A Good Friend
Harry did not really know how he got back to the Gryffindor common room. His mind was reeling slightly and the only thing he knew he was doing was walking. He remembered vaguely replying to Ron that he was all right, just tired and in the next moment, he was in his four-poster. Harry lay with his cheek on his pillow and looked to the side. He never closed his eyes throughout the night.
* * *
The next morning saw Harry lying in his bed, feeling extremely lethargic. He felt itchiness in his eyes from the lack of sleep the night before. Harry had no intention of going down to the Great Hall to join his housemates for breakfast, and to see the cold eyes of Alex. He had asked himself a million questions. Why has Alex's attitude towards him changed overnight? What had he done? What had happened?
A familiar hooting disrupted his thoughts. Hedwig was protesting with loud hoots outside the locked window. Harry opened the window and Hedwig perched on his shoulder. The owl seemed to sense that her owner was feeling sad, and she nibbled Harry's ear gently. Harry sat on the windowsill and looked down. The view from the Gryffindor Tower had always been very picturesque, only Harry had never bothered to take a second look. He stared at the pale blue sky and the cotton clouds. His heart felt, for the first time in days, strangely calm. A cool breeze washed over his face, and Harry took a deep breath, filling his lungs with the fresh air.
"Harry?" Harry turned and saw Ginny standing by the door, holding what seemed like a package wrapped in some tissue papers.
"Hey Ginny, come on in," Harry gestured for Ginny to sit on his bed. Ginny sat down gingerly, and fiddled with the package.
"What is it?" Harry asked. Ginny's face flushed and handed Harry the package.
"I... I didn't see you at breakfast… so I... got you something…" Ginny stammered. Harry accepted the package and thanked her. Ginny fell silent, not really sure of what to say. She looked sideways at Harry, who was taking a small bite of the sandwich. If only Harry had noticed her the way he noticed Alexandra. If only she was as pretty as Alexandra. And as clever. Ginny knew that Harry had feelings for Alexandra. Anyone close to him, or had taken a habit of observing him subtly, would be able to tell.
"Harry… I..." Ginny started. This is it, THE moment. She had been planning to do this for the past few years, but had never found the chance to do so. Ginny looked away and felt the familiar warmth in her cheeks. At that very moment, a loud laughing was heard from the common room.
"Wow! This is an awesome place!" Harry looked up, and turned suddenly, scaring Hedwig, and she took flight. Harry opened the door and walked down to the common room. There, he saw Alex and Julian on the couches. Harry heard Ginny breathing behind him, and gestured for her to keep quiet.
"This is wicked!" Julian breathed. Alex smiled faintly. Even from a distance, Harry could see that she did not share Julian's excitement. It took a few seconds before Julian noticed it as well.
"Alex, I know what is on your mind. If you…" Julian started. Alex held up a hand to stop him.
"Please, I don't want to talk about Harry." Harry stepped back quietly and looked at the couple from behind a door.
"Why did you do that to him anyway?" Julian asked. Alex sighed and looked away.
"You know why. I shouldn't and I couldn't. It would only endanger his life."
Julian raised an eyebrow. "Isn't it because you're–"
Alex clamped his mouth and shook her head. "Don't say it, but yes." Alex removed her hand, and looked at the fire. The broken conversation was frustrating, but there's no way he could get any information out of them for the time being. He stepped out from his hiding place, and made a big show of coming down the stairs. The couple was stunned. They were even more stunned to see Ginny following Harry. From the corner of his eye, Harry could see Alex's face falling.
* * *
Harry went up to the library, where he could get some peace and quiet, alone. He sat down on a corner of the darkest area of the library and leaned his head against the wall. He felt his stomach protesting with loud growls, but he ignored it. Harry closed his eyes, and thought about the day he first met Alex. His heart started pounding, and Harry felt a rush of blood to his face.
"Harry?" Harry jumped about an inch in air when he realized that it was Cho. She was sitting in the shelf behind him.
"Cho?"
"What are you doing here?" they asked each other in unison. A smile tugged at Harry's lips and they chuckled.
Cho pulled Harry's hand and pulled him further into the library. Harry wanted to ask, but something about Cho's expression shut him up. They stopped in front of a large concrete wall, and Cho pressed at one of the many bricks. To Harry's disbelief, the wall flickered and disappeared momentarily. Cho grinned and pulled Harry through, just as the wall formed back. Harry stared at the wall in astonishment.
"Look, Harry." Harry turned and he gasped sharply. He was in a chamber; a chamber of natural glittering lights. The surroundings were midnight blue, and the sparkling lights only seemed more beautiful.
"Cedric found this place, when we were in first year. We called it the Chamber of Lights."
Harry finally breathed out. He didn't realize that he was holding his breath. "It's beautiful."
