Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Prologue – 4 years prior

Zhengting POV

Zhengting threw the last of his books into his trunk and took a step back – finally, after almost two hours of packing and sorting, he was ready for his first year at Hogwarts. Excited couldn’t even begin to describe how he was feeling at the moment – he’d been waiting for this moment ever since his friend Wenjun had started there last year. He’d finished packing in just the nick of time as well – for as soon as he shut his trunk, he heard his mother call for him from downstairs, “ZHENGTING, ZEREN’S HERE FOR YOUR SLEEPOVER”.

“COMING MUM”, Zhengting yelled as he ran down the steps to greet his friend – although they were neighbors, Zhengting still got incredibly excited each time his six best friends came over. Despite being an only child, it didn’t really feel like it – his six friends were more like brothers than friends, as he’d grown up with them from the minute he was born. Their parents had all attended Hogwarts around the same time and became incredibly close friends, so close in fact that they all decided to move to the same area to settle down. Zhengting lived in between Quanzhe and Zeren’s families, with Justin and Chengcheng’s living about five minutes away and Wenjun and Xinchun’s living about ten minutes away. The six of them were Zhengting’s absolute favorite people in the world, which probably explained why he was so protective of them, despite not being the eldest – Wenjun was a year older than the other six, with Zhengting being the second oldest. They both split responsibility of looking after the younger ones, especially Quanzhe and Justin, who had summer birthdays and were on the younger side of eleven - unlike the rest of them.

“Zhu Zhengting, how many times must I tell you not to run on the stairs?” Scolded his mother as he ran past towards the door.

“Sorry Mum, I won’t do it again!” Zhengting giggled softly and opened the door for Zeren, a clumsy and loud boy with a massive heart. Zeren lugged his school trunk in behind him – all six boys were bringing their school trunks with them as they were leaving for Kings Cross Station directly from Zhengting’s house.

“Need help? Your non-existent muscles aren’t doing much.” Zhengting giggled as he watched Zeren struggle with the heavy trunk.

“Laugh all you want, we’ll see who’s laughing if this trunk magically ends up on your foot.” Zeren muttered while shooting him a withering look.

Zhengting rolled his eyes and grabbed the other end of the trunk, “Come on Hercules, let’s get this thing upstairs.” The two of them joked while carrying the heavy trunk up the stairs and into the room. Zhengting watched as Zeren threw his stuff down by the hammock and shook his head, knowing that a certain loud idiot named Justin would soon be throwing a fit over losing the hammock. As if on cue, the front door opened and Zhengting suddenly heard loud arguing.

“Well, I suppose that means the demons are here.” Zhengting laughed softly and went down to go get them, only to find Justin and Chengcheng arguing over Quidditch again.

“All I’m saying is that if you really loved me Cheng, you’d let me hide my broom in your trunk and sneak it into Hogwarts!” Justin whined, clutching Chengcheng’s arm tightly.

“Yeah right, and let me take the fall for you when you inevitably get caught? Fat chance, Stin.” Chengcheng shook his head as he dragged their trunks inside.

“But-“

“No buts, Justin. You know the rules, first years aren’t allowed to bring their own broomsticks. There’ll plenty of time for that next year.” Zhengting let out a laugh as Justin shot him a puppy eyed pout.

“Come on Ting, I know you want to help me! Please please please-“ Zhengting shook his head and started helping them up the stairs with their trunks.

“I will play no part in your shenanigans. Either of you.”

“Hey! They’re his shenanigans, not mine! I just somehow always manage to get drug into them!” Chengcheng muttered while lugging the trunk behind him. What he’d said was true, most of the time Justin was behind their shenanigans, but he didn’t exactly try very hard to keep himself from being involved – Justin was his best friend, after all. A few minutes later, Wenjun showed up with Xinchun and Quanzhe just behind him. When they got up to Zhengting’s room, Zhengting had to laugh – the scene in front of him was just so familiar. Justin and Zeren were arguing over the hammock (as usual), while Chengcheng was looking on with mild interest and listening to them argue. It was normal for them. “Normal is good,” Zhengting thought to himself as he sat down on his bed “I hope this never changes. The seven of us for life.”

