Magic, can't hide us forever
Chapter 16: Magic, can't hide us forever
The two of them found themselves making their way back to Hogwarts, feeling both a certain heaviness and lightness neither of them could explain. As they approached the castle walls they were both so caught up, rather, entranced in their own thoughts they had failed to realise Professor Mcgonagall was standing waiting for them, tapping her authoritative foot patiently.
“Well hello there boys, how nice of you to join us” she said
Louis froze in his tracks. Shit, shit, shit. This was possibly his worst fear, his recurring nightmare. He lived off academic validation, and honestly he had never gotten in trouble before. He turned to Harry expecting to see the same look of dismay but was instead met with a smug look plastered on his counterpart's face.
“Professor, aren't you supposed to be on holiday till tomorrow?” Harry grinned
“Yes I am Mr Styles funny of you to mention that, but I received a call from a certain someone saying he saw two students leaving school grounds, unsupervised.”
Well shit. Louis’ real-life nightmare just got ten times worse. Now he had disappointed not one but two authority figures and he had ruined professor Mcgonagall's holiday. Brilliant, just brilliant. Again he turned to Harry to seek some sort of solace in this situation. Harry just rolled his eyes and whispered.
“Filch”
“Mr Styles, Mr Tomlinson do you understand the gravity of what you have just done? Leaving school grounds without telling anyone. What if something had happened to you? What would we tell your parents?” Mcgonagall jeered
Harry’s smirk dropped at that last sentence, it seemed there was a sudden shift in the air.
“Well, Professor, if something had happened to us, you'd have to tell our parents that we were off on a top-secret mission to save Hogwarts from certain doom. I'm sure they'd understand."
Louis dared not breathe, he realised that this situation had shifted to something he did not understand yet. For a second he saw past Harry’s defiant bravado and through the crack he saw a scared little boy looking back at him.
“Very funny mr styles, i'm sure you’ll be able to come up with more charming jokes in detention. One week both of you” Mcgonagall chastised before turning around and walking back into the school.
Once she had left Louis finally let out a breath, and then a laugh, and then he couldn’t stop laughing. Harry turned to him with a concerned look.
“Lou are u a’right?”
Louis, still laughing, tried to respond “yea- yeah i'm fine Haz it's just… I’ve never gotten in trouble before and that was exhilarating?”
Louis’ laugh seemed to be contagious and soon Harry was joining in. Once they had both calmed down he ruffled the blue eyed boys hair and said
“C’mon then let's get you to bed my lil troublemaker”
They giggled all the way through the halls and up the stairs, till they arrived at the front of the slytherin dorms. The two boys stood in silence for a while, neither wanting to say goodbye. Till finally louis broke the silence.
“Harry?”
“Yeah lou?”
“Could you sleep with me for one more night? I don’t want this feeling to go away.”
Harry’s eyes softened, and a fond look spread across his face.
“Of course Lou, i’ll stay with you as long as you want”
And so the two found themselves falling asleep in each other's arms again, intertwined, not just their bodies but their souls. As they lay there in the dimly lit room, the weight of the day's events slowly began to lift from Louis' shoulders. Harry's presence beside him brought a sense of comfort and security that he hadn't realized he needed until now.
Harry shifted slightly, pulling Louis closer as if to reassure him that he wasn't alone.
"You know, Lou," he whispered softly, "no matter what happens, we'll always have each other's backs. You're not in this alone."
What a simple sentence a common reassurance, but to Louis it meant the world. Because for the first time, Louis wasn’t alone.