--
At a glance, year four Slytherin prefect Huang Renjun seems cold and has eyes that could probably murder you, and his magic prowess could probably rival the greatest wizard’s if he wants to.
In reality, year four Slytherin prefect Huang Renjun is cold and has eyes that could probably murder you, even before you can test if the last statement is true. Given his pureblood status, house assignment, and being a Parseltongue, it is no wonder that many are afraid him.
Which brings year five Gryffindor Wong Yukhei into a predicament: he likes the tiny boy from the rival house (who could probably kill him in a snap, but let’s not talk about that).
“Look at him,” Yukhei whines pathetically to his friends. He has been spending the last few minutes staring at the back of the Slytherin prefect’s head three rows down.
“Yukhei, stop staring at the boy,” Dejun reprimands through a whisper. Beside him, Kunhang giggles, and Merlin, Dejun inwardly curses himself for choosing to sit in between his two friends.
“But Dejuuuuun,” Yukhei uses the same whining tone, turning his attention to him. “Just look at him, so tiny, so small! I wanna date him!”
“Yukhei, he could probably kill you,” Kunhang mutters.
“No, he won’t! He’s tiny and harmless! Like a kitten!”
“And cats are evil,” Kunhang replies. “He’s not even that small as you claim. Merlin, Yukhei, your size kink is showing.”
At this, Yukhei splutters, face turning a shade of pink. “It’s not, I’m not—”
“Mister Xiao and the two Mister Wongs, would you be so kind as to share what you are talking about?” Divination professor Kwon Yuri suddenly says, and, in a matter of seconds, all eyes were on them.
Yukhei raises his head but as he stares at one particular direction, he finds Huang Renjun staring at him, eyebrows knit. Whether it was of judgment or disinterest, Yukhei doesn’t care, because he just made eye contact with Renjun and he is sure his face turned a shade darker, and—
“We apologize, Professor Kwon,” Yukhei hears his friends saying, and, turning his attention to their professor, he finds her quirking an eyebrow at him.
“I’m sorry, Professor.”
Upon hearing his apology, Professor Kwon resumes class, albeit with a few teasing whispers from their other classmates. Yukhei regrets not maintaining eye contact with his crush for a few seconds longer, because ‘that one time he becomes aware of my existence, it has to be when I am being scolded. Good going, Yukhei.’
“Fifteen points from Gryffindor for being disruptive in class.”
--
Halfway through Saturday, Yukhei reckons what he’s doing is a bad idea, and his bad ideas usually translate into disaster, but since he’s halfway there, Yukhei simply convinces himself to continue and deal with the consequences should they arrive.
Currently, he is hunched away on his desk, furiously scribbling on a piece of paper. He fills the paper halfway before groaning out load, crumpling it and pushing it on the side of his desk along with many other crumpled pieces of paper.
An hour ago, Dejun called him and Kunhang to have lunch, but he waved the two off, insisting to get one without him, and that he’d munch on some muggle snacks instead.
Right now, Kunhang is back on his bed, reading a book he most probably got from Yukhei’s stuff. Or maybe it’s his own. Yukhei isn’t sure anymore. He didn’t notice he was staring for a few seconds until Kunhang snapped his fingers at him, and only then did he realize that he hasn’t finished writing yet.
Cursing himself for being distracted, Yukhei turns his attention back to the paper he is writing on, only to find a huge drop of ink on the paragraph he is writing, blotting the words around its perimeter.
“Kunhang, can I have some paper?” Yukhei turned who his friend who was back on his book. “I ruined mine.”
“Yeah,” Kunhang answers. “I think there’s some on my desk or in my shelf.”
He rummages through Kunhang’s desk, finding some stuff of his own. To be fair, he’s sure not everything on his desk is his own, anyway; after all, it’s an unspoken rule as roommates to share things. He gets a few pieces of pastel coloured paper from one of Kunhang’s desk drawer, deeming it enough for whatever he plans on writing, before a stack of red-coloured envelope took his attention.
“Hey, can I have one of these red envelopes?”
Kunhang, too engrossed in his book, didn’t respond until Yukhei repeated the question.
“Huh? Uh, yeah, do whatever you want…”
And so, Yukhei did whatever he wanted, getting three pieces instead of one as he originally planned. It’s fine, these are just envelopes, it’s not like they’re special.
There’s a nagging feeling at the back of his head urging him to stop whatever he is doing, which he pointedly ignores. Instead, he’s determined to prove to this, this nagging feeling that it’s wrong, Yukhei is right, and that nagging feeling should stop and shut up.
If only he knew…
__
Monday comes rolling in no time, and the Great Hall is filled with the chattering of the student. Per usual, Yukhei has his eyes trained at the end of the Hufflepuff table, where a certain Slytherin prefect is seated, quietly eating a sausage and listening to his friend, Lee Donghyuck.
See, one of the reasons why Yukhei simply refuses to believe that Renjun is evil is because of his friends: the Lee twins from Hufflepuff, Jeno and Donghyuck, and Gryffindor Seeker, Na Jaemin.
