Gryffindor Fifth Year Boys' Dormitory
"Hold still! I'm trying to fix your tie!"
Vernon just huffed a little gust of air between his lips as Seungkwan fussed over his tie, muttering to himself about always having to look after him even though the shorter Hufflepuff was only about a month older than him.
"Who even let you in here?" he asked absently, eyeing his hair in the mirror over Seungkwan's shoulder.
"Seungcheol." With one last tug that was far too aggressive for Vernon's liking, Seungkwan stepped back, nodding in approval. "Much better."
At that moment, Vernon remembered meeting an eleven-year-old Boo Seungkwan on the Hogwarts Express. Already dressed in his robes with his black tie perfectly pressed, he had walked in on Vernon sitting in a compartment by himself, staring out the window at the changing scenery. Undeterred by his stoic expression, Seungkwan had simply pulled a handful of sweets out of his pockets and dumped them on the seat next to him. The charismatic future Hufflepuff had helped him fix his tie before they had gotten off the train. He had even said the same thing: "Much better." They had gotten into the same boat to cross the Black Lake to the castle and then stood together in line waiting to be Sorted; and being in different houses hadn't done anything to separate them one bit—even though Vernon's dorm mates constantly complained that Seungkwan never stayed in his own dormitory.
"Who are we trying to impress again?" Vernon grumbled, adjusting the cuffs of his blazer. Although most of the school would be wearing dress robes, he opted for Muggle attire instead, choosing a striking black blazer over a more muted black silk dress shirt, crisp black trousers, and a blazing scarlet tie—which Seungkwan had graciously fixed for him.
"I know it doesn't seem important now, but the wizarding community in Great Britain is rather small compared to other countries," Seungkwan sniffed, fixing his hair with delicate movements. "All these people will remember you in five years' time and bring it up when you run into them at Diagon Alley while you're shopping for new quills."
"No one's going to remember you because of the way you look, Kwannie," Soonyoung teased, poking his head in the doorway to the fifth year boys' dormitory. "What they're going to remember is that attitude of yours."
Without even looking in his direction, the younger boy plucked one of Vernon's pillows from his bed and hurled it at the seventh year Gryffindor, hitting him in the face. He then returned to primping in the mirror, his upper body wrapped in tailored topaz yellow dress robes that were cropped over narrow-legged black trousers with yellow sun motifs embroidered around the ankles.
"I don't know why everyone thinks you're so nice," Soonyoung complained. "I should tell them all what kind of person you are."
"You can try."
Vernon snorted to himself, although neither of them heard him. The truth was that Seungkwan was the kind of person he was because he had been picked on all his life—and coming to Hogwarts hadn't changed that. He frowned, remembering the time in Transfiguration right at the beginning of first year when some of the other Gryffindor boys had been making fun of the way Seungkwan talked. His parents had gotten him an English tutor for the summer right before he came to Hogwarts, but his Jeju accent lingered—and people noticed.
"Why don't you just go to Mahoutokorowhere you belong?" they had taunted him, referring to the wizarding school in Japan.
Vernon, having grown up in wizarding society in the UK despite his father being Korean—and completely unwilling to let his housemates bully his new friend—slammed his Transfiguration textbook shut and snapped, "Because he's Korean and Japan tried to wipe out Koreans completely in the early 1950s, you absolute tosspots. Honestly, have you ever read a single history book in your life?"
The boys, having not even noticed that Vernon had been sitting nearby, looked startled, and had promptly shut up. Seungkwan had smiled at Vernon gratefully, and the moment had only further sealed the deal on their friendship. The Hufflepuff was friends with everyone under the sun now, thanks to his outgoing and affable personality, but those experiences stayed with him; and his inner circle remained small.
"I know people think you don't talk very much," Seungkwan had said to him once, "but you speak up when it matters, and that's why I know I can always count on you. That's true bravery."
Returning to the present, Vernon realized that Soonyoung and Seungkwan were still arguing, although Seungkwan was more preoccupied with fixing his appearance in the mirror than paying attention to the Gryffindor's ramblings.
"And you didn't even bring any snacks," the older boy continued as if he had not heard the younger. "What's the point of living by the kitchens if you don't spread the wealth?"
"We're literally going to a feast."
"Your point is?"
"Alright, children, settle down," Seungcheol chided, patting Soonyoung on the shoulder as he walked by. "Vernon, you look great! I didn't think of wearing Muggle clothes instead."
Vernon shrugged. "There was no rule against wearing them, and I don't fancy wearing dress robes."
Seungcheol hummed in response—the seventh year Gryffindor Quidditch captain and prefect looking rather impressive himself in a set of fiery red satin dress robes belted with a black sash studded with ruby flowers—then pulled out his pocket watch to check the time.
A third year who had just made the Gryffindor Quidditch team as their new Seeker when Vernon had arrived at Hogwarts, Seungcheol had been the model big brother from the moment they had met. The oldest out of their entire group by only two months, he was a big brother to everyone, really—except Jeonghan, with whom he had a different kind of relationship. Although he never to sought to impose his will on others, people naturally followed him, attracted to his quiet strength and fair judgement. It was Seungcheol who had really encouraged Vernon and Chan to make and maintain friendships outside of their house their first year, especially since they were all in the minority within the student population.
"We need to stick together as much as we can, and it's always nice to see someone who looks familiar, even if we've never met them before," he had told them.
Thinking of his friends now, Vernon was glad that they had taken Seungcheol's advice. It was like having their own piece of home away from home for many of them, and their solidarity had made being away from their families for most of the year much more bearable. Vernon had only had Seungkwan at the beginning, but through Chan, he had soon met the others; and with Seungcheol vouching for him, he found himself with eleven more new friends in no time.
"Fifteen minutes till we meet the others just outside the Hufflepuff dormitories," Seungcheol reminded them, putting his pocket watch away. "Soonyoung, you're not even dressed! Get a move on!"
Despite being in the same year, Soonyoung looked properly scolded, then ducked his head and scurried out of the room obediently, already shrugging off his school robes.
"Sorry, Chan!" they heard him holler down the hall.
The boy in question walked into the dormitory soon after, rubbing his shoulder with a frown on his face, having undoubtedly been the unfortunate target of Soonyoung's high-energy impact on his way back to his own dormitory.
"Aw, Channie, you look so handsome!" Seungkwan cooed, reaching out to pinch his cheek.
The youngest by mere weeks, Chan resented being treated like the baby, but with so many habits lingering from their culture, he couldn't escape the treatment that came with the title. Instead, he simply swerved backwards to avoid Seungkwan's fingers, smoothing the front of his dress robes, which were split right down the middle into red and gold with a golden lion medallion looped around his waist.