A few hours later

Zhengting couldn’t sleep. He tossed to one side, then the other trying to find any bit of comfort to no avail. He was just too excited for what the next day would bring – new adventures, new friends, and new places. He was so excited, in fact, that his mind kept racing long after he managed to get comfortable, keeping him awake even longer. Just as he was finally about to drift off, he heard someone in the room sniffle softly. Raising an eyebrow, Zhengting wondered who the hell was still awake – judging from the position of the moon from his window, he could guess it was roughly about two in the morning. After he heard the sniffling noise again, he sat up slowly and glanced around the dark room.

“It’s coming from Quanzhe’s sleeping bag” he realized as he tip-toed quietly across the room. Sure enough, Quanzhe was awake and crying silently. Zhengting held a finger up to his lips to motion for Quanzhe to stay silent, then helped the small, puffy-cheeked boy out onto the balcony quietly.

“Is everything okay, Quanzhe?” Zhengting asked softly, shutting the door behind them. Quanzhe just shook his head no and buried his face into the stuffed bunny he was holding – something he only did when he was scared, Zhengting knew. “What’s wrong? Do you want to talk about it?”

Quanzhe was silent for a moment, then slowly lifted his head out of the bunny’s soft fur. “I-I’m scared, Ting. What if I don’t like it there? What if the five of you get sorted into Ravenclaw with Wenjun and I get stuck somewhere else? What if we grow apart? What if the teachers hate me? What if I’m so bad that I flunk out? What if-“

Zhengting shushed him gently and pulled the boy into a hug – something he knew would help calm the younger down. “Quanzhe, I can’t promise that some of those things won’t happen, but I can promise this: I’ll do everything I possibly can to make sure we don’t grow apart. You all mean too much to me to let you go that easily. Furthermore, whatever the future has in store for you, for us, know that we’ll be right there beside you if you need a shoulder to lean on or just need a hug. Okay?” Zhengting smiled and ruffled Quanzhe’s hair softly. Quanzhe nodded slowly and mumbled a soft thank you before pulling away from the hug and burying himself in the bunny again.

Zhengting wasn’t overly worried about the boy, he was just naturally protective of Quanzhe. Quanzhe was the second youngest of the group, having turned eleven less than two months ago and, on top of that, he was painfully shy around new people. He knew this wouldn’t be the easiest transition for Quanzhe, but he also knew that Quanzhe was tougher than he looked – he’d get through, no matter how hard it was. Eventually, the two returned to their beds and fell asleep, dreaming of the adventures that would await them in the morning.

The next morning

“Boys! Time to wake up! Breakfast in fifteen minutes, and remember not to put your robes on yet!” Zhengting’s mother called through the door. Zhengting blinked sleepily and gradually sat up – from the corner of the room he heard Wenjun groan and do the same. Slowly, four of the other boys sat up, leaving only Justin still off in dreamland. Zhengting sighed softly and gestured for Chengcheng to wake him up.

Unfortunately for Justin, Chengcheng’s idea of “waking up” was to shove him off the spare bed he had picked to sleep on. “WHAT THE HELL?!” Justin yelled in surprise after hitting the floor. Chengcheng started snickering and ignored the spluttering boy on the floor, deciding to get dressed instead.

“I’m getting new friends.” Justin grumbled as he shot Chengcheng a look. Chengcheng just grinned and got dressed, while the others in the room tried not to laugh. All through breakfast and the car ride to Kings Cross Station, Zhengting was giddy with excitement. He knew that everything would change when he started attending Hogwarts and trusted that it would be a change for the better. The other boys seemed to share his sentiments as well – the car ride consisted of them having a lively discussion about which houses they thought they’d be sorted into.

“I think I’m gonna be put in-“ Justin started to say with a confident smirk, before getting cut off.

“Gryffindor.” Chengcheng said with an eye roll.

