A/N: I’m really sorry this chapter took me so ing long. I was really blocked because of stress for a while there. Anyways, if you haven’t already seen it, I made a quiz for “Which By My Side character are you?” So if you haven’t taken it yet I’m just letting you know it exists! :D

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The door to the sixth year boys' dorm room creaked open. Kibum pulled the blanket off of his head, glaring at the sliver of light as it stretched across the floor and wall. David, the seventh year Prefect, poked his head through the crack, glancing around until he spotted Kibum starting to sit up. 

"Here's your schedules," he whispered, the sound harsh in the otherwise silent room. Well, silent aside from Fredrick and Aaron's competing snoring. Kibum held out his hand for the envelopes and David crept into the room, handing them to Kibum before slinking away and closing the door behind him.

Kibum rummaged through his nightstand drawer for his wand, illuminating the tip with a quiet Lumos. He shuffled through them until he reached his name and he set the others aside before he ripped into his envelope. “Wait, what?” Did they seriously only have one class a day? Sixth year would be so easy compared to last year! “Maybe Min will have the same schedule?” He knew better than to get his hopes up, though.

Anyway, his first and only class today was Charms, which wouldn’t be happening until after lunch. Regardless, he still slipped out of bed and changed quickly before the others could wake up. He set each of their envelopes on their nightstands before he made his way to the common room. Most, if not all, of the first years were up and dressed in their brand new uniforms, ties askew and shirts semi-untucked. Kibum smiled at them as he went over to where Chloe was pouring herself some coffee. 

“Do you want some?” 

“Sure.” 

She pulled a cup from the stack, filling it before placing it on the saucer for him, and set the teapot back on the tray before she went over to the couches. The first years quickly cleared the couch, making space for her to sit. He plopped two cubes of sugar in before he added a splash of cream. Once he was done stirring, he joined her on the couch and rested his head on the back. 

“I wasn’t expecting so few classes,” she said between sips.

“Maybe this year will be easy.”

“Or maybe we’ll have a lot of homework to do.” 

Oh, true. He hadn’t thought of that. “Did your dad sign you up for the Apparition class?” 

“Did the forms already go out? I thought it didn’t start until after Christmas.” Kibum squinted, trying to remember. Even though it was their first day back, he was having trouble remembering what even happened this summer, aside from unexpectedly getting to hang out with Minho for two whole weeks. After that, did anything else really matter? 

“You two are up early,” Analecia said as she stepped into the common room. The mere presence of another older Slytherin student seemed to terrify the first years. Had he been like that when he first got here? 

Chloe shook her watch to face her. “It’s only 5:35.” 

“Yeah, that’s early.” 

She smirked, stretching her legs out to rest her sock-covered foot on the coffee table in front of her and smoothing a crease in her trousers. “Maybe for you.” 

Analecia smiled. “No, actually Gil and I wanted to sit outside before breakfast and enjoy the sunrise.” 

Chloe leaned toward him as Analecia poured herself a cup of tea. “That means they’re gonna snog until breakfast.” 

“Yeah, I know, but I don’t need that mental image.” 

Chloe snorted into her coffee and hid her grin as Analecia hurried toward the wall. “See you guys later!”

Kibum smiled and waved her away, waiting to look over at Chloe until the wall resettled. She sighed, her gaze lingering on the wall. “What’s wrong?” 

She shrugged, her focus turning to her coffee. “I don’t know.” She looked up at the first years, who were doing their best to not look too interested in the conversation. “It’d just be...nice to have someone, I guess…” 

He nodded, swirling his tea. “It would. Maybe someday.” He looked over at her, then did a double-take at her mildly bewildered expression. “We’re still young, and all that.” 

“Yeah, for sure.” 

They finished two more cups of coffee before most everyone else woke up, his stomach grumbling loudly by the time Callum crawled out of bed and into the common room. “I’m heading up,” Kibum said, standing when he reached him, Aaron, and Chloe. 

Callum sleepily mumbled something that sounded like “I’ll come with you.” 

Chloe yawned and stretched. “I’m waiting for Amelia to wake up.” 

