Chapter One:

"Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light."

Helen Keller

There was no doubt in his mind that he was different. Different than his aunt, different than his uncle, and most certainly different than his cousin. The Dursleys of Privet Drive were anything but abnormal, however, and young Harry Potter was left to deal with his abnormalities on his own. At one point, Harry liked to believe he was the normal one, that he was more in tune to society than his mainstream relatives, but over time he grew to relish in his differences. Since childhood, Harry had a way of doing things - unlike children who demanded things from their parents, Harry had always managed to do them on his own. The cookie jar on top of the fridge that his lump of a cousin could not reach would miraculously appear at arms reach whenever the bumbling oaf disappeared to complain to his mummy and daddy, and it would always manage to get back into place before the three managed to come stumbling back into the kitchen. When Dudley would shave his head with a cruel laugh, it would regrow to his prefered length with a week at most. When Aunt Petunia scolded him and forbade him from eating that week, a warm biscuit and some water would always appear on the shelf above his cot of a bed by the time he awoke the next day.

So you see, it's a fair assumption that Harry James Potter was, in fact, not normal. But, the young boy of eleven, was forced to go about his daily life as if he were. He was forced to attend school where his only friend was one Michael Haring, a frail boy a year younger than he, who was just as picked on as Harry was himself. Dudley bullied him day in and day out with his little posse, and his teachers always managed to turn a blind eye to the abuse he was put through daily. When that first owl came, hooing and pecking at the glass, Harry felt a change - both in the wind and within himself. He never would have imagined he'd find himself standing in the middle of Diagon Alley, school list clasped tightly in his clenched fist, eyes wide beneath the wire glasses framing his face. He liked to believe he knew where he would turn up when he was older, and yet looking down the cobblestone streets busy with bustling children his age and older, Harry suddenly didn't know a thing about his future or his present. Hagrid's boisterous voice easily reached his ears, ushering the shell-shocked child into the nearby robe shop where he was placed on a pedestal aside a silver-blonde haired youth with a smug smirk and arrogant silver eyes. Their gazes locked, and Harry suddenly very much doubted he would fit in at Hogwarts: School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, if this was what all the students were like. And yet, as a pale hand was shoved in his direction, the cocky words spewing from the silver-haired boy's mouth, Harry very much doubted he'd ever meet another youth quite like this.

"Draco Malfoy, and you are?" The words in and of themselves were far from cocky, it was merely the tone that made Harry do a double take. It was, however, very nice to not be known by someone who he didn't know in return.

"Harry Potter," he returned wearily, reaching out his own hand to grasp the pale one in return. They shook briefly, Harry barely missing the spark of recognition in Draco Malfoy's eyes.

"Well, Potter, stick with me and you'll be fine." And Harry believe him, without a single doubt. The words were firm and true, an underlying promise of loyalty and trust lurking beneath them. Looking at Draco then, standing beside him on the pedestals in Madam Malkin's Robes Shop, Harry was struck by the fire in the silver eyes and he knew he'd never find another friend quite like the one he suspected Draco Malfoy to become.

"I leave myself in your hands," he returned with a soft grin which was matched by the adjacent boy's. The rest of their fittings were spent in silence before Draco was finished and hopped off his own Pedestal.

"I'll see you on the train, Potter." And with a final grin and nod, Draco disappeared from his line of sight, out the jingling door and into the crowded streets. Harry suddenly wished he had the other's company back, suddenly feeling very much alone.

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Hello everyone, I'm GreyDune, or just Dune. This is my first fanfic on here, so I hope you enjoy! This is an HP AU, not likely to be slash so don't worry those of you who hate it! It's going to be a friend centric version of Draco and Harry, but that's as far as their relationship goes! Anyways, please R&R, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this so far! Hopefully I'll have another chapter up in a few hours/later on tonight!

-x- GreyDune