"Sticking to a theme is really hard," he complained. "I don't know why we all agreed to wear our house colors instead of just wearing whatever we wanted."
"Hyung only said that our outfits had to include our house colors, he didn't specify how much," Vernon said, picking a stray thread from the lapel of his blazer. "Hence the all black outfit save for the red tie."
"Ugh, I should've done that," Chan groaned. "I feel ridiculous."
"No, you look really great," Seungkwan complimented him sincerely. "It's very unique, no one else at the ball will be wearing anything like that."
Chan, used to everyone taking the mickey out of him, looked understandably skeptical at the Hufflepuff's comment, but whatever he was about to say in response was interrupted by Soonyoung sliding into the room in an all-gold suit, accented by a cream-colored dress shirt under his jacket and a bright red pocket square.
"What are you wearing?" Seungkwan demanded, looking so offended that Vernon couldn't help but snicker.
"You like it?" Soonyoung asked excitedly, mistaking his question for genuine interest and turning around to show them the matching gold half-cape with red trim hanging from his shoulders. "I had to have the cape added but it was totally worth it."
Satisfied with his attire, he dashed out of the room, cape fluttering behind him.
"I did not come all the way from Jeju Island for this," Seungkwan muttered to himself.
"I definitely feel a lot better about my outfit now," Chan whispered to Vernon, who was doubled over with laughter.
Slytherin Seventh Year Boys' Dormitory
If he was being honest, Seokmin didn't like the Slytherin dormitories very much. Even though it had now been fourteen years since the Battle of Hogwarts, nothing had been done to give the other houses any reason to believe that Slytherins weren't still the school villains when their dormitories remained in the dungeons and needed to have all the fireplaces going all hours of the day so that the students wouldn't freeze in their beds.
"Professor Malfoy said he's been arguing with the school governors to approve measures that would support renovations that would relocate Slytherin House from the dungeons to somewhere else in the castle," Joshua had told them once, "but a lot of them seem to think that this is an appropriate punishment for the role Slytherin House has played in the two previous wizarding wars."
"That's ridiculous," Jihoon had said, rolling his eyes. "Those wizarding wars only happened because the British wizarding community allowed themselves to be divided based on traits that have little bearing on whether you're a good or a bad person. Besides, the Slytherins of today shouldn't be paying the price for the choices past Slytherins made."
"You mean past Slytherins like Professor Malfoy?" Soonyoung had asked. "I heard he was a Death Eater, and he is kind of intimidating."
"Sure, but he obviously learned from his mistakes and has been working to better himself and the image of the Malfoy name. He's married to Professor Granger, andeveryone knows she's Muggleborn," Seungkwan had pointed out.
In spite of Professor Malfoy's efforts, the Slytherins remained in the dungeons; and for this reason, if any configuration of members of their friend group included Slytherins, they preferred to not hang out in the Slytherin common room. At present, however, Seokmin had been tasked to round up their two snakes—who were currently whispering to each other with their heads so close together that all his prefect senses were immediately set on high alert.
"You two look like you're up to something," he announced dramatically, narrowing his eyes with mock suspicion.
Jeonghan and Joshua both turned their heads to look at the Hufflepuff at the same time.
"Aren't we always," Jeonghan replied airily, tucking something inside his dress robes smoothly before Seokmin could see what it was.
Dressed to the nines like the Slytherin prince he was, the seventh year prefect—who was told sternly by his head of house, Professor Malfoy, that the only reason why he wasn't Head Boy was because he would get drunk off the power—Jeonghan was wearing the most expensive-looking dress robes that Seokmin—or anyone else at the school, for that matter—had ever seen. Emerald green in color and glittering like the gems they resembled, they cinched his frame beautifully thanks to the tasseled belt at his waist. If you looked closely, you could see black beaded butterflies sewn into the material; and he wore his medium-length black hair in a short ponytail, a silver butterfly ornament pinned to hold it in place.
If anyone was aesthetically the human embodiment of all the values Slytherins held dear, it was Yoon Jeonghan. Clever, resourceful, and with the carriage of someone who was born to wealth—even though that wasn't the case—he bore all the admiration of his peers and professors, although the other houses knew to be wary of him thanks to the numerous pranks he had executed that made Fred and George Weasley look like amateurs. He made sure that everyone was always aware of exactly what he was capable of, but only his friends knew that he was one of the kindest and most affectionate people you could have the privilege of befriending. His humility stemmed from watching his parents work hard for what they had; and despite the neighborhood criticisms about how the Yoons were nouveau riche, Jeonghan always walked with his head held high. Moreover, as one of the first families to stand up for Korean wizards' rights to attend Hogwarts instead of Mahoutokoro, the Yoons had successfully gained an ally in the form of the Chosen One by making friends with his wife; and as Jeonghan had photos of his family shaking hands with Harry and Ginny Potter, no one dared to cross him.
"Harry Potter told me personally that the Sorting Hat wanted to put him in Slytherin," Jeonghan had whispered to them one night while they had been eating dinner at the Hufflepuff table. "I have never been more proud in my life."
Sitting next to him on his bed with his long legs stretched out in front of him was Joshua, dressed simply yet elegantly in a well-fitted black suit, a Slytherin green dress shirt, and black tie. His hair was neatly parted, combed away from his face to highlight his perfect features. Initially dismissed by the rest of his house as just a pretty boy with a heavy pocketbook, Joshua had come to be known as the more dangerous one of the two Slytherins in their friend group because of his ability to charm others. He was a true gentleman—but a wronged Joshua was someone to be feared. Not even his own friends wanted to get on his bad side; he was entertaining at his best and unhinged at his worst—but he could get even Madame Hooch to crack a smile.
"You look nice, Seokmin-ah," he said, tilting his head at the Hufflepuff. "A custom piece?"
Seokmin looked down at his butter yellow dress robes, layered with pale yellow at the neck, sleeves, and waist. There was the barest hint of black peeking out from under the collar and at the hem.
"Oh, that's not even the best part," he told them, grinning broadly. "Look!"
He turned around, revealing a giant black and white badger embroidered on the back, paws raised and mouth open. He looked at the pair of Slytherins over his shoulder to see their reactions, which were mirrors of each other: One raised eyebrow.
"That's... definitely something," Jeonghan said finally.
"We certainly won't lose you at the ball," Joshua agreed.
Seokmin chuckled, unaffected by their less-than-enthusiastic responses to his choice of attire. He had taken their commitment to house colors very seriously—and if nothing else, it was good for a laugh or two, which was all that mattered to him.
