Disclaimer: I own nothing :(
A thirteen year-old Harry Potter in a clearing not too far from the edge of the Forbidden Forest. He had discovered the secluded, unfrequented space one day soon after he got the Marauder's map from the twins. It was the only place in Hogwarts where Harry felt comfortable being alone, and right now, he needed to be alone.
The shocking revelation that Sirius Black had been friends with his parents was weighing heavily on his already burdened mind. How could he have expected any different? His life never seemed to go any way other than upside down, backwards and arse-ways. An eleven-year-old facing Voldemort and a psychotic teacher, a twelve-year-old fighting a sixty-foot snake! That's not exactly normal.
The Dursleys had been right, even in the magical world he was a… a freak. It was with those thoughts that tears began to seep their way out of Harry's eyes. However, his self-pitying tears were short lived as Harry heard a quiet voice come from behind him.
"Potter? You alright?"
He turned to the source of the soft voice, one he had heard before but was often cool and neutral. Daphne Greengrass stood in front of him, a look of uncertainty in her strikingly purple eyes.
"Err- yeah, thanks."
"I know we don't know each other but…" For the briefest of moments, Harry saw a flicker of sadness in her eyes. It disappeared almost instantly and she seemed to rethink her words. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"Not really, no, sorry."
"It's fine. Just, when I'm feeling down, I, uh, like to smash things. Just conjure something with the charms Flitwick showed us and throw it, explode it, melt it, whatever you want." With that, she turned and made her way through the small gap in the bush that was the exit.
"Thanks…" Harry called out after her, looking to his wand. He gripped it and thought of Petunia Dursley's favourite dinner set, the plates in particular. He pictured the tacky pink flowers and gold trim and spoke the incantation. A moment later, a stack of six plates appeared in front of him. He promptly picked one up and hurled it at a large rock, enjoying the satisfying smashing sound.
And it was to those same smashing sounds that Daphne Greengrass walked back to the Slytherin common room, her troubled mind giving her little time to think about her encounter with Harry Potter.
"Hey, mate! What did you get?" asked Ron, nudging Harry with his elbow, not taking his eyes off his own O.W.L results.
"O in DADA, E in charms, Care of Magical Creatures, Herbology, Transfiguration and Potions and an A in Astronomy and uh…" He paused, leaning in closer to the page to see past the sausage grease Ron had just deposited on his results. "A P in Divination and a D in History of Magic. Guess I can't be an auror, huh? Snape won't let me into N.E.W.T level without an O." He said with a frown.
"Oh Harry, Snape's rule is entirely unfair, any other class requires an E at most! Surely Dumbledore will convince him to let you win?" suggested Hermione.
"I dunno, 'Mione. He wasn't exactly a huge help with anything last year, was he?"
"He was being forced out of the castle by the ministry Harry, it was hardly his fault." She countered, demonstrating her unwavering trust in authority.
"The Occlumency lessons sure were." Even thinking about the intrusive time with Snape gave Harry headaches. "I'm gonna go get some fresh air."
"Want us to come with you?" asked Ron, obviously an empty offer as he stacked more food on his plate.
"Nah I'll go find the twins or something, see you guys later."
As it turned out, it didn't take long to find them. He had checked the small quidditch shed next to the Burrow's makeshift pitch. One could usually find the twins experimenting with new products in this magically extended room. It reminded Harry of the weird, blue phone box that he had seen on one of Dudley's TV shows. However, today, as Harry knocked and announced himself, as per the twins' request, he found himself being pulled rather quickly inside the room. His nostrils were instantly filled with a smell he could only remember from that strange box he had found in Sirius' childhood room. He was also rather aware that smoke was stinging his eyes and invading the space in his lungs.
"Harry!" Fred- no George, exclaimed. "How nice of you to join us! We were just-"
"-relaxing, as per the doctor's orders. Wouldn't do to experiment with a sober head on us, now would it?" explained the other twin, showing Harry a suspiciously long and… cone shaped cigarette.
"What's that?" asked Harry.
