As his friend started laughing, Caleb looked at her in confusion, had he asked the wrong question? He was genuinely curious to know if Kiki preferred dancing over singing or vice versa, he didn’t know and since he often didn’t talk to others it wasn’t something had any idea of despite how observant he was. The boy knew that Hogwarts it was a little difficult for students to be outwardly creative, there was no dance studio or music room, like he had heard that muggle high schools had. But then again he knew that they were here to learn and hone on the magic knowledge and skills. Even back in Southampton he rarely hung out with teenagers his own except for a few of his cousins during the summer and winter breaks so he knew next to nothing of what was ‘cool’ in the muggle world in terms of music or dance.


The blonde boy nodded as she informed him she preferred dancing, he guessed she would prefer it going by her active nature. She was probably the liveliest badger he knew, the others all seemed to keep to themselves and weren't really putting themselves ‘out there’ pretty much like him. “Well I of course don’t know what your style of dancing is but perhaps it’s better if some professor didn’t come across you practising around the castle” he told, Caleb wasn’t trying to discourage Kiki from being herself at Hogwarts, far from it. “Imagine if a professor stumbled across you” the boy went on the tease her. But if it were ever to happen, it would sure be a funny story The radio was one thing he missed when he was here, it’s the first thing he turned on in his dad’s car when he got home too.


He could tell she was joking with her suggestion to sneak back some butter beer from the nearby village of Hogsmeade. “Oh sure, we could just walk out of the three broomsticks with a pint each of the stuff” he replied sarcastically. Though the idea did pique his interest This was new, never had been sarcastic but he thought he would go along with her joke. Caleb nodded, it’s not that he loved gardening he tolerated it and it allowed him to spend time with his dad in a somewhat normal setting. “Yes, I guess I do, with my dad being a Muggle it took him sometime to comprehend I was magical and this is something I can do with him without feeling guilty” the boy sighed and looked the floor for a second before looking back at the girl beside him. Never had he admitted that to anyone before. “But yes this summer I might get a job” he concluded but he had no idea where just yet. “I live in Southampton, you sure you want to travel all the way down there?” he asked his fellow Hufflepuff arching his brow. But of course he wasn’t sure where Kiki lived, he assumed she lived in London.


As Kiki spoke him asking his mum to teach him, Caleb looked at the floor again. It wasn’t her fault, Kiki didn’t know what had happened. Without looking up he spoke. “Kiki….I can see the Thestrals….” He looked up “…..my mum passed away just after my second year here” he told her as he edged away from her, he didn’t mean to move away but speaking of his mum always had the same reaction not matter who he was with, family included. As she spoke of being in similar situation to him, he had never thought it was the same for her too, she was always so bubbly and never spoke this seriously about something. He appreciated her honesty. “Kiki, I’m sorry you feel that way but hey you've got me, we can be both drifting between the worlds together….” He trailed off, flashing her a crooked smile. “The mute badger and the free-spirited dancer” he joked, giving them both new titles in the process.


When she went into a full on spiel about the world cup game between New Zealand and Bulgaria, his eyebrows rose and a smirk appeared on his face. He had never seen anyone reply so passionately to this question before. “No, its okay and my favourite team is the Scottish, my mum was from Glasgow” he explained, it had nothing to do with him going to school in the country.

“It is my favourite subject” he said as if he was stating the obvious, not meaning to come across so sarcastic. He didn’t know the Gryffindor head of house too well, except for the few times he had asked for the man’s help with practising some of the more complex charms. “I guess we could ask the professor, he seems like he would be open to trying out a charm of that kind around the school” the boy concluded.

Caleb had suggested the idea of Kiki dancing around the castle and getting caught. Little did he know, that Kiki had been known to sneak a dance move or two in when a corridor was empty, but that was so rare. Plus, it was never as fun without her music. The most recent song that had thrown her into constant movement was a muggle song called “Lip Gloss.” From what she had been told, it wasn’t too new of a song, but she still like the sassiness and the beat of it. “Well, I do occasionally bust out into my hip hop moves, but no one has ever seen me.” She laughed at the thought of getting caught. “I’m not sure what people would think if I was ever caught dancing. What would you think if you saw me, Caleb?” Kiki was genuinely curious to know how someone may feel when they stumbled across her. She imagined a professor catching her and had to stifle a giggle. “I would probably just look up at the professor and ask if they would want to learn,” she paused to burst out in laughter as she had a thought, “could you imagine what Mcgonagall would do if I asked her that?” The idea sent the girl into a laughing fit.

