SLYTHERIN PRINCE

Taemin Lee. 6th year. Slytherin. Prefect. Seeker. Pureblood.

[gryffxnhyxn]

permission;

[gryffxnhyxn]

When Taemin speaks again –and he hadn’t expected him to– Jonghyun’s heart does backflips from within the confines of his chest, his happiness knowing no bounds. He hadn’t expected the other to admit the same in return, even though the thought that Taemin still may be attached to the lips of those other than himself every now and then hung heavily on his mind. It was an immense relief to know that not only had Taemin not been kissing anyone else during the time they had started kissing each other, but he also had no desire to kiss anyone else.

And for Taemin Lee, prefect playboy extraordinaire, that was really saying something.

His heart shudders and trembles in his chest and he almost doesn’t believe he’s really hearing the other correctly. Without another seconds pause after a soft finger brushes over his lip, he leans forward to capture the Slytherin’s lips again, and it felt so much better this time because now they really were both on the same page. They were here because they wanted to be. They wanted to be like this with each other.

His arms lure the other against his frame as he pulls him close, their kiss long and languid but still deep enough to mean something. When they finally part for breath, Jonghyun lets out a breathless laugh against the prefect’s lips, and pecks them a few times before finally speaking again. “S’pose we should go for lunch at some point, yeah?”

[veritaeserum]

This kiss feels different than their previous ones, but it still leaves the prefect with a fluttering heart and jumbled stomach. It’s one of the best and downright the most meaningful he’s had. He takes his time, mouth pressed to Jonghyun’s, fingers caressing his soft cheeks as his tongue draws forth the others in slow strokes. Taemin takes his time with Jonghyun, he doesn’t want to rush anything. It was nice to know they were on the same page now, that this meant something to Jonghyun just like it meant something to him. He still couldn’t get over it and had so many questions that he was dying to ask the Gryffindor, but they could wait. Right now he just wants to enjoy this moment.

 With the kiss broken so they can catch their breath, Jonghyun’s following laughs sends chills down his spine as the boy’s breath bats against his lips and causes Taemin to smile affectionately. “I suppose so.” There’s a hint of pure disappointment to his tone and he doesn’t even try to hide it. “Our mates are probably wondering where we’re off to.” At least his were, skipping breakfast wasn’t uncommon for him but he usually made it to lunch in a prompt manner. Lowering his hand from Jonghyun’s cheek he lets it slip down to his waistline. “We can pick this up tonight, right? The tower..” he clarifies, because they had their tutoring session tonight as well, and he wasn’t going to snog the other when he was supposed to be helping him learn, that would be irresponsible; afterwards, however, was another story. “Will you be there?”

 When the Gryffindor gives the affirmative, Taemin flashes him another smile before he leans in and slips both arms around Jonghyun’s waist in a hug. The sixth year briefly wonders if he’s being too affectionate, it was just a simple hug goodbye, though he never really hugged anyone goodbye unless it was family. He can’t even recall the last time he’s hugged Kibum and Minho, but they were different and the situation was completely different, too. A faint blush coats his cheeks and he pulls back from the Gryffindor. “Hey, try not to be so obvious when you sneak looks at me in the Great Hall, yeah?” he teases with a light laugh, sending the other boy a wink before he’s turning on his heel and leaving him alone in the corridor, a wide smile still stuck on his face.

[gryffxnhyxn]

permission;

[gryffxnhyxn]

The blush rises hot over his cheeks and ears, and his eyes almost seem glued to the floor below because he couldn’t bare look at the Slytherin in front of him just yet. He felt so embarrassed. He’d been going around kissing Taemin carelessly this whole time without even considering if the other male even liked, or enjoyed it. Of course, he’d assumed based on the fact that Taemin would kiss back. But hell, the prefect had said it himself before. He’d snogged that Cavanaugh girl plenty of times and admitted out loud that he didn’t even feel anything for her; and Jonghyun couldn’t forget the countless other times he’d caught the Slytherin in a lip lock with a handful of other girls.

Jonghyun was just one of those other ‘girls’. Taemin didn’t feel anything for him. His kisses didn’t mean anything. They were just– Jonghyun blinks, head suddenly snapping up at the other’s words. What? He.. Taemin he.. he liked kissing Jonghyun? He liked it? 

Jonghyun feels his body freeze up due to shock. Was he hearing him correctly? Jonghyun couldn’t even laugh at the other’s playful tease, though his lips do quirk upwards a little bit. When Taemin’s hands reach out for him only then does he realize how stiff his muscles are, and he steadily begins to relax as Taemin’s hands smooth down to find his own. The touch sends pleasant tingles all up his arms and alone begins to wind Jonghyun down from his initial surprise. Being pulled closer to the prefect now, his eyes are drawn to dark ones and his breath nearly catches in his throat at the other’s request, a whole new kind of blush settling on his cheeks. A small, shy smile graces his lips. 

Was Taemin… had he maybe been worried? Is that why he had questioned Jonghyun’s intentions? Was he just worried that Jonghyun was kissing him for some other reason? He feels his heart melt a little in his chest and he turns his face so that his lips travel long the curve of the Slytherin’s cheek. This boy was perfect. 

“I won’t.” His own arms come up as well to wrap around the other. “I don’t want to kiss anyone else.”

[veritaeserum]

Taemin’s eyes become glossed over when Jonghyun’s mouth moves along the apple of his cheek, the light touch sending shivers down his spine and causing his body to uncharacteristically tremble. There’s a set of arms wrapping around his slender frame, and the words that Jonghyun speaks leaves him in a state of awe although he tries not to let it show. His stomach is in knots, tossing and turning. There’s the faint thought that anyone could just walk by and see them in the back of the mind, but right now Taemin finds that he didn’t care.

Standing there in the corridor, hugging the Gryffindor wasn’t something that Taemin planned on for his sixth year. This was everything he would’ve maimed for only two years prior, and Taemin finds that two years didn’t really change anything. Even after he tried to fight his feelings and decided he was better off without them, they were just too strong to get rid of and for once the Slytherin is grateful that they’ve managed to last this long. Just maybe the other was gaining feelings for him, too. There couldn’t be any other explanation for this now that Taemin was confident the other didn’t have any ulterior motive, and if he was wrong then he deserved whatever he got coming to him.

“Me either,” he mumbles with nothing but complete honesty. “I haven’t kissed anyone..” he pulls back from the embrace, dark eyes locking with Jonghyun’s. “and I don’t want to.” his hand slides up Jonghyun’s chest and cups at his face, fingers brushing over the Gryffindor’s lips. “Only you.”

[gryffxnhyxn]

permission;

[gryffxnhyxn]

His back meets the stone wall behind him and it sends shivers up and down his spine, curling down the length of his fingers and toes. Taemin’s hand now on his neck only adds to the pleasant sensation and Jonghyun finds himself sighing against their joined lips. He feels light and airy and happy in the Slytherin’s presence, his heart fluttering away in his chest. 

Their gazes meet and Jonghyun loses himself in Taemin’s for that short moment of silence. What does a look like that mean? What was Taemin thinking about? What was he feeling right now? Would he object of Jonghyun leaned in just a little closer.. maybe just to press his lips against those soft pink ones again.. But Taemin is soon speaking and his eyes drift back open, unaware that they had closed when he began to inch forward again.

His heart sinks suddenly, worry crossing his features and causing his eyebrows to pinch together. He glances down, leaning back against the wall and biting lightly on his lip as he thought about what to say. So, Taemin had finally asked him about it. A small part of him was hoping he wouldn’t, and they could just keep doing this and eventually fall in love, maybe run off into the sunset together. He snorts mentally, but his thoughts are tinged with an unsettling fear as well. Did Taemin… had Taemin even wanted to kiss him back this whole time? Was he just playing along? Had Jonghyun misread him?

He settles on honesty. “I… I don’t do this with anyone else… I..” He swallows, finding his courage. “I like kissing you. It makes me happy, and when we kiss, I feel really good… it makes me want to do it again, and again.. I… I can’t help but want to keep kissing you. I thought.. since, well.. I thought you liked it too.. but,” he glances up, worried. “Was I wrong–?”

Then the rest practically comes out as a sudden babble of words, and he feels a shameful blush rising up his neck, his hand retracting from the Slytherin’s cheek. “I’m sorry– I guess I thought– but if you don’t like it I’ll stop. I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable, and the last thing I want to do is take advantage so.. I’ll stop if you want me to. I.. I just assumed… but maybe not…”

[veritaeserum]

The silence between the sixth years grows thick, allowing for Taemin to hear the rush of blood and his heart beating loudly in his ears. Even more so when he notices the way Jonghyun leans forward with slightly closed eyes, and Taemin almost wants to meet him half-way. But he has questions to ask, troubles to get off of his mind and the only person that can answer him is the boy standing in front of him, still pressed to the cold stone wall.

 Jonghyun takes his time to answer, and each second feels just a little bit too long to Taemin who stands there with a look of patience, even though he was feeling anything but. He’s not sure what to expect, but he’s hoping that this would work out in his favor. Jonghyun could easily tell him he likes him, that he feels something, that he wants to try things out with the Slytherin and take a chance on him. Jonghyun could also say the opposite, laugh in Taemin’s face and tell him that he just wanted to see how far he can get the other to go, that he doesn’t like him at all.

 The Slytherin’s hands shake, and he has to move them away from the other, taking a small step back and letting his hands fall to his side. He shifts, as he waits for his answer able to read the nervous expression on his counterpart’s face. Taemin wants to tell him to get on with it because the silence is too nerve wrecking and he doesn’t know how much he can withstand. The time they spent together as “friends” was something he looked forward to; the tutoring, sneaking away to snog in the corridors, their nights on top of the Astronomy Tower. Getting to know the person he has been in love with for two years without it being secondhand knowledge, it was something he cherished. And if Jonghyun were to rip that away from him… Taemin doesn’t know what he’d do.

 But Jonghyun speaks, and Taemin’s fears are put at ease as the other rambles. Jonghyun likes kissing him, well, that explains why his mouth was usually attached to his on most occasions. And, better yet, only his because the Gryffindor didn’t go around kissing other people. That, in itself causes Taemin to smile a proud faint smile. “Oh..” he breathes, not trusting himself to say anything else after this confession. Merlin. Could this boy get any more perfect?

