Chapter Text
Twelve-year-old Harry Potter was having one, bad experience for the last three and a half weeks. The Dueling Club incident that happened shortly before the Christmas Holidays resulted in his parseltongue abilities to come to light. Draco Malfoy, Harry's arch-nemesis, had conjured a snake from his wand and Gilderoy Lockhart tossed it up into the air, angering it. The snake even contemplated attacking Justin Finch-Fletchley, a second-year Hufflepuff student, before Harry spoke to the snake and convinced it to back off before Professor Snape (Harry's least favourite teacher, potions master and head of Slytherin House) properly got rid of the snake. Justin asked Harry what he was playing at, which Harry understood since Justin was scared out of his wits. All Harry got were jeers and glares from the majority of the student body, which clearly meant that they were blaming him and not Lockhart for the whole situation.
Some of it died down over the holidays, but flared back up once classes resumed. Nevertheless, Harry still had some students who've stayed by his side such as Harry's fellow quidditch teammates, Lee Jordan (who was a dark-skin fourth year boy with dreadlocks, the Weasley twins' best friend, and the quidditch commentator), Dean Thomas (a second-year Gryffindor with dark skin, black hair, and dark-brown eyes; who was one of Harry’s dormmates), and Neville Longbottom (a portly, timid brown-haired second year and one of Harry and Ron's dormmates). So far, Harry hadn't had any supporters from Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or even Slytherin (the latter he naturally expected).
What really hurt Harry the most was that his best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, abandoned him (with Ron declaring Harry to be a snake in lion's clothing). Ron's sister, Ginny, even smacked Harry across the face while declaring that her hero wouldn't do anything heinous and that Harry was a Boy-Who-Lived wannabe, which didn't surprise Harry because Ginny only saw him as the BWL. But still, smacking him across the face was uncalled for, resulting in Harry staying away from Ron, Hermione, and Ginny at all costs.
Harry came out of the memory, it was a cool Saturday morning of January 16, 1993. Harry skipped breakfast because of all the still-ongoing threats of being hexed (something that Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall ignored for some odd reason, while Snape looked like he was having a field day in watching 'the Potter brat' suffer from the threats and taunting) for being 'the Heir of Slytherin.' Instead, Harry walked outside and made a beeline for a cliff that was overlooking the school (which from where the school would look like a toy castle, since the cliff was quite a ways out).
Normally, Harry would've just gone over to his favourite spot by the Black Lake, but it was too close to the castle, so he went with the cliff instead. Harry could feel his arms and legs trembling with pure rage as he stared out over the cliff at the seemingly-miniature version of the castle. Not many have bothered asking him for his side of the story instead of making assumptions. Still, Harry kept his emotions bottled up inside (remembering that showing them was among those so-called transgressions on the list of nearly everything he'd get 'punished' for by the Dursleys). As his arms and legs continued shaking, and his teeth gritted with rage, he completely lost control and began one loud, well-deserving rant.
"COME ON!" Harry screamed at the top of his lungs toward the castle, as he felt tears welling up in his emerald-green eyes, and beginning to flow down his face while raising a fist in the air and shaking it in an angry manner. "ALL I WANTED WAS TO HAVE A NORMAL YEAR OUT OF THE STUPID SPOTLIGHT! WHY MUST YOU JUST MAKE ASSUMPTIONS AND ACCUSE ME OF SOMETHING INSTEAD OF ASKING ME FOR MY SIDE OF THE STORY?! IS IT REALLY TOO MUCH TO ASK FOR YOU ALL TO FINALLY SEE WHO I REALLY AM? I GUESS NOT BECAUSE MOST OF YOU ONLY SEE ME FOR THE STUPID BOY-WHO-LIVED INSTEAD OF TRYING TO GET TO KNOW THE REAL ME! SO I GUESS THAT MEANS, IN YOUR STUPID MINDS, THAT THE REAL ME IS THE WORST THING IN COMPARISON TO MY FAME! IT'S LIKE I GET TREATED LIKE SHIT WHEN I DO SOMETHING WRONG, BUT WHEN I DO SOMETHING GREAT, YOU ALL JUST SHRUG IT OFF LIKE IT'S NO STUPID BIG DEAL! DO ANY OF YOU EVEN STOP TO THINK THAT I HATE ALL THE STARING AND WHISPERING WITH A PASSION? AGAIN, YOU ALL DON'T SEEM TO CARE BECAUSE, TO MANY OF YOU, I'M THE BOY-WHO-LIVED! SERIOUSLY, IS IT REALLY THAT HARD TO LOOK BENEATH THE TITLE AND…"
Harry had been so caught up in his rant that he hadn't noticed that somebody had been close by, listening to him going on and on about being treated like a celebrity when it wasn't wanted. The person grabbed Harry by his left shoulder and turned him around. Harry's eyes had so many tears in them that he couldn't clearly see who the person was. Naturally, he tensed up when he felt the person's hand touching his shoulder (something that, because of Dudley and his gang having played Harry Hunting and Uncle Vernon whacking him with a belt as punishment for 'funny business' more than can be counted, was still somewhat ingrained into Harry's brain). Harry was about to complain again for his rant being interrupted, but the person who turned him around then pulled him into a hug. Harry tensed up again, but slowly he hugged the person back because of how warm and gentle it felt. Somehow, the scent of what seemed to be blueberries managed to help calm him down and relax. This made Harry realize that it was a girl who was hugging him.
