Querencia

Namjoon is dangerous; everyone in Hogwarts knows it, and many don’t even bother to hide their disgust towards him. Oh, no, don’t get him wrong. They don’t bully him. They don’t dare, because even after the Second Wizarding War, people still fear Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. His parents were one of them before being sent to Azkaban and dying in there.

“Mister Kim?” Professor Malfoy says, and Namjoon blinks. Right . . . it’s Defense Against Dark Arts class, and he’s on the dueling stage. His opponent right in front of him is a strong Gryffindor dueler. This really isn’t the time to get your head in the clouds, Namjoon thinks as he shifts a little and adjusts his grip on his wand.

“I’m okay,” Namjoon says, not particularly loud but everyone hears it loud and clear. He has this kind of effect; whenever he’s talking, people either stop to listen or stop to glare. It’s usually the latter.

“Alright,” Professor Malfoy says and claps his hands once. “On the count to three, one . . .”

Focus.

“Two . . .” Namjoon can practically hear the worry in Malfoy’s voice. Namjoon closes his eyes and tries not to think about how everyone’s probably staring at him right now.

They’ll laugh about him if he doesn’t do it right. Death Eater’s son who doesn’t even know how to duel. It’s always bad to live up to his parents’ expectations, considering how Death Eaters had ruthlessly killed so many people. Be too good at dueling? Must’ve taken that after the Death Eater parents. Probably will follow their evil footsteps too. Be too bad at dueling? What a disappointment to the family. How weak.

But Namjoon’s not going to lie; he loved his parents because they were his parents, not because they were Death Eaters. Of course he admired his parents when he was little. Of course he saw them as superheroes. And what’s wrong with that?

Maybe that’s his problems. He only ever saw them as his Mum and Dad.

“Three!” Malfoy shouts, and Namjoon’s eyes fly open.

“Stupefy!” His opponent shouts. Namjoon waves it off with his entire arm. The magic breaks in front of him as if it hits an invisible shield.

“Flipendo!” Namjoon waves that off as well.

Someone in the crowd shouts, and people start laughing a little. It ripples among the audience, and Namjoon flinches. He can’t hear them clearly, but he knows it’s about him. Probably him being a coward for not attacking or something.

Namjoon feels rage boiling inside him. But now’s not the time to express them. He’s not going to ruin his grades because of a stupid outburst. Things never changed for five years and why bother changing it now? People aren’t going to shut up just because he tells them to.

The opponent grows impatient as well. “Scared, Kim?” He shouts. Namjoon sees Malfoy flinch slightly at that from the corner of his eyes. “Aren’t attacking?”

More people laugh around him. Namjoon rearranges his fingers on his wand and closes his eyes again. God knows how much he wants to beat the shit out of this kid right now. But he can’t break down.

“What’s happening in that smart head of yours, Kim?” The guy sneers and spreads his arms as if expecting some audience reaction. Much to Namjoon’s displeasure, people do give the guy the reaction he wants: they cheer him on. Namjoon feels bullied but remains silent.

“What would your parents think if they learn you’re a coward?” The guy raises his blond eyebrow maliciously at Namjoon, who glares back. That, however, doesn’t intimidate the guy at all, because he throws his head back and laughs. “They were probably pretty lonely in Azkaban. Why didn’t you visit?”

Truth is, Namjoon did visit. But it’s none of the guy’s business.

“Stop,” Namjoon whispers and grits his teeth. This is getting on his nerves.

“Oooh,” The guy makes a face and acts like he doesn’t hear that. “Kim really is scared. Missing Mommy and Daddy already?”

“Mister Skyes,” Malfoy warns. But of course, being the brat he is, the guy Skyes doesn’t stop being an asshole. He bows to the audience who claps at him.

“Stop,” Namjoon says, a little firmly this time. He squeezes his eyes shut, which is pretty stupid to be honest, if you’re in an arena. But his head hurts, like there are a million spells fired at him at the same time, exploding into a kaleidoscope of colored sparks. Breathtaking, yes, just like his memories with his parents. But it’s painful, too.

“Your parents disgraced your family name. You’re going to do just the same.” And that’s the last straw.

People don’t know it, but Namjoon was well-trained by his parents. They were Death Eaters, after all, and when Namjoon was too young to understand the good and evil (or so his parents thought), they made him read. Jinxes, curses, and complicated spell-work were most of what they taught him throughout the years. If anything, Namjoon excels in martial magic.

