Anything For You

M – For Later Chapters.

A new student at Hogwarts brings with him a new understanding of the world, and makes some people realize who they really are.

All recognized characters, places, and story lines are property of J. K. Rowling.

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It always was a beautiful sight to be sitting near the lake, watching the setting sun set the waters on fire. It was here that one would have found young Aydrian Halliwell if they were searching for him, not that anyone ever did. He sat in solitude, as he usually did, upon a large, flat rock deposited on the bank by the giant squid that inhabited the murky depths, for whatever reason it chose to do so. It made the perfect spot to sit and rest, or for doing homework when the weather was particularly fine. Aydrian could often be found laying upon his stomach on its surface, his books spread around him, writing furiously upon a piece of parchment.

As the sun sunk completely beyond the horizon and the first stars came into view, Aydrian stood up and stretched kinks in his back cracking from sitting in one position for hours on end. He stood at six foot one, his Hogwarts robes obscuring most of his figure, which was perfectly toned from years of swim training. There wasn't an ounce of extra fat on him, and the muscles in his arms flexed as he swung them around himself to get the blood flowing again. His raven black hair swept across his face as he swung his head from side to side, the longer "faded" bangs on the left side sweeping back and forth before settling over his left eye, obscuring the orb from view. This only made the other one more noticeable. The victim of a fairly rare genetic condition called heterochromia, his left eye was a perfectly normal sapphire blue. His right eye, however, was a pure white, which in contrast to the darkness of his hair and the intense pale hue of his skin made for an almost ethereal glow to the iris.

A transfer from the Salem Institute for the Magically Inclined, Aydrian still found himself wearing American fashions underneath his robes. A pair of Converse sneakers, black and white checkerboard with purple stars, was always his shoe of choice. A pair of black Tripp™ pants with lime green stitching adorned his legs, the trademark straps, chains, and studs all in place. On his torso he wore a long sleeved plain white shirt, over which he wore a black t-shirt with a band name upon it. His hands were wrapped in fingerless cloth gloves, and around his neck he wore a leather strap that ending with a pure silver pentacle which hung right next to his heart.

Convinced he had worked the knots out of his body, Aydrian jumped from the rock to the ground, his robes billowing out behind him. He grabbed his bag which leaned against the large rock and slung it across his shoulders, walking at a leisurely pace to the front doors of the castle, slipping through the doors to the Entrance Hall which were slowly creaking shut, as they always did around this time of night. He quickly stepped into the Great Hall behind some first years from Ravenclaw who were also slightly late, and took his seat at the end of the Gryffindor table. He was so used to this end of the table being empty, himself the sole occupant, that he didn't immediately register the fact that he was sitting next to a bushy haired girl he recognized as Hermione Granger, and across the table from them were her two best friends, Ron Weasley and Harry Potter. The latter was famous for defeating someone or another. Aydrian wasn't really clear on the subject, not entirely caring.

"Hello. I don't believe we've met before. I'm Hermione Granger," she said politely, extending her hand toward me. I shook it lightly, letting go almost as quickly as I had taken it.

"Aydrian Halliwell. I just transferred here this year." My gaze fell on Harry, who I caught looking back at me.

"He's been in our classes since the beginning of term, 'Mione. Where have you been?" I smiled at the emerald-eyed youth.

"I'm surprised you noticed. I tend to keep to myself." The corners of his mouth curved upward slightly.

"I notice more than I let on." He lowered his eyes to his plate again. Ron chose that moment to butt in.

"Well, if you're in our year, how come you don't sleep in our dorm?"

"There's no room. I stay in the seventh year room. There are only three of them."

"You must overhear a lot of advanced magic being in there," Hermione interjected, a slight look of jealousy upon her features.

"I'm not really there much. I get up before them all, and I usually don't head to bed until they've been asleep for a while." Harry seemed interested again.

"What do you do the rest of the time?"

"Usually, I'm out by the lake, on that big rock? Or I'm in the Room of Requirement." Ron almost choked on his pumpkin juice.

"How'd you find out about that place? I thought only DA members knew where it was."

