Chapter Text
Much to Jaemin’s nausea, of all things, Wong Kunhang is not as stoic as he had thought.
Since the day Jaemin had found out that Kunhang had asked Donghyuck to the ball, he’d been noticing the subtle, and some not so subtle, thing that Kunhang does for Donghyuck.
Like holding a door open, spelling a book that Donghyuck couldn’t reach down since he wasn’t that much taller, and sending him some sweets he gets sent from China over to whichever table Donghyuck is sitting at via owl.
It’s unlike Donghyuck to fall for all of Kunhang’s chivalrous acts, very not Slytherin, but Donghyuck looks like there are hearts in his eyes whenever someone even mentions Kunhang’s name, so Jaemin doesn’t say anything.
Doesn’t mean Jaemin can’t think it though.
Anyways, there is now a week until the Yule ball takes place, and while there was already an hour long waltz dancing lesson in the Great Hall, which Jaemin was spectacularly terrible at, he’s nowhere near closer to finding a date.
He didn’t think it would be this hard, but then again it was also because he thought he could just ask one of his friends. Jaemin is far from feeling upset about it now though, he; s just more frustrated and nervous now.
Thankfully though, his friends convince him to just focus on the ball, and leave decoding his golden egg for later. While it does give him a bit of anxiety to not use his time to find out what the screeching from inside of the egg means, he knows it would be worse if he did think about it.
So he leaves it, and just accepts the parcel he receives during the breakfast at Hufflepuff’s table three days before the ball.
“What’s that?” Chenle asks, at the same time that Dejun asks if he’s expecting something.
“Dunno,” Jaemin mumbles around his food, wiping his hands on a napkin before untying the twine. “It looks like it’s from my parents though. But I didn’t ask for anything…”
Jaemin feels all of his friends’ eyes on him as he goes to unravel his package, and he can also feel a couple of other people looking too, probably wondering what the champion had got.
When Jaemin moves the packaging out of the way, his eyes meet dark, mustard-yellow fabric, with silver accents. Perplexed, Jaemin picks it up and lets it unfold, unravelling into… clothes?
“They’re dress robes,” Yangyang says, and Jaemin turns to see him holding the letter he had received along with the package from his parents. Huh, he didn’t even notice he had received a letter along with everything at first. “I completely forgot you didn’t have any.”
“Why do I need dress robes?” Jaemin asks, snatching his letter back from Yangyang.
“Well, you weren’t going to wear school robes to the ball I hope?” Donghyuck scoffs, picking up the robes himself and admiring the design. “This is a nice one, it’ll look good on you.”
“It looks like a dress,” Jaemin deadpans, eyes locked onto the frilly ends of the sleeves. He does admit that it’s nice, and that it was pretty, but it was also something very… different from what he’d wear. If he wasn’t wearing the school uniform, then Jaemin was wearing Muggle clothes. These… well, he’d never seen dress robes before.
“Dress or not, the colour will look great,” Dejun hums, going back to poke at his breakfast and read his book, already uninterested. “You date will need to coordinate their robes with yours.”
Jaemin’s shoulders slump a little at the mention of his date, remembering how he still needs to find someone to ask. His friends seem to notice Jaemin’s mood drop, since Yangyang kicks Dejun’s shin under the table, and they all glare at him.
“Sorry,” Dejun apologizes, eyes wide, like he didn’t realize what had escaped his mouth. “I just mean to say that-”
“No, it’s fine,” Jaemin sighs, folding his dress robes and letter back into the parchment it came in, turning the rest of his breakfast over to Manchu, who has already finished the food Chenle offered her. “I need to ask someone soon anyways…
Jaemin sighs again as his friends go silent, and he finds his eyes roaming over everyone at the Hufflepuff table, thinking about if there was anyone he could take from here. He decides against it though when he realizes that he’d just be asking them as a last resort, and he’d hate to do that to someone.
