past Chanyeol’s lips and Baekhyun needed to get out of there.

“I’ll leave you two alone.”

Pivoting around, Baekhyun gave Minah a tight smile as he tried to walk past her. But when he attempted to, in a friendly gesture, the girl touched him by the hand and stopped him. “Chanyeol’s friend, right? I remember you!”

Baekhyun tensed, but he nodded. “Yes, though I wasn’t—”

“At the Park’s manor!”

Again, Baekhyun confirmed. “In mid-July.”

“Oh, well you look good!” She smiled, but geared her attention back to Chanyeol. “Anyways, I was looking for you! My father…”

Tuning out, the brunette moved his hand away. “I have to meet Jongdae and Soo at the library, so I’ll get going.” It was a lie, but no one was listening to him anymore as Minah went about talking about her father and the Ministry. Rolling his eyes once he was out of their view, Baekhyun went on to search other places where his cat might’ve been nesting.







The first practice of the season was in fair weather. It was on a weekend morn, and the Gryffindor players were greeted by cheery faces as they walked into the great hall for breakfast wearing their gear.

Out on the field, the quaffle felt so familiar in the young chaser’s hand. It felt homely to Baekhyun who had been playing the sport since the day he stepped foot on the castle. Heavy, yes, but just the right weight.

Playing a mock match, Baekhyun dominated in taking steals when the second team crept too close to the three rings. There was nothing more relieving than the wind rushing against his direction and setting himself free with every swift turn, curve, and pull of his broom.

Rarely was Baekhyun ever aggressive, opting to steer clear of other players and passing the quaffle off as much as possible to avoid confrontation. However, with everything that had gone downhill in such a short amount of time, his thrusts showed more aggression. His teammates hadn’t picked up on his darkened mood, but thought that it was probably for the best.

When his feet landed back on the grassy earth at the end of the vigorous first practice of the year, Baekhyun felt like collapsing as he gave his praise to his other mates when all he wanted was to fall his way into the Prefect’s bathroom.

As the team gradually fell from their high, Kyungsoo, the Team Two’s keeper, walked over to the solemn brunette and touched him by the shoulder. “I’m not usually the one to care, but are you alright?”

“Yes, why?” Baekhyun’s lungs were burning and his arms ached again. He had pushed himself too hard. “Is something wrong?”

“I don’t know. Is there?”

Kyungsoo’s eyes pierced through him, but Baekhyun kept his guard up. “No. Nothing at all.”







The opening game happened in November, sunny with a chilly breeze to accompany its presence. Played between Slytherin and Hufflepuff, there was already an air of arrogance as students filed into the stands into their designated areas.

Baekhyun followed the crowd, carefully walking by each student as he made his way to the stairs up to the seats for Gryffindor. As he moved, Slytherins briskly passed him with no apologies made. It was irksome, but he held his tongue thinking that fighting in such a crowded space would do nothing but result in arms and legs broken (though not his, for sure).

Behind him, Kyungsoo followed, side glancing the students that had no decency or sense of space despite the fact that the entire place was already as small as it was. “Do you think we’ll be able to find the rest of them once we’re up on the stands?”

Turning his head back, Baekhyun gave him a shrug. “I don’t know. If not, it won’t matter.”

“I just want a good view of the match,” Kyungsoo muttered as they climbed up the steps. “I want to see how their team is this year. Last year was brutal. They won the house cup, too.”

“I don’t doubt that they’ll be brutal again this year with Yong Guk as the captain…” The sunlight of the late morning hit his eyes and Baekhyun threw a hand in front of his face. Spotting an area open, he reached back and pulled Kyungsoo along with him.

Right in front, near the edge, Kyungsoo peered down and focused his attention on the players who seemed nothing like humans at all. From his view, they were like ants. “The Slytherins are coming out.”

Following Kyungsoo’s gaze, Baekhyun saw as players dressed in their green uniform came from under, walking on the field with brooms at hand. After a quick talk, the players were haste in their move to take to the sky, and Baekhyun watched as a familiar chaser took to formation with the rest.

“Hufflepuff has Luhan as captain this year, and he’s a chaser. Quick, too. Then there’s Yixing as a chaser, too…” Kyungsoo paused, looking at the Hufflepuff’s team. “I think they have a chance.”

