"Ok everyone!" Madam Hooch called for order. "We only have fifteen minutes of class left, so I am going to allow you some free time. Those of you who wish to continue flying may do so as long as you remain where I can see you. Those who do not wish to continue, place your brooms on the ground and step off to the side so you do not get injured by anyone who may decide to do something reckless."
Of the kids who had gone through the lesson, only a few decided to continue; Tracey Davis, Draco Malfoy, Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas, Theodore Nott and Harry Potter. Everyone else had moved off to the side where they would not get hurt on accident if someone ended up losing control of their broom.
Harry quickly walked up to Tracey as Madam Hooch told them to get in line. His actions drew perplexed or surprised looks from everyone. Like always, he ignored them in favor of talking to Tracey.
"You seem pretty comfortable on a broom," Harry complimented, his words causing Tracey to smile at him.
"Were you watching me, Potter?" asked Tracey, her eyes glinting with amusement.
"As much as I watched everybody else," Harry informed her with a smile. "And it's Harry. Or as Daphne convinced you to call me Potter now?"
Tracey laughed at his words, and her eyes moved over to where Blaise and Daphne were standing. Harry followed her gaze and saw that while Blaise looked amused to see him spending time with a Slytherin, Daphne was favoring him with a cold glare. Harry also noticed out of the corner of his eye that Draco was scowling at him and Tracey.
He shrugged both of the looks off and turned back to Tracey.
"No, Daphne hasn't said anything about what I should call you," she told him with a grin. "But you know how it is, house politics demand I call you Potter, since, you know, everyone else in the house seems to call you that."
Harry raised an eyebrow.
"You didn't strike me as the type who cared about house politics."
"What?" Tracey gave him her best haughty glare. It wasn't very convincing, considering her lips kept twitching into a grin. "You think I don't care about what the esteemedmembers of my house think of me?"
"Yes," Harry said with a nod. "That is exactly what I think."
Tracey huffed. "Alright, fine. So maybe Daphne might have said something about how I shouldn't get all chummy with you because it would ruin what standing I have with my house."
"Did she really say that?"
"Well, not quite like that," Tracey admitted. "It was more like 'you shouldn't spend time with Potter; he's only using you for his own gain and it will be even more difficult to protect you from our housemates if you befriend him.'"
"Not very trusting, is she?" Harry asked, just barely managing to contain his wince. While he wouldn't quite call what he was doing manipulating someone for his own gain, he also couldn't deny that he was straddling a very fine line between using others solely for his own gain and helping them via forming alliances. It was a difficult thing, trying to further his goals without using others for his own benefit, and every day he had to constantly think about how to advance those goals without sacrificing his morals.
"As I said, she's not like that with just you but everyone," Tracey reassured him. "She's been like that ever since..."
"Ever since?" Harry's tone turned questioning when Tracey trailed off.
"Nothing," she told him with a grimace. "She's just been like that for a while. It's just how she is."
XXXX
"Harry!"
I felt an exhausted sigh threaten to escape as I turned around to face my tormentor. For nearly two weeks the girl I had rescued from Dudley and his friends had been bothering me nonstop. Every morning at school she would find me and greet me with a big hug, and every time lunch came about she would be waiting right outside my classroom. I'm not even sure how she found out which classroom was mine.
"Lisa," I said, staring at the brunette with a blank look. "What do you—gurk." A choked noise escaped my throat as Lisa hugged me tightly. I really should have expected this, yet for some reason, the action still caught me off guard. Fortunately, she let go moments later, though I could tell from how my face felt like it had caught fire that I was still blushing.
"What was that for?" I hissed. Lisa just smiled at me.
"That was my good morning greeting," she said as if it should be obvious, which it obviously wasn't. "Good morning."
"You already said that," I mumbled irritably. I really didn't know what to make of this girl. Ever since that time with Dudley and his ilk she'd been clinging to me like glue. I'd tried ditching her several times and told her off exactly 365 times, but nothing I said or did worked. She continued following me like some kind of faithful puppy. It was extremely annoying.
"Well, I'm saying it again," Lisa declared almost proudly. "And I'll say it a million more times until you say good morning too."
I pinched the bridge of my nose to stem the coming migraine and pondered what to do. I couldn't just be rude and terrible to her—I refused to do something that had even a chance of sending me back down that dark path I'd escaped from—but politely trying to deny her friendship didn't seem to be working.
Guess there was no helping it.
"Good morning, Lisa," I said, averting my eyes. The way her eyes seemed to sparkle disturbed me.
"You finally did it!" The girl cheered. "Yes!" Before I had a chance to sneak off, Lisa linked arms with me. "And now that we're friends you can walk me to my class."
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