“Whatever,” Jaemin huffs, putting some of his quills he had taken out back in his bag, and picking up his robes in the other. He extends his arm to Manchu, who flies on easily, cozying up in the crook of his arm right after. “I’m gonna go write back in the owlery before class. See you guys later.”
None of his friends try to stop him as he makes his way out of the Great Hall, and for that, Jaemin is glad. They had probably wanted to give him space anyways, and while he can say he doesn’t care that the topic was brought up, it doesn’t mean he isn’t stressed about the whole thing.
But Jaemin tries to get his mind off of it, walking up the stairs to get to the owlery, and letting Manchu fly towards the little food plates that the elves replace almost seven times a day. He takes out a piece of parchment from his bag, along with an inkpot and a quill. Jaemin settles by the window to write, ignoring hw the frosty December air seeps into his bones. It’s a nice view anyways, the Great Lake and the Giant Squid visible from here.
Jaemin loses track of how much time has passed since he’s started writing, and since he doesn’t hear much bustling on the other side of the door, Jaemin guesses class hasn’t started yet.
He’s just about finished his letter when he hears the door open behind him, but he doesn’t pay it any mind. Footsteps break the twigs and wood chips littering the floor of the owlery and the person’s owl hoots happily, and while it distracts him for a second or two, Jaemin focuses on finishing his letter first.
That is, until he hears the person who had just walked in call his name.
“Clumsy,” Jeno calls, and Jaemin almost breaks his quill with how violently his hand jerks in surprise.
“Hey,” Jaemin breathes out when he finally turns around to look at Jeno, but turns back soon after. Something about seeing Jeno in the morning with his semi messy hair and glasses makes Jaemin feel like he could fall out of the owlery window and still be content. He’s definitely in too deep. “Let me finish my letter?”
“Sure,” Jeno hums, and he must be busying himself with something, because owls start hooting and Jaemin almost sacrifices a glance over just to see him with the birds. Jeno was probably so good with animals.
Jaemin signs his name at the end of his letter and then sticks it into an envelope, sealing it with wax and smiling at how pretty it looks.
He walks over to Manchu then, making noise with his mouth to get her attention.
“Manchu~” he coos tickling the top of her tiny head before waving the letter in front of her. “Take this back home, okay baby?” Manchu only hoots in response, but Jaemin is positive he knows what she’s saying, so he grins and gently ties the letter to her leg. “Thank you,” he smiles, stroking his knuckles down her feathers before his other hand reaches for another piece of food. Something for the journey, he settles.
Manchu munches on the food happily, nibbling on Jaemin’s fingers when she reaches the end.
“You’re the prettiest,” Jaemin sighs fondly, suddenly reminiscing six years ago when he had walked into an owl shop and had been immediately smitten by her. “Manchu-chu-chu~”
Manchu flies away after nipping Jaemin’s fingers affectionately once more, and when Jaemin turns around from the window, he sees Jeno staring at him. He startles, having forgotten Jeno was there, but collects himself rather quickly and clears his throat.
“Um, what did you need?” Jaemin asks, awkwardly shuffling closer to Jeno so that there wasn’t such a glaringly obvious gap between them.
“The Astronomy homework,” Jeno says plainly, digging into his bag to bring out a roll of parchment. Jaemin thinks it’s blank, but then he catches sight of Jeno’s messy scrawl. “Can you proofread my essay?”
“Me?” Jaemin squeaks, bringing a useless hand up to point at himself.
“Well, there’s no one else here,” Jeno points out, and Jaemin feels heat rush to his face. “Professor Kim said you’re the top of the class.”
“Really?” Jaemin asks, eyes widening at the revelation. He didn’t really know where he stood in the class, Professor Kim hadn’t given much information about that. “How do you know?”
“He told me,” Jeno answers simply, and Jaemin’s eyebrows furrow. Professor Kim doesn’t let anyone know about their progress unless they’re about to fail, much less tell other people someone else’s grades.