Namjoon flicks his wand, and suddenly the opponent’s disarmed. The wand flies straight towards Namjoon as he casts a silent Disarming Charm. Without giving it much attention, Namjoon holds up his other hand and when he closes his fingers into a fist, the wand is crushed mid-air.

Loud gasps rise from all around him, and as he rarely does, Namjoon suddenly feels reckless. He retracts his hand and the crushed wand falls lifelessly at his feet. Namjoon feels power he’s never felt before coursing through his veins. With a slashing movement, Namjoon’s wand shoots a brilliant explosion of royal purple flaming sparks that flies towards Skyes.

Skyes, fortunately, isn’t as quick as he should be if he wants to save himself. Professor Malfoy, unfortunately, has quick reflexes and makes the sparks change course. The curse would’ve hit the Skyes straight in the heart and probably killed him; instead, it grazes Skyes’ arm and he lets out a pitiful and pathetic scream as blood gushes out of the wound.

Namjoon’s glare doesn’t leave Skyes as the Gryffindor kid drops to his knees and cradles his injured arm at his chest. The students surrounding them are gawking at Namjoon with shock. His anger dies completely, and Namjoon’s at a loss.

He’s spent five years trying to convince everyone that he’s not like his Death Eater parents. He studies hard, tops every class, almost becomes the Quidditch captain for his House if not for his reputation. He’s friendly to almost anyone (but no one’s friendly to him. He doesn’t complain, though). He suppresses his anger whenever people poke at his sore spot. He hides the fact that he’s a Parseltongue. He makes sure to never leash out like this. Five years of hard work has gone to waste.

Malfoy rushes over to Skyes and waves his wand slightly. Light blue mists start clouding the classroom and linger at every student’s temples. Their expressions turn from horror to confusion, and that’s when Namjoon realizes that Malfoy just obliviated everyone. Everyone, including Skyes, but Malfoy and Namjoon himself.

“Class dismissed,” Professor Malfoy says grimly as he kneels beside Skyes to check on him. “Skyes, I’ll take you to the Hospital Wing.” Just when Namjoon’s about to hop off the arena and flee, Malfoy adds: “Kim, you follow me.”

Namjoon tenses and freezes. Then relaxes a little. What’s the worst that can happen?

“You do understand that this is a dangerous curse you’d casted to another student,” Headmistress McGonagall deadpans.

“Yes, professor,” Namjoon says politely. He’s rarely called to the Headmistress’s office since he avoids trouble as much as possible, but sometimes trouble finds him before he can even run from it.

“And any fifth-year student shouldn’t even know about this curse, let alone know how to cast it. Last time anyone reported seeing this almost killed Harry Potter,” McGonagall muses as she starts to pace around. Namjoon shifts his weight to another leg.

“Yes, professor.”

“And you even managed to cast it nonverbally, which is supposed to weaken the curse a lot, and yet it still caused a gashing wound so severe Mister Skyes passed out in the Hospital Wing from the pain,” McGonagall says.

“Yes, professor.”

“You should be glad Professor Malfoy obliviated every student, including Mister Skyes, in that room.” McGonagall hardens and raises her voice a little. She stops to stare at Namjoon in the eyes. “Dark magic is prohibited under any circumstance. You could easily end up in Azkaban if the Ministry deems you guilty, which they most certainly would.”

“I understand, Professor.” Namjoon averts her gaze and bows his head. He would normally continue the eye contact with anyone, but now’s not the occasion to do that. He’s speaking to a Headmistress, and he is the one at fault, so he should at least show some respect.

“However, since word doesn’t go out, you will have to come to my office for detention every day after dinner until you graduate.” McGonagall continues to pace, and Namjoon steals a glance at Malfoy, who catches his gaze and stares at him pointedly.

“Yes, professor.” Actually, Namjoon can live with that. He’ll just have to move his study time to before dinner, or during dinner. Detentions aren’t that scary from his experience.

“If you even take a single move that seems the tiniest suspicious to me, I will deliver you to Azkaban myself.” McGonagall says and waves a dismissive hand. “I only do this because I trust you’re not a bad person, Kim. But you’ll have to prove it to me.”

