Kindred Spirits: A Dan and Phil Hogwarts AU {COMPLETE}

Quidditch Tryouts and Owl Ownership

The week before Halloween, Dan was growing increasingly nervous for quidditch tryouts. The first game was in late November, so Gryffindor tryouts were taking place in six days, giving the newly formed team a full month to prepare. He knew it was a long shot. A first year making the quidditch team was just unheard of, but he had been practicing all his life, and he knew how much it meant to his dad.

Mr. and Mrs. Howell had been the power couple of their time. They were the beaters of the Gryffindor team together for three years. They got married a year after they graduated, and were almost legends to their friends, whose school romances died soon after leaving Hogwarts.

Dan's father had him in a quidditch robe as soon as he could walk, yet somehow his skills never seemed to improve. Dan had even convinced his dad to let him quit once when he was ten, but as soon as his Hogwarts letter arrived, it was back to the field to prepare for tryouts.

Phil told him not to worry countless times, but that didn't stop Dan from having several nervous breakdowns throughout the week. It didn't help when Will offered to help him practice. Dan was hoping it would give him a confidence boost, as Will had only learned to fly a broom weeks before. It had the exact opposite effect when Dan was unable to score a single point against him.

Dan walked back into the castle: dirty and defeated. He trudged into the Gryffindor common room, before falling onto his bed. After sulking for a few minutes, he got bored and decided to go to the Great Hall for lunch. He changed out of his quidditch robes and began the hike to food when he heard a familiar, unwelcome sound.

"SQUACK!"

He whipped his neck toward the startling noise, immediately recognizing it. Walking toward him was Phil, holding on his arm none other than Tyto Alba, the Barn Owl named after its species. Dan began walking toward them, until he noticed the expression on Phil's face. Stopping in his tracks, Dan saw that Phil looked mad, and his theory was proven correct when the determined hufflepuff began to yell, or get as close to yelling as you could expect. It may have seemed a bit more threatening without the constant interruptions.

"You left her all alone!"

"SCREETCH!"

"She- it's a she then?- was being taken care of in the owelry," Dan explained.

"SQUACK!"

"How do you know?" Phil retorted, stroking the owl's speckled feathers. "Poor little Alba, I bet she was looking for you! And she couldn't find you, its heartbreaking!"

"SQUAAA!"

Dan raised his voice to account for the constant howls echoing through the corridor. "C'mon, Phil, she's fine, I bet she didn't even notice."

"SCREEE!"

"No. You definitely hurt her feelings. Apologize," Phil demanded, matching Dan's volume.

Dan laughed at the thought. "I'm not apologizing to a-"

"SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

At that, Dan gave in. "I'm very very sorry for leaving you Alba. It will never happen again. Now will you please shut up!" Dan glared at the bird, daring it to make a sound. He looked up and met the eyes of Phil, dancing with suppressed laughter. Soon, both boys were unable to resist cracking up as they journeyed to the Great Hall.

-=+=-

Three days before Halloween, Dan was becoming even more of a mess. His worries about Quidditch had quickly morphed into an obsession, and caring for Alba was left to Phil, who had her on his shoulder at any chance he got. It just so happened that one of those chances was breakfast, where Dan and Phil sat facing the aisle between their tables so they could talk. Phil had discovered that by constantly feeding Alba, she wouldn't have any chances to disrupt conversation.

"I don't think I can do this," his tone was despairing as Dan came to the conclusion, for the eighteenth time that week, that he shouldn't try out.

"Course you can." Phil assured mindlessly, offering a handful of food to the feathered beast on his shoulder. Will, who was sitting next to Dan, turned around to join the conversation.

"Yeah, you got past me a few times yesterday. And we can practice again today," he offered hopefully.

From across the table, Freddie piped up, "Yeah! Icanhelpyoutoo, Dan." Dan waved them all off.

"No, no. I'm not doing it. That's final." Even as he said it, Dan knew it wouldn't be true. He was hardly surprised when, after his classes, he found himself on the Quidditch pitch with Will and Freddie. He scored five points after an hour and a half of practice, a personal best.

-=+=-

The day before Halloween, Dan was pacing in his Quidditch robes. Tryouts were in an hour, and he felt less prepared than ever. Clearing his head seemed impossible, so he did what he knows best: procrastinated. Instead of going to the pitch to prepare, Dan was in the owelry. Despite the smell, and the constant threat of bird droppings, it felt peaceful, and he was not alone with that opinion. Mere minutes after Dan found his recluse, Phil burst through the doors.

"Oh, Dan! I was looking for you!" He said breathlessly.

"In the owelry?" Dan would have laughed, had he not been consumed by anxiety. Phil sat down on the windowsill to catch his breath.

"No, I had kind of given up I was gonna check on-" he gestured toward Alba, not wanting to waste time thinking of her name. He shook away the meaningless conversation and focused on Dan. "It doesn't matter, Why are you here? Tryouts are in-" he paused to glance at the clock, "Forty minutes. You should be on the field, practicing."

Dan continued pacing, shaking his head, his brown hair falling into his eyes.

"I can't-" he began.

"Can't, or don't want to?" Phil interrupted, standing to meet Dan's eyes. "You talk an awful lot of can't for someone who has been doing this all their life." Dan scoffed at the remark, refusing to believe that what Phil was saying had truth to it.

"Of course I want to. I've told you before, I practiced for this a long time. I just can never seem to get better. I don't know why."

Phil stepped towards Dan, shrugging, "Maybe its because you aren't passionate about this. I've seen you passionate. When you dyed your hair, I don't think you debated that one much. This? It just doesn't seem like you care as much."

Shaking his head, Dan declared, "I do care, Phil. I care about this a lot, and I will be on this team." With that, he swung open the creaky door and ran back to the Quidditch pitch.

-=+=-

Hey everyone! Can I just say... THIS IS CRAZY!!! 623 reads? I set a goal to reach 500 reads by the end of December in an effort to remind myself to be updating. I had no idea if I could reach it, and to see how much it surpassed my expectations blew me away. I have no idea why this story has so many reads, I don't think my writing is anything special, so I'm working to make it special so that the people who read this really love it. My new goal is to update at least once a week. I don't want to wear out my creativity, and I would like to give myself time to really think through ideas, so I think once a week is perfect. If you have any thoughts, comment them, I love feedback, and have an awesome day! :)