“Come on…”

“No.” 

“Seb...come on…”

“I said no!”

“Minho -- “ Travis said, nodding across the table to him. He closed his eyes as he picked up his morning pumpkin juice. All hope that he wouldn’t get roped into this never-ending argument about whether Seb should try out for Quidditch this year was now, officially, dashed. “ -- tell him it’s not that bad. And that he should go with me.” 

He sighed once he swallowed his draught of pumpkin juice. “Tryouts can be nerve-wracking, but they aren’t that bad.” Travis nudged Seb with his elbow until Minho added, “But, if Seb doesn’t want to do it, then he shouldn’t have to." 

“Ha!” 

Minho snorted and finished drinking his pumpkin juice. “I will say that we could use as many willing people as possible this year. Speaking of,” he started to get up, wiping his mouth with his napkin as he did. “I’ve gotta head down to the pitch.” He glanced down the table, catching Sam’s attention, and nodding toward the door. She jumped up with one last piece of toast and bounded after him. 

“So have you decided if you’ll stay a Beater this year?” she asked once they cleared the threshold of the Great Hall.

Those who were on the team previously and wanted to stay with their previous year’s position, they didn’t need to try out. Sam, after asking Minho for his advice on the matter, decided that she would be sticking with Seeker. “I think I’ll try for Chaser this year.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “You’ll get it, for sure!” 

Minho squinted as they stepped outside, the autumn sun bright through the light smattering of clouds. Cool, a bit of a breeze...perfect day for flying. He smiled. “Thanks.”

Cameron had asked them to come a bit earlier to help him set up for the tryouts. Not that he was looking all that hard, but Minho didn't see him at breakfast, which meant that he was already down at the pitch.  The breeze blew through his sweater, sending a shiver down his spine. He rubbed his hands together for warmth and shoved them in his pockets, glancing down at Sam to find her teeth were chattering. 

Well, they’d be in their uniforms and exercising soon...they’d warm up in no time. 

All Star was already playing by the time they reached the corridor, albeit quietly. Minho opened the door for Sam to enter first then closed it behind him. His eyes fell on Cameron as soon as he turned around, and he let out a long sigh. He was sitting in the middle of a pile of what seemed to be all of the leather bracers and chest pieces, untangling the straps and organizing them by size. He looked up at the click of the shutting door. 

“Why’d we just toss these in a heap last year? It doesn’t make sense.” 

“Well,” Sam said as she sat across from him and took up a tangled pair of bracers. “We’d just won the House Cup and were eager to celebrate.” 

He huffed and held up the chest piece he just untied, setting it with the other large ones. “Hey, Minho, do you mind getting the kit from Hooch’s office?” He dug into his pocket and pulled out a ring of keys, tossing it to Minho. “It’s the bronze skeleton key. Just leave it in the center of the pitch.”

“Okay.” 

He slipped back outside, closing the door behind him, then jogged out onto the pitch, crossing to the other side. Madam Hooch’s office sat beneath the announcer’s stand, hidden away in the walls. Once he reached the wall, he felt his way to the unusual patch of wood grain and pressed, opening the door and letting himself inside.

The room was empty, of course...Madam Hooch must have been down at Hogsmeade or at home or whatever it was she did on weekends. Minho glanced about the room as he twirled the ring of keys around his finger. Framed portraits of the House Cup winners adorned the walls, as well as medals and banners from her long stretch as one of the Beaters for England’s National Quidditch Team. Minho started to head over to the wall, to see if he could find the picture of his team from last year, but the keyring flew off his finger and clattered onto her desk. It almost knocked over her tiny vase of bluebells, but luckily Minho caught them before the glass shattered and the water inside spilled everywhere. 

Right, he was here for a reason. 

He set the vase right, then hummed a little tune as he went around her desk and crouched to peer under it. Once he pulled the kit out, he grabbed the keys from her desk and dragged it out onto the pitch. The door closed on its own by the time that Minho was halfway to the center of the pitch. He plopped down before the trunk and looked through the keys until he found the one he was looking for, then unlocked the kit. 

