Querencia

Namjoon returns to the Forest every day after that, hoping to see Hoseok again. Since he never met Taehyung or Jungkook again after the first time, chances of finding them on campus might be really low.

But Hoseok? He’s popular, he practices Quidditch regularly, and he comes to visit his animal friends in the Forest. Namjoon has a better shot finding Hoseok.

Namjoon brings his bag of books and parchment with him and sits down with his back against a tree. “The Properties of Moonstone and Its Uses in Potion-Making,” He reads the assignment name out loud. He’s only supposed to write a twelve-inch essay on this, but he can write double the amount. He can think of a few uses already: some of the most interesting potions, such as Amortentia, Draught of Peace, and a special brand of Wolfbane Namjoon invented when he was a third-year student that earned him a golden medal in Wizarding Schools Potions Championship.

To be honest, even before Namjoon’s encounter with Taehyung, he likes to do his homework outside. The library is awesome, but he only goes there when no one else is there (in other words, in the middle of the night). He studies in the Great Hall only if he has to. The Slytherin common room is too crowded for him to concentrate, and the only things he reads in his own chamber are for bedtime reading (Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, Defensive Magical Theory, Secrets of the Darkest Arts, and Most Potente Potions are his personal favorites. Trust Namjoon to give the best book recommendations).

Namjoon hums to himself as he turns his head to stare at the shadowy Forbidden Forest. In his first few years at Hogwarts, he used to roam there dauntlessly. Now as a fifth-year student, he has to prepare for his OWLs and do his studies. It’s not stressful, it takes up almost all his time.

I’ll finish this in half an hour and I’ll go in there, like the old days, Namjoon tells himself, and being the highly-disciplined student he is, he delve into his work.

He doesn’t know how much time has passed, but he’s only half-way through his essay when he hears something. Namjoon’s not the kind of person who gets distracted easily (he can finish his homework even with tons of first-years goofing around him), but when you’re anywhere around the Forbidden Forest, where the most powerful and dangerous creatures in Hogwarts hide, it’s best you’re aware of your surroundings.

Namjoon looks up quickly and winces when his neck makes a snap. The wind has picked up speed, and the temperature drops a little. Other than that, Namjoon can’t see anything out of the ordinary. He frowns and goes back to studying.

His head snaps up when he feels an unnaturally cold wind hits him hard. He shivers and rubs his hands together. He knows today’s going to be cold and that it’s already pretty late, but he never expects it to be this cold. Thankfully he remembered to wear his jumper, his thickest robes, and the Slytherin scarf.

Namjoon is almost scared out of his mind when he thinks he sees something exploding in the forest. A silver light ignites the forest and disappears as fast as it comes. As soundless as a ghost gliding across motionless water. As brilliant as the morning sun. As ethereal as the candle flame in the gusting wind.

The darkness that falls upon him warns him of nighttime, but Namjoon doesn’t care.

Namjoon runs, not away from, but into the Forbidden Forest.

(Seriously, Namjoon should’ve known better at this point.)

He brushes branches aside and mentally curses at his clumsiness. “Lumos Maxima!” He hisses at his wand as if it had offended him personally, and barely saves himself from tripping and bleeding his head out. Even the maximized light can’t seem to penetrate the darkness. When did the sky get to dark, anyway? Namjoon thinks absent-mindedly, now focused on remembering where the silver explosion came from.

He picks up his pace when the wind starts to blow a different direction. He’s starting to doubt his gut feeling when he can hear nothing but the sound of the wind and the brushing leaves and see nothing but his itty-bitty light from his wand and complete darkness. He squints his eyes in hopes of catching any source of light, but nothing appears.

From somewhere far away, a wolf howls. More wolves follow suit, and the chorus would have been really beautiful to Namjoon’s ears if he didn’t meet Hoseok that previous full moon. Hoseok had said that normal wolves don’t howl at the moon. Namjoon shivers at what they’re howling at.

Then Namjoon hears something weird. The wind is blowing straight at his face, but somewhere on his left, a gust of foreign wind blows in the exact opposite direction. It touches the trees, agitates the leaves, and disappears without another sound. Nox, Namjoon says mentally and distinguishes the only light source. He freezes completely, trying to calm his racing heartbeat and hear one more abnormal sound that tells him he wasn’t hallucinating.