He’s heard a couple of stories about the Lee twins, with Donghyuck being a bit eccentric and a prankster, and Jeno being best described as soft, perhaps due to the fact that he is fond of every creature in existence, from pygmy puffs to thestrals. Meanwhile, Jaemin, aside from being in the same house, is muggle-born like himself, and while there are certainly some people still keen on the stereotypical mindset that Slytherins do not mingle with other houses, moreover, with muggles, Huang Renjun is doing the exact opposite.
He observes more, his heart melting at the sight of a smile blooming in Renjun’s face at something Lee Jeno said, while his twin shook his head, probably in exasperation, and Na Jaemin is doubled over in laughter.
The doors to the Great Hall opened and in flew the owls, carrying parcels and letters. Exuberant chatters filled the already-lively dining place as the packages were dropped to their respective owners. Beside him, Kunhang was gushing about his new broomstick, Nimbus 2020, which was sent by his grandmother. Yukhei gushed with him for about fifteen seconds, marveling at the newest edition of the Nimbus, but his eyes automatically looked at Renjun’s direction.
“Hey, Yukhei,” Dejun nudged him. “Stop staring at the poor boy, for Merlin’s sake!”
“Can’t help it,” he mumbles. Yukhei thought back to the letter he was writing over the weekend. In his will to make the most perfect letter to write a confession, he ran out of scented stationery paper (they had cute succulent prints as border, which he bought from the muggle world). Remembering this, he set an alarm on his phone (yes, he brought his own phone and enchanted it, but more and more wizards are adopting the muggle technology so it’s not that weird) to finish writing the draft first before giving the letter to Renjun, but he hadn’t thought that far yet.
He sees Renjun’s grey Great horned owl, Luna, dropping a red envelope on her master’s lap, looking similar to the ones he got from his roommate’s drawer, briefly wondering if it was his letter, but immediately dismissed the idea.
No, he thinks, maybe it’s from his parents or something. Mine is safe and sound on my desk.
He sees Donghyuck snatching the envelope away from Renjun’s hands, raising it above his head as the owner tries to reach for it. Jeno ate quietly, used to his twin’s antics, while Jaemin was just laughing at them.
Being the prankster that he is, Donghyuck teasingly raised the flap of the opening of the envelope, nudging Renjun, but the latter turned his attention back on his food. Donghyuck nudged him again, this time using the red envelope, which then the owner tried to steal, but to no avail. He sees the Slytherin prefect wrap an arm around the Hufflepuff’s neck, and the table they’re sitting in erupted in laughter, probably used to the common sight of the two friends bickering.
Donghyuck flailed his arms dramatically, and from his position, Yukhei could vaguely hear him shouting something which sounded like ‘Let go of me, you devil’s spawn!’ and ‘Jeno, will you please help your twin?’
Suddenly, Headless Nick appeared in their table, effectively startling just about everyone, including Yukhei himself. In his surprise, Donghyuck threw Renjun’s envelope into the air, landing on his own plate of mashed potatoes.
”HEY SLYTHERIN PREFECT, HUANG RENJUN,
YOU PROBABLY DON’T KNOW ME, BUT I KNOW YOU.
IF YOU WANT TO KNOW ME, THEN MEET ME AT THE GREENHOUSE. SSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHH
I WILL TELL SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHH YOU THE EXACT TIME AND DATE IN MY NEXT LETTER.
AND PLEASE DON’T TELL ANYONE ABOUT THIS, YEAH? SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHH”
Yukhei was surprised as everyone turned their attention to him. Kunhang and Dejun both had their mouths agape, but he couldn’t understand the reason why. And hell, why would anyone open a Howler at breakfast? No matter how loud it is, the receiver should at least have some sense of privacy and open it in their room.
Wait…
Why does the howler sound vaguely familiar? And why does it sound vaguely menacing, if not threatening? On top of that, the howler is addressed to Renjun, so it’s within his rights to be concerned.
Right?
He feels Kunhang nudging his side using his elbow, while Dejun resorted to pinching his arm.
It was then that realization dawned unto him, seeing his friends’ questioning but urgent eyes.
He wrote the content of the howler.
It was his voice that echoed in the Great Hall.
He understood why there were static-esque noise within the howler, and it was due to him erasing some words or phrases he’s not content with, erasing furiously with his quill.
All eyes were still on him, and he can just feel how hot his whole face, including his ears, are. He’s probably giving their house banners a run for their money, knowing how red he is. Still, he can’t bring himself to look at the Hufflepuff’s table.
At this particular moment, Yukhei wants nothing more than to Avada Kedavra himself.
Who cares if it’s a forbidden spell.
__
Yukhei thinks about asking Kunhang and Dejun to cast a spell on him to make him sick, maybe with symptoms similar to that of a stomach bug or flu or some sort of food poisoning. It doesn’t even have to be a spell. In fact, he has half the mind to go and find the troll, or maybe even Cerberus, in hopes that they could make some damage on his body to make him forget about The Happening at the Great Hall earlier.
He’s heard whispers about him throughout the day, and if that wasn’t enough, students from the Slytherin house not-so-secretly sent a glare his way, whether they were from the higher year or lower year than him. Kang Seulgi, a year six, didn’t bother to hide her obvious distaste when he passed by her at the third floor. He knows that her friend Irene Bae, even with a stoic face, is judging him with her eyes.
