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Felix could hardly believe it. It was finally happening!

Ahead of them, way off in the distance, was a beautiful castle that took roots in the magic soil and of which the highest tower brushed the clouds. He had heard so many stories about this place, both from history books and from his older friends, but none of them did justice to the ethereal sight.

Hogwarts, the best magic school in the country – and where he was about to spend the next seven years of his life in order to study the magical arts and everything else pertaining to them.

"Hey, did you know that students used to enroll at the age of eleven and twelve?"

Jeongin's question rang in the air for a few seconds, and Felix ripped himself away from the view to glance at his friend. The white-haired boy wasn't even looking at any of them, plunged into Hogwarts: A History – Rewritten by H. G. and thus missing the sights.

"Innie, get your head out of your book and look outside!" urged Jisung, who had been just as transfixed as Felix. "You're missing the best part!"

Surprised, the youngest of the group quickly abandoned his book to shuffle over to the large window of their compartment, a small gasp escaping him when he saw the castle slowly growing bigger as the Express got closer.

"Eleven used to be the age of enrollment because that's when a child's magic core used to mature." Seungmin's calm voice echoed from behind them – he, too, was plunged in one of his books, but he didn't seem all that bothered about missing the sights. "Today, magic is slower to develop, and one's magic core only fully matures at the peak of puberty, hence why the enrollment age shifted from eleven to fifteen."

"You talk like a dictionary," snorted Jisung, shaking his head.

"I think it's interesting," countered Felix, turning around to spare a smile for their studious friend. "Thanks, Minnie."

The bespectacled boy offered a small smile back, and Jeongin also turned to look at him.

"Do you know if there have been any other important changes in Hogwarts' functions over the years?" he asked, curious.

"Well, the curriculum is bigger now. There are a lot more options of classes offered from 4th year to 7th year, depending on what specialties the students are interested in pursuing, kind of like a muggle college or university," explained Seungmin, flipping another page of his Potions book – he was really good at multitasking. "Also, since there's been an influx of muggleborn wizards in the past few decades, it's slowly becoming more open to technological advances – a new field called Technomagic was developed at Hogwarts, and it's slowly but surely gaining popularity in the wizarding world."

"That's actually pretty cool," relented Jisung, finally looking away from the window too. "Will we be able to study that?"

"I think it'll take at least another decade or two before it can be properly inducted in the school's curriculum, so most probably not," shrugged Seungmin. "But I doubt the teachers will turn you away if you ask questions about it."

"What about the Sorting Ceremony?" then recalled Felix, fidgeting a bit. "It's different from how it used to be, isn't it? Or at least, that's what Chan told me."

"Hmm. The Sorting Ceremony used to sort 1st years."

"What? Really?" blinked Jisung, taken aback. "Right off the bat?"

"Yup. The moment 1st years arrived at school, they were sorted into their respective Houses, and then stayed there for the seven years of school – which you would know if you only slightly paid attention to what Chan told us, instead of fawning over him."

Jisung instantly turned a bright red. "I don't fawn over him! I just look up to him 'cause he's really cool, okay!?" He promptly showed off the tanned skin of his arms. "See? No mark! I'm not in love with him!"

"Platonic fawning, then."

"Ugh, you're impossible!"

"Why did they change it?" asked Felix, bringing the conversation back on track. "Why did they move the Sorting Ceremony to 2nd year?"

"Because they figured that sorting actual children and thus limiting their personal growth to a single stereotyped quality didn't exactly work out in their favor. There used to be a lot of discriminations between Houses, and the school board realized that while a competitive spirit can be good to help children grow, it's also something that can build walls and create conflict if taken too far."

"Like during the Great Wizarding War," understood Jeongin, cringing a bit.

"Exactly. There was a lot of stigma built up on years of prejudices, especially toward Slytherins, and many have theorized that this is one of the main reasons why Voldemort managed to get so many followers in the first place."

"So they figured that the best way to counter those stigmas was by allowing the 1st years to live together, befriend each other, and learn side-by-side instead of against each other," summarized Felix, smiling a bit at the thought. "That's pretty neat!"

"And then sorting 2nd years allows to keep the traditions alive without harming the bonds the students managed to build during their first year together," concluded Seungmin with a smile of his own. "Stereotypes regarding the Houses are still there, but they're no longer used as a mean to divide the student body – from what I've gathered from the others' stories, they're more of a running gag at this point."

"That's good," nodded Jeongin, surprisingly firm. "It was dumb to divide students by a single quality when everyone has a bit of everything."

"I'm just glad we won't be separated right off the bat," sighed Felix, a tad relieved. "I could never get through 1st year without you guys."

"Nan, you'll do great!" assured Jisung, ruffling his hair. "Hogwarts is the best magic school in the country, if not the world – if there's one place that can help you sort your magic out, it's there!"

"I'm sure that once we start properly learning the basics from certified teachers, you'll make a lot more progress," added Seungmin. "A lot of people have a hard time until they get to learn in a more structured environment."

"And we'll be there to help, too!" beamed Jeongin, taking Felix's hand and squeezing it in a comforting manner. "So don't worry too much, okay, Lixie? You'll be fine."

Felix couldn't help but smile back, the anxiety that was budding in his chest lessening a bit.

Felix was one of the many children who had somehow found his way to the gates of the Home of the Lost Boys. It was basically an orphanage, but they figured a name that outright said someone's parents either didn't want them or couldn't keep them didn't exactly give an optimistic vibe, so they simply settled for calling it Home.

(Also, the original owner was a big fan of Peter Pan, the tale having inspired the man to open his house and his heart to abandoned children of all ages.)

Felix couldn't remember a time before the Home. As far as he could recall, he had lived within the safe walls of the orphanage, surrounded by a caring family that only seemed to grow each passing year. While there were many children living there – not all of which had magical abilities of sorts, but they still lived within the confines of the magical society because some of them weren't completely human – Felix had joined a particular group quite early on, and he hadn't left their side since.

All eight of them were overjoyed when, one after the other, they started displaying magic abilities that would allow them to enroll at Hogwarts. And, while Felix was more than happy to be able to follow his made-up family to the magical boarding school, there was no denying that his gifts were... different.

Lacking, some would say.

To make it simple, Felix didn't have a lot of control over his magic – for not saying he didn't have any. He used Accidental Magic all of the time – which drew the Trace crazy – and even when supervised, any spell he attempted turned into a complete disaster.

If nothing happened, they were lucky. But, more often than not, something did happen, and it was never what the spell was intended to do.

Turning off the lights either made bulbs explode or caused a blackout in the entire neighborhood. Levitating an object resulted, more often than not, in said object imploding, flying everywhere, or busting up in flames (and sometimes all three at the same time). Trying to cast an enchantment often got out of hand because the effects were doubled, or even tripled – no one could forget that time Felix had enchanted a mop to clean the floor, and they ended up having to deal with an entire army of brooms on a worker strike because they had somehow become sentient.

Felix couldn't even fly right. The number of flying brooms that had splintered in his hands or broken in pieces after he accidentally rammed into a wall or a tree was a number far beyond the two dozen. And, when he did manage to get his hands on a sturdier broom, he was always too busy trying to steer it in the right direction, and so he hardly even managed to play a proper quidditch game with his friends.

Thankfully, said friends were understanding, supportive, encouraging, and loving. They were always eager to help, and they praised him at the slightest success. And, when Felix was down because of his stupid abilities, they were always ready to cheer him up and give him the support he needed to try again.

Hopefully, though, things would get better now that he could finally start studying magic properly.

Before Felix could add anything, the door of their compartment abruptly slid open, revealing an all-too-familiar boy with disheveled air.