Before he can hear anything else, though, something crashes into him as silently as the darkness around him. Namjoon’s back lands on the bumpy ground before he can react to the impact, and a big hand with long elegant fingers clasps his mouth shut before he can make a single noise.

Namjoon writhes under the person who’s currently on top of him and pinning his entire body down. Namjoon’s breath hitches when there’s suddenly hot wind blowing on his cheek, like someone’s breathing right in front of his face.

Namjoon can feel the warm air as the person breathes rapidly but silently, and stops struggling for a moment. If this person is here to kill him, why is he hesitating?

Then the breath moves to his ear. He can feel the person’s lips brushing against the shell of his air as the person speaks in an incredibly hushed voice.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” The person hisses quietly with a thick accent Namjoon can’t identify. It’s male, and definitely angry. “Do you know what you just got yourself into?”

Namjoon shakes his head blindly, hoping that the person will get the hint and let him go. He struggles some more, but the person just pins him down more forcefully.

“What do you mean, you don’t know? You can’t feel them?” There’s an urgent tone to the person and Namjoon doesn’t want to know what’s spooking him. Is there anything in the forest that isn’t supposed to be here?

Namjoon shakes his head again. Why are you doing here, then?

“Are you stupid or are you just depressed all the time?” The stranger hisses.

How is being depressed related to anything?

Before Namjoon can do anything, the stranger suddenly freezes and the next second, he’s up on his feet and pulling Namjoon with him. “We gotta go,” The stranger speaks into Namjoon’s ear, and Namjoon can feel from the direction of the person’s warm breath that the person is shorter than him.

The stranger lights up his wand a little with a normal Lumos and starts pulling Namjoon forward. Every time Namjoon stumbles on some roots, the stranger pulls him up again with his strong arm. Still, the stranger doesn’t slow down one bit. Namjoon himself is a Quidditch player so his endurance is better than most, but this guy is a whole other level. It’s as if the stranger isn’t the tiniest bit scared of tripping (or he just has the perfect balance), as if he never tires from all the sprinting.

Something swooshes pass them, pressing into them so close Namjoon can feel the air around them dropping by a few degrees instantly. He gasps as something silky and freezing cold just brushes by his robes. The light on the stranger’s wand blows out immediately after.

Now the complete darkness makes sense. Five years in Hogwarts, and Namjoon’s never seen the forest so dark. But it makes sense now. The stranger’s words . . . are you just depressed all the time? . . . make sense now.

It’s not like Jungkook’s Obscurus. Unlike Jungkook’s parasite, these shadows are wild and predatory. Jungkook’s shadow is gentle and tame, harmless under Jungkook’s control. But this? These shadows listen to no one, and though they still abide by the Ministry’s laws, they do it reluctantly. They’re circling a few feet above Namjoon like a vulture circling its prey, and Namjoon can’t even find the strength to lift his arm. And unfortunately, Namjoon knows these shadows more than most people do. He’d recognize them anywhere anytime. They were the ones who took Namjoon’s parents to Azkaban and tortured them until their dying breaths, after all.

Dementors.

There are hundreds of them. Too many to count in the darkness. The tree trunks and leaves around them are coated with a layer of frost, and all the Dementors turn towards their direction as they sense prey.

They’re not supposed to go anywhere without permission, especially after the Second Wizarding War. They’re supposed to be in their confined prison, away from humanity, where they die slowly and steadily.

What are they doing here?

The boy halts to a stop after his light goes off, and his hold on Namjoon’s wrist is tight but trembling slightly. “I hope you know how to make a Patronus,” The boy says, and even his voice is trembling. “Because I can and I will leave you to die if you can’t protect yourself against this shit.”

The venom that drips from the boy’s words kind of stings. Of course Namjoon knows how to make a Patronus. But judging from how the boy pushes Namjoon back so that the boy is facing the Dementors, protecting Namjoon, the boy doesn’t mean what he says.

“Expecto Patronum,” The boy mutters, and the incredible silver light bursts from the boy’s wand, like the explosion Namjoon saw earlier. Namjoon shields his eyes from the brilliant light. It takes a few moments for Namjoon to get used to the blinding light, and when he drops his hand, he gapes.