"When Cedric died, I spent a lot of time here. But I felt lonely. I was waiting for a chance to bring someone here." Cho touched one of the lights, and it seemed to melt into a small puddle of shimmering liquid. She blew on the liquid, and it transformed back into the same glittering lights. Harry saw wet puddles on his robe, and almost immediately, they changed back into small glittering lights.
"Why me?" Harry asked, still unable to take his eyes off the magnificent sight before him.
Cho smiled. "Because I felt that you are closer to me than anyone else, besides Cedric. For some reason, I have felt a great affinity with you." She looked away, and Harry noticed that her eyes were strangely shiny.
"Also because I sensed that you need some peace and quiet these days," Cho smiled. Harry looked away, knowing that Cho had hit a nerve. They had never talked for that long before, but somehow they felt like old friends. She could read and sense his feelings the way not even Ron could. Perhaps that's why Harry fell in love with her. She was so much wiser than he was. They sat down in a comfortable silence, staring at the glittering lights floating above them.
After that Sunday, Harry felt a lot happier. He and Cho would sneak to the Chamber of Lights once in a while and simply sit down there, watching the fascinating lights. Harry felt that those quiet visits to the chamber had brought Cho and himself closer than anyone could imagine. There was no way Harry and Cho could be a couple, for both their hearts were given to someone else, but for some reason, Harry knew that they would be the best of friends.
* * *
A fortnight later, Harry was on his way to Astronomy when he bumped in Alex. It was almost the first time they met since the day at the common room. Harry had given up sword fighting and taken up martial arts, for the reason that he don't want to be with Alex. Harry and Alex had tried to avoid each other, which they succeeded in doing so. Harry and Alex locked their eyes for a while, and Harry felt the same old blush creeping to his cheeks.
"Hi," Alex greeted softly. Even from the dim lightning of the castle, Harry could tell that Alex's cheeks are pale.
"Are you alright? You don't look so good." Alex nodded, and she almost stumbled upon her own step. Harry caught her before she hit his chest.
"Are you sure?" Harry asked again. Alex stared into his eyes. She looked away and straightened up forcefully.
"Yes I'm fine."
Harry was not surprised by her sudden hostile attitude. He had been used to it, somehow. "Fine." He let Alex walk in front of him and stared at her back. At her tenth step, she stumbled again. Harry quickly step forward and supported her. He gazed into her eyes and suddenly felt a surge of confused emotion flooding his heart.
"You don't look good…" Harry commented. Alex looked away, and Harry thought he saw her blush.
"I'll be fine. Let go of me. I can walk on my own," Alex pulled her arm from Harry's grasp, but Harry would not loosen his grip.
"I would, if you can walk more than ten steps without fainting," Harry said light-heartedly. There was a tiniest hint of a smile on Alex's face before she finally suffered to be supported. Harry grinned slightly at this small victory. The two of them made their way up the Astronomy Tower, which was one of the highest towers in the castle. The moment they were within sight of their fellow classmates, Alex pulled her arm away and walked three feet in front of Harry. With a bright and cheerful smile, she walked towards Hermione and Ron. Harry stared after her, before sighing in resignation.
The wind that night was exceptionally strong. Harry was beginning to regret not wearing an extra sweater. His robes were constantly pulling him back as the wind was being blown towards him. There were times where Harry thought he would be blown off by the wind.
"Nice breeze isn't it?" Ron shouted over the wind. Harry could not help but laugh at the sight of Ron. His hair was standing in all directions, and was also being blown from left to right as the wind changes directions.
"Cooling!" Harry replied. Some of his fellow Gryffindors who heard the exchange sniggered.
"Alright class!" Professor Sinistra yelled over the commotion. Immediately all were quiet, except for the wind. "Find the constellation Andromeda, and its position tonight. Draw out a map for tonight's constellations, and hand it next lesson!"
There was a scurry of shouts and queries between the students as they tried to find the constellation. Harry turned around to ask Hermione when he noticed that Alex was leaning against one of the pillars at the side of the tower. She was facing the wind, and Harry realized that she was standing too close to the edge. Panic burned his thoughts.
"Alex! Look out!" Harry ran towards her, just as she dropped over the edge. Harry leapt on the edge, and grabbed her wrist. He was alarmed by the chilliness of her skin. Within seconds, he felt himself being pulled over. Two other hands, which Harry knew were Ron and Hermione's, grabbed his arm and helped to pull Alex back onto the tower. Harry felt the weight getting to him, and heaved Alex over. His sudden burst in strength pulled Alex back onto the tower and threw Ron and Hermione off balance. Alex collapsed on him. Her eyes were slightly shut and her cheeks ghostly pale.
