Harry Potter didn't have it easy his first three years of Hogwarts. In his first year, he made an enemy out of a wealthy pureblooded scion, Draco Malfoy. Worse than that, he was at odds with the misanthropic Potions Master, Severus Snape. Snape had nothing but criticism for Harry from the very moment they locked eyes for the first time. If that wasn't enough, he nearly died taking on the possessed DADA teacher, Professor Quirrell – possessed by a weakened, but still very much alive, Voldemort!
The second year was no picnic either. The Chamber of Secrets had been opened for the first time in a half century, and not only was quidditch cancelled, but the school itself was on the verge of closure. Harry once again faced off against his nemesis Tom Riddle, but in memory form, and slew the terrifying serpent that had wreaked havoc since Halloween. Once again Harry nearly perished in the effort, but Fawkes the phoenix saved the day with the healing powers of his tears, nullifying the venom in Harry's body.
The third year was utterly chaotic. Between the disappointment of not being able to go to Hogsmeade with his friends due to an unsigned permission slip, and the frantic search for an escaped convict from Azkaban, Harry could just not catch a break. The year wasn't a total loss as Harry discovered that Sirius Black was actually his innocent-all-along godfather, plus he got another quality mentor in Remus Lupin, the DADA instructor.
Harry had hoped against hope that maybe fourth year would be different, but with the announcing of the Triwizard Tournament, of course Harry should have known better. The deal was that the tournament would consist of three schools, and three champions – one from each school. Hogwarts' champion was dashing sixth-year Hufflepuff seeker, Cedric Diggory. Fleur Delacour represented Beauxbatons, the French academy of magic, and Viktor Krum was chosen from Durmstrang, the mysterious wizarding school from far northern Europe with a reputation for churning out dark conjurors of magic.
Everyone thought it was settled, until a fourth name was announced – Harry Potter. As Diggory was Hogwarts' designated champion, Harry was unable to compete for Hogwarts – only for himself. There was so much uproar over this fourth "champion" that the headmasters of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang wanted to draw the names all over again. But what was done was done – there was no going back, and Harry felt positively sick to his stomach. He didn't ask for his name to be drawn – who the devil would have put his name up for drawing, anyway? He was just a middling fourth-year, not a seasoned upperclassman like Diggory.
Harry approached Professor Dumbledore and did his best to respectfully withdraw from the competition. Dumbledore could only give Harry a sad expression – he seemingly knew that it wasn't Harry's idea to participate – and flat-out told Harry that to do so was impossible; he must either take part in the tournament, or risk losing his magic for good.
Part of that didn't sound so bad, thought Harry. For one, that would mean not having Malfoy to kick around, or Snape finding the teeniest thing to criticize about him. For another, no magic meant that he could live perhaps a somewhat better life with the Dursleys – no magic, no freak. He might not be treated as well as Dudley, but may be he'd be treated somewhat close to a human being. But that also meant saying good-bye to some people that really and truly cared about him, such as Hagrid, Ron, and Hermione. He couldn't just abandon them, could he?
Things only got worse for Harry. Not only did he experience teasing, mocking, and ostracism from students in all four houses – regardless if they were first or seventh-years, or anything in-between, but his relationships with Ron and Hermione had become increasingly strained. He tried in vain to explain that putting his name in the goblet was not his idea, but neither one was buying it. These were his two supposed best friends, weren't they supposed to stand by him, through thick-and-thin? It was just like living under the stairs in the cupboard again… ignored, and not believed.
His friendship with Ron was barely hanging by a thread; they barely exchanged anything but curt nods to each other when passing by. Even more depressing, his friendship with Hermione had been severed altogether; one morning after breakfast, she got so fed up with his "lies" and "excuses" that she shouted at him to leave her alone and never speak with her again.
Poor Harry was crushed. The Golden Trio was no more. And for the first time in over three years, Harry was all alone in the world, but he had no cabinet to protect him from taunts and abuse. It was bad enough that the Slytherins, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws piled it on him, but at least he didn't see them constantly like he did with his fellow Gryffindors, who seemed to be worst of all. He tried desperately to find refuge somewhere… anywhere. Forget about the Gryffindor common room – he'd be a sitting duck for insults, curses… even kicks and punches. The library was a no-go, that was Hermione's sanctuary, and he couldn't even bear to look at the girl's face anymore; it was that painful for him. The only thing he could think of was to take his trusty Firebolt and fly around the quidditch pitch, as it was one of the few things that still seemed to bring him any joy, but even after a thirty minute joyride after class that afternoon, it just wasn't the same. Dejected, he dismounted his broom and tried desperately to find something to get his mind off his troubles.
He decided then to take a walk around the Black Lake and try to clear his head. About halfway around the lake, he spotted a tall conifer just off the dusty path with a thick mat of pine needles underneath it. Harry reached out with his hand to feel the needles – they were brown and dry, and cushioned enough for him to sit on. He reached into his overcoat pocket and pulled out a canteen; he took a long swig of the ice-cold water before putting it back in his pocket.
Harry then felt something jiggle in his other pocket as he ever-so-slightly shifted his weight; he reached his hand and produced a rather weathered copy of Captains Courageous, the very first Christmas present he had ever received. He had treasured it for nearly three years, and he had read it dozens of times… but the way he looked at it was very different this time. He vividly remembered the December morning when he received it as a firstie – he had received it from Hermione just a few minutes before she had to board the Hogwarts Express to spend the holidays with her family.
Tears began to fill his eyes as he looked at the old beaten novel. He sniffed loudly as he cocked his right hand back as far as it could go, and he tossed it into the Black Lake. The gaskets were fully turned on at that point, and all Harry could do was sob. What did I ever do to deserve… this?!, he wondered to himself. He just sat and wailed for a solid twenty minutes.
When he finally came to, he noticed a simple white envelope just to the left of him. Where did this come from, and more importantly, who wrote this? Harry wondered. How did they get here without my noticing? The enveloped was simply addressed as, "To Mister Potter" in a tender feminine inscription. He didn't recognize the handwriting – it certainly wasn't Hermione's, as her penmanship was nowhere near as good as whoever the writer's was.
Harry gingerly opened the envelope, which contained only the following simple statement. "Please meet us in the choir practice room tonight. Bring only yourself." Yeah, it's not like there's anybody that I could bring with me anyway, Harry thought as he rolled his eyes.
Although the skeptic in Harry couldn't rule out the possibility of him being set up, someone literally sneaked up next to him, completely undetected, and placed the envelope next to him while he was crying like a boy half his age. But he also thought that there was a reason that they were so sneaky – maybe they wanted to help Harry, or at least hear him out – and didn't want to risk being associated with him out in the open. Maybe Harry still had some allies… he might as well find out.