It wasn’t supposed to be like this, Chaewon thought sitting down, her wand too far away from her reach, her arms around an unconscious Heejin, trying futilely to protect her friend from the two Death Eaters in front of her. She’s supposed to spend her life with her love, Heejin with hers, but here they are at death’s door, with nothing they were able to do. She sighs, sending one last prayer to her former love and her closest friends. “Are you going to kill me now?” She asks the two Death Eaters, who are in surprisingly no hurry to kill her.

One of the death eaters in front of her laughs, Chaewon immediately snapping her eyes to look at her, recognizing the voice instantly. “Yes, though I’d like an explanation first…. Why?”

Chaewon understood immediately what she was asking, and couldn’t help but sigh. “I was scared… As silly of an excuse that is, I was scared Hyejoo.” She laughs, wheezing from the pain in her lungs from a stray Reducto. “Now looking back, you probably won’t believe it, but that was the thing I regretted the most in my short life.”

Hyejoo takes off her mask and stares at her, her face unreadable as she raises her wand at her.

Chaewon closes her eyes, flashing back to times when things were so much simpler and so much better.

------

Chaewon and Hyejoo were best friends, inseparable, sisters in all but blood.

As they grew up, they spent so much time together. Cuddling, watching movies together, playing around and just having a fun childhood together. Sometimes Hyunjin and Yerim, Hyejoo’s sisters, joined them. More often, however, it was just the two of them, enjoying their time with each other. Even as children, they understood that the other was special to them and wanted to keep them close.

Before long, Chaewon received her Hogwarts letter, and it was time for her to leave Hyejoo. Hyejoo cried a bit, especially since her sister Hyunjin is also leaving as well, but Chaewon reassured her that they’ll write home and will be back before she knows it, and that next year Hyejoo will get to join them at Hogwarts.

Chaewon kept her promise, of course, she sent back a letter, telling her that she was sorted into Hufflepuff and that she made a lot of new friends. Hyejoo can’t help but feel a tinge of jealousy that Chaewon was making other friends, but she was still Hyejoo’s best friend, so everything was fine.

----

Hyejoo was wrong, things were definitely not fine.
When they arrived at the train station, Hyejoo and Yerim expected Hyunjin and Chaewon to stick together. However, after a series of hugs, Chaewon explained that she has to join another carriage. When Hyejoo and Yerim asked Hyunjin why, she explained that the houses are quite segregated and that Slytherin can be quite isolated.

To no one in their friend group’s surprise, Hyejoo was sorted into Slytherin and Yerim into Hufflepuff, yet Hyejoo wishes she was with Chaewon in Hufflepuff.

As the year went, Hyejoo barely saw Chaewon, accounting for their differing year groups and the rift between Slytherin and most of the other houses. When she does see Chaewon, Chaewon does still sneak in a smile for her, and they still chat, especially when Chaewon is escorting around Yerim. Nowadays, Hyejoo sees Chaewon more with her Hufflepuff friends, though she also seems to be friends with a lot of others, notably with Heejin and Haseul from Gryffindor.

Hyejoo has also befriended some of those in Slytherin, though she doesn’t feel as close to them as others. (Not like her and her sisters, nor with Chaewon). She has friends outside of Slytherin, but it’s far and few between. The only people she’s really close to outside of her house are two Ravenclaws by the names of Sooyoung and Kahei, who are good friends with Jinsoul, one of the nicest seniors in Slytherin and probably the closest person to Hyejoo outside of her family.

---

As the years go by, they started hanging out a bit in Hogwarts. Ever since Heejin decided to visit Chaewon on a holiday on their fourth summer, where she and Hyunjin became smitten with each other, the friend groups almost merged a bit, and even if they weren’t that obviously close to each other at Hogwarts, all of them enjoys spending their holidays together, which is quite an interesting sight, especially when a few more people got involved. Jiwoo and Jungeun, two of Haseul and Heejins Gryffindor friends joined in first. They got off to a rocky start but immediately hit it off with the rest of the crew. Finally, it was completed with Yeojin, Haseul’s bratty younger sister who weaselled their way into their hearts.

With many of the others starting to date, Chaewon and Hyejoo started to become closer and closer, especially when they’re often left alone together. It was like when they were young again, just the two of them. Except, this time, they’re very much older then they were, and very much more in love. While the two aren’t girlfriends, nor have they ever kissed, they knew the other was special to them and that they wanted each other close.

One day, that all changed. Death Eaters were on the rise again and Slytherin became even more estranged. The friend group, sort of fractured, when an argument between them erupted on the morality and the actions of the wizarding world, as well as the death eaters. At first, while heated, the arguments didn’t cause any rift. Soon other factors were brought into it, and Chaewon could only watch as a rift settled in their friend group. Chaewon couldn’t choose them, she can’t. She knows their views are not even dark, just greyer, but to the eyes of those in her house and in Gryffindor, anything not fully opposing that cause is dark. She’s afraid to be branded, sees how Yerim is affected by those around and cries in silence in how she’s unable to help. (Little did she know, so does the others. Kahei cries that she can’t protect her younger friends, Yves and Heejin having to break up with their girlfriends, and how Haseul is sad that she can’t even openly defend Yerim, who has warmed up to Yeojin.)

