The scribbling of pen against paper, soft as it was, was the only sound in the study closet. It was broken occasionally, only when one of them turned a page in their notebook or let out an exasperated sigh. Minho had just done the latter, and Kibum smiled to himself as he kept writing his essay on cross-species switches for Transfiguration. 

Minho dropped his pen in his notebook, letting it roll to the center as he stretched his hand out in front of him. “Does it hurt?” Kibum asked without looking up. 

Minho's quiet little “Yeah…” amused him, and he couldn’t help but snort. “Hey!” Minho poked his side, and Kibum squirmed, leaning away and taking his notebook and their blanket with him so he could continue his essay, now that he was half-leaning across the floor. “No, come back,” Minho said, his voice coming out as a slight whine. “I'm cold…”

He didn't budge. Instead, he smacked Minho’s hand away when he tried to take back the blanket. “Just let me finish this first, I’m -- “ almost done, he wanted to say, but the words were knocked out of him when Minho draped himself over Kibum, hooking his chin on his shoulder.

“How much do you have left?” he asked.

Kibum turned his head slightly and leaned back a little, so he could see more of Minho's expression. “Like, two sentences.” Minho hummed in acknowledgment and made no move to get up. 

“That’s not how you spell that.”

He dug his elbow into Minho’s stomach. “ off!” He grinned when Minho pushed himself up with a laugh, taking the blanket with him. Minho wrapped himself up in it, leaving no excess to share with him. “I see how it is…”

Minho tried to return to writing his essay, but he had to untangle himself from the blanket first so he could actually move his hand to write. Shaking his head, Kibum went back to checking his spelling and punctuation. It didn’t take him long, and soon he was stretched out on his stomach, copying the essay from his notebook and onto the roll of parchment. Soon, Minho was beside him, dipping his quill in the open ink bottle. 

“Here,” he said, draping the blanket over both of them. 

He took extra time arranging it around Kibum, and when he went back to his essay, Kibum glanced his way. Minho’s lips were parted, his tongue poked out a little in his concentration. Smiling, Kibum scanned Minho’s profile before his gaze dropped to his lips again. He blinked slowly. The memory of his and Jonghyun’s experimental kiss washed over him, and his face heated as he averted his eyes, focusing instead on his parchment. 

Why did that come up? He hadn’t thought about that since summer. Hadn’t had time to...

“You okay?” 

Kibum’s face heated again when he looked over at Minho again. “Hm?” 

“You just haven’t written anything for, like, five minutes.” Minho’s brow furrowed as he met Kibum’s eyes, who then looked away again when Minho his lips. 

“Yeah,” he cleared his throat, and then cleared it again. “I’m good.” What was wrong with him? He shifted himself a little bit away from Minho as he picked up his quill. “Honestly, I’m fine.” There was a rustle, and Kibum froze when Minho patted his shoulder lightly, his eyes widening at the tingle that danced across his back when Minho removed his hand. 

What was happening? He cast a furtive glance toward Minho and quickly returned his attention to the parchment. Had he always been this...this unaware of Minho? Was this what Jonghyun was talking about? Well, maybe not talking...but, his knowing looks and amused smiles whenever he brought up... 

No, no, it couldn’t be. They were just close; they were just best friends. Nothing more. 

It wasn’t a big deal.

Kibum gulped, his throat suddenly dry. He flipped the blanket off of him and shot up, being careful to avoid tipping the ink bottle over as he hurried over to his shoes. “I’m gonna go get something to drink.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Minho asked, concern etched into his voice.

“Yeah, yeah.” Kibum flashed him what he hoped was a convincing grin. “I’ll be right back.” 

He closed the door behind him, sagging against it with a sigh. When he opened his eyes, he met the eyes of the dancing trolls on the tapestry across the corridor. They looked curious, and he scoffed, stalking away from the tapestry and the study closet and heading to the stairwell. Once he reached it, he made a left down an adjoining hallway to the water fountain. 

Kibum grabbed the edge of the stone fountain, staring at the mermaid and the pitcher she was holding, waiting for the word to start pouring the water. His grip tightened around the brim, and he took a deep breath, looking over her head at the sky. 

Dusk was almost past, the last vestiges of day clinging to the horizon in soft pinks and purples. Night crept in, shrouding the land as far as Kibum could see in shadow and stars. He gulped again before he dug his wand out of his pocket, pointing it at the empty pitcher and murmuring “Aguamenti.” 

