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honestly, minho didn't mean to get caught. and surely not so early.

you see, maybe he was just too reckless. but can you blame him? those damn cookies were just too good to resist. biscuits that smelled like heaven on earth and tasted even better, crunchy under his teeth and sinfully addictive. and minho knew he would do anything to get one of those magnificent cookies between his teeth another time. today they could be chocolate, or something fancy like a macaroon. or maybe the stranger liked to bake cakes too, and he would stumble across a carrot cake, or a sacher, or maybe even a cheesecake.

and that's why he found himself getting out of bed and sneaking out of the ravenclaw tower at two in the morning yet again, day after day, led by the memory of his last midnight snack.

you see, minho was definitely a night owl, and most of the time he considered this to be a curse rather than something useful. sure, the times when he procrastinated until the last second and then had to cramp two weeks’ worth of homework in a single night he was glad he was able to stay up until late without any problems, but usually? he often ended up being awake a lot later than he should be, staring at the ceiling while he tossed and turned.

a good walk in the evening air usually helped him, the chill of the night making his thoughts quiet down and getting him tired enough to be able to lie down and actually be able to fall asleep. so, minho decided to sit up, putting his feet in his fluffy slippers (fancily completed with a bunny face on top) and making his way towards the door on his tiptoes, opening it slowly. 

thank merlin he hadn’t left a mess of clothes and schoolbooks on the floor, again , or else his roommate, seungmin, would have surely woken up to him swearing in pain because he had hit his toe on something that wasn't meant to be lying forgotten on the floor. 

but when minho almost tripped over his own feet instead, his younger roommate only shifted, raising his blanket even more, only leaving his nose out while he slept cutely. what a shame he didn’t have his trusted polaroid camera on hand, this would be perfect blackmail material for the times seungmin claimed to be tough and menacing.

minho managed to reach the door without accidents, closing the heavy wood behind him and sighing in relief. he didn’t need any of his friends knowing about what he got up to at night, especially when wandering around after curfew broke a pretty important rule. 

he started making his way down the narrow stairs of the tower, his dark blue gown dragging behind him and creating a swishing sound in the dead quiet of the night, accompanied by the rhythmic clapping of his slippers on the hard floor. 

he took a deep breath, before letting it out slowly and allowing the tingling sensation to take over all of his limbs. minho felt his body grow smaller and smaller, and soon he found himself on all fours, his steps not making a single sound as his padded paws skipped down the stairs, his elegant tail trailing after him. 

you see, being a cat had many perks; he could avoid people he didn't want to talk to (and that, if he was being honest, was almost everyone), he could take naps between lessons curled up under the afternoon sun in the most hidden places, but the thing he preferred the most was being able to sneak out at night without getting caught by anyone. and even if someone saw a cat wandering in the halls, who would say a word? everyone would surely think he was someone's pet, a pretty, orange tabby cat going for a walk, escaping once again from its owner’s room for a quick stroll in the chilly night air. 

who would ever think that, actually, the creature roaming the halls was a young boy, taking the tolls of stress and hard tests in the form of insomnia, disguised in his animagus form? 

you see, this wasn’t really anything new. minho knew the dark corridors like the back of his hands—or, like the back of his paws—and all the little nooks and alcoves to hide in. 

it was a little over two months since he finally managed to come out in this form for the first time. it had been a long process of hard work, keeping a mandrake leaf under his tongue and brewing potions that left his hair smelling weird for days on end (and sometimes exploded, to his dismay), but when he was able to finally accomplish the transformation, minho knew that his hard work had been worth it.

when he had decided he wanted to become a cat, he had been just a little kid, running around the house meowing and laughing. but when he was older and his parents asked what he was most excited to learn when he would start studying at hogwarts in just a few months, teenager minho answered with a sure ‘becoming an animagus!’ and earned deep frowns from both of them. it had taken quite some time to calm down after he was told that he wouldn’t be allowed to do that, that it was dangerous, and that they would be very angry if he even tried it.

but minho was nothing if not stubborn, so on the first day of his third year at hogwarts, he started his research on animagi. it was arduous, and there was hardly any useful material, but after spending days on end trying to sneak into the restricted section of the library, he managed to come across enough articles to figure out what to do.

it was only through sheer perseverance that he managed to learn how to eat with a tea leaf under his tongue, swallowing so many that he was sure he would soon become a kettle, and sleep without choking. but then he managed to keep one for a month, and then tried again only to succeed again, so minho decided he was ready to try the real thing. 

by then, he was so used to the familiar weight of the leaf, and the way his muscles were supposed to move, that the moon cycle went by really smoothly, without the real mandrake leaf losing its spot for even a single moment. he woke up with his heart in his throat about three weeks in, thinking he had swallowed the mandrake when he’d fallen asleep on his ancient runes book while studying in the common room, but fortunately he was able to commit all the way through.

when the day finally came, he crossed his fingers, hoping that there wouldn’t be any clouds hiding the full moon that evening, and finally spit the leaf in a vial together with a weird chrysalis, which had been really hard to come by, together with some dew that had been put away for days and one of his own hair. 

now, he just had to wait, and hope that his personality and stubbornness were enough to turn him into a cat, and not any other animal, like a fish or a weird featherless bird—because, knowing his luck, it might as well happen—while he repeated the same spell every day. and he could confirm that, after saying it for forty times over and over, the words became even more senseless than they were at the start.

so one day, when he was looking outside the common room window, distracted by a lightning bolt ripping the sky in two, he had thrown his playing cards in jeongin’s face and ran into the room of requirement, where he had placed all of his hard work. 

to say he was nervous was an understatement. what if he’d done something wrong, and would be stuck for the rest of his life with cloves instead of hands, or wings coming out of his ass?

but after all he had done, minho just decided to suck it up, and repeated the formula one last time before downing the vial. 

the liquid tasted fizzy on his tongue, burning as it made its way down his throat. he must have done the right thing passing his astronomy homework to his whole class, because it looked like karma was on his side: his nose soon began tickling, and he felt a fuzzy sensation growing in his chest. 

after a few minutes of everything being still, minho decided that he wouldn’t be stuck being a hamster hybrid with a beak for the rest of his life, and released a deep breath.

but now came the tricky part: would he be able to transform?

minho breathed in deeply through his nose, and concentrated on the fuzzy feeling.

of course, nothing happened.

well, i’m probably doing something wrong, let me try again.

so he tried. and tried. and tried again. but each time, he was still stuck in his human form. he threw his jacket to the ground in frustration, but that was probably the wrong move. a bird, perched on one of the highest bookshelves, unexpectedly flew in the air, screeching. and minho screeched too, almost having a heart attack. but then he felt himself grow smaller and smaller, and suddenly, there was a tail swishing behind him. 

wait. what? a tail ? 

had he managed to transform? well, it surely looked like it. he walked around for a second, getting used to his new limbs, thankful that he was alone and nobody witnessed him falling face-first onto the ground on the first step. 

he found a mirror, and met eyes with a big, fluffy cat. the animal was holding himself elegantly, three of his paws and the tip of his tail a bright white like his nose, while his back was a striped orange, matching his other paw. 

he had done it. minho was an animagus.

he started to cheer, only... it actually came out as a loud meow. oh well, celebratory meow it is, then.

it took twenty minutes, but after a few mental breakdowns minho managed to turn back into his human form, right after realising he had to focus on the itchy feeling in his nose to transform. 

he quickly made his way down the halls and back to the ravenclaw tower, making up some weird excuse about homework when jeongin asked him where he had been as he passed into the common room, and threw himself on his bed with a dumb smile on his face. 

he went to the library that night, and discovered that he was a norwegian forest cat, his back a nice orange colour and his belly and legs white, with long thick fur that kept him particularly warm.

so now, two months later, he decided that becoming a cat was worth it, if it meant stealing those damn cookies.

you see, minho really liked exploring the castle during his nightly strolls. there weren’t many opportunities for him to go around random halls and see where he would end up, what he would find. it was his curiosity that had led him to finding the room of requirement in the first place, an afternoon after he had fought with some friends and just wanted some time for himself without anyone bothering him. he had grabbed a book and made his way down the stairs, going down the first unknown corridor he could find. when he was a kid, he used to love exploring the little wood just behind his house, so exploring his new home felt right and refreshing.

he had strolled down the hall, noticing the paintings hung up in that section staring at him amused while he walked with his book in hand, but he suddenly stopped when he noticed something off. he had to retrace a few steps and look around for a second, before noticing that in a certain spot the wall was darker. and little, naive first-year minho had done the first thing he could think of: he laid his hand on the wall. but a moment later, the wall wasn’t there anymore, and minho was falling face-first into the ground. 

when he had looked around, awed by all the trinkets lying around the room, he immediately realised he had stumbled into something amazing. but for the time being, he simply settled into a chair and let his book carry him to a different world.

many years since then had passed, and becoming able to shift into a cat had only made his explorations easier. 

you see, he was just wandering around the castle one night, trying to discover another of the many secrets of the castle, when he found his way to the garden in front of the hufflepuff dorm. the place always felt like home, even though minho was a ravenclaw—those little yellow-clad guys just had that warm feeling to them. he was wandering through rows and rows of flowers when he found a stone staircase, all the steps clad in green moss. wondering where it would lead, he climbed up. 

he found himself on a wooden terrace, still full of plants and surrounded by many chairs and... merlin’s beard, is that a porch swing?

minho immediately approached that part of the balcony, jumping on the swing, which made a slight creaking noise with the movement. it had old chains keeping it up, and the dark wood the seat was made of was comfortably chill under minho’s belly. this was definitely one of the good explorations. he snuggled up, turning his feline body into a doughnut, and started dozing off.

only to catch a sniff of cinnamon a second later. minho wasn’t really a glutton, and if it had been anything else, minho would have probably ignored it, but cinnamon was his only weakness. so, after his stomach growled loudly, minho resigned himself and got up to inspect the source of the smell. 

it wasn’t really hard to find, his feline nose able to detect smells quite well, so he soon jumped on a small, round table, finding a tupperware container that wasn’t closed exactly well. so, could you blame him for wanting to just eat a damn cookie? whoever had decided to leave a container full of sweets in a place open to all students should have thought better about their decisions.

so, minho looked around to make sure he was alone, before turning back into his human form to open the container.

as soon as he was up on two feet again, his hands were fumbling to open it, revealing some star-shaped cinnamon cookies with smooth, white icing on top. minho carried the container back to the swing and sat back down, careful to not make any noise with the old chains. he picked a cookie up, and tasted heaven as he bit into it. the icing was really sweet, but it worked perfectly with the strong cinnamon. he soon went for another one, and then another. 

he let his thoughts wander in the chilly air, his gaze shifting towards the garden under him, always kept in perfect shape by the hardworking hufflepuffs, who often had a sweet spot for everything they were able to grow.

he only stopped eating when he noticed there were only two cookies left. oh well, nobody was going to think he was the one who had done it. he sent a mental apology to the anonymous baker before closing the container and placing it back onto the white cloth on the table, before focusing on the itch in his nose and turning back into a cat, starting his descent down the stairs and back to his own dorm. 

for the first time in two weeks, minho fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, his stomach full and a sweet taste on his tongue.

➵➵➵➵

the only problem arose the following night. he was laying in his bed, turning and twisting in the covers, when he realised he was hungry. and not just hungry for anything. he wanted another one of those cookies. 

curse that hufflepuff and their amazing baking skills.

after ten more minutes of tossing around and seungmin cursing him for being so noisy, minho resigned himself and got up, his bare feet growing cold on the carpet covering the stone floor, annoyed with himself for misplacing his precious bunny slippers again. 

he slipped out of his room, trying to make as little noise as possible while he closed the door behind him. after stopping to listen for a second, making sure he was alone, he turned into his beloved cat form as he descended the stairs, revelling in the way his thick fur kept him a lot warmer than the sweater he had been wearing. 

his explorations could wait for a night. he had an objective now. 

he slipped into the corridors silently, avoiding the paths he knew were patrolled, quietly making his way back to the hufflepuff garden. he had to retrace his steps a few times as he noticed he’d taken the wrong path, but he soon got back to the road surrounded by flowers, and held his breath as he climbed the stone stairs.

and there it was: a new tray of biscuits. 

minho thanked whoever was above for his luck, and immediately turned back, taking the container in his hands and sitting on the swing. this time, the cookies were some kind of shortcrust pastry with jam squished between two pieces. on top, there was some icing sugar that painted minho’s nose white as he took a bite. the jam was probably plums, and the sweet crumbled on his tongue. this place was heaven to minho, who was finally able to relax while eating a nice treat. 

so, can you blame him for coming back the next night, and the night after too? 

now, it was the fourth night in a row that he made his trek around the school, reaching the gardens and making his way up the stone stairs. and maybe he should have been more careful. he climbed the staircase and didn’t even look around before turning back to his human form, ready to eat his share of cookies for the night. 

”so, you’re the one who’s been stealing my cookies” 

let’s say that minho wasn’t very proud of the loud screech he let out, frightened to hear a voice in the quiet air of the night. 

he turned around to see a boy around his age, maybe a year older, sitting on his beloved swing. he had blonde dyed hair, and was wearing a grey hoodie with some chequered pants, probably his pyjamas. the boy was looking at him with a smirk on his lips and an interested look in his eyes. 

”i didn’t really think there was anyone stupid enough to steal from hufflepuffs” 

it was only in that moment that minho noticed that the spot the cookies were usually in was empty, and that there was a yellow box next to the boy.

”well, maybe i’m just brave”

at that, the hufflepuff let out a sweet laugh. he opened the container next to him, taking a cookie out and motioning for minho to take one for himself. although quite surprised, minho sat down next to the boy, taking one of the sweets and munching down. today, it was a biscuit filled with apple pieces and, bless the baker, cinnamon.

”so, what makes you think i won’t go to mcgonagall’s office and tell her that an unregistered animagus has been stealing my cookies?”

minho swallowed, looking unamusedly at the grinning boy next to him.

”you don’t really seem very menacing. you literally just offered me the cookies i was trying to steal. besides, at this rate, you won’t have any evidence of sweets ever existing to show the headmistress”

the boy just laughed, sticking his hand back into the container to retrieve one of the last biscuits left.

”well, cookie-thief, may i at least know who i should be accusing of such terrible crimes?”

minho chuckled under his breath. this wasn’t what he expected his night to be like, but he sure wasn’t complaining for how was turning out. 

