Adventures in Curse Breaking: Dragon Treasure

Some Enchanted Evening

Soon, Sarah heard the deep breathing that signaled the others were asleep, but she found it difficult to relax.

After a while, she heard someone tossing in their sleeping bag and making distressed noises in their sleep. It was Barnaby. 

Sarah knelt down beside him. She shook his shoulder gently. "Barnaby? Barnaby?" It took her several tries before he shot up, gasping. 

"You okay?" she  whispered. Bill grunted and rolled over, but nobody woke. 

Barnaby took a moment to regain his breath. "Yeah," he whispered back. "Just a bad dream."

"Not about bloodthirsty brooms?" she asked, amused. 

She heard the smile in his voice. "No. Just memories of home. Stupid, isn't it? All the scary stuff we see all the time at Hogwarts, and I have nightmares of my Gran."

"It's not stupid. She must be really horrible." A strong breeze blew in through the tent's partially open flap, making it flutter. Sarah shivered, though she guessed it wasn't only the wind that caused it. 

"You cold?" he asked. 

"A little."

Barnaby opened his sleeping bag and held up the flap. "Come on, then."

Sarah hesitated a moment, checking to see if the others, particularly Charlie, were asleep. Their slow, deep breaths told her that they were. "Just for a minute." 

She slipped inside the sleeping bag. It was a tight fit with the both of them. Their bodies were pressed together, her face only a couple of inches from his. Sarah shivered, despite the immediate warmth of being surrounded by body heat. 

"What's bothering you?" he whispered. Even in the dark, he could sense her emotions. She was always impressed by Barnaby's intuition on others' feelings, whether they be human or creature.

"I feel bad about what happened with Charlie," she whispered back. "I don't want to...cause him anymore pain. I mean, we're his two best friends."

"Yeah." There was a long enough pause that Sarah wondered if he'd fallen asleep, but then, "He'll be okay though."

"You sure? I can't imagine how I'd feel if you were dating Rowan or Penny."

"Charlie cares about his friends almost as much as you do. He made a mistake, but he wouldn't do anything else to hurt either of us. He's a good mate. He'll be okay. So, go ahead and get that idea out of your head, please."

"What idea?"

"The one where we break up and try to be just friends so things aren't awkward with Charlie."

She pursed her lips. When she didn't respond, he chuckled. Sometimes it was annoying that he could tell exactly what she was feeling. Of course, she didn't want to end things with Barnaby, but the idea had crossed her mind. She so hated when her friends were upset. 

"I suppose I can't blame him," said Barnaby. He rested a hand on Sarah's leg, just above the knee. "You're...perfect." His hand slid up her leg to the dip in her hip as he pulled her in for a kiss. 

She felt up and down his arm as they kissed, their legs scissored together. They both jumped when Penny gave a loud snore. After a pause, Barnaby kissed her again, but she pulled away. 

"I think I'm warm enough now."

"You sure?" The disappointment in his voice was evident even through his whisper. 

"Yes." She slipped out of the slepping bag--with some difficulty, as Barnaby hadn't wanted to relinquish her--and tip-toed across the chilly floor to her own. "We've got a big day tomorrow." she whispered. 

"Yeah, a day of dragon-riding."

She fought back a laugh. "Goodnight."

"Night."

Still, it was difficult to find sleep. Her mind reeled with anxiety over the next day's events. Dragons aside, she was also worried about what she would say to Charlie. 

When she did wake up the following morning, it was to Bill shaking her roughly. She felt a stab of crankiness pierce her soul at the rude awakening, but it vanished the instant she saw the look on Bill's face. 

"Get up," he said. "Charlie and Barnaby are missing."