"I finally found you! I can't believe you were all the way back here!"

"You're the one who told us the tail wagon was the best spot because of the view," snorted Jisung, shaking his head.

"I forgot, okay?"

"Changbin, have you been looking for us this entire time?" blinked Felix, a tad surprised.

"No, only for about twenty minutes. Since we're about to arrive, we figured we could all go in together," answered the boy, offering them a grin. "Come on, the others are waiting for us at the front!"

"Wait, what about our luggage?" protested Jeongin.

"It's okay, the elves are the ones in charge of emptying the wagons. Now let's go, or we're gonna miss the best part!"

Eager to reunite with the rest of their friends, and quite curious about what could possibly be "the best part", the four younger boys didn't have to be told twice, and promptly followed Changbin outside. Many students were out and about, some sporting House colors while others pranced around in their brand-new, entirely black uniforms. As they passed by all of those students, Felix couldn't help but wonder in which House he was going to be sorted next year. He quite liked yellow, so Hufflepuff would be nice...

Too early for this, he mused, shaking his head. I should think about making it through my first year, first.

They eventually reached the very first wagon of the Hogwarts Express, just before the engine, and found the last three of their little group waiting in their compartment. The moment the younger ones stepped in, their faces lit up.

"Hey, guys!" greeted cheerfully Chan. "So, excited?"

"We should be the ones asking that!" beamed Jisung, promptly claiming a place next to the oldest. "Which House do you think you'll be sorted into?"

"Ah, I have no clue. I quite like Gryffindor, though."

"I want Ravenclaw!" exclaimed Hyunjin.

"Why, because the blue uniform would suit your eyes?" deadpanned Minho.

"What—no! It's because I'm smart!"

"Uh-huh."

Hyunjin huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "You're mean – that's why you'll end up in Slytherin."

"No, it's because I'm ambitious enough to fit in there." Minho smirked as he leaned against the window. "Also, green is my color."

"I don't really know," shrugged Changbin before the argument could continue. "I don't know where I would fit the best – I guess that's what the Sorting Hat is for."

"I think you'll end up in Ravenclaw, Binnie," replied Felix, beaming at the dark-haired boy in front of him. The others started laughing, and he pouted. "It's true!"

"Well, I guess he can be smart - when he wants something, that is," teased Chan.

"Wouldn't Slytherin be a better fit, then? Means to an end and all that jazz," mused Seungmin.

"Lixie, Lixie!" called out Hyunjin, leaning over to lay his head on the freckled boy's shoulder, pouting. "What House do you think I will end up in?"

"Yah, why not ask everyone else too?" protested Jisung.

"'Cause Lixie's the only one I can trust to give a good answer and not make fun of me!"

"Hufflepuff." Everyone startled a bit at the somewhat unexpected answer, and Felix grinned down at the blond boy leaning on him. "You're really smart but, most importantly, you care a lot about your friends and other people. You want to specialize to become a Healer, right?"

Hyunjin's eyes widened slightly, before they closed in crescents as he beamed. "Right! I knew I could count on you!"

From there, the conversation devolved into theories about which Houses would suit everyone best. It was quite difficult to come up with an actual answer because, as Jeongin as said before, everyone possessed numerous qualities that could fit in any House, and it was hard to reduce someone's personality to a single one. In the end, all they could do was wait and see, but it was still a fun subject to discuss.

Those times were Felix's favorites – when all eight of them hung out together, relaxed, and simply had fun talking about all sorts of things.

With Chan, Minho, Changbin, and Hyunjin being a year older than them, they had started studying at Hogwarts the previous year – and, needless to say, the younger four had had quite a lonely year. Even when together, there was nothing that could make up for the four empty chairs whenever they sat at their usual table in the backyard, or the lack of an opposite team whenever they played quidditch.

But they were all back together, now, and even if they were split up in different Houses, they would still get to share classes, mealtimes, and downtimes – it was a lot more than the meager few weeks of Christmas break they got the previous year.

This is going to be a good year, mused the freckled boy, feeling warmth spread in his chest as he watched his precious friends interact and laugh together. I know it will be!

.

If the boys had been impressed by the view of the castle from afar, they were definitely rendered speechless once they actually stepped foot inside. For once, none of them could utter a single word, too busy taking in the sights with their eyes almost bulging out of their skulls – much to the 2nd years' amusement. They had to split up once they reached the Great Hall, though. All of the 1st years were directed at the table situated in the middle, while the 2nd years were asked to form two lines on each side of it, so they could step up once their name was called out.

"Look, look! Are the candles floating?"

"The ceiling looks like the real sky!"

"Gah! There's a ghost over there!"

The energy buzzing in the room made Felix fidget excitedly in place. The table they were now sitting was completely empty, but he knew for a fact that foods of all sorts would appear the moment the welcoming speech and the Sorting Ceremony was over with. And then, one of the teachers sitting at the table at the front stood up. Considering he occupied the middle seat, it didn't take a genius to recognize him as the headmaster. The moment he came to stand in front of everyone, a hush fell over the room. The man let his gaze wander over the students for a student, before offering a smile.

"Good evening, everyone. I am Headmaster Park. Since I'm sure that most of you are either hungry or impatient for the Sorting Ceremony to start, I'll keep my speech short and to the point: the Forbidden Forest is, as its name implies, forbidden; students roaming outside of their dorms past curfew will earn detentions as well as a loss of House points; and it is forbidden to use magic against a fellow student or a teacher unless it is a matter of certified lesson, supervised training, or self-defense.

     1st years will be taken to their dorm by a prefect of each House. Please keep in mind that if you have any issue or question, you can address them to any of the prefects, or any of the teachers. Also, while we ask all students to sit at their respective House tables for all four feasts that will be held during the year and other potential formal events, keep in mind that all students are encouraged to mingle during usual mealtimes.

     Never hesitate to seek friends outside of your House's confines. Your colors are meant to represent your diversity, not to cement dissent, and there is no greater way to grow than to learn from others. On that note, I will let Vice-Principal Sunmi take over for the Sorting Ceremony. To the 1st years, welcome to Hogwarts! And to everyone else, welcome home."

The moment he concluded his speech, students and teachers alike started clapping and cheering loudly. Though a bit taken aback by the unexpected noisiness, Felix was quick to clap along as loudly as he could, laughing a bit at the frenzy taking over the Great Hall. A young woman then stepped forward while Headmaster Park returned to his seat. She was carrying a small stool, and also a big, worn-out hat.

"That's the Sorting Hat!" whispered excitedly Jeongin.

"Good evening, everyone," greeted the brown-haired woman with a smile. "Now, as most of you are aware, the Sorting Ceremony is a tradition as old as the Founders that is meant to sort students into four different Houses: Slytherin, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Gryffindor." The students cheered loudly at that, which made her smile widen a bit. "It was once used as a mean to instigate a competitive spirit – a rivalry between students that would help them grow as wizards.

     However, it is important to keep in mind that rivals are not foes. Many mistakes were made in the past, such as House discrimination, and those are mistakes we are trying to correct today. Before being Slytherins, Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws, or Gryffindors, you are all precious students of Hogwarts – as such, enjoy the rivalry but, at the end of the day, revel in your unity.

     Now, without further ado, let us begin: Bang Chan!"

His friends instantly clapped him on the back and whispered encouragements as he went to take his place on the stool at the front. He stood with his back straight and his head held high, not showing a hint of nervousness, and Felix could hope that he would be as cool and composed when came his own sorting.

After a few seconds, the Sorting Hat made its decision.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Instantly, all of his friends started cheering and clapping for him, though they were quickly drowned out by the red and gold table. Felix watched with a little twinge in his heart as Chan happily made his way to his table as the emblem and colors of his House magically appeared on his previously black uniform.