“See you later, then,” Kibum said, smiling at her before following Aaron and Callum as they were trudging toward the wall.  He glanced down the hallway toward Hufflepuff when they passed it, but Minho was not up yet. Or, maybe he was already upstairs. Either way, he'd be seeing him soon. He hurried after the other two, who were already turning on the landing.

The Great Hall was mostly filled by the time they reached it, and Kibum craned his neck, scanning the Hufflepuff side. Still no Minho. Kibum smiled to himself. Probably still asleep. He’d have to about it later. He trailed after Callum and Aaron, who slipped down the row to sit opposite of him and Analeica, like usual, only...Gil was there, sitting on the other side of Analecia. Slowly, Kibum sat beside her, and Callum and Aaron did the same on the other side of the table, all staring at her until Gil let her know that they were. 

“What?” 

Callum and Aaron shrugged, amusement twinkling in their eyes, and she turned to Kibum when he cleared his throat. “It’s just new, that’s all.” He leaned around Analecia, meeting Gil’s eye. “Good morning.”

“Morning!”

Analecia scoffed. “How is this new?” Before Kibum could respond, she added, “Minho sits here all the time!” 

Kibum sputtered. “That’s different.” 

“In what way?” she asked, her eyes narrowing slightly before they flicked to the doorway. She smirked as she looked back at Kibum, who still had yet to answer. He glanced over, looking again when he noticed Minho hurrying over to them. She looked back at Gil when Minho plopped down in the space beside Kibum, grinning at the lot of them. Callum and Aaron shared a look, their mirth almost bubbling over, but they kept it in check. 

“Good morning, everyone!”

Kibum's face had flushed scarlet, he just knew it. 

"How'd you sleep?" Minho asked, in Korean now. 

"Well enough. You?" 

"Great! I usually sleep better here than at home." 

Kibum smiled, glancing back at the others to find that they weren’t paying them any attention now. He sighed, relaxing a bit, and when he looked back at Minho, he was also checking out the others. “What’s your schedule like?” 

“Oh! I forgot!” He dug into his robe pocket for his envelope. “Seb handed it to me this morning when I was getting ready but I didn’t think about it because I just wanted to come up here.” He sniffed a quiet laugh as he tore it open, and pulled it out for both of them to look at.

Oh. It was exactly the same, aside from their final periods -- since Minho wasn’t taking Alchemy with him and he definitely wasn’t taking Advanced Flying with Minho. “Oh, no…”

“What?” Minho asked, sounding slightly nervous.

“You’re stuck with me all year. I’ll probably get sick of seeing you all the time, every day.” He rolled his eyes in mock exhaustion, looking back at Minho to find him frowning at the schedule.

“You’re right. That sounds unbearable.” Kibum cracked a smile as Minho started to stand.  “I’ll go fix it with O’Neely.” Kibum punched his arm lightly, which made Minho laugh. He rubbed his arm as he settled back down beside him. 

“Hey, Min,” Gil said, leaning around Analecia to look at him, and both Kibum and Minho did the same in interest. “We should probably head over, huh?” 

“I guess.” 

Groaning, Minho pushed up from the table and away from Kibum, folding his schedule and shoving it into his robe pocket as he started back toward Hufflepuff. Gil gave Analecia a quick kiss before he followed Minho. Kibum watched him until he passed the Gryffindor table, then returned his attention to the rapidly appearing breakfast. Beside him, Analecia let out a quick sigh before she grabbed the Faerie Flakes and the milk and poured herself a bowl of cereal. 

“So,” Callum said, clearing his throat. “What should we do today?” 

“What do you mean?” 

“We only have two classes…”

“Two?” Kibum asked, frowning. 

Callum, who had just taken a big bite of toast, quickly started chewing, swallowed too soon, and hiccuped, “Care of...Mag...ical Creatures…”

“Yeah, we both have that,” Aaron said.

Analecia nodded, catching Kibum’s eye. “And I have Muggle Studies tomorrow.” 

“You’re still taking that?” 

“Mm-mhm.”

