An excited buzz hung in the air of the Great Hall on Halloween morning. Kibum yawned, which spurred his dormmates to do the same. They had gotten maybe two hours of sleep last night – what with all the decorating they did in their room.

Callum and Travis grabbed as many decorations as they could grab from the common room while everyone else was busy. Aaron pulled strings of Muggle twinkle lights that his dad bought for him out of his trunk. Once Charlie came by to make sure they were all asleep, they jumped out of their beds and decorated their room with as much orange and black as they could manage.

Kibum had spent most of the time sitting cross-legged on the floor and untangling the twinkle lights in the dark. He grabbed his Standard Book of Spells from beneath his bed to search for a spell to light them without electricity. Lumos worked, and once the lights were strung around the room, they all sat back to look at their handiwork.

The lights flickered softly on and off, illuminating the spaces between their beds. A Jack-o-lantern sat on the dresser, a warm flame lighting the inside, with a cluster of smaller pumpkins surrounding it. It was too dark to make out the other stolen decorations they had put up, so they went to bed, leaving the twinkle lights on through the night.

Kibum yawned again, covering it with the back of his hand before he finished spreading jam on his toast. A half day for Halloween! McGonagall had announced it before breakfast appeared before them, and everyone couldn’t wait for classes to be over.

A slight hush fell over the Great Hall as the owls arrived with the morning mail. Nutmeg soon appeared in the window, swooping down and dropping a small package on the table before him. “Good job, Meg,” he said, kissing the top of his soft head before he flew away.

It was the smallest package his grandmother had sent him so far – he could hold it in in his palm. What could it be? Kibum untied the ribbon and peered inside. “Whoa…”

One of Grandma’s favorite spells was the Undetectable Extension Charm. He remembered her using it for their luggage to save money when she took him from New York back to her home in London after his father passed. The cupboards around their cottage were enchanted with the spell – “To fit all our memories,” she would say.

Grinning, Kibum held the package closed as he left the Slytherin table to rush across the hall to the Hufflepuff’s. He slid into the empty spot next to Minho and set the box down on the table. Minho’s eyebrows raised. “What’d Grandma send us?”

“Well,” Kibum glanced over at the Hufflepuffs who were watching them with curiosity and pulled the package back towards himself. “I don’t even know,” he said, switching to quiet Korean. “We’ll find out later when we study.”

“Oh, are we still doing that today? I thought McGonagall said there was a feast.”

“Hey,” Kibum smacked his arm, Minho rubbing the spot. “Just because it’s a half day doesn’t mean we can slack off. You’re making so much progress!”

Minho bit back a smile and lowered his eyes to his breakfast. Last night, he had finally been able to lift his feather with the Levitation Charm. They had both been so elated, they forgot to study for the rest of the night. Instead, they danced around the storage closet in excitement, pausing occasionally for Minho to lift something else with his newfound skill.

It was a good night.

“Okay, we can still study tonight,” Minho said in English, and Kibum cleared his throat, following suit.

“Good. What classes do you have today?”

Minho pulled his crumpled schedule out of his robe pocket and set it on the table between them. “Uh, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms,” Kibum squeezed his arm in encouragement, “and History of Magic.”

Riiiing!

They both looked up at the sound of the bell and Kibum climbed out of his seat. “I’ll save you a seat at History, okay?”

“Okay!” Kibum ran back to his place at the Slytherin table and grabbed his books, standing on his tiptoes to wave at Minho across the Great Hall. Minho waved back with a grin. Warmth bloomed in his chest and Kibum smiled back before running off to Potions.

Kibum dropped his books on his and Aaron’s desk, crossing his legs underneath him as he sat down. He pulled out his unfinished notes from yesterday’s class, picking up where he left off in writing down Slughorn’s comments on the recipe for the Forgetfulness Potion.

He dipped his quill in his inkwell, scraping the excess ink off on the bottle opening as Slughorn stepped up behind his cauldron. “All right, class. Open to page 139.” Kibum glanced up at the page number of Magical Drafts and Potions, confirming that it was the right page. “We’ll continue our study on the Forgetfulness Potion. Does anyone remember which ingredient we left off on? Or did you forget?”

Slughorn let out a nervous-sounding chuckle, the whole class looking up at the sound. He stopped after a moment when no one joined him. Tracey Prince raised her hand, Slughorn looking her way with a nod. “We left off on the different herbs that make up the Standard Ingredient?”

