The Serpents' Heir (HP & Kpop Fanfic)

Chapter 3

   Outside the store was none other than the man who attempted to kidnap me. His face was bloody and scraped up. I looked to D.O. and Sehun who stood to the side. Sehun stared emotionlessly at the slowly fading body while D.O. looked just as surprised as I was.
Namjoon rushed to the man's side and attempted to do something to save him. Sehun slowly approached him and pulled him off. Namjoon stood up and shoved the guard backwards. The two stood face-to-face. Their intentions were blurry to everyone around them.
The man struggled and reached out towards Johnny and Haechan. Johnny kneeled beside him and Haechan lightly pressed his shoe to the man's hand. Johnny ignored the petty action and stared at the man," do you need help?"
The man leaned toward him and whispered fairly loudly," tell the bitch she shoulda kept quiet."
Haechan's foot snapped down roughly," excuse me?"
The man groaned," I'm already dying. Why don'tcha just kill me already?"
Haechan leaned down and whispered," oh trust me, your fate is one worse than death."
Johnny pushed him away and kneeled back down," give me one reason why I should help you and not leave you to die?"
The man smiled weakly," because it'll haunt you."
Johnny rolled his eyes," not as much as letting you live would."
I reached forward and grabbed Johnny's large hand. The man stared at me as the light in his eyes dissipated. I stared in horror and tightened my clutch on Johnny's fingers. He turned and stared at the look of disbelief and fear on my face. In an instant, he pulled me to him and buried my face in his shoulder. One large hand caressed my head and the other held my back.
I felt a hand jerk my arm and I turned to look at Wonwoo. I wiped my eye and stared at him," I'm just a pretty face right? Well I'm not so pretty with tears, am I?"
Johnny turned and pulled me further down the alley and away from the group. He didn't slow down until we reached the ice cream parlor. He finally stopped and turned to me.
His large brown eyes narrowed in concern," Alice..."
I stared up at him and attempted to fix my hair," yeah?"
He brushed the nuisance hair back," are you really ok?"
I nodded at him slowly," a little upset is all."
His thumb gently landed on my cheek," because of the man.... or Wonwoo."
I looked down but his thumb gently forced my chin up," both."
He heard my plea for silence in my tone and decided to drop the topic," so want some ice cream?"
I decided to take him up on the offer and we got vanilla and strawberry to split. The cones were fairly large. Large enough where I couldn't finish one alone. We sat down on a bench and people-watched. I understood what Johnny meant to Wonwoo earlier. Wonwoo would go hours without talking. If I was sad, he would stay quiet because he assumed I wouldn't want to talk.
Johnny asked how I felt and when I had enough, he left well enough alone. He was a bit more considerate in that way. He was very observant and had picked up on how I felt. It was pleasing to not just sit in the silent one once.
Johnny laughed lightly," Alice, you got ice cream on your face?"
I wiped my face with my wrist," did I get it?"
He shook his head and wiped the drip away with his thumb and then proceeded to lick it off. His action caught me off guard and I stared in awe. He was so manly about how he had gone about it but he was so considerate as well. It was hard to believe it was all one person.
     He looked up at me and stared wide-eyed. It was as if he didn't plan on me seeing it. He chuckled awkwardly and messed his hair up. I smiled and reached over to him," you messed up your hair."
      I gently brushed a couple stray strands back into place and stared at him. His large fawn-looking eyes watched me closely as I licked the ice cream. His curvy lips sat in a content smile. His large hand covered mine over the ice cream cone. The sweet pink melted cream began to slip over the sides and drip down towards his pretty fingers.
     I bit my lip in thought before licking the ice cream just before it reached his hand. While I did like Johnny, I wouldn't want to treat him like a rebound. I wanted to wait and give him the benefit of the doubt.
     His eyebrows furrowed lightly as he stared up the street," are you ready to join the group?"
     I looked up the street and saw Mingyu and Hobi moving through the crowd. I looked back at Johnny and shook my head.
      He grinned before grabbing my hand and pulling me up," then let's go before they see us."
      I laugh as he pulled me through the crowd toward random stores and away from our friends. We ended up in some random store full of odd antiques. We walked around looking at the weird objects that cluttered the mass amounts of shelves. I picked up a teddy bear missing an eye and stared at it.
      Johnny glanced over my shoulder," creepy."
     I shrugged and looked up at him," I used to have a teddy bear like this. Mine had a big red bow though. One day, I was playing with my brothers. We had gone out to play in the garden and I took my bear. We were playing hide-n-seek and I climbed into this tree in the center. When Adriel came looking for us, I got nervous and I let go over the branch to hold my bear. I slipped and went off the branch and into the hedges below. They both came rushing to my aid. Adriel pulled me to my feet and comforted me. Erza pulled my bear from the hedge, but it's eye popped off and I couldn't find it. When we got back in the house, I went to my mom to cry about my bear being ruined. My brothers snuck off and sewed a new eye into my bear. The buttons were different colored and the new one was horribly sewn."
     I paused for a second before smiling and continuing," but it was really nice."
     He smiled and stared at the teddy bear," after what Ezra did, it's hard to imagine he'd do something like that."
     My smile faded and brushed the bear's ears back," times change."
     I set the bear down and moved around the shelves. I noticed Johnny watching the windows from a distance. I moved over to him and slid my arms around his waist. His eyes steadied across the street. I looked up and noticed Wonwoo and the rest of the group. Sehun and Chanyeol stood around looking about, probably for me.
      A slight tap on my shoulder made me jump.  I turned to see D.O. He shushed me and pulled me and Johnny out the back door of the store.