He weighed the Quaffle in his hands, smiling to himself as he pushed himself up. It was about the size and weight of a regular football, but with the indents for gripping he might not be able to...He dropped it only to kick it up with his foot, then juggled it back and forth on his thighs like Minseok had taught him. It took several tries before he could go a couple of touches without knocking the ball away. He caught it when he saw Cameron, Sam, and the new possible teammates coming out onto the pitch and tossed it back into the kit as he hurried to meet them. 

“Thanks, Minho,” he said as Minho passed him back the keys. He patted Minho’s back. “Go change and be right back out.” 

“Okay.”  

He grinned at Travis and Seb as he jogged past them and ducked into the locker room. It took him a moment to remember his old combination on the lock, but once he did, he was into his uniform. He shrugged into his robe and turned around in the mirror, inspecting the CHOI 10 inscribed on the back. 

It was good to back.

He grabbed his bracers and tugged on the straps of his chest piece as he made his way back out into the hall. Once the door was closed, he glanced out at the lawn, only to do a double-take when he noticed Kibum making his way across the lawn to the pitch. 

"Hey!" he yelled, garnering his attention. Kibum looked over, and even at this distance Minho could tell that his expression brightened. Minho tightened his hold on his leather armor and jogged down the hall to meet him. "You're already done with practice?" he asked when he reached him.

Kibum nodded and took the bracers out of Minho's arms, gesturing for him to stick his arm out. "Yeah, it was a quick one," he said as he tied the left bracer onto his wrist, the white plumes of the breaths mingling in the crisp autumn air. "Flitwick just wanted to give us our music and go over our practice schedule for this term." 

"Ah." 

He went on, explaining the intricacies of the first frog choir practice of the year, but Minho could only focus on the movement of his lips as he formed the syllables, or the way his skin glowed with the deeper tan he retained from summer -- it would go away soon, come winter -- or the light drag of Kibum's fingertips against his wrist as he tied off his bracer. He looked up, meeting Minho's eyes through his lashes first, his brow furrowing in curiosity. 

Minho just shook his head, cleared his throat, and averted his eyes as Kibum started tying off the right bracer. 

"Nervous?" 

He knew Kibum was referring to tryouts. However, any nerves he had about that paled in comparison to the way he felt right now. He gulped. "Yeah."

"Don't be. I'm sure you'll get to be a Chaser." 

Minho nodded, his eyes darting back to Kibum, only to look away a second later. 

"We should go to Hogsmeade after."

"Do you have money?" Mom had only sent him with a few pounds at the end of summer, but Minseok left an envelope in his duffle bag with about fifty pounds that he found when he was unpacking in his dorm room.

Kibum shrugged, turning Minho's wrist to inspect his work. "A little."

"My treat, then."

Kibum's expression brightened, and if Minho hadn't caught himself, he would have sighed at the adorable twinkle in Kibum's eye. "Good luck!" he said as he let go of Minho's wrist, and Minho grinned before he turned and ran back toward the pitch. 

As he ran through the corridor, every footstep a hollow echo around him, he realized just how much time he had spent talking to Kibum. "," he muttered under his breath as he hurried to grab his broom from the cupboard and rejoin the team. 

Luckily -- and he heaved a huge sigh of relief when he saw -- Cameron was still just talking to the new possible teammates. Still, Minho hefted his broom and ran the rest of the distance between them. He caught his breath once he came up beside Sam, then glanced over at the stands to find Kibum in their usual spot. 

He waved. 

Minho smiled and turned his attention back to Cameron. "...and, I know you all know this, but we can only take on four new players. I'm a Chaser, and Sam -- " He held his hand over her head. " -- will return as our Seeker. And Minho…" he looked over Sam's head, a question in his eyes. 

"I'm going to try for Chaser this year." 

Cameron allowed himself a small smile before he turned back to the others. "So, that means the available positions are Keeper, the Beaters, and two Chasers. Does everyone know which position they want to try for?" 

Everyone nodded quietly. 

"Alright, then. Let's warm up with a couple of laps." 

Minho mounted broom and took to the air with practiced ease. He closed his eyes as he flew, letting the wind whip through his hair and wash over him. As he was approaching the turn, he opened one eye, closing it as soon as he was on the other side. 

