The Badger And The Snake; Phan/Harry Potter AU

Twenty: Nightmares and Introductions.

A few years later when their lips detached, Phil was so tired he fell asleep right there in Dan's lap, still blushing from the contact. Dan tried his best not to move so as to not disturb the beautiful creature before him and to keep him asleep.

Phil was asleep for about thirty minutes when Dan too found himself drifting off. Dan had run his hand through the other boy's dark hair so frequently that he had lost track of time. All that was important was Phil. The only person was Phil. He replayed their kisses in his mind over and over again, each better than the last. He smiled to himself as he looked down at the boy whom he loved so much and found himself feeling grateful he had let him have a seat in the same cabin. Wow, thought Dan. If I hadn't . . . Where the hell would I be right now?

Just as he was about to fall asleep, Dan saw a pair of dark red eyes staring at him from across the forest. When Dan blinked again, they were gone. They seemed faint, like they were reflecting off of something. He jumped up, suddenly awake, certainly, and racking his brain for information. What the fuck was that thing that was stalking them? He had stared right into those bloodred eyes and the eyes had stared back. They had read about reflective trees sometime during third year . . . Something about shiny moss. Professor Reedling had been so boring that year, Dan didn't even bother paying attention and had barely passed with a C. Maybe I should have paid attention . . . Whatever.

Suddenly, Phil woke up screaming. Shouting Dan's name over and over again, staring at Dan, revealing a gorgeous shade of turquoise that Dan would never quite get used to, yet had engraved in his mind. There was no word to describe Phil's eyes. They were blue, but they were also green, and there was a little bit of yellow, flecks of it, around the iris, and sometimes there would even be the thinnest line of grey around the outside of his eye. Dan thought they were like the sea, in a way. Grey-blue around the edge, green in the middle and just flecks of yellow and hazel in the middle, like "sand."

Phil was crying. He kept muttering words Dan couldn't make out, sobbing into his now tear stained shirt. "Phil! Phil. What happened?"

"I had a nightmare. It was dark a-and we were kissing and then a giant snake came and bit you and there was blood everywhere -"

"Phil. I'm here. I'm okay. You're okay. We're all okay. Okay?"

Phil sniffed and nodded.

"I just. . . I can't imagine living without you."

Dan blushed but didn't know what to say.

They silently packed the lunch and picked up after themselves like responsible wizards. When they had packed everything, Dan grabbed Phil's hand and lead them silently out of the clearing and back onto the Grounds. By the look of the sky, it was around nine or ten. Classes had definitely started, because the pupils were streaming in and out of the castle, looking like ants at the distance Dan and Phil were.

They were still holding hands, but neither really wanted to let go.

"Here," whispered Dan, although they were a good distance away from whatever had been stalking them earlier. "The Cloak." It was big enough to fit over the both of them comfortably, even though Dan was nearing 6" and Phil was catching up.

"Maybe . . . The previous owner put an Enlargement Charm on it, because they knew that the next goon to get it would be a giant?" Dan smacked Phil behind the head as Phil chortled at his own joke.

"You're just mad because you're tiny."

"I'll have you know, I am 5'6" of raw power and strength."