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Minseok felt a kind of calmness wash over him as he walked through Kings Cross station. The station itself was fairly busy, at least for how late in the morning it was, and he knew that going back to school meant going back to an increased workload (on top of his preparations for NEWTs over the summer: magical architecture was a competitive field and he needed top scores to stand out) but at the same time, back to Hogwarts meant seeing friends, falling back into a pleasant routine, and was just… calming.
It was also his last year, so he wanted to enjoy it.
His parents had been very upset that they couldn’t see him off at the actual platform, but they were both in the middle of crunch time at work, and hugs and kisses just outside the station before they drove off meant that he didn’t have to rush once inside.
He gently guided his trolley through the crowd of people. The trolley carried his trunk, a small bag of things that he wanted to look over on the train, and a cat carrier where his cat, Tan, was huddled under a blanket with a small stuffed catnip mouse, showing general displeasure at the noise level of the station.
“You’re okay,” Minseok smiled, and patted the carrier. “Won’t be long, now.”
When he got close to the wall where the platform entrance was, somehow all the “regular” people, the muggles, turned away from him. They looked over his head or in a completely different direction, and didn’t see as he calmly walked straight at the brick wall, through the barrier, and into Platform 9 ¾.
A small grumbly mew came from the carrier, and Minseok hushed the cat gently. He moved himself and his trolley out of the way of anyone else who might be coming through, it was only 10:15 after all, Minseok was far from the last, and just stopped to take it all in.
The platform was buzzing with life and activity. Older students, some who hadn’t seen each other all summer and some who had, ran towards each other to meet in a hug. Parents fussed over their children no matter the age. Minseok could tell who was a first year, since they were clearly scared and needed the fussing, who was a younger student, they rolled their eyes, and the older students just stayed there and let them fuss, knowing it was as much for their parents benefit as their own. Owls in cages screeched and bit to make their displeasure at being jostled known, cat carriers were relatively still, with their occupants trying to hide, and those with toads or snakes tried to keep them in their carriers when it was clear that the animals wanted anything else but to be there at that moment.
There were tears, laughter, and the din of so many voices, and the sight was so familiar, any other year he would have just kept walking and gotten his trunk on the train before finding his friends, but this year he wanted to take a moment. He might come to Platform 9 ¾ for other reasons, but it would be the last time he would see it just before the start of his own school year.
Finally he stepped forward, and pushed his trolley into the fray.
He was able to weave around the groups of parents, the shrieking students, and even the biggest obstacle: the younger siblings all clamoring to get closer to the bright red Hogwarts engine. But Minseok was able to dodge little siblings who were too excited to think about other people pushing stiff luggage trolleys, third years who weren’t paying attention, and he smiled and greeted the group of second years, mostly his Ravenclaws, who made way for him like he was a king and told him hello in shy voices. He’d spent many nights last year distracting them from homesickness with lectures on magical architecture or random muggle knowledge or anything that they found interesting.
He was eventually able to make his way to the Prefect’s carriage at the front of the train. There was plenty of time before they were supposed to leave, but the platform was slowly but surely beginning to fill up, with students and their families coming through the wall and trying to weave around families who were talking to their kids already on the train, and weren’t leaving until the Hogwarts Express pulled away. But, slowly but surely he was able to get through, and it wasn’t long before he saw the new head boy waiting for him.
“Minseok!” Junmyeon’s face lit up when he saw him, and his hand shot up to wave as if Minseok was across the platform and not a few meters away.
Junmyeon pulled him into a hug, and helped Minseok get his luggage onboard. They both laughed when they heard a grumbling mew from the cat carrier: Tan was happy to finally be out of the hustle and bustle.
“Alright, alright, you’ve been hiding it all summer, let me see it!” Minseok grinned, elbowing Junmyeon.
Junmyeon’s cheeks flushed red, but he smiled when he pulled his badge out from where it had been safely tucked in his jacket pocket. He had obviously polished it several times since he’d received it: the Head Boy badge was so shiny Minseok could see the outline of his face in it.
“I knew they would pick you,” Minseok smiled as he handed Junmyeon his badge back.
“Oh, it could have been any of us!” Junmyeon protested.
“No, it definitely had to be you. You did the most, and you’re the only one who can keep us all in line, besides.”
As much as Minseok had wanted to be head boy, seeing Junmyeon smiling and giggly after so much stress last year was something he wouldn’t trade for the world.
A loud thump made both of them turn back to see who was trying to join them.
“Lu Han!” Junmyeon greeted him happily, and both he and Minseok moved to help Lu Han get his stuff in the carriage.
Minseok and Lu Han looked at each other, and both of them flushed a bit red. Minseok took Lu Han’s cat carrier from him and set Zhu down next to Tan, and he heard Lu Han mumble thanks.
They were sitting next to each other as more and more prefects arrived, but after the initial greeting, they didn’t speak or meet each other’s eyes.
