✧ F A T E D || h. potter a.u. ✧

♛ 8 || Close

"Space is just a word made up by someone who's afraid to get too..."

"You sure you know where you're going?" Harry asked, looking around the hall questioningly as they walked.

"Relax, Potter!" Danni replied. "I've been down here more times than I can remember, so I'm pretty certain I know where I'm going."

Harry and Danni pressed on, their footsteps echoing through the silent hall. Above them, the raindrops continued to hit the roof, causing endless noise. They passed by several more different window panes covered in rain. The drops glistened like crystals against the glass.

Harry was so mesmerized by the sparkle in the windows that he had not noticed Danni had stopped walking, now facing the blank stone wall at the end of the corridor.

"Ah, here we are," said Danni with a smile. "My personal sanctuary."

For a moment, Harry was confused. He could not understand how this dead end could be a sanctuary. It was not even a room. He studied the wall for a bit and let his fingers glide along the rough surface. There was something else there, he could sense it. He had seen it before, he had been here before...

"The Room of Requirement!" Harry boasted. "Huh, I should've known!"

"After your little revolution room was found out," Danni explained, "the staff started using it for storage. Hasn't been used properly for the past two years."

"Poor thing's probably full of broken desks and rusty spell books," Harry replied with a sigh.

"Well let's get the door to appear and I'll show you!"

Danni held out her hand to Harry. He looked down at it and swallowed, his heart beating madly against his chest.

Danni sighed. "Look Potter, if we're gonna do this then you've gotta learn to trust me."

"I do trust you, " said Harry suddenly, surprising himself. "It's just...never mind, it's nothing." He turned his eyes away from Danni's and slid his hand into hers.

Harry felt Danni's fingers curl around his own. Their palms almost fit perfectly together like two missing puzzle pieces. Harry felt a surge through his body like that of an electric shock. It licked at all inches of his skin and caused him to tremble. He felt his heart jump into his throat and he swallowed, feeling the lump that was starting to form. He glanced over at Danni to notice she had closed her eyes, and Harry did the same.

They wished for a place of sanctuary, a place to be away from prying eyes, a place where they would not be noticed or judged or questioned. They wished for quiet, for peace, for temporary isolation in their time of study.

I wish for a place to be...honest, Harry thought. I can't be so closed off from this anymore. I can't keep fighting this, fighting her. If I do, it's going to kill me. I have to be honest about myself, about how I'm feeling. I don't know why I'm feeling like this but I just can't help it anymore.

I can't help that I might be falling in love with her...

Harry opened his eyes and was greeted by a blank wall no longer. Instead, the tall brown doors he and Dumbledore's Army walked through almost every day in secret just two years ago stood before him. They still looked brand new and freshly polished, completely untarnished.

"Wow," Harry whispered, "it's like nothing changed."

"You won't be saying that when you see inside," said Danni with a somber tone, bowing her head. "It makes me a bit sad, if I'm being totally honest."