If people thought the wizarding community in Great Britain was small, the wizarding community in Korea was even smaller in the sense that everyone knew everyone regardless of where they lived or went to primary school. Seokmin had known most of the others since they were children, save for Minghao and Junhui—who had come to Hogwarts from China when it had been announced that wizards from Asia could now attend—and Joshua and Vernon, who had both been residing in the UK for some time. Although they hadn't been friends back then, they had formed a close-knit community upon arriving at Hogwarts, grateful to see familiar faces in a sea of strangers; and even Vernon and Joshua were relieved to find other Koreans at school regardless of their integration into British wizarding society.
Seokmin knew that these twelve boys would be his best friends for the rest of his life, and he just wanted them all to be happy. If that meant making himself look ridiculous so that he could make them laugh, he would wear a great ruddy badger on his back for everyone to see.
"Now," he said, turning back around to face them. "What are you two up to?"
"Nothing you need to worry about, Seokmin-ah," Jeonghan answered smoothly, patting the back of his head to make sure his butterfly was still in place. "Just a bit of fun. Besides, Seungcheol approved it."
"Whenever you tell me not to worry, I worry." Seokmin sighed, shaking his head. "Well, I guess it can't be that bad if Seungcheol said it was okay."
Even Jeonghan had his limits—and his was Choi Seungcheol.
The Slytherins rose to their feet with fluid grace, each of them moving to stand on either side of Seokmin and looping their arms with his as they started to guide him down the hall to the common room.
"Oh, Seokmin, you'll find out soon enough," Joshua assured him, patting his arm gently. "Now, let's get back to your dormitory so that we can meet up with the others."
Ravenclaw Common Room
"Why do you two always look like Disney princes?" Jihoon marveled, eyeing Wonwoo and Mingyu with both disgust and admiration—which was a feat in itself.
"How do you know what a Disney prince is?" Wonwoo asked him curiously, knowing that he came from a pureblood family.
"I'm taking Advanced Muggle Studies," the shorter boy replied, clicking his tongue softly. "We're going over fairy tales right now and how modern society has turned them into tools of capitalism to influence young women."
Wonwoo and Mingyu looked at each other and shrugged.
Jihoon's assessment was not incorrect. The Hufflepuff Beater was wearing a beautiful uniform-style piece in a stunning midnight black, his shoulders capped with gold epaulettes, two columns of gold buttons running down the coat, and gold detailing around the collar and the lower half of the pant legs, as well as a pair of pristine white gloves. Wonwoo was dressed to match—except his uniform was a deep royal blue accented with dark bronze epaulettes, buttons, and detailing. Both tall and handsome, the best friends did indeed look like fairy tale Prince Charming types, although Wonwoo had left his hair more relaxed than Mingyu's carefully styled coif.
Both Mingyu and Wonwoo had been very popular with girls back home in Korea; and now that they were older, even the British girls giggled into their hands when they walked past. Mingyu in particular had never been short of attention from others, something that he took in great stride even though it bothered him when people overlooked his best friend when he was standing next to him. Wonwoo, preferring the company of few and often found in the library or in his bed with a book, insisted that he didn't mind—but the school's biggest heartthrob remained unattached, choosing to prioritize his friendships over pursuing anything more with someone he'd still have to see in classes every day if the relationship were to end badly.
"I overheard some seventh years saying that Mingyu's the most handsome guy to roam the halls of Hogwarts since Cedric Diggory," Junhui had told them one night while they were all sitting at the Ravenclaw table for dinner, their rotation for mealtime spots landing them with the eagles for the evening.
"I don't think I like that comparison," Mingyu had said, frowning. "Cedric Diggory was murdered by one of Voldemort's followers, wasn't he?"
"Don't worry, Mingyu. Some bigoted dark wizard isn't going to kill you for being handsome," Seungkwan had laughed, patting him on the back.
"Yeah, you're more likely to die because you did something clumsy," Soonyoung had chimed in.
Jihoon, greatly admired but also intimidating to many, was clothed in lovely powder blue dress robes, the billowy sleeves of which were pinned up to the front of the forearm to reveal delicate, more fitted white lace sleeves underneath. There were darker blue accents around the collar and waist, with dark blue swirls embroidered into the hem of the robes. His long, dark hair was pulled back in a half up, half down style, gently framing his face. Turning to squint at the ornate bronze clock on the wall, he then glanced towards the staircase to the dormitories.
"What is taking them so long?" he murmured.
"You know them, they can't stand being away from each other, even though they're in different houses," Mingyu said. "Sometimes I wonder what Minghao's going to do when Junhui graduates, but then I remember that they're them and Minghao's probably going to be sneaking Junhui into the dorms every weekend. They're always inventing opportunities to spend time together, it's kind of impressive, actually."
"Not unlike you two," Jihoon pointed out dryly.
"Hey! We're nowhere near as bad as them!" Mingyu protested in mock outrage.
"As bad as who?"
The three of them turned around to see Minghao and Junhui coming down the stairs. The pair were dressed complementarily, the Hufflepuff dressed in floor-length silk dress robes of pale yellow with black trim and great, flowing sleeves, a white silk shirt tucked underneath; and the Ravenclaw in navy blue with sky blue accents. Both were adorned with beautiful black and white cranes on the back, wings spread in preparation for flight.
"We're going to be late!" Jihoon snipped at them.
"It's not like they're going to start the fun without us," Minghao sassed back. "Or are prefects even allowed to have fun?"
Jihoon glared at him and the latter bit his lip, fighting back a smile as he tried to look appropriately chastised. Although the former was short in stature, he possessed a commanding aura, keeping Ravenclaw free of trouble that could be traced back to them with his strict discipline style. His upper body was also surprisingly built, and the Quidditch captain had spent the past two years begging him to join the team as a Beater. He refused to join, citing the fact that Quidditch overlapped with choir—which he participated in with Seokmin, Seungkwan, and Chan—and his prefect duties. A Chaser himself, Minghao had tried once to convince him and then had promptly given up, deciding it was easier to convince Junhui to join the Hufflepuff team instead so that they could practice together. Now Hufflepuff's star Chaser, Junhui was grateful for another activity that he could participate in with his best friend—even if they were sometimes competing against each other.