His first flight after the summer holiday was always such a...relief. Maybe relief wasn't the right word, but he didn't care at the moment. 

It felt right, for him to take the sky. To feel the air beneath him. To feel the rush of the dives and twists and turns he took on his flights. He wished that Kibum liked the sky as much as he did, but he preferred to keep his feet firmly planted on the ground. Minho could respect that, even if he couldn't relate. 

As if on cue, he heard the clipped whoop from Kibum as he soared past him, and his smile turned to a grin as he opened his eyes, looking over for even a glimpse of him. 

He led the four other laps the group took and he brought them back to the ground at Cameron's call. Once he landed, Cameron handed him the bats and sent him across the pitch with Travis, Seb, and the others who were wanting to become Beaters. He ran a few drills with them while Cameron did the same with the possible Keepers. 

After everyone had broken a sweat, Cameron called them back to work with the possible Chasers. Minho felt lighter on his broom now than he ever remembered being, eager to impress Cameron with his skills as a Chaser. He darted back and forth, catching the Quaffle and passing it back to Cameron whenever he tossed it. A few moments of that passed and Cameron called him over with a chuckle. 

"You've got to let the others participate, mate."

Minho shrivelled a little on his broom. "Sorry…" 

"Don't worry, I appreciate your enthusiasm. Just hold back a bit. Oh, and -- " he started to say as Minho drifted back to his spot. " -- you're a Chaser now." 

Minho's eyes widened as his smile grew. "Thanks, Cameron." 

He gave Minho a stealthy smile before he tossed the Quaffle to one of the waiting hopefuls. Minho had to restrain himself from diving after it. 

Tryouts dragged by after that, stopping only when the Ravenclaw team stepped out onto the pitch. As everyone trudged back to the locker room, panting to catch their breaths, Cameron turned around, walking backward and facing them all. "You all impressed me if I'm being honest, but I'm going to give my picks for the team this year some thought. I'll get back to you by next Friday." 

A murmured chorus of tired okays rang out in the corridor as they followed Cameron to the locker room. 

After the rest of them changed out of their gear, Cameron grabbed Minho and Sam's sleeves for a second, holding them back. Once the last of the hopefuls crossed the threshold, Cameron closed the door behind them. 

"I'm curious what you two are thinking." Minho sat down on the bench across from Cameron and Sam took the spot beside him. “Let’s start with Keeper possibilities.” 

Both he and Minho turned to Sam. She cleared . “I think Val...Valerie could be good. She had good hustle.” Cameron nodded in agreement. “I think Althea had cleaner blocks, though.”

Cameron hummed thoughtfully, then looked over to Minho. “What about the Beaters?” 

“I know this will probably come across as biased because they’re my dorm mates, but Travis and Seb would make a great Beater team. They play well off of each other and they’re honestly unstoppable if you give them the same goal.” 

Cameron smirked, averting his eyes for a second. “Who do you think would be the best new Chaser? We only need one out of the lot.” 

“Well, I thought Odette did well.” Minho nodded. “But, Valerie again was also really good.” 

“It’d be nice to have more versatile players on the team.” 

“Like you?” Cameron asked, looking up at Minho, whose eyebrows shot up in question. ”You’re now on the third out of four possible positions. If you decided you wanted to become a Keeper in sixth or seventh year, you could probably try out for any professional Quidditch team you wanted to.” 

Minho blinked, processing what Cameron just said. “But...but I’m not good enough to play professionally...” 

“You’re also only fifteen.” Cameron shrugged with a smile. “It’s just something to think about, is all.”

Minho sat back, his brow furrowing as Cameron and Sam continued to discuss the other Chasers. Him...play Quidditch...professionally? It wasn’t until Sam stood beside him that Minho refocused on the conversation. "Do you want us to help you with clean-up?" Sam asked as she opened the door. Minho glanced outside, looking again when he noticed Kibum leaning against the opposite wall. 

"No, no. Go enjoy your Saturday. And thanks for your effort today!" he called out to them as Minho stepped outside and over to Kibum.

“Hey.” 

