Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
AN: This one-shot has my OC, Ananya, as Harry's third best friend.
Harry called Hedwig to him. She hooted happily. At least she's happy to see me, Harry mused. It seems like she's the only one. Harry recalled the incident with Seamus from last night. It was still hard for him to believe that Seamus, Seamus, turned against him. They were supposed to be friends. Hogwarts just wasn't the same anymore. Everywhere he went, the antagonistic glares followed him. Even Ron, Ananya, and Hermione weren't a comfort to him. He watched as Hedwig flew away with his letter to Sirius. Why didn't anyone understand that Voldemort was back? Why didn't anyone believe him? How could they be so blind? These questions ran through Harry's mind and he angrily clenched his hands. "HARRY!" a girl's voice broke him out of his thoughts. He turned around to see Ananya standing behind him with her hands placed on her hips. "I called you three times. What were you thinking about?" she asked.
"Nothing." He brushed her off. His friends wouldn't understand what was going through his mind right now. They weren't there to see Cedric die. They didn't see Voldemort reclaim his body. They weren't kept in the dark about the Order and ignored by Dumbledore. How could they help him?
Ananya laid her hand on Harry's shoulder. "It's okay, Harry. You can tell me. You can trust me." Looking at her, he saw nothing about compassion. Before he knew it, words spilled out of his mouth.
"Why doesn't anyone believe me, Ananya? Why would they think I'm lying? And the Ministry. I actually liked Fudge before all of this. I just…" he broke off in a sob, "I just feel so alone all the time. Dumbledore never talks to me. I keep thinking that if I could just talk to him, since we're both being slandered, I would feel better. But he keeps ignoring me. Everyone is ignoring me. And that Umbridge! I hate her!"
Ananya pulled her best friend into a hug. "Harry, it's okay to feel upset. In fact, you should feel upset. None of this is fair. But don't ever think you are alone. You have the Ron, Hermione, me, and the other Weasleys. You also have Luna. You can come to us anytime." She rubbed his back comfortingly.
Harry pulled away. He looked into Ananya's dark brown, almost black, eyes. In color, they were so similar to Snape's. But Ananya's eyes held intelligence and understanding. He could get lost in her eyes. It was the same understanding he had seen in Ron and Hermione's eyes when they defended him. Along with the hurt when he spurned them. The guilt rose in his stomach. "Hey Ananya, where are Ron and Hermione?"
"They have a Prefects meeting right now. But don't worry, you can apologize to them later," she smirked.
Harry just gawked at her, the traces of sadness nearly gone. "How did you know that?"
"I can see beyond!" she said in Trelawney's voice. The two friends started laughing. Harry's eyes were watering but he felt good. Light-hearted. Still chuckling a little, Harry and Ananya began to trek back to school. Maybe this year won't be so bad, Harry thought as he looked over to Ananya.