This is going be the lighter than I thought because even I felt sorry for dear Harry, and just to cut him some slack. He's going to have lots of love and support before all the bad things happen. ^_^ Oh! And adding in small pairings, or going-to-be pairings: Ron/Hermione, and Blaise+Harry. Mwahahaha... Don't worry- it's still going to be Harry and Draco. ^_^
Shamera
It really was strange pretending not to know people that you do. Especially when they've been your best friends for years.
But as Harry found a seat in the middle of History of Magic, he couldn't help but groan mentally at all the whispering about the "new" student. He didn't want to look up to see all the pointed stares in his direction, although this time it wasn't because of his scar.
And he didn't want to tell them about his scar, he mused, not while they didn't question it. It wasn't as if they were looking for a scar on Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived, so they could question it. Of course, Lily and James Potter didn't count, since they seemed to notice all the differences between him and their own son anyway.
Patting his dark fringe reassuringly, Harry looked up when he saw someone take a seat next to him. He wasn't surprised to see Seamus grinning curiously at him, as the other boy had always been curious about other people. But Harry hadn't been sure if the trait had been dominant of the Seamus of this world.
"Hullo!" Seamus said brightly, careful not to be too loud to get Professor Binn's attention. "You're Harry Potter, right?" He didn't give Harry time to confirm this before he went on, "Professor Dumbledore was talking about a new student this morning. He said that you're a Gryffindor, but that you won't be staying with us for a while. Didn't tell us why. But are you related to Professor Potter? They said he didn't have a kid, though. How come you weren't here for the first five years?
"Oh! By the way, I'm Seamus. I'm in Gryffindor, too." Seamus grinned sheepishly at the dazed expression on Harry's face from all the questions. The sandy-haired boy extended his hand to the raven-haired boy with a smile. "We've never had a student start in the middle years before, so it might be a little strange to others- they'll stare at you a lot. But we should be able to help you settle in!"
"We?" Harry questioned, even as he shook Seamus's hand. Seamus just had a way of gaining trust from someone, a charismatic endeavor that landed him in Gryffindor in the first place. Or at least that was what the Seamus of his world always claimed.
"Yeah, we as in Dean, Ron, and I." He pointed to two tables not far away in the back, where students were dozing lightly in class. "Dean's the quiet one, and Ron's the redhead. We're not much, but we're the Gryffindor Trio!"
Harry felt a sharp sting in his heart. They were the Gryffindor Trio? But… well, it was probably what would have happened. He had never been there, and Ron and Hermione never had to face a troll because Voldemort had never died and Quirrell never let in that mountain troll, probably never taught Defense Against Dark Arts at Hogwarts anyway. So the friendships had never taken place, those dangerous situations never making Ron and Hermione closer than ever. Did that mean that those two weren't together? It would be so strange to see them apart after seeing them joined at the hip for over a year.
"So what about you? Where were you before Hogwarts?" Seamus asked.
"Ehh…" Harry remembered the story that James and Lily had told him. "I was home schooled. Mom and Dad thought that with it being so dangerous in the wizarding world lately, they wanted to make sure that I wasn't a target. I was under the Fidius Charm for a while, until they finally conceded that I needed to learn to socialize and learn by experience."
Seamus looked skeptical for a moment before moving on. "Then you're related to Professor Potter?"
"He's my dad."
It felt extremely uncomfortable to say that, despite the fact that he had always longed for his parents. It was just that he had been used to the fact that his parents would be nothing but an ideal and a dream for so long… he couldn't really deal with the reality of it. Especially when they weren't really his parents, per say.
"Wow, he must be strict." Seamus whistled. "I remember when Professor Potter taught here in first year. He taught us a lot, yeah… but we were given tons of work- more then Professor Snape, and that's saying something! I mean, I know that we're at a war and we need to know all we can about the Dark Arts… but honestly. It's not like You-Know-Who's going to attack Hogwarts."
"I'm sure he has his reasons for being strict, though." Harry mused. He wasn't sure so if Voldemort was that afraid of Hogwarts anymore. After all, his years at school had proved otherwise.
But other than that, he wasn't surprised that no one was paying attention to Professor Binns… well, with the exception of Hermione, of course.
"Well, I don't know… He seemed kind of dank and moody all the time to me." Then Seamus remembered whom he was talking to. "Not that he is, of course! His home life must be loads different."
"Um… I'm pretty sure you're accurate."
