Chapter 2
Nayeon sits down in her usual spot beside Jeongyeon, complaining about how the girl chose to not wake her up.
“I was almost late to breakfast,” Nayeon huffs. It’s playful, no actual malice in her voice. Jeongyeon scratches her nape.
“Sorry I got a little…” The short-haired girl trails off, avoiding eye contact. “Occupied. With… something.”
Someone. Nayeon thinks Jeongyeon wants to say instead. Jeongyeon waves off the curious--- and infuriatingly teasing--- gaze on Nayeon's face.
Nayeon catches Jeongyeon glance at the Ravenclaw table before clearing her throat. Nayeon chooses not to mention it.
"Right," she says, her voice painted with sarcasm. Jeongyeon only blushes, the faintest shade of pink on her cheeks. "So preoccupied that you couldn't bother to wake your roommate, who's also your best friend, that's sleeping two feet away from you, up?" Jeongyeon giggles.
"I thought about it." Jeongyeon makes a thinking gesture with her hands, her finger on her temple. "Though, I really did not want to have to hear your loud-ass voice while you sing in the shower."
Nayeon doesn't get the chance to laugh when the door of the great hall opens, a loud thump resounding through the walls as the huge doors are opened with such force.
There stands a 6th year Slytherin. His mouth formed a scowl, eyebrows furrowed in... anger? Nayeon's not too sure. He seems to be stomping up to the Slytherin table, eyes set on someone. Nayeon has to crane her neck to the left to see clearly.
Oh. He's stomping--- no, lunging--- at Myoui Mina.
The boy pulls his wand out.
Mina manages to dodge the spell thrown at her. Nayeon studies her composure.
She seems amused. Her mouth had tugged into a smirk, arms crossed at her chest.
The man doesn't seem to be as happy as Mina, though.
"Stupefy!" The red light flies at the Myoui.
Mina is quick to cast a shielding spell. "Protego."
Nayeon raises an impressed eyebrow at how quick Mina's instincts kicked in. Jeongyeon grumbles, whispering something like "damn it, why does the rascal have to miss" or something equally rude.
"What is wrong with you?" The boy's steps grow angrier each word. Mina only stares at him, her face void of any emotion.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"This." The boy points at his teeth, hiding it with his own palms. No one gets to see what exactly his pointing at but it surely makes Mina throw her head back, laughing. The boy's next words are whispered, the anger on his face not subsiding one bit.
Nayeon sees Professor Snape get up from his chair. Oh well, Nayeon wouldn't want anything more than Myoui Mina getting into trouble. The boy gulps visibly, keeping his mouth closed. Mina only lets out a bored sigh.
"What is the meaning of this?" Snape's voice echoes in the room. It's so quiet that a pin could drop and it would gather attention. "Ms. Myoui? Would you please explain?"
"Sir, I---" The boy quickly interrupts.
"Sir, she did this," He points as his teeth. His abnormally enlarged teeth. The entire hall snickers, some laughing quite obviously. Those some being Slytherins.
Mina's smile drops when Snape turns to look at her. They talk in whispers, ending with Mina's eyes furrowing quite adorably before her shoulders slump and she's forced to reverse the spell and...
Nayeon's train of thoughts pause.
Did she just call Mina adorable?
Nayeon grabs on her goblet of pumpkin juice, a bit too harshly, slurping it all down in two seconds.
When she looks back up, the hall is slowly going back to their previous conversations, gossiping about little things. Some were even making theories about why Myoui Mina had done that.
Jeongyeon starts talking about the new, expensive broom in the... Nayeon doesn't really listen, still too busy being frustrated at her subconscious for having such thoughts.
She glances at the Slytherin table, catching the sight of Myoui Mina shoving potatoes in her mouth, her cheeks puffing. Nayeon gulps. Suddenly the thought of the Myoui being adorable doesn't seem so impossible anymore.
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Nayeon fixes her robe, dashing in the halls of Hogwarts.
She's late to her third class, Potions.
She's still trying to fix her tie when she approaches the door to the classroom, bumping into someone.
"Sorry!" She's quick to apologize, helping the person pick her bag up. She tries to pick up the girl's quill, the other witch seems to be doing so, too. Their fingers touch for the slightest second. Her hands are soft, Nayeon takes note of.
Her hand is pushed away immediately. She almost says sorry, again.
The apology is pushed back down her throat when she realized she's faced with none other than Myoui Mina.
"Watch where you're going." Mina mutters through gritted teeth. "And don't ever touch me."
