Hello Readers,
I hope that you liked the first chapter and I hope you like this one as well. This is my first attempt at writing a villain so please let me know how I did, I hope he doesn't come off as too cartoony.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters, please support the official release.
Enjoy
Sirius Black sat numbly in his cell in Azkaban taking part in one of the few pastimes he had left after spending ten years in a wizard prison; pondering the choices he had made in life to land him in a pit guarded by the most demonic creatures in the world.
Though there were many sore spots in his younger years he had enjoyed them for the most part. Growing up and eventually living with his best friend had been fun. Terrorizing the halls of Hogwarts as a member of the Marauders was a blast. That same time had also been filled with its fair share of romantic flings which were also enjoyable though he never had met someone who he felt an unbreakable connection with like James had with Lily. Tormenting greasy old snivelus had also been enjoyable though he supposed with the hindsight of maturity that those were not his best moments.
Then of course he had graduated and things began to go downhill. Sure at first the idea of the war was exciting for an 18-year-old wet behind the ears wizard. He was following the great Dumbledore into battle, fighting for the very soul of wizard-kind. Then he had started to learn more about the politics of the war. He learned that for most of the supposed "light" side the problem with Voldemort wasn't that he hated muggles and muggle-borns, no, it was that he was killing them.
For many pure-blood families it was fine to hate someone who didn't have magic but you shouldn't harm them. That was barbaric and beneath the lofty magical sensibilities of light wizards. Sirius was honestly disgusted by those philosophies but by that point the fighting was so brutal and any wand that wasn't shooting spells at you was held by a friend even if you couldn't stand the person holding it.
Then near the end Voldemort's efforts shifted in a way that Sirius still didn't fully understand. Instead of targeting important targets the leader of the dark forces started putting more and more effort into finding and killing Sirius' best friend and his new wife. Right at the time when they were most vulnerable due to Lily being pregnant.
Sirius always had a suspicion that Dumbledore knew the real reason that Voldemort was so focused on the couple, because he seemed equally preoccupied with keeping them safe as Voldemort was about finding and killing them. Sirius could never fully understand it though, sure he loved James like a brother and would have gladly died in his place, but James wasn't some political lynchpin that the light was rallying behind. That was Dumbledore's position. James had just been a rank and file soldier like Sirius himself.
A part of Sirius wondered if that was part of the reason he had made the decision to switch the secret keepers. Had some part of him not taken the threat on his friend's life seriously enough so he had told them to switch to the rat under the pretense of it being less expected of them. Then another part of him would always respond that no, he hadn't thought that and that he was instead just trying to think of new ways to blame himself for the death of his friend.
He would catch himself doing that sometimes, trying to make himself hurt more. He had been in this prison for ten years now and had at some point just become numb to everything. On some level he felt that was wrong. His friend was dead and it was his fault, he shouldn't be numb to it ever, but ten years was a long time and as the saying goes time heals all ailments.
And so here he found himself numbly sitting watching as time flew by. Normally he would be doing this in his animagus form to lessen the strain of any nearby dementors, but he knew that at some point today the warden would be coming by with a ministry employee and he didn't want them figuring out his little trick.
Inspections were actually a fairly regular occurrence in the prison. Every week the wardens would walk through to check for prisoners that had died or been kissed. He knew that a ministry official would be coming on this trip because they had already done an inspection yesterday ahead of schedule. After all it wouldn't do for someone to figure out that the people in charge of the jail didn't actually have their dementor population under control. Sirius was almost grateful that they didn't have a better handle on their ghastly guards. After all it was because of them that he eventually figured out his trick for staying sane.
It had happened a few years back. The dementors had come in the middle of the night. Back then it was still nearly impossible for him to sleep due to their effect on him so he had been awake when they came into his cell. Immediately his survival instincts had begun looking for something to do. He was a good wizard but nowhere near skilled enough at wandless magic to conjure a patronus. In a last ditch effort Sirius had used the only magic at his disposal and transformed hoping that his dog form might allow him some additional mobility. Suddenly the dementors had stopped. They appeared almost confused and began sniffing around the room as though they had lost him.