A silver majestic animal sprints into the sky of at least a hundred Dementors, its furry paws leaving silver footprints in mid-air. It playfully swats at Dementors with lightning speed and gracefully dances in the air, chasing the Dementors with ease and melting the frost around it. The floating shadows shy away at the briefest contact of the Patronus. The animal jumps over Namjoon’s head with incredibly precision and strength and claws at a Dementor that would’ve hit Namjoon. That’s when Namjoon sees what the animal is: it’s a snow leopard with eyes far too intelligent to be animalistic.

“What . . .?” Namjoon’s at a loss of words, and when he turns to the boy, he frowns.

The boy’s skin is even paler than the silver Patronus, and his long platinum hair that covers his eyebrows look too natural to have been dyed. His feline black eyes match the snow leopard’s and are the darkest Namjoon’s ever seen, deep and sharp like they’re blackholes swallowing a million stars. The boy is drop-dead gorgeous, his beauty inhumane. His face looks like it’s carved from the purest diamond.

His long boots that are meant for hiking (as if he didn’t just randomly end up in the right place at the right time when Dementors suddenly appeared) are knee-high. His long black coat with a hood and sleeves that leave out the thumbs isn’t the school uniform, but the boy’s family coat.

A powerful pureblood family with an ancient history as some kind of royalty. Powerful, and proud. And pretty famous.

“Wait, I’ve seen you before,” Namjoon says, a little too loudly. He’s incredibly aware that the person’s identity is the least he should be worrying about since there are still a lot of Dementors swirling around. “You’re Platinum! Our House’s Seeker!”

“You really don’t pay attention to people, do you,” The boy grumbles, his raspy voice flat and plain. “And it’s Yoongi Min, not Platinum. Now will you focus on the task at hand?”

“Right,” Namjoon says and thinks of the happiest memory he can thinks of as warmth spreads through his body.

At the end of his wand, his own Patronus springs to life. A shapeless wind of silvery light glides just above the ground, going the opposite direction as the snow leopard so that they can cover a greater area with protection. Namjoon’s Patronus is not as fast as the snow leopard, but when it soars into the air, it’s radiating power.

Didn’t an ancient Chinese wizard say something very famous? Know thy self, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories? Well, if Namjoon becomes his enemy, will he win a thousand victories for a thousand battles?

Yoongi gapes. “Your Patronus form is a . . . Dementor?”

Namjoon sighs and stares as his Dementor Patronus fights its fellow Dementors. This is why he never shows anyone his Patronus (he even refused to cast one in front of his class in DADA. He hid behind a door and used the silver light that shone through the gaps of the door to prove that it wasn’t that he couldn’t cast one). There’s too much explaining to do and the story behind him is what he keeps close to his heart.

“Later.” Namjoon says instead, and keeps his gaze on his own Patronus, warding off its dark kin and he can almost hear those real Dementors screaming at the betrayal.

Yoongi suddenly grabs Namjoon by the collar and slams him against a trunk with a murdering hint in his eyes. Namjoon’s so taken by surprise, his mouth hangs open but no sound comes out. Yoongi’s face is only a few centimeters away from Namjoon, and normally Namjoon would be shocked to find a God-blessed face so close to his, but the anger that clouds his mind keeps him from being distracted.

“Do both of us a favor and shut the hell up. If you make a single sound, I’ll kill you.” Yoongi hisses and his gaze hardens.

“Who do you think you are?” Namjoon hisses and grabs Yoongi’s hand on his collar. Just when he thought Yoongi’s becoming a friend. Namjoon swears it’s all Hoseok’s fault; he’s gotten soft and he knows it. He’s starting to think everyone who even spares a glance at him is a friend, and how horribly wrong that is.

Yoongi punches Namjoon straight on the face, hard. Namjoon stifles a yelp and falls on his butt, his hand flying to his cheek as pain blooms there. He blinks, and Yoongi is already gone like a ghost.

What the fuck?

“. . . Mister Min, what do you think you’re doing?” Namjoon hears someone talking, and carefully peaks his head out of a bush only to see Yoongi’s back facing him. The Seeker is talking to someone with a voice oddly familiar to Namjoon.

“Nothing I can’t handle well, Professor McGonagall,” Yoongi replies with extreme calmness. Ah, now that makes sense. But what is McGonagall doing here? Did she see them? Namjoon bites on his lower lip. Is she here to deliver Namjoon to Azkaban?

Please don’t.

“I’m searching for a rare type of fungi,” Yoongi is replying to a question from McGonagall that Namjoon doesn’t catch. “It’s personal extended research for Herbology. I like to get ahead of studies.”