“We know.” Zhengting added.

“It’s been the only thing you’ve talked about all summer.” Quanzhe piped up with a giggle.

Justin grumbled softly to himself, but he didn’t have much time to be upset – they pulled into Kings Cross just after Quanzhe finished speaking. Upon reaching Kings Cross, the excitement level from the boys increased exponentially, with them chattering loudly about how much they’d been looking forward to this. Zhengting was the last one to pass through the barrier, just after his mother. He hesitated for a moment, staring at the barrier – he knew beyond that pillar lay his future, and that nothing would ever be the same. With a deep breath, Zhengting stepped forward into the barrier.

He didn’t look back.

Chapter Text

Yanjun pov

Yanjun fiddled with his jacket nervously and glanced back to make sure all of his luggage was still on his cart. He, frankly, hated being in muggle heavy areas because he was worried he’d do something stupid and get discovered. He stared at the barrier in front of him and then glanced up at his mother, a thin, beautiful woman with kind eyes and an even kinder heart. She squeezed his hand gently and smiled softly down at him. “Ready love? It’s just through there.”

Yanjun nodded softly and pulled his cart over to the barrier, leaning back against it just as his father had shown him. There was a faint whoosh and Yanjun blinked in surprise – he wasn’t expecting the odd, almost suffocating feeling that came over him as he passed through the barrier. After gathering his bearings, Yanjun looked around in stunned silence. There were people everywhere, young and old, all gathered around a sleek, scarlet colored steam engine – The Hogwarts Express. Yanjun watched with interest as a group of parents next to him fussed over the seven boys in front of them, then realized in surprise that he knew one of the boys. “Zhu Zhengting, I’m pretty sure that’s him at least” Yanjun thought as he watched the group of boys start loading their things.

Glancing around the platform, Yanjun couldn’t get over just how loud and crowded everything was – to the point that being on the platform felt almost suffocating to him. It was so different from the environment he’d been raised in. At the Lin family manor, visitors were rare and never stayed for long. Yanjun had spent the majority of his childhood with his mother and the family house elf, Daisy, as his only companions. His father, who had an important job in the Ministry of Magic, travelled frequently for work and was rarely home. Any friends he had were imaginary, with the exception of Lin Chaoze – but he wasn’t allowed to see Chaoze anymore, according to his father. “Chaoze isn’t like us, Yanjun, you have to understand that,” his father had told him three years ago, when he questioned why he hadn’t seen Chaoze in over a month.

Yanjun’s existence was a lonely one, yes, but he quite liked it. The house was massive and full of little passageways, secret nooks and crannies that Yanjun could hide things in. While there was a lack of people in the manor, Yanjun wouldn’t have changed it for the world – his mother was his favorite person on the planet and he didn’t mind spending all day long with her at all! There were, however, those cold winter nights when Yanjun got lonely … but those nights were his favorites. On those nights, his mother would always pull him close and have Daisy make the three of them warm pumpkin juice, and then she would start to tell Yanjun stories.

Stories of how the manor used to be, when the garden wasn’t wilting, the curtains weren’t drawn, and the doors were always opening and closing with a constant stream of visitors to the manor. Yanjun had asked her once why that had changed, and his mother got a strange, far-off look in her eyes. She explained that his father didn’t feel comfortable having the house so busy after his son was born.

Yanjun hadn’t quite believed her when she’d told him, but he didn’t push the subject.

What she said was true, however. There were rarely any visitors that Yanjun could remember – the only one besides Chaoze that he could remember was, in fact, Zhu Zhengting and his mother. The two of them were frequent visitors to Lin Manor up until about two years ago – Yanjun remembered that day well, even though he didn’t particularly like to remember it. There had been a lot of angry shouting that day, mostly from his father and Zhengting’s mother. He hadn’t seen either of them since that day, and he was met with a stern response when he asked his father why they hadn’t been around.

