A/N: There are many, many types of fics out there. Some are overdone, others cliché and some, though they are those things, are still well written enough that people enjoy them. There are some themes that are common enough that long time authors that never considered going in a particular direction with a fic, decide to take up their causes- most everyone now-a-days has a "marriage law fic". I might even take a crack at it one day...

Anyways...

This is an idea I've toyed with in the past, a non-BWL!Harry fic. Of course the last one I muddled about with was one of the infamous Potter Twins fic ideas where Harry was the brother of the Boy Who Lived.

In this fic idea, not only is Harry NOT the BWL, but neither is Neville or any sibling. In fact, the "Boy Who Lived" doesn't exist, as for whatever reason Voldemort never came to power... Not entirely sure why... Something to think about later, I suppose.

Now, a common theme to this type of fic, where James and Lily Potter are alive is the fact that Harry is usually more confident, arrogant, and is a consummate prankster... Basically being his father's son. This particular version will take more after Lily, and basically be more like his canon counterpart, though others- as you will see, might be greatly changed. After all, not only are James and Lily alive, but Frank and Alice were never tortured into debilitating madness.

As you all can see, I never got very far with this. To be honest, I'm not exactly sure what I hoped to accomplish here. Still, I hope you all enjoy it.

It was official.

Harry Potter hated Hogwarts.

It wasn't as if he had just decided this on a whim, it was a decision that was a long time coming. Between a professor who belittled and degraded him every chance he got, broken friendships, and his innate shyness, Harry felt that Hogwarts left much to be desired. Growing up, hearing his father's and godfather's tales of Hogwarts had given Harry some very high expectations of what to expect. Unfortunately, the magic of Hogwarts had lost most of its luster from the sorting on.

Like many others from established Wizarding Families, there was a certain amount of expectations placed on newly arrived scions. Harry couldn't help but sympathize with Weasley- while his parents had been rather unremarkable, he had five older brothers who were each extremely talented in magic: One was a Gringotts cursebreaker, another a dragon handler for one of the most premier dragon reserves in the world, and word had it that the most recently graduated of his brothers was on the fast track to success within the Ministry, despite having only been there less than a year. Then there were the twins, Fred and George, whom many often compared to Harry's father and honorary uncles and finally, there was Ginevra, who was looking at joining the Quidditch Team- but couldn't due to the tournament. Apparently, if the members of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team were to be believed, she was a Quidditch savant and possessed even more talent than her older brother Charlie (the dragon handler), and could very likely go pro (despite the fact she had yet to play an actual game of Quidditch).

Being the son of James and Lily Potter, and godson of Sirius Black, there were many who'd had all sorts of expectations as to what he "should" be. He was not outgoing, lacked his father's charisma and talent for transfiguration and his mother's studiousness and innate talent for charms and potions. While he loved flying, he wasn't particularly fond of Quidditch. Other than his father's looks and his mother's eyes, there wasn't much that young Harry Potter had in common with his parents.

He was quiet, shy, and introspective- a loner who didn't get along with two boys who were arguably the most popular in his year- Draco Malfoy, a Slytherin and Neville Longbottom, a Gryffindor.

The animosity between himself and the Malfoy scion was hardly a surprise as the Malfoy's were cut from the same cloth as the Blacks who put great stock in ancestral achievements and purity of blood, where the Potters on the other hand had always been quite unbiased towards muggleborns and even supported Muggle rights.

The rift between Longbottom and Harry however, WAS a surprise. It was well known that James and Lily Potter got on quite well with Frank and Alice Longbottom. Their children, nearly born on the same day, grew up together and were seldom apart in their pre-Hogwarts days. They were the best of friends, almost brothers. Many were often heard to compare Neville Longbottom and Harry Potter to James Potter and Sirius Black, their relationship was that close. However, this lifetime of friendship eventually eroded away into nothing as Neville was sorted into Gryffindor much like his father, whereas Harry was sorted into Hufflepuff. Neville was quick to find new friends while hesitant to associate with a member of the house of duffers whereas Harry, even after three years was barely more than casual acquaintances with other members of his house, opting to spend most of his time either studying or apprenticing under Madame Pomphrey.

Which brought Harry's thoughts to his current quandary.

Finding a date for the Yule Ball.

His biggest problem was a distinct lack of courage- he wasn't a Gryffindor after all. He'd tried to get advice from the male role models in his life, be he was wary of following most of it. After all, Uncle Sirius, aside from not having a steady girlfriend for more than a week at any given time, made all sorts of salacious suggestions that Harry was certain he would not have the courage to try by the time he graduated Hogwarts, never mind over the next couple of weeks leading to the ball. Uncle Peter, on the other hand, was quite the exact opposite of Uncle Sirius, as Harry could not remember Peter EVER having a girlfriend, making his experience in the dating game nearly equal to Harry's.

As for his own father...

Given how long it had taken James Potter to win over Lily Evans, Harry wasn't too keen to test out how reliable his father's advice was. If Harry was certain about anything in his life, he definitely couldn't take rejection as well as his father could.

Unsurprisingly enough, Remus Lupin's advice sounded actually reasonable, but Harry chalked this up to Remus having a barely legal girlfriend who wasn't much older than some of the girls Harry went to school with. He only hoped the old wolf didn't mention his desperate pleas to Tonks as he was sure the metamorphamagus would never let him live it down.

However, receiving advice on getting a date and actually following through were two very different things, especially since he wasn't the only one on the prowl for a date. And much to his own dismay, as the days went by, more and more girls he considered asking were being rapidly snatched up as dates for other guys.