"Are you heading to bed?"

Kibum looked back over his shoulder at his mom as he stopped in the archway between the living room and kitchen. "Yeah, I'm tired."

"I bet." She gave him a small smile, which he returned. "Sleep well, Bummie."

"You, too," he said as he started walking again.

"Love you!"

"Love you, too!" He called out from the stairs before he started jogging up them. He slipped into his room and closed the door, glancing around at the strewn contents of his trunk. "I'll get to you tomorrow," he muttered to himself as he wove through the mess and plopped down on his bed, tucking his arms behind his head on his pillow. Pages fluttered, and Kibum looked up, finding Jonghyun's notebook in the mess of the room.

But it wasn't moving.

His brow furrowed as the pages fluttered again, then unfurled when he sat up and looked at the mustard yellow notebook on his dresser. Kibum's heart did a flip as he jumped out of bed to grab it, opening it before he was laying down again, this time on his stomach.

Glad you survived the Knight Bus. Seemed a bit touch-and-go there for a while.

Kibum smiled as he grabbed his quill. Hey, he wrote carefully, making sure his penmanship was perfect. I was wondering when you'd write back.

Sorry, I had to eat and then Dad and I watched a movie.

How dare you spend time with your family that you haven't seen for 9 months rather than talk to me who you saw just this afternoon. , did that sound too mean? He wanted to sound...flirty…if that was even possible.

He dropped his quill on the notebook, covering his face with his hands.

I know, I'm terrible.

Oh, thank Merlin, he read his sarcasm. At least you're aware.

How's your mom?

Kibum brushed the feathered end of his quill back and forth over his chin before he wrote, Good! She told me all about her recent trip to Thailand. Made me want to go with her.

I mean, it'd be cool!

“Maybe we should go sometime, then,” he whispered to the page, then sighed. Now that would be fun. I think she said she's going to New Zealand next, he wrote instead.

That's where they filmed Lord of the Rings!

Kibum’s brow furrowed. What's that? Maybe it was something similar to Star Wars?

We'll have to watch it next time you... Minho abruptly stopped writing, then scribbled over what he wrote, and Kibum’s heart sank. Yeah, no, the odds of him ever getting to go to Manchester were quite slim, unfortunately. When does Jjong get back? he asked instead.

“, I don’t remember.” He dropped the quill between the pages again and pushed himself up, slipping out the door. “Mom?” he called downstairs.

“Yeah?”

“When did Mrs. Kim say that Jonghyun would be back?”

“Tomorrow morning!”

“Thanks! Good night!”

He closed his bedroom door as she said goodnight again and hopped back into bed. Tomorrow, actually! I’m excited to see him again.

I bet. A weird, clipped response, but okay… Dad wants me to come to practice with him so I won’t be around much.

Oh, damn...so Mr. Choi actually wanted to spend time with him? A shocking turn of events. Was it just because Minseok wasn’t there anymore? Good to know.

He tapped the feather against his lips. Should he talk more about it? It was definitely a sensitive topic for Minho, and even himself, but maybe Minho needed to vent a little. Could it be possible that his opinion of wizards had improved at all since that conversation that he unfortunately overheard all those years ago? Maybe this was a sign that he was more comfortable with the idea that Minho had magic...

I’m sure you’ll have a lot of fun with him. Didn’t you say that football was a lot like Quidditch? Maybe you could get some ideas for how to make Hufflepuff the best team this year (don’t tell Aaron I said that)

He set his quill down, watching the empty space, waiting for Minho’s response. None came. “Aw, did you fall asleep on me?” he whispered, smiling as he brushed his thumb over Minho’s last response. “Night, buddy.”

Kibum set his quill aside and closed the notebook, hugging it as he made himself comfortable. He dozed off quickly, and woke with the sun. Or, rather, when Nutmeg swooped into his room after a night of hunting. He patted his soft head before he made his way downstairs. “Mom?”

No answer.

He looked around downstairs, peeked into her office, and wandered into the kitchen. “Mom?” He stopped in front of the fridge, doing a double-take when he noticed a note.

Went grocery shopping. Should be back soon.

“Oh, okay.” He opened the fridge, grabbing the carton of pumpkin juice and unscrewing the cap, setting it on the counter as he walked out to the greenhouse. Huh, Mrs. Prue did a good job of maintaining it while Mom was gone. He took a swig, wiping his mouth as he walked farther in. He glanced at the bubotuber plant and smiled when he thought back to the O.W.L.s and Minho’s mishap. A squeeze of the bulbs told him that he had a few days before he had to harvest them again. Maybe he should go upstairs and tease Minho about that...

Hm, but he was with his dad all day...Still, he’d probably be amused once he read it. He took another drink of the pumpkin juice before he went back inside and up to his room. Minho had yet to respond -- in fact, he probably wasn’t even awake yet. Kibum picked up his quill, smirking as he wrote. Hey, the bubotuber pus will need to be harvested soon. Wanna come over so you can do it?

Smiling now, he tossed the notebook back onto his pillow and sauntered back downstairs. It was so strange to be in such a quiet house. Slytherin was quieter than, well, Gryffindor, but it was still a bunch of teenagers stuck together. They were gonna be rowdy, at some point...so it was weird to be home alone. If Grandma were still alive, there wouldn’t be silence. The radio would be tuned to her favorite jazz station and the clacking of her knitting needles would have filled the living room.

He let out a heavy sigh as he rounded the corner and looked into the empty living room.

Her bag of yarn was still there, on the left of her usual chair. Kibum wasn't sure about Mom, but he had yet to sit there since she passed. Keeping it empty for her...it...it kept her memory alive. To him at least.

Maybe he was being stupid.

Kibum sat on the couch, sinking into the too-soft cushions, and his gaze settled on the empty chair. Okay, time to think about anything else. Literally anything else. As if an answer to his prayer, the front door creaked open. Good, Mom must be back. He shot up from the couch and hurried to help her, only to stop in his tracks when Roo waddled out in front of him. "Jjong?"

He poked his head around the corner, giving him an all-too bright grin. "Hi!"

Kibum pulled him into a tight hug. "Merlin, I'm so happy to ing see you."

Jonghyun patted his back. "Let's be real, you should always be." Kibum laughed, pushing him away as he crouched and patted the floor, calling Roo over. "Oh, I see."

He smiled when Roo flopped down before him, pawing at him to start rubbing her belly. "Hm?"

"You only like me for my dog. I get it."

"I thought you already knew that"

Jonghyun sat in front of him, scratching behind Roo's ears. "So, what do you wanna do?" Kibum shrugged, looking over at him. "Dad told Mom I was too hyper on the plane so she sent me to give Roo a walk."

Kibum chuckled. "Why were you so hyper?"

"I ordered an espresso...or two."

"What's that?"

"Uh...really strong coffee?"

"Oh ."

Jonghyun patted his knee before he pushed off the ground. "Come on, you can bore me with 'cute' Minho stories while we walk."

"Hey!"

He laughed as he opened the front door. "We're losing daylight!"

"It's barely morning, dip!" Kibum called out as he followed him out the door, closing it behind him. He fell into step beside him, and they walked along the road toward the round-about. "So did you get good grades?"

"Eh, good enough. I really need to focus on my studies next year if I want to make something of myself. Apparently."

"Your dad?" Jonghyun shrugged, nodding. "ing love that guy."

"Mhm, same. Since Pierre graduated this year, as you know, he suggested that the rest of us drop out and tour France with Nebulous Stardust."

"Seriously? Are you gonna?"

Jonghyun laughed, the sound filling the open air. "I kinda want to, but my dad would kill me." Kibum hummed. "But enough about the Great Disappointment. Is Minho still acting weird?" Kibum averted his eyes, shrugging half-heartedly. "Is he?"

