”You want us to what now?”

Kibum looked up from the contents of his bag and over his bed to where Minho was organizing his books. Static clung to his hair, and it was sticking out in an odd sort of halo around his head.

“Do you need me to explain it again?” he asked when Minho met his gaze. He let out a long sigh, eventually nodding. “Okay.” Kibum dropped the pair of socks he just rolled into his trunk and leaned forward. “Your parents are planning on taking you and your brother to London at some point during Christmas break, correct?”

Minho squinted and then nodded again.

Kibum scooted forward a little more, grabbing the discarded letter he got from Mom that morning at breakfast. “Mom and Grandma are planning on being in London from the 22nd all the way up to Christmas Eve -- well, we go back to Nottingham that day, but we’ll still be there, anyways you get it.” Minho chuckled and glanced up. His static in his hair must have crackled, because he smoothed it down.

“All I’m saying is, you should try to be there then. Before Christmas, when I’m there! It won’t be perfect, but at least we’ll be able to see each other during the break.”

His mouth screwed up in a tight little frown as he rested his head on the side of the bed. “But how, though?”

Kibum let out an exasperated huff. “You’ve got to play the right angle, remember? They’re doing this because they missed your birthday, right? That’s your best bet.”

“Is that how you get what you want at home?”

“The only child always gets what they want.”

Minho rolled his eyes, snorting softly. “That explains...so much.” Kibum took one of the rolls of socks out of his trunk and tossed it at Minho’s head. it ricocheted off and landed on the floor. “Hey!”

Laughing, Kibum laid down and stretched across the floor to grab the socks. “I know it won’t be easy, buddy, but it’s worth a try.” Minho hummed his assent as he went back to sorting Kibum’s books. After a moment, Kibum stopped folding his clothes and watched Minho’s expression scrunch in what he assumed was concentration. “Unless...you don’t want to?”

He frowned, blinked, then looked up at Kibum. “No, I do! Don’t get me wrong -- “

“Then, what is it?”

Minho’s gaze darted back to the books in front of him, the wrinkles in his furrowed brow deepening. “Um...well...I don’t think my parents...uh...I -- “

“You don’t think they like me?” Minho’s shoulders slumped and his expression turned nearly despondent. “Min,” he said, his voice quiet in the silence. He waited for Minho to look back his way before he continued. “It’s okay, really. I didn’t get the impression that they did, anyways. But, I wouldn’t be coming to see them, you know?”

Minho nodded reluctantly. “I just don’t want you to feel uncomfortable, that’s all.”

He still hadn’t -- and never would -- mention to Minho what he had overheard his parents saying last summer, nor did he mention the following conversation he had with Minseok. Kibum couldn’t give even half of a about what Minho’s parents thought about him, because the feeling was more than likely mutual. If their plan did work out and they were able to spend some time together in London, any uneasy or sour look from Minho’s parents would be worth whatever time he got to spend with his best friend.

He uncrossed his legs with a quiet groan and went over to sit beside Minho, wrapping his arm around his waist. “I won’t, I promise.” Minho leaned into him when Kibum rubbed his side. “Thanks for arranging those, by the way,” he said, pointing at his neatly lined-up books. “It’ll be nice to come back to.”

Minho pushed the spine of One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi back in line with the others. “They’re in order of your class schedule because I thought that might be a bit easier.”

“It will be.” He glanced at Kibum, the corners of his eyes crinkling up when he gave him a small smile. “Do you still have to pack?”

“Uh, no. I forgot my backpack on my bed.”

Kibum looked up to where Aaron kept his alarm clock, only to find it facing the other direction. “When are we supposed to be ready to go?” he asked as he left Minho’s side, walking around the bed to Aaron’s nightstand.

“Noon, I think.”

The clock read 11:42 AM. “You should hurry.”

Minho jumped to his feet, rubbing his knees with the slightest wince. “You’re not taking much, right? Or do you need my help carrying ?”

“I’ll be fine.” Nodding, Minho hurried for the door. “Meet you by the stairs!” he called out after he slipped through the door, waiting for the distant okay.

When it came, Kibum straightened his comforter and took the rest of his polaroids off the top of his bunk and set them on his newly folded clothes. He grabbed the navy sweater Grandma had made him last year, tugging it over his head before he closed and locked his trunk. Kibum twisted the sweater around when he realized he had put it on backwards before he slipped his arms into the sleeves.

“Oh, right!” He went around to the side of his bed and dropped to his knees, digging around behind his books for his camera and its case. He hooked it around his neck before he stood and brushed the dust off of his knees.

He didn’t have anything he was too worried about leaving here for the two weeks that they’d be out of Hogwarts. None of his other roommates were staying over the break, so no one would be coming into his room. Kibum scanned the room once again, making sure everything was in its place before he extinguished the lanterns posted around the room and closed the door behind him.

Once the bricks had fallen into place behind him, all was quiet in the basement hallway, except for the ever-present dripping and the thudding sounds of presumedly Minho’s running footsteps. Kibum picked up his pace and was only a few steps short of meeting him at the doorway. Minho met him with a grin before he took off running up the stairs.

Both were breathless by the time they reached the front doors of the castle, and they mingled with the crowd, raising their hands when Flitwick -- O’Neely was already gone for break, as his wife had just given birth their first baby -- called out their names for roll call. Once the professors were sure that everyone who was supposed to be there actually was, everyone one was ushered into the horseless carriages and sent on their way to the train station.

A fresh layer of snow covered the Hogsmeade in a pillowy blanket. The light from the candles in the windows and the lush wreaths and the lanterns set the village aglow. Carolers stood outside of the post office, singing cheery Christmas songs as the students rushed past on their way to the Hogwarts Express.

Even though the air was frigid and numbed Kibum’s face and ears, he still felt warm walking through Hogsmeade. The bustle of the students and the cheery holiday atmosphere really made the town feel...alive. There was a vendor calling out, advertising some sort of popcorn. Kibum dug through his pockets, ripping off one of the gloves Minho had lent him midway through the carriage ride to grab the Sickles he had inside.

Slipping behind Minho, he went to the vendor and bought a bag that the vendor pulled straight from the kettle and handed to Kibum. “What kind is it?”

Huh...Kibum stuck out his tongue and picked up a couple of pieces from off the top. “It’s sweet,” he said, chewing as Minho reached around to grab a small handful for himself. “It’s good.”

“Mmhm.”

By the time they reached their usual car, they found an empty room that they could have all to themselves. Kibum sprawled out on one of the benches, and Minho took the popcorn out of his hands before he sat back against the wall on the same bench.

“Ready?”

“For what?” he started to ask, only to sputter when a couple pieces of popcorn hit his face. “Obviously not!” Minho laughed and tossed another. Kibum picked it up off his chest and popped it into his mouth before turned around. “Gimme a second!” He situated himself back onto the bench, holding his mouth open.

No popcorn came.

“Choi, I’m re -- “

A kernel bounced off his nose and onto the floor as the train started. “Hold on,” Minho said, his mouth suspiciously full. “My aim is getting better!”

“Sure,” Kibum said flatly, flinching when several kernels assaulted him at once. “Don’t waste popcorn!”

He stared up at the ceiling when Minho rummaged around in the popcorn bag, glancing through the far window when the scenery changed in his peripheral vision. They had left Hogsmeade now, judging by the snow-covered Scottish moors they were passing.

They’d be home soon.

“Ready?” Kibum opened his mouth, sticking his tongue out as far as he could and catching the kernel that Minho tossed to him.

* * * * * * * * * *

Smoke from the train engine billowed past their car window when the Hogwarts Express came to a stop at the platform. Minho glanced out the window when Kibum sat up, scanning the families for his own, even though he knew there was no chance they were there.

Popcorn spilled off of Kibum and onto the bench and floor when he got up off the bench and walked over to the door. Minho scooted forward, scooping the popcorn off the bench and dumping it in the empty bag before he moved to the floor.

“It’s so strange to be back so early.”

“It is,” Minho said, wiping his hand off on his jeans before he joined Kibum at the window. He adjusted his backpack, and he forgot for a moment if he had remembered to put the ticket his mom sent him yesterday into his backpack. “...” Kibum frowned, glancing his way. Minho turned around and shook his backpack. “Can you check the front pocket for my ticket?”

As Kibum ped it, Minho thought back to how he had left his room. He could almost see the ticket on the nightstand, right where he was sure he had left it, but then Kibum stopped digging. “Found it!” Minho turned around to find him flipping through the envelope. “How many pounds is she expecting you to pay for food? You don’t eat that much.”

Minho snatched the envelope from him with a laugh. “It’s just in case.” Apparently, there had been some flooding last year when Minseok went on a one-day class trip and their parents didn’t send him with any extra cash for food. Minho stuffed the envelope into his coat pocket and opened the door for Kibum to leave the room first.

Out of habit, they both headed to the back of the train once they reached the platform, where the luggage was being placed for pick up despite the fact that neither of them had any luggage for themselves. They meandered through the crowd, Minho leading the way to the exit while Kibum latched onto his backpack.

“You or me?”

“What?”

Minho pointed at the brick wall. “Wanna go first?”

