winter breaks were blessings. the distinct chatters from hallways faded to the quiet family dinners, and the desire to stay in bed instead of turning up for class was exchanged with the need to stay up, if only to watch his cousin, riley, fall into a deep slumber. their families decided to spend christmas together once again, and jeonghan was nothing short of ecstatic to oblige, treasuring the opportunity to stay over at riley’s room again for the next three nights or so. like when they were younger.
only, this time, riley stayed up much later, and could barely fit in his own childhood bed. jeonghan, unlike when they were children, had been sleeping on a separate cot the last few years, but sometimes squeezed himself into the bed and under the blankets beside his cousin who had, by the way, grown much, much taller than he had. if jeonghan thought about it too much, he might actually just cry.
they were laying in bed, amidst the dim room, solemn figures illuminated by the glow-in-the-dark stickers jeonghan had stuck on riley’s ceiling when they were ten. limbs were tangled with much longer ones in riley’s bed. they were barely a breath apart, jeonghan’s eyes memorizing each and every distinctive feature in riley’s face, every shift of the boy’s expression, the movement of his mouth as he spoke and yawned, long lashes fluttering like butterflies in his mother’s garden.
jeonghan reached out, almost hesitantly. riley was older now, much more prone to being embarrassed by jeonghan’s overly affectionate gestures. but they were alone in the stillness of the night, in their own world, a place they once considered their sanctuary. jeonghan traced a finger down from riley’s temple, down his jawline, and stopped at his chin. the small smile that tugged the boy’s lips made jeonghan realize that riley still looked to him with starry eyes that rivaled the twinkling of the night sky.
jeonghan closed the gap between them, pressed a chaste kiss on the corner of riley’s lips. then on the apples of his cheeks, and then grazed his lips toward the cheekbones. brushing away the strands of hair that partially covered the boy’s forehead, jeonghan uttered, voice soft and almost sad, “you’re growing up so fast.”
jeonghan wanted to relish the moment, save it like a photograph, or a black-and-white video reel of memories, keep in a treasure trove in the back of his mind, the one where he kept every memory of riley that he could, take them out when he needed to be reminded of his purpose in life. he planted a quick kiss on riley’s chin, one on his neck, and – tugging down the collar of the other’s shirt – one on his exposed collarbone. it was only riley - scent an intoxicating mix of fresh fruits and donuts - and the familiar aroma of freshly-laundered sheets.
there was nothing more between them than platonic adoration, and jeonghan could live with that, could learn to live with the fact that riley will continue to grow in maturity, date girls that he would introduce to jeonghan, and he would have to smile politely, and make sure riley didn’t get hurt. all without voicing out violent threats. but that was a long way from now. with a smile, jeonghan tapped riley’s nose with the tip of his finger, “don’t you ever grow up.”
he answers the question with no hesitation, pulling sanha close to him, almost expecting the younger male’s head to land on his chest. jeonghan sometimes forgets how old they are, how much time has passed, and how much riley has grown - grown. although, jeonghan refuses to acknowledge such a small technicality. riley is a baby. riley is still a baby.
everyone else in the world doesn’t matter with riley around, and jeonghan hopes - and prays to any and all the gods out there - that riley doesn’t drift away. jeonghan can fully admit and attest to the fact that, for the first time in his life, he is deathly afraid.
"Terry hyung!!!!!" Riley screams, all high-pitched and still untouched by puberty. He rushes over to the ravenclaw, arms wide open and envelopes him in a bear hug.
it almost seemed like routine to him, and one that he warmly welcomed from the moment he enrolled into the school. the familiar voice was expected, and something he waited for everyday. almost on instinct, jeonghan turned to greet his gryffindor cousin with a wide, toothy grin, arms open to capture him in a tight embrace.
“my baby!” he cooed, fingers running through the other male’s hair. riley fulfilled his inner need to be a mother father, regardless if the boy was only a year younger than he was. “i’ve been waiting for you. how was your day?”
Riley groans in pain as a response, face covered in soot as he attempts to wave off the smoke that’s being emitted from his (apparently) failed potion brewing. The result is a dirty gryffindor student and 10 points deducted from their house.
“I-I’m–” A cough, “I’m alright, noona. Although I think I need help in actually getting the potion right.”
the loss of ten points sours her competitive side, though the sight of a coughing underclassman silences any snarky internal monologue quickly. irene fusses over him like a mother hen, blasting the smoke away with a wave of her wand and rubbing his back in some meagre attempt to ease his coughing.
“i’m here to help,” she offers, perhaps too eagerly, partially out of concern that he’ll end up hurting himself she didn’t, and partially due to the fear of losing more points for their house. “let’s just take it slow first, okay? do you need water?
W.... would you allow me to c-c..... court.... you....???????
honesty hour. ( x )
this was odd. disbelieving. unexpected. the badger canted her head, eyeing the male carefully while letting his question hang in the air, unsure of what emotion was overtaking her senses at the moment. he was much taller and broader than she was, she notes as a step forward is taken to examine him more carefully.
“Thanks, I get that a lot.” Riley pouts, fingers pulling down his cheeks to hide the fact there’s dark bags under his eyes. He’s a 5th year, thus he needed to undergo O.W.L. tests, and even though he’s confident he’ll ace half of his exams, he’s having doubts with the other half, thus he had began staying up late to actually review. No thanks to Amelia for nagging him about it as well.
“Must be nice being a ravenclaw, you guys are already smart.”
byulyi looks at him skeptically. “you sure you’re not doing something... else other than studying?” she couldn’t help but to ask. even though byulyi doesn’t socialize much with her fellow students, she knew each and everyone to say at least-- mainly the basics. it’s not like there were many students in hogwarts anyway, and even though byulyi wasn’t the one to eavesdrop someone’s conversation, she couldn’t help but to overhear some students chattering around the hallways, especially in the library. again-- it wasn’t intentional.
she knew riley and him being his prankster self, of course. “you’re not getting into troubles?” she asks with a raised brow. it was a honest question.
“Wouldn’t be the first.” He mumbles under his breath, but gave no effort in actually quieting himself up as he rubbed the top of his head, wincing at the slight pain from the contact. “If only someone actually taught me how to ride a broom properly! I barely passed the flying lessons!” Riley whined, kicking his legs like a child as he sat on the floor.
that’s more worrying than yixing dares to admit, but he merely raises an eyebrow at the other boys’ behaviour and offers a hand to help. there are a few people around and, as much of a bully as he can be, yixing isn’t overly mean -- especially when his public image is involved. “uh huh,” he replies dully, “you’re not in my house, are you?” of course he isn’t. it’s obvious enough. but yixing asks out of politeness in the form of feigned ignorance.
“i’d help you myself but i...ah, have other engagements.” he looks up once, and meets the eye of a cute nobody. “that one, i think, is one of them.” then, back at the boy: “the name’s yixing. and you’re...?”
