Something Complicated

30/09/2022

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When Shoes Cause Confusion, a group of boys in their first year at Hogwarts find themselves having problems with each other. The problem is simple; they are all Slytherins and Slytherins are not supposed to mix with each other but then there’s this odd boy, Harry Potter who is just like them yet has the biggest heart ever. He is like an entirely different breed of person from everyone else, and it’s almost as if he can understand what they are going through and wants them to feel welcome. So even when Draco, his arch enemy is trying to kill him and his friends are being controlled by someone else, Harry still tries to make peace between them all, and he succeeds! It’s hard at first, of course. But eventually their animosity fades away and becomes genuine friendship.
Or rather, at least, that’s how it seems at first until one day, Harry’s secret gets out and the whole castle is on high alert. As always the first person to notice something strange is Pansy Parkinson. She is obsessed with Quidditch, and she is so convinced that Harry has been cheating on her that she begins to doubt everything about him, including his own best friend Hermione. After a particularly nasty fight with Draco she turns around and confronts her boyfriend Draco himself! They begin to quarrel once more and this time Harry comes running to see what the commotion is, which prompts the Slytherins to start a riot. In order to stop them all from doing anything stupid Hermione has to get Harry away from the conflict before they get hurt. Unfortunately, Harry does not listen and stays behind while Hermione runs to try and calm things down.
Unfortunately for both of them, no one is paying attention because of a loud “Harry Potter is an imposter! He has been lying to us our entire lives” being shouted from somewhere in the crowd. When Draco sees the situation escalating further his eyes light up in delight. He is now convinced that Harry was lying and needs to be stopped! He takes a moment to assess whether Harry would be able to take care of a few people or if he should leave it to someone else. Deciding he can do it without risking the life of the person he loves most, he makes his way into the mass of students, only to realize how close they have gotten to hurting Harry Potter. Once again Harry notices the danger and decides to save himself instead of letting Draco fight his battle alone. He grabs hold of Draco’s wrist and pulls him out of the crowd and over towards the lake where it will hopefully allow them to escape. Just then Pansy spots them and begins to follow them closely. Harry realizes that they are running out of options and tries to think fast. If only Hermione had been here! Suddenly he has a brilliant idea and he looks directly into Draco’s face. His eyes are full of mischief and his lips curl into a mischievous grin.
“Run!” he whispers quickly, and drags Draco along behind him. They run as fast as they can across the grounds until they reach the lake. Harry stops suddenly, turning to Draco who stands there confused before glancing around as though expecting to find some reason for Harry’s sudden behavior. Realizing Draco must have seen nothing, Harry grabs him by the shoulder. “I am sorry,” he mutters and squeezes Draco’s hand reassuringly. With a quick glance back over his shoulder he adds, “It’s ok.” Then he spins and pushes off with his feet into the air, flying over the edge of the water, disappearing beneath the surface. At first it looks like he went under but as he resurfaces, Harry notices how his hair starts drifting upwards, moving faster than it should, and realizes that it is coming out of his body.
Draco, realizing what’s happening, jumps out of the way of the rising water to avoid getting wet. But instead of hitting the water he hits something solid, causing him to land on his back with a thud. He gasps and sits up, wondering why he fell, but his question soon becomes clear. Hovering above him is the same floating thing from earlier. It’s made of dark, swirling mist which appears to be attached to something. But its main feature is the pair of large green eyes staring down at Draco, glowing brighter every second. Before he can react the creature flies toward him and Draco flinches, holding out his arms to shield his face in case the monster attacks. This causes the mist to change color and swirl faster and faster around Draco until suddenly it is replaced with images. Some of the images are flashes of Draco and his family but others appear to be scenes in space, of planets he has never heard of, and of people who look oddly familiar.
As one of the images appears to show him looking into his own reflection Draco’s jaw drops open. He knows those eyes! That long silver hair! It’s actually his own reflection! The image then shows Draco staring up at the creature’s floating face but this time it doesn’t disappear. The image keeps playing, showing Draco growing older until finally the scene goes black and he collapses unconscious against the grass. The creature then vanishes and Draco remains unconscious.

When Draco comes to several hours later he feels much better than he did earlier and realizes he’ s laying on the grass beside a stone path. Looking down he can see that he is wearing his school robes, and also recognizes the shoes that were previously lying beside him on the ground. Sitting up slowly he rubs his hands over his face to wake himself up a little and looks up.
A tall man with wavy, dark brownish blond hair is leaning casually against the side of the path, seemingly lost in thought.
At first Draco thinks he must be a ghost, a spirit, but when he moves closer and the man glances up, he finds that the stranger is indeed a living human being.
“Are you alright?” he says, concern written plainly on his handsome face. The words sound foreign, almost unfamiliar, though Draco supposes that this could mean many things.
“I… I guess. I don’t know, I feel kind of weird… Are you real?” He asks warily, taking a cautious step forward. The man smiles warmly at this and steps back to reveal another pathway leading back to the castle.
“Yes, I’m real, and I promise that I won’t hurt you. What’s your name?” he asks. Draco stares at him, unsure of what to say or do next.
“My name’s Harry,” he says quietly, and watches the man’s smile fall slightly.
“I’m Ron,” he answers. Then he extends a hand. Hesitatingly, Draco accepts the offer to help him to his feet. When he stands he lets out a small squeak. Something cold is pressed gently into his palm and he looks down to see a white stone flower. He stares at the petals in confusion before glancing back up to see Ron watching him.
“There were two of these in the garden last night,” he explains.
“Oh thank Merlin,” Draco breathes, hugging the rose tightly to his chest. Without saying anything, Ron turns and leads him further along the path.

They walk in silence for a while. Finally Ron speaks up. “So, I was thinking. About the garden and how it happened…” he pauses, considering what to say. “You know, we should go back sometime. Maybe I can teach you how to play chess? My father always used to say I didn’t know enough to win…”
The mention of Draco’s father brings a wave of emotions crashing over him. How he wishes he was able to tell him about what happened, to explain what really happened to him. Instead all he can manage is a sad little smile as he shakes his head and looks down at the beautiful white flower resting on top of his heart. It’s silent again for a few minutes before Ron clears his throat and tries again. “Look, Harry… We’ll talk about this when we return to Hogwarts and maybe you should stay with me… For now anyway. You’re obviously not safe here anymore…”
Harry nods silently, feeling tears sting at his eyes as he wonders how long he will ever be safe at Hogwarts.
“What happened to your parents?” Ron asks, sensing that the other boy is upset about something and desperately wanting to bring back that happy memory.
“I’ll tell you when I’m ready,” he mumbles. And somehow the fact that he will never trust anyone, not even his best friend, with that information fills him with dread, making him feel as though he has already betrayed his mother and father, and has lost everything, except perhaps his memories of his mother and father.
After they have returned to Hogwarts the next morning, Harry goes straight to class.