The shuffling of feet and the rustling of sheet music filled the narrow hallway behind the Great Hall. Some people were humming tunes, harmonizing with each other while they waited for Flitwick to open the door and let them file inside the Great Hall. It was the night before everyone left for the Christmas holidays, which meant that the Frog Choir was giving a concert before the final feast of the year.

Kibum scratched at the collar of his green and gold robe, pulling it off of his skin for a second. Why was it so ing itchy? It was probably wool... He was about to ask Emily to check the label for him to see if he was right when Fredrick whisper-shouted, “God ing dammit!”

Before he could ask what the commotion was, Geraldine, one of the giant frogs, hopped past him and down the hallway. “!” He, Fredrick, and Marvin darted after her, chasing her almost to the basement. Marvin was the one who recaptured her, holding onto her as tightly as he could, despite how slimy she was. She almost slipped out of his grip twice on their brisk walk back to the hallway. Kibum, to help soothe her enough so she wouldn’t try to escape again, lightly her forehead with the back of his fingers whenever they had to stop for Marvin to readjust his grip on her.

Luckily, they made it back before Flitwick came to get them, and even then, they had cut it a little too close.

“Ready?” he asked as he peeked through the door. Kibum craned his neck to see past him and into the Hall before he opened the door a little wider to let them through.

Kibum straightened his robe, wiping the mucus off the back of his hand and onto his robe. Not a huge deal, since these would probably be cleaned tomorrow and not brought out until next year. When it came to be his turn to walk through the door, he stepped through, his attention shifting from the back of Emily’s head to the Great Hall. It was fully decorated for Christmas now, which had been an almost two-week project for Professor Flitwick and Hagrid.

Twelves Christmas trees lined the Hall, six on each side, and the thirteenth which sat behind the professors on the dais was the largest of them all. The scent of pine and smoke from the fireplaces between the trees perfumed the Hall. Warm, white lights twinkled merrily between the branches, and the decorations adorning each tree were color-coded, the ones closest to where they were situating themselves before the dais were covered in gold. Snow fell from the Enchanted Ceiling, flitting down amongst the floating candles.

Kibum's attention shifted from the decorations to the student body. As they got into place, the lights of the Hall dimmed, and even if Minho were near the front, Kibum wouldn't have been able to make out his face among the shadows. Flitwick tapped his wand on the podium before him, drawing Kibum's eye. "Ready?" he mouthed, and Kibum straightened his stance, smiling placidly as he waited for the musical cue.

"Ave Maria" was the first song in their roster, and it was followed by six more songs, a mix of Christmas songs with either magical or Muggle origins. The last, however, was one that Flitwick wrote and composed himself. When the last note of "Home for the Holidays" died in the air, Kibum felt for his wand and breathed a sigh of relief when he felt it in his robe pocket. The tinkling of the bells started, signifying the beginning of "Heims Admira", the finale of their performance, and Kibum slipped his wand out of his pocket, gripping it tightly.

Within the lyrics of "Heims Admira", Flitwick had written in spells to decorate the Great Hall as they sang. Their part with the wands, however, wouldn't come until they sang the very last line. The tip of Flitwick's wand started to glow, and Kibum glanced up at the candles, checking to see if it would go the same way it did in rehearsal.

Garlands materialized down the center of the tables and awed gasps blended in with their singing. Kibum smiled to himself at their reactions when the poinsettias and lit candles and mistletoe and holly berries appeared in the garlands. Another spell and the lights on the trees started to twinkle in unison, following along with the song. The snow from the Enchanted Ceiling fell past the candles and accumulated around the students as the song went on. And, with the final line of the song, Kibum and the rest of the Frog Choir lifted their wands, sending green and red and gold sparks into the air around them.

Before the end of the last note, a student on the far end of the Hufflepuff table shot to their feet, cheering loudly. Kibum fought the urge the facepalm but just smiled instead when many of the other students joined them in a standing ovation.

Marvin subtly leaned around Emily, glancing at Kibum. "Was that…"

"Minho, yes."

Marvin snorted and Kibum couldn't help but grin as they bowed to the audience. Flitwick looked up at them all, a twinkle in his dark eyes. He seemed to be very pleased with them. Then, with a nod, they dispersed back to their tables, the front row filing off to the left while Kibum and the others in the back filed off to the right. As the last of them left the dais, McGonagall stepped up to the podium, immediately quieting the student body. “A very impressive display from our Frog Choir. Professor Flitwick, I think you’ve outdone yourself this year!”

Kibum spotted Danny, the first year he and Minho had helped on the first day of the term, peering over the other first years' heads to catch his eye. Kibum stepped out of line when he reached him, crouching down behind him. "Did you like that?"

His eyes were wide and starry-eyed from the reflection of the Christmas lights on the trees. "Yeah, it was so cool!"

"Did you mom get back to you?"

Danny nodded. "She'll be at King's Cross to pick me up tomorrow. Can I sit with you and Minho on the way back?"

Kibum sighed, smiling. "Sorry, buddy. He and I are staying here this Christmas. How about on the way home from school at the end of term?" The disappointment that had begun to settle into Danny's features melted away, and he nodded enthusiastically. "I'll do my best to remember," he said as he stood, ruffling his hair. "Enjoy your holiday!"

"I will!"

Kibum continued down the Great Hall to his seat, wholly unsurprised to find Minho sitting next to Analecia. He scooted down, making room for Kibum to sit between them. “So?”

“Well I see now why you’ve been so busy on Saturdays lately,” Minho said, and Kibum chuckled, glancing up at McGonagall, who looked like she was wrapping up her end-of-the-year speech. “That was super cool, though. How long did it take you guys to learn that?”

“We’ve been working on it since October.”