”i’m minho, a ravenclaw. what about you, magic baker?”

the older boy ran a hand through his blonde hair, and minho had to look away before his mind started going to inappropriate places with how attractive he looked while doing that.

”it’s chan, but it actually wasn’t me who made the sweets. you have to thank felix for that. the boy bakes way too much for his own good, i’m considering asking the kitchens to put a lock on the doors to keep him out.”

the two boys kept talking for a while, getting to know each other, and minho was surprised at how easily they seemed to fit together. it was nice to have someone who genuinely appreciated his sense of humour, and his heart felt a bit fuller every time chan's face lit up after he cracked a joke. chan had such a nice voice, and he found himself leaning against the seat, head thrown back, looking at the stars while listening to amusing tales and adding his own to the mix of quiet chatter.

minho quickly noticed chan's habit of licking his lips, and the way he looked him in the eyes every once in a while to let him know that he was listening, that minho's words were appreciated. 

they stayed under the moonlight, enjoying each other’s comfort, no longer strangers but somehow already friends, until minho started yawning and they realised how late it actually was. chan was really good company, and the awkward tensions of having just met had faded almost instantly, so minho was a bit sad that he couldn’t stay the whole night. he would have gladly done that, but he realised that his friends would tease him too much if he fell asleep and fell face-forward into his plate at dinner because he stayed up all night talking to a pretty boy. 

”come on, minho, i don’t want you falling asleep on my favourite swing, go back to your dorm. you can come back tomorrow night if you really like this place that much”

the silent request to meet again didn’t go unheard by minho’s ears, who grinned sleepily, assuring the older he would be back the next day. minho was sure the smile that the older sent his way lit up the whole place better than the moon over their heads ever could.

”oh, and don’t worry about it, i obviously won’t tell anyone about your fursona”

”my- did you just imply that me being an animagus makes me a furry?”

chan laughed, throwing his head back against the seat of the swing.

”come on, i was kidding. just go, i’ll see you tomorrow.”

minho grumbled a bit, before turning back into a cat and going back to his own dorm. that night, he fell asleep thinking about the new friend he had acquired, chest filled with warmth.

➵➵➵➵

the next day, he was one of the first people to enter the arithmancy classroom. it wasn’t really a busy class, since it was really hard and not many people were willing to spend much time trying to make sense of that many numbers. he started to go towards his usual seat, before noticing a familiar head of blonde curls. well, it looked like karma was playing games with him again. he approached chan’s desk, taking the empty seat next to the boy.

”fancy seeing you here”

chan whipped his head around, trying to understand who was talking to him. he was wearing his uniform, the black robes enveloping his shoulders in a nice way, yellow tie a little loose on top of his button-up. 

”oh, minho! i never noticed we had a class together. well, this is one of the only classes where people from different years mix up, so it makes sense.”

they made small talk, but the lesson soon began, and they had to stop chatting. the teacher immediately jumped into an energetic lecture about the importance of meteorological averages in the prediction of how the moon cycles would be influenced, and minho soon got stuck on an equation. he was trying to understand when the wind speed had started apparently shifting the moon’s axis, when chan noticed his struggles.

”it’s the other way around, the way the moon’s axis slowly shifts influences the wind’s speed. so, you need to divide instead of multiplying”

minho made an impressed face. “well, you’re not just good-looking but also smart. don’t start charming me too much, prettyboy”

chan side-eyed him, but the way he was lightly smiling made minho understand he was okay with it. ”oh, so the cookie thief is also i flirt, i see”

spurred on by the way the tips of chan’s ear were noticeably red, minho continued.

”well, how can i not be when i’m met with such a nice face?”

”BOYS, QUIET ” 

well, maybe the flirting had to wait a bit. although, it was still fun seeing how little it took to make chan embarrassed. minho leaned back into his seat, shooting a warm smile to the older boy, already planning some nice comments to sneak inside their future conversations.

during the rest of the day, minho wasn’t at all surprised by the fact that chan kept popping into his mind at random times. minho wasn’t exactly the most sociable person, so making new friends for him was an occurrence that made his brain come up with millions of different scenarios of ways he would embarrass himself with his weird personality, and topics he could bring up when he would, eventually, run out of thing to say.

but he was surprised to realise he was actually looking forward to seeing chan. the older had made him comfortable ever since the first moment, and he had a feeling their friendship would develop into something minho could hold close to.

so, when the evening finally came, minho found himself quite happy as he threaded through the gardens of the castle, looking forward to spending some more time with chan. he had tried hard to convince himself it was just the biscuits he was after, but not even him could lie that much to himself. 

and, just as minho had expected, chan was waiting for him on the swing when he climbed the small staircase leading to the terrace, legs crossed under him as he watched the night sky. when the orange cat approached him, chan started smiling softly before patting the seat next to him. minho took a moment to focus on the tickling of his nose before he made his way over to chan, greeting him softly. he sat down next to him, pulling his own legs to his chest and leaning his chin on his knees. 

”i told felix a classmate had complimented his baking. he was gleaming, i almost thought he was going to blow up from a happiness overload. he baked these specifically for you. they’re orange-flavoured and covered in dark chocolate” 

minho was really glad to pinpoint the clear happiness in chan’s tone, pleased to know he hadn’t been the only one eager for their next meeting. although, he refused to acknowledge how his heart missed a beat, hearing that chan had talked about him to someone. 

the night passed like that, as the two talked about their days, getting to know each other, mouths filled with funny stories and cookie crumbs.

minho soon got to know that chan was basically the dad of the whole hufflepuff dorm, a good mentor to anyone who needed help with homework, someone to spend dinner with when nobody seemed to be on their side, or to simply offer a shoulder to lean on when they needed someone to talk to. 

minho discovered that he liked to write songs in his free time and that felix was actually his cousin, them both having lived in australia before coming to britain with the rest of the family. 

it only seemed fair for minho to tell him about himself too; how he hadn’t told a single soul about being an animagus, but also that he was actually korean and only moved to england right before he started attending hogwarts. he shyly confessed that he went along way better with books than with people, but that he came out of his shell when he was with his friends, with the people he was comfortable with. 

he couldn’t help but blush when chan pointed out that he looked pretty comfortable there with him, distracting the older by stuffing a cookie in his mouth. 

the night went on and on, and the two kept chatting as the crickets sang next to them. but they knew they couldn’t afford to spent the whole night out, with their demanding schedules and hard classes. with a heavy sigh, minho got up, stretching his arms above his head to try and wake himself up. minho didn’t miss the fact that chan’s gaze slipped down as he did so, probably uncovering a sliver of skin as his shirt rode up, but he decided not to point it out. 

instead, he reached down to put his arms around chan in a loose hug, almost stopping at the last second when he noticed the surprise in the older’s gaze. but chan quickly recovered and pulled him towards his chest in a quick but warm hug. minho waved shyly before transforming back into a cat and slipping down the stairs.

and if both of them went to sleep with a smile on their face, it was nobody’s business but their own.

after that, minho and chan started hanging out more and more, both during the day and at night. minho soon discovered that the whole school seemed to know chan in one way or another, greeting him in the halls as they passed by, and chan greeted them all back by name. he was impressed, if not a little jealous by how easily chan seemed to interact with everyone. 

they soon started having study sessions in the library, helping each other out where they could and keeping each other company. although chan was a year above, he often turned around to ask minho for help, and the younger was always satisfied with the fact that he knew the answers. 

but their evening chats still carried on; they kept meeting up after everyone was asleep to eat cookies and talk, trusting each other in a way that almost scared minho. he had known the older for just a few months, but he was already spilling some thoughts that he would never tell most of his friends. but talking to chan was easy, because they just seemed to get each other . 

one night, chan was recalling the story of that time his grandma had accidentally gotten drunk at christmas and showed off her singing skills with old 90’s songs. minho was growing tired, so he turned into a cat and snuggled up beside chan, turning into a doughnut and subconsciously rubbing his head on the other’s leg. chan was a bit surprised, since he didn’t expect anything of the sort to happen, but wasn’t complaining. he slowly put his hand on the cat’s head, seeing if it was okay, but when minho simply purred, he took that as permission to pet him. 

and it was all so domestic, so familiar, how at ease he felt with chan.

minho’s fur was soft under chan’s touch, and he carried on with his story as he petted it softly. minho kept purring, satisfied with how his hand slid on his back, stopping from time to time to rub right below his ears.

they spent the rest of the evening like that, minho curled up on the bench as chan recalled his favourite christmas memories in a soft voice that almost managed to lull minho into slumber. he was only pulled back from dreamland by chan shifting next to him, his hand pulling away from minho’s fur and taking its warmth away. 

”come on, it’s getting late. as much as i enjoy you being here, you should go back to your own dorm”

and although minho really didn’t want to do that, he knew he had to. he stretched out of his position, getting up on gracious limbs, then rubbed his head on chan’s shoulder as a quiet goodbye. chan waved at him as minho made his way down the stairs and back to his own dorm, the warmth of their interactions and the feeling of chan’s hand on him lingering well into the night.

➵➵➵➵

you see, liking chan was so easy. his big smiles that made the sun jealous, his kindness that rivalled every other’s, his intelligence that had him on top of every class, but most importantly, the way he loved so fiercely and unconditionally. it was impossible not to love him. and minho realised that the exact moment they met. 

and that's what made it so easy to be with him. minho was comfortable, and he wouldn't trade the connection he had formed with the older for anything in the world. 

a couple of months had passed since that first night. it was starting to grow colder every day with winter approaching, and school was taking its toll on everyone. the previous night minho had stayed up until 4am writing an assignment, so he was pretty exhausted. he almost considered just staying in his bed and sleeping until the next morning, but he already missed the blonde curls and dimples he had gotten so used to seeing. 

so, he managed to push himself out of the warmth of seungmin’s bed—sue him, his roommate’s mattress was a lot more comfortable than his own, and the younger had started sleeping in jeongin’s room more and more often. since the two were in the same year, seungmin often used the excuse of homework to hang out with him, but minho was more than a little suspicious. well, the two would tell him something when they were ready.

not having to bother to be quiet, minho slipped a hoodie on and made his way out of the room, taking a quick detour to glance into jeongin’s room, not surprised at all to see the two boys passed out on their respective textbooks, jeongin sitting against the headboard while seungmin was in front of him, laying down on the bed in what seemed like a really uncomfortable position. minho slipped a blanket around jeongin before carefully moving seungmin under the covers. and if they were to ask about it, he would obviously deny doing anything. 

after a quiet walk under the moonlight, letting the november breeze ruffle his fur as he walked, minho got to the hufflepuff dorm, finding chan waiting for him like routine. by this point, having biscuits wasn’t a requirement for their chats anymore. school was kicking up hard for everyone, and felix didn’t have time to cook for them that much anymore. 

minho had even received a little note from felix himself, saying that he was sorry about not being able to bake anything for them, and minho had gone looking for him personally to scold him, telling him it was perfectly fine and that he shouldn’t worry that much. the two had ended up studying together on a couch in the hufflepuff common room, and their quiet friendship had started.

but that evening, chan greeted him with a huge smile, holding up a yellow container. minho couldn’t help but mirror his expression, hoping he would remember to thank felix the next time he saw the boy.

they talked for a bit, minho mentioning how tired he was a few times during the evening, so chan wasn’t at all surprised when the younger transformed into a cat and curled up next to him, his tail softly laying on chan’s leg, and started dozing off. 

chan got lost in his own thoughts, his only company the soft breathing the cat was making, slowly petting minho’s fur. minho looked at peace, like this was the only place he’d ever want to be: next to chan. he was being vulnerable in front of him, and that act of trust was making chan’s chest fill with blooming flowers. he wanted to let him sleep as much as possible, but when he started shivering, he decided that it was time to go inside if they didn’t want to both catch a cold. 

only, minho looked so peaceful in his sleep, and chan really didn’t want to take away the few hours of rest the younger could get. so, he made his mind up, and carefully picked the cat up. future chan would probably be pissed for his impulsiveness, but he would just blame it on sleep deprivation (and taking care of a cute boy, of course, even if he wouldn’t say it out loud).

minho woke up feeling hands sneaking around his belly and carefully picking him up, but he immediately calmed down when he realised it was just chan. the older cradled him against his chest, and minho was surrounded by the smell of fresh parchment and lemon juice, a smell that he’d grown to love over these last few months. 

chan carried him inside his room and put him down on the bed, before closing the curtains and taking his purple hoodie off. the bed on the other side of the room was empty; chan had once explained that he often slept alone since his roommate, jisung, always sneaked out to cuddle in his best friend’s bed, who also happened to be chan’s cousin felix. minho had immediately recognised the fondness in chan’s eyes as he talked about the two; it was clear how much the older cared about them both.

chan laid down at some distance from minho, giving him some space, but the younger got up and snuggled under the fluffy blankets, lying directly on chan’s chest. minho could feel his calm heartbeat, that only made him more sleepy. the latter started petting the fur on his head, and the two fell asleep like that, in each other’s warmth, only a few minutes later

the morning came sooner than either of them wanted, and chan woke up to find arms around his waist and someone breathing softly on his neck. he basked in the warmth for a second, before moving his arm to look at the clock on his wrist, careful not to wake the boy sleeping next to him. apparently, he wasn’t careful enough, because a second later minho shifted a bit, before lifting his head to look at chan. and with those big puppy eyes looking at him through long eyelashes, rest fresh on his face and hair hanging in all directions, minho was in love. 

he placed a hand on the older boy’s cheek, asking for permission, before leaning in and softly kissing his lips. there weren’t any sparks, or butterflies, like everyone always talked about. rather, minho felt his chest grow warm. kissing chan felt safe. kissing chan felt like coming home. 

➵➵➵➵

minho started to wake up in chan’s bed almost every day, either as a cat or in his human form, and was delighted when he would be taken away from the dream world with a kiss on his lips. kissing was something very appreciated on both sides, and they often found themselves softly connected by the lips after talking for hours. 

nobody really knew about their mutual attraction; neither of them were really fond of public affection, so they only kept kisses and soft touches between the confinement of chan’s room in the hufflepuff dorm.

chan and minho felt safe with each other. they became each other’s comfort, a firm stone to lean on, a strong wall to protect the other. and they wouldn’t have it any other way. that night in september, an unexpected meeting had changed their lives for the best.

it was a little over two months since then, and minho was wandering in the halls to stretch his legs before a long study session. he was in cat form, because he didn’t get to spend that much time with his feline self, and treasured all the moments he could get. 

he heard a high-pitched squeal, and when he turned around he was met with a boy looking at him with stars in his eyes. the boy was sporting bright blue hair encircling a round face and looked to be a year, maybe two, younger than minho. he was wearing a yellow and black scarf, signalling that he was one of chan’s housemates, a hufflepuff. 

the boy put his schoolbag down on the ground and crouched, extending a hand out and softly calling for him in the worldwide gesture to see if a cat would allow you to pet it. minho decided that the boy was trustworthy, and he wasn’t really in a hurry, so he walked up and rubbed his face on the boy’s extended hand. 

the boy immediately started scratching behind his ears, something that chan never actually did, and minho melted on the spot, purring loudly against his will. well, that was embarrassing. he made a mental note to be more careful not to start purring at strangers. especially since he had developed a tendency to do it in his human form too. way to go, minho. 