"It's alright, Harry," the girl (who's voice sounded very familiar) whispered in a soothing manner, as she continued embracing him. "It's alright! I'm right here for you!"
Harry started taking deep breaths to help himself relax more efficiently as the girl continued hugging him. She was being patient with Harry and continued to encourage him to take several deep breaths, in the form of soothing whispers. The girl slowly pulled Harry away, so he could get a good look at her. Harry wiped tears away from his eyes and was taken aback to see that Katie Bell (one of his quidditch teammates, who had her brown hair in a low ponytail and blue eyes) was the one providing him comfort. He was further stunned to see that Katie's blue eyes also had some tears in them (some were flowing down her cheeks), and her eyelids were a little red and her cheeks a little puffy.
"I'm sorry for sc-scaring you, Katie!" Harry apologized.
"Your screaming rant didn't scare me, Harry," Katie assured in a soft voice. "It was the reasons you were so upset. You had every right to rant, since most of our fellow students refuse to look past that scar."
"And blaming me entirely for being the Heir of Slytherin made that clear, even when Lockhart tossed that snake into the air and angering it further," said Harry, still upset. "It seems like they get a big kick out of making sure I stay in the stupid spotlight, just to spite me whenever the chance shows up."
"It's alright, Harry!" Katie whispered into his ear soothingly, pulling him into another hug. "I'm right here for you. Don't be afraid to cry in front of me, I'll cry with you if it will make you feel better."
Harry could feel his body relax some with Katie's assurances. Her hugs proved to be warm and gentle, though Harry was still partially tense because of the overly-large rags he was wearing. Katie could ask him about that anytime, making Harry tremble in fear uncontrollably. However, she didn't do that, instead she gently led Harry over to a nearby bench and encouraged him to have a seat before she sat down next to him. Then she grabbed one of Harry's hands and gave it a comforting squeeze, which strangely helped Harry in relaxing. He looked into Katie's blue eyes again as a smile formed on his face. Harry thought that he would be crazy not to notice how pretty Katie was getting, but he knew that personality mattered more than looks, so he avoided making a big deal about Katie's outer beauty. Seeing his glasses splattered with tears, Katie politely took them off of Harry and wiped them with the bottom front of her brown long-sleeve t-shirt underneath her black coat. Once that was done she gave Harry his glasses back and he put them back on. Then Katie put her hands down on her lap (with her legs clad in a pair of navy-blue jeans).
"Would you like to talk about your problems, Harry?" asked Katie in a soft voice.
"I would, but I don't know what good it'll do," said Harry, his lips trembling while he spoke. "I'm just destined for rotten luck. Most of the school turning on me for the dueling club incident combined with Ron and Hermione accusing me of lying about my intentions and Ginny smacking me across the face should make that clear."
"No, Harry, you're not destined for rotten luck." assured Katie, keeping her voice soft. Then she continued replying, "Please tell me what else is bothering you, there's more than just you believing that you have rotten luck."
"What do... do you mean, Katie?" asked Harry, his lips trembling again.
"I saw your lips trembling... twice, Harry," stated Katie. "That's enough for me to realize that you're hiding something. Plus, I've seen how quiet and isolated you keep yourself during quidditch practice. I may not be quite as smart as the Ravenclaw students, but I don't have to be in order to figure things out."
