Chapter Text
September 1
Kim Seokjin had loved September First ever since he was eleven. The magic in his life had begun then, with a red-and-black train propelling him onward into a new world, and he’d never looked back. September First meant new experiences, new friends, new studies, new opportunities. September First had the flavour of pumpkin pasties, chocolate frogs, and that particular dish of roast lamb that appeared just in front of his plate every year, like it was waiting for him. September First meant tucking up in his dorm room next to his cat, awaiting the adventures of tomorrow.
Seokjin had long since graduated from Hogwarts, but the magic (quite literally) of September First still remained. Even now, in his 5th year as the Transfiguration Professor, he was enchanted by September First and all the wonderful things it had brought.
Until now, Seokjin grumbled internally, looking down the staff table with dismay, September the First had been brilliant.
…
Seokjin liked to take the train in to Hogwarts every year. He could have Apparated into Hogsmeade or arranged to Floo, but he liked taking the train and seeing all the excited first-years, and the equally excited (but pretending not to be) 7th years, the tearful parents and the loud cacophony of the 9 ¾ th platform at Kings Cross.
He and his owl, Peach, trundled down the aisle, looking for an empty compartment. Generally students cycled in and out of his compartment to say hello, friendly older ones and lost new students, and sometimes those who heard that Jin had brought his own sweets and was giving them out with impunity. Seokjin sassed his older students (particularly NEWT level ones who knew they could get away with it), was a listening ear for the younger ones, and generally was adored by the entire train by the time that he arrived at the school. All in all, it was generally a success, and Seokjin would collapse happily in his bed after the opening fest with a smile on his lips.
Spotting an empty compartment, he shoved in, lifting his trunk with ease and carefully tucking Peach’s cage next to it with a murmured coo and an owl treat. He settled by the window to wait, deep blue robes swishing satisfactorily as he peered out into the station.
He wasn’t alone for long. Two of his favourite (and most troublesome) students soon appeared in his doorway, grinning at him impishly. Seokjin raised an eyebrow at the two of them in greeting, noting that Taehyung’s tie was already nowhere to be seen and Jungkook’s hair was… artistic.
“Getting into trouble already?” he asked with amusement, as the two of them jostled into the compartment, hoisting their trunks up next to his and saying hello to Peach. Taehyung flung himself into the seat across from Seokjin and looked at him with great innocence.
“How could we be getting into any trouble with a professor around, sir?” he retorted, peering out the window as if looking for someone. “Kookie and I are just excited for our last year. It’s going to be a year to remember!”
Seokjin traded a look with Jungkook, who smiled mischievously. Seokjin groaned. “Just don’t blow up anything in my classroom this year,” he sighed, resigned, and Taehyung gave his partner in crime a high-five before returning to the window.
“Left something behind?” Seokjin asked, turning to peer out with him. He couldn’t see anything unusual, but he wouldn’t put anything past Tae. The 7th year shook his head, squinting at the platform as if it were going to reveal an important secret. “My cousin is supposed to be joining us, but I don’t see him,” he mumbled, and sighed. “It’d be just like Namjoon to get lost. He’s so distracted.”
“Have I met him?” Seokjin asked, and Tae shook his head absently - “It’s his first year” – before going back to peering out the window.
It was at that moment that someone slid open the compartment door, and Seokjin looked up at them with a raised eyebrow… and then took a second look. The man in the doorway was a couple years younger than himself and very attractive to boot. He was also wearing Muggle clothes - ripped jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt - and an absent-minded look in his eye. Seokjin blinked.
“Excuse me, sir,” he started, going into Professor mode, “I’m afraid this compartment’s full – we’re waiting for his cousin… his first year, you know…”
Seokjin started to gesture to Taehyung, but he was forestalled by said student jumping up and crowing, “JOON!” before launching himself the way of the attractive hooligan in the door. His eyes narrowed.
“I thought Tae said it was his first year,” he hissed to Jungkook, who looked supremely amused.
“He did,” Jungkook said with a nod, a wicked little smile curling up his face. “His first year teaching.”
…
It was possibly his least favourite ride of the Hogwarts Express in his lifetime, and that was including the year that he’d had sat with a friend who he’d had a crush on… and his girlfriend. Seokjin learned far more than he ever cared to about Kim Namjoon in the hours that he was stuck in a compartment with him, including that he was only 21 years old, a magical genius, and their new Charms professor after their previous professor had accidentally made himself mute in an experiment.