Sighing, Slughorn nodded again. “Yes, we did, Ms. Prince. Now, if everyone would get their writing utensils. I see Mr. Kim is ahead of us.” Kibum’s hand twitched, the ink scratching across the parchment, and his cheeks flushed a warm pink when he felt their eyes on him. “I always appreciate when my students are prepared! Five points to Slytherin!

“Now,” Slughorn untied a small burlap sack and passed it to the nearest student, “as for the Standard Ingredient. It’s a combination of seven different dried herbs that is generally used as a base ingredient for many potions.”

Kibum grabbed the Standard Ingredient when Aaron passed it to him and took a quick sniff before giving it to the Gryffindor next to him. Peppermint stood out to him, followed by the faint scent of rosemary. He wrote those down on his notes for Minho, dropping his quill when he hand started to cramp.

Was it even worth it? Doing all this?

Minho seemed to appreciate it, but…Kibum rubbed his palm, reading over his notes. Maybe he was putting in too much effort. Maybe Minho was just using him. Maybe…No.

Kibum shook his head, picking up his quill. Minho genuinely seemed to like him as a friend. They spent time together whenever they could, outside of classes and studying. It was hard, though, since they weren’t in the same house. Actually…Kibum stopped writing and carded his free hand through his hair. Now that he thought about it, they did only seem to spend time together for studying.

No, no, he was over-thinking this again. Minho was his friend. His best friend…well, his only friend, if he was being honest.

Riiiing!

Kibum started at the sound of the bell and hurried to gather his books. He rolled up his notes, wincing when the ink smeared. Hopefully, they would still be readable. He got caught up in the flurry of students in the hallways, all four houses intermingling on their way to their next classes.

Kibum looked for the Hufflepuffs, spotting a couple fourth years, but no one else. He scuffed his toe on the stone floor, hugging his books to his chest. He needed to stop dwelling on this. Minho was nice, Minho…was calling out to him. Kibum looked up, spotting him on the staircase leading to the South Tower.

Minho hopped off the second step, jogging over to him. “Hi! How was Potions?”

“Fine,” Kibum shrugged.

“Good!” Minho grinned, digging around in his pockets and producing a handful of silver and orange covered drops with little paper flags sticking out of them. “Take them,” he said, taking Kibum’s hand and dropping them into it.

“What are they?”

“Chocolate!” Minho picked one out of Kibum’s hand and unwrapped it before popping it in his mouth. “Rhys’ mom sent him a huge bag of Muggle chocolate this morning and he shared it with all of us. It’s a Halloween thing.”

Kibum cautiously unwrapped it and looked at it. It certainly was oddly shaped. He bit off the chocolate tip and frowned. Minho laughed, pushing Kibum’s shoulder as he backed away. “Gotta go to Charms, bye!”

“Bye!” Kibum smiled, turning and slipping the rest of the chocolate into his mouth as he started after his classmates on their way to Herbology.

“’Scuse me, if ya please.”

Minho grabbed Kibum’s arm, pulling him out of Hagrid’s way, and guided him out of the Great Hall. Both turned to watch as the gamekeeper dragged a cart full of pumpkins behind him. Dark peat sifted through the wooden slots of the cart, leaving a trail down the corridor to the Great Hall. The doors slammed shut behind the last of the students leaving lunch – both Minho and Kibum jumping at the sound.

Minho continued to stare at the closed door with wide eyes, asking “What do you think those are for?” as Kibum said, “Anyways like I was saying…”

“Sorry,” Minho said, nodding to Kibum when he froze. “You go.”

“We could go study now? If that’s what you want, I mean.” Minho scuffed his toe in the nearest clump of dirt, nodding. “O-or, if you’d rather, we can just go back to our dorms and wait for the feast tonight…” Kibum’s voice trailed off with a sigh.

Minho’s brow furrowed as he glanced over at his friend. He seemed sad, for some reason. Minho could not figure out why; he just hoped it wasn’t something he said or did.

Whenever Minseok was sad, Minho would grab their football and race him to the backyard to play with him until he was smiling again and Mom called them in for dinner. Jinki didn’t get sad often – typically only when his parents fought – and when he did he would come over to Minho’s house with a handful of movies. Minho held his hand sometimes when he seemed especially sad, and Jinki would squeeze it tightly before relaxing next to him. When Taemin had a bad day at school, Minho would invite him to come home with him and they would play video games until his mom got off from and came to pick him up. Minho would always let Taemin win – sometimes unintentionally – and Taemin would give him a quick hug before he left with his mother.