”oh, you’re such a pretty kitty. i love your orange fur, it looks so well-groomed. i wonder who you belong to”

after a few moments of petting him, the boy got his wand out, and softly cast a spell on minho. the words rolled softly on his tongue, but he was surprised when nothing happened. minho had expected it, an ownership spell wouldn’t work on an animagus. well, that was positive. he wouldn’t have to expect a boy on his doorstep and have to explain that he, in fact, didn’t own a cat. 

”oh, you must be a stray. that’s amazing! i have been wanting to get a cat for years, but my mother would never allow it. but we were destined to be together. you know, it was a pretty bad day today, and i need cuddles so, well, i’m going to take you to my room if you’re okay with that”

minho didn’t really have much to do, but that didn’t mean he would snuggle a random boy, especially when he had his own boy willing to cuddle him. he was about to do something very cat-like, for example hissing at him randomly to scare the boy off, since he had the right to do that without being deemed weird, but without any warning, minho got lifted off his feet, or better to say, off his paws, and carried over to the hufflepuff dorm. 

minho tried to wiggle out of his grip, but having just taken a nap and woken up ten minutes ago he wasn’t exactly at the top of his shape. he resigned himself, hoping his kidnapper wouldn’t secretly be a serial killer hiding behind yellow robes and round cheeks. although, he highly doubted that when he tripped on his own feet and almost ended his life falling face-forward with his arms occupied by a cat. the boy walked up the stairs to a really familiar room, and honestly, why was minho even surprised? as soon as the two of them entered, he heard chan’s soft voice.

”oh sung, you’re ba- why are you holding a cat?”

minho started to struggle in his arms, clearly wanting to be let down, so the boy lowered him to the ground. and by the exasperated expression on chan’s face, he assumed it wasn’t the first time that the boy brought an animal he randomly found to the dorm.

”i found it outside the common room! i tried the ownership spell, but it didn’t work, so he must be a stray. can we keep him? he can sleep in my bed, i’m never there anyway, pleasepleasepleasepl-”

minho had made his way over to where chan was standing, looking at him to see how the situation would evolve. the younger boy started jumping up and down, ending up inevitably slapped by his scarf. he pushed it back down indignantly, looking like it had offended him personally.

”uhm... you know my friend minho, right?”

the boy, who was surely jisung, chan’s roommate, nodded, sitting down on his own bed. he looked like a squirmy fish, trying to keep still when he clearly wanted to move around. but minho, understanding where chan’s conversation was going, hissed at the older boy. chan looked panicked for a second, before smoothly recovering.

”well, i just remembered i’m supposed to meet him in ten minutes at the library. and about the kitty, we’re going to give him the choice to stay or not. i’ll keep the window open so he can come and go as he pleases. but if he wants to stay that’s alright by me. now i have to go. and the cat probably does too, so let him be. put some food out so maybe he comes back later.”

chan kissed the younger boy’s forehead before making his way out of the room. minho got out of the window before jisung could get his hands on him and trap him inside, making his way to the library where chan surely wanted to meet up. 

well. jisung surely was... a lot. he now understood why chan had once jokingly compared him to a toddler on a sugar rush. 

minho turned back into his human form and basically ran to the library, heart beating like crazy in his chest. and if a group of first-year students saw him fall down three sets of stairs, roll down to the bottom and then proceed to get up as if nothing happened, they were simply impressed. minho almost didn’t notice he had passed the library in his hurry, but he did a full 180 and turned back, opened the door way too fast, and bumped directly into someone. 

”woah, honey, calm down, there’s no need to run here. i get that you want to see a handsome face like mine as soon as possible, but maybe try to avoid killing someone in the meantime”

well. chan didn’t know about his... fast descent down the stairs, or else he would have talked about minho killing himself first. thank god. minho pouted as chan put his arm around him and laughed. he was immediately surrounded by the familiar lemon scent, and leaned into it, leading chan to their designated table.

”oh, shut up, you know the handsome one is me. you’re just the one that offers his bed to the pretty boy and tries to charm him with cookies.”

the two of them sat down in front of each other in their favourite spot, a secluded corner next to a big window that looked down on the courtyard. minho could see the quidditch team practising, and wondered if the beater in the red robes he could see in the distance was doing a good job. changbin and him had bonded really well on that first ride on the hogwarts express, and were still good friends despite belonging to different houses.

”well, it doesn't seem to be working too bad, since the pretty boy is looking at me with love in his eyes. i'm really lucky to have such a caring, loving, handsome, smart boy by my side, huh?"

minho looked away, blushing a bit at the compliments, smiling at chan and hoping that it would be enough to tell him just how much he appreciates it, all of it. and chan probably gets it, if the way stars are literally swimming in his eyes is anything to go by. they really are both lucky.

”so, we need to talk about... whatever that was.” 

minho sighed, running his hand across his face. jisung was a nice kid, and obviously didn’t mean to get involved in the situation. it wasn’t really on anyone’s mind that the cat they were petting could be an animagus, so minho didn’t blame him at all. it was just... bad timing. minho could only thank his luck for that.

”honestly, i think this is a free pass to cuddle in my dorm whenever we want. sung knows a cat is hanging out, so he won’t question it if he finds us together.”

well. that... minho had nothing to say. the logic was flawless.

minho opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, looking like a particularly stupid fish, before simply agreeing. and chan, dear, lovely chan, of course the first thing he asked was minho’s boundaries.

”it’s alright if he pets me. if there’s something i don’t want i can just walk away or hiss at him. that’s such a fun thing to do, you know? there’s no jeongin to judge me when i hiss at people. but yeah, jisung looks like a nice guy, i’m going to give him the possibility. i mean, this is literally a free pass to get in a cute guy’s room whenever i want, do you really think i’ll give this opportunity up?”

➵➵➵➵

and surprisingly, things started alright.

that night, a few hours after meeting jisung for the first time, minho decided he was going to get the most out of the situation, so he came back to chan’s room. the younger boy seemed really nice, and he had treated cat-minho in such a careful and caring way. minho already trusted him, and chan obviously did too. minho could recall what chan had told him about his roommate, how jisung could charm his way into everyone’s hearts with his round cheeks and explosive personality; how fierce he was in the things he believed in, and how hard he would fight for the people he loved. 

the truth was, minho was pretty damn interested to see where this all would go.

he made his way down the stairs and towards the window close to the kitchen doors to get outside and slip into chan’s room from the yard. his potions class had just ended in, admittedly, a bad way. his partner and him had somehow managed to mess the ingredients up and, well, add a couple of things double. which inevitably lead to the cauldron blowing up in their faces as minho stirred. he didn't get hurt, besides some burned hair and a swelled pride, but he was surely going to use it as an excuse to get more cuddles.

minho walked to an empty corridor before turning into his dear feline form. he was quite used to the transformations by now, and they only took a second instead of minutes like they did in the beginning. and minho was absolutely going to use it to his advantage in every possible way. especially in cuddling chan without his roommate catching them. he could stay with him in his human form and turn back into a cat as soon as he heard the younger approaching, and then spend the night at chan’s as a cat. well, he truly was a genius.

minho reached chan’s room and noticed the window was still open, clearly an invitation. from which one of the boys? he didn't know, but he was quite happy with it being either of them. 

he stepped into the room, keeping quiet in case someone was sleeping or anyone else was there, since he didn't want to be noticed by any of the boys’ friends. one random encounter was already enough, he didn’t need someone else cooing over him and rubbing his belly, it would be too awkward even for him. but his eyes soon landed on chan’s empty bed, before inevitably drifting over to see jisung’s occupied one. the boy was sitting up, his back leaning on the wall and his legs crossed in front of him, a notebook in his lap. he was playing with a pen, sometimes stopping to cross out a couple of words and scribbling something else down before getting back to tapping the same, repetitive pattern. 

minho jumped down from the windowsill, trying to make himself noticed. but the younger didn't take his eyes away from the notebook, deeply focused, his tongue sticking out a bit between his lips and brows furrowed as he looked for the right words, as if they would magically appear on the page in front of him. minho decided to just approach the boy and hope he wouldn't scare him half to death.

he jumped on the bed next to jisung’s left hand, which was sprawled on the bed sheets, and rubbed his head softly on it. jisung’s reaction was priceless: his eyes grew the size of the moon before he gasped, moving his hand to scratch minho's neck. embarrassingly, he immediately started purring, absolutely adoring the way his fingers scratched the fur on the side of minho’s head. 

”oh, you actually came back! i didn't think you would, and when i went to the kitchen to get you something they basically kicked me out because i stole too much food that one time lily broke up with her boyfriend. but come on, she needed comfort, and what's better than food? besides, it's been almost three weeks, they should have forgotten about it by now!”

jisung kept talking for a while, still petting minho, and the older simply listened, enthralled by the endless tales the boy seemed to have stored in his memory, laughing as he recalled them. minho found himself really enjoying his company, and he didn't even notice that an hour had passed until chan came back to the room, his afternoon classes apparently finished.

chan was absolutely exhausted and in a bad mood. he hadn’t been able to sleep for even a few minutes the previous night, and focusing on lessons was draining enough without his classmates being as noisy as they were that day. he had somehow managed to turn his bag into an owl during transfiguration lessons, and the actual lesson hadn’t even involved animals, so when the bag-turned-howl took off and went flying out into the hallway, chan was less than thrilled to run after it, the whole class laughing. the teacher had enough pity on him to not take any house points away, but still made him stay after class was finished (and he had managed to turn his bag back in its original form) to talk about his lack of focus during the lesson.

when chan opened the door and heard someone talking, he thought that felix and jisung had gotten tired of their usual hanging-out spot in felix’s room and decided to change scenery a bit, choosing to hang out in their room on the upper floor. but honestly, knowing the boy, he shouldn't have been surprised when he walked in to see jisung talking animatedly with a cat. he had done it before with a donkey, a worm, a couple of howls and also a particularly friendly lizard.

he placed his bag, which fortunately had stopped moving, on his own bed before crashing into it face first, pushing his head into a pillow and screaming, letting the exhaustion of his bad day wash over him. jisung immediately sensed the mood and stopped talking to minho, getting up and approaching the older boy silently. he obviously knew what to do in these situations, and started rubbing his hands on chan's back, focusing on the spot between his shoulder blades, and the older seemed to melt under the practised touch. jisung smiled softly at his reaction, carefully sitting on the bed in an empty spot on the older’s red bed sheets.

minho joined them, jumping on the bed and rubbing his face against chan’s arm for a second before snuggling on the covers next to the older's hair, wrapping up in a doughnut on top of his hand. they stayed like that for quite a bit, before chan decided he needed some air that hadn't been sucked out of a pillow by force.

he sat up, eyes swirling with a million different thoughts and emotions, and leaned his back on the wall, jisung immediately joining and placing his head on chan's shoulder. he grabbed his hand and started drawing patterns on it while minho wrapped himself up in chan's lap and started purring.

”if you want to talk about it i’m always here. and i’m telling you now because i know it's on your mind: it's not stupid if it makes you feel bad, and you're not being a burden in any way.”

chan leaned his head on the younger's, the silence stretching over them, somehow not awkward but warm. the atmosphere felt comforting, the afternoon light streaming in from the open window to illuminate the billions of plants that covered every possible surface of the room. yeah, minho was definitely sure he was in the hufflepuff dorms. 

it was only after a few minutes that chan spoke up.

”thanks sung. you're a great friend. i’m just tired, there's been a lot going on lately. i just want to sleep it off right now”

there was no need to say anything else. the two of them moved quietly, manoeuvring themselves under the covers with practised ease that must have come from countless times of the same action being repeated. jisung slid between the wall and chan, never letting go of his hand, spooning the older and wrapping his arms around his waist in a back hug that was comforting just to look at. minho snuggled against chan's chest. he was determined to let him know that he was safe here, that they both loved him and were ready to support him in every way.

minho was so glad that chan had someone like jisung to rely on, always ready to provide comfort and support. he was a ball of sunshine, and minho found himself trying to get closer to his light, hoping that the wax in his wings wouldn’t melt without anyone there to catch him.

they fell asleep in each other's warmth, staying close in a bed that was definitely too little to fit them. but it didn't matter, because chan was smiling softly again as he slept.

➵➵➵➵

okay, minho had to admit that, maybe, his plan wasn't as flawless as he'd thought it was. we can just cuddle whenever we like, and if we hear jisung coming i’ll turn into a cat and he won't suspect a thing! was what he'd told chan.

there was just a little, insignificant detail he hadn't taken into consideration: chan's arms were really comfortable, and he was prone to falling asleep whenever they cuddled. he had already experimented with this the day prior, when it had taken him mere minutes to fall asleep against chan’s chest. but after his first real time hanging out with jisung had gone so well, he was too confident, and ended up falling asleep in chan’s bed again.

which obviously led to a harsh wake-up thanks to the fall of some of the lovely books needed for the lessons. this was a magic school, was there really no spell to make them lighter and keep the students from breaking their backs?

now the question was: how the hell did the books manage to fall? minho, although unwillingly, took his face out of chan's chest, already missing the warmth the sleeping boy provided, only to find jisung’s face staring back at him with wide eyes.

and that's the moment minho realised he had fucked up.

jisung was staring at him, and he was very much not a cat. 

chan was starting to stir next to him, and jisung was still looking at him, mouth hanging open and his eyes filled with so many emotions that minho couldn’t even try to sort through them. chan opened his eyes and smiled at minho before noticing the panic on his face, before shifting his gaze and locking eyes with jisung behind him. the younger boy was red in the face, his cheeks puffed out, looking like he was about to explode in that second and bring all the walls of the castle cascading down. 

and honestly, jisung was scary like this. the boy held the sun in his hands and the moon in his hair, not the rage of a burning fire in his eyes. but now he was, not a single trace of a smile on his features, body ready to jump at any moment.

