╔══════ ≪¿≫ ══════╗
𝐅𝐀𝐓𝐄 𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐒𝐓𝐒 𝐀 𝐇𝐔𝐌𝐀𝐍 𝐅𝐋𝐄𝐃𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆
𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐒𝐀𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐋𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐒
╚══════ ≪ ? ≫ ══════╝
Although "friends" wouldn't be the first word Jin-woo would use to describe his roommates—annoying had a better ring to it—he could admit they were the next best thing. And, while Dalia and Harry were technically his only friends, he couldn't help but think of Harry as a younger brother. As for Dalia, she was a special case. He wouldn't have wasted precious bedtime on wandering around the castle for anybody else.
Lee, who had likely read one too many romance novels, spent most of their trip to the library corridor trying to make Jin-woo confess his feelings for Dalia. To the disappointments of most of the boys, those feeling didn't exist in the way they hoped. Despite how much he loved her, enough to spend sleepless nights researching something that began to feel like fiction, Jin-woo wasn't interested in dating her.
As they approached the library's front doors, the uneasiness Jin-woo had felt earlier returned, accompanied by a soft pressure around his stomach. Glancing behind him, he saw no loose fireworks racing towards him, and it didn't seem like the twins or Lee were about to play one of their pranks. Perhaps he just had a stomachache.
"Why, I thought Hogwarts didn't let in magical creatures as students!" A little man dressed in comically colourful clothes, Peeves most likely, flew out from the insides of the stone wall to bow playfully at Jin-woo. "What fun!"
Jin-woo stared at Peeves, who cracked at his own joke. "And here I thought Hogwarts would be a normal school. We're both disappointed."
"Disappointed?" Peeves swung around in the air until he ended up hanging upside down like a bat. "No, that's not it. But, what are our ickle thirdies out of bed so late? My, my, if Filch saw you!"
"Don't—" Jin-woo spoke too late.
Like a cartoon character, Peeves took in a deep breath, puffing out his chest. Then he blared like a siren, blowing himself away like a deflating balloon. The portraits had all sorts of complaints about that. None were surprised, though. Peeves had a solid reputation across Hogwarts as the lord of mischief.
Jin-woo turned over to Lee and the twins. "Do you reckon whatever you put together for Filch still works?"
"I doubt it," said George. "But he can't use magic, so I bet he didn't get out of it too long ago."
Paloma dashed across the portraits to overtake one by Jin-woo's side, her breaths inexplicably quick for a painting. "Filch… He's… You've got two minutes at most."
Footsteps echoed at the top of the stone staircase, right at the very end of the corridor. They were loud and unstable, but fairly slow. Jin-woo had no clue what the next step should be on such occasions. Run away, of course, but where? The Hufflepuff Common Room was just that, for Hufflepuffs, which the three boys he and his roommates had 'picked up' on the way to the library weren't.
"Chris, what are you doing? Let's go!" George pulled on his hand.
He had lost himself in his thoughts for far too long. The others had already taken off. From where he and George stood, they could see the faint outlines of Fred and Rivers running in the lead, laughing like maniacs and joking around with close to no care as they slipped away to the next corridor.
Jin-woo refused to run around the castle, fleeing from Filch. The library's front doors were right ahead. He couldn't leave without having found anything, at least one book, that he could read in his free time. The odds that he would pick the right book on the first few tries were close to none. Therefore, the sooner he started reading through everything he could, the sooner he was bound to find life's elixir. Somehow, deep down, under the pressure around his stomach, he knew Hogwarts had the information somewhere. He just had to find it, and, lucky him, that was a Hufflepuff's trait.
"I know a better way," he told George, squeezing his hand to drag him along.
The tall wooden doors wouldn't budge more than a centimetre without creaking, which didn't echo as loud as they had expected it. Fred's and Rivers' yells were still very much present, despite having disappeared from sight. Once they could fit through the crack between the two doors, neither hesitated to slip inside the library and dash to the dark, narrow rows to hide from Filch's passing lantern.
It wasn't until a minute later, when he could hear Filch shuffling down the corridor while sulking, that Jin-woo could breathe again. "How can you sneak out so often? Do you fancy being near a heart-attack?"
"To be fair, it usually involves lots of goo and Dungbombs." George stepped back. Yet, judging by how they could hear each other breathing, one would think they were glued to one another. "Ever seen Filch running around dripping in sparkly rainbow goop?"