Humiliation burns through him as he let out a loud yelp in Herbology, one class that he doesn’t share with his two friends. Somehow, he was seated beside another Slytherin whose name he cannot remember, and he hit Yukhei at the side of his head, with the gist of stretching and arm to fold the sleeve of his robe.
He supposes he cannot blame them, though. After all, it did seem like he wants to battle with their prefect.
But honestly the only battle that Yukhei is willing to fight is when it comes to Renjun’s heart, maybe a battle of their tongues, just like those depicted in his mother’s Mills & Boon pocketbooks with half-naked guys on the cover, when the time comes.
Halfway through his last class for the day, Yukhei decided that he’s going straight to his room, again, to wallow in humiliation and self-pity. His stomach is begging for food, but it’s nothing a few handfuls of gummy bears won’t solve. So he won’t get to eat a cake or two for dinner like he’s always done at least three to four times a week since first year, but he convinces himself that it’s good to have a change once in a while.
Too deep in his thoughts, he didn’t even realize that the lessons have finished and that everyone is starting to leave the room. His seatmate, whom he shall refer to as USB (short for Unknown Slytherin Boy), didn’t even bother to tell him that the class has ended, merely taking his things and walking away.
How mean.
With a sigh, he caps his ink bottle, making sure it won’t spill, before placing it together with his quill in a wooden case. He steps out of the room, only to be stopped by a familiar voice he knows all too well.
“Wong Yukhei, a word,” the way Huang Renjun spoke his name sounded like a choir of angels, at least, that’s what he thinks. It wasn’t hostile, yet it exudes authority and demands attention, in pretty much a Huang Renjun way.
Renjun walks, and Yukhei follows, falling a few steps behind. Around them, students started to whisper, a few louder than the others. He has no idea where the younger is taking him, but he really cannot bring himself to ask.
But then it sinks to him, Renjun wants to talk. He wants to talk about the confession, the letter, the howler. Oh my god, Renjun wants to talk! Renjun wants to talk! My crush wants to talk! Renjun wants to talk! RENJUN WANTS TO—
And so, without another word, Yukhei bolts to the opposite direction, disregarding the younger’s calls for his name. In his mind, he thanks his ancestors for providing good genes that made him a bearer of long legs which are perfect to use in such situation like this.
__
Back in his room, Yukhei takes a piece of paper (from his own desk this time!), writing down a list titled,
Yukhei’s x-Point Ways to Avoid Your Crush After Embarrassing Yourself In Front of Them (and the whole of Hogwarts!) (hopefully 100% foolproof!)
- Skip meals at the Great Hall.
Skipping meals at The Great Hall is the sure way to avoid unnecessary interaction with a.) People you like; b.) People you don’t like; c.) People who don’t like you; d.) People you know mutually; e.) People who know you but you don’t know, among others. If undoable, demand your friends to bring you food instead. Guilt-tripping works (kinda, but most probably).
- Avoid people.
Avoid people, most especially your crush and his friends. Avoid people from other houses. Avoid people from your own house. Better yet, live like a hermit. #goingsololololololo
- Transfer schools
Ilvermorny or Mahoutokoro School of Magic don’t seem so bad, also perhaps going back to the muggle world in pursuit of higher education??? But we’ll see…
...will be updated from time to time
Yukhei makes sure to keep the parchment in the deepest part of his closet, along with a few other trinkets he brought from home. As an extra precaution, he hides it inside a box which he casted a spell on. Just as he finished dumping the rest of his clothes back in, the door slams open and in barge Kunhang and Dejun, both out of breath.
“Yukhei,” his roommate wheezed. “You, we—”
“Huang Renjun asked us about you!” Dejun managed to say in a voice which very much sounded like a dying whale.
The cogs in his head started turning, thinking of every possible worst case scenario. Huang Renjun asking for him? For what reason? Is the Slytherin prefect going to inform him that Yukhei will be picked up by someone from St. Mungo’s Hospital? Perhaps, Azkaban?
“He said he wanted to talk to you but you ran away from him earlier,” Kunhang mumbles before taking the water goblet his friend was drinking from.
“Yeah and he told us to tell you that he wants to talk, immediately, or else.”
Yukhei gulps the invisible lump in his throat. “Or else what?”
To this, his friends shrugged.
Silence enveloped the room, save for the clanking of the goblet against wood when Kunhang finally placed the vessel down. In this kind of situation, Yukhei can’t help but overthink about the open-ended statement Huang Renjun passed on to him through his friends. The rational part of his mind thinks that he does need to talk to the younger, but there’s also the irrational fear of just—basically the worst.
“Yukhei,” Kunhang calls for his attention. “I want to apologize, by the way.”
“For what?”
“Actually,” Kunhang bit his lip. “Everything’s my fault. I thought you were finished writing your letter so I took it upon myself to bring it with me to the Owlery because I had a parcel to send. On top of that, I should have paid more attention when you were talking to me that night, so I could have told you about the howler. And I swear I didn’t know about the content of your letter, well, at least not until this morning. But still, I should have asked you!”
Yukhei can see the guilt reflected in his friend’s face, and he couldn’t bring himself to get angry. Kunhang didn’t know, so who was he to crucify an innocent for not knowing?
“Don’t worry,” Yukhei sends him a half-smile. “I don’t blame you, you were only trying to help. What’s done is done. I’ll figure something out, and then I’ll talk to Renjun. We’re okay.”