”why? why didn’t you tell me? i talk to you about everything, there’s not a single thing i keep from you. fucking hell, chan, i opened up to you about things that nobody in this world knows about, not even felix, and this is how you repay me? i thought i could fucking trust you!”

and just like that, with tears streaming down his face, boiling red with anger, jisung stormed out of the room, his screams still ringing in minho’s ears as chan ran after him. he had taken a second to look at him, the only words leaving his mouth being “decide if you want to stay” before hurrying after jisung down the stairs. minho obviously realised what that meant. chan would never give up on jisung, and he had known it since the start. but chan had given him the choice. he wasn’t breaking up with minho, but giving him a chance to explain himself and gain jisung’s trust. it was up to him, but he knew what to do without even having to think about it. 

minho hated seeing the younger angry. and the fact that he was the reason he felt like that made minho ashamed of himself. he had hurt him, and it was up to him to make it right. so, he stayed.

not even ten minutes passed before minho heard heavy footsteps coming up the stairs, followed by jisung’s voice thundering in through the door. he still sounded pissed, but not as furious as before.

”you two better give me a good fucking reason, becau-”

the hardwood door opened with a slight creaking noise, and minho braced himself, standing up on the bed on his four paws, wearing the most elegance and confidence he could master. he jumped down after a second, landing in front of jisung’s feet, before letting the itch in his nose take over. in a second he was looking at jisung in the eyes, which were now filled with confusion, replacing the deep, burning hate they were adorned with earlier. 

”i think this began in the wrong way. i’m lee minho, ravenclaw and local unregistered animagus.”

he extended his hand, trying not to freak out too much. but after just a moment, jisung seemed to convince himself and took his hand. he still looked wary, but there was a small smile stretching on his lips as he shook it lightly. 

”han jisung”

➵➵➵➵

over the next few weeks, the three of them started hanging out more and more. minho could clearly see that jisung was still pissed and that his anger wouldn’t simply disappear into thin air in a night. it was hidden in the way he hesitated before making a comment even slightly personal, or how he would eye minho like a stranger for the first few seconds every single time they met, or even in the way he wouldn’t really allow himself to lean into a hug fully each time chan approached him. 

but minho could see just as well that their friendship was so, so much deeper than a fight like this. he realised it in the way jisung looked at chan with stars in his eyes every time the older laughed, in how his hands would wrap tightly in the fabric of chan’s shirt during those hugs, in how jisung still allowed minho to spend the night at the dorm without complaining even once. 

jisung was angry, but he loved chan, and he was willing to put everything behind him if that meant he got to see his smile.

when minho had realised that, it had been like the air had been stolen from his lungs. jisung was so selfless, and he loved no matter what. nothing in the world would stop him from expressing his feelings. and minho was even more shocked when he discovered he was ready to do anything to protect the younger from getting hurt. if jisung wore his heart on his sleeve, minho hid his own behind a closed door, scared of getting hit by thrown rocks. but he was ready to hand the door’s key to jisung, if that meant shielding him from everything bad.

minho slowly learned the way that jisung ticked, and they discovered how well they worked together. it was in the jokes they shared, the smiles that lit their whole faces up when they said the exact same dumb answer to chan’s question at the same time, but also in how they took care of each other. 

they were at the library, the three of them studying together like they had done many times before in the previous weeks, and he could tell that chan was proud of them by the way he smiled softly, looking at them like they just hung his whole world. 

jisung pulled at the blue hair on the back of his neck, something minho discovered he did often when he was overwhelmed but not to the point of needing to get away for a little. chan had explained to him that was one of his stims, one of the things he did to help his brain cope with everything.

minho obviously didn’t mind the way his leg constantly wiggled under the table, unable to ever stop, or how he would jump when he was excited, or the fact that he was always playing with minho’s earrings as they talked for hours and hours. but he was pretty sure that this particular movement had to hurt his scalp, and decided that, only this time, he would step in. he slowly wrapped his own hand around jisung’s and pulled it away from his head, laying it on the table between them instead. 

jisung was pretty confused, and also worried that his stimming had somehow bothered the older, but minho simply smiled at him and squeezed his palm lightly, encouraging jisung to do the same. chan was the only one who ever gave jisung an alternative stim when he was doing something that he wasn't supposed to, and jisung felt his heart leap out of his chest when he realised the older was helping him without any kind of judgement. 

after a few seconds, the younger boy got back to his work, carefully squeezing minho’s hand in a rhythmic pattern. chan sent him a smile, nudging his foot under the table to let him know he had done the right thing.

so, minho was sure everything would work out.

➵➵➵➵

sunday mornings were the most awaited moments of the week, for obvious reasons. everyone was allowed to sleep in for once, and not worry about schoolwork for a day, relaxing instead. but over the last few months, minho had grown to appreciate sundays even more. 

on those mornings, the hufflepuff common room was constantly filled with chatter, warm drinks and warmer smiles, everyone gathered together by the old tradition that called all of the hufflepuff students together to play some board games and enjoy the warm tea the prefects would steal from the kitchen. the house elves had, by now, made it their own personal challenge to provide the students with a new, innovative tea flavour every week. today, the colourful mugs were all filled with the taste of freshly cut wood, and although minho had never even thought that could be something to taste, he was already on his third cup with how much he liked the warm, brown liquid. 

minho was currently sitting on the floor around a small coffee table, a game of uno at the top, together with chan and jisung. the younger boy seemed to be extremely energetic, jumping up to hug minho as soon as he had gotten to the hufflepuff common room, unable to keep still the whole time they were playing cards. minho didn't mind one bit, used to getting along with whatever mood the younger boy was it, whether it was jittery jisung, quiet jisung, cuddly jisung or anything in between.

jisung had invited another friend of his, who had introduced themselves as hyunjin. the slytherin was blonde and tall and laughed way too loud at everything, but they seemed nice. when they had first said their name, chan had looked at them with wide, incredulous eyes. 

“ this in the hyunjin you constantly fought with? the hyunjin who threw a bucket of dragon saliva at you? who hid thirty-seven frogs in our room?” 

the slytherin looked to the side, trying to hide their smirk behind their hand. “they were thirty-eight, actually”

minho threw his head back, laughing in earnest at their antics. he had no problem believing jisung and hyunjin had fought, with their strong personalities and even stronger stubbornness, and he couldn’t help but bend over laughing hearing the tales of their quarrels. they were both overdramatic, almost distracting the group completely from their card game with their improvisations, reenacting their funniest moments for the whole group. 

minho wiped at his eyes, throwing down a green ‘pick up 2’ card. hyunjin smiled evilly, placing a blue one on top. jisung immediately whined, throwing himself against chan’s side, complaining about how unfair life was. he picked his four cards up, pouting more with each added card to his hand. but, at the last card, his face lit up, and it was pretty obvious that he had just picked up something to have his revenge on hyunjin.

when it was his turn again, minho played a reverse card, and right after chan, jisung slammed down a ‘draw four’ for hyunjin. he jumped up, shouting in excitement. hyunjin grumbled and, after jisung chose green, played a ‘draw two’, but minho was sure that picking cards up was completely worth seeing the blinding smile that jisung had directed at him. he would never admit it, but his heart had melted a little. 

they kept on playing for a bit until jisung, surprisingly, won. he jumped to his feet again, this time taking minho up with him, giggling loudly as he swung their conjoined hands from side to side. the smile on his lips was contagious, and soon everyone around the table was smiling and looking at them fondly. chan soon got up as well and enveloped the boy in a back hug, dragging him back to his designated spot next to him and keeping an arm around his shoulders. jisung simply accepted his fate and snuggled into chan’s chest, appreciating the warmth and comfort. 

soon, hyunjin announced that they had to go back to their own dorm, since they had decided to procrastinate until the very last minute and needed to start the fourteen-page essay due the next day. yes, they were determined to cram a month’s work in a single day. well, minho had done that way more times than he’d like to admit, so he was the last one who could judge them. they bid their goobyes, waving their hand as they approached the door to the dorms—and managed to trip over their own feet. well, minho was happy to notice they fit perfectly with the collective clumsiness of their whole friend group.

eventually, felix stumbled into the common room, arms full of books borrowed from the library, and decided to take hyunjin’s place. anything but homework , he had said.

but he was soon holding nineteen cards with a big pout on his face. it looked like uno really wasn’t his game. chan giggled at his expression, before suggesting that felix could teach them how to bake something before the younger hufflepuff had a mental breakdown. felix’s face immediately lit up, and minho now understood why people called him and jisung ‘the sunshine twins’.

felix quickly collected all of their cards, happily hiding the fact that he was glamorously losing, carding a hand through his blonde hair with a blinding smile. he helped the three of them get up, handing minho the deck of cards. let’s just say that minho wasn’t very proud of the fact that he managed to drop each and every card on the floor as he tried to tie an elastic band around the deck. well, it was felix’s fault, the younger should have considered his lack of hand coordination. he sent a mental apology to the plant that got hit by the elastic, too, hoping it hadn’t damaged any leaves when it had flown across the room.

his friends simply laughed at him, bending down to help retrieve the cards, and soon they were on their way out of the dorms, cards stuffed securely in chan’s pocket. felix excitedly lead the way out of the common room and into the kitchens, starting to talk about how happy he was to finally have someone to bake with. he went on and on about how he used to make cakes with his sister before coming to school, and how much he missed their habit of baking during the holidays.

minho could do nothing but smile at his cuteness, following behind jisung and chan who were walking with their arms linked. minho chose to ignore how his cheeks warmed up at the sight, steps growing a bit faster to catch up to the rest of the group.

when they reached the wooden doors, felix threw them open and stormed into the kitchen, immediately greeted happily by the house elves working there. minho could clearly see that he was a welcome guest, and that he was often down there since he greeted all of them with their name and asked how they were doing. they stopped for a second to help an elf retrieve something from a high spot, and the four of them laughed about their collective lack of height. 

felix took them to a more secluded spot, where they would be able to cook something without bothering the workers. felix looked at them warmly.

“okay, so. we need something easy, because the last time i brought jisungie in here, he almost burned the whole place down because he set the oven at 280° instead of 180°. once he also practised his spells on breadsticks and turned them into stick bugs that started crawling around everywhere. oh! do you remember the time you stumbled on your own feet and ended up with your face in the batter bowl? or whe-”

“okay, we get it, i’m a disaster in the kitchen. now can we please stop with the ‘bullying jisung time’ and actually bake something? i’m hugryyy”

minho chucked as jisung hid his face behind his hands, trying to hide the blush that heated his face up thanks to his embarrassment. chan took the attention away from him, actually suggesting something easy they would be able to make—okay, let’s face it, they would probably mess this up too, somehow, but it was inevitable with the way they all seemed to attract disasters with their mere existence.

“hey lix, what if we did chocolate chip cookies? everyone likes those, and they don’t seem too hard.”

felix considered that idea for a second, before deciding that it was probably one of the recipes that were the hardest to fuck up, and deeming it alright for the situation. the oven time was short, so it would also prevent them from complaining too much about the fact they had to wait.

felix decided to split into two groups, so they would all be able to do something and get enough cookies to last more than ten minutes. minho immediately offered to pair with felix, using the chance to get to know the boy since they rarely spent time together. they got on two different counters and started gathering the necessary ingredients as felix explained what they needed to do. he only stopped for a second to roll his eyes when he saw chan had put the bowl on his head and was pretending it was a hat, but carried on with the explanation smoothly, clearly accustomed to their antics. 

all of them set to work, measuring out the ingredients and mixing them together. minho saw a cloud of flour explode from jisung and chan’s working station, but after hearing jisung’s “oops”, felix took his wand out and immediately cleaned the exploded pack from the ground without even looking at them. minho simply laughed, and got back to whisking together the butter and sugar. this was a good arm workout, he decided, as he glanced back and saw chan’s panicked face as jisung struggled to scoop up the sugar that was, obviously, too much. felix thankfully chose to ignore the fact they had poured ten times what he had told them, and took the whisk from minho’s hand, taking his place. 

the two of them fell into easy conversation, chatting about school and what they were going to do during the holidays, which were quickly approaching. felix told him about this cool book he had found as a present for his sister, and minho suggested one he had read a few weeks prior, and a second later the topic had already changed to an embarrassing story about jisung and felix’s first year at hogwarts. apparently, the two of them had a lot of dirt on each other, since a simple thread coming from jisung on telling minho about the 'infamous chicken incident' was enough to make felix shut up and get back to talking about books.

minho was only half listening as felix told him about his roommate’s secret passion for shitty romance novels, his thoughts filled with the pair on the other side of the counter. he was trying not to laugh at chan and jisung’s apparent struggle with something as easy as cookies, chan pouting as jisung laughed at him for how much flour he had managed to get even on his eyebrows . although jisung wasn’t faring that much better, seeing how—

“you’re really in love, aren’t you?”

minho turned back to felix, who was already looking at him with a fond look in his eyes as he stirred the batter easily, an action he was surely accustomed to.

“yeah, chan is great. i’m really happy”

minho felt his cheeks heat up, glancing back at the pair, but when his gaze turned back to him felix had already looked away, gone back to measuring the chocolate chips out into a small bowl with meticulous precision.

“you know that i meant both of them”

and that single sentence is what sent minho’s brain into shutdown. he was left gaping at the younger boy for having spoken something that even minho wasn’t sure of. he glanced at the pair, seeing chan swat jisung’s hand away from the red bowl filled with chocolate chips as he tried to steal them, a mischievous smile hanging off his lips as chan pretended to beat him up with a spatula.

“you know that it’s fine, right? loving two people. it just means you have enough love to give, and i think that’s very admirable”

minho chose not to reply, mostly because he wasn’t sure if he would be able to conjure words that would make sense. so, they carried on working side by side, minho stirring the chocolate chips into the batter as felix cleaned the counter around them, psychologically preparing to sort out the mess the other two had made. minho thought that felix’s silence meant the topic was closed, but a few minutes later the younger boy started telling him about how hard it had been coming to terms with his own sexuality, how much it had hurt to see all his friends get boyfriends and girlfriends while he was stuck to the side, feeling alone and forgotten.