“Thank you so much, Professor McGonagall.” Namjoon bows several times. Relief washes over him like a tidal wave, and he’s so grateful to have her as the Headmistress. Namjoon turns and bows to Malfoy too. “Thank you so much too, Professor Malfoy.”

Malfoy gives him a tilted, almost mischievous, smile.

Thank Merlin.

“And I’m taking two hundred points from Slytherin.”

Fuck you, Merlin.

Namjoon barely stops himself from groaning loudly.

Namjoon ends up scrubbing the Potions classroom with a toothbrush, which is one of the more horrible detentions professors give since students are always spilling their Potions. Some of the tiles still explode when Namjoon steps on it. And to make it even more difficult, McGonagall suspends his wand.

Namjoon sits cross-legged on the floor and raises his hand a little to enchant the toothbrush without using his wand, and to his delight, the toothbrush starts scrubbing the floor on its own. Namjoon smirks. He’s not breaking any rules here; McGonagall only tells him to clean the place and not to use his wand. Wandless magic, another talent of Namjoon, comes in handy.

McGonagall is taking an extremely huge risk here. Namjoon should be in Azkaban; he’s unstable, unpredictable, and dangerous. He knows too much for his own good. And McGonagall is trying to hide him so that the Ministry won’t even know that there’s a rogue student going around shooting curses at other students. And if she’s found hiding a dark wizard in Hogwarts and resisting arrest, she would end up in Azkaban as well. Students would stop coming because parents would worry. Hogwarts would fall.

Namjoon takes a chance to look around the classroom. He’s very interested in the theory of Potions but he’s rubbish at making them (did you know that the pearls needed to make amortentia have to be willingly given up by the clams because love is supposed to be willingly given, not forcefully taken? That kind of beats the purpose of making a love Potions because if someone you love willingly loves you back, why would you need amortentia in the first place? No, I’m not going to make amortentia). Half of what’s staining on the Potions classroom’s floor is probably his fault. Namjoon’s spilled many Potions throughout the years.

Namjoon glances at the big closet of Potions ingredients, and at the cauldrons piled neatly together in a corner. He glances back at the hardworking toothbrush. Perhaps it’s best if he just doesn’t touch anything.

He might have fallen asleep, because the moment someone enters the classroom Namjoon is scared out of his skin. “Merlin’s beard . . .” He mutters and freezes mid-sentence when he realizes what scared him.

The student who intrudes the classroom freezes mid-walking. He’s a Hufflepuff with big eyes, long eyelashes, and brown soft hair, probably a couple of years younger than Namjoon himself. The Hufflepuff’s eyes widen comically and Namjoon forces his gaze to harden, and they stare at each other for a while.

“Oh, it’s Voldemort Junior,” The kid says cheekily and smiles charmingly. He has an incredibly beautiful face. Namjoon isn’t sure what he did to deserve to talk to someone this beautiful.

But wait. How does the kid know about Namjoon’s duel gone wrong? About the dark magic?

“Excuse me?” Namjoon hisses in disbelief.

Oh fuck. He is so screwed. If a single word goes out, he’s bound to die in Azkaban. He’s going to follow his parents’ footsteps. And he doesn’t like that one bit.

But didn’t Malfoy obliviate everyone?

“No, he didn’t.” The kid smiles widely at him as if reading his mind, and Namjoon actually cherishes this moment. No one’s ever smiled at him for so long, it feels good to see it. And actually this kid has a really charming smile and it’s shaped like a box. “I did.”

“What?” Namjoon asks dumbly. “If you really did, how would you know how to obliviate people?”

“I don’t. I just wiped their memories. I’m quite good at that.” The Hufflepuff smiles proudly. He seems too chill to know what he really did.

"But McGonagall said it was Malfoy who did it," Namjoon asks quizzically.

"Welp, she's wrong," The Hufflepuff shrugs.

Namjoon feels himself pale. There are countless of things this kid can do to his brain, like maybe he can change his memories and influence his thoughts, and Namjoon won’t even know that someone’s manipulating his head. And how much does he know? Did he look around Namjoon’s brain and dig out his past or something? How much did he tell?