“You go,” Kibum said as he gave him a shove toward the wall. “Just wait for me.” Nodding, Minho took a couple steps back before he launched forward, jogging directly into the brick wall.

It was always an odd feeling, coming and going from Platform 9 3/4. Everything in his mind told him to prepare for impact and pain as he ran toward the very solid brick wall. But, when he ran into it, he would always feel nothing at all, except for the slight tingle of lingering magic. It sort of...tickled, for lack of a better word. It was almost like he was running through a dense mist.

Minho wasn’t sure he’d ever get used to it.

Once free of the magic wall, he skidded to a stop, so not to alert the Muggles. He almost ran into a couple walking past the entrance, and the man’s response was quite gruff, judging by his tone -- try as he might, Minho couldn’t understand his accent. Minho bowed to him once he passed, mumbling his apology.

He didn’t have to wait long for Kibum to join him, but he wasn’t expecting him to run directly into him. They almost toppled over, but Minho maintained his balance for the both of them...barely.

“Let me see your ticket again,” Kibum said. Minho held it out for both of them to read, which led them both to a reader board to find the right terminal. He only had fifteen minutes to make his train and he didn’t know his way around King’s Cross, other than getting too and from Platform 9 3/4. Panic was starting to set in.

Eventually, Kibum snatched Minho’s ticket out of his hand and ran over to one of the workers, asking her where they needed to go. She led them to the right platform, smiling when Minho and Kibum thanked her.

“I guess this is it.” Minho glanced at the fast-approaching train and nodded. “Hey,” he looked back at Kibum, “if it doesn’t work out that we can see each other in London, don’t feel bad, okay?”

Minho sighed. “Okay. See you soon,” he said, pulling Kibum into a quick hug as the train came to a stop before them. He started for the train, stepping inside quickly and looking back at Kibum. “Have a safe trip home!”

“You too! If I don’t see you, Merry Christmas!” Kibum waved as the doors closed.

“Merry Christmas!” Minho called back, but his voice bounced back to him as the doors sealed. Instead, he just waved and watched Kibum until the train started to pull away and he turned to leave the platform.

“Minho?” a familiar voice asked. He turned to find Aaron, Kibum’s roommate, sitting a couple paces behind him. “I thought that was you!” He joined him, and they soon fell easily into conversation, mostly about football. The time passed quickly, and when the train stopped in Macclesfield, Aaron got off, wishing Minho a very Merry Christmas, which, of course, Minho returned.

He sat back in his seat, watching the clouds move with the train. In the distance, he watched as rain started to fall from a patch of clouds, the gray underbelly streaking through the sky. His head lolled to the side as he started to doze off, and not even the cool window could wake him up. The stress and excitement from leaving the castle to go home was starting to catch up to him.

Honestly, Minho didn’t remember falling asleep, but he must have, since one of the conductors came by, shaking his shoulder slightly and asking him if Piccadilly was his stop. He blearily fumbled for his ticket before he remembered that yes, this is where he got off. He stumbled off the train, following the crowd out to the lobby.

It was more packed than usual -- on account of the holiday, he figured -- so Minho was trying to be understanding when people bumped into him as they blew past on their hurry to see their families. When someone grabbed him by his backpack, however, he froze, unsure of whether he needed to run or yell for help. The urge to yell grew when whoever it was threw their arms around him and pulled him out of the crowd.

“Hey, !”

“What the !” Minho whirled around at the sound of Minseok’s voice, punching him in the arm with a high-pitched laugh. “I was so scared for a second!”

His brother’s opened in mock shock. “Language, Min...oh,” he looked across the lobby, and Minho followed his gaze. “Better get it all out now, here comes Dad.”

Minho stood a little straighter, smoothing the wrinkles in his sweater, and smiled up at his dad as he approached. Dad, once he reached them, hooked his arm over Minho’s shoulder and pulled him into a sort-of hug as he started leading them back to the door. “Let’s hurry, Mom is waiting in the car.” Minseok jogged ahead of them, and Minho could feel Dad’s eyes on him as his hand squeezed his shoulder a little tighter. “How was your trip?”

“Good.”

“Good.” He dropped his arm, letting Minho go through the door first. A blast of cold air hit him as soon as he stepped outside, and he would have stood still for a second if Dad hadn’t pushed him along to wear the car was idling by the sidewalk. He followed went around to the passenger side of the car to get in the back seat there.

“Welcome home, Minho,” Mom said as he buckled his seat belt. She was smiling at him through the rearview mirror. “How was your trip?”

“Long,” he said with a big yawn.

“I bet.” She glanced at Dad when he changed gears and started driving. “Well, we’re glad your home.” Minho sniffed, rubbing the sleep from his eye as he sat back in his seat and watched the cars drive by. He had forgotten how much of a shock coming home was to his system, with the myriad stark differences between Hogwarts and here.

His brow furrowed when Dad took a wrong turn to go home, and he sat forward in his seat when he took another. “Where are we going?”

“To get your birthday present.”

“Minseok!”

“What? Is he gonna guess what it is from that? It’s still a surprise.”

Mom glared at him and they started to argue, but Minho stopped listening, staring instead out the window as curiosity and excitement coursed through his mind. What could it be? They had given him no clues in previous letters that he had picked up on. His eyes widened when Dad pulled into the Millstream Animal Shelter parking lot.

“Really?”

“We’ve already got all the supplies we need for a cat, so now the choice is yours,” Mom said, smiling at Minho when he met her gaze.

He unbuckled himself and jumped outside, getting to the doorway before the rest of his family. Minseok was close behind him, following him to the cat cages.

There were too many to even think about choosing from, especially with how indecisive Minho usually was. They were all so cute, and equally deserving of homes...Minseok taking some out their cages for him to hold did not help with the decision-making process at all. Minho was about ready to give up and let Minseok pick when one of the cats snagged his sweater with its claws, stopping him in his tracks.

It -- no, she, according to her chart -- had tortoiseshell fur coloring, wide and bright green eyes, and it looked as though she had gotten part of one of her ears torn off, judging by the jagged scar. She meowed at him as he unhooked her claws from his sweater and went up on his tiptoes to unlock the cage. Once open, he held out his hand to her, letting her sniff him before she pushed his head up into the palm of his hand.

“I think we found her...” Minho said as he picked her up out of the cage and held her close to his chest as she looked around the hall. She instantly started purring.

“I’ll go get the carrier from the car.”

Minho nodded, and she chirruped at Minseok before he disappeared around the corner. “You ready to go home...Hayley?” he asked, checking her chart at the front of the cage. “Well, that won’t work.” But, what to name her, though. He frowned, sighing. If only Kibum were here...he was really good at coming up with ideas on the spot.

Mom, soon followed by Dad, came around the corner to see the cat for themselves. She cooed over her and Dad suggested that they put the cat back in her cage until they got the papers finalized.

It was quite the process, signing the paperwork and paying for the cat. When the time came, Minho still wasn’t sure what he wanted to name her, and the volunteer behind the counter reassured him that it was all right. Minseok handed the carrier over to her and she soon returned with Hayley, who looked curious and slightly terrified at her new environment.

Minho tapped the rungs of the carrier, capturing her attention while Dad finished paying for her. He stepped up on his tiptoes to lift the carrier and carried her back to the car, slipping inside after Minseok opened his door for him.

He curled his finger inside the carrier, and Hayley sniffed him. Her cold nose tapped his skin a couple of times before she laid down, her chin resting on the curve of his finger.

“Are you happy, Minho?” He looked up at Mom before he made eye contact with Dad in the mirror. He nodded with a smile that Mom quickly returned. “So, how’s your school year been so far?”

He kept his stories short and as magic-free as possible -- he could save the fun ones for Minseok later -- and before they were home, he had run out of things to say and was listening as they caught him up on their time without him. Apparently, Minseok was captain of the football team at school? And the top of his class? Not all that surprising, but Minho sort of zoned out as his parents went on about his brother’s accomplishments.

“When, uh,” he paused, looking outside once they pulled into their driveway. “When are we going to London?”

“Sooner rather than later, probably,” Dad said, taking the keys out of the ignition.

“Before Christmas?” When Dad nodded, Minho ducked his head to hide his smile and grabbed Hayley’s carrier. She meowed and let out a low growl as Minho walked her inside.

“Let her explore the bathroom for a while!” Mom called after him as he walked slowly up the stairs. He closed the bathroom door behind him and gently set the carrier down before he flicked open the door.

Hayley just stared at him, her eyes wide and unblinking, while he clicked his tongue and scratched his hand back and forth on the floor, trying to beckon her to come out. She looked like she was about to come out, but then Minseok pounded on the door. “You left your backpack in the car, I’m tossing it on your bed.”

“Okay!”

She was crouching in the back of the carrier now, still watching Minho. He sat back against the door, waiting to see if she would come out on her own. Eventually, she crept out only to hide behind the toilet.

“Minho?”

He looked up at the sound of Mom’s voice and opened the door. “Yeah?”

“Come down, I need to cut your hair!”

He sat up on his knees, inspecting his hair in the mirror. Yeah, it was a little long. He hadn’t gotten it cut since before he left for Hogwarts. Groaning, he stood and cracked open the door, peeking over at the toilet for a glimpse of Hayley before he started downstairs, closing the door behind him.