Water streamed out of the pitcher, and Kibum stooped over, drinking his fill. He cupped some in his hand before shaking it off and patting the nape of his neck with the remaining cool water. With a heavy sigh, he looked back out the window, finding all traces of day gone.

What did this mean?

Did he seriously have a crush on Minho? His best friend? Really? How ing stupid was he…

His grip tightened on the basin before he let go and sank to the floor, scooting back to sit against the wall. So what...so what if he did? It wasn’t like it was the worst thing in the world. That had already happened, twice. Kibum closed his eyes, huffing a sigh. Just, go back in there, act as if nothing had changed. Because it hadn’t. Crushes were meaningless anyway and it wasn’t like Minho would ever like him back, right? 

Minho was just his favorite person at Hogwarts, and they were best friends, so it made sense if he was fond of him. It’s wasn’t that he like liked him...Sometimes you just really feel like kissing your best friend, right? It didn't have to mean anything... 

“Bummie?” Kibum looked up. The light from the hallway gilded Minho’s silhouette before he stepped into the shadows toward him. “You okay?” 

“Yeah,” he said, his voice coming out in an embarrassing squeak. He cringed, opening his eyes when Minho sat down next to him. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” 

Yeah! his brain immediately supplied. Let’s talk about how I think I might have a crush on you, but I’m not sure! Maybe we should kiss so I can get this all sorted out! Kibum scoffed, shaking his head. “Not really.” 

“Okay.” Minho scooted a little closer to Kibum, leaning against him for a second. “Do you want to keep going or are you done for the night?” 

“I’m done...I can always finish my essay during our free period before Muggle Studies.”

“That’s true.” Minho leaned his head back against the stone with a yawn. “I’m not sleepy yet, do you want to do something before we go to bed?” 

“You literally just yawned.”

“Irrelevant.” Kibum laughed at that, and even in the darkness, he could sense Minho’s grin. “We should go get our stuff,” he said as he heaved himself up, then turned and offered Kibum his hand. He stared at it, a little too long perhaps, and took it. His heart did that stupid fluttery thing again as Minho pulled him up, holding his hand for a second longer than usual before he dropped it and turned back toward the light. 

Or Kibum just imagined it.

Now he really was being stupid. 

Kibum hung back toward the door, straightening the textbooks in their separate piles as Minho picked up around the back of the closet. Once he was satisfied, Minho stuffed his books in his backpack -- “Do you want me to stick yours in here, too?” “If you don’t mind…” -- and blew out the candles, closing the door once they were both outside.

They passed a couple of students on their ways to their common rooms for the night, and once they reached the basement floor, Minho pointed down the hallway leading toward Hufflepuff. He turned, raising his eyebrows in silent question.

“Sure.” 

Grinning, Minho led the way to the kitchens, letting them inside. He set his backpack down on Gryffindor's table as he passed by, hurrying over to the hearth. “Hey, do you want to get the mugs ready?”

“Yeah, okay.”

By the time Minho had stoked the fire and set the kettle on, Kibum was sitting up on the nearest counter, the prepared mugs sitting on the edge beside him. Minho leaned against the counter opposite him, searching his expression. Kibum dropped his gaze to the space between them when Minho cleared his throat. 

“You gonna be in the choir again this year?” 

“Yeah. Flitwick has just been busy the last couple of Saturdays.” 

He could hear the grin in Minho’s voice. “So...that’s why you’ve been coming to my practices.”

Kibum smiled wryly, glancing up at Minho for a second before he returned his attention to the tiles. “Maybe it’s moral support; maybe I’m a spy for Slytherin.” Minho laughed at that, and Kibum looked up at him. “Who’s to say?” 

“You could just be bored.” Kibum shrugged, and Minho’s eyes twinkled in the dim light of the kitchen. “I guess we’ll never know.”   

“Tragic.” 

The kettle started to whistle, and Kibum reached around behind him to grab a towel to hand to Minho so he could pull if off the hook. He carefully made his way over to the mugs, pouring the boiling water slowly before he went back to set it back on the hearth. Kibum stirred the mix until it was slightly frothy, handing the mug to Minho as he passed him, and started on his own. 