The garlands they had sung into being disappeared -- startling them both, since they hadn’t been paying attention to McGonagall’s speech -- and were replaced by the traditional Christmas feast.

Platters filled with roasted turkey, smoked salmon, and glazed ham lined the center of the table. They were immediately followed by plates of steaming hot rolls, melted butter shining on their golden surface, and trays and bowls of roasted vegetables, mashed potatoes, and gravy, stuffing and cranberry sauce. Even then, the kitchen wasn't finished, because a blink later, the spaces left empty were soon filled with pies -- fruit, cream, and mincemeat -- and warmly spiced fruitcake. Several panettones appeared down the length of the table, followed then by what had to be the final dessert...the Christmas pudding, the brandy butter drizzled over top already ablaze.

Kibum's stomach rumbled at the sight of it, and beside him, Minho whispered in awe, "Holy …we have to thank the elves after this." Kibum nodded mutely before grabbing his plate so he could dig in.

As they ate, the others talked about what their families were planning on doing during the holiday, and when the conversation turned to him and Minho, they both just glanced at each other. Minho shrugged after a second and Kibum smirked before looking back at the others. “We’re staying here, obviously, but we don’t know what we’re doing yet.”

“Doesn’t that get boring?” Aaron asked.

“What?”

“Being stuck here for Christmas.”

“Eh, no,” Kibum said as he shook his head. “The castle is like, really big, you guys. There’s so much to see.”

“And, if that gets boring, which, is rare,” Minho said before scooping up more mashed potatoes. “We can go to Hogsmeade whenever we like.”

“Not just on weekends?”

Minho shook his head, and Kibum smacked his arm. He feigned hurt, whining, “What was that for?” The other’s chuckled.

In Korean, he said, “They might want to stay if you tell them how much fun we have.”

“Aw, come on, that’s not fair!” Callum said with a laugh. “What’d he say?”

“You mean you don’t understand Japanese?”

Analecia choked on her mulled cider. “You speak Japanese?”

“I thought you guys were Korean?”

Minho’s brow furrowed, and his eyes widened in disbelief. “Uh, clearly we’re Chinese…” Luckily, Kibum hadn’t eaten his bite of smoked salmon yet. His fork dropped to his plate as he laughed, the others joining in. By the time they all caught their breath, the subject had shifted to what Callum was guessing his parents were giving him for Christmas this year, and the question of what Kibum had said was dropped.

Once everyone had eaten their fill, everyone went to their separate Houses to finish packing. Kibum and Minho, however, slipped into the kitchen to thank the elves for their hard work, only to find the kitchen clean and them nowhere to be found. They found a spare bit of parchment and left a note instead, the lights dimming as they left.

"So when are we sneaking decorations in?" Minho asked as he leaned against the wall of the hallway closest to Hufflepuff.

Kibum stopped walking a couple of steps later, turning to look at him. "Tomorrow, I think. After McGonagall has gone to bed."

"Yours or mine?"

"Room?" Minho nodded. "We haven't stayed in mine in a while."

"Works for me." A fleeting thought flew through his mind, something to say, but it didn't stay long enough for him to focus on it. He was, instead, distracted by the strange look in Minho's eyes. He waited for a second, curious to see if he would say something interesting. He didn't. Sighing, he pushed away from the wall, averting his eyes as he said, "We should probably try to get some sleep. Big day tomorrow."

"I mean, trying to steal things without getting caught is a big deal," Kibum said, smiling as Minho walked past him and into the golden light of the corridor.

He let out a huff of a laugh and glanced back at him. "Yeah. Night, Bummie."

"Good night."

Kibum stepped out into the light, watching him walk down the hall to Hufflepuff for a moment before he turned and started toward Slytherin.

* * * * * * * * * *

Flurries of snowflakes blew around the ones who were staying behind as they waved goodbye to the ones going home. Minho stood up on his tiptoes, waving his arms over his head as the invisible -- to him -- thestrals carried them away on the carriages. Kibum huddled beside him, his teeth chattering. He hadn’t worn a coat outside, for whatever reason. Minho didn’t mind Kibum’s close proximity, of course, but, it was just… His eyes darted across the steps to where Damien was standing. Luckily, he wasn’t paying any attention to them for the moment, but that was likely to change at any time.

Like usual, there weren’t many students hanging back for the holiday. Kibum and him, of course, and Damien...but there a couple of younger and older students from Gryffindor and Ravenclaw that he didn’t know their names -- if they didn’t play Quidditch and he didn’t have any classes with them, they really wouldn’t interact enough for him to know who they were.

“Come on,” Kibum said, sniffing loudly as he tugged on Minho’s arm. “Let’s go inside.”

Minho nodded, his attention drifting to Damien for a second to find him watching them. He immediately dropped his gaze and turned to follow Kibum, his shoulders drooping under the weight of Damien’s surveillance. What the was he staying back for this year anyway? He was about to turn to head downstairs, but Kibum didn’t let go of his arm, leading him instead to the Great Hall. “Are...we getting decorations now?”

“Is every one asleep?” Kibum asked, amusement coloring his voice as he let go of Minho’s arm and continued along the outside of the Hall. Minho followed him to the nearest lit fireplace and sat beside him on the ground, their back to the crackling fire. He looked over at the tree beside them, flicking one of the crystal ornaments and watching it sway back and forth, the light of the fireplace gleaming in the facets of the oblong teardrop.

Kibum shifted to warm his side, turning to face Minho. “Have you figured out what we should do today?”

“Why is it up to me?”

Kibum shoved his shoulder lightly, and Minho rocked before centering himself again. “It’s not. I was just wanting your input, that’s all.”

“I mean, we can move my stuff in. And, maybe, figure out what we should decorate.”