“Hey…” Kibum’s eyebrows scrunched together for a second, and he looked over Minho curiously. “You good?” 

“Yeah...yeah.” Minho looked down the hall, following Sam’s progress across the lawn. “Are you ready to go to Hogsmeade?” 

* * * * * * * * * *

Gray clouds now covered the sky. Not completely, of course. There was still some blue, Kibum was sure, but from his vantage point of being lazily perched on the ledge of one of the windows overlooking the courtyard, there were only gray clouds. The sleeve of his oversized forest-green sweater fell from where it was scrunched up past his elbow to beyond the stretch of his fingers. He flopped his hand back and forth, barely smiling at the flapping of the hem of his sleeve. After a moment, he stopped and folded the hem until it reached his wrist, then he did the same with his other sleeve. 

He cast a cursory glance around the courtyard before he leaned to peer down the hall, then he let out a huff of a sigh. 

“Merlin’s beard, Min, how long does it take you to shower?” 

In all honesty, he hadn’t been gone that long, Kibum was just bored. It was maybe fifteen minutes since tryouts had ended, and Kibum himself had been curious whether Minho wanted to shower before they headed to Hogsmeade or not. 

He leaned his head back against the wall, his attention shifting between the fallen leaves drifting across the floor of the courtyard and the scarcely-occupied corridor. He sat up when he spotted Minho, who was nearly fluorescent in the shadows of the castle in his bright yellow sweatshirt. Kibum hopped off of the ledge as Minho jogged towards him, and he pinched the sweatshirt when Minho came to a stop. “When did you get that?” 

“I stole it from Minseok’s closet before he packed.” Kibum chuckled and glanced back out at the courtyard. “You ready?” 

Kibum started for the threshold. “I was ready to go before you showered, so…”

“Well, excuse me for wanting to be clean.” 

“I forgive you.” Kibum looked up at Minho, stopping in his tracks for a moment. When did he get to be so tall?

“What?” 

Kibum blinked, then shook his head and continued across the courtyard and to the path leading to Hogsmeade. “So, when’s your first game?” 

“Not sure. Hooch hasn’t handed out the schedule yet.” 

“Ah.” 

Their shoulders knocked together when Minho stepped into a dip in the ground. He mumbled sorry and Kibum shook his head, glancing up at him again. Something was definitely on his mind, but Kibum knew better than to ask before he was ready to talk about it. Whatever it was, it wasn’t bad, he didn’t think, judging by the way Minho was carrying himself. He just seemed to be lost in thought. 

Kibum took a deep breath, and let it out slowly, smiling as he watched the white cloud dissipate in the breeze. He looked over at the Forbidden Forest when the breeze picked up, the rustle of the russet leaves drawing his attention. He let out another long breath, making another plume in a silent roar.

Beside him, Minho chuckled. “Dragon?” 

“Obviously.” 

Minho nodded solemnly before following Kibum’s example, only adding a bit of a growl to his. Kibum doubled over laughter when Minho’s growl turned into a bit of a squeak at the end and latched onto Minho’s arm for support. They both had to stop walking to regain their composure. He planted his forehead on Minho’s shoulder as he caught his breath. “Oh my god. Can you do that again?” 

“I...I don’t know,” Minho said between giggles. 

He tried several more times on the walk to Hogsmeade but was never able to replicate it. They mingled with the other students and inhabitants of the village, and given the number of people in the post office, Kibum lingered outside while Minho went in to exchange his notes for galleons. 

It was almost noon, now, if he had to guess. He rubbed his grumbling stomach in vain. Maybe Minho would be hungry, too, and The Three Broomsticks would be their first stop today, rather than Madam Puddifoot's like usual. 

Who was he kidding? Of course Minho would be hungry. He was always ing hungry. Maybe that's why he was so tall now? 

Kibum sniffed a laugh, glancing over his shoulder when the little bell over the door rang. It was just a couple of younger students arguing over whether their mom said they could hold the coins while they were at Hogsmeade. He watched them for a moment, meandering as they were through the crowd on their way to Honeydukes. 

