I do not own Harry Potter, only the OC.

Hello guys, Badger here. I am here with a new chapter, for a new story. I had this idea brewing for a while and chose to do it. I hope you like it. I was originally going to upload chapter six for Osiris Rising, but this took centre stage, but expect Chapter six for that story soon. Nothing else more to say here, just read on and I will see you at the end.

Chapter 1

An Unexpected Friendship

Harry sat one a rock beside the Black Lake, alone, the bruise on his cheek long forgotten. The last few days, for him, has left him spinning round and round so much, he can't help but feel disorientated. How his life could spiral out of control so quickly, Harry had no idea. Then again, it seems, ever since he first arrived at Hogwarts in First Year, his life has slowly gone on a downwards spiral. Lately though, things have just gotten more and more out of control. All because of a single Tournament. During the opening feast of the year, Dumbledore had informed the students, that Hogwarts will be hosting the Triwizard Tournament. A Tournament that was cancelled centuries ago, due to all the deaths that it brought. Why they chose to bring it back, Harry had no idea. To begin with, Harry was happy, because for once, he thought he would finally have a normal year and not end up risking his life, in some stupid way. But then, the other schools arrive. Followed by the Champion selection.

The, so called, Goblet of Fire was set up to select one student, of age, from each school. Harry had held his breath, when it came to Hogwarts Champion. He was relieved when Cedric Diggory, a Seventh year from Hufflepuff, was named. That relief, however, was squashed when a fourth piece of parchment was spewed from the Goblet. A piece of parchment, that had his name on it. Harry was against taking part in the Tournament and, to begin with, so was Dumbledore and McGonagall. Though, according to Barty Crouch Snr, it was a magical binding contract, meaning Harry had no bloody choice. However, Harry didn't care about that. What he cared about, was the other students. Just like Second Year, they were treating him horribly, tripping him and hexing him in the corridors, as they believed him to have cheated his way into the Tournament. The Hufflepuffs were the worst, when it came to such treatment. To them, Harry had taken away their chance to be in the spotlight. The bruise on his cheek was evidence of this. Some Seventh years wanted to show their anger. Surprisingly, though, Cedric believed Harry didn't put his name in the Goble, but people weren't listening. But that wasn't what was hurting him.

What hurt the most, was his supposed best friends, Ron and Hermione turning against him. Ron, Harry could understand. The ginger git was always jealous of Harry, just because of his family history and for being the Boy-Who-Lived. Harry had expected Hermione to be on his side, as she was the smart one. However, she was on Ron's side. She was supposed to be the brightest witch of the age, but she believed Harry would cheat his way into a dangerous Tournament. Someone should think about taking that title from her. There were very few students who believed Harrys innocence. Besides Cedric, the only students who believed Harry were the Twins, Ginny, Neville and the three Gryffindor Chasers, Alicia, Angelina and Katie. There were probably more, but as of yet, they hadn't approached him about it yet.

"Screw the rest" Harry growled "They'll never change, I don't need them"

"You know, talking to yourself is the first sign of madness" A voice, behind him, spoke up

Harry quickly turned round, startled at the sudden voice. As he turned, he quickly pulled out his wand prepared for an attack, a spell on the tip of his lips. However, he stopped, when he saw the person behind him, their arms raised in a surrendering manner, to show they weren't a threat. They were a male, Harry guessed they were in the same year as himself, with vivid purple hair sideswept, with short sides. Harry's shoulders tensed and he took a defensive stance, when he saw the person was wearing Slytherin robes. Something the person noticed.

"Relax" They said "If I wanted to hex you, I would've done so by now…and believe me I'm a lot quicker then you…besides, I'm not Malfoy"

"Then…why are you here?" Harry asked, lowering his wand, but he was still cautious

"I came here to think, something I do from time to time" The boy replied, walking forward, stopping on a rock next to Harry "You just happened to be here…I imagine for similar reasons…want to talk about it?"

