Chapter 11
'A Butterbeer, please,' said John.
'The same for me,' said Sherlock.
The waiter nodded and walked off. John and Sherlock were sitting in the Three Broomsticks, after having walked around Hogsmeade. They'd visited Honeydukes, which Sherlock had classified as "dull" and they'd been to Zonko's. Both of them were tired, which was why they'd decided to go to the Three Broomsticks.
'Didn't Sarah ask you this time?' asked Sherlock.
'No. I guess she's angry at me.'
'Why? Still because of the loss of House points?'
'No, I think it's because I'm spending too much time with you.' John grinned.
'Maybe you should spend less time with me, then,' said Sherlock, trying to sound casual.
'Do you want me to?' asked John, hurt.
'No,' said Sherlock quickly. 'No, I didn't mean that! I just meant – if you wanted to spend more time with your fellow Gryffindors, that'd be okay with me.'
John shrugged. 'I like being with you. I guess you're my best friend.'
Sherlock blinked at this, and it seemed he didn't know what to say. 'Thanks,' he said at last. 'You're my best friend, too. My only friend.'
'Don't you have any friends outside of Hogwarts?'
'I don't make friends easily. People tend to find me annoying. I'm not very good with people.'
'I don't find you annoying,' John pointed out.
'Yes, but you're special,' said Sherlock, looking at John intently.
John blushed and looked away. 'It's good to have a free day, isn't it?' he said, watching the other people sitting in the pub. It was very crowded: Hogwarts students were sitting everywhere. No one paid the two boys sitting by the window any attention.
'Hmm,' answered Sherlock. It was clear he wasn't listening to what John was saying. When John looked up at him, he saw Sherlock was still staring at him. He looked back, but Sherlock didn't look away. John found himself getting lost in those intense blue eyes and his heart raced. He felt butterflies flying around in his stomach. He leaned forward unconsciously until their faces were only inches apart. He felt Sherlock's breath in his face, making him feel light-headed. He closed his eyes and–
'Two Butterbeers?'
John started and looked up at the waiter standing next to him. 'Er… yes. That's for us. Thanks.' His face was burning as the waiter placed the Butterbeers on the table and departed. He didn't dare look at Sherlock and instead stared at his Butterbeer. What had just happened? Thinking about it, he realized he really liked Sherlock. Maybe as more than just a friend. Sherlock seemed to be the only one he could relate with. Sherlock was special, strange, mysterious – and John loved him for it.
When he looked back up, Sherlock was pretending to casually observe the other students in the pub, but John knew he was thinking about what had just happened. He didn't know what to say, so he also pretended to look at the other students.
'What time is it?' asked Sherlock after ten minutes.
John looked at his watch. 'Late. I think we'd better get back to the castle. I've still got some Potions homework to do…'
'I can help you with that,' smiled Sherlock.
...
'What'd he want?' asked John when Sherlock left the Potions classroom. They'd just had Potions, but Slughorn had asked Sherlock to stay behind to discuss something. John had waited outside the classroom.
A few days had passed since the Hogsmeade trip, and they hadn't talked about it anymore. John found himself thinking about Sherlock even more than usual these days, and these thoughts were always accompanied with butterflies in his stomach.
Sherlock rolled his eyes. 'Ever since we solved the Gryffindor sword case, he's adored me. He doesn't even seem to realize you helped me. He just told me he was going to hold a party next week and he invited me.' He snorted. 'And I have to bring a date.'
'Who're you taking?' asked John, trying to sound nonchalant.
'No one, of course. I'm not even sure I'm going. I don't like parties. Still, it'll be difficult to get out of this. Slughorn even said he'd move the party to make sure I could come.'
'Wow,' said John. 'He must really like you.'
'Maybe I should just go alone,' mumbled Sherlock as they made their way to the Great Hall. 'I hope he'll be okay with that.'
John felt relieved. 'Yeah, you do that. I wish I was invited, though.'
'I could tell Slughorn you helped me a lot with the case. Maybe he'll invite you, too.'
John shrugged. 'Oh, well.'
'Hang on.' Sherlock stopped walking and John bumped into him. 'D'you want to go with me?'
'What?' asked John, going red. 'As your date?'
Sherlock shrugged. 'I have to take someone with me and you want to go. It makes sense, right?'
John stared at his friend, then smiled. 'Okay.'
'Yeah? Good,' said Sherlock. 'I don't have to worry about the party anymore, then.' Looking satisfied, he entered the Great Hall and went to the Slytherin table. John sat down at the Gryffindor table, feeling light-headed.
adadfkjadkfj the new Sherlock episode was amazing! Can't wait for The Hound next Sunday ^^.
And yeah, I apologise for not updating in a long time (a) I really shouldn't keep you waiting. But here you are, new chapter! n_n
Thanks for the lovely reviews btw, you guys are amazing!
Oh, and someone asked me why I hate Snape. I don't hate him, actually, he's one of my favourite Harry Potter characters. I just needed a mean teacher and Snape seemed like an obvious choice.