Baekhyun kept silent, thinking otherwise. In theory, Hufflepuff did have a chance. Their beaters weren’t the best, but their chasers were fast and efficient, but Slytherin always had a bad reputation for savagery. Their chasers were quick, but their beaters were always full of rage, always knocking players of the opposing team’s players with the bludgers so hard, they had to be sent to the infirmary with broken bones and blackened flesh.

Keeping an eye on Chanyeol, Baekhyun let out a sigh. “Good luck to them, I suppose.”

Kyungsoo turned his eyes to the side to give the brunette a curious expression. “Who’re you going to root for?”

Even when he was dating the tall Slytherin, Baekhyun never really cheered or even willed for the house to win. Supporting Chanyeol was one thing, but wishing for the team to win was another, and Baekhyun wasn’t all too fond of the team despite how amicable the players really were off the field.

“I’ll cheer for the Hufflepuffs,” he answered back, eyes still on Chanyeol, who lead the other chasers for their round around the crowd.







By the end of the week, two of the three kids put in the infirmary from the Slytherin versus Hufflepuff game were given the pass to resume back to their daily student activities. The only one left bedridden was Luhan.

Baekhyun put aside eating one afternoon to visit him. It was a little sickening when the bludger smashed into his side, sending the blonde off his broom and plummeting to the ground where he made a devastating impact.

From what Baekhyun heard, he suffered a broken arm and a few ribs. Just thinking about the information was almost worst as replaying the scene in his head. The other players took the time of confusion to their advantage and managed to score before the whistle blew for a time out.

Chanyeol stayed away from the scene, but his teammates closed in, wanting a view of their work—and it infuriated the brunette. To him, Chanyeol should’ve said something, but he didn’t, which resulted in two other Hufflepuff players being injured.

If only he spoke up and tried to be decent for once, maybe the other two injuries could’ve been avoided. Regardless of the fact that he wasn’t the captain, people still looked up to him and heeded his words, so what the hell?

Striding into the infirmary, Baekhyun smiled at the nurses before spotting an extremely bandaged and cared-for male. Slowly, he approached the bed, putting a hand on the bed’s railing.

“Hey.”

Mustering up a smile, Luhan nodded. “Hi, Baekhyun.”

“How’re the broken bones?” Baekhyun asked, taking a seat next to the bed.

“Still broken,” the latter answered, groaning as he shifted himself slightly for comfort. “My side still hurts like hell.”

“Does it?” Pursing his lips, Baekhyun looked over the Hufflepuff’s injuries. “I’m sorry.”

Luhan laughed until his body rejected the action by aching. “It’s nothing. Besides, you weren’t the bloke that did that stupid foul.”

“Yeah, but I knew him.”

“Well, you had nothing to do with it anyways… even if you were dating one of them.”

That point was true, but Baekhyun kept his lips sealed. Though Luhan dismissed Chanyeol as one of the common crowds of the Slytherin house, the brunette knew otherwise. Though sometimes blooming with the arrogance and pride that Slytherins were known to possess in character, Chanyeol was different in that he actually had a conscience at times. Sometimes sweet like a Gryffindor and smart like a Ravenclaw. But never the type to do harm intentionally… No matter what kind…

Reaching over, Baekhyun put a hand on Luhan’s shoulder, smiling. “I just came to see how you were doing. You better get well soon. Oh, and I have this.” Reaching into his robe, he pulled out a tiny box and put it in Luhan’s hand. “Sehun asked me to hand this to you. Said to give you his wishes.”

“Tell him thanks, then,” Luhan replied, looking at the small delicate box. “What is this?”

“Chocolate from Honeydukes.”

“I don’t think Madam Pomfrey will let me eat this.”

Laughing, Baekhyun stood up, putting a finger to his lips. “Then eat it in secret.”









Baekhyun didn’t have much love for prophecies or oracles, but passing the class he took for the hell of it was nonetheless important. Staring at his black bowl, he tried to understand what his broken oracle bone was trying to tell him, but he found no luck on the matter. It was just a bone. However, the professor was deeply graphic and enthused by the subject. Baekhyun couldn’t help but try and put in an effort.

All he saw was brittle matter snapped in two. Whether that symbolized anything, he didn’t know. The professor never wandered towards him to explain.







