〈 HOGSMEADE 〉

@( g ) jieun He was right. She indeed belonged to the rival house of Slytherin – Gryffindor. He slightly cringed at the thought, as he was momentarily frowning before he regained his thoughtful and serene expression once again, trying to maintain a bright smile in his face no matter how uneasy he was all of a sudden. Well, what more could he expect? He was entirely the opposite of others’ impression of him. He whose whole family used to be the pride of Gryffindor, now belongs into the rival house, Slytherin.

What more of a disgrace could he ever get?

Suddenly, his eyes were clouded with sadness. “Slytherin,” the name of his house rolls off his tongue almost so perfectly – but melancholy was still evident in his voice. Even he, himself, was taken aback by the news of how he belongs to Slytherin back on his first year. But things were different today. He was already in his sixth year. He should be used to it by now. “I’m from Slytherin, Jieun.”

@( s ) baekhyun Jieun blinked repeatedly, a little shocked at his sudden question. It's not like he's obliged to know, but she thought everyone who would see her would figure out that she belonged to Gryffindor, because she was the one who keeps up a good reputation among the others in school, and a lot of people know her for her wit and boldness.

But she excuses him, and smiled softly. "I'm from Gryffindor," she said plainly. "How about you, Baekhyun?" She tilted her head slightly to one side and narrowed her eyes at him as she waited for his answer, and a thought enters her head: What if he was a Slytherin? She shook her head slightly, trying to get it out of her mind, because she really wouldn't want one of the people who used to be in her group of friends to be in the house that her own considers as rival.

@( g ) jieun [ crap, sorry for the late reply. ;; ]

And so she must be a half-blood, then, he decides. He takes another second to examine her current exterior – for someone who radiated innocence, she looked pretty bold. Baekhyun figured she might be from… well, his house’s rival, Gryffindor. He could perfectly remember, as his memories were never flawed, how much he loathed that certain house. It was the place where he cannot simply belong into.

Byun Baekhyun has the qualities of a Slytherin, and never a Gryffindor, after all.

A hand combing his hair, he raises a brow at the other as he asks, “So from which house are you?” he would’ve found himself sounding awful, not knowing where she belongs. After all, had he not met her here, he wouldn’t know how her entire existence dwells in the school he studies at as well. Baekhyun decided, she must always keep her head low for him not to notice her all these years. Either that, or he doesn’t simply pay attention to the Gryffindor table… as much as he pays attention to a certain witch.

@( s ) baekhyun Jieun laughed softly at his response. "Mm, I see." She nodded slowly at the thought. "And yes, even I myself didn't expect to be here. Maybe I got too influenced by my father." A soft chuckle escaped her lips.

Jieun couldn't believe they would meet again after all these years, most especially at the wizarding world. Jieun stared at him again for a moment and noticed that he still looked the same, except that he seems thinner and his hair has gotten longer, she decides. Jieun wondered if he was still the kindhearted Baekhyun from before, because the aura around him tells Jieun otherwise.

@( g ) jieun Indeed, it didn’t seem quite of a problem to be quite himself, talking to Jieun ever so casually like this. It was weird in a way, since he hadn’t expected their reunion to be somewhere here in Hogsmeade. He had always imagined their reunion being in the muggle world – that is, if he gets lucky enough to even visit the muggle world, most especially if he’s all alone.

Chuckling, he reached out for the honey-coloured toffee he craves for before replying, “Corking,” he wryly smiles, “It’s a surprise to meet you here. I never knew you would be… someone like me.”

Jieun has changed; she had grown up. But the warmth in her eyes seemed to have remained. It looked as though nothing in her personality changed at all. In the other hand, every single thing about Baekhyun did. His personality, his appearance – everything.

@( s ) baekhyun "Byun...Baekhyun?" She blinked, trying hard not to sound so shocked. She gulped and slowly flashed him a smile, unsure of what to say next.

Jieun was the type of person who hardly gets friends, considering she always preferred being alone, and when she does, she remembers each and every one of them, and Baekhyun wasn't an exception.

She tried to remember how they met. It was in a subway, when Jieun was rushing to go to the mall to do errands for her mother. That was all she could remember, but that was enough.

"Baekhyun," she repeated, chuckling. "Long time no see," she told him coolly. "How have you been?" She asked, trying to start a normal conversation with him, like how it used to be. She hoped she didn't sound (and look) awkward enough.

@( g ) jieun Jieun, he repeats in his thoughts. Her name was Lee Jieun.

That girl he met in the muggle world before. Long before he could ever start his wizarding school in Hogwarts, he had came across this one particular girl. It was a mere accident for a pureblood like him to ever step a foot in the muggle world, being out of his parent's supervision.

Never had he once expected their next meeting would be here, inside the wizarding world. And seeing her right then and there, he knew they were just schoolmates. How come he never knew? They were just in the same school, all these years.

Without knowing, he was already smiling, his eyes forming into crescents. "Baekhyun," he replies, "Byun Baekhyun."

He had known the female when they were younger - perhaps there was no need to act as though she was a stranger. Baekhyun could freely be himself. But it was not her who cannot be trusted. Even if his friendship seems sincere, with the fact that Baekhyun himself had changed all through these years, he had no idea if he was still the boy who had made Lee Jieun a friend of his.