The bell tinkled behind him, and a shadow settled over him as the glass door clattered closed. He would have turned to see who it was if he hadn't noticed the lingering warm, spicy scent of the Hufflepuff common room first. It was just Minho. Kibum leaned back a little, his head resting on Minho's propped up arm. "Where to?" 

"I'm starving." Kibum bit back his smile. "How about we head to Broomsticks first?" 

"Sounds good." 

Minho shoved off the wall and started making his way through the crowd. Kibum followed after him, getting caught up in the current of pedestrians. Once he reached the archway, Minho stopped below the triangle of broomsticks and looked back, waiting for Kibum to rejoin him so they could walk in together. 

“Do you want your usual?” Minho asked over the din of the lunch crowd.

“Yeah. I’ll find us a spot.” 

Minho nodded as he walked off, and Kibum watched him until one of the servers passed in front of him. He blinked a couple of times and turned the scan the dining room. The main room was fairly crowded -- there were a couple of tables for two, but they were all in between larger and louder tables. As much fun as not being able to hear what the other was saying sounded, he would rather find an alternative. Sighing, Kibum weaved through the tables to walk around the fireplace to check out the booths. 

Even just walking past the hearth, the chatter from the main room died down considerably. He could hear his own thoughts again, and the scraping of utensils against the porcelain plates, and the crackling of the fire. There were several empty booths as well as a few empty tables… Kibum turned back around and found Minho in line, waiting until he glanced his way to wave to show him where he would be. Minho nodded and turned back around when the lady behind the bar called him up. 

Kibum slid into the corner booth, the candles in the sconces above him flickering their warm light across the table. He brushed off the crumbs that he could reach then looked around, tapping his fingers on the tabletop. Why did he always choose the place where the most couples were? He averted his eyes with a wince when the two in the booth across from him started kissing. 

As Prefect, he could probably do something about it...but he wasn't sure what the parameters of his authority were off school property. That, and he wouldn't look very commanding if his face was beet red as he took points away from them. 

He chuckled at the thought and momentarily considered moving to a more well-lit area of the inn dining hall, but he looked up to find Minho coming over with their tray of food.

"They had ketchup today," he said as he set it down taking the plate of fish and chips off of the tray and setting it before Kibum. "Careful, it's hot." 

Kibum gave him a smile in thanks and patted the bottom of the bottle, pouring some of the ketchup on the side of his plate. When he looked up, Minho had turned around a little, no doubt frowning at the overly into each other couple behind him. He shook his head slightly as he dug his fork into his shepherd's pie. 

After taking a deep breath, Kibum cleared his throat and leaned to the side so he could see the couple around Minho. "Hey, do you mind? Some of us are trying to eat, here." 

The two pulled away from each other, the girl a bright shade of pink and the boy scoffed at Kibum. " off, mate." 

Kibum's eyebrows rose and he smirked. "What houses are you two in?" The girl mumbled Gryffindor. "Well, ten points from Gryffindor, then." 

The guy sputtered and started to get up, and Kibum dug into his pocket and pulled out his Prefect badge, showing him. He deflated then and grabbed his girlfriend's hand and dragged her away from their booth in a huff. Kibum quietly pocketed his badge as they disappeared around the corner, his gaze darting to Minho when he felt his eyes on him. 

"You're my hero," he said around a mouthful of shepherd's pie, which he almost spat out in laughter when Kibum shoved him. Once he swallowed, he took a long drink of his pumpkin juice and set it back down on the table. "No, but really, thanks."

"I'm here for you." 

"I know."

They finished their lunch in peace, wholly unbothered by the other quieter couples around them. Just as Kibum had been about to ask how tryouts went, Minho insisted that he say how his first practice had gone. It wasn’t exciting, just the usual explanation for the newcomers as well as the sorting of which parts they would sing in their upcoming songs. 

It was only when Kibum finished the last of his chips that Minho started to talk about how tryouts went. Well, from the sounds of it, but Minho was still hedging around...something. Kibum couldn’t quite put his finger on it, even after they left the Three Broomsticks to peruse Hogsmeade. They talked about everything else -- from how they were sure Professor Crowell somehow became sterner over the summer or how they didn’t remember Professor Trelawney’s voice being that weird -- just not that. 