After a few more students, the Vice-Principal called for another of their friends.

"Hwang Hyunjin!"

The tall boy was biting his lip so hard Felix feared it might bleed. Although he appeared quite collected, all of his close friends noticed his nervousness. He sat stiffly, almost flinching when the hat was placed on his head.

After a few seconds, the hat hummed.

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

He was the first 2nd year to join the black and yellow House, and so he was immediately welcomed with thunderous applause. Felix couldn't help but laugh as Hyunjin shot him a wide grin from across the table, along with a thumbs' up – it would seem Felix's prediction had been spot-on.

"Lee Minho!"

The dark-haired boy walked right up to the front of the hall with palpable nonchalance, confidence radiating from him. He plopped down on the stool with a small smirk adorning his lips – a smirk that merely grew when the hat spoke up a second later.

"SLYTHERIN!"

There was a moment of stunned silence. It's only once Minho sauntered toward the silver and green table that his new housemates started clapping and whistling. It had been the quickest sorting so far, the hat had barely brushed his hair, and it instantly marked the boy as someone with a lot of potential – wizards with quick sortings were known to be talented and very powerful.

In other words, it truly suited their clever friend.

Changbin's turn took a while longer to come, and Felix couldn't help but feel a little sorry as he watched him fidget from afar, completely on his own now that the others had been sorted. After a while, though, the Vice-Principal finally called for him.

"Seo Changbin!"

He was in such a hurry he tripped over his own feet and almost fell off the stool as he was about to sit. A wave of laughter rippled through the room, though it was quickly shushed as the hat began its work. In complete opposite to Minho's sorting, Changbin's was the longest. However, those were exceptionally rare – it was proof of a personality complex enough to make a magical artefact as ancient and powerful as the Sorting Hat malfunction, in a way.

(One of the most renown wizards in the world had been one of those rare cases, and so rumor was that those with a prolonged sorting were promised to a grand future.)

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the hat... blew a raspberry.

"Fine, you stubborn boy... RAVENCLAW!"

It was now common knowledge that a student could actually request a House and, even if the Sorting Hat wasn't forced to oblige, it did take said requests into considerations. From its words, it was easy to guess Changbin had been one of those students, and Felix couldn't help but laugh at Changbin's smug grin as he walked over to the blue and bronze table – only to trip on his feet again and almost fall flat on his face.

"Aish, he's so clumsy..." huffed Jisung, shaking his head.

"Wow, we should have made bets," mused Jeongin. "Lix got all of them right!"

"Maybe you ought to specialize in divination," teased Seungmin.

Felix chuckled, shaking his head. "No, that's Innie's thing. I just know you guys well. If you want, though, we can always make bets once our own Sorting Ceremony happens."

"Except we already know that you'll be right, so that kind of defeats the purpose," pointed out Seungmin.

"Not if we don't tell the others," chorused Jisung and Felix.

Startled, they then exchanged matching grins and a high-five while their other two friends chuckled and shook their heads. In the background, the last of the students were being sorted but, now that all four of their older friends were done, they didn't pay as much attention.

And, at last, it was time for the feast.

"Enjoy!" concluded Professor Sunmi with a smile.

At once, dozens of plates and drinks started appearing on the tables, much to the students' awe and astonishment. It barely took five seconds for the previously silent Great Hall to descend into chaos, the noise buzzing in Felix's ears as delicious smells filled his nose. As if on cue, his stomach grumbled, and he didn't waste any time in digging in.

This is going to be the best year ever!

.

After the delicious feast, the full – and now passably exhausted – students were given permission to take their leave. While the 2nd years were taken to their respective dorms, a prefect of each House came to take the 1st years in charge.

Felix was tightly holding onto Jisung's hand as they walked down the numerous hallways, a bit intimidated by the old walls and the cold stone surrounding them. He was getting a bit anxious at the prospect of potentially getting lost and arriving late to class but forced himself to remember that he wasn't the only 1st year around and, as such, everyone else probably shared those worries.

The 1st years' dorms weren't too far from the Great Hall. After barely five minutes, they reached a large painting representing the Four Founders with their hands joined in the middle, obviously representing the sentiment of unity between the Houses the school board was now trying to establish.

"Alright, everyone!" exclaimed the Gryffindor prefect, a young girl with dark, black hair, and a friendly smile. "Your rooms have already been set up. You'll be sharing a room with three other people, and all of your names will be written on the doors. Your luggage has also already been brought to said rooms but, if there's something missing, come tell us right away! We'll get it sorted out in no time."

"Us four will be staying until one hour after curfew to help you all settle in and answer all of your questions," added the Slytherin prefect, a young man with his hair shaved on the left side. "If there's anything you're confused or worried about, don't hesitate to talk to us – that's what we're here for."

"And, as exciting as all of this is, keep in mind that you have quite the day waiting for you tomorrow. Breakfast starts being served at 7:30 AM, and classes begin at 9 AM sharp. But don't worry!" the Ravenclaw prefect, a boy with sharp green eyes, grinned as he clasped his hands together. "Maps have already been procured along with your respective schedules, and you'll be free to explore the castle and the grounds to your hearts' content once you're done with the day's lessons."

A wave of excitement washed over the group of 1st years at that. While many were quite eager to get started with classes, there was no denying that they were even more eager to explore the magical castle in its entirety, and hopefully find all sorts of interesting things and secret passages and—

"Okay, up you go, everyone," urged the Hufflepuff prefect, shooing them towards the stairs. "Boys to the left, girls to the right! We don't expect you to be in bed by 9 PM, but please don't make too much of a ruckus – we're right under the teachers' quarters, and they will hear you if you make enough of a racket."

"Or rather, the portraits will snitch on you," snorted the Slytherin prefect, shooting a half-glare at the large painting of a knight on a white horse hung over the fireplace.

The knight gasped, offended. "Still holding a grudge, lad? Slytherins, I swear!"

The students all laughed a bit at the exchange, the last of the tension and worries melting into muted feverishness as the urge to see their room took over. Not wasting any more time, all of the students stumbled over each other in playful chaos to climb up the stairs and go find their rooms.

Felix got separated from the others at some point, but he didn't pay much attention, too busy trying to find his name on one of the doors – and, hopefully, his friends' too.

"Felix!" He spun around upon hearing Jisung calling out to him, from another staircase at the end of the hallway. "We're up there!"

"We're together?" gasped Felix, rushing to follow after him.

"Look!"

It was the door right next to the staircase, with four names engraved in golden paint – his, and his friends'. Felix gasped excitedly, instantly rushing inside as Jisung laughed behind him, and an excited squeal escaped him as he saw Jeongin and Seungmin already sitting on their beds.

"I can't believe we're together! This is amazing!" beamed Jeongin.

"They probably put students who knew each other together so as to avoid room conflicts," shrugged Seungmin, though there was a smile tugging at his lips. "It'd be a pain to shift everyone around if some roommates didn't get along. They're just using this opportunity to push the amount of potential trouble to a minimum—"

"Yah, stop ranting like a breathing dictionary and just smile already!" teased Jisung, throwing a pillow at his face.

"Ack!"

"Pillow fight!!!" cheered Jeongin, instantly throwing another pillow at Jisung's face.

Chaos instantly took over the room, pillows flying left and right as they all started hitting each other with them. Completely forgetting about the earlier warnings, laughs and shouts quickly filled the room as they battled it out.

Then, Jisung used his wand to levitate one of the pillows directly into Felix's face and, too caught up in the thrill, Felix didn't think twice before taking out his own wand—

"Felix, wait!"