That’s right. Yoongi Min is a quite famous name that goes around campus all the time. Unlike Hoseok, who’s well-liked and handsome and everyone wants to be his friend, Yoongi is well-respected. People admire him from afar. Not only is Yoongi Min famous for being the one of the fastest fliers in Hogwarts’ Quidditch history and an extremely handsome boy, he is one of the brightest students in Hogwarts (Namjoon is one of them too!). Despite being respected by many, including some professors, Yoongi keeps a safe distance from everyone else, making him look shy and aloof. That somehow attracts more followers, though.

“Right,” McGonagall says and she doesn’t sound so sure. “Do you happen to see a certain Slytherin student hanging around? Tall, dyed blond, clumsy, probably with lots of books with him?”

Fuck. Namjoon turns around but keeps his ears focused on the two’s conversation. He’s ready to run at the first sign of danger.

“You’d have to be more specific, Professor.” Yoongi says, and Namjoon suddenly feels chilled by how the Seeker’s voice is dripping with honey. Not like a teenage girl’s feminine kind of voice, but the smooth and planned.

Judging from how snarky Yoongi was when he replied, Namjoon wouldn’t have fall for that. Yoongi isn’t being very persuasive here, but why is McGonagall falling into his obvious trap?

“He’s a year below you,” McGonagall says. Namjoon moves forward a little to see her standing with her arms crossed on her chest, looking down at Yoongi with menace. Yoongi doesn’t seem intimidated at all, though. “You must have bumped into him somewhere around here, haven’t you? I saw him entering the forest around an hour ago, and I followed him here. There are serious matters I must speak to him at once, and they’re quite urgent, I must add.”

“Namjoon? I thought I saw him in our Common Room earlier.” Yoongi says and takes a step forward towards McGonagall.

Namjoon can feel the power seeping from Yoongi from meters away. It’s as if Yoongi is radiating an invisible glow and affecting all the people in the range to do according to his will. Namjoon has a sudden urge to bow, and even though his brain is screaming at him to stop. Yoongi is suddenly like a king and Namjoon a pawn who has to comply to every word Yoongi says. And no matter how much Namjoon resists or how diligently he builds up a mental wall to protect himself, Yoongi’s voice penetrate Namjoon’s defense and burns the wall to the ground with such ease as if Yoongi was born to do this. And this, whatever this is, is nothing Namjoon’s ever read or heard of.

It’s a hundred times more dangerous than the Imperius Curse, Namjoon realizes, horrified. He will willingly jump off the cliff and feed himself to those Dementors if Yoongi says the word. Yoongi Min is the Imperius Curse personified.

“You really don’t need to fuss too much about Namjoon, Professor,” Yoongi says and begins to circle McGonagall like a predator, his eyes sharp and analyzing every little movement the Headmistress has. “Your students are safe. Your school is safe. You might think you see his parents’ shadows in him, but he’s a good person. Tell me everything that bothers you, Professor. Perhaps I can help you.”

“Yes . . .” McGonagall says dazedly, her eyes dreamy and unfocused. “I see their shadows. Not only theirs, but Tom Riddle’s too. Oh, I remember Mister Riddle. Curious in all the things others find terrifying. Talented. Ambitious. Perhaps too ambitious. An excellent duelist. Trouble-making, yes. I see Voldemort in Mister Kim, Min.”

She’s not making any sense. How is anything in Namjoon like Voldemort?

“I can promise you, Professor, Namjoon is not a threat to anyone. And I’m sure he’s in the Slytherin common room doing homework and behaving himself.” Yoongi says, continuing to circle McGonagall. There’s a small smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

“Right.” McGonagall agrees dreamily and clears her throat. “Then I must get going. Excuse me,” She turns and pauses for a moment as if wondering what the hell happened. Then, as if nothing happened, she walks away and leaves the Forest.

Namjoon immediately jumps out from his bush as soon as he makes sure McGonagall is out of sight. “What the fuck was that?” Namjoon demands and crosses his arms on his chest.

Yoongi scratches the back of his neck and avoids Namjoon’s gaze. His pale cheeks are a little red. Is he embarrassed? “Ah, about that. If I didn’t punch you, you would ruin the plan. Sorry.”