 The Slytherin allows another round of silence to pass between them, taking the time to gather his thoughts. He knew he had to say something, but what? The other was honest with him, Taemin could see the sincerity in his eyes and it made him finally put to rest the last of his paranoid thoughts. He trusts Jonghyun, which is more than what he could say for most people in his life. “You’re not wrong.. I like kissing you…” he tries to regain some of that Slytherin confidence he was known for, but it always seems so pointless when he was with Jonghyun. Taemin felt as if the other had the ability to see through him, probably from six years of calling him out on his prejudiced bullshit. “I’d be kind of offended if you stopped so suddenly. That wouldn’t be nice, Kim.”

 His hand extends from his sides, reaching Jonghyun’s upper arms and slowly traveling down to his hands. He takes them in his and tugs the Gryffindor forward until he was close to his chest, whispering out a low “And I don’t want you to kiss anyone else.” But making sure it was loud enough for the Gryffindor to hear. “Really… don’t.” You’re mine now. He lets go of the boy’s hands only to wrap his arms loosely around Jonghyun’s torso. “Please.”

[gryffxnhyxn]

permission;

[gryffxnhyxn]

It was all too easy, falling prey to the infuriatingly addicting being that was Taemin Lee. But of course Jonghyun lets himself completely melt into the other as he steals kiss after kiss, sometimes traveling down along his neck again or across his jawline, but always coming back for more from his lips. He murmurs words in between.

“How was your class?” he asks casually, his hands de-threading themselves from Taemin’s so he could settle them around his torso instead. “Was it fun~?”

There’s a hint of a tease there this time and he smiles into his kisses. He was in a good mood. Partly because he’d just had Charms, which was one of his favourite subjects, but also because he’d only had to wait two hours to see Taemin again after their morning Potions lesson. And, with it being lunch period, he wasn’t grabbing for seconds with the other since neither of them had anywhere they really urgently needed to be. At least, he hoped Taemin didn’t.

When he’s eventually done with his initial flurry of kisses, he pulls back enough to press a long and lingering kiss to the Slytherin’s lips, eyes opening slowly afterwords to look into the alluring dark ones in front of him. He raises a hand then, and gently cups the side of the prefect face, smiling lightly as he just looks at the other, his thumb brushing across the apple of his cheek.

[veritaeserum]

It’s a foreign feeling, having lips travel across his jawline and neck. Sometimes the girls he were with liked to get frisky, but Taemin would always put an end to it at snogging. He had no intentions of stopping this, however, whatever this was. Not like he could, this was Jonghyun Kim, the bloody idiot was irresistible in Taemin’s eyes.

“Do you really care how class went?” he murmurs back, tugging on Jonghyun’s lip and pressing him back into a wall. With their fingers no longer laced, his hand cups Jonghyun’s neck while the other settles on the wall by his head. Taemin can feel the curve of Jonghyun’s lips, he’s smiling and soon he manages a smile as well, chuckling faintly into the next kiss and the one after that.

When their kisses come to an unfortunate end, Taemin’s eyes peer open to graze down into the shorter male’s. His fingers comb through the ends of the Gryffindor’s hair, almost stepping back when Jonghyun raises his hand but ultimately keeps his feet in place. A cool hand is placed to his face, and a thumb begins to caress his cheek. Slowly the Slytherin breathes out, staring wordlessly into the other’s eyes. He feels himself crumbling, melting into Jonghyun’s mere touch. It was incredible the hold the other had over him, and how he pretended not to know. Jonghyun had to know, really he did. Why else would he continue to play him like this?

Taemin moves his hand off the wall, places it on Jonghyun’s. He was going to remove his hand from his face, but he finds himself unable to. Instead he asks in a tense and controlled tone. “..why are you doing this? Friends don’t go snogging their friends in abandoned corridors.” Although, Taemin couldn’t deny the fact that he had pretty much snogged a few of his friends in abandoned corridors and abandoned classrooms and common rooms and broom closets. “At least.. you’re not supposed to.”  

[gryffxnhyxn]

permission;

It was just after 1PM in the afternoon, Taemin should be making his way back up to the castle now from a Care of Magical Creatures class, then most likely heading to the Great Hall for the beginning of lunch. The whole school was on lunch now, but Jonghyun had the rest of the day off from this point on as he had a double free period until 5PM, when classes finished for the day. He had Astronomy later that night but that didn’t count right now.

He’s waiting near a small corner in the corridor, close by where students were filing into the castle from the grounds outside. He was waiting for that familiar crop of raven hair, telling his friends to go on ahead to the Hall without him.

When Jonghyun does spot the Slytherin, just as before in what became a strange sort of habit, he takes hold of his wrist and with a giddy grin steals him away into a hidden corner, taking the prefects hands and threading their fingers together one they were alone and face to face.

“Hello, again.”

He leans forward, gently pulling Taemin closer to him as he presses a playful line of pecks up the side of his neck and then pulls back just enough so that he could join their lips in a proper, and much more needed, kiss.

[veritaeserum]

Taemin’s relieved when Care of the Magical Creatures is over and he can head back to the castle, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand from lack of sleep as he makes his way through the grounds. None of his friends took this class with him, and they wouldn’t meet up again until he got into the Great Hall so he doesn’t have to worry about socializing long as he avoids his usual fan club that seems to be hounding him more than ever now for reasons unknown to him.

Before he goes off to lunch, he plans to stop in his common room to wash up and get rid of his satchel. He didn’t like carrying his bag around when classes weren’t in session, even if it had a feather light charm placed on it, it was still dead weight. His wrists are being seized in what is becoming an all too familiar scene, and he’s being grabbed and pulled down the corridor. Unlike the last time there’s no surprised protest, only amusement dancing in his dark eyes.

When they’re alone, their fingers become laced and Taemin flashes the other an amused half-smile. “Oh hello, Kim. Nice weather we’re having today, hm?” he says all while the other is pulling him in, lips pressed to his neck. Jonghyun has never kissed him there before and it sends tingles down his spine. When their lips finally meet Taemin is prepared, kissing the other back without any hesitancy, the last thing on his mind being that they were in a public corridor and anyone can turn down the hallway at any second.  

[veritaeserum]

honesty;

[gryffxnhyxn]

“And just why do I need one, hm?” He grins a little tiredly, cocking an eyebrow in the direction of the Slytherin. As they part he misses the warmth of the others body against his, and shivers a little under the fabric of his hoodie. He fixes his hat back over his head, as it seemed to have slipped off at some point, and with a smile grabs onto Taemin’s hands when offered a leg up. A small grunt escapes him as he stumbles against the other and he lets go with a sheepish smile, turning around to vanish the pillows and blankets with a flick of his wand.

Then, just as easily as if it was second nature, he slips his hand into Taemin’s and interlaces their fingers, his lips forming into a playful pout. “You speak like I’m five years old, or have you forgotten that we’re in the same year.” A playful roll of his eyes but he’s still smiling lightly after, heading down the tower steps with the prefect. He stays mostly quiet as they make their way back, casting a disillusionment charm over them so there was less risk of getting caught. Even with a prefect there was no excuse for either of them to be up and about after 3AM in the morning.

Stopping a short ways away from the portrait to his common room, Jonghyun gives Taemin’s hand a light tug to get him to stop as well, and lifts the charm off of them. “This uh… here is good.” He sends a quick glance in the direction of the Fat Lady, not really feeling the need for an audience as they said their goodnights. “Well, uh, thanks for walking me…” he trails off, and then silently steps forward and leans to press a soft kiss to Taemin’s lips. “Goodnight, I’ll see you tomorrow, or, er– later today I guess.” He chuckles, finally letting his hand slip from the prefects to give a small wave as he parts. “Sleep well.” And then with a last smile he turns and trots the rest of the way over to the portrait, who of course barks at him for being up so obscenely late.

“Yeah, yeah. Wattlebird, wattlebird– let me in already.” He ignores her and quickly mutters the password, and when she finally swings open for him, sparing one last glance to see if Taemin was still there, he crawls through the entrance and disappears into the safety of his common room.

[veritaeserum]

Taemin wants to kiss Jonghyun but he doesn’t know how. If he did the other would be completely asking for it, I mean he did knock into him (which of course was all Taemin’s doing), but with the way his lips spread into a smile and how he fixes his beanie with such a cute look on his face. The Slytherin has half of a mind to pull his hat back just so he can comb his fingers through those soft locks again, while kissing Jonghyun, maybe. Maybe not, because Taemin lets the moment pass and he knows that deep down he wouldn’t be able to kiss Jonghyun first, anyway, because that boy can crush his hopes and pride at any second and when that happens, Taemin wants to pretend he’s completely unaffected. As if this whole thing they’ve got going on was solely Jonghyun’s doing, that Taemin’s return actions were only fueled by entertainment. “We’re in the same year? I’m sorry, I didn’t realize.”

For now, Taemin enjoys the way Jonghyun’s fingers are zipped through his as they make their way through the corridor in silence. He’s not worried about getting caught, he’s good at charming his way out of trouble for his nightly adventures, but his mind is too preoccupied by the boy next to him. Taemin knows where the Gryffindor common room is located, but he still tries his best to walk passed it, hoping Jonghyun would be as lost in thought as he was and just follow along. He’s out of luck, their stroll through the castle coming to an abrupt end with a tug to his hand, Jonghyun’s feet stopping before they get to the portrait. “Embarrassed to be seen with me?” Taemin tries his best to smirk but it comes out as some aloof half grimace that’s quickly disappearing from his face when there’s a kiss being pressed to his lips.  It’s soft and sweet and his lips mold perfectly into the other’s; he’s able to kiss him back just as soft before they both pull back. Taemin’s cheeks coated with a faint blush, wondering if he will ever stop blushing when their lips meet.

They’re still holding hands, Taemin realizes only when the Gryffindor unthreads his. “Yeah, I’ll uh.. see you later.” Probably at breakfast, if he doesn’t skip it again like yesterday. The other bids him a quick ‘sleep well’ before he’s gone, and all the Slytherin does is whisper a soft “Goodnight,” that he’s not even sure Jonghyun heard. Taemin doesn’t move from his spot, watching as the other goes to the portrait and gives the password. He’s amused when she begins to scold the other, laughing quietly to himself with a small grin as she finally opens for the sixth year. He doesn’t miss the way the other turns and catches a glimpse of him, hand raising in a small goodbye wave before the portrait closes and the Gryffindor is gone. Only then does Taemin turn around, footsteps light as he begins the journey back to the Slytherin common room.

[veritaeserum]

honesty;

[gryffxnhyxn]

Easing the tension with a soft laughter, a weak smile graces his lips and he lets his hand slip from where it had been previously cradling the other’s cheek downwards to splay flat on his chest. “We’ll take it one step at a time, yeah? Bit by bit… there’s no rush. Tell me when you want to tell me.”  