Although the two had come from different regions in China and the Hufflepuff was actually one year older than the Ravenclaw, Junhui and Minghao had met beforehand at an orientation meeting for foreign students, especially those coming from Asia following the decision to open Hogwarts' doors to those who would have otherwise gone to Mahoutokoro—which had been organized by Professor Granger, whose reforms for transitioning Muggleborn Hogwarts students to wizarding society had been approved a few years prior and then expanded to include foreign students. Junhui had already spent what would have been his first year in a Muggle school when the law had passed but had begged his parents to let him apply to enter Hogwarts as a second year. Although skeptical at first that they would even reply, let alone agree since students only ever came into Hogwarts as first years, they had eventually relented—and he had spent hours drafting the perfect, most compelling proposal. In response to his application, Headmistress McGonagall had personally sent him all the reading that he needed to catch up to his peers and he had studied diligently, not wanting to be left behind. His letter from Professor Granger regarding the orientation had come shortly after.
Delighted to have met someone from their home country, the two had then consequently been devastated at their first Welcome Feast when they had been Sorted into different houses; and had immediately resolved to make time to hang out together as much as possible outside of classes.
It had taken them longer to warm up to anyone outside of each other during their first several years. Their closeness and the fact that they had both come from China had earned them the nickname "the Siamese twins"; and although they had tried many times to explain that the term was entirely inaccurate as Siam, or present-day Thailand, was not China, the name had stuck—until the people who had come up with it in the first place were seen heading to the hospital wing with their faces magically transformed into maps of Asia with China and Thailand clearly marked. Wonwoo later admitted to them that Jihoon had done it but hadn't wanted them to know, as he had received detention from his head of house for the spell work.
"He also got fifty points because his magic was so impressive, so don't feel bad," Wonwoo had reassured them. "Professor King just doesn't believe in public humiliation as a teaching tool."
To this day, their gratitude remained unsaid but lingered in their every interaction following Jihoon's show of support; and although Minghao loved to sass him every chance he got, he also valued the prefect's friendship. It was his trust in Jihoon that had convinced them both to join what became their large friend group, even though Junhui had still had doubts. Now, going home during the breaks was almost as unbearable as it had been to leave home in the first place, as they hated being separated from the friends that they had come to know as family while at Hogwarts.
"We should get going," Junhui suggested in a show of diplomacy, noticing the way the Ravenclaw prefect's eye was twitching slightly. "After you, Jihoon-ah."
Jihoon huffed but obliged, heading towards the door while the others trailed behind him.
"I wonder why we're meeting in the Hufflepuff dorms of all places," Mingyu wondered out loud. "Seems like a random choice."
"Well," Wonwoo said, "I guess we're about to find out."
Hufflepuff Common Room
As a group, the thirteen of them refrained from meeting in any of the dormitories, not wanting to impose on anyone by filling their common rooms with people not from their own house—so choosing to meet in the Hufflepuff common room was, understandably, a strange choice on Seungcheol's part.
Hogwarts had come a long way since the Battle of Hogwarts when it came to friendships between the houses—in the sense that the new generation of students was more willing to go out of their way to make friends with people outside of their own houses. The school itself did nothing to encourage this, although they seemed to have no problem inviting schools from throughout Europe to visit them. However, since Harry Potter's victory and Cedric Diggory's death in the Triwizard Tournament, the schools had agreed that the tournament should be done away with and had opted for more of a cultural exchange program—which included the Yule Ball.
Once the dust had settled and life had started to return to some semblance of normalcy in the months following the war, the Golden Trio had quickly utilized their social and political capital to start effecting change throughout the wizarding community in Great Britain.
Hermione, after making quick work of her post-Hogwarts studies, returned to the school as the new Arithmancy professor—but not until she had managed to strongarm the governors into agreeing to her proposed educational measures, which—aside from the programs for helping Muggleborn students transition to wizarding life and foreign students to life at Hogwarts—were responsible for the house elves receiving wages that they set themselves, a special committee to thoroughly vet professors (the string of Defense Against the Dark Arts professors in particular stood out in her mind), and a host of other stipulations that she presented in her quest for fair and equitable treatment of all living beings. In fact, after Harry and Ginny had listened to the Yoons' reasons for wanting to send Jeonghan to Hogwarts instead of Mahoutokoro, the Chosen One had recounted their story to the brightest witch of her age and set her on a quest to make it possible for Jeonghan and his friends to attend Hogwarts—and it was Hermione who had researched translation spells so that the wizards from Asia and the professors could understand each other at all times.
Instead of becoming an Auror like he had dreamed as a student, Harry Potter went into politics. While he wanted no part of the corruption that ran rampant in the Wizengamot, he accepted that he needed a place on the council in order to have a say in the kind of change that was to be brought about in Great Britain after Voldemort's defeat. Hermione helped him study for law school, and he emerged three years later ready to take on the incumbents at the Ministry. Citing his own personal experiences fighting in the war and his parents' sacrifice so that he could play his part in ending Voldemort's reign, Harry fought not only against the pureblood agenda but the wizarding community at large, pushing the need for a better, deeper understanding of Muggles so that there were no opportunities for future antagonists to exploit divisions between people. When Ginny had returned from an extensive Quidditch training camp in South Korea, she told him all about how she had met the Yoons—and how she had invited them to visit her and Harry in Great Britain. Knowing how closely blood purity and imperialism ran parallel to each other, it had only taken him the one meeting to take the Yoons' case to Hermione.
Ron, shockingly the most accepting of Hermione's relationship with Draco Malfoy of all people, took it upon himself to act as the bridge between old pureblood families with ties to Voldemort and pureblood and mixed blood families who had fought for the Order in order to foster new, stronger relationships with the goal of a unified wizarding community. Through his friendships with Harry and Hermione, he expanded his own learning of Muggles and drew upon his status as a pureblood himself to help ease the transition into a new era.
Although Jeonghan was the only one who had met the Potters prior to attending Hogwarts, the thirteen of them had all received letters from Harry, Ron, and Hermione welcoming them to Great Britain and wishing them a successful academic career. Things eventually got easier, and people certainly backed off after Minghao pulled out his letter from the Golden Trio and waved it about, demanding, "Did you get a letter from the Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger welcoming you to Hogwarts? I didn't think so!"
Now, with some of them in their final year, they felt like it had all been worth it—like they could go home and proudly tell their friends and family that they had graduated from the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
"Why did we agree to no dates again?" Chan asked, staring wistfully at the group of Hufflepuff girls heading past them towards the portrait door.
"Yeah, actually, why did we agree to that?" Soonyoung wondered, scrunching his nose. "I mean, not that I'm complaining. There's no date that would be better than going with you guys."
"Ugh—"
"Soonyoung, gross!"
"Speak for yourself, Mingyu was asked to the ball by all the girls at Beauxbatons and he had to say no to every single one of them," Seokmin revealed.