Jin-woo chuckled. "First day at Hogwarts, remember?"
"Right." George nodded. "Well, next time you fancy a near heart-attack, tell me. I'll prepare the goop."
The idea didn't tempt him much at first, yet the longer he thought about it, he couldn't resist. "I might take you up on that one of these days. For now, care to help me look for the potion books shelves?"
"Can't promise anything. I haven't been here in a while."
"Should I be surprised you've ever been here at all?"
"It's too early for either of us to get surprised over something so simple."
Raising his wand up to the shelves, George whispered, "Lumos". The tip glowed with a faint white light, not too bright, or else any passerby would see them from outside the library, yet enough to read the shelves' labels. Jin-woo dug in his pockets, looking for his wand, but found himself reaching for air. He had left his robes back at the dormitory, along with his wand.
George caught on, but didn't mention it. He simply stepped aside and shone the light onto the labels in front of Jin-woo. "What are we looking for exactly, Chris?"
"You haven't called me Pretty Boy in a while." He looked down at himself. "Is it the clothes?"
"Oh, Fred's the one who calls you that, not me. I'm George," George replied, sporting an unconvincing smile. "Besides, what's the matter with your clothes? They look fine to me."
"What do you take me for? Of course I know who you are," Jin-woo chuckled. "But you called me Pretty Boy first. It was just this morning. Did you forget already? You told your Mum that I, pretty boy, was with Harry."
"You could tell?" George's eyes widened somewhat.
Jin-woo smiled at him, reaching for his hand to raise the wand up to the labels of the upper shelves. "Shouldn't I?"
"Most people can't," replied George. "Even Lee has trouble. We've convinced everyone he's the only one who can tell Fred and I apart so he can keep being the Quidditch Commentator, but even he gets us wrong sometimes."
"Well, now I'm really looking forward to the Quidditch matches."
"You weren't planning to miss out, did you? Gryffindor usually starts the season against Slytherin. You have to come and cheer for us."
"I don't know. Dalia might try for the Slytherin team. And I'd sooner never go than cheer for the opposite team."
"What will you do when Slytherin's up against Hufflepuff?"
"Cheer for Dalia. If my Housemates are as kind as they're supposed to be, they'll understand that she comes first."
The Quidditch situation at Hogwarts felt much closer to football fanatics than Jin-woo would have liked. Gryffindor had yet another war against Slytherin over the Quidditch Cup, while Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff nearly always sat in the sidelines, watching them get at each other's throats. He wasn't planning on trying out for the Hufflepuff team, yet somehow George made him want it even less. His and Fred's first match had been a mess, which nearly had him hospitalised for two weeks. The current captain of the Gryffindor team himself had been knocked out during his first match as well.
"Remind me to not stand too close. I don't fancy getting hit by a Bludger." Jin-woo laughed, waltzing in and out of the rows as soon as he saw no mentions of potions or draughts. "Why are there two, anyway? One wasn't enough to give people a concussion?"
"It's no fun with only one," replied George, leaning on the shelves as Jin-woo skimmed through the labels and book titles. "A single Beater could handle defending their team. And the fun part is when they can't and someone's knocked out of their broom."
"Bet you don't think like that when the one knocked out is from your team," he said, turning to face George as he had, yet again, found nothing.
"My teammates aren't easy to knock out, except maybe Wood." George lowered his wand. "By the way—"
A head peeked out from the following row of shelves, giving both boys a fright. To their surprise, it was Dalia, who wore her usual black scarf that made her blend with the darkness. "I won't tell if you don't."
"Have you found the potions books?" Jin-woo asked, giving George no time to ask the most probable question—"What are you doing here?"
"You're off by a row. They're right here." Dalia gestured for them to come closer and raised her glowing wand up to a set of books that referred to ancient medical 'concoctions'. "I thought we should try going further back in time. The potion might have been lost during a book's transcription… or it could have lost popularity. If it can save a person's life, it might even have dangerous ingredients."
Jin-woo let out a sigh, suppressing a torrent of curses. What kind of Slytherin simply gave away the entire plan when they had someone they didn't yet trust right next to them? "You told me to meet you in the library for this? I thought we were looking for a 'dummy-guide' kind of book, Dalia. You know I couldn't brew a potion to save my life."
