An Ateez x Harry Potter Fanfiction
This fanfiction also appears on my wattpad (usually upload there first).
House Guide:
Gryffindor: Jongho, Wooyoung
Hufflepuff: Yunho, Seonghwa
Slytherin: Mingi, San
Ravenclaw: Yeosang, Hongjoong
Check here for other chapters:
06/25/24 - Ateez just got back from Mawazine and they did so awesome!!!! I also want to draw attention to the fact that they performed Live, for an entire hour, with very little breaks.
Aka? These guys are AWESOME artists and really put a lot of heart and soul into what they're doing. I also couldn't help but notice how much more English they've learned - their flow and pronunciation is getting more and more natural. And I love it - they're such respectful and considerate people!!
PS. According to stats on Wattpad, this chapter is the one that people have read the least. I'm not sure why - it has some crucial info in it. And I felt more inspired after writing it. So...don't skip!!
Chapter 12 - Professor Blackburn
Jongho didn't have a good feeling about whatever options professor McGonagall was going to offer them. But he supposed it was better than a detention, or trying to save Draco from Ron and Harry. Draco was partially hidden behind McGonagall with a few more cuts than Jongho remembered, and he was still breathing heavily. Once Hermione came into view, he stared at her and frowned. The look was so intense, that Jongho knew there was a lot more to the story than Hermione had let on before.
She averted her gaze. Ron was furious and swore.
"Mr Weasley," professor McGonagall said and looked appalled. "That is no way to set a first impression in front of our new professor for defense against the dark arts, professor Blackburn. I can guarantee you that his lessons will be quite strict, and require a level of trust between student and professor that has not yet been seen. It would do you well not to jeopardize this before you've even had a chance to begin." She scanned him with the type of look that only she could give, and Ron folded quickly. He rounded his shoulders and mumbled an apology.
"Quite alright," professor Blackburn said in a slow drawl from beside McGonagall. "Youth comes with such things."
Jongho noticed the hint of an accent, but he couldn't immediately tell where it came from. The man himself was ancient, and looked a little bit like Dumbledore. There were two fundamental differences, though: one was his height – professor Blackburn was much shorter – and the other were all the scars that covered his face and hands. At first, they weren't noticeable. Just thin spiderwebs that could have been strands of hair.
But because of that, he definitely fit the expectation for a defense against the dark arts teacher. With all those scars, he must have seen quite a number of things over the years.
"But if I may, can I inquire as to the events that took place this evening?" professor Blackburn asked and scanned everybody. Jongho had the distinct impression that something about it was amusing to him, or as if he already knew what they were going to say. But that was impossible, so he dismissed the thought.
"Hermione told us to meet her tonight, my friend Wooyoung and I," Jongho said, thinking fast. "But we overheard something that worried us. So we ran to get Harry and Ron to come with us just in case." He hoped that this would be vague enough, but also cover all the basic details without raising suspicion. If anyone else but himself answered just now, then it could lead to questions that none of them wanted.
But this way, as far as Draco knew, Jongho could have heard something from someone passing by. And Ron and Harry only needed two words to be summoned, so they shouldn't have a reason to be suspicious either.
"And when we got close to the spot she indicated, we heard shouting. Hermione and Draco were arguing about something. And--"
"And he was being a right git about it all," Ron spat. "Deserved every bit of what he got for talking to her like that. He never acts alone, either, this one. Had a friend with him. Both of them were staring her down." Ron was red in the face, and clearly very angry. Hermione still wouldn't look at him.
"And so everything happened so fast," Jongho interrupted. "My friend, Wooyoung, just took Draco's friend to the hospital wing. And I think Hermione was in shock, but I asked her to follow so that we had a better chance of getting everyone to stop."
It looked like they were buying it. Draco still hadn't removed his gaze from Hermione, which was weird. But whatever had happened between those two, it wasn't something to be talked about in this particular moment.
McGonagall said, "As adults, it is expected that you will be able to solve your problems using words before magic. And so I will offer you a few options to support that aim, so that we may best prepare you for the wider wizarding world."
"You're not giving us detention?" Ron asked cheekily.
"No, Mr Weasley, I am not. Not in the traditional sense."