The fifth year couldn’t deny how much fun she was having with this boy. Sure she had planned to update her scrapbook, but this was way more fun. Kiki believed it was moments like this where one needed to be spontaneous and flexible to enjoy time with people. Her joy abounded when he mentioned carrying butterbeer from one of the pubs in Hogsmeade. Kiki knew that the two would not carry out such a ridiculous idea, but it was funny to think about. In a way though, pouring an alcoholic beverage on plants sounded like something a drunk person would do, which would cause more problems for them if they were caught and their professors thought them to be intoxicated. Her demeanor switched a little when Caleb suggested that he felt guilty. “Caleb, I’m sure your dad wants you to be happy instead of feeling guilty about who you are. And who you are is a great, kind person. I think it is lovely that you help your dad out and spend time with it. It just shows how sweet you are,” she said with a genuine smile.

She nodded when he said he may get a job this summer. It hit Kiki that she could actually have a job too, but in a way, she didn’t want one. Sure she could use the money, but she wanted to spend her free time enjoying her beloved muggle activities. The Hufflepuff gave an almost smug laugh when he mentioned the distance. “We’re magic. Traveling is easy. If there isn’t a floo network fireplace there, I can just ask my dad to take me by doing a side-apparation thing. Besides, he wants me to have more magic friends,” she said and then a thought occurred to her. “Are you seventeen yet? Can you apparate?”

There was a distinct shift in the boy’s demeanor. Kiki looked upon him with concern, and upon hearing his words, her heart sank. She was speechless at first. The poor girl had no clue what to say. “I… I’m so sorry, Caleb. I had no idea.” She went to place her hand on his shoulder, but he moved away before she could. Kiki couldn’t imagine all the pain that his loss had caused him. She had never lost anyone she was close to. Kiki wasn’t sure what to do, but she was relieved when he finally spoke. She gave a smile at his words, but it wasn’t her usual smile Instead, it was more of a calm gesture, indicating that they would both be okay. “I’m glad to have you then, Caleb. And you have me as well,” she said, now finally reaching out to him and rubbing his shoulder in a reassuring manner. “Hey, that kind of sounds like a band name! Maybe we should go on tour,” she said as a joke to hopefully help him feel better.

When her discussion about Quidditch had ended, she saw Caleb smirk and she blushed, but only a little. She actually was happy to seem him smiling. He informed her that the Scottish were his favorite team. “Ah they are pretty good too. Always gotta love the more local teams as well.”

Kiki was absolutely delighted to hear that Caleb had a good relationship with Professor Copeland. She clapped her hands a bit. “Yay! That may make his a bit easier. Maybe I can go look for some place to put it and if I find somewhere, we could go talk to him!”

He wished wish he had such a personality, one like Kiki’s, one that allowed him to be himself nothing holding him back. One, that allowed him to express himself freely and not care who saw him. It was one of the things he envied about Kiki. His eyebrows rose at her admission of occasionally breaking out into random dance moves. They didn’t have very many classes together since he was a year ahead of her. Well he suspected that’s such a thing would occur; on her way to classes to the Great Hall for meals. “Really? I’ll have to keep a closer eye out next time we pass by each other in between classes” he said tapping his chin with a thoughtful expression gracing his face. “What would I think?” he repeated the question as he pondered his answer. “I would probably think damn I wish I had a camera on me right now” he smirked. After all, what else would be better to capture on film but his best friend dancing. He laughed as she explained what she would do if a professor stumbled across her. He for a split second imagined their headmistress dancing, it would probably be something formal like a Viennese Waltz. “Well you never know, Professor Mcgonagall might actually surprise you and say yes” he smirked.

He was actually half serious about sneaking some of beverage back with them when Hogsmeade rolled around next. Caleb wasn’t even sure where this idea of his even stemmed from. But it would be something fun to try. The hufflepuff never even realised he had a rebellious streak in him. He was sure if his father had found out about something like this, first he would be disappointed followed by praise for a clever prank. The boy honestly didn’t mean to switch the mood of the conversation so fast. A thankful smile appeared on Caleb’s face at his friend’s words. “I know, its just even I can do magic at home I don’t, like I still get up and pick up stuff instead of using accio” he explained. “When I got my letter my dad refused to believe it, his son was wizard, I mean I don’t blame him, I would probably be the same” he added before smiling back at her, even if it was a faint one.