Thankfully, she picked up on it soon enough. "Well, that's why I'm looking for older books. The potion recipes were simple back then. Of course, they also used lots of ingredients that are banned today. I found one that supposedly revived flowers, and guess what, one ingredient was a Custos' tear. What even is a Custos? I bet the author made it up!"
George then shushed them and turned off his light, which Dalia copied, submersing them into the thick darkness. "I think I heard Mrs Norris. Are you two done here? We should go."
Seeing as they couldn't cast any lights, Jin-woo picked a book at random and took off after George, with Dalia following close behind while carrying an entire stack of books herself. Though they were going the opposite way from Gryffindor's Tower, George insisted on escorting them to the kitchens portrait. The Hufflepuff and Slytherin common rooms stood close enough for Jin-woo and Dalia to navigate without getting lost, and George didn't mind having yet another late-night snack before going to bed.
After wishing each other goodnight, they walked off in their respective directions. Jin-woo reached the barrels with dubious ease. He wouldn't deny that he had followed Paloma almost the entire way back. She found that funny, but thankfully didn't guide him the wrong way, or he would have spent the entire night wandering around, looking for the common room.
As he crossed the passage, the first thing he saw was a giant knitted blanket of various shades of yellow spread across the common room floor. Despite his growing desire to question it, he considered going to bed far more important. Cedric then greeted him warmly, embracing his exhausting talkative nature, and dragged him to change into his pyjamas.
Jin-woo had to resign his jumper for Kitty to cuddle, as he hadn't a hood for her to rest in while he got changed. "What's happening out there, by the way? What's the blanket about?"
"It's our own little relic. Rumour says it belonged to Helga Hufflepuff herself." Cedric laughed. "It's only a rumour, of course. But, the thing is, every year, whoever pleases can add to it. You can tell the older ones right away, the colour's almost all washed up by now."
"That's nice. So what's it doing on the floor?" Although he had never been very sensitive to the cold, Jin-woo had to put on a jacket to stop himself from shivering in his pyjamas alone.
"First years often sleep in the common room on their first day. It's great to have some fun and get to know others. Prefects and the Head Boy and Head Girl stay with them, so they won't oversleep either."
Kitty climbed onto Jin-woo's shoulders and used her long paws to wrap herself around his neck. "But we're third-years, so why are going, too?"
"Because you didn't get to sleep there in your first-year. That's why." Cedric grabbed his hand and pulled, ignoring his complaints while on their way back to the common room.
They settled near a corner, on the older side of the knitted blanket, where the rest of their roommates sat waiting for them. Chatter hadn't died down yet, and Jin-woo could see why. The tradition could be directed to first-years, but those weren't by far the only students around. Third, fifth, even seventh years, were somewhere down the blanket, chatting and enjoying the little snacks left before going to sleep.
The Head Girl stood up to direct her wand up to the rusty chandelier, making the vines that had once been simple decoration put out the candles. "Goodnight, everyone. Let's do our very best this year, too."
His roommates' cheers were far louder than anyone else's, yet somehow blended with the crowd's perfectly fine. Jin-woo sat down between Cedric and Ezra, giving Kitty time to climb down to his chest before laying down to sleep. Although they the quiet, conversations carried on, echoing in his ears like faint whispers. He could tell Liam and Rivers were among those conversing, but he hadn't a speck of strength left to keep himself awake long enough to listen to what they were saying.
The next day, though it didn't feel like more than a couple of hours had gone by, he awoke to a symphony of laughter. Ezra had painted a large curly moustache on Rivers' face with a black marker, which matched his hair. Rivers seemed very pleased at that and returned to their dormitory to change, with no signs of wanting to take it off. Even Jin-woo was convinced that he would have worn it to class if the Head Boy hadn't made it disappear with a wave of his wand on their way out.
After that, Rivers sulked all the way to the Great Hall. He still ate everything he could get his hands on, though, occasionally sharing if someone asked him to. And yet, he fell short compared to Jin-woo, whose breakfast could make up for dinner and supper at that rate.
"Chris!" Harry beamed, shuffling down the tiny aisle between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables, with Ron in tow, to give him a letter. "Can I go with you to the Owlery? I'd like to send the letter to Cris myself."