      He smiled lightly and handed me a bag," I got you potion supplies. Oh and also, I suggest using this alley if you don't want to be seen. Wonwoo is looking for you. So is Sehun, but he's more likely to find you."
      I hugged him gently," thank you so much. See ya later."
      He nodded and went back in the store," I'll say I didn't see you, but Sehun will double check. I'd try to get away pretty fast."
      We nodded and jogged down the small alleyway until the store was out of sight. We slowed down when we thought we were safe.
      I looked up at him," want to go back to the school?"
      He nodded," yeah. We can go back and eat lunch and then we can go down to the herbology class. Professor Dara was looking for students to help to take care of the plants."
     I smiled up at him. I had known about Johnny last year, but we never talked.  We had one class together but we were always on the opposite side of the classroom. I was always in my group and he was usually in his, but he was always studying. I was always talking and assuming I was more advance than the other students.
     I remember Johnny would cast everything charm perfectly and if he didn't, he would work on it until it was. He would do perfect on every test and was overall a perfect student.
     His pretty brown eyes stared down at the book he bought. His long eyelashes fluttered as his irises darted along the lines. His thumbs moved down the page as he read. His full lips parted and mouthed the words that he saw.
     After a while of me watching him, his gorgeous eyes glanced up at me. I pursed my lips tightly as he studied my face. His mouth parted as if he was going to speak, but he stopped. He pushed his lips back together and looked down.
     I stared at him in the quiet. The silence between us wasn't awkward. It felt like we were both communicating without speaking. He held contact with my eyes and fumbled his fingers. It was obvious that he was searching for the right words.
      His lips pulled tight before relaxing," you were staring."
      I blinked to reestablish my focus," sorry, I didn't mean-"
      He smiled and his teeth showed off their whiteness," don't apologize. I do it too."
      I nodded and looked down at the bag of stuff D.O. had brought me. It was a bunch of stuff that I hadn't been introduced to. I didn't know what potions I was supposed to use them for or what properties they even had.
      Johnny looked up from his book and raised his eyebrows as he spoke," I can teach you how to use them if you want."
      I nodded and he gave me a soft smile. I looked over at his book," what're you reading?"
      He lifted the book to show me the title," it's a book about the Ministry of Magic. American, British, Asian, and Southern American. It's pretty informative, but I wasn't expecting to see your name so much. I figured it might mention you, but you're a popular topic. I don't mean the Crane name, but you specifically. It talked about how Adriel was more of the 'family life' kind and Ezra's power hungry."
     I rest my chin against his shoulder," did you get to the part were I'm an egotistical airhead with a superiority complex?"
      He frowned and looked up at me," you read this book, didn't you?"
     I sighed and nodded," in my household you have to keep up with the gossip about you. In my case, I was a complex. Now they see me as a tragedy. I can't really win in the public eye."
      He sighed and hesitantly rested a hand upon my cheek," if you ask me, you are beyond American Ministry of Magic. Not the heiress to an otherwise pointless democracy, but a girl who can rise above the distasteful rumors and prove that she's much more. You aren't just Alice Crane. You're my friend."
      "That's enough of that," a voice behind us growled.
      I turned around to see Sehun watching closely. His eyes stared at the hand that sat atop my cheek. His eyebrows furrowed and he narrowed his gaze until it was removed.
     I sighed and looked up at Johnny," sorry about that. We were having a really sweet moment."
      I looked up at Sehun," what do you want?"
      He adjusted his recently dyed hair and leaned back on his heel," Ezra was spotted nearby."
       I felt my legs lock up and I waited for them to give out, but the arms that wrapped tightly around me didn't want that. Johnny gripped me to his chest in an attempt to keep me upright. Sehun walked over and kneeled down beside me with a softened expression," I'm not trying to be the jerk here, but we need to go. Johnny too. We need to get back to the school now. I can't completely protect you out in the open. The others are headed back too."
       I looked down at Sehun's calm expression," and them?"
       He sighed," Wonwoo's pissed I'm sure. The others are worried about you. Haechan misses you two. He's been eyeing Wonwoo ever since he heard what he said."
       I tightened my grip on Johnny's shirt," and the man?"
       Sehun's gaze dropped to the floor," dead. Not by my hand. I can't explain what happened to him."
        I nodded and adjusted my bag," let's head back then."
        The way back to Hogwarts wasn't what I had expected. Johnny and Sehun chatted like civilized people. Sehun didn't act that way with most people. He was very cold. It was odd and seeing the kind conversation. When my legs gave out as I thought of the man who was once my brother, Johnny gave me a piggyback ride until his back hurt. At that point, him and Sehun switched and I rode Sehun's back until it hurt and they switched again. The two were too careful to allow me to walk on my own.
         When we were close enough that it didn't matter, I walked. We met up with the group in the dining hall. Wonwoo had made various slight attempts to get me to sit beside him. I ignored his annoying beckoning and sat in a comfortable spot between Sehun and Johnny. Johnny fought with me to eat but when I didn't want certain parts of my meal, he'd trade me some of his. To my right was Sehun, who ate silently beside Chanyeol and the line of guards. To the left was Johnny, who was focused on me. On the other side of him was Haechan, Taeyong, Yuta, and a few others. Leila and Elena sat across from me. Wonwoo sat across from Johnny, who never let a gaze toward me slip. Sehun stared him down as he ate.
      After eating, my friends tried to coax me to join them for some "Slytherin fun". However, I denied their fun for some time tending the plants in the Herbology class with a few of my guards and Johnny. The guards were unwilling to let me slip out of their sights with Ezra being seen nearby.
     Even now, a new protective order was being formally enforced into Hogwarts by none other than my mother. At the head of the charge, was a man whose name I hadn't heard in years. A name I wasn't ready to hear once more.