Disclaimer: I own nothing! I own nothing! I own nothing!
...
Harry soared through the air on his trusty Firebolt as darkness began to fall over the grounds. He swooped and dived, looping through the goal posts and whooshing down the pitch at top speeds.
This was the only time he could ever feel truly safe, up in the air, away from the rest of the world. Up in the skies, there were no fickle friends, no desperate girls, no whispers and stares and giggles following him around. Flying was the only place where he wasn't plagued by people, the only place where he was free.
Little did he know that he hadn't quite escaped the stares. He was unaware of a 5th year Gryffindor girl, with flaming red hair gazing at him out of her dormitory window. A small, sad sigh escaping her lips as she watched Harry zoom gracefully around outside, oblivious to her existence.
As Ginny tucked herself into her bed that night, after seeing Harry re-enter the castle half an hour later, she shut her eyes tight, reminding herself that thinking about Harry was pointless. She was just Ginny Weasley, his best friends little sister. No chance of ever getting a second glance from someone like Harry. To him she was just another silly girl out of the thousands that pestered him every day of his life.
She rolled over, blocking out her thoughts, doubting that sleep would relieve her anytime soon.
...
Gryffindor tower was fast asleep as Harry snuck quietly into his dorm. He quickly stowed his broom under his bed and pulled on some pyjama bottoms.
As he shoved his Firebolt out of sight, his enchanted parchment caught his eye. He hadn't given it much thought since it had been given to him. Thinking this Wizardnet was just a gimmicky idea that wouldn't last. However he knew that his late night fly about had left him too pumped up to sleep just yet, so he pulled it out of his trunk and grabbed a quill.
Harry doubted anyone would be awake at this time of night, but he decided to try out the chat thing anyway. Remembering the instructions he had been given, he began to scribble away, cringing slightly at the stupid name Hermione had chosen for him.
Chat: SnitchBoy-wizardnet
Onilne Students: LemondropLover-wizardnet
FireGirl-wizardnet
He was surprised to see any names at all, let alone two. He hadn't been expecting anyone to be online at this time of night.
He put a small tick next to the first name, feeling a little nervous at the prospect of talking to a complete stranger.
Connected to LemondropLover
SnitchBoy: Erm, Hi?
LemondropLover: Good evening there.
SnitchBoy: Ummm, who is this?
LemondropLover: Now don't you think that would ruin the fun? As much as I'd like to chat, I'm afraid it is past my bed time. Goodnight Harry.
LemondropLover is offline
SnitchBoy: Hey, wait! How do you know who I am?
But it was too late; the stranger was gone. He shook his head and pushed any thoughts about this odd person and their love for lemon drops out of his mind. Sighing, Harry crossed out the line that said "Connected to LemondropLover", resulting in his parchment being wiped clean.
Chat: SnitchBoy-wizardnet
Online Students: FireGirl-wizardnet
He was surprised to see the person still online, as the clock on his bedside table was now reading 2.00am.
Connected to FireGirl
SnitchBoy: Hey
FireGirl: Oh, Hi.
SnitchBoy: You're up late
FireGirl: Can't sleep. I have a lot on my mind.
Snitchboy: Me too...
FireGirl: Care to share?
SnitchBoy: It's not important. Just a bit fed up with the rest of the world.
FireGirl: I know the feeling. You know what my advice would be?
SnitchBoy: Go on...
FireGirl: Fuck it. Fuck that. Fuck them.
Harry smiled at the straight talking stranger, liking her blunt way of talking.
SnitchBoy: You're probably right, I like you're thinking. What about you? What's keeping you awake?
FireGirl: I'm not going to bore you to death with my unimportant babble.
SnitchBoy: I'd like to hear. Maybe I can help?
FireGirl: Boy troubles. Enough said.
He took a sharp inhale of breath. He'd learnt over the years that when a girl mentioned "boy troubles", it was best to step back and run very fast in the opposite direction before the ranting could begin. However for some reason, something inside him urged him to remain seated and listen.
SnitchBoy: What's the problem? A fight with your boyfriend?
FireGirl: Boyfriend? Ha! He doesn't even know I exist.
Now this Harry could relate to. He remembered only too clearly back two years ago in his fourth year when Cho Chang had barely noticed him. After their brief 'thing' (it couldn't even be called a relationship), Harry had quickly learned that chasing a girl who wasn't all that interested was a bad idea.
Snitchboy: Well I highly doubt that. And if he's too absorbed in his own life to notice you then he's probably not worth your time.
FireGirl: You make it sound so simple...
SnitchBoy: That's because it is. Don't waste your time on someone who's not worth it.
FireGirl: God, you sound so much like one of my close friends. She's the smartest person I know and that's almost exactly what she said.
SnitchBoy: Yeah, I have a friend like that. She basically puts my life into perspective whenever I'm down.
He thought back to Hermione's sharp words of wisdom when things were bad with Cho. She always knew just what to say and how to say it; a skill Harry felt he would never master.
FireGirl: Thank you by the way. It's nice to hear someone gets it.
SnitchBoy: I'm a guy; I know how guy's minds work. I'll let you into a secret...