“But Professor-”
“Doyoung’s my uncle, whatever, okay?” Jeno finally grumbles out, and if Jaemin pays close attention to his ears, he can tell that Jeno is embarrassed by the statement. “Can you proofread my essay?” he asks again, and Jaemin nods his head instantly, having forgotten that’s why Jeno was here in the first place.
“Yeah- yeah, I can give it to you at lunch. Will you be in the Hall?”
Jaemin doesn’t know why he had offered to give Jeno his essay back during lunchtime in the Great Hall (where everyone could see) of all places, but what’s done is done.
“Sure,” Jeno agrees, and if Jaemin’s crush on Jeno wasn’t so grossly big, he’d be frustrated with these short answers.
“At the Gryffindor table?” Jaemin asks, just for the sake of maybe Jeno saying something more. But it’s Lee Jeno, and he really shouldn't have expected anything more than,
“Yep.”
Jaemin spends more time than he’d like to admit staring at his lap and reading through Jeno’s essay in Charms, and he’s glad he’s always been rather good at Charms. Also, Professor Lee’s voice makes him drowsy on a good day, so this was a welcome way to not fall asleep.
Jaemin has only Jeno’s last paragraph to read through before he’d done, and he finds it to be extremely challenging to read through while walking through the hallways to get to the Great Hall. Jaemin had no choice but to pay full attention during Transfiguration, and he had cursed himself for promising to have the essay done by lunch. He realizes only now how unrealistic that was.
But he’d rather eat one of those cursed taffies that Han Jisung sells to first years than ask Jeno for an extension, of all people.
“Last minute homework?” Yangyang asks as he spots Jaemin in the hallway, walking next to him. Jaemin is grateful, and uses Yangyang as a buffer between him and all the other people in the hall.
“It’s not mine,” Jaemin says mindlessly, and immediately regrets it once he realizes what he said. Now he has to think of an excuse, which he won’t ever find, because Jaemin has to walk to the Gryffindor table anyways, and all of his friends were probably going to look at him.
“Whose is it?” Yangyang asks curiously, and Jaemin knows him well enough to know that the nonchalance he’s portraying is just a front for Jaemin to feel more comfortable to tell him the truth.
In any normal circumstance, Jaemin would not fall for Yangyang’s tricks, but now he doesn’t have a choice but to tell him the truth. He’d end up being caught in a lie otherwise.
“It’s Lee Jeno’s,” Jaemin says slowly, as if it wasn’t a big deal, just so that Yangyang wouldn’t make it a big deal. “From Gryffindor. He asked me to proofread it this morning.”
Yangyang hums, and Jaemin thinks his nonchalance has paid off when Yangyang doesn’t sound as interested anymore. It was also something purely academic related, so Jaemin really isn’t surprised.
“You have a class with him?” Yangyang still asks, and Jaemin simply nods before going back to finishing the essay.
He hopes to hand it back to Jeno before the Hall and the tables fill up, just so that he wouldn’t have to have everyone’s eyes on him.
“I’m gonna go drop it off, you head over,” he lets Yangyang know, and Yangyang nods once more before making his way to the Hufflepuff table, sitting in the same spot they had breakfast.
Jaemin scours the Great Hall quickly, and is calmed down when he notices that not even half of the students have entered. He makes quick work of walking to the Gryffindor table, ignoring the curious glances he gets. His yellow tie is sore against all the maroon ones, but he ignores it in favour of just walking over to where Jeno is already seated with a few of his friends.
Jaemin only recognizes Renjun at first, but then he looks past Renjun and sees that Mark Lee is sitting with the Gryffindors as well. He’s confused for half a second before he remembers that Jeno had told him that Yukhei had asked Mark to the Yule Ball. And like he expects, Yukhei slips into the seat next to Mark, but not before sending Jaemin a weird glance.
It’s then he realizes that he’s been staring all this time.
