Chapter 2: Getting to Know Tom

"Hello. Are you alright?"

I looked over in surprise at the boy sat next to me. I didn't recognise him, but the stranger just smiled in an almost friendly way as he swung slightly beside me. It was a nice smile. Charming and approachable, but something edgy that aimed to intrigue. But I wasn't in the mood for strangers to bother me, so I just nodded and looked away. Apparently, this didn't bother him one bit, as he continued talking to me. He explained how he'd just moved to Magnolia Crescent, to streets away from Privet Drive, and was out trying to get used to the neighbourhood when he saw me looking like I wanted to jump off a bridge. He wanted to see if there was anything he could do to help me. I thought about asking if he knew where the closest bridge was, but I knew my tone wouldn't be light enough to convince him I was joking. He looked comfortable, like he did this all the time, but I got the feeling something was off. Like he was burying discomfort to talk to me.

"I haven't got any allies here, so what do you say? Want to be my friend?"

His voice was light and held no judgement. It was baritone, and his words smoothed my mood like magic. It might have been magic for all I knew, but I wasn't in the mood to care. It was actually making me feel a little better, and I wasn't strong enough to fight back. I looked back at the stranger with a more critical eye, inspecting more than I'd bothered to before. The boy was older than me, but not by too much, 18 years old maybe. His hair was black, not short but styled neatly, unlike mine. His eyes were brown, like chocolate, and seemed to brighten when I finally paid attention to him. He was very attractive, in an aristocratic way, very sharp features. A set of full-lips smiled at me, rose pink on his pale skin. Yes, very attractive. I looked down quickly, realising I been gawping at him, not that he wouldn't have noticed. What had come over me? In a lame attempt to calm myself, I noticed how similar he was to Malfoy. He sat straight on the swing, ankles crossed and seeming totally comfortable talking to a complete stranger, alive with his superiority. Actually, though he was dressed in ordinary muggle jeans and a shirt, he looked like a Calvin Klien model in designer clothes. Very much like Malfoy.

"Well, my name's Tom if you were interested." He continued, "do I get to know your name?"

"Harry"

Tom's smile brightened, and his eye glimmered when I spoke for the first time. Clearly, he knew me, knew I was Harry Potter but didn't want to say anything. Just wanted to tell people he'd met me, or spoken to me, so he could latch onto some small part of my fame like Ron used to. Like Ron probably would try to still do, not that I was going to let him. I was taking Fred and George's advice. I was just going to ignore him when I got back for the year, Hermione to, find other friends somehow. Start fresh like it was my first year again. A hand waved in front of my face, and my eyes refocus on Tom's concerned face, freeing my mind from its path through uncertainty. Concerned about not holding my attention probably, he really was too much like Malfoy.

"So, friend, what's your favourite colour?"

I raised an eyebrow at him. Where's he going with this? "Red, I guess."

Tom grinned, "That's nice, mine's green. Anything you want to ask me? In the spirit of getting to know new friends."

I shrugged. I wasn't really interested. Tom looked good, and his articulate words sounded good too, which meant he was either a dickhead with a superiority complex or a dickhead hungering for attention in my experience, and I was already too moody to deal with either. He frowned, shaking his head sadly. When he stood up I expected him to leave me in peace. But he went around the back of me and tugged the seat of the swing back. My grip tightened. I thought he'd meant to throw me off, fitting to my evaluation of him being a dickhead, but he just pushed me. Like a parent with their child, pushing me higher. It was as close to flying as I could get during summer, the wind whipping past me as I swung, just not high up in the sky. When a laugh broke my bad mood, Tom moved to his own swing and moved with me. We weren't in synchronisation, but I could still see Tom smiling, his hair whipped out of place. Maybe he wasn't another Malfoy.

"So, how come I've only just seen you now? Do you go to a boarding school or something?"

I laughed, "Yeah, Hogwarts. I left a week early."

"I didn't think you were a muggle. I left school early too, finished all the work for the school year." Over-achiever. "I go to Drumstrang."

