Chapter 1
Natsuki Seba hauled his trunk while sprinting as fast as he could, the loud chugging of the steam locomotive growing closer.
Damnit. He was cutting it way too close, and the platform was still far ahead. To make things worse, King’s Cross Station was unusually crowded today. He’d nearly crashed into people three times already and cursed out twice for accidentally stepping on toes.
When he finally spotted Platform 9¾ and the line of wizard families—likely sending their kids off to Hogwarts— Natsuki let out a relieved breath and joined the queue.
He stood behind an old man with his grandson. The boy kept glancing at Natsuki. Noticing the attention, Natsuki turned and flashed a grin, which the kid shyly returned.
“Hey, big brother! Are you going to Hogwarts too?” the boy asked excitedly. The grandfather gave a polite smile and apologized for the kid’s boldness, but Natsuki waved it off.
“Yup. Seventh year,” he answered after they’d passed through the barrier. The boy gasped.
“Whoa, so this is your last year? That’s so cool! What house are you in?” The kid bounced on his toes while clutching his grandpa’s hand. Natsuki smirked and pointed to his yellow-and-black scarf. The kid clapped excitedly.
They parted ways when the first-years headed to their own cab. Natsuki walked to the very last train car, effortlessly hoisting his trunk and owl cage as he entered the front-left compartment. Unconsciously, a grin spread across his handsome face.
He slid the door open—
“You’re twenty minutes late.”
Natsuki’s smile widened. Without hesitation, he closed the distance to the voice and leaned in for a kiss. Soft, lingering, sweet—it tasted like honey and almond biscuits, probably his lover’s breakfast. When they finally pulled apart, their noses brushed lightly.
“Missed you,” Natsuki murmured.
“Missed you t—”
“Ahem!”
The loud, fake cough shattered the moment. Natsuki and his boyfriend, Shin Asakura, turned to see Akira Akao and her boyfriend, Joichiro Kaji, staring at them with deadpan expressions.
“You do realize we’re sitting right here, right?” Akira asked, arms folded—a question that clearly didn’t need an answer.
Natsuki just smirked and pulled out his wand, muttering a spell to levitate his trunk overhead. He then flopped down next to Joichiro, across from Shin and Akira.
“Hey, mate! How’s your holiday?” Natsuki asked Joichiro, completely ignoring Akira’s remark. Not that it mattered—Akira was already deep in conversation with Shin seconds later.
Joichiro shrugged. “Same old. Well, things got kinda awkward between me and Amane after I hung out with Akira, but whatever. How ’bout you? Heard your parents dragged you to Romania? See any dragons?” he asked, leaning forward eagerly.
Natsuki nodded, then pulled out his wand again and whispered, “Accio!” A brown leather-bound journal flew into his hand. The book was filled with his own sketches and notes on every magical creature he’d ever encountered. Of course, he’d never leave his house without a copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander—his all-time hero.
He flipped through pages of beautifully painted dragons, messy scribbles of facts, and detailed notes on each creature’s traits. Joichiro’s eyes sparkled each time a new page is unfolded.
“So cool! So your Magizoology training’s really kicking off after graduation, huh?” Joichiro asked.
Natsuki nodded. Ever since he’d learned about the wizarding world, his dream had been to become a Magizoologist. He loved magical creatures even more than Shin (though he’d fiercely deny it, insisting Shin was the #1 spot in his heart).
He wanted to study them, discover new species, and breed them to save them from extinction—even if those creatures stayed hidden from Muggles forever.
“My dad told me that, i would be traveling nonstop once my Magizoology training starts—it’s all fieldwork,” Natsuki explained. Joichiro nodded, flipping through the thick journal Natsuki had already filled with notes.
“You’re legit awesome, mate,” Joichiro said, clapping his shoulder. Natsuki chuckled, catching Shin’s gaze across the compartment. His smile softened. “What about you, Joichiro? Still auditioning to be a Chaser for the Montrose Magpies?”
“Oh, absolutely. Someone’s been drilling with me all summer,” Akira cut in, answering for him. “Honestly, playing Quidditch with Joichiro this summer made me realize… I’m gonna miss this,” her expression turns solemn as she sighed.
“Huh? Why? Did you try out for another team?” Shin asked, turning to Akira with a puzzled look.