Harry looked away as Seamus gave him a sympathetic look.
"Hello." He gave a small smile to the girl sitting before Seamus, taking notes at a furious pace. "You're Hermione, right?"
The bushy-haired girl (She looked very different from how Harry remembered her in sixth year- the Hermione he remembered had cut her hair boy style and allowed the curls to grow wild, making her hair as messy as Harry's.) slammed her quill into her ink bottle before turning back to glare at Harry. "Yes, I am Hermione. And I should warn you now since you are new, that making fun of me while I can hear you will have dire consequences. I may be a nerd, but that only means I know enough hexes to curse you into next week."
She turned back to her notes.
Harry sat back, stunned, before turning with a questioning look for Seamus. The Irish boy gave a shrug, rolled his eyes and made a gagging noise at Hermione. The witch stiffened, but did not turn to see who had emitted the noise.
Harry decided to remain silent to digest the fact that one of his best friends was nothing like how he remembered her.
"Transfiguration next!" Seamus said gleefully, rubbing his hands when he stood up. The end of class had startled most of the students, and some had friends wake them up. Harry was putting his books back into his bag when Dean and Ron had walked over to Seamus, also curious about Harry, having slept through the class and hadn't really noticed the small boy.
He watched Hermione leave class in a flurry and was more than startled by the hands that suddenly grasped his shouldered, as Seamus enthusiastically introduced Harry to Ron and Dean. He stumbled forward a bit, not used to the weight of the other larger boy.
The other two Gryffindor boys accepted Harry easily, chatting with him on their way to Transfiguration, talking about classes and teachers and other students, especially after Ron and Dean heard of the incident with Hermione back in History of Magic. Ron was incensed at the way the Gryffindor bookworm brushed the small raven-haired boy off so menacingly, even though Harry hadn't said anything harsh to her. It took quite a while for Dean and Harry to placate him, while Seamus amused himself by ideas of pranks to pull on the girl.
At Transfiguration, Professor McGonagall pulled Harry aside to work with him alone, trying to grudge what level he should be placed at for her class. Having gotten a new wand from his parents earlier, Harry hadn't been sure about what would happen, but was pleasantly surprised when he found it was much easier than when he had been back in his home universe. McGonagall had been elated and awarded points to Gryffindor even though it was only his first day in class.
The two hours of Transfiguration went by exceedingly fast despite the hostile glares that Hermione kept sending him every time McGonagall praised him or granted Gryffindor points. Harry surprised himself with the ease in which he performed spells in class, and how he was usually able to grasp the concept of a spell within the first try. The other three Gryffindor boys who had accepted him so easily cheered him on, also surprised at Harry's magic, but not commenting on it besides how there was finally someone who could beat Hermione in that class.
Chatting and laughing loudly on their way to lunch, Harry once again felt a pang in his chest and looked behind in the Transfiguration classroom where Hermione was slowly putting away her books, giving Neville a small smile when he sent a worried look her direction. He was dragged away before he could see anything else.
"That was really cool, Harry!" Ron had exclaimed when they reached the Great Hall. The redhead was nearly bouncing as he walked to Harry left, although not as bad at Seamus. The Irish boy in question was bouncing around. "You showed her!! Ha! It's what she gets for being so rude to people all the time. She shouldn't have judged Harry before she knew him!"
Harry gave a weak smile at the mention of his name, but didn't feel any better. He had a feeling that the Hermione of this world took much more pride in being the best student than the Hermione of his own world. "I don't think- "
"She really had it coming." Seamus agreed quickly. He slapped Harry on the back and grinned at the smaller boy. "Good job, Harry!"
Harry protested, "She doesn't seem that bad. She-"
"Doesn't seem that bad?" Ron was shocked. "She's been humiliating us in our classes for years! Always so snobby… She's as bad as a Slytherin!"
Harry shut his mouth as Ron said that, and immediately looked forward as they stepped into the Great Hall. There were much less people there than he remembered, and he guiltily realized that it was because of Voldemort. He remembered more students in first and second year, because parents had deemed it safe for children when Voldemort had been defeated and showed no signs of coming back.
Misinterpreting his worried expression, Dean smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, Harry. Everyone here is really friendly- and besides, we'll introduce you to people! Gryffindors stick by each other, eh?" There was a amused wink thrown for his benefit.
Gryffindors stick by each other? Harry gave a weak smile in return. What about Hermione?
"Actually," he said, "I think I'll apologize to Miss Granger just the same."
