Brachiabindo
Felix woke up the next day, wondering if he should be feeling nervous about his first date with Minho. However, for some reason, he just wasn’t.
Seugmin had called him dumb for trying to feel something he wasn’t feeling, but Felix couldn’t shake the feeling that it was abnormal not to feel nervous about a first date.
Jeongin chimed in, sharing that he hadn’t felt an ounce of nervous energy when he went out with Seungmin for the first time. However, he said that could have been because they had been inseparable since birth, and adding romantic feelings into their first outing as a couple hadn’t really fazed him. If anything, he had just been really excited about the new chapter in his life.
Seungmin had happily kissed him after that, causing Jisung to loudly gag in disgust in the corner of their room. After that the couple made their way out to the Great Hall to grab lunch. Leaving just Jisung and Felix in the room.
Felix mulled over Jeongin’s words. According to his words, Felix might not be feeling nervous because he was comfortable around Minho. While he hadn't shared the same upbringing with Minho as Jeongin and Seungmin had, there was still a comforting familiarity in their interactions—even if they hadn’t really had that many interactions.
And after the events of yesterday, his feelings for Minho had deepened beyond just contentment.
Despite all that, Felix was still having the hardest time trying to find something nice to wear to the first date. He realized that his wardrobe lacked anything worthy of the occasion—everything looked ugly or too old. And he told Jisung exactly that, voicing his frustrations.
Jisung swiftly made his way to Felix’s wardrobe and picked out an outfit. He ordered Felix to wear it before demanding he leave already so he could spend some quality time in the room.
Of course Felix couldn’t let that opportunity slip without asking, “quality time with Hyunjin?”
Felix wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at him while Jisung just refused to face him as he barked at him to “shut up!”
Felix laughed before raising his hands in surrender.
“Before you leave,” Jisung said. “If you bump into Eugene Barrett, don’t be afraid to turn him into a chicken again—He deserves it for everything he did to you.”
“I will keep that in mind,” Felix nodded.
“In fact, if anyone or anything says something mean to you, just transfigure them all into chickens,” Jisung said.
Felix laughed but then paused when he finally got the solution to the problem he’d been having for a while. He smirked widely as he realized he knew exactly what he wanted to do now with the Eagle Knocker. Or maybe do it as soon as Christmas Break was over and every single student was back so they could all witness what Felix had done. Of course he needed an audience—so he had to wait till Christmas Break was over.
Hopefully it wouldn’t be too hard to carry out.
He quickly changed his clothes and turned to leave, not before turning around and slyly stating, “don’t forget to use protection~”
“YAH!” Jisung screamed before throwing a pillow his way. “I should be telling you that!”
But his voice came out all muffled because Felix had already closed the door on him.
Felix climbed down the stairs chuckling to himself and that’s when he found Minho already in the Common Room, waiting for him. The elder Ravenclaw smiled and waved at him.
Felix was about to wave back but gasped when he noticed the corsage was still adorned on his wrist.
“You’re still wearing it?” Felix asked excitedly as he approached Minho.
“I took it off before going to sleep yesterday but then decided to wear it again today,” Minho smiled. “It’s way too pretty to just wear it for one day.”
Felix couldn't help but preen before asking, “should I go wear mine?”
“You don’t have to,” Minho shrugged. “The flowers on it could get all withered despite the long-lasting charm I put on it.”
“I kept it on my night-stand for now,” Felix said. “I was thinking of getting a glass case to showcase it.”
“Like the rose from Beauty and the Beast?” Minho asked.
“Hmm?” Felix titled his head in confusion, not knowing what Minho was referring to.
“Have you ever watched Beauty and the Beast, the muggle movie?” Minho asked. “Or read the story?”
“I don’t think so,” Felix shook his head.
“Well, I guess we will watch that together for our next date,” Minho said.
Felix felt his heart flutter at the thought of already talking about a second date.
He looked around the Common Room, noticing only a few people milling about near the fireplace, keeping themselves warm. “Were you waiting here for long?” Felix asked.
"Nope, just arrived," Minho replied with a shake of his head, extending his hand towards Felix. "Ready to head out?"
Accepting Minho's hand, Felix allowed their fingers to intertwine, feeling a rush of warmth at the connection. Minho leaned in, his breath tickling Felix's ear as he whispered, "You look really cute today."
"Thank you," Felix responded, already feeling his cheeks ache from the wide grin that had spread across his face.
As they exited the Ravenclaw Tower, they almost collided with Hyunjin, who was making his way inside.
Felix's eyes widened before smirking and asking, "Heading somewhere?"
Hyunjin immediately flushed, his embarrassment evident as he avoided Felix's gaze and muttered, "Shut up."
But Felix couldn't resist pushing it further, as he said the same thing he had already told Jisung, "Don't forget to use protection."
"Felix, I love you, but I wouldn't mind jinxing you right now," Hyunjin retorted, clearly annoyed, before swiftly making his way through the doors before they closed.
“What was that?” Minho asked as they began to walk down the corridor.
“Jisung is the only one inside the room right now,” Felix explained.
“Ahh,” Minho chuckled when he understood what Felix was implying by that.
“So, are they dating now?” He asked.
“I have no idea,” Felix shrugged and shivered as they made their way outside the castle. “Pretty sure they need time to figure out if they consider each other as arch-nemesis or something else before they could declare that they’re dating.”
“It would be pretty funny if they still called each other their arch-nemesis even when they start dating,” Minho said, chuckling. “The enemies to lovers arch but still consider each other as enemies,”
“Yep, that pretty much sounds like them,” Felix remarked as he brandished his wand and cast warming charms on them both.
Hogsmeade was completely blanketed in snow, turning the village into a breathtaking white wonderland. If it weren’t for the distinct shapes and colors of the buildings sticking out among the snow, everything really would have looked like a sea of white.