A tap on his shoulder was what pulled Yanjun out of his thoughts. Yanjun looked up and saw his father and mother standing in front of him. Yanjun smiled softly and glanced around again. Although it would be a big change for him, he was looking forward to attending Hogwarts. His father leaned down and pulled him into a tight hug, before pulling away and looking him in the eyes. “Remember that we love you, and remember to make friends with the right sort of people, alright Yanjun? People like us.” Yanjun nodded slowly and his father ruffled his hair. “That’s a good lad. Love, I think he’s going to look dashing in silver and green, don’t you agree?” His father smiled and looked up at his mother.

Yanjun’s mother giggled softly and shook her head. “He hasn’t been sorted yet, don’t count your chickens before they hatch.” She then leaned down next to Yanjun after his father went to talk to a work friend that he’d seen a moment earlier.

“Love, listen to me. You make friends with whoever you want to, alright? No matter if they’re like us or not. That’s not what matters, what matters is the type of person they are.” His mother smiled at him gently and kissed his forehead. “I’m going to miss you so much, Yanjun.”

“I’ll miss you too.” Yanjun said, giving her a tight hug. Just then, the train whistle sounded, signaling that it would be departing in five minutes. Yanjun and his mother hurried over to the train and unloaded his things off the trolley, finding an empty space for his trunk to fit in on the train. The train whistle sounded again, signaling that it was leaving in one minute. Just before she stepped off the train, Yanjun’s mother pulled him into one last hug.

“Don’t forget to write. We’ll see you at Christmas. We love you!”

“Love you too!” Yanjun smiled and ran to the nearest window on the train, sticking his head out and waving as the train started to move slowly. Yanjun stood there waving as his mother got smaller and smaller, until she was just a tiny speck on the horizon. Pulling his head away from the window, Yanjun felt a sudden wave of loneliness wash over him – all around him, returning students were chatting with friends and first year students were already starting to form their little groups. Deciding that he wanted to go somewhere less crowded, Yanjun entered the next car. The car was, surprisingly, mostly empty and the largest of the compartments in that car was totally empty. There were a few groups of people milling around, but one lone boy in particular caught his eye. The boy was short, with curly brown hair and rather plump cheeks – but more importantly, the boy was struggling to get his trunk loaded into the luggage rack.

“Want some help with that?” Yanjun asked as he walked over to the boy. The boy jumped in surprise and almost dropped the trunk on his foot, but Yanjun reached out and steadied it just in time. Together, the two of them managed to get the trunk safely tucked into the luggage rack. Wiping his hands on his jeans, the curly haired boy smiled up at Yanjun, revealing a set of adorable bunny teeth.

“Thank you – I thought I’d be there for hours trying to get that thing stored!” The boy giggled softly and stuck his hand out in greeting. “I’m You Zhangjing, what’s your name?”

“Lin Yanjun.” He replied as he shook Zhangjing’s hand softly. “First year.”

Zhangjing’s eyes lit up when he heard this. “Really? Same here! This is all so different than what I’m used to, I didn’t even know I was a wizard until I got my letter!” He exclaimed happily.

“So you’re a muggle born then? No wonder you looked like a lost puppy back there.” Yanjun laughed softly. “… Do you have anyone to sit with?” He asked, suddenly feeling a bit shy.

Zhangjing smiled wider and shook his head no. “Do you want to sit with me, Yanjun? There seems to be lots of space in this car-“ Before he could finish speaking, the car door slid open and the seven boys Yanjun had seen on the platform tumbled through it.

“Justin, I told you to stop shoving!” One of them growled as the seven of them detangled themselves from the mess of limbs on the floor.

“It’s not my fault you move at a turtle’s pace!” One of them shot back, probably Justin from the look of it. Four of them were watching the two argue with interest, but one of them – Zhengting, Yanjun realized – was looking right at him.

“Lin Yanjun? Is that you?” Zhengting looked at him with surprised eyes and smiled widely before running over and giving him a tight hug.

“Well, he certainly hasn’t changed at all” Yanjun thought as he hugged Zhengting back just as tight.

