A Dementor's Kiss - Phan

Healthy Competition

It's Dan's first Quidditch match, and he's up against one of his best friends – Chris, the Gryffindor captain. He's got two more of the best people by his side however, and Phil helps calm his nerves while PJ stops Chris from 'accidentally' pushing Dan off a cliff.

~

The cold, North wind whistled through the forest, slipping in like ice water through the minuscule gaps in Phil's clothes he didn't realise he had. The centimetre of exposed skin between his sleeves and his gloves burnt cold, and his nose was red-raw. What few leaves that had decided to hold out through the winter were shivering on their branches. Phil's feet crunched on the thin layer of frost that sparkled on the forest floor under the light of Dan's wand.

"I'm going to fall off my broom." Dan said matter-of-factly.

"I've got a spell for that," Phil said, his teeth chattering. "I've been practicing. I'll stop you and plop you straight back on before anyone even notices. I'll be watching you the whole match just in case. Promise."

"What if I crash into the stands?"

"I'll move them out of the way. Then modify everyone's memories so they forget."

"What, the entire school all at once?"

"And the staff."

"Good." There was silence for a few more minutes bar their footsteps and the soft slip of winter air through bare branches. "Are we far enough in yet?" Dan asked.

Phil squinted through the trees, straining to pick up the pinpricks of lights in the castle windows. "Not sure," he said, "too dark. So probably yes, as I can't see the castle."

"We can fly low. Probably the only good thing about flying in the winter. No leaves on the trees so you can go right up into the canopy to get a better view." Dan shifted his broom off his shoulder and mounted it, shuffling forwards to make room for Phil. He was very grateful for Phil's warm arms around his waist and his hot breath in his hair.

Phil squeezed tight and Dan kicked off gently, raising them a few feet off the ground and starting forwards. After a few near misses, they switched so that Phil was the one holding the light and Dan could focus both hands on keeping them steady. It was harder with two, and harder still trying to go so slowly. The broom wanted to fly light and free and fast, and was clearly not impressed with Dan's manoeuvring as they worked their way through the trees.

Tomorrow, Dan would play his first ever Quidditch match for Slytherin. To make matters worse, they were up against Gryffindor. The rivalry could not have been more intense, nor the pressure more tangible. And then there was the matter of being pitted against Chris Kendall, one of the warmest candles burning in Dan's heart. Truth be told, Dan was glad it was Chris as opposed to, say, PJ. If it came to knocking PJ off his broom in order to achieve a victory, Dan really wasn't sure he'd be able to do it. Chris on the other hand, well. Dan wouldn't go as far to say he deserved it, but it would be quite a rush to knock that annoying little grin off his face for once, and then wave the snitch in it afterwards.

Chris was a joker. It was their first match, not the final decider of the season, and the banter was mostly light-hearted. Chris cared about Quidditch perhaps more than anything else in the world (except maybe PJ) and had they come up against each other in the final then maybe the threats wouldn't have been so empty. They were both glad for the way the matches had been drawn this year, even if it did mean Dan's first match was the one that worried him the most.

"You know," Phil said as they broke out into the starlight, skimming the tops of the trees with their toes. "Chris checked out a book of poisons from the library this morning. PJ confiscated it before you came down to breakfast. I think he was planning on reading it while staring pointedly at your porridge."