“I mean, I would say we could study but it’s not like there’s not much to study for the first day of classes.” 

“We could go to Hogsmeade?” Callum said, his eyebrows raising.

Analecia’s brow furrowed. “We can’t until the end of next month.” That was definitely true, and they all knew the rules, but...Kibum glanced across the table at Aaron and Callum, their eyes twinkling. “No, I know that look. I’m still a Prefect, guys.” 

“Yeah? And?” 

“I could report this to -- “

“What if we got Gil to tag along?” Aaron asked, grinning when Analecia clamped shut. “You wouldn’t want your boyfriend to get in trouble, would you?” 

“Come on, guys,” Kibum said, trying to hide his amusement. “Leave her alone. Obviously we won’t do anything to break the rules.” 

“Good.” 

Analecia went back to her cereal and Kibum glanced over at the expectant Aaron and Callum, giving them a wink before he picked up his fork again. Once he cleared his plate, he pushed away from the table and strode across the hall to squeeze himself between Marvin and Minho, who smiled at him. “Gil,” he said, completely ignoring Minho for the moment. “We have a favor to ask.”

“We?” Minho asked, his mouth full. 

“Me and Callum and Aaron and all of you guys, I assume.” 

Seb and Travis leaned on the table in interest. “What is it?” Gil asked, setting down his fork.

“Can you distract Analecia for us? We want to sneak into Hogsmeade to pass the time before class starts.” Minho almost choked on his pumpkin juice, but Marvin reached around Kibum to pat his back. 

“Aw, but I wanna go!” 

“Sacrifices must be made, mate,” Seb said, drawing Kibum’s attention. “You won’t snitch on us, Marvin?”

“Why would I? I was just about to ask if I could come with.” 

Kibum grinned at him before sitting up and looking over at Minho. "You in?"

"Obviously. How do we get there, though?" 

Huffing, Kibum slouched a little. He hadn't thought that far yet. . 

Travis turned to Seb, who nodded quickly. "We know a way. Leads straight to Hogsmeade."

Seb leaned in closer, and the rest of them copied him. "Meet us by the mirror on the fourth floor at nine."

They all nodded mutely, glancing around at each other and then down the table where Victor Marquez, the Head Boy, was sitting. He was chatting merrily away with the girls clustered around him, none the wiser to the discussion the sixth year boys were having. 

Gilbert let out a tiny whine as he propped his chin on his fist. "How can I distract her for that long, though?"

Minho, smirking, picked up his pumpkin juice and, before he took a sip, said, "I'm sure you'll think of something." 

Now Victor was looking their way, but only because of how much they were laughing. Gilbert's face was beet red as he laughed behind his hands, and Minho's was tinged a little pinker than usual. His eyes were shining as he glanced over at Kibum, and he set down his pumpkin juice before he spilled it.

By the time the bell rang, the plan was already enacted. Gil had made his way back to Analecia’s side, which gave Kibum the opportunity to fill Callum and Aaron in on the plan. He hurried to where Minho was waiting for him at the doorway. “Up?” he asked, and Kibum nodded, following Minho up the stairwell to the seventh floor. Minho leaned into him while they waited for the door to their study closet to appear, and Kibum stepped aside to mess with him. He stumbled as Kibum moved further aside, but caught his balance with a laugh and a cheeky grin at Kibum, who shook his head as he opened the door. 

“, did you bring your wand?” 

“Yeah,” Minho pulled it out of his pocket and pointed it at one of the candles. “Incendio.” A of flame burst out of the tip of his wand, and Minho lit several wicks before he shook the flame away. “So,” he looked over to where Kibum had slumped against the back wall. “How was the rest of your summer?” 

“I told you already,” Kibum said with a chuckle.

Minho snorted. “I know.” He sat beside him, yawning before he looked back over at Kibum. “I love the notebooks and everything but in person, it’s just…” 

“Better.”

“Yeah.” Minho searched his expression for a second before he dropped his gaze to his lap, where he was picking at his thumbnail. “Did you and Jjong enjoy the rest of your summer?” 