"I don't want to bore you."

Jonghyun scoffed. "Please, I was just kidding. Talk about him as much as you want. You know I do about Pierre."

"True," Kibum said, widening his eyes dramatically.

"Shut the up."

Kibum grinned at him, kicking a pebble down the asphalt. "He is, a bit. But I think I'm just being paranoid."

"It's possible."

"We got notebooks though, like ours?"

"Oh? Gonna do some long-distance flirting?" he asked, waggling his eyebrows. Kibum snorted and rolled his eyes. "Do me a favor and don't mix mine and his up."

Kibum bumped their shoulders together, and Jonghyun stumbled away, dramatically regaining his footing, much to Kibum’s amusement. "Yours is brown leather,” he said, laughing. “And his is mustard yellow. It'd be a bit difficult to confuse them."

"Still." Mom’s car pulled through the round-about, and she honked at them as she passed. “Where’d she go this early?”

“Grocery shopping. Come on,” he smacked Jonghyun’s shoulder as he turned around. “Let’s go help her.”

They tried to run back, but Roo's little legs couldn't keep up with their long strides. Kibum surged ahead when Jonghyun bent to pick her up to carry her the rest of the way, and he reached Mom's car as she popped the trunk. Kibum grabbed most of the groceries, but what he couldn't get in one trip, Jonghyun brought in behind him. They followed Mom inside and sat at the kitchen counter while she grilled them about their terms at school.

"Are you and Pierre still keeping in contact?" She asked Jonghyun as she dumped the fresh coffee beans into their bin.

"I've written to him but it takes a while for the owl post to get to France."

"I know how hard it is to keep in contact over the summers. Bumji and I went through so much parchment. Drove our parents mad."

Kibum smiled. "I forget. When did you two start dating?"

"Middle of fifth year. He told me he liked me the day after Valentine's Day."

"Aww." Kibum scoffed, looking over at Jonghyun. "Now we just gotta wait for Kibum to find his Hogwarts romance."

Kibum smacked Jonghyun's arm, his face growing redder by the second, if the heat radiating off of it was anything to go by.

"Oh?" Mom asked, looking up from the bowl she was filling with fruit. "Is there someone in particular?" He didn't have to look at Jonghyun to know that he was grinning like an . "Do I know about them?"

Them? She...she wasn't assuming that he liked girls?

He blinked slowly, taking a deep breath. "Uh, yeah…" He looked over at Jonghyun before he met Mom's curious gaze. "It's Minho."

"Ah." That's all she had to say? She smiled to herself. "Mom was right, then."

"What? Grandma knew?"

"Ki," Jonghyun said, hiding his laugh behind his hand. "You were the last to know. Wait, that's not true." He looked back at Mom, who raised her eyebrows with amusement. "Minho will be."

Kibum buried his head in his crossed arms, hiding his smile. "Shut up, oh my god."

Mom his head, and he could hear the smile in her voice. "It's okay, hon. Jjongie is just teasing you."

"So you're not mad at me?"

She stopped his head. "Why would I be?"

He gulped, involuntarily flashing back to the phone call from Minho's cousin. "I don't know...some parents are…"

"I know. I'm not one of them. Neither was your father. Or your grandmother." Kibum lifted his head, and her hand slid down to cup his cheek. "They would be happy to know that you're being yourself. They would be proud." She patted his cheek, blinking away the tears her eyes as she reached for Jonghyun's hand. "In this world, it takes a great amount of courage to be yourself, and I'm so proud of both of you."

He didn't have to even look at Jonghyun to know that he was on the verge of tears. Or, judging by that sniffle, already crying. , that meant he'd be crying soon, too.

"Could you two get some clippings of valerian and flitterbloom? Mrs. Prue needs to take them into the city today."

Kibum nodded, not trusting his voice. The stool legs squeaked beneath him as he moved, and Jonghyun followed him out to the greenhouse. "Your mom is the best," he said, wiping his nose before he pulled Kibum into a hug.

Kibum smiled, his welled-up tears spilling over as he patted Jonghyun's back. "She is."

Jonghyun let out a shuddering sigh and eventually pulled away, grabbing a pair of shears and wiping his eyes again as he made his way over to the Valerian. Kibum sniffed and picked up the knife beside the dragon-hide gloves. "So, you know how I told you that Minho is great at Herbology?"

"I think you said he was the best in the world."

"Shut up, no I didn't." Jonghyun's chuckle was punctuated by raspy snips from his shears. "Anyway. For the O.W.L. he had to harvest bubotuber pus and it ended up getting all over him."

"Mhm."

"I told you about that already, didn't I." Kibum sliced off one of the flitterbloom's leaves once he was able to still it. The knife clattered to the counter top when he held his hand below it, catching the gel as it dripped.

"Uh...yeah," Jonghyun said, his voice smiling. "But it's okay. He's probably the same way about you." Kibum paused tying the cloth off of the cut tip of the flitterbloom, looking back at Jonghyun. "You know, like with his parents."

"He may have used to be, but probably not anymore."

"Why not?"

Kibum squinted, picking up a couple more swatches of cloth and heading back to where the flitterbloom was flailing. "Well, remember when I came home from his house last year?"

"Oh...yeah. I'd forgotten."

"Yeah. So I feel like he doesn't talk about me much to them, for his own sake."

"So," Jonghyun's eyebrow raised mischievously as he tied the bow around the small bouquet of valerian blossoms. "What you're saying is you want me to go fight his dad for you so you can hang out with your boyfriend."

"He's n -- "

"Not your boyfriend, I know." He looked back at Kibum once he reached the door. "But he will be." Kibum scoffed, rolling his eyes as he turned back around. "Come to my house when you're done so we can hang out,” he said before he closed the greenhouse door behind him.

Kibum finished up quickly, setting the flitterbloom stalks on the counter. "Mom, I'm heading over to Jjong's!"

"Okay! Have fun!"

He found Jonghyun in his backyard, running around so Roo could chase him. Kibum went inside, grabbing one of Roo's toys and tossing it across the yard. It distracted her from Jonghyun, much to his chagrin and Kibum's delight. They played until lunch, after which Roo curled up at Jonghyun's feet when he started messing around with his guitar. He showed Kibum some of the new songs Nebulous Stardust he hadn't heard yet, and, once he was done, he started teaching Kibum a few chords.

That was until Mom got back from London and called him to help her with dinner. It was one of Grandma's recipes, and Mom let him take the lead in figuring out how to cook it. It tasted much better than he had been expecting it to turn out. After he cleaned up the table and finished up the dishes with Mom, he crawled upstairs and into bed, his eyes drooping closed until he heard the all-too-familiar flutter of pages.

His eyes blew wide and he hefted himself up, reaching for the yellow notebook.

Hey buddy! Sorry I haven't talked to you all day :(

Practice went really well, and I learned a lot of things from Park Jisung and Gerard Piqué. And you're right! It'd be super helpful with Quidditch, so tomorrow I'm taking a notebook or something with me so I can take notes.

How was your day! I hope it was good.

Kibum smiled as he reached for his quill. My day was good. "Did miss you, though."

You're awake!

Kibum's brow scrunched as he laughed. It's only like 10, of course I'm awake. He drew an arrow up to the bit about the football practice, then wrote, I'm always right how dare you doubt me

If you insist "Oh? You wanna fight?" Before Kibum could start writing his response, Minho continued, So you did have a good day?

Kibum stared at the parchment, twirling the quill between his fingertips. Yeah. It was nice catching up with Jjong.

I bet.

And you never guess what happened...

What?

I told my mom today. That I'm gay.

Oh?? Are you okay?

Yeah, totally fine. She was really nice about it.

That's a relief. How'd it come up??

Jjong was teasing me and she asked and I didn't see the point of lying to her. I've done my fair share of that.