"Why would you care?" Harry asked, in a more snappy tone

"Because it can help having someone else to talk to about your problems" the boy shrugged "Look, I know I'm a Slytherin, but I'm not like Malfoy…the blonde ponce isn't that well liked in and out of Slytherin House"

"Why not?" Harry asked

"Everything" The boy sighed "The way he flaunts his family and wealth, and the way he treats others that aren't Purebloods…it's difficult when everyone else thinks you are the same as Malfoy, just because you are in the same House"

"So, you don't hate Muggleborns or Halfbloods?" Harry asked

"No, I believe in equality" the boy replied "Which is why I hate everyone equally"

Harry chuckled slightly and thought for a moment. The boy didn't seem to have any ulterior motive to being here, so maybe he was going to listen to his problems. There was complete silence, as he and the boy stood by each other, overlooking the Black Lake. It was clear to Harry that the boy wasn't about to start up the next conversation and Harry sighed.

"Almost the entire school is against me" He said "Ever since my name came out of the Goblet, people have hexed me, or tripped me in the corridors and I hear them talking about me, behind my back, believing me to be a cheat…I can't even do homework, or eat without someone knocking my stuff out my hands, or making my meal spill onto me…I hoped my best friends, Ron and Hermione, would believe me as we've been friends for years, but they've turned their backs on me too…I'm just lost on what to do"

When Harry finished speaking, he closed his eyes and took a breath. Having just spilled out all his frustration, he felt out of breath and needed some air, though he did feel like some weight had been lifted off of his chest. He looked to the boy beside him and they had their own eyes closed, thinking for a moment, before they opened them. He looked across the Black Lake for a moment, where a small smile made its way onto his face, before facing Harry.

"'Almost the entire school'" He repeated "Are there people who don't think you placed your name in the Goblet"

"Yes…there are a few" Harry nodded

"Well, then it seems you picked the wrong friends" the boy shrugged "If Ron and Hermione were your best friends, like you said, then they would have stood by your side…if you ask me, the few people that believe your innocence seem to be better friends then those two…so if I were you, I'd stick around them, hang out with them…you'll find that with true friends by your side, you don't really care what others think or say about you…because they don't know who you really are"

Harry was quiet for a moment, about what the boy had said. He felt like the boy had a point. Maybe Ron and Hermione weren't the best of friends. He thought about the past few years. Ron was a jealous git, who got angry about anyone, including Harry, who had money and Hermione was a competitive girl, always trying to be the best at everything. Hermione always nagged Harry to do his homework and study, got annoyed if Harry did better then her, and belittled him whenever he got the slightest thing wrong. Ron was a slacker, always getting into arguments with Harry and Hermione, got angry at Harry if he ever took Hermione's side and, now that Harry thought about it, Ron always seemed to be trying to make people think he was the hero. Harry remembered when Ron was telling Seamus and Dean about the Chamber of Secrets and that he was the one to pull out the Sword of Gryffindor and the only reason Harry was the one to kill the Basilisk is because Ron got knocked out. Harry had to tell Seamus and Dean the true story. At the time, Harry thought nothing of it, but now, Harry was wondering how many times Ron had done something like this.

"Maybe you're right" Harry said, after a moment

"I usually am" the boy shrugged "Maybe you should think about who your true friends are, but you can always find me, if you need to talk to someone"

"Wait, you want to be friends?" Harry asked

"Gryffindors and Slytherins aren't friends" the boy replied, starting to leave "But, I'm willing to break those traditions…find me, if you need me, I'm easy to spot"

"Wait, what's your name?" Harry asked

The boy stopped and turned around, spinning on his heel.

"My name is James Badger" he said, before leaving

And done. What did you guys think?

This is probably my favourite first chapter for a story that I have written so far. Nice and simple, one location, nothing major happening and sets up the friendship between two characters. You may disagree, but that's just my opinion.

If any of you are fans of 'A different Hogwarts experience', this story will take on similar tones, but will be a lot more AU then canon. I don't have many major plans right now, I'm still planning out a few things, but it should be interesting. In fact, give me ideas for what you will like to see, and if I like it, it may appear in a future chapter.

That is all for now, I hope you enjoyed and I will see you next time.

Badger out.