“For sure. We hung out...did some definitely not-boyfriend related activities…”

Minho sniffed a laugh and shoved Kibum’s shoulder. “Shut up.” 

“What? Just the thought is hilarious...Me and Jjong...dating…” He gulped, glancing over at Minho. On the Knight Bus ride home, Jonghyun had said something about Minho being jealous… He scoffed, averting his eyes. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were jealous.” 

“I mean,” Minho shrugged, a smile toying at the corner of his lips. “You're not far off.” Kibum’s heart stopped beating for a second. “I do have a big crush on Jjong, after all.” 

For the smallest of seconds, Kibum thought he might be serious, but the twinkle in his eye belied his words. He masked his relief with a solemn nod. “You must have been devastated when you found out he had a boyfriend already.” 

“Oh, for sure.” 

He was still picking at his nail, but Kibum couldn’t take his eyes off of him for several breaths. “Uh,” he said, shaking his head to take himself out of his daze. “What about the rest of your summer? Did you dad ever find out?” 

Minho’s hands froze for a second before the clicking of his nails continued. “He didn’t, thankfully. Your shoe is in my duffle bag, by the way.” 

"I still can't believe I forgot that." 

Minho finally looked over at him, smiling. "Me neither." 

They filled each other in on the minute details of everything that happened since they separated in July, cut off abruptly when the bell rang for the first time. It was already nine? Kibum scrambled to his feet, blowing out the candles on his way to the door, which Minho had brushed past to open. They rushed down the stairs, arriving at the mirror breathless and, somehow, before any of the others. 

Minho leaned against the frame while Kibum checked his appearance as the classes around them were let out. He was combing his disheveled hair out of his eyes when he caught a glimpse of a shock of red hair in the mirror, and Minho waved to someone behind him. Callum and Aaron were approaching as nonchalantly as they could -- which wasn't very -- and soon they were followed by Marvin, Eli, and Travis and Seb. 

They were a bit conspicuous, hanging around the largest mirror in the castle while surrounded by a sea of what appeared to be third years heading to their next class. Several of the third years gave them strange looks, but none stopped to ask them what they were doing. When the current of them ebbed, Travis stepped toward the mirror while Seb looked both ways down the corridor. 

"You're good."

Without any sort of acknowledgment, Seb walked through the mirror, which rippled around him as if he were walking through a sheet of water and, once he was through, became glassy once more. Kibum blinked in surprise, and all of them looked back at Travis. 

"Go on, then." 

Minho pushed away from the frame of the mirror and came around the front, sticking his hand through, then laughed. "He high-fived me," he said before he walked through. 

Kibum looked back at the others with a grin before he followed Minho in. He was greeted with darkness and the pale white light emanating from Seb's wand. Aaron was next, then Callum, Eli, and Marvin. They all huddled together until Travis appeared a moment later. "Sorry, Mrs. Norris was patrolling." 

"Did she see us?"

"I don't think so."

Marvin pulled out his wand and lit the tip of it. "Let's go, we don't have much time." 

Seb turned and started down the long, dark tunnel. Kibum shivered, glancing furtively around at the darkness. Usually, he didn't mind the dark, but this made his skin crawl. He jumped when something light dragged across his face, and he grabbed Minho's sleeve as his heart rate returned to normal. 

"You okay?" Minho asked him in Korean. 

Kibum nodded, despite the fact that Minho couldn't see him. "Just cobwebs," he said as he wiped them off. But he didn't let go of Minho's sleeve. 

They trekked on for quite a while, time seemingly standing still, until dim torchlight glimmered in the distance. Kibum picked up his pace, as did the others, and soon they were all crowded around a rickety ladder leading to a trap door. 

"Where does this let out?" Callum asked from somewhere behind Kibum. 

"Storage room for Gladragg's."

"If we're quiet, we can slip out the window into the alleyway." Seb climbed the steps, the door opening with a creak as he peered into the room. Just as quickly as he opened the door, he closed it, motioning for the others to keep quiet. He crept down the steps, leading them away from the door before he whispered. "He's in there. Napping right by the window."

"," Aaron muttered. 