True. There was a long pause, then, long enough that Kibum thought Minho went to sleep, until, So she knows about you two now?

Kibum's brow furrowed. "That's what I just...Oh, maybe he didn't know Mom knew about Jjong, too?" Yeah! She's really happy for us.

I’m really glad :) hey, I can hear my dad walking up the stairs and he’ll be mad at me if I’m still up, so I’ll talk to you tomorrow. I hope you have a good day~

You too! I hope practice goes well! Kibum waited, watching the parchment, but true to his word, Minho didn’t write anything else. He tucked into bed then, and only once he was comfortable did he realize that his light was still on. With a low groan, he pulled himself out of his warm covers, flipped off the light, and crawled back into bed, welcoming sleep.

As the next few weeks passed by, the days all sort of ran together. When he wasn’t hanging out with Jonghyun, Kibum was helping Mom around the house, either with chores or with cooking. He tried to do some of the summer reading, but was distracted whenever Minho wrote back to him.

The letter with the list of new textbooks arrived from school in the first week of July. It took very little convincing for Kibum and Jonghyun to get Mom and Mrs. Kim to agree to let them take the Knight Bus into London to go shopping for their new supplies. Jonghyun bounded up to his room, Kibum following, to pack his things to spend the night over at Kibum’s house so they could leave first thing in the morning.

After they finished cleaning up from dinner, they holed themselves away in Kibum’s room, mapping out their itinerary to see where they would head first once they arrived in Diagon Alley.

“Oh, hey,” Jonghyun said, leaning across the floor to pick up the yellow notebook. “We should ask Minho if he wants to meet us there so we can all hang out for a bit.”

“I don’t know, he usually goes with his mom…Hey!” he said when Jonghyun flipped open the notebook and picked up a nearby pen, quickly jotting something down.

“What? He said something! I’m just answering it for you.” Kibum snatched the notebook from him, slapping him across the shoulder with it. “Mom! Kibum is abusing me!”

“Okay!” came the disinterested call from downstairs.

“He took my notebook!”

“So? No need to hit me!” Jonghyun said, whining as he gingerly rubbed his shoulder.

“Don’t be such a baby.” He leaned far away from Jonghyun, kicking at him when he tried to come closer. “Give me the ing pen.”

Jonghyun chuckled as he tossed it his way. “So angry.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Sorry, Jjong ing took my pen. He’s spending the night and he’s about to get kicked out of my room if he doesn’t behave

Ah okay. I didn’t mean to bother you guys. Sorry.

Kibum’s brow furrowed and he pushed himself up, sitting straight. What? You’re never a bother. “What’s the matter?” Jonghyun asked as Kibum wrote, What’s wrong?

My parents couldn’t get me a ticket.

“Merlin’s ing beard,” he said as he scrawled Oh

“What happened?”

Yeah

“Uh, okay,” he tucked his pen into the notebook, closing it for a second. “You remember when I said that Min’s brother is in the military right now?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, his parents planned a trip to go visit him and they’re not taking Minho.”

“That’s not…” His eyebrows rose, and a mischievous twinkle glimmered in his eyes. “So he’s gonna be home? Alone?”

“Yes? What about…it…” Oh. With Minho’s parents gone, there would be nothing to stop them from being able to spend some time together this summer. Kibum flipped open the notebook again. How long are they gonna be gone for?

Two whole weeks, starting Saturday.

“Two weeks!”

He looked over at Jonghyun when he asked, “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

Kibum tossed the notebook onto his bed and hurried to the door, Jonghyun behind him. “Mom! Please, please, please can we go to Manchester?” he said before they even rounded the corner to the living room.

“Manchester?”

“To see Minho!” Mom squinted up at him. “His parents are leaving for two weeks and he’ll be home alone and that really and we were thinking that we could go keep him company.” She sighed heavily. “Please, Mom? He’d do the same for me.”

“He probably would, wouldn’t he?” Kibum nodded, and in his peripheral vision he saw Jonghyun nodding just as vigorously. “If it’s okay with your mom, Jjongie, then it’s okay with me.”

It took very little convincing to get Jonghyun’s mom to agree to let him go, and once they got Jonghyun packed for two weeks, they hurried back to Kibum’s bedroom. “What’d he say?”

Kibum found where he and Minho had left off, tapping the end of his pen on the page. “Sorry for unloading on you like this. I gotta go shower.”

Sighing, Jonghyun plopped down on the bed. “Should we tell him? Or surprise him?”

“Hmm…” As much as he wanted to tell Minho right away and put his mind at ease...there was still the possibility that something would happen and the visit wouldn’t work out. It would be beyond cruel to get his hopes up only to crush them. Sorry, buddy, that really . And don’t worry, I’m sure things will be looking up for you soon.

He showed it to Jonghyun, whose smirk grew as he read it. “Vague. I love it.”

When morning came, Kibum and Jonghyun quickly ate breakfast before they hurried outside to hail the Knight Bus. "Sorry for the delay, lads," Stan said as he opened the door to let them in. "Got caught up helping a new mum get to the hospital to deliver her wee babe."

Kibum looked around as Jonghyun asked, "Was she alright?"

"Oh yeah! Said she was gonna name him after me, if it's a lad."

He grabbed Jonghyun's arm and guided him to the nearest empty seat, then grabbed onto the nearby bar to hold himself steady as the bus started to move. He held on tight, feeling queasy from the scenery that was passing by too fast and the in-depth description of what happened before they got on. Jonghyun, of course, listened with rapt attention, holding onto Kibum to keep himself from sliding back and forth on the bench.

The trip into London was quick, though not as fast as Kibum wanted. Or needed. When the bus screeched to a lurching stop in front of the Leaky Cauldron, Kibum hopped out of his seat and hurried over to the door.

"Hey, Stan?" Kibum looked back at him with interest. "Can you come to the house tomorrow and take us to Manchester?"

"You'll have to ask Dre, he's got the best memory."

Kibum heaved a sigh and made his way into the pub before he heard the shrunken head's response. Jonghyun rejoined him by the time Ms. Abbot was taking him around back. "What'd he say?"

"That he'd remember to be there around eight, but still hail for them just in case."

"Eight, got it. Thank you," he called over his shoulder to Ms. Abbot as the bricks closed behind them. "Where to first?"

“Ice cream. Duh.” They kept close to the shop windows, bypassing the wide-eyed Muggle-borns and the clear first-year students with their overwhelmed parents on their way to Fortescue’s. Kibum stopped at the first empty table before the dingy yellow shop, plopping down in the chair. “You just want your usual?”

“I’m good with whatever. Let’s just split a bowl.”

“Works for me! Be right back.”

Kibum nodded absently, glancing in the direction Jonghyun went when the bell above the door jingled. He sat back in his chair, closing his eyes as he breathed in the warm summer air. He could almost imagine that he was back in Hogsmeade -- though the bustle of the people around him was too loud -- with Minho by his side. Sitting on the steps of the post office, or wherever, really, sharing the snack Minho had just bought them and passing the time.

Slowly, he opened his eyes, and he blinked quickly when he thought he saw Minho walk through the door to Flourish and Blotts. No, it was just his imagination playing with him. Besides, he’d be seeing him tomorrow...

“Thinking about him?” Jonghyun asked as he set the bowl of rainbow sherbet between them, grabbing the spoon.

“Just one spoon?”

“They ran out. You’re avoiding the question.”

Kibum leveled him with a glare and Jonghyun just gave him a -eating grin in return. “How could you tell?”

“Well, one,” he held the spoon straight up before he went back for another scoop. “It’s pretty safe to assume he’s on your mind at any given time.” Okay, true, he couldn’t deny that. “And two, you can’t stop smiling.”