Jonghyun just shrugs lazily in the other’s arms, peeking an eye open to look at the inky black sky above. “You take Astronomy, don’t you? You know we get taught to tell the time based on the position of the moon. It’s the same as telling time by the position of the sun. I just never cared to remember any of that. Was hoping you’d know.”

A soft groan leaves his lips when Taemin finally does reveal the time, and he almost burrows further into the other’s embrace. “I don’t have a bedtime,” he pouts petulantly, but eventually sighs and pulls back a little after Taemin’s offer, smiling. “You better, last time I had to carry your half asleep arse all the way back to the dungeons. I think I deserve a nice walk back to my own dorm this time.” He laughs to signify that he was teasing, slowly pulling himself out of the others arms so he could sit up with another yawn, his arms stretching up above his head. “You’re such a gentlemen.”

[veritaeserum]

“Then you need one.” a grin plays on his face as he takes in the other, almost wishing he would nestle himself further into Taemin’s arms. “I’d be damned if I let you fall asleep on me.” But the Slytherin is just kidding, prodding at the other’s side with his finger. All too soon the other detaches himself and Taemin finds himself standing up from the warm, comfortable fabric, the cold breeze hitting his face and causing him to shiver from the contrast.

“It runs in the family,” He reaches out when the other stretches, taking Jonghyun’s hands and pulling him up to his feet with a little more strength than necessary causing the other to stumble into him. “If you weren’t so tired I’d invite you back to my room for some extracurricular activities.” Flashing his pearly whites in a bright teasing smile Taemin pulls away from the other and sets out towards the entry way. “Come now, little lion. You don’t want the monsters to get you.”

[veritaeserum]

honesty;

[gryffxnhyxn]

“I know… I’m not expecting us to become best friends in the blink of an eye.” He frowns a little, “I’m just not used to having to tip toe around subjects with people. I know we’re different and I know I have to understand that.. but sometimes I accidentally slip up a little, though I don’t mean to. I’m not bothered by your family, or the way you grew up, because its your family and your life style. We grew up differently, yeah, and I just can’t help but be curious. But I’ll hold my tongue if it complicates things. I’m not going to change I just meant– I’ll think about it more. I won’t meddle and I’ll take it into consideration when we’re together. I will understand.”

He nods in determination, looking up at the other before giving an awkward sort of chuckle. “Well, I guess I didn’t mean the exact level of closeness as Key-goon and Choi.. but well– just in general I suppose. I wanted us to be close friends. I just used them as a kind of example.” He sighs then, closing his eyes as Taemin meets their foreheads, nuzzling himself a little closer. “Just– I didn’t really say it all the right way, but basically; I want us to be close, I want us to be on good terms and I’ll do what it takes for that happen. I won’t meddle any more if it makes you uncomfortable.” He leans up and presses a brief peck to Taemin’s forehead. “Lets talk about something else now.” 

Smiling now after the plans had been made for the game, it seems the lateness of the hour was starting to get to his and his eyes steadily droop closed as he lets slip a quiet yawn. He snuggles back against the Slytherin’s chest and sighs. “What time is it? Can you tell by looking at the moon?”

[veritaeserum]

Taemin listens intently to what the other is saying and he does understand where the Gryffindor is coming from. The family subject wasn’t something he took lightly, and it was hard for him to open up when he so readily shut himself away from anyone he wasn’t close or comfortable with. While they were becoming closer, and Taemin was finding himself becoming more and more comfortable with the Gryffindor, he was protective over his family. Everyone that asked about them, mostly his close friends, already knew the important parts. His friends knew what to ask, what not to ask, how to word things, the best times to ask (because sometimes Taemin could get moody and you did not want to ask him things when he was in a mood), ect. Jonghyun didn’t know anything, and was prone to overstepping his boundaries. It wasn’t his fault, Taemin knows.

“We’ll get to know each other better.” That’s all he can say to comfort the other male right now. “and then you can ask me anything, or well, maybe I’ll practically share the information with you without realising it. I do that to Kibum and Minho a lot.” The Slytherin gives a slow nod of his head when Jonghyun asks to change the subject, he doesn’t even object because this wasn’t something he wanted to hash out with the other right now.

“What makes you think I can tell by looking at the moon?” he responds quietly in favor of Jonghyun’s questions, eyes becoming cast at the bright crescent in the sky. “It’s a quarter to three. Way passed curfew and your bed time.” his hand smoothes up Jonghyun’s arm. He’s a little sad at the prospect that they would have to go their separate ways, but there’s nothing he can do about that. He just smiles softly and looks back at the Gryffindor in his arms. “Let me walk you back to Gryffindor tower.”

[veritaeserum]

honesty;

[gryffxnhyxn]

Taemin could honestly just smile at him and Jonghyun would be good to sing and cuddle the Slytherin to sleep all night. He almost says exactly that but then the temptation of seeing just how far Taemin actually would go to be sung to sleep festers in his mind and he shrugs instead, lips twisting into a grin. “Hmm, I’m not sure just yet. But when I think of something I’ll be sure to let you know.” He blushes deeply at the prefects next comment however and almost splutters in embarrassment, making a sort of strange squeaking sound in the back of his throat. Was Taemin serious or was he just messing with him?

Jonghyun’s eyes flutter closed in a brief bliss as Taemin traces over the contours of his face once again, enjoying the way the other male so freely seemed to like touching him. He wouldn’t have expected it right off the bat but maybe Taemin was secretly a touchy kind of person. Only to the people he favoured though, most likely. Jonghyun smiles lightly,  did that mean he was favoured too? Or maybe he just had soft skin…  either option was pretty good.

“Are you jealous?” he asks teasingly, trying to cover up the probably blushing mess he would have been if he had decided to react to Taemin’s comment about him looking sexy. He opens his eyes and beams a smile, laughing lightly before the Slytherin could answer. His laughter lilts into a quiet hum though when Taemin is suddenly shifting the placement of his hand. Jonghyun sucks in a slow breath when he instead places it to his cheek and easily his fingers are cupping the soft skin, thumb brushing back and forth affectionately.  

His gaze swoops downwards to avoid Taemin’s, and he nods solemnly. “I know..” he whispers, swallowing a lump that had formed in his throat. “I’m.. just not used to feeling so far away from someone..” Jonghyun didn’t want to feel like Taemin was far away, because all he wanted was to be close to him. “I’m sorry I’m different, and I’m sorry I don’t understand. I’ll do my best to.. to close the gap.. if even just a little bit. Because I want to be close to you.. like Key-goon, and Choi..” and the he bites his lip, looking up. “Is that okay?”

Pulling back only a fraction or two when Taemin does the same, in order to meet his gaze, Jonghyun waits with pursed lips for Taemin’s answer. “Yeah, he doesn’t go to games much really, but some fresh air and company will do him good.” He hopes the other doesn’t mind, and soon he beams a bright smile when the prefect gives him the okay.

“I will,” he sing-songs happily, looking forward to the upcoming Quidditch game more than he had ever had before to any game previous. Maybe he could even pull off holding Taemin’s hand for a bit.

Either that or get him to sneak off with him so they could snog under the stands instead–

[veritaeserum]

He isn’t sure if he likes the wickedness of Jonghyun’s grin. He was sure the other would think of the most devious things to put him through, and Taemin would probably do them all. Nobody does something just to be nice, they needed to be compensated in return. He had learned that early on, and just doing things to be nice had always been foreign and rare. “Are you alright?” the raven haired boy blinks in mild confusion when Jonghyun squeaks, and notices that his cheeks are currently a red hue. “You blush a lot.” It’s cute. Taemin smiles.

 Taemin knew the answer to that question, but he lays there in silence. He was jealous. He got jealous quite often when the Gryffindor was concern. It was sickening, really. Before he could deny anything, however, his ears are being filled with beautiful laughter. Jonghyun’s caressing his cheek, his touch is light and comforting and Taemin never knew how much he could enjoy being touched like this until now. Taemin wasn’t one who was openly affectionate with people unless it were his sister; Jieun was always the exception. Even in private, touching his face was always restricted unless there was some special circumstance. Aislinn had brushed his hair from his eyes once and he had flinched away when her hands barely grazed his forehead. It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy contact with others, but things like this were too intimate and should be shared with someone special, like right now. His eyes open slowly to meet Jonghyun’s warm gaze as he breathes out a simple “yeah.”

 At Jonghyun’s confession, Taemin has to glance away. Jonghyun wasn’t used to feeling so far away from someone, while Taemin was starting to feel close to the other. “It’s not going to happen overnight. It..things like this takes time.” Jonghyun’s apologizing again, and Taemin wishes he would stop. He hates the incessant apologies when they weren’t necessary. “Stop apologizing. I like that you’re different. I like that you grew up different from me, that you’re carefree and happy and open. I don’t want you to be like me, or to change any part of who you are. All I want is for you to understand that we’re different. Things are different for us. Just understand, that’s all I’m asking.” He doesn’t know how he feels when Jonghyun says that he wants to be as close to him as Kibum and Minho when the two were on a tier of their own in Taemin’s life. “You can’t be like Kibum and Minho.” There’s a bit of tiredness laced in his tone, he leans in again, forehead pressing against Jonghyun’s because he needs to be close to the other. “They’ve known me almost my whole lif--wait, that doesn’t even make a difference..” he laughs. “You’re in a league of your own, Jonghyun.”

 He’s excited for the game, more so than before, because Jonghyun will be there. The Gryffindor will sit next to him and they’ll hold hands, and Taemin will whisper into his ear and explain the game to him, even though Jonghyun most likely knew the basics. Then again, Taemin wonders if they’ll even pay attention to the game. It was hard to pay attention to anything when the Gryffindor was in close proximity. Maybe they could sneak away, Onew would be fine being left with Kibum and Minho, especially if Taemin told the others to play nice. Something told him they’d get on well, anyway. Minho had a not-so-secret thing for geeks and Kibum made friends easily when he wanted to. It’d be perfect.

[veritaeserum]

honesty;

[gryffxnhyxn]

“Thats cheating. You have to earn it properly, or else I won’t do it.” Nods in playful determination, even though secretly he knows that if they were in that situation and Taemin really wanted it, he’d do it in a heartbeat. As rarely as he sung for people who weren’t Sodam, if Taemin liked it enough, then Jonghyun wouldn’t mind singing for him any time.