FireGirl: Go on...
SnitchBoy: When it comes to girls, we're all completely and utterly clueless. You make us sweaty and confused and we have no idea what to do.
FireGirl: Hahaha, tell me about it! You should see my brother around girls – he's a total wreck!
SnitchBoy: All guys are the same. Some have just learnt the art of hiding the fear!
FireGirl: And are you one of those guys?
SnitchBoy: And on that bombshell, I better get some sleep.
FireGirl: I'll take that as a yes! But I'm off to bed too. It was really nice talking to you. You've cheered me up a lot.
SnitchBoy: I could say the same, thanks.
FireGirl: Anytime. We should talk again sometime, I can message you now that I have your M-mail address.
SnitchBoy: That sounds great. Night night.
Harry signed out and rolled up his parchment, a small smile playing on his lips. He realised that he couldn't remember the last time someone other than Ron or Hermione wanted to have a genuine conversation with him, the real him and not just The Boy Who Lived...
...
Ginny yawned widely and stretched until her limbs ached in protest. She rolled over and flinched as rough parchment met her cheek. Rubbing her eyes a little, Ginny picked up her access to the wizardnet, remembering the stranger from last night.
She couldn't help but feel pleased as she thought about how nice it had been to talk to someone that hadn't immediately labelled her as a Weasley.
She was proud of her family, of course, but she knew that the moment people set eyes on the freckles, red hair and second hand clothes they immediately looked down their nose at her, or even worse pitied her.
But this boy, whoever he was didn't have those preconceived ideas. He just talked to her like an equal, and Ginny couldn't remember the last time a stranger had done that.
Sighing softly, she rolled out of bed and scrambled to get herself together for her morning classes.
...
"What were you doing last night?" Demanded Ron ass he and Harry made their way to potions.
"Hmm?" Mumbled Harry, jumping slightly as he was dragged out of his day dream.
For some reason, he couldn't get the mysterious girl out of his head. Despite not having a clue who she was, he had enjoyed the absence of girlish giggles and autograph demands, being happy with having a normal conversation with a normal person for once. He couldn't remember the last time someone other than Ron or Hermione had shown any interest in the real Harry, rather than the boy who lived.
Not that having a wizardnet chat could particularly count. And anyway, had the girl found out who he really was, Harry supposed she be just as nutty and obsessive as the rest of them.
"I heard you come in late," Ron continued, ignoring Harry's lack of reply, "And you spent ages on that net thing-a-me-bob."
"Thing-a-me-bob?" Harry snorted, smirking at Ron's odd choice of words.
"You know what I mean! Who were you talking to? I haven't even used it yet..."
Harry panicked slightly. He didn't want to tell Ron. He knew he'd just laugh and tell him how lucky he was to have girls chase him all the time. He just didn't get it. Just as he opened his mouth in an attempt to jumble together an excuse, his path was blocked by none other than-
"Hey Harry!" Giggled an annoying girly voice.
Cho Chang. Not on Harry's list of top ten favourite people.
"Oh, Cho," Harry muttered, moving around her, "Hi."
Cho scurried after the two boys as they dodged around her and headed towards the dungeon entrance.
"Awh Harry. You look tired Harry. Everything okay Harry? Didn't you sleep well Harry? I know this charm Harry, that'll put you straight to sleep Harry. Want me to teach it to you Harry?"
"Ermm," Harry said with raised eyebrows at the girl who stood before him, a large, yet slightly creepy, grin plastered onto her face.
Clearly Harry's popularity had had an effect in Cho's opinion of him. His reluctant, unwilling reign over the female population of Hogwarts had lead Cho to believe that following him around like a puppy would result in a return of affection. Well she'd blown her chance last year. Harry wasn't going to make the same mistake twice.
"It's just that I-" Harry began.
"He was up all night on the wizardnet chatting to a girl," Cut in Ron quickly, receiving a grateful glance from Harry, "A hot girl. A really hot girl. Total hottie in fact."
Cho's face dropped to an ugly grimace.
"Oh." She said sharply, before turning on her heel and striding off up the stairs, her nose in the air."
Breathing a sigh of relief at her absence, Harry said, "Thanks mate, I can't stand seeing her these days. How did you know I was talking to a girl by the way?"
Ron's head snapped to the side sharply to face Harry, "You were?" He said, a smug smile slowly growing at his lips, "I just said that to get rid of Cho!"
Harry groaned and sped off towards the dungeons, cursing his clumsy mouth.
"Ohhhh Harry!" Shrieked Ron in an incredibly accurate imitation of Cho's voice, "Harry Harry Harry! Who's the girl Harry? Does she make you feel all squishy Harry? Do you wuv her Harry?"
Harry threw a rude hand gesture over his shoulders to Ron, who was roaring with laughter as he legged it after Harry.
As he blocked out Ron's taunts, he couldn't help but smile that the mystery girl has already brightened his day.
...
Authors Notes: Well I'm very sorry to all you Cho fans, she's not put in the best light for this fic if I'm honest! Next chapter soon hopefully, but I'd love some more reviews, they really encourage me!