Warnings for this chapter: a little fluff
John's P.O.V.
Dave likes potions class. I don't. The only nice thing is that we get to talk while we're working on our potions. Class is held in the dungeons and because of all the weird ingredients and lack of airflow, it usually smells pretty funny. There is only a tiny bit of natural lighting coming from a few small windows at the top of the walls, but otherwise the room is lit by candles. It's incredibly warm from all the fires and boiling cauldrons, and most of us have shed our sweaters and scarves, which now lay draped over the backs of chairs. I'm concentrating hard on trying to get my potion right because I can't risk another bad grade right now. Dave doesn't seem to have any problem with the recipes at all, commenting on the ingredients that he finds most interesting.
We have one more class after this until we're done for the day, and I find myself glancing at the clock every few minutes. I cringe as I lift a couple of dripping bat spleens out of a jar and drop them in my cauldron. The rest of the class drags on and it's a huge relief when it's over, even though I'm not finished with my potion.
I head towards transfiguration, not waiting to make sure Dave is following me. He is, of course, and he appears by my side as soon as I start walking down the hallway.
"So what are you doing this afternoon?" he asks, hands in his pockets.
"Homework, probably," I say.
"Oh. Want to study with me?"
"I actually thought I would go to the library," I reply.
He shrugs. "So I'll come to the library."
I frown. Dave peers at my face and his brow knits.
"Hey, what's wrong, man?"
"Nothing."
"You've barely said anything to me all day."
"We've been in class."
"So? You even sat on the other side of the table at lunch."
I shake my head. "Dave," I begin.
"Dude, you can't do this to me. Did I say something?"
"No! I told you, nothing is wrong."
"Fine. Whatever. It's not like I'm your best bro or anything,"
We reach the transfiguration room and find our usual seats. I like this class considerably more than potions. What isn't fun about turning things into other things? Today we work on changing plants into chickens and then turning them back again. This is supposed to be easier than turning a non-living object into an animal, or vice-versus. Dave manages to transform the plant quickly, but it becomes a crow instead of a chicken. He has to cast a body-bind spell on it to keep it still long enough to try again.
After school I decide to take a walk. I really don't feel like doing my homework quite yet, and the clouds that covered the sky this morning are gone. The air is clear and cool and the autumn sun casts long shadows across the ground. I sit on the grass, close my eyes and take in the smell of the fallen leaves and feel of the sunlight on my face, since I know it won't be here much longer. Suddenly, there are familiar footsteps and I sense a presence behind me.
"Daaave," I whine. "I don't want to talk right now."
"Okay," he says, and sits next to me, our shoulders brushing as he does. We sit in silence, a slight breeze noisily ruffling the paper-dry leaves, and I can faintly hear Dave's breathing. I won't admit it, but I'm actually quite grateful for his presence. After a few minutes, I move slightly towards him so that our arms are touching, and he shifts so that we're leaning against each other. I can't describe the way I feel right now. It's like my chest is filling up and ready to overflow and it's so satisfying and frustrating at the same time.
It's times like this that I realize why Dave is my best friend. There just aren't words for the bond we have, and so sometimes we need to just be silent. There is nothing awkward about this silence—it's peaceful and relaxing and I could sit here with him all day. And then I remember that he thinks I'm mad at him. And I don't want him to think that. I'm not happy with the way everything has been going, but I'm not mad at him. And I know that he won't say anything until I do, because he's loyal like that.
"I'm not mad at you," I say quietly.
He nods.
"I'm sorry if you thought I was," I add.
"Nah," he replies. "It's cool, dude. We all have those crappy days."
"But I was kind of rude."
"Don't worry about it. You're allowed to be a little rude to me. We're bros."
"Yeah," I say, forcing a smile. I don't understand why I suddenly have this dropping sensation, but I want it to go away. I stand up and offer Dave my hand to pull him up. He takes it and doesn't let go once he's standing, and I pull him down the hill towards the lake and the Forbidden Forest.
This is normal, right? I actually don't think much of it at all. I've seen friends holding hands before, and we just had a heart-to-heart almost-conversation. It doesn't matter that my heart is soaring right now, or that I'm grinning like I've just played the best prank in ages, or that I want to tell everyone that I have the greatest friend in the world and he's my best friend and not Terezi's or Karkat's or anyone else's.
The fallen leaves crunch under our feet and the weather is actually quite nice for the end of November. It's a wonder that there hasn't been more rain yet. But the air is brisk enough that I pull my scarf over my chin and tuck my free hand into my pocket. The air is noticeably cooler as we approach the lake.
Dave and I take turns casting spells on pebbles and watching them do flips and skip and jump across the water. He enchants one of them to simply float, and tosses it into the water.
"What's that for?" I ask.