Akira shook her head. “Playing for the Holyhead Harpies was my dream, but… I kinda changed my mind last minute. I, uh… actually got an offer from Professor Potter to train as an auror. He said I’m ‘exceptionally skilled at dueling’ and it’d be a waste not to.”
“He’s right—you are insane at dueling,” Joichiro agreed with a grin. Not that he’d know any different—he’d been Akira’s sparring partner for years.
Akira’s cheeks flushed slightly. “I thought about it hard—talked to my parents also Rion… and figured this isn’t the kinda chance that comes twice. So I’m gonna go for it,” she said with a small shrug.
“That’s brilliant, Akira.”
“What about you, Shin?” Akira turned to him. Shin glanced at Natsuki, then shook his head with a faint smile.
“Honestly, I haven’t decided. Too many offers, and—”
“Obviously. You’re the most brilliant student in our year. Take your time,” Joichiro interjected. Shin nodded. “I’m considering some Ministry positions, but the Daily Prophet also offered me a spot as a Quidditch match editor. Though I’ll probably turn it down.”
“Wait—don’t tell me your obsessive Natsuki Seba fan articles actually impressed the Prophet?!” Akira gasped, feigning shock.
During their sixth year, Madam Hooch assigned an essay summarizing a Quidditch match. Shin decided to write about Natsuki Seba’s victory catching the Golden Snitch and winning the Quidditch Cup for Hufflepuff in the annual inter-house tournament. According to Hana, the four-meter-long essay was basically just “Natsuki Seba looks hot on a broomstick” on repeat—detailing how dreamy he looked flying, turning, sweating in his jersey, and snatching the Snitch.
Somehow, though, that essay caught the Daily Prophet’s attention, leading to Shin’s job offer.
“Hey! It’s still a legit achievement and it got me a job,” Shin argued, glaring at Akira.
“True. And I agree with Joichiro—take your time, baby. We’ve got a whole year left. You’ve got time to figure it out,” Natsuki said, emphasizing you warmly.
Shin smiled at him—soft, bright, exactly like the first time Natsuki had called Shin the smartest person he knew. The air between them glowed.
His attention snapped back when Snow—Natsuki’s white Niffler-¹—crawled out of his coat pocket and plopped onto his lap. Spotting Shin, Snow waved cheerfully, earning a quiet laugh from him.
The Niffler promptly leaped from Natsuki’s lap and curled up on Shin’s instead, belly-up as Shin scratched his round tummy.
Natsuki’s heart couldn’t feel fuller.
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Natsuki Seba grew up among Muggles.
It was no secret he was a half-blood wizard—his father a Muggle, his mother a pureblood witch.
As far as Natsuki knew, they stopped loving each other after his mother died when he was four. Killed by the Imperius Curse. She’d been an auror, hunting remnants of Death Eaters across continent. When British, Irish, and European wizards raided their camp, she was one of five casualties struck by the Unforgivable Curses.
After his mother’s death, Natsuki was left alone with his father.
A few months later, his dad remarried another Muggle woman who, unsurprisingly, treated Natsuki terribly. A year into their marriage, they had a son named Mafuyu. By age seven, insults like freak, weirdo, and delusional were daily staples for Natsuki, courtesy of his stepfamily.
He was a wizard’s child—magical mishaps were inevitable. But to Muggles who knew no better, it was just… abnormal. Even his father, who knew Natsuki would likely be magical, grew to resent him in the end.
The only thing keeping Natsuki going was his mother’s promise that he’d become a great wizard someday. Though back then, he didn’t even understand what a ‘wizard’ was.
Natsuki inherited a little of his mother’s old belongings: a faded red-and-gold Gryffindor scarf, her old Hogwarts textbooks, books on magical creatures and Quidditch, and a locket with a moving photo of her as a teenager.
No one gave him books or toys, so he reread her Hogwarts materials obsessively—even if half of it made no sense. By age ten, he’d memorized every page. His favorite? The magical creatures book.
The beasts he read about were nothing like the ones on his stepfamily’s TV. Once, his half-brother watched a movie about mermaids. Natsuki, peeking from the corner, blurted, “That’s fake! Merpeople don’t look like that!” He rambled facts about merpeople’s true traits, only for his father to drag him outside and lock him in the pigsty.
“Stop spouting crazy lies!” his dad snarled, threatening to starve him if he ever mentioned magic again. Natsuki never spoke of it at home after that.