"We'll have to go through the store." 

"Are you ing crazy?"

Travis shushed Seb. "We've done it before, relax!"

"Not with this many people, we haven't!" 

"Should we check again?"

Eli moved away from the group, quickly scaling the steps. His whispered "He's still asleep" carried down the tunnel as the hatch closed once more.

"Should we send someone? Who's the quietest?"

"Minho," Kibum said automatically. /He/ certainly wasn't, but Minho was light on his feet and would probably be the best option out of all of them to go.

No one objected. 

"What am I supposed to do?" He asked as he and Eli maneuvered around each other. 

"Just make sure he stays asleep," Seb said as Minho crept up the stairs, peeking out of the trap door. He glanced back at them, his gaze lingering on Kibum a second longer than the rest before he climbed out of the hatch and closed it softly behind him. 

A pin could have dropped in the tunnel and they would have heard each and every metallic ting as it hit the floor. Still, Minho's voice was muffled, and just a few seconds later, the hatch reopened, but Minho didn't climb down. , they'd been caught. They'd get detention...maybe expelled...maybe -- 

"Guys, come on," Minho said, poking his head through the opening. 

His brow furrowed, Kibum rushed forward, climbing up the steps to join him on the ground floor. He stepped closer to Minho, their shoulders brushing, to let the others come up the ladder themselves. "What'd you do to him?"

"Hexed him." Kibum gasped, staring wide-eyed at him. "What? It was just Somnium. If he's not already awake by the time we get back we can just use Innervate to counter it."

"I mean, true…" He watched Minho as he turned and walked out of the storeroom, a smile growing. Minho? Hexing someone? He didn't think he had it in him. Granted, Somnium was harmless and Mr. Gladragg would be just fine, but still...the thought was so surprising. And funny. He huffed to keep from laughing as he followed the rest of them into the empty store. 

"Where to?" Travis asked as they walked out into the sunny day. Kibum hopped down to the street, looking around at the shops. Some of the Hogsmeade locals were milling about, some of them glancing twice at the small crowd of Hogwarts students. See, they too would have known that they wouldn't be able to come until next month. 

Damn, this was probably the dumbest idea he had ever had. 

He looked back up at them, most of whom were staring at him expectantly, then focused on Minho, who was watching him intently. "What...if…" he looked away from Kibum, the village...to the patch of woods beyond. He stepped around the others, his robe billowing behind him as he strode down the alleyway between Gladragg's and Madam Puddifoot' Tea Shop.

He led them through the patchy trees, and for a moment Kibum thought he might be exposing the pond that they skated at last year. To his relief, however, Minho took a right instead of a left and soon they reached a clearing and a dilapidated fence that overlooked -- 

"The Shrieking Shack…" Seb said with a touch of awe in his voice. Minho grinned at him. 

"I thought you guys already explored that?" Kibum said, thinking back to the day he and Damien had had detention together after their fight. 

"We were gonna, but -- " Aaron's voice trailed off as he glared Marvin's way. 

"What?"

Seb let out a huff of a sigh. "This absolute pillock decided against it as we were climbing the fence." 

Marvin's brow furrowed dangerously. "It's the most hau -- "

"Allegedly," Travis interjected with a simpering smile, which earned him a scathing glare. 

"Allegedly," Marvin added, exaggerating Travis' Bristolian accent. "The most haunted house in all of Britain. I didn't want us to go in all unprepared." 

"How would we not be prepared? We see ghosts quite literally every day."

"Not malevolent ones." 

"Marv," Minho said, quieting the increasingly tense situation. "If you don't want to go in, that's fine. If anyone," he added, his gaze falling on Kibum beside him. "Doesn't want to go in because there might be ghosts, then that's fine."

"I'll be okay," Kibum said quietly, and Minho nodded and looked back at the group. Sure, the ghosts had freaked him out for a few years, but having the Bloody Baron as your House's ghost can only scare you for so long. 