“I’m not sure why I’m so surprised to see you honestly – oh right, you’ve never met my other friends have you? Would you like to sit with us? There’s plenty of room!” Zhengting gestured to the six boys who had just walked into the largest compartment, leaving room to spare. Yanjun started to nod, then saw Zhangjing had started to sneak off quietly, hanging his head.

“I’ll come on one condition. He comes too.” Yanjun pointed to Zhangjing, who stopped moving in surprise – then smiled and practically ran back over to Yanjun. Zhengting nodded in agreement, and the three of them walked into the large compartment. Yanjun sat down in one of the seats and was soon joined by Zhengting and Zhangjing on either side of him. He turned to look at the six unfamiliar faces in the room. Zhengting smiled and pointed to each of the boys in turn.

“The one reading the book is Bi Wenjun, he’s a second year Ravenclaw – probably the most normal of our friend group. That’s Ding Zeren, and the one he’s talking to is Huang Xinchun. The little one is Li Quanzhe – don’t mind him, he’s just shy. Oh, and the last two, who are bickering like children are Fan Chengcheng and Justin Huang- don’t try to deny it, you’re both acting like three year olds.” Yanjun couldn’t help but laugh as soon as Zhengting mentioned Justin and Chengcheng’s names – he remembered many times when Zhengting told him about their antics and how funny they were. He opened his mouth to remark on this, but the door to the compartment slid open, cutting him off. Two boys, probably around his age, entered and glanced around the compartment – one of them tall, with kind looking eyes, and the other slightly shorter, with large doe eyes. Doe Eyes spoke up first, after glancing around the compartment a few seconds longer.

“Hello – mind if we sit here? Everywhere else is pretty full. I’m Cai Xukun, and that’s Wang Ziyi.” Zhengting nodded, looking at the doe eyed boy with interest, and gestured for them to sit down. As the train ride continued, they were eventually joined by Chen Linong, a boy with an adorable smile, and Wang Linkai, who only stayed for a few minutes before his two friends, Xingjie and Yanchen, appeared and took him with them to a different compartment.

A few minutes after Linkai left, they heard the trolley witch outside the compartment. The group of boys all crowded around the trolley and picked out sweets. Zhangjing, who had looked particularly hungry just before the trolley arrived, now looked rather confused. “What are these sweets? I’ve never heard of anything like these.”

Yanjun smiled and walked over next to him. “Wizard candy is different from muggle candy – and better too. A chocolate frog and two cauldron cakes please.” He smiled and handed the trolley witch his money.

“A chocolate what?! Why ruin a perfectly good thing like chocolate by putting frog in it!?” Zhangjing yelped, going rather pale. Yanjun laughed loudly and opened his mouth to explain, but got cut off by Chengcheng before he could.

“But Zhangjing! The frog is the best part! Especially the gooey inside of the frog-“

“Stop talking right now, I’m going to be sick!” Zhangjing exclaimed as he ran back inside the compartment without buying anything. Feeling a twinge of pity, Yanjun turned back to the trolley witch.

“Can I get another chocolate frog and a box of Fizzing Whizzbees as well?”

After collecting his sweets, Yanjun reentered the compartment and sat down next to Zhangjing. “Here – I bought these for yo-“

“DON’T TELL ME YOU ACTUALLY LIKE CHOCOLATE COVERED FROGS-“ Zhangjing yelped and got up to move, but Yanjun managed to grab his wrist in time.

“First of all, they’re solid chocolates in the shape of a frog that just so happen to move. Second of all, trust me, if there were actual frogs in here, I’d never go near one. I hate frogs.” Yanjun shuddered and watched as Zhangjing sat back down hesitantly.

“… promise?”

“I promise. Here, try one.” Yanjun handed him one of the chocolate frogs and watched as Zhangjing squeaked in surprised after opening the packaging.

“It MOVES?”

Yanjun laughed and shook his head. “Yes, didn’t I just tell you that? They’re enchanted to move like real frogs.”