“Not that,” Namjoon says, frustrated. “Not that punching me was okay, but that wasn’t what I was talking about. What you did to McGonagall. That was completely unnecessary. How could you just charm her with . . . with whatever that is?”

Yoongi meets Namjoon’s eyes. “If I didn’t do that, she’d take you to Azkaban. That would suck.”

“So Taehyung told you too,” Namjoon mutters, suddenly tired of everything.

“If you ask me, I’d say you don’t deserve it.” Yoongi says matter-of-factly. “Cursing a dickhead who insults your family should be completely legal, no matter who your family is.”

“You’re about the only person who thinks that way,” Namjoon says sadly.

Yoongi suddenly looks angry, and Namjoon involuntarily takes a tiny step back. “You really think so?” Yoongi’s voice is hardened again, and his accent seems to come out more when he’s mad. “If you really think so, then fuck you. You think Taehyung obliviated a whole grade of students and a couple of professors for fun? Why do you think Jungkook didn’t just let you fall to death and go after that damned Snitch? Why do you think Hoseok took you to his stupid Gryffindor chamber to personally take care of you and not the Hospital Wing?”

Namjoon opens his mouth, but no words come out.

Yoongi sighs and his gaze softens. “Guess you’re just too dumb. Can’t blame you, really. Now hurry up. You’ll want to be in the common room when McGonagall arrives.” He grabs Namjoon’s wrist and pulls him along, and for some reason Namjoon’s heart warms. Even though Yoongi’s obviously angry, but he still cares. And Namjoon’s thankful he hasn’t ruined everything. Yoongi is a friend, after all.

“Hey, so you didn’t tell me what that charm-speaking was.” Namjoon says as he tries to keep up with Yoongi’s quick pace and not trip on rocks or roots.

Yoongi glances back briefly. “It’s just a stupid trick. Just a Veela thing. Charm-speaking, controlling emotions, whatever.”

Namjoon’s mouth makes an “o” shape. A Veela? That would explain the beauty. But there are no male Veelas in any record in history. Yoongi would be the first. “So do you shoot fireballs with your hands? I don’t know, dance to the wind and sing to the rain?”

Yoongi’s death glare is actually pretty terrifying. Namjoon’s pretty sure Veelas don’t have such a bad temper. “I do not dance to the wind or sing to the rain. If you dare to mention that one more time, then you’ll see if I shoot fireballs with my hands.”

Namjoon shuts up after that.

Yoongi takes him all the way to the Hogwarts castle. He brushes past people swiftly and never lets go of Namjoon’s wrist. He doesn’t even spare a glance at anyone who stares at them weirdly.

Namjoon actually admires Yoongi’s ability to not give a single flying fuck.

“Hey, Yoongi hyung!” A boy among the people shouts loudly, and he’s too short for Namjoon to see anything but a fluffy head of rose-pink hair. The boy stands on his tiptoes and raises a hand into the air to wave frantically at Yoongi. Before he can make his way to Yoongi, though, the moving wave of students pushes him away from them.

Yoongi glances at the boy and a tiny smile appears. “Hey, Jimin,” He says a lot quieter than the boy but doesn’t stop walking.

Namjoon whips around. “Wait, Jimin?” Didn’t Hoseok mention a name like that? Jimin? But the little guy already disappears in the crowd.

“Yeah, Jimin.” Yoongi says and continues to pull him to the Slytherin dungeon. “Nothing to worry about.”

“That sounds like something I should be worrying about,” Namjoon says quizzically.

“You’ll only have to worry if you associate with him, which I believe you will very soon.” Yoongi doesn’t explain his words.

They bump into a person right when they go down to the dungeons, and Namjoon almost thinks it’s McGonagall because of the person’s tall stature and because there are lots of people around, but then he sees that the boy is in Hufflepuff robes.

“In a hurry again, Yoongi?” The boy teases and ignores how other students are pushing him around to get to somewhere.

“Why are you always around?” Yoongi says, his previous smile gone.

“It’s not my fault you’re always spotted!” The boy says, then bursts out with a windshield wiping laughter that’s honestly kind of funny.

“What’s so funny?” Namjoon whispers at Yoongi.

“He just made a snow leopard pun,” Yoongi deadpans, not a bit amused. “I’m a snow leopard Animagus. Unregistered. Don’t laugh at his joke.”

Namjoon should’ve guessed. About the Animagus part.