Minho hoisted himself over the fence, and the rest of them followed him one by one. Kibum stuck close to Minho as they made their way through the tall, scraggly grass toward the ominous shack. The light breeze picked up to a howling wind as they drew nearer. The sound of the repeatedly slamming front door greeted them long before they reached it and once they had all slipped inside, Marvin latched the door shut. 

They were in. 

Kibum shuffled closer to Minho as they all stood still on the landing, peeking over his shoulder. 

The house creaked around them as the blustering wind buffeted it. Something on the other side of the house slapped like the now-latched door had been. Probably a length of siding or the shudders of a window. Still, they silently huddled closer together as Minho and Aaron pulled out their wands. 

Nearly every surface was covered in a thick film of dust, giving the interior a dreary, dingy atmosphere. Deep gouges were scratched into the walls, the floorboards, and even the furniture. Almost as if a wild beast had been caught inside once, long ago, and destroyed everything on it's way out. 

Together, they moved into what had been a sort of living room. Wallpaper was peeling, the eyes of the faded paintings followed them as they slowly came to a stop by the decimated couch. A long, dry, translucent snakeskin scraped against the floor with each breath of wind through the shattered window. A darkened stain that might have been blood dribbled down the wall and pooled on the floor. All dry now, but… Kibum touched Minho's arm and he turned away, guiding the others toward the far doorway. 

It took a while for them to work up the courage to speak, let alone break into smaller groups to explore the house. Callum and Aaron split off first, treading cautiously up the rickety staircase when they reached it. Kibum stuck close to Minho while the other Hufflepuffs went off to go inspect the kitchen. 

"Let's go down here," Minho whispered, as if speaking any louder would awaken the ghosts they were trying to avoid. He gestured with his lighted wand to the darkened corridor to their left. 

"Okay."

Deeper scratches in the floor and the walls lined the hall, sending a chill down Kibum’s spine the further they walked. At the end of the hall, a door hung ajar, and Minho pressed it open with his toe. It was a bedroom, obviously long abandoned. Wand blasts dented the walls and shattered most of the furniture while the bed coverings were shredded. Red drops that were unmistakably blood dotted the sheets...something definitely went down here.

Someone, down the hallway, let out a high-pitched scream. Kibum scrambled to grab Minho’s hand and he fumbled with his wand as he tried to take Kibum’s hand, but…

“It was just a rat, guys!” Callum called out.

“Just? A rat?” Aaron spat incredulously. 

Kibum chuckled, leaning against Minho’s shoulder in relief, even though they were shaking with laughter. “Well, now we know what Aaron sounds like when he screams.” 

“And we’ll never let him forget it.” 

Kibum pushed away from Minho’s shoulder, his hand lingering on his arm as they surveyed the bedroom. “What do you think happened here?” 

“Nothing good.” Minho shook his head as he looked around. “I’m trying not to think about it.” 

“Which means you are.” 

“Exactly.” 

Before Minho could elaborate further, footsteps sounded down the hall, and Minho leaned back, holding his lighted wand out to inspect who it was. Seb strode into the room, looking around at the disheveled state of it before he looked back up at Minho. "Travis thinks he heard the bell, so I think we should head back soon." 

Minho glanced back at Kibum. "Yeah, okay," Kibum said, shrugging. "Gather everyone up and we'll meet by the door." 

But the door refused to open for them, no matter how hard they pushed on it to open.  Even Alohomora didn't work. Marvin started to panic and Kibum and Seb left the rest of them to calm him down while they looked for another way out. 

"The windows?" Seb suggested, but Kibum shook his head. if the door was enchanted, then it would make sense that they were as well. 

Seb followed Kibum back into the bedroom, and they looked around again, searching for anything that looked like a way out. As they were turning to go, Kibum noticed a door at the far corner of the room. He started for it, opening it slowly to reveal a dark tunnel. "Do you think it could be another secret passage?"

Seb hummed in thought. "I wonder where it lets out in the castle."

"I guess there's only one way to find out, huh?" 

Seb nodded, smiling, and turned away from Kibum. "Guys! Come to the bedroom!" 

"No need to be so forward with me, Sebastian!" Travis called back, his voice shifting to be slightly effeminate. 