@( s ) baekhyun She softly smiled at his response. Still clutching her books in one hand and the candies she intended to buy on the other, she felt him staring, making her cough awkwardly and look away. She thought harder about who this guy was, and she told herself that maybe he was just someone she saw at school, but her mind seems to tell her something else.

"Mhmm," she mumbled, fixing her gaze back at him with a soft nod. She was so curious about him that it made her a little uneasy. She was about to ask for his bame when, unbelievably, he beat her to asking hers first.

"Jieun," she said, her chin up. "Lee Jieun." She smiled a little and caught a glimpse of his eyes, and that's when she knew who he was. She found it unbelirvable that he looked so different from before, but his eyes didn't seem to change.

Still she asked, "And you are?" Just to be sure.

@( g ) jieun As soon as she looked at him, he was able to take a better look of her facial features - and alas, a familiar face indeed. He had met her before, and this time he was more than just simply definite about that theory. "Yeah, no problem," he mutters, brows slightly furrowed. For once he was thankful his friends weren't right beside him, or else he wouldn't be able to at least make a decent conversation with this female.

"I believe so we have," he nods, examining her face still. And then it hit him. He knew who exactly she looks like. Years may have already passed, but surely Baekhyun has no rusty memories. He perfectly remembers that certain female's face even though they were young back then.

"Say," he speaks once more, "what is your name?"

@( s ) baekhyun Fixing her hair into place and finally standing up, Jieun grabbed the book the man in front of her was reaching out. She looked at the book and inwardly sighed, cursing herself for almost forgetting to pick up the most expensive book she just purchased.

"Gee, thanks," she said with a smile as she put the book back into her bag. She was about to continue walking straight to the counter when she caught a glimpse of the person who helped her, and he happened to look utterly familiar.

Narrowing her eyes at him, she boldly asked, "Have we met before?" She tried to remember as she stared at him a little too long than she should.

@( g ) jieun Honeydukes was definitely a good place to hang out when you needed a distraction. It was everyone’s favorite place, of course, with the wide variety of sweets. He, himself, wouldn’t deny the fact that it is indeed one of his favorites in Hogsmeade, next to Dominic Maestro’s. Yes, as strange as it may seem, Baekhyun likes music.

While his friends were busy hogging all the sweets in a corner, Baekhyun himself was busy looking for a certain favorite. Reaching out, he was just about to take out a honey-colored toffee from the shelf when someone bumped into him. He wasn’t surprised at all—with the first week of visitation in Hogsmeade, the Honeydukes sure was packed. He was guessing most third years were the ones covering the students’ population in the crowded place.

He crouched down as well, to help the female whose apology he barely heard because of the other students’ banter. Reaching out for an almost forgotten book (which almost got kicked away by a fourth year, he noticed), he looked at the female and held it out. “Here,” he nonchalantly says, examining the female with familiar features he couldn’t quite remember.

He was very, very sure he had met her somewhere… He shook his head. Maybe he just came across him before in the castle. Or not.

@( s ) baekhyun ( oh my goodness, i was right. you're good at this. cx )

Jieun fixed her coat as she exited Hogwarts. It was a weekend, and she was on her way out to do what she always liked to do on weekends: go to Hogsmeade. It has been a routine for her ever since her third year, and she never stopped doing it until she reached her fifth. She always went there alone, and of course she didn't mind. She always told herself that she would rather spend time with herself than spending time with people who pretend they like her.

Jieun quickly went int a bookstore, checking out old books in shelves and searching for books she could use for her subjects back at school. After taking a book about potions and paying for it, she exited the shop, and proceeded to her personal favorite, Honeydukes.

A wide smile spread across her lips as she entered. The sight of lots of sweets and people swarming over them just somehow made her happy. She looked around the shop which was filled with numerous colors, and she walked over to a corner with her favorite candy canes and licorice. She decided to go buy some, and as she turned around to the counter to pay, she unconsciously bumped into someone, her newly bought books falling on the floor.

As a reflex, she knelt down and picked up her books, mumbling a silent "Sorry," as she did.

@( g ) jieun Baekhyun was fortunate enough to be given permission by his parents to visit Hogsmeade despite the fact that he was a mere disappointment in their eyes. Honestly, he could care less this time. Even before he stepped a foot in the wizarding school, he had always been told of how great his older brother is. His brother this, his brother that—when will it ever be him? Ah, perhaps once he’s become someone better than his older brother. Byun Baekbeom, Byun Baekhyun’s older brother, was now an Auror, working for the Ministry of Magic. He used to be the Head Boy of Gryffindor in his last year at Hogwarts, immediately being the pride of the Byuns.

Yet here was Byun Baekhyun. The only Byun who got sorted into Slytherin. Oh, please. They barely gave him the chance to prove himself. Until now, despite the fact that his brother was already an adult—already even married—he’s still constantly being compared. And so Baekhyun stopped caring. What he simply did was to hold a grudge against the house he was not sorted into. Why was he in Slytherin, instead of Gryffindor? Ah, because he’s a failure of a son.

A sigh escaping his lips, he entered Honeydukes—the infamous sweet shop for everyone. He was sure his own friends were all probably inside, hogging out a variety of sweets. Might as well take a distraction.