“when i first figured out i was aromantic, i hated that part of me. it felt like something was broken inside of me, like i was missing something that was supposed to be there. now i know it’s just bullshit, that i don’t need somebody else to be complete. i accepted myself just the way i am; and what i thought was wrong with me, what i thought were flaws, now they’re just something that makes me unique and lovable. i just hope you can reach that point, too.”

honestly, damn lee felix for always being on point and being able to read minho perfectly, saying the right things exactly when he needed to hear them. minho turned around to thank him, but the younger boy had already slipped away to help out the disaster pair before they blew the whole kitchen up. 

minho took a moment to collect himself before approaching the boys, already laughing at chan’s kicked-puppy expression, grabbing a broom and starting to clean the flour off the floor. he swept over chan's shoes, which were covered in flour, and immediately regretted it when jisung started screaming at him about how it was back luck, and how chan would never get married now. felix joked that the only reason jisung was worried was that he wouldn't be able to show off his tie decorated with flamingos, reserved for special occasions only, to which jisung pouted.

they set back to work, and in a few minutes, the four of them had managed to turn the batter into something edible and were ready to shape it and put it in the oven.

“i think it’s only a good idea the teams mix up, i am not cleaning up yet another mess. chan, go with minho, sung will come with me”

and obviously, it soon turned into a challenge on who could get their cookies to be the roundest. at first, chan’s technique seemed pretty good, and he was winning with a good head start on both minho and jisung, but then felix decided to join in too, annihilating all of them by both perfection and speed. 

soon, two trays were in the oven, and they got to work cleaning the mess they had made, laughing at how much more chaotic chan and jisung’s former side of the counter was. minho started chatting with a few of the house elves, curious about all the delicious dishes they prepared for the students every day. they were happy to indulge him, telling him about recipes and their executions, going to the point of asking him his favourite meal so they could make it for him one of the following days.

at one point, minho bought up the sunday tea tradition, and they all looked very smug when he kept complimenting their creativity and good ideas. after expressing how much he had liked it, they also gave him a thermos full of last week’s tea, which had tasted like a rainstorm, something minho had appreciated greatly. 

he was only distracted by the timer going off, signalling their cookies were finally ready. he said bye to the house elves, who just waved cutely at him, before going back to the corner him and his friends had claimed, where felix was taking the trays out of the oven while sending jisung his best death glare. he already knew he would try to snatch one out of the tray before it had cooled down, burning himself on the hot metal and whining about it for a week at the very least.

after putting the hot trays down, felix used a spatula to get four cookies out, handing one to each of them, telling them to wait before—

“ow, ow, owowowow it’s HOT, fuck, my tongue ”

minho tried to fight the urge to roll his eyes, immediately reaching for jisung and handing him a glass of cold water, rubbing his back and suppressing his laughter as jisung drank the whole thing down. his arm slid down until it was circling jisung’s waist, pulling him close to tease him on how impatient he was. as he met felix’s eyes, the blonde simply lifting an eyebrow, making minho look away with red cheeks. 

but when he actually bit into one of the cookies, he understood why jisung had been in such a hurry: with the first bite, his mouth filled with warm chocolate, just the right balance between the bitterness of the dark chocolate and the sickening amount of sugar they had put in.

he knew the others were thinking the same: jisung took his arm away, which had been previously wrapped around minho’s shoulders, to form a little fist and move it back and forth in a sudden burst of excitement now that he could actually taste something after the heat had gone down. chan was leaning against the counter, munching on his own treat with a dumb grin on his face. 

minho smiled, thinking that it was just thanks to felix’s cookies that he had met them. 

➵➵➵➵

winter came sooner than minho expected. 

one day, chan and him were lounging beside the lake, studying potions while their jackets provided enough warmth to keep them comfortable, and the next day, minho woke up to find the whole world painted white. he glanced out of the window of the ravenclaw tower, taking quick notice of the snow cover—

wait. snow?

minho’s brain, which was still muddled with sleep, woke up all of a sudden, a huge grin plastering immediately all over his face. he jumped on top of seungmin’s bed, who was still sleeping under at least three different blankets, shaking his shoulders and yelling about the snow. the younger only grumbled, pushing his comforter higher up to hide from the sudden attack, before telling minho to take his excitement somewhere else while he slept—preferably for another fifteen hours. 

he ran down the stairs, tripping down the last few steps in his hurry, not even registering the fact that he had forgotten his precious bunny slippers and would (most definitely) get sick for running around barefoot, but it was the last of his concerns. tripping down the last few steps of the boy’s staircase, he fortunately stumbled into jeongin’s arms, the young boy catching him and immediately laughing upon seeing minho’s expression, a mix of childlike excitement and pure delight. with the two of them being pretty close friends, he already knew the effect snow had on minho, so without even needing to ask he immediately gathered both of their coats from the rack next to the door, handing minho his own maroon one. 

before even having finished zipping his coat, minho was rushing towards the door, so jeongin stopped him by grabbing his sleeve, pushing a blue hat on top of his head before taking his elbow and leading them out. honestly, it didn’t seem fair that despite being younger jeongin was that much taller. damn genetics. 

minho pulled jeongin along, stumbling down the stairs and giggling delightedly. and soon, they were pushing the heavy, wooden entrance doors open, getting hit square in the face by a gust of freezing air. minho laughed excitedly before jumping into the white snow, running around the whole yard and ignoring all the first-years looking at him funnily. after a full lap, he threw himself onto the ground, not caring for a single moment about how soaked his pyjama pants were getting as he made a snow angel, jeongin soon catching up and sitting down next to him. 

they looked at each other for a second before bursting out laughing, imagining how crazy they must have looked. and the best part? they couldn’t care less about what others thought.

minho stared at the sky, watching as the snowflakes slowly fell down, opening his mouth to catch a few. but after a while, his butt was starting to freeze off so minho got up, offering his hands to jeongin so the two of them could stroll around the lake for a bit before lessons began. but his plans were interrupted when the back of his head was hit by a snowball thrown with unexpected precision. minho turned around slowly, ready to get his revenge on the traitor, not surprised by one bit to find chan bent over laughing, the edge of his hufflepuff scarf brushing on the ground.

“oh, jeonginnie. war has begun”

minho immediately bent over, gathering snow in his hands to make a compact ball that hit chan straight in the chest. the older’s face immediately filled with surprise, before he started grinning evilly, bending over to get his own dose of snow. 

and before they knew it, the battle had started. 

minho and chan were teaming up against chan, but soon a blur of red flashed before minho’s eyes, changbin’s face coming into focus as he threw a snowball at him with an evil glint in his eyes, red and gold scarf wrapped tightly to cover the lower half of his face. a few other people joining in, until it officially became a ravenclaw versus hufflepuff battle, a few students from the other houses mixed between the two teams. minho managed to hit chan a lot more than the older hit him or jeongin, and minho was delighted to note that the hufflepuff’s aim was quite bad. that first throw must have been a stroke of sheer luck. 

minho spent the next half an hour running around the field chasing chan, on a mission to hit him as much as possible and make him regret even thinking of starting this war. both of them tripped over a good amount of times, getting up all over again to chase each other down. their matching grins rivalled the sun, and they couldn’t care less about getting sick with how much fun they were having.

eventually, all of the students started becoming cold and soggy, deciding to get back to their respective dorms to dry and get warm before lessons began. the ravenclaws came out as winners, so in true hufflepuff fashion, the other team decided to invite everyone who had taken part to the battle to their dorm after the lessons were over for a nice cup of hot chocolate.

chan made his way over to jeongin and minho, smiling and waving almost shyly, drenched from head to toe, his hair hanging off everywhere, followed by changbin. as soon as they reached him, minho extended his hand to push chan’s golden locks back in their place, cupping chan’s jaw to lean over for quick peck to his forehead. 

rolling his eyes at their antics, jeongin announced that he wanted to dry off before his transfiguration lesson, sure that mcgonagall would turn him into a hand towel if he showed up like that, telling chan he’d see them for the promised hot chocolate later in the day before jogging off. changbin stopped with them for a bit to catch up. being captain of the quidditch team, the gryffindor didn’t have time to do much more than practice and study, so chatting after all that time was nice. but soon, he told them he needed to head to class as well, heading back into the castle.

minho turned around, sending chan a dazzling smile before offering his hand to the older. both of them chose to ignore how cold both their hands were, instead intertwining their fingers to share what little warmth they had left. 

they decided they still had a bit of time before they had to go, if they hurried up to change, so they started to stroll around the lake, the path leading to the greenhouses already cleared, probably thanks to an enchantment that constantly kept it dry to be able to access lessons easily. eventually, chan’s arm wrapped around minho’s waist, fingers snaking into the pocket of his coat to keep warm. and despite it being months since all of this started, minho still couldn’t help but still blush at how domestic that action was. 

“was jisungie still in bed? why didn’t he join us?”

chan let out a long breath, letting the air around him cloud up with the cold, tightening his hold around minho for a second.

“sung… he gets a bit cranky when the snow comes. don’t get me wrong, he still loves it, he just hates not being able to go out without his clothes getting wet, which is a sensory nightmare for him.”

oh. minho had not thought of that. jisung’s brain sometimes worked in such different ways from his own, especially in the little things like this, so minho still wasn’t used to taking them into account. but he would continue to try his best at making jisung comfortable. 

the two of them kept strolling around for a bit, chatting about everything and nothing, ending up losing track of time. when they heard the first bell chime, signalling the lessons would begin shortly, chan and minho looked at each other in a moment of panic, before noticing they were right next to the hufflepuff dorms. they didn’t even stop for a moment before rushing into chan’s room, who took out his own robes and some old ones that would probably fit minho, together with a white button-up and a well-loved grey cardigan. minho snatched up one of his own ties that had been forgotten in chan’s room, glad that his oversight meant he would still wear his house colours, although there wasn’t much he could do about the yellow lining of chan’s robes. 

he quickly pulled the shirt and the cardigan on, running a hand through his hair to try and fix it, before turning around to see if chan was ready to go. but the older boy was simply looking at him with a weird look in his eyes, a small smile adorning his lips. minho asked what the hell was wrong with him, already reaching out to put the robes on, but chan’s answer stopped him dead in his tracks.

“you look good in my cardigan”

and if wearing chan’s clothes wasn’t already enough to make minho want to combust on the spot, chan liking it was the drop it took to make everything spill over. minho hid his face in his hands, groaning embarrassedly. minho was used to wearing black cardigans, often with a v-neck, so wearing this one, full of patched-up holes, frayed hems and patches on the elbows, he could imagine how much of a change it was to his usual wear. he had never seen this specific one on chan, so he hoped it would be alright if he stole it (although let’s be honest, he would have done it either way).

already late enough, the boys made their way over to the staircases, yelling a quick goodbye to each other before going their own ways. minho made it to his charms class with only a few moments to spare, professor flitwick ready to launch into a complicated lecture on the day’s enchantment. 

the day passed in a blur, filled with many practical classes that seemed to fly by, and soon minho’s lessons were over. he knew that chan had to meet for study group with some friends of his year to revise for exams and wouldn’t be done until much later, so he started making his way over to the ravenclaw common room, wanting to spend some time with his friends. with school catching up, he felt like he was seeing them less and less, and he hated to admit it, but he kind of missed seungmin’s witty personality.

he had just passed in front of the library doors when he heard them slam open, his name shouted a second later. he quickly turned around and retraced his steps down the corridor, making his way over to chan—because honestly, lately it felt like the two of them had a mental connection—who was looking at him with a mix of apprehension and concern.

“can you go check on sung? he left halfway through one of his lessons and i can’t go back to the dorms right now.”

oh shit. “did something bad happen?” minho was ready to beat up anyone who had hurt his friend. he was already thinking of the most creative spells he knew, trying to remember the incantation for the one that made scorpions randomly appear in people’s pockets, but he wasn’t able to recall anything about it. well, he would think of something.

“no, it’s fine. he was just overwhelmed and mcgonagall let him go back to his room. the headmistress knows about sung’s adhd, she even made him a permit to get out of lessons whenever he doesn’t feel like it. he never uses it though, so i want to check if he’s alright.”

after reassuring chan, minho immediately made his way back, running towards the hufflepuff dorm. sorry, seungmin. he would hang out with him later, promised. minho was sure the younger boy would understand.

minho descended the stairs—without tripping over! fifty points to ravenclaw—and soon he was passing after the kitchen doors. he tapped rhythmically on one of the barrels at the end of the corridor, hoping it would be the right one and he wouldn’t get drenched in vinegar. he was used to sneaking in through one of the many windows, so using the actual entrance was still pretty new to him. 

but karma must have been by his side, because the barrel soon opened, revealing the inside of the hufflepuff common room. he greeted felix as he passed by, making his way over to the round doors leading to the boys’ rooms. felix simply waved back from where he was sitting upside down on an armchair, blonde hair brushing against the floor as his history of magic textbook floated next to his head. well, minho was the last one who could judge someone’s studying methods. 

he quietly knocked on jisung’s door, hoping the younger would be okay with seeing him. he waited and waited, getting no answer from inside. but after the second time knocking without anyone answering, he decided to just push the door open and see if jisung was actually inside. 

as he peeked through the door, just pushed ajar, he could see the whole room illuminated by the late afternoon sun, a quiet and cosy atmosphere that made minho want to fall asleep. and, just as he expected, minho could see a lump under the blankets on chan’s bed. the lump shifted, and a pair of eyes was soon staring at him from where a boy was cocooned. 

minho pulled his robes off, hanging them on the back of the closest chair before he made his way over to the bed, sitting down on the edge next to (what he assumed were) jisung’s feet. after a few moments of silence, jisung’s voice rang out softly.

“you’re wearing chan’s cardigan”

oh. he still was. even minho had forgotten about it, that morning’s shenanigans already seeming so far away. jisung’s intervention was an affirmation and not a question, so he chose not to answer, tangling his fingers in the edge of the blanket as he asked jisung if he was alright. 

“we were brewing some weird potions which smelled so strong, it was just too much. i have already been a bit on the edge these last few weeks, as you’ve probably noticed. slughorn got mad at my stimming and sent me to mcgonagall’s office. when i explained what happened, she seemed pretty mad as well, she sent me back to the dorms before storming off towards his class.”

minho was already wary of the slug club and their elitism, but if the professor ever extended another invite to him, minho would probably jinx him. nobody had the right to get bothered by jisung’s stims, especially since the younger was always mindful when around people and only let himself stim around his close friends, trying to mask when anyone else was with him.