"Oh, I forgot to write mine." Jin-woo rummaged through his bag, but there was nothing but loose parchments, quills, and the book he hadn't read yet. "Mind if we wait until the afternoon? I bet my grandparents will want to hear from me, too. Oh, and Tía Abuela Franz! She'll send me a howler if I don't write to her."
"Who's Thia Abuhela Frans?" Harry asked.
"You haven't met her yet. Seems like she's been busy keeping her herd of dragons from the Muggles in her village," Jin-woo replied nonchalantly. "She should get it under control for Christmas. You'll meet her then."
"Your aunt has dragons?" Harry's eyes twinkled in awe.
"That's bloody brilliant!" added Ron.
"Well, they're a very profitable business, apart from magnificent pets," Jin-woo replied, rather uncomfortable at the attention that was flooding their way. "She raises them and sells their scales when they fall or they shed. Selling their blood or hearts would make for better business, but that's, to put it simply, inhumane."
With a proud grin, Ron pushed his robes back to reveal his jumper, which now sported his new Gryffindor badge. "My brother Charlie also loves dragons! He works with them in Romania."
"He must know my Tía Abuela, then," said Jin-woo, focusing on Harry and Ron to ignore the constant stares from almost everybody across the Great Hall. "She's the principal supplier of dragon treats and tarts."
"Dragons have their own treats?" Ron frowned.
"They're the size of my arm, and pretty tasty, I'd say. My Tía Abuela's beloved Hungarian Horntail can gobble down four or five in less than a minute."
They couldn't keep chatting as Professor McGonagall tapped on Ron's shoulder, clearing her throat to send them back to their respective table. Both shuffled away without a complaint, though their faces had turned pretty red, enough to match Ron's hair. Jin-woo caught Professor McGonagall's eye, yet only smiled at her and turned away. Not much later, Professor Sprout, the Head of his House, stopped to give everyone across Hufflepuff table their class schedules.
Rivers groaned before Jin-woo could take a single peek at his paper. "Double Charms? This early? And then Professor Flitwick wonders why I fall asleep during his classes!"
"It's still better than Friday," said Ezra. "Double Potions after dinner. Someone's bound to throw up."
Liam peeked to glimpse Ezra's paper. "What electives did you apply for?"
"Care Of Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes," Ezra replied. "What about you?"
Liam seemed pretty dejected. "Divination and Care Of Magical Creatures. We only share one."
"I told you Divination isn't a proper subject. You can't learn how to see the future. It's pointless." Ezra put down his paper and glanced at the rest of their little group. "Did everyone at least get Magical Creatures?"
They all nodded. Something Jin-woo wasn't quite expecting. As far as he knew, Magical Creatures had a poor reputation among most wizard families in the United Kingdom. Those on the 'inbreed-blood' side thought of it as the study of inferior yet dangerous beings. If Jin-woo had to be honest, he did apply hoping for some dangerous creatures, not only the pretty ones like Nifflers or Unicorns. Hogwarts probably couldn't bring a dragon to school for classes, but that would make for a brilliant study subject.
Rivers chuckled at the sight of his last elective. "Muggle Studies with Slytherin. I'm surprised they had enough people to pair with us in a classroom."
"Don't be like that. There are lots of Slytherins who are interested in Muggle Studies," said Cedric, wearing his perfect smile. "Besides, I've heard their history is rather interesting."
"Will you take it, then?" Jin-woo asked, hiding a few plain cupcakes in his bag to sustain himself through the day.
"My father was opposed to it at first." Cedric's smile faltered for a moment. "But I managed to convince him, so I will. What's your second elective?"
"Divination," he replied. "My Grandpa said it's an easy subject. One gets to foresee their own deaths every other month for homework. That seems fun."
His first day got off to a great start during breakfast, and for a moment, he had forgotten he had never been to Hogwarts before. However, as they finally reached the Charms' classroom, it became too apparent he hadn't a clue of how the castle itself worked. He had too many run-ins with fake steps and doors that led nowhere on their way. To add to his struggles, the tables were only spacious enough for two people at a time, meaning he and his roommates had to split up.