“Let’s hurry inside,” Felix shivered despite casting another warming charm on them. “It’s way too cold.”
Minho nodded before helping rush the two of them to Three Broomsticks.
Felix was relieved to find the pub nearly empty. It made sense because who would willingly venture out in such freezing temperatures, with snow blanketing everything in sight? Plus, it was Christmas break, so many students must have headed home despite the Yule Ball.
They easily found a table after ordering some sandwiches and chips.
They settled themselves down before Minho leaned in and asked, “are you okay?…From yesterday?”
Felix nodded, “yeah. I mean, I still feel embarrassed about my grades being revealed like that…but…I don’t think anyone is going to go out of their way to make fun of me—not with all of you around me.”
"Even if we weren't there, no one has the right to mock you, no matter what," Minho asserted, his nose scrunching in annoyance, as if he were ready to chase down anyone who dared to even think of mocking Felix.
"Thank you," Felix replied, feeling his heart melt at Minho's protectiveness. "But my grades…” Felix sighed. “I really do need to improve my grades in Defense Against the Dark Arts. I'm convinced Snape is going to fail me this term," he complained, taking a harsh bite of a chip in frustration.
“My offer still stands, y’know,” Minho said, leaning closer and placing his hand over Felix’s on the table. “I can tutor you, if you would like.”
Felix stared down at their hands and flushed before feeling brave enough to turn his palm around and interlocking their fingers again. However, he didn’t answer Minho’s suggestion. He felt appreciative enough that Minho would go out of his way to do that for him, but he still didn’t want the elder Ravenclaw to actually witness how much he struggled in DADA.
Taking his silence for hesitation to accept his proposal, Minho added, “I can go as slow as you want.”
“That’s the problem though…” Felix said as he raised his head and locked eyes with him. “I don’t want you to go slow just because you think I’m…slow.”
“I don’t think that of you at all, Lix,” Minho said, squeezing his hand in assurance. “Remember what I said last night? I think you’re the wittiest Ravenclaw. I wouldn’t think anything low of you, ever.”
Felix smiled before taking another bite of his food, letting the idea of Minho tutoring him settle into his mind before slowly nodding at him. “Okay. But if the first lesson doesn’t go well—then we’re not doing it ever again.”
“Alright,” Minho said, smiling.
They settled into a different conversation after that, slowly finishing up their meals as they exchanged stories and laughed from time to time. Before they could get to their last bites, Minho suggested they could get dessert together in Honeydukes. Felix had excitedly agreed. Neither wanted the lunch date to end.
Felix couldn't deny it; he felt remarkably at ease in Minho Lee's company. The conversation flowed effortlessly, and even moments of silence felt comforting.
It was a pleasant realization, one that made him almost grateful to the Eagle Knocker for leading him to Minho in the first place.
Felix shuddered at the thought that he actually felt grateful for that damn Eagle Knocker, but then that led him to remember what he was plotting to do, as soon as the term started again.
“What are you smiling to yourself about?” Minho asked as they put their coats on, ready to head outside to Honeydukes.
“You will find out on the first day of the term,” Felix informed him with a grin.
“Should I be scared?” Minho asked with a raised brow but he was smiling too, feeding off Felix’s amusement.
“Maybe?” Felix said. He had no clue how the Eagle Knocker would react to his tampering. Hopefully, nothing disastrous would result from it.
The likelihood of detention and point deductions from Ravenclaw were high, but Felix could care less about those points. In his opinion, Ravenclaw deserved to lose some points, especially considering how they had handled the news about his grades the night before. He definitely felt bitter about the entire ordeal—even though Barrett and Miller were primarily at fault, the others were bystanders, some even laughing at Felix's expense, which didn't sit well with him. So, whatever he planned to do with the Eagle Knocker would undoubtedly serve as revenge for them all, particularly towards Barrett and Miller.
“Well,” Minho said. “That makes me a bit worried now.”
“Don’t worry,” Felix said as he placed his arm over Minho’s shoulder. “It will all work out. Maybe I might get Jisung, Seungmin, and Jeongin to help me out.”
“Not Hyunjin?” Minho asked.
“No, I can’t get him to help me out this time,” Felix said. “Since he’s a Slytherin and not a Ravenclaw, he might actually get into worse trouble if he helped me out.”
“And that’s supposed to reassure me, how exactly?” Minho asked, raising his brow.
“Don’t worry about it,” Felix laughed, patting his shoulder as they walked outside into the bitingly cold weather.
They shivered, Minho quickly cast the warming charms on them. "I hate the cold," he said through chattering teeth.
"Me too," Felix agreed, reluctantly withdrawing his hand from Minho's grasp to tuck it into his coat pocket for warmth. Though he missed the touch, his priority was trying to warm up his body for now.
"You should've told me you hated the cold," Felix chided gently. "I wouldn't have minded a date inside the castle."
"It's alright,” Minho shook his head. “These warming charms help. Besides, I wanted a proper outdoor date."
Felix blushed, though the cold wind stung his cheeks and brought tears to his eyes. "Well, I hate the cold too. So, let's hurry back to the castle and eat our dessert there then. Meals at Hogwarts are always better."
Minho chuckled, then abruptly turned around to walk towards Hogwarts instead of Honeydukes, prompting Felix to happily follow. "You're right. Hogwarts food is unbeatable. I've even considered sending some home to my parents, but I don’t think it would survive the journey on an owl's foot."
Felix laughed as he revealed, “my Mother really loves the Hogwarts food too. She even wrote a letter to Dumbledore asking if our House Elf could apprentice for some time in Hogwarts underneath the Hogwarts Elves. She was beyond happy when Dumbledore had given permission.”
“You have a House Elf?” Minho asked. “Of course the ancient house of Lee would have some House Elves, huh?”