"Ah young, naïve Harry! It is of course weed-"
"-kush-"
"-green-"
"-and last but not least, beautiful. You want some?" offered Fred, "It's good for a suffering soul."
What did he have to lose? Harry took the joint from Fred's outstretched hand. He paused, looking at the joint hesitantly, he only had one other experience smoking. It was only one cigarette with Ron but by the end of it he had been able to drag from it without coughing his lungs out.
Harry put his lips around the cardboard tip and inhaled gently. His taste buds tingled with satisfaction that almost rivalled the pleasant smell that accompanied this experience. Harry exhaled after holding the smoke in his lungs for a while. He moved to hand it to George, words of gratitude forming on his lips, but was interrupted by Fred's hand stopping his arm.
"Take a few more tokes, Harrikins, we've got plenty." He said, George nodding in agreement.
"Hufflepuff-puff pass, as they say." George said, a grin spreading across his face.
Shrugging to himself, Harry indulged himself in the joint, a calming presence spreading throughout his body. "Thanks a lot guys, I promise I won't tell Molly."
"Don't tell Ron either, while he is our dear brother, we can't help but think it would fuck him up." Said George, expressing Fred's opinion too apparently.
"Look, Harry, we know you've got a lot of shit going on, what with Voldewarts out to get you and, uh, what happened a few months ago. And well we decided to let you in on our little green secret." Explained Fred, showing genuine concern for Harry.
"The stuff has helped us out a lot over the last year or two, through good times and bad. It's not like it's that bad for you, it actually has healing properties and would be able to be found in Snape's ingredients cupboard if those stupid muggles hadn't outlawed it." Stated George, cutting in on Fred.
"The only downside to it is the unsavoury characters we have to deal with to get it."
Harry looked back and forth between Fred and George, his eyes glazed and visibly red. "I don't think I heard a word you guys said but I'm gonna need to buy some more of this stuff!" He said, giggles rising in his throat. The twins joined in on his laughing, which seemingly lasted forever.
"Well it's five galleons for 3.5 grams, we can get you that any time. Wanna see some useful spells?" asked George.
"Sure, why not?"
George took out a bag filled with small green buds, the smell once again filling the air. He then took out what he called a 'pack of skins', a 'roach paper', which was just a small rectangle made of cardboard, and rolling tobacco. He arranged the three items in a line on the table and pointed his wand at the items. "Volvere." As he spoke, a skin flew out of the packet, instantly being filled with tobacco. At the same time, the roach paper curled into a small cardboard tube, evidently becoming the roach. Finally, after the roach floated into the end of the joint, a bud flew out of the bag and levitated over the joint before exploding into small flakes which spread evenly over the tobacco. The skin then wrapped around itself to become a fully rolled joint.
"That's fucking cool." Said Harry.
"Also, it wouldn't do for mum to see those bloodshot eyes of yours, this spell fixes that." He pointed his wand directly at Harry's forehead. "Patet Oculis. There, much better. But since there's a joint rolled already, we might as well smoke it. Incendio!"
As smoke once again filled his vision, Harry thought that this summer might not be that bad after all.
"Harry you sound as paranoid as Mad-Eye! You can't possibly believe Voldemort would give sixteen year-old Draco Malfoy a mission, let alone the Dark Mark!" said Hermione, once the trio had gotten some privacy after their trip to Diagon Alley.
"I wouldn't put it past him. Who's to say a 'man' like him wouldn't use teenagers? He's only a year away from 17 anyway. I don't see why you can't support me on this." Blurted Harry, exasperation apparent in his voice.
"It does sound a bit far-fetched, mate." Ron's dismissal of his Malfoy theory stung more than Hermione's, he would side with a guy he described as a 'worthless, slimy, piece-of-shit Slytherin' more than once, over his own best friend? Of course it wasn't the first time Ron had done this.
"Whatever, I think I'll head for bed, it's getting late." He said, not wanting to feel dismissed any more than he already did.
"Yeah I suppose that's a good idea, we are off to Hogwarts in the morning." Said Hermione, always the voice of reason.
With that, they all returned to their rooms to spend their last night at the Burrow.