But his curiosity about magical creatures only grew. He ached to see them in real life—not just in his mother’s tattered books. Yet he buried that dream deep. His father would’ve killed him for even thinking of sneaking off to find them.
But against all odds, Natsuki got to see his first magical creature too.
This happened when he was almost seven, during a trip to his stepmother’s family in a remote village on the outskirts of England.
Natsuki had nothing else to do but spend his time rereading his mother’s Hogwarts textbooks from her seven years there. He read them systematically—first year, second year, and so on. He’d even memorized Arithmancy formulas and could speak fluent Ancient Runes.
One afternoon, while reading a third-year History of Magic textbook titled A Journey Through Charms—which explained the origins of spell creation—Natsuki noticed a crow repeatedly pecking at a bush behind his aunt’s farm.
At first, he ignored it. But the crow’s restless behavior eventually made him close the 15-centimeter-thick book and investigate.
Natsuki shooed the crow away and found its nest filled with shiny objects: a pearl necklace, a silver spoon, even glittering pebbles that caught the light.
But one thing caught his eye.
It was no bigger than a pebble, oval-shaped, and golden. Natsuki picked it up, examining the unusual patterns on its surface. He decided to keep it.
A few weeks later, Natsuki was stunned when the golden ‘pebble’ hatched into a tiny chick—or maybe a baby bird. It was so small, and Natsuki had no idea how it would survive.
But a month later, the little creature shattered all his expectations. It grew to the size of a fist, its body becoming rounder. Its beak grew sharp and pointed, its feathers turned golden and soft. Its wings were small, and Natsuki wondered if they could even support its plump body. Two thin, antenna-like feathers sprouted from its head, and longer, delicate feathers formed a beautiful tail.
It took Natsuki almost three days to realize what it was.
It was one of the magical creatures he’d read about in his mother’s books. A bird.
The Golden Snidget.-²
Yep. The Snidget—the creature that inspired the Golden Snitch in Quidditch—Natsuki learned this fact from his mother’s copy of Quidditch Through the Ages. And true to its reputation, the bird was insanely fast, as fleeting as the wind, and a master at hiding. No wonder it became the blueprint for the Snitch.
— Lets consider this Natsuki's journal.
For the first time, Natsuki started his own journal: observing the magical creature, jotting down notes about its quirks, and sketching detailed drawings of it. He cross-referenced everything with his mother’s battered Fantastic Beasts book, adding his own discoveries to its margins.
At seven years old, Natsuki had no intention of letting go of what he now claimed as his own. So, the Snidget became his first magical pet, which he named Goldie.
And thanks to Goldie, Natsuki grew into a brilliant Seeker years later. He’d gotten used to chasing and catching Goldie—with or without a broom. His senses sharpened, and his reflexes became lightning-fast because Goldie had a habit of vanishing without a trace in the early days. It was like accidental Seeker training, starting way before he even knew what Quidditch was.
Hiding a magical creature was surprisingly easy, especially one as elusive as Goldie.
But that didn’t last forever. When Natsuki turned eight, his uncle—whom he hadn’t seen since his mother’s death—showed up out of nowhere to take him away.
And his uncle was a wizard.
Natsuki wasn’t scared of him, but he was terrified his uncle would find out about Goldie. He had no idea what would happen if he did. But as it turned out, all his fears were pointless.
His uncle loved that Natsuki was so fascinated by magical creatures. In fact, he even gifted Natsuki the latest edition of Fantastic Beasts as a welcome present, complete with newly discovered creatures from America.
It was there that Natsuki met his older cousin, Kei Uzuki, who was in his sixth year at Hogwarts.
Seeing Kei’s daily life as a Hufflepuff Prefect, the team’s Keeper, and coming home with chocolate cakes exclusive to Hogsmeade made Natsuki even more impatient to go to Hogwarts himself.
He begged Kei to tell him everything about life at Hogwarts. Natsuki remembered asking, eyes wide with excitement over dinner—during Kei’s winter break—if there were magical creatures there.
And Kei told him all about the Forbidden Forest, teeming with magical beasts. About the castle, the Shrieking Shack, and Fluffy, the three-headed Cerberus guarding something beneath the castle—a pet of Hagrid, the Care of Magical Creatures professor.