Felix nodded but he could tell that Minho wasn’t worried about the treatment of elves in the Lee household. “Currently we have two. Elsie is in charge of keeping the house clean and her husband, Denny, is in charge of all of our meals.”
“With the way you look while talking about them, I‘m assuming you must really adore them?” He asked.
“I do,” Felix chuckled. “Elsie is extremely sassy. She always makes some sort of comments that are so hilarious like,” he channeled his best impression of Elsie’s high-pitched voice, “'Looks like Master Felix's memory spell backfired, as he conveniently forgets where the trash bin is.' or ‘Master Felix’s feet seem to have gone on a strike, as they refuse to walk him to the laundry basket.’”
Minho laughed along with Felix at that before asking, “does that mean you keep your bedroom messy, Felix?”
“Umm…no?” Felix lied while awkwardly chuckling.
Minho erupted into hearty laughter before they silently continued walking.
They finally reached Hogwarts, and a wave of relief washed over them as the warmth of the building dispelled their shivers.
"Sometimes, I wish Hogwarts was on a tropical island, just to escape this cold," Minho said, extending his hand to Felix once more, eager to hold hands again.
Felix smiled at the gesture, instantly grasping Minho's hand, though he couldn't ignore the chill that seeped from the elder's fingers.
"I'd love it if Hogwarts was by the beach," Felix agreed as they strolled deeper into the castle. “I heard the Magical School in Australia is great all year round.”
“Well, I wish we were there, then,” Minho said.
They made a beeline for the kitchens, eager to ask for desserts from the House Elves working there. They were in the middle of dinner preparation but they still greeted them warmly before presenting the chocolate pudding they were going to serve for dinner.
With excitement, Felix eagerly accepted the pudding before the two of them settled down into a cozy corner of the kitchen to eat. As they savored their treat, several curious elves approached, asking about Elsie's well-being and asking if she would like to visit them again. Felix told them that he would be more than glad to extend their messages to Elsie and would encourage her to visit them soon. The elves seemed delighted by the prospect before bustling off to attend to their duties.
“They really like you,” Minho whispered as they silently ate and observed the Elves carry out their duties.
“I come by here often,” Felix revealed. “I was getting sick and tired of eating the same British food over and over again. So, I began to visit them here, and specifically requested them to cook some Korean food for me, time-to-time. I was glad when they agreed…I guess you would know—since you’ve been eating the same thing as me these days.”
Minho smiled at Felix before eating the chocolate pudding again.
“No offense,” Minho said after a few seconds of silence. “When I first laid eyes on you, I thought you would be some bratty rich kid who would refuse to step foot into the kitchen—let alone sit down on the floor of one, interacting with the House Elves and eating here,” Minho said as he took a bite of the pudding.
Felix couldn’t help but let out a chuckle at that. “When you first laid eyes on me? Was it the time you let me into the Ravenclaw towers that night? I thought I looked pretty pathetic that night—not like some bratty rich kid.”
“That wasn’t the first time I laid eyes on you,” Minho admitted. His voice low, almost like a whisper.
Felix turned to look at the elder but Minho kept his gaze straight ahead, still staring at the House Elves.
“When was the first time you noticed me, then?” Felix asked as he recalled that Minho had already known his name when they had interacted that night. It was only Felix who hadn’t known him—he couldn’t help but feel guilty about that.
“A while ago, honestly,” Minho said as he licked the chocolate off his spoon.
“Yeah?” Felix whispered as his eyes lingered there for some time, watching as Minho dipped the spoon back into the pudding and licked it again. Felix gulped as he watched him cleaning the spoon up with his tongue instead of just eating the pudding off of it.
Caught staring, Felix felt a flush creeping up his cheeks as Minho smirked and deliberately licked the head of the spoon from the bottom to the tip, maintaining eye contact.
"I've had my eyes on you for a while, Lix," Minho declared after eating it, his tone suggestive.
Surprised by the admission, Felix's heart raced. They had never interacted before that night, leaving him confused as to what had sparked Minho's interest in him earlier than that night.
"Since when?" Felix asked, leaning in closer, intrigued.
“That’s a story for another time,” Minho murmured, leaning in and delicately wiping the chocolate from Felix’s bottom lip with his thumb. Without hesitation, he guided his sullied thumb to Felix’s parted lips, urging him to accept it inside.
Felix parted his lips even more, holding his breath as Minho softly pushed his thumb in. He met the elder’s gaze, who silently encouraged him to lick his thumb clean.
With a mixture of nerves and excitement, Felix complied. He looked elsewhere as he felt Minho’s heated gaze on him when he sucked and licked it clean—feeling slightly embarrassed—though he could feel the lust uncoiling within him, so he couldn’t bring himself to stop sucking.
Even when he couldn’t taste the chocolate off his thumb anymore.
And Minho kept it in there, slightly pressing the thumb onto his tongue so he could only suck more rather than lick.
“I want to kiss you,” Minho said in a husky tone, not making any attempts to retreat his thumb back.
Felix met his gaze and noticed how wide his iris had gotten from the desire of just staring at Felix.
Felix kept his gaze locked on him when he opened his mouth and left one small kiss on the thumb before moving away.
“Not here,” Felix whispered, glancing around at the busy kitchen, where some of the House Elves had stopped to observe them with wide eyes.
“Then let’s go somewhere else,” Minho suggested, setting down his pudding and taking hold of Felix’s hand, urging him to stand up.
Felix set the pudding down, thanking the House Elves hurriedly as Minho ushered him out of the kitchen and into an empty classroom.
As soon as the door clicked shut behind them, Minho pressed Felix against it, trapping him there before capturing his lips in a passionate kiss. A perfectly mirrored image of what Minho had done behind the bushes the night before. It must be his move, Felix thought as he kissed him back.
