The Family that Chooses You

Chapter 58: Recovering Interactions

"Hey, Potter."

Harry looked up; his train of thought derailed by the call.  His eyes widened as he looked at the girl standing over him.  He had seen her in passing and shared classes with her, but never spoke to her directly.  She had short brown hair and sharp features, dressed in school robes with a dark green trim.  Unlike the majority of the Slytherins, she had never been openly hostile to Harry but she had never been friendly either.  Though that seemed to be a Slytherin trait, to him anyway.

He went for a shy smile that showed his nervousness and confusion.  "Hello...I'm afraid I don't know your name."  He recognized her as someone that was usually seen with Daphne.  "You're Daphne's friend, right?"  He blushed at her raised eyebrows, guessing the source of her surprise.  "I mean, Greengrass' friend?"

She too looked nervous for some reason and nodded jerkily.  "Yeah, I am.  I'm Davis."

He thought about offering his hand but decided she probably would not accept it.  "Nice to meet you," he said, mostly meaning it.  "Have I done something to offend you?"

She blinked.  "What makes you think you have?" she asked, suspicious and on guard.

"Most, well practically all, Slytherins don't talk to me unless it's to insult me."  He looked weary.  "If that's why you're here, I'd appreciate it if you came back another time.  I'm not feeling too great.  I promise to accept whatever insult you want to throw at me when I'm feeling better."

She flushed red and stammered.  "What no, I mean, not that's not why I'm here though I don't really blame you."  She sighed deeply.  "I'm here to say thank you."

"Oh."  To say he was surprised would have been a gross understatement.  "I, uh, that's lovely but I must admit that I don't know why you're thanking me."

She rolled her eyes and resisted the urge to stomp her foot.  "For...helping Greengrass.  With the hippogriff."

It was Harry's turn to blink slowly.  "Oh, uh, you're welcome.  I'm just glad no one was hurt."

"You really believe that, don't you?"

He nodded.

"Why?  Why risk yourself for Slytherins?"

Harry shrugged.  "I'd like to think I would have done it for anyone despite their House.  I just don't like seeing people get hurt, especially if I can do something about it.  It's nice to help people," he added lamely.

"But Malfoy has been nothing but rude to you for the last three years.  You should hear some of the things he says about you in our common room."

"Ugh, no thank you.  I hear him enough in the castle."

She smiled.  "Still.  There's not many that would help a Slytherin and I know Slytherins barely help each other much less anyone else."

He shrugged again.  "I mean, Greengrass said something nice about me last year in front of others."

"During the Chamber and Heir thing?"  She looked torn when he nodded.  "I don't know if I should tell you this, but that wasn't completely altruistic on her part.  She said it mostly to take Malfoy down a peg."

"That's still a good reason to me," he said with a smile.  "Still, she kinda supported me when only a few would.  Like you said, I'm sure she wouldn't have done that for others.  If making fun of Malfoy means someone's nice to me as a side perk, I'll take it."

"That's something I can agree with, the making fun of Malfoy bit.  He's insufferable and you don't have to live in the same area as him."

"Thank goodness for that," Harry said sincerely, making her giggle.  "You must really care about Greengrass."