“oh, he’s such a bitch. i’ll make his shoelaces tie themselves together as he’s going down the stairs or something. fuck, he’s awful. you know he’s completely wrong, right? what… what can i do for you, sungie?”

and instead of getting asked to go away like he was expecting, or not getting an answer at all, minho saw the blankets lifting up. he stared dumbfounded at jisung’s tired face as he lifted the blankets even higher, motioning for minho to get in bed with him. 

and who was minho to deny cuddles to his favourite cute boy? (don’t tell chan he said that, please don’t tell chan)

minho quietly slipped his shoes off before slowly laying down onto the bed on his side, making sure to not crowd jisung’s space too much as he laid his head on the pillow. shyly, jisung reached out to tangle his hands in the fabric of minho's—or better, chan's—cardigan, and it took minho a few moments to notice the younger boy clenching and releasing his fists rhythmically, happy that jisung felt comfortable to stim around him. they settled down like that, minho moving his hand to rest on the curve of jisung's waist, the younger curled up against his chest.

after a few minutes, when minho had already assumed jisung had fallen asleep, he heard him quietly mutter. 

“you smell like chan, too”

minho smiled softly at how slurred the younger boy’s voice was, cheek pressed against the mattress and blue hair splayed everywhere.

“we’re in his bed too, silly. that’s surely the biggest part of it”

but jisung was already out like a light, snoring curled up next to him.

➵➵➵➵

minho woke up a few hours later to a door quietly slipping close. he turned around, trying not to rouse the sleeping boy cuddled up to him, only to see chan smiling at the two of them softly as he set his schoolbag down at the foot of the bed.

and as much as he loved that smile, after his talk with felix, minho knew chan and him had to actually discuss all of this . 

he motioned for chan to stop where he was before he gently started prying jisung’s limbs away, which had wrapped around him like an octopus. after a bit of struggling, he managed to slip out of bed without waking jisung, opting to reach over to jisung’s own bed and slip the cat plushie minho had gifted him into his arms, as an apology for taking his cuddle buddy away. 

minho tiptoed over to the door, careful not to slip on the hardwood with his sock-clad feet, taking chan’s hand in his while he went. he shouldn’t have been surprised at how natural it felt when their fingers intertwined, but he couldn’t help the empty feeling in his other hand, not holding a certain someone’s.

they slipped down the hall into felix’s room, hoping it would still be empty, and letting out a glad sigh when they noticed the younger hufflepuff was still out.

minho sat down on felix’s bed, wringing his hands in his lap, trying to ignore the building pressure behind his eyelids. he knew that his relationship with chan was genuine, but he couldn’t help but worry. the two of them had never set any labels or talked about being boyfriends, so what if it was all one-sided? what if chan was just playing with him? 

but all of minho’s worries were blown away a second later when chan approached him, sitting down on the edge of the bed and kissing his forehead softly. he took minho’s hands in his own, their gazes meeting naturally.

“you know you can tell me anything, right? i would never judge you. and it’s alright if you’re not ready, i’ll still always be here for you”

and damn chan for his loving, altruistic nature, because minho was already willing to spill everything. but he forced himself to start carefully.

“have you ever… thought about loving two people?”

chan’s eyes lit up, but minho refused to acknowledge that it was probably recognition of where the conversation was going. the older ran his thumb across minho’s knuckles soothingly, slowly melting the tension out of minho’s form. minho took a shaky breath, releasing it slowly to try and calm himself.

“i have. i think that there’s nothing wrong with being with more than one person at once, if everyone is on board with it and there are boundaries set. love is powerful, and it should never be pushed down.”

hearing his words, minho visibly relaxed, letting himself melt into chan’s side. he leaned his head onto chan’s shoulder, preparing himself to ask his next question, but chan beat him to it.

“i feel like there’s a reason you’re asking me this. does this have anything to do with a certain boy who was hugging you like a koala ten minutes ago?”

minho threw himself down on the bed, staring at the ceiling to organise his words to make sure he wouldn’t get this across in the wrong way. after a moment, chan laid down as well, asking if it was alright before laying his head on minho’s chest, minho’s hand instantly coming up to play with his curly hair as he spoke to try and hide how much they were shaking. minho could feel himself slowly reaching his breaking point, but he refused to shatter.

“i know i like you, and i know i like whatever it is the two of us have. i have always kind of considered us boyfriends, even if we have never openly spoken about it. but then sung came along, and i found myself wanting to hold his hand and hug him when he’s having a hard day and kiss him to congratulate him when exams go well. it took a comment from felix for me to realise i like him too, but i can’t keep this to myself anymore.”

everything was quiet again for a few seconds, and minho was so, so scared that he had messed everything up. but then, chan spoke up.

“i haven’t been subtle. like, at all. i’m sure you know that i feel the same. but i guess that confirmation is still nice. so yes, lee minho, i like you a whole lot, and i just happen to like a certain han jisung as well, since a little birdie told me you like him too.”

it took a moment for chan’s words to truly sink in, but once they did, minho threw an arm over his eyes, hit by a wave of strong, sudden emotions that he couldn’t even begin to describe. minho refused to acknowledge the sting behind his closed eyelids, of the way his breathing was starting to pick up.

“how can you just say that and then act like you’re talking about damn weather predictions, you asshole?! i’ve been freaking out about this for weeks, at least act like you’re a bit less chill!”

chan instantly looked up, alarmed at how watery minho’s voice had become. and at that moment, minho lost the fight against himself. tears started streaming down his cheeks as he bit his bottom lip to try and stop crying. to no avail, he tried to hide behind his hands, not wanting chan to see him when his emotions were starting to get the best of him. but a painful sob ripped out of his throat, and chan immediately engulfed him in a hug, letting minho bury his head in the crook of his neck as he continued to cry. 

“sorry, i’m so sorry. i don’t know why i’m crying, i just—"

chan just held him, whispering sweet nothings in his ear while giving minho the space to let everything out. it was true, that minho had been worrying about the topic for a lot of time now, and mixed with the stress of preparing for exams and all his hard classes, everything had caught up to him. now that he knew his feelings were reciprocated by chan, he could relax knowing he wasn’t alone in this. he just wasn’t expecting his impending breakdown to happen now.

chan asked if something was wrong, and minho managed to calm his sobs down a little, using his sleeves to wipe the tears from his cheeks, and he almost started sobbing right over when he noticed he was still wearing chan’s cardigan. 

“i’m fine. i’m good, actually. thank you for telling me, i’m so happy i’m not alone in this”

chan kissed the tip of his nose, hugging minho a bit tighter, hoping his feelings would get across even if he wasn’t able to put them into words, as the younger just kept sobbing into his chest.

“shh, you’re alright. i’m here, and everything is fine. breathe for me, love”

but when the younger only seemed to get more and more worked up as the minutes passed, chan’s next plan was to try and distract him. “we still need to talk to him, right baby? hey, listen. we’re going to hogsmeade next week, right? we should take him on a date and ask him out there” 

minho giggled wetly. “you sap, that’s the most cliché thing ever! he will love it so much, it’s perfect”

the two boys ended up staying cuddled up for a while, basking in each other. minho’s eyes were still betraying him, despite his best efforts, letting tears stream down his cheeks as chan and him hugged, unable to calm down. his shoulder shook lightly with his cries, but the sobs had left their way to sniffles instead.

until eventually they heard the door opening and realised that fuck, they were still in felix’s room . minho hid his face into the crook of chan’s neck as the younger hufflepuff entered, placing his tome on his desk before sitting down on top of it with a smile that was a mix of teasing and fond.

“so, i assume you two talked it out. i hope i won’t even need to tell you that i’ll break your legs if you ever hurt him. capiche?”

the two of them nodded, slowly sitting up. only then did felix notice minho’s endless tears, letting out a noise of distress before approaching the couple. he cupped the ravenclaw’s cheeks, pouting when minho let out yet another sob. merlin, he was just so tired, he just wanted to bury himself under the covers and never come out again. it seemed like the dam had broken down, and he wasn’t able to stop after bottling everything up for so long.

felix, always the kind one, offered minho a tissue to blow his nose. but when he was hit by a particularly strong tremor, felix simply stepped forward, engulfing minho is a strong hug, letting the older bury his face in his hoodie, which always smelled of cinnamon and baking spices. 

“you’re so strong, okay? i’m really sorry you’re hurting over this, but i know everything will work out for the three of you. you deserve it”

and if felix’s plan was to get minho to stop crying, he definitely failed.

➵➵➵➵

when minho woke up, the only thing he knew was that his head hurt. it took him a few moments to realise that he was back in the ravenclaw tower, the blue curtains hanging around him a clear indication, and a few more seconds to realise the warmth coming from under him was actually seungmin’s body, minho's head buried in the crook of his neck with the younger's arms around his middle.

minho lifted a hand to rub his eyes groggily, slowly coming back to the real world. from the window just above the bed, he could see the sun starting to rise, his mind slowly starting to connect the pieces of what had happened the previous evening. 

everything was pretty blurry, but he remembered two pairs of strong arms around him as he cried, a door creaking open and a soft, sleepy voice asking what had happened. he had a vague memory of being carried on someone’s back, blue hair tickling his face as he got taken up the stairs to his own dorm, and seungmin’s worried gasp when he had seen the state minho had been in, tears still refusing to stop, who immediately rushed over to help sit minho down on the closest bed. 

now, feeling seungmin stir beside him, minho blinked a few times to try and get the sleep out of his eyes, keeping his face hidden in the crook of the younger's neck to hide the fact that his eyes were most definitely still red and puffy.

minho could pinpoint the exact moment seungmin woke up, his body growing rigid for a second as he noticed the unusual presence next to him, before he relaxed completely, identifying minho, carefully moving a hand to pet the mess of hair on top of his head. 

"seungminnie?"

minho cringed at the unsteadiness of his own voice and its gravel timber, throat still hurting a bit after his crying fit last night. but the younger didn't seem to notice, moving his hands to rub up and down minho's back in a caring manner.

"good morning. how are you feeling?"

hearing minho's hesitance to answer, seungmin just placed a gentle kiss on his forehead, giving him time to formulate his thoughts and not forcing him to speak if he wasn't comfortable. 

and, as much as the two boys liked to argue, clutching onto their 'divorced couple' dynamics, as much as they pretended to barely be able to put up with each other, minho was extremely glad for the relationship the two of them harboured. it laid in the quiet moments, when minho stopped trying to smack seungmin's ass just to annoy him and instead forced him to close his books and come on a walk around the black lake, allowing his brain to rest a bit and his body to recharge with fresh air after having stayed inside the whole day; when seungmin stopped trying to steal minho's favourite clothes—and called him short when said clothes didn't fit his tall frame—and sneaked into the kitchens to steal something for minho, knowing the older's demanding classes had him skipping dinner in the great hall yet again.

and, he appreciated their dynamic in moments like this, when the silence was never oppressive and they were content just laying in each others' arms.

after a few good moments, minho conjured up the only answer he was capable of giving at the moment. "m' head hurts". seungmin only chuckled, continuing to rub his hands down minho's back with the same calm and precision.

they stayed like that, basking in each others' comfort, for what felt like a small eternity. in the back of his mind, minho knew he had lessons to attend that he was most definitely skipping by staying in bed, but the thought was so far away he didn't even dwell on it for a second, reasoning with himself that a single day skipped wouldn't do any harm, especially with his impeccable attendance.

when seungmin made to get up, the two of them chuckled at his expression, conflicted between asking minho to move or simply giving up and staying in bed with the older continuing to lay on his chest. minho took the decision for him and turned over to lay on his side, letting the younger get up. minho immediately regretted the position he had stayed in earlier when he noticed his arm had grown completely stiff, half his body having rested on top of it for a good few hours. he rubbed his bicep to get the feeling back to it, watching as seungmin fetched a bottle from his desk before sitting back down on the bed. he handed the bottle to minho, who silently took and uncapped it. they both didn't talk about the fact that minho's hands shook a bit and seungmin had to quickly intervene before the water ended up spilling on the blankets, his hands engulfing minho's own and steadying them as he took long sips.

"that should help with the headache. and your thirst, i'm guessing you're pretty dehydrated after last night"

minho's chest filled with dread knowing his younger friend, someone who trusted him and knew him as someone to rely on, had seen him at his lowest, had had to take him in during a breakdown and calm him down when nobody else was able to. he imagined that seungmin must have been extremely worried, and probably a bit scared too, not knowing how to deal with minho's tears and lack of explanation. after years of sharing a dorm, seungmin knew him too well, because he put a quick end to minho’s spiralling thoughts. 

“nope, stop. i know what you’re thinking. you’re not a burden, and even the great lee minho needs to be taken care of from time to time. i have to admit, it would be better for your own sanity if you didn’t bottle everything up until you had a complete breakdown, but we’re still here to help you out even then.” 

seungmin only shushed him when he tried to apologise.

“also, i told professor sprout you were sick, and she allowed me to stay with you. jeongin will ask seonghwa to pass you notes, don’t worry. merlin, i really hope the kid doesn’t embarrass himself by stepping onto his feet or something.”

minho grumbled something that sounded extremely like you’re just a few months older before seungmin shoved him, playfully glaring at him. 