The other three immediately started protesting, pulling him to a far end of the Gryffindor table and away from the said girl. But Harry shook his head and said that he didn't want to make any enemies in the school on his first day, and turned to head towards Hermione's direction.
"But you have nothing to apologize for!" Ron cried, trying a last time to get their new friend away from what they dubbed as the 'queen of hexes'.
"Maybe not." Harry agreed. "But it never hurts to be sure."
He walked towards a secluded section in the Gryffindor table and faintly heard Ron muse on the absence of a certain blonde Slytherin at lunch. He came to a stop before the brown hair girl, waiting for her to notice him and wondering just what he was going to say.
Getting a semblance of his old group of friends back seemed a lot harder than he thought. Although he knew the Professors were all working on a way of getting him back home, they had more important matters to get tend to as well and might take a while before offering him any solutions on how to get him home. Besides, Harry was sure that James and Lily Potter were purposely putting off getting him home, and he didn't want to see his former friends so separated from each other when they had been so close before.
After a few moments of poking at her food miserably, Hermione looked up and scowled at the sight of the new boy standing nervously before her.
"I'm sorry if I offended you earlier," Harry tried, clasping his hands behind his back. He knew how Hermione was when she believed herself wronged, and didn't want to become a target of her anger. "I didn't mean to, and I didn't know that I would."
Hermione seemed more than a little surprised at Harry's apology, and opened her mouth to deliver a sharp retort before seeing Harry's hesitant demeanor and fell silent. She flustered a bit, poking a bit at her food with her fork while she listened to the green-eyed boy seat himself beside her.
"I guess I went a bit overboard earlier," she admitted reluctantly after a few moments, seeing that he wasn't going to go away. "And I'm sorry about that."
"The way the others were talking about you, I'd say it was justified." Harry tried lightly. "I probably would have reacted the same way."
Hermione eyed the boy wearily. He seemed too nice to be true, really. She didn't want to believe in what he said. She remembered when the boys pulled something like that on her in second year, trying to be her friend so they could have help with their homework. They had gotten into a fight then and Hermione had stormed off, and the three Gryffindor boys had never tried to approach her again. In fact, they avoided and taunted her throughout the years.
Seeing that she wasn't going to respond to him, Harry continued, "I'm really not trying to insult you or anything." He thought furiously. "You just remind me of a really god friend at home. She always used to remind me to study or to be careful… she's one of the kindest people I know, but has quite a temper when someone's being an idiot." His lips quirked up into a strangely melancholy smile. "You seemed a lot like her."
Hermione was amazed by the sincerity in Harry's statements, and she blinked at seeing the far off sadness in his smile. "What happened to her?"
She felt his green eyes pierce through her, as if staring at someone who wasn't there. His gaze firmed and intense eyes met hers.
"I don't know." He said honestly. "We… lost contact."
She felt doubtful about that. When he had described the mystery girl, they had sounded close enough to be family. There was no way they could just lose contact. But she knew not to pry… yet.
"I'm sorry," she offered, not knowing what else to say. She thought about that sad smile and came up with something quickly. "I always tutor Neville (he's in Gryffindor as well) a bit in the library on the weekdays after the last class and before dinner. Do you want to join us? I know it doesn't sound like much, but homework is usually done faster when there are more people around to help…"
"Actually, I'd be glad to." Harry looked relieved at the offer. "How about we forget the earlier classes and start over again?" He held out a hand. "Hello. I'm Harry Potter. I'm very pleased to meet you."
Hermione smiled lightly and took his offered hand. "I'm Hermione Granger. Pleased to make your acquaintance."
Harry gave a brilliant smile.
Draco nudged Blaise in the arm when he saw the Gryffindor bunch walk into Herbology. His fellow Slytherin barely raised his eyes before he lowered them again, snorting in annoyance. But Draco continued to watch as a small form appeared after the forms of his Gryffindor foes. Surprisingly, the new boy in general was talking with Hermione Granger, who was nodding every few seconds.
Draco's gray eyes narrowed as he followed the strange boy with his gaze over to the Gryffindor side and listened as the boy chuckled slightly to something that Ron Weasley said. He watched as the boy smiled at Dean Thomas, and said a few encouraging words to the groaning Seamus Finnigan.
It was the same boy he had seen the day before, that much was sure. Those bright green eyes were unforgettable, and that tousled black hair stood out from all the neatly gelled order that was the trademark of almost all teenaged boys.