Minseok, Lu Han, and Junmyeon had all been eager to be head boy. It had become, between them and Junmyeon, a friendly competition, but between the two of them… saying it had gotten a bit silly and unnecessarily heated had been an understatement. They had been friendly before, but neither of them had broken the silence over the summer and now…
Minseok was having trouble looking Lu Han in the face, and judging by the way Lu Han stiffened whenever they brushed against each other, he felt the same. They smiled and talked with the other prefects like normal, congratulated the new head girl Joohyun, but they didn’t look at each other in the face, even though they were sitting right next to each other.
Even with Junmyeon turning half the train ride into a sort of question and answer section for the new fifth year prefects, and a sort of schedule meeting even though the actual schedule meeting would be the next day, it was a long time to feel the heat of Lu Han’s leg close to his while at the same time very determinedly not turning his head towards him.
The Welcome Feast was fantastic as always, and Headmistress McGonagall always kept her speeches blessedly short. Unless there was some sort of major news, she didn’t drag it on, and Minseok loved her for it. After the feast, he introduced himself to the new Ravenclaw first years, and helped herd them toward the common room. He and the other prefects let the new fifth-year prefects lead, and made sure there weren’t any stragglers amongst the group. Once they were inside, the prefects collectively sent them straight to bed, and because they were first years, they actually listened.
The start of term was normal. Minseok slipped back into the rhythm of classes and prefect duties easily. At least for the most part. Junmyeon and Joohyun held a prefect meeting after dinner the first day of classes, which was normal. The fifth year prefects were all wide-eyed and excited, stepping into the Prefects Office for the first time: the little meeting room near the Headmistress’ office that they used for meetings and as a sort of improvised study “panic” room. It was full of Hogwarts memorabilia from farther back than when their grandparents had attended, along with a few study desks and some bean bag chairs and floor cushions that probably had enough residual magic in them to be called pets at this point. Minseok had been sitting on the same blue one with peeling vinyl since his fifth year and he could swear he saw the thing move towards him as soon as he walked in.
All of that was normal, but the wrench came when Junmyeon pulled out his list (always a list, always) of patrol partners. For the most part it was normal, younger students with older students for the first few weeks. But Minseok tried desperately not to turn bright red when Junmyeon read off:
“And Minseok and Lu Han every Tuesday and Thursday!”
Shit, Junmyeon was doing his thing again. Minseok could see the twinkle in Junmyeon’s eye as he looked between Minseok and Lu Han. Junmyeon knew that things had gotten heated between the two of them. And Junmyeon loved to be the mediator just as much as he loved to play matchmaker. There was no doubt that he was forcing them to talk: patrolling was hell when both people were silent.
Also Minseok had seen Junmyeon play mediator (and matchmaker) before, and while he was the epitome of a Hufflepuff normally, when it came to this sort of thing he was absolutely ruthless. Minseok already knew he wasn’t going to leave him and Lu Han alone until they were at least talking.
But Minseok had one more night until Thursday, one more night until he had to deal with Junmyeon’s plan, and he was determined to make the most of it.
Making the most of it turned out to be frantically writing all his assignments until break in his planner and trying to plan study time around prefect duties. Professor Slughorn never had intense research assignments but Professor Vector was going to be the death of him with all her papers. One of his second years looked at his planner in horror and Minseok didn’t think he was much help when all he did was look at her and say:
“NEWTs are difficult. Enjoy it while you can.”
Kyungsoo laughing did not help either.
Minseok ended up helping his fifth years schedule their own lives since they were already starting to feel the pressure of OWLs. Professor Flitwick had reminded them all during the afternoon that they needed to stay on topic with their studying. He told them that he loved when they got excited about things that weren’t assignments but that while their professors at Hogwarts were more lenient about them handing in an essay that answered the actual homework question in the first paragraph and spent nearly a meter talking about the possibilities of using wolfsbane in potions as an anti-venom, the examiners would not be. The fifth years were panicking a bit and Minseok knew that helping them with study schedules would ease their minds at least a little.
And before he knew it, it was Thursday evening, and he was walking down to meet Lu Han for patrolling.
“Hey,” Lu Han greeted once he got close, but was looking more at Minseok’s knees than anywhere else.
“Hey,” Minseok nodded back.
“Want to start this way?” Lu Han pointed in a direction.
“Sure.”
It was painfully awkward for the first thirty minutes. They had nearly the same classes, so that wasn’t exactly the best start to a conversation, since they knew how the other’s classes were. Minseok didn’t want to be difficult, he just wasn’t sure how to restart a friendship after things had gotten so stupidly heated last year.
“Are” Lu Han started talking first. “Are your fifth years already freaking out about OWLs?”
“Oh yeah,” Minseok nodded. “They’re mostly panicking because Flitwick reminded them they actually have to stay on topic for once in their lives.”
Lu Han chuckled, and Minseok kept talking.
“I think I already scared one of my second years with NEWT talk too, so, business as usual.”