Felix’s breath caught in his throat as Minho’s lips met him with an intensity that sent shivers down his spine. The kiss wasn’t anything like their first kiss. There was a fervor in Minho’s touch, a longing that seemed to have been building within him for far too long.
In the middle of their kisses, Minho whispered, “you have no idea how long it’s been since you first captured my attention, Lix.”
That explained the longing and it excited Felix in a way he had no idea he was capable of feeling. He wanted to know all about it—when and why Minho had been interested in him. But he held all those questions in to ask for later and instead focused on the plump lips against his own.
Felix’s hands instinctively found their way to Minho’s waist, pulling him closer as the kiss deepened. Minho’s hands were roaming around Felix’s hair, messing it up in a way that made him excited to see what it would look like after they were done.
But he didn’t want them to be done, he wanted to continue kissing forever if that was possible. And he absolutely hated the fact that the both of them had to pause for sometime to take a breather before connecting their lips back again—why breathe when they were swallowing each other’s breaths anyway?
Minho trailed his lips down Felix’s throat, igniting a moan. Felix instinctively tilted his head, offering more access to Minho’s ministrations. With each kiss and sharp nip, Felix couldn’t help but unashamedly release a low groan of pleasure.
“N-No one’s—,” Felix began to moan before continuing. “No one’s ever kissed me like this before,” he confessed, his voice breathless with desire.
“Like how?” Minho asked, his lips still grazing across Felix’s neck, sucking at a certain spot now.
“Like this…,” Felix responded, his eyes closed and his body going limp in Minho’s hold. “Like they want to ravish me.”
Minho hummed as his lips curved into a knowing smile against Felix’s skin. But he didn’t respond for a minute, just continuing to trail kisses down the neck before reaching back up to Felix’s lips and starting the kiss over there again, biting Felix’s bottom lip, eliciting a gasp before he pushed his tongue inside and explored inside.
Felix could feel his eyes rolling back at the absolute bliss the action brought him.
It was only when Minho had to pull out for a breather when he said, “then clearly no one has been kissing you right.”
Felix flushed and giggled at that, leaning in for one more kiss.
___________________________________________________________________
After their kiss, they decided to stay in the classroom. Felix settled onto one of the desks, still catching his breath, his mind swirling with what they had just done as he watched Minho looking through the bookshelves.
Minho picked a book from the shelf, turning towards Felix with eager enthusiasm, showing it off.
Felix arched an eyebrow questioningly, but couldn't hold back a mock gag when he read the title of the book. It was a DADA textbook, an ancient edition that clearly seemed untouched for years judging by its dusty condition.
“Wanna start your first tutoring session here?” he asked with a smile.
“Right here, right now?” Felix's eyes widened in surprise. “All of a sudden?”
“Yeah,” Minho nodded, unable to hide the glee in his voice. “Why not?”
He approached Felix, setting the book on the desk before him. Felix eyed the textbook warily.
“We don’t have to dive into the textbook,” Minho reassured him. “I just got the idea after I saw the book and thought it could be fun to go over some spells together. No pressure.”
Felix hesitated, uncertain about the sudden turn of events.
“I was thinking that I didn’t want our date to end and…” Minho confessed with a sheepish grin.
“And you thought tutoring me would be the best way to continue it?” Felix couldn’t suppress a chuckle at that, laughing even harder when Minho nodded earnestly.
“Alright,” Felix relented.
Minho practically bounced with excitement before settling into a seat opposite Felix as he asked, “So, what exactly in DADA do you have the most trouble with?”
“Dueling, actually,” Felix said, deciding to be honest with it.
“What exactly about dueling?” He inquired as he leaned forward.
“I’m not exactly sure,” Felix confessed, feeling a pang of embarrassment. “I just tend to freeze up most of the time.”
Minho nodded thoughtfully before abruptly rising from his seat, “let’s duel then.”
Felix spluttered in disbelief as Minho swirled his wand and moved the desks out of the way, making space in the classroom.
“But I just told you I’m terrible at it!” Felix protested as Minho tried to get him off the seat.
“I want to be a judge of that first,” Minho insisted with a grin. “So, I thought it best to just duel. It’ll help me understand where you need the most support.”
Felix rose from his seat slowly, his heart pounding with nervousness as he watched Minho clear the desks, creating an open space in the classroom.
With trembling hands, Felix retrieved his wand from his pocket, facing Minho with a mixture of anticipation and apprehension. “Are we going all out? Bowing and all?” he asked tentatively.
“We don't have to,” Minho reassured him. “Let's just jump right in.”
Felix nodded, trying to steady his nerves as he took a deep breath. “Just take it easy on me,” he requested with a nervous chuckle.
“I promise,” Minho replied, offering a gentle smile. “I've got you.”
With a nod of determination, Felix got into his fighting stance, pointing his wand at the elder Ravenclaw, ready to begin their friendly duel.
Minho wasted no time, casting a simple stinging spell that Felix managed to deflect before retaliating with a stinging spell of his own that hit Minho. But before Felix could fully process his success, Minho countered with a swift incantation, “Augmanti!” A powerful jet of water burst from his wand, striking Felix.
Unlike the forceful impact on the bullies the previous night, this time it was just a splash, enough to momentarily disorient Felix, causing him to splutter in surprise.
Before Felix could regain his composure, Minho swiftly followed up with another spell. “Expelliarmus,” he called out.
Caught off guard, Felix was unable to react in time. His wand slipped from his grasp, floating effortlessly into Minho's waiting hand.
Wiping the water from his eyes, Felix glanced sheepishly at the elder Ravenclaw. “Well, that was fast,” he admitted with an embarrassed smile.
Minho walked over to hand his wand back before saying, “you weren’t bad. It’s just that I’m really quick. Most students in class struggle to keep up.”
Felix accepted the wand, a smirk tugging on his lips. “Can’t tell if you’re trying to console me or if you’re bragging about yourself.”
