Heather-covered crags and lush green moors zipped past the windows of the Hogwarts Express. Minho’s breath fogged up the window as he stared outside. Kibum was chatting with Callum and Aaron while Minho tried to count how many deer he could see in the countryside on their way back to London.

So far, he had seen five.

The window pane was like ice against his forehead. With yet another sigh, Minho's breath blocked his view of the Scottish countryside. He thought he might have seen another deer, or perhaps it was just another rock. Honestly, he couldn’t be sure. Whatever…might as well count it.

He made a low noise in response when he thought Kibum said his name.

He would see his parents today. Whether at the station or at home when Grandma dropped him off, he would see them.

Why did he feel so…conflicted?

Anxious – that was what he felt the most. Happiness at being reunited with his family, confusion about why they hadn't written to him once, and anger at…well, maybe not anger. Minho couldn’t place that, quite yet. All his emotions were mingling to form a sort of frustrated anxiety in the pit of his stomach.

“Ugh.” Minho knocked his forehead against the window, jolting back when he felt someone’s hand on his arm.

Oh, it was only Kibum. “Are you okay?”

Minho blinked and looked about the cabin. It was empty except for them and Minho’s backpack. “Where’d they go?”

“Everyone in Fredrick’s cabin was playing a game, but they needed two more, so – “

“Oh. Okay.” He turned back to the window but paused when Kibum’s hand tightened around his arm. A second later, Kibum released his hold, drawing his hand back to his lap. “What?”

“Sit with me.”

Minho sniffed a laugh. “I am sitting with you.”

“I mean beside me. Come on, Choi.”

When Minho didn’t budge, Kibum grabbed his arm and pulled him over to his side of the compartment. Minho groaned when he hit the bench, his knee digging into Kibum’s thigh. Neither moved. Instead, Minho rested his head on the cushioned top of the bench and stared out the window from his new position. He could see his forehead print on the window pane.

“I get it, you know?”

Minho glanced over to find Kibum watching him. “What do you mean?”

“I get nervous when I’m gonna see my mom. I haven’t seen her since…” his voice trailed off, and he calculated the time by counting with his fingers. “Wow, it’s been a year.” Minho nodded. Kibum mentioned that toward the beginning of the year when he first mentioned his parent’s not responding to his letters. She was a photographer for National Geographic and had been on assignment in Africa since June.

“I know, I do get to talk to her, but like, it’s not very often.” Minho nodded again. Kibum had only gotten one letter from his mother all year. “I don’t even know when she’ll be home.” He squinted, searching Minho’s face. “Promise not to tell anyone?” Minho raised his eyebrows, waiting for Kibum to finish his thought. “She…she’s been gone for so long, she sorta feels like a stranger when she comes home.”

Minho sat up, folding his hands in his lap. “I’m sorry about that, Bummie.”

He sniffed, shrugging. “Don’t be, I’m fine. I’ve got Grandma. I’m just saying…” he reached out, placing his hand over Minho’s, “it’s okay to be nervous about seeing your parents again.”

“Yeah. I guess.”

A comfortable silence settled over them, and Minho relaxed when Kibum squeezed his hand before he leaned back against the wall. He stretched his legs out across the bench and Minho shifted to make room for Kibum. “Anyways,” he said, his face scrunching up in a yawn. “What are your plans for the summer?”

“I don’t really know. I’ll probably play football with Minseok a lot. Or, maybe Dad will let us hang out with him while he works with his team.”

“That’ll be fun.”

“What about you?”

Kibum’s eyes brightened. “Grandma said in her last letter that Jonghyun’s mom is getting him and his sister for the summer vacation, so I’m excited.”

“What do you guys usually do?”

Kibum grinned as he talked about his and Jonghyun’s adventures, of playing with his dog and annoying his older sister on a daily basis. He launched into a story of how he and Jonghyun were going to attack Sodam with water balloons – “Don’t worry, she’s a witch, too so she would have been able to fix any damage.” The ending of the story was cut short when Minho looked out the window to find that they had reached London.