—and casting the levitating spell under his breath. The moment he did, however, the pillow froze midair. All of the boys instantly held their breaths, not daring to even move... and the pillow suddenly started inflating like a balloon.

"Everyone, take cover!!!" exclaimed Jisung, darting under one of the beds.

Jeongin and Seungmin were quick to mimic the action but, too stunned by his own mistake, Felix could only stand there and stare dumbly at the pillow that was growing, and growing, and growing—

'POW'

—until it exploded, tons of white feathers instantly filling the room. Felix started coughing as some of them got in his mouth, and a few seconds of very heavy silence ensued. After a moment longer, the three other boys carefully popped their heads out of their hiding places... and instantly burst out laughing.

"L- L- Lix, your- your face...!" gasped Jisung, doubling over on his bed.

"He- he looks like- like a- a- a chicken...!" laughed Jeongin, his eyes watery.

The freckled boy was now covered from head to toe in feathers, which stuck to his hair and his clothes even worse than loose sparkles would – and the dumbstruck expression adorning his face only added to the humorous factor.

After a beat, though, his lips broke into a wide grin, and he started laughing along. But then, someone came knocking at their door, which swung open barely a second later—

"What the hell happened in here?" gasped the Ravenclaw Prefect, eyes wide.

The four boys in the room exchanged startled looks. But, even if they felt just a little bad for being caught causing trouble on their first night... well, the feeling was quickly forgotten as they took in the prefect's hilarious expression, and they burst out laughing all over again.

.

Next morning, the four boys excitedly got ready for their first day of class. Once dressed in their uniforms, and once certain they had all of the books they would need for their first two periods, they made their way to the Great Hall to get breakfast. There were already many students present when they arrived, but they managed to claim a spot for themselves at the far end of what would usually be the Gryffindor table and, barely five minutes later, they were happily digging in the delicious food offered.

"Good morning, guys!!!"

Chan was the first of their older friends to show up. He was accompanied by a few other Gryffindors, to whom he quickly bid goodbye before rushing to claim a spot next to Felix.

"So? How's the House life treating you so far?" teased Jeongin.

"It's great! Everyone is incredibly nice, and we had a lot of fun getting to know each other better in the common room yesterday!" beamed their oldest friend, showing off his dimples. "And there are seniors who—"

Boisterous chatter echoed by the doors, earning everyone's attention – and, really, they shouldn't have been surprised to find Hyunjin smack in the middle of the commotion. He was laughing brightly at something one of the Hufflepuff boys told him, and there was a bunch of girls blatantly admiring him from afar.

"Aish, only one day and he's already earned a fanclub," groaned Seungmin, shaking his head.

"Aren't most of those girls older than him?" sweatdropped Jisung.

"Hyunjin was already popular last year, so I guess it's only natural his fanclub would grow now that he actually has the chance to interact with older students," mused Chan.

They observed from afar as the long-haired boy waved goodbye to his new friends before promptly joining them at their table, plopping down next to Jeongin with a groan.

"Socializing is so tiring..."

"Not enjoying your popularity, Mr. Prince?" taunted Jisung.

Hyunjin half-glared at the dark-haired boy but, before he could reply with a snarky comment, Felix spoke up.

"Hyunjin's really nice – of course everyone would like him!" he beamed.

The taller boy's mildly annoyed expression instantly faded away, and he reached over the table to grab Felix's hand and squeeze it lightly in thanks, making Felix's smile widen a bit. The others simply chuckled at the exchange – it wasn't a secret that Hyunjin had a soft spot for the freckled boy. Just as Hyunjin grabbed himself a toast, however, a hand sneaked over his shoulder and stole it. The blond boy let out an offended gasp as he turned around to face the thief, only to find Minho smirking smugly as he munched on the bread.

"Thanks for the food, Jinnie~."

"Yah! Get food by yourself, you damn cat!"

Minho snorted, slipping into the free seat next to Jisung as he took another bite out of the stolen toast. Hyunjin huffed, grumbling under his breath as he grabbed another one, and Jeongin leaned over the table to glance at their new addition.

"How was yesterday evening, Minho?"

"Pretty neat. Our dorm's really cool, and we stayed up late with the seniors so they could tell us all about different legends and myths surrounding the school."

"And what about the unlucky bastards who got stuck as your roommates?" teased Jisung.

Minho half-glared at him. "They're fine." A pause, before he scowled. "Okay, so they might be a little intimidated by me – but it's not my fault! They're the ones who wanted me to tell them about Cthulhu!"

His friends instantly burst out laughing.

"First night and you're already scaring the crap out of your roommates," chortled Chan, shaking his head in disbelief. "Only you, Minho, only you."

"Hey, they're the ones who wanted to know why I'm so interested in becoming a Curse Breaker! Not my fault they didn't have the stomach for the answer."

Clicking his tongue in annoyance as his friends laughed some more at his expense, Minho let his eyes roam over the plates gathered before them. Just as he was preparing to strike and steal yet another toast from Hyunjin's unsuspecting hand, however, a small plate with eggs, sausages, and French toasts was smoothly placed in front of him. Surprised, he looked up and met Felix's eyes. The freckled boy grinned, and Minho's scowl instantly twisted into a small smile. So what if Hyunjin wasn't the only one with a soft spot for the little piece of sunshine that was Lee Felix? If anyone dared to call Minho out on it, he'd be sure to curse their entire family tree.

And, at last, the missing piece of their eight-people puzzle arrived. He looked a little tired, and his tie wasn't even tied properly, but he offered them all a cheerful grin as he settled down next to Seungmin.

"Hi, guys!"

"Hi, Binnie! How was Ravenclaw's dorm?" asked Seungmin, eager to know.

"Really cool! There's a bunch of seniors who're a bit uptight, but most of the other students are pretty chill." He then grimaced a little. "I think I'll have a hard time getting inside the dorm, though."

"Why?" blinked Jeongin, confused.

"Well, students have to answer a riddle in order to be granted entry... and you know how I suck at riddles."

Chan instantly reached out to pat his shoulder in comfort. "It's okay, Bin. They wouldn't let a student sleep in the hallways, and I'm sure you're not the only one who'll have trouble with that kind of security system. You can always ask your housemates for help, right?"

"R- right."

He smiled at them again, but Felix instantly noticed that it appeared a little tight. He decided not to push it, however, seeing as Changbin was already eagerly changing the subject. He figured that if whatever was troubling him became too much, then he would come to them eventually.

"What about you guys?" then asked Hyunjin, curious. "How's the 1st year dorm?"

"We're all roommates!"

"We had a pillow fight!"

"And Lix ended up making one of the pillows explode!"

"There were feathers absolutely everywhere!"

"And then a Prefect showed up!"

"You should have seen his face!"

"Please don't earn a detention on your first day of school," pleaded Chan.

"I won't – I can't make promises for the Three Dumbsketeers over there, though," deadpanned Seungmin.

"Hey!"

"Yah!"

Felix simply laughed again. They would obviously do their best to stay out of trouble, but...

Yeah. No promises.

.

They kicked off their school year with a double period of Potions. Since there would be a lot of practical work to be done, two full periods back-to-back were a necessary evil so the students could actually finish the potions they started making.

The four friends instantly picked their seats together, with Seungmin and Jisung sitting at a table in the second row, and Jeongin and Felix sitting right behind them. Apparently, Seungmin deemed the "twins" too dangerous to be left to handle potions on their own, and so he had taken upon himself to separate them and limit the potential damage.

Their teacher, Miss Hyuna, was a very nice woman. Obviously a master in her craft, she was a little stern when it came to the security protocols the students had to follow, but it was easy to tell that she only wanted everyone to be safe and stay in one piece. They started off with some general theory regarding the material and the ingredients they would be using throughout the year, along with the general regulations set up in place by the school board. It took up pretty much the entire first period and, after a short break, they moved on to the actual theory.