Humming, Kibum nodded. “Are you sure you don’t want a tree this year?”

“We don’t have Aaron and Callum this year.”

“True, but like...Nah, you’re right. It’s not worth getting in trouble for that. We don’t need to take much. Aaron left us some lights.”

“That works. Oh!" He turned then, when his back was getting a tinge too warm, their knees brushing together as he settled. "Have you ever made paper snowflakes?" Kibum's brow furrowed slightly and he shook his head. "I can show you how!"

The corners of Kibum's eyes crinkled as he grinned. "Okay!"

When they were sufficiently warm enough, Minho helped Kibum up and they started downstairs, both wordlessly heading to Hufflepuff to grab whatever Minho needed for his stay in Slytherin. They made quick work of it, tossing Minho’s belongings into a blanket, gathering up the ends, and dragging it across the basement to Slytherin.

“Go ahead and choose whichever bed you want. I’ll be right back.”

Minho nodded, watching Kibum leave the room. He hefted his blanket, setting it on the bed to the right of Kibum’s, but then paused, glancing over at Kibum’s bed and then back to the door with a smile. He took up the ends of his blanket and carried it over to Kibum’s bed, hurriedly setting up his things on Kibum’s instead. By the time Kibum returned, Minho was lounging casually on Kibum’s bed, thumbing through his photo album.

“Really?”

“Hm?”

“That’s my bed.”

“Oh?” Minho managed to sound incredibly disinterested. He flipped another page of the photo album, inspecting more of their antics from second year. “I had no idea.”

He looked up when Kibum smacked his foot. “Bull.”

“But I’m already set up. You can choose a different bed!”

Kibum glowered at him as he walked over to his nightstand, pulling his wand out of the drawer. He held it out before them, his hand stretching across the photo album as he pointed it at the nightstand on the other side of Minho. “Depulso!” he said drolly, casting the nightstand across the room. It screeched to a stop before it hit the opposite wall, and Minho started to laugh as Kibum’s attention turned to the bed Minho had originally meant to take. “Accio bed!” Quickly, Minho braced himself for the impact of the other bed. “There,” Kibum said with a sarcastic smile. “Move over.”

“But I’m already comfortable.”

Sighing, Kibum set his wand back in his nightstand drawer then plopped down beside Minho, shoving him until he rolled over onto the other bed. “Was that so hard?”

“Yes. Extremely.”

“Are you gonna be this annoying the whole time?” Kibum asked, a smile in his voice.

“Maybe.”

“I’ll give you five more minutes. A second over and you get to sleep outside.”

Minho rolled over onto his stomach, reaching for the photo album and finding his place. “I’ll stop then, for now. I’ll wait until you least expect it for the rest of my five minutes.”

“How thoughtful of you.”

“Yeah, I’m a giver.” Kibum snorted and scooted over so he could look at the album, too. "Remember this?" Minho asked, pointing to the picture they had taken after his first Quidditch win. Kibum had visited him in the infirmary, pulling him into the frame with his arm latched around his neck. The picture restarted as Madam Pomfrey had tightened the bandage around his food and he grinned through the wince.

“Mm-hm. I just wish you hadn’t hurt yourself that day.”

“I mean, me too.” Kibum chuckled and Minho smiled as he scooted a little closer to him.

They flipped through the album, recounting their shared memories and Kibum explaining the scattered pictures of Jonghyun and Roo that were taken during their summers apart. Once they reached mid-fourth year, however, Kibum was starting to nod off. He fought it at first, but by the start of fifth year, his head lolled and rested on Minho's shoulder, his light snoring disturbing the tranquility.

Minho stopped looking at the album, turning his attention instead to Kibum. He could only see the top of his head, and he stared at the curl of Kibum's cowlick until he snorted in his sleep. With effort, he rolled Kibum over to his bed. Kibum, being the light sleeper that he was, stirred as Minho laid his head on his pillow.

"Wha -- "

"Shh," Minho whispered, pulling the blanket draped across the foot of his bed over him. "Just go back to sleep."

Kibum harrumphed, tugging the blanket up to his chin as he curled up a little tighter. "Don't shush me."

Minho bit his lip to keep from laughing. "Okay, I won't." But his words fell on deaf ears, as Kibum was already asleep again.

He went back to the photo album, but his focus was divided between the pictures and Kibum. Once he made it through the last few pages, he closed the book and set it between them, pulling himself up to lay down properly.

Truthfully, he wasn't all that tired -- he had gotten a good night's sleep, after all -- but there was something so calming about lying beside a sleeping Kibum, that he couldn't help but start nodding off himself. However, Kibum's stirring roused him enough to sit up and close the photo album as Kibum lifted his head.

"How long was I asleep?"

"Ten years."

Kibum snorted softly, rubbing his eye as he sat up. "Do you think it's still snowing?" Minho shrugged and Kibum slipped out of bed and plopped down in front of his trunk.

When he pulled on his knitted cap, Minho started digging through the pile of his clothes and shoes at the foot of his bed, pulling on his snow boots. Snowing or not, it was still cold and there was still snow on the ground, so they needed to be bundled up. Once his coat was zipped up, he wrapped his oversized scarf around his neck and started for the door with Kibum. Minho's snow boots clunked in the quiet of the Slytherin common room. The clatter of the bricks falling back into place resounded in the hall and followed them up the staircase.

Minho sniffed once the cold air nipped at his exposed skin as they stepped out into the courtyard. He glanced down at Kibum, who was fiddling with the strap of his polaroid camera. "Isn't it too cold to use that?"

Kibum looked at him, then lifted his camera and took a picture of Minho, who jumped at the unexpected noise. "We'll see," he said as he caught the film as it came out of the bottom of the camera. "Hey!" he yelled when Minho snatched it out of his hand and bounded away.

