Until Now
Dan Howell had never been a particularly good wizard. Yes, the natural ability was there, but there always seemed to be something getting in the way of his studies. The way the water reflected off the lake just outside the library window, the cheers from the Quidditch pitch on a warm Saturday afternoon or sometimes it was simply an overwhelming urge to curl up in a window and watch the rain fall against the night sky, either way Dan never seemed to find the time or the motivation to study as he knew he should.
Dan’s best friend Phil Lester, a tall, dark haired muggle born, was the exact opposite. Phil always had two or three extra books shoved into his satchel and would frequently be found sitting in abandoned stairwells mouthing spells and practicing his wand work. Perhaps it was because Phil was muggleborn and felt he needed to catch up, or maybe it was just his natural inclination to over achieve, Dan had never asked, but it was painfully clear to Dan that if he wanted to pass Charms this semester he was going to have to check his ego and ask for help.
They had been learning the Patronus Charm over the last few weeks and even when he truly tried Dan was still only able to coax a shapeless cloud of silver smoke out of the top of his wand and with the exam approaching Dan began to panic. In less than forty-eight hours he would be forced to stand in front of his classmates, a task that caused him anxiety on a good day, and produce a well formed Patronus Charm.. The thought of it alone left Dan in a cold sweat as he quickly climbed down out of his dormitory window, grabbed his wand and cloak and set off to find Phil.
As expected Phil was located in an empty stairwell just outside the Ravenclaw common room. It had become one of his favored spots over the years because passing Ravenclaws tended to be helpful when it came to studying… even to those outside of their house. In one hand he held a half eaten apple, in the other hand his wand hovered, poised for a spell he had not quite perfected. The book in his lap was ragged and dogged eared, but Phil didn’t seem to notice as he stared at it intently.
“Phil?” Dan said as quietly as possible, hoping not to startle his friend too badly.
Phil jumped, the book falling from his lap and his wand hitting the wall behind him as he flailed for balance. Dan couldn’t help but laugh.
“Why must you do that to me?” Phil grumbled as he picked up his book and closed it gently.
Dan tried to compose himself but still failed to hide his smirk.
“I didn’t do it on purpose.” He swore as Phil scrambled to his feet. “I just didn’t know how else to get your attention without startling you.”
Phil puffed out a breath and tried to scowl again, but failed. He could never stay mad at his best friend, no matter how hard he tried he had no defense against Dan’s playful smirk and laughing brown eyes.
“Well… You have my attention,” Phil huffed dramatically, “so what’s up?”
Assuming a plaintive posture Dan looked up at Phil, playfully batting his lashes.
“Monday is the charms exam….” He began
“…And you still haven’t managed to produce a Patronus have you?” Phil finished for him.
Dan shook his head pitifully.
“I just can't seem to conjure up a happy enough memory to make it stick.” Dan whined.
Phil laughed and shook his head.
“Well come on then, you’re not going to find it sulking in the hallway.”
Grinning once again Dan followed Phil down the stone corridor not bothering to ask where they were going.
Two floors above the kitchen Phil stopped in the hall and began to pace back and forth, a look on concentration on his face. Slowly the wall in front of him began to transform into a large wrought iron door which opened inward silently.
“When did you find the Room of Requirement?” Dan gapped. “I thought it was just a myth!”
Phil opened his eyes and clapped his hands when he saw the door before him.
“I saw some 7th years pacing around over here a week or so ago,” Phil confided, “but this is the first time I’ve managed to get the room to open for me. Even the castle must know how much help you need to pass this exam!” He teased, “Must be pretty bad when the very walls take pity on you.”
Dan stuck out his tongue and followed Phil into the room.
The doors clicked quietly shut behind them and Dan and Phil took a moment to admire what the room had provided for them. It was a cosy room with thick drapes over the wall, a gently flickering fire in the hearth and giant mirror covering a full wall.
Placing his book on a nearby table Phil pulled out his wand and turned to face Dan.
“Ok, let’s see what you’ve got.” He said, automatically holding his wand at the ready.
Sulking Dan pulled his wand from his back pocket, assumed the appropriate stance, screwed up his eyes and swished his wand in the figure drawn in the textbook. Nothing happened.
Dan frowned and tried again. A pale puff of silver wafted from the tip of his wand, but he knew it wouldn’t be enough to secure him a passing grade in Charms.
