Chapter Text
“We’re moving tomorrow.”
Jeongguk looked up from his book to find his mother standing in the doorway, leaning against its frame with her arms crossed over her chest. The expression on her face was apologetic, but there was an undertone of tiredness accentuated by worry for her son. He knew that look all too well.
He simply sighed, knowing there wasn’t really anything he could do about it. “To where?”
“East End.” She offered him a small smile, only a little short of reassuring. “Your father knows a few people out there and they’re willing to lend us a place.”
“My step -father.” Jeongguk corrected as he slowly shut his book. “Please don’t forget that, mum.”
She only answered with a small nod. “Well, you best start packing.”
—
There wasn’t much to pack. There never was.
Jeongguk and his family have moved far too many times for him to remember, and so he’d gotten used to not staying too long in any one place. His things were always half-packed, half-ready to go. He never got attached to anyone, never made friends, but that was easy considering almost everyone he came in contact with wanted nothing to do with him.
The thing was, Jeongguk was different. He’d known for a long time. And it was this very difference of his that saw them moving from city to city, school to school, running away from whatever it was that his stepfather never spoke about outright but seemed to be largely afraid of. He never understood the constant need for moving, but he never questioned it. In all truthfulness, he was alright with it.
Especially this week, after he’d accidentally smashed the windows and flipped the tables with nothing but his mind after a fit of anger and saw the horrified looks of his classmates afterwards — as if they had a monster in their midst. He decided it was better to just keep moving on. He decided that maybe, his stepfather being so against him and his abilities was for good reason.
He closed the last suitcase before heading down the stairs, where he was met with his mother and his younger sister, waiting still for his stepfather.
“Where is he?” Jeongguk asked after a few minutes passed, well aware that his stepfather was never late when it came to moving.
“I don’t think he’s coming,” was all his mother was able to muster as she sat by the window, closely watching the gigantic man on the sidewalk heading to their home.
—
Ergamagus.
That’s what they called his stepfather.
Part of a group of anti-magic muggles—or non-magic people, as Hagrid had to explain to him—that were formed in response to dark wizards that brought death and ruin to innocent muggles caught in the First Wizarding War.
(The term stirred something within Jeongguk’s mind, as if it was something he’d heard of before, but he chose to pay it no mind. How could he have heard of the First Wizarding War when all his life the Wizarding World had been kept a secret from him?)
It surprised him, in a way. He knew his stepfather never liked the fact that he had special abilities, but he never quite anticipated the full extent of his aversion.
“That’s why we never could find you.” Hagrid explained, his huge hands resting on his belly as he settled in the seat that was too small for him. “Not just you; Awful lot o’ young wizards and witches now can’t go to Hogwarts ‘cause o’ these blasted ergamagus.”
Jeongguk furrowed his eyebrows, still clutching his acceptance letter in his hands. “But why?”
“They dun want you to learn. Dun want your magic to reach its full potential because they believe we’re all out to hurt ‘em.”
The young man nodded, suddenly understanding the constant moving that they did all those years. All the hiding and the running. Once it all seemed pointless, but now it all made sense.
“Where is he now? All these years he’s succeeded in evading all of you. Why would he suddenly fail now and disappear all of a sudden?” He asked as he looked down at his letter once more, thumbing at the seal that somehow seemed a little familiar to him.
“We dun know, frankly. Whole lot of ergamagus ‘round these parts that suddenly disappeared.” Hagrid shrugged, clearly disinterested in whatever may have happened to any of them. “That dun matter now, Jeongguk. What matters is, are you ready to go to Hogwarts?”
He didn’t have to think twice before he looked up and smiled. “I am.”
—
Hagrid took him shopping for school supplies down a place called Diagon Alley where his mind struggled to keep up with the fact that there was that much magic in the world. All his life he’d been made to believe he was different, the only one with such capabilities, and yet there he was, standing in the middle of a small town where sorcery seemed to be the norm. There he was introduced to Jimin and Taehyung, who were both about two years older than he was but only starting on their first year just like him.
“Came from families of ergamagus, too.” Hagrid told him after noticing the questioning look in his eyes.
“What about you? How old are you?” Jimin asked, smiling brightly at him.
“I’m seventeen.” Jeongguk answered meekly, trying to return the smile that the other offered to him.
“I’m a little embarassed.” Taehyung laughed softly. “Does that mean we’ll be the oldest among the first years, then?”
“No, not at all.” Hagrid reassured them. “Last week I picked up this lad who was nearing twenty-one. Not a big deal, really.”
“But still! It does not do much for my self-esteem that I’m gonna be studying alongside 11-year-olds.” Taehyung sighed. “I guess it’s a good thing we all got introduced.”
“I guess it is.” Jimin agreed, and Jeongguk did too.
—
The Great Hall was more astounding than Jeongguk could ever have imagined. Four impossibly long tables stretched out ahead of them, filled with students both younger and older than they were. Above him, starry night skies graced the view, making it appear as if there was no ceiling at all.
He smiled to himself as they walked forward, and a warm feeling—something akin to being home—enveloped him.
There, for the first time in his life, he felt like he’d finally found a place where he belonged.
—
Jeongguk seated himself in between Jimin and Taehyung at the Gryffindor table, wearing a wide smile as the older students welcomed them. It was far from the judging looks he ever received during the days he spent in all the muggle schools he’d ever attended; far from the fear and terror that filled their eyes every time they learned of his abilities.