The morning of September 1st, 1996 proved to be an extremely busy morning for King's cross station. The sight of several gingers, a bushy haired girl and a boy with a lightning strike scar running through the station at 10:56 with trunks and owls would have caused quite the commotion if it wasn't for Arthur Weasley's notice me not charm.
"We're going to miss the train!" Shouted Ginny, just as the entrance to Platform 9&3/4 came into view.
"We've still got a few minutes! Everyone must run through one after the other, it has to be quick!" Called Molly over her shoulder.
Harry was first through, unfortunately for him and even more so for her, Daphne Greengrass had just walked through the barrier. Harry's momentum caused his trolley to collide with hers, him flipping over the handle and landing right on top of the unlucky blonde.
"Ow gerroff me!" she shouted, "Merlin, Potter, watch where you're going! Arsehole."
"Sorry, Greengrass. I thought I was going to miss the train." He reached down to offer a hand to the girl but she pushed it away.
"Whatever, Potter, just get out of my way."
"Yeah, sorry." Harry didn't know her well at all but his instincts, honed by years of foreboding feelings, told him that something was off with her. Pushing it to the back of his mind, he picked up his fallen items and ran to the door of the train that the Weasleys and Hermione stood at. After exchanging goodbyes, the group of students boarded the train with only a minute to spare.
Once on the train, Harry turned to face his two best friends. "Wanna go find a compartment?"
"Sorry Harry, we have prefect duty, we won't be done until the train is half way." Explained Hermione.
"It's okay, I'll just get one with…" He turned to look at the spot Neville, Luna and Ginny occupied a moment ago. "Never mind, I guess."
It took him a while to find an empty compartment, well, almost empty. He had chosen one that had only a bag on the chair. Assuming the owner had simply gone to the toilet or to find a friend, he sat and hoped that it was merely a third year and not, despite how unlikely it was, Malfoy. His musings were cut short due to the return of the compartments original inhabitant.
"Oh for fuck's… Are you serious Potter? Do you have to be everywhere?"
Daphne Greengrass stood in the doorway, gazing at Harry with eyes brimming with a cold emptiness. Her eyes reminded Harry of his own at the start of the summer. They were eyes burdened with the loss of someone close. It was because of this realisation that he made another, in the few times he had noticed Daphne over the years, she was never without her best friend, Tracey Davis. Harry thought it very odd that she wasn't on the train with Daphne, and it wasn't that hard for him to put two and two together.
"Greengrass…" He said, pausing, hoping that she would remember the conversation they had had in the forest in third year. "You alright?"
She looked down, obviously reluctant to share with him. "Yeah I'm fine."
"Uh… I know you like to smash things when you're sad but, can I show you what I've started doing?"
"Sure." She said, looking no more comfortable than before.
He pointed his wand towards the door and closed the blinds. "Colloportus. Cave Inimicum." He said, locking and then strengthening the door. He reached into his pocket and retrieved Sirius' 'kush case' as Fred had dubbed it. He then produced a joint from within the case and proceeded to light it with his wand.
"What the hell is this, Potter?"
"It's called a joint, it helps you forget yourself. And its ok to cough, it's your first time." He said, handing her the spliff.
"I'm only trying this because you tried my thing." She said, showing some memory of the night during third year.
"That's fine. Maybe you'll like it. Or not." He said as she began coughing after a toke.
They finished the joint in silence, neither wanting to scare off the other, Harry enjoying the simple presence of another, Daphne enjoying the distraction from the thoughts of Tracey.
"I think I do like it." She said, forgetting the animosity she dealt towards Harry earlier.
"I know we don't know each other but you're welcome to join me for more whenever you want. It's not like Ron and Hermione would be up for it…"
"So I'm the third choice then? Slytherin's Ice Queen and Gryffindor's Golden Boy, smoking whatever this stuff is together? That's a laugh."
"Sorry… I just thought-"
"You thought wrong, Potter. I don't need your friendship." Her voice, betraying the distance in her eyes, was laced with bitterness."