Kibum snatched the spoon out of Jonghyun’s hand. “Shut up.”

“No.” He took a spoonful, watching the colors of the sherbet shift before it frosted over with white once more. “I bet he’s really sad right now.” Kibum frowned at him, and Jonghyun waved his hand between them. “Like, his family is leaving, he’s gonna be all alone...or so he thinks...but then, in a surprising -- but welcome! -- turn of events, his not-quite-but-definitely-will-be-at-some-point boyfriend swoops in to save the day!” Kibum shook his head when Jonghyun grinned, hiding his own smile as he looked back at the ice cream. “You’ll be his hero.”

“Why are you like this?”

Jonghyun’s grin grew even more smug. “I don’t really know.”

By the time they finished their ice cream, Flourish and Blotts had emptied somewhat. They got distracted in their search for Kibum’s books, and they bought one of the books from the used bin that caught Kibum’s eye. Making Muggle Fashion Work for You. If only he had this last year when he had to write a two-scroll essay on something to do with Muggles for Muggle Studies. Oh well.

After they picked up enough Sneeze Away to last him for his stay at the Choi’s house, they got a bag of Kauldron Korn for the road, which turned out to be a grave mistake. It ended up all over the floor after the first screeching stop Ern made to avoid hitting a Muggle. Sure, Jonghyun swished it all back into the bag with a wave of his wand, but magic couldn’t take away the fact that it was on the floor of the bus…

The night passed quickly, as the anticipation for tomorrow kept the two of them wide awake and ready for the day to begin. True to Dre’s word, the bus arrived promptly at eight, and they were off to Manchester. Kibum managed to get maybe a few minutes of sleep, but it was short-lived. The bus dropped them off at 10 Prism Lane, and they struggled to get Kibum’s trunk full of their stuff off of it and to the front door.

“You think they’re gone by now?”

Kibum shrugged. “I sure ing hope so.”

“Should we knock?”

Kibum stepped off the porch, looking down the driveway. “I don’t see their cars, so I’m assuming they’re gone.” Jonghyun sat on the top step, sighing as he rested his chin on his fist. “You gotta promise me one thing.”

“Hm?”

“Don’t tease me about having a crush on him while I’m here. And don’t tell him! He can’t know that I like him...yet...”

Jonghyun’s smile was half-hidden by his fist. “Don’t worry, Ki, I know better than to do that.”

“Thank you.” Kibum let out a heavy sigh and plopped down beside him on the step.

The minutes stretched by, the sweltering heat of the mid-July day extending each and every one of them. After what felt like hours, Jonghyun scooted forward so he could stand. “I’m gonna go check around back to see if a door was left open or something.”

“Okay.”

Kibum watched him go then turned, catching a glimpse of himself in the window pane. He scooted over, getting a better look at himself and fixing his hair. Eh, that would have to do. He still looked sweaty and gross, which wasn’t ideal, but it couldn’t be helped right now. Sighing, he settled and turned back around, freezing when he heard the scuffing of footsteps on asphalt followed by the jingling of keys. His heart started beating a bit faster when the top of Minho’s head appeared around the corner.

He stopped in his tracks, staring adorably wide-eyed at Minho. “Hey,” Kibum said, unable to keep his broad smile off of his face.

“H-hey.”

“Did you miss me?”

* * * * * * * * * *

“I’m gonna go check around back to see if a door was left open or something.”

“Okay.”

Jonghyun billowed his shirt, creating little puffs of coolish air before he climbed the fence and dropped into the Choi’s backyard. He almost tripped over a Quaffle-sized black and white ball as he made his way around to the sliding glass door. Locked. Of course. Well, it was worth a shot.

He looked up at the sound of Kibum’s “Did you miss me?”

Already flirting? “Way to go, Ki…” Jonghyun smirked as he hurried back to the fence, clambering over it. “Hey, Minho!” he said as he came around the corner of the house.

The smile on Minho’s face froze as he met Jonghyun’s eyes. “What are you...you guys doing here?”

“We thought you’d want some company with your parents gone!” Minho’s gaze flicked back to Kibum before settling on Jonghyun again. “Can we go inside? Or would you rather we die of heatstroke.”

“Oh,” his face scrunched up as he shook his head and hurried up the steps. “Right. Sorry, I was just…here.” He unlocked the door, pushing it wide open and picking up Kibum’s trunk.

“Do you need help?” Jonghyun asked him, starting up the steps.

“I got it,” he said, his voice coming out in a grunt.

Jonghyun closed the door behind himself and watched Minho carry Kibum’s trunk up the stairs, presumably to his room. Once he was out of earshot, Jonghyun slapped Kibum’s shoulder. “Is he okay?” Kibum frowned at him, but Minho came back before Jonghyun could elaborate.

"I was planning on showering right now," he said, looking down at them from the top of the stairs.

"That's fine! Don't worry about us!"

Minho glanced at Jonghyun but quickly looked back at Kibum when he found him watching him. "Do you remember how to work the TV?"

Kibum nodded, moving down the hallway, and Minho's gaze trailed after him before he looked back at Jonghyun. He gave him a strained smile before he ducked behind the corner. A light illuminated the upstairs hallway and Minho's shadow moved in it before the bathroom door closed behind him.

Well, this was certainly gonna be interesting…

He glanced up at the empty hallway before he followed the sudden sound from the other room. Kibum wasn't sitting on either couch or the worn armchair, rather, he was sitting cross-legged by the empty fireplace with an array of...strange looking wands laying on the carpet before him.

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to remember which button turns this on," he said, gesturing to the big flat black box.

Jonghyun plopped down on the couch, looking at the archway when the distant spray of water sounded. "Does it seem like he's acting weird to you?"

"Maybe a little," Kibum said, shrugging. "I think he's just surprised."

Surprised. Right.

Once he turned the box on, Kibum settled on the couch beside him and cast a furtive glance toward the other room. Okay, so he was worried, too, he just didn't want to say as much. "So, what is this?"

Kibum pointed to the black box in question, and Jonghyun nodded. "Oh! It's a TV!"

Apparently, he learned about them in his Muggle Studies class, given how he went on about exactly what it was until Minho graced them with his presence, his cat -- Ember, if he remembered right -- bundled up in his arms. "Anything interesting on?"

"I haven't checked yet." He stayed put in the archway, and Kibum patted the couch. "I already took my Sneeze Away today, don't worry."

Minho plopped down unceremoniously between them and Ember snuggled against his chest. Jonghyun glanced over at the pair of them, Kibum wordlessly handing him the remote control, their fingers brushing together. He scoffed, he couldn't help it.

"What?" Kibum asked, though he was distracted when Minho changed the channel.

"Nothing."

"What do we want to watch?"

"You mentioned...Lord of...something…"

"Oh!" Minho passed Ember to Kibum before he hopped up, hurrying over to scan the collection of movies. "Lord of the Rings! I think you'll really like this one, Jjong."

"What makes you say that?"

Minho shrugged, getting the movie set up. "Just a feeling."

Once the movie was in and what Minho had called previews were playing, Minho took back his spot between them, and Kibum handed back Ember. Jonghyun glanced away from the screen at them, only to do a double-take. Kibum was playing with Ember's limp paw and Minho's head was turned to watch him. When he looked back at the screen, he wore a small, fond smile.

Squinting at him, Jonghyun reached out, copying the same thing that Kibum had done, curious to see if it would elicit the same reaction.

In a completely not-shocking turn of events, it did not.

No, his attention was trained on the screen, and Ember, who was probably over the abundance of attention herself, slipped out of Minho's grasp and bounded primly away. Jonghyun rolled his eyes with a smile. If these two idiots would just pay attention to each other, maybe they'd be dating already.

But whatever. That's their problem, not his.

"Let me know when you guys want snacks."

