Fireman

Daphne Greengrass.

The cold blonde witch in Slytherin had approached him out of concern for her sister, something he could respect. She was one of the most beautiful girls he had ever seen, with long blonde hair, a strong body of above-average height, and dark blue eyes. Even the fact she was having some trouble with acne and pimples on her left cheek didn't diminish her beauty.

She was one of the few people he had spoken too in the past couple of months. Even then, most of those people he had spoken to out of necessity, but she had approached him out of her own free will, even if it was to try and dissuade him from interacting with her sister.

I doubt Astoria will care about what her sister has to say about our friendship.

Still, he would at least take her opinion to heart, and try to avoid Astoria. The Slytherin witch had been right to be concerned about their relationship, seeing as most of his friendships ended in disaster at this point.

-

"Um, Professor?" Diana Bofor raised her hand. "I know you mentioned it before, but shouldn't we at least know how to defend ourselves if the aurors don't show up in time? I mean-"

"That will be enough, dear." Umbridge smiled sweetly, something that looked hideous on her face. "I repeat, if you know the theory then you should be good."

"But how is theory any good if we get attacked?" Emanuel Napel asked. "In our first year Sirius Black attacked the school, and last year we were told You-know-who was back-"

"Hem-hem!" Umbridge interrupted with that awful noise. "Five points from Gryffindor for telling attention-seeking lies! You know better than to repeat the lies that Mr. Potter made up to avoid the truth of his condition."

Astoria clenched her fist under the table, and grit her teeth. The narrative that the Ministry and Umbridge were pushing that Diggory had severely injured Harry, before Harry managed to kill him was utter dragon-dung. She had seen Harry's condition over the summer, and it certainly wasn't caused by a fellow Hogwarts student.

"People are cowards." Harry stated, his eyes cold. "They watch others fight battles for them, and complain when they lose. It's pathetic."

She remembered Harry's words from the other night, when he had been in the hospital wing with her. He had been right to say that, look at Umbridge. We're all cowards to sit here and let her get away with this slander. Harry was right, we are pathetic.

She raised her hand, and got questioning glances from her dorm mates. Umbridge called on her. "Professor, what lies are you speaking of? I've yet to hear anything from Potter about how he was injured. Even then, it seems like it is Headmaster Dumbledore who has said anything on the subject, while Potter was in the hospital the whole time."

Whispers erupted around the room at her question, and Umbridge gained a sour expression. The woman seemed to somewhat consider the question at least, before speaking. "I- You are correct, it is the Headmaster who is spreading these lies. No doubt taking advantage of Mr. Potter's situation, of course. Now please return to reading, dear."

Well, at least I managed to somewhat change her narrative. Astoria thought sourly, ignoring the questioning gazes of her friends. Hopefully Harry's life gets somewhat easier.

They soon left the class, and Astoria found herself wandering the halls as she gathered her thoughts. Madeline would probably berate her for speaking up in class when she got back to the dungeons, and she certainly wasn't looking forward to that.

"Protego."

Astoria jumped and whirled, feeling her heart rate skyrocket. A bright translucent shield protected her from a viscous looking pale curse that hit it and bounced backwards towards its sender. Someone at the end of the hall screamed.

"Someone just tried to curse you." Harry Potter spoke, and she realized he was the one who protected her.

"T-Thanks." Astoria said, trying to get her breathing under control.

"No problem." Harry put his wand away, before a sad frown overcame his features. "Your sister warned me to stay away from you."

When I get my hands on my sister- Astoria fumed internally. "Don't listen to her! Daphne doesn't control my life!"

Harry let out an amused chuckle. "I figured you'd say that."

"In fact," Astoria continued. "How about you take me to Hogsmeade this weekend?"

Harry raised a brow, "Are you asking me on a date?"

What?! "No!" She sputtered in response. "We're just going as friends."

"Okay then." Harry shrugged. "But you have to deal with your sister's response. And to be honest, you didn't have to be so upset about the idea of going on a date with me. I get that I'm ugly, but you can at least be nice about it."

"You've got it wrong." She smiled back. "I can't be like the other girls and ask Harry Potter on a date, Harry Potter has to ask me himself."

"So you're saying no girl would dare ask me out because that's my job?"

"Obviously. And even then, no girl would dare say no to the famous Harry Potter." She laid it on thick.

Harry rolled his eyes.