Professor Sinistra quickly dismissed the class, asking them to ignore the Andromeda constellation and hurried to bring Alex down to the hospital wing. Harry carried her up, much to the dislike of a certain Slytherin. Over the howling of the wind, Harry thought he heard Alex murmur his name. He pressed his ears closer, and heard Alex muttering the same thing over and over again.
"Please… not… Harry… please…"
* * *
Julian burst into Hogwarts' gates early next morning. Harry was the first one he saw, for the latter was out on a walk.
"Harry! How's Alex? Where is she? Did she fell off? Is she alright? Did she injure…"
Harry held up a hand. "Hold it Julian! You're asking too much questions. She's fine, and she's in the hospital wing now. She did fell over the edge, but we pulled her back in. She's sleeping now, and no, she did not injure herself." Julian opened his mouth again. Harry hurriedly continued. "Yes, Mrs Pomfrey had given her some medicine, and Mrs Pomfrey said that she's suffering from lack of blood."
A shadow crossed Julian's face briefly. "I'll go in and check on her. Wanna come?" Harry could not say that he was not trying to find an excuse to visit Alex. Going as Julian's friend seemed like the best option. He nodded and the two of them jogged to the hospital wing.
There, they saw Alex sitting up on the bed reading a storybook. She smiled when she saw Julian in. Surprisingly, her smile widened at Harry.
"Good morning!" Harry returned her smile with a slightly bewildered one. He sat on the chair next to bed, while Julian almost crushed Alex's legs.
"Are you alright?" Alex nodded and grinned. "Madam Pomfrey had given me some Blood Potion…" Julian's face looked as though he had seen a vampire. Alex continued quickly. "Which is a potion that helps replenish my blood." Julian relaxed and spoke to Alex in a different language.
"Ta you…?" Alex's face looked away, as though a child who had did something wrong.
"Ni zeng neng rang ta zhe yang zuo ne?" Alex turned defensive.
"Wo zeng neng shuo bu ne? Ta ke shi wo…" Alex exhaled and talked in an undertone. "Ji shi ta lai ze bu shan, ke shi… "
"Ke shi ke shi! Ni zai ke shi xia qu ni jiu hui mei ming de!"
Alex smiled. "Thanks for advice. I'll know where to stand the next time round." Julian looked furious, but Alex shut him up with a look.
"Thanks, Harry, for pulling me over…" Alex started. Harry looked away, trying to avoid seeing Alex in the eyes.
"You're welcomed."
Harry did not see how Alex looked at him, but Julian did. And Julian did not like it one bit.
* * *
Harry took a walk that evening after dinner. He felt too lazy to do his Divination homework, and decided to make them up at lunch break the next day. As he walked, he met the Gryffindor resident ghost, Nearly Headless Nick.
"Good evening Sir Nicholas," Harry greeted automatically.
Nearly Headless Nick grinned and greeted back cheerfully. "Good evening. You looked trouble, Potter."
Harry shook his head and forced, what he hoped, a cheerful grin. "No I'm not. I'm just thinking about my… my… Divination homework."
"Ah! Divination! You know, I was a natural at Divination in my days." Harry raised his eyebrow at this new information.
"Oh?"
Nearly Headless Nick grinned. "My professor was… hm… Griwo?… No… Grina…no…" Nearly Headless Nick muttered to himself while Harry sat patiently.
"Ah yes! Griwonya! She was a wonderful lady, and she was always ready to lend a helping hand. Her predictions were real predictions, not like those the Trelawny makes. Can you believe that Trelawny was Griwonya's descendent? Unbelievable."
Harry had no idea what Professor Griwonya was like, and didn't comment. But he was surprised that Trelawny's ancestor was a professor in Hogwarts.
Nearly Headless Nick continued with his tale. "Fine days. Hogwarts was brand new, and the Headmaster was Gordric. Best guy, he was. He married Griwonya, when I was in seventh year. Salazzar was mad, and I mean really mad. Griwonya was a charming young lady, both great in looks and characteristics. A heavenly combination!" he sighed and looked skywards.
Harry was interested in this first-hand information of Hogwarts' history. He kept quiet and waited for Nearly headless Nick to continue with his tale.
"Salazzar, of course, was in love with Griwonya, and was mad. To spite Godric and Griwonya, he married a Muggle. But he dumped her once the Muggle was pregnant. We didn't hear much of Salazzar. It seems that he did not want any attention on himself. Strangely though, he died shortly after. Like… about two years later."
Harry sat up. "Salazzar died? What happened?"
"Well, Godric had to look for a new Potions teacher, that's about it."
"I mean why he died? How he died?"
Nearly Headless Nick frowned. Harry waited.