He jumped into the first drift he found. It reached up to his knees and trickled into his books as he shuffled out of it and hurried down the hill. By the time he reached the bottom, he brushed the few snowflakes off of the developing film. It was still black and white, and Minho's movements were slightly sluggish still, but it was working.

Kibum caught up to him, his breaths coming out in huffs as he took the picture back. "Are you done with the running or should I just go back inside?"

Minho laughed. "I'm done."

"Good."

He let Kibum set the pace to Hogsmeade, the snow crunching beneath their feet as Kibum told him about Jonghyun's plans for the holidays. He and his bandmates were staying at Beauxbatons so they could have some more practice time without anyone around.

"Should we send him something?" Minho asked when Kibum was distracted by the lights of the village.

"Hm? Oh! Yeah! Let's look while we're here!"

They perused Zonko’s first, laughing about all the joke-gifts they could send Jonghyun’s way, but instead, they moved on to Scrivenshaft’s to inspect all of the quills. Unfortunately, nothing stood out to either of them there, or at Tomes and Scrolls. Kibum pouted about it as he waited for his scotch broth stew to cool enough for him to eat.

“Why is he so hard to shop for?” Minho shrugged and ate a spoonful of his soup, wincing as it seared the inside of his mouth and down his throat. “I told you it was too hot,” Kibum said with a chuckle.

“Don’t care.” Minho blew excessively on his next spoonful before he ate it. “So good.”

Kibum stirred his stew some more. “What do you want this year?”

“For Christmas?”

“No, for Easter.”

Minho scrunched up his face sarcastically before he smiled. “I don’t know. I haven’t thought about it, I guess.” Kibum glanced up at him before he took his first bite of stew. “Do we have to?”

Kibum’s brow furrowed and he looked down at his soup. “I mean, no…”

“Do you want something in particular?”

Sighing, Kibum shook his head. “No. It’s...it’s just our tradition, that’s all.”

“True.” It was, but unfortunately, Minho couldn’t think of anything to get him. When they were at Tomes and Scrolls, he did see Harry Potter’s biography and he remembered Kibum saying he wanted to read it, but when he stealthily checked the price, he found that he didn’t have enough money for it. If he couldn’t afford anything this year, maybe he could make something? But what, though…

“I wonder what my mom will send me this year.”

“Hopefully something good.”

When the door swung open, it brought it a flurry of snow and cold-looking Damien. He scanned the dining room, his gaze settling on Minho and Kibum. Minho couldn’t help but stare back at him as his gaze flicked between him and the back of Kibum’s head. He turned away with a snarl of a smirk and headed up to the counter to order something for himself, and as soon as his eyes were off of Minho he hurriedly finished his stew and shot up from his seat, much to Kibum’s apparent surprise.

"What are you rushing f -- "

“What about Maestro’s? For Jjong?”

Kibum's mouth stayed open in a silent O for a few seconds before he took a quick couple of bites of his stew. "Let's go," he said, pulling on his coat and hat.

They were out the door before Damien had turned back around.

They rushed through the falling snow to the music shop across the street, stomping the snow off of their shoes before heading inside. After about a half-hour of second-guessing their choices, Kibum went to find the owner to ask for his opinion on whether they should get Jonghyun a swiss army knife, of sorts, of tiny playable instruments or a new notebook for his songs. When asked, Kibum went into greater detail about Nebulous Stardust and Jonghyun's role as the bassist.

"But, he is writing more songs now, right?" Minho asked.

"Yeah…"

"The notebook would probably be the most practical, then," Mr. Maestro said.

They ended up buying it, as well as a box of tea from Madam Puddifoot's. "Do you think it'll be enough?"

"I think Gladrags and Honeydukes are the only ones we haven't gone to yet."

Kibum let out a clipped laugh, then shrugged. "Might as well."

Nothing at Honeydukes stood out to them, although for a moment Kibum joked about sending fudge flies to Jonghyun. However, they didn't have much money to spare between them, so they made Gladragg's their last stop.

"Just to look around," Kibum said, already distracted by a shimmery set of robes.

Smiling, Minho sifted through a rack before he moseyed around the shop, pausing when he noticed a pair of ice skates behind the counter. Kibum was across the store, trying on something in front of the mirror.

"Ah, Minho, good to see you again," Mr. Gladrag said as he walked out from the back room. "Is there anything I could help you with?"

His eyes darted back to the ice skates. It was a long shot...they were probably expensive… He looked back up at Mr. Gladrag. "How much are they?" He asked in a loud whisper, pointing at the white skates.

"Four galleons a pair." . He was about to thank Mr. Gladrag for his time and return to Kibum, until -- "There’s a pond that we’ll skate on out behind the train station. If you want, I can rent them to you, since you're here for the holiday."

Minho perked up. "How much?"

"How about a galleon per pair?"

"Per day?"

Gladrag shook his head. "Just get them back to me before school starts back up?" Minho nodded enthusiastically and took out his last two galleons. "Don't worry about the size. They'll adjust to your feet," he said as he passed them across the counter.

"Thank you, sir!"

Luckily, Minho was able to stuff both pairs of skates under his coat -- it was bulky enough for him to be able to conceal it easily. As nonchalantly as he could manage, he wandered over to where Kibum was looking at the scarves. “What were you and Gladrag talking about?” Kibum asked, still very much distracted by the different scarves.

Minho smiled to himself as he studied Kibum’s profile. If he would have let himself, he probably would have started to count the sparse smattering of freckles adorning his cheeks. “Nothing much. Just, uh, about when school would start up again.”

“Ah.”

He adjusted the skates beneath his coat, quickly hiding his actions with a feigned brushing of lint off of his coat when Kibum glanced his way. “You ready to head back?” Kibum squinted -- barely -- then nodded. , was he onto him? He followed him out the door and back into the snow.