Buildings of brick, cement, and metal blocked their view of the cloud-laden sky. Rain soon pittered against the glass, mottling the green of the leaves lining the railway. The seating compartment darkened as the train ducked into a tunnel. Minho’s breath hitched and he reached for Kibum in the dark, his hand finding Kibum's knee and gripping it tightly. There was a brief flash of red light, and they when emerged, the train slowed as it pulled into Platform 9 ¾.

They hurried to gather their things, which didn’t take too long, then sat back as the Hogwarts Express chugged up to the platform. Many people milled about, looking up from their conversations as the train came to a stop.

“Do you have a phone?” Minho asked, reaching for his backpack and slinging it over her shoulder.

“Uh, I think Grandma does. But, I don’t know how to use it. We can write, though. Here,” he reached into his pockets, pulling out one of their polaroids, and started writing on the back. “This is my address.” Kibum passed the polaroid, address-side up, to Minho.

Kim Kibum, First Bedroom on the Left, 42 Juliette Blvd, Nottingham, United Kingdom.

“Why do they get so specific for the address?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Hmm.” Minho flipped over the picture, laughing when he saw which one it was. “I almost forgot about this.”

In the polaroid, they were in their study closet. Kibum was trying to sneak a picture of them being diligent in their studies to show Grandma. But, what he got was a picture of Minho stealing the last pumpkin pastie out of Grandma’s care package. The scene restarted when Kibum realized what Minho was doing -- his fist poised to punch as Minho covered his laugh behind his hand.

The bridge of Kibum’s nose wrinkled as he sniffed disdainfully. “You still owe me one.”

Minho grinned and flipped the polaroid over to read Kibum’s address again. “I’ll make it up to you.”

“Yeah, well, you’d better.” Heavy footfall and excited voices sounded in the hallway as their fellow students stampeded to the doors. Kibum left his seat to peer down the hall, waving Minho over when the line started to ebb. “Ready? I think I just saw Grandma!”

Minho’s eyebrows raised as he scanned the crowd of students meeting their families. He spotted an elderly woman standing alone amidst the bustle, her hands gripping a brown bag as she watched the train. “Let’s go.” Minho pushed the sliding door open and let Kibum out of the compartment, following him out onto the platform.

He peeked around Kibum at Grandma as they approached her. The wrinkles around her eyes deepened as she smiled the moment she saw Kibum. He ran ahead of Minho, his arms open to hug Grandma before he reached her. She laughed and the back of his head when Minho heard the muffled sound of Kibum’s voice.

“I missed you, too, darling.” Her voice was just as warm and kind as Minho had imagined. She kissed the top of Kibum’s head before she looked over at Minho. He smiled nervously. “You must be Minho.”

Minho bowed slightly. “Yes, Ma’am.”

“Please. Call me Grandma.” She held out her hand to Minho as Kibum stepped out of her embrace, pulling him into a hug of his own. Did she smell like freshly baked cookies or was Minho just imagining things? The bag in her hand crinkled as she patted his back before she dropped her arms. “Did you two eat on the train?”

The gurgle in Minho’s stomach betrayed him. “Nope,” Kibum said, reaching for the bag and digging through it. He passed Minho a snickerdoodle before shoving a whole one in his mouth.”Lthsghh icthppor lugath.”

Kibum turned and walked down the platform, and Minho went to follow him. “What did he say?” Grandma asked, laughing.

“‘Let’s go pick up our luggage,’ I think.” Minho chased after Kibum, the contents of his backpack clunking together as he ran. “She’s really nice,” he said, taking a bite of his cookie before Kibum handed him Geum-nan’s cage.