It was interesting. Muggle studies.

Though Baekhyun believed in doing good in one’s own efforts, Jongin had bothered him so much with his assignments, the brunette gave in, accepting to help the wizard with his work. Being the fact that he was a muggle born, Baekhyun was an expert with the subject that pertained to his entire life.

Focused on commanding a quill in midair to write a paper in Jongin’s handwriting, Baekhyun felt himself jerk the second the chair across from him was pulled from its place and another student came to occupy the space. When he lifted his eyes, he frowned.

“Muggle studies… What’re you taking this class for?” Chanyeol slipped one of the books from Baekhyun’s stack and flipped it open. “I think you should know this stuff by now.”

Ignoring the spiked conversation, Baekhyun continued on with his work. “What do you want, Chanyeol?”

“Nothing,” the latter answered. “Just thought I’d come by here and take a seat.”

Baekhyun said nothing. The quill stopped moving and he flicked his wand again to change the parchment to a new and clean one.

“How’s Luhan?”

“He’s doing fine. Cast is still on, but he’s okay now.”

Nodding, Chanyeol paused. “I’m sorry. I should’ve done something.”

“It’s okay.” Baekhyun turned a page.

With his jaw locked, Chanyeol shut the textbook in his hand and set it back down on the table. “I talked to them after the game. I also visited Luhan immediately after the match and then again just the other day... I saw you just before I walked in.”

“Oh?” Glancing over Chanyeol’s way, Baekhyun knew he was treading on thin ice.

“I didn’t expect you to be there, and I just—” He put a hand to his head, clearly frustrated, and Baekhyun tried to ignore it, but it was inevitable for him to take notice. “Listen, there’s a trip to Hogsmeade soon. I want you to go.”

“I always go, Chanyeol.”

“But with me.”

There were a million things running through Baekhyun’s mind. First off all, he had to concentrate about what he wanted on the paper or else the quill would either stop working or write something else—oh god. Glancing over at the new parchment, Baekhyun saw that the quill had written his rambling thoughts from “What should I tell him?” to “Maybe I can tell him—”

Snatching the paper, Baekhyun crumpled it in his hands. “I don’t know, Chanyeol. Jongdae and Kyungsoo are expecting me to go with them.”

Cocking his head, Chanyeol gave him a look. “Give them an excuse.”

“But I don’t want to,” the brunette sighed. “Look, I have a lot of things to do, including all of this. So if you don’t mind, I’d really appreciate it if you—”

“Why do you keep doing this?” the Slytherin sharply asked, cutting him off short. “I just want to be alone with you. Spend a day with my boyfr…” His voice drifted, jaw tensed before he finished. “Boyfriend. And you’re acting like—”

“Chanyeol.” Drawing his brows together, Baekhyun pursed his lips, looking stern. “We’re not dating anymore.”

“You’re my ex…” Chanyeol’s voice rang dry by the end of his words, pushing his chair back. “I can’t say it, Baek. Curses, hexes, dark magic, anything. I can say those things, but I can’t wrap my head around calling you an ex.”

With his shoulders slanted, Baekhyun inhaled, muttering, “Then try.”

“I am trying!” Chanyeol hissed lowly enough for only Baekhyun to hear. “But it’s not fair to me. This entire thing isn’t fair to me and you know it… You won’t tell me why, you won’t give me the real reasons, you avoid me now like I’m the god damn black plague threatening to kill you and—”

“Chanyeol, look at this.” Gripping one of Jongin’s books, Baekhyun held it in front of him. The quill froze in midair as his focus was finally ripped from the assignment.

Not in any mood to be thrown off, Chanyeol took the book and forced Baekhyun’s hands to slam it back down. “No. For once in your life, live up to your god damn house’s reputation and quit being a coward against me.”

It was insulting to be finger-pointed as a coward. In Baekhyun’s mind, what he did was brave. Letting the Slytherin in front of him go was the hardest thing he had to do, so it was nothing less than a slap on the face for the very same man to call him a coward for what he did. Gritting his teeth, Baekhyun pulled the book from Chanyeol’s grasp and held it up as close to the Slytherin’s face as he could.

“Muggle studies,” he growled, voice weakly shaking. “I’ll read it again. Muggle Studies.”