"Would never even dream of it." Nayeon retaliates.
She missed the flash of offense in Mina's eyes. Was it offense? Nayeon has no time to even try to figure it out. She doesn't know that Mina, herself, can't quite decipher either.
They both walk in together. Nayeon's head is lowered while Mina's--- as always--- is held high.
Slughorn eyes them both, as does the whole classroom. It only occurs to Nayeon right then and there that she looks suspiciously... flushed. She literally radiates I-just-finished-a-makeout-session energy, and she had just walked in with Myoui Mina. She can hear a Ravenclaw whisper about who he thinks would have been the better kisser. Nayeon's eyes widen.
"No! I mean," she composes herself. "Sorry, sir. I had a bit of a wardrobe malfunction."
For the record, Nayeon thinks she would be the better kisser. Mina's lips could not possibly be as good at kissing as it is at smirking, right? Nayeon let's her imagination drift before shaking her head.
Slughorn only smiles at them. "Of course, it's okay." Nayeon relaxes at that. "Though, we've already divided into pairs, I'm afraid. You two would not mind being paired up, surely?" Nevermind. Nayeon tenses again.
She glances back at Mina, who's looking at her boredly. Mina's eyebrows furrow in irritation when Nayeon doesn't answer, leaving the class to stare again. When Nayeon seems to not at all move an inch, Mina speaks up for her.
"Fine." She says timidly. Nayeon looks at her as if she's grown two heads.
Slughorn smiles nervously before gesturing them to sit down. Nayeon sits down first, watching as MIna reluctantly sat beside her.
The Professor turns his attention back to the class. "Today we'll be talking about the truth serum, does anyone know what it's called?"
Nayeon raises her hand, her arm brushing against Mina's shoulder for a good second. She can feel Mina tense.
"Yes, Ms. Im?"
"Veritaserum." Nayeon answers easily. Satisfied with herself. She can hear Mina mutter something along the lines of "know-it-all" or something that Nayeon couldn't care less about.
"Yes. Five points to Gryffindor." Slughorn then pulls out a vial from the pocket of his robes. "This takes 28 days to brew, and the ministry is very strict about it. But today, you're all going to be able to try it out. I will put a pinch of this into some goblets, and all of you will be given the chance to ask questions to your partners." Most students seem excited, some students grumble. Some students being Nayeon and Mina. "But keep in mind that the questions will have to be appropriate," he turns to some Slytherins, such as that Sana girl, who had been partnered up with a very nervous Momo. "I trust you will all be nice to your partners."
Nayeon hears Mina scoff.
Slughorn takes his wand out, pointing it to the goblet on the table. "Geminio," he says, duplicating the goblet. He does this again until there is enough for all the students. "Aguamenti." He then mutters, and the goblets are filled with water. Nayeon zones out when she hears those damn Ravenclaws talk about who's the better kisser. Again.
Nayeon wants to scoff. Obviously she would be better. Of course she'd be better.
Well... she has heard about Mina. If Nayeon really thinks about it, maybe Mina would be the better kisser. Mina sure does look like she'd be a good kisser---
Mina nudges her, harshly. Speak of the devil.
"Ow." Nayeon glares at her. "What---"
"Drink." She hands her a goblet. Oh. Right.
Nayeon takes it slowly, hesitating. Mina must have sensed it. Mina scoffs for probably the thirtieth time this morning.
"Although I would love nothing more than to poison you, Im, I wouldn't want to rot in Azkaban, either."
Nayeon grabs the goblet and sips on it, completely ignoring everything Mina had just said.
"Who's going to ask first?" Nayeon just wants to get it over with already. She fucking dreads the thought of Mina getting to ask her anything and she would have no choice but to tell the truth. She wants to blame Slughorn. Though, she knows that if she wouldn't have been late then none of this would have to happen.
"Me. Obviously." Mina's face is, once again, void of emotion. "Also, why were so you so distracted a while ago? I'm going to make you pay for tiring my hand out and making me hold a goblet for you."
That wasn't even the question, but Nayeon finds her lips moving against her will.
"I was thinking about how good of a kisser you would be."
Fuck.
Silence.
All they can hear are all the other students laughing at the most random things. At least they're happy with their partners. Nayeon reddens before scanning how Mina had reacted. Mina's features are a lot less tense; her mouth slightly agape, eyebrows only the tiniest bit raised in shock, and cheeks pink.