He laughs at all the praise, and he ducks a little so that his bangs hide his face. “It’s really not much, I mean.. I’ve been doing all this over long periods of time. You’re better at much more than me, I bet. I’ve just got spells and music.” He wants to know what Taemin likes to do outside of school. He already figured Potions and Quidditch, but he wanted to know if there was anything else. What were his favourite bands or composers? Did he collect anything strange? Or have any odd guilty pleasures? Jonghyun scrunches his nose. “Of course not, that’s just tacky. I’d want to do like– a white kind of silver.”

As soon as the words leave his mouth. Jonghyun wishes he could take them back. It wasn’t his place. It wasn’t his place. He tries to brush it off, but it had been said and he couldn’t act like he didn’t see the way Taemin tensed because of it, and then he’s off. He closes his eyes, not wanting to see the expression on Taemin’s face when his voice already sounded harsh enough. He felt like shrinking away and dissappearing because then maybe he wouldn’t feel like he was the centre of Taemin’s anger right now.

It wasn’t Jonghyun’s place, he knew that. But he couldn’t help but be curious. He wanted to know everything about the Slytherin male. It was the same with his other friends. He knew all about them, and their families as they were things they always casually discussed. Never had he tried to become close to someone who had a specific family situation and whilst he was curious, he sometimes forgot that in this case it wasn’t always proper for him to ask questions and give his own opinions, even if it was what he was used to doing. Hearing Taemin talk about his family though.. something about it made Jonghyun anxious. He almost didn’t want to hear it anymore, because it have him a sinking feeling. It felt like he was losing the prefect. Jonghyun didn’t want to feel like he was loosing Taemin only just when he had started to get him.

“I’m sorry.” He practically whispers, voice heavy with guilt. “I shouldn’t have said anything… I just… I want you to be happy, that’s all… I shouldn’t have said anything.”

Time and silence allows for them to calm down, and for the subject to settle. Finally they move on to other things and the casual atmosphere they had previously enjoyed and that Jonghyun and briefly worried wouldn’t return, draped around them once again. More than anything he’s relieved that Taemin doesn’t move from the contact they currently shared, and he was still allowed to lay comfortably in the Slytherin’s arms. He just barely tightens his hold around the other, a small part of him still afraid he’d screw it up again and that Taemin actually would just leave him. “I was, I suppose. Geoffrey is the only one who really enjoys going to all the games. But Teo usually avoids it in favour of doing something else with his free time. I don’t usually go either but..” He blushes a little. “I suppose, if you’re going.. could I join you? I’ll bring Onew Lee too, if that’s alright. He’s in Ravenclaw, seventh year.”

Onew was his safest bet as the Head Boy had never been a target of Taemin and his other friend’s teasing. Also, Onew got along with everyone, so he was sure the elder would be just fine sitting with the three Slytherins, even if he wasn’t really friends with them. At least there was that Choi bloke though, they were in the same year so they probably were familiar with each other. “Would you mind?”

[veritaeserum]

Taemin huffs in playful annoyance, bottom lip jutting out into a pout. “And how does one earn being sung to sleep by the great Jonghyun Kim?” Dark brows raise with heightened curiosity as he awaits the other’s answer with a contemplative look on his face. It was pathetic what the other would do to be sung to sleep by the other, now that the idea was planted in his mind he couldn’t pass it up. He needed to be in Jonghyun’s arms and lulled to sleep as if he were a child. It was something he had to experience before his Hogwarts years were over. “There’s not a very high limit limit to the things I would do just to spend the night with you.”

Lithe fingers brush Jonghyun’s hair from his eyes so he couldn’t hide from his gaze, a soft smile playing on his lips as he watches the other with kind eyes. “Hm,” he hums thoughtfully in a silky smooth tone pausing before he speaks. “I’m skilled in areas that I don’t need to particularly be skilled in, yet are still somehow beneficial. You’re skilled in areas that you enjoy, it’s nice.” Taemin’s fingertip traces over Jonghyun’s jawline. It was weird, their lack of personal space when Taemin was one who greatly enjoyed his and if anyone touched him this way without permission he’d probably hex them. But Jonghyun still hasn’t threatened him or even showed that he was uncomfortable with the contact. Maybe he liked it as much as Taemin liked touching him. “That sounds incredibly sexy. If your fan club isn’t all over you now, just wait until you change your hair. Gives me a chance to practice some new hexes.” He murmurs the last part, eyes glancing from Jonghyun’s face down to the hand that lays on his hip. Hesitantly he reaches for it, his hand covering the Gryffindor’s guiding it to his cold cheek and leaving it there, eyes falling shut under the other’s touch.

After the haunting silence that passes between the two, Taemin is brought out of his sullen daze when the Gryffindor apologizes, and the Slytherin feels his heart sink into his stomach. Taemin isn’t even sure why he’s suddenly feeling this way when yeah, the other should be apologizing but… he hates how heavy with guilt his tone of voice is, how he can practically feel how sorry Jonghyun is. “It’s okay…” he whispers back, a little sad. Jonghyun had only wanted the Slytherin to be happy, truly happy with his future plans and that was a lot more than most people wanted for him. “You’re allowed to say something…” he supposes, because they were friends now and friends were allowed to ask these kinds of questions. “we are…friends. I shouldn’t have gotten hostile…. I’m just not used to it. Jonghyun,” he sighs softly. “You really need to understand that we come from two completely different backgrounds.” Because if they were ever going to be anything - friends or otherwise - Jonghyun had to know and fully comprehend that.

Taemin feels Jonghyun’s arm tighten around him, it wasn’t much but it was enough for the Slytherin to -practically melt into his embrace. “You want to join us?” he pulls his face back from Jonghyun’s hair in order to get a good look at the other and catch the blush that coats his cheeks causing Taemin to grin just a little. “You and Lee?” Taemin and Onew Lee weren’t close by any means but since he was the Head Boy they have crossed paths every once in a while, mostly at prefect meetings.

He doesn’t even think about denying the other the pleasure of joining him for Quidditch. “I guess that’ll be alright, but you have to sit next to me.” He’s very satisfied at this new development and he doesn’t even try to hide just how happy this made him. Maybe he could even hold the other’s hand during the game, everyone else would be too focused on the match to notice. The Slytherin has to bite down on his lip to hide a giddy smile, but even then it still peaks through.

[veritaeserum]

honesty;

[gryffxnhyxn]

A smile is brought to Jonghyun’s lips, along with a touch of scarlet to his cheeks with Taemin’s not so subtle comment about wanting to fall asleep with Jonghyun. Of course he could be reading too much into it, and the Slytherin could have meant that he just wanted to be sung to sleep in general, by anyone. But Jonghyun always was hopeful and he liked the idea of being hopeful rather than being realistic. “Maybe, one day, if you’re lucky… I’ll sing you to sleep.” And then he grins impishly. “Nope, it changed this afternoon.”

Jonghyun hums enthusiastically, impressed though also not surprised that Taemin knew how to play the piano. Almost all of his friends back in Seoul were taken regularly for piano lessons. It seemed a lot of parents wanted their children to play it. “I started by playing the bass guitar, but I know how to play acoustic as well. I can also play piano and more recently I’ve been trying the drums.” He was a lover of music, thanks to his mother, and when he wasn’t studying or practicing spell work, he was learning and creating music. “Silver..?” He blinks, actually thoughtful. “That sounds kind of cool actually. Hm, maybe I’ll think about it. I don’t think I’ll change it again till next year though.”

His lips purse together as Taemin goes on about his reasoning for not wanting kids, and Jonghyun almost holds back a sigh. Looking up towards the prefect, he waits for him to finish before raising an eyebrow. “You obviously want to get married, and want to have kids… Are you not even going to just try going after the life you really want?” It was probably not his place, but he couldn’t stand how incredibly fed up and disdainful Taemin seemed when it came to his future. Like he had just accepted his parent’s word as his fate without even trying the change it.  His voice lowers, coming out almost as a whisper and he glances off to the side, “… nevermind.. you don’t have to answer that.” 

His mouth stays shut for a while after that, until the Slytherin manages to pull a soft chuckle from him. “That doesn’t sound entirely legal, Taem.”

When all speech and jokes fall silent, and Jonghyun feels the familiar pressure being returned into the kiss, his heart flutters in his chest. This was a lot softer, and simpler than any of their previous kisses, and he sighs happily as they part. Looking into the dark brown eyes of the Slytherin and leaning forward to steal a few brief pecks before he’s settling back again, a smile on his lips and a blush on his cheeks. “Are you.. Are you going to the match with Key-goon and Choi?”

[veritaeserum]

The smile that brightens Jonghyun’s face mirrors on Taemin’s, he can’t help but to smile back at the other even though it ruined the cool nonchalant thing he was trying to propel at that moment. He knows his comment was forward, implying a little too much. They barely became friends and Taemin already wanted to fall asleep in the same bed, nestled into his arms while Jonghyun sang to him. He wanted it so bad, too. And maybe.. so did Jonghyun? “If I’m lucky? Should I take some Felix Felicis next time I come up here, hm?” chuckles slips from his mouth before he sighs in content. “One day soon, I’m going to hold you to it. I can be impatient sometimes.”

Jonghyun impresses Taemin yet again, first with his language skills and now with his musical talents. Taemin’s heart is soaring and he wonders what else Jonghyun is good at. He can feel himself practically thirsting for more information about the boy, wanting to know everything the other was willing to share. “Impressive. First languages and now this. Is there anything else you’re shockingly good at?”  With the hair talk, Taemin can’t help but to continue to run his fingers through the other’s locks. He had grown accustomed to them and would hate to see them go, but the idea of the Gryffindor with silver hair sounded too good to pass up. Maybe one day. “Mhm, as long as it’s not the nasty metallic type of silver.

He’s caught off guard, taken back just a bit by the forwardness of Jonghyun’s question. Sure, the male had a point. Doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt any less. It was a reminder that Taemin really wasn’t in control of his future, not everyone was. Jonghyun retracts the question but Taemin lets out a bitter laugh and answers anyway. “I’m not like you, Kim. I don’t have the luxury or freedom to do whatever I want.” Taemin was back to last names, eyes black and losing whatever shine they previously held. “My loyalty is to my family, and nothing else matters. You start out in this world with nothing but your family, and that’s how you go out in the end. I have to do what’s right for them and preserve our family name. I will not be the one to ruin what they’ve been building for generations because of my own selfish needs.” He pauses, tongue slipping from his mouth to swipe across his lips. “Producing an heir is optional because Taesun and Jieun most likely will. I rather not have children than to have them with some random person my parents pick out for me, and they will pick someone out for me - pretty sure they’ve already chosen, Aislinn, actually. Same with being an auror, it’s been my dream since I was a child, but I can live without it if it means that my parents will be proud of me in turn.” Maybe it wasn’t really a way to live, and maybe Taemin should fight to have the life he desired but he wasn’t as brave as Jonghyun. He wasn’t a Gryffindor, and he wasn’t going to stop being loyal to his family anytime soon. Taemin had expectations to live by, things his parents set out in front of him and told him to accomplish. He wasn’t going to let them down.