“Your attention, please.” McGonagall called out, and the lilt of voices that filled the Hall suddenly came into a hush.
The Headmaster stood from where he was seated, giving the entire room a once-over. He donned a soft smile before he spoke. “Welcome! Welcome to another year at Hogwarts!”
The High Table behind him was filled with other older wizards, many of which Jeongguk recognized from the little introduction Hagrid presented the three of them with. Three of them, however, were completely unfamiliar faces.
“I have a few things to say before we become befuddled by our excellent feast. I myself am particularly looking forward to the flaming kiwi cups, which while somewhat treacherous for those of us with facial hair…” McGonagall cleared her throat behind the headmaster, making the old sage realize that he had been rambling and there were more important things at hand to discuss. “First, I am pleased to welcome Professor Hoseok Jung, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Charms. Good luck to you, professor.”
Dumbledore stretched out an arm to gesture to him, and Professor Jung stood up from where he was seated, smiling brightly at everyone in the room as the students applauded him in welcome. His hair was a shock of orange, and his demeanour was a great contrast to the two professors yet unnamed that sat beside him, who were both brooding as they nursed goblets that couldn’t have contained pumpkin juice.
“As some of you may know, Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher for many years has decided to retire in order to spend more time with his remaining limbs.” Jeongguk wasn’t entirely sure what that meant, but he looked around to see that no one else seemed to find the statement bizarre. At least not the students who weren’t children of ergamagus. “Fortunately, I’m delighted to announce that his place will be filled by none other than our own Rubeus Hagrid!”
The three of them looked at each other, surprised that Hagrid never told them he himself was a teacher. Jeongguk clapped vigorously, as did Jimin, and Taehyung deemed it fit to start whooping and cheering. Jimin reached over Jeongguk to smack him lightly on the head, clearly embarrassed by his friend’s actions.
When Hagrid took a seat and the applause died down, the look on the headmaster’s face turned more serious. “Finally, on a more disquieting note, Hogwarts — at the request of the Ministry of Magic — will, until further notice, play host to the Dementors of Azkaban.”
Murmurs of uncertainty and apprehension suddenly filled the hall, and Jeongguk vaguely remembered reading on a newspaper — whose moving pictures did well to surprise him — that a highly dangerous prisoner had escaped from a place called Azkaban. The prison, Hagrid told them, was reserved only for the most dangerous dark witches and wizards.
“The Dementors will be stationed at the entrances to the grounds. Now whilst I’ve been assured that their presence will not disrupt our day-to-day activities, a word of caution: Dementors are vicious creatures. They will not distinguish between the one they hunt and the one who gets in their way. Under no circumstances are you to approach them. It is not in the nature of a Dementor to be forgiving.”
The murmurs that filled the Hall suddenly stilled, replaced by a quietness filled with uncertainty.
“In line with this, we have decided, with the notable increase of the student population and a dangerous wizard on the loose, that our Defence Against the Dark Arts curriculum need be more rigorous and concentrated to ensure that our students are all well-equipped to defend themselves should the need for it arise.” Jeongguk noticed the two unintroduced professors shifting in their seats as Professor Jung animatedly talked to them. “As such, there will be three teachers, each focusing on year levels of their own.”
“Professor R.J Lupin will be focusing on the first to third years.” Lupin stood up amidst applause and smiled graciously at the students. Just as he took his seat, the headmaster introduced the next.
“Professor Seokjin Kim will be in charge of the fourth and fifth years.” One of the two brooding professors stood up, the one with the golden hair. He was in a dark three-piece suit, accentuated by a silver tie clip, and he looked every bit uninterested as he slightly bowed for the clapping audience. He looked as young as Professor Jung, Jeongguk thought. Too young, perhaps.
As he seated himself, Dumbledore spoke once more. “And for our sixth and seventh years, Professor Yoongi Min will be the one to hone your skills.” They applauded once more, but the raven-haired professor did not stand up, only raised his goblet in acknowledgement before drinking from it again. Seokjin looked at him disapprovingly, but he only answered with a small shrug as he fiddled with the seams of his turtleneck sweater.
—
He made the mistake of sleeping in one Thursday morning and almost missed his History of Magic class. In his haste to get to the classroom, he sprinted all the way from their dormitory, barrelling down the hallways at an alarming speed. Just his luck, when he turned the corner, Seokjin was right there.
Before he had the right mind to stop running, he’d already collided with the professor, sending his books flying to the floor. Seokjin sighed audibly in great annoyance, but helped the student gather up his belongings. Jeongguk apologised profusely, bowing his head in shame but also in fear because the look in the professor’s eye was unsettling. A mix of hatred and anguish that seemed to be an eternal storm brewing within him.
“Just don’t do it again.” He spoke in a tone devoid of any emotions before continuing down the hall to head to Dumbledore’s office.
Jeongguk stood there for a moment, feeling curiosity and pity prickle at his skin. The look in Seokjin’s eyes was one he’d never seen before, and he wondered about it briefly before a voice ripped him away from his thoughts.
“Students shouldn’t be loitering in the hallway during class hours.” He snapped his head to the direction of the voice, and found Yoongi standing by an open door while his class took exams.
Exams on the first week? “Sorry, sir, I was just on my way to class.”
“Better hurry on then.”
Without another word or even a glance to the teacher’s direction, Jeongguk went on his way, silently thanking the gods that none of Seokjin and Yoongi would be his professor for another two years.