“Both?” Minho chuckled as he tilted his head playfully. “I couldn’t let the chance to impress my crush slip away.” He joked, feigning haughtiness.
Felix couldn’t help but chuckle but raised his brow as he asked, “at my expense?”
“Well,” Minho chuckled nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck. “That wasn’t my intention. I just…haha…I just wanted to let you know that others have a hard time keeping up with my spells too. And well…” He looked down at himself, a blush creeping up his cheeks, clearly feeling sheepish. “I guess it came across as a horrible jibe? I’m sorry.”
Felix laughed, finding Minho's awkwardness endearing. “No harm done. I was just messing with you. But I think I know what I need help with now.”
Straightening up, Minho faced him with a serious look, ready to go back to his teacher-mode. Felix had to bite his cheek to prevent letting a smile slip at that.
“How can you keep up with the barrage of spells when you also have to identify what’s coming at you and counter them at the same time? I always get caught up in analyzing the other spells and overthinking it.” Felix explained. “But then sometimes my mind just goes blank because everything is just so fast—just like you were right now.”
Minho hummed as he pondered Felix’s question before saying, “honestly after memorizing all the spells and its counterspells, it kinda just came instinctually to me.”
He must have spotted Felix’s face falling into a frown with that statement because he quickly added, “but I know not everyone can do that. So, I think it's sometimes better to just perfect a handful of spells that could help out no matter what.”
Minho took a step back before casting, “Portego.”
A ring of translucent orb circled around him—a shielding spell.
“Cast something against me,” Minho said. “Anything.”
“I know how Portego works, Minho,” Felix said but still cast a couple of stinging spells against it. Watching as it got easily warded off.
“That’s good,” Minho nodded, maintaining the shield effortlessly. “Then you understand that almost any spell can be warded against it, right?”
“Yeah,” Felix nodded, focusing as he cast "Expelliarmus," observing it get rebound off the shield.
“Exactly. So, whenever you need a moment to strategize your next move, use Portego,” Minho advised.
“But what if some spells break through the shields anyway?” Felix questioned, conjuring his own protective shield, a blue orb encircling him.
“Then reinforce it,” Minho instructed, demonstrating with a graceful swirl of his wand to fortify his own shield. “Even if they manage to penetrate it later, you’ll have bought yourself some time to react to it.”
Felix nodded, following Minho's lead to strengthen his shield.
Minho dispelled his shield before suddenly launching a spell against him, “Expelliarmus.”
Felix watched as his shield held strong against the spell—which was at a higher intensity than when Minho had previously cast it—a grin spreading across his face at his success.
“Good,” Minho praised, his smile genuine.
Felix couldn’t help but preen.
"Now, I’m going to cast another spell at you," Minho announced, his wand already trained on Felix. "You can keep the shield up and see if it wards off the spell, but if you feel the shield might break, think of a defensive or offensive spell before it does, alright?"
Felix nodded, bracing himself and reinforcing his Portego even further.
“Ebublio,” Minho incanted, and they both watched as a large watery bubble hurtled toward Felix.
Felix tensed as the bubble collided with his shield, relieved to see it holding firm, though he had to exert more effort to maintain it.
He knew he couldn't cast spells while maintaining the shield, or he would risk the shield’s collapse and being subsequently engulfed by the bubble. But it didn’t look like the watery bubble was going to go away just because of his shields, he needed to act on it somehow or else it would penetrate through the shield as soon as Felix got tired of holding it. So, he decided that his best option would be to slow down the approaching threat. He moved his wand and watched as the Portego spell began to fade, before it could completely disappear and before the bubble could engulf him, Felix swiftly cast "Impedimenta."
The bubble's movement immediately slowed down, allowing Felix enough to sidestep away. He swiftly followed up with a slicing charm to sever the bubble, sending water cascading to the ground.
"Nice!" Minho applauded.
Turning to acknowledge the praise with a smile, Felix's expression faltered when Minho suddenly shouted, “Brachiabindo!”
Reacting swiftly, Felix attempted to cast Portego again. However, his defense wasn't quick enough, and the spell broke through, ensnaring him in invisible cords.
Losing his balance, Felix tumbled backward, the force of the spell rendering him helpless on the ground. He groaned in discomfort as the cords tightened around him.
“Are you okay?” Minho's voice sounded concerned as he approached.
Felix didn’t respond, his mind racing as he struggled against the invisible bonds, trying to recall any counterspells.
“Do you know the counterspell?” Minho asked, towering over him.
After a moment of fruitless effort, Felix shook his head in defeat, gazing up at Minho with frustration.
“Emancipare,” Minho said, and Felix felt a wave of relief as the invisible cords dissolved, freeing him from their grasp.
“Hyunjin had cast that against Miller that day, when we first heard them bad mouthing you,” Felix said as he stood up and cast the same to the elder, “Brachiabindo!”
However, Minho was fast as casting “Portego,” where the spell immediately bounced off of.
Felix huffed in annoyance at that.
“Hyunjin cast it?” Minho asked, bringing up that topic again.
“Yeah,” Felix said. “The day I turned Barret into a chicken.”
Minho snorted at that before saying, “I wish I could have seen that.”
"He was honestly very adorable, so I don’t understand why he would be angry at me for that,” Felix shrugged, recounting a humorous memory. “Honestly, when Professor Flitwick transformed him back into a human, he did a great disservice to the entire world—when everyone would have been just as content seeing him as an adorable chicken.”
Minho laughed, clearly amused by Felix's retelling.
“Anyway, ever since Hyunjin cast that spell,” Felix continued, “I wondered what the counterspell to it was.”
“Emancipare,” Minho replied promptly. “It could release any binding spells, not just Brachiabindo. Incarcerous and Fulgari as well.”
Felix nodded, hoping he was able to remember that for the future.