Although Felix didn't have much interest in potions, it was still rather intriguing, and he was just as happy as the rest of his classmates when their teacher announced they would be using the last thirty minutes of class to make a very simple potion, just to get into the rhythm of things. It was a Wiggenweld potion, a direct antidote to the Draught of Living Death, and one of the easiest potions in the first-year curriculum. Since all of the students were seated in pairs, they started working in teams to prepare it as efficiently as possible, and Felix was quite relieved to find they wouldn't be using their wands for this particular class.

(The usage of wands and spells in potion-making was more common in higher grades, once the students learned finer control and also how to multitask. It was however encouraged to keep said wand use to the bare minimum, seeing as magic that might stray from the spell used might end up messing up the effects of the potion altogether.)

Since they didn't need to use magic, Felix felt quite confident, and it was with great enthusiasm that he started working with Jeongin. Surely nothing could go wrong, right?

There were quite a few ingredients but, following the dosages and instructions to the letter, it was quite an easy potion to brew. Dutifully working down the list of instructions, the boys sound found themselves with a cauldron full of boiling green-red mixture – the sloth brain mucus, the salamander blood, the Moly, and the Dittany giving the desired result at this point in the preparation.

Then, once Jeongin had finished carefully peeling the Wiggentree bark, he added them to the mix, and the potion turned completely green. All that was left to add was the powder of a crushed Unicorn horn (obtained through completely legal and certified sources), of which Felix was in charge.

Felix couldn't help but feel a little saddened as he crushed the horn. Even if it was only a little piece of the actual thing, it was still quite pretty, and he always enjoyed collecting pretty things. However, he didn't let that deter him and soon, he was done with his task.

The little pile of powder was a shimmering, silvery white that reflected the light quite beautifully, and there were even some colorful sparkles here and there. As Felix carefully picked it up and started dropping it in the cauldron pinch by pinch (adding it all at once would ruin the potion), however, both he and Jeongin failed to notice the unnatural shine that seemed to emanate from the crushed bits.

In a matter of seconds, the previously perfect potion suddenly went bad. Instead of turning completely black, it turned to an opaque silver, and the bubbles at the surface turned into full-out froth that started spilling out of the cauldron. Their alarmed shouts instantly drew the attention of everyone else, and the teacher's eyes widened.

"Everyone down!!!"

They didn't need to be told twice. In a matter of seconds, all of the students had ducked under their desks (which had been built to be used for that exact scenario) and, barely ten seconds later, a muted explosion followed. Thick, silvery mixture spread all over the room, and a sizzling sound instantly followed as whatever it touched started melting.

Thankfully, no one appeared to be harmed, and the acidic mixture cooled off barely three seconds after landing, but the damage was done. As everyone hesitantly came out of hiding, all they could see was the drying potion sticking to the walls and all of their workspaces, and which had effectively ruined their own potions.

"Is anyone hurt?" asked urgently the teacher, already using some spells to clean up the mess.

Once assured that no one had been injured, she walked up to Felix and Jeongin, who instantly lowered their heads, bracing themselves for the scolding.

"Do you know what went wrong with the potion?"

No shouting, no scolding. They hesitantly lifted their heads and found the teacher gazing at them with an exasperated, but almost fond look – they obviously weren't the first students to make a potion explode in her class, and they were relieved to find that she wasn't mad at them.

"I don't really know," admitted Jeongin, rubbing the back of his head. "The potion was perfect until we added the Unicorn horn."

"I was in charge of crushing it," quickly added Felix, still a bit scared Jeongin would end up in trouble for something that was apparently his fault – although he, too, had no idea of what had happened. "I did exactly as instructed, and I started adding it by pinch, like you showed us..."

"But out of nowhere, the color went completely wrong, and that's when it just... you know. Exploded."

The teacher hummed in understanding, taping her chin. "I might have an idea of what happened. A similar reaction can be caused when initially magical ingredients are used in potion-making. Take the Unicorn horn, for example: since it's such a powerful magical item, it's usually drained of its inner magic – the core is still there, and that's why it's such a valued ingredient in the field, but any actual magic is usually dispersed when the horn falls, and whatever stray magic is left is professionally drained before being put on the market. If I'm right... Ah, ah!"

She picked up what little powder was left on the boy's admittedly messy workspace, and everyone's eyes widened slightly when they noticed that the powder was glowing.

"It would seem your horn wasn't drained properly," she concluded, clicking her tongue in mild annoyance as he promptly put it in an empty vial lying around. "It's quite unusual – and quite dangerous, too. We're lucky you were only working on a low-level potion."

"So... it's not our fault?" hesitantly asked Felix.

The teacher's expression instantly softened, and she carefully tucked the vial away in one of her pockets, before reporting her attention to the pair.

"No, it's not your fault. A trained potion-maker might have been able to notice the mishap, but I couldn't possibly expect that from 1st years with literally zero basics and no prior knowledge. If anything, it's the fault of whoever was in charge of draining the horn – I'll be sure to thoroughly investigate its provenance in order to insure it doesn't happen again."

As if on cue, soft chimes suddenly started echoing in the room, signaling the end of the second period – and thus, the end of class. The students didn't waste any time in gathering their stuff from the little compartments under their desks and taking their leave, talking animatedly about everything they had learned – and, most importantly, the incident that had just taken place.

Felix was relieved it wasn't his fault, after all, but he still felt bad for ending up making such a mess. Seemingly feeling the same, Jeongin volunteered to stay behind for a few minutes and help the teacher clean up and, since they all wanted to get lunch together, Jisung and Seungmin also stayed behind to help.

With the four of them and the teacher working together, it didn't take more than ten minutes to completely clean up the classroom.

"Thanks for the hand, boys," smiled Miss Hyuna as she tucked her wand away. "And like I said, don't stress too much about it – it wasn't your fault, and I'll make sure to double-check everyone's ingredients before handing them out in the future."

"Thank you for the lesson, Miss," simply replied Seungmin.

"We'll be more careful next time, promise!" added sheepishly Felix.

"Yeah, we'll make sure not to make any more potions explode!" laughed Jeongin.

"Why do I feel like you just jinxed yourself?" snorted Jisung.

Felix whacked his shoulder, and the four of them finally left the classroom, heading in direction of their dorm to get rid of their books and material before going to get lunch.

By the time they got to the Great Hall, word of the incident had already spread throughout the entire school like wildfire. The portraits were terrible gossipers, and students were always eager to share whatever drama happened within the halls. Felix was flushing a deep red by the time they claimed their seats next to their four older friends, deeply embarrassed by the looks and whispers following them. It was only the first day, but they had already made quite the impression – and not exactly the best one.

"Lixie, Innie!" gasped Hyunjin as they sat next to him. "We've heard some 1st year students created some sort of volcano from which acidic lava erupted, and they ended up setting the entire dungeons on fire!!! Is it true!?"

The four younger boys exchanged startled looks, before bursting out laughing, whatever tension was left instantly dissipating. No wonder everyone had been looking at them so weirdly – who knew rumors could blow up so dramatically in such a short amount of time?

"No, it's not true, Hyunjin," chuckled Seungmin, shaking his head. "There was just something wrong with one of the ingredients Felix and Jeongin used for their potion, and it ended up exploding."

"Some desks and some parts of the walls melted a little, but nothing a quick spell couldn't fix," added Jisung, grinning at the memory. "It was awesome!"

"It was dangerous," sighed Felix, shaking his head. "We're lucky no one got hurt."