“okay, come on. you haven’t been spending enough time taking care of yourself, so i’m here to make sure you do nothing for once in your life. also, i miss you. you have barely been around lately.”

the last part was muttered quietly, almost shyly, and minho wouldn’t have caught what he said hadn’t he spent years trying to decipher seungmin’s weird speaking patterns. minho sighed apologetically. he knew he had been distant, but his classes this year really were extremely hard, and this whole chan-jisung situation had started taking up more and more of his mind every day. but it looked like they would get to solve the problem right then. minho was determined to dedicate his whole day to seungmin, knowing his friend relied on time spent together to show his affection. 

so, the two boys got dressed quietly, and minho chose to ignore chan’s cardigan laying on his desk chair to preserve his own sanity. he slipped on a pair of comfortable cargo pants with a simple white t-shirt, topping it all off with a large hoodie. seungmin was wearing a woollen maroon jumper that looked extremely soft. minho made a mental note to steal it later. 

minho braced himself with a few deep breaths, and then the two made their way down the stairs of the dorms and out of the ravenclaw tower, seungmin snickering at minho’s bunny slippers and the older tripping him over as revenge. their quiet bickering filled the silence of the castle; it was weird, roaming around the castle with nobody else around them, but minho could only appreciate the quietness of everyone being in class and not bothering them as they made their way down to the kitchens. he honestly didn’t think he’d be able to interact with anyone other than seungmin for a few hours.

and when minho tripped down the last step, ending up splayed on the ground, seungmin tried pretty hard not to laugh, but seeing minho glare at the step like it had personally offended him was enough to have him dissolve in a fit of giggles, followed by a threat from the older of transfigurating each of seungmin’s fingers into slimy worms if he didn’t shut up.

seungmin jumped over minho’s arm, skipping over to the infamous fruit painting and ignoring minho’s whines about seungmin leaving him to bleed out on the floor. eventually, minho got up, brushing his robes as the other boy tickled the pear in the painting and, with a mischievous grin, made to close the door in his face. minho chose to ignore the pain in his foot when he managed to wedge it inside before the door closed completely. 

the house elves, apparently used to these shenanigans, chose to ignore the two boys and keep working to get lunch ready. seungmin took hold of minho’s sleeve and steered them towards a corner, where remnants of today’s breakfast were being stored. minho softly asked a house elf if they were allowed to have a few cookies, hoping he wasn’t disturbing them too much, and when she turned around, minho immediately recognised the elf he had talked with the last time he was here. it looked like he was recognised as well, cause the elf was instantly getting up to fetch two mugs of tea for the two of them. 

minho relaxed as soon as a hot cup of tea was pushed into his hands, the soft smell of flowers and honey making him sleepy as he sat down on a stool, pushing out of the way so he wouldn’t bother the working elves. seungmin handed him a biscuit, which he immediately dipped into his tea to make the chocolate chips melt. 

they ended up eating half of the biscuits there were left, and eventually got up to wash their mugs, helping the house elves here and there before they decided to stick around for a bit to help with cooking, seeing as the little creatures were running late and a helping hand would be really appreciated. one of them almost started crying, telling the boys they were too kind, and minho panicked for a second before seungmin took over and started cutting the red peppers for her, a pretty effective distraction.

minho had to admit, he missed cooking. sure, having all meals ready for them and being able to share them with all his friends was great, but the pleasure of eating something he had put effort into cooking couldn’t be matched. during summer, his parents were always at work, but minho enjoyed cooking for them, pushing the limits of his creativity to always come up with new dishes for them to try, mixing his mother’s muggle culture with his father’s wizard traditions. 

he chatted his time away, and when an hour had passed, he had talked with basically all of the cooks. merlin, he really loved the little dudes. 

when seungmin and him waved shyly on their way out, minho was surprised by how light his chest felt. seungmin was smiling at him, and minho realised this had been part of his plan all along. of course seungmin knew about his love for cooking, having been invited to minho’s house many times during the years, so he clearly knew it was a great way to get all the tension out of minho’s muscles. he rolled his eyes at the younger, making sure to still mouth a silent thank you when he was sure seungmin was turned around and couldn’t see him.

only when seungmin stepped a little in front of him did he notice the basket the younger was holding in his left hand. but he refused to tell minho what was inside, so he just let it go, knowing he would find out sooner or later. 

the boys soon stepped outside, and minho froze as he remembered his feet were still clad by his adored slippers, but the younger simply rolled his eyes, waving his wand around, and a second later minho was wearing his favourite pair of black combat boots. 

he grabbed seungmin’s elbow as the two of them made their way around the black lake, enjoying the chilly air of the late morning. seungmin told him all about his magical creature care class of last week, when one of their housemates had managed to anger a particularly vengeful bowtruckle, which had in turn stolen his glasses and refused to give them back. in exchange, minho told him about his misadventure during herbology, when a chomping cabbage had almost bit his whole hand off. they kept talking about everything and nothing for a while, but minho could see that seungmin wanted to talk about his breakdown, and he eventually seemed to cave in.

“listen. we’re here to chill and talk about stuff, because i know you will just end up bottling everything again if i don’t force you to actually say it to someone. so, tell me, what happened last night?”

minho sighed. he should have expected seungmin to not skirt around the topic and just ask openly; that’s one of the reasons they worked so well together, they were both quick-witted and ready to just blurt things out. he was still infinitely grateful for the soft tone of seungmin’s voice, not accusatory but comforting.

“just… boys, you know?” 

seungmin chuckled. “yeah, i know.”

seungmin had joined minho and chan at the library plenty of times, so he had surely noticed their dynamic, and the younger was nothing if not bright, so he had certainly figured out there was something going on between them. and being in the same year as jisung, minho has often seen them stroll around the corridors chatting, often joining in. so, he was pretty sure seungmin already knew, but wanted to hear it coming from minho’s mouth.

“i’m so gay that i managed to fall not for one, but two different boys. isn’t that worthy of some kind of homosexual medal?” his voice turned serious. “but, really. chan and i talked yesterday, and he likes jisung too. we’re gonna tell him next week. i guess i was more stressed about this than i thought. and, uhm, sorry for crying all over you yesterday.”

seungmin simply squeezed his arm, silently telling him he didn’t need to apologise for that. “i’m glad you figured it out. they’re good for you, both of them. and you’re good for them. i’m sure everything will work out.”

they continued walking for a bit, their chatter soon turning into mindless banter as they made their way around the lake.

“thank god chan and jisung share a room, or else i’d be constantly sexiled.”

seungmin yelped when minho hit his arm. come on, he hadn’t even hit him that hard. maybe. 

soon though, they reached the greenhouse, meaning their walk was almost over. but instead of continuing towards the castle, seungmin steered them over to the clear doors, quietly opening them and stepping inside the greenhouse. minho looked at him puzzled from the threshold as seungmin sat down on one of the wooden benches towards the back placing the basket next to himself. when minho prompted him for an explanation, the younger looked away self-consciously.

“wednesday is professor sprout’s free day, and i know being around plants always relaxes you for some reason. i thought you’d enjoy being here, but we can go if you d—"

minho immediately interrupted him, heat rising to his cheeks against his will at seungmin’s caring actions. “no. no, i love it here. thank you for bringing me.”

he made his way through the many plants, making sure to not bump into anything and smash a few vases on the ground. it was a shame that his cat animagus didn’t magically erase his clumsiness. but as soon as he sat down, seungmin was pulling two big bowls of noodles out of the basket. minho looked at him, shocked still.

“you bastard. you didn’t—"

seungmin looked away, red coating his cheeks. “surprise?”

but minho was already getting up, clasping seungmin’s hands in his own before pulling him onto his feet as well. he softly punched his shoulder, and seungmin didn’t even have time to protest before minho was throwing his arms around the younger’s neck. seungmin had no choice but to wrap his own arms around the older’s middle, accepting the violent act of love.

minho pulled away with a scoff, but he knew the younger could see right through him. he sat back down as seungmin handed him a pair of chopsticks, and minho’s stomach rumbled when he opened the container, immediately hit by the strong smell of spicy noodles. he thanked the younger before digging in, letting out a happy sigh at the taste. jisung’s stims were starting to get to him, because without even thinking he started shaking his fist back and forth in a little happy gesture. seungmin simply rolled his eyes at him, going back to his own meal.

minho switched his chopsticks to his left hand, scooting over until he could wrap his arm around seungmin’s middle. when the younger looked at him with an eyebrow raised, he simply replied with “what? it’s cold in here.”

they kept chatting between bites, and soon their bowls were both empty. minho put them both back in the basket before getting up, stretching with his arms high above his head. 

“aw, look at our little kitty”

oh, seungmin didn’t even know how right he was.

“i’m still older than you, brat. show some respect.” 

but he still offered his hands to help seungmin up, linking their arms as they made their way back to the castle with their stomachs full and dumb smiles on their lips.

when the door to the ravenclaw dorm opened, after minho had solved an easy riddle to enter—minho suspected that the door had grown a soft spot for him through the years—they were immediately greeted by a loud groan. jeongin, who had previously been sitting down at one of the tables with his head buried in a textbook, immediately got up to run towards them.

“my saviours! you’ve come at the perfect time to avenge me from the third goblin revolution. come on, tell me about your little date. i’ll even listen to the sex scene, anything other than history of magic.”

minho shoved past him to sit on his favourite armchair as seungmin lifted jeongin’s book, mimicking slamming it on top of the younger’s head. 

“no sex, unfortunately. seungminnie just treated me to a nice, romantic lunch in the greenhouse. he even lit candles—”

“i did no such thing!” minho ignored seungmin’s offended screech, continuing to narrate their morning in the most ridiculous way he could muster. he even managed to scare away a group of first-years with his intense story-telling, but honestly, when did minho not scare first-years with his weirdness? 

and that’s how he spent the rest of his afternoon; encased in warm laughter and caring smiles, almost forgetting everything that had happened before, simply enjoying his friends’ company and letting himself relax for the first time in a while. 

➵➵➵➵

when sunday morning finally came, minho found himself waking up giddily. he had been waiting for it for days on end, and now that the day had finally come, he really couldn’t wait to see all their plans unfold. when his alarm clock rang loudly, he didn’t even get the urge to throw it as far away as he could to make the noise cease, instead pressing softly on top of the device—which was barely staying upright as duct tape held it together. yeah, seungmin and him weren’t really morning people, and they weren’t very proud to confess the number of times the clock had ended up smashed against the nearest wall. 

but that day, minho really couldn’t have it in himself to be angry. an excited shiver ran down his spine, making him smile dumbly. he had expected to be anxious about what he knew was coming, but his enthusiasm was erasing any other emotion. 

seungmin peeked out from where he was buried under his comforter, eyes barely visible as he squinted against the soft sunlight that had started to stream through the windows. yes, the two of them needed to keep the blinds open, or else they would never be able to wake up on time. 

“fucking hell. did someone put a spell on you? why, in the name of merlin, are you smiling at seven in the fucking morning?”

ah, cute little seungmin, with his habit of cursing like a sailor early in the morning. he would never admit it, but he kinda found it cute. 

he decided to ignore the younger boy as he got up, dressing in comfortable clothes—no, he hadn’t spent an hour and a half the previous day looking for that one beanie that matched his blue jacket, not at all—making sure they would shield him from the biting cold of december. although, the last few days had been particularly warm; minho was used to hearing all his friends tease him about the fact that his cheeks always turned a dark shade of red whenever he went out in the cold, but he hadn’t heard the spiel for quite a while, the temperatures having been pretty forgiving. and today was no exception: the winter sun was rising, sleepily illuminating the courtyard in a warm shade of yellow, waking everyone up for a new day. 

eventually, seungmin managed to stumble out of bed—minho simply giggled when the younger tumbled onto the floor in a heap of blankets and limbs, but he managed to free himself without minho’s help, so he could count it as a win, getting back to slipping chan’s cardigan on. when the older had asked for his robes back, he didn’t request his cardigan to be handed back, and when minho came back to his dorms wearing it instead of carrying it in his arms with the rest of the clothes he had borrowed, chan had simply blushed and kissed him on the cheek. ever since then, minho conserved the grey garment for special occasions only. and merlin, if this wasn’t a special occasion. 

seungmin approached him, still wrapped in his precious cream-coloured blanket. he looked a bit more awake now, a soft smile grazing his lips. “it’s the big day, right?”

minho could only nod, sitting down to slip another pair of socks on top of the ones he was already wearing. he refused to let cold feet annoy him today, no matter how much seungmin always teased him for how sensitive to the temperature he was. but the younger didn’t even comment on the socks, sitting down behind minho and shedding his blanket burrito to raise his hands to minho’s shoulders. he massaged the tense muscles, working down his back as the older finished getting ready.

“you know everything will go well, right? jisungie is smitten with you, there’s no way he will reject you. you three are perfect for each other. and i know you hate hearing sappy shit from me, but for once believe me, alright?”

minho pretended to be annoyed as he turned around, launching forward to tickle the younger for a second of revenge. but he knew seungmin saw right through him, especially since he was soon wrapping him up in his arms, holding seungmin’s waist softly and allowing himself a moment of comfort and reassurance. 

seungmin kissed his forehead, and he pulled away with a disgusted face, reaching down to tug his dear combat boots on. it was almost eight, so he needed to be quick in order to reach the hufflepuff common room in time and not make the others wait. chan and him had agreed to meet up there with jisung before making their way over to the hogsmeade village on foot, where they would spend the entire day.

he said goodbye to seungmin, who wished him luck as the door was closing. minho was sure he would see him at the village, together with the rest of their friend group, but for once after many years and many more visits, minho was not joining them. 

he quickly made his way down the staircase, careful not to slip and fall—he had already broken his wrist while descending the stairs the day a visit to hogsmeade was scheduled once in the past, ending up in the hospital wing while his friends had fun without him. he was pretty traumatised ever since, and he would prefer not to repeat the experience. 

when he stepped out of the common room, the halls were busting with students, all dressed in muggle clothes and hiding behind thick scarves, and he greeted quite a few of them on the way. he even met changbin’s gaze from across the corridor, him and hyunjin casually making their way towards the great hall where all his friend group would meet up. the gryffindor winked at him, knowing about their plan, and minho felt his cheeks heat up.

a few minutes later, the round door to the hufflepuff was opening before him, and minho was excitedly getting inside. he waved at felix, who just watched him with an amused expression. minho shot him a confused look, before he heard a shout carry through the whole common room.

“for merlin’s beard, jisung. the purple hoodie is perfectly fine, just hurry the fuck up”

well, minho surely hadn’t needed to worry about being late. he rolled his eyes at felix, following the loud voices into chan and jisung’s shared room. as soon as he crossed the threshold, he was met with the biggest chaos he had ever seen. clothes were scattered everywhere: the whole floor was completely off-limits, covered from top to bottom, and minho could almost hear the houseplants begging to be freed from all the garments hanging over them. a pair of bright yellow socks had even managed to stick to the ceiling light. 

minho just stared, unblinking, at the scene before him. then, lifting his gaze, he met chan’s own panicked eyes, and he started laughing maniacally, unable to stop to even catch his breath. jisung, previously unaware of his presence, looked at him concernedly for a second, but chan physically forced him to get back to dressing. 

he approached minho’s shaking form, bent over from laughing, slipping a hand around minho’s waist to hold him upright as he tried to stop giggling. “merlin, jisungie, i knew you were messy, but this much worse than i would have ever thought! this is gold, i can’t wait to tell seungminnie—"

jisung made an indignant noise, pulling his wand out of his pocket and waving it around, almost poking minho’s eye out in the process. all the clothes immediately floated up in the air, and got sent back into the trunk where they had apparently come from, resembling a hurricane. the only thing left on the bed was a big, padded jacket, which jisung slipped on quickly, moving to shut his trunk with a loud noise.

“now, was that so hard?” 

it seemed like chan was trying to hold his laughter in as well, a fact that wasn’t helped by jisung’s cross face. but it was hard to find it anything but cute, his cheeks all puffed up from the coat zipped up to his chin. 