Lu Han laughed outright, and Minseok didn’t try to hold back his smile.
They finished their patrolling talking like they used to, and Minseok found himself optimistic about Tuesday.
Even though Minseok knew Junmyeon was playing mediator and he usually hated being the focus of anything of the sort, he had to admit that for once, it was a good plan. He and Lu Han didn’t apologize outright but it was done through actions. Only a few weeks into term and they were already desk partners again. They shared books for all the classes they were in so that they didn’t have to carry so many around. Minseok got Lu Han to use a regular pen again (“Here, it’s a fountain pen, writes the exact same, now stop using quills for literally everything.”) they proofread each other’s papers, and started studying together again in the Prefects office.
Minseok could see a twinkle in Junmyeon’s eyes every time he looked at either one of them, but he just rolled his own and didn’t say anything. Junmyeon had won this one, and he knew it.
By Halloween they weren’t just helping each other with mutual assignments, they were going out of their way to help each other with everything. It was out of genuinely wanting to help each other and a bid to be able to spend more time with each other: with NEWTs already looming they didn’t have time to just “hang out” like normal people.
And Minseok loved it, but it was also making his emotions do weird things. His heart fluttered when Lu Han talked to him and flipped when Lu Han walked close to him and did something even weirder when Lu Han touched him. He tried to avoid staring at Lu Han and failed, which made him realize that Lu Han was watching him too and oh dear.
Feelings made him nervous but he loved it at the same time. Lu Han held his hand when they walked and Minseok was too flustered to say anything but he wasn’t about to pull his hands away. Lu Han put his bean bag so close to Minseok’s when they studied in the Prefects office that they were practically touching and it was definitely impractical for studying but Minseok didn’t care, he wanted to be close and feeling the heat of Lu Han’s leg against his was getting addicting.
He couldn’t stop staring at Lu Han and he started having dreams about kissing him. He thought Lu Han had to know, he had to know, but Lu Han never said anything. Minseok had to do something, had to say something, or he thought he might spontaneously combust.
He got his chance a few weeks before the winter holiday. They were up on the astronomy tower so that Minseok could do some late-night observing for yet another paper. Lu Han was standing so close and yes it was cold but it wasn’t that cold that they would need to huddle for warmth (also that was what the warming charm Minseok had put on their scarves was for) but Minseok wasn’t about to tell him that. And then Lu Han put his hand oh so casually on Minseok’s hip like it was nothing but Minseok felt like there was an electric jolt running through his body where Lu Han’s hand was resting.
His brain short-circuited and he ended up squeaking out something so high-pitched that even he wasn’t exactly sure what it was.
“… What?” Lu Han looked at him, but didn’t take his hand off of Minseok’s hip.
Minseok flushed cherry red and Lu Han smiled but didn’t stop staring.
“I… I like you. A lot. Like I like like you. I want to kiss your face.”
And he promptly covered his face because what in the hell where did that even come from?
He expected Lu Han to laugh, or pull away. What he didn’t expect was for Lu Han to let out the most relieved sigh he’d ever heard (and he was a seventh year; that was saying something) and pull one of Minseok’s hands away from his face.
“Oh thank Merlin.”
“What?”
“I thought I was the only one.”
Lu Han leaned in and pressed his lips to Minseok’s. Minseok couldn’t help but let out a little gasp, which Lu Han used to deepen the kiss, just a little, but the feeling of Lu Han’s lips and tongue sliding against his made the metaphorical choir in his brain start singing. He was so warm and soft and this was perfect.
When they had to pull away from each other, Minseok took in what Lu Han had said before he kissed him.
“What do you mean you thought you were the only one? Have you seen how I’ve been looking at you?”
Lu Han blushed and his ears turned red along with his cheeks. “I’ve had a crush on you for the longest and I thought I was projecting.”
Oh. Oh.
Minseok laughed, and pulled Lu Han down to meet him.
“You dork,” he said against Lu Han’s lips right before he kissed him again.
….
Neither of them knew how Junmyeon knew, but he did. They weren’t sitting any closer together than they had been before The Kiss(es) when they studied together in the Prefects office. Outwardly, they hadn’t changed much at all: they held hands when they walked, but they’d done that before. They leaned on each other before class and talked quietly, but they’d done that before too. Nothing changed, really, except that they sought out a bit more privacy sometimes. There shouldn’t have been anything to tip Junmyeon off, and yet…
They both looked up when the door to the Prefects office opened, and the sound of footsteps didn’t follow it. Junmyeon was standing in the doorway, Head Boy badge gleaming and the brightest, most obnoxious, I-told-you-so smile on his face.
“Shut up.” They told him in unison, and Minseok could feel himself turning red again.
“I didn’t say anything,” Junmyeon sing-songed before closing the door behind him, no doubt off to find two more victims for his matchmaking plots.
When they figured he was out of ear shot, Lu Han leaned down to kiss Minseok’s neck, and Minseok let out a happy shriek because it tickled.
