Tory Potter and the Pathological Liar

New Friend

"Suspicious" was the first word that came to mind as I walked into the great hall with Harry and Ron the next morning.

Malfoy was gawking at us like he'd never seen a tired, yet cheerful student before.

Indeed, by the next morning, Ron, Harry, and I were perfectly happy. We thought that meeting the three-headed dog, whom I lovingly dubbed Fluffy, had been an excellent adventure, and we were quite keen on having another one.

In the meantime, Harry filled Ron in about the package that seemed to have been moved from Gringotts to Hogwarts, and we spent quite a lot of time wondering what could possibly need such heavy protection.

"It's either really valuable or really dangerous," Ron speculated.

"Or both," Harry and I said at the same time.

But as all we knew for sure about the mysterious object was that it was about 5 centimeters long, we didn't have much chance of guessing what it was without further clues.

Neither Neville nor Hermione showed the slightest interest in what lay underneath Fluffy and the trapdoor.

All Neville cared about was never going near the dog again.

Hermione was now refusing Harry, Ron, and I.

Harry and Ron saw her as a bossy know-it-all, so they saw that as an added bonus.

I saw her as a concerned classmate, so I sort of understood where she was coming from. Nevertheless, I wish she had chosen a different form of reprimanding us.

All my brother and Ron really wanted now was a way to get back at Malfoy.

I ignored their plans to get back at the Slytherin for the most part. I had a more important mission - befriending the poor puppy that was all alone in the third floor corridor.

That night, I made sure everyone, my brother included, was asleep. I then crept out of my dorm room and down the staircase. I looked around carefully, making sure Hermione wasn't going to pop out and get me into trouble. Once I was certain that she wasn't waiting to ruin my future friendship with Fluffy, I left the common room.

The air outside of the common room was cool, as was expected on a night such as that. The portraits were mainly sleeping, and only the ghosts stirred.

I walked down the stairs and pulled out my wand once I got to the third floor corridor. I pointed my wand at the lock and whispered, "Alohomora."

The door unlocked and swung open slowly.

I poked my head in and saw three sets of eyes staring back. "He-"

The dog growled viciously, defending its territory from the strange invader.

I reached my hand in, my palm facing the air. I wanted it to sniff my hand, but Fluffy nipped at it. I quickly snapped my hand back to my side and frowned. I rubbed my chin, wondering what I could do to make friends with the poor, probably neglected puppy.

The dog growled through the open gap and snapped at me.

I sighed as I closed the door and just rested my back against it. "Look, I just want to be friends. Okay, Fluffy?"

The dog continued to growl as it pawed the door, trying to push it open.

"What would I do if a stranger declared they want to be friends?" I asked myself aloud, rubbing my chin as I thought hard. I paused upon realizing I'd be suspicious for a while because no one really wanted to be friends with Harry and I. I sat down as I wondered what I could do to prove my friendship to the poor puppy that had some serious trust issues.