Lost and Looking

┌

xx

It was nearing Christmas time and the weather had begun to grow colder. December 23rd, 2024 was when Hogwarts would be letting its students go back home for winter break. But for once, Kim was going to be staying behind at the castle. Due to Kim's massive depressive state over the past few years, his family was allowing him to remain at Hogwarts over the holiday this particular year. It was something they had never let him do before until now because Kim's presence was always expected at the annual Sato Yule Ball. But this time, Kim would be able to remain at Hogwarts and spend some quality time alone. He was looking forward to this, more than anyone might have thought, for various reasons. One, he needed time away from the stress of family responsibilities. Two, he didn't like being around crowds of people, even those he knew. And three, he had to sort out his chaotic feelings. About a certain white haired seeker from Durmstrang, Valentin Schnell, otherwise known as Hanuel to him. Haneul had many connections. He was close with pretty much everyone Kim knew or had heard about. The two of them had talked about their relationship back in late October but he still didn't really know how Haneul felt about him. On the other hand, ever since the summer, Kim had started to think back. About all the times the two had interacted with eachother, shared moments together... he also couldn't forget about the very first time Haneul had kissed him inside the dusty bookshop near the back shelves. Sure, he'd been under the influence of parasitic slugs at the time but... Kim couldn't help but remember. Remember how it had felt... he'd never felt that way before. The way Haneul had... Kim stopped that thought before it could go any further. The way Haneul gracefully moved through the air on his broom, seeking that elusive snitch when Kim and Sophia had gone to watch one of Haneul's matches. The way he'd moved like a knight come to life out of a storybook right after spring break started. Kim and Sophia had been there at that time as well. Along with an older female Hogwarts student. Kim couldn't help but be drawn back to Haneul's kisses again. Putting aside the slug-kiss, which had certainly made an impression on him, the two of them had shared a passionate time together over last summer too. Where Kim had completely fallen for Haneul's charms, without even knowing it at the time. He'd thought about it for awhile. More than he would have liked to admit to himself or to others. Quite simply, Kim couldn't get Haneul out of his mind now because of what he'd done. Part of him wondered if it was simply because Haneul had saved his life and made him want to do something useful with it. Perhaps he just felt indebted to him? But no. After the summer was over, Kim couldn't help but start thinking back again. To all the times they'd shared together. Even though they were few and not as many as some of Haneul's other friends. But to Kim it meant more to him than anything else. After contemplating and analyzing everything over a period of time, he eventually had discovered he'd always been attracted to the white haired seeker. He just had never realized it until after the events of the summer. Haneul was different from anyone he'd ever known before. Kim's first kiss had also been similar in nature to how he felt when he was with Haneul. But in a little lighter manner. With Felix, his kiss had sent butterflies through him and his heart had raced a little. It also made him feel nervous and seeing him flirting with others had made him jealous. On the other hand, Val felt as if there was a tornado of cascading emotions going on deep inside him. The duelist felt as if he was drowning inside Haneul's eyes. It was a beautiful complicated feeling that went beyond pure happiness and was literally like a snowstorm of attraction, moving throughout him and making him feel good everywhere. It was hard to explain how he felt about Haneul, there were no words that could describe it, just that he was his soulmate who completed him. It was currently Friday, December 20th. Kim was currently heading towards the classroom fourth years had for Charms. He usually was pretty aware of his surroundings, if only because he didn't want to end up bumping into people or having them bump into him. But distracted by his thoughts about Haneul, Kim wasn't really paying much attention at all to pretty much anything right now. It was his second class during the morning period of classes and he'd already been scolded about drifting off during History of Magic. But he usually did tend to drift off there, it was the class he felt was the most boring out of all of them. However, his next class was Charms, one of his favorite ones. He usually tended to pay close attention in this class because it was one of Kim's favorite subjects. Other than Herbology. But Kim's thoughts were so focused upon Haneul that his attention kept drifting. Even at the door. Kim ended up spacing out while coming into the room which resulted in an unfamiliar girl running into him from behind. He turned around and his instincts kicked in as Pam fell forward into him and reached out to wrap his arms around her to steady her a little bit. A faint smile could be seen on his lips as Kim inclined his head to the girl and released her. "It's fine. Are you alright?" He asked, letting his eyes flicker over her. She looked young, not old enough to be in his Charms class and he didn't recognize her. "Are you meeting someone here? Or did you get lost?" Kim asked, knowing she wasn't part of this particular class and waited. Kibō had already slithered into the classroom on his own to claim Kim's usual seat and waited for the fifteen year old to come to him.

xx

┘

┌

xx

For a moment or two, Pamela didn't say anything and simply stared up at him. Kim raised a brow. But then, the girl finally spoke and he nodded, helping her back to her feet again. "Mm." A faint smile came to his lips at Pamela's words about getting lost within the castle. "First year?" Kim asked and glanced behind him at the rest of the students gathering in the classroom when she asked if he could help her find hers. Returning his attention to Pamela, Kim nodded. "Sure. Follow me." He told her, shifting his pack over his shoulder. As he made his way out of the door, Pamela's next question made him shake his head. "It depends on the teacher. Some teachers like to teach in the same rooms but at different times and days. Other teachers prefer to move to different classrooms for the years they teach." Kim said as he walked down the hallways. "Did you forget where the DADA classroom is or just not recall how to get there?" He asked, wondering which one it was. It couldn't be that she hadn't been to the classroom before, it was nearly the end of the year and school had been going on for the past three months.