“Well, yeah. Did you think she wouldn’t be? Hold Meg.” Minho fit the rest of his snickerdoodle into his mouth before Kibum passed him Nutmeg’s cage as well. The two owls hooted at each other, and Nutmeg started preening. Kibum grabbed his trunk, dragging it over to where Minho stood. “Where’s your trunk?”

“Dfflfthag.”

“What?”

Minho finished chewing, wincing as he swallowed. “The duffle bag.” He nodded to the other pile of luggage where his duffle bag was waiting. Geum-nan trilled softly at him when tapped her cage. Kibum was back with Minho’s duffle bag quickly, and they exchanged Meg in his cage for the duffle. With great effort, they lugged their baggage back to where Grandma stood.

“Is that everything?”

“Yup!”

Minho looked around, pointing to the brick wall where a group of people ran through. Several empty carts stood on either side of the…exit. “Should I go get a cart?”

Kibum looked around, pressing his finger to his lips when Grandma whispered, “There’s no need.”

She cast a furtive look about the platform before she slipped her purse off her shoulder, opened it, and placed it over one of the corners of Meg’s cage. A second later, the cage was swished up into the purse, Nutmeg and all. Minho gasped and Kibum was quick to shush him, glancing back at the passersby. Grandma picked up Kibum’s trunk and Minho’s things as well before she slipped the strap over her shoulder.

She held out her hands for both of them to take, and Kibum scoffed, blushing as his gaze darted to Minho for a second. “We’re twelve, Grandma. We don’t need to hold your hands.”

Sighing, Grandma smiled. “Suit yourself.”

Minho stuck to Kibum’s side as they made their way through the crowd and to the brick wall. On the other side lay the Muggle world. Where his parents were. Maybe. He chewed the inside of his cheek as he followed Grandma and Kibum through the brick wall, and blinked at sudden assault of people crowding around the entrance of Platform 9 ¾.

Out of instinct, it appeared, Kibum reached for Grandma’s hand. That seemed like a good idea to Minho, so he went around to her other side and held her outstretched hand. “Are your parents here somewhere?” She asked, giving Minho’s hand a tiny squeeze.

“I’m not sure.”

“Well,” she paused, taking a deep breath. “If they’re not, I’ll get you to them.” Minho bit his lip and looked out at the mass of people, sniffing. “Don’t worry, dear. You’ll see them tonight.”

“Okay.”

They walked through the station, searching the crowd for his father or mother or even Minseok. After about ten minutes of wandering, Minho started getting discouraged. After twenty minutes, Grandma guided them to the side door of Dulcis Creamery. The ice cream shop was empty, and one of the workers was wiping off the tables.

Minho’s vision warped for a second, and when he focused again he saw that the ice cream parlor had been filled with witches and wizards the whole time. He spotted Gilbert with his family, enjoying his ice cream. Minho waved but Gilbert didn’t see him, distracted instead by something his little sister said.

Kibum pressed his nose against the glass dome covering the tubs of ice cream. “Get whatever you want," Grandma said. "Two scoops each.”

“Really?” She nodded at Minho when he looked up hopefully. He hummed to himself as he inspected every tub of delicious-looking ice cream. "What do I want..."

Kibum tapped the glass over the shimmery white ice cream. “Two scoops of rainbow sherbert, please.” Once it was scooped, the shimmery white changed to an array of colors, and, Minho assumed, flavors. The worker passed Kibum his cone over the glass, and Kibum stepped up on his tiptoes to reach it.

“And, for you?”

“Uh…” Minho squinted at the selection. “Bummie, what should I get?”

“Cookie dough is really good. Ooo,” he wiped his lips with the back of his hand. “So is the chocolate frog ripple.”

“Can I get one of each?”

Kibum nodded, asking the attendant for Minho’s ice cream. By the time Minho had his cone, Grandma had paid for their ice creams and a cup of tea for herself. Once they were sitting, she took a sip. “So, how are you two enjoying Hufflepuff?”