"That's a nice way of calling you dumb," Draco said with a sneer. Ron drew his wand again, and Hermione finally looked up at Draco. Jongho saw her mouth the words, "no," out of the corner of his eye, and Draco smoothed his lips into a thin line.
There was definitely more to the story, and Jongho did not want to get in the middle of it. He would have to make sure that Yeosang didn't, either.
Poor Yeosang. His crush had been a little more than evident back in the room of requirement. Jongho didn't know how to bring it up, but it was probably necessary once they met up again.
"Mr Weasley," McGonagall said in a threatening tone. Ron lowered his wand, but he didn't look happy about it.
And then Jongho got very confused about everything. It felt was like there was a bunch of water in his ears, but deeper. He shook his head, but more and more poured in for a while. Eventually, the shaking worked. As soon as the feeling subsided a bit, he heard professor Blackburn's voice. He listened to professor Blackburn carefully.
"Well, Minerva, that's a fine solution, I think. I would be happy to have their help setting up everything over the next week. It will allow them plenty of supervised time to collaborate and get along without using magic. I'm happy they've accepted this solution, and think that everyone's done a great job at solving things tonight. I'll see you all tomorrow after classes, yes?" Professor Blackburn said with a twinkle in his eyes. "But for tonight, I've a prior engagement that I must see to. I bid you a good evening." He bowed low, and then strode past Jongho and Hermione with determination.
Everyone nodded along in agreement. But even as he did that, Jongho had the nagging feeling that something was wrong. He couldn't put a finger on whatever it could be, though.
Draco stalked off without a word, no doubt headed back to the Slytherin common room. Ron and Harry gave Hermione a searching glance, but she was staring determinedly at the floor. Slowly, Harry dragged Ron away. McGonagall also turned on the spot and left without another word.
All of it was so odd.
When it was just Jongho and Hermione again, she locked eyes with him and gave him a piercing look. He raised an eyebrow and would have asked why, but she quickly grabbed his arm, put a finger to her lips to signal him to be quiet, and cast a spell over them both that rendered them partially invisible. It wasn't perfect invisibility, but it was the next best thing. People would only be able to see the two of them if they made a sudden movement, or stood in front of a strong light.
When she was sure that it was covering them as best as it could, Hermione tugged on Jongho's arm and dragged him in the direction that professor Blackburn had gone.
She slowed down after a few minutes and hid them behind a statue. Just ahead of them, maybe only a few meters away, Professor Blackburn stood with his back towards them. He looked from side to side and then stooped to pick something up. It looked like a small stone. Jongho had the feeling he had seen it before, but he couldn't remember when and where. Had he been here earlier tonight?
Something about this felt wrong but he couldn't put his finger on why. He glanced at Hermione, but she was frowning and watching every move the professor made. Odd. Why was she so suspicious, and why were they hiding? It looked like he was just picking up something that someone had lost.
Just then, the professor cast a spell. A light shot up above him, and raced down the hall away from them. And that was the first moment that Jongho had an inkling of what might be going on. He had seen that before, in the room of requirement. That little burst of light was the same as the trace. And that was his last memory before being in the square hall and hearing about the solution that everyone there had chosen to take part in.
In other words? There was a gap in his memory, somehow. He had no idea what happened after Hermione had tried to clear the trace from Mingi. One minute, he had been watching her try to remove it with his friends – and fail, too. And the next, he was standing in the square hall.
Crap.
Hermione probably remembered it all, though. She had taken the anti confundus potion just recently. It would have protected her from anything like that, which is no doubt why she concealed them and followed the professor. But why, Jongho couldn't tell. The memories were just...gone. No doubt there was a good explanation, and he wasn't looking forward to discovering what it was.
As soon as the professor was long gone, and the corridors were void of anyone, Hermione tugged on Jongho's arm again and led them back to the room of requirement. They both slipped inside and were met with two raised wands. San and Seonghwa were at the end of them.
"Who's there," San said, and Seonghwa scanned the air. He could see their general shape, but still had no idea who they were.
"It's us," Hermione whispered and shut the door. San and Seonghwa lowered their wands, while Hermione removed the partial invisibility. As she appeared again, Jongho saw how shaken she was. Her face was paler than it had been when she found out that Draco was in the hallway, and her eyes looked red.