Through further experimentation Sirius finally figured out that he was practically invisible to the monsters. This had wonderfully afforded him the ability to once again sleep soundly and even on occasion take shorts walks up and down the corridor. Unfortunately even though his discovery relieved him from the torment of outside forces, it didn't help with the hell that he was putting himself through by constantly being wracked with guilt over the death of his friend and the subsequent abandonment of his godson.
Sirius' musings were cut off by the sound of talking appearing at the end of the corridor where his cell was located. Peering out through the bars he could see one of the few human guards stationed on Azkaban leading another man and giving curt explanations of the facilities.
"This is E block." The guard explained, "Here is where we keep violent criminals. Dementor patrols are scheduled to happen three times a day to keep them under control."
The man accompanying the guard was obviously some secretary sent by the Department of Magical Law Enforcement to create a report for someone above him to read. He seemed like a pleasant enough fellow, you could tell because he was uncomfortable only the sick, or twisted were comfortable in a place that was home to creatures like dementors. He wore a smart set of robes and carried a small notebook where he jotted down some of the things that the guard was saying.
"I see," the secretary said, as he finished another note, "and do you have anyone of note on this floor?"
"Oh yeah," the guard replied, "this is where we keep Black."
The secretary froze and turned to his guide.
"Really?" he asked, "The Sirius Black, is here somewhere."
"Yeah, he's right over there," the guard said. "Want to see 'im?"
The secretary deliberated for a moment before giving a nervous nod.
Sirius, having heard all of this, felt his old prankster instincts start to act up. He watched as the man approached noting the fear in his gait that seemed to build as he got closer. Different options for how he could act ran through Sirius' mind. Should he bark and howl at the man to see how far he jumped. Should he just stay silent and glare at him to see how uncomfortable he could make him. So many options were laid out in front of him that Sirius was spoiled for choice. Finally he made his decision and prepared for his performance.
The secretary was expecting a lot of things when he heard that the infamous traitor to the Potter family was here. What he was not expecting was to come up to the cell and find the man standing up straight with perfect posture wearing a pleasant smile on his face. As though he were greeting guests in his garden rather than standing in a dingy cell in the worst prison known to man.
"Hello," the convicted murderer stated in a smooth cultured tone, "I don't have the benefit of a window to tell the time so I will simply say good day gentlemen. To what do I owe this pleasure."
The secretary had a gobsmacked expression as he saw the state of Sirius. Sirius was trying his hardest not to break character and did his best to seem as comfortable as possible. After all as he had said before only the sick and twisted are comfortable in a place inhabited by dementors.
The secretary continued to gape like a fish which made Sirius smile widen slightly. As he watched the man Sirius eventually noticed a detail that he had not been able to see before. Underneath the man's arm was a copy of a newspaper. Suddenly eager to see exactly how far he had shaken the man Sirius asked in the same polite tone.
"Terribly sorry but could I see the paper I am very curious about the most recent quidditch matches."
Automatically the secretary held the paper out to him. Sirius took a quick look at the guard to gauge his response and see if he would lash out if Sirius attempted to reach past the bars of his cell. Luckily he seemed to be too preoccupied not bursting out laughing at the secretary's response to Sirius' little joke.
Acting quickly Sirius grabbed the paper, doing his best to not break the trance that had taken over the other man. After holding the paper up and reading the front page however, it was Sirius who found himself frozen in shock. His mouth dropped open and his eyes bulged.
Seeing the sudden change in the man's countenance was enough to break the secretary from his trance. He suddenly realized what he had done and saw that Sirius was reading his paper. Then he remembered what, or rather who was on the front page. He immediately rushed forward and snatched the paper back from Sirius' hands.
As soon as the paper was pulled away Sirius reacted, and this time it was in a way much closer to what the secretary had expected. Sirius threw himself against the bars violently, His teeth bared and his eyes widened as far as they could go.
"GIVE IT BACK" he cried, demanding the paper, "I NEED TO READ IT"
The secretary leaped back nearly three feet at the violent reaction. The guard on the other hand immediately grabbed his wand and launched a stunning spell into the cell.
"What in blazes got into 'im" the guard puffed out, suddenly breathing deeply as the adrenaline drained from his system.
"I think it had something to do with today's headline. Not surprising considering the circumstances." The secretary responded.
"What are you on about" the guard said but he froze as well when he saw the headline that the other man held out for him to see.
COULD THE BOY WHO LIVED BE A SQUIBB
By Rita Skeeter
Below the headline was the only known picture of the famous child, as a baby of only one year of age held between his two smiling parents.