"Those poor girls," Junhui said sadly, laying a hand over his heart dramatically.
"Even the Slytherin girls like Mingyu, and they're notoriously picky," Joshua added.
"And the Ravenclaw girls," Wonwoo chimed in.
"And the Gryffindor girls," Soonyoung sang.
"Let's not forget about the Hufflepuff girls," Seungkwan reminded them.
"Alright, enough about me! I don't need a date anyway!" Mingyu said hastily, waving his hands in the air.
"Hey, settle down," Seungcheol said firmly, getting the group's attention. "We're all staying at Hogwarts for Christmas this year instead of going home to our families, so we're going to celebrate together—because we're family."
"Cheesy!" Joshua called out, cupping his hands around his mouth.
"Hyung, that's easy for you to say! The person who would've been your date is in this group!" Chan grumbled.
Trying to be subtle—and failing—Seungcheol glanced at Jeonghan out of the corner of his eye, a small smile on his face. Noticing his attention, the Slytherin winked at him playfully. Unnecessarily mortified at having been caught considering their relationship, Seungcheol cleared his throat and looked away at once.
"Aw, Channie, don't be sad," Jeonghan crooned at their youngest. "You can still dance with girls at the ball. Not everyone will stay with their dates the whole night."
"Oh, Vernon, didn't that sixth year in my Herbology class ask you to the ball?" Seokmin remembered suddenly.
Seungkwan, who had been leaning back in one of the plush sofas by the fireplace, straightened up immediately at this revelation. "Who?" he demanded, looking back and forth between Seokmin and Vernon.
The Gryffindor shrugged, not meeting the Hufflepuff's eyes. Although the girl was older than him, she had sought him out one day while he had been sitting by the lake with Seokmin. Encouraged by his friendship with someone she knew from her own house, she had asked him if he would attend the Yule Ball with her and he had said—very politely—no thank you, not bothering to explain that he and his friends had agreed to not take dates and all go together instead.
He had noticed that she had started avoiding him every time they came close to interacting, but chose not to worry about it. He wouldn't have said yes to her even if they hadn't agreed to not take dates anyway.
"I don't know why she asked me," he muttered. "I only know her because she has classes with Seokmin, and we've never really had any meaningful conversation where I could've given her the impression that I was interested in some way."
Seungkwan frowned but said nothing, leaning back against the sofa as he processed this information. Vernon, now noticeably uncomfortable, turned his upper body to avoid looking at the Hufflepuff entirely.
"Okay, well, we're here for one reason and one reason only." Jeonghan paused, then pulled out a silver flask from inside his dress robes and shook it. "Ogden's, the best I could get from my parents' firewhisky collection before leaving home for start of term."
"How did you even know to bring it?" Junhui asked him.
"My parents are friends with the Potters," Jeonghan replied matter-of-factly, shrugging. "I know everything."
"Ahem, there are prefects present," Minghao said primly, looking around the room in an exaggerated fashion.
Jihoon rolled his eyes, reaching out to thump him on the back.
"We'll look the other way just this once," Seungcheol chuckled. "Besides, Hufflepuffs are the least likely to rat someone out if we get caught, which is why I decided that we should meet here to do this. Let's get in a circle and pass it clockwise. Jeonghan can go first, since he brought it for us."
Beaming at him adoringly, Jeonghan unscrewed the cap on the flask and took a healthy sip before passing it to Joshua, who was standing next to him. The flask was passed from person to person quickly, none of them wanting to risk getting caught by one of the more strict Hufflepuff prefects even if the prefects within their own group were willing to make an exception.
"Small sip," Seungkwan threatened as he handed the flask to Soonyoung, "you lightweight."
"I take great offense to that—"
"The last time we went to The Three Broomsticks, we had to wait for you to sober up before heading back because you were sobbing into Mingyu's chest," Jihoon reminded him flatly. "He had to have his robes specially cleaned."
"I fail to see how that makes me—"
"You had two butterbeers," Mingyu said, holding up two fingers for emphasis. "Two."
"Even soju is stronger than butterbeer," Seokmin pointed out.
"Soonyoung, just take a small sip, please," Seungcheol advised him, his voice gentle. "Your crying will give us all away."
Pouting, the Gryffindor took a small sip from the flask and passed it to Jihoon, who passed it to Junhui without drinking any. When the last person—Seungcheol—had taken a sip, Jeonghan screwed the cap back on the flask and tucked it away inside his dress robes.
"Alright, loves, it's time to show these people what a party really looks like!" he cheered.
The Great Hall
Having never really been to a formal party of this scale before and slightly buzzing from the firewhisky earlier, the thirteen of them gaped at the way the Great Hall had been transformed for the Yule Ball. Used to the usual twelve Christmas trees that Hagrid put up for the holidays, the sheer grandness and opulence of the decorations—right down to the giant chess set made entirely out of ice—were almost breathtaking.
Headmistress McGonagall took the time to say a few words, reminding them to behave themselves and have fun before the tables became laden with food.
Dinner was much nicer than usual, the house elves having taken it upon themselves to not only provide the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students with fare from their home countries but to also include Korean and Chinese dishes—which they had never done before. The boys had all been having food delivered from home by owl post to satisfy their cravings for their native cuisines, something that their dorm mates complained about constantly because "it smelled" until one day Jeonghan had had enough and started casting Bubblehead Charms on anyone who dared to complain—except that his Bubblehead Charms started slowly running out of air until the person passed out. Professor Malfoy had given him a stern warning about suffocating his dorm mates, then asked him what he was eating. Jeonghan had shared his mother's spicy beef soup with him and the professor had been hooked ever since.
Needless to say, they were all thrilled to see the familiar dishes in front of them.
"British food's just not very good, you know?" Joshua said, dipping a spoon into his portion of beef rib and Napa cabbage soup. "I like breakfast, because everyone likes eggs and bacon and whatnot, but everything else could use a little work."
Everyone agreed wholeheartedly.
"What do you think would be a sufficient bribe for the house elves to make this regularly?" Seungkwan muttered to Vernon, chewing happily on his braised short ribs.
Vernon laughed. The food was excellent, and he wondered where the house elves had learned to make Korean food when they had never served it before.
Magic, he thought, helping himself to more pork belly.
There was no assigned seating for dinner, since there were no Triwizard Tournament champions to take into consideration, so the thirteen of them had taken over a section of tables and sat together. It did not go unnoticed by them that they were the only ones eating the food from their home countries—except for Professor Malfoy, who was digging in enthusiastically and explaining every dish to Professor Granger sitting beside him.