“Oh, you sap!” Dejun exclaims, pulling Yukhei by the arm to join the mess of a pile of their bodies on the bed. For this, Yukhei is glad to have his friends who make things slightly better.
__
Additional point for YXPWAYCAEYFT:
- Take longer ways to go to classes.
In relation to the second item on the list (see above), it is one way to avoid people. Pros: longer walk, maybe having to walk faster, exercise (??), getting to explore more of Hogwarts, avoiding the LOML; cons: higher chances of being late for class, also avoiding the LOML, tiring.
…will be updated from time to time
…the list shall be referred to as The List from this point forward because both the title and the acronym are a mouthful but I don’t want to change it anymore because I worked hard on those :(
Yukhei is quite sure that by now, Renjun is most probably aware of his schedule. To avoid the younger Slytherin, he uses a Marauders map, one he got from an upperclassman named Ten Lee, who has a penchant for trouble. Unfortunately, it meant having to avoid his usual routine he takes from class to class, which also meant taking just a little too much roundabouts around Hogwarts.
Not that he’s proud about it, but he thinks that the fact that he’s able to avoid the Slytherin prefect for three weeks now is something commendable. Admittedly, he exerted a lot of efforts for doing so. He’s also thankful that within those days, talks about The Incident has been dwindling, albeit little by little. He still gets lingering gazes especially from the Slytherins, but as long as the ‘accidental’ tripping and shoulder bumps stop, he’s fine. On the plus side, he thinks his senses have heightened (or he became paranoid, but no one’s asking).
That particular afternoon, Yukhei is running away again, Renjun hot on his tail, totally disregarding the curious glances of the other students, or the prefects reprimanding them that they passed by along the way. Frankly speaking, Yukhei has no idea where he is right now, just that he’s relying in his long legs to take him wherever and away from the younger Slytherin. He sneaks a look, finding nobody behind him, although he could vaguely hear footsteps coming to his direction.
Heaving a sigh, he ran up a staircase, taking two steps at a time. Heading to no particular direction, he finds himself almost losing his breath, running to and fro the corridor, desperately thinking of a place to hide in. He’s exhausted, probably with low sugar, and he could really have some sugary food like cake right now. He was about to risk it and go down and resign to his fate, face confrontation with Renjun, when a certain door makes him stop in his tracks.
Weird…
He’s sure the door wasn’t there when he first passed by that particular wall, but now…
With cautious movements, he pushes the door open, and was promptly surprised to see a spacious room, walls painted white. In the middle stood a long table, filled with various array of desserts and ice-cold drinks.
He finds nobody inside, and so, he invites himself over, helping himself to the drink nearest to him, which is canned soda. It immediately quenches his parched throat, sighing in content as the carbonated drink hits his throat, thanking the heavens for whoever decided to share their creation to the world.
He also helps himself to the desserts, taking a huge bite of the black forest cake. He instantly feels reenergized, and lets himself enjoy more of the sweets.
(In his mind, Yukhei convinces himself that he deserves everything, after skipping meal times and spending his energy running away from his crush.)
__
“We’re brewing a certain potion for today,” Professor Taeyeon informs the class. “Majority of you may be familiar with it, but others may have not heard of it before. A telltale sign of this potion is its appearance: a distinct, mother-of-pearl sheen. Does anyone know?”
Renjun promptly raises his hand.
“Mister Huang, yes?”
“It’s amortentia, professor,” Renjun says. “Amortentia, in the simplest form, is also known as love potion. The ingredients for amortentia include rose thorns and moonstone. Unlike other potions, though, it has no distinct smell, as its smell differs from person to person, usually reminding one person of scents that they associate with the person they like or have feelings for, whether they are conscious of it or not.”
Professor Taeyeon nods as he speaks, clearly impressed. “Impressive. Fifteen points to Slytherin.”
Yukhei is sure that the heavens hate him, because why else would he be sharing his class with Slytherins, and, more importantly, with Renjun?
Their professor drawls on for a few minutes longer, showing them a glass vial with a pink liquid swirling inside, before motioning for them to start brewing their potions in groups of threes. At this, both Kunhang and Dejun immediately got up to gather the ingredients, while Yukhei was left staring at their empty cauldron, silently praying that he doesn’t embarrass himself in front of the whole class (especially Renjun).
Renjun…
His eyes immediately searches for the prefect, admiring the back of his head. Everything about him just perfect, he thinks—from his neatly ironed robe to his silky hair that looks soft to touch.
He sees Renjun stiffening in his seat, before turning his body to look at his direction. With a surprised squeak, Yukhei opens his textbook to cover his face, clearing his throat when his friends came back with the ingredients and questioning eyes, and only then did he put it down.
They started working on their potion diligently, putting the precise amount of each ingredient. In the middle of their brewing, Dejun and Kunhang were arguing whether to stir it clockwise or counterclockwise, earning stares from the whole class. Thankfully, professor Taeyeon mediated and informed the whole class that the direction doesn’t matter, as long as the ingredients are added according to directions.
They must be doing something right, because barely six minutes later, the concoction in their cauldron turned a familiar shade of pink with a mother-of-pearl sheen, similar to what their professor showed them earlier, and Dejun excitedly calls for her attention.