Caleb rolled his eyes as he realised the mistake in what he had said. Sometimes being a muggleborn he forgot about his added bonus of magic, even if he happened to be at his magical boarding school right now. “You’re dad would be okay with brining you over to my house with me being a boy and all?” he asked curiously, smirking slightly. Of course he knew nothing of that nature would ever happen between them but it was fun to wonder what her answer would be. His jaw dropped and caleb faked offense before he answered her next question. “You mean you don’t know how old I am? That’s just shameful Barlow” he teased her. “But yes I am seventeen and yes I can apparate, though I don’t have anywhere to really apparate to” he explained. However he knew that would change now.

The boy kind of regretted not telling Kiki about losing his mother earlier since so much time had passed. “Kiki…it’s okay” he sighed. “you know very well I’m not the most forthcoming person with information, let alone anything about my personal life” he smiled at her. Hoping this expression of his would convey he was okay, well as okay as he could be. “That’s nice of you say, I’m very glad we have each other” he grinned at her as she rubbed his shoulder. “What?” he questioned before catching on. “Oh yeah the violin and hip hop dancing totally go together” he said in a highly sarcastic tone.

“My my, Kiki, are you blushing? Anyone would think you had a crush on someone” he teased her as he saw the pink tinge appear on her face. However if she did ‘like’ someone he would automatically go into protective mode and scope out this guy especially he liked her back.

“Sure I’ll hunt down our most wonderful Charms professor” he remarked matching his friend’s enthusiasm. He thought Professor Copeland was decent bloke but he was still unsure if he liked him as a teacher.

If someone were to ask Kiki what made her so outgoing, she honestly would have no idea. She often guessed it had something to do with building confidence at a young age with having to perform at dance recitals and such. The Hufflepuff also wondered if it had something to do with just being the oldest and therefore, very ambitious. In all actuality, Kiki attributed some of it to just being honest with herself. She knew her talents and she derived her confidence from that. Of course, she was never boastful about it. Instead, she used it more to inspire her and remind her that she has something to offer. Naturally, expressing herself came to be her pick me up. It was natural to break out in song or dance when she wasn’t sure what else to do or needed some comfort. A lot of these times occurred throughout the school before tests or games or just because she was having an off day. “Oh yes, keep looking. I’m sure I will be trying to calm my nerves on my way to exams by dancing,” she said with a small laugh. She laughed at the thought of being caught on camera. “Psh. I move like lightning. There is no way you could catch me on camera.” When Caleb said the headmistress could possibly break out in dance with the girl, Kiki burst into a fit of giggles. She tried to respond to Caleb, but she was too busy on the verge of hyperventilation.

The laughing subsided long enough for the conversation to turn back to a more serious one. Caleb seemed to be a bit distraught about his magic ability and how it affected how he acted with his father. Kiki wasn’t of age to use magic yet, so of course, she still picked things up. She wondered if it was hard for witches and wizards to remember they could use the summoning charm to get things after seventeen years of just having to get up and get it themselves. “Well, I guess you never have to worry about getting lazy then,’ she said with a reassuring smile to say she was just playing. “Seriously though, I bet your dad wouldn’t be bothered by it as much as you think. He just probably has a hard time believing all of this was real. My mom sure did. She thought my dad was a nutter and tried to put him in contact with one of her muggle therapist friends.” The thought kind of made Kiki laugh, although, it was kind of scary to think that had that issue not been resolved, she wouldn’t be here.

Thinking about her parents made her miss them a bit. It was funny to her that Caleb would think her dad would have issues with her befriending a boy. In reality, her father would just be so happy she was making some magical friends for once. She had plenty of male muggle friends from her dance classes, as they sometimes danced in partners. “Meh, Dad may get a little suspicious at first. But he wouldn’t object to it. He wants me to have muggle and magic friends, and I am currently lacking in the magical world. Plus, I think he would prefer I have a magical boyfriend over muggle one, so he may even be ecstatic that I am hanging out with a guy,” Kiki smirked. All of the convincing in the world probably wouldn’t convince her father that Caleb was just a friend, but it didn’t matter. The two students knew where they stood in that realm. The fifth year rolled her eyes at her friend when he exclaimed that she didn’t know his age. “Hey, I thought I knew. I was just clarifying,” she stated as she stuck her tongue out at her friend. “And now, you can apparate to my house. There is an awesome court nearby where me and my siblings play with some of our friends.”