The picture in the years following the downfall of Voldemort was often seen as a bittersweet image where the final loving moments of a family that was to be torn apart by violence was captured and immortalized. Now combined with the headline above the image was a full blown tragedy, not only was an innocent child ripped from his family not the hope that the wizarding world had placed in the idea of a future symbol of the ideal wizard was dashed as well. Harry Potter would never lead the wizarding world as many believed he was destined to. After all he wasn't even a wizard
Several hours later Sirius Black was awake and again sitting against the wall of his cell, only this time he was far from numb. His eyes seemed to boil with black clouds of self loathing. He had been in his early 20's when the tragedy struck and he had found himself as the godfather to a 1-year-old orphan. He should have thought of the child first. Instead he was consumed by thoughts of revenge. And because of that here he was close to his mid-thirties and he had spent more than a quarter of his life rotting in this jail cell, all while his best friend's son, his godson, had grown and was now god knows where and without magic to keep him safe.
Suddenly Sirius' eyes filled with conviction. "I am sorry my friend," he mumbled to himself, "I have been shirking my responsibilities to your son and it is time that I rectified that."
And so it was on that night that Sirius began to plan to do what the majority of wizards thought impossible. He would be leaving Azkaban in the next few nights. He would find Harry and he would stand by and protect him no matter what.
Harry sat up in his bed and stretched before hopping down to get ready for the day. He shivered when his bare feet touched the floor, It had been a few months since the start of the school year so the mornings were starting to get chilly. He made sure to be quiet so as to not wake Nish yet, he had made that mistake once and had to deal with the other boy spending the entire day whining about how cruel his bunkmate was.
Harry had the habit of getting up early because often the early morning was the only time he didn't have to deal with his relatives, and of course because he liked to start on his chores early. Now he kept the habit because he felt it fit the atmosphere of the bunkhouse he was currently living in. On one particularly early morning he had snuck out to see the grounds and get some fresh air and he had happened to see Mr. Atkins, running in the morning mist, and ever since then he had felt that waking up early must be a good habit to have. Plus being first in line for the showers was a nice perk.
Twenty minutes later and Harry was once more climbing into his bunk with his book bag in tow. Working quietly he pulled out his textbooks and got to work on the last few questions for the math assignment due today. Ever since the start of the year, when Harry had heard the headmaster's words Harry had been trying to exemplify the three virtues that had been described and he felt that in order to be truly honest and responsible he had to get his assignments done on time. BUt that didn't mean that he wouldn't sometimes procrastinate until the last moment.
As he sat down to get to work he did his best to sit in a way that wouldn't wrinkle his new pants and shirt. As he paid attention to his uniform he couldn't help but think back to when he got them. It had been only a few weeks since the start of the year and Harry had been called into the headmasters office.
The room was sparsely furnished only holding a few bookshelves, some filing cabinets, and a large wooden desk that the man himself sat behind. In front of the dest a pair of chairs were placed for visitors to sit in. The walls were all painted in an earthy tone, almost a beige, with a large window on the north facing wall letting in the light of the day.
When Harry entered the room the headmaster looked up from the documents he had been reading, a pair of golden wire-framed glasses perched on the end of his nose. When his eyes met Harry's he began to speak.
"Mr. Potter," He said in greeting, "have a seat"
The headmaster spoke in short efficient sentences but he didn't come off as cold or rude. Instead it was merely that everything he said had a purpose so you wanted to pay attention. When Harry had taken a seat the headmaster rested his hands on his desks and continued to speak.
"I have noticed, Mr. Potter, that you do not wear the standard uniform that the school handbook prescribes."
His tone was not accusatory, he was merely stating a fact. The unspoken question that accompanied that statement hung in the air between them. Harry sat and began to feel uncomfortable, he was exceedingly embarrassed at the topic of conversation given the fact that the Dursleys always gave him the bare minimum of necessary clothing and Harry now feared that their choice to cut corners with his uniform would gain him the derision of this man that Harry had been so impressed by.