“So…” Kibum said as the door to Madam Puddifoot’s closed behind them. “Are you gonna tell me what’s bothering you? Or do you want me to guess?” 

Minho looked over at him, his brow furrowing as he gave him a sheepish smile. “Nothing’s bothering me, really.” 

“Oh, so you’re lying to me now?” 

“No, I -- “ 

“Next!” the woman behind the counter called, and Minho glanced her way. 

“Hold on.” He ordered them two hot cocoas -- to-go -- and brought them back over Kibum as he opened the door. Once it fell closed behind them, Minho passed Kibum his drink. “I’m not lying. Nothing’s bothering me. But...I don’t know, Cameron just said something that threw me off, is all.” 

He paused to take a sip of his cocoa, and Kibum watched him as they moved through the crowd on their way out of the village, waiting for him to continue. “I mean, do you want to talk about it?” 

Minho huffed. “Yes, but…” He hid his smile behind his cup as he took another drink. “It’s stupid.” Kibum smacked his arm, and Minho’s laugh echoed off the walls of the last buildings of Hogsmeade. “Fine.” He let out a long sigh and shook his head. “Cameron said that if I...if I become a Keeper within the next two years, then I will have played all of the positions and...and...and if I wanted to, I could become a professional Quidditch  player.” 

Kibum’s eyebrows shot up. “Really?” He nodded with a hum and continued to sip his hot cocoa. “That’s great news, isn’t it?” 

“I mean…I suppose?” 

“It is if that’s what you want to pursue, I mean… Do you think you will?” 

“I just haven’t put too much thought into what I’ll do after school, you know?” Reluctantly, Kibum nodded. “Besides, Dad will probably insist I follow Minseok’s lead and serve in the military like every good Korean boy should.” Kibum rolled his eyes, then glanced up to see if Minho caught it. He didn’t. “So, it’s not really up to me what I do.” 

“It should be, though.” 

“I guess.”

“You guess? I know.” 

Minho scoffed, stepping out of his way to crunch a dry leaf. “Do you know what you want to do?” 

Kibum shrugged, swirling his half-drank cocoa in his cup. “Not sure yet. But that’s what the career thing O’Neely mentioned is for.” Minho frowned. “Remember? He mentioned it at the end of the first week.”

“Oh, right… When is that happening?” 

“Either before or after Easter.” 

“Ah...so, we have time.” 

Kibum nodded, offering Minho an impish grin as he turned around and walked backward before him. “Which means,” he said with a bobble of his head, making Minho smile at him. “We don’t need to worry about it right now. We can worry about other things! Like...will they be serving that questionable casserole at dinner again tonight?” Minho laughed into his cocoa. “Or, will Slughorn make us brew a potion from memory on Monday?” 

“Hey! Why would you say that? He might do that now…” 

The sun was setting. 

It was an odd time to notice it, really -- the way the sun turned the sky and the clouds golden and peach -- but, facing Minho as he was, Minho was caught in it. The light of the sun. It gilded his thin silhouette and set the tips of his windswept hair ablaze as he looked over at the Forbidden Forest and back towards Kibum. It cast soft shadows across his face as he cocked his head and gave Kibum a confused smile when he stopped walking backward into the oncoming night. 

As silly and insignificant as this moment was in the grand scheme of his entire life, Kibum didn’t think he’d ever be able to forget how Minho looked right now. 

“What?” 

He made himself remember to breathe. “Nothing...sun...Sun was...blinding me.” 

Minho snorted. “So, walk like a normal person, then.” 

“You can’t make me.” 

Minho cocked his eyebrow. “Yeah?” He surged forward, latching onto his shoulder and turning him before he slipped his arm around his shoulders. Their footsteps easily synced together, and Kibum had to fight the urge to wrap his arm around Minho’s waist.

Instead, he simply smiled. 

* * *

A/N: Today marks two years since I posted the first chapter of this on tumblr! It's crazy how fast the time flies lol I hope you all enjoyed this chapter ^^ It was a fun one to write~ I'm going to try to write little snippets of the boys at Hogwarts for Inktober again this year, but I'm really busy. I'll do my best! Please look forward to the ones I can post~