Zhangjing nodded and bit into the frog hesitantly, before pouting and sending a disapproving look in Chengcheng’s direction. “He tricked me.”

“To be fair, it does seem like a chocolate covered frog to anyone who doesn’t know better.” Yanjun patted his back and then added, after eyeing what Justin had bought from the trolley, “Also, word of advice: if Justin offers you a jelly bean, don’t take it. When they say every flavor, they mean every flavor.” Zhangjing looked up at him with a grateful smile and nodded softly.

Some time later, Yanjun glanced out the window and noticed the sun was starting to sink lower and lower on the horizon. It seemed the lower the sun sank, the more exciting the atmosphere in the car became – every minute was one minute closer to arriving at Hogwarts. Yanjun guessed they’d be arriving soon, considering the number of elder students with their robes on that were milling about outside the corridor. Sure enough, a few moments later the train started to slow.

They had arrived at Hogwarts.

Chapter Text

Zhangjing pov

The excitement level on the train bubbled up to a high as soon as the train started to slow down. Zhangjing glanced outside the compartment window and watched the older students chattering excitedly. He envied them honestly – they knew exactly what to expect, unlike him. He knew nothing about this world and was, honestly, quite worried he’d be overwhelmed.

“We’re almost there!” Justin crowed excitedly from where he was perched on one of the seats. Zhengting rolled his eyes and laughed softly before shaking his head.

“Yes, yes, just put your robes on and shut up, will you?” Wenjun muttered as he pulled on his Ravenclaw robes. Zhangjing laughed softly and pulled his robes on while watching the others buzzing around the compartment excitedly. Before long, the train pulled to a complete stop and Chengcheng slid the compartment door open.

“Come on!” Yanjun grinned and pulled Zhangjing out of the compartment by the arm. Zhangjing stumbled behind him and soon bounded down the steps, onto the station platform. The first thing that Zhangjing noticed was a tall, bearded man standing in the middle of the platform.

“First years! First years, follow me!” The man called with a kind smile. Wenjun looked at the others with a wide smile and waved goodbye.

“That’s you guys, I’ll see you in the school. Good luck with the Sorting!” Wenjun called over his shoulder as he ran towards a few of his second year friends.

“Sorting? What’s that?” Zhangjing looked up at Yanjun quizzically, but never got a response – the tall, bearded man had started leading the first years towards a dock.

The first years clambered into the boats waiting there in group of four and five – which was how Zhangjing found himself sandwiched between Yanjun and Zhengting on a boat. After a few moments, Zhangjing piped up, confused. “How do they expect us to move? There’s no oars.”

Zhengting laughed softly and glanced over at the curly haired, puppy-like boy with a twinkle in his eye. “Magic.”

As if on cue, the boats glided forward as if they were being pulled by some invisible string. Zhangjing gasped softly, in spite of himself, and watched in amazement. “Told you.” Zhengting laughed, watching the boy closely. But Zhangjing wasn’t listening – he was much too deep in thought, questioning how he – an ordinary child, who wasn’t at all special – could possibly be a wizard. Zhangjing had a good life at home, but nothing special. He got decent grades, but nothing outstanding, and played the piano (but wasn’t particularly gifted at it) – nothing out of the ordinary. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he was in over his head.

Before Zhangjing could form another thought, the boats rounded a corner and the group let out a collective gasp. There, before them, was an absolutely massive castle that shown dimly in the growing twilight. Zhangjing was beside himself in awe – never before had he seen such a majestic building. He could scarcely take it all in without falling right off the boat into the cold lake below.

Before long, the boats reached the shore and the tall man (who then introduced himself as Hagrid) lead the group of students up a winding, cobblestone path to the doors of the castle. There, they were met by another teacher who ushered the group of students inside and up a grand staircase. The teacher stopped in front of a pair of grand doors and turned to the group of students with a smile. “Allow me to be one of the first to welcome you to Hogwarts – I am Professor McGonagall, your Transfigurations professor and the deputy headmistress.” Zhangjing listened with interest as she explained what would happen during the Sorting – it seemed quite odd to him that such a big decision was to be decided by a mere hat. After ending her explanation, Professor McGonagall opened the large doors and led the group inside. Zhangjing had not expected the sight he saw upon entering the spacious hall.