The headmaster immediately recognized the boy's discomfort though he wasn't sure of the exact cause of it. He knew from the paperwork that the boy's guardians had filled out that they were squarely in the middle-class in terms of income, so it was unlikely that they had been forced to try and make their own copy of the uniform due to financial trouble as he had seen other families do in the past. Also while he was smaller than some Harry didn't have the complexion of someone who was malnourished due to neglect. The headmaster had also spoken to Atkins and asked if the man had seen any scars or markings that may indicate physical abuse, which the man said were not apparent. In reviewing Harry's file Headmaster Jacob's had also found a note from the boys guardians that the reason they were sending him to Stonewall had to do with obedience and behavior issues. Something that wasn't uncommon in their student body.
Jacobs made sure that all of their graduates received glowing recommendations when he sent them into the world, but he never put much effort into quelling the schools reputation for being the place that the "bad kids" are sent. After spending the majority of his life in the military he had met plenty of the types of people who had grown up as "bad kids" and knew that with proper encouragement they could do great things. He wanted to have the chance to help those bad kids, thus the reason for his particular brand of marketing.
Harry, however, showed no signs of behavior issues in the three weeks that schools had been in session. If anything the teachers Jacobs had spoken to said he was eager to please. He was motivated in classes and was doing quite well with his grades. So far as Jacobs could tell the evidence was piling up against the Dursley family and the headmaster resolved himself to find out more about the situation Harry was growing up in.
Finishing all of these musings the headmaster spoke again hoping to ease the boys discomfort,
"I suspect that this is no fault or yours. So I put in a requisition request for a proper set of uniforms for you."
Reaching down he pulled up a pair of clean new uniforms and presented them to Harry. Harry was at first hesitant to take them, feeling slightly overwhelmed at what the headmaster was offering. Seeing the boys hesitance Jacobs attempted to encourage him.
"Like I said at the beginning of the year," he continued, "You carry on your shoulders the reputation of this institution. Take pride in how you present yourself."
When he heard the words Harry's back straightened and he squared his shoulders as best he could.
"Yes, sir" Harry replied with a little more pride in his voice.
Seeing the boy's reaction made the headmaster's lip twitch into a slight smile before he also sat up straighter and responded, mirroring the boy.
"Good," he said, "you are dismissed to get changed and get to the rest of your classes."
Excitedly Harry grabbed his new clothes and rushed out the door. When he next saw Nish his friend had looked at him in confusion. After Harry explained what happened however he beamed and said,
"Well that's good then, I was about to barge into the offices and tell them that they had the wrong man because you are much too boring to do something that would land you in the headmasters office."
Coming out of his reminiscing Harry finished pulling out his work and got to finishing the last couple questions. Around him a few of the other early risers in the dorm were making their way to the showers to prepare themselves for the day as well. Harry tuned out the noises that were starting to happen around him so that he could get the work he needed to finish.
After about 15 minutes of working Harry paused to lean over the side of his bunk and roused his friend from slumber with a few shard raps on the metal frame of the bed with his knuckle.
"Hey Nish," he called, "you better get up or you won't have time to shower before breakfast."
Nish grumbled as he started to stir. Though he would often joke about grand designs and taking the world by storm Nish for the most part liked to keep to himself. Yes he was outgoing and energetic but more often he was just puffing out his chest to try and impress those around him or to get a laugh out of Harry.
Harry did know however that Nish was a reliable and protective friend. When Harry had run out of pencils, after the meager supply that the Dursleys had given him had all been used up, one of his teachers had been about to chastise Harry for not coming to class prepared. Nish had immediately come to Harry's defense saying that if the teacher really wanted his students prepared for class they should all be bringing blankets and pillows because all he did was put them to sleep. The teacher, who did not enjoy the joke as much as the rest of the class, had sent Nish to the office, however he was also distracted enough for Nish to slip Harry a pencil.
After that class Harry had approached the teacher to explain the situation in the hopes of helping out his friend. He hadn't said anything about the Dursleys but had instead said that he had run out of pencils and didn't have any funds to purchase more at the commissary. The teacher had thanked him and said he would take that into account concerning Nish.
By now Harry and Nish had fallen into a comfortable pattern where Harry's reserved introspective demeanor balanced out with Nish's manic extroverted energy. They looked out for each other, be that in simple examples, like Harry always making sure Nish got up on time, or in more serious situations.
Another 20 minutes passed and Harry was just finishing his work when Nish stumbled back to their shared bunk. He was dressed and obviously fresh out of the shower, evidenced by the water still clinging to his hair, but he still moved lethargically as he collected his things in preparation for the day.
