cinders that remain

Taehyung had done, what he thought, was the right thing. His mother had always taught him that if something was meant to be his, it would come back to him in the end, and with that piece of wisdom repeating in his brain like a mantra, he was certain there was nothing he could do but cut the red string of fate that kept them together; because he was involved with things bigger than them, bigger than magic itself, and he knew she would be targeted. Taehyung's father, an influental man in the ministry and one of Voldemort's own right hand men, had demanded that Taehyung concentrate, bring Hogwarts back to the former glory it once held - and Taehyung couldn't let Liora be killed because of his own selfish need to keep her in his arms. Walking beside his father out of Dumbledore's office though, Taehyung wondered if he'd bump into her one last time before he left.

Leigh sat in Professor Snape's potions class with her chin resting in her palm, doodling on her parchment with her quill mindlessly as Namjoon answered all the questions Snape asked, and infuratingly, he got all of them right, earning points to Slytherin with each answer. The blatant favouritsm wasn't what made Leigh angry, no, it was the fact that Namjoon thought himself better than others just because of his intelligence. Dipping her quill back into the ink, Leigh sighed - she supposed that was typical Slytherin behaviour. Neatening out her Hufflepuff tie, Leigh noticed she had doodled Namjoon's name, and scowling, she quickly took her quill and scribbled it out. "Not today." She murmured to herself. "Not ever."

Jungkook tutted as he listened to Jimin, looking to Yoongi for some help. Jungkook was a Gryffindor through and through, but he hated it when people told him he couldn't be friends with anyone who didn't share his house. "Why are you so obsessed with Yoongi and I finding love with those two insufferable girls?" Jungkook raised an eyebrow. "Cassiopeia of all people!" He pulled a face that he hoped was convincing. "I mean, she's the bad type of Slytherin, she's a Malfoy, you know what they're like." Jungkook frowned. "And Jimin, since when did you become a matchmaker? Has Professor Trelawny gotten inside your skull?" Jungkook walked a little bit ahead then, trying his hardest to ensure he could keep his feelings for the Malfoy girl hidden - he'd managed until Jimin stuck his nose in. He'd rather pretend to hate than hurt in love.

Arabella waved goodbye to her fellow Ravenclaw, Luna Lovegood, with a gentle smile, unable to entertain the thought of how anyone could be cruel to Luna at all. The girl was eccentric, yes, but she certainly wasn't deserving of the mockery she faced. Turning around as she heard voices, Arabella felt her mood dampen as she saw Min Yoongi trailing behind his friends, his Slytherin tie undone and hair dishevelled. Arabella bit the inside of her cheek at the sight of him, because what if another girl had been the reason why he looked so messy, so smug? Rolling her eyes with the thought, Arabella picked up her Defence Against the Dark Arts book, quickly heading to the courtyard before the friends reached her.

Liora held her books close to her chest as she headed down a corridor in Hogwarts, her head ducked a bit in thought. Really, her mind was wrapped around Taehyung and the way their relationship had ended. It'd left her heartbroken because she didn't even get a proper explanation - over the summer, the letters she'd received from him had become more and more infrequent, and she'd tried not to think about it too much. But now that they were back at Hogwarts and he had outright ended their relationship, it was upsetting. And, moreover, she'd noticed a certain Cassiopeia Malfoy flirting with him since the beginning of the year and she couldn't help but wonder if that had something to do with it. Even so, despite her own heartache, she didn't want to get in the way, because she wanted him to be happy. Lifting her gaze, her thoughts came to an abrupt stop when she spotted Taehyung up ahead, causing her to pause in her steps.

Namjoon leaned back in his seat quite casually as he answered yet another question, a smirk forming on his features as he peered towards Leigh. He couldn't help but feel his smirk grow when he noticed her mumbling to herself. "What's that you're saying, Leigh?" he asked almost tauntingly, grinning broadly as he watched her. For a moment, he allowed himself to admire her, taking her in, but only for that moment, because he didn't want her or anybody else to notice, really. "You seem to be talking to yourself. Perhaps you should head to the Hospital Wing? You seem awfully frustrated, wouldn't want anything to be wrong." With a grin, he tilted his head, but he looked ahead in time to answer another question, a part of him certain that, if Leigh responded to him, Professor Snape would certainly deduct points from her house, and a part of him was curious about seeing it, wanting to see her reaction.

Cassiopeia was a proud Slytherin, and an even prouder Malfoy, that much she could say with certainty. Even if she had to deal with the annoying boy who lived, Jungkook. He was infamous for having survived He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, but that wasn't why he was constantly on Cassie's mind. Admittedly, the reason the boy constantly flitted about in her mind was because she was hopelessly in love with the fool - and she hated it. Sighing, she shook her head and tried to focus on the task her father had given her: to get closer to Taehyung. Since Taehyung's father was so close to Voldemort, Lucius wanted her to be close to the son, certain it would cement their status with the Dark Lord. Trying not to think about it, she parted from her brother, humming as she wandered along, though her expression fell when she spotted Jungkook, and she sneered. "Disgusting," she muttered, despite every atom in her body denying her own words.

Jimin grinned slightly. "Come on, you guys deserve a happy, fun relationship," he chimed easily, smirking as he nudged his friends, "Isn't it worth a shot at the very least? Besides, they're really not so bad, trust me!"