“Have you heard from your mom yet?”

“Yeah, she’s doing okay. Not gonna make it back for Christmas, though.” Surprise, surprise…

“But it’s like a month away?” 

“It’s fine, Min,” Kibum said, laughing. “I was already expecting this. I’ll just stay here, it’s not a big deal.” 

“We can hang out, then.”

“You’re not going home?” 

Minho raised his cup to his lips, partially masking his grimace. “Nope.” Kibum’s brow furrowed slightly. Had something happened after their joint trip to London last year? He never mentioned anything… “We can go to Hogsmeade on Christmas day!”

“Will any of the shops be open?” 

“Not sure, but it’ll be pretty, probably.” 

Kibum smiled, blowing on his hot cocoa before he took a series of sips. Truth be told, regardless of his current onslaught of tumultuous and unnecessary feelings, he was relieved that Minho would be here for Christmas. It would be hard enough to try to weather it alone, but, with Minho by his side, the holiday would pass by just a little easier than he was expecting. 

Hopefully.

He sighed. So, he wouldn’t be alone this year...or any of their following years at Hogwarts, because, knowing Minho as he did, he would stay behind for him until they were out of school. Why, though? Kibum met Minho’s eye, smiling as he went on about whatever he was talking about now. Honeydukes, it sounded like. It didn’t matter, really. 

Why was he so loyal? Loyal and nice and kind and sweet and ador...no...ignore the feelings. Minho wasn’t adorable. He wasn’t…

Kibum worried his bottom lip, suppressing another sigh. Except...he was, though. When he was just waking up, or really concentrated on his school work, or excited about something new that happened that he absolutely had to tell Kibum about...The way his eyes would light up when he was excited, or the twinkle in them when he thought of something funny that he had to whisper to him in the middle of class. His obnoxious laugh, the way his nose and eyes would crinkle when he smiled…

He blinked, shaking his head. Okay, so, maybe he thought Minho was cute -- the evidence was right there, how could he not? -- but that still didn’t mean anything. 

It couldn’t. 

It shouldn’t. 

It wouldn’t. 

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Minho asked, derailing Kibum’s train of thought. 

“Y...yeah.” He cleared his throat, looking down at his nearly empty mug of hot cocoa. “I guess I was more tired than I thought.” 

“That’s okay,” he said, smiling as he reached out to take Kibum’s mug. He gulped when Minho’s thumb brushed against his and watched him head back toward the sink, rinsing off their mugs and spoons before he made his way back to him. “I’ll walk you back to Slytherin.” 

“You don’t have to do that…” 

“I know,” Minho said, grinning sleepily at Kibum, who wanted to flick his forehead for making his heart flutter again. At this point, it was just rude.

Kibum hopped off the counter, following Minho do the kitchen door and out into the main corridor. Their shoulders kept bumping together as they walked down the hall, not that Kibum minded, of course. Beside him, Minho sniffed then yawned, and Kibum was about to go tell him to turn around and go to bed, but --

“How are you doing?” 

He stopped in front of the wall, looking up at Minho -- wait, when did he become taller than him? “I’m doing...better than I was.” 

“I’m glad.” Minho leaned against the wall, sighing as he smiled. “I wish I could have gone with you.”

“To the hospital?” He nodded. “Why?” 

“I -- “ Minho pursed his lips and looked away from Kibum for a second. “I didn’t want you to be alone. I know you were with your mom and all, but...I don’t know.” If they were in better lighting, Kibum would have probably found Minho blushing. 

The thought made him smile. 

“I don’t think McGonagall would have allowed that.”

“That’s basically what O’Neely said.” 

Kibum’s eyes widened. He...he actually asked? A thought struck him and he met Minho's gaze. “Do you want to hear something stupid?” 

“Always.” 

“I thought, when we first started hanging out, I thought that you were just using me -- like, to learn English and magic and once you had you’d stop being my friend.” Minho laughed, the high-pitched sound echoing in the dark corridor. Kibum snorted and immediately covered Minho's mouth with his hand to shush him. “There are people sleeping in there!” 

“Sorry,” he said, his voice a little muffled as Kibum took his hand away. “That’s just the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.” 

“Wow, and you’ve listened to Callum’s entire theory about the Ministry and the Illuminati.” 