Mornings were the one time where the two friends seemed to switch places, with Nish acting groggy and slow as he woke up and Harry being fully awake and energized by the new day. Once they had both finished backing their book bags they decided to head over to the cafeteria for breakfast.
Even though everything at Stonewall was strictly scheduled the students for the most part had free range of the campus as long as they showed up where they were supposed to be on time; however, if a student missed a scheduled event they were given a severe punishment such as cleaning toilets or caring for the grounds. It was explained that this system was set up to teach the students the values they had heard in the welcoming speech. Responsibility of making sure you arrived where you were expected and diligence because it was an everyday occurrence. Harry never had trouble keeping to the schedule and thanks to his punctuality Nish was always on time as well.
Entering into the cafeteria the two boys settled in for another unremarkable day of going to classes and then trying to find some way to entertain themselves, which normally meant trying to find a group of kids to play football with. There were a number of different clubs that had been started earlier in the year to allow like-minded students that chance to connect with each other, but neither Harry nor Nish had felt particularly inclined to join any of them. Instead choosing to remain independent and take part in whatever activity happened to catch their fancy that day.
Harry and Nish eventually collected their chosen meals and sat next to each other eating in a comfortable silence. After a moment though Harry turned to Nish to double check that he had everything he needed for their first class of the day, Nish could be forgetful sometimes, and he saw Nish looking with narrowed eyes at something on the other side of the cafeteria. Following his eyes Harry finally saw what his friend had noticed and couldn't help his face contorting into a grimace as well.
Chester Wiggins was the one fly in the ointment for Harry's view of the school he now attended. The other boy was a cruel bully to his classmates, but the problem wasn't that he was a bully it was that he was smart enough to hide it from the teachers. It wasn't that the teachers were unobservant either, every other instance of bullying had been quelled quickly and the perpetrator had been punished. But Chester was more slick, ever since the boy's initial outburst against the PE teacher in the first day he had been very careful about checking for watching eyes before acting. He had apparently convinced two other students to help him lookouts, and worst of all he was patient. A couple of the students he targeted had made sure to be near a teacher at every opportunity and Chester had just waited until finally they had slipped up and been caught alone.
Even Nish had been targeted a few times when Harry and he were separated. Nish had told him that nothing had happened other than being called some racist names, but Harry had noticed him getting into his bunk a little more gingerly than he usually did that night. Harry had approached some of the victims and offered to support them if they would go to a teacher, but none wanted to. Nish had explained it when Harry had made the offer,
"I've gone to plenty of teachers before and it is always a crap shoot for whether or not they will listen to me." He said, "I have found that often it is better to just deal with it myself, everyone gets bored eventually."
Harry suspected that most of the students here had similar stories, after all this was the school where they send bad kids, so most of the students here probably had not had the best experience with teachers. Even Harry had some trouble trusting all the teachers here. As much as Harry was impressed by the Headmaster and Mr Atkins, and even Mr Thomas, despite his initial response to the man, most of the other teachers didn't get the same response from him, they weren't bad, but they were just ordinary.
Today Wiggins had apparently chosen to focus on a smallish boy that was sitting in the table adjacent to Wiggins' own and reading while he ate. His two henchmen had locked their eyes on the supervisors in the cafeteria and warned him when he was being watched. As soon as the teacher's eyes were off of him he would scoop up a piece of his scrambled eggs and fling it at the other boy. His eggy missile flew through the air and landed on the table near the boy who flinched away. This happened a few times more and Harry was initially confused until he realized that Wiggins wasn't aiming for the boy but instead the book. The library at Stonewall had strict rules about borrowing books, if they were returned damaged your borrowing privileges would be suspended for a time proportional to the damage that the book had received. The boy obviously must enjoy reading if he were taking the chance of the book getting stained by food, so Wiggins was trying to take that away.
Finally the boy had, apparently, had enough so he collected his things and made his way out of the cafeteria. A few moments later however Harry saw Wiggins follow. Harry didn't know for sure that Wiggins planned to continue tormenting the other boy but at the same time Harry knew that it was possible. Harry couldn't stand by anymore. He had seen how much Chester Wiggins had hurt other students, and in his mind Harry thought of all the times he wished someone had stepped in during one of Dudley's Harry hunts.