When he sat down at the kitchen table, Mom carded her fingers through his hair before she the clippers. Minho stared through the arch to where Dad and Minseok were lounging in the living room -- Dad with some old movie on in the background while he focused on his puzzle and Minseok draped across the couch, playing on his handheld Nintendo.

While it was a little surreal to be home, it was nice to know that nothing had changed while he was gone.

After the mess from his haircut was cleaned and dinner was had, Minho went straight to bed, since he was still tired from his traveling. Almost as soon as he drifted off, there came a tapping from the window. He tried to ignore it, at first, but it became so incessant that he sat up and glared.

There was an owl...with a letter in its talons.

He hopped out of bed and cracked open the window, slipping the rolled up paper out of the owl’s hold and going back over to his bed to flip on his light.

Minho,

Made it home safe. I hope you did as well? I made a comment about ice skating and Mom thought it would be fun to do so she looked up the closest rink to our hotel and said it’s the Tower of London rink, so that’s where we’ll be, just in case it works out.

See you soon...ish,

Kibum

Minho glanced up to see if the owl was still there, but it had flown away. Sighing, he tucked Kibum’s letter under his pillow and laid back down. He was relieved to hear that Kibum was home, but he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to steer his parents towards a particular rink. It was worth a try, though, to be able to hang out with Kibum for a little while.

He pulled his blankets over his shoulder and snuggled into the warmth, hoping that the next few days would pass by quickly.

Luckily, they did.

Hayley, who Minho had officially named Ember because her fur looked like the coals at the bottom of the common room’s fireplace, had taken to exploring the house. It took her a little while to get used to the collar around her neck, but it was nice to have the tiny jingle announcing her presence. Her favorite place in the house seemed to be at the top of the hearth of the fireplace right in front of the TV. No matter how many times they moved her so they could see the screen, she always went right back to it.

She seemed happy, though, which was all that mattered to Minho.

Dad even took Minho along with him to practice, which was a complete surprise...especially when Minseok didn’t end up tagging along. He tried to be quiet and sit on the bench to watch the scrimmage, like Dad told him to, but then Park Jisung asked Minho to pass him his water bottle. It took him a little while to get over his shock, but then he couldn’t stop talking to him. Luckily, Jisung didn’t seem to mind. He even gave Minho some tips on dribbling and passing, until Dad snapped at both of them.

Jisung ruffled Minho’s short-cropped hair with a smile before he ran back onto the field, and Minho sat back on the bench in a daze. His poster of Jisung was already on the wall in his room, but now he sort of wanted to get it framed.

The morning of the 23rd came, and soon their backpacks -- and Mom’s purse -- were packed and they were on their way to London for the day.

“You seem really excited about this.” Mom said once they stepped outside of King’s Cross Station.

Minho smiled, looking up at the buildings and the ever-gray sky. “I just haven’t been here since we first moved. You know, like, actually in London...for London.”

“I guess that’s true.”

Minseok insisted on showing them all the touristy things he did on the school trip he took several months ago, including taking them to see the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace. Minho found himself wishing he had Kibum’s polaroid with him.

As the sky was starting to darken, they were all starting to get hungry, but they couldn’t agree on where to stop for dinner. Minho perked up when they passed by the Tower of London, scanning everywhere for the ice rink. When he spotted it, he got Mom’s attention. “Look, there’s a rink.”

Her eyebrows rose before she looked over at Dad. “See that rink?” He nodded. “We should find something close by and then come back here to skate.”

“Sounds good to me,” he said without looking up from his map. “Is that the one you went to, Minseok?”

“No, but skating is skating, so...” he gasped, and everyone looked up. “Can we go to Wagamama’s?” Minho’s eyes widened and his mouth already started watering at the thought of having the ginger chicken udon again.

Before Dad could even answer yes, Mom was already steering the boys toward the restaurant. It wasn’t like Dad was going to say no, since this was one of their favorite chain restaurants in England. Minho hadn’t been since the summer between his first and second years at Hogwarts, but he’d be lying if he didn’t dream about the food sometimes.

Everyone ate slowly, savoring each and every bite. They left Wagamama’s almost at 8 o’clock, and Minho hoped that Kibum and his family were still at the rink.

He tried not to hurry, not only because he was full but also because he didn’t want to seem too eager. But, once he reached the cobblestone walkway, he couldn’t help but stand up on his tiptoes to see over the crowd. “What are you looking for?”

Minho started to sink down, opening his mouth to answer his mom when he spotted Kibum. He was huddling between his mom and Grandma and scanning the crowd for himself. Minho cupped his hands around his mouth. “Hey!”

Kibum swung around, quickly finding Minho. Even from this distance, Minho could see his dimpled grin. Both of them darted away from their families, meeting each other in the middle. Kibum shoved his hands into the pockets of his coat, his smile broadening. “You came!”

* * * * * * * * * *

“Kibum?”

His eyes fluttered open when Stan Shunpike shook his shoulder, and he squinted as he sat up from the bed, bracing himself when it slid back as the Knight Bus came to a stop. He sniffed, looking out the window.

“This is your stop.”

He huffed, glaring blearily at Stan for waking him up, and grabbed his polaroid from the hook on the headboard. “Thanks,” he mumbled as he passed him on his way out the door. “Thanks, Ern. Bye, Dre,” he said, and the chatter of the severed head followed him until the door closed and the Knight Bus zoomed away.

Smoke puffed out of the chimney of Grandma’s house, the gray wisps blending in with the sky. Kibum hooked his polaroid over his head and jogged across the street to the front door. Mom’s car wasn’t there, so it was possible that she and Grandma were out, or that Mom was on an errand. He stamped the slush of melting snow off his feet and knocked on the door.

No response.

Sighing, Kibum stepped off the porch and ran around back to the fence. It was also locked, but he latched onto the top of the fence and climbed up, jumping safely down to the other side. The back door? Always unlocked. He kicked off his shoes and shed his sweater, dropping it on the kitchen table when he passed by.

“Mom? Grandma?”

He followed the sound of the crackling fire to find Grandma asleep on the couch, a bundle of burgundy yarn and the beginnings of a sweater in her lap. Kibum placed a kiss on her cheek with a smile before he tiptoed back into the kitchen, making himself a sandwich as quietly as possible.

Once it was plated, Kibum sifted through the mail on the counter, pulling out the letter to himself from Jonghyun. He started to tear open the envelope as he crept back to his room, but he didn’t start to read it until he was situated on his bed.

Ki,

So, I’ll be back by Christmas Eve...Dad wants us to spend Christmas together as a family, as if it doesn’t matter that they’re divorced and will probably be fighting the entire ing time.

I know you’re not here and can’t see me writing this, but just know that I am currently rolling my eyes.

Anyways, please please please can we hang out a little? I know it can’t be the whole time because we’ll both be with our family, but please? (I know you’re not gonna object but, please?)

Your favorite and most annoying friend who happens to live in France because his father hates friendship, stability, and his own personal happiness,

Jjong

Kibum chuckled as he folded up the letter and dropped it on his nightstand. He did feel bad for Jonghyun, with his parents being separated an all, but he was glad and relieved that he would be able to spend time with him this Christmas. And, Kibum knew, even though he was being slightly over-dramatic in his letter, that Jonghyun was going to be happy to see him, too.

The front door creaked open, and Kibum sat up, brushing the crumbs from his sandwich off his lips, and hurried downstairs. “Mom? Is that you?”

She popped her head around the wall of the living room before coming around to meet him halfway. “You’re home already?” she asked as she pulled him into a tight hug. “The door was locked, how’d you get in.”

“Backdoor,” he said, his voice slightly muffled.

She kissed the top of his head twice before she pulled away. “Let me look at you,” she said, cupping his face in her very cold hands.

“Mooom...”

“Shh.” She searched his face, her smile growing fond. “You’re getting so big, I can’t believe how grown up you are!” Kibum just huffed when he felt his face start to color, and she patted his cheeks before she dropped her hands. “How’s school been?”

“Good, so far. I think I’m doing okay with my classes.” He followed her into the kitchen, where she put the kettle on.

“Now, be honest,” Kibum’s eyebrows arched, “you’re not distracted by any of the girls yet, are you?” His brow furrowed. Girls? Why would he be distracted by them? He shook his head when Mom looked up from preparing her tea bag. “Good. You can save your crushes for when you’re older. Do you want something hot to drink?”

“Uh,” he blinked, glancing behind her at the mugs in the cupboard. “Cocoa.”

“Mm, that sounds good.” She finished tying up the tea bag and turned, grabbing three mugs, dropping the tea bag in one before she moved over to the icebox.

“Is the tea for Grandma?”

“Yes, a special blend made by Mrs. Prue.”

“Ahh.” He tapped his fingers on the counter as Mom started heating milk on the stove, his thoughts wandering back to Hogwarts and the many nights that he waited for Minho to finish making their hot cocoa before they went upstairs to go study. “So...what are we doing in London?”

“Well,” she stopped stirring the milk for a moment, glancing back at Kibum. “Grandma has got some errands to run while we’re there, and I thought I would take you Christmas shopping in the Alley while she’s busy. Why, do you have some ideas?”