“Okay...so, the second stupidest thing.” Even in the dim lighting, he could see the twinkle in Minho’s eyes. “I’m sorry to say you’re stuck with me, Bummie. Whether you like it, or not.” 

“Damn…” Kibum clicked his tongue with a sigh, trying not to smile. “If I have to be.”  

Minho nodded solemnly. “I’m afraid so.” 

Kibum pulled out his wand, pointing it at the proper brick. “Snakewood.” The wall clinked open, both stepping away from it. “I’ll let you know when the password changes.” Minho glanced inside the common room, the warm light from the fireplace and torches inside flooding into the hallway and exposing how sleepy Minho was. “You should go to bed.”

“Yeah, I guess. ‘Night…”

“Goodnight, Min.” He watched him go until he disappeared into the shadows. 

No, it wasn’t the worst thing in the world to like like Minho. True, navigating these new feelings would not be the easiest, but, he certainly could have chosen someone worse to have a crush on. 

Kibum stepped inside, letting the bricks return to their normal places as he went over to the desk. Oh, , he forgot to get his books from Minho! He shrugged, plopping into the chair. It wasn’t like they wouldn’t see each other tomorrow. 

“Should I tell Jjong,” he mumbled to himself, staring at the blank roll of parchment. He’d have to wake up early to be able to send the letter before breakfast, and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to deal with Jonghyun’s eventually smugness at being right...but...if he didn’t tell someone, it was entirely possible that he would spontaneously combust. 

He grabbed a roll of the parchment, scrawling a quick letter before he rolled it up and shoved it in his pocket. In the morning, he could decide if he wanted to send it or not. Slowly, he made his way back to his room, more than eager to sleep now that he was home for the night. He changed quickly, his dorm mates ignoring him, as they were either asleep or reading in their bunks. “Goodnight,” he murmured to them as he closed the curtains around him. 

Only Mason answered him. 

The faint light from the glow-in-the-dark stars illuminated the surrounding polaroids -- captured memories of days past. Minho was in every one of them. With as much time as they spent together, that wasn’t even remotely a surprise. It just...It just was. 

Minho was a constant in his life, now. He had been for a long time. No matter what, he hoped that never changed.

Kibum pulled down one of the stars, turning it over and holding it just beyond the tip of his nose. How long had he liked Minho for? That, he couldn’t answer, now that he was thinking about it. Whatever feelings he had, they had come on so gradually he barely noticed any change, until now. 

The question, though, was whether he would let himself feel any of this in the morning. If he would let himself dream about the possibility of Minho ever returning these feelings. He closed his fist around the star, letting the points bite into his palm, and pressed it against his heart.

* * * * * * * * * *

The sun was at its zenith, no, chasing away the chill of the November frost. While, he admitted, it was still a little cold, Jonghyun wanted to enjoy lunch outside while he still could. Pierre begrudgingly followed him, but Turner and Phillipe decided to wasn’t worth following their bandmates into the cold. 

The peaks of the Pyrenees were capped with snow, and the trees blanketing the mountainsides and valleys had yet to shed their autumn colors. Inhaling deeply, Jonghyun smiled, setting his tray down on one of the myriad empty tables on the terrace. Pierre set his tray down beside Jonghyun’s, a little of his soup splashing over the brim. “This is the last time,” Jonghyun said as his boyfriend sat down.

“Promise?”

He glanced around. No one inside the dining hall seemed to be paying them any mind, and the only other people on the terrace were Jolie and Emile -- the most self-absorbed couple in all of Beauxbatons. He leaned toward Pierre, giving him a peck on the cheek. “I promise.” 

To Jonghyun’s delight, Pierre blushed and smiled as he sopped up some of his soup with his chunk of the baguette. He watched him for a moment, averting his eyes to his tray when someone else came onto the terrace. 

“Jonghyun!” He looked up at Turner as he drew near. “There you are! You got some mail from Hogwarts.” 

Oh? “Thanks,” he said, taking the rolled up parchment from him. Ah, Kibum -- his penmanship was messier than usual. Was everything alright? He popped open the wax seal, and his smile grew as he read.

You were right. you.

Seriously, though, how long have I had a crush on him?

When he folded the letter up and tucked it into his pocket, Pierre asked, “Good news?” Jonghyun simply nodded, stirring his soup before he took a bite.

It was about ing time.