double, double, toil and trouble

"I had no idea a zombie apocalypse was upon us", Donghyuck jokes as he makes his way over to where his friends were gathered at the end of the Hufflepuff dining table, all looking seconds away from death.

Renjun has one of his textbooks standing open on the table as his face is smushed against the wood, gripping desperately onto what seconds of extra sleep he can. Jeno and Jisung are quietly engaging in a conversation about their makeshift creature sanctuary. The others all have their eyes closed or are staring off into the distance, eyes glassed over and mouths open.

It had been an eventful night chasing down a wannabe dragon and a dodgy-scaled lizard, finally rallying to set them free only for them to come crawling back to the fire of the Hufflepuff Common Room. The eight of them barely got any sleep, and it was abundantly apparent to everyone who set eyes on them.

"Can you just sit down?" Jaemin whispers, swaying slightly as he speaks, "Preferably on my left so that I may lean on you for support?"

Donghyuck swiftly moves to his friend's side, sending Mark a small smile as he ends up opposite his boyfriend. He raises his eyebrows at the Gryffindor, silently asking if he's feeling alright (minus being sleep deprived), and as Mark nods, Donghyuck allows his smile to relax.

"I don't think all the tea in the world will be able to prepare me for class", Chenle murmurs, his hand hovering between three cups, all holding a different coloured liquid, before he settles on the middle one, bringing it slowly up to his lips, careful not to spill it.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that", Donghyuck responds, just as Jaemin's head comes to rest on his shoulder, "I'm sure we're all going to feel bright-eyed and bushy-tailed by the time we step into our first lesson."

Just as Donghyuck reaches for some toast, Renjun lifts his head from the table, his eyes still closed but his eyebrows furrowed, "My Hyuckie senses are tingling."

"I feel nervous", Jisung chimes in shyly, and Donghyuck just preens as a few nervous looks are thrown his way.

However, Jaemin just waves his hand dismissively as he mumbles, "As long as your disruption isn't too loud-"

"AAAHHHHH!"

At the commotion, everyone's heads shoot up as they turn to face the Gryffindor table. There's a messy flurry of red and black robes that accompany the chorus of screams as they try and scramble from their long table.

"What the-?"

As the students attempt to flee their table, food flies everywhere and goblets are knocked over. Still, only when a young boy throws his goblet across the room, they understand what is happening.

Instead of the liquid contents of his cup drenching a nearby student, a batch of wriggling slippery worms fly out, causing more students to scream at the creatures.

Wizards who learn about creatures with razor-sharp teeth and unforgiving talons, and yet they're scared of mere garden worms...

"Whizzing Worms", Yukhei summarises, recognising the little things from Jonko's joke shop- you add the product to water and worms will bubble up out of that liquid.

As the chorus of screams grows louder, one of the students trying to escape trips over the table's bench, causing them to fly over it and fall face-down on the floor. As their legs went up, though, they manage to catch another student's, and thus created a domino effect where a myriad of students now lay on a heap on the floor.

Unable to hold it back, Chenle laughs maniacally at seeing such chaos unfold, and Donghyuck smiles, happy to see his eyes light up again.

"Even sleep deprived, it's nice to see that you haven't lost your touch", Renjun mumbles, his eyes lingering on the Gryffindor table.