He stopped tapping his fingers. “There...well...M...” he started tapping his fingers against when she looked back at him. “Minho said that his family might go, and it reminded me of when we went in New York.”

“We...didn’t?”

“No, me and Mrs. Fuller...you and Dad...” his voice trailed off.

“Oh, that’s right.”

An awkward silence settled between them, amplified by the plopping of the chocolate in the heated milk. Besides the few days following the funeral, Mom never really talked about Dad. Grandma did, whether Kibum wanted to reminisce or just, talk about how much he missed him, Grandma was always willing to listen. With the exception of this past year, she was always too preoccupied with work.

He frowned, his gaze darting to the back of her head. Why had she been home? It was so out of character for her to take the year off...Kibum was about to ask her, but then they both heard Grandma stir in the other room, and they turned their attention to her.

“Oh! Kibum! When did you get home?” she asked, the knitting in her lap disappearing in a flash as Kibum got down from his stool and rushed over to hug her.

“About an hour ago.”

“I’m so happy to see you, darling. I missed you.”

Kibum smiled, squeezing her tighter. “Missed you, too.”

“So, what are we talking about?”

Mom cleared and took the pot off of the stove and poured the cocoa into the mugs. “Kibum mentioned something about wanting to go ice skating.” She extended her finger over Kibum’s mug and twirled it, whipped cream appearing in a perfect spiral over the surface. “I remember seeing one close to our hotel on the map, so we could go one of the nights we’re there.” She sprinkled cinnamon over the whipped cream out of thin air before she passed it to him.

“Oh, that does sound fun. I haven’t been in years.”

“Do you remember what the rink was called?”

Mom gave him a funny look as she took a sip of her hot cocoa. “I don’t remember exactly. It’s close to the Tower of London, though...why?”

Kibum shrugged as nonchalantly as he could. “Just curious.”

Grandma discarded her tea bag and stirred some honey into her tea before she headed back out to the living room. Mom soon followed her, and Kibum wiped the whipped cream off of the tip of his nose, smiling when he remembered his and Minho’s first trip to Hogsmeade. Oh, maybe he should let Minho know which rink they were planning on going to...

He drank is cocoa as quickly as he could before he hurried back upstairs, getting stationary out of Mom’s desk.

Dear Minho,

“Uh...that feels weird...”

Kibum crumpled up the paper and tossed it into the waste bin before he dipped the quill and started writing again. Once he finished and the ink was dried, he rolled it up and almost called out for Nutmeg, only to remember that he was still at Hogwarts. Athena, Mom’s owl, was watching him from her perch.

“Mom!” It took a couple of seconds before he heard her yell back yeah? “Can I use Athena to send a letter?” Athena’s head twitched to the side and she fluttered her wings.

“Go ahead!”

Kibum looked back at Athena, holding out the letter. “Can you take this to Choi Minho? He lives in the second bedroom on the right at 10 Prism Lane in Manchester.” Athena just blinked at him before she snatched the letter out of his hand. He hopped out of his seat, opening the window for her to fly through. Sighing, he leaned against the sill as he watched her go.

Hopefully, she’d be able to find Minho.

He bounded down the stairs and flopped on the couch beside Grandma, grinning when she chuckled. “Who’d you send a letter to?”

“Minho! Just wanted to let him know I made it home okay.”

Grandma glanced over at Mom before she asked, “Enjoying school so far this year?”

“Yeah! It’s great! Minho and I have been having a lot of fun...” He started telling them about everything that had happened -- that he could remember -- since he saw them last. Eventually, they moved into the kitchen, and he helped them set the table for dinner as he continued to fill them in.

“And did I tell you that Minho won finally won a Quidditch game?” he asked as he took a spoonful of juice out of the kimchi and stirred it into his seolleongtang.

“Several times, sweetheart.” Kibum lowered his eyes to his soup when he felt his face heat up. “Now, finish your dinner before it gets cold.”

Slowly, but surely, the house started to look more and more ready for Christmas. Mom took Kibum with her the next morning to pick out a Christmas tree, and once it was set up, he and Grandma made popcorn garlands while Mom strung lights. Gold tinsel and carved wooden ornaments adorned the branches, and the whole house smelled of pine, cinnamon, and freshly baked pumpkin pasties.

It was nice to be home.

When it came time for them to leave for London, Kibum found out that Mrs. Prue was coming with them. Apparently, she was helping Grandma with her errands? Whatever, Kibum just wished she blended a tad more easily in with Muggles. The olive green robes with magenta and violet flowers embroidered on them could possibly blend in with the crowd, but the pointed velvet cap ringed with moss and herbs almost certainly ensured that they would stand out in London.

She offered Kibum a lint-covered caramel once they were seated on the Knight Bus. He declined, hoping he hid his grimace, and she went back to chatting with Mom and Grandma. They seemed to like her, and that’s all that really mattered.

They all got off of the Knight Bus at the Leaky Cauldron, stopping in for lunch, to which Mrs. Prue treated them all to game pie. Once they finished, they split up, Mrs. Prue taking Grandma to her apothecary to check something before they went on to taking care of Grandma’s errands. Kibum followed Mom, and their first stop was to Gringotts, where Mom took out a whole ten Galleons for him to buy Christmas presents with.

He was so excited -- that was the most money he had ever had at one time -- but when they started going into the shops, his excitement started to wane when he saw how expensive everything was. He found the perfect thing for Jonghyun at Praedico Predico -- a good luck charm made from a stone found on the moon -- but it cost four Galleons, and he still had to buy something for Minho, Grandma, and Mom...

Sadly, he put it back on its hook, and Mom thanked the owner as they went back outside into the cold.

Mom suggested a scarf for Grandma, and they found one for only two Galleons at Twitfit and Tattings. It was really pretty, a nice combination of white, blues, and black. Kibum bought it and they wrapped it nicely when Mom mentioned it was going to be a Christmas present.

They went to Flourish and Blotts at Mom’s suggestion, and Kibum just followed her, keeping an eye on the books that caught her interest. The based-on-a-true-story fictional series Behind, Beyond, and Beginnings by L.P. Lovegood seemed to pique her interest, but the entire set cost twenty Galleons. He took the first book -- Lost and Found -- off the shelf, and read the back. Apparently, it depicted the life of Grey Lady, Ravenclaw’s ghost? He glanced at the back of all the books, finding that they were all about the ghosts at Hogwarts.

Kibum put it back on the shelf after he saw that it was only three Galleons. He’d have to come back later with Grandma and buy it then.

So, that would take away five Galleons, leaving five for Minho and Jonghyun...

Mom took him to Twinkle’s Telescopes when they were brainstorming about gift ideas for Minho. He mentioned that Minho liked to look at the stars, and this did seem like the right place to go, what with all the telescopes and star charts, but it was all way too expensive. That is, until they were on their way out, and Minho caught a glimpse of a rack of necklaces for one Galleon. He went over, finding that the pendants were constellations. Kibum turned the rack slowly, scanning every necklace.

Wait, was that?...Perfect.

“Boötes?” Mom asked as Kibum hurried to the register and fished out one of his Galleons.

“It’s his favorite.” Her brow furrowed and Kibum laughed as he took the bag from the owner. “I don’t know why, but it is. Can we go back to Praedico Predico now?” he asked as they stepped back outside.

He did end up buying the charm for Jonghyun, and luckily it came with a chain so he could wear it around his neck. They spotted Grandma and Mrs. Prue as they left the shop, and they decided that they were worn out enough to head back to the hotel for the night.

When they walked past the Tower of London, Kibum slowed down, scanning every passerby to see if they were Minho or any of the Chois. He sighed when they reached the end of the pavilion. Athena had returned empty-handed, but Kibum wasn’t sure if Minho had gotten his letter since he didn’t respond.

Kibum slept well that night, despite Mrs. Prue and Mom’s snoring, and left after breakfast with Grandma and Mrs. Prue -- as Mom had some calls to make for work or something -- to return to Diagon Alley. He told Grandma that he just had to buy Mom’s present, and he would be good to go.

Once they arrived, Grandma sent him off to get it while she accompanied Mrs. Prue back to her shop, and Kibum rejoined them once he bought Lost and Found. He helped them with bundling sage and thyme for potions and cleansing until Mrs. Prue answered the phone. It was Mom letting them know that she was done with work and ready to go out for the day, and that she’d meet them at the Eye.

They met her at the base of the London Eye, and she suggested that they go up, but Kibum balked when he saw how high the ferris wheel was. Instead, they ended up enjoying the festival by the river, enjoying their share of street food until they were full.

Eventually, Mom said that if they were going to go skating like Kibum wanted to, now was the time, as they would be leaving in the morning. So, they made their way back toward the hotel, Kibum walking between them. When they reached the ice rink again, Kibum stopped, scanning the crowd for Minho again, his heart sinking when he didn’t see him.

“What are you waiting for, hon? Let’s g -- “

“Hey!” Kibum’s eyebrows shot up at the sound of Minho’s voice, and he whirled around to see him at the edge of the pavilion with his rather confused looking family.