He didn’t have a football at Hogwarts, nor movies, nor video games…but Kibum also wasn’t Minseok or Jinki or Taemin.

Minho his lips quickly, his heart sinking at Kibum’s slight pout. “What if we went outside?” Kibum’s eyebrows rose and he looked up. “I’ve been wanting to explore out there anyway.”

“Why haven’t you said so before?”

“You’ve always wanted to study, so…” Minho shrugged and smiled when Kibum did.

“Oh.” Kibum scratched the nape of his neck as he averted his eyes, the tips of his ears tinged pink. “It’s a little cold. You want to go now, or – “

“Go get your coat,” he said, giving Kibum’s shoulder a shove. “I’ll race you!” Minho grabbed the straps of his backpack and started running off to the Hufflepuff dorms. He glanced over his shoulder to see Kibum dart off in the direction of the Slytherin house. His backpack fell heavy against his back with every loping stride, and Minho pulled it off once he came to a stop at the hidden doorway.

Grabbing his wand from his back pocket, Minho tapped the password on the front of the barrel and crawled inside, dragging his backpack behind him. He dropped it at the foot of his bed by his duffel bag, slipped off his robe, and looked around for his dad’s Manchester United hoodie he let Minho take with him. Once he found it, he pulled it on and flipped the hood off his head

As he turned to leave, he paused. Did wizards even have coats? Or were their robes their coats? Minho frowned and went back to his duffel bag, digging around for his puffy winter coat and putting it on. All at once, he was too warm, but he kept it on as he reached for his wand on his bed and rushed back to the hallway.

Kibum was waiting for him in front of the Great Hall with his polaroid in his hands, smiling when Minho turned the corner. No coat, just as Minho had suspected. Kibum had simply grabbed his house scarf and wrapped it around his neck twice.

“You ready?” Minho asked, rubbing his hands together and glancing to the open door leading to the castle grounds. Grinning, Kibum started running down the corridor with Minho on his heels.

Fallen leaves skittered across the dirt path on a breath of crisp autumn wind. The sky was overcast and heavy with the promise of rain. In the distance, the Whomping Willow’s branches whipped to and fro – though Minho couldn’t tell if it was because of the wind or the group of Gryffindors playing just out of its reach.

Minho darted ahead, taking Kibum’s outstretched hand as he took them off the path and into the grass. He let go once they were almost to the Forbidden Forest, both coming to a stop in the shadows of the trees. Minho bent, holding his knees, and breathed through his nose and out his mouth like his dad taught him. Kibum leaned against him, his arm draped across Minho’s back, as he tried to catch his breath.

“You’re too fast,” Kibum said, and Minho laughed.

“Sorry.”

Kibum’s hand slid across his back as he stood and he shoved it into his robe pocket, sniffing. Minho straightened and looked over at Kibum, huffing at his cold-kissed cheeks, nose, and chin. Wordlessly, he slipped out of his winter coat and passed it to him.

“Won’t you get cold?” Kibum asked, his teeth chattering.

“Nope!” He passed his polaroid from one hand to the other as he pulled it on, fumbling with the zipper with one hand. “Let me help you,” Minho said, easily zipping it up to his chin. “There.” Kibum sniffed again, as if for emphasis, and Minho chuckled. “So, what do you want to do?”

“Me?” Minho nodded, and Kibum blinked. “I don’t even know.”

“Hmm…” He revolved in place, turning slowly from the castle ahead to Hagrid’s hut to his left to the forest behind them. Minho stepped up on his tiptoes, peering into the deep shadows. From them, there came various animal sounds, most of which Minho could not recognize. He took a step closer, and Kibum smacked his arm.

“Hey! We’re not allowed to go in, remember?” he said, grabbing Minho by the elbow and pulling him back. “I don’t want us to get in trouble.”

“Yeah, but,” Minho took a step closer, dragging Kibum along with him. “Nobody’s watching.” Kibum shook his head, and Minho slipped out of his hold before he scampered into the forest. He didn’t make it two steps inside before he heard a faint, yet distinct growl from somewhere above him. Minho froze, his heart beating wildly in his ears as he whirled around and ran back to Kibum.

Click!