Natsuki cheered, tossing Goldie—who’d been pecking at spinach on his plate—into the air and catching it again in his excitement. His uncle ruffled his hair, and his aunt slid an extra slice of his favorite turkey pie onto his plate.
After Christmas dinner, his uncle and aunt told him they’d officially adopted him, Muggle-style. He’d never have to go back to his biological father’s house.
That night, Natsuki finally understood what a real family felt like.
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Natsuki Seba’s first year at Hogwarts was… memorable, to say the least. It was the year he truly understood what being a wizard meant. He and Joichiro—his next-door neighbor—became inseparable, bonding over their shared obsession with Quidditch. Akira and Amane often joined them too, though they all ended up in different houses.
But the most interesting part? Realizing he didn’t want to stand out—kind of.
Thanks to years of devouring his mother’s old textbooks, Natsuki aced every theory-based class. He could answer questions faster than anyone, even rivaling Ravenclaws. By midterms, he’d topped the charts in both written exams and practicals.
But honestly? He found it kinda pointless. Everyone expected him to be the ‘perfect student’—no rule-breaking, no mischief. Which, for Natsuki, meant not sneaking out to explore the Forbidden Forest.
He’d lost count of how many detentions he’d gotten for getting caught by Filch while trying to glimpse Centaurs or Thestrals.
During his nth detention, he met a bespectacled Ravenclaw first-year. The kid stared at him oddly before finally asking:
“Why do you keep sneaking out? Is there something that amazing out there that’s worth all these detentions?”
The kid asked with pure, wide-eyed curiosity. Natsuki realized this was the same student who always ranked just below him in exam scores.
“I want to see magical creatures. I love magical creatures.”
The boy nodded silently. Whether he understood or not, Natsuki couldn’t tell—until the next sentence caught him off guard.
“You shouldn’t sneak out. It doesn’t match your ‘top student’ image.”
After a sleepless night thinking it over, Natsuki decided he’d stop trying to be the most noticeable kid in class. Even if he did know every Hogwarts textbook backward.
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His second year was when he got Snow, the white Niffler, as a Christmas gift. His uncle and aunt—now called ‘Mom’ and ‘Dad’—said it was Kei’s idea.
Nifflers were popular pets among wizard kids, until parents got tired of vanishing jewelry and coins. But for Natsuki? No big deal.
Heck, he already had Goldie, who was basically invisible half the time. A Niffler? Easy-peasy.
Well, except when Snow stole his mom’s favorite pearl necklace, earning Natsuki an ear-yanking scolding. But otherwise? Easy-peasy.
That same year, he boldly asked Professor Harry Potter (Defense Against the Dark Arts) how to handle Aragog—Hagrid’s Acromantula—if it attacked. He even scored ten points for Hufflepuff after flawlessly sketching and labeling an Acromantula-³ diagram.
Then promptly got detention for sneaking into the Forbidden Forest to find Aragog’s nest.
When questioned by Harry and the Headmaster about how he survived, Natsuki shrugged:
“Aragog likes me. He said I could take one of his thousand grandkids to live somewhere nicer than the forest. Look.”
Then Natsuki pulled a baby Acromantula—no bigger than his palm—from the pouch he always carried and proudly showed it off.
The next morning, in the Great Hall, Natsuki Seba received a Howler -⁴—a magical red-enveloped letter that screamed—from his mom, witnessed by the entire school.
Howler Transcript (Loud Enough to Rattle the Windows):
“NATSUKI SEBA! WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT BRINGING GIANT POISONOUS SPIDERS HOME?! RETURN THAT THING TO HAGRID IMMEDIATELY! AND STOP TRYING TO ADOPT EVERY CREATURE YOU FIND IN THE FORBIDDEN FOREST! LOVE YOU, SWEETIE!”
The entire Hogwarts staff (and Aragog’s grandkid) felt that one.
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Third year was the year he’d been waiting for—finally, Care of Magical Creatures.
He’d spent the entire summer annoying Joichiro by never shutting up about Hippogriffs-⁵ and other magical beasts.
So when the long awaited day finally arrive, Natsuki didn’t hesitate. Before Hagrid could even finish asking, “Who want’s approach Buckbeak first?” Natsuki was already striding forward.
He ignored Hagrid’s warnings to ‘be cautious’ and kept his eyes locked on the Hippogriff, replaying notes from his mother’s book in his head. Suddenly, he was face-to-face with Buckbeak.