“Do you want to try practicing it?” Minho proposed.
Felix assumed his defensive stance again before nodding in agreement.
Minho wasted no time, casting "Brachiabindo."
Felix reacted swiftly, casting the counterspell. He breathed a sigh of relief as the binding spell was dispelled, keeping his limbs free.
He grinned up at Minho, waving his arms around to show off that they were bound-free.
Minho smirked before casting a spell.
Felix didn’t hear what he had said but immediately cast the shield around him. But he was confused when he noticed nothing had been aimed at him. He heard a thumping sound behind him, like something had fallen on the ground. He lowered his wand before turning around to check it out.
A mattress was laying on the ground, seemingly conjured there by Minho.
Felix looked back at Minho in confusion but he was just staring at him with the same smirk on his face.
“Why a mattress?” Felix asked, genuinely puzzled by Minho’s choice.
“So your back won’t hurt the next time you fall down,” Minho answered with nonchalant amusement.
“I won’t fall,” Felix huffed, slightly miffed at his implication.
“You sure about that?” Minho teased.
“Yeah, of cour—” Felix began, but before he could finish, Minho interrupted with another spell.
“Incarcerous,” he said, his voice firm, like it was an order.
Felix felt the very visible ropes materialize, binding tightly around his limbs. With his limbs all wrapped up, he lost his balance and toppled backward, landing on the mattress with an exasperated sigh. He was definitely not going to thank Minho for conjuring the mattress for him.
As he prepared to cast the counterspell to free himself, Felix noticed Minho looming over once more, but this time his expression sent a shiver down Felix’s spine, immediately stopping him from struggling against its hold.
His eyes were heavy-lidded as he gazed down at Felix, a clear expression of lust evident in his stare.
Felix gulped as he watched Minho gracefully lowered himself down to his knees, moving with a deliberate slowness, prowling over to him like a predator that had caught its prey.
Hovering above Felix, Minho silently kept on staring at him, letting his eyes wander around Felix’s bound body. The weight of his hooded haze was bearing down on Felix, enough to make his heart pound fiercely in his chest, adrenaline coursing through his veins.
“Didn’t you say you enjoy being ensnared by danger?” Minho’s voice, barely above a whisper, sent a tremor of anticipation through Felix.
“I did,” Felix confessed softly as Minho’s touch trailed down his arm, causing goosebumps to rise in its wake.
Minho exuding a primal intensity was enough to make him instantly hard.
Minho pointed his wand at him again and tightened the ropes ever so slightly. Felix couldn’t suppress a gasp at the sensation, his eyes squeezing shut against the overwhelming rush of arousal.
He could already tell that the ropes would leave a mark on his skin, if Minho didn’t release it anytime soon.
But as Felix locked eyes with the elder wizard, it didn’t look like he had any plans to release it anytime soon.
“Minho,” Felix pleaded, wanting to move his arms so he could do something about his arousal.
“You look beautiful like this, Lix,” Minho said. “I wish you could see yourself.”
Felix lifted his head slightly to look down at himself and blushed not only because of the ropes around him but he noticed how the ropes had somehow managed to move his sweater up, revealing his skin underneath and the tip of his boxer briefs. But the most humiliating thing of it all was his obvious hard length.
Minho trailed his eyes down and noticed it too and instead of ignoring it, he sat himself down on it, his own hardness making contact with Felix’s.
Both men let out a loud satisfied groan at the contact. Felix’s back arching up at the pleasure.
“Is this too fast?” Minho asked, his voice sincere.
“No,” Felix shook his head because he wanted this and would be pretty pissed off if they didn’t take care of their hard-ons right now.
Minho smiled before leaning down to capture Felix’s lips in a kiss again.
Felix opened his mouth and easily allowed the elder access to his mouth. They kissed passionately, not caring for the spit drooling out as Minho pressed his hips down against Felix’s.
Both of their moans were swallowed by each other.
Felix hadn’t had a chance to cum by the help of another person so he didn’t think he would last long. Especially not with the way Minho was aggressively moving his lips and rolling his hips over him.
It was awkward, not being able to do much as he laid all bound up. But he couldn’t deny how amazing it all felt.
Minho suddenly started pulling and tugging at his hair, making his mouth forget what he was doing against the elder’s lips. Minho trailed kisses down his neck, leaving Felix gasping.
Just the feel of Minho’s body against his, the hardness between them, could be enough to make Felix finish. But the way he was pulling on his hair and the way he was now sucking his neck and the way Felix just couldn’t move at all with the ropes binding him down—it was too overwhelming and more than enough to send him over the edge.
Minho came immediately afterwards.
They lay there for a couple minutes, catching their breath before Minho pulled himself up and released the bindings around Felix.
Felix relaxed as soon as the ropes loosened.
“Sorry,” Minho started, looking sheepish which was a far cry to how haughty he had looked just moments before. “Was I too rough with that?”
“Not at all,” Felix said as he rubbed his arms, noticing the markings that had been left behind.
Minho followed his gaze and blushed at the markings before asking, “should I heal it away?”
“Absolutely not,” Felix protested a bit too strongly at that.
Minho blinked in surprise before smirking and reaching out to unroll Felix’s sleeves. “Then just cover it when we leave.”
Felix nodded and allowed Minho to unroll the sleeve of his other arm as well.
“I’m glad I agreed to let you tutor me, honestly,” Felix whispered.
Minho couldn’t hide his blush as he chuckled before he cast cleaning charms on them. Felix felt relieved as soon as he felt the wetness on his underwear disappear.
“Wanna go eat dinner now?” Minho asked, offering his hand, “I’m starving.”
“Okay,” Felix said as he grabbed hold of the offered hand and stood up.
_____________________________________________________________________
Felix skipped the first half of dinner as soon as the term started again, eager to execute his prank. He got his friends in on it too—who were all buzzing with excitement.