Minho squinted and blinked at the bright flash from Kibum’s polaroid, a small smile lifting the corners of his mouth when Kibum doubled over in laughter. “Oh god,” he said, still laughing, “you’re such an idiot.”

Minho rolled his eyes and took the polaroid before Kibum lost his hold and dropped it, grabbing the undeveloped picture as it slid out of the slot in the front. Kibum was leaning against him again, his hand clasping his shoulder as he continued to laugh. He shook the photo as the grays became slightly more defined, smiling.

All he had to do to make Kibum smile was be an idiot. He could do that. Easily.

“Oh, I’m keeping that,” Kibum said, taking the mostly developed photograph from Minho’s hand.

His eyes were wide and his normally tan skin was just slightly pale as he stumbled out of the forest and locked eyes with Kibum. The camera shook slightly – from Kibum’s laughter, he assumed – and the scene restarted.

“Are you sure you don’t want to go in?” Minho asked as he stepped away from the forest with Kibum following him. “Just once to say you’ve done it?”

“No,” Kibum said, scoffing. He slipped the photograph of Minho in his robe pocket. “I don’t have to prove anything to anyone.”

“That’s true.”

“Oh, hey,” Kibum nudged him when he came alongside him. “I didn’t get to ask how Charms went. So?”

Minho bounced excitedly on the balls of his feet and ran back over to the forest to grab a handful of leaves. He pulled out one of Kibum’s hands out of his coat pocket and placed one of the leaves there, letting the others fall around their feet. He whipped his wand out of his back pocket and flicked it over the leaf.

“Wingardium Leviosa!”

The leaf floated up against the autumn wind, hovering between them. Kibum’s eyes brightened in a smile when he looked from the levitating leaf to Minho. He set the leaf back down in Kibum’s hand and lowered his wand.

“Professor Flitwick was really proud.”

“Well, he should be.”

Warmth bloomed in Minho’s chest and he let out a huffy sigh in a white plume. It felt good, succeeding after such an effort. It was just one, simple spell, but it meant that he could actually do this, that he was meant to be here…that he belonged.

Kibum was smiling at him when he looked over, and Minho quickly averted his eyes to the polaroid in his hands. He had been so kind and attentive to Minho in the short months that they had known each other. More than anything, he wanted to thank Kibum for everything he had done to help him, but he had never been good with words. He opened his mouth, hoping the right words would find their way to the forefront of his mind, but...

“Woah!” Minho looked back up when Kibum tapped his arm, pointing over to Hagrid’s hut and the pumpkin garden set between his home and the Forbidden Forest. His eyes widened at the size of the pumpkins, and he jogged after Kibum as he ran to inspect them. He plopped down on the largest pumpkin – nearly the size of his bed, he guessed – next to Kibum and laid down across the top, staring up at the darkening sky.

Raindrops started smattering against his hair. They would have to go inside soon.

Kibum turned, taking the polaroid from Minho’s hands, and shifted in his place on the pumpkin before raising the polariod to face him. Minho watched Kibum’s finger poised above the button. When he started to press down, Minho shot up, surprising Kibum by latching onto his shoulder and posing with a peace sign over his eyes. Once the flash died, Minho let go of his friend and ran off, laughing as Kibum chased him back to the castle.

Hundreds of black bats flew above the lighted Jack-o-lanterns hanging in the place of the candles in the Great Hall. They swerved and dodged the rain falling from the enchanted ceiling. Kibum flinched whenever one of them flew past the Slytherin table and he instinctively covered his plate of food whenever he heard the tell-tale flapping of their wings.

He wasn’t very hungry anymore, having eaten more than his fill during the abundant feast. Still, he grabbed the last pumpkin pastie on the plate closest to him, blinking in surprise as the plate vanished as soon as he lifted the pastie from it. Kibum nibbled absently on the crimped crust, sighing.

He wished he hadn’t found the letter.

Once he was back in his dorm from being outside with Minho, Kibum noticed the small package from his grandma sitting on his nightstand. He dumped out the contents, loads and loads of candy and baked goods to celebrate the day -- and at last, a folded square of paper fluttered down amidst the treats. Eagerly, he grabbed the letter and unfolded it.

My darling Kibum~

I’m so happy that you’re making friends within your house. From what you’ve told me, Minho seems like a nice boy. I hope that you will share at least some of these goodies with your new friend.