“Oooh, Yoongi, I didn’t notice you had a companion!” The guy shouts after being pushed to the other end of the corridor. “Looks like your limerence worked! Told you it would!”

“The Hufflepuff basement is that way!” Yoongi shouts and barges into the vacant Slytherin common room without a second glance at the guy.

“Who was that?” Namjoon asks curiously.

“Someone you’ll regret knowing.” Yoongi says flatly. “Come on, I have to tell you something.”

“What? Don’t we have classes?” Namjoon glances at his watch and barely keeps himself from fainting. So that’s why the common room is this empty. “Oh my God, did I just skip my Ancient Runes class? And I’m already late for Charms . . .”

Yoongi pulls Namjoon down to sit on one of the green velvet armchairs. “No one will be looking for you right now,” He says and with a small smirk that chills Namjoon again. “I made sure of it.”

“Did you plan ahead for our encounter? How did you know when I have my classes? Did you charm those professors beforehand?” Namjoon asks in disbelief and is a little afraid of the answer. If Yoongi did do that, then he’s not only a silver-tongue, but also a mastermind.

Yoongi shrugs. “That’s how efficiency works.”

Namjoon points an accusing finger at Yoongi. “You owe me a Butterbeer,” Namjoon isn’t asking for an opinion here.

Yoongi spreads his hands. “A little price for a long-term success.”

“Ugh. It’s so not worth it.” Namjoon face-palms himself.

“The thing I want to talk about is not about me.” Yoongi says, his tone business-like and serious. Namjoon is forced to look up to meet the older Slytherin’s eyes. “The Dementors. We all know they’re not supposed to be there. They’re not supposed to be anywhere near anybody after Shacklebolt became Minister. When’s the last time you even heard of them?”

“After the Second War,” Namjoon says quickly. “But why are you telling me this? You should be telling this to a Professor. The Headmistress. The Minister of Magic. Not me. Not a fifth-year student who barely knows what he’s doing.”

“Okay, think about this.” Yoongi leans forward and sits on the edge of his sofa. “The last sighting of a Dementor was during the War.”

“Yes,” Namjoon says, wondering where Yoongi’s getting to.

“What else is last seen around that time? What else is last used around that time and is never heard of being used again?”

“Lots of things,” Namjoon says. He’s getting more and more confused right now. What is Yoongi implying? “The Marauder’s Map, for one. The Dumbledore Army coins. I can list a lot of them.”

“You did spend your time flipping through the student records, didn’t you,” Yoongi says, and a hint of approval that flashes through his face disappears before Namjoon can see more clearly. “But none of those are what I’m talking about. What I’m talking about is the Time-Turners.”

Namjoon stays silent. He wouldn’t be anywhere close to Time-Turners because there’s a very high chance that he would accidentally kill his past self or break the wrong mug or something.

“Hey, hear me out.” Yoongi leans forward even more. “Last time they’re ever heard of was when Harry Potter went to the Ministry and tried to find that crystal ball with his fate written in it, right? His gang knocked over quite a few shelves when they ran from those Death Eaters. One of the shelves had an entire collection of Time-Turners and when they fell, they were turned on. They were stuck in a cycle of falling and falling again for an eternity. Do you know what happened to them after that?”

“No,” Namjoon says. He doesn’t like it that he’s in the dark and Yoongi’s the one knowing what’s going on.

“Exactly.” Yoongi clasps his hands together. “No one knows that happened to them after that. They’re too dangerous to be touched, but too valuable to be left alone. The Ministry knows that. And two years after that incident, the War broke out.”

“What are you getting to?” Namjoon asks and though he already has his own answer in mind, he wants to make sure they’re in sync.

“What you definitely don’t know is that I’ve been coming back to the Forests for a week already. Every day at exactly 4:28 PM, the Dementors come out.” Yoongi has an excited glow to his eyes, like he’s finally close to solving a murder case.

“So you’re saying that the Ministry ditched all the Time-Turners so that people wouldn’t find them, and somehow they end up in Hogwarts’ Forbidden Forest, and somehow they’re turned on so it’s set to connect the present to more than ten years ago, when the greatest Wizarding War took place, and that it’s how the Dementors from the War accidentally come to the present?” Namjoon feels the color from his face draining. If Dementors can come through this time portal, who else can? Mountain trolls? Werewolves? Voldemort?