Silence passes between the two and Taemin takes this time to calm himself down. He knows he sounded a bit hostile in his rant, but he couldn’t help it. He wants to apologize for going off, but he can’t find the words. If anything, Jonghyun should apologize for meddling. Maybe talking about their futures and families wasn’t a good thing when it’s clear they had different views. They were both from two different words, and it made Taemin wonder if this friendship thing would last. He wanted it to, he just wasn’t sure if it would.

The string of kisses put him at ease, and he nuzzles his face back into the boy’s hair, breathing in the familiar scent and feeling a wave of calm wash over him. “’Corse I am. I haven’t been to a match without them.” He’s cradling Jonghyun in his arms, wondering what it would be like to hold him this way a few years down the road. Surely, nothing would even come of this friendship, but it didn’t stop the what ifs from passing through his mind. What if he betrayed his family and went against what they wanted? What if he became an auror? What if Jonghyun somehow fell in love with him, would he be holding him just like this in three years time? Would they get married and have kids, a little girl that looked just like her appa? What if Jonghyun was the one to change everything and became the factor that made Taemin go against his parents’ wishes and fight for a future he actually wanted? A future he would be so damned happy and proud to be living. “Are you going with your friends?” his eyes slip to a close and he kisses the top of Jonghyun’s head.

[veritaeserum]

honesty;

[gryffxnhyxn]

“It’s not worse if someone wants to be sung to sleep.” His reasoning isn’t very sound, but he beams a proud grin anyway. “Oh, only the most scandalous of things happen. But you’ll need to get the password first before you can do anything else.”

The awkwardness of the Slytherin’s question goes over his head, as he had just assumed it was a joke, but then after his second question Jonghyun just chuckles softly. “The guy is like– 50 plus. I hardly think there is anything to be threatened over. I just admire is bass skills.” but I admire your everything. “Ah, so you’re the perpetrator, hm? And he said my hair was ridiculous,” he snorts, rolling his eyes. His hair was awesome.

Jonghyun smiles softly at Taemin’s approval over his future choice in children, though he feels his cheeks heat up with a blush yet again when Taemin only seems to approve because he was admiring specific features of Jonghyun’s own face. He tries not to dwindle on the unpleasant and very brief thought that Taemin would prefer Jonghyun’s features on a girl, rather than on Jonghyun himself. “Hmmm, I think you’d be a fine dad. I don’t think anyone can be a perfect parent, I certainly don’t think I could be. There’s too many things you don’t know, and of course the way your own parent’s raised you may not always be the best example. I think it’s always a life changing experience once you get to try it… regardless of what your parent’s think, they’d be your kids, right? And they’d be living under your roof.“ The thought of Taemin as a dad is enough to make his heartbeat quicken in his chest and he avoids looking at the other as he briefly daydreams what Taemin would be like with children. It would be adorable if the interactions with Jieun where anything to go by.

He’s relieved when Taemin doesn’t move away or comment on the brief kiss he had placed to his neck, and when he shifts so that their foreheads were pressing against one another, Jonghyun really thinks the Slytherin is just asking for it. First the pout, and now this? He was practically baiting Jonghyun. “You know, I know a spell that could make the colours flash back and forth. Wouldn’t that be even better?” He was teasing, but he doesn’t grin and slowly finds himself inching ever closer to the prefect, entranced by his gaze and the heat of his breath on his face. Finally, as his own eyes drift closed, he meets his lips with Taemin’s in a soft, but very present kiss.

[veritaeserum]

There’s a silent pause before Taemin speaks again, voice barely above a whisper. “I wouldn’t mind being sung to sleep..” he knows what he’s imply, but the Slytherin just had to put that out there even if he felt a little embarrassed afterwards. Jonghyun probably thought he was so desperate for his implication. “What makes you think I don’t know the password. I am a prefect, need I remind you. Passwords are easy to come by, I believe it’s gillyweed?”

His eyes roll when Jonghyun says he admires the man’s bass skills. Of course he did. The Weird Sisters were musical legends. Taemin just wasn’t that into him, but his elder brother was quite fond and usually got scolded for playing their music too loud. “I can play the piano.” Everyone knows piano is so much better than the bass anyway. Humph. Taemin may not have thought that when he was younger but now he was thankful for the one instrument he was able to play. “Can you play anything besides guitar?” he wonders with a slight hum, fingers combing through Jonghyun’s stands. “I like your hair.. it’s very Gryffindor. If you change it, may I recommend emerald green or silver?”

Taemin thinks Jonghyun would make an amazing dad, but he doesn’t voice that again, instead nodding his head in agreement. Raising kids would be difficult and would take a lot out of the most capable parents, but it would always be an adventure, especially with the person you were raising them with. “My kids but my parents’ heir, and also the in-laws... I’m sure they’ll be ghastly people.” He can’t help but to get a little upset by this, and it shows in the way his tone gets huffy at the end of his sentences. His own future wasn’t even his, hell, his present wasn’t barely his. And it was something he didn’t like to think about on the tower because it stressed him out sometimes. “I’m just not going to marry, my parents can get over it, and I don’t need kids. Taesun and Jieun will have them and I’ll just be the super cool uncle who locks himself away in his private potions quarters and only comes out when he has to go to work and do some boring 9-5 job his parents picked out.” 

Taemin really wanted kids one day, even if he was young now he knew he wanted them more than anything. And he wanted to raise them on his own terms with someone he loved and wanted to spend his life with. Also, he wanted to be an auror and help people and maybe one day become Head Auror, and also create a potion that could possible change the world. Stealing the idea from the male nestled in his arms, having his own chocolate frog card didn’t sound like a bad idea, either. Taemin lets out a groan. “Save me, Jonghyun. Let’s kidnap a few children, runaway together and live in the mountains.”

The Astronomy Tower becomes silent after Jonghyun’s joke, and while Taemin usually has something to say back, words are lost. He doesn’t care about the bet he’s made, and he can’t even think about Quidditch right now. All he can think about is the male in front of him; how there are flakes of gold shining in his dark brown eyes that he had never noticed before, about how he’s slowly inching closer and his eyes are falling closed and how his lips are becoming pouty and oh--he’s kissing him. It’s light and soft, but it’s a kiss, and It doesn’t take much for Taemin to respond, mouth pressed a little more firm to the Gryffindor’s, their lips molding together as perfectly as their bodies. They had just kissed earlier, but it felt as if it had been too long since their last meeting of lips. Taemin keeps the kiss simple and brief, he doesn’t make any effort to deepen it. Not because he doesn’t want to but because he’s still riddled with confusion as to why the Gryffindor keeps kissing him and he doesn’t bring himself to ask. Forehead still pressed against the other’s even as their lips become detached because he didn’t want to pull away, fully content with the current contact.

[veritaeserum]

honesty;

[gryffxnhyxn]

“I do not snore–” He looks positively affronted. “I just.. sometimes hum.. or sing a little..” A cough. “And Donaghan Tremlett is truly worthy of worship– I mean c’mon. He’s the one that got me into playing the bass guitar, which pretty much got me into music. I hardly fantasize about him though, I mean he’s an old guy now– he married before we were even born.” His nose scrunches up at the thought of fantasizing over– what was he in his 50s now? Gross. “Don’t get me started on hair until you tell me you saw him that one summer with pink in his bangs.”

His arms instinctually wrap a little more closely around the other as he nuzzles into his hair, and he can’t even be surprised at how natural all their constant little movements were. Like somehow they had been like this with each other for years. “Don’t want kids, Lee?” He asks in slight amusement, and as an after thought adds, “I’ve aways wanted to have a little girl when I got older.”

Taemin’s lips form into a pout and Jonghyun can’t seem to look away, debating wether or not he should press a fleeting kiss to those perfect pink lips. He was a heartbeat away from leaning up and doing it too but Taemin switches the subject and his drive seemed to have skittered away along with his words. Instead, as Taemin speaks and his eyes shift down a fraction to watch his adams apple bob with ever other word, he leans forward and presses an idle kiss against is neck instead. Blushing and unable to look up whilst casually giving a hum as he thinks about Taemin’s question.

“No doubt, it should be Ravenclaw. Brayden and Finn were complaining the entire first half of the semester because Frankie Boyce wouldn’t stop hounding them all to go to Hufflepuff try outs. It seemed they barely scraped up a team this year since two of their chasers graduated last year.” But he grins mischievously then, looking up at the other with a raised eyebrow. “I’d like to see that, though. What colour do you think they’d pick? I reckon a bright turquoise would suit you well.”

[veritaeserum]

“That’s worse.” He’s teasing, imagining how the Gryffindor looked sleeping in his four poster bed with his limbs spread out and his hair messily splayed across his face and singing out some old Celestina Warbeck song. There’s a soft smile playing on Taemin’s lips, the image he’s concocted in his mind making his heart flutter uncontrollably. “What happens in that dorm of yours when the lights go out? Humph. I must see this for myself.” Casual comment about how he wants to watch the other sleep, check. Taemin thinks he must sound like some kind of creep. “You know his name…” Taemin tries not to snort but fails, making the unpleasant sound and puffing out his cheeks. “Should I feel threatened with your obsessions for this guy?” words fall from loose lips before the prefect could stop himself, mentally cursing because he should not have said that. Taemin coughs awkwardly. “I was the one who told him to dye his fringe pink. Of course I was kidding, but Kibum thought it was a fabulous idea.”  

Dark eyes shine in interest when Jonghyun says that he wants a little girl, and Taemin could picture exactly that. A beautiful little girl with her father’s round eyes and the most innocent face. “Let’s just hope she’s not like you, Kim.” Having the whole school wrapped around her little finger without knowing it, being so beautiful that it hurt to look at her, having such a great personality and being so open and supportive to those she cares about and even those she aren’t acquainted with - enough to make someone fall completely head over heels from afar. Taemin wasn’t ready for another Jonghyun Kim, but thankfully he wouldn’t have to deal with another one of those. Plus, right now he just had one Jonghyun and that was enough to make him happy. “She’d be beautiful, though. Your eyes…that smile…” On second thought, the world really could use another replica of Jonghyun. “I want kids… I’m just opposed to having them under circumstances that doesn’t involve me being in love with my chosen partner, also, I really don’t want to raise them the way I was raised.” His mother would have a fit once Taemin tells her children was off the table, but on the plus side that would dwindle the amount of women who want their daughters to take him for a husband.