I slowed down, dragging my feet to stop. I'd never heard of Drumstrang and wasn't rude enough to just assume Tom was making it up, though I was certainly suspicious. At least he wasn't only talking to me because I was 'The Boy Who Lived', he seemed to have no idea that was me. Tom stopped too but didn't look disappointed. I questioned where Durmstrang was and he smirked. It's in Norway, but they keep the location secret from other wizarding schools. Not that I had any idea where that was. He explained that he went there because they're less prejudice to the dark arts, and you can read about it in the school library if you know where to look. Tom expressed his belief that he gets a better understanding of Defence Against the Dark Arts if he's studied the dark arts he's defending against. The logic made sense to me, so I nodded along. But didn't forget that this could make him dangerous.

"Actually, the last powerful dark wizard before You-Know-Who was Gellert Grindelwald, and he went to Durmstrang." Tom explained, "he left his mark all over the place. Sorry if this kinda bores you, but I've always found his uprising to be fascinating. Insanity, but interesting."

"I've seen worse."

I looked away from his curious eyes, and the wind blew my fringe back. His eyes flicked to my scar and recognition hit. He eyed me in wonder, and I ground my teeth together as I stood. No way was I listening to another congratulation speech about something I don't remember and the death of my parents. I walked towards the park's gate and felt his presence behind me. Just when I considered turning around to punch him, he apologised.

"I didn't mean to stare. I've heard you're not a fan of public attention, but I had no idea it was you. It was just the shock."

He looked sincere to me, and I didn't have the energy to stay angry at him. It felt kinda nice to talk to someone away from Hogwarts. Since Dudley scared all my potential friends away as soon as they greeted me, I couldn't talk to anyone. Completely isolated, just as my relatives like me. And now I didn't have the comfort of friends in Hogwarts I could talk to, so having Tom around wouldn't be so bad. He certainly wasn't bad to look at. I shrugged in response and stopped walking. While I crossed my arms and looked down awkwardly, he stood there composed. Completely confident, even now. I envied him. I asked him to tell me about Durmstrang, what it was like and all that, and he did. We drifted over to a bench as he spoke and I hung on each word. Half to detect a lie, and another half because his voice was calming to listen to.

"So, tell me about Hogwarts, the stuff I haven't read in books," Tom chuckled. "Like what the houses are like, Durmstrang doesn't use a house system. And your friends, what are they like?"

"Well, purely based on my experiences, the house system is pretty great. It gives a family vibe, makes Hogwarts a home away from home. I'm in Gryffindor, so I do stupid crap mostly in the name of bravery, and I'm not so good at lessons either. Only one Gryffindor girl bothers to put any work in, but she acts like a Ravenclaw about it. The Ravenclaws kind of just strut around, because they know they're smarter than the other houses. If you're friends with them then they help with homework and give good advice, but that's only the nicer ones. Hufflepuffs are usually the nice ones, really friendly and loyal. Huge party throwers too. I don't want to compare them to Golden Retrievers, but it fits too well. And Slytherins are assholes. Complete shitbags, they're smart sure, but unless you're a Slytherin they're bullies. The biggest."

"Wow. And you're friends? Are they all in Gryffindor?"

I didn't answer. Sure it could have helped to talk to him, unload all my angst in a way I couldn't with the twins, but I couldn't fully trust him yet. He must have read my facial expression or body language or something because he didn't press the subject. He just talked about his friends, but that didn't take long. Most people he knew were acquaintances, but he had five people in his 'inner circle'. All boys, because they were 'easier to handle'. I had the feeling he was an easy manipulator. Maybe he was trying to manipulate me, which I think was working easier than it should have been.

"So, friends is a rough topic, do I attempt questions about you're family?"

I shook my head. He just nodded. "We can always talk about it tomorrow. I'll meet you here, 10:30? And we'll go to my place for tea or something, okay?"

I gaped at him as he rose from his seat. Part of me thought I should think he was rude, just making plans for me without asking me, like I didn't have a voice or choice in the matter. But strangely I liked it. Having someone make insignificant decisions for me that I'd always overthink, taking control of the little things that would actually help, but not in a way that I'd hate. He was making plans to treat me, and I felt like I needed that. Why not? I didn't disagree, just watched him walk out the gate and leave. His ass looked quite nice in jeans. That wasn't wrong to think, right? Boys liking boys isn't really something people talk about so I had no idea. The Dursleys would say so, but everything I did was wrong to them. Screw it, I'd ask him during tea, see if I can break the facade I think he's putting up. Or maybe I'd get to see his ass in a tighter pair of jeans, it would be fun. So I'd show up. Why not?