December 17, 1994

8:00 am

Harry sat on the far end of Gryffindor table, far from the rest of his house. He was unsurprised to see that he was on the receiving end of many glares and whispers. Harry was still in shock from the events of last night. His best friends had abandoned him in a blink of an eye when his name had come out of the Goblet of Fire. How could they honestly think that he had put his name in there?! Didn't they know him by now? He didn't want trouble; it usually found him. He recalled the events from last night.

Flashback

Harry walked numbly back to the common room. He dreaded going back. The whole common room would probably turn on him like they had when his Parseltongue abilities had come to light. Someone was really out to make his life miserable. He hadn't put his name in the goblet, but someone had. He just didn't know who wanted to see him dead. He stopped outside the Fat Lady's Portrait.

"Password?" she enquired snootily.

"Balderdash." She harumphed , but let him in. He entered and was met with a relatively full common room. What surprised him the most however was the fact that Ron stood in the center, glaring at him with hateful eyes.

"Well, well. Finally, the Famous Harry Potter decides to return."

Harry stared at his best friend of three years, aghast. "Ron?"

"He's right, Harry." Hermione accused. "All the attention goes to you. I am sick of risking my neck just so you can get more glory. Ron and I have put up with enough of it, and we're just done!" She ended with a hysterical shriek.

The dam just broke. Ron's jealousy had finally got the best of him. "DON'T YOU HAVE ENOUGH FAME!" Ron bellowed. "EVERYTHING GETS HANDED TO YOU JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE THE STUPID BOY-WHO-WOULDN'T-DIE AND-

"-and what, Ron?" Harry asked quietly. "I don't ask for anything to happen to me. I never asked for fame and recognition. I would rather have two parents, a family, and not be famous. If I was offered that, I would trade in everything in a heartbeat. You don't know how that feels, because you have a family that loves, cares, and spoils you! DON'T PRETEND THAT YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT MY LIFE! YOU'VE BEEN JEALOUS OF ME EVER SINCE YOU MET ME! OBVIOUSLY YOU DON'T KNOW ME WELL ENOUGH!" As soon as he had said the last word, his shoulders slumped. "You know what? I don't even care anymore. Just. . . whatever." He walked up the stairs and closed the door shut. He was done with those people. They just never learned.

The common room was stunned to say the least. Harry was a kind-hearted boy who was passionate, yes, but he never yelled or tried to disrespect anyone purposefully. If he lost his cool, that definitely meant something.

Flashback End

o0o0o0o0

Suddenly something clicked in Harry. Maybe it was time to expose their friendship. He had never told anyone of her because he had feared the reactions from his housemates. She too had agreed that she didn't want to be associated with Gryffindor's Golden Boy However, now he was already the most hated person in all the school except for Snape, so it wouldn't really hurt or help him. Yes, maybe it was a good idea to reveal his secret friendship now. He got up and walked through the halls with a new purpose. He strode with purpose and rounded the corner. Now he could make out Draco and his possy. A few steps in front were a gang of girls. He strode towards them and bumped into the girl on the outside, ignoring the cries of outrage his actions had caused. He helped her book up her books, and unbeknownst to anyone, slipped a note in her potions book. She nodded imperceptibly. Good.

"Sorry about that. Here you go." With that, he handed her the remaining books on the floor and continued on his way to Transfiguration, ignoring Draco's jeer of "Have you made preparations for your funeral?"

o0o0o0o0

It was currently 10:01. Harry Potter was late.. . as usual. The blond-haired girl huffed and tapped her foot impatiently. Suddenly she felt a warm presence and Harry appeared from underneath his invisibility cloak. His face was weary and exhaustion was clear on his face. She immediately engulfed him in a warm embrace. He didn't deserve this.

"Thanks, Daph," he said quietly. "You're my best friend and I don't know what I would do without you."

She smiled, albeit a little sadly, but didn't say anything.

"I am tired of just standing alone and being portrayed as an attention seeker. People can always read me like a book and they exploit my weaknesses. I want you to teach me the ways of Slytherin. I want to learn about my heritage and history-everything. Maybe I'll be a little more prepared if I come face-to-face with Voldemort again."

"Are you sure," she asked softly. "You'll have to be two different people."

"I'm sure, Daphne. The Sorting Hat said I would do well in Slytherin. I'm confident that I will be able to handle it," he replied firmly. He hesitated a little on the next part and approached with caution. "Also, I was thinking of making a . . . ah,truce, with Mal-Draco. He's obviously educated on a lot of the aspects of pureblood customs and technically speaking I am related to him, even if it's distantly. I just think he could be of a little help. I'm sure a few words and time will soothe his injured pride."

Daphne had a peculiar expression on her face as she considered his proposition. "This means our friendship will be exposed, won't it?"

"Yes," he admitted rather reluctantly.

She studied him for a moment, then nodded in acceptance. "If it means so much to you Harry, I will do it."

He released a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding and gave her a soft smile. "Thanks, Daph."

o0o0o0o0

The next day, several people did double takes and rubbed their eyes to see if they were functioning properly. There was a Slytherin and a Gryffindor walking side by side and actually talking. Several people even gasped when Harry and Daphne sat down at the very edge of the Slytherin table. Soon after they began eating, a frown fell across Daphne's face and Harry turned to look at the newcomer.

There stood Draco Malfoy, the notorious, arrogant Slytherin Prince. His hair looked as if several bottles of gel had been dumped onto it and his expression was twisted into his usual sneer. "What are you doing here, Potter, and why are you talking to Greengrass?" he demanded.

Harry stood up. "I was actually waiting for you to come here." Harry then brought the surprised pureblood heir up to speed about his and Daphne's secret friendship and how his life had drastically changed.

Malfoy looked absolutely shocked for a few moments, before faintly saying, "Is this some kind of joke?"

"No, it's not a joke. I think you were right in saying I chose the wrong friends. Look where I am now. They betrayed me because they think I am an attention-seeking hog. I know that it will take a long time before you and I can say we're friends because of the animosity in the past, but I wanted to propose a truce." He paused for a moment so Malfoy could digest all the information being thrown at him. "What do you think, Malfoy. Truce?" Harry stuck out his hand. Soon, another pale hand shook it.

"I can work with that, Potter."

Harry smirked. "Good. I need your help on political matters."

Malfoy gave him a long look. "How very Slytherin of you"

"Well, the Sorting Hat almost put me in Slytherin." Harry, ignoring Malfoy's gobsmacked expression, continued on with a grin on his face. "First order of business: wizarding traditions and customs."

A.N. So that's the first chapter of my new fic. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW and let me know what you think!