Jaemin clears his throat awkwardly, feeling himself flush all the way down to his neck. Jaemin finds Jeno’s face, finding that he’s already looking at him.
“Uh…” he starts, wincing at how embarrassing this is. “Here you go!” Jaemin just ends up thrusting the parchment into Jeno’s hands, who gathers it hastily, as to not crinkle it. “It was good, just a few grammar mistakes and planetary theory flaws…”
Jaemin doesn’t know if he sounds like a snobby know-it-all when he tells Jeno everything he did wrong, but he hopes not, because all of Jeno’s friends are looking at him, and he feels terribly vulnerable.
“Thanks,” Jeno smiles, and suddenly, everything else is washed away. Jaemin kind of wonders if Jeno’s smile only does that to him, or if it’s universal experience once Jeno grins like that. “Really, you’re a lifesaver.”
Jaemin wouldn’t put it like that , but he also won’t say anything about it either. So instead, all he does is close his lips tightly, nodding once before turning around and scurrying off to where his friends are waiting for him at the Hufflepuff table.
He makes a mental note to never do something like this again.
Jaemin used to think that if he didn’t die from old age, he’d die from a magical mishap. And if it wasn’t that, then it’d be a bludger to the head. And if not that, then it’d be because of the Triwizard Tournament.
But now Jaemin is sure that if it wasn’t any of those options, then it’d definitely be Lee Jeno.
Jaemin sighs as he sits down, and thankfully, it seems like his friends hadn’t witnessed the colossal mess he had become in front of the entirety of Gryffindor (or at least, it felt like the entirety of Gryffindor), and they just continue to have lunch normally.
And much to his appreciation, Yangyang also keeps shut about the whole thing, and Jaemin doesn’t know if it’s on purpose, or if it’s just because he’s distracted because he’s busy bothering Dejun. Whatever it is, Jaemin is grateful.
Unfortunately, Astronomy rolls around much quicker than Jaemin is ready for, but he’d rather lose a limb than miss a class. Or maybe he’s just being dramatic- but hey, he’s stressed, okay? He’s allowed to be dramatic.
Jaemin sits through Astronomy trying really hard to concentrate, finding it extremely difficult when all he can do is remember what a fool he made of himself in the Great Hall. He almost spills his ink more times than he’d like to admit, and Jaemin is close to snapping his quill in half if he can’t get it together soon.
During the few seconds Professor Kim stops talking, Jaemin does a mini breathing exercise he usually uses on Dejun, and clears his mind a bit. He tells himself to focus on Astronomy and Astronomy only, which doesn’t become difficult when he reminds himself that he’s sitting in his favourite class.
The rest of the class goes by easily, and Jaemin slumps back in his chair when Professor Kim tells them they’re dismissed. He stretches his arms over his head for a few seconds, alleviating the ache in his shoulders. Like always, he says goodbye to people who bid goodbye to him, and he’s the last one in class. As per usual.
Or he should say, he’s the last one in class along with Jeno. That’s also becoming usual, and it makes Jaemin’s stomach clench with an onslaught of butterflies, but at this point, he’s not surprised at all.
“Clumsy,” Jeno calls, and Jaemin turns around immediately, like he always does, like he needs to stop doing before he embarrasses himself further. “Thanks again for that,” he says, pointing towards the stack of essays on Professor Kim’s desk. “I owe you one.”
Now, Jaemin might be getting extremely desperate, because he doesn’t know why else his mind would go straight to what he’s thinking.
Jeno owes him… and if Jeno owes him, then Jaemin could-
Except he shouldn’t, right? Because at the end of the day, he’d only be hurting himself. And did he really want to do that?
Probably not, but there are two things he really wants.
To find a date for the Yule Ball, and to go to the Yule Ball with Lee Jeno.
So in a moment of weakness and desperation, Jaemin gathers up every last ounce of courage he has floating around in his body, spitting out,
“Doyouwannagototheballwithme?”