"Potion – confundus potion. Now – give it to him now," she said and pointed at Jongho. Her words were laced with panic. Whatever it was couldn't be good. She had been composed all night through a lot more than this. What had happened to make her react like that?
San and Seonghwa both raised their eyebrows and frowned. They shared a quick look, but San did as he was asked and reached into a pocket inside his robes. He held the vial out for Jongho, and Jongho took a sip. Seonghwa wrapped an arm around Hermione and led her over to a chair. She started shaking as she sat.
Jongho handed the potion back to San. But as soon as the vial was out of his hands, it started to take effect and Jongho remembered everything.
Their plan to get Mingi out of the room without exposing its existence. The painting passageway. Alerting Ron and Harry. The shouting match. The standoff. Chasing Ron, Harry, and Draco. And then professor Blackburn waving his wand at his side, casting the confundus charm over them. And then again, and again, and again.
No wonder it was so strong that even McGonagall didn't notice it was happening.
But that was the least of it. After the first time he cast it, he had things to say.
"Did Darcy find the one with the trace," he asked Draco. Draco shook his head no, and looked very confused about it. "Where is the stone I gave her?" Draco pointed down the hall they had come from. Jongho stood, horrified, as he remembered standing there like a zombie, barely understanding anything that was being said.
And then he addressed both Hermione and Draco. "Her blood is not as dirty as we once thought. And so the two of you will marry this Christmas. You will remember this no matter how many times I cast this spell, and make it happen."
Then professor Blackburn cast the charm many more times in quick succession. And each time, he planted new memories. Jongho began to wonder if this wasn't a different spell entirely, or a unique combination of a few of them. Whatever it was, it was allowing the professor to sew confusion and plant memories.
"You cheated on Hermione, Ron, and she will never forgive you," he said, and all of them gasped. "You will remember this only as a gut feeling." Another charm was cast.
"You're not interested in marriage anymore, Harry." McGonagall looked like she would cry. "But the baby," she said.
"You will remember this only as a gut feeling." Another charm was cast.
"Darcy never left the Slytherin common room tonight." Everyone nodded.
"You will remember this only as a gut feeling." Another charm was cast.
"McGonagall: you've just received an owl mail from Dumbledore, which was arranged to be sent only after a specific amount of time passed after his death. You are anxious to return to your office to inspect this, and will spend the entire night there. All of you will forget everything except these things from the past 30 minutes.
Another charm was cast.
Jongho remembered feeling so confused each time, with so much information floating around his mind. No wonder it had felt like water got stuck in there and he couldn't get it out. And then, finally, professor Blackburn had given his solution. And that's the moment that everything became clear again.
Blackburn's "solution" was just a nice way of saying detention, essentially. All of them were going to be trapped with this monster while he did whatever he wanted to them. How he was casting the charm so fast and so stealthily, Jongho didn't know. But if they were going to spend any time with him, they'd have to come up with a defense for it. They'd all have to take the potion every day as a precaution.
Jongho felt weak, and lifted a hand to his forehead. This was...horrible. And they were lucky that Hermione remembered any of it. No wonder she had followed the professor to see what he was up to. She was probably verifying whether or not he would collect the stone that Draco had dropped. And he did. And then it looked like he used it to track down Mingi.
But why? What did he want with Mingi? And why were Darcy and Draco pulled into it?
Jongho locked eyes with Hermione and felt like she shared the same thoughts. San looked between them both, and calmly he said, "When you're ready to share, we're all ears."
Hermione shook her head. "No. I think we need to get to McGonagall, first. She needs to take that potion, too. She needs to know."
"Know what?" San asked calmly. He hadn't seen anything outside of the room, so he didn't know what the two of them had just been through. Jongho was still having trouble with it all himself.
"One of our professors," Hermione said and got stuck on the word, "just cast the confundus charm on us. And Obliviate, I think. I'm not sure. It's still very...strange, even to me. The magic was so fast, and subtle. But whatever he did, he did it repeatedly. And he planted...ideas," she said and shook her head as if it would throw the planted ideas out of her memory. She looked like she wanted to be sick. And for good reason.