"It's ironic as hell, man. This kind of shit could have saved lives hundreds of years ago. Think about all the witches that would have survived the trials if they'd just enchanted rocks to float."
The sun goes behind a cloud and the lake darkens. I glance at the sky to see large clouds in the distance.
"What time is it?" I ask.
"Almost five. Why?" Somehow Dave always knows what time it is. I didn't wear a watch so I always have to ask when there isn't a clock around.
"Do you think we should head back?" The walk back up the hill always take longer, and dinner is at six.
"Sure, if you want," he says.
We walk slowly along the edge of the Forbidden Forest as the sky darkens, pretending to be making our way back to Hogwarts when we are, in fact, not getting any closer. Neither of us mentions this, but we're both aware of it and not planning on changing our course anytime soon. Dinner isn't for a while yet, anyway. And who actually does homework at wizarding school?
"Next week there's a Hogsmeade weekend," I point out. "Are you going?"
"Are you kidding, Egbert? Of course I'm going. How else am I gonna find Christmas shit for everyone. And the Yule Ball is next month, so there's that to think about, too."
The Yule Ball is an old Hogwarts tradition that used to be associated with the Triwizard Tournament, which was a pretty rare occasion. However, the ball now takes place every year due to popular demand, and is always the source of much excitement and drama.
"Oh. Are you planning on taking someone?" I ask, suddenly realizing how cold it is out here, and rubbing my arms to ward it off.
"I guess not," he says, his breath making a little puff of steam and hanging in front of his face for a second.
There is a rumble from the sky, and we look up to see ominous clouds right above our heads.
"Really? Why? I bet Terezi would go with you."
"You forget that Terezi's my ex," he says.
"So what?"
"That means 'been there, tried that, it didn't work.' It's like when you get a really great idea like microwaving cookie dough, and you're all excited to put that shit in the food-zapper, but when it's done and you take it out and you're ready to eat your delicious radiated cookie, it ends up just looking like a pile of dog barf sitting on volcanic rock."
I laugh, partly out of relief and partly from amusement. Somehow, I'm sure that he's tried it. Microwaving cookie dough, that is. Dave's a half-blood, and I'm muggle-born, so we're both pretty familiar with non-magic lifestyles. In fact, I'm a movie addict, even though many of the students at Hogwarts don't even know what a movie is.
I feel something cold hit my hand, and then a little splash of water appears on the lens of my glasses. I've been looking for some sort of spell that would work like windshield wipers for them, but haven't found one yet.
Neither of us say anything. Dave grabs my arm and we run, but it only takes a few moments for the sky to open up and suddenly it's raining sheets. By the time we take cover in a corner of the courtyard, we're already pretty damp and Dave's hair is hanging in his face and mine is looking flat for once.
We sit on the small bit of dry ground there and stare at the storm. It would be easy to get up and dart only a few more seconds across the courtyard and inside, but neither of us move.
"Today is Friday," I offer somewhat pointlessly.
"Bravo, Egbert. Is there anything else you'd like to share with the class? While we're at it, why don't we all just open up and share our feelings about this important issue, because this is the kind of shit that really matters and someday you'll be glad that you studied days of the week and other useful things like divination instead of useless shit like polynomials."
I punch his arm lightly. "No! I mean that tomorrow is Saturday!"
"Okay. You've hooked my interest. In fact, my interest is a worm that you pinched in half and threaded onto a barb only to plop into it a river until some fish comes along and eats it."
I ignore him. "So what are we going to do tomorrow?"
"I don't know. You think of something."
"Well I thought it would be fun to pull something on Karkat, because we haven't done that in a while."
"Oh, yeah. We haven't. And now is the perfect time, what with Sollux and everything."
I frown. "Something about that doesn't seem quite right."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I'm fine with it. It just seems like... those two hated each other."
"Nah. They never really hated each other. They just fought a lot. It was probably just repressed sexual tension."
"What about Terezi?"
Dave shrugs. "I guess she'll just have to move on. Besides, she might not even like Karkat anymore. But why are we talking about her, anyway? I thought we were going to prank Karkat?"
"Right," I say. I pull a piece of blank parchment from my robes and tap it with my wand. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
Ink begins swelling onto the page, forming lines and gathering into a map. I acquired the Marauder's Map during my second year and it has been incredibly useful for both getting into and staying out of trouble.
"Okay. Where is Karkat?"
Dave looks over my shoulder and we search the map for the tiny dot that represents our friend. I check the usual spots first—the common room, our dorm room, the corridors and stairs between the Gryffindor tower and the Great Hall. When all of those failed, I look closely at areas which are more congested with names, as it can often be hard to discern who is who when they're all scrunched together like that.
I can see two little dots in the courtyard that represent Dave and me. We're the only ones here. I spot our friend Rose in the library with her Ravenclaw girlfriend, Kanaya. There are a few other dots there. One of them is the sickly Slytherin boy I met there the other day.