Annoying, Chanyeol snatched the book from the brunette and firmly put it back in the stack beside them. “Okay, I get it. You’re doing someone’s assignment, now quit trying to change the damn subject.”

Frustrated, Baekhyun jerked from his seat, standing up high as he looked down at the male across from him. “Muggle, Chanyeol. It’s what I practically am. I’m a muggle born.”

Chest heaving, Chanyeol slowly rose from his seat, surpassing the latter in height in a matter of seconds. “And?”

“You’re a pureblood.”

“And?”

God, how many times was he going to say that word? Baekhyun began to feel pressure in his chest and knew he had to escape from the situation. Fight or flight and the brunette was going to choose flight if it wasn’t for Chanyeol suddenly walking around the table, stalking toward him.

“And it’s just impossible for us to exist.” It was simply said and Baekhyun tried to ignore the feeling in his body as he quickly took Jongin’s books into his arms. “That’s all.”

“That’s it?” From the look on his face, Baekhyun could tell Chanyeol was enflamed. “That’s what you broke up with me for!? Blood differences!?”

Turning his head, Baekhyun saw people, and having an audience was the least of his desires. As he maneuvered and walked to areas more isolated, he knew that Chanyeol was trailing close behind. If there was one thing to thank the founding wizards and witches of the castle, it had to be for the large library and its endless amount of empty rows.

“It’s really not…” Baekhyun paused, finding an empty row and leading the latter with him before turning around. “This summer, I just came to realize that it wouldn’t last so I just decided to end it. You and I were bound to break up somewhere along the line anyways, so before either of us got hurt for such a stupid reason, I just thought that I’d—”

“You, you, you. Everything’s about you,” Chanyeol interrupted, laughing bitterly as he advanced in on the brunette. “Your summer, your realizations, your thoughts, your decision—It’s just you! And what about me? Where the hell’s my input on this entire fucking decision? I never had a voice in this.”

“You did when you introduced me to your parents as your friend.” Groaning, Baekhyun turned his back to the male and walked down the aisle, heading toward a table and throwing Jongin’s books on it. “It didn’t hit me until then that they’d never accept me, Chanyeol. Like hell they’d let our relationship be as it was and plus, it’d make for one hell of a family dinner party, wouldn’t it?”

“Why do you worry so much about the little things?”

“It’s not little!”

How could he think it was a little thing to be upset over? Maybe Chanyeol didn’t understand, and Baekhyun gave that a thought, but it was a little nerve wrecking for someone so important to be unable to see his situation.

“So what, you’re scared of being disliked by my family? What else? What has the smart little Gryffindor cowering in his corner when it comes to me?”

Turning around, Baekhyun faced him. Chanyeol was intimidating in height and it wasn’t something that could easily be overcome, and despite the fact that they dated, Baekhyun still felt like a runt sometimes.

“I thought I’d just spare you the trouble.”

“Honestly, what trouble you tried to ‘spare’ me from actually brought on more than what you thought in the first place.” Crossing his arms, Chanyeol glowered. “You know, the first week when everyone found out you practically dumped me, I had a handful of people try and ask me out. You’d think people would have some decency into at least letting me try and get over you at first, but you really can’t trust people sometimes.”

Snorting, Baekhyun raised a brow. No one approached him after they broke up. Not one invitation or flirtatious message, so the brunette had nothing to counter the statement with. “I don’t understand how that’s bad. People want you, obviously. You’re like some black market drug that people want, so why is that such a bad thing?”

“Why’re you so dumb for someone in Gryffindor!?” Chanyeol exclaimed.

“Well, I’m not in Ravenclaw, dick!”

“Then news for you, I don’t want them. Now come here!”

Alarmed, Baekhyun took a step back but was kept in place by the table behind him. Reaching into his robe, he pulled out a wand and pointed it straight ahead until it pressed against Chanyeol’s chest. “No.”

“What’re you going to do? Curse me?”

“Maybe.”

“You don’t have the guts to do it.”

Sighing, Chanyeol put his hand on the way and pushed it down toward the ground. “I turned eighteen a few weeks ago, you know.”

Biting his bottom lip, Baekhyun nodded, keeping the wand pointed down, but without the decision to put it back in its place. “Actually, I do know. I heard the birthday song all the way from my table. You have a loud crowd of friends, Chanyeol, and I think half the people singing were girls trying to put on a show for you. From what I heard, you should’ve smiled and enjoyed yourself more.”

