Chapter 98

Hu Yetao smiled to himself as he remembered that this was the site of his first 'date' with Oscar.

Jing Long walked up to him then. "What about a book on becoming a father?" she whispered to him.

Hu Yetao wrinkled his nose. "Bit too..."

"Sickly?" Jing Long conjectured with a grin.

"Yeah." Hu Yetao sighed and looked around at the subject headings stuck haphazardly on the over-stuffed shelves. "Maybe a Potions book?"

Jing Long followed him into the appropriate section, reading the titles over his shoulder. "Is he going to pursue his Potions Mastery?"

Hu Yetao scanned the titles, frowning in concentration. "He's not sure," he replied without looking up. "He wants to do something Potions related, but not sure what that is yet. He said he liked the idea of working at the Ministry though."

"Did he?" Jing Long replied in surprise. "I would've thought he'd dislike the Ministry."

"Oh he does, intensely," Hu Yetao answered, glancing up with a smirk. "But the Ministry also intensely dislikes the Wangs so he thinks it would be great fun to work there."

"To spite them?"

"Mm-hmm…" Hu Yetao confirmed with a nod.

Jing Long chuckled as Hu Yetao reached for a large blue tome. "He's such a nutter."

"I think you mean asshole," Hu Yetao said with a smirk as he opened the shiny book cover and scanned the Table of Contents. "But I sort of love that about him."

Jing Long rolled his eyes. "You're quite the pair," he muttered.

"What about this one?" Hu Yetao asked, showing him the book.

"Rare Potions for Healing Purposes," he read aloud. "Sounds fascinating, is he interested in Healing?"

"He's interested in anything to do with unfamiliar Potion formulas, but I've noticed that he particularly likes to put the healing ones to good use. He's always suggesting this or that for me and inspecting the potions that Madam Chen prescribes for me."

Jing Long smiled. "Sounds perfect then," he agreed.

Hu Yetao smiled, feeling successful; he had high hopes that his mate would enjoy this dusty book of potion recipes. "Great, let's go. I'll just get a few more things to add to his gift and then I'm done. What about you? What are you getting Xinyao?"

The two walked back through the shelves to the front counter, where Xinyao was seated in a large squashy armchair by the window, looking bored.

"Not a book," Jing-Long observed dryly.

Hu Yetao laughed and set about paying for his book and then tucking the bag under his Cloak.

The three of them spent the rest of their time wandering the different shops and buying gifts for family and friends. Hu Yetao even purchased a sparkly unicorn for Su Min. He also added a soft cashmere scarf for Oscar along with some very expensive white chocolates.

He put everything into the cloth bag that Mr. Xing had given him and then the three of them made their way to The Three Broomsticks.

Hu Yetao felt exhausted, his legs and feet tired and achy, as he collapsed into the booth with his friends. They each ordered a drink while they waited for the two Slytherins.

"Speaking of careers," Jing-Long broached as she relaxed into the worn leather seat, "what are you going to do while Oscar is off curing the wizarding world of terminal illnesses?"

Hu Yetao blew on the top of his peppermint tea, expression thoughtful. "Well, for the next twelve months I won't be doing much of anything except for… well, you know. After that, I dunno, I was thinking of maybe opening my own business."

"What sort of business?" Jing Long asked with interest as she took a sip of her Butterbeer.

Hu Yetao paused, unaccountably shy. "Erm, I was thinking maybe some sort of magical education center for Muggle-borns. I mean, we take Muggle Studies at Hogwarts to expand a student's knowledge of Muggles, but what about the kids from Muggle families who don't know anything about the magical world until they're suddenly push into it at eleven years old?" He paused and shrugged. "Just an idea. I would've appreciated something like that."

Jing Long pushed a wayward curl out of her eyes as she nodded. "That sounds like a great idea Hu Yetao."

Hu Yetao smiled, slightly embarrassed but pleased. "I haven't worked out the details yet, but I think I want to run it as a non-profit society. I wouldn't want to charge people."

"Would it be classes or just a collection of books and information?" Xinyao asked curiously, almost finished with his tall pint of Butterbeer already

"I think both," Hu Yetao replied thoughtfully. "So people can come anytime and hang out there and read, or attend information sessions at specific times."

"And you would teach them?"

"I'm not sure." Hu Yetao took a sip of his tea with a blissful sigh before continuing. "I like teaching so yeah, maybe. I like the idea of working my hours too, you know? So if I want to be at home then I can just stay home, or if I feel like working, I can do that too."

Jing Long nodded. "Something flexible would be great as a new fa… well, you know."

