Chapter Twenty-One
Hogwarts Grounds, Hogwarts, Scotland, 8 November, 1991
He stood staring at the broom in his hands. Oh, how it mocked him.
He could do this. Being in the air wasn't that bad, after all, and he was brave. Braver than anything.
Anything but this.
He growled in frustration, dragging his free hand through his hair.
Fear is weakness, he reminded himself. I cannot afford weakness.
He sighed. He hated not being normal, always having to be what others wanted. Conforming to what they believed a hero should be.
But weren't many of the world's truest heroes pacifists? Why could no one ever seem to remember this?
He wished that he could be like them, but he wasn't.
And sometimes, he resented that.
His family had understood this, comforting him and letting him rant whenever he needed to.
But they were all so far away now.
At least he had friends now. Adrian was a nice guy, and so were Neville and Blaise. Draco was pretty formal with him, a sure sign that he hadn't earned the boy's trust, while Ron was a little devious and sly, always looking at something in a completely backwards way and convincing them that it made sense. Daphne was his equal when it came to snarky comments, and he and Hermione could debate for hours on various topics, even Muggle ones.
He was accepted (mostly) without question, and he knew that they weren't groupies. Hell, he'd hated the lot of them not three weeks before! And, as they assured him when he'd said this, the feeling was mutual.
He briefly wondered what his parents would say when they found out that most of his friends were Slytherins.
And he shuddered at what they would do when he finally told them he wasn't a Gryffindor.
His father would be more disappointed with him than usual.
No, two months into school, and his parents still thought he was a Gryffindor. He had never told them he was, but he'd also never said he wasn't.
It wasn't lying, it really wasn't.
It just wasn't the whole tuth.
He stared at the broom some more. Could this twig really shame the boy-who-lived?
Setting his jaw resolutely, he threw his leg over the broom, determined to make his dad happy with him.
He kicked off firmly and squeezed his eyes shut. The wind roared in his ears as he rose steadily.
This really isn't so bad, he thought, daring to open his eyes.
He had always marveled at the stars and the night, how huge and deep the sky was without the sun causing you to look away, and it seemed so much better now that he was a part of it.
"Enjoying the view?"
He yelped and almost fell off his broom. Whipping his head around, he saw Adrian perched in a tree just above his head, straddling a wide branch carelessly. A broom was tucked into some branches beside him.
"Bloody hell, Adrian, you scared me!" he cried, gripping his broom tightly.
Adrian shrugged apologetically, standing up easily on the bough. "Sorry, I like it up here, too. Especially at night. Things are easier a night."
Henry nodded.
They sat staring at the stars, talking quietly. Henry amused them both with his dry witticisms and Adrian had them laughing with tales of his and Draco's escapades.
"You banished all the spinach in Wiltshire?" Henry chuckled, and Adrian flashed him a grin.
"Well, Mum and Dad didn't believe that I was allergic, so…"
The bright crescent moon rose higher and bathed the grounds in an eerie gray light.
Out of nowhere, a huge bolt of purple lightning flashed, moving from the ground and into the sky, forming a cross of moon and lightning. Henry snorted back a laugh.
"What?" Adrian asked, leaning back against the tree.
"Oh, nothing. It's just that I have a scar that looks like that," he said.
"I-is it your curse scar?" Adrian asked, strange silver-green eyes looking around uncomfortably. He obviously didn't like to pry.
"Yeah, I suppose it is. See?" Henry unbuttoned his shirt and exposing his skinny chest to the cold wind.
Adrian leaned forward and looked. On Henry's pale chest, just over his heart was the scar, a black crescent moon crossed with a mottled purple and red lightning bolt.
"Wicked," Adrian breathed. "I have a birthmark that's kind of cool, if you want to see it."
"Sure."
Adrian revealed his sunburst scar, and when Henry turned to look, it began to glow red and purple, while Henry's scar seemed to suck the surrounding light away from it.
"What-"
"I dunno, but it hurts like hell," Adrian gasped, clutching his heart, face twisted in agony.
Henry also felt a searing pain. He thought his heart was going to explode when the pain suddenly stopped.
"What was that?" Henry choked out. He'd barely been able to hang onto his broom.
Adrian only shook his head. "Like I said, I dunno, mate."
Neither of them noticed the dark figure under the tree until-
"ADRIAN ATEUS MALFOY, GET YOUR ARSE DOWN HERE! AND YOU POTTER! DETENTIONS EVERY EVENING FOR THE REST OF THE TERM!"
The boys looked down and saw Snape standing beneath the tree, shaking with absolute fury.
"Oh, shit," Adrian moaned. "Uncle is going to kill me!"
"Why, you weren't caught flying a broom after hours. You're just up in a tree," Henry snorted. "Why are you up in a tree?"
"No, you don't understand, I'm supposed to be in the Hospital wing."
"YES YOU ARE, YOU DUNDERHEAD! DON'T THINK THAT I CAN'T HEAR YOU UP THERE! YOUR FATHER WILL HEAR ABOUT THIS ONE, ADRIAN! I'M NOT GOING TO COVER YOUR ARSE FOR THIS!"
"Damn! I swear he hears like a-"
"IF YOU SAY 'BAT', NEPHEW-MINE, YOU WILL SERVE DETENTIONS UNTILL AFTER YOU GRADUATE!!!"
"Damn!"
This one's for you, cheesetaco! Happy birthday!!!!
To all the rest of you, I love y'all, too, and I hope you continue to review, because reviews make my heart and tummy smile (when I get really interesting ones that make me happy, I bake. A lot.) Thank you for all the support, even if I really threw in a weird twist last chapter.
-TheNefariousMe
