~*T*~

Harry was most of the way to school when a paper airplane dove down the front of his shirt.

He put his back against a convenient building, and unfolded the letter:

"Harry James Granger Lovegood Potter," the letter started, without even a "Dear."

"Female's interesting, wandless matches me, but is annoying. Fine is not nearly descriptive enough. Please use the checklist below to clarify, check all that apply:

[ ] Emotionally distressed

[ ] Broken bone[s]

[ ] arm

[ ] leg

[ ] other

[ ] bleeding

[ ] bruises

[ ] other [elaborate]

I attend Arcadia, had a massive crush on my adoptive sister, which she's fucking clueless about, and cuss. A lot.

Luna hasn't gotten in touch with me yet, but I'm sending her a note when I send this one.

Call me Amy."

Harry nodded to himself, checked the boxes labeled "Emotionally distressed" and "other," then wrote "missing my girls terribly," under it.

He then crossed out Amy, and wrote in "Ishmael." He clicked his pen in, then back out again, and added "My name is Taylor."

Pen back in pocket, he folded the paper back into an airplane, and it flew off to the southwest.

A block from the school Harry stopped, watching the buses arrive, and the kids get off. They look so young. At last the girl he's looking for arrives, and he yells her name, "Sophia, so glad to see ya."

The tall, slender girl startles, turned to look, "What do you want, Hebert?"

"I want you to come over here and throw the first punch, arsehole."

Sophia crossed her arms, tilted her head a little to the side, "Why would I do that?"

"Because otherwise you admit you're a coward, afraid to pick on a girl smaller than you without a pair of cling-ons and the teachers ready to take your side," Harry waved her closer, palms up, "Are you brave enough? Or are you a weak little girl, scared not only of your shadow, but of me?"

"You're not worth my time," Sophia turned to go.

"No? We know you can't leave me alone for some reason. The whole school knows. Is the problem that you're a coward, who'll only enter a fight you've already rigged? Or is it that you have a crush on me, and are trying to show it like a little boy pulling a little girl's hair?"

"What did you say?" Sophia growled, turned back.

"You should bring me frogs or something, instead of tripping me in the halls and ruining my schoolwork, if you want to do the little-boy courtship."

"I'm not courting you."

"Really. Rebecca Schaeffer ring any bells, miss stalker?"

"What did you say?"

"I called you a dangerous lunatic."

Sophia growled, dropped her backpack, and started across the street without looking.

HONK blared the car's horn while it's brakes squeaked, then came to a stop inches from Sophia, who didn't even turn to look at it.

"So, one free shot, coward."

Sophia took it, a hard right jab to the ribs.

Harry faded with the blow, struck up with his right palm toward's Sophia's chin. She jerked aside, taking a glancing blow to the cheekbone.

Harry stepped forward, stomping his left foot down flat behind and to the outside of Sophia's right, striking up with his left palm even as he grabbed her left shoulder and pulled.

She swept the blow aside with her right hand, stumbled off balance, but not falling.

Harry smiled, another step forward, another right palm aimed at her chin, another block.

Sophia curled, hands going to her crotch, while Harry planted his foot, grabbed the back of her neck, and brought her face down into his other knee.

He let her fall to the ground, and took a step back.

The secretary and the security guard looked both ways before crossing the street.

"You're going to be expelled for fighting at school!" the secretary pointed at Harry.

"I don't think so," Harry answered, "She didn't get expelled for pushing me down stairs, vandalizing my locker, or trying to kill me on school property, so I don't think you can expel me for defending myself off school property."

"You were baiting her!"

"Really? And it's my fault that she took the bait?"

"She's black! It's a hate crime!"

"It's perfectly legal to hate someone because they are an arsehole."

"But she was a disadvantaged youth."

"Look at her clothes, she's better off than I am."

Sophia groaned, pushed weakly at the ground.

"Come on, arsehole, these two idiots are going to leave you here," Harry said, pulling the taller girl's arm over his shoulder, "Let's get you to the nurse's office," and stood up, looking both ways before starting across the street.

The secretary and the security guard followed along behind.

~*i*~

"Yer a good un," Sophia slurred while Harry supported her to the nurses office, "Too much respect for authority, shoulda kicked my ass ages ago."

"Quite often," Harry paused, "It's rarely a good idea to get into a fight you can't win. When fighting humans submitting is a fairly reliable way to survive, and you can't continue the fight if you're dead."

"So you were just waiting for the right time to befriend me?"

Harry blinked at her, then nodded, "That's a way to look at it."

"I totally missed the knee to the crotch. Good shot, totally distracted me from the fight," she hugged Harry firmly about the shoulders.

Harry looked at her sideways, "Thank you."

"Good job getting me off school property and pissed off, too, gotta control the fight as much as you can."

"You almost got hit by a car."

"That's fine, don't worry about me in traffic."

"OK."

~*T*~