Harry felt himself tense up when he realized that he couldn't hide anything from Katie. He took a deep breath to prepare for laying all the cards on the table for Katie. Harry began telling Katie what his life before and outside of Hogwarts was really about: how he was treated like a disease that needed to be eliminated; how he was whacked on the back with a belt for the tiniest infractions or for no reason at all; how he had to do all the chores, even unreasonable ones, while Dudley got to do whatever he wanted and rule the house; how Dudley had a gang who helped in bullying Harry by playing their favourite game called Harry Hunting; how he was forced to dumb himself down because of getting smacked across the face for getting better academic scores or much worse ones than Dudley, and thus forcing Harry to get barely passing grades; how he was forced to sleep in a cupboard under the stairs while Dudley initially got two bedrooms to himself; how in spite of doing so many chores, he was given almost nothing in return while Dudley got all sorts of presents, sweets and pocket money even though he was lazy and lacked a good work ethic; how his relatives excluded him from almost every family outing and preferred to leave him with a babysitter; how his birthdays meant that he got extra chores and beatings; how he was confined to the cupboard as a form of punishment, same with having his meals revoked; and how his uncle's sister was allowed to terrorize him; and how Aunt Marge’s favourite dog got close to mauling him once. Katie felt more tears welling up in her eyes and flowing down her face, then she engulfed Harry in another hug.
"Oh, Harry, I'm sorry to hear what all you've been through before you started Hogwarts!" Katie whispered into his ear in a soothing manner. "That was just awful. You need to stay away from those people. They're the ones who should be ashamed, not you."
"But where else can I go?" Harry replied in a downhearted voice.
"Your family is one of the richest families in Britain," Katie informed him. "I feel certain that your parents wrote a will for you should anything happen to them, Gringotts will be able to help you there."
"I'll make sure to check the next time I go to Gringotts," said Harry. "But, I don't think Dumbledore will be happy about that. I did tell him about my relatives treatment at the end of last year, but he just brushed it off with the claim that it was an exaggeration while trying to assure me that the Dursleys were family. They never treated me that way and never will, but still Dumbledore claimed I was safer with them than anywhere else. I don't know why and Dumbledore won't tell me, saying that he would when I'm older."
"I hate to think that he's using you for something," said Katie. "Whatever it is, something tells me it's not good."
"He's lost my trust, since I don't want to do something that he planned for me behind my back." stated Harry. "Where will I stay when the summer holidays start?"
"I can write to my parents and ask them if you can stay for the Easter holidays, which would be the right time for you to go to Gringotts and check to see if your parents wrote a will for you," Katie suggested. "The rest of our teammates would like to see you outside of school sometime, where we could practice quidditch and/or do something out in London if that interests you."
Harry smiled in approval at that suggestion as Katie continued hugging him. Harry realized that Katie had a good point, their teammates would like to spend some time with him outside of school. Harry felt his cheeks radiating heat when he felt Katie giving him a quick kiss on the forehead, which resulted in Katie giggling when she saw his reaction. Since Fred and George found some clues about the Dursleys abusive treatment towards him when they came to rescue him from Durzkaban, Harry realized that he was going to have to come clean to the Weasley twins and even Oliver Wood, Angelina Johnson, and Alicia Spinnet. Even if it was difficult, Harry knew that he needed to do it, as he wasn't sorted into Gryffindor for nothing. Maybe with Katie there, it could make the whole thing easier.
"Uh, Katie," Harry began asking. "If we were to do something out in London with the rest of our teammates, what should it be?"
"I think we'll let you pick, Harry," Katie replied in a soft voice. "You're the one who needs some genuinely good moments to happen."
"Well," Harry suggested. "Muggle London is one thing I'd like to do. Maybe London Zoo would be a good option, if that's doable."
"Of course, Harry," Katie replied. "I haven't been to the zoo in several years. Fred and George are the only ones on the team to be pure-bloods, but I think they'll learn to manage and blend in with help from us. Why don't we find our teammates and give them the heads-up!"
Harry nodded his head in acknowledgement, then he got up onto his feet and offered a hand to Katie. She grabbed it and Harry pulled her up onto her feet. Then the two Gryffindors began heading down the trail that would take them back to the castle, with Katie putting an arm around Harry's shoulders in a comforting manner (helping Harry relax a little). Harry even started preparing for the moment when he would have to come clean with the rest of his teammates about his life at the Dursleys, even if the Weasley twins saw some hints when they rescued him. It was time that Harry find some joys in life instead of wallowing in low spirits almost all the time.