Kibum froze, staring without seeing down the tunnel. Beside him, Seb shuddered and called back, "Bugger off, mate! Don't be gross!" 

Travis' laughter, as well as some chuckling from the other guys, echoed down the hall as they drew nearer. Kibum gulped, glancing at them as they filed into the room, and he was relieved to see that Minho didn't seem to be amused either. In fact, he wasn't meeting anyone's eyes, not even his.

The unfunny bit continued with Travis grabbing at Seb's hand in feigned fear as they started down the tunnel, but Seb snapped at him and Travis dropped it. Kibum was the second to last one to enter, followed by Minho who closed the door, effectively cutting off the dim beam of sunlight. Marvin and Seb already had their wands lighted, but he did as well as he fell into step beside Kibum. 

"You okay?" He whispered in Korean. 

Kibum nodded, shoving his hands into his pockets so he didn't instinctively reach out for Minho in the darkness. "Yeah, I'm fine." 

They walked for a long while, the path narrowing until they all huddled beside a heavy wooden door. It took a bit of effort for Seb to push it open and a heavy branch from the Whomping Willow swung past the door, spraying dirt into the doorway until Seb and Minho were able to pull the door closed. 

“Well, …” 

“What are we even -- “

“Min,” Kibum said, and Minho turned around at the sound of his voice. “Do you know much about the Willow?” 

“Not really. I’ve read ahead a bit but we haven’t gone over it yet. I think it’s just gonna be a matter of timing, though. Like, running to escape the branches.”

“Yeah, probably.” Kibum sighed and pushed his way to the front, peeking out the sliver to see another branch swinging past. “Filch probably already knows, so we gotta be fast.” 

“Do you think any spells will work against it?” Eli asked.

Kibum turned to look at Minho, his eyebrows raising in question until Minho answered with, “Maybe the Slowing Charm?” 

Kibum nodded and looked back at the others. “Who wants to go first?” 

"I...I will," Eli said eventually, but he jumped back when they pulled open the door and branches thudded hard against the ground. 

"Uh, try to run straight for the Beard," Kibum said, pointing across the law to the swath of trees tucked around the castle.

"Will do." Eli crept out, pressing himself up against the trunk as he waited. Kibum watched the branches, searching for a rhythm in the Willow's attacks. 

Before he could see anything, Eli darted away, running as fast as he could through the branches. He ducked when one swooped over his head, then swerved when another tried to sweep him off his feet. He barely made it out of the reach of the branches before he tripped and fell on an untied shoelace, but he picked himself up and ran ahead, disappearing between the trees. 

Kibum leaned against the wall, closing his eyes in relief. "He made it." 

Slowly, but surely, they made their way across the lawn, mostly unscathed by the branches of the Willow. Callum and Aaron ran out together, as did Travis and Seb, who had the misfortune to get carried away for a second by the Willow. His robe caught on one of the broken twigs, and he was swept up and away. Fortunately, the Willow shook him off on a downward plunge and he was able to roll out of its reach. Travis ran back to help him stand and together they ran for the trees. 

Marvin barely made it, wand poised and ready to attack the Willow if necessary, but he still joined the others in the woods, staring back and Minho and Kibum as they peeked out at them. 

"Together?" Minho asked, and Kibum looked up at the agitated branches. 

“I’m not sure if that’s the smartest way.”

Minho glanced over at the castle, his eyes widening. “Filch…” 

Kibum looked over as well, tensing when he saw the cranky caretaker descending the hill toward the Willow. “.”  Minho pulled away from the opening, and gradually Kibum turned back around to look at him. “It’s now or never, Min.” 

“We’ll probably get detention.”

“If we get caught.” 

Minho clenched his jaw and peeked out the doorway again before quickly moving away. “I’ll cover you. Run.” 

Kibum didn’t take a second to think like he usually would. There wasn’t time for that. He just hiked up his robe and ran like mad across the grass, paying no attention to the branches as they pounded on either side of him. He vaguely registered Minho yelling behind him, but even that didn’t phase him. Marvin caught him as he ran into the trees, and he turned back around in time to catch Minho as he ran into him, both stumbling away from the others. He looked over Minho’s shoulder as he mindlessly patted Minho’s back, blinking in surprise as the branches of the Willow swayed slowly.