A pair of lips presses to his neck and he’s a little surprised at the contact but extremely pleased. His eyes fall to a close and he doesn’t even bother to pay much attention to what Jonghyun is saying, his neck tingles from the press of lips and he realizes that he’s craving another kiss from the other. This time on his awaiting lips, but Taemin doesn’t ask for one nor does he take one. Instead he rubs slow circles on the small of Jonghyun’s back, and leans his head in to press their foreheads together. Eyes slowly coming to an open again, he stares deeply into the other’s gorgeous eyes. “Minho mentioned scarlet with gold highlights just to fuck with me because they’re Gryffindor colors.” His breath beats against Jonghyun’s lips with each word he speaks.

[veritaeserum]

honesty;

[gryffxnhyxn]

Jonghyun’s initial worries melt into a confused sort of amusement when Taemin’s face morphs into a mix of different expressions. First there was a smile– he’d seen it even if the other hadn’t wanted him too as he’d quickly turned to hide it soon after it appeared. Then he’s silent for a while as he seems to try and figure out what to do with his face, and after seems to remember that he should say something, forcing out a small trickle of awkward sentences which leave Jonghyun grinning to himself.

“Good, hm?” He says with an air of bemusement, and he almost laughs along with the other at his certainly roundabout way of accepting Jonghyun’s sexuality. “That’s good that it’s good.” Of course it was incredibly better than good. Taemin was fine with Jonghyun being gay, and even though it would be natural for the apparently straight boy to be even slightly turned off by the fact that a gay boy had been kissing him, Taemin wasn’t. He was completely fine with it. And this –to Jonghyun at least– meant there was a little wiggle room for Jonghyun to potentially squeeze himself in. If Taemin the straight boy was okay with kissing Jonghyun the gay boy, then why not just fall for him too and maybe become a little less straight then he so claimed to be?

“Merlin– did Kibum tell you nasty, gossipy stuff about me?” He scrunches his face playfully. “What a sod. He was lying, I swear.” Then he chuckles softly, though can’t deny the rosy hue that adorns his cheeks when Taemin (maybe unknowingly?) suggests their friendship possibly growing to be more than just that. He wasn’t sure if the Slytherin had meant romantically (he hoped–) or just a deeper and closer level of friendship, but Jonghyun can’t help the warm and fuzzy feelings that the words invoke in him. “Yeah.. maybe more….”

An entirely content smile winds it’s way onto Jonghyun’s lips and he enjoys the seemingly rare opportunity to just breath the Slythern in and enjoy the way his arms wrapped around him in turn, rather than pushed him away. “I’m flattered that you’re so concerned over the welfare of my creativity.” He chuckles, his own hand threading under the prefect’s to drape over his waist. “I wouldn’t call it a life goal, but it certainly would be a perk, wouldn’t it? Don’t get sick on all that chocolate. Give it to your kids, instead.”

His eyes open slowly at the Slytherin’s sudden question, and his ears heat up at the thought that Taemin had even been thinking about what he had tasted like after their first kiss. “It.. uh, it was these strawberry truffles… The Wilkes’ twins, their uncle in Belgium sent a box to them.. I didn’t realize at the time and just snuck a few. That’s why they were chasing me..” He glances upwards, then, pausing before continuing. “Why.. did you.. er– want some?”

[veritaeserum]

“Kibum has told me only the worst of things.” he lies smoothly with a little nonchalant shrug. “Now, now. Are you calling my bestie a liar? I don’t think he’d lied to me. He’s told me all about how you snore and drool, how you fantasize about the bassist from the Weird Sisters in Potions. And you don’t even want to know what he’s said about your hair.” Taemin says in an over-dramatic fashion, but there’s a playful grin adorning on his lips, and he nuzzles his face into the other’s hair. A bit much, maybe, but Jonghyun’s hair smells really really nice. Like fresh pine.

“It’s the least I can do, yeah? I’ll help preserve your creativity in any way that I can. What else are friends for?” Jonghyun’s slender arm slips around his waist, and Taemin is all too aware of the contact. They fit together nicely, he thinks, tightening his hold around the other. The Gryffindor has yet to push him away and it makes Taemin wonder how much he could actually get away with before that happens. “Kids? That’s laughable.” It really was. Taemin wasn’t sure he wanted kids, even though he was required to have them. Mostly because his parents, mostly because he would have to settle down with some witch in an arranged marriage, and mostly because he didn’t want to raise his kids in the same ways that he was raised which no doubt he would be forced to. If those factors didn’t stand, he wouldn’t mind a kid or two, definitely two. Growing up with siblings made him desire for his own child to have one in the hopes that they would be as close as him and his siblings. But once again. No kids under those circumstances.

Belgium strawberry truffles, Taemin’s lips quirk into a pout. The only chocolate he binged on that summer from Belgium was plain Belgium chocolate with artificial strawberry flavoring. He had been close, but no cigar. He knew his inquiry had caught the Gryffindor off guard, but Taemin had been dying to know exactly what the other had. Mostly because he wanted to binge on it, imagine that he’s tasting Jonghyun all over again in some ridiculous fantasy. At least that’s what he did this past summer. Now that they were snogging more frequently, Taemin think he’ll survive on those kisses alone. But he’s relieved now that he has an answer and can put his mind to rest. Their eyes meet and the Slytherin hopes the blush dusting his cheeks isn’t noticeable, he wants to hide his face back into the other’s hair but that wasn’t possible with Jonghyun looking at him. Taemin still doesn’t look away under the other’s gaze. “Sort of... I’ll owl order some soon.”

And with that Taemin tries to change the subject because he really didn’t want to delve further into their first kiss while he was in this flustered state. “Are you going to the Quidditch game Saturday? Ravenclaw verses Hufflepuff. Minho, Kibum and I all have a bet. Minho and Kibum thinks Hufflepuff’s going to win while my money is on Ravenclaw.” Of course there wasn’t really any money involved in their bet, that would be too bland for the three considering their families are well off. “No money will actually be exchanged. It’s more like if Ravenclaw wins they’ll have to do my classwork for a week - I could use a break, honestly. But if Hufflepuff wins I have to dye my hair a color of their choosing and leave it in for a month.” Taemin wasn’t too worried. Ravenclaw was the third best house team, behind Slytherin and Gryffindor, while Hufflepuff had yet to win a game this season.

[veritaeserum]

honesty;

[gryffxnhyxn]

“But it’s a start, isn’t it?” He returns Taemin’s amusement and laughs a little as he tries to strike up a list of other things they had in common. His smile falters half a fraction however when the Slytherin brings up sexuality, and at first he’s confused. Was that normally something people brought to attention when discussing common traits?  Of course, on a side note– he and Taemin had been kissing each other frequently (Or to be more accurate– he had been the one kissing Taemin), so he supposes to the Slytherin it was a subject that should probably be addressed. Even though part of Jonghyun had just assumed that it would be fairly obvious by now what his sexuality was. Stating that he’d never had an interest in anyone along with the, y’know, whole kissing another boy thing; Jonghyun hadn’t felt that a verbal clarification was necessary.

But alas, Jonghyun coughs awkwardly and glances away from the Slytherin. “Actually, you can strike that last one off the list.” He had never told anyone besides Onew, Teo, and his family that he was gay, but Taemin was someone he wanted to pursue so it was kind of a no-brainer that he should tip the male off on this little detail. “I’m gay.”

His gaze flickers back over to the prefect nervously, almost scared that Taemin would recoil at this new tidbit of information. Taemin soon becomes quieter though, and Jonghyun feels his eyes widen when the Slytherin outright addresses the nature of their relationship. A part of him had been expecting it, since logically speaking, it had all suddenly shifted rather suspiciously. What Taemin didn’t know though was that a large factor behind it all was that Jonghyun was actually romantically interested in him. But that didn’t mean Jonghyun still didn’t genuinely want to become Taemin’s friend, either.

“I…” He pauses, fingers fiddling with the fabric of the blanket between them and he too swallows before continuing. “I meant it when I said I wanted to be friends. I don’t want to fight with you anymore, and you and I both know by now that when we don’t find something to bicker about, we get along pretty well.” He can feel his cheeks heating up a bit, but along with that there’s a nervous churning of his stomach. “Also, I… I never hated you.” He finally looks up then, meeting Taemin’s gaze. “I’m sure when I was younger, I thought I did. But I was also a child, and now that I’m a little older, I’m able to differentiate what I was really feeling. You got on my nerves, you hexed my friends, and called me names. Of course I was going to develop a dislike for you… and I’ll admit I enjoyed humiliating you… But I never did hate you. I want you to know that.”

Looking away again, his blush deepens just a little more as he continues. “To be honest I… I know more about you then I let on… not in like– a creepy way or anything–” He quickly stresses, trying to save himself from embarrassment. “But.. I learned things.. from being friends with Key-goonie.. and Jieun more recently. So, I just.. I came to understand that we got off on the wrong foot from the very beginning and, well, we never gave each other the chance to smoothen things out. I… I want to do that now. It may sound silly but, I want to have a good relationship with you. I like getting to know you, and I like spending time with you. I’m being honest so… don’t think ill of me.” He looks back down and this time there’s a barely there hint of sadness in his tone. “Don’t think that I’m doing all this for some hidden reason… because I’m not… I like you Taemin. I really do want us to be friends. Good friends..”

They were all words he’d wanted to say to the other for what seemed like forever now, but under the wrong circumstances the subject was out of place and awkward to talk about. He thanks Taemin to the high heavens that he’d finally been given a window to explain himself and his recent actions, even though they had all been a build-up of over a years worth of silently admiring and falling for the Slytherin boy. His romantic affections couldn’t be made known just yet, but this for now, was enough.

Taemin’s arm is soon casually slipping over his waist though and his mind blanks of all previous conversation, a newfound blush blooming across his cheeks. “Uhm.. I– I’ll have to get back to you on that–..” is all he can manage to reply with because dear Merlin Taemin was almost cuddling with him if only he moved just a little closer– And he tries, in his own not very subtle kind of way, to inch closer to the other all the while keeping up their conversation and hoping the prefect wouldn’t decide to pull away lest he get too close.