Irritated at his own slip-up and further irritated that Namjoon had broken his record for the youngest appointment of a Hogwarts Professor, Seokjin was not in the mood to learn about Kim Namjoon and his unnecessarily attractive face. It didn’t help that the other man was, as Taehyung had predicted, distracted, probably by the Superior Workings of his own brain.
To top it off, the trolley lady was late, and they were out of pumpkin pasties. It was, most definitely, his worst train ride ever.
Thus, how Seokjin came to be sulking out the window while Taehyung and Jungkook plotted in the background, probably nefarious ideas for the opening feast (for two Ravenclaws, they were remarkably devious), which was probably why he didn’t hear Namjoon’s question until he’d repeated it twice.
“…Professor Kim?”
“Sorry,” he apologized, sitting up straighter and brushing at his hair. At least his hair hadn’t forsaken him. “What did you say?”
“What do you teach?” Namjoon asked, staring absent-mindedly at Seokjin's nose. He resisted the urge to wrinkle it in disdain. “Transfiguration,” he told the other man loftily, straightening a little bit more. Seokjin was very proud of how hard he’d worked to become a good Transfiguration master, and didn’t care if people knew it. Namjoon merely looked amused.
“That’s right,” he commented. “Tae mentioned you were an Animagus. A cat, right?” A grin, surprisingly sharp, curled up Namjoon’s face. Seokjin was momentarily distracted by the dimples that appeared. “Does that mean you’ll purr if someone pets you?”
Seokjin abandoned his examination of the dimples with a dignified sniff. “No,” he said frostily, eyes narrowed. “It does not.”
Namjoon shrugged. Seokjin decided that Namjoon was, from this moment on, his nemesis. The two lapsed into silence.
…
Which was how they’d ended up at the staff table in the Great Hall, watching students file in. Seokjin’s glaring daggers at the new professor was interrupted by the arrival of Min Yoongi, DADA professor and Dueling club mentor, unceremoniously slumping into the seat on his left.
“Why do you look like you’ve been sucking a lemon?” were the other man’s words of greeting, and Seokjin narrowed his eyes at Yoongi. “Hello to you too,” he replied pointedly. “How was your summer?”
Yoongi snorted, propping one elbow on the table. “You were there,” he pointed out. “I can’t get rid of you. Did the new professor get on your bad side already?”
“He’s only 21,” Seokjin hissed. “He’s a baby. When I was his age I was…” he trailed off, not exactly sure what he’d been doing differently at 21 than 25. Yoongi made a noncommittal noise and sunk further onto the table, for all appearances intending to sleep on his plate. “He’s a genius, is what I heard,” the shorter man informed Seokjin. “Which must be the case if he’s managed to irritate you this quickly.”
Seokjin was saved from further comment by the arrival of the Potions professor, Hoseok, towing a round-faced individual who looked younger than the infamous Kim Namjoon. Was this school hiring right after graduation now? Seokjin was starting to feel old.
“Are you excited~?” Hoseok trilled, swooping down to mush Seokjin and Yoongi into an awkward back hug. “We have a new professor, and I have a duckling!” he gestured to his young follower, who was biting his lip awkwardly. Seokjin waved a hello to make up for Yoongi’s grunt of acknowledgement. “This is Park Jimin. He’s going to be training with me this year.”
“Nice to meet you, Park Jimin,” Seokjin greeted politely. “Are you sure you want to put up with Hoseok?”
Jimin looked startled, then broke into an adorable grin. “I’m sure I will,” he murmured, grinning up at Hoseok. “I’m looking forward to learning from him.”
Yoongi’s retching noise in response to this statement was thankfully interrupted by the Headmistress standing and calling for attention. Seokjin flashed the beaming Hoseok and the adorable Jimin a friendly smile and waited for everyone to settle in, watching the nervous first-years file into place.
As the Sorting Hat broke into song, Seokjin half-turned, watching his new nemesis’ face. He wasn’t quite sure why, per se, but he was pretty sure it was going to be an interesting year.
September 2
“Alright,” Hoseok moaned as the three of them approached the staff table, “Who decided to start class so early?”
Seokjin rolled his eyes and dragged his two friends towards the table, ignoring Hoseok’s moaning and Yoongi’s angry mumbles. “Every year, I remind you not to stay up until dawn, and every year, you ignore me,” Seokjin said pleasantly, dumping the two of them in their seats and sliding in between them. “It’s not my fault that the two of you decided to be irresponsible on the first day of classes.”