Snowflakes whispered through the air around them as they hurried back toward the castle in an attempt to beat the sunset. The lights of Hogwarts came to life as they drew nearer, the darkness of the night creeping in around them. Once they were inside, Minho took Kibum’s coat and hat, told him to save him a seat at the dinner table, then hurried downstairs to put away their things and to hide the skates until Christmas morning.

Damien, unfortunately, was walking into the Hall at the same time as Minho. He shook the snow off of his coat and beanie before he discarded them on the end of the Gryffindor table. Minho could feel his eyes on him as he made his way to Kibum’s side. And, of course, Damien sat on his other side.

“We’ve got some new faces this year,” McGonagall said as the leftovers from last night’s feast appeared before them. “I’m sorry you couldn’t go home for whatever reason, but I’m glad that we get to spend some more time together.”

“My mum is moving, that’s why I’m here,” Damien said as he reached around Minho to get to the ham. “She’s going back to Cheshire with my sister.” Moving in the winter? That’s odd...Minho’s brow furrowed as he looked over at Damien for a second.

“What about your dad?” one of the Gryffindor’s that Minho didn’t know asked.

Damien scoffed, shaking his head slightly as he dished up the rest of his plate. “Hopefully he’s staying in Cambridge…” his voice trailed off then and he clenched his jaw as he glanced up at the table, then he cleared his throat. Maybe he hadn't intended to say all of that?

McGonagall picked up the conversation, asking the students on the other side of the table about their families. Minho couldn’t help but glance at Damien again when he took the spoon for the mashed potatoes from him. The vulnerability that had been in Damien's eyes mere seconds ago was gone when he met Minho’s gaze; it was replaced with anger.

Minho looked away, focusing his attention on the food.

Both he and Kibum stayed relatively quiet for the duration of the meal, Kibum making the occasional comment when McGonagall asked the table something. For Minho’s part, he scanned the Christmas trees surrounding the tables, trying to decide which ornaments would be the best ones to sneak downstairs later.

He sat back when he was finished eating, pushing his plate away and watching it until it disappeared with the house elves’ magic. The rest of the dishes were cleared seconds later, and Minho turned to McGonagall, awaiting her usual challenge. She cracked her knuckles and he glanced over at Kibum with a small smile. “Are you in the mood for a rematch, Mr. Kim?”

“Are you, Headmistress?”

With a smirk and a wave of her hand, a wizard’s chess set appeared, the gold-painted pieces appearing before Kibum and the burgundy painted ones appearing before McGonagall. In the three Christmases that they had spent at Hogwarts so far, Kibum had only won once. The second time. But it had become a sort of tradition for them to play each other after the first dinner of the holiday. Minho slid a little closer to him, resting his chin on his crossed arms as he watched the board, waiting for him to make the first move.

The firelight from the hearths around the room danced in Kibum’s eyes, and Minho found himself focusing more on that than the actual game. He probably should have looked away more often than he did, but there was something so nice about just watching Kibum. Noting his microexpressions and nervous ticks -- the little scrunch in the bridge of his nose when he was making a move he wasn’t sure about, the twinkle in his eye when he made a move he was, and the tap, tap, tapping of his finger on the head of the pieces before he eventually moved them -- was something he could do quite happily for a long time. As the game dragged on, he only looked away when Kibum glanced his way or when one of the others at the table commented something of interest to him.

“Check,” Kibum said after he had directed his bishop to B5. Minho sat up, inspecting the board. He winced when McGonagall moved her knight to G2.

“Checkmate,” McGonagall said, smiling as Kibum let out a heavy, defeated sigh. “Good game this year.”

“You, too.” Kibum sighed again and looked down at Minho. "Hold still," he said before he picked a shard of the shattered side castle out of Minho's hair with a small smile.

"I want to try!" Damien said as the pieces righted themselves. Kibum rolled his eyes -- just for Minho to see -- and moved out of the spot so that Damien could take his place.

"Do you want to head downstairs?"

“Already?” Minho asked, but he was already sliding off the bench to follow Kibum downstairs. Once they reached the end of the Great Hall, they looked back, finding the other enraptured by the game between Damien and McGonagall. “Do you want to get grab the decorations now?” Kibum’s eyes lit up and he ducked behind the nearest Christmas tree, Minho immediately following him. “What should we take?”

“Well, Aaron left the twinkle lights…”

“Right.”

“So…” He looked up at the tree, looking at all the delicate ornaments, tinsel, and various strands of garland wrapped around it. He tugged on the popcorn one. “So, if we get hungry…”

Minho snorted and Kibum grinned as he started to untangle the garland from the branches. It took a few minutes for him to do so, and while he worked, Minho stuffed as much tinsel as he could into his pockets. Approaching footsteps cut their work short and they darted out of the Great Hall, Minho catching the end of the popcorn garland so it wouldn’t flail about and give them away. They didn’t stop running until they reached the basement. Kibum peered up the stairwell, making sure that no one followed them, and Minho’s gaze stayed on Kibum as he caught his breath. He found himself smiling when Kibum did.

“We’re good. Let’s go.”

* * * * * * * * * *

I'm the absolute worst best friend in the whole world.

I could have told you that.

Shut up.

Kibum rubbed his eyes, glancing over at the still sleeping Minho until Jonghyun replied.

What makes you think that you are? Did Minho say something?

Kibum scoffed. Of course not. Minho shifted in his sleep, hugging his pillow a little bit tighter. Kibum smiled, thankful that no one else was around to see how softly he was sure to be looking at Minho right now. I can't think of what to get or make for Minho for Christmas. I'm sure his present is perfect or whatever and I just...I don't know...I'm terrible at this. He stopped writing for a second before he continued. Not that it's my fault or anything. He never tells me what he wants, so...

