- October 4, 2007 -

"Summon!” Flitwick’s voice squeaked out above the commotion in Classroom 2E. 

“Uh...uh...” Travis looked all around the room, shaking his wand as he tried to focus on literally any object.

“Accio...chalk!” Analecia shouted, pointing her wand at the chalkboard across from her and reaching up to catch it as it flew toward her. 

The Slytherins in the room cheered, and Kibum repeated clapped his hands on Minho’s shoulder in victory as Flitwick marked down another point for Slytherin. Pop quizzes in Charms were honestly too much fun. Flitwick made a game out of it -- pitting the two Houses against each other and having them race to perform the spells they had learned over their years at Hogwarts. The prize was always ten points being awarded to the winning House. He said it was a great way for them to think on their feet, and it would apply to their real lives, outside of school. 

But honestly, it was just really, really fun. Especially when Slytherin was in the lead. Like they were right now.  

“Okay,” Flitwick shooed Analecia and Travis away from the podium and looked around the room. “Mr. Choi, Mr. Kim, you’re up.” 

A chorus of amused ohhs surrounded them as they slid off the bench and started for the front of the classroom. Kibum grinned, glancing around at the rest of the classmates as Minho stepped up beside him. For whatever reason, everyone loved to see the two of them being pitted against each other during these pop quizzes.

For his part, Kibum didn’t mind either. Actually, he really liked it. And, judging by the twinkle in Minho’s eyes as he turned to face him, he enjoyed it, too. 

“Wands at the ready!” 

Minho whipped his wand up, holding it in front of his face as he made eye contact with Kibum. His nose scrunched up as he smiled at him, and Kibum’s eyebrow rose haughtily as he lifted his chin. Grinning now, Minho swished his wand back to his side, and Kibum did the same. 

They had five spells that they would battle over, and a quick glance at the hourglass behind Minho told Kibum that this would be the final “duel” before the end of class. Slytherin was in the lead by two points, so he had to make this count. 

“Fire!” 

“Incendio!” They both yelled at the same time, but a jet of flame spurted out of Minho’s wand first. The Hufflepuff around the classroom whooped and hollered, and Minho extinguished the fire with a pointed grin at Kibum. 

Kibum his lips and glanced over at Flitwick, waiting until he opened his mouth to say the next prompt before he caught Minho’s eye and winked cheekily. Minho’s cheeks colored and he blinked. “Lift!” 

“Wingardium Leviosa!” Kibum said, directing his swish and flick toward the stack of books on Flitwick’s desk. 

Another point for Slytherin. Kibum smiled with a little bob of his head as Flitwick marked it down. Across from him, Minho huffed and Kibum glanced his way with a chuckle. “Light!” 

“Lumos Maxima!” Kibum blurted out but didn’t move his wand. Minho, however, properly flicked his wand as he said it, and the point went to Hufflepuff.

The Houses were tied. 

“We usually do five charms,” Flitwick said once the students settled back down. “But there’s a tie and we’re running out of time, so this will be our last one. Are you ready?” 

“Yes,” Kibum said at the same time Minho said, “Yes, sir.” 

There came a crumple of parchment from Flitwick’s podium. “Freeze!” he said, throwing up a handful of parchment. It fluttered through the air, and the spell Immobulus niggled at the back of Kibum’s mind. He raised his wand to perform it, but...

“Petrificus Totalus!” was what came out instead. He clapped his hand over his mouth when Minho froze up, his eyes widening as he fell helplessly to the side and onto the floor. “Oh, !” he said...in English... His wand clattered on the table as he rushed to Minho’s side, his hands flitting over his petrified body. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean...I...I can’t hear you, what?” 

Minho yelled something, but it came out unsurprisingly muffled. 

Flitwick stepped up beside him, holding his own wand and swishing it over Minho. “Finite Incantatem!” 

Instantly, Minho relaxed, his movement returning to normal, but he stayed laying on the floor. “I’m so, so sorry,” Kibum said, sputtering the words out. Minho, for whatever reason, just smiled in response. “Are you mad at me?” 

“Of course not.” 

“What were you trying to say before, then?” 

His eyes flicked behind Kibum’s head and back to meet his gaze. “I won.” 

“Wha...” Kibum’s brow furrowed as he looked up and found the parchment leaves that Flitwick threw were suspended over the podium and the table that had been between them. 

“Good game, buddy,” Minho said, patting Kibum’s shoulder before he held onto it and hoisted himself up. 

“The point goes to Minho, which means ten points to Hufflepuff!” The bell rang then. “Alright, you’re dismissed. Enjoy the rest of your day!” 

Kibum grabbed his wand from the table and Minho stretched as he fully stood. He accepted his housemates’ congratulations with a quiet nod as they made their way back to their seats. Minho plopped down in his seat and grabbed his backpack from beneath the desk. “You know I’m not gonna forget this, right?” 

Kibum’s shoulders shook with quiet laughter. “Shut up.” 

“I should write Jonghyun!” he said, standing up in mock outrage. “He needs to be warned about this, too!" 

“Don’t you dare!” 

“You can’t stop me!” 

“Apparently, I can.” Minho fell back into his seat, laughing, and Kibum snorted before he tugged on Minho’s robe. “Come on, let’s go study.”