The Ravenclaw Nine || BTS Harry Potter AU

Chapter 28

Yoongi's Point of View

Jin's Blasting Curse had singed Yoongi's robes and burned his exposed skin. He limped out of the common room and leaned against the wall for support, coughing up a lung. His limbs felt heavy, as though they had been torn to shreds and stitched back together again. Blood dribbled from a deep wound on his cheekbone, mingling with the steady flow of tears that poured down his face. Most terrifying of all were the awful memories plaguing his mind that he had spent years attempting to expel.

The corridors were empty aside from the odd ghost that passed silently, deeming Yoongi too mentally unstable to converse with. He could hear the bustle of activity on the floors below and realized that the students were returning to school from Christmas break.

He needed to pull himself together before somebody saw him... but he couldn't.

Matteo Bianchi's name had lingered as a haunting recollection for the past five years. Yoongi remembered him vividly – his wavy black hair, sparkling brown eyes, bright smile. In retrospect, he had looked almost identical to his older sister. Personality-wise, they were polar opposites – Matteo had faced the world with an optimistic outlook, laughing his way through struggles, while Aviela was shy and broken.

And it was all Yoongi's fault.

Yoongi's hands shook the longer he postponed his sorrow, so when his knees gave out, he offered no defense. He buried his head between his knees and tried to regain a steady breathing pattern, but Matteo's name continued to haunt his mind. He screamed into the singed fabric of his robes, his nostrils burning with the heavy odor of smoke. The sharp scent brought reality crashing down on him, and he realized he was sobbing like a pathetic child.

He cursed under his breath and wiped the ash and tears from his cheeks, wincing whenever he scraped over a patch of raw skin. Standing on wobbly legs with a groan, he limped towards Hogwarts' entrance. Even though every step made him burn with pain, he gritted his teeth and kept walking, ignoring the befuddled stares from the portraits.

A cluster of voices grew louder as he approached, originating from the large courtyard near the entrance. Although it had stopped snowing, the weather remained frosty, and his teeth chattered while he waited beside the open doorway for a particular blonde fifth year.

"Oh, my goodness!" Chloe gasped. She nearly tripped on her long cloak as she rushed to Yoongi's side and reached out as though to touch his face hesitantly. "What happened to you?" Steeling his jaw, he grabbed her wrist and roughly yanked her into the warmth of the school. "Yoongi... what's... going on?" she panted, doubling her stride to keep up with his brisk pace down the corridors.

"Quiet," he mumbled, his wounds burning with every word he spoke. When they reached an empty wing, he pushed Chloe against the wall and fumbled with the earring piercing his helix. She peered at him worriedly and massaged her wrist until Yoongi grabbed her hand and tucked the Horcrux tenderly into her palm, the care conflicting with his previous roughness. "Keep this safe at all costs."

"I-it's just an earring," she said quietly.

"It's not," he corrected her. "It's a–" He doubled over, coughing so forcefully that he gagged.

"Yoongi, you are covered in burns and blood, your robes are singed, and you smell like smoke. I need you to tell me what in the hell is going on!" Her voice had raised an octave in fright, and Yoongi's eyes widened – he had never heard her swear before.

"I don't have time to explain. All you need to know is that I am putting the fate of the world in your hands. If this earring gets under the control of the wrong person, everything will fall to chaos."

"What?" she hissed. "You can't entrust this to me! How am I supposed to know who the wrong person is?"

Yoongi smiled grimly, the motion making fresh blood trickle down his cheek. "Unfortunately, you will know in due time. This earring isn't safe with me – as long as you keep it on your person, I will be able to quell the situation before anything awful happens."

"I don't understand."

"I don't expect you to. I can't explain anything without further confusing you, so I have to ask that you trust me. Please. If you care at all about the fate of the world and your Muggle family and friends, you will listen to me."

Even though her brows remained drawn with confusion, Yoongi could tell he had impressed upon her the severity of the issue. She tucked the earring into her pocket and patted it gently. "I'll keep it safe until you take it back."

Yoongi almost smiled at her naivete. He wouldn't take back that accursed object anytime soon – that afternoon's events had proven that Jin wouldn't hesitate to kill him, but Yoongi knew he would never lay a finger on Chloe. "Thank you, Chloe."

"Are you certain you don't need medical assistance?"

"I don't have time to seek out a Healer right now, but I appreciate your concern." He squeezed her hand and plastered a warm smile on his face before returning to Hogwarts' entrance.

Suddenly, a mass of rippling robes and messy hair darted in front of him and clutched his arms. "Yoongi, I have been to see Professor Dumbledore, and there is a very short window of time in which we can Disapparate within Hogwarts to reach the Ministry."

"The Ministry?" Yoongi was positively befuddled. "Why the hell would I go to the Ministry?"

"Because of the Horcrux," Nadya deadpanned. "Why else?"

His heart skipped a beat. "How do you know about that?"

"We don't have time for questions – you need to make an appointment with Estelle Mercier of Auror Headquarters."

"Estelle M... why would I talk to your mother?"

She huffed, her eyes dark with frustration. "I should think that is fairly obvious, as I am hardly a priority in my mother's mind."

His eyes softened, and he reached out to hesitantly brush his fingertips against her shoulders. "Nadya..."

"Don't pity me," she scowled, shrugging his hands off. "Just... go. I have tasks to complete, too, you know." After giving him one last indicative glare, she twisted her hand and spiraled into nonexistence. A small smile broke Yoongi's cold exterior as he chuckled to himself.

Perhaps Jaelyn was right, and he was falling for her.

But now was hardly the time for such thoughts. He was just about to follow Nadya's path when he heard his name mumbled from across the hall and his gaze met that of a crestfallen girl.

Wavy black hair, sparkling brown eyes, bright smile. Oh, no.

"Yoongi," Aviela murmured again, her eyes glazed over with shocked tears. Even though a student rudely knocked into her shoulder, she simply allowed herself to be pushed backward. Her lip quivered and her face crumpled moments before she let out a long wail. Jin stood beside her – his lips were twisted into a sympathetic frown, but nothing could disguise the pure malice in his gaze when he looked at Yoongi.

"No, Aviela, I–" You what? What was there to say? Yoongi swallowed hard as her cloudy eyes began to reflect in his, and fresh tears slid down his face. Jin's expression carried no remorse as Yoongi forced himself to turn and Disapparate.

When he resurfaced in his destination, it took a few moments to calm his breathing and wipe away his tears. Muggles cast him a few suspicious glances, frowning at his rugged appearance and eccentric attire, and an automobile swerved out of the way to avoid him. He had emerged in the heart of London before a red telephone booth that remained unoccupied. After ensuring most of the Muggles had passed, he entered the box and began dialing a series of numbers that commenced his descent into the Ministry of Magic.

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