Minho ended up being right, he did really like the movie. Up until the end, that is, when Boromir died and the Fellowship split. Jonghyun sat there, sniffing as the sad song played over the scrolling names. "Did you like it?" Minho whispered -- Kibum had fallen asleep on Minho's shoulder by the time they all left Rivendell.

"No!"

Minho's brow furrowed, and he looked over at Jonghyun as best he could without disturbing Kibum's sleep. "Why not?"

"That's a terrible way to end that story! Do they ever get rid of the Ring?"

Minho snorted, covering his quiet laugh with his fist. "Dude, that's the first movie. There's two more."

"Oh ...can we watch the next one? Do you have to work tomorrow?"

Minho shook his head. "Would you mind putting it in?"

Jonghyun glanced down at Kibum, his eyebrow rising. "Sure. Just tell me how to."

Minho reached around Kibum for the remote, and a little tray shot out with a disc in it. "Okay, take the disc out and put it in the box that's on the floor." Tentatively, Jonghyun opened the box and pressed the disc into the empty space. "Fold it all up and put it back in the case." Jonghyun held up an empty box. "Yeah. The second one is The Two Towers and just put the first disc in."

Once he found it and put it on the tray, Minho closed it with the remote. "Muggles really made their own magic, didn't they?"

Minho smiled at him as he came back to sit by him. "Yeah, sorta."

Jonghyun glanced at the screen then back at Kibum. "You know he's drooling on you, right?" He shrugged with his non-weighed down shoulder. Damn, he had it bad too, didn't he? Maybe Kibum was just being oblivious on purpose because how could he not ing tell --

"Ready?"

"Yeah."

As soon as the title card appeared, Minho paused the movie. "Wait, are you tired? Do you wanna go to sleep?"

"Nah, I'm good. Kibum stayed up later than usual because he was excited. I like staying up late so this is nothing for me."

Minho chuckled and started the movie again. When they reached the part where the hobbits drank the Ent Draught, Jonghyun his teeth. Minho hummed in question, and Jonghyun shook his head. "That'd be nice to have…"

"I thought you might think that."

Jonghyun punched Minho's arm and Minho laughed, the miniature tussle rousing Kibum, which immediately garnered Minho's attention. He mumbled something that neither of them understood. He rubbed his eye. "Sorry, I think I nodded off."

"That's okay, Bummie," Minho said, his voice soft. "You can go back to sleep."

He curled his hand around Minho's arm and laid his head back down, sleeping within minutes. "This is what he's like with you?" Jonghyun wanted to ask, but he held his tongue. It probably was, and Kibum would be upset if he drew any attention to it.

By the time Eomer returned to fight the Battle of Helm's Deep, Minho had nodded off, his head resting atop Kibum’s. When the movie concluded, Jonghyun grabbed the blanket off the back of the couch, covering both of them with it before he went upstairs. He found Minho’s room -- as it was the only one with the door left ajar -- and started unpacking his stuff from Kibum’s trunk. He pulled out Kibum’s polaroid and almost set it aside, but then glanced back at the door.

He carried it downstairs, sniffing a quiet laugh when he found that they had not moved at all, and snapped a quick picture. Neither the flash nor the click of the button nor the whirring of the film woke either of them. Jonghyun shook the picture as he made his way back upstairs, setting it inside the trunk and flopping down on Minho’s bed.

After a few minutes of tossing and turning, he sighed and sat up, reaching for his wand. "Lumos Maxima," he said before stuck his now-glowing wand between the pillow and the headboard. He rummaged through Kibum's trunk until he found his songwriting notebook.

He read through some of his new pieces, making edits here and there, before he started on his new idea. Was it a move to write a song inspired by Kibum and his inability to see what was right in front of him? Maybe...but he could just change the pronouns and no one would be the wiser. He hummed to himself, drawing warm-up circles on the page with the pen he found on Minho's nightstand.

 

Is the way you treat me a joke or is it the truth? I can't tell which way I should go...

Jonghyun squinted at the words, drawing brackets around them. Unsure he wrote next, underlining it. The uncertainty of what could be...or not be. That was the question, after all. He chuckled aloud at his joke, then rolled his eyes at himself. Right, focus. The desire for more between you and whoever it is that you like...

He continued to work through the night, switching between songs when he got stuck, only to be startled by an owl flapping loudly into Minho’s bedroom as dawn broke. It stared at him with almost glowing golden eyes, then hooted. “Who?” Jonghyun said, grinning. “Who am I?” The owl blinked. “I’m Kim Jonghyun. Who are you?” It chirruped in return. “Oh, I see.” He bowed slightly. “Nice to meet you, too.” He rubbed his bleary eyes, looking back at the quickly lightening sky. “I guess I should try to sleep, hm?”

He closed his notebook, setting it and the pen aside as he whispered Nox to his wand. The light winked out and he grabbed it, holding it tightly as he settled into Minho’s bed.

Sunlight inched across the floor. Jonghyun watched it creep across the carpet, hoping he would fall asleep before it reached Minho's dresser. Instead, something clattered downstairs. Oh? Were they awake? Jonghyun pushed himself up, stretching as he made his way downstairs. A glance into the living room told him that Minho was still asleep, and a clang from the kitchen told him where Kibum was. He pushed open the door, his eyebrows rising as Kibum cracked an egg into a pan.

“Hey,” Kibum said, not turning around. “Did you sleep well?”

“Well enough,” he lied. “What about you?” Kibum shrugged, but the tips of his ears turned a bright red. Jonghyun smiled. “Is he still asleep?”

“Last I checked, yeah.”

Minho didn’t wake until both Jonghyun and Kibum had finished their breakfast. Minho wandered into the kitchen, pulling out a cold slice of leftover pizza from the day his parents left and started eating it. “Morning,” he said around his mouthful of food.

“Hey,” Kibum said, his attention staying on Minho for a second before Jonghyun cleared his throat.

“Anyways, like I was saying, I really hope Mom forwards my mail. Pierre said he was gonna write back sometime this week.” Minho swallowed hard enough for Jonghyun to hear and turn toward him with concern. “You good?”

Minho coughed quietly. “Yeah. Who...who’s Pierre?”

“My boyfriend.” Minho’s gaze flicked to Kibum, lingering there for a second. “Why do you ask?”

“I...don’t...I thought…” Kibum looked up then, his brow furrowed in question. “I thought that you two might have been a couple.” Jonghyun spit the orange juice he just sipped across the table, splattering Kibum.

Kibum wiped his face off, before he speared Minho with the most incredulous look he’d ever seen him have. “What?”

Minho frowned as his face quickly colored. “Aren’t you?”

“When have I ever -- “ Kibum started to say but was cut off when Jonghyun said, laughing, “Yeah, like he’d be that lucky.”

Jonghyun grinned when they both looked his way. “What? Just ask Pierre. I’m a gift.”

Minho snorted and Kibum rolled his eyes. “Merlin’s ing beard.”

Jonghyun glanced over at Minho, smiling when he saw him grinning -- his first genuine smile since Jonghyun turned the corner of the house yesterday. Good. He turned, heading back to the fridge for another slice of cold pizza.

“Hey,” Kibum said, scooting away from the table. “I’m gonna go shower real quick.”

“Okay.” Minho watched him leave, clearing his throat when the door swung shut behind him. A heavy silence fell over the two of them, and Jonghyun looked Minho’s way when he finally sat down at the table. Where Kibum had been sitting. “I...I’m sorry. I know I was acting kinda weird…”

“How long?”

Minho thickly swallowed his bite of pizza. “H-how long what?”

“How long did you think that...he and I..?”

“Uh, April, I think. Yeah. And then he, um, told me that you two kissed.”