No fear. Just steady eye contact. Natsuki bowed low.
The air froze. Even Hagrid stopped breathing.
Then—clop, clop—Buckbeak bowed back.
Natsuki lifted his head, grinning like a madman.
“Well done, Mr. Seba! Excellent! Brilliant! Ten points for Hufflepuff!” Hagrid roared, wiping a tear.
Cheers erupted, but Natsuki was too busy stroking Buckbeak’s feathers and feeding him smoked meat from his robe pocket.
“Y’know, Buckbeak loves that stuff,” Hagrid chuckled.
Natsuki hugged Buckbeak’s neck—and the Hippogriff let him. “I’ve come prepared, Professor. I wanna be like you. Friends with magical beasts.”
From that day on, Natsuki became Hagrid’s favorite student.
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“You’re joking,” Joichiro said. He and Natsuki are in the Gryffindor Common Room.
“Oh, c’mon, Joichiro! It’ll be fun!”
“No. And how did you even get into the Gryffindor common room?!”
Joichiro Kaji—knee-deep in History of Magic remedial homework—glared at his best friend, Natsuki Seba. Yes, they were currently sitting in the Gryffindor common room.
“I just said Caput Draconis to the Fat Lady, and—”
“How do you even know the Gryffindor password?!” Joichiro hissed, he clapped a hand over Natsuki’s mouth, glancing around to make sure no one overheard. Natsuki rolled his eyes.
“Easy. Gryffindor’s obsessed with Hogwarts motto. Since it’s Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus (‘Never Tickle a Sleeping Dragon’), the closest password would be Caput Draconis (‘Dragon’s Head’). See? It’s—”
“Fine, I get it. Merlin’s beard.”
Joichiro cut him off before Natsuki could launch into a full lecture on Hogwarts’ founding—complete with flawless Latin pronunciation. If he didn’t stop him now, Natsuki would rant about the castle’s history for hours. Impressive? Sure. But Joichiro had heard it a thousand times. Hell, he could probably recite it himself by now.
Natsuki shrugged. “Gryffindor’s way too predictable with passwords. Even when they change, they’re always Hogwarts-themed. Not like Ravenclaw’s riddles—those actually make you think.”
“Wait… you’ve been to the Ravenclaw common room?!” Joichiro gaped.
“Not yet. But last week, I solved their door riddle while dodging Filch. Got bored during patrol,” Natsuki said casually, already scribbling corrections all over Joichiro’s essay. “Dude, this paragraph is way off-topic.”
Joichiro blinked. “What… what was the Ravenclaw riddle?”
Not that he wanted in—he just needed proof his friend wasn’t this much of a genius. Sure, Natsuki was smart, but Ravenclaw-level? Then why wasn’t he sorted there?!
“Which came first: the phoenix or the flame?” Natsuki asked suddenly, still furiously rewriting Joichiro’s essay.
“Huh?”
“Just answer.”
Joichiro’s brain short-circuited. Phoenix or flame? He overthought it for five minutes before groaning, “I give up.”
By then, Natsuki had filled half the parchment.
“The answer is: ‘A circle has no beginning,’” Natsuki said, finally looking up. “That was the riddle.”
Joichiro tilted his head. “.… What’s that even mean?”
Natsuki didn’t answer. Instead, he set down Joichiro’s quill and nodded, satisfied. “Done. Sure you don’t wanna come?”
Joichiro stared blankly at his now-completed essay. “Uh… thanks. But—”
“Scared of detention? Got it. Fine, I’ll go solo. See you at breakfast,” Natsuki patted his shoulder and left.
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Natsuki strolled into the Forbidden Forest. It was still daylight—not that he’d care if it were midnight.
Snow, his Niffler, perched comfortably on his shoulder as he followed the path to Buckbeak’s nest. He’d even hoped to chat with the Centaurs—the Fat Friar swore they were friendly.
A sharp scream froze him mid-step. He tilted his head. “What was that?” Snow mimicked him, tiny ears twitching.
The scream came again, clearer now—human, mixed with hoofbeats and… growling? Natsuki sprinted toward the noise, heart racing. Someone was in trouble.
What if it’s a Dementor? His panic spiked. He hadn’t mastered the Patronus Charm yet.
Snow yanked his hair, but Natsuki barely noticed. Logic kicked in halfway—Dementors weren’t just loose in the forest—but adrenaline kept him running.