“Why must you hurt me in this way,” Hoseok wailed, while Yoongi mumbled something into his toast. Seokjin ignored them both and set about attacking the eggs in front of him. Unlike the other two, he was a morning person, particularly on the first day of classes. Now that his unsettling encounter with Professor Kim (he even had to go and steal Seokjin’s name, who did this man think he was) was a thing of the past, Seokjin’s enthusiasm had returned along with his appetite.
“Where’s your minion?” he asked Hoseok, who had stopped wailing and was now eyeing the oatmeal with great suspicion. “Aren’t you supposed to be mentoring him?”
“Yesterday he offered to make sure everything was set up for the first lessons,” Hoseok shrugged, fiddling with his spoon. “I wasn’t going to turn him down. He was making this face – Namjoon! Come sit with us!”
This last statement was accompanied by Hoseok waving in the direction of one Kim Namjoon, who was at least wearing slacks and a nice sweater rather than the jeans from yesterday. Jin, who was in his black professor’s robes, tie, dress shirt and all, sniffed at the sight of him and stabbed an egg with vigor.
“Good morning,” said the young professor, thorn in Kim Seokjin’s side, with another dimpled smile. Seokjin resisted the urge to poke his finger into a dimple and nodded in greeting. “Professor,” he replied stiffly, earning him an odd look from Hoseok and an amused one from Namjoon. “When’s your first class?”
“Nine,” Namjoon replied, sliding into a seat next to Hoseok and pulling some toast towards him. “I’m looking forward to it. Do you think the first lesson is too early to start the first years on Cheering Charms? The theoretical ability is there, you know –“
“Slow down, Namjoon,” Hoseok started to laugh, interrupting Namjoon’s train of thought. Seokjin resisted the urge to thump his forehead on the table. “I think you’re moving a bit fast. Hover Charms first.”
“But the capabilities of the average student are much more than they think,” Namjoon started to argue, getting a look in his eye that Seokjin pegged as intense academic. He resisted the urge to groan.
“You don’t want to make your students cry on the first day,” Seokjin pointed out, abandoning his eggs and standing. “Or send them to the hospital wing. “ Merlin, why had the Headmistress hired this person? He might be a brilliant young prodigy, but he was going to injure someone, and Seokjin did not want to be around when that happened. “I’m going to go set up for my lesson. See you later,” he told the table, and was about to head off when Hoseok asked eagerly, “Are you going to do your transformation for the first years again?”
“Transformation?” Namjoon perked up. “Would you mind if I watched? Animagi are so fascinating, you know, though it’s not so strange to imagine you turning into a cat- “
Seokjin, thankfully, did not have time to consider these words. Before Namjoon said “fascinating”, he had fled.
…
Transforming into his cat form, Seokjin settled himself on his desk with a huff as he awaited his first students. He was as handsome a cat as he was a person, if he did say so himself, but for some reason he was a little shy about Namjoon seeing it. Probably because of his nosy remarks, Seokjin thought, and flicked his tail in great disdain.
The students started to file into the room, chatting among themselves. Some of their eyes brightened at the sight of Seokjin curled on the desk, and eventually the whispering in the room turned to quiet as they awaited the now familiar sight of their tall professor appearing from the body of a cat. The attention was gratifying, and Seokjin puffed up his fur a bit in pride, surveying the students with a dignity that could only be carried off by a cat.
As the silence permeated the room, Seokjin put aside thoughts of irritating, know-it-all, attractive young professors, and leaped forward to start the lesson.
…
The 7th years, his NEWT students, had their class later in the day. Seokjin was setting up the blackboard for the lesson (why Hogwarts couldn’t upgrade to whiteboards at least…) when Taehyung and Jungkook spilled into the room, clutching their sides and giggling uncontrollably. Seokjin finished writing important! on the board and turned, propping his hands on his hips.
“Am I seeing things or are you early?” he asked, incredulous. “Surely there is mischief to be done elsewhere. Go, please. Spread your joy.”
It took the two of them moments to speak, and so Seokjin sighed and smiled and turned back to his work, waiting for them to become coherent. When Taehyung finally did choke out what was so funny, he dropped his chalk.
“Hoseok – I mean, Professor Jung – did what?”