"In any case, I'm just glad it wasn't our fault, after all," admitted Jeongin. "Can you imagine getting detention on the first day? I know we joked about it this morning, but I'd rather it didn't actually happen..."

"What was wrong, exactly?" asked curiously Changbin, the best in potions in their group.

"The Unicorn horn I crushed hadn't been properly drained – the core was still active."

"Wha—that's so dangerous!" gasped the older boy, obviously understanding the situation better than they did. "And you said everyone was fine?"

"Hmm. It was just a Wiggenweld potion, so the damage was limited," confirmed Jeongin.

"It's a little strange, though," mused Chan, tilting his head in wonder. "The school has rather strict regulations about the ingredients that are brought and used in class, so for a Unicorn horn to still have stray magic in it is pretty weird."

"A Dragon or a mermaid's scale, maybe – or even a Doxie's wings. But a Unicorn horn? Those are usually pretty safe," mused Minho, obviously intrigued. "Since they carry so much innate magic, the people in charge are always careful in handling them and draining them properly, even more so than any other magical item..."

"I swear, Minho, if you bust out another one of your stupid conspiracy theories—"

Changbin's warning was cut off by Minho jumping to his feet. "It was a sabotage attempt, that much is obvious!!!"

Changbin and Hyunjin facepalmed, Chan groaned as he shook his head, and the other boys simply snorted at their friends' dramatics.

"Why would anyone want to sabotage a pair of 1st years?" protested Seungmin, already tired with the argument that hadn't even started.

"Because they want them to become the students that teachers will come to hate, effectively turning them into scapegoats whenever the culprit wants to do something they're not allowed to do and they have to shift the blame on someone! Who would the teachers believe, a normal student who doesn't stand out, or the students that always cause trouble in class?"

"You're insane," replied plainly Seungmin.

"Wha—it makes perfect sense!"

"Sorry, Minho, but that one's a little too farfetched, even for you," snorted Jisung, shaking his head as he started eating.

"Come on! What if I'm right?" insisted the older boy, now pouting a bit at the clear disinterest his friends displayed.

"You're really not," deadpanned Changbin.

"Yah!"

"It's okay, Minho. We like you even if you're a bit insane on the edges," assured Jeongin with a solemn nod.

"Lixie! My favorite boy in the whole world!" whined Minho, turning to the freckled boy. "Are you really going to let them slander me this way?"

"Err... You're pretty?"

"Yes, I'm aware, thank you—hey! What's that even supposed to mean!?

At that point, no longer able to hold it in, the rest of his friends burst out laughing. With a huff, Minho settled back in his seat and started stabbing his fork in the plate of pastas before him – though his lips twitching upward every few seconds betrayed his actual feelings regarding the matter.

"In any case, I'm sure the rest of your classes will go better," then assured Chan, offering the four boys a reassuring smile. "What do you have?"

"Charms in third period, History of Magic in fourth, and the fifth period is usually the Discovery Course, but it only starts tomorrow, to give us some time to explore the castle," explained Seungmin with a small smile.

Felix groaned, letting his head fall on the table next to his plate. "I'm going to screw up Charms so bad... Watch me make something else explode again..."

"Come on, I'm sure it won't be that bad," chuckled Hyunjin, patting his shoulder in comfort. "You won't make anything else explode, I'm sure of it."

"And if you have any trouble with controlling your magic, I'm sure the teacher will be able to give you some good pointers to help you out," added Changbin.

"And it's your first day here – mistakes are only to be expected," concluded Chan with a chuckle. "Don't be too hard on yourself, alright? Just go at your own pace, and it'll work out eventually."

Felix cheered up a bit as his friends encouraged him. They were right – he was at Hogwarts to learn, just like the rest of them. So what if he was a little behind right now? If he really put his mind to it and started working hard, he would surely be able to catch up to them in no time!

I'll try my best for Charms, but I won't stress too much with it, he finally decided as he, too, started eating. Though, hopefully, Hyunjin is right and I won't make anything explode...

.

Come 1 PM, third period rolled in, and the students gathered in the classroom dedicated to Charms. It was a circular room with elevated desks and, once again, the four friends settled down together. There was a distinct air of eagerness filling the room as more and more students took their seats and, at last, the teacher arrived.

"Good afternoon, everyone! I hope you're all ready to get some magic done!"

The energetic man that greeted them instantly put the students in even higher spirits, and many were those who cheered along. The teacher laughed as he positioned himself at the front to face all of them.

"I am Professor Choi, but you may call me Mister Siwon," he introduced himself with a warm smile. "Since it's only your first day, I'd like all of us to go through some sort of introduction round. It's really simple! The moment you turn comes, you get up, introduce yourself, and tell us what your favorite Charm is. I also want you to execute a Charm you know – it can be your favorite, or any Charm you've learned before."

A student instantly raised her hand. "Sir, what if we don't know any?"

"It's quite alright. If you don't know any, then I'll have you perform a very simple one: a levitating spell – which I will show you in a minute. You have the choice, so feel free to cast the one that you're most at ease with." He offered them another smile as he took in the slightly nervous expressions of some of the students. "And don't worry, I'm not doing this to evaluate your abilities, or anything of the sort. It's simply to get a better grasp of what kind of students I'll be working with this year, so all I ask is that you do your best and that you have fun too, alright?"

At that, the students cheered again, making him laugh, and Felix found himself relaxing a bit. As nerve-wracking as it was to cast a spell in front of the entire class, surely he wouldn't be the only one who'd mess up, right? And the teacher was really friendly, it was impossible to not feel at ease when he was the one in charge.

"Alright, let's get started! With you, up there, in the back!"

"My name is Kang Chan Hee, and my favorite charm is the Time Freezing Charm. I don't know how to cast it yet, however. What is the Levitation spell, sir?"

"Ah, an eager one, hm?" chuckled the teacher, pulling out his wand. "Very well. The spell is quite simple. With a smooth flick of your wrist, cast Wingardium Leviosa – and make sure to put the right intonation in it. Like this!" The man pointed his wand at the book of the student right in front of him, and he flicked his wrist. "Wingardium Leviosa!"

Everyone instantly started taking notes while the student, Kang Chan Hee, nodded as he pulled out his wand. Frowning in concentration, he took a few seconds to get the movement right, before finally trying his luck.

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

Much to everyone's surprise, the book before him started trembling. Then, with a slow but considerable pace, the book was lifted off the desk, hung in the air for a few seconds, and then dropped back onto the desk with a resounding 'THUNK'.

"Good job," congratulated Mister Siwon with a grin. "That's exactly how you do it! And now that you've got the hand of it, it's only a matter of practice. The more you use it, the easier it'll be to cast it, and the longer it'll last. Now, who's next?"

Having seen the ease with which the boy performed, the students were a lot more eager to also have their turn, and numerous hands instantly lifted. The teacher laughed at that, before picking someone else, deciding to go in desk order, and the class soon fell into a proper rhythm.

There were many students who failed to cast the spell right away, all of them trying their hand at the Levitation charm despite having the freedom of casting whichever one they wanted to try – no one wanted to play it big only to fail, after all.

But then came Seungmin's turn.

"My name is Kim Seungmin. My favorite charm is Silencing charm, and I would like to cast it."

"Oh? Go for it," encouraged the teacher with a smile. "Do we have a volunteer to be the subject of the spell?"

Jisung snorted, shaking his head. "As if anyone would want to volunteer—"

"He volunteers," Seungmin cut off, grabbing his arm.

"What—hey!"

His protests were immediately shut down as Seungmin turned to him and waved his wand right in his face, a smirk twitching on his lips.

"Silencio."

