Harry slowly pushed his mashed potatoes along the outside of his plate,
completing the fifteenth full revolution since lunch had begun. He sighed
and looked around the room absentmindedly, taking in the same familiar
people he had been cohabitating with for six years. It was the second
weekend of Harry's sixth year at Hogwarts School for Witches and Wizards,
and so far it didn't seem to be a very promising year.
Harry sighed again, not wanting to recall the events of his fifth year at
Hogwarts. It was difficult not to, though, since everyone else at the
school seemed so wary of it. Even his best friends, Ron Weasley and
Hermione Granger seemed cautious around him. Everyone's attitudes had only
made Harry confine himself to his room for hours at a time, doing homework
or polishing his beloved broomstick, the Firebolt. But even Quidditch was
difficult for Harry. His broom was a present from his godfather, Sirius,
who was murdered by a group of Death Eaters. Not a day went by that Harry
didn't miss Sirius. He had saved all of Sirius' letters and put them in
his scrapbook, behind all the pictures of his parents.
But Harry didn't want to think of that any more. It had become too
difficult for Harry to dwell on all of his losses. He just felt stuck,
surrounded by the all too familiar faces of Hogwarts, where nothing seemed
to go right. Of course, he still loved his school. He wasn't entirely
sure he could stand to be any place else, and he was grateful for it.
Dumbledore especially had helped him survive the seemingly endless summer.
But now he was back, and alone.
Alone. That's how Harry really felt, like there was no one else out there.
And there really wasn't. Harry's frustration rose, like it had thousands
of times since Sirius' death. Why him? Why always him? Malfoy would
scornfully spit, "The great, ever suffering Harry Potter. Oh boo hoo
Potter, do you need a tissue?"
But he never asked to be the "great Harry Potter." And he would give nearly
anything just to be a normal kid. He craved normality, being normal meant
knowing his parents. It meant being able to have Sirius over for dinner if
he wanted to. Being normal meant no more freak accidents, no more tests to
see how strong the "great Harry Potter" really was.
Tears welled up in Harry's eyes, but he had cried enough. He threw down
his fork and flew out to Hagrid's hut, nearly knocking someone over in his
haste.