The kid is quick to explain; he looks panicked and starts waving his hands like he’s trying to clear something in the air. “No, no, no, it’s not like what you think. I do know how to alter memories, but I only do it for a good cause! And no, I don’t tell too many people.” Namjoon’s eyes widen at that, and the Hufflepuff’s eyes widen too. “Trust me! They vowed not to tell a soul. And though I do play with memories a bit sometimes, I only do it if I absolutely have to. Okay, sometimes I do that for fun, but that’s always just a prank!”

"Wait," Namjoon holds up a finger to shut the kid up. "You just said you could play with memories. Did you make McGonagall believe it was Malfoy?" Namjoon's voice goes a little too high at the end of the question.

The kid holds up both hands in surrender. "You got me."

Namjoon runs his fingers through his hair. He's in bigger trouble than he thinks he is. "Did you mess with my memories? Are you sure your friends won't tell?"

"No to both questions, I promise. I'm not that bad of a person."

Namjoon stares at him suspiciously. “And how do I know you’re not lying?”

“You don’t,” The kid smiles his boxy smile again. “But we really won’t tell anyone. Your secret is safe with us. Actually, we all have some sort of secrets too. No point telling yours.”

Namjoon takes a few moments to absorb everything. A Hufflepuff kid who isn’t supposed to know about the duel turns out to be the one who saved Namjoon’s life by erasing everyone’s memories. And now that this Hufflepuff has saved his life, Namjoon is forever in debt. How is he supposed to return this unasked and unreturnable favor?

Namjoon lets out a big sigh when he hears footsteps echoing outside, heading this way. He sucks in a sharp breath and pulls the kid in, catching the kid by surprise. Namjoon’s immediately on high alert, but the kid doesn’t seem to get it. “Huh?” The kid says and doesn’t look offended, just confused.

“You don’t want to be seen anywhere near me, trust me,” Namjoon says in a hushed voice and closes his fingers into fists. “Let me deal with this.”

“I appreciate you trying to hide me,” The kid says, smiling softly as he ducks under a random table. His bright eyes gleam in the darkness, and he’s strangely reminding Namjoon of a feline animal. “But for a different reason. I’m playing hide and seek and all except the last one found are going to have to finish that chocolate frog Jin hyung saved from last summer.”

Namjoon isn’t sure if he should question the frog thing or just gag, but before he can decide, a kid even younger than this kid barges into the Potions classroom.

It’s a Gryffindor kid. His big doe eyes immediately fix into Namjoon’s and his face immediately reddens. It’s honestly really cute, but Namjoon’s probably looking too unapproachable. Namjoon quirks an eyebrow, and the second kid immediately backs off with a quiet “I’m sorry,” before fleeing the scene.

Namjoon glances back at the kid with the boxy smile, only to find a tiger with amber eyes looking up at him adorably. It’s very furry, just like the kid’s hair, and for some reason, Namjoon does think that the tiger cub resembles the Hufflepuff kid.

The tiger suddenly morphs back to that kid, and at Namjoon’s raised eyebrows, the kid pats his chest proudly. “Yeah, I’m an Animagus.” And before Namjoon can ask, he adds: “Unregistered. Told you, we all have secrets of our own.”

“And Legilimens.” Namjoon blurts out without thinking much, and the kid immediately frowns at him. Oops. He probably shouldn’t make random theories about people. “Sorry, I’ll shut up.”

“No, don’t,” The Hufflepuff smiles widely again. “I was just surprised. You’re right, though; I’m a Legilimens by birth. Another secret of mine. How did you know?”

“You answer my unarticulated questions and mess with people’s memories. It’s not that hard to tell.” Namjoon says and scratches his neck, suddenly embarrassed. But more importantly, he’s shocked. He’s meeting an unregistered Animagus and a born Legilimens in real life, holy shit. Like, Legilimens are really rare, and born Legilimens are like extinct or something. This kid exceeds all Legilimens by learning how to alter memories, which no Legilimens in history could ever do.

So Namjoon takes another moment to absorb more information. A Hufflepuff kid who isn’t supposed to know about the duel turns out to be the one who saved Namjoon’s life by erasing everyone’s memories. This Hufflepuff is an unregistered Animagus and a born Legilimens more powerful than any Legilimens ever existed. What even is this kid?

Namjoon’s probably staring too hard, so he moves his gaze away and tries to change the subject: “That Gryffindor. You know him?”

The kid nods amusedly. “That was Jungkook Jeon, third year. Really cute and really shy before you get to know him, and very annoying once you get to know him. That’s one of the reasons I chose to stay here too: he’s nervous around strangers, and he won’t dare to come in to search if you’re here.”