Jisung instantly tried to tell him off, only to fail as his mouth was sewn shut by an invisible thread. He settled for glaring at his friends, while the rest of the students laughed at his predicament. With a smug grin, Seungmin casted the counter-spell, before sitting down, satisfied with his performance.

"Well done, Seungmin!" praised the teacher, clapping appreciatively. "Very well executed. I take it you had some practice?"

"I have loud-mouthed friends," deadpanned the boy.

That set off another round of laughter around the classroom, and it's only then that Seungmin remembered just how many other people were in the room. Flushing a little, he sunk a bit in his seat – he never really enjoyed being the direct center of attention.

"Alright, alright, let's go with our next student," urged the teacher. "If you'd please?"

"The name's Han Jisung, and my favorite charm is the Dancing Feet Spell because it's funny." Jisung grinned as he turned to Seungmin, who gulped. "I need a volunteer~!"

Seungmin didn't fight it because he knew it was only fair, and he'd rather pay for it now than deal with whatever payback scheme his friend might come up with in a few days.

"Tarantallegra!"

It certainly wasn't the first time Jisung used that spell. The moment Chan taught it to him, he had been using it nonstop to annoy all of his friends. So, it came as no surprise that he successfully casted it, which resulted in Seungmin's legs dancing uncontrollably.

After another round of hearty laughter, the spell was released, and they moved on to the third of their little quartet.

"My name is Yang Jeongin. Right now, my favorite charm would be... the Disarming charm?" He shrugged, he had never really thought about it before. "I'll try casting the Levitation charm."

With the teacher's encouraging nod, Jeongin pulled out his wand, focused on the book in front of him and, without losing a second, casted the spell. It was the first time he tried it but, as if he had done it his entire life, the book gracefully lifted itself from the desk and started hanging in the air. Jeongin carefully directed it around with his wand, the book never showing a sign that it might fall. It was the best performance so far, and Felix gulped when he realized that it was finally his turn.

"My name is Lee Felix," he managed to utter, gulping a bit. His throat felt dry, but he forced himself to relax. "My favorite charm is the Patronus charm but, um, obviously I can't cast that one."

"It is indeed quite a powerful spell. Even seasoned wizards can have a hard time casting it," assured the teacher with a reassuring smile.

"R- right. So, I'll try the Levitation charm, too."

Felix breathed in deeply. It wasn't the first time he attempted to cast that spell, but it was the first time he tried casting it while actually knowing was he was doing, so hopefully the result would be different from usual.

Flick the wrist smoothly... and cast it!

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

For a few seconds, nothing happened. Felix was a bit disappointed, but not necessarily surprised – and he wasn't the only one who couldn't make his book move, anyway. However, the moment he lowered his wand... flames burst out of the cover.

Startled yelps and shouts echoed in the class as Felix instantly backed away, staring in horror at the fire now completely engulfing his book. Thankfully, the teacher was quick on his feet and immediately casted a spell to suffocate the flames, effectively taking out the fire. There was a moment of stunned silence, before Felix slumped in his seat, the smell of burning paper now filling the air. His book didn't seem too badly damaged, thankfully enough, but he had still messed up quite badly. How did he get fire from something as simple as a Levitation charm?

"I see someone was a bit too enthusiastic," chuckled the teacher, obviously unbothered. "That kind of thing can happen when you put too much power in a spell. Just keep working on it and it'll come to you eventually, alright?"

"A- alright. Sorry, professor."

"It's quite alright – you wouldn't be much of a student if you already knew everything, would you?" teased the man good-heartedly. That did manage to draw a smile out of Felix, and the teacher clasped his hands together. "Alright, next student!"

As they moved on with the introductions, Felix sighed, gazing forlornly at his burnt book. A hand on his shoulder made him glance to his right, where Jisung was seated.

"It's okay, Lix," he murmured with a reassuring smile. "We'll help you, okay? No worries."

At that, the freckled boy managed to muster a more genuine smile. "Okay. Thank you."

The rest of the class was uneventful, Felix's spectacular failure being the only one of its kind and obviously the only thing the students could talk about the moment class ended. Ignoring the looks and laughter following him, Felix gathered his things and walked up to the teacher's desk.

"Mister Siwon?"

"What is it, Felix?"

The boy was impressed that he remembered his name already – but, then again, he had probably left the worst impression out of everyone in the class, so maybe the teacher had made a point of remembering the trouble student's name.

"I'm really sorry about what happened earlier," he said, bowing deeply. "It happens all of the time, but I promise to really work on it to make sure it doesn't happen again."

"Hey, hey, no need to be so stiff, kid," chuckled the man, patting Felix's head in comfort. "You're obviously an eager learner – I can work with that. Tell you what: if you put in the necessary effort and work, then the end result won't really matter to me. Charms don't come easily to every single Wizard, after all. As long as you promise to always do your best and to not give up, I can promise to be there for you every step of the way. Just come to me if you need any help beyond what your peers can provide you with, okay?"

Felix perked up at that, relieved. "I- I will! Thank you, sir!"

"Sure thing. Now run along, you have another class to attend, don't you?"

With a nod and a cheerful wave of the hand, Felix bid him a good day and ran out of the now empty classroom, finding his friends already waiting outside for him.

"All good?" asked Jeongin, a bit worried.

Felix simply smiled. "All good. Now let's go!"

The only class of the day left was History of Magic. What could possibly go wrong?

.

"DETENTION!!!"

Felix blinked once, twice.

Blinked again. Slowly processed the single word that had just been spat in his face.

"I... what?"

"Detention!" repeated the old hag that was their teacher, Professor Khan. She looked absolutely irate, for a reason that completely eluded the poor boy. "Don't you think I'll tolerate such disrespectful behavior just because it's your first day in this school!"

"I- I don't understand, what did I—"

"And talking back at that!?"

Felix instantly shut his mouth, gulping a bit. He had genuinely no idea of why he was suddenly being targeted by the woman, but he easily figured that arguing would only set her off even more. It was unfair, though. He had been quietly sitting with his friends and listening despite how she was droning on and on about a class she obviously had no interest teaching, and out of absolutely nowhere she had stomped up to his desk and had slammed heavily-ringed fingers smack in the middle of the book he had been—

"Look at those atrocious things! You dare deface the work of a man worth ten times the wizard you'll ever be? How more disrespectful can you get? Teenagers, I swear!!!"

Right. He had been so bored, he had started doodling in his book. But it's not like they were anything offensive, just some little hearts and stars around the chapter titles... If anything, they embellished the frankly dreary contents of the book. But did that truly warrant such a reaction? Such treatment? She was still yelling at him, and Felix felt like crying – he hated when people yelled at him, it made him feel small and powerless and completely out of sorts.

All of the other students were simply watching, completely frozen in place with wide, almost terrified eyes – they were obviously just as startled by her sudden freak out as he was, and not even his friends dared to say anything.

(Not that he blamed them, he doubted he would have had the strength to say anything had their positions been switched.)

Seungmin grabbed his hand under their shared desk, squeezing it tightly to show his support, and Felix squeezed right back, fighting back his tears. After a minute or so, the teacher finally stopped lashing out, merely returning to the front of the class to continue her lecture as if she hadn't just thoroughly berated one of her students in a distinctly humiliating fashion.

Felix could hardly pay attention anymore, his eyes glued to the book in front of him, but he couldn't read anything through his blurring sight. The tears weren't falling, but it was a close call, and so he gritted his teeth and did his best to push through.

Then, after what felt like an eternity, the teacher stopped ranting.

"Any questions?" she asked sharply, obviously expecting them to not raise their hands.

Not like anyone would ever dare to try and gain her attention with a question after what she just put Felix through. The classroom was almost deathly silent for a moment, everyone holding their breath as they focused on their notes to avoid eye contact—

"Yes, Han?" she hissed, obviously displeased that a student was showing interest.