“Professor Taeyeon, our amortentia is done,” Dejun raised his hand. Professor Taeyeon approaches them, smiling kindly as the pink-colored liquid, before turning her attention to them.
“What do you smell?”
Kunhang brought his face closer to the cauldron, inhaling deeply. “I smell…the ocean? It’s like this salty sea breeze. I can also smell something similar to pumpkin pasties, and a little bit of smoke, like that from the Hogwarts Express.” Scrunching his eyebrows, he adds, “There’s something else, it’s quite unfamiliar to me, so I don’t exactly know what to define it as… perhaps something… herby?”
“And you, Mister Xiao?”
“There’s the scent of leather, professor,” Dejun replies, scrunching his nose. “Very faint, but I can tell it’s the good, genuine kind. I can smell grass clippings, like freshly mowed lawn. There’s also something…fruity? Either apples or pear, but I’m not too sure.”
“Good, good,” Professor Taeyeon nods at the two before looking at Yukhei. “Mister Wong?”
Yukhei feels his face heating up, and he can only imagine himself turning bright red. With a stutter, he beckons some of the smoke closer to his face, letting the mixture of scents come to him. “I can smell some jasmine, but not like the flowery kind. It’s more subtle in a way, perhaps like jasmine tea when it’s freshly brewed. There’s also the smell of petrichor—the smell of rain when it hits the ground, as well as old books. Lastly, there’s also the scent of melted butter, similar to when there are cookies fresh from the oven and the smell just wafts through the air.”
He feels everyone’s eyes on him, including Renjun’s. From his peripheral vision, he sees the Slytherin staring at him with crossed arms, leaning comfortably against his own desk, and he immediately feels his whole face heating up, words turning smaller as he reaches the end of his explanation, but Professor Taeyeon simply smiles at him, satisfied with their answers.
“Very good, detailed description. For you to know and be aware what those scents are only means one thing: you brewed the potion correctly. Thank you for sharing your insights, gentlemen. Twenty points for Gryffindor.”
His friends, as well as the other Gryffindors in class, cheered loudly, but Yukhei can’t bring himself to cheer with them, thinking about the scents he smelled in their potion. He tuned out the chatters around him, only zoning back in once he heard Renjun’s voice speaking.
“It smells like eucalyptus or peppermint to me,” Renjun says, voice full of confidence as usual. “There’s also chocolate, with the barest hint of nutmeg and cinnamon. There’s something else—a scent I cannot discern, it smells vaguely like the forest.”
It’s short, and Yukhei wanted to hear more, until he comes to a realization.
Renjun smells something from his amortentia.
Renjun can smell something.
Which means Renjun has feelings for someone…
It immediately dampens his mood, zoning out for the rest of the class. Of course, Renjun’s allowed to have feelings for someone else that isn’t Yukhei, and it’s not like Yukhei expects him to return his feelings (maybe he’s expecting, just a little, teeny, tiny bit).
(Okay, scratch that. He’s actually hoping for Renjun to like him as well.)
But maybe it’s actually time for him to give up—talk with Renjun, apologize or something, move on with his life.
Easier said than done.
He’s pulled from his reverie when Kunhang taps his shoulder, looking at him with worried eyes, he and Kunhang both. Looking around, he’s surprised to find everyone gone, and it was only him that remained seated, which prompts him to fix his things immediately.
“You okay, man?” Kunhang asked, and he replies with half a smile. They begin walking back to their dormitory, and Yukhei could see Renjun talking to one of the Slytherins in their potions class, one which he cannot remember.
Their eyes met, and with a hurried goodbye to the Slytherin, Renjun stalks to his direction confidently and with purpose. “Yukhei Wong. I want to talk to you.”
Okay, so maybe just a few moments prior, Yukhei convinced himself to talk to Renjun, but it has become like a habit for him. It’s like a Pavlovian response, he thinks, that every time the Slytherin prefect approaches him, he runs to the opposite direction. Renjun is Pavlov, and he is the dog.
Which is why he’s running away from Renjun. Again.
And Renjun is chasing after him. Again.
His feet brought him back to the familiar staircase leading to the empty corridor, and he desperately thinks of the same room filled with sweets he can eat to drown his sorrow. Barely a second passes and the door appears without him noticing, but for which he is thankful for. It’s exactly what he needed: a vast room for himself where he can cry, try to mend his broken heart, and eat all the sweets he deserves after getting his heart broken.
He shuts the door behind him with a loud bang, totally uncaring as he knows it’s impossible for someone else to enter without knowing the purpose the room is used for. The Room of Requirements, he remembered it being called, provided him some sort of haven despite it being only the second time for him to be in it. Inside is similar to what he had the first time he was here, but aside from the all the sugary stuff on the long table, he finds another table beside it, a smaller, round one, with heaps of tissue packets stacked atop one another, as well as handkerchiefs and similar pieces of cloth, probably to be used to wipe his tears away.
With a determined nod, he sits at the end of the long table, taking a slice of some cake and started eating.
Yukhei barely finished eating the first slice when the door slams open, revealing a tired Slytherin prefect, with robe almost falling off of his body and hair in complete disarray. Renjun looks around for a few seconds, and, seeing Yukhei, marches to him with heavy steps. Seeing a can of soda in his hands, Renjun snatches the can from him, taking a huge gulp before slamming it down the table. Yukhei’s fork rattles and falls, but the two made no movement to pick up the fallen utensil.