Seungmin, Jeongin, and Jisung joined him to help him out with the spells. Hyunjin fumed when all four of them refused to let him in on the plan. They couldn't risk him, a Slytherin, facing punishment for tampering with the security measurements of the Ravenclaw Towers.
Reluctantly, Hyunjin relented while the others dashed off to the towers to perform the spells. They were all hoping to cast it quickly and smoothly so they could make it back to the feast before it ended. Having the three of them assist Felix would certainly speed things up.
To prepare the prank right during dinner time was perfect because Felix knew every Ravenclaw student would be in the Great Hall, catching up with friends after the break while enjoying their meals. He doubted anyone would be inside the Towers at that time. Plus, he was certain that everyone would head directly to the Towers after finishing their meals. Which meant that he would get his perfect, big enough audience to watch his prank work out.
Approaching the Eagle Knocker, the group was immediately met with a riddle. Ignoring it, Felix wasted no time in casting his spell, with the transfiguration part of the spells being his responsibility. While Seungmin was up next to perform the next set of charms.
Meanwhile, Jisung and Jeongin kept watch, agreeing to whistle if someone happened to pass by.
It took a while longer than Felix had thought as he continued to transfigure the Eagle Knocker. He had to push more power into it, more than he ever had to ever before. It was tiring but his eyes glinted as it slowly transfigured to what he wanted.
Felix was gasping for breath, his wrist was aching and cramping for holding his wand so tightly for so long but he smiled triumphantly as he saw his final product before moving out of the way to have Seungmin perform the final charms where the Knocker would only be able to say one thing over and over again until it's demands were met and only then would it open the doors to allow the students inside.
“Done,” Seungmin said, also looking out of breath with the amount of magic he had to exert. Jisung and Jeongin rushed to their sides to see it.
Felix waited with bated breath, checking if the Knocker will say to them what they wanted it to.
Seungmin and Felix immediately high-fived each other once it did.
“That’s amazing,” Jisung laughed incredulously, high-fiving them.
“I just know that these two are going to be the best wizards ever one day,” Jeongin praised before leaving a kiss on Seungmin’s lips and leaning over to peck Felix's cheek.
Felix couldn’t help but preen at the compliments.
“We should hurry back to the Great Hall,” Seungmin said. “I hope they still have some treacle tart left.”
They didn’t hesitate to run all the way back.
They found Minho, Changbin, Chan, and Hyunjin all seated together on the Ravenclaw table. Felix promptly took his seat next to Minho, who asked, “all done?”
“Yep,” Felix giggled before turning his plate around and immediately diving into his meal.
The elder Ravenclaw laughed before softly patting Felix’s head.
“Hyunjin didn’t tell me what you had planned,” Minho whispered, leaning closer to Felix. “I guess I have to wait for the surprise.”
Felix smirked back but still added, “don’t expect too much.”
They took their time eating their dinner, deliberately delaying their departure to the Ravenclaw Towers. They wanted the crowd to gather at the Ravenclaw entrance before they could see how the audience was reacting to everything.
The minute they noticed that more than half of the Ravenclaw table had emptied, they finally set off for the Towers.
Before they even reached the hallway leading up to the towers, the noise of the crowd reached their ears.
"Just do it!" one student was exclaiming. "I still have my Astronomy class to get to, and all my notes are inside!"
Felix had overlooked the fact that some students would still have Astronomy class after dinner, even at such a late hour. It made sense, given that the stars would be fully visible at that time. But it made him giddy even more because that meant more students would be frustrated about not being able to get inside the towers until the task was solved—a task that Seungmin and Felix had ensured that only Barrett and Miller could solve.
"I'm not going to do something as foolish as this!" Barrett's voice rang out, audible even at the far end of the crowd.
The crowd responded with boos and groans at Barrett's refusal.
As Felix and his group drew closer, they overheard another student urging Miller to take action instead of Barrett, but Miller wasn’t budging either. He was fuming instead.
"What's going on?" Felix asked innocently, despite being fully aware of the situation.
He heard Minho chuckle at him for that and Felix had to bite his lip to not let a smile slip by.
"Is that Felix?" Barrett called out as soon as he heard Felix's voice.
The crowd parted, allowing Felix to approach to the front where Barrett and Miller stood, blocking the Eagle Knocker from view but everyone could hear the noises it was making.
"I know this is you and your friends' doing!" Barrett screamed, his frustration evident.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Felix protested, feigning innocence.
"Why?" Seungmin piped up innocently, scanning the scene as if puzzled by Barrett and Miller's agitation. "What's going on?"
"Shut up!" Miller hollered. "We know you all did this, so fix it!"
With a dramatic flourish, Miller stepped aside, revealing the altered Eagle Knocker—or what remained of it. Felix heard Minho emit a low whistle of impressed disbelief, even feeling a subtle squeeze on his shoulder from him, acknowledging Felix's handiwork.
Instead of the majestic bronze eagle, the Knocker had now transformed into a chicken, eerily lifelike as it stared at the students with its beady black eyes, emitting a series of clucks.
It clucked again before announcing, "Entrance can only be granted once Barrett and Miller flap around in a circle three times while clucking and conclude with a cock-a-doodle-doo."
Hyunjin couldn’t help but let out a loud laugh while Barrett stomped his feet like a frustrated toddler.
“Fix it!” Barrett yelled as he rushed to Felix’s side.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Felix shrugged. “This is way too advanced a magic for me to have done it.” He then turned to face the crowd as he said, “you all saw my grades, do you honestly think I could have done something like this.”
The crowd stayed silent, not knowing how to respond. They all knew Felix’s proclivity to transfiguration but none were willing to admit if what Felix was saying was true or not.
“Just say the god-damn ‘cock-a-doodle-doo’ and let us be on our way!” someone screamed from the other side of the crowd.