I can also see a lone dot in the headmaster's office. It is labeled W.V., and I smile slightly as I think of our headmaster. He doesn't say much, but all the students love him. He is by far the best headmaster of any school in the country. The first year I came to Hogwarts, he was working on getting the title of "Headmaster" changed to "Mayor," but it never happened. There was also a time during which he assigned all the transfiguration students to go around the school and clean things up by turning pieces of garbage into tin cans. Although this raised many questions, it was more fun than our usual lesson, so few of us complained. No one knows what happened to the cans, though. Rumors say that he keeps them in his office and has built a town out of them. Dave swears he's seen it.
Dave spot's the dot representing Karkat first. He points to the Ravenclaw tower on the map, and he's right. There are several dots in the common room, two of them close together near what I assume is a window, but it's too small on the map to really tell. They are labeled Karkat Vantas and Sollux Captor.
"What kind of prank would get both of them in one shot?"
"Hmm... what was the last thing you did?" Dave asks.
"I made all of Karkat's romance novels read themselves aloud whenever he opened them," I say, giggling.
"Oh, yeah. I remember that. That was over a month ago."
"All the more reason to prank him now," I say. "Mischief managed."
The map sinks back into the parchment and I fold it and hide it in my robe pocket again. I turn to Dave and give him a questioning look, as if to ask if he plans to sit here all night. He doesn't move, so neither do I. We just watch the rain fall on the dark courtyard, creating hundreds of little ripples in a puddle just a few feet from us. It's getting really cold now since we're damp and not moving anymore. I shiver slightly, and Dave shifts closer and leans the side of his head against mine. My stomach is fluttering and the strange feeling in my chest is coming back and suddenly I'm really happy and I could sit here for ages, regardless of how cold it is. I know that I'm supposed to be brainstorming, as he likely is, but all I can think about is Dave.
There's a squeak as the door across the courtyard opens, and then some footsteps, muffled slightly by the rain, and I hear voices. One is a girl, familiar, but without it's usual mischievous edge. The other is masculine, gravely and drawling. Then there is a third, small and hesitant. I can barely tell it's there. The three voices hold a short conversation, and I can't hear anything they say over the sound of the rain. And then the door opens and shuts again, and one set of footsteps splashes onto the wet cobblestones.
Dave stands, and I follow suit, and we watch a figure run toward us, a hand over her head. As she gets closer, I notice that it's Terezi.
"I thought that was you guys," she says when she reaches us, ducking out of the rain. Her hair doesn't flip out now that it's wet, and it's clinging to her neck and ears and face.
"What are you doing out here?" Dave asks. He unwinds his scarf and drapes it over her shoulders. "You're going to catch cold, and then you'll be blind again."
I waited for her to make some kind of guilt-inducing jab at him for bringing up her blindness, but she doesn't. Instead, she ties the scarf and forces a smile.
"I've been looking for you guys," she says. "Dinner's about to start, so you should come back inside."
"She's probably right," Dave says to me. He pulls the hood of Terezi's robe over her head, even though she's perfectly capable of doing that herself. "We'll meet you inside in a few minutes, 'kay?" he says.
She glances at me, nods, and hesitates before splashing back across the courtyard and inside the castle.
"Are you worried about her?" I ask.
He frowns. "A little. Something's wrong."
"She seemed like normal Terezi to me," I offer.
"Running out here like that?" he says. "Yeah. But she knows what it's like when she can't smell. She's a fucking bat, just without all that freaky radar, so more like one of those star-nosed moles that digs tunnels and doesn't even need eyes because of it's nose, but when it gets above ground, it doesn't help all that much. And then she has to go around licking things and that's just nasty and it scares people, so it's best if she just doesn't get sick."
"So what about Karkat?"
"Oh yeah." Daves pulls up his hood, and I mimic him. "Think of anything yet?"
I shake my head.
"Neither did I. Okay, we'll each come up with a plan by breakfast tomorrow. And then we'll use whichever one is better."
"Sounds good to me," I say, grinning. We turn towards the rain, and I'm tempted to grab his hand or his elbow, but I don't.
"Ready?" Dave asks.
"Yeah."
"Okay, let's go."
And with that, we dash out into the storm, and even the short distance across the courtyard is enough to finish soaking us both. We burst through the doorway and stand in the entry, shaking from cold, our clothes dripping onto the stone floor, my glasses fogged up from the sudden heat so I can't see. Despite everything, it was more fun than I've had even before the library prank, and we're both smiling and laughing a little, and maybe I'm crazy but my heart is about to leap right out of my chest.
I am so in love with him.
A/N: I got this chapter up today just like I promised! And I'm going to visit my roommate's family this weekend so it could be about a week until you see the next one.
Please leave a review! I would really, really appreciate it.