"That white man really likes Korean food," Soonyoung observed, absolutely delighted by the way the head of Slytherin house was shoveling pickled vegetables into his mouth.
"My mom sends food for him when she sends food for me," Jeonghan told them. "He loves it. I think he and Professor Granger are planning to take a trip to Korea soon, so he's been asking me a lot of questions."
"How is it that you manage to collect all these important people even though you absolutely detest the concept of networking?" Jihoon asked him.
The Slytherin shrugged.
"Maybe she's born with it, maybe it's Maybelline," he sang.
"What does that even mean—"
After dinner, the professors all waved their wands, clearing away all the larger dining tables to make space for the large dance floor that was now occupying most of the Great Hall. Smaller tables appeared on the periphery so that people could still sit, and one large banquet table was left set up for drinks.
"I hope they got someone cool to play for this," Chan commented as the band started taking out their instruments and getting ready to play.
"Oh, those are the Weird Sisters," Vernon said, recognizing them from some magazines he had seen.
"Is that... bad?" Mingyu asked tentatively.
"It's..." Vernon paused, trying to think of the right word for the situation. "Interesting," he decided. "They're very interesting."
"They're... not women?" Seungkwan frowned, scanning the members.
"Oh, this is like... rock music?" Wonwoo realized as the band began to play. "I... I can't decide if I like it or not. I think I'm just very confused by what's happening right now."
"'Can you dance like a hippogriff'? What even are these lyrics?" Jihoon scoffed.
"Hey, let's secure a table," Seungcheol suggested, waving them over. "Over here."
They ended up with a large table that was just several tables pushed together, having chosen the space for its strategic location between the drinks table, the dance floor, and the bathrooms. Soonyoung, Chan, Seokmin, and Mingyu left immediately for the dance floor, eager to show off some moves and have fun. Seungkwan left to go socialize, and the rest remained at the table.
"How much trouble do you think I'll get in for asking McGonagall for a dance?" Joshua whispered to Vernon.
Vernon snorted into his goblet of pumpkin juice.
"Honestly, she might be a little flattered, even if she tries to scold you for it," he muttered.
"I'm going to do it," Joshua announced, getting up and gliding across the dance floor towards the professors' table.
"What's he doing?" Wonwoo asked, having just noticed the Slytherin's departure.
"He's going to ask McGonagall for a dance," Vernon replied, taking a sip from his goblet.
Wonwoo chuckled quietly.
"I bet she thought that life at Hogwarts would be quiet after the Weasley twins left," he mused, "and then she got Jeonghan and Joshua."
"Hey Wonwoo, looks like Mingyu's still getting asked for dates even though the ball's been going on for a while," Minghao snickered, nudging his fellow Ravenclaw with his elbow.
Sure enough, Mingyu, having been accosted on the way back from the dance floor while stopping for a drink, was trying to excuse himself from what looked like a painfully awkward conversation with a seventh year Gryffindor girl who seemed as though she was going to latch onto his arm at any moment and pull him away herself.
Wonwoo shrugged, looking amused.
"I keep telling him that he can dance with people if he wants to, he just chooses to keep rejecting everyone who asks him. He took the whole 'no dates' rule very seriously."
"Well, I would say no to that girl, too. She looks like she's trying to cut off the blood circulation to his arm."
"I was just having an absolutely fascinating conversation with Horace Slughorn," Seungkwan announced, emerging from the crowd on the dance floor. "And by that, I mean it was an absolute waste of my time. He's already retired twice and he still acts like he's going to swoop in and take his job back from Professor Malfoy any day now." He sank into the chair next to Vernon, reaching for the Gryffindor's goblet. "I also just saw Joshua waltzing with Professor McGonagall, so I think I've seen everything."
"Did you see them?" Soonyoung asked him, coming back from dancing since the Weird Sisters had changed to a slow song. He tilted his head towards where Seungcheol and Jeonghan were moving in circles, the latter in the former's arms as he leaned his head against his chest. "Couldn't be any of us."
Whatever restraint he had been employing up until that point seemed to leave Chan at that moment. Squaring his shoulders, he drained the rest of his goblet in a single gulp then set it down firmly as he stood up.
"I can't take this anymore!" he declared, stalking into the middle of the dance floor and disappearing from view.
The others laughed at Chan's earnestness, endeared as they always were. The youngest seemed to be the only one affected by their agreement to not bring dates; the rest of them were far too preoccupied with other matters to really care.
"Who would you even have asked if we'd been able to bring dates?" Minghao asked Soonyoung.
The Gryffindor shrugged.
"Honestly, I have no clue," he admitted. "I'm not really interested in anyone like that. But if someone had asked me and they seemed cool, I might have said yes."
"I already have all of you to deal with, why would I spend time getting to know anyone else well enough to want to take them to a ball?" Jihoon griped.
They all laughed, and the night went on.
Cheeks flushed and eyes bright, the friends made their rotations, traveling from the dance floor to the drinks and back to their own table. Chan, oddly enough, never returned; and the others figured that he would turn up eventually.
"He's such a sweet boy, some devious enchantress might try to corrupt him," Jeonghan whined to Seungcheol when they had stopped by the table to check on everyone.
"I'm sure he's fine," Seungcheol reassured him.
Joshua, triumphant from his successful mission, returned to the table later to regale them all with the details extremely pleased with himself.
"And then McGonagall thanked me for the lovely dance—"
"Um, excuse me?"
All chatter ceased at once, everyone sitting at the table—Joshua, Junhui, Wonwoo, Minghao, Seungkwan, and Vernon—looking up in unison at the girl standing awkwardly before them. She was pretty, with long, dark hair that was partly pulled away from her face in a braid crown while the rest hung down her back; and she was dressed in petal pink dress robes with puffed sleeves and a lace petticoat. Junhui and Seungkwan recognized her at once, as she was in their own house—but they had never really spoken to her, even though Junhui was in her year and even shared classes with her.
She didn't acknowledge either of them, looking straight at Vernon instead.
"Hi, Vernon," she said quietly.
"Hi, Kayla," he returned her greeting politely.
"I thought you weren't coming," she said, "because, you know... um... but I was wondering if... you maybe wanted to dance?"
Next to Vernon, Seungkwan stiffened, putting two and two together. Kayla was the girl from Seokmin's Herbology class who had asked Vernon to the ball, and when he had told her no, she had assumed it was because he had been planning on not attending. However, now that she had seen him, she was trying again—and he did not like it one bit.
The Gryffindor shifted in his seat uncomfortably, scratching the back of his neck. He sifted through the options in his head for what he should say in response, then decided once more to not offer an explanation for his refusal.