“Be right back,” he said, running over to Minho when he saw him break away from his family. His first instinct was to hug him, but, being that both of their families were watching and he literally saw him a few days ago, Kibum decided against. Instead, he shoved his hands into his pocket and grinned when he stopped in front of Minho. “You came!”

“Of course!” Even in the dim lighting of the street and shop lights, Minho’s eyes twinkled brightly. “Did you doubt me?”

Kibum just shook his head, glancing behind Minho when Minseok appeared, and his grin waning to a small smile when Mr. and Mrs. Choi followed him. “Hello again, Kibum.”

He bowed to them. “It’s nice to see you again.” He cleared his throat, glancing at Minho. “We, uh, were about to go ice skating, if you want to join us.”

Realization dawned on Minseok’s face as he glanced between Kibum and Minho, but he masked it with a smile. “That’s crazy! That’s where we’re heading, too!”

“Kibum?” He turned his head slightly when Mom placed her hand on his shoulder. “Don’t we want to...Oh, Minho, hello!” He bowed to her, and she pulled Kibum away slightly. “Let’s not bother them anymore, okay? Enjoy your evening,” she said to Mr. and Mrs. Choi before she and Kibum walked away.

“Did you plan this ahead of time?” Kibum’s gaze darted to the ground and she sighed.

“Kimee,” Grandma said, and both she and Kibum looked up at her. “Let him be. He just wanted to spend time with his friend, there’s nothing wrong with that, right?”

“Right.” Kibum let out a relieved sigh, his gaze following Minho and his family as they started to head towards the rink. “Come on, let’s go get us some ice skates.”

* * * * * * * * * *

“Enjoy your evening,” Mrs. Kim said as she led Kibum away from Minho. He watched him go, dropping his gaze when Dad’s hand clapped on his shoulder.

“Did you plan this?”

Minho worried his bottom lip as he stared at the cobblestone. If his silence weren't an obvious enough response, his quiet yes was.

Dad took a deep breath, but Mom cut off whatever his reply was going to be by saying, “We’ll discuss this later.” Dad dropped his hand and Minseok offered him a sympathetic smile before he darted off toward the rink. “Go on with your brother, Minho.”

He slowly followed Minseok and he tried not to glance over at Kibum as he passed. How was he going to enjoy his time with Kibum, now that it was tainted with the possibility of getting in trouble? “Hey, Min!” He looked up at Minseok who was at the stand where the ice skates were being handed out. “What’s your size? I don’t remember.”

“Thirty-eight.”

“And a thirty-eight, please,” Minseok said to the employee in English. He passed Minho his skates by their laces and Minho went over to the nearest bench. Minseok plopped down beside him. “For what it’s worth, I don’t think what you did was wrong.” Minho clenched his jaw, lacing up his skates. He rubbed his back before he finished tying off his laces. “If you need help out there, just ask me,” he said before he got up and carefully walked over to the nearest opening in the rink.

Minho sniffed and moved on to his other skate, starting when someone sat down beside him. He relaxed when he saw it was Kibum and smiled when he rubbed the side of his head. “You got your haircut!”

“Yeah, Mom did it almost as soon as I got home.” He tightened the laces on his ankles. “I know, it looks stupid.”

“No, it looks...fine.” Minho rolled his eyes, bumping their shoulders together. “So, how’s your break so far?” he asked as he kicked off his shoes and slipped his feet into his skates.

“Not bad. I got a cat.” Kibum slowly sat up, his eyes very wide when they met Minho’s gaze. “For my birthday!” Kibum blinked and Minho laughed. “Her name is Ember.” Kibum blinked again. “She’s really cute and I don’t know what else to say..?”

“Do you have a picture?”

“Mom might, on her phone.”

“Are you gonna take her back with you?”

Minho finished tying off his skates, his brow furrowing. “I don’t know? Probably not. I can’t really see my parents being okay with it.”

“Oh. Hey, don’t leave me!” Kibum said when Minho stood, his legs wobbling when Kibum grabbed his arm.

“Don’t worry, I wasn’t going to.” He walked across to the banister and braced himself on it as he turned to face Kibum who was just starting to tighten his laces. “What are you doing wasting time for? Hurry up and let’s go!”

“What the hell?” Kibum said, laughing. Both quieted when Minho’s parents walked between them, and Kibum’s gaze followed them as they made their way to the skate stand. “Is it just me, or does your dad seem more constipated than usual tonight?”

Minho snorted loudly at the unexpected comment and covered his mouth to hide his laugh when Mom looked their way. “Don’t say stuff like that, he might hear you.”

“So?”

“Just...” he glanced back at his parents and lowered his voice to a whisper. “Finish tying your ing skates.”

Kibum grinned cheekily at him before he returned his attention to the laces. He held out his hands to Minho once he was done, and Minho helped him stand, both leaning on each other as they wobbled toward the opening in the banister. Minho quickly let go of Kibum and gripped the edge of the banister while Kibum glided slowly forward. He staggered as he turned around, his amusement with Minho quite clear.

“I just don’t have very good balance on -- “ he lifted up his skate a little and almost slipped backward, “ -- these things. Shut up,” he said, chuckling when Kibum started to laugh.

“But you’re so good at flying?”

“Does this ing look like flying to you?”

“Maybe you’re the constipated one.” Kibum skated out of Minho’s reach, grinning as he turned back around. “Come here, I’ll help you.” He offered his hand to Minho, who hesitantly took it but didn’t let go of the banister. “Min, I’ve got you, don’t worry.”

He looked up at Kibum, who nodded behind him to the rink, and he sighed as he let go of the banister.

- - - - -

“Graduation.”

Kimee frowned as she put down her hot cocoa. “What?” Mom nodded to the ice rink, and Kimee followed her gaze to where Kibum and Minho were skating -- if you could call it that. They were barely moving but their arms were linked. She couldn’t tell who was helping who, but, judging by their smiles, they were having fun.

“I think they’ll be dating by graduation.”

“Really?”

Mrs. Choi must have called them over, because Minho looked up and Kibum changed their direction to go towards her. It was a possibility. She’d be an idiot not to notice how Kibum talked about Minho -- “my Minho,” she heard him say on more than one occasion, but that didn’t mean anything, really.

Probably.

Mom cleared and Kimee tore her gaze away from her son. “When it does happen -- “

“Not ‘if’?”

“Just listen. When it does happen, I hope you’ll be supportive of him. And Minho, of course.”

She took another sip of her cocoa, finding Kibum and Minho again on the ice. Bumji and she had had this discussion -- “What if one or more of our kids comes out as gay?” -- before they were even expecting Kibum. During their years at Hogwarts, they met several people who had varying degrees of acceptance from their parents. Some were merely tolerated while others ended up living at Hogwarts during their remaining summers and never hearing from their parents again.

Because of this, they agreed to love their children no matter what.

“Mom, that’s a given. Of course I will be.”

“Good.”

“Mom! Mom! You have to see Minho’s cat!” Kibum yelled as he and Minho skated toward them, a little faster than they were before, it seemed.

“Her name is -- oof -- Ember,” Minho said as he collided with the banister in front of them. He was holding out a thin pink flip phone and Kimee got up from her seat to look.

“Aww, she’s so cute. Look, Mom,” she took the phone and passed it back to her.

“Very adorable. She looks happy.”

“I hope she is.” Minho took back the phone from her and stuffed it into his pocket. “I should take this back to my mom.”

“I guess.”

Kibum started to skate after him, but Kimee held onto his arm. He looked back at her, a question in his eyes. “We should head back to the hotel soon, before Grandma gets too cold.”

“All right.” He glided back to Minho’s side, linking their arms again as he matched Minho’s slower pace.

“How much do you want to bet?”

“Hmm?”

“That they’ll be dating by graduation.”

Mom smiled, folding her hands together in her lap. “You’ll owe me twenty Galleons if I’m right.”

“Deal.” They watched them take a slow turn, Kibum catching Minho when he almost fell. “Who do you think will be the one to confess?”

“Kibum. Definitely.”

- - - - -

“Woah, woah, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m good.”

Kibum patted his arm as Minho straightened back up, and they returned to gliding as smoothly as possible on the ice. “I wish I could stay longer, buddy, but Mom wants us to go back to the hotel soon. But this was fun, right?”

“Yeah.” He found his parents on the sidelines, both of them watching Minseok on the other side of the rink. “We’ll have to do this at Hogwarts sometime, if they have skates.”

“We could, but there are no banisters on the Black Lake,” Kibum said, his smile quite evident in his voice.

“True, but I’ve got you.” Kibum squeezed Minho’s arm tightly for a second. “Hey, um, thanks for having this idea. I’m glad we got to hang out a little during our break.”

“I have been known to have good ideas on some occasions.”

“Some. Definitely not all.”

“Why are you like this.”

Minho burst out laughing, leaning on the banister when they slid close enough to it so he wouldn’t make Kibum fall. He shoved Kibum away from him, his eyes widening when Kibum almost collided with another skater. Both called out their apologies, but the other skater didn’t seem to mind. 

Kibum glanced across the rink, and Minho followed his gaze to see Grandma and Mrs. Kim making their way to the exit. “I should probably get going...” He turned, giving Minho one last smile, and skated away. Minho watched him go, waving when Kibum looked back before he stepped off the ice.