“Yeah, well, how could I do that when on the other side of the stupid hall, I could see you?” he asked, rolling his eyes. “Anyways, point of the matter is, I’m eighteen and my father just set me up with an interview with the Ministry Department of Magical Law Enforcement. If I pass the interview, which there’s a fat chance that I will, because, I mean, come on, look at me, then I’ll get into the program. By the time fall comes around next year, I’ll have a job and I’ll be able to move out.”

“Chanyeol.”

Shaking his head, Chanyeol refused to be interrupted. “I’m thinking about London, but I’ll move to the outskirts if that’s what’ll suit you better. I don’t really care—”

“What the—” Baekhyun’s jaw slacked. A slight blush rushed to his cheeks. “What’re you saying?”

“You want to know what I’m sayi`ng?” The way he cocked his head made Baekhyun slightly worried. “I’m saying that my family never should’ve even been a problem because if they didn’t approve, then to hell with them. I was going to move out anyway.”

“You can’t just choose me over your family.”

Bobbing his head from side to side, Chanyeol shrugged. “A Christmas card should do every year. We’re not that close of a family unit, so it shouldn’t even bother. You saw how my family was when I invited you over, plus that day you tried to see me on your own. I want something different.”

Dropping his shoulders, Baekhyun gave him a look. “Why do you never give up…”

“If I gave up so easily without looking for other ways to solve my problems—especially our problems—then I wouldn’t get anywhere,” Chanyeol answered easily. “Besides, isn’t that why I’m a Slytherin. For being clever?”

“I don’t know if you’re really clever or just persistent and lucky with whatever it is that you decide to do.”

“Well, nothing’s going to work out if you don’t agree with what I have to say next, because I can plan all I want, how long it’ll take depends on you.”

Unconsciously, Baekhyun held in his breath, practically a mess on the inside. “Okay,” he said cautiously. “What is it?”

“First, I want you to come to Hogsmeade with me next weekend. I have something you might like. Second, you never got me anything for my birthday, so I expect you to forget about the last three months as your present to me. Take a dose of Temporalis Amnesia for all I care. Just forget about everything you’re scared of.”

“The concoction doesn’t work like that, Chanyeol.”

“I was just making a point, Baekhyun.”

“Fine. Go on.”

“I asked you this question five times last year. Two of those times, you thought I was joking. Third time, you jinxed my cauldron and spilled my assignment on purpose because you thought I was joking again…”

Baekhyun remembered. It was the only ten points lost he was ever proud of.

“The fourth time was the only time you rejected me properly like a normal human being, because by the time I asked again for the fifth time, you told me that Luhan was your boyfriend thinking that it’d throw you off.”

“And it didn’t.”

“No,” Chanyeol said, “because I knew he was dating Sehun, anyway.”

Raising a brow, Baekhyun was genuinely surprised that the giant knew. Interesting.

“And what about the sixth?”

“I’m pretty sure you remember the sixth.”

“Remind me.”

Catching wind of Baekhyun’s change of tone, Chanyeol cocked his head to the left, putting a hand on the book shelf as he leaned in. “Sixth, I took you to the astronomy tower and kissed you until you couldn’t say no. Romantic, isn’t it?”

“I remember it differently,” Baekhyun said, lightly arguing. “I remember you saying you’d jump off the tower if I didn’t admit I wasn’t dating Luhan. I called you out on it, and then you kissed me out of desperation.”

“Actually, kissing you was the plan. That entire thing about jumping off was just improv. You know what improv is, don’t you? Muggles love it as a form of comedic entertainment. I think it’s quite fascinating. Anyways, is this the part where we make up and make out, because I’d honestly like to take you somewhere else other than in this dusty library.”

Tilting his own head slightly to the side as he lifted his chin to meet Chanyeol’s eyes strongly, Baekhyun kept his face stoic. “You never asked me your question.”

“You know, you’re a bit too cheeky for someone who should be apologizing for breaking up so irrationally.”

Softening the expression on his face, Baekhyun nodded. “Right… Well, I’m sorry…” He paused. “But you know I did have very logical reasons and—”

Putting a finger to Baekhyun’s lips, Chanyeol shook his head. “Don’t ruin a perfectly acceptable apology,” he said before removing his touch. “Now, for the seventh time, will you date me?”