Though the conversation topic was serious as Caleb had started to open up about his mom, Kiki wouldn’t have had it any other way. She was glad he was talking to someone. The sixth year himself had said he wasn’t really open about these sort of things, so she was glad she could be there for him. “Thanks for telling me. I know it isn’t easy to talk about.” She moved her hand away as he began to cheer up slightly. He made a joke about their colliding music talents and Kiki laughed. “Hey! I wouldn’t mind trying to do incorporate some of the moves I know to a violin. Sounds like fun,” she exclaimed as she thought about how challenging it would really be to do something like that.

Kiki almost screamed when she was accused of blushing because she had a crush on someone. “Of course not!” Of all the ridiculous things to think. “I only blushed because I realized I was rambling like an idiot,” she said sternly. “Besides, you’re the only guy I really talk to. Unless you’re hoping you’re the one that made me blush. Then I suppose my dad would have reason to be suspicious,” she teased with wide eyes.

Caleb wasn’t always this shy, in fact when he first started at Hogwarts he was definitely more talkative than he was now. Sure he never talked as much as his friend did but still was about fifty per cent more than he did now. However, after his mother died he became a kind of recluse. Only very few people were able to ever bring out his more confident side, his father, grandparents and Kiki whom he was very glad to have in his life. He had always drawn, like most children starting when he was very young at home with crayons and coloured pencils. In his first year that took a bit of back-seat as he started to come to terms with being a wizard. And he was back to it after losing his mother. He was sure in time he would come to terms with this but she would never be far from his mind or heart. “Hey I’m always on the lookout, that’s why I’m so quiet because I look out for things including my friends” he told her grinning. He probably should have said friend since he didn’t think he had more than one, well no one right now he could class as one. Caleb rolled his eyes at her suggestion that she moved fast as lightning. “There’s no good way to tell a chaser to tone down their ego is there?” he asked with a definitive smirk. When Kiki broke out into a fit of giggles that didn’t seem to be ceasing he looked at her shaking her head. Of course if their headmistress was to ever dance he would want that recorded somehow. “Hey you never know, she might just do that at the end of year ball” which for one he was not attending so Kiki would have to tell him all about it since he was certain she would be there.


Their conversation was all over the place something which wasn’t out of place at Hogwarts. Something was always happening at this school, a quidditch match or some gossip over a new professor. Caleb had heard there were new professors around but he hadn’t yet met them and had barely seen them since he didn’t wander much. He focused his attention back on the conversation back to what Kiki was saying. “Yeah I’m not really that lazy type, well I don’t think I am” the sixth year shrugged. No had ever called him lazy before. “A therapist, really?” He asked wondering if muggles married to a witch or wizard normally suggested that. “And I guess not, but still I prefer not to use it at home even if can legally now do so. Just in case some other muggle saw it and then all hell would break loose……”Caleb trailed off.
Southampton was largely a muggle city after all.

Having really one friend at Hogwarts didn’t bother the boy and that single friend being a girl still didn’t bother him. But he did have look out for her, even if Kiki didn’t like it. He didn’t have any siblings so she kind of became his pseudo sibling over the years and they just go along. And there was no chance of them crossing that line into anything more than friends. when she mentioned that her father would prefer her to have a magical boyfriend his eyebrows rose. Once he lowered them he asked. “Would he now? Why’s that?” he inquired, though Caleb could kind of work out why already. “If he sees us hanging out he’s not going to think I’m trying to date you and to pull me aside to give me the ‘don’t hurt her or I’ll hex you to oblivion’ talk is he?” he asked slightly worried of the possibility of that happening. “Oh just chill Kiki” the blonde chuckled seeing her reaction to him teasing her for not knowing his age. “But c’mon even I know you’ll be sixteen soon” he smirked since he was so observant he knew when her birthday was. “Yeah I’ll apparated over, hopefully I won’t splinch myself” he shuddered, he didn’t really want to visit St Mungo’s.


“Well it’s not like I’m going to tell anyone else, I mean only our head of house knows, well I think she does” he said quietly he wasn’t sure what the Hufflepuff Head of house knew about any of her students but he supposed she files on each of them. “Thank you for listening” he smiled at her as brightly as he could manage. Picturing him playing the violin and Kiki pulling off some hip hop moves made the boy laugh uncontrollably, he looked over and saw some younger students giving him strange look, he blushed a little before turning back to his friend. “Once I learn something on the Violin we should totally try that” he suggested after his laughter had died down.


“Alright there’s no need to screech, gosh Barlow we get it, you’re not crushing on anyone…..for now anyway” he grinned for a moment before changing it to a small smile. “And you’re not an idiot for rambling, perhaps just a little too enthusiastic” Caleb nodded, his smile still in place. “Well…..I can’t blame you for fancying me, I mean I’d make a great boyfriend” he said in a very dramatic manner
. Not that he had had a girlfriend before.

