A Wizard's Misgivings

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

It was nighttime. And it wasn't Phil's fault that he couldn't sleep, it just so happened that every time he closed his eyes he was struck with images of Dan disheveled and panting, his face screwed up in pleasure, and then he was very much awake again. Phil wasn't a stranger to sleepless nights either, that much was for sure, but he almost couldn't stand it. He was in a state of drowsy half-hardness, and he wanted nothing more than to see Dan again.

Of course, it was then that Phil came to make a great decision. It was Dan's fault that Phil couldn't sleep, after all, so why shouldn't Phil force him to brave the night with him? (To be perfectly honesty, Phil knew he was just making excuses for wanting to see Dan, but it couldn't be helped.)

And so it was quietly that Phil snuck out of bed, pausing only to pull on a baggy pair of pajama bottoms and the closest shirt, before he crept out of the dorm. His wand was tucked in the waistband of his pants (his actual wand, mind you. He wasn't that hard) and he kept his hand on the handle of it as he made his way through the Slytherin common room, prepared for trickery of any kind. It wasn't unusual for Slytherins to hex each other if they caught one another for sneaking out. Usually it was under the ruse of "avoiding losing house points" but it was actually just an excuse to try out whatever jinx you'd been dying to use.

Thankfully, no one was lurking in the common room, and Phil made it into the corridor safely. Though leaving Slytherin would probably be the easiest part of his journey, seeing as he'd still have to sneak his way through various parts of the castle, manage to avoid both Filch and Mrs. Norris, and then, of course, figure out how to get into Gryffindor House. Phil was choosing to postpone the inevitable, however.

It was with great caution and unease that Phil journeyed through abandoned corridors, on one occasion ducking into a classroom to avoid Peeves. The castle was eerily dark and silent, and his quiet footsteps sounded thunderous in the corridors.

Phil breathed a sigh of relief when he finally made it up multiple staircases and arrived in front of the familiar portrait, from his one occasion there before. He'd made a wrong turn at the last staircase, and ended up standing in confusion at a dead-end, before having to backtrack and eventually end up where he wanted to be.

The fat lady was sleeping, occasionally muttering in her sleep, and Phil stared uneasily at the portrait. Even if he did manage to guess the password, would she let him in, knowing he wasn't a Gryffindor? And further more, if she was willing to do that, would she still do it if he had to guess a string of passwords before he actually got it?

Deciding to take his chances, Phil cleared his through quietly. "Excuse me," he whispered before prodding the painting lightly. The fat lady snorted in her sleep, jerking to the side and wrenching her eyes open.

"Who goes there?" she demanded. "And why are you out wandering so late? You should be in bed!" she insisted, and with that, she swung open, eyes already shutting closed again.

Not believing his luck, Phil scrambled through the portrait hole, pausing to examine the cheery common room. Everything was so red, it was like they needed the color as a constant reminder of what house they were in. Then again, Phil thought, they were Gryffindors, and they definitely had more brawn than brains.

Phil glanced towards the stairs on either side of the common room (conveniently labeled girls and boys) and made towards the boys' one. It was as he was climbing the stairs that he pondered what he was even going to say to Dan when he woke him up. What his excuse was going to be. How was he going to explain how he'd broken into the Gryffindor common room? And further more, wouldn't he feel embarrassed having Dan know that he'd done it just to see him?

Pushing his faint embarrassment and discomfort out of his mind, Phil forged onward. Besides, it was too late to turn back now. Still, he couldn't help thinking that this entire endeavor had been an entirely too Gryffindor-like thing to do. Here he was, acting impulsively and risking his own skin, all for Dan. He'd obviously been spending too much time in the Gryffindor's company. Distantly, Phil wondered if Dan had found himself picking up any Slytherin-like tendencies.