"In his sleep, I think. We never knew the reason for his death. Godric refused to tell us." Nearly Headless Nick sighed heavily.
"Then all the rumours about the Chamber of Secrets came out. It was pretty amazing, the legends of Hogwarts. The stories of this school is endless."
Harry nodded. "Are there any books on the stories of Hogwarts?"
Nearly Headless Nick nodded. "Why, yes! I've written one myself. Legends of Hogwarts. I should show you where it is. Here, let us go to the library, unless you have something else on your mind?"
Harry shook his head. He was eager to read Nearly Headless Nick's works, and also for some form of entertainment to keep his mind of Alex. He might as well have been carrying her pictures around everywhere. Her face constantly haunted his mind. Harry followed the shadowy figure towards the library. Nearly Headless Nick glided through the walls. When Harry entered the library through the main door, he heard a name he both dreaded and yearned to hear.
"Good evening Alexandra. What brings you to the library?"
Harry peered over and saw Alex holding up a book that had gold lining across the cover.
"Legends of Hogwarts. Very interesting book." Harry sneaked a glance at Nearly Headless Nick, who was smiling from ear to ear.
"Where's Harry?" Nearly Head Nick looked around. Harry stepped out from the pillar, acting casual.
"Good evening, Harry," Alex greeted softly. Harry replied with an equally soft voice. He could feel the familiar warmth in his cheeks. Alex looked away and returned to her book.
"Hey, you two. Did you heard about the Halloween dance? I think Albus is holding one, for fun. And if I'm not wrong, there's also a Christmas dance. We, the resident ghosts heard about it…"
The rest of Nearly Headless Nick's words were lost in Harry's ears. He glanced at Alex, who was concentrating on the book. If only the balls were slightly earlier, when the both of them were good friends, perhaps Harry would ask her to the ball. Perhaps.
Alex looked up and her green eyes locked with Harry's. While Nearly Headless Nick was talking about how the ghosts hovered above Professor Dumbledore's head to hear about the plans, Harry was mesmerized by her beauty. Alex didn't break the contact this time. The two of them simply stared at each other. It took Nearly Headless Nick shouting in their ears to break their eye lock.
"Where did you two went to? The stars?" Nearly Headless Nick looked and sounded angry when he realized that he had lost his 'audience'.
Alex and Harry flushed. Alex looked uncomfortable, and stood up abruptly. "I've got to go. Erm… bye."
Before Harry could reply, Alex ran out, leaving Harry and Nearly Headless Nick alone in the huge empty library.
* * *
The next morning before breakfast, Harry saw Ginny sitting alone in the common room. She looked downcast, and somewhat, sad.
"Ginny? Are you alright?" Harry asked. Ginny looked up, and her eyes flashed. She turned away, ignoring the question and walked out of the room, leaving Harry mystified. Harry shrugged off and turned, only to see the second pair of angry Weasley eyes.
"What's the matter Ron?"
Ron scoffed. "What's the matter? I should be the one asking you that! How could you do that to Ginny? Break her heart into pieces!"
"Wha… when…" Harry was too stunned at Ron's outburst to say anything.
"When? That's a good one. Think about it, Potter!" Ron did not explain and strode out. Harry stared after his friend with millions of questions in his mind.
"What's up with Ron?" Hermione asked. "I've never seen him so angry before."
Harry nodded his agreement. "Neither have I."
As Harry and Hermione went down for breakfast, they met Cho and Alex. Cho greeted Harry cheerily, while Alex turned away with a small 'Good morning."
Hermione chatted with Alex about schoolwork, while Cho and Harry talked softly between themselves.
"She's still acting hot and cold towards me," Harry sighed. Cho smiled wisely.
"Wait and see. I think she has feelings for you." Harry raised his eyebrow involuntarily. Cho giggled.
"Trust me. She'll confess soon enough." Harry nodded, but did not put much hope into Cho's prediction. He had anticipated too much before.
When they reached the Great Hall, Harry caught sight of Ron immediately. Likewise, Ron saw him the moment he entered. He cast him an irate look and turned away. Harry sighed, and took his seat beside Angelina and the Weasley twins. Hermione looked torn, and sat with Parvati, refusing to side with Harry or Ron.
Just then, a slight tinkling caught their attention. Professor Dumbledore stood up and shook back the massive sleeves that hung from his arms.
"To celebrate Halloween this year, the staff had decided to organize a Halloween ball!" the Hall broke out into a buzz of commotion. Professor Dumbledore held up his hands for order.
"It would take place on Halloween, at six till midnight. For a school treat, the next day would be a holiday!"
The school cheered. Harry and Cho exchanged a cheerful grin. When Harry turned back, he caught sight of Alex's eyes looking away from him, and Malfoy from the Slytherin table staring at Alex.