Jonghyun barely resisted the urge to facepalm. Kibum, you absolute . "Yeah, he was curious what it was like after I told him about me and Pierre." So, his distancing had nothing to do with Kibum coming out to him. Jonghyun tried not to smile, but wasn’t very successful. “If it’s any consolation, being jealous is normal.”

“I wasn’t jealous!” Jonghyun’s eyebrows rose and he met Minho’s gaze with a you’ve-got-to-be-kidding-me smirk. Minho deflated a bit and averted his eyes, picking a piece of pepperoni off of his pizza. "Please...please don't...tell him..."

Ah, poor kid. He almost felt bad for him... Too bad they seemed to not want any outside help to figure their out. "Don't worry, Minho. Your secret is safe with me."

Minho nodded, worrying his bottom lip. “Has...has he told you who he likes?”

“Yes.” Minho looked up, interest twinkling in his eyes. “But I promised him that I wouldn’t tell anyone who he is.”

“Oh.” Please, for the love of Merlin, read between the lines... “Do I know him?”

Holy ...they definitely deserved each other.

Should he just tell him? Put him out of his misery?

Before Jonghyun could conjure up any sort of response, Kibum came back into the kitchen, his hair still damp. “So, what are we doing today?”

The answer, as it turned out, was nothing much. Minho wanted to go outside and play around with what he called a football, but he came back inside when Kibum did for more water. And instead of going back outside, they plopped down on the couch and Minho put in the final Lord of the Rings movie. As irritating as it was that Kibum asked every five minutes who that was or why that was happening, it was also kinda sweet to listen to Minho explain it to him.

Someday, if they ever opened their ing eyes, they'd be a great couple.

Minho worked the next day, as well as the next two days after, so he and Kibum tagged along, both borrowing a pair of Minho's and his older brother's swimming trunks. Admittedly, Jonghyun didn't know how to swim, but the days were sweltering, so he and Kibum spent most of the time in the shallow end of the pool. Well, Kibum ventured a little farther into the deep ends, but for the most part he stuck close to Jonghyun. After Minho's shifts were over, he changed into his non-uniform swimming trunks and joined them.

Each day, they barely dried off before they made their way back to Minho's house, but it didn't matter since the summer sun and the warm breeze did the job.

The next day Minho had off, they all walked into town to go to the Muggle grocer with the money Minho's parents left him. A blast of cool air washed over them as soon as they stepped inside, and both he and Kibum stopped in their tracks.

Fruits and vegetables were piled high in bins, as far as Jonghyun could see. There were rows upon rows of shelves full of food. Is this what all Muggle stores were like? He never really had been inside one before. Jonghyun stared at it for quite some time, snapping out of his daze when Kibum said his name.

"Min, wait up!"

Jonghyun picked up his pace to catch up with the two of them. He and Kibum huddled behind Minho, looking at the vast array of food as Minho inspected it.

"Should we just get, like, junk food?"

"Can any of us actually cook?"

Both he and Minho turned to Kibum, who looked up from the can of tomatoes he was holding. "What? Mom and I only cooked together a few times."

"That's a few more times than we have," Jonghyun said, and Minho hummed and nodded.

He his teeth and shook his head as he replaced the can of tomatoes. "How much money do we have?"

Minho dug into his pocket and held the strange Muggle money between them, letting Kibum count it. "Is this very much?"

Minho shrugged, squinting. "Uh, it's about 10 galleons worth."

"Hm, okay."

"Be right back," Minho said, jogging away and coming back a moment later with a basket. "Okay, where to first?"

Kibum led them around the store as he tried to decide what to make. Eventually, they bought what he needed and they were on their way home. Just in time for dinner. Kibum shooed them both out of the kitchen so he could work, leaving him and Minho in the hallway, both a little dumbstruck.

"What now?"

Minho's attention went back to the door when something inside the kitchen clanged. "Uh, have you ever played a video game?" Jonghyun shook his head and Minho's eyebrows shot up as he grinned. "Let me show you!"

Minho ran into the living room and Jonghyun followed him. He crouched over the thin black box below the DVD player, turning it on. "Okay, this is a console and this," he held up a strangely shaped object with buttons and a wire connecting it to the "console." "Is a controller." He plopped down on the ground in front of the TV, running his thumb over the buttons on the controller and looking at the screen. "What do you wanna play?"

"I can just watch you."

"Oh?" Jonghyun looked up at the screen. BananaMilk93 is online. "Why the is Taemin awake… Here, hold this." He passed Jonghyun the controller and reached for another strange thing, plugging it in and putting it over his ears before he took the controller back. "What's he playing...FIFA, of course." He pushed several buttons and the screen changed, bringing up what looked like an odd sort of Quidditch pitch. "What's up, ?"

Jonghyun's brow furrowed as he looked over at Minho, who covered the thing by his mouth. "No, not you. Taemin, my friend."

"Is he..." he looked at the thing by Minho's mouth.

"Oh, yeah! He lives in Korea -- Hold on, Taemin -- and we play video games together during the summer." He paused, staring off into space for a second. "No, this is Jonghyun, not Kibum. Yes, I've mentioned him, what the ?...France, not Spain."

A clatter came from the kitchen. "Min?"

His attention immediately went to the archway, where he stared wide-eyed for a few seconds. "Uh…"

"I can play for you. I won't be any good, but…"

"Are you sure?"

Jonghyun gave him a small smile, holding out his hand for the controller and whatever the other thing is. Minho pursed his lips, quickly giving Jonghyun the equipment before he darted off toward the kitchen. He dropped the controller in his lap as he slipped on the thing over his ears. “Hello?” a boy asked, startling Jonghyun. “Minho?”

“No, this is Jonghyun. Minho had to go for a minute.”

Jonghyun looked at the screen when it changed. It was split into two -- BananaMilk93 on the top and BestCHOIce on the bottom -- and the non-Quidditch players on the top half were running onto the pitch. “Aren’t you gonna pick your team?”

“Uh…I don’t really know what I’m doing, sorry.”

“Don’t worry. I play this game with Minho a lot, so I’m used to that.” Jonghyun snorted and Taemin let out a huff of a laugh. “Just press the circle button and pick any team. Minho usually goes for ManU, but he’s biased, so…” Jonghyun, unfortunately, couldn’t figure out how to scroll down or even choose a team. He ran his thumbs back and forth over the controller, his half of the screen doing strange things. “What are you -- “

“I don’t ing know.”

Eventually, he did something sorta right, accidentally selecting Marseille. Taemin chuckled. “Did you pick that because you’re from France?”

“I’m not from France, I just go to school there.”

A whistle sounded as his and Taemin’s teams arranged themselves on the screen. “Do you speak French?”

“Oui.”

“Say something then.”

Jonghyun’s brow furrowed, his gaze trailing after the ball one of the players kicked. He wasn’t sure which team was which, to be honest. “I just did?”

“Everyone knows oui, it’s not impressive.”

Jonghyun smirked at the screen, rolling his eyes. True… He looked away from the screen and toward the kitchen. “Minho est dans la cuisine depuis longtemps. J'espère qu'ils s'embrassent — ou au moins se disent comment ils se sentent!”

“Woah.” Taemin’s players stopped running around for a second. “What’d you say?”

“That’s for me to know,” Jonghyun said, pressing random buttons to get himself out from facing the wall.

“Oh, come on! I’ll help you if you tell me.”

“Je ne me soucie pas assez de ce jeu pour faire ça. Désolé!”

Taemin fell silent for a second, static crinkling in Jonghyun’s ears. “Okay, now what’d you say?”

Instead of answering, Jonghyun just laughed.

He played a full game of whatever this was, confusing and annoying Taemin by switching without warning to French. Or even to English. Minho came in, a towel thrown over his shoulder and sweat glistening on his forehead and cheeks.