Draco had heard the announcement that Professor Dumbledore gave at breakfast, of course. Everyone had, and there had been plenty of rumors about the new student running around school. But as he had not been in at lunch, he hadn't been able to see the reaction of the student population to the Potter boy.
But the thing was, Professor Dumbledore had been talking about Harry Potter as the child of James and Lily Potter, yet Draco knew that he had clearly heard James Potter talk about someone who claimed to be his son the day before. And while he had no doubt that the Harry Potter mentioned at breakfast was the same boy as the one in the Hospital Wing, there was something missing from the picture.
And Draco intended to find it.
It just had to be his luck that the mystery boy was in Gryffindor. He had planned on befriending the boy and trying to find out more about him, but now it was nearly impossible. Gryffindors and Slytherins just didn't associate that way.
He hadn't even realized that he was staring at the Gryffindor boy when he saw Weasley lean over the raven-haired boy and whispered quite loudly, "Don't look now, but Malfoy's staring at you."
Draco flushed and quickly turned away, turning his attention to hacking up the weeds surrounding the newest carnivorous plant that Professor Sprout wanted them to take care of. He saw Blaise look on curiously from the corner of his eye- it appeared that the other Slytherin had heard the Weasel's statement as well.
"What are you talking about, Ron?"
The bespectacled boy was looking in Draco's direction now, and the blonde boy gritted his teeth in irritation from Weasley's comments. The other boy had been his enemy ever since the beginning of school, and while Draco was reluctant to admit that it was his fault that they got off on the wrong foot, the redhead really knew how to keep a grudge.
"It only means trouble, Harry." Ron was explaining. "Malfoy's a Slytherin. And the worst of the lot, as well."
"What's wrong with Slytherins?"
Draco nearly choked on nothing as he heard that naïve statement. Surely the other boy realized the reason why no one interacted with Slytherins except for other Slytherins?
"What's wrong with Slytherins?" Ron echoed, sounded as disbelieving as Draco felt. "They're… blimey, Harry, they're Slytherins! They're deceitful and will do just about anything to get their way! They're biased and annoying! Horrible, lying, scheming, evil bastards! Monsters! Don't you know anything about Hogwarts, Harry?"
"Of course I do." Harry sounded quite annoyed. "A lot more than you think I do, that's for sure. You really shouldn't judge people like that, Ron. I used to think something along those lines concerning Slytherins, but it's not true. You're being stereotypical. Not all Slytherins are like that. No one's as two-dimensional as that, Ron."
Draco looked up, and noticed that the rest of the class was also paying attention to the exchange. When it was a Gryffindor-Slytherin class, everyone was paying attention to the topic.
He was surprised to see the green-eyed boy leave the Gryffindor side in a huff and stalk over to the Slytherin side. He was even more surprised when the boy stopped at his side and looked him straight in the eyes.
"Is it alright if I questioned you for a bit in front of everyone else?" The boy asked directly. "None of this should be embarrassing, but accessing."
Draco could feel himself nodded, although he didn't exactly know why.
"What's your name?"
The Slytherin blinked. That was certainly direct. "Draco Malfoy, of course."
The bespectacled boy ignored the arrogance placed into the answer. "Age?"
Draco stared at the Gryffindor like he had three heads. "I'm in sixth year, just like everyone else here."
"Fine. 16. Favorite subject?"
"Potions."
"A pastime? Favorite sport?"
"Reading and playing Quidditch."
"Anything in particular you dislike?"
Draco peered at the other boy. That question could be used against him, yet it was vague enough for him to give a vague answer. "Red and gold."
Green eyes flashed for a moment, but settled before Draco could acknowledge it. "Favorite animal?"
Draco smirked. "Snakes."
Harry nodded, as if satisfied. "A sixteen year old boy who attends Hogwarts, whose favorite subject is Potions, who likes reading and playing Quidditch. Dislikes the colors red and gold, and likes snakes. That certainly sounds more like a typical teenaged boy than a monster, don't you think?"
The raven-haired boy eyed the students to let them know that what he said was addressed at the entire class. When he saw their stunned expressions, he nodded to himself and turned back the the blonde Slytherin.
Harry calmly continued. "Hello Draco. I'm Harry Potter."
It was one of the few times Draco was shocked into silence.
