Categories > Books > Harry Potter > The Number of Fools
DISCLAIMER: See Ch. 1.
A/N: Regarding the "heart attack" last chapter: You'll all learn of that later
Chapter 6: A New Friend
Harry had nearly a month off from college for winter break. He just aimlessly wandered around the town where he lived away from college, seeing what there was to do.
Harry didn't care about living any more. He felt he was only doing it for the sake of it. /Yes/, he was and would be eternally grateful to his parents for sacrificing themselves so he could live - but was his life really that much worth living, especially after all he had been through? Was the life he had endured the kind his parents would have accepted or have wanted him to live through? Surely Harry's parents wouldn't have wanted him to have his kind of pain, right?
Now, each morning, he just wished he had died in his sleep the previous night.
Harry couldn't live like this anymore. He couldn't return to where he was betrayed, and even when he was thankfully gone from that world, it didn't stop him from thinking about it.
Harry purposely tried to pursue a normal Muggle lifestyle to avoid having to think about the wizarding world while living at wherever he called home, but now, he figured that even that would have been better than trying to lead a normal life among the public while dealing with those problems that ate him from deep inside.
'Fine,' he thought one day as he was going to his last class (which was Latin, his favorite class, ironically enough). 'I'm just going to cancel my so-called college education and leave.'
After Latin class finally let out, Harry walked back across a road to his dorm building, went up to his room, and began to pack his smaller stuff away. 'Oh well,' he thought, 'At least there was some hope for me while it lasted.'
It was a frigid January afternoon, made colder because of the fact it was later in the day. The roads were rather slick, even after salt had been sprinkled on the ground. Cars were deliberately going slower than normal to avoid any problems.
Harry began his walk over to the administration building. He just got onto the road when he heard it happen.
An SUV was starting to swerve on a road that was still icy (the ice melt was just starting to do its job), and the tires screeched as its driver tried to regain control.
The vehicle continued to slide forward, and Harry could see someone in the vehicle's path, frozen in place.
Without even thinking about it, Harry ran forward, desperate to help avert a catastrophe. The figure in the road (a girl, he could now see, judging by the long hair), was just beginning to get over her shock and move out of the way, but not in time...
The SUV was only a few feet away when Harry moved the girl out of the way, sending them both onto the sidewalk.
"Are you alright? Can you walk?" he asked once they were out of harm's way, helping her up.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, getting herself together. Now Harry got a good look at her: She had chestnut brown hair, light green eyes (which looked like turquoise to Harry), and a pretty face.
Harry suddenly felt his heart skip a beat and his breath catch in his throat, but he ignored it all as he maintained his composure.
"I'm a new student here this semester," she told him. "I was just trying to figure out where to go."
"I've been here since last semester, so I know where everything is."
"Can you show me where this building is?" she asked him, pointing to it on her map.
"That would be the college of arts and sciences."
"Walk with me?" she said, flashing a small smile.
"Er, sure..."
"By the way, my name is Amanda Ward, nice to meet you," she said, extending her hand.
After a moment's hesitation, Harry accepted it. "Harry Potter."
Harry had originally planned to just be a good person and help this person out, except somehow a five-minute tour of campus turned into a one-hour conversation as she went back to her own room and invited him in.
Harry happened to glance at his watch and noticed it was now too late to make the necessary arrangements to withdraw from the college.
"What's the matter? Is something wrong?" Amanda asked.
"No, er, nothing's wrong." Although, at the moment, Harry suddenly found himself unconcerned about the matter...
"Well, I also have stuff to do. Talk to you more later?"
"Yeah, sure."
"Oh, and by the way, thanks again for saving me," Amanda said, leaning closer.
"Not a..."
But before Harry could finish his sentence, she kissed him square on the lips...
Harry was in a state of shock as she withdrew, and his lips still tingled.
Amanda gave a small grin as she looked him in the eye, her eyes almost sparkling.