“You good?” Kibum asked as Minho started to pull away from him. 

Minho nodded, letting out a heavy sigh as he looked back at the tree. “Used the Slowing Charm. Surprised it actually worked.” He chuckled breathlessly, before nodding to the river channel leading to the hidden dock below the castle. “Come on, Filch will be here soon.” 

He didn’t need to say it twice; they were already on the move and leaving a trail behind that literally anyone could follow. Once they reached the dock, Mrs. Norris’ meow echoed off the water. 

“Hide,” Seb said in a harsh whisper before he dove into one of the boats. 

Marvin ducked behind a pile of ropes, and before Kibum could see what anyone else did, Minho pulled him into a closet and closed the door behind them, locking it with a rushed Colloportus. It was a tiny closet, Kibum realized when Minho’s breath ruffled his hair. His shoulder was pressed up against the door as well as the shelf on the opposite wall. Both he and Minho were huddled together out of necessity because there was no other room to spread out.

Not that Kibum minded, of course.  

Kibum looked up to where he imagined Minho’s face would be, searching the pitch blackness for even a hint of him. Filch was saying something to Mrs. Norris, but for the life of him, he couldn’t focus on his snarl of a voice. No, it took all of his attention to focus on not imagining what it would be like to push Minho against the wall or the shelves or whatever and kiss him right now. It seemed like a great idea...a really good one, at the moment. The thrill of the possibility that this might actually happen and the excitement of the day so far was making his heart pound loudly in his ears. It would be a perfect way to cap off this entire adventure, after all, right? 

No one would ever have to know...

He toyed with the lapels of Minho’s robe, feeling the fabric between his fingers as he tried to talk himself out of going through with it. The possibility that it would backfire on him weighed heavily in his mind, but he still couldn't get the thought out of his head. 

Damn this closet and his forced proximity to Minho ing with his rationality...

“I -- “ Minho’s voice cracked, and he cleared his throat softly. “I think we’re good.” 

Ah, so another opportunity had gone to waste. It was just as well, really. Who knows how that would have gone over, anyways. Minho unlocked the door and looked out before pushing the door open for Kibum to come out as well. “Was it stuffy in the closet?” Travis asked as he passed them on their way to the door.

“What do you mean?” 

Marvin unlocked the door leading inside. “You both are a bit flushed.” 

“Uh, yeah,” Minho answered quickly, even though it hadn’t really been, and Travis closed the door once they were all inside. 

They quickly made their way up the stairs to the Great Hall where everyone was starting to gather for lunch. As nonchalantly as possible, they split at the door, the Hufflepuff boys heading over to their side of the room. Kibum watched Minho go while Callum and Aaron started to walk to the Slytherin table, and Minho turned after a second, waving to Kibum with a small smile. Kibum returned the smile before Minhk turned back around and jogged to catch up with his roommates. 

Kibum followed Aaron and Callum and settled into his place beside Analecia, who was still talking to Gil. Since they were back, however, she wrapped up their conversation quickly and sent Gil on his way with a quick kiss goodbye before she rounded on him, Aaron, and Callum. "Do you think I'm an idiot?" 

"Uh…" Aaron said, his gaze darting to Kibum. "No?" 

She sighed, looking them and their dust and dirt-stained robes over before her eyes settled on Kibum. She shook her head slightly, a hint of a smile brightening her features. "Do I even want to know?" 

"Probably," Kibum said as he started to smile himself. "But it's probably best that you don't." 

"True." She looked back at the other two then down at the table as lunch magically appeared before them. "Just be sure to change your uniform and wash your faces before class starts."

Aaron and Callum nodded eagerly, and they all started dishing up their plates. He'd be sure to remind Minho and the Hufflepuff boys to do the same. Kibum grinned at Analecia when she looked his way again, only for her to snort, roll her eyes, and shake her head as she pulled off a bite of her roast beef.