Jaemin wants to close his eyes, but he doesn’t because he doesn’t want to make himself look like an even bigger idiot.
So he watches instead, as Jeno’s eyebrows furrow, as his head tilts to one side, and as a few seconds of silence pass between them. The pause makes Jaemin want to spring out of the classroom, but before he can even get up from his seat, Jeno speaks.
“What?” he asks, sounding so genuinely confused, that Jaemin turns even redder, if possible. “You spoke too fast. What did you say?”
“Forget it,” Jaemin breathes out, mortified beyond belief. He seriously contemplates if it’s worth it to just skip on an Ancient Runes, possible dinner too so he doesn’t have to see Jeno in the Great Hall, and just sleep for the next ten years. “No problem. See you around.”
Jaemin hastily throws his things into his bookbag, avoiding all possible eye contact with Jeno while still being able to feel Jeno’s gaze on him. Jaemin feels naked and humiliated, even if they were the only two in the room.
“Wait,” Jeno suddenly says when Jaemin almost has one foot out of the door. Jaemin truly does blame it on only himself for actually stopping, even though he feels pressure building behind his eyes.
Perhaps Jeno had figured out what he was trying to ask within this time, and he was going to make fun of Jaemin, reject him, call him weird for even thinking about it-
“Do you have a date to the ball yet? Champions have to have one, you know.”
Jaemin’s breath catches, and it feels like he stops breathing for a moment. He blinks repeatedly trying to process the question, and then turns back around just to make sure Jeno has actually asked him that and that it wasn’t just his imagination.
When he sees Jeno waiting for an answer, Jaemin somehow manages to rip words out of his throat.
“I d-don’t have a date… yet,” he adds hurriedly, not wanting Jeno to think he’s some loser who can’t even find one person to ask to the ball in all of Hogwarts. “But I-”
“Do you want to go with me?”
In his state of absolute shock, Jaemin drops his Ancient Runes textbook.
Jeno frowns when he sees the heavy book hit the ground, and to Jaemin’s dismay, he only panics even more when Jeno walks over to pick it up at his feet.
“Do you want to go to the ball with me?” Jeno asks again as he hands the book back, and Jaemin takes it from him with robotic movements, and he thinks that his mouth is hanging open, but he’s not too sure because the only thing he can focus on is the violent beating of his own heart in his chest.
He can’t even try to speak words right now, so Jaemin only nods his head, finally snapping his jaw shut to keep from embarrassing himself further.
“Good,” Jeno says, looking at him one more time before looking at his Ancient Runes textbook. “You’re going to be late.”
Jaemin blinks once, twice, thrice before snapping back to reality, realizing that he is most definitely late for class now.
“Yeah,” he says dumbly, standing up straighter. “I-I should go, y-yeah… see you l-later,” Jaemin stutters, wincing internally at how he can’t keep it together.
But Jeno doesn’t seem to mind, as he just nods and then leaves the classroom to make his way to his own class.
Jaemin can’t focus for the rest of the day.
☍☍☍
Jaemin’s friends have been able to tell that he’s been in a better mood, skipping around the common room and not turning silent and sour whenever Donghyuck would receive gifts from Kunhang.
Because now, Jaemin has a date to the Yule Ball, and it’s Lee Jeno, of all people. Just the thought makes him giddy with equal parts excitement and nervousness, feeling the ball of nerves entangle with the swarm of butterflies in his stomach.
“What’s up with you?” Donghyuck asks him two days later, when they’re all eating dinner at the Slytherin table. Eating at the Slytherin table has taken on a different meaning the past two weeks, since Durmstrang sits at the Slytherin table.
Donghyuck sits next to Kunhang, and while Kunhang doesn’t really talk to their friend group much, since his Durmstrang friends are sitting next to them too, but he’s not making things awkward or weird either. He’s just kind of… there.
