Demelza Robins

Harry watched as his best friends headed off to Hogsmeade with the other third year and above students who had parental/guardian permission. Hermione gave a small wave as she left while Ron didn't so much as look back. With nothing more to do about his misfortune, Harry turned around and headed for his favourite spot, which happened to be a tree stump near the shores of the Black Lake that was hidden underneath trees, so he didn't have to see the castle while sitting on the tree stump. Harry mentally cursed his bad luck, since Uncle Vernon didn't sign the permission form due to Aunt Marge's insults towards Harry's parents. It seemed like the Dursleys always found a loophole when it came to making 'the freak' as miserable as possible, and making Harry realize that being allowed to visit Hogsmeade a pipe dream for him. Harry was so engrossed with his thoughts while staring out across the lake that he didn't hear approaching footsteps.

"I thought you'd be in Hogsmeade with your friends, Harry." a sudden voice spoke, making Harry jump in surprise.

Upon relaxing, Harry turned his attention to the source of the voice. It came from a girl with shoulder-length reddish-brown hair in a low ponytail and a pair of forest-green eyes. She was dressed in a gray jacket that was unzipped and exposed a pink t-shirt, a pair of jeans, white sneakers, and a red scarf with gold linings. He knew the girl was a Gryffindor because of the scarf and he vaguely recognized her from occasionally seeing her in the common room or during meals in the Great Hall, but he never actually met her and naturally didn't know her name.

"Well, I don't have guardian permission," Harry told the girl, not wanting to be rude by refusing to respond. "I should've realized that it was a long shot or more likely a pipe dream for me. Someone like me is destined for rotten luck."

"I seriously doubt that, Harry. Nobody's destined to have bad luck." the girl told him in a soft voice. Then she held a hand out and introduced herself, "I'm Demelza Robins, by the way."

"Nice to meet you, Demelza!" Harry responded as he shook her hand. "Even though you know my name, I'm going say it anyway. I'm Harry Potter!"

"Nice to meet you too, Harry." said Demelza. Then she asked, "Why do you think you'll always have bad luck?"

"Well, all freaks have that." Harry professed, much to Demelza's surprise.

"How about a nice walk in the woods?" suggested Demelza. "To help distract you from your troubles."

"Okay." said Harry with a smile, accepting the offer.

Harry got up and began walking with Demelza over to the woods. It wasn't long before Harry realized that Demelza was right in that a walk in the woods was very beneficial to distracting him from his problems. Naturally, he was reluctant to tell her about his life with the Dursleys because of Uncle Vernon warning him what would happen if the truth were to leak out. It even made him forget about his lack of permission to visit Hogsmeade. After all, it was only himself and Demelza and she wasn't afraid to be anywhere close to him, unlike most of the students who wanted to gawk at him like an animal in a zoo (Ginny being the worst one). Knowing he still had his cousin's hand-me-down rags that were several sizes too big, Harry started wondering if Diagon Alley had a shop selling muggle clothes since Madam Malkin's was a robe shop. He made a mental note to himself to look for one the next time he visited the wizarding shopping district. Maybe the more he got to know Demelza, the more likely Harry would open up to her.

The End!