Sighing, Minho crept along the banister, walking on the ice more than skating. He almost slipped and fell when someone skated up to him and grabbed his arm.

Oh, it was only Minseok.

“Hold on,” he said before he pulled Minho away from the banister and started to skate backward. Minho latched onto his brother’s forearm, gulping as he started to take him around the rink. He was skating much faster than Kibum could, which made Minho grip his arm as tightly as he could when the shot around the bend. 

He wasn’t quite sure why Minseok was laughing -- maybe it was his terrified expression or the fact that he was sort-of, not-really screaming. After two laps, Minseok slowed to a stop and Minho let go, leaning against the banister.

“That was...fun.”

“Yeah, maybe tell that to your face.”

As he was trying to come up with a wittier retort than “You’re stupid” or “Shut up,” Dad whistled and they both instantly looked over at their parents. Time to go. Mom waved and they started walking toward the exit, and Minho grabbed Minseok’s jacket before he could skate off without him. 

The walk back to King’s Cross seemed to take forever, and Minho’s nose and ears were numb by the time they were safely inside. He huddled between Mom and Minseok as they waited for their train home, trying to warm up. Once they were on the train, he was soon fast asleep on Mom’s shoulder. She shook him awake by the time they reached Manchester, and he blearily watched the night pass them by as they pulled into Piccadilly Station. 

The drive home was quiet, save for the on-going conversation between Mom and Dad, and Minho was almost asleep again by the time they reached the house. He staggered back inside, kicking off his shoes and handing his coat to Mom to hang up in the hall closet.

“Minho, come here for a moment,” Dad said before he turned to go into the living room. 

He rubbed his eyes, looking up at his mom for any sort of clue, but she had picked up Ember and was baby-talking to her as she walked upstairs. Minseok patted Minho’s shoulder before he followed her up the stairs. Gulping, Minho started for the warm light seeping into the hallway from the living room.

Dad was sitting in his chair, and he kicked up his recliner as Minho walked in and took a seat on the far end of the couch. Uncomfortable silence settled between them, but Minho knew better than to speak first. When Dad looked down at his lap, Minho spared a quick glance at the clock above the mantle. 12:16...He stifled a sigh. Hopefully, this wouldn’t take too long.

“What I don’t understand is...” Minho pursed his lips and folded his hands tightly in his lap. “...you came home to spend time with us for Christmas, and yet you went behind our back and planned to meet up with that...with Kibum.” He averted his eyes and cracked his knuckles, the sound loud in the otherwise quiet house. “I don’t appreciate being lied to, Minho.”

It wasn’t lying, he didn’t think. It wasn’t even withholding truth. They...it was just...they weren’t even sure it would work out like they hoped. And besides, it was only, like, an hour of the winter break. It wasn’t as though Minho had snuck Kibum into the house and kept him there for days without telling Dad...

“Ever since you’ve started going to that school, I’ve noticed a change in you. You’re not the same boy that you were in Korea.” Yeah...finding out that you have magic really changes a person. Minho almost scoffed, but he managed to keep his face neutral. “I have half a mind to send you back -- “ his eyes widened then, and his breath hitched. He couldn’t leave, not when he was finally getting used to being a wizard. “ -- but I won’t. Not if your attitude improves.”

“What,” his voice cracked and he cleared his throat. “What can I do?”

“I think you need to limit the time you spend with Kibum.” Minho’s brow furrowed. “I know that will be difficult, but I think he is a bad influence on you and it would be best if you didn’t spend as much time with him. You must have other friends there you can study and have fun with, it doesn’t have to be him all the time.” 

“He -- “ his voice almost died in his throat when Dad speared him with a glare. “He’s not a bad influence. He’s a good friend. My best friend.”

“I know you think that now, son, but -- “

“No. I know he’s the best friend I’ll ever have. He...he...if I didn’t have him at Hogwarts, I would be so lost. He’s helped me from the second he met me, Dad. If he was as bad as you seem to think, he would have just ignored me from the start. Why don’t you like him?”

“Minho...”

“No, I want to know, because I don’t un -- “

“Minho, that’s enough.” He clenched his jaw and tried to crack his knuckles again. “This outburst is not helping your case.” Minho closed his eyes as he sighed, forcing himself to calm down. 

“Except for meals, you are to stay in your room for the rest of your break. You can use this time to think about ways to work on your attitude.” Minho stared at the floor, his hands tightening together in his lap. “Did you hear me?” He nodded. “Go on to bed, then,” he said, grabbing the remote and flicking on the TV as Minho stood. 

He held his head high until he rounded the corner and slipped out of Dad’s line of sight. His shoulders fell, and the tears he had been willing away sprung to his eyes as he slowly went upstairs. Minho stopped in front of his room and pushed his door open, but glanced down the hall to Minseok’s room and the sliver of light peeking out at the base of the door. A glance downstairs told him Dad was still in the living room, so he crept down the hall and slipped into Minseok’s room without knocking.

Minseok looked up from his book and stuck his finger between the pages as he closed it. “Grounded?” Minho nodded. “That .”

“You...” He worried his bottom lip and glanced down at the mess on Minseok’s floor. “You don’t think I’ve changed since we moved here, do you?”

“I do,” Minseok said after a moment. “But not in a bad way. I think...realizing who you are and accepting it has really helped you. Plus, every time I see you again, you’ve got a bit more confidence.”

“You think so?” 

“Yup.” Minseok opened his book again, finding where he left off. “Now, get the out of my room before you get into even more trouble.”

He closed the door as quietly as he could and hurried back to his room with a small smile.

* * * * * * * * * *

Plink...plink plink.

Kibum rubbed his eyes as he woke up, frowning at the strange sound. There it was again, and he sat up, looking over at his window to see a pebble being thrown against it. He let out an exasperated sigh as he slid out of bed, taking his comforter with him, and opened the window to see Jonghyun across the way in his bedroom, his arm posed the throw again.

“Hi, Ki!” he said, beaming at him.

“How long have you been up?”

“All night! Gotta wait up to see Santa, of course.” He laughed heartily when Kibum glared at him. “But for real, I snuck downstairs to see what I got from my parents.”

“Anything good?”

He shrugged, tossing the rest of his pebbles to the ground as he leaned against the sill. “Guitar picks that can play by themselves, but I feel like that sort of defeats the purpose of playing the guitar.”

“Yeah...” Jonghyun brushed something off the window sill. “Your dad get it for you?” He nodded, sighing. “At least he’s trying, right?”

“I guess.” He glanced behind him, and Kibum’s gaze flicked behind him to Jonghyun’s closed bedroom door. Even from here, he could hear Mr. and Mrs. Kim yelling at each other. “When can I come over?”

“Probably not until after lunch. If Sodam wants to come over, too, that’s totally fine.”

“I’ll let her know.” Jonghyun flinched when his parents got louder, but he smiled when he caught Kibum watching him. “See you later, Ki,” he said before he slid his window closed.

Kibum wrapped his blanket tightly around himself before he grabbed his presents for Mom and Grandma and hurried downstairs. He smiled at Mom when he passed by the kitchen to go into the living room, arranging the presents beneath the tree.

“I’m gonna go see if Grandma is awake,” Mom said from the kitchen, taking two steaming mugs of something -- coffee, by the smell of it -- with her to Grandma’s room.

Leaning into the couch, he watched Mom until the door closed behind her and discarded his comforter as he bounded into the kitchen. He slid to a stop in front of the stove, his gaze trained on the percolator. There was still a bit of coffee in there...enough for a taste.

Whenever he wanted to taste Mom’s or Dad’s fancy coffee, they’d always tell him “No. Not until you’re older.” Fourteen was more than old enough, right?

Probably.

Definitely.

He glanced behind him, breathing a sigh of relief when the door was still closed, and got a mug from the shelf in the cupboard. “Just a splash,” he told himself, barely tipping the percolator and letting a bit of the coffee pour out. He swirled the coffee around in his mug before he downed it.

Oh.

It tasted like...like burnt dirt and sadness. He spit it back into the mug, fighting the urge to scrape the taste off his tongue. He looked back at Grandma’s closed bedroom door before he opened the icebox and drank pumpkin juice straight from the bottle. Why do adults put themselves through that torture? Kibum shuddered when he thought about the taste again, and washed the memory down with another swig of juice.

“Okay,” he started at the sound of Grandma’s voice, rushing to put the juice back before either of them saw. “Ready for presents?”

“Yeah!” he said, burping under his breath. As he closed the icebox door, Kibum focused on the cluster of pictures he took last Christmas in the Hufflepuff dormitory.

What if he told them the truth today?

The thought curdled his stomach, and he averted his eyes from the icebox. If the perfect opportunity arose, sometime today, then he absolutely would. Not that he knew what the perfect scenario for coming clean about this would be...maybe Salazaar Slytherin himself materializing in the living room and saying, “Yup, he’s one of mine.” They wouldn’t be able to get mad at one of the founders, would they?

As ridiculous as that thought was...Kibum was still hopeful.

He draped his comforter around himself once he joined them in the living room, and he sat beside the tree so he could pass out the presents. Both Mom and Grandma loved their gifts from him, which made Kibum’s heart happy, Grandma knit him a sweater, the burgundy one he caught her working on when he got home. He instantly changed into it and thanked her with a hug.

