- October 14, 2005 -

The bell from the clock tower rang out, announcing the end of classes for the day. Professor Sprout stopped talking until the chiming stopped, taking her peat-caked gloves off while she waited. “Go ahead and pack your things. We’ll pick up with Puffapods on Monday.”

Minho grabbed his backpack from beneath the table as Kibum stacked their books together, holding it open for him to fit them inside. “Wanna do anything before dinner?”

“I guess we could drop our books off,” Kibum said, zipping up Minho’s backpack before standing. 

“Did you send your letter to Jonghyun yet?”

“Oh ! I forgot!” He felt around in his robe pockets, pulling out a rolled up parchment tied in a blue ribbon. He offered Minho a sheepish smile. “I can go do that and I’ll meet you in the Great Hall?”

“I can come with. I don’t mind.”

“Really?” Minho smiled and nodded. “Okay.” He followed Kibum out the door, stopping in the doorway to say goodbye to Sprout. He had to jog to catch up to him, and when he did, the 5 o’clock bell rang. “Did I tell you,” Kibum said once the ringing died in the air, “about what we learned yesterday in Muggle Studies?”

Minho’s eyebrows shot up. “I don’t think you did.” Their footsteps resounded in on the bridge, the petrichor from the afternoon rain heavy in the hallway. “Still talking about...turning...time?”

Kibum smiled as he stepped around a puddle. “Time-Turners. And yes.” A gust of wind whipped around them, starting Minho’s teeth chattering. “This was back when they were first getting tested, but apparently the reason why there’s a five-hour-back limit is that back in the early 1900′s, some wizards were spotted by Muggles and they were suspected to be time-travelers.”

“Well, I mean...”

“Right,” Kibum said with a laugh. “But that’s why Time-Turners were mandated by the Ministry to make sure that wizards everywhere maintained the statute of secrecy.”

“Makes sense.” They climbed up the steps to the owlery, picking up their pace when rain started to fall again. Once they were safely inside the owlery, Minho shook the rain out of his hair as Kibum called for Nutmeg and got him situated with his letter to Jonghyun.

“Okay, so,” Minho started to say once they were safely under the roof of the bridge again on their way back inside the castle. “If you could use a Time-Turner once, what would you do with it?”

He smirked. “Only going back five hours? It wasn’t a bad day, so...”

“No, no, like, however far back you wanted.”

Minho could see the wheels turning in Kibum’s head, his half-smile turning into a sort-of frown. Was he thinking about his dad? If he was, that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing...but Minho just hated to see him upset. Kibum glanced over at him, his frown disappearing as he shook his head. “Can’t think of anything. What about you?”

“I’d go back to this morning and get another hour of sleep.”

Kibum snorted. “I don’t think they work like that.”

“So? That’s what I’d do! I’d figure out a way to make it work.” 

“I believe in you,” Kibum said, the dry tone in his voice breaking when Minho pulled his hood off of his head. “Hey!” He started to chase Minho, but it was short-lived when Minho slipped on account of his rain-slick shoes. Minho cushioned his fall with his hands before he sunk to the ground, their laughter pealing through the corridor. Eventually, Kibum made his over to him, still laughing, and helped him up off the floor. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m good.”