“You keep running away from me,” Renjun says with a glare, trying to keep his voice steady.
Yukhei opens and closes his mouth like a fish, finding no words to reply. Finally, he settles on giving the smaller a nod, thinking whether or not he should make a run for it.
“You’ve wasted enough of my time making me run after you for a few weeks now. So right now, I’m going to talk, and you’re going to listen to me. You won’t say a single word until I finish talking or until I allow you to do so. Understand?”
“Yes, sir,” Yukhei managed to squeak out, frantically nodding his head.
Renjun gives him half a smirk, holding back his laugh. “It’s way too early in this relationship for you to be calling me that. And I’d like to hear that somewhere else, not in this room.”
Yukhei splutters, turning red at his words, staring wide-eyed at the Slytherin prefect, but Renjun immediately schooled his expression into a stoic one as he begins talking.
“You gave me a howler, yes?” He states more than questioned, raising his hand to stop the other when Yukhei opens his mouth to speak. Seeing the Gryffindor purse his lips and nod, he continues. “Whether or not it was you who sent me that howler, and whether or not it was an accident, the fact that you were the one to write it still stands. Now, after that—that fiasco, so to speak—at the Great Hall, numerous times, I’ve tried talking to you. But you always run away from me. For what reason, I have no idea. I’ve tried asking you personally, I’ve tired asking your two friends, and I know they relayed my message, but still, no result.
Now, right here, right now, you’re going to talk. You’re going to tell me what’s with you and what’s with that howler, and you’re going to tell me everything. And don’t you dare say a lie, or else.”
Whatever that ‘or else’ meant, Yukhei doesn’t want to risk it.
“Start talking.”
“I LIKE YOU!” Yukhei blurts out without preamble. It surprised them both, and Renjun’s mouth falls open. His ‘fight or flight’ alarm blares loudly in his head, and he almost chose flight, thinking of running away, but his more rational side won with fight.
After all, Gryffindors are supposedly brave, right?
“I like you,” Yukhei says again, this time more mellow. “For three years now. A-at first I was just curious, because y-you’re a pureblooded Slytherin, a-and there’s always this stigma that you don’t mingle with muggles—or even anyone from another House for that matter! But you’re friends with the Lee twins from Hufflepuff, and also Na Jaemin from Gryffindor, who’s also a muggle-born like myself. A-and I know you’ve been ostracized by some fellow purebloods for that, but you didn’t care, and I really admire you for that.
And, I don’t know, I guess my eyes just automatically follow you when you’re in the vicinity, and then as I observed you more, my curiosity just grew, and then I realized that I actually like you. I just...during mealtimes, I like seeing you eat and laugh with your friends, during the classes we share, I like staring at your hair, and when you push your glasses back when it slides down, and when you mindlessly tap your quill on your desk. Not in a creepy way, I promise! I…I really just like watching you.”
At the end of his, both of them were blushing red, Renjun more than Yukhei. The latter thinks whether or not he revealed too much, but told himself that since he’s in that situation anyway, he might as well go all out.
“Y-your amortentia…?”
Yukhei takes a sip of his soda before speaking. “It was on a weekend, Hogsmeade day. There was a slight drizzle and I was at Madam Puddifoot’s. I was sitting alone since Kunhang and Dejun went somewhere else to buy something, then you entered with your friends and sat on the table behind me. And I guess you’re regulars, because I heard her saying she brought your usual and it smelled a lot like jasmine tea.”
“You’re right,” Renjun mumbles. “I like jasmine tea.”
“Right,” Yukhei clears his throat, looking away. “And I guess the melted butter was from that time I passed by the kitchen and I saw you and Na Jaemin baking something at night, and some of the house elves were helping you. I think they’re fond of you.”
His mind reels back to that particular night, when Yukhei was hit by insomnia and homesickness, as it was the day he returned to Hogwarts at the beginning of a new term. He strolled around the castle, just passing time. In his quest to avoid whoever else was loitering (such as prefects, professors, House ghosts, or worse, Filch), he decided to go to the kitchen. But as he neared the place, he heard some familiar voices, one of which belonging to none other than Huang Renjun.
Seeing the Slytherin prefect just enjoying with his friend immediately brought a smile to his face. Hiding behind the wall, he observed them for a while, heart filling with warmth as he witnessed how the two treated the house elves with respect, and how the house elves acted at ease around them.
He relays everything to Renjun, telling him again how much he admired the Slytherin, how much he felt his heart flutter at the sight of his smile and at the sound of his laugh which were all genuine.
Neither of them spoke for a while; Yukhei focused his attention on his cake, picking at the buttercream using the fork that somehow appeared by his plate, while Renjun fidgeted with the sleeves of his robe.
“I don’t think you’re aware of it either, but,” Renjun murmurs, finally breaking the silence, “do you know the first time you actually caught my attention?”
Yukhei furrows his eyebrows before shaking his head, confused. For as long as he has been harboring feelings for Renjun, he’s always been content on admiring him from afar, as any personal interaction would send him into (gay) panic, at least within the confines of his room.
