Work Text:
When Veronica was called to Principal Clemmons’ office one early Wednesday morning, she thought he might have finally cottoned on to the fact she had a spare key to his office, however unlikely that may be. Instead, she was greeted by the sight of an attractive teen in simple jeans and a green t-shirt reclining in a chair in front of Clemmons’ desk. The teen turned at the sound of the door and Veronica got the barest glimpses of his deep green eyes under his mop of black hair before he turned again to pick up a battered looking navy school bag.
“Ah, Ms. Mars,” Principal Clemmons’ announced needlessly, though he didn’t look particularly happy to see her. He continued before she could ask why she was there; “This is Harry Potter. He’s a foreign student from Britain who’s looking to join the student body of Neptune High until graduation. If you don’t mind, he has asked for you specifically to guide him around the school until he gets used to the layout.”
Veronica ignored the Principal’s silent ‘don’t mess this up’ warning to glance suspiciously at the new student, who did nothing but smile winningly at her. She plastered a peppy smile to her face as she said; “No problem, Principal Clemmons.”
After exchanging the remaining pleasantries with the Head of school faculty, the two students left the office and headed to their first class, which was conveniently the same for the two of them.
“So, you specifically requested I be your guide huh? That’s funny because I’m sure I don’t know you,” Veronica started off her interrogation casually with a hint of warning.
The other boy had the audacity to chuckle before he spoke; “You’re right, we’ve never met before and you have as much of an idea as to who I am, as I do of you personally. I requested you specifically, purely because of what you and your father do for a living.”
“Uh huh, sure. Why don’t we skip straight to the truth, instead of pulling the other one with bells on?” Veronica snarked with a glare. She was seriously considering reaching for her Taser.
Harry’s lips twitched upwards as he shrugged and explained; “Well, I kind of was already. I really don’t know you but I did see you at the local supermarket – sorry, grocery store- verbally ripping some poor sod in half and thought it was the coolest thing I’ve seen since Hermione punched Malfoy in the face. Of course, it was only after I heard the little weasel muttering unsavoury things about you, that I learned everything I needed to know about where to start looking for you.”
“Flattery will get you nowhere, Shakespeare. Now, ignoring the obvious question of what or who Hermione and Malfoy are, why would you be looking for little old me? Unless you’re a glutton for punishment,” Veronica’s suspicions cooled but did not completely disappear.
“I would imagine and hope that, as a P.I you would have to be a neutral party in most social situations; and going from the décor your office had, you’re very down to earth.”
“You’ve been to the office?” the blonde asked in surprise.
“Yup, and I’ve met your dad,” Harry confirmed and then smile wryly at his thoughts; “He’s a pretty cool guy your dad, especially when I assured him that I had only seen you at the supermarket being awe inspiring and knew that you went to this school.”
Veronica ignored the compliment and relaxed a bit more upon hearing that. Her dad had pretty good instincts and though she was a little put out that this had been dumped on her without warning, she knew that if her dad had been worried, he would’ve found the time to tell her before she met Harry.
“So what made you come here? Family in the area or something?” Veronica asked the British teen walking beside her, partly to keep up the conversation and partly because she was curious. She noted that he was just as easily dodging the passing crowds of students as she was. He was actually better at not being jostled if she were honest with herself.
“What do you mean?” Harry asked, pinning her momentarily with his luminous eyes before watching where he was going once again. Somehow, Veronica was left with the impression that she still held the majority of his attention despite the fact he was looking elsewhere.
“Why Neptune?” she casually clarified. “If you’ve made it this far from Britain, you could’ve gone to New York, L.A, Denver or anywhere you liked. You could’ve gone to a better known school or a larger school. For all that we have the rich and famous living here; we’re still not exactly on the map. So, why here?”
“Curious much?” he asked with a smirk but Veronica refused to blush.
She gave a cutting smile instead with a smooth; “It’s professional, I assure you.”
Harry didn’t bother to comment on that, not even teasing her about her profession which struck Veronica as slightly odd but she benched the thought when Harry started speaking.
“Can I assume that you mean reasons aside from the sun, the sea, the sand and the sights?” he queried, sending a charming smile to a couple of girls who brushed passed him. Veronica rolled her eyes as he winked at her, the sound of the girls’ flattered giggles echoing behind them.
“Yeah, aside from that,” her voice dryer than the Sahara.
He chuckled at her before explaining; “It’s for the very situation that you described, actually. Personally, I prefer smaller towns so I don’t get lost every two minutes. It makes me more comfortable, which will help me with my goal of graduating from high school so that I can go on to college or University, if I so desire.”
“If you so desire?” Veronica asked, her amused tone bellying her disbelieving expression.
Harry smiled sheepishly; “Well, you see that’s just it. Graduating is a nice side goal I’ve personally set myself. My priority, and the main reason I’m here, is product innovation and publicity.”
“Excuse me?”
Harry was valiantly not laughing at the face she was making; “My friends are entrepreneurs and have opened a rather successful business in practical joke items. I’m what you would call a silent partner and as I’m not out of school, they asked me to travel, do some recon, promote if I can and report back to them when I can, so they can be inspired and make a plan to expand the business to the states.”
Veronica stopped and stared at him in disbelief, completely ignoring passing students; “You dropped your life in Britain, packed up and crossed an ocean to play practical jokes on Americans, on the simple request of your friends?!”
“Well, I prefer the term prank but that could be a British thing, and to be fair, they’re not just friends. They’re very good and loyal friends who also happen to be business partners. And for a girl who goes to school with the offspring of the rich and famous, you seem incredibly surprised by my apparently whimsical reasons for being here,” Harry mused with a wry smile, having stopped to accommodate her and completely at ease with not rushing to class or being late for it.
“You seem so down to earth,” she explained faintly.
“I’m under strict instructions to go wild, have fun and treat this like a holiday,” he nodded decisively, as if proving a point. Veronica had no idea what that point could be.
“You don’t act like a rich boy,” she pointed out. She would’ve been suspicious if he weren’t so openly sincere.
“I live well below my means. I always have and I hope I always will.”
It sounded like a promise.