However when the topic takes another turn, Jonghyun is focusing less on the way Taemin’s hand is now slidinguphisarmohmystars– and more on what Taemin was actually saying. His eyebrows furrow and he’s genuinely troubled over Taemin’s predicament, his brain working to try and come up with something to possibly help the other male. He comes up shorthanded though, and with a small sigh, his expression sags a little. “That’s not fair..” Taemin’s hand begins to travel and Jonghyun feels his skin heating up once again, his ears feeling hot under the confines of his hat. “You thinks so?” He murmurs, though half of his attention is starting to shift away from the conversation again. As brilliantly happy as it made him to hear that Taemin had this much faith in his abilities, his body seemed to be more excited over the fact that Taemin’s hand was caressing over his neck, his jawline– oh– and his lips–

“He works for the Committee of Experimental Charms, so he wants me to follow in his footsteps I suppose. But really– any high end job within the Ministry would probably do. Of course that committee would be my best shot at studying the creation of new charms and such.. I’d be under the jurisdiction of the Ministry… I wouldn’t be able to really conduct the kind of spells I want to, especially if I’m only limited to charms,” his mouth is answering Taemin’s question but his expression has pretty much already dazed over, his eyes blinking slowly as he more happily follows the movements of Taemin’s fingers over his skin. Unknowingly, his own hand is beginning to reach out, fiddling with the fabric of Taemin’s robes to keep them occupied.

He laughs lightly. “What are we? Two old witches who can do nothing but complain and gossip over tea? Yeah right, I don’t want a mundane future like that..” he smiles and closes his eyes, this time finally shuffling himself even closer until their bodies were brushing against each others. Leaning down, he nuzzles his face against Taemin’s chest and sighs, a happy smile spread along his lips whilst his fingers curl loosely into Taemin’s robes. “Thanks… it makes me happy that you think so highly of me. If even just a little… I’ll work hard, so be prepared to start seeing my name all over the Daily Prophet.” He chuckles softly. “Maybe I’ll even get to appear on a chocolate frog card.”

[veritaeserum]

Brown eyes go wide at the newfound information, and he feels his heart hammering into his ribcage. Jonghyun was gay. Taemin didn’t know what he was expecting, maybe the other was bisexual or questioning but he was pretty damn sure he’s gay. Just like Taemin. There was a sense of newfound respect for the elder, and he has to stop a wide smile from forming on his face by biting down on his lips. It didn’t work so Taemin turns his head until his smile is gone. Jonghyun was gay. He’s shocked somewhat, but he’s more elated than anything. It was as if everything over the past few years had become validated. His feelings were valid and held substance. He wasn’t crushing on someone who was so out of reach, I mean yeah, this was Jonghyun Kim and he was a little out of Taemin’s league but they were both gay men and they kissed each other quite often these days. Taemin already had a step up on the competition, now all he had to do make the other male his. He could do that. Merlin, he wanted to do that.

 More time passes and Taemin realizes he hasn’t replied back to the Gryffindor and he should probably do that. “Oh…uhm. Okay. So, you’re.. that’s good.” Taemin thinks he had a better response when Kibum and Minho both came out. “Doesn’t really change anything. I still feel the same…or well, not really the same same but..” because he couldn’t feel the same, he was more in love than he had ever been and this confession only brought Taemin closer to the other. “This is good.” he releases an airy laugh in a puff of cold white air. Merlin, this was great.

 Of course there was still the idea that Jonghyun was just using him, and while the piece of information about Jonghyun’s sexual orientation made him happy and hopeful beyond belief, it was still playing in the back of his mind. But it was an obstacle that Taemin could easily overcome, he was a Slytherin for Merlin’s sake and there wasn’t much he couldn’t do when he was determined. Jonghyun has no filter tonight, it seems, as he continues to open up to the prefect and he was hanging off of his every word. It was a lot to digest, his gaze unwavering and boring into Jonghyun’s. The Gryffindor didn’t hate him, disliked him sure but he didn’t hate him. He knows things about him. What kind of things? Taemin, of course, knew things about Jonghyun too so he couldn’t even pretend to be creeped out. He likes Taemin. In the friendship way but that’s still something and right now that would be enough.

 Jonghyun’s words are sincere, Taemin could tell that much because there was no way the Gryffindor was that good of an actor. “I know a lot about you too. More than I should probably be allowed, considering our history.” He shares. If Jonghyun was honest, then he had to be honest, too. “We’re friends now.. and we can become good friends with a little practice, maybe even more than good friends..” he tries to hint something there but isn’t sure how Jonghyun would take it. Didn’t he just tell the other he was straight? Taemin’s sure Jonghyun wouldn’t think along the lines of anything romantic. He almost frowns because shouldn’t he tell Jonghyun about his sexual orientation, too? Could he risk having the Gryffindor know? Only three people did and they were his best friends. If he told Jonghyun… Taemin doesn’t think the other would do something as to out him, he doesn’t seem the type. But what if he were to tell his other friends and they would all gossip about him behind his back? Taemin was pretty sure they did already, but they couldn’t about this. Taemin would tell him, but he’d have to wait for the perfect moment.

 Taemin is all too aware of what his touch is doing to Jonghyun, maybe not in the full extent but there’s a blush on the other’s face that isn’t being hidden by the moonlight, and that’s good enough for the Slytherin. He was getting to the other, and it wasn’t in the disgusted way because Jonghyun had yet to pull back. He listens to him as he speaks, a small smile playing on his lips. “So no Ministry job, then. They don’t deserve your skill anyway.” Jonghyun reaches out and begins to play with the fabric of Taemin’s robe and he lets him, stomach fluttering at the contact.

 “Well, what do you prefer then? Pumpkin juice?” he laughs. “No. I suppose not. Neither do I really. You’re the type that needs to be free and do things on your terms. The Ministry will just kill your creativity and individuality. We can’t let that happen..” and then Jonghyun has shuffled closer, finding himself nuzzled into Taemin. The other boy’s breath is caught in his throat, but it doesn’t take long before he responds, arm protectively draping over Jonghyun’s waist while his other comes up to gently card through those tri-colored locks. “A chocolate frog card? Is that your life’s goal? You Gryffindors are so weird.” His tone is laced with pure amusement, eyes falling to a slow close. “I’ll eat as many chocolate frogs as it takes to get your card. It’s never too late to start collecting them, I guess.” As Taemin is reminded of chocolate his mind briefly returns back to that night on the train. Their first kiss and how Jonghyun tasted of chocolate. “… on the train, that one time.. what kind of chocolate did you have?”

[veritaeserum]

honesty;

[gryffxnhyxn]

“Is it really?” Jonghyun tilts his head a little and flashes the Slytherin a wide smile. “We have something in common then.” Actually, they had more in common then just that, but Jonghyun wasn’t going to go into details or else he’d just sound creepy. Especially since most of the things he’d realized that he had in common with the other male were told to him by either Jieun, or Kibum.

He emits a small strangled sound as a pillow is suddenly being launched at his face, and he can’t help but laugh as he falls over dramatically from the blow. Pushing the pillow off, he settles his laughter after a moment and sits himself back up again, righting his hat on his head and pushing the pillow aside so it didn’t compromise with the space in between them. “So what? I need to impress you at least a little bit. How am I supposed to convince you to keep spending time with me, hm?”

Leaning back on his palms, he stretches his feet out and sighs, a content smile gracing his lips. “Did he? I was supposed to go, but you know Hogwarts has it’s amazing reputation and all, so my folks wanted me to go here.” He nods his head slowly, humming as he glances up to the sky. “The rest of my family still lives in Korea, so we visit often. Maybe every other year or so? For a few weeks during the summer. My halmoni, she makes us all sorts of these amazing dishes whenever we go, and we’re stuck transporting tubs full of preserved food back home with us.” He chuckles at the thought, but honestly, he wasn’t sure he’d survive without the healthy doses of addicting spicy foods that his background allowed him to grow up with. His grandmother really was a true saint.

Turning his head to look down then when the prefect addressed him, he raises an eyebrow and at first regards the other with a playful suspicion, eyes squinting a little as if waiting for a catch of some sort. Despite his expression though, he ends up responding with an “Okay,” and moves his own pillow to the side in order to lie down beside Taemin, shuffling over a little bit closer and turning on his side so he could speak to the other without having to turn his head. He grins. “I may have done so once or twice. Are you mad?”

Upon Taemin’s questioning, he just smiles and shakes his head softly. “It’s nothing, just… you look pretty when you talk about stuff you like. Your eyes kinda light up.” The Slytherin is soon falling silent though and Jonghyun briefly wonders if he’s overstepped some sort of boundary. Nervously, he waits for a reaction and when Taemin finally speaks again he’s shaking his head quickly, eyes widening a fraction. ”An Auror? That’s… a dangerous job..” His eyebrows furrow a little, and he has to admit, a small voice in the back of his head was snorting in amusement because this was Taemin Lee; Slytherin prefect and bully extraordinaire, and he wanted to be an Auror. Of course another –much louder– voice was applauding the other. “I think you’d be good at it. You’re already good with dueling and defensive spells…” He murmurs softly. A small part of him still worried for the other, however.  

“You should go for it though.. despite what your parents decide. I mean you can always take the tests and see if they’d even consider you. If they say no, then it’s a no, but if they say yes.. maybe your parents will be willing to reconsider when they see you’ve got what it takes?” He could just be hopeful, though. Jonghyun wasn’t sure how far Taemin’s parents’ control truly ran within the Lee family. “As for Potioneering… you could continue self studying as a hobby, and who knows? Through your hobby you could still make some interesting discoveries. My only interest is a hobby, but it’s the only thing I can really see myself doing… Unfortunately creating spells isn’t really a financially stable career path.” he laughs dryly, rolling his eyes.

“My dad wants me to enter the Ministry with him, but I don’t think I’m cut out for working around a bunch of stiffs.” He sighs, eyes closing. “My parents want me to be a good student and get good grades in everything cos I’m.. well I’m the only one out of the two of us who can.. but I just don’t find anything else as interesting. I could study spell theory forever though, because… I want to help people, and protect people..”