Three years ago, he would have shocked himself by the performance he gave at Herbology. Yet knowing that he had gotten to be extremely good friends with Draco before, and perhaps something a bit more, Harry really wasn't surprised that he reacted in that manner when Ron accused all Slytherins of being monsters. It was something that Harry himself couldn't stand, having someone call Slytherins monsters. It was unfair that the rest of the school ostracized Slytherins because they were ambitious.
It was no wonder that so many Slytherins had turned to the other side afterward. Harry dimly remembered how a small amount of kindness could change someone, especially those who did not expect this kindness.
So it was because of that thought that Harry continued to ignore the whispers in the halls as he walked to Potions with the rest of the Gryffindor and Slytherin class. Half the sixth year Slytherin class was still in a state of shock, even after Herbology. The Gryffindors were giving Harry weary looks, although Hermione didn't seem to notice. She had been just as surprised as Harry when he had gone up to Draco, but she had supported what he did whole-heartedly. According to her, it should have been done long ago, but everyone let house rivalries blind him or her.
Even so, it didn't stop the suspicious glances and dark whispers from going around. Befriending Hermione was one thing for the Gryffindors, but defending Slytherins was quite another thing.
So Harry had expected to be left sitting alone in Potions, as Hermione had to sit next to Neville to make sure that he didn't do anything wrong in class. What he hadn't expected, however, was Blaise Zabini sliding into the seat next to him and smiling indulgently.
It was the first time that Harry had really paid attention to Blaise, as Blaise had transferred to Durmstrang during the middle of fifth year, and he had never really gotten to know the other boy. But now that he was actually looking at the other boy, Harry felt horrendously short. Not that he was short in any way- 173 cm was average height already. But the auburn-haired boy was nearly Ron's height and excreted confidence the same way that Draco did.
"Here to tell me that I'm stupid for judging Slytherins like that?" Harry inquired, inching away from the other boy slightly, as he didn't know how Blaise would react.
"I actually think you have very interesting views." Blaise admitted with a cocky grin. "A bit naïve, maybe, as you're ignoring the Slytherins who would be monsters."
"I'm not ignoring them," Harry replied, folding his arms and forgetting the part about being naïve. "I just believe that everyone has reasons for doing something. There are cause and effects, and there are explanations for all of it."
Blaise raised an eyebrow. "Very muggle of you. You must remember that wizards have no use for science."
"But you shouldn't let magic limit you," Harry quoted, remembering how Hermione had said that to Ron before. "According to muggles, magic is only a collection of the unexplained."
Blaise stared at Harry for a moment before laughing.
That day's Potions class had, to Harry's surprise, been a memorable one. Even though the dark-haired boy had been watching Draco from time to time, talking and laughing with Pansy Parkingson of all people, he had enjoyed getting to know Blaise Zabini. The other boy proved to be more than a bit interesting, switching rapidly from subject to subject, involving himself in pointless arguments with the Gryffindor boy. And Professor Snape had been much nicer to him, much nicer to everyone in general according to Harry's shaky memories.
Perhaps it was because he hadn't been working for Voldemort anymore. Harry had been shocked to learn that Severus Snape and Lily Potter were extremely good friends, all throughout school and the war. And that Remus Lupin and Severus Snape were best friends.
Harry had found himself asking Hermione if she minded a few more people in the study sessions before inviting both Blaise and Draco along. Luckily the others hadn't heard, as they were shocked enough that a Gryffindor could get along with two Slytherins.
For some reason, Harry felt comfortable talking with Draco and Blaise. He wasn't sure why, but he figured it was part of a memory that he still hadn't recovered. There were still so many blurred images in his mind that he couldn't fit together yet, so he didn't worry about that too much.
Wow! To all the people who reviewed chapter 3, Phoenix353, Shinigami, kcgal, mandraco, Death Eater, Ryllis, Saya-Sato, Kanashimi, Lily Evens Potter Black Lupin (long name! ^_^), kkand Milla. Also to suzaku no hi on AIM. Thanks for waiting so long, especially all those who reviewed before! I went through a million plot changes, and I'm still not sure if Harry will stay in this universe or not, although I can say that he's going back home to see what happened later. I'm sorry for grammer mistakes ^^;;, it's just that a beta is somewhat hard to keep track if given my schedule. Yes, Harry is friends with Draco back in his home universe, but he currently doesn't remember how close. ^_~ Thank you for all the encouragement through this! Finals was nerve-wreaking... O.o;; And to kcgal, I might continue on my G-Wing stuff, but only to finish two of my stories.
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