Barnaby Lee x Reader - Years 3&4

Forbidden Forest pt.5

Charlie had asked to meet Lana in the Artefact Room the next day.

"Why did you wanna meet me here, Charlie?" she asked.

"It's the safest room I could think of. No one can sneak up on us here." he told her.

"We did find a Boggart in here once..." Lana trailed off.

"I never said it was completely safe. It's hard to feel safe about anything after what happened with Ben..." Charlie said, worried.

"Are you sure you still want to go back into the forest after we got attacked?" Lana asked kindly.

"More than ever. We need to see this through." he smiled, "Is Hagrid coming?"

"Yeah. He'll take us to Torvus, and then Torvus will take us to the forest vault."

"Who else should we bring?" he asked.

"I'll see if Penny's up for it. She could bring a potion that could help with whatever's in the vault." Lana replied.

"Good choice, Lana. You might wanna ask her to bring some extra healing potions too..." Charlie added, "I'm going to practice my combat spells. Just let me know when everyone is ready to head to the forest..."

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Barnaby wanted to find Lana and talk to her alone before they entered the forest. He found her in the Magical Creatures Reserve, playing with her own pet Niffler.

"Hey." he smiled, tapping her shoulder.

She spun around, and when she saw who it was, she smiled widely and tackled him in a hug.

"Hey." she giggled, digging her face in his shoulder, "Are you alright?" she asked, pulling back slightly to look at him.

"Yeah..." he mumbled, but she wasn't convinced.

She sighed and pulled away from him, looking him in the eye.

"Tell me what's wrong, hun." she smiled kindly.

He sat down on the floor and petted the little black creature on the ground. Lana sat next to him and waited patiently for his answer.

"It's just all this Forbidden Forest stuff..." he started, "It's not that I don't wanna do it, I'm just...scared..." he finished quietly, looking at her with a hint of shame in his eyes.

"Aw, Barnaby." she smiled, chuckling slightly, "It's ok, really." she told him, rubbing his arm soothingly.

"No, it's not though." he said, facing his body to her, "I'm Barnaby Lee! The toughest and strongest guy in our year! I'm not supposed to be scared of anything!"

"Barny, listen. It's ok to be scared. Especially with what we're dealing with here! It is scary! I'm terrified! Just because you're the strongest, most toughest guy in our year, doesn't mean you're not allowed to be scared, ok? It's a natural human emotion. Being scared doesn't make you less tough, Barnaby. If anything, it makes you stronger, because you're facing your fears by doing this." she told him, trying to make him feel better.

He smiled at he slightly and chuckled softly, hanging his head. "Really?" he asked, raising his head slightly and looking into her eyes.

"Of course. You're the bravest person I know, Mr Lee." she smiled playfully, nudging his arm.

He grinned at her and lifted his head fully. He looked into her eyes and sighed dreamily.

"What?" Lana asked, grinning slightly.