The whole hall gave off a wonderful air of magic, from the floating candles around the room to the beautiful dark ceiling that resembled the night sky outside. Zhangjing gaped at the room, momentarily pausing to look around before rushing to catch up with the rest of the group. More words were said, but Zhangjing did not hear them – he was much too busy looking around the hall, trying to take everything in. What finally pulled Zhangjing’s attention back to the Sorting was the first name being called from Professor McGonagall’s scroll.

“Cai Xukun.”

Chapter Text

Xukun pov

Xukun, not expecting to hear his name called first, stumbled forward in surprise. As he sat down on the stool, the last thing he saw before the hat covered his eyes was hundreds of students watching him with interest. A moment later, a small voice started speaking into his ear.

Well, this is certainly interesting – a Cai who doesn’t seem to be a Gryffindor at first glance. But I can see the potential in you, oh yes. There is a hidden bravery about you … but that bravery is outweighed by the need to prove yourself. You’re also loyal, almost to a fault … yes, oh yes, I believe you’ll do very, very well here … “SLYTHERIN!”

Xukun blinked in surprise and groaned inwardly. His parents were not going to be happy about this – they had expected him to be placed into Gryffindor, like all of his family members that came before him. With shaking legs, Kun stumbled over to the Slytherin table and took an empty spot, feeling less at home than ever before. With a soft sigh, he placed his head down on the table – this was just another thing that would prove to his parents how much of a disappointment he was. His magical abilities were average, he wasn’t outspoken, and he lacked the great amounts of bravery that both his parents possessed – so much to the point that he was breaking out into a cold sweat at the thought of them finding out he had been placed in Slytherin. Xukun was so deep in thought that he completely missed Linong, who he had become friends with on the train, getting sorted in Hufflepuff.

Zeren pov

“Ding Zeren.”

Zeren took a deep breath and started walking towards the stool, unaware of what was happening around him – the only vague memory he could recall was Zhengting hitting his shoulder lightly and wishing him luck. He wasn’t exactly nervous – he had a good idea of which house he was going to be sorted into. No, he was just not used to having everyone’s attention on him – with friends like Justin, who loved being the center of attention, this was a new and foreign feeling to him. As the hat dropped over his eyes and he heard a small voice in his ear, he thought only of one thing: he hoped that his friends wouldn’t forget about him, as he was quite sure that none of the others would get sorted into the same house as him.

Interesting, very interesting … I haven’t seen someone this set on Slytherin in a good number of years. Are you sure you’re not at all interested in Gryffindor? You certainly have the temperament and- no? Well, if you’re certain … “SLYTHERIN!”

Zeren smiled and stood, walking over to the Slytherin table and sitting down next to Xukun – he had been right all along.

Chengcheng pov

As Professor McGonagall called the next name (Dong Youlin), Chengcheng made eye contact with Zeren and raised an eyebrow – he hadn’t expected Zeren to be placed into Slytherin at all. In fact, he had been convinced that he would probably get sorted into Gryffindor with Justin. Zeren just smiled apologetically at him and gave him a thumbs up – just after this happened, the hat placed Youlin into Ravenclaw and Chengcheng turned his attention back to the front.

“Fan Chengcheng.”

Much to his annoyance, as soon as the name Fan left McGonagall’s mouth, the whispers started. He could see the professors perk up and look at him with interest, along with some of the older students.  One Ravenclaw wearing a prefect badge gasped softly and whispered to her friend loud enough that Chengcheng could hear “Did she just say Fan? As in Fan Bingbing? That Fan?”

