no space ! MINSUNG

the party ²

Jisung felt oddly excited.

Usually, Gryffindor has a very regular schedule as far as he's aware—After dinner, people slowly arrive in the common room, some stay for maybe an hour, usually by 11 p.m. everyone is in bed already.

So, having a crowded common room at midnight was strange, but it made the anticipation for the party even better. No one was in pajamas, no one was quiet. While not everyone was there, some waiting in their dorms, the buzz was enough that every first, second, and third-year—who were clearly not invited for obvious reasons—knew about the party. Some were even bitter about missing out on the "huge event."

The plan, as far as Jisung knew, was for a few Slytherins to move everyone in groups once the coast was clear, leading them into the deepest part, near the Forbidden Forest. According to Olivia, this was the only way to avoid getting caught.

"Do you know if the other houses managed to get any alcohol?" Jisung asked Chan, who had a bag of beverages ready. Jisung had no idea whether it would be enough or how much people would actually drink.

"Actually, yeah," Hyunjin chimed in. "I spoke to Gabrielle earlier. She said they managed to get some stuff."

"Of course Ravenclaw would find a way," Jisung remarked.

"Apparently, they had someone buy it for them. But Slytherin has the real stash—Lee showed up with a ton of shit, but no one knows how he got it," Hyunjin added.

"Ugh, typical. I just hope he didn't steal it. The last thing we need is Minho getting us all in trouble trying to make himself look good," Chan muttered, rolling his eyes.

Jisung couldn't help but get stuck in those words. Showed up with a ton of shit. Could it be possible the Room of Requirement had anything to do with it? It did give you stuff you needed.

Jisung couldn't stop thinking about those words: showed up with a bunch of stuff. Could the Room of Requirement have been involved? It did tend to give you what you needed...

And it hit him—Minho was going to the party. He had tried not to think about him too much lately, but of course, Minho had to show up and ruin the one night Jisung was actually looking forward to.

He snapped out of his thoughts when he realized Hyunjin and Chan were watching him, clearly expecting him to join in on their usual Minho-bashing. It used to be fun for Jisung—mocking all the annoying things Minho did, convinced that Minho was deliberately trying to get under his skin. But now, he found peace in the moments when he wasn't thinking about him at all.

"I'm sure he wouldn't do anything too reckless. He's too smart for that," Jisung said, trying to deflect and prevent them from thinking too much about Minho or the Room. Of course he didn't think how weird it would be to sound like he's defending him or he wouldn't have said it.

Chan blinked, surprised. "What are you, part of Lee's fan club now? You've been pretty quiet about—"

Thankfully, Selene walked into the room at that moment, accompanied by Olivia Doe. After managing to get everyone's attention, Selene addressed the group.

"Everyone here? Great. You'll be divided into two groups—one goes with me, and the other goes with Olivia." She pointed to Olivia. They both looked almost like a professor organizing a field trip. "The rules are simple: no talking while we're still in the castle, everyone follows the Slytherin in charge, and no trying to rush. Got it?"

There were a few nods and murmurs of agreement, though the excitement in the room made it clear some might not take the instructions too seriously.

"You heard the rules, now here are the consequences," Olivia spoke up for the first time, her tone commanding immediate attention. "One slip-up, and we all get caught. So, if anyone dares giggle or open their mouth at all, they'll be hexed—and I'm not joking. Understood?"