“Oh, hey!” he said as he started to open his present from Mom. “First year was yellow, and then blue, and now red. One more and I’ll have all four Hogwarts colors!”

“Oh, that’s true. I didn’t even think of that. Starting with the best and ending with, well, Slytherin.” Kibum instantly dropped his gaze to the present in his hands and hoped that neither of them noticed his change in expression. They didn’t seem to since Mom laughed. So, he would definitely not be bringing it up today...

Sighing, Kibum tore away the last of the wrapping paper to reveal a leather-bound journal. When he opened it, he found clear pockets on the pages.

“Those are for your polaroids,” Mom said as Kibum flipped through the empty pages. “This is to help you remember your time at Hogwarts better. Grandma gave me the same thing when I was about your age. I still have it, somewhere.”

“I think it’s in the attic.”

“Probably.” Kibum flipped to the end of the journal, his brow furrowing. “Do you not like it?”

“Hmm? Oh, no, I do! I’m just worried there aren’t enough pages.”

“Don’t worry! I enchanted it myself. You’ll never run out.” His eyebrows raised in surprise, and Mom laughed when he started flipping through the journal again.

“Can I start putting stuff in it?”

“Go ahead!”

Kibum scooped up his comforter and ran back up to his room, scanning his walls for his favorite pictures from his time at Hogwarts so far. Once he picked out a couple that he remembered exactly what happened when it was taken, he situated himself on the floor and started organizing them. His absolute favorites were all at Hogwarts in his trunk, so he couldn’t put them in until he went back in a week.

He picked up the first picture he had taken with his polaroid...the one that had started the confusion with his sorting. Kibum sighed, staring at the slightly younger versions of himself and Minho. He sat up, looking in the mirror and then back at the picture. His face had filled out a bit more since then, and he was slightly less chubby than he was. That was probably thanks to Minho, who, for whatever reason, liked to run rampant through the halls on a whim. And, of course, he would have to jog to catch up with him.

Where Minho got his seemingly boundless energy from, Kibum would never know.

Kibum slipped it into the journal, uncapping his ink bottle and dipping his quill, and started writing down notes about what he remembered from that day. Once he was finished with the ones he picked from the wall, he went downstairs, taking a few from off the ice box and snatching a couple of cookies Mom and Grandma had just baked before he ran back upstairs.

He wasn’t sure what time it was when Jonghyun opened his bedroom door, greeting him with a cheery “Hello!” Kibum grunted, too focused on his writing to come up with more of a response. He plopped down beside him -- literally, flush beside him -- and Kibum scooted a little ways away. “I feel so welcome,” he said, and Kibum scoffed when he put his quill down.

“I need room to write.”

“Yeah, okay,” Jonghyun said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He scooted back up against Kibum, who was struggling not to smile now. “So, what are you doing?” Kibum tested the ink to see if it was dry before he flipped back to the first page for Jonghyun to see. “Was that your first day of school?”

“No, I think it was like a week in.”

“Already out of uniform,” he said, pointing at Kibum lack of tie. “Good thing you’re not in Ravenclaw. Flitwick is surprisingly strict about that. Does Sprout care?”

Kibum pursed his lips, turning the page. “You’ll have to ask Minho.”

“I mean, I would, but since he’s not here I’m asking the only other Hufflepuff I care about.” Kibum started to glance in Jonghyun’s direction, but thought better of it. Instead, he turned his head to look at more of his pictures. “Kibum...”

“Hmm?”

Jonghyun sort-of laughed, and Kibum recognized the confusion in it. “It’s a simple question.”

“I know, I just...” Should he? Would it make him feel better to tell one person, even if they weren’t family? Jonghyun would probably keep his secret, too, until he was ready. “I’m not in Hufflepuff so I wouldn’t know,” he said all at once, the words tumbling out of his mouth.

In his peripheral vision, he saw Jonghyun’s head to the side. “Did you just say -- “

“I’m not in Hufflepuff. I never have been. I...I’ve been in Slytherin this whole time.” When Jonghyun didn’t respond right away, Kibum looked over at him to find him staring blankly at Kibum’s open journal. He flipped back to the first page, pointing at the picture of him and Minho. “Because I was with Minho and not in my uniform like he was, Grandma just assumed I was in Hufflepuff, and I...I just never corrected her.”

He let out a long sigh, a sort of relief settling over him.

“Well, damn.”

“Yeah...”

“I mean......that .”

“...yeah.” He blinked, glancing between Jonghyun and the picture. “Wait, the lying for years part or the fact that I’m in...Slytherin?”

“The lying. Though, that can’t be easy either.”

Kibum rolled his eyes. “It’s not that bad. Really,” he added when Jonghyun shot him a look of disbelief. “There’s some stuff I really like about Slytherin.”

“Like what?”

Both jumped at the sound of knocking at the door. “Hi, Jjong,” Mom said as she stepped inside the bedroom.

“Hi, Mrs. Kim!”

“Dinner is ready. It’s just leftovers, nothing fancy.”

“Okay!” Kibum said, feeling the strain in his smile. “We’ll be right down.” She left the door open as she left, and they laid still on the floor, their heads inclined toward the door until they were sure she was out of earshot. “Promise me you won’t say a word to them.”

Jonghyun huffed. “When have I ever told a secret of yours?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Remember when we accidentally broke Grandma’s Remembrall and were going to try to replace it but the second she came into the room you blurted it out?”

“That was so long ago! We were just kids back then...”

“That literally happened last summer.”

Laughing, Jonghyun clapped his hand on Kibum’s shoulder before he stood. “Look how much older and wiser I am now. I’ve got this.”

Luckily, Jonghyun didn’t say a word throughout dinner. About anything. He silently ate his soup while Mom and Grandma and Sodam talked. Mom offered for both of them to spend the night, if they wanted to, but only Jonghyun took her up on the offer. The boys cleared the table when everyone was finished and did the dishes while Mom went upstairs to extend Kibum’s bed so they could sleep there tonight.

After Kibum cleaned up his journalling mess and he gave Jonghyun his present -- the excited yelling scared Mom and she came upstairs to see if they were all right -- they slipped into bed, even though neither were very tired.

“Does Minho know?” Kibum frowned, glancing over at Jonghyun silhouetted profile. “Okay, so I realize now how stupid of a question that was and I feel like it’d be nice if you didn’t bring it up.”

Kibum burst out laughing, rolling away from Jonghyun and almost into the wall.

“What’s it like, though?” he asked once Kibum stopped giggling. “I heard the common room was basically a dungeon.”  

“I thought the same thing when I first saw it, but I don’t think so now...” Kibum blinked, realizing for the first time that his thoughts about his house had changed, however gradually.

Jonghyun rolled over to face him, his hair already sticking out in every direction because of the pillow. “So, what’s your favorite thing about Slytherin?”

“Well...” He told him all about his dormmates and the stupid they would do, and how nice it actually was to be in the basement of the castle. Or how no other house had anything close the Lacuspectio so they were really missing out because it was obviously the coolest room in the entire castle -- both figuratively and literally. He talked and answered Jonghyun’s questions until he could barely keep his eyes open.

Jonghyun yawned, breaking the stretch of silence. “You’ve gotta admit...lying for years about being in Hufflepuff is arguably one of the most Slytherin things you could have done.”

He clicked his tongue, and Jonghyun chuckled. “Stereotyping isn’t nice.”

“But in this case, it’s true.”

Kibum flicked his arm, smiling when he heard Jonghyun’s quiet ow! “Serves you right.”

* * * * * * * * * *

A sort of pinkish-peach haze had settled in the parlor of Madam Puddifoot’s shop. Minho wasn’t sure if it was the garish assault of pink adorning literally every surface of the room was causing the haze or if it was the smoke from the candles that were lit far too long ago. 

The bell tinkled above him as the door closed, and Minho found that Kibum was already seated at their table by the fireplace. He smiled when their eyes met across the shop, his dimples appearing as Minho made his way to the table and sat across from him.

“It’s about time.” Minho rolled his eyes and reached across the table to break the pumpkin pastie Kibum had bought in half. “What made you think I was going to share that with you?” 

He scoffed, stuffing half of it into his mouth. “You always share.”

His dimples appeared again, and Minho almost sighed. “I guess that’s true.” Kibum slid the cup and saucer to him, the tea almost sloshing over the side. “Might as well share this, too.” 

They chatted while they drank their tea, occasionally glancing at the hustle and bustle outside the foggy windows. The ambiance inside the parlor was pleasant and quiet and the crackling fire behind him warmed him to his core. He felt...at peace.

“What else do you want to do while we’re here?” Kibum asked him as they took their dishes up to the counter. 

“You choose. I’m not picky.” 

Kibum let out a long, exasperated sigh. “You never are.”

“Does that frustrate you?” Minho asked with a grin, following Kibum to the door. He didn’t even deign to respond to Minho’s question. Instead, he opened the door for them to leave, and both of them glanced up when the bell didn’t jingle. 

A sprig of something had grown out of the bell, this leaves and tiny white berries blossoming before their eyes.