“He blew up his demonstration,” Jungkook wheezed, though the giggles were slowing. “He actually – blew up – “
“We didn’t even have to do anything!” Taehyung cackled, clinging to Jungkook for support. Seokjin bent over to retrieve the chalk and set it down, staring at the two with disbelief. “Hoseok. Jung Hoseok blew up a cauldron,” he clarified, eyes wide. “How?”
Taehyung and Jungkook shared a look, and dissolved into mirth.
…
Apparently, Seokjin surmised, the addition of an assistant/intern/student to Hoseok’s life had not been a good choice.
“I didn’t realize he had those thighs,” Hoseok kept repeating, head in his hands as he sat in the staff lounge with Seokjin after classes. “And- he just-“
“Bent over, yes, you’ve said so a thousand times,” Yoongi drawled as he loped into the room, hands stuffed in his pockets. “It’s frickin’ hilarious. You’ve never blown something up before. Were they sparkling or something?”
“At least it wasn’t in front of the first years,” Seokjin offered helpfully, patting Hoseok’s shoulder and shooting Yoongi a you’re-not-helping look. “It just – er – took you by surprise.”
“I can’t work under these conditions,” Hoseok threatened, leaning on Seokjin for comfort. “Just you watch. Next thing I’m going to accidentally drink one of my own inventions and –“
“You do that anyways,” Seokjin said patiently. “And you’re still mostly in one piece.”
“Mostly,” Yoongi snorted from the coffee pot.
“Anyway,” Seokjin continued, raising his voice over the interruption, “It’s just legs. Surely you’ll be able to focus on your work-“
Hoseok groaned in response and smacked his head into Seokjin’s shoulder. “When I blow up the school,” he mumbled, “You’re all going to be sorry.”
…
Which was how Seokjin ended up sitting next an empty seat at dinner, Hoseok having declared that he couldn’t show his face at the staff table for the shame (which would probably only last until breakfast tomorrow, as Hoseok was incapable of making his own coffee). At least, it would have been empty, if a familiar lanky personage hadn’t tapped him on the shoulder and asked; “Is anyone sitting here?”
Seokjin mumbled something in the negatory, and Namjoon slid into the seat on his right side, eyeing the food with distinct interest. After a few moments of silence, he decided to be polite. Perhaps Namjoon had just been nervous for his first day. Perhaps he wasn’t really so… irritating. Disturbing. Dimpled.
“How did your first day go?” he asked politely, poking at his food.
Namjoon looked briefly startled to be addressed, and froze with his hand hovering over the pasta. “Er. Good,” he replied a bit absently, ladling food onto his plate. “The students were very helpful. And nobody got sent to the hospital wing,” he added, eyeing Seokjin with that same look of amusement in his eye. Seokjin couldn’t help but smile in response. Perhaps Namjoon didn’t have to be his nemesis -perhaps this was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Perhaps.
“I’m glad to hear it, Professor Kim,” he replied, and took a sip of his drink. Namjoon frowned.
“Call me Namjoon, please. Professor Kim feels old.” Seokjin felt his hackles rising. Beautiful friendship, he told himself. A beautiful friendship. Namjoon took a bite of his pasta and then looked back at Seokjin, eyes crinkling. “Can I call you Yoongi?”
Seokjin frowned. Yoongi looked up from his plate, suddenly interested in his surroundings. “My name is Seokjin,” he told the lanky man in a cool voice which was not conducive to a Beautiful Friendship. “So no.” Yoongi, from behind him, snickered into his plate, which resulted in a swift elbow to his side.
Namjoon looked briefly abashed. “I’m sorry,” he apologized, ducking his head. “I’m so bad with names – they’re just not as interesting as charms. But you’re Muggle Studies, right?”
Seokjin gave a long-suffering sigh. So much for a beautiful friendship, he mused. Back to nemeses it was.
…
When he’d finally escaped the dinner table for his own quarters, Seokjin collapsed onto his bed with a groan. Peach, who had come to visit him from the owlery, gave him a concerned look from the windowsill, and Seokjin turned his face from where it was smushed into the comforter to give her a long-suffering look.
“Well, Peach,” he sighed, “If the first two days have been any indication, it’s going to be a rough year.”
Peach made a sympathetic noise.
…
“Muggle studies, honestly! Who does he think he is!”
Wh-oo.
“Thanks, Peach.”