Minho froze mid- on his chocolate frog ripple scoop, his eyes darting to Kibum, who tensed up.  She still thought that Kibum had been sorted Hufflepuff and he had yet to correct her assumption. He wanted to wait until the right moment, he kept saying. Minho promised to keep this secret until Kibum was ready. And, he would.  He let out a deep breath and relaxed, swallowing the bite of his cone.

“It’s good. We love it.” Before she could ask another question about Hufflepuff, Kibum’s voice raised to a slightly higher pitch. “Is Jonghyun at his mom’s yet?”

“Not yet. Should be next week. Beauxbaton’s lets out a week later than Hogwarts, apparently.”

Minho breathed a quiet sigh of relief as Kibum continued to distract her with questions about their neighbors.

He some chocolate ice cream off his lips before he started the nibble around the edge of his cone. Kibum prattled on, his voice almost drowned out by the sounds around the terminal. He leaned back in his chair, scrutinizing every passersby for a glimpse of either of his parents. His hopes continued to be crushed with every passing moment until he popped the tip of the cone into his mouth, crunching it slowly. The crowd parted just so, and through the people, Minho spotted his mom.

She was alone, but she was there.

The metal legs of his chair screeched against the marble tile floor as he shot away from the table and into the crowd toward his mom. Minho called out to her, tears streaming down his face by the time he reached her. He hugged her as tightly as he could, and she his head gently.

“Why are you crying, Min?”

Minho sniffed, turning his head to the side. “I-I…” he hiccuped and scrunched his face up to stop himself from crying any more. “I missed you so much.”

“We missed you, too.” She patted his back before she pulled him out of her embrace. “I’m sorry your father couldn’t be here. He and Minseok are training with the team right now.”

His brow furrowed. “Minseok is training with United?”

She laughed briefly, shaking her head. “He’s just with your father. They should be home once we get back.” She looked around, frowning. “Where are your things?”

“Oh, right.” He glanced back over to the ice cream shop to find Kibum and Grandma watching them. “I’ll be right back.” Weaving his way through the crowd, Minho ran back over to them. “Sorry about that,” he said, sniffing.

Kibum rubbed his arm and Grandma rummaged through her purse for Minho’s luggage. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah,” he sniffed again, “I’m fine.” There was a heavy thunk followed by a piercing squawk, and Minho glanced down at his duffle and a rather disoriented-looking Geum-nan. He picked both up, gulping as he looked between them. “Thank you. I’ll, uh, I’ll see you later.”

Kibum got out of his seat and trapped Minho in a tight hug that he couldn’t return with his hands full. He huffed and smiled, leaning his head against Kibum’s. “You’ll write this summer, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Good. See you later, Choi.” He patted Minho’s back before he let him go back to his mom.

He was so glad that Kibum gave him his address. Writing letters was better than no contact. Minho looked up at his mom, who was offering him a small smile as he approached. Why had they not written back? Not even once? Kibum's mom had written him from Africa, why couldn't they send him just one letter in return? He deserved to know.

Right?

Mom started to speak, but Minho cut her off, blurting out “Why didn’t you write me back?” before he could stop himself.

She blinked, her jaw tightening for a second. “We tried, but our letters kept getting sent back in the mail.”

“Oh.” So, they hadn’t forgotten about him. A fresh wave of tears started to prick his red-rimmed eyes, but he held them at bay, his throat tightening in the strain.

“If you want, you can explain it to me on the way home.”

“O-okay.” Minho wiped his eyes before turning back around. Kibum and Grandma were still watching them. He waved goodbye, and Minho returned it before they walked down the terminal and away from Minho.

"Let's go, Min," she said, taking his duffle bag out of his hand. Minho reached for her hand as she started to walk away, but she moved it to support his heavy duffle. He wrapped his arms around Geum-nan's cage instead, being careful not to jostle her as he hurried to catch up to Mom. “Who was that?”

“Him?” She nodded, and Minho couldn’t help but smile. “That’s Kibum. He’s my best friend.”