Maybe you should get with the times and learn how to read minds?*

Kibum snorted. So insightful. Thanks, Jjong.

Literally always a pleasure. Kibum was about to reply when Jonghyun started to write some more. You could give him a shiny rock. Or an average rock. The gift of gab. A broken quill. A crumpled up piece of parchment that sort of looks like a duck. Maybe a sock?

A single sock?

Steal one of his socks and give it back to him. He'll love it. Gift of the year.

Kibum covered his mouth to keep from laughing, but he ended up snorting a bit too loudly, which woke Minho up.  he's awake. Gotta go.

Go ahead. Choose him over me. I don't mind.

For a second, guilt panged his heart. We can talk more tomorrow, yeah?

Relax, Ki, I’m only kidding. Say hi to Minho for me.

Kibum snapped his notebook closed and set it and the pen aside on his nightstand before he looked back at Minho. He was squinting up at him, clearly not aware of anything quite yet. “Merry Christmas Eve.”

“Hm.”

“Your phone was vibrating a lot earlier.”

Minho’s brow furrowed as he sat up and reached for his phone on the other side of him. “How the do I have service here and not in Hufflepuff?”

“Maybe you should have been in Slytherin instead.”

Minho chuckled as he opened his text messages. “What, like me in Slytherin and you in Hufflepuff?”

Kibum blinked. Himself in Hufflepuff...that particular thought hadn’t crossed his mind in quite some time. “No, like you and I being in Slytherin together.”

“I feel like you’d get pretty sick of me.” Before Kibum could provide any sort of response, Minho said, “Also, Minseok says hi and Merry Christmas.”

“So does Jjong.” Minho hummed in answer, answering his text messages and setting down his phone again when he was done. “So what do you want to do?”

“Clean up from last night?”

Kibum looked at the mess of paper and string scattered about the room, nodding a little. Minho had decided to show him how to make paper snowflakes which then became them attempting to make paper garlands to hang about the room. The room was a disaster area with all of their mistakes, but what they managed to get hanging up looked sort of good… Reluctantly, Kibum slid out of bed, rummaging around on the floor for the paper crown he made for himself last night. When he found it, he put it on, posing dramatically, which made Minho laugh.

“Hold on, hold on.” He crawled across to Kibum’s side of the conjoined bed, grabbing his polaroid and holding it up to take a picture. “Do that again.”

He did, but he broke into giggles when Minho snapped the picture. “Wait, I have a better idea.” He snatched the blanket off of his bed and ran out the door, Minho following him out into the common room. “Not yet,” Kibum said as he tried to tie the ends of the blanket around his neck to make a long robe before he went to stand in front of the fireplace. “How do I look? Regal?”

“Sure,” Minho said, clearly trying not to laugh. “Wait -- “ He grabbed a book from the coffee table and shoved it into Kibum’s arms then positioned him in front of the fireplace. “Almost…” He glanced around, grinning when he spotted the skull on the hearth. He placed it in Kibum’s hand and positioned it. “Okay now, don’t smile...I said don’t smile!” he said when Kibum started to crack up.

“Sorry, I won’t...I won’t.” But it was Minho who laughed next, making Kibum break his stoic demeanor. It took several minutes for them to be serious enough to finally take the pictures, from several angles so they could get the full effect. Kibum flipped through them as he went back to his dorm. Smiling, he set them on his nightstand and took off his paper crown, then hurried upstairs so he could sit beside Minho at breakfast.

They finished cleaning up the dorm room after they finished eating, but it took them a while, so afterward they went straight up to lunch, then bundled up to go outside.

The sun was shining a little too brightly, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky to relieve the glare of it. It was, however, colder than Kibum was expecting it to be. The air itself shimmered with the chill of winter. Minho's cheeks, nose, and ears were almost immediately rosy as they walked across the grounds to Merlin's Beard.

The trees, skeletal as they were now, provided little shade or warmth. The smaller branches were frosted over, as were the edges of the fallen leaves scattered along the path. Snow drifted strangely in the underbrush, and any that had fallen on the rocks in the brook had either melted away or formed a thin cap of ice over the stone.

Kibum stared at one stone in particular as Minho kept on walking toward the Black Lake, letting out a quiet chuckle before he started following Minho again.

"What?"

"Oh...nothing. Jonghyun was just being funny earlier."

"About what?" Minho asked when Kibum caught up to him.

Kibum sighed. "Don't hate me -- "

"No promises."

" -- But I can't decide what to get you for Christmas."

It was Minho's turn to chuckle. "We already said we weren't going to get presents for each other this year."

"We did?"

Minho's brow furrowed and he stopped walking. "I thought we did. Didn't we?"

"I don't remember."

"Well, let's say we don't, then."

Kibum shoved his hands further into his pockets as he started walking again. "Are you sure?"

"It won't be the end of the world if we don't, you know."

Kibum shook his head, trying to keep himself from smiling. "You'll be so sorry if you're wrong."

Minho's laughter filled the air and echoed off of the trees and the ice-covered lake, warming Kibum up ever so slightly.

They played outside until the sun dipped below the mountains on the other side of the Black Lake. They had spent their day building things -- snowmen, an attempt at the castle itself -- but the snow was not the good kind of packing snow, so everything they made ended up crumbling. Dinner was already started by the time they made it back inside. They shucked off their coats and hats and scarves, discarding them at the far end of the Ravenclaw table as they hurried down to the other end of the Hall to join the others.

After they murmured their apologies, no one paid them any mind.

Dinner was light and simple, most likely in preparation for Christmas dinner tomorrow. Kibum and Minho at quickly, eager to head downstairs. Their plans were thwarted, however, when Billius Figg -- one of the younger Ravenclaws -- pulled out a box.

