Hogwarts : The Bangtan Episode

Hoseok gripped Taehyung’s jacket, squeezing the younger boy as tightly as he could. Taehyung returned the heartfelt hug, melting into his Hyung’s smell and warmth. 

“I’m so sorry Hyung. I heard. I saw.”

“Don’t. Please, don’t,” Hoseok whispered back, burying his face into Taehyung’s fluffy blue hair. If he thought about Carter too long he’d cry, and then get scared, and then he’d be back to square one. For now, he just had to deny it.

He didn’t watch one of his teammates get killed.

He didn’t catch the dead body.

And he wasn’t the one they were aiming at.

He knew the truth. He wasn’t stupid. Carter happened to fly in front of Hoseok, right at the wrong moment. If it wasn’t for the seeker, Hoseok would be under the white sheet in the basement. He was the next target. It was by sheer luck and circumstance he wasn’t dead.

Hoseok held Taehyung tightly, afraid to let go and head back into reality. He’d much prefer to stay in this moment, to stay warm and protected, unaffected by their world around them.

“Hyung.” Hoseok felt Taehyung wiggling in his arms, asking to be let go of. Reluctantly, Hoseok opened his arms, and the blue haired boy stepped back. He looked a little taller if Hoseok was being honest. Taehyung still was small, but now Hoseok didn’t have to look so far down to make eye contact with him. His electric blue hair looked nice too, even if he didn’t really pick the color. He seemed healthy.

“Do you wanna talk?” Taehyung asked, and Hoseok silently enjoyed his voice. It’d been too long since he’d had another Hufflepuff. Too long since he’d had someone who understood the fear. The targeting. The violence. It had nearly crushed Hoseok to put back together his room after it was looted, and when they asked him to help rebuild Taehyung’s, he almost had to refuse for his mental health. The fear was real, and now, even though they said it was safe, that they were safe, Hoseok still held onto the terror in his chest.

“Hyung?”

“Oh, sorry,” Hoseok mumbled, realizing he forgot to answer Tae. “I. .  . I don’t want to, but I probably should. Namjoon should be around soon. He’ll most likely want the. . . the play by play I guess.”

Taehyung frowned. 

They were in the Hufflepuff common room, surrounded by a few suitcases Tae brought with him. He was told his room had been destroyed, so he brought enough from home to rebuild. Together they brought the stuff to his new room and started unpacking, waiting for Namjoon to come find them. Hoseok tenderly removed a blue jumper from a case, folding its arms across the center and sliding it into his trunk.

Jimin was the first to show up, surprisingly. He said nothing to Hoseok and instead enveloped Tae in a massive hug. They whispered to one another, too quiet for Hoseok to hear. Not that he cared. He was too busy trying to fold a sweatshirt without crying.

Namjoon and Jin came next, entering the room silently. They immediately went to Tae, hugging him tightly and talking in hushed tones. Hoseok saw Jin pet Tae’s hair, complimenting the color and length. He looked down at his own hands, scrubbed raw and red. Maybe he went a little overboard in his shower, because rashes broke out on his palms. 

Hoseok hadn’t heard him come over, but Jin scooped his hands up and pulled him into a gentle hug. It was soft at first, but Hoseok quickly realized Jin was holding him down. He wasn’t sure why, did Jin think he was going to fight him? 

“Shhh, shhh, it’s okay, it’s over-”

It took Hoseok a second to realize he was sobbing. He gasped, trying to catch his breath and slow down the room that had started to spin. He hadn’t a clue for how long he had been crying. Maybe it started when he looked at his hands, or when he saw the empty bed next to Taehyung’s. The bed that the killer’s little brother used to sleep in. 

Or maybe he started crying when he walked into the common room, having been forced to walk past the candles and flowers that made the mini shrine for his dead house mates.

All Hoseok knew was that he was tired. He just wanted to rest. So tired from always being on alert. So tired from being hunted. From being afraid.

Jin brought Hoseok over to Tae’s bed and sat him down on it. Together, they took deep breaths and counted to ten. When the world slowed down, Hoseok blinked back tears and saw the others had grabbed chairs and were sitting around him. He looked to his left, where Jimin sat, legs crossed and eyes trained on the ground. He looked afraid and out of place, like he wasn’t sure if he should be there.