Silence ensued for a time and the illusion of solace allowed Harry's mind to ignore the slight and move on to other things. Mainly, those things consisted of a certain blonde Slytherin. Surprisingly, it was not the attractive blonde sharing his compartment. No, Harry's mind raced to the alleged Junior Death Eater, Draco Malfoy. Although, alleged only by Harry himself. Why hadn't he received the customary visit from Malfoy yet? His wards had long been down as the smoke from the joint had been vanished and the smell neutralised with a few foolish wand waves and silly incantations. Surely he wouldn't deliberately miss a chance to pester his self-proclaimed nemesis? He certainly hadn't done it before.
The day suddenly seemed gloomier as the evening grew later. Harry had to assume that Ron and Hermione were done with their Prefect duties by now. As he was opening his mouth to announce his departure, a sharp tap on the window interrupted him. Both of the compartment's inhabitants looked to the window, seeing two owls flying alongside the window. Daphne frowned, and reached up to open the window, letting the owls in and untying the notes wrapped to their legs. She handed Harry a note with his name on it before feeding the owls crumbs leftover from her Cauldron Cake that fuelled her first time munchies.
The note simply told Harry to make his way to compartment number 7 at 6:30pm, signed by Professor Slughorn. One curious glance towards Daphne confirmed his suspicions as she cast a Tempus. It was 6:20pm.
"Same note? I guess we'd better get going, sevens on the other end of the train." Harry said, motioning to the door.
"I'm not walking with you, Potter. You go then I'll go. We're lucky no one has seen us in here."
"Whatever." He replied, annoyance growing thanks to the girl's fluctuating civility. He turned to leave, door half open when he heard a voice more similar to the thirteen-year-old he had met in the Forest, softer than the one he had spent the train ride with.
"Potter? Thanks."
"No problem, Greengrass."
Harry arrived to a group of uncomfortable looking students and an over-talkative Hogwarts professor.
"Ah, Harry, m'boy! So glad you could make it! Allow me to introduce you. This," he said, "is Blaise Zabini, the son of a very wealthy witch, known throughout the wizarding world for her great beauty!" Harry's year mate shot Slughorn a dirty look at the mention of his mother's looks. "This, of course, is Cormac McLaggen, his Uncle Tiberius is the best of friends with the Minister of Magic. Next, are the beautiful Carrow twins, Hestia and Flora. Then, Ginny Weasley, I found her performing a particularly fine Bat Bogey Hex on another student and couldn't bear to take points! Next, as you must know, are Hermione Granger and Neville Longbottom. It seems the last to arrive would be…"
Slughorn was interrupted by the compartment sliding open to reveal Daphne Greengrass.
"Ah yes, Daphne Greengrass! How are your parents, dear? I do appreciate their apothecaries!"
"They're fine, Professor, thank you for asking."
"Since you and Harry are still standing, you may as well take the last two seats and begin the festivities!" Said Slughorn, waving his wand to reveal the food previously being hidden under a cloth on the table. "Tuck in!"
The light meal was mostly spent listening to Slughorn brag about his various connections, although pleasantries were exchanged between all students and Harry had an opportunity to talk to his fellow Gryffindors. Harry found it all very boring and vowed to miss any further meetings at any cost. Thankfully, the exchange only lasted an hour as the train arrived at Hogsmeade station. Harry and Hermione parted from Neville and Ginny to go and find Ron.
The pair met him waiting for a carriage, presumably so they could all get one together.
"What was that all about?" he asked upon seeing the pair, blatantly curious as to where they had spent the train ride.
"Slughorn's started recruiting for his stupid club already." Replied Harry, he didn't want to be considered out of the norm by anyone, especially someone as self-serving as the gluttonous Professor.
"It's not that bad, Harry. Maybe it'll be useful?" Hermione suggested.
"Doubtful."
"At least we have the feast to look forward to, eh mate?" supplied Ron, mind on food as always.
"Yeah I guess."
A/N: This is just something I'm messing around with, first fic and all. I'll continue it, probably, and if I do I'll hopefully get better. If you don't like it, I don't wanna know, criticism is welcome and if you like it, telling me would be nice. Peace out, dudes.