Chengcheng groaned inwardly as he walked towards the stool. He had expected this would happen – how couldn’t he, with a sister as talented and pretty as Bingbing? He thanked his lucky stars that he hadn’t been a few years older and had managed to avoid attending Hogwarts at the same time as her. It was funny, honestly; part of the reason that Chengcheng was so excited to attend Hogwarts was because he wanted to finally escape her shadow and prove himself – and yet, here he was, at Hogwarts, still under her shadow. With a sigh, Chengcheng sat down on the stool and the hat dropped over his eyes.

Another Fan, eh? I remember your sister very well. Outspoken … determined … what’s this? A strong urge to prove yourself? I think you’d make a fine Slytherin like your sister … Oh, you don’t want that, do you? Well in that case … “GRYFFINDOR!”

Chengcheng grinned and almost ran over to the Gryffindor table, taking an empty spot and turning to look at Justin. That spot next to him wasn’t empty for long – Justin’s name was called a few moments after Chengcheng sat down, and the hat never even touched his head before it proclaimed “GRYFFINDOR!”

Justin ran over to Chengcheng with a huge grin and sat down next to him – only to be joined moments later by Xinchun, who also got sorted into Gryffindor.

Yanjun pov

Yanjun watched as student after student got sorted, waiting impatiently for his own turn. He couldn’t wait to get placed into a house – whatever house he got placed in would become his home away from home, his new family. Next to him, he felt Zhangjing bouncing slightly in impatience and laughed softly – the boy probably wouldn’t be called for a while and he honestly felt bad for him. After Li Quanzhe (Hufflepuff) took his seat, Professor McGonagall looked out at the students.

“Lin Yanjun.”

Yanjun felt Zhangjing squeeze his shoulder just as he started walking forward towards the stool. As he took his seat on the stool, the hat was dropped down onto his head.

A Lin, eh? You’ve got Slytherin in your blood, but I’m not so sure that’s the best choice for you. You’ve got the brains for Ravenclaw and the grit for Gryffindor, but the question is where to put you … hm … What’s that? You want to be placed into Slytherin? Well, I suppose that wouldn’t be horrible, you wouldn’t be totally out of place … “SLYTHERIN!”

Yanjun stood and walked towards the Slytherin table, hoping he made the right choice. While he didn’t think he was a perfect match for Slytherin, what he wanted more than anything was to make his father proud. After he took a seat next to Zeren, he turned and watched the next students (Lu Dinghao and Qian Zhenghao) get sorted into Hufflepuff.

Zhangjing pov

As more and more students got sorted, Zhangjing only got more anxious. He watched as two of the boys he had ridden the train with (Wang Linkai and Wang Ziyi) got sorted into Slytherin and Ravenclaw, respectfully. After Ziyi took his seat at the Ravenclaw table, McGonagall looked out at the few remaining students.

“You Zhangjing.”

With shaking legs, Zhangjing stepped forward and approached the stool, making eye contact with Yanjun just as the hat dropped onto his head.

Oh, you’re quite easy. Loyal, kind, hardworking … there’s really only one choice for you. … “HUFFLEPUFF!”

Zhangjing smiled and walked towards the Hufflepuff table, catching Yanjun’s eye again as he went.

Zhengting pov

Zhengting looked over at the only other boy who was left to be sorted besides himself – it was one of the boys he had met on the train, Yanchen if he remembered correctly.  McGonagall called Yanchen’s name and Zhengting was left very much alone up front. He made eye contact with Kun, who he had become fast friends with on the train, and shot him a small smile. As Kun smiled back at him, the hat placed Yanchen in Ravenclaw and Zhengting’s name was called. Zhengting stepped forward and sat down on the stool, making eye contact with Quanzhe just as the hat dropped onto his head – it was then that Zhengting remembered his promise.

Interesting, very interesting … plenty of courage, a keen mind, ambitious, kind … You’d make a lovely Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. But where to put you … what’s this? You’d like Hufflepuff, would you? That should also be a good fit. If you’re sure then … “HUFFLEPUFF!”

Zhengting smiled and walked over to the Hufflepuff table, taking a seat next to Quanzhe. “Told you I’d keep my promise.” He said as he ruffled Quanzhe’s hair lightly.