Standing suddenly Harry startled Nish causing him to jump slightly in his seat.
"What in blazes are you doing?" Nish asked in a shocked voice.
"Watch my things." was Harry's simple reply before he took off in the same direction as the bully.
Nish was taken aback by the abruptness of Harry's request after a moment or two. When he finally realized that Harry was headed after Wiggins and he began to move to follow, but by that point Harry was out the door and Nish doubted he could catch up. Sighing he instead began to clean up Harry's forgotten tray so that Harry wouldn't get in trouble for leaving a mess behind.
Harry made it out of the cafeteria just in time to see Wiggins leaving out the nearest door and turning to the left. As Harry tried to think of where he was headed he remembered that there was a shed behind the main building where some of the lawn care equipment was stored and he had heard that was a place that Wiggins liked to take the kids he tormented if it was close by.
Upon reaching the door he had seen the bullies exit from Harry searched frantically for some clue as to where they had gone. Not seeing anything he had no other option than to follow his instincts and check the shed. Moving along the side of the main building as quickly and quietly as he could, putting every lesson on stealth that he had learned from his years of living with his relatives. As he approached the corner of the building he began to hear voices.
"- do you want?" said a voice Harry was unfamiliar with.
"I'm jus' lookin' for some mornin' entertainment" the unmistakable voice of Chester Wiggins replied, "I couldn' find any flies to pull the wings off of, so I figur'd you'd be the nex' best thing."
Upon hearing this Harry put on a burst of speed, rushing around the corner of the shed and sidestepping the boy who had been standing as the lookout.
"Stop" Harry commanded as authoritatively as he could manage.
Everyone in the isolated space froze at the sudden intrusion, Wiggins' hangers on were staring dumbly at Harry, and Wiggins was holding the smaller boy by the collar his fist pulled back as if to strike him. Wiggins flashed his cronies dirty glares, blaming them for the interruption before he addressed Harry.
"What do you want?" he said in a threatening tone, "you friends with this waste of space."
Meeting Harry's eyes for a second the two boys studied each other. Suddenly a look of recognition filled Wiggins' eyes and he continued to speak.
"No wait, you're friends with that A-rab kid ain't ya? Why are you here? I haven't bothered him in weeks."
At hearing the epithet given to his friend Harry's anger spiked. He thought back to all the moments when he was powerless when Dudley and his gang would torment him, when his uncle and aunt made him feel unwanted and unloved. He thought of how much he hated that feeling, of thinking that no one would come to help him. Then his mind went to the welcoming speech at the start of the year, and to the three virtues that the headmaster wanted the students to learn and how powerful they made Harry feel powerful as he strove to keep them, and in this moment Harry made a vow to himself that he wouldn't live his life in a way where he felt powerless ever again.
"I am here because you need to stop Wiggins." Harry said, "You may have been able to avoid the teachers but you can't avoid me."
Wiggins face held a dumbfounded look before he suddenly started laughing,
"What d'you think this is," Wiggins said through his laughter, "A cartoon where you swoop in and save the day? You're all alone against three of us."
Looking over Harry's shoulder he gestured with his head at the lookout Harry had just run past. Suddenly Harry felt a blow impact with the back of his head. He fell forward, but if the years of bullying he had received from his cousin's gang taught him anything it was how to keep going after taking a hit. So, when he touched the ground he immediately scrambled back up and stepped back to be able to see all three of his attackers. He ignored the soreness that resulted from the first blow with a practiced effort and tried to think of what to do next, he had only ever fought back against Dudley once and that had resulted in being yelled at and tossed into his cupboard under the stairs so he had never tried again for fear of worse punishment. Today though he was fully resolved to fight the boys in front of him even though he expected to lose.
Wiggins upon seeing a new target in Harry tossed the small boy he had been holding behind him and seemed to dismiss him out right. When he saw this Harry met the eyes of the other boy and tried to motion with his head that he should get away. But something unexpected took place, The boy's eyes previously filled with fear changed, and instead became filled with fury. Taking off the backpack that had been on his shoulders the boy grabbed it by one of the loops swung it over his head to come crashing down onto the back of Chester Wiggins. Harry and the two nameless thugs stared speechless at what had just happened.
