double, double, toil and trouble

Chapter 1

"Biggest bubble wins, yeah?" Chenle clarifies, to which the other three nod.

They consume the candy in no time, their mouths turning blue as their cheeks ache from holding back smiles upon seeing tiny bubbles begin to pour from each others mouths. Renjun tries (and fails) to hold back a snort as Jaemin almost accidently inhales the gum as the flavour causes his face to twitch.

Feeling the carriage lurch to the side, Jaemin coughs up the gum, pulling a disgusted expression as he wiggles in his seat, "I don't know why I agree to this every time, ah, that was horrible!"

The boys splutter some more bubbles from their mouths as they watch Jaemin pull some faces, but a shadow of concern quickly crosses Donghyuck's face when his eyes leave Jaemin and are redirected towards their carriage door.

No matter how ridiculous all of them look with their stained blue faces, a group of three girls, all already dressed in their robes, sashay passed their carriage door, giggling happily as they steal glances in and linger for a moment longer than needed, all their eyes on one boy in particular.

Sharing amused glances, Donghyuck turns his gaze to Jaemin, watching as the boy deflates at the obvious attention, "And so it begins"

With a huff Jaemin slouches against his seat, his face now turned towards the large window, his eyes catching his own defeated expression, "I already want to go home"

However at his response, Chenle only frowns, accidently spitting bubbles as he says, "I still don't understand why you don't like all the attention"

Discarding his own gum and looking at the mess they had made, Donghyuck counts his lucky stars that he hadn't changed into his school robes yet, "Don't talk with your mouth full"

At the mothering, Chenle only rolls his eyes and turns back to Renjun who is the only other one still competing. Donghyuck's eyes linger on the two for a moment more, making a slight mental note that things may get ugly, knowing how competitive both of the boys are.

Reaching down by his feet, Jaemin picks up a small golden cage, a tiny pink furball the only occupant. As he unlatches the door, reaching into the space, the little creature gladly waddles over to his hand, finding their home in Jaemin's palm as he lifts them out delicately.

"Hey Sugar, wanna come out for a bit?"

Sugarplum was Jaemin's pygmy puff, the little thing looking as tiny as he day that he had bought it back in his first year. It was a round ball of pink fluff with tiny feet and a pair of wonderfully cute eyes that sparkle amongst their fur.

Sugarplum was originally just a term of endearment as Jaemin tried to find a name to suit the creature, but eventually the name just stuck, with most of his friends calling her Sugar for short.

As Sugarplum gets settled on Jaemin's lap, Donghyuck gives them both a smile before casting his gaze back outside the window, the anticipation and excitement of their final year at Hogwarts beginning to sink in.

Amongst the gentle rocking of the carriage, Donghyuck then sighs as he pulls his wand from his jacket pocket, shimming off the article of clothing once his wand is steady in his hand. He waves it softly until a faint 'click' can be heard and with a gentle smile he then places his wand on the cushioned seat by his side, in between him and Jaemin.

Not a moment later there's a thankful 'meow' as a small creature whose fur rivals that of midnight black descends onto Donghyuck's lap. Donghyuck watches on fondly as the cat circles around on his lap before she places her paws upon his stomach, trying to stretch so that she reaches his own height, and when her head just manages to get up to his chin, he drops a quick kiss to her nose, to which she returns by licking his chin. As she settles down on his lap, curling up contently, Donghyuck then reaches for his iced pumpkin juice that he had acquired from the trolley.