"Um, no thanks," he said, hoping he sounded sincerely apologetic—which was more apologetic than he felt. "Sorry."
"Oh, okay," Kayla said, cheeks turning red. "Um, I'll see you around then."
Her mortification apparent, she quickly turned around and headed straight for the dance floor, swallowed up at once by the energetic crowd that was now jumping up and down to a song with a fast tempo.
"Damn," Minghao whistled through his teeth. "She's got more guts than a Gryffindor. I can't believe she asked you to dance right in front of—"
"Can we just forget about it?" Vernon whined, sliding down in his chair. "I don't know why she decided to ask me to dance after I turned her down the first time."
Seungkwan, who had been chatting nonstop since he had sat down at the table after making his rounds, had become both deathly still and quiet following Kayla's appearance. Even after the conversation picked back up, he continued to stay silent, not even acknowledging Vernon when he offered to get him a drink—and everyone noticed.
"What's wrong with Seungkwan?" Seokmin whispered to Junhui as they both helped themselves to refills of pumpkin juice at the drinks table.
"Kayla came to our table earlier and asked Vernon to dance," Junhui whispered back.
"Ohhhhhh," Seokmin said knowingly. "Vernon didn't go, did he?"
"No, but Seungkwan's still brooding."
"They're so silly." Seokmin glanced over his shoulder back at their table, shaking his head. "I wonder how long it's going to take both of them to realize what's going on."
"Oh, Minghao and I have a pool," Junhui replied. "You want in?"
"Absolutely."
Hufflepuff Fifth Year Boys' Dormitory
"I don't understand," Seungkwan mumbled, one arm looped around Vernon's neck as the Gryffindor supported him up the stairs to the fifth year boys' dormitory.
It was still relatively early, all things considered, and most of the school was still at the ball—but the universe had other plans for Seungkwan, it seemed.
"You don't understand what?" Vernon huffed, focusing on getting them both up the stairs instead of on whatever crisis his best friend was currently having in his inebriated state.
"Why you don't like me. I'm great, you know. I'm not very tall, but I have other positive qualities. I'm smart and organized, always presentable... Lots of people like me. I'm very likable."
Vernon stared at the Hufflepuff out of the corner of his eye, trying to decide how to handle this particular situation.
It turned out that Jeonghan's silver flask full of firewhisky was enchanted to refill itself when it was empty—such an impressive bit of charm work that even Jihoon had been impressed—and after joining the Slytherin, along with Soonyoung and Seokmin, in a secluded corner of the Great Hall, Seungkwan had returned to the table rosy-cheeked and yanked an unsuspecting Vernon to his feet.
"We're dancing," he had told him loudly, dragging him towards the dance floor.
"Okay, okay, I'm coming," Vernon had said, shooting the others a look as they tried not to laugh.
They had danced for a few songs before Vernon had convinced Seungkwan to return to the table with him and then forced him to drink as many goblets of water as he could before his friend had slapped his hands away.
It was an unusual reversal of roles—although he was one of the youngest, Seungkwan had always been one of the ones who had taken on a more responsible role, caring for his friends like they were his children instead of his peers—especially Vernon. The Gryffindor had never even seen his friend drink so much as a sip before tonight, let alone get so sloshed that he couldn't walk upright by himself.
He had a feeling he knew why Seungkwan had drunk so much, though.
In their five years of friendship, Vernon and Seungkwan had never really talked about girls, or even guys—not like that. Their friend group in general was pretty open about who they found attractive, especially with Seungcheol and Jeonghan having been together since their fourth year, but they were all so wrapped up in each other that few people outside their circle could hold their interest for long. Mingyu, of course, had always been a hit with girls, but tonight had been the first time Seungkwan had realized that girls were interested in Vernon, even though they had been expressing interest in him for quite some time. The Gryffindor had just been keeping it to himself because he disliked the attention and didn't want to upset Seungkwan. It had taken him until this past year to realize that their mutual lack of interest in relationships with other people and his perceived need to keep the knowledge of his admirers from his best friend was because they were only interested in each other.
Whether Seungkwan realized that or not was an entirely different matter.
Vernon knew that they probably needed to have a conversation about it someday but it never came up, so they left things as they were—until Kayla had come along and awakened something in Seungkwan that Vernon had never seen before.
"What are you talking about?" he said carefully, adopting what he hoped was a lighthearted, teasing tone of voice. "I do like you. We're friends. Best friends, even, some would say."
"Not like that," Seungkwan whined as Vernon lowered him gently onto his bed.
Vernon looked around the dormitory, noticing that none of Seungkwan's dorm mates had returned from the Yule Ball. Hufflepuffs were notorious party animals after all, and he wasn't the least bit surprised—but he was also grateful for the privacy it afforded him in this moment. Bending down slightly, he started taking Seungkwan's shoes off his feet, dropping them on the floor by his bed. Noticing that his friend was sprawled on his bed like a starfish, he sighed, pointing his wand at the empty glass on the bedside table.
"Aguamenti."
He looked down at Seungkwan, debating whether he should try and make him sleep under the blankets when he shifted, turning so that his back was towards him.
"I didn't like that Kayla asked you to the ball." Seungkwan yawned. "I didn't like that she asked you to dance either, in front of all of us. I mean, the audacity of that girl!"
Vernon grinned at the drunken outrage in his voice, pleased by his jealousy. Seungkwan would probably be embarrassed about it in the morning, but for now, he would enjoy it.
"I was glad that you said no," the Hufflepuff continued, "but it doesn't mean anything that you said no."
"Seungkwan, what are you talking about?" Vernon sat down on the bed next to him, looking straight ahead at the wall. "Of course it means something. I told her no, twice, for a reason."
"You don't like me," Seungkwan insisted.
Vernon sighed.
"I already said that I do—"
"You don't like me as more than a friend," the Hufflepuff clarified.
Vernon frowned at the wall as though it had personally offended him. Had he not been obvious enough about his feelings towards Seungkwan? It's not like he let anyone else drag him to dance floors crowded with too many people for his liking or parade him around so that people could admire his Muggle suit like he was arm candy. He let Seungkwan get away with so much, surely he could see that Vernon made exceptions for him because his feelings were reciprocated?
"Who told you that?"
"No one had to tell me," Seungkwan grumbled. "I just know."