Caleb did kind of strike Kiki as that silent, observant time that seemed to watch things from afar. The witch supposed to could use someone like that in her life, since she always seemed to be so involved in things that she was too oblivious to note what was going on around her. Although, she jokingly wanted to question his skills if he hadn’t caught her yet. She decided against it. Kiki figured the boy was bound to see her dancing sooner or later, especially if they were to hang out during the summer. Kiki lightly pushed her friend when he said she had a big ego. “I haven’t the slightest idea what you’re talking about, Swanson. In fact, I think I’m a rather humble person,” she said with mock offense. When Caleb suggested that McGonagall may bust a move at the ball, Kiki squirmed with excitement. “As if I wasn’t already excited for the ball. Ahh, more reason to go if she does.”

She nodded her head when Caleb questioned her mom’s occupation. “An art therapist,” she clarified, “trust me, it is a very important distinction according to my mother,” she said with a half laugh. Kiki thought about his words and realized, she had never considered that. In fact, she was glad he brought it up. With her living in London, it would be a wise precaution to have. “I suppose you are right. That would be unfortunate if they did and the ministry would have to get involved.” Kiki shuddered at the thought. She hadn’t heard too many good things about the ministry as of late, but what did she know? She was only a teenager and for all she knew, the things she heard could be rumors by biased parties. At least, she hoped they were rumors.

The young witch had been used to being the oldest sibling. She wouldn’t have considered herself protective. Maybe she was of her brother, and at one point, she had tried to be that way towards her sister, but Shayna wasn’t having it. Regardless, she was the one that watched out for others. She wasn’t used to having someone look out for her. Caleb was probably the closest thing to that for her, and it was fine, but she wondered if one day she would become annoyed by it, particularly if ever started teasing her about boys. As an older sibling, she knew that she often did that to her sister. “I honestly am not sure. I know he loves mom, but I think he just didn’t want me to have to go through the whole ‘I’m magic’ explanation he had to do with her. He talks about how it was so nerve wracking when he was trying to figure out if she would freak out and leave him.” When Caleb suggested that her dad may give him some kind of talk, she laughed. “I can’t see my dad doing that, but then again, I am the oldest and never dated, so he may surprise me,” she laughed and made a mental note to tell her dad to do that to Caleb if the two were to meet. She did roll her eyes at the wizard. Okay, so birthdays aren’t my strong point. In fact, she was actually glad she had such an easy one to remember, or she would probably forget her own. “Oh for Merlin’s sake, you aren’t going to splinch yourself. That’s why they gave you a license, silly.”

It wouldn’t surprise Kiki if their head of house did know about Caleb’s mother. They seemed to know a lot more about their students than one would expect. The young wizard thanked Kiki for listening and she nodded. “Hey, thank you for listening to me too.” It was really nice to finally disclose to someone just how alone she had been feeling. When the boy laughed, she couldn’t help but notice he seemed a little shy about drawing some attention from the younger students. She gave Caleb a reassuring smile and he made a comment about how when he learned something on violin, she should try dancing to it. “Okay good,” she said fighting back a laugh.

Caleb was very lucky that Kiki considered him a friend, or she would be trying to pin him down with just how much he had been teasing her. She glared at him with his not-so-subtle hint about how she didn’t have a boyfriend yet. Kiki didn’t even see herself as someone who had time for that. Her stare intensified slightly when he said she was too enthusiastic. “Psh, there is no such thing as too much enthusiasm.” She rolled her eyes very dramatically when he said he would be a good boyfriend. The fifth year had no doubts about that, but damn, did he have to be so cocky about it? She smirked. “Oh Swanson, I had no idea you wanted to be my boyfriend so badly,” she teased as she stuck her tongue out at him.

A clock sounded in the common room, and Kiki had to stop herself from panicking and bolting out the room. “Oh no, I’m late,” she said as she hurried to pick up her scrapbook supplies that she didn’t really touch. Not that she minded. She would have much rather conversed with Caleb. “I’m so sorry Caleb. I have to run. I was supposed to already be in the library to meet my potions tutor,” she spewed out as she finished picking up her things. Normally, she wouldn’t have liked to admit that she was struggling with her classes, but she had already been so honest with Caleb, that it didn’t phase her. “I will talk to you later, okay?” She didn’t really have time for a response as she bolted out the common room and towards the library.




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