devils snare [phan]

Chapter 28

I woke with a start and rolled off my bed in a shock.

Had that really happened or did I just—

The thought was interrupted as my head began to pound and I let out a harsh cough, my lungs burning. I sat up and looked around, I was in the hospital wing from what I could see. My eyes landed on Dan who was in the bed next to me and I struggled to my feet. I moved towards him quietly, so as to not wake him up. He was lying on his stomach shirtless, the entire span of his shoulders wrapped in gauze. I gawked at the sheer mass of the burn. I gingerly placed my hand on his and rubbed my thumb along his knuckles. His eyes popped open and he gasped.

"Phil!" he cried out and thrashed around wildly.

"Dan, Dan!" I grabbed him and pulled him close to me. "I'm here, I'm right here."

His eyes darted around wildly before landing on me. He let out a sigh and melted into my chest. We sat like that for a while, relishing in the warmth of each other's presence and safety.

"Dan, Phil!" Dan and I looked over to see Chris and PJ standing in the entry of the hospital wing. They ran to us and enveloped us both in a group hug. I sighed and squeezed them tight, a lump forming in my throat for reasons I didn't understand nor care about.

"Are you two okay?" PJ asked as he and Chris pulled away from us.

I glanced at Dan as he rolled his shoulders back with a grimace.

"We're... alive." I pursed my lips together in a strained smile, my eyes remaining on Dan.

"What happened?" Chris leaned forward and PJ elbowed him.

"We aren't really sure." I shrugged, trying to give the illusion of calmness.

"I think I have an idea." Dan murmured, his eyes trained at his lap. "Someone is after me."

"Why— why would you think that?" PJ furrowed his eyebrows together.

"Why wouldn't I?" Dan sighed and turned to me. "With the circumstances that we met, what happened at Hogsmeade, the chandelier at the yule ball, the gold bands in the second task, and now this."

At the mention of Hogsmeade my heart began to race and I looked down at my lap.

"What happened in Hogsmeade?" PJ asked.

"I would ask Phil that." Chris mumbled.

I stiffened and peeked up at my friends, all staring at me. I let out a shaky breath and rubbed my face.

"I can't." I whispered.

"Why not?" Dan grabbed my hands and I tightened my jaw. I wanted to tell him so badly, but I was so scared. "nothing will change what I think of you. You know that right?"

"I— I know." My bottom lip trembled and I was praying I wouldn't cry. Chris and PJ stepped closer, both of them putting their hands on my shoulders in a comforting way. It felt as if the world was closing in on me and I couldn't breathe. Each hand on me felt like it was weighing down on me, like laying an anaconda on my shoulder, every sense in my brain trained on how heavy and constricting it was. I bit my lip and fought every instinct in my body telling me to scream and push them off.

"Then just tell us."

"Yeah, you can tell us Phil."

"We'll always love you no matter what."

"why not just—"

"Because you won't be safe!" I shouted, throwing everyone's hands off me and stumbling backwards. "and I couldn't handle if they got to you."

"They who?" Chris asked.

"Death eaters." I hissed.

I looked down at my feet as the sheer terror from the two words I had just said took form on their faces.

"Maybe we should tell Dumbledore?" PJ spoke softly, like he might break me or himself.

"No!" Dan and I spoke at the same time.

"Why not?" Chris spoke in the same fragile tone, looking between Dan and I.

"I don't— I can't—" Dan looked to me and sighed. "let's just say Phil and I have the same motivations."

"But they can't hurt you." PJ looked between Dan and I.

"Can they?" I asked.

A silence settled over us as what I had just implied sank in.

"No." Chris said and all eyes turned to him. "I'm a Gryffindor, and while stupidity is quite common in my house, bravery is as well and I don't know which is motivating me right now but I will use both to keep those I love as safe as possible and no one is going to stop that."

"Not even some death eaters?" PJ asked with a soft smile.

Chris swallowed. "nope, not even a couple of measly death eaters."

We all broke into grins and I moved back over to join the group hug.

"Like I said," I said. "almost like a brother."

"Same for you." Chris smiled.

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Chris and PJ left to grab us some lunch, leaving Dan and I alone. We didn't talk about what had happened, what Dan had said, what I had said, anything, and I was okay with that. Intertwined with Dan, his chest on top of mine with our limbs like noodles, I felt happier and safer than I had in a while.

Dan mumbled something into the crook of my neck and I furrowed my eyebrows.

"What?" I asked.

"I thought my life would be easier." Dan raised his head and looked at me. "but here I am at a wizard school with death eaters after me and a back like fried chicken."

I chuckled, even though it probably wasn't appropriate, and gazed up at the ceiling. I ran my fingers through his hair and thought of what I should say.

"I'm not sure what to say." I sighed.

"You don't need to say anything." Dan laid his head back down. "just you listening is enough for me."

"Ok." I said.

There was a pause as Dan and I just breathed.

"It's kinda funny 'cause I was thinking, right after we kissed, I would be totally fine with dying. Because I didn't believe I would feel as happy as I did then and this fear that something would ruin the moment, it made me think, 'it'd be a lot better if I just died right now.' Not like I hate life die, just a... I would hate if life had to continue after this. Because life is just so... shitty." Dan chuckled and I looked at him. "It's created so much crap and has the ability to create so much more, and in that moment when I was kissing you I didn't want to give life that chance. But as soon as I thought that, I regretted it. I realized that while life can be shitty, you have made it just a little brighter and no life with you is worth cutting short. This is too important to me," Dan leaned up and looked at me. "you're too important to me."

There was a moment of silence before Dan pecked my lips, and electricity seemed to spread through my veins at the soft contact. It didn't last long but even that one second where we were kissing was enough to turn me to jelly.

We didn't speak a word after that, neither of us needed to. We just sat in silence, praying that we wouldn't have another opportunity to memorize the details of the hospital wing.

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Hi!

I know it's been a while but school and stupid shit like that. I just have a few more parts to write and then I think I'll post the third task. I'm super excited about that. But... yeah, hope you enjoyed!

~Ellie