“Figures,” Renjun mumbles. With a determined sigh, he takes a step closer to Yukhei, forcing the other to lean back slightly on his chair. “It was at Madam Puddifoot’s as well. You were with Wong Kunhang and Xiao Dejun, and you asked for this—this—weird concoction!” gesturing with his hands, he added, “You asked for hot coffee, then proceeded to ask her to add a hint of nutmeg and cinnamon and a dash of peppermint and a dollop of whipped cream of top. And I thought that you must be insane, because no way will that taste good.”
“It does!” Yukhei defends, startling Renjun. “It does taste good!”
And it truly does, for Yukhei, at least.
The night before Hogsmeade day, he was on his phone, watching YouTube videos of baristas making drinks that taste just like the overpriced coffee from Starbucks (he’s more of a Tim Hortons or convenience store canned coffee guy, but let us not dwell on that), and it made him miss home.
He supposes it does seem weird to others, but he’s born and raised in the muggle world, accustomed to the food, and he does miss his three-servings-of-dessert-disguised-as-coffee from time to time.
Not noticing that his mind wandered off, he looks at Renjun, who was staring back at him with a raised brow. The younger lets out a sigh, before continuing on with his story. “In a way, I was also curious about you. Jaemin, he’s told me stories of your encounters. Like that one time he saw you with that muggle item called phone, and you lent it to him for three days when he casually mentioned that he missed using his own because he left it in his home. Or when you gave him a treat which was coincidentally his favorite as a child, also from the muggle world, although you weren’t exactly friends.
And then that time at Madam Puddifoot’s, when he approached you table and nonchalantly asked for a sip of your drink because it smelled good, and you just let him, even offering to buy him a similar one. And although he refused, mere moments later, you were at our table with a tray of drinks and pastries and you said that those were for us, not just for Jaemin. You got me jasmine tea, I didn’t even get to thank you before you’re gone.”
Yukhei remembered that day well; maybe he could consider himself as an opportunist in a way, because even though he’s not friends with Na Jaemin despite being in the same house and muggle-born, he took the chance to do something for Renjun. But the bigger part of him simply did it because he wanted to, because he considered it rude to buy the other Gryffindor a drink and have none for his friends. Still, it’s an opportunity he took.
“So, Wong Yukhei, I hope you understand what I’m saying,” with a smile, he leans down to place a kiss on Yukhei’s cheek. It was soft and gentle, as though it was a butterfly’s wing that fluttered against his face, which completely left he taller staring at him dumbfounded and mouth agape.
Without another word, the Slytherin leaves the room, taking the can of soda with him on his way out.
What just happened?
__
Additional point for The List
- Observe more (?)
This points speaks for itself. Huang Renjun is confusing.
…will be updated from time to time
The following week, Yukhei didn’t avoid Renjun that much, only taking the longer routes to classes three days out of five. He still felt wary, finding the latter’s action and last statement confusing. During mealtimes, he felt the younger’s eyes on him numerous times, and every time he looks at Renjun’s direction, the prefect would be staring at him, lifting one corner of his lips to a smirk before taking a bite of his food, all without breaking eye contact with him.
Perhaps it’s on purpose, or maybe it’s not, but Yukhei is sure it’s not his imagination seeing the Slytherin prefect dart his tongue to lick his lips while staring at him, an eyebrow arching afterwards, that leaves him choking on his food.
He’s also sure that it is not his imagination when Renjun bumped into him at the corridors, walking away without another words and leaving him and everyone that witnessed it in bafflement, but when he placed his hand in the left pocket of his robe, he felt a neatly folded piece of paper. Once in class, he discreetly unfurls the small piece of parchment, seeing words scribbled in Renjun’s neat handwriting.
RoR, 2000H. Think of me.
I’ll be waiting.
__
Sneaking out and avoiding everyone was a feat harder than he imagined, but barely five minutes before the time Renjun wrote, Yukhei was pacing back and forth in front of the blank wall, lost in the thought of Renjun’s soft lips brushing against his unworthy cheek with the subtlest touch. Without him realizing, the familiar door appeared, slightly ajar, as though waiting for him to come inside.
His hand touches the hardwood, pausing for a moment to take a deep breath. Frankly speaking, he has no idea what to expect and see inside aside from his crush. But with a burst of courage, he pushes to door open, jaw dropping by what he sees inside.
He doesn’t know what he’s expecting, but certainly not this.
This, meaning Renjun in a deep maroon velvet tux, waiting for him by the door. This, meaning the Room of Requirements being a bare, dimly lit vast room, save for the three white candles of varying heights on a golden candleholder atop a round table for two.
This, meaning Renjun guiding him by the waist and pulling a chair for him to sit on, and in front of him was a plate of lasagna and garlic bread which both looked and smelled heavenly and mouthwatering, if not for Renjun sitting in front of him with also the two adjectives being a perfect description for him.
“W-what’s this?” Yukhei croaks, throat dry. Renjun all but smiles at him, making the tiny dimple by the corner of his lips appear.
“Eat up. Then we’ll talk. I’ll tell you what you want to know.”
Yukhei just finished the last bite of his food. They didn’t utter a single word throughout the entire meal, but that doesn’t meant Yukhei didn’t steal glances at Renjun every three seconds. Forget being discreet, Yukhei had a lot of thoughts in his mind, questions he wanted answers to. Lifting his gaze, he was promptly surprised to see Renjun staring at him with his beautiful smile, cheek resting on his hand
He sputters, and Renjun immediately takes the initiative to hand him a glass of water.