xx

┘

┌

xx

Kim nodded as Pamela told him it had been a mixture of both which made sense. "I see. Well, you're on the third floor at the moment. This is where Charms is usually held, at least for the higher years." He told her as they continued to walk through the hallways before them. "Tell me, how are you finding your time at Hogwarts so far?" Kim asked Pamela, a little curious. About how Pamela saw the castle. "Have you gotten settled enough that you're considering checking out any of the clubs students have?" If she had, he'd mention some of his own. After all, Kim was always looking for new members for his clubs. Especially since he'd let them go over the past few years. "Were you caught on the moving staircases?" Perhaps that had been the reason for Pamela to have gotten off on the third floor rather than the first floor. Going from the color of her robes, Pamela was a Hufflepuff. Whenever he saw those robes it always made him think of Felix. Kim couldn't help but wonder how the boy was doing wherever he was. The corridors were quite long but eventually they managed to make it to the top of a staircase. Kim glanced around to ensure the staircases weren't about to move and then started down them, after making sure Pamela was right beside him. Descending down to the second floor, it dawned on Kim that the two of them hadn't introduced themselves yet. "Ah, right. I'm Kim. You are?" He asked. Kim glanced behind him to let his eyes flicker over Pamela.

xx

┘

┌

xx

A faint smile could be seen on Kim's lips as Pamela echoed where they were. It seemed as if she hadn't realized she had been on such a high floor. "Mm." He nodded when Pamela spoke of how the place was bigger than most schools she'd attended before now. "Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it eventually, although there are many passages and places all over the place that some may never find in their lifetime." Kim remarked after some thought. "Really? I guess it's not much of a surprise though, coming to a school like this is always bound to be different from what kids usually are used to." He said, nodding almost to himself as the duelist thought about his words. Kim had never been to a place like this before either when he'd been a first year. But the size hadn't bothered him and instead had fueled his interest in exploring everywhere both inside and outside the castle. He glanced over at Pam. "Have you discovered the Room of Requirement yet?" Kim asked, curious a bit. Sometimes when students wanted to find a certain type of place but didn't know where to go and got stressed trying to find one, they would find themselves in front of a door that would call out to them, pulling them there. When they opened the door, they would find everything they wanted inside the room. The best part about the RoR was that it took care of itself for students use. In other words, it put itself together and disappeared when it was no longer of any use. Quite convenient. Especially for those who didn't know how to set things up to make it resemble what was in their imagination. And for those who hated cleaning up after themselves. "First of all, I'd recommend checking out the main three sports we have here. Dueling, Broom Racing and Quidditch. You can only join one of the teams. I'm part of the dueling team." Kim told her and let his eyes flicker over the girl for a couple of seconds. Pamela had tripped over the edge of the door which was a feat to do. That in turn made him think she was somewhat clumsy and if that was the case, perhaps Quidditch was not the sport for her. She might end up getting hurt if she got in the way of a bludger. That in turn left Broom Racing and Dueling and he thought for a moment or two. "Hm, I'd recommend Broom Racing or Dueling for you. Do you have an interest in speed and brooms?" Kim asked, curious. If she did, Broom Racing would definitely be the sport for her. "I also run a few clubs. I used to run more but as the years passed I can't handle as many as I used to when I was younger. Now it's only down to 7." He told her with a sigh and pulled his pack towards the front of his body, reaching in to rummage through the contents. Pulling out a few flyers, Kim handed them over to Pamela. One was for the Tri-Cook Club, Golden Explorers, Mischief Makers, Drama Club, Mystical Creatures, and the Asian Society Club.... "Things have been a little slow over the past few years due to personal reasons but I'm trying to revive them all and as such all the clubs are open to new members for a time." Kim told her, hoping she might join all of them or at least one. When Pam echoed his name with a confused look on her face, Kim tilted his head to the side curious. Ah, she must have been a fan of Korea and knew about the types of names they had. "My family wanted me to stand out, so they made my first name different from other people..." He told her. "Most have Kim as a surname which is really common but mine is a first name which isn't common." Kim explained. He didn't really want to explain why his parents wanted him to stand out amongst the others. Talking about family wasn't something Kim liked doing if he could prevent it. That kind of conversation usually turned into who his parents were, what they did and his last name. Thankfully, he had already talked to the professors before. And told them not to call out his real last name. Aoki had been the name he'd adopted to prevent people from trying to approach him all the time for favors. It seemed to have worked too, allowing him some semblance of freedom. Many would have responded to Pam's introduction with a generic 'nice to meet you' or something but Kim simply nodded and started to walk off again. After all, Pam needed to get over to her class on time, right? They couldn't be staying still here.

xx

┘