Hoseok reached out and took Jimin’s hand in his own. 

“You feeling better Hoba?” Namjoon asked, and Hoseok nodded slowly.

“More or less,” He whispered. “I guess I gotta talk about it?”

“No, not unless you want to,” Jin replied. “We saw most of it.”

“So did I,” Taehyung added.

“How?” Jimin said.

“My dream last night. I tried to write a warning this morning, but no mail got in or out of the castle today.”

Namjoon frowned at that, and Hoseok saw Jin give him a look from across the circle.

“Alvis Ferguson. . .” Hoseok said slowly, addressing the evil that tormented them for months. “Killed students and just happened to get caught by Jungkook.”

“Where is he?” Taehyung asked. “I thought Kook would be here.”

“Me too,” Namjoon said. “As for Alvis, McGonagall said he went crazy after his son’s death.”

“Do we know the son?” Jin asked.

“Yeah,” Taehyung spoke up. “Alvis had two sons. The first was a photographer for the Daily Prophet. He was the one who died. The younger brother was my old roommate.”

“So, when the eldest brother died, Alvis blamed Hogwarts for not preparing him for the real world. She said he thought Hufflepuff failed his family, so I’m assuming he pulled Tae’s roommate out of school and started attacking.” Namjoon took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes. “She had a shitty excuse for why he attacked Seok Jung as well.”

“That. . . that doesn’t make sense,” Jimin said. “It seems. . . too easy. Like he. . . like he wanted to get caught.”

“Yeah, why would he go through all the effort to stay hidden for months, only to make a grand scheme and kill some random seeker?” Jin asked.

“He was aiming for me,” Hoseok said. 

“What?” Namjoon said.

“He was aiming for me. Carter. . . he flew in the way. He didn’t mean to, but he saved my life. I’d be dead.”

“Why would they try to kill you?” Taehyung asked. “I just don’t understand. Why Hufflepuff in general?”

Namjoon and Jin exchanged a look, and Hoseok straightened in his seat. He deserved to know the truth.

“Tae, they’re after you.”

“. . . what?”

“We think the killer knows about your visions. They know you can find stuff easily. They’re trying to get to you. They obliterated that girl’s mind when they snuck into the common room, not expecting her to be there. Same with the boy who died. The third time they finally figured it out, and managed to search the entire common room with no one there. They destroyed your room. They were looking for-”

“Enough.” Namjoon stood up, cutting Hoseok off. “That’s enough for today.”

“No, I wanna know-” Taehyung started but Namjoon sent him a look.

“Taehyung, you just came back, this is all very overwhelming, what if the dreams-”

“The dreams? Namjoon Hyung, the dreams never stopped. I lied. They’ve been more vivid, longer, more detailed if anything. Something big is coming and I need to be here for it. But I can’t help it if I don’t understand what I’m up against. I can’t make sense of my dreams.”

Namjoon took a long, hard stare at Taehyung. Maybe he was weighing his options. Maybe he was remembering Tae before he was told the truth. Hoseok would never know.

“Tae. . . they’re after the-”

There was a quiet scratching on the door.

Everyone froze.

“What is that?” Jin whispered, pulling Hoseok closer. Jimin stood up, pulling his wand out and standing in front of Taehyung. Namjoon also brandished his wand, slowly creeping to the door. With a steady hand he reached out, turning the handle ever so slowly. As soon as a small sliver of the door was open, a black snout shoved the door open, and a massive black dog walked into the room.

Taehyung immediately started screaming.

“THE DOG HOLY SHIT, HE’S HERE! HE CAUGHT ME! FUCK NO!” Taehyung immediately pulled his wand out and aimed, shooting a spell towards the wolf. Namjoon lunged in front of it, blocking the spell and yelling for Taehyung to stop. Jimin tackled Taehyung, pinning his arms down and ripping his wand out of his hands.

“TAE!” Jimin yelled. “It’s okay! It’s KOOK! It’s Jungkook, see?!”

Jungkook shifted then, breathing heavy. He looked tired and a little beaten. Mud coated his hands and barefeet, speckled in hair and on his t-shirt and jeans. 

“. . . Kook?” Taehyung said through gasps.