“No.” The answer arrived sharply.

Chanyeol was taken aback for a split millisecond. “Okay, see here, Byun. We can’t just solve out our issues and then take ten steps back. That’s counterproductive to everything we—”

“Chanyeol,” Baekhyun said, interrupting. “Sometimes, I think we were sorted into the wrong houses. I’m more of an ass than you are.”

“That’s not true.”

“And let’s face it, I do nothing for you, really.”

“That’s not true either.”

“I don’t know why you’re a Slytherin. Maybe it’s because of the vibe you give off that has people swooning over you, but in private, you do realize you’re softer than I am, right?” Chanyeol’s features looked so perplexed, Baekhyun couldn’t help himself. He reached up with a hand, dragging his thumb on the latter’s cheek as he caressed his face. “I’m so guarded, you’d think I have no heart to even begin with.”

“Not true. You’re like an onion,” Chanyeol said, grabbing the hand before it had the chance to pull away. Then he kissed it. “Of course you have a heart. You may have stupid layers, but I like peeling you. Figuratively and literally because I think no one else turns me on like you do—god, the way you do that thing with your ass on me is like—”

If his hand wasn’t trapped in the Slytherin’s grip, Baekhyun would’ve pulled away. And if he didn’t care about hurting him, he would’ve blown the giant away with one flick of his wand. Reluctantly, Baekhyun did nothing but turn red.

“Okay, moving on,” the brunette said quickly. “In Divination, we had to look into the future with these bones. All I saw were two bones broken in half and I thought that it meant us, so I just decided to believe that for a while.”

Chanyeol frowned. “The chicken bones that new professor gave us? You’re honestly out of wit if you think that I’d ever be okay with you making decisions from looking at chicken bones.”

“I’m not very good at divination, anyhow, so it doesn’t matter.”

“Good! It shouldn’t,” Chanyeol agreed. “Now, will you—”

“Chanyeol, will you go out with me?”

The question left his lips so quickly, Baekhyun could barely render the words he just said. Chanyeol was left surprised, but amused. And before the brunette could do anything else, he swooped in and gave a quick kiss to the lips, smirk placed firmly on his face as he pulled away, gently pressing his forehead against the small male’s.

“I’ll say yes under the condition that you think about coming to live with me when I’m all moved out.”

“Will you introduce me to your parents?” Baekhyun said softly.

“You bet your tiny butt, I will.”

“Then okay. We’ll see how this goes…” Exhaling, Baekhyun put away his wand before reaching out and pulling Chanyeol against him. “I miss hugging you like this.”

“That’s your fault.”

“Don’t play smart.”

Grinning, Chanyeol dragged his hands down Baekhyun’s back before he lifted him up by the back of his thighs. The brunette gave a quiet yelp of surprise before hitting his back against the book shelf.

“I’ve been wanting to do this to you all summer. You kind of pushed my plans back by a few months, so I’m getting started on my bucket list right now.”

Laughing, Baekhyun moved his arms to loosely wrap around the male’s neck. “I’m sorry.”

“I accept your apology, Byun, now be a good Gryffindor, wrap your little legs around me and keep quiet.”

And for the first time that year, the brunette didn’t argue.





Questions surfaced in his own mind about his standing with the Slytherin walking just inches away from him to his left. A kiss or two certainly did anything was back to how it used to be, granted that the brunette let the male’s hand slip in areas it should’ve have been in.

Kyungsoo had grabbed him by the hand to pull him along with the rest of the dormitory boys as they began walking to the village, but Chanyeol threw him a hard expression before Baekhyun stepped in and told his roommate that he’d be spending the day with Chanyeol.

Despite the giant’s intimidating looks, Kyungsoo had pulled the brunette off to the side for a moment to ask if he’d be alright. “He is a Slytherin, you know. Can’t trust them after what happened to Luhan out on the field.”

True, but Chanyeol was a different case. Nodding, Baekhyun let him know that it was fine. “I suppose, but I have to trust my boyfriend. At least, a little bit even though he’s who he is.”

Rarely was Kyungsoo caught off-guard by anything, but it was just so as his eyes widened and lips parted in shock. Before he could spin a question, Jongdae made an appearance, broke through the Slytherins surrounding the couple and hooked his arm with Kyungsoo’s dragging him away.