“i just wanted to look good! today’s a special day. i mean, you wouldn’t get it, but you’ll see later…”

minho chose to put jisung out of his misery, reaching over to interlace his fingers with the younger’s and starting to pull him out of the room. chan grabbed jisung’s other hand, and together they made their way towards the common room. they refused to let the hold they had on each others’ hands go, so they struggled a bit to get through the door, but with a few giggles they were out and going. 

they reached the great hall just as the headmistress was making a role call, almost missing chan’s name, which was almost at the top of the list. but everything went just fine, and soon enough, half the school was making its way out of the castle doors, excitedly starting to walk towards the little village. minho looked to the side, his gaze meeting jisung’s own, finding the same giddiness and excitement he felt himself, and he matched the younger’s grin as he started to lead them forward. 

they must have made quite the sight, three people wobbling in the snow while holding hands, but they were too happy to care. 

the quick journey on the snow-covered path passed quickly, filled with anecdotes about past trips and requests for places to visit. minho himself was holding a tote bag—strictly decorated with cat doodles, a birthday present from changbin during their second year at hogwarts—so he would be able to carry the books he was determined to buy. he was a ravenclaw through and through, and that included being a very dedicated bookworm. 

at one point, minho felt his hat raise in the air by itself, and when he turned around confusedly, he immediately saw jeongin a few steps behind them, with his wand out pointed at minho while all their other friends laughed. oh, how much he would enjoy getting his revenge when they were all back to the dorms.

but for now, he simply rolled his eyes and pushed his beanie back onto his head, continuing to walk as if nothing had happened. 

and soon, they were entering the village, hit by the smell of cinnamon and spices, all of the houses decorated with christmas lights and tinsel hanging from the windows, small snowmen charmed to wave at whoever passed by and roofs theatrically covered in white. out of the corner of his eye, he saw jisung reach into his pocket and take his polaroid camera out, snatching a picture of the scenery. he was confused when he heard a second snap, turning around to see the younger waving a second picture around to make it develop faster. and he was only more confused when he noticed that it was a photo of chan and him, staring starstruck at the scenery, lights reflected in their eyes like little galaxies. 

“what? you’re cute, i couldn’t let the opportunity escape.”

minho rolled his eyes, trying to hide the desperate blush rising on his cheeks. maybe he could blame it on the cold. yeah, he would definitely blame it on the cold.

jisung slipped the two pictures into the inner pocket of his jacket as the trio entered the village, simply walking around for a bit, soaking in the atmosphere without going inside any shops yet. they all seemed to be enjoying the scenery a lot; the residents had gone all-out that year, and it was very appreciated. 

eventually, though, jisung’s belly grumbled loudly, and they all laughed, deciding to go into madam puttifoot’s tea shop for breakfast. thankfully, it was decked for the holidays like the rest of the village. the last time minho had come here, on an awkward date with a girl during his first year, everything had been decked in pink, hearts everywhere. but now, the place had been taken over by the owner’s daughter, who had made the place more modern and fit for everyone, although still maintaining the name. 

well, at least first-year minho had had good taste as well; while the trio was looking for a table, he met the aforementioned girl’s eyes, and she waved happily, sitting together with her friends. minho had to admit that, if he wasn’t completely smitten with two other guys, he probably would have considered offering her a coffee to catch up. damned bisexuality.

but now, he didn’t even think before looking away after waving back, going back to his conversation with jisung about the fact that traditional stove-top kettles were superior to the new, electrical ones, despite being slower. chan had been banned from the discussion as soon as he had said he heated his tea in the microwave at home. minho had honestly considered breaking up with him on the spot. listen, tea is a very serious matter.

when a waiter came to take their order, they ended up getting a plate of strawberry pancakes and a chocolate muffin, along with three cups of whatever season-appropriate tea was offered to them. minho wasn’t very sure of what sneezing ivy was, but the server had been pretty insistent on him trying it, and he’d been a bit scared to say no to her. jisung had ordered something with white roses, and chan a pumpkin-spiced-something. 

as soon as their stuff had arrived, chan and jisung had dug into it happily. jisung groaned at the amazing taste, and chan simply made a noise of agreement, too busy biting onto his own food to properly articulate his thoughts. 

jisung lifted his fork to offer minho a bite, but the older kindly refused, shaking his head while his hands warmed up around his mug. one of the only habits he hadn’t managed to shake off was eating in the morning; despite years of trying to force himself at breakfast in the great hall, he was always too nauseous to eat anything for a while after waking up. 

jisung pouted a bit, sad that he wouldn’t get to experience the amazing taste of his pancakes, but lifted the fork to his own mouth when minho prompted him to. the next bite, he decided to feed chan, who in turn offered a piece of his own muffin. minho only watched them fondly, the warmth of his tea matching the warm feeling that stirred in his chest. and he had to admit, despite his previous reluctance, sneezing ivy actually tasted really good. 

while the other two bickered over the superiority of dark chocolate versus white chocolate, minho slipped away, pulling a few coins out of his pocket to pay for all of their breakfast, silently slipping back to their table, offering an excuse about needing to use the bathroom when jisung asked about it. 

but sooner than he would have liked, their mugs were all empty and their dished free of any crumbs. jisung was already trying to convince minho to sneak into the kitchens to try and recreate his amazing strawberry pancakes, only shutting up when they reached the register. minho grabbed his hand as he reached into his pockets, pulling him out of the shop with a confused chan in tow.

“i paid already, let’s go.”

he ignored jisung’s angry squeak, pulling them towards tomes and scrolls, the local book shop and repressing his smile. after a few minutes of indignant spluttering, jisung seemed to resign himself, pouting as they entered the doors to the big shop. 

and minho couldn’t help but sigh happily, immediately relaxed by being surrounded by all those books. sue him, books were way better than people. chan and jisung seemed to recognise his moment of vulnerability, letting his hands go to browse the shelves quietly and leaving minho some space to properly feel the place. he walked around for a bit, stacking book upon book in his arms, stopping for a while in front of the horror section and topping everything off with a herbal medicine manual. 

when he crossed paths with chan and jisung again, they immediately laughed at the high stack of books perched in his arms, but minho ignored them in favour of picking up a book with a very promising front cover. chan decided not to comment on it, simply reaching out to carry for him half of the stack minho was holding.

the trio kept on browsing the shelves for a bit, until minho noticed how much time had passed since they had entered, self-consciously making his way over to the register. chan reassured him that it was alright, and that they loved seeing his eyes sparkle as he looked at books. minho blushed furiously, reaching into his inner pocket to take his money out. but jisung was quicker, using the time minho spent fitting the books into his tote bag to pay for him. 

“what the hell, han jisung? books are way more expensive than some tea and pancakes, you didn’t have to—"

“i wanted to, minho. let me, please?”

and how could minho refuse those puppy eyes? 

they made their way out of the shop, minho promising to lend jisung the herbal medicine book when he seemed to show interest in it. they didn’t have any clear destination in mind, so they just strolled through the village, entering a few shops here and there. minho only noticed that chan hadn’t suggested any stops until the older slowed down, voice laced with awe as they passed in front of dominic maestro’s music shop. they immediately turned back around, reaching back to pull the door open. minho held it open for the other two boys, bowing comically as he ushered them in.

as soon as he followed behind them, minho was astonished: the walls were filled top to bottom with shelves full of musical instruments, vinyl records and whatever music gear anyone could think off. the place exploded with colour and noise, a few people around trying out different instruments and record players. minho could only stare, mouth slack, and when he finally managed to tear his gaze away, he noticed the other two weren’t faring any better. 

the trio ended up spending hours messing around with different stuff, jisung showing off his electric guitar skills and chan having fun mixing a tune out of random noise he caught up with a synthesizer. both of them stared as minho riffed off with a bass, fingers skillfully moving along to an old queen song, filling the section they were staying in with heavy vibrations that made their hands shake. when he was done, chan was staring at him with his mouth open, and jisung looked conflicted between wanting to smash the bass on minho’s head and wanting to push the older against the wall. 

he smiled shyly, getting up to put the bass away, but the other two were having none of it, protesting loudly and forcing him to play something else. they went on like that for a long time, jisung joining in with the guitar when he recognised the songs minho was playing, and sometimes even riffing off a freestyle beat when he felt particularly inspired.

when they stumbled out of the shop, drunk on music and laughter, the sun was starting to set. not that it meant much, since winter blessed them with dusk coming at 4pm, but it meant that they needed to start getting back to the castle. 

they decided to just start walking back, scared that they would end up losing track of time and getting back after the time they were allowed, instead slowly taking one last lap around the main streets before starting up the path to the school. 

and minho knew, their time to shine had come.

minho was mentally preparing himself for what chan and him were about to do, willing himself to calm down and take a few deep breaths, already looking around to find the best place to have their talk, seeing chan do the same in the corner of his eye. 

but jisung interrupted his mental pep talk, grabbing his sleeve to pull him back to a clearing in the woods. he looked shy in the fading light, the tip of his nose red from the cold and his eyes refusing to leave the ground. before anyone could react, he reached into his pocket, pulling out two packets wrapped in red paper and topped off with a golden bow. when minho asked how the hell he had managed to fit them in his pocket, jisung simply replied with a cheeky “extension charm, obviously. come on, open them, i’m getting anxious.”

minho looked over to chan for a second, before shrugging and starting to carefully unwrap his gift. but as soon as the paper was out of the way, minho could do nothing but stare at the scarf in his hands, soft under his fingers and smelling distinctly like jisung. when he managed to snap out of his daze, he looked up, noticing chan wearing a similar expression, hands wrapped in a green scarf. minho’s own was black, but the edge was the same mix of colours as chan’s. and when he lifted his face, he saw that the scarf jisung was wearing, a soft lavender colour, had the same edge, too. 

with a closer look, he immediately noticed that they were clearly handmade. had jisung crafted these just for them? 

he saw chan reaching up to wipe his eyes, jisung still staring at them with a nervous but determined look in his eyes.

“as you’ve probably noticed, lately my whole world has been spinning around you two. i really can’t remember what it felt like before; now, each time i see something that makes me happy, i automatically turn around to tell you guys, and when i feel sad i just want you to hug me and tell me everything will be alright. and i believe you guys each time, because i know that, as long as you’re holding me, i will be fine. the two of you are literally everything i have ever needed and will ever want. so, what i mean to ask is, will you please be mine?”

by this point, chan had given up on trying to hold back his tears, letting them stream down his cheeks as he smiled fondly at jisung, scarf held tightly, close to his chest. minho was the first one to move, jumping up to wrap his hands around jisung’s shoulders, pulling him close.

“han jisung! you perfect, perfect person. i can’t fucking believe i fell for you, with your stupid hand-made scarves and heart-shaped smile, and— you little fucker! you confessed before us?! how dare you, oh my god, i can’t stand you, you’re literally the worst—"

but minho’s spiel was cut off. and no, it wasn’t by a kiss. honestly, what was he even expecting? he chose to lick jisung’s palm from where it was pressed against his mouth instead, making the younger recoil and step back.

but their little scene seemed to have unlocked chan, who stepped forward, cupping jisung’s cheeks with his hands and kissing him deeply. jisung let out a noise of surprise, but it only took a moment before he was relaxing, going pliant under chan’s touch and softly reciprocating the kiss. minho could only watch, mesmerised, as jisung’s blue hair caught the light of the moon as the two people he loved the most in the world kissed. 

when they pulled away, minho was in a daze, like it had been him getting kissed. but something seemed to snap inside him as soon as jisung smiled up at him

“channie gets a kiss before i do, too? this is slander, i want a divorce—"

but this time, it looked like jisung had learned something. because minho was shut up by a kiss, a soft press of lips against his own. he instinctively moved his hands to jisung’s waist, letting the younger wrap his arms around his neck to pull him closer. the world seemed to stop around them, the only thing minho was aware of jisung’s warmth as they tried to push closer than possible.

the younger’s lips were a bit chapped from the cold, and probably jisung’s own anxiety for the confession he was planning, but minho didn’t mind one bit. minho could taste strawberries off his lips, a distant remnant of their late breakfast, and he immediately thought it was very fitting for jisung.

he cursed his need for air, pulling away to catch his breath and meeting jisung’s eyes. they were positively glowing, happiness radiating from every pore of his body. he felt chan’s chest leaning against his back, arms wrapping around them to reach jisung as well. 

jisung reached for minho’s hands, grabbing the scarf that had bunched up in his hold as the two kissed. he smoothed the texture out, carefully reaching up and wrapping it around minho’s neck and sealing the deal with a quick peck to his lips. chan immediately demanded the same treatment, giggling when jisung’s hands shook a bit as they moved next to chan’s face. the older simply reached out to kiss jisung’s knuckles, letting the younger fix the scarf as he wanted it before receiving a soft peck as well. 

minho’s chest felt like exploding, his heart beating too fast as a grin split his face, so big it made his cheeks hurt. here, wrapped between the people he loved, he really felt like everything was finally fitting in its place. like this, minho felt invincible. 

➵➵➵➵

when they crossed the threshold of the hogwarts castle, the sun had long set behind the mountains, and despite his double socks minho’s feet were about to drop off from the cold. when he looked at his boyfriends—merlin, he still couldn’t believe he got to call them boyfriends now—the tip of both their noses were a vibrant red, and he couldn’t resist reaching out to softly kiss them. 

with their hands still clasped, they started to make their way towards the common room, hoping they would catch their friends to go to dinner together. while passing, they walked past professor mcgonagall, who caught a glimpse of their interlocked hands and matching scarves, rolling her eyes with a barely concealed smile and a muttered finally . 

seeing a tall head of blonde hair that he immediately recognised as hyunjin’s, minho stirred the other two towards the rest of their group. and as soon as changbin caught a glimpse of their radiant smiles, he broke into a wide grin, shouting for everyone to turn around. 

and minho couldn’t help lifting his hands, jisung’s glove-clad one held in his right and chan’s own hand intertwined with his right. changbin lifted his hands in the air as well in celebration.

“BOYFRIENDS!” 

minho screamed at the top of his lungs, and was happy to hear the rest of their friends scream it back at him, smiles loud in their voices as they ran over to the trio, engulfing them in the tightest group hug. 

when they pulled away, jisung couldn’t resist a little shout of joy, paired with his trademark happy stim of shaky fists, and minho grabbed the edge of his scarf to pull him into a sweet kiss, their friends shouting around them. and when he pulled away, he didn’t hesitate for a second before doing the same to chan, his hands gripping the green material to pull chan’s lips to his. and he hadn’t thought it was possible, but their friends screamed even louder.