“Hey Tae-”

Taehyung was across the room before Jungkook could finish, pulling him into a tight hug. While they had a moment, everyone else sighed, returning to their seats. Namjoon locked the door. Jin audibly took deep breaths to calm down.

“You’re a dog!” Taehyung smiled.

“Wolf, actually,” Jungkook grinned back. “I was out looking for the stone. Lost track of time, sorry.”

“The stone?”

“Yeah, the Resurrection Stone. You know? The goal?”

Namjoon face-palmed.

“So much for breaking the news slowly.”

Taehyung sat on the floor, eyes wide. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, putting pieces together of his own.

“That. . . that makes sense.”

“I know right?” Jungkook said, moving to sit down. As he grabbed a chair he saw Jimin getting up from the floor. Jungkook froze, a weird look on his face. Jimin paused too, ducking his head a little and brushing his blonde hair out of his face. “What. . . what are you doing here?”

“. . . I wanted to welcome Tae,” Jimin answered softly.

“Are you. . . are you staying?” Jungkook asked. Hoseok honestly expected him to have said it harsher, but it was a gentle question. Almost like. . . Jungkook wanted Jimin to stay.

“. . . for now.”

Jungkook nodded once, turning his back to Jimin and settling in his chair. The room let out a collective sigh, the scariest part done.

“So. . . let me get this straight,” Taehyung said from the floor. “Alvis Ferguson blames Hufflepuff for the death of his son, and targeted me all semester because I could potentially find the Resurrection Stone? Which he wants to use to see his child?”

“One possibility,” Namjoon said.

“What else could there be?” Jimin asked.

“Well. . . its a stretch but. . . what if-”

“It wasn’t Alvis,” Hoseok finished for him. “Namjoon doesn’t think Alvis was behind it. He was set up.”

“Exactly.”

“I think I agree,” Jungkook said. “When I was in the stands, Alvis was next to me the whole match. He was just politely watching, smiling and not caring about anything in the world. Suddenly, it’s like the world flipped. He rose up, pointed his wand at the sky like a robot, and sent the killing spell. He didn’t even try to run afterwards. He only started fighting back when I slapped his wand from his hand, but it was all so stiff. It doesn’t make sense.”

“I’d be stiff and out of it if I killed someone,” Jimin muttered.

“But a whole year of planning and careful attacks, all for it to end so. . . so easily?” Namjoon said. “No serial killer plans it like that. The chase is the objective. Why end it?”

“So you’re saying the killer is still on the loose and that we just lost all Ministry protection,” Taehyung said. “And they’re after me.”

“. . . yeah.”

“I’m fucking dead,” Taehyung threw his hands in the air. “My dreams only warn me about that god-awful painting of death. He always disappears before someone gets attacked, and one day, he’ll be gone and I’ll be next. I should just destroy the bloody painting before I have to see my own fate.”

“Come on now, that painting might still be useful-” Jin said, crossing the circle to pick Taehyung up off the floor. “You see it in your dreams so it must be important.”

“Yeah, well, I see Yoongi’s family too. And the wolf Jungkook. And some bird.”

“That’d be me-” Hoseok raised his hand. “Or Joon.”

“It’s like a hawk.”

“Falcon, actually.” Hoseok thought about his bird form, and he felt his body shift smaller. He was closer to the bed now, looking up at the others with clearer sight and hearing.

“That’s so sick,” Taehyung said. “But still. I’m dead meat.”

“No, we’ll protect you,” Namjoon said. “Constant protection. Hoseok can sleep here. I’ll watch you the first half of the day. Jin can eat meals with you. Jimin and Jungkook can take night times and afternoons. You’ll always be with us. We won’t let them get to you, if they’re even still out there.”

“What are we going to do? We still don’t know who it is, if it's not Alvis,” Jin said.

“I think we need to look into Alvis more. Maybe find out more about his dead son. I just feel like we’re missing something,” Namjoon said. “I’m going to reach out to the son’s boss, and find out how he died. Jungkook can resume his tracking of the stone, this time with Jimin and Tae to help. Jin, Hoseok, and I can find Teeth and talk to her about the mail. We’re going to catch the real killer, before he gets Tae. We have to.”