Corbin sighed in irritation as a group entered the common room. He was sat beside the fireplace, relaxing in one of the many chairs, reading a book, when the silence had been shattered.
He didn't bother looking up. If he didn't look up he would gain no interest, and if he gained no interest then people wouldn't notice him, and they would leave him alone.
He tried to keep his eyes glued to the book, but when someone sat in a chair opposite him, and another person beside him, it made him glance at the faces of his disturbers.
Harry sat beside Corbin, whilst Ron sat opposite, and they both watched Corbin with interest.
Corbin didn't know what to do. They were staring at him like he was some kind of freak…
God…maybe they…He snapped his head back to the book and closed it, getting up, before a hand reached out towards him.
"Sorry if we disturbed you…Its just, I don't think we've met before…or at least, not introduced ourselves properly."
Harry smiled up at Corbin in what he hoped was a warm manner. But Corbin still looked nervous for some reason…
"I-I'm sorry. Some other time maybe… I better go now."
Harry's face fell, and he let go of Corbin.
"You sure you want to go? I mean, I know it's late and everything, but me and Ron are planning to prank some people…we thought maybe you could help with some ideas."
Corbin raised his eyebrows.
They actually wanted to talk…with him…Not knowing how to respond, he shrugged slightly and tentatively sat down again.
Harry grinned and stuck out his hand.
"I'm Harry. Harry Potter."
Corbin smiled slightly.
"I know. I'm Corbin. Corbin Akren."
He took Harry's hand and let Harry shake it, before sinking into the chair. Ron moved forward.
"Hey. I'm Ronald, Ronald Weasley. Basically, Ron."
Corbin nodded and Ron grinned at him before turning to Harry.
"Hey, Harry…Sirius gave me some ideas earlier on…stuff he did when he was in the Marauders."
Harry immediately perked up.
"Cool, any new spells? Or is it just potions?"
Ron bit his lip.
"…Potions."
Harry swore.
"We can't do potions, Ron. You know we cant."
Ron shrugged.
"Its such a good idea though…" he whined, pleading with Harry.
"Ron, only Hermione will be able to get it right, and the chances of her helping us are pretty slim."
"…Look, let me show you the instructions for it."
Ron tugged out one of the pockets in his robes and a piece of parchment fell out, as well as a great deal of other things.
Corbin stared at the strange items on the floor. Half an apple, a piece of chewed gum, a Viktor Krum figure, a chocolate frog, a broken pencil and something furry that looked like it was trying to move.
Okay, this guy has some serious issues.
As if sensing that Corbin was thinking something along the lines of that, Ron turned to a surprised Corbin and laughed.
"I know…I have problems. I really need to sort out my robes sometime."
Harry laughed, and then Corbin, now feeling comfortable around these people joined in with them.
They all stopped after a moment or two and looked at each other before bursting into laughter again as they looked at each other.
"Okay…" said Harry in between each chuckle, "We-all-have-problems."
Ron and Harry continued their hysterical fit, but by now Corbin had froze at Harry's words.
Harry noticed this after a while and turned to look at Corbin, who looked a bit paler.
"You all right Corbin?"
Corbin gave half a smile and then noticed the parchment that Ron had pulled from his robes on the floor.
He bent to pick it up, but just before he handed it to Harry, he pulled it back again, now looking at the writing and reading intently.
Harry curiously watched as Corbin took a sharp intake of breath.
Corbin finally tore his gaze from the sheet and handed it to them.
"I know how to make that potion." He muttered.
Harry, who had been reading through the instructions, trying to look for a clue to see what had made Corbin react like that, looked up into the pleased looking face of the amber eyed teenager beside him.
"I'll help you if you want. With the potion."
Harry and Ron changed their shocked looking faces into matching grins.
"That's great, mate!" said Ron cheerily, clapping Corbin on the back, "Now that I think about it, you are a bit of a Hermione."
Harry smirked at the expression Corbin now wore on his face after Ron's comment.
"Take it as a compliment. Hermione's really brainy." He reassured.
This made Corbin relax a little, and after a while, the group sat on the floor, planning how to make their next move.
Corbin, Harry and Ron all made their way to their dormitory late that night.
Ron, slumped into his bed straight away, groaning slightly as he made contact with the cold sheets compared to the warmth of the common room.
Harry started to get undressed, but Corbin sat on the edge of his bed, slowly peeling off one of his socks, hoping the others would hurry up.
Harry was now in his nightclothes, and he turned to look at a snoring Ron before walking over to Corbin and sitting next to him.
"Corbin?"
Corbin looked up.
"Do you wanna hang around with me and Ron tomorrow? We could do some more planning in the evening."
Corbin was shocked. Harry was offering him to hang around with him…
He sighed inwardly. Would that be the right choice to make? To make friends with these people?
It could put them at risk…he didn't want to do something he'd regret.
Friends…The word sounded alien in his thoughts, let alone his mouth.
"Corbin…? Are you sure you're all right? You spaced out for a moment."
Harry's worried voice forced Corbin back to reality and he put on the best fake smile he could muster, and nodded, trying to seem cool about it.
Harry didn't know what to say. He had watched Corbin zone out, and the boy had looked agitated, nervous…and even fearful. But what was there to be scared of?
If only he could get inside Corbin's mind.
Harry nodded back.
"See you in the morning."
Corbin didn't watch as Harry got up and made his way to his bed. His emotions were wrestling inside his head, and he didn't know if it was safe to let anyone know exactly how he was feeling.
He sighed out loud and lay down.
"…Goodnight Harry. Ron."
His voice cut through the silence, but over in his bed, Harry's eyes lit up.
Corbin had warmed to them considerably, and to be honest, he seemed like a nice person. Harry couldn't wait to find out more about him.
Authors note: I'm sorry about the short chapter. To be honest, my other story takes up a lot of time...a lot more time then this one does. And I get more readers. But it wont stop me from updating regularly on this one. If I get a little late on updating, message me about it, and I will try and hurry.
Hope you liked this chapter. There will be a lot more of things branching off from this turn of events. : )
Please, read, enjoy, review. etc. lol.
x X x gothlyssa x X x