Two Unlikely Friends | Chapter 2 | Hogwarts AU Challenge pt. 2

Enjoy!

Words: 700

Several days since the start of school, Dan was excited to go to Potions, since at least he would have one friend with him, Phil.

Walking down to the Potions classroom, Dan saw Phil walk into the classroom before he did. Dan walked in eagerly, taking his seat across from Phil.

"Hey, Dan!" Phil greeted, smiling widely at the other.

"Afternoon, Phil." He smiled back, not as wide but it was still there. Phil was glad he managed to get Dan to be his friend. He had told him it was the highlight of his day, and it meant a lot to Phil.

"OK, good afternoon class!" The Potions Master greeted, earning a few replied from the class.

"Today we will be working in pairs, but with someone from the other house!" A few groans followed, but Dan got excited as the professor listed off the pairs.

"And Mr. Howell and Mr. Lestor. Alright, if you could open your textbooks to page 394 and begin working." The professor finished, taking a seat at his desk.

Phil turned and smiled at Dan, excited to be working together. "Phil, can you start grabbing the ingredients?" Dan asked, opening his book to the correct page and listed off what he needed from Phil.

"Of course!" Phil smiled, taking the list and heading to the back of the classroom to grab what they needed.

Just as he started to grab the ingredients, he heard someone clear his throat. Turning, Phil saw one of the other Slytherins looking at him. "Can I help you?" Phil asked with a friendly smile.

"You know that Howell is a rotten one, right?" The Slytherin girl said, sneering behind Phil to where Dan was reading the textbook.

"What are you talking about?" Phil asked, growing concerned for his friend.

"Well, rumors are that Howell's parents worked under the dark lord for years. Who's to say that he isn't a rebel who's working for evil." The girl seemed serious, seeming unfazed about the trash she was talking about her fellow classmate.

"Hey, that's not nice! Don't talk about Dan, or anyone, like that! And those rumors are exactly that, just rumors. So just leave my friend alone." Phil huffed, grabbing the last of the ingredients before turning on his heels to go back to the table.

"Don't say I didn't warn you!" The girl growled before turning back to her own partner.

Phil shook off the interaction he just had, putting on a smile and gently setting down the ingredients next to Dan and their children.

"Thanks, Phil," Dan said, and shortly the two of them got to work on the potion, with Dan doing most of the instructing.

After what felt like forever, the pair finished the potion. Phil sniffed the air. "Hey, do you smell houseplants?" Phil asked, confusion on his face.

"No, I smell a campfire actually," Dan replied, giving the air a sniff.

"Well, good job boys! You brewed the Amortenia properly!" The professor came over and pat both boys on the back.

"Amortenia?" Phil asked.

Dan sighed, "Yeah, the potion we were brewing. It's one of the most powerful love potions, and it smells different to every person." Dan explained, "Honestly, Phil, did you not read the chapter before we started?"

"Hey, you sent me to go get ingredients," Phil replied, playfully pushing Dan's arm in response.

"Fine, fine, whatever," Dan said, playfully pushing Phil back.

~~~*~~~*~~~

It was later that night when it first started.

Phil was headed to the Great Hall as he ed the boys bathroom when he heard a noise.

It sounded like crying, a lot of it. Curiosity taking over him, Phil left his group he was walking with and headed to the bathroom.

As soon as he opened the door, he heard it more clearly, the soft crying he heard before now sounded like full on sobs.

"Hello?" Phill called out, and instantly the sobs became quiet, like the person didn't want to draw attention to himself. Phil found the stall the person was hiding in and pushed open the door.

He gasped in surprise at the boy on his knees, his eyes wide and concern filling his face. "Dan?"