"Knowledge is power, jerk" the boy then said to the form of Wiggins who was writhing on the ground.
Harry was the quickest of the other three in the brawl to recover so seeing the shocked state of the boy who had hit him earlier he rushed forward and shoved him with all his might. Not expecting the sudden force the other boy stumbled and clanged loudly against the side of the metal shed.
"Come on," Harry suddenly called to the boy with the backpack.
Immediately both boys were running back around the corner of the building and toward the entrance. Right as they arrived at the door it swung open and out walked Nish hefting his and Harry's bags on his shoulders. Nish froze as the other two boys skidded to a stop in front of him.
"Harry, whoa, where's the fire?" Nish said suddenly.
Harry found himself panting and felt like he was shaking uncontrollably as the adrenaline from the situation he had just been in began to leave his system. Combined with those feelings however was a sense of elation at the fact that he had managed to stop Chester from getting away with tormenting another person.
"Why did you do that?" the boy next to Harry suddenly said.
He was similarly out of breath but his eyes held a look of suspicion as he looked at Harry. Harry pondered the question not wanting to blurt out an answer. Why had he stepped in when he could have easily ignored the problem like others had done for him in the past. Finally he spoke.
"I have had to deal with bullies that got away with everything they wanted to do for most of my life." he said somberly, "I didn't want that to happen anymore."
When he heard the answer the other boy stood up straight.
"In that case, thank you," he said, "no one has ever stood up for me like that before. Normally I have to skip classes to get a moment of peace and quiet."
He then extended his hand while with a shy smile as he introduced himself.
"My name's Liam by the way, Liam O'brien"
Harry happily grabbed his hand for a hardy shake and introduced himself in turn.
"I'm Harry Potter"
"And I'm Nish Kumar," Nish suddenly interjected, tired of being left out of what was going on, "Sorry about not being there for the tussle you two were obviously in, but someone had to take care of the bags."
Upon saying this Nish swung Harry's bag around so it collided with his chest and he instinctively grabbed it. Nish then let go of the bag and walked to stand next to Harry before he continued.
"Being the manservant to a knight in shining armour can be such a hassle"
Harry immediately felt bad for making Nish feel like a servant and began to apologize.
"Nish, I'm sorry I didn't mean to make you fe-"
"Lighten up mate," Nish interrupted, " learn to take a joke, seriously"
Liam began to chuckle at the comedic display of the two friends, when suddenly the doors they were still standing by were thrown open and out walked a hulking boy with dark brown hair.
"Liam," he said with worry in his voice, "what happened I came back from the bathroom and you were gone."
Looking Liam over the new boy took note of his bedraggled clothes. He then turned to Harry and Nish and his face became stormy.
"Liam, were these two bullying you?" the boy said.
"No Travis," Liam said quickly, trying to defuse the situation, "It was Chester Wiggins, but Harry helped me get away."
Upon hearing the explanation the boy immediately switched targets for his anger.
"Ugh, where is that Chester, I'll show him not to mess with my friend."
"Whoa there big guy," Nish suddenly said, "There's no point looking to start a fight after it's been finished. How bout we just introduce ourselves? I'm Nish, and this is Harry, a pleasure."
"Name's Travis Willingham," The large boy finally said after calming down, "I am Liam's bunk mate, and we look out for each other."
"Ah," Nish said, "a man of loyalty I see. Me and Harry have much the same history. I am obviously the grains of our little operation, and the muscle, and the sense of humor, tell me again Harry, what do you bring to our partnership." He turned to Harry as he said the last part with a perplexed look on his face.
"A firm grasp on reality," was Harry's deadpanned response, "something you obviously lack."
At hearing Harry's response Travis began to laugh heartily, "Do you two rehearse that or something." he said between chortles. With the mood of the group lifted all four of the students had smiles on their faces, at least until they heard the bell announcing the beginning of classes for the day.
Later that evening as the four boys cleaned the toilets they had been assigned to as punishment for being late they swapped stories about their pasts and talked about how they ended up at Stonewall. Most of the storytelling was done by Nish of course who seemed to have an endless supply of anecdotes about teachers he had annoyed or uncles and cousins he had gone on crazy adventures with. The teacher set to watch them as they work thought about telling them to quiet down, but even though they talked none of the boys was failing to work, so he figured there was no harm in allowing some friendly conversation to continue.