“It was just two days ago that you were brooding,” Chenle comments, and Jaemin blushes. He makes the mistake of catching Yangyang’s eye, because the latter raises an inquisitive eyebrow at him. Jaemin has known him long enough to know what it is he’s asking, and it makes him blush even more.
Which was the wrong move, because realization dawns over Yangyang’s face, and he’s opening his mouth to speak before Jaemin can kick his shin under the table to make him shut up.
“Jaeminnie has a date to the ball,” he announces, thankfully more sonorarily aware than Donghyuck and Chenle, so it’s just their friend group who hears his statement. “With…?” he trails off, seeming unsure. Jaemin is sure he has an idea that it’s Jeno, but he doesn’t want to be wrong, just in case.
“Lee Jeno,” Chenle whispers, the puzzle pieces coming together in his head, but like always, his whisper isn’t even a whisper, since he’s always been loud.
“Lee Jeno?” Donghyuck parrots, and Yangyang sits back, smug. He must’ve assumed it was Jeno too. “From Gryffindor? Friends with Chenle’s date?”
Jaemin nods, hoping he doesn’t look as flustered as he feels. He hasn’t told anyone of his crush on Jeno except for Chenle, and even that was an accident. Chenle’s been doing a great job at keeping it on the down low, and he doesn’t want to ruin that just yet. He has the intention to tell his friends, of course, but not yet… not now.
“Did he ask you?” Dejun asks, suddenly very intrigued. He even put his book down. “Or did you ask him?”
Well, technically, they had asked each other. It’s just that Jeno didn’t hear him the first time…
He’s about to answer and tell them that Jeno had asked him, but Dejun waves the question away soon after.
“Do you know if he can dance?” Dejun asks instead, and the hand which was bringing food to his mouth slows down. Jaemin hadn’t thought about that, because in the moment, Jeno being able to dance wasn’t a factor he’d consider. But now that Dejun mentions it, they would be dancing in front of everybody right at the start of the ball…
“No, but it’s not like I can either,” Jaemin shrugs, just a bit anxious about if he’s about to look like an idiot tomorrow or not. “If we look dumb, we’ll look dumb together.”
Donghyuck snorts at what he says, and like he’s been doing lately, he makes what they’re talking about somehow related to Kunhang.
“Kunhang said he worked hard on learning how to dance so that he wouldn’t step on my toes,” he sighs dreamily, looking to his right, at Kunghang with hearts in his eyes. “Isn’t he sweet?”
Kunghang smiles at Donghyuck like he’s the only one in the entire damn Great Hall, and he hears Chenle and Yangyang sigh.
“Yeah,” Dejun hums, but Jaemin can tell it’s forced. “Terribly sweet.”
Jaemin is glad Chenle is with him while he gets ready, because Jaemin doesn’t know the first thing about stepping into these robes. Or makeup. Or these shoes-
He’s just really thankful for Chenle.
“You’re gonna be the prettiest boy there,” Chenle gushes, meticulous with the way he styles Jaemin’s hair, perfecting his fringe and chastising him whenever he moves even an inch.
“Prettier than Mark Lee?” Jaemin jokes, to which Chenle snorts.
“Now, don’t get too ahead of yourself. Mark is a Veela,” he says matter-of-factly, and Jaemin isn’t even offended. No one could compare to a Veela, let alone Mark. He’s not even mad about it, Mark was very pretty, and Jaemin is sure he’s going to look absolutely stunning tonight. “But Jeno is going to find you the prettiest,” he adds on cheekily, laughing at the intense blush that blooms on Jaemin’s face.
“Shut up,” he grumbles, immediately turning to look away when Chenle’s finally done with his hair. He told the younger yesterday, what happened with Jeno. The whole story too; his failed attempt at asking him out and then Jeno ending up being the one to ask.
Chenle had squealed so loud, you’d think that Jaemin had told him he already won the entire tournament.