Kibum frowned, re-reading the first sentence. Did she think he was in Hufflepuff? That was partly his fault, having not mentioned that he was sorted into Slytherin in any of his letters. He didn’t want to disappoint her, so he just never...brought it up.

I’ll admit this now, but I was worried at your silence, but I was worried that you weren’t sorted into Hufflepuff. But, of course you were. I’m so proud of you, darling. I know you’ll follow in your father’s footsteps and do great things.

I’ve got to go, darling. Dinner with Ruby and Harold tonight and I want to send the goodies while they’re still warm. Have a happy Hallowe’en!

With all my love...

Kibum’s stomach turned, and he set down his half-eaten pastie, staring at his robe pocket where his grandma’s letter lay hidden. He should have just told her straight off, but he didn’t want to. And she seemed happy by the “news” so...maybe...maybe he didn’t have to tell her.

The sound of benches being pushed back roused Kibum from his trance and he blinked, looking up to find all the students leaving the Great Hall. Even though they had a half day for the holiday, it was still a school night. Kibum stood slowly, shoving his hands in his pockets. The letter and Minho’s leaf crinkled against his fingers as he shuffled to the open doors.

“There you are!” Minho said, startling Kibum into looking up at him instead of the ground beneath his feet. Minho’s head cocked to the side and his brow furrowed as he stepped closer, his hand settling lightly on Kibum’s shoulder. “Is everything all right?”

The concern in Minho’s voice almost loosed the tears Kibum had been refusing to cry. Instead, Kibum pursed his lips and shook his head. Minho’s expression hardened into a determined little scowl before he grabbed Kibum’s hand and led him away to the tower just off the Great Hall. He took them down the stairwell to the first landing, stretching his legs out in front of him as he sat. Kibum soon sat beside him, his elongated sigh breaking the silence.

“What’s wrong?”

“Well,” he started to say, his voice cracking. Minho’s hand was soon at his back, rubbing gently back and forth between his shoulders. Kibum dug into his pocket and produced the letter, unfolding it for Minho to read.

“Oh...oh no...” Kibum gulped as Minho carefully refolded the letter. “Why didn’t you tell her the truth?”

Kibum shrugged, his shoulders drooping. “I didn’t tell her anything. I-I just w-wanted her to be proud of m-me,” he said, wiping away the tears that started rolling down his cheeks. Minho wrapped him in a tight side hug, his chin resting on Kibum’s shoulder. He didn’t say anything, he simply held him, until Kibum stopped crying. He sniffled, rubbing his wet nose with the sleeve of his robe.

“I’m sure she still would be. Proud of you, I mean.”

He sniffed again, smiling when Minho released him from his embrace. “Yeah.” He cleared his throat and shifted a little in his seat. "So, do you want to study now?"

"Not really. It's been nice to have a fun day. We should do it more often." Kibum looked over at Minho, and he smiled, moon and torchlight dancing in his brown eyes. “Ready?” Kibum nodded and Minho stood, offering his hand to help Kibum stand. They ran up the stairs, parting ways at the doorway. Minho darted off with a wave and a Bye, Kibum! thrown over his shoulder as he ran back to his house.

Kibum waved at his back, watching Minho until he disappeared behind the corner. He hurried, then, to his own house and found the right brick. He tapped it three times and said, “Viridi” -- Slytherin’s new password since Monday. The wall opened for him and he went inside, avoiding the curious looks of the others lounging in the common room.

The first year’s dorm room was empty; Kibum sighed in relief at the sight. He changed quickly into his pajamas and tucked himself into bed, his teeth chattering until the sheets warmed around him.

A slight movement in the corners of his eyes caught his attention, and he looked up to the photographs from earlier hanging on the bottom of the top bunk, Kibum had pasted them there before he dumped out the package from his grandmother, and he had forgotten that he’d done so until just now. He smiled at the one from the Forbbiden forest before he focused on the other one.

In the photograph, Kibum shifted so that he could see Minho over his shoulder. Minho was also watching the camera, before he lept up and grabbed Kibum, giving the camera the cheesiest smile he could muster, a peace sign framing his squeezed-shut eyes. His own small smile opened into a yell and Minho laughed, pushing away from him.

Then, the scene restarted.

Kibum smiled as he watched the scene replay over and over again. His eyes soon lost focus and drooped shut, his lack of sleep from the night before setting in. A thought crossed his mind as sleep took him, one that he rather liked...

It’s nice to have a friend -- and Minho was his best friend. For sure.