Blushing, Harry tried to compose himself, and ended up blabbering, "Um, yes, well, thanks again, I'll talk to you later..."
"'Bye," she said as he left.
After the door was shut, Amanda smiled to herself. New at the college, and she had already met such a nice guy!
However, her smile faded when she remembered the seemingly cool, emotionless aura she sensed on him. Harry looked like the anti-social type, from what she could tell. She also sensed that he was holding back on information about himself, which he found too painful.
'Ah well,' she thought to herself, 'We all have our secrets and privacy...'
After another moment of contemplation...
'Still, you can't deny he's also a handsome guy.'
Harry flopped onto his bed back in his room. Today certainly did not turn out as he'd planned.
From what Harry could tell using Legilimency, she was a nice girl with no ill intentions.
'But still,' said a dark voice in the back of his head, 'People change, a lot of times for the worse...'
It was true, that the massive betrayal he'd suffered had put him off both platonic and romantic relationships. He was afraid that if he opened up to another person, it would happen all over again.
Well, at least Harry knew better this time, and he'd make sure it wouldn't happen again.
At least now he had magic as an advantage, should that ever happen again...
While his first semester seemed to get consistently depressing, his second semester saw a slowly returning happiness in his life. He began to open up more and took more joy in his work.
It turned out that, like him, Amanda was also taking Latin because of intellectual interest in the subject. Occasionally, then frequently, they would work together on assignments and help quiz each other in preparation for quizzes and tests.
While Harry tried to deny what he thought and even felt for Amanda, he knew he was developing a liking for her. One that was not entirely platonic...
Towards the end of the current semester, Amanda asked him a serious question.
"Harry," she said slowly, "There's something I want to ask you. All I want is the truth, and I promise I won't think any less of you if you tell me. Why is it you never talk about yourself that much?"
(End of Chapter 6.)
A/N: OK, now this is the part of the story where I wanted to get to.
This wasn't too mushy, unnatural, or OOC, was it?
Next chapter is where Harry and this new girl continue to interact... -Quillian
A/N: Regarding the "heart attack" last chapter: You'll all learn of that later
Chapter 6: A New Friend
Harry had nearly a month off from college for winter break. He just aimlessly wandered around the town where he lived away from college, seeing what there was to do.
Harry didn't care about living any more. He felt he was only doing it for the sake of it. /Yes/, he was and would be eternally grateful to his parents for sacrificing themselves so he could live - but was his life really that much worth living, especially after all he had been through? Was the life he had endured the kind his parents would have accepted or have wanted him to live through? Surely Harry's parents wouldn't have wanted him to have his kind of pain, right?
Now, each morning, he just wished he had died in his sleep the previous night.
Harry couldn't live like this anymore. He couldn't return to where he was betrayed, and even when he was thankfully gone from that world, it didn't stop him from thinking about it.
Harry purposely tried to pursue a normal Muggle lifestyle to avoid having to think about the wizarding world while living at wherever he called home, but now, he figured that even that would have been better than trying to lead a normal life among the public while dealing with those problems that ate him from deep inside.
'Fine,' he thought one day as he was going to his last class (which was Latin, his favorite class, ironically enough). 'I'm just going to cancel my so-called college education and leave.'
After Latin class finally let out, Harry walked back across a road to his dorm building, went up to his room, and began to pack his smaller stuff away. 'Oh well,' he thought, 'At least there was some hope for me while it lasted.'
It was a frigid January afternoon, made colder because of the fact it was later in the day. The roads were rather slick, even after salt had been sprinkled on the ground. Cars were deliberately going slower than normal to avoid any problems.
Harry began his walk over to the administration building. He just got onto the road when he heard it happen.
An SUV was starting to swerve on a road that was still icy (the ice melt was just starting to do its job), and the tires screeched as its driver tried to regain control.
The vehicle continued to slide forward, and Harry could see someone in the vehicle's path, frozen in place.