Hu Yetao grinned, feeling a tiny fizzle of excitement as he slid a hand onto his stomach beneath the table where no one would see it.

"And if you call it the Hu Yetao Centre for Muggle-Born Children, then it'll be a success for sure," Xinyao interjected, grinning.

"Branching out into philanthropy Taotao?"

The three of them glanced up to see Chenchen arching one perfectly manicured eyebrow down at them.

Hu Yetao looked past her to the bar and saw Oscar ordering some drinks. He relaxed at the sight of his mate, relieved to see that he was all right. He'd been a bit concerned that he wasn't the only one with a target on his back out of the two of them.

He fixed his gaze back on Chenchen who was now removing her cloak and hanging it on the hook next to their booth. "Yes, Chenchen, something you wouldn't know anything about."

"And does Oscar know you want to spend loads of his money on charity work?" she drawled disdainfully. "Especially for children - ick!"

"You're a child," Jing-Long replied with a roll of his eyes. "You're the only one who isn't eighteen."

"Speaking of which," she replied, instantly brightening. "I will be holding my eighteenth birthday party next month and you're all invited."

Hu Yetao wanted to laugh at the look on Chenchen's face; as though they should all be falling at her feet, thanking her for the honor.

"I'll have to check my social calendar," Jing-Long replied dryly, causing Xinyao to snort.

Oscar approached the table then and slid in next to Hu Yetao as he placed his and Chenchen's drinks on the table.

Hu Yetao smiled when Oscar leaned in and kissed the side of his neck, one hand squeezing his thigh and then remaining there, the warmth from his hand seeping through Hu Yetao's trousers and warming his skin.

"You all right?" Oscar murmured into his ear.

"Yeah, just happy to be sitting down."

"Well, Oscar is thrilled about my upcoming celebration," Chenchen sniffed. "He knows what my parties are like."

Oscar smirked into a small glass of what appeared to be cranberry juice with a slice of lime. "Chenchen's events truly are renowned in Slytherin, you should be honored to be extended an invitation," he replied. "You're probably the first Gryffindors ever to be invited."

"Wow, lucky us," Hu Yetao answered, voice dripping with sarcasm.

Oscar snickered and then pinched his leg.

"Ow!" Hu Yetao yelped then laughed. "Sorry Chenchen," he said, grinning. "Of course we'll be there. Xinyao never refuses free food."

Zhang Xinyao opened his mouth to argue and then shut it again. "It's true," he allowed with a shrug.

"What are everyone's Christmas plans?" Jing Long asked around the table.

"We're spending Christmas Day with Oscar's family and then Boxing Day at The Burrow," Hu Yetao replied with a glance at Oscar who nodded.

They'd had that discussion ages ago and Hu Yetao had expected a bit of an uphill battle to get Oscar to come to the Zhang's but he'd been surprisingly agreeable.

"Paris," Chenchen replied in a bored tone. "Again."

Hu Yetao caught Jing-Long glaring at the arrogant Slytherin and quickly intervened. He didn't think his friends would ever entirely get on with the Slytherins, especially Chenchen, but as long as there wasn't any bloodshed then he could live with it.

"I need to select my replacement for Gryffindor Seeker," Hu Yetao said, abruptly changing the subject to the first thing that popped into his head. "I was thinking of asking that fourth-year who tried out for Chaser and didn't make it. He wasn't aggressive enough for Chaser but he was really fast, definitely had some flying skills."

"Yeah, he was good," Xinyao acknowledged with a nod, looking relieved to have the subject come around to something he was interested in.

"Why do you need a new Seeker?" Chenchen enquired with narrowed, calculating eyes; rather like Lita Sijíte on the verge of the next big headline.

Hu Yetao froze, instantly realizing his mistake.

"Hu Yetao isn't allowed to play Quidditch right now," Oscar replied smoothly. "Those men who attacked him managed to sneak onto Hogwarts grounds before and they could do it again. It's too public."

"And you just… agreed to that?" Chenchen asked Hu Yetao suspiciously. You're the most pigheaded, stubborn wizard I know."

Hu Yetao swallowed and leaned into Oscar. "I only agreed because Oscar agreed to step down as Slytherin Seeker as well."

Oscar stiffened minutely, but outwardly he just smiled faintly and nodded.

Chenchen arched a brow at the two of them but then turned to her fancy fizzing drink with a flick of her long hair. "Quidditch is such a barbaric sport," she commented airily.

A waiter arrived to take their orders then and Hu Yetao shared a look of relief with Xinyao and Jing-Long before placing his order.