“I’m just saying,” Chenle hums, but Jaemin can tell he’s more than ‘just saying’. He looks too cocky for that. “He’s matching with you, isn’t he?”
Jaemin nods his head, fiddling with the few of Chenle’s rings that the latter had magically resized to fit Jaemin’s fingers.
He remembers the way Jeno had stopped him in the hall after lunch, when the hallways were relatively desert. No one had been around to hear Jeno ask what Jaemin was wearing, which Jaemin is grateful for since he choked on his words more frequently than he’d like to admit.
Jaemin told Jeno what he’d be wearing, but Jeno hadn’t said much. He had just said he’d figure something out to match, and that he was looking forward to the ball. Jaemin doesn’t know what that means, but he didn’t get a chance to question it since Professor Seo had caught them loitering, and then the two of them had sprinted to Astronomy.
Now though, after Chenle had brought it up, he wonders what it is exactly that Jeno is wearing. Would it be the same mustard colour Jaemin had shown him? Or will it be neutral? Or maybe Jeno was going to wear complimentary colours… Jaemin isn’t too sure, but he’s positive that he was going to die.
Jeno was going to take his breath away, and if that’s how he goes, he’s oddly at peace with it.
“Are you matching with Jisung?” Jaemin asks, turning around to see Chenle finish getting ready. He’s putting an earring into his ear, and when Chenle’s hands move away, Jaemin sees that it’s a pearl.
“Yeah, we’re both wearing red and gold,” Chenle smiles, almost shyly. It endears Jaemin, and he’s happy that Chenle gets to go to the ball with his longtime crush. Just like he is…
“Are you ready? I wanna meet Dejun’s mystery man,” Jaemin asks, springing up to his own feet and giving himself a final once over in the mirror. Chenle had worked wonders.
“Yeah, let’s go,” Chenle hums, and the two of them make it out of their dorm before walking down the stairs. They had all agreed to meet near a certain staircase outside by the Great Hall, since it’d be easier to find each other. Everyone was going to be waiting outside of the Great Hall anyways, seeing as the Yule ball would be held there.
Chenle and Jaemin make their way down alongside a couple other Hufflepuffs, but they all go their separate ways when they see their respective friend groups.
“Donghyuck!” Jaemin gasps once he’s in close enough range, looking at Donghyuck from head to two. His robes are emerald green and black, the colours doing justice to his tan and smooth skin. His head sits fluffy over his forehead, and when he looks closely, he thinks he sees eyeliner and eye shadow decorating his eyes. “You like a sin, holy shit.”
“Really?” Donghyuck questions nervously, smoothing down the front of his robes. “Do you think Kunhang will like it?”
“He’d be blind if he didn’t,” Yangyang pipes up, and Jaemin averts his focus to see what Yangyang is wearing. His robes are primarily white, but they have accents of navy blue throughout. When Jaemin remembers that Yangyang’s date is Huang Renjun from Ravenclaw, his robes are endearing. “Who cares what he thinks anyways? You’re hot.”
Donghyuck goes back to looking smug after that, and Jaemin rolls his eyes. All it takes is an ego boost for Donghyuck to remember who he is.
“Where’s Dejun?” Jaemin asks, noticing the absence of their last friend. “I wanna see the boy who asked him out!”
“Dejun said he’d meet you guys inside,” a semi familiar voice pipes up, and Jaemin turns around just in time to see Renjun walking their way. When Jaemin takes in his navy dress robes, he congratulates himself in his head for his wits. “Looking good, Na Jaemin. Jeno will be here soon, he said he left something in his room.”
Jaemin nods, and then watches as Yangyang openly oogles at Renjun, shameless. But he’s not surprised, so he lets Yangyang deal with that on his own.
“I think Jeno and Jisung will come down together,” Jaemin tells Chenle, who's fiddling with the bell sleeves of his robe. “Will you calm down? You look fantastic,” Jaemin assures, and it seems to quell enough of Chenle’s nerves. Then, he turns to Donghyuck again. “Where’s Kunhang?”