Nayeon makes a mental note to hex herself into oblivion. Maybe that would help her get over this. Fuck, she hates herself---
Mina clears her throat.
"Not the first time I've heard it." Great, Mina's stupid facade is back. Nayeon wants to roll her eyes but she knows that would do her no good.
The silence takes over again. Well, semi-silence. Those damn Ravenclaws are still so damn loud.
"M-My turn," Nayeon internally scolds herself for stuttering. "Why did you enlarge the teeth of that boy?"
MIna raises an un-amused eyebrow. "You mean Felix?" Nayeon nods. "Because---" Mina clamps a hand over her mouth, failing to prevent herself from talking. "Because he brought up that time in second year when I had to pee but I couldn- Fuck." Mina fights herself, giving up a second later. "That time I held in my pee and when I finally reached the bathroom I--- Damn it. I couldn't open the door. Just when I managed to, I couldn't pull my pants down 'cause they were so damn tight so I just---" Mina shuts her eyes. "I just peed my pants in the stall."
Nayeon tried to hold it in. She really did.
She failed.
Nayeon's now laughing so much her throat started to hurt. She can see Mina clench her fist.
"Your laugh is so fucking loud, can you keep it down?" Mina barks out, frowning when Nayeon doesn't listen. "Im, I swear---"
"Okay! Okay, okay." Nayeon finally calms down, grin not leaving her face.
Mina thinks fast, lips curling into a smirk. "My turn. Who'd you fuck before this class?'
Nayeon's mouth moves on it's own accord again. "I didn't fuck anyone. I'm a virgin. I only made out with Jihyo and that's it."
Mina looks like she's holding in a chuckle, probably not allowing herself to chuckle in front of a muggleborn.
"Oh, so that's how we're playing?" Nayeon's voice is now lower. "What's your most embarrassing story?"
Mina's face crumples up in irritation, or annoyance, Nayeon doesn't care. "I used to write about my old crushes on my journal, hearts surrounding their names. I would write their initials beside mine and draw a heart around it."
Nayeon chuckles. "Blackmail material, thank you."
Mina let's out a noise that sounds specifically like a growl. "Well, what's your most embarrassing story?"
"When I was younger I ran half a kilometer because I thought I was being chased by a cow." Nayeon cringes at herself, expecting Mina to laugh her ass off or something. Mina only blinks.
"What's a cow?"
Mina tilts her head and Nayeon thinks she can almost identify as cute.
It's Nayeon's turn to blink. This is her chance to save herself from being embarrassed. "It's a big scary creature! The villain in every muggle story. Trust me, it's very scary."
Mina nods skeptically. Whatever. Nayeon wasn't going to admit that it was a lie and cows aren't actually that scary. She's not letting Myoui have something to use against her.
It silent, but the comfortable kind. The sound of other students chatting is still fairly annoying, though.
Nayeon's voice comes out soft when she asks her next question.
"Why do you hate me so much?"
Her eyes are glued to the ground, too scared to make eye contact, but she hears a strangled sound of panic come from the back of Mina's throat.
"I don't."
Nayeon's head snaps up, watching as Mina almost falls out of her seat. They both freeze, and the storm comes a second later.
"What the fuck, Im!" Mina whisper-yells. They are still in class, after all. Nayeon studies Mina.
Her eyebrows are furrowed in anger. Nayeon doesn't know who the anger is directed to.
"Why did you ask that?"
The Viretaserum takes control of Nayeon. "Because I'm dying to know."
Nayeon shakes her head, as if that would help get the potion out of her system. She faces Mina again.
"Why do you pretend to hate me?"
The bell rings, but Mina doesn't get to escape.
"Because I have to."
And a second later, the pureblood is out the door.
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During lunch, an owl approaches Nayeon at the Gryffindor table. It's not her owl, though, and she doesn't remember sending a letter to her parents. The owl is gorgeous. White fur, yellow eyes, sharp beak. Nayeon finds herself admiring it very much.
The owl drops a note on the table, right in front of her. Nayeon thanks the little feathery bird before opening up the rolled parchment.
Change of schedules, I'm afraid.
We cannot start the project later.
- M
Nayeon ignores the clenching of her stomach.
"Hey, where are you going?" Jeongyeon grabs her wrist before she can leave.
"I'm not very hungry." She lies. Jeongyeon doesn't seem to buy it but softens her hold on the older girl's wrist, anyway.
Nayeon pulls her hand away. When she glances at the Slytherin table, the snarky pureblood is nowhere to be found.