As he let out a sullen sigh Dan felt a cool hand grip him just below the elbow. He hadn’t noticed Phil moving closer to him, hadn’t seen him grinning at his pathetic attempts to cast the charm, but now Dan found himself hyper aware of Phil’s presence, and it made it a little hard to breathe.
“You’re not thinking of a strong enough memory.” Phil said quietly in Dan’s ear. “It needs to be a moment that fills you up from your toes to the top of your head so that your body can’t contain it anymore, from there your wand will know what to do.”
Dan wracked his brain. He wasn’t a particularly unhappy person, aside from the usual teenage angst, but he couldn’t think of a single thing that gave him the feelings Phil had described.
“What’s you’re memory?” Dan asked as he turned to face Phil.
Phil flushed, his cheeks turning red as his blue eyes glistened. Without taking his eyes off of Dan’s Phil flicked his wand above his head and a large woodpecker exploded out of the tip circling them three times before disappearing into a cloud of blueish smoke.
Dan cocked his head in confusion, staring back at Phil until it came to him. The memory flooded his mind until he could see nothing else. It had been only few months before. Dan had been standing on the edge of the forbidden forest, debating if he was brave enough to complete the dare one of his older friends had issued. He had nearly talked himself into going when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
“Is it really worth getting detention for?” Phil had said quietly.
Dan had sighed and shook his head, thankful for Phil’s ever present voice of reason. They had been just about to turn away from the forest when something flew out of the woods nearly grazing Dan’s head.
Startled Dan had jumped back and without realizing it grabbed Phil’s hand in his panic. They had stood there a moment, hand in hand, trying to figure out what had flow out at them. On a tree branch a few feet away a large, woodpecker with a bold red stripe across its head stared at them.
Dan let out the breath he had been holding and laughed. That was the moment that he realized that his hand was still wrapped tightly around Phil’s. Their eyes met for a moment before they let go, both boys awkwardly fixing their hair and letting out small breathy laughs.
That afternoon had stuck with Dan, haunting his dreams on quiet nights, but he had brushed it aside thinking the rush of emotions he felt had been a side effect of the scare the bird had given him. Looking into Phil’s wide eyes now, Dan knew he had been wrong.
His mind was flooded with every moment he had spent with Phil over the past few years, every accident touch, every hug that lasted just a little too long…. And finally Dan found his memory.
Four years ago, on summer holiday, Dan had gone with his family to the Isle of Man. He remembered walking down the coastline with his younger brother as they giggled excitedly, hoping to see some sort of sea life. That was when they had come across the lanky boy, with black hair and a crooked smile sitting on the rocky beach, a small white seal curled up in his lap.
Startled Dan had called out.
“Hey! You shouldn’t do that, it could hurt you!” He shouted.
The boy jolted upright, the baby seal sliding off his lap and onto the shale.
Phil looked around confused until his eyes landed on a skinny boy with a mop of brown hair and what appeared to be a smaller clone standing beside him. Phil pushed himself to his feet, wiping his hands on his jeans and walked over to introduce himself. Behind him the small seal wiggled its way back into the ocean and disappeared.
“You know seals aren’t usually that friendly.” Dan said bluntly as the boy walked up to him. “You could have gotten bitten or worse.”
Phil rolled his shoulders.
“Animals like me.” He said nonchalantly, “Well, except for cats.”
Dan laughed and shook his head. He had never met a boy like this before and the had spent the afternoon exploring the beach together as Phil introduced him to the shoreline animals, the small white seal watching them from just off shore.
Dan shook his head. He hadn’t known then that Phil would be receiving a letter from Hogwarts that very week, or that on September first they would run into each other again as they boarded the Hogwarts Express for the first time. The rest was history. The two boys had been inseparable for the past four years, and even though there had been whispers behind cupped hands about them being more than friends neither of the them had cared.
Until now.
Dan stood very still, his face inches from Phil’s, his breaths shallow and his palms sweaty.
Phil stared back, his bright blue eyes unblinking, his mouth drawn in a tight line.
After a moment Dan drew a deep breath and lifted his wand.
“Expecton Patronum…” He whispered, his eyes never leaving Phil’s.
A small white seal slide of of the end of his wand and hopped along the floor, encircling their feet, demanding their attention. Dan and Phil looked down at the same time, their heads pressing gently against each others.
“I wondered if you remembered.” Phil murmured, the words barely forming.
“I remembered….” Dan breathed, pulling his head up, forcing Phil’s eyes back up to his, “but I never understood… Until now.”
******************************************** For @daisukicutie Saw your request for a woodpecker/seal Patronus story… So here ya go! ~Moon~