“Yeah!” someone else said which started the chant to force Barrett and Miller to do it.
“I have the N.E.W.Ts to study for!” one of them screamed. “Let us in!”
And that began its whole separate yells and screams as it sounded like many students had plans to study for the N.E.W.Ts on the first day of term—as to be expected of Ravenclaw students.
"But did you know that it's usually only the rooster who makes the 'cock-a-doodle-doo' sound and not chickens?" Minho whispered in Felix's ear, eliciting a giggle and a shrug from Felix.
"Eh," Felix replied. "Not like the difference would matter here."
"Look at Barrett's face," Minho chuckled.
And oh Felix had been watching Barrett's expression the entire time. Barrett appeared both enraged and resigned, as if he had no choice but to comply with the demands of the Chicken Knocker especially as the crowd of angry students urged them to do so.
"You know," Felix began as he stepped forward, a mischievous glint in his eyes, "it might be easier if I just turned you guys into chickens."
“Yeah, do it!” Someone in the crowd yelled.
"Shut the fuck up, Lee," Miller snapped. "No one's turning us into anything. We're reporting this to the Headmaster."
Felix felt a pang of fear at Miller's threat. He knew he'd be in trouble regardless if the prank was traced back to him, but the idea of being reported to the Headmaster Dumbledore was daunting more than anything.
"Don't worry," Seungmin whispered, leaning in close. "I've erased the magical trail, so it won't lead back to us."
Felix nearly turned around to kiss Seungmin in gratitude, but managed to maintain his composure.
“What’s all the commotion about?!” Professor Flitwick’s voice could be heard booming through the hallway even with the entire crowd of Ravenclaw students yelling.
Everyone quieted as soon as they heard him and parted away to allow him to walk through the door.
Felix froze when he saw Dumbledore making his way through the crowd along with Flitwick.
Seungmin immediately grabbed to hold his hand and gave a reassuring squeeze. While Minho wrapped his arm around Felix’s shoulder in a protective embrace.
Felix was thankful for both.
“Look at what Lee and his gang have done, Professor!” Miller said as he showed the Knocker off to them.
Dumbledore and Flitcwick passed by them to examine the Knocker.
Felix waited anxiously, half-expecting the Headmaster and the Professor to turn around and immediately suspend him for tampering with the Ravenclaw Towers' security system. He hoped they wouldn't do the same to Seungmin. Felix would do everything in his power to prevent his friend from facing any consequences. Besides, even if Felix were suspended, he reassured himself, it should be fine—he already had a job lined up. So he should be fine, right?
Yeah, he would be fine.
Minho sensed Felix's escalating panic and tightened his hold on him, leaning down to peck him on the head in a gesture of reassurance.
"This is some very high-level magic," Dumbledore announced, turning away without directly glancing at Felix, which nearly made him sag with relief.
"It might take a considerable amount of time to restore it to its original state," Dumbledore continued, eliciting a loud groan from the crowd.
"We will immediately punish the perpetrators once we ascertain who is responsible," Flitwick declared.
"I’m telling you it's Felix Lee!" Barrett shouted. "Punish him!"
Dumbledore turned to face Felix, causing him to instinctively take a step back, getting further wrapped around in Minho’s arms. However, there was a twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes as he regarded Felix.
"Yeah?" Minho interjected. "Where's your evidence?"
"He's already turned me into a chicken once," Barrett insisted. "Of course he would do something like this for revenge."
"For revenge?" Dumbledore inquired, turning to face Barrett again, his tone curious. "Revenge for what?"
Barrett spluttered, while Miller remained silent, not daring to mention that they had not only bullied Felix countless times but also leaked his grades to the entire Ravenclaw House.
Dumbledore waited a few moments, giving them the chance to explain why Felix might seek revenge, but neither seemed willing to speak.
Minho leaned down to whisper, asking if he should tell the Professors what Barrett and Miller had done. Felix just shook his head and said, "Nah, as they said, I already got my revenge."
Minho snickered and straightened up again.
Flitwick turned to examine the charms placed on the Chicken Knocker, but the Knocker clucked and repeated the same sentence over and over as Flitwick tinkered with it: "Entrance can only be granted once Barrett and Miller flap around in a circle three times while clucking and conclude with a cock-a-doodle-doo."
"I don't think I can fix it immediately," Flitwick announced to the crowd.
"NO!" Barrett and Miller yelped in frustration as Flitwick told them they had to follow through with the Chicken Knocker's instructions to open the doors.
"Just do it!" Jeongin yelled. "We've been waiting here long enough, haven't we?" He turned to the crowd, who all shouted in agreement.
“It might be wise to just follow through with it for now,” Dumbledore agreed as well. “We will have it fixed as soon as we can afterwards.”
Barrett and Miller looked at the expectant crowd in terror.
“Let’s just get it over with,” Miller said before pushing Barrett towards him and forcing him into position.
Barrett closed his eyes in embarrassment before he and Miller finally began to flap their arms like wings, running in a wide circle while making clucking sounds.
The crowd cheered and mocked them as they ran and flapped their arms about. Felix and his group of friends couldn’t help but let out a laugh when they ended with a loud 'cock-a-doodle-doo.'
The Chicken Knocker immediately transformed back into the Eagle Knocker, and the doors to the Tower swung open.
The crowd erupted with laughter, with a few mimicking high-pitched chicken noises, poking fun at Barrett and Miller as they passed by to enter the Towers.
Barrett and Miller refused to make eye contact, their faces as red as tomatoes as they pushed past the others to get inside.
"Well," Dumbledore said, his eyes still twinkling with amusement as he began to walk away, "I guess we don't have to fix anything after all."
"We still have to find the instigators," Flitwick said, following after him.
"I suppose we do," Dumbledore replied, sending a wink to Felix as he walked by.
Felix couldn't help but smile at that.