At this, Aydrian started laughing quietly, as if he'd never laughed in public before. He swept the hair from his face, and only Harry seemed to notice the difference in his eye color. When his chuckling had subsided, Aydrian took a swig from the bottle he was drinking from and said, "I heard about it from some crazy little elf thing. Called itself … I'm terrible with names. Can't remember for the life of me. Wore a bunch of hats on his head, and mismatched socks." The Golden Trio exchanged looks of surprise before having a laugh themselves. It was Harry who spoke first, the laughter lending a lifting tone to his normal tone.

"You've met Dobby. He's a little eccentric. The best elf you could ever meet, though."

Aydrian raised the glass bottle he was drinking from in a salute as he took another swig.

"Don't I know it? Best little bugger you'd ever meet. Never has a problem with me going to the kitchens for food when I feel like it. Let it slip to him once that I can't stand pumpkin juice, and I've had bottles of butterbeer with every meal since."

Hermione looked a little annoyed by this, but she held her tongue. Harry, however, let another string of melodic laughter leave his lips.

"You should spend more time with us, Aydrian. It's probably lonely with only Dobby for company."

Aydrian kept his head down to hide the faint blush that was rising to his cheeks. "I'd like that, Harry."

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The next day found the trio and Aydrian walking out of their Charms class all laughing uproariously. Behind them in the classroom, you could see Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil attempting to help Professor Flitwick up from the piles of books he had been flung into as Neville Longbottom stood in the middle of the room with a look of horror on his face. The door shut just as Neville rushed forward, his ever present apology leaving his lips.

"I feel so bad for Professor Flitwick. He gets thrown around like a ragdoll every class. I don't know how Neville managed it today. Conjuring birds to throwing people. Anyone see the connection?" Aydrian had definitely come out of his shell as he began to spend time with Harry and his friends.

Aydrian checked his watch, noting that there was over an hour before dinner was to be served.

"I'm going to head outside; get some practice in. You guys want to come?"

Ron made to answer, but was stopped when Hermione grabbed his hand and spoke for him.

"Ron and I are going to work on his Potions essay in the library." Ron's face dropped.

"I have to work on my essay." Harry turned towards his newest companion with a small smile alighting on his features.

"I'll come with you." Aydrian tried hard to hide his glee. With a mock bow, he let Harry move down the corridor towards the Entrance Hall before him.

The doors to the Hogwarts grounds opened silently, and Harry and Aydrian were pushed back by the force of the gale winds blowing across the vast space. Aydrian pulled his wand from his sleeve, an eleven inch branch from an elder tree which had a spiral made from the tree itself winding loosely from tip to base. The tip with set with an emerald, and runes were etched into the base of the wand. It was like no other Harry had ever seen. With a sharp flick, Aydrian caused the doors to close themselves once more.

"Well, that ruins my plans."

"You could always use the Room. That's what the DA did."

"I don't know why I didn't think of that. You really are a savior, Harry." Harrys face fell like a ton of bricks.

"That's all anyone sees me as." Aydrian immediately felt bad about his statement.

"Harry … I … I didn't mean it like that. I'm sorry." Harry gave a small nod, but his eyes still shone with anger and sadness. Aydrian placed his hand on Harry's upper arm, squeezing lightly. "I'm really sorry …" With one last squeeze of Harrys Quidditch toned bicep, Aydrian turned and jogged off up the stairs, making a beeline for the Astronomy Tower which was deserted this early in that day of its usual over-hormonal inhabitants. He straddled the balcony, one leg swinging freely through the open air. He sat in silence for a few minutes before the rushing air finally got to him. He swept his leg back inside the parapet and turned to leave, only to see Harry standing in the open doorway. Before Aydrian could open his mouth to speak, Harry had stepped forward and pressed a finger to the pale youth's lips.

"This is hard enough. Please, don't." A look of confusion crossed Aydrians face as Harry took the last few steps forward, closing the distance between them. Emerald eyes searched Aydrians white one. As Aydrian went to open his mouth to ask what Harry was doing, Harry leaned forward, gently pressing his lips against the other boys. Aydrian froze in place, his mind unresponsive for a few seconds before pressing his lips back against Harrys. The kiss only lasted five seconds before Harry stepped back wards, a look of shock on his face in the second before he turned and ran from the tower.

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Well, there it is. The first chapter. I don't think too highly of it, but I'm being forced to post it, so we'll see. Let me know what you thought.

-billeh-.