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I am a Freak

By Jamnaz79

Notification: I do not own this story or Harry Potter. The story and characters are not property and I do not claim ownership and I will not make any money off of anything.

Author Note: Please note in this story Hogwarts starts at thirteen instead of eleven years old.

"I am not a freak!" The voice of Harry Potter cried out loud in the empty room frustrated from his day, year, life! The fact that he had been entered into a tournament that meant life or death was frustrating for the sixteen year old boy. Add to that the fact that now the school was wearing buttons that read Support Cedric and Harry Potter the Freak was perhaps the last straw. This is the same school that had turned against him second year. Now though he had been abandoned by everyone, his House mates, best mate and best friends.

"You are a freak Harry Potter." The voice was light and airy and spoken without malice. It surprised Harry as he had thought he was standing alone in an unused classroom. Instead he found himself in the most unusual thing. A pair of tiny arms wrapped around his too thin waist and squeezed him from behind. He tightened up at the embrace having only a received the strange thing that was a hug from a few people in his life. In fact he was so surprised by what was taking place he didn't try to slip away. Instead the young man froze up in confusion.

The voice continued to speak softly into his ear. He could smell the faint scent of lavender coming off of her body. The reflection in the edge of his glasses allowed him to see a hint of loose wild dirty blonde hair. But it was her light soft tone of voice that pulled the sixteen year old boy back to himself. "Harry Potter being a freak is not a bad thing. It means you are unique, different, your own person. Never be like others or by the book. Be a freak and be free."

The words stunned the young man as he truly listened to them and tried to reason them out. The first thirteen years of his life with the Dursley's he had been a freak. He had been treated worse than garbage and lower than a house elf. He had face abuse that would be considered criminal and he had always been told the reason was because he was a freak. Now the school he had come to believe he was the same thing. He never should have told Ron how he hated that word.

Sadness filled up the lonely boy at that moment until once again the arms squeezed him. It was almost as if the girl had a sixth sense of his concerns. If was as if she could feel the torment within that the boy had experienced this year and past years. She could empathize with him; she too had lived with the pain. Harry let out a sigh feeling the weight on his shoulders since his name came out of the goblet slip away. "I want to be free of it all. All of the demands, all of the expectations, all of the hatred towards me, all of the pain, I can be free?"

"Yes Harry you can be free. Just repeat after me. I am a freak and I am proud of it." The words were again whispered behind the boy's ear in a hot breath. He shivered as he felt the body of the girl pressed against him.

The fourth year Gryffindor tried to turn around towards her but her arms kept him facing away from her. Her voice gently spoke, "Say the words Harry. That is all that matters today. Accept you are different and that is good. You don't want to be like the nargles."

What the hell are Nargles? The thought filled the mind of the young man as he was confused by the words. But, he still understood faintly what she meant. She wanted him to release his concerns and just be himself. He could just be what he always wanted to be before, Harry Potter. He wet his mouth then slowly spoke up, "I am a freak and I am proud of being different."

"Good Harry, that is the first step," A soft kiss gently brushed the back of his neck that sent shivers up and down his spine. Again the boy seemed to fall into a daze from the warmth of those lips that had touched him. Before he recovered the arms of the girl were gone and the sound of the door closing filled the silent room.

He spun around at once seeing she was gone. He sprinted towards the door banging it open to look up and down the hallway. His emerald gaze swept back and forth as a frown came over his handsome face. She was gone without a sight. Whoever the mystery girl she had for a brief moment made him forget everything! He forgot who he was and the terrible troubles hanging over his head.

Harry turned his gaze back into the room and noticed something lying on the floor of the classroom. Slowly he walked over and knelt down so his fingertips could pick up the forgotten item. He blinked as he held up a small silver loop of an earring holding a radish. A smile curved over the lips of the young man, he had his clue.

He wasn't certain why he did it but Harry lifted up the earring to his left ear. When he held it against the lobe it magically slipped through his ear without pain. Sure he may look crazy or silly but what did it matter? The whole school besides his mystery girl hated him anyways. Harry stood up and walked from the room without a word. He had entered a tormented young man, now he left a freak with a mission. It was a mission that Harry was determined to complete.

Author note: A little possible Harry and Luna interaction that could take place in the Tri-wizard tournament time period. I figure it would be a few days after the goblet of fire incident when everyone seemed to have abandoned Harry. I think it might be a fun little romantic story almost Cinderella type story for Harry looking for his radish earring girl.