[veritaeserum]

“Having the same favorite color doesn’t really mean much.” Taemin shoots Jonghyun a look of amusement. His face was saying one thing, but inside he couldn’t help but to take interest in the fact that they had something in common, he wondered what else they had in common too. “I’m sure we have a lot in common, actually. We’re men, we’re Korean, we’re intelligent, we’re both uh..sixth years… oh and uh… we’re both heterosexual.” He throws the last on in just because, eyes trained on the Gryffindor to see his reaction. For the past six years Taemin always believed the other to be straight, he did nothing for Taemin to think otherwise, until well last night. The kiss on the train was pure accident (at least the first of two), but the kiss on the tower and in the corridors were not. He wasn’t sure if the other would willingly share his sexual orientation with him or imply otherwise, but Taemin wasn’t willing to give up his own sexual orientation in exchange. In all honesty, Taemin kind of hoped Jonghyun was just a little bit queer, because then maybe his longing for the other would have some type of validity.

Their laughs mix together as Jonghyun adjusts the hat on his head after it was left in disarray due to the flying pillow. “I can’t believe you actually want to spend time with me in the first place, Kim.” There’s a pause, and Taemin wonders if maybe he’s been going at this all wrong. Of course Jonghyun has some ulteriror motive and Taemin had purposely been playing into his hands. But maybe instead of trying to go along and uncover what it is, he should just ask out right. “I…I’ve been trying to figure you out and I can’t.” the other looks away and swallows. “What do you want from me? It can’t be friendship, and we really don’t have much in common, we weren’t on good terms before this year. You spent years hating me, in fact.” The prefect looks back at the other, wetting his lips before he continues. “Now that I’m tutoring you, what? You suddenly decide I’m decent enough to be your friend?” or did he suddenly decide that Taemin was good enough to become his gay experiment? Taemin thinks it, but he doesn’t dare to say it out loud because what if it were true?

Jonghyun shuffles over as per Taemin’s request, laying on his side to face the other. The Slytherin is temporarily taken back by just how beautiful Jonghyun looks lying next to him. He breathes out quietly, turning from his back to his side, facing Jonghyun and moving just a little bit closer. “Super mad.. grr so angry.. what are you going to do to make it up to me?” he knows that he probably deserves whichever spell the other used on him, and if anything, he should be making so much up to the Gryffindor. He would. One day. Taemin reaches over and subtly slips his arm around Jonghyun’s waist, fingers curling around the fabric of his robes, gently pulling him closer.

A chuckle slips passed his lips at Jonghyun’s compliment. It’s one that he’s never heard before, and that was saying something because he’s received plenty of compliments. Hearing those types of things from Jonghyun was so much better than anything some slag could come up with. His hand moves from Jonghyun’s waist and slowly slides up his arm.  “Just a bit, but… I like the thrill. How challenging and adventurous it’ll be. I want to help people, do something good with my life. Catch dark wizards. Merlin knows I already know so much about them so that shouldn’t be too hard.”

Taemin already had a hunch the boy next to him was an optimist but this was proof. The Gryffindor didn’t know his parents the way Taemin did, and they would never agree. Taemin could marry a pureblood witch, have the most perfect and beautiful heirs and they still wouldn’t approve. “They won’t, but it’s a nice thought? After I pass the tests, the training itself takes three years. Enough time for them to disown me.” His fingers stop at Jonghyun’s shoulder, pausing just to see if Jonghyun would protest the contact. “Possibly. I could never stop making potions…” when there’s no protest his fingers dust against the other’s clothed shoulder blade. “I think it’s a very stable career path for someone as skilled as you are.” Taemin smiles, fingers ghosting up Jonghyun’s neck before his fingers are hesitantly tracing over his jawline. “Do you know how much you could make if you create some wicked useful spell? People will pay to have it be taught to them, or you could make your own instructional book with your spells listed. There’s a lot of ways, you just have to think outside the box. I have faith in your abilities and I have yet to see even half of what you can do.” His thumb lightly brushes over Jonghyun’s lower lip, and he bites down on his own.

“A bunch of stiffs? Aww, come on.” Taemin laughs. “Okay, no… it really is that bad. What kind of Ministry job does he want you to get? If anything, you could create spells for the Ministry? I’m sure there has to be some type of spell casting job there besides being an Obliviator. I’m going to look into this for you, see what the Ministry has to offer. I see you more as freelance though, doing things on your terms… but just think,” his tone is light and teasing and he leans in some, fingers now caressing Jonghyun’s cheekbone. “I’ll be working at the ministry too, and we can meet for coffee or lunch every day, gossip about our co-workers and how incompetent they are, and after work we can floo over to my place, I’ll cook dinner and entice you with some wine, and we won’t talk about work or anything stressful. Maybe something stupid like Quidditch, our friends, and our romantic relationships which are somehow on the decline because we’re stiff ministry personal.” He laughs quietly, letting his hand move from Jonghyun’s soft skin and back to his side. “All joking aside, whether you work for the Ministry or not, you’re going to do great exciting things with your life and choice of career.”

“Help and protect people?” Taemin hums, very pleased that that’s what Jonghyun wanted to use his spell creation for. It made him like the male more than he already did, if that was even possible. His lips quirks into a warm smile. “You could create healing charms for St. Mungo’s, and defensive spells for the Aurors. You’ll get compensated by the hospital and the ministry, and then you can go boast to your parents about how you’ve successfully made a career out of being a spell inventor.”

[veritaeserum]

honesty;

[gryffxnhyxn]

“Just life advice. She was a very perceptive house elf. Kinda witty too. Very honest. I liked her,” He grins at that, finding nothing out of the ordinary at all over befriending the creature. Just because they were meant to serve wizards did not mean they didn’t posses their own wisdoms. Besides, a lifetime of living in the presence of the humans around her probably helped.

“My favourite colour?” He tilts his head as he thinks. “Black. But if you’re picky and don’t consider that a colour, then red, I guess. And no– before you ask it’s not because I’m a Gryffindor. I liked red long before I got into Hogwarts. I always decorated my room back home in red.” He shrugs, glancing to the Slytherin. “What about you?”

He feels a little proud when Taemin confesses his ineptitude for languages, and he can’t help but want to boast just a little bit, if only to impress the other male. “I speak Korean fluently, and I’ve been studying Latin since second year. I use Korean mostly with my parents, and sometimes with my sister. Both my parents grew up in Seoul and attended school at Maelyeog, so they’re more familiar with the language than I am. They made sure to keep teaching us even after we moved, so we’d know our roots and stuff. I’m better with my English though, since both me and Sodam have spent a majority of our lives in London.” He chuckles a little, rubbing his neck.  

“As for Latin, all spell incantations are derived from Latin, so in order to create my own spells, I had to have a thorough knowledge of it. I had to teach it to myself first before I could attempt to create anything.” It’d been a pain in the neck, but he’d stuck it out all through second year and by the middle of third, he’d had a good enough grasp of it that he’d get less and less frustrated with it as time went on. Now he was able to translate passages and instructions in mere minutes. “If you.. y’know, if you ever need help translating something, you can always ask me. I’d be happy to lend a hand.”

Despite the topic of conversation, Jonghyun finds himself listening to every word that pours form the Slytherin’s lips just because it was amazing to see Taemin talk about something he was passionate about, something that made him happy. His whole face would light up in excitement and Jonghyun doesn’t think he’s ever seen Taemin so invested in something that wasn’t bullying the younger years in the halls. He finds himself smiling just because of the simple fact that Taemin was enjoying himself. “Oh? What do you want to go into after Hogwarts, anyway? You study everything under the sun…”

[veritaeserum]

Taemin wonders if Jonghyun usually befriends those others typically would not, such as a house elf, and thinks back to his friends. Half-breeds, mudbloods, squibs, blood-traitors. The Slytherin wouldn’t be surprised if he had werewolf and giants for friends either. It brings a smile to Taemin’s face, and he laughs at his own thoughts all in good merit. “It figures you’d befriend a house elf.” But he says it in the best way possible. Jonghyun was his own person with his own open beliefs and thoughts, he was such an optimist with a good heart. A pure heart. Taemin liked that, he liked it more than he could put into words, and way more than he was willing to tell his counterpart. There was a part of him that wanted to, however. The prefect wanted Jonghyun to know and embed it into his mind so he would never forget, but how do you tell that to someone you’ve been at odds with for six years? You’re kind of amazing. Then again, he also called the other gorgeous and perfect last night when he was drunk off of his exhaustion, telling him he was amazing wouldn’t hurt. “It’s admirable.” Taemin decides to play it safe tonight.

“Black is damn well a color.. it’s my favorite too.” He shares, eyes trained on the sixth year. “Don’t use that as an excuse, you were primed for Gryffindor since the day you were born, I bet. Red everything, hm?”

The purple pillow in his arms goes flying into Jonghyun’s face. “You are such a show off.” He laughs, but he’s really impressed, taking an interest when he speaks about his knowledge of Latin and Korean, and then in turn about his family. Taemin wonders just what else Jonghyun is better at than him. His hands rest on his stomach now that the pillow was no longer a factor. “Maelyeong? My father went there.” There’s a few moments of silence as he wraps his arms around himself. “Have you been to Korea, then? I’ve only gone a few times, mostly to see family.”

“Hey uh..” he pauses, holding out his arms a bit hesitantly. “Come here. I want to try something..” he didn’t really want to try anything, except maybe to see how well Jonghyun fit in his arms. The need to hold onto something was strong now that the pillow was out of his grasp. Usually he was much smoother with this type of thing but he had never held someone he had real feelings for. “I’ll be sure to take you up on that, but only as a last resort. I may not be a language expert but I’m sure I could manage on my own if I try hard enough.” But going to Jonghyun was an excellent excuse to spend time with the elder as well as slack off on languages. “I want to see some of your spells, although, I’m sure you’ve used some on me in the past.”

“What are you smiling about?” he asks with a hint of amusement, biting onto his lip to hide a secret smile of his own. Jonghyun’s smile was really bright and made his insides buzz with how adorable he looked. Taemin’s attention turns from Jonghyun’s question about his future aspirations to the moon, it was a half-moon and it glowed beautifully in the dark sky, almost comparable to Jonghyun’s laugh. Although he’s quiet, he still mulls over Jonghyun’s answer. He knew what he wanted to do, and he was set on his decision even if it was one his parents wouldn’t agree on. The only people that knew were Kibum and Minho because this was information Taemin didn’t willingly hand out to someone. “Don’t laugh - alright.” He ends up sharing with Jonghyun for reasons he can’t explain, his voice quiet and eyes trained on anything but the Gryffindor. “I want to be an auror. I know, I know.. it’s everything my family isn’t for, I.. that’s why I take so many classes. When they tell me no, and I know they will, I’ll have the credentials for something more suitable.. I’m not sure if they’d be okay with me becoming a Potions Researcher either.”