“Yep.” Yoongi sits back, seemingly satisfied. The happy glow on his face makes him even more breathtakingly beautiful. “You can’t say it’s impossible. It’s unlikely, yes, very unlikely, but extremely possible.”

“Why would you pull me into this,” Namjoon groans loudly.

“I was a Durmstrang student. My father transferred me to Hogwarts two years ago, and Jungkookie happened to come here the same time as I did. I had to protect him, you know? He’s from home, after all.” Yoongi takes a deep breath before continuing. “I came here and when Jin hyung said he was expecting both of us, I had the same reaction as you.”

“Must’ve been hard. I’m sorry.” Namjoon says.

“Don’t be. Just telling you you’re not going to be lonely for long.” Yoongi avoids his glance to look down at his lap, and fiddles with his fingers, suddenly bashful. “You’ll be glad you find a new family here. I promise.”

“Don’t make a promise you can’t keep,” Namjoon says, and is surprised to find his voice sadder than he intends it to be. He stares straight in Yoongi’s eyes.

Yoongi looks up and has a softness in his eyes that Namjoon rarely sees. He’s sarcastic and snarky, yes, but Namjoon realizes that when Yoongi wants to be nice, he can be the warmest person Namjoon’s ever seen. Maybe it’s a Veela thing, too. “I may not be the all-knowing maniac like Jin hyung, but I’m also not a liar. I don’t make promises unless I’m absolutely sure I can keep them.”

Namjoon hangs his head, unsure how to keep the conversation going or how to keep his brain from exploding . “Thanks. I’m going to bed,” Namjoon says. “To think things through.”

Yoongi nods in understanding and sits back against the sofa with his eyes lazily half-closed like a sleepy cat.

Namjoon stands and leaves, but remembers something. There’s a promise he made that he hasn’t kept. “Oh, about my Patronus. You were curious?” He calls over his shoulder.

Yoongi opens his eyes and turns his head towards Namjoon.

“The clearest happy memory I have with my parents were when I was visiting them in Azkaban.” Namjoon says quietly and slowly, afraid that if he speaks too quickly tears are going to spill. He sniffs a little. “They were miserable. But even with all the Dementors around, they would smile and ruffle my hair. They would say that they’re happy there and that I shouldn’t worry.”

Namjoon dips his head and takes a deep breath through his nose. “I was too young. I didn’t know they were dying. My happiness comes from my parent's suffering, hence the Dementor Patronus.”

He doesn’t wait to hear Yoongi’s reply. He turns swiftly and hurries to his dormitory.

Namjoon stops in front of his chamber’s door, his hand already on the door handle. There’s a wave of foreign calmness and peacefulness washing through him, clearing his head and relaxing his muscles. It slows his heartbeat and quiets his mind.

Just a Veela thing.

It might not be enough to heal the wounds, but Namjoon is thankful. Yoongi could've walked away and pretend he didn't hear anything, but he didn't. That, Namjoon is very thankful.

Namjoon’s hand lingers above the handle. He can feel Yoongi’s hot gaze on his back.

Thank you, Namjoon thinks, hoping the message would reach Yoongi in some way.

A new wave of calmness replies him.

(Namjoon didn’t say goodbye to Yoongi. Ugh. Has he become one of them now?)

Bonus:

"Mister Kim isn't in the Slytherin Common Room?" McGonagall demands, looking really mad at the moment. "Where is Min?"

Jimin Park shrugs. "How would I know? I'm a Ravenclaw."

"A Ravenclaw who has a habit of causing mischief that rivals that of the Marauders'. A bratty trickster whose tower is on the other side of the castle and just happens to hang around the Slytherin dungeon when he should be in his History of Magic classroom, which is also on the other side of the castle. An imp who associates himself with Jungkook Jeon, Taehyung Kim, Hoseok Jung, Yoongi Min, and Seokjin Kim." McGonagall deadpans. "Give me one good reason why I should believe you."

Jimin sticks out his button lip. "I'm a Ravenclaw."

"If your Ravenclaw smartness had shown in your academics, I would have believed you a little more." McGonagall sighs.

"Maybe I'll tell you when I see him, Professor!" Jimin says cheerfully. "Which I believe isn't going to be long. He and Yoongi had quite an adventure tonight. If you'll excuse me, Professor, I'm going to prepare myself for our impromptu encounter. We're going to have sooooo much fun!"