Dan and Phil and The Chamber of Secrets

Chapter 11

At dinner, Dan looked for Harry and Ron at their table. He walked over to them and tapped them both lightly on the shoulder.

"Did you guys see the spiders?"

Harry nodded, Ron said nothing. "It looked as though they were going towards the Forbidden forest."

Dan raised an eyebrow. "That makes things difficult."

"We've been in there before," Harry said lightly. "Nothing too bad has happened."

"Nothing too bad?" Ron croaked. "We found you-know-who slurping down on some unicorn blood!"

"He's not too keen on following spiders into a dark forest," Harry explained.

"I really don't blame you," Dan said. "If this was under any other circumstance, you couldn't pay me to go in there, but as the safety of the whole school is kinda on the line-"

"Are you coming with us?" Ron interrupted, his fear replaced with momentary shock.

"Well yeah," Dan said, looking back and forth between the two. "I've helped you guys this far, can't quit now."

Harry looked hesitant. Ron looked relieved. "Wonderful," He said happily. "Harry, you can just go with Dan, and I'll stay here and-"

"No, you're coming," Harry interrupted. He turned back to Dan. "Are you sure you want to? I have no idea where they're gonna lead us."

"If you don't let me go, I'll just follow you guys anyway," Dan shrugged.

Harry hesitated, then said, "Alright. We're leaving tonight after everyone is in bed. We'll stop by outside your house entrance so be ready."

~~~

6 o'clock rolled around, and all the Ravenclaws mossied into the common room. They chatted and played wizard chess for hours until it started to get late. Slowly, everyone filed out of the common room. It was nearly midnight by the time he convinced Lee to go up to bed, saying that he was gonna do some studying.

Glancing around, he swiftly opened the house exit and stepped through. He looked around, but Harry and Ron were nowhere to be seen.

Suddenly, something tapped him on the shoulder. Dan nearly jumped out of his skin as he whirled around. No one was there.

"Dan, it's us," someone whispered directly in front of him. "We're under Harry's cloak."

Dan exhaled heavily, his heart hammering fast. "You know," he said as they threw the cloak off of themselves, revealing Harry and Ron. "You could've told me earlier today that you were planning on using the cloak."

Ron grinned. "Where's the fun in that? You almost wet yourself!"

Harry looked more apologetic. "I wanted to tell you but Ron begged me not to."

Dan rolled his eyes, but was trying hard not to smile. "Right, should we get going?"

They agreed and threw the cloak over themselves before offering up a corner to Dan. It was rather difficult, walking in the dark so close together. He was pretty sure he stepped on their heels at least five times. They all shuffled along the corridor, keeping their ears trained for any sounds or noises. The hallways were much different in the silent night than the boisterous day. Their footsteps echoed loudly through the empty corridor, seeming unnaturally loud. Shadows were in every corner and crevice, eerily casted by the moonlight.

They made it out into the courtyard, the chilly night wind making Dan shiver underneath the thin cloak. The second their feet stepped into the grass, Dan exhaled slightly. They were officially out of the castle, in less danger of being caught. Dan followed Harry as they walked towards Hagrid's cabin, which was dark and inhabited.