"Dinner's ready!"

"I gotta go," Jonghyun said to Taemin as Minho reached for the controller.

"Now you speak Korean?"

Jonghyun covered his mouth behind his hand as he laughed silently. Minho gave him a curious look and Jonghyun shook his head, sobering slightly. "Bye, Taemin," he said in a slight sing-song. "You should probably go to sleep soon anyways."

"You can right off," Taemin said, sounding exasperated, despite the smile in his voice.

"I will then." He slipped the thing off of his ear and passed it back to Minho.

"Talk to you later, head." He couldn't hear what Taemin said in response, but whatever it was made Minho crack a smile. He tossed it aside and grabbed the remote, turning the TV off. "Let's go eat."

Dinner was surprisingly tasty. It reminded him of summer nights spent with Kibum and his family around the table. This was one of Grandma's recipes, he could tell, even if it was half-remembered. Minho ate his fill, and then some, thanking an embarrassed Kibum who tried to defer the onslaught of praise.

Jonghyun rolled his eyes, scraping his plate clean.

The rest of their days there passed by way too swiftly. In a of luck, however, a torrential rainstorm kept the pool from opening on his and Kibum's last full day with Minho. He woke up to the phone call, answering it groggily as he leaned over Kibum and Jonghyun on the living room floor. When he hung up the phone, any trace of sleepiness vanished, and he leapt up and ran outside, whooping and hollering as he danced around in the rain.

Kibum sat up, squinting at him through the sliding glass door. "What the is he doing?"

Jonghyun shrugged, tossing the blanket off himself and onto Kibum before he ran out to join Minho in the downpour. Kibum joined them eventually, a blanket wrapped around himself as he leaned against the doorway, watching them slip and twirl and slide across the lawn.

The dancing ended abruptly when lightning crackled across the sky. Kibum vanished from the doorway, slinking back inside, and once thunder shook the air around them, Jonghyun and Minho were quick to follow him back inside.

", we need to dry off."

"Ki!" He called out, and Kibum poked his head around the corner. "Can you get me my wand?"

It took a while for Kibum to come back downstairs, long enough that Minho's teeth started chattering. "I'm g-g-gonna go s-shower."

"Just hop in and don't lock the door. I'll pick out some clothes for you." Minho nodded and Jonghyun followed him upstairs, heading into Minho's room to find Kibum sitting there, his wand in one hand and the picture that he had taken the first night in the other. He snatched the wand without Kibum even looking up, flicking it over himself and drying himself off quickly. "You good?"

"Hm?" He didn't look up from the picture. "Yeah…" Jonghyun walked around him, tossing together a random assortment of clothes and opening the bathroom door enough to throw them inside.

When he looked back, Kibum still hadn't moved.

Jonghyun walked back inside the room, almost closing the door behind him before he sat across from him on Minho's bed. "Why not just tell him?"

Kibum's jaw clenched, and he shook his head, putting the picture back inside the trunk. "I'm not ready yet."

"When do you think you will be?"

He huffed, giving Jonghyun a half-hearted glare. "I don't know. And before you say anything, I know you think you know that he likes me, but like...what if you're wrong? What if I only see...what I see...because I want it to be true? Because I want him to lo -- to like me back? Do you know how...how bad that would be?"

"It would be devastating, I know."

Kibum sat back on his heels, looking down at the trunk again. "It's not worth the risk right now. Believe me, I want to. Tell him, I mean, but...if I'm wrong, I could lose him completely, and..."

"I know." Kibum heaved a heavy sigh, both freezing when the water turned off. "You're in love with him, aren't you." It wasn't a question, and judging by the way Kibum gulped, he didn't take it as one. "I'll try to hold back on the teasing, then."

"You don't have to, if you don't want to..."

"Don't have to what?" Minho asked as he walked into his bedroom, drying off his hair.

Kibum's eyes widened slightly, pleading with Jonghyun to think of something. Anything. "Kibum said something about watching Star...something…" The title of the Muggle story slipped from his mind.

"Star Wars?" That was it. "Do you wanna?"

"Sure."

Kibum let out a relieved sigh that Minho didn't notice, given that he was already halfway downstairs, and he followed him downstairs with Jonghyun on his heels.

None of them slept that night, as they were not eager for Minho’s parents to come home. Instead, they watched Star Wars until the sun peeked over the horizon, only then realizing how late it was. Then, they cleaned whatever messes they made and packed up Kibum’s trunk in a sluggish flurry. It was noon by the time they had finished and were out the door. Minho helped Kibum to carry his trunk out to the curb while Jonghyun whipped out his wand, hailing the Knight bus.

“When are they supposed to be back?”

Minho shrugged, setting Kibum’s trunk down with a huff. “Mom texted me yesterday before they got on the plane. It could honestly be any minute now.” Kibum worried his bottom lip and glanced down the lane, as if the very mention of the Chois would make them appear.

In a of luck, the Knight Bus appeared instead, barreling down the narrow lane and screeching to a stop before them. Jonghyun glanced between them, recognizing the reluctance to part. “Hey, Min, it was great to see you,” he said, wrapping Minho in a tight hug as Stan hefted the trunk onto the bus. “Feel free to write, if you want to.”

Realization dawned in his eyes, and he cast a furtive glance at Kibum. “Okay, I will.”

Jonghyun looked up at Kibum, nodding back to the bus. “Maybe we could hang out again next summer?”

“We can try!”

Smiling, Jonghyun hopped up the steps and found what would hopefully be a safe seat and rested his forehead on the window, watching Kibum and Minho as they said goodbye. He couldn’t hear what they said, of course. The grumbling engine of the bus and the closed windows prevented that. Whatever Minho said after they hugged, though, made Kibum laugh enough to slap his shoulder, which in turn made Minho grin.

Kibum hopped onto the first step, looking back. “How many days?” he asked. Minho counted on his hands and answered. “See you then.”

Minho nodded and Kibum hurried onto the bus, sitting beside Jonghyun just as Ern pulled away from the curb. He sighed, probably not even noticing how fast the bus was driving away from Prism Lane.

* * * * * * * * * * 

The Knight Bus rattled away, and Minho watched until it disappeared around the bend. He leaned on the mailbox, slowly turning away when a familiar engine sounded behind him. His heart sped up a bit as his parents pulled into the driveway. Had everything been cleaned? Was there any trace of Kibum and Jonghyun being there?

Dad parked the car and gave him an incredulous look as he slipped out of the car. “What are you doing?”

Minho blinked and pushed away from the mailbox. “Just checking the mail?”

“It’s a Sunday.” Right. No post on Sundays. . “Come help us unload the car.”

It took about an hour to get everything out of the car and unpacked. Minho helped Mom write her grocery list, checking the cupboards for things when she asked after them, while Dad lounged in front of the TV, catching up on British news. By the time they had come home from shopping and had dinner on the table, Mom filled him in on everything new with Minseok. He was apparently Lance Corporal now, which was nice, and he sent Minho his love.

When Mom's stories stopped, Dad cleared his throat. "Went to go see my brother, too."

"Uncle Hyeonwoo? How's Sooyoung?" he asked without thinking.

"Funny you should ask that..." His stomach churned as he stirred kimchi into his rice. , he had forgotten all about that phone call last month. "Have you talked to her much lately?"

"Uh, no." Not a total lie. She hadn't texted or called him much at all after that. "Why?"

"Yunkyum, he's too young," Mom said before Dad could reply.

Maybe the subject would be dropped now. Before Minho could dare to hope, Dad set down his glass of water and redirected his attention from Mom to Minho. "I don't want you to talk to her anymore, if you can help it." Before Minho could ask why, Dad continued. "She's gay. A lesbian. You already have to deal with that school, I don't want her...her queerness to rub off on you." Slowly, Minho closed his slightly gaping mouth. There was no way he'd be able to finish eating now. "Do you understand, son?"