Yoongi snorted quietly, rolling his eyes. "Jimin, please leave me out of your antics," he complained in a low mutter, mostly annoyed at the very prospect of it. The fact that Jimin could even suggest that Yoongi start dating Arabella Cleaves in the first place was ridiculous. Sure, Yoongi was attracted to her, he found her gorgeous and knew she was a kind person, but there was no way he would admit that aloud, not even when the object of his affections ended up being in his line of sight. His gaze followed her for a moment before he looked away, looking back to Jimin. He couldn't say he was surprised with the other boy's behavior and ideas, Jimin tended to befriend anybody since he attracted a lot of attention because of it, which could be frustrating, but Yoongi wouldn't complain about it. "Can't you focus on your own love life? We don't need help in ours." He snorted quietly, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Especially if you're going to try to pair us up with girls who are that infuriating.

Taehyung listened to his father closely as he was warned to be on his best behaviour in the castle, warned not to mingle with those who betray the wizarding world, warned to keep his heart dark and soul empty, and he nodded, trying to take his father’s words into his heart, because love, of all things, couldn’t break him now. “Of course.” He murmured back. “I’ll make you proud, father.” Taehyung paused momentarily, when he saw Liora stood ahead, watching him; and for a brief second, he watched her in return, before offering her a nod and walking on with his father, feeling his heart break within his chest because he couldn’t pull the woman he loved into his arms. Saying goodbye to his father, Taehyung made his way to the Slytherin common room, practically dragging his feet as he did - all for the greater good, so he was told. What was the point in any greater good if he couldn’t have the one thing he wanted most?

Leigh looked up as Namjoon spoke to her, and rolling her eyes, Leigh continued to write the ingredients they would need, ignoring the fact she had written Namjoon’s name on her parchment — as if he’d ever belong to her. “I said, if you’re really that curious, that you’re an insufferable know it all.” Leigh offered a sweet smile then, happy to have points taken from Hufflepuff if it meant she could show Namjoon that unlike other students, she wasn’t afraid of him. Going back to writing the ingredients, Leigh told herself there wasn’t much left of the lesson and then she could escape from the dungeons, because it almost frightened her how her heart yearned to be known, to be loved, by Namjoon, knowing damn well he’d never feel the same.

Jungkook listened to Jimin’s words, snorting with laughter, shaking his head with exasperation. “I doubt any kind of relationship with Cassiopeia would be happy, or fun. And how are you friends with everyone?” Jungkook groaned. “Don’t drag us down with you, mate.” Ignoring Jimin’s words, Jungkook put a bit more distance between him and his friends, almost tripping over air when he saw the very thing his heart desired most, and yet when she sneered at him, Jungkook felt his shoulders slump a little as she muttered an insult at him. “Lovely seeing you Cassiopeia, as always.” Jungkook rolled his eyes. “Try to be a little bit happier, I fear the plants will die as soon as they see you.” Turning to Jimin then, Jungkook raised his eyebrows challengingly. “Happy and fun indeed, eh? Eat your words, Park Jimin!” He teased, trying to ignore the ache in his heart that told him he wanted what he couldn’t have, loved what would never love him back, and yet, as much as he’d tried, he just couldn’t stop himself. Scratching the scar on his forehead, Jungkook sighed. “Get a move on, Yoongi, we’re going to be late.”

Arabella sat in the courtyard happily, perched on top of the fountain, watching Yoongi walk with his friends, graceful and proud, as always — and although she couldn’t hear their conversation, she wondered just how a Slytherin, a Gryffindor and a Hufflepuff managed to become a somewhat golden trio. Pulling her gaze from Yoongi, Arabella sighed, knowing that he was something she could never have, so there was no point in pining. All she needed to do was finish school in one piece, having been warned that as a muggleborn, she would be targeted among those her kind first.

Liora watched Taehyung from where he was, though she lowered her gaze when she realized he had continued to walk. Breathing out, she tried to put on a brave face, straightening and lifting her head back up. Taehyung was no longer in her line of sight, which likely made it a bit easier to pretend, and she took a deep breath before she continued on, heading to class.

The smirk remained in place on Namjoon's features as he watched the girl. Even with their constant feuding and rivalry, he could admit to himself that she was the most beautiful thing he'd ever known to exist. That didn't take away from how fun it was to get under her skin. "Is that so?" he asked in a casual hum, tilting his head to the side, "That's not what it sounded like at all. How unfortunate for you."

Cassiopeia rolled her eyes slightly as she listened to Jungkook speak, even though his voice in and of itself was music to her ears. "Seems like you struggled a bit there," she chimed easily as she continued to walk, not bothering to turn around, though she did raise her voice for him to hear, "It must be painful for that single brain cell you have, trying to come up with something worth saying."

Jimin pouted slightly. "Really, I promise, they're not nearly as bad as you two think," he complained. After all, if Cassiopeia was that terrible, she wouldn't be friends with him. And if Arabella was that insufferable, Jimin wouldn't be able to stand hanging around her.

Yoongi snorted, rolling his eyes as he listened to Jimin's attempts to convince him. "Tell that to somebody who doesn't already deal with them," he said simply, sighing, "Just give up, Jimin. You're wasting your time. Neither of us have any interest in those girls." And, though he was lying, because he certainly adored Arabella in more ways than he could explain, he couldn't allow anybody to ever know such a thing.