“We’ll see you back in the dorm, Baek. Come on, Soo. Close that mouth of yours. Jongin’s staring…”

When Baekhyun rejoined Chanyeol’s side, the male took to watching Kyungsoo suspiciously as the two met eyes and shared a common glare. “I’m guessing you haven’t told them yet.”

“No,” Baekhyun dismissed as he shrugged. “But they know now. So, what do you have planned for today?”

“I don’t know. A lot of people are heading to Zonko’s Joke Shop, and I don’t want to see the people going there. Let’s go to Honeydukes. There’s someone we have to meet with, plus I have another thing to give you there...”

“Who?”

Chanyeol shrugged. “It’s a surprise. Why don’t you just worry about what you want to get.”

There was something the latter was holding back, but Baekhyun knew better than to try and pry information out of the Slytherin so he opted to walking quietly next to him, which had its weirdness to it. As he looked around, he could see Chanyeol’s gang of friends not too far from them as if to warn people to stay away and prevent Baekhyun from escaping. The brunette snorted at their formation. Typical.







“You really think it’s necessary to buy me an expensive five pound block of chocolate…”

Chanyeol cocks his head, stepping back as he takes in the sight of Baekhyun holding a rectangular block of chocolate neatly wrapped in gold wrapping. Crossing his arms, his lips jutted out in judgment. “Well, we’ll have some uses for it. For one, if you eat of all it, you won’t be able to get away from me anymore.”

It wasn’t a funny thought to think of himself trying to wobble away only to be caught in just seconds by a tall, peering Slytherin. “Oh, fun.”

“Second, we could always light some fires up and drip those on your tiny nips.”

Merlin bless the fact that people were two busy minding their own business to pay attention to them. For a split moment, Baekhyun even considered thrusting the block of fairly heavy dark and white chocolate made from the cold winters of Scotland in Chanyeol’s face. No one would’ve noticed, so it wouldn’t have mattered.

“Chanyeol, really.”

“Oh!” Taking an arm and wrapping it around Baekhyun’s shoulder, Chanyeol pushed the doors open and led them out in the cold snowy streets. “I just remembered right now, actually.”

Letting himself be pulled closer, Baekhyun pulled his scarf up. “Remembered what exactly?”

“I read up on Muggles. Stole one of Jongin’s books. It wasn’t like he would’ve noticed, anyways,” Chanyeol justified, snorting as he said so. “I wanted to get a little bit more info about what your life is kind of like, and that’s where I read something about you guys having an entire day dedicated to chocolate giving in the name of love. Something weird like that.”

“You mean, Valentine’s day?”

“Sure.” Tapping at the block in Baekhyun’s arm, Chanyeol grinned. “Valentine’s day.”

“That’s in February, ape.”

“Not with me, it’s not.” Snorting, Chanyeol began leading them away from the crowded main street and down a smaller one with less than pretty shops, but still homely and comfortable in sight.

“Where’re we going?”

“It’s a surprise until we get there.”

Baekhyun drew his brows together, but went along as they passed shop after shop until they were walking down a tiny dead-end street. Padding through the snow, Chanyeol dropped his arm, but chose to hold onto the brunette’s hand instead. Slowly, they approached a wooden door, vague in the hanging sign above it, and knocked.

Honestly expecting some sort of scare, Baekhyun gripped the hand tighter, which brought a small smirk on the latter’s face.

The door opened and a short, stubby man with a gruff beard on his face greeted them, but seemed to be familiar with the Slytherin. “Ah, Chanyeol. I’ve been waiting for you to come by around.”

Gently pulling Baekhyun inside the small, below-the-ground shop, Chanyeol closed the door behind them. As Baekhyun shook the snow off of him, the giant went forward to shake the man’s hand. “Mr. Dooley. This is Baekhyun. The boyfriend.”

The heat that rose to Baekhyun’s face didn’t originate from the shop’s warm atmosphere. Trying hard not to reveal his I’m-embarassed-as-hell smile, Baekhyun shook Mr. Dooley’s hand. “Hello...”

Nodding, Mr. Dooley let go and motioned for the two to follow him, heading towards to more doors leading to some back room Baekhyun was almost suspicious of entering. Chanyeol, on the other hand, seemed perfectly alright.