"My mum sent it to me for Christmas," he said, setting it on the table after it was cleared. Kibum turned his head, reading the bold Hogwarts: a Mystery on the top of the box.

"What is it?" Damien asked, pulling it towards himself.

"It's a mystery board game," Billius said, a duh implied by his tone. "There's a new ghost in the castle and the other ghosts are trying to help her figure out how she died."

"Ooo -- " Minho slid back down the bench, as he had been getting up to leave. He looked over at Kibum, his eyebrows raised in silent question.

Billius glanced around the table at them all. "You wanna play?"

Kibum searched Minho's eager expression and tried not to smile too much. "Yeah, sure."

They ended up playing long after McGonagall left the Hall. The lights even started to dim, but no one noticed -- they were too enraptured in the game to -- until Filch, his harsh voice startling them. "You'd best be gettin' to bed now," he said as they were scrambling to put the game back in the box. "Or else you'll be havin' detention for Christmas instead."

They hurried past him, Kibum and Minho breaking off from the rest to hurry downstairs. It wasn't until they were safely enclosed inside Slytherin that they stopped to catch their breaths. Minho leaned against the wall, closing his eyes as his chest heaved. "What the is he so scary for…"

Kibum laughed breathlessly. "No one knows for sure. Come on," he patted Minho's side as he straightened and pushed away from the wall himself. "Let's head to bed."

Once they had brushed their teeth and changed into their pajamas, they crawled into bed. The only light at that point was the light of the glow-in-the-dark stars pinned between the pictures on the ceiling of Kibum’s bunk. Beside him, Minho shifted -- rolling over, more than likely. “You want to go to Hogsmeade tomorrow?”

“After breakfast?”

“Sure.”

Kibum turned his head, smiling when he could see the outline of Minho’s profile in the faint light. “Okay.”

When morning dawned, Kibum woke as the lamps around the room started to flicker. He stretched, yawned, and turned his head.

The moments when he got to just look at Minho were few and far between. Something always interrupted him: another student trying to talk to either of them, or the professors with their lessons, or even Minho himself. He tended to notice when Kibum would be watching him, and Kibum would always look away before Minho could ask him about it. If it were up to him, he would spend a good portion of his day just, watching him. His eyes and the way they shined when he talked about something he was excited about, his many changes of expression, his lips and the way they would curl up at the ends before he started to grin.

Or, really, just his lips themselves.

Kibum averted his eyes then, his face heating. He glanced back, his focus solely on Minho's lips before he turned away again and slipped out of bed. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he walked down the hallway toward the kitchen. He peeked inside, heaving a sigh of relief when the house elves weren't there yet. He set the kettle on and prepared two mugs with hot chocolate, almost nodding off again by the time the kettle whistled. Once he rinsed off his spoon and put it back in the drawer, going into the pantry in search of marshmallow. He grabbed two handfuls when he found them and plopped them into the mugs before he headed back to the room.

Minho still hadn’t stirred, but he had rolled closer to Kibum’s bed, though now he was lying face down and snoring. Kibum chuckled and set down Minho’s mug on his nightstand and then came around to his side and resettled into bed. When Minho let out a particularly loud snore, Kibum almost spilled his hot chocolate in surprise. Instead, he set it down and rolled Minho over onto his back.

“Hey…” he shook Minho slightly. “Hey, wake up, your cocoa is getting cold.” When he didn’t stir, Kibum shook him a little harder.

“Hm…”

“Hey...hey...hey,” he kept saying, poking Minho’s shoulder incessantly between each hey until he reached up to rub his eyes and glare at Kibum. “Merry Christmas!” Minho closed his eyes, snorting. “Now that you’re awake you should stay awake!”

“Or I could go back to sleep like a normal person,” Minho mumbled as he pulled his pillow over his head.

“Or...you could drink your hot cocoa that I worked so hard to make for you.”

Minho slowly sat up, his pillow falling away from him as he stared blearily at the mug of hot chocolate beside him. It took him a moment to finally reach out and grab it, and a moment more before he took his first sip. Kibum couldn’t help but smile. It wasn’t his fault that Minho was extraordinarily cute in the mornings, despite being ten times grumpier than he had ever seen him after he had fully woken up.

"What time is it?"

Kibum leaned over, glancing at Aaron's alarm clock. "6:15"

"Jesus ing Christ." Kibum burst out laughing and Minho shook his head, hiding his smile behind his mug before he took another sip.

Minho slept a bit more after he finished his cocoa -- Kibum slipped in and out of the kitchen to drop the mugs off in the sink without getting in the elves' way. He woke him up in time for breakfast, where they ate their fill, and soon were back downstairs bundling themselves up to head to Hogsmeade.

"Oh ," Minho said, patting his coat pockets.

"What?"

"I forgot my gloves." Kibum unlocked Slytherin, stepping in to follow him until he said, "No, no. I'll just be a second. You can wait for me upstairs."

He dared off before Kibum could protest. Kibum stood still for a.moment, deciding to stay put while he waited. It didn't take long for Minho to reappear, and when he did he was crossing his arms strangely over his stomach. The sight of Kibum standing there startled him, and he stopped in the archway leading to the dorms.

"Does your stomach hurt?"

"Uh...a little."

Kibum blinked at the slight hesitation. Something was up, but he didn't think Minho was actually sick. "We can stay in if you want?"

"No!" He cleared his throat before he started walking again. "No, I'll be fine. Exercise will do me good, I'm sure."

Kibum considered calling bull, but this was Minho who, for whatever godforsaken reason, found joy out of flying in the ing air and hitting balls around. Who was he to judge someone so twisted? He smiled to himself, ignoring Minho's curious look. If he could keep whatever this was from him, then he could keep a little secret, too.

