Amidst the stressful situations he has had to deal with recently, Harry Potter finds solace in a boy he meets one day in the Shrieking Shack. They spend their nights together studying in the library, though most of the studying is Harry making the b...
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Harry awoke the next morning to the sound of cheerful birds, and a light breeze sneaking through the partially open window next to his bed. He stood in front of the window, opening it fully, staring out into the distance. The gentle air of the early morning was soothing to him; there weren't many mornings like this that he got to experience by himself. He suddenly had a wonderful thought, pulling a blanket over his shoulders and sliding his feet into his slippers. He ran as fast as he could without falling right on his face, up to the top of the West Tower, to the Owlery.
He sat down against the wall, just outside the entrance to the Owlery, knowing better than to walk in there with his slippers. Harry took in a deep breath, embracing himself underneath the warm blanket. He felt so comforted by this single moment in time, even if it was spent in solitude. The comfort of the owls hooting behind him, and the sweet breeze dancing through the ends of his hair was enough to fill the space of another person.
As the temperature of the air began to rise with the passing time, Harry looked out into the sky. Above the towers of the castle, the tops of the trees in the Forbidden Forest, past everything he'd become so familiar with in the past few years he'd spend at Hogwarts. In his mind he began to think of what it might be like to fly, far away from what he had become so close to, just for a moment. Just to see what it might be like to not feel so restricted, to not feel as though he wasn't good enough. To feel like he isn't living up to other people's standards of what "The Boy Who Lived" should be. The recollection of the embarrassment he felt his first year at Hogwarts made his skin feel hot, and his body felt heavy. He had been living with this constant fear of not being what everyone wanted him to be, or what they thought he should be, since his first year.
He closed his eyes and sighed, knowing that would be something he would have to deal with the rest of his life, so long as people still considered him "The Boy Who Lived". As he slowly opened them and his vision focused, the figure of a boy stood before him. The boy looked slightly confused, probably because Harry was sitting in front of the doorway to the Owlery with a blanket wrapped tightly around him. Though he didn't feel as concerned about what he would say as to why he was sitting in front of the Owlery when he realized who it was.
"You're Jasper, right?" Harry said, pointing at Jasper through his blanket.
"Yeah, I just came to send an owl to my folks." Jasper absentmindedly played with the corners of the envelope, in an attempt to soothe his anxiety.
"You're fine, I'm not upset that you're here. I should probably get going anyway, considering I'm still in my pajamas." Harry chuckled to himself before standing up, "Be careful in there, yeah? You never know what you might step in."
"Yeah, it's not like it gets cleaned regularly," Jasper half-smiled and Harry giggled at his joke, which Jasper was taken aback by.
"I'll see you later, Jasper." Harry was still giggling as he spoke, and made his way down the steps, towards the Gryffindor common room.
Jasper stood still, frozen in time, until a large gust of wind came in through the doorway, pulling him out of his own head. He looked down at his hands, and the letter that was going to his parents. His eyes watered, but he wasn't sure why. He whispered softly to himself, almost unsure that he should be saying it, "Again?"
-
Jasper makes his way into the Great Hall for breakfast, just as all the other students were leaving to go to their first class of the day. He picked up a few things to snack on throughout his morning classes, before lunch; though there wasn't much to choose from. He grabbed some sandwiches and ran off to his first class.
Divination was oddly farther from the Great Hall than Jasper realized, so he ended up stumbling through the door right as class started, desperately trying to catch his breath as he found a seat towards the back, as all other seats were taken. He did his best to avoid the fact that he had Divination with Harry, which meant the definite possibility that he saw Jasper barge through the door, desperate for air and to be on time for class. Jasper did his best to concentrate throughout the class period, though he was already ahead and used the period for studying rather than Divination assignments.
Harry glanced at Jasper from his seat in the middle of the rows of seats. He was facing his best friend Ron, but Jasper caught his eye. Perhaps it was because he was working so diligently, Harry could almost hear the gears turning inside Jasper's head, blowing smoke everywhere from overworking himself. He couldn't really be blamed though; Jasper had gotten ahead in every class in anticipation of the full moon, except Potions. Though he couldn't be blamed there, either. Professor Snape always had something up his sleeve for Jasper, never letting the boy have even a moment of peace from his studies. Snape had been pushing him exceptionally hard recently, as he wanted Jasper to begin to learn how to brew the Wolfsbane potion himself. Jasper agreed when it was suggested, but if he'd known it would be this much work, he would've very politely said no. However, knowing Professor Snape, he wouldn't have been able to refuse.
Jasper set his quill in his inkwell, feeling that there was a definite need for a break from writing. He sighed and his gaze found Harry, quite literally staring at him, though very discreetly. Jasper felt chills run through his body as their eyes met. Harry gave Jasper a sweet smile, and the latter felt his stomach drop. It was bad enough that Harry's memories hadn't been Obliviated yet, but it was just as bad that he looked so friendly and happy when he looked at Jasper. But the latter couldn't let that distract him from his studies. Merlin knows Snape would have no mercy whatsoever if Jasper fell behind.
Jasper offered Harry the best version of a smile he could muster, while still being so physically drained from last night and mentally drained from all the cramming he just did. Harry thought it was comical, chuckling a little bit, which caught the attention of his best friend, Ron. Though both Jasper and Harry were no longer looking at each other when Ron asked what Harry was laughing at. Jasper hoped with everything he had that Harry didn't notice the fact that his whole face was as red as his best friend's hair.
Jasper internally thanked whoever was out there that he got through the rest of the class period without having Harry notice him again. However, as luck would have it, Jasper had yet another class with the Gryffindor's today. To make matters worse it wasn't necessarily a class Jasper could hide in the back and ignore everyone during. Jasper mentally went through his class schedule for Wednesday, and his spirits quite literally vanished. The only class he had today that wasn't with Gryffindor was Transfiguration.
Jasper despondently trudged through the desks; he felt light-headed as he took a step off the small stoop. He felt himself falling, but he never felt his body crash to the floor. The familiar smell of pine filled his senses; there were voices surrounding him, but they were so muffled, Jasper couldn't tell who they belonged to.