Jongho interrupted. "The only reason we remember anything at all is because Hermione had recently had the potion. For whatever reason, it protects us from what he's doing and---"
But Jongho had a sudden thought. San had it with him even at the platform, and knew to give it to Yunho when he arrived at their hideout.
"Wait. Why do you have it with you?" he asked San and watched him carefully.
"I always have it with me," San said and shrugged. "If you're suspecting me, I guess that's logical given everything else. We still haven't had a proper chance to chat about everything. But I started carrying it with me a long time ago."
"I can vouch for that," Seonghwa said. "He takes it every morning."
"But why?" Jongho asked, and San gave him a dark look.
"Some things are better left unsaid." Seonghwa nodded as if he knew the reason, but neither of them looked like they were willing to offer it up.
Hermione crossed her arms. "It does us no good to suspect each other. And after what happened tonight, it seems that none of us are part of whatever is going on, so it's high time that trust is established. But what is clear is that professor Blackburn is hiding something, and that means he's probably behind what happened at the lake, too. And...and..." she tried to continue, but the words got stuck in her throat. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she closed them and turned her head away.
"And whatever he's planning," Jongho said softly, "it involves some of the students." Hermione shivered, but relaxed ever so slightly when he didn't go into specifics. "So we need to alert McGonagall. Even she was affected by this. She was there, and he told her to go hide in her office. We need to let her know what's going on, and then we need to find Mingi."
San was quiet for a minute, and shared a dark look with Seonghwa before asking, "And you think she won't question what we were doing here tonight?"
"Whatever else you're hiding from him," Hermione snapped in an incredulous tone and stared at San, "Is it worth risking the safety of the entire world?" A single tear escaped and rolled down her face.
San closed his eyes and locked his jaw. He was clearly trying to hold himself back. Something about this was a lot more serious than it seemed. What exactly was the secret that all of them were still holding on to?
"It's better if fewer people know," Seonghwa offered.
"Know what!" Hermione said and rounded on him. "After what I've just heard...what we just experienced...this is serious. This cannot be left alone."
But it was San who responded, staring at her intensely. "I already made the mistake of opening my mouth about it once, and I'm not going to do it again. He's my friend, and I made a promise. It's his business to tell when and if he feels comfortable doing so. Jongho will understand, and I hope that you will, too."
Hermione and San stared each other down for a long time, and Seonghwa gave them both nervous glances. Jongho was still reeling from the different sensations and memories he had experienced. Some of the ideas the professor planted were so random. It was impossible to guess what he was up to, but it must be something bad since he took so much care to hide it all. All they knew for sure was that he was up to something.
"Fine," San said, as if he came to the same conclusion. "But don't offer McGonagall any extra information. Is your common room near one of the passages to the old castle? It's getting close to curfew. We'll have to be quick if we want to reach her office."
Hermione thought for a second. "It's closer to our common room, I think."
"Good. Painting, now," San said and gestured towards it with both hands. Seonghwa helped her stand again – she was still very pale, and didn't look well at all. Jongho felt the same way, but tried to keep it to himself. The fence man was still close, as if he was waiting to escort more people through to the other side. He took them through quickly, and then got back to his fence.
The four of them clasped hands, and then Hermione cast a partial invisibility spell. When she was sure it was as good as it could be, she led the way towards the nearest passage to the old castle. McGonagall had another office in the new castle, too. But people had to summon her via portrait if she wasn't there. And since Blackburn had convinced her to be busy with something, it meant she likely wouldn't be easily summoned anywhere and they had to go to her.
Jongho realised what this meant: Blackburn was planning something tonight, and they had to act fast to stop him. Would Mingi be okay? And had Hermione already come to the same conclusion? Jongho squeezed her hand and she picked up the pace.
They climbed up a tower stairwell, and came to a giant wooden door. Hermione pried it open with the one hand, and led them into one of the passages that connected the two castles. It was lined the entire way across with plush red carpets, and there were decorative windows that had small gaps open to the elements outside. A sly wind whistled through them, and made the space colder than the tower had been. They padded along in silence.
Until suddenly they weren't alone anymore. The Grey Lady popped up at the end of the passageway as they were nearly across.
"It isn't safe to pass here tonight," she said as if she could see them perfectly. A chill walked itself down Jongho's spine. Were they too late after all?