Love Potion #9-3/4

The Rescue

My eyes fluttered open, revealing the sunlight falling on Dan Howell's sleeping face. His fringe had been smushed into funny angles through the night, with slight curls coming through, giving him some of the worst bed head I had ever seen. Oddly, I found it captivating how cute and comfortable he looked. I wondered for a moment if he would be able to survive without his hair straightener here in the Room of Requirement, and I nearly laughed at the thought.

As my awareness slowly seeped in, I noticed a weight on my legs and looked down. Carter had found his way here in the night, and was purring softly on my thighs. Dan's arm was draped over as if he had fallen asleep petting Carter. Now his fingertips brushed against my leg, sending butterflies aflight in my stomach. I barely dared to breathe for fear of disrupting the current arrangement. I could have stayed like that forever.

But after about fifteen minutes, Dan started to stir. In his half-awake delirium, he leaned into me, wrapping me up with his loose arm. His nose grazed mine, his lip only millimeters away. I froze, heart pounding, like a deer in the headlights.

All of a sudden, Dan scrambled off of me and sat up. His face grew a brilliant shade of red. He looked at me wide-eyed. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to-- I mean, I was half asleep, I didn't realize..."

I laughed. "It's okay," I assured him. "Two people in this hammock is a tight fit. We may as well get comfortable."

I saw a slight smile crack across his lips, complementing the blush in his cheeks. I sat up next to him, going over the situation in my head. Was he uncomfortable with how close we were? Or was he just afraid that he had made me uncomfortable? Was the smile just him being polite?

Carter stretched out, and then climbed across to Dan's lap. He lay down and started purring. I had to admit that despite how far Dan and I had come in our friendship, I still felt a little pang of jealousy at how much Carter liked him. I stood up to go find Phil.

"Hey, America." Dan reached out for my hand as I began to walk away, turning me back around towards him. His brown eyes sparkled with sincerity. "Were you serious, last night, about going to rescue my brother with me?"

"Of course," I told him.

He didn't reply, but he let out of sigh of relief and squeezed my hand. His fingers were soft and warm, radiating a kind of magic that left me breathless.

"Tell you what," I said, "Let me go talk to Phil and Heather. We can all come up with a plan together. Do you know your brother's schedule?"

He nodded.

"Good," I whispered, and then let his hand go and walked into the crowd that had begun to form in the middle of the room discussing breakfast.

A couple of hours later, the four of us stood by the door to the Room of Requirement going over the plan. Dan and I were to retrieve his brother, while Phil kept the door open ready to let us back in and Heather kept watch outside.

"And if we don't end up coming back right away, I'll send you a signal through the Galleon so that you know we're safe," I repeated to Phil and Heather.

They nodded. "Got it," Heather said.

I turned to Dan. "Ready?"

He nodded, and we snuck out of the room.

It was the middle of class time, so the halls were silent. We crept down the corridors, checking around corners and hiding behind pillars or statues anytime we crossed someone. It was surprisingly smooth sailing, though, as we made our way towards the Muggle Studies classroom.

When we made it to our destination, we found a locked closet next to Professor Carrow's classroom.

"Alohomora," Dan whispered, and the door to the closet creaked open. The two of us climbed inside, waiting in the darkness.