At the lake’s edge, he found a Hogwarts student clinging to a tree branch, sobbing. Below, an unfamiliar Hippogriff circled, snapping its beak.
“Buckbeak would never—” Natsuki started, then froze.
The Hippogriff turned, locking eyes with him. Natsuki stepped back, crunching a twig.
“Bloody hell.”
He bolted.
The strange Hippogriff swooped after Natsuki. He sprinted blindly toward the lake, not daring to stop. Its screeches grew louder, and Natsuki tripped over a root, tumbling to the ground.
“Ah, shit!” he hissed, scrambling backward as the Hippogriff loomed over him. Snow squeaked and bolted into the bushes.
“Traitor!” Natsuki yelled after the Niffler.
The Hippogriff reared up, wings flaring—
Then— whoosh— Buckbeak shot down like a feathery missile, kicking the stranger Hippogriff sideways. He landed protectively in front of Natsuki, chest puffed out like, “Try me.” The other Hippogriff hissed but flew off, defeated.
Natsuki jumped up and hugged Buckbeak’s neck. “Thanks, buddy! You’re the best,” he cooed, voice embarrassingly high-pitched.
After a one-sided chat with Buckbeak (mostly Natsuki rambling about “ungrateful Nifflers”), he remembered the student in the tree. They flew back, only to find the kid now safely on the ground—clutching a squirming Snow.
“Snow!” Natsuki called, jogging over.
The boy and Snow turned. The kid—a Ravenclaw with glasses—flinched hard at the sight of Buckbeak.
“Hey, it’s okay! This is Buckbeak—not the one that attacked you!” Natsuki said quickly.
Up close, he recognized the boy: Shin Asakura, the new ‘top student’ since Natsuki had stopped trying.
“Shin Asakura… right?”
Shin nodded, trembling. His death grip on Snow made the Niffler wheeze. Serves you right for ditching me earlier, Natsuki thought, glaring at Snow.
“It’s fine, really. Buckbeak’s not aggressive at all—look,” Natsuki said, turning to Buckbeak, who was now pecking at the ground. He whistled, and the Hippogriff trotted over. Natsuki stroked Buckbeak’s beak, then gestured for Shin to approach.
Shin hesitated but stepped closer.
Natsuki grinned and grabbed Shin’s wrist without warning, pressing Shin’s palm flat against Buckbeak’s beak. Shin squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for the worst… but when nothing happened, he peeked.
“See? Told ya,” Natsuki said softly.
Shin, emboldened, reached out with both hands—now that Snow had wriggled free—and ran his fingers through Buckbeak’s feathers.
“He’s beautiful,” Shin whispered, awestruck by the creatures.
“Yeah. Beautiful.”
Natsuki answered, but his eyes stayed locked on the Ravenclaw boy beside him—not the Hippogriff.
He froze, realizing he’d been staring at Shin’s face for way too long. His throat went dry, heart suddenly racing.
“So… that other Hippogriff—it’s gone because of you?”
Shin’s question snapped Natsuki back. He nodded, shook his head, then nodded again, face burning for no reason.
“Uh… not me. Buckbeak scared it off,” he mumbled, avoiding Shin’s fox-like eyes.
“But you distracted it. Thank you,” Shin said earnestly.
Natsuki scratched his neck. “S’nothing. Honestly, I was panicking too. Glad you’re okay.”
Shin laughed—a soft, bright sound—and Natsuki blinked. “I saw you panicking. Your face when you were running was hilarious,” he teased.
Natsuki’s eyes widened, his heart pounding like it might burst out of his chest. Shin… looked perfect when he laughed. And that laugh? It woke something inside Natsuki—like a magical beast that had been hibernating for centuries suddenly stirred to life.
That night, Natsuki sent an owl to Kei, who was deep in auror training:
“Might need St. Mungo’s. Heart acting weird. Not sick. Help?”
Kei’s reply came the next morning:
“Natsuki. You’re in love.”
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A few months later, Natsuki finally talked Shin into a Hogsmeade date—and scored his first kiss right outside the owlery.
Sure, the air reeked of owl droppings and the constant hoot-hoot of birds ruined the mood, but in that moment? Natsuki’s lips tasted like Honeydukes sugar quills.
Or maybe it was just Shin’s lips.