Ezra and Liam sat in the back row when Rivers went to the table in front of them. Cedric, out of habit, left his bag by River's side. However, when Jin-woo walked past them to take the empty seat in the front row, right in front of them, he offered to change seats. Jin-woo refused, seeing as that wouldn't change anything. Besides, any other desk-mate would sooner let him concentrate than Rivers, who would probably joke around the entire class.
Jin-woo waited patiently for his future desk-mate to appear. Although, as the class drew nearer, they seemed to never want to show up. A minute before the class would start, someone whose voice he could recognise in a heartbeat stopped by the desk and asked, "Is this seat taken?"
He looked up to smile at George. "If you take it, it'll be."
George smiled back as he sat down, leaving his bag between their chairs. "All set for your first class?"
"You bet," Jin-woo replied. "Where's Fred and Lee, anyway?"
George's smile grew faintly, so little one couldn't tell unless they paid close attention, and gestured to their right, where Fred and Lee were sitting, joking around pretty loudly. They had to shut up soon enough. Professor Flitwick had reached his podium, carrying a book that looked about the size of his head. He gave a brief presentation of what kinds of Charms they would study during the year and asked them to open the first chapter of the cheering charms. However, when Jin-woo opened his book, he found himself staring at a completely different charm.
He raised his hand, and Professor Flitwick didn't hesitate to let him ask, "Excuse me, Professor, the first chapter of my book isn't cheering charms."
"Have you bought an older version, perhaps, Mister Kim?" Professor Flitwick asked, hopping off his podium to have a look at his book. "Oh dear, it's pretty old. I fear you'll have to rummage a great deal to find the right charms. But I'd say they all should be here, somewhere. If not, you may ask another student to share their book with you."
"Thank you, Professor," he replied, skimming through the chapters to find the right one at the far end of the book.
George leaned in, his own dusty copy of the Charms book resting around the middle of it. "That looks like a fourth-hand, at least. They ripped you off selling you that."
"It's fine," he said, lowering his voice as he saw Professor Flitwick glancing at them. "I knew it had to be pretty old when I bought it."
George frowned, lowering his voice as well. "Couldn't you afford a brand new one?"
"Technically, yes." Jin-woo put a finger to his lips, then turned back to the podium to watch Professor Flitwick show them wand movements for the charm.
He didn't need long to know he would adore Charms. Despite a couple of essays he had scheduled about the importance and dangers of the cheering charms, most part of the class was practice. They were partnered with their desk-mates, which made it all the more fun when someone got the charm completely wrong, or too right. George made Jin-woo cackle after a couple of tries, while Jin-woo had George laughing until his ribs hurt on his very first try.
"Impressive work, Mister Kim! Five points to Hufflepuff," said Professor Flitwick as he passed by their row, then turned his head to the other table. "We're looking for a chuckle at the very least, Mister Jordan, not tears. Try to exaggerate the first downwards curve—there you go! Great work!"
Jin-woo turned behind him, where Rivers had yet to master the spell. So far, he had only made Cedric smile while tearing up. Meanwhile, at the far back, Liam had no trouble making Ezra smile without a need for the spell.
Double Charms didn't last as long as he hoped, but his next subject made up for it. History of Magic, like almost anything within Hogwarts, had its own reputation. Professor Binns, the ghost teacher in charge of the subject, had a puffing voice that nearly guaranteed severe drowsiness within ten minutes, five in warm weather. Thankfully, they shared that class with Ravenclaw, and Jamila had enough roommates to prefer sitting with him. With her, even half-hour historic details became enjoyable to listen to.
Fresh after dinner, him and Liam flocking around the Divination class, ready to see if the professor lived up to her name. The twins and Lee waved at them, gesturing to the empty table beside theirs. Liam settled in first, leaving his bag on his seat, when a hand gripped onto Jin-woo's shoulder, forcing him to turn around.
Professor Trelawney, or who he guessed the thin woman draped in gauzy shawls was, spoke in a voice so similar to Professor Binns that it didn't seem her own. "Time's against you. It will lead you to a short, narrow path. But Fate's awoken, and their favourites' lives lie in your hands. The balance is broken. Lives may be saved with no losses." Then she coughed and her voice returned to an earthly kind of normal. "Sorry, my dear boy, did you say something?"
"No," Jin-woo answered, his face turning a worrying pale. "I just hope fate knows I'm a bit too young for this responsibility."
Fate, unfortunately for him, didn't care.