lumos / phan

three

By the time Autumn is midway through, Dan is growing more accustomed to his whole 'magic in his mind' thing. 

It's not unheard of for magic without wands, however it is only powerful and well trained wizards who are able to, and it is never as strong - both factors not the case for Dan, who is only twelve and can perform very strong magic. He's beginning to have to think less about the spell, and more about just what he wants to happen.

"Lumos," Dan whispers, and a small ball of light appears above his palm, lighting the dark hallway around him.

Dan has been sneaking out at night, walking across the school grounds and into the forbidden forest. He enjoys wandering around in the trees, and usually goes to visit the herd of unicorns that reside in there. They seem to be fond of the boy too. In fact, all the creatures within the forest seem to be varying levels of curious and content around him. Some gravitate towards him, as if his magic almost encapsulates them.

Soon, Dan is stumbling into the clearing where the herd is and sits on the ground cross legged, his back resting against the rough bark on one of the abnormally large trees. He smiles to himself as he watches the creatures roam around the clearing happily, undisturbed by his presence. One younger male approaches him, pushing his nose into Dan's hair and snorting loudly, causing his fringe to fall into his face.

"Hey," Dan grumbles, pushing the delighted unicorn's head out of his hair, however he does not take the hint and decides to lie down directly beside Dan, body wedged against Dan's leg and pure white fur gleaming under the silver moonlight.

Dan smiles softly, running his fingers along the unicorn's body as he observes the rest of the herd. They're beautiful creatures, and Dan seems to have a knack for handling beasts - he possesses the gentle, soft voice, careful and patient nature and warm heart that beasts are usually drawn to. Unicorns are usually more inclined to be friendly to girls, however love whenever Dan visits them.

Above him, the stars are shining brightly, contrasting against the impossible darkness consuming the sky. The centaurs would no doubt be deciphering the stars and their patterns tonight. Having encountered them a couple of times, the centaurs weren't overly friendly but soon realised Dan is not much of a threat to them. Sometimes, if Dan finds himself lost or in danger, one will even help him out which is comforting.

At around one a.m., Dan decides he should probably head back to bed or else he'll be way too tired the next day. He says goodbye to the unicorns and murmurs lumos again, summoning a ball of light, which he manages to get to float ahead of him, guiding him through the trees on his now familiar walk back.

Dan manages to sneak soundlessly into the castle thanks to muffliato, which prevents people from hearing him. He finally reaches the Slytherin common room again, whispering the password and is eventually back in his dorm.

He actually kind of loves the slytherin dorm room, how the windows show the water of the black lake and the place is always full of the lulling sound of water, the grand leather couches and large fireplace. It's beautiful and comforting. 

Dan slips back under his covers, wrapping them around him and Max the cat climbs in next to him, nuzzling his head before falling asleep on Dan's pillow, his soft, black fur brushing against the side of Dan's face.

Dan closes his eyes and sighs deeply, the sound of the lake eventually lulling him to sleep, as it always does.

***

"Today we will be practicing the engorgio charm!" Professor Flitwick says loudly in order to be heard over the racket, "please be careful when using this, and remember the theory we've been learning! And the counter charm is reducio, which we covered last week!"