All of them were scared, and in their fear, the four suffer. Yerim used to be cheerful, the bright sun of the group, but that sun is all but burnt out. The three in Slytherin however, turned bitter, angry and their friends for abandoning them. Were their friendships really that meaningless? Hyejoo thinks of Chaewon especially, her close friend and love of her life and how she no longer associates or even acknowledges her in a positive light. She cries, missing her, but if she’s not accepted in the light, all she can do is fall into darkness.

As Chaewon is graduating, she arranges a meet up with Hyejoo one last time.  As she was about to apologize, Hyejoo just turns her fierce glare to her, daring her to say anything, is if anything could mend the rift between them. Chaewon understood, nodding her head, walking away. Neither saw the tears in each other’s eyes, having chosen their paths, away frome each other. Meanwhile, Heejin cried, her left cheek still stinging from a slap she well deserved, as she walked away from Hyunjin one last time. None of the four got much sleep that night.

--

It was a year after her graduation when Yerim approached her in her new shop. Chaewon held her close as she cried, explaining that her family has turned dark, and while she agrees with some of their beliefs, she doesn’t agree that this was the right way to achieve it.

They were sitting in a cafe, one of Kahei’s own creation. 9 of them, a reunion, incomplete one at that. Yerim was the last to arrive, and when the older members of the group saw her, they immediately pulled her into a hug. Haseul was the first to raise an apology, at how she couldn’t protect her or her sisters, and from there, the tears just spelt, guilt weighing in on all of them. While they didn’t agree with some of the choices, it wasn’t worth losing their friends, siblings, loves of their lives over it.

As they were getting up to live, a teary smile between them all and a promise to keep in touch, and to see if they can rekindle at least some of their friendships, Diagon Alley came under attack. They were separated, with Chaewon and Heejin fighting off multiple death eaters, before a stray reducto knocked a piece of debris onto Heejin, knocking her out. As Chaewon was distracted by her, an expelliarmus knocked her want out of her hand, before she was knocked down, pulling her arms around Heejin to protect her unconscious friend.

--

Here they are now, Hyejoo and Hyunjin (having pulled off her own mask) standing in front of her, with their wands pointed at her on the ground. “I’m sorry…”

Hyunjin laughs bitterly, “Sorry doesn’t mean much anymore. You weren’t there for us, none of you were.”

Chaewon can only close her eyes, accepting her fate. “Very well. If you wish to kill me, I can’t stop you. I deserve it anyway.”
With her eyes closed, she can’t see their reactions, though she assumes their as stoic as ever.
“However, I have one request. I know I probably deserve this, but I’d still like for you to consider it Hyejoo.”

When there was no sound and that has not died yet, Chaewon takes it as a sign to continue. She opens her eyes and beckons Hyejoo and Hyunjin closer.

The two do so, Hyejoo still pointing her wand at Chaewon. (Chaewon can’t see it, but Hyejoo is having an internal fight. Chaewon has done many things wrong, but she’s always been an amazing part of her life.)

Chaewon passes the unconscious Heejin to Hyunjin, nodding her head. Nothing needs to be said there, even if they were enemies, she still trusts them to respect Heejin's life. Even if she were to die, they wouldn't kill her off in her sleep.

Chaewon slowly grabs Hyejoo’s wand arm and points it at her heart, tears flowing from her eyes. She speaks softly, “I’d like my final memories to be with you, if that’s okay Hyejoo. If I were to die, I’d like to have kissed you just this once. Can I have this, please?”

Hyejoo nods, eyes still unreadable. Chaewon takes her hand off Hyejoo’s, wand still pointing at her heart and pulls Hyejoo in with both hands, savouring the taste of her lips for the first, and possibly last time. Chaewon closes her eyes…

---

Kahei arrived at her cafe, the first time she’s been here since the war. As she prepares to open the Cafe, she notices a small moving picture on her counter. 12 girls, four different houses. Three turned to darkness, two others having never contacted her. She sighed, before a cough sounds behind her. No one else was supposed to be here, yet here they are, 6 girls all willing to help her clean out the cafe.  Haseul goes up to hug her and notices the picture. They look at each other and nod. They need to move on, for them.

A few hours later, as the girls close up the cafe, and Yeojin goes up to the second floor, the other girls hear a scream. As they rush up, they notice Yeojin hugging a girl with blonde hair and a smile on her face, standing next to four others.

They still had issues to work through, problems to solve. Yet as Chaewon looks at Hyejoo next to her, hand in hand, she wouldn’t have it any other way.