“Is he a Legilimens too?” Namjoon asks curiously.

“He wishes.” The kid smirks, and there’s a mischievous glint in his eyes when they flash amber, just like his eye color in the form of the tiger. “No one but my mates know about me being Legilimens, though. I certainly wouldn’t tell any of the professors; how else could I cheat on exams if I told them?”

Namjoon blinks and sighs. What exactly has he gotten himself into.

“Look, I’m telling you this because you’re clearly not trusting me with your secret,” The Hufflepuff says and straightens his back. He’s a little shorter than Namjoon, but he’s radiating a sort of energy that screams power. “Now that you have something to threaten me with, are you feeling better?”

Namjoon kind of hates being read, to be honest. He kind of wants to keep his thoughts to himself. “I didn’t want this trade in the beginning,” He says defensively. “And I am not feeling better at all. You saved my life, in case you haven’t noticed. And I’m not sure if I can return the favor.”

“Chill, mate,” The kid says and holds his hands up in surrender. “Your brain’s too hard to read. Too many stuff at once. I can’t even read half of it. And as for the trade thing, you have to know I don’t control this thing. I hear whatever someone’s thinking involuntarily. I didn’t mean to hear that much. And for the favor part, don’t worry about it.”

“Of course.” Namjoon grits his teeth and climbs onto a table. He lies down and finds a comfortable position, gazing at the dark ceiling. “Nice meeting you.” It’s a clear dismissal, but the kid doesn’t seem to get it.

“I’m Taehyung, by the way. Taehyung Kim. Fourth year. Hufflepuff. Muggleborn.”

Namjoon just grunts. “Namjoon Kim, fifth year, Slytherin. Pureblood.”

“I like you already,” Taehyung chirps from somewhere on his right. “You didn’t even react to the fact like I’m Muggleborn, like most Slytherins do. I appreciate that.”

Namjoon also appreciates that Taehyung doesn’t comment on Namjoon’s name either. Taehyung didn’t even react to the fact that Namjoon’s a son of Death Eaters, like most people do. But he’s not saying that out loud.

“It’s not any better if you have murderers as parents, so I guess I’m in no place to discriminate people,” Namjoon says bitterly instead.

There’s a wolf’s howl outside, distant but clear in the silence of the Potions classroom. Namjoon sits up quickly at the noise. Dread crawls up his spine and he instinctively reaches into his robes for his wand, but finds the pocket empty. He grits his teeth; McGonagall fucking has it.

Taehyung, on the other hand, seems kind of chill. “That’s my cue to leave,” He chirps happily and bounces on his feet. “I’ll see you sometime.”

“There aren’t supposed to be wolves anywhere in Hogwarts,” Namjoon hisses and grabs Taehyung’s wrist instinctively. Why has he gotten so protective of Taehyung, anyway? First pushing him to behind Namjoon so that Taehyung wouldn’t be seen together with Namjoon, then this. Namjoon wonders what’s gone wrong in his head. “It’s not safe. What if it’s a werewolf?”

Taehyung stops skipping and pauses to look at Namjoon. He doesn’t resist Namjoon’s grip. “Really, don’t worry about me.” He breaks into another stunning smile. “That’s one of my friends. He just wants some dinner.”

“You’ve got a werewolf friend??” Namjoon whisper-shouts.

“Nah. Just another unregistered Animagus.” Taehyung shrugs as if an unregistered Animagus is any better than a werewolf before waving at him and leaving. He hums a catchy tune as he skips through the halls, and Namjoon only stops listening when he can’t hear him anymore. Just when Namjoon thinks Taehyung is gone, Taehyung's head pops out again. "Cherish this moment for a second or two, Voldemort Junior. Despite all odds, we finally meet. Jin hyung warned me about a mirabilia last night, and he's right. He always is. Your life will take a sharp turn from now on and you'll be thankful that we met.

Namjoon has no idea what Taehyung means, but he nods anyway. He waves a little when Taehyung waves goodbye, the kid smiling as beautifully as ever, leaving Namjoon pondering on how the hell did everything happen.

Taehyung’s so bizarre, Namjoon doesn’t even expect a goodbye. But strangely, Namjoon starts looking forward to detention.