Without even thinking about it, Harry ran forward, desperate to help avert a catastrophe. The figure in the road (a girl, he could now see, judging by the long hair), was just beginning to get over her shock and move out of the way, but not in time...
The SUV was only a few feet away when Harry moved the girl out of the way, sending them both onto the sidewalk.
"Are you alright? Can you walk?" he asked once they were out of harm's way, helping her up.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, getting herself together. Now Harry got a good look at her: She had chestnut brown hair, light green eyes (which looked like turquoise to Harry), and a pretty face.
Harry suddenly felt his heart skip a beat and his breath catch in his throat, but he ignored it all as he maintained his composure.
"I'm a new student here this semester," she told him. "I was just trying to figure out where to go."
"I've been here since last semester, so I know where everything is."
"Can you show me where this building is?" she asked him, pointing to it on her map.
"That would be the college of arts and sciences."
"Walk with me?" she said, flashing a small smile.
"Er, sure..."
"By the way, my name is Amanda Ward, nice to meet you," she said, extending her hand.
After a moment's hesitation, Harry accepted it. "Harry Potter."
Harry had originally planned to just be a good person and help this person out, except somehow a five-minute tour of campus turned into a one-hour conversation as she went back to her own room and invited him in.
Harry happened to glance at his watch and noticed it was now too late to make the necessary arrangements to withdraw from the college.
"What's the matter? Is something wrong?" Amanda asked.
"No, er, nothing's wrong." Although, at the moment, Harry suddenly found himself unconcerned about the matter...
"Well, I also have stuff to do. Talk to you more later?"
"Yeah, sure."
"Oh, and by the way, thanks again for saving me," Amanda said, leaning closer.
"Not a..."
But before Harry could finish his sentence, she kissed him square on the lips...
Harry was in a state of shock as she withdrew, and his lips still tingled.
Amanda gave a small grin as she looked him in the eye, her eyes almost sparkling.
Blushing, Harry tried to compose himself, and ended up blabbering, "Um, yes, well, thanks again, I'll talk to you later..."
"'Bye," she said as he left.
After the door was shut, Amanda smiled to herself. New at the college, and she had already met such a nice guy!
However, her smile faded when she remembered the seemingly cool, emotionless aura she sensed on him. Harry looked like the anti-social type, from what she could tell. She also sensed that he was holding back on information about himself, which he found too painful.
'Ah well,' she thought to herself, 'We all have our secrets and privacy...'
After another moment of contemplation...
'Still, you can't deny he's also a handsome guy.'
Harry flopped onto his bed back in his room. Today certainly did not turn out as he'd planned.
From what Harry could tell using Legilimency, she was a nice girl with no ill intentions.
'But still,' said a dark voice in the back of his head, 'People change, a lot of times for the worse...'
It was true, that the massive betrayal he'd suffered had put him off both platonic and romantic relationships. He was afraid that if he opened up to another person, it would happen all over again.
Well, at least Harry knew better this time, and he'd make sure it wouldn't happen again.
At least now he had magic as an advantage, should that ever happen again...
While his first semester seemed to get consistently depressing, his second semester saw a slowly returning happiness in his life. He began to open up more and took more joy in his work.
It turned out that, like him, Amanda was also taking Latin because of intellectual interest in the subject. Occasionally, then frequently, they would work together on assignments and help quiz each other in preparation for quizzes and tests.
While Harry tried to deny what he thought and even felt for Amanda, he knew he was developing a liking for her. One that was not entirely platonic...
Towards the end of the current semester, Amanda asked him a serious question.
"Harry," she said slowly, "There's something I want to ask you. All I want is the truth, and I promise I won't think any less of you if you tell me. Why is it you never talk about yourself that much?"
(End of Chapter 6.)
A/N: OK, now this is the part of the story where I wanted to get to.
This wasn't too mushy, unnatural, or OOC, was it?
Next chapter is where Harry and this new girl continue to interact... -Quillian
Sign up to rate and review this story