“Oh...my god.” 

“Is that...mistletoe?” Minho asked, glancing at Kibum before looking back up at the plant. Sprout had talked about it in class the other day, as well as it’s tie to Christmas tradition. 

“You know what that means, right?” Minho shook his head even as he was remembering what Professor Sprout said. “We’re supposed to kiss, now.” His heart stuttered as he his chapped lips and glanced down at Kibum’s lips. Heat bloomed across his face when Kibum took a half a step closer to him. “We don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

“Do you -- “ his voice cracked, and Kibum’s smile grew as Minho’s cheeks colored even more. “Do you want to?” Instead of answering, Kibum glanced down at Minho’s lips before he met Minho’s eyes again. 

“Minho...” Kibum said, his voice suddenly urgent and Minho stopped himself from leaning toward him before he ever really started. Was he doing it wrong? He wasn’t sure. Kibum grabbed him by his shoulders, shaking him. “Minho!” 

“Wha..?”

Minho opened his eye slowly, seeing a slightly irritated Minseok standing above him. “Finally, you’re awake.” He rubbed his eyes, taking in his bedroom. So, he was home...not at Hogwarts...or Hogsmeade...or Madam Puddifoot’s shop. It had all just been a dream. His face scrunched as he sat up and he frowned up at his brother. “Come on, we’ve been waiting for you to open presents.”

“M’kay.” He slid out of bed, grabbing his discarded hoodie off the floor. It had all been a dream...whatever it was, it faded from his mind. The only thing that lingered was that he was at Hogsmeade with Kibum, but, whatever they were doing was probably more fun than he had had over the past few days.

As much as he enjoyed peace and quiet, there’s only so much alone time Minho could stand. By the end of the first day, he was lamenting the fact that he had left Geum-nan at Hogwarts. If he had brought her home, he could have at least sent letters back and forth to Kibum while he was stuck in his room.

He followed Minseok downstairs, smiling as he bent down to scratch Ember’s ears when she chirruped and rubbed up against his leg. She followed him into the living room and waited until he was situated on the floor before she crawled into his lap. 

Looking at all the presents under the tree, he felt slightly guilty, given the fact that he didn’t have the opportunity to go gift shopping at all during his break. Honestly, he wasn’t even sure if there were even presents beneath the tree for him. 

“Minseok,” Mom said after she set aside her tea. “You go first.” 

He grabbed one box and checked the label before passing it to Minho, then picked up his own. “It’s from Uncle Doyun.” Minho’s eyes lit up and he flipped the box over, Ember batting at the ribbon. He waited for Minseok to open his and pull out his envelope and sift through it. “₩ 50,000! And...looks like letters!”

Minho tore into his box, startling Ember. “From who?” Dad asked.

“Uh...Jinil and Kyungwhi! Soojin must have gotten them for me.”

Minho excited ripped into his, finding the same ₩ 50,000. He’d probably have to ask or convince Mom to take him to Gringotts before he went back so he could exchange the won for money he could use while he was at school. But, he honestly didn’t care about the money at the moment. He crumpled up the wrapping paper and dropped it in front of Ember. She immediately batted at it, and Minho smiled as he dug into his envelope again. 

A letter from Sooyoung, Jinki, and Taemin? He tucked them into his hoodie pocket, along with his money, so he could read them when he had to go back to his room. Mom and Dad got each of them books -- for Minseok, Eragon and Eldest and for Minho, The Lightning Thief. He was excited to read it, because it looked fun and interesting, though he wasn’t sure if he could while he was grounded. 

Ember played under the tree while they ate breakfast, Minseok running back into the room to catch the tree when it almost toppled over. She hopped up on the bookshelf to get away from it and watched them as they finished eating. Once the dishes were cleared and cleaned, Minho was back up in his room.

He flopped down on his bed and pulled his letters out of his pocket. 

Sooyoung’s letter was long but very fun to read. She got Minho up to date on all the stupid Choi family drama going on in Korea, as well as telling him that Soojin, her older sister, was all but engaged. She wasn’t sure when it would happen, but she was wondering if Minho and his family would be able to come back to Korea for the wedding. He hoped so. It’d be fun to go back and see his favorite cousin again.

Jinki’s letter was short and to the point. He said that he hoped Minho was doing well and that he missed hanging out with him after school. 

Taemin’s letter had this excited energy laced into every word. He wanted to know everything about England and he wanted to come and visit and see what it was like, even though he knew his parents would never allow it. He talked about school and told Minho that he was still doing ballet lessons after school. Apparently, his mom thought -- or rather, hoped -- that they would make him more graceful and less clumsy, and so far, that had not been the case.

Grinning, Minho folded all the letters up and put them on his nightstand before he laid back down. He looked up at the glow in the dark stars on the ceiling. He had already rearranged them three different ways, and, while he could do it again, he really, really didn’t want to.  

The days after Christmas stretched on and on. 

He knew...he knew he was supposed to be thinking about what he did. But every time he did, he would only get distracted by Dad’s comments about Kibum. He still could not fathom why Dad didn’t like him, and didn’t want Minho to be around him anymore.  Like...he wouldn’t even give him an explanation.

It wasn’t as if Dad knew Kibum at all. When he was here over the summer, Dad spent hardly any time in the same room as him...so, whatever Dad was basing his opinion of Kibum off of wasn’t based on actual knowledge.

So, until he got an actual answer from Dad about what was so ing terrible about his best friend...his opinion was not important.

Damn, he missed Kibum...

Minho couldn’t wait to get back to the normalcy that Hogwarts provided. After this Christmas break, Minho hoped that Kibum never had to go back home from Christmas. Even if he did, Minho might decide to stay at Hogwarts anyway and avoid the hassle of coming home. 

Hopefully, that wouldn’t be the case, but he had to be prepared.

The day before he was supposed to head back, Mom dropped off The Lighting Thief, giving him permission to read it. Ember slipped through the crack in the door and stayed with him when he started to read. She even fell asleep on his lap, which meant he couldn’t move until she woke up.

He finished the book that afternoon.

His backpack was packed and ready to go before midnight, and he was dressed hours before Mom came to take him to the train station. Unfortunately, she said no to a trip to Gringotts, but it wasn’t the end of the world, since he thought he remembered the post office in Hogsmeade having some sort of money exchange. 

After a quick hug goodbye, Minho hurried to the proper platform to wait for his train. He put his headphones on as he sat down, and he hoped that his iPod mini would have enough battery to make the trip to King’s Cross. It did, luckily enough, the music dying right as soon as they pulled into the station. 

Minho was practically vibrating with excitement now, eager to see Kibum and his dormmates again. He tried not to rush or bump into anyone as he made his way to Platform 9 3/4, and he mostly succeeded -- he did stay to help the nice lady pick up her luggage. He ran through the wall, relishing the strange and prickly sensation that always followed and looked around the platform for a glimpse of Kibum.

It didn’t look like he was here, yet. 

Students were already boarding the train, some of them hanging half-out of the windows to continue their conversations with their families. He wasn’t sure whether he wanted to board now and trust that Kibum would find him, or wait for him out here on the platform. While he was trying to decide, someone’s arm hooked over his shoulder, pulling him closer to them. 

He glanced over, wholly unsurprised to see Kibum standing there with a stupidly smug smile. “What are you waiting for?”

“You, .” 

Kibum snorted, dropping his arm from around Minho and started for the train. Minho followed him to their seats and he leaned against him, sighing. “You okay?” Minho shrugged, glancing over at Kibum when he tried to meet his eye. “Did something happen?”

He could have told him that he had gotten grounded, but, he just didn’t want to talk about it. Not right now, anyway. Looking at Kibum now, though, he remembered that he had had some sort of dream about him sometime during the break. His face must have scrunched up or something, given Kibum’s increasingly concerned expression.

“Okay, you’re scaring me.” 

“No, no! Don’t worry.” He laughed, rubbing his hand over his face. “I just had a dream about us earlier and I was trying to remember what happened.” 

“Well?” 

“I’ve got nothing.” He laughed when Kibum scoffed, but then his brow furrowed when Kibum froze beside him. “What?” 

“...I forgot your present at home!” He stood, as if he were just going to run home and get it right now, but slowly sunk into his seat when the Hogwarts Express pulled forward. “...” 

“It’s okay! You could always write your mom or Grandma and have them send it.” 

Kibum let out a long sigh. “True. You’re really gonna like it, though.”

“What makes you so sure?” 

“It’s almost as if you’re my -- ” he paused with a gasp, “ -- best friend! And I know what kind of stuff you'd like!” Minho gasped in mock surprise, which started Kibum giggling. He rested his head on Minho’s shoulder for a second, until he stopped laughing. “I missed you.” 

Minho closed his eyes, smiling when a sense of peace washed over him. “I missed you, too, Bummie.”

- - - - -

A/N: Just a heads up, I'll be going on a hiatus starting now (although, I'll probably end up writing something about them exchanging presents so be on the lookout for that here). I'll be writing the next seven chapters before I post anything else. I'm not sure when I'll be posting again, as soon as possible, tbh, but once I finish all seven, I'll be posting one chapter per week until I run out. Sorry about the hiatus, but I hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!