"Y-yes, sir."

Seemingly satisfied, Dad's sour mood lifted enough for him to retell one of Mom's stories about Minseok. Minho could only stir his rice while the other two talked, any remaining appetite completely gone.

"If you're done, honey, go ahead and get started on the dishes."

"Yes, ma'am," he said as he started to clear the empty bowls.

Mom and Dad went to bed almost as soon as they finished eating. Well, Mom showered to get the plane off of her, as she said. In any case, they were fast asleep a lot sooner than he had been expecting. Not that he was eager to be awake as it was. No, he trudged upstairs as soon as the kitchen was gleaming clean and the downstairs lights were turned off.

He sat on his bed, sighing as Dad's reverberated through his mind.

Not that he had been under the impression that Dad or Mom would approve of a potential relationship with Kibum, but...any hope of that was completely obliterated.

When it came down to it, who would he choose?

He leaned back, laying down on this bed and throwing his arm over his eyes as he squeezed them shut. Only to sit up a second later when he noticed the fluttering pages.

Hey, buddy, made it home safe. Thought you oughta know, since the Knight Bus can be terrifying. Minho smiled at the scrawled text, a tiny bit of the tension that had built up inside of him since dinner releasing. I had fun, and Jjong did too. I'm glad we were still able to see each other this summer. I hope we didn't leave anything there?

Nothing that I saw, but I'll keep a lookout. He put down his pen, glancing at the door. Should he mention what his dad said? "No," he whispered almost immediately after he asked himself that. It would just upset him. I had fun, too. Wish you -- he paused, nibbling on his bottom lip before he added, -- two were still here.

With that, he set the notebook aside, back in its hiding place, and for the first time in two weeks, he crawled into bed.

The rest of the summer passed blessedly quickly, with his summer job and the afternoons he spent with his father at the stadium with ManU. His mom sleepily sent him off to King's Cross early on the first of September with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. He caught up with Aaron on the train there, who ended up being given the Slytherin captain's badge. They made it to King's Cross at half-past ten, leaving them enough time to pick up some Muggle food before they slipped through the barrier.

Minho tipped the bag of crisps in Aaron's hand toward him, pulling out a few before he let it fall back so Aaron could get some more. "See him yet?"

"Nope. Is Callum here?"

Aaron turned around, doing a double-take. "Gil just arrived." Minho hopped up, grinning at his friend as he bounded over to greet him with a suffocating hug. He patted Aaron's back, who scooted down on the bench so he could sit beside him. "How was your summer?"

Gil filled them in on everything he did, including too much detail about what he and Analecia got up to when she came over for a week. Well, maybe too much detail, but way more than Minho wanted to hear. Still, he was happy for him, and happy that their relationship was going as well as it was.

"There she is!" he said, shooting up from the bench to greet Analecia as she pushed her cart through the barrier.

"He's your roommate, right?"

Minho looked away when Gil kissed Analecia when he met her on the platform. "Yup."

"Good luck, mate."

He snorted, looking back to find them coming over. Analecia ruffled Minho's hair before she hugged Aaron around his shoulders. "Hey guys!" She came around, motioning for Gil to scoot over. He patted his lap, and Analecia flushed a dark red before she slapped his shoulder. He moved with a laugh and she sat beside him, poking his side hard, before returning her attention to Minho and Aaron. "How are you guys?"

Minho let Aaron talk, smiling and looking away when he showed her his captain's badge. Oh! Kibum had arrived! “I’ll be right back,” he muttered to Aaron, slipping off the bench before he got any response. He hurried over to where Kibum was, all while trying to look as casual as possible. When Kibum noticed him, his face lit up, which in turn made Minho grin. He changed direction across the platform, walking toward him now.

The bustle of Platform 9¾ around them reduced to a blur when they finally reached each other. “Hey,” they said at the same time. “How was your trip?” Minho asked.

“Oh, you know.” Kibum leaned against his cart, cocking his head with a smile, Nutmeg’s wing fluttering in his cage. “About how you’d expect.”

“Come on,” Minho said, grabbing the handle of Kibum’s cart. “Analecia is already here.”

“Oh?” Kibum looked around Minho as he started pushing the cart toward the luggage drop off, and Kibum split off from him to greet their friends. Minho rejoined them, standing beside Kibum who had taken his spot on the bench.

When it came time to board the train, Kibum and Gil stayed on the bench, waving cheekily to the others as they boarded the first car. Aaron followed Minho to the back of the first car, sitting on the aisle when Minho slid down the bench to sit by the window. “I wonder who the other two captains are gonna be.”

The car started to fill up with the prefects and the Head Students. Eventually Minho spotted Jennie Davies, one of Ravenclaw’s seventh years and Chasers. He smacked Aaron’s arm and he looked up from his Quibbler. She sat across from them, smiling. “Gryffindor isn’t here yet?”

Minho was about to say “Guess not” when someone else walking through the doorway caught his attention. Damien. He wasn’t a prefect again, because Kibum didn’t get that privilege back, and only seventh years could be Head Students. He gulped when Damien made eye contact with him, but it was Damien who looked away as he made his way to the empty spot beside Jennie.

“Dammit, Brent, why couldn’t you be a girl?” Jennie asked, a laugh in her voice.

He huffed a laugh with a small smile. “Sorry.”

Exhaust billowed past the windows as the Hogwarts Express chugged forward. Minho folded his hands in his lap, doing his best to avoid looking Damien’s way. He vaguely listened to the Head Students discuss the announcements they had for the term, but eventually he leaned against the window, the pastoral scenery lulling him to sleep.

He woke when Aaron shook his shoulder, surprised to find that they had already arrived at Hogsmeade. Minho waited for the car to clear before he and the other captains followed the prefects off of the car. He scanned the platform, searching for Kibum, and found him sitting on the bench beside Gil, who was already reunited with Analecia. Kibum watched him walk over, only standing once he reached the bench. Wordlessly, they headed through Hogsmeade, looking through the illuminated shop windows, as they made their way to the carriages.

Kibum greeted the invisible thestral with a pat on the cheek, Minho assumed, before he joined Minho in the carriage. Aaron and Callum hopped into the carriage as soon as Kibum was settled, and they were off to the castle. “Minho,” Callum said, slapping his knee. “Tell him.”

“Sorry, what?”

“Tell him I should be his next Chaser.”

Kibum scoffed. “Why are you asking Minho for that?”

“Because.”

Minho chuckled. “That’s up to him. You could switch to Hufflepuff. I need a new Chaser.” Kibum looked at him, all offended. “What?”

“Why didn’t you ask me?”

Minho laughed aloud, and Kibum’s offended mask started to crack. “There’s a lot of flying involved, buddy. I didn’t think you’d be interested.”

“You can still be a good Chaser from the ground,” Kibum said, fake-pouting now.

Aaron piped up, an eyebrow quirked in amusement. “Yeah, but that’s called being a center forward.”

Laughing heartily, Minho fell into a confused Kibum’s side.

He and Kibum let Aaron and Callum off the carriage first, then Minho stood to leave. Kibum rested his hand on Minho's shoulder to balance himself as he hopped down to the ground. His hand didn't leave, rather, he just slung his arm over Minho's shoulders as they followed the rest of the students to the torch-lit castle.

"We're back," Kibum said, the lights of the castle shining in his eyes as Minho looked over at him. We're home, he wanted to reply, but Kibum looked up, meeting his gaze with a bright smile.

Minho could only smile mutely in return, thoroughly distracted by Kibum's...well, everything. Kibum patted his shoulder before he lowered his arm, and started up the steps toward the great double doors.

Minho watched him for a second before hurrying to walk beside him on their way inside.