Haven .|. H. J. POTTER✔

Chapter forty-two

Waking up on time was never one of Haven's talents. 

In fact, it was probably more of a weakness.

Somehow, Haven always managed to be just a tad late, especially on mornings when they had to start on the first period.

She didn't do it on purpose, she just naturally woke up twenty minutes late for everything. 

It was a rather rainy day so Haven blamed it on the soothing sound of the rain ticking against the window in her dormitory. Those sounds always made her feel like she wanted to fall asleep, buried under piles of blankets.

Haven was lucky enough that she at least woke up early enough that she wouldn't miss breakfast. When she walked down the marble staircase, she found a couple of students already walking back up to go to their first class early but most students still remained in the Great Hall.

Of course, Haven's eyes were immediately drawn to the raven-haired boy sitting at the Gryffindor table.

With one look at her favourite boy, she could tell he wasn't feeling well. He had buried his face in her arms, leaning on the table, blocking out every bit of sun. Neither Ron nor Hermione were there to accompany him and the other Gryffindors were in a heated game that involved catching food in their mouths. 

Haven quickly strolled over to Harry and sat down next to him at the Gryffindor table, rather than sitting at the Hufflepuff table. Harry barely even noticed her, perhaps assuming she was someone else. 

"Are you OK?" Haven asked him softly as she reached up to his head and gently combed through his hair. Haven could tell the touch made Harry shiver but he didn't seem to want her to stop.

The way Harry responded to her gentle touch reminded Haven of a purring cat, though Haven couldn't quite shake the feeling that he was avoiding looking up at her. He was clearly not feeling all too good. Haven remembered him mentioning his headache the night before, maybe it had something to do with that.

The feeling of Haven's fingers scratching the base of his neck and softly pulling on the strands of hair soothed Harry quickly. His quivering breathing soon turned calm and steady and his hands weren't trembling anymore. Harry loved the effect Haven had on him and highly considered finding a way to put her soothing touch in a bottle and keep it with him forever.

"How is your headache?" Haven inquired as her hand left him and patiently waited for him to be ready to talk if he needed to. 

The moment her touch left him, Harry's head shot up - almost involuntarily, as if it was a reflex. 

Haven's lips parted when she saw the look on Harry's face. 

Tears brimmed in his eyes, not yet falling onto his pale cheeks. His bottom lip was quivering as he was trying to push the two together so Haven wouldn't notice. His cheeks were even paler than usual but blotched with red spots from previous crying. Haven could practically see his heart hurting. 

Haven looked around the Great Hall to see if anyone was looking their way. She assumed Harry didn't like people seeing him this vulnerable. Everyone thought of him as a great hero but he felt far from that. 

"Come on," Haven said, taking Harry's hand in hers and pulling him up from his seat. "I don't think it's good for you to be in a big crowd at the moment,"

Harry obediently followed Haven, gripping tight onto her hand, wiping his runny nose with the sleeve of his other arm. Whilst keeping his head down, Harry let Haven lead him out of the Great Hall. With every step, Harry felt his breath grow heavier again and he knew that the panic attack was going to dawn upon him soon.