“Careful there,” the Slytherin murmurs, reaching forward to brush some crumbs on the corner of his mouth.
“Thank you,” Yukhei croaks, more nervous than anything. “It’s a nice meal, umm, I enjoyed it?”
“Is that a question?" Renjun’s voice was teasing, one corner of his lips lifted into half a smirk.
“It’s not!” Yukhei exclaims. “It’s not a question. I mean, I really enjoyed it. It was a nice meal, especially since…I’m with you.”
“Well then, I’m glad.”
“Now that we’re done eating, can I ask questions?”
Renjun leans back on his seat, keeping his eyes trained on Yukhei’s own. “Ask away.”
“Y-your amortentia?”
It’s a basic question, Yukhei thinks, and it’s only fair for him to know since he explained his own amortentia’s scent to Renjun.
“I’m surprised you still have to ask,” Renjun says, no bite in his tone. “The peppermint, chocolate and nutmeg and cinnamon. All of those remind me of you Yukhei. Madam Puddifoot’s remember? Although I wasn’t quite sure before what the smell of the forest was from, but I think it is from your perfume. ”
Maybe it is, Yukhei thinks, mentally thanking the many bottles of perfume and cologne he brought from the muggle world the last time he came.
“Next, um, how did you find me?” Seeing Renjun’s confused face, he elaborated, “I mean, how did you find me, here? In the Room of Reuqirements? Because from what I’ve read, one can’t enter while the Room is in use, especially without knowing the Room’s specific purpose.”
“Ah,” Renjun nods. “I just thought of you.”
“W-what?!”
“Isn’t it obvious? You ran away from me, I want to talk to you. I just thought of you. I thought of Wong Yukhei, the Gryffindor who had a howler dedicated to me, the man who dared to run away from a prefect, and a Slytherin, nonetheless. I thought of you, the door appeared, and I found you inside. I wanted to talk to you. I needed to talk to you. And what I needed, the Room provided.”
“Oh,” Yukhei fiddles with his fingers. “Last question?”
“Go on.”
“How did you manage to do this?” he gestures vaguely to the set-up, from their dinner to Renjun’s suit. Looking at himself, he knows he’s underdressed in his black jeans and hoodie, but it’s not like he can rewind and turn back time to dress more appropriately.
“The Room made it all possible, not that this was unwelcome,” the Slytherin shrugged. “I didn’t expect this either. Truthfully, I wanted to talk to you, hence the note. But before I got here, Jaemin showed me this muggle book called A Beginner’s Guide to Dating: 101 Tips to Make Their Hear Flutter. It was complete and utter nonsense, if you ask me, but I guess I was still thinking of it on my way here, because when the door appeared and I got inside, everything is inside, including the food and the suit.”
“You, umm, you look really good,” Yukhei mumbles shyly.
Renjun smirks. “I know. So don’t let this get to waste and dance with me, Wong.” He stands in front of Yukhei, offering his hand for the Gryffindor to take.
Yukhei clumsily stood up, hitting his knee on the table that shook the candles on top. It hurts, but hearing Renjun giggling was worth it, he decided.
Soft music filled the room—piano with a string accompaniment. It’s nothing like Yukhei has heard before, but it sounded beautiful and soothing. He takes Renjun’s outstretched hand, placing the other on the latter’s waist and feeling the softness of velvet under his palm. Not wanting to embarrass himself by stepping on Renjun’s feet, Yukhei kept his eyes trained on the floor to watch his steps and make sure he doesn’t trip.
“Eyes on me, Wong,” Renjun whispers, smiling when Yukhei locks eyes with him.
They waltzed across the room, getting lost in the music, Yukhei more so in Renjun’s eyes. Cliché as it may be, he lets the music guide his body, focusing on the man he’s dancing with.
The candles dimmed some more as the last notes of the music plays, fading into the softest melodies before silence.
Lost in the moment and overwhelmed with his feelings, Yukhei let’s go of Renjun’s hand, only to pull him by the waist. There’s no more music in the background, not even static, but Yukhei is aware how loud his breathing is. Nervously, he closes his eyes, leaning his face close to Renjun until he could feel the other’s own breath mingling with his own.
He’s close, real close.
He doesn’t know exactly how close, but just close.
Only to feel Renjun’s palm on his lips.
Confused, he opens his eyes, and Renjun takes the opportunity to disentangle himself from Yukhei, taking two steps back.
Has he read the signs wrong? Was it just a dream?
“Ah, ah,” Renjun wags a finger close to Yukhei’s face with a teasing smile. “I don’t kiss on the first date. And technically speaking, we haven’t even gone on a date yet.”
Yukhei could only look at him helplessly after being denied a kiss. For a moment, he really thought that everything is but a dream or an illusion.
With a chuckle, Renjun kisses the pad of his thumb, pressing it against Yukhei’s lips afterwards. The action takes the Gryffindor by surprise, staring at him with wide eyes, and even in the dimly-lit room, he knows Renjun knows how flushed his cheeks are.
“But I don’t mind spending Hogsmeade day with you this weekend. Let me know, preferably, not with a Howler.”