“How’s she doing?” the Slytherin asked.

“Very, very good,” Mr. Dooley answered as he opened the door.

Baekhyun looked back and forth between the two men. It was blurred to him about who they were speaking of.

“She’s been getting along fine with the others.”

“No more motor problems?”

“I’ve been able to undo every bit of magic put on her by accident.”

To his left, Baekhyun saw an injured owl with bandages on its wing. To his right, he saw some rats, and everywhere there was space, there was always some type of cat or injured dog. It took a second, but he soon realized they were at some sort of animal hospital. Just before he could ask for their purpose there, Chanyeol stepped aside and let him walk in front of him.

On a wooden table, old and used, sat Lady with her paws in front of her and her hind legs jutted in. Gracefully her tail waved, but it became faster as she saw the sight of her beloved boy.

“Lady!” Baekhyun, without a thought, gave the Scottish chocolate to Chanyeol’s expecting hands and ran over to his feline friend, picking her up in his arms and almost choking at the dryness of his throat. “I thought you were long gone, baby,” he wheezed, nuzzling the cat’s furry head.

Smiling, Chanyeol stepped closer as Mr. Dooley made himself busy by packing all of Lady’s belongings. “I tried finding her, too. It took a while, but I found her near the edge of the forest.”

Gasping, Baekhyun tore himself away from his cat and gave the feline a disapproving look. “The forest!? You? You know better, Lady.”

“I heard some first years talking about messing around with petrifying spells and practicing where they wouldn’t get caught. You know how stupid first years are, anyways,” Chanyeol said unamused as he crossed his arms. "Usually, petrifying spells only last for so long, but they didn’t have the wits to do it right. Lady must’ve been out for her stroll when she accidentally got hit and became victim to a very hard spell to undo.”

Baekhyun looked horrified. “Was she starving?”

“I couldn’t tell, so I sneaked off to take her here. Luckily, Mr. Dooley here is the best animal doctor in Hogsmeade. He fixed her up in a matter of days, but she needed to rehabilitate for a while. Of course, she was supposed to be discharged two months ago.”

Two?

Hugging his purring cat tightly, Baekhyun elbowed the Slytherin. “Two!? I ought to blast your head off, you ape! Why didn’t you tell me!?”

“I tried but you kept running away.”

Oh.

Drawing his eyes away, Baekhyun turned his back. “Well, still…” For a second, he thought about giving the giant a type of cold shoulder for keeping the information from him. He could even have his expensive and heavy-as-hell chocolate from Scottland, but even then, Baekhyun knew he couldn’t.

Turning back around, Baekhyun gave a small smile. “Thanks...for giving me back my cat.”

“You’re welcome, because now you owe me something,” Chanyeol said, turning his cheek.

Naturally, Baekhyun understood so he stood up on his toes to kiss the Slytherin’s cheek while Mr. Dooley’s back was turned, but instead, the sly snake pressed their lips together instead. Pulling away, Baekhyun recovered quickly from the shock and kicked Chanyeol’s shin.

His cheeks were red and gushing, and even Lady watching the spectacle.

“Don’t ever do that again or I’ll break up with you,” he whispered in a huff, heading back to the front.

Quickly thanking Mr. Dooley as he paid the doctor and took Lady’s bag of cat luggage, Chanyeol sped and walked his way back to the streets of Hogsmeade where Baekhyun stood waiting for him on the main road with students from all houses alike.

“You really mean that, Byun? You’ll break up with me if I kiss you in public?” Chanyeol teasingly challenged as Baekhyun stood like a conquest ready to be taken.

“I don’t know. Will I?”

Scoffing, Chanyeol walked past students, teachers, and villagers alike, some even watching him as he walked through the snow, closing the distance between their bodies, and eventually, their lips. And when they pulled apart—mostly because Lady was pressing her paw against the Slytherin—Chanyeol smirked. “No, because you love it.”

“I do not!” Baekhyun retorted.

Putting that statement to the test, Chanyeol kissed him again, aware that they were slowly garnering attention, but that info didn’t bother him in the least bit, and Baekhyun neither fidgeted nor moved back. Instead, he kissed back.

“See? I told you.”

“Shut up.”