Felix instantly stiffened, turning around to look at Jisung, who had apparently raised his hand. There was a sharp and determined look in his eyes, an expression he only sported when he was up to no good—

"Yeah, I've got a question," he said, his tone nonchalant. He suddenly picked up his book, showing off its contents—"Do you think the devil teeth make your head look bigger, or did I get your portrait right? I feel like it's missing something, though. What do you think, Professor?"

Felix's jaw dropped as he slowly took in Jisung's... art piece, his words slowly sinking and only adding to the mix of happiness and horror that was growing in his heart.

His best friend had drawn all over entire paragraphs a full-body portrait of their teacher, drawing a thin stick body with an overly large head that sported horns and big, serrated teeth. The eyes were all swirly, displaying an almost palpable madness, and he had even added cartoonish hands with big, sharp claws, and a devil tail attached to the stick-body.

If the students had been scared before, they were now absolutely terrified. Everyone stopped breathing as they all shifted their astonished stares from the crude drawing to the teacher, who was absolutely fuming and turning red.

"You—You—!"

She couldn't even get the words out, too angered to speak properly. But then, out of nowhere, Jeongin hummed, peering more closely at Jisung's drawing.

"Do you take constructive criticism?"

"Sure!" beamed Jisung, his smirk widening a bit as Jeongin played along.

With a hum, Jeongin leaned over and started drawing something at the stick-figure's feet – a large bucket, on which he scribbled "STUDENTS TEARS" in bold letters. Then, with an afterthought, he wrote at the top "BITCH" in even bigger letters – big enough for all to see.

"There you go."

"Accessories, of course! And a title, too! I knew it was missing something! Thanks, Innie!"

"Anything to help a fellow artist."

"YOU TWO—"

"Jisung! Jeongin!" snapped Seungmin. "How can you be so disrespectful toward a teacher? Have you never been taught to respect your elders?"

Everyone believed he was berating his friends... until he suddenly turned around and, with a bright red pencil, wrote "Professor" in front of the "BITCH", after which he nodded firmly.

"There you go – address your teachers properly, would you?"

At that, unable to help themselves any longer, the three boys burst out laughing, and Felix could only stare, mouth agape, as the severity of what they had just done – for him – sunk in. And, apparently, them laughing was the trigger for the entire class to lose it and, in a matter of seconds, an absolute riot broke out. 

Students started clapping and cheering, even when the irate teacher started yelling over them and screaming at them to sit down and stay quiet. She was completely red at that point, sweat beading on her creased forehead as her voice grew hoarse from the one-sided shouting match.

"ENOUGH!!!"

The moment she pulled out her wand, everyone instantly fell silent – none of them wanted to be on the receiving end of a Silencing spell, or worse. She was panting, her hair slightly disheveled and her eyes wild when she glared at the three troublemakers.

"Han, Yang, Kim! DETENTION!!!"

The three boys didn't say anything, merely settling back down in their seats with a calm demeanor that definitely felt out of place after the actual riot they caused. The moment she turned her back to continue with her lecture, though, they all exchanged a high-five, before turning to Felix with matching grins.

"Guys..." he whispered, his throat a little tight.

Seungmin simply squeezed his hand again. "We've got you."

Felix simply nodded, not wanting to say anything and risk getting into even more trouble, but he squeezed his hand back again, hoping to convey his gratitude.

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Needless to say, Chan wasn't happy.

"How do you get detention in History of Magic? All you have to do is literally sit there and listen! And now students are saying you threatened to throw the teacher out the window!?"

Yeah, they had obviously been working the rumor mill of Hogwarts overtime, today. But the three actually responsible for the trouble were unrepentant, and Felix couldn't bring himself to feel bad about how things had turned out, either.

"She was being a bitch, so we told her as such," replied Jisung, clicking his tongue.

"We didn't threaten her," huffed Seungmin, pushing up his glasses. "We just insulted her to her face so we'd get detention."

"And why, pray tell, would you want to get detention!?"

"Because she gave Lix a detention for no reason at all! We couldn't just let him go alone!" protested Jeongin.

"Felix got detention?" echoed Changbin, quirking a brow in disbelief.

"Yeah, she totally freaked out! He was just drawing some doodles in his book because the lecture was super boring, and BAM! She suddenly started yelling at him about how disrespectful he was being and all sorts of nonsense, and gave him a detention!" recounted Jisung, crossing his arms over his chest with an offended look. "She almost made him cry, for Merlin's sake!"

That was enough to make Chan's glare soften – everyone had a soft spot for Felix, him being the first. They all knew how sensitive the freckled boy could be and if what Jisung was saying was true, then he had probably been really scared and pained by the teacher's unwarranted comportment.

"Hey, Minho?" called out Hyunjin, eerily calm.

"Yeah?"

"Know any good spot to get rid of a body?"

"Sure. Throw it to the Giant Squid, it'll be gone in no time."

"Guys!" hissed Chan, afraid a passing teacher might overhear them – they were still in the Grand Hall, after all. "Changbin, say something!"

The boy shrugged. "I can make a good bleach to get rid of evidence if needed."

Chan groaned, his shoulders slumping in defeat, while the younger ones laughed – well, all of them except Felix. Even if his friends' quirkiness managed to make him smile, he still felt bad about what had happened. He still couldn't wrap his head around why she would target him, of all people. Had he done something wrong? Said something wrong? Did she just not like his face? Or did she hear the rumor about the potion incident and decided he was a no-good, troublemaker student? Was she going to cause even more trouble? Yell at him again?

"Lix?" He startled a bit when Chan tapped his nose, refocusing on reality. He then realized everyone else was also looking at him. "Hey, buddy. Get out of your head for a bit and tell us what's going on in there, hm?"

"I- I just..." His throat felt tight again, and he lowered his eyes. "I dunno. I- I don't know what I did to make her dislike me, and it's- it's eating at me a bit, I guess."

"You didn't do anything," assured firmly Minho, uncharacteristically serious – he always was when it came to his friends' wellbeing. "Look, I've heard rumors about that teacher – apparently, every year, she picks a 1st year at random to act as a scapegoat."

"Not one of your theories again," groaned Changbin.

Minho shot him a glare. "It's true. She was on sick leave last year, so we didn't have her but, apparently, all of the previous years, she did the same trick: pick a student and target them on the first day – and then the rest of the year – so the rest of the students stay in line, out of fear of being the next target."

"That's... sick," grimaced Seungmin. "But effective, I suppose."

"Right, there's no way any of the students are going to act out like we did after how she freaked out earlier," snorted Jisung, disgusted. "But we won't let her target Lixie. If she wants to get to him, then she has to get through all of us first! Right, guys?"

"Yeah!" cheered Jeongin. "She won't know what'll hit her!"

Seungmin simply sighed. "Just, please, don't make it a common occurrence. I don't want all of my Friday evenings occupied by detentions."

At that, Hyunjin snorted. "So much for not getting detention on your first day, uh?"

"Well, there is one thing that went according to plan," recalled Jisung, grinning as he patted Felix's shoulder. "Lixie didn't make anything explode in Charms, just like you said!"

Felix shot his friend a flat look. "I set my book on fire with a Levitation spell."

"But it didn't explode, did it?"

Felix sighed, shaking his head with fondness as the last of his worries simply melted away like snow under the sun. In the end, no matter the obstacles he faced, he knew he could count on his friends to help him overcome them.

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And I'm back, guys! I will be posting a new chapter each Friday, so please look forward to them! I hope you enjoy this new story, make sure to leave a comment, it always means a lot to me!