Though, he was pretty sure he'd find out what was up with Minho sooner rather than later.

"Okay, let's head out then."

Snowflakes were falling in spurts as they walked down the long path toward Hogsmeade. By the time the reached the village, the snowfall was consistent and steadily heavier. They stopped in at Madam Puddifoot’s for some hot chocolates, and when Kibum started to walk toward Honeydukes, Minho grabbed his hand and pulled him away, leading him to the train station.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see.” Kibum huffed but followed him anyway, glancing down at their joined hands when Minho didn't release his right away. "It's just a little further," he said, the plumes of his breath dissipating between them. He let go of Kibum's hand as they hopped over the tracks, venturing out into the untouched snow.

Up ahead, there was a cluster of pines, and Minho seemed to be heading that way… What the hell was going on? He was about to voice his question when they broke through the trees and his question sort of answered itself.

There was an ice-covered pond, wisps of snow snaking over the surface on the breeze. Kibum's brow furrowed in confusion and he glanced Minho's way when he started to his coat.

"Why are w -- " He stopped talking when Minho pulled a pair of ice skates out of his coat, then looked up at him as he held them out to him.

"Come on, take them." He did, holding them to his chest, but he didn't look away from Minho as he reached into his coat to pull out a second pair. "Remember when we were practicing our patronuses?" Kibum nodded mutely, already knowing where this was going but not wanting to interrupt. "Well, you said that your happiest memory was when we went skating in London and I saw these the other day and I thought…" his voice trailed off, and he looked away. "I thought this might be fun to do again this year."

What exactly did he do to deserve someone as sweet and kind and giving as Minho in his life? Absolutely nothing, as far as he was aware. He cleared his throat, smiling at the ground before he cleared a tree stump of its blanket of snow. “Have you gotten better at skating since London?” he asked as he pulled off his snow boot, and Minho snorted.

“I guess we’ll see, huh?”

Their boots and hot cocoas were soon set on the stump and they were hobbling over to the icy pond, clinging to each other so they could stay upright. Minho almost pulled them both to the ice once they reached it, but luckily Kibum was able to keep them standing. Their progress around the pond was gradual, at first, but soon they were both gaining more confidence. Minho eventually let go of him, venturing off on his own a little ways ahead. Kibum sighed. He could feel the fondness in his stance, let alone in his expression...but Minho’s back was turned, so he was safe, for a little while.

“Oh, !”

Kibum blinked, refocusing on Minho as he fell to the ice with a heavy thunk. He skated forward a couple of strides before he stopped himself abruptly. “The ice didn’t crack, right?”

“N-no, I don’t think so?”

He skated forward again, coming to a stop at Minho’s feet. “Are you okay?”

Minho’s laugh came out in a huff of breath. “Yeah.”

“Learn your lesson?”

His brow furrowed and he cocked his head. “What lesson?”

“That you can’t do anything without me.”

Minho laughed heartily then, the resounding sound of it making Kibum roll his eyes as he grinned. “Help me up, .”

Kibum skated forward and extended his hand. “See, now you’re just proving my po -- “ Before Kibum could pull on Minho’s hand, Minho pulled him down, making him slip and fall. Right on top of Minho. They both froze -- Kibum could feel Minho stiffen beneath him -- and Kibum placed his hands on either side of Minho’s head, pushing himself up. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

“It was my fault.”

It was...almost dizzying to be so close to him. To feel his breath tickle his skin. To see the specks of amber in his eyes up close. Or the cracks in his chapped lips… Kibum knew he should look away...anywhere but Minho’s face, really...but he just couldn’t. He clenched his jaw as Minho’s eyes darted away and he pushed himself up a little further before he rolled over to lay on the ice beside Minho.

He gulped, staring up at the gray sky and the falling snowflakes. The silence between them was electric, to Kibum, at least. Part of him wanted to glance over at Minho to see if he was experiencing whatever Kibum was, but he couldn’t seem to summon the courage to do so. He took a deep breath, letting it all out in a plume. Maybe he should apologize? For making things awkward between them? He worried his bottom lip, casting a furtive glance toward Minho before doing a double-take.

His tongue was sticking out and he was moving his head back and forth to catch the snowflakes as they fell. Kibum’s chuckle turned into a full laugh when Minho looked his way with a quiet “What?”

“Nothing.” He shook his head before he propped himself up on his elbows, looking around at the moors. “Have you been planning this all week?”

“Sorta.”

“Well, thanks...it’s been fun.”

“Yeah,” Minho said with a smile in his voice. “Are you ready to head back now?”

“I think so. I’m getting a bit cold.” They both scrambled to their feet warily, Kibum reaching out to hold Minho’s hand as they made their way back to the opposite side where their boots were waiting for them. “Do we have to give back the skates now?”

Minho shook his head as he started to unlace his second skate. “Gladrag said we could have them until school was back in session.” Kibum smiled, sticking his foot into his boot. “Wanna come back tomorrow?”

“Sure.”

Once they were back in their boots, they tucked the skates under their arms and trudged back through the snow to return to Hogsmeade. Kibum glanced behind them, catching one last glimpse of the pond before it disappeared behind the trees. If only he had dared to say what he had wanted to for...well, years, now, probably. He looked forward again when Minho tapped his arm, pointing toward the Shrieking Shack in the distance. Really, he should have listened to whatever Minho was saying, but he could only focus on his hand, not the Shack.

He sighed and nodded when Minho looked his way for a response. Luckily, he didn’t seem too upset by the lack of one from Kibum.

Kibum his lips, his gaze trailing to the space between them.

Perhaps...perhaps somethings were never meant to be…

Ah, but if only.