“Right behind you,” Donghyuck smiles brushing past Jaemin to greet Kunhang with a hug.
Jaemin watches, endeared for the nth time tonight as Kunhang returns Donghyuck’s hug equally as enthusiastically.
“So pretty,” Kunhang comments when they let go of each other. He slips an arm around Donghyuck’s waist, and Jaemin forces himself to look away before he can hear whatever disgusting bullshit Donghyuck had to say. He was always a killer flirt, and his pounding heart around Kunhang wasn’t going to change that.
“Jaemin hyung,” Chenle gasps, and Jaemin turns to him confusedly. “Jeno…”
Jaemin quickly follows Chenle’s gaze when he says Jeno’s name, and just like he predicted, he’s left breathless at the sight of Lee Jeno.
And it’s not like he’s even doing anything- he’s just walking down the stairs with Jisung beside him, but Jaemin still feels his erratic heartbeat in his chest. Jeno’s hair is parted in the middle of his forehead, and his robes are silver, with yellow sequins in some sports and lace trimmings as accents. In short words, Jeno looks… luxurious.
Jisung and Jeno are in front of him and Chenle before Jaemin can even process it, and he blinks as he looks up at Jeno. Up close, he looks even more ethereal, his perfect skin glowing and his eyes shimmery with what Jaemin can only assume is a bit of eye shadow.
“Hi,” Jaemin greets first, voice barely over a whisper. But it doesn’t seem to bother Jeno, who simply smiles the way that devastates Jaemin’s heart.
He has no idea how he’s supposed to survive the night.
“Hello,” Jeno greets back. “You look really good.”
Jaemin almost has a stroke.
“T-Thank you- you do too. Look good, that is. You look… very good, actually…” Jaemin croaks out like an idiot, feeling himself flush more and more with every word that leaves his mouth.
“Thanks,” Jeno says sincerely, and this is the Jeno Jaemin wishes he gets to talk to more often. Not the stoic one he has stolen moments with at the end of class and in the privacy of the owlery. “I have something for you?”
Jaemin raises his eyebrows in surprise, and he feels all of his friends’ eyes on him from the back. He’s glad he isn’t looking at them though, because Jaemin is sure that his face would melt off if he had to see the looks on any of their faces.
“Here, give me your hand,” Jeno says softly, and Jaemin, enamoured by the tone and the boy in front of him, extends his left hand without wasting a heartbeat. He thinks he hears Chenle snort behind him, but he pays it no mind, because Jeno brings out a corsage .
A big one at that, with delicate and pretty silver petals, the exact shade to match Jeno’s robes. Jaemin knows they’re spelled to be an exact match, but they’re still absolutely gorgeous.
Jeno is gentle with the way he ties the corsage around Jaemin’s wrist, and he kind of wonders how Jeno even knows about them. Corsages aren’t normal in the wizarding world, and as far as he knew, Jeno was a pureblood…
Anyways, he loses that train of thought when Jeno finishes tying the corsage, and when Jaemin looks up at him, Jeno is smiling at the flowers.
“Ready?” Donghyuck asks, shattering the moment where Jaemin catches Jeno’s eyes for a split second. “Champions are getting called to the front.”
Jaemin nods as he watches Donghyuck and Kunhang walk towards the front with their arms linked, and he’s about to offer Jeno his arm as well, but the latter wraps one of his around Jaemin’s waist first.
“Lets go?” Jeno asks, and Jaemin, in awe of the boy he gets to take to Yule Ball, the boy he gets to dance in front of the school with, the boy he gets to spend Christmas night with, simply nods his little dazed head, and follows where Jeno leads them, as if he were the champion between the two of them.
The ghost of Jeno’s arm around his waist doesn’t leave Jaemin’s body all night.