"You're so silly sometimes," Vernon said, turning to speak to his friend's back. "Really. That's—"
"I'm not," he protested, sounding like he was on the verge of tears, his shoulders hunched as he curved in on himself. "I overheard Kayla with her friends earlier on my way back from the bathroom. They were saying that she shouldn't have asked you to the ball and then again to dance when it was so obvious that you were already taken and she said, 'Already taken? By whom, Seungkwan? Please, if Vernon hasn't noticed that that boy has feelings for him, he never will.'"
Vernon scoffed loudly, annoyed that Seungkwan would believe Kayla and not him. The wretched sixth year had shattered his best friend's confidence in one night—and he was none too happy about it.
Curse that girl, he grumbled internally.
"We should have this conversation again tomorrow when you're not approximately 86% firewhisky," he said out loud, "but I've known for a while that you felt that way. I've just been waiting for your brain to catch up."
"What does that even mean?" Seungkwan huffed, fighting back another yawn.
"It means we'll talk tomorrow," Vernon replied gently. He patted the Hufflepuff on the shoulder. "Sleep well, Seungkwan-ah. I'll see you in the morning."
"Sure, sure. I'll believe it when I see it," Seungkwan mumbled.
"Drink the water I left you!" Vernon called over his shoulder as he headed down the stairs.
The Great Hall
"Seungkwan! Over here!"
Soonyoung waved at the younger boy excitedly, already splendidly recovered from his night of drinking thanks to the huge plate of eggs, bacon, and toast in front of him.
Seungkwan hesitated, seeing Vernon sitting at the table next to Seungcheol. They were sitting at the Gryffindor table, and his best friend smiled encouragingly at him, twisting his body around and reaching out to tug him forward.
Embarrassed beyond words when he remembered the conversation they'd had last night while Seungkwan had been sloshed out of his mind, the Hufflepuff had rushed up to Gryffindor Tower and begged the Fat Lady to let him in so that he could apologize profusely to Vernon and ask him to forget the whole thing.
Hearing that Seungkwan was trying to get into the Gryffindor common room, Vernon had gone downstairs and opened the portrait door himself to let him in.
"Hi," Seungkwan had said, slightly breathless.
"Hi," Vernon had returned. "How do you feel?"
"How do I—? Oh, you mean because of the firewhisky." Seungkwan had laughed nervously. "Um, I'm okay. Junhui left a hangover potion on my bedside table, which helped a lot."
"That's good." Vernon had turned towards the stairs up to the boys' dormitories. "Come up with me?"
"Oh, well... okay."
Seungkwan had followed Vernon up the stairs to his dorm and then to his bed, where the Gryffindor had promptly drawn the curtains hanging around his four-poster bed and cast a Muffliato so that they wouldn't be overheard.
"I came because I want to apologize," Seungkwan had blurted out once the spell had been cast. "I said a lot of things while I was drunk and I understand if I made you feel uncomfortable in any way. I'm so, so, so very sorry and I would prefer if we pretend like it never happened so that I can recover from my mistakes and go about my life as planned."
"Which is how, exactly?" Vernon had asked him, one eyebrow raised.
"You know, pass my O.W.L.s and then my N.E.W.T.s so that I can start a successful career in politics as the Korean ambassador to the Ministry of Magic here in Great Britain. Stuff like that," he had rambled, fidgeting with his hands.
"And where do I factor in in all of this?"
"I—what? I mean, you'll be doing your own thing... and we'll keep in touch—"
"BooSeungkwan, with the utmost respect, please shut up."
"I beg your pardon—!"
"I think we both know that we like each other," Vernon had cut him off. "We just haven't done anything about it because we didn't feel like we had to, but Kayla asking me to dance with her in front of you made you realize that there could be someone else if you didn't make a move. Which is ridiculous, by the way," he had added, seeing the expression on Seungkwan's face. "I've never looked at anyone else."
"Oh... Well... This was entirely unexpected," Seungkwan had murmured in response, wringing his hands. "I had been prepared for things to be very awkward between us, but... you... like me?"
"Yes, very much, actually," Vernon had confirmed, smiling at him. "We don't have to make a huge production out of it, but if it's exclusivity you need from me, you've always had it."
"I—Thank you?"
Vernon had laughed, releasing the Muffliato spell and pulling the curtains back open.
"You're welcome. Now, let's go get breakfast."
"I... can't," Seungkwan had said, a sheepish expression on his face. "I, um, I didn't even change out of my dress robes last night... And I came straight here when I woke up."
Vernon had simply looked down at his yellow dress robes mussed with wrinkles and then smiled at him, looking completely endeared.
"I'll see you at the Gryffindor table then."
Fast forward to the present and the Hufflepuff allowed himself to be manhandled into sitting next to his best friend turned significant other.
"I can't believe you're not dead," he commented, sitting down on Vernon's other side and pouring himself a cup of coffee.
"I really didn't drink that much," Soonyoung said, shoveling a forkful of eggs into his mouth. "I was just having a really good time."
"That's because you don't have to drink that much to have a good time, hyung," Chan said, sitting down next to the older Gryffindor. "You're such a lightweight."
"Again with the lightweight comments—"
"If we keep saying it, it's because it's true," Jeonghan cut in, taking the other seat next to Seungcheol and pecking his cheek. "Happy Boxing Day, darlings. Hope you all had a fantastic night."
Seungkwan shrugged, taking a bite of toast to avoid saying much. He could feel Vernon's arm brushing against his as he cut into his breakfast sausages. They weren't really keeping their newfound relationship a secret, but for now, he wanted to keep this between the two of them—something just for them to treasure for a little while.
"What about you, Channie?" Seungcheol asked. "I checked on everyone before going to bed and I didn't see you in your dorm even though Vernon was already back."
"Oh." Chan looked extremely pleased with himself. "That's because I was—"
"Bon matin, Channie."
Everyone's jaws dropped as they noticed the stunning golden blonde-haired girl pausing on her way to the Ravenclaw table where all the Beauxbatons students sat.
Chan grinned.
"'Morning, Camille," he greeted her.
Camille waved flirtatiously at him then continued on her way to the Ravenclaw table, making sure to choose a spot so that she was still facing him from where she sat.
"I told you some devious enchantress might try to corrupt him," Jeonghan hissed at Seungcheol, reaching up to grab him by the ear and yank him down to his level. "Our precious baby boy was out cavorting with a Beauxbatons girl! You!" he added suddenly, leaning forward to fix his attention on Chan and looking absolutely scandalized at this turn of events. "Spill."
Chan leaned back, arms folded over his chest, his expression far too smug for a fifteen-year-old boy. He looked around at the others, who were also leaning in like Jeonghan, eager for the details.
He would leave them wondering.
"Let's just say that the French know a thing or two about a thing or two," he replied nonchalantly.